Album Review: Hidden Gems from Brent Laidler

Album:  Hidden Gems
Artist:  Brent Laidler
Label:  BEL Records LLC
Website: https://brentlaidler.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BrentLaidlerMusic/
https://brentlaidler.bandcamp.com/album/hidden-gems
 
Hidden Gems is the third project from composer-arranger-guitarist-bandleader Brent Laidler and features arrangements inspired by such jazz luminaries as Dave Brubeck and Cannonball Adderly.  Some listeners will consider the compositions as contrafacts, creating improvisations based on original material.  And some listeners will consider Laidler's works as completely original, being adaptations of original works with new melodies and new chord reharmonizations.  However people wish to view Laidler's material, there is no denying that the compositions are easy on the ears, promoting sleek improvisations and harmonious collaborations among his sextet.

Accompanying Laidler in his adventure are Mark Buselli on trumpet, Ned Boyd on saxophone and flute, Jamie Newman on organ, Scott Pazara on bass, and Richard Floyd on drums.  All are based in the Midwest like Laidler and have performed on his previous releases.
 
The album opens with “Haba Verde" bolstering a balmy bossa nova rhythm.  The arrangement is based on a popular song from a Muppet movie, which Laidler modified, placing Buselli's smooth trumpet ripples in its core followed by Laidler's softly simmering guitar riffs and the airy flickers of Boyd's flute.  The calming ambience is what listeners would call elevator music or landau music with its Acapulco samba-esque luster, giving one a vision of dolce vita.
 
The inspiration for “Shomeda Way” is from a theme song written by Dave Brubeck for a television show that ran for just one season.   The fluttering wails of Boyd's saxophone jump out at the listener while the serene sounds of Laidler's guitar glisten a visceral serenity, as bassist Pazara and drummer Floyd hold the keel steady.  Returning to a Latin flavor, “Gemani,' inspired by a Cannonball Adderly tune, spotlights the nimble movements of the saxophone cradled in the soft tremors of Newman's organ and Floyd's splashing cymbal strikes.
 
The soothing atmosphere of “Ballad For B” highlights the creamy texture of Buselli’s flugelhorn, inciting the listener to be swept up its calming swells.   The samba grooves of “Riffy Business” have a vintage flare reminiscent of Antonio Carlos Jobim, and the shuffling beats of “Somewhere in Central Park” resonate a swinging vibe emblematic of the Lawrence Welk Orchestra. 
 
Originally a waltz with a Latin flavor, Laidler transformed "Evening Song" into a smooth jazz swing tune, layered in the gentle rustle of his guitar chords and the glinting toots of Buselli's trumpet, infusing a sentimental touch in the arrangement.  A blending of reggae beats and swinging horns, “Petite Parasol” adds new elements into the recording, then closes with the waltzing stride of "Without a Tres."
 
Laidler's adaptations, improvisations, and revamped harmonic forms are a tranquilizing elixir for the ears.  His arrangements promote harmony and unity, inviting the listener into this world of boundless tranquility.
 
Musicians:
Brent Laidler - leader, guitar, composer and arranger 
Mark Buselli - trumpet
Ned Boyd - saxophone and flute
Jamie Newman - organ
Scott Pazara - bass
Richard Floyd - drums