Tommy LiPuma 1936 - 2017

By ANASTASIA TSIOULCAS/NPR
Tommy LiPuma, a record label executive and producer who made recordings with George Benson, Diana Krall, Paul McCartney, Natalie Cole, Dr. John, David Sanborn, Barbra Streisand, Queen Latifah, Leon Russell, Al Jarreau and Miles Davis, died Monday evening in New York City after a brief, undisclosed illness. His death was announced by Regina Joskow, a former colleague, family friend and jazz publicist.
Over the course of his career, LiPuma brought his artists — and labels — notable commercial success outside the realm pop albums. The recordings which he produced sold more than 75 million copies in total, including 35 titles that went gold or platinum. They include Natalie Cole's 1991 album "Unforgettable ... With Love" (which went seven times platinum); George Benson's "Breezin'" from 1976, which became a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 Chart; and a string of hits with singer Diana Krall across 11 titles and over 15 million albums sold. Along the way, LiPuma also won five Grammy Awards and earned 33 Grammy nominations.
Born July 5, 1936, LiPuma grew up in Cleveland, and played saxophone as a student. His rise in the record business was the result of a very old-school progression through the music industry. As jazz bassist and composer (and Jazz Night in America host) Christian McBride noted at an 80th-birthday celebration concert held last year in LiPuma's honor, he went from "cutting hair to cutting hit records."
After working as a barber, LiPuma began packing vinyl records at a warehouse. Soon, he was offered a job in Los Angeles as a radio promoter for Liberty Records before taking a job in publishing. He then began to work as a producer on early recordings by performers including The O'Jays and Randy Newman.
He was the first staff producer at A&M records, and in the '60s co-founded the musically eclectic Blue Thumb Records with future Rock and Roll Hall of Fame co-founder Bob Krasnow. He went on to hold executive positions at many of the top American labels that produced jazz, smooth jazz and music aimed at older audiences; they included Warner Bros., Elektra, GRP/Impulse and Verve.
In 2011, he produced Paul McCartney's Concord album Kisses On The Bottom, which won a Grammy for Best Pop Standard Album (Vocal) along with projects with Leon Russell and the trumpeter Dominick Farinacci. His last production was a forthcoming album from Krall entitled Turn Up The Quiet, which is scheduled for release in May.
LiPuma is survived by his wife, Gill, daughters Jen Monti and Danielle Wiener, and four granchildren: Matty, Julia, Chloe and Ava.

Dave Valentin 1952 - 2017

By Sam Roberts
Dave Valentin, a Grammy Award-winning Latin jazz flutist who recorded dozens of albums and performed on six continents, died on Wednesday in the Bronx. He was 64.
The cause was complications of a stroke and Parkinson’s disease, said his manager, Richie Bonilla.
Born in the Bronx to parents who came from Puerto Rico, Mr. Valentin was playing conga and timbales professionally by the time he was 10. As a teenager, he became attracted to a girl who played the flute and, to better court her, switched instruments and taught himself to play. He went on to become one of the pre-eminent flutists in Latin jazz.
He won a Grammy for best Latin jazz album in 2003 for “The Gathering,” by the Caribbean Jazz Project, an album that also featured the vibraphonist Dave Samuels.
Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote in a 1984 review that Mr. Valentin “plays with a sultry tone and dizzyingly agile technique, and his solos dart in and around his quintet’s Latin and funk rhythms.”
The percussionist and bandleader Bobby Sanabria said in an interview that Mr. Valentin was “a true son of the South Bronx wherever he went,” and that he “represented excellence as a musician through the flute in the world of jazz.”
David Joseph Valentin was born in the South Bronx on April 29, 1952, to parents who came to New York from a fishing village near Mayagüez, P.R. His mother was the former Sylvia Ramirez. His father, Jorge, a steward in the merchant marine, brought home bongos and congas from Brazil, which Dave began practicing on when he was 5. He took piano lessons when he was 9 and was playing percussion for $10 a gig when he was 10.
“At that time I was like a novelty playing with men,” he said in an interview with the Hamilton College Jazz Archive in 2000. “I was a little kid on timbales.”
His junior high school had a school band and a jazz band, an orchestra, a chorus and seven music teachers, one of whom, Stuart Soffer, recommended him to the High School of Music and Art (now the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan).
After graduating, he studied under the acclaimed jazz flutist Hubert Laws, who became his mentor. He also studied at Bronx Community College before becoming a music teacher.
“I taught seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade music for three years in the South Bronx,” Mr. Valentin told The Times in 2014. “I had a jazz band and taught them how to play, so when they graduated they were ready.”
His first album as a leader, “Legends,” was released in 1979 on the GRP label, with which he had a long and fruitful relationship as both a leader and a sideman.
In addition to releasing numerous albums under his own name, he recorded with the singers Patti Austin, Chris Connor and Nnenna Freelon, the guitarist Lee Ritenour, the pianist McCoy Tyner’s Afro-Cuban All-Stars and many others. He also toured with the percussionist Tito Puente and was music director of his Golden Latin Jazz All-Stars.
After suffering a stroke in 2012, he convalesced in a rented bungalow in the Harding Park section of the Bronx, surviving without savings or health insurance and dependent largely on donations, many of them handled by the Jazz Foundation of America. He eventually moved to a nursing home.
He is survived by a brother, George.
Mr. Valentin delighted in recounting how he became a flutist.
“I started out as a percussionist in school. But I wanted to meet this girl, Irene, who was a flutist,” he recalled in 2011. “She showed me a scale, and I played it immediately. Do-re-me-fa-so-la-ti-do. Without knowing nothing! So, I borrowed a flute, bought a Herbie Mann record and learned ‘Comin’ Home Baby.’
“Three weeks later, I went to her and played it,” he continued. “I knew I had her! She said, ‘I’ve been taking lessons for three years and you come in here in three weeks and play like that? Don’t ever talk to me again!’
“I lost the girl, but kept the flute.”

Misha Mengelberg 1935 - 2017

By John Fordham
In his last years the Dutch pianist, composer and improviser Misha Mengelberg, who has died aged 81, would sometimes whistle and sing in conversation with visiting friends when advancing Alzheimer’s disease made words particularly elusive. But conversing this way was perhaps not as big an inconvenience for Mengelberg as it might have been for some, since much of the music he had initiated and participated in for more than 50 years resembled a spontaneous conversation in which narrative was capricious, logic unreliable and diversionary humour frequent.
Mengelberg was one of the most creative jazz pianists to emerge in the first phase of Europe’s breakaway from American jazz styles in the 1960s, good enough to record with the pioneering American reeds player Eric Dolphy in 1964 and to perform at the Newport jazz festival two years later. Mengelberg had been intrigued in his youth by the jazz methods of Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monkand Herbie Nichols, and had transcribed jazz solos while studying the classics. However, he was soon exposing those materials to creative pressures from non-jazz radicals including John Cage and the interdisciplinary experiments being pursued in the US and Europe by futurists, dadaists, and the 1950s Fluxus artists - as well as the Taoism of Lao Tzu.
The description of the movement by Fluxus pioneer George Maciunas as “a fusion of Spike Jones, gags, games, vaudeville, Cage and Duchamp” makes a pretty good description of Mengelberg himself. He would shift unceremoniously between traditional swing and flinty improv or graceful virtuosity and slapstick, inject weird wordless vocal variations into meticulously composed instrumentals, and tease audiences with the expectation of resolutions that never came. He had a reputation for forgetting appointments, sometimes arriving late for gigs, taking to a stage through the wrong door carrying a cup of coffee – and recording musical dialogues with his wife’s parrot, Eeko. Despite appearances, Mengelberg maintained that the bird hated him, since it would regularly mimic his best ideas better than he could play them himself.
He was also a co-founder (with fellow-composers including Louis Andriessen, Peter Schat and Reinbert de Leeuw) of the Amsterdam research and development centre STEIM (Studio for Electro Instrumental Music), a facility that later expanded to include studios, workshops and a concert hall. He was instrumental in the founding of Amsterdam’s celebrated Bimhuis jazz club in 1973 and a dedicated campaigner for the improvement of opportunities and rewards for musicians, helping in the latter role to encourage unprecedented levels of state funding for original jazz and improvisation in his homeland.But if Mengelberg could seem to be a flippant individual who took neither himself nor anyone else seriously, it was a smokescreen that concealed an influential lifetime of work as both an artist and an enabler. He was an initiator of the Instant Composers’ Pool (ICP), a collective comprising many of the Netherlands’ most inventive jazz avant gardists, which evolved a diverting chemistry of Ellingtonian swing, uninhibited free jazz and performance art.
Alongside Mengelberg’s active life as a piano improviser from the 60s to the 2000s, he was also a prolific composer and arranger: of solo piano pieces and ensemble music, a cantata, music dedicated to inspirations as different as Richard Wagner and Bill Evans, and repertory ventures for the ICP Orchestra in the 80s exploring the legacies of Ellington, Monk and Nichols.
He was born Misja Mengelberg to a musical family in Kiev, in what was then the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. His German mother, Rahel (nee Draber) was a harpist and his father, Karel, a film composer and orchestral conductor, while his great-uncle Willem Mengelberg was a celebrated conductor with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam.
In 1938, with Russian suspicion of German citizens growing, the family moved from Kiev to Amsterdam, where Misha learned classical piano but on leaving school began studies for an architectural career, switching in 1958 to music theory and composition at the Royal Conservatory.
But neither temperament, or the spirit of the times, were steering Mengelberg toward a straight-ahead jazz life. In 1964 he had participated in a Flux festival “happening” of Nieuwste Muziek en Anti-muziek (Latest music and non-music), and three years later he was setting up the radical ICP. During this period, he often appeared in entertaining duos with Bennink that mixed original themes, jazz and improv virtuosity and knockabout comedy, and the pair briefly formed a trio with the saxophonist Willem Breuker that exhibited a kind of acrimoniously pungent inventiveness.Mengelberg quickly developed into a jazz pianist capable of accompanying the world’s best, working as a sideman in clubs and studios, recording Last Date with Dolphy in 1964 and forming a quartet featuring the brilliant drummer Han Bennink (an encounter that became a lifetime collaboration) that performed at the 1966 Newport jazz festival.
In the 70s and 80s Mengelberg combined work at STEIM with leadership of a sometimes chaotically improvisational ICP Tentet, which also featured the German saxophone firebrand Peter Brotzmann and the Danish-American altoist John Tchicai. In the 90s, Mengelberg worked with the former Thelonious Monk saxophonist Steve Lacy, and with the saxophonist/composer Anthony Braxton on the latter’s Charlie Parker Project in 1993. He recorded a series of fine solo albums in the 90s (Impromptus, Mix and Solo) in which elegantly simple melodies or Monk-like phrasing often glimmered amid complex contemporary-classical structures and dissonances, and occasionally worked in duos with the freethinking Dutch saxophonist Yuri Honing.
He made a superb postbop recording in 2000, Four in One, in a quartet including Bennink and the American trumpeter Dave Douglas, memorably revisiting Hypochristmutreefuzz, his own inimitable angle on bebop, from the Eric Dolphy Last Date session.
As Alzheimer’s disease took hold of Mengelberg in the 2000s, his public performances became rare, though the old spark could still spring out of the most ostensibly hesitant approaches to the piano. Mengelberg’s final public performance was at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam in June 2014 – the last of three Oyster Sessions, in which the club furnished white wine and one of the old contrarian’s favourite seafood treats while he played and chatted with old and new friends from the ICP.
Mengelberg is survived by Amy, his wife of more than five decades, his daughter, Andrea, and his brother, Kaspar.

