Workshops, Concerts, Album, Guitar!

Spoke with guitarist, composer, bandsleader (bands, as he fronts several different ensembles), and author Joel Harrison and discovered he's also the founder of the Alternative Guitar Summit.  It's an event where guitarists and music fans can learn from a number of the finest guitarists in the world.  This coming Saturday and Sunday (March 6-7), Harrison and cohorts once again take the AGS online.  There will be Masterclasses taught by people such as Nels Cline, Sheryl Bailey, Adam Rogers, Ben Monder, Adam Levy, Harrison, and Special Guest Bill Frisell. 

Classes start at 10:30 a.m. both days –– there will be time in each workshop for Q&A sessions.  Day One concludes with a concert at 7:30 pm featuring Ben Monder and Adam Rogers. You have to register for each day separately ($80. apiece) which not only gets you into each class but also you have 30 days of access to the sessions. Every class is different; for instance, on Day One, Adam Rogers and Mike Stern will teach  "Playing inside and outside the changes in jazz and rock" while on Day Two Joel Harrison and  Stern will share a workshop on "Creating great lines as a soloist with approach tones, diminished and altered scales."   

For more information, go to www.alternativeguitarsummitcamp.com/ags-online.  

Harrison also shared that two weeks later (March 20-21), the Guitar Summit will present a two-day Festival. Saturday at 8 pm, the AGS brings 12 guitarists for a concert dubbed "Honoring Pat Martino"  –– there will be five sets of duos including Adam Rogers and Peter Bernstein, Dave Stryker and Paul Bollenback, Rez Abbasi and Jeff Miles, Oz Noy and Nir Felder, and Sheryl Bailey with Ed Cherry, each duo playing with the rhythm section of Dezron Douglas (bass) and Allen Menard (drums).  There will also be two solo guitar sets, the first with Joel Harrison, the other with Kurt Rosenwinkel.  

On Sunday from 2 - 5 p.m., the concert, "Virtual Visionary Solos", features guitarists from around the world playing solo, with one exception. The amazing lineup includes Nguyen Le, Nels Cline, Michael Gregory Jackson, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Mary Halvorson with drummer/ percussionist Tomas Fujiwara, Henry Kaiser, and Anthony Pirog.  Both of these shows are free but the organizers would appreciate a donation to cover the cost of production as well as for the ASG Education Fund. For more information, go to https://joelharrison.com/ or 

https://alternativeguitarsummit.com/concerts/. 

On top of that, Harrison has a new book coming in May.  "Guitar Talk: Conversations with Visionary Players" (Terra Nova Press) is a collection of conversations/ interviews the guitarist conducted with 27 of his contemporaries including Nels Cline, Pat Metheny, Fred Frith, Bill Frisell, Julian Lage, Elliott Sharp, Michael Gregory Jackson, Ben Monder, Anthony Pirog, Henry Kaiser, Mike and Leni Stern, Vernon Reid, Mary Halvorson, Nguyên Le, Rez Abbasi, Ava Mendoza, Liberty Ellman, Brandon Ross, Wayne Krantz, Dave Fiuczynski, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Miles Okazaki, Sheryl Bailey, Rafiq Bhatia, and Ralph Towner. If you have any interest in the role of guitar in creative music and the people involved, this book is for you.

For more information, go to Harrison's website (listed above) or to www.terranovapress.com/books/guitar-talk-conversations-with-visionary-players.

Photo: Mark Coehlo

Guitarist, vocalist, composer, and performer Michael Gregory Jackson first came to notice as a member of saxophonist Oliver Lake's Quartet in the early 1970s playing both acoustic and electric guitar. His first solo release, "Clarity, Circle, Triangle, Square" (Bija Records), featured the 23-year old Jackson in the company of Mr. Lake, Wadada Leo Smith, and David Murray playing music that explored myriad streams in Black Music.  Jackson went on to record numerous albums through the 80s, ranging from the avant-garde to contemporary r'n'b.  Although he disappeared from the jazz press for several decades, the guitarist remained quite busy in Europe and the United States.  He appeared on Wadada Leo Smith's 2009 album "Spiritual Dimensions" (Cuneiform Records) which served to reintroduce the guitarist to the press.

