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February 2011On the Cover24 Bunky Green& RudreshMahanthappaBreaking FreeOf The SystemBy Ted Panken30Though the feeling they generateis best described as “free,” altosaxophonists Bunky Green andRudresh Mahanthappa both workwithin strongly conceptualizedstructures that leave them plentyof space to soar. A seeminglyodd pairing on the surface, thetwo share a common passionand stimulate each other toextremely high levels of creativity,as heard on their latest CDproject as coleaders, Apex.Omar SosaCover photography by Jimmy KatzMassimo MantovaniFeatures30 Omar SosaGoes DeepBy Dan Ouellette34 John McNeilAll WitBy Jim Macnie38 Kevin EubanksShapes HisPost-Leno CareerBy Kirk Silsbee42 150 Great Jazz VenuesAn International Listingof the Best Placesto See Live Jazz55 Mina Cho 59 Mike Reed 67 Kneebody68 TarbabyDepartments8 First Take10 Chords & Discords13 The BeatRememberingJames Moody17 European Scene18 Caught20 PlayersJohn HébertJames FalzoneAndrew RathbunMilton Suggs51 Reviews70 Master ClassClaire Daly72 Transcription74 Toolshed78 Jazz On Campus82 Blindfold TestKenny Barron &Mulgrew Miller6 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

First Take | By aaron CohenRudresh’s MissionAbout 15 years ago, I went to Chicago’s Green Mill jazz club for adifferent sort of gig. The event was a CD-release party that agroup of master’s degree candidates at Chicago’s ColumbiaCollege’s arts, entertainmentand media management programorganized to celebratea release on their own label,AEMMP Records. While indierecord labels had a betterchance for success—actually,survival—in the mid-’90sthan they do today, this wasstill a quixotic venture comingfrom a group of students.AEMMP was even moreidealistic in that their signingwas a young, and uncompromising,jazz alto saxophonistnamed RudreshMahanthappa.Needless to say, Mahanthappahas come a long waysince the release of his debutdisc, Yatra. But even backthen, his assertive tone andunique way of combiningjazz with South Asian musicrevealed that he had an originalvision and determinationRudreshMahanthappa,circa mid-1990sthat would take him far in any art. He’s also always had a deep respect forthe traditions he chose to investigate, and that includes the work of jazz elderBunky Green, who shares Ted Panken’s cover story with Mahanthappafor this issue.In talking with Mahanthappa this past week about when I met him atthe Green Mill in 1996, he said that the career he’s built for himself was alwaysthe dream, but, of course, it’s never guaranteed. He also is thankfulfor the opportunity that the upstart label gave him. Having a disc in handwas a valuable calling card when he moved to New York the following yearand began encountering the heavier hitters in the media (this was an era beforedownloads, or e-mailed mp3s). All of which reaffirms that the dreamsof a group of Midwestern students should never be taken lightly.The reason why AEMMP signed Mahanthappa, and held its party atthe Green Mill, was because of one particular student, Michael Orlove,who was handling the label’s a&r. Then—and now—Orlove has kept hisear toward finding sounds from around the city and around the planet thatChicagoans need to hear. Orlove is currently senior program director forthe city’s department of cultural affairs. He’s been the driving force forthe city’s stellar world music festival, as well as excellent free events yearroundat the Chicago Cultural Center. The Green Mill and the ChicagoCultural Center are included in this issue’s venue guide: this club and civicinstitution show that it takes a combination of smart entrepreneurs, publicprograms and educational efforts—often, working together—to build alasting audience for such artists as Mahanthappa.This issue also includes a memorial tribute to the wonderful saxophonist/flutistJames Moody, who died on Dec. 9. Along with his beautiful melodicfeel and warm sense of humor, he and his wife, Linda, were tirelessadvocates for jazz education. For information on how to donate to theJames Moody Scholarship Fund, go to his website, jamesmoody.com. DBcredit8 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

Chords & Discords MakingMcLaughlin’s DayI just got home yesterday eveningafter six weeks in the UnitedStates, and the DownBeat ReadersPoll award had arrived yesterdaymorning! Good timing! I justwanted to thank you and thestaff at DownBeat for providingmusicians and music lovers withsuch a great magazine over theyears. I’ve been reading DownBeatsince the mid-’60s and to win anaward from DownBeat has specialsignificance to me. The plaque willoccupy a special place in my home.John McLaughlinMonacoStop Thieves!Thanks very much for the article onInternet piracy of music publications(“Thief!,” January 2011). Iwould like to make it clear thatSher Music Co. is still very muchin the business of selling ourworld-class jazz fake books. Mystatement that “We are out of thefake book business” referred tothe great difficulty in justifying the productionof new fake books when we know they will bescanned and distributed free of charge all overthe Internet. My hope is that people readingyour article will be made aware of the seriousnegative consequences of illegally downloadingbooks and refrain from this unethical practice.Chuck SherSher Music CompanyClean Language, PleaseI must agree with Kevin McIntosh’s letter(“Chords,” January) concerning cursing in yourinterviews. I host a jam session for studentsonce a month, and encourage kids to takecopies of your magazine (which DownBeatvery graciously provides). I often think abouta parent’s reaction if they ever pick up themagazine and read something like that.Surely the language can be edited or bleeped.As a subscriber since 1977, I know you used todo that. What changed? Students get enoughof that kind of “education” in their daily lives.Better to have them focus on the music.Mike EbenReading, Pa.Jamal Deserves HonorIt’s amazing that DownBeat readers almostvoted master pianist/trio trailblazer Ahmad Jamal(#2) into the Hall of Fame themselves, insteadof the DownBeat critics, who, to their embarrassment,have left this undone for decades. Jamalwaits, while Herbie Hancock, Chick Coreaand Keith Jarrett, all employees of Miles Davis,went in ahead of the man who influenced him(and that’s no disrespect to their individual talents).Let’s hope the Veterans Committee won’thave to do it. I wonder just how many of Davis’pianists were told, “Play like Ahmad Jamal.”Ron SeegarEl Paso, TexasErskine Nails ItPeter Erskine’s “Woodshed” (November) is righton the money. I am 75 and have been aroundthe drum scene for 60 years. Not only does hisarticle apply to the ride cymbal, but it can alsobe adapted to brush works and drum solo patterns.I recommend it to young drummers whoare trying to get the clutter out of their playingand play in a way that moves the tune forward.Jim MurphyOrmond Beach, Fla.Correction• The title of Ernie Krivda’s disc in “Best CDsof 2010” (January) was incorrect. It shouldhave been written as November Man(CIMP).DownBeat regrets the error.Have a chord or discord?E-mail us at editor@downbeat.com.John McLaughlin10 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

TheNews & Views From Around The Music WorldInside 15 I Riffs16 I Nicole Mitchell17 I European Scene18 I Caught20 I PlayersMoody’sMood For LifeFriends, colleagues celebrate JamesMoody’s magical personalitySaxophonist/flutist James Moody died on Dec. 9, of pancreatic cancer,at 85 near his home in San Diego, Calif. His career stretchedback across nearly 65 years of jazz history, and while it was a somberend to a life of ebullient music making, his friends and colleagues choseto celebrate his life—not his passing—during the days that followed.“It’s nothing to mourn about,” Sonny Rollins said. “It’s not that I’m notsorry we won’t get a chance to hear him play any more or be in his company.That’s true. But it’s also really a joyful moment because he was here inthis life and look what he left people, a legacy of wonderful music and thememory of a wonderful person. To know him and think about him bringslight to me. We can’t feel sad or sorry. We have to feel good about a manlike Moody.”Moody was born in Savannah, Ga., on March 26, 1925, and raised inNewark, N.J. He converged with Dizzy Gillespie’s first big band in the summerof 1946. His earliest work can be heard on Dizzy Gillespie: ShowtimeAt The Spotlite (Uptown). Gillespie became a mentor to the youthfulMoody, a role that in some ways made brothers of them for life. The earlyband was a hive of musical energy. That’s when saxophonist Jimmy Heathfirst met Moody (he would join the band several months after Moody left),and began a life long friendship. In 2005 Heath described his friend inthe lyric he wrote to “Moody’s Groove” (“Moody has more kisses thanHershey’s…”), which the two performed in the Gillespie All-Star Big band.“He is an original,” Heath said. “No one else in the world is like Moody,one of the greatest human beings I ever met. We called each other ‘Section’because we played in the saxophone section. Everybody remembers howhe outgoing he was, and he was always that way, I think, though the kissinghe might have picked up in Europe.”In the Gillespie band of 1946–’48 Moody helped set the bar for a cominggeneration of young saxophonists who would shortly consolidate thefoundations of modernism. One of them was alto saxophonist Phil Woods.“I loved Moody,” Woods said. “His joy and energy were contagious.And he was one of the best improvisers ever! No one ran the changes likeMoody—nobody! And there was never a more spiritual man than Moody.His horn and, indeed, his very persona exuded warmth and love. He wasthe only man whose kisses I welcomed. When he entered a room he kissedJames Moodyeveryone in it—and did the same when he exited. There was only oneJames Moody. I will miss his music and I will miss his kiss.”The eras of Moody’s career can be sliced in several ways: by decade, bygroup, by association. He converted to Baha’i in the early ’70s, followingGillespie, and some regard that as something of a watershed. But to friendslike Woods, he was a fundamentally spiritual person, before and after hisconversion to Baha’i, with or without the patina of an official faith.“He was one of the most humanistic people I ever knew,” noted ToddBarkin, producer and owner of the Keystone Club in San Francisco, whereJack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotosFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 13

Moody played often in the ’70s. “I think that Baha’i just completed the circle,and Dizzy, too. They were naturally predisposed to that view of life. Itjust fit.”Moody came to wide prominence in the early ’50s with a vocalese versionof his 1949 solo on “I’m In The Mood For Love,” revised by KingPleasure as “Moody’s Mood For Love.”“It became a big seller in the black community,” Rollins said. “Whenwe heard it, it wasn’t Charlie Parker or Dizzy, so it didn’t have the impacton us—meaning my younger colleagues who were interested in bebop. ButI’m glad it gave him some prominence and he soon transcended that in hisother work.”Throughout much of the 1960s, he worked with Gillespie and his owngroups, many of which included bassist Bob Cranshaw.“He was the best,” Cranshaw said. “I enjoy Moody because he was seriousabout music but he had fun doing it. He kept you on your toes andkept your laughing. He put a lot into his work, and working with him wasa joy. When I came to New York around 1960, his was one of the first gigsthat I got. I was with Moody around the time he became a Baha’i, and allI can say is that it made him even more loving. He kept a wonderful atmospherearound him.”Moody and Rollins never played together, but their groups played jointgigs during the ’60s in the Jazz Gallery in New York. But Rollins was unusuallycoy in remembering those days. He volunteered an event of someimportance to him, then having brought it up, said, “I’m not going to revealthe incident, but it was between us and it was very educational and informativefor me and helped me grow up. I’ll leave it at that because the detailsare a little too embarrassing to me.” What was the lesson then? “That’swhat I don’t want to be specific about,” Rollins said as he laughed. “Butwe’ve been close friends since then. Maybe when I’m past being active inthe world, I might relate it.”Moody’s career touched successive generations over six decades, mostrecently the brilliant young singer Roberta Gambarini, who first sawMoody in Italy with her parents when she was nine. They met again inCape Town after a performance in 2002.“When I got off the stage and I came down the stairs,” Gambarini said,“his arms were stretched out for a big hug. He loved to hug everybody.”Throughout the last decade, their musical relationship has becomesomething close to a partnership.“He was just one of the most amazing human beings who ever walkedthis Earth,” she said. “He had an endless source of life and joy. There wasBop-era Moodyan aura about him, a special light. He had a gigantic heart as a man and amusician, and also one of the most inquisitive minds that you could find.Until the end he had an incredible interest in younger players. I rememberonce he went up to a wonderful young saxophone player, and he said heloved what he was doing and could he check out how he was doing it. Andthe player said, ‘But Moody, I got it from you.’ He was always on the search.He took the language and stretched it.”As a young person working with a veteran, Gambarini was constantlyaware of how Moody connected her to the history of the music.“One night we were playing at Lincoln Center,” she recalled, “and Iwas standing next to him listening and thinking this is what it must havefelt like to be in those days with the vibration of Charlie Parker and all theother giants. He brought that with him when he played.”—John McDonoughDownBeat ArchivesMoody: A Hard Man Not To LoveIn the fall of 1976 James Moody was in Chicagoto tape a “Soundstage” program forPBS. “Dizzy Gillespie’s Be-bop Reunion”was a big affair. In addition to Moody, therewas Sarah Vaughan, Milt Jackson, KennyClarke, Al Haig, Joe Carroll, some others and,of course, Gillespie. The taping was scheduledfor two consecutive days. But by the end of dayone, a suspicious-looking sore had flared onGillespie’s upper lip. A doctor looked at it andtold Gillespie not to play until a biopsy could bedone. Word spread quickly.That evening I found myself with a dozenor so musicians from the program at a neighborhoodrestaurant. We occupied four or fivebooths and tables, and I was sitting in oneacross from Gillespie, mostly listening. Moodycame over at one point, eager in his concernfor Gillespie’s lip. The conversation went somethinglike this:“Your lip,” asked Moody, “how is it?”“Ahhh, nothing to worry about,” Gillespiesaid.“Look, this may seem a little strange,”Moody said, “but it can’t hurt. OK?”“What?” Gillespie asked.“Just hold still a minute. Be still. Don’tmove.” Moody then leaned into the booth,placed two fingers on Gillespie’s upper lip, andheld them there for 15 or 20 seconds. It seemedlonger. Nobody said a word. A few quietly tradedperplexed glances. Finally Moody lifted hisfinger.“That’s it, “ he said. “That’s all. We’ll see.Right? OK? Say nothing more.” Gillespiesmiled, clutched Moody’s hand for a second,and that was it. “Let’s see what happens,”Moody said returning to an adjoining booth.As one who floats somewhere betweenneutrality and skepticism on matters spiritual, Isee such expressions of “belief” from the perspectiveof an outsider. Yet, I couldn’t help feelinga little moved by the utter ingenuousnessand innocence of Moody’s little deed and thespirit that rooted it. No hint of moral authority;no adulteration of ritual, fanfare, pretense,preaching or even promise. Like he said, “Itcan’t hurt.”The lip sore soon passed. I don’t knowwhether Moody’s healing energy intervened.But the purity and unselfconsciousness of it allstruck me as uniquely heartfelt. It was an opennessMoody seemed to spread compulsively inall directions. I didn’t know him well, but when Iwould see him from time to time over the years,he not only seemed to recognize me. He wouldgreet me with a big bear hug that often left thepungent scent of gardenia cologne clinging tome for the next hour. James Moody remains ahard man not to love. —John McDonough14 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

Riffs Ornette ColemanMoers Return: Ornette Coleman will headlinethe 2011 Moers Festival, which runsJune 10–12. He had previously appeared atthe German event in 1981 with Prime Time.Tickets are available. Details: moers-festival.deAlligator @ 40: Chicago-based blues labelAlligator is celebrating its 40th anniversarywith a slew of historic releases. Companypresident Bruce Iglauer has selected andremastered tracks for the two-disc The AlligatorRecords 40th Anniversary Collection.The label is also releasing vinyl editions ofits back catalog, including Buddy Guy andJunior Wells’ Alone & Acoustic.Details: alligator.comCaine Fellowship: Pianist Uri Cainereceived a $50,000 United States Artistsfellowship grant on Dec. 7.Details: unitedstatesartists.orgBlues Home: Memphis-based Blues Foundationwill begin moving into its first permanenthome in March. The 4,000-square-footlocation at 421 S. Main St. will centralize thefoundation’s educational, audio-visual andretail opportunities, in addition to housingits staff and operations. Details: blues.orgBayou Download: The New Orleans Musicians’Clinic has released a digital downloadof Down On The Bayou II Live Jam FromNew Orleans. Participants include IvanNeville, Luther Dickinson and Gov’t Mule. Allproceeds from the sale will benefit the clinic.Details: neworleansmusiciansclinic.orgChicago Matinees: Chicago’s Old TownSchool Of Folk Music has announced a newseries of matinee performances of jazz composersat its 909 W. Armitage Ave. locationon the first Sunday of each month.Details: oldtownschool.orgKelly Meets Woods: Saxophonists GraceKelly and Phil Woods have teamed up fortheir upcoming disc, Man With The Hat(Pazz). Details: gracekellymusic.comFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 15

European Scene | By Peter MargasakLithuanian Label Contradicts Nation’s Aesthetic Status QuoFor many years jazz was culturalcontraband in the Soviet Union, soit makes plenty of sense that manyof its underground practitionerswere musical radicals. No groupto emerge from the Soviet era wasbetter or more influential than theGanelin Trio, a product of Lithuania.Yet as jazz lost its subversivestatus, commercial treacle cameflooding in.“Festival organizers startedbringing in more mainstream, fusionand smooth jazz or world jazzgroups to Lithuania,” said DanasMikailionis of the Vilnius-based labelNo Business Records. “Thevast majority of listeners [here]tend to listen to easily acceptableand superficial jazz.”Since forming in 2008, NoBusiness has combated this statusquo, releasing music by Americanand European players, and in thecase of the superb reedist LiudasMockunas, local musicians whoDanas Mikailionisfly in the face of those toothlesssounds. The label’s appearancewas long in coming, emergingfrom Thelonious, a Vilnius recordshop that Valerij Anosov started in1997 and coming on the heels ofan important concert productionconcern that’s brought people likeMatthew Shipp, William Parker,Howard Riley, Barry Guy and JoeMcPhee to the city.“The concerts we organizedbecame a great introduction tothe music industry and they gaveus brilliant musical material thatcould not just be left on the shelf,”said Mikailionis. “But the real inspirationwas Mats Gustafsson.Mats encouraged us to go aheadwith the label, and the first recordingswe released involve his soloand group improvisations withthe best contemporary Lithuanianjazz musicians.”While a sizable chunk of the label’sexpanding catalog, which alnumbersnearly three dozen titles,were made from live recordingsof concerts they had presented inVilnius, No Business branched outwith new studio projects as wellas archival releases from Americanand European players.“Wenever saw the goal of the label injust documenting the jazz activitiestaking place in Lithuania,” he said.In 2010 the imprint came intoits own, offering historic anthologiesfrom groups like Commitment,Jemeel Moondoc’s Muntu andAmalgam, as well as acclaimednew recordings by drummer HarrisEisenstadt, trumpeter Kirk Knuffkeand bassist Joe Morris. This yearlooks even ambitious, with archivalreleases—boxed sets of Parker’sCentering Recordings, Billy Bang’sSurvival Ensemble and solo workof pianist Howard Riley—and newtitles by Tarfala Trio (Gustafsson,Guy and Raymond Strid), ThomasHeberer and John Butcher.Mikailionis said he would lovefor No Business to release morework by Lithuanians, but with theexception of Mockunas he feelsthat most local musicians haven’tappealed to the label’s aesthetic.“Each year during the Vilnius JazzFestival you can listen to youngmusicians from the Music Academythat have some good potential,”he said. “But after they finishtheir education it seems like theirenergy vanishes.” DBFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 17

Caught AfroCubismReconnects Cuba,West Africa inNew YorkDespite its Grammy win, record-settingsales and enormous critical praise, 1997’sBuena Vista Social Club was only half the projectit was intended to be.World Circuit’s Nick Gold had initiallyplanned to gather a group of prominent Cubanand African musicians for a recording session,but the Africans were unable to secure their visas,leaving Gold and his producer, Ry Cooder, todo a little improvising of their own by inviting afew more players from Havana to round out therecord. The monster success of the resulting albumwas serendipitous, if accidental.More than a decade later, Gold’s completevision came to fruition with the recording ofAfroCubism, a marriage of music from Cubaand Mali, countries that share similar rhythmictraditions and proclivities for improvisation—notto mention political ties that have caused culturalcross-currents since the beginning of the ColdWar. The group, which features Buena Vista tresguitarist Eliades Ochoa and his band, GrupoPatria, and Malian kora legend Toumani Diabatéperformed the second stop on their NorthAmerican tour at Town Hall on Nov. 9.The highly anticipated show kicked off on asour note when Dan Melnick announced thatvisa problems had left the ngoni player, BassekouKouyate, stuck in Canada. But that road bumpturned out to be the show’s only impenetrablemusical border, as Ochoa and Kasse MadyDiabaté helmed nominal leadership duties thatoften melded their similarly wistful, emotionchargedvocal contributions, despite the languagedifferences.Collaboration and cross-pollination were themain message of the evening, even as Diabatépeeked out from behind his kora to drop the occasionalzinger, at one point teasing that NewYork might not be as rich in culture as it isfinancially.In “Mali Cuba,” solos changed hands swiftlyand succinctly, with balafon player LassanaDiabaté’s agile and chromatic lines balancingout the more soothing kora swells. Grupo Patria’sunison horn section added a sunny layer of salsato even the more traditional, Malian-leaningtunes, not unlike the lineup in Toumani Diabaté’sSymmetric Orchestra.Despite the abundance of marquee namesonstage, guitarist Djelimady Tounkara emergedas an unexpected star of the evening. His bluesdrenchedsolos and playful, rock-infused vampsharkened back to his days with Salif Keita’s RailBand from the ’70s. Near the end of the show,he teased Ochoa and Toumani Diabaté as theymade their way through the Cuban classic,Eliades Ochoa (left), Baba Sissoko and Yuinor Terry (rear)“Guantanamera,” while the audience alternatelysang the chorus and giggled as Tounkara coylychallenged his bandmates with a few mean calland-responseriffs until Ochoa finally surrenderedand led everyone back to the bridge.In fact, the balance of spotlight sharing wasalmost as remarkable as the way the two musicalcultures complemented each other. The hollow,spare sound of the balafon accented the Cubanpolyrhythms in songs like the Cuban hit “LaCulebra,” putting a new spin on a Latin classic.Meanwhile, Tounkara’s rolling, danceable guitarriffs on the more Malian-led “Nima Djala”became a comfortable vehicle for Ochoa’s tressupport.In the end, encores of “Bensema” and “Paralos Pinares Se Va Montoro” roused the audienceto stand up, dance and cheer—as much, itseemed, for the music as for Toumani Diabaté’sdemand that it’s time to “stop stigma and discrimination.”—Jennifer OdellJack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotosDouglas EwartMichael JacksonImpassioned, Playful AACM AnniversaryCelebration Enhances Its MissionChicago’s Association For The Advancementof Creative Musicians held its 45th anniversarycelebration with particularly fascinatingevents at the University of Chicago and the city’sMuseum of Contemporary Art.An event at the university’s Mandel Hall onNov. 11 coincided with AACM trombonist/conceptualistGeorge Lewis’ residency at the institution,where he had taught a graduate seminar“Improvisation as a Way of Life” withphilosophy professor Arnold Davidson. Lewisplayed with German pianist Alexander vonSchlippenbach plus another piano prepared withone of Lewis’ pioneering computerized systemsprogrammed to permit interaction with live performers.After an intense sonic dialogue, duringwhich fragments of Schlippenbach’s playingwere reconstituted and fed back to him bythe futuristic player piano, Lewis, the pianist andDavidson led a discussion about man, machineand the broader social model suggested by the artof improvised music. The night concluded with arousing set from the 27-member AACM GreatBlack Music Ensemble.Douglas Ewart’s set at the museum on Nov.19 with his 11-piece “Inventions” was contoured18 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

James FalzoneSubtle InfusionsClarinetist and composer James Falzonecontemplated moving to New York aftergraduate school at Boston’s New EnglandConservatory, or perhaps Europe, as he felt astrong affinity with the European creative musicscene. But he opted to return to the Chicago areahe had left behind.He describes that decision as one of the mostfruitful of his life. Since the improvised and experimentalmusic community in Chicago hadgrown so exponentially in the last 10 years, it wasthe perfect place for him to be.Falzone feasted in the academic environmentof NEC, taking courses in Medieval music,Indian ragas and Turkish traditions, klezmerwith Hankus Netsky’s ensemble, even a classzoning in on Billie Holiday. He now teaches aninterdisciplinary seminar at Chicago’s ColumbiaCollege that has as much to do with the visualarts and literature as music.From the outset his music has been self-produced,most recently on what he dubs his AllosDocuments label. Lamentations (2010) featureshis Allos Musica trio (allos is the Greek word for“other”) comprising oud player Ronnie Malleyand percussionist Tim Mulvenna. The group digsdeep into Arabic modes. One is a Muwashah (acourtly lovesong from Andalusia), another writtenby oud player Issa Boulos, but the rest of the18 tracks are conceived by Falzone himself aslaments, “a musical/poetic genre that has transcendedcultures and time,” as he puts it.When Falzone was in Boston seeking out themusic of Egyptian singer Oum Kalsoum, whomhe likens to Holiday, 9/11 struck. Since he hadsuch respect and awe for the culture Americaseemed to be retreating from, Lamentations is inpart his reaction of frustration and sorrow to theethnic slants of the conflict.A gentle soul, Falzone is something of a hippieby his own admission, who home-birthedand home-schools his kids and bakes his ownbread. His 2009 release Tea Music with the quartetKlang (vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, bassistJason Roebke, drummer Tim Daisy) makesreferences to varieties of the benign beverage hewould sip while composing (he gave up coffeefor a while due to migraine headaches). Song titleslike “No Milk,” “G.F.O.P” (Golden FloweryOrange Pekoe) and “China Black” have scantrelevance to the superb Jimmy Giuffre-inspiredmusic on the CD but bespeak Falzone’s gourmetpalate and hypersensitivity to the clarinet’s timbraland tonal niceties, for which he developed anear, aged 11, when his clarinetist uncle gave himThe Jimmy Giuffre Clarinet LP.Such nuance was evident in a spontaneousmeeting with Austrian electronics musicianChristof Kurzmann at Chicago’s Cultural Centerlast November. Thrown together with Kurzmannby curators of the Umbrella Festival, Falzonewas forced to negotiate terms with a laptop musicianfor the first time. “You have two experiencedmusicians in a slightly awkward moment. It presentsa wonderful balance between being yourselfand being a receptacle,” said Falzone. BothFalzone and Kurzmann generated a sweat duringtheir duo and Falzone drew on a host of resources,including microtones, altissimo shrieks,didgeroo-like growls, as well as judicious use oflow volume and space.Not central to the vein of heavier-blowinghorns that followed Ken Vandermark on theChicago scene, Falzone is nonetheless a virtuosoand a brilliant strategist whose concepts canbe through-composed. Though he wouldn’t acceptthe term as a branding model, he identifieshimself as a “third stream” exponent (toborrow Gunther Schuller’s jazz/classical bridgingterm) and has found musicians, such as cellistFred Lonberg-Holm, who can match his vision.Lonberg-Holm and Falzone are featuredon Aerial Age with Daisy’s group Vox Arcana,the first release on Allos Documents not underFalzone’s name. The chamber-like osmosis is astonishinglygood, only possible given the subtlevibrations and proximity of empathetic, versatiletalent (the next record from Klang, incidentally,will include tunes associated with BennyGoodman—continuing Falzone’s fascinationwith the blend between vibraphone and clarinet).It’s like sharing the environment endemic to oneof Falzone’s esoteric teas: “There’s this JasmineOolong tea from Taiwan where the tea leaves drymerely in the presence of the jasmine, absorbingits aroma.” —Michael JacksonMICHAEL JACKSONFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 21

