downbeat 2008

Upload: stefano-bartolini

Post on 08-Mar-2016

51 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

DESCRIPTION

Downbeat 2008

TRANSCRIPT

  • DO

    WN

    BE

    AT

    JAN

    UA

    RY

    20

    09

    BE

    NN

    Y G

    OLS

    ON

    RO

    N C

    AR

    TER

    BE

    ST C

    DS

    OF 2

    00

    8 JA

    ZZ

    SC

    HO

    OL

    DownBeat.com

    JANUARY 2009 U.K. 3.50

    0 09281 01493 5

    0 1

    $4.99

    DB0109_001_COVER.qxd 11/13/08 12:29 PM Page 1

  • DB0109_002-005_MAST.qxd 11/12/08 12:15 PM Page 2

  • DB0109_002-005_MAST.qxd 11/11/08 4:59 PM Page 3

  • SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: Send orders and address changes to: DOWNBEAT, P.O. Box 906,Elmhurst, IL 601260906. Inquiries: U.S.A. and Canada (800) 554-7470; Foreign (630) 941-2030.CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please allow six weeks for your change to become effective. When notifying us of your new address, include current DOWNBEAT label showing old address.

    DOWNBEAT (ISSN 0012-5768) Volume 76, Number 1 is published monthly by Maher Publications,102 N. Haven, Elmhurst, IL 60126-3379. Copyright 2009 Maher Publications. All rights reserved.Trademark registered U.S. Patent Office. Great Britain registered trademark No. 719.407. Periodicalspostage paid at Elmhurst, IL and at additional mailing offices. Subscription rates: $34.95 for oneyear, $59.95 for two years. Foreign subscriptions rates: $56.95 for one year, $103.95 for two years.

    Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, photos, or artwork.Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from publisher. Microfilmof all issues of DOWNBEAT are available from University Microfilm, 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor,MI 48106. MAHER PUBLICATIONS: DOWNBEAT magazine, MUSIC INC. magazine, UpBeat Daily.

    POSTMASTER: SEND CHANGE OF ADDRESS TO: DOWNBEAT, P.O. BOX 906, Elmhurst, IL 601260906.CABLE ADDRESS:DOWNBEAT (on sale December 16, 2008) MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION

    January 2009VOLUME 76 NUMBER 1

    President Kevin Maher

    Publisher Frank Alkyer

    Editor Jason Koransky

    Associate Editor Aaron Cohen

    Art Director Ara Tirado

    Production Associate Andy Williams

    Bookkeeper Margaret Stevens

    Circulation Manager Kelly Grosser

    Intern Mary Wilcop

    ADVERTISING SALES

    Record Companies & SchoolsJennifer Ruban-Gentile

    [email protected]

    Musical Instruments & East Coast SchoolsRitche Deraney201-445-6260

    [email protected]

    Classified Advertising SalesSue Mahal

    [email protected]

    OFFICES

    102 N. Haven RoadElmhurst, IL 601262970

    630-941-2030Fax: 630-941-3210www.downbeat.com

    [email protected]

    CUSTOMER SERVICE

    [email protected]

    CONTRIBUTORSSenior Contributors:

    Michael Bourne, John McDonough, Howard Mandel

    Austin: Michael Point; Boston: Fred Bouchard, Frank-John Hadley; Chicago:John Corbett, Alain Drouot, Michael Jackson, Peter Margasak, Bill Meyer,Mitch Myers, Paul Natkin, Howard Reich; Denver:Norman Provizer; Indiana:Mark Sheldon; Iowa: Will Smith; Los Angeles:Earl Gibson, Todd Jenkins, KirkSilsbee, Chris Walker, Joe Woodard; Michigan: John Ephland; Minneapolis:Robin James; Nashville: Robert Doerschuk; New Orleans: Erika Goldring,David Kunian; New York: Alan Bergman, Herb Boyd, Bill Douthart, Ira Gitler,Eugene Gologursky, Norm Harris, D.D. Jackson, Jimmy Katz, Jim Macnie,Ken Micallef, Jennifer Odell, Dan Ouellette, Ted Panken, Richard Seidel, TomStaudter, Jack Vartoogian, Michael Weintrob, Kevin Whitehead; NorthCarolina: Robin Tolleson; Philadelphia: David Adler, Shaun Brady, Eric Fine;San Francisco: Forrest Bryant, Clayton Call, Jerry Karp, Yoshi Kato; Seattle:Paul de Barros; Tampa Bay:Philip Booth; Washington, D.C.:Willard Jenkins,John Murph, Bill Shoemaker, Michael Wilderman; Belgium: Jos Knaepen;Canada: Greg Buium, James Hale, Diane Moon; Denmark: Jan Persson;France: Jean Szlamowicz;Germany:Detlev Schilke, Hyou Vielz; Great Britain:Hugh Gregory, Brian Priestley; Israel: Barry Davis; Japan: Kiyoshi Koyama;Netherlands: Jaap Ldeke; Portugal:Antonio Rubio; Romania:Virgil Mihaiu;Russia: Cyril Moshkow; South Africa: Don Albert.

    Jack Maher, President 1970-2003John Maher, President 1950-1969

    DB0109_002-005_MAST.qxd 11/11/08 5:00 PM Page 4

  • DB0109_002-005_MAST.qxd 11/11/08 4:59 PM Page 5

  • 6 DOWNBEAT January 2009

    Departments

    Features

    8 First Take

    10 Chords & Discords

    13 The Beat

    19 Vinyl Freak

    20 The ArchivesJanuary 1983

    21 The Question

    22 Backstage With ...Javon Jackson

    24 Caught

    26 PlayersGerald CleaverMary HalvorsonGttchw MkuryaMichael Bates

    79 Reviews

    98 Toolshed

    106 Blindfold TestCassandra Wilson

    79 Taj Mahal James Moody & Hank Jones

    DB IInnssiiddee

    40 Ron CarterBeyond the AbstractBy Dan Ouellette

    47 Best CDs of 20085-, 4 1/2 - and 4-Star Reviews from the Past Year

    34 Benny GolsonFortunate Whispers | By John McDonough

    The saxophonist started playing more than 60 years ago with only a desire tobecome part of the jazz life. He didnt really want to become famoushe simplywanted to play. Today, as he turns 80 and prepares to release a new album fromhis recently re-formed Jazztet, the composer of such jazz standards as IRemember Clifford, Whisper Not and Killer Joe reflects on a career thathas offered him an abundance of opportunities and achievements.

    Cover photography by Bill Douthart, taken at Smoke in New York

    57 Special Section

    58 The Art Of The SoloBy Bob Davis

    62 How to Practice Giant StepsBy David Demsey

    64 Jazz Ed Goes GlobalBy John Ephland

    66 Legal SessionBy Alan Bergman

    68 Master ClassBy Brian Lynch

    72 Transcription74 The Insider:

    Lessons From Return To ForeverBy Bla Fleck

    76 Jazz on Campus

    Ron Carter

    CH

    AR

    BIT

    /DA

    LLE

    40

    DB0109_006-007_INSIDE.qxd 11/13/08 3:37 PM Page 6

  • DB0109_006-007_INSIDE.qxd 11/11/08 5:07 PM Page 7

  • Peter Levinson would have lovedthis: an article on Page 8, the edi-torial page. But somehow, I canhear him saying, Next time, Mr.Alkyer, what can we do about thecover?

    You see, Levinson was a publi-cist. He spent his life calling onnewspaper and magazine editors,television producers and radio DJs. He promoted some of thegreatest musicians who everlivedlike Frank Sinatra, WoodyHerman, Artie Shaw, the ModernJazz Quartet and Dr. BillyTaylorand more than a few whonever quite made it. Still, he gavethem all a push.

    That alone marks an impressivecareer in my book. But sayingLevinson was a publicist is likesaying Count Basieone ofLevinsons clientswas a pianoplayer. Levinson was the dean, thegodfather, the mack daddy of jazzpublicists.

    Unfortunately, I have to talk about Levinsonin the past tense. He died Oct. 21, 2008, due tohead injuries that resulted from a fall in hisMalibu, Calif., home. He was 74. For almosttwo years Levinson suffered from ALS, betterknown as Lou Gehrigs Disease. The diseaseeventually took his speech, but not his will, orability, to work. He learned to use a computerinto which he would type his thoughts and itwould speak for him. The disease probably hadas much to do with the fall as anything else. Hismind was still sharp. Unfortunately, his bodyfailed him.

    On the day he fell, according to his longtimeassistant, Petra Schwarzwald, Levinson wasworking on a publicity plan for GordonGoodwins Big Phat Band. That was Levinson.He had no plans to retire. When he found aclient he thought had real talent, like Goodwin,hed champion their cause with vigor and inten-sity. In the last decade, he didnt take on asmany clients. Instead, he wrote biographies,championing his musical heroes. He wrotefourall well-researched and great readsabout Harry James, Nelson Riddle, TommyDorsey and Fred Astaire.

    But Levinson was best-known as a stylish,smart, old-school, pit-bull publicist. He beganhis career working for Columbia Records in the1950s. He branched out into television and filmpublicity, but music, especially jazz, was hisfirst love. His agency, Peter LevinsonCommunications, was one of the first indepen-dent publicity firms that catered to the music

    industry. It serves as a model for scores of simi-lar agencies that exist today.

    In hindsight, Levinson created a wholeschool of publicity, and his disciples are amongthe best-known publicity pros and talent repre-sentatives working in jazzDon Lucoff,Arnold J. Smith, Michael Bloom and a host ofothers. Unless youre a jazz insider, you wontknow these names, but youd know theirclients. Thats the life of a publicist. They aimto make their clients stars and make their starclients legends. Levinson did this as well asanyone in the business, and he taught a host ofothers his methods.

    Peter was the Art Blakey of jazz publi-cists, said Lucoff, whose DL Media workswith a wide variety of top jazz artists and recordcompanies like Blue Note. He gave so many ofus a shot. He let us develop our chops and let usgo on to become our own band leaders.

    Michael Bloom, a West Coast publicist whorepresents a number of jazz artists and labels,worked for Levinson for only six months beforetalking his way into a gig at Gramavision, but itwas time well spent.

    I immediately started working with ChuckMangione, Rosemary Clooney, the MJQ, et al,Bloom said. Peter taught me to know all thereis to know about that which you publicize,always follow up to make sure that the writerreceived the package, and always wear a tie.

