The Nick Sanders Trio - the leader on piano, bassist Henry Fraser, and drummer Connor Baker - has been a working and recording unit since they came together at the New England Conservatory of Music in 2011. The trio's debut album on Sunnyside Records, "Nameless Neighbors", was issued in 2013. Produced by Fred Hersch (as was 2015's "You Are A Creature"), the first recording introduced the listener to a group that really listened to each other, with intelligent interactions, and material that challenged and emotionally moved its audience. Sanders, a native of New Orleans, LA, has been playing piano since he was seven years old going on to study at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. While his music may not show any outward signs of his hometown, his use of various rhythms, blues riffs, and the fact that his songs "tell stories" links him to musicians such as Dr. John, James Booker, Randy Newman, and Allen Toussaint.
Cover art: Leah Saulnier
The Trio's third Sunnyside release, "Playtime 2050", continues in the tradition of its predecessors and not only because the program contains 13 songs (lucky number perhaps? The pianist was born on December 13) but also in the way that Sanders continues to challenge his bandmates as well as the listener. The title track, which has a jaunty feel, reminds this listener of the work of both Herbie Nichols and Andrew Hill. Both of those pianists/composers worked within the "tradition' often turning the rhythm inside out or creating unsuspected chordal shifts. There's a touch of George Gershwin as well as a hint of the late Mr. Toussaint in "Prepared for the Blues" - notice the fine bass work of Fraser and the subtleties in Baker's fine cymbal and brush work. The following track, "Still Considering", has the feel of Erik Satie filtered through a thoughtful Fats Waller.
photo: nicksandersmusic.com
Sanders composed "Interlude for S.B" for his mother (who passed in 2005) - the solo piece is a lovely elegy but not a lament. The "memory" is sweet and the music, with classical overtones, has a bittersweet feel. Later in the program, "Prepared For the Accident" takes on the air of a John Cage piece with prepared piano, rapid-fire bass lines, and splashing cymbals. The melody does not emerge until 2/3rds of the way into the song - everything feels backwards. The album ends with the lovely "#2 Longfellow Park" bringing to mind the afore-mentioned Randy Newman, especially in the handsome melody line and the supporting chords.
Leah Saulnier's cover art for "Playtime 2050" acts as a not-so-subtle warning about the changing environmental conditions, an issue not only important to citizens of New Orleans but also many people around the world. The music of Nick Sanders, the playing of the Trio (and, trust me, they are playing in several senses of the word), and the fine sound quality (the pianist produced this album) all add up to a delight aural experience. Although a number of the tracks are short, every song feels complete. Excellent!!
Here's the opening track (whose title is good advice for all):
Composer, keyboardist, and arranger Guillermo Klein has created an impressive body of work over the past two+ decades. Much of his work with the Los Gauchos groups found the composer and his 11-piece ensemble exploring a wide range of music with influences from his native Argentina such as Alberto Ginastera and Astor Piazzolla) as well as his exposure to composer/arrangers such as Duke Ellington and Wayne Shorter plus his teacher at the Berklee School of Music, Herb Pomeroy. the more you listen to the music Klein has created the less one thinks about his influences. Instead, notice his melodies, his delightful use of rhythms, how he writes for sections, and how play-full his music can be. After a decade in the United States, Klein and his family first moved to Barcelona, Spain, and several years later, moved home to Buenos Aires when he teaches and performs. He still travels to the US to do workshops.
His latest project and album is simply titled "Swiss Jazz Orchestra & Guillermo Klein" (Sunnyside Records). The 13-song program is filled with fine melodies, sweet harmonies, great interplay, fascinating rhythms, and excellent solos. Like his contemporaries Maria Schneider, John Hollenbeck, and Darcy James Argue, Klein does not crowd his songs with plentiful solos. Instead, each track has one or two soloists (with the exception of "Patent Office (Ibernia)" which has three) and the solos rise smartly out of the pieces. The SJO has been in existence since 2004 and have, over the years, worked with such fine musicians, composers, and arrangers as George Gruntz, Jim McNeely, Paquito D'Rivera, Phil Woods, and Bob Mintzer plus many others.
Listen to the playful strains of "Inside Zytglogge" named for the ancient clocktower in Bern, Switzerland. Zytglogge was built in the early 1200s and, 100 years later, served as women's prison. A fire ended the presence of a jail and the tower has served as a timekeeper and attraction since then. Note how Klein suggests the mechanisms of a clock in the rhythms on the song and the next track, "Zytglogge II". The "bottom"of the tune, represented by the tuba, trombones, and bass, gives the music great depth. The final track, "Lepo", is a funky piece that has musical asides built into each line with the guitar suggesting a mandolin - it's a delightful puzzle yet the pieces fit perfectly.
