APRIL 2021—ISSUE 228

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DIGITALONLYEDITIONZEENA

PARKINSINTERLACING

IAM
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M
E
IN M

D
R
O
F
MIL ESGRAVDAVID
OSTWALDSTEPH
RICHARDSCALVIN
KEYS

AARON
BELL

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APRIL 2021—ISSUE 228
ON THE COVER : ZEENA PARKINSLaurence Donohue-Greene:ldgreene@nycjazzrecord.com

NEW YORK@NIGHT

Andrey Henkin:ahenkin@nycjazzrecord.com

INTERVIEW : DAVID OSTWALDARTIST FEATURE : STEPH RICHARDS

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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, Anders Griffen, 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, Brian Charette, Pierre Giroux,
George Kanzler, Franz Matzner, Steven Loewy
Contributing Photographers
Kate Delacorte, Peter Gannushkin,
Robert I. Sutherland-Cohen, Chris Weiss
Fact-checker
Nate Dorward

nycjazzrecord.com

OBITUARIESIN MEMORIAM : MILFORD GRAVESALBUM REVIEWSMISCELLANY

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by tyran grillo

by marilyn lester
by robert bushby anders griffen
by george kanzler
by john sharpeby suzanne lorge
by andrey henkin

Just like every day really should be Mother’s Day and Earth Day and National Doughnut
Day, so too should every month be Jazz Appreciation Month. Maybe John Edward
Hasse, Curator of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, picked it
because there are so many jazz tunes with the word in their titles or maybe since jazz,
like spring, is about rebirth. Whatever his reason, it all culminates with International
Jazz Day on Apr. 30th, which, well, see above...
One of the great things about appreciating jazz—for a day, month, year or lifetime—isthat it is, by extension, an opportunity to appreciate American history, warts and all,and how it created an environment for this art form to blossom. And it is a chance toappreciate the larger history of music and how myriad elements from numerous cultures
and traditions have been folded into jazz through song forms, instruments and, ofcourse, players. Think of jazz as a mosaic, each new influence a new tile contributing
towards a picture that is constantly changing.
Our features this month reflect that progress, whether it be Zeena Parkins (On The
Cover) redefining what the harp can do; David Ostwald (Interview) using his tuba as
an archeological tool; Steph Richards (Artist Feature) making her trumpet something
more than a collection of tubes and valves; Calvin Keys (Encore) taking from and adding
to the long history of the guitar; Aaron Bell (Lest We Forget), a significant thread in the
distinguished tapestry of Ellington bassists; or Milford Graves (In Memoriam), whose
influence as a drummer and philosopher is remembered by his peers and students.

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

2 APRIL 2021 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

ON THE COVER
PETER GANNUSHKIN/DOWNTOWNMUSIC.NET

ZEENA
PARKINSINTERLACING
by tyran grillo

It’s tempting to draw a connection between ancient

meanings and modern practice. In the case of LACE,
an ongoing project from harpist Zeena Parkins, suchconnections become more tangible than any etymology
ever could be. The word “lace” is derived from theLatin laqueum, meaning “a noose, a snare”, but any
negative connotations of such parlance turn to a cloudof dust that Parkins draws, particle by particle, into
light. LACE began with an invitation in 2008 from the
Merce Cunningham Dance Studio as part of its “Music
Mondays” series. “There was an impending deadline,”
she recalls, “and most of my compositions at the time
would have taken months to learn. I had collectedfabrics over the years and I just grabbed some graphiclooking pieces of lace and made conditions for
improvisers to read each piece as a score. It worked.”
Since then, she has created an action card-based
game piece, recently recorded by percussionist William
Winant, a project for her band Green Dome—with Ryan
Sawyer (percussion) and Ryan Ross Smith (piano andelectronics)—based on transforming the lace knitting
patterns from the Shetland Islands to scores and afourth movement, entitled “Stitchomythia”, performedon an anamorphic carpet designed by Nadia Lauro. Ifanything, Parkins does not tie snares but unravels themin hopes they might reach the soil of the ear and growwithout forsaking their precise comfort.
Such impulses have been a running thread of her
ethos since 1993’s Nightmare Alley. Across the terrain ofthat formative album, a near-catharsis unfolds, as if
the very zeitgeist from which it arose were crying insearch of change. Parkins cites it as an important
turning point in her career. “I felt a need to do a solo
record, lay my gauntlet down and take a place. It’s notlike I had a manifesto, but I was really at the beginningof a process of determination to do something that
I hadn’t heard exactly the way I was doing it. My
mission was to do something with the harp that was
unfamiliar to me.” To be sure, it was just as unfamiliar
to the audience who came to hear her play at New
Langton Arts, curated by visual artist Nayland Blakein San Francisco in the summer of 1991. “I hadn’t donethat many solo shows and they didn’t have an acoustic
harp available, so I played with my electric harp. The
gallery had rake seating fanning out from the center—and it was packed. I was in a state of shock. Inspired
and excited, I just improvised. That’s when Table of the
Elements approached me and asked if I would be thefirst artist on the label. It was a special way to start.”
Besides introducing listeners to a voice that needed
hearing, Nightmare Alley revealed the harp’s
multifaceted potential. Though the credits list “electricand acoustic harps” as its material resources, the album
was a revelation of immaterial forces that betrayednext to nothing of their origins. “I’m very connected tothe harp,” notes Parkins, “but not in a way meant toconvey technical virtuosity.” Trained in the rigors ofclassical piano yet aware that it wasn’t the path she
wanted to follow, she encountered the harp while
attending Cass Technical High School in Detroit. “Theytook pity on us pianists for being isolated in ourpractice rooms, so they assigned us orchestral
instruments to get us out there performing. The school
had many orchestras and I was willing to give it a try.
Walking into a back room without windows and seeing
eight concert harps was the most unexpected situation
I could ever have imagined myself in. I totally fell inlove with the instrument; it made total sense to me
physically. When I realized that I was really going toseriously be involved with harp, I trained privately
knowing I wasn’t ever going to play it live in a classicalsetting.” Out of that training emerged a musician who
understood the corporeal math needed to bring fortha sound that translated her inner equations into alanguage that we on the outside could understand.
It wasn’t long before her interest in developingthat language opened a portal into the harp’s verysoul, pulling from that formless void a second heartbeat
in electric form. The earliest version of her electric
harp was built by late cellist and Skeleton Crew
bandmate Tom Cora and visual artist Julian Jackson in
1985. The following year, it was remade by luthier Ken
Parker as a freestanding instrument allowing her toplay standing up. Next, sound artist and clandestine
instrument builder Douglas Henderson added, among
other things, new pickup placements and an ebony
strip along the whammy bar side, which Parkins
praises for a certain physicality, noting that it“profoundly changed the instrument, creating afingerboard-like environment for me to develop
different kinds of playing techniques.”
At the same time, there is a deeply metaphysicalaspect to her work that has continued to evolve fromone setting to the next. For Parkins, however, it’s lessof a dichotomy than a spectrum: “The physical canbecome metaphysical because gesture and materiality
are so important. It’s about presence, which is verymuch a part of how I am as a performer. Not just thebody, but also one’s intention and absence of intention,
desire, expectations, failures—all these things help.”
A case in point is her latest album, Glass Triangle(released in February on Relative Pitch Records), forwhich she joins with Mette Rasmussen (alto saxophone)and, again, Sawyer. Despite having played together
only once at The Stone Series at Happylucky no.1 in
Brooklyn, the trio made the studio its crucible. Whatensued in the freely improvised session was reverse
alchemy—not turning lead into gold but breaking
down the latter into its constituent parts, each nolonger precious alone yet all the more authentic forhaving been liberated. Thus, what begins as a
fragmentary coalition gathers around the campfire of
an intimately connected excursion. Sounding at times
like an electric guitar, at others like a voice dying in its
attempts to communicate from behind the wall of noise
erected by recent politics, harp hoists a protest sign fora generation woefully uncertain of the future, as if
some gargantuan lie were morphing into truth. In thisspace, magic is outed as a restless muse that would
sooner destroy its adherents than enable a miracle.
Between dips into sustained beauty, one encounters
the profundity of “The crystal chain letters”, a trackthat references Bruno Taut, whose legendary
correspondences with kindred architects imagined afuture in which urban planning welcomed rather thandictated human behavior. The letters were also, more
importantly, a honeycomb around World War I, thetraumatic effects of which begged not for utopia but
for an ability to use the rubble of the past as material
for mosaics of the future. This sensibility is broken andrubbed into the skin of Glass Triangle as if it were anecessary armor for the road ahead.
In light of this historical awareness, Parkins reflects
on her beginnings as an artist as follows.
“I was myopic then in thinking about the future, justliving in the moment. Growing up with an immigrant
father and a first-generation mother, I was encouraged
to be practical, to be good in school, to do music on theside but focus on a career. But I just wanted to be in theworld of music, to be surrounded by a community ofmusicians, to hear things I’d never heard before.
I wanted every experience.” Under the current
circumstances, one would be remiss to ignore thismotivation. The need for community seems to havegrown in proportion to the world’s tendency to fall
down the rabbit hole of isolation. Such concerns werealready on Parkins’ mind before the pandemic, whenquestions of safety and practicality prevented her fromtouring with the electric harp. The mindset of quarantine
rekindled her relationship with the instrument. With thehelp of her partner, filmmaker Jeff Preiss, she beganshooting solo performances as a means of reaching out.
As she sees it: “You put a recorder up and instantly it’smore than just you in the room.”
Seeking other channels through which to fostera sense of community, including a virtual book group,
has allowed connections that might not normally havecrystallized to take root and flourish. “This situation
we’ve been enduring is like a combination of patienceand faith, but also the understanding that there need to
be points of correction, a sense of urgency fortransformation. It gives us a new way to look at ourworld with brutality and honesty, knowing that we are
faced with a different kind of time.” What a sonic blessing,then, that we can wield the lanterns of her creations toshow the way. As justice shines like a constellation above
a horizon that only seems to recede the more we approachit, we need all the light we can get. v
For more information, visit zeenaparkins.com. Parkins livestreams Apr. 8th at roulette.org.
Recommended Listening:• Zeena Parkins—Something Out There(No Man’s Land, 1986-87)• Butch Morris—Dust to Dust (New World, 1990)• Zeena Parkins—Nightmare Alley(Table of the Elements, 1992)• Phantom Orchard Orchestra—Trouble in Paradise(Tzadik, 2008)• Myra Melford/Zeena Parkins/Miya Masaoka—
MPM (Infrequent Seams, 2014)• Zeena Parkins—Glass Triangle (Relative Pitch, 2019)

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | APRIL 2021 3

NEW YORK @ NIGHT
J azz vocalists are judged on tone, technique, originality W hen is a bass more than a bass? When it’s in the

ABRAHAM BURTON
LUCIAN BANBLACKSALTSSC 1609
AVAILABLE 4/9/21—”There is an alluring timelessness to the music created by pianist Lucian Ban” Down Beat *****—“Abraham Burton has developed a reputation as aseasoned musician as well as an explosive soloist”
Jackie McLean Institute of JazzJENNIFER WHARTON’S
BONEGASM

NOT A NOVELTY
SSC 1612
AVAILABLE 4/23/21—”(Jennifer Wharton) blows the doors wide open forthe bass trombone” All About Jazz—“Her gorgeous turns as a low-frequency melodist…
are breathtaking” Down Beatand, above all, the ability to embody and project thedepth of life’s experiences. Dallas-born Jazzmeia
Horn, who turns 30 this month, is blessed with the first
three and developing the fourth, as she showed at alive-streamed duet with pianist Keith Brown at Dizzy’s
Club (Mar. 4th). Seated on a stool, dressed in stark
primary colors and her trademark Queen Nefertitistyle headdress, Horn was equally playful and serious,
childlike and mature. Introducing her originals she
spoke of women’s rights (the “infinity of femininity”),
motherhood, cyber-bullying and the travails of college
dating. Her delivery of the songs was a mix of mercurial
vocal tones (she often sounded like several different
singers simultaneously) and daring improvisations
during which she would seem to paint herself into amusical corner, only to leap out suddenly with aharmonically ‘correct’ note or a rhythmically ‘correct’
accent. Besides her own “Free Your Mind”, “Where We
Are“, “When I Say”, “Let Us”, “Legs and Arms” and“Searchin’”, Horn covered “East of the Sun and West of
the Moon”, “Have You Met Miss Jones?” and “If You
Can’t Smile and Say Yes”. Her rapport with Brown was
cozy and comfortable: instead of trying to compensate
for a lack of bass and drums, he gave her open spaces,
trusting their collective rhythm to hold the momentum
while she threaded his harmonies with intricate scatsolos, adroitly adapting her melodic shapes to thechanging chords. 		
—Tom Greenland

