tnycjr201601

JACKY TERRASSON

OKKYUNG LEE

HUBERT LAWS

PEGGY LEE

ROVASAXOPHONE QUARTET

A LONG HISTORY

BEST O f 20 1 5i SSUE

YOUR fREE GUiDE TO THE NYC JAZZ SCENEJANUARY 2016iSSUE 165 NYCJAZZRECORD.COM

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Staff WritersDavid R. Adler, Clifford Allen,

Fred Bouchard, Stuart Broomer, Katie Bull, Thomas Conrad,

Ken Dryden, Donald Elfman, Kurt Gottschalk, Tom Greenland, Alex Henderson, Marcia Hillman, Terrell Holmes, Robert Iannapollo,

Suzanne Lorge, Marc Medwin, Russ Musto, Joel Roberts,

John Sharpe, Elliott Simon, Andrew Vlez, Ken Waxman

Contributing WritersDuck Baker, Phil Freeman, Anders Griffen, Mark Keresman, Ken Micallef, John Pietaro

Contributing PhotographersTanja Ahlstn, Myles Boisen, Peter Gannushkin, Philippe Levy-Stab, Heike Liss, Alan Nahigian,

Gabriel Rodes, Sebastian Sighel, Robert I. Sutherland-Cohen, Jack Vartoogian

JANUARY 2016iSSUE 165

On The Cover: ROVA Saxophone Quartet (Jon Raskin, Bruce Ackley, Steve Adams, Larry Ochs, left to right. Photo by Myles Boisen)

All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission strictly prohibited. All material copyrights property of the authors.

2 JANUARY 2016 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

nycjazzrecord.com

New York@Night

interview : Jacky Terrasson by russ musto

Artist feature : Okkyung Lee by john pietaro

On The Cover : ROVA Saxophone Quartet by ken waxman

LAbel Spotlight : MPS

VOXNEWS

Lest We forget : Peggy Lee

by ken waxman

by suzanne lorge

by andrew vlez

Encore : Hubert Laws by alex henderson

CD Reviews

in Memoriam by andrey henkin

Best of 2015

Miscellany

Event Calendar

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Another year has passed. 12 months. 52 weeks. 365 days. 8,760 hours. 525,600 minutes. 31,536,000 seconds. We hope that youve spent a good number of those listening to jazz...we sure have. And the prize for all that listening is presenting our annual Best Of selections, spreading the finest in albums, musicians, clubs and assorted categories across our glorious skyline. Before 2016s seconds and minutes and hours and days and weeks get away from you, peruse our selections for old favorites and new discoveries. The flipside to all that time passing is the jazz folk who have joined that great concert in the sky. For a full list, please go to page 12 and take a few moments to remember all these valuable contributors (we also have a section of CD reviews, pgs. 40-41, from artists who passed in the last year).

But enough nostalgia. 2016 starts out with a bang, or a toot of a NYE horn. The ROVA Saxophone Quartet (On The Cover) celebrates nearly 40 years of music-making with a week at The Stone and appearance at Winter Jazzfest. Pianist Jacky Terrasson (Interview), who just turned 50, is at Smoke. And cellist Okkyung Lee (Artist Feature), in her fourth decade, has a three-night residency at a Best of 2015 venue JACK and appearances at The Stone.

We thank you for spending some of your 2015 with us and look forward to 2016...

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WAYNE ESCOFFERY QUARTETWayne Escoffery [tenor saxophone] David Kikoski [piano]Ugonna Okegwo [bass] Billy Drummond [drums]

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CHAMPIAN FULTON QUINTETChampian Fulton [piano & vocals] Stephen Fulton [flugelhorn]Jerry Weldon [saxophone] Adi Meyerson [bass] Ben Zweig [drums]

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TIA FULLER QUARTETTia Fuller [alto saxophone] Shamie Royston [piano] Mimi Jones [bass] Marcus Baylor [drums]

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BILLY HARPER QUINTETBilly Harper [tenor saxophone] Francesca Tanksley [piano]Corcoran Holt [bass] Aaron Scott [drums]with trumpeters:Eddie Henderson [F] Keyon Harrold [Sa] Freddie Hendrix [Su]

ARTIST RESIDENCIES

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CARLOS AVERHOFF, JR. QUARTETCarlos Averhoff, Jr. [tenor saxophone] Santiago Bosch [piano]Edward Perez [bass] Fabio Rojas [drums]

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JIMMY COBB BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONPeter Bernstein [guitar] George Cables [piano] John Webber [bass] Jimmy Cobb [drums]

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GIACOMO GATESGiacomo Gates [vocals] Grant Stewart [tenor saxophone]John di Martino [piano] Ed Howard [bass] Alvester Garnett [drums]

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JACKY TERRASSON QUINTETChris Turner [vocals] Jacky Terrasson [piano] Ben Williams [bass]Justin Faulkner [drums] Mauricio Herrera [percussion]

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In December 2015, the 50th anniversary year of Chicagos Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians drew to a closea year that had seen the reconvening of pianist and AACM founding member Muhal Richard Abrams Experimental Band at the Chicago Jazz Fest, as well as ancillary events in New York (where many AACM players have made their home since the early 70s). Brooklyn venue Roulette has long presented AACM concerts and featured a double bill of new music from trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith (a string quartet with trumpet and piano and a chamber work with dancer Miriam Parker) and reed player Douglas Ewarts seven-piece ensemble Quasar (Dec. 10th). The latter group featured vocalists Thomas Buckner and Mankwe Ndose while J.D. Parran filled out the woodwinds, standing with a tree of auxiliary percussion and homemade and modified flutes. Warren Smith moved between drum kit, concert bass drum and marimba, stirred by the ruminative postbop grace of Adegoke Steve Colsons piano and the laptop of Stephen Goldstein. Throughout a lengthy suite, which began with an ode to homelessness and closed with a paean to AACM visionaries, the ensemble triangulated voice, theatrical movement and tonal colorsometimes with bebop inflections, at other instants given to spiky chamber improvisation. The group closed with a keening processional, Ewart eventually nudging the group into hushed tones that hung in Roulettes vaulted ceilings. Clifford Allen

Daniel Carter celebrated his 70th birthday in December 2015 and sometime collaborator, Italian-born and Brooklyn-based drummer Federico Ughi also celebrated 15 years of living and working in New York. It was a fitting choice to combine both events into one three-day festival at Williamsburgs Scholes Street Studios (Dec. 12th-14th) under the aegis of Ughis 577 Records imprint. The first evenings concerts included sets from Japanese pianist Eri Yamamoto; poet/rabble-rouser Steve Dalachinsky; Ughis quartet with saxophonist David Schnug, trumpeter Mike Irwin and the homemade electronics of Jeff Snyder; and a flinty trio of tenor saxophonist Stephen Gauci, bassist Reuben Radding and drummer Todd Capp. Of course, the icing on the cake was the closing set, an absolutely gorgeous trio of Carter, bassist William Parker (doubling on shakuhachi) and Ughi, spreading their inventions across four improvisations. Carter moved effortlessly between piano, tenor, alto and soprano saxophones, clarinet and trumpet, often singing pensive, delicate lullabies with his arsenal. Carter s musicianship is such that a shift between instrumental families retains and expands on the continuous flow of his ideasmoving from skirling tenor to spiky piano volleys, for exampleand the result is a collage of loquacious and expressionistic melody. Parker and Ughi are a fantastic team, with the latter s distillation of Billy Higgins, Ed Blackwell and Elvin Jones making him a formidable actor in the drum chair. (CA)

Guitarist Mary Halvorson seems to sweeten her sound, rounding out the angles, as her bands get bigger. At The Jazz Gallery (Dec. 15th) , she debuted her expanded octet, fresh from rehearsals, ready to record her latest (as yet untitled) compositions for Firehouse 12 Records. The opening set of the two-night/four-set residency began gently, Halvorson setting the tone with languid arpeggios and looping figures on her big-bodied Guild guitar, soon joined by the lush chorale textures from the four-horn frontline of trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson, alto saxophonist Jon Irabagon, tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and trombonist Jacob Garchik. All of that artistic firepower was mostly kept in check during the course of the set, though each horn player enjoyed a brief space to improvise; Laubrock, in particular, made her presence felt during a solo flight on the sets fifth number. Bassist John Hbert and drummer Ches Smith provided impetus, the former expounding a long soliloquy at the opening of the second composition, the latter favoring muted timbres and peppery snare drum bites. The groups newest member, pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn, added fresh colors to the sonic palette, from loud raspy ejaculations to swooping theremin-like glissandi. Halvorsons charts contained subtle interplay between the horn lines, like something Bach may have written for a choir, but with an outward ethos. Robust trombone supplied the solitary closing statement. Tom Greenland

When bassist Ben Williams, resplendent in a bright white, wide-winged suit, brought his 12-piece band (including a classical string quartet) to the Harlem Stage Gatehouse (Dec. 11th) to perform Dearly BelovedThe Music of Prince, the audience had to wonder if this was going to be a lot of jazz and a little bit of Prince, or the other way around. Fortunately, it was both. Eschewing the hits, Williams instead covered choice songs from the Minneapolis maestros diverse catalog, including: If I Was Your Girlfriend and Do Me Baby, both sung by guest ingnue Goapele; All the Critics Love U in NY, amped by W. Ellington Feltons spoken word artistry; The Cross, sung by Christie Dashiell over Williams punchy horn arrangement; and closing with Bilal crooning The Ballad of Dorothy Parker. Interspersed between mini-sets were clips from Princes 1984 movie Purple Rain, establishing new moods for the songs to follow. After a father/son scene, for example, Williams played a sensitive solo on acoustic bass. No Prince tribute would be complete without a funk romp, so Williams (sans white suit) and company got the cabaret crowd out of their seats for a medley with singer/keyboardist Frank McComb, though the funkiest funk came later on a cover of Sign O the Times served up go-go style, a nod to Williams Washington D.C. roots. The show proved that, like Prince, Williams is an out-of-the-box thinker, bringing new funk to jazz and vice versa. (TG)

