Mike Melito: Press

Featured Artist: Mike Melito Quintet


CD Title: The Next Step

Year: 2005

Record Label: Weebop Records

Style: BeBop / Hard Bop

Musicians: Mike Melito (drums), Joe Magnarelli (trumpet), Grant Stewart (tenor saxophone), Dino Losito (piano), Neal Miner (bass)

Review:
Mike Melito wants you to know he loves Blue Note albums from the sixties. He shows this love on his latest CD The Next Step. A hard swinging quintet plays some fine originals along with classics from the fake book.



Melito himself is a cooking drummer who loves to engage his soloists without getting in their way, giving them the rhythmic freedom to explore their time at bat. The horn section of trumpeter Joe Magnarelli and tenor saxist Grant Stewart profits most from his generosity. Pianist Dino Losito joins Melito and bassist Neal Miner in being unobtrusively swinging.



The quintet shows the most respect to the standards, playing “Don’t Blame Me” with understated elegance at a medium tempo that will tap your toe for you, with no effort on your part.



Originals like Magnarelli’s “Bella Carolina” get more of an experimental treatment, with Melito’s powerful tom-tom intro belying a buoyant bossa beat.



“I Want More” sounds pretty much as Dexter Gordon intended it to sound back in the early sixties, and that’s a good thing. Stewart pays homage to the tenor master with a pleasing romp. Magnarelli steps in to equal him with a great look at the changes. Once again the rhythm section bubbles just under the surface.



“You Don’t Know What Love Is” sounds like the way Clifford Brown and Max Roach’s band with Sonny Rollins would’ve played it. Technically not Blue Note, but who cares.



Mike Melito loves Blue Note, but he gets you to love his music, too. Here's looking forward to his next CD.



Tracks: The Next Step, Don't Blame Me, Bella Carolina, I Want More, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, I Wish I Knew, You Don't Know What Love Is, Blues For Red and Brown

Reviewed by: Rob Johnson

With advanced technology to the point that just about anyone can put together and sell their own CD (with little regard as to whether or not the music is worthy of dissemination or not, mind you), so much of the self-produced jazz which reaches this reviewers doorstep is half-baked and not worth much more than a few spins. In a dichotomous turn to the other direction, drummer Michael Melitos second and most recent project is of such a high caliber in both execution and packaging that it gives the major label releases a run for their money. This is not to say that Melitos music makes any commercial concessions, just that its intelligent mainstream outlook is well recorded and tastefully presented.


With trumpeter Joe Magnarelli (on one cut) and tenor saxophonist Grant Stewart on hand, the hard bop performances as led by Melito definitely fall in the same category as the fare cultivated on the Criss Cross Jazz label. Stewart is so unduly neglected that its a crime, but hes in great form here with a swagger that recalls earlier tenor icons such as Dexter Gordon (spin Nobody Else But Me for proof). As for pianist Paul Hoffman and bassist Paul Gill, the two mesh seamlessly with Melito, who obviously has given much thought to the final recorded sound of his drum kit.


Among the ten tracks, which clock in at close to an hour, are a few originals by Melito, Hoffman, and Magnarelli. Freddie Hubbards Happy Times and Tina Brooks Minor Move are sagaciously chosen pleasures that reveal Melitos tastes in obscure chestnuts. Furthermore, choosing to lead in the service of the music, the drummer does not engage in flashy solos and bombast. As such, nothing overly dramatic occurs, but each musician speaks with his or her own voice and the swinging 鬡n displayed by all will not doubt offer a healthy share of delights for those of the hard bop persuasion.

MIKE MELITO
THE NEXT STEP
Personnel: Joe Magnarelli, Trumpet; Grant Stewart, tenor; Dino Losito, piano; Neal Miner, bass ; Mike Melito, drums
Mike Melito's influences sing from his snare drum and ride cymbal throughout his debut as a leader, THE NEXT STEP. There is an amusing anecdote recounted in the liner notes. It goes something like this: A drummer arrives at a session and asks Rudy Van Gelder if he can make him sound like Philly Joe Jones, to which Van Gelder replies: "Sure, but can you play like Philly Joe?" To say that Mike Melito is copying Philly Joe Jones would do him a disservice. Yet so would not mentioning the obvious influence. Melito's snare drum comping and solos conjure up images of the great Philly Joe Jones, highly regarded and quite possibly the single most recorded sideman jazz drummer. Also present in Melito's warm and swinging style is Art Blakey. Like Blakey, Melito prefers to rely heavily on a strong backbeat accent-not always implicitily stated, but always felt. To this stable foundation Melito adds the wealth of influences that only today's contemporary drummers can. Put it all together and it ends up sounding like the unique take on a proven formula for swinging success that it is.
Pianist Dino Losito opens the album with his original tune from which the release takes it's name. "The Next Step" is a medium swing tune. From trumpeter Joe Magnarelli comes "Bella Carolina" a bossa-nova with a tasty Melito drum intro. Bassist Neal Miner contributes "Blues For Red and Brown," a medium blues. Also included is a faithful-to-the-original rendition of Dexter Gordon's " I Want More," as well as standards such as "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and "You Don't Know What Love Is."
Melito avoids egotistically filling the album with drum solos. Rather, he takes two extended solos. While the solo on "I Want More" (as well as the choruses of traded eights on "I Wish I Knew" ) is clearly reminiscent of Philly Joe Jones, the solo most inspired by Miles' favorite drummer appears on the burning rendition of "You Don't Know What Love Is." listen to this solo side by side with Philly Joe's solo on " Salt Peanuts" from Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet and you'll hear a startling similarity. The beauty of Philly Joe's playing lies largely in his phrasing, the way he strung together a relatively limited amount of "licks." It is this phrasing (as well as a few licks) that Melito uses so effectively in his own playing and timekeeping.
The Next Step is definitely a release for lovers of hardbop. You'll find an excellent contemporary drummer with clearly defined roots that in no way prevent him from attaining an individual sound on the instrument.

