Album Notes

Jeff Silverbush, tenor saxophone
Joe Fiedler, trombone
David Berkman, piano
Ed Fuqua, acoustic bass
John Bollinger, drums

This quintet is an outgrowth of two quartets that Jeff Silverbush led in the mid and late 1990's. One quartet played 54 songs by Thelonious Monk, the other (named "Speak No Evil") played 17 songs by Wayne Shorter. Each quartet worked regularly in New York and each appeared as part of the 1998 JVC Jazz Festival.

When he decided to focus on his own compositions, Mr. Silverbush combined musicians from his Monk band with musicians from his Shorter band and added trombone. This new band played his compositions on dozens of gigs before recording them. The result is an album of coherent, passionate and thoughtful music - sometimes full of fun and sometimes introspective.

Mr. Silverbush is enamored with the sound you get when you combine a tenor saxophone with a trombone: "When I think of tenor sax/trombone combinations, I think of the bebop of Sonny Rollins with Jay Jay Johnson, the free jazz of Archie Shepp with Roswell Rudd, and a few others. But mostly, I think of the dark and hardy sound of the tenor/trombone combination and its diverse palate of colors."

On this recording, Mr. Silverbush shows his skills as both a composer and improviser. Trombonist Joe Fiedler shows why both Andrew Hill and Anthony Braxton have chosen him for their recordings. Palmetto recording artist David Berkman shows why he's one of the first call pianists on the New York City scene, as well as a leader of some of the more interesting jazz recordings of today. Bassist Ed Fuqua and drummer John Bollinger show some beautifully unified rhythm work.

As Mr. Silverbush puts it, "I'm fortunate to be working with amazingly vibrant and seasoned musicians on this album. They really know this music and they breathe a lot of life into it."