2 Sem 2013 - Part Fourteen

Stefano Bollani & Hamilton de Holanda

O Que Será



By Thom Jurek
Recorded live just a year before its release, O Que Será pairs Italian postmodernist jazz pianist Stefano Bollani with one of Brazil's great musical innovators, Hamilton De Holanda playing bandolim (a ten-string mandolin). The pair met on-stage in 2009 and played just two numbers, but it was enough; they realized what was possible. They played a full show in 2011, and in August of 2012 they appeared together at the Jazz Middleheim Festival and made this recording. Despite the stark instrumentation, this program is lively and full of risky moves. Of the ten pieces here, seven are from the Brazilian canon. Each participant contributed one composition and there is a haunted, heartbreaking read of Astor Piazzolla's "Oblivion." The classically trained De Holanda is well known in his own country, having recorded several albums both solo and orchestral. He has also collaborated with everyone from Mike Marshall and Béla Fleck to Richard Galliano and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Bollani has, in recent years, become well known as a stylist, recording material by everyone from Prokofiev and Scott Joplin to the Beach Boys and Thelonious Monk. He has employed Brazilian music on numerous recordings, among them Orvieto with Chick Corea and on his own fine Stone in the Water. O Que Será commences with a limpid, graceful reading of Edú Lobo's "Beatriz." The duo demonstrate their intimate communication skills, moving through the melody with elegance and restraint yet chock-full of emotion. Next up is Bollani's fiery yet dryly humorous "Il Barbone Di Siviglia," which employs a brisk tempo that quotes the opera, but via the pulse of baião and his high-register arpeggios, the improvisational quotient is high. The effect is knotty and slightly dissonant, yet deeply intuitive. This contrasts beautifully with De Holanda's "Caprichos de Espanha," which weds flamenco, bolero, Middle Eastern modal music, choro, and Western classical musics in a dazzling, labyrinthine journey. The tender reading of Jobim's "Luiza" engages bossa but shifts the focus toward jazz in order to reveal another musical possibility for this simple song. "Canto de Ossanha" is a burner that weds choro, samba, and syncopated modernist jazz in a fiery display of near symbiotic interaction with electrifying solos. O Que Será is a one of a kind dialogue between two musicians who understand that music is an adventure; they submit themselves to it fully with a wealth of ideas and bring out the heat, intimacy, and humor in these tunes. 

Tim Lapthorn

Seventh Sense



By John Fordham at TheGuardian
Tim Lapthorn is a young UK pianist who is very much absorbed in standards, and the 40-year-old piano trio legacy of the late Bill Evans. How much he favours the Evans trio's conversational approach is firmly declared in the opening account of Thelonious Monk's clangy Bright Mississippi, which becomes a conversation between all three members ( Arnie Somogyi is the bassist, Stephen Keogh the drummer ) almost as soon as the theme appears. Lapthorn has the long-line vision of the best improvisers, which he often sustains within pieces that have contrastingly fragmented rhythmic identities, and he uses references to familiar jazz-piano licks sparingly. Three out of the nine tracks are his own, with the quiet title track having a little of Brad Mehldau's inclination to develop slowly-blooming melodic possibilities from a simple vamp-like start. The Bark and the Bite merges a contemporary rhythmic feel, a classic-bop melody and a long, uptempo improvisation against Keogh's cymbal beat and Somogyi's emphatic walk. Lapthorn's touch, flow and fresh ideas suggest a lot of music to come, and in all probability it won't always be as close to the tradition as this is.
Tracks:
1. BRIGHT MISSISSIPPI (MONK) 6:45
2. SEVENTH SENSE (LAPTHORN) 9:09
3. COME RAIN OR COME SHINE (ARLEN / MERCER) 7:40
4. THE BARK AND THE BITE (LAPTHORN) 4:07
5. SKYLARK (CARMICHAEL / MERCER) 7:32
6. LAURIE (EVANS) 7:11
7. WALKING WOUNDED (LAPTHORN) 5:51
8. IF I SHOULD LOSE YOU (RAINGER / ROBIN) 7:36
9. I’M IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (MC HUGH / FIELDS) 4:17

Fred Hersch & Julian Lage

Free Flying



By Victor L. Schermer 

This album is the latest of several recordings in which pianist Fred Hersch solos or joins forces with some highly intelligent, advanced musicians to provide jazz renditions with a sophisticated, chamber music quality. Others are Hersch's Alone at the Vanguard (Palmetto, 2011); Leaves of Grass (Palmetto, 2005)—an ensemble composition based on Walt Whitman's poems—and two additional solo albums: Fred Hersch plays Jobim (Sunnyside, 2009) and In Amsterdam: Live at the Bimhuis (Palmetto, 2006). He also collaborated with trumpeter Ralph Alessi on Only Many (Cam Jazz, 2013). On Free Flying, Hersch collaborates with guitarist Julian Lage , who, at 25, has already achieved a performance level which makes a good match for Hersch and challenges him in some respects. Lage was hailed as a guitar prodigy when, at age eight, he was playing with Carlos Santana . He was early attracted to jazz, and by the time he was 13, he had performed with Gary Burton and Herbie Hancock. Since then, he has developed into a top-flight guitarist both as a leader and sideman, and has released his own albums, including Sounding Point (Emarcy, 2009) and Gladwell (Emarcy, 2011) The fate of a musical prodigy depends on whether he can transcend the "genius" stereotype and become a working musician, evolving his own musical idiom; Mozart accomplished this and became a composer for the ages.
Closer to home, guitarist Pat Martino —a slow developer compared to Lage—was playing with top groups in his teens, and went on to become an icon because of his innovative and instantly identifiable approach and sound. Lage has reached the point of mature competence and is now striving to evolve into a true guitar master. This album shows that he has the potential to join that venerated pantheon, along with the likes of Martino. Doing so will depend on live and studio encounters that give him an opportunity to fully develop his own influential idiom. Here, he has already demonstrated his superb craftsmanship and ability to step up and work closely with a master like Hersch; his job is to blend and, in doing so he succeeds supremely well. Only the future will determine whether or not he adds a unique stamp to his guitar playing.
The key element of this outstanding album is the seamless interplay of piano and guitar. Historically, and instrumentally speaking, if you combine a piano and guitar, you get a harpsichord, a keyboard that plucks the strings rather than hammering them. This was the primary keyboard instrument of the Renaissance and Baroque eras, soon to be supplanted, in Bach's time, by the pianoforte—the modern piano. Moreover, Bach owned and wrote several compositions for lauten work, a harpsichord with the softer sound of a lute, a precursor of the guitar.
The historical connection between lute, harpsichord and guitar hovers around this duet collaboration between Hersch and Lage. Moreover, as an important basis of jazz counterpoint, highlighted in the bebop era, it derives from Bach as well. Thus, the musical sensibility of this recording is not unlike Bach's tightly textured yet exploratory "Goldberg Variations," except that Hersch and Lage carve out jazz motifs and modern harmonics. The delight of the music comes from its contrapuntal weaving of themes, and variations so well integrated that, except for the different sonorities, they seem to emanate from one player and instrument. Like Bach and the harpsichord, Hersch and Lage vary dynamics and intensity sparingly. The listening pleasure, of which there is plenty here, comes from the mutual brilliance of execution and the architecture and development of musical ideas. This is co-improvisation taken to the highest level.
The compositions on this album are largely Hersch originals previously recorded in other contexts by the pianist. The two exceptions are "Beatrice" by Sam Rivers and "Monk's Dream," from Thelonious Monk
. The setting is the Kitano jazz club in New York—a small, intimate space with a Steinway piano that has been fingered by some of today's best contemporary jazz pianists, among them Don Friedman , Bill Mays, Roberta Piket and Jim Ridl. The result is studio quality sound with a live ambiance and a touch of emerging jazz history.
The initial track is Hersch's "Song without Words #4: Duet," which evokes a madrigal-like quality, as if it could have been performed on period instruments from the Renaissance. The development has a modal feel, as the lilting melody soon lends itself nicely to a rumba-like dance development. (Hersch often mimes the mix of Latin and stride piano heard in the radio days of the 1920s and '30s.) Lage picks up on Hersch's phrasing, so that piano and guitar interact seamlessly. A natural follow-up is "Down Home," which relaxes into syncopated vaudeville with a ragtime twist. The emphasis on rhythmic patterns characterizes the whole set.
The mood changes significantly with "Heartland," a reflective ballad whose melody is introduced by Lage, providing a contrast to the driving quality of most of the tracks. Hersch gives a sampling of romantic lounge piano playing at its best, with an open, lyrical quality that owes something to the ethereal beauty achieved by the great Bill Evans.
The title tune,"Free Flying" first appeared on Fred Hersch Pocket Orchestra Live at the Jazz Standard (Sunnyside, 2009). The percussive, four-bar theme and variations clearly illustrate the Bach influence, as does the repetitive drone-like bass and alternation of unison and counterpoint between the two instruments. Hersch and Lage work so tightly together that sometimes the only way to tell who's playing is by the sound of the instruments.
"Beatrice" a post-bop song by the late great saxophonist Sam Rivers, is one of the most swingable ballads in all of jazz. Here, Hersch and Lage take it at a lively pace, alternating off-beat syncopation with straight-ahead rhythms, releasing themselves from the tight contractions of the other tracks. The rhythm work is more playful, yet a certain tension and holding back of the beat pervade the piece.
As the album proceeds, Hersch gives Lage more room for his own improvisations, and the guitarist is clearly up to the challenge. "Song Without Words #3: Tango" is vaguely reminiscent of "Midnight Sun," with its descending lament motif. It features Lage, and is a perfect foil for him. He develops a blend of tango and blues in single lines resembling some of Pat Martino's best ballad playing, represented for example in the latter's memorable performance of "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life."
"Stealthiness" is dedicated to guitarist Jim Hall, possibly with some reference to the ingenuity of his playing, and the duo engages in rough-hewn Monk-ish rhythmic shifts and quizzical phrases. In this track, each player takes solos with the other comping, in contrast to the contrapuntal playing featured elsewhere. Eventually, Hersch leads up to an energetic coda, a quiet release, and a punctuated end. In turn, "Gravity's Pull" continues with the focus on Lage, showing his melodic style. After a quiet beginning, there is a gradual "pull" that develops into some brilliant Bach-inspired counterpoint.
The set ends with "Monk's Dream," with the duo using the Monk tune as a way to play their own version of Monk's punctuations; arrhythmias, and playful use of the upper register. They outdo Monk in eccentricity.
To sum up, Hersch and Lage mesh superbly and have put together a coherent and listenable set of sophisticated improvisations which fuse baroque counterpoint, punctuated rhythms, and diverse jazz motifs in a disciplined yet exciting way. Simply by virtue of the close coordination of piano and guitar and tightness of performance, the album points up the continuity of music from Bach to bop to modernity, and in this respect represents something of a measuring rod for the development of jazz forms.
Track Listing: 

Song without Words #4: Duet; Down Home; Heartland; Free Flying; Beatrice; Song Without Words #3: Tango; Stealthiness; Gravity’s Pull; Monk’s Dream.
Personnel: 

Fred Hersch: piano; Julian Lage: guitar.


