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Step Tempest review for Fowser/Gillece “DuoTone”…

steptempest.blogspot.com

Like Nowell, this is the third release on Posi-Tone for the duo of Ken Fowser (tenor saxophone) and Behn Gillece(vibraphone).  Aptly titled “Duotone“, this is also their third release that features a different rhythm section. For this collection of 10 originals (all but 2 by Gillece), bassistDavid Wong, drummer Willie Jones III and pianist Donald Vega get to lay down the grooves.  In many ways, this music reminds of the Harold Land-Bobby Hutcherson group from the late 1960s into the 70s.  Nothing is forced, nothing phony, just smart melodies and chord patterns for the various soloists to play with.  Peruvian-born pianist Vega is solid throughout offering up excellent background and several fine solos, especially on “Attachment” when he starts way down on the left side and rambles up the keys. His rubato opening to “Spontaneity” with harp-like glissandos, sets the tone for the handsome piece.  The blend of piano and vibes do not always work but Vega and Gillece complement each other in so many ways.  Fowser’s tenor is quite musical; his solos tend to be built off the melody lines and he never forces the pace. “One for G” is a perfect example of his bluesy style, reminiscent at times of Hank Mobley.   That does not mean the music is tame. The fire created by Wong and Jones III on the hardbop opener “Overcooked” and the hard-edged “Back to Back” is impressive; Gillece and Vega really dig deep and let loose on the latter track.

Duotone” is pleasantly unpretentious music, truly joyous bop at its best.  Fowser and Gillece, as well as their excellent rhythm section, are always in sync – no one attempts to steal the spotlight.

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A nice piece on Ken Fowser Behn Gillece from the Jazz Wrap blog….

jazzwrap.blogspot.com

Ken Fowser/Behn Gillece Quintet

Ken Fowser/Behn Gillece (sax; vibes)

Getting excited about new jazz music is very easy for me. While there are very few artists who are trying to reinvent the wheel; there are quite a few that just trying to keep tradition alive and sounding fresh. One of those groups is the Ken Fowser/Behn Gillece Quintet.

One of the instruments outside of the piano and saxophone that I love the most is the vibraphone. It may seem like an easy instrument to incorporate into the mix of any group but you would be gravely mistaken. It does add an ethereal element to mix but it is difficult to get it to the point where the instrument is one of the leading parts of the group. The greatest players, Bobby Hutcherson, Lionel Hampton, Gary Burton, Dave Pike, Milt Jackson to today’s new guard, Joe Locke, Jason Adasiewicz, Stefon Harris, Mike Mainieri and Steve Nelson have made it look easy. While all of these artists (past and present) have shined as leaders; they have had the dueling counterparts to accompany them and challenge them.

Now I think we are all about to stumble upon another group that hopefully will stand the test of time and be mentioned in the breath with the new guard of vibraphonists and their co-leaders. Ken Fowser and Behn Gillece already with two albums under their belt are those co-leaders who really posed for much larger attention.

Seeing Ken Fowser and Behn Gillece live fully convinced me that this pairing, with a bit of longevity could live up to some of the great groups like Chick Corea/Gary Burton, Milt Jackson/John Coltrane, Bobby Hutcherson/Herbie Hancock, etc. Big lofty claims–maybe. But this quintet is the real deal.

Both Both Fowser and Behn Gillece honed their skills together in Philadelphia before continuing their studies in New York. They performed together and separately with various local groups in the late 2000s but it wasn’t until 2009 that they paired up and released their first record together as the Fowser/Gillece Quintet with the debut Full View (PosiTone Records).

Full View featured veteran pianist and One For All member, the great, Dave Hazeltine, Adam Cote on bass and Paul Francis on drums. While the majority of the music is written by Gillece you wouldn’t really notice it because its so fluidly perfected for both sax and vibes that you don’t realize who really is the leader on any particular piece.