Players AndrewRathbunSolitary ManSaxophonist Andrew Rathbunhas recorded 10 albums of eloquent,provocative and challengingmusic, each with a unique angle.He catalogued the failuresof George W. Bush on AffairsOf State, paralleled sculpture tojazz with Kenny Wheeler forSculptures; improvised on Ravel,Mompou and Shostakovich (withGeorge Colligan) on Renderings;and paired the poetry of MargaretAtwood with jazz on True Stories. Rathbun is interested in finding new solutionsto old questions, and challenging standard forms. His latest, The IdeaOf North (SteepleChase), follows a thread left by troubled Canadian pianistGlenn Gould.“Glenn Gould’s [1967] CBC radio documentary [also titled The Idea ofNorth] explored the netherworlds of Canada,” Rathbun explains. “He said,‘Let’s get out of the urban centers and really see what’s north of the permafrost.’Some of it was just the sound of his boots crunching in the snow forsix minutes. He approached these radio plays as if it were Bach, with vocalcounterpoint. He’d interview someone about ice fishing, then another guyabout what it’s like to start your car at 40 below. He edited the two interviewstogether so they played simultaneously, like counterpoint. It was performanceart. Gould was a nut-job, but it’s an interesting way to approachspoken word.”By extension, Rathbun, also a native Canadian, depicts the farther regionsof his homeland as a cold, desolate, isolated place, which mirrors, hebelieves, the life of the average jazz musician. The CD’s liner notes ask,“What effect does solitude have on a person? What can it offer someone?How can one grow as a result of being alone?”“That’s the existence of the musician,” Rathbun says. “You spend somuch time working out your music. It’s often a solitary life. Writing themusic takes a long time, you’re alone, until you join with other musiciansto perform it. I was thinking, ‘What can all this solitude offer someone?’Basically trying to channel that into the compositions—the idea of the artas a solitary pursuit, and then the vastness of the country and how many ofits residents also live a solitary existence.”The Idea Of North, performed by Rathbun, Taylor Haskins (trumpet),Nate Radley (guitar), Frank Carlberg (piano), Jay Anderson (bass) andMichael Sarin (drums), embraces the enormity of the Canadian Territoriesand the netherworlds of the musical mind in the titles “Across TheCountry,” “Harsh,” “Arctic,” “Rockies” and “December.” Wayne Shorterand Christoph Gluck material is also explored. Rathbun’s compositionsare alternately mysterious, cerebral and free, performed with tight executionand extreme improvisation. The group plays like a whipsaw cuttingthrough the frigid Canadian permafrost.“Sometimes I write music with a narrative in mind,” Rathbun says, indescribing his sound(s). “It’s almost like scoring a movie that doesn’t exist.The music that usually gets attention is either totally out, or the more insidetonally structured stuff. I think of myself as being in the middle. I loveto play free; I do it all the time. But I also love structure and harmony andchord changes and standards. But I bring a different turn to that music. Theguys in the middle are the guys who get ignored. But to me, the guys in themiddle are making the most music. That is who I gravitate to and seek out.”—Ken Micallef22 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

MiltonSuggsCircuitousTrajectoryMilton Suggs once set hissights on being a jazzpianist; instead he becamea commanding jazz singer.As evidenced by his debutCD as a leader, Things ToCome (Skiptone Music), the27-year-old Chicago-basedvocalist made a wise decision.The disc highlights a singersteeped firmly in the traditionof crooners such as JoeWilliams, Eddie Jefferson andJon Hendricks but with modernsensibilities that put him in the company of contemporaries like JoseJames and Sachal Vasandani.Suggs powers his mellifluous baritone through vocalese treatments ofCedar Walton’s “Ugestu” (recast as “Fantasy For You”) and TheloniousMonk’s “Round Midnight,” catchy originals like the forceful “My LastGoodbye” and the ballad “Seize The Moment,” and glowing renditions of“We Shall Overcome” and “Lift Every Voice And Sing.” He sings in aneasy, conversational manner that’s pliable enough to entice the jazz puristand melodically economical enough to pique the curiosity of r&b fans.Suggs’ trajectory to becoming a vocalist was rather circuitous. The sonof jazz bassist Milton Suggs—who played with Mary Lou Williams, ElvinJones and Rahsaan Roland Kirk—Suggs was born in Chicago but grew upwith his mother in Atlanta. His initial career choice was broadcast journalism,which he studied at Florida A&M University. “I liked the idea of usingthat broadcaster’s tone—using my voice in that type of way,” Suggs explained.“But it started not to feel right after a couple of months.”Having studied bass and other instruments as a grade-schooler, Suggstook a renewed interest in music during his freshman year of college. “I decidedto try to take some piano classes,” he recalled. “I was going to try toenroll in the music program at Florida A&M, however I didn’t have enoughplaying experience.” So his mother encouraged him to visit Chicago andtake lessons from his godfather—veteran pianist Willie Pickens.Suggs journeyed to the Windy City for what at first was just going to bea summer of learning piano with Pickens. He enjoyed his studies and theChicago jazz scene so much, he decided to stay. “[Pickens’] first mode ofattack is to focus on the blues,” Suggs said. “He always said that if you canplay the blues and ‘Rhythm’ changes, then that would be your foundation.”Pickens also imparted the values of listening intently and exploring differentapproaches to standards. “We would sit down and go slowly duringpractice and figure out what we were hearing. There was a lot of repetition.I would do four measures of a song about 20 times over and try to exploredifferent options just to figure out what I’m hearing.”Suggs enrolled at Columbia College Chicago and began to hone hisskills as a pianist and vocalist. He went on to get a master’s degree in jazzstudies from DePaul University, where he received a DownBeat StudentMusic Award for outstanding vocal performance. When Wynton Marsalisheard Suggs sing with the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble in 2008, thetrumpeter encouraged him to focus on vocals.When asked if he’ll ever reignite his interest in jazz piano, Suggs said,“I feel like I have more of a voice as a singer than as a pianist. I felt like Ididn’t have anything really to say as a pianist.” —John MurphFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 23

Bunky Green & Rudresh MahanthappaProdded by Jason Moran on piano, FrancoisMoutin on bass and either Jack DeJohnetteor Damion Reid on drums, the two alto saxophonistsblow like duelling brothers, each projectinga double-reed quality in their tones,Mahanthappa’s slightly darker and tenoristic,Green’s more nasal and oboeish. Both workwith complex note-groupings, flying over barlineswhile always landing on the one. Thoughthe feeling is “free,” both work within stronglyconceptualized structures that provide space tosoar within the form and are thoroughly groundedin “inside” playing and the art of tension-andrelease.“It’s surprising what they come up with,”DeJohnette summed up. “They stimulated eachother to the higher levels of creativity.”Two days into a four-night CD-release run atthe Jazz Standard in October, Green andMahanthappa convened at Green’s hotel. Greenrecalled their first meeting, in 1991 or 1992,when Mahanthappa—then a Berklee undergraduatewho was loaned a copy of Green’s 1979 recordingPlaces We’ve Never Been by his saxteacher, Joe Viola—presented the elder saxmanwith a tape. “Sounds beautiful,” Green told him.“There’s only a few of us out here trying to thinklike this.”At the time, a short list of those “few” includedM-Base movers and shakers Steve Colemanand Greg Osby, who had discovered Green independentlyas ’70s teenagers, and subsequentlybonded in New York over their shared enthusiasmfor his approach, poring over Coleman’s extensivecassette archive of location performances.Many years before, in Chicago, where Greensettled in 1960, Roscoe Mitchell, Joseph Jarmanand Henry Threadgill, then young aspirants, hadalso paid close attention.“The level of expertise [Green] displayed inhis musicianship and expression were very clearfrom the moment I heard him,” said Threadgill,after witnessing the group’s final night at theStandard. He recalled a concert, perhaps in 1962,in which Green played pieces “structured in theway of free-jazz, the so-called avant-garde category.”He continued: “Bunky was formidable, noone to fool with. I can’t think of another alto playerat a comparable level in Chicago at the time.”DeJohnette cited the “urgency, commandingpresence and confidence” of Green’s early ’60splaying. “Everybody would talk about Bunky,”he said, noting that Green had once brushed offhis request to sit in during a gig at a South Sideclub. “He was legendary even then.”For Osby, Green was less a stylistic influencethan “a guru-type figure who assured me I’m onthe right track, gave me the Good HousekeepingSeal of Approval that what I was doing was theright thing, not to let detractors sway me frommy mission, that I was put here to establish newgoals and force new paths.” Ten years later,Mahanthappa drew a similar message.“I was around lots of tenor players whosounded like [John] Coltrane and [Michael]Brecker, and alto players wanting to soundlike Kenny Garrett,” Mahanthappa recalled.“Bunky’s voice didn’t sound like anyone else. Ineeded that affirmation that it was OK to be anindividual. I heard things—interesting intervallicapproaches—that maybe I couldn’t play yet,but was thinking about. But I also heard the traditionin the music.”Mahanthappa placed his hand at a 90-degreeangle. “This is Charlie Parker,” he said, thenmoved his hand to 105 degrees and continued,“and this is me. It’s all the same material, just rearrangeda little bit—a different perspective. Iheard Bunky doing that at the highest level.”At the time, Mahanthappa, spurred by a tripto India (with a Berklee student ensemble) to beginexploring ways to express identity in music,was absorbing an album by Kadri Golpalnath, analto saxophonist from Southern India who, likeGreen, had systematically worked out inflections,fingerings and embouchure techniques toelicit the idiomatic particulars of Carnatic classicalmusic. As important, he took conceptual cuesfrom such Coleman recordings as Dao Of MadPhat, Seasons Of Renewal and Strata Institute.“Steve extrapolated African rhythm as I aspiredto do with Indian rhythm and melody, not playingWest African music, but doing somethingnew with well-established, ancient material froma different culture,” he said. “It was an amazingtemplate. Steve doesn’t need a kora player or aGhanaian drum line to play with him, and I don’tneed a tabla or mridangam in my quartet. We’replaying modern American improvised music.”In 1996, three years into a four-year stay inChicago, Mahanthappa invited Green toguest with his quartet for a weekend at the GreenMill. Green declined. “It was more about tryingto do something special than about the music,”Mahanthappa reflected. According to altoistJeff Newell, a rehearsal partner who had studiedformally with Green, Mahanthappa “had developeda lot of the things he’s doing now,” projectingthem with a “bright, shave-your-head sound,”as though, a local peer-grouper quipped, “somebodythrew lighter fluid on Bunky.”An opportunity for collaboration arose 13years later, when the producers of Madein Chicago: World Class Jazz approachedMahanthappa—now leading several ensemblesdevoted to the application of Western harmonyto South Indian melodies and beat cycles, eachwith highly structured, meticulously unfoldingrepertoire specific to its musical personalities—to present a concert at Millennium Park. In additionto his blistering sax and rhythm quartet withpianist Vijay Iyer, to whom Coleman had introducedhim in 1996 (he reciprocally sidemannedfor years in Iyer’s own quartet, and they continueto co-lead the duo Raw Materials), Mahanthappahad recently conceptualized Indo-Pak Coalition,a trio of alto, tabla (Dan Weiss) and guitar (RezAbbasi) documented on Apti (Pi); and a pluggedin,ragacentric quintet called Samdhi, with electricguitar (David Gilmore), electric bass (RichBrown), drums (Damion Reid) and mridangam(Anand Ananthakrishnan). Then, too, he was involvedin a pair of two-alto projects: the quintetDual Identity, which he co-leads with SteveLehman, a fellow Colemanite (The General[Clean Feed]); and the Dakshima Ensemble, acollaboration with Golparnath in which Abassi,bassist Carlo DeRosa and drummer RoyalHartigan meld with Golparnath’s sax-violin-mridangamtrio to perform their hybrid refractionsof Carnatic music, documented on the widelypublicized CD Kinsmen (Pi).“They wanted to present Dakshima and addsome Chicago musicians, which sounded likea disaster and was budgetarily impossible,”“I do a lot of analyzing.Maybe I play a phrase,and some experiencecomes up from my life.Or perhaps I see somebeauty in it and decideto keep developingit, and it leads into asong, or pathways Ican utilize on whateverI’m working on.To me, a tune can’t bejust pretty. It has to besomething that fits intothe way I feel about life,so I can express it.” —Bunky GreenMahanthappa said. “But they thought Bunkywas a great idea. Bunky made it clear that hedidn’t want to play 7s and 11s and 13s—it wasmore about trying to find a comfortable placethat would highlight what we both do. It was interestingto compose a blues [‘Summit’] and a‘Rhythm’ changes tune [‘Who’] that sounds likethe same compositional voice I’ve done over thelast decade. I’m trying to learn how to relinquishcontrol of the situation and just say, ‘Whateverhappens, happens.’”Two of Green’s new tunes, “Eastern Echoes”and “Journey,” reflect his abiding interest inNorth African scales and tonalities, and another,“Rainier And Theresia” (dedicated to the late wifeof Jazz Baltica impresario Rainer Haarmann), isthe latest addition to a consequential lexicon ofsearing ballad features. “I didn’t want to get involvedin anything with a lot of changes,” Greensaid. “I don’t feel that music too much now. Our26 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

things kind of hover on the edge. There’s all kindsof room in what we write, and we both like thatyou can take it where you want to.“Like Rudresh, I do a lot of analyzing.Maybe I play a phrase, and some experiencecomes up from my life. Or perhaps I see somebeauty in it and decide to keep developing it, andit leads into a song, or pathways I can utilize onwhatever I’m working on. To me, a tune can’t bejust pretty. It has to be something that fits intothe way I feel about life, so I can express it. Theblues, too. It’s not just a word, it’s a feeling. It’ssomething that you have, and right away, if youplay the right notes, the feeling will be there. It’sbending notes. It’s moaning. How are you goingto play about pain unless you’ve experiencedpain? And how are you going to package it likeCharlie Parker, who just cried over his horn?Those aren’t notes. It’s a man’s life.”Green discovered Bird in his early teens,which coincided with the release of the alto legend’sstudio sides for Dial and Savoy. Green gotthem all. By the time he was 17, he said, “I couldplay everything Bird recorded in terms of imitating.I didn’t know what the hell I was playing. Iwas just stretching, trying to find the notes.”Around this time, Green contracted viralpneumonia. “A doctor came to the house, and Ioverheard him telling my mother that he didn’tthink I’d make it,” he recalled. “I decided that if Idid live through it, all my friends would be aheadof me, so I should practice just in case—I couldhear the ones in my head, so I didn’t need my instrument.I took the hardest songs I could thinkof—‘Cherokee,’ ‘All The Things You Are,’ ‘JustOne Of Those Things’—and transposed themmentally through all 12 keys. The people mymother worked for brought in a famous doctor,who gave me new drugs, which knocked it out,but not until I experienced the white light at theend of the tunnel, the light closing, then fightingfor air to come back, the light opening up again.When I was able to get back to my instrument, Iwas able to play everything I’d practiced.”While attending Milwaukee TeachersCollege, Green worked locally with pianistsWillie Pickens and Billy Wallace, walking thebar on rhythm-and-blues jobs, soaking up GeneAmmons’ spare, vocalistic approach to balladslike “These Foolish Things” and Lester Young’spoetic treatment of “I’m Confessin’.” He hadNew York on his radar, and first visited in 1957,staying at the Harlem Y across the street fromSmalls Paradise, where Lou Donaldson helda steady gig. He sat in with Max Roach’s quintetwith Sonny Rollins and Kenny Dorham onthe say-so of Wallace, then Roach’s band pianist.“I was always able to play fast, especially atthat time, so I was able to hang in and do it,” hesaid. That fall, Donaldson recommended him toCharles Mingus.The audition produced a second transformativemoment, after Mingus told him, “The firsttune we’ll play is ‘Pithecanthropus Erectus.’”Green continued: “I sat there, ‘Hmm, pithecan... ’ ‘You know what that means, man?’ That’sthe way Mingus talked. ‘No, I really don’t know.’‘That means the first man to stand erect.’ He said,‘Play this,’ and played something like bink-dinkdom-deeenngg.I said, ‘Have you got that writtendown so I can see it?’ Then he went off on me—if he wrote it down, I’d never play it right. I said,‘Then play it again.’ I was able to hear it and playit back, and he smiled, and moved on.“Mingus validated how I was starting to feelabout the music—that there must be a systematicway to break free of the major-and-minor system.He’d have you do things like take the neck offyour horn and blow into the bottom part to get avery low timbre on ‘Foggy Day’ because he wantedyou to sound like a ship out in the harbor.”Mingus brought Green cross-country to SanFrancisco’s Black Hawk. On the return trip, hedropped him off in Chicago so that he could attendto family matters in Milwaukee, with theexpectation that Green would soon return toNew York for more club dates and a recording.But Green stayed home, imbued with notions ofthe freedom principle, with the late ’50s innovationsof Coltrane as his lodestar. Green continuedthese explorations in Chicago, where—unable“to afford New York at the time”—he moved inFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 27

Bunky Green & Rudresh Mahanthappa1960. He quickly made his presence felt on a scene that he describes as“very fast, but more laid back than New York, so you could do yourself ina less frantic environment.” He cut a straightahead sextet date for Exoduswith Jimmy Heath, Donald Byrd, Wynton Kelly, Larry Ridley and JimmyCobb, and a quartet side for Vee-Jay with Wallace, bassist Donald Garrettand drummer Bill Erskine. He frequently partnered with Garrett on “out ofthe box” projects, including an exploratory trio that did a concert—the oneThreadgill attended—on which they “just started playing and tried to interact—thatwas the whole gig.”A third transformative moment occurred in 1964, when Green, inMorocco on a State Department tour, traveled “through the back woods” tohear a performance. “We saw three musicians sitting on the floor in a circle,”he recalled. “One guy had a bagpipe, another had a small violin, andthe third played a small drum that he put his hand into and played on top.I became mesmerized by the bagpipe player’s skill. It blew my mind, becausehe put together what I was hearing in my head. No chords. There wasa drone of a fifth, and you played around that fifth and resolved it withinyourself. Later, I started studying it and building from it, pretty much theway Rudresh visited his culture and started drawing on it. I’m not trying tocopy the sound. I’m trying to get into the essence of their phrasing and howthey circle the open fourth and fifth tonal centers that they use. I had to giveup the standard jazz lines in order to do that.”Ten years later, Steve Coleman, then 18, heard Green—at thispoint heading a newly formed Jazz Studies department at ChicagoState University—either at Ratso’s on the North Side or CadillacBob’s, around the corner from his South Side house. “Bunky workedout patterns that sounded calculated, like a deliberate effort to get tohis own thing,” Coleman stated. “As a result, his playing is very clear,precise, direct, and I could dig into it, try to analyze it and find outwhat it was. I wanted him to show me what he was doing, so I askedfor a lesson, but Bunky turned me down. He told me, ‘I only give lessonsto cats who need lessons, and you don’t. You need to go to NewYork.’ So I decided I’d listen and grab what I could.“Although I noticed the patterns early on, Bunky used certain devicesthat intrigued me. He developed a special fingering to get a hiccupquality that you hear in North African singers. He also picked upa lot of augmented second intervals, as well as quartal stuff and pentatonics,from that part of the world. Whereas in those countries, thepitches stay pretty much the same, Bunky moved the intervals aroundin different ways. To me the blues is basically a modal music, withouta lot of progression. Bird managed to put sophisticated progressions inthe blues that gave it motion, but let it sound like blues, as opposed to,say, Lennie Tristano or Dizzy. Coltrane figured out a way to move themusic that influenced him from Africa and India. Bunky figured outhow to do this with the North African-Middle Eastern vibe.”Along with what he does on Apex, Mahanthappa’s recent sideman workin DeJohnette’s new group with David Fiuczynski, George Colliganand Jerome Harris and in Danilo Pérez’s 21st Century Dizzy project (thereare several open-ended Pérez–Mahanthappa duos on 2010’s Providencia[Mack Avenue]) may go some ways towards countering a critique that hismusical production—particularly the 2006 release Codebook (Pi), comprisingoriginal pieces constructed of intervals drawn from Fibonacciequations, and Mother Tongue (Pi), on which the compositions draw frommelodic transcriptions of Indian-Americans responding, in their native dialect,to the question “Do you speak Indian?”—is overly intellectual and insufficientlysoulful.“Everyone I look up to is simultaneously right brain and left brain, touse a dated term, or simultaneously intellectual and seat-of-the-pants instinctive,”Mahanthappa said. “Bartok played with Fibonacci equations.Bach played with Golden Section. Even Dufay’s motets, if you pick themapart, have a somewhat mathematical, formal approach. ‘Giant Steps’ and28 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

Omar SosaGoesDeepBy Dan OuelletteWhen he was commissioned by the Barcelona Jazz Festivalin 2009 to be one of three artists to commemorate the50th anniversary of Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue, Omar Sosatold a Barcelona reporter that what he was being asked todo was like being thrown into a lion-packed arena at a Romancircus. But the Cuba-born, Barcelona-based pianist/keyboardist/bandleader,who has recorded more than 20 albums and garnered three Grammy nominations,did his homework, studied the original compositions closely, assembled a sextetfeaturing guest trumpeter Jerry González to decipher his complex arrangementsand held court at L’Auditori for his festival performance. Sosa, a risk-taker with anadventurous streak and a no-borders attitude, plugged in and presented an electronicallyhued version of Kind Of Blue that was more like the 1969 Davis blitzinginto Bitches Brew than his mellow modal jazz of 1959.FEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 31

Omar SosaDonning a white robe and a white cap, Sosaopened by fleetingly alluding to “So What,” butfor the rest of the evening avoided playing too closeto the recognizable phrases and melodies of theclassic. He coaxed drummer Dafnis Prieto to playbombastic drums in pockets, conducted waves ofexclamatory horns inspirited by Peter Apfelbaumon sax, soothed González to play a sublime mutedsolo on a gorgeous ballad, then bubbled the proceedingswith mysterious stretches that frothedinto funk, balladic measures that jumped intorhythmic leaps, and strident piano and electronickeyboard lines setting up dense-to-stark passagesthat were both boisterous and beautiful. Eachpiece became a journey of tempo shifts, rhythmicvivacity, exhilarating conversations and pensivebreaks of silence.For 90 minutes, Sosa led the charge throughhis image of Kind Of Blue, which was explosivelyimaginative in some people’s eyes but for otherswas an audacious affront to Davis’ art. Heincluded a spoken word sample of Davis talkingfrom the stage at his last concert in Parisbefore he died. Certainly, Sosa’s interpretationwas markedly different from the straight-uptake of original Kind Of Blue session drummerJimmy Cobb’s variations on the album songbooktwo nights earlier and Spanish pianist ChanoDomínguez’s flamenco-styled rendering of thealbum three nights later.The next day sitting in his apartment (“myhome, my temple”) in the labyrinthine old sectionof Barcelona, filled with small altars to the godsfrom his Cuban heritage, Sosa good-naturedlyscoffed at the critics, one of whom lambasted theshow in a local newspaper. “I knew that some peoplewere going to be negative and complain that Iwrite complex on purpose,” he said. “I knew I wasgoing to be a target because so many people havetheir own perception of the album. But I say thatsomeone can try to dance like Michael Jacksonand may get his steps but never be able to trulydance like Michael Jackson. That’s impossible. Inthe same way, I didn’t want to play like Miles. I respecthim, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, CannonballAdderley, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb toomuch to do that. I never play standards, anyway,but I wanted to research and interpret these songsin my own way. You never play like the masters;you have your own voice.”Sosa read books on Davis’ life and listenedclosely to the solos, the tempos, the conversationsthat were taking place on the album. He thencombined rearranged solos and reharmonizedmelodies in a post-modern pastiche of suspendedharmonies, rushing syncopation and snippets oflines from one song stitched into another. “WhatI did was a more cubist, angular style of arranging,”he said. “All the album solos and melodiesare in my interpretation. I just mixed them all together.If some people aren’t willing to listen forit, that’s not my problem. It’s the way I hear harmony.And then I put in elements of Miles’ laterstyle. I was born in 1965, so I can relate to thatperiod when he was experimenting with differenttempos and colors.”One point that Sosa found particularly offensivewas when the reviewer wrote that Kind OfBlue has nothing to do with Africa. Sosa commentedthat before he wrote one note, he wastotally immersed in his understanding of howDavis possessed the spirit of Africa. “All ofmy music—every single note—is based on theAfrican tradition, but some critics don’t understandwhat the spirit of Africa means,” he says. “Iplayed a chamber music concert in Spain with myAfreecanos Quartet and a symphony orchestra.Some people complained that the evening wastoo refined and didn’t go into the deepest spiritof Africa. What? It was as if the spirit of Africahas to be dirty, or a black guy sweating and beingwild. It can’t be refined and sophisticated?”That notion of delving into the depth of hisAfrican heritage is at the heart of Sosa’sAfro-Cuban-infused music. It’s coursing in hisblood and intertwined in his DNA. While he firststudied marimba and percussion in the conservatoryin his hometown of Camaguey, he switchedto piano while in formal studies in 1983 at theEscuela Nacional de Musica in Havana in pursuitof the musical motherland he was drawn to. Whileclassically trained, he had jazz albums aroundthe house when he was growing up (includingthe album Pianoforte by Chucho Valdés) and listenedas a student to a jazz radio program hostedby the father of drummer Horatio “El Negro”Hernandez. It was during this time that he was introducedto the recordings of Thelonious Monk,who became a major influence.After school, Sosa began his worldwide odyssey,moving to Quito, Ecuador, in 1993, wherehe discovered the African-rooted folkloric musicof Esmeraldas and formed a fusion group.Then he settled in San Francisco in December1995, landing there unexpectedly. While livingin Ecuador on a Cuban passport, Sosa set off toMallorca, Spain, to do some summer gigs. Whenhe prepared to go home, he lost his visa so he wasstranded there and living illegally. Previously hehad applied for an American tourist visa, whichwas approved. “I used it one day before it expired,”Sosa said. “I got on a plane and landed inSan Francisco, where I knew no one and couldn’tspeak a word of English.”A friend of his ex-wife picked him up at theairport, and they both bounced from friends offriends’ apartments. “In one month, I lived insomething like 12 houses,” Sosa said. “I criedlike a baby. I had no friends, no job and no money.Welcome to America.”Sosa had recorded jingles in Ecuador, withthe paychecks being delivered to him in the BayArea, which gave him three months’ worth ofliving expenses. In February 1996, he answereda classified ad looking for musicians to be a partof a Latin combo. He joined the band and beganplaying Spanish, flamenco, cumbia and salsa.He showed up on albums recorded in 1996by Pancho Quinto (En El Solar La Cueva DelHumo) and Carlos “Patato” Valdes (Ritmo YCandela: African Crossroads), and gradually“All of my music—every single note—isbased on the Africantradition, but some criticsdon’t understandwhat the spirit of Africameans. It’s as if thespirit of Africa has tobe dirty, or a blackguy sweating andbeing wild. What? Itcan’t be refined orsophisticated?”became acquainted with several stars on the localscene, including percussionist John Santos,who with his band Machete Ensemble was exploringthe history of Cuban music.“Meeting John moved me to another level,”Sosa said, “He helped me to express myselfbased on what I feel. Everything took a new directionfor me. He told me to stay on my ownroad even if it’s going to be a really long walk.John knew more about my tradition than mostpeople in Cuba. I learned how to hear my ownmusic as well as my tradition.”Santos recalls first meeting Sosa when hesubbed in a band that the conguero often performedwith at the Elbo Room in San Francisco.“We were connecting all night,” he says. “It’s asif we were thinking the same things at the sametime. Omar spoke no English, and my Spanish isOK but it’s not my first language. But what wascool was that we both knew Afro-Cuban folkloricmusic, which I had been exploring my entirelife. We started playing together more and weknew the same musical language. In Omar’s melodyline I could hear the Cuban music, so I wouldrespond with my congas. That would set him off,so he would respond with another melody thatwould get me driving. Omar made me play stuffthat I never thought of playing.”They first played a duo concert together in1997 at KCSM radio’s Jazz on the Hill festivalat the College of San Mateo and later performedconcerts throughout clubs in the Bay Area, includingLa Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley,where they recorded the album Nfumbe, releasedin 1998.Another key person to Sosa’s growth wassaxophonist Peter Apfelbaum, at the time one ofthe most important jazz artists in the Bay Area.In one of the first shows he attended when he arrivedin San Francisco, Sosa went to a small clubon Market Street, The Upper Room, and caughtApfelbaum playing with his band. “Peter instant-32 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