Tomasz Stanko New York Quartet

Wislawa



By John Kelman 

Since returning to the ECM fold in 1994 to record Matka Joanna(1995), Tomasz Stańko has virtually rebooted a career that demonstrated significant promise back in the 1970s, when he released Balladyna (1976) for the label, and worked with others including Finnish drummer Edward Vesala and American bassistGary Peacock. The Polish trumpeter was far from dormant in the period between 1981 and 1994, releasing a slew of recordings in Poland, but none—with the exception Bluish (Power Bros, 1992) and Bosonossa (Gowi, 1993)—came close to his work for the German label. That those last two recordings were made with stalwart ECM artists—Bluish, with bassist Arild Andersen and drummer Jon Christensen, and Bosonossa with the same group that would go on to record bothMatka Joanna and Leosia (ECM, 1997) (pianist Bobo Stenson, bassist Anders Jormin and drummer Tony Oxley)—may well have something to do with rekindling ECM headManfred Eicher's interest in Stańko.
Whatever the reason, the trumpeter's career has been refreshed and renewed over the past two decades, even as he's fronted a variety of projects ranging from his tribute to fellow Pole, pianist/composer Krzysztof Komeda (1997's Litania) to grooming a young Polish trio that, beginning with 2000's darkly melancholic Soul of Things, would ultimately continue as a standalone entity on ECM (Marcin Wasilewski Trio, last heard on 2011's Faithful), even as the trumpeter formed a new group for Dark Eyes (2010), which brought together a stunning Danish/Finnish collaboration whose 2009 performance at Norway's Molde Jazz Festival was but a warm-up for the quintet's incendiary closing show at the TD Ottawa International Jazz Festival a year later.
Now splitting his time between New York City and Warsaw, Stańko may well have put together the best group of his career with his New York Quartet and its debut recording, Wislawa. Over the past decade, bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Gerald Cleaver have shaped growing presences on the label, Morgan for his collaborations with guitarist John Abercrombie and pianist Masabumi Kikuchi, and Cleaver for his work with reed multi-instrumentalistRoscoe Mitchell, and bassist Miroslav Vitous and Michael Formanek.
Pianist David Virelles is the wildcard here, just as he is on saxophonist Chris Potter's outstanding leader debut for the label, The Sirens (2013). With Continuum (Pi, 2012), the Cuban expat was already breaking free of the shackles that confined his early work with Canadians including bassist Roberto Occhipinti and saxophonist/flautist Jane Bunnett. Not that he's deserted his Latin/Afro-Cuban roots, which Virelles combines with classical studies and a penchant for more idiosyncratic jazz pianists like Andrew Hill and Thelonious Monk, but with The Sirens and, quite possibly even more so here on Wislawa, Virelles is now able to more freely explore all points in this unique constellation and, despite still being on the shy side of thirty, has quickly proven himself worthy of mention in the same breath as Jason Moran, Craig Taborn andBrad Mehldau, three other American-based pianists who've caught Eicher's ear in a big way in recent times.
What makes Wislawa stand out amongst Stańko's consistently impressive ECM discography is that the trumpeter seems to have found a group that, from the get-go, is capable of the broader purview his recordings have always shown, but each in more specific, individualistic ways. Here, Stańko's quartet is capable of moving from effortless demonstrations of purer freedom ("Faces"), fiery swing ("Asssassins") and indigo balladry ("Metafizyka") to rubato tone poems ("Song for H"), episodic raptures ("Tutaj—Here") and pensive melancholy ("A Shaggy Vandal"). Two versions of the title track move from unfettered elegance ("Wislawa") to incendiary displays of power that are virtuosic without ever resorting to self-congratulatory pyrotechnics ("Wislawa, var."). The rewards of this quartet are plenty good enough without relying on the kind of back-patting gymnastics that all-too-often unnecessarily define whether or not a group is succeeding.
Instead, while every member of this group clearly shines individually and collectively—has there been a more imaginative bass/drums pairing, in recent years, than Morgan/Cleaver, who effortlessly groove when necessary, but with ears ever-open to respond to or push against what their partners are up to?—and there are impressive solos aplenty, it's always in service of Stańko's insidiously recognizable writing. Stańko's tone, with its characteristic grit, speaks of a lifetime of experiences good and bad; and his ability to levy visceral moments almost instantly contrasting with passages of revealing vulnerability remain unparalleled to this day.
Every one of Stańko's groups since Matka Joanna has been exceptional—each with its own definitive strengths—but none has afforded the trumpeter the breadth of freedom heard over the course of Wislawa's two discs, twelve songs and one hundred minutes. Stańko's quartet with Wasilewski slowly grew into freer playing over the course of seven years but never lost its innate lyricism; despite the occasional moment of departure, his Dark Eyes quintet was very much about time; and his Leosia quartet, even with players as capable of motivic melody as Stenson and Jormin, couldn't help but interpret those qualities in the context of Oxley's more liberated approach to time.
With Wislawa, Stańko has it all, with a group whose possibilities already seem limitless. With an unmistakable allegiance to the tradition, even as it twists, turns and occasionally collapses its supporting structures and introduces incidental contextual ideas from beyond, Stańko's New York Quartet feels like the group he's been searching for all along.
Track Listing: 

CD1: Wislawa; Assassins; Metafizyka; Dernier Cri; Mikrokosmos; Song for H. 

CD2: Oni; April Story; Tutaj - Here; Faces; A Shaggy Vandal; Wislawa, var.
Personnel: 

Tomasz Stańko: trumpet; David Virelles: piano; Thomas Morgan: double bass; Gerald Cleaver: drums.

Manu Katché



By John Kelman

Since joining ECM for Neighbourhood (2005), Manu Katché has carved out a very specific niche for himself at a label whose purview continues to broaden—with this French-Ivorian drummer, perhaps surprisingly so. Contemporary? Yes, Katché has fashioned a nearly four-decade career as a superb groove-meister, whether in the rock world with artists Sting or Peter Gabriel, or with more decidedly jazz-centric artists like saxophonist Jan Garbarek, on Dresden (ECM, 2009), or keyboardist Herbie Hancock, on his (admittedly more pop-oriented) The Imagine Project (Herbie Hancock Music, 2010). But with his now four ECM recordings defined by accessible grooves and singable melodies, they're still absolutely players' recordings, and certainly nowhere near "smooth jazz" sphere to which some folks attribute them.
Manu Katché follows Third Round (2010), but returns to the slightly longer song lengths of Playground (2007), allowing his quartet, which brings back Third Round's Tore Brunborg, more maneuvering room. The saxophonist first appeared on the international stage with ECM and Masqualero, the now-legendary Norwegian quintet, led by bassist Arild Andersen and drummerJon Christensen, that also included a young Nils Petter Molvaer, here making his recording debut with Katché. The trumpeter has garnered significant attention, beginning with the paradigm shift of his electro-centric, pan-cultural 1997 ECM debut, Khmer, through to the present, his current trio continuing to bust down borders of orthodoxy, style and culture on Baboon Moon (Sula, 2011).
Manu Katché represents, then, a reunion of sorts for Molvær and the equally busy Brunborg—whose star has been on its own ascendancy for recent ECM work with pianists Ketil Bjornstad (2010's Remembrance) and Tord Gustavsen (2012's The Well). Katché rounds out his bass-less quartet with British pianist/organist Jimmy Watson, for a program that ranges from the post-bop swing of "Short Ride" and soulful, tom-driven vamp of "Bliss" to the modal funk of "Beats & Bounce," and "Loving You," a ballad at its core but possessing, with Watson's intervallic-leaping Hammond, considerably more forward motion.
Molvær expands Katché's soundstage, for the first time, with his technology-driven approach; harmonized, with copious reverb and other effects, the trumpeter's solo on the propulsive "Walking By Your Side" is a sonic tour de force, though he adopts a more burnished, acoustic tone in the front line melodies with Brunborg on tracks like "Short Ride" and "Loose," but with an immediately recognizable embouchure.
As ever, Brunborg solos with effortless aplomb, weaving melodic yet change-aware lines through Katché's writing, while Watson demonstrates similarly unfettered imagination on piano, whether it's on the soft ballad, "Loving You" or "Beats & Bounce," where he channels his inner Herbie Hancock.
Katché rarely solos, though when he does near the end of "Short Ride," it's quickly clear that he's got plenty of jazz chops to spare. Katché made the right decision to leave more space on Manu Katché, because it would be an absolute mistake to constrain a quartet this good to just three or four minutes. Still, not a note is wasted with what may be his best group yet. Manu Katché may be ECM's most vital, booty-shaking record ever—and live, this group must be positively nuclear.
Track Listing: 

Running After Years; Bliss; Loving You; Walking By Your Side; Imprint; Short Ride; Beats & Bounce; Slowing the Tides; Loose; Dusk on Carnon.
Personnel: 

Jim Watson: piano (, Hammond B3 organ; Nils Petter Molvær: trumpet, loops; Tore Brunborg: tenor and soprano saxophones; Manu Katché: drums, piano solo (10).

2 Sem 2013 - Part Thirteen

The Mike LeDonne Trio

Speak : Live at Cory Weeds' Cellar Jazz Club



By Pierre Giroux at audaud.com
In the liner notes to this Mike Ledonne Trio Cellar Live release entitled Speak, highly regarded pianist Bill Charlap offers the following assessment of the performer: “Mike Ledonne is one of my favorite pianists. An artist of great integrity and depth, he’s incapable of playing a dishonest note”. High praise indeed, but a listen to this album confirms this appraisal.
The first five tracks of this recording are all tied together as part of “Suite Mary” a story told in music and dedicated to Ledonne’s daughter Mary, who has a very rare disability called Prader Willi syndrome. All of Ledonne’s musical sensibilities are on display in the various sections where he brings each one to life. Demonstrating showy form, assured attack, and interesting turn of expression, Ledonne delivers a scintillating palette of music.
Pianist/composer James Williams wrote “What Do You Say Dr. J” for basketball legend Julius Irving and it is given a groovy downhome reading by the trio with drummer Farnsworth delivering a confident rhythmic signature and bassist Webber in full grasp of his instrument. “I Loves You, Porgy” opens with Ledonne stating the theme in soft Latin frame then picking up the pace to 4/4 time on the bridge. All in all an unusual rendition of the composition. A breakneck speed rendition of Ledonne’s composition “Blues For McCoy” which is dedicated to McCoy Tyner shows the pianist’s capability of owning the keyboard with an especially boisterous drum solo from Farnsworth. The set closes with Cedar Walton’s composition “Bleeker Street Theme”. Walton died on August 19, 2013 and was acknowledged as one of jazz’s most esteemed composers with a book of compositions that covered a panoply of styles. Ledonne’s take on the tune runs the gamut of Waltonian touches that give each piece its identity. Throughout this album, Ledonne demonstrates his profuse technique coupled with storytelling insight.
TrackList: 

Suite Mary Part 1: Speak; Suite Mary Part 11: Listen; Suite Mary Suite 111: Play; Suite Mary Part IV: I Will Always Love You; Suite Mary Part V: Little M; What You Say Dr.J; I Loves You, Porgy; Blues For McCoy; Bleeker Street Theme
Mike Ledonne – piano; John Webber – upright bass; Joe Farnsworth – drums

Eri Yamamoto Trio

Firefly


By Britt Robson  at JazzTimes
On the surface, Japanese pianist Eri Yamamoto may be the most conventional artist on the intrepid AUM Fidelity label. Yet there are virtues in Yamamoto’s music that are rarely heard elsewhere. One is the depth of her rapport with a rhythm section that has gigged with her regularly for over 13 years, making whole a steady stream of new compositions from her prolific muse. Another is Yamamoto’s ability to evoke ephemeral feelings and concepts with such precise intonation. On this new album’s opener, “Memory Dance,” she commemorates deceased friends with lyrical riffs of increasing intensity, altering their emphasis and tempo ever so slightly without milking the resonance—and trusting bassist David Ambrose and drummer Ikuo Takeuchi will provide the shading while honoring her subtlety.
That longstanding but still delicate balance is altered a bit on Firefly, however. It is the Yamamoto Trio’s first live recording, a setting that almost inevitably generates fervor, and Ambrose and Takeuchi are more prominent and forceful in the mix on these eight new originals. It enhances the caliber of their solos and exchanges with Yamamoto on the evocative title track and the sweet gambol of “Playground.” But it’s preferable when Yamamoto is more obviously first among equals, because she is best equipped to add gravitas and emotional heft to the lyricism of her songs. (Or maybe I just cherish the trio’s studio status quo.)
Firefly closes with “Real Story,” probably the most expressive blues Yamamoto has written in years, although it remains a slinky, midtempo affair. Here is the vehicle for more loose-limbed phrases, but Yamamoto, like her mentor, Tommy Flanagan, sounds august even when she’s being impish, and even as the emotions are so effectively seeping through.