Full View is a wonderful and exciting debut, rich with a modern hard bop, romantic styles that shows these guys know exactly what their doing and where they want to take the listener.
“The Hutch” gets the proceedings jumpin’ and immediate interaction between Fowser and Gillece shows that they have worked together for years. Fowser then takes the lead and shows some impressive chops with Hazeltine handling rhythm masterfully in the background. Fowser then turns the duo over to Gillece and Hazeltine. Cote and Francis rise later to the occasion, both with considerable voice and emotion. As expected Fowser and Gillece close this out on a gentle but still uptempo note.
On “Act Of Disguise” the group adds a little funkier groove but it’s still in the hard bop tradition. Hazeltine’s solo work here fabulous. “Act Of Disguise” could settle nicely on a Hazeltine or Eric Alexander record. The group perform a lovely rendition of Mal Waldron’s “Soul Eyes” that with the element of vibes makes this already sombre piece seem a bit more ethereal and kind of uplifting. A precious moment indeed.
Ken Fowser’s “Two Pair” features some great work from Adam Cote on bass in addition to Fowser and Gillece’s seamless communication making them almost the same note inside your head. It’s a young group outside of the veteran Hazeltine but they perform with a maturity that is far beyond their years.
That maturity would soon explode wide open with their latest release, Little Echo (PosiTone Records). This time out with a whole new lineup featuring young but also veterans in the New York jazz scene, Quincy Davis (drums), Ugonna Okegwo (bass) and Rick Germanson (piano). Okegwo recently performed with saxophonist, Alexander McCabe and pianist, Uri Caine (on McCabe’s Quiz album), Germanson has been lighting up the scene for awhile now with his own group and the always dynamic, Quincy Davis (worked with Tom Harrell, Walt Weiskopf and Ted Rosenthal) has added a unique timbre to this session.
While “Resolution” sets a swingin’ tone on the outset, its the Fowser penned “Ninety Five” that really shows the collaboration of Fowser and Gillece have taken the step up from Full View. The playing is more bold and well developed. Fowser and Gillece sound fully comfortable and the rest of the group are higher up in the mix and involved from every note. The material onLittle Echo is for each member and each member stands out more as a result.While Full Viewhad the classic mixture of originals and interesting covers, Little Echo screams with colourful and expressive self-penned material.
“Sap” is a fiery piece which Gillece and Gemanson have some great back and forth conversations. Gemanson is the real revelation for me form this session. His playing is solid with a really high energetic voice. The whole group gets in on this one with some fantastic solo performances both from Germanson, Davis and Fowser. And while Okegwo’s bass may sound down in the background you can hear he’s tearing it up as well.
“Vigilance” is another moment in which the quintet delivers a sizzling performance and you really get a feel for how Fowser and Gillece interact with the rhythm section on their respective parts. Gillece is killer with Davis and Germanson while Fowser is a bit more refined letting the rest of group construct the colour and shape around him. But together the quintet is smokin’ and you really want “Vigilance” to go another five minutes.
“You” is a lovely midtempo piece where you don’t really notice the leaders as much as you notice the cohesion of the quintet. At this point you realize this is probably the quintet that should record together all the time. It’s a group that challenges and follows each other with a dynamic and unique vision and a sound that is beautiful in execution and hopeful together again despite the commitments of the various groups they all oversee.
Both Ken Fowser and Behn Gillece perform separately and together throughout New York City (mainly Smoke and Smalls in particular). You need to check them out because it’s the live experience that will really make the final connection for you. This duo is and will be formidable for year to come. Little Echo is a great document of quick maturity from the first album and a real statement on the quality of the new generation of jazz. Excellent stuff.

 

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Peter Hum’s rundown of Fowser/Gillece “Little Echo” taken from the pages of jazzblog.ca ……..

Little Echo (Posi-Tone)
Ken Fowser & Behn Gillece

jazzblog.ca

Unlike Dana Lauren, the saxophonist Ken Fowser and vibraphonist Behn Gillece, who are a few years older than she is, have a very focused take on their stylistic turf. They are unabashed lovers and perpetrators of hard bop and a brand of modal jazz that more secular than the spiritual style that John Coltrane ushered into being. Some would call Fowser and Gillece guardians of the flame, while others might deride them as “reboppers.”

How much you enjoy their disc, Little Echo, might depend in part on where you fall on that flame-keeper/anti-rebop continuum. At the level of genre and style, Little Echo is very much reminiscent of the straight-down-the-middle hard bop and modal jazz that the Blue Note label during the late 1950s and 1960s. It also brings to my mind the discs that featured pianist McCoy Tyner and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson.

