John Basile: Press/Reviews

Time Will Reveal
John Basile | Underhill Jazz (2007)

By Jeff Winbush


Set aside, for a moment, the classic venues like the Montreux Jazz Festival and to truly appreciate jazz you have to understand it's not a form of music that was ever intended to be heard in the great outdoors and in football stadiums. To truly groove on jazz it should be listened to indoors. Preferably, in concert halls with superb acoustics and cozy clubs where the musicians can not only be seen, but heard.
Which is where guys like John Basile comes in.

It's not likely Basile is ever going to fill stadiums with thousands of rabidly enthusiastic fans who have traveled for miles and camped out for days just to hear the Boston-based guitarist play. That kind of mass hysteria is limited to dinosaur rock bands like The Rolling Stones lumbering through “Jumpin' Jack Flash” for the umpteenth time. Jazz thrives in the quiet, not the loud and so does John Basile. He plays in a smaller league where bombast and big sound is neither expected nor enjoyed. Basile is part of the overlooked and unappreciated group of pros going about the serious business of keeping the idiom alive.

Basile's Time Will Reveal is a showcase for his deft and melodic guitar playing as he's supported by a group of savvy sidemen tight as a drumhead and a perfect compliment to his sensitive and supple performance on 11 compositions.

Basile and producer/bassist David Finck selected songs for Time Will Reveal that will instantly be familiar to anyone who listened to AM or FM radio from the '50s through to the '80s. In some ways when a musician covers well-known pop hits like The 5th Dimension's “Up, Up and Away” or The Isley Brothers “For the Love of You” they are opening themselves up to be compared unfavorably to the original. The listener who is familiar with the song being covered comes to the table with a certain anticipation of how faithful to the original the new interpretation should be. Too often producers treat covering pop tunes as an exercise for bored musicians to warm up over before tackling the “serious” music.

Wisely, Finck's production avoids the trap of slavishly trying to recreate, note-by-note, Benny Golson's classic “Killer Joe,” made popular by Quincy Jones and Duke Jordan's “Jordu,” or suffocating the songs under a glob of strings, synthesizers, background vocals or lumbering solos. The music here is traditional jazz with the arrangements featuring acoustic instruments (drums, bass, vibes, piano) and Basile's genial guitar at the center. It's a delight to hear musicians respect the original material instead of trying to radically reinvent it.

Time Will Reveal offers a fine showcase of Basile's facile and flowing guitar style and a tastefully restrained group of musicians playing expressively without embellishment. It's the kind of album that keeps sneaking back into your CD player.

Guitarists John Basile and John Abercrombie have so many similarities it's amazing they haven't recorded a duo album before (the work Basile did with Abercrombie on the John Abercrombie Teaches Jazz Guitar Improvisation video doesn't count), While only 10 or so years apart in age, they both attended the Berklee School of Music, have performed extensively both as leaders and side-musicians with an astounding number of other big name jazz artists and bring the same like-minded sensibilities to their playing - sensitlvity to honor the music first, the ability to creatively shape lines that fit perfectly wilhin the accompaniment, for the artist radar ears to provide the perfect accompaniment for the artist being featured, stylistically subverting the needs of the ego to honor the other artist and the facility and cleverness to play in tandem, both with and against, another guitarist in the most exposed of all ensemble settings - the duo.

This splendidly performed recording should be required listening for all guitarists who think they know what it takes to play jazz. The interplay between these two consummate is astonishing, musicians They seem to sense the direction their compatriot is going to go before they get there and, in sensing this, are able to prepare that direction in advance.
For example, Abercrombie's solo on "Sweet & Lovely" delves, for a short while, into fragmented diminished scales and even before he goes there you can sense Basile's light shift in the rhythm and voicing of his accompaniment in order to lay a more appropriate foundation for Abercrombie's coming lines. This is but one example of how these two
consummate musicians venerate and enliven the talents of the other throuqhout the entire 50+ minutes of this recording.

Those looking for pyro-techniques should go elsewhere. On this recording it's all about nuance, subtle interplay, shifting time to more fully express musical thoughts by the soloist and some of the most understated, modest and discreet musical wit you'll ever hear. Together they cover standards, such as the afore mentioned "Sweet and Lovely", as well as originals. Styles covered include swing and free, along with many variations of and between the two depending on the juxtapositions of their musical mood at the time. It's a splendid recording that is so perfect you can't believe such musicianship is possible.

This CD is a must for any serious jazz lover.

