2 Sem 2013 - Part Nine

Marc Cary

For The Love Of Abbey



By Selwyn Harris at JazzWise
The soulful pianist Marc Cary is a long time New York resident who has worked with everyone from high-level American mainstream post-boppers such as Stefon Harris and Roy Hargrove (who featured on some of Cary’s own recordings in the mid-1990s) through to the hip hop legend Q-Tip and neo-soul diva Erykah Badu. But right up there with the career highlights so far are his alliances with jazz vocalists, and not just any jazz vocalists: Cary spent a few years in the 1980s and 90s on tour with Betty Carter before starting a 12-year stint with Abbey Lincoln that lasted until 2006. That’s where this recording comes in; it’s a solo piano set dedicated to Lincoln – the singer and her songs – who passed away in 2010.
Released on the Harlem-based Motéma label, Cary’s playing is packed with drama: orchestral-like ripples and flourishes, richly sustained chords, tremolos and pedal points, but the pianist is also grounded in the earthy rhythms and incantatory folk-melody of the African-American tradition, with McCoy Tyner an important influence on his playing. Yet at the same time he is able to capture the essence of Lincoln’s 13 songs here, and their piercing melancholy (Duke Ellington’s ‘Melancholia’ previously released by Cary, is the odd exception but he says Lincoln loved to hear him play it), much of it drawn from her post-1990s recordings for Verve. The most well known among them are the wonderful, and much loved, ‘Music is the Magic’ and ‘Throw it Away’. The best advice would be to get to know something of Lincoln’s back catalogue first for a more thorough understanding of where Cary’s passionate love letter to the lady is coming from.


Joel Weiskopf

Change In My Life



By C. Andrew Hovan
At times living in the shadow of brother Walt, pianist Joel Weiskopf is a serious jazz pianist with an individualistic style that is an amalgam of a great number of influences from American jazz to Brazilian samba. His third date for Criss Cross finds him returning to the trio format of his debut set for the label a few years back. This time around he brings along for the ride two vital members of Wayne Shorter’s current quartet, namely bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade.
All of the pieces on the hour-long set are Weiskopf originals with titles that allude to the pianist’s strong sense of spirituality. Very much steeped in the McCoy Tyner tradition, Weiskopf speaks with a bell-like tone and a sense of clarity in his solos that is simply remarkable. Post bop sensibilities are at the heart of most of the pieces here, but particularly distinctive is "Righteousness, Peace, and Joy" with its funky beat and in-the-pocket feel. Patitucci lets loose with one of his best solos on this one and Blade keeps everything on the up and up. Other highlights include a heartfelt "Song For My Grandmother" and the shifting accents of "Day of Rejoicing." A mature and advanced player of considerable talents, Weiskopf is at his best here on this most rewarding trio effort. Hopefully it’s one that will bring him even more name recognition.


Francesco Bearzatti: Bizart Trio + Rava

Hope



By Marco Losavio, Alceste Ayroldi per Jazzitalia
IIa prova del BizartTrio capeggiato dal sassofonista Francesco Bearzatti. Con Aldo Romano alla batteria (…e chitarra) ed Emmanuel Bex all'organo, dopo oramai tanti concerti insieme, il trio si muove in modo assolutamente equilibrato nei ruoli, nelle dinamiche, nelle intenzioni e nelle invenzioni musicali.
E' un trio in cui ad ogni azione dell'uno corrisponde una reazione dell'altro spesso quasi anticipata e comunque sempre assolutamente on time. Il trio è talmente ben rodato da permettersi di ospitare senza "costrizioni" la tromba di Enrico Rava il quale, a sua volta, si colloca all'interno dell'impianto sonoro con estrema naturalezza. Lo dimostrano i brani che vedono il trombettista ospite, a cominciare da T Tango in cui Rava sfodera un ottimo solo che aumenta l'intensità del pezzo sino a cogliere dei sovracuti che diventano l'idea iniziale del solo di Bearzatti il quale coglie perfettamente "l'urlo finale" della tromba di Rava come in un ideale, armonioso, passaggio di testimone. La sonorità della tromba ben si integra anche in Caorle, consueto omaggio alle sue origini questa volta sotto forma di bossa nova. Così come nello scenario da sala da ballo anni '50 evocato da Soap Bubble, dove i due fiati conducono la loro danza all'unisono, sorretta dalle armonie insistenti di Bex.
Nel duo con la chitarra classica suonata da Aldo Romano, Enrico Rava interpreta soavemente il melanconico Assenza su cui, forse, sarebbe stato interessante ascoltare il tenore di Bearzatti. Ed è proprio il tenore di Bearzatti a convincere più di ogni altra cosa: una voce splendida, una capacità interpretativa di spessore al punto da sembrare che parli direttamente con l'ascoltatore. E questo lo si può apprezzare in ogni brano persino nell'esecuzione rock di Endless of this Love dove lo stridore del sax si mescola al suono distorto della chitarra fino a confondersi formando quasi una voce corale. Ma Bearzatti, si sa, ama anche il clarinetto che usa con rimarchevoli risultati nel brano dal sapore parigino, Il Camino di Aldo Romano, riuscendo a far immaginare proprio un vecchio camino nell'intento di raccontare secoli di storia che gli sono scorsi dinanzi. Su questo brano va però una particolare nota di merito a Emmanuel Bex che all'organo supporta Bearzatti non solo nel sostegno ritmico e armonico ma anche improvvisando tempestivamente frasi che si contrappuntano in modo esemplare. Un altro esempio emblematico dell'intesa che esiste tra questi musicisti.
In From Halab to Damascus è ancora il clarinetto di Bearzatti a guidarci, questa volta, tra i vicoli di una fusione di suoni tra l'Arabia più pura e le contaminazioni mittileuropee dell'hammond di Bex, con i tempi dettati dal magrebino tambureggiare di Romano.
Accattivanti le rincorse asistoliche di Kids, sospinte da un veloce drumming e da sonorità ancora una volta piuttosto fuori dagli schemi.
Su Aldo Romano non si può dire assolutamente nulla se non che presenzia con classe e maestrìa, con saggezza e regolarità qualsiasi sia la direzione intrapresa dalla loro musica divenendone interprete ed ispiratore al tempo stesso al pari dei suoi compagni.
Il CD si chiude con la title track, Hope, la quale merita un particolare encomio non tanto per la coinvolgente e bella linea melodica o per l'arrangiamento, quanto per l'emozione che riesce a trasmettere nei suoi undici minuti in cui si passa dal soft-funk al quasi jungle offrendo un escursus di tutto ciò che è racchiudibile all'interno di una semplice parola inneggiante alla speranza di un mondo migliore, di un uomo migliore, di un destino migliore. Durante l'ascolto di questa composizione, non possono non scorrere nella mente dell'ascoltatore immagini, eventi che purtroppo oramai caratterizzano costantemente la nostra attualità. Rimane una grande speranza, che tutto ciò non diventi inconsapevolmente una consuetudine…Bearzatti, in una performance di assoluto rilievo, si rende portavoce ideale di questo auspicio riuscendo a porre nell'esecuzione di Hope tutta la sua interiorità maggiormente ravvisabile nel meraviglioso primo minuto di introduzione solitaria del sax.
E la speranza risiede proprio nel recondito desiderio di poter ascoltare solo le dolci note che pervadono il tema anziché gli scenari più apocalittici che sono alimentati, nell'immaginario, dai passaggi più elettronici presenti nel brano.
Il Bizart trio si colloca senza dubbio tra le più interessanti espressioni musicali attualmente in circolazione riuscendo a dosare avanguardia, melodia, tradizione e coinvolgendo l'ascoltatore in un inebriante percorso musicale.