Gregory Porter

Liquid Spirit

By Bruce Lindsay

Gregory Porter has a lot to live up to. Widespread critical acclaim, Grammy nominations and reviewers suggesting that he's the next big jazz star, the man to bring jazz back to mainstream popularity, all lay a big artistic burden on his (admittedly quite broad) shoulders. Liquid Spirit is his third album and it heralds a move to a major label, Blue Note. Maybe that just raises expectations even higher. No matter—Porter meets, and even exceeds, such expectations.
Porter's voice is a joy to hear: warm, engaging, capable of conveying emotion with subtlety. He's technically impressive, but he never uses technique just to impress. He's a fine songwriter as well, combining beautiful melodies with lyrics that tell stories and express feelings that seem to come straight from the singer's heart.
For Liquid Spirit Porter has retained a quintet of musicians from his second album, Be Good (Motéma, 2012). The saxophones of Yosuke Sato

Yosuke Sato

and Tivon Pennicott come together to excellent effect on the hard bop-come-gospel flavored title track, the soulful "Movin'" and the cheerful "Wind Song" but the album's finest moments appear when the instrumental accompaniment is pared down to just Chip Crawford's piano, Aaron James' bass and Emanuel Harrold's drums.
The sad but beautiful "Water Under Bridges" keeps things really simple: just Porter's voice and Crawford's piano. The result is a three and a half minute triumph: bluesy, heartfelt and heartbreaking. "Hey Laura" and "Brown Grass" run it a close second, both songs enlivened by Harrold's sympathetic drumming. "Wind Song" is more upbeat, a celebration. Soul classic "The 'In' Crowd" swings, Harrold and James laying down the groove, Crawford crafting a strong solo and Porter making it clear that he's in with the "In" crowd—not boasting, just telling it like it is.
There's just one small cautionary note. "When Love Was King" and Sammy Cahn and Jules Styne's "I Fall In Love Too Easily," the album's closing tracks, clock in at almost seven and eight minutes respectively, double the length of most of the songs. Despite Porter's superb vocals, the songs tend to meander and lose focus: a rather downbeat follow on from the gorgeous "Movin.'"
Intriguingly, while Porter's debut album, Water (Motéma, 2010) gained a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album his nomination for "Real Good Hands" from Be Good (Motéma, 2012) was in the Best Traditional R&B Performance category. There are performances on Liquid Spirit that could readily be considered for jazz, R&B, soul or gospel awards. Porter makes the transition between genres with apparently effortless ease—he's a singer and a songwriter at the top of his game and Liquid Spirit is an inspiration.Track Listing:
No Love Dying; Liquid Spirit; Lonesome Lover; Water Under Bridges; Hey Laura; Musical Genocide; Wolfcry; Free; Brown Grass; Wind Song; The “In” Crowd; Movin'; When Love Was King; I Fall In Love Too Easily.
Personnel:
Gregory Porter: vocals; Yosuke Sato: alto saxophone; Tivon Pennicott: tenor saxophone; Chip Crawford: piano; Aaron James: double bass; Emanuel Harold: drums.


Carla Bley/ Andy Sheppard/ Steve Swallow
Trios



By John Kelman

In a career more defined by memorable compositions than instrumental acumen, it's easy to forget that Carla Bley may not be the most virtuosic pianist on the planet, but she's a far more than capable one, as evidenced on duo recordings like Are We There Yet? (Watt, 1999), with life partner/bassist Steve Swallow , and Songs With Legs (WATT, 1995), a trio date with longtime collaborator, saxophonist Andy Sheppard —also heard in Bley's larger ensemble of Appearing Nightly (Watt/ECM, 2008) and quartet session, The Lost Chords (Watt/ECM, 2004). On Swallow's recent Into the Woodwork (XtraWATT/ECM, 2013), Bley proved a clever, quirky and comedic organist; with Trios—an album that, perhaps for the first time ever, features absolutely no new compositions—Bley reunites the Songs With Legs trio, refocusing attention on her thoughtful, precise piano work.
That's not to suggest there isn't still a clever compositional mind at work in these fresh, intimate arrangements of music ranging from Bley's elegiac "Utviklingssang," her most-recorded ballad that first appeared on Social Studies (Watt, 1981), to lesser-known but still previously recorded suites including "The Girl Who Cried Champagne," from the aptly titled Sextet (Watt, 1987) and "Wildlife," heard for the first time on the larger ensemble session Night-Glo (Watt, 1986). Only the dark-hued "Vashkar"—one of Bley's most well-known tunes, having appeared on Tony Williams ' fusion classic Lifetime (Polydor, 1969) and, most recently, on John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana 's Invitation to Illumination: Live at Montreux 2011 (Eagle Vision, 2013)—is played on record by Bley for the first time.
Driven by Swallow's superb time—all the more essential to a group's without a drummer—Bley's reading of "Vashkar" opens with the pair exploring its mid-eastern modality for a full ninety second before Sheppard comes in, on soprano, to double its memorable yet quirky melody with Bley's right hand. Sheppard's star has been on the ascendancy for years, but most recently on the superb Trio Libre (ECM, 2012), his second recording as a leader for the label. Here, he demonstrates the same kind of care-ridden patience, his solo reflecting a trio whose ears are wide open, meticulously responding to each others' every move. Even as they adhere to the song's form, there's the sense that were this to be immediately followed by another take, it would be an entirely different experience.
Swallow introduces "Utviklingssang" alone, its haunting melody soon joined by Bley, whose thoughtful introduction of a contrapuntal theme and spartan supporting chords yield to sparer accompaniment still when Sheppard finally enters. While time is something to which the trio adheres carefully when required—Swallow's inimitable swing fundamental to the first section of "Les Trois Lagons (d'après Henri Matisse)"—Trios' ultimate beauty is in the interpretive nuances that allow time to be ever-so-slightly pliant—subtly stretched and compressed to imbue these five pieces with their own personalities.
The balance of the program consists of longer, multipart compositions, but remains underscored by the same attention to detail. Without muss or fuss, Bley, Swallow and Sheppard have, with Trios, created that most perfect of chamber records, filled with shrewd surprises and a delicate dramaturgy that reveals itself further with each and every listen.
Track Listing: 

Utviklingssang; Vashkar; Les Trois Lagons (d'après Henri Matisse): Plate XVII, Plate XVIII, Plate XIX; Wildlife: Horns, Paws Without Claws, Sex With Birds; The Girl Who Cried Champagne: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
Personnel: 

Carla Bley: piano; Andy Sheppard: tenor and soprano saxophones; Steve Swallow: bass.

Ahmad Jamal

Saturday Morning: La Buissonne Studio Sessions



By Ian Patterson

Just over a year after Blue Moon (Jazzbook Records, 2012) —Jamal's stellar homage to American cinema and Broadway—the Pittsburgh pianist returns in the same rich vein of form on Saturday Morning. Blue Moon earned a Grammy nomination, and for the second time in recent years Jamal was invited to open the Lincoln Center season in September; clearly, Jamal is enjoying his status as one of jazz's great, elder statesmen. Saturday Morning could almost be part of the same sessions that produced Blue Moon with its mixture of standards, new compositions and reworked older material. Like Blue Moon, this recording occasionally evokes his classic 1950s Argo years, only there's more meat on Jamal's arrangements these days, and remarkably, greater fire in his fingers.
Though drummer Herlin Riley and former Weather Report percussionist Manolo Badrena
first played with Jamal in the 1980s, these latter two Jamal recordings have the feel of a new quartet, especially in the wake of the departure of long-standing drummer Idris Muhammad and bassist James Cammack. Happily, bassist Reginald Veal is much more prominent than on Blue Moon, engendering real swing and irresistible funk grooves. Stepping into Cammack's shoes—Jamal's bassist for 29 years—can't have been easy but Veal's lyricism, bold motifs and striking improvisations color the music greatly. Badrena conversely, plies his wares more subtly than before, while Riley keeps a simple, in the pocket groove throughout, rarely slipping the leash.
Jamal has created his own language on piano; on "Back to the Future" his jangling left-hand powers like rising flood water while rhapsodic right-hand explorations alternate between chordal steps, spinning flurries and long, cascading runs. On this opening number Jamal's two-handed synchronized run towards the finishing line and his trademark final punctuation epitomizes the sense of drama that inhabits his play. On "I'll always be with You" Jamal emerges from a tempestuous improvisation to land on the most delicate of blue notes, as though flung from a washing machine only to land on his feet immaculately attired.
Jamal admirers and detractors alike point to his continual, restless motivic development and compositions like the gently paced "Edith's Cake" and the grooving "The Line" have enough "fiddling and diddling"—to quote Cammack from a 2012 interview—to delight and frustrate according to taste. At his most fluid, when there don't seem to be enough keys on the piano to accommodate his dazzling runs, it's easy to see where pianist Hiromi Uehara finds much of her inspiration.
For all his technical dexterity and passion, Jamal is never more at home than when caressing and teasing the melody of a ballad. There are a few to savor here, notably a majestic rendition of "I'm In the Mood for Love" and Duke Ellington 's "I Got it Bad and that Ain't Good." On the latter, Jamal plays with the melody, letting it drift before gently rekindling the flame. Bass, brushes and percussion lend tender support. Jamal can't resist quoting the melody to "Take The A-Train" here, and on numerous occasions throughout the album he exercises his penchant for quoting the popular melodies he has breathed for a lifetime.
Jamal pays tribute to pianist Horace Silver on the Afro-Caribean flavored "Silver," whose simple melody and uncluttered arrangement harks back to the Jamal of yesteryear. Similarly, the sparse architecture and beautiful minimalism of Saturday Morning recall At The Pershing:But Not For Me (Argo, 1958)—a million-selling album that cemented Jamal's reputation as an original and influential voice. The lilting melody of the title track is hypnotic enough for the quartet to repeat it throughout the song's ten-minute duration without it ever sounding less than charming —a signature tune to replace "Poinciana" perhaps?
The title track from One (20th Century Fox Records, 1978) seems like an unnecessary indulgence on an album that weighs in at a healthy one hour. Nevertheless, its jaunty melody and infectious groove will appeal to new fans and maybe send others back to rediscover an overlooked recording nestled in the middle ground of a discography that dates to 1951. "Saturday Morning (reprise)"—a three and a half-minute radio-friendly version—serves up that delightful melody one last time and burns it into the subconscious mind—if it wasn't already there.
Jamal proves once again that he's lost none of his customary elegance or electricity. His expansive imagination as an interpreter of standards—particularly ballads—remains almost unmatched. The four musicians sound fully molded to each other contours and the result is music that is fantastically tight yet exhilarating. Jamal is still minting great melodies, still blazing his own trail and—for many—still leading the way.
Track Listing: 

Back To The Future; I’ll Always Be With You; Saturday Morning; Edith’s Cake; The Line; I’m In The Mood For Love; Firefly; Silver; I Got It Bad And That Ain’t Good; One; Saturday Morning.
Personnel: 

Ahmad Jamal: piano; Reginald Veal: double bass; Herlin Riley: drums; Manolo Badrena: percussion.

