Weisman CD highlights Cape talent

Music Review
By Cheryl Kain
June 3, 2005

Solid grooves, big-band sound, impressive credentials. Folks on the Cape were kind to the wash-ashore drummer whom everyone wanted to work with. A computer whiz as well as a star jazz drummer, Bart Weisman began his drumming at age 13 at a party - he knew a guy up the street who had a drum set, and experienced love at first sight upon seeing it. "I looked at the drums and said to myself, 'I'm going to be doing this for the rest of my life,'" he recalls.

He went on to excel at his drum lessons in junior high, then studied in Washington, D.C., with the National Symphony Orchestra's principal percussionist and completed his degree in music and computers. While he studied the timpani, vibraphone, and marimba, he still kept coming back, drawn to his love of the drum set.

Bart then played as a member of the Diplomats, a part of the Air Force Band. He performed for presidents, heads of state and celebrities in every major venue in the D.C. area. In the '90s he started his own Jazz Group, which featured such performers as Keter Betts (longtime bass player with Ella Fitzgerald) and also backed singers Lea DeLaria and Rebecca Parris. Bart relocated to Provincetown in 2002 with his wife, artist Amy Heller.

When Weisman first arrived on the Cape, he found a lack of booking agents and little call for club work for drummers. So he went to work on his own, and in a short time he put together his Jazz Group and began performing with jazz vocalist Carol Wyeth. With the help of the owners, he then created Jazz Night at Clem & Ursie's in Provincetown.

His new CD, "The Bart Weisman Jazz Group," features some of the best players on the Cape, as well as the recording debut of vocalist Carol Wyeth. Weisman and Wyeth worked together regularly, and they picked out all of the songs. Weisman wanted to utilize all Cape musicians, rather than calling players from Boston and New York, since the Cape had embraced him so wholeheartedly.

Seven tracks utilized Weisman's quartet, and he used the sextet for two tracks. His concept for the project was to record it as if it were a live performance. He employed "monster player" Joe Delaney on piano, and Laird Boles on bass, two players he knew he could rely on. Michael Ryle did two tracks on bass as well, and Ted Jellinek rounded out the other two piano tracks after Delaney did his seven. Alan Clinger was perfect on guitar, with the inimitable Bruce Abbott on tenor saxophone.

Weisman's crisp playing lays down a solid groove for the quartet/sextet, and he shines as a soloist as well, as evidenced in his four bar stick solos (alongside Carol's sassy scat in "One Note Samba") and laid back brush style.

The CD has a big-band feel, with such delightful favorites as "I'm Beginning to See the Light," "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," "Candy" and more. Wyeth's sultry delivery of "One Note Samba," "This Can't Be Love," and "Candy" remind us why we love jazz pianist/vocalist Diana Krall. Wyeth sports the same vocal range and throaty timbre as Krall.

Wyeth spent years touring the country as the opening act for such greats as Johnny Mathis and Jerry Vale. She has sung at venues such as the Thunderbird in Las Vegas, the Copacabana in New York, and as a warm-up band for Diana Ross and the Supremes. Carol is known for unearthing obscure tunes and garnering a loyal following on the Cape. Her work on the CD is impressive, especially as she and the musicians recorded the whole thing in approximately two days.

Weisman's CD was recorded at the studio of musician and engineer Tom Tracy, whom Weisman credits with its stellar sound. The group of musicians began recording in the middle of a blizzard. One session lasted most of the day, and the second (and last) session was a mere few days later.

Give this CD a listen and discover the improvisationally rich "Surrey With The Fringe On Top," with Joe Delaney's piano "lick" (motif) taken straight from "The King and I." Or the compelling lilt of the Latin influence of "One Note Samba." Moon over Abbott's sweet sax on "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and "I'm Beginning to See the Light."

Kudos to Weisman for creating a lovely mélange of sound that enhances Wyeth's rich vocals while showcasing some of the finest musicians around. Check out Bart Weisman Jazz Group at Clem & Ursie's in Provincetown every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights this summer, and every Friday night year-round.