Tracklist:

1 T Tango 7:35; 2 Soap Bubble 5:56 ; 3 From Halab To Damascus 4:55
4 Caorle 5:13 ; 5 End Of This Love 3:38 ; 6 Assenza 2:44 ; 7 Il Camino 3:49 

8 Body-Trap 4:30 ; 9 Kids 4:45 ; 10 Hope 11:44

Line-up/Musicians:

Guitar – Enrico Terragnoli (track 5),Aldo Romano (track 6)
Organ [Hammond] Oscar Marchioni (track 5)

Vocals – Francesco Bearzatti (track 10)
Drums – Aldo Romano,Paolo Mappa (tracks 5,10)
Organ, Electronics – Emmanuel Bex
Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet, Keyboards – Francesco Bearzatti
Trumpet – Enrico Rava (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 6, 9)


Fabizio Bosso & Javier Girotto: Latin Mood
Vamos



By DustyGroove
A sparkling set of Latin jazz, done the Schema way – which means that the team of Favrizio Bosso and Javier Girotto are even tighter than on their previous release for Blue Note! The best tracks here bristle with an upbeat sense of rhythm that's undeniable – grooves that roll out beautifully from the sextet, spurred on with unified energy that's way more than the usual Latin style – very unique, and wonderfully groovy! Bosso's trumpet is as top-shelf as always, a great solo vehicle for the group – and Girotto plays both soprano and baritone sax with a deft touch – alongside drums from Lorenzo Tucci, plus keyboards, bass, and percussion too – all live instrumentation that puts this one more firmly on the jazz side of the Schema spectrum. Titles include "Sophia", "Vamos", "Waltz Del Clavel", "Algo Contigo", "El Mastropiero", "Mathias", "Africa Es", and a surprisingly great version of "In A Sentimental Mood".

Tim Lapthorn

Transport



By EastWind
British pianist Tim Lapthorn (b. 1976) began his professional career after graduating from the Guildhall School of Music in London with a jazz postgraduate degree in 2000, and has performed and recorded with his own trio as well as leading jazz musicians such as Chris Potter, Eddie Henderson and Robben Ford.
His fourth, and debut album from the Japanese label Spice of Life, Transport purely consists of original compositions featuring solo, trios and larger ensemles (including with string quartet ). Lapthorn's music is characterized by simple, accessible melodies and lyricism, drawing from jazz, blues, clasical, folk and Brazilian influences.
Beautifully recorded and brimming with lyrical creativity, this is one of the top piano-centric jazz releases of 2012!
Recorded in London, 2011.
Tim Lapthorn (piano)
Arnie Somogyi (bass)
Stephen Keogh (drums)

Terence Blanchard

Magnetic



By Mark F. Turner
One of today's foremost jazz musicians and composers Terence Blanchard's achievements have soared since his formative days in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers to a trajectory of successful bands, recordings and award winning film scores such as 2007'sA Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina) (Blue Note). He's still pursuing new challenges with the upcoming June 2013 premiere of his first opera— entitled Champion, "An Opera In Jazz"— based on the life of world champion boxer Emile Alphonse Griffith.
Blanchard's ideas are still thriving in his twentieth release and return to Blue Note withMagnetic—a vibrant recording colored with the usual consummate performances, and a modernist bent that's replete with compelling themes. The ten compositions are written by various band members consisting of drummer Kendrick Scott, pianist Fabian Almazan, the unfaltering tenor saxophonist Brice Winston and the addition of 21-year-old bass prodigyJoshua Crumbly.
This indicates another clue to Blanchard's vibrancy: his unselfishness mentoring and willingness to learn from younger musicians—one time acolytes and now leaders—like drummerEric Harland, pianist Edward Simon, and West African guitarist Lionel Loueke who guests here on two tracks and also performed on Blanchard's previous Blue Note dates: Bounce (2003) andFlow (2007). Blanchard gives his band members plenty of opportunities to shine. Almazan's "Pet Step Sitter's Theme Song" features a larger-than-life theme with Blanchard's electronically processed trumpet, virtuosic piano work, and Loueke's usual finesse touches on guitar and vocalizations. Crumbly's elegant and stirring ballad "Jacob's Ladder" and Winston's tightly wound swinger "Time To Spare" are memorable and revealing of the artist's multiple talents.
Magnetic's theme rolls out like some galactic metropolis—vast, complex and colored with futuristic techno embellishments. Yet the music is always filled with Blanchard's elongated lines and emotional urgency as found in the opening title track and the moody dreamscape in "Hallucinations." Swing is also a constant element, proven in "Don't Run" as Ravi Coltrane's soprano burns and Ron Carter's muscular bass walks true with bopping precision. Other vivid moments are found in Scott's brilliant "No Borders Just Horizons" where the music moves with feverish intensity and Almazan's superb acoustic/electronic-enhanced solo track "Comet."
These individual threads are intricately woven together by Blanchard's masterful leadership, musicianship, and openness. It's a fine return to Blue Note and another exceptional release in Blanchard's extensive and continuing discography.
Track Listing: 

Magnetic; Jacob’s Ladder; Don’t Run; Pet Step Sitter’s Theme Song; Hallucinations; No Borders Just Horizons; Comet; Central Focus; Another Step; Time To Spare.
Personnel: 

Terence Blanchard: trumpet; Fabian Almazan: piano; Kendrick Scott: drums; Brice Winston: tenor saxophone (1, 2, 5, 6, 10); Joshua Crumbly: bass (2, 4-6, 8-10) Ron Carter: bass (1, 3); Ravi Coltrane: soprano saxophone (3), tenor saxophone (4); Lionel Loueke: guitar (4, 5, 9).


Marian McPartland

Twilight World



By Ken Dryden
With her long-running series on public radio, Marian McPartland has seemed to many fans to always be a part of jazz. Just a few months shy of celebrating her 90th birthday at the time of these 2007 sessions, the pianist demonstrates why she has been able to play with so many different guests on her program. But this is a regular trio date with her attentive, longtime rhythm section, bassist Gary Mazzaroppi and drummer Glenn Davis. It's hard not to be enchanted immediately with new versions of her upbeat "Twilight World" and the elegant "In the Days of Our Love," the latter played with a hint of looking back on life without getting overly sentimental. McPartland has long been praised as a masterful interpreter of ballads, so her lyrical takes of "Close Enough for Love" and "Alfie" only serve to reinforce her strength in that department. Her good friend, the late Alec Wilder, penned the lush, intricate ballad with her in mind, and it is hard to imagine the notoriously hard-to-please composer (whose frequent comment, according to Marian, was "Play the melody!") not being overjoyed with McPartland's warm rendition. She also delves into the works of other jazz composers with equal enthusiasm, including two spirited explorations of songs by Ornette Coleman, John Lewis' spry "Afternoon in Paris," and a shimmering take of the modal masterpiece "Blue in Green" that is notable for its imaginative introduction. Marian McPartland's Twilight World is among the very best CDs of her long, impressive career.
Track Listing: 

Twilight World; The Days Of Love; Turn Around; Close Enough For Love; How Deep Is The Ocean; Alfie; Lonely Woman; Blue In Green; Afternoon In Paris; Stranger In A Dream; Blackberry Winter.
Personnel: 

Marian McPartland: piano; Gary Masaroppi: bass; Glen Davis: drums.

2 Sem 2013 - Part Eight

Idea6

Metropoli



By Franco Fayenz
The professional listener, especially if seasoned, develops personal preferences with time: styles, composers, performers (and composer-performers when the music is improvised). But he must try to keep them in the shadows, as much as possible, in the silence of the critical conscience. The author of these notes is a journalist who has been writing about music, and jazz in particular, for almost half a century. Let's put aside the great music of Europe, which is not discussed here. Instead, let's stop and consider the vortical path traveled by jazz in the past fifty years, the sudden changes of tack, the revivals, the flights forward. He who was very young at the end of the 50s, after having, with some difficulty, approached the explosion of modern jazz, had to read up on the past of jazz and its origins, especially after having resolved to choose this music among the fundamental elements of his work. He had to attempt to be neither traditionalist nor modernist, but rather observe day after day what was happening to Afro-American music in the United States, Europe and Italy.
In Italy modern jazz had difficulty catching on but managed to with many sacrifices by the musicians who gave preference to these expressions (they did it, let's be honest, because unlike others they had the option). Two of them are amazing seventy-year-olds, Gianni Basso and Dino Piana, who are the characterizing protagonists of Idea6. In those days, they acknowledged the supremacy and mastery of the American virtuosos (some had already stopped). However, they soon realized that they were able to compete with them and, in any case, provide a personal touch. Without their contribution, who knows when, or even if Italian modern jazz would have taken off. Here they are, now. None of their good old shine has been lost, but actually enhanced by maturity and experience: Basso, capable of extreme sweetness, aggressive episodes and seductive phrasing; Piana, who thrills the listener with the solemn sound acquired by the jazz trombone in the 50s and 60s and still going strong.
The other four are younger (or much younger). They drew near the music coming from across the Atlantic in different contexts, but perfectly fit into the atmosphere suggested by the two illustrious soloists and actively contribute to it, offering in turn sequences of superb effectiveness. I'm especially thinking of the input given to compositions (and improvisations) which belong to previous generations, such as Metropoli by Gianni Ferrio, listening to which this aging reporter must be careful and not to give way to nostalgia, or Pittura by Enrico Intra, Train Up by Sandro Brugnolini, Autumn in Milano by Gianni Basso. The result is an excellent CD.
I fear, at this point, that I have given myself away. However mine is neither a preference for the type of music that was the background of youth; nor (but perhaps a little) for the clear and immediate sounds which, though at times complex, never pass through the suffering of the listener. It is the preference for beauty.

