Richard Underhill

Music:

Member Since: 11/25/2005
Band Website: richardunderhill.com
Band Members:

RICHARD UNDERHILL: Moment in Time

Straight ahead, hard swinging modern jazz, great writing and arranging, impeccable playing, audiophile sound.

RICHARD UNDERHILL: Tales from the Blue Lounge

Juno winning solid mainstream jazz that swings hard on the strength of fine sax playing & excellent organ/guitar work. 10 memorable originals that reference jazz greats from Monk to Mingus to Ornette, brought to life by Canada's top jazz musicians.

Kensington Suite CD performers:

Richard Underhill - alto sax
Chris Gale/Perry White -tenor sax
Reg Schwager/Erich St-Laurent - guitar
Artie Roth/Brand Disterheft - bass
Joe Poole - drums
Aline Morales/Mafata Lemphane -percussion
Scott Good - trombone

Moment in Time CD performers

* Bob Brough - tenor sax
* Luis Guerra - piano/rhodes / arranger
* Mike Milligan - bass / Graig Earle - bass / arranger
* Joe Poole - drums / Daniel Barnes & Davide Direnzo - drums
* William Carn - trombone
* Chris Gale - tenor sax
* Jono Grant, Samba Elegua - percussion

Influences: Dave Brubeck - my first jazz album was 'Time Out'
Herbie Hancock - my second jazz album was 'Headhunters'
Sun Ra ( I saw him at the squat theatre in NYC when I was 16. I'll never forget Marshall Allen's rendition of 'My Old Flame'...Life changing.
Air - Henry Threadgill!
Charles Mingus - love his blues based compositions and passionate uncompromising playing
World Sax Quartet - always have liked these guys, hey I'm a sax player!
Combine rhythmic playing with free and classical influence, and of course the blues.
Thelonious Monk - for his wonderful effortless compositions that go straight to the heart of jazz harmony and remain completely singable
John Coltrane - he set the bar very high
Bird - cause I'm an alto player. I love him, but hate the fact that I hear him in my playing. I can't help it!
Eric Dolphy - for his angular lines and bop-no-matter-what-note-you're-playing-style
Sonny Rollins - simple is good, melody is good, repetition is good, Sonny is great
Rhassan Roland Kirk- unbelievable that he could do what he did
Pharoah Sanders - for his 'watery vibrato'
Fraser MacPherson - smooth as silk
Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Arnette Cobb, Lester Young - why don't I play tenor?
Ornette Coleman - Brilliant simplicity
Don Cherry - opened for him at the Outside In festival
The Art Ensemble of Chicago
Cecil Taylor - Love his solo shows
Abdullah Ibrahim - The richness of his voicings
Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra - my 3rd jazz album was a swing compilation
Old and New Dreams - wonderful band
Charlie Haden
Foday Musa Suso
Xero Slingsby, fantastic street/stage sax player who used to play with an old WW2 tank driver microphone on his throat..put his sound thropough wah pedals and FX.

Here I am sitting in with Dumpsta Funk in New Orleans, Feb 11/2006. What an honour!..

'second album builds on considerable promise'

CODA - Richard Underhill Moment in Time Stubby Records SRCD-7732

Altoist/composer Richard Underhill's second disc away from the often-comic contours of The Shuffle Demons builds on considerable promise. While he works in familiar territory, Underhill has a keen ear for detail as a bandleader, a neat talent for finding the right elasticity in his tunes-not bad at all on a set that features the choice of two different bassists and three different drummers-and good lungs and ideas as a soloist. It all comes together especially well in sly tracks like "A Few Things" and "Chasing the Sun," which never stay quite the same as you might expect, while "Traffic" is fairly mischievous with Joe Poole's canny drumming. As for detail, check the opening of "Morse Code," with its sprinkles of piano (Luis Guerra) and pulse bass (Mike Milligan). Can we get a live album next? Randal McIlroy

'A stellar effort'

Echo Weekly - Kitchener - Tales From The Blue Lounge

...'tales from the blue lounge' is a stellar effort and well deserving of the Juno kudo. The feeling harkens back to the mid-late 60s jazz in the style of Rollins or Cannonball Adderly. Underhill himself refers to this sound as "modern vintage," an apt description. The compositions are a somewhat diverse collection of 10 tunes with nothing too outrageous or too mundane - just solid joyful tunes filled with rollicking solos and a delightful feel all around. Some parts are positively Demonesque while others harken back to a New Orleans style. This is an lp to get lost in and be totally happy about it. Highly recommended!

Jere B INDEPTH:

Richard Underhill: Moment In Time

Stubby Records www.richardunderhill.com

Canadian Alto Sax Monster Richard Underhill’s “Moment In Time” is a Jazz Dream come true. It is a complete album, exhibiting all of the intensity, passion and grace of this rich history in the traditions of the true masters. There is no doubt that Richard Underhill’s excellent compositions will take their rightful place in the future book of standards. This album is a must have for any serious collector.

Underhill, 2003 Juno award winner (Canada’s equivalent of the Grammy’s ®) for his solo debut “Tales from the Blue Lounge” formed two very forceful rhythm sections for this new outing which punctuates the heterogeneousness of his magnificent playing. The constant presence of virtuoso pianist Luis Guerra and tenor sax master Bob Brough along with splashes of guest musicians make “Moment in Time” a timeless wonder.

“Perry’s Place” begins our trek into greatness with bassist Graig Earle and drummer Daniel Barnes laying down a powerful swing set for the hippest melody this side of the Potomac and then it’s right into a charismatic solo by Guerra, followed by a powerful statement by Underhill. Earle takes an opening bow on his towering bass with some fabulous co-signing by Barnes and you immediately understand that you just walked into a fabulous evening.

