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Ned Goold / March Of The Malcontents
Smalls Records SRCD-0019
by Mark Keresman

Every music scene has its "underground," wherein performers ply their trade under the (media) radar. The jazz scene is no different--the New York City club (and music label) Smalls is one zone where that city's bebop underground thrives. A "regular" at Smalls, tenor saxophonist Ned Goold served as musical director for singer/pianist Harry Connick Jr.'s Orchestra, and Goold's MARCH OF THE MALCONTENTS shows he has the talent to soar on his own. Goold has a brawny, earthy tone recalling Johnny Griffin and (especially) Thelonious Monk's main man Charlie Rouse, and MARCH is fine straight-ahead jazz, both thoughtful and robustly swinging.