Full Steam Ahead – Linda Dachtyl

Adding to the core group of Linda, Cary and guitarist Don Hales are saxophonist Mark Donavan (tenor sax, alto sax, clarinet), trumpeter Ben Huntoon and percussionist Patrick Ankrom who each bring their own mood, attitude and signature sound to the totality of this project.

A so-called ‘train medley’ is offered with a nod to saxophonist James Moody and organist Gene Ludwig as Linda masterfully combines ‘Last Train From Overbook’ with ‘Back on the Track’.  There’s even a beginning and ending train whistle sound to boot!  The unforgettable ‘A Man and A Woman’ ushers in a second suite (if you will) that includes Roberto Menescal’s ‘My Little Boat’ and ‘Promises, Promises’in the coda.

This song list is fortified with original tunes with two coming from guitarist Don Hales and two coming from Linda herself.  Don’s contributions include the track, ‘Wildflowers’ which he based on the ‘The Wildwood Flower’ Bluegrass tune but done in a medium swing tempo.  His other tune, ‘The Outsider’is more of a Fusion Progressive track with a moving time signature that is mostly in 7/4.  This track allows Linda to open-up a bit more to her Keith Emerson influence.

No better influence, however, is revealed than in Linda’s original she titled ‘Illumination’.  This Charles Earland-inspired gem punches through the speakers as did so many of Charles’ spiritually oriented tunes from his later years.  The brightness of Mark’s tenor and Ben’s trumpet are heard while Linda reminds us that percussionist Patrick (an alumni from one of Charles’ bands) added the final condiment needed.  The second Linda Dachtyl original is named ‘Roxy Strut’.  This energized piece satisfies the funksters with its danceable beat and funky groove.   Full instrumentation is heard once again with the band’s rendition of the Ellington/Tizol classic, ‘Caravan’,  a tune that almost always showcases drumming and percussion does not let us down as Cary rides his Ludwig kit, building heat under each of the soloists. For a more middle-eastern flavor, Linda has Mark playing clarinet on this track.

The ballad entry in this album is a classic tune done in classic manner.  It’s Thelonious Monk’s ‘Round Midnight’ which represents a thread that Linda has kept from one release to another and reveals a deep appreciation of the pianist’s catalog.  Preferring to orchestrate any ballad that she attempts, Linda often refers to the big band charts of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton or Maynard Ferguson for structure.  Her take on this Monk classic is most enjoyable in its ballad form and manner. Included from Monk is also the tuneful ‘Think of One’ giving Linda a springboard to experiment with harmonic dissonance.

To round-out this exemplary song list, Linda and her quartet take on the tune most associated with Wild Bill Davis and Count Basie: ‘April in Paris’. The swing is powerful and the energy undeniable.  Hearing Linda’s voice call-out; “One More Time” might be akin to this CD’s title:  ‘Full Steam Ahead’

(Notes by Pete Fallico/thedoodlinlounge.com)

REVIEW:

…the action within Full Steam Ahead is keeping with the album title. Simultaneously honoring and extending a bona fide jazz tradition, bandleader Linda Dachtyl builds upon the formidable foundation of an organ/guitar/drums trio to accommodate outside musicians: that generosity of spirit allows saxophonist/clarinetist Tom Donavan, trumpeter Ben Huntoon, and percussionist Patrick Ankrom to contribute to some ambitious material like the title song. “Lava Lamp Suite” is also a multi-part piece, composed of outside material by, among others, Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s; the latter famed duo’s “Promises, Promises” complements Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” and Thelonious Monk’s “‘Round Midnight,” the presence of which ultimately forges a fluidity on this roughly sixty-minute piece of work that finishes with a flourish on “April In Paris.”

-Doug Collette for GLIDE Magazine

REVIEW:

Linda Dachtyl plays a hefty and modern sounding Hammond B3 in the tradition of Larry Young on this hip release with Don Hales/g, Cary Dachtyl/dr and guests Mark Donavan/sax-cl, BenHuntoon/tp and Patrick ANkrom/perc.  Hints of Young and Green are felt and enjoyed as on the funky soul with tasty guitar licks on “The Outsider” and the cheerful “Wildflowers”, with some snappy stick work on “Full Steam Ahead”. Donavan brings in a hefty tenor on the bopping “Illumination” and glows on the easy shuffling groove of “April In Paris” while his alto bops with joy on a take of Thelonious Monk’s “Think Of One”, while slithering around the exotic echoes of “Caravan”. Ms. Dachtyl’s digits haunt on “Round Midnight” and get gloriously kitschy for “Lava Lamp Suite”. This lady’s a Hammond hummer.

-Jazz Weekly