5/15/2021 –– Just last week, Downbeat published an online article about bassist and composer Mario Pavone and his fight with cancer. It was reported today that Mr. Pavone died at the age of 80. As one of the finest musicians to hail from the state of Connecticut who traveled the world with musicians such as the late Thomas Chapin, trumpeter Bill Dixon, and saxophonist Anthony Braxton as well as his long-time friend, guitarist Michael Musillami. Short in stature, Mr. Pavone had a "big" sound, writing fascinating music for his many ensembles, and always moving forward. He sought out like-minded musicians to play his music, musicians such as saxophonists Jimmy Greene and Tony Malaby, pianists Craig Taborn, Peter Madsen, Matt Mitchell, and Angelica Sanchez, trumpeter Dave Ballou, and drummers Michael Sarin, Matt Wilson, Tyshawn Sorey, and Gerald Cleaver. He also served on the faculty of the Litchfield Jazz Festival Jazz Camp.
Photo: Litchfield Jazz/Youtube
I had the joy of seeing Mario play on numerous occasions. He came through Middletown CT (where I live) on numerous occasions. Once, when he and Michael Sarin were playing with Thomas Chapin, I talked with them about playing such small venues (on this occasion, a basement that attracted 15 paying customers). Mario laughed, saying the Trio had just returned from the Northsea Jazz Festival where they played for overflow crowds of up to 20,000. Not as intimate as the CT gig but much more exciting. No matter the size of the audience, Mario played with great fire and intelligence, his compositions stretching the borders of creative music and challenging the musicians and the audience.
Photo: Lindsey Victoria
He recorded many of his albums for Playscape (Mr. Musillami's label) and for Clean Feed; his discography is filled with albums that never seem dated or filled with cliches. The music language Mario Pavone created in the studio and on concert stages was inspired by the masters of Black American Music, people such as Messrs. Dixon and Braxton as well as John Coltrane, Paul Bley, Wadada Leo Smith, Muhal Richard Abrams, Marty Ehrlich, and others. Yet, he rarely sounded like any of those artists; even now, you can listen to any of his albums and hear something you had missed before.
Time takes all our friends and family and we should be glad for the time we did have with them. It was always a joy to be in the presence of Mario Pavone, especially when he was on the bandstand. He will be missed!
Jon Irabagon is a very busy creative musician. He was an original member of bassist Moppa Elliott's Mostly Other People Do The Killing, has worked/recorded with guitarist Mary Halvorson and trumpeter Dave Douglas, plays in the Maria Schneider Orchestra as well as with drummer Barry Altschul and bassist Joe Fonda in the 3Dom Factor. His ever-expanding discography now has entries with pianist Matt Mitchell and drummer Andrew Bain. Several years ago, Irabagon started his own label, Irabbagast Records, which not only issues his recordings but also has released CDs by trumpeter Brandon Lee and the Uptown Jazz Tentet. Just in the past six months, Irabagon has toured/performed with the John Yao Quintet, the Uri Caine Gershwin Project, the Mike Pride Trio, and the Donald Vega Quintet (and a many others).
Several years ago, the saxophonist (he plays tenor, soprano, and sopranino ) formed a quartet with Luis Perdomo (piano), Yasushi Nakamura (bass), and Rudy Royston (drums). Their 2015 Irabbagast recording, "Behind The Sky", featured Tom Harrell (trumpet, flugelhorn) with much of the material composed while Irabagon was mourning the loss of several family members. In the Fall of 2016, the group reassembled to tour South America with trumpeter Tim Hagans in tow. They played in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and then entered Estudio Doctor F and recorded the group's second album, "Dr. Quixotic's Traveling Exotics", a six-song program of Irabagon originals that finds the ensemble often in high gear and always in high spirits. One can certainly hear how much fun the quintet is having as five of the pieces last more than 10 minutes. Yet, there is no fat in this music: what you get are well-drawn compositions, powerful solos, great interactions, and a splendid rhythm section.
