1 Sem 2011 - Part Four

Eddie Gomez & Cesarius Alvim
Forever


by Ann Forster
Plus Loin Music Presents Forever, A Duet Session Reuniting American Bassist Eddie Gomez With Brazilian-French Pianist Cesarius Alvim, 20 Years Since Their First Recorded Encounter
Legendary bassist Eddie Gomez and pianist Cesarius Alvim commemorate the twentieth anniversary of their first recorded collaboration with Forever (Plus Loin). The two masters take on a varied repertoire: from standards such as “Spring is Here” and “Invitation,” original compositions from both Gomez and Alvim, and Brazilian pianist Luiz Eça's piece “The Dolphin.”
Alvim first met Gomez through Bill Evans, with whom Gomez played for eleven years. “Meeting Bill Evans was a musical and human encounter of which the memory is unforgettable,” says Alvim. “He had a beautiful message of love for life and music. Afterwards I met Eddie, a musician whom I had always admired. From the first notes we played together, everything was said. We had the same rhythmic and harmonic sense, and the same passion for melodic phrasing.” Gomez elaborates on their penchant for melody: “The repertoire is very melodic and also rhythmically treated. The melodies are very strong, and are approached in poetic way with a strong sense of the jazz feeling and aesthetic.”
The title track, composed by Gomez, is a tribute to jazz itself. “This music never disappears,” Alvim says. “Musicians all over the world continue to play it and make it evolve, despite all the difficulties present with it.” Gomez concurs: “Our paradigm for any work of art is that it crosses over the timeline and stands up to the test of time and continues to provoke the evocative. Sometimes it becomes better and more fully understood. That's my definition of what I consider to be artistic.” The phrase “Roda Vida,” seen here as the title for one of Alvim's tunes, is a toast to the unpredictabilities of life. The perilous rhythms of this tune characterize this feeling. The standards, as well as Wayne Shorter's “Witch Hunt,” serve as a meeting point and a way for Gomez and Alvim to bridge the gap between their last musical adventure and this session. Eça's “The Dolphin” is the centerpiece of the album, a tribute to the recording made by Gomez with Evans. “It's entered the repertoire of standards, but to my knowledge, remains infrequently played,” says Alvim.
Alvim has led parallel artistic lives. Upon moving to France from Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, he enrolled in the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris as a classical double bass major. His comprehension of his second instrument is evident on Forever. “Playing bass has helped me greatly, not just in this duo, but in all music. It is very important for a musician to understand how to construct a bass line and how it can evolve through harmony and rhythm.”
Gomez likes the duo context, having explored the setting deeply over the years. “It allows me to be more interactive, to put in a lot of colors that may not be so readily available to use when there are other instruments involved. I like to use the full spectrum of color and sound in a duo context.” Recorded at New York's Systems Two by Joe Marciano in January 2010, this broad palette has been beautifully and accurately represented.


Helen Sung
Going Express


By Raul d'Gama Rose
Whether an artist is performing in a play or playing music, doing so live onstage is one of the most challenging acts. Every nuance is captured by an eager audience and, in the case of Going Express, a sensitive sound engineer. There is no room for error; every slip can be fatal. Pianist Helen Sung makes short work of these concerns, however, navigating the music in spritely fashion and with the delicate touch of slender fingers like feathers on the weighted keyboard. Going Express is a dramatic turnout, and features a fine ensemble that includes bassist Lonnie Plaxico, drummer Eric Harland and saxophonist Seamus Blake.
So spectacular are the musicians' responses to the music that there are surprises at every turn: Plaxico with his masterful, groaning arco playing when least expected, Harland with his delicate brushes and rumbling mallets that suddenly turn the heat on from a cool break in the music, and the wail of Blake's soprano saxophone every so often, to inform short memories of his astounding manipulation of the reed in his mouthpiece.
However, it is ultimately Sung who takes the breath away with her prodigious talent as an instrumentalist, interpreter of music and composer in her own right. The Texas-born, globetrotting Sung has deep roots in fields of the dreamy idioms of classical and jazz. She can sound a blue note with such elemental sadness that her art seems to spring from her very soul. Hers is a decidedly feminine voice, given to softness as well as a breathless excitement when she discovers something that wows her. Her feelings spring forth for all to feel and hear, as she lets fly with a generous ebullience that also puts warmth and childlike wonder in her playing. Sung experiences music in her heart and informs musicians and audiences of this with pulsations and fibrillations that are so real that sighs, gasps and breaths must be held or else emotions will be overwhelmed with utter splendor. Her phrases are short and sometimes she repeats them with dampers on. She plays these as if she were taking a breath, sighing, or jabbering excitedly. Yet she can sustain longer lines too, with leonine grace, stretching and relaxing just as if she were informing the lines with an interminable exhalation.
Sung says that “Going Express” is typical of her character--a racy sense of wanting to swallow the moment whole. However she can also be pensive as her thoughts unfold on “Hope Springs Eternally.” Her interpretations of Thelonious Monk's “In Walked Bud” and “Eronel” are spectacular. Sung never tries to play Monk as Monk, but draws the emotions out of the music, making it her own, before she again pirouettes through it. On this album, however, her finest moments could well be in the manner in which she plays Meshell Ndegeocello's marvelous chart, “Bitter,” which is so filled with pathos that its drama makes Sung's music something to die for every time she plays.
Track Listing: Going Express; Bitter; Love for Sale; Hope Springs Eternally; In Walked Bud; Eronel; Bittersweet; Lotus Blossom.
Personnel: Helen Sung: piano; Seamus Blake: tenor and soprano saxophones; Lonnie Plaxico: bass; Eric Harland: drums.


Mirko Guerrini & Stefano Bollani
Italian Lessons

by Vincenzo Martorella, Jazzit
Italian Lesson è la versione discografica della produzione per orchestra d'archi (I Solisti di Perugia), pianista (Stefano Bollani) e contrabbassista (Daniele Mencarelli), tutti diretti e arrangiati dal Guerrini medesimo, che ha calcato il palcoscenico dell'Arena Santa Giuliana nel corso dell'ultimo Umbria Jazz. E proprio il festival di patron Carlo Pagnotta che produce il disco, bissando quello di Cafiso impegnato nella rilettura del Parker with strings. Le lezioni di italiano di Guerrini sono convincenti, a tratti entusiasmanti. L'abilità del musicista toscano nell'arrangiare per ensemble d'archi, la misura delle sue composizioni (le più belle dell'album, con Walzin' Greta su tutte), l'equilibrio imposto alle cose rendono l'album di grande pregio e respiro. Incontenibile, al solito, Bollani; precisissimo, e di ormai forte personalità, Mencarelli; precisi e sensibili i Solisti di Perugia. Bravo bravissimo Mirko Guerrini, che non sarà femminile come Stacey Kent, ma neanche la Kent è maschile come Guerrini.


Jurgen Friedrich
Pollock


By Dan McClenaghan
Jackson Pollock (1912-1956), the Abstract Expressionist American painter best known for his “drip paintings” produced from 1947 to 1950, loved and was inspired by jazz. The innovative music of that time in the genre was Bird (Charlie Parker), Dizzy Gillespie and the burgeoning bebop sounds that Pollack would listen to while he created. Jazz has loved and drawn inspiration from Pollack, too--in part, perhaps, due to the improvisational aspect of the painter's best known art. The original album cover of Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz (Atlantic Records, 1961) features the Pollock painting “White Light.” Soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom devoted an entire CD, Chasing Paint (Arabesque Recordings, 2003), to musical interpretations of Pollock paintings. And now German pianist Jurgen Friedrich tips a hat to the American painter with Pollack.
Friedrich teams with two Americans--bassist John Hebert and drummer Tony Moreno--on this reflective and interactive piano trio outing. The disc's opener, the Friedrich-penned “Drift,” drips to life of a series of delicate piano notes of seemingly random placement before it swells into an energetic rhythm of three-way interplay. Thelonious Monk's classic “Round Midnight” is up next. The trio engages in a spare reading of the familiar tune, not unlike the Bobo Stenson Trio's take of Stephen Sondheim's “Send in the Clowns” on Goodbye (ECM Records, 2005), with no notes wasted in its beautiful exploration of the melody.
Hebert wrote two of the set's 11 tunes, with another penned by the leader in collaboration with Moreno. Five are Friedrich's compositions, and two more are trio improvisations, including the title tune. Throughout there is a sense of subtle complexity, immediacy and discovery, with an often searching quality, to go with a sparseness and refined use of space. Friedrich's “Over” has a feeling of poignancy, while Hebert's “Billy No Mates” goes darkly inward in the beginning, before Freidrich applies some bright colors.
Leaning toward the pensive and cerebral, Pollack is a gorgeously spare and spontaneous work.
Track Listing: Drift; Round Midnight; Ripple; Wayward; I Am Missing Her; Samarkand; Enclosed; Billy No Mates; Pollock; Over; Flauschangriff.
Personnel: Jurgen Friedrich: piano; John Hebert: bass; Tony Moreno: drums.

1 Sem 2011 - Part Three

Jason Linder/ Giulia Valle/ Marc Ayza
1, 2, 3, Etc.


by Fred Grand, Jazz Review UK
“The piano-led tri“ The piano-led trio continues to be one of the most enduring formats in jazz - witness the rise of Brad Mehldau and Esbjorn Svensson, not to mention the continued popularity of Keith Jarrett's ‘Standards' trio. Bill Evans opened out the format's possibilities at the turn of the 1960s, making music, which was at once melodic and harmonically complex, with often-sublime levels of three-way dialogue. Jason Lindner wisely decides not to stick exclusively to this already congested terrain, and the most memorable moments on his new release occur when he doubles on electric piano. Lindner is probably known at the moment only to those who have been keeping tabs on bassist Avishai Cohen's solo projects, and Cohen's regular boss Chick Corea is a clear influence.
The programme consists of predominantly Latin flavoured themes with a few neo standards, all played in a fairly relaxed, sometimes funky groove. Lindner is given flexible and muscular support from label stalwarts Valle and Ayza, and the electrifying group sound on the Rhodes piano reworking of Monk's “Brilliant Corners" is a thoroughly convincing performance, the nearest thing on the disc to a tour de force. Closer to Bob James than to Monk, this is precisely the way in which Lindner can add to the legacy. The Rhodes is employed again to good effect on Claire Fischer's under-recorded “Pensativa", avoiding any comparisons to McCoy Tyner's classic reading. Other highlights include Tyner's beautiful “Aisha” and Stevie Wonder's “Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing".
They work up a sweat on the final track, “The End Of A Love Affair", which provides a rousing finale. That Lindner sounds more convincing on electric piano possibly suggests that he is yet to develop the feel and touch required on the acoustic instrument. Nevertheless, this is a promising statement that will reward repeated listens, and hats must come off for his efforts to promote the rehabilitation of the much-maligned electric piano!”


Kiyioshi Katagawa/ Kenny Barron/ Brian Blade
Ancestry


by EastWind
Japanese bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa's first leader album from Atelier Sawano, recorded in 2003 in New York, is a smashingly attractive, straight-ahead trio date. His frequent employer and one of the greatest pianists operating today, Kenny Barron lends more than just a helping hand. Combine this powerhouse with Brian Blade, one of the most talented, sharp drummers of our time, and you get an explosive trio for whom ANYTHING is possible.
But Kitagawa and his pals decided to go really straight-ahead. No gimmicks. No tricks. Just wonderful playing. And this is clearly NOT the Kenny Barron Trio in a different name. Kitagawa's leadership is apparent in his compositions (he supplied all four originals) and the fact he sometimes plays the first melody and lead the way.
At first listen this album may appear somewhat subtle, but that is because none of the musicians is inclined to selfishly show off his techniques for his own sake. Repeated listening reveals that they are interacting at a very high level, and even without fireworks, their playing is truly amazing. This is also a very well-recorded disc, so play it loud and enjoy the sonics!


Chihiro Yamanaka Trio
Madrigal


by Zona de Jazz
Desde que se graduó con notas máximas en el Berklee College Music, la pianista japonesa Chihiro Yamanaka ha sido aclamada como la intérprete mas competente de su generación y la compositora con el potencial más esperanzador de entre los nuevos pianistas japoneses.
Chihiro Yamanaka empezó que estudiar piano con solo cuatro años. Después de estudiar en el Royal
Academy de Music en Inglaterra, se traslada los Estados Unidos y continua sus estudios en Berklee.
Chihiro ha colaborado con algunos músicos de jazz altamente distinguidos , desde Clark Terry, Gary Burton, George Russell, Curtis Fuller, Ed Thigpen, Nancy Wilson, George Benson o Herbie Hancock.
Su álbum de debut, “Living Without Friday”, la lanzó en Japón con gran éxito de ventas lo que propició que, su segundo trabajo, “When October Gooes” fuera publicado a nivel internacional en 2002 en formato de trío e incluyendo a dos reputados jazzeros como Larry Grenadier y Jeff Ballard. En 2003 continua componiendo y fruto de ese trabajo es el disco “Leaning Forward” en el que participan el bajista Ben Street y el baterista Ben Perowsky.
En 2004 compone “Madrigal” , disco que os proponemos. Alumbrará el excelente “When October Goes” tambien acompañada por Ballard y Grenadier. Disco que creemos la consolida definitivamente en Europa y Estados Unidos.
George Russell define a Chihiro como “una pianista dotada e imaginativa” y la Revista Life Jazz, la describe como “uno de los talentos mas prometedores para el jazz de los próximos años.”
En enero del 2005, Chihiro con el sello Universal Classics publicó dos cedés: “Outside by the Swing” con Bob Hurst y Jeff “Tain” Watts y “Lach Doch Mal” de nuevo con Larry Grenadier y Jeff Ballard . Su nuevo álbum “Abyss” se se publica en Agosto de 2007 para todo el mundo.
Temas / Tracks :
Antonio’s Joke
Living Time Event V (George Rusell)
Madrigal
Ojos De Rojo (Cedar Walton)
School Days
Salve Salgueiro (Antonio Adolfo)
Caravan (Ellington)
Lesson 51 ( Ketchlan)
Take Five (Desmond)

Músicos / Personnel :
Chihiro Yamanaka - piano
Jeff Ballard - batería
Larry Grenadier - bajo acústico
Rodney Green - batería.
Sello / Label :
Sawano Records , 2004 .


Kevin Hays Trio
Live At Smalls


by Mike Collins
This is an unadorned, live acoustic piano trio set with some playing of spine tingling intensity. The New York club has just started a record label putting out music recorded live in the small underground (in the literal sense) club, just down the road from the Village Vanguard in Greenwich Village. They say, and the recording feels like it, that you hear it pretty much as it happened without lots of treatment of the sound. Given that, the quality is good. What about the music?
Well, it hit me strongly how distinctive a ‘jazz accent’ can be. The programme has a Charlie Parker tune (Cheryl), a standard (Sweet and Lovely) a few Hays originals and (the giveaway?) a couple of arrangements of pieces by early 20th century composers (Hindemith and Ivanovichi… ok I had to google that one). There is not a trace of parker be-bop immediately obvious in Hays’ playing: its all fluid lines, two handed counterpoint and flurries of notes bursting out as the momentum of the trio builds – as if they can hardly contain themselves – the live excitement of the moment is reflected in the whoops from the audience. There is something classical and romantic about the sound but its swinging and driving forward. Hays own Loving You is a balladic anthem like piece with hints of gospel, Sco More Blues more overtly jazzy but with those same fluid lines and sense of the trio as three pieces of a jigsaw fitting together. This could be a description of Brad Mehldau trio gig – the sound is an obvious reference point, but they just seem to be speaking with the same accent to me and its an eloquent and passionate voice that we hear. Check it out.


Pablo Held
Music


By Dan Bilawsky
Using the word “music” as an album title can be viewed as a bold and defining statement . . . or a simple word choice. Whether Held wanted to raise some eyebrows here or he was simply choosing an album title doesn't matter . . . but the music does! Held's original works defy easy description. He doesn't write short, snappy heads and songs that are built on predictable harmonic movement, featuring chorus after chorus of solos. His music is freely executed but somehow tethered to an accessible form, function and sound. This is music that remains focused but is, nonetheless, completely unpredictable.
”Encore,” an odd song name for an album opener, features some dark cymbal washes from drummer Jonas Burgwinkel. While bassist Robert Landfermann occasionally states the time, the trio usually dances around the beat here. “Desire” is a piano showcase; the drums and bass only arrive at the tail end of the song, giving Landfermann a chance to lock in with Held as they ride to the end. “Log Lady” features some ascending arpeggiated piano patterns. When Landfermann joins in, he shifts the feel of the piece by putting the emphasis on the final note of the arpeggio and Burgwinkel scurries around underneath it all. The title track is built on firmer rhythmic footing than the other material, and the trio really cooks here. Patience is rewarded on “Klartraum,” as the three musicians take you on a journey that ends with some aggressive and exciting rock-infused music.
While eight of these pieces are Held originals, he does tap into two of his influences--jazz giant Herbie Hancock and twentieth-century composer Olivier Messiaen. Held skips over the heavily covered Hancock material and chooses “I Have A Dream.” Hancock's version, from The Prisoner (Blue Note, 1969), is a gorgeously arranged harmonic bath of textures and colors, but Held delivers something entirely different here. Burgwinkel provides some clicking sounds as the song gets going. Held moves around a bit but chooses to wait more than two minutes to actually introduce the theme and then develop his ideas from that point.
Messiaen seems to be a topic of interest to more and more jazz musicians, judging from “O Sacrum Convivium” here and John Patitucci's intensely grooving “Messiaen's Gumbo” from Remembrance (Concord Jazz, 2009). Gentle tides move in and out on from “O Sacrum Convivium” as Landfermann slowly moves his bow across the bass. Burgwinkel uses his brushes sparingly and only provides the slightest hints of color behind his bandmates.
Held manages to put his own stamp on both of these pieces and they fit in well next to his own compositions. Music proves to be a collection of daring, yet direct, pieces that grow from their initial seeds into fully realized works
Track Listing: 

Encore; I Have A Dream; Desire; Moon 44; O Sacrum Convivium; Nearness; Log Lady; Music; Klartraum; Arista.
Personnel: Pablo Held: piano; Robert Landfermann: bass; Jonas Burgwinkel: drums.

1 Sem 2011 - Part Two

CHARLES LLOYD QUARTET
Mirror



By John Kelman
Sometimes the trust in knowing can yield more than the excitement of uncharted territory. Charles Lloyd ratchets down the energy from Rabo De Nube (ECM, 2008), one of the most exciting, free-wheeling albums and new groups of the saxophonist's half century career. Relying on the quartet's increasingly profound chemistry--and mostly recycled material rather than Rabo's largely new set of originals--Lloyd continues his upward trajectory; his intrinsically spiritual nature a moving force behind an album somewhat reminiscent of The Water is Wide (ECM, 2000). The Water is Wide's multigenerational quintet of established greats and stars-in-the-making, however, culled low-keyed material from a longer recording session that also yielded the energetic follow-up, Hyperion with Higgins (ECM, 2001). Instead, Mirror teams Lloyd with three active, thirty-something musicians on the vanguard of 21st Century American jazz.
Garnering plenty of attention for his own records, Jason Moran has proven an even more astute sideman, in particular for his recent work with Lloyd and ECM label-mate Paul Motian, whose Lost in a Dream (2010), shed new light on the pianist's mélange of Monk-ian angularity, free-wheeling improvisational extremes, and lyrical impressionism. He brings the same sensibility to Mirror, but its general emphasis on ballads, and ambling swing creates a different set of extemporaneous demands, though he does fly into more outré space on a far more powerful and open-ended version of the traditional “Lift Every Voice and Sing” than on Lift Every Voice (ECM, 2002), and “Being and Becoming,” from Which Way is East (ECM, 2004), Lloyd's intimate duo album with Billy Higgins, recorded shortly before the iconic drummer's passing in 2001.
Positioned near Mirror's conclusion, these tracks contrast powerfully with Lloyd's title track--originally on his 1989 ECM debut, Fish Out of Water, but delivered here with a touch more energy and plenty more commitment--and an equally direct look at “Desolation Sound,” from Canto (ECM, 1994). Throughout Lloyd's previously visited originals, traditional spirituals (The Water is Wide's title track, here, going straight to church) and standards, Harland and bassist Reuben Rogers propel the music with more egalitarian interest. Two Monk tunes--the balladic “Ruby, My Dear” and rubato “Monk's Mood”--demonstrate Moran's inescapable roots, while Lloyd turns “Caroline, No,” from The Beach Boys' classic Pet Sounds (Capitol, 1966), into a thing of simmering beauty.
Saving the best for last, Lloyd's gentle narration on Which Way is East's “Tagi”--layered over a backdrop of Rogers' arco and Moran's impressionistic pianism--is nothing short of transcendental. Ebbing and flowing with spiritual profundity, Lloyd turns to saxophone for a modal solo driven by Harland's intensifying pulse, before the quartet dissolves for a tranquil coda, bringing Mirror full circle.
While not turning entirely away from the Rabo De Nube's unfettered freedom, Mirror's greatest success is its quartet's palpably growing sense of trust, allowing the freedom to explore without the compulsion to resort to the obvious or the melodramatic. Instead, the smallest gestures become amplified, as Mirror continues to bolster Lloyd's latest ensemble as one of the best--and certainly the freest--of his long career.
Track Listing: I Fall in Love Too Easily (For Lily); Go Down Moses; Desolation Sound; La Llorona; Caroline, No; Monk's Mood; Mirror; Ruby, My Dear; The Water is Wide; Life Every Voice and Sing; Being and Becoming, Road to Dakshineswar With Sangeeta; Tagi.
Personnel: Charles Lloyd: tenor and alto saxophones, voice; Jason Moran: piano; Reuben Rogers: bass; Eric Harland: drums.


