| Jeff is one of the top free-lancing trombonists in the Boston area. Jeff also has an extensive teaching background. He is currently an Assistant Professor at Berklee College of Music. His performing experience includes a tour of Europe with Phil Woods and a tour of Japan with Makoto Ozone. Jeff has performed with such notables as Chick Corea, Clark Terry, Joe Lovano, Phil Woods, Slide Hampton, and Buddy De Franco, Gunther Schuller, Ray Charles, Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, and the Boston Pops Orchestra. He performs with his own bands and the Galindo/Phaneuf Sextet, with which the cd "Locking Horns" in 1998 was released. |
The Lello Molinari Project
Regattabar
Cambridge, MA
October 2, 2001
A Cd release party is undoubtedly an exciting occasion for a band, and the excitement was in the air as the Lello Molinari Project celebrated the release of Multiple Personalities. Molinari was joined by band members Marcello Pellitteri on drums, George Garzone on tenor saxophone, guitarist Mick Goodrick, vocalist Chiara Civello, pianist Frank Carlberg, and Jeff Galindo on trombone for an extended set that featured works from the current disk and included a surprise or two from earlier releases.
A hallmark of the Lello Molinari Project is the use of intricate rhythms that increase in complexity as a piece progresses, and this was certainly the case during the Regattabar performance. Each musician in the group performs with an intensity that can best be described as frenetic assurance. The paces set by Molinari on bass and Pellitteri on drums are fast and furious, but the interplay among musicians makes it clear that the performance is an exercise in communication, resulting in a confident and smooth execution of each work. This interplay is one of the highlights of watching Molinari’s group in a live performance; it provides visual evidence of the aural cohesion that is created on their most recent disc.
If one of the members of the Lello Molinari Project deserves to be singled out for an outstanding solo performance, it is trombonist Jeff Galindo’s work on “Nothing Cheap,” a track from the group second disk. Galindo demonstrated incredible energy, whether playing down and dirty in the instrument’s low range or in hitting the high notes that would seem high on a trumpet and damn near unattainable on the trombone. Galindo not only attains these notes – he holds them, he smears them, he bends the pitches, and then he does it all over again.
Garzone gradually invaded Galindo’s solo turf and performed a saxophone solo with a recurring riff reminiscent of Woody Woodpecker’s famous laugh – a reedy phrase that provided a perfect complement to Galindo’s solo work.
The final half of the group’s set featured four tracks from Multiple Personalities. “Mardy Gras” is a quick example of everything that Molinari’s group does well. The opening is played so quickly that it aurally captures the spirit of Mardy Gras, complete with a swinging scat solo by Civello. Molinari’s bass solo harkens back to Civello’s phrasing, and the sound of the bass strings rattling against the bassboard echoed throughout the piece, which ended with each member of the group contributing to a very precise, controlled musical mayhem.
Following the soulful Italian ballad “Malafemmena”, the project let loose with “Tarantella”, which has to be the closest the Regattabar will ever come to a folk festival in a small Italian piazza! The final work of the evening was “Invitation” – an aptly named work, since Molinari Invited each band member to perform one last solo during the piece, the impetus of which is a chromatic scale in the guitar.
The Lello Molinari Project is as exciting in a live performance as it is on disk. Check out lellomolinari.com for information on upcoming performances, and give Multiple Personalities a listen for a preview of coming attractions.
-Katie DeBonville
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The Ghost Band from Signal to Noise (excerpted from the full festival review):
"Alto player Jim Hobbs built up an ensemble of local ringers (Jason Hunter, tenor sax; Arnie Krakowsky, tenor sax, clarinet; Charlie Kohlhase, baritone saxophone; Greg Hopkins, trumpet; Jeff Galindo, Dave Harris, trombones; Bill Lowe, bass trombone, tuba; Pete Fitzpatrick, guitar; and Tatsuya Nakatani, percussion) around the core members of his Celebrated Orchestra (Taylor Ho Bynum, cornet; Timo Shanko, bass, and Django Carranza, percussion) for a set of rollicking big-band freedom. Hobbs put together quirky charts that combined hurtling riffs, slinking grooves, and contrapuntal, warped lines full of jazz voicings and rock energy and let the players rip. He provided just enough guidance to keep things from careening out of control, and the band tore into the pieces with a boisterous dynamism. There was liberal room for solos all around with plenty of vigorous blowing, particularly by the leader. MVP awards went to Shanko, who provided a stalwart anchor while whipping the music along with bass lines that caterwauled with vivacious swing, and Nakatani, whose splayed sense of free drive churned against Carranza's thundering rhythms, giving the music an edgy vivacity."
