Return of the Guitar Man - The New York City Jazz Record

The Point of the Moon Falkner Evans (CAP)
Frame of Reference Ben Van Gelder (BVG Music)
Duotone Ken Fowser/Behn Gillece (Posi-Tone)
Mary Lou Williams - The Next 100 Years
Virginia Mayhew (Renma)
by Ken Dryden
Oklahoma native Falkner Evans has been playing jazz
in New York for over a quarter century. The pianist’s
The Point of the Moon features his regular rhythm
section of bassist Belden Bullock and drummer Matt
Wilson, expanded to a quintet with the addition of
tenor saxist Greg Tardy and trumpeter Ron Horton,
with keyboardist Gary Versace added on two songs.
With the addition of the horns, Evans is more
interested in focusing on the sound of the ensemble
rather than putting the spotlight on himself. He
penned seven originals including two terrific postbop
works: the boisterous, intricate “Altered Soul” and
hard-charging “Cheer Up”. Versace is added on organ
for Evans’ playful “Off the Top”, a snappy number
featuring Tardy. The pianist’s title track is hard to
classify, as Versace’s accordion gives it a French cabaret
flavor while Wilson’s percussion suggests a march, yet
the colorful ensembles and Horton’s potent trumpet
leave a lasting impression. Evans’ shimmering setting
of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “O Grande Amor” features
Horton’s rich trumpet and his own understated solo
and while Alec Wilder’s happy ballad “While We’re
Young” has long been a favorite of jazz instrumentalists,
in his arrangement Evans uses the horns to fill out the
unison passages and as sporadic background color.
A native of the Netherlands, alto saxophonist Ben
Van Gelder moved to New York City to continue his
jazz education at the New School and has studied with
Lee Konitz, George Garzone and Dick Oatts. For his
debut CD Frame of Reference, he uses several musicians
with whom he has worked regularly: vibraphonist
Peter Schlamb, pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Rick Rosato
and drummer Craig Weinrib.
Unlike many young musicians obsessed with
presenting an all-original program their first time out,
Van Gelder is willing to put himself to the acid test
of playing well-known jazz standards. A duet with
Parks on “‘Round Midnight” avoids being overly
dramatic, Van Gelder’s dry-toned alto conveying the
piece’s lyricism in a refreshing manner. John Coltrane’s
“Countdown” isn’t performed nearly as often and Van
Gelder tackles it in a free-spirited manner, joined only
by Rosato and Weinrib. His originals show promise as
well. “Peter and the Wolf” has no relation to the famous
Prokofiev composition; instead it has the feeling of ‘60s
free jazz. The original title track is a brooding work for
brass, reeds and the rhythm section, adding the
sensational young trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire,
trombonist Corey King, bass clarinetist Joris Roelofs
and tenor saxophonist Kylie Wilson.
Tenor saxophonist Ken Fowser and vibraphonist
Behn Gillece have been working together for several
years, building upon their chemistry as familiar faces
to Smalls regulars. Duotone is their third release for
Posi-Tone, with a new rhythm section consisting of
pianist Donald Vega (who has made recordings with
Claudio Roditi, Anthony Wilson and Bennie Wallace),
bassist David Wong (who has worked with Roy
Haynes, the Heath Brothers and Russell Malone) and
drummer Willie Jones III (veteran of the bands of
Sonny Rollins, Phil Woods, Eric Reed and Roy
Hargrove, among many others).
The co-leaders are comfortable sharing the
spotlight, often improvising together over the rhythm
section and soloing with gusto. Gillece’s four-mallet
technique is formidable while Fowser’s melodic, bigtoned
approach to soloing is often spacious. Gillece
penned eight originals, starting with “Overcooked”, a
breezy hardbop vehicle. “Spontaneity” has an
underlying tension at first before evolving into another
uptempo workout while “Low Ball” has a funky, hip
attitude. Fowser wrote two songs, including the
easygoing Latin-flavored “Bongo” and the playful,
catchy “One For G”, a natural set closer with
enthusiastic solos from the co-leaders and Vega.
Since entering the jazz scene, tenor saxophonist
Virginia Mayhew has excelled in every setting. She has
recorded with the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra,
Clark Terry, Kenny Barron, Al Grey, Terry Gibbs, the
Sahib Shihab big band and DIVA but has focused on
her own bands in recent years.
Mary Lou Williams, one of the most versatile
pianists stylistically and a prolific composer and
arranger, has been unjustly neglected since her death
in 1981. Mayhew offers a different perspective by
making her salute to Mary Lou a pianoless affair. She is
joined by an excellent rhythm section of guitarist Ed
Cherry, bassist Harvie S and drummer Andy Watson,
trombonist Wycliffe Gordon guesting on several tracks.
