Digest These 'Short Stories' by the Tony Moreno Quintet on Mayimba Jazz [REVIEW]

The Short Stories (Mayimba Jazz) of Tony Moreno includes 15 tracks on two CDs and it moves, man, with a decidedly post-bop swinging feel. It's best played really loud where you can hear the interplay, the joyousness and the incredible chops of the players on music written by Duke Ellington, Kenny Wheeler, drummer/composer/bandleader Moreno, saxophonist Marc Mommaas and trumpeter Ron Horton.

Fifty years ago, when Moreno was 10, Elvin Jones gave him his first drum set. As a teenager, Art Blakey gave him lessons. These two giants knew his mom, Nina Dunkel Moreno, a professional harp player who was also nationally known as a pianist, musicologist and teacher. Tony is an NYU professor who lived and worked abroad for six years and has appeared on over 100 recordings as one of the most sought-after percussionists in the business.

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy wiped him out and he lost everything. This, then, is his thank you for all the people who helped get him up and running. The 55 Bar on Christopher Street in Manhattan gave him a residency. He also started writing the music that would turn into Short Stories. The sax/trumpet/piano/bass/drums format gives the quintet room to move. It's kinetic...appealing...wildly entertaining...the type of project that demands repeated listening and rewards the ear for such when new things can still be discovered. The Ellingtonia of "C Jam Blues" closes out Disc #1. Two Kenny Wheeler numbers ("Foxy Trot" and "Three For D'Reen") open each disc. (Canadian Wheeler [1930-2014] worked most of his career in Great Britain and his Angel Song was among the best jazz albums of 1997. Kudos to Moreno for keeping his legend alive!)

"El Rey" and a pared-down closer "El Rey Take #2" are tributes to Elvin Jones. Other highlights include his own "No Blues To You" (which you can hear below) and "Erroll Garner." The man knows his jazz history and in no other genre is that history still alive with ghosts hovering over our current crop of practitioners. Think about it! In that way, it's like baseball.

TagsTony Moreno, Mayimba Jazz, REVIEW, Kenny Wheeler