ly became one of my heroes,” said Sosa. “I sawhim play the keyboards, then jump onto the sax,then jump over to the drums. He started singingand doing spoken word. I didn’t know who hewas, but I thought, this is the music that I wantto do. It was multikulti with a lot of tradition, andit was crazy.”The pair officially met a few years later whenSosa was playing a gig at the Great AmericanMusic Hall with drummer Josh Jones, a veteranof Apfelbaum’s big band, HierogylphicsEnsemble. “Omar and I felt a common bond,”says Apfelbaum, now based in New York. “I startedout when I was young drumming and listeningto a lot of African music, so rhythm became abig part of what I do. It’s the same with Omar. Heapproaches his music with a rhythmic foundation,and when I play with him, he always encouragesme to improvise on my saxophone over the Afro-Cuban rhythmic foundation he lays.”As Apfelbaum got to know Sosa better andparticipated on many of his projects, he becameimpressed with how many trails the pianist wasblazing. “Omar is one of those idea guys,” hesays. “He’s prolific, which I admire. Some peoplework hard, but never really change what theyplay. But Omar is constantly changing becausehe has so many ideas of what he wants to do.”Another key Bay Area contact was ScottPrice, a former newspaper publisher who overseesSosa’s career to this day. He created OtáRecords exclusively for the pianist to pursuehis multifarious projects (the label is part of theHarmonia Mundi distributing network) and tohelp manage his career, even to the point of occasionallyworking as a road manager on the pianist’s150-dates-a-year tours, which includeda gig at the Highline Ballroom in New York inOctober 2009. “I wanted to give Omar the opportunityto record widely and frequently,” Pricesaid over coffee at Union Square’s Joe’s Art ofCoffee cafe. In fact, since his first album, OmarOmar, Sosa has recorded a whopping total of 23albums, including his upcoming solo piano album,Calma (to be released March 8) and themuch-heralded Across The Divide: A Tale OfRhythm & Ancestry, a 2010 Grammy-nominatedalbum in the Best Contemporary World Musiccategory that was an unusual collaboration withNew England vocalist/banjoist/American folkethnomusicologist Tim Eriksen. Produced byJeff Levenson, the CD was released by HalfNote—the only Sosa disc not on the OaklandbasedOtá label.Even though Sosa has released multiple albumswithin a year’s time on a couple of occasions,he sells well, especially in France. Whilehis Grammy-nominated 2002 CD Sentir is arguablyhis top seller (an estimated 30,000 copiesworldwide), Price reports that today with digitaldistribution, the sales figures are more difficultto calculate.Sosa, who has been living in Barcelona forsome 12 years and has two kids (ages 5 and8), is planning to record his Kind Of Blue arrangementsin New York in May (he also performs aweek at the Blue Note, from May 3–8) with hisAfro-Electric quintet including Apfelbaum,German trumpeter Joo Kraus, bassist ChildoTomas, drummer Marque Gilmore and a specialguest, 78-year-old South African vocalist DavidSerrame. Known for changing his material upimprovisationally, Sosa will be delivering a differentsession than the show at Barcelona. Thetentative title is Alternative Africa, and the CDwill be issued late this year or early 2012.Meanwhile, Sosa is immersed in anotherexuberant project that he unveiled for Spanisheyes at the 2010 Barcelona Jazz Festival: his bigband adventure with the NDR Bigband of hisoriginals arranged by Brazilian great JaquesMorelenbaum. The album of this material,Ceremony, was released early in 2010. Sittingin the lounge area of the Gran Hotel Havana afew days before the performance at the majesticPalau de la Música, Sosa, draped in a baggypants and vest suit, with a blousy white shirtand dangling bracelets with shells on his wrists,says that the experience of the recording was adream come true. The opportunity came aboutbecause of a scheduling glitch when he wastouring with his quartet in Europe.“I was performing in Germany, then neededto leave that night to play in Poland the next day,”says Sosa. “We didn’t know we needed visas totravel there, so we were forced to miss our planeand stay overnight. So we hung out in a restaurantand drank a lot of wine. Stefan Gerdes of theNDR band asked me if I’d like to do a big bandalbum some day, and if so, who would I want toarrange the music. So, I said Jaques, who is anotherone of my heroes because of all the work hehad done with Brazilian musicians.”Off to Poland the next day, Sosa forgotabout the exchange. But Gerdes did not. Hecontacted Morelenbaum, who had first becomeexposed to Sosa when he heard the pianist atthe New Morning jazz club in Paris. He wasimpressed. In the liner notes of Ceremony, hewrites that the project was a dream gig for him,too: “I could not imagine I was going to meet anartist capable of making a complete and naturalsynthesis of what music is today on this planet.From that moment on, I began to dream aboutsharing the music that emanates from Omarwith such expressiveness. Now, here he comes,offering me not only his music and his freedom,but also the chance to listen to my arrangementsperformed by the fantastic ensemble.”Meanwhile, once Morelenbaum signed onto the project, Gerdes contacted Price, who relayedthe news to Sosa. “Wow, I could hardly rememberthat conversation,” he says. “But thankGod and all the spirits of my life. It turned outto be an amazing project. Jaques and I becamegood friends, and I learned so much about arrangingfrom him. He sent me titles of my songshe wanted to arrange, and I wrote two new pieces.I gave him the scores and said, ‘Fly.’ The resultis that my music sounds so different withall the complexities and voicings but still maintainswho I am. Funny thing is, Jaques told methat this was his first all-instrumental big bandalbum.”Apfelbaum marvels at Sosa’s eclectic oeuvre.“The vocabulary Omar uses is broad,” hesays. “That’s something that I find is a reflectionof the time we’re living in, but that many musiciansare not recognizing even though there isa lot more harmonic advancements and widerrhythmic variety than there was 30 years ago.The way Omar structures music is universal,but the foundation is always very Africa.”Santos, who continues to tour and recordwith Sosa on occasion, says, “Omar has an insatiableappetite for music. He’s like a creativesponge. He’s doing exactly what he set out to do:travel the world and play for many different audiences.He’s restless. He always has a new projecthe’s working on. And he attracts the most esotericand creative people in the world, whether it’s inEurope, Africa or the Middle East. We toured togetherin the Caribbean, Spain and Italy, and hemesmerized the audience in every show. He’s amagician. He brings magic to each project.”Certainly Sosa’s recording output reflectshis passion for diversity, with dates with a rangeof performers, including Venezuelan percussionistGustavo Ovalles, L.A.-based percussionistAdam Rudolph, clarinetist Paquito D’Riveraand trumpeter Paulo Fresu (a duo album is nowin the works). Another idea that Sosa was planningto embark on after his big band date inBarcelona was his Africa tour where he was goingto visit nine countries and record with traditionalmusicians from each. “The album will becalled Deeper Into The Tradition, which meanswe’ll be going deep,” says Sosa. “It’s going to beinteresting. For example, we’re going to Sudan,which is the tenth largest country by area in theworld, but they only have three pianos there,and all uprights. So that’s what I’ll be playing.”With a dance-like bounce to his step andrapid-fire zeal in his voice, Sosa is in surgemode, yet he has yet to fully break through inthe U.S. market. During his time in Barcelona,Sosa knew that Chano Domínguez was close tosigning with Blue Note to record his Kind OfBlue rendition. Is a major label deal somethingthat he’d be interested in?Usually voluminous in his responses to questions,Sosa shakes his head and bluntly says,“No.”Why not? “The way I look at the picture isthat if I feel something musically, I try to putthat out as a recording,” he says. “It’s a blessingto have my own label. I can put out whatever Iwant to, whenever. I record every message thatcomes to me. That’s why I have more than 20 recordsin a decade-and-a-half, and I own 100 percentof my publishing. I want my legacy to go tomy kids, not to a record company. Maybe I wouldhave a higher profile if I did a record on a majorlabel, and I’d get more publicity and attention.But I figure the more you control your own music,the more opportunities you can have in thefuture.” DBFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 33

John McNeilAll WitBy Jim MacnieThey come each week, and each week they make you chuckle. Sometimes they readlike this: “Wednesday is Tiki Barber’s birthday. To celebrate, the band is moving toan earlier start time of 8:30. In addition, the audience will be asked to participate inblocking and tackling drills between sets. Shoulder pads will be provided, but everyoneshould bring their own helmet and cleats. No wagering.”And sometimes they read like this: “To celebrate the 120th anniversaryof the official opening of the Eiffel Tower, the band will present worksby French composers such as François Rosolineau, Thelonious-ClaudeLeMonk and Jean Coltraigne. There’s no minimum, so pay a cover, hangout for three sets and have some brie. Or some epoisses. Scratch that:epoisses smells like death, so vile that it’s actually illegal to carry it on theParis Métro.”They’re header paragraphs of invitations to see John McNeil’s variousbands at Puppets, a Brooklyn jazz club. The trumpeter doesn’t like to doanything without giving it a bit of flair, so for several years now, his weeklygig reminders have been crazed and cool. On his 61st birthday, the textpromised a red velvet cake so good, “It will make you slap your grandma.”Ask anyone who knows McNeil, and they’ll mention the fact that he’spart wag, part wiseass and all wit. A string of quips often shoots from thebandstand when the now-62-year-old brings his freebop antics to an audience.He’s just as quick with a snarky comment as he is with trumpet flourish.The first time I saw him play, he intro’d Russ Freeman’s “Batter Up”with a gleefully sarcastic mention of how lame the Mets were. After animpromptu gig with other New York jazzers last spring, while everyonefrom Tony Malaby to Rob Garcia was congratulating each other for somenifty coordination during a totally abstract piece, McNeil told his mateswith a smile, “You guys were lost a lot of the time, but yeah, it was cool.”They expected nothing less. Everyone knows that he’s a guy who has levityfor lunch.“When we made East Coast Cool,” says saxophonist Allan Chase,“we took fun photographs of ourselves dressed in suits, acting like Chetand Gerry. When it was time to decide which of the shots to use, Johnstarted sending me these PhotoShopped variations of the cover with themost hilarious fake album titles, many of them quite obscene—about 25came through before he was done, and each was more outrageous thanthe last.”The 2006 record Chase alludes to was a novel date, opening the doorto a new slant on the 1950s West Coast sound, which is often typified bythe darting interplay of the musicians he mentioned, Mr. Baker and Mr.Mulligan. McNeil conceptualized the approach, putting a modern spin onan orthodox repertory. He’s long appreciated the lithe intricacies of cooljazz, having shared bills with Baker and done time in Mulligan’s large ensembles.But he also digs the open territories of free-jazz, and has lots ofskills when it comes to launching investigatory solos. East Coast Cool’sblend of chipper melodies and mercurial improvs was unique. Its tunes,mostly written by McNeil to bridge the particulars of each element, ingeniouslystraddled the two approaches.“When he handed me my music folder, the cover title read ‘CGOA,’ recallsChase. “I said, ‘John, what’s that mean?’ ‘Chet and Gerry on acid,’he deadpanned.”A similar whimsy has been driving the otherwise serious music projectsMcNeil has helmed for the last few years. His latest Sunnyside album,made in collaboration with tenor saxophonist Bill McHenry, is calledChill Morn, He Climb Jenny (yep, it sounds dirty, but it’s an anagram oftheir names). Like Rediscovery, the disc that preceded it, the program containsa scad of unique spins on actual West Coast nuggets that the pairhave refined during the last few years. Freeman is a central figure here:Everything from “Band Aid” to “Happy Little Sunbeam” to “Bea’s Flat” ispart of the McNeil–McHenry book. Those titles are surrounded by WilberHarden, Jimmy Van Heusen and George Wallington ditties. It’s a tack thathas earned the trumpeter wider visibility. A few years ago the New YorkTimes proclaimed the pair’s weekly interpretation of such jewels to be“one of the best jazz events in the city.”34 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

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Composer Nicholas Urie has been arranging some of McNeil’s tunesand co-leading a big band with him. “There are two types of older people,”he says, “those who look forward and those who look back. John, as a rule,looks forward. One the most effective ways he does it is by putting himselfin situations where he might not know entirely what’s going to happen.Some people his age get confrontational when it comes to doing things in away other than the norm. He’s interested in reimagining his career and theway he relates to improvisation and jazz in general.”Rolling through the book at Manhattan’s Cornelia Street Café (whereChill Morn was recorded live), the group, which features bassist Joe Martinand drummer Jochen Rueckert, recently found ways to balance their materials.McHenry is utterly willing to stroll down avenues where anythinggoes. His solos, often fascinating, have a private feel, sometimes taking afew seconds to reveal their inner logic. His exchanges with McNeil are deft;their camaraderie is such that the counterpoint demanded by the arrangementsis dead-on. The two weave in and out of each other, offering a sweetsymmetry. McNeil is agile as he moves around his horn. His solos can besly or puckish. Seldom are they arcane, though. The relative simplicity ofthe melodies gives even the most complicated maneuvers a breezy quality.“Those West Coast tunes are relentlessly cheery,” says McNeil, “younever hear any sturm und drang coming from out there; it’s sunshine, optimism,vitamin D. In many of these tunes there’s almost a Mozartian lightness.”He starts singing Nachtmusic’s “Allegro,” and segues it into Baker’s“A Dandy Line.” “Back in New York, everyone is in a minor key, everyonethinks they’re going to die. But not out there. I wonder if [Charles] Mingusbrought his own cloud with him when he moved to Mill Valley—that’s avery bucolic place. ‘Think it’s going to rain?’ ‘Maybe; I see lightning rightabove Mingus’ house.’ Even the California song titles were cute: ‘Shank’sPranks’ and things like that. Back East we’d have titles like ‘Black Death’or ‘Relentless Cough.’”McNeil knows a tad about bad weather. He’s spent a good chunk of hislife battling the constraints of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, which affectsthe body’s muscles by messing with its neural system. As a kid in Yreka,Calif., he wore braces all over his body. Taunts from bullies were the norm,and McNeil believes that some of his humor was sharpened by the guys whoteased him. He took some punches, both verbal and physical, and gave backa few as well. He saw his wit as an armor of sorts. “Being handicapped in asmall town doesn’t get you far,” he says. “It’s better to be funny.”As a child he came across Louis Armstrong on TV, was swayed by thecharisma and got himself a trumpet. When he was in his mid-teens, theCMT’s impact subsided. Befriending a local newspaper editor who hadonce gigged with Red Nichols, McNeil received encouragement for hisown playing. He connected with big bands and fell deeper into jazz. Hetended to like the new stuff. He believes he was the only person in Yrekawho bought Miles Davis’ ESP the week it was released.He’s a brainiac, and after hitting a home run on his SATs, IBM tried torecruit him. McNeil decided to stick with jazz because there were more opportunitiesto connect with the opposite sex. He hit New York in the early’70s, snuggled into the Thad Jones–Mel Lewis Orchestra and played a bitwith Horace Silver. He started getting his own gigs, too. Being in shape becamea priority. When he first met his longtime sweetie, Lolly Bienenfeld,she lived on the 43rd floor of a Manhattan high-rise; McNeil would run upthe stairs to stay in shape.One day, out of the blue, the CMT emerged again. This time the diseasehad snuck its way into his face and his diaphragm. He made physicalchanges to keep his chops together, but it was an uphill battle. Another blowwas struck when he discovered that two of his spinal vertebrae had disintegrated.Can you say massive, constant pain? A 14-hour operation helpedsave him from death, and afterwards the proud surgeon presented him tocolleagues as part of a “here’s what’s possible” medical forum. Time for avictory dance, right? Wait, we’re not done yet.In the mid-’80s the trumpeter lost control of his right hand and couldn’tfinger the horn with any accuracy. Fellow musicians told him that should bethe final straw, but with Bienenfeld’s support and a sense of determinationhoned during his childhood days, he learned to play the trumpet with his36 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

left hand (he’s since gone back to his right). Saxophonist Noah Preminger,who has collaborated with the trumpeter, deems that accomplishment “outrageousand fantastic.” McNeil explains it in simple terms. “I wanted toplay. I could have quit, but there’s no mystery in that move. I want to seewhat would happen if I tried to actually do it.”Every week McNeil heads to Boston for two days to teach at the NewEngland Conservatory. He’s been in front of classes since the mid-’80s, and according to a handful of his peers, he’s one of the school’s mostrespected educators. Chase, NEC’s former head of jazz studies and the currentchair of the Ear Training department at Berklee, assures that he’s “afantastic resource to the students, and a big believer in learning.” McNeil’scourses concentrate on jazz theory and jazz repertoire, and his vast knowledgeof songs and their inner workings makes him a go-to guy. Premingeris in awe of his pal’s work ethic. “He doesn’t stop,” says the saxophonist.“It’s idea after idea after idea. He used to call me up all day and night tobounce new stuff off of me.”Chase concurs: “He’s wildly fluent—that makes him popular with thestudents. And the way he gets them to pay attention is key. He’s very motivating,and operates without bullshit. He always goes the extra mile, andwrites new arrangements for each group rather than opting for the standardstuff. The reason I’m emphasizing his diligence is because he’s so funnyyou might think that humor is what he’s riding on. Nothing could be furtherfrom the truth. He can have people on the floor, but they respect himbecause he’s a hard worker and real bandleader.”Dave Douglas knows McNeil’s clout when it comes to the horn. Theywere once neighbors, and the younger trumpeter would often solicit hisfriend’s opinion before releasing a new album. Their exchange of ideas isdeep and ongoing. “I would go over to his house frequently to hang out andplay,” recalls Douglas. “I loved hearing him play and felt like he had a keensense of what ideas I was trying to go for. His hands-on knowledge of somuch music was always an inspiration.”McHenry agrees. “When he does a gig as a sideman—he once subbedfor Duane Eubanks in my band—he rewrote out all my charts in his ownhand, just to make it clearer for himself, and then memorized ’em by thetime of the gig. And guess what, he played his fucking ass off. He alwaysdoes.”At a weekly jam session in Brooklyn, McNeil stresses his skills as bothcurator and traffic cop. Up-and-comers populate the place, and hetries to give each a chance to blow on a tune or two. It starts with a learnby-listeningsession. He and trombonist Mike Fahie bounce through a shortset to get a vibe going. Then the revolving doors open. One recent eveningwas marked with timid trumpeters and brazen alto players. A dude wholooked like an insurance agent blew a decent tenor on “I Remember You.”“Who knows ‘JuJu’?” asked McNeil. Some did, some didn’t, so hehelped the needy with the design of Wayne Shorter’s nugget, and in a fewminutes everyone was off. “Deluge” surfaced later in the set.“I occasionally have to be the bad guy,” he explains. “Last week I hadto tell someone that he was no longer invited to play. It happens.”But people flock to McNeil because he’s the good guy, the entertainingguy. He’s the subject of a forthcoming doc by filmmaker James Lester, whomade a gorgeous 2007 short on Sal Mosca. Lester caught a Puppets set onenight and was really taken with the trumpeter’s charisma. “When I toldhim what I did, he said, ‘Why don’t you make a film about me?’ Now we’redoing it. I felt a passion about the Sal piece, and though we’ve just started,I’m getting that same feeling with John. He really draws you in.”McHenry is psyched when he learns that his pal is going to be in frontof a camera. “That’s way overdue,” the saxophonist says. “I’ve alwaysthought John would make an incredible subject. The humor endears peopleto him.”In fact, McHenry has recorded McNeil’s on-stage patter in numeroussituations, and he promises that he’s going to compile several of the quipsand put them on YouTube. Which anecdote is most memorable? “I’m notgoing to spoil it here, but get him to tell you about the time he met JohnColtrane at the Vanguard …” DBFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 37

KevinEubanksShapes HisPost-LenoCareerBy Kirk SilsbeeIt’s 10 a.m. at Paty’s, a popular breakfast destination in Toluca Lake, Calif. Muchof its business comes from the people who work in nearby Burbank, where Disneyand NBC are headquartered. In a booth by the window, guitarist Kevin Eubanks—casualin his sweatshirt and baseball cap—has made short work of hismorning meal. His day began at 5:30; he’s already got an “Access Hollywood”taping under his belt. Last night he rode down Hollywood Boulevard in the Santa ClausLane Parade, a fair barometer of SoCal celebrity status.After 18 years—as both a sidemanand a leader—Eubanks has left “TheTonight Show” to try his own wings. Itmight be tempting to say that he has arrived.In fact, he’s been a part of the largerjazz consciousness since the early1980s, when Bruce Lundvall signed himto the Elektra/Musician label. Maybe itwould be more accurate to say that thenon-jazz audience is coming to Eubanks.He left the show several months agoand has been navigating his way througha career transition: weighing offers, floatingtrial balloons, and rightfully proud ofhis new album and label association. ZenFood on Mack Avenue is a solid instrumentalcollection that has more virtuosity,variety and ensemble empathy thanmany of the self-conscious concept albumsand recorded “projects” that regularlyissue these days.His “Tonight Show” collaborators(saxophonist Bill Pierce, keyboardistGerry Etkins, drummer Marvin Smithand bassist Rene Camacho) surroundEubanks on the album. “I’ve been withthese musicians for so long that when Iwrite, they’re the voices that I’m writingfor; I know that they’ll be playing it,” hesays. “So it’s an easy fit. I think we alllearn from each other. And sometimesI think they kind of look to me to say,‘What do you think here?’”Yet the recording didn’t come togethereffortlessly. “The one inherent problemyou can have is if you try to record musiclike this before it’s reached the shapeyou really want it to be. Sometimes youhave to play it in a club and reach an emotionalclimax a few times before you realizethat’s the shape of the song. Sometimesyou realize we’re just not there yet. Andthat’s actually what happened with this record.We tried to record the songs earlierand we didn’t really get it; we realized itjust wasn’t done yet.”A couple of miles away on CahuengaBoulevard in North Hollywood is theBaked Potato, Eubanks’ club of choice.Owned and operated by legendary sessionpianist Don Randi, it’s a real musi-38 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

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Kevin Eubankscians’ club. That’s where Eubanks has gone tohone his chops in a way that he couldn’t on thestudio set. “The Baked Potato is exactly the kindof place I’m talking about; it has got a great history,”Eubanks says. “They let you be a musicianthere. You can just concentrate on the musicwhen you go in there, just let it hang out. Ifit splats against the wall, that’s where it is andyou have a blast doing it. Then you get that outand it’s, ‘Oh, I remember this feeling.’ The placeswhere you can get to that core energy are somehowoverlooked by everybody other than the musicians,but they’re invaluable.”Did Eubanks see his job on “The TonightShow” as enlarging the jazz audience? “Theshow was not the place to hold up pictures ofMiles and Trane and try to convert people tojazz. It’s a classic rock demographic, and youcan’t make that leap in that setting. But whenthey followed us to the club and heard us, thenthey learned something new. People would say,‘Oh, I didn’t know you played this kind of music.’I’d say, ‘What did you think I play—RollingStones songs?’ But then you can direct them tosomeone they should discover.”There’s a fair amount of writing on ZenFood, like the multi-layered “Los Angeles.”Eubanks grins when he’s complimented on thepiece’s complexity. “Most of the time,” he explains,“the songs get titled afterward. That piecehas a lot going on in it, and it came to me that itwas like this city. People from back East thinkit’s all relaxed and slow-paced out here. But all ittakes is a phone call to change your life and allof a sudden, you’re moving at top speed in an entirelynew neighborhood.”The years of acting as comedian Jay Leno’smusical foil have imparted some valuableknowledge and sensibilities to Eubanks, but itdidn’t come without growing pains. “The hardestthing for me to get used to,” he confesses,“was not to take it personally when I didn’t getreinforcement in the way I was used to getting it.Nobody pats you on the back and tells you you’redoing a good job; you’re just one of many peopleand you’re all expected to do your job. In thatcorporate system, their way of acknowledgingmy work was when contract negotiations cameup. Then you could say I’d like this or I’d likethat, and you came to an agreement. That’s howthey show appreciation in TV.”“I feel like it’s easy to be myself in the TVstudio. Even though it’s going out to untold numbersof people, I’m in this recording studio, if youwill. Everybody in the place is after the same objective,even though it’s a whole organization ofpeople. And they’re all just pulling for you becausethey’re all part of the production. It feelslike everybody’s pulling for you; you’re not competingagainst anybody. The show is the star.”His on-camera chemistry with Leno waseasy and familiar, though ironically, the two menare quite different. Leno collects automobiles,and Eubanks finds no romance in cars. Kevin’spassion is the music he lives, and Leno wonders,in all sincerity, if anything has happened in musicsince 1969. “He doesn’t even have a CD playerin his car,” Eubanks says, incredulously. “Whenyou can drive a stick shift,” Leno has offered toEubanks, “I’ll get a CD player.”Their bond was in their selflessness to theproduction and their ironclad work ethics. “Icomplimented Jay once on how much he givesto the show and he said, ‘Me? What about you?Have you even missed one day of work?’” In fact,Eubanks had a perfect attendance record. “Youwork off of your passion,” he points out, “andthen when things get rough and there are problemsto solve, that’s when your work ethic kicksin and you see it through.”Eubanks’ long tenure with the show is studdedwith great musical memories, and it’s impartedrespect for other musical forms. “I loveplaying with Willie Nelson,” he says. “What youhear in him is the essence of country—on everynote. Dolly Parton’s like that, too. Underneath allthe big hair and everything else is an everydayperson who’s a big talent.”He’s especially going to miss the interactionwith guitarist B.B. King, a “Tonight Show” regular.“When I told B.B. I was leaving,” Kevin sayswith gravity, “I could see some disappointment40 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

on his face. He said, ‘I always thought you’d bethere for me,’ and it broke my heart. I had to tellhim, ‘No, B.B.—if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t behere.’ But in those few moments, it kind of encapsulatedthe whole experience for me.”Does he see himself as a collaborative artistrather than an autonomous one? Eubanks affirms,“I’ve been asked to step out more, but Ilike comping behind other soloists. I learn a lotfrom doing that. The first time I realized thatcomping was a great source of energy and alearning tool was the two years I played withSam Rivers [in the early 1980s]. The music weplayed was free, and I realized how much thecomping made the ebb and flow of the music—up, down and moving around. Sam and I wouldtalk about it, and he said, ‘Comping is like thetail of a comet—the comet is all the force, butthe tail gives it the lift. The tail always followsthe comet to where it gives the comet some mobility.’And I was like, ‘Yes!’”“If you play with Sam in his free modes, youstill get all the intellect, all the creativity, allthe theory. All of that’s in it because it still hasto make tremendous sense in order to have thedepth. I think one of the reasons I enjoyed it andgot so much out of that experience was becauseI had just played with Slide Hampton and RoyHaynes a few years before I hit with Sam. I wasactually living in Slide’s house in Brooklyn, playin’with him. We were playing all straightahead,with Slide doin’ the arrangements, and then Samcalled me. Playing Sam’s suites and pieces justtook on extra meaning because I had been exposedto all the form and the shape of Slide andRoy, and then Sam added this free dimension.When I was done with that experience, it just elevatedmy comping to another level.”If an offer for a TV or movie soundtrack fellinto his lap, would Eubanks take it? “I’d lovethat,” he declares. Talk of the great jazz composerswho wrote for Hollywood soundtracks(Benny Carter, Gerald Wilson, J.J. Johnson,Quincy Jones and Benny Golson among them)elicits a fan’s note from Eubanks. “With all duerespect,” he begins, “the baddest TV theme inhistory is the “Mission: Impossible” theme thatLalo Schifrin wrote. What he did with just analto flute and some percussion was amazing. Youcan hear that right now and it’s as hip as anything.I can hear Miles improvising on that thing.When I met Lalo for the first time, I said, ‘I knowyou get this all the time, but I just have to say…’”Eubanks will stay in Los Angeles for thetime being. He was reared in Philadelphia andhe’s proud of his civic, familial and musical roots.“There’s something about the Philly players,” heenthuses, “that you hear immediately. I can’t describeit, other than to say that it’s a vibe or a feel.People seem to recognize it everywhere, even ifthey don’t know it comes out of Philly. But if youwere brought up playing there, you’ll always haveit.” How does he see the City of Brotherly Lovefiguring into his new career plans? Eubanks isuncharacteristically hesitant and he chooses hiswords carefully. “I’ve been thinking about that,”he replies tentatively. “Of course, I have familythere but I haven’t yet decided how it will workinto my musical plans.“After 18 years of doing ‘The TonightShow,’” he volunteers, “I realize I like doing TV.From doing it five days a week, I know a lot aboutwhat goes on around a set. There’s a lot of movingparts, but when I walk into a studio I feel really,really comfortable. So I don’t necessarilywant to escape from this thing that I’ve learnedso much about.”What did he do on “Access Hollywood”? “Imade cookies,” he proudly smiles. “Low-sugar,low-sodium and low-fat cookies.” A vegetariansince age 18, Eubanks is a health and fitness buffwho will extol the virtues of lowering one’s sodiumintake (“I lost weight, I sleep better, I havemore energy, and I haven’t had a cold since”).His personal health inquiry figures into a careergoal. “What I’d love to do,” he says, leaningforward, “is host a cooking show that focuseson healthy cooking and recipes, geared to peopleover 45. There’d be music too, but I think thisis something that’s not being done by anybody.”Holding up a copy of Zen Food, he clarifies, “Justas long as I still get to do this.” DBFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 41

