Ralph Lalama (tenor sax), John Hart (guitar), Rick Petrone (bass) and Joe Corsello (drums) are the extraordinary musicians that are the Ralph Lalama Quartet.
Lalama’s sax serves as the lead instrument in this configuration however; the rest of the band is so strong that they have little difficulty standing out just as brightly. Rick Petron on his standup bass is hard to ignore, his battery mate Joe Corsello is as smooth as silk in all the right places, and he steps it up aggressively when called upon. John Hart is an exceptional guitar player that is both flexible and diverse with his playing style. It goes without saying how definitive Lalama is on his sax and he is blessed with three other musicians that are on the same page with him.
When a group of similar minded musicians that happen to be around the same age and can relate to certain influences everything seems to fall into place much easier than trying to mesh younger more progressive players that are accustomed to playing fusion opposed to contemporary , post or hard bop. It makes sense once you give this CD a spin and realize the synergy that these men are experiencing on this session is undeniable.
Energy Fields offers nine tracks of mostly traditional jazz and transformed pop tunes to the one Lalama original “Nonchalant.” All four men are well-known veterans in jazz circles and this being their first outing together, it seems fit that they covered many standards and those artists that may have held some influence with their development.
I think this album is a great way to kickoff a new group and I think there will be many more years of great jazz left for this quartet to record and perform if they decide to stay together. I would expect a few more originals next time out and certainly, there should be with the range of talent that this band has to offer.
Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaelck
