Straight Ahead , Hard Swinging Jazz

7 MP3 Songs
JAZZ: Bebop, JAZZ: Traditional Jazz Combo



Details:
Drummer Jeff Donavan and bassist Larry Muradian came together years ago, forming a quintet called the Nairobi Trio. They began a still-running Sunday residency at Busters in South Pasadena. Curtis Brengle settled in on piano. There was a great album (âStraight Aheadââ¦look for it). They changed their name to the Donavan-Muradian Quintet (DMQ). They gigged steadily around Pasadena, and released the fine âPacificoâ, with saxophonist Chuck Manning and trumpeter Kye Palmer settling in. Time came to document DMQâs sound as Pasadena jazz fans had been hearing it, live. Café 322, a new nitespot in nearby Sierra Madre, proved ideal. Itâs a great jazz room, with a good crowd and good pasta. Youâre listening to the date. Keep moving, keep swinging. Put this album on and just try and sit still. When DMQ get in the hard bop groove itâs like driving on a wide open Pasadena Freeway. This album sounds so good you pass right by your exit, by all the exits. You want to keep on driving. Straight ahead. Brick Wahal (LA Weekly)