2 Sem 2017 - Part Six

The Chuck Israels Jazz Orchestra
Garden Of Delights



By Michael J. West
Israels doesn’t go for rhythmic gymnastics. One of Garden‘s 10 tunes is in 6/8, the others swinging away in 4/4. He likes a touch of harmonic complexity: Songs like the woozy “Speed Bumps” and sly “Warming Trend” put ever-so-slight warpage on the chords, especially in Dan Gaynor’s piano intros. (In the case of “Warming Trend,” that off-kilter harmony makes a surprise of the song’s ultimate traditionalism; it’s based on “Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise”). He meshes the orchestral voices with sympathetic beauty. The warm wash of reed and trombone backgrounds on “Natural Beauty” is undeniable, as are the leads-turned-obbligati that John Moak’s trombone, David Evans’ clarinet and Robert Crowell’s bass clarinet share on “Chaconne a Son Gout.”
But the melodies have priority, and there Israels shines brightest. It’s impossible not to smile at trumpeter Charlie Porter’s line on the opening “The Skipping Tune.” Better still is the relaxed do-re-mi-fa of “Chaconne a Son Gout,” and the tender Porter-led waltz “Natural Beauty” is best of all. Other tunes are launch pads for improvisation, and that works too. The title track makes a neat trick of the solos, having Porter, Moak and vocalist Jessica Israels sing blues licks for the first eight bars, then zip into bebop lines for what would seem to be the blues’ resolution.
The flaw in Garden‘s design is that Israels sometimes introduces secondary ensemble melodies into his charts-“The Skipping Tune,” “Garden of Delights”-that are not only extraneous, but detract from the solid main melodies. Perhaps Israels doesn’t know how good he is.


Alan Broadbent

Developing Story




By Edward Blanco
During the late '70s, now multi-Grammy Award-winning pianist Alan Broadbent, birthed the idea of merging the music of a jazz trio with a full orchestra and strings ..."in a complete phrase for woodwind soli, counterpoint..." in telling a musical story that is still unfolding today. This ongoing musical journey begins with Developing Story as Broadbent and his world-class trio of drummer Peter Erskine and bassist Harvie S, collaborates with the multimedia Hollywood industry London Metropolitan Orchestra (LMO) in presenting one of the most stunningly-gorgeous symphonically-styled jazz musical statements ever recorded.
Performing and conducting for orchestras is not a new thing for the pianist, evidenced by his many recordings in a large ensemble setting, and is currently the orchestra conductor for Diana Krall when in concert on occasion and, when not teaching at NYU. Peter Erskine is a multi-Grammy Award winner himself who has also performed with giants during his, over 600 appearances on albums and film scores throughout his career. Then there is legendary bassist Harvie S, former Jazz ambassador for the U.S. and long-time educator with the Manhattan School of Music, together, this piano trio is unmatched and though playing splendidly throughout the album, they sometimes seem overlooked, musically smothered by the awesome powerful play of the LMO and their strings.
The center-piece of the album is the title song suite performed in series of three separate movements beginning with "Movement 1," which has the orchestra starting off strong then withdrawing as Broadbent engages playing solo piano followed by brief interlude by the trio and settling into gentle musical expressions by the orchestra. "Movement 2" is a delightful slow waltz dedicated to the pianist's wife leading to "Movement 3" featuring an Erskine drum solo among solid horn section phrasings before subsiding and submitting to the pianists humbling chords.
The four jazz ballads for trio and orchestra include Tadd Dameron's classic "If You Could See Me Now," John Coltrane's well-travelled "Naima," the Miles Davis immortal "Blue in Green," and Broadbent's own "Lady in the Lake." Of standards, the pianist writes ..."have always been a gateway to expressing some feeling of the moment," and through his unique arrangements here, succeeds in conveying a musical message, a feeling that words cannot describe but an orchestra and warm keys, do so well.
The story continues and completes with a distinctly different arrangement of another Davis standard "Milestones," and the finale and last original "Children of Lima," penned for the great Woody Herman in the early 70s and around the time of a major earthquake in Peru, thus the dedication to the Children. The arrangement is the same as originally composed with changes for the orchestration. A continuing musical tale, Developing Storyis a superb production and may be Alan Broadbent's finest musical moments, a treasure of symphonic jazz and a definite for anyone's personal collection of favorites, well done!
Track Listing: 

