2012 XTMAS

By Claudio Botelho
                                                 
First and foremost, I wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Bellow, you’ll find some thoughts of mine about some of the CD’s I listened this year. Each end every one has a reason to be here. As you’ll find, they’re not always complimentary :

1- ALAN BROADBENT TRIO – LIVE AT GIANNELLI SQUARE VOL.2. 

If you like his “Personal Standards”, you won’t be mistaken in investing in this one. If my mind doesn’t betray me, his fellow associates remain the same ones featured in that album and this has brought to this outing a magical sheen: a savor of childhood, of complete abandon, a presentation of music just for the sake of it. Broadbent is here at his best and make us think the volume one tunes were chosen by someone else as the complementation CD of that night is far, far better than the inaugural one. One of the very best I came across this year!
2- DAVID BENOIT – STANDARDS. 

This is not a new CD, but I found it in this season. It’s nothing more than a straight out jazz album, played by a very tight team, in Italy. This is not representative of what you’ve become used to expect from Benoit. He wasn’t afraid of playing “Cakewalk” from the great Oscar Peterson, or “Blue Rondo a La Turk”, or even “Waltz for Debby” and, although not innovative in any way, presented some very decent renderings and these might turn you into thinking he’s more capable than you thought at first… (Hey, Márcio Távora: it starts with “Brothers Go to Mothers”…)
3- RONI BEN-HUR, SANTI DEBRIANO, DUDUKA FONSECA – OUR THING.

A very well delineated work in which you can easily listen to the work of each one without ever losing the sense of a working team. Varying moods and different kinds of songs make this album a bliss to listen to. Bossa nova, Monk, samba… It’s your choice!
4- FRED HERSCH TRIO – ALIVE AT VANGUARD (JON HÉBERT and ERIC McPHERSON). 

The Word “Alive” seems to allude to Hersch’s serious health problems overcame some years ago. Well, he’s in very good shape, as attests this album. The Vanguard atmosphere is jazz itself and, there, each musician easily does his best. The cohesiveness of his combo is evident, but I should say I’ve heard more soulful renderings from him in the past. This is not the Fred Hersch of my dreams, definitively. But, be warned: this is a very personal view that is difficult for me to explain. Were I a professional reviewer, I wouldn’t dare to give it less than four stars…
5- VINCE MENDOZA – NIGHTS ON EARTH. 

I’ve already mentioned this album some three weeks ago. Mendonza’s got together a lot of musicians (something I always see with great suspicion), but escaped gracefully from any predicable havoc: The music flows smoothly, never overblowing the listener, even on climaxes. Am I getting older and, so, seeking less adventure? Maybe so, but if you’re looking for good taste, strong cohesiveness and rich musicality, search no further. As I’ve said, one of the gems of the year.
6- TIGRAN HAMASYAN - A FABLE. 

A new, very personal and fierce young piano player. This is an ambitious work from someone who strives with a resolution to carve his own way! This is the antithesis of another solo work I’ve listened this year. This Armenian-born lad has guts…
7- ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ – SOUNDS OF SPACE. 

This is in the same league as Hamasyan: a young and equally ambitious Cuban piano player possessing many resources which provided him the right tools for making this such an encyclopedic good jazz album!
8- JESSICA WILLIAMS – SONGS OF EARTH. 

Williams has been making a lot of solo albums lately. This is a compilation of some live presentations she’s done in Seattle’s Triple Door. Comprising only compositions of her, you have a one-mood album, something I usually don’t like, but, even though I would have rated it very high weren’t she someone I know so well. Here, things get a little tiresome, sometimes; especially in view of other works of her I’ve listened.
9- MAX IONATA, DADO MORONI – TWO FOR DUKE. 

Two passionate and vigorous musicians playing some of the best compositions jazz has to offer. Very fresh and instigating. Moroni can play the bass; do you know that?
10- RITA MARCOTULLI/ JAVIER GIROTTO/ LUCIANO BIONDINI – VARIAZONI SU TEMA. 