The opening track, the devilishly-titled "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (not from the Stephen Sondheim musical "Sweeney Todd"), opens with a circular melody played solo by Irabagon (he plats exclusively tenor sax on this album) - when the band comes in (Hagans sits this one out), the melody leads up to a muscular bass solo and then into a drum solo during which the music speeds up. We are then treated to rabble-rousing piano solo before the leader calms down the band for a moment with the original melody. Royston lays down a powerful hard-rock beat underneath the tenor sax solo while Perdomo and Nakamura keep the foundation. Hagans joins the band on the second track, "Emotional Physics/The Things". The elemental melody, played by tenor sax, keeps the pace while the trumpeter flies above the band. The most amazing part takes place around 80 seconds ito the piece when the quintet breaks into a fascinating rhythm for a short while before breaking for a short bass solo. Then into a section where the bluesy, introspective, tenor sax leads the group in a different direction. Royston creates a storm underneath as Perdomo creates musical waterfalls. A quick tenor sax transition and the band swings back into high gear that leads to a delightful piano solo. The forward motion in the last several minutes is, at times, dizzying: even when the group "calms" down, there is such power in this music.
"Pretty Like North Dakota" is the ballad on the album. Moving forward atop on the strength of Perdomo's piano lines, the blend of muted trumpet and tenor sax along with the sensitive cymbal work and the bass counterpoint gets its emotional depth from the melody and its suspended rhythm (rubato). The rhythm section drops into a slow tempo for the powerful trumpet solo. When the band stops, Perdomo reintroduces the original piano figures and Irabagon steps out for his smartly built solo.
The closing track, "Taipei Personality", opens with a very funky drumbeat, a rhythm Royston keeps up mostly all the way through (his bass drum "hits shake the speakers). On most of the songs (on this tune as well), there are sections where Hagans and Irabagon engage in conversations or play short melodic figures while one member of the rhythm section solos.
More like Monty Python's Flying Circus than Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, "Dr. Quixotic's Traveling Exotics" has musical twists-and-turns that take the eager listener out of the ordinary into a variety of special places. Yes, there is power in this music, the power of being an ensemble, with traveling together, with working onstage and in the studio, the power of music to bring joy to its creators as much as it does to the audience. Jon Irabagon hits new personal heights with this music, creatively and artistically.
In June of 2016, guitarist, composer, and owner of Playscape Recordings Michael Musillami suffered a brain hemorrhage. As the doctors did tests, a brain tumor was discovered. The subsequent surgery was successful and the musician was sent home to begin his recovery. He used the rehabilitation time to compose the music that makes up "Life Anthem", the new album from the Michael Musillami Trio + 2. The Trio - Joe Fonda (bass) and George Schuller (drums) - started its life in 2002. For this recording, the band's ninth and sixth with guests, Musillami added the musical voices of Kirk Knuffke (cornet) and Jason Robinson (tenor and soprano saxophones, alto flute).
The album is a musical diary of the composer's physical trials, opening and closing with two versions of the title track. The first is played by Knuffke: with his crystal clear tone, the music sounds like a call to prayer, a plea for attention. That leads into "I Hear Sirens In the Distance", a tension-filled quintet piece filled with long tones, moaning brass and reeds, and Musillami's slippery, short, even fragmented guitar lines that equate to the mysterious trouble he was going through waiting for the ambulance.
Along the way, there is more musical tension on "MRI Countdown" and the troubling "Slow Bleed." The composer's attitude begins to turn on "Dr. Mohammed Khaled, Neurosurgeon", a driving piece highlighted by the pounding drums, a powerful interaction between Knuffke and Fonda, and a long guitar statement - now, the leader's guitar work is more assured, not frenetic, but bending towards hope. Fonda's solo bass spotlight, "I'm Beginning To Feel Life's Pulse Again", is a 2:00 delight that leads to the medium-tempo quintet meditation "June Recovery." The road is not always smooth as one hears in "ICU Blues" and one imagines that "Visions" is the composer's response to having little to do but be still and recuperate. The latter tune, the longest on the 15-song album at 12:48, may have inspired by Musillami's dreams about being back on the bandstand. His playing now has increased fire and the guitarist is enjoying the push he feels from the rampaging rhythm section. But, the pace slows for Knuffke's solo over the bass and drums followed by Robinson's blowsy tenor sax spotlight. During the saxophonist's solo, the beat returns to an exciting level, going for an explosive climax.
