LESTER BOWIE

Recommendations

Info

C D REVIEWS The Silver Lining (The Songs of Jerome Kern) Tony Bennett/Bill Charlap (RPM-Columbia) by Andrew Vélez With Tony Bennett singing some of the very greatest songs from the Great American Songbook, of which he is arguably the current premier custodian, this collaboration with pianist Bill Charlap is popular music artistry at its finest. Not since the now-classic 1975-76 sets with Bill Evans has Bennett had quite so perfect a partner as he does in Charlap, who is perhaps the leading mainstream jazz pianist of his generation. As Bennett approaches his 90th birthday in August, his baritone pipes remain as gravelly golden, virile and expressive as ever. From the contemplative opening lines of “All the Things You Are” until the last piano notes on “Look for the Silver Lining”, Bennett and Charlap are in sync on every level for this celebration of the music of Jerome Kern. When Charlap takes a solo, he, like Bennett, puts the story of the song first. Together they are emotionally expressive and yet, when given the opportunity, as with “Pick Yourself Up”, their swinging is infectious. The fun they are having is apparent in the finale when Bennett exuberantly ad-libs, “take me home” and Charlap does just that with a rollicking finale. Mention must be made of the other stars of this production. Ace pianist Renee Rosnes joins Charlap for several rich double piano numbers. There is rock-solid support from bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington, Charlap’s longtime trio members, completing the orchestrations. And, of course, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, Johnny Mercer and Oscar Hammerstein II, among others, it’s the crème de la crème of American songwriters. Bennett has a unique way of highlighting a word or a phrase. With “The Song is You”, he and Charlap build together to a stirring climax with the final statement of “the song…” and then follow it with another and still higher moment with the final “is YOU”. Still later on “Yesterdays”, Bennett’s final shout of “yesterdays!” is triumphant. It’s basic to Bennett’s unique way with music and lyrics. So when he delivers a deeply moving “The Way You Look Tonight”, how he achieves such profound eloquence without an iota of emotional excess is a fine mystery to be savored. For more information, visit columbiarecords.com. Charlap is at Birdland through Jun. 4th. See Calendar. Montage Luis Perdomo (Hot Tone Music) by Elliott Simon Luis Perdomo arrived in NYC from Venezuela in 1993 but it took the pianist a while to make his first CD as a leader (Focus Point, RKM Music, 2004). It was an ambitious outing that gave glimpses, in the context of the powerful septet, of his developing voice. As with that first release, Perdomo has purified the elements of his style over the past decade. He distills Latin and classical leanings as well as avant garde into his work— all in evidence on Montage, his first solo release. Five of these 15 pieces are titled “Montage” followed by a descriptor (Fleeing, Sleepwalker, Angst, Air, The Ascent). Each serves as an opportunity for Perdomo to express himself without the constraints of tight arrangements. Taken together they form a stunning suite translating sensation, emotion and feelings through exquisite touch and lines. This effect is greatly enhanced by listening to them in sequence. Originals and tunes from different parts of Perdomo’s development make up the more structured material and show his breadth and adaptability: it is intriguing to hear the angles in “Monk’s Dream” smoothed out; a sophisticated cocktail piano take on “Thinking of You”; the intense emotional aspect of “Body and Soul” purified; a buoyant yet touching “Mambo Mongo”; “La Revuelta de Don Fulgencio”, composed by Perdomo’s first teacher Gerry Weill, openly melding classical with Latin; the big band trappings stripped away from “Si Te Contara”; and the underappreciated contributions of “Cal Massey” by pianist Stanley Cowell reflected. The three originals present a side of Perdomo that is gracefully melodic. “Amani” flows peacefully through warm changes while “The Sky Beyond” is meditative and “The Boundary Law” is an extended exploration that elegantly ebbs and flows. Montage is aptly titled as head, heart and hands come together for a carefully planned, diverse and entertaining release. For more information, visit hottonemusic.com. Perdomo is at Jazz Standard Jun. 1st, Terraza 7 Jun. 9th, Smalls Jun. 15th with Marc Miralta and The Jazz Gallery Jun. 16th with Ricky Rodriguez. See Calendar. Family First Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet (Beat