1) Metropoli (G.Ferrio) 4.23
2) New born (F.Piana) 8.10
3) Minor Mood (F.Piana) 5.44
4) Pittura (intra) 5.09
5) Train up (Brugnolini ) 5.04
6) Windly Coast ( R.Pistocchi) 4.20
7) Vivacità (F.Piana E. Valdambrini) 5.56
8) Marmaris (R.Pistocchi) 7.19
9) Autumn in Milano (Gianni Basso) 6.15
10) Tokyo Lullaby (R.Pistocchi) 5.25

Mario Nappi feat. Javier Girotto
Thank You




By Fabio Caprera
La musica di Thank You la senti che si avvicina di soppiatto, con discrezione, quasi che non debba arrecare disturbo. Si pone in maniera semplice, diretta, come quelle piante che crescono lentamente giorno dopo giorno, e ci si accorge di loro solo dopo che hanno coperto l'intera parete. L'arte di Mario Nappi somiglia a quel tipo di piante. Il suo pianismo, le sue composizioni, danno l'impressione di accarezzare le superfici, di sfiorarle, di evitare qualsiasi contatto fisico.
Naturalmente è solo un'impressione perché bastano pochi ascolti per rendersi conto che quelle melodie ti sono entrate nella testa e le stai elaborando. Il suo tocco delicato - impreziosito da una nostalgica vena blues e dai colori mediterranei - moderno, fatto di poche note profondamente melodiche, ti seduce al primo istante. Canzone Appassiunata, brano d'apertura del disco è anche la summa di tutto questo. È una ballad, eseguita in trio, carica di pathos e tensione narrativa. Forse, il pezzo più bello del cd. Thank You, la title track, si apre sulla scia del precedente, ma ha un profilo più arioso, orchestrale, con la voce di Martina Nappi e il soprano di Girotto che si libra con insistenti fraseggi e volute di alta scuola. È sempre il sassofonista in un soliloquio al soprano ad aprire Bon Aurio, una ballad intensa che rievoca melodie argentine cadenzate dal pianismo di Nappi, sincrono con il basso e la batteria. Il disco procede con favore di vento, le composizioni di Nappi si ritagliano spazi all'interno di un progetto che con Girotto collega due porti e due mondi di eguale sensibilità. La musica enigmatica de Il Dubbio di Medeasi stempera nella fresca composizione intitolata Flowers, una tavolozza di colori dove il sax di Girotto ha le sembianze di una farfalla che salta di qua e di là tastando fiori fatti di brillanti cromie. Forse quello È Il Senso della Vita e Nappi lo suona con "saggezza popolare" alla fisarmonica. Il mainstream di My Secret Place, un pezzo bluesy, rinforzato dalla chitarra di Luongo e dalla ritmica di Sergio Di Natale, prepara la svolta finale di Memories of Pain. Il brano chiude in dolcezza, una sorta di title track filmica, il primo trailer musicale di Mario Nappi, la prova da leader. Girotto ne screzia i colori al baritono dandogli un tono nostalgico, da ricordi sognati.


Oltremare Quartet

Uncommon Nonsense



By London Jazz News
Although first impressions of the music made by the Oltremare Quartet might bring Iain Ballamy’s wistful but deceptively robust lyricism to mind, it is also easy to identify another (acknowledged) influence on bassist/leader Andrea Di Biase’s thoughtful, gently insinuating compositional style: Kenny Wheeler.
Saxophonist Michael Chillingworth moves unfussily between the earnest, slightly plaintive approach demanded by the album’s more restrained fare and the fiery pep appropriate to its livelier moments (a particular highlight pianist Antonio Zambrini’s driving tumultuous “Chanson”, and the rhythm section (completed by ubiquitous drummer Jon Scott) is also adaptable and skilful enough to purr quietly through the contemplative moments but rattle and roll under, for instance, the scalding piano solos of more rumbustious pieces such as “Even Shorter”.
Zambrini, indeed, irresistibly draws the ear to both his boisterous, often grandiloquent up-tempo runs and his restrained musings on more temperate compositions, but overall it is the quality and variety of Di Biase’s writing and the uncontrived versatility of the quartet – sweet-sounding and punchily muscular as required – that impresses about this classy, enjoyable album.

Arnold Klos Trio

Peace Piece




By EastWind
Dutch veteran pianist Arnold Klos is considered to be firmly in the Bill Evans school of the jazz piano tradition. In his sixth release from Atelier Sawano--and his first new recording in three years, Klos shows his affinity to Evans by choosing nine songs are either composed by or strongly associated with the legendary pianist. The program also includes Clare Fischer's "Pensativa" and Klos' three originals. Of course, Klos is not intersted in imitating Evans, and he has his own unique style -- sweet lyricism and even-tempered pursuit of gentle beauty.
Recommended for fans of lyrical piano jazz!
Produced by Arnold Klos. Recorded November 14, 2011 in Belgium.
Personnel:
Arnold Klos (piano)
Jos Machtel (bass)
Eric Ineke (drums)
Album Tracks:
1. Autumn Leaves 2. Detour Ahead 3. Israel 4. Pensativa 5. All Blues
6. The Shadow Of Your Smile 7. The Opener 8. I.O.U.
9. Peace Piece   10. Night And Day   11. Via Solaris     12. Like A Band

13. How Deep Is The Ocean


Giovanni Mirabassi Trio & Strings

Viva V.E.R.D.I.



By JazzBreakfast  
No, this is not a collection of jazz tunes adapted from Verdi operas. The title stands for the Italian pianist living in Paris as a reminder of his homeland, using the iconic nature of the composer but also the initials for Vittorio Emanuele Re d’Italia from the secret revolutionary society of the Carbonari.
To further confuse, the trio – Mirabassi with Gianluca Renzi on double bass and Lukmil Perez Herrera on drums – is recorded live with the South Korean Bee String Orchestra in Goyang.
The title track opens the album and introduces us to a graceful trio packed with melody and fleet on its feet, intermingling with some jolly romantic string arrangements. The striking thing about it all is how naturally the trio and strings entwine, and how lithe and sensitive to the jazz swing the strings are.
With the exception of Hermeto Pascoal’s Bebe and a traditional South Korean song calledArirang, it’s made up of tunes by the pianist and the bassist, and all arranged by Renzi.
It flows effortlessly, Mirabassi adept at lifting the emotional heft and then relaxing it. And it has bags of Italian sunshine and easy Romanticism running through it. Jazz-wise it’s pretty conservative, but pretty nevertheless. And very well recorded.
Recorded live in Goyang (South Korea) on 27 November 2011 at Goyang Aram Nuri Concert Hall
Recording engineer Junghoon Choi