I don’t have an issue with the stylistic turf that Fowser and Gillece chose to stake out. But the other issue, of course, has to do with the amount of excitement and distinctiveness the disc delivers. In this regard, I’d say that the CD falls short. Here are two excerpts from the disc:

One Step At A Time is a riffing swinger that takes the harmonic grid of Speak Low as its point of departure:

Also falling in the disc’s swing category is its opener, Resolution, reminiscent of Four. The disc ends with the bopping medium tune Another View.

Other tunes are more modal romps, such as the minor-key tune Sap, the major-key waltz You, and Ninety Five, the simple straight-eighths tune heard below, which strives for a soulful vibe:

For my tastes, too many of the disc’s tunes are a little too basic in terms of structure and and overly riff-based, resulting in a disc that feels to me somewhat generic and predictable rather than specific and surprising. The better tracks are Gillece’s You, which has a bit more harmonic material and emotional heft to it, and the tune Vigilance, which groove-wise is a bit more varied and involved. Best perhaps is the evocative ballad The Dog Days, which finds Gillece and Fowser hitting the right notes of vulnerability and tenderness.

Overall, it’s Gillece’s playing that provides the disc’s highpoints. He’s the most consistently flowing, melodic instrumental voice on Little Echo. Fowser on tenor saxophone has a nice, classic sound, but he plays with less fire and sophistication, I think.

Pianist Rick Germanson, bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Quincy Davis — very much a trio of seasoned musicians — accompany the young leaders and make the music sit in the pocket. But I don’t feel as much engagement with the music and with the session’s leaders as I think their could have been. Germanson, for example, takes a fine solo on You, but some of his other solos — on a piano that incidentally seems a bit tinny to me in the upper registers — strike me as correct and polished, but not more.

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Raul D’Gama’s AAJ review for “Little Echo”…

www.allaboutjazz.com

If Marc Free, Nick O’Toole and the team at Posi-Tone Records continue producing albums in the same manner as they have been since the inception of the label in 1994, they will surely be further along the path to emulating the legacy of the Blue Note label, which has produced some of the finest music of our time. Little Echo, by saxophonist, Ken Fowser and vibraphonist, Behn Gillece, is a further testament to the label’s determination to keep contemporary music in the jazz idiom alive. These young musicians are sublimely talented and have partnered with pianistRick Germanson, bassist Ugonna Okegwo, and drummer Quincy Davis to produce a memorable gem of a record.

Fowser has a moist, lyrical, broad tone that lopes up and down the tenor registers like a proverbial gazelle. The young vibraphonist, mature beyond his years, is a very expressive player and possesses a bright, resonant tone. His four-mallet approach looks like Gary Burton‘s and Joe Locke‘s, but swings harder and is more bluesy—often leading to the belief that he has listened carefully not only to Milt Jackson and Bobby Hutcherson, but also to the prodigious work of Victor Feldman. The two men swap soli with telepathy, kindling melodic fires that are fed by their astounding sense of harmonic invention. The flames of this music are fanned by the excellent Germanson’s harmonic stretches, and Okegwo’s rhythmic boogieing, combined with Davis’ subtle rhythmic shading.

None of the music is credited on the album, but in the ultimate analysis it may not matter. Whoever was responsible for it appears to be an old soul—or souls, as the case may well be. There is a fair amount of music here to suggest strong bebop roots that go back to Howard McGhee. However, the soulful “Ninety Five” and the harmonics of “Little Echo” certainly suggest that these musicians also pay their respects to musicians like Les McCann. “Sap” is a fine exercise in modal magic. The brooding elegance of “The Dog Days” suggests that this ensemble can also swagger languidly rather than swinging energetically all the time. Fowser is excellent and forlorn throughout the opening of the piece, and Germanson is languid and beautiful beyond belief. This is a perfect vehicle for a vibraphonist, and Gillace’s sublime talent is on fine display here—as is the rhythmic invention of Quincy Davis—making the song a centerpiece to what is a marvellously crafted album.