1 Sem 2017 - Part Three

Enrico Pieranunzi
Proximity



By Thomas Conrad
Like the other great piano players of our time, Enrico Pieranunzi mostly performs and records in trio and solo formats. Tales From the Unexpected comes from a concert in Gütersloh, Germany, in 2015, and is a valuable addition to his large, rich trio discography. The bassist and drummer, Jasper Somsen and André Ceccarelli, are longtime occasional collaborators. It is a rare recent example of a live jazz album recorded on analog tape direct to two-track. The sound is wonderfully warm and alive.
Proximity is even more noteworthy because it is a departure for Pieranunzi, a studio session from 2013 by a new quartet with trumpeter Ralph Alessi, saxophonist Donny McCaslin and bassist Matt Penman.
Pieranunzi wrote all the material on both albums. He is a special interpreter of standards, so it is slightly disappointing that he did not choose to include even one. But he is a composer who creates enticing melodies, and it is interesting how his tunes are able to serve very different purposes. Tales is all about energy. Tracks are mostly up (“The Surprise Answer”) or medium-up (“Anne Blomster Sang,” “Fellini’s Waltz”), and all feel driven by inner ensemble urgency. But Pieranunzi’s touch always informs energy with graceful elegance and Italian romanticism. His formal sense is so sure that even fully improvised pieces like “Improtale 1” sound refined, symmetrical and complete.
The romanticism of Proximity is deeper and more plaintive. The title track and “Sundays” are melodies made from a few long, yearning calls that originate with Alessi and McCaslin. Their articulate voices and strong personalities sound submerged in Pieranunzi’s sensibility. Alessi draws out “(In)Canto” like a rapt ceremony, caught in its haunting theme, repeating it with subtle variations. In the open spaces, Pieranunzi lays in variations of his own, in luminous fragments. As for McCaslin, it is striking how he finds a way to take off from such a closed circle and solo, offering fresh, revelatory content.
Throughout, Alessi and McCaslin play with measured, concentrated lyricism. Pieranunzi, who rarely arranges for horns, employs their instruments with precision. He thinks like a painter, brushing in his melodies with trumpet and saxophone in alternating or interlaced strokes. Then, within his own clear parameters, he allows those horns to briefly roam free in his songs. The most emotionally resonant piece is “Within the House of Night,” without solos as such. Its pensiveness passes beautifully through everyone’s hands, including those of Penman, whose probing, poetic work on this record reveals that he is one of the most gifted bassists currently working. The absence of a drummer makes Proximity a form of chamber jazz, but it never lacks for fervor.


Joyce Moreno & Kenny Werner
Poesia



By Dan Bilawsky 
Though it may be a nonsensical thought, it's tempting to wonder if Kenny Werner has figured out how to clone himself. Lately, it would seem that he's everywhere: if you've opened the pages of DownBeat you've seen his "Zen And The Art Of Jazz" columns staring back at you; if you've headed up to Berklee you've seen him in action, acting as Artistic Director of that institution's Performance Wellness Institute; if you frequent New York's Blue Note or Jazz Standard you might've heard his new quintet or his longstanding trio; and if you've followed the new release schedule, you may have spotted the latest from that trio or trumpeter Randy Brecker's RandyPOP! (Piloo Records And Productions LLC, 2015), an album featuring Werner's playing and his arrangements/derangements of classic pop songs. How he fits it all in is a mystery, but it's clear that a Werner in motion gathers no moss.
Now, in keeping with that idea, comes another release from the omnipresent pianist. Poesia finds Werner working with vocalist Joyce Moreno, building on a musical relationship that extends back over a quarter of a century: Werner appeared on both of Moreno's albums on the Verve imprint, he toured Japan with her in 1991, and he remains her first choice pianist whenever she arrives in New York. Here, these two deliver thirteen intimate duo gems that are as lovely and distinctive as the budding and blooming flower images that adorn the packaging.
Across this album, Werner and Moreno demonstrate that beauty comes in many forms. "Olha Maria" moves with melancholic charm, "Estate" comes across as a form of musical hypnotherapy, "Mad About The Boy" is a daydream and a saloon song rolled into one, and "Pra Dizer Adeus" reduces the whole concept of yearning into a single work. Virtually every one of these performance exists in a similar space in terms of tempo, dynamics, and pacing, but each piece of musical poetry carries a different intention. A number like "Velho Piano," for example, deals with the evolution and unmasking of love over time while a piece like "The Water Is Wide" comes from a different place, speaking in spiritual tones. Both deal with dissimilar topics, but they become kindred spirits in the way that Werner and Moreno address them.
Not a year goes by without the arrival of one or two extraordinarily beautiful piano-and-voice duo albums. For 2015, this is one of them. To say that this music is affecting and enthralling would be a gross understatement.
Track Listing:
Second Love Song; E O Amor Outra Vez; Olha Maria; Estate; Mad About The Boy; Velho Piano; Throw It Away; Pra Dizer Adeus; Smile; Choro Bandido; Some Other Time; Novelo; The Water Is Wide.
Personnel:
Joyce Moreno: vocals; Kenny Werner: piano.


Eivind Austad Trio
Moving



By Ginalovesjazz.com
At home in Norway, pianist Eivind Austad is a household name in the young jazz scene in Bergen. Eivind is originally from Trondheim, way up north, but has made Bergen his home for the past 20 years. With “Moving” (out March 18th), his trio is now ready for an international career as well. And you could say better late than never.
Eivind was also trained in classical music and folk, like it is common in the Scandinavian countries, and his love for soul, gospel and r&b makes this new effort an interesting listening experience. And his solo piano introduction on the album’s opener “Two Of Mine” show his very lyrical and Bill Evans-like approach until bassist Magne Thormodsaeter and drummer Hakon Mjaset Johansen join him in subdued and elegant fashion. Eivind’s right hand fathoms out the boundaries in all directions. The compositions don’t really have that typical Norwegian touch (if there is one), but explore and touch upon all kinds of genres, if only slightly, like on the ruminated, soulful search in “Median”.
And some folksy elements shine through on the warm and comfy “Homeland”. The various layers on the tense and versatile “In The End”, again with remarkable right-hand work and some Keith Jarrett-like interpolations, make the piece well-rounded and carefully thought-through. There is a coherent final statement after a brief bass solo which is nicely embedded into the mix. The title track has some chamber-music like scales and remind me of some of Chick Corea‘s ECM works of the 70s.
There is a swinging approach to “The Moment Of Truth” where Eivind is more or less telling a lively and enthralling story and gives room to Magne and Hakon as well. But the nice thing here is that the bass and drum solo parts are not necessarily full-grown solo spots per se, but more a part of the scheme of things, of the overall sound concept and composition. It’s the most satisfying and pulsating piece on offer, transparent and lucid.
In addition to the six original compositions, there are two cover pieces by Cole Porter and David Bowie. Porter’s “All Of You” shows me quite plainly how important original material is. Not that there is no originality in the playing and interpretation of this classic, but it somehow falls short of the imaginative and at times brilliant ideas of the self-written pieces. Much more in sync with his own material is the choice of Bowie’s “Life On Mars” where Eivind’s playing gets severely ethereal, all vulnerable and bravely exposed.

1 Sem 2017 - Part Two

Stefano Bollani
Sheik For Zappa



By Emanuele Vassalli at balaclavareviews
Stefano freaked out! Due artisti a tutto tondo, due personalità bizzarre, due geni della musica. Stefano Bollani omaggia Frank Zappa, in un nuovo album adatto agli amanti della musica fuori dalle righe e della creatività. Il pianista nato a Milano rivisita alcuni brani storici del musicista italo-americano con un quintetto del tutto particolare, considerando che la chitarra è assente, mentre nei brani originali è uno degli strumenti dominanti. Il disco è stato registrato in presa diretta durante i vari concerti del tour “Sheik Yer Zappa” del 2011, senza il ricorso di aggiustamenti post-registrazione. La particolarità di questo album, e ciò che lo differenzia dagli altri “tributi”, è il fatto che i brani non sono stati suonati tali e quali gli originali, ma prevale l’improvvisazione, che Bollani e il suo gruppo svolgono in maniera egregia.
In una recente intervista, Bollani ha dichiarato che, seppur idolatrandolo, lui non avrebbe mai voluto suonare con Zappa, poiché
" era uno che ti faceva provare per otto ore al giorno, e pretendeva ogni volta i brani perfetti e così come erano stati scritti; mentre io sono uno che ama improvvisare, quindi probabilmente l’avrei scansato. "
Devo dire che questa reinterpretazione è davvero gradevole e ancora una volta fuori dal normale. Nelle parti improvvisate grande spazio è lasciato al vibrafono (molto presente anche nei brani di Zappa), suonato dal nativo dell’Illinois Jason Adasiewicz, scoperto da Bollani su YouTube. Nel Dicembre 2013, al Jazz Club di Ferrara, ho avuto il piacere di vedere un concerto dal vivo del suo trio Sun Rooms, nel quale Adasiewicz suona con Mike Reed e Nate McBride, e ciò che mi ha colpito è stata proprio la sua creatività e la sua maestria nel rendere uno strumento particolare come il vibrafono il pezzo forte del gruppo. Il titolo “Sheik Yer Zappa” è un riferimento al favoloso disco “Sheik Yerbouti” uscito nel 1979. Questo strano nome Zappa lo scelse per ironizzare sul mondo della disco music (che lui stesso amava) modificando il titolo della canzone “Shake Your Booty” dei KC & the Sunshine Band nel nome di uno sceicco (così come appare nella copertina). Questo nuovo disco di Bollani, comunque, non contiene solo interpretazioni dei brani in “Sheik Yerbouti”, ma anche altri classici zappiani come “Cosmik Debris”, “Bobby Brown Goes Down” (qui cantata da Bollani), “Blessed Relief”, “Eat That Question”, “Peaches En Regalia” e “Uncle Meat”, e l’aggiunta di tre inediti.
Alla notizia dell’uscita di questo album ero davvero estasiato, poiché vedevo realizzato il connubio tra due dei miei artisti preferiti, e non ne sono rimasto affatto deluso. Si possono identificare molte peculiarità in comune tra i due: oltre ad essere due musicisti senza alcuna barriera compositiva e ad essere due grandi esecutori ed interpreti, sono anche due personaggi (nel senso artistico del termine) da scoprire per quanto stravaganti e geniali. Si trovano somiglianze anche nei loro concerti: sono (e sono stati nel caso di Zappa) infatti due grandi intrattenitori. Se vi è capitato di assistere ad un loro concerto, avrete notato ed apprezzato quanto il pubblico sia coinvolto e divertito. Per darvi un esempio: qualche mese fa ho avuto la fortuna di assistere ad un concerto di Bollani con il suo Danish Trio (ah, eccezionali pure loro); in un ambiente formale com’è il teatro, Bollani ha stemperato subito il clima sbottonandosi la camicia e cominciando a suonarsi la pancia! Più avanti nel concerto ha iniziato a suonare il piano a coda stando seduto per terra, a raccontare storie e battute, il tutto con con un risultato davvero meraviglioso sia in termini musicali che di spettacolo, e facendo divertire e partecipare il pubblico come se fosse lo show di un comico. Questa capacità di intrattenimento è testimoniata anche nelle puntate del suo programma “Sostiene Bollani” andato in onda sulla Rai.
Se ancora non conoscete questi due artisti, vi consiglio caldamente di provare a scoprirli passo dopo passo attraverso le loro interminabili discografie. Intanto, per cominciare, questo disco è quello che ci vuole.
Personnel:
Stefano Bollani, piano; Jason Adasiewicz, vibraphone; Josh Roseman, trombone
Larry Grenadier, double bass; Jim Black, drums


