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Paul Samuels: Speak
BY BILL MILKOWSKI JAZZ TIMES
Cleveland native Samuels leads this smoking session that features heavy hitters Dan Wall (a frequent collaborator with John Abercrombie) on Hammond B3 organ and Greg Osby on alto sax. Samuels is a seasoned, swinging, longstanding accompanist with keenly interactive instincts. He reacts here to the ebb and flow of Osby’s pungent, twisting alto lines and Wall’s harmonically advanced, Larry Young-style B3 wailing on clever arrangements of Thelonious Monk’s “Trinkle Tinkle” and “Ruby My Dear,” Frank Foster’s “Simone,” Ornette Coleman’s “The Blessing” and Wayne Shorter’s “ESP.”

Jamey Haddad adds percussive coloring on fresh, rhythmically inventive interpretations of John Coltrane’s “Naima” and Wayne Shorter’s “Fall” (both featuring Osby on soprano sax). Samuels also shows his deft touch and adeptness at metric modulation on his stirring title track. From start to finish, this stimulating disc is full of audacious risk-taking and forward-thinking energy. It’s a must for adventurous listeners, organ aficionados, and connoisseurs of hip.

Paul Samuels began his professional music career in his native Cleveland Ohio at age 14. He has recorded and toured internationally with many acclaimed artists including Greg Osby, James Moody, David Fathead Newman, Lonnie Plaxico, Hank Crawford, Pat the Kid Martino, Jack McDuff, and Gerald Levert, among others.