LESTER BOWIE

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