Utmost beauty! Once more, Italy gives us a surprise! The improbable combination of piano, sax and accordion, in the right hands, can give us music of supreme beauty! Ms. Marcotulli, a piano player herself, has penned compositions of great lyricism, evocative of fond remembrances, what makes this record a pleasure to listen.
11- BORJA CALL TRIO – MATCH BALL. 

Mr. Call leads a Spanish piano jazz trio (piano, bass and drums) and his “Match Ball” album shows a great deal of original compositions to good effect. This is a very listenable outing, although somewhat contemplative, as the piano player sports excessive care to hit the keyboard. It seems to me, there are very little instant arrangements…
12- DENA DEROSE – TRAVELIN’ LIGHT: LIVE AT ANTWERP, BELGIUM. 

This is the proof that, sometimes, less is more. Never did she make a job so well done with so little people: She and herself at the piano doing her best job to date, at least to the best of my knowledge. She is her best accompanist, and this work is proof of this.
13- IGOR BUTMAN ORCHESTRA – SHEHERAZEDE’S TALES. 

One of the best works of the gender I heard this year. The mix of Russian classical music with American jazz standards, as well as musicians of both countries, under the conduction of arranger Nick Levinovsky, resulted in a most sizable example of orchestral jazz work. It surely stands out of the herd!
14- EDDIE DANIELS & ROGER KELLAWAY – LIVE AT LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

The reunion of two great musicians at the peak of their form made up one of the very best duo records I’ve listened this year. Kellaway - a great jazz pianist at all counts - has a frisky side that, sometimes, belittles his musicality for my taste, but, this time, in front of an almost royal audience, he decided to go forward at full force. A very good recording rounds out everything.
15- LORENZO TUCCI – SWEET REVELATION. 

A drummer revelation indeed! A fabulous time keeper, a strong music enhancer, a pervasive (well received) intruder! One can’t ignore his presence! This is a piano trio album, added by a tenor sax. If you crave drums, don’t miss Tucci’s work!
16- JOHN TAYLOR – GIULIA’S THURSDAYS. 

One of his best ever. This is from 2006, although just released recently. It has a strong resemblance with his “Angels of Presence” which went to the stores in that year. It’s difficult to believe why waiting so much time to let us know such a gem! This is a major work of seasoned musicians which defies gender, time or trends: it’s just magical! Taylor, along with Palle Danielsson and Martin France, have done one of the major piano-trio albums released this year, what makes it, for my ears, one of the highlights of this season. A timeless work of wonderful music…
17- PAUL McCARTNEY – KISSES ON THE BOTTOM. 

McCartney is on the fantastic “Sergeant Peppers” album, but what’s he doing here? Just stopped on his way to the Abbey Road Studios?
18- ORRIN EVANS – FREEDOM. 

A young Philadelphian pianist who, through the last four years, engaged in different projects, each one having its own character. Along with Dwayne Burn on bass and either Byron Landham or Anwar Marshall on drums, he pays homage to some Philadelphians fellow jazz players that aren’t with us anymore. “One for Honor”, for instance is a Charles Fambrough composition that is featured in the album. Evans is the epitome of the new and talented breed of piano players in the USA today. Keep an eye on him and listen whatever thing he plays.
19- AHMAD JAMAL – BLUE MOON. 

The elegant non-repetitive repetitive maven of the piano, has put out, once more, his fabulous control of tempo at the service of good music! Reginald Veal (b), Herlin Riley (dr.) and Manolo Badrena have helped him to render extensive interpretations of well known songs, along with some of his originals. For my taste, two tracks stand out: “I remember Italy”, a short theme of his which receives a long, intimate and gorgeous ruminative soliloquy, prior to Veal interventions, and “Laura”, which is thoroughly deconstructed, without ever losing its “film noir” flavor.
But let me quote someone who, under the acronym of RBS Prods., has summoned Jamal in a way I never could, in the Amazon site, on a review of this album:
“… The result is a whopping 72 minute CD with all of the characteristics that have made him a jazz favorite for decades: beguiling vamps, smoking pedal-points, lush interludes, sudden tempo changes, extensive ballad expositions, and hard-swinging solos in uncompromising virtuosity. In addition, the bass and percussion players 'crank it up' a notch to the boiling point on many songs…”
20- EDWARD SIMON, SCOTT COLLEY, CLARENCE PENN – A MASTER DIARY. 

