2 Sem 2012 - Part Five

David Kikoski

Consequences

By Criss Cross

On his ninth Criss Cross date as a leader (and 22nd label appearance overall), pianist David Kikoski convenes an extraordinary trio with two famed and longstanding allies, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts.
It's no stretch to say that a lineup like this is guaranteed to swing - and it does, on a set of finely wrought Kikoski originals, including the two-part title track Consequences. Watts' own uptempo Mr. JJ and slow-grooving Blue Tain round out the set, and Kikoski ends with a poetic solo-piano take of Never Let Me Go.
Complex, elegant and bluesy, Consequences is an essential item in Kikoski's growing oeuvre.

1. Blutain (Jeff 'Tain' Watts)
2. Russian Roulette (David Kikoski)
3. Drama (David Kikoski)
4. Placidity (David Kikoski)
5. Mr. JJ (Jeff 'Tain' Watts)
6. (Still) A Glimmer Of Hope (David Kikoski)
7. Consequences Part I (David Kikoski)
8. Consequences Part II (David Kikoski)
9. Never Let Me Go (Ray Evans / Jay Livingston)
Total Time: 62:54

Recorded February 1, 2012 in Brooklyn, NY, USA by Michael Marciano


Jasper Somsen
Dreams, Thoughts & Poetry: The Music Of Enrico Pieranunzi

By Challenge
Jasper Somsen and his ensemble play the music of Enrico Pieranunzi and they do this with their own vision of Pieranunzi's music in a heartfelt and profoundly musical way. The interpretations and improvisations succeed beautifully in conveying the “dreams” and “thoughts” ánd "poetry".
Jasper Somsen: "When the music is really great, styles doesn't matter. Most important is that the music (whether improvised or composed) is straight from the heart!"
"The best music is created the moment you're truly listening and anticipating, during the interaction with your fellow musicians. If you do exactly the same whilst playing your solo(s), you get the best out of yourself. You're focused outward. Your concentration is centred 'in between' the phrases. This space is 'the silence' between the one right phrase and the (yet to be played) next right phrase. It's the ultimate spot where music is breathing; where inspiration, intuition, knowledge and technique show you the right musical path to be taken." (Jasper Somsen, inspired by Kenny Werner's book "Effortless Mastery")

Tracks:
1 Ein Li Milin (No More Words)
2 Don’t Forget The Poet
3 Dream Book
4 Mio Caro Dottor Gräsler
5 The Night Gone By
6 Dee Song
7 Je Ne Sais Quoi
8 Si Peu De Temps
9 The Middle Way


Tom Harrell

Number Five




By RBSProds

Five ENJOYABLE Stars!!

Exceptionally-talented musicians in a superb jazz quintet led by award-winning composer/arranger/trumpet legend Tom Harrell. This is one of the year's best jazz recordings from the long-running group which is as tight as they come, featuring co-producer Wayne Escoffery on reeds, Danny Grissett on keyboards, Ugonna Okegwo on bass and Johnathan Blake on drums. Varying the musical fare considerably on their fifth group recording, Harrell has added some marvelous lineup 'change ups' to the mix to spotlight the participant's talents, while giving a ton of solo space to everyone. The quintet 'post-bops' it with the unison-headed theme and solos of the hot-cool "GT" (with awesome Grissett, Okegwo, and Blake solos), and the sizzling "Melody in B-Flat" (fiery Blake solo). "Preludium" has a stark, angular beauty. This time around it's also wonderfully rewarding to hear Harrell play unaccompanied, highly-inventive flugelhorn on the de Paul/Rae jazz standard "Star Eyes" and on the gorgeous rendition of Tadd Dameron's "A Blue Time". Harrell forms an unaccompanied duo with drummer Johnathan Blake on a blazing version of Dizzy Gillespie's "Blue 'n' Boogie" and then another fruitful 'duo-only' with Danny Grissett on the soaring "Journey to the Stars" over an insistently developing vamp. The wistful "Right as Rain" is a beautifully arranged and played ballad. And perhaps best of all, "No. 5" with brilliant solos from all hands, especially Harrell, Escoffery, and Blake's 'boiler-works' in-tempo drum solo. This is marvelous jazz from Mr Harrell and company and gets my Highest Recommendation. Five SWINGING Stars! (11 tracks, Time: 61m7s)

