Album: Panorama /  Artist:  Towner Galaher / 8 tracks: 42:44 /  June 1st, 2007 /  City Hall Records

Towner Galaher’s CD Panorama will be an excellent addition to any jazz aficionado’s music collection. The drummer / composer wrote five of the eight tunes that appear on Panorama and came up with new arrangements for the remaining three tracks, “Have You Met Miss Jones,” (Lorenz Hart/Richard Rodgers), “I’m All Smiles,” (Leonard/Martin) and Charles Mingus’ “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.”

My favorite song on this splendid album is the swinging first track, “Midtown Shuffle.”  The tempo is helped along by the nimble fingers of pianist Onaje Allen Gumbs and Mark Shim’s tenor saxophone. Shim’s sax solo is gold. The mix is good and at 5:55, “Midtown Shuffle” has enough good grooves to feast on, but does not overstay its welcome.  Maurice Brown’s whinnying trumpet embellishes the rhythm.

The rouge colored bop tune “Panorama,” serves up a three way dialogue between Galaher’s drums, Brown’s wailing trumpet and Gumbs’ piano chops. Galaher makes liberal use of his cymbals and his drumming is often frenetic. Collectively and individually, “Panorama” gives the musicians a chance to shine.

With Shim playing at the lower end of the range for his tenor sax, and Brown (trumpet) harmonizing well, they rule the New Orleans infused “Charisma.”   The horn dominated first bars of “Charisma,” conjured up images of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.

The CD Panorama moves through many colors and emotions, vacillating between moody, mellow and excited. Galaher decorates the songs in bright shades of orange, red and yellow and at other times gives in to more passive hues such as teal, rose and aqua. Galaher has done a wonderful job of putting together a fine ensemble which in addition to the artists already mentioned includes, Charles Fambrough on double bass, and Johnny Almendra and Frank Colon sharing percussion duties. The arrangements are tight and the musicians are brilliant.

Reviewed by Joe Montague for Riveting Riffs (www.rivetingriffs.com)

Reviewed September 2007

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