Life has a way of throwing big curveballs into one's best-made plans. Started out 2019 in the local hospital and am ending the year trying to catch up with all the fine music that came my way in the past 11 months. What's got me far behind my projected writing was the end of a busy semester and then the joyous onslaught of grandchildren into our quiet domicile. Calendar aside, here are two 2019 recordings that deserve your attention.
Photo: Erain Ribeiro
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to interview bass clarinetist Todd Marcus (pictured left) and then hear him in concert at our local library (playing alongside his long-time associate Eric Kennedy (drums), pianist Noah Baerman, and bassist Henry Lugo. Marcus lives in Baltimore and works hard to make his adopted hometown a better place for all. He does not do this all through music (although that's a good part of it) but also through the various non-profits he works with. Marcus is straight-forward, pulls no punches, is filled with empathy at how his city has been maligned by politicians and people around the country but also sees how hard his neighbors work to keep their part of Baltimore (the Sandtown-Winchester/Upton communities) clean and livable.
While Marcus's 2018 album "On These Streets (a Baltimore Story)" dealt with the issues of his city, late this past Summer the clarinetist issued "Trio+" (Stricker Street Records). Nine of the 12 tracks feature the rhythm section of Ralph Peterson (drums) and Ameen Saleem (bass on seven of those cuts replaced by Jeff Reed for one who also appears on five others). The album opens with the 14-minute, four-movement, "Something Suite"; inspired by Sonny Rollins classic "Freedom Suite", the music rises and falls on the powerful work of Peterson and Saleem while the leader creates a strong thematic message. With the exception of one track, Marcus plays bass clarinet throughout the program. He's found his "voice"on the instrument as he moves, often glides, through the octaves. Note the "sweetness" of his melody and tone on the "3rd Movement" – the lower tones resonate while the higher ones have a singing quality.
The "+" on four of the tracks is trumpeter Sean Jones. He and Marcus danced and dive their way through "Amy Pookie" with Peterson pushing them hard during the solos sections. The front line caresses the melody on Victor Young's "My Foolish Heart", a ballad that features fine counterpoint from Reed, excellent brushes work from Peterson, and lovely solos.
Reed and Marcus blend their voices (the bassist playing arco most of the way) on "How Deep Is The Ocean (intro)" before drummer Eric Kennedy enters to push the song forward. Again, the bass counterpoint stands out throughout the track. The clarinetist, Peterson, and the two bassists dance their way through a short but powerful take on Bennie Maupin's "Neophilia." The piece really builds off the "bounce" that Reed and Saleem supply as well as Peterson's majestic drum work.
"Trio+" closes with "Plummeting", an original piece that Marcus first recorded on his 2005 debut for Hipnotic Records "In Pursuit of the Ninth Man" – that album featured Marcus's Jazz Orchestra while here it's played as a quartet with Jones as the other voice. The power of the playing hearkens right back to the opening track with Ralph Peterson leading the way with his energetic and joyous playing.
The more one listens to "Trio+", the more one wants to see this band in person. They possess the power to pick the listener right out of his/her seat as well as make them lean in to really "hear" the softer pieces. Todd Marcus continues to tell important stories in his music, this time making musical testaments on the importance of working together as a unit while still maintaining one's unique voice. Dig in and play it loud!!
Here's "Cantata" featuring bassist Reed and drummer Kennedy plus the leader on B-flat clarinet:
Pianist and composer Greg Reitan, a native of Seattle, WA, who has been in living in Los Angles, CA, for nearly three decades, has recorded exclusively for Sunnyside Records since his late 2008 debut "Some Other Time." Each of his albums features the rhythm section of bassist Jack Daro and drummer Dean Koba who have been his steady musical partners for 25 years. There is nothing stale or dull about this relationship – in fact, the music breathes with creativity and honesty. Reitan is also busy with composing for film and television as well as for advertising plus has composed several classical works.
"West 60th" is his fifth album and does not stray from the pattern set by the previous four other than there are more originals among the 11 tracks than usual (eight plus one each from Bobby Hutcherson, Herbie Hancock, and Aaron Copland). But, it's five years since Reitan issued his previous album "Post No Bills" and, perhaps it's that fact that accounts for the urgency in many of the pieces. The program opens with "Hindemith", a piece that jumps out of the speakers. Reitan dances over the rapid-fire "walking" bass lines and insistent cymbal work. The breakneck pace does not let up even as Koba jumps into his solo. The title track is next, a handsome waltz inspired by the Trio's 2017 "playdate" at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola in NYC's Lincoln Center. The bluesy swing from the leader builds upon the energy produced by his partners.
