Rob Garcia: Sizzle Ensemble

CONNECTION WORKS (RELEASED MAY 29, 2026)

As my wife often says, “Abe, you’re doing too much!” After listening to the Sizzle Ensemble, I might say the same thing to Rob Garcia . Garcia and his band (Noah Preminger on sax, Shane Endsley on trumpet, Gary Versace on piano and Kim Cass on bass) present 13 tunes ranging from the funk of Marcus Miller’s “Tutu” to the slow blues of Garcia’s “Department of Peace” to an invigorating arrangement on Monk’s “Epistrophy” to Garcia’s atmospheric jazz waltz “The Shadow Nose” to a funkified version of Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage” to Garcia’s boppish “Autumn Mischief” to his modal “Ghosts Present.” Get the idea? Although they do each of these tunes and others well, they are simply doing too much in one release! As the name of the group implies, the band sizzles on the tunes with tight arrangements, crisp solos and Garcia’s effervescent drumming. Some tunes such as “Epistrophy” are more traditional in approach, while tunes such as “Early Celebration” and “Sizzle,” which are performed without Versace, harken back to the music of the Ornette Coleman Quartet. Preminger’s solos throughout the session show why he has appeared on several of Garcia’s earlier releases. His expressiveness ranges from down home blues on “Tutu” to spirited funk of “Maiden Voyage” to the free-flowing groove of “River.” With his crisp and pure tone, Endsley, who is making his first recorded appearance with Garcia, is the perfect foil for Preminger. Versace adds just the right color to the proceedings whether he is playing acoustic or electric piano. Cass navigates the breadth of the selections with precision and poise. It’s obvious that these musicians are in sync with one another, listening and responding as they explore the varied set of Garcia originals and the three covers. Although they may be “doing too much,” Garcia and the band manage to do it all with a sense of soul, swing and sensibility on Sizzle Ensemble.

BOTTOM LINE: The Rob Garcia 4 becomes five with the addition of trumpeter Shane Endsley on Sizzle Ensemble. The addition of the trumpet and the change in piano players to Gary Versace adds a new dimension to this set of 13 varied tunes including ten Garcia originals and a well-crafted arrangement of Thelonious Monk’s “Epistrophy.” It has a little bit of everything to offer, and everything is played with verve.