Listen to all the musical sounds around us; there are albums that push us into action, others that take us to new worlds, and others that plain bore us. Then, there's "comfort food" music, songs that make us smile, calm us down because the artist(s) is (are) so in sync and sound like that everyone is having such a good time. For his third album as a leader, pianist, accordionist, and composer Ben Rosenblum has expanded his trio (bassist Marty Jaffe and drummer Ben Zweig) to a sextet featuring Wayne Tucker (trumpet), Jasper Dutz (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet), and Rafael Rosa (guitar), dubbing the group the Nebula Project.
"Kites and Strings" (self-released) features seven Rosenblum originals, one traditional Bulgarian song, and one song each by Leonard Bernstein ("Somewhere") and Neil Young ("Philadelphia", the 1993 movie with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington). The fast-paced "Cedar Place" opens the program with the trumpet, tenor sax, and accordion leading the rhythm section through the melody. The accordion may remind some of Gary Versace's work with the Maria Schneider Orchestra. Te title songs also features Rosenblum's accordion and adds vibraphonist Jake Chapman to the mix. Solos by Chapman, Tucker, and the leader occur over the floating rhythm section––the music feels warm and comfortable. "Motif from Brahms (Op. 98)" is a lovey ballad; with the accordion on the melody, trumpet and clarinet for support plus fine piano work by guest pianist Jeremy Corren, the music deftly blends classical and jazz influences.
Photo: Francesco Moretti
There's a delightful Middle-Eastern feel to "Fight or Flight" with a rollicking guitar solo from Rosa and excellent percussion from Zweig. The Bernstein song (also featuring Corren) is quite sweet with accordion in the lead and strong counterpoint from bassist Jaffe. Fine solos from the leader, Tucker, and Dutz (bass clarinet) plus an excellent arrangement give the song a pleasing feel. The trombone of Sam Chess is featured on Young's "Philadelphia", sharing the melody with Dutz's tenor. Rosenblum's emotionally rich solo piano gives the music its gravity pushing the rhythm section to build the intensity under the trombone and guitar solos. Tucker's fast-paced solo enlivens the bopping "Laughing on the Inside"which also includes a swinging accordion solo a la Art Van Damme and a raucous, bluesy, solo from Rosa.
The Bulgarian traditional "Izpoded" closes the album. With the trumpet, saxophone, and accordion sharing both the melody and counterpoint, the music moves in a stately manner. No percussion but Jaffe's long blowed bass tones gives the music a strong underpinning. "Kites and Strings" often feels as if the music is flying high, dipping, swirling, and dancing in a strong breeze. Looking for a wide musical grin; Ben Rosenblum Nebula Project is all that and more.
Here's a live take of the Leonard Bernstein classic:
Photo: Antonio Porcar
Bassist, composer, and music label co-owner Dan Fortin is the very definition of a contemporary musician. Not only does he play jazz (1/3rd of the cooperative trio Myriad3 and as a member of saxophonist Allison Au's Quartet) but also "experimental pop" with the quintet Bernice), and the fascinating Queer Songbook Orchestra. In every musical situation, whether playing electric or acoustic bass (occasionally synth bass), Fortin is the glue of a group. He's a powerful player who plays the "foundations" of most songs so that the other group members have the freedom to move but the bassist is also quite melodic, creating solos you remember (not just there to make a song longer). Early in 2019, Fortin joined forces with vibraphonist Michael Davidson to create Elastic Recordings, an outlet for their creative endeavors. The label debuted with the duo's "Clock Radio" (my review is here); the label's second release, and the bassist's second as a leader, is "The Latest Tech", a nine-song collection of pieces for acoustic bass.
Solo bass requires concentration and commitment on the part of both the creator and the listener. Just as fellow bassist Jorge Roeder accomplished earlier this year with his smashing "El Suelo Mio", Fortin's music keeps one's attention throughout. Because he is so melodic and percussive, one can hear the musician telling stories. It's the insistent rhythm and repetitive lines propel the title track forward, the ringing chords of the ballad "X-Ville", the impressionistic "American Desert" that opens the album, the "Purple Haze" influence thump and bump of "Welt", and the hypnotic flow of the closing track, "Beautiful Psychic Dream"––this music pulls you in, initially keeping you guessing as to where the bassist is taking you but then inviting you back like a friend.