Featured Artist: Mike Melito


CD Title: The Next Step

Year: 2004

Record Label: Independent

Style: BeBop / Hard Bop

Musicians: Mike Melito (drums), Grant Stewart (sax), Joe Magnarelli (trumpet), Dino Losito (piano), Neal Miner (bass)

Review: This is a prime example of BeBop at it's best. There is fine unison work between the horns, and good tunes from which to extrapolate . Dino Losito at the piano is an exciting young pianist who solos are inventive and most importantly have a message, not just mindless notes. Mike Melito on the drums does not 'step on' the soloists and and his embellishments fit the tune and add to the solos by his discretionary playing. Steady as a rock is Neal Miner, his presence is the heart beat of this ensemble.
"I Want More" is a fast paced bop number featuring a driving sax soliloquy by Stewart and an equally intense effort by horn mate Magnarelli. Dino Losito lends his magic to the mix with his patented swinging style.

"Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" opens with sultry trumpet tones emanating from Magnarelli, who lays it on the line and comes out unscathed with a super effort. Grant Stewart is at his best on this piece, There is not a hint of Bean or the Hawk in the texture of his sound (as mentioned in the liner notes) both his sound and ideation are as hip as it gets. This tune is performed at a slow tempo yet it moves soulfully and is very kind to the aural senses. I really liked this track.A nice arrangement of

"I Wish I Knew" finds Magnarelli bopping along joyfully followed by Losito's astounding solo filled with dexterity, brilliant changes and his comping clearly inspires the horns in their solos. Nice four bar exchanges add the finishing touches.

"You Don't Know What Love Is" Done up tempo, this tunes moves along at race horse time. Stewart again rips his opportunity at bat spreading his message on dead red all the way, great solo....Magnarelli follows suit with an equally energetic outing. Here comes Losito jumping on this song like a hobo on a ham sandwich, he gets it all and then some, it gets no better than this.



Tracks: The Next Step, Don't Blame ME, Bella Carolina, I Want More, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, I Wish I Knew, You Don't Know What Love Is, Blues For Red And Brown.

Reviewed by: John Gilbert

Drummer Mike Melito's Quintet date finds a beautifully integrated band of musicians, who gel with a sound as smooth as silk thanks in no small part to the leader's drumming. Crisp, sharp and precise, Melito has superb dynamic control with exemplary cymbal work. Grant Stewart also impresses with his richly handsome tone showcased nicely on "Don't Blame Me" -while pianist Dino Losito has a pleasingly economical style that pays off well, in both solo and accompaniment modes. A rehormonized, uptempo "You Don't Know What Love Is" is another potent performance, with a rangy tenor solo by Stewart. Joe Magnarelli also has a memorable trumpet tone, recalling the crackling excitement of 1960's Blue Note stalwarts such as Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard. Combining both unnerring precision and nuance, The Next Step is about as good as it gets for modern mainstream.

'Bout Time!
Michael Melito Quartet | MHR Records

By Dr. Judith Schlesinger


There's a ton of splendid music coming out of Rochester, New York, probably because the first-rate Eastman School of Music is located there. Although few Noo Yawkers would admit it, The Big Apple doesn't have the state monopoly on stellar jazz, and here's another northern star to prove it. Mike Melito is a strong, straightahead drummer who's produced a classy, swinging CD with some of his local colleagues, all with impeccable credentials. It's a melodic session of fresh material, full of head-nodders and finger-poppers. “'Bout Time” opens with the friendly Freddie Hubbard tune, “Happy Times,” then proceeds to provide more of them.


I really liked Grant Stewart's tenor playing, with its rich tone and blessed lack of squawking (listen to him on “My Ideal” for some ideal ballad playing). Paul Hofmann's piano is fluid, versatile, and reliably interesting, and bassist Paul Gill, who's worked with Turrentine and Golson, Hendricks and Harrell, has great time and intonation. Joe Magnarelli brings his fine flugelhorn to the closer, Cedar Walton's ”Bolivia,” recorded three years earlier and a highlight here. All told, a highly enjoyable collecftion of the real deal: no fuss, no phonies, no grandstanding from the leader at the expense of the group. Very nice stuff.