Album Review: 'Paraphrase' by the Matt Blostein and Vinnie Sperrazza Band

I anticipated my first year living in New York being something of a musical treasure hunt: searching out hidden venues, independent record stores, and stumbling upon unsung heroes of the jazz scene.

To be sure, they’re all out there, but they’re not hard to find. Finding interesting jazz music in New York City isn’t like finding a needle in a haystack; it’s like finding hay in a haystack. Perhaps the rare treasure in this city isn’t a worthwhile concert, but an appreciative, sizeable audience.

My experience in the Brooklyn scene suggests, however, that audiences aren’t so important as communities. Jacob Garchik pointed this out whenI interviewed him for this publication.

A community of musicians and friends will support each other’s shows even when there’s not a lot of money involved. In these communities, music seems to quickly take on the personalities of the musicians involved, who are more concerned with communication and expression than with adherence to a particular tradition.

Recordings like Matt Blostein and Vinnie Sperrazza’s Paraphrase exemplify this. A labor of love among artists with great sensitivity to one another, Paraphrase is thinner and more delicate than most mainstream jazz. The absence of a chording instrument provides harmonic freedom for soloing, and the compositions aim for melodic direction over harmonic explicitness.


Full review on http://jazz.about.com/od/2011jazzreleases/fr/Album-Review-Paraphrase-By-The-Matt-Blostein-And-Vinnie-Sperrazza-Band.htm