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THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | JANUARY 2016 5

Marquis Hill has had quite a good year, give or take a month: on Nov. 10th, 2014, he won the Thelonious Monk Trumpet International Competition; Sep. 3rd, 2015 saw him open up his hometown Chicago Jazz Festival; and just last month he made his major jazz club leader debut at Dizzys Club (Dec. 7th). The quintet was split between his Windy City compatriots and Big Apple hired guns, Christopher McBride (alto) and Makaya McCraven (drums) the former, pianist Victor Gould and bassist Eric Wheeler the latter. Not quite the exploratory set to which he treated Chicagoans (which included several guest vocalists and MCs), the Dizzys set nodded more to the tradition-mindedness of the Monk competition, via five originalsa few from his DePaul University daysand Bill Lees Again Never from the 1990 film Mo Better Blues (released when Hill was three years old). What did remain from the Chicago show was the fabulous rapport that exists in the frontline. The trumpeter and saxophonist have been working together since their teens and recall such now-legendary pairings as Lee Morgan-Wayne Shorter or Donald Byrd-Jackie McLean. However, neither is averse to modernity and they are the rare young musicians whose ideas (brains) and abilities (fingers) are perfectly in sync. More importantly, Hill knows how to write melodies and arrange tunes; the latter can be taught but as for the former, you either have it or you dont. Hill has it and a bright, bright future ahead of him. Andrey Henkin

So the story goes that back when they were in their teens, the mothers of Freddie Bryant (b. 1964) and Peter Bernstein (three years his junior) met on the Upper West Side (the guitarists lived on adjacent blocks in the high 80s but attended different schools), discovered their offsprings shared passion and arranged a literal playdate. Moving forward some 30+ years and about 20 blocks north, the pair reconvened at Smoke (Dec. 9th) for a relaxed set of their favorite uncommon standards and one Bryant original. Both men are now respected practitioners in the middle of successful careers and chose a rhythm section fitting that description: bassist Peter Washington and drummer Lewis Nash. Bryants style is informed by his extensive classical guitar studies while Bernstein is a left-of-straightahead player. In performance, their styles were highly complementary, Bryant more at a boil, Bernstein spending his time at a simmer. They had fun in breaks with Nash during the opener, Jesse Greer-Raymond Klages Just You, Just Me, and rested comfortably on the pillowy groove of Lee Morgans Mr. Kenyatta. Bryant switched to classical guitar for a lush and smoky take on Bruno Martino-Bruno Brighettis Estat, demonstrating the axiom that the best jazz players know how to play slow as well as fast. Bryant stayed on classical guitar for his Alone, a light samba where he was the warm sand and Bernstein the cool breeze, and the set closed with a 50s-style burn on Charlie Parkers Ah-Leu-Cha, just two kids having fun. (AH)

Rudresh Mahanthappa, back at the Miller Theater for the first time since his 2012 Hurricane Sandy week concert, found a much larger crowd to hear his band perform (Dec. 12th). Playing selections from the award-winning Bird Calls (ACT Music), the saxophonist explained that his Charlie Parker-inspired compositions were not a tribute, but more a devotion to the iconic alto saxophonists pioneering musical perspective. And while each of the programs pieces was based on a particular Bird classic, the quintets improvisations owed more in temperament to post-Parker revolutionary Ornette Colemans perspective, with trumpeter Adam OFarrills solos frequently melding terse jagged phrases in a manner clearly reminiscent of Don Cherry. Opening with Bird Calls #1, the leader blew a thick-toned, robust raga-like line over Thomson Kneelands droning arco bass, soon buoyed by Matt Mitchells rumbling piano and Dan Weiss malleted cymbals. Segueing into On The DL, mottled-toned trumpet came to the fore, complementing Mahanthappas clarion sound on the Donna Lee derived song. Throughout the night Mahanthappa and OFarrill dialogued intensely, trading lithe melodic lines converging in thick harmonic confluence, as on the first sets freebopping Chillin, based on Relaxin At Camarillo, and dirge Talin Is Thinking, a variant of Parkers Mood, on to the second halfs Nows The Time and Confirmation spinoffs Maybe Later and Sure Why Not. Russ Musto

Since the 2007 passing of founding member Michael Brecker at the tragic age of 57, the band Saxophone Summit has forged ahead with Ravi Coltrane joining co-founders Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano to fill out the three-man frontline. This years edition of the ensemble found alto saxophonist Greg Osby stepping into the Brecker slot for the groups annual Birdland residency, giving the sextet a new sound, one which remained faithful to its original late-period John Coltrane inspiration. With its longtime rhythm section of pianist Phil Markowitz, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Billy Hart driving the saxophones, the powerful aggregation opened its Friday night second set (Dec. 4th) with Markowitz Point, an edgy outing with Liebmans sinewy soprano, Lovanos ethereal tenor and Osbys tart alto coming together in strident harmonies recalling the 60s Miles Davis Quintet in its cerebral intensity. Lovanos Alexander The Great had horns swinging straightahead on Bye Bye Blackbird changes over walking bass and explosive drums. The mood mellowed on Harts Reneda, an appealing melody spurring lyrical improvisations from the saxophone trio and Markowitz, whose rhapsodic piano lent an Ellington-ian elegance, enhancing the songs beauty. Two Coltrane pieces, Reverend King and India, had Lovanos alto clarinet and tenor, Liebmans wood flute, tenor and soprano and Osbys alto sax joining forces in joyous sonority to close out the show. (RM)

The latest round of Grammy Award nominations has been announced. Relevant categories are: Best Improvised Jazz Solo: Joey Alexander; Christian McBride; Donny McCaslin; Joshua Redman; John Scofield. Best Jazz Vocal Album: Karrin Allyson; Denise Donatelli; Lorraine Feather; Jamison Ross; Ccile McLorin Salvant. Best Jazz Instrumental Album: Joey Alexander; Terence Blanchard Featuring The E-Collective; Robert Glasper Trio; Jimmy Greene; John Scofield. Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album: Gil Evans Project; Marshall Gilkes & WDR Big Band; Arturo OFarrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra; Maria Schneider Orchestra; Patrick Williams. Best Latin Jazz Album: Eliane Elias; The Rodriguez Brothers; Gonzalo Rubalcaba; Wayne Wallace Latin Jazz Quintet; Miguel Zenn. Best Historical Album: Erroll Garner. Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella: Bob James; John Fedchock. Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap. Best Contemporary Instrumental Album: Bill Frisell; Wouter Kellerman; Marcus Miller; Snarky Puppy & Metropole Orkest; Kirk Whalum. Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media: Antonio Sanchez; Justin Hurwitz. Best Instrumental Composition: Arturo OFarrill; Bob Mintzer; David Balakrishnan; Rich DeRosa; Marshall Gilkes. Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals: Shelly Berg; Maria Schneider; Jimmy Greene. For more information, visit grammy.com.

The Grammy Hall of Fame has inducted the following jazz albums, meeting the criteria of recorded more than 25 years ago and having qualitative or historical significance: Ella Fitzgerald and Louis ArmstrongElla And Louis (Verve); John ColtraneLush Life (Prestige); and Miles Davis QuintetMiles Smiles (Columbia). For more information, visit grammy.com/news/grammy-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016.

The JazzConnect Conference, featuring workshops, panel discussions and concerts, takes place Jan. 14th-15th at Saint Peters Church. For more information, visit sites.google.com/site/jazzconnect2014/home-1.

Concrete plans (pardon the pun) for the construction of a Bix Beiderbecke museum in the trumpeters hometown of Davenport, IA have been made, with a target opening date in 2017, in time for the annual Beiderbecke festival.

Jazz at Lincoln Center announced the opening of Mica and Ahmet Ertegun Atrium, a mixed-use space in Frederick P. Rose Hall.

Much has been made of the fact that legendary rock vocalist/composer/multi-instrumentalist David Bowies newest album, Blackstar, was made with jazz musicians, specifically locals Donny McCaslin, Ben Monder, Mark Guiliana, Jason Lindner and Tim Lefebvre. But Bowies 1974 Live and 1975 Young Americans albums included David Sanborn, 1982s Lets Dance and 1984s Tonight included Mac Gollehon, Lenny Pickett, Stan Harrison, Steve Elson and Sammy Figueroa, 1986s Labyrinth included Ray Russell, Will Lee and Ray Warleigh, 1987s Never Let Me Down included Earl Gardner, Laurie Frink, Steve Elson and Lenny Pickett and 1992s Black Tie White Noise included Lester Bowie. Still, good for him.

Locksmith Isadore, the freebop trio of bass clarinetist Jason Stein, bassist Jason Roebke and drummer Mike Pride, have been opening up shows for comedienne Amy Schumer on her recent tour. Stein and Schumer are half-siblings as it turns out and the latter is a fan of improvised music. The tour comes to Madison Square Garden Jun. 23rd.

Pianist Herbie Hancock will have a role in the upcoming sc-fi film Valerian, a feature adaptation of the French 1967 graphic novel.

The Rutgers University Institute of Jazz Studies has announced the recipients of its Berger-Carter Jazz Research Awards: Andrea Jackson-Alexander, Dylan Lagamma, Zach Streeter, Andrew A. Vogel, Elise Wood, Rashida K. Braggs, Lucas Henry, Brian Lefresne, Zachary T. Wiggins and Deanna Witkowski. For more information, visit libraries.rutgers.edu/news/institute-jazz-studies-announces-berger-carter-jazz-research-awards.