"The Latest Tech" is, admittedly, not music for everyone but those who enter these musical environments created by bassist and composer Dan Fortin with an open mind and curious ears will be rewarded.
Tenor saxophonist and composer Mike Casey hails from Hartford, CT. He first studied at the Greater Hartford Academy for the Performing Arts and went on to attend the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the Hartt School of Music, which is affiliated with the University of Hartford. There, he studied with Jackie's son, Rene, as well as with Steve Davis, Javon Jackson, Abraham Burton, and others. After graduation, Casey went on to play with pianists Marc Cary and Benito Gonzalez, harpist Brandee Younger, bassist Nat Reeves, and, in 2016, the saxophonist released his debut album, "The Sound of Surprise", recorded live at The Side Door Jazz Club in Old Lyme, CT. In 2017, he was accepted into the inaugural class of Berklee's Master's program in Contemporary Performance and Music Production at the Boston, MA-based new campus in Valencia, Spain.
Before leaving for Spain in July 2018, Casey took his trio––bassist Matt Dwonzyk and drummer Corey Garcia––to lay down tracks for his second album, "Law of Attraction" (self-released). The sprawling 83+ minute recording includes 16 tracks with several takes of some songs plus five songs that features the piano of pianist Gonzalez. At the time of the recording, the trio had been playing regularly for over four years and you can tell. The bassist and drummer are a solid unit, knowing how to support, prod, and excite Casey. "Best Part (take 1)" opens the festivities; it's a medium-paced ballad led in by the chords of bassist Dwonzyk. The melody and sound of the track reminds this listener of Australian alto saxophonist Bernie McGann and, especially, his 2000 album "Bundeena." "No Church in The Wild (intro)" is next, with Gonzalez on board, and the distinct flavors of the classic John Coltrane Quartet. That leads into the main body of the song, a rousing, fiery, performance by all involved, especially Garcia whose thunderous percussion pulls the performance forward (the digital version fuses the "intro" to the main body placing that in the middle of the program––there's another take that appears as a bonus track for the digital). On each iteration, Casey and Gonzalez create passionate, powerful, solos that sing and soar.
Highlights also include the fascinating "Dagobah" (influenced by the movie "Star Wars")––listen to how the bass and drums move underneath the leader, giving the music a sense of urgency. The title track dances forward, more like Sonny Rollins in the 1970s and 80s. Dwonzyk, whose thick bass tones stand out over the course of the album, creates a delightful solo, supported by the swooshing cymbals. "Feel The Bern" is short (2:45) but ever-so-funky, with the bass producing one dancing line after the other in support of Casey's "honking" lines. Garcia's solo will rattle your speakers and windows but you'll want to play this track a lot (no matter your political affiliation). The three takes of "Get You" are also funky and short (a shade above three minutes) and each one is slightly different from the other (dynamics, rhythmic drive, and how the musicians interact).
"Law of Attraction" is an attractive album, especially if you like brawny, energetic, post-bop. In the liner notes, Mike Casey writes that this session was recorded "Live in 100 degree heat with no air conditioning...recorded all old school, no isolation, no headphones! No tricks." This music sounds live and very much alive, an energy boost without ingesting caffeine. One could be picky and say that the inclusion of all the alternative takes interrupts the flow of the album but, in this digital age of "shuffle tracks", it's hard to tell if anyone listens to an entire album in one sitting. However you choose to approach this music, it's well worth your time!
With the election so close, the division so fractious and potentially
explosive, we feel a special event is needed for the public on Election
Day. On November 3, Deep Tones for Change will transmit
4 performances each hour, spanning the 17 hours that US polls are open
nationwide, from the East Coast to Hawaii - 68 individual performances!
Deep Tones for Peace is a musical initiative that
originated in 2009 with a telematic performance between Jerusalem and
Manhattan, and has continued with annual iterations until the present
day. Deep Tones for Peace 2020 was launched by Mark Dresser and William
Parker. A regular streaming of live meditations for peace, healing and
transformation is delivered by musicians transmitting deep tones that
can strengthen the unseen bonds of our diversity as we oppose economic,
educational, and environmental inequities fueled by racism, sexism, and
greed.