Music Prod.) by Eric Wendell Whether sideman to bassist Avishai Cohen or Donny McCaslin or leader of his genre-bending Beat Music, drummer Mark Guiliana’s precise way of using drums to export his musical ideas is both keen and exact. Such precision is on display with his latest release. What makes Family First successful is the control Guiliana and Co. maintain as tempos, dynamics and moods shift and sway throughout the nine tracks. From the opening serrated rhythms of “One Month” to hardbop resonance of “Long Branch”, Guiliana maintains an ordered sense of control his quartet of saxophonist Jason Rigby, pianist Shai Maestro and bassist Chris Morrissey reflect beautifully. That’s not to say that Family First is all twists and turns but rather expertly constructed to undermine listener expectations. “Abed” begins as an eventempoed piece before a mid-song tug of war between saxophone and piano pulls it towards a faster postbop encounter. “The Importance of Brothers” spends much of its duration feeling like a static march before deconstructing to a solo piano interlude where Maestro offers a contemporary classical exercise before the band resumes the march feel. What is most congratulatory is Guiliana’s ability to shape a melody, carefully constructing each note to fit the character at hand. This is featured most prominently on “Welcome Home”, where Rigby employs long dulcet tones reflecting an abstract ballad before Morrissey enters with a figure that anchors the structure of the song. The lone cover is “Johnny Was”, originally performed by Bob Marley under the title “Johnny Was a Good Man”. The quartet does its best to translate the original feel but it ultimately sounds a little aimless, more of a rendering than an interpretation. Guiliana’s near-mastery of the musical sleight of hand is what makes Family First so appealing. It zags more than it zigs and eagerly kicks sand in the face of expectation. For more information, visit markguiliana.com. Guiliana is at Blue Note through Jun. 5th. See Calendar. R eco m m ended n e w r ele a ses · TJD Online The Jazz Discography Online Everything you need to know about virtually any jazz record ever released So much more than just a jazz discography Updated daily New/Reissues listed by date for 31 days Search and sort leaders, musicians, tunes, record labels, etc. Catalogue your record collection easily www.lordisco.com • Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids— We Be All Africans (Strut) • JD Allen—Americana (Savant) • Jane Ira Bloom—Early Americans (Outline) • Cadentia Nova Danica— August 1966 Jazzhus Montmartre (Storyville) • Katja Cruz—I Am The Wind (Unit) • Tomasz Dabrowski— S-O-L-O: 30th Birthday/30 Concerts/ 30 Cities (Barefoot) • Erwin Ditzner/Lömsch Lehmann Duo— II (Fixcel) • Jungle: Mat Walerian/Matthew Shipp/ Hamid Drake—Live at Okuden (ESP-Disk’) • Masabumi Kikuchi—Black Orpheus (ECM) • Pat Metheny—The Unity Sessions (Nonesuch) Laurence Donohue-Greene, Managing Editor • Duke Ellington & His Orchestra— Rotterdam 1969 (Storyville) • Fire!—She Sleeps, She Sleeps (Rune Grammofon) • Jungle: Mat Walerian/Matthew Shipp/ Hamid Drake—Live at Okuden (ESP-Disk’) • Jemeel Moondoc/Hilliard Greene— Cosmic Nickelodeon (Relative Pitch) • LOK 03 +1 (Aki Takase/Alexander von Schlippenbach/DJ Illvibe/Paul Lovens)— Signals (Trost) • Glenn Spearmann— Blues for Falasha (Tzadik) • Starlite Motel—Awosting Falls (Clean Feed) • Thumbscrew—Convallaria (Cuneiform) • Tiziano Tononi/Daniele Cavallanti— The Brooklyn Express: No Time Left! (Long Song) • Finn von Eyben—Plays Finn von Eyben/ Finn von Eyben Workshop & Radiojazzgruppen (1966-1967) (Storyville) Andrey Henkin, Editorial Director 14 JUNE 2016 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD
Groundwork Willie Jones III (WJ3) by Scott Yanow Willie Jones III has been a major straightahead drummer ever since the early ‘90s when he was a co-founder of the Los Angeles-based group Black Note. His seven years (1998-2005) as a member of the Roy Hargrove quintet helped gain him fame and he has since worked with many in the Who’s Who of jazz. He can be relied upon to add swing, excitement and creativity to every bandstand. Jones has led his own record dates since 2000 when he started the WJ3 label. On Groundwork, Jones heads a septet full of bandleaders. His trio with pianist Eric Reed and bassist Buster Williams is joined by vibraphonist Warren Wolf and tenor saxophonist Stacy Dillard on six of the eight selections (four include both of them), with veteran trumpeter Eddie Henderson on four numbers and trombonist Steve Davis on two of those. The constant changing of instrumentation, along