YARON HERMAN TRIO
Follow The White Rabbit





By Bruce Lindsay
Follow The White Rabbit is Israeli pianist Yaron Herman's fifth album--his first on the ACT label and his first with the rhythm section of bassist Chris Tordini and drummer Tommy Crane. Continuing the format of his past trio albums A Time For Everything (Laborie Records, 2007) and Muse (Laborie Records, 2009), Herman mixes original tunes and covers, including one or two unusual and not altogether successful choices.
Radiohead's “No Surprises” keeps close to the sound of the original: Herman's piano replicates Thom Yorke's vocal line but, without Yorke's emotional intensity, the whole becomes rather saccharine. No surprises, indeed. Kurt Cobain's “Heart Shaped Box” is given a similar treatment, but Crane's drumming is in stark and welcome contrast to Dave Grohl's on the Nirvana original and Herman's piano gives the tune a smoother and more lyrical feel, to replace Cobain's anger with sadness. Frank Churchill's “Baby Mine,” from Dumbo (1941), gets a respectfully delicate treatment, but even without its lyrics the song is still cloyingly sentimental.
Herman's own compositions have an impressive maturity and range. “Cadenza” is a solo piano piece, beginning firmly in a classical style but opening out and becoming freer in its latter stages. “Airlines” starts as a mid-tempo tune with a rolling, fluid melody before it builds in intensity as first Tordini and then Herman deliver impressive solos. “Aladins (sic) Psychedelic Lamp” opens with dramatic piano chords but soon shifts gear to a softer and more reflective vibe. Crane and Tordini give “Clusterphobic” a gentle funkiness over which Herman creates an expansive and rich melody.
”Follow the White Rabbit,” a trio composition, is a beautiful track featuring superb ensemble playing. In fact, the album's real strength is the quality of the trio's ensemble playing--Tordini and Crane are as crucial to the success of the music as Herman, even if Crane occasionally pushes a bit too hard, on “Trylon” or “The Mountain in G Minor” for example.
Herman has routinely been compared to Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau. This new trio line-up brings him closer to European contemporaries such as the Kit Downes or Tord Gustavsen trios--inventive yet melodic groups whose distinctive sound comes as much from the bass and drums as it does from the piano. His biography claims that he's “an exceptional phenomenon, unique in the history of piano playing”--that's pushing things a bit too far, but he is certainly an impressive player and writer and Follow The White Rabbit is the product of a fine new Trio.
Track Listing: Follow the White Rabbit; Saturn Returns; Trylon; Heart Shaped Box; Ein Gedi; The Mountain in G Minor; Cadenza; Airlines; Aladin's Psychedelic Lamp; Baby Mine; White Rabbit Robot; Clusterphobic; Wonderland; No Surprises.
Personnel: Yaron Herman: piano; Chris Tordini: double bass; Tommy Crane: drums.


GÉRALDINE LAURENT
Time Out Trio



by Claudio Botelho
Her name is Géraldine Laurent and she plays the alto sax. Along with her cohorts, bassist Yoni Zelnik and drummer Laurent Bataille, she has recorded a work reminiscent of some two other that come to my mind: “Trio Jeepy” by Brandford Marsalis and “The State of the Tenor” by the great late Joe Henderson. Well, here we don’t have a tenor sax, as much as a player of similar stature, but, at least, her group seems as cohesive. She plays an alto sax. Definitively, not a me too sax player, as her “Time Out Trio”shows from its first notes.
For me, Jazz is essentially a masculine art. I have met very few females who really appreciate this subject. The reason is a great mystery. If anybody has any hunch… Anyway, from time to time, there appears some surprise.
The recording comprises some well known American standards as opposed to some lesser known jazz tunes. There’s, also, one original of hers. The jazz composers range from Wayne Shorter to Ornette Coleman. The first, one of the all time bests, the second another mystery for me, as I could never understand the popularity of many of his no-second-part-sterile-tunes.
How can anyone compares “Rejoicing” to “I Fall in Love too Easily”and put them side-to-side in a single offer? It’s beyond me. Anyway, the musicians should know better and certainly found, in his compositions, secrets I can’t see…
Nevertheless, jazz is an instant art and, even without the help of an inspired song (in my view, of course), an improviser of Laurent’s caliber can make gold out of junk…
The recording is comprised of ten songs and lasts circa fifty minutes which flow faster than this number suggests: the songs are densely worked and the listener have no time to be impatient: there’s no dispensable improvisations as the players are highly integrated and, so, there are no meaningless waste-of-time solos. The renderings are always compact and full of meaning. And there’s a surprise Mr. Wayne Shorter never told: Lester wasn’t all that much decided to leave the town! Check!...


By Chris May
Formidable, as her compatriots would say. Time Out Trio, the debut album from young French saxophonist Geraldine Laurent, introduces a bare knuckle force of nature, well-versed in the jazz tradition but not afraid to put her own abandoned spin on it. Rough-edged, risk-taking, high octane, totally in the moment, the music bursts out of the speakers like a hurricane.
Laurent's alto playing is rooted in Charlie Parker, his wild, sometimes squawking, clattering attack played with a slightly softer read and with a narrower embouchure, but still well tough. Other voices echo round the edges: alto saxophonists Ornette Coleman, Cannonball Adderley and Joe Harriott. And occasionally, on the infrequent ballad, the divine Paul Desmond. But most of the time, Laurent, who's on-mic for practically the entire 47 minutes of the album, just wails.
Recorded in a Paris studio in December 2006, Time Out Trio has an in-your-face, warts-and-all, lo-fi live sound, brilliantly suited to Laurent's gutsy style. There are nine standards and one original, and it's surely no coincidence that two of the tunes are by bassist and bandleader Charles Mingus, whose turbulent spirit resonates here. The longest track, a seven-plus minute head-charge through Mingus' ferocious “Fables Of Faubus,” is outstanding. Laurent romps through the tune and an extended solo paying full homage to reed player Eric Dolphy's signature, incandescent reading on Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus (Candid, 1960), avoiding the tortured outer extremes of Dolphy's vocalizations, yet communicating plenty of her own rebel passion. Mingus, you sense, would have loved it.
Other standouts--though there isn't one dud on the set--include dynamic readings of Wayne Shorter's “Lester Left Town” and Hoagy Carmichael's “Skylark,” and Laurent's own “A Quiet,” which is a soft, wistful ballad before the gas gets turned up.
Laurent is perfectly matched by her colleagues, bassist Yoni Zelnik and drummer Laurent Bataille. Both stand toe-to-toe alongside her throughout, and Mingus analogies continue to suggest themselves. Zelnik plays with the same muscle and abandon, Bataille with the confrontational zeal of the great man's favorite drummer, Danny Richmond. Most of the time, they work the engine room--Zelnik with a mixture of ostinatos and free flourishes, Bataille in call-and -response--and each thrills on his couple of brief solos.
This is an extraordinary debut album, and Geraldine Laurent is a gale force blast of good news.
Track Listing: Autumn Nocturne; Lester Left Town; I Fall In Love Too Easily; Rejoicing; Skylark; Fables Of Faubus; A Quiet; Repeat; Tijuana Gift Shop; Love Letters.
Personnel: Geraldine Laurent: alto saxophone; Yoni Zelnik: bass; Laurent Bataille: drums.


GÉRALDINE LAURENT
Around GiGi



by Dreyfus Records
Que vous soyez simple mélomane (littéralement : amoureux de mélodies) ou jazzfan averti, voici un disque qui a tout pour vous séduire – une telle occasion de faire l’unanimité sans céder à la facilité est trop rare pour ne pas être soulignée.
La seule lecture des titres sélectionnés en témoigne : la saxophoniste Géraldine Laurent a choisi quatre thèmes de sa plume et, surtout, six compositions signées (créées dans les premières années cinquante) par le saxophoniste Gigi Gryce, le trompettiste Art Farmer et le pianiste Thelonious Monk. Trois sculpteurs de musique, trois défricheurs singuliers pour qui, s’il n’avait pas existé, le mot originalité aurait dû être inventé !
Autant dire qu’il s’agit là d’explorer ou de redécouvrir des chefs d’œuvre inespérés :
Gallop’s Gallop, par exemple, est un irrésistible clin d’œil (1’43 de dialogue entre la saxophoniste et le batteur Franck Agulhon) à ce bibelot monkien que Thelonious lui-même enregistra d’abord au sein du quartette de Gryce ; écrit en 1953 par Art Farmer, l’un des plus doux tisseurs de mélodies que le bebop ait révélé, Mau Mau (allusion à la guerilla d’indépendance qui avait embrasé le Kenya un an plus tôt) évoque une Afrique fantasmée et peut-être idéale.
Quant à Kerry Dance, Minority, Nicas’s Tempo et Smoke Signal, ils forment une manière de bouquet, hommage du quartette réuni par la saxophoniste à cet illustre méconnu entré dans la légende du jazz.
Né George General Grice le 28 novembre 1925 à Pensacola (Floride) et devenu, plus brièvement, “Gigi” Gryce, il allait disparaître en 1983 avec pour seule consolation d’avoir impressionné ses confrères, de Monk à Coltrane en passant par Stan Getz et Dizzy Gillespie, autant par la délicatesse de son jeu de saxophone que par son talent d’écriture.
Soit une constellation de joyaux mélodiques littéralement inouïs, travaillés et peaufinés par la saxophoniste comme on taille des diamants !
Et, au fil des plages, un large éventail d’émotions et de surprises, car Géraldine Laurent, encore une fois, fait preuve de cette virtuosité amoureuse indissociable d’une mémoire vive qui, par la grâce d’une relecture superbement et rythmiquement personnelle, lui permet de trouver des chemins toujours nouveaux.
D’emblée, le ton (le groove !) est donné : entourée de trois maîtres ès tempo, dont l’indéfectible et élastique Yoni Zelnik et le non moins talentueux Pierre de Bethman, l’altiste (que l’on avait pu entendre dans les contextes et lieux les plus divers, jusqu’à son mémorable Time Out Trio et au “Just Jazz” d’Aldo Romano) slalome au gré des « portes » harmoniques avec ce mélange d’agressivité (en jazz on parle d’attaque), de rapidité et d’agilité qui marque les grands improvisateurs. Ou quand l’histoire et l’actualité s’entrelacent afin que jaillisse une musique constamment neuve.


