Label: Self released, 2021
Personnel - César Cardoso: tenor sax; Miguel Zenón: alto sax; Jason Palmer: trumpet; Massimo Morganti: trombone; Jeffery Davies - vibraphone; Oscar Graça: piano; Demian Cabaud: bass; Marcos Cavaleiro: drums.
Taking best advantage of his arranging skills for big band and honoring some of his musical heroes, the 39-year-old Portuguese saxophonist César Cardoso trails an arresting musical path with his newest album, Dice of Tenors. With this purpose in mind, he gathered a supple octet in which he shares the frontline with two American horn mavericks, Miguel Zenón and Jason Palmer, and the Italian trombonist Massimo Morganti. The program includes two originals and six famous tunes whether penned or made famous by titanic reedmen such as John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, Joe Henderson, Sonny Rollins, Benny Golson and Dexter Gordon.
Golson’s “Along Came Betty” arrives with an intricate reharmonization, thriving with a Latinized groove and metric adventure. It’s a wondrous jazz fantasy whose arrangement recalls the Dave Holland Quintet, in part due to the substantial presences of vibraphone and trombone. The solos come from bassist Demian Cabaud, Cardoso, and drummer Marcos Cavaleiro, whose final expansions are tinged by horn colorings.
Irving Berlin’s “Remember” evokes the high-spirited vibe of Hank Mobley’s hard-bop, which is reinforced by Palmer’s killing solo and then slightly deflected through the positive misconstruction offered by the pianist Oscar Graça.
The focus on bringing the contemporary and the tradition together is also evident on “Three O’Clock in the Morning”, here tested in seven for an enchantment other than that offered by Dexter Gordon on the album Go (1962). Another example is Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”, impeccably crafted with shifts in tempo and no interruption of the energy flow. Palmer delivers again, but it's the master Zenón who steals the show with elastic bursts of expression.
The original material, “Rafaela” and “Agueiro”, matches the spirit that Cardoso envisioned for this body of work. The former, embracing relaxation and flowing with an additive meter (3+3+3+4), allows us to experience a polyrhythmic effect as the melody takes shape; the latter sculpts a post-bop narrative with an occasional balladic touch.
Joe Henderson’s “Recorda-Me” and a curious arrangement of Sonny Rollins’ “St. Thomas” complete the session.
At the first sight, the familiarity of the track list may cause some bold listeners to turn up their noses at the disc. Yet, if that's the case, the ambitious arrangements and the apt execution are here to make them change their minds.
Grade B
Favorable Tracks:
01 - Along Came Betty ► 05 - Giant Steps ► 10 - St Thomas