MAY 2020—ISSUE 217

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eugenechadbourne
new direction

digitalonly
edition
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FORTNERdoughammond

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MAY 2020—ISSUE 217
On The Cover : EUGENE CHADBOURNE

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New York@Night

Andrey Henkin:ahenkin@nycjazzrecord.com

Interview : MICHELE ROSEWOMAN

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Staff Writers
Duck Baker, Stuart Broomer,
Robert Bush, Kevin Canfield,
Marco Cangiano, Thomas Conrad,
Pierre Crépon, Ken Dryden,
Donald Elfman, Phil Freeman,
Kurt Gottschalk, Tom Greenland,
George Grella, Tyran Grillo,Alex Henderson, Robert Iannapollo,
Mark Keresman, Marilyn Lester,
Suzanne Lorge, Marc Medwin,
Jim Motavalli, Russ Musto,
John Pietaro, Joel Roberts,
John Sharpe, Elliott Simon,
Anna Steegmann, Scott Yanow
Contributing Writers
Dan Bilawsky, Pierre Giroux, George Kanzler,
Steven Loewy, Annie Murnighan, Ivana Ng
Kyle Oleksiuk, Eric Wendell
Contributing Photographers
Moritz Bichler, Peter Gannushkin,
Alan Nahigian, Bryant Sanders
Fact-checker
Nate Dorward

nycjazzrecord.com

Artist Feature : SULLIVAN FORTNER
Encore : doug hammondLest We Forget : JACKIE McLEAN
LAbel Spotlight : family vineyard
VOXNEWS
obituaries
festival report
album Reviews
Miscellany

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by john pietaro

by anna steegmannby kyle oleksiukby marilyn lester
by george grellaby eric wendellby suzanne lorge
by andrey henkinby andrey henkin

It is hard to believe that New York City has ONLY been under lockdown for 40 days. Seems
more like 40 years and that we are with Moses, wandering through the desert, looking not for
the Promised Land but an actual, in-person concert. Of course these protocols have beennecessary to save as much life as possible and there have been online concerts, online recordlistening sessions, online workshops, etc. to fill the void.
This is our second digital-only edition; we hope to resume our physical self soon. As was thecase in our April edition, our planned coverage has all been cancelled, from a week at
The Stone at The New School with guitarist Eugene Chadbourne (On The Cover), pianist/composer/bandleader Michele Rosewoman (Interview) at Dizzy’s Club and pianist Sullivan
Fortner (Artist Feature) at The Jazz Gallery. The same goes for most of our CD Review
coverage. We hope that you support us by continuing to read and these musicians, now all
struggling, by buying their music.
At some point, we will responsibly flock to the clubs and embrace one another musically. Until
then, please stay safe and healthy so that day can come sooner rather than later.

On The Cover: Eugene Chadbourne (Peter Gannushkin/DOWNTOWNMUSIC.NET)
All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission strictly prohibited. All material copyrights property of the authors.

2 MAY 2020 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORDPeter Gannushkin/DOWNTOWNMUSIC.NET

ON THE COVER

eugene chadbourne
new direction
by john pietaro“That’s nice that you want to put me on the cover,”said Eugene Chadbourne during our interview,“especially with so many glamorous options available.”
Glamour, like beauty, is subject to the beholder ’s eye
and the expressionist guitarist exudes a charm ofinnovation that soars well above this year ’s fashion. In
fact, he’s held that distinction for decades.
Born in Mount Vernon NY, 1954, but raised in
Boulder, Colorado, Chadbourne was moved by thepowerful changes in rock ‘n’ roll during his formative
years, but just as inspired by the country and blues heencountered in record store bins. “The first song I
learned to play was ‘I’m Not Your Steppin’ Stone’.”Tellingly, Chadbourne was drawn not to the pop hit by
The Monkees, but the raucous version by Paul Revere
and The Raiders. Though the budding guitarist’s major
influence was Jimi Hendrix, a grittier, proto-punk
inspiration was prominent and remains with
Chadbourne still. And then there was the innovative
guitarist Lee Underwood. “I went to see Tim Buckleywhen I was 16. He performed without his band, justUnderwood, who played something I hadn’t heard
before. The scales he was playing on the fretboard in
conjunction with Buckley’s harmonies—you could
hear the root chord, but it sounded like you could play
anywhere and make it work.”
Moving to Calgary, Canada (“to avoid the draft”)
offered Chadbourne unforeseen opportunities forartistic growth. After encountering the music of Ornette
Coleman, he sought out free jazz in local record stores.
And, “I saw Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band playin Calgary. Most of the audience wanted to kill them,but his bass clarinet sounded particularly good to me.
All that music jelled in my head around the same time,
but it took a long time to translate it to the guitar. There
were a few guitarists [playing this music] but not many
you could imitate. Hendrix was like the Coltrane ofguitar, so that took decades to absorb.”
Chadbourne made fast friends with the few local
musicians of a similar mindset and became active in
Calgary’s Jazz Society. While seeking performance
opportunities, he quickly recognized that within suchsurroundings a scene needed to be grown, so beganorganizing shows. “The Jazz Society branch in Edmonton
brought up the Sam Rivers Trio, so I presented Oliver
Lake, among many others. And Anthony Braxton had
a relationship with the Coda [magazine] guys. I finagled
the University of Calgary to bring him up for a solo
concert,” which began an important professional
relationship with the revolutionary saxophonist.
Chadbourne also became a music writer with
The Calgary Herald. “The entertainment page had been
doing poorly as no one knew anything about music.
So, when I got that job, they assigned me reviews ofthese big rock concerts. But I was only listening to freejazz and roots music, so of course I panned Kiss,
Queen, all of them!” Taking on this harsh criticalpersona inspired a flood of hate mail while providing
much needed attention to the paper. “The editors kept
giving me raises, so I kept writing these reviews.”
Even as he did Chadbourne was recording for his own

Parachute Records (Solo Acoustic Guitar, Volume One
and Two, 1976) and curating events while making
relevant industry contacts. His efforts proved
successful. “When I began, there were like three copies
of Interstellar Space there,” but communication with theartists brought Calgary a wide array of new jazz.
Simultaneously, Braxton was encouraging Chadbourne
to focus entirely on his guitar playing, leaving
journalism behind. “The timing was right,” he recalled.
Moreso, President Carter issued amnesty for ex-pats
who had left to avoid a war many viewed as highly
immoral, if not illegal. Chadbourne relocated back to the
U.S., touring through the Midwest and into New York ina most fertile period. “I can’t recall when people started
calling [NYC’s experimental arts scene] ‘Downtown’,
but a certain kind of crowd were living downtown anda lot of the rehearsing went on there.” Voraciously
absorbing his surroundings, Chadbourne developed
important accomplices in both Frank Lowe and John
Zorn. “John and I had so much in common, but he’dplayed almost nowhere except in college and then in his
apartment [where Zorn had established a performanceseries]. I’d traveled across the country playing anywhere
I’d made connections with my records. I read how Steve
Lacy would knock on doors asking to play in delis. So
I said, ‘Let’s go door-to-door to find new venues.’” That
year he put out two more records while also performingwith Zorn, Lowe, Lake and more. Simultaneously, punkrock was exploding with a cross-pollination of nowavers, free improvisers, performance poets andcontemporary composers. “Everything was reallysplintered up. I recall someone forming a free band witha funk beat. That didn’t appeal to me, but the songs andtheir meaning—the content and the essence—that meant
a lot.” As opposed to the edgy scene at CBGB’s,
Chadbourne sought to fuse the roots music he loved
with underground jazz. A step in this direction wasmeeting the former Mothers of Invention drummer
Jimmy Carl Black. “Jimmy was the first drummer I
worked with who played blues and rock so expertly. I’dplayed with great drummers before but Jimmy said, ‘I’m
here to make you sound good.’ And it reminded me that
I really like playing rock.” But Chadbourne decided totake it further, seeking to develop a true hybrid. “Theroots music wasn’t embraced in New York back then.
Most people associated it with mechanical bulls.”
The guitarist also began teaching at Karl Berger’s
Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, NY. There he met
electric bassist Mark Kramer and drummer David Licht,
who joined him in the formation of Shockabilly for which
Chadbourne coined the genre “LSD C&W”. “Most critics
didn’t get us. One said we sounded like Hank Williams
on LSD, another went so far as to call us Frank Zappa on
LSD! They kept writing that we were deconstructing
songs, but we were actually creating” original music andfascinating adaptations of trad and rock. The Dawn ofShockabilly (Rough Trade, 1982) featured Chadbourne’s
blistering guitar as overtly as his satirical, affected leadvoice. But for the level of musicianship, such profoundreimaginings of The Beatles and Tammy Wynette may
have been relegated to mere punk-era mocking.

The complex arrangements, unexpected tempo changes,
sudden tacits and improvisational forays instead castpost-modernism at 33 1⁄3 rpm.
By 1985’s Vietnam, the activism of the band became
central with radical songs and a piece with poet Ed
Sanders towards a “freely improvised left-wing country
bebop”. Over the next few years, Chadbourne released
solo and collaborative multiple recordings and forgeda partnership with alternative rockers Camper Van
Beethoven. During the ‘90s, some 21 recordings under
Chadbourne’s leadership could be found in his
catalogue and into the 2000s his already astonishing listof collaborators grew vastly: Billy Bang, Tom Cora,
Wadada Leo Smith, Joseph Bowie, Steve Lacy, Evan
Parker, Charles Tyler, John Carter, Peter Brötzmann,
Anthony Coleman, Misha Mengelberg, Cooper-Moore,
Derek Bailey, Marc Ribot, Davey Williams, Fred Frith,
Gary Lucas, Henry Kaiser, Elliott Sharp, Charlie Haden,
William Parker, Sunny Murray, Philip Wilson, Bobby
Previte, Chris Cutler, Warren Smith, Han Bennink,
Susie Ibarra and Shelley Hirsch. Likewise, Chadbourne’s
instrumental arsenal grew to include banjo, dobro andhis homemade electric rake.
The music-making, like the sense of adventure, hasbeen tenacious. Most recently, Chadbourne scheduled anarray of global dates, which were suddenly cancelled.
“I’m sorry that my Stone at The New School performances
have to be postponed until who knows when,” he said,
painfully aware of the work required to book thisexpansive tour. “But this period has been devastating forso many. Imagine if we had a system that doesn’t let
idiots like this [Trump] get elected and that our economic
system wouldn’t fall apart as soon as we have a problem.
There’s nothing in it that protects anyone.”
This year, Chadbourne released a pair of CDs
containing both new and old material and, in responseto the lockdown, established digital downloads on his
website’s archive, allowing for a deep glimpse into his
fascinating repertoire. But, as always, the guitarist
can’t help but look far afield. “I’m also in the process ofsetting up a broadcast studio behind my house inGreensboro. It’s been a recording studio for years, but
I’m expanding it for internet performances. This is alongterm plan, but at this point, it may very well be thedirection we all need to go in.” vFor
more
information,
visit
eugenechadbournedocumentation.squarespace.com. Chadbourne was scheduled
to be at The Stone at The New School.
Recommended Listening:• Eugene Chadbourne—The Lost Eddie Chatterbox Session(s/r-Corbett vs. Dempsey, 1977)• Eugene Van Beethoven—69th Sin Funny (Fundamental, 1989)• Eugene Chadbourne/Hellington Country—
The Hellingtunes (Intakt, 1997)• Zu & Eugene Chadbourne—The Zu Side of the
Chadbourne (Felmay-House of Chadula, 1999)• Aki Takase—Plays Fats Waller (Enja, 2003)• Eugene Chadbourne—Monks Dream with Words(House of Chadula, 2017)

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | MAY 2020 3

NEW YORK @ NIGHT

SSC 1580
Releases on 5/15.20

LUCIAN BAN-JOHN SURMAN-MAT MANERITRANSYLVANIAN FOLK SONGSTHE BELA BARTOK FIELD RECORDINGSIn the early 1900s Bartók was introduced to the folk musicof the Romanian people in Transylvania. His immediate
infatuation with the music led him to a lifelong pursuit torecord and catalog these beautiful regional pieces. Bartók
spent eight years traveling the Romanian countryside recording and transcribing these pieces, which he would spend therest of his life collating into six catalogs containing over three
thousand tunes, simply entitled Romanian Folk Music. The
composer’s own compositions would be influenced at every
level by his folk studies.

Acentury later, these three outstanding improvisers – MatManeri, Lucian Ban and John Surman – draw fresh inspiration from the music that fired Bartók’s imagination, looking
again at the carols, lamentations, love songs, dowry songs
and more which the composer collected, in the period
between 1909-1917.

This month, covering the ‘live’ jazz scene gained awhole new aspect due to citywide club closuresspurred by the COVID-19 outbreak. Fortunately there
were options. Billing itself as “the world’s first fully
live-streamed jazz festival”, the “Live From Our Living
Rooms” series offered a week’s worth of fundraisers
by and for out-of-work musicians. The first night(Apr. 1st) included a relaxed performance by vocalist/
guitarist Margaret Glasby and guitarist Julian Lage.
Seated at home, a few old black and white family
photos visible on the wall behind them, the pair played
original material, in tandem or solo, in a short but
satisfying set. There were the inevitable technicalglitches, particularly if one’s wi-fi wasn’t running at
optimal speed (as your correspondent’s wasn’t),
resulting in frozen or pixilated images. Several viewers
posted complaints of the muffled “fishbowl” sound,presumably due to a noise-gated microphone. All ofwhich could have been a bummer, but really wasn’t.
Here we sat, alone but together, privy to Glasby and
Lage’s most intimate musical and personal rapport,
our number rapidly escalating from two to over 800
people, generating an incessant stream of rabid
onscreen commentary. You couldn’t hear any shouting
or clapping, but you could certainly sense theexcitement. “We’ll be together soon,” promised Lage atlast. “In the meantime, this suffices.” And we rejoicedthat our collective jazz spirit had prevailed over the—Tom Greenland
specter of COVID-19. 		

The Sun Ra Arkestra of the ‘70s would have been
ideally suited for musical life in the era of COVID-19.
Most of the band lived in the same house in theGermantown neighborhood of Philadelphia and could
have live-streamed cosmic music 24 hours a day inkeeping with Ra’s constant rehearsals. Alas, now mostmusicians are stuck alone at home and the concerts
being broadcast across myriad platforms are somewhat
lonely affairs. Quarantine jazz is a thing now but one
hopes not for too long, as musicians need an audience
as much as we need them. Alto saxophonist MiguelZenón gave a solo recital (Apr. 12th) on Instagram andFacebook Live, though the latter didn’t work. By theend of the shortish performance, there were about 80
people in the ‘room’ and Zenón spoke encouraging
and thankful words in both English and Spanish, plus
a guest appearance by his daughter to say hello. Whilethe intent was good, for those listeners easily distracted(such as this reviewer) the medium muddles themessage. It felt less like a concert than spycam
voyeurism into Zenón’s practice regimen (kudos to his
rehearsal space, however, and the cheerful drawings
festooning its walls) and certainly the lag-time issues
didn’t help, nor did the stream of comments and loveballoons. Things worked better on a cellphone thanon a computer and while Zenón dueting with himself
slightly out of phase did have its appeal, it was hardly
the point. If this really is the new normal, we will
adjust but we don’t have to like it.
—Andrey Henkin

Margaret Glasby & Julian Lage

Miguel Zenón

The second night (Apr. 2nd) of “Live From Our Living
Rooms”, the live-stream festival/fundraiser organizedby local musicians Thana Alexa, Owen Broder andSirintip, included a marvelous solo concert by guitarist
Bill Frisell. There was a delay because, as we foundout later, the Crowdcast virtual platform had crashedunder global overload, so the scheduled 8 pm hit
didn’t start until 45 minutes later, when Frisell,
sporting an unfamiliar close-trimmed beard, wasunfortunately cut off only 12 minutes later, right in the
middle of a mouth-watering medley of “Nature Boy”
and “Crepuscule with Nellie”. He didn’t reappear
online until another 45 minutes had passed, by whichtime the logged-in crowd had swelled to 2,000, its
appetite now fully whetted, chiming in from locales asdisparate as Edmonton, Inverloch, Guanajuato andBuenos Aires. No one was disappointed. In whatturned out to be one long, continuous medley, Frisellmasterfully worked his way from “Someone to Watch
Over Me” through what sounded like a new wrinkle
on his tune “Worried Woman” to “New York, New
York” (with a hint of “Nature Boy” thrown in), two
Billy Strayhorn tunes (“A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing”
and “Lush Life”), “What the World Needs Now”,
The Beatles’ “In My Life” and finally the Civil Rights
anthem “We Shall Overcome” with a quick taste of“Someone to Watch Over Me” at the very end. He
didn’t say much, but he didn’t have to. The song titles
and especially his playing, said it all.
(TG)

Lucky are the musicians living together, at least interms of online concerts (though one feels for an entire
household bereft of income streams). This reviewer
had planned on attending the duo concert with harpist
Brandee Younger and bassist Dezron Douglas atMiller Theatre scheduled for the end of March before
New York City was shut down. So it was great that thepair were still able to perform (Apr. 7th), just now fromthe confines of their living room (nice plants).
Unfortunately the technological aspect left much to be
desired—quarantine jazz is years behind cam-porn—
but it was fulfilling to hear and see (sort of) musicians
interacting with one another. The harp’s delicacy andmystical nature pairs well with the bass’ stolid
woodiness (my cats liked it) and Younger and Douglas
have been honing their craft together on regular brunch
broadcasts on Facebook. They began with a tune fromthose sets, the timely-titled “TP Romance”. Erroll
Garner ’s “Misty” followed and it felt like one wasfloating down a Venetian canal at sunset. “Games”(from Dorothy Ashby’s 1968 album Afro-Harping; being
at home was good for research) found deep spirit
within each and enormous power together. Douglas
essayed Charlie Haden’s “For Turiya” solo, Younger
quipping that the quarantine had led to more solo bassconcerts than ever. The pair managed to call up thesoul bounce on Marvin Gaye’s” I Want You” and closedwith Younger ’s indie-pop-like “Reclamation”. I canhardly wait to hear this duo in person.
(AH)

L

ucian Ban grew up along Bartók’s collecting path inTransylvania and by the end of the ‘90s he would leave
Romania to pursue his career in jazz music in New York City.
But the music of his native land continued to inspire his
work, most notably in his own compositions as documented
on the Songs from Afar (Sunnyside, 2016) or the classicalmusic of Romania’s famed composer George Enesco on
Enesco Re-Imagined (Sunnyside, 2010) but also with hiswork alongside Maneri on Transylvanian Concert (ECM,
2013).

SSC 1586
Releases on 5/22.20

BOBBY SPELLMAN

REVENGE OF THE COOL

M

iles Davis’s Birth of The Cool sessions, were recorded in1949 and 1950 and released in 1957. More than fifty
years later, when young trumpeter Bobby Spellman purchased a CD of these recordings, he became enchanted withthe music. Spellman’s fascination with these performances
led him to chase that same spirit for his own collection ofnonet recordings, Revenge of the Cool.

To build his nonet, Spellman looked toward many of his NEC
peers, including baritone saxophonist Tyler Burchfield, alto
saxophonist David Leon, bassist Andrew Schiller, trombonist
Tim Shneier, drummer Evan Hyde, pianists Ben Schwendenerand Eli Wallace. Spellman’s wife, alto saxophonist Emily
Pecoraro (who is featured on the first track), introduced
Spellman to French horn player Kyra Sims, whom she met in
New York and who shares the duty with her friend Justin
Mullens. Tubist Ben Stapp is another New York addition to thegroup.

www.sunnysiderecords.com

4 MAY 2020 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

Shut out from its decade-old residency at Jazz This month our live reviews are redefined as New
Standard, the tradition of Mingus Mondays took to theinternet for a series of solo concerts; the second ofwhich featured guitarist Freddie Bryant (Apr. 6th).
A 20-year veteran of the Mingus Orchestra, where hischords fill out the rich harmonies of the late bassist’s
compositions, Bryant played by himself from the
Caribbean island of Providenciales (forced to remain
there since the onset of coronavirus pandemic), settlingintoapredominantly
blues-based
programhighlighting Mingus’ earthy melodicism. Opening
with “Devil Woman”, which he retitled “Devil Virus”
for the occasion, the guitarist gave a sensitive readingof the song Mingus sang in a gritty voice on his
Oh Yeah album. He followed with the New Orleanaistinged “Jelly Roll”, digging into its rhythmic drive.
Describing it as a disguised blues, Bryant continued
with a stirring rendition of “Goodbye Porkpie Hat”,
which he dedicated to virus victims Ellis Marsalis,
Bucky Pizzarelli and Wallace Roney, as well as therecently departed Mingus Orchestra bassoonist Janet
Grice, calling for a moment of silence afterwards.
Reaching into the more obscure recesses of the Mingus
repertoire, the guitarist resumed by performing theBrazilian-flavored “Eclipse”, giving a shout out to
Sy Johnson for his inspired orchestral arrangement of
the composition. The one-man show concluded back inthe blues mode with a funky extended take of “Better—Russ Musto
Git It In Your Soul”.		

York continues through the coronavirus lock-down.
While this writer mourns a return to reality as we once
knew it, the concept of live-to-internet becomes the
new normal. And with that in mind, the “Live From
Our Living Rooms” series allows for an array of
performing artists to make their statement—and raise
funds for the creative community—in the face of theGreat Quarantine. Saxophonist Joe Lovano and vocalist
Judi Silvano have been an item for many decades andtheir shared telepathy is apparent. Broadcasting ahighly improvisational live session (Apr. 4th), the pairfloated through original compositions and a uniqueadaptation of Monk’s “Reflections”, with the Jon
Hendricks lyric, which well exhibited their musicalskills and then some; Silvano painted an abstract piece
inspired by the music during points away from themicrophone. Though the spirit and sense of unity
carried the concert, of course, the barrier of thecomputer screen was apparent (though we tried on thisend, with cocktails and finger foods!). The static
camera and lack of proper sound balancing were notfriendly to the performance, unfortunately, though
Lovano’s mastery of the tenor and soprano, as always,
was more than obvious. And Silvano’s seemingly
limitless range and innate swing are his perfect match,allowing for vibrant call-and-response segments,
which enlivened this digital soundscape and crafted a—John Pietaro
real Saturday night of it. 		

W H AT ’ S N E W S
Roulette is partnering with Bang on a Can fora six-hour marathon on May 3rd, presenting new
music composed specifically for the event andperformed by musicians including Vijay Iyer,
George Lewis, Miya Masaoka, Moor Mother andMary Halvorson. For more information, visit
roulette.org.
The inaugural class of Philadelphia Hometown
Heroes has been named and it includes several
jazz musicians: Marshall Allen, Terell Stafford,
Orrin Evans, Pat Martino, Diane Monroe and therecently departed McCoy Tyner.
Record Store Day, celebrating independent
record shops and originally scheduled for April
18th, will be held through a series of “RSD
Drops”, taking place on three Saturdays spread
across three consecutive months: Aug. 29th,
Sep. 26th and Oct. 24th. For more information,
visit recordstoreday.com.
The Jazz Journalists Association has named
its 2020 Jazz Heroes, “honoring significant
achievements in jazz music and journalism”.
Local recipients are Matthew Garrison andFortuna Sung of ShapeShifter Lab, Susan Cohen
Brink of Sanctuary for Independent Media andRoberta Alloway, booker of many Harlem jazz
venues. In addition, nominees for the 2020 JJA
Jazz Awards have been named (including thisgazette for Print Periodical/Website of the Year).
For more information, visit jjajazzawards.org.
The Monterey Jazz Festival has announced theresults of its 2020 Next Generation Jazz Festival,
which took place virtually last month. Winners
are scheduled to appear at the festival in
September. For the complete list, visit
montrereyjazzfestival.org.

