Time to write about music thats been filling our house with good sounds this Spring:
Photo: Alan Nihigian
Drummer, trumpeter, composer, historian, educator, and mentor Ralph Peterson Jr. passed away on March 1 of this year after a long battle with cancer. He arrived on the jazz scene in the late 1980s as a member of the Blue Note "Young Lions" group Out of the Blue but soon was making albums as a leader. He had apprenticed at the side of drummer/mentor Art Blakey and was able to channel the explosive qualities of the older musician to create his own sound. Over the decades, Peterson proved to one of the finest "ballad" players –– when I saw him in person, most audience members were impressed by his ability to drive a band with great power but I loved to hear him play soft as a whisper. Over the past decade, Peterson moved between his own groups as well as leading the Messengers Legacy Band which featured members of Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He also taught up-and-coming musicians at Berklee College.
"Raise Up Off Me" (ONYX) is being billed as Ralph Peterson's final album as a leader. Recorded in December 2020 (less than three months before his passing), the program finds him in the company of the Curtis Brothers –– Zaccai (piano, keyboards) and Luques (bass) –– plus guests Eguie Castrillo (conga, timbale, cymbal, and cowbell on one track) and Jazzmeia Horn (vocals on three tracks). The title track opens the album, a group improv featuring the leader on various percussion instruments plus Zaccai on both acoustic and electric pianos. The music is reminiscent of Herbie Hancock's more exploratory of the late 1960s. "Right to Live" (composition by Peterson) features his fiery percussion pushed to the max by the powerful piano and foundational bass work. It's no surprise that the Curtis Brothers became the basis for "Triangular III" and "IV"; you remember the initial "Triangular" with pianist Geri Allen and bassist Essiet Essiet. Both Ms. Allen and Zaccai Curtis knew how to play Peterson's opfetn-complicated music.
The 12-song CD (13 if you buy the "download") is loaded with delightful music. The trio's take on Bud Powell's "Bouncin' With Bud" is playful with excellent interplay among the trio; note the angular "bounce" of the theme and the conversation between the piano and drums during Zaccai's solo. "Blue Hughes", a piece that the drummer composed for Out of the Blue, adds Mr. Castrillo to the mix. The percussion stew that sizzles up from the rhythm section sounds like an orchestra unto itself, really kicking the piano solo forward.
Photo: Emmanuel Afolabi
Ms. Horn first shows up on Peterson's lovely ballad "Tears I Cannot Hide". Her voice, often at the top of her natural range, is soulful and honest while the trio supports with a musical cushion. Pay attention to the drummer and how he uses space, his subtle cymbal work as well. The musicians dance delightfully beneath Ms. Horn's voice on John Hick's "Naima's Love Song" –– Peterson rocks the rhythm, especially under the smashing piano solo. The drummer also contributes a splendid trumpet solo and accompaniment. The vocalist's third contribution (the "bonus track" for the download) is a rollicking take of Betty Carter's "Please Do Something". The three musicians each solo with the drummer "trading 8's" with the vocalist's splendid scat singing. She drops out and Peterson takes over for a rhythmic treat!
If "Raise Up Off Me" is to be Ralph Peterson Jr's final album, he certainly goes out on a high note (a major bunch of them in fact). If you are listening to hear if the drummer is weak or has slowed down, you won't hear anything like that. Neither does one hear sadness, pity, or anger. Joy is the sound emanating from the speakers. Ralph Peterson Jr dealt with numerous issues during too-short lifetime but his music was his strength, his refuge, his contribution to making the world a better place! What a man, what a man!