Contributors play for 5-30 minutes with the intent of musically sending
healing vibrations to be felt worldwide. The call for participation is
open to all bassists who wish to join in an ongoing musical transmission
of vibrations for peace. Any style or form of music and any level bass
player is welcome to help promote peace in the world. We truly believe
this project will have a positive impact on the balance of life.
As a youth growing up in Lima, Peru, Jorge Roeder first studied guitar, moved on to cello, but became entranced by the bass in High School, and found his musical calling. He came to the United States in 2002 to study at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA, and soon came into contact with teachers such as Bob Moses, Dominique Eade, Danilo Perez, and bassists John Lockwood, Cecil McBee, and fellow Peruvian, Oscar Stagnaro. Roeder also began performing with his contemporaries such as drummer Richie Barshay, pianist Carmen Staaf, and pianist Dan Tepfer. Moving to Brooklyn, NY, in 2007, the bassist started a professional relationship with guitarist Julian Lage which is ongoing today as well as with pianist Shai Maestro, John Zorn, and has been a member of trombonist Ryan Keberle's Catharsis since 2012.
If you have listened to Roeder in any of those groups, you'll know he possesses a wonderful facility for playing melody, rhythm, and counterpoint, with rich tones emanating from both his acoustic and electric basses. For his debut album as a leader, "El Suelo Mio" (self-released), the bassist goes it alone, playing only his sonorous upright bass––the album title translates to "my ground" or "my soil". His classical training comes through on pieces such as Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman": Roeder plays the tune with his bow, sawing at his instrument to capture the beauty of the melody and the emotion the song contained within the composition. Other pieces that have great emotion are "El Piebeyo" by legendary Peruvian composer Felipe Pingol Alva (1899-1936) and the lovely original "Silencio De Um Minuto". The aptly-titled "Bounce" is a rollicking blues with a handsome melody while "Patrona" displays exquisite finger work not unlike a flamenco guitarist. "I'll Remember Paris", the oft-recorded Gene De Paul melody, shines as Roeder caresses the melody and then creates a powerful solo.
Photo: Isabel Roeder
"El Suelo Mio" closes with the slowly unfolding ballad "Les Lapins", the soulful melody highlighting Roeder's articulate playing, the harmonics he creates ring in your ears for just a second before he moves back into the melody.
Jorge Roeder has created an album that resonates in so many ways; with his love of melody, emotion, and communication shines throughout. Yes, the bassist has tremendous facility on his instrument yet that ability is harnessed in order to present songs that sing to your heart, mind, and soul.
Flutist, composer, and educator Nicole M. Mitchell is one of the most visible contemporary members of the AACM whose recordings cover many different subjects and styles of Black Music. Lisa E. Harris is a vocalist, composer, creator and manipulator of electronic sounds who is also a filmmaker. The two artists have come together, along with members of Ms. Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble (including cellist Tomeka Reid), to create "EarthSeed" (FPE Records), the third chapter in Ms. Mitchell's projects inspired by the work and vision of author Octavia Butler (1947-2006).
When you listen to the music on "EarthSeed" (recorded live in concert in January of 2017 at the Art Institute of Chicago), be prepared to enter into a different sonic world. After the brief introduction titled "Evernascence/ Evanescence" for flute and voice (breathing and whistling), "Whispering Flame" begins the story in earnest. Instruments move in and around each other, cello and bass swirl, percussion rattles, while flute and trumpet rise above the combined voices of Ms. Harris and tenor Julian Otis singing a song of "creation". Both vocalists also stretch their instruments, creating alien languages, guttural noises, grunts and squeals as the cello creaks beneath. A quiet interlude for flute and cello as trumpeter Ben Lamar Gay roils above the singers. That's just one song.
