PAPATAMUS REDUX

CELLAR MUSIC (RELEASED JULY 17, 2026)

If you are familiar with the Cellar Music label, you know owner Cory Weeds has an affinity for straight-ahead, bop infused saxophonists. So, it is no surprise that Weeds invited alto saxophonist Mike DiRubbo to make the trip from New York City to Vancouver to record Way Out Northwest. It’s a session packed with DiRubbo soaring over a local rhythm section comprised of Cellar Music regulars — Tilden Webb on piano, Jodi Proznick on bass and Jesse Cahill on drums. In addition to bringing his crisp and sinewy sound (honed while he was a student of Jackie Mclean) to the session, DiRubbo also brought six original compositions. Tunes such as “Way Out Northwest,” “Striking Distance” and “For Mabes” (dedicated to Harold Mabern, who appeared on DiRubbo’s 2007 Cellar Music release) are up-tempo swingers with catchy rhythm and harmonic changes. Although it swings just as hard, “Jimbo,” a tune DiRubbo dedicated to former bandmate trumpeter Jim Rotondi who passed away in 2024, has a more casual feel to it as do “Late August” and “Timing is Everything.” The non-Dirubbo tunes include “Song for My Queen,” a brisk Latin number written by overlooked pianist/composer Hotep Idris Galeta (who shares a McLean connection with Dirubbo) and “A Star for Chick,” a lively romp by trombonist Steve Davis who introduced DiRubbo to a wider audience with his late 1990s sessions on Criss Cross Records. Although the focus on Way Out Northwest is on DiRubbo’s sound, style and compositions, Webb, Proznick and Cahill deserve the title of the “other magic triangle” (the first one being pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Billy Higgins.) They support and augment DiRubbo with equal amounts of energy and sensitivity. There is no question in my mind that Weeds loves this session. It is everything he strives for on the growing Cellar Music catalogue — honest, hard swinging, post-bop jazz. However, Way Out Northwest is missing something to break up the high-energy and fast paced nature of the majority tunes on this session — a ballad. That’s a tip from the great Dexter Gordon!

BOTTOM LINE: In 2007, Cellar Music released a live session of alto saxophonist Mike DiRubbo featuring Harold Mabern recorded live at Kitano in New York City. This time around, Di Rubbo heads to Vancouver to record Way Out Northwest with that city’s finest rhythm section. Although the eight tunes (including six DiRubbo originals) exemplify the post-bop energy of many Cellar Music sessions, without a ballad to temper the energy level, it is almost too much of a good thing .