feature photo: Lea Alexandrine
Jazz musician, author and educator Steve Fidyk puts on drum classes in the classroom, from books and on records…especially his own records. Battle Lines continues the master class instruction he gave on Heads Up! and Allied Forces. Like his prior records, this is a small combo date where Fidyk brings a big band mentality; after all, he’s also co-led a couple of big-band records. This time, though, Fidyk changes up the entire backing band, opting for the enduring sax/trumpet/piano/bass/drums layout, with Xavier Perez (sax), Joe Magnarelli (trumpet), Peter Zak (piano) and Michael Karn (acoustic bass).
Mixing up originals with well-chosen covers, Fidyk leads with proficiency and a full range of tactics. Eddie Harris’ blues-minded “Ignominy” shows the subtle power of Fidyk, a drummer whose tremendous chops are always employed in the service of the whole group performance. Even when Perez and Magnarelli take their solo turns, Fidyk keeps the rhythm crisp with well-placed fills. Fidyk’s own “Battle Lines” begins with bit of a head fake: the drummer strings us along briefly with a stomping rhythm and swiftly launches into a swing clinic. Perez manages to match the energy and feeds off those drums that won’t quit.
Fidyk forms a funky strut with Karn for “Loopholes” and Magnarelli and Perez trade licks within that pocket before Zak shows off his perky chops. The Chopin-inspired Dave Brubeck song “Thank You (Dziekuje)” is a chance for Fidyk to show the world that Brubeck created so many more strong melodies than is what is generally assumed, and Fidyk’s band sets this one to an even-tempered waltz.
“Bootlickers Blues” is your standard, twelve bar blues on the surface, but Fidyk ingeniously oscillates between 3/4 and 4/4 time in a way that doesn’t sound awkward at all. Fidyk’s understated brush strokes, Zak’s shapely piano and Karn’s brief but articulate aside sets the right mood for the hushed ballad “Lullaby For Lori and John.”
Charlie Parker’s “Steeplechase” is done up in a straight up, pure bebop manner, and Perez is up to the task in the Yardbird role, but check Fidyk’s fresh and original call-and-response counterpoints (as well as his drum solo on “#Social Loafing”) in the spirit of his late mentor, Joe Morello.
As post-bop dates go, Battle Lines a fine example of the form. This is in no small part because there’s a guy behind the drum kit who knows the style and the tradition behind it well, using that know-how to elevate everyone else. Battle Lines will drop on June 26, 2020 from Blue Canteen Music.
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