Photo: Emily Berl (NYTimes)
There's the fun of "Yes and Know" with its bouncing rhythm courtesy of percussionist Avreeayl Ra, violinist Zara Zaharieva, and Ms. Reid and vocal play of Ms. Harris and Mr. Otis as the flute and trumpet dance above. The mewing, snorting, hissing, babbling, chattering, flirting voices cause the audience to laugh on "Phallus and Chalice"––when the instruments and percussion join, the interactions sound like a chase scene in a cartoon. The gentle interaction of flute, muted trumpet, cello, violin, and percussion frame Mr. Otis and Ms. Harris (who soars and wails behind the poetry) at the onset of "Fluids of Time" before the music erupts into a "Rite of Spring"-like section.
"EarthSeed" closes with "Purify Me with the Power to Self Transform", an impressionistic ballad that blends a gospel influenced lead vocal (Mr. Otis's falsetto) and Ms. Harris's wordless responses) with all the instruments plus synthesizer to create an otherworldly benediction. Even the 15 seconds of silence at the end holds great power while serving as a re-entrance into our everyday reality. This album that Nicole Mitchell and Lisa E. Harris have created with members of the Black Earth Ensemble is filled with sounds, voices, poetry, prose, and the joy of performance. Get lost in this "new" world.
Lisa E. Harris, vocals / theremin / electronics / composition Nicole M. Mitchell, flute / electronics / composition Julian Otis, vocals Zara Zaharieva, violin Ben LaMar Gay, trumpet / electronics Tomeka Reid, cello Avreeayl Ra, percussion
Photo: Joe Crocetta
Drummer Jeff Cosgrove lives in Maryland and, up until the pandemic, played a lot in the Washington, D.C. area. Over the last decade or so, he's been working with his group Motian Sickness as well as gigging with numerous local musicians. Plus, he's invited musicians such as pianists Matthew Shipp and Frank Kimbrough, bassists Ken Filiano and William Parker, saxophonists Scott Robinson, Noah Preminger, and Rob Brown plus guitarist Steve Cardenas to play in clubs in and around the Capitol area, releasing many of the collaborations on his own label and on Bandcamp.com. A majority of the recording sessions––in-studio and live––are improvisations and offer the attentive listener the opportunity to listen to musicians "conversing" and listening to each other for the sake of the music. Cosgrove never "overplays"or "overthinks" the music; that sensitivity is one of the major components of his music, making it all the more interesting.
His newest offering, "History Gets Ahead of the Story" (Grizzley Music/self-released)", finds the drummer in a new trio, alongside John Medeski (organ) and Jeff Lederer (tenor and soprano saxophones, flute). Seven of the program's 10 songs are from the pen of bassist William Parker with two from Lederer and one from Cosgrove. Parker is one of the more important people on the contemporary scene, not just for his music but also for the work that he and his wife, poet and choreographer Patricia Nicholson, have done for artists by creating organizations, most notably the Vision Festival. The blues-soaked sounds this trio produces serve to remind the listener of Mr. Parker's "roots", his connection to "soul" music and the blues as well as to fellow bassist and composer Charles Mingus.
Photo: Joe Crocetta
Opening with "O'Neal's Porch" (from the 2001 album of the same name), the trio sets the easy pace and one can feel the influence of Curtis Mayfield in the melody and groove. These musicians are not afraid to go "out" for a moment yet the song always returns to the walking organ bass lines and Cosgrove's steady cymbal and snare work. Lederer's solo ranges far afield, something he does with joy, playing with an exuberance that adds fire. Medeski gets rights into the groove with his soulful Hammond B-3 sound. Lederer moves to flute for the playful "Little Bird", opening with a cheerful duet with Medeski before dropping into a sweet groove. The clarinet comes out for "Wood Flute Song", an angular groove that the drummer drives with his innate sense of rhythm. The drummer contributed the other-worldly "Ghost"––again, the richly-hued tones of Lederer's clarinet reads the melody and dances off into a sweet solo while Medeski's gospel chords swell in the background.
Photo: Joe Crocetta
Lederer's two contributions, "Gospel Flowers" and "Purcell's Lament", both show the trio at its musical best. The former track has a steady groove with powerful solos from Medeski and the tenor saxophonist, all the while Cosgrove pushes them forward. The latter tune opens with a unaccompanied keening soprano sax before the organ enters. The piece moves into a lovely ballad, the cymbal and trap set coloring the lines as Medeski supports the voice in front. The swirling organ moves in and around the lovely soprano phrases while the drummer adds more color (the photo on the left gives you an idea of what Cosgrove is doing as he listens and plays).