COURTESY OF BIRDLAND

JOHN FEDCHOCK trombone
NATE MAYLAND trombone
ALAN FERBER trombone
JENNIFER WHARTON bass trombone
MICHAEL ECKROTH piano, fender rhodes
EVAN GREGOR bass
DON PERETZ drums
SAMUEL TORRES percussion (1 & 8)
KURT ELLING vocals (10)TOBIAS MEINHART
THE PAINTER
SSC 1613
AVAILABLE 4/30/21
TOBIAS MEINHART saxophones, flute, vocals
INGRID JENSEN trumpet
CHARLES ALTURA guitar
EDEN LADIN piano, keyboards
MATT PENMAN bass
OBED CALVAIRE drums—“Not only a commanding saxophonist, but also akeen composer. — John Murph” Down Beat

CLOVIS NICOLAS
AUTOPORTRAIT
SSC 4117AVAILABLE 4/16/21—”A formidable walker with a big, resonant tone,
Nicolas distinguishes himself as a first-rate composer”
Down Beat
CLOVIS NICOLAS bass

www.sunnysiderecords.com

hands of Ron Carter. There isn’t an inch of the uprightthat the miraculous Carter hasn’t explored. Not only is
he a virtuoso of styles and techniques, but what heelicits from his instrument is magical. It can sound likea guitar, a harp or more, yielding to his seemingly
infinite creative will. For his Radio Free Birdlandconcert (Mar. 6th), Carter was joined by pianist Renee
Rosnes, tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene and drummer
Payton Crossley. The quartet hadn’t played in a year,
but you’d never know it. With musical ‘muscle
memory’ they fell into the pocket with total ease. The
first half hour was devoted to an intertwining medleyof two Carter originals with Miles Davis standards“Flamenco Sketches” and “Seven Steps to Heaven”(Carter played on the latter ’s original recording). The
themes integrated seamlessly, with a couple of bass
solos in the off-the-charts category. A lot of the heavy
lifting fell to Greene, whose overall suavity was smoothas honey, with tone to match. A commonality among
the four is lightness; their notes, not without power,
seem to rise almost ethereally into a synchronous
whole, including Crossley, who tamed and coaxed
rhythm from his kit in support. The ballad feature for
Rosnes was a beautifully creative take on Richard
Rodgers-Lorenz Hart’s “My Funny Valentine”. Arthur
Schwartz-Howard Dietz’ “You and The Night andthe Music” closed the set with a happy-making,uplifting swing.
—Marilyn Lester

Jazzmeia Horn @ Dizzy’s Club

Ron Carter @ Birdland

P eople often moan about the psychic distancing G rammy Award-winning composer and bandleader,concomitant with COVID-19 quarantining, an effectparticularly grating to aficionados of live music, but
this reviewer was pleasantly surprised by the deeply
immersive experience provided by the Take Off
Collective’s live-stream gig at Brooklyn’s ShapeShifterLab (Mar. 6th). Thanks to top-shelf technology—artfullighting schemes (monolithic black baffles mounted ona white brick wall were sequentially bathed in dark
purple, metallic blue, hell-fire red and neutral light torender a cave-like ambiance) and a sensitive crew (themix was impeccable and the cameras weren’t on
autopilot, as they are in many venues, but followed theonstage action)—both the sights and sounds ofsaxophonist Ole Mathisen, bassist Matt Garrison anddrummer Marko Djordjevic (all of whom doubled onelectronics) improvising together were imminent andtangible. Listening with headphones only heightened
the illusion of a three-dimensional soundscape.
Starting with no set game plan (though Mathisen
admitted he had pre-programmed a few sounds in his
computer), each artist was admirably balanced andseparated, both in terms of the electric/acoustic mix
and their artistic interactions. Referencing Jaco
Pastorius-era Weather Report, especially in Garrison’s
fleet, highly expressive fretless bass work, the trio’s
musical explorations were notable both forchangeability and cohesion. It was a set for inclusion
on one of those end-of-the-year “Best of” lists.
(TG)

4 APRIL 2021 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORDMaria Schneider has never met a genre she couldn’t
master. In concert with the New England Conservatory
Jazz Orchestra (Mar. 10th), six distinctive compositions
capped a week-long residency with students in the“Grow Your Art” program. Despite social distancing
and an ominously stark, bare stage, the wonderfully
talented band played sharp and tight as Schneider led
with vibrant enthusiasm. Schneider is an incredibly
accomplished musical storyteller. Her thematic work
vividly paints unmistaking pictures in the mind’s eye;and although her work is very much her own, twopieces squarely stood on the shoulders of other works.
Her ode to her Midwestern roots and childhood, “ThePretty Road”, had the sweeping breadth of Aaron
Copland while “Gumbo Blues” was much akin to the
dynamic Duke Ellington-Billy Strayhorn film score for
Anatomy of a Murder. Among other stellar compositions,the pièce de résistance was “Data Lords”, the title trackfrom her 2020 ArtistShare double-CD, an intense, dark
and dystopian work about the rise of the machines andthe resultant subjugation of humans. Becoming
increasingly discordant, it ends with the kind of
painful cries an animal might make while dying sowhat else could come to mind but T.S. Eliot’s endingof “The Hollow Men”: “This is the way the world ends.
Not with a bang but a whimper.” On a more cheerfulnote, the concert ended with a beautiful, lilting
Brazilian-inspired number, “Choro Dançado”.
(ML)“I’m very happy to be playing with my compatriots, This Women’s History Month, an original Downtown
live!,” Kenny Barron said from the Jazz Forum’s
Steinway grand piano, following the opening numberof his live-stream by his trio with bassist Kiyoshi
Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake (Mar. 20th).
The group had gotten things started with a swinging
rendition of “Bebop”, a song that reached back to the
pianist’s early days on the jazz scene as a member ofthe band of its composer, Dizzy Gillespie. The original
arrangement, which included a dissonant Monk-ish
piano interlude along with a lyrical bass solo and seriesof crisp drum exchanges, exhibited the NEA Jazz
Master ’s ability to make the even the most iconic
material his own. Remaining rooted in the classic jazz
tradition, the set continued with an easy-grooving
interpretation of Billy Strayhorn’s “Isfahan”, which
gradually built in tempo and intensity as Blake moved
from brushes to sticks following Kitagawa’s dug-in
solo. Things heated up with the trio’s fiery uptempo
outing on Barron’s “New York Attitude”, a multiclimactic tour de force that had the composer stretchingout for multiple incendiary choruses driven by fast
walking bass and propulsive drums. The mood calmed
with Barron’s stirring reading of Richard RodgersLorenz Hart’s “Blue Moon”, conjuring a romantic
atmosphere persisting with his own Brazilian-tinged“Magic Dance”. The set closed, traveling full circle
back to the bebop era, with “Bud Like”, Barron’s potent
homage to Bud Powell. 		
—Russ Musto

new music maven, Shelley Hirsch, broke the spell of
COVID onstage at Roulette (Mar. 15th). Starting full
throttle with her “Paper Piece” of 1986, Hirsch’s aerial
vocals, theatrics and trademark affective shifts were on
full display amid shreds and sheets of wrappings andnewsprint. Spotlights on an otherwise darkened stage
expanded for “Letting the Electronics Lead Me”,
exposing a table of digital gadgetry feeding Hirsch’s
voice through mixers, faders and delays. In a burning
sort of sprechgesang, she emoted “I was…I was lost...I
was found”, natural octave leaps enhanced withdigitally generated drones. She was next joined byMichael Schumacher, wielding an array of electronics
around her operatic vocalizations as she engaged inwriting real-time poetry on large pads. Schumacher
provided counterpoint often captured directly fromthe singer and played back in treated repetition. The
final piece was a duet with violist Joanna Mattrey whoplayed rich, dark accompaniment to Hirsch’s spoken
prose being projected on a large screen as she created
it. The work was a meditation on the anniversary of
New York’s lockdown: “To be here still in a room…”
As Mattrey’s haunting modal improvisation, so sparein its vibrato, resounded across the hall, Hirsch
assured, viewers as much as herself, “We will touchagain.” Masterful camera work served as anotheraspect of the performance, fading and overlapping theimagery, moods and messages.
—John Pietaro

W H AT ’ S N E W S
2021 Grammy Awards winners have been announced. In
relevant categories: Best Contemporary Instrumental Album:
Snarky Puppy—Live at The Royal Albert Hall (Ground Up Music);
Best Improvised Jazz Solo: Chick Corea, “All Blues”, (Trilogy 2,
Concord); Best Jazz Instrumental Album: Chick Corea, Christian
McBride & Brian Blade—Trilogy 2 (Concord); Best Jazz Vocal
Album: Kurt Elling—Secrets Are The Best Stories (Edition); Best
Large Jazz Ensemble Album: Maria Schneider—Data Lords(ArtistShare); Best Latin Jazz Album: Arturo O’Farrill—Four
Questions (ZOHO); Best Instrumental Composition: Maria
Schneider—“Sputnik” (Data Lords, ArtistShare); Best
Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella: John Beasley—“Donna Lee” (MONK’estra Plays John Beasley, Mack Avenue);
Lifetime Achievement Award: Lionel Hampton; and Trustees
Award: Benny Golson. For more information, visit grammy.com.
The 2021 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert will take place
online on Apr. 22nd, 2021, honoring Terri Lyne Carrington,
Albert “Tootie” Heath, Henry Threadgill and Phil Schaap. For
more information, visit arts.gov/honors/jazz.
Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2021 gala, Innovation + Soul, willtake place Apr. 15th with a virtual concert by the Jazz at
Lincoln Center Orchestra and guests President Bill Clinton,
Pedrito Martinez, Lil Buck, Veronica Swift, Michael Rodriguez
and Sean Mason. For more information, visit jazz.org/
gala2021.
The 22nd Annual Central Brooklyn Jazz Festival will takeplace Apr. 16th-30th in a blend of in-person, live-stream andpre-recorded music hosted by restaurants and cultural
institutions located in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Clinton Hill, Crown
Heights, East New York and Gowanus. For more information,
visit cbjcjazz.org.
Among the recordings added for 2020 to the Library ofCongress National Recording Registry Listing are a 1938
Decca single of “When the Saints Go Marching In” by Louis
Armstrong and Pat Metheny’s 1975 ECM album Bright Size
Life. For more information, visit loc.gov/programs/nationalrecording-preservation-board.

COURTESY OF ROULETTE

Jazz Standard, the midtown club that closed its physicallocation last year, has announced “The Flip Side Sessions”,
running every Friday through May 14th with performances byBill Charlap Trio, Chris Potter/Craig Taborn Duo, Christian
Sands Group, Dave Holland/Kenny Barron/Johnathan Blake,
Fred Hersch Trio and Melissa Aldana Quintet. For more
information, visit jazzstandard.com.

Kenny Barron @ Jazz ForumThe 2021 BRIC Jazz Festival will be live-streamed Apr.
8th-10th with Roy Ayers, Phony Ppl, Nikara Presents Black
Wall Street (Apr. 8th); Meshell Ndegeocello, Keyon Harrold,
Justin Hicks (Apr. 9th); and Robert Glasper, Nate Smith x Van
Hunt, MAE.SUN (Apr. 10th). For more information, visit
bricartsmedia.org/events-performances/bric-jazzfest.