The 2016 Next Generation Jazz Festival, presented by the Monterey Jazz Festival, is now accepting applications. Middle school big bands, high school big bands, combos, vocal jazz ensembles and composers and college big bands, combos and vocal jazz ensembles may apply by Jan. 15th. For more information, visit montereyjazzfestival.org.

As part of its annual grant cycle, the National Endowment for the Arts has given funds to the following local organizations to promote their jazz programming: Arts for Art, Inc.; Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Inc.; Central New York Jazz Arts Foundation, Inc.; Jazz Foundation of America, Inc.; The Jazz Gallery; and Jazz at Lincoln Center, Inc. For more information, visit nea.gov.

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Marquis Hill Quintet @ Dizzys Club Rudresh Mahanthappa @ Miller Theatre

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Jacky Terrasson had already earned widespread notice in the mainstream jazz community for impressive work with Betty Carter and Art Taylor prior to stepping into the spotlight in 1993 as winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. Over the next decade and a half the European-born pianist turned out a series of mostly acoustic trio albums for Blue Note, demonstrating a growing eclecticism reflected in his repertoire, which included forays into the realms of classic and contemporary popular music. More recently his wide-ranging influences have come center stage with the addition of electric keyboards to his instrumental arsenal and collaborations with artists from outside the jazz milieu. His latest efforts Gouache and Take This are kaleidoscopic in their range, with percussion-driven arrangements of compositions from Amy Winehouse and Justin Bieber to Bud Powell and Dave Brubeck.

The New York City Jazz Record: You were born and grew up in Europe. Do you feel that affected your appreciation of the American art form of jazz?

Jacky Terrasson: Things that are exotic generally excite my curiosity. The art from a Spanish painter, the writing of Gabriel Garcia Mrquez, the foods from Asian countries, cultures from elsewhere. On top of loving the music, the fact that it came from the USA made it even more attractive to me.

TNYCJR: You came up playing with singer Betty Carter and drummer Art Taylor. What are some of the lessons you learned from them and how did working with them affect your development?

JT: Both of them helped me grow musically. With A.T., it was all about band sound and the concept of the rhythm section being a unit, a musical machine! He had played with all my heroes. We spent hours rehearsing in his living room. Betty taught me so much. Young musicians have a tendency to play everything and more. I was no exception. Betty taught me about space, about peace, about the air in the music. I remember learning how to comp for her on ballads at slower tempi than Shirley Horn. I also learned about putting a set together, telling a story not only throughout a tune but throughout a set. More like going on an adventure. She would get mad if you fell into a routine.

TNYCJR: You recorded your audition for the Thelonious Monk piano competition in Bradleys, where you played and listened to others. What did you take away from the experience leading up to winning the award?

JT: Wow! Youre taking me back 25 years! I remember doing the demo at Bradleys with [drummer] Leon [Parker] and [bassist] Ugonna [Okegwo]. A friend and fan, Richard Salter, had convinced me to participate. I was reluctant at first because the word competition did not resonate well with jazz music. I had done a few of those while studying classical music in Paris. The other

players were amazing. I remember nailing it quite strongly on the semifinals. Being a young broke musician at the time, I stayed at my sisters friends place the night before the finals and was kept awake all night by a cat that kept jumping on the couch I crashed on. I dont think my performance on the finals was as strong and Im thankful that the jury evaluated me on both days, I guess.

TNYCJR: For many years you worked almost exclusively as a leader with a steady trio while backing various horn players as a sideman. How do you approach those roles differently?

JT: I have not been a sideman for over a decade now and while Ill admit that it is not entirely my cup of tea when there is a lack of freedom, but the idea of a collaboration where every musician had the same importance and contributes to the arrangements and writing is quite appealing. When I am the leaderI like conductor betterI like to have the other musicians very involved and bring their musical personality to the bandstand.

TNYCJR: What are some of the positive and negative aspects of having a steady band versus working with different players?

JT: For obvious reasons, sticking together allows you to build a repertoire and develop a group sound. This said, playing with musicians that you are not familiar with, finding each other musically, is a lot of fun and sometimes playing for the first time together creates very exciting moments.

TNYCJR: Your eclecticism, while always there, seems to have grown in recent years, culminating in your most recent recordings, where youre playing electric keyboards along with piano, and your repertoire has spilled out to include selections from the popular music canon. Explain your musical philosophy and development.

JT: Think of a painter who would want to create a very colorful piece. His palette would be quite busy and he will have the freedom of choosing the tones that fit better at any given time. I like to add the Rhodes because it adds to my musical palette. As far as repertoire, my philosophy is that if there is melody, form, harmony, its worth messing with to express your own musical ideas. It can come from the Great American Songbook, from classical music, from pop, from soul, from church, from any culture or style. I do take lots of pleasure in transforming things.

TNYCJR: Youll have a new band working with you at Smoke in January. Lets hear how you put this group together. Youve played with [bassist] Ben Williams before. Like you, hes a Monk Competition winner. How did you hook up with him?

JT: I have a policy of when Im looking for a drummer, I ask the bass player who he likes and vice versa. At the time I was playing with Jamire Williams and he recommended Ben. My philosophy is that if the drummer likes the bass player, usually theyre going to hook up and theyre going to let me fly. So I totally trusted Jamire and I remember at the first rehearsal with Ben everything just flowed naturally, very musically and very tranquilly, with passion, excitement and grace.

TNYCJR: Justin Faulkner, who Ive heard with Branford [Marsalis], will be playing drums on this gig. How did you decide to use him? (CONTINUED ON PAGE 54)

JACKY TERRASSONby russ mustoPHILI

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ART i S T f EATURE

The music envelops the listener like a postmodern mosaic: auras of color engulfed in shadow battle the very framework, expanding the boundaries while reveling in them. Cellist Okkyung Lee is tempting the limits again, inventing new means of performance practice within and in spite of the conventional. Brandishing technical skills honed from years of classical training, Lee traverses the realms of contemporary composition, free improvisation and raw sound. I began piano studies at age three, explained Lee. This is very common in Korea. The music was Western classical. And then when I turned six, my mother bought me a cello and said: Okay, so youre playing cello now. And that was it! she offered, laughing. I hated it for years, practicing three to four hours every day. We had tests in school. As a child, the instrument felt like a symbol of oppression. Still, the proficiency Lee demonstrated early on guided her through adolescence. By her teenage years, the instrument had become a part of her but she still hadnt committed to it. I wanted to become a sound engineer instead, so I traveled to Boston to study at Berklee [College of Music], taking my cello along, but hoping to leave it in the case. Others in the class would ask me to play for their recording projects, so it remained a part of my daily routine. Becoming frustrated with the technical aspects of engineering, Lee reconsidered her instrument after engaging in improvisation sessions with the Berklee jazz majors. This opened new realms for her as a cellist. Soon, she switched her focus to composition, earning a double major in film scoring and arranging, but the improv had intrigued her enough to expand upon this too. Moving to New England Conservatory (NEC), Lee embarked upon graduate studies in contemporary improvisation, through which she became fixated on the expanse of new music. This was a big break for me. Id submitted a tape of two solo improvisations as part of my audition and was accepted into the program. But at NEC I learned extended techniques and a breadth of music I hadnt been exposed to before. More importantly, within the contemporary music community at NEC, Lee finally developed a visceral connection to her instrument, making full use of her strict classical training or rejecting it soundly, as needed. Likewise, she began to draw on the Korean pop songs shed secretly enjoyed as a child and experiment with the very timbre of the cellos natural acoustics when exposed to other instruments including electronics. This can seem limitless, but offers its own limitations such as the cellos volume constraints. So I had to find my own place within the limits and go out from there. Lee began performing within Bostons new music circle and encountered trumpeter Dave Douglas, who encouraged her relocation to New York. After graduating from NEC in 2000 she came to Manhattan and was quickly immersed in the scene around Tonic.

I thought it would just be a visit; I had no plans to stay in the U.S. But Tonic was an incredible place where I made many friends who remain important to me. It was so open. One night Thurston Moore would play post-punk electric guitar pieces, the next night it would be Matthew Shipps trio performing! Lees involvement immediately grew from spectator to participant when she played with John zorns Cobra, a band whose lineup included Douglas, Mark Dresser and Ikue Mori, the latter whom Lee has since worked with frequently. Rapidly, the word on the hip new cellist in town spread throughout the experimental music scene. Lee became an integral part of Butch Morris ensembles, playing locally and in Europe. Looking back on this association, she commented fondly, He was one of the greatest. One of a kind and still so missed. And via the Morris connection, she came to know and play with pianist Vijay Iyer and his vast range of associates. Over the past 15 years, Lee has encountered the musics royalty as well as its young lions and found a home in this sonic landscape of contemporary classical, free jazz and noise musics. With a performance calendar that frequently takes her across time zones, Lee maintains a home in New York as well as roots in Korea. It might be said that she is truly a global resident as shown by the stages shes graced and the luminaries with whom she creates music. These include trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, violinist/performance artist Laurie Anderson, saxophonists Evan Parker and John Butcher, electronic music composer David Behrman, turntable virtuoso Christian Marclay, guitarist Fred Frith, vocalist Jenny Hval, experimental rock band Swans as well as the aforementioned zorn and many others. As a leader, the cellist has an array of handpicked associates to choose from and has released numerous discs offering tapestries of genre and texture. The music bears the imprint of Lees range of influences, from classic Downtown restlessness to quasi-Eastern meditations, the harsh edge of expanded bowing techniques to contemplative if almost sedate aural encounters and the rush of sound waves to the sparseness of atmospheric beauty. Its all part of my vocabulary, she added. After recording two powerful ensemble albums for zorns Tzadik label, Nihm and the particularly compelling Noisy Love Songs, Lees latest release further pushes the limits of the solo cello canon. Ghil, a limited release on the EditionsMego/Ideologic Organ label, was recorded in and around Oslo in unorthodox locations with crude equipment to capture the instruments natural rawness. Other recent projects include the ensemble Trio Alive and work with trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire. And I have plans to build a quartet, which pairs drummer Ches Smith and I with a traditional Korean singer and traditional Korean percussionist. If I can get the four of us together, I can already foresee just where this can go. v

For more information, visit okkyung.wordpress.com. Lee is at The Stone Jan. 1st and 9th and JACK Jan. 6th-8th. See Calendar.