Freddie Bryant

Joe Lovano & Judi Silvano

O n the night that they were scheduled to appear at
Dizzy’s Club (Apr. 4th) playing together as part of theAmerican Pianists Association’s celebration of the pastand present awardees of its Cole Porter Fellowship,
Sullivan Fortner and Aaron Parks met up in cyberspacefor “music and musings” on the APA’s Facebook page.
In what could be described as extreme social distancingthat took them away from their usual bases, Parks
streamed from his mother ’s house in upstate New York
while Fortner performed from the Florida home of theparents of his vocalist duo partner, Cécile McLorin
Salvant. The pair began by discussing the less-thanperfect tuning of their respective upright pianos,
before getting down to making music. Fortner started,
playing a deliberately delivered rendition of Bud
Powell’s “I’ll Keep Loving You”, after which Parks
followed appropriately with Porter ’s “I Love You”,
picking up the tempo on the second chorus as heimprovised utilizing altered harmonies. The pair thenengaged in a discussion of their admiration of eachother ’s different styles. Noting that the passing of Ellis
Marsalis had him in “ballady” mood, Fortner continued
with his melancholy “Elegy”. A discussion of thewriting process inspired Parks to play a new untitledoriginal he said he’s been working on for a while. Moretalk of Marsalis prompted Fortner to play the latepianist’s “Swingin’ At The Haven”. Parks then played
his “Solace”, a classically-tinged song of hope. Fortner
closed out with a spiritual, “The Solid Rock”.
(RM)

In an effort to offer live performance (Apr. 20th)
during this lockdown period, master guitarist andDjango Reinhardt specialist Stephane Wrembel
established a series of daily remote mini-concerts,
fascinating educational performances, broadcast in
both French and English through May 1st. Instead ofsimply playing the rarely heard solo compositions ofReinhardt (as heard on his recent release Django
L’Impressionniste), he offers an analysis of each pieceeach day and then plays the classic work in his
inimitable fashion. Wrembel has an amazing commandof his instrument (yes, his guitar is one of the oval
sound hole models; what did you expect?!) as well as
the stylistic inventions and structures that Reinhardt
gave to the music. “He loved mixing major and minor
harmonies—this leads you to never knowing exactly
where you are. These were the visions of Debussy
brought to life.” Wrembel explained the patterns andharmonic inventions of the renowned Gypsy guitarist
that were used in his riveting “Improvisation #1”, awork that seemed to capture all of Reinhardt’s
breathtaking twist, turns, fills and melodies ofbrilliance. “He loved to reharmonize the chords,
adding chromaticisms leading to an anchor point. The
outline of the chords is very subtle.” Wrembel isactually the very first Reinhardt interpreter to perform
all of Django’s solo works, so his analysis is vital to thecanon. His grasp on these works is undisputed andany jazzbo worth his or her salt needs to tune in.
(JP)

Jazz Club of Sarasota presented its Satchmo
Award to Rachel Domber and and her latehusband Mat of Arbors Records, the award
honoring those that have “made a unique andenduring contribution to the living history of jazz”.
The 18th Annual Independent Music Awards
have named their nominees for this year’s awards.
For the complete list, including jazz-specificcategories, visit independentmusicawards.com.
The Jazz Gallery’s online schedule will continue
in May: May 1st: Melissa Aldana; May 4th: Jen
Shyu; May 6th: Dezron Douglas; May 7th: Becca
Stevens; May 8th: Johnathan Blake; May 11th:
Orrin Evans; May 13th: Matt Brewer; May 15th:
Kevin Hays; May 18th: Dayna Stephens; May
20th: Vijay Iyer; May 22nd: Tivon Pennicott; May
25th: Jaleel Shaw; May 27th: Jason Lindner anda special tribute to the recently departed Lee
Konitz on May 3rd. For more information, visit
jazzgallery.nyc
Academy Records has opened up an eBay store(ebay.com/str/academyrecords) and an Amazon portal(amazon.com/ s?me=APGAAMQYMI9EL&marketplaceID=
ATVPDKIKX0DER).
Submit news to info@nycjazzrecord.com

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | MAY 2020 5

bryant sanders / photo courtesy of the artist

I NTERVIEWMICHELEROSEWOMAN
by anna steegmann
Pianist, composer and educator Michele Rosewoman,a pioneering artist in her field, has created a distinct musicalexperience by digging deep into acoustic modern jazz,sophisticated funk, dynamic electric fusion and elements of
Cuban folkloric music. Her command and rich vocabulary
expands the horizons and boundaries of jazz while remaining
firmly rooted in tradition. With a 40-year history, Rosewoman
stands out in her class as a visionary pianist, composer,
bandleader and gifted performer. She has performed withmany of the finest musicians from both the jazz and Cuban
traditions and is regarded as one of the most ingenious
composers and prolific bandleaders of her generation.
The New York City Jazz Record: This is a difficult
time for musicians. Clubs and concert halls are closed,
festivals have been cancelled. How do you cope?
Michele Rosewoman: We all have to figure this oneout as we go through waves of disbelief and realizationand settle into this new reality. I’m taking stock of mylife up to now and, little by little, figuring out how toproceed. Letting things reset spiritually, trying to stay
positive and applying for financial assistance asopportunities become available. Looking forward towhat might be creatively born of such a time.
TNYCJR: Critics have said that you unite players with
distinct personalities into a communal voice. Yourlatest recording Hallowed is with Alex Norris on trumpet
and flugelhorn, Román Filiú on alto and sopranosaxophones and flute, Stacy Dillard on tenor saxophone,
Chris Washburne on trombone, bass trombone andtuba, Andrew Gutauskas on baritone saxophone, Gregg
August on bass, Robby Ameen on drums, both Román
Díaz and Mauricio Herrera on batá, congas and vocals,
Rafael Monteagudo on batá, congas and Nina Rodríguez
as the lead vocalist. You contribute piano, Fender
Rhodes and vocals. Talk about bringing the musicians
for this project together. What was your inspiration?
What makes Hallowed special?
MR: For all my ensembles, the cast of musicians has
always taken its own shape as needed, evolving
through the years and one configuration leading
naturally to the next. The current ensemble members
have been with me for many years. It feels like family.
They are more bilingual than in the past, in that both
Latin and jazz feels more natural for all, which makes
my musical presentation work best.
Hallowed consists of a suite presented as the firstten tracks, plus two other very different tracks. The
instrumental suite “Oru de Oro” (Room of Gold) is
compositionally built around sacred Batá language—rhythmic patterns in a set sequence that call forthvarious entities/energies [Oru Seco or Oru del Igbodu].
We dance around THEM. Soloists are hitting hard as
written and improvisational elements interact. The
Batá and its tradition are central and fully intact.
This appears to be a first—a fully orchestrated andintact Oru Seco. Those familiar with the form say it’s
groundbreaking. It requires that one be equally
immersed in both jazz and Cuban folkloric language
and traditions and have the propensity to take ajourney deeply into an oral tradition that masters teachto those they deem worthy. I didn’t learn jazz in aclassroom either, have had to do “the deep hang” inmore than one world. Track 11, “The Wind is The FirstTo Know”, is built around traditional vocals and batá
in a series of prayers and cantos [songs]. Horninterludes and solos lead into and out of Nina
Rodriguez’ beautiful lead vocals. This track is acomplete contrast to all other tracks on this recording,as the final track is also purely instrumental. I firstcontributed “Alabanza” as pianist and composer to a
Latin-Grammy-winning release by the Afro Latin Jazz
Orchestra [led by Arturo O’Farrill] that we recorded in
Cuba in 2014.
TNYCJR: Tell me about your beginnings as a musician.
Were you raised in a musical family?
MR: I first touched a piano at age six when my folks
brought an old upright home. I never really had thisthought until now, but how did they know? That piano
felt like Christmas every day. I started exploring. Aftera few years, I took lessons and learned to read music.
My parents were very artistic and politically active.
TNYCJR: How did your love for jazz develop? Who
did you listen to? Who were you musical heroes?
MR: My first love was old school R&B. I loved The
Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The
Stylistics, Aretha [Franklin], Ray Charles, Smokey[Robinson], Curtis Mayfield, The Dells. My folks
listened to a lot of traditional jazz: Ella, Duke, Oscar
Peterson, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday. I also heard
music from around the world: Calypso, Brazilian,music from the mountains of Chile, East India, Africa.
Spiritually-based music moved me. I was drawn tomusic that had detail, surprise, mystery, depth and to
improvisation. The harmonic colors in jazz, theintricate melodies and rhythmic intricacies, I washearing things and trying to play them. When I was inmy early teens I read a book by Martin Williams about
the social and political significance of jazz as America’s
indigenous music. This music that compelled me so
was now tapping my intellect and emotions on anotherlevel. Eventually, I began to have musical heroes:
Monk, Coltrane, Lee Morgan, Bobby Timmons, Miles,
Art Blakey, Wayne Shorter, Elvin Jones, Oliver Lake,
Baikida Carroll, Julius Hemphill, Bobby Bradford,
Dewey Redman, Nikki Giovanni, Betty Carter...
TNYCJR: You studied both jazz piano and percussion.
Talk about your teachers and how they shaped you.
MR: I met the great pianist/organ player Ed Kelly

6 MAY 2020 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

when I auditioned for the Laney Junior College bigband in Oakland and got in. Everything jumped offfrom there. Ed became my true mentor, my greatest
direct influence and a beloved friend until his passing
in 2005. He was a hands-on piano teacher. He madeeverything his. He was a completely original voice anda stone-cold traditionalist at the same time. He would
play in the styles of Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines, Oscar Peterson,
Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, look up over his glasses
and ask, “Who’s this?” And then he’d hit some secretdissonant bell-tone chord and let it ring while we felt
the air transform. Without saying a word, he taught usthat music is sound. His playing was a slow boil;
he would build it up and then burst out with incredible
originality. He was full of humor, musically andpersonally. I hung, learned, jammed, started playing
with R&B and jazz groups in nearby clubs.
I saw a sign on a street post on the Laney campus
offering a summer class in AfroCuban percussion.
Marcus Gordon was the instructor. He was blessedly
put in my path. We went straight into various formsof rhumba and spiritually-based Cuban folkloric
music. As I often say, my musical path was born rightthen and there, although I did not know it at the time.
Master vocalist and percussionist Orlando “Puntilla”
Rios arrived in New York from Cuba in 1980 andbrought ancient traditions here that had not beenaccessible before. Many of us attribute any depth ofknowledge and experience to having been invited into
his world. We found in him our most valuable andprofound foundation for all to come.
TNYCJR: What were significant early milestones inyour career?
MR: Becoming next-door neighbors [1975-78] in San
Francisco with the great trumpeter/composer Baikida
Carroll, through whom I met and played with Julius
Hemphill, Oliver Lake, Julian Priester. Meeting andhearing BAG and AACM members who stayed withhim during those years. Creating and performing withthe great cornet player, composer and conductor Butch
Morris. Jimmy Lyons of Cecil Taylor’s group telling me
I should move to New York. Playing at The Keystone
Korner on a double bill with my mentor Ed Kelly rightbefore moving to New York. Oliver Lake giving me myfirst important performance opportunity in New Yorkat Carnegie Hall in 1979. Performing with my owngroup for the first time in NYC at P.S. 41, featuring
Baikida on trumpet, Abdul Wadud on cello and Skip
Bernie on percussion. Meeting Puntilla; he became thecentral figure around which I built my New Yor-Uba
ensemble. Recording with the Cuban songo group Los
Kimy. My first European tour with Billy Bang. Receiving
an NEA grant in 1983 for the birth of New Yor-Uba.
New York Times and DownBeat rave reviews. A threeweek European tour in 1984 with my 14-piece New
Yor-Uba playing the major festival circuit. Coming
home to a letter saying I had received an ASCAP Meet
the Composer Grant for Emerging Composers awarded
by Dizzy Gillespie, Marian McPartland and Lester
Bowie, leading to performances by the Brooklyn
Philharmonic plus quintet of improvisers. Release of
my first recording as leader, The Source.
TNYCJR: Critics have compared you to Charles
Mingus and Duke Ellington. Others felt you were
influenced by Randy Weston, Cecil Taylor, Thelonious
Monk, McCoy Tyner and Billy Strayhorn. Are theyright? How would you describe your influences?
MR: Every name, a profound influence on me. Cuban
folkloric musical traditions and ‘the funk’ are strong
musical influences as well. I let them all freely be a partof how I play, write and present the music. McCoy
gave me the ways and means to launch as a piano
player. Monk’s playing and writing, Mingus and					
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 13)

photo courtesy of the artist

ARTIST FEATURESULLIVAN
FORTNERFor more information, visit sullivanfortnermusic.com.
Fortner was scheduled to be at The Jazz Gallery.
Recommended Listening:• Theo Croker—In The Tradition (Arbors, 2008)• Sullivan Fortner—Aria (Impulse!, 2014)• Sullivan Fortner—Moments Preserved (Impulse!, 2017)• Lage Lund (with Sullivan Fortner, Larry Grenadier& Tyshawn Sorey)—Terrible Animals(Criss Cross Jazz, 2018)• Cécile McLorin Salvant—The Window(Mack Avenue, 2018)• Rufus Reid/Sullivan Fortner—Always In The Moment(Newvelle, 2019)by kyle oleksiuk
Sullivan Fortner is a talented pianist whose career has

lately been on the straight-up ramp: in the last few
years he was Cécile McLorin-Salvant’s duo partner on
the Grammy-winning album The Window; contributed
to Paul Simon’s 2018 album In The Blue Light; released
his own second album Moments Preserved (Impulse);
and headlined for a full week at the Village Vanguard.
At only 33, the sky’s the limit for Fortner. But like mostpeople, musical or not, the coronavirus quarantine has
put his career on hold.
He had been scheduled to perform an original sixmovement suite at The Jazz Gallery this month. Fortner
wrote it years ago [the first three movements wererecorded on his 2015 debut album for Impulse, Aria],
but with large gatherings in New York on hold, he
won’t be performing it for several months, if at all.
Nonetheless, Fortner says that he is revising the suite.
“I don’t think [the performance] is happening,” he says
“but since I have some downtime, I’m changing somethings...it’s interesting looking back at it and thinking,‘I would never do that now!’”
Fortner looks back with similar interest, and somesurprise, at the beginnings of his musical career. Like
many people, he is struck by the combination of
random coincidence and important relationships that
led him into his profession. It all started when, at theage of four, little Sullivan fell in love with the organ
player at his local church choir. “She was always really
sweet to me,” Fortner says, “and one day she sat me on
her lap and she showed me how to press a note on theorgan. And I thought ‘Oh, it does this? This is really
cool!’ So at home I would climb on the top of the
television and the bannister and beat out the rhythms
that I heard in church.”
He showed such enthusiasm for the instrumentthat his mother bought him a Fisher-Price piano, so
small that it didn’t have any half-step keys. Fortner
inadvertently discovered his musical talent when“one day, the Jeopardy theme song came on television
and I played it back.” His mother was astonished,
Fortner says, because he knew to leave out the halfsteps in the theme song, which he couldn’t play on thehalf-stepless Fisher-Price piano. “That scared her morethan playing it back.” Within a few years, Fortner wasplaying the piano seriously as a staff musician for his
church and, despite not knowing how to read music oreven play a major scale, was accepted to the New
Orleans Center for Creative Arts.
At the time, he still did not plan to, or even wantto, become a jazz musician. “I wanted to be a church
musician, because that was all I knew,” Fortner says.
“A teacher gave me a few [jazz] albums and...I went tohim and said, I don’t understand, this music sucks.
Then he gave me an album and he said, ‘okay, this is
Erroll Garner ’s Concert by the Sea. If you don’t like jazzafter this, you don’t have to play it.’” Needless to say,he liked the album. “I still go back to that record…
To me, it’s still perfection in terms of the amount of joy
that Garner exudes when he plays. And the risks andthe amount of love that’s there and how accessible it is,but how complex it is also. That’s something that I
strive for when I play.” He also expresses affection andadmiration for albums like Art Tatum’s 20th Century
Piano Genius, Ella Fitzgerald’s Live at Zardi’s and Bud
Powell’s Bud Plays Bird. Over the years, Fortner ’s love
for records like these led him to earn a BA and MA injazz performance, at Oberlin and Manhattan School ofMusic, respectively.
While he was living and performing in Manhattan,
two fellow pianists helped Fortner make his next career
leap: Jonathan Batiste, Fortner’s fellow student at the
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, and Rodney
Kendrick, a bandmate of Roy Hargrove’s, watched
Fortner play weekly at Cleopatra’s Needle. Several
months after Kendrick began watching Fortner play,
he had to back out of a tour with Hargrove at the lastminute. As his replacement, he recommended Fortner.
Fortner says that Kendrick “gave my number to Ragman,
who was Larry Clothier, Roy’s manager. But Ragman’s
like, ‘I don’t know who this kid is. Who the hell is thiskid? I’m not going on your recommendation. Let me getsomebody else.’” Clothier then happened to call Jonathan
Batiste, who also recommended Fortner. “So he’s like,okay, well Rodney recommends you and Jonathan
recommends you, we’ll give you a shot.” Fortner played
the tour, became a sub, then went on to become
Hargrove’s full-time pianist for about seven years. “Stillto this day,” Fortner says, “I learned more playing with
Roy than I did going to any school. He taught me somuch, he gave me so much.” A great compliment toHargrove, considering that Fortner attended two of themost famous music schools in America.
This takes us almost to the present moment in
Fortner ’s career: he played with Hargrove’s band until
2017. In 2018, there was the Salvant (of her, hesays: “Cécile is an amazing artist and an amazing
person...I’m inspired by her all the time”) and Simon
albums and Fortner releasing his own second album,
Moments Preserved, which he says was inspired by hisinterest “in the older masters, the stride [piano style]guys: Fats Waller, James P. Johnson. I had a period
where I’d research piano players that everybody talks
about and then research their teachers...trying tofigure out what made this music up in the past andwhat makes it up now. That was the theme for
Moments Preserved.” And this year, he and bassist Rufus
Reid released a duo album on LP, Always In The Moment,as part of Newvelle Records’ subscription series.
And although the music world has outwardly
come to a standstill in 2020, he has much more planned.
Alongside his Jazz Gallery suite, Fortner has plans fora solo album and for a grant-funded trip to West Africa
to study percussion. His goal for the trip, he says, is to“pursue a different sound. My mind has kind of been
wrapped around the sound and I’m not entirely surewhat it is yet, but I know that it’s there.” Fortunately ornot, Fortner now has some time to figure it out. Like
most people’s plans, his are up in the air. v

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | MAY 2020 7

ENCOREdoughammondby marilyn lester
There are individuals, polymaths, in whom thecreative impulse is so strong it seeks multiple outlets toexpress itself. Such a one is Doug Hammond, whoshines as a composer, writer, poet, percussionist, singer,
producer and coordinator. Of his various interests hesays, “Doing all of these activities is living a complete
life where all needed realities are available. The workis there if one has the passion, and I mean passion, todo the work wholeheartedly.”This multi-partite journey has taken him far andwide internationally, working with and alongside
giants of the music/jazz world, such as Betty Carter,
Chet Baker, Smokey Robinson, Sonny Rollins, Charles
Mingus, Kenny Dorham, Nina Simone and many more,in styles ranging from blues and bop to soul jazz, freefunk and avant garde. Since 1989, Hammond has split
his time between Detroit, MI and Linz, Austria where
he taught drums, composition and ensemble at Anton
Bruckner Private University. Although he retired fromthat position in 2008, he remains a part-time resident,
working with European-based musicians.
Hammond was born on Dec. 26th, 1942 in Tampa,
Florida to ballroom dancer parents who introduced
him early on to the music of the day. “Jazz was everpresent,” he says. “My mother and father were also
tailors of the highest grade. My father made me a threepiece pin-striped suit when I was three or four andtook me to see them dance to the Count Basie and Duke
Ellington orchestras.” Hammond originally felt drawn
to the violin, but of necessity was first directed to thetrombone and eventually wound up with drums injunior high. He’s said about drums that rhythm is the
key—since rhythm is the basis of life. His music
composition training started then as well, under thetutelage of Thomas J. Simpson. “My first composing
was for the snare drum,” he relates. “A few passages
and short sketches, which I showed to the drum
teacher.” The feedback was critical, noting that young
Hammond was trying to be too complex. “He wasright,” Hammond adds. “He said to me, compose likea rhythm melody and as simple as possible.” Hammond
took his advice and began composing cadences for theschool’s marching bands, adding tympani to hisrepertoire.
Privately, Hammond studied for four years with
Don Templeton of the Tampa Metropolitan Symphony,which prepared him for a classical career that wasnever realized, one reason being the color barrier of thetime. This issue was not the case in the Motor City,
where Hammond headed in 1965. There he formed
Focus Novii with James “Blood” Ulmer, Patrick Lanier,John Dana and William T. Wiggins. The group
undertook dramatic presentations interweaving music,
text, poetry, song and dance in styles from blues, jazz,
R&B and spirituals to modern classical forms.
Hammond also became a founding member of the
Detroit Creative Musicians Association, serving as vicepresident and coordinator. He also became associatedwith Tribe Records, an independent black label with a
focus
on
black
independence,socio-politicalcommentary and musical experimentation, founded in
the early ‘70s by Phil Ranelin and Wendell Harrison.
Around that time Hammond composed “Moves”,
which was eventually recorded by Charles Mingus on
the Mingus Moves album, with Hammond, joined by
Honi Gordon for a vocal duet. (Hammond joined
Mingus’ band while living for a short time in New York
City.) He also composed the more commerciallyoriented “Wake Up Brothers” and “For Real,” bothprotests against the Vietnam War. These threecompositions were included in Hammond’s seminal
work, Reflections in the Sea of Nurnen (a reference to the
J.R.R. Tolkien The Lord of The Rings epic), which wasrecorded in 1975 after Hammond’s move to California.
His thoughts about the album reveal Hammond’s
lifelong pursuit of creativity out of the box, especiallyavoidance of the commercial. He says, “I composed‘Wake Up Bothers’ and ‘For Real’ with hope the band

would go on and make work for themselves, becausethat was never a direction I could embrace as a career.”
The album (on Tribe Records) featured Hammond on
vocals, drums, melodica and ARP synthesizer,
co-leading with David Durrah on piano, Fender
Rhodes, Moog and ARP synthesizer. Charles Metcalf
on bass violin and electric bass, Otis Harris on alto
saxophone, Thomas Traylor and Fredrick Boon on
percussion and Trevis Mickeel and Charles Burnham
on violins completed the band, which delivered bothacoustic and electric sounds in a free-funk rhythmic
mix. “I grew up in funk country—the south,” Hammond
explains. “Tampa is where Ray Charles, Cannonball
Adderley grew musically.”
Hammond returned to Detroit in the ‘80s but had
already been cultivating a presence in Europe,
especially Germany. He credits Mingus’ recording of“Moves” as the key to recognition abroad. “Everyone
knew that song and so many doors were opened,” hesays. In Traisa, Germany he recorded Perspicuity with
the Original Doug Hammond Trio, a work that has
since become a rarity. Two other recordings from the‘80s now also deemed classics are Folks with bassist
Cecil McBee (1980) and Spaces (1982) with alto
saxophonists Steve Coleman and Byard Lancaster andcellist Muneer Abdul Fataah.
Asked if over the years he’d developed aphilosophy about his work, he responded, “I don’t
have a philosophy on drumming. Playing music iswhat I do, something words have never been possible
to describe. All of it is sometimes satisfying when it isplayed well enough.
“Music is not a lazy person’s vocation,” he says,“No work, no real creative result. Craftiness, slickness
will not compensate for total commitment.” His work
continues to include forays into experimentation, suchas the 2007 release, A Real Deal, with pianist Kirk
Lightsey, Hammond on vocals, drums and kalimba. He
wrote and conducted Acknowledgement Suite in 2010and has more recently been working in Europe with
Bologna-based hardbop artists bassist Nikola Matosic
and trumpet player Mirko Cisilino; Swiss-French tenor
saxophonist María Grand, alto saxophonist Stephane					(CONTINUED ON PAGE 13)

established McLean as a hardbop leader. His enormous,
urgent sound, its tart, slightly sharp timbre and the
deep-rooted blues and soul in his style were the next
logical step from Parker. From Prestige then onto Blue
Note during the ‘60s he not only led more than twodozen sessions but appeared as a sideman on albums
by Davis, Blakey, Mingus, Sonny Clark, Donald Byrd,
Mal Waldron, Tina Brooks, Freddie Redd and Lee
Morgan—dozens of albums that alone would havecemented his reputation as a major figure (he also
hired the then-16 year old drummer Tony Williams).
McLean was a heroin addict during the ‘50s and intothe ‘60s and because of that lost his cabaret card andcould only make music in the studio.
His playing changed in the ‘60s and he becamea great modernist, forging a bridge between themainstream and the avant garde. Blue Note albums like
New Soil, Let Freedom Ring!, Destination...Out! and thesummit meeting with Ornette Coleman, New And Old
Gospel (Coleman playing trumpet), are a detailed
document of his progress. His ‘60s albums are a gestaltof that tumultuous musical era, even touching politicaland spiritual themes with ’Bout Soul. But this was
something of a secret history. He recorded Action,
Hipnosis, Demon’s Dance, Jackknife and Consequence in the
mid-late ‘60s, but these stayed in the Blue Note vaults
for a decade or more before they were released. By thattime, he had long since been dropped by the label.
Starting in 1968, McLean turned toward teachingas his main career, at the Hartt School of Music at the
University of Hartford. There he created the
University’s BA degree in Jazz Studies and what isnow called the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz.
He continued playing and recording in the ‘70s,
this time on SteepleChase, including several strong setscaught live in Europe with Dexter Gordon. His playing
on these records shows some consolidation into moreconventional form, perhaps because his bands included
more mainstream players like Drew and bassist NielsHenning Ørsted Pedersen. McLean was named an NEA
Jazz Master in 2001. His legacy lives on in his son René
and many former students currently making up themodern jazz pantheon. McLean is buried, along withother jazz greats, in Woodlawn Cemetery. v

alan nahigian

LEST WE FORGET

jackiemby georgec leangrellaJ ackie McLean, who died in 2006 at 74, is one of thetitanic figures in jazz, yet his essential contributions to
the history and direction of the music and sheer beautyand expressive power of his playing were nearly lost to
the exigencies of time—or better put, money and themarketplace.
McLean was born (1931) and grew up in New York
City. He was raised with jazz; his father played guitar
in Tiny Bradshaw’s big band and the young McLean
lived near and picked up tips from the likes of Charlie
Parker and Bud Powell. As a teenage musician, hisbandmates included Sonny Rollins and Kenny Drew
and by 20 he was recording with the Miles Davis Sextet.
From there, McLean shot upward, joining Art
Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and Charles Mingus’ Jazz
Workshop, both in 1956. His debut album as a leader,
Presenting, was the debut (only?) release fromindependent Ad Lib label in 1955. A series of Prestige
albums followed; 4,5 and 6 and A Long Drink of the Blues

8 MAY 2020 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

A tribute to McLean led by Eric Person was scheduled to beat Sistas’ Place.
Recommended Listening:• Jackie McLean—Jackie McLean & Co. (Introducing
Ray Draper) (Prestige, 1957)• Jackie McLean—Bluesnik (Blue Note, 1961)• Jackie McLean—Let Freedom Ring (Blue Note, 1962)• Jackie McLean—One Step Beyond (Blue Note, 1963)• Jackie McLean/Michael Carvin—Antiquity(SteepleChase, 1974)• Mal Waldron/Jackie McLean—Left Alone ’86(Paddle Wheel-Evidence, 1986)

L ABEL SPOTLIGHT

familyvineyard
by eric wendell
Improvisational music is a search for beauty, arumination on what is between the spaces andsubsequent cracks between sonic forces. Indianapolisbased Family Vineyard has dedicated itself todocumenting said cracks by expressing a love for
improvisational and free jazz characteristics. Family
Vineyard proudly states its motto as “newfangled andarchival sounds aged to perfection”, which is a fitting
exclamation to its output. With a roster of artists
including Loren MazzaCane Connors, Chris Corsano,
Akira Sakata and others, Family Vineyard showcases
what the midwest has to offer on the modern jazz scene.
Since its inception in 1999, Family Vineyard hasreceived acclaim from notable periodicals. Additionally
singer/songwriter John Darnielle in his blog Last Plane
to Jakarta sang his praises for the label by stating,“Family Vineyard occupy a particular corner of themusic universe, serving up equal parts talent, ambitionand pretension from people who don’t shrink from theword ‘artist’ and who make honest, blood-leaking
efforts to be worthy of the name.”
The genesis of Family Vineyard began with theestablishing of a different label. In 1996, Eric Weddle,
while a student at Indiana University, co-founded thelabel Secretly Canadian with three friends. Weddle andCo. modeled the label based on the punk ethos of
independent labels such as Touch & Go, K and Dischord.
As Weddle states, “We were drawn to artists who held

Live At Willimantic Records
Lao Dan

Beautiful Dreamer
Loren Connors

an unquestionable vision. A few years later I started
Family Vineyard as a means to release more avant gardemusic.” Family Vineyard’s first two releases came out in
1999. The first was Strict by Bruce Anderson and Dale
Sophiea. It traversed the thin line between experimentalrock music and noise textures. The website AuralInnovations in their review said, “this is an intriguing set
that will appeal to fans of experimental guitar landscapesthat straddle the border between ambience and noise.”
The second was The Lost Mariner by Darin Gray and
MazzaCane Connors. In his review in AllMusic, Dean
McFarlane states, “proving that delicate and pensive
moments can exist in even the most challenging
diversions of avant garde music, The Lost Mariner is abeautiful slow-motion study of the small corners music
which could only be achieved by a duo with mastery inimprovisation.” In their review, The Wire stated, “there
are hints of turbulence, half-repressed shivers of
feedback, but the dominant mood is one of desolate
beauty set against the backdrop of a vast horizon.”Speaking on the two releases, Weddle states, “Musically,both albums stand as some of the best work by all theartists involved. I love both dearly. Subsequently, weprobably should have released Strict under the band
name O-Type, which those guys all had used previously
and eventually we did on later releases.”
Some of the early lessons that Weddle had to learn
was the idea of biting off more than you could chew:“You fall in love with a record you’re releasing andbelieve rightly so that everyone else should love it too.
That can lead to spending too much money on
promotion and getting everyone involved expecting a
big splash and there isn’t one. I think anyone releasing
records can relate to that. It is important to be

