Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Kristen Strom: Moving Day: The Music of John Shifflett

Kristen Strom: Moving Day: The Music of John Shifflett

By Jack Bowers
December 24, 2018
View read count

Kristen Strom: Moving Day: The Music of John Shifflett

The esteemed bassist

John Shifflett

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">John Shifflett was for roughly thirty years a mainstay in countless San Francisco Bay Area sessions and recordings until his untimely passing in April 2017. Gone, that's true, but far from forgotten. Shifflett, as it turns out, had another largely hidden talent as a composer of bright and accessible jazz tunes, seven of which are performed by a number of his friends and colleagues on Moving Day, a warm-hearted tribute whose nominal leader is saxophone / woodwind specialist

Kristen Strom

saxophone, alto

" data-original-title="" title="">Kristen Strom, a long-time member with guitarist

Scott Sorkin

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Scott Sorkin and drummer

Jason Lewis

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Jason Lewis of Shifflett's working quartet.

The ensembles, which vary slightly in size and instrumentation on most tracks, step lightly through Shifflett's snappy themes before closing with the concise, hymn-like "Franklin's Men / Northwest Passage," written by Stanley Rogers. Strom, a standout on every wind instrument, plays tenor most of the way, soprano on "Her Garden" and "Down to the Sea in Ships," while no doubt adding background voicings on alto, flute and clarinet elsewhere. She and Sorkin solo most often, with other well-framed statements by bassist

Ken Okada

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Ken Okada ("Moving Day"), trumpeter

Jeff Lewis

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Jeff Lewis ("Mt. Hamilton"), pianist

Dahveed Behroozi

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Dahveed Behroozi and trombonist

John Gove

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">John Gove ("Quantum Theory"). The music itself parallels what one might expect to hear at a typical nightclub / concert date, shaped to please a sizable audience whose musical tastes are broad and well-grounded.

The upbeat title song, underlined by Strom's engaging tenor solo and others by Sorkin and Okada, opens the session on a breezy note, leading to the frisky "Mr. Hamilton" before "Her Garden" slows the pace. Sorkin's guitar and the rhythm section introduce "The Vikings," whose subtle melody is accentuated by Strom's assertive tenor. "Quantum Theory," which follows, is a strapping showcase for the ensemble, Behroozi and Gove; "Down to the Sea in Ships" a lustrous excursion for Strom's emphatic soprano, "Iowa" an earnest salute to Shifflett's home state. Strom describes the enterprise as "a labor of love," one to which every participant clearly brought his (and her) A-game. Even though Shifflett is no longer able to speak for himself, it's credibly fair to assume that he would have been pleased by the result.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Moving Day; Mt. Hamilton; Her Garden; The Vikings; Quantum Theory; Down to the Sea in Ships; Iowa; Franklin's Men/Northwest Passage

Personnel

Kristen Strom

saxophone, alto

Kristen Strom: soprano, alto and tenor sax, flutes, clarinets; Scott Sorkin: guitars; Ken Okada: bass; Jason Lewis: drums, percussion, vibraphone; Dahveed Behroozi: piano (3): Aaron Lington: bari sax, bass clarinet (2, 7); Jeff Lewis: trumpet (2) flugelhorn (2), cornet (8); John Worley: trumpet (2) flugelhorn (7), cornet (8); John Gove: trombone (2, 5, 7, 8); John R. Burr: piano (2, 8); Rick Vandivier: guitar (2); Dan Robbins: bass (2)

Album information

Title: Moving Day: The Music of John Shifflett | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: OA2 Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Best Jazz Christmas Songs Of All-Tim...
< Previous

Bridges
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.