    He was the last of the old-school publicists,at least for jazz, and there wont be anyone likehim again. DB

    First Take

    Appreciation for a Pit-Bull Publicist

    Frank Sinatra andPeter Levinson on

    the set of the 1962film Sergeants 3.

    CO

    UR

    TES

    Y L

    EV

    INS

    ON

    CO

    MM

    UN

    ICA

    TIO

    NS

    By Frank Alkyer

    DB0109_008-009_FT.qxd 11/12/08 4:17 PM Page 8

  • DB0109_008-009_FT.qxd 11/11/08 5:08 PM Page 9

  • 10 DOWNBEAT January 2009

    When Tony Met ElvinI was in attendance at Count Basiesclub in New York to witness the TonyWilliams Trio with John McLaughlinand Larry Young. It was the buzz aroundtown, and even before then, Tony hadenergized us aspiring jazz musicians byjoining Miles Davis at such a tender age.But what was more interesting was thetime I met Tony when I was with ElvinJones group at Carnegie Hall. Tonyseemed like a little boy in Elvins pres-ence and Elvin, being a most graciousindividual, made Tony feel at home. Agood time was had by all. Those weresome heady days.Gene PerlaNew York

    Big Bands Thrive, With Fans HelpBig bands are alive and well, albeit in adifferent form than previous days whenbands could tour all year and makegreat strides in the music. University bigbands are making great strides as vehi-cles for talented young players and writ-ers alike. The radio bands of Europe arerecording compelling specialty projectswith jazz greats on a regular basis. Thereare countless big bands springing uparound the world with aspiring youngcomposers and players. Ive workedwith many of them.

    There are other bands that have culti-vated a sound and style through yearsof perserverance, determination andconsistent personnel. Im particularlyreferring to the Bill Holman Big Band,the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, ClaytonHamilton Jazz Orchestra and my ownband. Please support these organiza-tions through buying their CDs andattending their concerts.Bob MintzerLos Angeles

    No Place for IndoctrinationMike Reed writes that while he and his peerswere being indoctrinated into learning com-plex big band charts, he found it shockingto hear McCoy Tyner say how little musicwas written down during his time with JohnColtrane (Master Class, November 08).This shock effect comes from the bland insti-tutionalization of jazz. Universities dontallow students to learn from the masterimprovisers and most instructors cant gethip to this free-jazz thing, anyhow. Mostinformation students gain from free impro-visers are gained on the streets.Darrl LynnRichmond, Va.

    Jarrett Buzz KillI saw the Keith Jarrett Trio at SymphonyHall in Boston on Oct. 26, 2008. The concertwas incredible and the energy palpable. Butwhen the trio came back out to play its thirdencore, Jarrett said he was distracted by ablue light and scolded the audience beforewalking off the stage. To say the mood wasbroken would be an understatement. Jarretthas a history of such outbursts and it is notacceptable or professional behavior. Maybehe should stay in the studio.Grace StrakeBoston

    Have a chord or discord? E-mail us at [email protected].

    Chords & Discords

    Hooked on DBAfter reading my first DownBeat around1963 in my drum teachers studio, I washooked. Youve put out some great issuessince then, but the recent Tony Williamsissue (November 08) was the best I everread. Its also understandable that todaysstudents have no idea who most of thegreat drummers are, including BuddyRich. Those of us who lived through thepast 50 years could go out and see thesegreat performers, which in turn motivatedus to read more about them and that gaveus the opportunity to hear first-hand fromour idols about those who came beforethem. The only negative comment I haveabout the Williams issue was that I read itall in one night.Michael [email protected]

    DB0109_010-011_CHORDS.qxd 11/12/08 12:23 PM Page 10

  • DB0109_010-011_CHORDS.qxd 11/11/08 5:09 PM Page 11

  • DB0109_012-023_BEAT.qxd 11/11/08 5:09 PM Page 12

  • January 2009 DOWNBEAT 13

    At 16, saxophonist Miguel Zenn gave up afull scholarship to engineering school in hisnative Puerto Rico to take a chance on music.For some time I thought, If it doesnt workout, Ill start over, he said. But it kept get-ting better and it seemed like I had taken theright road.

    If funding is any indication, its clear nowthat his decision was the right one. In early2008, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship tocompose music based on the Puerto Rican folk-loric plena. In September, he was named aMacArthur Fellow. The MacArthur Fellowshipis an award of $500,000handed out over fiveyearsgranted without application by a secretnominating committee of the John D. andCatherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Over theyears, winners working in jazz have includedOrnette Coleman, Regina Carter, Max Roach,Cecil Taylor and John Zorn.

    But Zenn is the first Latin American orCaribbean jazz artist to receive the fellowshipin its 27-year history. He has lately focused onsynthesizing folkloric music from Puerto Ricowith modern jazz. His 2006 release, Jbaro(Marsalis Music), reworked the traditionalinstrumentation of the rural Puerto Rican musicof the same name.

    Zenn has yet to develop definite plans forusing the MacArthur money. The ideas at thetop of the list include further investigation ofthe history and development of music in LatinAmerica.

    Ive always been interested in the connec-tion between Latin American countries andAfrican countries, Zenn said. This is maybea good opportunity to start putting that researchinto progress.

    Synthesis has always been an important partof the criteria on which potential MacArthurFellows are evaluated, according to MarkFitzsimmons, the associate director of theMacArthur Foundation Fellowship Program.

    The ability to synthesize ideas and contri-butions for apparently disparate areas thatcome together as a whole is a clue about cre-ativity, Fitzsimmons said. We dont changeour criteria to address any perceived social

    agenda, but we do make an effort to be inclu-sive of who we consider.

    Even though Latin American and Caribbeanartists have profoundly influenced the develop-ment of jazz in the United Statesfrom theCaribbean rhythms in music coming out ofNew Orleans to Zenns recent study of jbaroand plenait seems that until now the founda-tional support system in this country has beenslow to catch on. Zenns MacArthur providesone hint that this may be changing.

    In the late 90s, the Doris Duke Foundationbegan pouring more dollars into local programssupporting jazz with roots in Latin Americancultures. The National Endowment for the Artshas named more than 100 Jazz Masters since1982, but it wasnt until 2004 after the programwas expanded that artists of Latin Americanheritage began to make their way onto this list,which now includes Paquito DRivera, RayBarretto and Candido Camero.

    Percussionist John Santos, who serves onthe Latin Jazz Advisory Committee of theSmithsonian Institution, said that it is beyondwonderful that Miguel is being recognized forhis creativity. It means a great deal to those ofus in the field and particularly those of us ofPuerto Rican descent who he represents sobeautifully while transcending any boundariesor labels.

    But Santos is also wary that such supportcould dry up in the current climate for all artsfunding.

    There are legions of highly deserving com-posers and performers throughout LatinAmerica and the diaspora who merit supportthat has traditionally been, and still is, scarce,Santos said. I would describe the currentatmosphere as hostile toward the arts in generalwith the decimation of the National Endow-ment for the Arts as well as state arts councilsacross the country.

    Its hard to say whether Zenns award willdirectly open new doors for further institutionalsupport of Latin American and Caribbeanartists engaging a synthesis of jazz and theirown cultural heritages. But with the award inZenns hands, it looks like the connection

    between musical cultures will be strengthenedat least through his own work. Zenn hopes toput some of the money toward a series of jazzconcerts staged in areas of Puerto Rico wherestudents and musicians arent otherwiseexposed to it.

    Part of the reason why people arent drawnto jazz in general is because theyve never hadthe exposure, said Zenn, who didnt learnmuch about jazz beyond what he taught him-self until after he left San Juan. Jazz has beenput in a place where its tied to a social class.Things have to be accessibleyou have to payso much to go to concerts and schools. Themore regular people who are exposed to themusic, its going to be easier for musicians tomake a living. Jennifer Odell

    INSIDE THE BEAT

    19 Vinyl Freak

    20 The ArchivesJanuary 1983

    21 The Question

    22 Backstage With Javon Jackson

    Latin BoostMiguel Zenns MacArthur Fellowship may hintat rising institutional support for Latin jazz

    Miguel ZennM

    AR

    K S

    HE

    LDO

    N

    DB0109_012-023_BEAT.qxd 11/13/08 11:24 AM Page 13

  • 14 DOWNBEAT January 2009

    Riffs

    When compiling a Blue Note songbook, foreach song picked, hundreds of tunes had to beleft out. To celebrate the labels 70th birthdayin 2009, Blue Note pianist Bill Charlap and sixother artists mined the archives and made theirselections, creating new arrangements thattranslate familiar melodies into a modern jazzlanguage.

    Blue Note became a home not just for thebest and most creative, most rooted and forward-thinking musicians, but it also has become a tes-tament and document to some of the greatestcomposers in jazz history, Charlap said.

    Charlaps selection, The Outlaw byHorace Silver, is one of eight tunes on Mosaic:A Celebration Of Blue Note Records by therecently convened Blue Note 7. The septet alsoincludes saxophonists Ravi Coltrane and SteveWilson and trumpeter Nicholas Payton.Guitarist Peter Bernstein, bassist PeterWashington and drummer Lewis Nash roundout the rhythm section. Many of the playersarranged tunes on the CDfrom TheloniousMonks Criss Cross, arranged by Wilson, toNashs update of Mosaic by Art Blakeycreating a 21st-century look at tunes from thebebop and hard-bop eras.

    The arrangements are fresh, said BruceLundvall, chief executive officer of Blue Note.Its not the stock arrangements at all.

    Wilson, who also arranged Little Bs Poemby Bobby Hutcherson, was drawn to thealbums concept immediately.

    Were not trying to redo the tunes, Wilsonsaid. We dont claim to do them better, but it isa wonderful opportunity to bring a new perspec-tive to it. Itll be great to hear this music evolve.

    One of the main deterrents to creating anall-star band like the Blue Note 7 comes from

    the concept itself. A band of established leaderssounds like a dream, until the reality of sched-uling hits.

    Finding a time when all of us could betogether and have the time so that all thearrangements could be written, rehearsed andrecorded was no small feat, Charlap said.Busy work schedules necessitated speedyrecording sessions. If you think about JoeHendersons Our Thing or Eric Dolphys OutTo Lunch, some of those seminal records, theywere made quickly.

    The pace wont be as hectic when the septetstarts a 50-date nationwide tour on Jan. 7, per-forming the albums tunes and a slew ofarrangements that werent recorded. While theband tours, additional celebrations will be heldin New York clubs. A concert series spotlightingBlue Notes emerging talent is scheduled at theJazz Standard from Feb. 24 to March 1, and theJazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will joinDianne Reeves and Joe Lovano to perform BlueNote classics from Feb. 1921 in Jazz at LincolnCenters Rose Theater. Other label acts will besprinkled throughout the city, with a birthdaybash at Town Hall tentatively set for June.