Actually, a number of the songs suggest clocks in the rhythms or the circular melodies. "Machine & Emile" has that feel but also sounds like a mixture of the Glenn Miller Orchestra with the Carla Bley Big Band, especially in the lines the saxes play. The opening of "Es Infinita" not only could be clock sounds but also has a classical bent.
No matter how you approach the music on "Swiss Jazz Orchestra & Guillermo Klein", whether you are looking for influences or trying to compare it to earlier music of the composer, this is superb music. The more you listen, the more you hear just how the pieces fit together, how well the band plays, how the composer played to the strengths of the musicians, and created a work of often stunning creativity.
Composer, arranger, educator, and pianist Jim McNeely is one of the busier people in jazz. Currently, he serves as music director for the Frankfurt Radio (HR) Big Band and teaches at both the Manhattan School of Music (NYC) and William Paterson University in New Jersey. He has played and composed for the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra which became the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra (after the drummer's death, the organization became the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra). He toured with Stan Getz plus had tenures leading the Danish Radio Big Band and the Swiss Jazz Orchestra.
Hard to believe but it's nearly two decades since Jim McNeely created "Group Therapy" for his Tentet. Released on the forward-looking OmniTone label, the composer and pianist gathered 10 New York City-based musicians and recorded the eight-song program that includes five McNeely originals plus three exciting arrangements of songs by Bud Powell, John Coltrane, and the oft-recorded standard "Body and Soul" (music composed in 1930 by Johnny Green). The ensemble included saxophonists Billy Drewes, Dick Oatts, and Scott Robinson, two trumpets (Tony Kadleck, Greg Gisbert or Scott Wendholt), Tom Varner on French horn, trombonist Ed Neumeister, bassist Cameron Brown, drummer John Hollenbeck (a veteran of Bob Brookmeyer's New Art Orchestra and the Meredith Monk Ensemble as well as his own groups), and the leader on piano.
Photo: New Jersey Star-Ledger
Jim McNeely brings the 2019 version of the Tentet to Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts/Crowell Concert Hall this Saturday as the featured group for the Wesleyan Jazz Weekend. The concert begins at 7:30 pm. The festivities open the night before with a free concert featuring the Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra, Jay Hoggard director, and the Wesleyan Jazz Ensemble, Noah Baerman director. The WJO will also open Saturday's show.
Give a listen to an interview with Mr. McNeely, Jay Hoggard, and CFA Director of Arts Communication Andy Chatfield.
Brian Charette, a native of Meriden, CT, returns to the state Saturday with his "electric" trio Kürrent to play two sets at The Side Door Jazz Club in Old Lyme. Charette and Kürrent - Jordan Young (drums) and Ben Monder (guitar) - released its debut album in July of 2017. The "fusion-jazz" recording, with Charette on organ, synths, electric keyboards, was a departure from his organ trio recordings on Posi-Tone and his Sextette disks for SteepleChase. Young and Charette are old friends and musical partners so the drummer is not afraid to challenge the leader to "go for it." Monder, who plays such tasty accompaniments, steps out now and then to great effect; he does not always "shred" yet there is great energy in his playing.
For the Old Lyme gig, Vic Juris steps in for Monder bringing his own delightful take on jazz guitar. Juris, who has worked alongside Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Smith, Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson, and Dave Liebman, has recorded numerous albums as a leader and sideman for SteepleChase including the organist's collaboration with tenor saxophonist George Coleman. He plays with both power and elegance so he should fit right in with Charette and Young.
Kürrent will play two sets with the first starting at 8:30 p.m. For more information, go to thesidedoorjazz.com or call 860-434-2600.
Bassist, composer, and arranger Anne Mette Iversen now lives with her family in Berlin, Germany. She moved there in 2012 after 15 years in New York City where she studied at the New School, formed several groups, and helped to create the Brooklyn Jazz Underground collective and record label. Ms. Iversen continues to lead her eponymous Quartet +1 plus the Berlin-based Ternion Quartet. She also still has connection to classical music as well as writing soundtracks.
"Invisible Nimbus" (BJU Records) is the second album from the Ternion Quartet. Featuring the nimble alto saxophone of Silke Eberhard and buoyant trombone of Geoffroy De Masure as well as the rhythm section of drummer Roland Schneider and Ms. Iversen, the album was recorded in Lubrza, Poland, a small village two hours to the east of Berlin. The music covers a lot of territory, from the joyous bounce of "Within a Diapason" (French for "bursts of sounds" or "tuning fork") to the insistent drive of "Dig Your Heels In" to the intense ballad "The Rose Window". In her brief but cogent liner notes, Ms. Iversen writes "Music only lives when a dialog is present" - every song on the album is a conversation between the band members. Yes, there are solos throughout but, initially, the listener can't help but hear these four musicians really listen to each other plus the material the bassist provides for them plays to their strengths.