 

 

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Tim Niland’s review for Ken Fowser/Behn Gillece “Little Echo”…


Tenor saxophonist Ken Fowser and vibraphonist Behn Gillece have been playing jazz together since they were growing up in Philadelphia. Now based in New York City, the co-leaders are joined on this album by Rick Germanson on piano, Ugonna Okegwo on bass and Quincy Davis on drums. The result is a classy album of mainstream jazz with a bit of a Bags & Trane vibe, with bright sounding boppish saxophone and light, nimble vibes leading the way. The opening “Resolutions” sets the tone for the remainder of the album, establishing a medium tempo-ed swinging groove, and setting the stage for a series of short round robin solos. “Sap” shows the band playing in an uptempo and probing nature, spinning off a swinging vibraphone solo and a well controlled saxophone solo. “The Dog Days” slows the proceedings down to a ballad tempo, featuring spare and open light sounding vibes, and a slow and languid saxophone solo reflecting the lazy grandeur of the title. “One Step at a Time” has a sharp and classy aura centering on some deeply swinging saxophone that spirals out at length on a fine statement. While all of the tracks on the album proper are originals, a bonus track included in the eMusic download is a real treat, the standard “A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square” taken as a slow and tender ballad with Fowser building a patient and thoughtful solo that really tells a story and makes the melodic nature of their improvisation stand out. This was a solidly swinging album of mainstream jazz from some promising young musicians. On the whole it is classy and well performed and recommended to mainstream jazz fans.

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Peter Hum reviews “Little Echo”…

communities.canada.com

Little Echo (Posi-Tone)
Ken Fowser & Behn Gillece

Unlike Dana Lauren, the saxophonist Ken Fowser and vibraphonist Behn Gillece, who are a few years older than she is, have a very focused take on their stylistic turf. They are unabashed lovers and perpetrators of hard bop and a brand of modal jazz that more secular than the spiritual style that John Coltrane ushered into being. Some would call Fowser and Gillece guardians of the flame, while others might deride them as “reboppers.”

How much you enjoy their disc, Little Echo, might depend in part on where you fall on that flame-keeper/anti-rebop continuum. At the level of genre and style, Little Echo is very much reminiscent of the straight-down-the-middle hard bop and modal jazz that the Blue Note label during the late 1950s and 1960s. It also brings to my mind the discs that featured pianist McCoy Tyner and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson.

I don’t have an issue with the stylistic turf that Fowser and Gillece chose to stake out. But the other issue, of course, has to do with the amount of excitement and distinctiveness the disc delivers. In this regard, I’d say that the CD falls short. Here are two excerpts from the disc:

One Step At A Time is a riffing swinger that takes the harmonic grid of Speak Low as its point of departure: Also falling in the disc’s swing category is its opener, Resolution, reminiscent of Four. The disc ends with the bopping medium tune Another View. Other tunes are more modal romps, such as the minor-key tune Sap, the major-key waltz You, and Ninety Five, the simple straight-eighths tune heard below, which strives for a soulful vibe:

For my tastes, too many of the disc’s tunes are a little too basic in terms of structure and and overly riff-based, resulting in a disc that feels to me somewhat generic and predictable rather than specific and surprising. The better tracks are Gillece’s You, which has a bit more harmonic material and emotional heft to it, and the tune Vigilance, which groove-wise is a bit more varied and involved. Best perhaps is the evocative ballad The Dog Days, which finds Gillece and Fowser hitting the right notes of vulnerability and tenderness.

Overall, it’s Gillece’s playing that provides the disc’s highpoints. He’s the most consistently flowing, melodic instrumental voice on Little Echo. Fowser on tenor saxophone has a nice, classic sound, but he plays with less fire and sophistication, I think.

Pianist Rick Germanson, bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Quincy Davis — very much a trio of seasoned musicians — accompany the young leaders and make the music sit in the pocket. But I don’t feel as much engagement with the music and with the session’s leaders as I think their could have been. Germanson, for example, takes a fine solo on You, but some of his other solos — on a piano that incidentally seems a bit tinny to me in the upper registers — strike me as correct and polished, but not more.

 

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Lucid Culture reports in joyfully on the classic stylings of Fowser/Gillece “Little Echo”…


Ken Fowser and Behn Gillece Ask, Your Place or Mine?
August 4, 2010

This is what the Mad Men soundtrack ought to sound like. On their new album Little Echo, tenor saxophonist Ken Fowser and his vibraphonist cohort Behn Gillece have teamed up for an absolutely period-perfect, gorgeously melodic collection of golden age-style jazz. This is the kind of thing you can stump your jazz snob friends with: guess which 1959 group this is? Maybe a previously unknown Chico Hamilton session with Hamp, maybe? Even the cd cover images and fonts come straight out of the late 50s Columbia catalog, and for anyone who owns actual physical albums from the era, they’re a dead giveaway. To call this boudoir jazz doesn’t give enough credit to the strength and intelligence of the compositions, but with the nocturnal ambience created by the intermingling of the piano and the vibes, it’s the jazz equivalent of Al Green or Sade. If there’s a population explosion among jazz fans in the next nine months or so, blame these guys. Here Fowser and Gillece – who wrote all but two of the compositions – are joined here by Rick Germanson on piano, the ubiquitously reliable Ugonna Okegwo on bass and Quincy Davis on drums.

