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Myron Walden
Momentum
DEMI SOUND BSR0003
AAA 1 /2
Another tribute to Miles
Davis’ 1960s quintet?
You would be excused
if that were your first reaction
to saxophonist Myron
Walden’s first recording
in four years. One of three
discs Walden will release before this spring,
Momentum is the first to document his switch to
tenor from alto—a move he says will allow him
to play all the sounds he’s hearing in his head.
The influence of Davis’ quintet is unmistakable.
“Pulse,” “Miles” and “Longing” all adopt
the familiar Fender Rhodes-dominated atmospherics
of Filles De Kilimanjaro and Miles In
The Sky, with drummer Kendrick Scott stirring
up a storm with his best Tony Williams impression
and Walden joining trumpeter Darren
Barrett in playing oblique, unison lines. But
Walden doesn’t fall into the trap of cleaving too
slavishly to the object of his devotion. Rather
than trying to re-create the sound of the quintet,
he uses the language for his own form of
expression. “Of Three Worlds” takes off like a
fast train, with Barrett showing that he’s closer
Jacám Manricks
Labyrinth
MANRICKS MUSIC RECORDS
AAAA
An impressive collection
of pieces from New
York-based Australian
multi-instrumentalist/professor
Jacám Manricks,
Labyrinth creeps into
your ears with a stealthy
sketch, half written, half
improvised. Ben Monder drop-shadows the
leader’s mellifluous alto as bassist Morgan tiptoes
and Jacob Sacks scurries the breadth of the
keys, with a floating touch reminiscent of
Matthew Shipp.
The brevity of the opener indicates
Manricks’ level of intentionality. On “Micro-
Gravity,” gorgeously poised saxophone heralds
the martial snare of Tyshawn Sorey, expanding
to full chamber palette. The orchestral scope of
Manricks’ writing is revealed on this
Schoenberg-influenced piece, so too hints of
shape-shifting M-Base studies. Greg Osby or
Steve Coleman’s mercurial concepts and
deployment of ostinatos underpinning challenging
melody lines are hinted at during the title
track. Respite from this beautifully contoured
but inevitably enervating track (successions of
fourths and seconds have their effect) is the
lovely ballad “Move.” Here Sacks’ piano figure
in execution and tone to
Freddie Hubbard than Davis.
Likewise, “Carnage” and
“What Goes Up Must Come
Down” are more akin to hard
bop, with Barrett and Walden
carving crisp lines over the
hustling tempo set by Scott
and bassist Yasushi Nakamura.
Rather than sounding
like imitation, combining
David Bryant’s Rhodes and
the fleet leads creates an interesting cross-breed.
Walden’s conversion to tenor has allowed
him to explore broader sonic territory, and add
texture. On the mid-tempo “The Road Ahead”
he creates high contrast with Barrett’s trumpet
by employing an exceptionally grainy sound,
while his sax stands broad shouldered in the
midst of swirling atmospherics and shifting
time on the intriguing “Like A Flower Seeking
The Sun.”
—James Hale
Momentum: Of Three Worlds; The Road Ahead; Pulse; Vision
Of A Visionary; Miles; When Time Stood Still; What Goes Up
Must Come Down; Longing; Like A Flower Seeking The Sun;
Memories; Carnage; When Time Stood Still. (54:35)
Personnel: Myron Walden, tenor and soprano saxophones,
bass clarinet; Jon Cowherd, piano; Mike Moreno, acoustic and
electric guitars; Yasushi Nakamura, bass; Obed Calviare, drums.
»
Ordering info: myronwalden.com
is the fulcrum for the first
section, later rhapsodising
over mallets and cymbals
in an undulating refrain
before classy soprano
investigations ensue over
acoustic guitar.
On “Cloisters,” Monder
gets to crank and Manricks
throws some grit into the
alto’s upper register before
settling back into the
ensemble on flute. More
martial beats underscore “March & Combat,” an
ambitious, sectioned piece inspired by Ravel and
Gil Evans. Manricks’ meditative, concentrated
thought processes distill in “Rothko,” a 12-tone
experiment featuring Monder’s cavernously
reverberant guitar set against pointillistic piano,
evocative of the somber intensity of the painter’s
work. The absence of hornplay here underlines
the leader’s seriousness as a composer beyond
the confines of genre perception.
—Michael Jackson
Labyrinth: Portal; Micro-Gravity; Labyrinth; Move; Cloisters;
Aeronautics; March & Combat; Rothko. (65:85)
Personnel: Jacám Manricks, alto, soprano saxophones, flute,
alto flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, shells; Jacob Sacks, piano; Ben
Monder, electric and acoustic guitars; Thomas Morgan, acoustic
bass; Tyshawn Sorey, drums. Chamber orchestra (tracks 2, 7):
Laura Arpiainen, Ann Marie Bermont, Kiku Enomoto, Garry
Ianco, Brooke Quiggins, violins; Marla Hansen, viola; Maria
Jeffers, cello; Amie Margoles, French horn.
Terell Stafford/
Dick Oatts Quintet
Bridging The Gap
PLANET ARTS 330974
AAA 1 /2
Bridging The Gap, the title of the collaboration
between veteran alto saxophonist Dick Oatts and
trumpeter-flugelhornist Terell Stafford, sounds
like a mission statement. Are the two well-traveled
musicians, whose bright tones and dazzling
technical skills handily complement each other,
striving to cross the divide between heady,
ambitious post-bop and audiences that, according
to recording-industry stats, are increasingly
immune to the pleasures of that sound? Or does
the title refer to the co-leaders’ connection with
rising-star twentysomethings Gerald Clayton,
Ben Williams and Rodney Green?
Whatever the case may be, the quintet turns
in music that’s deceptively breezy, beginning
with the title track, its unison and harmony
melody seeming to hint simultaneously at vintage
West Coast cool and old-school hard bop.
Oatts wrote that tune and five others here,
including the pretty ballad “Salvador’s Space,”
its melody first warmly embraced by Stafford’s
flugelhorn, with Oatts joining in the second time
through. The saxophonist also penned “JCO
Farewell,” a spacious, fusion-tinged tribute to
his late father, saxophonist and music educator
Jack Oatts. Soul jazz is here, too, with Oatts’
album-closing “The 6/20/09 Express.” And
Stafford nods to Woody Shaw on his quick,
start-stopping “Time To Let Go,” which closes
with a mini-showcase for drummer Green.
Williams, winner of the 2009 Thelonious
Monk International Bass Competition, shows
serious chops and fertile improvisational ideas on
his brief “Ben’s Beginning.” And dynamic pianist
Clayton threatens to steal the show on several
occasions, including his extended introduction to
“Meant For You” and his rangy, perceptive solo
on “Three For Five,” followed by another bout of
sophisticated trap-set wizardry from Green. Weak
links? None here.
—Philip Booth
Bridging The Gap: Bridging The Gap; Time To Let Go; Meant
For You; Three For Five; Salvador’s Space; I Love You; JCO
Farewell; Ben’s Beginning; The 6/20/09 Express. (58:13)
Personnel: Terell Stafford, trumpet, flugelhorn; Dick Oatts, alto
saxophone; Gerald Clayton, piano; Ben Williams, bass; Rodney
Green, drums.
» Ordering info: jacammanricks.com
Ordering info: planetarts.org
»
76 DOWNBEAT March 2010