After sitting next to someone on the bandstand night after night, you get to know a guy - and his playing. From the first day Paul McKee ioined me in Woody Herman's trombone section back in 1984, he and I made an immediate connection both musically and personally, so for me, writing these notes for Paul's long-awaited debut recording as a leader is a special privilege.
Paul calls this recording a "realization of a longtime dream." Part of that realization involved the formidable task of organizing a group of his favorite players and placing them in appropriate combinations to best express each piece in this satisfying collection. Paul's trombone is heard in a wide variety of sellings, and with each new configuration yet another facet of his remarkable playing is revealed.
I've been listening to Paul for 14 years now, and his playing continues to evolve with no signs of stopping. Breaking the classic stereotype of the brash and overbeoring trombonist, Paul's lines ore intelligently organized and melodically smart, while also connecting to the listener on a deeper, emotional level. Technically speaking, he's in complete control of his instrument, and his unique harmanic sensibilities never faiI to keep one's head cocked and eyebrows raised.
As much as Paul's playing will grab your attention on this CD, listen to his ensemble writing, and you'll see that he's equally talented as a composer and arranger. All nine selections on this recording were arranged by Paul, and three are his own compositions. While the personnel may make wholesale changes from track to track, the unifying sound crafted by Paul's pen gives us seamless segues from one size ensemble to the next.
Paul's opener, No Cover, based on the chord changes to John Coltrane's Resolution, has an aggressive, angular quality and provides an excellent vehicle for blowing. Little Gus is constructed from mysterious melodic fragments and a groove best described as loose New Orleans second-line. But Paul's writing also goes beyond the conventional. He explains that his uniquely original Skid Row is "based on a tone row of the 12 notes in the chromatic scale. The opening melody states the sequence which then becames the basis for the harmonic progression. Actually, it's sort of a twelve tone - twelve bar blues."
Paul's takes on standards have breathed fresh life into familiar tunes that may have otherwise been abandoned. After the pensive statement of its theme, Harold Arlen's Out Of This World gives us a straight shot of salsa heated up by the percussive fire of Alejo Povedo, and a clever version of I Remember You incorporates devious meter changes at a burning clip, displaying Paul's amazing up-tempo chops on the horn. Listening to the performance of Snowfall might lead people to ask, "where has this tune been hiding?" Anything but a new tune, the inclusion of this former theme song of the Claude Thornhill band was a suggestion of Paul's father, and it receives on ingeniously updated treatment creating a fresh and attractive sound through imaginative reharmonizations and a light jazz waltz feel.
It's every musicians wish to someday perform alongside those who were their first musical influences. Paul's wish is granted in the form of a quintet with Carl Fontana. Fontana is a trombonist's trombonist with a signature style, and Paul skillfully bends his own musical approach Carl's direction, creating an almost homogenous sound when the two play together. There are times when they improvise polyphonically that the listener might lose track of who's who, but in their solo moments each player makes his individual voice known, and most importantly, the players' great musical respect finds their two approaches complementing, not competing.
Another obvious display of simpatico is evident between Paul and another player from the jazz legend category, trumpeter Bobby Shew. With his clear, dynamic sound and engaging panache, Shew is the perfect foil for Paul's smooth, confident tone and articulate creativity.
It was on the Herman band that Paul met trumpeter Ron Stout and drummer Jim Rupp. His love for their playing brought their names to the forefront when choosing sidemen for this session. There's something to be said for working and virtually living with players for an extended period of time, and that is revealed in Stout and Rupp's stylistic chemistry with Paul exhibited on three tracks here. Joining them is New York saxophone luminary, Tim Ries. His inventive style is a comfortable fit on No Cover and little Gus, and his alto flute, when paired with Stout's warm flugelhorn and Rupp's tasty
brush work, adds considerable beauty to Snowfall.
A stronghold on Chicago's iazz scene and a frequent performer at the city's legendary Green Mill iazz club, Paul has had access to the best players the city has to offer. Along with the exemplary solo offerings of pianist Ron Perillo and saxophonist Mark Tuttle, Paul wasted no time enlisting the additional supportive talents of pianist Mike Kocur, bassists Kelly Sill and Larry Kohut, drummers Bob Rummage and Joel Spencer, along with the frontline voices of saxophonists louis Stockwell and Jerry DeMuzio. Combining with the afore mentioned "out-of-towners," the seasoned bunch of veterans weaves the essential texture canvas on which Paul's gallery of sonic portraits can be realized.
When he's not busy playing in Chicago's jazz scene, the graduate of the University of Northern Iowa with a masters degree from the University of Texas-Austin is also a sought after educator, traveling as a clinician and guest soloist at colleges and universities across the U.S. Paul and I still get a chance to work together on special projects with the Woody Herman band occasionally. Yeah, after all these years you sure get to know a guy, and now with this CD, the jazz world will be getting that same special privilege.
-John Fedchock
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