Nice & Easy

Carl Fontana | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 29, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Cambria Records
• ASIN: B00000K2AQ
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #450,457 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Touch of Your Lips

2. Sweet Lorraine

3. Take the Coltrane

4. Here's That Rainy Day

5. If I Only Had a Brain

6. Nice 'N' Easy

7. It Could Happen to You

8. Incident

9. Cape Clip So

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A good trombonist is hard to find, January 27, 2008

By 

James A. Vedda (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nice & Easy (Audio CD)

Jazz improvisation on trombone is more challenging than on most instruments, and some observers have lamented the lack of new slide artists on the scene in recent years. (Or maybe they're just not being given a chance in today's market!) Fortunately, plenty of recordings from seasoned players are available. This excellent 1997 session shows that although a good trombonist is hard to find, this CD gives you two great ones.
Jiggs Whigham has spent most of his career in Europe, but is still well known to jazz aficionados in the U.S. Carl Fontana, who died in 2003, is recognized as one of the greats of the trombone, and his fans undoubtedly wish he had made more recordings as a solo artist. Pairing these two virtuosos has produced a collection of nine tracks including relentless swing ("The Touch of Your Lips," "Take the Coltrane," "Nice & Easy," and "It Could Happen to You"), evocative ballads ("Sweet Lorraine," "Incident," and Whigham's solo feature "Here's That Rainy Day"), a bossa nova version of "If I Only Had a Brain" featuring Fontana, and the quasi-Caribbean "Cape Clip So." The solo work is a joy to listen to on every track.
The liner notes are very thorough, and definitely aimed at musicians. They even include nine examples of the trombonists' licks in music notation. For those who understand this, it allows for a greater appreciation of the soloists' artistry - they make it sound easy, but clearly it isn't.
If your ear isn't finely tuned enough to tell which soloist is which, the liner notes provide this information. But for pure listening enjoyment, it doesn't matter - they're both outstanding.