medeski martin & wood - downbeatdownbeat.com/digitaledition/2009/db0909/_art/db0909.pdf ·...

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DownBeat.com

SEPTEMBER 2009 U.K. £3.50

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September 2009VOLUME 76 – NUMBER 9

President Kevin Maher

Publisher Frank Alkyer

Editor Ed Enright

Associate Editor Aaron Cohen

Art Director Ara Tirado

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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: Mars Breslow, Forrest Bryant, Clayton Call, Yoshi Kato;Seattle: Paul de Barros; Tampa Bay:Philip Booth; Washington, D.C.:WillardJenkins, John Murph, Bill Shoemaker, Michael Wilderman; Belgium: JosKnaepen; Canada: Greg Buium, James Hale, Diane Moon; Denmark: JanPersson; France: Jean Szlamowicz; Germany: Detlev Schilke, Hyou Vielz;Great Britain: Brian Priestley; Israel: Barry Davis; Japan: Kiyoshi Koyama;Netherlands: Jaap Lüdeke; Portugal:Antonio Rubio; Romania:Virgil Mihaiu;Russia: Cyril Moshkow; South Africa: Don Albert.

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

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6 DOWNBEAT September 2009

Departments

Features

8 First Take

10 Chords & Discords

13 The Beat

14 Backstage With ... Jacky Terrasson

17 The Question

19 Vinyl Freak

20 Caught

22 Players Chano Domínguez Will SellenraadEivind OpsvikEzra Weiss

58 Indie Life

63 Reviews

78 Jazz On Campus

82 Blindfold Test Toshiko Akiyoshi

76 E.J. Strickland

66 Bobby Broom

DB Inside

48 Fred AndersonInspirational MotivationBy Michael Jackson

26 Medeski Martin & WoodMaking Every Gig Count // By Jennifer Odell

Coming off a seven-plus-year stint under Blue Note’s wing, Medeski Martin &Wood have formed their own label, Indirecto. Bucking the entrenched pattern ofmaking a CD and then touring in support of it, their goal now is to focus on com-posing a large amount of music, a process that nourishes their growth as a bandmore than the act of recording ultimately does. MMW take the new material outon the road first and let it develop and mature before entering the studio. In doingso, the travel-loving trio have made a triumphant return to their “homeless” roots.

Cover photography by Michael Weintrob

52 FlyBlueprint For FlightBy Dan Ouellette

Lynne Arriale

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32 Lynne ArrialeNot Just For Jazz LoversBy Ken Micallef

36 Teddy WilsonClassic Interview: The Impeccable Mr.WilsonBy Tom Scanlan // January 22, 1959

40 Toolshed

44 Master Classby Geoffrey Keezer

46 Transcription

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John Medeski, Billy Martin and Chris Wood blew my mind when Ifirst met them for an interview, as editor of DownBeat, back in late1996. Beyond the actual “work” that was the purpose of our get-together, the most memorable part of my encounter with the trio wasthe way they turned me on to so many new things in just one night.

They fed me huge amounts of fresh sushi—something I had nevereaten before in my life—and made sure I knew which fish was which,explaining why I might like each one and then requesting an honestreview of every delicate piece I sampled, in between sips of green tea.After dinner, they invited me to join them in their tour bus to partake ina different kind of community ritual, one that involved ingesting a deli-cacy of sorts delivered from an undisclosed location in the U.S.Northwest. Then, in a sublime state of heightened awareness and bor-derline psychedelia, Medeski Martin & Wood sat me down by thestereo and played for me cuts from their favorite CDs, which theyalways carried on the road in big, fat travel cases (these were the daysbefore mp3s). I’ll never forget the urgency in Medeski’s voice eachtime he mentioned an album or artist I hadn’t heard before: “Rightaway, right away!” he would insist, flipping a fresh disc into the tray inno time flat, eager to see the expressions on my face once the musicbegan to play, challenging me to express my opinion on every tracklike some kind of impromptu Blindfold Test. Some of the music wasrare stuff, completely foreign to my ears; other tracks were more famil-iar, or at least included musicians I’d heard of, even if they were in set-

First Take

Take 2! An inspiring blast from my past: Chris Wood (left), John Medeski and Billy Martin

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September 2009 DOWNBEAT 9

tings to which I was unaccustomed (the Duke Ellington–CharlesMingus–Max Roach trio album Money Jungle comes to mind). Theyhad invited me into their world and made me a part of their never-endingroad trip, just for a day, and I had obliged without hesitation. The finerdetails of this mind-expanding experience remain a bit foggy, but of onething I’m certain: I emerged from their tour bus a changed man—eventhough I was really still just a 29-year-old boy with a cool job.

I left that job a few years later when I decided to strike out on myown as a professional musician. I felt driven to pursue my potential tothe fullest and to see just how far my musical talents could take me. So Iembraced the unknown and hit the road with my baritone sax, workingmy way through various bands and performing regularly with jazz, bluesand rock artists who needed a reliable player who could read and impro-vise. I spent a full 10 years as a freelance musician and freelance writer,and during that time I thought often of my hang with Medeski Martin &Wood and the exhilaration that their never-ending travels and alwaysunpredictable live shows inspired in me.

I now return to the editor’s chair with a sense of instant belonging,just as I felt when I first ventured inside MMW’s modest home onwheels in search of a story. For me, as I re-enter the fold of DownBeat,their appearance on this month’s cover is a perfect choice (see JenniferOdell’s article starting on Page 26). Working every day with the maga-zine’s staff and freelance writers is like being part of an extended fami-ly—and I happily reclaim my place at a table where fine jazz journalismis always the main course and the camaraderie of peers creates an endur-ing sense of community.

I can’t help but be reminded of the community atmosphere depictedin this month’s feature article on tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson, whoturned 80 earlier this year. It was at his nightclub, located not far fromwhere I grew up on the South Side of Chicago, that I first learned toappreciate cats who play avant-garde jazz. After spending entire daysstar-struck at the Chicago Jazz Festival, I would hit the Velvet Loungelate-night to hear Anderson, Edward “Kidd” Jordan and an entire paradeof AACM-schooled instrumentalists blow their hearts out with completefreedom and conviction. Our coverage of Anderson’s birthday bash, bywriter/photographer Michael Jackson, begins on Page 48.

In the recording studio, there is something special about first takesthat is impossible to replicate on subsequent attempts at the same song.You can never recapture the magic of such moments; the glory of creat-ing something new and struggling bravely through it often renders firsttakes as keepers. But there is something to be said about second takes, aswell, especially if you’ve paid attention and learned something aboutyourself and your ensemble the first go-round. Pianist Lynne Arriale,another artist featured prominently in this issue, is fond of doing multi-ple takes in the studio with the stated goal of taking a completely newapproach to the composition each time. The story of Arriale’s latestambitious project, a bold break from the strict trio format she has stuckwith for years, begins on Page 32.

And so begins my own second take, as I resume my former jobresponsibilities and reacquaint myself with familiar faces while embrac-ing a brand new world of modern art and advanced communication.Like Medeski Martin & Wood, who have returned to their self-described“homeless” roots with their latest series of CDs, I have come to the con-clusion that now is the time to get back to where I once belonged, whereI do my best work and where others consistently hold me to high stan-dards.

In the recording studio, with the clock always running, second takesare a true luxury. The same is true, I’ve learned, in life itself. Thingshave a way of eventually coming full circle, and I have been fortunateenough to recognize this opportunity to reunite with people and placesthat bring out the absolute best in me. I am, indeed, the luckiest.

It’s good to be home again. And I am prepared, once again, to beblown away.

Now, one more time from the top! DB

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Research Question–Lem WinchesterI am writing a biography of the late Wilming-ton, Del., vibraphone player Lem Winchester. Iwould like to interview anyone who knew orplayed with him, heard him play, or has anyphotos of him or the jazz clubs where he per-formed. I am especially looking for informa-tion about his 1958 appearance at theNewport Jazz Festival, his accidental death in1961 at the Topper Club in Indianapolis andhis appearance at the Birmingham JazzFestival in Michigan.Scott [email protected]

About Time For Pettiford, DameronIt is inconceivable and unbelievable thatDownBeat had to wait 57 years to honorOscar Pettiford with an induction into theDownBeat Hall of Fame (“Critics Poll,”August ’09). Tadd Dameron is also morethan deserving. Thank you, DownBeat, forestablishing the veterans’ committee. I am

looking forward to seeing Don Byas, ChuBerry, Sonny Stitt, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davisand other deserving legends in the Hall ofFame. And congratulations to Hank Jones forbeing voted in.Jimmie JonesBettendorf, Iowa

Where’s Al Cohn?I represent the Al Cohn Jazz Society head-quartered at East Stroudsburg University inPennsylvania, which was also Al Cohn’shometown. It is a major oversight that Al isnot in your Hall of Fame. Not only was AlCohn a superlative soloist, but he was also asuperb section player, composer and arrangerthroughout a career that spanned nearly fourdecades. His absence from your Hall of Fameis a shortcoming that needs to be addressed. Edwin [email protected]

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

75th Marks A True MilestoneWith all the talk of the demise of printmedia, let’s not forget that the makingof a good magazine is an art. The 75thanniversary issue is a great example.DownBeat staffers should be proud ofthis achievement: masterful magazine-making! But where’s the article aboutthe vibrant Swiss jazz scene? Probingartists, the challenges facing the histori-cally important Willisau festival, innov-ative jazz schools—it’s all here. Comeand find out!Scott SandelGunzwil, Switzerland

I thoroughly enjoyed reading everyarticle in the 75th anniversary issue,and agreed with everything. Startingwith the cover: collector’s edition.Congratulations on not just a greatissue, but for keeping it going for morethan 75 years.Danny ScherKensington, Calif.

I have been coming close in the last year orso to canceling my DownBeat subscription.Maybe it’s my aging nature, but the newfocus in jazz just doesn’t appeal to me asmuch as the artists I have loved in the past.Well, you have delayed my cancelationwith the 75th anniversary collector’s edi-tion. That was a great read. Reading myhero Mel Tormé’s article and seeing the

covers with him and another hero,Rosemary Clooney, was like a breath offresh air. So thank you for that edition. Myold bones appreciate it!Gerry BrownColumbus, Ohio

In light of your 75th anniversary issue andthe Living Legends articles, wouldn’t it havebeen appropriate to include the seriouslyneglected contributions of Ahmad Jamal?Dale [email protected]

Chords & Discords

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White House JamFirst Lady MichelleObama welcomes jazzmusicians, students asarts education fundingtakes on new urgency

As First Lady Michelle Obama concluded herfour-minute speech about the significance ofjazz in the East Room of the White House onJune 15, she gave a knowing nod to her daugh-ters, Malia and Sasha, as they sat next to theirgrandmother. “I want to keep them alive andaware of all kinds of music other than hip-hop,”Obama said.

“It so important that you are here,” the FirstLady continued, as she welcomed the 150 stu-dents from Washington, D.C., New Orleans andNew York City performance schools to the kick-off of the White House Music Series. “So Ibrought them here as well.” Then she recalledher own childhood in Chicago, where her grand-father used to play jazz in the house nearly 24hours a day.

“Jazz has been a part of life since I was a lit-tle girl,” Obama said. “Before there were room-to-room speakers, my grandfather had a speakerin every room in the house and played jazz at thehighest volume that he could. That’s how I grewup in my household.”

Launched in the middle of Black MusicMonth, the series’ one-time “jazz studios” werecoordinated in partnership with the White Houseby Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Duke EllingtonJazz Festival and the Thelonious Monk Instituteof Jazz. Later in the year, the White House willcontinue its Music Series by focusing on classi-cal and country music.

An hour prior to Obama’s speech, the statelyrooms of the East Wing blared with sounds ofyoung jazz hopefuls honing their crafts. Thewing was transformed into four separate musicclinics—“American History and Jazz,” “Syntaxof Jazz,” “The Blues and Jazz” and “DukeEllington and Swing”—as students gleanedtechnical and anecdotal advice from the Marsalisfamily (Wynton, Branford, Ellis, Defeayo andJason), members of Jazz at Lincoln Center

Orchestra and Paquito D’Rivera. In the East Room, the Marsalises, along with

reedman D’Rivera and bassist Eric Revis, heldcourt as they taught “The Blues and Jazz,” withWynton and Ellis doing most of talking.

“I always say, ‘Put your hard hat on whenyou start playing jazz,’ because it takes stami-na and dedication to really do this work prop-erly,” Ellis said. Picking up on his father’savuncular demeanor, Wynton advised young-sters, “Never slink off looking mad at yourselfafter your solo.”

As the clinic progressed, Wynton invited stu-dents to join the band on stage and improviseeight bars during a blues number. “When youplay a chorus, I want you to concentrate on feel-ing where you are at that time,” he said, beforethe band engaged in a swaggering mid-tempopiece that lured a parade of students to step upand show off their talents.

Ivan Rosenberg, a 17-year-old trumpeterfrom LaGuardia Arts High School in NewYork, was one of those who dared to take thestage; he even traded some high-register blastswith Wynton.

“Playing here is crazy—I couldn’t haveimagined doing something like this,” Rosenbergsaid. “I was definitely nervous about being in the

White House, but Wynton made it very comfort-able for people to come up on stage and justexpress themselves.”

Ever since President Barack Obama revealedthat his iPod contained Miles Davis, JohnColtrane and Charlie Parker tracks, theAmerican jazz scene has set hopes high that hisendorsement will help boost jazz’s audience andeconomic well being. It’s an uphill battle. On thesame day as the White House event, theNational Endowment for the Arts published ArtsParticipation: Highlights from a NationalSurvey, which revealed declining audience num-bers for all performing arts, including jazz, bal-let, classical music and museum attendance.

While some critics say that repairing theglobal economy takes higher priority than sup-porting the arts, Kyle Wedberg, interim presi-dent of New Orleans Center for Creative Arts,cited the importance of the arts in education.

“It’s in the arts is where you bring thosethings together—thinking about building a stageset, thinking about sound design, thinking aboutmusic scores,” Wedberg said. “Those rhythmsthat Wynton was teaching at the beginning about6/4, 3/4, 4/4 swing—that’s math. Those are theintegrative steps of the arts. We need more ofthat, not less, in this country.” —John Murph

INSIDE THE BEAT

14 Riffs

14 Backstage With …Jacky Terrasson

17 The Question

19 Vinyl Freak

Michelle Obama and Zach Brown

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Backstage With …By Ken Micallef

When Jacky Terrasson open-ed his set at New York’sIridium on June 25, a solo ofcontrarian ideas—from flut-tering romanticism to disso-nant, pounding single notesto lilting swing—proved hisresourceful imagination andkeyboard agility. And afterthe brief improvised intro-duction, Terrasson revealedthe unmistakable melody of“Beat It.”

“It was more like amoaning thing, a lament,”said Terrasson who wasjoined by drummer JamireWilliams and bassist BenWilliams. “It was this vamparound the melody andeventually we got into thismore groovy thing. I decid-ed to just do it that day,after we heard about Michael Jackson’sdeath during sound check.”

Are you embracing r&b and hip-hop onyour upcoming Concord release?Yeah, and just staying open. Jamire andBen are listening to that music more thanme. I am just letting them bring anythingthey want to the bandstand. It’s reallyabout how we all react. All ingredients arewelcome. It makes it fun—that’s the thing.

Is the new material melodically similar toyour past recordings but rhythmically closer to hip-hop?A little less jazz, and a little more of what’sgoing on these days. Hip-hop and all thebeats you hear in clubs. Melody and rhythmhave always been important for me.

What else has contributed to your evolution since your previous disc, Mirror, in 2007?I’ve been listening to a lot of Bach—TheWell Tempered Clavier—enjoying myselfaway from jazz. I like the structure of Bach.It makes so much sense. It’s so logical. It’swonderful to practice, great for fingers, formemory, for discipline, and it’s musicallybeautiful. And I’m more involved with myown composing, moving away from stan-dards. I try to listen to ethnic music, likeJapanese flutes or African drums, musicyou don’t hear every day. It’s refreshing. Idon’t like what’s playing on the radio that

much. I’m still a fanatic about KeithJarrett’s ’70s and ’80s music—I love whathe did with Dewey Redman and his triostuff before it got too polished. There wasa time when he was reaching out so much,it was beautiful.

How long have Ben and Jamire Williams been with you?About two years off and on. Jamire washighly recommended by Eric Harland, myformer drummer. I took out Jamire, andsure enough, he was coming straight outof Eric Harland’s bag, but he had his ownlittle edge and lots of energy. And a lot offluidity. I love that about his drumming, thisidea of movement. Then I asked Jamirewho he wanted on bass, and he suggestedBen. They hooked up automatically and itfelt natural. I was blown away at our firstrehearsal in March preparing for aEuropean tour. Ben sight-read the musiclike he’d been playing it forever, like thetour was already done. He is a gifted andsoulful player.

Is there a general theme or musical concept for your upcoming album?It’s gonna be groovier, maybe less of a jazzrecord. It’s still based on jazz, with the ele-ments of swing, interaction, improvisation.But the music will be more groove-orient-ed, perhaps punchier. And I will do somecovers—I love to pick a tune and use it asan excuse to have fun. Like “Beat It.” DB

JackyTerrasson


Riffs

Production Talk: Producer TommyLiPuma (left) and writer Ashley Kahntook part in the Recording AcademyNew York Chapter’s Up Close Personalconversation series on June 25. Kahninterviewed LiPuma onstage about theproducer’s history. Details: grammy.com

Wein Returns: After the JVC JazzFestival cancelled its annual New Yorksummer event this year, producerGeorge Wein announced that he will bebringing the festival back to New Yorknext year. Wein announced on July 7that the medical technology companyCareFusion will sponsor the CareFusionNew York Jazz Festival in June 2010.The company currently sponsors his festival in Newport, R.I. Details: carefusionjazz.com

Retold Tales: Singer Kate Schutt hastaken a novel path for her new disc, TheTelephone Game (ArtistShare). Shesolicited love stories from contributors,which serve as the model for her com-positions. Details: artistshare.com

Jamerson’s Memory Honored: Basslegend James Jamerson will be induct-ed into Fender Guitars’ Fender Hall ofFame at a ceremony on Aug. 7 at theTempe Center for the Arts in Tempe,Ariz. Details: fender.com

Tosoff Win: Pianist Amanda Tosoff’squartet received the General MotorsGrand Jazz Award at this year’sMontreal International Jazz Festival.Details: montrealjazzfest.com

RIP, Len Dobbin: The Montreal-based jazz journalist died of a stroke onJuly 8. He was 74. As a longtime writerfor the Montreal Gazette and localbroadcaster, he was particularly sup-portive of his city’s jazz scene andpassed away during a concert at thefestival he championed.

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Now 84, and after having semi-retired, JimmyScott recently returned to recording.

“I’ve laid back and this just came to us, so Idecided to do it,” Scott said. “You never give up,baby, you have to keep believing. This recordcan open some doors for me.”

At the end of June, the singer began layingdown tracks with an all-star group at LosAngeles’ Westlake Recording Studios. RalfKemper, of the German-based Kemper MusicGroup, is producing the disc and funding a doc-umentary about the project. The disc will be amix of standards and new compositions.Kemper is currently seeking a label to releasethe album. Guest musicians include saxophonistJames Moody, pianist Kenny Barron and gui-tarist Oscar Castro-Neves.

“What Jimmy has to offer is definitelyJimmy’s,” Castro-Neves said. When you hearhim, you know immediately. Especially in thisage when so many people sound alike.”

“This record will be cool,” Moody added.“With Kenny and Jimmy you can’t go wrong,especially since me and Jimmy have 168 yearsput together.” —Aaron Cohen

Jimmy Scott Returnsto the Studio

Playboy Jazz Heats Up L.A.Wallace Roney (above) helped usher in thePlayboy Jazz Festival, which ran on June 13–14at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. As BillCosby returned for his traditional role as emcee,other performers included Jimmy Cobb, WayneShorter and The Neville Brothers.

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Though the Jazz Forum operated for only fouryears at the tail of New York City’s loft scene,closing finally in 1983, it is still remembered asan incubator for then-young musicians and reli-able stomping ground for veterans looking fornew audiences. Its story, and legacy, is tied toproprietor Mark Morganelli, an irrepressiblehorn player who has continued to produce livejazz in venues big and small throughout theNortheast under the auspices of his non-profitorganization, Jazz Forum Arts. On June 22,Morganelli hosted Jazz Forum @ 30: ACelebration at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s RoseHall. The concert featured a number of jazzluminaries, including Joe Lovano, John Scofield,Lou Donaldson and Jon Hendricks.

“Mark respects this music because he plays ithimself and knows its history,” Donaldson said.“There are few concert producers out there likehim. He sets things up so every gig is special,like he’d want it for himself. That’s why he’sstill around, and believe me, jazz needs morepeople like him.”

The concert was also meant to recall theloose atmosphere at Morganelli’s loft, wheremix-and-match jamming and post-bop styleswere the normal fare. Three masterful pianists—Barry Harris, Cedar Walton and KennyBarron—also recalled Jazz Forum’s emphasison piano trios.

Harris opened the show with bassist RayDrummond and drummer Leroy Williams. Heissued a few ruminations on different tunes untillanding on “Like Someone In Love.” WhenDonaldson arrived onstage, the music jumped.After looking back on soul jazz with his signa-ture “Blues Walk” and then returning to beboproots with Denzil Best’s jittery “We,” the saxo-phonist rambled through a slightly amusingblues called “Whiskey Drinking Woman.”Cedar Walton, playing with Drummond anddrummer Louis Hayes, was brilliant, and his twotrio tunes, starting with “Time After Time,” con-trasted unfavorably with his collaboration withtenor saxophonist George Coleman, whichnever caught ignition. In the concert’s secondhalf Kenny Barron led the final trio with RufusReid and Jimmy Cobb on a single tune beforePaquito D’Rivera and Claudio Roditi, playingclarinet and fluegelhorn respectively, command-ed the spotlight.

Even more variety and energy abounded laterin the night. Vocalese pioneer Jon Hendricksbrought out his own backing quartet andaffirmed his bossa nova predilections with hissuperb whistle taking the place of a flute solo.Aria Hendricks, Jon’s daughter, and KevinBurke came onstage for three percolations ofLambert, Hendricks & Ross favorites.

“You had every type of jazz musician there,

and from every age group,” Jon Hendricks said.“Some of the musicians who played, I hadn’tseen in over ten years, like Louis Hayes. Wewere having a lot of fun, and the audience appre-ciated that.”

With so many great musicians on hand, thepredictable finale of Jazz Forum @ 30 was anall-star jam, ostensibly based on DizzyGillespie’s “Ow,” and, fittingly, Morganelli wasgiven a few solo turns on flugelhorn.

—Thomas Staudter

Trumpeter Brian Swartz moved to Los Angelesfrom San Francisco in 1988, and, like in the BayArea, he said he wanted to be a part of a jazzcommunity, though found that L.A. is “sospread out that it’s hard to feel that.” Until hebegan working with saxophonist Matt Otto.

Otto is a prime mover in the Los AngelesJazz Collective (LAJC), a loose-knit organiza-tion whose mutual respect isn’t built on stylisticvision so much as shared goals.

“The Collective gives me that sense of com-munity,” Swartz said.

The LAJC, which began in 2007, has 13core members and a growing list of “associ-ates.” With a half-dozen festivals under its beltand a new CD, Sampler Vol. 1, availablethrough its web site (lajazzcollective.com), thegroup has begun making strides toward recog-nition.

Otto looked to New York trombonist AlanFerber, who started the Brooklyn JazzUnderground, for a template. The saxophon-ist’s next step was connecting with like-mindedlocal musicians. He’d worked with pianistGary Fukushima, who had overseen a weeklyjam session at 2nd St. Jazz in Little Tokyo, andfound they had similar organizational ideas.“Gary and I wanted to have a collective that

was more open so people could come and go,”Otto said.

Fukushima had his own reasons for seekingcollaboration.

“It’s hard for jazz musicians to get their ownmusic played,” Fukushima said. “My prioritywas based on the lack of opportunity to playmeaningful jazz.”

The pianist’s instincts also drew him to Otto.“Matt and I agreed that we could probably

accomplish more as artists if we combinedforces,” Fukushima said. “We wanted to be bet-ter able to do certain things: hire a publicist,press CDs, take out ads, print up cards.”

Members of the LAJC contend its festivalsare its greatest successes.

“The first night at the Pasadena Jazz Institutewas standing room only,” said bassist RyanMcGillicuddy. “It’s just so gratifying to have apacked house to hear our music.” —Kirk Silsbee

New York’s Loft Scene, Irrepressible FounderCheered at Celebration for Jazz Forum

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Top row: Josh Welchez (left), Mike Scott, Gary Fukushima, Matt Otto, BrianSwartz, Joe Bagg and Steve Cotter. Bottom row: Robby Marshall (left), MattZebley, Ryan McGillicuddy, Damon Zick, Jamie Rosenn and Jason Harnell

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Los Angeles Jazz Collective Builds, Unites Southern California Scene

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The QUESTION Is …

According to the recent National Endowmentof the Arts study, Arts Participation 2008:Highlights From a National Survey, audi-ences for jazz have been seriously dwindling.The study linked jazz with classical music asperforming arts whose attendance haddeclined the most. Given the alarming stats,should jazz be distanced from being tagged“America’s classical music” because of anaudience perception problem?

Vocalist Sachal Vasandani: Jazz is not antiquated. Jazz is ofthis time, now. For all its nuances, jazz can be as powerfully sim-ple as any other music, and the adrenaline stream that youngpeople crave flows through it. I’m a jazz musician. My firstresponsibility is to synthesize my inspiration and discipline intowork that is honest to my experience. That honesty may notinspire everyone, but I will have at least shared a singular, per-sonal truth. Long after any one artist is gone, the responsibility—and fate—of jazz listenership will continue to lie with the generalcommunity. The leaders of education, marketing and communication can brand thismusic as enjoyable and relevant, until the collective consciousness embraces it. If peoplereceive this message from a young age, frequently, then the audience for jazz will rise.

Keyboardist John Beasley: In 1982, contemporary bands were Weather Report, MilesDavis, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea. This new fusion music was forward-looking, drawinga broader audience, even rock, because of its contemporary rhythms. It was inclusive.And you could take a date to a show and even dance. In 2008, that same 30-year-old isnow 55 and married, maybe has kids in college, less time to go out to hear music. Plus,since the ’90s, a lot of mainstream high-profile jazz concerts started [taking place] in con-cert venues along with classical music that had subscription series. Young people can’tafford subscription series, nor the individual concert prices. Also, at these venues you sitand listen, not participate. The formality of the setting can distance you from the musicand the experience. If you describe jazz in the same sentence as “classical,” then the con-notation becomes elitist, formal, older audience, special occasion dates—you sit stiffly,cross your legs and listen … my parents’ music.

Take jazz out of the museum and bring it back to the streets, where it’s accessible, opento all, casual, with curious, ready-to-explore, discover-new-music audiences and wherepeople feel free to respond … and dance to it—all of what it feels like being young.

Bassist John Lee: When I played with Dizzy Gillespie, he’d tell the crowd that jazz wasAmerica’s classical music. I don’t think that’s misleading. But to some people it couldsound stale, old. To most lay people, jazz can mean anything from Kenny G to Cecil Taylor,and a lot of people have Kind Of Blue or another milestone album. So it wouldn’t hurt tocome up with a new model to describe jazz that keeps in mind that musicians are doing dif-ferent things, from staying in the parameters to fusing with African or Brazilian music.

Pianist Ramsey Lewis: I believe the people who started callingjazz classical music were looking for respect—that it was not justfor smoky clubs, but could be performed at Carnegie Hall. Thenwith budget cuts, music was gone from the public schools, whichhad educated students on classical as well as jazz. So jazz endedup being supported by the wealthy people in the suburbs. At acertain point in jazz, a lot of musicians felt they didn’t have tocommunicate with the audience. That has to change. TheChicago Symphony has preconcert lectures. Why not jazz? An

afternoon workshop or lecture or master class—and not just for music students but foraverage people so they can ask questions. DB

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

By Dan Ouellette

Should jazz be distanced frombeing tagged“America’s

classical music”?

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By John Corbett

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

Dick WetmoreDDiicckk WWeettmmoorree(BETHLEHEM, 1954)

The decision to purchase this ’50sBethlehem 10-inch—in great shape with abeautiful, high-contrast Burt Goldblatt pho-tograph and cover design—was a no-brain-er. But it took me a while to get around tolistening to it. When I did, the sound sentme back to the cover for information. I’dheard these tunes before (some, at least),and they were fasci-nating, quite mod-ernistic, not at all thetrad fare I’d beenexpecting. One namein the notes set mestraight, appearingboldly along with themusicians rather thanburied in post-song-title parentheses: BobZieff, credited withcompositions andarrangements.

Zieff is the adven-turous and unsung hero to emerge fromthe Boston vanguard jazz bohemia.Though he’s spent the period from the ’60sforward teaching around the United States,Zieff is best known for the compositionsand arrangements performed by ChetBaker in the mid-’50s, when the youngcomposer had moved from Boston to NewYork. Indeed, with the exception of a ses-sion with Anthony Ortega, Zieff’s discogra-phy is clustered around recordings, liveand studio, made by Baker. Part of whatmakes the Zieff–Baker tracks so essentialfor their fans is the piano playing ofRichard Twardzik. Twardzik was a visionarymusician and composer, one of a few atthe time who were taking the complexity ofbebop harmony seriously in the context ofearly 20th century classical music. A prodi-gious student of Zieff’s, Twardzik was sup-posed to be on this date, but the samething that kept him from the recordings—heroin—is what killed him at the terriblypremature age of 24.

His replacement, Ray Santisi, plays nice-ly, perhaps without the ferocious austerityand insight that Twardzik brought to thesepieces, but with a like-minded sense ofrestraint. Drummer Jimmy Zitano is deft

and supportive, while Bill Nordstrom’sbass alternates between swinging alongwith Zitano and engaging more contrapun-tally with Wetmore, whose violin playing islovely and playful, sometimes adding littlebluesy flashes, sometimes pulling out theweirder aspects of the tunes with glissesand slurs. It’s not everyday you hear mod-

ern jazz performed by aviolin-led quartet, butin this case, with thepronounced orientationtowards new classicalmusic, it makes perfectsense.