The genius of the songs here – and they are songs in the purest sense of the word – is their simplicity: the “jukebox jazz” label recently applied to JD Allen’s recent stuff aptly describes this as well. The band set the tone right off the bat with the ridiculously catchy Resolutions, with brief and vivid solos by Fowser, Gillece and Germanson in turn. A Fowser composition, Ninety Five employs a slinky guaguanco vamp as the launching pad for some balmy sax work followed by a more aggressive turn by Gillece. The band pass the baton around on the next one: Gillece plays a horn line, Germanson scurries along and Fowser bounces off the bass and drums.

The dreamy ballad The Dog Days is a showcase for Fowser sultriness, Germanson impressionism and a hypnotic, slow Gillece solo over steady piano. Upbeat latin tinges and a soaring sax hook give the next cut, Vigilance, a summery blissfulness. Germanson anchors the deliciously noir-tinged latin jazz of the title track as Fowser prowls around on the low notes: the utterly carefree, closing-time style piano solo might be the most vivid moment on the entire album. Fowser’s One Step at a Time offers more than a hint of Gil Evans era Miles Davis; Gillece’s ballad You mines some choicely pensive modalities on the way to the blues; the closing cut Another View works a shameless So What quote into the wee-hours bliss of the opening track.Marc Free’s production goes back to the golden age as well – he doesn’t overcompress the vibes or the piano and puts Okegwo’s tireless bass walks up just high enough that you appreciate all those tireless walks, without making it sound like hip-hop. It’s out now on Posi-Tone Records.

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Bruce Lindsay’s AAJ review for Fowser & Gillece’s “Little Echo”….


Little Echo is a delightful collection of bop-influenced tunes—contemporary, but with the authentic sound of a classic late-’50s or early-’60s ensemble. The quintet sounds like it brings many decades of experience to the recording yet the co-leaders and composers, saxophonist Ken Fowser and vibes player Behn Gillece, are still only in their late-20s. This is their second quintet album although their debut, Full View (Posi-tone Records, 2009), featured a different rhythm section.

Fowser’s tenor playing is characterised by a brightness that complements Gillece’s ringing vibraphone sound, giving their playing a welcoming, positive, feel. Gillece has composed most of the tunes here—Fowser contributed “Ninety Five” and “One Step at a Time”—but every track finds the pair sharing the limelight whether playing tight unison parts or trading solos. Their unison playing is splendid—exemplified on “Sap,” where they play hard and fast, on the smoother groove of “Resolutions” or on “Another View” where they show a funkier edge. Each man can solo with verve as well, as can pianist Rick Germanson whose piano style can move from gutsy and swinging to more understated playing with apparent ease.

Although Fowser and Gillece get their names on the cover, this is very definitely an ensemble recording. The three remaining members of the quintet are crucial to the album’s sound, underpinning the sax and vibes with some exemplary rhythm work. Drummer Quincy Davis has a light and sensitive touch: his subtle playing ensures that the tunes swing but never intrudes on the front-line players. Ugonna Okegwo’s bass playing is always thoughtful and considered, a perfect match for Davis whether driving upbeat tunes like “One Step at a Time” or adding softer, more emotive, tones to “The Dog Days” or “You.”

Little Echo is an assured album from a fine quintet. Fowser and Gillece are an extremely effective partnership and the band readily creates a welcoming atmosphere with stylish and confident musicianship. Marc Free’s production is superb and the Posi-tone “house style” packaging adds another touch of quality to the album.

Track listing: Resolutions; Ninety Five; Sap; The Dog Days; Vigilance; Little Echo; One Step at a Time; You; Another View.

Personnel: Ken Fowser: tenor sax; Behn Gillece: vibraphone; Rick Germanson: piano; Ugonna Okegwo: bass; Quincy Davis: drums.
Read more reviews of Little Echo.