Stefano Sabatini Trio

Heart & Soul

By Gerlando Gatto

E’ da molto che seguo Stefano Sabatini con interesse e curiosità; già alla fine degli anni ’90, recensendo un suo album, ebbi modo di esprimere valutazioni assai positive sulla statura complessiva dell’artista.
Ovviamente gli anni non passano invano ed ecco quindi Sabatini riproporsi al pubblico degli appassionati con questo nuovo album ( il settimo da leader ) che rappresenta, probabilmente, il punto più elevato della sua maturazione di uomo e jazzista a tutto tondo. Senza alcun problema o falso pudore a svelare la sua anima, Stefano propone un repertorio che la dice lunga sul suo modo di vedere ed intendere la musica: degli otto pezzi presenti nel CD, Stefano ne ha composti ben sei cui ha aggiunto uno straordinario evergreen Bill Evans, “Turn out the Stars” e un pezzo tratto dal pop italiano, “L’arcobaleno” riveduto e corretto con grande sensibilità.
Comunque, se si vuole avere un’idea precisa di quella che è l’attuale cifra stilistica di Sabatini, basta ascoltare con attenzione il brano che dà il titolo all’intero album. Si tratta di una ballad, “Heart & Soul” in cui appare evidente il desiderio di ricercare la bellezza della linea melodica, e questo desiderio, questo obiettivo lo si riscontra in tutte le composizioni e anche nei due arrangiamenti.
Insomma, andando contro una certa corrente che sembra rifuggire da qualsivoglia ricerca melodica, Sabatini compie un’operazione esattamente opposta: bandisce dal suo pianismo ogni tentazione virtuosistica fine a se stessa ( pur avendone i mezzi ) e si gioca la partita soprattutto sul lato della valenza compositiva, potendo contare su una tecnica sopraffina che gli consente di sorvolare su inutili ghirigori. Ed in effetti molto curata appare l’esecuzione.
Il trio, che può contare ormai su una eccellente intesa cementata da tanti anni di fattiva collaborazione, si muove all’unisono, l’uno perfettamente conscio di ciò che l’altro sta sentendo e suonando. Di qui un flusso sonoro straordinariamente omogeneo in cui gli strumenti si integrano alla perfezione all’interno di un jazz moderno ma caratterizzato da indubbia eleganza, un jazz a tratti grintoso, a tratti lirico se non addirittura onirico, che riesce, comunque a trasmettere al pubblico le emozioni degli interpreti. In tale contesto Luca Pirozzi alle volte fa letteralmente” cantare” il suo basso che dialoga alla pari con il pianoforte mentre il sostegno ritmico di Pietro Iodice è puntuale, preciso, trascinante senza essere invadente….insomma una vera lezione di batteria.
Dal canto suo Sabatini, come si accennava, evidenzia una maturità ormai consolidata. I suoi brani sono tutti ben costruiti, con un solido senso architettonico, una ricercata linea melodica e impreziositi, sul piano degli arrangiamenti, da soluzioni armoniche tutt’altro che banali.
Dal punto di vista esecutivo, il suo pianismo si caratterizza per la modernità del linguaggio pur legato alla migliore tradizione jazzistica, per il fraseggio quanto mai fluido, per l’assoluta padronanza delle dinamiche, per un tocco che sa essere, alla bisogna, energico o leggero e per l’estrema facilità improvvisativa che gli consente un perfetto equilibrio tra parte scritta ed improvvisata.