- Michael Rosenstein, Signal to Noise Magazine, Winter 2002
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Mingus-inspired septet are Marvels
By Steve Greenlee, Globe Staff, 6/6/2003
Jazz has had several great composers -- Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Wayne Shorter -- but one of them made such an indelible mark on American music that he has inspired ensembles to play his material almost exclusively. The most obvious of these tribute groups is the Mingus Big Band, based in New York and run by Mingus's widow, Sue. But Boston has its own hail-to-Charles group, a septet called James Merenda's Masked Marvels.
They aren't masked, but they sure are marvelous. The group plays Costello's every Sunday, and Wednesday night they played Ryles Jazz Club. The first set succeeded in cramming as much fun as possible into 60 minutes.
The four horns were front and center -- Merenda's alto sax, Timo Shanko's tenor, Doug Olsen's trumpet, and Jeff Galindo's trombone -- but the rhythm section of pianist Art Bailey, bassist Jef Charland, and drummer Luther Gray was so fresh that an entire set from them would be enjoyable.
The testosterone-laden horn playing, though, is what gives this group its identity. Opening with ''Tonight at Noon,'' they began with a honking, squealing storm that sounded like a rush-hour traffic jam, and then launched into what might be called ''Mingus on speed.'' Merenda bleated and then played melodically and then bleated some more during his solo.
''Peggy's Blue Skylight'' started with an unaccompanied solo by Merenda before the group entered with sass. ''Portrait'' featured the lovely, smooth vocals of Vanessa Morris, who sang the melody while Merenda improvised.
Each of the musicians deserved praise, but extra credit is due Galindo for his crisp trombone -- he never even approached the mike, unlike most trombonists, who seem to need to get right up on the thing when they solo. Galindo instead played with power and laser-like precision.
For all their individuality, it was the chemistry of these seven men that sent adrenaline coursing through our systems. It was evident not only on their spirited run through ''Boogie Stop Shuffle'' but also on the one non-Mingus tune of the set, Don Pullen's ''Saturday Night in the Cosmos,'' a jaunty, odd-metered number that sounded like funk-blues crossed with New Orleans jazz.
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MITCH SEIDMAN / CHARLIE KOHLHASE / JEFF GALINDO
Congeniality
Cadence Jazz Records / CJR 1118
Already familiar with his work with the Either Orchestra, I am becoming increasingly impressed with Charlie Kohlhase's work as a leader. Two releases in particular, Life Overflowing with John Tchicai and You Start with Matt Langley, have allowed me insight into Kohlhase's saxophone playing in a smaller ensemble setting and more importantly, his capabilities as a composer. Kohlhase's latest, Congeniality, is a trio record with guitar and trombone (Mitch Seidman and Jeff Galindo respectively).
I have listened to three dozen versions of Thelonious Monk's (and not including his own) "Misterioso" and without hesitation I recommend this one to even the die-hardest straight-aheaders due to its accessibility and panache. Galindo's plunger technique adds further volume and brilliance to the tune, making it the album's highlight. Julius Hemphill's "Pensive" gets treated with a saxophone/guitar/bone (in that order) intro that makes way for a remarkable alto solo from Kohlhase. Kohlhase's baritone and Galindo's trombone make for quite a pair on Albert Mangelsdorff's "A Certain Beauty," that is also intriguing for its subtle melody.
Relatively a straight-ahead outing, Congeniality is a stark reminder of Kohlhase's rising star and commendable playing.
- Fred Jung
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