    Were trying to get Blue Note artists inevery venue in February, Lundvall said.

    Throughout the past seven decades, therehave been many famous Blue Note artists, andCharlap is realistic about leaving some notablecomposers out of his bands new recording.Even with a focus on a few distinct periods, itsimpossible to recognize every musician that hadan impact on the label.

    Its just a snapshot of some of the key fig-ures. Theres no way to touch on all of them,Charlap said. There are easily volumes two,three, four and five. Jon Ross

    JIM

    MY

    KA

    TZ

    Blue Note 7: Ravi Coltrane (left), Lewis Nash, Bill Charlap, PeterBernstein, Nicholas Payton, Peter Washington and Steve Wilson

    Blue Note Marks 70th Anniversary with NewSeptet, Concerts and Reworked Classics

    Shemekia Signed: Blues singerShemekia Copeland has signed withTelarc. Her debut for the label, NeverGoing Back, will be released on Feb. 24.Details: telarc.com

    Harrison On-screen: SaxophonistDonald Harrison, Jr., made his actingdebut in the movie Rachel GettingMarried. Harrison also composed thefilms score with violinist Zafer Tawil.Details: sonyclassics.com

    Abrams, Threadgill Awarded: PianistMuhal Richard Abrams and saxophonistHenry Threadgill were named UnitedStates Artists Fellows on Nov. 10, 2008.Each fellow is awarded a $50,000 grant. Details: unitedstatesartists.org

    Historic Head Hunters: HerbieHancocks 1973 album Head Huntershas been added to the Library ofCongresss National Recording Registryfor culturally important audio docu-ments. Details: loc.gov

    Childs Commissioned: Pianist BillyChilds has been commissioned to writea violin concerto for Regina Carter. Thepiece will premiere with the DetroitSymphony Orchestra in January 2010.Details: unlimitedmyles.com

    Duke For Kids: Stephanie Stein Creasehas written Duke Ellington: His Life InJazz, a biography and activity book forchildren. Along with providing informa-tion about Ellington, the book alsoshows kids how to construct their owninstruments. Details: chicagoreviewpress.com

    RIP, Dave McKenna: Pianist DaveMcKenna died of lung cancer on Oct. 18,2008, in State College, Pa. He was 78.McKenna worked as a sideman to StanGetz before launching his solo career in1955 and recording often as a leader inthe 1970s. He was known for his warmmelodic touch and strong bass lines.

    CA

    RO

    L FR

    IED

    MA

    N

    DB0109_012-023_BEAT.qxd 11/13/08 3:40 PM Page 14

  • DB0109_012-023_BEAT.qxd 11/11/08 5:10 PM Page 15

  • 16 DOWNBEAT January 2009

    Chicago engineer and producer NickEipers always trusted Blue Note and ECMwhile shopping to build his jazz collection.That branding concept gave him the novelidea to start a subscription only jazz label,Chicago Sessions.

    Eipers business plan is simple, butrequires a customers commitment, as aseries of 12 new releases are mailed directto the consumer for an annual fee of $135.

    Eipers believes, given the high local pro-file of bassist Larry Gray (who released 1, 2,3 ... on the label in October 2008) and har-monica player Howard Levy, as well as thelocal respect given to pianist Marshall Venteand bassist Steven Hashimoto, he has achance with his unusual business model.

    Jazz lovers take more interest in theartist, Eipers said. Since Chicago isworld famous for its exceptional jazzscene, the concept of providing the bestmusic of that scene in a subscription formatdoesnt seem ridiculous.

    While Hashimoto said that the economywill have a big impact on the labels future,hes impressed that he was provided with thesort of insurance that other small labels dont

    offer. His band Mothra released Tradewind onChicago Sessions in December 2008.

    One cool thing about the deal is that shouldChicago Sessions go out of business, the artists

    have the provision to buy their mastersback, so that their project doesnt enter intopermanent limbo, as so many fine albumson small labels do, Hashimoto said.

    Samples of sessions will be available onthe Chicago Sessions web site before pur-chase, and Eipers hopes positive mediareviews will further promote sales. But heis aware that this isnt a get-rich-quickscheme. Many of the artists he intends tosupport will be up and comers or lessfamiliar names like guitarists Tony doRosario, Zvonimir Tot and Aaron Koppel.Eipers will also have them present strictlyoriginal material.

    Since we are recording original com-positions by each artist, subscribers are get-ting a more personal collection that per-haps some of the big label albums of stan-dards and covers, Eipers said.

    Nicks feeling is that if you want tohear Autumn Leaves there are plenty ofother products out there, Hashimoto

    added. From my end, its a nice deal, the kindone rarely sees these days. I was able to pay mysidemen, something no other local label hasever offered. Michael Jackson

    STE

    VE

    TH

    OM

    AS

    StevenHashimoto

    Chicago Sessions Subscription Model Takes One-For-All Approach

    DB0109_012-023_BEAT.qxd 11/13/08 3:40 PM Page 16

  • DB0109_012-023_BEAT.qxd 11/11/08 5:10 PM Page 17

  • CD has. DB

    DB0109_012-023_BEAT.qxd 11/11/08 5:10 PM Page 18

  • January 2009 DOWNBEAT 19

    By John Corbett

    MIC

    HA

    EL

    JAC

    KS

    ON

    More than 60 years separate the first jazz recording in 1917 and the introduction of the CD in the early 80s. In this column, DBs Vinyl Freak unearths some of the musical gems made during this time that have yet to be reissued on CD.

    Maarten AltenaPPaappaa OOeewwaa(CLAXON, 1981)

    This month, our column considers themateriality of records. The occasion of thisreflection is a recent move. I am mar-veling over the weight of LPs, but otheraspects of their physical existence as well,such as their volume, relative solidity anddurability (schlepping them en masse, ourmovers calculated that one boxbore at least 1,000pounds atop it in thetruck), and the dizzy-ing array of variationon the basic circle-in-a-square format.

    Surveying the rowsof records beforepreparing for themove, I thought aboutthe basic premise ofthe album, the wayeach spine representsroughly the sameamount of time, like aproportional composi-tion stretching from one end of the roomto the other. Consider such a collection ofrecords as a long multistylistic composi-tion, each 1/8-inch swatch of color, text anddesign a marvel of concision that signifiesabout 40 minutes of musical time. Takentogether, a modest box of records con-tains about five days of continuous listen-ing. Despite its spatial economy, a bevy ofrecords still has mass and vinyl accumu-lates with terrifying ease.

    Packing up the collection was, for themost part, a cakewalkjust a matter ofthrowing them into smallish boxes.Records fit together so beautifully; theyremade to be amassed. But certain uncon-ventional covers drew attention to them-selves automatically through their unwill-ingness to be safely packed, in particular afew Dutch examples. In Holland, musi-cians and their designers seem bent onmaking a mockery of conventions ofdomestic portaging. I was especially fret-ful over the velvety purple veneer on theperiphery of my mint copy of the InstantComposers Pool classic (never reissued)untitled twofer, a hodgepodge of differentgroupings from 1969 and 1970. Would it

    be crushed in transition? What about mul-tireed player Willem Breukers terrific BaalBrecht Breuker, on BVHAAST (1973)? Itsburlap second cover makes it impossibleto fit in a box with the other LPs. Breukerand pianist Leo Cuypers made one of theboldest odd-shaped covers, taking the

    normal LP square andturning it into anisosceles triangle, withsides at a tangent tothe vinyls circle. Mostof the copies Ive seenhave been bent to con-form to the normalrecord shape. Mine is abit ragged, but notfolded.

    The most subtle sub-version of the LP for-mat is perhaps bassistMaarten Altenas soloouting Papa Oewa.

    First of all, its a record worth having, andlike the rest of the Claxon catalog, itremains exclusively on vinyl. Altenas sig-nificance before he turned to classicalmusic cant be overlooked, and theaggressive, open, often hilarious recordshe made alone and with his great smalland mid-sized groups should be soughtout vigorously. On Papa Oewa, hes play-ing a lot of cello, some crackle-box, andother odds and sods, as well as his glori-ously gawky bass.

    Holland was Fluxus-friendly, and thatartistic movements interest in little instru-ments and alternative packaging makesmore sense. Whats so confusing aboutthe cover is that it seems, at first blush, tobe perfectly usual. On closer inspection,however, it turns out not to be square, butjust off-square, a parallelogram, with thetop pitching ever so slightly to the right.Hence, when slid into a stack of records,its bottom right always pokes out, and thetop left, if jammed in, gets damaged. Inthe end, I chose to move Papa Oewa byhand, like most of those other Dutchweirdos. DB

    E-mail the Vinyl Freak: [email protected]

    DB0109_012-023_BEAT.qxd 11/13/08 11:23 AM Page 19

  • 20 DOWNBEAT January 2009

    January

    1983TThhee ARCHIVESWoody Shaw: Linked to a LegacyBy Linda ReitmanIf I stick to my convictions, Ican work for the next 20 years,Woody Shaw said. If I changenow, I could ruin my career. Bysticking to my beliefs, Im evenmore strongly convinced Imgoing in the right direction.

    The Frith Factor: Exploration in SoundBy Bill MilkowskiI like the kind of electronicswhere you can cause somethingto malfunction in a way that makes it sound more interesting

    than how it was supposed tosound, Fred Frith said. A lot ofthe sounds that I get in the stu-dio have been the result of over-loading or causing variouspieces of technology to malfunc-tion. Interesting things start tohappen when things begin tobreak down.

    Warne Marshs InnerMelodyBy Francis DavisAt some point, you have to beprepared to createto per-form, Warne Marsh said. Ifwere talking about jazz, it fulfills

    its meaning only when you playit live in front of an audience.

    Howard Johnson: Center of GravityBy Lee JeskeThe tubas just a musical instru-ment thats been played badly,and for some pretty good rea-sons, too, Howard Johnsonsaid. Its only about 140 yearsold and its taken this long forpeople to figure out what to playon ithow to play on it, what itcan do. What it can do is playlong tones and get a noble,beautiful sound. DB

    When New York-based documentary filmmak-er Colleen OHalloran was in New Orleans inAugust 2005, a young brass band playing onthe corner of Bourbon and Canal streets caughther attention. Called the To Be ContinuedBrass Band, the group of musiciansall still intheir late teens and early 20ssounded like aband with a bright future. Hip-hop superstarsThe Roots even offered to mentor the group.