Shelley Hirsch @ Roulette

Since first coming on to the American jazz scene, In honor of Women’s History Month, Musique Libretaking top prize in the 2013 Thelonious Monk
International Jazz Competition, Melissa Aldana has
consistently lived up to the promise of her initial
exposure, demonstrating growth as both a player andcomposer leading her own variously configured units.
At Bar Bayeux (Mar. 3rd) the Chilean tenor saxophonist
unveiled her latest ensemble, featuring guitarist
Charles Altura, along with bassist Pablo Menares anddrummer Kush Abadey, on a set largely comprised oforiginal music written specifically for the band. The set
began with atmospheric guitar setting up Aldana’s“Emilia”, a relaxed tango-flavored outing, thesaxophonist blowing airy flowing lines that sighed andmoaned with restrained intensity, buoyed by Altura’s
spacious underpinning. A solo saxophone interlude
segued the band into the jaunty “Elsewhere”, Aldana
delivering tonally compelling, twisting melodic
passages over a three-note bass ostinato, after which
Altura took off swinging. Solo drums introduced
Aldana’s “The Bluest Eye” before harmonized tenor
and guitar came in playing a somewhat ominous
melody, which served as a jumping-off point for theirextended improvisations. Aldana’s mastery of theballad form was evident on Bill Evans’ “Turn Out The
Stars”, which she began with an unaccompanied intro.
Before ending with her “Falling” and “Goodbye Song”
Aldana dedicated the set to her mentor, the recently
departed drummer Ralph Peterson.
(RM)

Femmes played a remote concert as part of the annual
Lady Got Chops Festival (Mar. 7th). Cheryl Pyle (Cflute, alto flute) gathered flutist Haruna Fukazawa,
bassoonist Claire de Brunner and vocalist Judi Silvano
for a set of improvisations, starting with a klangfarbenlike call-and-response chase, which morphed into aflowing piece led by a dual flute melodic line. The
pairing, especially with both on standard C flutes,
painted sinews of lush, impossibly close harmony, thesonorities enmeshed in a manner neither coupled nor
chaste. During the third improvisation, the hauntingly
atonal melody was appropriately reminiscent of“World Without Time” , for decades the opening themeof PBS’ The Open Mind. De Brunner cast rhythmic
basslines and counterpoint, often of swinging broken
triplets, and embarked on solo ventures indicating
how under-appreciated her instrument is within jazz.
Silvano’s vocalizations, deeply expressive, used
extended techniques including strained whispers. At
times she sang modal lamentations while reachingacross the octaves. Pyle spoke about the next day’s
global honor of International Women’s Day and read alist of women artists who’d died over the past year.
The sad reality turned glaring in light of the historic
injustices lodged against women, including women
within the creative community; Pyle’s founding ofMusique Libre Femmes in 2014 was in itself a statement
against the male-dominated free jazz genre.
(JP)

The latest recipients of the Herb Alpert Young Jazz
Composer Awards have been announced. Local winners
include Andy Clausen, Eliana Fishbeyn, Chase Kuesel,
Lesley Mok, Alex Weitz, Matt Wong and Courtney Wright. For
more information, visit ascap.com/herbalpertapp.
We spoke too soon...seems that Washington, DC’s Blues
Alley, open since 1965, is still operating, albeit online.
Joel Harrison, mastermind behind the Alternative Guitar
Summit, has launched AGS Records with a solo recording by
Anthony Pirog and an album of duo recordings of Harrison
with Ben Monder, Pete McCann, Steve Cardenas, David
Gilmore and bassist Steve Swallow. For more information,
visit alternativeguitarsummit.com/ags-records.
In award news, Andra Day won Best Actress in a Movie
Drama for The United States vs Billie Holiday while Soul won
Best Animated Film and Best Original Score - Motion Picture(for music written by Jon Batiste) at The Golden Globes
while for the first time in The Academy Awards history two
Black composers are nominated for Best Original Score:
Batiste for the aforementioned Soul and Terence Blanchard
for Da 5 Bloods. In related news, Charlie Parker will receive astar on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Blank Forms will open the exhibition “Organic Music
Societies”, the first retrospective examining Don and Moki
Cherry’s collaborative practice during a decade in Scandinavia
starting in the late ‘60s, on Apr. 8th at its space at 468 Grand
Avenue in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. For more information and toschedule a viewing time, visit blankforms.org.
Reports have pianist Orrin Evans departing The Bad Plus.
Submit news to ahenkin@nycjazzrecord.com

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | APRIL 2021 5

PHOTO BY KATE DELACORTE / COURTESY OF THE ARTISTINTERVIEW

DAVID
OSTWALDby marilyn lester

David Ostwald began studying piano at 7, taking up thetuba at 11, headed, he thought, for a career in classicalmusic. But then, in his junior year at the University of
Chicago, the jazz bug bit. Ostwald was already primed,having discovered the joys of Louis Armstrong while still inhigh school. He formed his first jazz band at that time andafter moving to New York, the Swarthmore, PA native
created the Gully Low Jazz Band, which in 2000 morphed
into the Louis Armstrong Eternity Band with a weekly gig
at Birdland. His second album, with blues great Big Joe
Turner, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1986.
Ostwald has performed with the likes of Wynton Marsalis,
Dick Hyman, Nicholas Payton, Clark Terry, Benny Waters,
Woody Allen, Jon Hendricks, Leon Redbone and the Oxford
University Orchestral Society under Sir Jack Westrup. For
many years, he has also presented jazz education programsfor children at Lincoln Center’s “Meet the Artist” and “Reelto Real” series and at the Louis Armstrong House in Corona,
Queens. He has also written extensively about jazz music.
The New York City Jazz Record: As we know all too
well, the pandemic has wiped out most gigs. But
recently, you’ve been playing outdoors at Holocaust
Memorial Plaza and also recorded for Radio Free
Birdland’s streaming series. What was that latter
experience like, playing to an essentially empty house?
David Ostwald: Over the years we all get used toplaying for an empty room. So, I just pretended that
there were people there! I draw inspiration from Louis
Armstrong—as I always do—who, once at a concert in
North Dakota where there was a huge blizzard, played
to five people in a 2,000 seat hall. He said, they showedup, so we’re gonna play. So, we just had to psych
ourselves into thinking that there was an audience
there. I went through all my usual shtick. I asked theaudience to please remain seated, even though they
weren’t there, so it was fun. As for the park, it’s
dependent on the weather, but it’s a really niceexperience for us and for the audience, especially inthese times. It’s a fun thing. So, I encourage people tocheck out when we’re playing there because there’s
also a natural dance floor. We’ve been getting a lot ofswing dancers, which we never had at Birdland.
TNYCJR: You were thwarted in having a majorcelebration this past year.
DO: Yes, and it was quite jarring to have to stop
everything, having been used to playing for 20 years
every week. March 11th, 2020 was our last regularWednesday at Birdland and May 8th was going to be
our big 20th anniversary. I’m very proud of that. We
were going to really celebrate that.

college. I used to hang out at the Red Blazer Too, a clubthat had a different band every night. That’s where
I first met Vince Giordano. I’d tape all the bands, with
their permission, and go home and learn the tunes.
After a certain point, I realized I was doing gigs withother people’s bands but I didn’t have my own band
yet. You think to yourself, well maybe I’d like to play
the music my own way. So, I started putting together agroup of people that I played with and one night I said
to the owner, I don’t want to take anyone’s gig away,
but if there’s an opening, I have a band, although
I didn’t really have one yet. I wasn’t expecting him to
say yes, but he did and asked, what’s the name of yourband? The first thing that came to my mind was a Hot
Seven tune running through my head at the time called“Gully Low Blues”. I had to appear as though I alreadyhad a name for the band so that’s how that got started.
I stuck with the name though, because we started
getting a lot of work. Fast forward to 2000 and the100th anniversary of what Louis Armstrong thought
was his birth date of July 4th, 1900. I’d become goodfriends with George Avakian, who was a great
supporter of the band and who thought it would bea good idea to talk to the owner of Birdland, Gianni
Valenti, about starting a gig there. Gianni was all for it,
but for publicity purposes, wanted to give the band an
identity. I was a little bit leery about the name change
because my idea of the band has never been to imitate
anything anybody does, but rather to be inspired bythem. I didn’t want to be trapped into being identified
with Louis Armstrong, so for a while we used bothnames. We started gathering a following and as 2003
came along it looked like we were safe that the gig wasgoing to be ongoing—so the name stuck.
TNYCJR: Along the way you’ve had the distinction of
having some major guests sitting in with the band.
DO: Some of them weren’t famous at the time, but thengot famous, like Wycliffe Gordon and Anat Cohen. Theyboth still play with us from time to time. Names aren’t
important. My attitude is that no matter how famous
you are, everyone in the band is the same. My number
one rule of bandleading is not to have any players who
don’t fit in because the band’s just not going to soundgood. Part of the reason we get the sound we do isbecause we make each other laugh. We listen to eachother, we like each other, we enjoy each other and people
can feel that. Solid musicians know their roles assidemen even if they’re leaders of their own bands, likeWynton Marsalis. When I’ve played with him, I’m asideman. It’s a dynamic we all respect.

TNYCJR: Prior to Birdland, you had a long run as
the Gully Low Jazz Band. I’m curious about that name.

TNYCJR: Besides the band’s sound, what do you strive
to achieve in performance? If I’m sitting in theaudience, listening to you, what is it that you want me
to experience?

DO: I came to New York in the late ‘70s, right after

DO: Heart to heart. That’s what I want. I want you to

6 APRIL 2021 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

be moved to joy or sadness or reflection or whatever it
is without a filter. That’s what Louis Armstrong did forpeople. And it was direct from one soul to the other.
What my goal is is to have the band be one soul andemotionally on the same page. And I want that to go
directly to someone else’s heart, without them thinking
about anything, without barriers. The variety of people
who one can affect if we’re doing our job properly is
infinite. It’s as infinite as nature.
TNYCJR: You were attracted to the music of Armstrongaround age 15. What is it that clicked, whereupon you
said, Oh, my God, this is the guy for me?
				(CONTINUED ON PAGE 25)

NOAH BAERMANPLAYS AND DISCUSSES
THE MUSIC OF MONKAND MINGUS
April 19, 7-9 pm

Free admission,
registration required:continue.wesleyan.edu/
register/InfoandJazz

New album
Love Rightavailable now on
RMI Records
resonantmotion.org/
love-rightPHOTO BY CHRIS WEISS / COURTESY OF THE ARTISTARTIST FEATU RE

