By Robert Ham | Published October 2020
Steve Fidyk’s liner notes for his latest album, Battle Lines, are as unfussy and direct as the music that the drummer and his ensemble recorded for it. He provides detailed breakdowns for the structure of each song, biographical information about the composers and their material, and, at times, meanings of certain tracks’ titles. The notes are charming in their directness, but reveal the mind of a musician and composer whose material is well thought-out and deeply felt.
The latter comes across most strongly on “Lullaby For Lori And John,” a track Fidyk wrote to honor his parents, both of whom passed away in recent years. The music is elegiac and tender, anchored by the gorgeous tone of Joe Magnarelli’s flugelhorn and Fidyk’s quiet blues shuffle, and suffused with a melancholy that, according to the drummer, left him in tears at the end of recording this one-take gem. Elsewhere, the band tackles Dave Brubeck’s “Thank You, Dziekuje” as a tribute to both the legendary pianist and his drummer, Joe Morello, one of Fidyk’s mentors. This rendition, right down to pianist Peter Zak’s understated solo, treats the original with a splashy joy. But there’s a tentativeness throughout—an audible worry about besmirching the legacy of the song and its creator.
That caution wasn’t necessary. Battle Lines is at its best when Fidyk and his ensemble are at their most carefree. They soar through Charlie Parker’s “Steeplechase” with unbound bliss and capture a swinging jouissance during their rendition of Blue Mitchell’s “Sir John,” as well as on the original “Bebop Operations.” Battle Lines puts listeners in the assured hands of some undoubtedly talented musicians. They just shouldn’t be afraid to jostle us around a bit.
Battle Lines: Ignominy; Battle Lines; Loopholes; Thank You, Dziekuje; Bebop Operations; Bootlickers Blues; Lullaby For Lori And John; Churn; Steeplechase; #Social Loafing; Sir John. (59:10)
Personnel: Steve Fidyk, drums; Joe Magnarelli, trumpet, flugelhorn; Xavier Perez, tenor saxophone; Peter Zak, piano; Michael Karn, bass.
