{"id":81,"date":"2010-08-06T13:29:17","date_gmt":"2010-08-06T20:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/josephachambers.com\/?page_id=81"},"modified":"2019-11-05T13:22:03","modified_gmt":"2019-11-05T20:22:03","slug":"all-about-jazz-review","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.josephachambers.com\/?page_id=81","title":{"rendered":"All About Jazz Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,arial; font-size: small;\">Horace to the Max<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/musician.php?id=5632\">Joe Chambers<\/a> |  <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/entity.php?id=1830\">Savant Records<\/a> (2010)<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"100%\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<div id=\"contrib-trigger\">By <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/contrib.php?id=398\">John Kelman<\/a> <script src=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/yui\/2.7.0\/build\/yahoo-dom-event\/yahoo-dom-event.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script> <script src=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/yui\/2.7.0\/build\/container\/container-min.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script> <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfunction init_contrib() {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  var contrib_overlay = new YAHOO.widget.Overlay(\"contrib-popup\", { visible: false, context: [\"contrib-trigger\", \"tl\", \"tl\", [\"beforeShow\", \"windowResize\"]] } );\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tcontrib_overlay.render();\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYAHOO.util.Event.addListener(\"contrib-trigger\", \"mouseover\", contrib_overlay.show, contrib_overlay, true);\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYAHOO.util.Event.addListener(\"contrib-popup\", \"mouseout\", contrib_overlay.hide, contrib_overlay, true);\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYAHOO.util.Event.onAvailable(\"contrib-popup\", init_contrib);\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><\/p>\n<div id=\"contrib-popup\">\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"3\" valign=\"TOP\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/contrib.php?id=398\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/photos\/profile\/johnkelman2008.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" hspace=\"12\" vspace=\"2\" width=\"50\" align=\"LEFT\" \/><\/a> <strong>John Kelman<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/contrib.php?id=398\">View Profile<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/submit_contributor_inquiry.php?id=398\">Contact Me<\/a><br \/>\nManaging Editor<br \/>\nJoined AAJ in 2003<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"TOP\">\n<em>With the realization that there will always be more music coming  at him than he can keep up with, John wonders why anyone would think  that jazz is dead or dying.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/contrib.php?id=398\">More about John<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\" valign=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/comments.php?ct=6&amp;cid=36565\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Post Comment\" src=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/images\/discuss_icon_2008.gif\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" width=\"15\" height=\"15\" align=\"top\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/comments.php?ct=6&amp;cid=36565\">Discuss<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/review_print.php?id=36565\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Print It!\" src=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/images\/print_icon_2008.gif\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" width=\"15\" height=\"15\" align=\"top\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/article_email.php?id=36565\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Email It!\" src=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/images\/mail_icon_2008.gif\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" width=\"15\" height=\"15\" align=\"top\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana,arial; font-size: small;\"><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/coverart\/2010\/joechambers_horacetothemax_jk.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/coverart\/2010\/joechambers_horacetothemax_jk.jpg\" border=\"1\" alt=\"\" hspace=\"12\" vspace=\"2\" height=\"140\" align=\"right\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"zoomino_article_body\">Though best known for his drum work on key 1960s Blue Note sessions with artists including vibraphonist <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/musician.php?id=7844\">Bobby Hutcherson<\/a>, pianist <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/musician.php?id=7627\">Andrew Hill<\/a> and saxophonist <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/musician.php?id=4301\">Wayne Shorter<\/a>, Joe Chambers has gradually built a reputation as an equally distinctive composer and mallet player. <em>Horace to the Max<\/em> is more heavily weighted towards cover material from Shorter, bassist <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/musician.php?id=9405\">Marcus Miller<\/a>, pianist <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/musician.php?id=9507\">Thelonious Monk<\/a> and trumpeter <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/musician.php?id=6362\">Kenny