2017 - What a Year, Especially for Music! (Part 1 - Voices)

Most years are a blend of happy and sad, chaos and peace, health and illness, loss and gain. 2017 certainly was that way for me. Reading the news from home, from Washington, throughout the country and the world, one is not surprised that our capability for shock is tested every minute our eyes and ears are open.  Music reflects all that and more; often music deflects all that and more.  We have as much a need to be entertained as we do to hear our favorite artists try to speak or sing "truth to power."  No surprise that Kendrick Lamar's recent CD is titled "DAMN" and in all caps.   The lists of favorite television show are peppered with programs ("Handmaid's Tale", "Dark", "Stranger Things") that warn us of dictatorships, of totalitarian governments of the near-future, of women continuing to struggle to be equal.  Are we surprised by the almost daily "sexual harassment" charges levied at movie and television personalities, at producers and directors, at trusted newsmen.  And at government officials.

Music reminds many of us of what can be good, that the creative process brings people and audiences together, if not to change the world than just a small part of it and, maybe, just for two to four hours.

Listed below, and in subsequent posts, are the albums that brought me joy and hope through this year,  created by artists who made me question my beliefs or soothe my spirits.  Step Tempest was quieter than normal this Fall, actually since the end of July.  Not that I wasn't listening to music but, perhaps, I needed it step back to see a bigger picture. True, I was committed to other projects that took more of my time that I expected but, in the past, I found the time to write because the artists who send me their music, the publicists who are kind to hang with me, the people I interact with when I are writing and doing radio interviews appreciate the work I do. No excuses, no apologies. Just thought you should know.

Part one is but 10 of the, possibly, 36 recordings I think deserve recognition.  This list contains albums with voices, many with poetry, some I never had the opportunity to write about.

If you held me down and ordered me to tell which album was my true #1 choice, I would admit to "Matt Wilson's Honey And Salt Music Inspired by the Poetry of Carl Sandburg" (Palmetto).  It's not just because I saw the band live at The Side Door Jazz Club in Old Lyme, CT, and was invited on stage to read with the band ("We Must Be Polite" with the delightful Bo Diddley-beat and more)...well, that was great (I mean, Ron Miles, Jeff Lederer, Dawn Thomson, Martin Wind, and the irrepressible Mr. Wilson....did I mention Ron Miles?) but the album has so much going for it, so much diverse music, pithy poetry, and at the center of its big heart, the need to connect in dark times.  Might not be your cup of joe (or Matt for that fact) but every time I listen to the album or relive the live gig, it brings a smile to my face.

Been a good couple of years for poet Emily Dickinson what with, at least three CDs of her works set to music plus the brilliant 2016 movie "A Quiet Passion."  Jane Ira Bloom connected with Ms. Dickinson when she discovered that poet was a pianist and that her poetry has a sense of improvisation about it.  Ms. Bloom and her brilliant ensemble (bassist Mark Helias, drummer Bobby Previte, and pianist Dawn Clement) created the 2-CD "Wild Lines: Improvising Emily Dickinson" (OTL Records); CD One features 14 originals plus the Rodgers-Hart classic "It's Easy to Remember" while the second disk has the same songs plus the voice of actress Deborah Rush reading snippets of the poetry that inspired the songs (save for "It's Easy....")  Ms. Bloom takes a different approach than Matt Wilson, the music is not inspired by Americana but is certainly American music, with swing, with flowing melodic passages, splendid interplay, and soaring improvisations.  What a tribute, what a treat!

"Freedom Highway" is the latest album from Rhiannon Giddens and it posits the racial insecurities rife in the United States in the heart of the music.  For all those people who woke up the morning after the 2016 and saw that our country truly was not united (not that it wasn't obvious during the previous administration and the highly flammable voices raised during the endless election cycle), for those people whose voices were just beginning to be heard in this country, this music hears your concerns and gives you hope.  Perhaps the best way to move forward after being knocked to the ground is to keep telling your stories of hope, of reconciliation, of recognition, of dancing until your body expels the evil spirits, of remembering that battles are rarely won without sacrifice and pain. Yes, there are moments of pure joy, moments of anger, pride, lust, love, of hope.

