John Moulder Quintet: The Eleventh Hour
Author: Mike Hobart
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Musicians: |
Tim Warfield (ts, ss) |
Label: |
Sunnyside |
Magazine Review Date: |
August/2012 |
Catalogue Number: |
SSC 1304 |
RecordDate: |
April 2010 |
Too often, a combination of dull sound quality and loose playing makes live recordings little more than nice momentos. This set of originals from Moulder's post-bop quintet doesn't quite break the mould – the recording from Chicago's Green Mill jazz club sounds a little too straight off the desk – but it bears repeated listening, if only for the tightly structured themes and fluent soloing from the guitarist leader and saxophonist Geof Bradfield. The slightly under-recorded Bradfield has a nice sense of structure and some interesting harmonic pathways. And McCoy Tyner soundalike pianist Jim Trompeter keeps the rhythm section's energy levels high – neither bassist Larry Gray nor drummer Paul Wertico do much more than follow Trompeter's pedals and splayed chords. Moulder, though, is a Chicago heavyweight with an individual voice, and, with half-a-dozen own-name CDs under his belt, should be better known. He has a warm sound, a stinging attack and a dark energy that seems slightly at odds with his calling as a Catholic priest.

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