Portland-based jazz drummer and composer Chris Lee, a long-standing veteran of the local jazz scene known for his creativity and musicality, releases his debut album, Quintet Music, Friday, September 15. The album features Lee on drums, Dan Balmer on guitar, Greg Goebel on piano, Thomas Barber on trumpet and Dave Captein on bass. The debut album is composed entirely of Lee’s original compositions and explores a wide range of emotions and textures.
“Besides being a drummer and vibist, I’ve always written music. I’m not a terribly prolific composer but over the years I’ve managed to put together a fair body of work. So when the opportunity arose, I had a backlog of pieces I’d wanted to record and decided a quintet (trumpet, guitar, piano, bass and drums) would serve this music particularly well. I knew I wanted Dan on guitar and Dave on bass, and was fortunate to get both Greg and Tom, who both fit perfectly. Dan and I had our first band together as teenagers. Dave and I went to the same grade school, but didn’t play together until later when we formed a trio with Dan,” said Lee
The album opens with “Can He Wheel Her?,” a cheeky nod to the great trumpet player and composer Kenny Wheeler, who often had punny titles. It opens with a reflective, rubato piano intro and shifts to a driving rhythmic tune with clever rhythmic hits. Barber’s melodic statement perfectly captures the essence of Wheeler and his harmonic support and timbre have undertones of a John Abercrombie influence. The opening track clearly states that the players and the vibe are the real deal and they’re not going to be bashful about that.
The album, which comes in at just under an hour in length, finishes with “(A Little) Travelin’ Music.” It’s a little ditty that came to Lee as he was heading out on a tour, a swinging piece that captures the camaraderie the musicians have shared for decades.
In sum, this album exhibits technical mastery from each musician and powerful compositions from Lee. It exemplifies the best of what PJCE Records has to offer: compelling original music played by master musicians from Portland.
Pre-orders of both the digital album and CD, $7 and $10 respectively, are currently available at pjce.bandcamp.com/album/quintet-music.