Tom Bancroft

Trio Red: Lucid Dreams

By Patrick Hadfield
This is the second album by Trio Red, a collaboration between drummer Tom Bancroft, pianist Tom Cawley and bassist Per Zanussi. Their first, First Hello to Last Goodbye, felt much as its name suggested: a document of a meeting. Lucid Dreamers is more, a record of a band, developing and growing together.
Several of the tracks sound as if they are wholly improvised, a musical conversation which continues through the album. Others are written by Bancroft, and there are three covers. The first, Lift Off, by Thomas Chapin, is reminiscent of 1960s post bop by Ornette Coleman or Jackie McLean: fast and slightly of kilter, Cawley takes the lead as if we're speeding down a hill. Charles Mingus' Jump Monk is more familiar bop. Bancroft proves he is as at home driving a swinging beat as he is at providing impressionistic percussion for the improvised pieces. The most intriguing cover, though, is a short mash up of (I think) 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover and Love Is Here To Stay, which Trio Red have called 50 Ways Our Love Is Here To Stay Porgy. The result is a lovely ballad which I wish lasted longer than its two minutes.
The five improvised pieces similarly leave one wanting more. The first two, Hint of Wood and Howdy Doody, follow each other closely. The first has an insistent beat over which Zanussi and Cawley solo whilst Bancroft inserts rhythmic patterns. Cawley adds to the rhythm by plucking his piano's strings in between the chords behind Zanussi's bass. Howdy Doody is more open and reflective, as if the band are finding their way through the notes. Mr McFats Puts On His Socks is another number which feels like the band are exploring their ideas. The two Bancroft compositions bookend the album. The opener, Saturday Afternoon (With Sophie), is a lively, naive-sounding tune with a slight reggae-inflection. It has the innocence of a nursery rhyme or playground chant, full of humour with a touch of naughtiness. It has the potential to be irritatingly catchy!
Lucid Dreamers closes the CD. Originally written for a larger ensemble, it is all together more serious in nature. In three sections, it has a quiet intensity that leads to a chaotic crescendo in the middle, resolving into an optimistic, emotional climax in the final part. Cawley takes a powerful solo over Zanussi's Bach-like bass line leading to the end of this varied CD.

Marc Perrenoud Trio
Nature Boy



By Challenge
What do young musicians actually think when they embark on a worn-out beaten path such as the piano trio? In the case of Marc Perrenoud, Cyril Regamey and Marco Müller, no one actually believed almost since the beginning of their fast-paced career that they would ever pick up on the likes of Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum to play sweet-swing-as-swing-can songs. Whoever listens to the three play tends more to be reminded of Metallica, Radiohead or Thindersticks than "Logo", the first album of the three in 2008. Perhaps Hindemith, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Ligeti or French cabaret at the beginning of the 20th century too, all important inspirations for their last work to date, "Vestry Lamento". But just no traditional blueprints, because there are indeed more than enough of them. "Marco, Cyril and I often play together and just think about nothing. Just maybe a good steak with green pepper,” Marc Perrenoud grins. Using a reasonably fertile imagination, everyone can imagine how such pieces might then sound.
However, pianist Perrenoud, drummer Regamey and bassist Müller really did have something in mind in their latest work "Nature Boy". They are concerned with the growing ambivalence between man and nature, between the playfulness of a child and the urge of a young adult who protests against all the abuses, injustices and crimes against creation. The trio places itself in the middle of that. "We wanted to play as if we were children: naive, easily and without a plan,” Marc Perrenoud explained their common approach. "At the same time, we felt that something was happening around us that was not normal, something that people are dead set against. Because we were not directly involved in it, we just continued playing. However, it somehow colored our music. Sometimes it sounded alarming."
That is how the 35-year-old exceptional pianist describes his state of mind when he was preparing to compose the pieces for "Nature Boy” in the fateful summer of 2015. Then as now, no one can insulate himself against the terrible images that flickered on television screens every day. Countless people, regardless of whether young or old, men or women, lost their lives in their flight from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq or Somalia to Europe. "The Mediterranean became a mass grave. Suddenly its color was just black,” Marc Perrenoud explained his feelings. "And the child in us reminded us at that moment that it had once learned that the Mediterranean is allegedly the cradle of civilization. But no one wants to acknowledge something like that! It's just unbelievable!" As a result, a natural protective reflex takes hold: block out and suppress. The child tries to gain the upper hand. It tries to play. "Because playing," Perrenoud said, "is life". Survival.
With their enormous energy, three adult children try to deal with a tremendous problem on "Nature Boy". One, for which there is no rational explanation. Perrenoud, Regamey and Müller create eight songs full of energy and emotion, of course without losing control of themselves and their presentation for one second. They function perfectly as a unit, "playing" together, without egocentric introversion and define themselves solely via their position as musicians. In the title piece, they unmistakably articulate their concerns, but without letting this anxiety prevail. Other takes such as "Overseas" suggest unbridled screaming; on the other hand, "Aegean” produces a hyperactive, restless and always on-the-go effect. In "Arolla", dedicated to a mountain in the Valais, they pay tribute to the elemental force of nature and artfully weave in the signal melody with which Swiss post buses announce their coming. The relationship between nature and humans runs like a leitmotif through "Nature Boy". It permeates every theme. Marc Perrenoud, who was born in Berlin in 1981 and studied at the Geneva Conservatory and at Lausanne Jazz School, has reaped a number of awards and has performed as a solo pianist in addition to with his trio (since 2008), combines massive bursts of aggression with subtle tenderness. The result is a new, highly exciting and authentic culture of improvisation. Something that has not existed in this intensity and urgency until now.


Lorenzo Tucci
Sparkle



By RepublicOfJazz
Sparkle, is scheduled for release in April 2016 and is the eighth album of one of the most acclaimed drummers on the Italian and international jazz scene: Lorenzo Tucci. The album contains eight of Tucci’s original compositions and two songs paying tribute to great legends in the world of music: Sting and Pino Daniele. Beyond displaying technical mastery, this album reveals Tucci’s style and flair, his creativity as a composer, his recognizable individual genre, and his ability to perform with precision and a fiery modern-edge blend that has been making waves in the contemporary jazz scene. Most of his themes aren’t based on traditional jazz standards, but are shaped into brief suites, launching off into neatly contrived ideas.
This is where jazz’s rhythmic, melodic and harmonic conventions unexpectedly expand to unfold a new space, making SPARKLE a truly innovative, contemporary jazz masterpiece. Renowned pianist Luca Mannutza together with the notably young yet acclaimed double bassist, Luca Fattorini, weave refined and interesting textures that fit seamlessly into the musical interlace, creating truly fresh-sounding atmospheres. Veteran Italian trumpeter Flavio Boltro imbues the music with intensity and emotional strength, thanks to his dynamically sensitive playing and versatility.
The title track, Sparkle Suite, is a three part song - a form which characterizes the entire album. So One, a song in 5/4 time, is catchy and upbeat in a fresh and unpredictable way. Past and Grow are original tracks nestled on the outermost edge of jazz creativity. Two Years reveals a strong and creative melodic approach, with rhythmic inventiveness. The suggestive, slow Bossa Nova track, L&L, carries a sense of mellow seduction and fluidity where Mannutza and Boltro spin out their technically advanced virtuosity. Keep Calm, is a song having a groovy, laid-back feel with linear drumming and polyrhythms almost evocating an auditory illusion. In the last unreleased track, Tarì, inspired by a real yet ethereal location, Tucci creates a sound which is apparently simple, yet of great harmonic complexity.
The tribute songs to Pino Daniele and Sting have been trasformed into true jazz standards of rare beauty: the first, E po' che fa’, is embellished by Karima’s intimate, sultry voice, while Seven Days is performed in trio with Tucci, Mannutza and Fattorini re-inhabiting Sting’s beautiful song in a heartfelt tribute to the great artist.
Personnel:
Luca Mannutza - piano; Luca Fattorini - double bass; Lorenzo Tucci - drums
Flavio Boltro - trumpet; Karima - Voice (E po' che fa')

Horace Parlan 1931 - 2017

By Dead Obituary
Horace Parlan was born on January 19, 1931, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,

and died on February 23, 2017, Korsør, Denmark.
He was an American hard bop and post-bop piano player.
Parlan was best known for his contributions to the Charles Mingus recordings Mingus Ah Um and Blues & Roots.
During his early years, Horace was stricken with polio, resulting in the partial crippling of his right hand.
Because of his handicap which contributed to his development of a particularly “pungent” left-hand chord voicing style, while coping with highly rhythmic phrases with the right.
From 1952 and 1957, Horace worked in Washington DC with Sonny Stitt and then spent two years with Mingus’ Jazz Workshop.
During 1973, he relocated to Copenhagen, Denmark. He later settled in the small village of Rude in southern Zealand/Denmark.
Parlan completed a State Department tour of Africa with Hal Singer, in 1974.
Horace Parlan’s later work, such as a series of duos with the tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp, included the album Goin’ Home, was steeped in gospel music.
He was awarded the 2000 Ben Webster Prize awarded by the Ben Webster Foundation.
Horace Parlan passed away at 86 years old.