"History Gets Ahead of the Story" closes with Mr. Parker's "Harlem" (off his Quartet's 2005 "Sound Unity" album). The power of the tenor sax, Lederer at his bluesiest, is balanced by the quiet organ and drum accompaniment. Pay attention to Medeski's solo and how Cosgrove gives him so much space but never abandons the groove. This is 2 a.m. music at its best.
The trio of Jeff Cosgrove, John Medeski, and Jeff Lederer celebrate the music of William Parker by taking his music and not copying it but by putting their own creative voices to the forefront. The clarity of the recording allows the listener to enter into the studio and really "feel" the conversations going on with the trio and this music. A delight from start to finish, take an hour to dive into these "Stories."
The Katie Bull Group Project, a splendid quintet led by the composer, dancer, and vocalist whose lyrics bend towards poetry and whose voice is a powerful instrument, returns to Connecticut this Friday to perform at Firehouse 12 in New Haven. Her ensemble - Landon Knoblock (piano, synths), Jeff Lederer (tenor and soprano saxophones), Joe Fonda (bass), and George Schuller (drums & hat) - does a splendid job illustrating Ms. Bull's lyrics with sounds funky and free. This group lit multiple fires under an audience at The Buttonwood Tree in Middletown when it played there in March of this year.
The KBGP plays 2 sets - 8:30 and 10 p.m. - for more information, go to firehouse12.org or call 203-785-0468. To learn about Ms. Bull and all of her endeavors, go to www.katiebull.com.
photo by Willy Schuyken
Mr. Fonda (pictured left) will also be part of The French-American Connection appearing Saturday evening at The Buttonwood. Representing the United States will be the bassist plus drummer Harvey Sorgen and representing France will be Christophe Rocher (clarinet, bass clarinet) - expect an evening of inspired improvisations, rhythmical adventures, with unexpected twists-and-turns as is the wont of musicians playing on the spur-of-the-moment.
The trio will take the stage - floor, in this instance - at 8 p.m. For more information, go to buttonwood.org or call 860-347-4957.
Chris Stukke
The Side Door Jazz Club welcomes saxophonist and flutist Don Braden on Friday May 20. Mr. Braden, currently the director of the Litchfield Jazz Camp and Interim Director of the Harvard University Monday Night Jazz Band, has toured and/or recorded with the likes of the late Betty Carter, Wynton Marsalis, and Roy Haynes. He leads several different ensembles including the Organix Quartet that will grace the Old Lyme performance venue. Joining Mr. Braden will be Jared Gold (organ), Dave Stryker (guitar), Steve Johns (drums), an impressive ensemble that will play original works, standards and jazz classics with swing and panache. To find out more, go to www.donbraden.com.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the musicians take the stage at 8:30. For more information, call 860-434-0886.
Here's a sample of the Organix Quartet from 2015's "Luminosity" CD, an album which features the saxophonist, guitarist Stryker, organist Kyle Koehler and drummer Cecil Brooks III:
jazzdagama.com
Pianist and composer Kevin Harris brings his Project quartet to The Side Door on Saturday night. Harris, a graduate of Morehead State University and the New England Conservatory of Music (where he studied with Fred Hersch, Cecil McBee and, Danilo Perez among others), teaches at the Berklee School plus has a busy time leading his own band as well as playing with groups led by saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi and drummer Steve Langone.
For the Old Lyme gig, he brings an exciting band including Jason Palmer (trumpet), Peter Slavov (bass) and the redoubtable Ralph Peterson, Jr. (drums). The music starts at 8:30 p.m. To learn more about the pianist, go to www.kevinharrisproject.com. For reservations and more information, go to thesidedoorjazz.com.
Here's the band - Harris, drummer Langone, and trumpeter Palmer plus saxophonist Hery Paz and electric bassist Fernando Huergo from an April 2016 gig at Berklee:
Also on Saturday night, The Artists Collective, 1200 Albany Avenue in Hartford, welcomes pianist Larry Willis and his Quintet. Willis continues to be one of the busiest musicians on the planet. A native of Harlem, he has worked with so many greats of Black American Music including Dizzy Gillespie, Nat Adderley, and saxophonist Jackie McLean with whom he made his recording debut - McLean is also the founder of the Artists Collective. Willis spent 7 years touring and recording with Blood, Sweat & Tears a well as recording with trumpeter Hugh Masakela (he and the trumpeter attended the Manhattan School of Music at the same time in the early 1960s.