Recommended Listening: Tom AbbsThe Animated Ventures of Knox (482 Music, 2005) Okkyung LeeNihm (Tzadik, 2005) Okkyung Lee/Peter Evans/Steve Beresford Check for Monsters (Emanem, 2008) Evan Parker ElectroAcoustic Septet Seven (Victo, 2014) C. Spencer Yeh/Okkyung Lee/Lasse Marhaug Wake Up Awesome (Mexican Summer/Software, 2012) Frank Gratkowski/Achim Kaufmann/ Wilbert De Joode/Okkyung LeeSkein (Leo, 2013)


OKKYUNGLEEby john pietaroSEBAS

TIA

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Best Jazz Venue of the Year NYC JAZZ RECORDBest Jazz Club NY MAGAZINE+CITYSEARCH

MON JAN 11, 18 & 25

MINGUS BIG BANDJAZZ FOR KIDS WITH THE JAZZ STANDARD YOUTH ORCHESTRA EVERY SUNDAY AT 2PM - DIRECTED BY DAVID OROURKE

HHHMINGUS MONDAYSHMINGUS MONDAYSHHH

FRI-SUN JAN 1-3

LOU DONALDSON QUARTETERIC JOHNSON - PAT BIANCHI - FUKUSHI TAINAKA

TUE JAN 5

JOHN HBERTSJEN SHYU - ANDY MILNE - BILLY DRUMMOND

WED JAN 6

MATT MITCHELL QUARTETCHRIS SPEED - CHRIS TORDINI - DAN WEISS

TUE-SUN JAN 12-17

STILL DREAMINGJOSHUA REDMAN-RON MILESSCOTT COLLEY-BRIAN BLADE

THU-SUN JAN 7-10

ALI JACKSONEMMET COHEN - MARCUS PRINTUP - CRAIG HANDY - YASUSHI NAKAMURA

MON JAN 4HCLOSED FOR PRIVATE EVENT

WITH

PRESENTSTHE

TUE-WED JAN 19-20

JALEEL SHAW QUARTETLAWRENCE FIELDS - LINDA OH - JOE DYSON

FRI-SUN JAN 29-31

JIMMY GREENE QUARTETRENEE ROSNES - JOHN PATITUCCI - JEFF TAIN WATTS

TUE-THU JAN 26-28

BILLY CHILDS

THU-SUN JAN 21-24

JOHN ABERCROMBIEORGAN QUARTET

CHRIS CHEEK - JARED GOLD - ADAM NUSSBAUM

RAMBLINGCONFESSIONS

CLASSICQUINTETS

MAP TO THE TREASURE:REIMAGINING LAURA NYRO

FEATURING

BECCA STEVENS & ALICIA OLATUJA & THE PARKER STRING QUARTET

JSnycjr0116 12/16/15 4:06 PM Page 1

Someone once described ROVA as The Grateful Dead of jazz. A comparison to The Rolling Stones would be more accurate. For more than 38 years, with only one change in personnel 27 years ago, the Bay area-based saxophone quartet has created high quality music. However, unlike the venerable British rockers, ROVA continues to evolve and experiment. This months series of concerts at The Stone offers a retrospective of classic material as well as new works. Some sets will feature guest musicians, some of whom have never played with the band before. Before that, an expanded ROVA ensemble will perform Electric Ascension, a 21st Century reimagining of John Coltranes classic work as part of Winter Jazzfest. Concurrently, RogueArt will release Channeling Coltrane: a live performance of Electric Ascension from the 2012 Guelph Jazz Festival on DVD and Blue-ray; a CD of the music; and Cleaning the Mirror, a documentary mixing the story of ROVAs adaptation with a history of Coltranes seminal session. Its a challenge to work on the older material, admits ROVA soprano and tenor saxophonist Bruce Ackley, 67. We mastered these pieces at one point and now were playing them in a different way. In preparation for the retrospective, the group has been rehearsing old and new material since September. The saxophonist can easily vouch for ROVAs long-term capabilities. After all it was for a concert during the 1978 San Francisco Free Music Festival that he, sopranino and tenor saxophonist Larry Ochs, 66, alto and baritone saxophonist Jon Raskin, 62, and original member Andrew Voigt first performed as ROVA. Ackley had already been part of a wind trio and had decided that for experimental music, It seemed pretty natural to stay clear of a rhythm section. Without a piano you didnt have chord progressions and without a bass and drums there were no time keepers. Each musician had been impressed by the harmonies created on Steve Lacys 1974 Saxophone Special LP with Evan Parker, Steve Potts and Trevor Watts and the cut on Anthony Braxtons New York Fall 1974 LP that included Oliver Lake, Julius Hemphill and Hamiet Bluiett. Once we heard the harmonic and rhythmic possibilities of the four reeds and the interactive methods we evolved, we liked what we were hearing, remembers Ackley. We realized we could stretch things out for a long time. Around the same time, Ochs recorded some of the tunes that became Cinema ROVAt, the bands first LP on Ochs Metalanguage label, and sent a tape of it to the Artistic Director of the Moers Music Festival in Germany. Ochs says the director played the tape when Braxton happened to be in his office. Hearing the tape Braxton became so excited by the sound that he insisted: Hire those guys and ROVA was booked. With this carrot as Ochs calls it, in front of them, the band was encouraged to seek out other performing opportunities and also began commissioning new works by the likes of Braxton, Terry Riley, Pauline Oliveros, Fred Frith, Lindsay Cooper and John Carter. Being on the West Coast has kept the band together

all these years, suggest Ochs. There was less pressure to make it. We were sort of isolated and there werent a billion musicians out here. ROVA soon became established enough that in 1983 the band were the first American improvisers to tour the Soviet Union, documented on hatART as Saxophone Diplomacy. Acclaimed elsewhere, Ackley suggests the Bay area situation was different. When we started we were thought of as unusual, as heretical. We didnt fit in the [notated] avant garde realm because we didnt have degrees from Yale and we werent really in the jazz realm. Our music was idiosyncratic. Determined to expand the audience, the non-profit organization ROVA:Arts was created in 1986, administering the ensembles activities, producing shows, commissioning new works and applying for funding. Grants let a lot of things happen, states Ochs firmly. There would be no Electric Ascension without a grant. ROVA faced another challenge in 1988 when Voigt left the band. Although alto and sopranino saxophonist Steve Adams, 63, technically stepped in as a sub just before a seven-week European tour, hes been with the band ever since. A former member of composers collectives and Your Neighborhood Saxophone Quartet in Boston, Adams has similar interests to the other members: ROVA has a creative approach to structure in improvised music and when I first heard it I found it was the only group in jazzin its broadest sensethat was able to erase the differences between composition and improvisation. The groups openness excited me when I joined, though playing in ROVA was like picking up a new language. Original material from all members will be played during The Stone residency and Adams is also rearranging and renovating Ochs 1994 eight-saxophone composition Figurer 8, since three of the four other participants werent on the original recording and play different saxophones. Figure 8 is just one of the many older pieces that will be part of the retrospective. Another is John Carters Colors. Recently ROVA has de-emphasized scores in favor of improvising, reports Ackley, so its been a challenge to play something like Colors. Over the years ROVA has revelled in this kind of challenge as well as forming ad hoc ensembles with other musicians. Its really important to have people we play with who really push it and were always looking for that, says Ochs. Seeking a new challenge is what convinced the band in 1995 to tackle the iconic Ascension after both of Coltranes recorded versions were released in one CD package. Reading the booklet notes, Raskin was shocked to realize that Coltranes 11-member ensemble had never performed the piece live. This is such a good piece of music, he recalls thinking, ROVA should do it. Transcribing the arrangement from the record with the exact instrumentation was pretty simple, he says. When we got to the end the first time we played it I was amazed to see how the form was really a jazz composition. The form decides the shape of the piece. Theres an exposition, the melody and four chords to improvise on. Coltrane was involved

in letting individual players go out and be free and thats why you end up with that wonderful cacophony. A few years after the acoustic Ascension was performed and recorded, Raskin and Ochs thought of recasting the piece for ROVAs 25th anniversary celebration. Figuring that Coltrane would have moved with the times and investigated the possibilities of using electric instruments, the piece was then arranged for electric guitar, bass and processing. We imagined what Trane would have done 30 years later, says Raskin. Ascension isnt a dead end. If you take something, move on it and make it your own, thats whats involved in jazz. How many versions of All the Things You Are exist, for instance? Adds Ackley: Ascension has been very important in my life. When I first heard it I couldnt imagine how intense it was. And now there are times I walk on stage and cant believe that Im going to play it. San Francisco producer/director John Rogers was involved for many years in filming Cleaning the Mirror but all the music he had was hand-held-camera cutaways of the ROVA Orchestra performing the suite. A multi-camera concert performance with high-quality sound was needed and the 2012 Guelph Jazz Festival show was ideal. Im usually the guy who has to face all the worry and stress when arranging something like this, recalls Ochs. But when I was on stage [in Guelph] listening to the performance, I said this is a great concert. Steve Lacy once said that when you play you should lift the bandstand and it happened several times during that concert. Ochs is also excited about a particular feature of the Blue-ray disc, which allows viewers to follow one musicians playing throughout. Ochs is the ROVA member most involved in other projects. Braxton once said play or die, he relates. And thats what I do. I like to be on the road or in the recording studio. Although the others also work in other local ensembles, none imagines ROVA dissolving any time in the near future. I dont see any reason for us to stop, says Ackley. Were still all very enthusiastic. Yet perhaps Raskin describes the situation most profoundly: When you hear the band you know weve been together for a long time. It shows in the nuances in our playing. After 38 years its obvious weve been working on things for a long time and working to make them better. v

For more information, visit rova.org. ROVA is at Le Poisson Rouge Jan. 17th as part of Winter Jazzfest and The Stone Jan. 19th-24th. See Calendar.

