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Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band: The Reset

By Jack Bowers
December 16, 2021
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Gordon Goodwin

composer / conductor
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Gordon Goodwin's dynamic Big Phat Band rumbles back onto the scene with The Reset, a somewhat less-than-big-phat album whose dual purpose, according to Goodwin, is to express hope and gratitude in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic and to honor one of Goodwin's mentors, the late

Sammy Nestico

composer / conductor
1924 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Sammy Nestico. Goodwin calls the album an EP, whose twenty-eight minute playing time places it in roughly the same ballpark as a vinyl LP from the good old days before digital recording and streaming.

The EP comprises five selections, and according to the jacket notes, "all songs [were] composed and arranged by Gordon Goodwin"—with the exception of two of the five, Nestico's "Cell Talk" (the last chart he wrote before his passing at age ninety-seven in January 2021) and David Foster, Tom Keane and Cynthia Weil's "Through the Fire," stridulantly sung by

Vangie Gunn

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Vangie Gunn. Goodwin, did, however, arrange them all. His three compositions are the opening "Reset," funky "Six Feet Away" and a sunny and swinging salute to Nestico, "My Man Sam."

The throbbing, staccato "Reset" seems a perfect companion piece for a pandemic, pressing relentlessly forward behind stormy solos by tenor

Brian Scanlon

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Brian Scanlon and guitarist

Will Brahm

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Will Brahm and a wordless vocal, most likely by Gunn. Alto

Eric Marienthal

saxophone
b.1957

" data-original-title="" title="">Eric Marienthal is showcased on "Six Feet Away," which includes some of Goodwin's typical harmonic twists and turns to underscore drummer

Ray Brinker

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Ray Brinker's forceful timekeeping. Gunn starts well on "Through the Fire" but is no match for the song's higher register, her attempts to impart emotion coming across as more unhinged than impassioned.

Goodwin and the band quickly regain their footing on "My Man Sam," a no-nonsense rocker whose splendid solos are by Marienthal, muted trumpeter

Mike Rocha

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Mike Rocha, tenor

Jeff Driskill

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Jeff Driskill and the always enlivening

Andy Martin

trombone
b.1960

" data-original-title="" title="">Andy Martin on trombone. While there are no solos on "Cell Talk," there is a "bonus" in the form of a brief introduction by Nestico himself. The buoyant theme is pure Nestico, which is to say it swings and sways in the manner that his memorable charts for the

Count Basie

piano
1904 - 1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Count Basie orchestra always did. It also pauses midstream as if to open a second "conversation," as charming as the first. An uneven EP but one whose drawbacks are more than redeemed by the last two numbers.

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Track Listing

The Reset; Six Feet Away; Through The Fire (Feat. Vangie Gunn); My Man Sam (For Sammy Nestico); Cell Talk

Personnel

Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band

band / ensemble / orchestra

Gordon Goodwin

composer / conductor

Brian Scanlon

trumpet

Will Brahm

guitar

Jeff Driskill

saxophone, tenor

Jay Mason

saxophone, baritone

Sal Lozano

saxophone

Eric Marienthal

saxophone

Wayne Bergeron

trumpet

Dan Fornero

trumpet

Mike Rocha

trumpet

Dan Savant

flugelhorn

Ray Brinker

drums

Kevin Axt

bass

Joey DeLeon

percussion

Andy Martin

trombone

Charlie Morillas

trombone

Francisco Torres

trombone

Craig Gosnell

trombone

Vangie Gunn

vocals

Album information

Title: The Reset | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Music of Content

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