Half Notes: Pierre Dorge Quartet – Ballad Round The Left Corner (2010)

This was a near-total crapshoot. I’ve never heard of guitarist Pierre Dorge, but the names Billy Hart (drums) and John Tchicai (soprano and alto sax) were familiar. What I ended up with was something that is mostly straight-ahead jazz, with a fair bit of angularity. Dorge’s playing goes from the ethereal to way out there. He has a Jim Hall-type tone, but even less electric. Gorgeously recorded, it sounds like just a couple of mics. It feels like you’re right there in the room.

Mark Saleski

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