Recommended Listening: ROVACinema ROVAt (Metalanguage, 1978) ROVAFavorite Street (ROVA Plays Lacy) (Black Saint, 1983) ROVASaxophone Diplomacy (hatART, 1983) ROVAThe Works, Vol. 1-3 (Black Saint, 1994-97) ROVA & Nels Cline Singers The Celestial Septet (New World, 2008) ROVAElectric Ascension (Live at the 2012 Guelph Jazz Festival) (Rogue Art, 2012)

ON THE COVER

ROVA SAXOPHONE QUARTET

A LONG HISTORYby ken waxman

HEI

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LISS



HUBERT LAWSby alex hendersonMore than half a century has passed since Hubert Laws featured a young Chick Corea as a sideman on his debut as a leader, The Laws of Jazz (Atlantic), back in 1964. If Laws long recording career teaches us anything about the veteran flutist (who turned 76 on Nov. 10th), it is that he has never been comfortable playing one type of music exclusively. Laws is one of the most influential jazz flutists of the last 50 yearsyoung flutists in jazz often cite Laws and the late Herbie Mann as primary influencesyet he also has a long list of classical credentials. Over the years, the Houston native (who now lives in Los Angeles) has turned his attention to everything from John Coltranes Moments Notice and The Beatles Let It Be to the works of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Stravinsky. In 2015, Laws relationship to both jazz and classical music was underscored when arranger Steve Barta employed him on an orchestral reworking of French pianist Claude Bollings Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio. When Bolling produced the original version of the seven-movement suite in 1975, only four musicians were included: himself, flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal (the well-known classical musician from France), bassist Max Hdiguer and drummer Marcel Sabiani. For Bartas 2015 remake, a jazz quartet (Laws, pianist Jeffery Biegel, bassist Mike Valerio and drummer Michael Shapiro) joined forces with a string quartet and a full orchestra. Steve decided that he would revisit this piece by Claude Bolling, but he wished to do it with an orchestral arrangement, Laws explains. So when Steve conceived this, he asked me to participate and to replace Jean-Pierre Rampalwho was the original flutist. Jean-Pierre did not improvise. All the parts for the flute were actually written out with the exception of some places where I took the liberty to improvise. It was written as a suite for flute and jazz piano and its

really the piano thats doing most of the jazz playing. The flute is playing all the written parts. So when I was asked to do it, I think that what Steve Barta had in mind was taking it to a different level as far as adding some jazz inflections to the flute partwhich I tried to do. Laws embraced Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio long before Barta recruited him for the 2015 remake: in the 70s, he performed it live with Bolling himself. I played some concerts with Claude in New York and San Francisco during that period of time, Laws recalls. That was without any orchestral accompaniment: it was just me with piano, bass and drums. And we played one of the movements on The Johnny Carson Show, as I recall. Laws continues: Of course, I was familiar with the piece in the 70s. But I had to reorient myself. It had been some years since Id played it. The piece is demanding because youre following a script. Its difficult because its like someone has written the script for you and you try to deviate from the script and add your own personality. When you have a lot of notes already written, it makes it very difficult. In jazz, you have an outline, but you put the meat on the bone yourself, so to speak. But here, the meats already on the boneand you have to follow the pattern as given. Laws relationship with the European classical tradition goes back to his youth. As a student at the Juilliard School of Music in the early 60s, Laws studied with the famous classical flutist Julius Baker. But when he recorded The Laws of Jazz in 1964, it was evident that he was quite capable of playing straightahead jazz. Along the way, Laws stresses, he has learned how blessed he was to have the ability to improvise proficiently. When I went to the Juilliard School of Music, I was preparing myself to play in a symphony orchestra, Laws explains. I thought that by going there I could learn to play classical music. But I have an innate gift for improvisation thats very special and I just took it for granted. I spent a lot of time working out the difficulties in playing flute sonatas and flute concerti, but I would have spent more time on improvising if Id had the realization that I have now:

being able to improvise is a very special gift. During the 70s, Laws was known for playing everything from jazz to classical to funk and hasnt grown any less eclectic in recent decades. Laws (brother of the late saxophonist Ronnie Laws and singers Debra and Eloise Laws) paid homage to the iconic singer/pianist Nat King Cole in 1998 on Hubert Laws Remembers the Unforgettable Nat King Cole, and was mindful of the European classical tradition on Hubert Laws Plays Bach for Barone and Baker in 2005 and Flute Adaptations of Rachmaninov and Barber in 2009. Laws stresses that as the music world enters 2016, his main concern will continue to be not the style or genre of the music, but the quality. To me, music is just music, Laws asserts. What appeals to me in the jazz idiom or the classical idiomor any idiomhas to be the spirit of the music or the music itself. Music is like people in that it incorporates cultures and I think that people from various cultures have validity. Doing the music from these different cultures shows that you have a broad-range view of the world and you are not narrow-minded. It shows that you dont think that one type of music is superior and thats all youre going to do. I never did feel that way. I get quite a bit of enjoyment out of playing and presenting various music to and from different cultures. v

For more information, visit hubertlaws.com. Laws is at Baruch Performing Arts Center Jan. 10th as a guest of the New York Flute Club in its tribute to Harold Jones. See Calendar.

Recommended Listening: Hubert LawsThe Laws of Jazz/Flute By-Laws (Atlantic-Rhino, 1964) Hubert LawsCrying Song/Afro-Classic/ The Rite of Spring (CTI-BGO, 1969-71) CTI All-StarsCalifornia Concert: The Hollywood Paladium (CTI-Sony Masterworks, 1971) Milt JacksonGoodbye (with Hubert Laws) (CTI, 1973) Hubert LawsIn The Beginning (CTI - Columbia/Legacy, 1974) Stanley TurrentineIf I Could (MusicMasters, 1993)

ENCORE

PEGGY LEEby andrew vlezSultry-voiced and elegant, Peggy Lee began life as Norma Deloris Egstrom on May 26th, 1920 in Jamestown, Ohio. Enchanted by jazz and dance bands on the radio, by 17 she was on her own and soon became a veteran of many territorial bands and radio stations. At 22, while singing at a nightclub in the Ambassador Hotel in Chicago, she met bandleader Benny Goodman, who was staying there and looking for a replacement for vocalist Helen Forrest. Years later he recalled that first hearing of Lee: I thought she had a terrific quality. Shortly afterward she was signed and began making big band history with her first recording session of Elmers Tune. Those early years with Goodman (1941-43), which included hits like Blues in the Night and Why Dont You Do Right, established her as a blues singer who knew how to swing. Years later fellow jazz singer Cleo Laine observed, (She) came from the big-band era and knew how to swing. She knew how to sing on the beat when necessary. A lot of people dont know how to do that. Her simplicity had a lot of nuances. In the mid 40s she was married to and eventually divorced from guitarist Dave Barbour. Together they

wrote songs including big hits like Its A Good Day (1947), Maana and Fever (1958), all part of her song catalogue, which, among others, included Hes A Tramp from her score for Disneys Lady and the Tramp, Therell Be Another Spring, Johnny Guitar and The Shining Sea. They established her as one of the great 20th century popular composers. For a couple of decades beginning in the mid 40s and onward, Lee recorded dozens of popular albums for Capitol and Decca while always returning to jazz formats. Among those of particular note is her classic Black Coffee (Decca, 1953), which featured a memorable 12-bar blues title track. She drew upon the best of jazz players to accompany her, in this case featuring trumpeter Pete Candoli and the then-young pianist Jimmy Rowles. There was even a brief flirtation with movie roles, most notably in Pete Kellys Blues (1955), which earned her an Academy Award nomination. Lee loved to entertain and that, combined with her ability to connect so potently with a live audience, accounted for why, despite an opening night when a blizzard blanketed the city, she could draw a 1960 sell-out crowd to pack New York Citys then-hot new jazz club Basin Street East. They were drawn by her voice and sophisticated style, which radiated bluesy sensuality with just a dash of hip Mae West wit, which Lee could convey by merely raising an eyebrow and the hint of a smile. Glamorously garbed as was her custom, she was the epitome of popular jazz singing.

When she passed on Jan. 21st, 2002, Nat Hentoff observed: She was subtle and enticing in contrast with the belters who show off everything but their musicianship. Her main quality was a marvelous sense of subtlety... you can hear her voice after it stops. Perhaps Andr Previns observations are as potent as any: For the singing of popular songs, Peggy Lee was about as good as you can get, with the exception of Billie Holiday. Her sense of rhythm was unbeatable, sensational. And when she sang a song of unrequited love, she really got to you. More than 13 years on, Lees husky-voiced sensuality remains as alluring as ever. v

Peggy Lee tributes are at Birdland Jan. 12th and The Appel Room Jan. 21st. See Calendar.

