Search - Tony Fruscella :: Tony Fruscella

A brilliant record, a unique trumpeter

Simon | 09/08/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tony Fruscella has a unique sound: hanging almost exclusively in the low and middle register of his horn, he manages to produce a fat, fleshy but whispery tone at the same time - a dense and flowing fog. He's a patient, melodic soloist who can suddenly surprise with probing, intricate phrases: a great storyteller, really. He can also quite coolly blow the blues and spin a one-note riff like Lester Young (with whom he played and shared a few drinks; Fruscella also befriended Jack Kerouac, who evoked the musician in "Lonesome Traveler": "What about that guy Tony Fruscella who sits crosslegged on the rug and plays Bach on his trumpet, by ear, and later on at night there he is blowing with the guys at a session, modern jazz.")



Fruscella had the somewhat bad fortune of being reduced to a "mellow, lyrical cool jazz trumpeter in the vein of Chet Baker". The first bars of "I'll be seeing you" will dissipate any confusion between Fruscella and Baker: Fruscella boldly improvises off the top with fast, swirling lines, then approaches the melody... but never gets sentimental over it.



At his side on this sole album he recorded as a leader, a great little band: the rare Allan Eager on tenor, Bill Triglia on piano (he would later play on Mingus' "Tijuana Moods"), Bill Anthony on bass and Junior Bradley at the drums. Danny Bank (bari) and Chauncey Welsh (trombone) join in on two numbers, "Muy" & "Salt". Eager is truly inspired throughout, Triglia makes the most out of a few bars, and Bradley behind is subtle and swinging.



What also make this record stand out is Phil Sunkel's compositions and arrangements. He wrote 7 of the 9 tunes and thought of simple and original ways to make the horns complement each other and create a cohesive group sound. You can ear that the session - song selection, solos, tempos and moods - was carefully planned and executed. A few compositions have written codas ("Muy" ends with a rousing latin "montuno") and all show a marked personality: it sounds as if Sunkel has written small soundtracks. His melodies have a natural, earthy quality: an "urban-cowboy-whistling" quality. "Metropolitan Blues" is an irresistible lazy blues; "His Master's Voice" is a beautiful ballad with both horns echoing a simple, descending, melancholic figure; "Raintree County" and "Old Hat" have memorable, swinging heads.



And Fruscella's trumpet floating, singing, bluesin' throughout.



All in all, a remarkable record and a unique musician.

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