Gerard Presencer - Platypus (1998) [Reissue 2000] PS3 ISO + DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

Gerard Presencer's recording debut as a leader is very impressive. He's a virtuoso trumpeter but plays flugelhorn throughout this recording with four of the younger virtuosi from the London jazz scene. Here the normal grammar and syntax of jazz are permanently in evidence, the rhythm section of Cleyndert and Stacey is magnificent, and there are are fine solos from the leader, pianist Rebello and guitarist Parricelli. Presencer, who wrote seven of the pieces, already seems an accomplished composer and even his rearrangement of the eighth and last piece, Bobby Timmons' Moanin' (retitled Still Moanin')is a highly imaginative, almost cubist deconstruction of the original. Presencer never forces his solos - he's prepared to wait, but has plenty in reserve. All the performances are excellent, but Afterthought, with its moody resonances, passionate flugelhorn and eloquent guitar, is a gem.

In the early 1970s, different jazz artists had different ways of acknowledging funk and soul. Miles Davis, John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Larry Coryell, and Chick Corea's Return to Forever played outright fusion; their music was an innovative, forward-thinking mixture of jazz, rock, and funk. But at Creed Taylor's CTI Records, the electric jazz of Freddie Hubbard, Joe Farrell, and others wasn't really fusion – CTI had more of a "post-bop meets funk and pop" outlook. And similarly, Gerard Presencer's 1997 recording Platypus combines jazz and funk without being outright fusion; on this melodic CD, the flugelhornist sounds like a post-bopper who has started incorporating funk rhythms and using electric instruments. Presencer's appealing tone is greatly influenced by Hubbard (with hints of Miles Davis), and original pieces like "In the Air" and "Still Moanin'" wouldn't have been out of place on a CTI recording that Taylor produced in the early 1970s. Platypus (which employs Jason Rebello on keyboards, John Paricelli on guitar, Andrew Cleyndert on bass, and Jeremy Stacey on drums) isn't innovative or remarkable, but it's definitely enjoyable – and you have to admire the fact that Presencer wrote everything on the CD instead of inundating listeners with overdone standards.

Tracklist:

01. Still Moanin'
02. Blue-Eyed Boy
03. Crimplene Lover
04. Married Woman
05. Platypus
06. Afterthought
07. In The Air
08. Green-Eyed Girl

Personnel
Gerard Presencer - flugelhorn
Jason Rebello - piano
John Paricelli - guitar
Andrew Cleyndert - bass
Jeremy Stacey - drums
Chris Fletcher - percussion on "2"

All tracks written and arranged by Gerard Presencer.
Produced by Jeremy Stacey. Engineered by James Brow.
Recorded on July 8-9, 1997 at Rak Recording Studios.
Mastered by Tony Bridge at Whitfield Street Studios.
LINN Records # AKD 139


Thanks to ManWhoCan!
Uncompressed SACD ISO size > 2,19 GB
>