Larry Coryell 1943 - 2017

By Kory Grow
Larry Coryell, one of jazz fusion's pioneering guitarists, died Sunday in his New York City hotel room of natural causes, according to his publicist. He had played gigs on Friday and Saturday night at the city's Iridium club and had a spate of summer tour dates on the horizon with his group the Eleventh House. He was 73.
"We are the frequency to do the opposite of Donald Trump," guitarist says of band featuring jazz legends Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter.
In the mid-to-late Sixties, Coryell broke down genre barriers with his eclectic, fluid playing and experiments with melding plodding rock rhythms with spacious jazz chords. His breakthrough, 1969's Spaces, featured a who's who of the nascent fusion genre's innovators, including guitarist John McLaughlin, pianist Chick Corea and drummer Billy Cobham – all of whom would play on Miles Davis' landmark 1970 fusion LP Bitches Brew. He would later play with McLaughlin again in the Guitar Trio, an ensemble that also featured Paco DeLucia and would later include Al DiMeola after Coryell was forced to exit due to drug addiction.
Coryell was born on April 2nd, 1943 in Galveston, Texas, but grew up in the Seattle area. He began playing piano at age four and picked up the guitar as a teenager, drawing influence from both Chet Atkins and Chuck Berry. He studied the instrument through college and eventually moved to New York City, where he took classical guitar lessons.
"What sparked me to getting into the guitar was the mobility of the instrument – I had been taking piano lessons, but the piano, although a great instrument, was large, staid, and kind of 'establishment,' whereas the guitar was portable … like a poor man's piano, and that appealed to me," he once said in an interview with Musicguy247. "The seminal 'event' to get me serious about playing the guitar was when, as a teenager, I heard somebody my own age play very well. Even though it was rock & roll, the guy displayed great skill and musicality. So, for me, if he could do that, then maybe I could as well."
In 1966, he formed a psychedelic group, the Free Spirits, in which he also sang and played sitar, while also dabbling in jazz. His musical career led to him tour with Cream frontman Jack Bruce and to record with vibraphonist Gary Burton and flautist Herbie Mann, and he made his recorded debut on Chico Hamilton's The Dealer. In addition to Eleventh House, which he formed in 1973, he also played with the group Foreplay (not to be confused with the later Fourplay).
Coryell put out dozens of solo and ensemble releases throughout the Seventies up through the present day, recording alongside Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, Kenny Barron and Stéphane Grapelli, among others. He had re-formed Eleventh House around the time of his death.
He'd put out a new album, Barefoot Man: Sanpaku, last October, according to Billboard, and a new Eleventh House full-length, Seven Secrets, will come out June 2nd. He'd also recently worked on operatic adaptations of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace and Anna Karenina, as well as James Joyce's Ulysses.
NPR reports that Coryell is survived by his wife, Tracey, daughters Annie and Allegra, sons Murali and Julian, and six grandchildren. A memorial service is scheduled to be held at New York City's SGI-USA Buddhist temple on Friday, according to Billboard.

Al Jarreau 1940 - 2017

By Britni Danielle, February 12, 2017

Just days after announcing that he was retiring from touring after being hospitalized for exhaustion, legendary jazz singer Al Jarreau passed away Sunday morning in Los Angeles.

The singer’s manager, Joe Gordon, released a statement–which was shared with EBONY by reporter Darlene Hill–about the singer’s death.

Dear friends, family and colleagues,

Al Jarreau passed away this morning, at about 5:30am LA time. He was in the hospital, kept comfortable by Ryan, Susan, and a few of his family and friends.

Ryan and Susan will hold a small, private service at home, for immediate family only. No public service is planned yet, but I will inform you if that changes.

Ryan asks that no flowers or gifts are send to their home or office. Instead, if you are motivated to do so, please make a contribution to the Wisconsin Foundation for School Music, a wonderful organization which supports music opportunities, teachers, and scholarships for students in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin. A donation page is here. Even if you do not plan to contribute, please list that page and give yourself a few minutes to watch a beautiful tribute video that Wisconsin Public Television produced to honor Al when he received his lifetime achievement award in October.

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Jarreau’s unique singing style helped to make him one of jazz’s greatest vocalists. During college, where he received a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology, Jarreau performed with a local group called The Indigos before moving to San Francisco. There he hooked up with fellow jazz great George Duke to form a trio.

Inspired to pursue music full time, Jarreau moved south to Los Angeles, where he caught the eye of Warner Bros. talent scouts, who signed the singer to a recording contract. In Los Angeles, Jarreau’s career would take off after the release of his critically acclaimed debut album We Got By. In 1977, Jarreau would win his first of seven Grammy Awards for his live album, Look to the Rainbow.

Dubbed “the voice of versatility” by the Chicago Tribune, Jarreau released 16 studio albums, a host of live albums, and several compilations. The consummate performer, Jarreau constantly toured the world, dazzling audiences with his magical voice.

Jarreau passed away at a Los Angeles hospital early Sunday morning. The singer leaves behind his wife, Susan, and his son, Ryan. He was 76.

1 Sem 2017 - Part One

Bill Evans

Some Other Time: The Lost Sessions From The Black Forest



By Mark Richardson Executive Editor
Some Other Time is a newly unearthed Bill Evans studio album, initially recorded in 1968 in Germany but not released until this month. It still sounds fresh and alive almost 50 years later.
Casual jazz fans know Bill Evans through his association with Miles Davis. Kind of Blue, the one jazz album you own if you only own one, features Evans on piano on four of the five tracks, and his brief liner notes sketch out the group's approach to improvisation in poetic and accessible terms. When you learn a bit more about Kind of Blue, you learn that Davis actually envisioned the record with Evans in mind. And though for years Davis was listed as the album's sole composer, Evans wrote "Blue in Green" (he eventually received credit.)
Another Kind of Blue piece, "Flamenco Sketches," was partly based on Evans' arrangement of "Some Other Time," the Leonard Bernstein standard. (Evans had earlier used the slow opening vamp as a building block to his breathtaking solo piano composition "Peace Piece"). So though he may not be an especially famous jazz musician, Bill Evans played an integral role in shaping the most famous jazz recording of all time, and the arc of his discography is a rewarding one for those branching off from classic Miles. "Some Other Time" continued to be a touchstone piece for Evans for the rest of his life, appearing regularly on his albums (notably on his duet record with Tony Bennett). And now it's become the title track to a newly unearthed studio album, one recorded in 1968 in Germany but not released until this month.
Jazz in general overflows with archival material. It's a live medium, and recordings of shows have been common since the early part of the last century. Studio LPs could typically be cut in a couple of days, which generally meant a wealth of unused songs and outtakes. But it's somewhat rare to have a true unreleased album—a collection of songs recorded together at a session with the thought of a specific release that never saw the light of day.
Some Other Time: The Lost Session From the Black Forest is one of these. It was recorded when Evans was on tour in Europe with a trio that included Eddie Gomez on bass and, on drums, a young Jack DeJohnette, who would go on to much greater fame with Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, and as a leader himself. It was cut between stops on a European tour by German producer Joachim-Ernst Berendt, with the idea that the rights and a release plan would be figured out later. This particular group had only been documented on record just once, on At the Montreux Jazz Festival, recorded five days prior to this date. So the existence of an unheard studio album by the trio is a significant addition to the Evans story.
The piano/bass/drums trio setting is where Evans did his most important and lasting work. He thrived on both the limitations and the possibilities of the set-up, and returned to it constantly over the course of his quarter-century recording career. He generally favored truly collaborative improvising in the setup; the bassist in his trio was expected to contribute melodically and harmonically, in addition to rhythmically, and he could often be heard soloing alongside the pianist. Eddie Gomez, heard on this album, was a steady partner of Evans' for a decade, and the level of empathy between the two players is something to behold. On "What Kind of Fool Am I?," Gomez's dancing lines darts between Evans' bass notes, almost serving as a third hand on the piano. On the immortal title track, Gomez seems like half a conversation, accenting and commenting on Evans' melodic flourishes. For his part, DeJohnette offers tasteful and low-key accompaniment, heavy on the brushwork and soft textures on cymbals—he was more of a role-player at this point in his career. But the three together feel like a true unit.
The tracklist on Some Other Time is heavy on standards, with a few Evans original sprinkled in. To love the American songbook is to be in love with harmony, and Evans never stopped discovering new possibilities in old and frequently played songs. He had a way of phrasing chord progressions for maximum impact, and he used space as virtually another instrument. Evans recorded "My Funny Valentine" many times in a number of different arrangements, often uptempo, but here he drags it out into an achingly poignant ballad that picks up speed as it goes. In his autobiography, Miles Davis famously described Evans' tone as sounding like "like crystal notes or sparkling water cascading down from some clear waterfall," and the tumble of notes on the faster sections of "My Funny Valentine" evince that crystalline loveliness. In addition to the material planned for the original LP, there's a second LP of outtakes and alternate versions that feels very much on par with the first disc.
Evans' art has endured in part because he has a brilliant combination of formal sophistication and accessibility; critics and his fellow musicians heard the genius in his approach to chords, his lightness of touch, and his open-eared support of others in his band, while listeners could put on his records and simply bask in their beauty, how Evans' continual foregrounding of emotion made the sad songs extra wrenching and the happy ones extra buoyant. He was sometimes criticized for an approach that could sound like "cocktail piano," meaning that it wasn't terribly heavy on dynamics and tended to be lower key and generally pretty, but this turned out to be another strength. If you wanted jazz in the background while engaging in another activity, Evans was your man, and if you wanted to listen closely and hear a standard like "Some Other Time" pushed to the limits of expression by his ear for space, he was there for that too.
Evans was one of those jazz artists who changed relatively little over the course of their career. His style developed and his sound had subtle shifts in emphasis over time, but his general approach to music was remarkably consistent, and he remained apart from most of the fashionable trends that wound through the jazz of his era. His first studio date as a leader, in 1956, was just a year after Charlie Parker's death, with bebop very much still au courant; his last, in 1979, the year before his death, was the year Chuck Mangione was nominated for a Grammy for the discofied light jazz funk of "Feels So Good." In both of those years, Evans recorded small-group acoustic jazz albums featuring his standard trio, playing a mix of standards and a few originals. About midway between those two bookends came this set, recorded in a small studio in Germany and left on the shelf, and it still sounds fresh and alive almost 50 years later.


