John Moulder Quintet: The Eleventh Hour

Rating: ★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Tim Warfield (ts, ss)
Robert Glasper (p, ky)
Jaleel Shaw (as)
Gregoire Maret (hca)
Kevin Hays (p, v)
Robert Glasper
Mark Turner (ts)
Tom Harrell (t)
Johnathan Blake (d)
Ben Street (b)

Label:

Sunnyside

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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