    I was hoping they could come to NewYork and do a music video, OHalloran said.I just wanted to be more involved in whattheyre doing. Then Katrina hit.

    Hurricane Katrina changed the groups fateas well as the collaboration that OHalloran hadplanned with the band. Instead, she and JasonDaSilva directed and produced the documentaryFrom The Mouthpiece On Back, which showshow the storm shattered the groupsending itsmembers to different statesand how they were

    determined to reunite. The documentary alsodelves into the musicians lives in the citys trou-bled Ninth and Seventh wards, as well as thegroups origins at the citys Carver High School.

    After the storm, if these young musiciansdont play the music any more, what will happento the music? OHalloran said. We refocusedit from a story on the band to frame it more sopeople could understand its a lineage and werejust hopeful that it might spark more support toNew Orleans musicians.

    The filmmaker said that the cameras pres-ence was not what inspired their determination.

    They were so into reuniting, I had to catchup with them, OHalloran said. I had to get to10 cities in one week.

    Trombonist Edward Juicy Jackson said,We didnt have anything else to look forwardto, so we had to get back together.

    Today, To Be Continued plays regularly on

    its old corner as well as in New Orleans clubs,like Rock Bottom Lounge. The group hopes thatthe documentarywhich is being sold onlinethrough fromthemouthpieceonback.comwillhelp with its efforts to tour and record. Part ofwhat makes them stand out is how they adapttheir generations music to the brass band format.

    Were just trying to get all kinds of music achance, trumpeter Sean Roberts said. Somepeople may not like rap or hip-hop, but evenolder people listen to the form when were play-ing it. All music is good. Aaron Cohen

    Documentary Shows How Storm, Hard TimesCant Stop Young New Orleans Brass Band

    CA

    SE

    Y B

    ISS

    ON

    To Be Continued Brass Band

    All-Star PercussionDiscussionPercussionist Jack Mr. Bongo Costanzo(left) joined legendary conguerosArmando Peraza, Candido Camero andFrancisco Aguabella for a panel discussionon Oct. 11, 2008, at the Hyatt in NewportBeach, Calif. The event was part of the LosAngeles Jazz Institutes Big Band Fiesta,which ran throughout the weekend andalso featured Bud Shank, Gerald Wilson,Bill Holman and Arturo OFarrill.

    Mark Sheldon

    MA

    RK

    SH

    ELD

    ON

    DB0109_012-023_BEAT.qxd 11/13/08 11:23 AM Page 20

  • January 2009 DOWNBEAT 21

    TThhee QUESTION IIss

    More than any other style of recordedmusic, jazz has educated and piquedthe curiosity of its listeners withalbum packagingpersonnel details,track information and liner notesoften accompanying top-drawer pho-tography or other compelling art-work. This may become invisible ashard-copy albums disappear.

    Maria Schneider (ArtistShare): Maybe digital downloadingcan make for even more possibilities. Partly what attracted meto the model ArtistShare introduced is that it gives all the infor-mation packaging offers and the real-time experience of beingprivy to the behind-the-scenes activities of a recording project.The design aspect is in how to present that. I always feel likeIm missing something if I get a download and am not able toaccess any background information about a recording. Therewill always be people who love having an object, but for thosewho dont, there has to be a creative way of sharing informa-tion about a project. A lot of design issues will have to be web-oriented, and may not relate to packaging in the same way itonce did. I still miss the feel and the look of the LP, even if nowI download most of what I buy. All things should be presentedin a beautiful way no matter what. The medium may change,but the need for beautiful design is always important.

    David Chesky (Chesky Records): Packaging should be the same. Thats why Cheskyuses HDtracks.comwhere we include the full liner notes and album art in a .PDF pack-age. Liner notes are part of the album experience just as program notes are for a concert.It sets the whole thing up for the listener and adds to the enjoyment.

    Kendrick Scott (World Culture Music): Were alreadyseeing a new model with the digital booklet. Most jazz listen-ers are invested in information printed in the CDs, as well asthe artwork. These listeners understand that the musiciansmaking the music will not only influence their purchase, butcan also pique their curiosity about musicians theyre unfa-miliar with, unheard groupings of musicians; or if they havea previous CD of an artist with the same band, they canhave a reference point in knowing the lineup. I remembergoing to the store when I was younger and being let downby a CD that didnt list the personnel on the cover. Jazz lis-teners have had a romance with album covers since thebeginning, and this will continue in the digital world.

    Jeff Gauthier (Cryptogramophone Records): Information about music and artists isreadily available more than ever before through web sites, Wikipedia, blogs, etc. Theproblem is making the direct association between the music and the information. As longas people listen to music on something the size of an iPod or cell phone, making that kindof association will be difficult. Attaching that information to a file is easy, but decidingwhat format to view it in is the problem. Listeners, music providers and hardware manu-facturers will have to agree on a preferred format, and this kind of agreement is alwaysdifficult. Two generations have grown up without the fetishistic approach to music thatthose of us who grew up with LPs had. But just as vinyl seems to be making a comeback,perhaps people will rediscover the pleasure of having a more complete and informed lis-tening experience. Perhaps there will be a new format, an audio/video hybrid that willcarry even more information than a CD has. DB

    WO

    RLD

    CU

    LTU

    RE

    MU

    SIC

    JIM

    MY

    KA

    TZ

    Got an opinion of your own on The Question? E-mail us: [email protected].

    By Dan Ouellette

    How should jazz album packagingevolve as digital

    downloading becomesmore prevalent?

    DB0109_012-023_BEAT.qxd 11/13/08 11:22 AM Page 21

  • 22 DOWNBEAT January 2009

    CR

    ED

    IT

    Backstage With By Kirk Silsbee

    Javon Jackson is a mature tenor saxo-phonist whose formative experiences inArt Blakeys Jazz Messengers haveshaped him as a player and bandleader.His new album, Once Upon A Melody(Palmetto), pays tribute to the elders hesencountered along the wayparticularlyWayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins and McCoyTyner. In October 2008, Jackson played atthe Jazz at Drew series in Los Angeles andspoke about his current direction.

    This weekend youre playing with LesMcCann. How did the collaborationbetween you come about?I first met Les McCann when I was withArt Blakey and he used to come hear us.Later, when I was with Elvin Jones, hecame around again in Los Angeles and wetalked. We agreed that we had to playtogether some time and weve been play-ing together since January. Arts bandwas a school and Les is a certain type ofschool himself: soul, funk and jazz. Wererevisiting some of the Swiss Movementmaterial. Im conscious of what EddieHarris played on that album, but Les isalways open to any ideas I might have. Ilearned from Art that you cant be any-body but yourself. It would be suicidal forme to try to be anyone but Javon.

    On your new album, you play a piece byone of the greatest Jazz Messengers,Wayne Shorter.I realized recently that Id never recorded

    one tune from the Messengers library, so Ichose Waynes One By One. We usedto play that with Art, and Wayne wouldoccasionally sit in with us. That was athrill and it was a unique way to get closeto his genius. Art devoted 50 years of hislife to training young musicians. Nobodyknew their names before they joined, butno matter who was in the band, it alwayssounded like Arts band. It was incredible.

    What do you look for in rhythm sectionplayers?Since I worked with Elvin Jones and Art, Ilook for drive in drummersthose guysspoiled me. I like to hear a bottom in bassplayers, but also a good sense of thepulse. I like it when a guitar player isresponsive and can play what I call thefree safety position: He can accompanyme or play something in the front line. Ineed a pianist to have harmonic prowess,good ears, the ability to accompany, butalso to challenge me as a soloist. EricReed is what I call the complete pianistbecause he can do everything as a soloplayer or as a rhythm section player.

    With Elvin Jones, Art and Jimmy Cobb,youve worked with three great yet differ-ent drummers. No disrespect to the pianists and bassists,but I looked at a rhythm section with Elvinor Art as top-heavy. Youd need some-body like Ray Brown or Buster Williamsto make it a fair fight. But Elvin told methat he saw his role as supporting therhythm section. Ive worked with Buster,Christian McBride and Ron Carter, andeach one of those guys can make anyrhythm section sound like a Rolls-Royce. Iappreciate a good rhythm sectionbecause I use it as a conduit to what Imgoing to play, and I try to support therhythm section with what I play.

    What aspects of the horn might youexplore in the future?Going after different styles will help meexpand my abilities and myself. The tenorsaxophone has two-and-a-half octaves,but theres so much that can be done withit, so much to discover. Sonny Rollins andJohn Coltrane explored the potential ofthe horn on so many levels. Its impossi-ble for one person to do everything on thehorn, but those two, in particular, lived thequest to the greatest degree. DB

    JavonJackson

    Two years ago, Vermont-based guitarist DavidKraus was hurrying to meet friends for dinner inBrooklyn on an August evening when an assaultalmost ended his career. While walking towardthe subway in the borough he was considering tocall home, four teenagers hit him with a piece oflumber from a construction site. After he fell,they broke his dominant arm in three places, rip-ping the tendons and ligaments from wrist toshoulder.

    The hardest part was not being able to playmy instrument, Kraus said. Im used to touch-ing my guitar every dayits part of me. I wasscared my career was over. I had to put what Iwas going through into something, somewhere.I put it into my music.

    Instead of giving up, Kraus dug in his heelsand underwent six months of intensive physicalrehabilitation, exercising three times daily. Healso returned to Vermont, becoming more activein social justice causesespecially food andenergyand making music.

    The result is a new self-released solo albumof classical pieces, Qasaid Ul Qitara, due out inMarch. This soft, acoustic approach shows oneside of his multifaceted career. He played withtrumpeter Lester Bowie from 1997 untilBowies death in 1999. Kraus has also workedwith tenor saxophonist Big Joe Burrell in 1995.

    His latest project will take proceeds from CDsales, concerts and other fundraisers by Vermontmusicians and pay for the Vermont Foodbanksfood distribution costs.

    After all Kraus has been through, his per-spective remains grounded.