Recommended Listening: Peggy LeeThe Complete Recordings 1941-1947 (Columbia-Legacy, 1941-47) Peggy Lee & June ChristyThe Complete Capitol Transcription Sessions (Capitol-Mosaic, 1945-49) Peggy LeeBlack Coffee (Decca-Jasmine/Verve, 1953/1956) Peggy Lee (with George Shearing) Beauty and the Beat! (Capitol, 1959) Peggy LeeIs That All There Is? (Capitol-EMI, 1967-69) Peggy LeeLove Held Lightly (Angel-EMI, 1988)

LES T WE f ORGE T


JAZZ CHiLDRENby suzanne lorgeAlmost 25 years ago, Sheila Jordan played a gig at Kimballs East in Oakland, California and San Francisco radio host Bud Spangler happened to capture the performance on tape. Alan Broadbent was the pianist, Harvie S the bass player. There Records has just released the live recording of nine tunes from that eveningBetter Than Anything, a too-short reprise of some of Jordans finest standards. Jordan performs the title cut, one of her signature numbers, in characteristic fashionat a spry clip, interpolating the melody with snatches from other tunes (in this case, Oh, Dear, What Can The Matter Be?) and improvising sung messages directed at her sidemen and the audience. Jordan usually performs with spare accompaniment, frequently only Cameron Browns bass, an unerring vocal line standing in bas-relief against a minimalist musical background. Her vocal lines remain one of the best examples of bebop mastery today; she is hardly ever not improvising and has at her disposal a seemingly endless supply of musical ideas. This album is a thrilling example of Jordans best work. New York-based Jordan last appeared here when she sang at Cameron Browns birthday gig at Cornelia Street Caf

in December. She will be in Austria for much of January. But catch her in February when she celebrates the release of Better Than Anything at Cornelia Street Caf (Feb. 14th) and joins with Cameron Brown and WORKS Trio at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music (Feb. 20th). The Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) convention comes to New York City every January, offering workshops on intriguing topics (for example, Our Global Community: What is the Role of the Arts Presenters in a Community in Crisis?) and giving up-and-coming artists the opportunity to perform for industry professionals. Engaging swing singer Svetlana Shmulyian and her band the Delancey Five will be one of the featured acts as will singer Allan Harris. Alas, the conference is open to members only, but all jazz artists might consider joining. (Theres always next year.) New York City also hosts Winter JazzFest each January and many fine singers will be at the mic during this five-day music marathon. On Jan. 15th Roberta Gambarini performs at The New School Auditorium; Alicia Hall Moran first and Chargaux later at The Greene Space; Tierney Sutton at Subculture; Charene Wade at The New School Jazz Building; Hilary Gardner at Greenwich House School; Ren Marie at zinc Bar; Nicole Henry at The Django at Roxy Hotel; Kennedy in Sarah Vaughan & Clifford Brown Reimagined and KING at The Bitter End; and Joey Arias at Le Poisson Rouge. On Jan. 16th Theo

Bleckmann plays at The New School Tishman Auditorium; Jos James is at Le Poisson Rouge; Sofia Rei performs at The New School Glass Box Theater; Vronique Hermann Sambin at The Django at Roxy Hotel; Tongues In Trees followed by Carolyn Leonhart and Angel Rogers with Jay Rodriguez Evolutions at zinc Bar; and Michael Mwenso and Brianna Thomas in a tribute to Louis (Armstrong) and Ella (Fitzgerald) at Greenwich House School, followed first by Tatiana Eva-Marie and later by Tamar Korn and Molly Ryan. One-day passes that allow entry to all the days events are $45 in advance and two-day passes are $75a phenomenal bargain, given the talent on offer. Jane Monheit opens the New Year with several New York gigs: at Birdland (Jan. 16th) shes singing Ellas songbook, then at The Appel Room (Jan. 21st) shes singing Peggy Lees songbook (with Rebecca Parris, Nellie McKay, Spencer Day and Barb Jungr). She closes out the month with a run at Blue Note (Jan. 28th-31st) as a guest of David Benoit. Exceptionally talented, largely unknown, Pittsburgh-based singer Maureen Budway passed away a year ago this month. Her final CD, Sweet Candor (MCG Jazz), with New York pianist David Budway, was released posthumously in 2015. It deserves many listens. In closing, I extend my thanks to singer Katie Bull as I accept the VOxNews baton from her talented hands. The conversation continues. v

VOXNEWS

MPSby ken waxmanChristian Kellersmann is now facing one of the most demanding yet satisfying challenges of his quarter-century career in the recording business. As director of Content and Creative for Berlin-based Edel: Kultur since late 2014, its his task to decide which items in the legendary MPS catalogue will be reissued. Besides sessions available on LP, analog tape and CD, twice each month two to five items are made available in digital form, exclusively on iTunes for a two-month period, then on all download platforms. This will be the first time in the history of the label that the entire jazz catalogue will be available in digital form, he explains. These timeless chapters in jazz will also be accompanied by online documentation. MPS (Musik Produktion Schwarzwald [Black Forest]) Records was the label founded by industrialist/audio engineer Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer (1927-2004) in the 60s initially to record pianists, most prominently Oscar Peterson, in high-quality sound. By the time Brunner-Schwer sold the label in 1983, among its 430 or so discs were ones recorded in New York and Berlin as well as at Brunner-Schwers famous Black Forest studios. The eclectic catalog features big band and small group recordings by the likes of Jim Hall, Count Basie, The Singers Unlimited, Jean-Luc Ponty, Wolfgang Dauner, Rolf Khn and Albert Mangelsdorff. Besides classic jazz titles, artists like Tony Scott and John Handy put out discs experimenting with what

later would be dubbed world music. Brunner-Schwer initially sold MPS rights and masters to Polygram/Universal, with Hamburg-based Edel AG taking ownership in early 2014. Kellersmann formerly worked for Polygram/Universal, leaving as Managing Director of Classics and Jazz. In that position, besides signing artists such as Till Brnner and Barbara Dennerlein, he initiated popular CD reissue programs. One was dubbed Mojo Club presents Dance Floor Jazz and then there was a classical club-series called the Yellow Lounge. During that time he met and worked with Brunner-Schwer and Gigi Campi, who produced many Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band LPs. Although they were both much older than me we were like soul brothers, Kellersmann recalls. What this background means is that in his tenure at Edel: Kultur, Kellersmann is a veteran dealing with familiar music. However, his marketing philosophy is different from that of the labels original owners. I learned a lot reintroducing jazz to a new audience in the beginning of the 90s, he states. My ambition was and still is, to reach a new, younger audience. With MPS the challenge is still valid: reaching the core audience as well as young, new consumers. He continues: Universal Music was only focusing on the top titles. In the meantime many people have been waiting to get access to all the music. We will release according to our resources and based on the quality of artists and productions. Each release should be something very special. The MPS reissue program began in May 2014 with Exclusively For My Friends, an Oscar Peterson boxed set available on CD, vinyl and digitally. At this point about 250-odd sessions have been reissued as digital

downloads, with the entire catalogue projected to be available sometime in 2017. So far, the most popular sessions have been dates featuring piano masters Peterson and George Shearing and surprisingly enough what Kellersmann calls hidden champs, pianist Monty Alexander and late vibraphonist Dave Pike. Before a title is made available the label consults with experts, including customers, record collectors and distributors. MPS was always a very open-minded label. It was never restricted to any specific genre, Kellersmann explains. Brunner-Schwer was a music-lover without limitations, except bad quality. Jazz was the main genre on MPS but you also find classical music, pop, schlager, bossa nova, Indian music etc. We want to keep and follow this tradition for music and quality. As it stands now the majority of digital-reissues consist of extant LPs without additional material. In the cases where we find bonus tracks that are good we will add them to the session, notes Kellersmann. But the best music was released alreadyat least according to Brunner-Schwer. So far the only discovery has been tracks by Peterson not part of his original MPS LPs but now included in the boxed set, labeled Lost Tapes 1 and Lost Tapes 2. On the last you can hear Oscar Peterson sing, reveals Kellersmann. Part of the reason Edel: Kultur hasnt yet been able to discover many bonus tracks is how the company received the tapes. We got the original audio tapes from Universal Music in packing cases, some with good documentations, but mostly without graphic material, he remembers. We had our own research team, who searched for liner notes and the original artwork. But (CONTINUED ON PAGE 54)

LABE L SPOTL iGHT

The Singers UnlimitedInvitation

Pedro Iturralde QuintetFlamenco-Jazz

The Elvin Jones Jazz MachineRemembrance

Oscar PetersonExclusively For My Friends

Lionel HamptonAlive & Jumping


GENE NORMANby andrey henkin

Club owner and record producer Gene Norman, whose career in jazz came through work on the radio, then concert promotion, and continued with Crescendo, his Los Angeles club, and his eponymous label GNP (Gene Norman Presents), died Nov. 2nd at 93. Norman (n Nabatoff) was born in Brooklyn on Jan. 30th, 1922. After graduating from college in Wisconsin, he moved first to San Francisco and then Los Angeles. It was on the West Coast that he turned a childhood love for jazz, spurred by visits in his youth to Manhattan clubs, into the beginnings of a career, first as a disc jockey for various radio stations and then producing concerts at venues like the Shrine Auditorium and Hollywood Bowl. Soon Norman opened his own club on the Sunset Strip (a stretch of Sunset Boulevard passing through West Hollywood), which hosted many major jazz and comedy acts, such as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Bob Newhart and Lenny Bruce. In 1954, GNP was founded with a series of 10 LPs by Charlie Ventura, Buddy DeFranco, Gerry Mulligan, Dizzy Gillespie, Clifford Brown and Max Roach, the debut by alto saxophonist Frank Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Lionel Hampton, Tenors West (Bob Cooper, Jimmy Giuffre, Harry Klee and Bob Enevoldsen with the Marty Paich Octet) and many others (some recorded live at Crescendo, which Norman sold in 1963 in order to focus his energies on the label). However, and presciently reflecting the labels future eclecticism, GNP also released discs like Hukilau Hulas, Josephine Premice Sings Calypso, Tito Puentes Cha Cha Cha for Lovers and a number of sessions by Cuban bandleader Rene Touzet. The 60s saw GNP move away from jazz into movie soundtracks, via the James Bond franchise, novelty banjo records, Western-folk outfits like The Moms & Dads and the album Dylan Jazz, credited to the Gene Norman Group and including saxophonist/flutist Jim Horn and a young Glen Campbell on guitar. Normans son Neil took over the label and moved it even further away from jazz. The labels online shop currently only offers a number of historical recordings by Louis Armstrong, Art Tatum, Charlie Ventura, Cleo Laine, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan, Stan Kenton and others. These days GNP is much better known by Trekkies, the label having acquired the rights to the music of Star Trek films and TV shows and releasing them for the first time. In a 2014 interview with Variety, Norman summed up what he considered the secret to his success and longevity in the music business: The most important skill is to have ears... There are very few releases on the label that I wouldnt still listen to and enjoy. We just went with what we liked, and if you do that enough, eventually youll hit one out of the park.