Tommy Smith & The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Modern Jacobite



By John Fordham
Tommy Smith, the great Scottish saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, studied classical orchestration in the 1990s, and has played in plenty of challenging jazz/classical settings. But Modern Jacobite is his most ambitious journey yet, centred on an intricately woven three-movement symphonic work inspired by the Jacobite uprisings; it is bookended by a rapturous tenor-sax improvisation on Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise, and by Chick Corea’s famous Children’s Songs interleaved with Smith’s own Bairn’s Songs as personal variations on the same theme. The Jacobite pieces embrace violent, cinematic soundscapes for slewing brass and thundering percussion; deep cello themes that segue into pulsating tenor-sax ruminations; Scottish folk dances that become pipe-toned tenor jigs. There are seamless sprints into swing and fast-changing scene-shifts in which Smith’s sophisticated awareness of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s full potential testify to his long-honed musical class and attention to detail. Jazz/classical crossovers can be full of pitfalls, but this one is a triumph.


Edward Simon
Latin American Songbook



By Peter Hum
However you want to frame it, pianist Edward Simon’s latest disc, Latin American Songbook, is excellent.
The album, which was released Friday, has all the virtues of Latin jazz going for it, and in heaping quantities. With his interpretations of popular songs by great Cuban and South American composers, Simon dials up broad, direct emotions and stirring, rhythmic adventure. That’s as you might expect. For Simon, a native of Venezuela who now lives in the San Francisco area, re-imagining a beloved bolero, tango or bossa nova is intensely personal.
The CD is also a superior jazz piano outing, with Simon, bassist Joe Martin and drummer Adam Cruz demonstrating a remarkable rapport as they course through the disc’s program and profoundly explore their material. Of course, Simon’s jazz credentials are impeccable, including his sideman work with such leaders as Bobby Watson, Paquito D’Rivera and Terence Blanchard, not to mention his work with peers such as David Binney, John Patitucci, Brian Blade and Luciana Souza.
Ultimately, it’s best not to pigeonhole Simon’s latest recording as this kind or that kind of record — as some jazz critics’ polls might have you do — and simply enjoy its rush of passionate and deeply articulate music.
With its seven tracks over 55 minutes, Latin American Songbook creates a compelling sonic world. A charged version of Astor Piazzolla’s Libertango, kicks off the disc, and the famed Argentinian bandoneon player’s classic, dramatic piece loses nothing in translation for piano trio. Simon delights with glowing chords and urgent, racing, melodic improvising and the support from Martin and Cruz, sounding especially supercharged, is unrelenting and utterly in sync.
A perfect down-shift follows with the elegant ballad Alfonsina y el mar, by the Argentinian composer Ariel Ramírez.
Gracias a la vida, by the Chilean composer Violeta Parra, is a meditative, bittersweet exercise in slow, open, rubato playing that brings Martin’s bass into the spotlight for its theme after Simon’s austere introduction.
There’s room on Simon’s disc for one Brazilian piece, namely Antonio Carlos Jobim’s Chega de saudade. The twist here is that Simon redeploys the piece as a bright, driving swinger, complete with piano and drums trading eight-bar sections, and his move works like a charm.
Closing the disc is the tender Cuban bolero En la orilla del mundo. A version some years ago by Charlie Haden, which featured pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, set the bar for jazz interpretations of this piece, but Simon’s take is just as moving and beautiful.
It’s certainly a bonus that Simon’s artistry has made me discover his inspirations. But you don’t need to be acquainted with the originals or their lyrics to be fully won over by Simon’s music. It has more than enough power and grace in its own right.


Claudio Filippini
Overflying



By Daniele Vogrig
A seguito dei lavori realizzati con il trio scandinavo, al fianco di Palle Danielsson e Olavi Louhivuori (Facing North del 2013 e Breathing in Unison del 2014), e l'ultimo album registrato, in ordine di tempo, con Luca Bulgarelli e Marcello Di Leonardo per il suo trio italiano (Squaring the Circle del 2015), Claudio Filippini matura la sua ultima fatica discografica all'insegna di una precisa svolta artistica, musicale e umana.
Overflying è il primo disco in piano solo realizzato dal musicista pescarese, il quale si è prestato al pianoforte per un dialogo intimo e personale. Come suggerisce il titolo, si parla di un sorvolo al di sopra della materia musicale cara al suo creatore ed esecutore, il quale opera con costante lucidità e intelligenza lungo processi di composizione e scomposizione, tra pezzi classici, brani inediti e ben dosate improvvisazioni, trascendendo decisamente i tradizionali confini jazzistici, gli usuali spazi offerti dagli standards, così come i suoi precedenti lavori.
Dodici pezzi, dodici esperienze, dodici scelte sviluppate con "ardua semplicità," vale a dire all'insegna di un connubio ispirazione-esecuzione-registrazione che si rivela in un moto d'animo istantaneo, innato. Brani come tracce sbiadite di una mappa, che conducono l'ascoltatore verso approdi sicuri, cioè verso le salienti sfaccettature dell'indole musicale di Filippini.
Forza ed energia permeano l'album, a partire dal vigoroso incipit, "Voilà," o nella nervosa "Haze," dove, sulla scia di cellule ritmico-tematiche, tese e minimali, si aprono squarci di tenue improvvisazione, rivelando un animo in perfetto equilibrio tra inquietudine e distensione. Non mancano i momenti più morbidi, densi di languido pathos, come "El Noi De La Mare" e "Mentre dormi," la prima una nenia natalizia catalana rivisitata tematicamente, la seconda una delicata ballad, un dissonante canto della buonanotte che proietta una luce soffusa sul lato più intimista e, forse, sugli affetti del compositore.
Di particolare interesse appaiono le rivisitazioni classiche, a partire dalla Sonata "K 135" di Domenico Scarlatti, un excursus lungo gli ultimi confini del Barocco musicale europeo, della quale ci vengono offerte una pressoché fedele esecuzione della partitura scarlattiana e, parallelamente, una nervosa improvvisazione che decresce lungo un pacato finale dalla profonda cantabilità. De "Le Tombeau de Couperin -Forlane" di Maurice Ravel viene eseguito il terzo movimento, la vivace "Forlane," mentre della "Sonata N. 14—Opera 27 N. 2 -2nd Mov." di Ludwig van Beethoven, la sonata del "Chiaro di luna," viene proposto il secondo movimento, l'Allegretto. Una scelta inusuale, forse controcorrente, ma in linea con gli equilibri interni dell'album, stavolta vivacizzati da un ¾ che ben si sposa con la tensione generale che governa buona parte di questo lavoro.
"Tales of the Old Grandmother" di Sergej Prokof'ev è un passaggio breve e intenso: Filippini ne esegue il secondo movimento, l'Andantino, per una rivisitazione lirico-melodica resa personale da una serie di coloriture quasi impercettibili, che tuttavia distinguono e personalizzano il dialogo che il pianista instaura con il passato. Sergej Prokof'ev Nel complesso, Overflying è una raccolta di minuti racconti musicali, i quali tracciano soltanto alcuni tra i lineamenti di Claudio Filippini, per un continuo divenire musicale ancora tutto da scrivere e da leggere, nel tempo.
Citando François Mauriac: «"Dimmi quello che leggi e ti dirò chi sei" è vero; ma ti conoscerei meglio se mi dicessi quello che rileggi».
Filippini sembra averlo preso alla lettera.
Track Listing: 

Voilà; El Noi De La Mare; Haze; Tales of the Old Grandmother - 2nd Mov.; Phantom Zone; K 135; Impro K 135; Le Tombeau De Couperin - Forlane; Mentre dormi; Sonata N. 14 - Opera 27 N. 2 - 2nd Mov.; Impro Mozart/Beethoven; Via andante.
Personnel: 

Claudio Filippini: piano.

MY FRIENDS PICK - TOP 10 JAZZ CD's - 2016

By Mr. Márcio Távora

Com relativo atraso, estava viajando, eis o que melhor ouví em 2016:
- CD's:
01) STEVE KUHN (2015) – AT THIS TIME...
02) JOEY ALEXANDER (2016) - COUNTDOWN
03) SARAH VAUGHAN (1978) - LIVE AT ROSY’S
04) MICHEL LEGRAND (2015) - MICHEL LEGRAND ET SES AMIS
05) PETE JOLLY (1965) - TOO MUCH, BABY!
06) HERB ALPERT (1969) - WARM
- DVD's:
01) MARCOS VALLE & STACEY KENT (2014) - LIVE AT BIRDLAND, NEW YORK CITY
02) CESAR CAMARGO MARIANO (2016) – JOINED
- BLURAY's:
01) BURT BACHARACH (2015) - A LIFE IN SONG
02) NATALIE DESSAY & MICHEL LEGRAND (2014) - ENTRE ELLE ET LUI (LIVE AT THE CHATEAU DE VERSAILLES
03) TOOTS THIELEMANS (2012) - LIVE AT LE CHAPITEAU OPÈRA DE LIÈGE

Um feliz 2017 para todos os Jazzistas.
Márcio Távora


By Dr. Marcílio Adjadre, M.D.

