Disk Union Review by Takashi Yamamoto
Disk Union, Japan's premier record shop
Review by Takashi Yamamoto, Editor in Chief of JAZZPERSPECTIVE
Tokyo, Japan, June 22, 2016
I received so many CDs at Jazz Ahead! Convention in Bremen, Germany last April. I am listening to them one by one so far. I liked this CD From Carl and Alan Maguire among all those CDs that I received. They play Bobby Hutchinson’s ‘Pomponio’ . The original version is the first track in ‘Ambos Mundos’ {Landmark) and has a super cool performance with hot latin rhythm. They play almost like that piece and that’s quite inspiring. I have been listening to this with maximum loudness in my office many times in the morning when nobody else is around. It’s encouraging that I begin my days with such excitement.
The 8th track is ‘Lady in Jazz’ by Keith Brown. This is a nice piece with a ‘calm’ atmosphere.
I’d like to say ‘Thank You!’ for giving me this CD. Keith Brown is the son of Donald Brown, the producer of this CD. He has a CD from Space Time, a French label.
They also play, ‘Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise’, ‘Speak Low’ and Joe Henderson’s ‘Inner Urge’. They play cool stuff although they are so young. I like that the veteran musicians as Donald Brown, Kirk Whalum and Tom Williams are supporting them firmly.
By the way, the leaders of this CD are Carl & Alan Maguire. They are twins. They are young and only 20 years old. They visited me at my office and we enjoyed the conversation, but I couldn’t tell them apart at all. Their history is that they were born in Tokyo, grew up in Hong Kong and they found jazz in Memphis.
I like this CD of nice hard bop of America, more like late 80s rather than 50s.
Review by Takashi Yamamoto, Editor in Chief of JAZZPERSPECTIVE
Tokyo, Japan, June 22, 2016
I received so many CDs at Jazz Ahead! Convention in Bremen, Germany last April. I am listening to them one by one so far. I liked this CD From Carl and Alan Maguire among all those CDs that I received. They play Bobby Hutchinson’s ‘Pomponio’ . The original version is the first track in ‘Ambos Mundos’ {Landmark) and has a super cool performance with hot latin rhythm. They play almost like that piece and that’s quite inspiring. I have been listening to this with maximum loudness in my office many times in the morning when nobody else is around. It’s encouraging that I begin my days with such excitement.
The 8th track is ‘Lady in Jazz’ by Keith Brown. This is a nice piece with a ‘calm’ atmosphere.
I’d like to say ‘Thank You!’ for giving me this CD. Keith Brown is the son of Donald Brown, the producer of this CD. He has a CD from Space Time, a French label.
They also play, ‘Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise’, ‘Speak Low’ and Joe Henderson’s ‘Inner Urge’. They play cool stuff although they are so young. I like that the veteran musicians as Donald Brown, Kirk Whalum and Tom Williams are supporting them firmly.
By the way, the leaders of this CD are Carl & Alan Maguire. They are twins. They are young and only 20 years old. They visited me at my office and we enjoyed the conversation, but I couldn’t tell them apart at all. Their history is that they were born in Tokyo, grew up in Hong Kong and they found jazz in Memphis.
I like this CD of nice hard bop of America, more like late 80s rather than 50s.
Review by Toyoshi Narita
Japan’s top jazz review blogger's blog 'Jazz & Drummer'
Japan, September 8, 2014
Carl Maguire(Ds)
Alan Maguire(B)
Donald Brown(P)2,3,6,7
Kirk Whalum(Ts)3,6,7
Tom Williams(Tp, Flh)2,3,7,8,9
Don Aliquo(Ts, Ss)1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9
Keith Brown(P)1,4,5,8,9
Ekpe Abioto(Per)2,3,5,7
Nygel Yancey(Per)2,3
Rec. May 29, 2014, Memphis, TN
(Independent Label)
I must tell you that this is my first time to review an amateur musicians’ CD for this blog. I was so impressed with Carl & Alan’s live performance in my hometown (Akita, Japan) in July that I decided to break my rule and review this CD. It’s hard to believe that they are only 18 years old when you hear them play. They performed here because their mother is from a nearby city.