Safe And SaneJim Sauter & Kid Millions

straightforward with what the label can provide anartist, especially very small labels like Family Vineyard.
I am always learning lessons as the music industry andlisteners, no matter what level you are operating at,change every few years.” Most of the challenges comesfrom balancing work and life. Weddle points out that
“operating the label has never been a full-timeendeavor. I’ve worked as a journalist for almost theentire period of the label. Finding the right balance oftime to manage everything is an ongoing challenge. In
the past few years the frequency of releases has slowed
in relation to the time available.”
As a one-man operation, Weddle’s passion for themusic is what keeps him wanting to work with artists
on a consistent basis. “Truly, it’s what speaks to memusically and the artistry of the musician. I generally
ask an artist or people I’ve already worked with share
new recordings or projects to see if it would be a fit.
Sales potential, publicity, streamability are not reallyconsidered when I decide to work with an artist or
release a particular album.” Amid the uncertain times
that we currently see ourselves in, Weddle is unsure ofwhere Family Vineyard will be in the foreseeable future.
“All of the record stores I love are shuttered. Most of
my friends are without jobs. Tours, festivals arecancelled. The neighborhood bar I see bands at is nolonger open. I have four manufactured titles—two LPs,
two 10” records—and I’m unsure when each will be
released due to all of this.” Whatever is on the horizon
for the label, Family Vineyard has firmly placed afootprint on the modern avant garde community with amusical yield that is unlike any other. v
For more information, visit family-vineyard.com

The Departing of a Dream, Vol. VII
Loren Connors/Daniel Carter

Proton Pump
Akira Sakata with Masahiko SatohVOXNEWS

Islands in the Streamingby suzanne lorge

NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan, now 91, always hasa smile at the ready. Since the beginning of the NYC
lockdown, her Facebook feed has been active as friends,
instrumentalists and singers check in and she’s beenquick to respond with cheery messages of hope. One of
the more popular posts is a video of her“The Crossing”, from the 1986 Black Hawk album of
the same name, from a May 2010 duo performancewith Jordan’s longtime bassist Cameron Brown; in thissimple format, Jordan’s frank words about how sheovercame alcohol and drug addiction stand all themore exposed. The tune’s timely message: musicencourages us in the face of seemingly intractablehardship. As of this writing, Jordan is scheduled toparticipate on May 6th in the National Jazz Museum inHarlem’s version of “Desert Island Discs”, lectures inwhich jazz greats discuss the eight albums they’d bringwith them into total isolation. Renowned jazz journo
Ted Panken leads the discussion. It’s too soon for ironic
observations, but one can appreciate the topicalrelevance of the exercise. (Check museum website for
event changes.) Unfortunately, the Made in New York
Jazz Competition Gala at the Tribeca Performing Arts

Center—originally planned for May 16th as a centennialcelebration of Charlie Parker ’s birth, featuring Jordan
as host—is postponed until May 15th, 2021.
Portuguese word saudade describes the melancholic
longing for things past, a sentiment rife these days.
Drawing on this, last month award-winning vocalist
Alexis Cole launched an online video series, “Saudade
de Sauna”; each day she presents a different music video
taped—you guessed it—in a sauna. (great acoustics, shesays.) Swathed in one demure towel, she sings standards
like “For All We Know”, “Give Me The Simple Life” and“A Beautiful Friendship”. This last she dedicated to thelate guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, who succumbed to thecoronavirus. In 2015 Cole and Pizzarelli had partneredon an album named after that tune; her a cappella tributeto the legendary guitarist swings with warmth, gratitude
and a respectful amount of saudade.
Singer Jocelyn Medina continues to host her Vocal
Jazz Jam for Room 623, Harlem’s newest speakeasy, via
Zoom on Facebook each Sunday. The structure of thereal-life edition remains unchanged: a headliner,
followed by a jam for singers at all levels of expertise.
Props to Medina for figuring out how to do this. She
debuted the virtual jam on Mar. 22nd—the first day of
the New York lockdown—and celebrated the jam’s fiveyear anniversary and the club’s one-year anniversary on
Apr. 5th remotely (Cole was the headliner that evening,sans sauna). The event maxed out at the Facebook limitof 100 attendees, bringing together self-quarantined

musicians and listeners from all around the world.
Pandemic notwithstanding, album releases continue
unabated, even with live events rescheduled or on holdfor the foreseeable future. Vocalist Kat Edmonson had tocancel the tour for Dreamers Do (Spinnerette), which
included an April run at Birdland Theater. But she, too,has been reaching out to fans via social media, Reddit
and Facebook specifically. On the latter, you can watch
her perform tracks from the new album, including lilting
waltz “Is It Too Late To Dream”, the original that inspired
the album. On this tune’s impromptu, DIY video, tapedin Edmonson’s Brooklyn apartment over the deliciously
orchestrated track, the singer holds up handwritten
cards that talk about heartbreak, wanting to give up andsoldiering on. The rest of the album is similarly
endearing: 19 other tunes present dreaming as their
theme and uplift as their mission.
Concord just released Ella 100: Live At The Apollo!,
the 2016 concert memorializing what would have been
Ella Fitzgerald’s 100th birthday. The album reverberates
with top-tier vocal talent on renditions of Fitzgerald
classics, singers David Alan Grier, Patti Austin, Andra
Day, Lizz Wright, Ledisi, Monica Mancini and
Cassandra Wilson among them. Two vintage recordingsof Fitzgerald in her prime bookend the program—her
winning Apollo performance of “Honeysuckle Rose” anda scat-free “People”, the Jule Styne-Bob Merrill heartbreaker. The album closes with Fitzgerald’s improvised
lyrics: “I’m so lucky I got people like you,” she sang. v

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | MAY 2020 9

obituaries

mby andrey
c coy tyner
henkinêdied from complications of COVID-19

MANU DIBANGO (Dec. 12th, 1933Mar. 24th, 2020) The Camerooniansaxophonist, long based in France, haddozens of albums since the late ‘60s on
Philips, Buda Musique, Blue Moon andother labels and guest spots with Fania
All-Stars, Kora Jazz Band, Gino Sitson
and European pop acts. Dibango died Mar. 24th at 86.
êalan nahigian

LYN CHRISTIE (Aug. 3rd, 1928-Mar.
28th, 2020) The Australian bassist moved
to the States to practice medicine but
continued a parallel jazz career, recordingwith Mike Mainieri, Toshiko Akiyoshi,
Clark Terry, Don Friedman and Mike
Longo. Christie died Mar. 28th at 91.

McCoy Tyner, the legendary pianist, one-quarter of
one of the most famed groups in jazz, the 1960-65 John
Coltrane Quartet, and having his own impressive
discography, died Mar. 6th at 81 after a long illness.
Tyner was born Dec. 11th, 1938 in Philadelphia. In
an interview with our own Russ Musto, Tyner recalled
early exposure to Bud Powell: “He got an apartment
around the corner from me and they didn’t have a
piano. So my mother did hair and the lady who was thesuperintendent’s wife said, ‘There’s this guy aroundhere and he’s a great pianist but he doesn’t have a
piano. Can he play on your son’s piano?’...So, I lunged.
I said, ‘Sure he can come around anytime he wants.’”
Tyner was only 21 when he waxed his first session,
Curtis Fuller’s Imagination (Savoy, 1959). He toured andrecorded in early 1960 with Art Farmer/Benny Golson’s
Jazztet but didn’t accept an invitation to continue
because he had already pledged himself to Philadelphia
transplant John Coltrane; as he recalled to Musto,“I had already played with John when I was 17 and we
knew each other, like family, it was really that close.”
Tyner ’s first work with Coltrane came in thesummer of 1960 and he and Coltrane entered the studiofor the first time together on Sep. 8th, 1960 to record
Like Sonny (Roulette) with bassist Steve Davis anddrummer Billy Higgins. Elvin Jones filled the drum
chair in October 1960 and Jimmy Garrison (who wason Tyner ’s aforementioned recording debut) took overfor Reggie Workman on bass in early 1962, completinga band that competes with the Miles Davis Quintet as
the most significant group of the decade. With Coltrane,
Tyner waxed such seminal recordings as My Favorite
Things, Coltrane’s Sound, Africa/Brass, “Live” At The
Village Vanguard, Crescent, A Love Supreme, Kulu Se
Mama and Ascension yet still found time during that
period to record under Freddie Hubbard, Art Blakey,
Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, J.J. Johnson, Grant
Green, Stanley Turrentine and Milt Jackson.
Tyner debuted as a leader for Impulse in 1962 with
Inception, followed by several more dates, then an
acclaimed series of albums, first for Blue Note (1967-70,
again in 1988-93) then Milestone (1972-80), Columbia(1981-82), Timeless (1987), Impulse once more (199597), Telarc (2002-03) and Half Note (2006-07) as well aswork with Lee Morgan, Donald Byrd, Bobby
Hutcherson, Flora Purim, The Manhattan Transfer,Frank Morgan, George Benson and Michael Brecker.
Discussing with Musto his often-imitated style,with heavy emphasis on left-hand chording, Tyner
said, “I’m lefty, so don’t mess with me, man. I got thatleft hook and uppercut. That could have been. One
thing I did kind of say is our mind is very unique. One
side of your mind operates one side of your body andthe other side of the mind operates the other side of the
body. So, why not think of each hand as a mind?”

WRAY DOWNES (Jan. 14th, 1931Mar. 19th, 2020) The Canadian pianist
had albums on Sackville and Justin
Time after a 1952 credit with Bill
Coleman and then ‘70s-90s recordings
with Peter Magadini, Buddy Tate, Peter
Appleyard, Archie Alleyne, Charles
Biddle and others. Downes died Mar. 19th at 89.
STEVE ELIOVSON (1954-Mar. 15th,2020) The South African acoustic guitarist
made a single recording, the 1981 ECM
album Dawn Dance, in duo withpercussionist Collin Walcott (of Oregonfame) but after an accident postponed his
second ECM session, disappeared frommusic entirely. Eliovson died Mar. 15th at 65.
KARL THEODOR GEIER (Jan. 31st,
1932-Mar. 21st, 2020) The German
bassist recorded with The Modern Jazz
Group Freiburg, Barney Wilen, George
Gruntz, Metronome Quartet, Chet
Baker and René Thomas, Gil Cuppini,John Lewis and Albert Mangelsdorff,
Joki Freund and others. Geier died Mar. 21st at 88.
JANET GRICE (Oct. 2nd, 1955-Mar. 31st,2020) The bassoonist worked in bothclassical and jazz, particularly Latin, with
six leader or co-led albums, plus credits
with Mingus Orchestra, Karl Berger, Butch
Morris, Leroy Jenkins, Julius Hemphilland others. Grice died Mar. 31st at 65.
êOLLE HOLMQVIST (Nov. 14th, 1936Mar. 26th, 2020) The Swedish trombonist
was active since the ‘60s with Quincy
Jones, Bengt-Arne Wallin, Nils Lindberg,
Sveriges Radios Jazzgrupp, Arne
Domnérus, Monica Zetterlund and Lars
Gullin plus a leader release in 2000 fêtingABBA, big-band style. Holmqvist died Mar. 26th at 83.
êMIKE LONGO (Mar. 19th, 1937-Mar.
22nd, 2020) The pianist and curator of
the Jazz Tuesdays series at NYC Baha’iCenter recorded for Clamike in the ‘60s,
Mainstream, Groove Merchant andPablo in the ‘70s and then his own
Consolidated Artists Productions (which
also released albums by Andrea Brachfeld, Andy McKee,
Fabian Zone, Jay D’Amico, Mark Sherman and others)
from the ‘80s well into the new millennium, worked
with Dizzy Reece, Astrud Gilberto, James Moody, Lee
Konitz and others and had a long association with Dizzy
Gillespie, playing in his groups and appearing on his
records, a favor the trumpeter returned (playing congas
and singing) on Longo’s 1976 Pablo album Talk With The
Spirits. Longo died Mar. 22nd at 83.

10 MAY 2020 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORDRAY MANTILLA (Jun. 22nd, 1934-Mar.
21st, 2020) The legendary percussionist
had hundreds of credits across a wide
spectrum of jazz from the ‘60s onwards,
including dates with Herbie Mann, Max
Roach, Ray Barretto, Art Blakey, Gato
Barbieri, Jeremy Steig, Michal Urbaniak,
Jack McDuff, Joe Farrell, Joe Beck, Cedar Walton, The
Pentagon, Larry Coryell, Joe Chambers, Freddie
Hubbard, Volker Kriegel, Ernie Krivda, M’Boom,Richie Cole, Takehiro Honda, Kazumi Watanabe, David
Amram, Mickey Tucker, Charles Mingus, Mickey Bass,
Muhal Richard Abrams, Amina Claudine Myers, James
Spaulding, Bobby Watson, Kenny Burrell, Billy Taylor,
Lou Donaldson, John Hicks, Joe Farnsworth and many
many others to go along with his own dates for Inner
City, Red, Jazz Today, HighNote and Savant. Mantilladied Mar. 21st at 85.
BOB OJEDA (Sep. 1st, 1941-Mar. 26th,2020) The trumpeter/valve trombonist
and arranger worked with Stan Kenton,
Joe Morello, Les Hooper, Hank Jones,
The Manhattan Transfer, Count Basie
Orchestra, Lena Horne and others.
Ojeda died Mar. 26th at 78.
KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI (Nov.
23rd, 1933-Mar. 29th, 2020) The Polishcomposerhad
great
renown,particularly in the U.S. for his music
used in such films as The Exorcist and
The Shining, and jazz cred via musicians
ranging from Don Cherry, Maciej
Fortuna, Mats Gustafsson and others playing his
works. Penderecki died Mar. 29th at 86.
êMARCELOPERALTA (Mar. 5th,
1961-Mar. 10th, 2020) The Argentine
saxophonist was a leader or co-leader
of
Los
Saxópatas,
Grupo
De
Improvisacion Tercer Mundo, ¡ZAS!
Trío and DixFunxional Brass Band,
albums on Melopea Discos and has the
tragic distinction of being the first known jazz musician
death from COVID-19. Peralta died Mar. 10th at 59.
êFREDDY RODRIGUEZ (Feb. 9th, 1931Mar. 25th, 2020) The saxophonist wasa member of trumpeter Tommy Peltier’s
The Jazz Corps in the late ‘60s, known fora 1966 Pacific Jazz LP featuring Roland
Kirk (and two volumes of ‘60s live
recordings released by Cadence Jazz in1999 and 2001), and for decades a fixture of Denver’s
jazz scene. Rodriguez died Mar. 25th at 89.
êWALLACE RONEY (May 25th, 1960Mar. 31st, 2020) The trumpeter (brotherto saxophonist Antoine, ex-husband tolate pianist Geri Allen, father to fellow
trumpeter Wallace, Jr. and uncle todrummer Kojo) and Miles Davis protégé
began his career in the mid ‘70s in the
Afrikan Liberation Art Ensemble, continued in the ‘80s
and beyond on sessions led by Chico Freeman, Andy
Jaffe, Tony Williams, Errol Parker, Marvin “Smitty”
Smith, Cindy Blackman, James Spaulding, Kenny
Garrett, Joey DeFrancesco, Art Blakey, Super Blue,
Kenny Drew, Jr., Dizzy Gillespie, Geri Allen, Cody
Moffett, Miles Davis, Randy Weston, Vincent Herring,
Herbie Hancock, Donald Harrison, Bob Belden, Antoine
Roney, Bill Evans, Rodney Whitaker, Chick Corea,
Makoto Ozone, David Sanborn, Ricky Ford, Terri Lyne
Carrington, Will Calhoun, Wayne Shorter, Steve Turreand others to go along with over two dozen albums
made for Muse, Landmark, Warner Bros., Stretch and
HighNote. Roney died Mar. 31st at 59.

SIMEON SHTEREV (Oct. 24th, 1973Mar. 26th, 2020) The Bulgarian flutist
worked in both jazz and classicalspheres, released albums on his
country’s state label Balkanton and later
PolySound, was a member of the famed
Jazz Focus 65 band alongside pianist
Milcho Leviev and drummer Peter Slavov (father ofbassist Peter Slavov) and recorded with Leviev, Václav
Zahradník, Bosko Petrovic, Debrecen Jazz Group,
Dinamit Brass Band and Pliva Jazz Laboratory among
others. Shterev died Mar. 26th at 76.
BILL SMITH (Sep. 22nd, 1926-Feb.
29th, 2020) The clarinetist and composer
embodied the title of his 1974 CRI album
Two Sides Of Bill Smith as William
Overton, noted classical composer fromthe late ‘50s onwards with albums on
Stereo, Fantasy, RCA Victor, Cambridge,
Contemporary, CRI, Crystal, New World and Ravenna
and Bill, jazz clarinetist with credits under Dave
Brubeck (1948, 1950, 1959-61, 1982-87, 1991-93), Red
Norvo, Barney Kessel, Shelly Manne and American
Jazz Ensemble in the ‘50s-60s and, decades later,
Anthony Braxton, Christian Asplund and Tom Collier.
Smith died Feb. 29th at 93.
BUBBHA THOMAS (1937-Mar. 28th,2020) The drummer began as a session
musician, then released several albums
in the ‘70s with his Lightmen (which
included at times Ronnie Laws, Doug
Harris and Hugh Ragin, among others)
on Judnell and his own Lightnin’
imprint, which also released his 1985 boogie album.
Thomas died Mar. 28th at 82.
DANNY RAY THOMPSON (Oct. 1st,
1947-Mar. 12th, 2020) The reed andwind player was a member of the Sun
Ra Arkestra from the late ‘60s to thepresent day (fired in the late ‘80s andreturning several years after Ra’sdeath), appearing on over 100 albums,
including such seminal dates It’s After The End Of The
World - Live At The Donaueschingen And Berlin Festivals(MPS, 1970), Space Is The Place (Blue Thumb, 1973),
In Egypt (Praxis, 1983), Reflections In Blue (Black Saint,1987) and Blue Delight (A&M, 1989) and managing theband for a period, as well as a couple of non-Ra credits
with Phil Alvin and Scott Robinson, plus a co-led
record with fellow Arkestra member Marshall Allen,
trombonist Roswell Rudd, keyboard player Jamie Saft,bassist Trevor Dunn and drummer Balázs Pándi for
RareNoise, Ceremonial Healing, released in 2019.
Thompson died Mar. 12th at 73.
SUSAN WEINERT (Jun. 24th, 1965Mar. 2nd, 2020) The German fusion
guitarist had several albums to hercredit since the ‘90s on Select, Intuition,
Skip and her own Tough Tone label,most with her bassist husband Martin
Weinert. Weinert died Mar. 2nd at 54.
BARRY ZWEIG (Feb. 7th, 1942-Mar.
15th, 2020) The guitarist had a single
leader session, Desert Vision (Jazz
Chronicles, 1978), but after time spent in
the army and performing as part of the
NORAD “Commanders” Orchestra,
recording credits with Buddy Rich, Willie
Bobo, Dave Pell, Bill Holman, Herb Alpert, Bill Elliott,Frank Capp and, in the world of children’s music, John
Lithgow’s Singin’ In The Bathtub (Sony Wonder, 1999)
and Alvin and The Chipmunks’ A Chipmunk Christmas(RCA, 1981). Zweig died Mar. 15th at 78. v

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | MAY 2020 11

F ESTI VAL REPORT

Taktlos Festival 2020 © by Moritz Bichler

TAKTLOS
by john sharpeMark Feldman & Sylvie CourvoisierShe’s been such a fixture on the downtown scene thatit’s easy to forget Brooklyn-based pianist Sylvie
Courvoisier ’s Swiss origins. But it meant she was
perfectly placed to curate an exciting mix of Americanand homegrown acts for the 34th edition of the Taktlos
Festival (Mar. 12th-14th) in Zürich, held in the roomy
surroundings of the Kunstraum Walcheturm, within
the city’s old arsenal complex.
That the event was such a success—and indeed
happened at all—owed much to the improvisatory
skill of the organizers in adapting to the changes
wrought by the rapidly developing coronavirus
pandemic on both availability of musicians and social
climate. Courvoisier both opened and closed thefestival, affirming her status as one of the mostcomplete creative musicians.
For the first set she paired with longtime
collaborator violinist Mark Feldman in an unscripted,
restless, uncompromising but nonetheless spellbinding
duet. From the outset, the level of interaction waspreternatural as if they were conversing in a deeply
personal secret language. Feldman’s querulous wisps
floated into the air, before Courvoisier answered byrunning her thumbnail along the edge of the keys.
Feldman moved between whistling glissandos,
vinegary sawing and plucked notes rounded off withthe bow while Courvoisier reveled in the sonicpossibilities, whether generating cascades of clusters
by applying the backs of her hands and forearms, oreffortlessly integrating preparations to sound bothprimitive and modern. At one point she alternatedbetween modifications at opposite extremes of the
keyboard, contrasting a curiously dampened, almost
metallic treble against a twanging bottom end and afull-voiced middle. Feldman’s responses were neverpredictable, except that he hardly ever echoed,resulting in a music strange and ambiguous, but stillfull of drama.
Courvoisier returned for the final set of the Festivalwith her trio. It was to be the first date of a much longer
tour but with coronavirus restrictions and cancellations
multiplying by the day, it didn’t make sense fordrummer Kenny Wollesen to fly in from New York fora single gig. Instead she and bassist Drew Gress wereaugmented by the already present Tom Rainey on
drums. One of her most potent settings, the trio allows
full rein to her rhythmic drive without sacrificing thecomplexity and risktaking that makes her work soenthralling. They began with the rolling vamp,suspenseful pauses, intricate interlocking parts andabrupt hairpins of “Double Imprint”, with space for
Gress to step forward woven into the fabric and Rainey
picking up accents, swinging forcefully but stillsensitive and alert to sudden switches of mood.

Whether on the brooding timbral adventure of“Nightmare”, the explosive “Just Twisted” or thebright bounce of “Éclats For Ornette”, astonishing
three-way interplay within the contours of
Courvoisier ’s slyly crafted charts formed thetouchstone of a wonderful closing set.
Courvoisier ’s bookending appearances weren’t
the only highlights. With prospective partner Japanesepianist Aki Takase grounded on doctor ’s orders,saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock reconvened Sleepthief,
her improvising outfit with Rainey and British pianist
Liam Noble that has released a pair of albums on local
imprint Intakt. While Rainey and Laubrock enjoy anear-telepathic communication, Noble plays with themmuch less frequently, but his richly voiced percussive
presence, repeating motifs and blocky counterpoint
fulfilled a key role in this unit, helping set off
Laubrock’s shifts between reflective multiphonics,
choppy skronk and breathy impressionism while
Rainey engineered contrasts and juxtapositions as thethree elements meshed in unexpected ways.
As well as being a groundbreaking electricguitarist, improviser and composer, Fred Frith alsoteaches at the Basel Academy of Music, an hour ’s drive
to the west. He conducted the 19-strong student
ensemble entitled Sonic Space through his SamuelBeckett-inspired composition “Failing Better”. Amongthe staggered rhythmic layers of a largely notatedpiece, two accomplished vocalists, Lara Miriam Süss
and Marie-Louise Schneider, declaimed the text in amanner recalling Kurt Weill or even Henry Cow while
controlled eruptions of improvisation within theoverall architecture showcased scratchy rasping cello,bowed percussion and a thorny oud/cello duet, among
others. The prevailing vibe was disciplined andelegant, the outcome superb.
Pianist Cory Smythe gave a captivating andslightly unsettling solo performance, which resided at
the interface between contemporary new music andfree improvisation. What was remarkable was how
Smythe subtly used an array of electronics andimplements to alter or supplement the sound, without
in any way suggesting that what we were hearing wasanything other than piano. One of two Midi keyboards
situated within the body of the grand enabled
microtonal flourishes, making it seem that Smythe wasflexing the tonality of the instrument. Towards the end,
in apparently surreal anticipation of the looming
pandemic, Smythe donned a gas mask with a tube
linked into the electronics, which made it possible togive sustained tones a vocalized shape. Add to that
passages of spectral resonance and crashing thunder
and the whole recital took on a dream-like, otherworldly
dimension.
Feldman’s Maniac was comprised of Courvoisierand Swiss guitarist Dave Gisler instead of the absent
Uri Caine, alongside the leader, Gress and Rainey. With
Maniac, the classical feel that permeates other parts ofFeldman’s work was tempered by the metrical cut andthrust of the writing. They opened at a jazzy lilt, before
toggling between bristling extemporizations from thepairing of the leader and Gisler, and the piano, bass
and drums threesome, until uniting in a quickstepping
refrain. Feldman was as virtuosic as ever, moving fromunnerving squeals to mournful airs and everything in
between. In a continuous set Feldman guided his
comrades through capricious twists and turns, which
encompassed swinging sections, emphatic cadences,romantic coloration and a perky hoedown, while also
unfurling opportunities for spiky abstract improv.
Gress also took to the stage alone for a rareunaccompanied bass outing, spotlighting theinterwoven strands of melodic and propulsive
invention that have made him such a sought-after
accomplice. Across four extemporizations hemaintained a rich stream of ideas, sometimes
establishing a conversation between opposing voices,
rejoicing in singing bow work, exploring staccato

12 MAY 2020 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

outbursts and even seeming to paraphrase “Lush Life”
at one juncture.
Among the Swiss acts, from behind a customassembled kit, drummer Julian Sartorius joined inpercussive tandem with the synthesizers of Hans-Peter
Pfammatter in a darkened auditorium, invoking
variously a gamelan orchestra and industrial noise.
Spidery patterns rubbed shoulders with trancy beats,
percolating electric piano sonorities and dial-twiddlingswooshes in a set that touched on both minimalism
and metal.
Two groups of young Zürich-based musicians
blended electronic and acoustic sources in co-operative
communion. No Flores comprised Gisler, alto
saxophonist Tobias Meier and drummer Jonas Ruther,with guest Ramon Landolt on keyboards; without
solos they gradually built to a thumping crescendo,
from which they slowly withdrew. Similarly selfless,Special Circumstance also included Landolt in their
number along with his brother guitarist Dominik,
saxophonist Tapiwa Svosve, accordion player Tizia
Zimmermann and drummer David Meier to display
impressive shared restraint across similar but more
open terrain. Initially delicate with sporadic flare-ups,
none of the instruments appeared constrained to theircustomary roles, an approach that continued evenwhen they took an aggressive turn into a synchronous
beat with a middle eastern modality.
Two days after the festival finished, the Swissauthorities prohibited all public gatherings, restrictions
that have now covered most of the continent. It now
seems to belong to another time. But when normality is
restored, Taktlos should figure highly in anyone’s
concert calendar. v
For more information, visit taktlos.com

(INTERVIEW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6)
Ellington’s orchestrations and compositions; I live
there, am home there. Phillip Elwood, a Bay Area jazzcritic, out of nowhere, asked in ‘73 if I wanted to be aguest at the Keystone Korner to hear Cecil Taylor.
I went four out of six nights. I realized months laterthat I had been deeply transformed as a pianist. Randy
Weston I heard later in life. When I did, I was struck bywhat felt like heavy parallels. His angularity, rhythmicorientation, synthesis of idioms and influences add up
to something I feel very close to. He loved Duke andMonk and Billy Strayhorn, as I do I. We became friends.
I had the dream to play duo with Randy.
TNYCJR: What does/did it feel like to be a female
bandleader in a male-dominated field? Is it/was it
difficult? Has it changed over the years?
MR: Of course, it has had its challenges and I do havestories to tell. I started my own groups because I was
ready to go—writing and ready to play—but wasn’t
getting calls. So that was not a bad thing ultimately.
When I was 18-19 and realized my position as a woman
in this society, damn straight I was mad. That was apart of my necessary process and good for me. But
I identified with the jazz field as a whole as well as allothers who were wronged, mistreated, left out. In
hindsight, many things happened that I just felt
puzzled about but I moved on. When I look back, I cansay, “oh yeah, that probably went down like that
because I’m a woman.” I had my strategies and avoided
many pitfalls. I’ve learned to surround myself with all
the right people, feeling nothing but love and support
from ensemble members and my advocates and allies.
It’s changing but in some ways maybe never will.
Racism and sexism go deep. Once the ‘quota’ is met,
you are dispensable. Only so many of us are allowed
through at one time.
TNYCJR: You performed with many notable jazzartists: Jimmy Heath, Billy Hart, Reggie Workman,
Celia Cruz, Paquito D’Rivera, to name a few. Do you
have special memories, interesting anecdotes you want
to share with readers?
MR: Jimmy Heath smiled at me on stage throughout
all of my solos. Billy Hart, incredibly humble, serious
and funny, quirky and deep. When Reggie Workman
and I played duo he kept calling tunes I didn’t know.
I was truly embarrassed and apologetic and said so
afterwards. He looked angry and said, “You ain’t‘SPOSED to have that all memorized. You’re a composerand busy creating your OWN musical standards.”
In all honesty I might have taken that too much toheart. I could stand to have a greater repertoire ofmemorized standards.
TNYCJR: Let’s talk about some of your recordings.
Your first recording was as a pianist and arranger for
the Cuban group Los Kimy in 1981. What is it about
Latin, especially Cuban music, that fueled your lifelong
passion?
MR: Can’t fully put it in words. Once it touched me,
it never let go. And it has followed me as much as I
have followed it. I don’t believe that we come to thislife as a blank slate, besides the fact that my roots
include ancestry from Spain and North Africa andCuba IS Spain and Africa. The Los Kimy band members
found me. That was a crazy and exciting time in mylife. I love this recording to this day.
TNYCJR: The Source, released in 1984 on Soul Note,
was your debut album. DownBeat at the time compared
you radiance and ingenuity to that of Charles Mingus.
Was this album instrumental for your rise andreputation?