2 Sem 2013 - Part Twelve

Christian McBride Trio

Out There



By Matt Collar
Christian McBride's second studio album in 2013, Out Here, finds the adept bassist leading his trio through a jaunty, exuberant set of straight-ahead acoustic jazz. The album follows on the heels of his equally as appealing quintet album, People Music. However, where that album found McBride delving into the knotty post-bop sound of artists like '60s Bobby Hutcherson, Out Here is more of a classic standards album in the vein of works by Oscar Peterson and Duke Ellington. Joining McBride here is his working trio of pianist Christian Sands and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr., who was also featured on People Music. Both Sands and Owens are superb, technically adroit musicians who complement McBride's warm, generous bass playing at every turn on Out Here. What's great about McBride leading his own trio is that because he is fundamentally such a monster of a bassist, he can and does take the lead on any given song just as well, if not better, than many of his non-rhythm section instrument-playing brethren. That said, he certainly lets his bandmates shine in the spotlight throughout much of the album. In fact, as on the trio's take on "My Favorite Things," both Sands and McBride take turns interpreting the melody. Elsewhere, they delve into bluesy, gospel-influenced numbers with "Ham Hocks and Cabbage" and "Hallelujah Time," and jump headlong into a swinging rendition of "Cherokee." There are also some gorgeous ballads featured on the album, with McBride's Latin-tinged "I Guess I'll Have to Forget" standing out among them. McBride even summons the spirit of his more funk and soul-influenced albums with the trio's giddy album-closing take on the R&B classic "Who's Making Love."


Lisa Hilton

Getaway

By Dan Bilawsky
Pianist Lisa Hilton has made an art out of balancing the simple and complex. Her work speaks with extreme clarity and serves as a benchmark for a less-is-more style of piano playing that appeals to a wide swath of listeners, but it isn't plain-Jane jazz. Hilton has a way of taking a basic idea and stretching its conceptual fabric to the breaking point. Singsong ideals are twisted, contorted and distorted, and rhythmic ideas are pulled out of focus, blurring the firm-time realities that actually exist underneath it all. This form of musical cunning helped to make Underground (Ruby Slippers Productions, 2011) and American Impressions (Ruby Slippers Productions, 2012) so intriguing, and it serves Getaway just as well.
Getaway is both a return to standard form and a departure from the norm for Hilton. She's working with musicians who've appeared by her side before, but she's left the quartet comfort zone and ventured into trio territory, where transparency and trickery both seem to thrive. Hilton's most frequent on-record collaborator—bassist Larry Grenadier—and the man who helped her shake things up and put a darker spin on things—drummer Nasheet Waits—join up again. They both assist Hilton in painting a bluesy picture, where shadows and light share space and the brooding and bright coexist in equal measures.
The album takes flight with a dark, cycling pattern that underlines a song that's both diaphanous and direct ("Getaway"). Things progress with jaunty notions, as playful melodic snippets come and go ("Just For Fun"). Both of these formulas, with certain twists, serve Hilton well in other places, but they don't define the album. The music falls into a state of cinematic reverie at other times ("Evening Song"), but excitement and the unexpected are always lurking around the corner ("City Streets" and "Lost & Found"). The majority of the program is given up to Hilton originals, but two covers—"Stormy Monday Blues" and Adele's "Turning Tables"—give the trio an opportunity to try their hand at music of the past and present.
The rarely-encountered marriage between stasis and surprise is central to the success of Getaway. Hilton's left hand often acts as a constant, serving as a steady presence and eye in the storm, and Grenadier often grounds the group, allowing Hilton and Waits to color around his bass. Waits remains the wonderful wildcard, as on Hilton's two previous albums, but he tempers his explosive side. Both Grenadier and Waits are far more technically adept than Hilton—and 99% of the playing population—but they don't flaunt their musical muscle in this setting. They both play in service of the music and all three musicians prove complementary to one another.
Getaway, more than any other release thus far, provides a clear picture of Lisa Hilton as artist, conceptualist builder, and sculptor of sounds. It also confirms what was already known: Hilton is a conjurer of musical spells, moods and magic who defies easy categorization.
Track Listing: 

Getaway; Just For Fun; Stormy Monday Blues; Stepping Into Paradise; Evening Song; City Streets; Lost & Found; Emergency; Turning Tables; Unforgotten; Stop & Go; Slow Down; Huckleberry Moon.
Personnel: 

Lisa Hilton: piano; Larry Grenadier: bass; Nasheet Waits: drums.


David Newton

Portrait Of A Woman

By Amazon
'Portrait of a Woman' is the new CD from pianist and composer David Newton with thirteen wonderful original compositions each representing a chapter in a love story. Newton appears alongside his new trio consisting of Andrew Cleyndert on bass and Steve Brown on drums plus guest guitarist Jim Mullen. On the tracks with string arrangements by Richard Niles, the power of Newton's music is suddenly made more apparent. Grand, sweeping symphonic melodies mixed with infectious catchy tunes over elegant and sophisticated rhythms make this a completely unique album. In the early 1990s Newton's reputation as an exquisite accompanist for a singer, spread rather rapidly and by 1995 he was regularly working with Carol Kidd, Marion Montgomery, Tina May, Annie Ross, Claire Martin and of course Stacey Kent, with whom he spent the next ten years recording and travelling all over the world. At the same time, Newton was composing music which he recorded on his own CDs as well as writing specifically for Martin Taylor, Alan Barnes, Tina May and Claire Martin. In 2003, Bright New Day Records was born and soon saw the release of two trio albums by Newton, 'Pacific Heights' and then 'Inspired'. 'Portrait of a Woman' is the label's latest release. Personnel: David Newton (piano, keyboards), Andrew Cleyndert (double bass), Steve Brown (drums), Jim Mullen (guitar), The London Orchestra


The Bassface Swing Trio
Plays Gershwin



By John Sunier at audaud.com
This may be a recording first: the jazz trio thru the three selections on side one of this direct disc twice, than did the same for the three tunes on side two. They then selected the best side of each and that became the master for the direct disc – as George Goebel used to say, “You can’t hardly get them no more.” At the same time a two-channel DSD master was made and that became the SACD, with a downsampled-to-44.1K copy as the CD layer on this hybrid SACD. There are longer-than-usual breaks between the tracks and you hear the trio preparing for the next tune. There’s no stopping on either side between the tracks, and of course no tape to be edited, which results in the optimum fidelity possible. These normal direct disc artifacts are also preserved on the optical disc.
The German trio is thoroughly professional and swings well, but don’t expect Bill Evans-level creativity. The piano is a Fazioli grand, being heard increasingly on recordings (along with Bosendorfer), and way superior to Steinway in the treble end. Since all three formats came from the same exact source at the same time, we have here a fine opportunity to compare the three formats with some enjoyable and familiar music. I don’t think the ability to A/B a SACD with the same material on direct disc has been done before.
I found the CD to be considerably higher in level than either the stereo SACD or direct disc versions, making comparisons a bit more difficult. The SACD layer had a richer piano sound and more “air” around both the piano and drums. The lowest notes of the acoustic bass had more solidity. Track 3 opens with a rather loud figure on the drum set; on the SACD option you could hear more evidence of the volume/size of the drum set than on the CD option. The distinctive timbre of the various drums was also more pronounced.
Switching to the direct disc produced more presence and the doublebass notes were felt even more strongly than on the SACD. The piano had even more “air” around it and the timbre of the different strings was more pronounced. The deepest bass was so strong that I had to reduce the level on my “butt-shaker” transducer mounted in my sofa. Though LPs and phono cartridges lack the separation of digital, I heard no noticeable loss of separation of the three instruments across the sound stage.
After listening extensively to both and switching back and forth, I stopped and carried out a few tweaks on my Integra universal player which I had not previously done. I turned off the video circuitry, I switched to the DVD output – a direct two-channel analog out, rather than the 6-channel out of which I had been using only the front channels. Finally, I zapped the SACD with my MapleShade Ionoclast (a heavy-duty Zerostat) and placed my Marigo Audio Signature Stabilizer Mat on top. I also used my RadioShack sound level meter to more closely match levels.
Repeating the SACD/direct disc comparison, I found the two now almost totally identical. The only hint I had of the direct disc being played was a very slight hiss in quiet sections, due to having the level turned up quite high on the low-level disc, and a couple of places where there was an extraneous noise on the left channel - perhaps due to “horns” on the grooves of the disc receiving its first playing. Considering the vinyl version is a very limited special edition and commands the highest price for a single new LP I have seen, I would recommend the SACD-only version if you have decent two-channel SACD playback. On one of the two-channel-only SACD decks it may very well surpass the sonics of the direct disc, although I realize it’s heresy to say that.
Thilo Wagner, piano; Jean-Philipe Wadle, doublebass; Florian Herman, drums


Molly Ringwald

Expect Sometimes



By Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Well, of course Molly Ringwald was going to sing "Don't You (Forget About Me)" on her 2013 singing debut Except Sometimes -- it provides the hook to draw the curious into the fold, to bring in listeners who may otherwise have never paid attention to another album of an actor singing standards. And, in most regards, Except Sometimes is indeed another album of actors singing standards, distinguished by a more-adventurous-than-usual selection of songs (Ringwald has good taste and an aversion to shopworn warhorses) and a nicely intimate vibe, suggesting a comfortable, brightly lit nightclub where smoking was prohibited long, long ago. Apart from "Don't You (Forget About Me)," there are no radical rearrangements here, so what carries the day is that sweet, softly swinging feel, as Ringwald is a game but limited singer, hampered slightly by her thin, airless voice. Certainly, she seems to be enjoying herself but she also seems overly concerned with hitting her marks; her phrasing is precise and mannered, contradicting the otherwise relaxed vibes of the record. If Ringwald wasn't well-known, odds are Except Sometimes would never have shown up on a major label, but that's no reason to hate it: it's too cheerful and slight to inspire hate. It's merely a pleasant curiosity, one that seems like you've heard it before.

