“Deep in My Soul”, the second track on Michael Pagán’s latest album Paganova, is magnificent. The melody written by the Kansas City pianist, composer and bandleader is worthy of Bill Evans. The compelling playing of Pagán’s bandmates does the sublime composition justice.
Saxophonists David Chael and Michael Herrera, bassist Louie Pagán and drummer Ray DeMarchi enrich five original Pagán pieces and arrangements of works by Clare Fisher, Steve Swallow and Kenny Wheeler.
The dual saxophones of Chael and Herrera are reminiscent of classic dates of Al Cohn and Zoot Sims. Yet partly because five of the eight tracks feature an electric bass, Paganova contains more surprises than most mainstream jazz sessions.
Fisher’s “Gaviota” is a funky romp. “Guess Whose Blues” evokes the eccentricities of Charles Mingus. The old-world zest of “Napoli” closes the album. Yet the most valuable aspect of Paganova may be allowing the rest of the world to Chael and Herrera. The saxophonists are precisely the type of unheralded players who make Kansas City’s jazz scene vibrant.
The opening tune races off my disc with fire and is appropriately called “Burn it Forward.” It gives the listener a taste of what’s to come, spotlighting the various players in Pagán’s quintet with several solo bars. This arrangement introduces us to their mad creativity during these spurts of improvisation. The two saxophones establish the melody. Then they are joined by the rhythm section where Michael Pagán takes a hot and enthusiastic solo on piano. Each of the saxophone players steps forward, one at a time, to share their own improv skills. I am swept along in their energy and excitement. The bass of Louie Pagán takes a sturdy and solid walk underneath the excitement, acting as the basement for their musical house. When Louie steps stage-center on his electric bass, he is dynamic during his solo excursion. They trade fours with Ray Demarchi on drums and Demarchi does not disappoint. Now we have met the players, and each one is obviously a master of their instrument.
A tune called “Guess Who’s Blues” is surprisingly, a very well-written waltz. Michael Pagán has penned five of the eight songs this ensemble offers. Pianist, Pagán has been a respected fixture on the Kansas City jazz scene for the past two decades. He has performed worldwide with a number of notable jazz musicians, also in jazz venues as a solo pianist, with his own trio, as bandleader of the Michael Pagán Big Band, and with his quintet that he calls ‘Paganova.’ As a composer and arranger, Michael Pagán has written and produced nearly two-hundred works.
I believe it is important for any serious musical group to record. Sooner or later a group must document their work. When I formed Paganova I knew in the back of my mind, sooner or later, that a recording would happen. I was writing and arranging with these particular players in mind: saxophonists Michael Herrera and David Chael; drummer Ray DeMarchi, and the bassist of the group, my son Louie Pagán. Once the personnel of the band was firmly established, the composing and arranging became more fluent. Part of this was the availability of certain musicians for the engagements when we first started playing. I have known all of these players for nearly 20 years except for my son Louie who I have known for his entire life. We did a couple of jobs together with this personnel and everything clicked. I knew that I had something special and that had to be developed, – an interview with us said Michael Pagan.
Michael Pagán, Dave Chael, Michael Herrera, Louie Pagán, Ray DeMarchi