with mood and tempo shifts, gives Groundwork plenty of variety. The eight selections are concise, clocking in between 3:58 and 6:44. The playing is excellent although there are times when the solos could have been greatly extended. The repertoire includes two songs apiece by Cedar Walton and Reed and numbers from Williams, Sherman Irby, Ralph Penland and Floriaan Wempe. While none are destined to become standards, they have viable chord changes to challenge the soloists. Wolf and Reed, in particular, make many fine (if brief) statements with other memorable moments being contributed by Williams on his own midtempo blues “Toku Do” and Dillard on the moody “Charity”. Reed’s “Git’Cha Shout On” is probably the most stirring performance of the set. It would benefit this allstar group to make a live album where they can stretch out away from the studio. For more information, visit williejones3.com. Jones is at Village Vanguard through Jun. 5th with Russell Malone and Smoke Jun. 8th-9th with Steve Turre. See Calendar. Blues and Ballads Brad Mehldau (Nonesuch) by Joel Roberts While Brad Mehldau has been heralded for his impressionistic solo piano work and experimental efforts involving everything from chamber orchestras to electronics, the piano trio has remained his bread and butter for more than two decades. Starting with his 1995 debut and many Art of the Trio albums, Mehldau’s long-running group with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard (replacing Jorge Rossy a decade ago) has earned a spot as one of the top trios this side of Keith Jarrett. It’s a noteworthy event then when Mehldau and his deeply empathic trio return with a new recording, their first in four years. While Mehldau is an established composer, the new release, like its predecessor, Where Do You Start, is comprised entirely of covers. As the title implies, the focus here is on ballads and blues. While his classical background, lyricism and romanticism would tend to suggest he’s more attuned to the former than the latter, Mehldau sets a convincingly bluesy tone on the opener, an intensely soulful, almost down-and-dirty take on “Since I Fell For You”. And even if you’ve heard “These Foolish Things” a thousand times before, Mehldau’s slow, patient, picture-perfect version is worth a listen. As has been his wont for many years, Mehldau deftly mixes standards with more contemporary nonjazz material drawn from the worlds of rock and pop. So we get reimaginings of familiar fare from Cole Porter (“I Concentrate on You”) and Charlie Parker (“Cheryl”) alongside a sweet ballad (“Little Person”) by pop producer and frequent collaborator Jon Brion. And, as he often has in the past, Mehldau digs into The Beatles catalog, turning the seemingly slight “And I Love Her” into a rich, melancholic excursion and one of the album’s highlights, along with a little-known (at least to these ears) but exquisite recent Paul McCartney composition, “My Valentine”. The Mehldau trio is one of those groups with the seeming ability to anticipate one another’s moves and all three musicians here are in stellar form and always in sync. It’s a welcome return and a fine outing filled with some hauntingly beautiful moments. For more information, visit nonesuch.com. Mehldau is at Blue Note through Jun. 5th. See Calendar. Ballads and Standards Marc Mommaas/Nikolaj Hess (Sunnyside) by Terrell Holmes Standards are welcome signposts on the jazz landscape to help players and listeners navigate its frequently exhilarating and often challenging terrain. Pitfalls can occur when a standard is played too close to its original form, with neither the imagination nor risk to make the journey more compelling. Tenor saxophonist Marc Mommaas and pianist Nikolaj Hess’ new project has more substance than the elemental title suggests. They examine the harmonies of each song and then use their expansive improvisational skills and opulent tonalities to enrich its sound and structure. They establish their approach on “The Peacocks”, Mommaas fixing his perch at the high end of the tenor’s register; Hess has such strength and resonance it sounds like piano and bass simultaneously. Bassist Thomas Morgan joins the duo on “Ask Me Now”, giving the tune more depth and color. Interpreting Monk can be a tricky proposition but this reading is filled with Mommaas’ sure-handed and exclamatory arpeggios and Hess eschews any overt suggestions of Monk’s angularity in favor of his own crisp, more linear approach. Morgan’s pulse also gives an added dimension to “The Shadow of Your Smile” and “Never Let Me Go” while guitar master Vic Juris’ warm phrasing and silky texture underscore