The pace slows down with a lovely take on "When You Are Near", a Bobby Hutcherson piece from his 1967 Blue Note Lp "Happenings." The melody, as played by Reitan, has a classical feel – Daro's "singing" bass work is also a highlight both when he's playoff counterpoint plus during his solo. The Aaron Copland composition is "Movement No. Three" from "Four Piano Blues." Performed solo, one cannot help to hear the influence the older composer had on the work of Randy Newman. To his credit, Reitan does not take liberties with the music allowing the plaintive melody to stand out. If one goes back two tracks on the disc, the pianist's ballad "Luminosity" has a touch of the Copland influence in the chordal structure.
The best way to listen to "West 60th" is to start at the beginning and go right through to the melodious "Epilogue". The music, at times exciting, always melodic, contemplative, and filled with intelligent musicianship, demands and deserves your attention. Others have compared Greg Reitan and his music to that of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett; there are hints on several tracks but what one always hears on this album is creative songs, excellent arrangements, intelligent interactions, and a trio that loves to play together. Works for this listener.
Music and poetry are often intertwined; whether it's through the turn of the lyrical phrase or the message of the verse, poetry has a rhythm that speaks to many people. Trumpeter and composer Matt Holman was introduced to the Greek poet Sappho (630-550 B.C) by his wife in the early of their courtship and the poet's words fell on receptive ears. Historians believe that the poems were written to be sung with accompaniment of the lyre.
Holman, who has worked or is now working with large ensembles led by Darcy James Argue, John Hollenbeck Fred Hersch’s Leaves of Grass, Asphalt Orchestra, guitarist Joel Harrison, and the JC Sanford Orchestra (among others), also is a member of the SKETCHES quintet and is on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music and Hunter College.
The poetry of Sappho is the inspiration for "The Tenth Muse" (New Focus Recordings), the trumpeter's second album. Working with Sam Sadigursky (soprano sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, alto flute), Chris Dingman (vibraphone), and Bobby Avey (piano), Holman uses fragments of poems (many of them no more than a short sentence) to create 16 pieces that are minimalistic yet melodic, thoughtful, meditative, reflective, emotionally powerful, and sometimes verging on melancholy.
The Lilypad/Cambridge, MA
It's best to let the music do the talking. The clarity of the sound, the beauty of the individual instruments, how the composer and arranger mixes and matches the voices, how the poetic fragments become musical stories, the moments when the music transports the listener (literally) out of time, all this and more makes "The Tenth Muse" very special. There are moments when the Sadigursky's clarinet or soprano sax echoes or trails behind the trumpet, when the rolling piano chords build to a thundering climax, when Dingman's vibraphone peels like a church bell or the trumpet sustains a note that resonate long after the album ends.
Holman leaves space in the program for each member of the ensemble to have an unaccompanied solo. Those interludes are the shortest tracks in the 67-minute suite but do not feel extraneous (are titled as "Fragments"). And, while there is a classical chamber music feel to the proceedings (especially in Bobby Avey's piano work), the music defies categorization. The composer wisely leaves it up to each listener to find his or her way.
If you are a person who loves to get lost in music, who likes to be challenged and rewarded by a composer and his ensemble, then seek out "The Tenth Muse." The sounds, these abstract notes that coalesce into emotions, have great power and stand out from the standard fare. Matt Holman has given us a wonderful present; take notice.
Mike McGinnis (clarinet, soprano saxophone) is a musician who easily moves in an out of different musical styles without losing his voice. He has composed for large ensemble ("Road Trip" for 10 musicians), worked on Broadway (in "Fela"), performed with Anthony Braxton and Steve Coleman as well as with Yo Lo Tengo, plus is a founding member of The Four Bags, an eclectic group that combines accordion, trombone, guitar, and his woodwinds.
His new recording, "Recurring Dream" (Sunnyside), is a consummation of a desire to work with musicians he idealized growing up in Maine. The album finds him in the company of pianist Art Lande and bassist Steve Swallow, both with long careers, both connected with ECM in its early years (and, in the case of the bassist, to this day thanks to his association with Carla Bley), and both excellent composers as well as adventurous musicians.
