Live at Smalls Frank Lacy

• 1 Stranded (Live) 12:20
• 2 Think On Me (Live) 10:31
• 3 Alicia (Live) 09:32
• 4 Spirit Monitor (Live) 08:02
• 5 Carolina's Dance (Live) 11:46
• 6 Sunbath (Live) 09:38
• 7 Intrepid Fox (Live) 10:19
• Total Runtime 01:12:08

Info for Live at Smalls

One of the greatest albums we've ever heard from trombonist Frank Lacy -- an artist who hardly ever takes the spotlight as a leader, but who really shines at the helm of this amazing set! The group has a depth of feeling that takes us back to some of Lacy's more spiritual projects of previous years -- but they also swing with the solid, soulful groove of the best of the Smalls Live series -- a perfect balance between Frank's arrangements and larger musical ideas, and all the spontaneous energy of the musicians in the venue! Players include Josh Evans on trumpet, Stacy Dillard on tenor, Theo Hill on piano, Rashaan Carter on bass, and Kush Abadey on drums -- and tracks are all nice and long, in the best Smalls spirit.

"This recording is fun, because it renders the raw unfiltered truth of the live Smalls experience. It is not one of the label’s best efforts. Emerging players Dillard and Evans possess chops and promise. But they operate at one unrelenting level throughout, with little pacing or contrast, trying to make art by sheer force. On the two tracks where Dillard plays soprano saxophone, he is all over the place, and careens into familiar devices. Lacy, the elder statesman here, is a trombonist with a long left-of-center résumé. He makes the odd decision to take a backseat on his own album. On two tunes he does not solo at all. When he does enter the fray, he is usually brief and often perfunctory. On his own “Spirit Monitor,” he simply recycles the melody. Even on the best track, a wild charge through Freddie Hubbard’s “The Intrepid Fox,” Lacy sounds tentative and gives up after one minute." (jazztimes.com)

Frank Lacy, trombone
Josh Evans, trumpet
Stacy Dillard, tenor saxophone
Theo Hill, piano
Rashaan Carter, double bass
Kush Abadey, drums

Recorded October 16 & 17, 2012 live at Smalls Jazz Club

Frank Lacy
During the ’80s and ’90s, most of the best jazz trombonists were inclined toward free jazz: Albert Mangelsdorff, Craig Harris, and Steve Swell, among them. Others, like Frank Lacy, straddled the fence between avant-garde and mainstream forms. Lacy has played with such free jazz paragons as Henry Threadgill, Oliver Lake, and Julius Hemphill, yet can also count Dizzy Gillespie and Abdullah Ibrahim among the prominent leaders for whom he’s worked. Indeed, Lacy spent a year-and-a-half as music director for Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and played with Bobby Watson’s Horizon band, which says everything about his bop credentials. Lacy was born and raised in Houston, TX. He came from a musical family; his father was a teacher and a guitarist (he played with such musicians as Illinois Jacquet, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, and Arnett Cobb, among others), and his mother was a gospel singer. Lacy began taking piano lessons at the age of eight and took up the trumpet soon after. He played the euphonium and tuba in junior high school, and began playing trombone at 16. Before beginning his advanced musical studies in the late ’70s, Lacy earned a university degree in physics. Lacy attended Berklee School of Music in Boston, where he met and jammed with Branford Marsalis, Greg Osby, and Marvin “Smitty” Smith. He later attended Rutgers in New Jersey. Lacy’s first record as a leader was Tonal Weights and Blue Fire (Enja/Tutu, 1991). Lacy is also a capable section player; he’s worked with big bands led by David Murray and McCoy Tyner, as well as Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy and the Mingus Big Band.

This album contains no booklet.