Photo: Dieter Düvelmeyer
There are moments when the music takes delightful detours. "Ionian Steps" ride out on a brisk bass line and Schneider's conversational drums. Ms. Eberhard's alto lines flutter and dart around, leading the rhythms section into a "free" section then into a slow blues chorus. De Masure picks up the slow vibe moving into a rubato before the band reenters to take the song out on its opening theme. The title track, expanded to"The Invincible Nimbus of Mystery", opens as a ballad with the bowed bass, alto sax, and trombone playing a classically-inspired melody before subtly slipping into a blues. One can hear traces of Charles Mingus on this track. The solos are quite exploratory yet the piece is most appealing when Ms. Eberhard and De Masure spar and parry.
Photo: Dieter Düvelmeyer
There are so many albums released every month in all genres. Every serious listener has his or her favorites. The critic/writer Whitney Balliett write that jazz is "the sound of surprise." Over a century after the music rose out of the bars and brothels of New Orleans, for those of us who are avid listeners, jazz is often "the sound of delight." You can hear delight throughout "Invincible Nimbus", from the intelligently-formed compositions to the often-witty interplay, in the cleanly-recorded sounds of the Ternion Quartet and the adventurous manner in which each musician adds her or his voice to the ensemble.
For more information, go to www.annemetteiverson.com. (The album will be released on May 10, 2019).
In the video introduction to the album, one sees starlings in flight it's called a murmuration. Linking the sight of the birds changing direction to the music of the band serves as an excellent introduction to and description of the music of Anne Mette Iversen's Ternion Quartet:
Producer, bassist, and composer Billy Mohler is best known for his collaborations with drummer Jimmy Chamberlain (from Smashing Pumpkins) and Macy Gray plus studio work with Kelly Clarkson, Pom Poms, and the music he created with and for skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. Mohler studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, and was accepted into the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. There, he studied and performed alongside Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Terri Lynn Carrington, Brian Blade, Joshua Redman, and Barry Harris (and a slew of other great musicians.
"Focus!" (MAKE Records) is Mohler's debut as a leader and features an excellent lineup; Shane Endlsley (trumpet), Chris Speed (tenor sax, clarinet), and Nate Woods (drums) keep their focus on creating lively, interactive, music that jumps out of the speakers. Mohler and Woods are combustible on first two tracks, "Deconstruction" and "Distant Star". They both play the rhythms hard and fast, creating a foundation that both Endsley and Speed dance over. The trumpeter's crisp tone (with echo and delay) and attack blends smartly with the warmer yet no less exciting playing of Speed. Listen to how the bass and drums introduce "Prairie Flower", setting up the melody with explosive drums and an entrancing bass line. Speed, on clarinet here, plays bird-like riffs while Endsley weaves in his own powerful lines. In the meantime, Woods powerful drumming really moves the music forward.
Mohler also wrote several handsome ballads for the album. "Wolf Moon" has such a handsome melody with hints of The Band's Robbie Robertson's style in the harmonies and chords. "Even Tide" opens with a fine bass solo that leads the listener into a melody line that moves up and cascades down, not unlike a ballad Ornette Coleman might write. The piece built slowly yet never boils over, the plaintive melodies creating a calm. The album comes to a close with one more ballad. Titled "Coin", the melody line hearkens back to "The Snake Charmer's Song" but resolves like a traditional Klezmer tune. Moving slowly over a droning bowed bass and quiet yet active drumming, neither Speed's breathy tenor sax nor Endsley's muted trumpet pushes the pace. Both "lead" voices play soulful phrases on to the end of this meditative piece (note the whirling dervish loop that comes as the final notes fade).
"Focus" is powerful, interactive, intelligent, and disruptive. Some of the music seems on the brink of going over the edge (thanks to Nate Woods incredible drumming) but the bass work of leader Billy Mohler keeps the focus of the music on the melodies and the rhythms. Find the album, play it loud - very loud - and enjoy the joy of creative music!
For more information, go to www.billymohler.com.
Here's a track to whet your appetite:
Photo: Steve Sussman
Even if you do not recognize the name Jay Anderson, chances are good you've heard his melodious playing. The bassist has appeared on a slew of albums, working and recording with the Maria Schneider Orchestra, pianists Frank Kimbrough, the late Paul Bley, and George Cables as well as a host of artists through his long association with SteepleChase Records: one can hear him on disks by pianist Stanley Cowell, Peter Zak, Freddie Redd, and Burak Bedyikan as well as saxophonists Rich Perry (his friend from the MSO), Andrew Rathbun, and Ronnie Cuber (over 100 sessions in 20 years!). I saw him in concert a dozen years ago with pianist Lynn Arriale and his smooth style, full tone, and counterpoint was quite arresting and a perfect for the leader.
