The Puppeteers - The Puppeteers (2014)

Puppet's Jazz, the much-missed Brooklyn club, may have completed its six-year existence in May of 2011, but its afterlife has spawned both a substantial jazz quartet and a promising new record label. The Puppeteers reunites drummer and club founder Jaime Affoumado, pianist Arturo O'Farrill, bassist Alex Blake and vibraphonist Bill Ware, respected veteran musicians who logged in more hours together than they can remember on the compact bandstand of the former club. Now, officially known as the Puppeteers, the foursome have pooled their instrumental and compositional talents for a project that brims with the cohesion that sprouts from familiarity yet also bursts with the excitement of renewed commitment.

Individually, each member of the Puppeteers has a rich musical history. Bill Ware, an original member of the influential Downtown band, The Jazz Passengers also co-founded The Groove Collective and toured with Steely Dan for the Alive in America tour, 1993-1995. Alex Blake, who mans both acoustic and electric bass on the album, has long been associated with pianist Randy Weston, and has worked with such diverse artists as The Manhattan Transfer, Sun Ra, and the late saxophone master Stan Getz. Arturo O'Farrill, the leader of the acclaimed Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, has also collaborated with a wide swath of important figures including Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis Carla Bley and Harry Belafonte. Jaime Affoumado has played with Jaco Pastorious, Arthur Blythe, and The Jazz Passengers, and, as the house drummer for Puppet's Jazz, provided the groove for innumerable players who graced the club's potent stage.

Tracklist:

1. On The Spot
2. Jumping
3. In Whom
4. Peaceful Moment
5. Bio Diesel
6. Dreams Of Dad
7. Not Now Right Now
8. Lonely Days Are Gone
9. The Right Time

Personnel:

Arturo O'Farrill: piano
Bill Ware: vibraphone
Alex Blake: double bass, bass guitar
Jaime Affoumado: drums