STEPHRICHARDS

For more information, visit stephrichards.com. Richards
live-streams Thursdays in April at facebook.com/
stephiesoundz.
Recommended Listening:• Asphalt Orchestra—Eponymous(Cantaloupe Music, 2009)• Steph Richards—Fullmoon (Relative Pitch, 2014)• Steph Richards—Take The Neon Lights(Birdwatcher, 2015)• Steph Richards—Supersense (Northern Spy, 2016)• James Carney—Pure Heart (Sunnyside, 2016)• Vinny Golia/Steph Richards/Bert Turetzky—
Trio Music (pfMENTUM, 2017)by robert bush
Trumpeter Steph Richards has been quietly taking theworld of improvised music by storm. The classicallytrained Alberta, Canada native didn’t exactly plan her
career in terms of becoming a free jazz MVP, but whatelse would one call a person who has shared the stage
with iconic saxophonist/composers like Anthony
Braxton, Henry Threadgill and John Zorn?
Music was always a part of her life, before she
knew about jazz, before she felt the pull of the trumpet.
“I’ve played the piano for as long as I can remember,”Richards recalls. “We always had one in the house andI started writing from the beginning, just composing
my own songs.” She came to the horn circuitously,
through an early exposure to Scottish pipe and drum
music, where she played the tenor drum, digging thevisual choreography as much as the sonics. “And then
I chose the trumpet. I loved its flexibility. It could playclassical music, it could play jazz, it could play pop.
That’s what attracted me to it at the age of 12 and it
still does. I had a love for Scottish folk music and Joni
Mitchell and then I picked up the horn and was lucky
enough to have an amazing teacher who made somegreat recommendations of what to check out.”
Initially, she was set on classical music. “I wasdoing a lot of competitions, flying across the country to
perform some big concerto. That was 75% of mymusical diet, but in my heart, whenever I had any extra
time to practice, I’d be transcribing Freddie Hubbard
solos or listening to Ellington. This was the music thatspoke to me.”Richards went to the Eastman School of Music,
earning her Bachelor ’s studying orchestral music, but
she switched gears and moved to Montréal, getting her
Graduate degree. At that point, she came to the West
Coast, to study with bassist Charlie Haden at Cal Arts.
“That changed everything for me. That’s where
I started really improvising and writing,” says
Richards. “Charlie was my teacher there and a big
influence. He taught me to play the ocean and stressedthat beauty comes first and I’m still trying to implement
that.” Richards has studied with some of the mostsignificant players on the planet, including trumpeter
Ron Miles, while she was still in high school (the family
moved to Colorado) for her senior year. At Cal Arts,
she had the privilege to seek out trumpeter Wadada
Leo Smith. “He wasn’t my official teacher, but wewould play. I learned what it meant to play with fire—
when he brings it, the room is electrified, you know?”
After graduation, Richards stayed in L.A. for six
months, taking advantage for a moment, to explore
commercial music at the big-time level, when she
joined the touring band of rapper Kanye West. “I got
the opportunity through a friend of a friend who
couldn’t do it. My first gig was the MTV Video Awards
show.” Following the Kanye tour, Richards moved to
New York. She attended a workshop organized bypianist Fred Hersch where she met pianist Jason
Moran, saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom and trumpeter
Ralph Alessi, all important connections. She wasattending the wedding of a friend when she met
conductor Butch Morris—perhaps her most significant
mentor. “He kind of took me under his wing. He would
tell me about concerts I shouldn’t miss. If he was doing
a conduction, he would invite people to come hear me.
That’s how I met Henry Threadgill. Butch was a really
important part of me connecting to New York andfeeling some sort of drive. He was hard on me, but it
was just that his music was life and death and hetaught me that.”
Also while in New York, Richards began working
with trumpeter Dave Douglas and the Festival of New
Trumpet Music and she continues to be involved at theadministrative level many years later. Through thefestival, she connected with cornet player Taylor Ho
Bynum and through Bynum, she caught the ears of
Braxton. Eventually, that led to an invitation to join the
Braxton group.
“To me, Braxton’s music reflects voices of humanity
in a way that is genuine—feminine, masculine, all thatis in between and beyond. If the world is 50% female,music should reflect that. Working with Braxton is truejoy.” Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted
in the cancellation of a European tour with the Braxton
group, but Richards did manage to make a record withthe maestro, which will be coming out in June on
Firehouse 12.
Richards was a vital force in the Brooklyn improv
scene in 2014, when she was approached by bassist
Mark Dresser with an invitation to apply for a positionat the University of California at San Diego. “Heemailed me, but I didn’t think I could ever qualify forit, so I didn’t even apply. But he kept after me andI gave it a shot and I got the job! I reconnected with theWest Coast, which I love and it’s really helped support
me making the kind of music I love.”
Speaking of the music she loves, Richards justreleased her third album as a leader, the volcanic
Supersense (Northern Spy), with Moran, electric bassist
Stomu Takeishi and drummer Kenny Wollesen. She
had this to say about the new album, which is designed
to work with a scent card provided to the musicians at
the session. “I’m always playing with compositional
structure to find a way to empower and lift up all theplayers as best as I can with my music. So this record
combines traditional notation with graphic notationand scent, you know, how your body processes that
information.”
And what kind of response has the new album
gotten? “There’s a lot of curiosity. I was worried thecritics might say it stinks. But the reviews so far havebeen very positive. My whole hope for this project was
to bring people closer to the music.”
On a personal level, Richards and husband Andrew
Munsey had a baby girl, Anza, during the pandemic.
“I don’t know how much [being a mother] will change
my music, because COVID happened…I do feel adeeper connection to this idea of humanity. I think myheart has softened, so we’ll see what comes.” v

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | APRIL 2021 7

ENCORECALVINKEYS
by anders griffen
G uitarist Calvin Keys hit his stride as a teenager in thelate ‘50s and has enjoyed a career filled with decades of
performance. He has worked with Ray Charles, Ahmad
Jamal, Earl “Fatha” Hines, Sonny Fortune, Pharoah
Sanders, Blue Mitchell, Bobby Hutcherson and justabout all of the great organ players, including Jack
McDuff, Richard “Groove” Holmes, Jimmy McGriffand Jimmy Smith. In the early ‘70s he recorded with
Gene Russell and Doug Carn for the Black Jazz label
while leading his own, now classic, sessions Shaw-Neeq
and Proceed with Caution. Both titles have been reissued
perennially; the former received a new treatment inJanuary 2021 (by Real Gone Music) and the latter will
be reissued later this year.
Keys was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1943 andstarted playing the guitar around the age of 13 or 14,
though he wasn’t really supposed to be playing it. “My
uncle Ivory introduced me to the guitar. He told me
and two of my cousins if he ever caught us with theguitar he was gonna put his foot… [laughs] But I didn’tcare, because I was fascinated by it. I used to sneak
down in the basement after school, hook it up andfigure out how to play it, because I’d seen him do it.”Uncle Ivory finally caught him one day, but insteadof punishment, he asked the youngster to play what helearned. He played what he’d seen his uncle play as
well as some things he’d picked up from the radio andtold his uncle that he was saving his money from his
weekend job at the carwash to buy himself a guitar. His
uncle was touched and told him he could have his
guitar. Every day after school, Keys would go homeand play that guitar until well after dark. Finally, thepolice knocked on his door and said the neighbors
were complaining. They just asked him to turn it down.

He’d stay up and pick up all he could from the radio.
“There weren’t that many stations working late atnight, but we could get Stan the Record Man [Lewis]out of Tennessee. He would have all the new blues
tunes and I used to listen to him every Saturday night:
Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland, Muddy Waters and all the catsduring that time.” He also sought out any guitarists hecould find in the area. There was Papa Luther Guitar
Woodruff and The Night Riders and Clon Von Fitz in
Council Bluffs, Iowa who showed him some things.
His neighbor Richard Gardner played and his wife was
the sister of Wayne Bennett who played with Bland.
“Wayne used to come to Omaha when he wasn’t
out there on the road with Bobby. We sat at thebarbershop and I’d pick up a few more chords. There
were four or five different guitar players in Omaha
during that time and if you didn’t know none of themblues tunes you wasn’t in the game: Freddie King’s‘Hideaway’ or Bill Doggett’s ‘Honky Tonk’,‘Gatemouth’ Brown… he had that popular guitar blues,
Jimmy Reed and all of them cats. Any guitar player
comes through town and we heard about it, we’d go
down there and worry him to death trying to figure out
and learn stuff. So, that’s where it started, socializing
with them different guys.”
By the age of 16 or 17 he started playing with
Doctor Spider and his Rock’n’roll Webs at local clubs
like The First and Last Chance, The Off Beat and up theroad in Sioux City, Iowa at trumpeter Clarence Kenner ’sPoor Boys Club 54. At the same time, he started
working with another group called Andre and theRamrods, playing the blues and covering tunes they
heard on the radio. They were working for a couple
years when Little Walkin’ Willie came through town
and heard the young Keys. He needed a guitar player
to cover about a month of work and invited Keys on
the road, but his mother said no, since he was still inschool. He had enough credits to graduate, so he said,“’Mom, you know, you always told me to be up front
with you … Well, I’m gonna go [with] Little Walkin’
Willie if I have to sneak out while you’re asleep.’ She
said, ‘Well, I don’t want you to be a musician, youngman, but if you’re going to be one, try to be the best.’”They went on the road to the Riviera Ballroom in

St. Louis, Gleason’s in Cleveland and DWI Dave’s
Walnut Inn, in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. Keys had
the time of his life and couldn’t believe it when themonth was suddenly over and he was on the train backto Omaha. He’d got a taste of life on the road in
crowded clubs and would never be the same. So assoon as he got home, he moved down to Kansas City
where his father lived and where there was more live
music. He got a trio gig at the Nightingale and thenstarted working with saxophonist Preston Love. Love’s
ensemble was a nine-piece dance band and while
traveling the region, Keys started learning to perform
standards.
Next, Keys got a call to join Frank Edwards’ organ
trio along with drummer James Gadson. “So, we
started playing that circuit: O.G.’s Lounge in Kansas
City, Allen’s Showcase Lounge in Omaha and then to
Leroy Smith’s The Voters Club, the oldest club in
Denver. We’d leave there and go to Booker T.
Washington Hotel over on Ellis Street between Fillmore
and Webster in San Francisco. Charles Sullivan owned
the Fillmore Auditorium and a bunch of other clubs
and businesses around here; he was a very prominent,
successful Black man. Then over here to Oakland to
Don Barksdale’s joint. He had two clubs, The Showcase
and The Sportsman, and we’d work in either one ofthose lounges and go back to West Oakland to Esther ’s
Orbit Room. Now we worked eight weeks in each cluband I was getting 150 dollars a week. So we was out
here in the Bay Area for two, three months, man. So
that was the gig. That was the chitlin’ circuit that we
knew. Frank was an outstanding organ player, man. So,
Jimmy McGriff, Jimmy Smith, all of them knew him,‘cause he could play.”
In 1967 and 1968, Keys was back at O.G.’s in Kansas
City with his own trio, during which time Pat
Metheny’s father used to take him to see Keys play. But
California was calling to him and he was ready to moveon from the organ. “I moved to L.A. in March of 1969.
I had saved up my money, I had a nice little bank roll…
bought me a brand new guitar, a new wardrobe anda brand new 1969 Deuce and a Quarter Buick 225, sowhen I hit L.A. I was rollin’ [laughs]. Then I played all				(CONTINUED ON PAGE 25)

his collaborator Billy Strayhorn for another four years,
returning to play with the band on the Duke’s tributealbum to Strayhorn, who died in 1967, …And His
Mother Called Him Bill (RCA, 1967). It was a fertile
period for Ellington and Bell appears on seven albums
from the band during 1960-63. He is also the bassist on
two of Ellington’s more celebrated small-band dates ofthe period, Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins andDuke Ellington & John Coltrane, both recorded in 1962
for Impulse.
Besides being the bassist in the band, Bell also had
the opportunity to write out parts for Ellington and
Strayhorn scores. “It was really educational,” he said,
recalling an incident when he went to Ellington topoint out what he thought was a mistake. “In school
they tell you not to cross your parts and being a kid
I thought I knew more than I did, so I went to Ellington
and said, ‘I think you made a mistake here, sir.’ Hesaid, ‘That’s alright, just copy it as it is.’ And when you
heard the orchestra play it, you knew he was right. But
Ellington never wrote a book about his technique, so
people are still trying to figure it all out. Whatever it
was, he arrived at it through experience, throughwriting for his band.
“He studied in school, not music, art, but I thinkhe picked up a lot of traditional composing ideas from
Strayhorn. But I could always tell the two apart.
Strayhorn was smooth, almost classical, but Duke hadthat rough cut to it, he did very original things.

