Herman Leonard's Stolen Moments June 6,7,8 - New Jersey Jazz ...

Other Views
By Joe Lang NJJS Music Committee Chair
As I do most months, I will give you words about
new releases that are not part of NJJS inventory.
■ CATHERINE RUSSELL is one special singer. She
comes from an impressive musical background. Her
father, Luis Russell, played piano with many jazz
greats, and had a popular big band starting in the
late 1920s, one that was eventually taken over by
Louis Armstrong, with Russell staying on board as
the musical director. On the maternal side, Carlene
Ray, her mother, has had a long and successful
career as a jazz bassist and vocalist. The genes sure
came through for Catherine Russell, as she has
emerged from a lengthy period as an actress and
backup singer for many top pop acts to become a
fabulous jazz vocalist. Sentimental Streak
(World Village – 468075) is a stellar collection of
14 tunes that are reflective of her love for music
from the ‘20s and ‘30s. She is as at home with the
double entendre lyrics of songs recorded by Bessie
Smith, “Kitchen Man,” or Alberta Hunter, “My Old
Daddy’s Got a Brand New Way to Love,” as she is
with Alec Wilder and Loonis McGlohon’s lovely
ballad, “South to a Warmer Place.” Russell has great
phrasing, terrific time, exceptional communication
skills, and a way of making anything that she sings
sound like it was written just for her. She is small of
stature, but large of voice, a voice that is rich,
expressive and attractive. For this recording, she
has gathered musicians who understand the music
that Russell has chosen to include on the disc.
Pianists Larry Ham and Mark Shane, guitarists Mat
Munisteri and Larry Campbell, bassists Lee Hudson
and Byron Isaacs, and drummer Jimmy Wormworth
comprise the pool of talent that form the core of
her accompanists, with Howard Johnson on tuba,
Steven Bernstein on trumpet and Erik Lawrence
making occasional contributions. Accordionist
Rachelle Garniez adds some nifty licks on a song
that she wrote, “Broken Nose,” a new composition
that sounds like it could have been written in the
era that Russell visits for most of this recording. If
you are looking for some music that will jump right
into your CD player, Sentimental Streak is perfect
for you. (www.worldvillagemusic.com)
■ Classic Jazz Duets (Sweet Jazz Recordings)
is a duet recording by clarinetist ALLAN VACHÉ
and pianist MARK SHANE with special guest
vocalist TERRY BLAINE. These are players who,
like Catherine Russell mentioned above, prefer
giving new life to music written many years ago.
The album under consideration was recorded
during a gig at The Jazz Corner in Hilton Head.
Vaché, Shane and Blaine have been performing
JerseyReviewsJazz
Catherine Russell
will appear with the
Earl May Tribute
Band at Jazzfest
on Sunday June 8.
together quite often over the last decade or so, and
they always produce music that reflects the
musical fun that ensues when they get together.
The two gentlemen open with a lilting version of
“Amazing Grace.” They immediately follow with a
real contrast, playing it hot on “Ever Lovin’ Baby.”
On track three, “The Nearness of You,” Blaine
makes her first of five appearances on the album,
the others being “So Many Stars,” “That’s All,”
“Them There Eyes” and “How Come You Do Me Like
You Do.” Blaine has a distinctive style and sound
that is well suited to the music that she has made
the foundation of her repertoire. Shane is in top
form here. He is most often associated with playing
stride, and he certainly shows his stride chops on
this disc, but he clearly demonstrates throughout
this session that he cannot be so easily pigeonholed.
He has a sensitive side, as is beautifully
demonstrated on “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley
Square,” a number that also finds Vaché in a
caressing frame of mind. Vaché is a player who
keeps growing, and this is among the best recordings
of his artistry to come along. These two cats
connect on a special level. Their New Orleans style
take on “America the Beautiful” is uplifting and
optimistic. In fact, as the title of their closer
indicates, they are advocates of “The Good Life.”
(www.thejazzcorner.com)
■ When it comes to songwriters of the past several
decades, only a few have written pieces that carry
on in the tradition of Carmichael, Porter, Arlen and
the other creators of the Great American Songbook.
One of the best of these keepers of the flame is
Dave Frishberg who has written accomplished and
interesting songs, sometimes as a composer/
lyricist, and at others writing only the words. The
fine Minneapolis-based vocalist CONNIE
EVINGSON has recently released, Little Did I
Dream (Minnehaha Music – 2008), an album
containing 14 selections penned by Frishberg, eight
of which are solely his handiwork, with the other
six having his lyrics for tunes by other composers.
This is Evingson’s eighth album, and, like those that
I have heard in the past, is well sung and appealing.
She has engaged several local musicians, Gordy
Johnson on bass, Phil Hey on drums, Dave Karr on
flute and tenor sax, and Mark Henderson on alto
sax, plus a cat originally from the Twin Cities named
Frishberg, yes one also named Dave. The album is
one that lives up to expectations. Evingson has a
great feel for the Frishberg lyrics, and it is a delight
to hear her swing “Little Did I Dream,” seductively
assay “Peel Me a Grape,” capture the humor of
“Can’t Take You Nowhere” or “My Attorney Bernie,”
spin out the harsh cynicism of “Wheelers and
Dealers,” and show her hip side on “Zoot Walks In”
and “I Want to Be a Sideman.” She ends her
program with “Listen Here,” and I strongly suggest
that you do precisely that.
(www.connieevingson.com)
■ THE MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL 50TH
ANNIVERSARY ALL-STARS was formed to help
celebrate the milestone presentation of this legendary
gathering of jazz talent. Live at the 2007
Monterey Jazz Festival (Monterey Jazz
Festival Records – 30433) captures one of the
performances by this group at the 50th Anniversary
event. The band is comprised of leader Benny
Green on piano, Terence Blanchard on trumpet,
James Moody on tenor sax and flute, Derrick Hodge
on bass and Kendrick Scott on drums, with Nnenna
Freelon supplying the vocals. Calling these
performers all-stars is accurate. Green, Blanchard,
Moody and Freelon have a history of performing at
prior MJF events, while Hodge and Scott are
members of Blanchard’s regular group. To get
things off to a romping start, they play Dizzy
Gillespie’s “Bebop,” giving all of the instrumentalists
the opportunity to prove that their chops are
consistent with their billing. Carrying on the
connection to the MJF, Freelon comes onto the
bandstand to deliver lyrics that she penned for a
movement, “Romance,” from Gerald Wilson’s
“Theme for Monterey,” a suite that he composed
for the 40th Anniversary MJF After Freelon and
Moody have some fun with Duke Ellington’s
“Squeeze Me,” the instrumentalists visit Milt
Jackson’s “Monterey Mist.” Fittingly Freelon follows
with the Erroll Garner/Johnny Burke classic, “Misty.”
“Benny’s Tune,” written by guitarist Lionel Loueke,
has a distinctively different feel from the rest of the
40 __________________________________ June 2008