The Pause that Could Refresh - A Brief Respite

Off we go to the Windy City to visit family, to welcome our new granddaughter, to play with our 4-year old grandson, to hug our daughter and son-in-law, and, hopefully, to catch some live music. I'll post a review or 2 along the way but regular verbal outbursts will be at a minimum.

In the meantime, check out the Hartford Jazz Society calendar - www.hartfordjazzsociety.com/calendar.html - or Jazz Haven (in the New Haven area - jazzhaven.org/events/ - and, of course, The Side Door Jazz Club in Old Lyme - thesidedoorjazz.com.

Enjoy!!

These Ladies are Live (and More)!

The Side Door Jazz Club in Old Lyme presents vocalist and composer Marianne Solivan in concert this Friday (8/21) at 8:30 p.m.  Ms. Solivan, born in Queens, NY, but raised in Venezuela, New Jersey and Massachusetts, studied at the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music.  She moved back to New York City in 2007 and, slowly but steadily, has been working and garnering critical attention.  She's worked with trumpeters Jeremy Pelt and Roy Hargrove plus recorded with clarinetist Darryl Harper, releasing her first solo CD, "Prisoner of Love" in 2012 and her second, "Spark", in 2014, both on HipNOTIC Records.  What you will hear is a singer well-versed in blues and jazz, one who inhabits her songs with great spirit, never "phoning it in."

Her Quartet includes Hartford-natives Dezron Douglas (bass) and Sharp Radway (piano) plus Darrell Green (drums). Doors open at 7:30 p.m.  For tickets and more, call 860-434-0886.  To find out more about this fine vocalist, go to www.mariannesolivanmusic.net.

Here's some music to whet your appetite:

On Saturday, percussionist Steve Kroon returns to the Old Lyme venue with his fine Sextet. Born in Harlem and raised in Queens, NYC, Kroon grew up in a household filled with Latin music. Along the way to his career, he studied with percussionist Dom Um Romao (Weather Report).  He toured and recorded with vocalist Luther Vandross for 2 decades plus spent time in bands led by bassist Ron Carter and Diana Krall.  He's recorded 5 CDs as a leader, the latest being 2014's "On the #1".

He's bringing his fine Sextet, an ensemble that features Craig Rivers (saxophone, flute), Igor Atalita (piano, keyboards), Waldo Chavez (bass), Diego Lopez (drums) and the fine vibraphonist Bryan Carrott (Ralph Peterson's Fo'Tet, Don Byron's Quartet). They'll take the stage at 8:30 p.m. and I expect your feet will be tapping a few seconds into the first song.  To find out more about Mr. Kroon and his music, go to www.stevekroon.com.

For tickets and more information about The Side Door, go to thesidedoorjazz.com.

The 2015 New Haven Jazz Festival takes place this Saturday from 6 - 9 p.m. on the New Haven Green.  Organized by Jazz Haven (click the name to find out more), this year's Fest is titled "Celebrating Women in Jazz" and features 2 fine performers.

After a short opening set by the Jazz Haven All Star Youth Band (they are well worth getting to the Green by 6 p.m. to hear), vocalist, composer, and pianist (not to forget she has a degree in Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering) Isabella Mendes takes the stage at 6:45.  Ms. Mendes, born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, moved with her family to the United States when she was 15, settling in New Haven. She attended the Educational Center for the Arts (ECA) in the Elm City before heading off to college.

Returning to New Haven after college, she started both her engineering and musical career (reality is that you have to have a "day job" to be a musician). Ms. Mendes came to critical and popular notice as a member of Sambaleza and that's the excellent band performing with her in New Haven. The ensemble includes Joe Carter (guitar), Jeff Fuller (bass), Adriano Santos (drums, percussion) and the excellent reed player Paul Lieberman (saxophones, flute, percussion) plus special guest vocalist George Lesiw. Chances are quite good they'll play music from her fine new CD (released just last month) "Blame Destiny."

To find out more and hear tracks from the new album, go to isabellamendes.com.