The world top-notch musicians like Donald Brown, Kirk Whalum, Keith Brown (Donald’s son, refer my review ‘Keith Brown / Sweet & Lovely（2011）’, participated this recording. The producer is Donald Brown. Recording was done at Ardent Studios in Memphis. This shows you that this recording exceeds way beyond that of ‘an-amateur-band-produced-CD’. Carl & Alan have just started their sophomore year at university this fall and has not yet started their professional careers. I just want to write about my impression of CD without scoring it.
This CD contains 9 songs. Bobby Hutcherson’s “Pomponio’, Lenny White’s ‘L’s Bop’, Keith Brown’s ‘Lady in Jazz’, Joe Henderson’s ‘Inner Urge’, Tamezo Narita’s ‘Hamabe no Uta’, Japanese classic tune ‘Sakura’. The standards are ‘Softly as in a Morning Sunrise’, ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘Speak Low’. Donald Brown arranged six of them.
The album starts with ‘Softly as in a Morning Sunrise’. The arrangement is aggressive like what John Scofield used to play. Carl and Alan play great, way beyond the scope of the amateurs. All the other musicians play even more seriously well. The wow factor is already high.
The second track is "Pomponio". This number has Latin touch percussion and sounds great. Carl and Alan play this kind of rhythm well and Tom William’s brilliant trumpet solo matches the ambiance of the song. Donald’s singing along with his piano adds high tension to the piece. This track has a lot to offer. A worth-listening number.
I just wonder why the first and the second tracks finished with fade-out. The length of the album is just 58 minutes, which is not too long. I wish they finished off the song without fade-out.
The third track is ‘The Sound of Music’, which is this album’s title. This song has a light Latin touch and an eight-beat tune. Don Aliquo’s soprano sax adds more character to this refreshing tune. His thick instrumental sound has something similar to that of Dave Liebman.
The fourth track is ‘L’s Bop’ from Chick Corea’s ‘The Griffith Park Collection (1982). I used to love this number. It really makes me happy that they included this piece. The players did wonderful job, as good as the original. (Some parts like the ending of the first theme was done even better than the original.) All the solos were fantastic and especially, Carl, who traded eight bars and played the dynamic solo in the end, showcased his great technique. As far as I remember, the original finished fade-out. Therefore, I don’t mind hearing this number finishing this way.
The fifth track is ‘Sakura’ arranged by Alan. This popular Japanese classic tune starts simple with Alan’s solo. After the chorus, other musicians join him. This tune is well structured as a jazz ballad because the code progression is somewhat re-harmonized. I wish they played this tune longer than three minutes when they can play this well.
The sixth track is another Japanese classic tune of ‘Hamabe no Uta (Song of Seashore)’. This starts slow and calm just like the original tune but it changes to a swingy four beat song in the middle. I can feel the great talent of Donald as an arranger to make this non-jazz song into a perfect jazz piece. The ending finishes with Latin touch. This is truly a fun piece.
The seventh track, ‘Speak Low’ is a combination of jazz-rock, samba and four beat. This arrangement is quite stylish. The enthusiastic solos of Aliquo, Williams, Whalum and Carl are all great and the double tempo four beat of the solo parts are charged and speedy. A well-done piece.
The eighth track, ‘Lady in Jazz’ is Keith’s composition. He plays piano as strong as his father, Donald. This 3/4 beat (6/8 beat?) song is played light but hot. Keith’s piano shines even more in this piece maybe because he composed it himself. The rhythm section by Carl & Alan back up nicely.
The ninth track is ‘Inner Urge’, arranged by Carl. This is in orthodox four beat. This song is stylish itself and I don’t think they should arrange more. Alan’s solo is strong. Aliquo’s wonderful tenor sax solo reminds me of Joe Henderson. Keith’s aggressive piano is beautiful. Everyone plays so well that I got drawn into this piece.
Overall, this CD was way beyond my expectation. The recording was perfect. Even if I came across this CD randomly and I had listened to it as usual, without considering the fact that I know Carl, Alan and their mother in person, I would have fully enjoyed it anyway. That is why I broke my rule of not reviewing amateur musicians. I cannot believe that Carl and Alan have played jazz for only two years. They play so well. I can feel they’ve got talent, but also I re-recognize the importance of growing up in a good musical environment.