One of the joys ofthis music is that it sothoroughly synthesizesits components. Ratherthan jamming themtogether, as more ham-fisted third-streammusic does, it takes

ideas from classical and jazz and looks forcommonalities, threading one through theother. At the opening of “Just Duo,” one ofthe most beguiling pieces, Nordstrom(playing arco) and Wetmore commence asthe title suggests, Bartok infusions breakingopen into Wetmore’s splendid solo overgently rocking rhythm. Zieff’s compositionstake unexpected turns as a matter ofcourse, and they’re often unusually struc-tured. “Sad Walk” is a fave from Bakerdays, along with the slightly evil “Brash,”which Swedish baritone saxophonist LarsGullin recorded with Baker, and the decep-tively sweet “Rondette.” Only “Shiftful”never made the transition to the Bakerbook, perhaps due to the complexity of itsform.

Wetmore died in 2007. Zieff is still alive,deserving more attention than he’s gotten.(Read Jack Chambers’ great essay on him,“Revenge of the Underground Composer,”available online at langtech.dickinson.edu/Sirena/Issue2/Chambers.pdf) No doubt it’stime to add another line to the abbreviatedin-print column of Zieff recordings, but untilthen this will remain for Freaks only. DB

E-mail the Vinyl Freak: [email protected]

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Change is afoot at “Marian McPartland’s PianoJazz,” the pianist’s interview and performanceNational Public Radio show, which celebratedits 30th anniversary with a gala at Dizzy’s ClubCoca-Cola in New York on April 14.

Earlier this year, McPartland began invitingoccasional guest hosts to add to the cache ofnearly 700 shows she has already created. In abig switch in June, McPartland traded placeswith Elvis Costello, as he guest-hosted an inter-view with McPartland herself (air date to beannounced). Costello also guest-hosted a seg-ment with Allen Toussaint. Other guest hostshave so far included Bill Charlap, pianist JonWeber and singer/pianist Daryl Sherman.

“Marian McPartland has set the bar veryhigh,” Charlap said. “As an interviewer, Marianalways is completely honest, all the time. Andshe’s incredibly versatile as a musician and ableto play and converse with anyone. It has to dowith loving the music so much and enjoying thepeople who make the music that it’s been such aspecial, intimate show.”

McPartland, 91, plagued by arthritis to thepoint she can no longer reach the piano unassist-ed, cheerfully celebrated the launch of the fourthdecade of the show, which originates fromColumbia, S.C.’s ETV Radio.

A pantheon of piano powerhouses assembledat Dizzy’s to sing her praises and toast thelongevity, popularity and quality of the show.Resplendent in a silver brocade jacket over apink top, McPartland emerged toward the end ofthe first set, after a dazzling revue that includedBill Charlap, Rene Rosnes, Grady Tate, JoanneBrackeen, Taylor Eigsti, Randy Weston andKurt Elling.

“I’ve been doing this for 30 years,”McPartland said, then added with her well-timedwit, “Dammit!” —Paul de Barros

McPartlandCelebrates 30 Yearsof “Piano Jazz”

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Caught�

Catalan Days EventBrings Barcelona to New YorkIf American jazz audiences won’t come to you,you must go to them. If they don’t know whoyou are, you bring the show Stateside and givethem a relevatory experience.

That sums up the strategy for exposure bythe talented jazz world that exists outside thetoo-often insulated jazz realm in the UnitedStates. This proved to be a brilliant plan byItalians in recent years, most notably the mae-stros behind the Umbria Jazz Festival. As aresult, Italian artists including trumpeterEnrico Rava, pianists Danilo Rea and StefanoBollani, and saxophonist Francesco Cafisoopened ears here to the country’s sophisticatedembrace of jazz.

That same approach informed the BarcelonaNights showcase at the Jazz Standard in NewYork, May 13–17, as a part of the month-longCatalan Days cultural festival. With theBarcelona Jazz Festival setting the plate for theJazz Standard fare, audiences had the rareopportunity to sample a diversity of jazz expres-sion that exists today in the Catalan region ofSpain. It marked the first time this focused rep-resentation of Barcelona’s musical wealth wasoffered to American jazz fans.

One of Catalan’s best-known artists, pianistChano Domíguez, was featured with his quar-tet, and pianist Jordi Rossy (a.k.a. Jorge Rossy,former drummer for Brad Mehldau) played thekeys in his trio, which also included his son,trumpeter Fèlix Rossy, and tenor saxophonist

Chris Cheek. Rising-star bassist AlexisCuadrado—born in Barcelona and based inNew York— led his Cuarteto Ibérico in a show-case of originals blended with his homeland’smusic, and Catalan master drummer MarcMiralta headlined with his trio comprising apair of New Yorkers, pianist Aaron Goldbergand bassist Omer Avital.

For the first two evenings of BarcelonaNights, two bands relatively unknown in theU.S. were spotlighted, playing captivatingmusic derived from polar opposites. The elec-tric trio Triphasic, led by saxophonist LlibertFortuny (also an electronics wiz on effects andthe EWI) with a rhythm section of bassist GaryWilis and drummer David Gómez, delivered aset of turbulent glee, rip-snorting drive, sharp-edged improvisation and contemporary angst.The funk-to-rock-to-blowing performance wascompelling, infused with staccato sax beats,

spooky digital vocals, angular electric bassrhythms and hand-clapping grooves. Evenwhile diving into the serrated depths of industri-al rock, Triphasic also played with sly humor.

The following night, pianist AgustíFernández led an acoustic trio of bassist BarryGuy and drummer Ramón López. The openingtune began as a blissful dream that gravitatedinto grit before emerging as a pastoral melody.Serenity and chaos blended organically asFernández’s melancholic single-note runsrushed into a tumble, Guy’s pizzicato lines dra-matically shifted to grumbled bowing andLópez’s hushed flicks on the cymbals burst intosolid punches. At the end of the trio’s first set, anew tune, the lovely lullaby “Noninó,” was con-trasted by a short, fast, rowdy rendition ofMarilyn Crispell’s “Rounds,” making for animpressive display of Barcelona variety.

—Dan Ouellette

Jerusalem-based bassist Jean Claude Jones andhis Kadima Collective improvisational musi-cians’ organization took on their region’s violenttension in their own way. Last spring, theycalled in bassists from around the world to lendthe Middle East some deep, calming vibes.

Deep Tones for Peace, co-sponsored by theAmerican Embassy in Tel Aviv and the localBritish Council and French Consulate, tookplace simultaneously at Jerusalem’s The Labvenue and at the CUE Art Foundation on NewYork’s W. 25th Street on April 26. Bassists flewin from all over the world, and from a range ofdisciplines. Artists included Mark Dresser, whoorchestrated the on-stage activities in Jerusalem;Thierry Barbe, co-principal bass player with theParis Opera Orchestra; French-based U.S.bassist Barre Phillips; Bert Turetzky from theU.S.; Bulgarian-born Irina-Kalina Goudevafrom Denmark; and U.K.-based Chi ChiNwanoku, who serves as Professor of DoubleBass Historical Studies at the Royal Academy ofFR

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Augustí Fernández

Bassists Dig Deep for Peace in Israel

Jean Claude Jones (left), Barre Phillips, Bert Turetzky, Irina-Kalina Goudeva, Michael Klinghoffer, Chi Chi Nwanoku and Mark Dresser

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Telluride CelebrationReflects Frisell’sEclecticismGuitarist Bill Frisell spent his formative years inColorado, so when he was featured as guest ofhonor at this year’s Telluride Jazz Celebration(June 5–7), it served as his triumphant return tothe Rocky Mountains.

Frisell’s performances with violinist EyvindKang and drummer Rudy Royston were com-pelling for other reasons, as well. Their late-night show at Telluride’s Sheridan Opera Housewas raucous and noisy, to the chagrin of listen-ers who expected Frisell’s calmer tours ofAmericana. Those who stuck around were treat-ed to zany sonic cartoons augmented by Frisell’ssignature arsenal of effects. Kang paid briefhomage to Albert Ayler-era Michael Sampsonwhile Royston squeezed polyrhythms out ofeverything around him. The trio’s turn the nextday in sun-drenched Town Park was more festi-val-friendly, displaying a commitment to a qui-eter form of interplay that provided an idealsoundtrack to the mountain backdrop. This wasthe laid-back Frisell who goes down easier withcasual fans.

This year’s Telluride Celebration was lessstraightahead than previous festivals.Saxophonist Donald Harrison did a fine job rep-resenting the hard bop school, but a variety ofother jazz styles were more prevalent. Polyglotnames included Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe,Ozomatli, Lizz Wright and improvising rockguitarist Jimmy Herring, who surprised fans ofmore adventurous music by bringing along theversatile alto saxophonist Greg Osby.

A fierce performance came from trumpeterChristian Scott, whose exchanges with pianistMilton Fletcher and guitarist Matthew Stevenswere fiery and mutually sympathetic. He alsointroduced a searing and thoughtful new compo-sition, “Angola, Louisiana And The 13thAmendment.”

The New Orleans’ Rebirth Brass Band was acrowd pleaser. People danced and cheered totheir ecstatic cacophony and bulldozing takes on“I’m Walkin’” and “Grazing In The Grass,”even if members of the group complained ofbreathing problems at 8,700 feet.

Ultimately, Telluride reflected the eclecti-cism of the guest of honor himself, whose genre-proof sensibilities were present everywhere.

—Bret Saunders

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Music and Professor of Double Bass at TrinityMusic College of Music in London. Local con-tributors included Jones and MichaelKlinghoffer from the Jerusalem Academy ofMusic and Dance.

Warm-up concerts were lined up for theweek leading up to the Deep Tones bash. Thefirst gig at the Yellow Submarine—which fea-tured Dresser, Turetzky, Jones, Phillips andGoudeva—did not bode well for the main event.Isolated individual sparks of creative geniusshimmered, but not much in the way of syner-getic spirit, and the improvisational endeavorseemed a bit too ethereal. But an abundance ofgolden moments shone on the big day.

The telematics screened hook-up with fivebassists on the other side of the ocean ransmoothly. Jones’ meandering foray featuredferocious string and percussion expletives. Otherhighlights included a wonderful outing byPhillips and an ethnically seasoned spot byGoudeva with added vocal coloring. On theNew York side, Phillips’ son Dave played acelestial blues piece and Rufus Reid added

mainstream jazz to the artistic mix. Father andson Phillips produced a genre border-hoppingtrans-Atlantic effort.

Dresser had a generous amount of texturaland temporal leeway at his disposal on theensemble pieces. The relatively limited range ofthe acoustic bass notwithstanding, there wasplenty of varied output in the players’ combinedefforts. While Barbe and Nwanoku put out somemore groomed vibes, Turetzky, Jones andPhillips Sr. added the rougher edges.Meanwhile, Goudeva theatrics blended seam-lessly with Dresser’s more muscular contribu-tions. The long gig was never short on the sur-prise element, and the ever-attentive playersseemed as if they’d been working together foryears. Some full ensemble pieces involved all 13players, including a chart by William Parker thatran a gamut of dissonant strikes, multihuedsplashes, plodding passages and dark colors.

While Deep Tones for Peace may not haveproduced a panacea for the region’s political ail-ments, the bassists succeeded in raising spiritsfor one evening. —Barry Davis

Bill Frisell



Players

ChanoDomínguez ;;New Flamenco Jazz Impressions“It was the first depression of my life,”Chano Domínguez said of his firstsojourn to New York City in 1993 at age33. The pianist, who was working a lotat jazz clubs across Spain and beginningto establish a consequential reputation onthe European circuit, took a two-monthhiatus “to discover if I can play jazz inthe right way.”

This past spring, Domínguez per-formed for the first time in a New Yorkclub, the Jazz Standard, where hisGitano quartet—singer Blas Córdoba,dancer-palmero Tomasito and percus-sionist Israel Suarez—climaxed a four-day festival intended to showcase themusical and gastronomic flavors ofBarcelona, his current hometown. It’sthe latest iteration of Domínguez’sobsession with conjuring improvisations,arrangements and compositions thatgraft the rhythms (alegrias, soleás, bule-rias, tanguillos, rumba) and performancetropes of flamenco onto the melodic andharmonic strategies established by such modernjazz role models as Thelonious Monk, BillEvans, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock.

Sipping coffee in the penthouse lounge ofhis hotel during the week of the festival,Domínguez reflected on the New York of 16years ago, searching for precise English wordsto articulate his thoughts.

“It was hard to see so many great musiciansplay small clubs for the door,” he said.“Nobody wants you for nothing! But I discov-ered that the jazz musician lets his mind fly. Iwas already playing with the flamenco peoplebefore I came to New York, but after being hereI felt stronger to develop that music, and I mademy first record. If I don’t come to New York,that record is different.”

On that 1993 recording, Chano (Nuba),Domínguez revealed himself an Andalusiansoulmate to such jazz-obsessed sons of theIberian diaspora as Paquito D’Rivera, JerryGonzalez and Danilo Pérez, each a key figure inmapping out the notion of idiomatic multilin-gualism that so many younger jazz musiciansadopted as a default esthetic during the ’90s andearly ’00s.

“I first heard Jerry in the ’80s, and I lovedthat mix,” noted Domínguez, who recordedwith Gonzalez on Oye Cómo Viene (Nuba) in2001 and with D’Rivera on the DVD Quartier

Latin (Naxos). “When I went to Cuba in the late’90s, I started to learn tumbao—Cuban styles.Now a lot of Cuban musicians are in Spain, andthey quickly connect with flamenco. When theflamenco musicians play tango or rumba, it’slike a guaguanco or Cuban rumba.”

Recently, Domínguez wove Afro-Caribbeanand flamenco strains into his rhythmic flow onNew Flamenco Sound (Verve/Universal), whichshowcases his formidable ensemble writing,and Acércate Más (Nuba), on which he impro-vises on jazz and pan-Latin repertoire with thelate Cuban conguero Miguel Diaz and bassistGeorge Mraz. This summer, he was also prepar-ing interpretations of art-songs by such Spanishcomposers as Isaac Albeniz and FedericoMompou for a new record, and scoring a the-atrical history of flamenco musical with directorCarlos Saura. His July itinerary included fourconcerts of original music with WyntonMarsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln CenterOrchestra.

The latter connection began in Madrid notlong after that first recording, when the trum-peter, returning to his hotel after a concert,passed by the Café Central, where Domínguezwas working, and approached the bandstand tosit in. “The next surprise came eight yearslater,” Domínguez recalled. “The phone rang.‘It’s Wynton. I want you to write 20 minutes

of music for the orchestra.’ The first time Iplayed with them, in 2003, it was hard,because in flamenco you play the notes differ-ently than in jazz, ta-tat-tat-tat-tat-ta insteadof di-bow, di-bow, di-bow. But the secondtime, two years ago, they understood com-pletely.”

Growing up in Cádiz, Domínguez, a gui-tarist from age 8 who shifted to keyboards at 15,heard flamenco from the womb.

“Flamenco is in my body,” he said. “I don’tthink about it, I just do it. My father played fla-menco records every day, and you can hearpeople clapping and singing in the street—asnormal as napping! When I made that record in’92, I thought, ‘Both the jazz musicians andflamenco musicians are going to kill me.’ Butthe flamenco people accepted me. I am anemotional player, a street musician, and I playpiano in their home language, the language ofthe guitar.

“Superficially, flamenco and jazz are differ-ent, but at the core they’re similar. Both comefrom the culture of people who have a hard life.Jazz starts with black people, with the blues,the intention to express your happiness andyour sadness—and flamenco is the same. Butjazz is central to me. It pulls together many dif-ferent cultures, and allows them to think in thesame direction.” —Ted Panken

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Will Sellenraad ;;Modern Groove HarmonyGuitarist Will Sellenraad said organ combosprovided his gateway to jazz. While heacknowledges Wes Montgomery, Grant Greenand Kenny Burrell in particular, Sellenraad saidthe chitlin’ circuit as a whole serves as a bridgebetween the past and present.

“Definitely, as far as guitar playing goes,you can’t not be aware of that and try and playthis music,” Sellenraad said at his apartment inNew York’s SoHo neighborhood. “It connectsthe dots a little bit between a real straightaheadjazz thing and blues. For guitar players, we allspend time with the blues.”

Still, Sellenraad distances himself from anyretro crowd as he incorporates modern harmo-ny into his blues base. His third album,Balance (Beezwax), conveys the flavor of souljazz without the presence of an organ.

“I was feeling a little typecast after StarHustler came out,” he said of an earlier organtrio date. So Sellenraad made an adjustment.Tracks like the title song and “Stubbs” featurebluesy grooves, but the influence of MilesDavis and Wayne Shorter provides the under-pinning. Sellenraad also focused on writingsongs rather than sophisticated compositions.

“People are playing some hard, hard musicout here,” he said. “So a lot of times, they’re

missing the feel of what it’s really supposed tobe. Because it’s so complex, it’s like you’re soworried about trying to play it right that youdon’t worry about dynamics, your touch onyour instrument and the vibe of the thing. Tome, those are the most important things.

“So the trick is to make it at least soundsimple,” he continued. “We’re exposed to somuch these days that the melody is lost. I’vewalked out of many a club saying I couldn’tsing any of that.”

Sellenraad, 38, grew up in SoHo, where heknew quite a few jazz musicians. But his deci-sion to pursue a jazz career actually came afterhe left Manhattan to attend Goddard College inVermont. Sellenraad transferred to the NewSchool for Jazz and Contemporary Music,where he earned a degree in jazz performancein 1995. Sellenraad’s first album, Streams,came out in 2000.

In a sense Balance, recorded in February2007, represents a tribute to the Big Applescene. It features musicians with whomSellenraad has worked for many years aroundthe city: drummer Victor Lewis, bassistKiyoshi Kitagawa, tenor saxophonist AbrahamBurton. Sellenraad composed his seven compo-sitions for the date for this group.

“This is the most personal recording I’veever done,” he said. “Almost everything onthere is tailor-made for those guys. And thenalso to write something we could play on, thatwe’re not looking head down at the chart, butsomething that is easy enough for us to getpretty quickly to that spot where we’re impro-vising. I didn’t want it to be like a real headything.” —Eric Fine

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Players

Ezra Weiss ;; Beyond The LookingglassChildren watching the Northwest Children’sTheater’s recent production of Alice InWonderland in Portland, Ore., were treated to aversion of the story in which the heroine’s tripdown the rabbit hole made her life not only curi-ouser and curiouser, but jazzier and jazzier.During this journey through Lewis Carroll’swhimsical world, Alice meets a Mad Hatter whosings to a decidedly Thelonious Monk-like tune,a pair of playing cards who relay the Queen’smessages over the “Giant Steps” chord progres-sion and a trumpet-playing Caterpillar whospeaks in a familiar rasp (even calling out,“Teo!” as his number fades out).

The show is the brainchild of pianist EzraWeiss, who has been teaching and serving asmusical director at the theater since moving toPortland after receiving his masters in jazz pianoat Queens College in New York. At the time,Weiss admitted, he was “just trying to get hiredsomewhere doing anything in music at all,” butthe gig meshed well with his own experiencesperforming in musical theater as a child.

Growing up in Phoenix, Weiss was intro-duced to music via his father’s extensive recordcollection, which eventually yielded everything

from Ray Charles to Carmen McRae toCannonball Adderley. But it was show tunesthat provided the initial entrée. “He had a lot ofBroadway records,” Weiss said, “and when Iwas a young kid I gravitated towards those themost because they had a story built in.”

Storytelling continues to be an important ele-ment for Weiss in his own compositional efforts.Outside of the obvious examples of Alice InWonderland and his follow-up project, an adap-tation of Mo Willems’ children’s book Don’t Letthe Pigeon Drive the Bus! using Brazilian music,Weiss claims a narrative element throughout hisown work. The tunes on his 2005 CDPersephone (Umoja) were all based around themyth of the Queen of the Underworld, and heeven sees a rough storyline in his most recentdisc, the self-released Get Happy, which is splitbetween originals and standards.

“With any piece of music,” Weiss said, “Ilike to have some sort of arc. It might be anunusual, William Faulkner, The Sound And TheFury type of arc, but it’s still telling a story.”

Unsurprisingly, then, lyrics have alwaysproved important to Weiss’ playing, even whentackling standards instrumentally.

“Knowing the lyric just makes it so mucheasier,” Weiss said. “It tells you how to phraseit, what the song’s about, where to put yourpauses, and where to lean on the words.Otherwise, it’s just playing notes.”

To the same end, Weiss enjoys playingwith vocalists. Unlike many artists who draw

Eivind Opsvik ;;Nordic Grit Meets Neil YoungAlthough his native land offers some of themost generous support for the arts anywhere inthe world, Norwegian bassist Eivind Opsvik hasnot only toughed it out in New York since1998, but he’s gradually installed himself as oneof the city’s most valuable, if overlooked, musi-cians. His flexibility and strength have madehim a first-call choice in Brooklyn’s progressivecircles, especially in groups led by pianists KrisDavis and Jesse Stacken, and saxophonistsTony Malaby and Dave Binney. Recently,though, it’s his own music that’s begun attract-ing attention.

Opsvik’s quartet Overseas (with Malaby,pianist Jacob Sacks and drummer KennyWollesen) and his duo with guitarist AaronJennings (simply called Opsvik & Jennings)have established the bassist’s originality as acomposer and arranger. With these projects theemphasis is on ensemble play, rather than theenergetic solos he brings to sideman work.

“I grew up, like anyone else my age, listen-ing to rock groups like Pink Floyd and DeepPurple,” Opsvik said. “When I was a teenager Ispent a lot of my free time with a four-track taperecorder, playing all of the instruments and mak-

ing up my own songs. In a way what I’m doingnow is kind of going back to that. In between Istudied jazz and got more serious about the theo-ry part of it. When you’re a teenager you’remore open-minded, you try out different things,and you don’t think about theory and rules, soI’ve tried to get back to that mindset.”

Over the course of three albums, Overseashas drifted further and further away from moody

post-bop roots to a beguiling hybrid that relieson the ability of its members to use shifting tex-tures and kaleidoscopic colors to advance theleader’s simple yet beautiful themes, some ofwhich were inspired by minimal conceits.

“I try to make records that I would like tolisten to myself, and I don’t find myself listen-ing to free jazz or modern jazz records,” he said.“Sad to say, but true. If I want to listen to music

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hard lines between instrumental and vocaljazz, Weiss integrates both, including singerson several of the tracks on Get Happy. “I’venever really thought of it as a big divide,” hesaid. “Jazz, in terms of popularity, is alreadysmall enough, yet we manage to divide it evenfurther.

“A composition student recently asked me ifwe need any more tunes using traditional bebopharmony,” he continued. “I don’t write musicbecause I see myself giving some sort of charityto the world. I write because it’s fun. So if it’sfun for you to write bebop heads, write bebopheads. If it’s not, then don’t. I think we some-times take ourselves too seriously.”

With Alice In Wonderland, the fun for Weisscame in pairing jazz legends with Carroll’swell-known characters, whether assigning thenarcoleptic Dormouse a Shirley Horn ballad orsetting the time-obsessed March Hare against avariation of Ornette Coleman’s “Congeniality.”

“All my other CDs have been about tryingto find my own voice as a composer, but thisproject, it’s been the opposite—trying to findall these other people’s voices. It’s more likedoing a puzzle than trying to express myself.It’s nice to take a break from trying to getinside my own head.” —Shaun Brady

I put on Neil Young or Morton Feldman, orsomething else. I’m just trying to capture someof that vibe in my own music, speaking to peo-ple’s hearts more than their minds.”

Indeed, the opener, “Neil,” for example, wasborne from Opsvik’s desire to hijack one of thesimple drum grooves he heard on Young’sHarvest, and while that easy lope is recogniz-able, the plangent melody that glides over it andthe terse pointillistic improvisations that try toscuttle it belong exclusively to Overseas.

Opsvik studied classical music at theNorwegian Music Academy in Oslo, playingjazz when he wasn’t in class. By the time he’ddecided to pursue further studies, in 1998, hechose New York, thinking back on a weeklongvacation he’d had there before he was seriouslythinking about its jazz scene. He spent two yearsat the Manhattan School of Music, and when hefinished in 2000 he decided to stick around.

He’s also started releasing his music on hisown imprint, the Loyal Label, which hasreleased the third Overseas disc (Overseas III)and the third album by Opsvik & Jennings, ADream I Used to Remember. In the comingmonths it will also release some records by gui-tarist Brandon Seabrook and the duo of reedistJon Irabagon and drummer Mike Pride.

“Over the last 10 years I’ve probably sentout a hundred CDs to different labels trying toget them to go for it,” he said. “I’ve had someluck with some labels [including Fresh SoundNew Talent and Rune Grammofon] but I justthought it was time to do it myself, to havemore control over it.” —Peter Margasak


MAKING EVERYGIG COUNTBy Jennifer Odell // Photos by Michael Weintrob

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Astrange type of amoeboid protozoabuilds its skeleton on the outside, sub-verting biology to emerge as one of

Earth’s most artfully designed organisms.When these ocean-dwelling unicellular lifeforms die, their skeletons sink to the sea floor,contributing to a funky organic ooze that beganto form millions of years ago.

The creatures, radiolarians, seem to growinside out. But this approach to creation actual-ly protects and nourishes their core. Their beau-ty is peripheral to their growth as a species.

It’s in the same spirit that John Medeski,Billy Martin and Chris Wood have embarkedon creating music for their new album series,aptly titled, “Radiolarians.” Coming off aseven-plus-year stint under Blue Note’s wing,Medeski Martin & Wood have formed theirown label, Indirecto, bucking the entrenchedpattern of making a CD and then touring insupport of it. Their goal is to focus on compos-ing a large amount of music, a process thatnourishes their core growth as a band morethan the act of recording ultimately does.Instead of keeping their patterns—in this case,musical compositions—on the inside until theyhave a product to sell, they take them out onthe road first and let the material develop andmature before entering the studio.

In doing so, the trio have, in a sense,returned to their own protozoan roots.

“It had a lot to do with getting to get togeth-

er to write a lot of new music,” says bassistWood, recalling the impetus for the project,which this year saw the release of RadiolariansI, II and III. “It’s hard with our lives, families,city life. Back in the old days in the EastVillage when we were all living there—Johnand I even had an apartment together—wewould play together all the time and write newmusic. Part of the plan was to adopt a structurewhere we had to get in and create a wholebunch of new music.”

The product of their work—a three discseries, plus an upcoming box set includingremixes by DJ Logic and a DVD shot by theband—is esthetically beautiful, filled with chal-lenging contrasts, new grooves, deep funk andout melodies. As Logic puts it, “They each playlike they have four hands instead of two, so itends up sounding like 16 hands,” which makesfor endlessly diverse uses of time, melody andharmony. Whether the highlight of a tuneinvolves a series of tweaked Afro-Caribbeanbeats or an intensely distorted clavinet thatcomes off like a rock guitar solo, you could justas easily teach a theory seminar on the newmusic as you could throw down and dance to it.

But the process is nearly as important as theproduct for MMW, for whom it seems that theroad, or maybe just the act of being in motion,is as much an unofficial fourth member as reg-ular cohorts like Logic or guitarist JohnScofield.

“[This approach] requires improvising andbeing in the moment and being open to chang-ing things every night before we record it,”Martin says, aiming his voice at a cellular speak-erphone while driving the band from a rainy out-door show at Richmond, Va.’s Lewis GinterBotanical Garden to a gig in Baltimore. “Thatspirit of creating is much more alive than, say,making a record, playing the songs from therecord and touring in the typical way that a lot ofbands do.”

When the trio formed in the early1990s (a common bond being thecentrifugal force of Bob Moses’ per-

cussion ideas), they initially gigged at spotslike the Village Gate, Tonic and the KnittingFactory. Those early days were also a more fer-tile time for jazz in New York, with rooms thatincubated a group of artists who could afford tolive in Manhattan on a musician’s wages, fos-tering a closer-knit scene than what exists inthe city today.

They recorded an acoustic jazz album,Notes From The Underground, in 1992, but itwasn’t long before Medeski ditched hisunwieldy requirement for an upright piano (aclassical music student from age 5, the youngprodigy resisted classical training in favor ofthe more open-minded education that the NewEngland Conservatory could provide). And sobegan MMW’s much-documented history of

Chris Wood (left), John Medeski and Billy Martin

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cross-country tours in Martin’s van and later, intheir RV. And the more they toured, the bettertheir work became. What seemed to stick fromtheir second album, It’s A Jungle In Here, totheir third, Friday Afternoon In The Universe,was in many ways what was working in liveshows: original music, with plenty of nods tohip-shake-inducers from Duke Ellington to SlyStone but moreover a serious knack for uniquerhythmic patters and unorthodox melodies.

Having escaped the East Village to explorea wider variety of sounds developing across thecountry and around the world, Medeski Martin& Wood cemented their success by touring.But when that got them a record deal with BlueNote, it also meant a change in creating musicthe way that had worked for them for so long.

“The good thing [about having our ownlabel] is that we own the music,” Martin says.“All the music in the past, we don’t own it, wecan’t use it in any other way or re-release it orlicense without asking someone, and just theownership of the music is very empowering.”

The shift also ushered a change in theirwriting, recording and touring process. A majorlabel is unlikely to release three albums in oneyear—too costly, too risky, not enough oppor-tunities for the cash to flow back. For threeguys who consider one another family, puttingthe onus of creation on the gigs themselvesfreed them from what could otherwise be along period of time in the studio, followed by atour in support of that same material. When thefocus falls on making the music work on a tightschedule, says Wood, you start to recognize theimportance of every single gig. And that makeseach show count even more.

“We didn’t have a ton of time to get [thematerial] together, so we just had to go for it,”he explains. “We’ve been working together fora long time, so there’s kind of a natural editingprocess that happens that we don’t even knowabout—that’s just the way we work. We endup with a sound that’s different but still us.”

Their process inspires more than just thethree of them, too.

When Mike Stern was working on materialfor his latest CD, Big Neighborhood, the gui-tarist invited the band to jump in on the track“Check One.” Stern shared a friend and men-tor in Bob Moses with the trio, and he sayshe’d always connected with their “soulful,quirky” vibe.