At 8 p.m., vocalist and pianist Karrin Allyson takes the stage with her Quartet (see below) and she, too, is celebrating the release of a new recording.  Ms. Allyson, who has spent the past 2 decades plus on the Concord Jazz label moves to Motema Music for her next project, "Many A New Day - Karrin Allyson Sings Rodgers & Hammerstein". Recorded with pianist Kenny Barron and bassist John Pattituci, the album (scheduled for release on 9/18) features 14 songs from one of the greatest teams to write for Broadway.

Still, the vocalist has a large repertoire to choose from and an excellent Quartet to support her endeavors, Joining her onstage will be Ted Firth (piano), Sean Smith (bass), Mark McLean (drums) and Randy Napoleon (guitar).  Don't be surprised if she plays plenty of music from Brazil and the Caribbean as well as a number of jazz standards.

To fond out more about Ms. Allyson, go to www.karrin.com.

And, to find out more about this free Festival and the upcoming New Haven Jazz Week, go to jazzhaven.org/festival-schedule/.

Here's the title track of the new CD:

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One of my all-time favorite guitar trios is Gateway, the convergence of John Abercrombie, Jack DeJohnette and David Holland.  They recorded 2 Lps in the 1970s and 2 CDs in the 1990s, all of which are worth (to my mind) poring over for hours on end. I was reminded - and pleasantly, at that - of Gateway while listening to the trio of Marc-Andre Drouin (bass), Wayne Eagles (guitar) and Ian Froman (drums) who have released their debut recording, "trio\DEF" on the TetraArtist label.  Drouin, a Montreal, Quebec resident first met Eagles in 2013 at a workshop at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, where the guitarist has been on the faculty since 1992. Eagles was eager to play with the bassist and drummer Lee Fish and they hooked up after the conference. When offered a slot at the 2014 Ottawa Jazz Festival, Fish was not available and Eagles contacted his friend Froman, an Ottawa native now living in New York City.  They worked together ever since.

Ottawa Jazz Fest

The trio's music blends jazz, blues and rock influences in a seamless and playful manner.  "OmniMouse" opens the proceedings in a quiet manner, the band feeling its way into the song. When the drums and bass lock into the groove, the guitarist flirts with a melody before playing the central theme.  His solo flit and darts over the easy rhythms, Froman's cymbals decorating the proceedings as Drouin creates a mysterious yet sweet bass line. The sweeping brushwork creates an intimate setting on the ballad "NEME" and the "clucking" single-note runs intermingle  with chordal sections on Eagles' fine solo. Drouin's melodic electric bass work brings Steve Swallow on this tracks and throughout the album, especially on the solos. The other ballad on the program, "JDJ" opens with chords and the bass tone reminiscent of that other Canadian guitar-bass-drums trio, Rush.  Eagles' handsome melody  takes its time to unfold but it's one of the best on the CD.  The band brings the heat on "At Most" and on the final track.  The former builds to 2 climaxes, first after the blazing bass solo and the second during Froman's solo near the close of the track. The latter cut (and the last on the album), "Or Not", is a treat, complete with snaky guitar lines, rumbling and walking bass lines plus fiery drumming.

trio\DEF, while reminding this listener of Gateway (especially their 90's albums), is successful in its own right. Still, like Abercrombie, Holland and DeJohnette, this music is definitely interactive, pulling you in and keeping you listening.  It's a relatively short program (7 tracks in under 41 minutes) but, overall, is quite satisfying.

For more information, go to www.triodef.com.

Here's the trio in action:

Great Live Music in New Haven + CD Pick of the Week

This coming weekend is an exciting one for jazz fans who live in the New Haven area as there are 2 concerts on consecutive nights guaranteed to whet one's appetite.

On Friday night (April 8), Firehouse 12, 45 Crown Street in New Haven, continues its Spring 2011 Concert Series with a visit from the Ullmann/Swell Quartet.  Originally formed in 2004, the four-some is known for its intense music, intelligent improvisations and creative interplay. The front line of Gebhard Ullmann (saxophones, clarinets) and Steve Swell (trombone) works extremely well together; both great soloists, they often intertwine their lines to create thorny and handsome aural landscapes.  The veteran rhythm section, bassist Hill Greene and drummer Barry Altschul, can be both propulsive and fiery, whisper-soft yet forceful.  Over the years, the group has issued 3 CDs but its best milieu is the live concert.