MR: That was a deep compliment. A first recording as
leader is always a landmark moment, to the public as
well. It garnered my first major reviews. I chose torecord in an uncompromising way, not knowing if thebroader public would receive it well, as it was quite
avant garde from beginning to end. For me, it represents
early stages of development.

• Michele Rosewoman—Spirit

TNYCJR: Talk about your ensembles and recordings.
Who were your most important collaborators?

(ENCORE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10)

MR: I mainly presented trios and my Quintessence and
New Yor-Uba ensembles. Trios with masters Rufus
Reid, Billy Hart, Freddie Waits. My first trio recording
was with Rufus and Ralph Peterson. Later, I had theongoing trio with Kenny Davis on bass and Gene
Jackson on drums that recorded Spirit live at theMontréal Jazz Festival. They were the rhythm section
for my Quintessence ensemble for a lot of years and wewere so connected.
TNYCJR: Talk about the five albums you recorded for
Enja with Quintessence. The first one, Quintessencefrom 1987, continues to be recognized as one of thebest jazz recordings of the decade. In 2006, The In SideOut was released. Describe your musical journey over
the years with this ensemble.
MR: Quintessence was my main vehicle as pianist andcomposer for creating and presenting unique,challenging music. This ensemble always had a twohorn original voice frontline including Greg Osby,
Steve Coleman, Gary Thomas, Steve Wilson, Mark
Shim and Miguel Zenón. The rhythm section players
and approach were equally vital to the ensemble soundI strived for.

(Somethin’ Else-Blue Note, 1994)• Michele Rosewoman’s New Yor-Uba—30 Years!:

A Musical Celebration of Cuba in America(Advance Dance Disques, 2013)

Payen and tuba player Jon Sass; and Czech avant gardebassist Jiří Slavík. In 2010, after a 16-year run,Hammond ended his work as Coordinator of the Jazz
am Berg series in Linz, Austria for world-class,international jazz and blues artists. As for poetry,
which he began writing as a schoolboy, his works
include In This Maze of Seeming Wonders (1974), Lonely
Music Man (1982), Times on the Planet Earth (2000), The
Offer (2001) and e-book The Dope of Power (2011). About
his artistry he concludes, “One defining fact—99
percent of my work is not about me or my attitude or
personality. It is only about the music and creative
input and much more, which words cannot describe.
There is no commonality even in one area. If there issuch, it is for the listeners to enjoy.” v
For more information, visit doughammond.org
Recommended Listening:• Doug Hammond & David Durrah—Reflections In The

Sea of Nurnen (Idibib/Tribe—Pure Pleasure, 1975)• James “Blood” Ulmer—Revealing (In+Out, 1977)• Doug Hammond—Folks (Idibib-Manufactured, 1978/1980)• Doug Hammond Trio—Perspicuity (L+R, 1981-82)• Doug Hammond—Spaces (Idibib-Manufactured, 1982)• Doug Hammond—New Beginning (Blue Marge, 2009-10)

TNYCJR: What about your work with New Yor-Uba
from the beginning to your latest album Hallowed? Thishas been a journey of more than 35 years.
MR: New Yor-Uba is my longest-standing ensemble,
having debuted in 1983. Puntilla was with me for 25
years. He brought Pedrito Martinez and Román Díaz
in. So when he passed in 2008, they became central. We
forever play in Puntilla’s honor. We finally released
our debut recording, New Yor-Uba, 30 Years!, in 2013.
Two original members are on it, Oliver Lake andHoward Johnson, and it features Pedrito Martinez on
vocals and Román Díaz, Pedrito and Abraham
Rodriguez on batá, Freddie Hendrix and Mike Lee
filling out the horn section, Yunior Terry on bass andAdam Cruz on drums. We garnered the #1 NPR Latin
Jazz recording of the year and made many #1 and bestof the year lists.
Hallowed, our second recording, was born of a
Chamber Music America commission and was recently
released. I worked closely with Román Díaz. He is a
deep collaborator. He interacts with the soloists and all
the other energies in the ensemble while remaining
rooted deeply in tradition at all times. Román broughtin the two other monster percussionists. It just keeps
going. Through the years, many great musicians fromboth musical worlds have been a part of this ensemble:[recently departed] Andy Gonzalez, Billy Harper,
Antonio Hart, Gary Bartz...the list goes on. v
For more information, visit michelerosewoman.com.
Rosewoman was scheduled to be at Dizzy’s Club.
Recommended Listening:• Billy Bang Quintet—Rainbow Gladiator(Soul Note, 1981)• Michele Rosewoman Quartet—The Source(Soul Note, 1983)• Michele Rosewoman—Quintessence (Enja, 1987)• Ralph Peterson Quintet—Art(Somethin’ Else-Blue Note, 1992)

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | MAY 2020 13

album REVIEWS

Dizzy Atmosphere (Dizzy Gillespie at Zero Gravity)
Dave Douglas (Greenleaf Music)
by Phil Freeman

Most jazz tributes take the logical, if uninspired,approach of assembling a band to perform the musicof a noted artist. Sometimes the rearrangements can bequite radical, as on trumpeter Nate Wooley’s 2015 CD(Dance to) the Early Music, on which he interpreted andpaid tribute to the early ’80s work of Wynton Marsalis.
Too often, though, they’re just wan imitations.
Trumpeter Dave Douglas prefers a different
method. In February 2018, he prepared a concert
program, presented by Jazz at Lincoln Center andshowcasing a band of Ambrose Akinmusire on second
trumpet, Bill Frisell on guitar, Gerald Clayton on piano,
Linda May Han Oh on bass and Joey Baron on drums.
They performed a few Gillespie compositions, but
most of the music was written by Douglas, with
Gillespie as inspiration. This studio album features analmost entirely different ensemble. Dave Adewumi isin the second trumpet spot; Matt Stevens, who has
worked with Esperanza Spalding and Christian Scott,is on guitar; Fabian Almazan is on piano; and Carmen
Rothwell is on bass. Baron is still behind the kit.
The album includes versions of Gillespie’s “Pickin’
the Cabbage” and “Manteca”. The former, with its
shuffling beat and old-timey growling horn riffs(it was written when Gillespie was a member of Cab
Calloway’s band), has an off-kilter exuberance thatbrings to mind the Ghost Train Orchestra; the horns go
at each other hard, the guitar has real bite and when
Baron takes a solo before the final head, he drags thewhole thing straight into the gutter. The latter embraces
the energy of Latin jazz while dodging all the genre’s
clichés; Stevens’ solo recalls Marc Ribot’s work withTom Waits. Among the original tunes, “Cadillac” has aspacious warmth not unlike the music of Douglas’
recent quintet; the call and response of Gillespie’s“Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac” are affectionately hinted
at, but not mimicked.
Ultimately, this is an album that stands on its
own—if it draws more attention to Dizzy Gillespie’s
vast body of work, great, but you could come to it coldand hear a batch of genuinely inspired music by living
masters and that’s great too.

elder at 40 while recently departed bassist Jymie Merritt
was 34, pianist Bobby Timmons, 24. So three
20-somethings were the main soloists in what is
considered one of the classic editions in the over-threedecades of Jazz Messengers history. Morgan and Shorter
were still on board over three years later when thestudio album Indestructible! was recorded in April 1964,
adding Curtis Fuller, 29, on trombone and featuringpianist Cedar Walton, 30 and bassist Reggie Workman,
26. Since taking the Jazz Messengers from a collective tohis own band in 1956, Blakey was already establishingit as a jazz “finishing school” for young musicians,
something it would remain for the rest of his life.
Reissues of vinyl LPs like these have plusses andminuses. On the plus side is the rich, vibrant soundquality of the discs themselves, the sound unmediatedby digital alteration. But that also makes the soundmore ambient, especially in the case of live on-site
recordings like the two Jazz Corner of the World ones.
Unfortunately Birdland wasn’t an ideal location forlive recordings and the sound, while immediate andvery alive, also includes such distractions as an out-oftune piano and horns that don’t always face themicrophones. Indestructible! is much better; recorded
by Rudy Van Gelder at his studio, it is a completely
satisfying aural experience.
But what distinguishes these LPs most is the highquality of the music. The Jazz Messengers heard at
Birdland had just returned to Blakey’s Big Apple basefrom a European tour and a week on the West Coast.
The repertoire was well seasoned and the performances
are assured, everything clicking in place with rhythmic
panache. The Birdland session (the whole night in twovolumes) displays the breadth of the band’s command,from the bluesy mood of Hank Mobley’s “High
Modes”, featuring a rare Harmon-muted Morgan solo,
to a “’Round Midnight” adapting aspects of Gil Evans’chart for Miles Davis’ 1956 recording, but shifting thecoda to an intro. Turnarounds and tempo shifts also
occur effortlessly on “The Breeze and I” and Shorter ’s“The Summit”, with the aplomb only a constantly
working band can execute perfectly.
The studio sessions on Indestructible!, obviously not
as well known as the Birdland repertoire, is justas flawlessly played. Fuller is fully integrated—Shorter
was the musical director—and he contributes two
originals, including a “Sortie” enlivened by polyrhythmic
12/8 time shifts by Blakey, whose drumkit rallies,
pushes, cheers and goads soloists. Walton’s “When LoveIs New” also demonstrates that although the Jazz
Messengers were a hard-driving, swinging unit, they
could also caress a ballad with proper tenderness.
For more information, visit bluenote.com. A Blakey tribute
was scheduled to be at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

For more information, visit greenleafmusic.com. This
project was scheduled to be at Jazz Standard.

Meet You at the Jazz Corner of the World, Volume 1
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers (Blue Note)
Meet You at the Jazz Corner of the World, Volume 2
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers (Blue Note)
Indestructible
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers (Blue Note)by George Kanzler

These three reissued LPs present two versions of theearly ‘60s Jazz Messengers that featured trumpeter Lee
Morgan and tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, whowere 22 and 27, respectively, when the live Jazz Corner ofthe World sessions were recorded at Birdland on
Sep. 14th, 1960. Drummer/leader Art Blakey was the

Rempis was the common denominator. The resultant
collective improvisation, culled from the encounterand spread across two sides of limited-edition vinyl,
belies the intensity you would expect from this roster....
at least to start.
As the piece ebbs and flows, it moves througha series of moods, but without anyone attempting tolight the blue touch paper. Nilssen-Love issues periodic
bursts of power, but as isolated moments rather thana stream of plot points. Rempis’ plaintive baritone
piping strikes a similarly restrained note, only
combusting briefly to wail in tandem with Reid’s wiry
sawing. It’s not until the 10-minute mark that McPhee
appears, at which juncture his pocket trumpet flurries
bicker with the heftier horn as strings and drums
churn. The first peak soon follows, as McPhee
interrupts his lively blues-infused brass with exuberant
whoops and the band congeals into a lurching groove.
Although McPhee guides and authors some of thefinest passages, it’s nonetheless group music. Baritone
murmurs supply the segue to the second side, which
begins with a timbral patchwork of creaks, susurrations
and mutters. Once again pocket trumpet leads thesurge, abetted by interwoven arco strings, before
McPhee switches to tenor, at which point bothsaxophones braid in loose consonance. Then comes thezenith. After an episode of darkly bowed cello, McPhee
takes center stage alone in Ben Webster-ian guise,
conjuring an emotional charge by supplementing his
spiritual-informed cry with vocal overtones. A freeanthemic chorus ensues for a tumultuous but uplifting
finale. A second volume is due to be released thismonth. Lucky us.
For more information, visit aerophonicrecords.com. McPhee
was scheduled to be at 244 Rehearsal Studios.

A Music of the Spirit
R AfroHORN—Jazz:(Out of Sistas’ Place) (s/r)
e •• Kat
Edmonson—Dreamers Do (Spinnerette)
Erroll Garner—Geminic (Octave Music-Mack Avenue)
Hawkins/Tomeka Reid—o • Alexander
Shards and Constellations (Intakt)
Hole—Lys / Mørke (s/r)
m •• Sigurd
Irreversible Entanglements—
Who Sent You? (International Anthem)m • Karuna
Trio (Adam Rudolph/
M. Jones/Hamid Drake)—e RalphImaginary Archipelago (Meta)
Brandon Lewis/Chad Taylor—n • James
Live in Willisau (Intakt)d • Mike McGinnis—Time is Thicker(Open Stream Music)e • Rufus
Reid/Sullivan Fortner—
Always in The Moment (Newvelle)d Laurence Donohue-Greene, Managing Editor• Ahmed Abdullah Diaspora Meetsn
Sun Choi/Jacob Sacks—e • Yoon
I Should Care (Yeah Yeah)
Backfire I
w • Elephant9—Psychedelic(Rune Grammofon)
Of Things Beyond Thule, Vol. 1
Joe McPhee/Dave Rempis/Tomeka Reid/
Brandon Lopez/Paal Nilssen-Love (Aerophonic)
by John Sharpe

Sometimes the best things happen almost by accident.

Saxophonist Dave Rempis assembled the starry crewof improvisers on Of Things Beyond Thule at Chicago’s
Hungry Brain for a one-off meeting when he foundthem all either in town or available in December 2018.
While some connections existed between reedplayer/
trumpeter Joe McPhee, cellist Tomeka Reid, bassist
Brandon Lopez and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love,

14 MAY 2020 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

r
e
l
e
a
s
e
s

• Peter Evans Being & Becoming—
Eponymous (More is More)• Fire! Orchestra—Actions (Rune Grammofon)• Ella Fitzgerald—The Complete Piano Duets(Verve)• Luca T. Mai—Heavenly Guide (Trost)• Rufus Reid/Sullivan Fortner—
Always in The Moment (Newvelle)• Sun Ra—Haverford College 1980
(Solo Rhodes Piano) (Sun Ra LLC)
• John Tchicai Quartet—Live at The Stone(Minus Zero)• François Tusques/Sunny Murray—		
Intercommunal Dialogue 1&2 (Ni-Vu-Ni-Connu)
Andrey Henkin, Editorial Director

Diluvio
Robby Ameen (Origin)
by Russ Musto

Robby Ameen’s leader work showcases his distinctive

drumming, applied to a wide array of musical contexts,
from straightahead and fusion to pop and rock. Diluvio(Spanish for flood), his third effort, finds him in thecompany of saxophonists Troy Roberts and Bob
Franceschini, trombonist Conrad Herwig, pianists Edsel
Gomez and Bill O’Connell, electric/acoustic bassist
Lincoln Goines and conguero Mauricio Herrera.
The music, predominantly Ameen’s compositions,is jarring in its originality, both rhythmically andharmonically much unlike anything else heard today.
The opening “Fast Eye” lives up to its title, rapid-firedrumming and insistently ringing cowbell driving thetwo tenors in their harmonically distinctive directions.
Franceschini’s use of electronic effects conjures Eddie
Harris and Rahsaan Roland Kirk, before Herwig swings
straightahead, introducing a series of exchanges
between the horns and drums followed by a Fender
Rhodes interlude, the exchanges continuing to an
exhilarating finish. “Cremant” is a funky tipico outing
with a steady conga beat underpinning soulful solos by
Herwig, Franceschini (again utilizing effects) and
Gomez (now on piano) and Goines (on electric), whichkicks off the ensuing “Tempest Dance”, a melodic
Caribbean-tinged excursion with a climactic drum solo.
Ameen’s beautiful arrangement of Bach’s “Herr
Jesu Christ, wahr ’ Mensch und Gott, BWV 127: Aria”
has intertwining soprano saxophones in an ascendantdialogue over the slow cadenced foundation of therhythm section. O’Connell joins the fray on Fender
Rhodes, in tandem with Gomez’ piano, for“The Drifter ’s Plan”, reminiscent of Herbie Hancock’s
Headhunters. He then takes over the piano chair forthe remainder of the date, beginning with “Mixology”,
a two-tenor quintet romp through rhythm changes
culminating with a lyrical acoustic bass solo. “Into The
Clear” is a lithely waltzing ballad that features Roberts’brawny tenor and Ameen’s sensitive brushwork. The
soulful arrangement of Gerry Mulligan’s “Line For
Lyons” has trombone and baritone (Franceschini)
filling out the frontline with tenor (Roberts). The datecomes to an exciting finish with Roberts’ arrangementof “Impressions”, on which he overdubs several
harmonized horn parts on top of a tenor-drums duet.
For more information, visit originarts.com. This project wasscheduled to be at Nublu 151.

Featuring Jimmy Cobb
Peter and Will Anderson (Outside In Music)
by Marilyn Lester

Identical twins Peter and Will Anderson are versatile
reed masters, the former specializing in tenor
saxophone and clarinet, the latter alto saxophone,clarinet and flute. They were mentored by giants of thereed, chiefly Joe Temperley, Benny Golson (who wrote
the liner notes) and Victor Goines. For their latest
album, their tenth, they concentrate strictly on theirrespective saxophone talents, applied to a mix ofstandards and new tunes (many of them contrafacts).
Their choice of Jimmy Cobb respects tradition.
There’s no heavy lifting required of the drummer, but
his steady, creative work undergirds the totality of theten tracks. His brief solos on “Rhythm in F” (Peter
Anderson) and “Jeannine” (Duke Pearson) demonstrate
his prodigious chops the best. These two pieces are themost adventuresome and energetic, cooking with fastpaced bop tempos and creative phrasings and riffs. By
contrast, two ballads, “Autumn in New York” (Vernon
Duke) and “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” (Jimmy Van
Heusen-Johnny Burke), are gently played works anddon’t drift too far from the melody but still include
enough creative ideas to make the pieces fresh.
What’s remarkable is the synergy between thebrothers, paradoxically individualistic in their playing
and yet at the same time eerily similar in their voicings.
Beyond receiving the same training, this phenomenon
is likely due to that psychic bond that twins often
share. Hence, when they harmonize together, notably
on “Pick Your Spot” (Will Anderson) and “Jeannine”,
the sound has a special, soulful quality. Another highpoint is Will Anderson’s “Hot and Cold”, a contrafactof that favorite jazz standard “Body and Soul” (Johnny
Green), transmuted into an uptempo romp with Will’sfacile and expert fingering driving the work forward toa satisfying conclusion.
Aside from the steady, solid presence of Cobb, therhythm section is rounded out by pianist Jeb Pattonand bassist David Wong. Both expertly provide
supportive backup. Their playing never overwhelms,
yet is an audible presence complementing the brothersin their duets or solos.
For more information, visit outsideinmusic.com. The
Andersons were scheduled to be at Birdland and Dizzy’s Club.

The Complete Night: Live at The Stone NYC
The MacroQuarktet (Out Of Your Head)by George GrellaThis is an odd record, though that’s not a pejorative.
This live set was recorded back in 2007, not so distanta point in history that one cannot recall the period, theexhaustion of what had then been only six years ofwar, growth of the surveillance state, contempt forhumanity shown through torture and the neglect of
New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Yet nothing
about the playing sounds like 2007, nor any era inparticular from 1959 on.
Weight and a kind of churning feeling are thehallmarks. Improvising live, the quartet—twin
trumpets of Dave Ballou and Herb Robertson, Drew
Gress on bass and Tom Rainey at the drums—seems at
an aesthetic distance from the listeners. They’re nottrying to fire anybody up or, refreshingly, are there any
gestures meant to manipulate a response. The band
makes music of dark beauty, something that they seemto surround and leave for the listener to approach.
There are two added quirks here in that Ballou andRobertson have unfortunately receded somewhat fromthe scene and this album is a document of the group’s
first public appearance (a two-disc set, the first is areissue of Each Part Whole, a 2009 Ruby Flower release,
while the second disc has never been heard before).

The playing has a remarkably consistent emotional
and intellectual tenor (free music throughout). There
are individual titled tracks, but each blends together
with an unstoppable flow that maintains the same pace
for the duration of both discs—heard digitally, it isclose to two hours of what seems like a single piece.
It’s close to Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz in the way itcourses along with an intuitive naturalness. Thatalbum was more like the Jackson Pollock painting usedon the cover; this is more like watching ripple after
ripple course through a pond.
For more information, visit outofyourheadrecords.com. This
project was scheduled to be at Greenwich House Music School.

UNEARTHED GEM

Intercommunal Dialogue 1 & 2François Tusques/Sunny Murray (Ni-Vu-Ni-Connu)
by Pierre Crépon

After his release from prison in 1970, Black Panther
Party co-founder Huey P. Newton introduced his
theory of intercommunalism: America was an empire
directly or indirectly spanning the globe and standing
in dialectical contradiction with the real units of a postnations world—communities. Newton’s theory had an
unforeseen posterity in the work of French pianist
François Tusques. This new archival release featuring
a live 2007 duet with drummer Sunny Murray clearlyreferences—up to the cover’s typography—Tusques’
1971 masterwork Intercommunal Music. Recorded for
the Shandar label with Murray and five other
Americans-in-Paris, that 1971 date was not originally
supposed to be an octet affair. It is easy to imagine that
it is in a “what if” spirit that the 2007 duet wasorganized and filmed for Antoine Prum’s Murray
documentary Sunny’s Time Now.
Although identified with free jazz’ heydays,
Tusques has always been a composer first. His greatstrength has been to constitute a deep but unaffected
repertoire of personal, often blues-based compositions
offering enough contact surface to work anew inmany contexts. “Au Chat qui pêche” is titled after theParis club where Don Cherry perfected the suite form
heard on Complete Communion. Tusques is one of therare musicians who carried on Cherry’s approach,segueing from theme to theme with an improvisationalease, magnifying them into renewed assemblages.
It is the modus operandi used here, on four tenminute walks through a dozen Tusques pieces, plus a
Monk tune that feels at home. Murray is mostly in theaccompanist’s role, focusing alternately on different
parts on the kit, playing his unique take on cymbal
swing, classic left-foot hi-hat free pulse and compact
solos. The one direct musical nod to Intercommunal Music
is “Portrait of Ericka Huggins”, a wonderful theme that
had slipped out of Tusques’ repertoire. The side on
which it is featured is where the duo is at its best, notably
providing the opportunity to hear Murray’s lowintensity playing in excellent sound quality.
By 2007, Huey Newton had been dead—shot bya crack cocaine dealer—for almost two decades, theBlack Panther Party was a distant memory shroudedin the shadows of COINTELPRO and music justwasn’t made as it used to in 1971. But it continued tobe something else, and a great something at that.
For more information, visit nivuniconnu.bandcamp.com

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | MAY 2020 15

G LO B E U N I T Y

Su Mimmi non si spara!
Francesco Guerri (RareNoise)
Fishy Business
Hook, Line & Sinker (Relative Pitch)
Canícula Rosa
The Selva (Clean Feed)by Tom Greenland

Cellists making jazz often come to it through thefilter of classical music. Italian Francesco Guerri,Portuguese Ricardo Jacinto and American ex-pat
Tristan Honsinger all had conservatory training, but
the similarity ends there, as each has taken a uniquepath to develop his improvisational style.
Hearing the opening strains of Guerri’s “Lucy”,
the overture to Su Mimmi non si spara!, his thirdalbum, one can’t help but think of Johann SebastianBach’s solo cello suites and certainly Guerri’s
prodigious command of contrapuntal textures
evident throughout (listen to “Medusa” for a primeexample) is another nod to the Baroque maestro. The
range is impressive, from the transcendent momentsof “Minosse” and “Your Beginning” (a third nod toBach, played in alternate tuning) to prepared timbresof “Paper” and electronic soundscapes of “My [ha]ND”. Although they sound improvised, the tracks area series of freely interpreted through-compositions,spontaneous seeds that Guerri has germinated thencultivated over time into fully blossomed pieces.
There could only be one Honsinger. And if
you’ve only just been introduced to Burlingtonborn-yet-Europe-resident-since-the-early-’70s
cellist/vocalist through Hook, Line & Sinker’s new
album Fishy Business, you’ll realize that you’ve got togo see him in person, because it’s immediately
obvious that he and trumpeter Axel Dörner, tenor
saxophonist/clarinetist Tobias Delius and bassist
Antonio Borghini are four- or even five-dimensional
performers. Based in Berlin, the quartet has evolved
into what may be called an avant-cabaret style basedaround Honsinger’s Sprechstimme/spoken-word
vocal style and kinetic body language, balanced by
the powerful yet empathetic contributions of theothers—a style that, on tracks like “Grasshoppers on
Their Way Home” and “Unjustifiably So”, seems
literally to explode off the stage in four or fivedifferent directions. You’d wish you’d been there.
The Selva is an entirely different kind of group.
Taking its name from the dense Amazonian rain
forest, the sound of the Lisbon trio is similarly dense,
fecund, cloud-covered and polychromatic, eschewing
any harsh angles or rigid architecture. On Canícula
Rosa, its sophomore opus, Jacinto, bassist Gonçalo
Almeida and drummer Nuno Morão stray evenfurther from any ties to classical chamber music,
heading deep into the jungle of trance and flow. The
tracks are short but leisurely, slow to develop, theirchief interest lying in the details, the subtle shifts oflight, as if a tropical sun were trying to break throughthe clouds and forest canopy to the acousto-electro
drone and hum of the instruments underneath.
Modal, musing, many tracks arise from the
murmuring open strings (often D) of the bass andcello, their tones colored and thickened with wide
vibrato, hammered ornaments, multiphonic bowing
and electronic sound effects, spinning out in slowly
looping patterns like musical Möbius strips.
For more information, visit rarenoiserecords.com,
relativepitchrecords.com and cleanfeed-records.com

Brain In A Dish
Steve Swell/Robert Boston/Michael Vatcher(NoBusiness)
So Perhaps
Paul Dunmall/Steve Swell/James Owston/Mark Sanders (FMR)
by Steven Loewy

Steve Swell continues to record at a rapid clip,

a function of his continuing growth as a musician. In
fact, now in his mid 60s, the trombonist is at a highpoint in his career. These two recordings are wonderfulexamples of his ability to rise to challenges in small
groups alongside performers with whom he does not
perform regularly.
Brain In A Dish is a fine trio outing with the highly
compatible Robert Boston on piano and organ andMichael Vatcher on drums. While the group plays
tightly with strong synchronicity, the focus, for themost part, is on Swell who, unsurprisingly, is stellar.
Those who have watched the trombonist’s evolution
through the years will be particularly pleased with therange of his performance on this recording.
The 11 tracks are fully improvised. The title opener
strikes early, Swell’s rough-hewn splats, swooshes andbursts covering much of the horn’s range. He is in good
form as he dips and bends, curves and strikes, machinegun-like patterns interspersed among little sounds.
Vatcher adds a strong kick while Boston lightly fills in
the holes. On the following “New Use for Old Neurons”,
the latter switches to organ, his classical training
contrasting with Swell’s slick lines. “Feed Me” and theclosing “Psychopath in a Church Pew”, each with their
overpowering sounds, drive triumphantly, Vatcher
coming to the fore and Boston offering delightful,
quirky bursts on the latter. Swell is particularly
impressive on these pieces, his distinct growls andjagged clusters a trombonist’s delight. Swell alters his
tone with mutes on “Tastier than Oranges”,“Trepanation Trepidation” and “How Do You LikeYours?” while on “Fried and Roasted?” he toys withswooshing plunges, toy sounds and blubber notes,
while Vatcher lays low before becoming an aggressive
foil. Boston serves softballs on organ on “Neurons”,
over which Swell swerves and splats deliciously likea drunken sailor. Brain In A Dish could just as easily becalled “The Many Sides of Steve Swell”, as the recording
capitalizes on many of the extended techniques ofwhich he is a master. It will satisfy his fans and, due toits diversity, is also a good entry point to his music.
On So Perhaps, Swell joins British saxophonist Paul
Dunmall in an exhilarating frontline backed by young
bassist James Owston and the saxophonist’s longtime
colleague, drummer Mark Sanders. Recorded in
Birmingham, England and released on FMR, Dunmall’s
label of choice (where he appears on more than 70
CDs!), the four lengthy pieces allow the players tostretch out. Dunmall and Swell are extremelycompatible, often anticipating each other’s thoughts.
Dunmall and Swell take the lead throughout,although there are some integral contributions from
Owston and Sanders, with the latter pushing the horns
hard and filling in the gaps. Owston’s rich tone is inevidence on “Maybe Inspires”, which opens withan outstanding, though short, bass solo. The two horns
bounce off one another with complex, energetic,
winding lines on “Even It Should”; Swell is clearlyinspired by Dunmall’s squawks and rough rapid-fireblasts. Sanders drives relentelessly so that Swell andDunmall are wound up in a Dionysian mélange,
exuding pure energy and producing some of their best

16 MAY 2020 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

work on the album. From the pointillistic opening andexhausting intensity of the horns to the changing
combinations of instruments, “Maybe Inspires” is an
outstanding example of free improvisation. “Like aVery”, the closing piece, begins as a fabulous feature for
Swell, who opens with a feathery sound, then morphs
to an encyclopedic exposition of trombone technique:scratches, vibrating tones, flutters, winding lines andmuch more. By the time Dunmall joins in halfway
through the piece, followed by bass and drums, there iselectricity in the air, in a totally persuasive finale.
For more information, visit nobusinessrecords.com andfmr-records.com. Swell was scheduled to be at 244 Rehearsal
Studios.

