Bernard Primeau Jazz Ensemble with Ray Anderson Virage
(Swing’in Time)
reviewed by Jeffrey Stoub

The first tune on Bernard Primeau's new disc- Bill Mahar's Southend Stomp- pretty much sets the pace here. It's a romping, stomping, pull-out-the-stops swinging kind of disc with Ray Anderson and his slippery signature trombone sound leading the charge. It really is a lot of fun.

But he's not the only one getting in on the act. In fact he's only a presence on a few pieces. All the players really let it out for most of these tunes, with Bill Mahar's growling, plunger-muted trumpet keeping pace with Anderson, and Kelly Jefferson getting in some excellent sounds on tenor sax. Two other tunes- Mahar's Traffic Jamm'n and Anderson's Pheromonical, both played with much energy during Anderson's appearance with Altsys earlier this year, show off some great playing with plenty of horn solos in a sort of Charles Mingus big band vein.

As for Bernard Primeau, he pretty much lays back and directs a great selection of instrumentalists from the back of the stage. Only on the final tune, Solo pour Elaine, does he come out front with an extended drum solo.

Other pieces on this album tend to be a bit more reserved, like Coltrane's Naima and Monk's Ruby My Dear, which are both rendered in fine style although without adding much to those standards. Oliver Jones’ Dizzy-nest, while pretty straightforward, lets pianist Eric Harding stretch out on that great melody.

Bassist Fréderic Alarie, who always seems to have just the right touch for the style of music he's accompanying, really gets to shine on another Mahar tune, Numbly. While Alarie often gets buried by all the growling on some of the more up-beat tunes like Southend Stomp, he really pushes his playing here with a great opening.

More about: Bernard Primeau; Ray Anderson; Virage