McGinnis's liner notes make mention of the bassist's work with clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre, a big influence on the young reed player. This program does not follow Giuffre's experimental trio music (with Paul Bley as well as Swallow) of the early 1960s although "Circle Dance" (credited to McGinnis and Lande) is a short "free" excursion. Instead, the listener is treated to seven delightful melodies with originals for all three, one track by saxophonist Mel Martin (the album opener "Mel's Drive In"), and a Lande "derangement" of the standard "Darn That Dream" that the pianist titled "Drat Recurring Dream."
The opener is a rousing and funky piece with McGinnis on soprano sax dancing through the theme supported by the bass and piano. Listen to how Swallow not only supplies the rhythm but also counterpoint, especially beneath Lande's delightful solo. The bassist's subtle sound blends nicely with the piano throughout and, most notably, on McGinnis's handsome bluesy "Hearth." Another lovely ballad is "Amazing", composed by Swallow, that the trio takes its time to explore. Again, the piano solo is a delightful, a poetic take on the melody with impressionistic flourishes and lovely single-note runs. After the composer's melodic solo, McGinnis creates an emotionally rich clarinet excursion. Lande's "Constantinople" opens with an unaccompanied piano solo and it's fun to hear where the directions the pianist's mind goes. Swallow's tone is perfect for this ensemble, meshing well with the lower piano notes but also serving as a strong solo voice. Listen to his delightful lead-in to his piece "Bend Over Backwards" and how it sets the stage for the bluesy body of the song. Lande and McGinnis take a jaunty stroll through the theme and then the clarinetist digs in for a solo that may remind some of Benny Goodman or Artie Shaw. The pianist takes off into a solo that plays with the tempo, working with it or behind the beat, even jumping ahead on occasion.
One gets the feeling while listening to "Recurring Dream" that this trio had a lovely March day in the recording studio. They got to play, create lovely music, some playful music, and just enjoy the camaraderie. Art Lande or Steve Swallow, no matter the setting, are always "themselves", knowing when to lay back or step in. Over the past 15 years, Mike McGinnis has demonstrated he can play and compose in many different styles, creating a body of work is fun, funky, serious, and very much his own. Delightful music anytime of day, I bet they are a joy to watch in person as well.
One of the joys of contemporary music is how composers and musicians often go in unexpected directions (not talking about "pop" music here). Drummer and composer Harris Eisenstadt has several "working", ensembles that explore "free" music, through-composed pieces, jazz, Americana (Canadia, I suppose), and more. His new album, "Recent Developments" (Songlines Recordings), features a fascinating nonet - Anna Webber (flute), Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon), Nate Wooley (trumpet), Jeb Bishop (trombone), Dan Peck (tuba), Brandon Seabrook (banjo), Hank Roberts (cello), Eivind Opsvik (bass), and Eisenstadt (drums) - playing a suite that only displays a form on repeated listenings. That is not a criticism. The composer does not betray a theme by giving his pieces titles so it's up to the "active" listener to make sense of this work.
The music features a "Prologue", "Introduction", the six-part "Suite", five "Interludes", and an "Epilogue." Each part of the "Suite" contains intimate conversations between the musicians, whether it's Ms. Webber's flute interacting with Robert's cello to close "Part 4" or "Wooley's trumpet solo over bass and drums (with Bishop and Peck interjecting) on "Part 1" which then has a countermelody for flute, banjo, and bassoon before the trumpeter takes off over the drums. It's much more fun to listen than to dissect, more exciting to hear how structure is stretched, broken, reassembled, and changes. "Part 3" sounds like "modern jazz" yet is led in by the bassoon while the trombone solo is supported by bass, drums, and Seabrook's banjo as the rest of the ensemble move in and out of the mix. The composer adds a short counter-melody for reeds and brass that comes and goes like before you really notice. Ms. Schoenbeck's emotional solo on "Part 5" is stunning but note how the music evolves from various voices moving in and out with melodic fragments at the beginning and how the bassoon rises out of that to begin her statement over just bowed bass and drums.
Subtle, rewarding, and challenging, the album opens with just flute and bassoon on the "Prologue" and closes on a group "Epilogue", a piece that ends on a bass and banjo melody that makes you feel like there's more to come and that the music is not really over. "Recent Developments" is engrossing music, surprising at times, often quiet, with the various voices drawing the listener in. Let the musical vision of Harris Eisenstadt soak into your mind and enjoy how it unfolds, expands, and changes.
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