“I sent them some demos,” says Stern.“And right away there was an instant groove.That doesn’t always happen, even with greatplayers. But John is very adventurous … he’swacky in a cool way. Chris has a great feel andcan nail something right away.”

But it was Billy Martin who made Sternreally think twice about the music. He felt likehe’d screwed up the tune on the first take. “Itold him not to play a certain part. I had an ideafor a backbeat on the bridge and I wanted to doit over. I mean, man, I hate doing that. I like to

do everything live. It’s gotta have that live edge.Still, I said, ‘Billy, I’m so used to it this way. Iwant to do it over again.’ And he said he wasgoing to do it,” Stern pauses to laugh. “Then hesaid, ‘But I really hate to fucking do that.’

“And the vibe they put on it was perfect,and more original than my first idea.”

Recently, Medeski Martin & Wood havealso extended their influence beyond the pro-fessional jazz world. Celebrating its secondanniversary this year in New York’s CatskillMountains, Camp MMW offers music stu-

dents—and teachers or pro musicians—achance to “look inside themselves and hearmusic a different way,” as Medeski puts it.

“People have also been asking us for years,‘How did you create music like that?’ he says.“We realized maybe there’s something wecould offer to people who are interested.”

Martin, who takes the reins as groupspokesperson as often as he takes the wheel,jumps in to clarify.

“The reason we wanted to get beyond allthese basic music lessons is because the levels

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of ability for the students are so varied. We have people who don’t knowthe first thing about theory or scales or anything, and then we have otherpeople who are college music professors. We’re trying to get beyondtechniques of the stuff you learn in your average music camp and talkabout other things. Like how you connect [to the] music so you can playin your own voice, and fuse to that what you know of technique andimprovise.”

Open to applicants age 16 and older, the week-long program offersmaster classes, workshops, discussions and films aimed to improve thecreative composition and improvising skills of any musician accepted tothe program.

Even as MMW works to get back to their own creative roots, theyopen up their process to a new generation of musicians—as pri-vate music teachers, camp administrators and, more widely, as

some of music’s most influential artists.During the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the trio took over

a new venue in a public school auditorium in the Crescent City’s 9thWard, where blues-soaked bass lines fed acoustic jams that turned into

Wurlitzer solos as Logic added textures to a room awash in thick funk.It’s one of many cities that has always embraced the band, owing in partto the homage they pay to the roots of New Orleans music. The Afro-Caribbean second line beats and ribbon of blues that runs through thelocal culture matches MMW’s approach so perfectly that for manyyears, they’ve been a Jazz Fest hit.

“I remember being amazed when we first played together at theKnit,” Logic recalls. “They were laying down some hot music, but Icouldn’t believe when I saw the audience’s reaction to it. I’ve alwaysthought of audience reaction as their fourth member.”

Whether they have a true fourth member or not is ultimately besidethe point. Unlike their new material’s unicellular namesake, MMWbases 99 percent of their success on their ability to function as a unit at ahigh level. Asked what inspires them about one another, quips like,“Hey, Billy, get your hand off my leg” and “I owe these guys a lot ofmoney” get tossed around the van before the truth comes out. Medeskijokes that he’d “probably float off into space” without Wood’s anchor-ing role, noting his bandmate’s solid bass playing and ability to figureanything out.

“Billy is the heart of the independent spirit of this band,” Wood says,adding that Martin’s capacity for funkiness and perfect timing are“incredible.” Martin, meanwhile, holds up the “awareness and sensitivi-ty” that Medeski brings to the group as a key to the band’s success.

“We are really like a family,” Medeski says. “Our relationship isdeep. We see many things together, personally and musically, and beingon the road in such close quarters brings us closer. We love to hang out,eat, drink and be merry together before every show. We’re living cre-atively. It’s kind of a remarkable combination of things.”

At a recent 10th anniversary party for Ropeadope Records,Medeski’s keys and Martin’s beats provided the house band’s backbone.

“WE MAKE MUSIC THAT HAS A LOT OF ROOTS BUTIT’S NOT ROOTED IN ANY ONE PARTICULAR GENRE.

JUST … HOMELESS.”

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With Charlie Hunter on guitar, John Ellis on sax and New Orleans’brass-funk revivalist Big Sam Williams on trombone, the keyed-up, cel-ebratory music showcased a side of this brand of improvised, rock-heavy groove that has developed its own category for critics. AlthoughMMW’s lasting presence and constant reinvention have finally started toloosen the binds of such categorization, these guys are willing to say the“j” word and tell you exactly what they think.

“We all feel it,” Medeski says in response to a thinly veiled questionabout their reaction to the term “jamband.” “[It’s a] classic thing, peoplelike to categorize things and there are people who call this jazz becausethey’re coming from a rock background and anything instrumental isjazz to them. And there are people who say, ‘Oh, they’re not jazz.’ It’sperspective-oriented … we’ve given up on these categories.”

The industry—from magazines to festivals to record companies inneed of easy marketing—is to blame for a dismissive habit of labelingmusic based in groove that embraces rock as openly as it does jazz. But atrio that lasts 18 years, survives a music business in crisis and three strongsolo careers, and still finds inspiration in one another’s ideas has thepotential to shift and reinvent constantly, rendering such labels obsolete.

So how does MMW describe what they create?“Homeless music,” says Martin decisively, from his seat behind the

wheel of the van. “We make music that has a lot of roots but it’s notrooted in any one particular genre. Just … homeless.”

And so with a rekindled use of live shows as editing tools, a vora-cious appetite for new sounds and a teaching environment where voiceand creative improvisation come first, Medeski, Martin and Wood’shomeless music is getting back to its organic roots. DB

MMW withradiolarian artwork

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Afew years ago, in conversation with a reporter fromLondon’s The Sunday Times, Lynne Arriale madethe quietly provocative remark, “Jazz should not be

only for jazz lovers.”The pianist’s comment carries weight musically, political-

ly and historically, not to mention its inherent marketingangle. While First Lady Michelle Obama hosts WyntonMarsalis and a troupe of talented jazz youngsters at the WhiteHouse (see Page 13), questions as to how jazz can successful-ly market itself in broader terms remain a head-scratchingconcern. No ingénue to jazz, Arriale for 10 years led a suc-cessful trio (with bassist Jay Anderson and drummer SteveDavis) that released 11 albums to critical acclaim, including2006’s Live and 2004’s Come Together. Praised for her com-positions and soloing style, she has yet to crack the boys-clubnetwork of pianists who garner the bulk of press, concertdraws and CD sales. So what exactly does Arriale’s not-just-for-jazz-lovers comment mean?

“It’s all about music, organized sound meant to reach peo-ple,” Arriale explains. “It’s thinking out of the box in thatthere should be no box, actually. It’s about finding melodiesthat somehow resonate with listeners. Recently I’ve listenedto a lot of pop and folk music, and what strikes me mostabout folk music is that without any harmony, the melodieshave such integrity. I’ve started to think about what makes agreat melody.”

Engaging and elusive, Arriale puts the same intense levelof precision-thinking into an interview as she does whencomposing and recording music. With her latest CD, Nuance(Motéma), Arriale raises her game from resourceful triopianist to ingenious arranger, composer, soloist and per-former. Joined by trumpeter/flugelhornist Randy Brecker,bassist George Mraz and drummer Anthony Pinciotti, Arrialehas made one of the most original ensemble recordings of2009. Nuance is an album of brilliant group interpretations,finely crafted original material, intricate arrangements andrapt solos.

“These were very personal arrangements Lynne created,”Mraz says. “I never heard ‘A Night In Tunisia’ played in thisway, and I’ve played it a million times. Lynne put a differenttwist to it that made it interesting, and it didn’t sound over-played like some standards are.”

“Some leaders do multiple takes but without any reasonwhy you should do them,” observes Randy Brecker, speakingto Arriale’s penchant for multiple takes (up to six per song).“She always had a reason, so each take was different and wecouldn’t fall back on trying to remember what we played onthe previous take. Plus, we had to think in different directionsbecause Lynne was specific as to what she wanted on eachtake. Just shifting the nuances of the tunes, maybe a differentapproach to a solo, more space, less notes. In the long run itmade this a special project.”

Not Just For Jazz Lovers

By Ken Micallef

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On Nuance, Arriale rethinks basic princi-ples of jazz organization. Some mayhear her elaborate reworkings of

Thelonious Monk’s “I Mean You,” Sting’s“Wrapped Around Your Finger” or DizzyGillespie’s “A Night In Tunisia” as smartly con-ceived, pop-tinted renditions. Or her melodicallycharged solos as instances of premeditated noteplacement and planned phrasing. But there’s nodenying that the Nuance sessions presented vet-erans Brecker and Mraz with challenging mater-ial, resulting in some of the best solos ofBrecker’s career. Arriale’s arrangements can becomplex beasts.

“It wasn’t typical,” Mraz says. “Lynne has avery clear idea of what she wanted. It was veryorganized but also very loose—a good combina-tion for jazz.”

“Lynne has basically done her own thing herentire career,” Pinciotti notes. “She had a visionfor this record and it took a minute to fine-tuneeveryone; it wasn’t a typical jazz date. Lynnewas looking for each piece to have this specificfeeling but also wanted our input. It was a bal-ance between having our contributions with spe-cific directions about phrasing and dynamics. Itwasn’t playing lead sheets.”

Arriale’s arrangement of “A Night In Tuni-sia” took about a year to complete. Not contentto simply state the head and issue solos, shecreates a knotty counterpoint rhythm, a ten-

sion-building line of unison accents that pro-pels the soloists, and uses disorienting keycenters that place the group in what she calls“no man’s land.”

“It’s going through so many key centers thatto end up on your feet in the right place is noteasy,” Arriale says. “I move the opening pianofigure up a third, and that increases the adrena-line. I reharmonized it so I could play themelody differently. I also changed the [vamp]section, and put it in the end, so those in theknow see that I didn’t forget about it. The endingwasn’t bombastic enough originally, so Irewrote it. And all this moving around of keycenters creates a swirling feeling that you don’tknow where you are.

“The tune as we know it is harmonically sim-ple and repetitive,” she adds. “Harmonically Iwanted to do more with it, and by putting differ-ent colors around it, it didn’t seem ho-hum. Andin our solos, we played outside the harmony so itwasn’t strict. It lets you take flight.”

Arriale takes a similar approach on“Wrapped Around Your Finger,” dissecting andreassembling the melody, creating new ins andouts harmonically and rhythmically, flutteringunder Brecker’s solo as he soars from one heightto the next.

“I told Randy, ‘We’re going to play themelody with this repeated, off-beat figure underyou,” she recalls. “‘I will take the first solo, then

I want you to come in at the top of my solo andtake it up while I continue soloing.’ I’m notdoing a traditional comping role. I wanted thattextural overlay, all that stuff going on under-neath him, so he would start hitting notes andtake it to mach 4 while I eventually recede.Within that you can hear me referring back tothe melody, though harmonically it’s totally dif-ferent. There’s no tonal center. I wanted thatsense of ambiguity and intensity.”

Arriale insists that her solos are drawnspecifically from a song’s melody andare not designed as jumping off points

for simply blowing over changes. Her flowing,often dream-like cadences never follow expect-ed paths.

“If you practice hard enough, you can take aharmonic progression and solo over it,” saysArriale, an educator who works as AssistantProfessor of Jazz Piano and Director of SmallEnsembles at University of North Florida(unf.edu/coas/music/jazzstudies). “But it’s jar-ring when we play the melody and all of a sud-den it’s just soloing. Playing a solo with parts ofthe melody is actually more challenging.Otherwise, it’s a kind of plug-in jazz.

“The reality is the melody is not somethingto get out of the way in order to get to my solo,”she asserts. “The melody is what creates a par-ticular energy and a feeling in the listener, and it

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sets the tone. I want my solo to grow out of themelody. Part of that idea is influenced by mymentor, Richie Beirach. One of his many focus-es has been to develop motives: take an idea,develop it, turn it inside out, come back to it atthe end. That resonates with people. Ultimatelypeople don’t remember harmonic progressions.They remember melodies.”

Arriale says she wants to sound like she’ssinging when playing the piano. She’s evendevised certain mind-over-matter exercises tofree herself of constraints.

“Singing,” she says, “connects us to our heartand our natural sense of phrasing as opposed tobeing left-brain oriented. There’s a better chanceof playing something that sounds natural if weare singing it. But it’s easy to think you’re play-ing and singing at the same time when you’rereally singing what your hands are playing. Icorrect that when I’m practicing by taking myhands off the piano and singing and intentionallytrying to not see the piano in my mind.

“But the brain is seduced by sound,” sheadds. “As soon as we hear the sound of theinstrument it takes us away from our innersound. I avoid that by thinking, just forget thekeyboard, just sing. I used to think that was easy,that if I would sing for 20 minutes and play, itwould all connect. But as soon as we hear ourinstruments, it’s like narcissism, our mind goesthere. I want to turn the volume way up in myhead and heart, so that I’m actually playing whatI mean [to play].”

A recital DVD that accompanies Nuanceshows the musicians stretching out in the inti-mate setting of Bennett Studios, unbounded bytime constraints and inviting listeners even fur-ther into the creative process. Not only is theDVD an artistic delight, its inclusion was ashrewd business move decided on by Arriale’slongtime producer and manager, Suzi Reynolds.Clips from the DVD can be viewed on Arriale’sweb site, Lynnearriale.com.

As far back as the early 1990s, whenArriale was attending the Wisconsin Conser-vatory of Music, she realized her thoughtprocess was unconventional. She just didn’tsee things the way other students did, muchless the instructors.

“I thought there must be something wrongwith me,” she recalls. “Students talked aboutchord substitutions based on theoretical con-cepts. If you pick a note, there are traditionalprogressions and substitutions that can go underit, but I think, what are all the colors that can gounder a note that would make it work? Thenyou have a huge palette to work from. It cantake me a long time to write an arrangementbecause I’m not thinking theoretically; I’mthinking, how does this sound? How does it feelwhen I listen to it?

“At the end of the day it’s about connectingwith people and sharing, in an era when discon-nection is quite common,” she said. “Wouldn’t itbe nice if there was an oasis for a connectionthrough music?” DB

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The ImpeccableMr.WilsonHundreds of pianists have tried to create

something new and worthwhile in jazzpiano improvisation, but only a handful

have succeeded. One who has is Teddy Wilson. Surely, if a responsible list of the half-dozen

or so most creative and most influential pianistsin jazz history were to be made, Wilson wouldbe included. He is one of the giants of jazzpiano; the number of pianists he has influenced,directly or indirectly, is beyond estimation.

It often has been said that Wilson’s distinc-tive and highly original manner of playing wasinfluenced primarily by Earl Hines, but Wilsonhimself will disagree. “Art Tatum,” Teddy said.

In 1929, 17-year-old Teddy Wilson, son ofJames Wilson, head of the English departmentat Tuskegee Institute, left home to become aprofessional musician in Detroit. That yearTeddy heard 19-year-old Art Tatum in a Detroitclub, sitting in. From that time on, Tatum wasthe jazz pianist to Teddy Wilson.

“Yes, I liked Hines and Fats Waller,” saidTeddy. “But compared to Tatum, it seemed asthough they were in a different field of activity.”

Wilson, a soft-spoken and extremely articu-late man, continued:

“Tatum was head and shoulders over allother jazz pianists and most classical pianists.He had the exceptional gift, the kind of abilitythat is very rare in people. He was almost like aman who could hit a home run every time atbat. He was a phenomenon. He brought analmost unbelievable degree of intense concen-tration to the piano and he had a keyboardcommand that I have heard with no other jazzpianist and with very few classical pianists—possibly Walter Gieseking—and it went muchfurther than that, much further than being agreat technician. Art was uncanny. He certainlyimpressed me more than any pianist I haveever heard.”

What about James P. Johnson?“I never heard James P. in his heyday,” said

Wilson, “and I’m sorry I didn’t. When I heardhim, he was rough. But while listening to John

Hammond’s record collection one night, I heardsome piano rolls James P. made in 1922, andthey were amazing. Some of his ideas in 1922would be appropriate with many of the presentBasie orchestrations.”

Speaking generally of the stride piano style,Wilson—who is not a stride pianist—said, “Idon’t think it should be lost. It is certainly valid.... Fats perfected the stride style. He developedthe fine points. He had more finesse than anystride piano player I ever heard.”

Wilson began studying piano while ingrade school. He switched to violin“in the sixth or seventh grade” and

played violin through high school, where healso played oboe and E-flat clarinet in theschool’s military brass band.

During his last two years in high school, hetook up piano again because the band needed apianist. “I could read the bass clef, and theytaught me to read stock orchestrations,” Wilsonexplained.

While in high school, Teddy said he beganto listen to jazz closely for the first time,adding, “My father liked vocal music: Caruso,John McCormack and also blues singers suchas Bessie Smith, Mamie Smith and TrixieSmith. I often heard these records in the house,but I would never play my father’s records vol-untarily because my major interest was instru-mental music.

“The first records of importance to me were“Singin The Blues” by Bix Beiderbecke andFrankie Trumbauer and King Oliver’s “Snag It”featuring the famous Oliver break. Later, withTuskegee students, I heard “West End Blues”by the Armstrong Hot Five, with Earl Hines onpiano, and Fats Waller’s “Handful Of Keys.”

“In 1928, during summer vacation, I went toChicago and heard professional jazz in publicfor the first time: McKinney’s Cotton Pickers,Fletcher Henderson and Horace Henderson.Benny Carter was with Horace when I firstheard him. Also Rex Stewart. And Horace was

very good, too. Coleman Hawkins, BusterBailey, Jimmy Harrison and Joe Smith werewith Fletcher."

Harrison, who died in 1931, is one of the all-time greats of jazz so far as Wilson is con-cerned. “Jimmy had a real swinging style,”Teddy said. “Now swing is not an objectiveword, but my conditioning of the swing feelingwas the way Armstrong and Hines played onthe Hot Five records—not the others, justArmstrong and Hines. And Harrison had myconception of swing. Another trombonist whohas it is Jack Teagarden.”

After hearing live “professional jazz” inChicago, Teddy was determined to be a jazzmusician, but his mother, Pearl, who like hisfather taught at Tuskegee, thought that Teddyshould just give college a chance.

She suggested that he go to college for ayear and then if he still wanted to be a musician,to go ahead “and be a good one.” So Teddywent to Talladega college, 60 miles fromBirmingham, Ala., for one year. “After that, Istill wanted to be a musician so I quit college,according to our agreement, and went to Detroitto become a professional musician.”

Teddy got his union card in Detroit, workedclub dates off and on for a few months andeventually joined a road band working out ofPeru, Ind., led by drummer Speed Webb. Theband included Roy Eldridge, Vic Dickenson,Teddy’s brother Augustus on trombone and allof the Bill Warfield band except for the pianist.They wanted Teddy.

“The Warfield group was very unusual,”Wilson said. “These fellows, from memory,specialized in playing the Red Nichols reper-toire. They could play the Nichols records allnight from memory. Not just the ensemble butthe solos, too.” Trumpeter Reunald Jones, laterwith Ellington, was one of the Warfield bandmembers.

Wilson worked with Webb from December1929 until mid-1931. He left the band to joinMilt Senior in Toledo, Ohio.

By Tom Scanlan // January 22, 1959



The pianist he replaced in the Senior band was Tatum. Tatum left toconcentration upon solo work, primarily in radio. Wilson was with Senior,best known to jazz historians as the lead alto man with McKinney’sCotton Pickers, until the fall of 1931, when he went to work in the GoldCoast club in Chicago.

“This was quite a club,” Teddy recalled. “A membership cost $250,and each member got a solid gold card. ... Al Capone would come in regu-larly after hours and bring in a party of 10 or 20 people. He’d always havea wad of bills, and everyone who worked in the place got something.Every member of the band got $20.”

When the Gold Coast club closed because of a newspaper story con-cerning the gambling in the club, most of the band returned to Toledo, butTeddy remained in Chicago, jobbing around before joining Erskine Tateand later Francois’ Louisianans. Then he went on the road for a fewmonths with Louis Armstrong, with whom he made a dozen records.

“The main thing about the Armstrong band,” according to Wilson,“was the way Louis could play so beautifully with such a bad band behindhim. We had a few good musicians—Budd Johnson on tenor and hisbrother, Keg Johnson, on trombone—but it was not a good band.”

Teddy paused to reflect for a moment and then chose his words withdeliberation in summing up his feelings about Armstrong:

“I think Louis is the greatest jazz musician that’s ever been. He had acombination of all the factors that make a good musician. He had balance... this most of all. Tone. Harmonic sense. Excitement. Technical skill.Originality. Every musician, no matter how good, usually has somethingout of balance, be it tone, too much imitativeness, or whatever. But inArmstrong everything was in balance. He had no weak point. Of course, Iam speaking in terms of the general idiom of his day. Trumpet playing isquite different today than it was then.

“I don’t think there has been a musician since Armstrong who had hadall the factors in balance, all the factors equally developed. Such a balancewas the essential thing, about Beethoven, I think, and Armstrong, likeBeethoven, had this high development of balance. Lyricism. Delicacy.Emotional outburst. Rhythm. Complete mastery of his horn.”

After his tour with Armstrong, Wilson returned to Chicago and workedwith Jimmy Noone and Eddie Mallory. “Noone had a beautiful low regis-ter and was very melodious,” Teddy said. “His playing was characterizedby smooth legato playing.”

In 1933 Wilson went to New York to join Benny Carter after the latterhad gone to Chicago to hear Teddy with Noone on the recommendation ofJohn Hammond.

The Carter band broke up after playing two jobs—the Empire ballroomand the Harlem club—and Wilson joined Willie Bryant’s new band.Bryant was not a musician, but a showman, and bookers had the idea thathe could make it like Cab Calloway. It didn’t quite work out that way, butWilson was with Bryant until 1935. After that, Teddy had two jobs: back-ing the Charioteers quintet on radio and as intermission pianist at theFamous Door on 52nd Street.

In ’35, Teddy also began making his famous series of records featuringsinger Billie Holiday and may great jazz musicians.

These records date from ’35 to ’40, and any list of the most influentialand most stimulating jazz records of all time would have to include someof these sides, as good today as they were then. How many musiciansbecame jazz musicians because of Lester Young’s solos or Roy Eldridge’ssolos or Wilson’s solos on these records? No one can tell. But it probablyis a long list containing some distinguished names.

Has Wilson read Miss Holiday’s autobiography, Lady Sings theBlues?

He has. Quickly.“And I don’t think much of it,” he said. “It’s full of distorted emphasis

and sheer fabrication. I don’t see how anyone could write a book like that.”The pianist’s evaluation of some of the musicians of that period, partic-

ularly those he played with on the memorable Holiday records, include thefollowing regarding Young:

“I think Lester is one of the great landmarks in jazz. When Hawk was

the yardstick of tenor playing, Lester came along with something differentand valuable based on great originality and skill.”

Teddy said he considers Young as one of the three most influentialmusicians in jazz, the others being Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker.

“I certainly think Lester belongs in there somewhere,” Wilson said.“But he has never seemed quite the same since the war. ... On the record Imade with him in ’56, I thought he had some of his prewar sparkle, butthis was made when he had just been released from the hospital and hadnot been drinking.”

Parenthetically, Wilson added, “Guys who think they play better whenthey are loaded are out of their minds. When you are drinking, the sparkleis gone. A musician who has been drinking might feel like he’s playingbetter, but he’s not. You’d think some musicians who drink would listento the records they’ve made while they’ve been drinking and realize this,but they don’t.”

It was also in 1935 that Wilson jammed with Benny Goodman at aparty given by singer Mildred Bailey. The results of this trio session (thedrummer was “Mildred’s cousin, a test pilot, an amateur drummer”)helped to shape the course of jazz and bring Wilson international famewith Goodman.

Because of the exciting way Teddy and Benny improvised together,John Hammond wanted to record them, and he decided to use Gene Krupaon drums. At that time, Krupa was with Mal Hallett’s band. Hammondarranged the record date with RCA Victor and the justly famous Goodmantrio was born.

Wilson’s first nonrecording job with Goodman was at the CongressHotel in Chicago on Easter Sunday, 1936. Hammond drummed up theidea of Sunday afternoon jazz concerts at the hotel with outside musiciansas guest stars, and Wilson was one of the first to be featured. He was sucha hit that he was asked to join the band as a steady member.

As the first Negro featured with a nationally known white band, didWilson have much trouble with racial prejudice while working withGoodman?

“Only in regards to hotels ... sleeping accommodations and hotelrestaurants,” Wilson remembered.

Only in the South?“Oh, no, North and South. And there was another thing, too. The first

movie we did—I think it was called The Big Broadcast of 1937, some-thing like that—the movie people wanted me to play the soundtrack butwouldn’t allow me to be photographed. I didn’t agree to that, and I wasn’tin the movie.”

Speaking generally of the swing era, Wilson said, “It was a very excit-ing period. The Goodman band was the first jazz to become a nationallypopular thing, and it took us all by surprise. No one expected it. And inthose years, the audience would even applaud a good figuration. Younever see that now!

“Of course, a big part of the audience was sensitive to showmanship—the drum solos, for example—but a good many people in the audiencewere obviously musically sensitive. In contrast, the audience today is sojaded. They have to be entertained. It’s a problem that young musiciansmust face.

“Music is something like baseball, movies, or any other entertainmentmedium in that respect. It isn’t easy, and it sometimes calls for values thatare not musical. Today, music is not the thing, as it was then. I imagine it’sdiscouraging for a good young musician today when he sees how success-ful a mediocre musician can be.”

Teddy said he believes that a major reason why the Goodman bandwas able to become the first nationally popular jazz band is because Bennykept music at danceable tempos. He elaborated:

“Goodman would sometimes stand in front of the band, tapping hisfoot for as long as a minute, almost as if feeling the pulse of the dancers, toassure the proper time.”

Wilson added that the band had “a good sound, one of the great clarinetplayers, good intonation in the reed section, first-rate trumpet work andother musical values, and it was playing within the dance tradition.”

Wilson said jazz has lost the mass audience partly because it came to



ignore dancers. “And so rock ’n’ roll, as bad as it is, is filing the vacuum.“Ellington, of course, has always had high musical standards, as

well as a good dance band, too. He’s done an amazing job over theyears to keep his band in touch with the public while doing other thingsin music, too.”

Wilson left Goodman in 1939 to form his own big band. The band last-ed about a year and was not a commercial success although it won highpraise from musicians and critics. Of this band, Wilson said:

“The band simply didn’t have much mass appeal. We didn’t haveenough show pieces. We played good dance music, but we needed 10 or20 good stomp head arrangements to add the excitement that was miss-ing. The mistake I made was in concentrating too much on writtenarrangements.”

From 1940 to 1944, Wilson fronted an all-start sextet at the two CafesSociety, Uptown and Downtown, and in 1945 he rejoined Goodman,working with Red Norvo and Slam Steward in the Goodman sextet.

During the next decade, Teddy was in studio work most of the time, asa staff musician at New York’s WNEW and later at CBS. He also taughtannual summer classes on jazz piano improvisation at Juilliard. Since the1956 Goodman movie, Teddy has made more club appearances, notablyat the New York City Embers. Currently, he is using Bert Dahlander, theSwedish drummer, and bass man Arvell Shaw in his trio.

Although he has not taught for some time, Wilson remembers and istypically quick to praise his former students, particularly JohnFerrincieli, who “played stride piano against a modern type of

right hand,” and William Nalle, now in studio work. “I had some other tal-ented students, too, and I am talking about real piano players,” he said.

As might be expected from a two-handed pianist who understands thata piano is not a drum, a pianist whose work has been distinguished bysuperb finger control, a keen sense of dynamics, master legato playing,originality, love of melody, a compelling and resilient beat and a completeabsence of gimmicks, Wilson does not think much of most contemporaryjazz pianists.

“With few exceptions, what they play is a caricature of the piano,”Teddy said. “A caricature simply because of the way the piano is made.And pianists today all sound so much alike.”

But Wilson, the schooled pianist, does not include Erroll Garner, whocannot read music, among the caricaturists. Teddy explained:

“Garner brought a great deal of originality to jazz piano, working withhis time lag. His phrases come through with such conviction because theyare his own. On the other hand, when you imitate another musician’s wayof playing and are too derivative, your phrases are not too clear, are just ashade vague, and they lack real conviction.”

Wilson, also a critic of modern rhythm sections, said, “Drummerstoday play a continuous solo, from 9 till 4. And I always thought a saxo-phonist like Parker would sound much better with a conventional rhythmsection than with a hipster rhythm section. To my mind, if the backgroundgets too complex, it kills the solo. I guess Dizzy and others like that kindof drummer and that kind of rhythm section, but I don’t. The Parker-likesoloists would sound much better if they had simpler harmonic back-grounds; then their own harmonic thinking would come over far better.”

Wilson also said he feels that the development of records, ironically,has helped what he terms the “conformity” in jazz today.

“When I came up, there was a good deal of local influence,” he said.“We would travel 30 miles or so to hear another musician who had hisown way of playing. Musicians developed different approaches to musicin different cities. But today the same jazz records are available and popu-lar all over. They influence young musicians in New York, Atlanta, Paris,or Tuskegee, at the same time. All this tends for conformity.”

Perhaps Wilson’s point of view concerning jazz today is best summedup with this offhand remark: “You have creative people and you have imi-tative people, and in a period of conformity, as today, there are more imi-tative people.”

What does he think of the music business today?“I do feel that music has got to come back,” he said. DB



Toolshed

Aside from the low whirl of a few spinningmotors, slight sound of engineers testing cir-cuits and light conversation from a fewstaffers, Hammond Suzuki’s combinedoffice/factory is remarkably quiet on a mid-week summer afternoon. Company senior vicepresident Dennis Capiga remarks that such anatmosphere is unusual—he notes that thisplant in Addison, Ill., can build around 15 to 20of its famous organs a week, and can ship 54Leslie speakers. Still, the serenity does makesense, as substantial silent concentration mustgo into crafting an instrument that can launchjet-engine-like roars. While grooving.

That instrument, the Hammond organ, iscelebrating its 75th anniversary this year.Jazz musicians and audiences have beendrawn towards the B-3 model in particularfor decades—from the earthy funk ofJimmy Smith to today’s Medeski Martin &Wood (Page 26). And several of jazz’s long-time top organists have always beenHammond loyalists.