We Are On The Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration
Art Ensemble of Chicago (Pi)by Robert Bush

The mere fact that the Art Ensemble of Chicago (AEC),

the revolutionary band of singular instrumental andconceptual icons, continues to survive 51 years after its
inception—despite the loss of founders Lester Bowie(trumpet) in 1999; Malachi Favors (bass) in 2004; andJoseph Jarman in 2019 (woodwinds)—should not comeas a surprise. Bowie himself envisioned the expanded
lineup that populates We Are On The Edge (19 musicians,
plus conductor Stephen Rush at its most fulsome
iteration). The trumpet visionary told Musician
Magazine back in 1994, “I know it’s going to takeanother 20 years…it will be world music by then. We
are talking about the Art Ensemble of Mexico.”
The sole survivors of the post-Europe version of
the quintet, founder Roscoe Mitchell (saxophones) andFamoudou Don Moye (percussion), have swollen thegroup to include singers (Rodolfo Cordova-Lebron,
Christina Wheeler), a spoken word artist (Moor
Mother), two trumpeters (Hugh Ragin and Fred Berry),flutist (Nicole Mitchell), string ensemble (violinist Jean
Cook, violist Edward Yoon Kwon and cellist Tomeka
Reid), three bassists (Silvia Bolognesi, Jaribu Shahid
and Junius Paul) and three new percussionists (Dudu’
Kouate, Enoch Williamson and Titos Sompa).
We Are On The Edge is a double-disc set featuring astudio album and a 2018 live concert from Edgefest, theannual festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan, some 250 miles
east of the group’s titular home. Moor Mother (Camae
Ayewa) does not appear on the live disc.
Excellent music pervades throughout. Mitchell’s“Variations and Sketches from the Bamboo Terrace” ischock full of gorgeous orchestral implications done in
AEC fashion. The full-on percussion explorations thatappear on so many classic albums of the past are
represented with “ChiCongo 50” and “Saturday
Morning”, which appear in both studio and live
settings. Bowie’s “Villa Tiamo” is a highlight on thestudio album and Reid also delivers on Mitchell’s“Fanfare and Bell” from that same session.
The musical zenith occurs on the live disc during
an absolutely stunning large ensemble reading of theFavors-penned “Tutankhamun”. It’s a tour de force thatclocks in at almost 20 minutes and each one of thosemoments feels vital to the process and a righteous
celebration of the AEC motto: “Great Black Music—
Ancient to the Future”.
For more information, visit pirecordings.com. This band
was scheduled to be at Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Trio Kleine Ahnung: Laniakea
Carl Morgan/Rajiv Jayaweera/Sam Anning(Earshift Music)
by Elliott Simon

G uitarist Carl Morgan’s Berlin locale and an ECM
ethos influence Trio Kleine Ahnung’s Laniakea andMorgan begins this release with a solo “Intro”, which
declares the session’s emphasis on harmonics, timbre,
dynamics and space. From the symphonic fusion of theregal “Datameta” to the session’s celebratory but
unresolved “Outro”, bassist Sam Anning and drummer
Rajiv Jayaweera capably expand upon and support
Morgan’s ethereal coolness. In between, loops, echo,
dynamic shifts and overdubs create a consistency thatis surprisingly amenable to curiously harmonious
explorations.
All three musicians hail from Australia, share avariety of stylistic influences and are informed by aEuropean aesthetic. Several styles are apparent on
close listening but they are adapted to the band’s more
meditative approach: “Kleine Ahnung (Little Idea)” isunhurried space-jazz featuring fellow Australian Sean
Wayland on synth; a chordal take on the German hymn
“Gott Liebt Diese Welt (God Loves this World)”
delicately portrays the song’s lyricism; and the title
cut, which refers to a Hawaiian word for “open skies”,
is a forum for the trio to interact within its gorgeous
melody. The real strength on these cuts, however, isbuilt on Morgan’s facility with lyricism and space.
Through distinctive and subtle combinations new
three-dimensional figures and perspectives are created
without losing sight of the tune.
“Ripples” features Morgan skillfully tossing innotes that resonate and slowly alter over what is thesession’s steadiest beat while “Losdy”, despite
Anning’s best attempts, does not find its groove.
Recorded in Morgan’s home studio, Laniakea iswelcoming and with a warmth often absent in musicthat relies on electronics to shape its sound. But
Morgan doesn’t overdo it and the listener is easily intouch with, if not drawn into, the music. With its
aversion to swing and a veneration of sway Laniakea
flows as a complete trip.
For more information, visit earshift.com. Jayaweera wasscheduled to be at Birdland.

Chimes of Freedom
Lynne Arriale Trio (Challenge)
by Donald Elfman

To the jazz tradition of addressing social issues—
think Charles Mingus, Billie Holiday and more—
pianist Lynne Arriale adds this brilliant and subtly
impassioned set. Chimes of Freedom speaks to the issueof immigration but also, by extension, gets to where
we live in 21st Century America. Arriale is a virtuoso
whose technique is always about telling a real story.
The recording opens with a dark rendering of thespiritual “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child”.
Arriale, bassist Jasper Somsen and drummer E.J.
Strickland roil and take on all the power of that song
and its poignancy at this moment. “Journey” suggests
a trip towards sanctuary with a more uptempo sense ofhope, Arriale fluid as she works in the pulse of therhythm section and travels around the keyboard until
Somsen finds that power in his thrumming solo.
Strickland understands this as well and his solo isquick and very much to the point.
Movement is very much a theme. “3 Million Steps”
are what refugees have to slog from Guatemala to thesouthern border of the U.S. It’s a slow but hopeful trek.
“The Dreamers” is a wistful and deeply moving
narrative of the immigrant children who got stuck in
America. “Hope” is what underlies all of this, smart anda little sad with the composer’s stunning transparency
above the rhythm and Somsen’s beautiful solo.
The album is about courage as well. Bluesy“The Whole Truth” drives hard at the power of hearingthat reality. “Reunion” is the most joyous tune, inspired
by Caribbean rhythm and painting a picture of families
brought back together. “Lady Liberty” is a glorious
hymn to what could and should be in our country.
The two covers that close the album are now partof our collective consciousness and soar thanks to theheartbreakingly beautiful vocal of K.J. Denhert. The
Bob Dylan-penned title tune is done in a striking 12/8
meter while Paul Simon’s “American Tune” is amelancholy but decidedly unsentimental finale. Lynne
Arriale brings us powerfully to where we are in ourcountry at this moment.
For more information, visit challengerecords.com. This
project was scheduled to be at Birdland Theater.

Life Goes On
Carla Bley/Andy Sheppard/Steve Swallow (ECM)
by Tyran Grillo

F or its third ECM outing, pianist Carla Bley’s trio withsaxophonist Andy Sheppard and bassist Steve Swallow
mixes up an antidote for these times of uncertainty andquarantine. The title suite is the first of three comprising
the program. Given that “Life Goes On” came out of a
recent brush with illness, it’s fitting that Bley should
begin in the dark whimsy of the blues. Her left handplows fertile soil before leaving Sheppard and Swallow
to sow their thematic crop. Years of experience andcollaboration funnel into Swallow’s intimate rapport
with Bley and into Sheppard’s unforced, spiritual
playing. The latter, whether breathing through tenor or
soprano, takes two steps forward for every retreat.
A sardonic humor assumes center stage in thethree-part “Beautiful Telephones”. The title, quoting
a certain leader of the free world, speaks of direpolitical circumstances, which, like the dial tone ofa nation on hold, keeps us hopeful for something that
may never come. The central movement reveals someof the deepest conversations and finds Sheppard in anespecially soulful mood. The jagged finish is about asastute a commentary as one could pen on the current
state of things without words.
The trio saves its most lyrical for last in “Copycat”,
another threefer that holds a candle to some neglectedparts of the human condition. There’s so much beautyin the opening “After You” that only the vessel of theplayful title section is big enough to contain it. Settinga tongue in every cheek, it coaxes us with a promise of

better times.
Holding it all together is an almost photorealistic
approach to life. Like the score pages above Bley’s faceon the cover, time feels suspended at just the rightmoment to reveal a smile of hope beneath it all.
For more information, visit ecmrecords.com. Bley andSwallow were scheduled to be at Town Hall.

Solo: I Surrender Dear
Peter Brötzmann (Trost)
Fifty Years After
Peter Brötzmann/Alexander von Schlippenbach/Han Bennink (Trost)by Andrey Henkin

In March 2021, Peter Brötzmann turns 80. Fans, startsaving up for the traditional gift: diamonds. This
gemstone represents unconquerability and endurance,
characteristics the German saxophonist has in spades.
His discography is in the hundreds, with as manycollaborators. Albums like Machine Gun (BRÖ-FMP,
1968), Hot Lotta (Blue Master Special, 1973), The Nearer
The Bone, The Sweeter The Meat (FMP, 1979), The Atlanta
Concert (Okka Disk, 2001) and Krakow Nights (Not Two,2015) and bands such as Die Like a Dog, Full Blast, Last
Exit and Chicago Tentet reveal Brötzmann’s many facets.
While Brötzmann has not applied himself as
steadfastly to the solo saxophone exposition as his
longtime collaborator/aesthetic foil Evan Parker, he
has returned to the format with some regularity since
1976’s Solo (FMP). While that album and the several
that followed found Brötzmann on an assortment ofreeds, I Surrender Dear is simply Brötzmann and his
tenor saxophone in the studio and this arrangement isreflected by the unusual program, improvisations overthemes written by himself, Misha Mengelberg, Bachand a number of jazz and Great American Songbook
standards (the Gershwins, Sonny Rollins, two versionsof the Harry Barris-Gordon Clifford title track, et al.).
There is an appealing weariness to the playing, culledfrom three days of recording. While that term sounds
pejorative it refers more to a laconic style not often
heard from Brötzmann, as if he is saying exactly what
he means to with as little notes as possible and has notime to explain himself if you don’t get it.
What is most amazing about Fifty Years After...
is not that the three principals—Brötzmann, countryman
pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach and Dutch
drummer Han Bennink—had been working together fora half-century by the time of this 2018 Bremen concert
but that this obvious-after-the-fact trio took so long to
make it on disc. Brötzmann’s exhaustive website
discography lists 20 entries of he and Schlippenbach
recording together, 35 with Bennink and 7 for all three
but this, now the eighth for the latter category, is thefirst document of them solely in each other’s company.
And while Schlippenbach was 80 at the time, Brötzmann
77 and Bennink 76, this reunion is hardly senior citizens
on a cruise playing shuffleboard. For just over an hour,in five improvs of descending length (from almost 21
minutes to just under 4), the trio show how players withremarkably different modus operandi honed overdecades can coalesce through communication andshared experience. What comes through most clearly isurgency and focus. Too much free jazz has one or theother (or neither) so this is a gift they gave to themselves
and the lucky audience and, now, to the world.
For more information, visit trost.at. Brötzmann wasscheduled to be at Issue Project Room.

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | MAY 2020 17

The Django Experiment V
Stephane Wrembel (Water Is Life)by Kyle Oleksiuk

In the December 2019 issue of this gazette, Stephane
Wrembel was asked how Django Reinhardt, RomaniFrench guitar master, became aware of Flamenco andSpanish classical music. Wrembel responded: “In 1914
his mom took him and his brother to Spain and North
Africa. But who knows?... My personal feeling is that
the Spanish sound that he found on the guitar isconnected to a childhood memory and to his
imagination and his world of dreams.”
Wrembel expands on this personal feeling to
explore a world of dreams, imagination and childhood
memory on The Django Experiment V. Wrembel
introduces a seemingly whimsical tempo to each songand the atmosphere that he creates, by means oftechnically incredible but playful guitaring, is like awaking dream. This album clears your head, fires up
your imagination and makes you feel like a kid again.
The songs, although they come from various
composers and traditions, are skillfully blended intoa harmonious whole. Alongside compositions byReinhardt are songs by American jazz giants Duke
Ellington and Fats Waller and a trio of lesser-known
composers, cabaret accordion player Tony Muréna andvaudevillians Chris Smith and Harry Akst, whosetunes give the album theatrical flair.
This is the best of the Experiment series so far,
improving upon its predecessors by doubling down on
the promise of those albums: that working within the
tradition of Reinhardt’s style could create new
possibilities for modern music (or why else would
Wrembel have covered Reinhardt’s “Nuages” fourtimes in five albums?). Wrembel also reaps the rewardsof working steadily with a regular band—Thor Jensen
on guitar, Ari Folman Cohen on bass, Nick Driscoll on
saxophone and clarinet and Nick Anderson on drums—
all of whom have grown together as an ensemble. The
addition of Daisy Castro on violin, particularly ona chilling arrangement of Ellington-Juan Tizol’s“Caravan”, is also a major step forward.
For more information, visit stephanewrembel.com. Wrembel
was scheduled to be at Town Hall.

Dearly Beloved
Naama Gheber (Cellar Music)
by Scott Yanow

N aama Gheber, who makes her recording debut on

Dearly Beloved, was born and raised in Israel althoughspent four years in Baltimore as a child. While she hadten years of classical piano lessons, what she reallywanted to do was sing jazz and classic American
standards. She did not have an opportunity until she
was a senior in high school but has made up for losttime with extensive studying. She moved to New Yorkin 2015 to attend the New School. Since graduating in

2017, Gheber has worked at venues around town. She
has a fairly high and attractive voice, swings at eachtempo and improvises with subtlety while displaying
a consistent smile in her voice.
Gheber is joined by pianist Ray Gallon, bassist
David Wong, drummer Aaron Kimmel and sometimes
Steve Nelson on vibraphone. She starts off the programwith a challenging arrangement of the Jerome KernJohnny Mercer title track, which alternates every eightbars between 5/4 time and a cooking 4/4, a device thatmakes the song fresh and surprising. Cole Porter ’s“So In Love” is also given a surprising treatment, taken
very slowly and given a passionate interpretation. The
singer shows her versatility on an uptempo version of
the Gershwins’ “’S Wonderful” and a soulful rendition
of Buddy Johnson’s “Since I Fell For You” which has
a particularly strong piano solo.
Other selections include swingers, a surprisingly
slow version of Porter ’s “Get Out Of Town”, anatmospheric take on Nacio Herb Brown-Gus Kahn’s“You Stepped Out Of A Dream”, a quiet duet with
Gallon on Bob Haggart’s “What’s New” and the closer,
George Motola-John Marascalco’s “Goodnight My
Love”, which makes one think of Ella Fitzgerald’s
early version from the ‘30s.
Gheber displays maturity (particularly on theballads), youthful enthusiasm, an appealing voice andpure joy. Dearly Beloved is a strong start to a career withplenty of potential.
For more information, visit cellarlive.com. This project wasscheduled to be at Birdland Theater.

Little Stories
Peter Slavov (Slavov Music)
by Jim MotavalliThis is a New York story, with many antecedents.
Bassist Peter Slavov, son of a famous Bulgarian jazz
drummer, wants to channel the source, so he comesto the U.S. (via Berklee) in 1998 and is in New York assoon as possible. The dream is realized because that’s
him behind Joe Lovano, Quincy Jones, George Garzone,
Danilo Perez, Kevin Mahogany and many more.
Slavov wrote all the music for Little Stories, hisleader debut, and it is tinged with Eastern European
sadness. Many of the tracks, recorded at the Samurai
Hotel in Astoria over a two-year period, are based on
memories of the bassist’s homeland and, specifically,
his musician father (drummer Peter Slavov). They
must have been close. Despite shifting personnel, themusic is of a piece, highly melodic, slightly melancholy
modern jazz, with strong writing.
“In Defense of the Minotaur” is a standout,
featuring an elegant melody, John Ellis’ bass clarinet(played more lyrically than is usual for this
instrument—shades of Ken Peplowski!) and sparkling
piano from Nitzan Gavrieli in a Bill Evans groove.
Mark Small also plays bass clarinet on “Small Little
Things”, with a light, questing tone. Ellis is back with
the instrument on “Bye”, this time exploring the lower
register. On the latter, a bass solo section graduallyadds Diego Ramirez’ very spare drums, then the fullband with Gavrieli.
“Photos”, written to commemorate the pricelessartifacts that helped Slavov remember his family while
he was first in America, starts out elegiac but thenbrightens, as Slavov hits a walking pace and Ellischannels mid-period Dexter Gordon. There’s a lovely

18 MAY 2020 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

bass solo, with sympathetic piano. “Ghost” and“History of Beauty” both feature Mi Kim’s wordless
vocals. The second is the better of the two, mixing
Brazil and Eastern Europe effectively; “Ghost” is pretty
ghostly, though. Another starred track is “A.M.”, with
Matt Marantz on tenor. This is pure late-night-in-theclub music, written to evoke a walk through the streetsof Sofia at midnight.
“Gone” is something else again: a piano trio
(Slavov, Ramirez, Gavrieli) with a very effective string
section arranged by the bassist while “Glide”, thealbum’s prologue, is a brief feature for strings, Dan
Kaufman’s piano and Mark McLean’s drums.
Throughout Little Stories, Slavov’s playing—like his
writing—is focused and forceful, in service to themusic without grandstanding.
For more information, visit peterslavov.com. This project
was scheduled to be at Smalls.

Embrace
Chris Dingman (Inner Arts)
by Marco Cangiano

There is luminescence and overarching tranquility in
Chris Dingman’s newest CD we can all benefit from inthe current circumstances. This recording marks adeparture from Dingman’s more complex and highly
praised The Subliminal and the Sublime. The trio format
puts the onus on Dingman’s composing and capacity
to carry each tune, even if both are wonderfully
supported by the supple rhythmic duo of bassist Linda
May Han Oh and drummer Tim Keiper. The
compositions are complex from a harmonic point ofview and yet maintain a very melodic approach.
Although inspirations and sources vary across the nineoriginals, there is a cohesive, suspenseful and hypnotic
quality conveying a thoughtful approach to
improvisation. Echoes of Gary Burton come acrossfrequently but Dingman is his own artist andcommands the full range of the instrument.
Opener “Inner Child” unfolds on a sort of a musicbox device, providing the base for a dance-like dialogue
between Dingman and Oh. “Find Away” showcases
the trio as a tight unit, with the musicians supporting
each other until Oh’s dramatic solo, her deep soundtaking over the proceedings. Dingman’s knack for
hypnotic melodies, along with a touch of circularminimalism, is featured in “Ali”. “Goddess” takes thatmood up and leads to “Mudita”, which is moreaffirmative, if not celebratory in tone. “Forgive/
Embrace” has a more rhythmic and assertive approachbased on an insistent bassline and multi-layered
drumming. Burton’s inspiration is more evident in thefolksy lullaby “Hijinks and Wizardry”, which isunderscored by Keiper ’s subdued yet tasteful brushes.
“Folly of Progress” concludes by dancing around Oh’s
steady pattern, Keiper ’s coloration adding complexity
to what remains at heart a singing vehicle.
This album conveys very absorbing music, thus
offering an oasis of calm and sheer pleasure. Part of itcomes from Dingman’s personal experience in assisting
his late father through hospitalization and hospice. It
therefore also has a therapeutic quality, if one wishes
to listen carefully, which should be shared as widely as
possible to help exorcise today’s fears.
For more information, visit inner-arts.org. This project wasscheduled to be at Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning.

Event Horizon
Michael Thomas (Giant Step Arts)
by Thomas Conrad

Event Horizon is the fifth release from Giant Step Arts
(GSA), a visionary, groundbreaking nonprofit program
founded by photographer/recording engineer Jimmy
Katz. The first four excellent releases were led by Jason
Palmer (two), Johnathan Blake and Eric Alexander.
With Event Horizon Katz, for the first time, has chosen
to work with a player under the radar.
Michael Thomas is a badass. Anyone who doubts
it should go to “Sax Intro”, a four-minute cadenza withmaniacal runs in towering arcs and torrents of scales
upon scales. It sounds perhaps like an alto saxophone
virtuoso practicing, except that Thomas shapes it all
into a spontaneous symphony. Then, after this wildcelebration of chops, he segues seamlessly into “Chant”
and into what this album is truly about: daring,in-depth collaborative ventures based on Thomas’
intelligent compositions, conducted by a formidable
chordless quartet of trumpeter Palmer, bassist Hans
Glawischnig and drummer Blake.
Like all GSA releases to date, this two-CD set is alive recording. In The Jazz Gallery in New York, fourcommitted improvisers lay it on the line, again andagain, responding to Thomas’ challenging forms, toone another, to the dug-in crowd, to the night. Tunes
may need 16 minutes, but remarkably few notes arewasted. Thomas’ solos are valiant attempts to keep up
with the flood of his arriving ideas. Palmer is more
analytical. His statements are voluminous, arcane
expositions filled with twists and subplots.
Blake oversees the excitement. On “Dr. Teeth”,
he freely breaks up time yet arrays irregular fragments
into insidious grooves. His drama is powerfully
rendered in the recording. Katz has translated hisrenowned artistry as a photographer into the realm ofsound: he gets both a telephoto-close focus on the band
and a wide-angle perspective on the ambient room.
Thomas has said that Event Horizon, recorded inAugust 2019, was conceived as a reflection on “the role
technology plays in modern life” and how ourdependence on “computers and smart phones…creates
more distance between people.” But that was then.
This is now. Something appalling and lethal has
transformed “modern life” and has made “distance
between people” imperative. In our current coronavirus
lockdown, computers and smart phones are often our
only means of human connection.
For more information, visit giantsteparts.org. This project
was scheduled to be at Café Bohemia.

Fodder On My Wings
Nina Simone (Carrere-Verve)by Annie Murnighan

Despite Nina Simone pushing against industry forces
attempting to pigeonhole her both stylistically andpersonally, she was most often viewed strictly as a jazz
singer, a title she found both reductive and raciallycoded. After building up a remarkably vast catalogue
and using her voice to rally support for the Civil Rights
movement, she found her success beginning to dwindle.
After recording 1978’s Baltimore, a frustrating
experience for Simone, who argued that she had nocreative control whatsoever, she left the U.S. for Paris.
She soon gathered together a group of African musicians
and got back in the studio, this time with full artistic
authority. These sessions became Fodder On My Wings.
Less an album than a collection of rarities, the record(now reissued by Verve) finds Simone exploring sounds
from a wide variety of influences with a freedom she
was often denied in her early career.
Though once considered non-essential, the album
and its significance as a deeply introspective andeffusive work is now clear. Though it can feel all overthe place, it’s not hard to understand why it was one ofher favorites. Each track is written and arranged by
Simone, and despite the immense distress she wasfacing at the time, her creative hunger shines through.
Though her voice had settled into its lower register, itremained rich and brassy, demonstrating an unwavering
ability to convey sadness, strength and soul.
The standout title track is a jarring encapsulationof her frustration with close-minded American
audiences (“They had fodder in their brains”) and themental health struggles it exacerbated. Though she
clearly enjoys herself on the foot-stomping “Vous Etes
Seul, Mais Je Désire Avec Vous” and hilarious andautobiographical “Liberian Calypso”, overwhelming
loneliness permeates the record, regaling with travels
and hardships through different languages and sonicpalettes. “Alone Again Naturally” begins with afluttering pentatonic riff and an initially blasé retellingof Simone learning that her father was terminally ill;
once he has passed her voice becomes paper thin as she
reveals how close the two were despite his failings andthe grief-stricken loneliness that washed over her in
his absence. While it may not be the best place to start
for those unfamiliar with Simone’s prolific catalogue,
Fodder On My Wings will give diehard fans plenty inwhich to sink their teeth.
For more information, visit vervelabelgroup.com. Simone
tributes were scheduled to be at Club Bonafide.

