Rob Parton's Ensemble 9+: Relentless
Calligram Records

Rob Parton may no longer qualify as a young lion, but there's roar aplenty on his latest Ensemble 9+ recording. Firmly ensconced in the Chicago music scene for decades, the esteemed trumpeter and educator issued eleven JAZZTECH Big Band albums when not otherwise sitting in with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and artists such as Andrea Bocelli, Marcus Roberts, and Johnny Mathis. Five years ago, he headed south to become Professor of Jazz Trumpet and Chair of Jazz Studies at the University of North Texas (earlier teaching gigs included stints at Capital, Roosevelt, and Chicago State universities), mentor young trumpet prodigies, and direct the UNT Two O'Clock Lab Band.

Combining some of his UNT colleagues with first-call players from the Dallas-Fort Worth region, Parton midwifed Relentless into being. On the energized set, pieces by Freddie Hubbard, Billy Strayhorn, Dizzy Gillespie, and Wayne Shorter rub shoulders with two Parton originals and new compositions and arrangements by fellow trumpeter Ron Ruvio, trombonist DJ Rice, Ariel Glassman, and Josh Cossette. Other arrangements are by Parton's UNT colleague Richard DeRosa, Duquesne University jazz professor Mike Tomaro, Augustine Alonso, Cliff Colnot, and Tom Matta. While a few personnel changes mix things up, the album's largely performed by saxophonists Brad Leali (alto), Shelley Carol (tenor), Rylan Villareal (baritone), trumpeters Parton and Chris Van Leeuwen, trombonist Rice, pianist Fred Sanders, bassist Lynn Seaton, and, sharing the drum chair, Quincy Davis and Steve Barnes.

Establishing the album's classic big band vibe, Rice's “Open For Business” initiates the set on a muscular high, horns blazing and Davis guiding the ensemble through its uptempo blues paces. Carol's first up and takes no time elevating the performance with an acrobatic tenor solo, after which Van Leeuwen and Sanders impose themselves as forcefully on the breathless material. Also audible amidst the roar is Rosana Eckert, who weaves a wordless vocal into the arrangement. Slightly less feverish and featuring a flamboyant Parton in the spotlight, Hubbard's “Straight Life” is given a Latin jazz treatment rendered all the more enticing by José Aponté's congas, timbales, and shakers. Dialing down even further, the group digs into Strayhorn's “Intimacy of the Blues” with palpable delight, Sanders joyfully riding the lightly swinging groove and the others following suit. Muted trumpets add to the allure, as do fiery contributions from one-time Ellingtonian Carol and plunger-equipped trumpeter Rodney Booth.

Glassman's wistful ballad “Relentless” nudges the album into a more contemporary realm, with Eckert's wordless contribution and inspired scatting helping to amplify the material's lyrical character and Parton exposing his gentler side in his solo. So too does “Shorter Images,” which came about when Parton asked Ruvio to write an affectionately moody tribute for the band (watch for a Carol solo that harmonically channels a bit of Shorter's enigmatic spirit). The late tenor-man's own “Ping Pong” appears also, Tomaro's arrangement of the early ‘60s tune (first recorded when Shorter was with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers as its saxist and music director) making the most of its blues-bop tone. Parton also pays homage to Mark Colby, a friend, saxophonist, and fellow educator who passed in 2020, with “Thank You Colby,” the heartfelt tribute distinguished by an overdubbed chorale of alto, tenor, and baritone saxes by Mike Smith.

As noted, Relentless is fully steeped in the classic big band sound, even if a few pieces lend it a more contemporary feel. Don't read that, however, as a swipe against it but rather a clarification of its particular character. Listeners with a love for rousing performances by a generously stacked and talented outfit will surely warm to the nonet's tight, in-the-tradition treatments of Gillespie's “Ray's Idea,” Rice's “Open For Business,” and Shorter's “Ping Pong,” to name three.

August 2024