“I’ve played other organs in the early yearsand it just didn’t express what I felt,” saidorganist Dr. Lonnie Smith. “The Hammond isan orchestra by itself. You have everythingthat you need right there. It has the elementsof thunder, sunshine, rain, everything therefor you.”

All of this stems back to electronics inven-tor Laurens Hammond, who developed theHammond tonewheel in 1934. According toMark Vail’s 1997 book, The Hammond Organ,he had a string of unorthodox ideas in theearly ’30s, including an auto-shuffling bridgetable and synchronous clock. But when theDepression hit, he used his tonewheel motorto devise a new kind of electronic flute, andthat led to bundling these together for aninexpensive pipe organ. A set of harmonicdrawbars also gave the Hammond organ anarray of tonal combinations.

“George Gershwin bought one of the firstones,” said Hammond project manager ScottMay. “It took off immediately and a lot ofthose organs, the Model A’s, are still around.They were made so well, we got the old-timers coming in to visit us.”

Hammond’s organ took off especially inhomes and churches, but it made inroads intojazz, especially with Fats Waller, Milt Bucknerand Count Basie at the keys. Still, it wasrecords like The Incredible Jimmy Smith in1956, as well as players like Jimmy McGriff,Big John Patton and Shirley Scott who got theB-3 craze burning throughout the ’50s and’60s (though Lonnie Smith remembers that it

was Hammond’s similar C-3 model that wasused at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio for thosefamous Blue Note recordings). Organist TonyMonaco said, “Jimmy Smith took the draw-bar settings and turned it into the ultimatebass machine.”

“The difference between a B-3 and theothers is the percussion,” May added. “Thatand the six-position knob, which gave it thatcontrol.”

Alongside the Hammond organ’s develop-ment, Don Leslie, a fan of the instrument,designed and sold its ideal speaker—onethat could accentuate the Hammond’s arrest-

ing dynamics and match its burdensomeweight. Problem was, since LaurensHammond wanted to keep everything inhouse, he saw Leslie as an interloper.

“When Leslie invented the speaker, thesound was bouncing, coming from differentareas, throwing treble and bass 360degrees,” Monaco said. “Hammond hadscouts checking Don Leslie’s invention to tellhim it was no good.”

“Mr. Hammond forbade Hammond deal-ers from selling Leslie speakers,” Mayadded. “You had to walk down the street tobuy a Leslie speaker. When [Laurens]

Hammond Organs Still Roaring at 75

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Ordering info: hammondorganco.com»


Zoom H4n: Pocket-Sized Digital StudioThe new Zoom H4n HandyRecorder is the latest addi-tion to the company’sportable digital recorderline. Following the H2 andH4 models (released in2007), the H4n is a seriousupgrade in both constructionquality and capabilities.

Zoom’s H2 and H4 modelsoffered great features ataffordable prices, but receivedcriticism for their somewhatflimsy plastic construction.The new H4n is built solid as atank and has a generous arrayof features that that would beimpressive at twice the price. Ata retail price of around $350,this machine is a serious com-petitor in the market.

The H4n is housed in a durablerubberized plastic casing with a nice backlitdisplay screen and easy-to-use navigation andtransport buttons. The recorder runs on twoAA batteries or with the included poweradapter, and Zoom claims 6 hours use. A pairof miniature stereo condenser mics is solidlymounted into an aluminum cradle atop theunit. The mics are posed in an X/Y pattern thatcan be adjusted with a quick twist for either90- or 120-degree directivity. An externalstereo microphone can also be connected. To

top things off, two combo (1/4-inch/XLR) jacks with selec-table phantom power areavailable for connecting exter-nal microphones or line leveldevices such as instruments,and a built-in speaker pro-vides playback.

The unit uses standardSD memory cards and iscapable of recording to avariety of digital formatsincluding mp3 and high-quality uncompressed.WAV up to 24 bit at96kHz. Navigating theintuitive menus, you canbegin to unlock the awe-some potential of this lit-tle powerhouse. The H4n

records in three basicmodes: stereo, 4-channel

and MTR (multi-track recording). Couple thiswith its multiple connectivity options plusbuilt-in digital effects, onboard tuner,metronome and variable speed playback, andyou have a complete pocket-sized studio. Itcan even function as a USB audio interface toyour computer for hard-disk recording withthe bundled Cubase LE software.

—Keith Baumann

Ordering info: samsontech.com»

The new Maesta 9701 flute is the most afford-able model of Pearl’s top-of-the-line MaestaSeries. The handmade, open-hole profession-al instrument is made of .970 “Pristine” silver;the model I tested also features a low B footand offset G key.

On first playing, the Maesta 9701 was sofree-blowing that I tended to overplay it a lot.I’m a saxophonist who plays a ton of flute inmany different styles, and I’m used to olderHanes flutes, which are more resistant.However, after a couple of days of simplewarmups, I relaxed enough and found a com-fort zone where I was in tune with the instru-ment, and quite an instrument it is.

Over the course of three weeks I used theMaesta 9701 on numerous Latin jazz gigs, acharanga-style job, a couple of light pseudo-classical jobs, a record date and a Jethro Tulltribute performance. The instrument per-formed beautifully in each situation. Whatimpressed me most was its incredible dynam-

ic range whether playing with a straight toneor getting “rowdy” with it—I employed manytonguing, vocal and vibrato effects, depend-ing on the jobs. The response at whisper levelwas far superior to my flutes, and whendesired, the power and volume on the highend required much less effort than what I amaccustomed to. The dynamic range betweenthe two extremes was seamless.

I can’t think of anything I didn’t love aboutthis flute. The response and tone were mag-nificent. But an instrument of this quality doesnot come cheap. If you’re an active freelancerand have to own, maintain and insure a largearsenal of axes, the Maesta 9701’s $8,000 sug-gested retail price may make it cost-prohibi-tive. However, if flute is your main axe, or ifyou’re a doubler who likes to cover a lot ofstyles and can afford the investment, I highlyrecommend giving it a try. —Steve Eisen

Hammond died [in 1973], Hammondbought the [Leslie] company.”

By the early ’70s, a decline in homemusic making hit many traditional instru-ment manufacturers, Hammond included.“It seemed like young people found a dif-ferent avenue for their time,” Capiga said.“In my time, we enjoyed making music. Itwasn’t a quick decline, it was over a 10-year period.” But the Hammond organalso became the victim of a kind of guilt-by-association in terms of image.

“It was the creation of the mall, andthere were all these other companies thatmade organs that sounded nothing at alllike the Hammond.” May said. “They put aguy in a bad suit in a mall, playing terriblysquare music. And in the ’70s, this guy in abad leisure suit might appeal to grandmaand grandpa but is the complete antithesisof being cool.”

In 1974, Hammond stopped manufactur-ing the B-3 and the company went througha process of trying to reinvent itself. But in1989, Suzuki purchased Hammond andwith its president, Manji Suzuki, a fan ofthe vintage sound, the company turnedback towards what it had done best.Fortuitously, this coincided with a renewedinterest in organ-based jazz grooves thathas been growing since the ’90s—just lis-ten to any number of hip-hop records thatuse classic recordings as samples.

Hammond itself went digital in 1972 andit used the technology for the XB-3 in themid ’90s. More recently, the company hasreintroduced its B-3. Called the B-3 mk2, itsounds remarkably similar to the vintagemodel. Key differences are that the newmodel has MIDI pedals and an informationcenter to store presets, and its generatorhas 96 digital tone wheels (the original has91 analog ones). Another big difference issheer heft—the new B-3 weighs 293pounds, whereas the vintage model hit thescales at 419 pounds.

“Our files were invaluable,” Capiga saidabout designing the newer model. “Wehad to go back and find the original draw-ings. This has the exact cabinet of the oldB-3—the only thing you don’t get is thesmell of the oil.”

“You cannot beat the dedication theyhave put in this organ,” Lonnie Smith said.“They’ve been dedicated to making andkeeping the B-3 sound. You can sit rightnext to me when I play one of those andyou wouldn’t know the difference. It’samazing. To get that sound, they havedone their homework. When you touch anote and the expression that you get fromit, it’s unbelievable. It is the best, and willalways be the best.” —Aaron Cohen

Ordering info: pearlflute.com»

Pearl Maesta 9701 Flute: Incredibly Dynamic

DB0909_40-47_TOOLSHED.EE.qxd 7/15/09 2:12 PM


Toolshed

1Piano JazzBerklee Press has publishedBerklee Jazz Piano, by educatorRay Santisi, mentor to KeithJarret, Diana Krall and JoeZawinul. The all-encompassingbook and accompanying prac-tice CD blend theory and appli-cation to give a deep, practicalunderstanding of how to playjazz the Berklee way. Studentswill learn jazz chords and theircharacterisitc tension substitu-tions, modes and scales,approaches to comping/walk-ing/harmonizing/improvis-ing, practice tech-niques and suchadvanced con-cepts as rhythmicdisplacement,approach-chordharmonization andjazz counterpoint.More info: halleonard.com

2 POD LaunchLine 6 has introduced the PODStudio KB37, a USB audio inter-face that combines a 37-keyMIDI controller and multipleinputs and outputs with a com-plete collection of pro audiosoftware, including POD Farm.With a retail price of $419.99,the KB37 offers 24-bit/96-kHz recording, velocity-sensitive keys and soft-ware-assignable MIDIcontrols.More info: line6.com

3 Keyed InKorg has added a 73-keyunit to its M50 worksta-tion line. The M50’sExtended DefinitionSynthesis sound engine deliv-ers high-quality sounds andeffects. Also new are a numberof vintage keyboards, includingthe classic Korg SG-1 samplinggrand and authentic electricpianos and clavs, along with1960s-era tape playback stringsand flute sounds. The M50’sstreamlined, modern designincludes an angled controlpanel and Korg’s full-size TouchView interface. MSRP: $1,899.More info: korg.com

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GEAR BOX32

4 Session ControlM-Audio’s new Axiom Pro

49 and Pro 61 provide aresponsive playing experi-ence with deep tactile con-trol that imitates the feel of

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users control entire ses-sions directly from their

keyboards.More info: maudio.com

5 Hip VoicingsRoland’s new VP-770

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More info: rolandus.com

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MASTER CLASSby Geoffrey Keezer

The unique rhythmic context in which we placeour improvised melodies and harmonies mostclearly defines the jazz genre. While dozens ofexcellent books and countless articles have beenwritten about improvisation, chord voicings,patterns, scales and theory, it seems that consid-erably less attention has been given to the topicof rhythm, as it applies to non-drummers.

And, naturally, nobody in a jazz group under-stands rhythm better than the drummers—it’s 99percent of their focus. Drums were my firstinstrument. I played drum set as a teenager andgradually migrated to the piano, mostly for prac-tical reasons. Though I did the customary jazzpiano homework, studying linear developmentand harmonic structures, I never lost interest intrying to create compelling rhythmic devices inmy playing. In this Master Class, I’d like to sharewith you some ideas that, if applied and expand-ed upon, will enhance your rhythmic experienceand give you some fun new tricks to try out.

An easy way to get a grip on drum concepts,and hence improve your rhythmic vocabulary, isto pick up a book like the snare drum manualStick Control by George Lawrence Stone. Otherrecommended drum “bibles” are 4-WayCoordination by Marvin Dahlgren andAdvanced Techniques for the Modern Drummerby Jim Chapin. The idea isn’t, of course, tobecome the next Buddy Rich or learn to playpiano with your feet, but rather to find creativeways to adapt these concepts to melodic impro-visation. Take, for example, one of the basicsnare drum rudiments, the paradiddle (seeExample 1).

Just as a drummer can spread this patternaround different drums while keeping the stick-ing intact (RLRR LRLL), you can assign themto different notes on the piano (Example 2).

Practice these rudiments (along with yourown creative variations) on your instrument,assigning different notes and fingers of each

Thinking Like A Drummer At The Keyboard

Woodshed

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Example 5



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Pianist Goeffrey Keezer has taught workshops allaround the globe for the past 20 years. His newCD, Aurea, can be found at geoffreykeezer.com.

hand to each R and L, with the goal of gettingthem very fast and clean. Use a metronome. Atquicker tempos, these rudiment ideas can soundreally cool and leave your audience wonderinghow the heck you’re doing it. Here are someexamples using a double paradiddle (RLRLRRLRLRLL). Use any notes (or groups of notes)you desire, just keep the “sticking” pattern con-sistent. The chord (C7sus4) is there merely to addharmonic context—don’t get caught up in theharmony/voicings aspect right now (Example 3).

The following transcription from my record-ing of “Stompin’ At The Savoy” on myWildcrafted (Maxjazz) CD occurs at 1:20 in thetrack. Using 16th notes, I played four groups ofthrees (RLL RLL RLL RLL) followed by anRLRL (3+3+3+3+4), repeated the entire patternfor another bar, then played two groups of six(RRLRLL) followed by RRLL (6+6+4). Whilethese stickings don’t correspond exactly to anyrudiments I know, they are definitely influencedby them. (If you want to earn extra credit, youcould say the group of six is three-quarters of aparadiddle, minus the first two strokes!) Try tap-ping these rhythms out slowly with your handson a table. Next, with your hands on the pianokeyboard, imagine you’re sitting at a drum set:your right hand is on the ride cymbal and yourleft is on the snare drum (or any other combina-tion of drums you can conjure up). You’re basi-cally playing drums on the piano and addingharmony to it (Example 4).

Triplets are another device I like, but placingthe accents in such a way that they’re groupedinto sets of fours or fives. I sometimes practicescales this way to challenge myself and keep mybrain awake—it takes some serious multitask-ing. The next example is taken from the song“Leucadia” on my CD Áurea (ArtistShare), at0:12. The basic groove is an Afro-Peruvian fes-tejo, a 12/8 rhythm that emphasizes the fifth andeighth beat of each bar (I’ve notated it as tripletsin 4/4 so it’s easier to see where the pulse is).With this groove in mind, I improvised this sec-tion in the moment while trying to keep theunusual clave intact (Example 5).

If you’re going to attempt these quasi-acro-batic feats on the piano, make sure you’re stillkeeping time and locking in with the drums.Without a relationship to what the drummer isdoing, this stuff can turn into a horrible mess

very quickly. And if you’re playing in a groupwithout drums, then it is even more crucial thatyour time be impeccable. Besides practicingwith a metronome, how else can we develop oursense of groove? Go to the source: spend sixmonths listening to nothing but the Count Basie

band, and another six months listening to JamesBrown. DB



Woodshed SOLOby Norman Meehan

Mike Nock’s 1978 recording In Out AndAround (Timeless) features a variety of musicand showcases Nock’s ability as a composerand versatility as a pianist. Accompanied byMichael Brecker on tenor saxophone and arhythm section of bassist George Mraz anddrummer Al Foster, Nock closes the album withthe title track, an up-tempo swing tune. It’s a32-measure AABA form; the A sections arebasically B�7, while the complex bridge is aminefield of polychords.

Playing on a tune like this was meat andpotatoes for both Nock and Brecker, althoughthe bridge posed its own set of problems. Nockrecalled: “That chromatic section was reallyhard to play over, but Mike just played anythinghe wanted to, which is what you do. Some peo-ple might try to nail everything, but he didn’teven try, and it’s great.”

One of the most striking things about Nock’spiano solo is its clear melodic development.This is apparent from the outset, where Nocktroubles a three-note cell for the first eight mea-

sures (measures 1–8 shown here). That kind ofmelodic development reappears with theascending (and later descending) four-notephrases that occur between measures 11–25.This melodically oriented approach continuesfrom measure 26, where a long phrase is moreor less repeated, with a new concluding phrase.It’s an approach that is evident in the secondchorus, where a two-note motif is given alengthy workout (measures 32–43).

A second feature of this solo is the wayNock’s lines go “in” and “out” as he negotiateshis way around the changes. The clearestexample of this is from measures 59–66,where Nock plays first in D� pentatonic andthen in A major against Mraz’s B�7 accompa-niment. These “out” lines return to the hometonality of B� mixolydian squarely at the startof the third chorus, where Nock emphaticallylands on the tonic.

Reviewers of the album (which earned fourstars in DownBeat) commented on Nock’s abil-ity to draw the best out of his sidemen, but he’s

Mike Nock’s ‘In Out And Around’ Piano SoloBased on Clear Melodic Development

Norman Meehan is a jazz pianist in Wellington,New Zealand. His day job is Associate Directorthe New Zealand School of Music.

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not found wanting when the spotlight is turnedonto his own playing. This solo contains evi-dence of the fire and the thoughtfulness thathave always characterized his music. Perhapsnot as well known in the States now as he wasin the 1970s, the New Zealand-born pianist’smusic is well worth investigating, and this solois a fine testimony to his jazz credentials. DB


Free-form saxophonist and barnacle-fastChicago club owner Fred Anderson—“the lone prophet of the prairie,” as

AACM past president Douglas Ewart dubbedhim—entered his eighth decade last March.

A host of local notables and out-of-townersdescended on his seat of operations, the VelvetLounge, to pay tribute to the man who has pro-vided shelter and showcase to so many creativemusicians since he opened his first club in1978. The week-long celebration embracedsuch Anderson cohorts as bassists HenryGrimes, Harrison Bankhead, Richard Davisand Tatsu Aoki; drummers Avreeayl Ra, ChadTaylor, Ernie Adams, Kahil El’Zabar andIsaiah Spencer; and fellow reedists Edward“Kidd” Jordan, Hamiet Bluiett, Ed Wilkerson,Mwata Bowden, Ken Vandermark and JimmyEllis, to name a few.

Among the impromptu aggregations, saxo-phonist Ernest Dawkins presented the firstannual Chicago Excellence in Creative MusicAwards, which included performances fromthree established local groups: his own NewHorizons Ensemble, singer Dee Alexander’sgroup plus guest flutist Nicole Mitchell andsaxophonist Ari Brown’s Quartet.

Memorable scenes from the celebrationincluded a dogwhistle-high altissimo renditionof “Happy Birthday” from Jordan; the presen-tation of a “Fred Anderson Day” citation fromChicago Mayor Richard Daley; a taping for anupcoming Delmark CD/DVD release; andheartfelt poetic recitations to “Baba” Fred fromAlexander, Douglas Ewart and pianist SojiAdebayo, not to discount a tearful tribute fromAnderson’s son Eugene, a drummer, reunitedfor the first onstage jam with his father in 30years.

Like his “elder brother” on the Chicagoscene, Von Freeman, Anderson has been a self-motivator from the get-go. “Fred’s my partnerout here, and he’s always stuck right with it,”said Freeman, “He’s strictly got his own thinggoing and he’s great at it. You gotta believe inyourself down here, then whatever else you dowill work out. Fred always dreamed of being asuccess in this business and his dream hascome true.”

Success, of course, is measured on a slidingscale. But when Anderson talks about his cur-rent creative activities, at an age when mostfolks are preoccupied with the rearview mirror,it is nothing short of inspirational. Aside fromthe live birthday gig on Delmark, Fred has sev-eral new releases on a plethora of labels slatedin upcoming months and is constantly collabo-rating in new situations. Case in point was amatch-up last June with the Amsterdam-basedtrio of pianist Michiel Braam, bassist WilbertDe Joode and drummer Michael Vatcher. Thetenorist’s second set with the trio witnessedstrong, practically non-stop blowing for a solidhour. De Joode was particularly impressed,talking of the “fantastic connection” and hisenthusiasm to record in a duo with Anderson.Braam commented succinctly that he “heard alanguage” in the saxophonist’s playing, whichechoed a comment from bassist WilliamParker, with whom Anderson had performed atNew York’s Vision Festival the week before.

“Fred follows the tradition of ColemanHawkins, Don Byas and Sonny Rollins and allthe great tenors who had voices,” said Parkerover the phone. “Before melody, rhythm is hissignature. He has his own intervallic path,phrasing and timing. The old, the now and thefuture are present in Fred Anderson’s playing;

you hear blues, deep soul, gospel all the tradi-tion. In one low B-flat you can hear that.”

Another (unrelated) Parker, guitarist Jeff, hasrecorded with Anderson for the Delmark, ThrillJockey and Asian Improv labels. He recalls anight at the Velvet Lounge when the bass playerdidn’t show. “(Drummer) Chad Taylor and Idecided to play as a duo,” Parker said. “Wewere getting pretty deep into the Charlie Parkercomposition ‘Relaxin’ At Camarillo,’ then Isaw this shadowy figure from the corner of myeye and there was Fred. He came from behindthe bar with his tenor strapped on and joined usfor the rest of the set.”

Parker toured with Anderson and drummerHamid Drake and observed the Chicagoan’sdaily regimen. “He always makes time forpractice,” he said. “Before it is time to hit hesteps into the persona of taking care of businesson the horn, everything rises up way above theoccasion. He doesn’t try to play the music; hebecomes the music.”

Parker points out Anderson’s adoration ofCharlie Parker, and his espousal of Bird’s cre-ative spirit, as a prototype. When DownBeatmet with Anderson at the Velvet Lounge—theclean storefront space with brightly coloredwalls that he opened in 2006 at 67 E.Cermak,just around the corner from its former site—theroom resounded to Charlie Parker from thesound system. “It’s a new boxed set I orderedonline from ESP,” Anderson enthused. “It’scalled Bird In Time, with interviews and rarerecordings.”

In May 2008 Anderson performed for thefirst time in Charlie Parker’s hometown,Kansas City, with a trio of bassist Josh Abramsand drummer Isaiah Spencer. “It was at theBlueroom,” said Anderson, “where they have


INSPIRATIONALMOTIVATION

By Michael Jackson

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the alto that Buster Smith used to play on thewall. It was in Bird’s possession when he died.”Though he visited Parker’s grave on his visit,Fred insisted that on the gig, “We didn't playany Parker tunes, we just played FredAnderson.”

Jeff Parker and Anderson discussed record-ing a set of Charlie Parker tunes and even had acouple of rehearsals, but it never happened. “Iguess he decided to focus on his own music,”acknowledges Parker, adding that it wasAnderson’s counsel to “trust his instincts” thatmade a big impression on him at a crucial timein his development. “It was very importantadvice for a young musician,” insists Parker. “Itbasically meant, ‘Be true to yourself.’”

Lauren Deutsch, director of the Jazz Instituteof Chicago, has had a peculiarly intimate rela-tionship with Anderson for 20 years—frombehind a lens. Deutsch photographed Andersonfor the cover of the Nessa album The MissingLink in 1979 and has subsequently beeninvolved with numerous promotional and fineart projects with Anderson as the subject, includ-ing two recent releases from Asian Improv, aparticularly forceful Anderson outing from abirthday concert in 2000 and a taping at the clubfrom 2008. Not perhaps the most glamorous ofsubjects, with his TV-framed spectacles andhabit of playing archbacked with face pointingfloorward, Deutsch was impressed by the soft-

spoken way he always stood his ground.Drawn to the creative proving ground that

the original Velvet Lounge became as well asthe characters who patronized the place,Deutsch would get there early to find a goodvantage point for photography.

“Fred’s a seeker,” Deutsch observed. “WhenI arrived before a concert once, he was alonethere. He was listening to a recording of him-self, Hamid Drake and bassist HarrisonBankhead, from the Vision Festival.” Fredwanted to hear whether what he had playedreally came across the way he thought it had. “Imarveled that even a master is not sure. Fredsaid cats who think they are ‘there’ end rightthere. They never continue to grow.” Neverthe-less for Deutsch, Anderson’s courage in hisconvictions helped her develop a voice in a newdigital photographic medium. “This is how Fredhas mentored us non-musicians,” claimsDeutsch. “He is a firm believer in everything hestands for: the freedom and desire to createabsolutely original music, the importance ofcultivating new players and new sounds, andthe role of mentorship in the jazz community.”

Drake, an early devotee of Anderson’s, hasgone on to record more than a dozen albumswith the saxophonist. “The first time we record-ed together was in May of 1978 on a date calledAnother Place,” Drake recalled. “It was a liveperformance at the Moers Festival in Germany,

with Billy Brimfield on trumpet and GeorgeLewis on trombone. It was my very first time inEurope and one of the most thrilling experi-ences of my life.”

Anderson himself made his own first trip toEurope sometime later than his radical associ-ates in Chicago’s Association For TheAdvancement of Creative Musicians, an organi-zation for which he is acknowledged as a life-long “field representative” through the auspicesof his Velvet Lounge finishing school. PianistDieter Glawischnig had convinced Anderson tomeet him in Graz, Austria, to join the group TheNeighbours. “I was there for a couple of monthsand they wanted me to stay,” said Anderson,“but I had a house and family in Chicago andhad to return.”

After eventual divorce, in his mid-40sAnderson realized his dream of run-ning a jazz club, calling his first place

the Birdhouse in honor of a defunct club in thecity he used to frequent. Inspired by his friendsin Graz, he decided to locate in a Germanneighborhood at 4512 N. Lincoln on Chicago’snorthwest side. However, he was not welcomein the area and the authorities seemed sobemused by this space that didn’t serve boozebut provided refuge for a raft of oddball musi-cians, that they made it impossible for him tocontinue there.

After the untimely demise of the Birdhouse,Anderson shifted his base to the South Side,where he was helping a family friend, TipManyweathers, run a working man’s bar(Anderson’s BMI publishing trademark is listedas Many Weathers music). Fairly slowly,Anderson built up the reputation for live musicat the Velvet Lounge, boosted by storied ses-sions held after the annual Chicago JazzFestival when he would invite kindred spiritsaxophonist Kidd Jordan up from New Orleans.

Jordan was tipped to Anderson by Chicagosaxist Eddie Harris, who described him as “thisguy who has been playing the ‘out’ style sinceright after the Second World War.” In com-memoration, at Anderson’s 80th celebration, heand Jordan donned T-shirts adorned withHarris’ image.

Anderson invited Jordan to join him at aconcert for the 25th anniversary of the AACMat the University of Chicago in 1990, andJordan has reciprocated with invitations to per-form in New Orleans. One memorable concertat the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festivalin 1999 featured Anderson and Jordan withAACM godfather Muhal Richard Abrams,bassist Malachi Favors, George Lewis andButch Morris, among others. “With Fred and I,every now and then we cross paths tonallywhen we play together, but we don’t get in eachother’s way,” comments Jordan, addingunequivocally, “Fred has one of the most origi-nal styles of anybody I heard on saxophone.”

Another disciple of Anderson’s from a dif-ferent generation, reedist Ken Vandermark, has


been proactive in promulgating Anderson’smusic. Vandermark introduced Anderson toBruno Johnson, an apologetic rock bassist andvocalist who had started a label focusing on thealternative punk/rock scene. Bruno askedAnderson if he had any recordings he was inter-ested in putting out. “The following morning,early, Fred called and told me about these tapeshe had of a duo with drummer Steve McCallfrom 1980,” Johnson said.

What resulted, Vintage Duets, was the firstrelease on Johnson’s Okkadisk label, founded inessence with Anderson in mind. SubsequentOkkadisk releases with Anderson include a 1997collaboration with the DKV Trio (Hamid Drake,bassist Kent Kessler and Vandermark) and anintriguing summit from Chicago’s MillenniumPark in 2006 with Vandermark’s Territory Bandthat features Anderson backed by LasseMarhaug’s electronics. “Fred Anderson repre-sents the best aspects of what it means to be anindependent artist in a commercial world—at 80years of age he continues to develop his playingand ideas with no sign of slowing down or anyinterest in artistic compromise,” Vandermarksaid. “He is a living example of what is possiblewhen an artist remains committed to their per-sonal vision and he shares that creativity withthe rest of us every time he picks up his horn.Fred is an incredible inspiration for me.”

Another musician who took inspiration fromAnderson is saxophonist Dave Rempis, who hasrun a weekly improv series in Chicago for sever-al years. “When the old Velvet was set fordemolition,” remarks Rempis, “it would havebeen very easy for Fred to have a nice party, cel-ebrate the many years of great music and moveon. Instead he made the unbelievable decision toopen a new space at the age of 77. Every time Iget frustrated by the difficulty involved in get-ting audiences out, keeping the venue open andtrying to pay musicians, I think of Fred today,still, closing up the bar each night, taking out thetrash, turning off the lights, and my inspiration tokeep working at it comes right back.”

Nicole Mitchell, current president of theAACM, has risen through the ranks of thatinstitution, and her flowering as an artist wasfostered by having a forum to foment her cre-ative propositions, namely the Velvet. “Fred’swords are quiet, but his actions are huge,”Mitchell said. “By running the Lounge for over20 years and welcoming experimentation andnew ideas, he has been key to the developmentof so many young artists. Personally, I owe a lotto Baba Fred, as my group, Black EarthEnsemble, had its start at the Velvet 10 yearsago and it is still our home base, as it is for theAACM’s Great Black Music Ensemble.”

For a snapshot of Anderson in formativedays, check the photograph in George Lewis’indispensable narrative of the AACM, A PowerStronger Than Itself (University of ChicagoPress). There he stands, broad shouldered, inone of his trademark kufi hats leading a septetincluding Lewis, Drake and Douglas Ewart.

Lewis is especially articulate in his assess-ment of the saxophonist. “Fred Anderson’s longand fruitful career both exemplifies and chal-lenges the standard American experimental tra-dition-narrative of the rugged individual,” hesaid. “A product of that 20th Century AfricanAmerican assertion of mobility and agency nowknown as the Great Migration. Fred oncedescribed himself to me as ‘a quiet guy, like anintrovert, but I do a lot of thinking about what Iwant to do, and about being my own person.’There are undoubtedly others who see Fred as aman of few words, but from my personal expe-

rience, I can attest that he had plenty to say,both sonically and verbally.”

Lewis summarizes Anderson’s lifetime ofmusical exploration in the saxophonist’s ownlaconic admission, “I was always an indepen-dent cat,” adding with a broader brush: “Likeme, generations of musicians discoveredthrough Fred the complex connections betweenmusic, personality and society. We were amongthe first to receive with alacrity Fred’s messageof commitment to the cultural and historicalcontinuity of innovation; later it was heardaround the world.” DB


BLUEPRINTFOR FLIGHTBy Dan Ouellette

Fly, from left: Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard

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Attuned to the jazz tradition, but stretchingbeyond its structural confines, Fly charts itscourse forward, defying the predictable compo-sitional framework girded by a head at thebeginning and end with hallways of improvisa-tion in between.