To find out more about the band, go to www.gebhard-ullmann.com.  To order ticketsor for more information, call 203-785-0468 or go to www.firehouse12.com. 

On Saturday evening, Jazz Haven presents the Noah Preminger Quartet at 7:30 p.m. in St. Paul & St. James Episcopal Church, 57 Olive Street, in New Haven.

Earlier this year, the 24-year old tenor saxophonist, a Connecticut native, issued his 2nd CD as a leader, the exquisite sounding "Before the Rain" (Palmetto Records.)  Featuring the sensitive accompaniment of pianist Frank Kimbrough, bassist John Hebert and drummer Matt Wilson, the  program consists, mostly, of ballads yet is never plodding or overtly pretty.

Kimbrough will be at the piano for the New Haven date (he is, arguably, one of today's finest pianists playing creative music) as will the splendid and irrepressible percussionist\Wilson (another modern master) but filling the bass chair will be Matt Clohesy (known for his work with Darcy James Argue's Secret Society and guitarist Torben Waldorff.)

For more information about Noah, go to www.noahpreminger.com.  To find out more about the concert and to purchase tickets, go to www.jazzhaven.org or call 203-469-9020.

 The first time I heard the World Saxophone Quartet was a 1977 recording, the group's first, "Point of No Return: Live At Moers" ( Moers Music).  Noisy, raucous, intense music, I was initially put off by the challenges the music posed.  Then came the group's Black Saint debut, 1979's "Steppin' With the World Saxophone Quartet" and its funky and free title track.  The roles seemed better defined;  Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake, David Murray and Hamiet Bluiett were like 4 brothers (but not like Woody Herman's "Four Brothers" from the 1940s), sparring, blowing hard, digging deeply into the blues and not only playing the history of Mr. Sax's instrument but creating new languages for the various reeds they played. 

Then, I saw them in concert. Dressed in tuxedos, they brought the house down with their infectious take on "free" music.  Bluiett's baritone shook the wall while Murray's momentous tenor lines created fire in one's chest.  Hemphill, who would leave the WSQ in 1989 (and pass away 6 years later), and Lake worked through the melodies and voicings, creating solos that wailed, keened and often soared through the hall.

Bluiett and Murray are still at it and the Quartet has a new CD.  "Yes We Can" (Jazzwerkstatt) is a live recording from March 2009 and a concert in Berlin, Germany.  Filling out the group is James Carter (who's been with the WSQ on and off since 1995) and New Orleans-based alto saxophonist and educator Kidd Jordan.  It was Jordan who first brought the original group together in the Crescent City in the mid-70s.

The title track, composed by Murray, celebrates the recent (at that time) election and inauguration of Barack Obama.  A lively piece, with a sweet melody line that leads into a long exciting solo section before closing with variations on "Hail to the Chief" and other patriotic tunes.  Bluiett's "Hattie Wall", the official theme song of the WSQ, opens and close the program, the horns moving together and separately to create a bluesy dance that occasionally erupts into short, electrifying, solo sections. The low notes on the baritone can still shake the speakers. Jordan's "The River Niger" opens with each player working on a melodic fragment before moving into a handsome melody that moves sensuously along atop the rich baritone line. Murray's "The God of Pain" is a richly realized ballad that echoes works by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn; the long, unaccompanied tenor solo moves way up into the stratosphere and leads into the faster yet still melodic "The Angel of Pain." - the music moves "out" and the rhythm is implied but the intertwined lines are rich with ideas. All but Jordan play clarinet on Bluiett's long and heartfelt ballad "The Guessing Game."  The work has a symphonic quality, touching on the blues that informs much of the composer's music. 

"Yes We Can"  is a positive statement on many levels, not only a political slogan but a clarion call for the 21st Century as well as a resounding vote of assurance that the World Saxophone Quartet is still creative, still moving forward.  Amazingly, the band does not have a website but go to http://hamietbluiett.com to find out more.