AllAboutJazz-New York www.aaj-ny.com - Jazz Singers.com

Naima
Meg Okura and the
Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble (s/r)
by Alex Henderson
Fusing jazz with traditional Asian music is far from
unprecedented in 2010. That said, Asian-flavored jazz
isn’t something that the jazz world has been saturated
with; you have to know where to find it. And an
excellent example of jazz with a strong Asian influence
is Naima, which finds violinist Meg Okura leading an
octet she calls the Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble.
Naima is acoustic-oriented postbop that incorporates
not only traditional Asian music (mainly Chinese and
Japanese), but also elements of Euro-classical chamber
music. The end result is a CD ethereal and
rhythmically stimulating at the same time.
Except for the title track (an arrangement of John
Coltrane’s 1959 standard), everything on Naima was
composed by the Tokyo-born, New York City-based
Okura. The Asian influence is impossible to miss on
most of her pieces; that is true of “Hannah’s Vocalise”
and “San San Nana Byoshi” as well as Okura’s fourmovement
“Lu Chai Suite.” But the Asian influence is
applied in a much more subtle fashion on Coltrane’s
gem and Okura’s Latin-flavored “Caprice,” which
looks for the parallels between AfroCuban charanga
5C CAFE
68 AVENUE C
(At 5th Street)
212-477-5993
We are facing eviction. We need your help to keep
experimental and traditional music alive. We still have
8 years left on our lease but the landlord wants to
shut down 5C Café and Cultural Center.
On November 10, 2010 at 10AM, come to court and
show the landlord that you support 5C.
Place: 80 Centre Street, Room 279
For more information, contact:
brotherbruce@5ccc.com or 212-477-5993
Since 5C Cultural Center is non-profit, any contributions for legal
expenses are tax deductible. Send checks or money orders to
P O Box 20666, New York, NY 10009.
You can also just stop by at 68 Avenue C during open hours.
Highlights:
Nov 4: David Ryan 8pm
Nov 5: Charles Sibirsky 8pm
Nov 6: Willie Mack 8pm
Nov 12: Gargi Shinde
Nov 14: Daniel Ori 8pm
Nov 14: Norberto Tamburrino 10:30pm
Nov 18: Yukari & Chris Dingman 8pm
Nov 19: Three Piano Trios 8pm
Nov 20: Burt Eckoff & Friends
go to www.5cculturalcenter.org for updates
bands and European chamber groups. The former are
known for their emphasis on violins and flutes and
having a sweeter sound than the more hard-driving
salseros who have favored horn-powered conjunto
instrumentation. And “Caprice” demonstrates that
having a sweeter, softer approach doesn’t mean that
you can’t swing. But then, Naima in general
underscores the fact that beauty is not incompatible
with substance; for all its mellifluous beauty, it never
becomes innocuous background muzak and never has
the mushy, saccharine qualities for which so-called
‘smooth jazz’ is infamous. This is an accessible yet risktaking
effort that paints an attractive picture of Okura
as a composer and bandleader.
For more information, visit megokura.com. This group is at
Rubin Museum Nov. 19th. See Calendar.
Fresh Breeze Odean Pope Quartet (CIMP)
Odean’s List Odean Pope (In + Out)
The Complete Recordings Catalyst (Muse-Porter)
by David R. Adler
Tenor saxophonist Odean Pope is a Philadelphia
institution: a practice buddy of Coltrane’s in his youth,
a sideman with Max Roach for 22 years, now a mentor
to Philly’s up-and-comers and leader of a nine-horn
saxophone choir. Thanks to a steady flow of recent
releases, we’re able to assess not only Pope’s busy
present career, but also areas of his overlooked past.
On Fresh Breeze, Pope joins a crop of fellow
Philadelphians: altoist Bobby Zankel, a local elder
statesman in his own right; bassist Lee Smith, a
versatile jazzer and former R&B session hand who
happens to be Christian McBride’s father, and
drummer Craig McIver, a supple hard-hitter who
plays in Zankel’s progressive big band the Warriors of
the Wonderful Sound. It’s a hot, tumultuous ride,
although Fresh Breeze sounds something like a good
barroom recording - often a pitfall of CIMP’s spartan
studio methods. The mix is all drums and too little
bass, although we do hear Smith stretch a bit on the
ballad “Morning Mist”. Pope and Zankel make an
inspired pair, echoing Dewey Redman and Ornette
Coleman on the open swing of the title cut, or perhaps
Coltrane and Dolphy on the charged “Off If Not”. The
uncommon rhythmic feels of “956” and the closing
“Trilogy”, however, make this more than a freebop
blowing session.
After Fresh Breeze, the improved audio of Odean’s
List comes as a jolt. Here Lee Smith cuts right through
and locks in with drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts on the
vibrant opening sketch “Minor Infractions” and the
uptempo “To the Roach”. Smith also takes the floor
with an intro feature on “Phrygian Love Theme”. The
octet setting (five horns and rhythm section) is
reminiscent of Pope’s Saxophone Choir, although the
brash trumpets of David Weiss and Terell Stafford
push Odean’s List more in the direction of a little big
band. But the Loesser/McHugh ballad “Say It Over
and Over Again”, a 10-minute duet for tenor and bass,
brings the temperature down a notch. The liner notes
are by Archie Shepp, who engagingly brings us back to
Philadelphia in the mid ‘50s, when Pope was cutting
his teeth and playing sessions with Reggie Workman,
Lee Morgan and Hasaan Ibn Ali, among others.
Jumping ahead to the early ‘70s with Catalyst: The
Complete Recordings Vol. 1 & 2, we hear an altogether
different side of Pope. Playing tenor, flute, alto flute
and even oboe, Pope sported the de rigueur afro of the
day and worked in an exploratory electric vein with
Eddie Green (Rhodes), Tyrone Brown (bass) and
Sherman Ferguson (drums). Catalyst’s many guests
included Alphonso Johnson, Anthony Jackson and
Billy Hart. The band’s four Muse albums (Catalyst,
Perception, Unity, A Tear and a Smile), recorded between
1972-74, were first reissued in 1999 by the 32 Groove
label, putting the matter of the group’s obscurity front
and center by giving the two-disc package the title The
Funkiest Band You Never Heard. Indeed, Catalyst should
be more widely known. Some of its work stacks up
well next to Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi output.
Even the fluffier tracks have the virtue of underscoring
profound links between electric jazz and the
Philadelphia soul sound that was then in full bloom.
Porter Records, to its credit, has reissued the Catalyst
inventory once again, but the harder-to-find 32 Groove
package is still the one to get. It includes interviews
with band members, original liner notes by Gary
Giddins and other features. The Porter discs are far
less informative; for one thing, they neglect to include
recording dates.
What all of this material shows is that Odean
Pope, with his bold, searching tenor sound, has always
remained himself, regardless of time period or
prevailing fashion.
For more information, visit cimprecords.com, inandoutrecords.com
and porterrecords.com. Pope is at The Stone
Nov. 28th. See Calendar.
ALLABOUTJAZZ-NEW YORK | November 2010 31