Melhores CD 2016:
- Passaggio al Bosco - Andrea Garibaldi Trio
- Paquito D'Rivera Plays the Music of Armando Manzanero - Paquito e Manzanero
- Breathe Out - Emil Brandqvist Trio
- Book of Intuition - Kenny Barron Trio
- Little Magic - Michele Polga
- Influencias - Tomás Fraga
- Countdown - Joey Alexander
- At This time... - Steve Kuhn
- TrioKàla - Rita Marcotulli
- Afro Blue - Harold Mabern


By Mr. Claudio Botelho

Caríssimos amigos Jazzistas,
Eis, em primeiríssima mão, minha lista provisória dos melhores deste ano. Como sempre gosto de lembrar-lhes, o critério único é o da emoção, o do gostar de ouvir repetidamente, o de me encantar e me tirar da realidade da vida.
No correr dos próximos dias e até a primeira semana de 2.017, posso fazer correções, até mesmo por influência das listas que virão, pois, dentre tanta coisa que ouvi, fica difícil ter uma certeza muito firme de que as escolhas não embutiram alguma injustiça comigo mesmo, ou seja: pode ter faltado alguém que, por direito delegado por mérito próprio, deveria estar junto aos demais.
Eis a dita cuja, então;

01- STEVE KUHN - AT THIS TIME.
Indiscutível a vantagem deste sobre o segundo colocado (não sei qual é). Trabalho de impressionante unicidade e garra! Seguramente, minha avaliação sobre esse CD está acima da que os demais amigos farão, eis que, fã incondicional de uma percussão brilhante, vi, nesse esforço, uma performance vogorosíssima de Joey Barron, um dos bateristas que mais gosto. Como todo trabalho de SK, este reúne um impressionante "impressionismo", coisa que, também, muito me agrada, pois aprecio grandes contrastes e realismo. Nesse departamento, esse CD exagera! Nota mil!
02- THE IMPOSSIBLE GENTLEMAN - LET'S GET DELUXE.
Á primeira vista, este CD parece roqueiro demais e, para os menos atentos, pode até ser descartado antes mesmo de chegar a seu final. No entanto, ouvindo-o com mais vagar, vão surgindo detalhes de grande sofisticação. Aqui, tem-se, também, um grupo de notável coesão. Desse modo, para que possa ser devidamente aquilatado, precisa ser ouvido por pelo menos três vezes e nunca com os sentidos voltados para outra coisa qualquer.
03- KENNY BARRON - THE BOOK OF INTUITION.
Barron retornando aos seu melhores dias. Deixou a preguiça de lado, escolheu um ótimo repertório, onde pontificam excelentes composições próprias, além de algumas de Monk, um dos meus compositores favoritos, e de outros medalhões da composição. Não acho que os que o acompanham estejam em seu mesmo nível, embora o conjunto exiba um bom entrosamento. A lamentar PROFUNDAMENTE a má qualidade da gravação do piano (ou a qualidade ruim do dito cujo). Observo que os demais estão bem gravados. Assim, esse trabalho foi bem e mal capturado ao mesmo tempo. O engenheiro de gravação resolveu sacanear justamente com o líder. É uma pena, pois essas coisas me desagradam bastante, ao ponto de me influenciar na avaliação geral do trabalho (infelizmente)...
04- JACOB CHRISTOFFERSEN TRIO - FACING THE SUN.
Pianista meio relegado a segundo plano, mas muitíssimo articulado e dinâmico. CD que se ouve rapidim, de uma levada só. Do tipo "levanta defunto". Gravação ótima, bem harmonizada com a eletrizante performance.
05- JOHN BEASLEY - MONKESTRA VOL. 1.
Sou suspeitíssimo em avaliar qualquer coisa associada a Monk. No entanto, vi, nesse trabalho, uma apresentação de muita originalidade, com arranjos que aproveitam bem a multiplicidade de instrumentos de uma orquestra, com uma levada em vários planos muitas vezes e, muito importante, sem cair na tentação de produzir aquele tipo de estridência que costuma afastar os "clientes". Aqui e ali, faz mais barulho do que precisaria, mais no geral, nota-se que JB não intencionou se esconder atrás disso. Aqui, no plano dos arranjos, tem-se uma espécie de "Os Cariocas, as opposed to 'MPB4'"
06- MARIO NAPPI TRIO - INTRODUCING.
Gente nova, com ideias novas. Trabalho complexo que, certamente, demandou muito esforço. O tipo de obra que, a meu ver, estabelece um nível de qualidade que eles mesmos terão dificuldades de igualar no futuro. Nos resta, então, aproveitar...Em tempo: trata-se de um trio.
07- JOEY ALEXANDER - COUNTDOWN.
Esse CD me deu muito trabalho! Ouvi-o pelo menos SETE VEZES, de ponta a ponta, procurando o mesmo nível de emoção que encontrei no anterior. Não fui capaz de achar, tenho que admitir. Isso é impressionante, pois um ano a mais na sua faixa etária, acrescido à sua agenda bastante movimentada deste ano, seguramente lhe trouxeram mais bagagem, mas, pelo visto, lhe tiraram a espontaneidade.Percebi algumas hesitações no conjunto do trabalho. O CD é bom, senão não estaria aqui, mas, no meu sentir, sem dúvidas, o anterior é mais harmônico, mais inspirado e possuidor de um repertório de mais qualidade. Ou seja: é tudo que não poderia ser na comparação com o atual. No entanto, fazer o que?
08- ANDRÉ CECCARELLI/JEAN-MICHEL PILC/THOMAS BRAMERIE - 20 -TWENTY.
JMP tem uma característica, desenvolvida de alguns anos para cá, que torna suas interpretações meio quebradiças, serrilhadas. Deve ser fã de Franco D'andrea, que é um expoente nesse departamento. Muitas vezes, esse estilo tira um pouco a atenção da performance, até porque fica um tanto difícil seguir suas ideias. Eu gostava mais dele no início de sua carreira. No entanto, aqui, sem que ele tenha mudado seu estilo, ficou mais fácil segui-lo, até mesmo porque se dedicou a interpretar conhecidos standards. Nesse aspecto, o repertório é filé. De quebra, emoldurando tudo, o pequeno-grande Ceccarelli e sua poderosa bateria. Aí, me vendo fácil...
09- FABIO GIACHINO - BALANCING DREAMS.
Pianista novo e muito articulado. Pesado mesmo. Mais um da inesgotável safra italiana. Aqui, em trabalho solo muito bom.
10- AARON DIEHL - SPACE TIME CONTINUUM.
Comprei com um pé atrás, pois fui induzido por informações da imprensa americana. Um cara com um nome desses, pensei, não pode tocar mal... Devo dizer, no entanto, que o outro trabalho que tenho dele é fraquíssimo. Insípido, inodoro e incolor. Mas, com um nome desses, certamente ocorreu algum acidente ali. Muito bem. Nesse novo trabalho, seu trio foi acrescido de alguns grandes sopradores, entre eles o octogenário Benny Golson. Tinha tudo para ser pior que o anterior (pelo menos para mim, que sempre acho que estes são estridentes e dominadores, deixando o piano em segundo plano - o que é um crime!). Mas não é que eu quebrei a cara? O CD é daqueles que você ouve de uma tacada só, exibindo algumas faixas de trio, outras de quarteto e outras de quinteto. Os arranjos são muito precisos e os sopradores não ficam donos do pedaço. Muito bem arranjado. E digo mais: a maioria das músicas são dele! muito boa pedida!

OUTRAS ESCOLHAS
11- BILL CHARLAP TRIO - NOTES FROM NEW YORK.
Voltou aos tempos do início de sua carreira, quando apresentava maior dexteridade. O CD, como o do KB, o traz de volta à terra, após longas explorações desencontradas e, em certos casos, caça-níqueis, me parece. É um disco agradável de se ouvir, sem grandes arroubos no geral. Muita finesse, sendo bastante aconselhável para quem não quer suar na audição. No entanto, longe, muito longe mesmo de ser o melhor do ano, como deseja a DB.
10- EDWARD SIMON - LATIN AMERICAN SONGBOOK.
Muito interessante. Recomendado indistintamente para todos. Só não entendi bem o que "Chega de Saudades" está fazendo aqui, pois o trabalho tem um tom mais tendente ao tango do que ao samba. Outras músicas do Tom poderiam ter sido escolhidas sem toldar o mood do trabalho. Mas, este é apenas um pequeno senão. Outro pecadilho: o piano é um Fazioli. Não me convence como alternativa ao Steinway... Gosto bastante do Adam Cruz (baterista).
É isso aí.
Feliz ano novo!!!
Claudio.


By Dr. Carlos Couto 

OS MELHORES DE 2016 CD’s:
1. Gustavo Baião - Canções de Gilson Peranzeta
2. Trio da Paz - 30 anos
3. Cecile McLorin Sauvant - For One to Love
4. Bradford Marsalis Quartet & Kurt Eling - Upward Spiral
5. Steve Kuhn - At This Time
6. Sonia Rubinsky – Villa Lobos - Piano Music - Ciclo Brasileiro / Suite Floral Chôros nº 1, 2 and 5
7. Ricardo Silveira - Jeri
8. Eliane Elias – Made In Brasil
9. Steve Smith & Vital Information – NYC Edition
10. Paquito D’Rivera & Arturo Sandoval – Reunion


By Dr. Leandro Lage Rocha, M.D.

MELHORES DE 2016:
1. STEVE KUHN - At this time
2. GUSTAVO BAIÃO - Canções de Gilson Peranzzetta
3. RICARDO SILVEIRA - Jeri
4. FELIPE RIVEROS TRIO - Bootlegs
5. GABRIEL GROSSI E FÉLIX JÚNIOR - A Música de Hermeto e Guinga
6. BILL CHARLAP TRIO - Notes from New York
7. ZÉ MANOEL - Canção e Silêncio
8. ANAT COHEN & MARCELLO GONÇALVES - Outra Coisa-The Music of Moacir Santos
9. BIANCA GISMONTI TRIO - Primeiro céu
10. FRANCISCO LO VUOLO - Segment

11. CECILE McLORIN SAUVANT - For One To Love
DESTAQUES:
1. FRAGA-PASQUINI-SIMAN - George and Duke
2. LIVIA E ARTHUR NESTROVSKY - Pós você e eu
3. GUINGA, ZÉ RENATO, JARDS MACALÉ E MOACYR LUZ - Dobrando a Carioca
4. CLAUDIO FILIPPINI TRIO - Squaring the Circle
5. RAQUEL SARACENI - O tempo me guardou você

WORLDJAZZ TOP 10 - 2016

WORLDJAZZ TOP 10 - 2016

Best Jazz 2016 by WORLDJAZZ

Jazz Record of 2016
- Joey Alexander - Countdown

Top 10(9) Jazz Records of 2016
- Ricardo Silveira: Jeri - Quarteto Ao Vivo
- Gregory Porter: Take Me To The Alley
- Kenny Barron Trio: Book Of Intuition
- Bill Charlap Trio: Notes From New York
- The Fred Hersch Trio: Sunday Night At The Vanguard
- Steve Kuhn Trio: At This Time
- Stanley Cowell: Reminiscent
- Bianca Gismonti Trio: Primeiro Céu
- Stefano Battaglia Trio: In The Morning

Artiste du Jazz 2016
Joey Alexander

2 Sem 2016 - Part Nine

Branford Marsalis Quartet/Special Guest Kurt Elling
Upward Spiral



By Christopher Loudon at JazzTimes
How did one of the best and most important jazz bands around—saxophonist Branford Marsalis, pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner—come to unite with one of the best and most important jazz vocalists? The idea ignited when Marsalis and Kurt Elling met during the 2014 Monk competition. Two years on, immediately prior to a New Orleans recording session, Elling and the quartet shared a weekend engagement at Snug Harbor, finding their collective groove and testing various songs. That Elling becomes fully one with the group—this is truly a quintet album—is evident from the opening moments of “There’s a Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon for New York,” its feverish pace finally slowing as he adlibs 90 seconds of wolfish patter oozing with carnal desire.
The span of Upward Spiral’s richly diverse playlist proves as compelling as its sterling musicianship. Standards—a “Blue Gardenia” as fragile as that flower’s petals, a punchy, playful “Doxy,” a gorgeously simmered “Só Tinha de Ser Com Você,” a bruised “Blue Velvet” that, per Elling’s intent, feels haunted—commingle with Sting’s “Practical Arrangement,” Chris Whitley’s “From One Island to Another” and the twilit Fred Hersch heartbreaker “West Virginia Rose.” Additionally, Marsalis brings poet Calvin Forbes’ “Momma Said” to cacophonously angular life, and Elling teams with Marsalis to craft the sage, aching “Cassandra Song,” then with Calderazzo for the closing “The Return (Upward Spiral).” If so brilliantly cohesive an album can have an apex it’s “I’m a Fool to Want You”—Elling alone with Marsalis as they plumb its inky depths, rivaling the emotional wallop of Sinatra’s nadir-defining version.