CHICO PINHEIRO
There´s A Storm Inside / Flor De Fogo





by Dr. Leo Rocha
Bastante aguardado e elogiado pela mídia,sinceramente, não chegou a me entusiasmar como esperava que acontecesse. É claro que adoro o Chico Pinheiro pois conheço todos os seus discos anteriores a esse,incluindo o maravilhoso "Nova" que ele divide com o guitarrista fenomenal Anthony Wilson. Foi tão grande o estardalhaço da mídia que me apressei e comprei logo o disco importado sem saber que em seguida já seria lançado em edição brasileira com o nome de "Flor de Fogo" e com outra capa.
Chico resolveu agora, intensificar mais ainda o seu lado de cantor,que ,é bom frisar, muito agradável,embora eu prefira a sua porção violonística (ou guitarrística,se preferem). Está muito bem acompanhado de músicos talentosos como:Paulo Calasans(acoustic piano), Paulo Pauleli(bass), Edu Ribeiro(drums), Fabio Torres(piano), Marcelo Mariano(bass), Marcos Bosco(percussion),Lula Alencar(accordion), Zé Pitoco(zabumba),Marcos Spirito(ganzá), além das participações especialíssimas de Dianne Reeves(vocals), Bob Mintzer(tenor sax and bass clarinet), Luciana Alves(vocals) e Proveta (clarinet). Portanto, um time de primeira,mas parece que o "negócio não explode" e fica "sem decolar". Apesar da primeira faixa ser uma música muito bonita, não houve nada criativo ,nada de novo na releitura de "Our love is here to stay". "Boca de siri" é legal e faz-nos lembrar a música de João Bosco e Aldir Blanc com um belo solo de violão do Chico. "There's a storm inside" apresenta um inspirado solo de piano por Fábio Torres e a participação vocal de Dianne Reeves que não acrescenta nada demais. "Recriando a criação",uma das melhores, é de autoria de Chico em parceria com Paulo Cesar Pinheiro; trata-se de um lindo tema que foi brindado com o toque de violão de mestre do dono do disco (aí, sim !). Outro tema muito bonito é "A sul do teu olhar" interpretado por Luciana Alves como também "Um filme", de acento bossanovístico. Chico Pinheiro ainda dá um tremendo show em sua guitarra em "Sertão Wi Fi". Uma sessão de cordas ainda se faz presente em algumas faixas. Enfim,uma produção cara que poderia render muito mais. Chico fica devendo um outro.
Léo, esse garoto ainda vai longe!!!

1 Sem 2011 - Part One

GismontiPascoal - A musica de Egberto & Hermeto
Hamilton de Holanda & Andre Mehmari


by Dr. Leo Rocha
Um encontro de quatro gigantes da Música Brasileira ! Trata-se do segundo disco da dupla Hamilton de Holanda e André Mehmari,agora,pelo selo Brasilianos de propriedade do primeiro. O nome já diz tudo: é uma homenagem a Egberto Gismonti e a Hermeto Pascoal. Egberto,músico,compositor,arranjador,há muito tempo já é um nome de carreira internacional,consagrado,enfim,um gênio,comparece nesse disco como autor de seis músicas e ainda toca violão na faixa "Fala da paixão"(um luxo só). Hermeto,o mago de todos os instrumentos(toca tudo) é também compositor (seis músicas são de sua autoria) e arranjador, participa em uma faixa "Música das nuvens e do chão" que encerra o disco. Hamilton de Holanda,jovem bandolinista já vai fazer 20 anos de carreira e é,sem dúvidas, um dos maiores bandolinistas do mundo (ouçam o que ele faz com o tema "Bebê" de Hermeto). André Mehmari dispensa apresentação e continua a mostrar todo o seu talento como pianista além de compositor inspirado. No CD há também quatro músicas de autoria de Hamilton e Mehmari como o lindo tema "Menino Hermeto",quase um acalanto. Belos também são os temas de Gismonti ,já bem conhecidos: "Palhaço" e "Memória e fado". O ano de 2011 começa, portanto,com tudo ! É uma bênção a reunião desses quatro craques num disco.


Pat Bianchi
Back Home


by Michael G. Nastos
Organist Pat Bianchi's turn to be in the spotlight as a premier player on his instrument is long overdue, and with the release of Back Home, it's clear his time has finally come. Since the 2006 issue of his album East Coast Roots on the Jazzed Media label and his estimable work with guitarist Corey Christiansen, Bianchi's star has been steadily rising, but now he's reached his zenith. Playing with two different groups, Bianchi transcends soul-jazz by playing the C-3 (church) organ, choosing heady progressive material, and showing his acumen on his instrument similar to peer Larry Goldings (see the Goldings masterpiece Sweet Science). With his "A" group -- the very energetic sidemen of drummer Ralph Peterson, tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, and trumpeter Terell Stafford -- alongside, Bianchi whips out compositions not necessarily thought of as vehicles for organ, evidence including the super-fast and tricky Ornette Coleman post-bop piece "Blues Connotation" and Chick Corea's 6/8 groove and bop track "Litha," which came directly from fusion originally with electric piano. The "B" trio with drummer Carmen Intorre and guitarist Gilad Hekselman also tackles difficult music -- John Coltrane's "Fifth House" (and an additional shorter alternate take) challenges rhythmic parameters in a modal sense while Bianchi goes off à la Larry Young. But where Bianchi's three pieces also explore a mellower sound during ballads and blues, it is his deeply hued style on the C-3 that identifies a new approach to playing modern jazz. What Bianchi is doing is very nearly innovative, and this should only be the tip of the iceberg.


Miguel Zenon
Esta Plena


by Leonardo Barroso
This is one of the worst jazz cd I heard, some jazz is heard through some of the musics, but a lot of screaming(not singing) in the begining of each song. DownBeat Magazine gave 5 stars, I'll give 1 star. Run from this recording !!

by Jeff Tamarkin
Following the release of his previous album, 2008's Awake, Miguel Zenón was awarded both a Guggenheim Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship "genius grant," the latter alone putting half a million bucks in his pocket with which he could do anything he wanted. He used at least some of that cash to create Esta Plena, an album that expands on 2005's roots-conscious Jíbaro by linking traditional Puerto Rican plena music with modern jazz technique. In the album's liner notes, Zenón provides an in-depth explanation of the history and musical properties of plena, a folkloric style born of the poor class in a barrio in southern Puerto Rico. Its lyrics, he explains, tell of the lives and struggles of those people, and while the music has continually evolved since its inception, it still pays its respects to its roots. Here it evolves yet again as Zenón marries the time-tested form to his modern jazz sensibilities. He is a superb, dynamic alto saxophonist and a visionary bandleader, and working with a cast of ace contemporary players -- pianist Luis Perdomo, acoustic bassist Hans Glawischnig, drummer Henry Cole (all three of whom appeared on Awake), lead vocalist/percussionist Héctor "Tito" Matos, and background vocalists/percussionists Obanilú Allende and Juan Gutiérrez -- Zenón finds the place where the traditional plena and contemporary jazz, both of which share African roots, meet up and become something new together. From the fiery opening instrumental, "Villa Palmeras," through the vocal numbers, Zenón melds his well-defined melodicism with intricate rhythms and harmonies, allowing plenty of space for his fellow musicians and vocalists to contribute to the story. Perdomo, particularly, is a major factor: a masterful pianist, he virtually serves as a second leader here by co-crafting the melodic direction with Zenón. On tracks like the midtempo "Pandero y Pagode," the swinging "Oyelo," the sizzling "¿Qué Será de Puerto Rico?" (spotlighting drummer Cole), and the epic instrumentals "Progreso" and "Villa Coope," Zenón and his crew create music that is full of life, history, richness, and realness.


Steve Gadd and Friends
Live At Voce


by PRWeb / Vocus
One of the most recorded drummers of all time, Steve Gadd has worked with everyone from Chick Corea to Paul Simon, Maynard Ferguson to Eric Clapton. When it comes to his own projects, Gadd loves to play good-time groove music that has the danceable qualities and bluesiness of the best R&B along with the adventurous solos and impeccable musicianship of jazz.
On "Live At Voce (Deluxe Edition)," Gadd is joined by Joey DeFrancesco (arguably the World's greatest organist), the passionate baritone-saxophonist Ronnie Cuber, and the versatile guitarist Paul Bollenbeck. Together they create grooves and hard-driving swing that are reminiscent of the best organ groups of the 1960s including an early George Benson band that featured Cuber. The infectious rhythms, catchy material, and colorful ensembles make this band impossible to resist.
For this project the quartet, which has been together since 2007, is heard at a popular club in Scottsdale, Arizona. “Watching The River Flow,” which is based on “Swanee River,” has exciting solos by all four musicians. The one-chord vamp “Way Back Home” gives Ronnie Cuber a chance to preach on his horn. “Undecided” is taken at a burning tempo that is perfect for the musicians, with DeFrancesco showing why he is considered the master of his instrument. “Bye Bye Blackbird” starts out with a surprising duet between Gadd on brushes and DeFrancesco, who is heard on a muted trumpet a la Miles Davis. “Them Changes” finds the group rocking out on an R&B groove that alternates with some furious straight ahead jamming.
Cuber is featured on a heartfelt rendition of “Georgia On My Mind.” “Back At The Chicken Shack” has the Gadd band returning to the blues, really digging into the music. Horace Silver's “Sister Sadie” is given quite a ride by the musicians, with this being the most stirring performance of the heated set.
As a bonus, the deluxe version of Live At Voce concludes with a pair of intriguing duets (“Here I Am Now” and “Down”) by Gadd and singer/songwriter Edie Brickell. Gadd and Brickell lead the newly formed band, The Gaddabouts, featuring Andrew Fairweather Low and Pino Palladino.
About The Musicians:
Steve Gadd has had a remarkable career during the past 40 years, and there are no signs that he plans to slow down. He began playing drums when he was three, sat in with Dizzy Gillespie at the age of 11, and became a major studio drummer in 1972. Since then his countless number of recordings include important sessions with Chuck Mangione, Bill Watrous, Jim Croce, Joe Farrell, Bette Midler, Chet Baker, Phoebe Snow, Bob James, Hubert Laws, Herbie Mann, George Benson, David Sanborn, Paul Simon, Tom Scott, Chick Corea, Grover Washington Jr, Jim Hall, Maynard Ferguson, Al DiMeola, Carla Bley, Judy Collins, Stanley Clarke, Stuff, Joe Cocker, the Brecker Brothers, Dave Grusin, Charles Mingus, Eddie Daniels, Weather Report, Lee Ritenour, Michael Franks, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, Al Jarreau, Grover Washington Jr, the Manhattan Transfer, Paul McCartney, Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross, James Brown, the Manhattan Jazz Quintet and Natalie Cole plus the Gadd Gang. Just in the past year, Gadd has toured and recorded with Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Alain Clark and Edie Brickell.
Joey DeFrancesco is largely responsible for the Hammond B-3 organ making a comeback in the 1990s. The son of organist Papa John DeFrancesco, Joey began sitting in at his father's gigs when he was just six. He learned from the masters, befriended Jimmy Smith, and toured with Miles Davis right after his high school graduation in 1988. His brilliant playing and enthusiasm led to the organ, which had been neglected in favor of electric keyboards, being restored to its former place of prominence. His success has led to many other young organists entering the scene, but Joey DeFrancesco still ranks at the very top.
Baritonist Ronnie Cuber, whose deep guttural tone is influenced by the late Pepper Adams, has been a major force on his instrument since the 1960s. His stints with the Maynard Ferguson big band and with George Benson made him well known in the jazz world. In recent years he has often been heard with the Mingus Big Band.
Guitarist Paul Bollenback started playing music when he was seven. Originally a rock player, he changed his musical direction after hearing Miles Davis. He has been associated with Joey DeFrancesco off and on since the early 1990s and has also worked with Mark Murphy, Gary Thomas, Ron Holloway, Joe Locke, Houston Person, Geoff Keezer, Jim Snider, Jack McDuff, and Tony Monaco.
Steve Gadd's Live At Voce lives up to its great potential, resulting in bluesy music that is both accessible and superbly played by four master musicians.
For more information about Live At Voce (Deluxe Edition), contact Heather Noonan at BFM Digital: pr (at) bfmjazz (dot) com or 818-761-0191.