Trombonist-composer Ryan Keberle & Catharsis looked for hope on "Find The Common, Shine a Light" (Greenleaf Music). Original songs mixed with intelligent covers ("The Times They Are A'Changing", "Fool on The Hill", "Al Otro Lado del Rio") played by a band that enjoys working together including trumpeter Michael Rodriguez, bassist Jorge Roeder, and drummer Eric Doob plus the voice and guitar of Camila Meza.  Also a response to the 2016 election, the music reached out to divergent audiences across this country, reminding people that creative musicians see what's going on in the world they travel through, that they react by playing music to exemplify community, togetherness, showing how men and women from different backgrounds can share a common  vision.

Ms. Meza is also part of pianist-composer Fabian Almazan's album-length suite "Alcanza" (translate to "reach") - the music, released on the pianist's Biophilia Records, speaks to the need of conservation of natural resources, to education, to the proliferation of wars and homelessness and more.  The rhythm section of Linda May Han Oh (bass) and Henry Cole (drums) know when to stoke the fire (and when to hold back) while Almazan's string arrangement are sophisticated and essential.  Note how melodic the solos are, how those arrangements frame and interact with the voice and soloists, and just how powerful the music is.  A shout-out to the string section of violinists Tomoko Omura and Megan Gould, violist Karen Waltuch and cellist Noah Hoffield for their stellar work.  All in all, a splendid recording.

Trumpeter, vocalist, saunter player, composer and arranger Amir elSaffar expands upon his studies of Iraqi maqams with his 2-CD masterwork "Not Two" (New Amsterdam Records). Written for his 17-piece Rivers of Sound Orchestra, the songs flow with grace and elegance, moves on the power of the brilliant rhythm section (drummer Nasheet Waits and bassist Carlos de Rosa), and draws on many traditions to create an aural sound painting  that shifts gears all the time. Keeps you on your toes does this music without condescending to popular tastes or being strictly traditional - the more creative composers do that and Amir elSaffar is deserving of all the accolades he has received for his brilliant contributions to music and to educating his listeners to the width and breadth of Arabic culture.

Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner, and Melissa Stylianou - collectively known as Duchess - added much-needed brightness to a cold and dark winter (heck, the whole darn year) with "Laughing at Life" (Anzic Records). The group's music, a potent and pleasurable mix of standards from the "Great American Songbook" and beyond.   Each with solo careers and two with young families, they come together to invite listeners out of the ordinary and the humdrum into a world where harmonies, melodies, smart and sassy arrangements (from the fertile mind of Oded Lev-Ari) and sometimes saucy and often sweet lyrics tell delightful stories.  Special guests Wycliffe Gordon (trombone, scat vocal) and Anat Cohen (clarinet) augment the musical trio of Michael Cabe (piano), Matt Aranoff (bass), and Jared Schonig (drums) - guitarist Jesse Lewis and tenor saxophonist Jeff Lederer also add their unique voices to several tunes.  The music can certainly stand on its own but does the sun shine brighter when these three voices step out in front. Whew! What joy!

Ms. Gardner joins forces with pianist Ehud Asherie for "The Late Set" (Anzic Records), an aural evocation of smoky nightclubs, out of the glare of the lights of Broadway, perhaps down a set of stairs, with glasses clinking while the audience sits quietly listening.  Mostly composed of ballads, the performers do not rush through these performances (mostly from well-known composers of the 1920s-1950s. Asherie is the perfect accompanist, framing Ms. Gardner's supple voice with lovely reactions,interactions, and harmonies.  O, and that voice....plenty of emotion, a dash of playfulness, every lyric can be understood, even felt. "The Late Set" is more than the midnight hour at the cabaret - listen to the songs and you'll hear the fine line between blues, joy, and sadness.

