© - Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.
"Tenor luminary Scott Hamilton was at the forefront of a new generation of young artists that helped revitalize mainstream acoustic jazz."
—SF Jazz Center
"[Hamilton's] muscular, little-big-band approach to the piano trio builds a groove so deep you could get the bends coming up out of it."
- Paul de Barros, DownBeat
I tend to be somewhat backward-looking in terms of my recorded Jazz preferences and spend a lot of time revisiting music that reflects my straight-ahead interests.
It’s not that I have an aversion to newer, more contemporary Jazz expressions because there are times when I do enjoy having my ears moved in new directions.
Unfamiliar cuisine, authors, artists, as well as, new people to meet and new places to visit offer an allure similar to the new adventure feeling that comes from listening to the music of a Jazz artist whose style is influenced through different assimilations.
Of course, the best of both worlds occurs when I find a new Jazz recording that features the straight-ahead style of Jazz that rekindles all of the feelings that helped me become a Jazz fan in the first place.
A likely source for this to happen would be from what I refer to as The Hamilton School of Jazz whose principals are tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton and drummer Jeff Hamilton. Most recent examples of such Hamiltonian Discoveries are Scott’s CD with Rein de Graff TrioLive at The Jazzroom/Breda The Netherlands and Jeff Hamilton’s Great American Songs Through The Years.
Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to hear both Scott and Jeff perform in person and listened to their skills as Jazz creators on countless recordings both as sidemen and under their own names.
But I’ve never heard them perform together and I’ve always wished for the opportunity to do so.
Well the Jazz Gods - aka Tom Burns, the owner-operator of Capri Records - have granted my wish; on of October 20, 2015 Capri Records will be releasing Live In Bern [74139-2], Jeff and Scott’s debut recording together.
Joining Scott and Jeff are pianist Tamir Hendleman and bassist Christoph Luty, both of whom are regular members of Jeff’s trio.
This inspired quartet release is a corker and reaffirms the Jazz mastery of these mainstream giants. As an added treat there are thirteen - 13!! - tracks of music ranging from Great American Songbook Classics - September in the Rain, All Through the Night and You And The Night And The Music to Jazz Standards including Mal Waldron’s Soul Eyes, Dizzy Gillespie’s Woody ‘n You and Alan Hawkshaw’s The Champ.
Each of these is encased in an arrangement with lots of riffs, intervals and tempo variations that provide a powerful launching pad for interesting and intriguing solos by Scott, Jeff, Tamir and Christoph.
I’ll guarantee that if you are a fan of straight-ahead Jazz, you’ll have a tough time taking this one out of your CD player.
Great timing, too, for something special for your holiday wish list.
Tom Burns explains how it all came about in the following excerpt from the insert notes to Live In Bern [74139-2].
“Pairing Scott and Jeff Hamilton has been a long time dream of mine. I have known both of them for over 30 years and worked with them in a variety of settings throughout the years. We've also had solid friendships beyond the gig and recording worlds.
Jeff is on a lot of recordings on Capri as a leader with his dynamic trio, as co-leader with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and as a sideman on numerous sessions. His first recording with me goes back to 1987, only a couple years after the label was launched. We originally met in 1978 when he was with the L.A.4.
Scott has always been under contract with other labels until recently. We always talked about him recording with me if he ever got free. I am grateful the time has finally come. Scott rarely travels to the US and has been based in Europe for quite a while. We've kept in touch and when I approached Scott and Jeff about a Hamilton & Hamilton recording they were enthusiastic to say the least. The problem was logistical, finding a place and time that would work for everyone. Both of them are incredibly busy and, while they travel regularly, it is rarely to the same place.
The fortunate timing came together in May of 2014 when Jeff called and told me they were both scheduled to play at the International Jazzfestival Bern. Festival founder Hans Zurbrugg had asked Jeff to bring his trio to be the nucleus of a J.A.T.P. week. Scott was added as a guest along with Graham Dechter and Jeff Clayton. Without Hans it would not have happened. They played in a club called Marians Jazzroom in Bern. The feel and acoustics in the room at Marians were so good they decided to record there the following week. They recorded all the music in less than 8 hours. The result is what you now hold in your hand.”
- Thomas Burns
President / Capri Records, Ltd
Ann Braithwaite and her fine team at Braithwaite & Katz sent out the following media release about the recording.
© - Braithwaite & Katz, copyright protected; all rights reserved.
“The tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton and the drummer Jeff Hamilton may not actually be related as family, but their mutual passion for swinging jazz makes them honorary brothers. On Live In Bern - available October 20,2015 on Capri Records - these two mainstream jazz veterans are captured on a recording for the first time. Joining them are Jeff Hamilton's trio with pianist Tamir Hendelman and bassist Christoph Luty. While the co-leaders have each been performing for some four decades, this powerfully elegant album affirms that both men remain in peak form as creative stylists. Now mature jazz masters, the Hamiltons retain a youthful gait in their playing fortified by the deep wisdom of experience.
Recorded in a compact session at Marians Jazzroom a week after the quartet performed at the club as part the International Jazzfestival Bern, Live In Bern is a case study in the relevance of contemporary swing. Soaring through American Songbook standards ("September In the Rain,""This Can't Be Love" and "You and the Night and the Music" among them) and jazz classics (Benny Carter's "Key Largo," Dizzy Gillespie's "Woody 'n You" and "The Champ," Harry Edison's "Centerpiece") Scott Hamilton displays the booting rhythmic drive and the vivacious phrasing that has made his playing a byword for mainstream swing since he emerged on the scene in the mid-1970s. On the judiciously chosen ballads (Mai Waldron's "Soul Eyes" and Billy Strayhorn's "Ballad For the Very Tired and Very Sad Lotus Eaters") the warm toned tenorist demonstrates his elegant and lyrical nature, bringing new life to the much-recorded Waldron tune while proving that Strayhorn's lovely and affecting composition is deserving of greater attention.
Jeff Hamilton, a drummers-drummer who combines perfect time and passionate interplay, once again offers up his technical mastery and intuitive percussive artistry in the service of group swing. A selfless musical giant, the drummer's impeccable stick work levitates the band while his brush work calls to mind such former masters of that fading art as Joe Jones and Ed Thigpen, and his original composition "Sybille's Day" proves him a witty composer. Alert and inspired, pianist Hendelman and bassist Luty add seamless support and pithy improvisations throughout. In the hands of Scott and Jeff Hamilton-and their valued compatriots-swing is alive, well and poised for the future.
"Pairing Scott Hamilton and Jeff Hamilton has been a long-time dream of mine," says Capri Records President Thomas Burns. "Jeff is on a lot of recordings on Capri as a leader with his dynamic trio, as co-leader with The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and as a sideman on numerous sessions. Scott and I have always talked about recording with Capri when he became free. When I approached Scott and Jeff about a Hamilton & Hamilton recording they were enthusiastic to say the least. I am grateful that the time has finally come."”
More information about the recording will be available on www.caprirecords.com, www.hamiltonjazz.com and www.scotthamiltonsax.com.
You can sample the music on the CD by viewing the following video that features The Champ.