New Life
Jazz House, 2020
8/10
After a bout with stage 4 lung cancer in 2012, the New York City veteran guitarist, composer and leader Peter Leitch was left unable to play guitar. Not content with stepping away from creating music, he moved into the position of composer, arranger and director, and here hey debuts with his 15 piece orchestra on the double disc effort, New Life.
“Mood For Max” starts the listen with bright sax from Steve Wilson as Joe Strasser’s frisky percussion guides the lively jazz opener that’s for the oncologist who saved Leitch’s life, and “Portrait Of Sylvia” follows with Chad Coe contributing acoustic guitar and Dennis James taking up bass on the dreamy, highly melodic setting dedicated to Leitch’s wife.
Elsewhere on disc 1, “Penumbra” benefits from Jed Levy’s sax prowess on the cautious, soothing landscape, while “Fulton Street Suite” finishes out the first half of the record with soulful brass amid a reflective spirit that tours us through the colorful culture of Manhattan.
Disc 2 leads with the aptly titled “Exhilaration”, where a swift pace of dynamic interplay between horns and percussion leaves an impression, and “Clifford Jordan” arrives shortly after with no shortage of rhythm in its timeless jazz nature that pays homage to one of Leitch’s favorite sax players.
The highlights of the back half enter later, including the warm piano of Peter Zak on the sublime ballad “Spring Is Here”, and the closer “The Long Walk Home”, which amazes us with 11 minutes of key acrobatics, shuffling percussion, inviting brass and charming flute in its 12 bar blues formula.
Leitch took 2 years to create the 17 tracks here, as he had to tweak the compositions to fit the band size. And while his new life in music is a far cry from his days of improvisation, it’s certainly just as creative, as he tackles a whole set of new challenges that he’s more than capable of conquering.
Travels well with: Ada Bird Wolfe & Jamieson Trotter- He & Me; David Sills- Natural Lines