Frank Wess 1922 - 2013

By David Colker at LATimes
Long before jazz pianist Billy Taylor became world-famous, he planned in high school to switch to saxophone. But then he heard the new kid in school — Frank Wess — play the horn.
"He's the reason I don't play the tenor saxophone," Taylor said in a 2008 Washington Post interview. "Even in his teens, he was really a remarkable player."
Wess never achieved the fame of his longtime friend Taylor, but he was a key player in some of the all-time great jazz ensembles, including Count Basie's big band, and he was a major force in establishing the flute as a jazz instrument.
He was also known as a mentor who went out of his way to help young musicians coming into jazz. No matter how progressive the music got, Wess told them, it all came down to swing.
"If you can't tap your foot or dance to it, you may as well be driving a cab," Wess said in a 2005 interview for the All About Jazz website. "When I do clinics, I have the individual instruments play by themselves and I want them to make me dance, make me want to dance."
Wess, 91, died in New York on Wednesday. He was in a cab on his way to get a dialysis treatment when he had a heart attack, said his companion, Sara Tsutsumi.
Wess played his last concert in April at the 54 Below club in New York, and had been in failing health for the last several months. But as recently as a month ago, he was still playing with friends.
"He would invite young musicians — maybe a rhythm section or horn players — to his home and they would have a jam session," said Marc Loehrwald, a saxophone player who maintained Wess' website. "He loved to play with other musicians. It was his life."
Frank Wellington Wess was born Jan. 4, 1922, in Kansas City, Mo., and his family moved when he was a small child to the town of Sapulpa, Okla., near Tulsa. "When I was 10 years old my life started — I got my saxophone," Wess said in a National Endowment for the Arts interview in 2007.
He eventually put the instrument away because the school orchestra played a lot of classical music he didn't enjoy. Then the family moved to Washington, D.C., in 1935 and he heard Taylor and others play jazz sessions in the high school orchestra room during lunch periods.
"I said, 'this is what I want to do,'" he said in the All About Jazz interview. "So I got my horn, had it fixed up and started playing again."
His early career as a professional was interrupted by military service during World War II — but he kept playing because the U.S. Army assigned him to various music ensembles that toured overseas. When he was out of the Army, he played with the famed Billy Eckstine Orchestra and several other outfits. And using the G.I. Bill education benefit, he began studying the flute in 1949 with Wallace Mann, a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington.
Count Basie had heard Wess on saxophone and called him several times to try and hire him. "I told him I was busy doing something else and I wasn't going to quit school to go back on the road, because I had had enough of the road," Wess told All About Jazz. Finally Basie convinced him by promising a regular salary and exposure. Wess joined the outfit in 1953 and stayed until 1964.
Wess said that one reason the band was so great was that unlike some other leaders, Basie strove to keep players for long periods of time. "If you fire people every four or six months, I don't care how good they are, you still got a bunch of strangers sitting on the band stand," Wess said in the NEA interview. "When they stay there long enough, they get to be brothers and you got a family, and everybody's happy and the music shows it."
And with Basie, Wess got to show off his expertise on his new instrument. Because of his time with the Basie band "being featured on the flute, it gave the instrument its place in jazz," said longtime jazz critic and historian Dan Morgenstern. "Also, of the people who played flute, he was pretty much the best of them."
Wess went on to play with several other ensembles, including the house band led by Taylor for "The David Frost Show" that ran on CBS from 1969 to 1972. And with an old friend from the Basie days, fellow saxophonist Frank Foster, he played jazz dates over a 20-year period under the title "Two Franks."
In 2007 he was named an NEA Jazz Master.
Wess may have not been involved in starting new movements in jazz, but he was known for his consistently fine musicianship over an exceptionally long career. And he knew how to move an audience.
"I think you can play anything you want to," Wess said in his NEA interview, "as long as you take the audience along with you."
In addition to Tsutsumi, he is survived by two daughters, Michele Kane and Francine Wess, both of New York; two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

EAGLES AND DROMEDARIES

By Claudio Botelho
Again: Denny Zeitlin has done an insipid recording. I’m talking about his latest “Both/And – Solo, Eletro-Acoustic Adventures”. Before I keep on, let me remind you once more that Zeitlin has been one of my heroes for long. And this is exactly what inspires me to insist on my critics about his latest launchings. Along with his former work (“Wherever You Are”), this is a totally dispensable recording: We could as well live without it, as much as himself.
While the most conventional one is too conventional to be taken seriously, the more adventurous is no more than a pale copy of things he’d done in the past (“Solo Voyage” comes to my mind). By listening to this newer outing of his, you could work very hard to find the author of recordings like his “Labyrinth”-“Precipice”- “Slick Rock’- “Solo Voyage” brethren. Or even find any similarity inspiration-wise to works like “As Long as There’s Music” or his “New River”- a fabulous duo with mandolinist David Grisman. Of course, his way of playing hasn’t changed and can be spotted easily, but where is the intellectual value of his playing?
Try listening to “Tiger, Tiger”, for instance, or the inaugural “Meteorology” and tell me why he bothered to compose and play them… Sigh!
Don’t think I’m that derogatory, but Zeitlin forced me into doing this. So, Instead of wasting your time with his last works, you could indulge your senses into savoring Alan Broadbent’s “Heart to Heart”- his latest solo recording. This time using a 9’ Schimmel Grand, Broadbent revisited songs like Charlie Haden’s “Hello my Lovely” along with standards like “Alone Together”, “Blue in Green”, “Lonely Woman”, “Cherokee” and four other songs, including the one of his pen who entitles this production. His very pronounced left hand sometimes almost takes the lead and, at times, works contrapuntally without ever breaking the unity of his renderings. His very unique and minutely way of playing exposes the songs to their entireness, extracting from them all the meanings intended by their authors. Broadbent is a “slow-food” kind of interpreter, always purveying a step-by-step construction without side moves, until he gets to his target.
To know what I mean, listen to his dissected deconstruction of “Alone Together” – the old played-by-everybody standard, enjoy his long and soulful rendering of “Blue in Green”, try “Hello my Lovely” and remember his days of “Quartet West” or savor his gothic interpretation of “Lonely Woman”, which nails straight to the heart of this song…
The sound of the Schimmel piano is magnificent, to the point of my fully acceptance: In no moment I reminded of any other musical instrument. So, there’s also life beyond the Steinway-Bosendorfer-Fazioli trio!...
I’ve been, for a very, very long time, a great fan of pianist Franco D’Andrea. For my ears, he has been one of the very sharpest improvisers in the history of jazz. It’d been a long time since I last heard of him. I’ve noticed he’s released some two or three albums recently, but I haven’t come across any of them. It seems they have a very restricted distribution. So, out of some longing of my part, I bought a CD recorded in 1997 and released in the following year called “Duets for Trane”. He plays with altoist Rosario Giuliani which, by the way, is the leader.
Yes, you guessed it right: Trane means Coltrane, being all the songs played, except the last one, from him. So, there you have: Equinox; Countdown; Naima; Giant Steps; Central Park West; A love Supreme; Like Sony; Lonnie’s Lament and Giuliani’s Solo for Trane.
From beginning to end, you have some two of the most articulated jazz musicians interplaying so synergistically that the quality of the presentations leveled the accomplishment of the tunes. Boy, D’Andrea is no chopped liver, but would you believe Giuliani, at least on this recording, is as much on the cutting edge as him? He is so strong that you hardly notice you’re listening to an alto sax! His Selmer sound is akin to the sound of a good tenor! I said a good tenor. You know, the world is full of flimsy sounding sax players…
Organic, articulated and done by utterly intertwined musicians, the renderings are just natural extensions of the tunes, as if done by the same author and a taste of Coltrane’s strong tenor permeates the whole album. D’Andrea? You can hardly find a better travel companion… (The truth is that this is an equal-responsibility-two-mind work…)
Splendid and the best thing I’ve listened this year, so far. A classic. Highly recommended.
Have you ever heard of a statistical phenomenon called “standard deviation”? It shows how much variation or dispersion from the average (mean, also called expected value) exists. So, as a rule, its graphic expression is like a sneak that has eaten an elephant or the back of a dromedary, which is like a camel, except that it has only one hump. Bellow the hump stay the great majority of cases, meaning they stand for average values. Let’s take into account that those which detach to the left side tend to mediocrity, those which go to the opposite side to excellence.
Now, take Christian McBride’s “Out There”. This is his 11th album as a leader and “the most in demand bassist of his generation” is partnered by Christian Sands on piano and Ulysses Owens jr. on drums. Surely, McBride belongs to the right side of the hump and has been very busy for some time now, but did he need to make such an uninspiring recording, firmly settled on the left side of the bump, something Ray Brown (his alter ego) used to do more than forty years ago?
This is the third incarnation of The Ray brown Trio, the second being by drummer Jeff Hamilton and Tamir Hendelman. Is it necessary a third Ray Brown trio? In these days of cerebral players, should we seek works founded solely on chops exhibitionism? I can only speak on my behalf, but I tell you: this kind of playing has been long, long superseded. One more thing about this album: to say the quality of the recording is so-so is an understatement…
Speaking of Tamir Hendelman: Wanna listen to the real musician? Try his “Destinations” and you’ll see what he can do out of the Brown-Hamilton-Mcbride circle… Here, he comes along with Marco Panascia on bass and Lewis Nash on drums. This time, you get everything from his rides with Hamilton plus…emotion!, this being just the main reason of this art called music.
For a change, let me suggest two honest British trios: Tim Lapthorn (p), with Arnie Sonogyi (b) and Stephen Keogh (d) and David Newton (p), Andrew Cleyndert (b) and Colin Oxley (g). The first trio released an album called “Transport” and the latter “Out of This World”. Lapthorn is a young musician who seems to be still searching his own voice. He’s a little hesitant and plays a little too carefully but is a talented composer. All songs played are from his pen and their span brings a very good balance to the presentation. You have the trio alone, piano solo, the trio and voices and the trio plus strings which, per se, establishes the necessary contrasts any sequence of songs must have to avoid boredom. I’ll dispense myself with nominating the songs as they’re all unknown.
Newton is a seasoned artist who, in this set, relies on nine standards plus two of his own compositions. Besides the tune that names the album, the trio plays Who Cares, Valse Jaq, I’ll be seeing You, Por Toda a Minha Vida/O Grande Amor, All Grown Up, Lament, Looking at You, A Felicidade and Why Did I Choose You. The second and the fifth songs above listed were composed by himself.
Newton has great chops, and his easy-flow style tends to go better with lyric songs. And he uses this to very good effect. His solo work “12th of the 12th – A Jazz Portrait of Frank Sinatra” - an album I particularly like- depicts his way with songs. A casual jazz listener would be pleased with his latest album release and could take it for something of the easy-listening kind, but any attention a bit more than skin-deep would reveal a trio of great rapport, full of intricate articulations, which should award it the highest of accolades. All summed up this is a simple-sophisticated outing; not that easily found!
Anyway, if I were to choose one of them, I’d go for the Lapthorn album, but you could as well pick the latter, as did the editor of this blog.
Have you ever heard of Patricia Barber? So, please, ask her why she has SMASHED us (ouch!) with her latest album…