Photo: Yixiao Guo
The album features a trio short improvisations ( "I Hear Sirens..." is, mostly, improvised but contains composed cues), the afore-mentioned "Slow Bleed", the hesitant "Night Walker", and the handsome "Family" (which is guitar, alto flute, and, late in the piece, bowed bass).
The final two tracks are short but ever so positive. "Think Of Something Beautiful" is an up-tempo romp one expects to break into a series of solos but, instead, leads into the group rendition on the title track. Here. the music has restored power amidst the feeling of thankfulness and joy for the leader's return to playing and being with his musical friends.
Michael Musillami's story has a happy (and healthy) ending. "Life Anthem" takes the listener on quite a journey with compositions that are, arguably, the finest of the guitarist's (nearly) three-decade career. With his long-time rhythm section as well as two new companions, Trio +2 is a formidable ensemble worthy of your attention.
This coming Saturday and Sunday evenings (4/07 & 08/2018, Wadada Leo Smith presents the second annual CREATE Festival at Firehouse 12, 45 Crown Street in New Haven. If you went to the 2017 event (there were weekends in New Haven and San Francisco), you remember the range of music the 76-year old trumpeter, composer, conceptualist, and arranger can create. The line-up and programs (listed below) for the 2018 Fest are just as impressive and wide-ranging with several debuts overt the course of two nights as well as an exhibit of Smith's unique scores.
Read on!
Legendary composer and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith presents the Second Annual CREATE Festival in New Haven, CT, a two-day celebration and exploration of his inventive and unclassifiable music that will feature world or US premiere performances of four new suites. Taking place Saturday, April 7 and Sunday, April 8, 2018 at Firehouse 12, 45 Crown Street, New Haven, CT, the festival will include performances by five separate ensembles over two evenings and include an exhibit of Smith’s Ankhrasmation Symbolic Language Scores. Performances take place at 7 p.m. each evening; exhibition walk-through on Sunday at 3 p.m. A full schedule of events is below. Tickets are $30 for each of the concerts; $55 for both. There is no charge for the exhibit. For information, please call 203-785-0468 or go to http://firehouse12.com/. The festival debuted in April 2017 with a weekend of performances and discussions in New Haven, CT, where it will continue each year. Create West followed at the Lab in San Francisco in December 2017. This year’s edition will include two World and two U.S. premieres of suites penned by Smith, with inspiration culled from the natural world, the cosmos, politics and a much-needed plea for tolerance. These pieces add significantly to what Adam Shatz of the New York Review of Books calls, “one of the most innovative bodies of work in American music since the 1960s.” “This idea had been in a dream state for many, many years,” Smith says of the festivals. That long-cherished dream is being realized with support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, which awarded Smith the Doris Duke Artist Award in 2016. CREATE offers a thrilling, rare opportunity to delve deeply into the full scope of Smith’s sui generis compositional voice and approach, which – in their category-defying range and breadth – can only be classified using Smith’s preferred term, “Creative Music.” The weekend opens with an ensemble led by guitarist Lamar Smith (Wadada’s grandson), featuring electronic artist Hardedge and drummer Thurman Barker. Saturday’s program continues with the world premiere of Dark Matter, Dark Energy: The Unseen Suite, a piece inspired by the great mysteries of the universe. The suite features Smith’s Kosmic Music Ensemble, in which Wadada’s trumpet is joined by vibraphonist Bobby Naughton, pianist Sylvie Courvoisier, guitarist Lamar Smith, drummer Thurman Barker, and Jawara on jimbe and percussion. The opening evening will conclude with Smith’s latest composition drawing on his love for America’s natural splendor, The Great Lakes. Following in the spirit of his widely-acclaimed America’s National Parks, Smith wrote the piece for his newly-assembled Great Lakes Quartet: himself, saxophonist Jonathan Haffner, bassist John Lindberg, and drummer Thurman Barker. Sunday’s line-up begins with the U.S. premiere of President Obama's Speech At The Selma Bridge, a suite written for the renowned power-jazz