“Strayhorn was also a genius. I think most of hissongs are comparable to art songs of the Romantic
Period, like the songs written by Schubert, Brahms andHugo Wolf. They are beautiful, but so are Strayhorn’s.
If you take them and analyze them you find the sameelements in 19th Century art songs as you do in
Strayhorn’s ‘Lush Life’. That’s why Ellington didn’tlike the word ‘jazz’; it put things apart in categories
and Strayhorn was like Ellington, who described hismusic as ‘beyond category’.”“Duke was pretty close to my dad, personally,”
says Bell-Stevens, “and when my grandfather died
Duke told my dad that as long as he, Duke, was alive
he’d always have a dad.” She also remembers that
Bell’s closest musician friends were trumpeters Clark
Terry and Joe Newman and saxophonist Frank Wessand that their families socialized together.
From 1970-90 Bell was head of the jazz program at
Essex County College in Newark, NJ. He brought invisiting artists to give concerts and sometimes teachsemesters and inaugurated a Performing Jazz Institutein 1989 (it disappeared when he retired in 1990).
In 1976 he finished his doctorate at Columbia
Teacher ’s College, his dissertation a “Bicentennial
Symphony” for string orchestra and jazz horns andreeds, which, according to Bell-Stevens, “traces thehistory of black Americans from Africa and slavery,
musically, through the Great Migration to the present,
					(CONTINUED ON PAGE 25)

LEST WE FORGET

AARON
BELL
by george kanzler
By 1960, when he was 39, Aaron Bell had been playing

bass professionally since 1946, after serving four years
in a U.S. Navy band during World War II. He playedwith Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Stan Kenton, Cab
Calloway, Carmen McRae and Dick Haymes. Along theway he acquired an M.A. in Social Work from NYU andwas raising a family with four children in Mt. Vernon,
NY. But that year became the most important of hismusical life: he became an Ellingtonian.
“Dad had great respect for Duke Ellington as an
artist and as a man,” remembers Robin Bell-Stevens,
Bell’s only daughter and Director of JazzMobile.
“I learned more in the school of Ellington thanI ever did in school,” The bassist told this writer in aninterview for the [New Jersey] Star Ledger in 1989.
“When you played with Ellington’s band you learned
to apply the knowledge as you gained it.”
Bell was in the Ellington Orchestra for two years
and worked on and off on projects with Ellington and

8 APRIL 2021 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

L ABEL SPOTLIGHT

OUT
OF
YOUR
HEAD
by john sharpe
Starting a label as a self-help mechanism has becomea well-trodden route, particularly in the wilds of avant
garde jazz. But not all such ventures take off like Out
Of Your Head Records (OOYH). Uncertain of being
able to find a suitable outlet, bassist Adam Hopkins
launched the imprint in 2018 to release his leadership
debut Crickets, by the sextet of the same name with
Anna Webber, Ed Rosenberg, Josh Sinton, Devin Grayand Jonathan Goldberger. It marries tight arrangements,
spontaneous outbursts and indie rock attitude and wasdeservedly successful.
Hopkins
explains
what
happened
next:“Immediately after I did it I had friends reaching out
saying, that Out Of Your Head thing was really cool,
I have something, can I send it to you and put it out?
I never expected to be putting out this much music per
year but all these people were sending me this amazing
music so we’re doing as much as we can.” Talking to
Hopkins, his enthusiasm for the music comes acrossloud and clear and it’s been a key factor in the growthof the brand. So much so that since then he has issued
14 albums with more planned.
Aside from the punningly effective name, which
derives from an improvised music series that Hopkins
ran, first in Baltimore and later in Brooklyn, the visualelement forms a distinctive aspect of OOYH. Hopkins
works closely with artist and longtime friend TJ Huff,
who contributes specific artwork for each release, asAtlantic Abstraction
Nick Dunston

Crickets
Adam Hopkins

well as other artist friends who design the logo,
branding and merchandise. When Hopkins moved
from Brooklyn to Richmond, VA, coincidentally on thesame day Crickets came out, he invited Richmondbased drummer Scott Clark (who dropped a solo set on
OOYH early in 2021) to join him. Consequently they
co-curate the label, both listening to prospective
releases and agreeing what to put out.
Among the releases are Échos la Nuit, a remarkable
one-man band airing from Michaël Attias on which heplays saxophone and piano simultaneously, The
MacroQuarktet’s The Complete Night, featuring thefabulous two trumpet frontline of Herb Robertson andDave Ballou, and bassist Nick Dunston’s leadershipunveiling Atlantic Extraction, which turned heads
thanks to its genre-spanning realization of his crisply
plotted charts. Dunston is entirely complimentary:“It’s kind of a perfect label in many respects. They treat
the artists right because they themselves are ridiculous
musicians, they’re genuinely into all of the music they
put out, so they give complete artistic control to theirartists. And the artwork is dope!”
Bassist Michael Formanek, who was Hopkins’teacher at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, also
figures in the label’s mix of peers and elders. Dyads,
a delightful duet with his saxophonist son Peter, cameout in January. Formanek explains his choice: “Adamwas really into it and excited about it. For me, record
companies that I work with, the enthusiasm and theinterest of the people that are putting out the music,
that means a lot to me. Another reason that I chose to
do this with Adam is that he saw Peter grow up. Peter
participated in the OOYH Series a few times. So for me
putting it out on Adam’s label, brings the whole thing

Rectangles
Anna Webber

full circle in a really good way.”
Formanek has an enlightening perspective on
OOYH’s development: “There are very few people
I know who have that kind of personality that allows
them to get things going in a certain way that people
are just attracted to whatever charisma that theygenerate. Adam really had that and it was really
important for the scene down there in Baltimore at thetime. It’s just his way of doing things and he justtransposed what he had been doing with these different
series to a record label.”Compelling evidence of Hopkins’ knack formaking things happen and building community comesfrom Untamed, the digital-only DIY side of OOYH,
which focuses on high-quality performances that may
not have the pristine sound of a traditional studiosession. During the pandemic he asked friends andcolleagues for unreleased live or home recordings forwhich he could provide artwork, then distribute.
Because costs are minimal, all proceeds go direct to themusicians, along with a donation from OOYH,
providing valuable income when there are no live
dates. So far the series numbers six, including entries
from Dunston, Formanek, Tim Berne (whose Screwgun
imprint was a big inspiration to Hopkins) and Webber ’squartet, which includes Hopkins and is responsible forthe stunning Rectangles.
For physical releases OOYH covers production
costs upfront then, once recouped through sales, split
any further takings with the artist. Thus far Hopkins
has found the economics sustainable. “Some of thealbums lose money, which is fine. When you are
putting out avant garde free jazz you don’t necessarily
				(CONTINUED ON PAGE 25)

Spiders
Tim Berne/Matt Mitchell

Dyads
Michael and Peter Formanek

VOXNEWS

HOME,
NOT
ALONE
by suzanne lorge
London’s Edition Records has expanded its roster of

select U.S. jazz vocalists—a propitious move. Kurt
Elling, who signed to the indie in 2019, debuted Secrets
Are The Best Stories a year ago this month, taking homea Grammy in the Best Jazz Vocal album category for it
earlier this year. Gretchen Parlato chose to launch Flor,her first album as a leader in six years, last month. And
Sachal Vasandani, the label’s latest vocal signatory,
drops Midnight Shelter on Apr. 23rd. Like Elling andParlato, Vasandani sings with rich expressiveness,never sacrificing the lyric to empty embellishment.
Thus, you feel as much as hear the longing in his
minimal renditions of The Beatles’ “Blackbird” andHarry Styles’ “Adore You”, jazz classics like Abbey
Lincoln’s “Throw It Away” and Wayne Shorter ’s“Dance Cadaverous” and originals like “Summer, No
School” and “One Last Try”. Recorded in Brooklyn last
July, with pristine comping by French-born pianist
Romain Collin, this duo album isn’t a pick-me-up as
much as a cathartic antidote to pandemic stir-craziness.
Begun before and completed during thecoronavirus crisis, Allan Harris’ Kate’s Soulfood (Love
Productions) celebrates the post-Renaissance Harlemof the guitarist/singer ’s youth. These 10 tracks
reverberate with gospel-infused inspiration (“Wash
Away My Sins”), romantic R&B (“Color of a Woman”)
and soul grooves (“I Grew Up (Kate’s Place)”). Harris
continues the uptown tribute each Tuesday evening
with “Harlem After Dark, Unplugged”, live-streamed
via Facebook from his living room.
Singer/trumpeter Chet Baker came to New York in
1958 to record for Riverside, which had started only five
years before. Though young, the record company wasbehind the important reissues of artists like Jelly Roll
Morton and Ma Rainey and would go on to produce
some of the most influential names in jazz. Last month,
Craft Recordings re-released four classic Baker albums
from the Riverside collection: (Chet Baker Sings) It Could
Happen to You, Chet Baker in New York, Chet and Chet
Baker Plays the Best of Lerner and Loewe. These records,
pressed on vinyl from the original analog masters,feature Baker with several fine New York musicians of
the day—drummer Philly Joe Jones, pianist Bill Evansand guitarist Kenny Burrell among them. Be forewarned
that beloved as Baker’s voice is, the dated arrangementson these albums veer at times toward the treacly. (Thenagain, sometimes you just want something sweet.)
These days, for all practical purposes, musiciansoutside of New York are as close as those within; until live
stages return to supplant our devices, we should bend thisunusual situation to our advantage and discover some
non-resident voices. Take singer/pianist Bruce Brown, forinstance. Raised in L.A., residing in New Zealand, theartist draws vocal inspiration from Chet Baker’s California
cool and his songwriting bent from Dave Frishberg’s
cleverness. His Death of Expertise (s/r) stands out for its
gentle swing (“A Mind Is A Terrible Thing”) and tonguein-cheek delivery (“Losers Are People, Too”). Ohio-born,
Chicago-based Joanie Pallatto—formerly with the Glenn
Miller Orchestra—also turns a smart phrase, both vocallyand lyrically. She wrote music and/or lyrics to all but oneof the 14 cuts on My Original Plan (Southport),
demonstrating equal dexterity in jazz and pop idioms. To
hear her smooth scatting, listen to the title track, a Latinfeel exposition on the value of accepting change. The newalbum hits online stores Apr. 16th.
Originally from North Dakota, San Francisco
singer Sandra Marlowe brings classical training andbig band experience to The Heart Always Remembers(Lovedog! Media). Her strong arrangements provide
just the right frame for her luscious tone on tunes likesnappy “Fascinating Rhythm”, Irene Kral’s charming“Nice Weather for Ducks” and the elegant title cut.
Estonia violinist/singer Ingrid Hagel just launchedNew
Beginnings(WinterDreamMusic),nine
compositions of restless beauty with her skilled sextetof Baltic musicians. For a teaser, listen to their eerily
satisfying tune “Breathless” on YouTube. In explaining
the song title in an email, Hagel wrote: “During the lastyear, the events and pandemic have left me, manytimes, breathless.” She is not alone. v

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | APRIL 2021 9

IN MEMORIAM

CHICK
COREA
by andrey henkin

CHRISTIAN BROECKING (Jun. 5th,1957 - Feb. 2nd, 2021) The Germanmusicologist and critic wrote liner notes
for releases on Intakt, hatART and
Jazzwerkstatt, founded Jazz Radio
Berlin and the culture-related publishinghouse Broecking Verlag, was a jazz juror
for the annual German Record Critics’ Prize and anoted lecturer. Broecking died Feb. 2nd at 63.
CLAUDE CARRIÈRE (Mar. 14th, 1939
- Feb. 20th, 2021) The French producer,
journalist, radio show host and noted
Duke Ellington expert was involved inarchival releases by Ellington, Charlie
Christian, Oscar Peterson, Hank Jonesand others for Média 7, Dreyfus Jazz,
Nocturne and Cristal and wrote liner notes since the‘70s for compilations released by RCA Victor, Blackand Blue, Pathé, Savoy, Vogue, BMG France, Saga andothers. Carrière died Feb. 20th at 82.

