NEW RELEASE – CHRIS HAZELTON
Oscillations and vibrations on repeat.
Personnel
Chris Hazelton (organ), Brett Jackson (tenor saxophone, bariton saxophone), Peter Schlamb (vibraphone), John Kizilarmut (drums),
Recorded
on February 1 & 2, 2024 at Massive Sound Studios in Shawnee, Kansas City
Released
as Cellar Music in 2026
Track listing
A Sound For Sore Ears / Summer In Central Park / Voodoo Village / Paris Of The Plains / First Snow / Brisk Breeze Through The Streets / A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing / Speedball / On A Misty Night
A strong effort, original to boot, for predecessors are rare, perhaps aficionados will remember Big John Patton’s Let ‘M Roll with Bobby Hutcherson, the Johnny Lytlle / Milton Harris or Johnny Hammond Smith / Lem Winchester albums, or, very recently, Peter Johnstone’s excellent Resistance Is Futile with Joe Locke.
Hazelton makes sure that his organ does not overpower the vibes, giving it plenty elbow room, while their sounds gel like tea and honey. Covers from Horace Silver, Duke Ellington, Tadd Dameron and Lee Morgan (cookin’ take on Speedball, Jackson on husky and bossy baritone) alternate with strong originals, no filler, with all soloists thoroughly engaged.
Paris Of The Plains is the sort of contagious melody that one keeps humming afterwards for days on end, obviously referring to Hazelton’s home base, warm but cold in the wintertime, the subject of First Snow, a lovely lullaby-ish piece that’s all about snow flakes falling on the branches, daddy checking in on the kids early in the morning, getting ready for work and staring out of the kitchen window with a hot steaming cup of coffee in hand, contented and slightly melancholic.
It’s tailor-made for the organ and vibes mix. To be sure, the combination is tasteful throughout In Rotation, a most welcome expansion of the B3 format.
Find In Rotation on Bandcamp here: