Tom Wakeling; West By Northwest

In regards to one's life work, it's often said “Do what you love.” Well, that adage would apply to Tom Wakeling. During the day, he served on the music faculty of suburban Clackamas Community College and at night he splays bass on gigs throughout the 

Portland, Oregon area. On this straight ahead, energetic album, Wakeling heads a quintet in a live and lively performance. His colleagues, all first cabin players, include Jason Carder, trumpet and flugelhorn; Angelo Versace, piano; and Don Moio, drums. The album is perfectly balanced between original works and familiar choices like Benny Golson's “Out Of The Past”, the Gershwins' “The Man I Love”, Monk's “Evidence”, and two songs with the same title, “Lotus Blossom”. You may be aware that song TITLES are not copyrighted. As a result, trumpet great Kenny Dorham and composer-pianist Billy Strayhorn could both use the title “Lotus Blossom” on very different melody lines. This is superb five star jazz. Great solo work, perfectly honed ensemble playing and an adventurous choice of tunes all live here. Tom Wakeling has been a fixture of Portland's jazz circles for decades. How nice that he gets this opportunity to record with such stimulating friends.

Cellar Music Group; 2025; appx. 64 min.