Let’s Call This That
Double Time Records DTRCD-157
Hal Galper - Piano, Tim Hagans - Trumpet, Jerry Bergonzi - Tenor Sax, Jeff Johnson - Bass, Steve Ellington - Drums
1. Let's Call This That2. The Babes Of Cancun
3. Diane's Melody
4. Upon The Swing
5. In Love In Peacock Park
6. I'll Keep On Loving You
7. Constellation
Total Time 64:15
Veteran jazz pianist Hal Galper has an impressive calling card - after studying with Jaki Byard at Berklee in the late 50's, he played with Sam Rivers in Boston, and from there went on to be a valued sideman with other greats such as Cannonball Adderley, Chet Baker, Stan Getz and Phil Woods (making a dozen albums with the Woods quintet).
"Let's Call This That" is his twenty-fourth album as a leader. To a distracted listener the quintet format, with tenor and trumpet, might make this seem like a typical straight-ahead date; in fact, Galper takes it further than that. A thoughtful choice of tunes sets the stage, and the quintet turns in a set of feelingful performances.
Jerry Bergonzi, sounding Traneish, plays forcefully; Tim Hagans shows his usual uncompromising personality. But the real meat for me is the rhythm section. Galper, Johnson and Ellington are a highly responsive unit with unusual flexibility. Galper's comping behind the soloists is every bit as interesting as the solos themselves, and his own piano solos show a spontaneity and imagination younger pianists would do well to contemplate.
He is not usually associated with the avant-garde, but listen to his solo onParker's "Constellation," for example, and you'll realize how easily he ranges from the "inside" to the "outside."
In the notes, Galper says of this album, "It's OK for a studio date," and that's about accurate. It documents a gifted quintet but makes me want to hear them live rather than spin the record repeatedly. I don't like the way the instruments are mixed, with the piano slightly distant and thin, and that doesn't help matters. But if you're unfamiliar with Galper, you should correct that state of affairs, and his playing here is a good example of what he can get up to.
Tom Storer.
Perhaps best known for his excellent work with Chet Baker, Cannonball Adderley and Phil Woods, pianist Hal Galper has led some very worthwhile groups of his own over the years and produced a series of good recordings, this one being no exception to the quality he strives to maintain.He has a philisophoical attitude to the studio environment and is quoted in the notes as saying: ‘Recording’s for documentation. I like to playing for an audience.’ However, he proves here that he can perform very imaginatively without a room full of onlookers.
A contemporary of Sam Rivers and Tony Williams, he learned his craft in Boston, and includes in this set pieces by Rivers ( Let’s Call This That ) and another distinguished Bostonian, the late Jaki Byard ( Diane’s Melody ).
Galper has surrounded himself with good players here. Front-line men Tim Hagans and Jerry Bergonzi both impress while Jeff Johnson and the experienced Steve Ellington are a driving, supportive twosome.
These musicians can hard bop with the best, but they also enjoy playing outside and flexing the time. Galper includes his own tribute to Bud Powell with an excellent version of Bud’s ballad I’ll Never Stop Loving You. Hal observes: “Bud Powell is a very lyrical writer, and simple. I’ve always tried to emulate Bud’s dryness in my trio. His presentation was so dry, so unadorned, like a dry martini.’
This number is performed by piano, bass, and tenor, and is arguably the most outstanding track. But also most stimulating is a frantic, headlong refurbishment of Charlie Parker‘s Constellation on which the Galper digits work overtime.
There’s plenty to chew on in this well delivered set in which the five players are not afraid to take backward glances, yet remain essentially contemporary in their outlook.
Mark Gardner; July 2000 issue of Jazz Journal International.
Hal Galper has staying power. Having helped fuel the flights of Chet Baker, Cannonball Adderley and Phil Woods, the Boston-area pianist has been out in front of his no-nonsense trio for well over a decade. With drummer Steve Ellington, who’s been with the pianist since the trio’s inception, and Jeff Johnson, on board for over six years, the Galper trio has congealed into one of the tightest groups of the day. Here, recalling the great Galper five-some of the late 1970’s with Michael and Randy Brecker, The pianist has added tenorist Jerry Bergonzi and trumpeter Tim Hagans for a muscular session of inspired contemporary improvisations.
The gritty Sam Rivers title track provides the date’s keynote. Taut yet loose, the neo-bop frame is a perfect jumping-off spot for spiraling solos by Bergonzi, Hagans and Galper. Jacki Byard’s “Diane’s Melody” is taken here as a melancholic dirge, thus serving as a poignant tribute to the tragically murdured pianist. Dave Friesan’s stop-start “Upon the Swing” opens as a pell-mell burner before passing through a portal where free-jazz arabesques unfold between punctuating reiterations of the melody. The moving balladic rendition of Bud Powell’s endurable “I‘ll Keep On Loving You” with only tenor sax, piano and bass, places Galper and the mighty Bergonzi at rhapsodic heights. In all, a richly diverse and deeply felt date worthy of close and repeated listening.
Chuck Berg; May 2000 Issue of Jazz Times Magazine.