Paul Smith 1922 - 2013

By Peter Keepnews Published: July 3, 2013 at NYTimes
Paul Smith, a jazz pianist who accompanied singers like Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Sammy Davis Jr. and Rosemary Clooney but who was best known for his long association, both on record and on concert stages worldwide, with Ella Fitzgerald, died on Saturday in Torrance, Calif. He was 91.
His death was announced by his publicist, Alan Eichler.
Tall, lanky and rugged-looking, Mr. Smith did not fit most people’s image of a jazz musician. When he was the musical director on the comedian Steve Allen’s television show in the 1960s, Mr. Allen told him that he looked more like “a Nebraska cornhusker.” At concerts, Mr. Smith would sometimes walk onto the stage and ask the audience, “Where is the piano you want moved?”
He didn’t entirely see himself as a jazz musician either. Early in his career, he told The San Diego Union-Tribune in 1991, “I could see there was more money to be made in studio work than playing a jazz joint.” And studio work took up much of his time: he worked as a staff musician for NBC and Warner Brothers, and for many years he was the musical director for Dinah Shore’s daytime talk show.
But he was at home in the jazz joints, too, and after gaining early experience with Tommy Dorsey’s big band and the guitarist Les Paul’s small group in the late 1940s, he went on to record dozens of jazz albums under his own name, gaining a following for his prodigious technique and his lighthearted approach.
He made his most lasting mark through his work with singers, most notably Fitzgerald, with whom he worked on and off from the late 1950s until the early 1990s. In addition to leading the trio that backed her in concert, he was part of the ensemble on her celebrated “Song Book” albums of the ’50s and ’60s and the sole musician on her 1960 album featuring selections from “Let No Man Write My Epitaph,” one of the few movies in which she acted.
Paul Thatcher Smith was born in San Diego on April 17, 1922. His parents, Lon Smith and Constance Farmer, were vaudeville performers and encouraged his interest in music. (His father later became a newspaper editor.)
He began studying piano at age 8, led a jazz band in high school and became a professional musician at 19 with the Johnny Richards band. From 1943 to 1945 he served in the Army, where he played in a band led by the trumpeter Ziggy Elman.
Mr. Smith performed in Southern California nightclubs until his death, mostly with his wife of 54 years, the singer and pianist Annette Warren. She survives him, as does his daughter, the actress Lauri Johnson; two sons, Gary and Paul; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Critics sometimes accused Mr. Smith of emphasizing flash over substance, and some were put off by his pianistic playfulness. “They don’t seem to realize we ain’t doin’ ‘Hamlet’ up here,” he said in 1991. “So when I toss in a shot of ‘Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town’ in the middle of ‘Take the A Train’ or a few bars of ‘School Days’ in ‘Jumping at the Woodside,’ that’s my way of saying, ‘Stay loose.’ ”

Marian McPartland 1918 - 2013

By NPR

Marian McPartland, who gave the world an intimate, insider's perspective on one of the most elusive topics in music — jazz improvisation — died of natural causes Tuesday night at her home in Long Island, N.Y. She was 95.
For more than 40 years, she hosted Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, 

http://www.npr.org/series/15773266/marian-mcpartland-s-piano-jazz, an NPR program pairing conversation and duet performances that reached an audience of millions, connecting with jazz fans and the curious alike. She interviewed practically every major jazz musician of the post-WWII era.
McPartland's soft English accent wasn't the only thing that made her a good radio personality. She was an accomplished jazz pianist herself, which was readily evident on her program.

McPartland The Pianist
Marian McPartland, radio host, was at one time Margaret Marian Turner, piano student. She told NPR in 2005 that her interest in music started when she was a young girl, after she heard her mother play piano.
"From that moment on, I don't remember ever not playing piano, day and night, wherever I was," she said. "At my aunt's house, at kindergarten — wherever they had a piano, I played it. Of course, on the BBC they played all the hits from over here [in the U.S.]. They played them, I heard them and I learned them."
Young Marian Turner studied classical music, then went on to perform in vaudeville theaters across England. During WWII, she entertained troops, often jamming with American soldiers.
She married one of them: cornetist Jimmy McPartland. After the war, the couple made their way to the U.S. — first to Chicago, then to New York.
There, she tracked down one of her early idols, one of the few women in the bebop revolution, pianist Mary Lou Williams.
"A man might come into New York in 1951 and be kind of gunning for his competition," says Paul de Barros, McPartland's biographer. "Marian McPartland came to New York City and befriended Mary Lou Williams. She immediately tried to establish a kind of camaraderie with her, a kind of female strategy of 'we're in this together.' "
That "we're in this together" attitude was central to the success of her radio program and her career — not that she had an easy time of it at first. As McPartland struggled to make a name for herself in New York, one critic caustically suggested that she had three things going against her: She was British, she was white and she was a woman.
"I guess it wasn't that usual to see a woman musician playing in a group, although there were many, actually," McPartland told NPR. "But everybody seemed to think that this was pretty strange, maybe because I was British also. And someone would say, 'Oh, you play good for a girl,' or 'You sound just like a man.' At the time, I just took all those things as encouragement."
McPartland landed a gig in 1952 at The Hickory House, a noisy steakhouse on 52nd Street, the center of the city's jazz scene.
"Everybody came by," de Barros says. "I mean, she had the opportunity to meet everyone from Duke Ellington to Pee Wee Russell to Thelonious Monk. Jazz was really an underground community, and everybody hung out."

Conversations Like Jazz
McPartland continued to record and perform throughout the 1950s and into the '60s, but as rock 'n' roll took over, she began to lecture on college campuses. In the late '60s, she started spinning jazz records on a New York radio station where other pianists would drop by the studio unannounced, just to chat.
A casual hello became a regular program in April 1979, when McPartland and South Carolina ETV Radio launched Piano Jazz. Her first on-air guest was the late Billy Taylor, also a pianist and NPR jazz host.
"It seemed as if every opportunity that came her way in the past prepared her for being a radio host," de Barros says. "She had researched other people's styles, so she had questions that she wanted to ask. All of those skills were in place, and she was ready for the opportunity that came to her."
McPartland said the conversations themselves were very much like jazz, spontaneous and free-flowing.
"It's so easy to make it a conversation, and you don't know where it's going to lead," McPartland said. "The whole thing is so improvised, you really don't know where it's going to go."
Along the way, McPartland also became a mentor to many young pianists. Geri Allen, one of those pianists, says she hears something familiar to musicians when she listens to Piano Jazz.
"It's a very personal exchange that only happens to musicians on the bandstand," Allen says. "But to have it opened up to the fans, I think it helps to create even more of an understanding [of] what that whole experience of improvising is about."
McPartland was once asked how she did this. Her answer was simple: "You have to love what you do," she said.
That was perhaps Marian McPartland's greatest talent: She madePiano Jazz not about her, but about the musicians, the fans and our collective exploration of jazz. For more than 40 years, she reminded listeners every week that we're all in it together.

Cedar Walton 1934 - 2013

Cedar Walton died just after 03:00h this morning at his home in Brooklyn. He was 79.