Orrin Evans's Captain Black
Big Band




By Dan Bilawsky
The Posi-Tone label has positioned itself as a prime purveyor of small group jazz, with artists like pianist Orrin Evans leading the way, and both parties are breaking new ground with the release of The Captain Black Big Band. After putting out dozens of small group sessions, the label has taken a bold step in a bigger direction by releasing the debut big band recording from one of jazz's rising stars. Evans' prior output for the label—his own Faith In Action (Posi-Tone, 2010) and the audacious collective efforts on Tarbaby's The End Of Fear (Posi-Tone 2010)—present an artist possessing a keen sense of balance between inside and outside ideals, and this same approach can be felt throughout this record.
The first three numbers spotlight three different composers and arrangers, which demonstrating the full breadth and depth of what this band can do. The full weight of the ensemble is used sparingly on Todd Bashore's arrangement of Ralph Peterson's "The Art Of War," and the focus really falls on Rob Landham's helium-infused alto saxophone work. The band touches on Latin grooves with Gianluca Renzi's "Here's The Captain," which features some explosive piano work from Evans, and Todd Marcus' arrangement of his own "Inheritance" demonstrates a more melodically centered form of big band writing. His bass clarinet work adds a new dimension to the sound of the band, and trumpeter Walter White injects some humor into the proceedings with a "Hallelujah" quote from Handel's Messiah.
The last four tracks are penned by Evans, giving the music a certain sense of continuity, but the pieces themselves come from different points in Evans' compositional evolution, and three different arrangers put their own unique stamp on his work. Bashore arranges a pair of tunes from Captain Black (Criss Cross, 1998)—the title track, and "Big Jimmy," an album highlight where the saxophonist uses measured dissonance in the introduction and, once things start swinging, White's brawny trumpet work is as beautifully boisterous as it gets. Marcus tackles the title track from Easy Now (Criss Cross, 2005), underscoring some high-to-low voice contrasts at the outset with some rumbling drums, as the music eventually takes on a down-tempo, loose swing vibe.
Evans' own arrangement of his "Jena 6," from the Tarbaby album, is the recording's most adventurous ride. Neil Podgurski's drama-filled piano prelude, with certain disjunct sensibilities, gives way to a woozy and ominous atmosphere. Alto saxophonist Jaleel Shaw becomes the focal point, as the rhythm section coalesces into a free bop machine and the icing on the cake comes in the form of Shaw's coarse-as-can-be coda, which boils over with energy.
The Captain Black Big Band has easily earned its stripes with this self-titled debut, demonstrating another side of Evans' endlessly fascinating musical personality.
Track Listing:
Art Of War; Here's The Captain; Inheritance; Big Jimmy; Captain Black; Easy Now; Jena 6.
Personnel:
Orrin Evans: piano; Jim Holton: piano; Neil Podgurski: piano; Luke Brandon: trumpet; Daud EL-Bakara: trumpet; Josh Evans: trumpet; Tatum Greenblatt: trumpet; Leon Jordan Jr.: trumpet; Brian Kilpatrick: trumpet; Curtis Taylor: trumpet; Tim Thompson: trumpet; Jack Walraith: trumpet; Walter White: trumpet; Stafford Hunter: trombone; Frank Lacy: trombone; Joe McDonough: trombon; Ernest Stuart: trombone; Brent White: trombone; Mike Boone: bass (1); Luques Curtis: bass; Mark Przybylowski: bass; Mark Allen: bass clarinet; Todd Marcus: bass clarinet; Donald Edwards: drums (7); Gene Jackson: drums (2, 6); Anwar Marshall: drums; Mark Allen: saxophone; Chelsea Baratz: saxophone; Todd Bashore: saxophone; Ralph Bowen: saxophone; Wade Dean: saxophone: Doug DeHays: saxophone; Wayne Escoffery: saxophone; Tia Fuller: saxophone; Rob Landham: saxophone; Victor North: saxophone; Jaleel Shaw: saxophone; Tim Warfield: saxophone; Darryl Yokley: saxophone.

Orrin Evans

Freedom

By Bruce Lindsay
Orrin Evans' first three Posi-Tone releases formed a diverse but high-quality trilogy: the piano trio (Faith In Action, 2010); the freer, more left-field small band (Tarbaby's End Of Fear, 2010); and the hard-blowing and exciting big band (Captain Black Big Band, 2011). Hot on their heels comes Freedom, Evans' fourth album in less than two years. The quality remains high.
Freedom harks back to the lineup and style of Faith In Action. Evans' home town of Philadelphia looms large, with all of the band and most of the composers hailing from the city. If anything, the album's accent is more strongly on melody, its emotional tone more romantic and less frenetic than Faith In Action, although the trio's take on Chris Beck's "Hodge Podge" shows that it can crank up the tempo and the tension whenever it wants.
Charles Fambrough's "One For Honor" showcases bassist Dwayne Burno's rich, fat-toned sound and the skittering, dynamic percussion of the impressive young drummer Anwar Marshall. Burno's own "Gray's Ferry" is a slinky blues, with a gently seductive swing courtesy of  Byron Landham, who was also featured on Evans' first recording, 1994's self produced The Trio. Veteran saxophonist Larry McKenna adds a confident solo to this tune, while on Jule Styne's "Time After Time" he takes the lead role, playing the melody line with warmth before kicking things into a higher tempo.
Evan's own "Dita," is a slow ballad characterized by his spacious and considered piano and Landham's inventive percussion. Evans' solo performance of Herbie Hancock's "Just Enough" is a beautiful valediction, a delicate and controlled approach that draws out the tune's romance and lyricism.
Evans' body of recorded work is both extensive and impressive. His previous three Posi-Tone albums are among his most mature and rewarding works, with a breadth of imagination that few other contemporary jazz musicians can muster. Freedom is a beautiful creation, a work of great strength and musical perception.
Track Listing:
One for Honor; Gray's Ferry; Shades of Green; Dita; Time After Time; Hodge Podge; Oasis; As Is; Just Enough.
Personnel:
Orrin Evans: piano; Dwayne Burno: bass; Byron Landham: drums, percussion; Anwar Marshall: drums (1, 6, 7); Larry McKenna: tenor saxophone (2, 5).