A Guitar Trio Homage to Bebop Classics

courtesy of DL Media

A little less than a month ago, Sony Music Entertainment / Masterworks released its latest album of jazz guitarist Pasquale Grasso entitled Be-Bop! Taken as a “historical exercise,” the album can be taken as a follow-up to Pasquale Plays Duke, Grasso’s personal reflections on the Duke Ellington repertoire. As might be guessed, the new album is devoted almost entirely to trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and saxophonist Charlie Parker. That includes two tunes that they composed jointly, “Shaw  'Nuff” and “Groovin' High.” The other Parker selections are “Cheryl,” “Ornithology,” and “Quasimodo.” The Gillespie offerings are “A Night in Tunisia” and “Be-Bop.” There is also one Thelonious Monk track, “Ruby, My Dear.” “I’m in a Mess” was written by Pearl White and found its way into Gillespie’s “book.” The remaining track is a Grasso original: “Lamento Della Campagnia.”

As was the case on Pasquale Plays Duke, Grasso leads a trio, whose other members are Ari Roland on bass and Keith Balla on drums. Samara Joy, who was also a “guest vocalist” on the Ellington album, joins the trio to sing “I’m in a Mess.” Taken as a whole, this album should provide a generous dose of nostalgia for those with fond memories of both Gillespie and Parker. Most of the improvisational work unfolds during Grasso’s performances, but there are a few “intrusions” by Roland that broaden the scope of innovations.

I suspect I shall be showing my age by my delight in a contemporary musician devoting so much attention to great masters from the previous century. The fact is that there was so much off-the-wall originality in the Parker discography that I was quickly drawn to a present-day soloist with the chops to explore new paths of inventiveness that enhance Bird’s reputation, rather than detracting from it. Mind you, I doubt that anything will ever tear me away from the many Gillespie, Parker, and Monk albums I have added to my collection; but Grasso’s own point of view offers equally engaging listening opportunities. This is one of those occasions on which past and present meet together on common ground, and Grasso’s contemporary performances can easily be taken as new lights to shine on the many explorations of twentieth-century bebop.