trio Harriet Tubman. Wadada will join the band, which includes bassist Melvin Gibbs (Rollins Band, Sonny Sharrock), guitarist Brandon Ross (Henry Threadgill, Cassandra Wilson), and drummer J.T. Lewis (Whitney Houston, Bill Laswell). The piece recalls Barack Obama’s historic speech commemorating the 50thanniversary of “Bloody Sunday” on the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama in front of a crowd of 40,000. The ideals represented by that speech are also beautifully represented in the festival’s final piece, the world premiere of Peace, Love and Liberty: Compassion and Respect For a Tolerant World: A Suite. Performed by Smith’s longstanding Golden Quintet – Wadada, pianist Anthony Davis, cellist Ashley Walters, drummer Pheeroan akLaff, and video artist Jesse Gilbert – the new suite is the composer’s plea for understanding, compassion and tolerance at an incredibly divisive time. As President Obama’s Speech provides a poignant look back at another fraught chapter in our history, Peace, Love and Liberty offers an optimistic and embracing look forward. Both of Saturday’s premieres as well as the Golden Quintet performance will be supplemented by images provided by video artist Gilbert, who Smith says adds integral visual context to the aural elements. “The music and imagery don’t move in separate streams,” he says. “They’re actually intimately connected and responsible for each other, allowing us to create a narrative that transcends space and time. It’s twofold: there’s a technical and musical connection, and then there’s a psychological and historical connection that helps to provide for comprehension of the work.” In order to further that comprehension, the Festival will include an exhibition of 20 of Smith’s Ankhrasmation Symbolic Language Scores in a special gallery at Firehouse 12. On Sunday, April 8, Smith will lead a walk-through of the exhibition along with curator Lyn Horton. He will also lead a discussion of his unique compositional approach. Curators and the general public are invited to join. “For all the minimalism of his sound,” writes Adam Shatz, “Smith has turned out to be a maximalist in his ambitions, evolving into one of our most powerful storytellers, an heir to American chroniclers like Charles Ives and Ornette Coleman.” That ambition will be on prismatic display throughout the CREATE Festival, allowing Smith to weave multiple tales across the sweeping breadth of his formidable imagination.
There was a time in the 1980s and 90s when I would come across pianist Peter Madsen performing with his good friend Michael Musillami (guitar) and bassist Mario Pavone (when he wasn't touring with Dave Leibman, Kenny Garrett, Fred Wesley, or Maceo Parker). One of the most dynamic and creative pianists around, Madsen moved to Austria around the turn of the 21st Century and, while he retains a residence in New York City, his most recent recordings feature his Collective of Improvising Artists (CIA) Seven Sins Ensemble, an octet that blends a string quartet, trumpet, piano, bass, and drums. The ensemble has just issued "Never Bet The Devil Your Head" (Playscape Recordings), 10 new pieces composed and arranged by Madsen inspired by the writings of Edgar Allan Poe.
One might expect that music inspired by Poe might dark and foreboding but actually this music is often exciting, quite rhythmic, and filled with delightful twists-and-turns. The program opens with "The Raven"; the first several minutes belong to the string quartet - violinists Aleksandra Lartseva and Monica Tarcsay, violist Simon Frick, and cellist Bianca Reisner - playing a handsome melody. Bassist Herwig Hammerl joins them on pizzicato then arco before drummer Martin Grabher kicks in a very rock-ish, raucous, beat. Trumpeter Herbert Walser joins the string to state the melody. The piece moves forward on the power of the melody and the rhythm section with Madsen adding colorful piano. "The Tell-Tale Heart" opens with drummer Grabher playing a "heart" beat before the cellist, bass, and pianist break into what one think is a Black Sabbath rhythm. But the playful ensemble often sis into short reggae rhythms before returning to the original "thumping" chords. In the middle of the song, everyone drops out and the string players do an odd dance, plucking and hitting their instrument with their bows while the drummer moves around his cymbals. It's quite an atmospheric piece culminating in a Han Bennink-liek drum solo (meaning all over the kit, all at once) before coming to its close.