Jennifer Wharton, a native of Pittsburg, CA, is called a "low brass specialist'. Best known for her work with Darcy James Argue's Secret Society and many other large ensemble, her bass trombone playing is noted for its power and her fine ensemble work. Ms. Wharton also has worked in the pit bands in Broadway productions of "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical", "Porgy & Bess", "9 to 5", and others. Several years, the trombonist decided to give her instrument top billing and formed Bonegasm, a septet with four trombones – yes, a whole section – and a rhythm section. The 'bone players include Ms. Wharton, her husband John Fedchock, Nate Mayland, and Mark Ferber; aiding and abetting them are Michael Eckroth (piano, Fender Rhodes), Evan Gregor (bass), and Don Peretz (drums). The group's self-titled debut appeared on Sunnyside Records in February 2019. The album's liner notes by Jim McNeely played up the name as well as the originality of an artist creating new music for jazz trombone as well as putting the instrument front and center
While the debut is good fun, album # 2 "Not a Novelty" (Sunnyside) is, in many ways, even stronger. That could be because by the time the septet entered the studios, it was September 2020, right in the midst of the pandemic. No one in the band was working regularly, venues had closed down, the theaters on Broadway and beyond silenced; save for teaching students on ZOOM, there were no gigs. Opening with Eckroth's "BonGasmo", the band (with Samuel Torres irrepressible percussion joining) plays with abandon including soloist Mayland. There are only two other originals by band members in the program. Instead there is an eclectic collection of pieces from composers such as Remy LaBouef, Tori Amos, Chris Cheek, Ayn Inserto, Carmen Staaf, Manuel Valera, and Chris Cornell (the former leader of Soundgarden now deceased).
Photo: John Abbott
The Cornell tune, "The Day I Tried to Live", features a "grunge metal" arrangement by Darcy James Argue and a Tom Waits-influenced vocal by
Kurt Elling. He and Ms. Wharton solo together with the vocalist imitating a 'bone player with a cup mute. Ms. Amos's "Twinkle", arranged by Fedchock, is a lovely ballad; spreading the brass around the sound spectrum and giving them sweet harmonies to play while he solos, the music moves forward gently gaining in intensity. Torres shows up once more for the rollicking take of Valera's "La Otra Mano" even getting a solo after both Ferber and Eckroth shake the rafters. "Blue Salt", by Ayn Inserto, features a rocking bass line (doubled on piano) plus a splendid solo from Ms. Wharton and her husband over several different rhythms.
Mark Ferber's "Blue Salts" is definitely a blues, down and somewhat dirty (especially the swagger from the 'bones). Ms. Wharton takes her solo low down while bassist Gregor solos with the band responding in kind. There's even a Frank Zappa feel to the "march" that closes the piece.
No truer words than "Not a Novelty" as the trombonists take center stage and acquit themselves magnificently. The basic difference between the first and second Bonegasm album is that while the material is just as good it's the arrangements that feel stronger. Jennifer Wharton should be proud of this album and this group –– she gets to work and play with her husband and with her friends. Hopefully, the band will get to play in front of live audiences.
If you enjoy vocalists, it's easy to enjoy the work Sara Gazarek. The Seattle, WA, native has been "on the scene" since the early 2000s releasing is albums as a leader or co-leader since 2005. She really inhabits songs, articulates the lyrics, the emotions are real (and never forced), and records songs from across a wide spectrum from "pop", folk, rock, blues, Broadway, and jazz. Ms. Gazarek possesses a seemingly effortless voice with a wide range – she can sing really high up in that range and always make it sound good.
Album #7 is "Thirsty Ghost." The singer produced the album and it's her first to be self-released. Working with a crackerjack trio – Stu Mindeman (piano, Rhodes), Alex Boneham (bass), and Christian Euman (drums) – the 12-song program is her most emotionally varied. Take "Never Will I Marry", the Frank Loesser song the 1960 musical "Greenwillow"; the Caribbean rhythms, the responsive reeds and brass, her joyous scat singing, and Mindeman's bubbling electric piano make the piece a declaration of independence. And, as break-up songs go, Hoagy Carmichael's "I Get Along Without You Very Well" is one of the sadder ones. Missing the rarely used subtitle, "Except Sometimes", Ms. Gazarek makes us believe those two words without every uttering them. The sympathetic bass and drums (subtle brush work) and Mindeman's soul-tinged piano is excellent, a smart arrangement by the vocalist and pianist.