Trio+
Todd Marcus (Stricker Street)by Ken Dryden

The bass clarinet is typically a secondary instrument
for reed players, including Harry Carney, Eric Dolphy,
David Murray and others. Yet Todd Marcus made it his
primary vehicle and isn’t overly influenced by theapproaches of his predecessors. For his fifth CD asa leader, Marcus recorded two sessions, alternating
between trio and quartet, utilizing a mix of musicians:
Ralph Peterson or Eric Kennedy on drums, Ameen
Saleem or Jeff Reed on bass, plus trumpeter Sean Jones.
Marcus is unafraid of playing in a small group
without a chordal foundation, choosing top-flightmusicians to explore his intriguing originals, startingwith the four-part “Something Suite” with Saleem andPeterson. This well-paced work has fairly brief
movements, each that could stand on their own but
together pack a greater wallop. The next track,“Cantata”, not only changes the rhythm section to Reed

and Kennedy, but also finds the leader in a one-timeswitch to clarinet. Droning arco bass and deft percussion
provide a potent backdrop for Marcus’ Baroque-likeline. “Amy Pookie” will immediately invite comparison
to ‘60s Ornette Coleman, Peterson, Saleem and Jones
navigating the piece’s demanding shifts.
Victor Young-Ned Washington’s “My FoolishHeart”, long a favorite of jazz musicians, is essayed ina novel arrangement, adding a contrasting trumpet
harmony to bass clarinet lead in an extended chart,
Reed and Peterson masterfully filling in the
background. Bennie Maupin’s “Neophilia” hasn’t
gotten much attention since he recorded it with Lee
Morgan in 1970; this driving interpretation features
both bassists and Peterson, Marcus bringing thesensation of a tribal chant growing in intensity witheach chorus. Reed’s arco line in unison with bass
clarinet is a unique way to introduce Irving Berlin’s“How Deep Is The Ocean” and Jones returns for apunchy, playful setting of the Bronisław Kaper-PaulFrancis Webster standard “Invitation”. This rewarding
CD merits inclusion in critics’ top ten lists for this year.
For more information, visit toddmarcusjazz.com. Marcus
was scheduled to be at Rockwood Music Hall.

Signs
Gerald Cleaver (577 Records)
by Franz Matzner

Drummer Gerald Cleaver is an omnivorous musician,equally comfortable in free jazz and postbop contexts.
With Signs, his catholic taste now extends to electronica.
Electronics are not alien to the jazz world, but Cleaver ’s
approach goes far beyond casual addition. It represents
an inclusive embrace of electronica’s many sub-genres
and traditions, a fully articulated exploration ofrhythmic, sonic and textural possibilities drawn fromthe genre’s golden age in the late ‘90s.
Unlike traditional electronica, which tends to staywithin the confines of one tonal mode or rhythmic
trajectory, Cleaver presents a wide range of forms, attimes integrating them within a single piece, as on the
opening “Jackie’s Smiles”. Present across 11 tracks are
the pounding beats of drum ‘n’ bass; patient arcs ofartists like Aphex Twin; big beats evocative of bands
like the Chemical Brothers; meditative trance and morewhile shying away from some sub-genres such as
traditional techno and dark ambient; one can speculatethat Cleaver doesn’t find electronica genres reliant on
repetitive (or no) beats sufficient to provide a platform
for his erudite jazz drumming techniques.
Cleaver ’s layering of complex rhythms is one
adaptation of his jazz skills. Another is found on theelegiac “Tomasz”, which displays a melodicism lesscommon in the electronica world, in this case delivered
via a sonorous, almost harp-like line. Cleaver is also
unpredictable. His organization of beats, sonic effects
and soundscapes shift and plunge, as on “Signs II”.
This manifests even on some of the most straightforward
tunes, like “Signs III”, which relies on a deep, resonant
pulse reminiscent of classic drum ‘n’ bass.
Signs could just as easily be filed under electronica
as jazz and probably would be a clearer fit there.
Regardless of label, Cleaver applies his substantial
skills to offer an enjoyable, unexpected experience.
For more information, visit 577records.com. Cleaver wasscheduled to be at 244 Rehearsal Studios.

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | MAY 2020 19

Haverford College 1980 (Solo Rhodes Piano)
Sun Ra (Sun Ra LLC)
Songs From The Sun Ra Cosmos
Barrence Whitfield Soul Savage Arkestra(Modern Harmonic)
by Ivana Ng

Sun Ra’s range and influence is expansive andenduring. Haverford College 1980 (Solo Rhodes Piano)and Barrence Whitfield Soul Savage Arkestra’s Songs
From The Sun Ra Cosmos travel the arc of Ra’s cosmic
journey from jazz standards to atonal improvisation tosoul and funk. They represent a kaleidoscopic crosssection of Ra’s wide-ranging body of work.
Though known more so for the aggressive
improvisation and Afrofuturist explorations of his
Arkestra, Ra was often restrained in solo performances.
Irwin Chusid, radio DJ, historian and administrator ofRa’s catalogue, diligently restored Ra’s solo set atHaverford College, unveiling an intimate andmeditative side of Ra. The only known solo recordingof Ra on the Fender Rhodes, the release also includes
a 25-minute solo set by vibraphonist Walt Dickerson.
The latter ’s extended improvisation is bright andwhimsical, a complement to Ra’s cerebral set. As istypical with many of his solo performances, Ra plays
a mix of crowd favorites, interwoven with spells ofphilosophical improvisation and familiar standards.
His iconic “Love in Outer Space” becomes a cozylullaby on the mentholated keys and his academic
range is on full display in a medley of “Space Is The
Place” with Harold Arlen’s “Somewhere Over the
Rainbow”, which is playful yet masterful in how it
swings from space jazz to romantic lyricism.
Ra’s influence takes on new dimensions in Songs
From The Sun Ra Cosmos. Co-produced by Chusid andBrother Cleve, this collection of Ra interpretations wasrecorded over the span of 25 years by the renowned
garage and soul ‘screamer ’ who, like the Sun Ra
Arkestra, is known for his high-octane live shows. This
record is more akin to the vigorous atonal motifs
usually associated with Ra, but it also stands on its
own with Whitfield’s velvety vocals and his band’s
garage/punk stamina. Their rendition of “Love inOuter Space” is a tropical noir melody and “BlackMan” is a raucous rock anthem worthy of a mosh pit.
Whitfield and his band infuse their own brand of
explosive energy and old-school funk while paying
homage to Ra’s vision.
For more information, visit sunramusic.bandcamp.com andmodernharmonic.com. The Sun Ra Arkestra was scheduled
to be at Brooklyn Bowl.

Last Minute Theory
Simon Nabatov Quintet (Clean Feed)
Dance Hall Stories
Frank Gratkowski/Simon Nabatov/Dominik Mahnig(Leo)Time Labyrinth
Simon Nabatov (Leo)by Stuart Broomer

Pianist Simon Nabatov has a restless creativity,

combining keyboard virtuosity and an insistentcuriosity. From his long-time base in Cologne, he hascreated musical settings for radical Russian literatureand recorded solo interpretations of the works of
Herbie Nichols and Thelonious Monk; a frequent
visitor to New York, he works regularly with a shifting
assembly of front-rank collaborators. His recorded
output is as varied as it is large, as typified by thesethree recent releases, one recorded in New York andtwo from Cologne: the first consists of compositions
for an insistently current New York band; the second is
free improvisations; the third, largely composed work
for a septet. True to Nabatov’s identity, though, they
have much in common.
On Last Minute Theory, the remarkable quintet iscompleted by saxophonist Tony Malaby, guitarist
Brandon Seabrook, bassist Michael Formanek anddrummer Gerald Cleaver, a group ideally suited forthe kind of inside-outside compositions Nabatov has
crafted for them, at once deeply rooted in jazz traditions
and also wildly playful.
It’s apparent immediately in “Old Fashioned”,
a loping groove with an off-kilter beat thrown in, while“Rickety” further demonstrates the band’s rhythmic
aplomb, somehow managing to combine lock-stepwith the sonic equivalent of Monty Python funnywalks. Nabatov likes playing slower as well as fasterthan most: “Slow Move”, which sounds like secretive
birds waking up, is sufficiently slow for the musicians
to get out and walk around the notes while “Translated”
is a spotlight for Malaby’s warm balladry. “Good
Pedigree” layers different densities, seemingly moving
at different tempos. The final “Afterwards” iswonderfully weird, beginning as seeming homage tothe original Giuseppi Logan Quartet and ending in azone so refined as to suggest smooth jazz. Seabrookconsistently finds voices that are suspended between
his alien electronic tones and his partners’ acoustic
lines, creating strange ambiguities in the process.
There may not be anything left to say about Formanek
and Cleaver at this point except that their support andinterplay are ideal.
The wit and originality are just as apparent on
Dance Hall Stories, a session with Frank Gratkowski,
likely Nabatov’s most frequent associate, playing ahost of reeds, and drummer Dominik Mahnig, who
joins in on half of the eight tracks.
With titles tracing a comic dance hall experience,
the music has the rare distinction of being both freely
improvised and programmatic. Gratkowski and
Nabatov share the special empathy of improvisers who
have collaborated closely for decades. It shows in the
opening “Hopeful Glance”, with Gratkowski on alto
saxophone. Its quiet opening suggests a clarinet, but
by its midpoint the cascading runs are unquestionably
those of an alto. In pointed contrast to the rambunctious
energy of “Wrong Move Reflected”, a bass clarinet/
piano duo, the elusive “Sitting One Out” combines
thin reed sounds with empathetic E-bowing of the
piano strings. Mahnig adds a very different element to
the trio pieces, the close conversation of the duets
giving way to an increasing intensity. The erratic drum
patterns trigger the ultimate mayhem of “Gradual
Enticement”, which, by its conclusion, has Gratkowski
achieving a kind of virtuosic sputtering, as if multiple
alto saxophonists have been sped up.
Nabatov turns to a compositional emphasis on
Time Labyrinth, though there’s still a crucial
improvisatory element in featured solos. The “Time” ofthe title is as much conceptual as rhythmic. Nabatov’s
fascination with time has previously led to “Sunset
Redux” (on Round-Up), a piece inspired by the ideathat pilots can experience a double sunset.
Here the concept of time is sufficiently elastic andmysterious not to require a percussionist. Rather a“digital conductor” on a monitor conducts a denselyvoiced septet with Gratkowski on his multiple
woodwinds, tenor saxophonist Matthias Schubert,
trombonist Shannon Barnett, tuba player Melvyn
Poore, bassist Dieter Manderscheid and Hans W. Koch

20 MAY 2020 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

playing synthesizer. The opening “Waves” builds fromisolated incidents to a fluid, literally wave-like,movement. Part of its fascination lies in the wavering
glissandi of tuba and trombone, the low brasssuggesting pitch itself as an unstable temporal element,
literally measured in cycles per second. “Metamorph”
creates a thick weave in which voices move in contrary
directions, highlighted by a Schubert solo with his
pitch quavering with Albert Ayler-like intensity. Thosemoments are balanced by pieces of great subtlety:“Reader” wafts on Gratkowski’s serene flute while theconcluding “Choral” suggests an ancient danceorchestra appearing in isolated fragments amid barely
enhanced silence and airy piano figures.
For more information, visit cleanfeed-records.com andleorecords.com. Nabatov was scheduled to be at Ibeam
Brooklyn and 244 Rehearsal Studios.

The reMission
Andy Milne (Sunnyside)by Dan Bilawsky

W ith sickness comes clarity; with the return of good

health, renewal. When pianist Andy Milne received
a cancer diagnosis in 2017, he began to evaluate hislife—and music—from every possible angle. Now inremission, he’s seizing new opportunities andrecalibrating his artistic compass. On this aptly-titledouting, Milne leaves his favored formats, like thequintet and duo, behind, choosing instead to focus on
the art of the trio. And ‘art’ is most certainly theoperative word. With bassist John Hébert and drummer
Clarence Penn by his side, Milne explores this mostvenerated of vehicles on his own imaginative terms.
Bookending the program with nods to twomasters, Milne begins and ends by reckoning with thepast and its place in the present. Opening with recently
departed pianist McCoy Tyner ’s “Passion Dance”,
the leader adds supplementary colors to the everrecognizable harmonic scheme while still retaining its
essence. The rhythm section works its weight into themusic but, as compared to the original, there’s lessof a streamlined shift-and-flow here and more of acountervailing ideology at play in the trio’s bump andgroove. On the opposite end of the program sits an
opposite emotional release—one built on the sorrowsof goodbye and appreciation for time spent together.
Essaying saxophonist Benny Golson’s “Sad to Say”,
Milne finds true peace—and purpose—in parting.
While this outfit ably follows the light of those
two lodestars, their work is ultimately a place to visit,
not a space in which to dwell. Eight Milne originals sit
between the aforementioned poles and all provevirtuous in their embrace of the moment. “Resolution”,
for example, rises out of the abyss, covering a spectrum
moving from uncertainty to clarity. “Winter Palace”
contains a core built on a wonderfully off-kilter feel infive. “Vertical on Opening Night” highlights Hébert’s
mystical draw and mastery of time and tone. And“Drive by – The Fall” finds Penn putting out strong
vibes up front before the ensemble delivers its
variegated vision.
With
great
presence,
deep
dimensions,appreciation for breathing room and lust for life, Andy
Milne and Unison makes music that truly matters.
For more information, visit sunnysiderecords.com. This
project was scheduled to be at Dizzy’s Club.

and packed with the energetic solos characteristic of
this band. Så Stopper Festen is as good as anything
Nacka Forum has come up with thus far.

As Of Not
Jerome Cooper/Kresten Osgood (ILK Music)
Tidens Strøm
Laura Toxværd (ILK Music)
Så Stopper Festen
Nacka Forum (Moserobie)
by Robert Iannapollo

Since the turn of the century, Danish drummer Kresten
Osgood has been involved in nearly 90 recordings as
leader and sideman. He’s a drummer for all seasons,comfortable crossing stylistic boundaries, and also avery adept piano player. His range of international
collaborators is amazingly wide: Dr. Lonnie Smith, Paul
Bley, Sam Rivers, John Tchicai, Michael Blake and others.
He always adds a unique energy. Below are three recent
recordings that are a great demonstration of this.
Vinyl-only As Of Not is credited to Osgood andlate drummer/multi-instrumentalist Jerome Cooper,
the latter one-third of The Revolutionary Ensemble,
one of the finest trios of the ‘70s (reuniting in the newmillennium). Cooper subsequently played drums invarious bands but his own music took on an unusual
cast as he incorporated chirimira (a Latin American
reed sounding like a Middle Eastern shawm), pianoand electronics. Cooper also took to composition as ameans of expression as much as improvisation. He andOsgood struck a friendship in the mid-2000s andCooper was invited to Denmark to conduct workshops,
during which time they realized Cooper ’s title piece.
It features Cooper on the above-mentioned instruments
and Osgood on drums and piano. It’s a seven-partsuite spread out over four sides of an LP. The piece
begins with a passage of sustained stasis over anelectronic drone and carefully placed piano. Midway
through Osgood starts playing a motif matched by
Cooper on balafon for a minimalist interlude. “Part 2”
extensively features chirimira over wandering pianolines and an electronic rhythm. The one drawback isthat some of these electronic rhythms are rather clunky
but as the piece develops, it’s what’s placed over the
top that lifts it out of clunkiness; “Part 4” is an excellent
example of that. Cooper clearly was going forsomething universal and succeeds for the most part.
And Osgood is there along with him. The two were agood team to realize this music.
Osgood appears on alto saxophonist LauraToxværd’s Tidens Strøm. Although his presence isn’t
forward in the quintet, it’s crucial to the music. Toxværd
scored this with an unusual instrumentation of tuba,accordion, saxophone and drums plus singer Marta
Laurette Friis, who delivers the six songs witha folk-ish quality and matches the instrumentation
well. Toxværd’s gritty solos give the music a primalenergy and Osgood is subtle but very effective. Drums
are well recorded and their resonance fills out the groupsound nicely. Tidens Strøm is a successful recording,which, while short (27 minutes), stands alone.
Nacka Forum has been together for six albums,
the quartet stable except for a change at its fourth
album with Osgood in the drummer ’s chair. Taking incomposition,
varyingstyles,freewheeling
improvisation and humor, it seems a perfect fit. For
their sixth release, Så Stopper Festen, the group delivers
an Ornette Coleman-ish ballad “Reboleira” by bassist
Johan Berthling and frenetic freebop of reedplayer
Jonas Kullhammar ’s “OhSoGood”. Osgood has twocompositions, “Haltefanden” and “Big L”; the latterstarts out sounding like Tony Williams’ Lifetime with
Osgood delivering a fractured organ solo and when
the horns enter, Lifetime with horns seems to be a goodidea (too bad it never materialized). The compositions
are succinct, mostly in the six-minute range, diverse

For more information, visit ilkmusic.com and moserobie.com.
Osgood was scheduled to be at Downtown Music Gallery,
Soup & Sound and The Stone at The New School.

Time is Thicker
Mike McGinnis (Open Stream Music)
by Mark Keresman

It’s relatively rare that a reedplayer focuses solely on
the clarinet—Benny Goodman and John Carter come tomind. While Mike McGinnis is also a saxophonist, herelies on the straight-reed instrument entirely on Timeis Thicker, a trio set with bassist Elias Bailey anddrummer Vinnie Sperrazza. This type of format can bea naked listen, yet the full-bodied production andcaliber of the performance make it a compelling date.
On the briskly invigorating opener “Get In theCar”, McGinnis sticks mostly to his instrument’s
middle range, getting all kinds of mileage out of a
warmly woody tone and fluid execution while Bailey
and Sperrazza create a persuasive yet not overbearing
forward motion. The Chano Pozo-Gil Fuller bebop
anthem “Tin Tin Deo” has a swell, sly bluesy statementof the theme, otherwise darting in a deceptively
carefree way, Bailey taking a piquant solo. “Bow
Legged Releve” begins with what could be a collective
free improvisation but then settles into a groove inwhich McGinnis dances about amid growing winds
stirred by Bailey and especially Sperrazza. Closer“Just One of Those Things” is given a surging farethee-well treatment—McGinnis swirling and dashing,making with a bit of Dixieland-styled phrasing in his
solo. Sperrazza is volatile here, lavishing rollingcrashes and cymbal splashes over his crackling bursts
while Bailey anchors with a lively, sinewy throb. Thisconcludes the platter with a hearty restatement of thetheme and the laughter of the players.
Time is Thicker is an album of lively contrasts.
There are moments of cerebral intellectual mien andgood-humored swagger. This combo is making jazzthat can appeal both to old-school hepcats and artsnobs alike.
For more information, visit openstreammusic.com. This
project was scheduled to be at Café Bohemia.

Alles Hat Seine Zeit
Jürgen Kupke/Hannes Zerbe (JazzHausMusik)
by Anna Steegmann

Clarinetist Jürgen Kupke (who turns 60 this month)and pianist Hannes Zerbe both grew up in East
Germany and studied at the Hanns Eisler College ofMusic in East Berlin. They made a name for themselves,
toured with Willem Breuker, Elliott Sharp, Phil Minton,
Leo Wright, to name a few, and released several

recordings. Alles Hat Seine Zeit (Everything has it’stime) is their first album as a duo. This is change for
Zerbe, known for his Hannes Zerbe Jazz Orchester.
Kupke is a clarinet virtuoso and his instrument takes
center stage most of the time; Zerbe, a hugely talented
pianist, seems happy in the background.
Alles Hat Seine Zeit is mostly jazz with dashes of
New Music. Zerbe composed 9 of the 16 tracks, Kupke
1, 2 are co-written and the pair breathe new life into
tunes by Carla Bley, Francois Jeanneau and Hanns
Eisler. Opener “Vorspiel Winterschlachtsuite” (WinterBattle Suite: Prelude), a slow and sorrowful piece, willpull at the heartstrings of the most cynical of minds andhook the listener. Eisler’s “Der Kirschdieb” (The Cherry
Thief) is stark and haunting, his “Vom Sprengen desGartens” (Sprinkling the Garden) delicate and lively.
Zerbe and Kupke reveal a special affinity for Eisler
through the lens of chemistry developed in 35 years ofcollaboration. The majority of tunes are languid andlyrical; others like “Zeit 1”, “Up and Down” and “#13”are wild flights where piano moves into the foregroundand clarinet is played at whirlwind speed. Bley’s“Ictus” has unexpected twists and turns.
Whether you prefer the faster, more experimental
tunes or the slower melodious ones, you will beenchanted by Alles Hat Seine Zeit.
For more information, visit jazzhausmusik.de

Down The Hill
Alexandra Grimal/Giovanni di Domenico (s/r)
by Kurt GottschalkAlexandra Grimal’s text for the title track of her new
duo CD with pianist Giovanni di Domenico gives agood indication of the shifting moods of the music thetwo create. “And I went down the hill / and I ran down
the stone / and I climb the trees / where you were” shesings in part. It’s a strange evocation of an unclear
mood. The scene seems to be a passing moment,
running to catch up with an unnamed other. Was it
anxious? Playful? Is she expressing joy? Malaise?
Moods intermingle without clear division in the verse
as in the music, the way they do on some (not all) days
and are met without resistance. There’s a strong
uncertainty about it.
Grimal, who turns 40 this month, sings the words
as if no one is listening, like internal narration. It’s oneof a handful of songs on which she sings (two are hers,
the third by poet Goffredo Muratgia). For the most part,
she’s heard on soprano saxophone. As an instrumentalist,
Grimal has received some acclaim (including in thesepages) but less attention, at least on these shores.
A wonderful duo with bassist Joëlle Léandre released
last year should have helped to set that straight, asshould this beautifully fragile and occasionally plaintive
record. Di Domenico is an equal part of the ambiguous
afternoon being conjured (it certainly doesn’t come off
as evening music). The pianist has an uncanny knack for
projecting simplicity even when not playing it, easily
shifting between pensive and sprightly. His credits
include two previous duos with Grimal.
Down The Hill is an unhurried effort, even whensprinting. 12 tracks in close to an hour succeed in being
expressive yet unspecific. It’s available as a CD as wellas download. There’s far worse ways to spend an hour
and, of late, seeming far more hours to be spent.
For more information, visit alexandragrimal.bandcamp.com

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | MAY 2020 21

Transcendent
Ray Suhy/Lewis Porter Quartet (Sunnyside)by Phil Freeman

Jazz guitar is all too frequently the realm of musicians

who play as if they’re afraid someone might hear them.
Not Ray Suhy. His melodies shimmer and gleam and his
solos have genuine bite. This willingness to step forward
and seize the spotlight is doubtless related to his parallel
career; he’s a member of extreme metal bands like
Cannabis Corpse and Six Feet Under, where highvolume, maximum-force riffing is the name of the game.
This album isn’t some kind of MahavishnuOrchestra-meets-Metallica assault, though. The
combination of guitar, fed through a variety of effects,
and Lewis Porter ’s nimble switching between acoustic
piano and Fender Rhodes, depending on the track,works extremely well in service of the compositions,
all of which are originals, five by the guitarist andthree by the pianist. Stylistically, they’re a blend ofhigh-energy hardbop of the late ’70s Milestone AllStars/VSOP school—what pianist/blogger Ethan
Iverson refers to as “stadium jazz”—and fusion of thebaroque rather than overpowering school. A lot of thepieces have the feel of something Chick Corea could
have written; the melodies spiral upward like model
rockets, exploding into florid solos that bloom in thesky, showering multicolored sparks in all directions
but dissipating quickly.
What’s most interesting about the album,
particularly on the uptempo tracks, is not the work of
the two co-leaders, but how powerful the rhythm
section is allowed to get. They’re stomping as much as
they’re swinging and Rudy Royston in particular isgoing absolutely wild throughout. He seems to haveadded four or five drums to his kit, the better to let his
inner Billy Cobham out to play. Bassist Brad Jones has
worked with both Elvin Jones and Marc Ribot, so he’s
perfectly suited to support anything anyone else inthis band throws at him and James Dellatacoma, who
mixed and mastered the album at Bill Laswell’s Orange
Music Sound Studio, gives everyone plenty of spaceand power; this music comes out of the speakers like aboxing glove on a spring. It’s not subtle, but at its bestit’s quite beautiful.
For more information, visit sunnysiderecords.com. This
project was scheduled to be at Nublu 151.

The Seven Heavenly Virtues and The Seven Deadly Sins
Joseph Daley (JoDa Music)
by George Kanzler

In 2010 and 2013, tuba and bottom brass player Joseph
Daley released CDs that each had the preponderanceof their minutes devoted to large ensemble suites hehad composed. The Seven Deadly Sins, featuring a twodozen-strong horn, woodwind and rhythm contingent,
was on the first. The Seven Heavenly Virtues, featuring
18 strings plus rhythm, came second. Now the othertracks from those CDs have been omitted and the twopieces appear, in reverse chronological order, on thisCD. In these suites, Daley has created a multifacetedhybrid of jazz, avant garde and contemporary classicalmusic that is a direct descendant of the Third Stream
movement of the mid-20th Century and an extensionof the music he has helped make over the decades inensembles from Gil Evans and Maria Schneider to
Carla Bley and Muhal Richard Abrams. He has also
found innovative ways, especially with The Seven
Deadly Sins suite’s ensemble, to combine, feature andblend unique orchestral tones. He also finds someequivalency for that sonic variety in the way he mixes
and combines string players from different disciplines,
from jazz and classical to fiddling.
Daley is good at finding sonic equivalents,
especially for The Seven Deadly Sins. Scott Robinson’s
lugubrious bass saxophone crawls over slow, lowchords throughout “Desidia (Sloth)” while low
woodwinds and brass burp and regurgitate to
introduce “Gula (Gluttony)” before repeating riffs led
by trombone take over. “Lechery (Lust)” is a
convocation of assembling solos and sections—fromwah-wah trumpet to tandem saxophones—building
with groaning, growling fury. “Superbia (Pride)” mixes
a soprano saxophone-led exotic (Middle-East?) melody
over mallet instruments, trumpets and tinkling piano,a proud French horn in the mix. Heavy drumming andpercussive bells interact with a jagged melody andtandem saxophone soli to suggest “Ira (Anger)”. Whilecontrasting violin/viola styles dominate the soloing on
The Seven Heavenly Virtues suite, two highlights feature
pianist Lafayette Harris. He is given the lovely melodyof “Humility”, played mostly as a piano trio withstrings entering at the climax. And his piano introduces
the theme of “Temperance” and shares solo honors
with violin and viola.
For more information, visit jodamusic.com. Daley wasscheduled to be at 244 Rehearsal Studios.

Legacy Holder
Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead (Vision Ahead Music)
by Russ Musto

The sophomore release from drummer Jonathan
Barber finds the Hartford, Connecticut nativeadvancinghistradition-rooted/forward-looking
concept with the same quintet of alto saxophonist
Godwin Louis, guitarist Andrew Renfroe, pianist Taber
Gable and bassist Matt Dwonszyk from his debut.
Legacy Holder opens gently with “The Call”, on which
Barcelona-born vocalist Mar Vilaseca sings her
uplifting lyric over Barber ’s atmospheric melody,
which segues with suite-like seamlessness into his“Find My Way”, a folkishly lyrical piece reminiscent of
Brian Blade’s similarly configured Fellowship Band.
The title track is a contemplative outing,a melancholic excursion with absorbing solos byRenfroe, Gable and Louis. Dwonszyk’s “Haikus”
rhythmically moves things forward, driven by
propulsive drumming dancing around the pocket,
underpinning Renfroe and Taber ’s solos, before
coming to the fore over the ensemble’s dash to thefinish vamp. The band charges straightahead on
Barber’s “Major”, with gritty alto and McCoy Tyner-ish
piano soaring over walking bass, before an explosive
drum solo over a bluesy piano ostinato.
Three more Barber originals close out the disc.