Melody Gardot
My One And Only Thrill


by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Melody Gardot's 2006 debut, Worrisome Heart, was greeted with warmly enthusiastic reviews that never failed to mention Gardot's musical similarities to Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux, or her sadly compelling story of surviving a severe hit-and-run accident at the age of 19. The tragedy gave critics an irresistible hook, and the musical similarities -- which also include her vocal resemblance to Fiona Apple's smoky tones -- gave new listeners a familiar touchstone, but both merely provided an entry into a fine, accomplished debut. Released three years later, Gardot's second album, My One and Only Thrill, proves that the first was no fluke; it doesn't build upon the debut so much as it sustains its quality. Like before, My One and Only Thrill is built primarily on Gardot originals (a fine version of "Over the Rainbow" that closes the album being the only exception) that seamlessly blend sultry, late-night jazz blues, singer/songwriter introspection, and sophisticated pop melodies. If anything, My One and Only Thrill emphasizes Gardot's chanteuse qualities, feeling like more of a jazz album than its predecessor, thanks both to its languid atmosphere and also Gardot's phrasing, which elegantly elongates her melodies and slips into scat. These are slight, subtle progressions but what impresses is how thoroughly My One and Only Thrill lives up to the promise of her debut, offering another album that is as enchanting in its sound as it is in its substance.

Charles Fambrough 1950-2011

 

By Douglas Payne
After a long bout battling liver disease and many years of suffering, the great jazz bassist Charles Fambrough passed away on Saturday, January 1, 2011. Fambrough had apparently been awaiting a transplant match. Several musical tributes were held in Philadelphia over the last several years to help Fambrough and his family pay the bassist’s outrageous medical expenses.
Philadelphia resident Charles Fambrough was born on August 25, 1950. Fambrough studied classical piano throughout his elementary and high-school years. He gravitated to bass at the age of 13, attempting to imitate Paul Chambers, the first jazz bassist he ever heard. He began studying classical bass in the seventh grade but gave it up in 1968 to begin working in the pit bands for such theatrical productions as You Can’t Take it With You and Bye-Bye Birdie and, by day, playing on The Mike Douglas Show.
In 1969, Charles began working with a cover band called Andy Aaron’s Mean Machine that also featured a young saxophonist by the name of Grover Washington, Jr. A year later, Charles joined Grover Washington’s road band, staying with the saxophonist during his popular CTI years. In 1975, Fambrough joined Airto Moreira’s band, where he stayed for two years until joining legendary pianist McCoy Tyner’s group, playing on Tyner’s Focal Point (1977), The Greeting (1978) and Horizon (1979), as well as Rahsaan Roland Kik’s Boogie Woogie String Along For Real (1977) – his earliest known recordings.
Upon leaving Tyner’s group, Fambrough hooked up with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers at about the same time Wynton Marsalis was part of the group, recording with the great jazz drummer from 1980 until 1982 and featuring on the pivotal Album of the Year (1981). Fambrough once said “McCoy showed me how to play with endurance. Art gave me refinement.”
He continued, “With McCoy, the gig is about speed and strength. He plays so much stuff that you’re lucky if you’re heard, so you struggle to keep up with him. But with Art it was a lot different. He heard every note you played and if there was anything raggedy, he immediately let you know about it. He really taught you how to play behind a horn player, how to develop in a rhythm section.”
Surprisingly, Charles Fambrough made his own solo recording debut on Creed Taylor’s famed CTI Records in 1991 with The Proper Angle, an excellent, star-studded affair featuring Wynton Marsalis (who featured Fambrough in his first band in 1982) and Roy Hargrove on trumpet, Branford Marsalis and Joe Ford (who first met Fambrough on a McCoy Tyner gig 13 years earlier) on sax, the late, lamented Kenny Kirkland on piano, Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums (both Kirkland and Watts featured with Fambrough in a trio at the time dubbed “Jazz From Keystone”) and Steve Barrios, Mino Cinelu and Jerry Gonzalez on percussion. The record is the first bassist-led date on CTI Records since the legendary Ron Carter in 1976 and it’s clear that Fambrough, like Carter, was a bassist who could lead an interesting jazz record of his own. It also ranks among the very best the label issued during its 1989-98 resurgence.
The Proper Angle was not only one of CTI’s only straight-ahead albums of the time, it also showcased some of jazz’s best young lions at the top of their game. It surely proved that Fambrough was a tremendously capable leader adept at helming a band of great improvisers who worked beautifully well together and it introduced the bassist’s amazing facility for interesting composition (“The Dreamer,” “Sand Jewels,” “Broski,” the bassist’s nickname from his Jazz Messenger days, “Dolores Carla Maria,” named for Fambrough’s wife and widow, a singer of great renown in her own right, “Earthlings,” “The Proper Angle,” “One for Honor,” originally written for McCoy Tyner’s Horizon, and the beautifully titled “Our Father Who Art Blakey,” named for the drummer who had passed away the year before).
Fambrough issued two more records on CTI, The Charmer (1992), featuring Roy Hargrove on trumpet, Kenny Garrett on alto sax, pianists Bill O’Connell, Kenny Kirkland and Abdullah Ibrahim (!), drummers Jeff “Tain” Watts, Billy Drummond and Yoron Israel (!) on drums and a reunion on three tracks with Grover Washington, Jr., and the splendiferously excellent live album Blues at Bradley’s (1993) featuring Donald Harrison, Steve Turre, Joe Ford, Bill O’Connell, Bobby Broom, Ricky Sebastian and Steve Berrios. These records remain the undisputed highpoint of CTI in the nineties.
Several other discs under Charles Fambrough’s name also appeared, including Keep of the Spirit (AudioQuest, 1995), City Tribes (Evidence, 1995), Upright Citizen (NuGroove, 1997) and Charles Fambrough Live @ Zanzibar Blue (Random Chance, 2002). The bassist also continued to appear on a wide array of discs by others, including Pharoah Sanders (Crescent with Love), Bill O’Connell (including the pianist’s great CTI album Lost Voices), Ernie Watts (Reaching Up), Kevin Mahogany (My Romance) and the jazz-rock cover bands Beatlejazz and Stonejazz.
In recent years, health problems prevented Charles Fambrough from participating as much as he once had on the recording scene. But he continued playing around his hometown as much as possible and was one of the bassists featured on drummer/composer Lenny White’s 2010 album Anomoly (Abstract Logix).
A fellow musician and Fambrough friend, pianist, composer and educator George Colligan, said on his jazztruth blog today that “Charles had health issues for many of his last years, but it never seemed to deter him from his passion for music. He talked about his condition like it was a minor nuisance. He seemed determined to press on despite his health.”
There was something undeniably special about the sound Charles Fambrough made. While you never got the sense that his bass was leading the music’s charge, you often stopped to wonder exactly what drove the music he was port of to be as magnificently magnetic as it was. Simple consideration reveals just how emphatic and empathic his role in the music was.
Fellow bassist Ron Carter has stated that he doesn’t like his playing to be considered an anchor, something that holds a vessel from moving. Bassists hear that kind of thing all the time, and it’s no wonder Carter resents it.
When listening to Charles Fambrough, it’s clear that a good bassist propels the music where it needs to go. It’s a shame that the music will no longer be propelled by Charles Fambrough, an inventive and imaginative bassist and one of the finest of “the young lions” who emerged in jazz’s new traditionalism of the early 1980s.

WORLDJAZZ TOP 10 - 2010

Jazz Record of 2010
- Carlos Franzetti: Mambo Tango

Top Jazz Records of 2010
- Marc Copland: New York Recordings, Vol.3 Night Whispers
- Laurence Hobgood & Charlie Haden: When The Heart Dances
- Denny Zeitlin: Precipice
- Aaron Goldberg: Home
- Fred Hersch: Whril
- Jason Moran: Ten
- Luca Mannutza Trio: Longin'
- Riccardo Arrighini: Vivaldi Jazz & Chopin in Jazz
- Manabu Onishi Trio: Wish
- Bill Mays Trio: Stuffy Turkey
- Vincenzo Danise: Immaginando Un Trio, Vol. 1



Vocal Jazz 2010

- Dee Alexander: Wild Is The Wind
- Paola Arnesano: The Police Songbook

Jazz Hors Concours 2010

- Alan Broadbent Trio: Live at Gianelli Square, Vol. 1

Artiste du Jazz 2010
Jason Moran & Fred Hersch

The Best in 2010 by JazzFriends

LAST, BUT NOT THE LEAST LIST
by Carlos Couto de Castelo Branco
CAROS !
Conforme prometemos, hole, dia 11 de janeiro de 2011, estamos divulgando oficialmente para a mídia a
LISTA DOS MELHORES CD's QUE OUVI EM 2010.
LOCAL: Iate Clube de Fortaleza( bar da praia) - cada convidado pagando o seu whisky.
HORA: à partir das 18 horas
RELAÇÀO DOS DEZ MAIS:
1.ALBERTO ROSEMBLIT - DE BEM COM A VIDA
pelos arranjos, e temas musicais, Rosemblit gravou um dos melhores CD's de bossa-nova da década.
2.OS CARIOCAS - NOSSA ALMA CANTA
continuam ótimos e fieis a velha e maravilhosa bossa-nova
3.JOÃO DONATO - SAMBOLERO
Ainda é o PROFESSOR como dizia o TOM
4.JOYCE & TUTY MORENO
Esta maravilhosa cantora merece maior reconhecimento por parte de quem faz divulgação na mídia.(rádio e TV)
5.SARA GAZAREK - YOURS
CD de 2005 dessa EXCELENTE cantora, considerada pelo LA Times como "a próxima cantora importante do jazz"
6.BILL MAYS - MAYS AT THE MOVIES
Entre os dois CD"s lançados em 2009, fico com este. Mays envolui em cada disco lançado. ÓTIMO
7.AHMAD JAMAL - A QUIET TIME
O verdadeiro. Não estou me referindo ao cearense. Criatividade incrível em harmonia.
8.DAN NIMMER - MODERN DAY BLUES
este menino vai loooonge. O CD tá ótimo com destaque para a composição de B.Powell - CLEOPATRA'S DREAM. Ouçam !
9.ETTA CAMERON - LADY BE GOOD
Esta senhora faz os fans e admiradores de SARA tremerem nas bases. INCRÍVEL . CD ÓTIMO.
10.EVA EMINGEROVÁ
ex-jogadora de volley ball da seleção da República Tcheca, agora cantando e acompanhando-se muito bem.