Golden Records has just issued "Frequency Equilibrium Koan", a live concert that Michael Gregory Jackson recorded live in 1977 at the Ladies' Fort in New York City. For this gig, he interacted with three amazing musicians including Julius Hemphill (alto saxophone), Abdul Wadud (cello), and Pheroan aKLaff (drums).  The four tracks are indicative of the Loft Scene in NYC in the 1970s yet sound timeless as well.  Wadud's amplified cello pushes against Jasckson's crackling electric guitar on the title track while Hemphill's alto dances and scurries alongside them. aKLaff's ability to fit in and create his own colors as opposed to having to "lock down the rhythm" allows one to hear the ruminative quality of the piece.  On "Heart and Center", the quartet do lock in with Wadud creating a bluesy bass line over the rollicking drums –– the saxophone and guitar play a bluesy theme before Jackson jumps out into a short, rock-influenced solo.  Listen to how he and Hemphill converse, connect, and then Jackson creates counterpoint to the raucous sax solo.

Jackson and aKLaff open "Clarity #3" with a short percussion interaction before Hemphill and Wadud roar in.  The slippery, squiggly, saxophone riffs over the frantic bowed cello lead Jackson's squalling, clicking, guitar in to join the fray while the drums dance and skitter below.  The final track, "A Meditation", is just that.  Opening with bells and low rumbling drums as well as intermittent plucked cello notes, the music moves slowly forward with Jackson on bamboo flute supported by aKLaff's cymbals.  Hemphill adds occasional flute lines in the background.  The piece has a softer intensity for a few minutes in the middle of its nine-minute run but ends quietly and gently.

"Frequency Equilibrium Koan" comes out on the heels of the seven-CD Julius Hemphill document "The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony" released by New World Records on the saxophonist, composer, and performer's birthday, January 24.  This rediscovered Michael Gregory Jackson date comes from around the same time as the majority of the larger set.  While Jackson's recording is much more modest, it's no less important.  With the death of John Coltrane, Creative Black Music had gone in various directions but the self-determination of organizations like the AACM in Chicago and the BAG in St. Louis plus artists such as Muhal Richard Abrams, Anthony Braxton, Oliver Lake , Julius Hemphill, Wadada Leo Smith, and many others was empowering younger musicians like Chico Freeman, David Murray, and Michael Gregory Jackson.  Listen with open ears and you will be rewarded.  

For more information and to purchase the album, go to https://michaelgregoryjackson.bandcamp.com/album/frequency-equilibrium-koan.  To learn more about the guitarist, go to www.michaelgregoryjackson.com. 

Here's a snippet of the album:

Looking Back Yet Sounding Like Today

If one subscribes to the belief that you learn something new everyday then the life of a reviewer can be very exciting.  I have known about the duo of Jeanne Lee (1939-2000, vocal) and Ran Blake (piano) but never really sat down to listen.  They first met in the mid-1950s and started performing together several years later.  Their debut album, "The Newest Sound Around" (RCA Victor), was issued in early 1962, a fascinating combination of standards, blues, and jazz. The Lp earned positive reviews but did not sell well in the United States.

Europe was another matter, especially Sweden and the Netherlands. Ms. Lee and Mr. Blake made several trips to perform there during the mid-1960s. Now A-Sides Records has issued "The Newest Sound You Never Heard", a double-CD collection recorded both in the studio and live in 1966 and 1967 while the duo was in Belgium. 33 never-before heard songs, some familiar to fans but many quite surprising. The 1966 sessions, a combination of a radio concert and "in-person" tracks, is a fascinating collection of songs, from Thelonious Monk's"Misterioso" (with lyrics by Gertrude Stein) to The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" to standards such as "Honeysuckle Rose", "Night and Day", and "Take The A-Train" to gospel, Broadway and even a funky reading of Ray Charles' "Hallelujah, I Love Him So."  Scattered among the tracks are several originals by Blake including an impressionistic instrumental titled "Birmingham U.S.A."  Ms. Lee, who said she was influenced by Abbey Lincoln, does some impressive scat singing on a number of tracks but don't ignore the lovely ballads. Included  in that list is Cole Porter's "Night and Day" - note how Ms. Lee caresses the words while Blake provides such a sympathetic background.  Disc One is quite the hour of music.

