Claffy, Alexander
Cellar Music, 2022, CD
Instrument: Guitar
Issue: 28.1
Jazz Ruler Type: Bebop
Performance: 4
Sound: 3
Score: 82
O’s Notes: Jazz bassist Alexander Claffy assembled a pickup band for a live-streaming concert in 2020. It was far more than a pickup team with Benny Benack III (t), Nicole Glover (t-sax), Julius Rodriguez (p) and Joe Farnsworth (d). That band was too good for a one-and-done appearance, hence Claffy’s Good Spirits! They open burning on McCoy Tyner’s “Inner Glimpse” followed by “For the (late) Great Gerald Cannon”, one of two Claffy originals. We also enjoyed “There But For the Grace Of” with a rousing solo from Farnsworth, “Beeb’s Lament”, “Beijing Parrish” and “Isotope”. Claffy is wise to allow his band mates lots of airtime. The energy is spontaneous and contagious.
Publicist: Lisa Reedy Promotions