Movement 1; Movement 2; Movement 3; If You Could See Me Now; Naima; Blue in Green; Lady in the Lake; Milestones; Children of Lima.
Personnel: 

Alan Broadbent: piano; Peter Erskine: drums; Harvie S: bass; London Metropolitan Orchestra: Andy Brown: Musical Director; David Juritz: violin/leader; Ralph De Souza: violin; Garfield Jackson: cello; Caroline Dale: cello; Chris Laurence: double bass; Anna Noakes: flute; John Anderson: oboe; Anthony Pike: clarinet; Alan Andrews: bass clarinet; Gavin McNaughton: bassoon; Martin Owen: horn; John Barclay: trumpet; Chris Dean: tenor trombone; Owen Slade: tuba; Christine Pendrill: English Horn; Gill Tingay: harp; Gary Kettel: percussion; Tristin Fry: timps.

E.S.T. SYMPHONY

By Karl Ackermann
One of the most widely popular piano trios in modern memory, e.s.t. combined jazz, classical, rock, and extended techniques in an organic and original way that hasn't been heard before. Since the tragic, accidental death of the visionary pianist/composer Esbjorn Svensson in 2008, there have been a handful of piano trios that provided a glimmer of hope that the "next e.s.t." was near at hand. Releases such as The Tingvall Trio Skagerrak (Skip Records/Soulfood), Sebastian Liedke Trio To Walk in the Past (Gema, 2010) and the PLS.trio East River(Echo Chamber, 2015) come to mind but it has always been an arbitrary and capricious comparison despite the high quality of those groups. Svensson's trio has always been best appreciated on its own terms, or at least on some relevant extension of their work as here with E.S.T. Symphony.There are a number of elements that are key to the overwhelming success of this album. The presence of e.s.t. bassist Dan Berglund and drummer Magnus Ostrom can't be understated. Scandinavian conductor and arranger Hans Ek has an inimitable, yet respectful approach to his reinvention of e.s.t. favorites; it breathes new life into each while maintaining their original essence. More importantly he manages the collaboration between the ninety-piece Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and a mere sextet in a manner that diminishes neither and steers clear of orchestrated jazz clichés. Lastly, the remarkable Finnish pianist Iiro Rantala and Norwegian saxophonist Marius Neset add familiarity and freshness, respectively.
The album opens with the homage "e.s.t. Prelude," the most overtly orchestrated piece in the collection and then quickly moves on to "From Gagarin's Point of View," which like "Serenade for the Renegade" fall somewhere between third stream and classical/jazz fusion. "Seven Days of Falling" is a strikingly beautiful arrangement while "Dodge the Dodo" retains the substantial rock rhythm of the original. Extended compilations provide creative variations to originals from the namesakes of "Wonderland Suite" and "Viaticum Suite." The driving grandeur of one of the most popular e.s.t. pieces, "Behind the Yashmak" closes the album as a fittingly expressive tribute.
There is, perhaps, a bit of the rawness in the original e.s.t. recordings that is smoothed over with the number and types of instruments involved here, but that is a minor nitpick. E.S.T. Symphony reminds fans of the endless potential that the trio had. e.s.t. became edgier as it moved through its final ACT releases Viaticum (2005), Tuesday Wonderland(2006) and especially Leucocyte (2008). 301 (2012) added to their story as these unreleased numbers—originally from the Leucocyte sessions—were clearly head and shoulders above the quality that one might expect in a posthumous release. E.S.T. Symphony wisely avoids any attempt to entirely reproduce the e.s.t. sound while adding a welcome collection to the legend of the group.
Track Listing: 

e.s.t. Prelude; From Gagarin’s Point of View; When God Created the Coffeebreak; Seven Days of Falling; Wonderland Suite; Serenade for the Renegade; Dodge the Dodo; Eighthundred Streets by Feet; Viaticum Suite; Behind the Yashmak.
Personnel:

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra; Hans Ek: conductor/arranger; Marius Neset: saxophone; Verneri Pohjola: trumpet; Johan Lindström: pedal steel; Iiro Rantala: piano; Dan Berglund: bass; Magnus Öström: drums.

Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim



By Nate Chinen
Frank Sinatra was well into his Rat Pack era, the reigning American embodiment of masculine suavity and aplomb, when he teamed up with a maestro of Brazilian music to make one of the most exquisitely tender albums of his career. That album, Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim, has lost none of its luster since it was first released 50 years ago. In fact, a newly remastered anniversary edition extracts additional depth from Claus Ogerman's orchestrations, which frame Sinatra's voice like a Rolex on a velvet cushion.
Jobim, a pianist and guitarist as well as a composer, was the beating heart at the center of a worldwide bossa nova craze, following the success of Getz/Gilberto. A joint effort of the American tenor saxophonist Stan Getz and the Brazilian guitarist and singer João Gilberto, that album also served as a showcase for Jobim's songs, including "The Girl From Ipanema," a runaway smash.The album, recorded in Hollywood in the winter of 1967, captures both Sinatra and Jobim at an apex, flush with creative and popular success. Sinatra was coming off a knockout run of albums on his Reprise label — including Sinatra at the Sands, recorded with the Count Basie Orchestra; That's Life, a Top 10; and Strangers in the Night, whose title track became an unstoppable hit.
The 50th anniversary edition of Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim has just been released in various formats, including two vinyl packages. And along with the music from the original album, it includes two previously unreleased tracks: A live medley from a television special, and part of a session reel for "The Girl From Ipanema," which Sinatra and Jobim sing as a duet.
"Don't let it run away, fellas, with the tempo," Sinatra cautions at the top of the first take. "Just hold it down, let it settle down. Because it's got a lot of — it's got a gang of words." After the take is finished, he calls for another one, "right away." His decisive brusqueness strikes a jarring contrast to the singing, which is as delectably airy as a soufflé.
The commercial relevancy of bossa nova is one way to explain Sinatra's keen interest in Jobim: He was aware of his tenuous position within a cultural moment increasingly defined by The Beatles. But his treatment of this music belies any charge of opportunism. While bossa nova presented a new angle for him as a singer — "I haven't sung so soft since I had the laryngitis," he quipped during the sessions — he clearly regarded the style as something more than a novelty.
"No other American pop star would so thoroughly immerse himself in the world of bossa," writes Will Friedwald in his fine critical biography Sinatra! The Song is You: A Singer's Art. "He not only recorded two whole albums' worth of the stuff but sacrificed his signature stylistics in order to more smoothly fit into the new vernacular."
Consider the sensitivity of Sinatra's phrasing on "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars," a version of Jobim's "Corcovado" with English lyrics by the critic Gene Lees.
The balance of voice and orchestration is so impeccably calibrated that it has effectively been canonized: When Diana Krall made her own bossa nova album in 2009, she named it Quiet Nights, enlisting Ogerman as arranger (who won a Grammy for his efforts).
In its original iteration, Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim broke into the Top 20 and spent 28 consecutive weeks on the Billboard album chart. According to Michael Bourne, the host of Singers Unlimited on WBGO, it marked another layer of validation for bossa nova in the American pop mainstream. "Even after the album Getz/Gilberto won a Grammy as album of the year," said Bourne, "the Sinatra/Jobim album was a musical apotheosis, a blessing of Jobim's songs from America's musical Pope."
There was, however, one distinction that eluded the album. Sinatra had won album of the year at the previous two Grammy Awards — for September of My Years (1965) and A Man and His Music (1966) — but he wasn't destined for a threepeat. While Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim was nominated, and perhaps even the frontrunner, the top honor went to another album that has stood the test of time: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

John Abercrombie 1944 - 2017

By Sam Sodomsky Associate Staff
Jazz Guitarist John Abercrombie Dead at 72!
The innovative composer and bandleader worked with Gil Evans, Jack DeJohnette, and more.
John Abercrombie, the influential jazz guitarist, has died. The cause of death was heart failure, according to Ottawa Citizen. He was 72. Abercrombie’s innovative approach to guitar touched on multiple genres, including rock, folk, and avant-garde music. After attending Boston’s Berklee College of Music, Abercrombie moved to New York in the late ’60s, where he gained prominence as a session musician for Gil Evans, Gato Barbieri, Barry Miles, and more. In 1975, he released his debut album as a bandleader, Timeless, which was recorded with drummer Jack DeJohnette and keyboardist Jan Hammer. The record began Abercrombie’s career-long relationship with ECM Records. His final LP, Up and Coming, was released through the label earlier this year.