Chick Corea, keyboard player, NEA Jazz Master, 25-time

Grammy Award winner, most recently this year with Best
Jazz Instrumental Album (Trilogy 2) and Best Improvised
Jazz Solo (“All Blues”), multiple DownBeat Jazz Artist of
the Year, member of the Society of Jazz Arrangers andComposers Hall of Fame, BBC Lifetime Achievement
Award recipient and among the most significant jazz
players of the past seven decades, died Feb. 9th, 2021 at
79, shortly after being diagnosed with cancer.
Corea, né Armando, was born in Chelsea, Mass.
on Jun. 12th, 1941 and introduced to music via his
Dixieland trumpeter father. He began piano lessons as
a young child and was already gigging as ahighschooler. He came to New York for university but
got his real education on the bandstand through early
work with Mongo Santamaria, Blue Mitchell, DavePike, Hubert Laws, Montego Joe, Herbie Mann, Cal
Tjader, Stan Getz, Pete La Roca and Donald Byrd.
His leader debut came in 1966, Tones For Joan’s
Bones on the Mann-produced Vortex label. 1968 was
the year, however, that began his stratospheric rise. In
March, he recorded the seminal trio date Now He Sings,
Now He Sobs (Solid State) with bassist Miroslav Vitousand drummer Roy Haynes. Then, that fall, he recordedon Miles Davis’ Filles De Kilimanjaro sessions, beginningan affiliation that would last through 1972.
Corea was one of the large group of musicians whocame out of the trumpeter’s electric period to foundtheir own fusion bands. Alongside John McLaughlin/
Billy Cobham’s Mahavishnu Orchestra and Wayne
Shorter/Joe Zawinul’s Weather Report was Corea’s
Return to Forever (RTF), which debuted on ECM in1972 and stayed active, albeit with personnel changes,
through 1978 (reuniting briefly in the new millennium).
Previous to RTF, Corea had established himself on ECM
with a pair of solo albums, dates with A.R.C. withbassist Dave Holland and drummer Barry Altschul andthe cooperative Circle band of Anthony Braxton, Corea,
Holland and Altschul. Another milestone came at theend of 1972 with Crystal Silence (ECM), a duet withvibraphonist Gary Burton, a relationship the men
continued well into the new millennium.
The following decades saw dozens of releases withalmost as many bands for Polydor, Stretch, GRP andConcord, whether the Friends group of 1978 withreedplayer Joe Farrell (who had been on Tones For
Joan’s Bones), bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Steve
Gadd; duets with fellow pianists Friedrich Gulda or
Herbie Hancock; the Elektrik, Akoustic and Originbands; collaborations with Bobby McFerrin and Béla
Fleck; Five Peace Band with McLaughlin and Trilogy
with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian
Blade, all accompanied by constant touring. In
addition, numerous Corea compositions have entered
the jazz canon and been recorded by myriad artists.

10 APRIL 2021 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORDDENNY CHRISTIANSON (Sep. 12th,1942 - Feb. 10th, 2021) The Canada-based
trumpeter, bandleader and arranger had
several albums since the ‘80s on Justin
Time, mostly with his big band, andsideman work with Gabor Szabo, Roland
Bautista, Jean Robitaille, Michel Donato
and others. Christianson died Feb. 10th at 78.
PAULY COHEN (Oct. 3rd, 1922 - Feb.
8th, 2021) The trumpeter was active fromthe early ‘40s-late ‘80s with Claude
Thornhill, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman,
Benny Carter, Count Basie, Roy Eldridge,
Clark Terry, Oliver Nelson, Machito,
Quincy Jones and others. Cohen diedFeb. 8th at 98 of complications from COVID-19.
MILFORD GRAVES (Aug. 20th, 1941 Feb. 12th, 2021) The drummer, whoseearliest recorded appearances in the mid‘60s—with Montego Joe and Giuseppi
Logan—reflected his roots as a Latin
percussionist and future as a free-improv
drummer, was part of the seminal New
York Art Quartet, recorded notable duets with Sonny
Morgan, Don Pullen, Andrew Cyrille and David Murray,
had an important 1977 collaboration with members ofJapan’s avant garde scene (Meditations Among Us),sideman credits with Miriam Makeba, Paul Bley, Lowell
Davidson, Jazz Composer’s Orchestra, Albert Ayler,
Sonny Sharrock and others and his own albums for IPS,
Tzadik and TUM. Graves died Feb. 12th at 79. [An In
Memoriam spread for Graves is on pgs. 12-13]
JOHNNY PACHECO (Mar. 25th, 1935 Feb. 15th, 2021) The Dominican
saxophonist/flutist had dozens ofalbums since the mid ‘60s both as aleader and in collaboration with Pete
Rodriguez, Celia Cruz, Jose Fajardo andothers, mostly on Fania Records, which
he co-founded in 1963 with Jerry Masucci, for which healso produced hundreds of records by the likes of
Larry Harlow, Bobby Valentin, Joe Bataan, Willie
Colon, Ismael Miranda, Fania All-Stars and many
more. Pacheco died Feb. 15th at 85.
ULI RENNERT (1960 - Feb. 5th, 2021)
The Austrian pianist had releases sincethe ‘80s on Bellaphon, Extraplatte, SOSMusic, PAN TAU-X, Natango and otherlabels, sideman work with Wolfgang
Schalk, Uli Soyka and Lakis Tzimkas
and longtime membership in the Jazz
Big Band Graz. Rennert died Feb. 5th at 60. v

2021-03-26_NYCJR-Page-(15march).pdf

12021-03-15

16:31

37 th edition

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victoriavilleMay 17 to 23, 2021

7 days of sound art installations
in public spaces
12 live concerts in 3 days
Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | Sunday 23
Ayelet Rose Gottlieb
René Lussier
Érick d’Orion
Robbie Kuster
Martin Tétreault

Scott Thomson« Aérosolo »Kathleen Yearwood« Requiem (World in Ashes) »Bernard Falaise

Eve Egoyan Solo

« Bascule »GGRIL

Quatuor Bozzini
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IN MEMORIAM
Milford Graves had the courage to be himself. In
any walk of life, not an easy thing for many people
to do—to be themselves, doing what they think
and feel good about, whether liked, disliked or
misunderstood by others.
As with other outstanding artists, within therealm of jazz and improvised music, his musicalsignature was unique—instantly recognizable!
And with his display with an imaginative,
personalized trap drum set, along with assorted
percussive instruments, and his vocalizations
while playing, he contributed musical ideas,
giving and taking to those who created musicwith him in the creative moment.
He was also an extraordinary person, giftedin many ways, notably with practices andinformation pertaining to good health. He sharedthem with many people who sought his advice
re: same.
Milford was a family man, my friend, abusiness partner, a peer and a musical colleagueof my generation. Over the years, we played
many performances in duets and other varying
formations together...too many to mention here!
He also had a great sense of humor. I willremember and treasure all the fun andperformances we had during those times.
As with so many other great musicians, andthe many other things he was known for, he will
be missed a lot by me and many others. He wastruly a unique and giving human being.
—ANDREW CYRILLE, DRUMS
Milford Graves was not only a unique andinnovative drummer, but exists as a great soul inthe modern world. He had a rare ancient wisdomthat continued to explore and practice the total
way of life.
We have been interacting with each othersince 1976, playing together and talking with eachother in Japan and U.S. What I have learned from
him is immeasurable and I want to keep watching
his eternal soul, which will not perish eventhough he has died.
—TOSHI TSUCHITORI, DRUMS
Milford Graves had an important influence on mylife before I had ever met him. I was introduced to
the late John Stevens by Alfreda Benge in 1966. In
the ensuing conversation, I got my first taste ofJohn’s own brand of intensity. The conversation
was in effect a job interview. Once John realizedthat I knew Milford’s work, especially the solo
record for ESP I got the “job”. More accurately
I was invited to play at the, now legendary, Little
Theatre Club and soon after to join the
Spontaneous Music Ensemble.
Years later when I played on the same festival
as Milford in Tampere, Finland I was able tointroduce myself and thank him for his music, his
powerful presence and the role it had played in
my life to that date.
When John Zorn gave me weeks at The Stone
between 2009 and 2014 I summoned up the nerve
to ask Milford to play duo with me. The first set
on the first night was so well attended that theFire Brigade shut the show down. After that
dramatic start things went without interruption
for the next five shows spread over several years.
It was an honour for me to play with sucha totally realized individual.
There is no higher praise—A TOTALLYREALIZED INDIVIDUAL—with all the powersthat such a state can bring.
—EVAN PARKER, SAXOPHONE

The primary objective of the totality of the
Celestial-Mystic-Spiritual-Scientific musician is toinitiate an intradynamical thrusting force on thevarious particles that comprise Earth’s conscious
cosmic mysteries that interact with the humanbiological system. Understanding the uniquerhythmic thrust and fractured sonic patterns ofMilford Graves’ tribal matrix is like trying tosynchronize raindrops. Time is lapsed, accelerated
and finally erased. Time is that which ends.
When I was 14 or 15, I put a magazine
centerfold on my wall: Albert Ayler playing on a
flatbed truck in Harlem. Directly behind him wasa drummer with a big afro and a painted drum kit,
like a psychedelic rock kit. He was teaching for 36
years at Bennington College, not someone you
would run into at a festival in Europe. I finally
met him when John Zorn organized a trio. And we
did a lot of concerts… sometimes with guests,
Steve Coleman, Wadada Leo Smith, Bill Frisell,
Larry Coryell, Terry Riley and Lou Reed. Milford
Graves, a great, original musician... Big Respect.
—BILL LASWELL, BASS
I have known Milford for many, many years but
it wasn’t until recently—through Jake Meginsky’s
film Full Mantis—that I understood the full measureof the man. I did not know him to be the fighter andinterpreter of the body as a way for protection.
I knew him as one who told me that the drums,
however configured, is a living and breathingorganism. I can’t overemphasize the importanceof this ageless interpretation. It enables one toeliminate indecision, self-doubt and jealousy. The
beauty that Full Mantis revealed is the revelationthat all of his creativity and NOWNESS come withcompassion: for humanity, for the mystery ofbreath, for the child, for this planet’s NOMMO.
—WILLIAM HOOKER, DRUMS
I first met Milford through the documentary,
Speaking In Tongues, about the life of Albert Ayler.
It took eight years to make, from when I was 21 to
28 or 29 when it finally was finished; I becamea man during that process and am very thankful
for sharing some intimate musical moments withhim. I learned a lot from Milford the way hecarried himself. He was always teaching. We dida lot of duet concerts over the years. So muchdynamics between the two of us it sounded likea whole orchestra at times.

I am so grateful to have been able to spend time
early on studying drums and percussion with
Prof. Milford Graves at his home in Queens NY.
I am grateful for his lifetime of practice indrumming, research in medicine, visual andmartial arts and performance that he strived so
hard to fulfill and expand each day.
It is a beautiful, profound and inspiring
legacy that Milford has left to the world. A great
connector and communicator, Milford understood,
learned and taught what our bodies need to behealthy, our vibratory energy, studying this andconnecting our heartbeats with drumming andimprovisation through medicine and music.
Such beautiful drumming and singing andwhat an amazing aesthetic! This has always been
in my ears and in my heart and I am filled withgratitude and joy to hear this every day at thedrums.
Thank you Milford for your wisdom,
empathetic spirit and enormous inspiration. You
gave everything you had to all of us in the world.
It’s time for us to carry on the work.
—SUSIE IBARRA, DRUMS
Milford Graves and Bill Dixon were my heroes
before I enrolled at Bennington College in Marchof 1982 as a rebellious 27-year old to get my BA in
Black Music. I studied two semesters as a private
student of Professor Graves and one in workshops.
The knowledge he shared with me wasinvaluable.
His
lessons
improved
theindependence of all four limbs and my ability toplay the whole drum set. I would never be thefree jazz drummer I am today without his totallyunique teachings and seeing his amazing solo
drum performances.
He was known to have said, “The music you
hear is your own heartbeat.” Over the years, I
assimilated those words in my own way and it
has worked for me to this day. Thank you,
Professor Graves.
—WHIT DICKEY, DRUMSI was honored to present the many-faceted workof Professor Graves and to share the space ofideas and music and conversation with him andour community, in what turned out to be his final
months. As the curator of “A Mind-Body Deal”,
with our friends at the Institute of Contemporary
Art, I was given a life-changing opportunity: tospend days and days in Milford’s presence, at his
home, entering into his world as one of his
students. The experience has forever changed me.
As heartbroken as I may be now that Professor
Graves has passed on, I am thrilled to know that
this exhibition introduced more people to his workand connected him to so many of his appreciative
admirers. The outpouring of love shown for Milford
from family and past students, as well as lifelongfans and even strangers, was overwhelming. He
was deeply loved and I am privileged to haveprovided a channel for these deeply held feelings
and to have been witness to them.