Other highlights include the Bertolt Brecht-style melody on "The Cask of Amontillado." Walter's muted trumpet solo blends Louis Armstrong with Lester Bowie, setting the inspiration for Madsen's powerful, swinging, and frenetic solo. The title track opens on a serious bowed bass solo - Hammerl is soon joined by the string quartet and they play a serious melody, dropping back as the trumpet enters. The rhythm section joins, speeding up the piece for the trumpet melody and string counterpoint. Madsen's solo builds on the tension that preceded his entrance and he kicks it u several notches yet it is easy ti hear how the solo is based in the original melody.
The closing two tracks, "The Masque of the Red Death" and "A Descent Into the Maelstrom", are both quite powerful. The former enters on strident strings over a funky drum beat. When the rest of the group enters, the song turns into a macabre dance. The interplay of the piano with the strings and trumpet is infectious and their "dance" continues under the powerful cello solo.
The latter piece roars its way in, the rapid-paced bowing of strings, the mighty piano chords, the "heavy" beat, all creating a sonic congestion. The trumpet states the handsome melody before the piece falls apart and into silence. Madsen leads the group back with chords that may remind some of vintage 1970 McCoy Tyner. The leader then break into a unaccompanied shower of notes and, once again, the "heavy" beat returns, the swirling strings, the trumpet and piano stating the melody before the falls apart into silence.
For this listener, "Never Bet The Devil Your Head" is great fun and powerful music at the same time. Peter Madsen's Seven Sins Ensemble really dig into the pianist's music and his arrangements bring out the best (and, sometimes, strangest) in their sounds. Delightfully melodic, quite rhythmic, and fairly adventurous, dive in and enjoy!
During a particularly tough emotional time last year, I did not spend much time listening to music (not a good thing for a reviewer.) The album I did listen to a lot was "Vista Accumulations", pianist and composer Matt Mitchell's stunning double album for Pi Recordings. Not because the music was soft and reflective (much of it is not) but because of the way the Quartet - Mitchell, Chris Speed (tenor saxophone, clarinet), Chris Tordini (bass), and Dan Weiss (drums) - moved through the pianist's compositions, how they interacted with each other, and how the music was built upon a framework of myriad influences yet sounded like itself (above all else).
This Friday (October 28), the Matt Mitchell Quartet will come to New Haven to perform in the Fall 2016 Concert Series at Firehouse 12, 45 Crown Street. They will perform 2 sets - 8:30 and 10 p.m. - featuring the music from "Vista Accumulations." Another one of the reasons the album sounds so good is how alive the music sounds. I imagine the Quartet sounds even better in person.
For ticket information, go to firehouse12.com or call 203-785-0468. To fond out more about this very busy musician - he is a member of Tim Berne's Snakeoil, Rudresh Mahanthappa's Bird Calls, the Dave Douglas Quintet, and works with artists such as , saxophonist Darius Jones, John Hollenbeck, and multi-reed artist Anna Webber (see below) - go to www.mattmitchell.us.
Here's the Quartet in action:
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As stated above, Mr. Mitchell works with Anna Webber, the saxophonist, flutist, and composer from British Columbia, Canada. Along with another one of the collaborators mentioned above, drummer and percussionist John Hollenbeck, they make up Anna Webber's Simple Trio, named for the ensemble's "SIMPLE" CD released by Skirl Records. Skirl has just released the Trio's second effort "Binary" and it's a powerful followup to the group's debut album. The saxophone-piano-drums trio is an interesting blend not often heard bit it works wonderfully with these musicians. The 12 tracks, all composed by Ms. Webber, blend short and long pieces, most with a sense of urgency that pins the listener to the chair. Half the tracks are short (none over 3:35 and four under 2 minutes) "Rectangles" which could be group improvisations. Several, including "Rectangles 3a" and "Rectangles 3c", are powerful statements, built upon the insistent rhythms the trio creates. Yet "Rectangles 1a" that closes the program is a very quiet but still jarring tenor sax-led ballad.
