Unfortunately, the New Tricks at the Groove on Grove show was rained out last night. Just seconds before we were about to play, a rainstorm opened up on us. Thus, canceling our performance and our friends in the Hangmen who were to play after us.
However, this morning we woke up to the nice surprise of another fantastic review by one of the band’s favorite jazz writers David Orthmann. David has come to several of our gigs and really understands the core of what we are going for. David particularly understands the creative brilliance that is going on in our “Shellen” rhythm section. Please check out his review of us and all of his other writings. Here is a link to our review.
Check out this new review in a great local NY jazz Magazine. You can also find the publication in the corner of the bar in all the best NY jazz clubs. Or you can read it online here.
By Mark Keresman In case you needed to be reminded appearances— and preconceptions—are often deceiving. Take the latest disc by the NYC-area quartet New Tricks—two horns, bass, and drums. One might think the contents are going to be post- Ornette Coleman “out” jazz. Wrong—this foursome forgoes the presence of a chordal instrument (like piano or guitar) not to “depart” from a conventional semblance of harmony but to emphasize harmony. So Alternate Side superficially evokes the classic Ornette Coleman Quartet(s) of the 1950s, the style is surging, hard-swinging hard bop a la Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, and Art Blakey, with wee touches of free jazz (as defined by Don Cherry, Dave . . . → Read More: “Alternate Side” review in Jazz Inside NY Magazine.
Please pick up this months new Jazz Times for a great review by the fantastic writer Bill Milkowski. We feel that he really got to the heart of what our band is about! Jazz Times
New Tricks – “Alternate Side”
by Bill Milkowski
Co-led by fellow Cleveland natives Mike Lee on tenor saxophone and Ted Chubb on trumpet, New Tricks conveys a distinct New York sound on its aggressively swinging sophomore effort. With Kellen Harrison on bass and Shawn Baltazor on drums, the quartet puts a new spin on an old hard-bop formula without crossing over into the avant-garde camp. They come out of the gate swaggering on the vibrant title track, on which Lee reflects the influence of his mentor Joe Lovano (particularly in the high register). “Optimistic-Lee,” a metrically tricky form that yields bracing solos by both Chubb and Lee, is Lee’s take on the many tongue-in-cheek song and . . . → Read More: New Tricks review in July’s Jazz Times!
They are so in tune with each other that the co-leaders of New Tricks, tenor saxophonist Mike Lee and trumpeter Ted Chubb, refer to them as “Shellen,” a combination of their first names. . . . → Read More: Shellen gets some home town love!
From the very first note of the recording, it’s clear that the band is steeped in the jazz tradition, but what’s also evident is the energy of young musicians looking to explore new territory. Long may they journey and continue to make great music. . . . → Read More: Raves! from TheJazzPage.com
A new article about our great, fantastic, awesome, swinging, badass drummer appears in All About Jazz Today. The author David Orthman has been good to New Tricks over the past couple of years. He’s one of the first to really “get it” about Shawn and New Tricks.
It’s impossible to do justice to all of the fine new music issued in 2009. So I’ve listed ten of the discs that had the greatest impact on me. Each one includes the name of the drummer who was essential in making the music special. . . . → Read More: Top Releases of 2009!
Mike Lee is a saxophone master who has worked in the New York City area for almost two decades. His latest CD, a co-billing with trumpeter Ted Chubb, is an angular and daring affair. It’s piano-less, modeled after the original Ornette Coleman Quartet; this is post-bop, not bop . . . → Read More: New Tricks CD review in Cleveland Scene Magazine..
New Tricks Mike Lee / Ted Chubb | Independent (2009)
By Glenn Astarita
New Jersey resident, veteran educator, group leader and session ace Mike Lee pulls some new tricks out of an old bag on this 2009 quartet date with co-leader/trumpeter Ted Chubb. In the liners, Lee mentions that this aggregation found its origins via recurring jam sessions in his basement. They’re a young and noble bunch of jazz warriors ready for battle. The proof lies within this hip session, based on crisp arrangements, resonant soloing and a tight-knit line of attack…
Over the past few years, the northern New Jersey-based band New Tricks has painstakingly developed a distinctive sound during weekly sessions in the basement studio of saxophonist Mike Lee. It is almost bad form to single out contributions of the tightly knit quartet’s members, which include Lee, trumpeter Ted Chubb, bassist Kellen Harrison and drummer Shawn Baltazor. An excellent, self-titled compact disc recorded in 2007 and released several weeks ago on New Tricks Records only approximates the high energy and single-minded intensity they generated throughout an opening set at Cecil’s Jazz Club. “We are New Tricks,” Lee declared after the first number, as if to underscore the group’s “one for all” ethos. . . . → Read More: All About Jazz Review of Cecil's Gig Friday July 17th
Although these musicians are all soloists in their own right, in an ensemble setting “New Tricks” plays as if they are one instrument and concomitantly, their strong suit is their intuitive interaction and resultant tight sound. “New Tricks” is well on its way to becoming one of America’s premier jazz ensembles and hopefully will perform as a unit long enough to make an impact on the jazz world. . . . → Read More: “New Tricks” Review by Dr. Timothy M. Kalil, 7/15/09
Unfortunately, the New Tricks at the Groove on Grove show was rained out last night. Just seconds before we were about to play, a rainstorm opened up on us. Thus, canceling our performance and our friends in the Hangmen who were to play after us.
