A Song I Thought I Heard Buddy Sing

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Drummer Jerry Granelli takes his inspiration here from novelist Michael Ondaatje's Coming Through Slaughter, an imaginative reconstruction of the life of legendary New Orleans trumpeter Buddy Bolden at the birth of jazz and the 20th century. The emphasis is on the blues and the sensual feel of the jazz tradition, and Granelli has assembled an interesting band of players you might not normally associate with each another, including altoist Kenny Garrett, trombonist Julian Priester, guitarists Bill Frisell and Robben Ford, and bassist Anthony Cox.

The "Slaughter" suite is broken into four parts, and there's a mixture of original tunes by Granelli, Priester, and arranger Wayne Horvitz, along with some classic jazz pieces. Garrett comes up with a creamy, sinuous sound that works well on Johnny Hodges's "Wanderlust" and also on the surprisingly slow second version of Ornette Coleman's "Blues Connotation." Priester covers many of the trombone bases, from rapid-fire bop to the slow, vocalized lines in his own "Prelude to Silence." The styles of Frisell and Ford both suit the blues-based material, and they dig into Bird's "Billie's Bounce" and the laid-back version of "I Put a Spell on You" with equal enthusiasm. It's a relaxed, funky, thoroughly enjoyable set, a tribute to Granelli's leadership. --Stuart Broomer

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