Oscar Castro-Neves 1940 - 2013

By Julio Maria at OEstadão
Após meses de luta contra um câncer, morreu ontem o músico Oscar Castro-Neves, aos 73 anos. Ele, que ajudou a divulgar a bossa nova no exterior, morava em Los Angeles, nos EUA. O tumor estava alojado inicialmente no estômago, depois tomou o fígado e passou por um processo de metástase, atingindo outros órgãos.
Sem a sofisticação de cabeças como a de Castro-Neves, formada por encadeamentos do jazz de Dizzie Gillespie e de Charlie Parker, a bossa nova seria reconhecida como um sambinha de luxo. Oscar não ficou como o nome de frente da turma por sua discrição – e por opção. Depois do histórico show da bossa nova no Carnegie Hall de Nova York, em 1962, ele foi um dos que preferiu não voltar ao País.
De Nova York, ele partir para a Califórnia, onde seguiu em excursão com o quinteto de Dizzie Gillespie, depois com o trio de Lalo Schifrin, o quarteto de Stan Getz e o quarteto de Laurindo de Almeida. Gravaria depois com Quincy Jones, com Ella Fitzgerald, com Herbie Hanckock, com Barbra Streisand e até com Michael Jackson. Ausente de sua terra, veria de longe a bossa ganhar muitos pais. João Gilberto, Tom Jobim, Baden Powell, Vinicius de Morais, Carlos Lyra, Roberto Menescal. Talvez o menos lembrado seja Oscar Castro-Neves.
Seu instrumento era o violão e sua cabeça era de maestro. Cantava, mas não se considerava um cantor. Sentia-se muito mais em casa quando se apresentava como compositor, arranjador, produtor e instrumentista. Sempre esteve bem acompanhado, desde o nascimento, quando veio ao mundo trigêmeo, em 15 de maio de 1940.
Não havia quem não tocasse um instrumento em sua casa. Era tanta informação que o menino de 16 anos já tinha música demais querendo sair de sua cabeça. A primeira delas foi Chora Tua Tristeza, a estreia de um adolescente como gente grande. Ela lhe veio quando ele estava dentro de uma Kombi, uma lotação, no Rio de Janeiro. Guardou cada um dos acordes imaginários na memória até chegar em casa, pegar o violão correndo e dar vida àquela criatura.
Formou um grupo com os irmãos até descobrir que a turma da zona sul do Rio de Janeiro tinha as mesmas intenções que ele. Correu para lá. De parceria em parceria, ganhou nome o bastante para ser designado o homem que ensaiaria todo mundo para a apresentação estelar do Carnegie Hall de 1962.
A bossa nova atracou nos mares da MPB e Oscar Castro-Neves seguiu em frente, retornando ao Brasil algumas vezes até estabelecer-se de vez nos Estados Unidos. Já tinha nome suficiente quando os anos 1970 chegaram. A indústria de filmes o descobriu como autor de trilhas sonoras e o contratou par fazer Blame it On Rio; Gabriela; LA Story; He Said, She Said; Larger Than Life.
Fez valer as aulas de instrumentação e arranjo que um dia teve com Moacir Santos, tornando-se também diretos de musicais e produtor de discos. Em 1999, associou-se ao violoncelista Yo Yo Ma e dele produziu Soul of Tango, com o qual voltaria ao calor dos holofotes conquistando o prêmio de "melhor crossover clássico".
Assinou ainda, durante seis anos, a noite brasileira do super evento norte-americano Hollywood Bowl, em Los Angeles. Contudo, era definido por seus próximos como um gentleman.

2 Sem 2013 - Part Eleven

David Newton/ Andrew Cleyndert/ Colin Oxley

Out Of This World 



By Dave Gelly
Piano, guitar and bass: one of the two classicjazz piano-trio formats. The other has drums instead of guitar and the difference is striking. With the three instruments on a more equal footing, and a generally cooler dynamic range, every note and phrase stands out clearly. It's the perfect set-up for these three. Newton, who spent 10 years as Stacey Kent's pianist, has a deliciously crystalline touch, well matched by Oxley's mellow guitar. Cleyndert is not only a masterly rhythm bassist; he produces a wonderfully rich cello-like tone with the bow. Outstanding tracks include a Gershwin rarity, Who Cares?, and two of Newton's own pieces, Valse Jaq and All Grown Up. No fireworks, but a set to relish.
Tracks:
1. Out of This World ; 2. Who Cares? ; 3. Valse Jaq ; 4. I'll Be Seeing You ; 

5. Por Toda Minha Vida/O Grande Amor ; 6. Laverne Walk ; 7. All Grown Up ; 8. Lament
9. Looking at You ; 10. A Felicidade ; 11. Why Did I Choose You?

Makoto Ozone/ Christian McBride/ Jeff "Tain" Watts
My Witch's Blue



By R. PeterssonA soft Makoto that highlights the tone and the melody. But be aware - there are also some upbeat that will take you away for a ride. But the main story here is a gentle Makoto Ozone with lovely intepretations of a well balanced bunch of tunes. Hank Jones is the name that comes to my mind if I have to compare his tone with someone. The rythm section is the best you can get and they do it. They really play as unit - a real trio recording in the good old school but with a great touch of modern playing. Highly recommended.
Recorded At – Avatar Studios
Mixed At – MSR Studios
Mastered At – Battery Studios, New York
Producer – Makoto Ozone, Makoto Shinohara
Recorded By, Mixed By – Joe Ferla
Mastered By – Mark Wilder
Recorded May 19-21, 2012
Tarcks:
Bouncing in My New Shoes; My Witch’s Blue; Gotta Get It !!; Longing for the Past
So Good!!; Take the Tain Train; Time We Spent Together; Nova Alvorada
Solo Improvisation “Continuum”; Satin Doll（An encore Track）


Alan Broadbent

Heart To Heart



By Dan Bilawsky
Pianist Alan Broadbent can't be accused of rushing to release his second solo piano album; Heart To Heart comes more than two decades after Broadbent initially took the solo plunge with Live At Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume 14 (Concord, 1991), but it was worth the wait.
While only Broadbent knows the exact reason for waiting so long to return to this format, it's safe to assume that it has something to do with his in-demand status in so many other musical arenas. Much of his work has been dedicated to the art of the trio, supportive sideman stints, and arranging jobs, leaving him precious little time to explore things on his own. Many people, in fact, aren't even aware of his pianistic prowess, knowing him only as the man who creates musical drapery for everybody from songbook kingpin Michael Feinstein to Natalie Cole to SirPaul McCartney; those people are missing out. Broadbent's piano work—solo or otherwise—is pure poetry in motion, filled with sophisticated musical trappings that tickle the ear and fuel the imagination.
The title of this album is a bit of a misnomer, giving the impression that Broadbent may be taking an introspective journey; that proves false from the get-go. Flowery gestures and stereotypical romantic notions are not sine qua non for solo piano success in Broadbent's world. He's far more likely to embark on a rhapsodic thrill ride than a ruminative walk on this one, and that's a good thing. He sprints along, as might be expected, on "Cherokee"; visits waltz territory with "Now And Then"; and plunges his hands into the heart of darkness on a riveting take ofOrnette Coleman's "Lonely Woman." A few numbers tend to be a tad more reflective than the rest, but none get bogged down in emotional indulgence; Broadbent is too good to fall into that trap.
Broadbent's bread and butter may be his arranging work, but his heart and soul have everything to do with his piano playing. Heart To Heart puts those thoughts in perspective for all to hear.
Track Listing: 

Hello My Lovely; Heart To Heart; Alone Together; Now And Then; Journey Home; Blue In Green; Love Is The Thing; Lonely Woman; Cherokee.
Personnel: Alan Broadbent: piano.


Pablo Ziegler & Metropole Orkest
Amsterdam Meets New Tango



By Scott Albin at JazzTimes
Pianist Pablo Ziegler will always be remembered for his auspicious role from 1978 to 1989 in Astor Piazzolla's transcendent New Tango Quintet. Upon Piazzolla's death in 1992, Ziegler became a key force in New Tango, his mentor's innovative blend of tango, jazz, and classical music. Ziegler plays both his own and Piazzolla's compositions in various settings while expanding upon Piazzolla's vision, and has drawn many jazz musicians into the fold, including Joe Lovano, Paquito D'Rivera, James Carter, Joe Locke, and Stefon Harris, all attracted by the challenge and passion of the music. This CD presents selections from a 2009 concert that brought together Ziegler's quartet with Amsterdam's Metropole Orkest, founded in 1945 and the world's largest pop and jazz orchestra, which has shared the stage with such artists as Andrea Bocelli, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, and Pat Metheny. It's a tribute to both the versatile musicianship of the Orkest's members, and Ziegler's ever-present inspiration, that the orchestra is able to play these arrangements of Ziegler's tunes with such conviction and authenticity. Ziegler's quartet includes Quique Sinesi on guitar, Walter Castro on bandoneon, and Quintino Cinalli on percussion and cajón, and while it's clear when someone from this group is soloing, this is not the case with the Orkest players since the CD notes provide no such details.
For "Buenos Aires Report," Ziegler's reverberating tones and the dissonance-tinged string section create a tense atmosphere to evoke "the chaotic, urban city of Buenos Aires." A magnetic uncredited trumpet solo, and Castro's fluid, expressive bandoneon outing precede Ziegler's energetic foray, as the Orkest blares behind him. A contrapuntal volley between strings and horns makes for an exciting finish capped by the pianist's jabbing, circular theme (first heard as the title tune of an earlier CD). The only non-Ziegler composition is Sinesi's "Milonga par Hermeto," dedicated to Hermato Pascoal, and it successfully captures Pascoal's harmonic and melodic personality. The infectious milonga rhythm builds up to the Orkest's interjection and the swirling them itself with Castro in the lead. The full textures at times give this piece a movie theme sound, but Sinesi's nimble, lucid solo, a brawny (uncredited) tenor sax statement, and Ziegler's prancing improv, with fiery orchestral support, bring things down-to-earth. The reprise has great climactic impact. Blues meets New Tango on "Blues Porteño." The initial bass ostinato is remindful of the one on the Beatles' "Come Together," and a darting Castro and bluesy Ziegler are backed by a sultry string orchestration that ebbs and flows gracefully. Sinesi contributes a subtle solo, while a saxophonist comes on more forcefully. Muted trumpets add to the overriding heady atmosphere.
"Desperate Dance" is in 7/4 rather than the usual 2/4 tango rhythm, as Ziegler visualizes "desperate dancers" trying hard to adjust to the novelty. His quartet and the Orkest have no such problem, with the dramatic, insistent pulse spurring a probing trombone solo, Castro's finely threaded trip, and an assertive trumpet turn. The zesty rhythmic framework serves as the main element of the arrangement's final section. The title "Murga del Amanecer" also defines a primitive rhythm from the 1920's of African origin. Ziegler's vamp and the strings lustily pave the way for Castro's recital of the celebratory theme. The Orkest appropriates the theme for itself in soaring fashion prior to dancing solos by Ziegler, Sinesi, and a trumpeter. The pianist entrances during the easing down of the out chorus. "Places" has a provocative melodic and rhythmic opening, and the variety of moods and harmonies in the sections that follow make this work very reminiscent of Piazzolla's modus operandi. Castro and Ziegler offer melancholy improvs prior to a more upbeat interlude sparked by the bandoneonist, Sinesi, and unyielding projections from the Orkest.
The slow waltz "Pájaro Angel" begins with interplay between Ziegler and Sinesi before romantic strings and horns emerge and oscillate around the pianist and guitarist's lyrical and thoughtful solos. This beautiful tune was originally written for a '70's episode of a popular Argentinian TV series of the same name, and was no doubt quite evocative of its subject matter. Ziegler composed "Buenos Aires Dark" during the tumultuous 2001 political crisis in Argentina. The orchestration is indeed dark and foreboding, with a biting Castro up front as he and the Orkest reach a crescendo that is transformed into a mournful interlude and then a staccato urgency that frames vibrant solos by a trombonist, Sinesi, and a tenor. Castro and Ziegler's tango rhythm launch the dramatic cry of protestation that comprises the finale. "Que Lo Parió" revolves around Malambo, an Argentinian folk rhythm danced to by the Gauchos, and is a tribute to the late author Robert "El Negro" Fontanarrosa and his comic strip "Inodoro Pereyra" that featured a Gaucho and his talking dog. The performance seems to portray the spirit and determination of the dancers, with Ziegler, Castro, and Sinesi cavorting gaily and a trombonist expounding with gusto. The Orkest's concluding passages mix whimsy with assertiveness to dizzying effect.