Mayhew surveyed a wide range of Williams’ work
before choosing material for Mary Lou Williams - The
Next 100 Years, mixing well-known works and less
frequently performed songs. The bluesy, melancholy
“What’s Your Story, Morning Glory?” begins as an
intimate duet for the leader and Cherry, her robust
tenor supported by the guitarist’s spacious, soft
backing. Gordon’s growling muted trombone adds a
sense of humor to this normally somber piece while a
whimsical take of “Waltz Boogie” includes a potent
bass solo. The driving rendition of “Medi II” packs a
powerful punch while the unusual “Cancer” (from The
Zodiac Suite) is a multifaceted number, part tone poem,
with a dash of bop and a bit of Latin flavor as well.
The leader’s originals also shine. Mayhew’s blues
“One For Mary Lou” starts with her blistering solo,
though the versatile Gordon nearly steals the show
with his expressive offering. Wrapping up the CD is
her deliciously loping blues “For Mary Lou”.
For more information, visit jazzbeat.com, benvangelder.com,
posi-tone.com and renmarecordings.com. These leaders
celebrate the release of their CDs at Smalls on Oct. 1st
(Falkner Evans), 5th (Ben Van Gelder), 13th (Ken Fowser/
Behn Gillece) and 28th (Virginia Mayhew). See Calendar.
GLOBE UNITY: HUNGARY
Live at the Budapest Jazz Club
Béla Szakcsi Lakatos (Budapest Music Center)
Quintet (feat. Miklos Lukacs & Ferenc Kovacs)
Trio BraamDeJoodeVatcher (Budapest Music Center)
Returning Sandor Szabó/Kevin Kastning (Greydisc)
by Tom Greenland
Hungary, ancestral home of Franz Liszt, Zoltán
Kodály and Béla Bartók, has also had an impact on
jazz and free improvised music through György
Szabados, Károly Binder, Mihály Dresch, Rudolph
Tomsits and expats like Attila Zoller and Gábor
Szabó. Historically, Magyar musicians have mined
regional folk idioms to forge a distinctive style,
evident in the three releases reviewed below.
Béla Szakcsi Lakatos fuses classical, jazz and
folk into a unique hybrid. Live at the Budapest Jazz
Club is a solo piano set alternating originals and
standards, beginning with expansive gestures that
plunge and soar across the keyboard, replete with
plush harmonies that ooze and surge in endless
cycles, intricate yet effortless, impressionistic yet
focused. By “I Don’t Know”, the third track, Lakatos
hits breathtaking climaxes, hands intricately in sync
while retaining uncanny independence, like a lyrical
Cecil Taylor or a skronky Keith Jarrett. “Body &
Soul” is barely recognizable, perhaps because the
pianist seems to get sidetracked by each and every
harmonic opportunity. “Hail”, muscular and
intense, is followed by “Stella by Starlight”, more
‘jazzy’ for its driven pulse, broken phrases and
de-clichéd bop, concluded by an exuberant blues
that manages to swing without grinding the beat.
Pianist Michiel Braam, close compadres Wilbert
de Joode (bass) and Michael Vatcher (drums), plus
Hungarian guests Ferenc Kovács (violin/trumpet)
and Miklós Lukács (cimbalom), comprise the Trio
BraamDeJoodeVatcher Quintet, whose album
employs Braam’s compositions as skeleton sketches
for a free-blowing session. The music is of a texture,
less a succession of solos than an assembly of
revolving conversations. The lock-up between the
piano and Lukács’ hammered dulcimer on “Q16”,
“Q9” and “Q13” is echoed by similar simpatico
between bowed bass and violin on “Q19” and
elsewhere. Magyar soul is laid bare on “Q16” and
“Sziklarajzok” in Kovács’ Roma-drenched violin
and on “Q2”, a Danube-meets-the-delta blues.
On Returning, Sándor Szabó duets with fellow
guitarist Kevin Kastning, their acoustic 12-string
baritone models blending with deep, rich resonance.
Szabó has studied classical, jazz and Far Eastern
music, but his approach is highly abstract, creating
harmonic canvases defying identification,
suggestive of a parallel tonal universe. In spite of
his uncompromising modernity, Szabó seems to be
in love with the sound of sound, lingering over each
eerie chord as if afraid to hear it fade. The session
suffers a bit from sameness, but “Engelschreit”,
“Over the Hills”, “Sempiternal” and “Vanishing
Point” all contain mesmerizing musical moments.
For more information, visit bmcrecords.hu and
sandorszabo.com
THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | October 2011 23