150 Great Jazz RoomsDownBeat’s International Jazz Venue GuideJazz can be heard in almost every corner of the world. So, wherever your travels may take you,here are some spots to check out what’s best in the worlds of jazz, blues and beyond.EAST COAST: BostonThe Acton Jazz Cafe462 Great Road, Acton MA(978) 263-6161 // actonjazzcafe.comTwo dozen miles west of Boston, this suburban clubbooks talent from the metropolitan area. Music nightlyexcept Monday and Tuesday.Chianti Tuscan Restaurant & Jazz Lounge285 Cabot Street, Beverly MA(978) 921-2233 // chiantibeverly.comNorth of Boston, near the site of the legendary clubSandy’s Jazz Revival, Rich Marino’s elegant Italianrestaurant has a strong music calendar highlighted byNorth Shore Jazz Project-sponsored gigs.Lilly Pad1353 Cambridge Street, Cambridge MA(617) 395-1393 // lily-pad.netThe Inman Square hot spot for innovative jazz is hometo the long-existing trio The Fringe and welcomes visitingnotables like Toronto trumpeter Lina Allemano.Regattabar1 Bennett Street, Cambridge MA(617) 395-7757 // regattabarjazz.comOverlooking Harvard Square, this high-end club atthe Charles Hotel, now in its 25th year, hosts worldclassartists as well as local luminaries like the JazzComposers Alliance Orchestra. All ages welcome.Ryles Jazz Club212 Hampshire Street, Cambridge MA(617) 876-9330 // ryles.comThis two-floor venue in Inman Square has qualityarea musicians—trombonist Dan Fox, tenormanMike Tucker, others—and visitors like Taylor Ho Bynumdownstairs on the Mainstage. Latin Caribbeandance parties upstairs.Sahara Club & Restaurant34 Bates Street, Methuen MA(978) 683-9200 // jockosjazz.comA half-hour drive northwest of the Hub, this MiddleEastern restaurant presents Jocko Arcidiacono’s Tuesdaynight jazz series.Scullers400 Soldiers Field Road, Boston MA(617) 562-4111 // scullersjazz.comOpened in 1989 and long booked by jazzman FredTaylor, the mahogany-walled music room in theDoubletree Guest Suites Hotel features top touringand regional artists of various jazz styles.Wally’s Cafe427 Massachusetts Ave., Boston MA(617) 424-1408 // wallyscafe.comThis South End landmark, run by the Walcott familysince its opening in 1947, is the “training ground” forBerklee and New England Conservatory students.EAST COAST: New JerseyShanghai Jazz Restaurant & Bar24 Main St., Madison NJ(973) 822-2899 // shanghaijazz.comThe 85-seat North Jersey club boasts a dining roomwith an unobstructed view of the stage, a pan-Asianmenu and a roster of artists culled from New York’smetro area featured five nights a week.EAST COAST: New York55 Bar55 Christopher St., New York NY(212) 929-9883 // 55bar.comThis former speakeasy on the ground floor of a SheridanSquare brownstone boasts a thriving jazz andblues menu of under-the-radar artists.92nd Street Y1395 Lexington Ave., New York, NY(212) 415-5500 // 92y.org92Y’s renowned jazz series continues to present someof the finest improvised music in the city, with DaveBrubeck and others on the calendar for 2011.Birdland315 W. 44th St., New York NY(212) 581-3080 // birdlandjazz.comNear Times Square, Birdland has great sightlines andacoustics. The club attracts locals and out-of-townerswith its top-notch weeklong acts of world-class improvisersand weekly hits with area big bands.Blue Note131 W. 3rd St., New York NY(212) 475-8592 // bluenote.netAn expansive music policy features festival headlineers,jazz legends, elite Latin acts, hardcore bigbands and high-visibility younger artists.Cornelia Street Café29 Cornelia St., New York NY(212) 989-9319 // corneliastreetcafe.comThe excellent menu is fusion (American-French-Asian),and so is the eclectic entertainment on the small stage,located in the basement of a distinguished GreenwichVillage restaurant/cabaret.Dizzy’s Club Coca-ColaBroadway at 60th Street, 5th floor, New York NY(212) 258-9595 // jalc.org/dccc/Dizzy’s offers the best view of any New York jazz club:overlooking Columbus Circle and Central Park. The365-nights-a-year component of Jazz at Lincoln Center,Dizzy’s was designed for jazz.42 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

Fat Cat75 Christopher St., New York NY(212) 675-6056 // fatcatmusic.orgA West Village space for rising-star locals, Fat Cat usuallyfeatures two jazz acts a night and a late-night jamthat runs until 5 a.m.Iridium1650 Broadway, New York NY(212) 582-2121 // iridiumjazzclub.comThe site of Les Paul’s weekly gig until his passing lastyear, Iridium draws crowds for its top-flight jazz acts.The weeklong stints feature a range of hard-core jazz,often with international names attached.Jazz Gallery290 Hudson St., New York NY(212) 242-1063 // jazzgallery.orgThis invaluable not-for-profit venue has presented cutting-edgebookings since it opened its doors in 1995.Jazz Standard116 E. 27th St., New York NY(212) 576-2232 // jazzstandard.netThe Jazz Standard is one of the most comfortablerooms in New York to see jazz. Downstairs from theBlue Smoke BBQ restaurant, it features acts such asDave Douglas and Anat Cohen.Joe’s Pub425 Lafayette St., New York NY(212) 539-8778 // joespub.comJoe’s Pub mirrors the inclusive intelligence of its founderwith a trans-genre calendar, from pop to world tojazz. It’s the Manhattan showcase room of choice, withone-of-a-kind jazz acts.Miles’ Café212 E. 52nd St., 3rd floor, New York NY(212) 371-7657 // milescafe.comA new Midtown jazz venue with great acoustics and an1888 Steinway grand, Miles’ Café provides two showsalmost every night, featuring music by some of NewYork’s premier artists.Smalls183 W. 10th St., New York NYsmallsjazzclub.comSmalls offers superb bookings, with two or threegroups performing each night. Priding itself in featuringcutting-edge music, it also hosts after-hours jazz jamsthat often attract local and visiting luminaries.Smoke2751 Broadway, New York NY(212) 864-6662 // smokejazz.comThe Uptown room south of Harlem features straightaheadgroups, B-3 organ shows and Latin jazz. Theinside is decked out in antiques, and the club hostsopen jam sessions and strong marquee acts.The StoneAvenue C and 2nd Street, New York NYthestonenyc.comJohn Zorn serves as artistic director and visionary behinda space that gives 100 percent of the door to themusicians. The Stone features cutting-edge experimentaljazz artists presented by guest curators.Village Vanguard178 Seventh Ave. South, New York NY(212) 255-4037 // villagevanguard.netA living legend, the Vanguard is a cramped, triangularbasement room that has served as a cornerstone ofmodern jazz since the mid-1950s. On Mondays theVanguard Jazz Orchestra holds forth.Zinc Bar90 Houston St., New York NY(212) 477-8337 // zincbar.comOne of the few New York venues that presents thirdsets nightly, the narrow, low-ceilinged ground-floor baroffers a steady diet of African, Brazilian, Afro-Caribbeanbands and groove-oriented jazz units.EAST COAST: PhiladelphiaChris’ Jazz Café1421 Sansom St., Philadelphia PA(215) 568-3131 // chrisjazzcafe.comFresh off of its 20th anniversary, Chris’ continues topresent local and national artists six nights a week.Le Cochon Noir5070 Parkside Ave., Philadelphia PA(215) 879-1011 // lecochonnoir.comThis new BBQ joint offers a blend of jazz, blues andr&b, mostly culled from the ranks of locals like singerDenise King and the Jump City Jazz Orchestra.Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts260 S. Broad St., Philadelphia PA(215) 893-1999 // kimmelcenter.orgThe home of the Philadelphia Orchestra hosts two jazzseries, one for major touring artists like Dave Brubeckand the Wayne Shorter Quartet, the other curated bypianist Danilo Pérez.Painted Bride Arts Center230 Vine St., Philadelphia PA(215) 925-9914 // paintedbride.orgThe city’s longest-running jazz series is housed in thismulti-use arts space, which also presents theater,dance and world music events.Philadelphia Museum of Art26th Street and Ben FranklinParkway, Philadelphia PA(215) 763-8100 // philamuseum.orgThe PMA’s Great Stair Hall is a stunning (albeit soundswallowing)site for its Friday-night Art After 5 series.EAST COAST: PittsburghMCG Jazz1815 Metropolitan St., Pittsburgh PA(412) 322-0800 // mcgjazz.orgThe jazz arm of the multi-disciplinary nonprofit artsorganization Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, MCGpresents artists in its 350-seat venue who bolster andengage with its educational mission.EAST COAST: Washington, D.C.Birchmere Music Hall3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria VA(703) 549-7500 // birchmere.comLocated right outside of Washington, D.C., thispopular roadhouse presents a fairly regular lineupof talents in its multifaceted programming.Blues Alley Jazz Supper Club1073 Wisconsin Ave. N.W., Washington DC(202) 337-4141 // bluesalley.comOne of America’s oldest, continuously running jazzsupper clubs, Blues Alley is open 360 days a year andfeatures traditional and contemporary talent. In addition,the club hosts its own youth orchestra, summer jazzcamp and annual Big Band Jam jazz festival.Bohemian Caverns2001 11th Street N.W., Washington DC(202) 299-0800 // bohemiancaverns.comAfter a rather dubious comeback a decade ago, thislegendary jazz club, located in the historic U Streetcorridor, has finally gotten its groove back, attractinga multi-generational and multi-ethnic audience.The John F. Kennedy Centerfor the Performing Arts2700 F. Street N.W., Washington DC(202) 467-4600 // kennedy-center.orgWhile sometimes a bit stuffy for bristling jazz concerts,Kennedy Center nevertheless excels at programmingjazz concerts with fairly wide-ranging tal-FEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 43

The Jazz Corner1000 William Hilton Parkway, Hilton Head Island SC(843) 842-8620 // thejazzcorner.comWeeknights at the Jazz Corner are for long-standinggigs. Trumpeter Bob Masteller, the club’s owner, imbuesTuesdays with New Orleans jazz for $5, and singerBobby Ryder and his big band swing two Wednesdaysa month. Regional and national musicians takeover on weekends.MIDWEST: Chicagoisty but undeniably charming Creole restaurant andtraditional jazz venue.Preservation Hall726 St. Peter St., New Orleans LA(504) 522-2841 // preservationhall.comThe Hall has kept the traditional New Orleans jazzflame alive since 1961 with a house band featuring ahost of esteemed local players.Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro626 Frenchmen St., New Orleans LA(504) 949-0696 // snugjazz.comAn intimate room with great acoustics, this downtownclassic presents two straightahead New Orleans jazzshows nightly, featuring names like Ellis Marsalis, HerlinRiley, the Thelonious Monk Institute Young Lionsand Astral Project.The Spotted Cat623 Frenchmen St., New Orleans LA(504) 943-3887 // spottedcatmusicclub.comRoots-influenced jazz dominates this airy, Frenchmenstrip room. Stop by to catch Brett Anderson’s daily 4p.m. solo piano set.Sweet Lorraine’s Jazz Club1931 St. Claude Ave., New Orleans LA(504) 945-9654For a somewhat formal experience in a classic NewOrleans environment, get a little gussied up and headto the 9th Ward to catch world renowned bandleaderslike Nicholas Payton, or the Sunday jazz brunch.Three Muses536 Frenchmen St., New Orleans LA(504) 298-8746 // thethreemuses.comThis newbie tapas joint and jazz club is somewhatmore serene than many of its frenzied FrenchmenStreet neighbors.Tipitina’s501 Napoleon Ave., New Orleans LA(504) 895-8477 // tipitinas.comWhat began as a fan-made venue for Professor Longhairnow pays homage to the greater music communitythrough a variety of jazz-influenced bookings anda foundation devoted to supporting the local cultureand music education.Vaughn’s Lounge4229 Dauphine St., New Orleans LA(504) 947-5562The music happens barroom-style at this low-key cornerspot in the Bywater. Mayor Kermit Ruffins and theBarbecue Swingers preside on Thursday nights.SOUTH: South CarolinaAndy’s11 E. Hubbard St., Chicago IL(312) 642-6805 // andysjazzclub.comA congenial spot just north of Chicago’s Loop andone block away from the Jazz Record Mart, thedowntown workforce can take advantage of its lateafternoonsets and dinner menu. Still, the club is seriousabout presenting a range of local jazz musicianslate into the night.Buddy Guy’s Legends700 S. Wabash, Chicago IL(312) 427-1190 // buddyguys.comThe world’s pre-eminent blues guitarist opened hisown Chicago club 20 years ago, and moved into thisupgraded sprawling location last spring. Buddy Guy,who has a residency here every January, says that jazzgroups will start performing here this year.Chicago Cultural Center78 E. Washington St., Chicago IL(312) 744-6630 // chicagoculturalcenter.orgThanks to the city’s active department of cultural affairs,this downtown venue brings a host of local andinternational jazz artists to perform free sets throughoutthe building.Evanston SPACE1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston IL(847) 492-8860 // evanstonspace.comThis cozy acoustically pristine 250-seat room is makingits case through presenting a great range of jazzand blues artists, including Allen Toussaint, JenniferScheinman, Bobby Broom and Dave Specter.Green Mill4802 N. Broadway Ave., Chicago IL(773) 878-5552 // greenmilljazz.comThis Uptown landmark feels relatively unchangedsince the ’20s, but the mix of jazz artists presentedhere looks towards the future.Jazz at Symphony Center220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago IL(312) 294-3000 // cso.orgThe home for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra alsohosts an ongoing Friday night jazz series. This is theplace to catch the big names when they make theirMidwestern swings.Jazz Showcase806 S. Plymouth Ct., Chicago IL(312) 360-0234 // jazzshowcase.comJoe Segal has been presenting jazz since 1947 andhis current space in Dearborn Station may be his bestsoundingroom.Old Town School Of Folk Music4544 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago IL(773) 728-6000 // oldtownschool.orgSince 1957, the Old Town School has offered classes inall kinds of music (and dance). Its great-sounding auditoriumhosts an array of top jazz stars to complement itscourses, including John Scofield and Kurt Elling.Velvet Lounge67 E. Cermak Rd., Chicago IL(312) 791-9050 // velvetlounge.netThe late saxophonist Fred Anderson established thisvenue in the early ’80s, where he provided space forAACM veterans and upcoming musicians to test showoff their mettle in performances and regular jam sessions.While the club has remained open since hisdeath in June, its future is uncertain.FEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 45

door amphitheater, a few evenings of jazz sneak intothe mix of classical music, pop and “world music,”starting with the annual two-day Playboy Jazz Festivalin June.Jazz at the AthenaeumAthenaeum Music & Arts Library1008 Wall Street, La Jolla CA(858) 454-5872 // ljathenaeum.org/jazz.htmlThis thoughtful series presents jazz with the seriousnessand dignity becoming the art form. In thepast, jazz concerts have taken place in the NeuroscienceInstitute theater, but have recently returnedto the historic and intimate Athenaeum Music &Arts Library.Lobero Theatre33 E. Canon Perdido St.,Santa Barbara CA(805) 963-0761 // lobero.comCalifornia’s oldest, continuously operating theatre(founded in 1873) has been a great place to hear livejazz concerts during the past 10 years, with headlinersincluding the likes of Herbie Hancock, WayneShorter, Charles Lloyd, Dave Brubeck, John Scofield,McCoy Tyner and Bobby McFerrin.Los Angeles County Museum of Art5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles CA(323) 857-6000 // lacma.org/programs/JazzatLACMA.aspxAlthough its music program is a shadow of what itonce was, the campus of LACMA still hosts jazz—usually fine locals from various attitudinal corners,mainstream to avant-garde—on early Friday eveningsApril–November, outdoors in the Central Court.Steamers Jazz Club and Cafe138 W. Commonwealth, Fullerton CA(714) 871-8800 // steamersjazz.comOne of the better L.A. jazz clubs is not in L.A., proper,but in Orange County, a half-hour drive from downtownL.A. Steamers, a humble club and eatery inFullerton, is a well-established haven for some of thefinest players Southern California has to offer.Vibrato Grill Jazz2930 North Beverly Glen Circle, Los Angeles CA(310) 474-9400 // vibratogrilljazz.comNestled up in the twining terrain just below MulhollandDrive, Vibrato is a welcoming continuation of the restaurant-jazz-clubtradition begun as Rocco’s. It is nowowned by Herb Alpert.Walt Disney Concert Hall111 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles CA(323) 850-2000 // laphil.comSince opening in 2004, the Frank Ghery-designedDisney Hall has been touted as an architectural marveland one of America’s finer concert halls. The LAPhilharmonic organization takes care to host severaljazz concerts each season. The finest jazz hall intown, especially in all-acoustic settings, memorableexamples being Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett.WEST: San DiegoAnthology1337 India St., San Diego CA619 595 0300 // anthologysd.comThis supper club features some enticing jazz. The3,000-square-foot room has featured Dave Liebman,Peter Escovedo and Tuck & Patti, tucked into a rosterof pop and r&b.WEST: SeattleBake’s Place4115 Providence Point Dr. S.E., Issaquah WA(425) 391-3335 // bakesplace.orgSeattle’s only cabaret/supper club isn’t in Seattle, it’sacross Lake Washington in the recreation hall of a gatedcommunity in the hills of suburban Issaquah. Localsare featured most of the time, but about once a montha fine vocalist such as San Francisco’s Madeline Eastmanor New York’s Daryl Sherman drops by to helpyou enjoy a nice meal by the fireplace.Boxley’s101 North Bend Way, North Bend WA(425) 292-9307 // boxleysplace.comNorth Bend, 45 minutes up the Cascade Mountainsfrom Seattle, is probably best known as the placewhere “Twin Peaks” was filmed, but this decidedly unmysteriouslogging town now hosts a bustling, livelyand very large jazz room. Boxley’s can get a bit loud,but the vibe is friendly and the music—drawn in largepart from the stable of musicians who record for Seattle’sPony Boy label—is first-rate.Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley2033 Sixth Ave., Seattle WA(206) 441-0729 // jazzalley.comSeattle’s premiere jazz club for more than 30 years,spacious and upscale Jazz Alley offers A-list artists,from Roy Hargrove to Chick Corea, great sightlines,tasteful decor and a stupendous sound system. Withits loft seating, the room can accommodate a concertsizedcrowd of more than 400.Egan’s Ballard Jam House1707 Northwest Market St., Seattle WA(206) 789-1621 // ballardjamhouse.comStarted by a jazz mom, Egan’s is a miniscule blackbox with a bounty of spirit that belies its size. One ofthe few places in the country that welcomes studentgroups, Egan’s also provides a venue for veterans totry out new things.Triple Door216 Union St., Seattle WA(206) 838-4333 // thetripledoor.comThe Triple Door presents all kinds of music, from bluesand folk to jazz and world, but whatever it does, it doesit well. Carved out of an ancient, below-ground burlesquehall, the room has a gigantic proscenium stage,tiered booth seating, a dazzling lightshow backdropand top-flight Asian fusion food.Tula’s2214 Second Ave., Seattle WA(206) 443-4221 // tulas.comSeattle’s casual bebop hang, Tula’s is the place localscongregate, though acts from out of town occasionallypass through. Owned by former Navy band trombonistMack Waldron, Tula’s welcomes musicians as friends,pours a stiff drink and serves a killer hummus fromMack’s wife’s Greek menu.CanadaCasa del Popolo4873 St. Laurent Boulevard, Montreal QC(514) 284-3804 // casadelpopolo.comA funky vegetarian restaurant that holds only 55 people,since opening in 2000 the Casa has become the spiritualheart of Montreal’s vibrant alternative art scene.Cellar Jazz Club3611 West Broadway Street, Vancouver BC(604) 738-1959 // cellarjazz.comThe site of numerous live recordings produced byclub owner and saxophonist Cory Weeds, the Cellaropened in 2000 and provides a mainstream counterpointto Vancouver’s woolly improvised music scene.Diese Onze4115 St. Denis Street, Montreal QC(514) 223-3543 // dieseonze.comA newcomer on Montreal’s scene, Diese Onze doesn’thave the best sightlines, but the vibe is friendly, and theatmosphere akin to an art gallery.FEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 47

ItalyAlexanderplatzVia Ostia, 9, Rome(39) 063 9742 171 // alexanderplatz.itItaly’s oldest jazz club attracts its own breed of pilgrims:lovers of food, vintage wine and great music.Cantina BentivoglioVia Mascarella, 4/b, Bologna(39) 051 265416 // cantinabentivoglio.itLocated near the historic center of Bologna, this popularwine bar and restaurant presents jazz nightly in therestored cellar of a medieval palace.La Salumeria Della MusicaVia Pasinetti 4, Milan(39) 02 5680 7350 //lasalumeriadellamusica.comThe keeper of the jazz flame in Italy’s media, fashionand finance capital is also delicatessen with a musicalmenu ranging from Phil Woods to Bill Frisell.Panic Jazz ClubPiazza degli scacchi, Marostica (VI)(39) 0424/72707 // panicjazzclub.comThis club not only features a fine restaurant, but it isalso connected with a recording studio and hosts suchItalian musicians as saxophonist Michele Polga as wellas an ongoing gospel series.NetherlandsBimhuisPiet Heinkade 3, Amsterdam(31) 20 788 2188 // bimhuis.nlIt moved to a new and improved multi-use arts facilityin 2005, where its maintained the same progressivebooking policy that it started in 1974. The best of theDutch scene meets with other European, Americanand African artists at this thriving institution.NorwayBlaBrenneriveien 9C, Oslo(47) 22 20 91 81 // blx.noEnsconced in a former factory, Bla is Oslo’s primesource for jazz discoveries. The 300-seat club knits amultitiered daily offering of domestic and internationaljazz and related sounds.PortugalHot Clube De PortugalPraça da Alegria, 39, Lisbon(351) 13 467 369 // hotclubedeportugal.orgJazz started in Portugal during the late ’40s in thissmall basement in Lisbon. It’s open nightly from Tuesdaythrough Saturdays.SpainCafé CentralPlaza del Angel 10, Madrid(34) 91 369 4143 // cafecentralmadrid.comThis informal art deco cafe close to the Plaza del Angelhas been one of the few Spanish clubs offeringextended engagements for journeying European andAmerican musicians. Ben Sidran has been a regular.SwedenFaschingGamla Brogatan 44, Stockholm(46) 8 534 829 60 // fasching.seFasching’s excellence lays in the eclecticism of theprogramming, while retaining a solid base in reflectingthe whole spectrum of the Stockholm jazz scene.SwitzerlandMarian’s Jazz RoomEngestrasse 54, CH-3012 Bern(41) 31 309 61 11 // mariansjazzroom.chThis exclusive club is located in the downstairs of theInnere Enge hotel. Marian’s has been the spot to catchvisiting American stars, like Dianne Reeves and JonFaddis. It also offers a jazz brunch on Sundays.MoodsSchiffbaustrasse 6, 8005 Zurich(41) 44 276 80 00 // moods.chMoods is located in the Schiffbau, an old industrialbuilding which has been transformed into a culturalcenter. The club offers a program of European andAmerican jazz stars and newcomers, and also has itsdoors open to funk and soul acts.AUSTRALIAThe Basement29 Reiby Place, Sydney(61) 2 9252 3007 // thebasement.com.auThe Basement is situated in prime real estate in Sydney’sCircular Quay. The club has been around sincethe 1970s and has hosted international jazz talent aswell as local acts that can draw a crowd.Bennett’s Lane25 Bennetts Lane, Melbourne(61) 3 9663 2856 // bennettslane.comA bona fide, revered jazz haunt, Bennett’s Lane is a200-capacity backstreet joint that has hosted HarryConnick Jr. and Wynton Marsalis but also supportslocal heroes.JAPANAlfie Jazz House6-2-35 Roppongi, Tokyo(81) 3 3479 203 //homepage1.nifty.com/live/alfie/index.htmlThis club in a high-rise in the heart of Roppongi perceivesitself as sophisticated and not just the hang forjazz “otaku” or nerds, but its clientele usually knowwho they’ve come to hear.Blue Note TokyoTokyo 107-0062(81) 3 5485 0088 // bluenote.co.jpThe club is a large, theater-like jazz cabaret (300 seats)that serves as one of the most popular nightlife attractionsin the stylish Aoyama area with some of the topjazz artists in the world coming through.Listings compiled by Paul de Barros, Shaun Brady,Aaron Cohen, Robert Doerschuk, Ed Enright,Frank-John Hadley, James Hale, Michael Jackson,Yoshi Kato, John Murph, Jennifer Odell, Jon Rossand Joe Woodard.FEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 49