Peter Hum
The other six tracks include three over 9 minutes. "Impulse Purchase", the longest at 14:30, is a multi-sectioned piece that opens with solo tenor sax playing a breathy circular melody until Mitchell joins playing counterpoint and a shape begins to emerge. Hollenbeck joins in and the piece begins to morph. It's great fun to follow the trio as the music shifts in intensity, the pianist's powerful chords creating a storm beneath the saxophone which, of course, does not last as the musicians seem to tug and fuss with the melodic and rhythmic center. The high-energy "Underwhelmed" (ironic title) jumps right out of the gate to the strength of the drums and the pianist's two-handed attack (notice how Hollenbeck plays the melody at times and how Ms. Webber can create such percussive saxophone riffs). The tenor and piano play gleefully atop the energetic beat. The fragmented nursery-rhyme feel at the onset of "Tug O' War" features a circular melody played by all three (Ms. Webber on flute). Inevitably, the music changes direction, becomes quiet, even introspective (great brush work in the background) until the pace changes and the trio reprise the opening but that settles down quickly. The title track opens as a ballad but the trio keeps pushing at each other until the music reaches a boiling point (powerful tenor sax work from the leader).
fullyaltered.com
Listen - that's what you need to do - "Binary" is filled with music that has an urgency that gets under your skin. Anna Webber's music is anything but "Simple", especially in the hands, hearts and minds of John Hollenbeck and Matt Mitchell. There are moments when the musical interactions remind this listener of Trio Air (Henry Threadgill, Steve McCall, and Fred Hopkins) and one is tempted to write that this music is influenced by the AACM of the 1970s. Yet, one can hear 21st Century rhythms in the work of the drummer and, occasionally, a minimalist bent. All that to say that this is one stunning recording. Play it loud, let the house shake and the music reverberate, let "Binary" push you away from complacency into action.
Here's the opening track (and the obligatory "kitten" video!):
Guitarist Michael Musillami and bassist Rich Syracuse are both veterans of the music, putting in decades of travel, recording, practice, and teaching. Yet, they did not begin playing together until 2015. The guitarist has spent the last 2 decades at the helm of Playscape Recordings, touring with his trio of Joe Fonda and George Schuller, augmenting them with guest soloists. The bassist is best known for his long associations with baritone saxophonist Nick Brignola and pianist Lee Shaw.
Musillami and Syracuse just released their debut album, "Of The Night: the Music of Wayne Shorter" (Playscape) and it's quite a charmer. It's the second excellent recording of Mr. Shorter's music released in the last few months - Denny Zeitlin's "Early Wayne" being the other - and illustrates just how influential a composer the saxophonist is. Miles Davis gets plenty of credit for the music he created in the 1950s and 60s (deservedly) but one feels that the compositions of Mr. Shorter will inspire musicians for generations to come. Why? Because of the open quality of the pieces. Listen to 13 minute "Footprints" that opens the duo's album. Notice how the guitar and bass converse, how they play with and support each other and also play counterpoint to each other. The expansive melody line and the chordal blueprint opens up so many exploratory avenues for these musicians and they do waste any opportunities.
That's what happens throughout the recording. The duo explores these works from different angles, such as the Mediterranean-sounding ballad "Black Nile" (from 1964's "Night Dreamer" Lp), the fulsome bass chords allowing the guitarist to lift off from the melody. "Iris" (first recorded by the Davis Quintet on "E.S.P") is a lovely ballad, the dialogue including a handsome guitar solo over as slow, rolling. rhythm. Mr. Shorter composed "One By One" for the Art Blakey Jazz Messengers in the early 1960s - here, the powerful hard-bop piece gets a bluesy overhaul, the swinging "walking" bass lines pushing the guitarist to let loose but he stays "cool" and under control. "Virgo" (also from the "Night Dreamer" Lp) is a slow blues that closes "Of The Night." The slow tempo allows both musicians to create melodic solos that tale their time to develop. Musillami makes the most of his time, creating an emotionally rich and impressionistic solo that stretches over four minutes. Syracuse's solo is 1/3rd the length, mostly in the upper register of the bass, yet does not feel tacked on or obligatory but more like an energetic response to the guitar solo.
