AprilCadence2013

Jazz Stories: A Photo History
wonderfully warped humor via anderson’s spirited vocals, including the band as a
massed chorus, on his signature anthem of nonconformity “don’t mow Your lawn.”
rinGinG The luminaTor, by George Gruntz (acT 9751, 2005). This
was Gruntz’s only solo piano album, and across a wide repertoire, all tunes
are engaging, from monk and dizzy to standards and not least his original
compositions, all rendered with an authority available only to those who have spent
plenty of time in both the club and the conservatory. George didn’t see jazz and
classical as an either/or choice, and this album makes a good argument for his
and/also approach, in which he has one foot on each side of where the fence
between them was once said to be...
TiGer BY The Tail, by the George Gruntz concert jazz Band (TcB 26702,
2006). a nice blend of old and new cjB colleagues, and Gruntz tunes with his
charts of band member’s compositions. Taking the cake in this regard is jack
Walrath’s “hollow Wind/passing Time,” as sublime an arrangement as Gruntz ever
wrote for a tune not his own, with Walrath soloing unconditionally in a way that
could have made even mingus smile down upon him.
radio daYs, by George Gruntz (TcB 27802, 2007). a mother lode unto itself,
this 10-cd set puts Gruntz at the helm of 2/3 of Germany’s premiere radio big
bands, hamburg’s ndr and Koln’s Wdr, for five discs apiece, at points also
including string ensembles, orchestras, and a cavalcade of guests such as steve
lacy, von freeman, dino saluzzi and erika stucky. The recordings date from
1969 to 2006, with an entire disc is devoted to the only recorded version of
Gruntz’s celebrated 1991 “chicago cantata” since its premiere at Grant park’s
petrillo Bandshell.
Though he was no longer able to play piano, Gruntz was conducting recordings of
the final version of his cjB in new York in december 2012. so there may be more
yet to come...
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in the summer of 1998, Gruntz and his concert jazz Band worked the canadian
festival circuit, beginning with three days’ rehearsal in vancouver, and ending up in
montreal on canada day.
along the way, they also played edmonton and saskatoon, as well as two us
gigs: ravinia, near chicago, and the Knitting factory in new York. it was my
good fortune to be along for the ride, camera in hand. a selection from the 50+
rolls i shot, including some of the following, were published the next year in the
magazine leica fotografie international.
79 | CadenCe Magazine | april May June 2013