By John Fordham at TheGuardian 
Back in the day at Ronnie Scott's club in London, when artists were booked on the personal whims of the founding proprietors Scott and Pete King without much regard for the box office, the same performers would reappear year after year with the regularity of old friends turning up to reunions. One such was the pianist and composer Cedar Walton, who has died aged 79. Like almost all the regular favourites at Ronnie's in the Scott-King era, Walton was a class jazz act who could play intelligent, probing bebop and swing-based music in his sleep, but who refashioned familiar jazz traditions in his own ways.
Walton's engrossing performances might open on a brisk blues that would develop first in silvery, balletic treble melodies and build to chord-thumping climaxes. A swoony standard-song such as All the Things You Are could be unexpectedly delivered as a series of flinty, Thelonious Monk-like prods, or a familiar jazz vehicle like Lover Man might move from a subtly evolving repeated phrase through a shower of bright runs and trills to jubilant block chords.
But he was as creative a composer as he was a player. Walton's punchy, clever and shrewdly shaped originals – including Bolivia, Ojos de Rojo and Mode for Joe – became jazz standards. He was a much sought-after and prolific artist, participating in or leading more than 100 albums over a recording career that began in 1958.
He was born in Dallas and was taught to play the piano by his mother, Ruth, who also took him to jazz concerts by piano stars including Art Tatum. From his early years he showed a preference for composing his own pieces rather than practising other people's. From 1951 until 1954 Walton studied music and education at the University of Denver, and ran a local trio that got to accompany such illustrious visitors as Dizzy Gillespie. He was then drafted into the army, where he had the opportunity to sit in with Duke Ellington's orchestra, and to play with the trumpeter/composer Don Ellis and the saxophonists Leo Wright and Eddie Harris in the 7th Army band while stationed in Germany.
On his demobilisation and return to the US in 1958, Walton made his recording debut with the bebop trumpeter and vocalist Kenny Dorham, playing reservedly but supportively on the album This Is the Moment. The following year, Walton almost found himself involved in what was to become a jazz landmark – John Coltrane's Giant Steps –but though he played on the early takes at Coltrane's invitation, he was absent on tour for the final ones, and Tommy Flanagan took his place.
Walton was now in demand for the leading young bands practising the bluesy, viscerally exciting style called hard bop. He worked in the trombonist JJ Johnson's group from 1958 until 1960, and then alongside the trumpeter Art Farmer and saxophonist Benny Golson in the elegant Jazztet for a year. But in 1961, his most significant career choice presented itself, and he joined the drummer Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers – the doyen of hard bop bands, with a gospelly energy that sprang directly from Blakey's volatile drumming.
Walton later maintained that playing with Blakey greatly sharpened his alertness and attentiveness as an accompanist as well as a soloist. But since the Messengers were an open and evolving jazz workshop that devoured new original material, this was also an opportunity for Walton the composer to blossom – and the presence of the trumpet virtuoso Freddie Hubbard and saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter in the lineup were added inspirations. Walton contributed such deviously lyrical themes as Mosaic and Ugetsu to Blakey's repertoire in his tenure from 1961 to 1964, years in which the Messengers were at their zestful best.
Walton then accompanied the vocalist Abbey Lincoln, recorded with the popular former Messengers trumpeter Lee Morgan, worked as a house pianist for Prestige Records, and participated in a tough bebop band with the saxophonists George Coleman and later Bob Berg that from 1975 took the name Eastern Rebellion. Walton was also a key member of the tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan's Magic Triangle group in the mid-70s, and though he touched on electric music and funk in the same decade, bebop and swing were closest to his heart and he soon returned to acoustic groups.
He frequently toured with a trio featuring the gracefully inventive Billy Higgins on drums, an inspiration that helped bring the pianist's uncliched improv phrasing to a new level of telling concision. He made magnificent recordings with lineups from duos to an 11-piece through the 1990s. But Walton also remained an open and willing partipant in other players' ventures, cannily shadowing the London vocalist Ian Shaw on the 1999 album In a New York Minute, and the UK sax/trumpet bebop partnership of Osian Roberts and Steve Fishwick on With Cedar Walton (2009). He was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2010, and his last recording – The Bouncer, in 2011, for his trio augmented by sax and trombone – was a typically nimble canter through the old master's favourite kinds of jazz.
Walton is survived by his wife, Martha, and four children, Carl, Rodney, Cedra and Naisha.
• Cedar Anthony Walton Jr, jazz pianist and composer, born 17 January 1934; died 19 August 2013

2 Sem 2013 - Part Seven

Pietro Tonolo, Flavio Boltro, Emmanuel Bex, Joe Chambers
The Translators

By Marco Magrini
La Parco della Musica Records continua a proporre i progetti originali dei più validi musicisti internazionali. Questa volta presenta un quartetto di fuoriclasse (Pietro Tonolo al sax, Flavio Boltro alla tromba, Emmanuel Bex all’organo hammond e Joe Chambers alla batteria) riunitosi insieme nella sala di registrazione dell’Auditorium Parco della Musica per dare vita a una session unica di musica improvvisata e interpretazioni di brani originali e standard. Un quartetto italo – franco – americano che unisce diversi sound e background musicali per dare vita a The Transaltors, un disco propulsivo e potente che farà molto parlare di sé. Lingue, ma anche significati, modi di dire. Parole, ma anche gesti, rituali. Musica, ma anche frammenti melodici, poliritmi ancestrali. Tutto quanto ti passa per la testa, è un meme, una minuscola unità culturale che si replica da una mente all’altra, con la rapidità, la precisione e la determinazione di un gene. Come i geni (secondo lo scienziato-filosofo Richard Dawkins), anche i memi possono sopravvivere o estinguersi, replicarsi e mutare. È un altro modo di guardare, come nel microscopio, alla monumentale cultura della civiltà umana. The Translators è uscito dalla testa e dal corpo di quattro musicisti che parlano tre lingue diverse. Ma che in questo disco non traducono soltanto gli idiomi, i modi di dire e di fare, di Italia, Francia e Stati Uniti. Tradurre” e “traduir” vengono dal latino traducere, portare oltre. “Translate” deriva da translatare, che implica la consegna fisica di qualcosa. Joe, Pietro, Flavio ed Emmanuel – i quattro Translators – si occupano di trasportare, intrecciare e far evolvere i memi che hanno accumulato dalla nascita. Questo disco, è la traduzione, la consegna fisica della loro arte. Chi improvvisa si avvale di una quantità di memi ben maggiore, rispetto a chi esegue soltanto. Il processo di creazione che viaggia in tempo reale e reinventa i suoni già vissuti, è nel cromosoma della musica afroamericana, che non a caso si è evoluta nella forma artistica più cosmopolita che c’è. Dal ta-dum della batteria che apre Dark Matter, fino alla cadenza finale di Wasabi Blues, The Translators macinano idee, pensieri e ricordi, traducendoli in questa seduta di registrazione che è viva come uno spettacolo.

Dino & Franco Piana Septet

Seven



By Bill Milkowski
This all-star aggregation features some of the most prominent names on Italy’s modern jazz scene, including trumpeters Enrico Rava and Fabrizio Bosso, drummer Roberto Gatto, superb pianist Enrico Pieranunzi and the father-son team of valve trombonist Dino Piana and his gifted offspring, the trumpeter-composer-arranger Franco Piana. The four-movement Open Dialogues bears the harmonically rich stamp of Gil Evans and includes expressive solos from each of the band members; their collective swing factor is evident on the exhilarating final movement of this impressive 24-minute suite, which includes a bold tenor sax solo from Max Ionata and an adventurous plunger solo from Bosso (who nonchalantly drops in a quote from Monk’s “Nutty” along the way). “Your Smile” is a gorgeous vehicle for Franco’s lyrical flugelhorn playing, and the uptempo burner “Eighty and One” is another swinging showcase with solo-section fireworks. “Asimmetrico” is a tip of the hat to Monk, while the beautiful ballad “Sunlight” has Pieranunzi channeling Bill Evans. Trumpet great Rava appears on one track, the buoyant calypso-flavored closer, “Step by Step.” Classy mainstream jazz at its finest.


Giovanni Mirabassi & Andrzej Jagodzinski Trio

C minor
   

By  Ernest Barteldes
On this disc, the Jagodzinski Trio from Poland plays alongside Italian pianist Giovanni Mirabassi (the bandleader taking on the accordion) for a program that includes several original songs and a couple of takes on Miles Davis, Bill Evans and Chopin. The trio has specialized on rereading their fellow Pole throughout its distinguished career, and it is exactly this that has brought the trio stateside for a number of performances that included a March, 2007 gig at New York's Joe's Pub, performing—minus Mirabassi—with Chicago-based vocalist Graźyna Auguscik.
The album opens with Mirabassi's "Tango, which is tailor-made for this four-piece format, as Jagodziński skillfully channels the vibe and feel of the Argentinean genre. The chemistry among the musicians is evident (this is their third disc together). The piano/accordion combination works like a charm, specially on more fast-paced numbers such as "Souvenirs Souvenirs, where you can also notice the chops of bassist Adam Cegielski and drummer Czesnaw Bartowski, who provide strong backing to the track and also shine individually with their fill-ins and riffs.
Bassist Adam Cegielski and the bandleader beautifully exchange leads on Chopin's "Valse in La Mineur, while Mirabassi backs them with subtle but effective chords that fill all open spaces in the song. During his own solo, he blends his classical and jazz influences by playing in an incredibly simple manner.
Polish jazz musicians seem to have an ongoing love affair with Brazilian music, which can be evidenced by the fact that many artists from that Latin country have toured in Poland. Several albums have either covered tunes by Baden Powell, Jobim and others or been influenced by these composers (vocalist Anna Maria Jopek, for instance, has recorded Powell's "Apelo (with the title "Samba Przed Rozstaniem" , from her 1998 CD Szeptem) and has made an entire album of original bossa nova-inspired songs). Here we are offered "Samba de Tygmont, a Jagodzinski tune that allows the group to be both creative and playful around the melody.
At their New York gig, the focus was on Chopin and Polish Folk songs. The trio played the first number, and then was joined by Auguscik. At first, neither the vocalist nor the group seemed to gel—the trio seemed a bit uneasy to be backing a singer, and she seemed a bit out of her element. However, as things evolved they seemed to develop some chemistry, getting positive appreciation from the audience, which was formed—as far as we could notice—mostly of expatriate Poles.
Visit The Andrzej Jagodzinski Trio and Giovanni Mirabassi on the web.
Track Listing: 

Tango; Blue melody; Souvenirs souvenirs; Rova; La barre d'Etel; Valse la mineur; Deep cut; Samba de Tygmont; Mirabasso continuo; Solar; My romance; Barcarole.
Personnel: 

Giovanni Mirabassi: piano; Andrzej Jagodzinski: piano, accordion; Adam Cegielski: bass; Czes?aw Bartkowski: drums.