"Deepscape" (SteepleChase) is his third album as a leader but the first since 1994's "Local Color" (DMP). The 11-song program is a blend of solo and ensemble tracks, standards, pieces by jazz artists such as Keith Jarrett, Branford Marsalis, and Jim Pepper. There's a duo with Kimbrough (on harmonium) on "Tennessee Waltz" that is charming and beguiling. The bassist also plays several solo pieces including a lovely reading of Billy Joel's "And So It Goes." Anderson caresses the melody and then creates a solo plays off various lines of the song without losing sight of the heart in the song. The title track, which opens the album, is a short yet lovely solo piece. Listen closely as you will hear the layers of sounds all created in overdubs by Anderson - it's as effective as it is beautiful
Anderson teams up with Matt Wilson (drums on eight cuts), Kirk Knuffke (cornet on six tunes), and Billy Drewes (alto and soprano saxes, bass clarinet, on seven tracks) for a series of pieces that alternately shake the house or take on a meditative tone. Jim Pepper's "Witchi-Tai-To" is a spotlight for Drewes' delightful soprano sax - the tracks also features Kimbrough's harmonium and percussion from Wilson and Rogerio Boccato. That same quintet of musicians create an audio painting of Morton Feldman's "Rothko Chapel (5th Movement)" with a delightful blend of soprano sax and harmonium move the meditative melody along. Pay attention to the playing of both Wilson and Boccato. Wilson creates a delight dance rhythm to lead in the classic "Sweet and Lovely" - there's a sweet touch of "second line" in both the rhythm and Anderson's sweet take on the melody. Knuffke's cornet takes over the melody and the band drops into a blend of swing and funk. The quartet of Wilson, Anderson, Knuffke, and Drewes (alto sax) take a joyful romp through Branford Marsalis's "The Mighty Sword" (from his 2012 "4 MFs Playin' Tunes" album). This is music that brings a smile as the ground navigates the tricky rhythms and tempos the bring to mind both Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett. Note how Anderson and Wilson lock in to the "groove" yet sound so free and swinging throughout the piece. The same configuration digs into Anderson's "Momentum", a fascinating ballad. The handsome, emotionally rich, melody is supported by harmonies from the bass and Wilson's melodic drumming and strong cymbal work. Both Drewes soprano solo and Knuffke's cornet are rich with ideas and finely-sketched lines.
"Deepscape" is a treat from start-to-finish. Jay Anderson shines as a leader, arranger, soloist, and member of the rhythm section. All the musicians on the album are long-time friends and collaborators, the album was recorded in the bassist's home studio, and the results are exciting, musical, and comforting.
I would venture a guess that most people who read this blog know who Charlie Parker is and there is very little I can add to his legend. Here's the short bio. The alto saxophonist, who was born in Kansas City, Kansas, in 1920, is universally recognized as one of the originators of be-bop (along with Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Kenny Clarke, and Bud Powell). Right after World War II came to a close, Parker made a series of recordings that many believe are the Holy Grail of jazz. But he had albatross around his neck - his addiction to heroin not only ruined the lives of many of the musicians who idolized him but also Parker's ability to perform, record, and tour. But his music lives on: nearly 65 years after his death at the age of 34, his endlessly inventive solos still inspire musicians around the world.
Yusuf Komunyakaa, born in Bogalusa, LA, in 1947, is one of the premier poets of the United States with a career that spans over 46 years. He did not start writing and punishing poetry until the early 1970s. Many of his poems, especially the early ones, were influenced by his experiences in Vietnam where he worked as a correspondent and editor during the height of the conflict. Among his collections, you will also find poems about jazz and blues. In addition, he co-edited (along with Sacha Feinstein) the two volumes of "The Jazz Poetry Anthology" published in the 1990s by Indiana University Press.
Wesleyan University Press/HFS
In 2013, Wesleyan University Press published Komunyakaa's "Testimony: A Tribute to Charlie Parker (with New and Selected Poems)", a book that also comes with an audio recording of a 2002 concert originally broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). ABC had commissioned the work in the mid-1990s: the 14-part libretto first appeared in Komunyakaa's 1998 collection "Thieves of Paradise" (Wesleyan University Press). In September of 1997, the poet had recorded with saxophonist John Tchihai in a septet that also featured bassist Fred Hopkins (from trio Air) and guitarist Jeff Parker (his website is the only place to get the CD as there is no digital release) - a number of the poems Komunyakaa contributed to that project, titled "Love Notes From The Madhouse" (8th Harmonic Breakdown), appear in the book.