Photo: Andrew Southam
Then, there's Stevie Wonder's "I Believe When I Fall In Love", arguably one of the songwriter-performer's better tunes. Ms. Gazarek's reading, replete with a horn section and backing vocals, takes its time to get to the chorus – when she does, it's such a quiet yet intense emotional release. Plus, that leads directly into an equally emotional alto sax solo from Josh Johnson. Ms. Gazarek's wordless vocal in the final 30 seconds is breathtaking. She follows with a smashing Geoff Keezer arrangement of Dolly Parton's "Jolene". The rhythm section hits hard and really creates a whirlwind of tension-and-release while the vocalist pleads her hopeless case. One has to be impressed how big the sound of the trio and voice are here without being shrill or over-blown. Note the delightful drumming by Euman (you'll see him at play in the video below).
Photo: Shervin Lainez
Three of the twelve piece are original lyrics by Ms. Gazarek including two with melodies by Larry Goldings (who contributes organ on the tracks) and the other by Brad Mehldau. "Easy Love" is a soft, swinging, tune with excellent piano by Mindeman with Goldings' organ coloring. The organ has a more atmospheric role on "Gaslight District", a tune that has the feel of Steely Dan's "Aja" with an excellent horn arrangement by trombonist Alan Ferber. There's tenderness and vulnerability in the vocal plus a wistful hope for a better day. The album closes with "Distant Storm", the Mehldau melody. Opening with Ms. Gazarek's voice supported by Ferber's horn arrangement. Listen closely for the background voices of Erin Bentage and Kurt Elling – their subtle contributions help lead us to the verse and chorus. Elling takes a verse after a fine Johnson solo, the poetry of the alto lines nicely expanded upon by the vocalist. Ms. Gazarek returns, reminding the listener that although the "storms" that often make our lives so scary, there is hope with each new dawn. She takes out the song with just Mindeman's piano and the reminder to "move on".
"Thirsty Ghost" is a triumph for Sara Gazarek. Her song selection is spot-on, her voice sounds more assured than ever before, and the musicians she partners with play with such commitment and soul. And, it sounds so good! You'll feel better listening after listening to this music, so much so there should be no guilt playing it over and over.
Here's Ms. Parton's tune with the fine Geoff Keezer arrangement:
The Curtis Brothers, pianist Zaccai and bassist Luques, grew up in Hartford, CT, and were the beneficiaries of the school that Jackie and Dollie McLean created, The Artists Collective. They both studied in Boston, MA, Zaccai at the New England Conservatory of Music and Luques at The Berklee College; after graduation, they formed their own band while maintaining an impressive number of sideman gigs. Zaccai has worked with Ralph Peterson, Wallace Roney, and Donald Harrison while Luques has been in-demand since moving to New York City, working with Eddie Palmieri, Etienne Charles, Albert Rivera, and many more. They started their Truth Revolution label in 2009 and now, with the arrival of "Algorithm", have released five albums (including one recorded nine years before they had their own label).
The new label is a live date recorded in February of 2018 at The Side Door Jazz Club in Old Lyme CT. The nine-song program is the result of a Chamber Music America grant that Zacccai won; originally composed for their own band, this recording three of their mentors, drummer Ralph Peterson, trumpeter Brian Lynch, and alto saxophonist Donald Harrison. Thanks to the presence of Mr. Peterson, much of this music is volcanic in nature (having seen the drummer perform in the space, he is surrounded by plastic for the recording; otherwise, his sound would swamp the band). But the drums are not the only focal point. Zaccai is an excellent composer with an ear for intelligent melodies and fine harmonies. He fashioned these songs to tell a story about the Brothers upbringing and the various mentors they encountered. "Chief" is Donald Harrison's vehicle and he owns the space, his rippling phrases and powerful solo over the rollicking rhythm section is a joy to hear. Touring with the "Big Chief's" band was the Brothers first professional gig.