Masterpiece ★★★★★ Excellent ★★★★ Good ★★★ Fair ★★ Poor ★Inside 57 I Jazz61 I Blues63 I Beyond64 I Historical69 I BooksRandy Westonand his AfricanRhythms SextetThe StorytellerMotema 51★★★½Randy Weston, 84, is that rarebird—an original, creativevoice—though he has always identifiedwith tradition: namely, thespirit of his African ancestors. ButWeston, a gentle giant of a man,has always embraced opposites easily.As a pianist, his orchestral approachand fondness for color owea lot to Duke Ellington. Yet hispared-down melodies, judicious useof dissonance and disjunctive trainsof thought—jumping in a trice fromthunder to light rain—are more likeThelonious Monk.This live recording of Weston’sAfrican Rhythms Sextet, the firstsince 1999, is timely, as the pianistrecently published a welcomeas-told-to autobiography with thesame title. As a composer, Westontends to revisit and rework seminalpieces again and again, but thereward is not so much in the intricaciesas a spiritually incandescentmood. A creator of shape-shiftingatmospheres, Weston’s band conjuresspirits the way an Africanlithophone player calls out to variousgods with different scales, hopingfor a visitation.Unsurprisingly, the album hasan autumnal as well as celebratoryfeel, reinforced by the passingof Weston’s longtime trombonistBenny Powell shortly after it wasmade. The music is lovely, but doesnot always catch fire and a few tracksgo on a bit long. Weston’s stream-ofconsciousnesssolo style sometimescrosses the line from brilliance tonoodling. His opening solo, dedicatedto the great Afro-Cuban drummerChano Pozo, has some fine,dancing moments, with wisps ofpretty melancholy threaded throughout.It segues directly into “AfricanSunrise,” in which the band exploresthe Afro-Cuban fusion Pozo broughtto life with Dizzy Gillespie. Bluescryingalto saxophonist T.K. Blue’sallusions to “Hot House,” “NightIn Tunisia” and “Manteca” are nicetouches. Weston’s music never straysfar from the blues; Powell is downwith the program on this soulful outingon “Jus’ Blues,” the aptly titledsecond movement of “The AfricanCookbook Suite.” Weston rumblesup a fine mess here himself, a sortof work song with quartal underpinnings.Bassist Alex Blake has afine run in the third movement, “TheBridge,” thrumming a flamenco feel.Weston’s more recent, ceremoniallyslow composition “TheShrine” offers haunting voicings forflute, trombone and piano, and thewitty, Monkish “Loose Wig” offersWeston’s only splashy, carefreemoments, ending with an animatedconversation between all the instruments.Weston gets into some glidingstride on his classic “Hi Fly,”also taken very slowly, followed bya speedy coda, “Fly Hi,” and endshis set as he traditionally does, withthe great Ghanaian drummer GuyWarren’s “Love, The Mystery Of,”explaining to the crowd that theband has tried to “capture the spiritsof the ancients.”From time to time, they do. —Paul de BarrosThe Storyteller: Chano Pozo; African Sunrise;The African Cookbook Suite: Tehuti, Jus’ Blues,The Bridge; The Shrine; Loose Wig; Wig Loose;Hi Fly; Fly Hi; Love, The Mystery Of. (74:18)Personnel: Randy Weston, piano; Benny Powell,trombone; T.K. Blue, alto saxophone, flute;Alex Blake, bass; Neil Clarke, percussion; LewisNash, drums.Ordering info: motema.comcarol friedmanFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 51

Charlie HunterPublic DomainSpire★★★★Call it the gramophone approach.The physical disc ofCharlie Hunter’s second solo guitaralbum has the resonance of ashellac 78, even allowing its needle-ridinggrooves to be discernibleto the touch. This packagingparallels the ancient material theperpetually modern improviseressays this time ’round. Curatedby Hunter’s 99-year-old grandfather,Public Domain is a yesteryearromp that accounts for1920s foxtrots, Al Jolson nuggetsand nods to an era when theZiegfeld Follies ruled the entertainment roost.Because of its dedication to focus and celebrationof bounce, the entire thing is a hoot.Hunter, whose fanciful excursions into thestratosphere are well documented (don’t beafraid to revisit Groundtruther’s Come In RedDog, This Is Tango Leader), plays things relativelystraight here. Rather than abandoning themelodies for parts unknown, he hovers aroundthem, nudging nuanced variations into the foreground.“Meet Me In St Louis” could be a singa-long;the tune’s infectious nature speaks foritself. That’s how it is on “Avalon” as well: Thecurt romp leaps from the speakers while theguitarist restacks the theme in a couple differentways. Thanks to his dexterity, he winds upconjuring the Atkins/Paul rendition on the classicChester & Lester date.This abracadabra interplay comes fromHunter using his thumb as a rhythm section.There’s a dash of syncopation to several tracks,and his seven-string instrument allows an arrayof bass patterns to bubble up. The openinglines of a droll saunter through “Indiana” are individualisticenough to actually feel like aduet is going down. There are moments inthe program when the thumb-pluck techniquegets a bit predictable, and actuallytilts towards the tedious. But for the mostpart—on the carousel frolic of “Meet MeIn St. Louis,” where he attempts to get a littleBlind Blake going, say—it’s a nice wayto paint yourself out of a rhythm sectionlesscorner.Just because the guitarist keeps theseperformances on a tight leash doesn’t meanhe banishes expressiveness. The liquid toneof the single-note foray on “LimehouseBlues” is loaded with personality. And oneof the most fascinating spins is “Low BridgeSong (15 Miles On The Erie Canal),” whichsets its melody in a series of ominous tapsand plinks that make you forget previousversions by Burl Ives and Bruce Springsteen.Hunter brings the sweat of barge work to the table,and as the whispery track unfolds, you startthinking that the famed waterway should actuallybe deemed “eerie.” Though he spends muchof Public Domain applying for a job as the newMitch Miller, on this one Hunter seems more likethe old David Lynch. —Jim MacniePublic Domain: Ain’t We Got Fun; Alexander’s Ragtime Band;Avalon; Cielito Lindo; Danny Boy; Low Bridge Song (15 Miles OnThe Erie Canal); Indiana; Limehouse Blues; How You Gonna KeepEm Down On The Farm?; Meet Me In St. Louis; St. Louis Blues.(37:54)Personnel: Charlie Hunter, seven-string guitar.Ordering info: charliehunter.comPaquito D’RiveraPanamericana SuiteManchester Craftsmen’s Guild 1026★★★Paquito D’Rivera’s contrasting aspirationsshift with all the suddennesshis prodigious crossoverskills allow in this 2008 Pittsburghconcert (and his fifth for the MCG label),which offers a performance arcfrom fierce, small group exactitude(“Fiddle Dreams”) to rather heavyhandedoperatic pretense. In showcasinghis range as performer and composer(five of the pieces are his), hehas deployed and mixed elements thatwould seem better left to their ownrespective classical and jazz realms.Even his jazz phrasings (on clarinet atleast) often sound touched by a stately rectitudecharacteristic of a classical temperament.D’Rivera’s “Panamericana Suite” promisesrhythms and styles from all over Latin America,but that’s insufficient to sustain the curious11-minute opus that follows. After a rather ominousindigenous chant by Pedro Martinez anda brief fanfare, soprano Brenda Feliciano offersa soft, sweetly voiced spoken introductionin praise of “one awesome mass of soil.” A littlegeological pride is fine, but a moment later sheopens fire in full operatic mode. Her rich coloraturapower would be impressive in its proper element,but is thoroughly jarring and almost ostentatioushere, vastly out of scale and purposewith the surrounding environment. It’s a performancethat sucks in all the surrounding oxygen.A second semi-operatic fling, “Song For Peace,”is more in the art song mode, but burdened withpious cliches like “together we can make theworld a better place.” The effect is one of unmitigatedpomposity and failed seriousness, otherwiseknown as camp.Among the instrumentals, “Serenade” is alovely piece in which D’Rivera’s elegant clarinetglides with an 18th century Mozartian grace,complete with tremolos and flitting classical filigrees.Perhaps the most invigorating turn comesin D’Rivera’s “Fiddle Dreams,” a work of steelyintelligence performed as a tightly wrought ensemblepiece with pianist Alon Yavnai and therhythm section. Written for violin, it provides afine vehicle for D’Rivera’s spotless clarinet virtuositywithout bogging down in affectation. Itsbrittle rhythms and phrasings are a glass menagerieof sharp, thin, dense, angular and tinselstrands. But the threads never snap.“Waltz For Moe,” “Con Alma” and “Tojo”find D’Rivera on alto and are squarely in theLatin jazz pocket. The yeoman solo work is fittinglyfiery without being especially surprising,though Edmar Castanada stands out on “Moe”in a rare and nimble spin on the harp, an outliereven in the “miscellaneous instrument” category.“Preludio N. 3” is an attractive tango with elementsof a minuet. —John McDonoughPanamericana Suite: Waltz For Moe; Con Alma; Preludio No. 3;Tojo; Panamericana Suite; Fiddle Dreams; Serenade; Song ForPeace. (68:37)Personnel: Paquito Rivera, clarinet, alto saxophone; Diego Urcola,trumpet; Dana Leong, trombone, cello; Henderson, trumpet, flugelhorn;Dave Samuels, vibraphone, marimba; Edmar Castaneda,harp; Alon Yavnai, piano; Oscar Stagnaro, bass; Mark Walker,drums; Pernell Saturnino, percussion; Andy Narell, steel pans;Hector del Curto, bandoneon; Pedro Matinez, batas, timbales, vocals;Brenda Feliciano, soprano vocal (5, 8).Ordering info: mcgjazz.org52 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

HotTheBoxCD Critics John McDonough John Corbett Jim Macnie Paul de BarrosRandy Weston and HisAfrican Rhythms SextetThe Storyteller★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★½ ★★★½Charlie HunterPublic Domain★★ ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★Avishai CohenIntroducing TriveniAnzic 5103★★★★½It’s turning out to be a very good time for thetrumpet. From Peter Evans and Josh Bermanto Magnus Broo and Roland Ramanan, there isa wealth of different approaches and aestheticsin creative music today, enough to remind oneof what a shock it was when Dave Douglas appearedon the scene with his startling chopsand inventiveness. In a way Douglas set the barhigher, and now a wave of practitioners is jostlingaround that bar.Anyone interested in these developmentswho’s looking for something to get excitedabout should take careful notice of AvishaiCohen. He’s got everything—terrifying control,great taste and personal style. Withno fellow horns, no harmonic safety-net,Cohen’s completely exposed. But he doesn’tneed any cover, he’s utterly capable, so unforcedand relaxed that it’s slightly dizzying.He covers a Don Cherry tune, “Art Deco,” butreally steers clear of direct reference, insteadwhirling, dipping and leaping joyously, nevershowing off but never backing off either,transforming Cherry’s melody completelyinto his own music.The young Israeli-born trumpeter has chosenhis partners carefully. Bassist Omer Avitalis also stunning here, and drummer NasheetWaits continues his impressive and versatilework, sympathetic in every way. After a broodingintro by the rhythm section, Cohen kicksinto John Coltrane’s “Wise One” radiantly, hissoft, but acute tone navigated through a penetratingtheme and solo. Though the setting isvery open and unconfined, Cohen stays awayfrom the noisier parts of the contemporarytrumpet vocabulary, preferring melodic challengesto textural ones. His own compositionsare excellent foils, the lovely “Amenu” showingwhat he can do with a mute, which is plenty, and“October 25th” introducing a gnarly bit of funk,without any dopey affectations.—John CorbettTriveni: One Man’s Idea; Ferrara Napoly; Art Deco; Mood Indigo;Wise One; Amenu; You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To; October25th. (57:18)Personnel: Avishai Cohen, trumpet; Omer Avital, bass; NasheetWaits, drums.Ordering info: anzicrecords.comPaquito D’RiveraPanamericana SuiteAvishai CohenIntroducing TriveniCritics’ Comments Randy Weston, The StorytellerFamiliarity breeds fervor in this gem of Afrocentric nostalgia. The lineup goes back nearly 20 years and acouple of the tunes, more than 50. The oldest, a Monkish “Loose Wig,” sounds the most contemporary, butWeston goes at it all with a boyish passion for discovery moving between restraint and thunder.—John McDonoughAnother satisfying chapter in Weston’s lifelong exploration of Africa via jazz, with drummer Lewis Nash addedfor extra juice. Bittersweet dedication to the late Benny Powell, whose big, conch-like trombone was a voice inthe Weston band’s signature sound for such a stretch. Weston’s brilliant elementalism still commands attention.—John CorbettA nice little document of what the mighty pianist’s interactive ensemble is all about. The restless forward motion,the attention to atmosphere, the dedication to dynamics. —Jim MacniePaquito D’Rivera, Panamericana SuiteI sometimes prefer the discrete moments of Americana here to the panoramic experience. Edmar Castaneda’sblazing harp solo on the opener, for instance, doesn’t need a syncretic subtext (or anthemic text) to beworthy. But D’Rivera and his orchestra mix and match South and Central American and Caribbean musicsalong with North American jazz to respectfully reveal their commonalities and distinct personae.—John CorbettI warm up when a waltz is turned into a whirl by Andy Narell’s pans. I drift off when the soprano’s voice getsoperatic and the band goes into prayer mode. There’s something unfocused about the entire outing. —Jim MacniePaquito’s been exploring classical music of late and he’s assembled an impressive all-star band here to playthe music of the Americas. But the result feels a bit like musical tourism. The best moments are the classicalcello/piano piece “Serenade” and Paquito’s nimble, matchless clarinet, on the choro-inspired “Fiddle Dreams.”—Paul de BarrosCharlie Hunter, Public DomainHunter’s down-to-earth simplicity is likably subversive. But he largely smothers the promise of these oldies undersluggish tempos. “Farm” shows some life. But jazz staples like “Indiana” are frozen in stiff, lumbering straightjacketsthat tramp along to a rigid quarter-note trudge. Next time, loosen it up and swing. —John McDonoughThe one-man-band is best comprehended sans accompaniment, solo. So it is on Public Domain, my newfavorite Charlie Hunter outing. Perfectly droll selection and even more perfect approach—laid-back as possible,gently over-driven sound, amusing and enlightening inventions.—John CorbettCharlie Hunter’s an amazing musician, never less than funky, but this playful solo collection of old Americanfavorites is pretty forgettable, seemingly done more to amuse the guitarist and his granddad—who chose thetunes—than anyone else.—Paul de BarrosAvishai Cohen, Introducing Triveni★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★½★★★½ ★★★★½ ★★★★ ★★★Cohen comes out of the gate with such a sense of focus and drive on “One Man’s Idea,” the rest of the CDnever quite catches up with itself. Without any sensational tricks up his sleeve, though, his crisp mid-rangeattack and clear lines sustain with exceptional strength and coherence in a lean, pianoless trio format.—John McDonoughOne of the most engaging trumpet trio discs I’ve ever heard, it’s based on a balance of fervor and lyricism. Cohen’sinvention is front and center throughout. As he messes with melody, he also finds ways to invite texturalvariations into the action. The rhythm section is deeply on the case. —Jim MacnieCohen has a bold, round tone, fine sense of a phrase, great swing feel and crisp articulation. Lyrical, too. Butthere’s something instinctively conservative about his playing with this pianoless trio, a feeling that didn’t becomeapparent until they got to the Coltrane tune “Wise One,” which invites a musician to become possessed.—Paul de BarrosFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 53

James CottonGiantAlligator 4940★★★There’s good news andbad news on the JamesCotton front. The goodnews is that the 75-year-oldblues veteran is playing harmonicaalmost as well as heever has. The bad news is that he’s no longer singing.While he’s in good instrumental companyon this album, the vocals don’t hold up as well asthe playing—a mixture of old and new material.Cotton can certainly be forgiven for relinquishingvocal chores. As far back as Living The Bluesfrom 1994, he was rasping hoarse. The man gaveat the office.Cotton has led some fine bands over theyears, and this is a solid one. It tears through variousspeeds of shuffles (“Buried Alive In TheBlues,” “Going Down Main Street” and “WithThe Quickness,”), funk (“Change”), middlingto-slowrhythm numbers (“Heard You’re GettingMarried,” “Let Yourself Go”) and real slow blues(“Sad Sad Day,” “How Blue Can You Get?” and“Since I Met You Baby”). The two-guitar lineupof Slam Allen and Tom Holland provides asimpatico team that trades lead and rhythm du-Tyler BlantonBotanicOttimo Music★★★½The debut release from vibraphonist TylerBlanton begins with an upbeat head arrangementthat sounds like something BillyTaylor or Milt Jackson might have pennedyears ago. “Already Here,” featuring the triowith bassist Dan Loomis and drummer JaredSchonig, is a cantering swing through uncomplicatedblues cliches. The title track is similarlywholesome, hinting at Blanton’s green, organicoutlook. Schonig is a splashy, but crisplydetailed, energetic drummer and works well behindthe authoritative tenor of Joel Frahm whocompletely takes charge with a resolutely conceivedsolo that takes time to dance with thebeat and take other audacious rhythmic liberties,shadowed by Schonig. Blanton has a nice senseof equilibrium and paints pellucid tones with hismallets, always attentive to the contours of hiscompositions and comping.“Good Ol’ Joel” seems written with Frahm’squicksilver soprano saxophone technique inmind, though Blanton takes the first solo, elementsfrom which are picked up by Frahm to build hisown pithy exploration. “Foreshadowing” is moresomber and reflective, chordal rather than trickilymelodic. Loomis is dropped in for a solo beforerasping tenor from Frahm and some busybut tight interplay between Blanton and Schonig,the latter always injecting textures and ideas.ties, exhibiting taste throughout.Allen handles most of thevocals. He shares a range andtonal similarity to B.B. King,minus the soul-shaking shoutsat the end of his lines. The slownumbers betray his voice, as helacks the drama to fill the spaces.But Kenny Neal Jr.’s tightdrum support is particularlygratifying: a third-generationbluesman, he’s extending the line.Cotton’s solos are forceful, if measured (seldommore than a chorus) and as an accompanisthe’s a pungent commentator, squarely stabbingthe notes and chords. His phrases are shorterthan they once were, but they’re full of tonal variety,summoning a steamship, a train whistle, asaxophone, a hurricane and an octave-jumpingbird. When he switches to the chromatic harp on“Sad” and “Blues For Koko,” it spreads warmththroughout the tune. The tour de force tribute toKoko Taylor signifies that Cotton’s not throughcreating by a long shot. —Kirk SilsbeeGiant: Buried Alive In The Blues; Heard You’re Getting Married;Find Yourself Another Fool; Sad Sad Day; Change; How BlueCan You Get?; With The Quickness; Since I Met You Baby; GoingDown Main Street; That’s All Right; Let Yourself Go; Blues ForKoko. (49:27)Personnel: James Cotton, harmonica; Slam Allen, guitar, vocals;Tom Holland, guitar, vocal (4); Noel Neal, electric bass; RonnieJames Weber, electric bass (4); Kenny Neal Jr., drums.Ordering info: alligator.com“Mellow Afternoon” is indicative of the chilltemperament endemic to musicians drawn to thevibraphone’s delicate resonance, Frahm’s driveon soprano like a darting bird over the placidlake pictured on the back cover of the CD.“Little Two” shifts metrically but like all thismusic is cute, clean and impeccably articulated,with more space for the inventive Schonig. Thequartal theme of “Hemming And Hawing,” withLoomis pushing the action this time, draws outmore intensity that is carried through to the urgentcloser, which displays a little more attitudeand thrust from this promising young leader thanthe opening tracks. —Michael JacksonBotanic: Already Here; Botanic; Good Ol’ Joel; Foreshadowing;Mellow Afternoon; Little Two; Hemming And Hawing; Vestibule.(49.58)Personnel: Tyler Blanton, vibraphone; Joel Frahm, tenor and sopranosaxophone; Richie Barshay, drums (5, 8); Jared Schonig,drums; Aidan Carroll, bass (5, 8); Dan Loomis, bass.Ordering info: tylerblanton.netTamir HendelmanDestinationsResonance 1017★★★On Tamir Hendelman’s innately impressivenew album, the Israel-born and LosAngeles-based pianist demonstrates the undeniabledepth and technical mastery of his approachto his instrument, putting him in thecompany of such young jazz dazzlers as Eldar.In powerful trio collusion with Italian bassistMarco Panascia and New York drummer LewisNash, Hendelman takes care to cover many stylisticbases and musical terrains on the album,bringing his fervent keyboard attack and arranger’stouch.In general, the recording presents Hendelmanas a wowing, wash ’n’ wear virtuoso, withthe ability to unleash dexterous energies in multiplestylistic directions. The album’s subtitlecould be “derivations,” as he works his waythrough standards, Braziliana, a pinch of classicaland high-wire bebop, with a version ofCharlie Parker’s “Anthropology” which layersthe classic serpentine head with the pianist’sown new, intertwining layer of contrapuntalcerebration. On somewhat mellowerturf, Hendelman’s two originals, “Israeli Waltz”and “Babushka” suggest bittersweet Israeli folktunes pressed into the service of jazz.The album’s much-needed moment of soulfulprobity comes with Hendelman’s sensitivetake on Keith Jarrett’s “My Song.” Hendelmanslows down and heeds the delicate beauty athand, while sneaking in a few elbowing syncopations,as is his wont.Amid the furious, serious musical flow ofDestinations, at times, an instinctive response of“how’d he do that?” mixes in with “where is hecoming from?” One could wish for more questioningand lyricism in his approach to the music,and less pyrotechnical, chest-thumping declarations.Nonetheless, Hendelman is clearly a musicalforce to reckon with and keep tabs on. —Josef WoodardDestinations: Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams; Passarim; SoftWinds; Le Tombeau de Couperin; My Song; You Stepped Out of aDream; Israeli Waltz; Anthropology; Babushka; On the Street WhereYou Live; BQE; Valentine. (71:49)Personnel: Tamir Hendelman, piano; Marco Panascia, bass; LewisNash, drums.Ordering info: resonancerecords.org54 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

Cecil Taylor/Tony OxleyAilanthus/Altissima:bilateraldimensions of2 root songsTriple Point 037★★★★The British percussionistTony Oxley ranksas one of Cecil Taylor’s most trusted drummers;the pair have collaborated regularly since1988, when the pianist spent a month in Berlin,when they recorded the classic release Leaf PalmHand (FMP), most steadily in the Feel Trio withbassist William Parker. The astonishing musicon Ailanthus/Altissima, an expensive and highlylimited-edition double vinyl set, packaged witha lovely booklet featuring poetry by Taylor andpaintings by Oxley, was recorded during a weeklongVillage Vanguard stint in 2008, and markstheir first duo release since the pianist’s Germanresidency 32 years ago. Despite their ages—Taylor is 81 and Oxley, 72—the performanceshere reveal undiminished powers, and whilethe pianist generally eschews his most volcanicMike Reed’sLoose AssemblyEmpatheticParts482 Music 1074★★★★D rummer/promoterMike Reed, theéminence grise of progressiveChicago musicdue to his bolsteringof improv venues andthe Umbrella Festival, flew in Roscoe Mitchellat the last minute to guest with his quintet atwoodsy Chicago bar The Hideout for a concertin 2009. I attended the gig, which was remarkablefor several reasons, not least the appearanceof band members, save Mitchell, in blue workeroveralls with colored armbands. Inspired bystrategies of local creative musicians, includingFred Lonberg-Holm’s Lightbox Orchestra, Reeddevised a system of colored paddles to signalchanges of texture and note value. Despite thisartifice, the music comes across with a strongnarrative arc rather than as an aleatoric collage.Reed starts with nothing in particular—cymbal shimmers, mallet taps, snare smudges—then an ominous collective intro phrase precedesa clang-tipped sustain spilling into false-fingeredsqualls from Mitchell. Richly textured cellofrom Tomeka Reid precedes an eerie collectivehum and another clanging checkered flag,or rather colored paddle, for Mitchell. Reed clattersbusily behind Mitchell’s cycle breathing,then everyone hangs like owls on tree branch-machinations, there’s nothingremotely relaxed about theseperformances.The two suite-like pieceswax and wane with stunningbeauty, each building outfrom terse little crab-steppedphrases shaped by the pianistinto masterfully controlled,rhythmically phantasmagoricstarbursts; the music exhibitsa feverish volatilityand while Taylor is clearly in the driver’s seat,Oxley’s imagination seems hard-wired to hispartner’s every impulse, as the drummer perfectlylimns, rhymes, or girds every movementwithout a hint of latency. Although the intensityebbs and flows, the duo never engages in simpleacceleration and deceleration; instead, Taylor isforever looking on the horizon, pushing the musicinto consistently new terrain, and while hislanguage and phrasing may be familiar here,his drive and invention sounds as fresh and vitalas anything he’s done in decades. A late-careergem. —Peter MargasakAilanthus/Altissima: Ailanthus; Altissima. (83:85)Personnel: Cecil Taylor, piano; Tony Oxley, drums.Ordering info: triplepointrecords.comes, scouting for midnightprey. All aware this istime for suspended longtones,Abrams stompsoff like a three-leggedbear. Mitchell switchesto flute, Adasiewicz twinklesstars, Reid’s pluckedcello plays cub followingAbrams. Ward’s feverishlyinvestigative alto heraldsfurther wheeling sopranobefore Reed’s ridecymbal and Abrams kick into urgent swing, under-paintedwith pools of watercolor vibraphone.The fever subsides, Ward skitters like an owldodgingmouse before an arco sawing impassewhich prompts Reed to rattle around furiously,moving things forward with lumberjack-meetsflamencobass. Mitchell’s soprano sounds naivelyunaware of the dangers of the forest with altocreeping behind, not to mention chiming, cuckoovibes. Soprano is strangled to the dismay of celloand guilt of alto, then they all get the hell out …to wild audience applause.The second piece, from drummer SteveMcCall’s unknown catalogue, features an inadvertent“Sophisticated Lady” fragment fromMitchell before a gorgeous entry into the melodyfrom all. A stop about four minutes in heraldsnew melodic segments, beautifully framedby Ward and Adasiewiscz. —Michael JacksonEmpathetic Parts: Empathetic Parts; I’ll Be Right Here Waiting. (41.58)Personnel: Mike Reed, drums, percussion; Roscoe Mitchell, altoand soprano saxes, flute: Greg Ward, alto sax; Tomeka Reid, cello;Jason Adasiewicz, vibraphone; Joshua Abrams, bass.Ordering info: 482music.comRoscoe Mitchell andThe Note FactoryFar SideECM 2087★★★★Recorded live in 2007, Far Side documentsa “new” version of Roscoe Mitchell’s doublequartet, a band that includes two of the mostprominent young piano players in jazz today,Craig Taborn and Vijay Iyer. It is rounded outby rising star Corey Wilkes on trumpet and acore of longtime associates, bass players JaribuShahid and Harrison Bankhead (who doubleson cello) as well as drummers Tani Tabbal andVincent Davis.One of the main interests of this recordingresides in how Mitchell structured his compositions.Each piece works as a suite with eachpart featuring a different band configuration.Some of the compositions’ titles are indicativein this respect (“Quintet 2007 A For Eight”or “Trio Four For Eight”). This approach oftenproduces arresting moments. In particular,the string instruments provide a wonderfulwarmth to material that could otherwise easilypass for brainy or stark.Those outcomes also illustrate Mitchell’s talentat getting the best out of his musicians. Onceagain, evidence is given that Wilkes never soundsbetter than under his leadership. Ample opportunitiesare provided for everyone to shine.At this time in his career, Mitchell’s musicseems to reveal more conceptual or sonicconnections to other Association for theAdvancement of Creative Musicians luminaries,such as Anthony Braxton or Henry Threadgill.That being said, the recording remains quintessentialMitchell. His ability to create a maelstrompowered by his dazzling circular breathing technique,his keen interest in textures or his use ofextremely sparse notes are all highlighted and, asa result, Far Side is a fine addition to his somewhatinconsistent discography. —Alain DrouotFar Side: Far Side/Cards/Far Side; Quintet 2007 A For Eight; TrioFour For Eight; Ex Flover Five. (65:57)Personnel: Roscoe Mitchell, saxophones, flutes; Corey Wilkes,trumpet, flugelhorn; Craig Taborn, piano; Vijay Iyer, piano; JaribuShahid, bass; Harrison Bankhead, bass, cello; Tani Tabbal, drums;Vincent Davis, drums.Ordering info: ecmrecords.com56 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