“That’s what we do as sidemen where youfall into the concept of bandleader with rhythmsection,” says Grenadier. “The whole idea ofstarting this band was a reaction to that. Wemake music that’s a reflection of that reaction.It’s not Mark playing, and then me followingwith a section before Jeff and I trade fours. Theshape of our compositions provides opportuni-ties for the three of us to be democratic. It’s notthe saxophone being out front, and the bass anddrums accompanying. We share having the leadvoice so that we can create an ensemble sound.”

As a collective trio with two CDs under itsbelt and lots of touring dates since its 2004 gen-esis, Fly operates as a unit without a leader, perse. Talking with the band requires the presenceof all three members, which poses a problem oflogistics when they’re not on tour together,especially since Ballard moved to Spain. Butwhen you do get them in the same room, theresult is a free-flowing discourse that mirrorstheir music.

“The deeper you listen, the more you can getout of it,” says Ballard.

“It’s subtle,” says Grenadier.“And potent,” Turner adds. “There are con-

nections between sections. You don’t getmoved around in our music in abrupt ways.You move through a sense of adventure.”

“There’s more landscape in each song,” saysGrenadier. “It’s more involved than writing atune. It’s developing different sections withineach piece to keep a listener’s interest for 60minutes.”

“Nonjazz listeners as well as people withmore trained ears often think that we’re playingfree, especially given that we’re using non-chordal instruments,” says Grenadier. “But it’s

not as free as people assume. We’re sensitive towanting to have clarity so that the audience canrelate to where we are in each tune. Withoutbeing patronizing to listeners, we’re helpingthem into the music. But, of course, we alsowant to have a direct relationship to being in themoment at all times.”

“We do a lot of hinting,” says Ballard.

Fly began its search for joie de vivre jazzand freedom from straitjacket forms in2000 when Ballard, the drummer in

Chick Corea’s Origin, participated in theleader’s Originations recording project whereeach member of the band contributed his ownworks. Ballard wanted to create a trio, so heenlisted Grenadier, whom he knew from theirteenage years growing up in the San FranciscoBay Area, and Turner, a close friend from hisNew York days.

Their chemistry was so strong they decidedto experiment with the trio as a side project sep-arate from their mainstay gigs (for example,Turner with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Grenadier withBrad Mehldau). They toured and were pleasedwith what they were creating. However, theyhad no opportunity to record again until SteveBacker, VP of artist relations of the newlyresuscitated Savoy Jazz label, contacted Turnerwhen his contract with Warner Bros. expired.The saxophonist wasn’t interested in a sololeader date, but mentioned his interest in thetrio. Backer liked what he heard.

This was Grenadier and Ballard’s firstrecording as leaders. The bassist told me then,“Jeff and I had been so involved in other peo-ple’s music for so long, it was prime time for usto try out our own thing. After we did our livegigs as a trio, the timing felt right. We weregoing to be able to call our own sets instead ofplaying someone else’s personality. There’snothing wrong with that. But we want to shapeour own visions and come up with somethingthat truly represents our own personalities.”

Recording in a live setting, with all three inthe same studio room, the trio crafted a batch oflyrical beauties. Ballard brought to the sessionhis playful “Child’s Play” based on a Ghanaianrhythm and his sublime ballad “Lone.”Grenadier contributed the journey piece“Emergence/Resurgence,” the funky “JJ” andthe love song “State Of The Union.” Turnerbrought to the date the three-part, multigroovetune “Stark.” In addition to a Jimi Hendrixcover (an upbeat and spiced take on “SpanishCastle Magic”), the trio collaborated on thecompelling three-section “Fly Mr. Freakjar,”where each member performed frontline duty.

The tune also inspired the group’s name. Atthe time, Turner said that the full name of thetune was considered, but they all opted forsomething shorter. Why not “Fly?”

“It sounded good, and it can have manymeanings,” he said. “The first thing I thought ofwas that street-talk phrase ‘that’s fly,’ whichmeans, that’s cool. Then there’s fly, as in soar-ing to the heights. That’s what our music is like.Same with the insect fly that’s jabbing and bob-bing. There are a bunch of fly meanings that fitus. Plus, like our music, Fly has a little bit ofmystery attached to it.”

The self-titled CD arrived in 2004 and diedon the vine.

The Savoy Jazz deal, Grenadier recalls,signed the band to a five-CD contract. Butbecause of the lack of support, any new Fly out-ing was unlikely. However, the deal was voidedbecause of the label’s failure to get Europeandistribution, and Fly began to pursue otheroptions to document new material in the band’slibrary.

“Fly played consistently in the last fiveyears, touring when we weren’t gigging withother people,” says Grenadier. “We talkedabout making a new album a couple of yearsago, but then we wondered how we were goingto release it-by ourselves, or on another label.We had such a bad experience the first time out,

Halfway through a conversation with saxophonist Mark Turner, bassist LarryGrenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard about their band Fly, the notion of archi-tecture comes up as a way of talking about the trio’s compositional com-plexity. While listening on Ballard’s iBook laptop to Fly’s new album, Sky &Country (ECM), they discuss the structure of Turner’s “Anandananda” as ifthey were marveling about an edifice that emerges from a traditional designbut looks new and unique—think postmodern architect Frank Gehry, whosecurvy, liquid-like masterpieces include Los Angeles’ Walt Disney ConcertHall and Seattle’s Experience Music Project.

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we were careful this time.”They landed with ECM after Manfred Eicher

expressed interest in signing the trio. “Manfredknows we’re a band and likes what we do,” saysGrenadier. “He’s heard and recorded so manydifferent types of music and he has studied ears.His input when we began to record the newalbum was very helpful.”

So, five years after recording its debut, Flyhas returned with Sky & Country, produced byEicher and recorded by James Farber (who alsoengineered the first CD). This time the triomembers tracked in separate rooms to have

more control over the sound, while also main-taining a live feeling. “We play so much togeth-er that we’re mixing in a natural way when weplay, even if we are in different rooms,”Grenadier says.

As for the vibe of the new CD, it’s Fly part2, with a continuation of the same collaborativespirit and striking lyricism. Once again, eachinstrument is clearly spotlighted. In addition totunes with an understated groove sensibility(including the only composition not specifical-ly written for Fly, Turner’s “Dharma Days,”from his Warner Bros. album of the same

name), the music ranges from muse to whimsy(both vibes present in Ballard’s “Lady B.,”which opens the CD).

Turner describes the CD as being more “pas-toral” than the previous outing. “Listening backto it, it’s prettier,” he says. “The melodies gothrough peaks and valleys. Plus, there are introsand outros.”

This is most obvious on his suite-likedesign “Anandananda,” which opens with amoving tenor prelude, continues with anotherintro that features a two-part harmony withGrenadier before delving deeper into liquidmovement through different vistas. “Likemany of our tunes,” Turner says, “this is apiece that ends in a place that you don’t expectbased on how it started.”

“These are through-composed tunes,” saysBallard. “We composed them so that you havean event followed by another event.”

“It’s collective playing,” says Grenadier.“So, there may be a prelude where I wouldhave the lead voice, either solo or contexturalwith the other instruments comping. Then weswitch roles.”

Case in point: Grenadier’s “CJ” (named afterhis son Charles James), a pensive, largely bal-ladic tune that opens with a solo bass part thatTurner then enters with a slow, noir-like tenormelody. “What’s great about this composition isthat Mark comps for me, playing the bass partwhile I’m playing pizzicato,” Grenadier says. Inthe second part of the piece, after a time breakthat Grenadier initiates with a quiet bass inter-lude, Turner re-enters on soprano saxophone. “Iheard the second melody in this octave,”Grenadier says. “Plus, because it’s in a differentrange, it gives more room for the bass.”

It also affords Ballard the opportunity tobring his voice more fully into the mix. He says,“There’s so much space. I’m hitting the cym-bals in a way where you can hear clearly all thenotes I’m playing. So I have much more musi-cal presence.”

The resulting outcome is unlike anythingeach band member expresses in other settings assupport team players. “People always ask me, doyou play differently with Fly than when youplay with Brad [Mehldau]?” says Grenadier(Ballard is also in the group). “The difference Isee is how each of us in Fly has a need for clari-ty in our music because we’re not playingchordal instruments. We don’t dumb down themusic, but we up the responsibility. How can webe clearer without being obvious? That’s what’sfun about Fly.”

“You have to take time with Fly’s music,”says Ballard. “You have to hear how each tunedevelops. Then when you get into a tune, I’mtold, it feels like a reward.”

It’s like sketching the blueprint of a buildingafter it’s been constructed and explored, which ishow a careful listener approaches all music.“Creating architecture happens all the time injazz,” says Grenadier. “But with Fly we’re doingit in our own unique way.” DB

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DB0909_52-55_FLY.qxd 7/14/09 5:38 PM

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www.3sixteenrecords.com


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When vibraphone player Teddy Charles head-lined at the Village Vanguard in March 2008, itwas the first time he had stood onstage at the NewYork jazz shrine since around 1963. Charlesturned 80 just weeks after the booking, an agesynonymous with scaling back. He is looking todo just the opposite.

“Playing the Vanguard was great,” Charlessaid last summer from his home in Riverhead onLong Island, N.Y. “Because that was returning tothe scene of the crime.”

At the height of his career, Charles performedwith Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker,Charles Mingus, Aretha Franklin, Max Roachand many others. In addition, Charles earned areputation in the 1950s for innovative composi-tions that incorporated dense tonality, modes andthe 12-tone series. While Charles’ absence frommusic rejuvenated his spirit, he discovered howaging had affected his chops. Charles cites painfularm and hand injuries that can make performingdifficult.

“I am now playing like an old man,” Charleslamented, “because I have a torn rotator cuff andadvanced osteoarthritis in my left arm. I have theonset of carpal tunnel syndrome, which didn’taffect me at first when I started playing. But rightafter the Vanguard, I started to have problems. Icould tell right then and there that my chops werenot physically up to where they should be.”

Charles, who turned 81 in April, continues topush past these maladies. Since a booking inOctober 2007 at Smalls in Greenwich Village, hehas played gigs that have ranged from smallgroup outings to several featuring his tentetarrangements from the 1950s. He has becomeincreasingly conscious of his legacy, whichincludes the technique of performing with twomallets in each hand. He developed the approachin the late 1940s while spending time with fellowvibraphone player Red Norvo in Los Angeles.

This approach made it possible to voice four-mallet chords that were, Charles said, “unlikeeverybody I ever heard at that time.” Vibraphoneplayers, he added, typically “played root, fifth andtriads, and [with] maybe the melody on top.” Heattributes the flash point to a trio he led around1950 that included a guitarist; he later workedalongside pianist Mal Waldron and arranger GilEvans, who wrote specific parts for him.

“Of all the people I’ve heard playing [with]four mallets,” Charles said, “I’ve never heard any-body else do that. They play more or less standardchords. That part of my technique is still prettygood, except for the fact that I have trouble turn-ing my left wrist. I am inventing a different wayto play those things.”

Charles also appears on several recent record-

ings. In July 2008, he led his first studio sessionsince the early 1960s. Smalls Records releasedthe album Dances With Bulls in February; it fea-tures a handful of Charles’compositions, and alsoMingus’“Nostalgia In Times Square.” The lineupincludes saxophonist and arranger Chris Byars,pianist Harold Danko, trombonist John Mosca,bassist Ari Roland and drummer Stefan Schatz.The vibist recorded a live broadcast in late 2008in Amsterdam, and appears on Byars’ forthcom-ing session for Steeplechase. Byars has tackledprevious projects that have paid tribute to LuckyThompson, Gigi Gryce and Jimmy Cleveland.Byars met Charles through Noal Cohen, a musi-cian and jazz historian in New Jersey.

“Teddy is scrappy,” Byars said. “Teddy’s very,very much like a street fighter with mallets. He isso unpredictable. You can’t follow him.”

Byars received a commission from ChamberMusic America to compose an extended compo-sition for a large ensemble inspired by Charles’life and music. Byars premiered the work, Bop-ography, in June in Greenwich Village.

Charles turned his back on the jazz world inthe early 1960s, a reaction to the music industry’soveremphasis of rock ’n’ roll. For roughly adozen years Charles focused entirely on sailing.

“The spirit of adventure and Errol Flynn and

all that sort of thing,” he recalled, “that reallygrabbed me. And not only that, we were gettingpaid very well to do it. I started going back andforth from New York to St. Thomas. I got so goodat it it was sort of like a milk run.”

Charles began performing again during thelate 1970s in Old Saybrook, Ct. By the early1980s, he owned a boatyard on City Island in theBronx, N.Y. He gigged intermittently for most ofthe 1980s, notably with pianist Danko, beforereturning to sailing. He was making regular tripsto Key West, Fla., up until the mid-1990s. “Thegigs were few and far between, and I was so busywith the boats I didn’t care,” he said. He moved toLong Island, first to Greenport and thenRiverhead, where jam sessions that included part-time musicians provided his sole outlet until hemet Byars in 2007.

Charles suffers no delusions. The years awayfrom the bandstand have taken their toll. “When Iget up on the bandstand, it takes me maybe twosets to get going, or two nights to get going,” hesaid. “You have to be constantly driven to create,because you don’t want to hear yourself doing thesame crap over and over again. All the clichéscome out; the first hour or so you get them all outof the way, and then you start to do something.”

—Eric Fine


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Teddy Charles

Vibist Charles Returns from Life at Sea

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Crimetime OrchestraAtomic Symphony Featuring

Sonny Simmons & Kork

The exiting and unlikely mix of elements on this album that featuresmany of Norways most exiting and

innovating musicians + SonnySimmons as guest soloist and the

NRK radio symphony orchestra wasa great success when performed

at the Oslo International Jazz Festival 2007.

This music is beyond any categoryknown to mankind so far.

www.jazzaway.com

Bill Banfield Band with Zeitgeist

Spring ForwardINNOVA 704

“Banfield plays composer’s guitar;ideas, melodic content trump

self-contained technical exercises.Like a Cubist portrait, he reveals

highlights, shadows, without disrupting integrity, form.”

—Bob Blumenthal

Check out the Jazz Collection onInnova, the label of the American

Composers Forum.

www.innova.mu

Grace KellyMood Changes

16-year-old wunderkind,Grace Kelly follows up her

AAAA1/2 GRACEfulLEE CDwith her fifth release!

featuring Jason Palmer, DougJohnson, John Lockwood, Jordan

Perlson or Terri Lyne Carrington, withguest appearances by guitarist Adam

Rogers and trombonist Hal Crook.

Winner of 12 DownBeat StudentMusic Awards 2006–’09.

Awarded 2007 & 2008 ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Awards.

www.gracekellymusic.com

Hailey NiswangerConfeddie

“Hailey Niswanger’s debut CD is mind blowing on several levels.

Her advanced, lyrical and interestingsolo lines are mature beyond

imagination. She naturally flowsthrough her extended vocabulary of historical saxophone combinedwith newer, fresher ideas. But I amprimarily swept away by the joy she

emanates as her soul pours from the bell of her horn. I am a proud and huge fan.” —John Clayton

www.cdbaby.com/cd/haileyniswanger

www.haileyniswanger.com

Bob Ravenscroft’s Inner Journeys

Trilogia

Superintuitive nonverbal communication

Spellbinding new explorations by theacclaimed pianist and his new group… plus the world-class grand piano

named in his honor!

Featuring:Bob Ravenscroft, piano

Dwight Kilian, bassRob Moore, drums

“Astounding, beautiful, wild” —Art Lande

www.ravenswave.com

Subscribe to DownBeat

“... the world’s greatest jazz magazine.” —Chicago Tribune

Celebrating more than 70 years of covering ever-evolving jazz

styles while focusing on the heart of the music, DownBeat is your best

source for everything jazz.

Call or log on to subscribe!800-554-7470

downbeat.com


DB0909_56-61_INDIE.qxd 7/14/09 9:48 PM

With so many musicians and only a small num-ber of venues in New York City, finding opportu-nities to play has long been one of the many frus-trations and hurdles of the musician’s life there.The Italian-born drummer Federico Ughi giggedaround the city in the years following a move toBrooklyn in 1999, but he yearned for some con-sistency. So in 2000 he began to present monthlyconcerts in his apartment, and the series quicklybecame a vibrant hang for some of the scene’smost daring improvisers.

“When we gave up the apartment we didn’tfeel like stopping the operation,” Ughi said.

He merely switched mediums, launching 577Records—named after the pad’s street number.

“It wasn’t really planned, we had no businessscheme,” Ughi said. “My first CD came out onSlam Productions in England, but at the time Iwas 26 or something and every time I wanted toput out record I have to go through all of theseblues, convincing people that what I’m doing isgood. We didn’t have much money or big plans,but things just came together.”

In fact, the label’s inaugural release—a duowith Ughi and veteran free jazz reedist/trumpeterDaniel Carter—happened only after the drummermet a fellow Italian, who happen to own a record-ing studio, on the subway after a gig late onenight. Intrigued by Ughi’s ideas, the engineeroffered him a free session the next day. Sincereleasing Astonishment in 2001 the label hasissued 14 more titles from an ever-expanding cir-cle of like-minded players (including trumpeterKirk Knuffke and reedists Ras Moshe, StephenGauci, and Sabir Mateen), but for the past fewyears the core of 577 has revolved around Ughi,Carter, bassist David Moss, and trumpeterDemian Richardson.

For Carter, who’s been in New York sinceback in 1970, this community of players has beendeeply inspiring.

“Probably I’m more on a ‘higher level’ interms of having been around and recognition,but I myself need to play with people where thehunger to play is really the driving force,” Cartersaid. “It’s made me feel a rebirth of what I’vebeen trying to do in the first place. It takes me along time to work stuff out musically and on cer-tain other levels there may not be the sense ofthe kind of time to go off on tangents or be mak-ing that many mistakes. I feel I need play-room,wiggle-room; room that inspires and encouragesfeeling real loose and courageous.”

Ughi started 577 out of necessity, but he’sbeen happy to cede the business concerns overto Polly Barnes, who came on as a partner a fewyears ago.

“We’ve never borrowed money and we’verun a tight ship, using the tools we have,” Ughisaid. “Sometimes things are rough; the record-ings might not be perfect, but instead of stop-ping and doing something that doesn’t repre-sent us I think it’s important to show whatyou’ve got. We keep going. It all starts from thecommunity, with us, but Polly is making mostof the decisions now. For a few years I wascurating every single aspect of it. So the label isat a turning point in a way. I hope the historyand esthetic will be maintained.”

Ughi, Carter, and Richardson turn up on therecent Big Group In Ponta Delgada, a largeband effort recorded live in the Açores, a groupof islands off the coast of Portugal, during a jazzfestival there.

“Rui Melo, who organized the festival, won-dered what could be done as a workshop, and I

thought the most direct thing was to have us allplay with the musicians,” said Carter. “Therewere some players from the conservatory there,but there were also many other players, someyounger, some older, coming from many otherdiverse musical directions and backgrounds, allopen to freely improvising with each other.”

In a sense the Big Group project only ampli-fies the spirit of the small group efforts on 577,with a disparate crew of musicians finding com-mon cause in the pursuit of spontaneous cre-ation. For Carter the experience has been con-sistently invigorating.

“This thing is so dynamic right now,” Cartersaid “I’m trying to get a load of the fantasticmusical breakthroughs that have been happen-ing, playing with these guys. I’m still metabo-lizing it. For me it’s a breakthrough in my musi-cal life. A true renaissance.” —Peter Margasak


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Big Group in Ponta Delgada: Demian Richardson (left), Rodrigo Amado, Daniel Carter and Martin Maus

Big Group in Ponta Delgada:Joao Tavares and Gianna De Toni

577 RecordsBoldly Blends Worldly Vision, Community Ideals

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Shaynee RainboltCharmed Life

WINNER 2009 MAC AwardBest Jazz Recording

The first ever vocal album of Garciaoriginals—Charmed Life harkens

back to the glory days of swing andsinger-fronted big bands with theperfect mix of warm nostalgia and

present-day adventurousness.

Swinging, dreamy and atmospheric—Garcia’s arrangements featuring the

Four Trombones are back and they’respectacular. A terrific collaboration!

www.shayneerainbolt.com

Matt CriscuoloMelancholia

Melancholia is a masterpiece.

Phi Bowler—bassBilly Drummond—drums

Larry Willis—piano

Strings expertly arranged by the legendary Larry Willis back up a truly

authentic and refreshing alto saxvoice that only Matt Criscuolo has.

Hipness and beauty combined make this a “must have” recording.

www.mattcriscuolo.com

Michael Ray Tyler• Over 5 Years in the Making •

We are pleased to introduce this exciting collection of fresh,

innovative music. Powerful, dynamic,stellar musician, Michael Ray Tyler,

releases a three CD odyssey. These productions have soul, beauty and grit and carry you

through a creative, powerful journey.

Grazing the Land – Funk JazzFire & Desire – Funk Pop VocalCool Breeze – New Big Band

Funk Jazz Experience

(702) 232-0485www.cdbaby.com

www.michaelraytyler.com

Janet PlanetOf Thee I Sing

A swinging, cross-country journeycelebrating sites, cities and landscape across the U.S.

“The supremely talented Ms. Planetcan stylishly sing anything.”

—Isobel Neuberger

“A lovely dedication to our country.”—Karrin Allyson

“Janet brings new life to treasuresthat long to be heard.”

—Gene Bertoncini

www.janetplanet.com

Jacám ManricksLabyrinth

Featuring Jacám Manricks—saxes/woodwinds

Ben Monder—guitars Jacob Sacks—piano

Thomas Morgan—bass Tyshawn Sorey—drums

+ chamber orchestra

“… if cutting-edge, out-of-the-boxstuff is your thing, don’t miss the

chance to see (Jacám) … a full-scalemasterpiece” —Lucid Culture

Available atwww.jacammanricks.com & iTunes.

www.jacammanricks.com

Dennis Tini TrioGlobal Peace & Understanding

Dennis Tini, Distinguished Professor of Music at Wayne State University

tours the world as a jazz pianist and choral conductor.

“In an attempt to promote peace through music … jazz pianist

Dennis Tini has produced a recordingof sheer beauty that reflects the

future brightness of a better world.” —Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide

Trio—Duo—Quintet CDs at:CDBaby.com/cd/tinitrio

[email protected]


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DB0909_62-77_REVIEWS.qxd 7/14/09 10:09 PM


Kurt Elling Dedicated To YouCONCORD 31314

AAAA

The Johnny Hartman–John Coltrane partnershipleft a small discography but a large shadow. OnDedicated To You, Kurt Elling and Ernie Wattsfurther memorialize and enshrine that briefencounter—only six songs—in the best waypossible: by being true to its essence while alsotaking it to a somewhat different place.

Hartman is moderately well rememberedtoday as a crooner in the great Crosby–Sinatra–Bennett tradition, but even more so on the coat-tails of the cult of Coltrane, which is inclined toworship everything the saxophonist evertouched. That he touched Hartman does himcredit. But their single Impulse! album in 1963was definitely Hartman’s show, not Coltrane’s.He went to the American songbook, took a help-ing of Berlin, Rodgers, Strayhorn and three oth-ers, and laid down essentially straight interpreta-tions. Hartman was the actor-balladeer, neverthe scat singer or improviser. Coltrane accompa-nied with a lyrical empathy that never fought the

moment. Elling, whose light baritone has the basic

downy softness of a traditional crooner, evokesthe essential musicality Hartman brought to thematerial but with far less candlelight andromance. Elling, though restrained, plays to hisown strength and takes a somewhat widerinterpretative latitude. Hartman’s “They SayIt’s Wonderful,” for example, dripped withintimacy and seduction. Elling’s is hip, sly andcool with a soft beat. Whereas Hartman createda consistent mood, Elling expands the range ofthe music. He flexes his virtuosity with a cou-ple of octaves on “Lush Life” (sounding a triflestrained as he leaps up on the word “dive”) anda bold falsetto climax on “Dedicated To You”as opposed to the slow sensual caress that wasHartman’s specialty. But Elling’s mission hereis not to imitate but to interpret a famed one-time coupling of talent, something he has donewith respect, yet integrity.

As part of the latitude he has allowed him-self, Elling has added a string quartet to the mix.It slinks softly in the shadows, underpinning themusic with a subtle but never intrusive formali-ty. The counterpoint is especially well matched

to Elling on “My One And Only Love,” by farhis most intimate performance and the only onewithout his accompanying regular trio withLaurence Hobgood. The wonderful Ernie Wattsis Coltrane’s proxie, and he solos and accompa-nies with a crowded, double time individualitycarved from the language of Coltrane.

With only six songs to work with, Ellingnecessarily supplements the program with afew extras, including a Watts solo piece on“What’s New,” a couple of Sinatra staples(“All Or Nothing At All” and “Nancy WithThe Laughing Face”) and a warm reflection onthe original session. The performance wasrecorded live early this year as part of LincolnCenter’s American Songbook series.

—John McDonough

Dedicated To You: All Or Nothing At All; It’s Easy ToRemember; Dedicated To You; What’s New; Lush Life;Autumn Serenade; Say It; They Say It’s Wonderful; My OneAnd Only Love; Nancy With The Laughing Face; You Are TooBeautiful. (56:04) Personnel: Kurt Elling, vocals; Ernie Watts, saxophone;Lawrence Hobgood, piano; Clark Sommers, bass; UlyssesOwens, drums; Cornelius Dufallo, Mary Rowell, violin; RalphFarris, viola; Dorothy Lawson, cello.

INSIDE REVIEWS

69 Jazz

71 Blues

73 Beyond

75 Historical

77 BooksMasterpiece AAAAA Excellent AAAA Good AAA Fair AA Poor A

Ordering info: concordmusicgroup.com»

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Darcy JamesArgue’sSecretSocietyInfernalMachinesNEW AMSTERDAM 017

AAAA

Creating lots ofliftoff while stillgiving nuance allthe elbow room itneeds—those are acouple goals of anybig band leaderwho wants theirmusic to be both engaging and entertaining.Magali Souriau’s Orchestra, John Hollenbeck’sBig Band and Jentsch Group Large have allmade moves toward these ends. But withInfernal Machines now here it’s Darcy JamesArgue’s Secret Society that’s found the mostluminous balance between the two. TheBrooklyn-based Vancouver native has craftedseveral unique ways to bolster small thematicmotifs with more rigorous action, making pas-sages wax intimate and extroverted at once.Time and again he presents seemingly contra-dictory ideas side by side—without revealingschisms or neutering either component’s value.As he presents a delicate foreground, a muscu-lar phalanx of horns looms in the rear, ready toreplace it.

All this makes the 18-member SecretSociety’s music rather addictive. Lots of com-posers have their music come around cornersand leap out unexpectedly—in the ever con-toured realm of big band music, surprise is keyelement. But Argue’s strength is the way heavoids obvious exclamations. Yep, there are afew moments here when the trajectory can bedeciphered early on, but that feeds us a handfulof touchstones to savor while the more singular

choices work theirodd magic. Therepeated patternsof “Jacobin Club”have it both ways:Their design logicis impeccable, butit’s tough to pre-dict which way theshadowy musicwill veer. No won-der it’s namedafter a gaggle ofFrench revolution-aries who ulti-mately wound up

responsible for the Reign of Terror. AndArgue’s a wit: I swear the clacks of drummerJon Wikan’s snare sound like a guillotine serv-ing its cold justice.

There’s a critical consensus around thisdisc, but few pundits are stressing just how gor-geous Argue’s motifs are. “Obsidian Flow” isessentially a march toward clobbering time, butit manages to pick some daisies along the way.Muted brass, poignant reeds, sidewaysgrooves, the last 10 seconds of “Zeno”—Infernal Machines is addictive not only for itsarchitecture, but for its fetching way with color.It took the 33-year-old bandleader a while tomake his recorded debut (there is lots of musicand lots of ideas on his Secret Society site), butwe’ll be remembering it for quite some time.

—Jim Macnie

Infernal Machines: Phobos; Zeno; Transit; Redeye; JacobinClub; Habeas Corpus; Obsidian Flow. (67:08)Personnel: Darcy James Argue, composer, conductor, ring-leader; Erica vonKleist, Rob Wilkerson, Sam Sadigursky, MarkSmall, Josh Sinton, saxophones; Seneca Black, Laurie Frink,Tom Goehring, Nadje Noordhuis, Ingrid Jensen, trumpets; MikeFahn, James Hirschfeld, Ryan Keberle, Jennifer Wharton, trom-bones; Sebastian Noelle, guitar; Mike Holober, piano, Rhodes;Matt Clohesy, bass; Jon Wickan, drums.

Joe Locke/DavidHazeltineQuartetMutual AdmirationSociety 2SHARP NINE RECORDS 1043

AAA1/2

This dandy re-convo-cation of a quartetthat first came togeth-er a decade ago fea-tures, as before, origi-nals by each player but draws less from theGreat American Songbook and more from jazzfor the remainder of its raw material. A hard-hitting, no-nonsense blowing album, withangular, difficult tunes, 16th notes galore and abent for intense, minor vamps, it is also pro-

foundly lyrical in spots, asthe band pays close atten-tion to texture, blend anddynamics. Ten years havemade these players thatmuch more sophisticatedand mature, and their musicdemands a sophisticated,mature ear. This is analbum for the hardcore jazzlover.

Locke and Hazeltinehave markedly differentstyles—the vibist deliver-

ing a blizzard of notes, driving over the time;the pianist offering a lighter touch, layingbehind the beat, adding a bluesy tremolo nowand then. Locke somehow triumphs over thepercussive and discrete separateness of thevibes’ tone bars, always sounding fluid and

roundly contoured, even when flying at fullspeed. He and Hazeltine hook up beautifully onensembles—vibes on top, Hazeltine’s deliciousvoicings below.

