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tomas fujiwara/
taylor ho Bynum
Stepwise
NOT TWO 828
★★★★
Drummer Tomas Fujiwara
and cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum
have a long, shared history
dating back to their high
school years two decades ago,
and on Stepwise, their second
duo outing, they vibrantly
demonstrate how they’ve
grown together. They continue to work together
in numerous ensembles, including Positive Catastrophe,
Thirteenth Assembly and Bynum’s
trio and sextet, and while their rapport and deepseated
understanding is readily apparent in all
of those contexts, there’s something especially
intimate here; Stepwise offers a genuine conversation
that ripples with a sense of pleasure they
enjoy in one another’s company.
Each player brought in a pair of tunes for the
occasion, but most of the pieces were freely
improvised; in both cases there’s a clear sense
of freedom as well as a strong compositional
feel even on the most rugged sections. Bynum
is one his generation’s most daring and skilled
Sid Selvidge
I Should Be Blue
ARCHER RECORDS 31935
★★★½
The late producer/musician Jim Dickinson
used to talk about the atmosphere in Memphis,
and how the air was thicker or heavier, and
somehow this murky milieu actually seeped
into the music recorded down there. Veteran
singer/guitarist Sid Selvidge played alongside
Dickinson in a group called Mudboy and the
Neutrons, and I’m sure he’d agree.
Selvidge’s latest solo CD—produced by
Don Dixon and recorded on magnetic tape—
is a collection of deceptive depth. Selvidge is
a Mississippi-born Memphis resident who has
a fascinating singing voice that blends countrified
folk, blues and jazz. In timbre, it’s similar to that
of Memphis songwriter Dan Penn, only more
gentle and malleable, and a couple shades prettier.
Opening with Tom T. Hall’s chestnut “That’s
How I Got To Memphis,” Selvidge exudes a
quiet confidence. As a performer, he mixes solid
original material with gems written by soul-folk
geniuses like Tim Hardin and Fred Neil.
Concentrating mostly on acoustic guitar, Selvidge
cedes some electric guitar duties to his
son, Steve—who is also a member of The Hold
Steady. Dixon plays several instruments, especially
the bass, and singer/songwriter Amy
Speace appears on four tunes. Selvidge’s own
vocal gifts are most apparent on two folk classics
from yesteryear. His loping version of Donovan’s
54 DOWNBEAT NOVEMBER 2010
horn men, so when
he uncorks high-velocity
flurries and tart
smears on a piece like
“Keys No Address,”
stoked brilliantly by
the drummer’s rangy
sense of swing, his
most outre extrapolations
maintain a rich
melodic structure that
verges on pure sonic
sculpture. In an era
when free-jazz drumming
tends to equate unbridled power with brilliance,
Fujiwara exercises impressive restraint; he
swings like mad and crafts fragile melodic lines
with his kit, unleashing his power judiciously. Yet
the real pleasure here is the often-conversational
tone, from the corkscrew melody-and-tunefuldrums
of “Comfort” to the smoldering muted
cornet and roiling beats in “Weather Conditions
May Vary.” There’s nothing conceptual or elaborate
about Stepwise; instead two musical partners
twist their comfort zones to push and prod one
another in exquisite dialogue. —Peter Margasak
stepwise: 3D; Keys No Address; Stepwise; Two Abbeys; Comfort;
Weather Conditions May Vary; Iris; Splits; Detritus; B.C. (43:30)
Personnel: Tomas Fujiwara, drums; Taylor Ho Bynum, cornet.
ordering info: nottwo.com
“Catch The Wind” (with Speace) is affecting, but
his yearning rendition of Neil’s contemplative
ode “The Dolphins” is most evocative. Closing
coyly with Duke Ellington’s “Do Nothin’ Till
You Hear From Me,” Selvidge’s quiet vocal
power is even more apparent. —Mitch Myers
I should Be Blue: That’s How I Got to Memphis, Don’t Make
Promises (You Can’t Keep), Catch The Wind, Dimestore Angel, I’ll
Be Here In The Morning; Lucky That Way; Fine Hotel; The Dolphins;
A Blonde Headed Girl (In A Convertible Automobile); Two; You’re
Gonna Look Just Like A Monkey (When You Get Old); Do Nothin’
Till You Hear From Me. (37:55)
Personnel: Sid Selvidge: vocals, acoustic guitar (1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9),
electric guitar (6, 12), baritone guitar (10); Don Dixon; bass (1, 2,
3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11), piano (2, 8, 10), baritone guitar (3), background
vocals (4, 9), acoustic guitar (8, 9), water glasses (8), organ (10);
Steve Selvidge; electric guitar (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11), acoustic guitar
(8); Paul Taylor; drums (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12), washtub
bass (4); Amy Speace; vocals (3, 4, 5, 10); Al Gamble; organ (5, 7,
9, 11); Sam Shoup; upright bass (6, 12), piano (6); Deborah Swiney;
shaker (7); Susan Marshall; backing vocals (7, 9); Reba Russell;
backing vocals (7, 9), Amy LeVere; upright bass (8).
ordering info: archer-records.com
tim Warfield
A Sentimental Journey
CRISS CROSS 1324
★★★½
A Sentimental Journey is saxophonist Tim Warfield’s
sixth album as a leader for Criss Cross.
Influenced by those players Warfield calls the
“romantic tenors” (like Lester Young and Ben
Webster), his big, brawny sound is full of blues
inflection and soul. His tone recalls Houston Person’s:
round, full, with just enough edge and bite.
Both Warfield and trumpeter Terell Stafford, who
is on five of the album’s eight cuts, dance around
the beat like the best blues musicians, sometimes
ahead, sometimes behind, never right on it.
“Sentimental Journey,” which opens the record,
tells you what this album is about: strong,
passionate and soulful blowing over a set of familiar
tunes that are given enough wrinkles to
make them fresh to those who’ve heard them
many times over. Warfield gives the title track
a lazy 6/4 treatment and adds bars in 4 and 3 to
the form. “My Man,” on which Stafford lays out,
begins with a march feel with Warfield stating the
melody on soprano before settling into a forwardmoving
medium swing.
Warfield subs 6/4 for 4/4 time at the ends of
the uptempo “A” sections of “Crazy Rhythm.”
This clever yet minor change gives the listener
who knows the tune’s form a pleasant surprise.
The ballads “Speak Low” and “In A Sentimental
Mood” are given quiet, tender readings, and
“Here’s That Rainy Day” features Warfield on
soprano and Stafford on flugel over a relaxed
quasi-bossa. Organist Pat Bianchi’s tone and
swells are at times similar to Sam Yahel’s; other
times his thick voicings evoke the church, especially
on “Golden Earrings.” Bianchi and drummer
Byron Landham swing hard and follow the
soloist’s every move: Dig how they go right with
Warfield when he scrambles the time at the end of
his solo on “Crazy Rhythm.” —Chris Robinson
a sentimental Journey: Sentimental Journey; I’ll Be Seeing You;
My Man; Crazy Rhythm; Speak Low; In A Sentimental Mood; Golden
Earrings; Here’s That Rainy Day. (59:53)
Personnel: Tim Warfield, tenor saxophone; soprano saxophone
(3, 8); Terell Stafford, trumpet, (1, 2, 4, 5), flugelhorn (8); Pat Bianchi,
Hammond B3; Byron Landham, drums.
ordering info: crisscrossjazz.com