Resonating Through The Decades

Over the past seven years, Resonance Records has done a excellent job of rejuvenating the jazz career of guitarist Wes Montgomery. Not that his more famous CTI records demeaned him but this slew of albums serves as a reminder of just how good a soloist he could be, how adventurous he and the various musicians he played with could be, and, in several cases, serves as a history lesson for present-day listeners. Several of the albums comes from the period just before (or immediately after) the guitarist signed with Riverside Records.

The new two-CD set, "Back on Indiana Avenue: The Carroll deCamp Collection", is the sixth release from Resonance and hearkens back to their 2012 album "Echoes of Indiana Avenue."  As in many of the label's releases, there is a great back story to his the tapes were made and how they came into the hands of Zev Feldman at Resonance - watch the video below for more information.   As for the sessions, they are broken into three different sections, including "piano quartets with guitar, piano, bass, and drums plus organ trio and two tracks of piano sextet all on disk one while the overwhelming majority of disk two is "Nat "King" Cole-style trios with piano, bass, and guitar.  Because Mr deCamp did not keep notes (or they were never discovered), no-one is positive of who plays on what track (save for organist Melvin Rhyne, trombonist David Baker, and tenor saxophonist David Young.  Bass players include Wes's brother Monk and Mingo Jones while drummers are identified as Paul Parker and Sonny Johnson.   Pianists are a bit harder to pin down but the ones that are listed include Earl Van Riper, John Bunch, Carl Perkins, and another Montgomery brother Monk (who just may be the pianist on the two horn sextet tracks

Photo: Franklin Daily Journal

For those of us who grew up in the 1960s and later, many do not how about the myriad clubs in African American communities around the US.  Cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Kansas City, and elsewhere had a street or streets dedicated to bars that presented live music, often seven days a week.  Musicians were able to hone their skills, work on new material, entertain and educate audiences night after night.  Indianapolis, Indiana, the city in which the Montgomery Brothers were born and where they returned after the family moved to Columbus, Ohio, had several clubs in the Indiana Avenue area that catered to jazz and late night sessions.

"Back on Indiana Avenue" features music recorded from the mid-to-late 1960s (and, perhaps some tracks from the early 60s).  Wes's signature octave playing is in full bloom but so are his rapid-fire single-note runs and delightful rhythm work. One can hear the influence of Charlie Christian on his attack as well as the horn-like solo style of Les Paul. Check out the piano quartet on "Stompin' At The Savoy"for the Christian influence but make sure to dig brother Monk romping on the piano.  Dr. Lewis Porter's excellent notes state a number of these tracks may have recorded at Montgomery's home.  Dr. Porter, who is an excellent pianist and educator, theorizes that Buch appears on several cuts on these recordings plus Carl Perkins, another fine Indianapolis native, swings lustily on the final cut, "The Song Is You."  No matter who's playing, the music really turn on the audience (someone or ones is clapping in rhythm in the piano solo).

If you're a Wes Montgomery fan, you'll want "Back on Indiana Avenue - the Carroll deCamp Recordings" for many reasons.  If you're new to his music, perhaps the studio recordings on Riversde and Verve are the place to start.  Nevertheless, this is music that is filled with spirit and joy as well as a numerous splendid solos.  Dig it!

Photo: Steinway & Sons

Pianist and composer Bill Evans (1929-1980) is another artist whom Resonance Records has shown in a new light.  Two albums, "Some Other Time: The Lost Session from The Black Forest" (2016) and "Another Time: The Hilversum Concert" (2017), added to the mystique created by 1968's "Live at The Montreux Jazz Festival" (Verve Records), hitherto the only recording to feature Evans and bassist Eddie Gomez with drummer Jack DeJohnette. The more recent albums were both recorded within five days of the Verve release and show the Trio in full flight, the pianist truly enjoying the experience, especially on the "The Hilversum...." session.