DESTAQUES 2010
DVD
- Bolanni carioca - destacando a faixa NA BAIXA DO SAPATEIRO
AIRTON ROCHA - LEMBRANÇAS - composições e histórias INCRÍVEIS.
EDU LOBO - TANTAS MARES
DORY CAYMMI - O MAR DE DENTRO
CB RECORDS - O MELHOR DA MPB e que não toca no rádio - destaque para a interpretação de NANÃ de Moacri Santos por WHITE CASTLE
RINGO STARR - SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY - cada música um arranjador. Muita saudade para quem curtiu este LP de 1972.


Best Jazz 2010
by MarcioTavora

Meus Amigos, descupem a demora, mas aí vai minha lista,
1 – PAOLO DI SABATINO – THE SWEETEST LOVE – 2009
2 – AHMAD JAMAL – A QUIET TIME – 2009
3 – BILL MAYS – THE BEST IS YET TO COME – 2009
4 – DAN NIMMER – MODERN DAYS BLUE – 2009
5 – ALBERTO ROSENBLIT – DE BEM COM A VIDA – 2009
6 – JOANIE PALLATTO – WORDS & MUSIC – 1999
7 – ETTA CAMERON – LADY BE GOOD – 2003
8 – EVA EMINGEROVA – SOPHISTICATED LADY – 2004
9 – TSUYOSHI YAMAMOTO – AUTUMN IN SEATTLE – 2001
10 – BILL MAYS – MAYS AT THE MOVIES – 2009

DVDS
STEFANO BOLLANI – CARIOCA
MICHEL LEGRAND – MICHEL LEGRAND & FRIENDS – 50 YEARS OF MUSIC AND MOVIES
Abraços, MÁRCIO TÁVORA


Melhores de 2010
by Renato Barroso
Caros Amigos Jazzófilos,
Segue minha pequena lista dos Melhores de 2010. Entretanto, tenho plena confiança dos outros CD's escolhidos por vocês, que não as conheço:
- AHMAD JAMAL "A Quiet Time"
- MARC COPLAND "Night Whispers"
- AARON GOLDBERG "Home"
- FRED HERSCH "Whirl"
- ALAN BROADBENT "Live at Giannelli Square: volume I"
Um grande abraço em todos e um Feliz 2011!


OS MELHORES DE 2010
by Dr. Leandro "Leo" Rocha, The JazzMentor
01.CHOPIN-THE NOCTURNES- NELSON FREIRE
02.REFLECTIONS-KURT ROSENWINKEL STANDARDS TRIO
03.TANTAS MARÉS- EDU LOBO
04.SAMBOLERO- JOÃO DONATO
05.BAMBOO
06.DEPONTACABEÇA- ÁUREA MARTINS
07.PIMENTEIRA- PEDRO MIRANDA
08.NOSSA ALMA CANTA- OS CARIOCAS
09.DE BEM COM A VIDA- ALBERTO ROZEMBLIT
10.MUNDO DE DENTRO- DORI CAYMMI
11.ETTA CAMERON
12.JOYCE E TUTTY MORENO
13.OURO DE MINAS- DUDU LIMA
14.THE POLICE SONGBOOK-PAOLA DARNESANO
15.THERE,S A STORM INSIDE- CHICO PINHEIRO

Destaco ainda:
-ALEXANDRE GISMONTI
-LITORAL E INTERIOR- SERGIO SANTOS
-SOPA DE CONCHA- GERALDO E OS AMIGOS DO RUMO
-YAMANDU COSTA E VALTER SILVA
-PAPO DE PASSARIM- ZÉ RENATO E RENATO BRAZ
-WHAT LIES WITHIN- DENISE DONATELLI
-MOON RAY- NANCY KING

Para DVD do ano:
-CARIOCA- STEFANO BOLLANI
A TODOS VOCÊS UM SUPER 2011 !!!


WAITING FOR THE UPCOMING 2011
by Claudio Botelho
MEUS CARÍSSIMOS AMIGOS,
Conforme antecipei, minha lista sofre, agora, uma revisão. Sai Jason Moran,
entra Ted Resenthal. Não que um seja melhor do que outro no geral, mas, em
termos de me trazer lágrimas aos olhos, indiscutivelmente, o ? Impromptu ?
vence. O Moran, conforme mencionei, tem duas musiquinhas meio chatinhas,
mas, no resto, é muito bom. Sem dúvida é um trabalho mais original, mas,
para mim, arte é e será sempre emoção. Assim, perde de dez a zero (exagero...) para o outro.
Reouvi com mais calma o do Denny Zeitlin e, também, decidi incluí-lo na
lista, mas, tirar quem?... Não consegui excluir ninguém! O da Paola é
sensacional, mas sofre do mesmo problema do DZ.
Assim, insiro-os como ?extra-lista?. Seriam os * runners-up, * aliás, são de fato.
Quanto a compilá-los ou não, gostaria de ouvir a opinião de todos a esse
respeito, já que não estou só nesse excesso.
Recordo que, no ano passado, o Márcio, por extrapolação de indicações, teve
o valor de cada uma delas reduzido de modo que, somados, valeram apenas 10 pontos.
Como fazer? Deixo fora ou aplico um redutor?
Dito isso, eis a nova (e definitiva) lista:

1- AARON GOLDBERG - HOME. Saltem a primeira faixa e sigam em frente.
Uma volúpia israelense que me fez querer visitar Tel Aviv.
2- AHMAD JAMAL - A QUIET TIME. Gravação excepcional, elegância,*controle
* e bom gosto. Um dos melhores que ele já fez e o que me fez mudar a idéia
de que ele estava decadente. Nada disso!: aos oitentinha, está bombando!
3- BILL MAYS TRIO - STUFFY TURKEY. Com esse nome um tanto ridículo, o
velho Mays fez, aqui, um de seus melhores trabalhos de todos os tempos.
Ainda teve que superar concorrência própria, eis que me chegaram às mãos
mais três trabalhos seus deste ano. O segundo melhor seria o ?Movies?...
Esse é outro que é igual a vinho francês: só melhora com o tempo. Parece que
será o pianista do ano, heim Augusto?
4- CARLOS FRANZETTI - MAMBO TANGO. Magnetizante na sua simplicidade!
Somente um grande artista poderia fazer um trabalho como esse! É tudo de
bom. Com um bônus, um Fazioli de fazer qualquer Steinway se sentir um
Essenfelder. Um esplendor!...(Tenho esperanças que tenha se naturalizado americano...
5- TED ROSENTHAL - IMPROMPTU. Como bônus, uma japonesa (ou oriental,
sei lá) com um instrumento que deve ter sido fabricado, no mínimo, por um
primo do Stradivarius. Tem um sonzaço!...
6- LUCCA MANUTZA - LONGIN. Extraordinário vigor, num trabalho variado
e consistente. Segurança a dar com pau! Só mesmo alguém tão jovem poderia
empregar tanta força, tanto entusiasmo.
7- MANHATTAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA - SING, SING, SING - TRIBUTE TO BENNY
GOODMAN. Trabalho absolutamente despasteurizado, mostrando que ainda
existem arranjadores para big-bands. Uma brisa refrescante em meio ao
deserto. Parabéns para o David Matthews que eu considerava não mais do que
apenas um pianista mediano!
8- MARC COPLAND -NIGHT WHISPERS. Se jamais houve um ? colorful
drummer ?, ei-lo aqui. Por inteiro! Aqui estão os murmúrios mais expressivos que já ouvi.
9- RICCARDO ARRIGHINI -VIVALDI JAZZ -LE QUATTRO ESTACIONI. Este
(RA,lógico) já virou amigo e, como vocês sabem, amigos não tem defeitos. Como o
Zeferino, eu poderia listar, também, o Chopin que pode até ser melhor, mas
vou ficar com o Vivaldi mesmo, pois foi o que mais me intrigou e instigou.
10- VINCENZO DANISE -IMMAGINANDO UM TRIO VOL 1. Juntamente com o Piero
Frassi, a grande revelação do ano. Trabalho original, consistente e muito
bem executado. Originais verdadeiramente originais. Olhem, os músicos
precisam olhar mais as composições dos outros: esse CD está coalhado de belos temas.

RUNNERS-UP
1- DENNY ZEITLIN - PRECIPICE. Uma epifania Sonora! Um precipício da
Foz do Iguaçu! Extraordinário comando, simbioses de carros automáticos de
dez marchas (se é que existem...). Concentração, extremo foco (apesar das
camisas supercoloridas que gosta de usar...)
2- PAOLA ARNESANO - THE POLICE SONGBOOK. Se eu tiver de fazer um resumo
desse trabalho eu diria tratar-se de um monólito maravilhoso. É como se
fosse uma coisa só, una, pois tem tudo de bom (tanto artística, quanto
tecnicamente). Difícil destacar alguém! Mas o mérito maior, naturalmente, é
dela, pois, junto com o baterista, é o cérebro por trás de tudo. Como se
fosse pouco, parece ser uma das poucas cantoras de jazz da atualidade!
Sds,
Claudio.