Andrea Pozza Trio

A Jellyfish From The Bosphorus



By Abeat
Andrea Pozza, between the Italian pianists who have been able to carve an international platform, boasting recordings and collaborations at the highest levels. After the recent successful publication of "Gull's flight" (always with Abeat and his European quintet) here Pozza gets back on the scene with the formula that made him famous: the trio. And he does it in an exemplary manner, for his part, giving us a disc with his elegant style, built on a pianism attentive to the nuances and colors, unfolds in a perfect balance between formal structure of European-style and the freshness and inventive of a sound of full respect for the African-American traditions overseas. Few pianists can boast a similar class, a so amazing swing and so great interplay. This is demonstrated by his collaborations bearing the name of some "sacred cows" of jazz : Harry "Sweet" Edison, Bobby Durham, Chet Baker, Al Grey, Scott Hamilton, Steve Grossman, George Coleman, Charlie Mariano, Lee Konitz, Sal Nistico, Massimo Urbani and many more. He still plays regularly alongside Enrico Rava, Fabrizio Bosso ... for 25 years was pianist with Gianni Basso. This cd, recorded between Italy and England, is entitled "A Jellyfish From The Bosphorus" and is deliberately metaphorical : such as jellyfish wander from sea to sea, so the influences of various cultures of the world creep into our musical knowledge. A CD telling us about Andrea Pozza increasingly open to the suggestions of a world in great evolution.
With:
Shane Forbes : drums
Andrea Pozza : Piano
Aldo Zunino : Doublebass

Claudio Bianzino 4tet Feat. Alberto Mandarini
Gigabbo

By Dodicilune
È in distribuzione Gigiabbo, nuovo progetto discografico del quartetto guidato dal sassofonista Claudio Bianzino con la partecipazione del trombettista Alberto Mandarini, prodotto da Dodicilune e distribuito in Italia e all’estero da IRD.
Otto brani inediti composti dal sassofonista affiancato in questa avventura dal pianista Davide Calvi, dal contrabbassista Stefano Profeta e dal batterista Nicola Stranieri. “Questo lavoro discografico rappresenta la realizzazione di un progetto che avevo ben preciso nella mia testa da molti anni e che ho deciso di realizzare insieme a dei “compagni di viaggio” che sono allo stesso tempo ottimi musicisti e persone straordinarie”, sottolinea Bianzino. “Essendo forse più noto come compositore ed arrangiatore, ho voluto realizzare queste otto composizioni originali nella mia veste originale di sassofonista e nell’ambito di quella che è la più classica e sfruttata delle formazioni jazz ovvero il quartetto con piano, contrabbasso e batteria: un terreno in cui tutti i sassofonisti crescono e che è in grado di rappresentare una sfida sempre nuova”.
Il disco vuole anche essere, in un certo senso, un punto di partenza e proprio questo è il significato del criptico titolo. Gigiabbo è una parola senza senso, ma a ben vedere un senso ce l’ha. Pare infatti che sia stata la prima parola che Bianzino pronunciò da bambino, all’epoca della cosiddetta lallazione, ovvero quando si inizia ad emettere dei piccoli aggregati di sillabe (tipo mamma, pappa, nanna, etc…).
“Il caso ha voluto che mentre, seduto sul seggiolone, pronunciavo la parola in questione, avessi spesso in mano un sottopentola, uno di quei cosi rotondi che una volta erano fatti di corda o di vimini intrecciati, belli colorati. Da quel momento a casa mia il sottopentola, parola che in effetti credo non avere quasi mai usato, si chiama ufficialmente “gigiabbo” e questo ormai è risaputo anche da tutti i miei amici”, scherza Bianzino. “Ecco, nonostante non sia più proprio giovanissimo, questo vuole essere il senso di questo lavoro discografico: una parola d’apertura, che magari suscita una certa curiosità, una parola che forse non ha molto senso, ma forse, invece, di senso ne ha parecchio, chissà…”.
Track List:
1 – Gigiabbo; 2 – Il leone e la gazzella; 3 – Lo specchio degli occhi; 4 – Tanghelli
5 – Foggy Waitz; 6 – Quasi trentanove; 7 – Il lungo viaggio; 8 - Gongolo
Musicisti:
Claudio Bianzino, soprano & tenor saxophone
Alberto Mandarini, trumpet & flugelhorn
Davide Calvi, piano
Stefano Profeta, double bass
Nicola Stranieri, drums
Recording Data:
Prodotto da Claudio Bianzino e Gabriele Rampino per Dodicilune Edizioni
Label Manager Maurizio Bizzochetti
Registrato nel dicembre 2011 da Davide Calci al Sounds Good di Borgosesia (Vc)
Missato e masterizzato nel marzo 2012 da Davide Calvi al Sounds Good a Borgonesia (Vc).

2 Sem 2013 - Part Six

Billy Hart

All Our Seasons



By Thom Jurek
In 2003, this group was called the Ethan Iverson/Mark Turner Quartet. Master drummer Billy Hart asked if he could borrow the band's name as his own for a show in his hometown of Montclair, New Jersey. The other members -- who also include bassist Ben Street -- voted to name it for him permanently. They recorded their well-received Quartet for High Note in 2005, and have played together live whenever schedules permit. All Our Reasons was recorded in June of 2011 in New York; it marks Hart's debut as a leader for ECM. His "Song for Balkis" opens the album with a brief but animated drum solo primarily on tom-toms, before he is joined by Iverson and Street; finally Turner enters in what develops as a shimmering, elliptical yet melodic exploration that feels more like a group improvisation. Iverson's "Ohnedaruth" begins with an extended piano solo before the band enters at the halfway point and deftly executes the pianist's extrapolation of themes inherent to John Coltrane's "Giant Steps." (The tune is titled after the late saxophonist's adopted spiritual name.) Hart's gorgeous cymbal work and propulsive bluesy swing drive "Tolli's Dance," with compelling work from Turner. Speaking of Turner, his "Nigeria" is a canny investigation of a Sonny Rollins number with the title reversed. It's a fine example of 21st century post-bop harmonic interplay with all the swing and fingerpopping intact. Set closer "Imke's March," by Hart, begins and ends with a whistled melody that he used to call his daughter in from the playground. Iverson makes the most of the melody, using his signature sense of diatonic lyricism and developing the theme in increments with Turner stating each new development. Street holds it taut as Hart uses cymbals and snare to "dance" around the trio, while keeping the thematic "march" sense throughout. All Our Reasons is wonderfully executed, and full of excellent tunes, nice improvisational turns, numerous surprises (many of them subtle), and a warm, lively sense of engagement throughout.

Hector Martignon

Second Chance



By Michael G. Nastos
The incredible pianist Hector Martignon has released many top-level recordings since his days as a sideman with Ray Barretto, but Second Chance signifies a look back while searching for his future direction. Many of these compositions are revisits of previous albums with different personnel, emphasizing the horns of saxophonist Xavier Perez and trumpeter John Walsh, giving them more of a jazz rather than Latin jazz feel. While his Colombian and South American roots are very much present in the music, not to mention his personal virtuosity, Martignon seems ready to make a move toward composed, modern neo-bop as evidenced on at least half of this effort. It's the hopped-up version of "Alone Together" at the end of the CD -- with acknowledged influence of the late keyboardist Don Grolnick -- that gives rise to this contention. His acoustic keyboard is a bit under the radar in the mix except when he solos, but tracks like Joao Bosco's bubbling and rumbling modal samba "Bala Con Bala" (also featuring vibraphonist Tim Collins) and the heavier "Andrea" from 6/8 in 4/4 time, are closer to his identity as standouts. A soulful, romantic approach is heard, as well as a simmering danzon, slow seductive guajira, or funky commercial side. Fellow Colombian-born hand percussionist Samuel Torres (check out his efforts as a leader) is a big part of the band, while Edmar Castaneda (harp) and Vinny Valentino (guitar) make cameo appearances. This is a recording to savor, definitely listen to more than once, and keep in your collection, especially if you have the original versions of these finely crafted pieces of gold, so you can hear how they have evolved and acquired a new sheen.


Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette

Somewhere

By John Kelman 
It's been four years since a recorded peep has been heard from pianist Keith Jarrett's Standards Trio, despite continuing to perform a few select dates each year. But even its last few ECM releases—2009's Yesterdays, 2007's My Foolish Heart and 2004's The Out-of-Towners—were all culled from a clearly fruitful 2001, making it well over a decade since a new recorded note has been heard from Jarrett's longest-lasting group. Fine albums all, the dearth of anything since that time has nevertheless begged the question, even amongst some of his most ardent fans, as to whether this undeniably fine trio had anything new to say.
From Jarrett's a cappella opening to Somewhere's wonderfully coalescing take of trumpeterMiles Davis' "Solar," all doubts are laid to rest as the pianist delivers a performance to rival his classic introduction to "My Funny Valentine" on Still Live (ECM, 1988), one of the Standards Trio's strongest records. It's a terrific start to an album that, recorded in Switzerland during the summer of 2009, celebrates 30 years since Jarrett, bassist Gary Peacock and drummerJack DeJohnette first entered New York's Power Station studio for the fruitful sessions that yielded three recordings collected on Setting Standards: New York Sessions (ECM, 2008):Standards, Vol. 1 (1983), Changes (1984) and Standards, Vol. 2 (1985).
It's been a long time since the trio has stepped into a studio, and the easiest explanation is that this really is a group best heard live—a point driven home by this 65-minute, six-song set. In addition to Davis, the trio works its way through a list of equally classic songwriters. A particularly lovely take of Frank Perkins and Mitchell Parish's "Stars Fell on Alabama," finds Peacock, combining pure taste and tone, remaining at the top of his game. A quirky rendition of Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" is largely constructed around this trio's remarkable ability to suggest swing without actually playing it—the entire structure ready to collapse at any moment like a house of cards—but never actually doing so—even as DeJohnette takes his only real solo of the set, while Jimmy van Heusen and Johnny Mercer's balladic "I Thought About You" closes the set on an irrepressibly romantic note predicated on the trio's egalitarian nature.
But it's Leonard Bernstein's two classics from the 1957 musical West Side Story that formSomewhere's centerpiece. A profoundly beautiful take on "Somewhere" leads to Jarrett's lengthy coda, "Everywhere," building this nearly 20-minute workout to a powerful climax, ultimately winding down to a gospel-tinged conclusion, while "Tonight" is taken at an unexpectedly bright clip. Peacock and DeJohnette swing more directly this time, with Jarrett's effortless motivic invention keeping secure his position in the upper echelon of improvising pianists.
Despite the 12-year gap since its last recorded work, Somewhere leaves no doubt that the special spark Jarrett, Peacock and DeJohnette first demonstrated on the bassist's Tales of Another (ECM, 1977) remains intact. If anything, Somewhere creates hope that another four years won't have to pass before this inimitable trio is heard from again.
Track Listing: 

Deep Space/Solar; Stars Fell on Alabama; Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea; Somewhere/Everywhere; Tonight; I Thought About You.
Personnel: 

Keith Jarrett: piano; Gary Peacock: double bass; Jack DeJohnette: drums.

Giuseppe Mirabella

Naumachia



By Jazz & More
Naumachia is street corner of the city: the neighborhood where you can get lost and then you find yourself. Now place of the soul ... Giuseppe Mirabella, musician already known for some prestigious collaboration ( Dado Moroni with the Oscar Peterson's tribute project , Barbara Casini, Francesco Cafiso, Stanley Jordan, Flavio Boltro, just to name a few ...) it is reported as an extraordinary guitarist and composer from stretch refined, elegant and characterized by the strong melodic sense. Naumachia sounds as a disc intimate, highly introspective, night, full of emotion. naumachia describes a human journey and a very personal artistic style where stylistic boundaries disappear. You can hear echoes of tradition, Latin atmosphere, passages of free and visionary music. Mirabella is supported by one of the most successful rhythmic section in Europe: Riccardo Fioravanti and Stefano Bagnoli and by whimsical and imaginative pianist/trumpeter Dino Rubino, multi-faceted artist and exceptional talent. A record of excellent caliber showing one of the best guitarists composers working today in Italy.
Artisti:
Mirabella Giuseppe - guitar
Rubino Dino - Piano and trumpet
Fioravanti Riccardo - doublebass
Bagnoli Stefano - drums


Alessio Menconi

Sketches Of Miles



By Abeat
Two of the best representatives of the Italian modern jazz together whit the inexhaustible "myth" Aldo Romano put on a disk in which tradition and modernity are merged in a superlative way. The sound is one peculiarity of this record , the result of personal style of the trio, masterfully conducted by Alessuo Menconi, perfect "center of gravity" of the ensemble. Alessio Menconi is widely recognized as talent of the instrument. Perhaps one of the few guitarists to have developed an Italian style freed from the usual models. Menconi has been inserted into the elite world of guitarists with Robben Ford, Steve Lukather, Hiram Bullock, Larry Corryell on an american production devoted to Jimi Hendrix.
Alberto Gurrisi boasts a number of exciting collaborations and today is among the leading organist of the contemporary Italian jazz scene. Alessandro Minetto is on eof the Italian rising talent on drum. Class, elegance, sophistication, modernity and lightness at the same time constitute the excellence of this record.
With:
Alberto Gurrisi : organ
Alessio Menconi : Guitar
Alessandro Minetto : Drums

2 Sem 2013 - Part Five

Marcos Valle & Stacey Kent com Jim Tomlinson

Ao Vivo 



By Rafael Rodrigues Costa
Continuamente redescoberto desde que passou a figurar nos toca-discos de DJs europeus na década de 1990, o cantor e compositor carioca Marcos Valle diz que as coisas têm ido até ele para serem abraçadas. É assim com o público jovem que encontra em suas frequentes turnês pelo Velho Continente; com os recentes relançamentos por um selo americano dos LPs Garra (1971), Previsão do Tempo (1973), Marcos Valle (1970) e Vento Sul (1972) (dos dois últimos, respectivamente, vêm as faixas “Ela e Ela” e “Bôdas de Sangue”, recentemente sampleadas pelos rappers Jay Z e Kanye West). Em 2012, teve seus dez primeiros discos reeditados pela EMI.
“Não é que eu não lute pelas coisas. Quando elas se apresentam, corro atrás, aproveito, gosto muito de trabalhar”, diz Valle, em entrevista por telefone para a Gazeta do Povo. “Mas tudo tem vindo de fora para mim. Eles vão lá, mergulham nas músicas e trazem isso tudo”, conta o cantor, que completa 70 anos em setembro.
“Os organizadores de um show que teria vários artistas de diversos estilos em comemoração aos 80 anos do Corcovado em 2011 tiveram a ideia de me juntar com a Stacey, que é uma cantora de jazz das mais respeitadas, adora música brasileira e era fã da minha música. E não sabiam que eu era fã da Stacey, porque recentemente já a tinha ouvido e adorei”, conta Valle.
Cantaram “Samba de Verão”. A parceria revelou uma sintonia total entre os cantores e motivou um novo show no ano seguinte – desta vez com apresentações em Fortaleza, São Paulo e Rio de Janeiro, só com músicas de Valle.
“Não havia ideia de CD, mas vimos que o show estava com uma força muito grande, estava bom demais para a gente. Fizemos a gravação por nossa conta para ver o que dava”, conta o músico. “Quando ouvimos, adoramos. A mágica que tinha nos shows estava presente nas gravações.”
Calhou de o repertório, montado a partir das canções de Valle que tinham letras em inglês, revelasse partes significativas de sua carreira.
Seis delas – “The Face of Love (Seu Encanto)”, “The Answer (A Resposta)”, “Summer Samba (Samba de Verão)”, “Gente”, “Passa por mim” e “If You Went Away (Preciso Aprender a Ser Só)” estão presentes no segundo LP de Marcos Valle – O Compositor e o Cantor (1965), que o consolidou como um dos maiores compositores da música brasileira. Duas, inéditas, trazem Stacey Kent em sua língua-mãe – “Drift Away”, novíssima parceria de Valle com o australiano Peter Hall – e em domínio perfeito do francês – “La Petite Valse”, tema originalmente instrumental letrado pelo compositor francês Bernie Beaupere.
Os arranjos são todos da lavra de Valle e do trompetista Jessé Sadoc, que os executa ao lado de Marcelo Martins (sax e flauta), Aldivas Ayres (trombone), Luiz Brasil (guitarra), Alberto Continentino (contrabaixo) e Renato “Massa” Calmon (bateria) em linguagem e sonoridade jazzística orientada pela presença de Stacey e do saxofone à Stan Getz de Jim Tomlinson (parceiro e marido da cantora). “É um disco ao vivo, orgânico, sincero. Para um amadurecimento de 50 anos se encaixa perfeitamente”, comemora Valle.

