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THOM ROTELLA 4-TET: Out of the Blues by Edward Blanco APRIL 2008 
After years of studio work in Los Angeles and carving out a career in the "smooth " jazz world, guitarist/composer Thom Rotella returns to his jazz roots on
the contemporary jazz release of "Out of The Blues." Recording with a new group of like minded modern jazz veterans, his new 4-tet brings the enormous talents of bassist Luther Hughes and drummer Roy McCurdy, of the Cannonball Adderly and Sonny Rollins bands, together with Llew Matthews and Rich Eames who share the duties the on piano, all musicians who have worked with the guitarist in LA venues.
Containing a selective blend of originals and re-arranged standards, the guitarist delivers a ten-track burner of an album sure to attract critical attention. That attention surely begins with boppish mid tempo opener "Who Dat?" where Rotella comes off with sturdy Wes Montgomery-like riffs. True to the title of the album, the tune, "Bluze 4 Youze" swings to a delicious bluesy rhythm featuring a Matthews’s solo and the leader’s delicate plucking of the strings. The music turns lush and beautiful on the ballad standard of "My Foolish Heart" where McCurdy’s soft brush strokes provides the gentle background to Rotella’s humble reading of this classic. Rotella does a marvelous job on a reharmonized rendition of "The Way You Look Tonight" changing the texture of the piece almost forgetting you’re listening to a standard and not a new number. The other old standard given new treatment here is "I Hear A Rhapsody." Two of the better pieces on this disc are "Never Say Goodbye," and the brisk Latin-tinged burner of "All Ways." The program ends with the melody rich ten-minute sizzler "Be Here Now" putting an exciting exclamation point to this very entertaining gem of an album. |
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VINTAGE GUITAR REVIEW THOM ROTELLA 4-TET: Out of the Blues 
MAY 2008CD Review: www.vintageguitar.com A few years back, Rotella scored a smooth jazz hit with his album Without Words. But like his most obvious influence, Wes Montgomery, the commercial/crossover material had a validity of its own but was ultimately a detour from his original path -- improvising swinging, bluesy jazz at its highest level. For years a maintstay in L.A.'s studios (where Tommy Tedesco helped him get a foothold), Rotella's playing has popped up on albums by everyone from Bette Midler to Sparks, from Stanley Turrentine to Donna Summer -- not to mention Sinatra and Pavarotti. But on his own, his versatility demonstrates itself in more ways than just being a stylistic chameleon. He's equally at home sensitively interpreting a ballad like "My Foolish Heart" (with a beautiful, unaccompanied chord-melody intro), economically letting "Never Say Goodbye" find its own Latin groove, re-harmonizing "The Way You Look Tonight," or tipping his hat to Wes on the appropriately titles "Bluze4Youze". |
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ONLINE REVIEW: MIDWEST RECORD Media Alert: THOM ROTELLA 4-TET: Out of the Blues APRIL 2008 CD Review: www.midwestrecord.com That this is smart jazz is one thing, that it also signals the return of Don Elfman to the recording wars is a cause for celebration unto itself. It might not mean anything to those of you that aren’t too cool for school, but from the rest of us, hi Don. The guitar ace rounds up a crew of stellar players that have flying time with Nancy Wilson between them and together they mix up a sweet set card of new takes on old faves. If you feel like digging something with shades of that Wes Montgomery vibe, this is your next stop.(Four Bar) |
THOM ROTELLA 4-TET: Out of the Blues (Four-Bar) JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 
With Out of the Blues, Thom Rotella has discarded his infernal need to please by fitting neatly into the smooth-jazz marketplace. On this purely swinging session, fueled by the stellar drumming of jazz veteran Roy McCurdy (a valued sideman during the ’60s with the Art Farmer-Benny Golson Jazztet, Sonny Rollins and the Cannonball Adderley Quintet), the guitarist goes all the way back to his pre-smooth-jazz roots by paying homage to two of his biggest influences, Wes Montgomery and George Benson.