    I just do what I do because I have to,because I love it, Kraus said. You deal withadversity and move on. Jennifer Pierce

    Guitarist David KrausTranscends Assault

    AN

    DR

    EW

    KLE

    IN

    David Kraus

    EA

    RL

    GIB

    SO

    N

    DB0109_012-023_BEAT.qxd 11/13/08 11:22 AM Page 22

  • DB0109_012-023_BEAT.qxd 11/11/08 5:10 PM Page 23

  • 24 DOWNBEAT January 2009

    Caught

    Jazz on the MallOffers D.C. a Pre-Election Respite

    Chicagos Hyde Park Festival Brings Music Marathon to South Side

    This years Duke Ellington Jazz Festival arrivedat an ideal time, as news of an economic melt-down and the increasingly heated U.S.Presidential contest gripped most politicallyminded Washington, D.C., residents. In particu-lar, the events biggest feel-good distractioncame with its Jazz On The Nations Mall eventon Sunday, Oct. 4, 2008, an afternoon gracedwith perfect autumnal weather.

    The lineup, which began with Taj Mahal,delighted many people who sat in front orstrolled by the Sylvan Amphitheatre with asteady program of upbeat jazz that ranged fromfunk-informed fusion (Christian McBride) andpulsating Latin jazz (Conrad Herwig) toentrancing modal bop (McCoy Tyner) andtransfixing Afrocentric modern jazz (Dee DeeBridgewater). The multifaceted program wasgenerally agreeable.

    McBride showed his flair for electric jazz ashis ensemble, which featured keyboardistGeoffrey Keezer, saxophonist Ron Blake anddrummer Terreon Gully, delivered an extendedback-to-the-future set that evoked the best ofWeather Report and todays funk. WhileKeezers electric piano improvisations andshimmers and McBrides throbbing basslineson upright and electricgrounded themusic in yesterday, Gullys snapping rhythms,which at times suggested West Londons bro-ken beat, kept the music firmly in the now.Blakes sinewy tenor saxophone passages nes-

    tled then erupted remarkably out of McBridesvigorous grooves.

    The show should have set the afternoon foreven more tantalizing performances. Instead,the succeeding sets from Herwig and Tynerwere anticlimactic. Herwigs Latin ensembledisplayed polished professionalism as it deliv-ered Afro-Cuban renditions of chestnuts fromthe Miles Davis and John Coltrane songbooks.The trombonist and his cohorts retooled songssuch as Seven Steps To Heaven, LonniesLament and So What with improvisationalgusto and rhythmic friction. But there were nosurprises other than perhaps Herwig not per-forming any material from his latest disc, TheLatin Side Of Wayne Shorter.

    Tyners set also showed great promise, espe-cially as his group featured saxophonist GaryBartz, bassist Gerald Cannon and drummer

    Pheeroan akLaff. But while Tyner displayed hislegendary improvisational virtuosity and knackfor thundering block chords, the group nevergelled.

    Bridgewater delivered the afternoons mostsatisfying performance. Drawing on music fromher latest disc, Red Earth, she fronted a large,multicultural ensemble that included pianistEdsel Gomez, bassist Ira Coleman, drummerMinino Garay and percussionist LansineKouyate. Gomezs evocative arrangements andthe percussion-heavy instrumentation helpedsave her performance of Afro Blue frombeing contrived. She was at her most mesmeriz-ing during her fiery makeover of Nina SimonesFour Women, in which she didnt simply singabout the songs four characters, she tranformedinto them through her vocal prowess andsashaying stage presence. John Murph

    The South Side of Chicago knowshow to throw a party, including thisneighborhood thats long been associ-ated with the University of Chicagoand, now, is internationally known ashome to President-elect BarackObama. The second annual Hyde ParkJazz Festival put on about 30 concertsin a single day on Sept. 27, 2008.

    Last year, the festival committeewas unsure if its resources wouldcover more than one day. Givenunpredictable fall weather, the eventgot compressed into 14 hoursnoonto 2 a.m. Concerts take place in aplethora of picturesque area venues,including the Smart Museum of Art,Oriental Institute, DuSable Museum of

    African American History and RockefellerMemorial Chapel, as well as the CheckerboardLounge and the universitys Quadrangle Club.

    Not only do Hyde Park residents give wide-spread support for jazz, there was a constantlively interaction between audience and per-formers at the festival. Chicagos Sax in theCitya quartet of extroverted saxophonistsSkinny Williams, Ray Silkman, James Perkinsand Audley Reidmingled with the crowd, par-laying what is commonly known as smooth jazz,though it was deafeningly loud and includedtour-de-force takes on such staples as A NightIn Tunisia.

    In contrast, the triumvirate of CurtisRobinson, Buddy Fambro and Henry Johnson,under the bashful heading The GreatestGuitars played a mellower set in the gorgeousMIC

    HA

    EL

    JAC

    KS

    ON

    MIC

    HA

    EL

    WIL

    DE

    RM

    AN

    Dee Dee Bridgewater

    Curtis Robinson

    DB0109_024-025_CAUGHT.qxd 11/13/08 3:40 PM Page 24

  • In an event that had been a centerpiece of thenow-gone International Association for JazzEducation conference, the 2009 NationalEndowment for the Arts Jazz Masters celebra-tion was held on Oct. 17, 2008, at New YorksJazz at Lincoln Centers Rose Theater. Also,unlike in recent years, this tribute included aninductees concert.

    George Benson, Jimmy Cobb, Lee Konitz,Toots Thielemans and Snooky Young joinedthe elite fraternity of those who have receivedthis honor. Recording engineer Rudy VanGelder was also honored with the A.B.Spellman jazz master award for jazz advocacy.

    The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra kickedoff the night with a powerful Un Poco Loco,which had Wynton Marsalis smiling in quietenjoyment of the orchestras talented soloists.Benson joined the band for an uptempo StellaBy Starlight, and although he seemed like hewasnt quite loose, he showed some flurries ofthe ferocious chops that are his hallmarks.

    Cobb echoed presenter Roy Haynes speechabout the beautiful simplicity of Cobbs play-ing. Haynes said that Cobbs performance onMiles Davis recording of Some Day MyPrince Will Come featured quarter notesplayed on the bell of the ride cymbal. When he

    took the stage, Cobb drew laughter from thecrowd by beginning to play the same wayHaynes had described.

    Thielemans joined the full orchestra for abeautiful and creative Richard DeRosa arrange-ment of What A Wonderful World thatbrought the audience to harmonic euphoria asThielemans harmonica wove through the 12-piece horn section. As Konitz took the stage, hesummed up Thielemans performance, asking,How am I supposed to follow that?

    But as the laughter died, the audience quick-ly forgot that question as Konitzs extendedpauses fluttered between dissonance and conso-nance in front of the large horn section onBody And Soul.

    After Van Gelder and Youngs awards werepresented, the orchestra took over, honoringVan Gelder with Stolen Moments. On a dis-appointing note, despite Marsalis announcingthat Young was coming out to play, the trum-peter, who will be 90 in February, neverbrought his trumpet on stage.

    To close, the band honored the late NealHefti with a swinging blues that included 2008NEA Jazz Masters trombonist Tom McIntoshand percussionist Candido Camero as soloists.

    Thomas Clancey

    TOM

    PIC

    H

    surroundings of the universitys InternationalHouse. The wood-panelled walls seemed in nat-ural harmony with the hollow-bodied semi-acoustic instruments, and the billing squared upto the hype. All three guitarists were superblymatched but with different strings to their bow:Johnson with his amazing thumb strumming andfast shape-shifting solos, Fambro with a moreprocessed but still elegant sound and Robinson,the dashing master of ceremonies, with apredilection for George Benson and CharlieParker quotes. It was all standard fare, butplayed with such craft and hardcore jazz sim-patico it won over the audience.

    Post-midnight, Robinson fronted a slick,top-flight jam session at International Housethat didnt miss a beat, with musicians fromthe audience pulling off star turns includingsingers Dee Alexander, TCora Rogers,Maggie Brown and Barbara Gogin. Standbypianists Miguel de la Cerna and Greg Spero,trumpeter Corey Wilkes, drummer Robert Shy,and bassists Frank Russell and Joshua Ramoslent precision and subtlety. The finale providedso much energy that committee member JudithStein is already seeking a local restaurant tohost an after-after hours jazz breakfast for thenext festival. Michael Jackson

    New NEA Jazz Masters Prove TheirMettle Onstage

    Lee Konitz with the Jazz atLincoln Center Orchestra

    DB0109_024-025_CAUGHT.qxd 11/13/08 3:41 PM Page 25

  • 26 DOWNBEAT January 2009

    Drummer Gerald Cleaver musically referencesthe core names of 60s jazz and his hometownon his disc Gerald Cleavers Detroit (FreshSound/New Talent), but hes not one to strictlyadhere to a playbook. I had recorded the musicbut had no titles, Cleaver said. I didnt realizeit was my tribute record until it was done.

    A Brooklynite since 2002, Cleaver may bebest-known as a background experimentalist.He paints ametric rhythm textures for RoscoeMitchell, Charles Gayle, Matthew Shipp, LotteAnker, Andrew Bishop and Sylvie Courvoisier.Cleaver also sculpts informed free-bop grooveswith Craig Taborn, Yaron Herman, WilliamParker and Mario Pavone. Such performativestrategies informed Cleavers 2001 leaderdebut, Adjust (Fresh Sound/New Talent). Yetlisteners who hear him on Jeremy Pelts 2008release, November, may be surprised at theuncompromising hardcore jazz attitude thatbedrocks Cleavers approach.

    A lot of people didnt realize I couldswing, said Cleaver, just before flying toEurope for a week with Miroslav Vitous. Ilove the tradition with all my heart, and the tra-dition is everything thats happened from pointone up to the present.

    Cleaver had somewhat different objectivesfor his own sextet, Violet Hour.

    Everybody is on the same page, but theywouldnt necessarily play together, given ourscenes, and how cliquish New York can be. Iwanted to bridge the gap.

    The cliques that Cleaver wants to bridge, headded, are racial as well as stylistic.

    You do yourself a disservice when youexclude yourself from one or another group,Cleaver said. Im proud to live in New York,because every day I get on the train, and if Iwere hit over the head and woke up with amne-sia, I wouldnt know where I was based on eth-nicity. I love that balance, and it positivelyinfluences my thoughts about music.

    Cleaver inherited his anything-goes attitudefrom his father, drummer John Cleaver, abebop baby who during the 50s gigged local-ly with Joe Henderson, Yusef Lateef and BarryHarris.

    He is the most professional, inquisitive,free-thinking musician I know, Cleaver said.The younger Cleaver focused on trumpet whileattending Cass Tech in the 70s. He recalled hisfathers laughter in response to his confusionupon an initial listen to John Coltranes CosmicMusic, a gift from Alice Coltranes brotherErnie Farrow, a long-standing friend. Its iron-ic now, Cleaver said. That is basically me.

