Personnel:
Joan Fort (g), Philip Lewin (b), David Puime (d)
Reference: FSRCD 5133
Bar code: 8427328651332
When I heard the first bars of the opening tune, “So Far, So Good”, I thought, “Wow! The Poll Winners are back”, recalling that famous trio from the ‘50s featuring Barney Kessel, Ray Brown, and Shelly Manne. But the comparison quickly fades as Joan Fort, Philip Lewin and David Puime are definitely having their own sound and are able to take the music to another direction.
Lucky Thompson’s composition “Fly With The Wind” lives up to its name as the band truly takes flight. It swings hard and the interaction between the guitar and the drums is great. “So Nice”, written by the legendary bebop piano player Elmo Hope, has a great feel with Fort playing beautiful lines in his solo and supported by Lewin’s warm bass sound and Puime’s nice fat swinging brushes. Fort’s own composition, “Bush Baby”, begins with a beautiful guitar intro which leads to the melody in a relaxed medium tempo and I hear the phrasing and melodic influence of Jim Hall and Jimmy Raney which is very rare these days. Lee Morgan’s “Hocus Pocus” sounds really swinging in this great trio arrangement and the chase choruses between Puime and Lewin are an example of musicality.
The trio expands into a quartet for the next few tunes with the addition of the excellent pianist Timothy Banchet. “Escapade”, written by the great Kenny Dorham, has a very relaxed and warm feel. Fort’s “Where’s The Plunger?” is a fast swinger with great solos from Fort and Banchet and nice, clear phrasing from Puime. Timothy’s beautiful piano intro is the beginning of awonderful duo performance of the ballad “You Thought My Heart To Sing”, with Fort on guitar. The samba “Book’s Bossa”, written by bassist Walter Booker is played which such a groovy feel that it is impossible not to dance.
The closing tune of this remarkable debut album is the Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart’s standard “With A Song InMy Heart”. This could not be a better ending, starting with a gorgeous rendition of the seldom heard verse by Fort and the beautiful voice of guest singer Sanna van Vliet. The tune ends in up-tempo with a wonderful trumpet solo from Paolo Petrecca another surprising guest.
This is a remarkable debut album of three great inventive and swinging musicians who are making music on a very high level with the guest soloists as an extra plus. They know the language and have the tradition solid in their pockets. The future of Jazz is definitely safe in their hands. I can’t wait to hear their next album!
—Eric Ineke
"Voici revenu le temps glorieux des Barney Kessel, des Gibson ES flamboyantes et des trios magiques comme l’emblématique « Poll Winners » avec Kessel, Ray Brown et Shelly Manne. Le morceau éponyme confirme combien ce nouveau trio frondeur a le feu sacré : le jeu en accords combiné à des lignes rapides en « single notes », l’entente télépathique entre le guitariste et un batteur ultradynamique (le galicien David Puime), le son d’une présence inouïe qui donne l’impression d’être au cœur de la musique… tout ça ne laisse planer aucun doute sur le fait que ce guitariste catalan basé à Amsterdam domine son sujet : un jazz de haut vol qui court du swing au bop avec une grande fraîcheur. Pas étonnant dans ce contexte que quatre des reprises soient des morceaux typiquement Bop (« Fly With the Wind » de Lucky Thompson et « So Nice » d’Elmo Hope) ou hard-bop (« Hocus Pocus » de Lee Morgan et « Escapade » de Kenny Dorham). Pour varier les plaisirs, Joan Fort a convié d’autres musiciens à la fête. Le pianiste Timothy Banchet fait ainsi danser les touches noires et blanches sur quatre titres dont un sympathique Book’s Bossa, jadis joué par Donald Byrd, qui apporte une note de légèreté avec ses rythmes latins. Quant au standard « With a Song in My Heart » de Rodgers & Hart qui referme l’album, il tranche sur ce qui a précédé puisqu’il s’agit d’une version mainstream chantée par Sanna van Vliet, dont on épinglera la maîtrise du scat, et comportant un remarquable solo du trompettiste italien Paolo Petrecca. Rien de vraiment révolutionnaire en soi, mais voilà quand même une musique chaleureuse, vibrante, interprétée avec ferveur par des musiciens qui maîtrisent leur art et, pour ne rien gâcher, parfaitement enregistrée et produite. Sorti sur le label catalan Fresh Sound, l’album « So Far, So Good » vaut largement le détour!"
—Pierre Dulieu (Mai 23, 2025)
https://jazzmania.be/
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"Joan Fort's debut album includes two friends from the lively scene in Amsterdam, bassist Philip Lewin and drummer David Puime. It's heartening to hear youngsters like Fort in full command of the classic jazz language and, to boot, choosing alluring repertoire. When was the last time you've heard anybody play Lucky Thompson's 'Fly With The Wind,' Lee Morgan's 'Hocus Pocus,' Elmo Hope's 'So Nice' and Kenny Dorham's 'Esplanade?' Fort, who's also part of hard-bop group The Dam Jawn, re-evaluates those tunes with gusto and a fat, slightly edgy sound and is backed by a sassy rhythm section.
He's further assisted on a couple of songs by the excellent pianist Timothy Banchet, notably Fort's fast burner 'Where's The Plunger?,' featuring both musicians in a friendly battle of refreshing ideas. The band backs singer Sanne van Vliet on a sophisticated trip down memory lane with 'With A Song In My Heart,' placed at the end of Fort's promising coming out as a solo artist."
—François Van de Linde (April 24, 2025)
https://www.jazzjournal.co.uk/