DeJohnette was gone by the end of that summer. Marty Morell joined the group, staying for nearly seven years. The first Evans release on Resonance was 2012's "Live at Art D’Lugoff’s Top of The Gate" - that album, recorded in October of 1968, just weeks after the Morell entered the scene, comes from tapes made by label owner George Klabin, then 18 years old.  Now, the label presents "Evans in England", an 18-song two CD recorded when the Trio spent four weeks (basically the month of December) in residence at Ronnie Scotts in London.  The musicians are in sync throughout, having not only spent the past year playing together but also having the luxury of playing the same venue for an extended period of time. 

You can really hear the camaraderie of the three musicians on these songs.  How much they swing together, how both Gomez and Morell play quietly on the ballads, and how much the rhythm section pushes the pianist during his solos.  There are several Evans classics, such as "Re: Person I Knew", "Waltz For Debby", and "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" that closes the second disk.  "Waltz..." has a delightful unaccompanied piano opening that leads to a more spirited reading of the tune.  When Gomez steps out to solo, the song speeds up appreciably.  It's a treat to hear Morell's brushes dancing on the snare and cymbals before he returns to hs sticks.  It's fun to hear the trio play Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight" - the pianist had great respect for Monk's piano work as well as his compositions. Evans plays up the melodic and harmonic sides of the song while the bass and drums play with the rhythms, making the song flow and swing.

Two previously unrecorded Evans compositions made their debut during the Trio's residency.  Both "Sugar Plum" and "The Two Lonely People" are featured on Evans 1091 Columbia Records Lp, "The Bill Evans Album".  The unaccompanied piano opening  on the former tune followed by a delightful conversation between the piano and bass shows just locked in the musicians are.  Gomez plays counterpoint to Evans lovely thematic material and swings mightily during the lively solo.  The opening moments of "...Lonely People" are breathtaking in its lyricism - when the bass and drums enter, the music begins to swing but the pianist maintains his more introspective approach. Evans expands upon his solo near its close, picking up on the energy that his bandmates are sending his way.  If you listened or have listened to much of the music this trio made over its time together (1968-74), you'll know they pushed each other constantly while respecting each other's space yet honoring the music and spirit of jazz.

"Evans in England" is a worthy addition to the Bill Evans legacy.  Now that there are three albums of material from 1968 and 69, you can really hear that the pianist was fully in creative flight during that time, that he had finally recovered from the untimely death of bassist Scott LaFaro in 1961.  Eddie Gomez not only plays with great verve but is so delightfully melodic that his frequent solos unfailingly stand out.  Marty Morell is the consummate accompanist, rarely "showing off" but always into the music. Absolutely recommended!



If you want to learn more about Bill Evans, blogger and author Marc Myers is the person to read (he adds much to the album liner notes). Go to www.jazzwax.com and search for the numerous postings he's done on the pianist!

Sonic Explorations of the Soul

Dr. Lewis Porter is a musicologist, author, and educator who happens to be one fine pianist. Over the seven years, he has released several trio albums and a slew of duo performances.  His new recording, "Solo Piano" (Next To Silence LLC), is his first going it alone.  Since the good Doctor is a historian of jazz music, you won't surprised to find that the music on the album has a wide variety of influences including standards, originals, blues, and, of course,  jazz. Best of all, it often sounds as if Porter is having fun.  Listen to the original "Ragtime Dreams" - there is a bit of dissonance in the melody line reminiscent of Randy Newman. "Blues for Sunset", also an original, is a sweet meditation that moves on an "easy rollin'" left hand while the pianist digs dances and creates a solo with phrases that seem to dance in the air.

Photo: Ed Berger

Three of the pieces are "standards", starting with the opening exploration of Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love."
The long playful solo goes through several styles while stand connected to the melody line throughout.  Porter paints quite a portrait on George Gershwin's "I Loves You, Porgy." There's an orchestral feel to the piano and an intelligent use of occasional silence.  Later in the program, Porter's take on "Body and Soul" is truly lovely. Sit back and let music fill your ears, listen to how articulate the pianist is (reminding this listener of Fred Hersch), and enjoy the ride.