I'm still processing the amazing 2-CD "Dreams and Daggers", the latest album from Cécile McLorin Salvant. Mostly recorded live at The Village Vanguard with her Trio of Aaron Diehl (piano), Paul Sikivie (bass), and Laurence Leathers (drums), this music often shimmies, shakes, struts, slithers, slides, and sashays out of the speakers. Plus don't miss the songs that whisper, sigh, shudder, and sit in wonder. There are also several shorter tracks recorded in the studio where Ms. Salvant's voice is accompanied only by the strings of the Catalyst Quartet and piano - those tracks, arranged by bassist Sikivie, add a classy touch but your brain will be forever rearranged by the torch songs, by the intelligent choice of material from the Great American Songbook and the early blues of Bessie Smith (pianist Sullivan Fortner accompanies the vocalist on "You've Got To Give Some") and Ida Cox.  The multi-sectioned "Somehow I Never Could Believe", composed by Langston Hughes and Kurt Weill for their "American" opera "Street Scenes" (1947), is a certifiable masterpiece as performed by Ms. Savant and the Trio.  So much to behold here.

Vocalist Lizz Wright strikes pay dirt on "Grace", her second album for the Concord Music Group. Produced by Joe Henry, who surrounds this lovely alto voice with the twin guitars of Chris Bruce and Marvin Sewell, the acoustic bass of David Piltch (one great underrated bass player), drummer Jay Bellerose, and the keyboards of Kenny Banks and Patrick Warren plus an occasional choir.  Compare her version of "Stars Fell On Alabama" (first recorded by the Guy Lombardo Orchestra in 1934) to the one on the Duchess CD - two great interpretations with Ms. Wright's dreamy reading displaying her Southern roots (born in Georgia and now living in North Carolina) while Henry's arrangement gives the song a glow of late evening.  Ms. Wright covers tunes from Birds of Chicago, Bob Dylan, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Nina Simone, k.d. lang, Ray Charles, and others, making each song her own without losing the beauty, joy, anger, and soul within.

Each one of these albums buoyed my spirit - the next list will feature albums from younger musicians, from veterans, from masters, and several delightful reissues.

American Voices: Poetry & Music

In the pantheon of great American poets, Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) has often gone in and out of favor (there are many folks who consider him a mere disciple of Walt Whitman) but there is little doubt that the Galesburg, Ohio native was an original. The son of Swedish immigrants, he had a number of jobs after college yet also published a three books of poetry before 1908. He married Lilian Steichen that year and began a career as a journalist.  At the same time, Sandburg became a Socialist and the influence of that political movement can be seen in a number of his poems.  In 1914, Poetry Magazine published a group of his poems which brought him to a wider audience which expanded greatly two years later with the publication of the "Chicago Poems."  Before the end of the decade, he had published another collection of poems and a prose essay on the Chicago race riots. He became financially independent in 1926 when the first   volume of his five-volume of Abraham Lincoln was published. His collections of American folk songs was also a big hit with the public and helped to bring more attention to indigenous music.  Sandburg won several Pulitzer Prizes during his lifetime, also played guitar accompanying himself at readings. He was truly a man of and for the "people."  (Check out a group of his poems and read his full biography by going to carl-sandburg.com.

Drummer and composer Matt Wilson has had a life-long interest in the work of Carl Sandburg. Born and raised in Knoxville, Ohio (the town to the west of Galesburg, the drummer's great-great aunt was married to the poet's first cousin - there is a picture in the album's booklet of Matt's father Tom with that cousin (Uncle Charlie).  For those who have followed Matt Wilson's career know that his first album as a leader, "As Wave Follows Wave" (1996 on Palmetto Records) is named for a Sandburg poem.  In 2001, he received a grant from Chamber Music America to create a program of original songs that featured selected works of Sandburg.  He put together a quartet with saxophonist and clarinetist Jeff Lederer, guitarist and vocalist Dawn Thomson, and  acoustic bass guitarist Martin Wind.  Cornetist Ron Miles joined the group along the way and in October of 2016, the ensemble, now dubbed Honey And Salt (yes, named for a 1962 collection of the poet's works), gathered at engineer Matt Balitsaris's studios on Maggie's Farm, and the results "Matt Wilson's Honey and Salt: Music Inspired by the Poetry of Carl Sandburg" is the drummer's ninth album for Palmetto.