A year later, the duo returned to the VRT Studios and recorded the 14 tracks that appear on disc #2.  There's only one repeat from a year earlier (Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington's "Caravan") and more adventures in creativity.  Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" gets a gospel-flavored accompaniment while Ms. Lee stays close to the original melody; in the middle of the the song, the rhythm disappears and the duo move in and around each other Asia in a dream.  Ms. Lee's unaccompanied reading of Billie Holiday's "Billie's Blues" is an absolute stunner as is the duo's performance on Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman."  Listen to the spare piano backing to the highly emotional vocals, the essence of describing loneliness in music.  The final three tracks, "The Man I Love", Billy Strayhorn's "Something To Live For", and "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most", make for an intimate and poetic close to the program.

There are moments on the 1967 sessions that remind this listener of the interplay between Cecile McLorin Salvant and pianist Sullivan Fortner on the former's latest album "The Window."  I hear it in the the playfulness and the intimacy, in how both participants interpret the music and the lyrics, making the songs their own.  Jeanne Lee and Ran Blake only made two studio recordings together Fresh Sounds issued a recording in 2013 of the duo from their 1966 visit to Stockholm, Sweden and, now with the release of "The Newest Sound You Never Heard", listeners get an even fuller picture of the magic these two created whenever they convened to make music.  And, it's amazing how contemporary these recordings, made over five decades ago, sound today.  Highly recommended!

For more information, go to ranblake.com.

Here's the Monk tune from 1966:

Eric Dolphy (1928-1964) had a short professional career as a musician but that career was quite full.  From the time he joined drummer Chico Hamilton's group in 1958, he rarely went without work. He hooked up with bassist and composer Charles Mingus in 1959 with whom he recorded the extremely impressive Candid album "Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus." Even after he left Mingus's employ in 1960, Dolphy hooked up with the bassist for tours.  In 1960, the multi-instrumentalist (alto saxophone, flute, bass clarinet) recorded his debut as a leader and in the next few years, recorded with Oliver Nelson ("Blues and The Abstract Truth") and began an exciting if short-lived relationship with tenor saxophonist John Coltrane.  Dolphy's own group, featuring trumpeter Booker Little, made an historic album "Live at The Five Spot" in 1961.

In February of 1964, Dolphy recorded his classic "Out to Lunch" for Blue Note Records but seven months prior to those sessions, he went in the studios with producer Alan Douglas the nine tracks that were split into two Lps, "Conversations" and "Iron Man".  Notable for the debut of 18-year old trumpeter Woody Shaw and the amazing bass work of Richard Davis, the tapes were released numerous times by different labels; along the way, the stereo master tapes disappeared and it turns out that the Dolphy family actually had documents, scores, and several reels of tapes which they gave to flutist James Newton for safekeeping. He, in turn, donated the documents to the Library of Congress.

In 2016, James Newton visited Resonance Records studios with the tapes in tow. Over the course of listening with producer Zev Feldman and executive producer George Klabin, they decided to release an album that featured a newly re-mastered versions of the two Douglas albums plus 80+ minutes of outtakes from the session - one notable exception is the 15-minute "A Personal Statement",  composed by pianist Bob James, from March of 1964. The resulting package, "Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions",  as issued in Fall of 2018 as a three-Lp set which is why you may seen the album on many "Best-of" lists.  The CDs have just been issued with an impressive booklet that features interviews with bassist Davis, saxophonist Sonny Simmons (who appears on four of the original Lp tracks and four of the alternate takes), Sonny Rollins, Steve Coleman, Oliver Lake, Nicole Mitchell, Marty Ehrlich, Henry Threadgill, Joe Chambers, Han Bennink, Bill Laswell, a former manager of the Douglas Record label Michael Lehman, and Dolphy's close friend Juanita Smith.