Rosa Passos

Samba Dobrado: Canções de Djavan



By Carlos Calado
Quem acompanha a carreira da cantora e violonista Rosa Passos já a ouviu interpretar canções de Djavan, compositor pelo qual ela não esconde a admiração. A identificação com o samba em seus diversos estilos, a maneira pessoal de abordar os ritmos, a sofisticação harmônica e o lirismo de algumas canções – estes são alguns traços da afinidade musical que os une.
Nada mais natural, portanto, que Rosa dedique um álbum como "Samba Dobrado" (lançamento da gravadora Universal), à música de Djavan. E como tudo que canta ou toca, ela o faz à sua maneira. Como na bela versão da canção “Faltando Um Pedaço”, que recebe um luxuoso arranjo com sopros. Ou na intimista releitura de “Pétala”, só com voz e violão. Ou ainda na jazzística versão de “Cigano”, que destaca o violão de Marcus Teixeira.
Aliás, a presença de músicos de alto calibre, como Fábio Torres (piano), Paulo Paulelli (baixo), Vinicius Dorin (sax) e Daniel D’Alcântara (trompete), entre outros, só aumenta o prazer de ouvir Rosa cantando Djavan.


Alberto Rosenblit

Mata Atlântica



By Mauro Ferreira at blognotasmusicais.blogspot
Basta ouvir o primeiro dos dez temas instrumentais alinhados por Alberto Rosenblit em seu CD Mata Atlântica - justamente o que batiza o disco recém-lançado pela gravadora Som Livre - para perceber que o pianista, compositor, arranjador e produtor musical carioca se embrenhou na floresta atrás do tom de Antonio Carlos Jobim (1927-1994), influência nítida na arquitetura e na orquestração de composições autorais como Mata Atlântica, Lagoa (ambientada em atmosfera que evoca o clima arejado da bossa nova), Guanabara (parceria de Rosenblit com Paulinho Tapajós) e Uma valsa. Produzido pelo trombonista e maestro Vittor Santos, Mata Atlântica apresenta repertório essencialmente autoral. A exceção é Navegante (Fernando Leporace e Alexandre Lemos). Para quem não liga o nome à música, Alberto Rosenblit assinou a composição das trilhas sonoras instrumentais de várias novelas e minisséries exibidas pela TV Globo. A trilha incidental da novela A favorita (2008) se destaca entre seus trabalhos na área.


Kenny Barron & The Brazilian Knights

By Marc Myers at JazzWax
Pianist Kenny Barron's first bossa nova album—West Side Story Bossa Nova—was recorded in March 1963. The session was led by Barron's older brother Bill, a gifted arranger and saxophonist. Kenny Barron played on three tracks—Jet Song, Something's Coming and Maria. The other tracks were handled by pianist Steve Kuhn, along with Willie Thomas (tp) Kenny Burrell (g) Henry Grimes (b) Charlie Persip (d) and Jose Soares (perc).
Fifty years later, Kenny Barron has released another—Kenny Barron & The Brazilian Knights (Sunnyside)— and it's beautiful. The album has all the lyricism and tenderness you'd expect from a pianist of Barron's taste and technique. Recorded in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012, the sidemen include Claudio Roditi (trumpet and flugelhorn), Idriss Boudrioua (alto sax), Mauricio Einhorn (harmonica), Alberto Chimelli (keyboards), Lula Galvao (guitar), Sergio Barrozo (bass) and Rafael Barata (drums).
In many ways, this is a tribute album honoring the music of bossa nova composers Johnny Alf (who died in 2010) and Mauricio Einhorn [pictured], who plays here. Other song choices include Antonio Carlos Jobim's Triste, Baden Powell's So Por Amor and Alberto Chimelli's Chorinho Carioca. Barron's own Sonia Braga is here, too.
On this album, we get to hear Barron's magnificent chord voicings in a swaying Brazilian setting. Since the bossa's lineage can be traced back in part to jazz, Barron's sound and phrasing fit in neatly. If you're unfamiliar with Einhorn's bossa harmonica, you're in for a treat. He manipulates the instrument to sound more like a reed instrument than accordion sidekick, which is a relief, and Claudio Roditi is superb.
What makes this album special is how delicate the group plays together. Songs surge without overloading, and melodies rule. And by recording in Rio, Barron is supported by an authentic bossa sound and feel. For me, a perfect bossa nova is like a glorious sundae. There's sweet texture without sugary thickness, a festive spirit without percussionists hijacking the feel, and an explosion of joy without melodies sliding into gooey nostalgia.
Once again, Barron's taste triumphs—this time with the breezy skills of Brazilian peers. What you get are surf-and-sand bossas that deftly avoid tilting commercial or folk. Barron's brother Bill, who died in 1989, would be proud.

See more at:

http://www.jazzwax.com/2013/06/kenny-barron-brazilian-knights.html#sthash.NR07Fvnr.dpuf

Steve Kuhn

The Vanguard Date



By RBSProds
"The Vanguard Date" captures the triumvirate of master jazz pianist Steve Kuhn, legendary bass icon Ron Carter, and drum meister Al Foster in what is in fact the bookend recording to Life's Magic, both recorded over the same week's appearance in 1986 at the renowned Village Vanguard. Featuring compositions by Kuhn and Carter as well as notable standards, the set is a marvelous example not only of trio playing at it's finest with major contributions from all concerned, but also as the notes state, a "tightly structured" diverse pacing of the recording's songs. The 'best of the best' begins with the shape-shifting drama of Kuhn's "Clotilde", a sizzling version of Tadd Dameron's "Superjet" with Carter giving a seminar on the 'walking bass' with Foster relentlessly driving the group ahead, a great sensitive exposition of Carter's own beautiful jazz standard "Little Waltz", the interplay between the three on the gorgeous "I Thought About You", and perhaps best of all, the revelatory up-tempo morphing of Phil Perry's "Music Prayer for Peace" with unbounded Kuhn two-handed invention pushed hard by Carter and Foster is pure awesomeness. This recording is another example of recent 'finds' that have surfaced for the enjoyment of 21st Century jazz fans and Messrs Kuhn, Carter, and Foster were in grand individual and collective form before the Vanguard audience that week. All players are captured on a dynamic, clear soundscape. My Highest Recommendation. Five MARVELOUS Stars!

(9 tracks, time: 53:13. This trio also appears in the "Live At Birdland" Steve Kuhn recording).

George Duke 1946 - 2013

By Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY
He pioneered the funk and R&B genres during his career of more than four decades.
Jazz musician George Duke died Monday in Los Angeles at age 67.
A pioneer in the funk and R&B genres, he had been battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia, according to his label Concord Music Group, which confirmed his death.
"The outpouring of love and support that we have received from my father's friends, fans and the entire music community has been overwhelming," said his son, Rashid Duke, in a statement. "Thank you all for your concern, prayers and support."
The Grammy Award-winning keyboardist produced and collaborated with artists such as Frank Zappa, Miles Davis, Jill Scott and Michael Jackson during his career of more than four decades. His music was also sampled by Kanye West, Daft Punk and Common.
Duke's final album, DreamWeaver, was released July 16 and made its debut at No. 1 on Billboard's contemporary jazz chart. It was his first new music since the death of his wife, Corine, last year.