ABC also commissioned saxophonist, composer, and arranger Sandy Evans (pictured below) to create the music for the broadcast. Ms. Evans, who has worked with numerous Australian ensembles including being the co-leader of Clarion
Fracture Zone (see hear), the Australian Art Orchestra, and 10-Part Invention, assembled a program that not only included bebop but also blues, classical music, modern jazz, and much more. The two-minute "Overture" includes snippets of "Moose The Mooche", "Relaxin' At Camarillo", "Dewey Square", and "52nd Street Theme" (all Charle Parker tunes save for the last one listed which is by Thelonious Monk). The 96-minute concert also includes Parker's "Koko" and Irving Berlin's "If I Had You". Among the musicians are pianist Alistair Spence, bassist Lloyd Swanton (The Necks), trumpeter Warwick Alder, trombonist James Greening, and the great alto saxophonist Bernie McGann (1937-2013) plus spoken word artist Michael Edward-Stevens (an actor from New York City who makes his home in Australia) and a slew of vocalists including, on one track, Kurt Elling.
The only way one gets to hear this fascinating project is to buy "Testimony" as the two-cd set was here released on its own. It's truly worth the experience. The poems stand on their own and "Testimony" (the poem) can certainly read without the music. But to hear how Ms. Evans integrates the poetry into the music is really a treat. The package is available from all booksellers, from online retailers, and from HFS Books - the link is below.
Many say that all music is political but some is both political and personal. The Art Ensemble of Chicago started as the Roscoe Mitchell Art Ensemble in Chicago, an offshoot of the work the saxophonist and composer was doing with the AACM (the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians). Mitchell first recorded with future AEC members trumpeter Lester Bowie, and bassist Malachi Favors Maghostut for Delmark Records in 1966 - the album, "Sound", also featured saxophonist Maurice McIntyre, trombonist and cellist Lester Lashley, and percussionist Alvin Fielder. Saxophonist Joseph Jarman, who had first met Mitchell in 1961, played with him in Muhal Richard Abrams Experimental Band and recorded with Bowie, Favors Maghostut, and Mitchell on the trumpeter's 1967 Nessa release "Numbers 1 & 2" and at the same time, with Mitchell's Art Ensemble on the group's "Congliptious" (Nessa) Lp.
In 1969, Jarman was invited to join the quartet and the group became the Art Ensemble of Chicago - they then moved to Paris, France, where the AEC played numerous and began working for several different labels. They built a cult following but soon felt the urge to come back home in 1971. Over the next eight years, the quintet toured throughout the United States, recording albums for Atlantic Records, Delmark, and started their own label, AECO Records, in 1975.
ECM Records
In 1978, the AEC signed with ECM Records which helped to bring the ensemble a worldwide audience. "Nice Guys" (the cover photo is on the left) showed them at their "experimental" best, going "free shouting matches to swing to blues to whatever they felt would get their message across. That message - "Great Black Music - From the Ancient to the Future" - is the best way to describe the sounds the five musicians created.
The best way to understand this music was to see and hear the AEC in person. The experience was always more than just five guys playing music. Instead, the stage was often packed with instruments, from small wooden flutes to bass saxophones, from bells to tympani drums to a full drum set. Several members of the band would paint there faces and wear bright African clothing while Bowie often appeared in the white jacket of a doctor. And, as is often the case with improvised music, the quality varied from show to show, set to set. I saw them at the Public Theater in New York City headlining a double-bill with pianist Don Pullen. Both acts were astounding. The Art Ensemble played for 75 minutes without a break: it felt like 15 minutes. Not surprisingly, at least 1/3rds of the group's albums were recorded in person.
Time marches on. Lester Bowie died in 1999, Malachi Favors Maghostut passed in 2004, and Joseph Jarman earlier this year. Famadou Don Moye now lives in Marseilles, France, and Roscoe Mitchell recently retired after serving 12 years on the Music Faculty of Mills College in Oakland, California. When the Art Ensemble recorded its new Pi Recordings "We Are On The Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration" in October of 2018, Mr. Jarman did not join original members Messrs. Mitchell and Moye: instead, the 2-CD set, one recorded in the studio, the other at Edgefest in Ann Arbor, Michigan, features the talents of 18 musicians. Among those musicians are Tomeka Reid (cello), Nicole Mitchell (no relation - plays flutes), and trumpeters Hugh Ragin and Fred Berry. Besides Mr. Moye, there are three other percussionists, a poet (Camae Ayewa aka Moor Mother), opera singer Rodolfo Cordova-Lebron, three bassists (Silvia Bolognesi, Jaribu Shahid, and Junius Paul), and more.