Jazz | Byjames haleSix-String MagiciansSmooth, round and sweet, Russell Malone’stone might be what catches the ear first,but it’s his ability to vary his attack and timingthat maintains interest. On Triple Play(MaxJazz 607; 60:52 ★★★★), his first triorecording, he showcases the full range ofthe voice that has made him a busy musicalaccomplice for the likes of Ron Carterand Diana Krall. Mining the horn-like melodictradition that stretches back to CharlieChristian, Malone is always ready with aslightly tart aside or rhythmic twist. BassistDavid Wong and drummer Montez Colemanare ideal partners for him, workinghand-in-glove and mirroring him closely. Amore chordal take on “The Kind Of Girl SheIs” and a ripe, solo interpretation of “UnchainedMelody” complete the picture ofMalone in his prime.Ordering info: maxjazz.comRecently, Joe Morris has been exploringthe double bass more than his signaturedry-toned electric six-string, but Camera(ESP-Disk 4063; 50:22 ★★★½) finds himcontrasting his regular axe against violinand cello. With Luther Gray on understateddrums—with cymbals that sound as arid asMorris’ guitar—the string trio is front andcenter. Katt Hernandez’s violin exploresimpressionistic, microtonal territory, whilecellist Junko Fujiwara Simons plays acerbicwashes under Morris’ typically skitterylead lines. The combination of fine-grainedguitar detail and more gauzy string textureshighlights the link to the photographictheme, and it’s not difficult to visualizestreet scenes—both stark and abstract—toaccompany Morris’ six compositions.Ordering info: espdisk.comDesert Island Dreamers (Arbors Jazz19412; 63:40 ★★½) would’ve been a strongerrecording had Bucky, John and MartinPizzarelli obeyed the “no ‘Stairway’” rulefrom Wayne’s World and steered clear ofthe Led Zeppelin classic. That’s not theonly programming decision that makesyou wonder what other options were inplay. “Over The Rainbow,” “Danny Boy”and “Moon River” surely deserve a rest,and poet Rod McKuen’s “A Man Alone” isa slight thing. There is no shortage of instrumentalprowess here, but the choiceof material—maudlin and overused in themain—makes it seem like an easy-listeningsession rather than anyone’s idea of an essentialcollection.Ordering info: arborsrecords.comAlthough amplification helps, making aguitar heard in the context of a 16-piece,brass- and reed-heavy band represents achallenge. Composer-arrangers like MariaSchneider and Darcy James Argue oftenLourdes DelgadoKurt Rosenwinkel:Soaringemploy electric guitar as an additional colorrather than as an ongoing lead voice. Withhis signal processed into a rich, piping tone,Kurt Rosenwinkel more than holds his ownwith Portugal’s Orquestra Jazz Matosinhos,performing seven of his own compositionson Our Secret World (Word Of MouthMusic 00003; 66:13 ★★★★½). The band’sthree arrangers find ways of making him anintegral element. On “Dream Of The Old,”Carlos Azevedo’s chart has Rosenwinkelsoaring over the band with a sound so largethat it seems to be as broad and rich as theentire horn section.Ordering info: wommusic.comVeteran guitarist and educator RolfSturm steps away from the band he coleadswith his bassist brother and delivers10 solo acoustic performances that resonatewith verve. Balance (Water StreetMusic 124; 50:59 ★★★★) is divided betweenjazz standards like “Stella By Starlight”and “Out Of Nowhere” and an equalnumber of originals that take whimsicalanagrams as their titles (“Alone Together”becomes “To Get Her Alone,” for example).Sturm’s style encompasses elements ofclassical, American roots music and flamenco,and he mixes them so seamlesslyand constantly that they become their ownanagram. Regardless of his approach, eachpiece is suffused with tremendous energyand movement. DBOrdering info: waterstreetmusic.orgFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 57

Lew Soloff, Steve Richmanand the HarmonieEnsemble of New YorkSketches Of SpainSheffield Lab 10089★★★Suzanne PittsonOut Of The Hub:The Music OfFreddie HubbardVineland Records 7757★★★Why bother? This is the most obvious, if simplistic, question to ask ofa tribute album. And if the project is worthwhile, the artists probablyhave answers. For Steve Richman, the conductor of the HarmonieEnsemble of New York, the 2008 performance of Sketches Of Spain withLew Soloff was a passion project and a story of family friendships. Its recentrecording and release also happens to mark the 50th anniversary ofthe 1960 masterpiece, offering a new perspective from which to considerthe masterful arrangements, world music-tinged solos and unmatched collaborativeefforts of Gil Evans and Miles Davis.While Soloff understandably makes the conservative choice to stickclosely to Davis’ original trumpet part, Richman’s orchestra softens androunds out some of the edginess of that first recording. The castanet is muted,while Francois Moutin’s bass comes closer to the surface on “ConciertoDe Aranjuez.” In a darker version of “Solea,” Soloff’s lines harken back tothe wooziness of “Will O’ The Wisp,” rather than adhering to Davis’ tendencyto bend notes to their breaking points. The end result is a faithful, ifconservative, tribute to one of the most endlessly fascinating collaborationsin the music’s history.Suzanne Pittson’s Freddie Hubbard tribute, onthe other hand, is anything but conservative. As shedid on her 1999 release A Remembrance Of JohnColtrane, Pittson bravely uses her voice to pay homageto the work of one of the most important figuresin hard-bop. Covering tunes from across Hubbard’scatalogue, the vocalist—along with her husbandand pianist, Jeff, and Evan Pittson—pens new lyricsfor about half of the tracks. And for the most part,she doesn’t waver even when facing a vocal reinterpretationof some of Hubbard’s trickiest and bestknownsolos, from “Byrd Like” to “Crisis.”The band complements her soprano beautifullyon tracks like “Gibraltar,” with Jeremy Pelt helpingto set a swinging vibe from the outset, and John Patitucci keeping the bottomintact on tunes where Pittson’s soprano threatens to overwhelm things.At times, the singer’s chordal leaps and otherwise pristine phrasing feel abit forced and unstable. But on tunes like “Out Of The Hub,” she recoversgracefully, thanks in large part to a scat that jives more naturally withHubbard’s music than her often poetic (but sometimes saccharine) lyrics.If the answer to “Why sing Hubbard?” is about creative risk and originality,then Pittson’s project succeeds despite its hiccups. —Jennifer OdellSketches of Spain: Concierto De Aranjuez; Will O’ The Wisp; The Pan Piper; Saeta; Solea. (41:02)Personnel: Lew Soloff, trumpet; Steve Richman, conductor; Harmonie Ensemble of New York: DominicDerasse, Kenny Rampton, Joe Giorgiannai, Marc Osterer, trumpets; Mike Seltzer, Earl McIntyre,trombones; R.J. Kelley, Doug Lyons, Vincent Chancey, french horns; Marcus Rojas, tuba; Ed Joffe,Ralph Olsen, Rick Heckman, Charles Pillow, Ron Jannelli, reeds; Stacey Shames, harp; Francois Moutin,bass; Jim Musto, drums; Jon Haas, Erik Charlston, percussion.Ordering info: sheffieldlab.comOut Of The Hub: The Music Of Freddie Hubbard: Our Own (Gibraltar); Up Jumped Spring; Out Of TheHub (One Of Another Kind); Bright Sun (Lament For Booker); True Visions (True Colors); You’re My Everything;We’re Having a Crisis (Crisis); Moment To Moment; Lost And Found (The Melting Pot); Like A Byrd(Byrd Like); Betcha By Golly, Wow! (45:07)Personnel: Suzanne Pittson, voice; Jeremy Pelt, trumpet, flugelhorn; Steve Wilson, alto and soprano saxophones;Jeff Pittsom, piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano; John Patitucci, bass; Willie Jones III, drums.Ordering info: suzannepittson.comIngrid LaubrockAnti-HouseIntakt 173★★★The liner notes put it so well,there’s no point saying it anyother way; this music is information-dense.Even when saxophonistIngrid Laubrock plays with essentialrestraint, it has a heft that makescasual listening pointless.This is the German-born musician’s first effort under her own namesince leaving London for Brooklyn, and she has surrounded herself withaccompanists who realize her music with unstinting commitment. Noone trifles or coasts. John Hébert and Tom Rainey sound extraordinarilyassured articulating “Quick Draw’s” rapidly changing rhythmic terrain.Mary Halvorson shifts with aplomb from hushed, baleful ambience to caroming,crushed-metal chords. And Kris Davis exercises unbearable restrainton the creeping “Big Crunch.” Laubrock ranges just as freely onher horns, sounding like a microtonally mindful Paul Desmond on thestealthy ballad “Tex & Clementine” and plumbing the spiky introductionto “Funhouse Glockwork” with Bhob Rainey-like gulps and gargles.The more time one spends with this record, the more it impresses.Beyond the rigorous playing, each of its 14 tracks abounds with surprisechanges in shape and direction. But while it commands admiration, it’shard to love; the contrasts and complexities don’t really add up to somegreater whole. —Bill MeyerAnti-House: Slowfish Glowfish; Flowery Prison Cell; Messy Minimum; Quick Draw; Funhouse Glockwork;Tex & Clementine; Anti-House; Is Life Anything Like This; Big Bang; Big Crunch; Betterboon; TomCan’t Sleep; Oh Yes; Mona Lisa Trampoline. (72:45)Personnel: Ingrid Laubrock, tenor and soprano saxophone; Mary Halvorson, guitar; John Hébert,bass; Tom Rainey, drums, glockenspiel; Kris Davis, piano.Ordering info: intaktrec.ch58 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

Marty EhrlichFablesTzadik 8155★★★The RayAnderson–Marty EhrlichQuartetHear You Say:Live inWillisauIntuition 71303★★★Marty Ehrlich begins Fables by overdubbing several wind instrumentson the same track: an unaccompanied bass clarinet ostinato,then clarinet, flute and soprano saxophone over it. Hankus Netsky’s accordionbrightens the somber mood while providing at least a sense of improvisation.Ehrlich titles the composition “Scroll No. 1”; it’s the first ofthree “scrolls” appearing on the album, and it’s played straight. There’s norhythm section, and the 10 compositions often have more in common withchamber music than jazz.Ehrlich’s sensibility is unsurprising. He aligns himself with the progressivestrains in jazz that break with convention while incorporating musicstyles another generation would have ignored. Here, he draws from notjust classical music, but also Jewish and eastern European music. For themost part it’s not the lively dance music of the klezmer, but rather the moresolemn music that originated in the synagogue.Yet Ehrlich, the composer and the instrumentalist, sheds this cool veneeroften enough. Ehrlich plays a swinging clarinet solo on “The ThimbleAnd The Thread,” a tune that sounds well-suited to musical theater. Theunusual trio features tuba player Marcus Roja and Netsky on piano. “TheLion’s Tanz” features the same sidemen, but Ehrlich plays alto on a tunethat becomes increasingly heated with each chorus. Ehrlich’s tone becomesfirst edgy, and then coarse; the harmony and structure all but disappear bythe end of the song.“The Lion’s Tanz” also appears on Hear You Say, a live recording froman August 2009 booking at a Swiss festival. It features a quartet Ehrlich coleadswith trombonist Ray Anderson; the rhythm section includes drummerMatt Wilson. Ironically, the tune features less structure than the versionappearing on Ehrlich’s Fables. Describing the beginning as rubatowould be generous. The drumbeat, closer to a march, provides the underpinningfor a collective freak-out.The tune, though, is not only the shortest of the seven compositions; it’salso the only one in which the quartet avoids even the slightest reference totraditional fare. The opener, “Portrait Of Leroy Jenkins,” begins as a blues;the similarly long “Hot Crab Pot” has a boppish feel, and the deliberate“My Wish” recalls Thelonious Monk.“Alligatory Rhumba” sounds like the most enjoyable. Over a playfulrhythm, Ehrlich’s alto and Anderson’s trombone shadow one another whiletrading licks, riffs and vocal effects for the better part of the 11-minutetrack. Betraying an affinity for the swing era, the performance also demonstratescontinuity: Even as these folks look to the future, they keep in touchwith the past. —Eric FineFables: Scroll No. 1; The Thimble And The Thread; Es Felt; Wednesday’s Waltz; Rozo D’Shabbos;Scroll No. 2; The Mirror Waltz; The Lion’s Tanz; I’m Growing Into My Hat; Scroll No. 3. (45:34)Personnel: Marty Ehrlich, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, alto and soprano saxophones; Hankus Netsky,piano, accordion; Marcus Roja, tuba (2, 8, 10); Jerome Harris, acoustic bass guitar (3).Ordering info: tzadik.comHear You Say: Portrait of Leroy Jenkins; Hot Crab Pot; My Wish; The Lion’s Tanz; The Git Go; AlligatoryRhumba; Hear You Say. (63:08)Personnel: Ray Anderson, trombone; Marty Ehrlich, clarinet, alto and soprano saxophones; BradJones, bass; Matt Wilson, drums.Ordering info: allegro-music.comFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 59

Blues | By frank-john hadleyHarmonicatsUnleashedTad Robinson: Back In Style(Severn 0050; 47:21 ★★★½)Robinson, here on his fifth album,is one of those rare soulbluessingers who manages tofinesse the sense of wonder atthe heart of assertions on thepower of love. His vocals andharp playing are personalizedand immaculately ordered intoarrangements of quality songsmostly written by him and bassistSteve Gomes. The supportingstudio band, featuring guitaristAlex Schultz, is with Robinson allthe way, though a cheesy electricpiano does their Memphissoul approximations no favor.Ordering info: severnrecords.comBob Corritore & Friends:Harmonica Blues (Delta Groove139; 72:40 ★★★½) ImpresarioCorritore collects 15 tracks thathe recorded in the studio the pastfew decades with veterans giggingat his Rhythm Room clubin Phoenix. Big Pete Pearsondredges up true grit singing “Tin Pan Alley,”Eddy Clearwater cuts a swath of fun through“That’s My Baby” and Little Milton, on vocalsand guitar, takes listeners to school with his“Six Bits In Your Dollar,” a bad-feeling-thismorninglesson. These guys, along with NappyBrown, Koko Taylor, Pinetop Perkins andthe rest, may be past their prime but they’reblessed with unconquerable spirit. They’realso comfortable with the house band helmedby Corritore, a damn good harp player with alively sense of history.Ordering info: deltagroovemusic.comThe Chris O’Leary Band: Mr. Used ToBe (Fidellis/Vizztone 001; 40:10 ★★★½)O’Leary, formerly with Levon Helm’s Barnburners,is a more than capable singer andChicago-style harmonica stylist; the proofcomes in the shuffles and jump numbers hehandles with suave assurance on his debutrecording. It’s really the slow tempo of “BluesIs A Woman” that draws out his best singing,reminiscent of Jimmy Witherspoon. His HudsonValley-based cohorts stir up the all-originalmaterial without faltering. Young guitaristChris Vitarello merits notice for his technicalpowers and imagination, his reach extendingto rockabilly and swinging jazz.Ordering info: vizztone.comTas Cru: Jus’ Desserts (Crustee Tee1001; 47:35 ★★★½) Cru, a sometimes facetiousand other times serious storyteller in ruralNew York State, gives the engaging originalsongs of his second album a comfy, intimateTad Robinson: Assertive lovefeel with his distinctive singing voice and hisprowess on harmonica and guitar. He’s ablysupported by a keyboards/drums/bass/secondguitar team of a similar stamp.Ordering info: tascru.comMitch Kashmar & The Pontiax: 100Miles To Go (Delta Groove 140; 50:24 ★★★)This reissued 1989 album by the Californiajump-blues band features Kashmar, then in hislate 20s, on still-ripening vocals and harp. Heconveys motion and force, especially effectivewhen his tin instrument emits flows of gracefulnotes. Now-deceased harmonica marvel WilliamClarke guests on “Horn Of Plenty.” Twobonus tracks made at a studio reunion just afew months ago, the swamp-sodden “WhenYou Do Me Like That” and mildly political NewOrleans romp “Petroleum Blues,” have Kashmarshowing more assurance and having fun,though neither tune soars.Ordering info: deltagroovemusicSwississippi Chris Harper: Four AcesAnd A Harp (Swississippi 2010; 72:40 ★★)Harper, a Swiss, bankrolled this part-Deltaacoustic and part-Chicago electric album andgot to live out his fantasy of tooting his MarineBand (reverentially) and singing (awkwardly)on “Eyesight To The Blind” and other classicsin the company of real-deal bluesmen JimmyBurns, John Primer, Willie Smith and BobStroger. Singer-guitarist Burns and guitaristPrimer have their moments, but they can’tsave this album from the discard pile. DBOrdering info: swississippi-records.comGeno MalusekFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 61

Band Of GypsysReincarnation40 Years AfterInter-You Kft 01★★★★You hear this band’stake on Jimi Hendrix’s“If Six Was Nine” and youthink: “Man, Hendrix’smusic really was set up toplay jazz.” Turning this song into a quasi-Latinpiece that ends up swinging, with jazz chordsto boot, makes you miss the original a bit less.The same could be said for the Band of GypsysReincarnation’s “Manic Depression,” whichis recognizable but also imbued with a uniqueflavor. Taking the rock contours of this classic,their version becomes a bona fide jazz waltz. Attimes recalling the fiery expressiveness of Jean-Paul Bourelly, leader Laszlo Halper’s adherenceto rock and jazz energies is on full display withthe dervish-y, swinging reinvention of “VoodooChile.” And his mesmerizing use of the wah-wahis reminiscent without being imitative.Halper’s essentially Hungarian band creates,in his words, “a bridge between the musicalworld of Jimi Hendrix, the jazz played byHungarian Gypsies and traditional Gypsy music.”What he’s been able to pull off includes thestrange mixture of American trumpeter RandyBrecker on four tracks in addition to a cut withguitarist Tibor Tatrai on a very funky, pleasant-The Dymaxion QuartetSympathetic VibrationsSelf Release★★★½Inventor Buckminster Fuller has recentlyspawned some interest in jazz circles—from the Rova Saxophone Quartet to composerDarcy James Argue. Now enters The DymaxionQuartet, a piano-less foursome led by drummerGabriel Gloege, who strives to apply Fuller’sconcept of “dynamic maximum tension” to thefield of music. In addition, Gloege’s nine compositionsare inspired by photographer Asca S.R.Aull’s pictures.There are two types of drummers/bandleaders.Those who feel the need to populate everytune with a drum solo and those who understandthat the role of their instrument is to support andserve the music. The band’s debut, SympatheticVibrations, clearly shows that Gabriel Gloegebelongs to the latter category.As a bandleader, Gloege has already learnedhow to present a balanced program and foundhow to mix tempos and moods. His freebopleanings create a proper environment for collectivecohesiveness and invention. A real treatis the near constant dialogue between trumpeterMichael Shobe and tenor saxophonist MarkSmall. Counterpoint, shadowing, or echoing arepart of the arsenal they use to build and main-ly plodding “Purple Haze.”And from a 2004 concert,and also on one track, are (itappears to be) the late piccolobassist/vocalist JackieOrszaczky, groove box playerZsolt Kosztyu and percussionistJanos Paczko helpingto creatively reinvent“Crosstown Traffic.” If thatweren’t enough, Halper insertsa bit of Chopin with a guitar paraphrase ofthe composer’s “Prelude In E Minor.”The core band includes a radical and inspiredchoice in cimbalom player MiklosLukacs, whose soloing is ferocious and full ofheart, whether he’s checking in on another funkyrendition of, in this case, “Fire,” or adding otherworldlytouches to “Voodoo Chile.” Brecker’sFreddie Hubbard-flavored solo on “Fire” confirmsthat even the trumpet can nail Hendrix’smusic. Drummer Imre Koszegi contributes asound that’s nowhere near what Mitch Mitchellor Buddy Miles put forth but a beat and vibe thathelp to drive this band’s sound and pulse, clearlymore jazz than rock. —John Ephland40 Years After: If Six Was Nine; Manic Depression; Purple Haze;Fire; Hey Joe; Who Knows; Voodoo Chile; Crosstown Traffic; PreludeIn E Minor–paraphrase; Medley: Little Wing, Third Stone FromThe Sun–part I; Third Stone From The Sun–part II. (59:16)Personnel: Laszlo Halper, Tibor Tatrai (3), guitar; Imre Koszegi,drums; Miklos Lukacs, cimbalom; Peter Olah, double bass; IstvanFekete (3, 5, 6, 8, 11), Randy Brecker (1, 2, 4, 7), trumpet; JackieOrszaczky, piccolo bass, vocal (8); Zsolt Kosztyu, groove box (8);Janos Paczko, percussion (8).Ordering info: halper.hutain momentum. Bass player Dan Fabricatoresupplies quite a chunk of melodic content andGloege succeeds in not drawing too much the attentionto himself, which is a compliment.In the end, the references to Fuller and Aullmight set too many expectations and be a disserviceto the music, which does not need those referencesto be enjoyed. Ultimately, it’s the compellingtunes played with conviction, the intriguingrole-switching process and the stimulating interplaythat captivate. The Dymaxion Quartet is aband to watch. —Alain DrouotSympathetic Variations: At One; The Kiss; Night Market; SpringEquinox; Summer’s End; The Boat; Wollman’s Rink; MidnightMass; Fulton Fish Market. (55:05)Personnel: Michael Shobe, trumpet; Mark Small, tenor saxophone;Dan Fabricatore, bass; Gabriel Gloege, drums.Ordering info: dymaxion.bandcamp.comTed HearneKatrina BalladsNew Amsterdam Records 011★★★½In the days following Hurricane Katrina, theworld endured a media monsoon of horrificimages in an effort to understand what wentwrong in New Orleans. Anderson Cooper askedviewers to steel themselves to accounts of deathand destruction because it was our duty to knowwhat was going on. Composer Ted Hearne’s treatiseon the disaster demands something similar.By setting media-derived, post-Katrinasoundbytes to a dizzying array of juxtaposedmusical forms, Hearne creates a sonic narrativethat taps into the fear, confusion and deep paincaused by the storm and by the George W. Bushadministration’s stagnating response. The discopens with the piercing sound of Abby Fischer’smezzo-soprano shrilly announcing that “NewOrleans is sinking,” her vibrato jarring your eardrumsinto high alert.Nathan Koci’s horn takes center stage ontrack two, which plays out like the day afterKatrina struck. A solo horn calls out, as if lookingfor survivors. The response is frantic, grim,high-pitched. The clash of metal on metal conjuresa broken home’s door; a man searches forhis wife’s body.In the next confluence of music and mediaclips, Hearne deftly continues to retell the story,but now his tone is one of appropriate mocking.Bush’s infamous “heck of a job, Brownie” remarkbecomes surreal fodder for lyrics.Compositional feats aside, this is no bel canto.A slew of bleak soundscapes and dissonant refrainsmarshals so many negative emotions thatyou may not know if you should cry, scream orjust turn the stereo off—like the experience ofwatching the news right after Aug. 29, 2005.—Jennifer OdellKatrina Ballads: Prologue: Keeping Its Head Above Water; WhenWe Awoke, It Was To That Familiar Phrase: New Orleans Dodgeda Bullet; Hardy Jackson: 8.30.05; Interlude 1; Dennis Hastert:8.31.05; Bridge To Gretna; Anderson Cooper And Mary Landrieu:9.1.05; Brownie, You’re Doing A Heck Of A Job; Interlude 2; BarbaraBush: 9.5.05; Kanye West: 9.2.05; Ashley Nelson. (62:59)Personnel: Abby Fischer, mezzo-soprano; Ted Hearne, tenor; IsaiahRobinson, tenor; Allison Semmes, soprano; Anthony Turner,baritone; Chris Coletti, trumpet; David Hanlon, piano; Kelli Katham,flute; Nathan Koci, horn; Taylor Levine, electric guitar; Batya Macadam-Somer,violin; Eileen Mack, clarinet, bass clarinet; DavidMedine, viola; Jody Redhage, cello; Kris Saebo, bass guitar; RonWiltrout, drums, percussion.Ordering info: katrinaballads.com62 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