For the show in Hartford, which begins at 8 p.m., Willis has assembled quite a group including Gary Bartz (alto and soprano saxophone), Steve Davis (trombone), Blake Meister (bass), and Billy Willams (drums). For tickets and more information, call the Collective at 860-527-3205 or pick them up at Integrity 'n' Music, 506 Silas Deane Highway in Wethersfield.
Daniele Cavallanti (tenor saxophone, ney flute) and Tiziano Tononi (drums) have been a musical couple for nearly four decades, an integral of the Italian creative music scene. Besides their own projects (especially their group Nexus), both are founding members of the Italian Instabile Orchestra. They have recorded projects dedicated to Don Cherry, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Ornette Coleman, and John Coltrane. They have collaborated with a slew of internationally known musicians including trumpeter Enrico Rava, bassist Mark Dresser, saxophonist Dewey Redman, drummer Andrew Cyrille, and many others. Yet, with all these great recordings, the duo has never recorded in the United States.
Until now, that is. On June 15 and 16, just a few days after Ornette Coleman passed, Cavallanti and Tononi entered Douglass St. Studios in Brooklyn, NY, with Herb Robertson (cornet), Steve Swell (trombone, flute), and Joe Fonda (bass) - a quintet dubbed The Brooklyn Express - to record the seven tracks that make up "No Time Left!" (Long Song Records). With the exception of the opening cut "Brooklyn: Monday Soundcheck", the songs are dedicated to musicians that the leaders have to looked to for inspiration. Tononi's "New York Funeral Blues...(for Ornette C.)" is self-explanatory, the music a slow dirge/drag with moaning cornet, wailing saxophone and keening trombone, closing with Cavallanti's powerful solo coda. Other musicians celebrated are Gil Evans ("Untitled # 1"), a pace that changes tempos and intensity several times, and South African ex-patriate bassist/composer Harry Miller. Cavallanti's "Song For Harry Miller" builds up from the powerful interactions of the drummer and Fonda into a fiery piece with solos from the bassist, composer (on tenor), trombonist and, finally, Tononi. The longest piece (20:29) is "Slap, Tones & Drones (for Bill Dixon)" certainly lives up to its name with a noisy, rubato, opening, that lasts nearly half the piece before giving way to a short tenor/drums interchange and then a powerful drum solo. The bass and drums slide into a rambunctious beat that fires up the saxophonist one more time. The final track dedicated to a musician who has passed is the funky "I See You Now, Jim! (for Jim Pepper)". - listen to the grooves Fonda lays down and that Tononi picks up on and accentuates, I doubt you'll be able to sit still.
There is 1 track, "Cyrille, The Inspirer", that is dedicated to a living master (and one of Tononi's teachers). Credited to the quintet and producer Fabrizio Perissinotto, the music goes in several directions in its 12:14 After a noisy beginning, the music take a number of surprising turns including a section where Cavallanti, Swell, and Fonda have a conversation on flutes. Also surprising is the fact that though the piece is dedicated to a drummer, there is not a drum solo.
"No Time Left" has many moments that lift the listener off his chair, with powerful solos and exciting interactions created by five people who embody the meaning of creative musicians. Take The Brooklyn Express to the end of the line and get back aboard - this is quite the ride.
Moppa Elliott, bassist, composer, label owner, educator, proud Pennsylvania native, and chief-cook-and-bottlewasher for Mostly Other People Do the Killing, has now created his first solo album. "Still, Up In The Air" (Hot Club Records) is truly a solo recording. Elliott recorded the seven tracks in St. Stephen's Episcopal Pro-Cathedral in Wilkes-Barre, PA. The different "Sequences" - no titles, just numbers - display Elliott's impressive technique, as he plucks, picks, plays arco (bowed), and col legno (striking the bass with his bow), creates overtones and harmonics.