2 Sem 2017 - Part Five

Alberto Luccas
Horizontes Farpados




By Tratore
Integrante de dois clássicos trios, Nelson Ayres Trio e Nenê Trio, o renomado contrabaixista Alberto Luccas lança seu 2º album “Horizontes Farpados”, onde explora a formação contrabaixo, sax e bateria. Com composições próprias, Alberto divide a execução com Vitor Alcântara e Rodrigo Digão Braz, formação elogiada pelo grande contrabaixista Sizão Machado em texto presente na obra.


Sari Kessler

Do Right

By Dan Bilawsky 
In just under five minutes—the running time for producer/percussionist James Shipp's album-opening arrangement of "Walk On By"—Sari Kessler successfully makes the case that jazz singing is her real métier. That particular truth may not have materialized until recent times, as Kessler walked away from a career as a clinical psychologist to pursue a life in music only a short while ago, but it's as clear as day now. And with no less an authority on the art of vocal jazz than the great Kate McGarry singing her praises and co-producing this album, it's obvious that those on the inside agree.
Do Right does right in so many ways. For starters there's the playlist, containing a classics-dominated assortment of shrewdly arranged numbers that perfectly balance intelligence and modesty. Then there are the musicians to admire. Kessler works with a crew of top-notch players here—veteran saxophonist Houston Person, rising star trumpeter Nadje Noordhuis, ace piano accompanist John di Martino, and sophisticated drummer Willard Dyson among them—and they all manage to complement her. By keeping such heavy company Kessler risks being overshadowed, but that risk never becomes reality. Instead, she simply thrives, carrying the program without issue. Whether due to her background in psychology, her work ethic, her God-given talents and intuition, or a combination of all of it, she proves to be a first-rate interpreter and dissector of songs. Her previous career likely contributes to her ability to tap into the marrow of a lyric and bring its essence into the foreground, her intonation is spot-on and her diction is something that other newcomers should take note of, and her phrasing is oh-so-natural and flexible. In short, she's the real deal.
While the large majority of this material will be familiar to listeners, these aren't the same old, same old versions. The aforementioned "Walk On By," for example, exists in a much different space than Dionne Warwick's take, built on an attractively laid-back framework and colored with vibrant cobalt commentary from Noordhuis' muted trumpet. Then there's Randy Porter's arrangement of "Sunny," which may just be the best version of the song to emerge in years. It's incredibly impressive without being showy, what with the sly metric twists, clever riffs, hip feel, and post-solo modulation there to lure the ears in. Other highlights include a haunting and hazy take on Duke Ellington's infrequently performed "The Gal From Joe's," a swinging "Why Don't You Do Right" that pairs Kessler's controlled sass with the bluesy tenor work of Person, a semi-swampy taste of "The Frim Fram Sauce" that becomes more flavorful as it plays on, and an all-too-brief goodbye in the form of an intimate "Moonglow." But to be fair and truthful, it should be noted that every performance on this album could really be classified as a highlight. There's not a weak track in the bunch on Do Right.
Track Listing: 

Walk On By; After You've Gone; Why Don't You Do Right; The Gal From Joe's; Sunny; It's A Wonderful World; I Thought About You; The Frim Fram Sauce; Feeling Good; My Empty Bed Blues; Too Close For Comfort; Moonglow.
Personnel: 

Sari Kessler: vocals; John di Martino: piano; Ron Affif: guitar; Steve Whipple: bass; Willard Dyson: drums; James Shipp: percussion (1, 5, 7, 9); Houston Person: tenor saxophone (2, 3, 10); Nadje Noordhuis: trumpet, flugelhorn (1, 5, 7).

Vitor Gonçalves Quartet



By BirdIsTheWorm
The debut from pianist Vitor Gonçalves keeps to a nice chatter. It’s talkative music. There is a strong sense of dialog directed from musician to listener, and the tone is frequently one of a sunny disposition. But the arresting quality of Vitor Gonçalves Quartet is how the pianist plants little pockets of introspection throughout the upbeat tunes. It’s not so apparent on opening track “Sem Nome,” which is plenty contemplative, but there are moments on tracks like “Cortelyou Road” and “Samba Do Perdão” that enter a quieter state in between passages when the quartet lights a fire under things. Those shifts in tone, though subtle, change the atmosphere dramatically, and it’s what gives enjoyable tunes a touch of intrigue.
A Brazilian expat now living in NYC, Gonçalves brings some influences from both home turfs, old and new. Renditions of “Samba Do Perdão” and “Se É Por Falta De Adeus” fall nicely into line with modern straight-ahead originals like “Winter Landscapes” and “De Cazadero Ao Recife,” and all of it radiates the charm and warmth of an enjoyable jazz piano session.
You really can’t go wrong with this one.
Personnel:

Vitor Gonçalves (piano), Todd Neufeld (guitar), Thomas Morgan (bass) and Dan Weiss (drums).