22 MAY 2020 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD“Seconds & Seasons” is an appealing melody
supporting inspired solo work by Dwonszyk, Louis,
Taber and finally Renfroe, buoyed by briskly escalating
drumming. “Son Of Hartford” is a rocking tribute to
the legacy of the city’s Artists Collective and Jackie
McLean Institute of Jazz, where he, Renfroe, Gable andDwonszyk all trained. The date concludes with themetrically charged “29”, an exciting feature for
Barber ’s dynamically expansive rhythmatism, which
has earned him the drum chair in the bands of
JD Allen, Jeremy Pelt and Pat Metheny, among others.
For more information, visit jonathanbarbermusic.com. This
project was scheduled to be at Jazz Standard.

in p rint

Creative Improvised Music: An International
Bibliography of the Jazz Avant-Garde, 1959-PresentJohn Gray (African Diaspora Press)by Andrey Henkin[Full disclosure: this gazette, in both its original iteration as
AllAboutJazz-New York and current form as The New
York City Jazz Record, is referenced within this book.]

O ne hopes that, given the current world situation,a corollary benefit down the road will be a renewed
respect for rigorous scholarship, of expertise and thelong, committed path it takes to get there. Whenfools on world stages make ignorant, potentiallylethal claims and the internet has become a black
lagoon of mis- and disinformation, those analyzing
genetic codes, parsing population trendlines andjust generally being thorough and responsible are to
be counted among the heroes of the age.
While bibliographers aren’t saving lives, they
are saving researchers time. Eminent scholar John
Gray has released a follow-up to his 1991 tome FireMusic: A Bibliography of the New Jazz, 1959-1990, thisnew volume updating his work through 2019. Its
simple cover is a demonstration of its author ’s
seriousness. Across over 500 pages and 5,513
references, plus another 74 pages of indices, Gray
presents a comprehensive accounting of critical andinformational writing, broken up into three
categories: General Works, Regional Studies and,taking up the preponderance, Biographical andCritical Studies.
While the density and $150 price tag skews
Gray’s intended audience towards professional
researchers flush with grant money, university
music departments and public library systems,
those with time on their hands (read: everyone thesedays) and who have more than a passing interestin critical jazz analysis should consider this as anecessary part of their library. Jazz listeners arearguably more aware of/interested in history andsearching out new sounds or rare vinyl requires its
own patience and investigative skills so having thiskind of book nearby makes sense. Even a cursory
flip through the index pages by this reviewer, whohumbly considers himself deeply steeped in theteapot of jazz history, shows that learning is allabout knowing what you don’t know.
For more information, visit african-diaspora-press.com

Is That All There Is?
Peggy Lee (Capitol-Universal Music)
Ultimate Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee (Universal)
by Marilyn Lester

W hen it comes to “legendary”, singer-songwriter

Peggy Lee is a frontrunner. Her stature was such that
she eventually became known by the honorific “Miss
Peggy Lee”. To celebrate the 2020 centenary of thisprolific icon’s birth (May 26th, 1920), her estate has
released two albums in tribute: the 13-track digitalonly re-release of 1969’s Is That All There Is? and thenew 22-track Ultimate Peggy Lee. Choosing the material
couldn’t have been easy. Lee, over a six-decade
Grammy-winning career, wrote over 200 songs,
recorded over 1,100 masters and had 100 chart hits. She
recorded myriad albums—many with specific themes—
over many genres, within the popular arranging stylesof the day. Yet these two albums succeed in offering
logical and intelligent selections: charting hits; Lee’s
own work; and a buffet of tunes in varying styles.
Two tracks only are found on both releases: “I’m A
Woman”, her powerful R&B-tinged hit from her albumof the songs of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and theeponymous charting “Is That All There Is?” (LieberStoller), also offered as an alternate take and as aremixed version by Peter Stoller. (“Is That All There
Is?” was recorded in 37 takes, with the last one usedas the master, spliced with bits from other takes.) Lee’s
big break came in 1941 when she became Benny
Goodman’s girl singer. A reinterpreted song from thatera, “Don’t Smoke In Bed” (Willard Robison), is
included with other songbook standards as well asa mix of work from contemporary songwriters of theday, including Neil Diamond, George Harrison andRandy Newman, all given the Lee treatment of
insouciant, yet incisive delivery. A particular treat is
two versions of “Me And My Shadow” (Dave DreyerBilly Rose) with the alternate taken from Lee’s own
personal stockpile of recordings. In it she parses out
her phrases with deliberate cool, giving new meaning
to the term laid-back.
Ultimate Peggy Lee features the work that madeher name and became her signature song, 1958’s“Fever” (Eddie Cooley-Otis Blackwell as John
Davenport), a huge hit for Little Willie John in 1956 on
the R&B and Billboard Hot 100 charts. Manymainstream artists were quick to cover it, including
Lee, who rewrote the lyrics (without credit); the rest is
history. “Sweet Happy Life” (Luiz Bonfá-Antônio
Maria-Norman Gimbel) is a pleasant tune with a samba
beat in the ‘something different’ category. Akin to it isa number from Lee’s well-received 1960 album Latin
ala Lee!, recorded when cha-cha and mambo were all
the rage. From it, the diva sings “Heart” (Richard
Adler-Jerry Ross), an amusing trifle that has to rank as
one of the most original interpretations of a populartune from a Broadway musical (Damn Yankees).
Two birds with one stone are delivered in “I Love
Being Here With You” (Bill Schluger-Peggy Lee). Not
only is the tune one of her own compositions, but also
it undeniably proves the often ultra-cool Lee could
swing—an ability also applied to “I’ve Got The WorldOn A String” (Harold Arlen-Ted Koehler). Lee’s wellknown “It’s a Good Day” (Dave Barbour) is presented
in a happy, uptempo, foot-tapping instrument-forward
arrangement. She also wrote the songs for the 1955
animated Walt Disney feature Lady and the Tramp (withcomposer Sonny Burke). “He’s A Tramp” isrepresentative of that venture. And should anyone

doubt that this product of the northern plains could
sing the blues, Lee proves her torchy worth with adown-low rendition of “Black Coffee” (Sonny BurkePaul Francis Webster) and an angsty lament in “I Wanna
Be Around” (Johnny Mercer-Sadie Vimmerstedt).
The last track on Ultimate Peggy Lee is completely
captivating—the previously unreleased “Try A Little
Tenderness” (Jimmy Campbell-Reg Connelly-Harry M.
Woods) recorded 57 years ago. In this story-songarrangement, Lee’s voicing is purposeful, her smoky
purr alluring as she thoroughly inhabits the lyric. Her
capacity to communicate with such authenticity
defines much of her appeal and illustrates what madeher an enduring star of the music world. This last
lovely track is the perfect capper to an album thatsucceeds in painting a solid portrait of Miss Peggy Lee.

reminder of what a superb musician he was. His
technique is scintillating and the rhythmic feel of his
phrases connecting with Peacock’s downbeats andHaynes’ sizzling cymbals is a perfect distillation of thesound of modern jazz.
Working within an entirely conventional formal
and harmonic framework, the musicians are full of
invention and free of clichés. No matter the tempo, themusic tools along at an ideal pace. Peacock’s solos areoften in the context of walking lines and the way heturns accompaniment into lead is full of subtle
complexity. Petrucciani just sparkles, his lines outlining
artful rises and falls of musical motion. Haynes’ fleet
touch could not be more ideal in this situation andwhile all the musicians seem full of joy, he may behaving the best time of all. This is a real gem.

For more information, visit universalmusic.com. A Lee
tribute was scheduled to be at 54Below.

For more information, visit ecmrecords.com and jazzhaus-label.com

When Will The Blues Leave
Paul Bley/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian (ECM)
One Night in Karlsruhe
Michel Petrucciani Trio (Jazz Haus)
by George Grella

Two piano trios, two live recordings, one single

anchor in bassist Gary Peacock, who turns 85 thismonth. These are also two vastly different records,
reflecting a fascinating juxtaposition between thestyles of the two pianists.
These are also two new archival recordings,
though first releases—When Will The Blues Leave isa date from Switzerland in 1999 while the night inquestion in Karlsruhe was Jul. 7th, 1988. Michel
Petrucciani’s set seems more conventional; thoughboth mix standards and originals, the French pianist
plays “There Will Never Be Another You”, “In a
Sentimental Mood”, “Embraceable You” and “MyFunny Valentine” while Paul Bley ends the set with theOrnette Coleman title tune then returns for a lush,
swooning “I Loves You Porgy”.
Bley was a romantic (and a modernist and abluesman all in one) and there is some kinship herewith Petrucciani. Both are striving for expression
above structural and technical exploration and oneach of these recordings both are near hypercommunicative. That the Karlsruhe concert is much
more satisfying than the Swiss performance (which isquite fine itself) seems to have more to do with theaccompanists than the pianists.
Peacock, drummer Paul Motian and Bley had an
excellent connection with one another, though theirplaying doesn’t always stay on the right side of thefine line between a private conversation meant to be
overheard and enjoyed by an audience and a kind ofsolipsistic secret language. And the musicians don’t
always sound at their sharpest. Bley’s funky riffs thatstart “Told You So” stumble a little and the three are
not always headed in the same direction, or organizedaround the same pulse, on “Mazatlan” and “Flame”.
There’s also flashes of inspired playing withineach track, stretches where the three have foundcommon purpose. It’s the nature of the playing—justas much free as it is based around tunes—and live
there is no opportunity to leave lesser takes on the
cutting room floor. The high points come at the end,
with the title track and the encore.
The Petrucciani date, with Roy Haynes at thedrums, is great through and through. The pianist left
us over 20 years ago and this release is a welcome

Re-CollectJeb Bishop Flex Quartet (Not Two)by Steven Loewy

W hat is so remarkable about Jeb Bishop is that the

talented trombonist, a former philosophy major, began
his career as a rock guitarist, switching to electric bassin the early ‘90s when he was part of The Flying
Luttenbachers and only later took up the trombone,
becoming a member of The Vandermark 5, one of themost important small groups emerging from the
Chicago jazz scene of the early 2000s. Since then,Bishop has performed in a variety of settings as aleader and a sideman. On Re-Collect, he leads his
impressive pianoless Flex Quartet through six originalcompositions in what is a compelling, at times eventhrilling, performance. The lengthy pieces take fulladvantage of a highly compatible quartet in which
trumpeter Russ Johnson acts as a perfect foil to Bishop’s
gruff, broad swatches of sound while bassist Jason
Roebke and drummer Frank Rosaly diligently
undergird the horns with intense, time-less structures.
Bishop masterfully paces each of the pieces so thatwhile the opening two charts take up more than 40
minutes and more than half the total time of the album,
they keep the listener guessing and fully engaged.
Although Bishop is identified with the more radical
elements of jazz, his heart clearly sprouts from postbop,
his melodies and even his solos embracing a strong
jazz aesthetic while injecting sweeping strategies,
which include regularly changing tempos, collective
improvisation, building and releasing tension andintense interaction. These come to the fore on“Razorlip”, in which an off-balance syncopated headleads to a strong bass solo and fast and exciting
dialogue between trumpet and trombone, some ofwhich is played without backing. On “Lungfish”,
gravelly trombone takes a brilliant ride through an
attractively snake-like bop melody, then transforms
into something modern and offbeat. Bishop’s chops arein high style throughout, focusing mostly on the
midrange of the horn with meaty, powerful doubletonguing on the postboppish “Backfire”. The playing
is strong throughout, without a weak link, Bishop in
the lead but, unquestionably, Johnson’s strong blowing
and the tight rhythm section contributing to thealbum’s success.
For more information, visit nottwo.com. Bishop wasscheduled to be at The Stone at The New School.

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | MAY 2020 23

America at War
Joel Harrison + 18 (Sunnyside)
by Robert Bush

Guitarist Joel Harrison has always heard things

differently, from 3+3+7 (Nine Winds, 1996) and Range of
Motion (Koch Jazz, 1997) to last year’s stunning Still
Point: Turning World (Whirlwind). Harrison has
consistently marched to the beat of different drummers.
His latest is a scathing indictment of our nation’s historyof violent intercourse and his first big band record.
He’s gathered some of the finest players across thestylistic spectrum, including Jon Irabagon and Ned
Rothenberg (reeds) alongside Ingrid Jensen (trumpet)
plus the trombones of Curtis Hasselbring and Alan
Ferber. In all, it’s a 20-piece ensemble playing extremely
creative charts reflecting the tradition from Oliver
Nelson to Henry Threadgill.
The album explodes with fat funk bottom end
anchored by the tuba of Ben Stapp and wah-wah guitar
on the opening “March On Washington”, which
unfolds like a page-turning novel. The ensemble
writing avoids big band clichés like the plague and thesoloists (Harrison and trumpeter Dave Smith)consistently up the ante on the excitement quotient.
“Yellow Cake” continues with Harrison recounting the
George Bush/Colin Powell narrative as the tune
evolves, yielding volcanic solos from Irabagon (tenor
saxophone) and Hasselbring while the backgroundlandscapes keep shifting, like observing from thewindow of a high-speed train. Things quiet down
considerably on the introduction to “My Father In
Nagasaki” (Harrison’s dad was one of the first soldiers
to enter the area after the bomb dropped.) Orchestralpercussion and somber brass set the appropriately
pensive backdrop for evocative essays from Rothenberg(shakuhachi) and Ken Thomson (bass clarinet.)
Particularly moving is the highly autobiographical“Gratitude”, written while Harrison was recovering at
an artist colony from a traumatic brain injury. He lays
down a soulful introduction of gospel-inspired doublestops that bring the work of Curtis Mayfield to mind
and the tune climbs to an exhilarating plateau tofeature the wonderful work of Jensen, who is also
exemplary on “Requiem For An Unknown Soldier”.
Harrison also turns in a moving vocal interpretationof the Tom Waits tune “Day After Tomorrow”, whichtells the story from the perspective of a soldier writing
a letter home. He’s quite an effective singer and this isa highlight moment in an album full of them.
For more information, visit sunnysiderecords.com. This
project was scheduled to be at Drom.

I Should Care
Yoon Sun Choi/Jacob Sacks (Yeah Yeah)
by Elliott Simon

I Should Care is a program of nine jazz standards, inwhich the conventional vocal ballad meets the avant

garde, the results surprisingly amicable. Vocalist Yoon
Sun Choi’s striking phrasing and tempo changes explore
nooks and crannies of these tunes hidden from othermore traditional vocalists. With pianist Jacob Sacks, shecreates exciting and touching new music while retaining
the compositions’ original lyrical objectives.
Most of these songs, with a couple exceptions, dateto the ‘30s-50s and have been recorded by many singers
using standard vocal arrangements. The title opener isa case in point; Frank Sinatra, Mel Tormé, Peggy Lee
and many others highlight the song’s self-reflective
attitude in beautiful but parallel ways. However Choi’s
style is perpendicular and shares more in common
with Thelonious Monk’s creative instrumental take on
the tune than with prior vocal renditions. Similarly,
Sacks is given the difficult task of following Choi when
she sings off-page on “But Not For Me”; after she sets
up the tune with an initial soliloquy, he ably anticipatesand even directs her movements.
Sacks also knows when to color delicately as
opposed to lead or parry: Choi’s heartfelt performanceof “For All We Know” is gorgeously emphasized by histhoughtful chordal choices; an elegant vocal
interpretation of “Blackberry Winter” benefits from his
lovely emphasis; and he provides solid structural
support to the more mainstream “Love For Sale”.
When taking the lead, he prods Choi for a boppy
offbeat version of “Just Friends” and guides aninteresting reading of closer “The More I See You”.
The improvisational give and take between Choi
and Sacks on I Should Care is very different from theusual jazz vocal/piano duo. Together, they create newmusic out of old and that is the real star of this release.
For more information, visit yeahyeahrecords.bandcamp.com.
This project was scheduled to be at Carnegie Hall’s Weill
Recital Hall.

The Coandâ Effect
Tim Berne/Nasheet Waits (Relative Pitch)
by Tyran Grillo

In this 2019 live set from The Sultan Room in Brooklyn,

alto saxophonist Tim Berne and drummer Nasheet Waits
connect a 49-minute Möbius strip of improvisational
wonder. Composed of two free outpours, “Tensile” and“5see”, the performance is a barrage of ideas, which,despite their thickness of description, leave plenty ofroom for our imagination as listeners to run wild intandem. With an immense freedom of spirit andcatharsis of expression, the duo breaks down one wallafter another until all expectations end up in a free box
at the side of our mental road. Without a map, we areleft to roam the subtler implications of their interactive
cause. The ending of each statement becomes the
beginning of another, leaving us with a string of words
barred access to orthography. The ebb and flow between
clarity and obscurity is as cohesive as the connection
between bodily organs.
Berne plays with intense lucidity of communication.
He tells stories not for the sake of a reaction but in theinterest of filling in blanks the rest of us may be afraid
to touch in the Mad Libs of life. His incisiveness fires
arrows of indisputable meaning into the air. Waits
likewise pulls out the rug from under us not out of adesire to break our equilibrium but to reveal an evenmore stable surface beneath it. Like Peter Pan, he cuts
away his shadow in search of a land without rules,
only to realize that connections of a higher order can

24 MAY 2020 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

never be broken. Such is the depth of their rapport aseach defers to the other until the geyser of creativity
grows too hot to contain. And so while we might end
up with more questions than answers, we are all thebetter for having asked them.
For more information, visit relativepitchrecords.com. This
project was scheduled to be at The Sultan Room.

Stråk på himlen och stora hus
Per Texas Johansson (Moserobie)
Are You Happy?
Torbjörn Zetterberg & Den Stora Frågan (Moserobie)
Berit in Space
Daniel Bingert (Moserobie)
by Andrey Henkin

20 years ago this month, Swedish saxophonist Jonas
Kullhammar led a quartet at Stockholm’s Glenn Miller
Café. Excerpts of the gigs (recorded “directly on
twotrack, no funny shit involved”) would be released
later in 2000 as Salut, Moserobie Music Production
CD001. The choice of that three-digit catalogue number
was prescient; to date, Moserobie has released over 100
albums, many by Kulhammar but also a healthyamount from Salut’s bassist, Torbjörn Zetterberg, anda wide array of Sweden’s free thinkers, echoing such
artist-run labels/community forums as Strata-Eastand FMP. Two of the most recent releases include both
Kullhammar and Zetterberg while a third is by anotherlabel stalwart, reedplayer Per “Texas” Johansson.
Johansson’s Stråk på himlen och stora hus is essayedby a quintet, the leader (clarinet, bass and contrabass
clarinets, oboe, flute and tenor saxophone) joined by
Konrad Agnas (drums, timpani), Mattias Ståhl
(vibraphone and marimba), Josefin Runsteen (violin)
and Margareta Bengtsson (harp), plus singer Rebecka
Törnqvist on closer “Barballad” and four-person choiron opener “Lethe”. Please excuse this music critic cliché:
this album is screaming out for a film for which its 11
pithy tunes can be a soundtrack. Johansson is the leadvoice but his narrative melodies are buoyed by thefascinating textures of his band. The feeling is often
gauzy and languorous yet there are moments of woodsy
industrialism, jazz-noir or Esquivel-style exotica.
Zetterberg’s Are You Happy is the third release
under the banner of his Den Stora Frågen band, withsteady membership since 2014: reedplayers Kullhammarand Alberto Pinton, trumpeter Susana Santos Silva,
trombonist Mats Äleklint and drummer Jon Fält
(replaced on two tracks by Lark Skoglund), plus regular
guest Alexander Zethson (organ, Fender Rhodes);Zetterberg also plays organ and zither. The leader is in
the tradition of bassist-composers like Charles Mingus,
Charlie Haden and Adam Lane, especially in the breadthof his tunes and his ability to make a largish ensemble
feel weightless. The eight pieces are all quite different,
though falling into bouncing and groaning camps,
without suffering from multiple composer disorder.
While Daniel Bingert has played bass on the three
Jari Haapalainen Trio albums on Moserobie, for Berit inSpace he appears only as composer/mastermind, his
ten tunes played by Johansson, Kullhammar, Zetterberg,
trumpeter Karl Olandersson, pianist Charlie Malmberg
and drummer Moussa Fadera. The Blue Note-inspired
typography on the back is no accident. This is classic
late ‘50s jazz, recalling the Swedish golden era of Lars
Gullin, Bengt Hallberg and Arné Domnerus in a lineup
echoing Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, atestament both to Bingert as a composer and musicians
who clearly have deep foundations in jazz history.
For more information, visit moserobie.com

Mutima
Cecil McBee (Strata-East - Pure Pleasure)by Scott Yanow

Cecil McBee, who celebrates his 85th birthday on May
19th, has been a major bassist for over 55 years. His
huge tone, solid sense of time and flexibility has madehim greatly in demand for hardbop, modal music andavant garde sessions. Among the many artists whosemusic he uplifted were Jackie McLean, Wayne Shorter,Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Rollins,
Pharoah Sanders, Chico Freeman, Woody Shaw,
McCoy Tyner, Charles Tolliver, Lonnie Liston Smith,
Sam Rivers and even Miles Davis. More recently he has
been a member of The Cookers.
McBee only led a handful of albums in his career.
Mutima from 1974 was his first. Recently reissued on
vinyl, this set finds McBee heading a group that attimes includes four horns (including tenor saxophonist
George Adams and Art Webb on flute) and an expanded
rhythm section with the recently departed Onaje Allan
Gumbs on keyboards and several drummers/
percussionists including Billy Hart.
The album consists of six McBee originals. “FromWithin” is a lengthy exploration showcasing the leader(via overdubbing) on two bowed basses, one in thelower register, the second using upper register
overtones to create otherworldly sounds. “Voice Of
The 7th Angel” is a short piece that puts the focus on
the wordless vocalizing of a young Dee Dee
Bridgewater. “Life Waves” finishes Side One with
McBee playing speedy lines behind the passionate
solos of trumpeter Tex Allen, Adams, alto saxophonist
Alan Braufman and Gumbs before taking a virtuosic
improvisation of his own. The title cut is a modal piecewith several intense solos from the horns and spiritedensemble work. After the relatively brief and fairly free
“A Feeling”, the program concludes with the episodic“Tulsa Black”, which has McBee’s son Cecil McBee, Jr.
on electric bass and a relatively brief but strong
statement from Adams.
This rare Strata-East session deserved to bereissued and it shows just how powerful a bassist Cecil
McBee was many decades ago.
For more information, visit purepleasurerecords.com. A
tribute to McBee was scheduled to be at Club Bonafide.

Unraveled
Aubrey Johnson (Outside In Music)
by Jim Motavalli

Singer Aubrey Johnson (her uncle, the Pat Methenycollaborator Lyle Mays who died in February, wasa mentor) has produced quite a varied album, jazz, pop
and world music mixing happily. In general, the jazz
fares best. It’s hard to erase the memory of Annie
Lenox’ electro-pop “No More ‘I Love You’s”, which she
took to the top of the charts in 1995. Johnson’s version
is pleasant enough and nicely sung and arranged. Her

take shades into pop and cabaret, but Chris Ziemba’s
piano solo moves the agenda back to jazz. Johnson isclearly gifted. She recorded the vocal acrobatics on
Egberto Gismonti’s “Karate” after just one rehearsal
with Ziemba and Vitor Gonçalves’ accordion—
Argentina meets Brazil.
Let’s look at how she handles the classics. “ThePeacocks”, first recorded by Stan Getz and composer/
pianist Jimmy Rowles in 1977, is just fine and uses
Michael Sachs’ bass clarinet and alto effectively. Johnson
could be slightly more prominent in the mix, but she
fully inhabits the material. You better have some chops
if you’re going to tackle Antônio Carlos Jobim’s “Dindi”(listen to Maria Booker sing it on Wayne Shorter’s Super
Nova—she gets so emotional she breaks down in tears.
And Johnson is up against Astrud Gilberto, Blossom
Dearie and Frank Sinatra, for crying out loud.) But thisis an assured take, too, with a wordless section thatsoars into the stratosphere before heading back into the
lyric. Nice bass playing from Matt Aronoff.
Tomoko Omura wrote “Voice is Magic” though it
too sounds Brazilian. A tricky piece, with stops andstarts and the composer ’s dancing violin onboard (as it
is on six other tracks), it’s a keeper, showcasing moreof Johnson’s vocalese (and that bass clarinet). Sachs
composed “Happy to Stay” expressly for this project,but it doesn’t light up. The remaining tracks were
written by Johnson, one with her brother, poet Gentry
Johnson. The songs aren’t bad, but there’s not a lot ofswing. “Love Again” is the best of them.
For more information, visit outsideinmusic.com. Johnson
was scheduled to be at Saint Peter’s Church.

Munich 2016
Keith Jarrett (ECM)
by Annie Murnighan

P ianist Keith Jarrett, who turns 75 this month, hasbeen releasing solo recitals since the ‘70s and isrenowned for his physicality and the diversity of ideas
he uses it to convey. On Munich 2016 Jarrett’s ideas
flow organically, pulling from Western classical music,
jazz, blues, ragtime and Americana while traversing
enigmatic and uncanny landscapes.
Jarrett once told an interviewer: “If a person plays
dissonance long enough, it will sound like consonance.
It’s a language that was alien and then it’s less and lessalien as it continues to live.” Munich 2016’s first andlongest piece, “Part I”, is a demonstration of this ethos
in action. It finds Jarrett lingering in post-tonal
territory, exploring dark modal ideas with palpable
enthusiasm. Some of the most compelling moments
arise when Jarrett settles on a harmonic structure andfocuses his attention on rhythm and dynamics, playing
with time and circling angular melodies around a
rumbling ostinato. Longtime fans will be pleased tohear Jarrett moaning and stomping his feet—asignature element of his process—lost in the music.
The magic of Jarrett’s work lives at the point wheretraditional tonality and post-tonality meet. He traces avenn diagram of the two worlds in real time. In thecompanion pieces “Part V” and “Part VI”, hedemonstrates his prowess as an impromptu composer,
sketching fully realized and gorgeously melancholic
melodies that veer in and out of familiar tonality. “PartX”, too, possesses this quality and, as the second
longest of the 12 pieces, suggests his lingering
fascination with stylistic grey areas. Jarrett also spends

much of Munich 2016 expressing his interest in more
recognizable genres and disciplines. “Part III” reflects
inspiration he has found in the renowned composers of
18th Century Europe, before transitioning confidently
to folksy pastoral sketches tinged with the blues.
Jarrett has referred to himself as his harshest critic
when he’s on stage. When one listens to his
improvisations he comes off more as a kind of realtime editor. Possessing an almost supernatural sense oftime, Jarrett has the ability to paint compositional arcs,
knowing when a phrase warrants repetition or when afluid transition is needed.
For more information, visit ecmrecords.com

on screen

Live at the Jazz Showcase (Re-Rip Productions, Vol. 1)
Art Ensemble of Chicago (AECO)
by Kurt Gottschalk

Much has been made of the Art Ensemble ofChicago’s early days and rightly so. It was a periodof remarkable creativity that set a new course for theGreat Black Music tradition of which the band was(and is) so avowedly a part. But if the ‘70s
represented the Art Ensemble of Chicago at theheight of discovery, the ‘80s saw them at the peak ofthat power. It’s easy, in hindsight, to take a bandthat good for granted, especially on record. There’s
the drum thing, there’s the theme thing, there’s theAfrican, the urban, the global, the universal, butwhat you get on video is the actual: there’s just fiveguys doing this. There are realms in that quintet andit’s a wonder to watch it unfold.
Live at the Jazz Showcase is a fine reminder,
capturing the band on their home turf, beautifullyedited from multiple-camera footage. It’s been
available on VHS and DVD (on a somewhat limited
basis) in the past, but this no-frills DVD-R issue isapparently the first release authorized by the band.
There’s a stage full of horns and percussion at the
Chicago venue and both an upright and an electricbass. There’s also Joseph Jarman overblowing asopranino until it sounds almost like an oboe, Roscoe
Mitchell playing piccolo bird songs and trumpeter
Lester Bowie trancing out before rising to hit a quick
swing. There’s Malachi Favors Maghostut, evermysterious, with a heavy black mask covering mostof his face, playing a bass that seems to exist outsideof time. And there’s Famoudou Don Moye, striking
and focused in face paint, always in a sense leading,whether it’s a drum jam or a free jazz explosion.
The band moves quickly through the material,
playing (at least) eight pieces in under an hour andplaying them like the pros they’d come to be—which,it merits saying, is a kind of pro few have been. After
more than a decade together, they’d become afantastically tight improvising ensemble. Much ofthis ‘second period’ for the band was collected in aworthy boxed set issued by ECM in 2018. Much
more—especially their releases on the Japanese DIW
label—deserves to be heard again. This concert is avaluable addition to that prized pile.
For more information, contact famoudoudonmoye@yahoo.com.
This band was scheduled to be at Brooklyn Academy of Music.