    In Detroit, Cleavers other family friendsincluded drummers Roy Brooks and Motownhouse musician Richard Pistol Allen. Heattended Wayne State University, but droppedout at 19, mentioning the schools inability torelate to his own experiences.

    There were no black folks on the faculty,and the teachers had no connection with themusic the way I grew up knowing it, Cleaver

    said. Detroit is 90 percent black and 10 per-cent white. I didnt grow up in a prejudicialhousehold, but the reality is that I didnt go toschool with any white kid until high school.

    He stopped playing for five years, butresumed after attending the University ofMichigan as a music education major.

    I started to rethink being a teacher anddoing the day gig, Cleaver said. WyntonMarsalis example was inspiring. The turningpoint was seeing Betty Carter in Ann Arborwith Troy Davis, Darrell Grant and IraColeman. Id never seen players of that caliber.I realized that I could and would do this. Fromthen on, it was my desire to get my stufftogether, to come to New York and try to makeit work.

    Toward that end, Cleaver joined forces witha small cohort of forward-thinking formerDetroiters, among them Rodney Whitaker,James Carter, Taborn, Dwight Adams andCassius Richmond. With them, he honed theinstincts that inform his esthetic.

    We had so much in common, Cleaversaid. We all loved swinging. We loved playingout. We were left to our own devices in Detroit,and that mentality made anything possible atany moment. Your connection with another per-son generates the ideas and concepts. Itsimportant to find what needs to be heard, whatneeds to be said. More than just playing a gig,Im trying to get to the true nature of this musi-cal relationship. Ted Panken

    CLA

    UD

    IO C

    AS

    AN

    OV

    A

    Players

    GeraldCleaver ;;DetroitBrooklynBridge Builder

    DB0109_026-033_PLAY.qxd 11/12/08 12:24 PM Page 26

  • DB0109_026-033_PLAY.qxd 11/12/08 2:52 PM Page 27

  • 28 DOWNBEAT January 2009

    Players

    During the last seven years, guitarist MaryHalvorson has become an increasingly activepresence on New Yorks polyglot jazz andexperimental music scenes. But to hear the 28-year-old Boston native turned Brooklyn residenttell it, her knotty yet clean-toned interval-leapinghas evolved instinctually.

    I was never concerned with categories orwhat kind of music I was playing as long as itwas good, whether it was jazz, experimental orrock, she said. As long as I feel like Im doingsomething creative and interesting, Im open towhatever genre it might fall into.

    Halvorsons expanding discography bearsout such an explanation. Although she has beena steady collaborator of Anthony Braxton, herwork with cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, bassistTrevor Dunn and trombonist Curtis Hasselbring,as well as rock-fried projects like the duo Peopleand Sugriwa, begin to indicate her nonchalantrange. Her duo with violist Jessica Pavone, OnAnd Off (Skirl), is emblematic of a disregard forpurity, as they incorporate pop song ideas, freeimprovisation, through-composed pieces andfolk-like cadences. She also brought out thethorny side of her improvising on Opulence(UgExplode), a bruising set of duets with San

    Francisco Bay Area drummer Weasel Walter.Theres a challenge to maintain your indi-

    vidual voice while playing these different kindsof music, Halvorson said. But at the same timeyou have a community that is supportive andjust as eager to check out your experimentalrock band as your jazz band. It is a challenge notto wear yourself thin or lose yourself in it.

    Throughout the past six years, Halvorson hadwanted to work in the guitarbassdrum format,an ambition she fulfilled with the new DragonsHead (Firehouse 12). She never found theappropriate bassist until she met John Hebert in2006. She also recruited Ches Smith, a drummerequally informed by jazz and weird rock, andthe group premiered in February 2007. On thedisc, her tunes are packed with astringentmelodies, bursts of noise and unexpected twists.

    Although Halvorson said that the response toher work has improved from the days she start-ed, the condescension she has encountered as awoman guitarist reinforced her determination.

    I would hear things like, Oh, thats cute,you play jazz. Do you sing? Halvorson said.It made me want to try harder and be like,Fuck all them, to prove that I can do it.

    Peter Margasak HIL

    AR

    Y M

    CH

    ON

    E

    MaryHalvorson ;;Non-PuritanNoise

    DB0109_026-033_PLAY.qxd 11/13/08 3:41 PM Page 28

  • DB0109_026-033_PLAY.qxd 11/11/08 5:14 PM Page 29

  • 30 DOWNBEAT January 2009

    Players

    GttchwMkurya ;;Ethiopian Thunder

    Michael Bates ;; Contrapuntal Reformed Punk

    Ethiopian tenor saxophonist GttchwMkurya took a few minutes to describe hissound at Chicagos Logan Square Auditoriumbefore a concert with his Amsterdam-basedbacking punk band The Ex. Speaking inAmharic through a translator, he declared, Wehave a bullet inside of this melody.

    That international musical partnership hasyielded a new album, Moa Anbessa (Terp), andan accompanying DVD on Buda Musique.Mkuryas massive vibrato-laden tone and stark,indelible melodies sound a bit like AlbertAylers, but they speak in a different tongue. Hismusic is based on a traditional warriors chantcalled shellla.

    Shellla is still important for us, Mkuryasaid. This melody releases the things we needwhen were fighting. Now we are for fighting todevelop this music and our culture.

    Mkurya, who was born in 1935 and lives inAddis Ababa, is an imposing figure. A naturalshowman, he donned a cape styled after a lionsmane for the Chicago sets climax. Across thelanguage barrier, his decisive answers betray thestern authority he acquired teaching musicians inEthiopias Police Band for three decades.

    Historically, Ethiopian popular and traditionalmusic prizes lyrical cleverness and instrumentalmusic is practically unknown. He changed allthat though adapting a shellla vocal melody forsaxophone on Shellla Besaxophone, the lasttrack on his collection of early-70s recordings,

    Ethiopiques Vol 14: Negus Of Ethiopian Sax(Buda Musique). Mkuryas coarse-toned yetfluid ululations knife through massed brass anddrums. His improvised music swings, but it owes

    little to American jazz. He has little knowledge of Charlie Parker,

    Sonny Rollins or John Coltrane, said saxo-phonist Russ Gershon of the Either/Orchestra,

    Bassist Michael Bates frequently uses the phrasethe bigger picture. Indeed, the compositionson his third disc, Clockwise (Greenleaf Music),convey his explorative, picturesque sensibilties.Sometimes multiple melodies dance about likecharacters in a Dr. Seuss cartoon. Song titlessuch as Lighthousekeeping and GreatExhibition, which reference literary works,attest that Bates aims to create a realm thatextends beyond standard jazz convention.

    I like looking at the bigger picture and thinkabout things that would lead me to differentplaces, said the Vancouver, Canada, native,who now lives in Brooklyn.

    Bates, who started out playing bass in punkbands, traces his love for music to his father,who he describes as chronically interested inthings.

    Not just music, it could be anything like aweird contraption or some restaurant in

    Chinatown, Bates said. Music just stuckwith me.

    Bates absorbs his disparate referencesthrough a knack for contrapuntal compositions.

    Counterpoint is linear writing, Bates said.Sometimes, youll end up with vertical struc-tures. Certain notes will come together in verti-cal ways that arent supposed to work; but theywork well in the context of each line. It createsdissonance and resolution in beautiful ways.

    Bates got the composing bug when heattended the University of Toronto, earning adegree in jazz performance. To harness his com-positional gifts, he attended the Banff Centre,where he met Kenny Werner, Joe Lovano andDave Douglas, whose imprint releasedClockwise.

    Dave was running a composers workshop,Bates said. I was the only bass player involved.I ended up playing on 30 different recordings. I

    was impressed with the work ethic.The most striking thing about Michael was

    not just the music and the eager openness topractice and study, it was the organizationalmind, Douglas added. He rallied the troops,got folks organized toward playing originalmusic.

    Bates has primarily used his band OutsideSources to bring his compositions to life. Hisprevious two discs, Outside Sources (Pom-merag, 2003) and A Fine Balance (Winter &Winter, 2006), featured a Canadian lineup.Clockwise showcases his bands Brooklyn-based edition with saxophonist and clarinetistQuinsin Nachoff being the only holdover fromthe previous band. Trumpeter Russ Johnson anddrummer Jeff Davis round out the group.

    Ive found the right people to play thismusic, Bates said. They are composers intheir own right, and versed in a lot of different

    MIC

    HA

    EL

    JAC

    KS

    ON

    DB0109_026-033_PLAY.qxd 11/13/08 3:42 PM Page 30

  • January 2009 DOWNBEAT 31

    the Boston-based band that has backed Mkuryain England and Ethiopia. He derived his musicfrom traditional Ethiopian sources. When you goback to the vocal Shellla, you hear some ofthe same figures that he plays. Its that vocalquality that connects what he does to free jazz.He sounds similar to Ayler because of theextreme vocalization of their sound, the full-onenergy of their playing and the simplicity of theforms that they use.

    Gershon also admires Mkuryas dissonance,which is especially evident when the Ethiopiansaxophonist plays with The Ex. After sharingstages with them in Addis Ababa andAmsterdam, he asked them to become his band.While theres no precedent for punk rock inEthiopia, Mkurya responded instinctively totheir force, which conveys a more kinetic energythan what hed been hearing in his countryrecently.

    I played for a long time with the PoliceOrchestra in the National Theater of Ethiopia,and after that there is no big orchestra,Mkurya said. Our younger generation, theylike hip-hop or synthesizers.

    The Ex may not be orchestral, butMkuryas European colleagues said their atti-tude matches his.

    Hes not interested in virtuoso musicianswho play completely correctly. Its more impor-tant to him that theres a spirit and energy, and afeel for the music rather than that it be playedperfectly, said Ex guitarist Andy Moor. Wehad to find a way to communicate that had noth-ing to do with words, and thats probably a goodthing with music.

    Mkurya is optimistic that his cross-culturalpartnership with The Ex will reap rewards.