By Augusto Cesar Costa
http://accosta.posterous.com/
Disco do Ano
1. Vincenzo Danise - Immaginando un Trio - Vincenzo Danise: piano / Ivo Parlati: bateria / Aldo Vigorito: contrabaixo / Stefano Costanzo: bateria (faixas 2,3,7) / Radar Edizioni Discografiche - RADAR 40009 - 2009
2. Aaron Goldberg - Home - Aaron Goldberg: piano / Reuben Rogers: baixo / Eric Harland: bateria / Mark Turner: sax tenor (faixas 1,5 & 9) / SUNNYSIDE COMMUNICATIONS - SSC 1232 - 2010
3. Yaron Herman Trio - Following the white Rabbit - Yaron Herman: piano (Steinway D, Hamburg) / Chris Tordini: contrabaixo / Tommy Crane: bateria / ACT 9499-2 – LC 07644 - 2010
4. Lee Konitz & Piero Frassi Trio - Chapter 1: Konitz plays Konitz - Lee Konitz: sax alto / Piero Frassi: piano / Filippo Pedol: contrabaixo / Andrea Melani: bateria /PHILOLOGY - W 443-2 - 2008
5. Denny Zeitlin - Precipice - Denny Zeitlin: piano solo / SUNNYSIDE COMMUNICATIONS - SSC 1253 - 2010
6. Luca Mannutza Trio - Longin’ - Luca Mannutza: piano / Gianluca Renzi: contrabaixo / Nicola Angelucci: bateria /WIDE SOUND - WD181 - 2009
7. Marian Petrescu Quartet - Thrivin’ - Live at The Jazz Standard - Marian Petrescu: piano / Andreas Öberg: guitarra, voz (My Romance) / David Finck: contrabaixo / Mark McLean: bateria / RESONANCE RECORDS - RCD-1014 - 2010
8. Bill Mays Trio - Stuffy Turkey - Bill Mays: piano / Mattias Svensson: contrabaixo / Joe La Barbera: bateria / Five Stars Records - FSY-512 - 2010
9. Carlos Franzetti - Mambo Tango - Carlos Franzetti: piano solo / SUNNYSIDE RECORDS - SSC 1230 - 2009
10. Ted Rosenthal Trio - Impromptu - Ted Rosenthal: piano / Noriko Ueda: contrabaixo / Quincy Davis: bateria / Playscape Recordings - PSR # 122109 - 2010

MELHOR CANTORA
Paola Arnesano - The Police Songbook - Paola Arnesano: vocal & arranjos / Mirko Signorile: piano / Giorgio Vendola: contrabaixo / Fabio Accardi: bateria & arranjos / Gaetano Partpilo: sax alto / FO(U)R (Contemporary Jazz) - CO405 - 2010

MELHOR DVD
Stefano Bollani - Carioca - Stefano Bollani: piano / Marco Pereira: violão / Jorge Helder: contrabaixo / Jurim Moreira: bateria / Armando Marçal: percussão / Zé Nogueira: sax soprano / Mirko Guerrini: sax tenor / Nico Gori: clarinete / ERMITAGE - FAB 651 - 2009

HORS CONCOURS
Fred Hersch - Whirl - Fred Hersch: piano / John Hébert: contrabaixo / Eric McPherson: bateria / PALMETTO RECORDS - PM2143 - 2010
Jessica Williams - Touch - Jessica Williams: piano solo / ORIGIN RECORDS - Origin 82566 - 2010


MELHORES de 2010
By Marcilio TheJazzMan
De forma apressada, por motivo de viagem, apresento minha relação daquilo que ouvi de melhor até o momento. Peço a D. Cláudio, coordenador desta lista, uma nova oportunidade em janeiro de 2011, visto que parte do meu material auditivo se encontrava na Capital Federal. Assim, muita coisa que já foi comentada e considerada de boa qualidade, e apesar dos CDs me pertencerem, e alguns casos, não tive tempo de avaliá-los.
CDs nacionais: destaco quatro, dois de cantores e dois instrumentais:
Áurea Martins - depontacabeça, selo Biscoito Fino
Mílton Nascimento - ... E a gente sonhando, selo EMI (a volta do velho Mílton, grande CD!)
Jovino Santos Neto - Veja o Som, selo Adventure Music
Bamboo, selo Brasilianos (grande CD instrumental, fantástico!)

CDs estrangeiros:
Vincenzo Danise - Immaginando un trio, vol. 1, selo RADAR (meu melhor CD do ano sem sombra de dúvidas. Os outros não estão em ordem de classificação).
Nico Gori Millenovecento(feat. Tom Harrel) - Shadows, selo Emarcy
Bill Mays Trio - Stuff Turkey, selo Five Star Records
Nuno Campos Trio - My debut for the ones close to me (Nuno é um baixista, mas o pianista Marco Mezquida é muito bom. Basta ouvir Letter to Evan).
Helen Sung - Going Express, selo Sunnyside (gravado ao vivo no Jazz Standard, em quarteto, com o sax de Seamus Blake, francamente em ascenção. E a pianista também).
Manabu Onishi Trio - Wish, selo Atelier Sawano
Marcello Tonolo Trio - Lazy Afternoon, selo Caligola Records
Piero Frassi Trio + Lee Konitz - Konitz plays Konitz, selo Philology
Paola Arnesano - The Police Songbook, selo Fo(u)r
Ted Rosenthal Trio - Impromptu, selo Playscape Recordings
Antonio Zambrini Trio - Songs from the Procol Harum Book, selo Abeat
Yoshio Suzuki - My dear pianists, selo One
Piero Frassi Trio, aquele CD que não me recordo o nome e nem o encontrei aqui em casa, mas tá aqui.

DVD DO ANO
Stefano Bollani - Carioca Live (o melhor DVD de JAZZ e MPB dos últimos anos, imperdível sob todos os aspectos).
Estarei de recesso até o dia 02/01/2011.
A todos os amigos um Feliz Natal e um 2011 com muita saúde e PAZ.
Marcilio

Dr.Billy Taylor 1921-2010

Jazz Legend Dr. Billy Taylor Dies at 89
By: Brian Scott Lipton · Dec 29, 2010 · New York
Billy Taylor ( July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010 )
Jazz legend Dr. Billy Taylor died in New York on December 28 of heart failure. He was 89 years old.
Taylor was a noted pianist, and was the house pianist at Birldand early in his career, where he performed with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. He also appeared on stage with Cozy Coles' Quintet in Billy Rose's show, The Seven Lively Arts, and played in the pit band for Ethel Waters' show, Blue Holiday.
During his lifetime, he composed over 350 songs, including "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free," which became an anthem of the civil rights movement.
Taylor was the bandlander for TV's The David Frost Show, and also hosted and programmed such radio stations WLIB and WNEW in New York, and several award-winning series for National Public Radio. In the early 1980s, Taylor became the arts correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning.
In 1989, Taylor started his own "Taylor Made" record label to document his own music, releasing four albums, and in the late 90s, "Soundpost Records," releasing his two final recording.
He also served as the Artistic Advisor for Jazz to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he developed the Louis Armstrong Legacy series and the annual Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival.
His many honors included two Peabody Awards, an Emmy, a Grammy, and the National Medal of Arts.
He survived by his wife, Theodora and his daughter, Kim Taylor-Thompson.

2 Sem. 2010 - Part Twenty

Joyce & Tutty Moreno
Samba, Jazz & Outras Bossas






by Dr. Leandro "Leo" Lage, The MPB-Jazz Guru
Quando surgiu em 1968,grande parte da crítica torceu o nariz para ela: ninguém acreditava naquela compositora-cantora: seria uma "jogada" da gravadora porque ela era uma "gata"? Bom,os anos vieram provar que Joyce além de uma menina linda,também viria a ser uma de nossas maiores compositoras,ótima cantora,violonista talentosa,até hoje,firme na estrada como vem provar nesse seu último disco que divide com seu marido,obaterista e também saxofonista Tutty Moreno(este cara fez um disco irrepreensível chamado Forças da Alma,lembram-se ?). Nesse CD Joyce e Tutty comemoram 30 anos de casado e convidaram um time de músicos imbatível. Manjem só:Jorge Helder(baixo),Lula Galvão(violão),Nailor Proveta(sax alto),Teco Cardoso(flauta,sax barítono),Hélio Alves(piano),Vittor Santos(trombone),Jessé Sadoc(trumpete),Paulo Aragão(violão) e Henrique Band(sax tenor).
Querem ouvir jazz,bossa-nova e samba ? Tudo isso você encontrará aqui,da mais alta qualidade. Das 14 músicas 10 são de Joyce e as outras são de Moacir Santos(April child), da dupla Luiz Reis e Haroldo Barbosa(Devagar com a louça),Baden e Vinicius(Berimbau,num arranjo notável de Dori Caymmi) e Embalo(Tenório Jr. numa linda e comovente homenagem). Um dos pontos altos do disco é a participação desse grande pianista,Hélio Alves. No cair de 2010,eis que surge esse discaço. Não percam!


Dado Moroni Trio
Shapes




by Claudio Botelho
Some twenty years came by since Ron Carter presented this Italian piano player (and, now, singer…) to the American jazz aficionados. Last year, I listened to his “Solodado” (Abeat Jazz/2009), comprising solos of some well known songs and others of his make. Man, what a Yamaha was that piano! I never thought it could sound so good! Was the Bösendorfer, now owned by that Japanese company, the culprit? Maybe so, as Yamahas used to have a metalized signature.
Anyway, this time he is with another sound maven, acting as a bonus in what is already a very satisfying work.
It seems, he pays tribute to McCoy Tyner and Shirley Horn in his renderings of his own “Brother Alfred” (which could as well be named “Brother McCoy”) and “Here’s to Life” which, nobody can deny, has been a hallmark of that late diva. The veteran pianist was mentioned in Moroni’s acknowledgments. “Brother Alfred”was performed in an up tempo mood which wouldn’t be my preferred pace to homage Tyner, as his faster playing seems a little mixed up, presenting notes in excess. This distracts the listener from following the natural course of the song. Still, that is the way Tyner is more easily recognizable. It may explain the reason behind Moroni. I’d rather listen to McCoy Tyner in slower tempi…
“Here’s to Life” was sung in a respectful manner: the spirit of the song was judiciously followed and he decided not to abstract from its main line. It wasn’t jazz in fact, although he chose to sing it in a very particular way, which was faster than Horn’s, just bordering the line that would transform it altogether. But he succeeds very well in his kinda masculine rough singing: The message came out unaltered. If, as I guess, he was thinking of her, kudos for him! (I know, I Know: he said it was dedicated to Bobby Durham – “drummer extraordinaire” – but I couldn’t stop thinking of her…)
Every jazz musician is potentially a composer and a singer and, in this work, Moroni shows he’s not any different…
Two Brazilian gem songs from Lins (“Love Dance”) and Jobim (“Desafinado”) compose his portfolio and the trio presents them with panache, showing a right balance and a very interesting intro arrangement in its “Desafinado” presentation. It was never out-of-tune!
The welcome piece, a song from his make named “Ballade pour Gianni”, is uncommonly plenty of optimism for a ballad. I did not have the lucky of knowing that master sax man (Gianni Basso) but, judging by the easy flow of that song, he was really someone special!
Electronic Keyboards…Why use it here? I don’t know, maybe for a change… Listen to “For the time Being” and “Shark Attack”. They’re not bad, by any standards, but I would be happier with the other way. Anyway, listen to the fancy atmosphere of the first of these. In the following, the shark attacks first with a bass and the drums, then uses the keyboards. The danger prevails all the time…
You can also listen to the imaginative “the Duck and the Duchess”, also by him, and to “F.B.S”, which presents a piano-bass duel and, once more, Tyner arrived…
All in all, an excellent production from TCB, with a very important support from Zerodiecistudio of Genève.