I have been listening to Milford Graves onrecordings and YouTube videos since 2003.
Something that got my attention was his singing
and drumming together but I never connected tothat until I met him in person at the 2019
Vision Festival after his duo concert with Andrew
Cyrille.
After the concert I went to introduce myself
and as soon as I mentioned to him that
I was from Cuba, he opened his eyes wide andgrabbed me by my arms and invited me to his
house in Queens!
Milford really loved Cuban music. I went tohis house and we got to talk more about music
and drumming. Then he asked me if I sang when
I played, I said yes, which made him SO happy.
Then we kept talking and talking about hismusical concept until he said to me very softly,“I want to invite you to play with me, but I better
don’t say it because of my health condition.
I don’t want to talk about it if it is not going tohappen.” In that moment I said to myself,“Milford I am already playing with you here.”
Milford really changed my life in drumming,
my vision and my approach and I feel so gratefulfor that but at the same time very sad because
I couldn’t share with him what I learned fromhim. He really taught me how powerful music iswhen we sing and play at the same time.
Thanks very much, Milford.

—MARK CHRISTMAN, ARS NOVA WORKSHOP—FRANCISCO MELA, DRUMS—DAVID MURRAY, REEDS

12 APRIL 2021 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

Milford lived every moment of his life using all of
his God-given abilities and instincts. Searchingand discovering his purpose in life. Then living
inside that purpose, music healing singing a songinspired by the elders from Africa to South
Carolina to Jamaica, Queens. A grandfatherssong, which trains you to trust one’s intuitive
nature. Baba Milford Graves was something else,
as anyone who met him could attest to. His
creative spirit was unstoppable. An extraordinary
human being.
—WILLIAM PARKER, BASS
I was truly saddened to learn of Milford’stransition. For more than 50 years I have been an
enthusiastic follower of Milford’s numerous
creative activities in multiple disciplines. Throughreading, listening, watching, performing, phone
calls, rehearsals and visiting his home, I can truly
say he was always full of energy, challenges AND
surprises.....ASHÈ!!!

MILFORDGRAVES
1941-2021—FAMOUDOU DON MOYE, DRUMSThe night I got the sad news about Milford’s
death from Michael Ehlers I was reading some
old Japanese poems (translated by Kenneth
Rexroth) and on the page I opened there was thefollowing poem:
			
			
			
			
			

Did a cuckoo cry?
I open the door
And look out in the garden
There is only the moon
Alone in the night

I think that is a good way to remember that great man.
—PETER BRÖTZMANN, SAXOPHONE—SCOTT ROBINSON, REEDS

R.I. SUTHERLAND-COHEN / JAZZEXPRESSIONS.ORG

Another terrible loss: the great Milford Graves.
A unique and amazing soul. Nobody played like
him, nobody thought like him, nobody sounded
like him. A true original. Milford (or “The Professor”,
as he was called by many of us who knew him) did
everything his own way. His music, his sound, evenhis physical drum set, were like no one else’s.
Refused to play a snare drum, feeling that snares
got in the way of the natural sound of the drum.
Wouldn’t use bottom heads on his drums either.
The shells, and even the heads, were custom handpainted—no factory finishes for Milford Graves!
Professor Graves was an artist, thinker, philosopher,scholar, sculptor, teacher, writer, healer, scientist,
herbalist and more, as well as a creative musician of
the highest order. His decades of work and study onheart rhythms, and heart rate variability inparticular, informed his playing style and his wayof life. Listening to the rapid-fire crackle andintensity of his music was like being connected toan electric current, a stream of mental energy…aflow. In 2015, after many years of thinking about it,
I finally got up the nerve to invite Professor Graves
to my ScienSonic Laboratories recording studio. I
recruited two other saxophonists I’d worked withpreviously, both masters of the creative musicworld: Marshall Allen and Roscoe Mitchell. Turns
out that Roscoe had never played with either Allenor Graves, so it was a first-ever meeting. I am
extremely grateful and proud that we were able to
make this record (Flow States, released last year).
Milford pronounced it “historic” and I believe it
may be his last studio album. Now, sadly, ourcollaborative science/music performances will not
be able to happen the way we had hoped…

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | APRIL 2021 13

ALBUM REVIEWSII
Nir Felder (Ropeadope)by Robert Bush

II is Nir Felder ’s sophomore document, a followup to

his debut Golden Age on OKeh released back in 2014.
Felder has become more of a presence on the jazz
guitar scene since that effort, logging high-profile gigs
with Jason Robinson, Greg Osby, Esperanza Spalding
and Jack DeJohnette.
The new album makes good use of multi-tracking,allowing Felder to play a ton of instruments, including
mandolin, banjo, electric sitar, keyboards, Thereminand loads of electric guitars. In support of all of that is
Matt Penman (bass) and Jimmy Macbride (drums).
Felder has got a warm, rich legato and a gift forclarity, apparent from the opener, “Longest Star”,
which finds him in the center of a swirling mix ofstringed instruments. There is an even split between
modal rockers and more agitated material.
“Interregnum” is an attractive example of the former,
reminiscent of some of Steve Khan’s work in previous
years; Felder unwinds a long and complex solo overlayered keyboards. ”Fire In August” is another rocker,
with power chords and snare drum on 2 and 4. It has
an anthemic feel, which wouldn’t be out of place on
the Pat Metheny Group album American Garage andFelder ’s solo narrative commands considerable
interest. The band reaches an apotheosis on“Coronation”, where the guitarist spins that country
twang that Bill Frisell and Metheny both do so well.
His version of that aesthetic employs deft voiceleading and chord melody and the tune caps out witha lovely Penman solo.
There’s a kind of ‘techno’ feel to “Big Heart”,
which begins with wicked distortion over a cracklingbackbeat before lurching into a series of tempo
manipulations, sounding like a needle skipping on
vinyl or a jump-cut in video editing. Also noteworthy
is “Big Swim”, which employs sequencing and a
melodic function on the key bass to achieve a sci-fisoundtrack vibe. The album closes on “War Theory”,
a big fusion opus with singable melodies, whiplash
beats and enough carefully cloaked bebop to keep
more traditional listeners on the edge of their seats.
Felder is definitely a player on the rise and themusic on this album indicates that he may well become
more of a household name in the very near future.

ideas as well as classic big band and contemporaryclassical techniques to inform his section writing.
Intermezzi entitled “Five Simple Spells 1-5” break up
the bop action. These are generally more meditative innature and provide a lovely foil for the mostly swinging
set. In his liner notes, Iverson refers to them as séances
designed to reach the bebop giant in the spirit realm.
The core group is Ingrid Jensen (trumpet), Dayna
Stephens (tenor saxophone), Ben Street (bass) andLewis Nash (drums). The album was recorded live,
which makes the brilliant performances of the Umbria
Jazz Orchestra even more impressive. On the opening
title track, cymbal-washed ambience welcomes angularbrass harmony in mostly quarter notes offset byoccasional stabs from the saxophone section. Lush andmysterious chords spawn a sequence that runs throughthe arrangement. In the second movement, the tempo
quickens. Iverson’s deft bop lines and left-hand shell
voicings display a deep understanding of his subject
while Nash is simple and grooving. The horns take up
the bass ostinato with a rhythmic grouping in five,rubbing against the swinging bebop, which Stephens
continues on his solo. The sections split and build in
intensity with a surprise “Cherokee” ending.
“Tempus Fugit” has a swinging drum intro withgreat idiomatic snare work. Saxophones play the
melody in unison with snappy hits from the brass.
Iverson’s solo swings hard; he nails Powell’s style,especially in his triplet turns and left-hand voicings.
A well-written interlude brings us to Jensen’s solo,
which is more angular and covers a wide range of thehorn. Quarter-note triplets accompany the supersax
bebop and sharp ending.
The first of the “Simple Spells” could serve easily
as a hymn in the bebop church. Iverson’s orchestration
is subtle and advanced, his shapes always well spacedwith excellent voice leading. “Bouncing with Bud”
stays very true to the original: block chords on thebridge are on point; Stephens’ solo borrows several
Rollins riffs, merged with his own interesting ideasthat fly at wide intervals up and down the horn; Jensen
has a cool solo that stays in the low register. Iverson is
also chill, playing simply but swinging hard.
Thelonious Monk’s “52nd St. Theme” is a fun
uptempo romp, which tumbles into the head at a brisk
clip with witty piano fills. Stephens dips slyly in andout of the key and Iverson works pedal points against
his tight right-hand lines. The tune ends with a rousing
shout chorus and burning drum solo. Iverson keeps tothe aesthetic of Powell while expanding his concepts
with slick compositional techniques, gelling perfectlywith the classic bop structures.
For more information, visit sunnysiderecords.com. Iverson
live-streams Apr. 6th at underexposed.live.

it would only be in a more liberal interpretation of theword ‘jazz’ that these compositions could be considered
to fall into that category.
The opening number “Small Head” is a probing
improvisation filled with harmonic tension, dense
texture and moody undertone. The segue composition
is “Blues Masqué”, relatively brief with a reflective
and pensive theme Bourassa slides lucidly througheach register with precision. “Interludes Y, X, Z” areamuse-bouches meant to whet the musical palate but
are without much substance and disappear quickly
without leaving any traces.
“Gaspard” was written for Bourassa’s younger
son and has an airy and dreamy theme. Theinterpretation is artfully restrained, thoughtful andsensitive. “La Buissonne” is the name of a record labelthat won an award in 2018 as the Best French Jazz
Label; Bourassa’s homage is dirge-like, with stonycommand and a somber sound. The longest track is“Musique Pour Film”, which thematically fits with all
the other compositions herein. Bourassa is clearly avirtuoso with an ethereal approach to his material.
Nothing appears to be done by rote or perfunctory. The
challenge is that it is not broadly accessible despite
being so richly configured.
These are parlous and uncertain times. Individuals
and families are isolated. Social interaction isdominated by the use of inanimate objects not offering
any human warmth. One may have hoped that thismusic might have brought some relief and anticipationof brighter days. But this is not the case. The music isfilled with angst and gloom, Bourassa appearing to beheld captive by the weight of his own design.
For more information, visit effendirecords.com. Bourassa
live-streams Apr. 10th at jazzenrafale.ca/en/events.

Atlantic Album (Omnivore)
R • François
Bourassa—L’Impact du Silencee • Jeff(Effendi)
Gillet—c Let ItCoffin/Helen
Shine (Ear Up)
Fujii—Hazuki (Piano Solo) (Libra)o •• Satoko
Brian Marsella/Trevor Dunn/
Wollesen—John Zorn: Calculus
m Kenny(Tzadik)
Parker Quartet—All Knavery andm • EvanCollusion (Cadillac)(Kaja Draksler/e • Punkt.Vrt.Plastik
Christian Lillinger/Petter Eldh)—
Somit (Intakt)n • Reut
Foni—Two Much: Neverd EnoughRegev/Igal(Relative Pitch)
Robinson—Solipsisms (fore • Scottunaccompanied C melody saxophone)(ScienSonic)d • Sonic
Twist (Judi Silvano/Bruce Arnold)—• Hasaan Ibn Ali—Metaphysics: The Lost

Unity (Muse-Eek)
Laurence Donohue-Greene, Managing EditornAlegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet—
e • GabrielSocial Distancing (Saponegro)
Armaroli/Fritz Hauser—w • Sergio
Angelica (Leo)For more information, visit ropeadope.com. Felder livestreams Apr. 7th at barbayeux.com.

• Emmet Cohen—Future Stride

L’Impact du Silence
François Bourassa (Effendi)
by Pierre Giroux

Pianist François Bourassa has been a fixture on the
Bud Powell in the 21st Century
Ethan Iverson & Umbria Jazz Orchestra (Sunnyside)by Brian CharetteThis compelling new recording from pianist Ethan
Iverson was inspired by 1949’s Bud Powell’s Modernists
with Sonny Rollins and Fats Navarro. The tunes are byboth Powell and Iverson who uses the former ’s solo

Canadian jazz scene for some 25 years. Although he
has toured internationally and did a six-monthresidency in New York City, his comfort zone remains
firmly anchored in his native province of Québec.
On his first solo recording, which relies entirely on
his own compositions, Bourassa explores a broadsoundscape of ideas encompassing improvisation,
introspection and abstraction. By way of a disclaimer,

14 APRIL 2021 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD(Mack Avenue)r • Yelena
Eckemoff—Adventures of the
Wildflower (L&H Prod.)e • Mark
Feldman—Sounding Point (Intakt)
Guy—Irvin’s Comet (NoBusiness)l •• Barry
Stephanie Nilles—I pledge allegiance to theflag—the white flag (Sunnyside)e • EvanParker Quartet—All Knavery anda Collusion(Cadillac)• Art Pepper—Unreleased Art, Volume Eleven:s Atlanta (Widow’s Taste)
Works—Abracadabra In Osakae • Soft(MoonJune)s Andrey Henkin, Editorial Director

Griot: This Is Important!
Jeremy Pelt (HighNote)
Ascension
Black Art Jazz Collective (HighNote)by Marco Cangiano

These CDs celebrate the African American tradition.

