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Although not particularly well known worldwide, guitarist Brent Laidler has been an active member of the jazz scene in Indiana for many years and in many capacities including; performer, arranger, composer, educator and also instrument repairman. “Hidden Gems” is Brent’s fifth album as leader and finds him working with the same group of musicians who recorded his previous outings. The band’s familiarity with each other pays off as this is a very tight ensemble, smooth in execution and always in the pocket and in the groove. Almost half the tunes are in a relaxed bossa/samba rhythm and the coolness of this music permeates the entire album, this is not a group given to much extravagant excesses. The concise Brazilian sound is furthered by Jamie Newman’s organ sound which does not often use vibrato, chorus or leslie, and instead presents that dry sound favored by the bossa crowd. The tick .. tick .. tick tick sound of wood claves also flavors many of these tracks.
Outside of the Latin influences, “Hidden Gems” also pulls from the world of soul jazz and funky hard bop with saxophonist Ned Boyd often featuring a raspy tone favored by the RnB crowd. The album’s title comes from the fact that Laidler poured through countless old fake books in search of ’gems’ to re-harmonize and contemporize. “Gemini” is based on an old Cannonball Adderly solo transcription, “Riffy Business” was a TV soundtrack in the early 1960s and “Petite Parasol” was updated with a modern hip-hop beat. The main appeal of this album though is found in it’s sound and production, appealing conciseness was something that Brasil 66 understood, likewise Erik Satie as well as Brian Eno’s ambient pop of the late 70s.