Photo: Blue Note Records

The two "official" releases continue the artist's explorations into expanding his musical range.  Four of the tracks feature Simmons, Shaw, Prince Lasha (flute), Clifford Jordan (soprano saxophone), Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone), and J. C. Moses (drums) while three add Garvin Bushell (bassoon), and Eddie Khan (who shares the bass parts with Davis). Drummer Charles Moffett appears on one track.  Dolphy is generous sharing the solo spotlight therefore the group tracks feature plenty of solos all around.  There are a pair of short unaccompanied alto sax takes of the standard "Love Me" in which you can hear how Dolphy expanded the language that Charlie Parker created for the instrument.  Perhaps the most fascinating outtakes are the two versions of Roland Hanna's "Muses for Richard Davis." Davis on bowed bass and Dolphy on bass clarinet explore the handsome melody with deep bass sounds and chords providing a strong foundation for the lower reed instrument.  Coming after the classic "Alone Together" (also a duet for bass - plucked here - and bass clarinet), the "Muses..." blend the expressive the reed sounds with the more formal sounding bass (Davis has such a wonderful sound and the mix here shows him in his best light.

Eric Dolphy may not have had a long life but his influence can still be felt 55 years after his passing. His willingness to experiment, his tart yet refreshing alto saxophone playing, his lovely flute, and his championing of the bass clarinet as a lead instrument, make him a role model for musicians around the world. "Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions" restores two albums that sorely needed someone's attention - how delightful and intelligent that James Newton brought the tapes to Resonance Records and what a splendid package.  The "limited edition" three-Lp set sold out quickly but, thanks to the sound restoration of George Klabin and Fran Gala (who also mastered the albums and CDs), the music steps out of the speakers and fills the room.  Highly recommended!!

For more information about this recording, go to resonancerecords.org/artists/eric-dolphy/.

Here's the exciting alternate version of "Mandrake":

An Unexpected Sabbatical, A Treasure of Nichols, & A Splendid Historical Issue

Life is filled with twists and turns with unexpected events happening throughout. Sometimes we are prepared, other times we are taken totally off guard.  In the second week of December 2018, I came down with a virus that came and went throughout the Holiday Season but never let its hold of me.  Right after New Year's Day, it was obvious this virus was much more serious and, after a series of tests that told me was I did not have (other than I was anemic) I was admitted to the hospital and spent a week getting poked, prodded, MRI'd, more blood was taken and it was discovered that I had an infection in my blood and it was attacking me in numerous ways. Thanks to several hard-working physicians associated with Middlesex Hospital here in Middletown, CT, the infection is being handled by a six-week daily treatment of antibiotics.  My great thanks go to the wonderful nurses and PCTs who helped me through the darkest hours and the long, ugly, hours of worry.  It's good to be home, great to be digging back into music, and exposing some fine new music for the readers.  Thanks  for your patience!
********************************************

In the midst of the illness, I received a note from drummer-arranger Lucas Gillan who, judging by the name of my blog, thought I might have more than a passing interest in the music of pianist and composer Herbie Nichols.  Gillan, based in Chicago, IL, leads a quartet known as Many Blessings and, on the 100th anniversary of Mr. Nichols's birth (1/03/19), released "Chit-Chatting With Herbie: Lucas Gillan's Many Blessings Plays Herbie Nichols Trio" (JeruJazz). It's a track-by-track rearrangement of Mr. Nichols's 1956 Blue Note album that featured bassists Al McKibbon or Teddy Kotick pus drummer Max Roach.  Gillan arranged the music for his quartet that is composed of Quentin Coaxum (trumpet), Jim Schram (tenor saxophone), and Daniel Thatcher (bass). This is not the first time that an ensemble with reeds and brass have approached Mr. Nichols's music (The New York Jazz Composers Collective created an offshoot called The Herbie Nichols Project in the mid-1990s and released three albums - the band included pianist Frank Kimbrough) but the first I can recall without a pianist.