This is one unsung hero of jazz lyricism. Through the years, he has always done recordings of remarkable quality, but has never acquitted his due. This album is proof of this: Simon can be a poet of the piano as very few can. Here, you have a grossly underrated artist which really deserves a much wider recognition…
21- CECILIA COLEMAN BIG BAND - OH BOY! 

Ms. Coleman is a gifted arranger and does, on this recording of original compositions, a job out of ordinary, as the 17 piece orchestra (her first effort of the kind) work with an uncommon cohesiveness, with a strong sense of a team playing, as opposed to isolated soloist features. If you like traditional straightforward orchestral works, this is a CD for you.
22- CARMEN LUNDY – CHANGES. 

Here, we have another one who’s been on the road for a long time, whom I didn’t know anything about till this year. She’s a real jazz singer and a very solid composer and has written all tracks of the album, except one (“A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square”) which has received an exquisite interpretation. She’s been with a very talented sextet, comprising piano, trombone, trumpet, bass and drums, flavored by Brazilian Oscar Castro Neves, who helped to give a light groove touch to some of the tracks. A thoroughly enjoyable album.
23- DARIO CARNOVALE TRIO – EXIT FOR THREE (YURY GOULUBEV, LUCA COLUSSI). Another young giant of piano playing from Italy! Think of assertiveness and guts! There are thirteen tracks, being eleven of them from his pen. The former Student of The Conservatory of Palermo, on his second album as a leader, has shown he’s destined to be one of the leading pianists of that side of the ocean. One of the very best of the genre I’ve heard this year.
24- PIERO FRASSI TRIO WITH SPECIAL GUEST LEE KONITZ – SERENITY. 

Frassi is one of the most articulate and tasteful piano players of the jazz scene these days! Everything he touches turn gold! With the help of Filipo Pedol (b), Andrea Melani (d) and guest Konitz on a few tracks, Frassi promenades through the ways of “ How Deep is The Ocean”, “ I’ll Remember April” (twice), “Time Remembered”, “ A Child is Born”, “A house Is Not a Home”, “Night in Tunisia”, “Beautiful Love” (twice) and “Serenity” with the most fluent steps you can find, on the verge of an epiphany!
25- LORENZO TUCCI – TRANETY. 

As I’ve said above, Tucci’s playing conveys the energy and vitality that great drummers bring to anything they’re into. Listen, for instance, his renderings of “Equinox” and “Afro Blue”and you’ll know what an effective-no-waste-note playing means. He’s not the fastest gun of Dodge City, but, when he aims, he always hits the target. If this is not enough, you can indulge in listening to this CD, to the enfant terrible of piano player in Italy today: Claudio Filippini. This, along with Luca Bulgarelli on bass, complete this winning team. One of the top flights of the year!
26- CHICK COREA/ EDDIE GOMEZ/ PAUL MOTIAN – FURTHER EXPLORATIONS. 

In this much heralded and due homage to Bill Evans, Corea has chosen two Evans’ fellow players from two different trios he had leaded. It seems to me Gomez and Motian, prior to these dates on Blue Note, had never played together. As much as Corea and Evans are different players, this work exudes the latter musicianship: the carefully chosen repertoire, played with two of Evans’ closest associates (besides Corea, of course!) has become, for my taste, the most evocative homage ever done to him. This is an obligatory album for anyone who likes the piano, and specially Bill Evans and the songs to him linked and should be in any best-of-the-best short list of the kind.
27- SERGE FORTÉ TRIO – JAZZ’IN CHOPIN. 

The most impressive lecture of Chopin’s music I’ve ever heard in the hands of any jazzman! Addressed by a powerful pianist who was specially helped by fantastic bass punctuations, Chopin’s songs were played with no limits: grandiose, drama, lyricism, (you name it) are all present in this album. This CD was released some years ago, but I was just fortunate to get to know it only in this year. A tour de force and one of the very best of 2012.
28- FELICE CLEMENT QUARTET – NUVOLE DI CARTA. 

