For the fourth edition of
Five Play (not counting the recording they did backing vocalist
Maria Anadon,) drummer and founder
Sherrie Maricle has assembled yet another quintet from the players in her Diva Big Band. Bassist Noriko Ueda and pianist
Tomoko Ohno are the holdovers and do not miss a beat. Janelle Reichman is a very young tenor saxophonist and clarinetist from Michigan who takes over for
Anat Cohen.
Jami Dauber from Chicago is now the full-time trumpeter -- she played on half of the previous CD, Five Play... Plus. Their repertoire concentrates on standards, a
Toshiko Akiyoshi original, and two pop songs taken to swing proportions. What these women bring to the table is a finely tuned sense of democracy, style, purpose, and full intent to swing. Their equality and balance is in evidence right off the bat on an easily swung
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers like version of the Hal David-Burt Bacharach written title track. Still in that vein but using a choppy accented melody for "I Want to Be Happy," their bop chops are also well honed. Some songs are typical as on the shuffle "Groove Merchant" or the straight swing blues of
Akiyoshi's "Jo-House Blues," again
Messenger-ish à la
Hank Mobley and
Lee Morgan, spiked by
Ohno's lead out. Reichman's clean clarinet shines through on the samba take of
Benny Goodman's "Slipped Disc" and the broken hearted "Cry Me a River."
Dauber's muted plunger trumpet is both pining and humorous during "Moon Song," while Ueda's feature on "Old Folks" marks the coming of a rising star. There's one cut with just the trio sans horns "I Could Have Danced All Night" where
Ohno and Ueda cut loose, and
Maricle's brushwork on her snare drum is very impressive. While one might hope for the band to let it fly a bit more, that is probably due for a follow-up to this professional and enjoyable recording. ~ Michael G. Nastos