Beyond | By James PorterRidingThe ‘SoulTrain’ RailsFor 35 years, Don Cornelius’“Soul Train” was the premiertelevision showcase for contemporaryblack music in America.Almost every significant soulartist who came along between1971 and 2006 appeared on theprogram, superstars and onehitwonders alike. This wasn’tthe first show devoted solely tosoul, nor was it even the first nationalsoul showcase (that honorwould go to “The !!!! Beat”). Butunlike that show, “Soul Train”was black-owned, black-operatedand black-hosted. From small beginningsin 1970 as a local program in Chicago, Corneliustook the franchise to Los Angeles the followingyear and had a hit on his hands. Justabout every major development in ’70s–’00sblack music was showcased: funk, disco,hip-hop, new jack swing and quiet storm.Jazz artists who dabbled in soul like HerbieHancock, Ramsey Lewis and the Crusaderswere featured. Blues acts like Little Milton, B.B.King and Bobby Bland got screen time. Evenblack rock ’n’ rollers like Chuck Berry, LittleRichard, Lenny Kravitz and the Bus Boys occasionallyrode the rails, as did white performerslike Elton John and David Bowie. Whilethe program covered a ton of ground in fourdecades, the show still remains identified withthe afropick era of the ’70s. The Best Of SoulTrain (TimeLife 25658 180:00/155:00/155:000★★★★) DVD set collects 16 episodes, all butone from that decade.Barry White, The Isley Brothers, JacksonFive, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, TeddyPendergrass, Sly & The Family Stone and othersare all shown in their prime, or close to it.But it should be noted that the episodes haveall been edited somewhat. The opening of oneepisode from October 1972 promises GladysKnight & the Pips, the O’Jays and Major Lance;as it turns out, we don’t get to see Lance’s performance.Even if he wasn’t quite the hitmakerhe was in the early part of the ’60s, the entireshow should have remained intact. A nice bonus(unannounced on the cover) is the additionof some of the original commercials for Afro-Sheen and Ultra-Sheen, generally seen onlyduring Soul Train but fondly recalled by thosewho were there.The format was generally lip-synchedperformances, but unlike predecessor DickClark’s “American Bandstand,” Cornelius’show would have the acts play live when possible.About half of the performers do theirthing live on this DVD, including James BrownCurtis Mayfield:Unvarnished truthwith the JBs and Barry White with his massiveLove Unlimited Orchestra. One memorable1973 show had Curtis Mayfield singing alongto a censored “Pusherman” (with lines fromthe song edited to cover the drug references).On the DVD, Mayfield mouths to the originalunvarnished version.What’s also interesting about the setis watching the kids change along with thetimes. On the earliest shows here (1972–’73),the dancing is every bit as wild as the fashions,and the kids are genuinely happy to be seen onnationwide TV. By the disco era (1978–’79), themode of dress has gone conservative and althoughthere is more room to dance, the stepsare a bit more subtle, not quite as acrobatic asbefore. There is one token post-’70s episode:Stevie Wonder is shown in 1991, doing a medleyof his hits with the “Soul Train” dancerssinging along. Although the kids are enthusiastic,by this time they were more jaded and lesssurprised about being in front of the camera.Their facial expressions seemed practiced forthis moment, and they may have shoved somepeople out of the way for this exposure. This isin stark contrast to Wonder’s appearance onthe same show in early ’73 (not included onthis DVD) when he’s sitting at the piano singinga song about “Soul Train” that he composedspecially for the occasion. Rather thanjockeying for position, the dancers merely getin where they fit in, laughing with genuine excitement.The 1973 crowd were just kids havingfun; the 1991 audience may as well havebeen extras auditioning for a job in a video. YetCornelius remained cool as a cucumber, andWonder will always be Wonder.Other features include interviews withCornelius, Smokey Robinson and BrianMcKnight. Even if the episodes werealtered, this DVD set gives a fair picture ofwhy they called themselves “The HippestTrip In America.” DBOrdering info: timelife.comCourtesy TimeLifeFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 63

Historical | By john murphCTI Flexed’70s MusclesIn addition to the four-disc set CTI:The Cool Revolution, Sony’s MasterworksJazz commemorates thelabel’s 40th anniversary with a spateof reissues that epitomized CTI’ssignature sound and nearly definedmainstream jazz in the ’70s.Initially, label founder CreedTaylor demonstrated a fondness forbossa nova by releasing timelessrecordings by Antonio Carlos Jobim,Milton Nascimento and Tamba4. So it makes sense for Jobim’s1970 album Stone Flower (CTI/Masterworks Jazz 77682; 39:53★★★★) to be among the first reissues. Thatalbum’s posh allure continues to hypnotize as itshowcases Jobim’s manicured keyboard workon the whistle-friendly “Children’s Games” andsauntering “Brazil.” As a producer, Taylor demonstratedhis gift for packaging jazz—or in thiscase, high-end instrumental music—in a mannerthat didn’t insult jazz fans but wasn’t toobristling to put off pop lovers. Not a note, beat,harmony or melody seem out of place.CTI’s lacquered production sheen andwide-screen orchestrations, often providedby Don Sebesky, tended to neuter the emotionalimmediacy of some records. Such isthe case with Kenny Burrell’s 1971 God BlessThe Child (77681; 49:52 ★★★½). Whetherintentional or not, the music lacks the urgencyof the LP cover, which depicts a helicopterhovering over a war-torn forest in Vietnam.Burrell’s blues-drenched, elegantly understatedguitar takes center nearly throughout,serving up nice grooves on “Love Is TheAnswer” and “Do What You Gotta Do” andglowing balladry on “Be Yourself” and “GodBless The Child.” Still it’s a disappointmentthat he never engages in any heated dialoguewith his stellar band mates, such as trumpeterFreddie Hubbard or keyboardists Hugh Lawsonand Richard Wyands.Sebesky’s rich orchestrations also insulateflutist Hubert Laws on 1972’s MorningStar (76833; 35:50 ★★★★). Here, though, thepairing seems more ideal as on the evocativetitle-track, which showcases Laws’ dynamicflute improvisations as well as some engagingaccompaniment from keyboardist Bob James,drummer Billy Cobham and bassist Ron Carter.When the tempo slows down as on the beautiful“Let Her Go,” Laws’ flute leaps forward fromthe thick orchestrations, wonderfully.Laws and Sebesky team up to supportChet Baker on the 1974 date She Was TooGood To Me (76830; 41:07 ★★★½), an albumthat marked somewhat of a comeback for thetrumpeter. Sebesky’s orchestrations work wellfor Baker on the opening “Autumn Leaves”Freddie Hubbard: Firey improv, buttery groovesand the cinematic title-track, on which Bakerturns in a stunning vocal performance. He andLaws handle Hank Mobley’s “Funk In DeepFreeze” admirably, too. Still there’s a slicknessto this date that almost makes much of theplaying go unnoticed.Some musicians did manage to ruffle thesatiny textures of CTI’s soundscapes while stillfitting with the label’s overall aesthetic. Hubbard’s1970 Red Clay (76822; 68:20 ★★★★½)is a perfect example. The trumpeter spits out hisfiery, hard-tongue improvisations over a butterygroove on the title track, which also showcasesspirited solos from Herbie Hancock and tenorsaxophonist Joe Henderson. Basically a continuationof the hard bop and soul jazz that distinguishedmuch of Hubbard’s Atlantic LPs afterhe left Blue Note, Red Clay remains essential.Stanley Turrentine’s 1970 release Sugar(76826; 59:16 ★★★★½) is another case inwhich the artist cut through the gloss. Turrentine’shonky-tonk tone and razor-sharp phrasingrefuse to fade into background, especiallyon the swaggering title-track and his organdriventake on John Coltrane’s “Impressions.”Also commendable are band mates Hubbard,guitarist George Benson and electric pianistLonnie L. Smith, who goad Turrentine to highoctaneimprovisations.The double-disc California Concert: TheHollywood Palladium (76405; 77:50/76:06★★★★★) makes for a great celebration becauseit’s the first time it’s been released onCD. The July 1971 concert gathered a dreamteam of Benson, Laws, Carter, Hubbard, Cobham,Turrentine, percussionist Airto Moreira,saxophonist Hank Crawford and organistJohnny Hammond for a scintillating performanceincluded takes on Coltrane’s “Impressions”and Miles Davis’ “So What” as well asenchanting readings of Laws’ “Fire And Rain”and Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke’s“Here’s That Rainy Day.” The disc also dispelsrecent notions that acoustic jazz faded completelyin the ’70s. DBOrdering info: ctimasterworks.comChuck StewartAlan Broadbent TrioLive At Giannelli Square:Volume IChilly Bin Records★★★½Veteran pianist Alan Broadbent is part ofa vanishing breed: musicians steeped inmid-20th century bop that lately receives moreexposure on campus than onstage. Broadbent’scredits include the best-of-the-best among hisLos Angeles brethren, notably Warne Marsh,Chet Baker, Bud Shank and Charlie Haden.The pianist is yet another West Coast musicianwho’s never received his due. Broadbent’sLive at Giannelli Square typifies a veteran’s album.A live date recorded early last year in LosAngeles’ San Fernando Valley, it features a programof mostly standards and a rhythm sectionwell-versed in the art of brushes and walkingbass lines. The trio’s varied approach transcendsthe narrow scope of the repertoire. The opener,“Lullaby of the Leaves,” features Broadbent’stwo-handed runs and rubato passages. The pianistthen cruises through the up-tempo “I’ll BeAll Right,” his tribute to Bud Powell. By “AloneTogether,” though, the rhythm section beginsto loosen its grip, with drummer Kendall Kay’ssteady patter becoming increasingly busy andunpredictable.Broadbent is good at any tempo,but I would have preferred to hear fewer ballads.The extraverted reading of “I’ll Be All Right”early in the set whet my appetite for more of thesame. “My Foolish Heart” follows; as much asI like it, it drags by comparison. To Broadbent’scredit, he ratchets up the tempo on his tune “NowAnd Then” to accommodate his bop-inspiredsolo. The set concludes with a rousing version ofMiles Davis’ “Solar,” the trio’s most compellingperformance. The more prominent use of dynamics,counterpoint and rhythm that Broadbentdisplays here would have benefitted the othertracks. The same holds true for the elastic pocketcreated by bassist Putter Smith and Kay. —Eric FineLive At Giannelli Square: Volume 1: Lullaby Of The Leaves; I’ll BeAll Right; My Foolish Heart; Alone Together; Now And Then; YouAnd You Alone; Ghost Of A Chance; Solar. (65:34)Personnel: Broadbent, piano; Putter Smith, bass; Kendall Kay,drums.Ordering info: alanbroadbent.com64 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

Dave FrankPortrait Of New YorkJazzheads JH1181★★★Dave Frank identifies himself unequivocallyon his website as a solo player. A specialistin a generalist’s age, he sets the bar high.And on Portrait Of New York as on previousprojects, he mostly clears it, though he mighthave set it on a different set of bars.The most obvious reference point in Frank’sperformance is the late Dave McKenna, whosemastery of the left-hand walking bass madesolo performance his strongest metier. This isobvious on the first track, “Full Force NYC,”which opens with a long string of low-registereighth-notes. But where McKenna typically duginto the keys with an intensity that pulled hisperformance way off tempo in a long but irresistibleacceleration, Frank paints almost an abstractpicture. His tempo slows slightly down ashe scatters fleet single lines and a few chords afterbringing in his right hand. This, plus a fewbreaks where the bass line morphs momentarilyinto quizzical dissonances or simply stops,undercuts his momentum. Though the performanceis built on the concept of a swinginggroove, it comes across as oddly academic.Despite the title, the song sounds an awful lotlike “Tangerine.”Frank channels this spirit more persuasivelywhen he mixes it with another inspirationon a track whose title says it all. “McKenna/McCoy” opens with a pair of sturdy fifths in theleft hand, a foundation for a harmonic elaborationthat brings McCoy Tyner quickly to mind.From here, a fusion of aesthetics begins, withvoicings, rhythmic placements and a modal flavorto his solo developing over an alternation ofprowling bass, jabbed and softer accents, andsilences below. This interplay catches fire nowand then, though again the positive impressionis more conceptually interesting than viscerallyexhilarating.There is much more range than this inFrank’s playing. “Manhattan By Moonlight,”an original, is a lovely miniature, played rubato,opening over a delicate tonic note with a figurethat suggests a distant carillon chiming thehour. From the simplicity of this beginning,Frank expands gently into moodier chords,darker with blues insinuations and played withgorgeous restraint. His approach to “My Man’sGone” is similar, though he allows a little moredynamic contrast particularly in the middle ofthe tune. These changes are handled with tasteand feeling.The boogies and blues that fill much of thisPortrait seem relatively undeveloped, with theexception of “Times Square,” another Franktune whose left-hand ostinato, built on alternatingbars of eight and nine, sets an intriguingstage for the brisk lines and clustered chordsin his right hand. Rather than act as a thinkingman’s McKenna, Frank may find his truestmuse is as an interpreter of intriguing and oftenballad-oriented originals. —Robert DoerschukPortrait Of New York: Full Force NYC; Broadway Boogie-Woogie;This Nearly Was Mine; Midtown 9 AM; Perdido; My Man’s Gone;Lower East Side Shuffle; McKenna/McCoy; Manhattan By Moonlight;Bowery Blues; You And The Night And The Music; TimesSquare. (50:45)Personnel: Dave Frank, piano.Ordering info: jazzheads.comFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 65

Wyatt/Atzmon/StephenFor The GhostsWithinDomino 271★★★★½In the wake of co-foundingEngland’s popgroup The Wilde Flowers,Robert Wyatt went onto co-found the progressivejazz-rock (then fairlypsychedelic) band Soft Machine in 1966 as adrummer. Since leaving SM in 1970, this innovative,restless force has taken many of his jazzroots and recombined them with a series of evermore startling collaborations, spearheaded byhis singing voice and ongoing outward-boundproclivities.For The Ghosts Within is another one ofthose collaborations, this time between Wyatt(who, apart from his singing, some trumpet andcomposer credits, adds percussion/brushes and abit of whistling), saxophonist Gilad Atzmon andviolinist/composer Ros Stephen, whose SigamosString Quartet serves as the instrumental backboneto the recording. Bassist Richard Pryceaugments the group. Throughout this set of standardsmixed with originals are special instrumentaland repertoire choices that keep the programalways a little offbeat even as it remainsthoroughly lyrical and listenable.With a title like this one and with Wyatt onboard, the chances of the proceedings soundingmore wistful than not are good. This despite thesunshine offered to such material as TheloniousMonk’s “Round Midnight” (an uplifting whistleinstead of a lyric), pop-rock rap with the politicallythemed, at times cartoonish-sounding“Where Are They Now” and the perennial half-glass-full, gets-’em-every-timeanthem “WhatA Wonderful World.”A sense of melancholytends to predominate, asWyatt and company revisitclassic heartbreakerslike “Laura,” “Lush Life”and “What’s New?” Ineach case, Wyatt’s crooningand the arrangements(by Stephen, with twofrom Jonathan Taylor)lend a kind of delicacy unique to the material athand with Atzmon’s soulful reed playing tippingthe music ever more toward a jazz vibe here andthere. Atzmon’s production (which pulled Wyattand his serene, thin yet totally evocative voice infrom another studio) adds reeds, electronics andaccordion. Wyatt’s wife, Alfie Benge, also getsinto the mix with tender lyrics to “Lullaby ForIrena” as well as contributing to the uncharacteristicallyraucous, haunting title track (completewith vocal chorus and some harrowing hornplayingfrom Atzmon), the lyrics inevitably servingto further Wyatt’s emotional and sonic reach.A tad sentimental here and there, For TheGhosts Within manages to carry within eachsong great care, delivered as a package, givingone the sense that this music was made all in oneday, and all in one place, even though it wasn’t. Acozy arrangement, indeed. —John EphlandFor The Ghosts Within: Laura; Lullaby For Irena; The GhostsWithin; Where Are They Now?; Maryan; Round Midnight; Lush Life;What’s New?; In A Sentimental Mood; At Last I Am Free; What AWonderful World. (56:06)Personnel: Robert Wyatt, voice, brushes, backing vocals, percussion,whistling, trumpet; Gilad Atzmon, alto saxophone, sopranosaxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, accordion, Palestinian shepherd’sflute, backing vocals; Sigamos String Quartet: Ros Stephen,violin, viola (backing vocals), Tom Piggot-Smith, violin, Rachel Robson,viola, Daisy Vatalaro, cello; Richard Pryce, double-bass; FrankHarrison, keyboards (3, 4, 6); Stormtrap (Abboud Hashem), voice(4); Yaron Stavi, double bass, electric bass (4); Julian Rowlands,bandoneon (10).Ordering info: dominorecordco.usStephan Crump/James CarneyEcho Run PryClean Feed 199★★★★These two musiciansknow how to sailconfidently in mainstreamas well as uncharted waters;collectively their associationsinclude Michael McDonald and RaviColtrane as well as Liberty Ellman and NelsCline. Although these two pieces were freely improvised,with a consequent lack of rigid structure,they unfold with a clarity that draws on thefull breadth of their experiences. While Carneyspends considerable time playing under the lid ofhis piano, pulling and slashing at the strings asthough he’s applying Derek Bailey’s guitar attackto a harp, he’s also quite willing to state a boldmelody and let it flow. Crump’s technical range issimilarly wide open, encompassing bongo slapsand fleet, propulsive runs.More impressive than thebreadth of their resources is theintelligence they exercise in selectingfrom them. Whethercontrasting inside-piano buzzingwith an elegantly descendingpizzicato figure or findingconcord in a passage of delicatebeauty, they make music thatintuitively makes sense; if thiswere science, one would say that it has face validity.The self-sufficiency of this effort bearsnotice; Crump recorded the music in Carney’sBrooklyn loft, achieving impressive clarityand presence using one stereo microphone anda portable digital recorder. Most likely the absenceof outsiders and familiarity of settingalso contributed to the intimacy of this excellentperformance. —Bill MeyerEcho Run Pry: Rodeo Gwen; Wood Genre. (48:54)Personnel: Stephan Crump, double bass; James Carney, piano.Ordering info: cleanfeed-records.com66 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

KneebodyYou Can Have Your MomentWinter & Winter 910 165★★★½On its third album, the hard-hitting quintetKneebody invests heavily in groove, whichisn’t such a difficult thing to do when your postbopis already so deeply inflected with postrock,fusion and rhythmic ideas nabbed fromhip-hop. (On the other hand, it might be a littlestrange when you consider that its 2009 collaborationwith vocalist Theo Bleckmann scored aGrammy nomination in the classical crossovercategory for a collection of Charles Ives songs).My initial impression of the music left me focusingon the gritty, intensely cohesive ensemblework—I could barely remember that therewere plenty of solos—which in this case is apositive accomplishment. The rigorous compositionsfrom the band’s members generallyweave multiple sections together with seamlessyet bold transitions, and with most of the tunesby trumpeter Shane Endsley and keyboardistAdam Benjamin there are subtle variables andcue systems that give the pieces an alluring flexibilitywhen performed live.Drummer Nate Wood, electric bassistKaveh Rastegar and keyboardist Benjamincarve out huge, steadily morphing grooves thatusually support plangent, sophisticated melodicshapes that give up their essence calmly. Thehorns of Endsley and reedist Ben Wendel frequentlyprovide contrapuntal richness and additionalharmonic depth, with improvised passagesperfectly woven into the fabric of ensemblesound. While Kneebody really digs tricky,rhythmically disorienting grooves like theones on “No Thank You Mr. West” or “NerdMountain,” they can also handle more gentleones with the requisite patience and sensitivity.I could use a bit more space in the thick arrangements,but sounding gauzy couldn’t befurther from Kneebody’s concerns here. —Peter MargasakYou Can Have Your Moment: Teddy Ruxpin; Held; The Entrepreneur;No Thank You Mr. West; You Have One Unheard Message;The Blind; You Can Have Your Moment; Desperation Station; NerdMountain; Call; Unforseen Influences; High Noon. (55:16)Personnel: Adam Benjamin, Fender Rhodes, effects; Shane Endsley,trumpet, effects; Kaveh Rastegar, electric bass, effects; BenWendel, saxophone, melodica, effects; Nate Wood, drums.Ordering info: winterandwinter.comJeremySiskindSimpleSongs ForWhen TheWorldSeemsStrangeBrooklyn JazzUnderground 020★★★★Like his mentor Fred Hersch, Jeremy Siskindlikes to tread the ground between jazz andart music, unafraid to wear his heart on his sleeveor to subjugate swing in favor of languid lyricism.On “Little Love Song”—one of three piecesto feature vocalist Jo Lawry—Siskind meldsa ripe melody line with lyrics that remind youthat he has a master’s in English. It seems to besomething that might’ve come out of a StephenSondheim musical, yet Siskind’s trio—whichplays on half the recording—features ChrisLightcap and Ted Poor, two of the most interestingrhythm section players in contemporaryimprovisation. He wraps everything up with aseemingly unironic take on “The Candy Man.”The paradox of Siskind’s ability to shiftshapes and dodge expectations lingers throughouthis sophomore recording, but there is alsoa sense of purpose, which keepsit from sounding like a pasticheby a prodigiously talented youngmusician.As a soloist, Siskind is impossibleto pigeonhole, delving intostride on “The Inevitable Letdown,”exploring some pretty, quiet counter-movementon “Venice” andchanneling Glenn Gould (downto the glottal noise) on the wistful“Audrey’s Song.” Fronting his trio,he sounds more modern, building to muscularclimaxes on the title composition and “A SingleMoment” and riding herd over a relentless martialrhythm on “Firstness.”From Brad Mehldau to Ethan Iverson, plentyof younger pianists tread similar territory, butSiskind distinguishes himself in his duo workwith Lawry. In that setting, he seems even lesswedded to the jazz continuum. “Hymn OfThanks” draws on English church tradition, andtheir work on “Six Minute Tango” would fit wellin a cabaret. In the end, Siskind seems happy togo his own way. —James HaleSimple Songs For When The World Seems Strange: Venice;The Fates; Hymn Of Thanks; Firstness; Audrey’s Song; Six MinuteTango; The Inevitable Letdown; Simple Song (For When The WorldSeems Strange); A Single Moment; Little Love Song; The CandyMan. (55:39)Personnel: Jeremy Siskind, piano; Jo Lawry, vocals (3, 6, 10);Chris Lightcap, bass (2, 4, 8, 9, 11); Ted Poor, drums (2, 4, 8, 9, 11).Ordering info: bjurecords.comFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 67

Amy CerviniLovefoolOrange Grove 1103★★★★Amy Cervini is one of many young jazz singerstrying to expand the range of acceptablematerial beyond the hidebound Great AmericanSongbook; if you count its cutoff point at about1965, its latest songs are about 50 years old. Hereshe addresses latter day music by singer/songwriterJack Johnson, Green Day, the Cardigans,Willie Nelson and Depeche Mode. Her trio of pianistMichael Cabe, bassist Mark Lau and drummerErnesto Cervini works hand-in-glove withher natural, unforced singing. Guest appearancesby Joel Frahm’s tenor, Marty Ehrlich’s bass clarinetand String Nucleus lend well-placed tang andtextural variety.She has a small, attractive voice that’s suretonedand swings easy. Cervini uses Johnson’s“Upside Down” as a playful rhythmic playground,while Blossom Dearie and Jack Segal’s“Country Boy” gets a much deeper lyricalreading. Nelson’s flat-footed “Sad Songs AndWaltzes” and the tongue-in-cheek tango titletrack are slyly quirky and fun, while the Frenchlyrics on “Quand Je Marche” make for lushsultriness. Cervini’s own, dreamlike “LonelyHighway” sublimely hovers in the realm of artsongs. The one false note is Nellie McKay’sbackhanded slap against marriage and mother-TarbabyThe End Of FearPosi-Tone 8069★★★½Tarbaby is lots of things. The collective’ssophomore outing, The End OfFear, is by turns scattered, focused, evenjarring. But never dull. The dozen tracksfeature pianist Orrin Evans, bassist EricRevis and drummer Nasheet Waits, in additionto several well-known horn players.The tracks are fairly brief, suggesting themusicians are still gathering themselves:trying something and then, for better orworse, moving on.The blueprint tries like crazy to create commonground for both tunes and free-jazz. It succeeds,but the group needs to refine this difficultconcept. On “Heads,” a voice sample of DukeEllington defines jazz as “freedom of expression”;as if to demonstrate, trumpeter NicholasPayton sprints out of the gate over a jitteryrhythm section. The trio, sans horns, brings similarswagger to “Sailin’ On,” a minute-long coverof a song originated by the punk band BadBrains in 1982.While the group’s go-for-broke spirit is admirable,the more conventional tracks stand out.Revis’ “Brews” owes a debt to Thelonious Monk,but the performance is quite good. A deliberatehood, “I Wanna Get Married.” Snarkiness, nomatter how sweetly sung, is still snarky.Don’t be fooled by Cervini’s song choices.Savvy treatments of her most “standard” material(like “Comes Love,” Fred Hersch’s “Lazin’Around” and “The More I Go Out”) use tastyphrasing choices, discreet octave jumps, melismaand glisses. Her choice and abilities leave nodoubt that she’s a real jazz singer, and one whocan gently yet firmly reshape material.—Kirk SilsbeeLovefool: Bye Bye Country Boy; Upside Down; Sad Songs AndWaltzes; Good Riddance; Lovefool; Quand Je Marche; I WannaGet Married; Enjoy The Silence; Lazin’ Around; Comes Love; LonelyHighway; The More I Go Out. (51:20)Personnel: Amy Cervini, vocals, melodica (6); Joel Frahm, tenorsaxophone (1); Marty Ehrlich, bass clarinet (5, 11); Michael Cabe,piano, Fender Rhodes (6, 8); Mark Lau, bass, background vocal;Ernesto Cervini, drums, percussion, accordion (6, 11), backgroundvocals; Earl Maneein, violin (5); Matt Szemela, violin (5); Jon Weber,viola (5); Jessie Reagen, cello (5).Ordering info: amycervini.comreading of Fats Waller’s “Lonesome Me” spotlightingtenor player JD Allen provides a respitefrom the tumult and eclecticism. Another quartetfeatures alto player Oliver Lake performinghis composition “November ’80,” a study in freedomand control. The track succeeds where otherslike Andrew Hill’s lugubrious “Tough Love”lose their footing. While The End Of Fear lacksconsistency, the potential for great music is arguablypresent. —Eric FineThe End Of Fear: E-Math; Brews; Heads; Utility; Jena 6; Sailin’On; Lonesome Me; November ’80; Hesitation; Tails; Tough Love;Abacus. (51:36)Personnel: Orrin Evans, piano; Eric Revis, bass; Natheet Waits,drums; JD Allen, tenor sax; Oliver Lake, alto saxophone; NicholasPayton, trumpet.Ordering info: posi-tone.comAb BaarsTime To Do My LionsWig 17★★★★On his first solo album since Verderame from1997, Dutch reedist Ab Baars sounds morejagged, intense and exploratory than ever. Hiswork has always been smart and marked by meticulouscare, but as he’s aged he’s increasinglychanneled his ideas into concentrated, perfectlypitched excursions that focus on specific notions,without wasted notes. Best known for his longrunningmembership in the ICP Orchestra, Baars,who turned 55 this November, is second only tothe group’s co-founder Misha Mengelberg whenit comes to staunch modernism, and it makessense that he revisits his wonderfully herkyjerkhomage to the pianist “Gammer” (it translatesas “donkey-like”) on zigzagging clarinetscuffed by upper-register multiphonics and lowendsquawks; the original tune first appeared onBaars’ previous solo outing.His deep love and respect for jazz traditionstreaks his dark sound—his authoritative tenorplaying on the album opener “Day And Dream”is studded with elliptical phrases that might’vebeen transmitted by primo Archie Shepp or VonFreeman, but rather than connecting his lineswith florid embellishment and predictable turnarounds,he patiently leaves them as stark yet info-packedpatterns that stand and resonate deeplyon their own. The same cool thoughtfulnessmanifests itself differently on a couple of gorgeousshakuhachi pieces; “Nisshin Joma,”named after a collection of lion drawings by theJapanese artist Hokusai, expertly uses the gossamerbreathiness of the instrument to shape a seriesof elegant lines with the kind of spare simplicitycommon to so much art from Japan. Baarsdoesn’t mimic the sound of Japan in the slightest,even when playing one of its traditional instruments,but the clarity of his playing clearlysuggests an appreciation for its singular aesthetic.—Peter MargasakTime To Do My Lions: Day And Dream; Time To Do My Lions;Purple Petal; 12 O’clock And All Is Well; Nisshin Joma; Gammer;Ritratto Del Mare A Anzio; Watazumi Doso; The Rhythm Is In TheSound; 730 Union Street. (49:37)Personnel: Ab Baars, tenor saxophone, clarinet, shakuhachi.Ordering info: stichtingwig.com68 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

