SMACK DAB

PULSE

"If you let me love you

It’s for sure I’m gonna love you

(From Sammy Cahn’s lyrics to Jimmy Van Heusen’s classic 1950s ‘All The Way’ melody. Stunning versions include (Little) Jimmy Scott’s on the album of the same name issued in 1992. The Smack Dab treatment is closer to Lee Morgan’s.)

​

In a nutshell Pulse is a meat and potatoes hard bop studio album recorded in 2023 with drummer Joan Casares in the Art Blakey (Abdullah Ibn Buhaina – hence Bu) mould.

Highlights beyond pianist David Kikoski‘s always rewarding contributions include the sax playing from Lluc Casares on ‘All the Way.’

Barcelona’s Smack Dab navigate a ”kind of Bu” sound

The originals are fine from the Barcelona band. But really it’s the interpretations of the standards that steal the show. A quintet around since 2015 Smack Dab have played local clubs like Jamboree Jazz Club and Nova Jazz Cava. In the States they worked with Vincent Herring."

​

Marlbank, The Daily Jazz blog (April 12, 2025)

​

"Fresh and inviting solutions for the new Smack Dab album, on the surface the geometries of an African-American music well set on jazz vibes and Davisian harmonies. Muscular and stylistically perfect. Smack Dab publish their jazz with the legendary pianist Dave Kikoski (formerly with Randy Brecker, Bob Berg and Roy Haynes). All the compositions and arrangements were made directly in the studio, without any preliminary rehearsal, making the recording spontaneous and exuberant. Eight tracks including the beautiful Velho Diabo and All The Way with bopper tones. We believe the listener will surely appreciate the result: a spontaneous and exuberant recording. Dave Kikoski, perfect in his jazzy clouds. The Catalan hard bop quartet does not hold back. The band, with eight years of experience behind them, still sounds innovative. It presents a new show with original music, emotional songs, intimate moments, full of energy. A handful of super groove albums including 2023's Supertralla and 2017's Smack 7 Dab with sophisticated blue notes on all fronts.

​

Windout Magazine (April 22, 2025)

​

SMACK 7 DAB
Fresh Sound New Talent 1000 Series

"Saxophonist Sambeat is the only familiar name among this gaggle of Spanish hard boppers, but all the contributors are plumb in the right groove. The nominal leaders are trumpeter Valles and drummer Casares. The meaty music, in the best Messengers' manner, comes entirely from within the group and is neatly arranged with enhancing ensemble passages between and behind the solos. Valles is a vigorous trumpeter exhibiting the undisguised influence of Freddie Hubbard. The basic quintet is supplemented on several tracks by Sambeat and mellow trombonist Belenguer.

A feature of the band is the close togetherness and an unforced momentum, even on a slower piece like Nostalgia (nothing to do with the Tadd Dameron composition, although the hip voicings are quite Dameronian). Raval Hip Attitude borrows some phrases from Buttons and Bows, while Rita's Strut has more than a touch of a Silver lining. Performances are nicely trimmed and never sprawl, with all the participants allocated decent solo space. These players have studied in depth the substantial hard bop legacy, carrying that knowledge and the spirit which informs it into their own take on the style, thus keeping the tradition alive while refreshing it.

Played as a blindfold test, this music would fool anyone into thinking that this is a contemporary New York outfit; they are that good. The CD is released in Fresh Sound's new talent series and merits close attention. It will be worth waiting to hear how these musicians develop their abilities. Just one small reservation - the closing Spanish rap item in a monotone until the closing instrumental interventions."

Mark Gardner (September, 2017)
Jazz Journal Magazine

​

(source: https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/oriol-valles-joan-casares-albums/6577-smack-7-dab.html)