Evaluation: ☆☆☆☆ Very Good (☆ Poor, ☆☆ Fair, ☆☆☆ Good, ☆☆☆☆ Very Good, ☆☆☆☆☆ Excellent)
Japan, September 8, 2014
Carl Maguire(Ds)
Alan Maguire(B)
Donald Brown(P)2,3,6,7
Kirk Whalum(Ts)3,6,7
Tom Williams(Tp, Flh)2,3,7,8,9
Don Aliquo(Ts, Ss)1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9
Keith Brown(P)1,4,5,8,9
Ekpe Abioto(Per)2,3,5,7
Nygel Yancey(Per)2,3
Rec. May 29, 2014, Memphis, TN
(Independent Label)
I must tell you that this is my first time to review an amateur musicians’ CD for this blog. I was so impressed with Carl & Alan’s live performance in my hometown (Akita, Japan) in July that I decided to break my rule and review this CD. It’s hard to believe that they are only 18 years old when you hear them play. They performed here because their mother is from a nearby city.
The world top-notch musicians like Donald Brown, Kirk Whalum, Keith Brown (Donald’s son, refer my review ‘Keith Brown / Sweet & Lovely（2011）’, participated this recording. The producer is Donald Brown. Recording was done at Ardent Studios in Memphis. This shows you that this recording exceeds way beyond that of ‘an-amateur-band-produced-CD’. Carl & Alan have just started their sophomore year at university this fall and has not yet started their professional careers. I just want to write about my impression of CD without scoring it.
This CD contains 9 songs. Bobby Hutcherson’s “Pomponio’, Lenny White’s ‘L’s Bop’, Keith Brown’s ‘Lady in Jazz’, Joe Henderson’s ‘Inner Urge’, Tamezo Narita’s ‘Hamabe no Uta’, Japanese classic tune ‘Sakura’. The standards are ‘Softly as in a Morning Sunrise’, ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘Speak Low’. Donald Brown arranged six of them.
The album starts with ‘Softly as in a Morning Sunrise’. The arrangement is aggressive like what John Scofield used to play. Carl and Alan play great, way beyond the scope of the amateurs. All the other musicians play even more seriously well. The wow factor is already high.
The second track is "Pomponio". This number has Latin touch percussion and sounds great. Carl and Alan play this kind of rhythm well and Tom William’s brilliant trumpet solo matches the ambiance of the song. Donald’s singing along with his piano adds high tension to the piece. This track has a lot to offer. A worth-listening number.
I just wonder why the first and the second tracks finished with fade-out. The length of the album is just 58 minutes, which is not too long. I wish they finished off the song without fade-out.
The third track is ‘The Sound of Music’, which is this album’s title. This song has a light Latin touch and an eight-beat tune. Don Aliquo’s soprano sax adds more character to this refreshing tune. His thick instrumental sound has something similar to that of Dave Liebman.
The fourth track is ‘L’s Bop’ from Chick Corea’s ‘The Griffith Park Collection (1982). I used to love this number. It really makes me happy that they included this piece. The players did wonderful job, as good as the original. (Some parts like the ending of the first theme was done even better than the original.) All the solos were fantastic and especially, Carl, who traded eight bars and played the dynamic solo in the end, showcased his great technique. As far as I remember, the original finished fade-out. Therefore, I don’t mind hearing this number finishing this way.
The fifth track is ‘Sakura’ arranged by Alan. This popular Japanese classic tune starts simple with Alan’s solo. After the chorus, other musicians join him. This tune is well structured as a jazz ballad because the code progression is somewhat re-harmonized. I wish they played this tune longer than three minutes when they can play this well.
The sixth track is another Japanese classic tune of ‘Hamabe no Uta (Song of Seashore)’. This starts slow and calm just like the original tune but it changes to a swingy four beat song in the middle. I can feel the great talent of Donald as an arranger to make this non-jazz song into a perfect jazz piece. The ending finishes with Latin touch. This is truly a fun piece.