But wait. The very next tune, “Day Off” trades rhythm spaces with Mike Milligan on bass and smooth stickster, Joe Poole in the drum chair. With the addition of Brough harmonizing and schmoozing in on his fat tenor, the mood deepens, but swings just as hard.

Back to position one on the third offering “A Few Things” and the first band picks up where they left off when we arrived. Cuban born Guerra’s playing is exceptional in every respect. Whether he’s comping or soloing, he’s always in the pocket with fresh perspectives to add to the harmonic palette. The combination of Underhill and Brough is a tight fit and Bob gets to show his prowess as the band moves over and lets him go.

“Morse Code” has all the chroma of a frantic forest fire. It’s an unstoppable fury that destroys everything in its path. The static team of Earle & Poole provides the perfect storm for the lightening hot Luis Guerra to move from staggered 8th notes to vigorous solos as the mad saxophonists try to quell the drama to no avail, so they end up joining the may lay. Drummer Joe Poole's playing here is beyond intense. It’s psychotic with a control factor reminiscent of Max Roach. His alternating stick-n-brush work is marvelous. Pure Heat. This is my favorite track.

“Will of the People” follows. And just in time, too. It’s a poignant, thoughtful mid-tempo ballad to smooth things over while you try to recollect yourself. But this doesn’t mean the tune doesn’t have its own heat. After an assuaging 90-second introduction, the band settles on a recurring 4 bar obbligato that contemplates tension over tenderness. The saucy percussive textures provided by Joe Poole are perfect suspensions beneath the arc of Afro Cuban and traditional rhythms. Underhill delivers a smoldering solo and once again Luis thoroughly engages us in yet another profound solo.

At this point it’s probably best that I slow down and point out how intrigued I am with the genius of pianist Luis Guerra. At just 21 years old, this man is a prodigy. He’s Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett and Ahmad Jamal in one body. His playing is well beyond his years and I am looking forward to the inevitable solo album bearing his name as this unsung hero has an incredible gift to contribute to the world of jazz.  

The next track, “Chasing The Sun” is my second favorite. The introduction of trombonist William Carn adds a new dimension to the evening and provides a robust punch to Barnes’ snap happy snare. Earle’s lanky bass romps along square in the pocket as Guerra dances all through the groove. The great thing about an Underhill composition is his approach to pacing. He knows how to stir up a groove, slow it down to a simmer and then allow it to boil in its own energy. The pace of this as well as the other tunes on this album is acutely synergistic.  

“Waiting for Something to Happen” rolls right into focus without warning and expresses the aforementioned pace I just spoke to. You can feel the stretch of the elastic measure as emphasized by Milligan’s pliant bass. He grants us insight to his approach with a remarkably snug solo, which while delicate, tugs at our imagination. The swing of this song is irrefutable. The band weaves in and out of tempo – from none to mid to fevered & cascading and back. Anything can happen as Luis’ piano asserts. The playful motif after his solo provides ample ground for Poole to explore before climbing back onto the magnetic melody for the ride home.

“Traffic” is pure fusion. And pure fun! And this time Milligan and Poole hang around for the ride. The tune is as light and airy as it is deep and cunning. Everyone gets a turn at the wheel as we whisked about the city, sometimes a little air bound, but always with our eyes open. The scene is Downtown Toronto and you might get bumped if you’re not paying attention, but Poole’s careful drumming and spirited solo navigates us through the underpass without a scratch. I particularly love the interplay between the ‘car horn beeps’ and the drums. Ingenious. If I were forced to pick a third, this would be it!

We slow down again at “3 AM.” Our early morning (or very late night) tryst is introduced by Captain Guerra and once again the participation of Carn’s vibrant trombone adds a unique flare, this time with solo firmly in hand. This song is smothered in elegance and you wish all after hour joints were as plush. Earle’s nimble playing caresses your senses and makes you forget about sunrise. This is the ‘moment in time’ Underhill must have been referring to.

The album ends with “Where Were You When The Lights Went Out?” an ode to a day of celebration where, according to Underhill, the city of Toronto “shook off our digital shackles and became a small town again.” This song is pure Crusaders music, circa 1977. Luis assumes a Fender Rhodes piano and Earle is joined by guest drummer Davide Direnzo, whose cymbal work, rimshots and starlit snare construct a festive climate in which fellow invitees, percussionists Jono Grant & Samba Elegua, along with additional tenor saxophonist Chris Gale join Carn and the crew in the middle of the street for a late night parade…makes me want to shut off my computer for a day! NOT!

From beginning to end, “Moment in Time” is nothing but pure delight. Every song is fresh and unique with a story all of its own. The one dynamic that is continually inspiring as I replay the music over and again is Underhill’s use of the alternating rhythm sections and how they are sequenced throughout the album so each song possesses its individuality though you never lose context or structure. The recording and mix is flawless and the ‘sound’ of the record is as warm as early June. You hear and feel every nuance and texture no matter how intense the band’s playing, you maintain a solid footing throughout. When I became interested in writing reviews, I wanted to make sure that I spotlighted indie musicians, who for the most part are still under the radar of the masses. When I listen to exceptional composer/musicians like Richard Underhill, I am very glad I chose this path, for I am thrilled to present his music to you. Happy Listening!

Hey kids, here's the proof! I'm heading to the Juno Cup hockey game against the NHLers!! The Hound Line (Wendel Clark, Russ Courtnal and Gary Leeman) will be there, as well as Paul Coffey! Awesome! For more info, click here. Juno Cup

Sounds Like: "...a cross between Eric Dolphy, Paul Desmond and Ornette Coleman."
Record Label: Stubby Records
Type of Label: None