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TOM ZYGMONT, Lumina Way

Jonathan Widran

It’s not customary for a reviewer to insert him/herself into the story of any artist, let alone the incredibly inspiring narrative of a veteran musician’s at long last emergence as a recording artist, but drummer Tom Zygmont’s extraordinary, multi-faceted and brilliantly performed debut album Lumina Way has impacted me like few contemporary jazz albums in recent memory.


Using the term “contemporary jazz” to describe the dynamic, sometimes sultry and subtle yet more often electrifying 10 track collection is significant. It’s a way to remind myself – and anyone else who got into instrumental music in the 80’s and 90’s – that long before terrestrial radio created the term “smooth jazz” and every song released was targeted to renewed, researched airplay standards, there was a different, more impactful and free-spirited sort of music that defined the contemporary instrumental genre. 


This vibe had poppin’, often funky grooves and infectious melodies like smooth jazz, but it was driven by more festive, freewheeling ensembles created by intuitive musicians who seemed to be able to read their cohorts’ thoughts, create fascinating musical conversations and solo with fire and abandon. In retrospect, I see it as a sort of in between realm between the classic adventurous jazz fusion of the 70s and the catchy, polished urban pop aesthetic of smooth jazz.


That’s exactly the kind of music that caught my sensibilities in the late 80s, sparking a passion that evolved into a 30 year plus career as a music journalist. Since I attribute every career blessing in my life to that innovative era of contemporary jazz, it’s no surprise that I felt that inner excitement - and gratitude, endless gratitude - when I heard Zygmont and his group of veteran musicians create a modern twist on that sound on Lumina Way.


The fact that three of the set’s most compelling, soul-tugging songs - the charmingly whimsical, breezy and easy swinging lead single “It’s Complicated,” the hypnotically funky, brass-fired romp “Lumina Way” and the buoyant, bustling jam “Big Dipper” – feature the lyrical dazzle of the versatile Brandon Fields is especially gratifying. Fields was my very first interview subject back in 1989, and he remains one of my favorite saxophonists to this day. I have the same retro-affection for Terry Wollman, who produced and plays guitar or rhythm guitar on most of Lumina Way.


I first wrote about Wollman in that same cherished era, when he and Fields were on the same indie label. Lumina Way began life as a conversation between Zygmont and Wollman, who decided to pursue together the idea of gathering some of the drummer’s longtime friends and colleagues to create a true player’s album. In his illuminating liner notes, Zygmont writes, “Our goal was to allow everyone space and freedom to do what they do best: be great musicians who make great musical decisions to create great music, while having fun together doing it.” In his statement, Wollman adds, “It’s not often that an artist records an album with the simple intention of creating a collection of great songs with friends and sharing the pure joy of playing music together.”


While Zygmont’s alternately sensitive and explosive timekeeping anchors and propels every track, he often contents himself with being an ensemble player, preferring to let his colleagues forge the key melodic and improvisational moments while he drives the groove. This refreshing sense of humility clearly comes from an extensive career serving the creative needs of other artists.


Since moving to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams in 1979, Zygmont has enjoyed a successful, eclectic career working as a free-lance live show and studio drummer/percussionist for numerous cultural icons – including Chuck Mangione, Maxine Andrews (of The Andrews Sisters), Johnny Mathis, Julio Iglesias, Shirley Jones, Spencer Davis, Maureen McGovern, Martha Raye, Carol Channing, Florence Henderson, John Raitt, Adrienne Barbeau and Bobby Kimball (Toto). He’s also played in musical theatre “pits” for years; his 2024 resume includes “Rent,” “Chess,” “Into the Woods” and “Little Shop of Horrors.”


While building his freelance career, he enjoyed an incredible “day job” for 24 years serving in several capacities at Remo Drums, including Director of Graphics and Lamination and doing extensive Research & Development and product development. In addition to being awarded a patent for one important process he developed, he worked over the years with the management teams and/or drummers for everyone from Michael Jackson, Van Halen and Whitney Houston to Rush, Ringo Starr, Def Leppard, Ozzy Osbourne, Chicago and Wings – or pretty much anyone who endorsed Remo drumheads.



