Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Hal Galper And the Youngbloods: Live At The Cota Jazz Festival

Hal Galper And the Youngbloods: Live At The Cota Jazz Festival

By Dan McClenaghan
July 11, 2017
View read count

Hal Galper And the Youngbloods: Live At The Cota Jazz Festival

The trio recordings released by pianist

Hal Galper

piano
1938 - 2025

" data-original-title="" title="">Hal Galper between 2006 and 2014—six discs, all but one on Origin Records—plowed fresh ground. Each disc dug deeply into the "Rubato" form. Taken as a whole—from 2006's Agents Of Change (Fabola Records) through 2014's O's Time (Origin Records)—the full series represents a monumental, sharply focused project that, for those who listened, redefined the piano trio. ?

Live At The Cota Jazz Festival features Galper still riding the wave of a fifty year-plus career that has ?included serious mainstream work with trumpeter

Chet Baker

trumpet and vocals
1929 - 1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Chet Baker and alto saxophonists

Phil Woods

saxophone, alto
1931 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Phil Woods and Cannonball Adderley. Now he has a new group, the Youngbloods, a new generation of musicians whom Galper encountered originally as his students at the Purchase Conservatory. ?

If Galper's prot��g��s had any problem adjusting to rubato playing—a style in which time, tempo and melody are highly flexible—it doesn't show. On four extended, malleable pieces—three Galper originals and Gordon Jenkin's Great American Songbook ?gem, "Goodbye"—the group of adventurists roam with Galper's stretched out pianism, veering often into individualistic eddies. ?

"Freewheeling" is a word meant for this sound. No one's keeping time; everyone's keeping time (in their own fashion); and time here is a concept relative to each player. Run that one by Einstein.

Bassist

Dean Torrey

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Dean Torrey and drummer

David Frazier

percussion
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">David Frazier craft jumbled rhythmic landscapes, while addition of another melodic voice to Galper's trio concept—in this case alto saxophonist

Nathan Bellott

saxophone, alto

" data-original-title="" title="">Nathan Bellott—opens up new paths through a labyrinthine trail system. Bellott's tone is tart, Jackie McLean-esque. His approach is confident to the point of audaciousness. Jazz thrives on audaciousness. And in the middle of it all, Hal Galper pushes his concept of brimming-with-surprises rubato piano artistry ahead. Still innovating after all these years.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Speak With A Single Voice; O's Time; Goodbye; Scufflin'.

Personnel

Hal Galper

piano

Hal Galper: piano; Nathan Bellott: alto saxophone; Dean Torrey: bass; David Frazier: drums.

Album information

Title: Live At The Cota Jazz Festival | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Origin Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

DICE
< Previous

Leon
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.