photo by John Abbott

There is so much to like about this project.  Purists may be put off by the fact that the music encompasses many different styles, from rockabilly to swing to folk to avant-garde to "cool jazz" and more.  Before this project, I had not heard much of the work of Dawn Thomson so her presence is a revelation: she has a fine vocal style, displaying a fine range as well as great emotion plus her guitar  is a wonderful voice in the mix, especially her rhythm work and background playing. Jeff Lederer and Ron Miles are a formidable team, the former for his ability to both enliven the proceedings as well as be soothing in the background while the latter has such a warm sound, even his "wilder" excursions have a sense of comfort in them.  Martin Wind plays exclusively acoustic bass guitar; it's the first time he's recorded using just that style of bass but the depth of his notes and his active foundational lines plus his counterpoint lines often stand out.

jchriss.com

Then there's the leader.  It's so obvious that this project is a labor of love; these compositions are among the best Matt Wilson has composed in his career, illuminating his senses of melody, harmony, interaction, and, of course, fun.  He creates a duet with the poet on "Fog" - the poet's voice is heard first, then the drums joins playing the voice patterns of Sandburg.  The drummer plays a call-and-response pattern, first, the melody then the interpretation in a wonderful give-and-take. There are several other tracks on which the drummer plays the melody lines.

photo by VH Guidini

The album is broken into three "Chapters" and an "Epilogue" with 18 tracks. Besides Ms. Thomson's vocals and the poet's recorded voice, nine of the tracks feature recitations from the drummer, Jeff Lederer, Christian McBride, John Scofield, Jack Black, Bill Frisell, Rufus Reid, Joe Lovano, and Carla Bley.  Frisell reads "Paper 2" which opens the poem read over a light guitar accompaniment before breaking into a raucous, bopping track, with solos from Lederer (a raucous tenor spotlight), Ms. Thomson (a "cool" jazz romp, and Miles (an easy jaunt over the "groovin'" rhythm section.  In fact, do listen to how Wind and Wilson push the piece. The poem is repeated this time with the entire quintet offering counterpoint. Two tracks later, Lovano reads "Paper 1" over the same light guitar accompaniment but the piece fades on the recitation.  In between, Rufus Reid's sonorous bass voice reads "Trafficker", one of the darker poems in the program (about a worn-out prostitute) - the track opens with Wilson's quiet brushes work, then adds Miles's muted cornet, Wind's bass, and the "midnight blue" tenor sax.

Your initial surprise to the different sounds this quintet makes (Lederer also plays clarinet, bass clarinet, piccolo, and harmonium) should turn into admiration and, finally, to joy.  The beauty of pieces such as "To Know Silence Perfectly" (read by Ms. Bley), "Stars, Songs, and Faces", and "I Sang" (both sung by Ms. Thomson) may create quite a positive emotional response. Check out the fiery funk of "Anywhere and Everywhere People" read by McBride as the quintet "rocks out" and the power march of "Choose" (Lederer's piccolo takes a starring role) with its Charles Ives-like leanings will make you smile.

"Matt Wilson's Honey and Salt: Music Inspired by the Poetry of Carl Sandburg" is a smashing achievement. Wonderfully musical, deeply emotional, and so much fun - what more could one want from an artist?  Take it on the road and expose more people to the "populist" poetry, the fascinating melodies, and great band that Matt Wilson has put together in this heartfelt project.  Listen, listen deeply!

For more information about the project and the upcoming September 2017 tour dates, go to www.mattwilsonjazz.com.

