Two discs from Steve Allee Big Band add up to a lively, indispensable memoir

 

Steve Allee presides gracefully at the keyboard.  

What local jazz fans have taken in from a key figure over the past 40 years or so is brought forward to our times in "Naptown Sound" and "Full Circle," a monument permanently etched on two compact discs over three days of recording in May 2024.

It's a tribute to Steve Allee that the excellent musicians he attracts are so well-represented by his stellar arrangements and original compositions. A host of local producers has supported the twin CD release, with public access through the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation. 

On the bandstand, Allee has spoken often from the piano chair of his debt to his great predecessors here, whom "Naptown Sound" celebrates, with significant places for jazz also saluted on both albums. On "Full Circle," the pantheon figures range from guitarist Wes Montgomery to Allee piano mentor Claude Sifferlen. 

Well-chosen soloists help characterize the arrangements, with their selection for moments in the spotlight never seeming haphazard.  Thus we have saxophonist Chip McNeill raising the heat after the gentle opening of "Circle City," which launches "Full Circle." Another frequent Allee sideman, Rusty Burge, introducees "The Avenue," a salute to the Indiana Avenue nightlife that generated many an Indianapolis jazz career in a couple of decades after World War II. His vibraphone, with its statesmanlike poise and inventiveness, provides a backdrop for the subsequent individualism of Matt Pivec's alto sax and trumpeter Ansyn Banks' turn in the spotlight, with flutes backing him.  The selection climaxes with drummer Steve Houghton's sparkling fills behind the ensemble climax.

The arrangements tend toward displays of virtuosity, applying that benefit to both technique and expressiveness. The freedom from cliche is remarkable. And none of the moments of "stretching" come across as glaring  or bombastic. On both discs, there are some wonderful concluding phrases, as if Allee was slightly reluctant to let go of whatever inspiration had motivated him as a composer. These don't convey any impression to me of being tacked on; they are integral in all cases.

Allee has his own style throughout both discs, with mind and heart working together. In terms of tone color, there is more than a touch of Gil Evans' manner in the opening of "Naptown Nights" (on the "Naptown Sound" CD). But this suggestion is not a matter of borrowed garb so much as it is an avenue readily open to an arranger who has always ranged across an alluring spectrum, even in his arrangements for trio and other small groups. 

In "Wes at the Turf," Allee settles naturally into the populist aspect of Wes Montgomery's style, through which the guitarist gained a wide international audience while remaining true to the unique voice that first spread his name beyond his hometown. Current guitar eminence Dave Stryker proves essential in putting forward that side of Montgomery in this selection, presenting the melody and his elaboration of it in octaves. Another notable guest is trombonist Jim Pugh, with some thoughtful, flowing contributions to "Brothers," and the kind of cameo presence of clarinetist Frank Glover,  a slam-dunk choice in rendering the eccentric, trailblazing voice of Claude Sifferlen in "Zebra II."

The booklets accompanying both CDs have historically informed and generous program notes by Kyle Long, who seems to know more about homegrown Indiana music than anyone. Those notes rightly top  these scrumptious musical counterparts to the fabled Hoosier sugar cream pie.