Richard Baratta's 'Looking Back' (Savant)

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Savant Records is proud to announce the February 21, 2025 release of Looking Back, the exciting new album from drummer-bandleader Richard Baratta. As the title suggests, on his fourth album for Savant, Baratta takes listeners down a nostalgic road of classic rock and soul recordings from the mid to late 1960's, and reimagines them in a riveting jazz setting. Baratta's ace band includes the great GRAMMY nominated pianist-arranger Bill O'Connell, saxophonist Vincent Herring, guitarist Paul Bollenback, bassist Michael Goetz, percussionist Paul Rossman and special guest vocalist Carol Scott.

A man capable of wearing many hats, Richard Baratta has worn several during his varied career, which has taken him from the bandstand to movie sets and back again. Baratta began his musical career nearly 40 years ago, playing with various big bands and ensembles across New York before falling into movie-making, eventually becoming an established, sought-after producer with The Wolf of Wall Street, The Irishman, Joker, and several Spider-Man films among his credits. In 2020, Baratta formally returned to music with his label debut, Music in Film: The Reel Deal, on which the drummer reimagined some of his favorite film music in an invigorating jazz setting. A commercial triumph (evidenced by nearly 4 million streams on Spotify), the album went on to gain a GRAMMY nomination for pianist Bill O'Connell's smart arrangement of "Chopsticks". Baratta's follow up album, Music in Film: The Sequel followed and the streams and positive reviews continued to accumulate. His third album, Off The Charts, explored a new formula for the New York-area drummer - this time, instead of movie music, he decided to look to the 60's and 70's for guidance, choosing lesser-known compositions by inspirational jazz greats from the period. Looking Back employs a similar approach, but now, the music may be a bit more recognizable: James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan are the composers.

"My primary attraction was to "jazz, " but rock, soul, and funk were not far behind, or I would have missed out on hundreds of teen parties, " Baratta commented when reflecting on the influences of his youth. Looking Back reimagines ten mid-late classic popular hits, its repertoire carefully chosen by Baratta and O'Connell.

Baratta, together with his working band, explores such tunes as "Blowin' in the Wind, " "Purple Haze, " "I Feel Good, " "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, " "Whole Lotta Love, " "Respect, " and other rock mega-hits. With a real all-star ensemble on hand, the arrangements by pianist Bill O'Connell are thoroughly swinging affairs with a fresh, unique approach and a funky Latin Jazz feel. As with his Music in Film series, Richard Baratta proves himself to be a gifted innovator at transforming familiar, and often surprising, material into vibrant jazz performances that bring new concepts to these truly iconic tunes and underline their timeless appeal.

"As I got into it, each tune had its own character, " the pianist said. "I'd run it by Rich, and he'd say, 'Let's give it a shot.' It was really finding the direction that we wanted to go in for each tune that made it challenging and rewarding."

Highlights include Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love, " on which Baratta's drums pan from right to left, mimicking Jimmy Page's guitar on the 1969 original. The group's updated version retains an aggressive tone and opens up about halfway through for Bollenback and O'Connell to stretch out. Altoist Vincent Herring mostly serves here as punctuation to the song's melody.

The sextet also took on Otis Redding's "Respect" — a tune that'd be difficult to render as anything other than swinging. But after about a minute of the reworked number, Herring's barrelling solo transforms the composition. O'Connell's comping and bassist Michael Goetz keep the band in line, as Baratta, Bollenback and percussionist Paul Rossman daub color on to the proceedings. "When it comes to playing bebop or straight-ahead music, that's Vincent, " Baratta said about the saxophonist, who appeared on two of the bandleader's earlier albums. "When you give him a vehicle like 'Respect, ' you just say, 'Here's 32 bars, take two choruses.' I mean, he's instant offense."

Perhaps less transfigured, but no less in the pocket, is the troupe's take on The Mamas & the Papas' "California Dreamin'." Everyone from Wes Montgomery to Diana Krall have recorded versions of the tune, but Baratta never internalized those interpretations.

The bandleader described the tune's flute solo as revolutionary when he first heard it. "It was just something that I dug listening to, " the bandleader said. "I was listening to jazz at the time — to Trane and Miles — but I was always listening to rock." "Hey Jude" follows a few tracks later, reinforcing the drummer's rock proclivities while also exhibiting a bit of the ensemble's sensitive side. The arrangement again showcases O'Connell's impulse to filigree tunes with a Latin feel.

If Looking Back is Baratta searching for new challenges and inspiration, he continues to rely on a sturdy premise to creating accessible art. "There's something here that people can easily grasp, " the bandleader said about his latest effort including a constellation of familiar tunes. "I'm an entertainer and a messenger. I like seeing people feel good, and I want my music to transform them. If I can do that, I've accomplished a lot of what drives me to play music."

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