From the breezy midtempo opener "Who Dat?" to the laid-back and greasy "Bluze 4 Youze" to his jaunty 3/4 swinger "The Dr. Is In," Rotella flaunts a warm, robust tone and Benson-esque fluidity in his single-note lines, along with touches of Wes-inspired octaves work. A rhythmically assured player and melodic improviser with an abundance of chops, he is capably supported in his fretboard flights by the comfortable rhythm tandem of McCurdy and bassist Luther Hughes, a former sideman to the late Gene Harris of Three Sounds fame. Llew Matthews and Rich Eames split piano duties on these 10 tracks. McCurdy’s tasty brushwork underscores an elegant, reharmonized rendition of "The Way You Look Tonight" and a sublime reading of "My Foolish Heart," which opens with Rotella’s lush chordal melody intro. The guitarist also kicks off a lightly swinging rendition of "I Hear a Rhapsody" with an impressive solo guitar intro that would do his L.A. studio mentor, Tommy Tedesco, proud. Another highlight is the sparse, striking ballad "Shimmer," taken at the kind of ultra-slow tempo that Betty Carter would routinely luxuriate in. McCurdy, who also played with the late Ms. Carter back in the early ’60s, handles that snail’s pace with seasoned aplomb. The buoyant closer "Be Here Now" is possibly the most commercial track on the collection, but it’s still far hipper than anything on Home Again. -Bill Milkowski |
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FOUR-BAR MUSIC DEBUTS WITH NEW RECORDING by THOM ROTELLA 4-TET
UPDATED 10/17/07 Eclectic music company presented by Rotella and Donald Elfman Guitarist Thom Rotella and recording industry survivor Donald Elfman have joined forces to form a new music venture. Four-Bar Music has been created to celebrate past connections and to find new ways to make and market good music. The first recording from the new company is by Rotella’s group – he calls it a 4-tet – and it’s something of a return to basics for the guitarist and his cohorts, players who have worked together in venues in Los Angeles. The band includes: drummer Roy McCurdy, a legend from the earlier days of stellar jazz by Cannonball Adderley and Sonny Rollins; bassist Luther Hughes, who graced a trio led by Gene Harris of Three Sounds fame; pianist Llew Matthews, who’s played with Jackie McLean, Bobby Hutcherson, Kenny Dorham and more; and composer/pianist Rich Eames. All of Rotella’s choice band members have, coincidentally, worked with Nancy Wilson. Out of the Blues is Thom Rotella’s vision of returning to the kind of music and playing – exemplified by Wes Montgomery – that drew him to music in the first place. Four-Bar Music has been conceived as a way to actively seek inspiration in any music that is rich in the sense of adventure but also takes strength in the power of the past. Thom Rotella has been a force in recordings that has found an audience at radio but never truly compromised an imaginative sense of musical story-telling. Says the guitarist, "It’s always a challenge to keep in my mind that in the end the purpose of music for me is to inspire, move and hopefully transform the listener. I think Donald is the perfect cohort in this venture. He has an ear for so many different kinds of music and a sense of what makes music important." Rotella made recordings for the DMP label that were distributed in the early 1990s by Telarc International, where Donald Elfman worked as a jazz publicist and promotion manager. Elfman remembers, "Thom and I always worked well together because, I think, we had a shared sense of what music could do and a profound sense of humor about the ways that played out. It seemed, somehow, fated, that we should cross paths again since our feelings – both good and bad – about the state of music and recording are much the same but have also evolved with the times. We both feel that now, maybe more than ever, music is important and that it will continue to find an audience if it’s smart and provocative." Four-Bar Music sees as its charge the discovery and release of music that finds its way to the ears, heart and souls of music lovers in a time when there is more out there to choose than ever. It’s not necessarily about large earth-changing statements, nor about sticking to what is true (or false). Says Rotella, "I think we have an eternal, optimistic faith in good music and that simply has given us a direction." Contact: Donald Elfman donaldelfman@comcast.net 203-500-0707 |