Round Midnight

Tempest Little Big Band Round Midnight One Saturday afternoon in April of 1997, nine Atlanta jazz musicians assembled outside a local watering hole, shuffling about, waiting for a rehearsal to begin. The joint was locked, the club owner was late, and we all knew that big bands were dead. When we finally sat down and began reading the charts, the cats perked up, the club owner got giggly, and we were on our way to nearly three years of weekly bookings. That Saturday afternoon was Tempest's first and last rehearsal. Jazz musicians hate to rehearse. They're all about improvisation, not only when standing up to solo, but with music and life in general. It's not so much a relish of potential disaster as it is an addiction to challenge. We incorporate tangible uncertainty into our gigs. Not a club date goes by when Tempest doesn't play something with the ink still wet: new arrangements by noted local orchestrators. Invariably, we format tunes differently and spontaneously from gig to gig. It's kind of an unspoken, Hey, let's find out in front of lots of people what happens when we try this. It's fun. We're a nine-piece big band featuring a vocalist, nurturing and maintaining the spirit and appeal of a quintet. This CD was a long time coming: our first recorded in a studio. Nothing here was played more than a handful of times prior to the session. Three arrangements were brand new to us. Round Midnight is not meant to be a hard-core jazz album. It's simply music we like-recorded in five hours on one hot Atlanta afternoon-showcasing a snap shot of the 150+ song repertoire now in Tempest's book. We love to play the blues. Captain Cheerio is one of two sets'-worth of disparate blues tunes we could have chosen here. We enjoy playing black-tie affairs, hence, the more danceable fare of I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face, Satin Doll, and Sway. Tempest has a deep, abiding reverence for the jazz classics, so you'll hear Shiny Stockings, Caravan, and Thermo performed as they were originally intended. We love it all and hope it shows. Set List Captain Cheerio is a blues shuffle taken at a brisker tempo than originally intended. Saxophonists love to glissando, probably because they generally believe they play everything better than any other instrumentalists (read: trombone envy), and here they have a shot at pure gliss....er, bliss. Haydon's opening piano solo rings with purity of tone and resplendent ideas-attributes for which he's well known. Lead trumpet Chapman is consistent and refined, reveling in the instrument's difficult upper register. Lopes is king of inside-outside tenor playing, stretching from the upper altissmo to the guttural low end of the horn within a few notes. It's wonderfully base. Not long ago, Funderburke seemed more student than pro, but now he's the t-bone-ist and arranger about town-a gifted man with iron chops. I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face is accomplished here as a rumba, a gentle treatment featuring Skelton's vibrant alto in the lead. Arranger Pete McGuiness' choice of harmonies illuminates the moodiness of the song's libretto-a classic, melancholy tale of relenting love from the musical My Fair Lady. Funderburke never fails to pique interest while soloing on trombone, playing what might be called dangerous notes that skirt the boundaries of conventional harmonic choices. It's tense yet humorous, resolving phrases late yet completely. Haydon is featured on piano, singly emphasizing the beauty of his chosen instrument. Caravan only slightly expounds upon trumpeter Freddie Hubbard's classic version, transcribed here for nonet versus Hubbard's original 1960s sextet. Of course, Duke Ellington provides the impetus, having first recorded the song in 1937. Atlanta-based trumpeter Walker pays tribute to Hubbard via his full, meaty tone and robust style. Difficult improvised passages spin effortlessly from his horn, with range and nuance presenting no problem whatsoever. Lopes again plumbs the depth and leverage of the tenor, summoning mystery and intrigue on the A sections, while offer