UNDERHILL JAZZ - A guitar duo dream team featuring veteran jazz master John Abercrombie and John Basile, Animations is simply one of the finest instrumental guitar-based jazz duet albums of 2004. In his liner notes Basile tactfully compares Abercrombie's guitar playing to that of a rubber band flexible, open to change, but returning back to its original shape. Both Abercrombie and Basile are masters at improvising inventive guitar patterns. Overall, the CD is an excellent follow up to their earlier collaborations on Abercrombies instructional video, Jazz Guitar Improvisation as well as Basile's '96 Frank Sinatra tribute entitled Frankly Speaking. A tasty sonic showcase featuring Abercrombie's Brian Moore and Brian Madsen guitars and Basile's Godin and Tom Doyle guitars, Animations is one of those rare guitar CDs that you can constantly savor as their "in the moment" improvisations and musical ideas retain their sparkle spin after spin. www.underhilljazz.com

The Desmond Project

John Basile Quartet | Chesky Records

As the title suggests, this CD is a tribute to the great Cool Jazz saxophonist of Dave Brubeck fame. The music is actually inspired from the Paul Desmond / Jim Hall ensemble of the early 60s. Just as that group created supple, understated music of great beauty, this new aggregation with guitarist John Basile at the helm makes the same eloquent statement.

The group is composed of Basile on guitar, Allen Mezquida on alto, David Finck on bass and Payton Crossley on drums. These players are not well known to me, but they are all very talented and sensitive musicians.

Basile, playing a Tom Doyle custom made solidbody, deals gracefully and carefully with the music. He presses into every note with a languid vibrato not unlike John Abercrombie. His chord voicings are sparse but complete and his swing is always present. Mezquida's alto has the same gentle way with the notes that made Desmond famous. His playing is subtle and pensive with a hint of bluesiness and a warm tone. Finck and Crossley do precisely what a rhythm section should do: frame the picture. This they do perfectly. When called upon to solo, they perform wonderfully.

The tunes chosen for this project provide great material for the players. Favorites their waltz version of Darn That Dream, the reharmonized My Funny Valentine,Wendy (a Desmond classic and a gorgeous melody), and Duke's Warm Valley (the great Johhny Hodges alto feature that is tastefully rendered by Basile). Of course, no Desmond tribute CD could be complete without Take Five, which rounds out the list.

On this CD, the name of the game is Cool. But you don't get a pretentious Hey, We're Cool attitude from the music. Rather, a sensitive and thoughtful treatment of the tunes from players who respect each other and the music they are playing.

The recording is excellent. Just enough reverb to hint at an empty club after hours. The choice to record this project live in an Episcopal church was probably largely responsible for the sound of the recording. Fans of cool jazz and pensive, relaxed guitar work will definitely want to check this CD out.

"Animations" John Basile-John Abercrombie | Underhill Jazz

When done properly, it?s astounding how much music a duet can generate. It is always especially notable when that duet consists of artists performing on the same instrument. In such a setting, the challenge of blending voices while simultaneously creating distinct, personal lines becomes that much more challenging. Guitarists John Basile and John Abercrombie recently recorded just such a duet, rising masterfully to the occasion.

Comprised of eleven tracks including both original compositions and covers, Animations will without doubt appeal to jazz guitar fans, but it offers something as well to those looking for a subtle, intelligent, and gracefully balanced musical outing. Both instrumentalists are quite capable as individuals, and here they show not only a common bond, but also an uncommon ability to converse together fluidly.

Well matched, Basile and Abercrombie integrate their ideas masterfully, gently shifting one another into new territory as they explore each tune. Marked by a certain conservatism, neither player plunges too far toward any one stylistic extreme, relying on shading and delicacy to create a steadfastly reserved, mellow tone throughout the album. This approach works particularly well on such pieces as Horace Silver?s "Peace" and the melancholic "Desert Storm." This quiet, focused tune stands out as an album highlight, revealing well each musicians capacities.

A very sedate album, Animations covers a subtly executed and decidedly dignified musical terrain.

It Was a Very Good Year
John Basile | Underhill Jazz

Neo-Ultra-Cool Jazz with a Warm Finish

Guitarist John Basile has been cruising the sideman circuit for the past twenty years, in addition to releasing a handful of respected projects as leader. It Was a Very Good Year finds Mr. Basile with a new label boasting the same sumptuous tone listeners to his earlier recordings have come to expect. Basile achieves a wonderful blend of sound, mood, timber and time with his guitar-organ quartet.


The title track is a perfect example of this point. Basile's band takes the Sinatra staple at a quiet pace, with Jason Devlin using brushes most effectively. Jerry Z's accompaniment sounds like Basile dubbed himself into the mix, until the organist begins his cool, understated solo. Cool and warm this music is a dichotomy, a beautiful enigma.

Basile's recital choices indicate a well-studied guitarist. He attended Berklee College of Music and graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music. He went on to become an educator himself, developing the Jazz Guitar Curriculum at the New School in New York City. Mr. Basiles brains and talent illuminate his informed treatments of John Abercrombie's "Ralph's Piano Waltz," Red Mitchell's "One Long String," Joe Pass "Catch Me," and Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Zingaro." He allows his band ample solo space and they all take advantage of this generosity.

This is not greasy roadhouse organ jazz. It's ultra-cool music that oddly can warm a room. Rarely does the volume rise above brushes and the gentle purr of the B-3. Bassist Nick Misch provides the low-tone under pinning of the band, rather than the organist's feet. Misch's tone is full and round and slightly behind the beat, all contributing to the very cool exterior of this warm music. The result is much much greater than the sum of its parts, making this release one of the finest of this year.

~ C. Michael Bailey