Aaron Diehl
Space Time Continuum



By Allen Morrison at JazzTimes
On pianist-composer Aaron Diehl’s fourth album as a leader, his choices of both material and sidemen illuminate his recording’s title: The 29-year-old from Columbus, Ohio, creates an environment in which historic and contemporary styles of jazz, as well as the Western classical tradition, are welcome and integrated. While the album is not especially piano-centric, fans of Diehl’s exquisite touch, precise articulation and meticulous arrangements will be richly rewarded.
The six originals on Space Time Continuum reveal the influence of jazz forebears like Ellington, Bud Powell and John Lewis, an early role model to whom Diehl has been compared. Like Lewis, he draws on classical tradition; one is as likely to hear an echo of Rachmaninoff as of Ellington. As a pianist he’s equally eclectic, reminiscent of Ahmad Jamal, Monk—and, occasionally, classical virtuosi.
The stellar sidemen include Diehl trio-mates David Wong on bass and Quincy Davis on drums, occasionally augmented by two legendary players, Benny Golson on tenor saxophone and Joe Temperley on baritone. The brilliant, breathy-toned tenorman Stephen Riley performs on two tracks, as does the exciting young trumpeter Bruce Harris.
Despite the emphasis on originals, one of the album’s high points is the opener, “Uranus,” a spit-and-polish arrangement of the underperformed hard-bop standard by Walter Davis Jr. (recorded by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in 1976); it sparkles in a crisp arrangement, with turn-on-a-dime phrasing. The noir-ish “Organic Consequence” features an eloquent, world-weary Golson solo. “Kat’s Dance,” written by pianist Adam Birnbaum, is a duo with Riley that begins like a jazz version of a Chopin nocturne, and it becomes a lilting setting for Riley to lean into the harmony in a quietly spectacular tenor solo. The frenetic “Broadway Boogie Woogie,” commissioned by New York’s Museum of Modern Art, is an interpretation of the famously busy Mondrian painting.
Overall, a remarkably assured performance.


Stacey Kent
Tenderly



By Christopher Loudon at JazzTimes
Though Stacey Kent was born in the States and has been based in England for almost her entire career, she’s developed deep musical passions for France and Brazil, often singing in perfect French and flawless Portuguese. (It’s worth noting here that Kent received France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2009.) Tenderly, Kent’s 11th studio album, harkens back to her salad days before all the multilingual finery, focusing almost exclusively on American standards. Still, she can’t help adding some exquisite Latin flair, having legendary Brazilian guitarist Roberto Menescal as her principal accompanist and including Menescal’s lilting “Agarradinhos” among the dozen tracks.
While Kent’s sessions have always tended to be gentle and pensive, Tenderly’s soft elegance is particularly understated. On “Agarradinhos” and the closing “If I Had You,” Menescal provides sole support. Bassist Jeremy Brown joins him for the balance of the album, with tenor saxophonist Jim Tomlinson (Kent’s husband and longtime producer) tiptoeing in on six tracks. Throughout, Kent’s voice remains one of the most appealing in jazz—so pliant, so enticingly smoke-tinged, so warmly expressive. As the name suggests, tenderness prevails: “The Very Thought of You,” “Embraceable You,” “That’s All,” “There Will Never Be Another You,” “If I’m Lucky” and the title cut are crafted of gossamer and silk. Even “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” emerges more ruminative than forlorn. If there’s a standout, it’s “No Moon at All,” with Kent’s reading, alternatively noirish and kittenish, cunningly trimmed by Tomlinson as he switches to alto flute.

2 Sem 2016 - Part Eight

Doctor 3



By Thomas Conrad
Many jazz musicians now draw on popular culture for repertoire, but no one does it with the melodic grace of Danilo Rea. Sometimes he barely decorates a song, as in "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow." He hesitates over it, thoughtfully arrays it, and renders its question, its plea, its vulnerability, as universal to the human condition. "Hallelujah," Leonard Cohen's masterpiece, has received many fine interpretations. They now sound like the works of children—the adult version is Rea's. A hush falls over "Hallelujah." He marks out the song almost painfully, one necessary note at a time, as if finding it deep in himself.
Personnel:
Danilo Rea, piano; Enzo Pietropaoli, bass; Fabrizio Sferra, drums
Jando MPR 59 CD (CD). 2014. Fondazione Musica per Roma, prods.; Massimo Aluzzi, eng. DDD? TT: 54:25

Ricardo Silveira

Jeri - Quarteto Ao Vivo



By Arthur Dapieve
Deve-se tocar - artigo de 09/09/2016
CDs instrumentais como os de Ricardo Silveira, Victor Biglione e Heraldo do Monte são essenciais

"..No momento, CDs de outros três guitarristas habitam a bandeja do aparelho de som. O que está lá há mais tempo é “Jeri”, do quarteto de Ricardo Silveira. “Mercosul”, de Victor Biglione, e o novo “Heraldo do Monte” chegaram há pouco. Apesar de serem CDs “de guitarristas” também são muito distintos entre si, assim como são de “O corpo de dentro”, de Rebetez, no qual, como escreveu Silvio Essinger em crítica recente, a guitarra “é apenas uma voz eventual entre outras (...) numa conversa de alto nível”.
Ricardo Silveira se vale da linguagem jazzística. Sua fluência faz até parecer que tocar é fácil. Já Victor Biglione tem uma pegada mais roqueira. No novo CD, com inspiração em gêneros latino-americanos. E Heraldo do Monte temporariamente deixa de lado a guitarra elétrica para tocar violão caipira, um dos seus primeiros instrumentos.
“Jeri” foi gravado ao vivo na 6ª edição do Festival Choro Jazz, realizado na vila de Jericoacoara, Ceará, em 2014, mas só agora foi lançado, de forma independente. O carioca Silveira, de 59 anos, encerrava a turnê comemorativa de três décadas de carreira. Com ele, David Feldman (teclados), Guto Wirtti (contrabaixo) e Di Stéffano (bateria).
A conjugação entre a informalidade do local e o estilo enganosamente despojado de Silveira foi capturada em “Jeri”. Desce fácil. Além do único disco da Banda Zil e das inúmeras participações em trabalhos alheios, Silveira gravou nove álbuns, iniciados pelo apropriadamente batizado “Bom de tocar” (1984). Esses álbuns criaram um sólido repertório, como “Tango carioca” e “Pepê”, presentes no novo CD, que tem jeitinho de antologia. Se alguém aí nunca ouviu Silveira, “Jeri” é bom lugar para começar."


Di Stéffano
Recomeço



By Aquiles Rique Reis, vocalista do MPB4
Em fevereiro de 2015 comentei o então segundo CD do baterista Di Stéffano e agora, mais de um ano depois, tenho nas mãos o seu terceiro álbum: Recomeço (independente). Tomo a liberdade de citar livremente alguns trechos daquela resenha.
“Prezados leitores e leitoras, hoje vou lhes falar de um CD instrumental – o trabalho do baterista, compositor e produtor musical Di Stéffano Wolff Bazilio. Ajustando acordes, abusando de elogiáveis dinâmicas, a bateria permite uma melhor liga entre o som de suas peças e o som dos outros instrumentos. A bateria de Di Stéffano age como se fosse um instrumento de harmonia, suas baquetas “tocam” os melhores acordes e assim melhor patenteiam as músicas. Harmoniosos, seus arranjos misturam os timbres e lhes dão equilíbrio.”
Que prazerosa surpresa, meu Deus! A bateria de Di Stéffano está ainda mais harmonizadora, expandindo substancialmente o dom de entremear instrumentos, liberando-os para solos e improvisos. Consciente de seu talento, dividindo compassos com a mestria de um hábil improvisador, sua bateria sabe que, se tocar é preciso, harmonizar é fundamental.
Di Stéffano é um baterista nato. Daqueles que, imagino, pegava panelas na cozinha de casa para tirar seus sons; daqueles para quem não existe ruído impertinente, mas sim música vinda do corpo ou de qualquer objeto, com textura, peso ou tamanho díspares.
Recomeço traz novamente à cena o Di Stéffano compositor e arranjador. São onze temas de sua autoria e três em parcerias diversas. Para gravá-los, contou com o talento do músico, pianista e engenheiro de som David Feldman que, além de mixar e masterizar todo o disco, tocou piano na maior parte das músicas.
Num belo trabalho gráfico de Cleiton Martorano, capa, contracapa e encarte embalam o álbum para presente natalino.
Ouço as músicas ganharem vida pelo toque dos instrumentistas que as interpretam: “Nicolas” (Di Stéffano) abre a tampa. Composta em homenagem ao filho, o tema tem presença marcante da bateria de Di Stéffano, da guitarra (Daniel Santiago) e do sax soprano do moçambicano Ivan Mazuze. Os três se desdobram para fazer do tema um divertimento tão solar quanto a criança que brinca sob a brisa do oceano.
“Velhos Amigos” (Di Stéffano e Eduardo Taufic) fecha a tampa. Tendo o baixo acústico a costurar o tema, enquanto a bateria de Di Stéffano une a todos, o flugel (Jessé Sadoc) leva a introdução até entregá-la ao piano (Eduardo Taufic), que chega para tocar um belo intermezzo. O baixo firma o chão, enquanto a bateria trisca o prato, seguindo o seu destino de a todos harmonizar.
Após muito ouvi-lo, concluída a audição de Recomeço, me vem à cabeça lhes dizer algo mais, paciente leitora, estimado leitor: um CD como este tem de estar em qualquer cedeteca que se preze… dito isso, ouso pedir para que se permita surpreender com a sonoridade instrumental que lá está – ela é coisa para se ter sempre por perto, para a ela recorrer em momentos de serena maturidade.