A quartet of rare balance. A tenor sax with a real tenor sax sound! This player has lungs! This is a completely round out quartet, in which the musicians complement each other to make up an album of extraordinary cohesiveness. From Italy, comprised entirely of European players, “Nuvole di Carta”, as far as I know, it’s not easy to find it in the USA, unfortunately. Besides sax, there’s a piano, a bass and drums.
29- VERONICA NUNN – STANDARD DELIVERY (TRAVIS SHOOK p., JAZ SWAYNER d., JENNIFER VINCENT b.).

In this outing - her second album as a leader – you can hear a genuine jazz singer in a piano trio setting, doing some very gorgeous song of the American songbook in a most pleasing way. She’s not any novelty in the jazz scene, but has been hidden for some reason I don’t get…
30- BOJAN Z –SOUL SHELTER. 

An imaginative, bold and inspired solo work, mixing a Fazioli Gran Concert with some electronic keyboard, this one with just enhancing tasks. 10 out of 11 tracks are his own, and that doesn’t pasteurize the album in any way. Certainly, Mr. Z is a voice you should take notice, and this CD was a very good surprise for me. Recommended… (A little digression: Faziolis have some road to run before they keep up with the Steinways and Bosendorfers…)
31- AMINA FIGAROVA- TWELVE. 

Another great surprise! Although I know she’s been around for some years, I only found her this year. This Azerbaijani is an excellent pianist, a thoughtful composer, and this is already her 12th album. Apart from being all this, she has her own way to handle her sextet: the soloists are always intertwined in such a way that nobody almost ever has time to rest. There’s no chance to step aside to give the spot to the next soloist! Of course, this means some arrangement work, which makes her one of the most sophisticated jazzists around. This is one of the most consistent albums I heard lately.
32- KURT ELLING – 1619 BROADWAY.

Elling is most probably the state of the art in jazz singing these days. No one I know can sing with such assurance. He’s the jazziest of the jazziest. I have a hunch, although, that the arrangements on this album have dangerously crossed some border they shouldn’t. Laurence Hobgood has no peers in the art of intricate arrangements; at least that I know of. So, he’s been trying to supplant himself all the time, to the point of turning the song “Come Fly with Me” something a little more than a pale resemblance of what was penned by its author. OK, OK: jazz can’t be limited by any boundaries and believe me: the work done in this album is not beyond my comprehension. After all, I’ve been listening to jazz for many, many years now, but I've spotted some annoying discontinuities in the presentations that have detracted the album’s musicality for me. It’s that simple. Even considering all the capabilities of Elling, here and there, the arrangements and, in particular, the abrupt changes in direction provided by Hobgood, seems excessive, and, so, would have betrayed any other singer (and the music, after all) who could be performing in his place.
33- ROBERT LAKATOS – BUMERANG. 

I’ve known Lakatos for some years now. This Hungarian piano player has done some easy to listen jazz albums, bordering what some call cocktail music. Well, time has passed and, this time, he produced some more solid work. Teamed with Christian Lakatos (a close relative?) on bass, Dre Pallemaerts on drums and Gabor Bolla who plays tenor sax on three songs, Lakatos has done a considerable jazzier work, without losing the attributes he’s know to posses. Listen, for instance, Legrand’s “You Must Believe in Spring”: This much abused song has gained a new life in his hands. The same can be said about “Love Letters” and “Spring is Here”. As such, this lyrical and sensitive musician, now seasoned enough, has gained the necessary guts to cross the line that distinguishes the man from the boys. For my ears, this work is nods ahead any other of his…
34- CARLOS FRANZETTI – PIERROT ET COLOMBINE. 

Franzetti has been around for a long time, having working with jazz mainly as an arranger but also playing the piano, as attests his excellent “Mambo Tango” piano solo. In this journey, however, his compositional side has the leading role and the arrangements do not leave space for improvisations by the players. So, what is Franzetti doing here? I don’t know. I just liked this album, although it’s classically oriented and its improvisations are 99% pre planned, which means done by him, who, by the way, was not playing along with the musicians in the recording studio…
35- DIANA KRALL – GLAD RAG DOLL. 

Forget it! This is not the best place for pin-up girls…