Here's a tune with a "country" twang:

photo by John Dolan

Soprano saxophonist and composer Jane Ira Bloom released "Early Americans" in 2016, a trio date with bassist Mark Helias and drummer Bobby Previte, both of whom she had recorded with extensively.  Her new project, "Wild Lines: Improvising Emily Dickinson" (Outline), brings back pianist Dawn Clements who recorded with this ensemble on 2011's "Wingwalker" (the pianist is also featured on Ms. Bloom's 2008 album "Mental Weather" with Helias and drummer Matt Wilson!) Ms. Bloom's latest adventure came about when she discovered that Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was a pianist and an improviser, a quality the composer could see in the poetry.  After receiving a commission from Chamber Music America/Doris Duke New Jazz Works, Ms. Bloom put together the program that one hears on these two CDs.  There are 14 original compositions plus a solo soprano saxophone reading of the Rodgers & Hart classic, "It's Easy To Remember."


One might be tempted to start with CD 2 because you hear the lines of Ms. Dickinson's that prompted the compositions. Read by actress  Deborah Rush (Broadway and television), most of the pieces are read before the pieces (there are several exceptions).  But you really can hear how pieces like "Emily & Her Atoms" and "One Note from One Bird" (excerpt from "The Gorgeous Nothings") are built from the poems and poem fragments.  The latter tune does open with one note from the piano before Ms. Rush intones "One note from/ One Bird/ is better than/ a million words/...A scabbard/ Needs/ has - holds/ but one/ sword"  - listen to how the quartet expands that one note and those words outward away from its simple center into a musical meadowland with a sweeping melody and roiling drums.

Deborah Rush

Then there's "Singing The Triangle" during which a letter that the poet wrote that tells of her excitement that "G.F. Bailey's & Co. Great Triple Combination/ will exhibit in Amherst!/ On Friday, May 4th, 1866" - the music is a rollicking illustration of excitement, derring-do, and exuberance (one can almost hear the crowd "oohing and aahing" at the high-wire acts.  The listener may have expected the music to be fairly somber as befits certain opinions of Ms. Dickinson's poems.  Yet, throughout the album, the music bubbles over with glee.  "Cornets of Paradise" opens with powerful drums behind Ms. Rush (pictured left) reciting "Over and over, like a Tune/ The Recollection Plays/ Drums off the Phantom Battlements/ Cornets of Paradise/" - the drums drop out and there soprano sax enters wailing high - Ms. Rush continues with "Snatches, from Baptized Generations/ Cadences too grand/ But for the Justified Processions/ At the Lord's Right Hand."  There 's a quick snippet of gospel and then the quartet goes into an inspired improvisation before moving back right before the close to a modified barrelhouse blues.

CD 1 features the same instrumental tracks in a different order (save for the final two track on both discs being the exuberant "Big Bill" and the Rodgers & Hart tune).  The music is just as exciting without the poetry but this listener really enjoys how Ms. Bloom integrates the lyricism of the poetry with the often flowing lines of the quartet.  "Say More", on disc 1, opens with a lovely soprano melodic fragment with Previte's quiet percussion, the occasional bass melody, and Ms. Clement's lyrical piano. The piece moves slowly forward and up away from the opening line. Add Ms. Rush's vocal performance and the lyrics to the music, the piece opens up to new interpretations.

photo: Lucy Gram

"Wild Lines" is a magnificent recording, filled with intelligent and open melodies, inspired interactions, and a collective love of exploration. One should not discount how well the Quartet works together, the powerful and graceful contributions of Mark  Helias and Bobby Previte, the excellent piano playing of Dawn Clement, and, of course, the wonder-filled work of Jane Ira Bloom. The artist could have chosen to release either one of these discs as her new album, they're both delightful on their own.  Together, "Wild Lines" gives the listener an intimate description of the creative process, how the sounds and meanings of words can be translated to the sounds of music, that the creative process can truly be an infinity of riches.  This is a joyful experience for the musicians and for the audience.

For more information, go to www.janeirabloom.com.  Release date for the album is September 8, 2017 and is available for pre-order at amazon.com.