This music is an acquired taste. There are melodies but many of them have a circular feel. Elliott often creates a fragmented melody line and then continually builds upon and returns to it, often emphasizing the percussive sounds created by pizzicato and col legno, moving quickly back-and-forth from long tones to short sounds sort quick phrases. In actuality, if you have the patience, this is music to be experienced in one sitting as it is tough to differentiate between the "Sequences." There is so much happening in this program yet, for this listener, the tracks all seem to run together. It's not boring but the sounds bore into one's head, blurring reality like a dream, with the power of a poem that takes the reader out of the ordinary.
"Still, Up In The Air" is mood music in the sense that you need to be in the right frame of mind to take this journey into the creative process of bassist Moppa Elliott. In the words of John Lennon, "Turn off your mind, relax, and float down stream." Where will Elliott's music take you?
The Side Door Jazz Club presents guitarist Nir Felder in concert this Friday (February 12) at 8:30 p.m. The Club's website says it's a Trio gig and the guitarist's site says it's a quartet; neither says who's in the band (Don't you just love surprises?) Either way, the music will be quite good. Over the past decade since he moved to New York City, Feder has recorded with such fine artists as Esperanza Spalding, Terri Lyne Carrington, Greg Osby, and Jack DeJohnette as well as performing with Diane Reeves, Bobby McFerrin, Lizz Wright and Matisyahu. His 2014 debut CD, "Golden Age" (Okeh Records), showed myriad influences, featuring the splendid band of Aaron Parks (piano), Matt Penman (bass) and Nate Smith (drums). While Felder is certainly technically adept (yes, he's got serious "chops"), he does not ignore melody.
Pianist Johnny O'Neal has had quite the life - read Owen McNally's column from last year to get the full story - let's just write that he's been on a major upswing for the past 5 years. He's quite the keyboard artist plus he's an accomplished vocalist with a repertoire that stretches back decades, from blues to jazz standards to "pop" songs. O'Neal also has a wicked sense of humor. This Saturday night, he'll be back at The Side Door for 2 sets of sweet music. Since it's Valentine's Day weekend, I expect there will be slew of "relationship" songs.
Joining Mr. O'Neal will be bassist Luke Sellick and drummer Charles Goold. They'll hit the stage at 8:30 p.m. For more information, call 860-434-0886.
Here's the Trio "Live at Smalls" from February 2015:
The Uncertainty Music Series presents bassist Shayna Dulberger solo and the Steve Niemitz Quartet this Saturday February 13 at 8 p.m. in Never Ending Books, 810 State Street in New Haven. Ms. Dulberger is a busy musician, leading her own groups plus appearing regularly in others. She approaches her bass as both a melodic and percussive instrument, using her bow to create "oceans" of sounds but also plucking for melody. To learn more about her work, go to www.shaynadulberger.com.
Joining drummer Niemitz (a recent graduate of Western Connecticut State University) will be Josh Paquette (trumpet), Dan O'Brien (woodwinds), and Grant Beale (guitar).
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Before leaving for Spain in July 2018, Casey took his trio––bassist Matt Dwonzyk and drummer Corey Garcia––to lay down tracks for his second album, "Law of Attraction" (self-released). The sprawling 83+ minute recording includes 16 tracks with several takes of some songs plus five songs that features the piano of pianist Gonzalez. At the time of the recording, the trio had been playing regularly for over four years and you can tell. The bassist and drummer are a solid unit, knowing how to support, prod, and excite Casey. "Best Part (take 1)" opens the festivities; it's a medium-paced ballad led in by the chords of bassist Dwonzyk. The melody and sound of the track reminds this listener of Australian alto saxophonist Bernie McGann and, especially, his 2000 album "Bundeena." "No Church in The Wild (intro)" is next, with Gonzalez on board, and the distinct flavors of the classic John Coltrane Quartet. That leads into the main body of the song, a rousing, fiery, performance by all involved, especially Garcia whose thunderous percussion pulls the performance forward (the digital version fuses the "intro" to the main body placing that in the middle of the program––there's another take that appears as a bonus track for the digital). On each iteration, Casey and Gonzalez create passionate, powerful, solos that sing and soar. 
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