LEIGH PILZER

KEEP HOLDING ON

Strange Woman Records

Leigh Pilzer, baritone saxophone/composer; Greg Holloway, drums; Paul Bratcher, Hammond B3 organ; SPECIAL GUESTS: Jen Krupa & Joe Jackson, trombones; Kenny Rittenhouse & Ally Hany Albrecht, trumpets.

I have a warm place in my heart for the baritone saxophone as a lead instrument in a jazz ensemble. Leigh Pilzer does not disappoint!  She and her Washington, DC-based group open this album with an original Pilzer composition called “Swinging at the Station.”  That’s just what they do. They come in swinging hard.  Pilzer’s baritone sax opens the piece, pumping the melody into space with Paul Bratcher’s Hammond B3 organ accentuating the groove. That’s when Greg Holloway steps into the picture, bashing his drums and soloing in a surprising and energized way. The party has begun!

Here is a septet that brings that hard-bop, East Coast energy to the forefront. They remind me of the Jimmy Smith club in California’s Los Angeles Valley where I once sat enjoying organ jazz. Leigh Pilzer brings the jazz organ to her production, along with her impressive baritone saxophone talents. Her group more than adequately interprets several original compositions she has written and arranged.

The second track is titled, “Js and Ks,” a throw-back groove that shuffles onto the scene featuring special guest Jen Krupa on trombone. Leigh Pilzer once again shines brilliantly on her baritone sax. She can really swing!

The title tune, “Keep Holding On” is a slow swing that ambles into my listening room with Greg Holloway shuffling his drums and pushing the groove forward. Pilzer has written eight out of eleven songs on this album. Each one is a gem, creating a necklace of awesome tunes that sparkle with diamond brilliance. Out of the first five songs, “Musing Music” is an energized waltz.  But all the other opening tunes on this “Keep Holding On” album “swing” without containment.

“Zingamomma” was written by organist, Paul H. Bratcher, and it offers a funk fueled arrangement that reminds me of the Eddie Harris/Les McCann days of “Compared to What” popularity.  It has that high energy, funky drum appeal, with Pilzer’s baritone saxophone pushing the funk forward on her horn. Bratcher’s organ takes an impressive solo, spurred by Holloway’s demanding drums.

Speaking of the drummer, Holloway has written the closing tune, “G’s Bop.” It continues the energy and driving excitement that this group showers upon us. Their album was recorded “live” in a shared space, adding horns to the core threesome of Pilzer, Holloway and Bratcher. On “G’s Bop” the horn players get to shine. Here is music that will invigorate and slap happiness and joy into every moment.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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