Dana Hall - Into the Light

[GA Russell]

Dana Hall is a Chicago drummer who leads his own quintet. They have released an album called Into the Light.

I am not familiar with the other members of the group, but perhaps those of you from Chicago are: Terell Stafford (trumpet), Tim Warfield, Jr. (tenor and soprano sax), Bruce Barth (piano and Fender Rhodes), and Rodney Whitaker (bass).

Hall is a rock 'em sock 'em drummer, and this album has a 1970 feel to it throughout, particularly when Barth is on the Fender Rhodes. The tunes are uptempo and loud.

The album is on the Origin label. I have received a half dozen promos on that label over the past couple of years (Bobby Broom, Deep Blue Organ Trio, Kobie Watkins), and I have noticed that although I wouldn't call any of them classics, every one has been way above average. I might vote for Origin as Label of the Year in the next Downbeat Poll.

Anyway, I find Into the Light enjoyable, particularly because I don't hear much like it anymore.

Edited November 17, 2009 by GA Russell

[Free For All]

I'm looking forward to getting this. I played with Dana at the Green Mill in Chicago for a couple years. Great player. Great looking lineup too!

[birdmonk]

The other members of Dana's band are pretty well known - maybe more than Dana outside Chicago - but this CD is going to change that...Here's what Chicago Tribune columnist Howard Reich had to say about "Into The Light" in today's (11/17) paper.

Powerhouse Debut - Chicago Drummer Dana Hall Releases 'Into The Light'

By Howard Reich

Arts critic

It isn't often that a recording debut stands as one of the strongest CDs of the year, but that's unmistakably the case with Chicago drummer Dana Hall's newly released "Into the Light" (Origin Records).

Hall, who also teaches at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has appeared prolifically on CDs of other artists, but he makes his boldest statement to date in his recording bow as bandleader. Fronting an all-star quintet, the drummer provides every bit of the hard-driving rhythm and atmospheric color that listeners have come to expect from him. But there's much more here, as well, including ingenious original compositions and an uncommonly compelling ensemble sound.

Not that it's easy to misfire when you're joined by trumpeter Terell Stafford, reedist Tim Warfield Jr., keyboardist Bruce Barth and bassist Rodney Whitaker, each an accomplished soloist in his own right. But while Hall has led this band in strong live performances at the Green Mill, those sets have not achieved quite the degree of technical control, tonal polish and expressive intensity that radiates from virtually every track of "Into the Light."

The intellectual weight and rhythmic swagger of Hall's original tunes explain a great deal of the appeal of this disc. Anyone who can pen a melodic hook as memorable as "Conversion Song" and a composition as lyrically inspired and harmonically distinctive as "Orchids" clearly knows what he's doing.

If Hall and colleagues convey explosive energy and vividly synthesized sonic effects in the title track, they prove equally capable of light-and-lithe phrase making in Hall's "The Path to Love." Each tune shows Hall's fingerprints, yet no two sound alike.

Moreover, one has to be impressed by how fervently these musicians play for Hall. There are no throwaway solos here, no casual vamping while one instrumentalist or another takes a solo. Instead, these artists make the most of every phrase, meanwhile producing a tautly conceived ensemble sound.

In all, "Into the Light" represents an important artistic leap for Hall, who has set a high standard for himself for future releases.

Dana Hall leads a quartet at 9 p.m. Nov. 24 at Andy's Jazz Club, 11 E. Hubbard St.; $10; 312-642-6805.

[birdmonk]

Dana's CD also debuted today (it's official release date) @ #49 on the JazzWeek Top-50 Chart where it was the most added CD and had the 2nd highest increase in airplay for the week of 09-15 November.

[GA Russell]

I see that Into the Light can now be heard at lala.com.

http://www.lala.com/#album/165760613842081.../Into_the_Light

[Lazaro Vega]

I've been playing that almost every night. Rodney Whitaker is the head of jazz studies at Michigan State University, a former student of Marcus Belgrave's and a former Blue Lake Camper (he was in the International Exchange Program, touring Europe as a high schooler). The piece that really does it for me is "Jabali," which is loosely based on one of Herbie's tunes from "Maiden Voyage," but taken through Ornette's aesthetic and punched up with the energy of Billy Hart.

Hall played Grand Rapids in the 1990's with Malachi Thompson's Freebop Band featuring Billy Harper -- great version of "Persuance," as I recall. Very creative within the chosen style.