"Of the Night" has the feel of a late-night session but one that the participants had been thinking about for a while. Michael Musillami and Rich Syracuse are certainly veterans but they play with the joy and energy of musicians half their age. Doesn't hurt that their explorations take place in the world of Wayne Shorter, a composer and musician whose music has inspired players and listeners for over five decades, music that opens so wide it allows for many different interpretations. This is a delightful album that will yield many hours of listening pleasure.
Los Guachos has been composer, pianist, and arranger Guillermo Klein's main vehicle of musical expression for over two decades. He started a big band in New York City after graduating from Berklee College of Music in Boston but soon scaled that down to 11 pieces. The personnel has stayed fairly constant over the past 15 years; the reed section consists of Bill McHenry (tenor saxophone), Chris Cheek (soprano, tenor, and baritone saxes), and Miguel Zenon (alto sax) while Diego Urcola (trumpet, trombone), Taylor Haskins (trumpet, flugelhorn), Sandro Tomasi (trombone), and Richard Nant (percussion, trumpet) make up the brass section. Ben Monder (guitar), Klein (piano), Fernando Huergo (electric bass), and Jeff Ballard (drums) are the rhythm section (with Nant).
"V" is Klein's eighth recording for Sunnyside Records (6th as leader) and is comprised of two suites plus two more songs. The program opens with the three-part "Suite Indiana" which combines two original compositions and a fascinating rearrangement of Miles Davis's "Donna Lee." The latter tune, made famous by Charlie Parker, has its melody spread among the brass and reeds and broken into rhythmic fragments. That track is bookended by "Back Home Again" (with a melody line and arrangement reminiscent of Steve Reich) and "Patria Espiral" which expands upon the two previous melodies and rhythmic patterns.
The centerpiece of the album is the 34+ minute, seven-part, "Suite Jazmin." The music displays the versatility of the ensemble right from the opening seconds of "Symmetry I" as the composer spreads the melody lines throughout the band, from the versatile bassist Huergo to the reeds while Ballard moves from a martial beat to a modified swing. "Si No Sabes 4/4" has a lilting melody plus a raucous solo from Monder and is immediately followed by "Si No Sabes 9/8" which takes the melody down a much different path inspired by the sensuous rhythms. "Burrito Hill Mirror" follows, its spiky rhythm created by the opening interactions of guitar and piano (mirroring each other) yet the handsome melody flows easily over the halting percussion (Nant and Ballard mirroring as well) whereas the following track, "Human Feel Mirror" is more upbeat, it's circular melodic fragments creating a percussive feel from the entire ensemble. "Jazmin" is a lovely ballad with a striking melody line (played by Zenon and Cheek on soprano and echoed by the muted trumpets), lovely harmonies, and a fine solo from Cheek. "Symmetry II (Si No Sabes Que No Sabes)" is a quiet reiteration of the beginning of the "Suite" as well as a charming close.
The album closes with "Ashes" (an Andrew Hill piece composed for the album "The Invisible Hand" that he recorded with Greg Osby and Jim Hall) and "Quemando Velas" (Burning Candles). Both are ballads, the Hill composition retaining the spare quality of its original, a striking melody for flugelhorn with Klein's arrangement built right off the melody. The latter piece begins immediately after the previous song, the melody carried by the alto and tenor saxophones but notice the echoes behind the front lines as well as Monder's shimmering accompaniment. The melody shifts to the brass, quietly pushed forward by percussion. The delicacy of the music is matched by the emotional content, there's a feeling of peace and contentment as the song slowly concludes.