Photo: Bill May

Other originals include the delightful and hypnotic "Mixolydia", the meditative yet expansive "Through the Sunset", and "For Eddie Harris."  The "...Harris" track is notable in its combination of short melodic phrases and an insistent rhythmic but notice how the piece threatens to break down in the middle yet never loses its way.

The album closes with a handsome version of John Coltrane's "Central Park West."  Here again, the pianist takes his time to create a fine story from the opening melody. There are moments when the piano lines take flight and others when it seems like the piano is sweetly singing. Actually, one could write that about many of the songs on "Solo Piano."  Lewis Porter certainly understands the power of melody, especially when combined with a strong, rhythmic, left hand. This collection is a delightful addition to his catalogue and deserves your attention.

For more information, go to www.lewisporter.com. (The album will be released on 3/29/18.)


Our house is quiet this mid-February morning with only the sounds of pianist Lucian Ban and clarinetist Alex Simu wafting through the rooms.  The duo's new Sunnyside album, "Free Fall", is inspired by and dedicated to Jimmy Giuffre (1921-2008).  Giuffre, who played tenor saxophone and clarinet, graduated from North Texas Teachers College (now North Texas State University, one of the premier music schools in the USA) and went on to play with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra and the Buddy Rich Band before joining Woody Herman's Thundering Herd. For Herman, he composed what may still be his most famous composition, "Four Brothers" (1949) which featured the tenor saxophones of Giuffre, Zoot Sims, Herbie Steward, and the baritone saxophone of Serge Chaloff.  In the mid-1950s, Giuffre organized a drummer-less band with guitarist Jim Hall and trombonist Bob Brookmeyer (replaced a year later by bassist Ralph Pena) and recorded the classic "Western Suite" Lp for Atlantic Records.  In the early 1960s, the reed master (who also played soprano and baritone saxes plus flute and bass flute) formed a new trio with pianist Paul Bley and bassist Steve Swallow, moving into a "freer" sound.  Giuffre went on teach for several decades, all the while still recording even adding electronics to his groups.

For the Ban and Simu CD, recorded live in Bucharest, Romania, (both musicians are natives of the country) in February of 2018, the duo mixed original pieces with several improvisations (including the title track) plus a lovely version of Carla Bley's "Jesus Maria" and two pieces from Giuffre (both recorded with Bley and Swallow as was the Bley piece). Here, Ms. Bley's lovely ballad rolls in on a piano figure not unlike a piece by Erik Satie.  Simu moves lightly through the melody and creates a long, impressionistic, solo.  "Cry, Want", the first of the two Giuffre compositions that actually come at the end of the program, opens with an unaccompanied clarinet solo. One can hear the influence of the blues on the composer, even more so when Ban enters. The piece moves slowly and quietly with one really hearing the "cry" in Simu's phrases.  "Used To Be", the other Giuffre piece, has a livelier feel. The gospel sound in Ban's thick piano chords, reminiscent of Abdulah Ibrahim, creates a great cushion for Simu to explore the higher range of his instrument.

The album opens with the pianist's "Quiet Storm", setting the tone for the rest of the program. As the music moves forward, the duo opens up, their lines dancing in and around each other, never very loud but you almost see Ban and Simu watching each other anticipating the next moves.  The title track builds off a dark piano riff that slowly lightens up as the clarinet - then, they begin to really dig in challenging each other yet making sure to stay connected.  There's a similar feel to the other improvised work, "Mysteries." The piano creates a quiet riff while the clarinet plays long tones, even dissonant tones.  That dissonance is a foreshadowing of how the music will pick up in intensity and even move int "freer" territory.  Still, the duo never loses the connection to Ban's left hand, the quiet riff that is the glue of the music.

"Free Fall" demands your attention, doing so not by shouting in your ears but, most often, whispering into them.  Lucian Ban and Alex Simu are influenced not just by Jimmy Giuffre's music but also by the composer's desire to move beyond the cliches that often permeate music. Several of the pieces, especially the originals, are influenced by the blues, using that musical language as a touchstone for personal and duo explorations.  This music, the concert, and the resulting album is certainly an enjoyable listening experience.

For more information about these musicians, go to www.lucianban.com and www.alexsimu.nl.