Photo: Ramsey De Give/WSJ
The spotlight turns on Brian Lynch for "The Professor", a finely-etched tune, well-constructed, a blues-soaked ballad that he makes his own with long phrases, breathless runs, snappy notes, at times in dialogue with Peterson while the Brothers hold the piece together. Luques takes a short but fine solo as the music fades to a close. Several tunes pay tribute to the sound and feel of Art Blakey's Jazz Messenger, none moreso than "Undefined." The front line blares out while Zaccai's piano sets the stage. Soon, Lynch takes over, his muscular solo riding the waves of sound from the drums. Harrison roars into his solo and throughout, he too in dialogue with the drums. The thunder recedes for the beginning of the piano solo – the piano and drums engage in cat-and-mouse game before Zaccai dances forward, his brother's bass lines dancing beneath him. You will scream alongside Side Door owner Ken Kitchings during the drum solo.
The album closes with "Sensei" and one its to hear Ralph Peterson in the lead. Zaccai and Luques supply the rhythmical melody line and the drummer tell the story. The shortest track on the disk (4:01), one still is impressed by the power and the determination that Peterson brings to the song (as well as the entire program).
"Algorithm", with its Latin sensibilities and its impressive execution, is worth hearing for so many different reasons including the story lines, the wonderful musicianship, and to hear how the roles of the rhythm section and the front line can be blurred to great effect. Yes, the themes are well-drawn, the solos fiery yet often melodic, and the rhythms seductive and thunderous – for those of us in central Connecticut, The Curtis Brothers have grown up before our very ears, matured into excellent and thoughtful musicians. This album will rock your speakers (and your world) the way the performances rocked the audience at The Side Door.
Jacques Kuba Séguin is a trumpeter and composer based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is one of the more celebrated trumpeters in Canada, winning several awards for the work he has done with two of his groups, including his Litania Projekt quartet collaboration with the Quatuor Bozzini, the Montreal-based string quartet. Besides creating his own label, Odd Sound, for his various ensembles, he's traveled to Germany, Poland, and China. One of his bands, Odd Lot, has more of an electric edge with keyboards, synths, and pedals.
His latest album, "Migrations", has its roots in the composer's interviews with various cultural groups in Quebec Province. Séguin, who is of Polish origins, created a musical program that addresses the hopes, dreams, fears, and joys of the people he talked with. Playing the seven-song program is an ensemble that features highly acclaimed saxophonist Yannick Rieu, equally as acclaimed pianist Jean-Michel Pilc, vibraphonist Oliver Salazar, bassist Adrian Vedady, and drummer Kevin Warren. One may be surprised on much this music swings. For example. "L'érivain" would not sound out of place on a mid-1960's Miles Davis album or coming from Dave Douglas.
The album opens with "Hymn" which opens with a solemn melody played by the trumpet with the tenor sax in counterpoint. The band enters with a gospel lilt before the bass and drums drop into a loping rhythm underneath the lilting yet bluesy trumpet. Check out the delightful piano solo followed by a fine tenor turn. "I Remember Marie in April", a title which sounds as if should be for a lovely ballad, is quite a active post-bop tune that would not sound out of place on Wynton Marsalis's "Black Codes From The Underground." The piece has a contagious rhythm and features exciting solos from Séguin and Pilc (dig his "Giant Steps" quote), a hopping vibes solo, and excellent counterpoint from bassist Vedady.
The powerful ballad, "Preimiére Neige (You're Not Alone)", features the leader's lyrical trumpet playing, filled with emotion, long notes, and, at times, sadness. The album closer, "Mosaïques", has a Middle-Eastern feel in its rhythm and sinewy melody line. The bassist has a long solo, then a short call-and-response with the entire group before stepping out once more. The group takes the song out with the melody. What makes this program so good is how the blend of solos and group playing are on an equal level, one not more important than the other.
"Migrations" is my introduction to the music and musicianship of Jacques Kuba Séguin. He's organized an excellent band, Jean-Michel Pilc has rarely sounded so joyous, and the rhythm section truly supports and pushes the rest of the band. Check it out.
