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Henry Godfrey Jazz Orchestra: Attitude & Gratitude

By Jack Bowers
April 24, 2023
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Henry Godfrey Jazz Orchestra: Attitude & Gratitude

There are five songs on Attitude & Gratitude, drummer

Henry Godfrey

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Henry Godfrey's Boston-based Jazz Orchestra's second album, and each one is a tribute to people, places or circumstances that have helped Godfrey grow as a musician and as a person.

In order, they are "For McCoy" (honoring pianist

McCoy Tyner

piano
1938 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">McCoy Tyner and other jazz legends who have passed on); "Mad Max" (for the city [Washington, DC] in which Godfrey grew up); "Forgetting What Will Never Be" (for lost love and the "lessons in heartbreak and grief"); "Hot Water" (for the "kitchen camaraderie" while Godfrey served as chef at a Japanese restaurant), and "We'll Get There" (for strong communities built in the face of adversity that included a pandemic). Godfrey composed and arranged all of them.

Godfrey shows a keen ear throughout, with occasional contrapuntal touches reminiscent of the late great

Bill Potts

b.1928

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Potts, another product of the Washington area and its service bands (like Potts, Godfrey was once a member of the U.S. Army Blues). Alas, the recording itself doesn't always bring out the best in Godfrey's seventeen-member ensemble, as reeds and especially brass are at times overly harsh and less than well-defined. Not necessarily disconcerting, simply not as sharp and clear as a modern recording would seem to warrant.

The themes are for the most part upbeat, starting with "For McCoy," a forceful groover that showcases the orchestra's assertive rhythm section alongside stalwart solos by pianist

Rowan Barcham

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Rowan Barcham and guitarist

Pritesh Walia

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Pritesh Walia, and continuing with "Mad Max" whose emphatic go-go beat harkens back to Godfrey's early days gigging all night in his hometown. Solos are by Godfrey, baritone

Nicholas Suchecki

saxophone, baritone

" data-original-title="" title="">Nicholas Suchecki and trumpeter

Eli Block

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Eli Block. The lone ballad, "Forgetting What Will Never Be," morphs into a seductive bolero and rhythmic cha-cha to underline ardent solos by trombonist m: Joey Dies, bassist

Anna Abondolo

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Anna Abondolo and tenor Ian Buss.

Godfrey's agile brushes introduce "Hot Water," a bright and swinging minor blues whose amiable solos are delivered by trombonist

Jasmine Sloane

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Jasmine Sloane and tenor

Anton Derevyanko

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Anton Derevyanko. That leads to "We'll Get There," a colorful pastiche that placed in ASCAP's 2021 Herb Alpert Young Composers competition. Alto saxophonist

Alex Ramirez

saxophone, alto

" data-original-title="" title="">Alex Ramirez is featured, with a second solo by trumpeter

Matt Kelly

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Matt Kelly and more well-knit work from the rhythm section. Attitude & Gratitude is by no means a classic big-band session (the recorded sound alone would preclude that) but one that is definitely above average, thanks to Godfrey's persuasive charts and the orchestra's expertise in bringing them to life.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

For McCoy; Mad Max; Forgetting What Will Never Be; Hot Water; We��ll Get There.

Personnel

Henry Godfrey

drums

Miles Keingstein

trumpet

Matt Kelly

trumpet

Eli Block

trumpet

Zoe Murphy

trumpet

aaron dutton

saxophone

Ian Buss

saxophone

Anton Derevyanko

saxophone, tenor

Nicholas Suchecki

saxophone, baritone

joey dies

trombone

Jasmine Sloane

trombone

Sam Margolis

trombone

michael juba prentky

trombone

Pritesh Walia

guitar

Rowan Barcham

piano

Anna Abondolo

bass

Album information

Title: Attitude & Gratitude | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Self Produced

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