Jerry Bergonzi – Simply Put – Savant SCD 2099, 59:50 ****:
(Jerry Bergonzi – tenor & soprano saxophone & producer; Bruce Barth – piano; Dave Santoro – bass; Andrea Michelutti – drums)
Jerry Bergonzi has long been considered by fellow musicians as a fine, powerful saxophonist, but among the general jazz audience he has remained an underground figure: well regarded by those who have heard his recordings or seen him perform, but hardly a famous name. Bergonzi has been a fixture on his hometown Boston scene for decades, and like many other jazz artists he earns great responses from European touring. Perhaps his understated prominence is partially based on a calculated approach to improvisation that is not conceptual, expanding his chops rather than trying to enlarge his fan base. One listen to Simply Put, however, will convince anyone Bergonzi is a master musician with clarity, subtlety, and precision.
On Simply Put, Bergonzi is joined by a top-notch rhythm section consisting of pianist Bruce Barth, bassist Dave Santoro, and drummer Andrea Michelutti. During the one-hour program, the quartet tackles seven Bergonzi originals and three covers, ranging from upbeat burners to reflective offerings, implementing a spectrum in which the four musicians can showcase their varied talents.
The album begins with the bop number "Mr. MB," a somber but heated tribute to Bergonzi’s compatriot and friend, Michael Brecker. The cut has a matter-of-fact modus operandi, Bergonzi’s unfettered soloing relying as much on listening to what the rhythm section is doing as marking a pathway through the melodic lines. During this and on the rest of the material one can hear Bergonzi’s knowledge and respect for drums and piano, where he sometimes takes on the role of a rhythm instrument and gets deep inside the time.
The band follows with a traditional take of the depression era classic, "Dancing in the Dark," originally a vehicle for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Bergonzi keeps things straightforward, changing the chords around a little, but otherwise letting the conception do its own thing. Barth contributes a toe-tapping and finger-snapping keyboard solo that swings like Sinatra used to. Santoro then proceeds with a swaying bass solo, and Bergonzi re-enters to wrap it up. On the other interpretative pieces, Bergonzi also produces an adept equilibrium between convention and improvisation. He imparts a fervent reading to "Come Fly with Me," during which he and the other musicians supply proof positive of their mastery of the jazz vernacular, tweaking the chordal changes. The ensemble slows the pace on a mid-tempo version of "Out of Nowhere," where Bergonzi thoroughly reharmonizes the tune, devising a tango-ish twist and modifying the arrangement into a minor key. Mindful of the ditty’s history as a vocal hit, Bergonzi’s phrasing conveys a singer’s poise that aptly suits the lyrical melody.
However, the record’s most intriguing and interesting moments come when Bergonzi turns to his own compositions. "Casadiche" carries an evocative ambience akin to some of Charles Mingus’s material. It starts as a penetrating ballad with a noteworthy melody, then progresses to a double-timed theme enhanced by an alternating tension and release, as the quartet shifts from hastened sections to calmer portions. Bergonzi and Barth duet on the ghostly ballad "Crossing the Naeff," which Bergonzi explains in his illuminating liner notes is the transition "to the other side of consciousness, of non-physical reality, when we sleep." The metaphysical imagery is richly represented by the track’s esoteric harmonic development. The enigmatically worded "Transphybian" is another unusual work, a minor blues that oddly never gets to the IV chord, because the arrangement drops down a half-step, pushes forward to another key, and then spins back to the original key.
The outing ends with two more gregarious nuggets. The meditative ballad "What If?" was penned during the 2008 presidential campaign, and postulates on the question, "What if Sarah Palin was ever the President?" Bergonzi does not render an answer during the slightly portentous piece, but the tune does provide supple possibilities for extended comping from Barth and Bergonzi, who add some tender fills. The performance finishes with "Malaga," named after a Spanish port city that is a regular stop on Bergonzi’s various continental tours. Here, Bergonzi uses the soprano sax to muster a smooth, dulcet approach that employs his storied intervallic harmonic technique. The 11/4 time signature even manages to indirectly conjure up a Moorish flavor that recalls Malaga’s former position as a trading center.
Simply Put is an honest and personal portrait of a jazz expert who has been under the radar of many jazz aficionados for too long. Give this a spin and you could discover what Branford Marsalis and other players have already found out: Jerry Bergonzi is a genuinely overlooked jazz artist.
TrackList:
1. Mr. MB
2. Dancing in the Dark
3. Casadiche
4. Come Fly with Me
5. Wipper Snapper
6. Out of Nowhere
7. Crossing the Naeff
8. Transphybian
9. What If?
10. Malaga
— Doug Simpson