Last July, I had the opportunity to see and her the sextet New Faces, an ensemble that features saxophonist Roxy Coss, trumpeter Josh Lawrence, vibraphonist Behn Gillece, pianist Theo Hill, bassist Peter Brendler, and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza (although there was a sub on drums). They were touring to support the self-titled debut album on Posi-Tone Records and the sextet filled The Side Door Jazz Club with its joyful mix of hard-bop and ballads. All of the members have issued albums on the label as leaders and Posi-Tone co-owner Marc Free organized the recording session and the tour to showcase their talents in venues around the United States. Everyone played well but I was particularly knocked out by the work of Behn Gillece. I have heard and reviewed his work with saxophonist Ken Fowser; I liked the music but was not overly impressed with the vibraphonist until seeing him in a live setting. Each solo was a compact yet expansive treat with an excellent blend of melody and percussion that intelligent players bring to the instrument.
My positive impression carries over to his new album. "Parallel Universe" is his fourth release for the label and features an impressive lineup. Tenor saxophonist Stacy Dillard, trumpeter Bruce Harris, pianist Art Hirahara, bassist David Wong, and drummer Rudy Royston (all leaders on their own except for Wong whose sideman credits are quite stellar) sound as if they are having a ball in the studio making their way through 11 Gillece originals. "Break The Ice" opens the program in a "smoking" vein, with a feel in the rhythm section plus piano as if the song would fit right in on a McCoy Tyner album. Royston plays with the abandon one has come to expect from him without overshadowing the soloists. Hirahara's accompaniment is top-notch (throughout the whole album) and Wong really gets the bottom moving.
Beside the great energy the sextet exudes, Gillette's melodies do a fine job of setting the table for the soloists. The title track's opening section highlights Royston's fills during the melody and then jumps right into a muscular tenor sax solo. At the start of his solo, Harris brings the intensity level down but just for a moment before diving into a playful improvisation. Royston creates a funky feel at the onset of "Smoke Screen", a quartet track that finds Hirahara on Rhodes electric piano. Wong locks into the groove giving the song a dancing foundation. Another quartet track, "Evening Glow", opens slowly before the pianist introduces the handsome melody line. Listen to the interactions throughout, the responses of the piano to the vibes, Wong's melodic bass, Royston's splendid cymbal work - it's easy to get lost in this song. Hirahara returns to Rhodes on the final quartet track "Candle in The Dark", the lovely ballad that closes the album.
Photo: Mark Robbins
If you're like me, it's the faster tracks that will initially catch your attention. "Alice's Journey" is a high-powered barn-burner with both the leader and Dillard firing on all cylinders over the manic pace set by the rhythm section. If anything, "Eviscerate" is even a bit faster with the saxophonist and leader delivering splendid solos. Dillard also plays with abandon on "Shadow of the Flame", pushed forward by the active piano, "running" bass line, and the powerful drums. Harris delivers a hardy solo before Gillece jumps in with a fiery statement.
"Parallel Universe" is the quintessential Posi-Tone release with great musicians having a ball playing tunes that allows enough time to create fine solos without going on and on. Behn Gillece is a smart leader, never hogging the spotlight but being happy as a member of this powerhouse ensemble. Time to go back and listen closely to his previous releases to figure out what I missed. In the meantime, check out this delight-filled music.
For more information, go to www.behngillecejazz.com.
Here's the opening track:
Trumpeter and composer Josh Lawrence also shone brightly during The Side Door gig. He plays with such assurance and a sparkling wit, even when his line explodes out of the horn, Lawrence keeps his cool. "Triptych", his third album as a leader (and third for Posi-Tone Records) shows his continuing maturation process, especially as a composer. Comprised of three suites plus one song from the Earth, Wind, & Fire canon, Lawrence wrote and arranged the music for a splendid quintet including Hartford, CT, natives Zaccai (piano) and Luques (bass) Curtis, drummer Anwar Marshall, alto saxophonist Caleb Curtis (no relation, on five tracks) and organist Brian Charette (on the EW&F tune).
