Guns N’Roses

MUSIC
MUSIC
This is exactly the kind
of sterling jazz record that’s
easy to overlook, with a
bunch of well-trod tunes that
don’t read like much of a
set list, starting with “Invitation”
and “The Shadow of
Your Smile.” But from the
former’s opening bars, it’s
clear we’re in good hands.
The rhythm trio sets a lightly
bouncing groove even before
tenor enters. Coleman
has the kind of deep, round,
resonant saxophone timbre
that comes from minding the
George Coleman
shape of every note. As an
A Master Speaks
improviser, he’s sure-footed,
Smoke Sessions, CD
sounding as if he knows how
every phrase will end before
he starts it: instant composing
with composure. After
othing in the packaging (or publicity) hints
six-plus decades of manipulating
his materials, he knows
at it, but George Coleman’s A Master
every idiosyncrasy of reed,
Speaks—with Sonny Rollins’ preferred
mouthpiece, and saxophone
pads, and every cranny of extended
bebop harmony. With
bassist Bob Cranshaw binding the quartet
and containing a sleek blowing tune
all that knowledge he could
called “Sonny’s Playground”—might have
just coast, but he’s ever-alert.
The rhythm section keeps
been designed to attract fans of another
him listening, if only to hear
veteran tenor giant and NEA Jazz Master.
how well they listen to him.
Drummer George Coleman,
In truth, anyone who values the fine art of
Jr. knows his father’s timing
tenor saxophone improvising should heed
well, and how to prod him.
A Master Speaks, and not just because
Easy to overlook it might
be, but A Master Speaks
Coleman has recorded so little of late.
serves up just the kind of
NHis sound here is luminous.
music for which some dyed-
126 TONE AUDIO NO.78
in-the-wool jazz fans long. It
swings non-stop, is full of fire
and grace, and remains so
steeped in tradition that allusions
to past glories abound.
It’s not just a matter of artful
citations of old tunes. The
way Mike LeDonne times and
voices his piano chords can
suggest to the knowing listener
some specific forebear
or jazz classic. The trick is
to make that allusive phrase
sound natural and right even
to those who don’t catch
the reference. Soloing on a
13-minute “Invitation,” the
pianist quotes the signature
lick from “Blues in the Night”
in double-time disguise, and
then he repeats, modulates,
and develops that propulsive
germ for 16 bars. Such citations
aren’t about playing
scholarly games, but making
informed choices and drawing
on the myriad possibilities
umpteen old masters have
already laid out, along with
one’s own invention.
The leader walks in the
big shoes of the ancestors,
too. On a medium-slow
“Blues for B.B.”—Coleman
had played in guitarist King’s
band way back when—he
dredges the deep river bottom,
evoking vocal blues inflections
and Charlie Parker’s
blues masterwork “Parker’s
Mood” and twirling a spinning-top
figure that’s a covert
quote from “It Might As Well
Be Spring.” (Guest picker
Peter Bernstein shoots a few
B.B. stings into his not-overlybusy
choruses.) The catchiest
original arrives courtesy of
LeDonne’s midtempo “You’ll
Never Know What You Mean
to Me,” whose rhythmic
hook dances on one pitch.
Once or twice, the Memphisreared
saxophonist pinches
and bends notes like a blues
harpist.
Other potential listeners
who might lend an ear:
New-music fans that think
old-school players just go
through the motions. Coleman’s
deep commitment
to inventing in the moment
comes through every time he
exhales. –Kevin Whitehead
AUGUST 2016 127