Jim Seeley/Arturo O'Farrill Quintet CD

Jim Seeley: Jim Seeley (trumpet); Arturo O'Farrill (piano, electric piano, keyboards).
Personnel: Jim Seeley; Andy González (acoustic bass, double bass); Phoenix Rivera, Phoenix Rivera (drums, percussion); Jed Levy (flute, tenor saxophone).
Audio Mixers: Jim Seeley; Kato Hideki.
Liner Note Authors: Jim Seeley; Arturo O'Farrill.
Recording information: OK Studio, Brooklyn, NY (2003).
Ensemble: Arturo O'Farrill.
Although trumpeter Jim Seeley co-leads the quintet on this Zoho CD with pianist Arturo O'Farrill, he is very much the dominant force. Seeley contributed all eight selections and is the most memorable soloist in the group. The music includes a tribute to Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers ("Truth Juice"), a few funky jazz pieces, the straight-ahead blues "New Meaning," and a brief unaccompanied trumpet solo ("Child's Toy"). Seeley teams up with the underrated tenor saxophonist and flutist Jed Levy and the rhythm section of the Lincoln Center Afro-Latin Orchestra (pianist O'Farrill, bassist Andy Gonzalez, and drummer Phoenix Rivera). The music is not as Latin-oriented as one would expect from this personnel and can be considered hard bop with funk overtones. Most importantly, this CD introduces Jim Seeley as a potentially major new trumpeter and a rare jazz export from Kansas. ~ Scott YanowDown Beat (p.67) - "Superb trumpeter Seeley writes catchy melodies for the hard-bop quintet he co-leads with pianist O'Farrill..."