the eternally hopeful “Over the Rainbow”. Perhaps the most striking is “In a Sentimental Mood”. It begins unsettlingly somber and dark, with Hess’ saturnine, metronomic intro downshifting the theme from wistful to dark. With Mommaas’ impassioned wailing in the soprano range and breathiness at the end, this duo expresses not sentimentality but despair. And while Mommaas and Hess clearly relish their explorations they also know their limits. It’s surely no coincidence that “Body and Soul”, an oak tree among chestnuts, is the shortest, most-played-straight song on the album. Mommaas and Hess deconstruct these songs like scientists. The experiments aren’t always seamless; at times, there are residual moments of discord in the search for balance and common ground. But these are small missteps on the tightrope. Mommaas and Hess invigorate some of jazz’ most enduring and often played songs with vibrant new perspectives. For more information, visit nonesuch.com. This project is at Jazz at Kitano Jun. 1st. See Calendar. UNEARTHED GEM Reincarnation Sonny Simmons (Arhoolie) by Clifford Allen Born in Louisiana in 1933, alto saxophonist Sonny Simmons paid dues on the West Coast before moving, along with fellow reed player Prince Lasha, to New York in 1963 at Eric Dolphy’s behest. Simmons worked alongside Dolphy, Clifford Jordan, Sonny Rollins, Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner, eventually forming his own group with trumpeter Barbara Donald (they also married). They recorded two dates for ESP-Disk’ and recruited progressive improvisers to come east from the Bay Area. By the end of the decade, they and most of their peers had returned west. Though part of a coterie of musicians playing barreling and harmonically advanced postbop in California, Simmons and Donald struggled to find work, based partly on the fact that their interracial musical and romantic partnership caused strife. In the ‘70s, the pair relocated to Olympia, Washington to raise their young son Zarak, though they fared little better and eventually divorced— Simmons was playing on the streets of Oakland as “Blackjack Pleasanton” by the following decade and battling addiction. In the early ‘90s, Simmons’ fortunes started to turn around and by 1994 he’d sign to Quincy Jones’ Qwest label (a rare major-label turn for uncompromising music). By the time that this live Simmons-Donald reunion disc was recorded 25 years ago this month, Zarak Simmons had become an ebulliently swinging and fiery drummer. The family band is fleshed out here by bassist Court Crawford and pianist Travis Shook (who would also appear on Simmons’ American Jungle in 1997) on a program of three originals and renditions of the standards “Body and Soul” and “Over the Rainbow”. Simmons’ acrid flywheels are Bird-like (or Dolphyesque) in scope, yet with a deep, searching tonic that responds to the modal depths plumbed by John Coltrane. In tandem with the crackling waves of energy that Donald puts forth and the rhythm section’s insistent, dense chug, Simmons’ driving compositions are rendered with explosive, glorious immediacy. Zarak has only appeared on one other recording, 1994’s Ancient Ritual, so it’s a treat to hear more of his playing, especially in dialogue with his parents’ vast inside-outside conception. For more information, visit arhoolie.com THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | JUNE 2016 15
Page 1 and 2: JUNE 2016—ISSUE 170 YOUR FREE GUI
Page 3 and 4: WWW.BLUENOTEJAZZ.COM JUNE 2016 JAZZ
Page 5 and 6: It was, as curator Joel Harrison ob
Page 7 and 8: A RT I S T F E AT U RE photo courte
Page 9 and 10: ® JAZZ FESTIVAL JUNE 1 - 30, 2016
Page 11 and 12: L A B E L S P OT L I G H T EL NEGOC
Page 13: F ESTIVA L REPORT OPEN PLAN: CECIL
Page 18 and 19: Wed, Jun 1 Thu, Jun 2 Fri, Jun 3 Sa
Page 20 and 21: The Distance Michael Formanek Ensem
Page 22 and 23: A cosmic rhythm with each stroke Wa
Page 24 and 25: House of Pianos Dick Hyman (Arbors)
Page 26 and 27: Live in Mińsk Mazowiecki Obara Int
Page 28 and 29: Father’s Day Jazz Brunch Featurin
Page 30: La Zorra Bill Watrous Quartet (Famo
Page 33 and 34: Erik Friedlander @ The Stone June 7
Page 36 and 37: In My View Michael Gibbs & The NDR
Page 38 and 39: Solidarity Matt Lavelle’s 12 Hous
Page 40 and 41: BOXED SET The Complete Remastered R
Page 42 and 43: CALENDAR Wednesday, June 1 • John
Page 44 and 45: Sunday, June 12 êVision Festival:
Page 46: Sunday, June 19 • Lena Bloch Feat
Page 49 and 50: CLUB DIRECTORY • 11th Street Bar
Page 51 and 52: (JAZZART CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13) An

LESTER BOWIE

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?