Rob Parton's Ensemble 9+ - Relentless (2024) [Hi-Res]

Commissioning all-new music for this recording, Parton leveraged relationships with a deep bench of arrangers and composers. Cliff Colnot, Tom Matta, and Ron Ruvio are old friends from Parton’s Chicago days. At the same time, UNT is ably represented by Professor Richard DeRosa and the new voices of alums and graduate students. Mike Tomaro, Professor of Jazz at Duquesne University, is one of the most prolific arrangers for big bands today, has contributed two unrecorded/unpublished gems for the nonet, tight treatments of jazz classics “Ray’s Idea” and “Ping Pong” that, in Parton’s words, “practically play themselves.” The mix of original compositions and various styles showcases the band’s muscular flexibility and gives the soloists plenty of room to tell their stories.

Drummer Quincy Davis sets the tone on “Open for Business” in a brisk exchange with the ensemble that soon merges into an up-tempo modern blues. The horns, augmented by Rosana Eckert’s wordless vocal, are surgically precise with Parton at the helm. Shelley Carrol’s solo is tinged with Joe Henderson filtered through his brawny Texas Tenor sound. Trumpeter Chris Van Leeuwen and pianist Fred Sanders follow suit with their fiery choruses.

Parton steps into the spotlight next on trumpet hero Freddie Hubbard’s CTI-era classic “Straight Life,” where percussionist José Aponté adds his expertise to DeRosa’s Latin jazz setting. Billy Strayhorn’s “Intimacy of the Blues” begins with a masterful intro from bassist Lynn Seaton, followed by some joyfully swinging work from the band and former Ellingtonian Carol. Rodney Booth closes things out with excellent plunger work in the Ellington brass tradition.

Ariel Glassman’s “Relentless” takes the band in a more contemporary direction, drawing on the ECM sound of Lyle Mays. Parton is at home playing lyrical lines and ideas channeling the great Freddie Hubbard. Versatile altoist Brad Leali, a Harry Connick and Basie band veteran, demonstrates that he’s every bit at home here as he is swinging on “Ray’s Idea” or Josh Cossette’s bluesy “Smoke and Mirrors.” Eckert, who earned a GRAMMY for her part in Lyle May’s final work last year, is in a beautiful voice improvising over Glassman’s sophisticated harmonies.

Parton asked fellow trumpeter Ron Ruvio to compose a tribute to the late Wayne Shorter for the band, resulting in “Shorter Images,” a moody vehicle for the ensemble replete with dark harmonies and painterly gestures evocative of the master composer and saxophonist. Shorter’s presence is also felt on his own “Ping-Pong.” “When Wayne passed, we played only his tunes at Catch-35 [Parton’s longtime steady in Chicago] for about a year,” relates Parton. The bandleader pays his respects to another saxophone hero and longtime friend, Mark Colby, with his own heartfelt “Thank You Colby,” realized remotely with former Frank Sinatra lead altoist Mike Smith overdubbing all the saxophone parts, culminating in a lovely acapella chorale.

An avid bicyclist, Parton gets his best ideas as a writer on the trail, including the theme to both “Thank You Colby” and the closer, “No Response.” “I asked grad student Augustine Alonso to arrange it in the style of the Atomic Basie band, and he nailed it,” relates the bandleader. “But when he sent it to me, I forgot to call him back, so he titled it “No Response” and turned it in. The title stuck!”

That incident aside, Parton is as passionate about his role as an educator and mentor as he is about his music and bandmates. “As the director of the 2 O’Clock Lab Band, 2 O’Clock is my favorite hour of the day! When these young musicians start playing, you immediately hear all the talent and hard work they have put in over the years.” The same could be said for the music and musicians on Relentless, Rob Parton’s compelling new vision of Ensemble 9+.