Sara Gazarek & Josh Nelson

Dream In The Blue



By Dan Bilawsky 
The success of a story often hinges on the art of the telling. Listen to vocalist Sara Gazarek with pianist Josh Nelson and you immediately see that to be true. These two use ripples of inflection to elicit tidal waves of emotion, uncover new wrinkles in the oldest of thematic fabrics, paint scenes and/or inhabit characters so deeply and convincingly that they blur or erase the lines separating true self from role, and willingly reveal all that this world has to offer—blessings, drama, and slings and arrows included. On Dream In The Blue, Gazarek and Nelson alternately elicit tears of joy and sorrow by moving from escape to reality, heaven to earth, and mirth to melancholy, reaffirming their collective position as one of the most arresting voice-and-piano pairings out there in the process.
While their musical relationship is at the heart of all four of Gazarek's previous albums, it's never been highlighted to this degree before. Through duo work these two have discovered an even deeper bond than those formed over their many years of collaboration; it's a bond built on the mutual acceptance of art as a reflection of life.
There's certainly more darkness and woe here than usual for Gazarek and Nelson, but there's no lack of light. The triptych that introduces the album makes that clear. First up is their signature marriage of "Blackbird" and "Bye Bye Blackbird," a beautiful medley filled with hopefulness and reflection. A perky performance of "O Pato" follows. Gazarek moves effortlessly from Portuguese to English, shades of "Take The 'A' Train" materialize in the harmonic framework of the song, and effervescence rules the day. Then optimism continues to shine through with a version of "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" that finds Gazarek matching moves with Nelson on some daring, wordless, well-choreographed maneuvers.
Everything is looking up at this point in the album, but then the realization that nobody rides life's highs forever is swiftly set upon the listener. With "All Again," a radio-worthy Nelson original, a balance point is achieved between darkness and hope; a poignant and nuanced performance of the Bonnie Raitt-associated "I Can't Make You Love Me" tears the heart apart; and a highly personalized rendition of "Mood Indigo," harmonically tweaked and rooted to sixteenth notes, brings out the dark blue meaning in the title better than most.
The second half of the album is no less intriguing in its emotional and musical blend. The seductive "No Moon At All" swings and sings just as it should, demonstrating a straightforward approach that still offers a few surprises. An amalgamation of musical lightness and subject heaviness appears with "Petit Papillon," a Gazarek-Nelson work that uses the plight of a captured and damaged butterfly as an analogue for a woman snared in love, wounded by its daggers, and left in the dust. Then there's "I Don't Love You Anymore," a collaboration between these two and songwriter Cliff Goldmacher that's built around an emotional wallop of a post-breakup encounter. It comes softly but hits hard. This is the point where heartbreak is piled upon heartbreak.
The album then moves toward its conclusion with Laura Mvula's hymn-like "Father Father," Nelson's "Behind Me" (with new lyrics from Gazarek), and a medley of Nick Drake's "Cello Song" and "Without A Song." That last entry, bridging two distinctly different forms of popular music from different eras, conceptually complements the album's opening number and brings things to an ideal conclusion.
Convincingly selling this wide variety of material in such an intimate setting is no easy feat, but Sara Gazarek and Josh Nelson are uncommonly gifted communicators who have no problem getting these stories across in just the right way(s). Dream In The Blue is a testament to the strength of their relationship. It's an album that's likely to endure in hearts and minds.
Track Listing: 

Blackbird/Bye Bye Blackbird; O Pato; Sunny Side Of The Street; All Again; I Can't Make You Love Me; Mood Indigo; No Moon At All; Petit Papillon; I Don't Love You Anymore; Father Father; Behind Me; Cello Song/Without A Song.
Personnel: 

Sara Gazarek: vocals; Josh Nelson: piano.