Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Steve Gadd, Eddie Gomez, Ronnie Cuber, WDR Big Band: Center Stage

Steve Gadd, Eddie Gomez, Ronnie Cuber, WDR Big Band: Center Stage

By Jack Bowers
November 22, 2022
View read count

Steve Gadd, Eddie Gomez, Ronnie Cuber, WDR Big Band: Center Stage

Mixed emotions must underline this review. Center Stage, featuring bassist

Eddie Gomez

bass
b.1944

" data-original-title="" title="">Eddie Gomez, drummer

Steve Gadd

drums
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Gadd and baritone saxophonist

Ronnie Cuber

saxophone
1941 - 2022

" data-original-title="" title="">Ronnie Cuber with Germany's superb WDR Big Band conducted by

" data-original-title="" title="">Michael Abene, was recorded in Cologne in January and February 2022. Sadly, Ronnie Cuber passed away in October, shortly after the album was released.

If this was Cuber's last hurrah, it thunders loudly above the rooftops, as his solos (on each of the album's nine numbers) and melodic passages are models of astuteness and control, lending the session inflexible vigor and depth. In other words, a wonderful way to take one's final recorded bow. As for Gomez and Gadd, the funky groove which prevails most of the way is their meat and potatoes, assuring that the rhythm (with help from guitarist

Bruno Müller

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Bruno Müller, pianist

Simon Oslender

keyboards

" data-original-title="" title="">Simon Oslender and organist

Bobby Sparks II

organ, Hammond B3

" data-original-title="" title="">Bobby Sparks II) is in the very best of hands.

The session opens on a soulful note with Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" and stays there for earthy readings of genial yet unassuming themes by Bob Dylan, Otis Redding, Buddy Miles, Wilton Felder, Bill Doggett and a pair by Gadd ("Lucky 13" and "My Little Brother"). Pino Daniele's "Che Ore So" is an outlier, nestling in an even-tempered Latin groove behind warm solos from Gomez, Cuber and trombonist

Ludwig Nuss

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Ludwig Nuss. Nuss is one of four soloists from the WDR ranks; the others are alto saxophonist

Karolina Strassmayer

saxophone, alto

" data-original-title="" title="">Karolina Strassmayer who trades volleys with Cuber on Dylan's "Watching the River Flow," tenor

Paul Heller

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Heller (Miles' "Them Changes") and trombonist

Andy Hunter

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Andy Hunter (Doggett's "Honky Tonk/I Can't Stop Loving You").

Besides "Che Ore So," Gomez solos on "Watching the River" and "Lucky 13," Gadd on "Signed, Sealed," Felder's "Way Back Home" and "My Little Brother," Muller on "Watching the River," Redding's "I Can't Turn You Loose" and "Them Changes," Oslender on "Signed, Sealed," "Them Changes" and "Honky Tonk." There are two organ solos by Sparks, on "I Can't Turn You Loose" and "Honky Tonk." As for the WDR, it is in the pocket all the way, blowing as if soul and funk were its natural habitat and generally keeping the enterprise swinging. For big-band enthusiasts, a rather obvious positive choice.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Signed, Sealed, Delivered; Watching the River Flow; I Can't Turn You Loose; Che Ore So; Them Changes; Way Back Home; Lucky 13; Honky Tonk / I Can't Stop Loving You; My Little Brother.

Personnel

Michael Abene

piano

Steve Gadd

drums

Eddie Gomez

bass

Ronnie Cuber

saxophone

WDR Big Band

band / ensemble / orchestra

Bobby Sparks II

organ, Hammond B3

Bruno Müller

guitar

Simon Oslender

keyboards

Album information

Title: Center Stage | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: Leopard

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Marram
< Previous

Detour
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.