    The Ex is a strong and beautiful group, hesaid. They play like I want. I am happy to gowith them. Bill Meyer

    musical languages, not just traditional jazzmusic, which is important to all of us. Theyreversed in 20th-century classical music. Being ina generation of musicians who are writing is anessential aspect of what keeps this music freshand growing. John Murph

    BR

    YA

    N M

    UR

    RA

    Y

    DB0109_026-033_PLAY.qxd 11/13/08 3:42 PM Page 31

  • DB0109_026-033_PLAY.qxd 11/11/08 5:14 PM Page 32

  • DB0109_026-033_PLAY.qxd 11/11/08 5:14 PM Page 33

  • FORTUNATE

    With his signature saxophone sound and prolific composingchops, Benny Golsonis one of the last survivors of bebops nascent era

    I

    you make it to 80 and are still at the top of your game, youre one lucky guy. All you have to do is look around and think about all the guys who didnt make it. In the end, you begin to wonder whether maybe the biggest

    score of all in life is to be the last man standing. It may be lonely, but you have the satisfaction of looking back across the times of your generation with the certain knowledge of how everything turned out.

    If

    DB0109_034-039_GOLSON.qxd 11/13/08 4:13 PM Page 34

  • DB0109_034-039_GOLSON.qxd 11/11/08 5:19 PM Page 35

  • 36 DOWNBEAT January 2009

    Tenor saxophonist Benny Golson has beenthinking thoughts like these lately as he arrivesat his 80th birthday on Jan. 25 (to be followedby his 50th wedding anniversary in March). Hewill celebrate his birthday with a CD by theNew Jazztet (with Eddie Henderson in for ArtFarmer), New Time, New Tet, out this month onConcord; and a concert at the Kennedy Center inWashington, D.C., on Jan. 24 featuring RonCarter, Curtis Fuller, Cedar Walton, Al Jarreau,the ClaytonHamilton Jazz Orchestra and oth-ers. Hell also think about the colleagues whoare not there: Farmer, Clifford Brown, JohnColtrane, Lee Morgan, Philly Joe Jones, PaulChambersthe ones who didnt make it.

    Golson continues to play concerts and clubs.Last September he came to Chicago for a shortweek at Joe Segals new Jazz Showcase in theSouth Loop. Opening night was slow, butGolson was competing with a persistent drizzleand John McCains Republican presidentialnomination acceptance speech. By the weekendthe rain and the oratory has passed, and the fanscame out to enjoy one of the great survivors ofan increasingly fabled era of jazz innovation.

    Among many things, Golson will be remem-bered for his appearances in two pictures. First,as the McGuffin in Steven Spielbergs 2004 TheTerminal; and second, as Player Number 2 inArt Kanes 1958 Harlem brownstone photo-graphA Great Day In Harlemthatappeared in Esquire magazine. The former

    depended upon the latter. Tom Hanks characterin The Terminal, Viktor Navorski, was on aquest to complete his fathers autograph collec-tion of the 57 musicians who appeared in thefamous picture, the final piece of which wasGolsons signature.

    A few days after Golsons Chicago opening,we sat down for lunch in his hotel. Golsonexudes a friendly but distinguished air. Hespeaks softly and uses language with careful pre-cision. Words appear in his e-mails that can sendeven the most literate reader to a dictionary.

    I opened a large brown envelope. Inside wasthe original January 1959 Esquire.

    Oh my goodness, Golson said with somesurprise in his eyes. I lost mine.

    He took the magazine and turned the pagescautiously, as if handling some fragile historicartifact. And there it was on pages 98 and 99. Hereflected in a way that comes naturally to a manlooking at a 50-year-old photo of himself stand-ing as a young man among a community of hispeers and heroes. None of us had any idea whatwould happen with that shot, he said. Thereare only six of us left. Im at the top right here.

    He then pointed out the other five out of 57in the photo still alive: Hank Jones (90), HoraceSilver (80), Sonny Rollins (78), Eddie Locke(78) and Marian McPartland (90). Theyve eachseen and heard so much the others have missedby reason of mortality. When you see yourselfas a young man in such a picture, I suggested,

    one cant help thinking that the little game we allplayed in kindergarten, musical chairs, is ametaphor for life itself.

    I never thought of it that way, he said.Clearly, the jazz life has been good to

    Golson. Let me put it this way, he reflected.Ive been fortunate. It could have been theother way. But I had such a desire to get into thismusic, not to become famous, not even to makemoney, but to have my things played and pleasethe people who would hear it. And its happenedin great abundance, more than I had anticipated.Its been good to me.

    He looked back at the photograph. I had justcome to town, one of the young lions of 1956,he said. Nat Hentoff called me for that picture. Idont know how he had heard of me. I was play-ing with Dizzy when that was taken, so I knewDiz. Also Art Farmer, Horace Silver, JohnnyGriffin and Emmett Berry. But I had never metany of the others. Look at that. ColemanHawkins, Lester Young, Gene Krupa, CharlieMingus, Basie. I had to keep myself from askingfor autographs. We didnt do that in those days. Iwas a nobody and just glad to be there.

    Jazz was a young music when Golson stoodon that Harlem doorstep sometime in July orAugust 1958. (The precise date has been lost.)Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor were barelyon the radar. The first jazz record was only 41years old, about the same span of time that sepa-rates us from the death of John Coltrane today.

    DB0109_034-039_GOLSON.qxd 11/11/08 5:19 PM Page 36

  • DB0109_034-039_GOLSON.qxd 11/12/08 12:26 PM Page 37

  • 38 DOWNBEAT January 2009

    Few jazz musicians of importance had marked a60th birthday yet, not even Louis Armstrong.The two oldest players in the Esquire photo wereZutty Singleton, 60, and Sonny Greer, 62. Oldage in jazz was still uncharted territory in 1958.No one yet knew what a 65-, 70- or 80-year-oldtrumpet or saxophone player might sound like.Bunk Johnson, perhaps?

    The mind doesnt change, Golsonobserved with some experience in the matter ofage. Only the body. Sometimes the mindmakes appointments the body cant keep.Arthritis, feeling tired, things like that. Whenyoure young youre always ready to go. But thethinking doesnt change. In fact, if one has tal-ent, its like good wine. You add things to it. Itgets better. You renew yourself. You take theolder things, push them to one side and makeroom for the newer. Creativity never retires,unless you give up. I wake up every morning atthis age and intuitively think, What can I dobetter today than I did yesterday? What can Idiscover today? What things are awaiting mydiscovery? Enough is never enough. You wantto get from here to there, then you get there andyou want to go somewhere else.

    Golsons uncle was a bartender at MintonsPlayhouse in Harlem. One of Golsons earliestmemories is being taken to the now legendarysite of the earliest bop jam sessions and seeingthe house band with Thelonious Monk, Joe Guyand Kenny Clarke. I was 11 and didnt knowwhat the heck it was all about, he admitted.But Sugar Ray Robinson was there and myuncle introduced me to him.

    A conversation with Golson doesnt go longbefore the subject of another of his childhoodassociationsJohn Coltranecomes up. Thetwo knew each other as boys in Philadelphia,and in some ways Golson seems to measurehimself against Coltrane, even though they tookvastly different paths. Perhaps its because theystarted in the same time and place.

    Look at my friend John Coltrane, he said.He was great, but he wanted to go farther. Ihavent gotten there yet. Where is there?Wherever it is, we want to get there as soon aswe can.

    Where they began as adolescents, though,was the height of the swing era in 1940. Golsonwas 12, Coltrane 14. When they turned on theradio they heard anyone from Jan Savitt toCount Basie playing live music. You knowwho my favorite band was then? Golson askedrhetorically. Glenn Miller. And I loved [tenorsaxophonist and singer] Tex Beneke with thatsouthern drawl he would sing. I loved that.Moonlight Serenade and the movies, SunValley Serenade and Orchestra Wives.

    Golson may have loved Miller and Beneke,but he didnt imitate them. His epiphany came at14 in the Earle Theater. It was the first time Iever saw a band live, he said, and it wasLionel Hampton. When the curtain opened I wasbedazzled. The bright lights were shining onthese gold instruments. The music was like a

    hand reaching out and grabbing me. Then ArnettCobb stepped out from the reed section to theedge of the stage, and, lo and behold, a mikecame up from the stage floor. When he started toplay, the piano paled. I wanted a sax. We werejust getting off of welfare, but I thought I couldget one at a pawn shop. One day [my mom]brought a brand new one home, and wow.Thats when it all started.

    I was copying everybodys solos onrecords, he continued. Coltrane and I weredoing the same thing. There were no schooljazz programs. Then right in the middle of allthis along come Dizzy Gillespie and CharlieParker. Coltrane and I are trying to learn thetraditional stuff, and not very good at it. Thenthis new stuff comes out. So were trying topick up on this new music before wevelearned the old stuff. We had a kind of oath ofdetermination to try to imbibe this music andmake it part of our psyche.

    Golson and Coltrane were like two peas in apod then. Golson listened to Coleman Hawkinsand Ben Webster. Coltrane played alto andloved Johnny Hodges. But he was always a lit-tle ahead of the rest of us, Golson said. Whenwe got to where he was, he was always some-where else. He had a penchant for that. Toalways reach. But his reach never exceeded hisgrasp. He always got to it.

    Was it a place Golson might have followed?Truthfully, he said, I wouldnt have knownwhat I was doing. He was somewhere else then,and I was not in that place.

    Does Golson believe that Coltrane is beingremembered for the right reasons today? Heasked what I meant. Is it his music, I explained,or the quasi-religious and mystical dimensionsof his persona that surfaced in A Love Supreme?What other musician, after all, defined his musicin such overtly spiritual terms that it produced aSan Francisco church in his name? (Golson him-

    self crafted an impressive orchestration of ALove Supreme in the 90s.)

    I dont think [he] would have been a part ofthat, Golson said. Im sure he would haveshivered at that prospect of a Coltrane church.He was really not religious when I knew him.Whatever happened in his search happened laterwhen we were no longer together. He was likePicasso in that he went through many periods.Many styles. He was always changing andevolving into something, searching.

    Perhaps because Golson was once such aclose witness to Coltranes processes, herespects his outcomes even if he cannot entirelyembrace them. Coltrane may have ended in thetangle of the free-jazz movement, but Golsonhad seen him master so much, he knew what hecould do and seems willing to excuse what hemight otherwise distrust.

    But he is decidedly less sympathetic to othersassociated with the music. He wont mentionany names lest he might harm a fellow musician.Yet he makes no secret of his views on the larg-er free-jazz musicology.

    Bogus, he said. Completely and withoutany doubt. The lie cannot live forever.

    Many years ago Golson said he approached aprominent young apostle of the new music. Hismind was open and he was eager to understandits value.

    [This man] told me himself it was bogus,Golson recalled, though without knowing it.Do you know about bass and treble clefs? Theclefs are there only for convenience. You wouldhave too many lines without the clefs. But theyhave nothing to do with concepts. I asked howhe arrived at what hes doing. He said he playedin the tenor clef. It was ridiculous. There is nosuch thing.

