David Sepulveda Photo
Jeff Fuller.
“Angola,” the opening track from Jeff Fuller and Friends’ latest release, Shoreline Blues, asserts its fleet Latin rhythms and cheery disposition from the first curl of notes from the piano, the first two hits of the drum, the first notes of the bass moving upward into the rising chord progression that follows. Having swept into the mood quickly, the players — bandleader Jeff Fuller on bass, Darren Litzie on piano, and Ben Bilello on drums — after dancing their way through the head, let the groove breathe through the solos without losing any of the momentum they unleashed when they launched the tune. A quick six minutes later, though, the trio settles back into the melody that started the piece, tagging it with a spark of an ending.
Quick on its feet, assured, and accomplished, “Angola” is a harbinger for what else is in store on Shoreline Blues — and what audiences might expect if they celebrate the album’s release with the band at Best Video on June 29.
If the projects within the orbit of the New Haven Improvisers Collective are occupying the freakier end of jazz in the Elm City, Jeff Fuller can be said to be among those who are holding down the genre’s more traditional end. Working within the time-honored format of the jazz trio, Fuller, Litzie, and Belillo revel in the melodies and tonalities of Fuller’s compositions and riffs on a few standards, with joyous results. For all the melancholy that a title like Shoreline Blues might suggest, “Angola,” is downright sunny. The album then moves into the breezy swing of “Think on This.” The contemplative “Finding the Path” is buoyed by a reassuring undercurrent of emotion; in the world of this song, everything is going to be all right. The minor cast of “Friday the 13th” can’t keep its mood down. And the album closes with “Billie’s Bounce,” which might be the most swinging track on the record.
The keen musicianship on display throughout is nearly flawless, both in each player’s proficiency on his instrument and in his chemistry with the other band members. The musicians’ skill is matched by an unfussy, crystal-clear production. The piano is crisp. The bass leans perhaps uncharacteristically on some of its higher frequencies, which works especially well on Fuller’s solos. The drums are clean and tight.
It’s all very pleasant, warm, and inviting, and if that sounds like faint praise, it isn’t meant to be. Like dancers who seem to float a few inches above the floor when they move, Fuller, Litzie, and Belillo are so good at what they do that, even when the band is working its hardest, all you hear is sunlit freedom, relaxation, and ease. Which is why the album’s title is perhaps appropriate after all, because it’s gently ironic. Shoreline Blues in the end, sounds like nothing so much as a great afternoon on the beach. And when the sun’s on your face and there are low waves lapping at your feet, how blue can you really be?
Jeff Fuller and his trio play at Best Video Film and Cultural Center, 1842 Whitney Ave. in Hamden, on June 29. Visit Best Video’s website for more information.