Rascality in Bloomington, MN

Tony Purrone
follows up
The Tonester
with another disc featuring his regular trio mates, bassist
Dave Anderson
and drummer
Thierry Arpino
.
Anderson
again lends a funked-up flavor on electric bass, but this time
Purrone
switches between electric and acoustic guitars. On all his
SteepleChase
records thus far,
has surprised listeners by tackling challenging music from the
post-bop
/pre-
fusion
era, including some pointedly non-guitar gems by
Herbie Hancock
and
Wayne Shorter
. Here,
turns his attention to
Joe Henderson
, delivering insightful readings of
"Remember Me"
(usually known as
"Recordame"
),
"Black Narcissus,"
"Afro Centric."
is again represented with the seldom-performed
"12 More Bars to Go,"
and from
Miles Davis
comes the most offbeat choice of all,
"Petits Machins,"
from the
Filles de Kilimanjaro
album.
also has an unconventional look at
"Blue in Green,"
"Body and Soul,"
and vibraphonist
Dave Samuels
's complex
"After PM."
There are times when the sheer busyness of his playing can obscure the depth of his harmonic discoveries. And his acoustic tone here is rather flat and colorless, a disappointment. (Same goes for the record overall;
simply sounds better.) But by delving into
jazz
repertoire played by few (if any) other guitarists,
broadens your understanding of what the instrument can do. ~ David R. Adler