    He was a clever man. He took what hedidnt know, and made it into something thatseemed unique. He said that he played off themelody, not chords. This was his system, towhich he gave a fancy name. What do you thinkSam and Cephus said in the cotton fields whenthey were buck dancing and strumming thebanjo? Sam, I think that was a G7 in bar 10?Of course not. They played off of the melody. Itwas intuitive. What do you think professionalmusicians do today when they dont know thesong a singer is doing in some strange key?They play off the melody. Its nothing new.

    Then one day I picked up the InternationalHerald Tribune and read a story proclaiming thisman a jazz genius who has come up with a newsystem. He plays off the melody.

    Golson rolled his eyes and slapped the table.How can people be duped? Free-jazz was away out for a lot of musicians who couldnt playthe changes of All The Things You Are. Itopened the door to fakery.

    Not that it was invalid, he added. Therewere guys who could play bothlike John.Thats why Coltrane was a great musician. Hemastered it all. Whether you like where heended up or not, hes entitled to our respect.

    You cant get up and say, I

    think Ill write ahit today. You

    have to wait andsee what the

    reaction is fromthe people whopay to see you.

    DB0109_034-039_GOLSON.qxd 11/13/08 3:44 PM Page 38

  • January 2009 DOWNBEAT 39

    Golson is presently completing a book target-ed to college and university jazz curriculums,which he hopes to publish later this year.Among the chapters, The Bogus Genius.

    Golsons genius is far less controversial.It lives in the easy warmth and fluencyof his tenor lines, but his immortalitymay reside in a catalog of compositions thathave taken root as major jazz standards that nowhave a life of their own.

    Although he had recorded about a dozen ses-sions between 1950 and 1955, it was as a com-poser that he made his first serious impact whenColtrane brought Golsons Stablemates toMiles Davis in November 1955. The DavisQuintet (and shortly after Coltrane with PaulChambers) recorded it for Prestige, thus cement-ing it into the canon of modern jazz titles. Sincethen it has been recorded 114 times by Golsonand others. Further Golson standards includeAlong Came Betty (78 times), Killer Joe(94 times), Whisper Not (189 times) and, mostfamously, I Remember Clifford, with 282recorded versions, according to Tom Lords JazzDiscography.

    What kind of royalties come from such asongbook? It varies according to how manyplays I get, he said. How many recordings,how many performances. BMI keeps track ofthat. Sometimes its close to half a million inroyalties. Sometime its $200,000. It might notbe anything.

    He continues to play those songs todaybecause he knows his audiences want to hearthem. As much as I play them, he said, I tryto make something fresh out of them every time.I dont have any set solo routines. And when Iplay Clifford, its a reflective mood for mebecause I remember all those times we weretogether. They were the songs that gave me myreputation. I owe them my best because of whattheyve done for me. No, I dont mind playingthem, any more than I mind signing autographs.Its a privilege.

    Composing them came with no guarantees,though. You cant get up and say, I think Illwrite a hit today, he said. You have to waitand see what the reaction is from the people whopay to see you. When I wrote those tunesStablemates and I Remember Cifford, I hadno idea what would happen to them. My wifetold me that Killer Joe was too monotonous.You never know.

    What gives a composition validity is theknowledge of the person writing it, the experi-ence he can draw on, he continued. But whenyou get to the meat of it, its in the intervals,what follows what. Thats what a melody is.When I write my songs, Im conscious of inter-vals. Art Farmer was conscious of intervals.Thats why he played so beautifully. You get theright intervals in place and youve got somethingthat will live past your timeDuke, Coltrane,Bill Evans, Claude Thornhill.

    As a composer, Golson has occasionally

    served as his own lyricist on songs such asFrom Dream To Dream and If Time OnlyHad A Heartmainly to deny the opportunityto others. You have no idea how many sets oflyrics Ive gotten to Along Came Betty, hecomplained. I get some every year. Once a per-son had the audacity to write a lyric to WhisperNot and record it. Legally I had to get them totake it off the market. I guess they think theyredoing you an honor when they put words to yoursongs and you should be happy about it. But Ihave to say, Im sorry. I have never approvedany of the attempts.

    Not quite never. Leonard Feather added anapproved lyric to Whisper Not, which AlJarreau sings on the new Jazztet CD. AndQuincy Jones penned the Killer Joe lyric. Butgenerally, Golson remains protective of hissongs integrity. Not even a Jon Hendricks lyricto Stablemates made the cut. I told him, Jon,dont do that any more, he said. Thats notthe kind of tune for a lyric. Nobody can put alyric to a tune of mine legally without permis-sion. I usually hate those attempts to take a jazztune and put a lyric to it. Worse is putting wordsto improvisations. Its not my cup of tea. DB

    DB0109_034-039_GOLSON.qxd 11/13/08 10:13 AM Page 39

  • Beyondthe

    Abstract

    40 DOWNBEAT January 2009

    By Dan Ouellette I Photo by Morre/Dalle

    he most unlikely recording experi-ence of Ron Carters exhaustive

    session work came in 1991 when the pio-neering rap group A Tribe Called Questrang him up. The request? To deliver basslines on the track Verses From TheAbstract for its sophomore CD, The LowEnd Theory, the follow-up to its triumphantdebut, Peoples Instinctive Travels And The

    Paths Of Rhythm, issued in 1989 on Jive Records. As it turned out, Carter not only helped to make The Low End Theory

    one of the best hip-hopand popalbums of all time, but also con-tributed to the ushering in of an era in the early to mid-90s where jazz andhip-hop, both rooted in African-American music traditions, commingledin an intriguing and, at times, compelling fusion of rap and swing. A nat-ural teacher in the classroom and on the bandstand, Carter also served tofurther school Q-TipTribes co-founder and MC, born Jonathan Davis,whose legal name now is Kamaal Fareedin the rudimentaries of making

    Excerpted from Dan Ouellettes new authorized

    Ron Carter biography, Finding The Right Notes, available at danouellette.artistshare.com.

    Jazz and Hip-Hop Commingle in Ron Carters Bass Lines

    DB0109_040-045_CARTER.qxd 11/13/08 3:44 PM Page 40

  • DB0109_040-045_CARTER.qxd 11/11/08 5:24 PM Page 41

  • 42 DOWNBEAT January 2009

    music that expanded beyond beat basics intorhythmic sophistication.

    As for Carters willingness to appear on ahip-hop record at a time when the rap-infusedmusic was entering its second decade of impact(and often controversy) as a pop genre, his sonRon Carter Jr. is not at all surprised. Its one ofthe biggest misconceptions about my father thathe didnt know anything about hip-hop cultureand music, Carter Jr. said. How could he not?He had two teenage sons who wanted to be DJsand were hanging out in Harlem in the 70s. Hebought my brother Myles and me mixers so wecould learn.

    Carter Jr. recalled four essential recordsthat every wannabe DJ learned to mix on:Dance To The Drummers Beat, Apache,Scratchin and Take Me To The MardiGras. The two Carter sons played those tunesover and over, so much so that Carter bannedthem from being spun in the home. My dadtold us to find some new records, Carter Jr.said. He got tired of listening to those otherones. But he looked on hip-hop as an art formthat was getting young kids into music.

    REQUEST FROM QUESTStill, Carter wasnt a hip-hop aficionado by anystretch of the imagination, so that when A TribeCalled Quests management contacted him, hehad to do some homework. Who better to askthan his son Myles Carter, who was living inParis at the time as a graffiti artist and wassteeped in the citys hip-hop culturewhichincluded the French rap group NTM and theControl of Paris artistic movement that Mylesco-founded.

    My dad called me up, told me about therequest and asked me if he should do it, Mylessaid. Well, I knew that Tribe Called Questwas strictly about the music. As it turns outthey were one of the most interesting and inno-vative hip-hop groups of all time. They had anoncommercial groove. My father has thisincredible timing and cadence that cant beduplicated. His sound is so distinctive. So,what could be a better fit?

    In his book, Check The Technique: LinerNotes For Hip-Hop Junkies, Brian Coleman sin-gles out The Low End Theory as one of the 36immortal rap albums and notes that A TribeCalled Quest added a serious, studious, jazzedge to their supremely innovative productions.Coleman points out that the music of Tribesfirst album was, in the words of Q-Tip, emo-tions and colors. He then quotes Q-Tip on thesecond project as striving for a new level ofsonic creativity: I was chopping beats different-ly than other people were back then. The [sec-ond] album was like a project. A show. Andeverybody was invited to watch. The first albumwas about color, and The Low End Theory wasmore about technique.

    Q-Tip told Coleman that the album got itsname because he wanted to expand the dynam-

    ics by stressing the low end, the bottom. It was ano-brainer then for Q-Tip to see if he could snagCarter for a session.

    As a kid, the rapper was surrounded bymusic, especially jazz. My dad was a jazzenthusiast, he recently said. He was a hard-bop guy, the grittier and funkier the better. Hehad albums by Lockjaw Davis, Art Blakey, LeeMorgan, Horace Silver, Jack McDuff. Plus, hehad albums by Miles, Duke and Coltrane. Mycousins and uncles were into jazz that was moreexpanded, like the Headhunters. They lovedMiles albums like In A Silent Way and FillesDe Kilimanjaro.

    Yet Q-Tip gravitated to Davis 60s quintetwith Carter. I always come back to thePlugged Nickel stuff and albums like E.S.P. andNefertiti. I still listen to them. I could hear Ronbeing the anchor of everything that was goingon. Usually a drummer would keep the beat onthe ride cymbal, but Tony moved around a lotand really had a lock-up with Herbie. Youdexpect the lock-up between the bassist anddrummer. So Ron had to do double duty, to bethe percussive force as well as establish the rootto develop the harmony.

    In my way of thinking Ron Carter was theseminal bass player of the 60s and 70s, Q-Tipcontinued. His sound was very precise, conciseand rhythmic, and he played harmonically to laythe framework for songs. Hes an icon.

    With the Carter legacy deeply ingrained inhis own musicality, Q-Tip asked the groupsmanagement to contact Carter. It was an honorto get him on the record. I wanted his sound andhis musicianship. Hes so economical. He neveroverplays. Hes probably the tastiest bass playerever. Some guys go overboard, but every notethat Ron plays is there for a good reason.

    Carter discussed the offer with Myles, andthen signed on to play on a track. But first Itold them that there were