The studio sessions include music from Mr. Mitchell's opera "Bamboo Terrace", several percussion-based works, pieces with "slam" poetry, the use of various electronic instruments, plus a number of older works including a short version of Mr. Bowie's "Villa Tiamo" (from the ensemble's 1998 "Coming Home Jamaica" album). Several pieces can be heard on the live disk, recorded the same evening (10/20/18) as the final studio session. One hears classical music, long "jams", passages of incredible musicianship, swing, hard-bop, funk, Afro-funk solos, duos, trios, but no vocals. Disk two contains a 19+ minute rendition of Favors Maghostut's "Tutankhamun" which the original members (minus Moye) of the AEC first recorded in France in 1969. The percussion section includes Enoch Williamson who recorded with Famadou Don Moye in 1996 and, along with fellow percussionist Titos Sompa, create a five minute celebration titled "Saturday Morning" the pounding percussion sets quite a table for Mitchell's wailing sopranino sax.
50 years!! What an accomplishment for The Art Ensemble of Chicago, a group that never, ever, rested on its laurels but keeps on searching. With the injection of younger members (Roscoe Mitchell is 78, Famadou Don Moye is 72) like Nicole Mitchell and Tomeka Reid, Junius Paul and Silvia Bolognesi, the experimentation and exploration is sure to continue for many more decades. For today, "We Are On The Edge" is quite a fascinating program and well worth your time!
Most music aficionados are aware of multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson from his long tenure with the Maria Schneider Orchestra. He's a whiz on just about every saxophone that exists including baritone, C-Melody, contrabass sax, and tenor. He also plays clarinet, trumpet, bass marimba, and is a master of the theremin and other electronic devices. His label, ScienSonic Recordings, features a number of albums including a tribute to Sun Ra (with Marshall Allen), duos with Roscoe Mitchell and Frank Kimbrough, and a trio date with reed masters J.D. Parran and Vinny Golia. Robinson has recorded with numerous artists and ensembles ranging from John Pizzarelli to the Bob Mintzer Big Band to Paquito D'Rivera to Bob Brookmeyer to Joe Lovano and David Bowie (plus many, many more).
His latest project for Arbors Jazz, "Tenormore", announces its theme in the album title. Robinson plays tenor saxophone and only tenor saxophone on all 10 tracks. Joining him is Helen Sung (piano, Hammond B-3 on two tracks), Dennis Mackrel (drums), and Martin Wind (string bass, acoustic bass guitar) plus the leader's wife Sharon plays flute on one song. The program, a mix of standards and originals, opens with an unaccompanied reading of The Beatles' "And I Love Her" - the saxophonist plays the four-note introduction way up in the tenor's higher range, sounding very music like a clarion call or even a wake-up call. He caresses the melody save for one dizzying run that goes "out."
Photo: Bud Glick
That tunes leads into "Tenor Eleven" which is, no surprise, an 11-bar blues. It's a "blowing" piece with Mackrel and Wind strutting right along and Ms. Sung providing a cushion for the tenor solo. Later in the program, the quartet dances its way through "Tenor Twelve", a piece that the leader first recorded in 1988. Also an uptempo blues, Ms. Sung plays a standout solo as does Robinson and Wind. Mackrel keeps the music percolating plus engages in a delightful give-and-take with the saxophonist near the close of the song. There's a lot of energy in the studio and it's a pleasure to eavesdrop on the proceedings.
There's a hint of the breathiness of Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins on several of the ballads. "Put on a Happy Face", usually a sprightly tune, is slowed way down. That's just fine as both Robinson and Ms. Sung explore various emotions in their respective solos, the former sounding a more introspective while the latter seems to dance over the soft but steady rhythm section. While "The Good Life" opens with several minutes of "free" improvisation, Robinson draws the band into the melody with a long note. Note how Wind's sweet tone and Mackrel's fine brush work really create a lighter feel. Ms. Sung's gospel Hammond B-3 sound is the perfect opening for the bassist's piece "Rainy River." Based on a chapter from author Tim O'Brien's short collection "The Things They Carried" (stories from the Vietnam War), Robinson plays the melody then turns the piece over to the composer and the organist. Even if you don't know the stories, this is a powerful performance that speaks to what matters in our lives.
The leader's wife Sharon appears on "The Weaver", an original based a haiku composed by Robinson's father for his son's wedding. One hears Ms. Robinson's flute in the theme section and again at the close. In between, the piece has the feel of mid-70s McCoy Tyner composition only not as insistent. The blend of tenor and flute is quite lovely.
