"The Philly sound in jazz still lives. Trumpeter Fred Adams, who started this group in 1993 to honor the music of Philadelphia greats Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan, continues the tradition here with a set of horn-heavy hard bop.
Adams' quaint tunes form the certerpiece, ranging from the Ellingtonesque chords of 'Eudora's Waltz' to the handsome title track...
...While the overall vibe is consciously recycled, the energy brought to bear is not."
- Philadelphia Inquirer
"The jazzmen of Philadelphia, from which much
of hard bop arose, never forgot it. In fact, they celebrate it in
concerts, in tributes, in writings, on radio and in schools.
Fred Adams decided to concentrate all of these references into a
single group, the Philadelphia Heritage Art Ensemble. The vitality
and youthful enthusiasm that drove hard bop as a confluence of the
intricacies of bebop and the soul of gospel are evident again in
Adams' group.
From the very start of 'Under The Bridge,' it's evident that
the music contains a dynamism that's unlike much of jazz as it's
played today...Rather than referring to hard bop as a nod of the head to
the genre's many influences, the members of the Philadelphia
Heritage Art Ensemble breathe hard bop. They breathe it in as
a creative force that shapes their music, and they breathe it out in
insistent dissonances and clipped phrases that inevitably lead into
inspired solos.
The first tune, Fred Adams' 'Surge,' is a perfect example of
their style...tenor saxophonist James Stewart develops the potential of the tune in a
brief solo enriched with a deep tone and a comfortable style...
McIver's repetition of 'Surge's' melodic lines in his full-chorus
solo proves up front that he's a drummer who listens to the group's
nuances and develops his work rationally and maturely.
Once the listener is aware of the band members' musical
personalities, the Philadelphia Heritage Art Ensemble is ready to go
forth with its repertoire, consistent in sensibility and free in
improvisational opportunity.
The remaining compositions by Fred Adams fall squarely within the
hard bop ethic of Mobley's music so that the album attains a
wholeness of conception reminiscent of recordings by legends like
Curtis Fuller, Clifford Brown or Benny Golson.
At the same time, the music isn't slavishly imitative. It
respects the tradition while extending it, as does most jazz. For
example, Stewart changes the tone of his saxophone on 'Eudora's
Waltz' from the deep voicing of Mobley to a long-toned,
vibrato-influenced sound more akin to an Ellington approach.
Not only is the Philadelphia Heritage Art Ensemble successful in
reminding us of the ever-presence of exceptional music during the
years of hard bop's popularity, but also it consists of a group of
excellent contemporary musicians who make the CD a true discovery."
- All About Jazz
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