Cool jazz for hot summer nights, part 1

June 27, 5:02 PMMiami Jazz and Blues ExaminerBob Weinberg

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Italian ice: Spin Nicola Conte's Rituals and save on your A/C bill.

Out-of-state friends and associates often ask me how I can live in South Florida during the sweltering summer months. My usual answer: I have a short memory. Of course, having the proper soundtrack can help bring your core temperature down to manageable levels when the mercury soars into the triple digits (as it did last week). Here are a few recent jazz releases that might just do the trick.

Nicola Conte: Rituals (Emarcy/Decca). Milan-born DJ, producer and guitarist Conte has assembled an assortment of vocalists and instrumentalists for a revue that's as refreshing as a tropical-flavored Italian ice. The opening "Karma Flower" features a lovely vocal by the Italian-born Chiara Civello that stirs echoes of Astrud Gilberto's breezy Brazilian artistry. José James delivers an equally mesmerizing vocal performance on the goosebump-raising "Nubian Queens," his deep, lush tone riding a starlit bed of sighing trumpets, flutes, percussion and a baritone sax solo that's as cool as the cellar. The clear and bracing vocals of the Milan-based Alice Ricciardi on the standouts "I See All Shades of You" and "Songs of the Seasons," and guest performances by alto saxophonist Greg Osby and trumpeter Till Brönner, keep the proceedings exceedingly chill.

Jerry Bergonzi: Simply Put (Savant). Cool and lush, tenorist Bergonzi blows in like a breeze from the ocean, his tone and phrasing often recalling early Coltrane. With superb backing from pianist Bruce Barth, bassist Dave Santoro and drummer Andrea Michelutti, the Boston-born saxman makes irrelevant distinctions such as "modern" or "trad," although he does seem to lean more in the direction of the former. Exceptional performances abound, as Bergonzi offers liquid soloing on jazz classics such as "Dancing in the Dark" and his own "Casadiche." The quartet's version of "Out of Nowhere" also offers a shady respite, as pianist Barth chips some ice on his solo and drummer Michelutti keeps the pulse deep and dark as a leafy canopy.

(Another) Nuttree Quartet: Something Sentimental (Kind of Blue). Bergonzi played on this all-star group's first recording, 2008's Standards, but its followup, featuring the always-amazing Dave Liebman on tenor and soprano, might just trump that effort. Drummer Adam Nussbaum and longtime confederate John Abercrombie reunite on yet another album of standards, this time recruiting bassist Jay Anderson in lieu of Hammond B3 organist Gary Versace. Stemming from a memorial concert the musicians performed for Nussbaum's mom, who passed away in 2007, this set plumbs the Great American Songbook, although the musicians have no intention of presenting the tunes the way they always have been played. Abercrombie and Liebman keep the lights low for the most part, dazzling with a quiet intensity. That minimalistic approach is echoed by Anderson and Nussbaum; the drummer can swing at any tempo and creates all kinds of fizzy excitement just below the surface. This is small-ensemble jazz at its finest, from the joyful opener, "Poinciana," to a stark and lonesome read of "Lover Man" that begins with Abercrombie's desolate guitar lines and Anderson's forlorn statement of the melody. Even "Besame Mucho" shines, as Liebs blows an exotic Eastern intro on shakuhatchi flute guaranteed to deliver a shiver.

Bobby Broom: Plays for Monk (Origin). On the heels of a similar Peter Bernstein project, Sonny Rollins sideman Bobby Broom takes an imaginative stroll through the Thelonious Monk songbook with his trio of bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer Kobie Watkins. Of course, there's the novelty of hearing a guitar trio play Monk (the pianist never recorded with guitar, although apparently bootlegs exist of a 1940s jam with Charlie Christian at Minton's), but beyond that, Broom is an extremely engaging artist whose playing never fails to captivate. The guitarist gets the humor inherent in Monk, and it's great fun to hear him navigate the tricky angles of tunes such as "In Walked Bud" and "Work," at once jaw-dropping in his technical virtuosity but also full of heart and originality. Makes you feel as if you were sitting at a nightclub, just feet away from the stage, watching the trio work its magic. And there's nothing cooler than that.