I particularly like the aptly titled opener,“Pharaoh Joy,” a nod to Pharoah Sanders in hisNorth African period (think “Hum Allah”),which switches back and forth between amodal vamp and bright swing time. JimmyRowles’ hauntingly beautiful ballad “ThePeacocks” receives a gorgeous treatment, withHazeltine skittering into a wild ride. The clever“Twelve”—inspired, Locke says in his notes,by John Coltrane’s “Miles Mode”—presentswith declarative, powerful energy a 12-tonerow in two iterations followed by a suspensefulsnare solo by the always supportive BillyDrummond, then it’s off to the races on “GiantSteps” changes. Locke’s chipper “What’s NotTo Love” (based on Cole Porter’s “Everything


SexmobMeets Medeski Live In Willisau 2006THIRSTY EAR57189

AAA1/2

The showman’s dilemma: to go for time-worntricks, or to try something more ambiguous andmysterious? Sexmob combines the two tasks,transforming time-worn tricks into somethingdeeper, more durable, less obvious. They’re notalways successful in pulling the material awayfrom its familiarity (and, in places, plain kitchi-ness), and they return to the same crowd-pleas-ing routines mercilessly. But with StevenBernstein’s restless energy and impish sense ofplay, they manage to make the knish worthswallowing whole.

Recorded at the Swiss jazz festival withJohn Medeski joining on organ, the disc is bro-ken into three suites, each a medley with a par-ticular center of gravity. Or perhaps lack ofgravity, as a good-time air of light humor per-vades. Taking cues from pastichers past—thereare full pages from the Art Ensemble ofChicago and John Zorn playbooks here—thestylistic mélange creates its own system of ten-Ordering info: newamsterdamrecords.com»

DB0909_62-77_REVIEWS.qxd 7/15/09 12:06 PM

sions and releases, a Prince tune subtly arisingout of a New Orleans beat subtending the folktune “Little Liza Jane,” exploring unforeseenaffinities, turning to a grinding funk with sput-tering alto, then shape-shifting to the WorldWar I-era song “How ’Ya Gonna Keep ’EmDown On The Farm (After They’ve SeenParee)?”

The second suite commences with the firstof several adaptations of soundtrack music byJohn Barry, “This Never Happened Darling ToThe Other Guy,” with glacial organ chords shat-tered by a punchy, angular theme, then somebeautiful slide trumpet by Bernstein and slitheryalto by Briggan Krauss, emptying into Basie’s“Blue And Sentimental,” played gently at first,winding up bodaciously. Bassist Tony Scherrand drummer Kenny Wollesen (who adds veryagreeable balaphon here and there) handle allthe transitions effortlessly, even the sneaky wayPrince’s “Darling Nikki” is introduced, withMedeski’s encoded bursts of Sun Ra organaction spattering their mounting motif.

Where other po-mo showbands, like the BadPlus and Medeski’s main outfit, often leave mefeeling unfulfilled, Sexmob delivers more last-ing entertainment. The final Willisau suite,which starts with two James Bond scores (“OddJob,” which is the theme from Goldfinger, and“You Only Live Twice”), feels like it could gothe easy route, playing for cheap thrills and littlelaughs, but it’s too good for that, too sensitive toreduce itself to the LCD. —John Corbett

Sexmob Meets Medeski Live In Willisau 2006: Mob RuleInvocation; Mob Rule 1; Black And Tan Fantasy; Mob Rule2/Little Liza Jane; Sign O The Times; Down On The Farm; ThisNever Happened To The Other Guy; Mob Rule 3; This NeverHappened Part 2; Blue And Sentimental; Kenny Supreme;Darling Nikki; Odd Job; You Only Live Twice; Mob Rule 4; ArtieShaw. (63:29)Personnel: Steven Bernstein, slide trumpet; John Medeski,organ; Briggan Krauss, alto saxophone; Tony Scherr, bass;Kenny Wollesen, drums.

I Love”) highlights the singing quality ofLocke’s vibes. Stevie Wonder’s “If It’s Magic”is tenderly reharmonized, romance intact, andthe closer, “Blues For Buddy” (written for thelate vibist Buddy Montgomery, who was stillalive when this was recorded), bookends thisjoyous musical celebration.

A couple of quibbles. On Hazeltine’s “OneFor Reedy Ree” (for the late drummer TonyReedus), the swing-time solos don’t have muchto do with the vamping melody; Locke’s“Convocation” is a bit oblique, more of anexcuse to blow. But overall, this is a finealbum. —Paul de Barros

Mutual Admiration Society 2: Pharaoh Joy; The Peacocks;One For Reedy Ree; Twelve; What’s Not To Love?;Convocation; If It’s Magic; Blues For Buddy. (54:29)Personnel: Joe Locke, vibes; David Hazeltine, piano; EssietEssiet, bass; Billy Drummond, drums.

CCDDss CCRRIITTIICCSS »»

Kurt Elling, Dedicated To You

When he’s singing the songs, not telling stories or scatting, Elling makes some wonderful music. He has arare tool, silky and giant, and the dexterity to fashion something unique out of it, with modern soul twists inthe phraseology that shouldn’t work, but most often do. This project is largely about the songs, whichmake a solid platform, though the dedication calls attention to the fact that where Hartman’s approach wassheer humility, Elling’s is steeped in ego. —John Corbett

The reedy-voiced Chicago hipster has made a creative and thoughtful translation of a classic album—I espe-cially like the string writing for the quartet, Ethel—but with the exception of the quietly simple “AutumnSerenade,” the music—like Elling—always seems to be drawing attention to itself, rather than the messageit’s so earnestly trying to send. —Paul de Barros

I appreciate the way the intrepid singer bends his lines—Elling keeps improv in the front of his mind. But occa-sionally, it’s too much sugar for a dime. There’s something overly elaborate about his choices here that stiff-ens several sections—could it be the string quartet? Sweet Ernie Watts maneuvers, though. —Jim Macnie

Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Infernal Machines

With his throbbing beats, drones, brass choirs, space-age eeriness and billowing clouds of sound, Argue isclearly an original. His wide-open settings allow ample breathing room for a wealth of young talent—JonWikan, Ingrid Jensen, Erika Von Kleist, Ryan Keberle. But some of these tracks flirt dangerously close to themelodrama and false grandeur of art rock. —Paul de Barros

Argue’s intent to retool the big band to contemporary specs is ambitious, intriguing, probably doomed, butstill worth hearing. The suite has energy up front, (“Zeno” is the best), pauses in an echo chamber of cos-mic guitar, then slinks with cautious restraint to a reinvigorated end. —John McDonough

Minimalist repetitions, indie rock riffs, jazz orchestrations—Argue’s compositional and arrangerly methodol-ogy is a stylistic appropriation of these and other resources. The necessity of transforming the materials tofit them together is Infernal Machines’ basic nut, and it’s handled with panache. —John Corbett

Sexmob, Meets Medeski Live In Willisau 2006

Listening to this live show makes me want to have been there—like their esthetic forebears the ArtEnsemble, they’ve always been a fun outfit to watch. Their connection with Medeski proves how quickly fel-low travelers can fall into line. It used to be their breadth that was impressive; these days it’s their depth.

—Jim Macnie

I wish they’d done a bit more than “meet.” Medeski doesn’t solo half enough on this rambunctious, raucous,irreverent, live ramble, but everyone else does, and it’s mostly a treat. “Black And Tan Fantasy” lives up toeverything the band has been saying about making jazz a party music again. —Paul de Barros

Sexmob, the more dangerous alter ego to Bernstein’s Millennial Territory band (see March 2009 “Hot Box”),is an act that’s more self-aware and ordered than it might wish you to think—but still an act. Music is itsmeans to the higher art of attitude where the SoHo sensibility typically resides. Much mockery and slapstick.Roguishly amusing, perhaps. —John McDonough

Joe Locke/David Hazeltine Quartet, Mutual Admiration Society 2

A shockingly straight and uncluttered jazz set. With no gimmicks, no pretences and no ambitions to startlethe world, it seems almost a throwback. But there’s nothing retro in Locke and Hazeltine, who find abundantfresh air in the simplicity of a relaxed rapport and a lightly swinging appeal. —John McDonough

Nothing too splashy or ostentatious, also nothing earth-moving, but very tuned-in quartet playing attractive,accomplished mainstream jazz with a dose of soul. Continued kudos to Billy Drummond for uplifting everysession he’s on. —John Corbett

The two bosses definitely connect—on some of these tunes their lines truly dance. But in a polyglot world,their adherence to a straightahead lingo—regardless of the grace with which it’s rendered—seems overlyorthodox and a tad limiting. —Jim Macnie

Critics’ Comments

Kurt EllingDedicated To You

Darcy James Argue’s Secret SocietyInfernal Machines

SexmobMeets Medeski Live In Willisau 2006

Joe Locke/David Hazeltine QuartetMutual Admiration Society 2

John John Jim PaulMcDonough Corbett Macnie de Barros

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Ordering info: thirstyear.com»

Ordering info: sharpnine.com»

The HOT Box

DB0909_62-77_REVIEWS.qxd 7/15/09 12:06 PM


vised encounter with the Swiss-born, NewYork-based pianist Sylvie Courvoisier. She’shardly hidebound in her approach to her instru-ment; she makes entirely persuasive forays intoher keyboard’s innards and uses preparations toturn it into a percussion instrument. She alsomakes bold, finely articulated statements in amore conventional fashion, sounding as indebt-ed to classical music as jazz.

Eskelin takes to this setting, which is lessrhythmically exacting but more harmonicallyrestrictive, with grace. He works in his horn’shigher registers, sounding at times like a morepatient but equally fluid Evan Parker.Courvoisier and Eskelin worked together for awhile before they made this record, and itshows; despite their dissimilar backgrounds,they’re quite compatible and even generous part-ners who understand how to balance comple-mentarity with individual statement. Key to thisrecord’s success is its recording quality, which isclear and faithful. —Bill Meyer

One Great Night … Live: The Decider; For No Good Reason;Coordinated Universal Time; Split The Difference; InstantCounterpoint; I Should Have Known; Half A Chance. (69:13)Personnel: Ellery Eskelin, tenor saxophone; Andrea Parkins,accordion, electric piano, organ, laptop sampler, grand piano;Jim Black, drums, percussion.

Every So Often: Moderato Cantabile; Architectural; A DistantPlace; Every So Often; Open Channel; Accidentals; Wave Off;Blind Spot; Processing. (60:03)Personnel: Ellery Eskelin, tenor saxophone; SylvieCourvoisier, piano.

quasi-smooth jazz feel that stems from Meek’sflute melody doubled with Landsberger and thepresence of Genus’ electric bass, its solos arepure bebop. Landsberger’s solos on everythingbesides “Ballada Para J” and his “Night Ballad”are generally of the right-hand, single-note burn-ing variety, as are Öberg’s. Pat Martino con-tributes two excellent nimble guitar solos on thewaltz “Sno’ Peas” and “Brazilian People,” andLandsberger and Öberg tear through his “ThreeBase Hit.” Gettin’ Blazed showcases a talentedorganist with diverse musical influences.

—Chris Robinson

Blues For Mel: Blues For Mel; Gentle Rain; Snapshot; I ThoughtAbout You; Nite Vidual; Killer Ray; Watch What Happens;Swedish Schnapps; Too Late Now; Forget New York; Who CanI Turn To?; Killer Ray (bonus radio edit). (63:36)Personnel: Kyle Asche, guitar; Melvin Rhyne, organ; GeorgeFludas, drums.

Gettin’ Blazed: Sno’ Peas; Brazilian People; Ballada Para J;Three Base Hit; Valse Manouche; Romance; Babik; AnotherStar; Night Ballad; Filthy McNasty. (50:11)Personnel: Jermaine Landsberger, Hammond B-3, FenderRhodes; Pat Martino, guitar (1, 2, 6); Andreas Öberg, guitar;James Genus, bass; Harvey Mason, drums; Gary Meek, tenorsaxophone, soprano saxophone, flute (1, 2, 9, 10); Kuno Schmid,synthesizer, Fender Rhodes.

Ellery Eskelin/Andrea Parkins/Jim Black One Great Night …LiveHATOLOGY 683

AAAA

Ellery Eskelin/SylvieCourvoisierEvery So OftenPRIME SOURCE 5010

AAAA

Ellery Eskelin figured out a long time go thatplaying jazz the same old way was not just anartistic dead end, but a denial of the musicalworld around him. His solution was the trio withAndrea Parkins and Jim Black, which chal-lenged convention not only with its unusual con-figuration—Parkins’ main instrument is anaccordion amplified after the fashion of JimiHendrix, her second a sampler—but whatEskelin had them play.

Rather than use composed heads as launchpads for solos or plunge headlong into unfet-tered improvisation, he embraces disruption byplacing contrasting written and freely impro-vised events side by side. The juxtapositionswork more like filmic jump-cuts or visual col-lages than conventionally programmatic suites.And while the trio plunders genres as disparateas bebop, samba, alternative rock and evenfusion, they scrutinize each element with so con-

centrated a gaze that itmelts like wax, all thebetter to twist it into abarely recognizable dis-tortion. Combine theseformal challenges withEskelin’s highly indi-vidual approach to hishorn, which applies amarvelous tonal com-mand across the regis-ters to elongated non-repeating lines that zigwhere you expect them

to zag, and you’ve got a band that sounds likenone other.

Ironically, the trio’s singularity has imposedits own challenge: how to keep growing, and notjust keep sounding different? Eskelin’s solutionhas been to add players, most notably Englishsinger Jessica Constable. One Great Night …Live, which was recorded in late 2007 at a one-off gig in Baltimore that capped a European tourwith Constable, is the trio’s first unaugmentedrecording since 2002’s magnificent ArcanumModerne. “For No Good Reason” is the album’sgrandest performance, dissolving effortlesslyfrom music box environments to quizzical bal-ladry to a hint of Jamaican dub; Parkins’ sam-pler renders cinematic sound effects and popgestures equally appositely.

But you needn’t forgo listening to Eskelin ifyou can’t warm up to the trio’s idiosyncraticsound. Every So Often is a completely impro- Ordering info:http://home.earthlink.net/~eskelin/order.html»

Ordering info: hathut.com»

Kyle AscheOrgan TrioBlues For MelTIPPIN’ RECORDS 1006

AAA

JermaineLandsbergerGettin’ BlazedRESONANCE RECORDS 1009

AA1/2

Those interested in empty, pyrotechnic bombastshould look elsewhere, whereas those in searchof a mature record showcasing solid grooves,inventive melodies and an understated funkinessshould look no further than the Kyle AscheOrgan Trio’s Blues For Mel.

Guitarist Asche, along with organist MelRhyne, who recorded several records with WesMontgomery, consistently churn out solid, wellconstructed solos. Asche has a keen melodicimagination, and he effectively develops hismelodies into substantive statements by framingthem in question/answer units, modifying themsequentially, or by combining both methods. Herarely plays what sound like pre-packaged licks,thus his solos have an original, organic feel.

On Rhyne’s medium-paced groover “KillerRay,” Asche elaborates his ideas and builds his

solo all while slowly ratcheting up thenastiness. Rhyne, whose percussivetouch and slightly staccato articulationcomplements Asche’s more relaxedand legato phrasing, isn’t afraid to jumpinto a solo burning, as on “NiteVidual”; he also exhibits a slower,more deliberate, measured style inwhich he uses ample space to set off hisphrases—especially on the ballads “IThought About You” and “Too Late

Now.” Drummer George Fludas is alwayslocked in with Asche and Rhyne, and he con-tributes fine solos on “Snapshot” and “NiteVidual.”

Organist Jermaine Landsberger’s Gettin’Blazed is in a completely different bag.Landsberger, making his U.S. recording debut,switched from piano to organ in 2001, thus hisorgan style is more pianistic, as he leaves thebass lines to bassist James Genus. Gettin’ Blazeddraws on stylistically varied material including afusion-pop treatment of Django Reinhardt’s“Babik,” Horace Silver’s “Filthy McNasty”(which features strong solos from Landsberger,tenor saxophonist Gary Meek, Genus and gui-tarist Andreas Öberg) and an uptempo swingtake of Stevie Wonder’s “Another Star.”

Although the Latin “Brazilian People” has a Ordering info: resonancerecords.org»

Ordering info: tippinrecords.com»

DB0909_62-77_REVIEWS.qxd 7/15/09 12:06 PM


JacquesLoussierPlays Bach: The50th AnniversaryRecordingTELARC 83693

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You could say thatJacques Loussier hasgotten plenty ofmileage out of agreat idea. The time was right, in the late 1950s,for mixing elements of classical music and jazzin a sleek chamber setting. These particulartracks represent the work of his second PlayBach Trio, with two younger musicians, VincentCharbonnier and Andre Arpino, taking the placeof the bassist and drummer from of the originalgroup.

As a result, these selections lack the edgynovelty of the idea as explored by Loussier inthe late ’50s. Its absence, however, makes thepoint that he has accomplished his mission, ifthat mission was to draw from disparate tradi-tions, sacrificing none of the attributes of either,to come up with something new. He succeededin part because of the linear nature of bothBaroque structure and jazz improvisation; coun-terpoint, like a horn solo, unfolds horizontally.

Sometimes he follows a fairly literal

approach. His straightforward (andmasterful) reading of the “Partita In EMajor” is undistracted but nonethelessenhanced by very discreet inferencesfrom Arpino’s cymbal ride. Similarly,on the “Invention For Two Voices,” thecomposition is essentially intact until ablowing section allows the musicians torun with its written motifs before bring-ing it home with a literal final cadence.

But we also have the “Minuet In GMajor,” in which Loussier’s left hand movesfrom a bit of Bach’s written text through delicatechord sequences to moments where the twocoexist, organic and in the moment; it recallswhat Vince Guaraldi sought to achieve in his“Peanuts” music, though it ascends to a levelway above charm or nostalgia. Here, and innearly every moment of this disc, we have thetransformation of Loussier’s idea into somethingbeautiful, even magical, and enduring.

—Robert L. Doerschuk

Jacques Loussier Plays Bach: The 50th Anniversary

Recording: Partita In E Major; Invention For Two Voices, No. 8;Siciliana In G Minor; Vivace From Concerto In C Minor; ToccataAnd Fugue In C Minor (Overture, Adagio, Fugue); Minuet In GMajor; Prelude No. 2 In C Minor; Chromatic Fantasy; ChoraleNo. 1 “Sleepers Awake.” (53:00)Personnel: Jacques Loussier, piano; Vincent Charbonnier, bass;André Arpino, drums.

Ordering info: telarc.com»

Hank Jones/Frank WessHank And Frank IILINEAGE 106

AA

Maybe it’s wrong, butpeople tend to listen toyoung and seasonedartists differently.With newer perform-ers, we want some-thing unexpected. We hope for excitement. Withthe old masters, “excitement” seldom heads thelist of common anticipations, except in the sensethat it’s a thrill to see someone with some histo-ry to his or her name. And so we listen to thelong-established greats with respect as well as alittle charity.

Certainly respect is merited, but as HankJones and Frank Wess stroll through Hank AndFrank II like two friends revisiting the neighbor-hood where they grew up, the question of chari-ty is addressed more uncomfortably. It’s not thatthey do anything embarrassing, but neither isthere much that suggests the magnitude of theirlegacies. Tempos adhere to a comfortable mid-dle range, somewhere between an amble and apower walk. Arrangements are loose enough tobarely qualify as arrangements: Jones takes theverses, Wess plays the bridge, Jones comes backin, guitarist Ilya Lushtak fills unobtrusively andtakes a solo of his own, etc. Every now and then

it’s a little ragged, as on “IllWind,” where drummer MickeyRoker seems to miss the cue forthe finish.

It’s all listenable but maybea little sad. One can take thismusic in as one takes in a rela-tive for a short stay; once it’sover, not much has changed andyou’re not in a hurry to replaythe experience. Or one can askhow this album would touch us

if we’d never heard of these performers. The awkwardness of this question magnifies

as soon as Marion Cowings starts to sing. He’s aveteran, too, but unlike the instrumentalists heasserts himself forcefully into the music. Withthe quartet on “If I Were A Bell,” he flaunts old-school phrasing but also nears the annoyancethreshold as he chokes several short words andwrings a few others dry with a grating andsomewhat wavering sustain. Despite his com-mand of the style, his delivery tests the listener’scharitable inclinations even more than anythinghis colleagues play. —Robert L. Doerschuk

Hank And Frank II: Sunday; Lord Prepare Me; More Than YouKnow; If I Were A Bell; I Had the Craziest Dream; When YourLover Has Gone; Chasing The Bird; Ill Wind; Jordu; The First TimeI Saw Ella; Quintessence; You Don’t Know What Love Is; Stay asSweet as You Are; For All We Know; I’ll Be Seeing You (67:33)Personnel: Hank Jones, piano; Frank Wess, tenor sax, flute;Ilya Lushtak, guitar; John Webber, bass; Mickey Roker, drums;Marion Cowings, vocals.

Ordering info: lineagerecords.com»

DB0909_62-77_REVIEWS.qxd 7/15/09 12:06 PM


Bobby BroomPlays For MonkORIGIN 82534

AAAA

Thelonious Monk’s music—with its quirky andchallenging melodies, compelling progressionsand traces of humor and poignancy runningthrough everything—is the gift that keeps ongiving. His tunes, in the right hands, can soundeternally fresh. So it’s no big surprise that well-traveled guitarist Bobby Broom (a regular withSonny Rollins, Dr. John and Chicago’s DeepBlue Organ Trio) is handily able to turn 10pieces written by or associated with Monk intosmall gems of musical discovery.

The cover of Plays For Monk is a nod tothe art from the 1957 album Monk’s Music,with Broom’s guitar placed in the spot Monkoccupied on the old cover. Joined by regulartrio mates Dennis Carroll on bass and KobieWatkins on drums, Broom takes on only onepiece from that recording, a gorgeous, carefullysculpted rendition of the melancholy infusedballad “Ruby, My Dear.” He stretches hissprawling, bluesy lines over the slow-tickingrhythm section, staying just behind the beat formaximum tension-and-release pleasure.

Broom skips some of the most-playedMonk tunes (like “’Round Midnight” and“Straight, No Chaser”) in favor of others, likegently twisting opener “Ask Me Now,” whichopens up for Carroll’s conversant bass solo; thetricky, brushes-sizzling “Work,” complete witha dancing fours-trading section with Watkins;and a parade-marching “Bemsha Swing.” Thetrio fronts “In Walked Bud” with 16 bars ofgrinding groove work, and Broom spikes theup-tempo “Rhythm-a-ning” with a surprisingchord substitution. He caps the set with a shim-mering solo-guitar reading of the standard“Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” a mesmerizingand inventive rendition that calls for more.

—Philip Booth

Plays For Monk: Ask Me Now; Evidence; Ruby, My Dear; InWalked Bud; Lulu’s Back In Town; Reflections; Work; Rhythm-a-ning; Bemsha Swing; Smoke Gets In Your Eyes. (56:41)Personnel: Bobby Broom, guitar; Dennis Carroll, bass; KobieWatkins, drums.

ChristianMcBride &Inside StraightKind Of BrownMACK AVENUE 1047

AAA1/2

If you’re listening forany ties to MilesDavis’ Kind Of Bluehere, you’ll be hard-pressed. ChristianMcBride’s latest title suggests more a play onwords than anything else. And his InsideStraight band is all about playing inside and,well, straight, as in straightahead. Straight-ahead, in this case, allows for a few side tripsoff the beaten swing path, e.g., the funk flavorsof “Brother Mister,” which opens the set, andthe lyrical Latin bent of “Starbeam.” But most-ly, the band shines when it’s all about theswinging groove, as when McBride starts off“Theme For Kareem” with one of his manyexceptional solos.

Kind Of Brown is laced with a blues feelingif not the blues. In this spirit, McBride’s produc-tion creates a setting where every player getsinto the act as if to make a simple statement andthen moves off center stage. Shades of the clas-sic John Coltrane Quartet are heard in thebridges and beyond with the medium-temposwinger “Rainbow Wheel,” pianist Eric Reed’s

McCoy Tyner-esque touches full andinspired, saxist Steve Wilson’s brightalto a deft counterweight, everythingsuddenly buttressed by more soloingfrom McBride. Indeed, the arrange-ments keep the listener engaged, cre-ating the picture of an improvisingband enveloped by a fluid structurethat keeps things moving inside aninvisible network of interactions, each

song mixing up who comes next. And just when one thinks the sound of the

band is geared around Wilson’s horn andWarren Wolf Jr.’s vibes—the two helping todefine many of the songs’ theme statements—it’s McBride’s ever-present touch and Reed’ssupportive playing that come to the fore.

With Carl Allen’s active but never overbear-ing drumming, Inside Straight is the picture of aband seemingly made for each other.Paradoxically, Inside Straight’s cohesivenesscan also be a drawback, their obvious profes-sionalism on display across 10 listenable but oft-times nondescript tunes. McBride’s bass playingultimately steals the show . —John Ephland

Kind Of Brown:Brother Mister; Theme For Kareem; Rainbow Wheel;Starbeam; Used ’Ta Could; The Shade Of The Cedar Tree; Pursuit OfPeace; Uncle James; Stick & Move; Where Are You? (64:21)Personnel: Christian McBride, bass; Carl Allen, drums; Eric ScottReed, piano; Steve Wilson, saxophone; Warren Wolf Jr., vibes.

Ordering info: mackavenue.com»

Ronnie Earl & TheBroadcastersLiving In The LightSTONY PLAIN 1340

AAA1/2

On his new studio album,Earl makes his blues-and-more guitar music unfoldat a junction of deeply feltemotion and moral uprightness. As always, he’sin quest of transcendence, and it appears that hedoes “live in the light” for more than hour byusing his old Stratocasters to challenge and riseabove the dark inner turbulence he knows.

Pitting high register against low, contrastingshaken single notes with chords, channeling riffsas if in supernatural communion with blues, souland jazz heroes in Elysian Fields above, Earlkeeps seven instrumentals fresh and irresistibleover many listens. Each shuffle, boogie, or slowgroove has an emotional touchstone: a physician(“S. O. S”); a recently departed, dear-to-his-heartcolleague (“Blues For Fathead”); his wife(“Donna Lee”); Otis Rush’s Chicago (“BluesFor The South Side”); even the waterway cele-brated by Thoreau and the transcendentalists thatflows near his home in rural Massachusetts(“River Charles Blues”). Earl is ever so gratefulfor the people and nature in his life.

Living In The Light differs from the albumsEarl made earlier this decade by having a singer

out front (he’s employed a gospelgroup before, and here again onBob Dylan’s “What Can I Do ForYou?”). Earl’s close friend KimWilson lends uninteresting,strained vocals to three straightblues, including Earl’s open-woundHolocaust song, “Child Of ASurvivor.”

Dave Keller, a singer-guitaristbased in Vermont, has sincerity in reserve, but hedoesn’t fare any better than Wilson when vocal-izing Earl’s peace-anthem “Love, Love, Love”and Dylan’s “What Can I Do For You?” Well,who might match the outstanding sensitivity ofEarl’s guitar in the former song and contributemarvelous uplift to the latter? Absentees DarrellNulisch, Susan Tedeschi and Mighty SamMcClain. Totally in agreement with Earl and hiskeen sense of musical spirituality is fine drum-mer Lorne Entress—a committed, long-termmember of Earl’s flock. —Frank-John Hadley

Living In The Light: Love, Love, Love; S. O. S.; Take A LittleWalk With Me; River Charles Blues; What Can I Do For You?;Recovery Blues; Blues For Fathead; Child Of A Survivor; BluesFor The South Side; Ain’t Nobody’s Business; Donna Lee;Pastorale. (70:19)Personnel: Ronnie Earl, guitar; Dave Limina, Hammond B-3organ, piano; Jim Mouradian, bass; Lorne Entress, drums; KimWilson, harmonica and vocals (3, 8, 11); Dave Keller, vocals (1,5); David Maxwell, piano (3, 8); Rod Carey, bass (8); JasonJames, second guitar (4); church choir (5).

Ordering info: stonyplainrecords.com» Ordering info: origin-records.com»

DB0909_62-77_REVIEWS.qxd 7/15/09 12:07 PM


by James HaleJAZZ

Global KeysRecorded in the Maybeck studio inNorthern California that produced so manygreat-sounding piano recordings, Under

The Water (Libra 202-024; 54:24) AAAApresents a gamut of pianistic approachesby Satoko Fujii and Myra Melford. In threeduets, the women merge their voices, trad-ing soundboard percussion, inside-the-piano effects and swirling keyboard tech-niques. Alone, the staggeringly prolific Fujiivaries dynamics widely, jump-cutting froma fierce, free barrage to a sprinkle of single,crystalline notes. Melford favors morepropulsion, playing against a bass motifbefore unleashing waves of rapid counter-motion. Sometimes surfing crests of sound,other times diving deep into the darkness,the musicians explore every aspect of thewater theme.Ordering info: www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~Libra/

Journeyman pianist Rick Germansonhas played with a wide range of leaders—from Jimmy Cobb to Frank Lacy—so it’s nosurprise that Off The Cuff (Owl 127; 53:15)

AAA covers a diverse array of styles andmoods. For buoyancy, there’s the burningopener, “Quagmire,” and the bop-styled“Brick,” built on the chords of “You AndThe Night And The Music.” For pathos,there’s a counter-intuitively melancholictake on Freddie Hubbard’s “Up JumpedSpring,” recorded just days after the trum-peter’s death and all the more poignant forthe presence of Hub’s longtime drummer,Louis Hayes.Ordering info: owlstudios.com

There is no shortage of intensity onEmerge (BJU 006; 52:03) AAA but the trioof pianist Daniel Kelly, bassist Chris Tarryand drummer Jordan Perlson don’t domuch original with all that power. On“Obfyor” and “Michelangelo’s UncarvedBlock” they sound like they’re channelingThe Bad Plus, while “Anima/Animus”mines Chick Corea’s Latin-meets-fusionvein. “Song For Katherine” and the prog-rocker “Canary Effect” are more effective,showcasing Tarry’s tough, melodic electricbass. The slow burn of “Transience”—aperfect setting for Kelly’s spare playing—illustrates another of the band’s strong suits.Ordering info: bjurecords.com

Australian pianist Barney McAll playswith a clean articulation and melodic deter-mination that suggests Keith Jarrett, andKurt Rosenwinkel’s stinging guitar workthroughout Flashbacks (Self-Released;

57:36) AAA1/2 is an ideal match—reminis-

cent of the late Sam Brown’s work with

Jarrett on Expectations in 1972. There isalso something of a throwback vibe to theeasy confluence of acoustic and electricinstruments, as well as to the aggressiveslam that “Red And Black Shifts” delivers.McAll writes lyrically compelling lines andsets them against a variety of rhythmicmovement.Ordering info: barneymcall.com

To state the obvious, Marcus Robertshas a fluency at the piano that few canapproach. What’s more, his 14-year-old triowith drummer Jason Marsalis and bassistRoland Guerin has the fluidity that onlylong hours on the bandstand can build.That stated, New Orleans Meets Harlem,

Vol. 1 (J-Master; 65:54) AAA1/2 would be a

lot more fun if Roberts wasn’t trying sohard to illustrate both of those realities, inaddition to the links between early NewOrleans piano and post-war Northernstyles. Roberts and company shift gearsmore often than an F1 driver, throwingevery stylistic tic and trick into the mix,proving that even the best professor canbecome tedious.Ordering info: marcusroberts.com

Lyrical and propulsive, Dark Sand

(Travelers Road 195; 67:23) AAAA bypianist Sergio Salvatore and vibraphonistChristos Rafalides is more than a littlereminiscent of the 1970s duets of ChickCorea and Gary Burton, althoughRafalides has a much drier tone thanBurton. The comparison is most apt fortheir ability to fit parts together ingenious-ly and reinforce the soloist’s lines. Abroadly diverse program that includes animble take on Charles Mingus’“Nostalgia In Times Square” and somemelodic originals, Dark Sand is highlight-ed by a churning interpretation of LucianoSalvatore’s “Suite Together (Part II).” DB

Ordering info: travelersroadmusic.com

Marcus Roberts:unapproachablefluency

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DB0909_62-77_REVIEWS.qxd 7/15/09 12:37 PM


Phil WoodsThe Children’s SuiteJAZZEDMEDIA 1040

AAAA

Many a jazz-loving parent has pondered how tointroduce their children to a music that generallyoperates above the heads of most adults. Veteranalto saxophonist Phil Woods just made thatdilemma easier. He’s crafted a suite of jazz songsinspired by A.A. Milne’s timeless children’s sto-ries. Woods wrote and arranged for a spareorchestra, rhythm and a string component. Itswings and it floats admirably, conveying a vari-ety of moods. Singers Vicki Doney and BobDorough were inspired choices: she’s pliable andversatile, and he remains one of jazz’s greateccentric vocalists. Peter Dennis providesGielgudesque narration and verse.