Lorenzo Tucci and Luca Mannutza

Lunar



By CDUniverse
Lunar is a journey into the magical freedom of Lorenzo Tucci and Luca Mannutza. Is there any need to say that 'Duke's Nightmare' is their eccentric and fascinating rework of 'Caravan', and Tucci at the drums delivers six minutes of pure magic? Hard to believe, there hasn't been any overdubbing. Is there any point in noticing that Mannutza switches from Lunar intro to Lunar , from piano to electronic keys and back with disarming simplicity? Or, is it pointless to mention their ability to express in music the uneasiness of a 'sidereal breakdown'? This musical journey at the end leaves us astonished and almost drunk, and exalts for the sureness with whom these musicians can afford unexpected drifts, swoops and loops....
Track Listing:
1 Jungle & Space; 2 Lunar Intro; 3 Lunar; 4 Moon Boots; 5 Voyager; 6 Avaria
7 Jet Leg; 8 Duke's Nightmare; 9 Tea for Two; 10 Earth; 11 Inception

2 Sem 2013 - Part Ten

Jeff Hamilton Trio

The Best Things Happen....



By Dr. Judith Schlesinger
The Best Things Happen' when you listen to Jeff Hamilton. He's universally acknowledged as one of the greatest drummers in jazz, whether he's swinging the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra or waking up a famous ghost band by sitting in—I witnessed that once, and the before/after difference was stunning. Unmatched for chops, ears, and flair, Hamilton has led his own trio for nine years. Previously with the superb Larry Fuller and maestro Lynn Seaton, it now contains players who all live in the same city. Pianist Tamir Hendelman's Eastman composition degree shows in his imaginative arrangements, and bassist Christoph Luty has a fat sound and unerring sense of melody. Together they balance, challenge, and support each other wonderfully, fulfilling Hamilton's mandate that a trio should consist of three equal parts.
But enough with the background. From the irresistible swing of its first track, "I Love Being Here with You," this CD is a first-class ticket to musical fulfillment. The journey includes new twists on old favorites—for example, "Poinciana," while explicitly honoring the historic Ahmad Jamal version, lifts and lightens its familiar beat. Luty's innovative arrangement gives "C Jam Blues" a langorous morning-after feel, all slow and stretchy. The spirit of Oscar P. hovers happily over Hendelman—check out his precise parallel octaves on the closing burner, Hoagy Carmichael's "L'il Old Lady." Hendelman also provides an intriguing new setup to the quietly lustrous "Skylark," and he wrote the jubilant "Bennissimo" in tribute to pianist Benny Green, who trio-ed with Ray Brown and Hamilton in the early '90s.
As for the leader' while he's long-celebrated as a fully frontal player, Hamilton's brushwork is exceptionally elegant and judicious. You can hear this most clearly on Larry Golding's lovely "Moonbird" and the graceful "We'll Be Together Again," where his contribution is both crucial and nearly subliminal. All told, this CD is a fabulous ride, and highly recommended.
Track Listing: 

I Love Being Here with You, I Concentrate on You, We'll Be Together Again, I Didn't Know What Time It Was, Like a Lover, Poinciana, Bennissimo, The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing, Skylark, Moonbird, C Jam Blues, L'il Old Lady
Personnel: 

Jeff Hamilton (drums), Tamir Hendelman (piano), Christoph Luty (bass)

Julia Hülsmann Quartet

In Full View



By John Kelman
There's no denying the benefit of stable longevity, but neither is there anything wrong with change. Following three ACT recordings that featured her trio—together since Scattering Poems (ACT, 2003)—supporting a series of vocalists, Julia Hülsmann moved to ECM, where the pianist was afforded greater freedom to more fully explore her trio's potential on 2008's The End Of A Summer and 2011's Imprint. Both albums presented a trio beyond anything left to prove and functioning in thoroughly egalitarian fashion, both compositionally and in performance.
In Full View ups the ante, expanding Hülsmann's trio to a quartet with the addition of British trumpeter Tom Arthurs. Continuing Imprint's more outgoing direction has not come at the expense of the gentle elegance endemic to the trio's ECM debut; instead, Arthurs' voice expands the group's reach without losing anything carved out since Hülsmann's move to the label.
It's hard not to feel ex-ECM alum (and fellow UK-resident) Kenny Wheeler's influence—not just on Arthurs' playing, but in the quartet's overall engagement. Avoiding Wheeler's signature intervallic/stratospheric leaps but referencing the Canadian expat trumpeter's rich tone and melancholic approach to lyricism, Arthurs' broader interest in contemporary classicism and Afro-centric music afford the younger trumpeter his own specificity.
Some of the vibe from Wheeler's early ECM recordings—in particular the similarly configured, award-winning Gnu High (1976)—imbues Hülsmann's quartet, especially on drummer Heinrich Köbberling's "Forever Old," which manages to swing gently despite being in 5/4, and an initially darker, rubato piano/trumpet intro that leads to bassist Muellbauer's similarly odd-metered but smoothly flowing and gradually intensifying "Meander," its simmering pulse strengthened by the bassist's robust foundation and Köbberling's subtle shadings. Arthurs' episodic "Forgotten Poetry" is also underscored by a Wheeler connection, its deceptively simple melody weaving through some change-heavy balladry, time briefly contracting and expanding before settling into some understated interplay between Arthurs and Hülsmann until the trumpeter removes himself, ultimately leaving the pianist to ruminate over Muellbauer and Köbberling's firm yet pliant support.
The group also simmers on Muellbauer's quirky "Dedication," Hülsmann constructing a solo of near-perfect poetry, while the initial melody of the pianist's title track is doubled on bass and flugelhorn before a stronger groove leads first to an even more serpentine theme, doubled on horn and piano, before solos from Hülsmann and Arthurs emerge, dichotomic paradoxes of restrained energy that ultimately unfold over more fervent propulsion.
Fiest's "The Water" is one of three covers on In Full View—another change over previous sets' sole non-originals— but it's the best-known. Still, just as Hülsmann's cover of Seal's "Kiss From a Rose" was an unexpected gem on The End Of A Summer, covering Feist here proves the pianist's quartet as capable with a simpler song form as it is more complicated fare.
Beyond the obvious addition of a fourth voice, there's a stronger sense of effortless collective aplomb on In Full View. If Wheeler's spirit looms large over the session, Hülsmann could certainly do far worse; and if Arthurs is a permanent addition to the pianist's decade-old trio, where this sublime quartet goes next will be well worth the attention.
Track Listing: 

Quicksilver; Dunkel; Gleim; Forever Old; Spiel; Richtung Osten; The Water; Forgotten Poetry; Dedication; Snow, Melting; Meander; In Full View; Nana.
Personnel: 

Julia Hülsmann: piano; Tom Arthurs: trumpet, flugelhorn; Marc Muellbauer: double bass; Heinrich Köbberling: drums.


Enrico Rava

Rava On The Dance Floor



By Thom Jurek
Enrico Rava isn't the first jazz musician to cover the music of Michael Jackson. Nor, at 70, is he the most likely. (Younger men like Nicholas Payton, Christian Scott, and Robert Glasper would seemingly be more obvious candidates.) That said, with On the Dance Floor, the Italian trumpet legend takes on an entire album of tunes associated with Jackson. According to Rava, he wasn't even really aware of Jackson's music until a few days after his death; his wife was watching a concert video, he haphazardly took a look and listen and was riveted to the point of obsession. On the Dance Floor is not the usual tribute then, because it's not wrapped in grief. Instead, it's the mark of one master musician celebrating another -- Rava rightfully considers Jackson to be among the most important musicians of the 20th century. Recorded live in Rome with the large ensemble, Parco della Musica Jazz Lab, under the direction of trombonist Mauro Ottolini, Rava takes on some of Jackson's biggest hits and some of his less familiar numbers. The set opens with a ponderous, laid-back reading of "Speechless," on which Rava uses his trademark spacing and lyricism to find room for improvisation that reflects the Italian jazz tradition, theatrical and cinematic music, and the source material. While the orchestra isn't up to playing at the communicative level of the trumpeter's smaller groups, they don't need to be. They understand how to bring the funk and make it bubble and boil on the medley of "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"/"Smooth Criminal," "Thriller," and "Blood on the Dance Floor." That said, they also color ballads with enough emotion and sensitivity to allow Rava's own sense of exploratory admiration to come through as on the hinge piece, a beautiful cover of Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" that reflects much of the tenderness Jackson imbued it with. The reading of "Little Susie" wonderfully balances drama and melody. On the Dance Floor doesn't come off as one of Rava's more disciplined recordings -- it may indeed be his loosest -- but that's by design. It's a laid-back, accessible tribute recording that celebrates Jackson's music as an achievement, and offers jazz fans of all stripes a way into it.
Track Listing: 

Speechless; They Don't Care About Us; Thriller; Privacy; Smile; I Just Can't Stop Loving You/Smooth Criminal; Little Susie; Blood on the Dance Floor; History.
Personnel: 

Enrico Rava: trumpet: Andrea Tofanelli: trumpet, flugelhorn; Claudio Corvini: trumpet, flugelhorn; Mauro Ottolini: trombone, tuba; Daniele Tittarelli: alto saxophone, flute; Dan Kinzelman: tenor saxophone, clarinets; Franz Bazzani: keyboard; Giovanni Guidi: piano, Fender Rhodes, toy piano; Dario Deidda: bass; Mercello Gianni: electric guitar; Zena de Rossi: drums; Ernesto Lopez Maturell: percussion.

Rosario Giuliani & Franco D'Andrea

Duets For Trane



By Scott Yanow
Altoist Rosario Giuliani is not well known outside of his native Italy, but he should be. On the inspired outing Duets for Trane, he performs nine songs composed by John Coltrane as duets with pianist Franco d'Andrea. The interplay between the musicians is reminiscent of Lee Konitz and Lennie Tristano; in fact, this set gives one an idea of what Konitz and Tristano might have sounded like if they had explored a full set of Coltrane tunes. Their interpretations are fresh and extend the ideas of the songs, which not only include the minor blues "Equinox" and "Giant Steps" but a 12-and-a-half minute rendition of the themes from "A Love Supreme." The memorable set concludes with Giuliani playing unaccompanied on "Solo for Trane." A classic of its kind.
Recording information: 

Interface Studio, Lavinio (06/17/1997). Photographer: Pieroni Carlo. Translator: Giordano Pietroni. Personnel: 

Rosario Giuliani (alto saxophone); Franco D'Andrea (piano). 

