Within weeks of my moving to San Antonio in October 2017, my father and I headed to the Witte Museum for a Sunday afternoon jazz concert sponsored by radio station KRTU. We had no idea who would be performing, but the weather was nice and it was an outdoor concert by the river - one of those bring your own lawn chairs kind of thing. Perfect setting. We heard a set from the Adrian Ruiz Quintet playing tunes from this recently-released album. At the time, Ruiz was Director of Jazz Studies at The University of Texas-San Antonio. I picked up this CD on the way out for two reasons: 1) to support local jazz, and 2) I've got a CD addiction to feed. So I've had this CD for three years and never cracked the cellophane until this morning. My mistake because it is every bit the enjoyable neo-bop/modern straight-ahead stuff I remember hearing that afternoon. The band plays well together and all five band members contribute at least one tune so things are kept interesting. I particularly like the contributions (both writing and playing) from pianist Collin Shook. The sound of the recording is muddy, but that's a minor complaint. Austin's alternative newsweekly, The Austin Chronicle, gave the album a ★★★★ rating.
Tracks: my picks today are the aforementioned Shook tunes (The Desert, Glas) along with The Mountains of Tennessee and Friends In The Right Places.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: see above. I certainly hope Sunday Jazz at the Witte (and Jazz'SAlive, etc.) is able to make a return after the pandemic. I can't wait to get back to live entertainment.
No comments:
Post a Comment