The seventh track, ‘Speak Low’ is a combination of jazz-rock, samba and four beat. This arrangement is quite stylish. The enthusiastic solos of Aliquo, Williams, Whalum and Carl are all great and the double tempo four beat of the solo parts are charged and speedy. A well-done piece.
The eighth track, ‘Lady in Jazz’ is Keith’s composition. He plays piano as strong as his father, Donald. This 3/4 beat (6/8 beat?) song is played light but hot. Keith’s piano shines even more in this piece maybe because he composed it himself. The rhythm section by Carl & Alan back up nicely.
The ninth track is ‘Inner Urge’, arranged by Carl. This is in orthodox four beat. This song is stylish itself and I don’t think they should arrange more. Alan’s solo is strong. Aliquo’s wonderful tenor sax solo reminds me of Joe Henderson. Keith’s aggressive piano is beautiful. Everyone plays so well that I got drawn into this piece.
Overall, this CD was way beyond my expectation. The recording was perfect. Even if I came across this CD randomly and I had listened to it as usual, without considering the fact that I know Carl, Alan and their mother in person, I would have fully enjoyed it anyway. That is why I broke my rule of not reviewing amateur musicians. I cannot believe that Carl and Alan have played jazz for only two years. They play so well. I can feel they’ve got talent, but also I re-recognize the importance of growing up in a good musical environment.
Evaluation: ☆☆☆☆ Very Good (☆ Poor, ☆☆ Fair, ☆☆☆ Good, ☆☆☆☆ Very Good, ☆☆☆☆☆ Excellent)
WUMR FM91.7 Jazz Lover Memphis
Feature CD Of The Week:
Carl & Alan Maguire's "The Sound of Music"
For Release: August 18, 2014 Review by Malvin Massey, Jr., 8/17/2014
The Feature CD of the Week this week is an album with a definite Memphis connection. It isThe Sound of Music by Carl & Alan Maguire.
The 18 year old identical Maguire twins, Carl on drums, and Alan on bass, were born in Tokyo and raised in Hong Kong and now study music in America. They found their passion for jazz at the Stax Music Academy in Memphis under the tutelage of the great Kirk Whalum. They have also studied jazz at the University of Memphis, and soon plan to continue their studies with the great Donald Brown at UT Knoxville.
The idea to produce a full album was Donald's idea as he was so impressed with the skill and jazz feel that these two young musicians possess. Through the tireless efforts of their mother and producer Yuki Maguire, and the force of Donald and Kirk, this CD is a professional, straight ahead effort worthy of a feature.
The band is comprised of a stellar crew of Memphis musicians including Kirk Whalum, Donald Brown (who arranged most of the tunes), Don Aliquo, Keith Brown, Tom Williams and others. The title tune, and arrangement of the theme from the movie classic "The Sound of Music," is a perfect example of the musical innovations of which jazz is capable.
These guys are off to a great start at an early age, and we are happy to share their talent with the rest of the world.
Carl & Alan Maguire's "The Sound of Music"
For Release: August 18, 2014 Review by Malvin Massey, Jr., 8/17/2014
The Feature CD of the Week this week is an album with a definite Memphis connection. It isThe Sound of Music by Carl & Alan Maguire.
The 18 year old identical Maguire twins, Carl on drums, and Alan on bass, were born in Tokyo and raised in Hong Kong and now study music in America. They found their passion for jazz at the Stax Music Academy in Memphis under the tutelage of the great Kirk Whalum. They have also studied jazz at the University of Memphis, and soon plan to continue their studies with the great Donald Brown at UT Knoxville.
The idea to produce a full album was Donald's idea as he was so impressed with the skill and jazz feel that these two young musicians possess. Through the tireless efforts of their mother and producer Yuki Maguire, and the force of Donald and Kirk, this CD is a professional, straight ahead effort worthy of a feature.
The band is comprised of a stellar crew of Memphis musicians including Kirk Whalum, Donald Brown (who arranged most of the tunes), Don Aliquo, Keith Brown, Tom Williams and others. The title tune, and arrangement of the theme from the movie classic "The Sound of Music," is a perfect example of the musical innovations of which jazz is capable.
These guys are off to a great start at an early age, and we are happy to share their talent with the rest of the world.