While it’s doubtful that most children havethe stamina and focus for 77 minutes of music,Woods stacks the musical deck in his favor:Accessible melody is ever-present, the themesand motifs are varied, and solos seldom lastbeyond a chorus. Every kid has known Doney’slonging on “Come Out With Me,” and fuzz toneguitar on the atonal “Knight-in-Armour” willsurely get their attention.

Woods’ alto sings dimensionally throughout:sassy on “Pinkle,” swinging with snap on“Morning Walk” and melancholic on “ComeOut.” He also displays fine writing, like themoody voicings of “Down By The Pond” andthe Stravinsky-esque strings on “ButtercupDays.”

Considering our toxic contemporary culture,kids could do much worse than get to knowthese songs. Their parents should like them, too.

—Kirk Silsbee

The Children’s Suite: The Good Little Girl; Come Out With Me;Sneezies; Pinkie Purr; Down By The Pond; Waiting At TheWindow; Buttercup Days; The Friend & Us Two; Furry Bear;Knight-in-Armour; Wind On The Hill & The Engineer; Solitude;The Morning Walk; In The Dark & The End. (77:24)Personnel: Phil Woods, alto saxophone; Vicki Doney, BobDorough, vocals; Peter Dennis, narrator; Ken Brader III, trum-pet, flugelhorn; Bobby Routch, French horn, flugelhorn; RickChamberlain, trombone; Nelson Hill, alto saxophone, flute; TomHamilton, tenor saxophone, clarinet; Roger Rosenberg, baritonesaxophone, bass clarinet; Eric Doney, piano; Mark Williams, gui-tar; Steve Gilmore, bass; Bill Goodwin, drums; Paul Peabody,Joanna Farrer, violins; Juliet Haffner, viola; Mary Wooten, cello.

Lucky ThompsonNew York City 1964–65 UPTOWN 27.57/27.58

AAA

Uptown Records has struckaces on its recent FlashbackSeries, documenting conse-quential—even paradigmshifting—location captures.Lucky Thompson: New YorkCity, 1964-65, Uptown’s latest excavation, is aworthy addition to that catalog, and hardcoreThompson fans will consider it a valuable addi-tion to the saxophonist’s not-large-enoughdiscography (much of which is out of print) forthe musical content, the excellent sound andthe comprehensive program notes, authored byGigi Gryce biographer Noal Cohen and jazzjournalist Dan Morgenstern.

In fact, Morgenstern co-produced theThompson-led octet recital that makes up diskone, as one of six concerts in a winter 1964series titled “Jazz On Broadway” at the LittleTheater. As indicated in contemporaneousreviews by Whitney Balliett and John S.Wilson that are reprinted in the booklet, theperhaps under-rehearsed proceedings—it wasthe first of four sets over two nights—are atouch stiff and lugubrious, outlining themusic’s architecture without channeling its ani-mating spirit.

A formidable stylist on tenor and sopranosaxophones, Thompson never quite hits hisstride, the rhythm section doesn’t swing, and—despite the best efforts of Thompson’s closefriend Hank Jones—never finds the perfecttempo.

Drawn from a stereo radiobroadcast 51 weeks later atManhattan’s Half Note, disktwo documents Thompsonoperating at the highest levelof chops and creativity with aswing-at-all-tempos rhythmsection anchored by bassistGeorge Tucker and propelledby drummer Oliver Jackson.We hear Thompson’s well-

tuned, instantly recognizable soprano saxo-phone voice on his flagwaver “The WorldAwakes” and on a personalized “What’s New.”Thus inspired, he picks up the tenor for TaddDameron’s “Lady Bird” and GeorgeGershwin’s “Strike Up The Band” anduncorks solos notable for tone, articulation,harmonic ingenuity, melodic development,relaxed, cat-like rhythmic phrasing, dynamicarc and overall cohesion. Offering informedcomp and counterstating the flow is pianistPaul Neves, an individualistic New Englandpianist (he had played in a trio led by Bostondrum legend Alan Dawson) whose careernever made it past the well-kept-secret stage.

—Ted Panken

New York City, 1964–65: (Disc 1) Theme; The World Awakes;Minuet In Blues; ’Twas Yesterday; Firebug; Theme 2 (39:51).(Disc 2) Introduction; The World Awakes; What’s New; AlanGrant Speaks; Lady Bird; Alan Grant; Strike Up The Band (44:38).Personnel: (Disc 1) Lucky Thompson, soprano saxophone,tenor saxophone; Danny Tucker, alto saxophone; Cecil Payne,baritone saxophone; Dave Burns, trumpet; Benny Powell, trom-bone; Hank Jones, piano; Richard Davis, bass; Al Dreares,drums. (Disc 2) Thompson, soprano saxophone and tenor sax-ophone; Paul Neves, piano; George Tucker, bass; OliverJackson, drums; Alan Grant, spoken vocals.

Ordering info: uptownrecords.net»

Mike Stern BandNew Morning: The ParisConcertHEADS UP DV 7166

AAAA

Mike Stern is a frenetic,whirling dervish of a gui-tarist whose contagiousenergy, intensity, wide grinand tremendous blowingskills sets his entire bandafire. Recorded at Paris’popular New Morning club (5/16/2008), thisconcert DVD is the next best thing to seeingStern at one of his legendary 55 Bar gigs in NewYork. Or it may be better.

Like all road dogs, Stern is energized by anattentive audience; the crowd at New Morningpaying close attention to every string bend anddrum note displacement. They’re rewarded withStern’s typically insane guitar work in songslike the 16th-note-ripping burners “Chroma-zone” and “KT,” as well as the more lyrical,near ballad affairs, “Wing And A Prayer” and

“Wishing Well.” Always the master of the slow

burn, Stern pushes his battered Telenearly past the point of possibility,ratcheting up the heat by degrees justwhen you assume that’s all there is.Sure, there’s a bit of funk/fusion-by-numbers happening—these guyshave been doing it so long they coulddrill this stuff in their sleep—butwhen the sparks ignite as in“Chromazone” and “Tumble Home,”this band is a bruiser, leaving nothing

but blisters and a sweaty stage in their wake.With the tried-and-tested rhythm team of DaveWeckl and Tom Kennedy, this is easily MikeStern’s best band ever, as he blows mad fromHall to Hendrix with nothing but grins inbetween. —Ken Micallef

New Morning: The Paris Concert: Tumble Home; KT;Wishing Well; What Might Have Been; Chatter; That's All It Is;Wing And A Prayer; Chromazone. (112:00)Personnel: Mike Stern, guitar; Tom Kennedy, bass; BobFranceschini, tenor sax; Dave Weckl, drums.

Ordering info: headsup.com» Ordering info: jazzedmedia.com»

DB0909_62-77_REVIEWS.qxd 7/15/09 12:07 PM


by Frank-John HadleyBLUES

Inheritors and VeteransBig James & the Chicago Playboys: Right

Here Right Now (Blind Pig 5232; 47:08)

AAA1/2 On his Blind Pig debut, singer

James Montgomery proves he has emo-tional strength worthy of a major-leaguesoul bluesman, not to mention a knackfor playing jazz trombone. He keeps hishumanistic concerns paramount in hislyrics, and his songs are an unpredictablecollision of funky blues and horn-drivenr&b. “Love To See You Smile” boasts abass line out of Booker T & The MGs’Memphis soul. The love confessional“Help” looks to the Isley Brothers, withguitarist Mike Wheeler in Ernie Isley’sshoes.Ordering info: blindpigrecords.com

Keith Crossan: Beatnik Jungle (KM

Music 001; 33:26) AAA1/2 It took a good

while—30-plus years and thousands ofshows with bosses like John Lee Hooker,and Tommy Castro—but Crossan hasfinally turned in his first solo album. It’s awinner. Not using singers, the Bay Areasaxophonist takes stock of jump-blues(“Turk’s Groove”), greased-up funk (“OutThe Gate,” with Austin de Lone onHammond), Jr. Walker-style r&b(“Clemency”), and crime jazz-blues withdabs of Thelonious Monk-ish piano(“Paris”) or heavy streaks of big-bandcolor (“Beatnik Jungle”).Ordering info: keithcrossan.com

Judy Roderick & The Forbears: When

I’m Gone (Dexofon 0813; 47:37) AAAAOne of the few outstanding white bluessingers, Roderick died way too early at 49in 1992. She and her Big Sky overalls-and-boots band get it just right playingstraight blues, r&b, folk-country, hokumand swing-era jazz, and Chuck Berry rockon a stirring Americana album firstreleased in 1983. Dr. John and a horn sec-tion show up to add punch or sway tofour of a dozen tracks. Oh, Lord, she’smissed.Ordering info: dexofon.com

Felix Cabrera Band with Jimmy Vivino:

Live At The Turning Point (Suitcase Sound

001; 66:26) AAAA This New York clubperformance starring Cabrera and “ConanO’Brien” guitarist Vivino finds volumes ofblues tension built and released withuncommon assurance. Cabrera, of Cubanheritage, owns a distinctive singing voice,and his harp playing has a depth of char-acter forged out of influences Little Walter

and James Cotton. In this music, lyricism,excitement, jazzy freedom and a feeling ofintimate spaciousness are never far apart.Cabrera’s melodic tunes are as fine as thefreshened-up blues classics and theunlikely merger of “Manteca” and BobDylan’s “Maggie’s Farm.”Ordering info: felixcabrera.com

Rick Estrin & The Nightcats: Twisted

(Alligator 4930; 52:01) AAA1/2 Estrin’s

singing—pinched in tone, smart-alecky—doesn’t agree with everyone, but given afair shake its peculiar charisma can win youover. His harmonica is beyond reproach,gouging the air with its heartfelt lines andsure rhythms. With guitarist Charlie Batyout of the band, ace replacement KidAnderson expresses active ideas with plen-ty of verve. The crackerjack rhythm section,too, draws wry humor and honest revelryout of new material, including instrumen-tals. Back-to-back home runs: the casuallyintense kiss-off “You Can’t Come Back” andthe dead-serious slow wail “Someone,Somewhere.”Ordering info: alligator.com

Jenni Muldaur: Dearest Darlin’

(Dandelion Music; 36:07) AAA1/2 Inheriting

her semi-famous father’s musical intelli-gence and her famous mother’s lungpower, Jenni is a non-conformist who isdelighted to bring the immediacy of dis-covery to blues and r&b obscurities she’staken on loan from blues dynamo BigMama Thornton, New Orleans’ LeeDorsey, balladeer James Brown, BoDiddley, NRBQ and more. Sean Costello,now gone, plays good guitar. DB

Ordering info: dendelionmusic.us

Big James: major leaguer

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Lucky 7s Pluto Junkyard CLEAN FEED 141

AAA1/2

If there was any silver lining to be found in thedark clouds that gathered over New Orleans inAugust of 2005, it would have to be the way inwhich the musical seeds scattered by Katrina’swinds have begun to sprout in their new soils.Witness the Lucky 7s, a cross-pollination of theNawlins and Chicago scenes that has resultedin an often stirring hybrid of the two cities’sounds. Co-led by trombonists Jeb Bishop andJeff Albert (the one Orleanian who hasreturned to his beleaguered hometown), the 7scouple the brawny angularity of the WindyCity with the flavorings of brass band funk.

The Chicago coterie—Bishop, cornetistJosh Berman, tenorist Keefe Jackson and vibistJason Adasiewicz—are well-known, both toeach other and to followers of that scene. Butthe injection of Albert, bassist MatthewGolombisky and drummer Quin Kirchnerforces them into some unexpected terrain.Chief among them is the closing tune,“Sunny’s Bounce,” a relatively straightforwardswinger that Albert wrote under the influenceof one of Sun Ra’s old Delmark releases.

The surrealist-noir feel is skewed by thespikiness of the ensemble’s approach,Adasiewicz’s vibes adding the proper dose ofArkestral atmosphere. His solo on “Ash”reaches dreamily upward before Albert andBishop cross swords in a raucous ’bones duel.

The inspiration of both instrumentation andcontext allow for a range of textures, from theKatrina-inspired stained-glass meditation ofBishop’s “Afterwards” to the raucous urgencyof “The Dan Hang,” to which the Chicago co-leader overdubbed a squalling electric guitar,pouring fuel onto an already raging fire.

—Shaun BradyPluto Junkyard: #6; Pluto Junkyard; Ash; Cultural Baggage;Future Dog (For Jaki); Jaki’s Walk; Afterwards; The Dan Hang;Sunny’s Bounce. (70:09)Personnel: Jeb Bishop, trombone, guitar (8); Jeff Albert, trom-bone, bass trombone; Josh Berman, cornet; Keefe Jackson, tenorsaxophone; Jason Adasiewicz, vibes; Matthew Golombisky,acoustic bass, electric bass (8); Quin Kirchner, drums.

Roswell RuddTrombone TribeSUNNYSIDE 1207

AAAA1/2

The term “masterpiece”has its limits in discussingjazz, particularly when themusic in question embod-ies the most ephemeralaspects of jazz—the spark,the flame and the smoke that Roswell Ruddemphasizes. Perhaps that’s why jazz master-pieces are ultimately codified through scores andtranscriptions, and rhythm is rendered as part ofa warhorse’s anatomy. Rudd instead usesrhythm to protean ends, creating multiple feelsin a performance; for almost a half century, thetrombonist has extended Herbie Nichols’ meld-ing of march, Dixieland and rumba feels ontunes like “Twelve Bars.” Rudd and Sexmobnail the veering saunter and balletic wobble onthe winning version included on TromboneTribe. It’s masterful, as is the bulk of this album.

The other four ensembles featured on thealbum demonstrate an ease with Rudd’s themesand grooves, but only the New Orleans-basedBonerama matches Sexmob for greasy cooking.However, a lot more is required of the others,and it is how they handle their respective, variedcompositions that make the album’s case forunity through diversity so solid. While theyswing persuasively, particularly on the Latinmovement of the five-part “A Place Above,” theGangbe Brass Band of Benin are most impres-sive when they apply a ceremonial propriety andpolish to the album-bracketing fanfares.

Similarly, the all-star, six-boneseptet featuring the indefatigableEddie Bert simply steamrollsthrough “Astro Slyde,” yet theytrump themselves with the waythey gradually squeeze exuber-ance from the lugubrious open-ing plaint on “Hulla Gulla.”

Rudd’s Trombone Tribe sex-tet brings a deceptively loosefeel to a wide berth of materials.

“Elton Dean” would lope unabashedly were itnot for the occasional sharp-edged line thatrequires subtle shifts in tone and attack. Thecalypso bounce of “To The Day” and the cruis-ing-speed roll of “Sand In My Slide Shuffle”have an incessant undertow. This is partly attrib-utable to the pull between Henry Grimes andBob Stewart, which is most prominent on “NoEnd,” where Grimes’ false start-flecked openingsolo implies a different feel than that laid downby Stewart. Likewise, the outbound energies ofRudd, Deborah Weisz and Steve Swell are cir-cumscribed by Barry Altschul’s impeccabledrumming. —Bill Shoemaker

Trombone Tribe: Fan Fare; Elton Dean; Astro Slyde; HullaGulla; No End; Bone Again With Bonerama; To The Day; Sand InMy Slide Shuffle; Slide & The Family Bone; Twelve Bars WithSexmob; A Place Above (suite). (58:20)Select Personnel: Rosewell Rudd, Deborah Weisz, Sam Burtis,Steve Swell, Ray Anderson, Eddie Bert, Wycliffe Gordon, JoshRoseman, trombone; Henry Grimes, bass, violin; Bob Stewart,tuba; Barry Altschul, drums; Steve Bernstein, slide trumpet (10);Briggan Krauss, alto saxophone (10); Doug Wieselman, clarinet(10); Marcus Rojas, tuba (10); Tony Sherr, bass (10); KennyWollesen, drums (10); Gangbe Brass Band of Benin (1, 11–15);Bonerama (6).

Ordering info: sunnysiderecords.com»

Justin Adams &Juldeh CamaraTell No LiesREAL WORLD 884108

AAAA

British rock guitaristJustin Adams has dis-played a steady interestin West African soundsover the last decades, both through his workwith former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plantand in producing the debut album by Tuaregrockers Tinariwen. He’s entered the fray moredirectly in this project with Malian JuldehCamara, a singer and a dynamo on the ancientone-stringed fiddle known as the riti. The pro-ject’s second album, Tell No Lies, explores theoft-discussed connections between Americanblues and the hypnotic, circular Malian musicmade famous by guitarist Ali Farka Toure.

While a few tunes push the links a bit tooliterally—“Kele Kele (No Passport No Visa)”adopts a Bo Diddley beat and “Fulani CoochieMan” strains in its homage to Muddy Waters—the overwhelming majority of the album nails

the commonalities to create anexciting, unfussy hybrid. Adamsis impressive at adapting hisraunchy rock guitar to the modaldemands of the African founda-tion here, sticking with the instru-ment’s low-end range even whenuncorking some of his most fero-cious solos. Amazingly, his elec-tric riffs sound utterly natural

beside the keening, rustic riti lines scraped outCamara, who’s a phenomenally soulful andexpressive singer. The pair, which gets littleinstrumental help outside the dynamic handpercussion of Salah Dawson Miller, make thecross-cultural blend work because they clearlyunderstand both sides of the equation.

—Peter Margasak

Tell No Lies: Sahara; Tonio Yima; Kele Kele (No Passport NoVisa); Fulani Coochie Man; Achu; Madam Mariama; Gainako;Nangu Sobeh; Banjul Girl; Chukaloy Dayoy; Futa Jalo. (53:54)Personnel: Justin Adams, electric, acoustic guitars, vocals, per-cussion, piano, bass; Juldeh Camara, vocals, ritti, kologo; SalahDawson Miller, percussion (1); Mim Suleiman, backing vocals(1); Billy Fuller, electric and upright bass (2, 3, 5, 6); SimonEdwards, baby bass (9).

Ordering info: realworldrecords.com» Ordering info: cleanfeed-records.com»

DB0909_62-77_REVIEWS.qxd 7/15/09 12:08 PM


by Peter MargasakBEYOND

BrazilianReinventionsEarly in Rio De Janeiro singer ClaraMoreno’s career, she seemed to be tryingto distance herself from her famous moth-er, Joyce, using electronica to differentiateher music from bossa-jazz. But in the lastfew years she’s been reaching out to moretraditional sounds and her terrific newalbum Miss Balanço (Far Out 141; 51:40)

AAAA, produced by her mom, finds hersettling in nicely. She tackles lesser-known’60s samba classics associated with musi-cians like Wilson Simonal and Jorge Ben,and her young band’s bright, buoyantarrangements remake the tunes in her ownimage. Samba vets João Donato andOrlandivo lend a hand, but Moreno hasnever sounded so confident and rhythmi-cally astute.Ordering info: faroutrecordings.com

With his debut album, Says Don Day

Don Dree Don Don (Luaka Bop 80899 0071;

38:17) AAAA singer Márcio Local alsolooks to the past for inspiration, specificallythe samba soul pioneered by Jorge Ben.On the killer opening track “Samba SemNenhum Problema” he employs a danger-ously effective falsetto, elongating wordsjust like Ben in his prime. The album, pro-duced by Mario Caldato Jr., doesn’t ignorethe present, folding in some hip-hop ele-ments and electronic flourishes, but despiteits deep investment in ’70s sounds, Local’ssinging and his tunes are so strong andinfectious that it’s impossible to sweat thathe wears his influences on his sleeve.Ordering info: luakabop.com

Moacyr Luz, known primarily as a com-poser whose tunes have been tackled byMaria Bethania, Nana Caymmi and EmilioSantiago, has always been a staunch sam-bisto, and with his latest album, Batucando

(Biscoito Fino 867; 42:47) AAA1/2, he

doesn’t tinker with tradition. The spryarrangements rely on acoustic guitars,cavaquinhos and hand percussion. WhileLuz is only an average singer, his tunessound like classics. He wisely enlists someclassy friends to join him on vocals—includ-ing Martinho Da Vila, Ivan Lins, Alcione andLuiz Melodia—for this charmingly low-key,relaxed set.Ordering info: biscoitofino.com.br

While singer Mariana Aydar hasabsorbed plenty of Brazilian traditions, herfine new album Peixes Passaros Pessoas

(Universal, Brazil 60251795043; 53:59)

AAAA is thoroughly contemporary, a new

stripe in the country’s MPB umbrella. Therecording was co-produced by Kassin (of +2fame), and he brings a rich and variedpanoply of instrument choices and styles tothe fold. The sensual “Beleza” has a smol-dering soul undertone, while “Ta?” gives asharp electro-gloss to the sound forromusic. Aydar possesses a warm, thick voicethat navigates the diverse rhythmicschemes with nonchalant agility.Ordering info: universalmusic.com.br

Duo Moviola is Douglas Germano andKiko DiNuccio, promising samba revision-ists, both from São Paulo. On their charm-ing debut O Retrato Do Artists Quando

Pede (Desmonta 04: 34:36) AAAA they cre-ate lean, propulsive art-pop tunes built fromsamba grooves using fiercely rhythmicacoustic guitar, spare piano, hand percus-sion and their insinuating voices, often inharmony. The pair’s intimacy and rapportfills in the space. By getting the most out oftheir complex arrangements the songs bur-row deep into the memory.Ordering info: desmonta.com

London’s DJ Cliffy is a rabid collector ofBrazilian music and he shares some of histreasures on Black Rio 2: Original Samba

Soul 1971-1980 (Strut 045; 55:46)

AAAA1/2, a knock-out collection of unde-

servedly obscure jams loosely connectedwith Black Rio (a Brazilian black con-sciousness movement) in the ’70s. Sometracks bluntly reveal strong Americanfunk, disco and soul influences, yet eventhe baldest appropriations are solid andstill impart at least some sliver of nativeculture. The best material finds artists likeEmilio Santiago or Edson Frederico e ATransa building on local traditions withingenious international borrowings. DB

Ordering info: strut-records.com

Clara Moreno:buoyant discoveries

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Wessell AndersonWarm It Up, Warmdaddy NU JAZZ RECORDS 1025

AAA1/2

The adage “don’t judge a book by its cover”might well have been coined for Warm It Up,Warmdaddy, alto saxophonist WessellAnderson’s fifth leader date and his first sincehe suffered a stroke in July 2007. As the public-ity materials trumpet the virtues and accom-plishments of the label head but have little tosay about the contents of the date, much less theperformers, Anderson’s reasons for presenting asuite of reharmed/remelodized versions ofcutely retitled iconic songbook standards(“What Is This Thing Called Love”/“What IsDat Thang”; “All The Things You Are”/“AllThe Thangs You Ain’t”; “Four”/“Fore”;“Lover”/“Strickly Platonic”) remain opaque.What is transparent throughout, however, isAnderson’s exemplary musicianship and flat-out instrumental command, which transport theactual notes and tones to a place far beyond theMusic Minus One trappings.

Propelled by a competent, swinging rhythmsection, the one-time lead altoist of the LincolnCenter Jazz Orchestra uncorks a series of eru-dite, cut-to-the-chase improvisations in whichhe navigates the substitute changes with sure-footed grace and a relaxed, ebulliently swing-ing time feel reminiscent of Sonny Stitt, one ofAnderson’s early heroes. Anderson knows howto extract maximum juice from his melodies,and he has a knack for interpolating hip, appo-site quotes within the flow of his declamations.His intonation is impeccable in all the registers,but his sound also contains ineffable quali-ties—a keening “African Cowboy” cry, anabiding warmth that illuminates the source ofthe cognomen referred to in the album title. Amaster class. —Ted Panken

Warm It Up, Warmdaddy: What Is Dat Thang?; I’ll ForgetMay; Warm It Up, Warmdaddy; Balto, Will You Please ComeHome?; Monk By Starlight; Warmfreeze; Fore; All The ThangsYou Ain’t; Space “Nakamura San”; Balto, Will You PleaseCome Home? (alt. take–fast); Strickly Platonic; I’ll Forget May(alt. take.–fast); Bluesette. (62:32)Personnel: Wessell Anderson, alto saxophone; LawrenceSieberth, piano; Roland Guerin, bass; Mark Gully, drums.

Nicholas UrieLargeEnsemble Excerpts From AnOnline DatingService RED PIANO RECORDS 4402

AA1/2

If Kurt Weill had livedinto the Internet age, hemay well have conjured something like compos-er Nicholas Urie’s Excerpts From An OnlineDating Service. As anyone who has surfedthrough the personals sites knows, the profilesare full of Threepenny Operatic characterssearching to fulfill their fantasies. Urie excerptssome of the more eccentric and, in many cases,explicit examples he’s found and assembledthem into a raunchy jazz burlesque.

On his web site, Urie features a quote fromcomposer Claude Debussy: “I love music pas-sionately. And because I love it I try to free itfrom the barren traditions that stifle it.” The 23-year-old Urie eagerly adopts that stance butinterprets it as a mandate to layer on the shockvalue, and his compositions are too often cabaretpastiche settings for the X-rated texts. That’sunfortunate, as when he doesn’t seem to be sti-fling a guffaw at his own naughty cleverness,Urie reveals a flair for offbeat dramatics, most of

all on the two brief “Interludes” and inthe dancing tendrils of “Cougar SeeksPrey,” one of two tracks that featureChris Speed’s sinuous clarinet.

Urie has assembled a gifted 16-piece ensemble to interpret his music,especially when he frees them frombetween heavy-handed quotationmarks, as on the sinister “Holidaze,”a dark, creeping dirge. But his canni-

est bit of casting was in handing the vocal choresto Christine Correa, who approaches the kinkyand borderline-illiterate ramblings as accidentalpoetry, carving characters out of these miniatureautobiographies with a husky, Dietrich-inflectedkeen that intermingles the boldness of the texts(“I’m just here for sex/And yes I have a pictureyou might like/In it I’m banging my ex-wife”)and the vulnerability implied in their desires.

—Shaun Brady

Excerpts From An Online Dating Service: Overture; AboutMe; Holidaze; Bad Girl?; Interlude #1; Wayne; Interlude #2;Cougar Seeks Prey; Afternoon. (52:07)Personnel: Nicholas Urie, composer, conductor; ChristineCorrea, voice; Jeremy Udden, Aaron Kruziki, Bill McHenry,Kenny Pexton, Brian Landrus, saxophones/woodwinds; BijonWatson, Jeff Clausen, Dave Smith, John Carlson, trumpets;Lolly Bienenfeld, Randy Pingrey, Matt Plummer, trombones;Michael Christianson, tuba; Frank Carlberg, piano; Joe Martin,bass; Michael Calabrese, drums; Chris Speed, clarinet (8, 9).

Ordering info: redpianorecords.com»

Kermit RuffinsLivin’ A Treme LifeBASIN STREET RECORDS 107

AAA1/2

Whether he’s reimag-ining a Horace Silverstandard or revampinga trad jazz beat, KermitRuffins is an expert atwhat he does, and withlyrics like “I can’t waitto get your ass home,” he’s not exactly promis-ing “Giant Steps.”

Instead, on the his 10th album as a leader,Ruffins continues to play unofficial mayor,boasting about “Treme Mardi Gras.” His all-starband includes David Torkanowsky, HerlinRiley, Troy Andrews and George Porter Jr.While Tork holds down every track on thealbum masterfully, Ruffins rotates other person-nel, allowing him to handle the Isley Brothersalmost as well as he swings on a traditional tunelike “High Heel Sneakers.” The Piety StreetStudio team’s engineering efforts lend a seam-less finish.

Livin’ A Treme Life opens with a true-to-form cover of Pops’ “Didn’t He Ramble,” aneasy-going romp that features Andrews on trom-bone and Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s CarlLeBlanc on banjo. This is the stuff Ruffins’ solocareer has been made of since he left RebirthBrass Band, but the addition of LeBlanc’s banjo

makes the whole packageshine. In a nod to Jessie Hillon “I Got Mine,” he enlistsPorter and June Yamagishi onguitar. While Ruffins holdsdown the throwback style ofmid-’60s New Orleans r&b,Porter and Yamagishi fuse thatswing with funk and rockinfluences that make the track.