The program closes with a funky reading of Hoagy Carmichael's "The Nearness of You" and the title track. "Nearness" is propelled by Mackrel's "Pretty" Purdie drumming, Wind's dancing lines, and Ms. Sung's sweet Hammond organ playing. "Tenormore" is a fascinating puzzle, with its stop-and-start opening - here again Mackrel is the linchpin. He pushes the piece forward, plays several short interludes, engages in a rousing dialogue with Robinson, dances around his cymbals as Ms. Sung explores the many possibilities that the piece provides. Her solo is quite expansive as well as impressive. The angular closing section, with Robinson's eerie tenor sounds, is serious fun.
This is fun and serious and quite musical. Listen to this music with an open mind as the program is challenging, sweet, exciting, introspective, witty, and filled with great musicianship. Scott Robinson is a treasure!
Here's a generous taste:
Guitarist Bill Frisell and bassist Thomas Morgan played a series of shows at New York City's Village Vanguard in March of 2016. From those dates, ECM Records released "Small Town" in the Spring of 2017. It's Spring once more and now the label presents more music from that date. "Epistrophy" is a delight-filled collection of songs, a program of standards, pop tunes, folk songs, two Thelonious Monk pieces (the title tracks and "Pannonica"), and a James Bond movie theme (John Barry's "You Only Live Twice"). And, because both musicians love melody and love to improvise, the performances are never lackluster but enjoyable from beginning to end.
The two Monk tunes come back-to-back right after a lovely reading of Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life." That tune features splendid counterpoint from Morgan, something he is quite adept at. The bassist also knows how to "swing" a piece as he demonstrates during Frisell's solo on the title track. "Pannonica" is quite a jaunty piece - as one gets older, it's amazing how Monk had one foot in the blues (so apparent on the "sweet" melody) and the other in jazz.
Frisell, who has embraced "Americana" since the 1990s, has also reached back to his formative years over the past decade. Here, he blends the country standard "Wildwood Flowers" (which also appeared on the earlier album) with "Save the Last Dance For Me" (composed by "Doc" Pomus and Mort Shuman for The Drifters). And, it works. The combination works because both songs have some memorable melodies. Later in the program, the duo creates a slow meditation on "Red River Valley" that opens up into the melody and begins to swing.
The album closes with "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", a lovely ballad that is the perfect ending to an enjoyable musical experience. By this point in his career, one seems to know what to expect from Bill Frisell. Yet, this meeting with Thomas Morgan, who has worked with the guitarist on several recordings and tours, has so many emotional and musical highs, it's well worth taking the time to bathe in these sounds.
Here's the title track recorded live at Paste Studios in NYC:
Drummer and composer Johnathan Blake, son of the late violinist John Blake, Jr. (1947-2014), has been a professional musician for over two decades. He has toured with the Tom Harrell Quintet, the Mingus Big Band, and the Kenny Barron Trio - Blake's discography also includes two albums as a leader (Sunnyside and Criss Cross Jazz) and many, many, more (including CDs by Russell Malone, The Black Art Jazz Collective, Omar Vital, and David Berkman).
Giant Step Arts
His third album, a two CD set, is a live date recorded over two nights at The Jazz Gallery in January of 2018 for Jimmy & Dena Katz's Giant Step Arts label. Dubbed "Trion", the word comes from the study of physics and is defined as "a singlet state from from three atoms of different colors." In the case of this recording, the three "atoms" are Blake, Chris Potter (tenor saxophone), and Linda May Han Oh (bass). The drummer has worked with both musicians on numerous occasions and you can hear that in their interactions, their mutual trust, and willingness to put all of themselves into this project. Both discs open with drum solos - Blake is setting the tone, letting one know these songs are built from the rhythm up. The next track, "Synchronicity 1" (yes, the Sting tune) opens with an unaccompanied tenor sax solo: once Ms. Oh and Blake enter, the song is taken for quite a ride. Pay attention to the melodies and rhythm coming from the bass and the drummer's fiery barrage, all of which push Potter to an intense solo. The bassist plays a hardy solo over insistent drums and, then, then the sax "trades 4s" with Blake. The next three tracks come from bassists - Ms. Oh's "Trope (Linda Intro)" and "Trope", plus "One For Honor" from the pen of Charles Fambrough which the bassist recorded in 1991 with a band that included Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Kenny Kirkland, and Jeff "Tain" Watts. Blake, Ms. Oh, and Potter play the piece with tremendous energy with the saxophonist delivering a solo with the thunder of John Coltrane. Blake's "No Bebop Daddy" closes disk one. It's quite a melodic journey for the bassist and saxophonist while the drummer dances below them.