Books | By john mcdonoughArguing TheGreat VoicesTwenty yeas ago Will Friedwald published JazzSinging: America’s Great Voices from BessieSmith To Bebop And Beyond, an original,provocative, often flippant melange of fact andcommentary that purveyed praise and contemptwith a subjective elegance. Born in 1961,he plays the advocate from a position of scholarshipwithout the prejudicial taints of nostalgia.Now, with A Biographical Guide To TheGreat Jazz And Pop Singers (Pantheon),he has spread out. No more splitting hairsbetween jazz singers and everyone else. Hetackles them all here from Eddie Cantor to BobDylan in a survey that covers pop, musicaltheater, cabaret and even a few rock singerswho’ve traded up to pre-rock standards. Thebook is about singers, but the admission ticket(with few exceptions) is the common groundthey share with the American songbook, atheme that excludes most contemporary singersunder 50, save for Diana Krall, MichaelBublé and a few others.The structure at first glance is standardencyclopedia form. Its first 540 pages includefree-standing, alphabetically listed entrieson 103 individual singers, plus another five“extras” in the final 30 pages. In between areanother 240 pages of thematic essays thatcover an additional 117 singers in 26 separategroupings such as “Singing Songwriters,” “FemaleBand Singers” and “Male Band Singers.”But these essays are not bare-boned biosketches. Each is a probing, subjective commentary,typically with an opening anecdoteor observation that becomes the rhetoricaltrigger for his particular theme. Friedwald exploresthe interaction between “personas” andmusic and vice-versa, and how they mutuallysustain or subvert illusion to create a completeperformer. He argues that the controlling independenceof Barbra Streisand robs her ofthe vulnerability necessary to validate her signaturesong, “People.” “I remain completelyunconvinced that she’s a person who needspeople,” he writes.His essays are rich in such juicy assertions,often tantalizing in their startling certainlybut always provocative and usually plausible.He zeroes in, for instance, on two Billie Holidayair shots with Count Basie, claiming theyare perhaps “the highlights of her recordedoutput”—a big bet to put on such a tiny samplingof Holiday’s remarkable work. Paragraphafter paragraph is mined with such scintillatingdeclarations, often over similarly obscure pointsbut engineered to invite debate. Friedwald has abroad perspective of cultural context (films, radio,social history) and a mind like switchboard.The result is unexpected cross-references thatbring intellectual life to factual detail.The scope of the book’s judgments makeno pretense of hiding the author’s comfort inthe safety of history, where all outcomes areknown and all stories told. He dismisses hisown generation’s cultural crucible as “thegeneral disaster area known as the sixtiesand seventies.” The more contemporary hissubjects (Betty Carter or Cassandra Wilson),the more he seeks out specific “highlights forus more conservative listeners.” Many newcomersare briskly summarized in thematicessays: “Retrocrooner Boychicks,” “ContemporaryCabaret” and “Rock Goes Standards.”The last is an especially skeptical chapter inwhich he seems to underestimate the Americansongbook’s capacity for unexpected reinterpretation,whether by Louis Armstrong,Blossom Dearie, Carly Simon, Rod Stewart oreven Linda Ronstadt.Friedwald deals with all the greats, ofcourse. But the book’s value is the attentionit brings to artists who are not written aboutoften, mainly because they were peripheralto jazz, like Gene Austin, Buddy Clark andPerry Como. Comic Martha Raye gets a majorboost as a singer based on a very limited bodyof work. Alice Faye “may be the single mostsignificant female singer in Hollywood history,”Friedwald writes in another surprising but wellarguedstroke.Some singers he humbly admits to notgetting. He grew into Mabel Mercer, but confessesthat he still cannot hear in Helen Merrillwhat most of the best musicians have heardsince the mid-1950s. Some singers he profilesseem a bit distant from his purpose. EddieCantor, Sammy Davis, Sophie Tucker andJimmy Durante were singing entertainers whoperhaps belong in a separate book.This is still a wonderful book to read aroundin, and given Friedwald’s instincts as a polemicist,it’s also likely to become influential. DBOrdering info: randomhouse.comFEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 69

Woodshed | By Claire DalyMaster ClassStayin’ AliveThe trajectory of what I thought my life in music would be is not verymuch like what has happened, but it’s not all bad news. In fact, whatthe jazz tradition has demonstrated over the years is an uncanny abilityto address all kinds of challenges—social, economic, artistic—in order toadvance this living music. The current state of the music “business” hasstopped more than a few people I know, but as a creative person, I will continueto find ways to play and hear the music that I love.Once upon a time, the norm was that major labels signed and cultivatedartists they believed would last. The artist was recorded in a big, beautifulstudio and promoted by the in-house team who was well connected to thepowers-that-be. The tab was running and the hope was that the expenseswould be recouped by the label in album sales. More often than not, theartist made a very small percentage of sales but might be lucky enough tohave some tour support from the label, and their careers developed withtime and exposure. Many strong relationships were built and plenty of greatmusic was recorded and released this way, but there was more to the story.Years ago, I read a book called Hit Men that chronicled the music businessas a daunting tale of corruption, immorality and greed. Although it depressedmany who read it, I found it liberating because it made me realizefor certain that there was no rhyme or reason to the business. If I wanted tokeep playing, I would have to use creative energy to stay in the game as wellas to play the music. I identified myself as a “lifer,” who would play musicno matter what happened in the business.Enter technology. New world. New game. Few rules. The Internet, wherethe production and distribution of music is undergoing change, is still basicallythe Wild West. Most music is available for downloading (free or purchased)or may be sold by someone who has nothing to do with the artistor a record company, so young music lovers have come to believe that musicis free. They may never buy a CD in their life; their music is downloadedor “shared” (a.k.a stolen), and there are very few rules in place for how itis distributed on the web. Record companies have sued the fans and royaltiesaren’t being paid. The world is upside down! Apps and technology now rulethe culture more so than music. How can a musician make money anymore?With the Internet as a global distributor, artists can find the people wholike their music and service those fans on a more personal level. Insteadof a record company telling them what will sell, what they should record,or with whom they should be recording, artists get to make the musicthey want and in their own time frame. Likewise, the fan is not beingtold whom they should listen to or purchase. In a strange way, globalizationhas brought us back to grass roots. The thing that will make people want tohave your music is that it speaks to them. The people who love music willbe surfing the web, looking to discover something great. If you can providethat for them, they will tell their friends who will tell their friends who willtell their friends. It will be the music that will get people’s attention. Andthey will support you. Just like the old days.I find this an inspiring idea, but it does leave many unanswered questions.For an established artist with a fan base, folks can easily find you. Ifyou are just emerging, you may have to negotiate a number of possibilities,like how to record your music—which takes funding. The Internet has creatednew and interesting ways to do this. There are several sites throughwhich you make a pitch to friends, fans and strangers about funding yourproject. My favorite is Kickstarter, where you set a monetary goal and adeadline to fundraise your expenses through pledges from people whowant to support your effort. You can offer perks at different levels. Donorscan be as involved in the project as much or as little as you want them to be.People can get advanced copies or exclusive offers for various levels of donationsor go hear some music with you, come over for dinner, or anythingyou invent. If you don’t reach your goal, nobody pays, which is an excellentincentive to get the word out. The only cost is Kickstarter’s cut, which is 5percent. You can also put a PayPal “Donate” button on your website andfundraise through a PayPal account. Get creative!Distribution no longer favors the business side. Now you can distributeyour music from your website and from indie sites like CD Baby. No longerat the mercy of whether your label (if you had one) has good distributionand can get good placement in record stores, you will have to do whatyou can to be heard. Once again—get creative.Streaming is likely to be the future of music, but will most jazz fans,who love to own whole collections of their favorite artists, settle for whateveris streamed to them? Hard to say, but the majority of even jazz fans willcome to hear what they know through the Internet and streaming. MusicChoice, Sirius and other subscription-based music sites have whole channelswith different styles of jazz, from traditional to bebop to big band toavant-garde. Some sites have samples of tunes with links to Amazon to buythem. Everyone is trying to figure out the new game plan, and I don’t thinkit’s in place yet. Be bold if you have the stomach for it. The more we canembrace the changes, the better chance the music has of being heard andappreciated by new audiences.In a perfect world, musicians don’t have to think about anything but music.Someone else takes care of recording details and touring details and distribution/salesdetails so the artist can be free to create unencumbered. Thisworld is pretty far from perfect, so if you want a life in music, I hope you canfind it in yourself to be as involved in the details as you can. Optimism, improvisationand willingness to explore new possibilities help, too! DBClaire Daly is an award-winning baritone saxophonist based in New York City.She travels the world playing music, teaches at Jazz at Lincoln Center MSJA,Litchfield Jazz Camp and privately, and improvises a life in creative music. Currently,she is writing music to be premiered at the Juneau Jazz and ClassicsFestival in May 2011.Judy Schiller70 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

soloWoodshed | by jimi dursoJeremy PeltJack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotosJeremy Pelt’s Evocative Trumpet SoloOn Ralph Peterson’s ‘The Vicious Cycle’Drummer Ralph Peterson’s composition“The Vicious Cycle,” from the 2002 releaseSubliminal Seduction (Criss Cross), isquite a challenge to improvise on. Thoughthe form is an even 24 bars, that may be theonly thing standard about this tune. Most ofthe chords are inverted and in some instancesare over bass notes with no relation to the triad(like the Bbmaj7/Eb in measures 3, 7, 27 and31). Many of the chords are anticipated, comingin on the last eighth note, and in some placesquarter note, of the previous measure. Andthough the song is based on 4/4, there are themeasures of 2, 3, 5 and even 9/8 that are interspersedthroughout the piece with landminelikequalities through which the soloist mustnavigate.Trumpeter Jeremy Pelt not only makes itthrough two choruses of this obstacle course, hedoes so in such an evocative way as to make thepiece appear to the listener to be much simplerthan it is. In dealing with the rhythmic aspect,notice how Pelt’s first phrases start on downbeats,making the underlying time signaturesclear. It isn’t until measure 8 that we hear Peltplaying over a bar line. He does this more frequentlyas his improvisation progresses, but hestill makes it clear with his note choices wherethe downbeat is. For example, the descendingchromatic line at the end of measure 11 lands onthe seventh of the D7(#9) in measure 12 and thencontinues as a scalar line. From measure 12 to13 we see a similar concept, ending measure 12with Eb and F (the b9 and #9 of the current chord)and landing in between on the E natural on thedownbeat of measure 13, where it is the third ofthe C/G chord. This not only makes the chordchange clear but also emphasizes that this is the“one” of a new measure.Pelt also shows a deftness and playfulness indealing with the odd and sometimes ambiguousharmonies—for instance, the unusual Bbmaj7/Eb,which could be thought of as an Eb lydian sound.But when this chord occurs in measures 3–4, 7–8and 27–28, Pelt instead plays Bb major pentatonic,highlighting the upper part of the chord. Andthen when the chord comes up for the last timein his solo (measures 31–32), Pelt instead plays Fmajor pentatonic. This brings out the upper partsof the Bb (the seventh, ninth and 13th), but alsomakes the harmony more ambiguous (like F/Bb/Eb!). He uses the same approach to the Db/Ein measure 44, playing an Ab major pentatonicline, again playing off of the fifth of the chord72 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

to bring out the upper extensions (major seventhand ninth).The D7(#9) that appears in measures 12, 22,36 and 46 is another harmony that Pelt has funwith. The first time he plays a descending linethat is basically D phrygian, only with the rootmissing. This makes it sound almost like C minorpentatonic with the sixth added, but the notesalso can be heard as the alterations of the D7chord: seventh, flat sixth, fifth, 11th, flat ninth,seventh and then sharp ninth. When the chordcomes up in measure 22, however, he plays thesharp 11th, fifth and major third, two of thesetones having not appeared in the previous instance.In measure 36 Pelt starts his line on theroot, but the remainder of the measure is C minorpentatonic, which he had alluded to in measure12. When the D7(#9) shows up for the finaltime three measures before the end of his solo,Pelt plays closer to the actual harmony by playingD minor pentatonic (though with the root missing).He uses the F, the sharp nine of the D7, asa pivot tone that becomes the third of the anticipatedharmony of the next measure, and makesthis clear by playing the rest of the Db triad rightafterward.It’s also interesting to note that Pelt is comfortableenough with his playing that he laysout for the first and last measures of his solo,giving it space to develop and blend into the finalmelody. DBJimi Durso is a guitarist and bassist in the New Yorkarea. He can be reached at jimidurso.com.FEBRUARY 2011 DOWNBEAT 73

Toolshed Antigua Pro-One SaxophonesRedefined Horns ForModern PlayersAntigua enlisted the help of acclaimed saxophonist and veteran technicianPeter Ponzol to create a new series of professional horns, thePro-One. The line raises the bar of Taiwan-made saxophones to a wholenew level, with numerous design innovations that improve tonal qualityand enhance the overall playing experience.The first two horns in the series are the Pro-One alto (AS6200VLQ)and tenor (TS6200VLQ). Sax-section mate Bruce Gibson and I tried themboth out during a two-hour test session in my DownBeat office, and wefound both models to be incredibly responsive, great-sounding and easyto manage.Key to the high performance of the Pro-One is the Ponzol-designed P1neck, the angle of which causes the player’s throat to open more easily, resultingin freer blowing, quicker response, significantly improved altissimo,precise intonation (nice octaves!) and more subtle tonal control.Another important component of the new design is the Pro-One’swell-contoured keyboard layout, also the result of Ponzol’s input,which provides a comfortable feel and promotes an economy of handmotion that makes everything lay nicely on the horn. The ergonomicpositioning and placement of keys makes it easier for the saxophonistto play with speed, accuracy and finesse. You get a nice even resistancefrom top to bottom, resulting in a consistent feel and agraceful touch. The tenor model includes two strap hooks, soyou can choose the one with the best angle to suit your height,posture or embouchure.In developing the Pro-One, Antigua conducted extensiveresearch on the chemical composition and grain structure ofthe metal in some of the best professional-model saxes evermade—specifically, post-World War II Selmers. The company’sengineering team found a source for such an alloy(which it termed Vintage Reserve) and came up with acomputer-controlled annealing process that makes theinstrument respond more like a saxophone that’s beenbroken in and played for a while. The Pro-One evenfeatures metal thumb rests that let the player feel thehorn vibrate in his hands, unlike plastic thumb rests,which tend to isolate vibrations and force the playerto rely entirely on his ears for feedback.The Pro-One has a hybrid bell diameter—onethat’s slightly larger than a standard bell size, but notoversized like many of the step-up horns that have beenintroduced in recent years. Antigua and Ponzol settled onan in-between bell size and length to help the player achieve an eventimbre and balanced resistance through all registers of the horn.Also contributing to the Pro-One’s consistency of tone are drawn toneholes. The holes are rolled on the bell keys (low C, B and B-flat) and straightin all other areas, resulting in a hybrid of sorts. The rolled tone holes providea larger contact area for the pads to seal and add strength, providingfaster, more nimble response from the low notes and a deep, rich tone.The straight holes are more appropriate for the middle and upper registersof the horn, where rolled holes could have a tendency to spread the soundtoo much. The horns also feature high-grade Italian-made Lucien Deluxeleather pads and stainless steel tone boosters.One of the cooler features on the Pro-One is a Ponzol-designed lifterfor the G-sharp mechanism that acts like a teeter-totter and gives extra leverageto prevent sticking. The mechanism never fails, so goodbye stickyG-sharp keys. Other keywork enhancements include a little bridge betweenthe F and F-sharp keys that facilitates faster action and response in theright-hand key section. Antigua’s Trident adjustable key arms on the bellkeys improve radial rigidity and feature two adjustment arms for better balanceand increased strength.The Pro-One is finished in a conservative vintage lacquer and featureselaborate hand-engraving for an elegant look that suits the burnished toneof this classic-sounding instrument.The alto carries a suggested retail price of $3,599, and the tenor lists at$3,999.The Pro-One doesn’t screw around. With its superior design and constructionand a bare minimum of bling, this saxophone is aimed directly atthe professional market. The horns exhibit an overall coherence and clarity,with a nicely colored core tone that’s always present, from subtone quiet toblazing loud. —Ed EnrightOrdering info: antiguapro-one.com74 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

Toolshed | Gear Box{1}{1} Luxury CaseProtec’s new Lux PRO PAC cases feature alightweight shock-absorbent shell to protectthe instrument. They also include a zipperedmessenger section with a built-in organizer,tuck-away padded backpack straps, a waterresistantpadded ballistic nylon exterior anda removable shoulder strap. Lux PRO PACcases are available for B-flat clarinet, Germanclarinet, oboe and flute/piccolo. They come inblack or chocolate.More info: protechmusic.com{2}{2} Midpoint MouthpieceThe M30 Lyre is the latest addition toVandoren’s French clarinet mouthpieces.This model is designed to be a midpointbetween the gold-standard 5RV Lyre andthe M30—its tip opening and facing lengthposition it directly between the two. Themouthpiece is flexible with a big, roundsound that’s harmonically dense and easy tocontrol. The M30 Lyre is available in StandardProfile, Profile 88 and 13 series models.More info: vandoren.com{6}{3} Tuning KeyGibraltar’s new Quick Release drumkey makes tuning simple by includinga knurled grip for fast, easy headchanges and adjustments. The QuickRelease drum key hooks onto any lanyardor carabineer clip for easy access.More info: gibraltarhardware.com{5}{4} More CowbellPearl’s New Yorker Cowbells create asignature salsa sound with enough volumefor any musical situation. The newline comprises three different bell sizes.More info: pearldrum.com{4}{5} Perfect BalanceThe new Pro 2900 is the only open-backedheadphone in Ultrasone’s Pro series.Ultrasone has released both a standard,single-cable version and a balanced,double-cable version of these headphones.The Pro 2900s have a classic black designand velvet-covered black ear pads.More info: ultrasone.com{3}{6} Clip-On, Clip-OffBarcus Berry’s new Sync Clip-On Tuner is amini-sized chromatic tuner with an LCD displayand a tuning range of A0 to A6. It offersfully adjustable clip-on mounting with silica gelclip pads to protect the instrument. The SyncClip-On Tuner also features chromatic, guitar,bass, violin and ukulele tuning selections.More info: barcusberry.com76 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

Jazz On Campus New York Jazz AcademyExpands Its MissionSaxophonist Javier Arau had a social agenda in mind whenhe established a youth saxophone workshop in 2009: tofill the void created by a sharp decline in public funding forschool music programs.“I felt that they were underserved,” Arau said. “There arekids trying to work through jazz on their instruments, but arenot having any chance to play with other kids and work withmentors. The schools have cut so many programs.”Arau leased a classroom at St. Bartholomew’s Church inMidtown Manhattan, and spent heavily to advertise the weeklongprogram. But when the first day of the workshop arrivedthat July, Arau had just six students. Things worked out,though.“They all showed up [and] we had a blast,” Arau said.“We were in this hot, little room with no windows. For themit was just this remarkable intensive. I don’t think any of thesekids knew there was this much to playing saxophone.”Although Arau lost roughly $400, he deemed the venturea success. “You know, I had to stop looking at any of this theway a musician looks at a gig,” he said. “I was a businessman,and that was like a trial-by-fire because you have to changeyour mindset.”Indeed, Arau altered a subsequent business plan for ayear-round program after the overwhelming response camefrom adults. “I’d say nine out of 10 times,” he recalled, “it wasan adult calling, saying, ‘What about me?’”As a result, Arau’s summer youth workshop grew into theNew York Jazz Academy, a mostly adult program with an enrollmentof roughly 200. It has also recently added introductorymusic courses for small children. The school opened inOctober 2009 at the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew on theUpper West Side. A year later, it expanded to several otherlocations around Manhattan, in addition to Prospect Heights,Brooklyn and Mineola, Long Island. It has also launched thewebsite nyjazzacademy.com. Its programs are affordable; typically$30 for a two-hour class.Arau, now 35, grew up in Sacramento, Calif., and earneddegrees in jazz composition at Lawrence University inWisconsin and New England Conservatory of Music. Hemoved to Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood in September 2001,and then to Jackson Heights, Queens. Arau, a member of the BMI JazzComposers Workshop, leads an 18-piece orchestra, serves as house saxophonistat St. Bartholomew’s Church and has worked with Charli Persip’sSuper Band. His credits as a composer include scores for the indie filmEasy Listening and The Gold Wutahkee, an Off Off Broadway musical.The New York Jazz Academy includes combos and big bands, andweekly classes devoted to harmony, improvisation, guitar and voice. Thefaculty includes guitarist Brad Shepik, saxophonist Wayne Escoffery andsinger Carolyn Leonhart. However, the students run the gamut: from adoctor and a minister to an assortment of college students and instructors,tradesmen and retirees. Many of the students studied music during theirformative years and see the school as an opportunity to pick up their instrumentsagain.Trumpet player Michael Thuroff said he was first chair in New York’sall-state band in 1963, and later played in a U.S. Army band and withthe rock band Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. He quit after developingembouchure problems, but began playing again in 2009. He nowJavier Arauspends roughly eight hours a week at Arau’s academy. “I only wish I was25 again,” said Thuroff, 65, a computer consultant. “[As a young musician]I played, I played, I played; I just never learned.”Dr. Jennifer Provataris, who works in the emergency department atJacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y., played alto saxophone in a highschool stage band before her focus shifted to college and then medicalschool. Armed with the same Bundy saxophone she played in high school,she attends one of the academy’s improvisation workshops. “It was kind ofkilling me that I wasn’t doing it anymore,” Provataris, 36, said. “I wish Iwould have done something like this sooner.”For his part Arau is pleased with the school’s steady growth and the opportunityto refine his personal method for teaching jazz. But Arau’s missionremains incomplete.“We’re seeing such positive results from both the teaching methodsand the business model,” he said. “The next step is taking this beyond NewYork. This whole [program] could really benefit neighborhoods everywhere,whether it’s in the tri-state area, the Midwest or even abroad.” —Eric FineJason River78 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

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Blindfold Test | By dan ouelletteKenny Barron &Mulgrew MillerShortly before performing their duo concert at the 31st Annual DetroitInternational Jazz Festival on Sept. 5, Kenny Barron and MulgrewMiller appeared at the Talk Tent before a live audience to listen to and reflecton a range of piano-based music. The Barron–Miller performancetook place on the Carhartt Amphitheatre Stage.Tommy Flanagan“How High The Moon” (from Lady Be Good … For Ella, Verve, 1994) Flanagan,piano; Peter Washington, bass; Lewis Nash, drums.Kenny Barron: The minute I heard this I could tell that this was someonewho liked Bud Powell, and it sounded like someone from Detroit. I wasthinking Barry Harris, but Mulgrew said no because it sounded like therhythm section of Peter Washington and Lewis Nash. That being the case,I thought it must be Tommy Flanagan, my hero.Mulgrew Miller: I thought of Tommy right away, playing “How HighThe Moon.” I recognized his touch and that unique kind of language, vocabularyin his playing. What always gives Tommy away for me is his lefthand, which is a kind of legato left hand as opposed to a rhythmic left hand.Tommy plays these sustained chords with his left hand.Barron: When I was in junior high, I had an art teacher who used tobring in music for inspiration. In one class he played the Miles Davis recordingof “In Your Own Sweet Way” with Tommy. I loved his touch andthe way he phrased. He became an influence and continued to be an influencetill the day he died—and he still is.Eliane Elias/Herbie Hancock“The Way You Look Tonight” (from Solos And Duets, Blue Note, 1995) Elias, Hancock,pianos.Miller: This is an uneducated guess, but at least one of the pianists is a Cubanvirtuoso. I’m venturing forth with Gonzalo Rubalcaba as a wild guess, playingwith either Herbie Hancock or someone influenced by Herbie.Barron: I’m definitely lost, but I’ll hazard a guess that this is Hiromiplaying with Chick Corea. They both have a similar technique. It’s not?Well, I liked this. They both stretched the boundaries. That was veryinteresting.Miller: I liked it as well—harmonically, rhythmically, and its form. It’san adventurous version of the tune, without a straightahead swing. It’s whatyou’d expect from a modern piano duo. They’re both virtuosos with phenomenaltechnique and ideas. They’re in tune with each other. Personally, Iwould have been lost in the first eight bars.Barron: This is Herbie? Is he playing with a Spanish pianist?Miller: Is it Herbie and Chucho Valdés?Barron: Eliane? I never would have guessed that, even though I’veplayed duets with her.Oscar Peterson“The Sheik Of Araby” (from This Is Oscar Peterson At The Piano, Bluebird/BMG,2002, rec’d 1945) Peterson, piano; Bert Brown, bass; Frank Gariepy, drums.Barron: I want to defer to Mulgrew, but I do know the song. It’s “Sheik OfAraby.” I don’t have any idea who this is, but it’s obviously someone whois older. The sound quality makes it sound old, and the way the bass playerplays makes it sound old.Miller: I’m going to take a wild guess. Is this Dorothy Donegan?Barron: I liked this. It’s not my cup of tea, but from a piano point ofview, it’s great.Miller: And the left hand is incredible.[An audience member guesses that this is “an old, old, old, old OscarPeterson tune.”]Barron: Wow, it was recorded in 1945? I was 2 years old.Abdullah Ibrahim“Blue Bolero” (from African Magic, Enja, 2001) Ibrahim, piano; Belden Bullock,bass; Sipho Kunene, drums.Barron: I’m stumped. It’s a very beautiful piece. Whoever this is knowshow to take their time and not play a lot of notes. If I would have to ratethis, I’d give it 5 stars.Miller: I have no idea, but I’ll just throw something out there. Is itDollar Brand or Don Pullen or Geri Allen? It is Dollar Brand, I mean,Abdullah Ibrahim. I guessed him because the tune has an African folk element,and it has a simplicity of harmony. Abdullah isn’t into heavy improvisation.This tune stayed simple while also having a spiritual feel. That’swhat led me to guess him.Barron: I remember seeing Abdullah playing with saxophonist CarlosWard at Sweet Basil on Monday nights. The music was so hymn-like. Itwas like being in church.Miller: It’s funny, but at first I thought this might be Brad Mehldau, butthen I could hear that the touch wasn’t his.Fred Hersch“I Mean You” (from Fred Hersch Plays Thelonious, Nonesuch, 1998) Hersch, piano.Miller: Again, I’m not sure, but something about it reminds me of JakiByard. It’s the quirkiness. It sounded like someone a little older than anyof the young pianists.Barron: At first I thought it was Fred Hersch. It is? There was somethingin his phrasing. I’ve played duo with him on occasion. I thought it wasFred, but then it got a little busy—busier than I’ve heard him play. So thatthrew me off. But I’m glad I was right. I liked this a lot. It was very creative.This was a unique rendition of Monk.Miller: I’ve known Fred a long time. We’re about the same age. I wasliving in Boston when Fred was at the New England Conservatory ofMusic studying with Jaki Byard, so I was close. I’m a great admirer ofFred. He always improvises with a lot of adventure. He has a lot of imaginationand creativity. He’s got a lot to say. DBThe “Blindfold Test” is a listening test that challenges the featured artistto discuss and identify the music and musicians who performed onselected recordings. The artist is then asked to rate each tune usinga 5-star system. No information is given to the artist prior to the test.Courtesy: Detroit International Jazz Festival, Photographer Jeff Forman82 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011