Search - Larry Vuckovich :: Young at Heart

Young At Heart

Anne Smith | Fort Bragg, CA USA | 01/21/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A true jazz band is a community effort, an everyone's band, free of exhibitionism. Each soloist is a great conversationalist. Every note makes sense yet everything swings with the awesome power of the band. You can hear the wonderful relationship in the music, the heartbeat of the drummer, the soul of the traditional jazz alto sax, the rhythm of the guitar, and the heart and language of the piano. Young At Heart is such a jazz band, authentic, traditional, and swinging. Larry Vuckovich's light, lyrical touch and fleet-fingered movements remind me of Teddy Wilson, who played piano with Benny Goodman in the 30s. Vuckovich is also a great conversationalist on the piano. Every note he plays has meaning while telling a story. His music, while well grounded in traditional jazz, has what he refers to as "emotional swing", a passionate, soulful style, which probably has something to do with his Balkan roots, the melancholy juxtaposed with the joyful. They say, "it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing". Young At Heart swings with tunes such as "Why Not" and "Jumpin' At The Woodside", popularized by Count Basie. The title of the band comes from Lester Young, dubbed "President of the Tenor Saxophone" by Billie Holiday. The swinging "Jumpin' with Symphony Sid" was a Lester Young original composed for the NYC deejay, Symphony Sid. The two hornmen on the album, Noel Jewkes and Jules Broussard, form the two tenor concept, popular in the fifties, which is at the heart of the Young At Heart ensemble. "Lester People" is Jewkes' tune and arrangement, a tribute to Herb Wong's and Bob Houlehan's Sunday San Francisco KJAZ radio show, "The Heart of Jazz". The scintillating solos of Jewkes and Broussard in the Ernie Wilkins' "She's Just My Size", backed up by the keyboard mastery of Larry Vuckovich, is jazz music at it's finest. Bassist, Nat Johnson is not only the heartbeat of the rhythm section but he sings with cool and soul in "Sweet Lorraine", while Broussard's traditional jazz alto sax provides the back up. Once of my favorites on the album is "Besame Macho", a Vuckovich original, inspired by the tune Besame Mucho. It features Josh Workman's riveting Spanish guitar solo, Jewkes' melodic flute, Broussard's singing alto sax, Vuckovich's emotional Latin piano rhythm, and the syncopated percussion of Louis Romero's congas. It's a mesmerizing piece that makes you want to hear more. Young At Heart is a wonderful tribute to Lester Young and the Golden Age of Jazz with it's light and lyrical melodies, it's pure and honest emotion, and it's accomplished musicians who make their instruments sing and swing. The recording is clear and crisp and can only be improved on by seeing and hearing the band in live performance. There are no disappointments on this album."