The Pearcy / Gratzmiller Jazz Quintet, co-led by trumpeter Wayne Pearcy and saxophonist Aaron Gratzmiller, mark their debut with 10 songs nearly a decade in the making. Also featured on Over the Edge are Matt Savage on piano, Greg Toro on bass, and Fabio Rojas on drums. They gathered on Oct. 4-5, 2017 at Keep the Edge Studios in Quincy, Mass., with the objective of recording a contemporary-sounding full-length album that continues in the tradition of straight-ahead jazz – and succeeded.
Over the Edge opens with “Beantown Bahp,” which is energetic, full-on traditional jazz in structure with a wonderful walking bass solid underneath, over which several motifs are deftly worked. With great solos from all the musicians, this is n opener which sets the tone for the rest of the album. The title track is fast paced, with a well-worked thematic structure, tied cleverly together by interesting bass lines from Greg Toro (Chris Brown Quartet) running under the full-pelt saxophone, trumpet and piano solos. “Yellow Mood” is softer, gentle and has a lovely, interesting piano opening by Matt Savage (Splash Variations, Matt Savage Groove Experiment) that leads into a trumpet melody which is a gentle affair. That’s then picked up by the sax and caressed for a while, before being handed back to the trumpet. The middle section sees the trumpet soaring high over the stalwart rhythm section.
“You’re Too Nice” picks up the pace and there is a big-band essence in the structure and arrangement, with trumpet and saxophone in harmony and a gorgeous saxophone solo. This is one of those pieces which you just listen to. The Pearcy / Gratzmiller Jazz Quintet introduces “Pieces of Mind” with strong harmonies from sax and trumpet before the rolling theme is set, over which the trumpet rises, falls away and comes again. The middle section is sax over a walking bass and again. The playing is intricate, perfectly pitched and really quite special. Wayne Percy on trumpet is excellent.
“The Defector” is racy, with full band interaction right the way through and again features stellar saxophone and trumpet solos. The rapid fingering of the trumpet at times almost falls over itself and, towards the finish, there comes a dynamite drum solo from Fabio Rojas (Terry Lyne Carrington, Fabio Rojas Quartet). “Feelings of Summer” is less dynamic but well structured and the sax and trumpet rise over the themes in the rhythm section, with a great piano solo from Matt Savage. The second half of this track sees the musicians taking off, working themes and then coming down to a softer section which builds layers in to the finish. “Poor Man’s Doctor” is interesting, with a bass solo over which the trumpet works its way, stealing the solo spot and later handing it to the sax.
“Blues 88” is another trick in the armory of this interesting band and sees harmonies, solo spots and well-worked togetherness, over a solid blues rhythm and structure. There is a great piano solo interspersed among the solid, tightness of the ensemble and the bass spot is excellent. “Something About the Moon” closes this Pearcy / Gratzmiller Jazz Quintet project, and is just over nine minutes of waltzy, swaying counter rhythms and delicate harmonies with some intriguing temp and rhythm changes. Though slower than most of the album, this track somehow carries through it the energy of the band.
Wayne Pearcy has won numerous accolades, taking second place at the prestigious ITG College Jazz Competition in 2011 as a solo player. He has studied with some of the heavy hitters in jazz, including Tiger Okoshi, Darren Barrett, and Wynton Marsalis and also plays classical music. A believer that the performance and study of classical music is important to the success of all musicians, Pearcy has been part of Boston Landmarks Orchestra’s educational outreach team since 2013, as well as staff member at Berklee College of Music and a board member of Friends in Art, an American Council of the Blind affiliate group which offers scholarships to students of the arts.
Aaron Gratzmiller has performed with notable artists including Kurt Elling, Antonio Hart, Robert Villera, and Matt Savage. He teaches at Cambridge Arts Academy (Somerville, Mass.) and North Main Music (Nashua, N.H.), and is involved with the New England Jazz Enrichment Foundation. He majored in music at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Together in the Pearcy / Gratzmiller Jazz Quintet, they’ve created an album that has energy, soul and a slight sense of the unpredictable. Over the Edge is full of references to classic jazz elements, bebop vocabulary and old fashioned blues with use of today’s improvisational techniques. There is an old school musical feel but also interesting, more modern improvisational techniques which has appeal to traditional jazz listeners and those seeking something more redolent of the new, energetic jazz vibe which is strong today.
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