Photo: lucasgillan.com

If you are a Herbie Nichols fan (and he's become a cult figure in the last four decades well after his passing in 1963), then you will love "Chit-Chatting...". The sax and trumpet share the melodies while the rhythm section create a delightful cushion while prodding, poking, and supporting the front line.  Coaxum's trumpet is especially lively throughout while Schram's has a bluesier side. They complement each other well throughout.  Just listen to the opening "The Gig" - Gillan sets the dancing beat and gets a boost from the bass and then the trumpet and sax glide through the melody. There's a hard-bop feel akin to Clifford Brown and you can hear the joy in the musicians the way you could when Brown played.  There's a handsome reading of "The Lady Sings the Blues", a melody that Mr. Nichols wrote for Billie Holiday. One can't miss the blues feel and the sense of melancholy but there are also moments of joy.  The subtle humor and thick beat of "The Spinning Song" moves forward in a sly manner (Gillan's drums are so melodic on the theme) while "Hangover Triangle" stumbles forward on thick bowed bass lines and sharp drumming while the trumpet and saxophone deliver the theme in less than 75 seconds.

The album closes with George Gershwin's "Mine" (from the musical "Of Thee I Sing"). Gershwin was Herbie Nichols's favorite composer and here the quartet sing out the melody line supported by the powerful drums and solid bass lines.  "Chit-Chatting With Herbie" is a splendid tribute, one that goes beyond mere copying the original arrangements and being faithful to the sound.  The music sounds fresh, contemporary, and joyous!  Kudos to Lucas Gillan's Many Blessings as their performances and music will raise your spirits on the dark nights of winter and year-round.

For more information, go to lucasgillan.com.

Here's the opening track:

***************************************
I actually wrote this review early in December but never got to publish it.  So, I'm playing "catch-up."

Over the past several decades, pianist and composer Fred Hersch has recorded and released numerous live albums with his various ensembles as well as a solo.  His latest Palmetto Records release "Fred Hersch Trio '97: @ The Village Vanguard" was recorded in July 1997 during the first time the pianist had a week as a headliner at the famed New York City club.  While he had no intention of releasing the tapes, Hersch was quite pleased as he listened to the three sets recorded on the Friday night gig.  He had been working with bassist Drew Gress and drummer Tom Rainey since 1991, recording several albums for Chesky Records.  Like every trio that the pianist has worked over this career, this one is an interactive ensemble, each player an integral part of the proceedings.

Photo: Vincent Soyez

The eight-song program is a collection of five standards and three originals (two by Hersch, one by Gress). If you listen to a lot of his recordings, what's surprising is that there are no Thelonious Monk songs, usually a staple of his sets. Nevertheless, there's plenty of splendid playing throughout the 58+ minutes. It's always fun to hear the trio build up a head of steam and push each other forward.  The opening three "standards", "Easy To Love", "My Funny Valentine", and "Three Little Words", are so filled with fire that the listener can barely sit still.  Hersch stretches out during his solo yet leaves room for his partners to "strut their stuff".  Even the next track, Hersch's "Evanessense", has an urgency that fills the players with great energy (note the brilliant, melodic, bass work of Gress).

There's is really only one ballad on the album and that's Gress's lovely "Andrew John."  It's hard not to be impressed by the musicianship that makes this piece stand out, from the lyrical piano solo that opens the tune to Gress's fundamental bass lines to Rainey's brilliant work on the cymbals. Yet, there's also the slinky, funky, "Swamp Thang", a Hersch original that glides in on deep bass notes, stop-start drums, and a piano line that slithers around the rhythm section. The pianist helps to ratchet up the intensity with a splendid solo that blends blues, jazz, and a touch of gospel, sounding not unlike Allen Toussaint.

I do not need convince Fred Hersch fans of how enjoyable "@ The Village Vanguard" is or how good his Trio '97 was. From start to finish, this album is a blast, sounding fresh as it did when recorded 21 years ago.  2018 has seen the reissue of Hersch's 1989 "Heartsongs" (Sunnyside Records) as well as his latest Trio's "Live In Europe" (Palmetto Records) - all three are worth your attention!

For more information, go to fredhersch.com.

Here's a taste from Trio '97:



May I recommend the excellent interview with Fred Hersch conducted by multi-instrumentalist and producer Leo Sidran for his "Third Story Podcast." I have always wanted to interview the pianist but I doubt I could do justice to his story, music, and life the way Sidran does. It's worth your time. Go to www.third-story.com/listen/fredhersch and give a listen.