Azzolina’s Live Dialect

The Stones must be off the road this week. Jay Azzolina was able to get his musical comrade Tim Ries, the Rolling Stones sideman and jazz interpreter, for his CD release and tour launch celebration at the Cutting Room in New York’s fashionable Flatiron district. The CD bringing everyone together was Local Dialect, reviewed here last week.

As on Dialect, Azzolina kicked-off the set with “Friends of Friends” an intriguing, but catchy original that serves as a nice up-tempo ice-breaker. While Dialect often shifts in tone and personnel throughout the disk, in live performance Azzolina stuck to the old-school soul-jazz organ combo format. Azzolina is perhaps best known for his more commercial work with Spyro Gyro, but he can clearly burn through a grits and gravy session. While Dialect actually has one particularly “contemporary” radio friendly track, it was full speed ahead with no concessions during last night’s set.

Behind the organ console, Gary Versace is obviously fluent in the soul-jazz vernacular. Ries, Azzolina’s Westchester neighbor, had plenty to say as well, particularly in his fiery soprano solos. This is definitely a good band, which should only get better as they continue to play this music.

Dialect really is a strong release, with some memorable compositions, that often have a hint of the bittersweet. This is probably most pronounced on the lovely “Angel’s Dance” a Latin-style duo number that did not make it into Tuesday night’s set list. The CD is well worth checking out, as are Azzolina and company if they are playing in your locale.

Fortunately, I had a heads-up about the gig. Even though the Cutting Room is quite convenient to the J.B. offices, its bookings are so eclectic, I often lose track of who is playing there (it turns out Hubert Sumlin will be making a guest appearance Thur.). Hopefully the myspace add will rectify that.

According to his myspace page, Azzolina’s next gig in New York is at the Bar Next Door on December 13th, as part of the club’s guitar trio series. Hearing Azzolina in a slightly different format should make for a good night out as well.

Local Dialect

Local Dialect
By Jay Azzolina
Garagista

Just North of Yonkers, Hastings-on-Hudson is a Westchester village easily accessible to the City via commuter rail. While it may never eclipse celebrated jazz communities like Harlem and the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, at various times in its history Hastings-on-Hudson has been home to many jazz legends, including Michael Brecker, Ralph Sutton, and Fats Waller. It has also been home to guitarist Jay Azzolina and his musical comrades, Tim Ries and John Patitucci, who join Azzolina on his latest release: Local Dialect.

While Azzolina is probably best known for his association with Spyro Gyra, Dialect is a varied, but largely straight ahead session, as established by the opener, “Friends of Friends,” with its intriguing melody and complex rhythms. Benefiting from Rolling Stones sideman and jazz interpreter Tim Ries’s horn arrangement, it is a great vehicle for some smoldering solos by Azzolina and Ries. The easy groover “Three Ladies” follows in one of Dialect’s many shifts of tone. Again Azzolina shows a facility for attractive melodies and tasteful solo statements, accented by Ries’s flute and some short, but attractive brass passages.

Larry Goldings joins the group (minus the horns) for three soul-jazz oriented organ combo numbers. “Mind Your Mind,” performed as a trio with drummer Greg Hutchinson, is the bluesiest in its vibe, whereas “Between Thoughts” and the closer “Exit Strategy” are more up-tempo swingers, giving plenty of space to Azzolina and Goldings to have their say.

The Latin flavored “Angel’s Dance” is a dramatic change a pace, featuring Azzolina’s guitar and vocalizing accompanied only by the percussion of Cyro Baptista. It’s a standout track that really adds another sonic dimension to the release.

“Smile For Me” might be the most pleasing for his Spyro fans, combining a funky backbeat, with keyboards, flute, and soprano sax. The other tune employing keyboards is the darker, more challenging “Acceptance,” propelled by Janko R.’s insistent drum program.

Throughout its shifts in personnel, Dialect enjoys the rock-solid rhythmic support of Patitucci and Hutchinson. With their assistance and that of his other guests, Azzolina makes some eloquent statements, both as a composer and as a soloist.

(Note: Azzolina will be playing in the Citywith Ries and Hutchinson at the Cutting Room on Nov. 27th, at 9:30.)