AL AARONS (Mar. 23rd, 1932Nov. 17th, 2015) The trumpeter was a fixture in the 60s Count Basie bands and also worked under Sarah Vaughan, Kenny Burrell, Eddie Harris, Stanley Clarke, Ella Fitzgerald and zoot Sims, among others, to go along with occasional pop,

rock and soul credits through the 80s and a single 1995 album as a leader, organized and released by the Los Angeles Jazz Society. Aarons died Nov. 17th at 82.

LOTHAR MEID (Aug. 28th, 1942Nov. 3rd, 2015) The German bassist was a member of the jazz-rock bands Amon Dl, Embryo and Klaus Doldingers Passport and later moved into a parallel career as a film score composer. Meid died Nov. 3rd at 73.

BUDDY MORENO (Jul. 14th, 1912Nov. 29th, 2015) The vocalist was featured in the 40s band of Dick Jurgens, then moved on to greater exposure with Harry James band and leading his own orchestra through the 60s before devoting himself to radio

work. Moreno died Nov. 29th at 103.

KJELL HMAN (Sep. 3rd, 1943Nov. 5th, 2015) The Swedish pianist/organist released a handful of albums under his own name from 1966 into the new millennium and worked with fellow Scandinavians like Rune Gustafsson, Bengt-Arne Wallin, Mads Vinding,

Monica zetterlund and ex-pat drummer Ed Thigpen to go along with a far more voluminous career as a session musician for Swedish pop acts. hman died Nov. 5th at 72.

ALLEN TOUSSAINT (Jan. 14th, 1938Nov. 10th, 2015) The New Orleanais royalty, though an accomplished pianist and performer, earned his jazz credits indirectly, his songs performed by artists such as Lou Donaldson, Al Hirt, David Fathead Newman, Jimmy

Smith, Robin Kenyatta and Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, as well as via production credits for Ramsey Lewis and Eric Gale, more recent performing appearances on albums by Madeleine Peyroux and Oz Noy and his own 2008 album The Bright Mississippi, wherein he played ragtime pieces and music by Ellington and Monk with such modern jazz players as Brad Mehldau, Don Byron, Marc Ribot, Nicholas Payton and Joshua Redman. Toussaint died Nov. 10th at 77.

BENGT-ARNE WALLIN (Jul. 13th, 1926Nov. 23rd, 2015) The Swedish trumpeter has a leader discography going back to the late 50s on Vik, Dux, Sonet and Dragon and numerous sideman/arranging credits with Georg Riedel, Arne Domnerus, Ernestine

Anderson, Quincy Jones, Lars Gullin, Friedrich Gulda, Monica zetterlund and Hans Koller. Wallin died Nov. 23rd at 89.

RICHARD YOUNGSTEIN (Oct. 30th, 1944Nov. 9th, 2015) The bassists discography includes separate work with both Paul Bley and Carla Bley (including the latter s massive opus Escalator Over The Hill) as well as credits with Bobby Naughton, Frederic

Rzewski, Roswell Rudd and single album as a leader (released under the name Noah Young), 1975s Unicorn Dream. Youngstein died Nov. 9th at 71. v

i N MEMOR iAM

AL AARONSEMERSON ABLECLIFFORD ADAMSANTHONY AGRESTAWILLIE AKINSVAN ALEXANDERJAMES ALKIREDAEVID ALLENBOB ALLENARCHIE ALLEYNEERIK AMUNDSENDIETER ANTRITTERKILLER RAY APPLETONUMBERTO ARLATIWEBSTER ARMSTRONGBEN ARONOVARA ARSENIANPAUL BACONPHILIP BARKERGIL BARRETTOPA PA JOE BASILEHAROLD BATTISTETONY BAZLEYGEORGE BEANBOB BELDENMARCUS BELGRAVESNDOR BENKABDELHA BENNANIJOHN BERGMIRIAM BIENSTOCKJN PLL BJARNASONBRENT BLACKAL BLOCKGEORGE BOUCHARDBUDDY BOUDREAUXDAVID BOURNAZIANCEPHAS BOWLESLENNY BOYDJENNY BROWNALLAN BROWNEOWEN BRYCEMAUREEN BUDWAYTHOMAS BUHLES BULLMANFRED BURZLAFFPAPA JOE BUSCHMANNGEORGE CARIOTECARLOS CARLIJOE CAVALLARORICK CHAMBERLAINMADHAV CHARIEMILE CHARLAPORNETTE COLEMANMICK COLLINSAUGUSTA LEE COLLINSJEROME COOPERKEITH COPELANDB.J. CROSBYRON CROTTYALICIA CUNNINGHAMALBERT DANNIBALERICK DAVIESADELE DAVISDONNA DAVISALAIN DE GROSBOISJOHN T. DEVECCHISMANFRED DIERKESSAM DISTEFANODON DOANEERIC DONEYEMILO MONK DUPREBUDDY EMMONSWILTON FELDERERNIE FELICEGARRISON FEWELLVIC FIRTHDALE FITZGERALDNIELS FOSSDICK GAILHAL GAYLORKEN GIBSONJEFF GOLUBCOLERIDGE GOODESILVANO GRANDIMAX GREGERDONALD GRIFFINMAHMOUD GUINIAJOHN GUMPPERHARRY HACHDAVE HATFIELDJOHNNY HELMSRUSSELL HENDERSONJUDITH HENDRICKSHERBIE HESSTRAVIS HILLDORIS HINESHAJO HOFFMANMARILYN HOLDERFIELDDON HURLESSJRGEN INGMANNDON INNESPAUL JEFFREYORVILLE JOHNSONRUSTY JONESIVAN JULLIENBILL JUPPRAYMOND KATARZYNSKYJOHNNY KEATINGORRIN KEEPNEWSRAY KENNEDYGARY KEYSMASABUMI KIKUCHIMIKE KINGMILTON KLEEBAL KOHNHEINZ KRETZSCHMARBILL LACY

CYNTHIA LANESTEVE LANEJAMES LASTBRUCE LAWRENCEMICHAEL LEONARDMONICA LEWISCARL LINDBERGERIK LINDSTRMVANJA LISAKEDDY LOUISSBRUCE LUNDVALLGENE LYNNJOHN MAIMONEBRENT MOORE MAJORSROBERT MARTINZEN MATSUURACORKY MCCLERKINMARY MCGOWANWILLIAM T. MCKINLEYHAROLD BAXTER MEADLOTHAR MEIDTERRI MERSEREAUSEPP MITTERBAUERJAMES L. MOONEYRICHARD O. MOOREBUDDY MORENONINO MORREALEMARK MURPHYBOB MURPHYZANE MUSARENE NANMARTY NAPOLEONMUSA AFIA NGUMPETER NIEUWERFHERMANN NIEWELERGENE NORMANFATHER PETER OBRIENKJELL HMANHAROLD OUSLEYBOB PARLOCHASTEVE PECKNAT PECKCONFREY PHILLIPSDAVE PIKESTEVE POUCHIERICHIE PRATTGEORGE PROBERTHUGO RASMUSSENMARGO REEDTED REINHARDTJOERG REITERDON RENDELLSLIM RICHEYEMMANUEL RIGGINSDANA LYNN ROGERSPETER ROSEDOUDOU NDIAYE ROSELARRY ROSENEARL S. ROSSBRUNO RUBGUILLERMO RUBALCABAHOWARD RUMSEYTOMMY RUSKINWOLFGANG SAUERDON SCALETTAPETER SCHMIDLINUNGE SCHMIDTGUNTHER SCHULLERHAZEN SCHUMACHERAMBROS SEELOSPAUL SERRANORALPH SHARONLEE SHAWCHESTER SHEARDJACK SIXBENJAMIN LOUIS SMALLEYBILL SMITHJOSEPH SOARES, JR.LEW SOLOFFBARRY SOULSBYMARC STECKARGEORGE STELLROWENA STEWARTBERNARD STOLLMANCHARLES BUTCH STONEETTORE STRATTASTEVE SWANNWARD SWINGLEMARCO TAMBURINISANDY TAYLORJOHN TAYLORCLARK TERRYMARC THOMASJOSEPH TORREGANOALLEN TOUSSAINTREIN VAN DEN BROEKBENNY VASSEURROBERT VEENNORBERT VOLLATHMURRAY WALDBENGT-ARNE WALLINJEAN WARLANDRAY WARLEIGHBOBBY WATLEYLEE WESTENHOFERBOB WHITLOCKKEN WILLIAMSLEOLA KING WILSONEMILY ANN WINGERTWILMER WISEKARL WLASCHEKJRGEN WLFERPHIL WOODSNOAH YOUNGRICHARD YOUNGSTEINSTEVE ZEGREEJEROME ZEIRING

