Larry Willis • I Fall in Love Too Easily

 

I Fall in Love Too Easily is subtitled "The Final Session at Rudy Van Gelder's," as it is not only descriptively but literally the last recording session by veteran pianist Larry Willis, who died at age seventy-six in September 2019, one year after the album was completed at the renowned Van Gelder studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The occasion also represented a homecoming of sorts for Willis who launched his six-decades-long career at that same studio in 1965, cutting an album for Blue Note Records under saxophonist Jackie McLean's leadership.

McLean is one of an impressive number of jazz luminaries with whom Willis performed and / or recorded over the years including the long-time colleagues on this quintet date: trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, alto saxophonist Joe Ford, bassist Blake Meister and drummer Victor Lewis. Glossing over the risk of seeming overly retro, it must be reported that the sounds they weave together on Too Easily aren't far removed from those produced in that session with McLean and company some fifty-five years ago. Ford, in fact, bears some resemblance to McLean in tone and phrasing, while Pelt calls to mind such Blue Note stars as Lee Morgan, Donald Byrd, Kenny Dorham and others. Pelt appears on five of the album's eight numbers, Ford on four. Willis, Meister and Lewis comprise a piano trio on "Anna" and "Let's Play," and Willis goes it alone on the sumptuous finale / title song. The full quintet performs on "Today's Nights," "Heavy Blue," "Habiba" and "Climax."

Ford's earnest "Today's Nights" sets a strong compass, with crisp solos by Ford, Pelt and Willis leading to the fast-moving "Heavy Blue," a second number by the full quintet that enfolds sharp statements by all hands, and the trio's tender ballad, "Anna," whose solo space is shared by Willis and Meister. Kirk Lightsey's light and rhythmic "Habiba" is followed by a second ballad, Bobby Troup's "The Meaning of the Blues," which serves as a showcase for Pelt's eloquent trumpet. The trio returns for the dapper "Let's Play," the quintet for the lively "Climax," on which Pelt and Ford fashion nimble farewells while Lewis proves as able a soloist as he is a timekeeper. Suitably, that leaves Willis to himself on "I Fall in Love Too Easily," written by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn and introduced by Frank Sinatra in 1945 in the film Anchors Aweigh., Willis is bright and charming there, as he is throughout, and it's a marvelous way not only to complete an album but to seal a career.
By JACK BOWERS
July 20, 2020
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/i-fall-in-love-too-easily-larry-willis-highnote-records

///////

I Fall in Love Too Easily lleva el subtítulo de "The Final Session at Rudy Van Gelder's", ya que no solo es descriptiva sino literalmente la última sesión de grabación del veterano pianista Larry Willis, que falleció a los setenta y seis años en septiembre de 2019, un año después de que el álbum se completara en el renombrado estudio Van Gelder de Englewood Cliffs, Nueva Jersey. La ocasión también representó una especie de regreso a casa para Willis, que lanzó su carrera de seis décadas en ese mismo estudio en 1965, cortando un álbum para Blue Note Records bajo la dirección del saxofonista Jackie McLean.

McLean es una de las impresionantes luminarias del jazz con las que Willis actuó y/o grabó a lo largo de los años, incluidos los colegas de siempre en esta fecha del quinteto: el trompetista Jeremy Pelt, el saxofonista alto Joe Ford, el bajista Blake Meister y el baterista Victor Lewis. A riesgo de parecer demasiado retro, hay que decir que los sonidos que tejen juntos en Too Easily no están muy alejados de los producidos en aquella sesión con McLean y compañía hace unos cincuenta y cinco años. Ford, de hecho, tiene cierto parecido con McLean en tono y fraseo, mientras que Pelt recuerda a estrellas de Blue Note como Lee Morgan, Donald Byrd, Kenny Dorham y otros. Pelt aparece en cinco de los ocho números del álbum, y Ford en cuatro. Willis, Meister y Lewis forman un trío de piano en "Anna" y "Let's Play", y Willis actúa en solitario en el suntuoso final/canción del título. El quinteto al completo interpreta "Today's Nights", "Heavy Blue", "Habiba" y "Climax".

La seria "Today's Nights" de Ford establece una fuerte brújula, con nítidos solos de Ford, Pelt y Willis que conducen a la rápida "Heavy Blue", un segundo número del quinteto completo que envuelve agudas declaraciones de todas las manos, y la tierna balada del trío, "Anna", cuyo espacio solista es compartido por Willis y Meister. A la ligera y rítmica "Habiba" de Kirk Lightsey le sigue una segunda balada, "The Meaning of the Blues" de Bobby Troup, que sirve de escaparate para la elocuente trompeta de Pelt. El trío vuelve para la elegante "Let's Play", y el quinteto para la animada "Climax", en la que Pelt y Ford se despiden con agilidad, mientras que Lewis se muestra tan hábil como solista como cronometrador. Esto deja a Willis para sí mismo en "I Fall in Love Too Easily", escrita por Jule Styne y Sammy Cahn y presentada por Frank Sinatra en 1945 en la película Anchors Aweigh.
Por JACK BOWERS
20 de julio de 2020

https://www.allaboutjazz.com/i-fall-in-love-too-easily-larry-willis-highnote-records

Tracklist
1 - Today's Nights - 5:48
2 - Heavy Blue - 3:41
3 - Anna - 6:08
4 - Habiba - 6:21
5 - The Meaning Of The Blues - 8:34
6 - Let's Play - 8:11
7 - Climax - 5:54
8 - I Fall in Love Too Easily - 5:55


Credits:
    Alto Saxophone – Joe Ford
    Bass – Blake Meister
    Drums – Victor Lewis
    Piano – Larry Willis
    Trumpet – Jeremy Pelt

Notes:
Recorded in New Jersey, September 5, 2019.


Label: HighNote Records, Inc. ‎– HCD 7326
Released: 29 May 2020
Genre: Jazz
https://www.discogs.com/Larry-Willis-I-Fall-in-Love-Too-Easily-The-Final-Session-at-Rudy-Van-Gelders/release/15665117

MORE Piano Jazz ...


This file is intended only for preview!
I ask you to delete the file from your hard drive or device after reading it.
thank for the original uploader