2 Sem 2016 - Part Seven

John Beasley

Monk'estra, Vol.1 




By Dave Gelly
Since the 1950s, composer-arrangers have made orchestral versions of Thelonious Monk’s music. I have so far heard none that have been quite so bold as John Beasley in recasting what he calls the “architecture” of these dauntingly angular piano pieces for a jazz orchestra. He lifts Monk’s melodies away from their native idiom of bebop and replants them in the musically cosmopolitan 21st century. Monk’s insistent, almost manic worrying at single phrases is replaced by sudden surprises and changes of direction. The variety of orchestral textures seems endless too. There’s a lot to take in, and a lot of conventional ideas to set aside, but through it all Monk’s themes emerge as strong as ever.


The Fred Hersch Trio

Sunday Night At The Vanguard



By Dan McClenaghan 
Reach up to the CD shelf and pull a handful of Fred HerschCDS down. You'll find that the pianist has a good thing going with the Village Vanguard. Alive At The Vanguard (Palmetto Records, 2012) a stellar two CD set, and terrific solo set, Alone At the Vanguard (Palmetto Records, 2011), are Hersch's most recent recordings from the legendary venue; and now he and his trio offer up Sunday Night At the Vanguard.
Hersch says this is his best trio album. Almost every artist says that about their latest—that this one's the best. But he might be right. The vote here would have gone to a studio recording, Whirl (Palmetto Records, 2010), a marvelous in-the-zone effort with this same trio—John Hebert on bass, Eric McPherson playing drums—until Sunday Night At The Vanguard rolled around.
The trio opens with Richard Rodgers' "A Cockeyed Optimist," which is not exactly a familiar tune, in spite of its authorship. But as an opener it works to perfection, with a silvery, raindrop intro that finds a quirky groove that paints an upbeat atmosphere, with a bright melody that sounds like a second cousin to "It Might As Well Be Spring."
"Serpentine," a Hersch original, is a wandering slither of a tune, unpredictable and spooky, lovely in its fluid, abstract way; "The Optimum Thing" sparkles; and "Blackwing Palomino," maybe the only jazz tune ever written for a pencil, has the feel of a new jazz standard.
Hersch's output has been consistently excellent, but sometimes—as on this special Sunday Night—the stars align. The trio, from the opening notes of "The Cockeyed Optimist," is locked into and to a telepathic interplay zone—playful and eloquent, elegant and assured.
The Lennon and McCartney gem, "For No One," has the forlorn desperation of the song's lyrical content. The Beatles' version—a masterpiece in its own right—didn't take things to this dark of a place.
Kenny Wheeler's "Everybody's Song But My Own" rolls in a restless, jittery mode. "The Peacocks," from the pen of Jimmy Rowles, is pensive, lonely. Hersch explores an almost unmatchable majesty of the tune, with a bit of dissonance, before he jumps into Thelonious Monk, with "We See," an irrepressible jewel, followed—as an encore to the show—the Fred Hersch-penned "Valentine," one of the more inward tunes in Hersch's songbook, counterpointing a mostly gregarious, effervescent set by one of the jazz world's top piano trios at the top of their game.
Track Listing: 

A Cockeyed Optimist:Serpentine; The Optimum Thing; Calligram; Blackwing Palomino; For No One; Everybody's Song But My Own; The Peacocks; We See; Solo Encore: Valentine.
Personnel: 

Fred Hersch: piano; John Hebert: bass; Eric McPherson: drums.


Denny Zeitlin

Solo Piano: Early Wayne



By Budd Kopman 
Early Wayne has many things going for it: it is a well recorded, live concert; pianist Denny Zeitlin, who has been recording for over fifty years, is masterful to the point of completely taking over the listening space, and, last but not least, the material used as the base for his improvisation is a set of ten Wayne Shorter tunes, mostly from the mid-60s.
The list of tunes, and the albums from which they come is below; the albums by Miles Davis were made by his second (great) quintet which included Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams:
1) "Speak No Evil" (Speak No Evil, Blue Note, 1966)
2) "Nefertiti" (Miles Davis, Nefertiti, Columbia, 1967)
3) "JuJu" (JuJu, Blue Note, 1965)
4) "Teru" (Adams Apple, Blue Note, 1967)
5) "Toy Tune" (Etcetera, Blue Note, 1965)
6) "Infant Eyes" (Speak No Evil, Blue Note, 1966)
7) "Paraphernalia" (Miles In The Sky, Miles Davis, Columbia, 1968)
8) "Ana Maria" (Native Dancer, Columbia, 1974)
9) "E.S.P." (Miles Davis, E.S.P., Columbia, 1965)
10) "Miyako" (Schizophrenia, Blue Note, 1967)
For many jazz fans, the Davis/Shorter nexus practically defines the music called "post-bop" and belongs to the "golden era" which began with "be-bop," then "hard-bop" and finally "post-bop."
In any case, most of the tunes have title recognition, if not melodic recognition, by which it is meant that most could not "hum" the tune, but could name it when it is played on the album. Shorter tunes are like that because of the way the melodies are constructed and how the lush harmonies and rhythm interact with it. The music is immediately recognizable in its entirety as "Shorter," but the details are for the most part ingeniously hidden under "the sound."
The Piedmont Piano Company offers an annual performance in their own space to an audience that appreciates the music. Zeitlin took the opportunity to do a "Shorter set" and obviously learned this music and these tunes inside and out. His improvisations, most six minutes or longer, are more like excursions or ruminations, and end up washing over the listener in their vastness.
Yes, a melodic fragment can be recognized (say, that of "Infant Eyes") here and there, but not recognizing the "ur text" in no way diminishes the depth, richness and sheer improvisatory invention of Zeitlin's playing. Each piece has it own mixture of that which has the sound of preparation with that of on-the-spot creation; this makes the album an exciting experience.
Anyone who is unfamiliar with sixties Shorter should definitely look into the Blue Note and Columbia catalogs of this period and deeply imbibe in Shorter and Davis.
The sheer pianistic virtuosity and high musicianship of Zeitlin makes Early Wayne a delightful gem and many times a mesmerizing experience.
Track Listing: 

Speak No Evil; Nefertiti; Ju Ju; Teru; Toy Tune; Infant Eyes; Paraphernalia; Ana Maria; E.S.P.; Miyako.
Personnel: 

Denny Zeitlin: piano.

Fabio Giachino Trio 

Blazar



By Traccedijazz
E' uscito il nuovo album, "Blazar", del pluripremiato trio torinese guidato dal pianista Fabio Giachino e formato con il contrabbassista Davide Liberti e il batterista Ruben Bellavia. Prodotto e edito da Abeat Records, è stato presentato in anteprima a Bruxelles per rappresentare la città di Torino in occasione dell’EXPO-TO e dell’Expo 2015 di Milano.
E' uscito "Blazar", il nuovo e terzo album del Fabio Giachino trio, una grande formazione che sta facendo sempre più parlare di sé e che si è affermata nel panorama italiano raccogliendo importanti riconoscimenti. Guidato dal pianista Fabio Giachino, insieme al contrabbassista Davide Liberti e al batterista Ruben Bellavia, il trio con "Blazar" firma il suo terzo lavoro, prodotto ed edito da Abeat Records, che segue i precedenti “Jumble up” (2014) e “Introducing Myself” (feat. Rosario Giuliani, 2012).
In collaborazione con il Torino Jazz Festival, l'album è stato presentato in anteprima a Bruxelles presso l’Istituto Italiano di Cultura per rappresentare la città di Torino in occasione dell’EXPO-TO e dell’Expo 2015 di Milano.
Il titolo dell'album richiama la passione di Giachino per l'astronomia: tecnicamente, il termine blazar siginifica "blazing quasi-stellar object", indicando un fenomeno energetico molto potente che ben rappresenta il carisma dirompente del trio e della sua musica, che sarà portata in tour nel 2015 toccando diverse città italiane.
Dei nove brani presenti nel disco, otto composizioni originali di Giachino e un arrangiamento reggae di "In the wee small of the morning" di D. Mann e B. Hilliard.
Fabio Giachino: "Credo in questo terzo album si sia delineata maggiormente la via che abbiamo intrapreso in questi anni, la coesistenza di differenti influenze stilistiche legate dall’amore comune per lo swing e il beat più incalzante ma, con una maggior ariosità all’interno delle composizioni ed un’attenzione maggiore alla melodia e alla forma. "Blazar" è proprio questo, in scienze viene definito come una sorgente altamente energetica e supercompatta, uno dei più violenti fenomeni dell’universo, ed è così che amo vedere il mio gruppo e la nostra musica: energica, violenta, ma anche dolce e delicata...e che magari faccia anche ballare, come il jazz faceva agli inizi del '900!"
Nato ad Alba e trasferitosi successivamente a Torino, Fabio Giachino è un talento inarrestabile. Seppur giovanissimo ha collaborato con grandi artisti come Dave Liebman, Furio Di Castri, Fabrizio Bosso, Rosario Giuliani, Emanuele Cisi, Maurizio Giammarco, Dino Piana, Aldo Zunino, Dusco Goycovitch, Javier Girotto, Miroslav Vitous esibendosi anche in Francia, Svizzera, Inghilterra, Repubblica Ceca, Polonia, Turchia, Romania, Canada, U.S.A.
Negli anni è stato insignito di importanti riconoscimenti a livello nazionale e internazionale: il "Premio Internazionale Massimo Urbani 2011", il "Premio Nazionale Chicco Bettinardi 2011" e il Red Award "Revelation of the year 2011" JazzUp channel; inoltre, nel 2011, 2012 e 2013 è stato votato tra i primi 10 pianisti italiani secondo il referendum "JAZZIT Awards" indetto dalla redazione della rivista JAZZIT.
Con il Fabio Giachino Trio ha ottenuto il Premio Speciale come "BEST BAND" al "Bucharest International Competition 2014", il premio "Fara Music Jazz Live 2012" (sia come miglior solista che come miglior gruppo), il premio "Barga Jazz Contest 2012" ed il "Premio Carrarese Padova Porsche Festival 2011".
Il trombettista Fabrizio Bosso, nelle note di copertina: "Ho conosciuto Fabio qualche anno fa suonando come ospite del quartetto Jazz Accident e, fin da subito, ho capito che stava nascendo un grande talento. Credo che i progressi che ha fatto in questi ultimi anni siano veramente notevoli, lo dimostra questo riuscitissimo lavoro "Blazar", un disco che strizza l'occhio al jazz newyorkese, ma senza tralasciare la vena melodico-mediterranea che contraddistingue i jazzisti italiani in tutto il mondo. In quanto alla tecnica questo musicista non ha nulla da invidiare ai migliori pianisti della scena jazz internazionale, coadiuvato da una ritmica sempre pronta ad assecondare i suoi input musicali."