Anyone who is looking for the best in saxophone at the Jersey Shore, need go no further than Tommy LaBella. He has been active on the local and national music scenes for fifty years and shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. His ability to excel in jazz, blues, rock and R & B have made him one of the most sought-after side men around.
His CD, Yesterday Now Forever is, as the title implies, a snapshot of his life’s work. Tunes were recorded by the late Dennis Burke at Ocean Studio, Steve Jankowski at Jankland Studio and Joey DeMaio at Shurefire Studio, which pretty much covers the best the Jersey Shore has to offer. Itdraws from all the styles mentioned above, with people he has played with throughout his career, and five of the twelve tracks are either written or co-written by Tommy. Surrounding himself with such notable musicians as Bernard Purdie, Graham Maby, Marc Ribler, Bobby Bandiera, David Sancious and Billy Hector, just to name a few, certainly helped to create the fabulous sounds heard here.
“Passion Flower,” a song he co-wrote with The Mighty Burner himself, Charles Erland, is an up-tempo instrumental number chock full of horns, punctuated by Jeff Levine’s synth solo and driven by Bernard’s signature behind the beat drums. A wonderful take on Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing,” slows things down with a chorus of sweet vocals which complements his soulful sax. The self-penned “King Junior” pays tribute to one of his main influences, King Curtis, a recognized master of the sax who was murdered at 37 years old, at the peak of his powers in 1971. Again, great ensemble work surrounds tommy’s wailing sax, but you will have to check out the liner notes to see all the great players on this track. Another composition by Tommy, “Brave For Love,” is a powerful ballad highlighted by the vocals of Ricky Collins and Layonne Holmes. “New Attitude,” by the aforementioned Dennis Bourke is a dreamy instrumental with the spotlight on Tommy’s fluid sax phrasing which really elevates the song. Ex Springsteen bandmate Ernest “Boom” Carter’s tune, “Melting Pot,” was remixed by Marc Ribler and features drums, bass and vocals by Ernest with Tommy punctuating this this beat heavy number with well-timed blasts of his horn. “Big E,” is a song he co-wrote with Billy Hector who plays bass, guitars and keyboards on the track. It’s got a futuristic sound, including a drum program and tommy’s sax and flute, which to say the least, creates an other worldly sound, like nothing I’ve heard from them before. After some spaceship sounding keyboards fade, we come back to earth with the Vinnie Lopez and Steve Clark tune, “Asbury Park.” It was written as a tongue-in-cheek social commentary on the state of that once proud city after the 1970 riots and prior to the twenty first century revival. With Vinnie on drums and vocals this you can’t mistake it for anything else, and while it sounds amusing in light of the town’s resurrection, it wasn’t so much so when it was written. Springsteen influences and ex band members are featured on a number of songs, but on “Jungleland Reflections,” Tommy and Brad Mandigo do Tommy’s reverent and personal arrangement of Roy Bittan and Clarence Cleamon’s ending to one of the Boss’s greatest songs. “Apollo Rising” by Leon Salem, features Steve Jankowski on trumpet, Brad on piano and Tommy on alto sax. This instrumental composition is a beautiful melding of the three instruments, which produces stunning results. Tommy’s “Luce degl’ Angeli” or “Angel’s Light,” incorporates Marc Bassett’s cello behind his sax, bolstered by Frankie Cicala’s Santana like guitar riffs to power this sensual instrumental. Tommy’s love of the native Indian culture coupled with his virtuosity on the native American flute end this collection with the traditional “Lakota Healing Song.”
A lifetime in the making, this CD brings to the fore front a musician who has forged a career of making others music sound great. The number, scope and quality of musicians that appear on this disc are a testament to what a great person and player he is, and the music world is a better place for it.