Photo: Jimmy Katz
After the delightful drum statement "Bedrum" opens disk two, the trio takes a wild ride through Potter's "Good Hope." When this piece gets going, with the pounding drums, the rhythmic sax line, and Ms. Oh's solid bass, it's hard to sit still. There's definitely an African feel to this song and Blake takes advantage, telling his own story as he travels around his kit. Potter digs in on Charlie Parker's "Relaxing at the Camarillo", sounding more like Sonny Rollins and certainly not in a "relaxed" mode. The bass and drums swing the daylights out of this track. The piece, actually the band's encore, was unplanned. The drummer pays tribute to his father with "Blue Heart", a previously unrecorded from the elder Blake. The trio makes sure to pay attention to the melody, building both the tenor and bass solos from the handsome tune. Disk two closes with the leader's "West Berkley St.", a real treat with its soulful melody (sounds like a melding of Smoky Robinson's easy style and Felix Cavaliere's "Groovin'"), is a showcase for Potter's tasty tenor (dig his quotes from other tunes).
Listening to "Trion" is like sitting in the front row of The Jazz Gallery. The excellent sound quality and these superb performances reminds one of the power of creative music and improvisation, especially in a live session. Johnathan Blake, Chris Potter, and Linda May Han Oh play with fire and delight. And, this set is all about playing (in all the positive senses of the word). Johnathan Blake continues to grow as a musician, composer, leader, and human being. Play it loud and enjoy!
Here's the Sting tune (arrangement by Chris Potter):
After three albums on ECM, Chris Potter moves to Edition Records for his latest album. The title "Circuits" is your first hint that this will be a much different aural experience. Look at the credits and you'l see that besides tenor and soprano saxophones, clarinets, and flutes, Potter also contributes keyboards, sampler, guitar, and piano. He's joined by James Francies on piano, organ, and synth, Linley Marthe (electric bass on four tracks), and drummer Eric Harland. The drummer, a native of the Houston, Texas, music scene as is the 24-year old Francies, really is the heartbeat of this music. Combined with Potter's melodies and the various keyboards, this is one of the better "fusion" albums I've heard in a while.
With the addition of Marthe (who played with Joe Zawinul in his later years), this music hearkens back to the Austrian-born keyboard master's music as well as Wayne Shorter's fusion albums from the 1990. Potter's music actually has a deeper groove. Listen to "The Nerve", dig the Middle-Eastern feel, especially at the opening with the overdubbed flutes but don't ignore the elastic electric bass lines and Francies's delightful piano solo. There's a hint of Jimmy Guiffre in the unaccompanied bass clarinet opening of "Kuotomé" and a delightful sensuality in Marthe's bass lines and percussion. Again, the leader overdubs flutes to flesh out the melody lines. The bassist also appears on the title track, a piece that roars out of the speakers and surges forward on a rhythmic melody line (note the bass clarinet holding down the bass line as Marthe dances along with the keyboard). Potter and Harland engage in a delightful give-and-take during the leader's solo. After those two raise the temperature, the drummer and Francies spar and party as the latter unleashes an excellent synth solo.
Photo: Dave Stapleton
Potter moves to soprano saxophone for "Queens of Brooklyn", a lovely ballad where the leader's bass clarinet plays the counterpoint. The melody then is taken up by multiple flutes (note the dynamic cymbal playing) before the soprano retakes the lead. But, this group seems to be "built for speed" as the next tune, "Exclamation", illustrates. Here, the saxophones and layered synths play a rapid-fire melody a la Charlie Parker while Marthe and Harland parry beneath. For the tenor solo, the rhythm section - minus Francies - go all out, creating an intensity that is breath-taking and gooses Potter higher and higher. The electric piano enters adding more fire to this inferno, leading to an amazing synth solo. The buildup to the finish just might shatter glass.
Photo: Dave Stapleton
The album closes with "Pressed For Time": just listen to the incredible pace that Harland sets - nothing fancy, mind you, just a beat that is so irresistible you can't get enough. Again, the drummer's intensity give the leader the power to unleash a solo that dives and roars, wailing away but never losing control. Francies's solo gives Harland license to go in several different directions, playing with the beat and how he accents them. Have to say, I was laughing at the sheer audacity of how far the trio is able to take this music. And, when it's over, you want more. While the music is not "free", the joy of this sound, this band, is freeing. Freeing for the musicians and for the attentive audience.
"Circuits" is a treat for those who love music with muscle, an intelligently arranged and orchestrated program that succeeds because the solos and the interactions keep the listener at the edge of his/her seat. The album is an impressive showcase for Chris Potter: his decision to include Eric Harland, James Francies, and Linley Marthe proves he's always moving forward, not one to settle into a genre or a groove. We are the lucky ones - we get to enjoy the fruits of his ideas and their labors.
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