Liner Note Author: Paolo Piangiarelli.
Tracks:
1 Equinox ; 2 Countdown ; 3 Naima ; 4 Giant Steps ; 5 Central Park West
6 Some Other Blues ; 7 Love Supreme ; 8 Like Sonny ; 9 Lonnie's Lament ; 10 Solo for Trane


Denny Zeitlin

Both/And: Solo Electro-Acoustic Adventures 



By Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Denny Zeitlin has the distinction—among many others—of having written one of the loveliest of loves songs: "Love Theme From Invasion of the Bodysnatchers." The tune can be heard in its unadorned beauty on Zeitlin's Precipice (Sunnyside Records, 2010), the recording of an extraordinarily beautiful and adventurous solo concert. The original version of the tune, from the soundtrack of the 1978 movie, Invasion of the Bodysnatchers(1978)—a masterful remake of the classic 1954 science fiction film—was Zeitlin's lone effort at writing for film. Hired originally to do a "jazz" score, Zeitlin found it necessary—when plans changed—to convince the powers-that-be that he was indeed capable of writing music for symphony orchestra and electronics—the then-new-on-the scene synthesizers.
Zeitlin had experience with synthesizers. His Expansion (Arch Records, 1973) and Syzygy (Arch Records, 1977) had prepared the pianist for the electronics work. His preparation for working with a symphony orchestra? Essentially non-existent, until the opportunity presented itself with the soundtrack, which turned out to be a rousing success, a perfect accompaniment to one of the great sci-fi movies of all time.
But it was an enormous effort. Working with the cumbersome synthesizers of the day and directing a symphony orchestra had made it necessary for Dr. Denny Zeitlin to put another of his life's passions, his psychiatric practice, on hold for a time; so, in the wake of this successful foray, pianist Denny Zeitlin took a thirty-plus year hiatus from electronic and symphonic music and immersed himself mostly piano trio and solo work, acoustic style, offering up the previously-mentioned Precipice, Labyrinth (Sunnyside Records, (2011), and Wherever You Are: Midnight Moods for Solo Piano (Sunnyside Records, 2012), for a marvelous recent track record—totally acoustic—that makes Both/And, which is subtitled Solo Electro-Acoustic Adventures, such a surprise.
Zeitlin says he always wanted to be an orchestra. The new-millennial technological advances in the equipment for electronic music creation make that possible, on a CD that blends electric, electro-symphonic and acoustic sounds in fresh ways.
"Meteorology," a nod to the fusion group Weather Report, announces Zeitlin's artistic gear shift. A funky bass line is soon joined by towering electronics, majestic, glowing washes of neon color backed by zooming, precision, synthetic hand clap percussion, followed by a gorgeous and introspective acoustic piano interlude, with an electro-chorus singing in—a marvelous minor symphony adeptly done.
If the opener is a minor symphony, the thirteen minute "Dystopian Uprising" is a moody symphony. A masterpiece that evokes the unsettled mood of a world gone terribly wrong. Atmospheric and gloomy, full of impending dread, Zeitlin's acoustic piano backed by "strings" has the feeling of a soundtrack more perfect, perhaps, than even his "Bodysnatchers" work—a complex piece of music all the more beautiful for its mostly-restrained-but-vivid exploration of a darkening existence.
If "Dystopian Uprising" is a moody symphony, the five part,twenty-three minute "Monk-y Business Revisited" is a major one. Zeitlin has expressed—after thirty-plus years of working in the acoustic mode—some dissatisfaction with the timbrel limitations of he solo piano and piano trio formats. With synthesizer/electronics, the timbrel possibilities are pretty much endless, and Zeitlin exploits those possibilities very deftly, whether with the spacey harmonic glow on "Intro and Main Theme" of "Dystopian Uprisings," or the eerie electric warble of the opening of "Into the Funk;" or the same section's near-authentic—in terms of reproducing the acoustic sounds of that instrumentation—string and percussion work.
Electronics have been creeping into the world of jazz music bit-by-bit. Denny Zeitlin embraces the format and marries it to the acoustic side with a rare finesse. Both/And, is an extraordinary work of art. A masterpiece? Maybe. Time will tell. Denny Zeitlin is an orchestra, one that uses an acoustic/electronic blend with a master's touch, to transcend even the "timbrel limitations" of the orchestral format, creating his finest and most compelling work.
Track Listing: 

Meteorology; Dawn; Tiger, Tiger; Kathryn's Song; Dystopian Uprising; Charango Dream; Monk-y Business: Intro and Main Theme; Into the funk; Waltzing to Memories;Piano Seque; Audio Kaleidoscope and Finale.
Personnel: 

Denny Zeitlin: acoustic piano, synthesizers, keyboards.

Sam Most 1930 - 2013

By Peter Keepnews on June 22, 2013
Sam Most, a flutist who helped bring his instrument into the modern jazz mainstream, died on June 13 in Woodland Hills, Calif. He was 82.
The cause was pancreatic cancer, his twin sister, Ruth Labensky, said.
In 1952, when he recorded the flute feature “Undercurrent Blues,” Mr. Most was an accomplished jazz saxophonist and clarinetist who, like many reed and woodwind players, played flute only occasionally. Jazz flute was not much more than a novelty at the time, and it was virtually absent from recordings or performances in the modern style known as bebop. “Undercurrent Blues” displayed the instrument’s potential in a new way and, while not a big hit, caught the ear of many musicians.
“When I started playing jazz on flute,” Herbie Mann, the first jazz flutist to achieve widespread popularity, once said, “there was only one record out: Sam Most’s ‘Undercurrent Blues.’ ” By the early 1960s, flutes were almost as common as saxophones in jazz ensembles.
Mr. Mann and many other jazz flutists, including Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Yusef Lateef and Hubert Laws, have acknowledged Mr. Most — and especially his unusual technique of humming into the flute while playing — as an early influence. Charles Mingus once called him “the world’s greatest jazz flutist.”
Samuel Most was born on Dec. 16, 1930, in Atlantic City, and grew up in the Bronx. His parents, Jacob Most and the former Dora Kaplan, were immigrants from Lithuania. His older brother, Abe, was a prominent jazz clarinetist while Sam was growing up.
Mr. Most studied at City College and the Manhattan School of Music and became a professional musician at 17. He spent time with the big bands of Tommy Dorsey, Don Redman and others before forming his own small group.
After recording prolifically as both a leader and a sideman and touring with Buddy Rich from 1959 to 1961, Mr. Most moved west and settled into lucrative but anonymous work in Los Angeles studios and Las Vegas showrooms. He continued to record in a jazz context on occasion and released a number of critically praised albums on the Xanadu label in the late 1970s. His later projects included an album of unaccompanied alto flute improvisations.
He was the subject of a 2001 documentary, “Sam Most, Jazz Flutist.”
In addition to Ms. Labensky, Mr. Most is survived by another sister, Frances Tutshen, and a brother, Bernard. His brother Abe died in 2002.

George Gruntz 1932 - 2013

By John Fordham
George Gruntz obituary
Swiss pianist, composer and bandleader famed for his innovative Concert Jazz Band

When the jazz pianist George Gruntz's Concert Jazz Band played at Ronnie Scott's club in London a dozen years ago, they caught listeners unawares with a blend of the ambiguities and mysterious undercurrents of Gil Evans's partnerships with Miles Davis, and the punch and power of a conventional swing group. Gruntz, who has died aged 80, was one of the few internationally acclaimed Swiss-born jazz musicians, and had an unusually broad vision.
It was his Concert Jazz Band – or just plain CJB – under Quincy Jones's baton that backed an ailing Davis in 1991, on the trumpeter's swansong visits to the classic scores from Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess, and Sketches of Spain. No bandleader could have been better suited than Gruntz to furnishing a premier-league international orchestra in his homeland for one of the historic events of late 20th-century jazz.
A native of Basel, Gruntz studied at conservatoires there and in Zurich. In his mid-20s he became a member of Swiss swing-to-bop saxophonist Flavio Ambrosetti's groups, and in 1958 he performed and recorded at the Newport jazz festival, as a member of American trombonist and educator Marshall Brown's International Youth Band. Gruntz played for the Youth Band's Yugoslavian representative, the trumpeter Duško Goyković (1960-61), and then in a bebop trio that accompanied American stars including Donald Byrd, Dexter Gordon and Lee Konitz on their trips to Europe. From 1963 Gruntz – who had previously been supporting himself as a car salesman – devoted himself exclusively to music, touring with the vocalist Helen Merrill, and performing in the saxophonist Phil Woods' European Rhythm Machine (1968-69).
In 1964 he aired his classical-harpsichord skills on the crossover album Jazz Goes Baroque. Three years later he explored Middle Eastern instruments for the Bedouin-inspired project Noon in Tunisia, and showed his openness to free-jazz in 1969 in a brief partnership with Ornette Coleman's trumpeter Don Cherry. The restlessly energetic Gruntz was also music director of Zurich's Schauspielhaus theatre (1970-84), and artistic director of Berlin's prestigious international jazz festival, the Berliner Jazztage (1972-94).
Gruntz combined these assignments with a busy schedule as an innovative bandleader and player, working in the 1970s with his unique Piano Conclave – a six-piano band plus rhythm section, which at various times employed such European piano stars as Martial Solal, Joachim Kühn and Gordon Beck. He premiered his settings for The Rape of Lucrece at Southwark Cathedral in 1975, and two years later composed a complex percussion-orchestra piece for the Montreux jazz festival.
Principally, however, this was the period in which his most famous big-band creation, the CJB, came into its own. In 1972 Gruntz had become a co-founder of a large ensemble, the Band, with Ambrosetti, his trumpeter son Franco, and Swiss drummer and painter Daniel Humair. Six years later, Gruntz took over the group, renamed it, and made it a successful and stylistically broad outfit that toured the world, with American heavyweights including singer Sheila Jordan, guitarist John Scofield and saxophonist Dave Liebman in the lineup at various times. The band was augmented by former Evans sidemen for Davis's famous farewell at the 1991 Montreux jazz festival, and the following year they were invited to China, on the first official jazz tour of that country.
A democratic, charming and humorous bandleader, Gruntz meticulously wrote at least two featured spots per gig for all his soloists on the band's tours, frequently featured band-members' original compositions, and regularly picked up the tab for high-class restaurant evenings with his players on the road.
Gruntz also wrote Money: A Jazz Opera with the American poet Amiri Baraka in 1982 and the following year he wrote the oratorio The Holy Grail of Jazz and Joy. In 1988 he collaborated with the beat poet Allen Ginsberg on the opera Cosmopolitan Greetings. The most ambitious of these ventures was Chicago Cantata – commissioned by the city's jazz festival in 1991 – a mix of jazz, blues, soul and gospel music with the Art Ensemble of Chicago's Lester Bowie and Malachi Favors, saxophonist Von Freeman, and gospel stars Pops Staples and the Norfleet Family in the lineup.
Radio Days, a 10-CD retrospective of Gruntz's works, was released in 2007, and though in declining health, the irrepressible maestro performed in the US with the CJB late in 2012. The long-time Gruntz trumpeter Marvin Stamm described him as "the face of Swiss jazz, and a strong enough presence to gather a slew of top American and European players into his Concert Jazz Band, many of whom … returned again and again".
Gruntz is survived by his wife, Lilly, a son and a daughter.
• George Paul Gruntz, jazz pianist and bandleader, born 24 June 1932; died 10 January 2013