A career as storied as Zygmont’s has naturally led to having an incredibly talented and diverse bench of musicians and fellow artists to invite to the party he and Wollman were throwing at Sunset Sound in Hollywood. where everything was recorded live by Kenji Nakai. In addition to the aforementioned Fields and Wollman, the guest list – once in lifetime historic gathering of L.A. greats - includes guitarists James Zota Baker, Jennifer Batten and Sid Jacobs; percussionists Leon Mobley, Luis Conte and MB Gordy; pianist Ron Walters, Jr.; bassist Abraham Laboriel Sr.; trumpeter/flugelhornist Wayne Bergeron; harmonica virtuoso Tollak Ollestad; and vocalist Melanie Taylor. The album was mixed by Peter Kelsey, whose credits including Elton John, Jean-Luc Ponty and Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward.


The aforementioned Brandon Fields-featured tracks are all solid entry points – especially the title track, which was named for a street in Zygmont’s neighborhood where he and his wife go for walks. But any track will do, really – because, as diverse as the style and rhythm is from one to the next, each offers a stellar showcase for soloing by at least one of the participants. On the playful, tropical and easy swaying opener, Mongo Santamaria’s “Afro Blue,” Baker’s crisp guitar takes the lead melody, Zygmont and Mobley hold court on the exotic rhythms and Walters takes a wild solo in the middle. On the deliciously bluesy mid-tempo jazz-rocker “Better from a Distance,” Wollman’s stirring rhythm guitar interacts powerfully throughout with Baker’s fiery, soaring electric.


“Contusion” is truly a fascinating throwback to the scorching, high octane free-for-alls of jazz fusion’s golden era, with electric guitar great Jennifer Batten having all guns blazing, reminding her colleagues (and those of us who remember as well) of her heyday in the 90s and 2000s touring with Michael Jackson and Jeff Beck. Soaring along with the guitarist, Taylor’s high flying harmony vocals are a splendid touch. Chilling the tempo way down, Zygmont and company share a gentler, more soulful side of their collective artistry on Jon Hartmann’s dreamy ballad “Sixteen Words,” which features one of Ollestad’s wafting harmonica solos and a sensitive piano solo by Walters. There’s also a cool peppy section in the middle that allows Bergeron to spotlight his flugelhorn glory.



“Pacifica” is a lighthearted, easy flowing Brazilian flavored gem spotlighting Wollman’s graceful, breezy acoustic guitar on lead melody, Bergeron’s sensual trumpet harmonies and the buoyant percussion and soundscaping of Luis Conte – all topped off with soaring wordless vocals by the chorus of Wollman, Laboriel and Walters. Following “Big Dipper” and the subtly bluesy, cool struttin’ Sid Jacobs guitar feature “Just Friends with Benefits” (penned by Jacobs), Zygmont concludes his epic set with something completely different – a sparse, hypnotic, ambient world music piece titled “The Epitaph of Seikilos.” The lineup on this track is unique from any other on Lumina Way - a mesmerizing harp melody by Stephanie Bennett, percussion by Zygmont and MB Gordy, Leon Mobley on djembe, Wollman playing a native wooden whistle and a touch of vocal grace by Taylor.


This remarkable, unexpected journey into new age territory, another reflection of the complete freedom Zygmont expresses throughout, is so unique that the drummer includes an explanation of it in his liners. He writes, “The Epitaph of Seikilos” is generally regarded as the oldest surviving complete musical composition. It is a melody carved on a headstone in Greece in the first or second century CE. I first heard it many years ago and was drawn to this beautiful plaintive melody and prophetic message” He then writes the English translation of the inscription: “As long as you live, be lighthearted/Let nothing trouble you/Life is only too short/And time takes its toll.”  


A thought-provoking pearl of wisdom indeed, although 45 years after Zygmont came out West to pursue his musical career, he and his well-ensemble here are playing music with the passion, enthusiasm and energy of artists half and less than half their age. Like kids, really. Time has decidedly NOT taken its toll on any of them. They all have fascinating lives and illustrious careers, and they’re only getting better.


As magnificent (and being true to its title, luminous) a journey as Lumina Way is, there’s one thing listeners should be aware of, however. Zygmont sees this as a long delayed first solo album as “something I’ve often fantasized about, a reunion of friends that means a lot to me, a unique project worth pursuing.” He likes to say it can stand on its own, but may or may not be a launching spot for a whole new career pursuit. Even if there’s no Volume II, the album stands as a testament to the enduring power and magic of music between friends, with no limits on either joy or adventure.  

 

 

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