Dorham<\/a>\u2014and, of course, its two titular legends, pianist <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/musician.php?id=4328\">Horace Silver<\/a> and drummer <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/musician.php?id=10725\">Max Roach<\/a>\u2014but it does maintain an ideal balance between his work on and off the kit.Amongst so many legendary composers, Miller&#8217;s &#8220;Portia&#8221;\u2014from one of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/musician.php?id=6144\">Miles Davis<\/a>&#8216; latter-day electric albums, <em>Tutu<\/em> (Warner Bros., 1986)\u2014may seem odd. Still, with a strong quintet featuring drummer\/percussionist <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/musician.php?id=15675\">Steve Berrios<\/a>\u2014allowing  Chambers the freedom to concentrate on in-the-moment group interaction  rather than having to overdub his mallet instruments over his kit\u2014it&#8217;s  becomes an atmospheric highlight that, in addition to Chambers&#8217; oblique  marimba solo, affords plenty of space for lithe pianist <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/musician.php?id=18309\">Xavier Davis<\/a>, and an indigo-rich head played by saxophonist <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/musician.php?id=3327\">Eric Alexander<\/a>, who has something of his own to prove here.<\/p>\n<p>Often  pegged squarely as a mainstream performer, Chambers couldn&#8217;t have made a  better choice in recruiting Alexander for a session that marries  Afro-Cuban rhythms with straight-ahead swing and more. But over the  harmonic ambiguity of Shorter&#8217;s &#8220;Water Babies&#8221;\u2014Chambers, this time,  layering vibes and marimba over his kit\u2014Alexander truly shines,  extending himself into outr\u00e9 territory with a closing solo of controlled  power and restraint that would make its composer proud.<\/p>\n<p>Two tracks featuring vocalist Nicole Guiland\u2014Roach&#8217;s swinging chestnut &#8220;Lonesome Lover,&#8221; co-written with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/musician.php?id=8767\">Abbey Lincoln<\/a>, and his melancholic but politically charged ballad, &#8220;Mendacity&#8221;\u2014lend <em>Horace to the Max<\/em> its largely centrist position. Still, Dorham&#8217;s oriental-tinged &#8220;Asiatic  Raes&#8221; gets reworked with a clav\u00e9 drums\/percussion intro, before moving  into its stop-start head and a fiery pulse, anchored by bassist <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/musician.php?id=11919\">Dwayne Burno<\/a>,  that gives Alexander and Davis the first salvos on an album filled with  focused, often brief, but always memorable soloing. The only Chambers  original, &#8220;Afreeka&#8221; is a revisit from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/article.php?id=12554\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Urban Grooves<\/em><\/a> (441 Records, 2003) where, coincidentally, he also gave a first kick at  &#8220;Portia.&#8221; Here, however, the group trims down to a percussion-driven,  piano-less quartet, for a joyful, Afro-centic track that puts Chambers&#8217;  vibes <em>and<\/em> marimba out front, as he interacts in a fashion all  the more remarkable for his having separately overdubbed the two  instruments.<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, Chambers gives relatively  short shrift to Monk&#8217;s enduring &#8220;Evidence,&#8221; though taken an almost  impossibly fast clip, and a more extended look at Silver&#8217;s soulfully  swinging &#8220;Ecaroh,&#8221; with lengthy features for Alexander and Chambers (on  vibes) that travel a knotty set of time changes yet remain assured in  their seamless shifts.<\/p>\n<p>On 2006&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/php\/article.php?id=22057\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>The Outlaw<\/em><\/a>,  his first for Savant, Chambers&#8217; stated ambition was to reestablish  himself as a mallet player. He achieves even greater success on <em>Horace to the Max<\/em>, while not entirely eschewing his inestimable skill behind the instrument that cemented his reputation in the first place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Horace to the Max Joe Chambers | Savant Records (2010) By John Kelman John Kelman View Profile | Contact Me Managing Editor Joined AAJ in 2003 With the realization that there will always be more music coming at him than he can keep up with, John wonders why anyone would think that jazz is dead [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":31,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-81","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.josephachambers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/81"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.josephachambers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.josephachambers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.josephachambers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.josephachambers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.josephachambers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/81\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":396,"href":"https:\/\/www.josephachambers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/81\/revisions\/396"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.josephachambers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.josephachambers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}