IN MEMORIAM 2015

f EST i VAL REPORT

DR JAZZ fESTiVALby suzanne lorge

Each weekend guitarist Emmanuel Pea travels more than four hours from his home in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, to teach at FEDUJazz, a not-for-profit music school in Cabarete, a small town on the north coast of the country. The schoolits handful of classrooms just a short walk from the beachoffers free music classes to students of all ages and seeks to instill both artistic discipline and a sense of personal accomplishment in its nascent musicians. Peas dedication to the school is not unusual among its teachers, all professional musicians who volunteer their time to the hundreds of children annually who attend workshops. The Dominican Republic Jazz Festival (Nov. 4th-8th), which sponsors FEDUJazz, attracts leading jazz performers from Latin America, Europe and the U.S. for a series of free concerts across five nights each fall, this year in the towns of Santiago, Sosa, Puerto Plata and Cabarete. During the daytime hours of the festival, these jazz masters give the students classes in jazz history, performance techniques and the intricacies of polyrhythms. At the core of these classes is the understanding that Latin musical forms, an integral part of everyday life in the Dominican Republic, have as much to offer the jazz world as jazz training has to offer the students. Part of the festivals mission, says Lorenzo Sancassani, the Vice Minister of Tourism for the Northern Coast and founder of the festival 19 years ago, is to make jazz more popular among Dominicans. Despite the cultural debt that jazz owes to Latin America, jazz isnt a mainstream art form in the Dominican Republic. But local interest in jazz is growing as Dominican musicians study and perform abroad and return with their own Dominican-inflected forms of the music. More than 12,000 people attend the festival each yearmost of them tourists from other regions of the Dominican Republicand a known quantity (merengue, Latin pop tunes) is what they turn out to hear. As the festival continues to evolve, however, Sancassani wants to introduce more contemporary jazz acts to the festival roster. To this end, Sancassani entered into a partnership this year with saxophonist Marco Pignataro and woodwind player Matt Marvuglio of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute (BGJI), who will be curating the festival with Sancassani going forward. The first question that the curator of a Latin jazz festival must answer is one of basic identity: is the festivals goal to promote Latin American musicians on the global stage or to bring big jazz names to the Latin American stage? Either way, designing a program that strikes the right balance between local and international musical (CONTINUED ON PAGE 55)

WE JAZZ fiNLANDby stuart broomer

Helsinkis We Jazz launched in December 2013 as a novel approach to the traditional jazz festival, emphasizing unusual venues and sometimes-novel approaches to the music itself. The events artistic director, DJ Matti Nives, stresses that its a kind of environment, a happening, even a utopia: in its brief history, it has defined a format for itself that works in the special terrain of the Finnish capital as winter approaches. The days are cold and short and its often raining, but We Jazz goes against the grain to stress movement, seeking out some of the citys unusual places. Its a novel ideausing jazz to discover the city and the city to discover jazz. It began in an ancient concert hall and ended in a rock palace, along the way presenting concerts on a moving tram and in a small apartment. As it has in previous years, We Jazz (Dec. 7th-13th) launched at the Aleksanterin Theater. Opened in 1880, its an insistent visit to the past, a tribute to Saint Petersburg that looks Austrian, as visually rich as a Viennese layer cake but with its gold-painted plaster rosettes showing signs of wear and some bulbs out in the chandeliers. Its history extends from Russian rule to a post-WWI home for the National Opera and Ballet. As in previous years, the first night included a visiting headliner (this time pianist Vijay Iyers trio with bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, whose gunshot bass drum added a special contemporary touch) and an ambitious local project, drummer Teppo Mkynens Teddys West Coasters. The latter octet includes many of the citys most notable musicians, among them trumpeter Jukka Eskola and saxophonist Jukka Perko, but whats remarkable is the style: a loving homage to the cool jazz of 50s California, creating airy, shifting textures from an ensemble that includes tuba, baritone saxophone, clarinet and flugelhorns playing music largely composed by Mkynen and arranged by Jussi Lampela. A driving arrangement of Harold Arlens Out of this World summoned up memories of the John Coltrane recording. It became an apt feature for Eskolas cascading trumpet lines. A few nights later, Lampela conducted his score to Before the Face of the Sea, a full-length supernatural melodrama from 1926, which is a significant early entry in Finnish cinema history. Lampela gave a moody resonance to the film with a starkly dissonant score for winds and accordion, using some of the same musicians (reed player Ville Vannemaa and tuba player Miika Jms) who had worked their way through the sunnier California visions of Teddys West Coasters. The score featured trumpeter Verneri Pohjola as soloist, bringing both depth and facility to the role. Pohjola possesses (CONTINUED ON PAGE 55)

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Pedrito Martnez

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Juhani Aaltonen


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BEST OF 2015THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

Trombones strike us as singularly festive and traditional celebrants during the holiday season. Bright bell-like brass horns have heralded grand occasions in forms largely unchanged for many centuries. In the realm of performance art, trombonists present lots of visual action. That said, these three niche products fall under the rubric of remarkable feats of technical accomplishment and were undertaken as projects whose raison dtre might be answered because they can. Primarily brass geeks, diligent students, curious and respectful compatriots and discographical completists will play and study them. At 24 in 1976, George Lewis exercised his musical genius and conceptual originality with Solo Trombone Record, waxed under the auspices of clarinet guru Bill Smith in Toronto. Lewis in-your-face confabulations on thrice-overdubbed Toneburst encourage pleasurable aural free-association: after the opening of shooting stars whizzing across a clear night sky comes aural images of frogs pondside, swooning doves, clucking chickens, marching band tuning up, medieval chorale and West Coast cool brass reunion. Phenomenology breathlessly blows eight minutes of straight-eighths, endlessly fertile, funny, frenetic. Dream Sequence roams free and fantastic hornscapes. Lewis reading of Billy Strayhorns Lush Life is no cantabile romantico, rather punchy planned spatterings in a mechanical tude, devoid of emotional impact. Heres a relevant quote from a Lewis essay: My practice as an improvising musician has taught me that although all art must involve improvisation, improvisation itself moves beyond the purview of both art and craft. He elsewhere remarked that though playing pieces from the recording seemed to help his students, he soon after stopped doing solo trombone pieces I havent revisited the form since and most likely never will. Nonetheless Lewis utter horn mastery and musicianship prove a tough act to follow among this trilogy. A 40-year veteran of the New York scene, Steve Swells recent collaborations include Ken Vandermark, Dave Burrell, Jemeel Moondoc and Frode Gjerstad. On The Loneliness of the Long Distance Improviser, Swell, 61, avails himself of no toys or extraneous effects one can detectjust raw horn over 15 arbitrary, endlessly variegated cuts. Honesty trumps artistry: the spate of lurching ideas he pours forth, unvarnished and unedited, runs thin and thick. Swells brass catalog runs towards the random, discontinuous, pungent, unprettied, sometimes funny. His drolly pointed Harmon-muted dedication to Kenneth Patchen captures wisps of that poets cosmic cantankerousness. Keep Your Head Low spouts outraged staccato mutterings; Cogitation could well accompany a lively animated cartoon. Informal structures gain momentum towards the end: Tongue Memory hollers over a staccato bass pattern, then Blue Spirit recalibrates it with Dicky Wells and Roswell Rudd shout-outs. Andreas Schickentanz Axiom shows the 52-year-old Dortmunder to be an old-school melodist who has mastered lots of technical toys. Despite the electronic gadgetry and innovations at his command, discernible meter, melody and harmony are primary considerations. Lets review but a few of his dozen tracks, many wittily titled in German. An initial buzzsaw-meets-metal-

chimes yields to multiphonic triads, taut but sliding into fuzz-bomb static. Avant-bop improv with free-mixed subtones, multiphonics, New Orleans blues cries, speed-demon arpeggiations. Gothic apse-echoed chorale turns romantic balladic ramble. Leisurely medium swing trio of overdubs in three voices, open and Harmon-muted, slips into a fuzzy dreamscape of tight one-man section work accomplished with Harmonizer and queasy pitch-sliding. Just when Schickentanz seems to go fussy and academic (the title track), he leans louche and jokey with echoing Harmon mutes on Hundetraumdog dreams indeed! Ultimately, the set goes soothing, spacy and cinematic, as effects like flutter-tongue filigree take a swoon dive and final triad loops fade into taped schoolyard chatter.

For more information, visit delmark.com, steveswell.com and jazzhausmusik.de. George Lewis is at The Stone Jan. 2nd. Steve Swell is at The Stone Jan. 1st and 9th and Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center Jan. 7th. See Calendar.

Chicago-based reed player Ken Vandermark maintains a bewildering roster of projects. They embrace a mixture of improv aggregations, one-off collaborations and vehicles for his invigorating composition. In this last arena he has lately been investigating a modular compositional process, which allows his parts to emerge from the group interaction in new and unfamiliar ways both on the large and small scale. In its relative longevity his Resonance Ensemble has outlasted many of its large-scale precursors, which were by economic necessity short-lived adventures. Thats all the more remarkable when you factor in the multi-national character of the outfit, comprising players from five countries in this incarnation. Double Arc captures the culmination of the Ensembles five-day residency during the 2013 Krakow Jazz Autumn, consisting of two versions of the titular piece built around Austrian laptop artist Christof Kurzmann. The familiar Vandermark strengths remain on view in stimulating charts containing forceful themes, ensemble counterpoint, varied settings for soloists and sequences of small-group communion. Theres a wide range of dynamics from full orchestra to near silence, but generally so much happens given the c

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