Photo: Ola Baldych
The first suite of songs, "Happiest Together", takes its name from the opening track "We're Happiest Together." The bright, mid-tempo, waltz has the feel of a walk through a green park on a late Spring day. Both Lawrence and Zaccai Curtis base their solos on the melody while Luques Curtis plays excellent counterpoint and Marshall sets a sprightly tempo. "Sugar Hill Stroll" continues the "walking together" theme opening with trumpet and bass setting up the melody and the pace. There's such a bright feel to the tune and to Lawrence's jaunty solo. "Sunset in Santa Barbara" is the final track in this suite and is a subtle, Latin-influenced, ballad with excellent muted trumpet from the leader and a lovely pianist solo as well.
Suite #2 is titled "Lost Works" and is an original piece supported by a grant from Chamber Music America funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Nowhere on the album does it give the listener the history of the composition but, in the promotional material (as well as on the trumpeter's website), one learns the suite is "a eulogy for the first three paintings of Vasily Kandinsky's (1866-1944) "Composition" series which were labeled "Degenerate Art" by the German Nazi Party, confiscated...and ultimately destroyed during World War II." Surprisingly, the first section of the "...Works" (labeled "Composition #1") is a high-powered romp, fueled by Marshall's galloping drums and strong solos from pianist, alto saxophonist, and trumpeter. "....#2" is slower, darker, its rhythm and tone introduced by the piano. When the trumpet and alto sax play the melody, there is a sad component, almost a religious feel as well as a hint of a 1950s-60s ballad by Miles Davis. After a fine bass solo, Lawrence and Caleb Curtis weave their instrumental voices around each other before pianist Curtis plays a splendid solo. Saxophonist Curtis creates a lovely solo that starts up in the higher register of his instrument and serves as a "light" in the darkness of the mood. "...#3" builds off the active left hand of pianist Curtis and his brother's foundational bass lines. More uptempo the the previous track, it speaks to the power of art, whether visual or instrumental, to bring one hope in troubled times.
"Earth Wind Fire", the final suite, is dedicated to the band that intrigued the trumpeter was a youngster. The mysterious rhythms of the bass and piano, the keening alto sax, the short, low, lines of the trumpet, and Marshall's dancing drum lead "Earth" in until the piece falls into a sinuous rhythm. You can hear everybody's voice as they dance around but it's the drummer who commands one's attention with his playful work. There are moments where the music takes on an African feel. "Wind" is a soulful ballad with Lawrence's mid-range animated trumpet substituting for Philip Bailey's falsetto. While there are no lyrics, both the piano and especially the trumpet have a vocal quality in their solos. The bass and drums set up such a hypnotic beat and feel, it's easy to get lost in these sounds. "Fire" lives up to its name, an incendiary piece of music built upon Zaccai Curtis's powerful McCoy Tyner chords and the polyrhythms from the drums. Pay attention to the bass lines as Luques Curtis locks in with Marshall and gives the music even more of an explosive feel. And the solos from the front line are all worthy of attention.
"Triptych" closes with "That's The Way fo the World", the lovely ballad from the pens of Charles Stepney, EW&F bassist Verdine White, and the band's founder and leader Maurice White. Brian Charette's organ work gives the piece an extra voice that is soulful and sweet plus opens up the path for Zaccai Curtis to create his own soulful sound. Zan added attraction is the overdubbed trumpet choir that serves as the "horn section" for the track. The piece serves as a tribute to the band and as a reminder that popular music has its roots in jazz, blues, rhythm 'n' blues, and in the communities around the United States that supported musicians when the "establishment" looked down their noses at "popular" music.
As I wrote earlier, Josh Lawrence continues to grow as a musician and especially as a composer. Go see this band live as their music, interactions, and the excellent material they play will warm you as much as it will excite you!
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