JIM CIFELLI NEW YORK NONET
Bullet Trane
Short Notice Music
SNM-001

As far a jazz groups go, the nonet occupies an appealing place somewhere between the small group and the big band. Cifelli definitely has big-band aspirations for his mid-sized ensemble. The lineup employed here excludes piano in favor of Pete McCann’s multifarious guitar. This choice not only provides the group with one of its most fluent and inventive soloists (saxophonist Joel Frahm and trombonist Pete McGuiness are the others), but it opens the door for lots of interesting and punchy counterpoint between brass and reeds. In this manner, Cifelli’s group seems a natural extension of Gerry Mulligan’s pianoless big bands from the late ‘50s and early ‘60s.

The music here is firmly in the modern mainstream. I was trying hard not to describe the unit as well-oiled or polished, but both metaphors (though cliched) are quite apt. The Nonet negotiates Cifelli’s (and McGuiness’) finely-honed arrangements of original charts (by Cifelli) and standards, with nary a bead of sweat. And that’s my main problem with this disc: I find it long on professionalism and accomplished execution, but lacking in passion and excitement. I also got the feeling that some of the standards ("In Your Own Sweet Way," "It Could Happen to You") could have been recorded 30 or 40 years ago.

Not that Bullet Trane is a total snoozefest. Frahm lights up the title track with an appropriately cast tenor solo. Cifelli’s intricate reworking of Herbie Hancock’s "Dolphin Dance" eschews big-band style bluster, and the result approaches the tenderness of the original. "Resurgence," perhaps the most varied and interesting chart of the CD, flat-out rawks with gloriously over-the-top soloing from Pete McCann backed by Tim Horner’s churning, relentless drumming. McCann and McGuiness nearly blow the rather prosaic fusion of "Far and Near" to bits with their improvisational outbursts. "Silent Eyes," a lush ballad, benefits from Cifelli’s imaginative use of Barbara Cifelli’s bass clarinet.

A fine effort, overall, Bullet Trane lacks that extra something that would make it truly memorable recording.

Dave Wayne

Track Listing: 1. Bullet Trane; 2. Dolphin Dance; 3. It Could Happen to You; 4. Focal Point; 5. Time Will Tell; 6. Ladybird; 7. Resurgence; 8. Silent Eyes; 9. In Your Own Sweet Way; 10. Far and Near

Personnel: Jim Cifelli, trumpet, flugelhorn; Andy Gravish, trumpet, flugelhorn; Pete McGuiness, trombone; Cliff Lyons, alto and soprano saxophones; Joel Frahm, tenor saxophone; Barbara Cifelli, baritone sax, bass clarinet, flute; Pete McCann, guitars; Mary Ann McSweeney, acoustic and electric basses; Tim Horner, drums