JENNY SCHEINMAN

Ellington Saxophone Encounters
Mark Masters Ensemble (feat. Gary Smulyan) (Capri)
by George Kanzler
The classic big band sax section of two altos, two
tenors and a baritone provides the template for this
project, rounded out to an octet by piano, bass and
drums. It’s a format that was actually used by Duke
Ellington on some of his ‘private’ recordings and one
employed by Benny Carter on his celebrated Impulse
recording Further Definitions. Mark Masters proves
equal to those examples, producing inspired sax
section arrangements that belie the simplicity of the
material: fully half of the tunes are 12-bar blues;
another two based on “I Got Rhythm” changes, the
others in standard pop AABA form. Masters and
baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan wanted to make
an Ellingtonian album with a difference and they have
definitely succeeded. They feature tunes written alone,
or co-written with Ellington, by famous members of
his saxophone section, some for Duke’s orchestra, but
others for outside projects or at times when the
composers were not working for Ellington.
Masters invokes the sound of the Ellington sax
section throughout this recording, from the familiar
launching pad riffs and rhythmic kicks of “Rockin’ In
Rhythm” to the clarinet obbligato of Don Shelton over
DEBORAH LATZ
FIG TREE Deborah’s third album will be released
May 7, 2013 on June Moon Productions
PRE-RELEASE GIGS:
CORNELIA ST. CAFE
Saturday, April 20 / 6pm
Deborah Latz, vox
Jon Davis, piano
Zach Brock, violin
Ray Parker, Bass
Willard Dyson, drums
Reservations (212) 989 9319
“Deborah is a beautiful singer
and a great talent. Fig Tree is
wonderful. Really wonderful!”
— Sheila Jordan,
2012 NEA Jazz Master
“...Latz demonstrates an
outstanding range of technique
and creative musicality...”
— Scott Yanow,
excerpt Fig Tree liners
“I am a fan of Fig Tree!”
— Jana Herzen,
President Motema Music
www.deborahlatz.com
SOMETHIN’ JAZZ CLUB
Saturday, April 27 / 9pm
Deborah Latz, vox
Jon Davis, piano
Ray Parker, bass
Willard Dyson, drums
Reservations (212) 371 7657
Photo ©Todd Weinstein
the blues theme of Johnny Hodges’ “The Peaches Are
Better Down the Road”. Masters, much like Ellington,
employs the sax section and full ensemble as a
completely collaborative contributor to the music, with
backgrounds and riffs rising behind soloists and
transitions filled by vamps and shout choruses.
Smulyan is the main soloist, his robust sound featured
on 10 of the 12 tracks, but the other saxophonists all get
their spots, as do pianist Bill Cunliffe, bassist Tom
Warrington and drummer Joe La Barbera. But the
special delight of this album is the reclamation of tunes
not heard in decades or, indeed, a lifetime, like the
Hodges-Ellington “Esquire Swank”, Jimmy Hamilton’s
“Ultra Blue” and Harry Carney’s lovely ballad “We’re
In Love Again”, done as a baritone quartet number
with a gorgeous coda by Smulyan.
For more information, visit caprirecords.com. Smulyan is at
Smoke Mar. 8th-9th with Mike LeDonne and Blue Note
Mar. 25th. See Calendar.
Hagar’s Song
Charles Lloyd/Jason Moran (ECM)
by Joel Roberts
Saxophonist Charles Lloyd, who turns 75 this month,
has enjoyed a remarkable late-career run, helped by his
association with much-younger pianist Jason Moran.
Despite his own flourishing solo career, Moran has
become a key member of Lloyd’s working quartet,
appearing on the group’s last three releases. Moran
wasn’t even born when Lloyd released his landmark
1966 album Forest Flower, an innovative blend of
postbop, free jazz and world music that made Lloyd
one of the era’s top jazz stars and even won him a
following among rock listeners. But the younger artist
shares the elder’s forward-thinking outlook and
openness to exploring music that cuts across genres.
Their latest collaboration is a duo recording, an
intimate and often melancholy affair that highlights
their musical symbiosis. The album features modernist
reworkings of jazz standards, as well as rock classics
by Bob Dylan and the Beach Boys. Lloyd and Moran
dig deep into Duke Ellington’s “Mood Indigo” and
George Gershwin’s “Bess, You Is My Woman Now”,
mining both for all their bluesy lyrical beauty. They
also offer radical reinterpretations of Dylan’s “I Shall
Be Released” and Brian Wilson’s “God Only Knows”,
turning the former into a memorable slice of gospel
jazz and the latter into a tender jazz ballad. (The rock
excursions should come as no surprise: Lloyd played
on several Beach Boys albums in the ‘70s and was a
friend of Dylan and The Band.)
The centerpiece is the five-part title suite composed
by Lloyd and inspired by the harrowing tale of his
great-great grandmother, a slave who was uprooted
from her Mississippi home as a child and sold to another
slave owner in Tennessee. With Lloyd switching from
tenor to alto to flute, the suite starts from the blues and
shifts to increasingly abstract and evocative
improvisations to tell the heartbreaking story.
Lloyd is playing as well as ever deep into his
eighth decade - elegant, ethereal and energetic. And in
Moran, with his powerful percussive approach and
daunting technique, he appears to have found the
perfect partner to keep his creative juices flowing.
For more information, visit ecmrecords.com. Lloyd is at
Metropolitan Museum of Art Mar. 15th. See Calendar.
Wait, who?
Ran Blake
John Medeski
Frank London
Dominique Eade
Mat Maneri
Sarah Jarosz
Marty Ehrlich
and many more.
What?
Fabulous musicians + boundary-smashing music.
In other words, Contemporary Improvisation.
Why?
New England Conservatory celebrates 40 years of CI.
When?
Four dierent appearances March 17-23.
Where?
Cornelia Street Café, Symphony Space, Barbès.
Want more info? Go to necmusic.edu/ci40
THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | March 2013 31