Riccardo Arrighini - UmbriaJazz/Brasilia

by Claudio Botelho
No último dia 12, ao cair da tarde, tivemos o prazer de assisti-lo no auditório da Livraria Cultura, aqui em Brasília. Pequenino, com cerca de 150 lugares apenas, aquele ambiente nos proporcionou um clima bastante informal, pois ficamos muito próximo daquele artista que, de resto, pelo seu modo informal de ser, turbinou bastante a sensação de estar num clube de bairro, vendo alguém amigo fazendo arte (no bom sentido).
O repertório variou entre os luminares Verdi, Chopin e Vivaldi. Pessoal meio barra pesada, não?
Nosso grupo integrava a primeira fila, de modo que o palco ligeiramente elevado em relação ao nível dos assentos o deixava ainda mais perto da gente. Não mais que três metros nos separavam.
Na palco, um piano K.Kawai de cauda, postado em diagonal em relação à sala. E ele.
O músico de Lucca, na Itália, conterrâneo de um dos dois italianos supracitados (Verdi, salvo engano meu), iniciou seu trabalho de desconstrução e reconstrução dos temas, numa alternância pouco usual no jazz, pois, comumente, embarca-se no avião, levanta-se vôo para, lá na frente, pousar no mesmo aeroporto, numa espécie de vôo panorâmico.
Ele fez diferente: subia, descia no mesmo aeroporto, subia outra vez, voltava e seguia assim, sucessivamente, até o pouso final. Por vezes, nos perdíamos, mas as descidas constantes nos lembravam onde estávamos...
De formação clássica, já tendo feito vários trabalhos jazzísticos mais convencionais, me pareceu que ele, sendo bom filho, à casa paterna retornava. Teria sido, então, nesse amalgama que ele se encontrara em definitivo? O tempo é que vai dizer...
Como conhecíamos quatro CDs de sua lavra apenas de músicas de Jobim, ao final do concerto, um de nosso grupo pediu-lhe para tocar Luísa. Ele, simpatississimamente acedeu, mas esclareceu que conhecera a música apenas no estúdio, no momento da gravação de um daqueles quatro trabalhos, mas que iria tentar. Sentou-se novamente, iniciou, mas não deu conta. Lamentou, num tom decepcionado, mas brincalhão e, assim, todos fomos cumprimentá-lo, pedir autógrafos, tirar fotos, etc.
Naquele momento, havíamos acabado de assistir um grande artista que vibra com o que faz; que estava muito feliz e que havia homenageado, dentre os três escolhidos, alguém que considera o maior de todos os compositores: Chopin que, sendo austríaco, para ele transcendia, em sua musicalidade, qualquer barreira bairrista que ele pudesse levantar em proveito de tantos concorrentes fortíssimos que existem na Itália...
A música clássica foi homenageada e o jazz mais do que prestigiado, pois ali tínhamos testemunhado um grande artesão que soube fundir, como ninguém, duas das mais sublimes formas da comunicação humana!
Bravo, Riccardo!

Marambaia Quintet at UmbriaJazz/Brasilia

By Leonardo Barroso

Grupo de música instrumental brasileira formado em 2002 em Brasília. Marambaia é um quinteto que tem se apresentado pelo Brasil e exterior mostrando um pouco de suas composiçoes e arranjos de músicas das mais variadas origens (choro, rock & roll, MPB, ..). O grupo é formado por:

Alexandre Macarrão (baixo)

Célio Maciel (bateria)

Léo Barbosa (percussão)

Marcelo Lima (bandolim e violão)

Marcus Moraes (violão)

As fotos são do show feito pelo Marambaia na Livraria Cultura em Brasília ( dezembro/2010), como parte do projeto da UmbriaJazz da Italia, abrindo para o pianista Riccardo Arrighini.

http://www.marambaia.net/

www.myspace.com/marambaias

James Moody 1925 - 2010

James Moody 1925-2010




By Doug Ramsey / Rifftides
James Moody, 1925-2010
We knew it was coming. That doesn't make it easier. James Moody died this afternoon of the pancreatic cancer he had known about for nearly a year but did not make public until November. He was 85. Moody was in hospice in San Diego, his hometown for many years. His wife Linda was by his side, as she was almost every moment since they met.
Moody became famous for his solo on "Moody's Mood For Love," a record he made when he was 24. The lengthy obituary by George Varga in The San Diego Union-Tribune contains a passage about Moody's reaction to the fuss over the record. It captures the combination of modesty, confidence and kindness that endeared him to everyone with whom he came in contact.
"I don't pay any attention to that stuff," he said. "When I made that record, I was a tenor saxophonist playing alto for the first time on record and I was trying to find the right notes, to be truthful. People later said to me: 'You must have been very inspired when you recorded that.' And I said: 'Yeah I was inspired to find the right notes!' "
He recorded "Moody's Mood for Love" in Sweden in 1949, during a European visit that started as a three-week vacation and lasted several years. Being abroad was an eye-opening experience for Mr. Moody, who never forgot the racism he encountered here in his native country, both before and after his European sojourn.
"In America, I thought there was something wrong with me," said Mr. Moody, who recalled how, as an Air Force private in North Carolina, he was not allowed to eat in the same restaurants where German prisoners of war dined.
"In Paris, they treated me like they treated each other, which was altogether different from how they treated me here. When I was in France, I said: `Ah, it isn't me (that's the problem in America), it's them.' I felt good, and now I know there's no one in this world who's better than me. By the same token, I'm not better than anyone else."
Moody's funeral will be in San Diego on December 18. Details are in the Union-Tribune obituary. Peter Keepnews's obituary in The New York Times has an extensive review of Moody's career from his earliest days with Dizzy Gillespie's big band in the early 1940s. For previous Rifftides pieces about Moody, go here and here.
The last time we were together, we were in a roomful of friends enjoying dinner and one another's company. During a round of toasts I caught Moody raising his glass of water with lemon just after he said, "To us. To life."

2 Sem. 2010 - Part Nineteen

Marcello Tonolo Trio
Lazy Afternoon

by Claudio Botelho
The venerable Willis Connover and his Voice of America helped a lot to disseminate jazz through Europe and middle-Asia for over forty years, in the course of the last century. Jazz has crossed the Atlantic and now is firmly established in countries like Italy, for instance, where, today, there is a plethora of fine musicians. The jazz pianism, in those lands, has reached a level of excellence difficult to beat. Names like D’Andrea, Pierannunzi, and Bollani have been leading the way…
Those genius now have a following: Take Luca Manutzi; Ettore Carucci; the poets Vicenzo Danize and Riccardo Arrighini, just to name very few of them, and you’ll know that, at least in the land of the Fazioli’s, the elephants have all the reasons in the world to keep worried: There are many, many a finger eager to caress the ivories…
And, see, I’m not even talking about the sumptuosity of Rava or the PACEfulness of Tavolazzi!
Connover, in those days, speaked of a music that was “partially planned and partially spontaneous” which, in essence, described jazz as it should be. At least the more common –place jazz, as he wasn’t thinking of Cecil Taylor, for instance, or any other like this one.
The sad reality is that jazz, which someone very appropriately named “The American Classical Music”is mostly gone from America, having established itself firmly in Italy and, more recently, in Japan where it gets all the respect it deserves. My cannons, once settled to reach the land of the founders of that spontaneous art, are now firmly aimed to Eastern Europe, as I still have much ammunition to spend…
But, where are Mr. Marcello Tonolo and his “Lazy Afternoon” in the middle of all this? Comprised of eight well proven songs, this work was planned in excess and, so, gave little room to improvisation. If I were a bad boy, I would call it “soft jazz”. But I’m not, and so, just say: skip it, as Mr. Tonolo is not any newcomer and, as carefully prepared a recorded as this work was, it never reached the necessary degree of novelty to make it worthwhile. He can do better, if he wants to follow the paths so well established by his fellow countrymen.


Barbra Streisand and Quartet
One Night Only: At The Village Vanguard




by Leonardo Barroso
I was never a fan of Barbra Streisand. She sings songs that are not my cup of tea. So I was amazed to see this CD/DVD recorded at the Village Vanguard, with 123 seats filled, and a quartet with Tamir Hendelman on Piano & arrangments ( plus guitar, drums, bass ). Most of the songs are standards and two of her own.
Well what about the music ? Barbra is well known to sing for thousands of screaming fans, and now she's at the "Jazz Temple", with a true jazz quartet behind her. I felt she was nervous at the begining, but that was very good. She was almost a jazz singer !
This is the first time I really liked and enjoyed this set. And there is a plus: lots of VIP's having a great time ( Hillary,Chelsea and Bill Clinton/ Sarah Jessica Parker/ Alan and Marilyn Bergman).


by John Bush
Barbra Streisand’s first time back performing in the Village in almost 50 years is a special occasion, a fact obviously recognized by the thrilled audience that was jam-packed into the tiny Village Vanguard (barely ten dozen seats) as well as by Streisand herself, who expertly conjures the intimacy and tenderness needed for such a special program. Her song selection includes a few career touchstones ("Evergreen," "The Way We Were," "Make Someone Happy"), but also includes references to a host of Village or nightclub favorites, led by “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” and “Ne Me Quitte Pas” (the latter of which she uses to reminisce about seeing Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris). With backing from a quartet led by pianist Tamir Hendelman, Streisand sounds confident, energetic, and occasionally reflective about her career in music; she even reaches back to her '60s repertoire to perform a pair of Rodgers & Hart standards, "My Funny Valentine" and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered." Granted, eight of the other numbers come from her 2009 studio outing, Love Is the Answer, although they're fairly unobtrusive being largely nightclub standards themselves. Surprisingly, the recording excises very little from the original program; Streisand frequently converses with members of the audience (many of whom hold special memories for her), introduces a string of celebrities, and even finds time to ask a young friend how old she is right in the middle of “In the Wee Small Hours” (which Frank Sinatra never would’ve tolerated). Streisand’s voice is peerless as well, and although nearing the age of 70 her strength with the high notes is waning, she remains the same expressive and endearing vocalist she was decades earlier.