Tony Passarell 4tet

Saxophonist Passarell (BUB, Hunting Game, etc.), guitarist Sean Lehe (Uncle Harlens Band), bassist Gerry Pineda (Mind X) and drummer Zach Hash are captured live in a seven-song set recorded last November at a winery in West Sacramento. While all four musicians play well in other, non-straightahead jazz contexts, on these sides they simmer down quite nicely. Passarell goes for a heavily reverbed tone on the old schoolyard shanty “How Dry I Am,” which segues into the title cut; elsewhere he blows straight and sweet. Lehe is a fine guitarist who knows when to dial in and when to lay out; he opts for a rounded, Wes Montgomery sound whilst chording, but his solos (e.g. on “Now’s the Time”) veer into a territory somewhere between Pat Martino and Jimi Hendrix. And the rhythm section of Pineda and Hash can groove ethereally and solidly, which makes for an altogether splendid outing from these lads.