The four original trackshere also deserve merit, espe-

cially “Hey Naa,” which features a country beatand almost zydeco-influenced phrasing.Wrapping up the album with a neighborhoodshout-out, Ruffins reunites former bandmatesPhilip and Keith Frazier, whose comfort with amore pop-heavy sound help the group pull offan extended rap. A hint of cheese rears its headon “I Can See Clearly Now,” but as with the restof the material, Ruffins has so much fun with themusic that it works. —Jennifer Odell

Livin’ A Treme Life: Didn’t He Ramble; I Ate Up The AppleTree; Good Morning New Orleans; Holy Cow; Hey Naa; I GotMine; I Can See Clearly Now; High Heel Sneakers; Hello GoodEvening; Song For My Father; For the Love of You; TremeMardi Gras.(48:96)Personnel: Kermit Ruffins, trumpet, vocals; David Torkanowsky,piano; Eric Traub, tenor sax; June Yamagishi, guitar; Carl LeBlanc,banjo; Dewon Scott, Herlin Riley , drums; Troy Andrews, trum-pet, trombone; Corey Henry, trombone; Kevin Morris, GeorgePorter Jr., bass; Mark Mullins, Craig Klein, Greg Hicks, additionalhorns; Tonia Powell, Lisa Phillips, Patrice Hardin, Vernon Eard,Betty Winn, additional vocals; Baby Jaye, rap.

Ordering info: basinstreetrecords.com» Ordering info: nujazzentertainment.com»

DB0909_62-77_REVIEWS.qxd 7/15/09 12:36 PM


Ordering info: rounder.com»

by John EphlandHISTORICAL

Shooting StarsFor anyone wanting to get a tasteof latter-day Miles Davis in concert,That’s What Happened: Live In

Germany 1987 (Eagle Eye Media

39180-9; 98:00) AAA1/2 is a good

place to start. Granted, one willmiss some of the names that Davisintroduced in the 1980s, like gui-tarist John Scofield, but the crewhe had at the time of this concertstill featured some bright stars,including saxist Kenny Garrett,electric bassist Darryl Jones,drummer Ricky Wellman and gui-tarist Joseph “Foley” McCreary.The set list was a typical one of thetime, featuring extended versionsof “Time After Time,” “HumanNature” and “Tutu.” Davis’ chopsare somewhat subdued (his muted trum-pet is consistently under-miked), and thecamera work is on-again/off-again, withgood closeups balanced by stage shots.The show closes with the haunting, mem-orable “Portia.” Bonus features include aninterview and a segment called “MilesAnd His Art.”Ordering info: eaglerockent.com

Anita O’Day: The Life Of A Jazz Singer

(AOD Productions 101819; 91:00) AAAAAcaptures the essence and spirit of this cel-ebrated artist in a way few bios can.Whether it’s clips and photos from allaspects of her life and work, extensiveinterview material with not only O’Daybut significant others both past and pre-sent, or just letting the woman sing, thisproduction keeps the viewer engagedwith its honest portrayal of someone whowon and lost in life. Like Billie Holiday,O’Day’s affinity with the musicians sheplayed with comes across vividly withspots like her turns on “Body And Soul”and “Tea For Two” from TV segments.Featuring talking heads George Wein,Johnny Mandel, Phil Schaap, Annie Ross,Will Friedwald, along with former band-mates, this lively production plays fastand loose with graphics that are totally in-synch with the subject matter; indeed,O’Day pops right off the screen into yourliving room. Bonuses include complete,riveting performances of, among othersongs, “Sweet Gerogia Brown” (fromNewport 1958), “Honescukle Rose” and“Love for Sale,” extra interview materialand a 32-page booklet with liner noteessays by Friedwald and James Gavin.Ordering info: anitaodaydoc.com

By way of contrast, Billie Holiday: The

Life And Artistry Of Lady Day (idem 1115;

27:50) AA gives a very brief overview ofHoliday’s life and art. The strong points arethe many clips of her in performance and inmovies, most often uninterrupted. But theinformation presented doesn’t really offeranything new, and if offered in a pre-dictable style. Featuring her 1957 studioperformance with such heavies as ColemanHawkins, Ben Webster and Roy Eldridge,other spots include Louis Arrmstrong, DukeEllington and Count Basie. Ordering info: thebebopshop.com

Sonny Stitt–J.J. Johnson Sextet: We

Remember Bird Berlin & London 1964

(Impro-Jazz 541; 60:00) AAA highlightsthese two greats in two black & white tele-vision broadcasts. The creative set designof the Berlin show gives the viewer the feeland look of art in the making, withAmerican jazz musicians playing not just toentertain but to elevate. The theme of Birdanimates the first show from Berlin, origi-nally titled “In Memoriam Charlie Parker,”while the second set from London echoesthe same bebop flavors with a more tradi-tional concert hall setting. Of the sevensongs included, five are Parker originals“Now’s The Time,” “Buzzy” and “My LittleSuede Shoes,” while the lone standard isone that’s been associated with Parker, thetwice-played ballad “Lover Man.” Andwhat gives these performances their heft isthe backup band, threatening to upstagethe alto sax and trombone greats: formerBirdmates Howard McGhee on trumpet,pianist Walter Bishop Jr., bassist TommyPotter and drummer Kenny Clarke. DB

Ordering info: thebebopshop.com

Anita O’Day:musicians’singer

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Bela FleckThrow Down Your HeartROUNDER 0634

AAAA

For the third installment of his “Tales From TheAcoustic Planet” series, Bela Fleck heads toAfrica, falling in step with crisscrossing rhyth-mic patterns as he crisscrosses the continent.

Some songs have jazz foundations(“D’Gary’s “Jam” featuring Richard Bona andBaba Maal), resemble bluegrass (“Kinetsa,”Madagascar), feature fast, countrified beats notunlike Western folk forms (“Angelina,”Uganda), or speak to the banjo’s origins(“Ajula/Mbamba,” from Gambia, featuring abanjo-like, but much older instrument calledthe akonting). Others trace a lineage to theblues, both in tone and structure.

The Malian Wassoulou singer OumouSangare and kora player Toumani Diabatecontribute exemplary offerings of WestAfrican pop, while former freedom fighterVusi Mahlasela’s plaintive voice cooes thealmost lullaby-like traditional “Thula Mama.”A fuzzy, low-voiced bowed lyre and toe per-cussion on the Tanzanian track “PakugyendaBale-bauo”would be right at home inMorphine’s lineup.

To an unaccustomed ear without a sense ofadventure, some of the rhythms and melodiescan be unsettling. But get through the cartoonishvocal part on “Kabibi,” or the screams that punc-tuate “Zawosi,” and the payoff involves quick-stepping cousins of the scat, gorgeous melodiesand new sounds. —Jennifer Odell

Throw Down Your Heart: Tulinesangala; Kinetsa; Ah Ndiya;Kabibi; Angelina; D’Gary Jam; Throw Down Your Heart; ThulaMama; Wairenziante; Buribala; Zawose; Ajula/Mbamba;Pakugyenda Balebauo; Jesus Is The Only Answer; Matitu;Mariam; Djorolen; Dunia Haina Wema/Thumb Fun. (73:00).Select Personnel: Bela Fleck, banjo; Nakisenyi Women’s Group,vocals; D’Gary, guitar; Xavier-Martial Francois, percussion, vocals;Casey Driessen, fiddle; Oumou Sangare, vocals; AnaniaNogoglia, vocals, thumb piano; Luo Cultural Association; RichardBona, electric bass, vocals; Baba Maal, vocals; Vusi Mahlasela,guitar, vocals; Afel Bocum, vocals, guitar; Hama Sankaré, cal-abash, vocals; Yoro Cissé, njurkle; Barou Diallo, bass; ZoumanaTereta, sokou; Toumani Diabate; Haruna Sameke Trio; BassekouKouyate; Muwewesu Xylophone Group; Chibite–The ZawoseFamily; The Jatta Family; Warema Masiaga Cha Cha, vocals,bowed lyre, toe percussion; Djelimady Tounkaraga, guitar; AlouCoulibazi, clabash; Ateso Jazz Band, thumb pianos; KhalifanMatitu, marimba; Fadhili Bbata, percussion.

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Joel HarrisonUrban MythsHIGH NOTE 7194

AAAA

High Note releases generally prove reliablymainstream; this one has more bite. The placidcover pic of the Hudson and predictable titledon’t prepare for the energy released by thiscrack nonet.

The opener starts blithely, as do several ofthe heads, then Daniel Kelly’s organ sound infil-trates the bottom end. Before you know it,Christian Howes’ bravura violin is scything in,followed by David Binney’s first of several fab-ulous solos, goaded by choppy rock drummingfrom Jordan Person.

The theme of “125 And Lenox” is a tadbland, but like several tracks, acts as bait forbuilding the groove. Harrison officially “shreds”with a tourniquet guitar solo. “Mood Rodeo,” insurreptitious 5/4, might be a closer manifestotitle than “Urban Myths.” Harrison, reverb-laden, mimics Howes’ violin, steeped in blues.A dropout heralds Binney, who blows smokerings over skipping drums until that devilishorgan whirl gets under again, then his alto dartsoff on a liquid foray.

Obviously, “Last Waltz For Queva” is aboutsomeone, namely Queva Lutz, who ran the 55Bar in New York’s West Village and gaveHarrison shelter so he could create his storm.James Brown, or perhaps snatches of the BuddyRich band, meets Thelonious Monk onHarrison’s penetrating recast of “Chaser,” whereAkinmusire gets a taste before a now GregOsby-like Binney. Contrapuntal elements intelli-gently utilizing the ensemble create a beautifulmoiré at the end of “Between.” The title cutemploys second line beats, avant-bop lines andsucculent violin, before the album concludeswith piledriving punkjazz. —Michael Jackson

Urban Myths: You Must Go Through A Winter; 125 AndLennox; Mood Rodeo; Last Waltz For Queva; Straight NoChaser (variations); Between The Traveler And The Setting Sun;Urban Myths; High Expectation, Low Return. (54:14)Personnel: Joel Harrison, guitar; David Binney, alto saxophone;Christian Howes, violin; Daniel Kelly, keyboards; StephanCrump, bass; Jordan Person, drums; Fima Ephron, electric bass(2, 8); Ambrose Akinmusire, trumpet; Corey King, trombone (4,5, 7); Jerome Sabbag, tenor sax (4, 5).

E.J. StricklandIn This DaySTRICK MUZIK 003

AAAA

An exceptional debutrecording from drum-mer E.J. Strickland, InThis Day showcases aresourceful, inventiveand extremely cohesiveyoung quintet. The CDfeatures saxophonists Marcus Strickland andJaleel Shaw, who, performing like two heads ofthe same overachieving organism, help driveE.J.’s dark-hearted material with serpentinesolos and brooding power.

A rising sideman who’s worked with RussellMalone, Freddie Hubbard and The New JazzComposer’s Octet, among others, Strickland’scompositional skills are as impressive as his per-colating drumming, which almost takes a sec-ondary role. When his drumming is highlighted,as in the sparse solos of “New Beginnings” and“Angular Realms,” Strickland speaks with hisown voice, conjured in the image of TonyWilliams, Airto Moriera, Alphonse Mouzon andHoratio “El Negro” Hernandez. Not purely astraightahead drummer, Strickland distills a vari-ety of styles to propel equally diverse composi-

tional influences. The Latin-esque fusion of

“Angular Realms” is explo-sively improvisational, withblistering solos from MarcusStrickland and Wurlitzerwhiz Luis Perdomo. “NewBeginnings” uses a throb-bing, conga-driven mambogroove over which the saxo-phonists play a circular,tightly defined melody that

resembles cars flowing in and out of rush hourtraffic. Far from a simple collection of tracks, InThis Day is a unified and thoughtful work, thesongs’ elegant trajectory creating a logical the-matic progression, from heated straightaheadopener “Abandoned Discovery” through sim-mering Latin and ballad moments to severalspoken-word pieces that add a poetic touch.

—Ken Micallef

In This Day: Abandoned Discovery; Asante; Eternal; Pedrito’sPrelude; New Beginnings; In Faith (In This Day); In This Day;Angular Realms; Find Myself; Wrong Turn; Illusions; Robin;Robin Fly Away. (73:01)Personnel: Enoch Jamal Strickland, drums; Jaleel Shaw, altosax; Marcus Strickland, tenor, soprano saxes; Luis Perdomo,piano, Wurlitzer; Hans Glawischnig, bass; Cheray O’Neal,Charenee Wade, spoken word/vocals.

Ordering info: strickmuzik.com»

Roy NathansonSubway MoonYELLOWBIRD 7711

AAA1/2

The second album by saxophonist RoyNathanson’s Sotto Voce project, whichmarries spoken word with jazz, succeedsfor a number of reasons, but focus is keyamong them. The music on the albumwas commissioned by Chamber MusicAmerica’s New Works, and the long-time Jazz Passenger weaves together anumber of cogent stories and imagesgleaned from the New York subwaysystem, particularly Brooklyn, his nativeneighborhood, to create an evocative beyond-the-surface portrait of the city. The fluid, streetsmart poems that occupy most of the pieceswere taken from a book of the same name thatNathanson recently published, and he comple-ments his own dry but musical delivery withthe beatboxing of Napoleon Maddox and inter-jections and harmony parts from various otherband members.

There are other Jazz Passengers involved,including trombonist Curtis Fowlkes, violinistSam Bardfeld and vibist Bill Ware; they exe-cute the resourceful, shape-shifting arrange-ments, which, along with urban environmentalsound samples, provide a rich canvas forNathanson’s words. He avoids the typical,overly dramatic spoken word approach, and in

some ways his voice becomes yet another ele-ment in the buoyant, multi-linear attack.Although there’s nothing remotely retro aboutthe music, some of his aching melodies andebullient counterpoint recalls another jazz greatwho liked to work with spoken word: CharlesMingus. An impressive piece of work.

—Peter Margasak

Subway Moon: Love Train; Subway Noah; Party; Alto Rain;Dear Brother; Orange Alert; Two Horn Rain; New Guy To LookAt; Stand Clear; Safer End Of Subway Moon. (55:00)Personnel: Roy Nathanson, alto, soprano saxophone, voice;Curtis Fowlkes, trombone, vocals; Brad Jones, bass; Tim Kiah,vocals, bass (1); Sam Bardfield, violin; Napoleon Maddox, beat-box, vocals; Bill Ware, vibes, vocals, organ; Hugo Dwyer, key-board sampler; Sean Sonderegger, tenor sax, flute; MarcusRojas, tuba; Gabriel Nathanson, trumpet (1).

Ordering info: jazzdepot.com» Ordering info: yellowbird-records.com»

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Bobby Sanabria & ManhattanSchool of Music Afro-CubanJazz OrchestraKenya Revisited—Live!!!JAZZHEADS 1167

AAAA

Hot college bands are rife these days, but NewYork has a Latin sizzler in Manhattan School ofMusic’s Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra. This all-student orchestra wails an incandescent programunder the tutelage of Bobby Sanabria.

The nuyorican drummer, timbalero and pro-fessor successfully combines passionate prosely-tizing, potent percussion, 30-second mini-lessons, vocal encouragement and inspirationalringleading on this exuberant, well-paced (ifbreathless) concert date. The band revisits andrecreates Kenya, the 1957 LP masterpiece ofCuban composer/leader Mario Bauzá, recordedby Machito (a.k.a. Francisco Grillo) and hisAfro-Cubans with altoist Cannonball Adderley,trumpeter Joe Newman and conguero CandidoCamero (who reappears here as a special guestat age 88).

Though democratic leadership apportionedsolos to all, kudos go to Justin Janer, formidablyshowcased on “Frenzy” and “Cannonology”;trumpeter Michael Taylor and altoist VinceNero (in/out of tempo on “Oyeme”); andHarmon-muted trumpeter Jon Barnes on theborscht circuit cha-cha “Holiday.”

The roller-coaster ride hits more peaks thanvalleys—quiet moments are rare as pianistSands mulls over a free fantasia and Candidotaps “Happy Birthday” on conga—and climaxesagain and again, finally with flamboyant second-line boogaloo. —Fred Bouchard

Kenya Revisited—Live!!!: Frenzy; Congo Mulence; Kenya;Oyeme; Holiday; Cannonology; Wild Jungle; Blues À La Machito;Conversation; Theme & Variations On Tin Tin Deo; Tin Tin Deo;Minor Rama; Tururato. (73:12)Personnel: Bobby Sanabria, conductor, background vocals, tim-bales (3), drums (8); Candido Camero, congas (4, 8, 14); TimothyVaughn, Felix Fromm, Nate Adkins, Timothy “TJ” Robinson,trombones; Michael Taylor, Jimmie “JJ” Kirkpatrick, JonathanBarnes, Anthony Stanco, trumpets; Justin Janer, Vince Nero,Pawan Benamin, Michael Davenport, saxophones; ChristianSylvester Sands, piano; Billy Norris, electric (12, 14) and acousticbass; Norm Edwards, drums, bongo (8); Ciancarlo Anderson, JakeGolblas, Cristian Rivera, Obalinú Allende, percussion and back-ground vocals.

Ordering info: jazzheads.com»

by Shaun BradyBOOKS

Ouellette Offers Warm,MeticulousAccount of Ron CarterIt may look like traditional inkand paper, but Dan Ouellette’sbiography of bassist Ron Carter,Finding The Right Notes (Artist-

Share), is undeniably a productof the digital age.

This is the first book pub-lished by the artist-driven, audi-ence-participatory CD label andweb site. Like other ArtistShareprojects, Ouellette’s bookexpands from the page to theweb, with videos, photos andblog entries from the author thatextend the story’s reach anddepth and promises to update itbeyond the last page.

Given Carter’s voluminousdiscography, Ouellette wiselyabandons strict chronology, insteadgrouping chapters by significant portionsof the bassist’s output—bands, labels andgenres. Once Carter’s career begins inearnest, the book reads less like strictbiography and more like a compendiumof the critic’s journalistic profiles.

The approach results in non-linear read-ing with some repetition. By theumpteenth time a younger musician citesthe influence of Carter’s years with MilesDavis or his impeccable dress, eyes maywander to the next paragraph.

The author’s exhaustive research isimpressive, but at times he leaves in whatan editor at a more traditional publishinghouse would prune. The lengthy history ofCarnegie Hall in the context of Carter’s70th birthday concert is valuable; its insti-tutional prejudices and Carter’s affront atslights reinforce the following chapters.But Ouellette’s report of a 1981 trio gigincludes a New York Times blurb thatrecites prices for admission and entrees,hardly adding to Carter’s story.

These are small digressions in a metic-ulous and warmly appreciative portrait.The most compelling section is the open-ing chapters on Carter’s early life.Growing up outside Detroit at a timewhen the city was embroiled in race riotsand social upheaval, he was exposed tothe viciousness of prejudice. The issue of

race continued to shadow the youngmusician as he studied classical cello andled to the realization that an orchestralcareer was nearly impossible for anAfrican-American. This “dream deferred,”as Ouellette terms it, is presented as adefining disappointment in Carter’s life,not just for shifting his focus to jazz but inshaping the confrontational dignity withwhich he carries himself.

As for that famously prickly personality,Ouellette doesn’t shy away from offeringanecdotes by fellow musicians who havebeen rubbed the wrong way. Carter grad-ually comes across as one who refuses tosuffer fools and bristling with self-defen-siveness, much of it at the disrespect hefeels he’s been given in comparison withhis bandmates from Davis’ ’60s quintet.

Ouellette’s description of Carter’s careerrallies to his defense, but the slights he’ssuffered are, if sometimes unfair to hisobjective musicianship, understandablegiven the conservatism of his work com-pared to the adventurousness of Hancock,Shorter and Williams (not to mentionDavis himself). Unlike their constant andwell-documented reinventions, Carter is inthe business of being Ron Carter; that forhim seems to mean digging deeper intohis music on a nightly basis, but not nec-essarily creating bold new contexts. DB

Ordering info: artistshare.com

DB0909_62-77_REVIEWS.qxd 7/15/09 12:09 PM


Jazz On Campus

The gymnasium in the basement of a middleschool in the University City school district isn’tthe performance venue usually associated withrenowned baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett.But that’s been his venue of choice once a weeksince the start of the school year as the instructorfor a group of 11- and 12-year-old students whomake up the Sunrise Conservatory WindEnsemble.

“When I was growing up, I had music for asolid hour every day in school,” Bluiett said.“Now it’s something where these kids have toget up early and learn music outside the regularcurriculum. So I guess that’s why I’m here. Iwant to make sure the music keeps going. Thesekids need to hear jazz—and blues. I think I’mthe first teacher to get these kids to play someblues.”

The Sunrise Conservatory program is offeredfree to students in the fourth through sixthgrades in the University City schools, whichborder the city of St. Louis. However, programfacilitator Suzanne Schoomer emphasizes that itrequires a serious commitment from the youngstudents, who must be at this school by 7 a.m.Classes run from 7:15 to 8 am, then the studentsare bussed to other schools for performances ordriven back to their own schools for regularclasses.

It also requires a commitment from theteachers at Sunrise Conservatory. In addition toBluiett, the staff includes noted St. Louis areamusicians such as saxophonist Willie Akins,guitarist Kirk Hanser and drummer BwayneSmotherson.

On a typical spring morning, the conservato-ry’s wind ensemble includes a dozen studentswho play flute, various clarinets, trumpet, trom-bone and sousaphone. As they sit in foldingchairs on the gym floor, Bluiett stands in the

center, calmly leading each section through theparts they will be playing later that morning at arecital at another elementary school—and laterin the week at the evening concert.

Even if these students have no idea that theirteacher has been a contributor to cutting-edgejazz for more than four decades, they haverespect for Bluiett and concentrate on his words.For Bluiett, teaching seems to be his way ofmaking a statement about his own philosophy.

“First of all, my goal is to get these youngstudents to understand the basics of music andlearn how to play together,” Bluiett said. “But Ialso want to make sure they understand thatmusic is part of the rest of the world aroundthem. Think about it. The chromatic scale is 12notes. There are 12 months in a year. Twelvehours on a clock. Why is all of that hooked uptogether? I want them to make those connec-tions in terms of music and the rest of thehumanities and mathematics. I want them torealize that even if they never go on to playmusic at a higher level, that music will alwaysbe part of their world.”

Despite his reputation as an avant-gardeplayer, Bluiett goes back to his own traditionallearning experience as a foundation for dealingwith his current students. George Hudson, wholed a jazz band in St. Louis for decades, taughtBluiett, who was born across the MississippiRiver in Lovejoy, Ill.

Bluiett adds that he gets quite a bit back fromthe teaching experience as well—in ways thathelp him with his own approach to musical cre-ativity.

“I’m playing the clarinet again to teachthese kids,” Bluiett said. “And I’m enjoying it.And these kids are teaching me to be a lotmore patient. That’s something I always needmore of.” —Terry Perkins

Baritone Master Bluiett Rises, Shines withStudents at Sunrise Conservatory

Hamiet Bluiett

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Dr. Leonard: Herman Leonard receivedan Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts fromOhio University and delivered the com-mencement speech on June 13. Leonard,who received a bachelor’s degree in finearts from the school in 1947, told gradu-ates to embrace the unconventional inpursuing their goals. Details: hermanleonard.com

Israel Initiative: New York’s New Schoolfor Jazz and Contemporary Music willpartner with the Center for Jazz Studies atthe Israel Conservatory of Music in TelAviv to help Israeli students earn a college-level jazz degree. In the BFA degree pro-gram, which begins this fall, students whobegin their first two years at the Israeliconservatory will complete their final twoyears at the New School. Details: newschool.edu

Berklee Returns: A group of BerkleeCollege of Music’s faculty and staffreturned to New Orleans June 22–28 tohelp build homes as part of Habitat ForHumanity’s Musicians’ Village project. Theproject is designed for musicians who losttheir houses during hurricanes Katrina andRita. Berklee students have returned to thestudio to release, Dedication, the sixthalbum on the student-run Jazz RelevationRecords label. Details: berklee.edu

Northwest Benefit: NPR-affiliate KPLUin Seattle has released its new compilationdisc, KPLU School of Jazz–Volume 5. Thedisc features high school bands from theSeattle area as well as such guests astrumpeter Cuong Vu. Sales will benefitschool music programs in Washington.Details: kplu.org

Princeton Debut: The PrincetonUniversity Sinfonia concluded its 2008–09season with the premiere performance ofLaurie Altman’s jazz/classical compositionon May 7. Details: princeton.edu

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DB0909_78-79_JOC.qxd 7/14/09 9:56 PM

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A consequential voice in jazz piano since she arrived in the UnitedStates in 1956, and one of the truly original big band composer-arrangers since she launched the Akiyoshi–Tabackin Orchestra in theearly ’70s, Toshiko Akiyoshi, who turns 80 this year, continues to recordand perform prolifically.

Gerald Clayton“Con Alma” (from Two-Shade, ArtistShare, 2009) Clayton, piano; Joe Sanders,bass; Justin Brown, drums.That was a good solo. When I came to this country 50 years ago, thosetempo rubato things were a no-no for a jazz player. It’s more acceptabletoday, because so many players have incredible chops and come from aclassical background. There’s a bass player in California—this sounds likehis son. I’ve played that tune a lot. The good thing about jazz is that every-body plays differently, and of course, I play differently, too. 4 stars.

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra“In This Moment” (Up From The Skies: Music Of Jim McNeely, Planet Arts, 2006)Jim McNeely, piano; Nick Marchione, Frank Greene, Greg Gisbert, ScottWendholt, trumpet, flugelhorn; Dick Oatts, Billy Drewes, alto, sopranosaxophone, flute; Rich Perry, tenor saxophone, flute; Ralph LaLama, tenorsaxophone, clarinet, flute; Gary Smulyan, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet;John Mosca, Luis Bonilla, Jason Jackson, trombone; Douglas Purviance, basstrombone; Dennis Irwin, bass; John Riley, drums.Very European kind of writing. Gil Evans opened a Pandora’s Box forEurope. European writers probably couldn’t identify with someone likeDuke Ellington. Identified maybe, but they couldn’t write things likethat—it was foreign to them. Because Gil Evans orchestrated for MilesDavis, that made him a household name, and the European writers canrelate to the way he writes. Then, European writers also influencedAmerican writers, who also write with those devices. It’s pleasant, but bor-ing. The trumpet player’s sound was warm. Like most recordings, the littledrums I could hear sounded high and didn’t cover the whole orchestra theway it should. I have great respect for people who write something likethis but it’s not my cup of tea. 21/2 stars.

The Bad Plus“Fém” (For All I Care, Telarc, 2008) Ethan Iverson, piano; Reid Anderson, bass;Dave King, drums.Is it part of some kind of suite? It has all kinds of interesting rhythmicevaluations, with everyone playing a different pattern in the samerhythm—at one point there are six beats, at one point there’s a 4/4, and soon. When you’re an improviser, to always have everybody play the samerhythm is bound to happen once or twice. But it sounds like it’s all written.It’s kind of cute, kind of interesting, and that’s about it. Since I don’t knowwhat it’s about, I decline to give any stars.

Martial Solal“Lover Man” (from Live At The Village Vanguard, CamJazz, 2009) Solal, piano.High spirit. (laughs) A lot of chops. But nowadays most people have a lotof chops. I don’t know what he is doing with “Lover Man.” I don’t knowwhy, but this reminded me of the George Gershwin era. I think it’s a man.It’s good playing, but I’m not sure if it has anything to do with jazz. Toeach his own. 3 stars. (after) The first time I got a job in Paris, in 1964,when I met him, Martial Solal wasn’t playing like that. I guess he pro-gressed in his own way.

Chucho Valdés“To Bud Powell” (from Live At The Village Vanguard, Blue Note, 2000) (Valdés,piano; Rubio Pampin, bass; Raul Pineda Roque, drums; Roberto Vizcaino Guillot,congas, bata drums.That’s a lot of energy. Phenomenal chops. It seems there’s a conga player

The “Blindfold Test” is a listening test that challenges the featured artist to discuss and iden-tify the music and musicians who performed on selected recordings. The artist is then askedto rate each tune using a 5-star system. No information is given to the artist prior to the test.

and a regular drummer, and the drummer sounds good. I can’t say any-thing about this piano player, because I have respect for his energy and hischops. You have to have strength. You have to be physically fit.Musically, not really. Sometimes it made me crack up because his chopsare so unbelievable, playing a lot of notes in a short second, so on and soon. Whether that is selective notes or not is another question. 3 stars.(after) That’s injustice to Bud. Bud had phenomenal technique. But hisphenomenal technique was put on the right note. All the notes are in theright place. Everything was thought out. It’s not the thing like you landyour finger on this key, therefore you play it. Everything is the right notein the right place. It’s total contrast to this piano player.

Carla Bley Big Band“Awful Coffee” (from Appearing Nightly, ECM, 2008) Lew Soloff, Earl Gardner,Florian Esch, trumpets; Beppe Calamosca, Gary Valente, Gigi Grata, RichardHenry, trombone; Roger Jannotta, soprano and alto saxophones, flute; WolfgangPuschnig, alto saxophone, flute; Andy Sheppard, Christophe Panzani, tenorsaxophone; Julian Argüelles, baritone saxophone; Carla Bley, piano; KarenMantler, organ; Steve Swallow, bass; Billy Drummond, drums. Interesting arrangement. The baritone sounded good. The tenor playersounded good—average good. Everybody is a good player. It doesn’thave a strong personality as a composition, but it worked well, the back-ground and all that. I think it’s a woman writer—it’s not quite gutsy. Itsounds like an off-and-on working band. 31/2 stars.

Fred Hersch“Duke Ellington’s Sound Of Love/Jump Monk”(Songs Without Words: Vol .2, JazzTunes, Nonesuch, 2001) Hersch, piano.That reminded me of John Lewis, but I never heard John Lewis playingthis many notes—most of his solos are simpler than that. Except in thevery beginning, everything was on time, which you rarely hear today. Iliked it. The first part reminded me of “Lush Life,” then it went to some-thing else. 41/2 stars. DB

By Ted PankenBlindfold Test

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