"V" is a work that demands your attention and rewards the listener many times over. Like the previous recordings of Los Guachos, the seamless blend of melody with harmony, the way the Argentinean rhythms permeate so much of the music as well as the impressive ensemble arrangements, all those factors and more illustrate the artistry of Guillermo Klein. Highly recommended!
Composer, arranger, pianist and educator Andy Jaffe has had a career that spans over four decades and, like many people involved in the jazz world, much of that time has been spent in academia. He has taught at many universities and colleges in the Northeast but mostly at Williams College for the past 29 years. Jaffe has co-led a large ensemble with trombonist and educator Bill Lowe (writer's note: Mr. Lowe's Jazz class was the first course I took at Wesleyan University on the road to my Master's Degree and, for a music reviewer, far from a "gut course") that, with the exception of two CDs, remains woefully under-recorded.
His new CD, "Andy Jaffe Nonet + 4: Arc" (Playscape Recordings) looks backwards even as it moves forward. The impetus for the program came from a semester that he spent teaching and performing in Taiwan. Played by an impressive ensemble that includes the reed section of Kris Allen (alto saxophone), Jimmy Greene (tenor and soprano saxes), Bruce Williamson (bass clarinet, soprano sax), and Tom Olin (tenor, soprano, and baritone saxes) plus the unorthodox brass section of Wallace Roney (trumpet) and John Clark (French horn). Besides the leader on piano and all arrangements, the rhythm section consists of his son Marty Jaffe (bass) and Jonathan Barber (drums). The "4" alluded to in the album title is the Interesting Quartet from Taiwan composed of Wei-jun Hwang (first violin), Wei-hsin Liu (second violin), Chiee Yeh (viola) and Jiro Yeh (cello) who appear on four of the nine cuts.
The program features five new pieces, three composed in the 1980s and a forceful yet gracious performance of the spiritual "Go Down Moses" arranged for saxophone quartet. On the spiritual, Williamson leads the way on soprano while the others reeds dance and weave below him (which may remind some of Julius Hemphill's arrangements for the World Saxophone Quartet). Greene and Allen take short but powerful solos; still, the ensemble arrangement truly shines. Of the "older pieces, two were composed for Max Roach's Double Quartet (which included the Unknown String Quartet). Jaffe considered the great drummer/educator as a mentor and these powerful pieces, "Steve Biko" and "Theme for the New 60s" pay tribute to how Mr. Roach knew that his music needed to reflect the political issues facing the world. The latter piece swings with a vengeance with strong solos from Roney, Allen, the leader and Barber. "...Biko" also has excellent solo work (especially the fiery exchange between Williamson's bass clarinet and Clark's French horn but it's the powerful melody that stands out and how Jaffe's arrangement uses the strings to echo the melody, supply harmony as well as serve as counterpoint.
The album includes two lovely ballads, "In Case This Is Goodbye" and "Now Then", both new works. The title of the former gives the piece its emotional foundation, the melody, colored by the strings and the deep sounds of the bass clarinet, its heart, and the soloists its true expression. Allen's alto rises high above the rhythm section whereas the strings accompany the excellent soprano solo. Clark's solo is so understated but powerful while Marty Jaffe's bowed solo is pleasingly melodic. The strings return for the piano solo with an arrangement that leads back to the opening theme. The album's final track, "Now Then", is lovely with fine percussion from Barber, sweet underpinning from the bass clarinet and other reeds while the French horn plays the theme and has the first solo.
Roney shines as a member of the ensemble plus his expressive set as a soloist. He fires on all cylinders on the highly-swinging "Brainworm" (Barber is the driving force here) and during a lengthy solo on "Fleurette Chinoise" (Greene's soprano solo on this track is wonderfully playful). Roney's muted solo and ensemble playing on the title track also stands out.
"Arc" is a collection of pieces that contain so many delightful elements, from melodies that sing in one's ears to arrangements that fill out the sound without cluttering the aural landscape to solos, many of them short, that are creative and direct. Andy Jaffe Nonet + 4 is a long-awaited gem from this classy composer, arranger, and first-class pianist.
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