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | MAY 2020 25

In The Face of Chaos | Blended Lineage
David Bixler (Red Piano)
by Marco Cangiano

David Bixler ’s recent CDs—his last one was morethan five years ago—convey a subtle joy and the sheer
pleasure of making music. Having looked after his
youngest son following a traumatic brain injury during
the last decade, the alto saxophonist has reemergedwith a different approach and maturity to music, as if
in pursuit of a personal catharsis. There is a soothing
quality and a sense of serendipity in this music,
superbly executed by extremely well integrated bands.
Gone is a sort of eclecticism, ranging from Latin
American influences to a certain postbop mainstream,
which has characterized Bixler ’s earlier recordings.
There is no rush, no insistence on patterns, just thecareful choice of the right note and an unusual
openness to what the other musicians have to say.
In The Face of Chaos presents a set of Bixler ’s
originals, mostly midtempo, the bouncy “nofomomofo”
being the exception. The quartet could not be more
empathetic. Jon Cowherd’s musical piano is quite
congenial to Bixler ’s writing while bassist Ike Sturm
provides solidity and taste on top of Rogério Boccato’s
supple and creative percussion. Bixler is the leading
voice and soars at his own pace during the solos. The
opening title track aptly introduces the main theme of
the CD: a relaxed atmosphere with ample space.
Among the most heartfelt tunes are “Return” and“Hope”, the former closer to a ballad while the latter
discloses more accentuated dynamics. These are clearly
very personal stories we can all associate with,particularly in this day and age. Both tunes have aslow and circular development, with each solo fillingthe space one note at a time as pauses and silencesplay a major role. “Deep Trust” develops in an almost
suite-like fashion while “Leap” is the most traditional
postbop tune. Bixler ’s arrangement of traditional
melody “Give Me Jesus” wraps up the program as it
started, Cowherd and Sturm with an opportunity tostretch out unhurriedly after an inspired alto solo.
The more recent Blended Lineage is a bit morestructured, mainly due to a string quartet (Judith
Ingolfsson and Heather Martin Bixler, violins; Josh
Kail, viola; Rubin Khodeli, cello) complementing
Bixler ’s quintet (another recording with the sameensemble is already underway). It is a suite in fourmovements based on the concept of modern tribes.
Cowherd is showcased throughout, but particularly in“Origins”, which develops from a dramatic intro led
by the strings to the quintet repeating the main theme
and leading to Cowherd’s thoughtful and deliberatesolo. Mike Rodriguez’ trumpet blends very well withthe leader while bassist Luke Sellick and percussionist
Fabio Rojas sustain the slow evolution with taste andrestraint.
Withoutthestrings,“Motherland”
reproduces the atmospheres found in the earlier album.
“Trenches” is the most complex piece, the interaction
between quintet and strings more accomplished thanelsewhere. Based on an ostinato pattern, Rodriguez’solo leads to a sudden change of pace featuring a
dialogue between the quintet and the strings followed
by Bixler and Rojas’ solos. Finally, “My Soul” concludes
with alto winding down James Joyce’s words from thelast paragraph of his short story “The Dead”. In theface of chaos, different tribes can still find unity andplenty of beauty.
For more information, visit redpianorecords.com. Bixler’s
Blended Lineage was scheduled to be at Soapbox Gallery.

Always in The Moment
Rufus Reid/Sullivan Fortner (Newvelle)by Ken Dryden

V eteran bassist Rufus Reid honed his sound throughintense learning on his own and through classicalstudies at Northwestern. He has graced hundreds ofrecordings and his output as a leader has earned
consistently strong praise. Not to be overlooked are histremendous gifts as a composer and arranger, both ofwhich are displayed in depth in this duo session with
Sullivan Fortner, a pianist whose star is very much on
the rise. In spite of the several-decade difference inage, they mesh beautifully. Reid’s originals provide
plenty of inspiration for the duo, with his flawless tone
always prominent while Fortner ’s playing is lyrical,
imaginative and never excessive, the latter a skill ittakes many instrumentalists years to learn.
Subtlety is a key factor. There is an intimacy to theperformances, with plenty of give and take between
the principals, whether on one of the bassist’s
compositions, an overlooked gem like Charles Mingus’“Duke Ellington’s Sound Of Love” or a time-tested
jazz standard like Jimmy Rowles’ “The Peacocks”. The
closing song is a gorgeous solo bass rendition of
Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady”, leaving the listener
sad to see the needle move to the end of the LP.
Newvelle Records’ novel approach seems to be
making good money for their artists and there is a lot
to like about their products. The warm sound is among
the very best available today and rivals the heyday ofpremium direct-to-disc LPs. But they are only available
to those purchasing an entire season subscription of six
LPs by different artists at $60 apiece plus shipping.
One also must download the liner notes, though they
could have been printed and inserted into the record
jacket, along with the enclosed poem.
For more information, visit newvelle-records.com. Fortner
was scheduled to be at The Jazz Gallery.

Play The Bird and The BeeCharles Ruggiero and Hilary Gardner (smallsLIVE)by George Kanzler

The Bird and The Bee is an electronica pop duo, alineal descendant of the post-WWII pop duo Les Pauland Mary Ford. Like them, The Bird and The Bee create
their songs by layering multi-tracks of voices (by Inara
George as Ford did) and music (electronic andsynthesizer sounds and beats by Greg Lurstin as Paul
did with his guitar). The duo have been recording
songs, both coyly acerbic and wryly romantic, for overa decade. They offer a singular cache of pop, much as
Tin Pan Alley did in the mid-20th Century, for jazzmusicians to draw on and reinterpret. Drummer
Charles Ruggiero and singer Hilary Gardner do justthat, reframing eight of their songs as acoustic
renditions for vocalist with a piano-bass-drums trio—
jazzing them up, if you will.

26 MAY 2020 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

Ruggiero brings a variety of rhythms and tempos
to his arrangements, mirroring or taking cues from the
duo’s recordings (comparisons are easy as The Bird and
The Bee tracks are available on multiple internet
platforms). Latin beats kick in after a vocal-piano verseon “You’re A Cad”, wherein the lyrics both excoriate
said cad but also confess “I’m a fish on your hook / Still
I wait by the phone / I should get better but I’m worse”,
Gardner delivering the contradictory messages withconvincing irony. Ruggiero double times on brushes on“The Races”, with enigmatic lyrics conflating gamblingand desire. “4th of July” is bright and sparkling, sungwith swinging brio. The duo’s most infamous song,“F*cking Boyfriend”, has one of the most intricatearrangements, beginning with vocal over bass andfinger-snaps, as the lyrics admonish a boyfriend forbeing sexually withholding and non-committal. Pianist
Jeremy Manasia’s solo in the middle, heavily in the Red
Garland/Wynton Kelly style, is a highlight, as are his
contributions throughout this surprisingly enjoyable
jazz take on a pop duo’s repertoire.
For more information, visit smallslive.com. Gardner wasscheduled to be at Café Bohemia.

Eponymous
Astroturf Noise (577 Records)by George Grella

In 1979, Steve Martin put out Comedy is Not Pretty!. On

one of the tracks, “Cruel Shoes”, he reads a short story
while accompanying himself on the banjo. There’s nojoke in the story, but this is Martin, so it’s hilarious—somuch of what he does is about delivery, tone and timing.
Comedy isn’t pretty, it’s hard. It’s particularly
hard in music, but a listener often gets the impressionthat musicians think it’s pretty easy, especially among
the more avant garde players. But the reason Martin
made it look easy and Peter Schickele and Lester Bowie
were masters of comedic music is that they knew it was
hard and worked at it until it came off as second nature.
This debut album from the trio Astroturf Noise—mandolinist Sam Day Harmet, violinist Sana Nagano
and bassist Zach Swanson—shows musicians who
think that playing a comical, slightly free bluegrass/country/Americana mix is simple. That makes for analbum that is insulting because in its fundamental
laziness it condescends both to musicians and listeners
who care about those styles of music and who havea sense of humor that is generous, not exclusionary.
The material is simplistic, some kind of downhome theme or rocking rhythm made ‘funny’ and‘avant garde’ with dissonant counter melodies andharmonies and some seasoning with things like astutter effect. The combination of the ordinary musicalthinking and the cutesy and manipulative attitude
starts off irritating and then, through the first two
tracks, “Orange Blossom Bullet Train” and “Black
Berry”, grows nauseating. The press materials namedrop the likes of Bill Monroe, James Chance and The
Lounge Lizards, leaving one with the idea themusicians never actually listened to those artists.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel: closer“Cluck” abandons the snark for a committed
improvisation that is atmospheric, sui generis andsatisfying. A shame it has to go with the rest of the album.
For more information, visit 577records.com. This project
was scheduled to be at Pete’s Candy Store.

B OXED SE T

The Complete Woody Herman
Decca, Mars and MGM Sessions (1943-1954)
Woody Herman (Mosaic)
by John Pietaro

Among the leading figures of the Swing Era,clarinetist Woody Herman, who was born 107 years
ago this month, stands out as iconic. He fronted bands
well beyond the ‘40s; premiered a work by Igor
Stravinsky written for him; and enjoyed a wildly
popular multimedia career, thereby carving out a vital
space in the history of big band music. Rethinking theconcept governing his ensemble, Herman was quick
to move from “The Band That Plays the Blues” to aseries of Thundering Herds in 1943, with stars
including Ben Webster, Stan Getz, Flip Phillips as wellas progressives Chubby Jackson, Billy Bauer, Urbie
Green, Kai Winding, Red Mitchell and, particularly,
Jimmy Giuffre. And of course, an array of soloists
who remain legendary (see: Red Norvo, Ray Nance,
Pete Candoli, Juan Tizol, Shorty Rogers, as well as theaforementioned). While Herman’s music has been
widespread, there was a raft of recordings lost to timeand long sought-after by fans. The Complete Woody
Herman satisfies this need, offering listeners the airchecks, live dates, rehearsals, alternate takes andrecords cut for singular radio broadcasts along withother sessions. Furthermore, this seven-CD boxed set
includes a detailed booklet of historical facts including
personnel, recording dates and sites. However, theabsence of important pieces like 1945’s “Apple
Honey”, “Laura” and the celebrated “Four Brothers”(1947) reveals that the Complete in the title falls
glaringly short.
That said, there are gems here and for Herman
completists and jazz historians pairing this set withearlier collections may finalize your search.
Highlights include Norvo’s extended vibraphonechoruses on “The Man I Love” and “Red Top”;
blistering trumpet from Candoli; Herman’s own
clarinet solo flights; drummers Cliff Leeman, DaveTough, Sonny Igoe, Don Lamond, Louie Bellson,
Panama Francis and Chuck Flores; the young Neal
Hefti’s trumpet and arrangements; and guests likepercussionist Candido. Yet, for all of the talent, thevast majority of this collection is comprised ofballads, the first half of which are dominated byHerman alternating vocal duties with Frances
Wayne. Neither were celebrated for their vocal chops
and Herman’s tendency toward an affected AfricanAmerican style ranges from merely irritating tooutright offensive. Herman was conscious enough of
racial struggles to hire respected black artists infeatured spots, so why the ‘jive’ vernacular? One
can imagine the private discussions of these band
members, the disapproving, disappointed glaresand stifled protest.
“One-Two-Three-Four Jump”, composed by

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Phillips, is another Norvo feature for vibraphone, an
instrument he had transitioned to from xylophone in1943. Phillips is strong here, too, though the tune
borrows much from both “Undecided” and “Apple
Honey”. The oft-maligned recording of “Ebony
Concerto” happens to be a standout, if only for its
historic content, but it is fascinating to hear the band
work through a modern classical piece like this. And
the four selections credited to “Billy Eckstine andWoody Herman and his Orchestra” are impressivewith Eckstine, as always, exquisite. On “Here Comethe Blues” he’s in top form with the ensemble
including Wilbur Schwartz on alto saxophone andGiuffre and Babe Russin among the tenors. Most
interesting is the presence of French horn
(John Graas) and tuba (Gene Englund). Arrangers
Pete Rugolo and Rogers were heavily influenced by
the advances of bebop and the expansive post-Warsounds. These sides were cut in January 1951; twoyears earlier, Rugolo produced the first sessions ofMiles Davis’ Birth of the Cool, which boasted
expansive arrangements by Gil Evans and Gerry
Mulligan, graduates of the Claude Thornhill
Orchestra. And of course, Eckstine’s own band hadearlier included Charlie Parker and welcomed in the
new direction. Much was happening in this period oftransition, but unfortunately the next Herman
session went back to the basic lineup—and a Herman
vocal. Though his ‘50s Herds included strong section
players and soloists, as well as the promise ofadvanced orchestration by Giuffre and Ralph Burns,
the remaining selections too often leave one
wondering what could have been.
For more information, visit mosaicrecords.com

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THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | MAY 2020 27

M ISCELLANY
ONbyTHISDAYAndrey Henkin

Alto Madness
Jackie McLean/John Jenkins (Prestige)
May 3rd, 1957

Jazz à Gaveau
Martial Solal (Columbia)
May 3rd, 1962

Live At The Jazz Galerie
El Babaku (MPS)
May 3rd, 1971

Ancestral Song
Ethnic Heritage Ensemble (Silkheart)May 3rd, 1987

Polar Bear Stomp
Jim Pepper (EmArcy)May 3rd, 1991

They both played alto, were born inbig cities (Jackie McLean in New York,John Jenkins in Chicago) five months
apart in 1931 and had a Prestige toBlue Note progression early in theircareers. But while McLean would
keep working steadily into the newmillennium, Jenkins was out of musicby the end of the decade. For thissession the pair are joined by a semitragic rhythm section: pianist Wade
Legge died in 1963 and bassist Doug
Watkins in 1962. Drummer Art Taylor
did live a long life. Leader originals
and standards make up the set.

Gaveau (1847-1960) was one of thethree major French piano-makers. In
its factory was a performance hall,stately with a massive pipe organ onstage. While the company has sincemerged with its rivals, the hallcontinues to host concerts. One such
event was the Francophone trio of
pianist Martial Solal (Algeria), bassist
Guy Pedersen (France) and drummer
Daniel Humair (Switzerland). Apartfrom the opener, Duke Jordan’s“Jordu”, the music is Solal originals,
including one presumably written forthe set, “Gavotte A Gaveau”.

This is the group’s only LP, a live datefrom Berlin. The most known member
is drummer/bamboo flutist Billy
Brooks, who had moved to Europe in
1964, working with Tete Montoliu.
The percussion-heavy quintet is filled
out by other ex-pats: Burt Thompson(bass and vocals), Donald Coleman
and Charles Campbell (congas andvocals) from the U.S. and Carlos Santa
Cruz (congas and vocals) from Cuba.
Apart from Brooks’ band theme song
and a tribute to Malcolm X, the set is
his arrangements of music from
Nigeria and Cuba.

While this group was made up of

Jim Pepper (tenor saxophone andChicagoans, born or living—drummer
Kahil El’Zabar, saxophonist Ed
Wilkerson and reedplayer Henry‘Light’ Huff, coming out of the latter’s
Infinite Spirit Music band from 1979—
its first four albums were recorded inGermany, Italy, Finland and Sweden.
Huff had been replaced by Maurice
McIntyre the album before and here
himself is replaced by trombonist
Joseph Bowie for a live set at the
Fasching Club in Stockholm. El’Zabar
composed the four lengthy tunes,
including the title track.

vocals) is notable in jazz history bothas its most famous Native Americanmusician and for writing “Witchi-TaiTo” (supposedly a peyote song fromhis grandfather), covered by Jan
Garbarek, Oregon and others. Thatsong appears on this posthumously
released live date from Miles Smiles
Jazz Café in Vienna, Pepper (whodied nine months later at 50) withbassist Wayne Darling and drummer
Bill Elgart. Other tunes are by Pepper,
his father (also a saxophonist) and the
traditional melody “Greensleeves”.

BIRTHDAYSMay 1
Ira Sullivan b.1931†Shirley Horn 1934-2005
Carlos Ward b.1940
James Newton b.1953
Kevin Hays b.1968
Ambrose Akinmusire b.1982

May 6†Freddy Randall 1921-99†Denny Wright 1924-92
Isla Eckinger b.1939
Paul Dunmall b.1953
Rob Silverman b.1954

May 11†King Oliver 1885-1938†JC Higginbotham 1906-73†Oscar Valdambrini 1924-97†John Coppola 1929-2015
Dick Garcia b.1931†Freddie Roach 1931-80
Carla Bley b.1938
Ralph Humphrey b.1944
Mikkel Ploug b.1978

May 7†Pete Jacobs 1899-1952†Leon Abbey 1900-75†Edward Inge 1906-88†Herbie Steward 1926-2003†Arthur Blythe 1940-2017
David Haney b.1955
Michael Formanek b.1958

May 2†Pat Smyth 1923-83†Richard “Groove” Holmes
1931-91†Eddy Louiss 1941-2015
Mickey Bass b.1943
Keith Ganz b.1972
May 3†John Lewis 1920-2001†Jimmy Cleveland 1926-2008†Jymie Merritt 1926-2020
Johnny Fischer b.1930
John Alexander b.1948
Larry Ochs b.1949
Guillermo E. Brown b.1974
Matt Bauder b.1976
Alexander Hawkins b.1981

May 12†Marshal Royal 1912-95†Don DeMichael 1928-82
Gary Peacock b.1935
Klaus Doldinger b.1936
Trevor Tompkins b.1941

May 8†Red Nichols 1905-65†Mary Lou Williams 1910-81†Jerry Rusch 1943-2003
Keith Jarrett b.1945
Jon-Erik Kellso b.1964
Meinrad Kneer b.1970

May 13†Maxine Sullivan 1911-87†Gil Evans 1912-88†Red Garland 1923-84
Creed Taylor b.1929†Erick Moseholm 1930-2012
John Engels b.1935

May 9†George Simon 1912-2001†Dick Morrissey 1940-2000
Dennis Chambers b.1959
Ricardo Gallo b.1978

May 4†Sonny Payne 1926-79†Maynard Ferguson
1928-2006†Don Friedman 1935-2016
Ron Carter b.1937
Chuck Folds b.1938
Rudresh Mahanthappa b.1971
Jeremiah Cymerman b.1980

May 14†Sidney Bechet 1897-1959†Zutty Singleton 1898-1975†Skip Martin 1916-76†Al Porcino 1925-2013
Warren Smith b.1932†Jack Bruce 1943-2014
Virginia Mayhew b.1959
Frank Basile b.1978

May 10†Pee Wee Hunt 1907-79†Al Hendrickson 1920-2007†Mel Lewis 1929-90†Julius Wechter 1935-99†Mike Melvoin 1937-2012†Jimmy Ponder 1946-2013
Ahmed Abdullah b.1947†Hans Reichel 1949-2011
Alex Foster b.1953
Philip Harper b.1965
Jasper Hoiby b.1977

May 5
Kidd Jordan b.1935
Stanley Cowell b.1941
Jack Walrath b.1946
Pablo Aslan b.1962

May 15†Ellis Larkins 1923-2002
Karin Krog b.1937
Oscar Castro-Neves b.1940
Omer Klein b.1982
Grace Kelly b.1992

May 16†Woody Herman 1913-87†Eddie Bert 1922-2012†Betty Carter 1930-98
Billy Cobham b.1944

May 22†Sun Ra 1914-93†Elek Bacsik 1926-1993†Giuseppi Logan 1935-2020†Dick Berk 1939-2014

May 17†Paul Quinichette 1916-83†Dewey Redman 1931-2006†David Izenzon 1932-79†Jackie McLean 1932-2006
Roy Nathanson b.1951
Michiel Braam b.1964

May 23†Artie Shaw 1910-2004†Rosemary Clooney 1928-2002†Les Spann 1932-89
Daniel Humair b.1938
Marvin Stamm b.1939
Don Moye b.1946
Richie Beirach b.1947
Ken Peplowski b.1959
Darcy James Argue b.1975

May 18†Joe Turner 1911-85†Kai Winding 1922-83
Jim McNeely b.1949
Weasel Walter b.1972
May 19Cecil McBee b.1935†Sonny Fortune 1939-2018†Henry Butler 1949-2018
Michael Blake b.1964
May 20†Tommy Gumina 1931-2013†Louis Smith 1931-2016†Bob Florence 1932-2008†Charles Davis 1933-2016†Rufus Harley 1936-2006
Victor Lewis b.1950
Ralph Peterson b.1962
Sheryl Bailey b.1966
Benjamin Duboc b.1969
May 21†Fats Waller 1904-43†Tommy Bryant 1930-82
Marc Ribot b.1954
Lewis “Flip” Barnes b.1955

May 24†Frank Signorelli 1901-75†Herbie Fields 1919-58†Max Bennett 1928-2018†Gianni Basso 1931-2009†Michael White 1933-2016
Archie Shepp b.1937†Charles Earland 1941-99
Ben Monder b.1962

May 27†Albert Nicholas 1900-73†Earl “Jock” Carruthers 1910-71†Bud Shank 1926-2009
Ramsey Lewis b.1935†Rufus Jones 1936-90†Niels-Henning Ørsted
Pedersen 1946-2005
Gonzalo Rubalcaba b.1963
May 28†Andy Kirk 1898-1992†Al Tinney 1921-2002†Russ Freeman 1926-2002
Alfred Patterson b.1937†Claudio Roditi 1946-2020

isla eckinger

May 6th, 1939

May 29Freddie Redd b.1927†Hilton Ruiz 1952-2006
Jim Snidero b.1958
Lafayette Harris, Jr. b.1963
Wycliffe Gordon b.1967
Sean Jones b.1978

May 25
Marshall Allen b.1924†Miles Davis 1926-91†Piet Noordijk 1932-2011
Gary Foster b.1936
Christof Lauer b.1953†Wallace Roney 1960-2020

May 30†Sidney DeParis 1905-67†Benny Goodman 1909-86†Pee Wee Erwin 1913-81†Shake Keane 1927-97†Harry Beckett 1935-2010
Ann Hampton Callaway b.1959
Juan Pablo Carletti b.1973
Frank Rosaly b.1974

May 26†Shorty Baker 1914-66†Ziggy Elman 1914-68†Calvin Jackson 1919-85
Frank Grant b.1931†Neil Ardley 1937-2004
David Torn b.1953

May 31†Red Holloway 1927-2012
Albert “Tootie ”Heath b.1935
Louis Hayes b.1937
Marty Ehrlich b.1955
Eric Revis b.1967
Christian McBride b.1972

When ECM reissued, in
grand double-LP fashion,
its inaugural release, Mal
Waldron’s Free At Last from1969, last December, it also
called attention to one of
the most accomplished jazzmusicians hailing from
Switzerland: bassist Isla
Eckinger. He would go on
to make two more albums
with Waldron but had
already been recording forover a decade, both withcountrymen like Bruno
Spoerri (on trombone) andvisiting Americans like
Buck Clayton. He has been
on well over 100 albums,
many for MPS, Enja and
EGO—labels based in his
then-adopted home ofGermany—for the cream ofEuropean (and U.S.) jazzers.
In the new millennium, hemoved to Los Angeles,
where he is still active. -AH

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By Andrey Henkin 			

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visit nycjazzrecord.com for answers

28 MAY 2020 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

DOWN

1. Jazz Pharmaceuticals got approval from this org. in 2019 1. Like the Jones Brothers
4. ’50’s His Master’s Voice French 7” EP catalogue prefix
2. Late jazz poet Steve
7. Jazz singers often have to be these as well
3. Australian univ. with noted jazz program
12. Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s “____ Slavery”
4. Vocal suffix
13. Denny Zeitlin and Eddie Henderson are part of this org. 5. Trumpeter Jack Sheldon was sidekick on his TV show
14. 1991 Teddy Edwards featuring Tom Waits Verve album 6. Comps
Mississippi ____
7. Fredrik Ljungkvist/Mattias Ståhl/Patric Thorman band
15. ’50 jazz label ____-Jay____ För Tommy
16. Airport code for visiting Twins Jazz Club
8. Steve Turre and James Genus are longtime
18. They help with booking (abbr.)
band members of this show (abbr.)
19. Manufacturer of guitar effect pedals
9. Tom T. Hall country sound “Harper Valley ____”
20. Pianist Yamamoto
covered by The Three Sounds, Seiji Hiraoka and others
21. This has two uses on the bandstand10. This tome describes jazz as “broadly characterized by
22. Late British trumpeter Colbeck
regular forceful rhythms, syncopated phrasing...and23. 2012 Mike Dillon Royal Potato Family album usefulimprovisatory soloing.” (abbr.)for interment
11. ’50’s Decca Scandinavian 7” EP catalogue prefix
24. Romanian pianist Baciu, Jr.
17. A musician’s instrument?
27. Five Saxes LP catalogue prefix
18. 2004 Nik Bärtsch’s Mobile Tonus-Music album
29. Steinway competitor
23. German label releasing late ‘80s-early ‘90s Manfred
32. This Monkee had a 1967 big band album arranged by
Schoof albums
Shorty Rogers
24. Tokyo jazz club The Pit ____
33. Trio ____, Scottish improv group of
25. 1972 Barry Guy Incus double album
Cameron Thomson-Duncan, Tom Stephenson and
26. NFL team playing in birthplace of jazz		
Greg Irons
28. Duke Ellington composed a suite for her (abbr.)
34. Jazz Masters - 100 ____ De Jazz compilation series
30. Fusion suffix
31. NYC venue that hosted Harlem in the Himalayas series