The first builds on trumpeter Jeremy Pelt’s recently
self-released book, Griot: Examining the Lives of Jazz’
Great Storytellers, an heir of sorts to Art Taylor ’s 1977
tome Notes and Tones: Musician-to-musician Interviews,
while the other is the third outing from the Black Art
Jazz Collective (BAJC), which Pelt co-founded in 2012
with saxophonist Wayne Escoffery and drummer
Johnathan Blake. Both projects embody BAJC’s statedpurpose of “celebrating African American cultural andpolitical icons, as well as preserving the historicalsignificance of African Americans in Jazz”.
Many, therefore, are the commonalities, besides
Pelt’s presence: the material, which combines an
updated version of the somewhat ethereal atmosphereof mid to late ‘60s Blue Note’s along with a more
assertive Jazz Messengers edge; dedications to elders,such as Larry Willis and Harold Mabern, who haverecently passed; and pianist Victor Gould’s imprint asboth an essential soloist and composer.
Griot cleverly combines brief intimate interviews,
including with Willis and Mabern, with heartfelt
musical statements. These either blend in with thestorytelling, as in the case of Pelt’s introduction,
Warren Smith’s testimony and the brief conversation
with Bertha Hope, followed by beautiful ballad“A Seat at the Table”, or take off and get inspirationfrom the oral testimonies.
A case in point is René Marie’s harsh recollectionof her embarrassment at being American, reflected in
the ensuing “A Beautiful (F*cking) Lie”, which also
benefits from Brandee Younger ’s harp. The group
includes young Taiwanese vibraphonist Chien Chien
Lu, bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Allan
Mednard in addition to Pelt and Gould, the latterclearly inspired by the storytelling, delivering relaxed,almost restrained, lyrical performances. Lu isreminiscent of Bobby Hutcherson in her rhythmic yetsuspenseful approach on the Eric Dolphy-inspired“Don’t Dog the Source”. Pelt’s playing continues to
evolve with total command of the full range of the
instrument while adding a touch of romanticism,smoothing out some of his early hard edges.
“Relevance” rounds out the proceedings with a tightdialogue between tense trumpet and bouncing
vibraphone on top of a dense tapestry provided by therhythm section.
Ascension relies on a tightly assembled group ofmusicians cruising through a varied set of originalcompositions. The programmatic approach directly
influences the music with varying degrees of successin a relatively short CD (less than 48 minutes) by
today’s standards.
By looking backward while moving forward along
the Jazz Messengers’ hardbop tradition, particularly
the frontline of tenor, trumpet and trombone, the music
provides a sense of predictability, which, while
appealing, risks diminishing its more ambitious reach.
Each piece sticks to an extremely well executed themesolos-theme pattern inclusive of brilliant solos but
lacking some depth. Jackie McLean’s “Twin Towers”,
recorded here for the first time, and Gould’s “IronMan”, dedicated to Mabern, are the perfect examplesof this approach: driving and quite appealing, evenexciting in the solo sequences, but hardly surprising.

The more politically-motivated tracks, trombonist
James Burton III’s “Tulsa” and Escoffery’s “Involuntary
Slavery”, are more complex and satisfying offerings,
yet fail to convey fully the drama that those historicalevents elicit.
With bassist Rashaan Carter and drummer Mark
Whitfield, Jr. taking over for Archer and Blake,
respectively, from previous CDs, BAJC has become
more assertive and driven, while Gould replacing
Xavier Davis adds depth in the composition
department. The use of the electric piano, however,sounds a tad dated in “For the Kids”, possibly the least
interesting piece of the CD. Other pieces, such as “Mr.
Willis” and brief ballad interlude “No Words Needed”,
suffer from the above noted predictability.
For more information, visit jazzdepot.com. Pelt live-streams
Apr. 14th with Clovis Nicolas at smallslive.com.

Let’s Celebrate
George Freeman’s 94th Birthday!
April 10, 2021
Everybody say YEAH!
GEORGE FREEMANGEORGE THE BOMB!

Sure ThingDavid Kikoski (with Boris Kozlov) (HighNote)by Dan Bilawsky

When two master musicians get together, it’s a safe

bet that things will go well. And when they’re friends
who’ve been working side by side for nearly a quarterof a century, resonating on the same wavelength while
shifting in and out of different formats and settings
together, it’s practically a sure thing.
So is it any wonder that pianist David Kikoski andbassist Boris Kozlov—a tight twosome bonded throughwork in the former ’s combos, the Mingus Big Band,
Beatlejazz and collective quintet Opus 5—should hit it
off in a duo setting?
Putting aside that rhetorical question and a frontloaded stamp of quality, Kikoski and Kozlov go on toearn their praise at every turn in this eight-song set.
The pianist’s well-structured offerings capture theimagination while the bassist carries his weight andthen some, acting as counter voice and hinge. The
plainly-titled “B Flat Tune”, undergirded by Kozlov’s
life-affirming pulse, radiates beauty in its own sweetly
logical way. “E” provides a touch of McCoy Tyner ’sline language in its head but moves further afield in its
development. A stop-off in the world of Emerson, Lake
& Palmer—“Fugue” from “The Endless Enigma”,
harkening back to 1972’s Trilogy album—gives Kikoskia chance to revisit an early influence in his own fashion.
And the ruminative “Strength for Change”, auguring
hope in its every line, finds comfort in its spaces.
Kicking off the second half of the program with therecently departed Chick Corea’s “Quartet #1”, Kikoski
and Kozlov flex their minds and musical muscles
without ever breaking a sweat. Then they run laps
through John Coltrane’s “Satellite”, a classic referencing“How High The Moon” in structure and representing
advancement through the composer’s signature
harmonic changes; tackle the Jerome Kern-Ira Gershwintitle cut, nodding to the version on 1953’s The Amazing
Bud Powell, Vol. 2 while sprucing things up with new
harmonies, rhythms and an odd-metered gait; andfinally call it a day with “Winnie’s Garden”, a contrafact
on “Sweet Georgia Brown” interpreted with alacrity
and shot through with animated exchanges. Matching
the gazes on the cover photo, this album delivers thesound of looking up.
For more information, visit jazzdepot.com. Kikoski livestreams Apr. 17th at southfloridajazz.org.

Tenor Sax Jazz Legend Von Freeman
inscribed a photo to George:“To my brother George,
The World’s most gifted guitarist.”
Order George The Bomb! from amazon.com

Live at The Green Mill in Chicago!

April 9th & 10th, Three sets from 8 - 1

Joanie Pallatto’s songs
are like a modern radio...
JOANIE PALLATTO
featuring Fareed Haque
MY ORIGINAL PLAN
~ Available April 16th, 2021 ~Jazzy-Pop!
Fourteen Original Songs fromAward-Winning Singer-Songwriter
Joanie Pallatto
Produced by Haque and Pallatto“Listen closely and find out how to dream and how to use
those dreams...With Joanie, the personal becomes universal.”
Stephen Cole, award winning songwriter and playwrightSouthport Records
www.chicagosound.com
Real Jazz Made in Chicago

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | APRIL 2021 15

G LO B E U N I T Y

MP85Michel Portal (Label Bleu)
Full Sun
Ziv Taubenfeld (Multikulti Project)
Notre Dame - Meditations and Prayers
Mathilde Grooss Viddal (Losen)by Tom Greenland

I’ll never forget my first time. I was listening to Bitches

Brew and a haunting, almost reptilian sound seemed
to slither through the electro-acoustic jungle of Miles
Davis’ music. It was Bennie Maupin’s bass clarinet.
Three recent projects led by bass clarinetists place thelow reed’s unforgettable tone front and center.
85 year-old Michel Portal is one of the founding
figures of the French free improv scene, recording in
the late ‘60s and early ‘70s with groups like New
Phonic Art, later winning three César Awards for his
film scores. MP85 is an adventurous yet accessible
outing with trombonist Nils Wogram, keyboardist
Bojan Z, bassist Bruno Chevillon and drummer
Lander Gyselinck. The repertoire, often written inminor keys with propulsive, riff-based grooves andhummable melodies, supports fluid interplay
between the bass clarinet, trombone and keyboards.
Portal seems to favor the upper register of his bass
clarinet, often sounding like an alto saxophone until
he dips down into the instrument’s Twilight Zone
range; during free blowing sections he draws on
multiphonics, growls, trills and electronic effects tovitalize his ideas. Wogram, equally adroit, versatileand creative, serves as Portal’s sparring partner.
Israel-born, Amsterdam-based bass clarinetist
Ziv Taubenfeld seems more interested in the
instrument’s lowest registers and raspiest timbres,using a grab-bag of extended techniques to push its
sonic possibilities. Full Sun is the eponymous debutof his septet with reedplayer Michael Moore,
trumpeter Luís Vicente, trombonist Joost Buis, pianist
Nicolás Chientaroli, bassist Shay Hazan and drummer
Onno Govaert, close listeners with outwardly boundintentions. Though based on compositions, much of
the music, even the cued sections, sounds intuitively
generated. The musicians aren’t afraid to lay out,
leaving expansive spaces, or else chatter together
energetically in thick, four-part polyphony, like abarbershop quartet with all lead parts. Closing“Natufian Dream” is especially good, with fine solos
by Taubenfeld and Vicente and a surging climax.
Norwegian
reedplayer Mathilde Grooss
Viddal’s Notre Dame - Meditations and Prayers is very
different, comprised of four-part chorales based on
folk songs and hymns projecting a subdued but
powerful numinosity. On most tracks, each member
assumes a vocal part: trumpeter Hayden Powell thesoprano, tenor saxophonist Børge-Are Halvorsen
the alto, trombonist Øyvind Brække the tenor andthe leader ’s low clarinet ‘singing’ bass. Recorded
over a three-year period in Oslo, the chorale tracks
are hypnotic and reverential, somber yet uplifting,the homophonic texture peppered with short but
telling improvised gestures, the most potent instanceoccurring at the end of “Reflection V”. Four tracks
are more free-form: three pairing Grooss Viddal(doubling on saxophones) with trumpeter Per Willy
Aaserud (all recorded at Færvik Kirke on Tromøy
island) and another with Halvorsen.
For more information, visit label-bleu.com, multikulti.com
and losenrecords.no

Love Right
Noah Baerman & Friends (RMI)
by Elliott Simon

P ianist Noah Baerman’s Love Right sometimes tries

too hard but in the main is a glorious spectacle of songand emotion borne out of despair. Baerman is awonderfully lyrical storyteller and living as a musician
with a physical disability has prepared him in part todeal with, capture and create a work of art in theaftermath of tragedy: vocalist Claire Randall’s
senseless murder.
Baerman’s student and musical colleague, Randall
sings on “Sans Toi, Sans Toi”, a Paul Simon-esque
AfroBeat gem with French lyrics. Baerman plays
electric bass and the tune highlights Sam Dickey’s
guitar, Kate Van Eyck’s pumping euphonium and very
physical vocals from Gina Ulysse. Sales benefit Claire’s
Continuum, an organization founded in Randall’s
memory as a tribute to her spirit, which funds novel
artistic partnerships and promotes social justice(clairescontinuum.com).
From the superb Billy Joel-meets-Steely Dan pop
of “Cheese Time”, which features Baerman on vocals,
to a live church-like performance of John Coltrane’s“After the Rain” with Baerman on organ, Jen Allen on
piano and drummer Johnathan Blake, the diversity ofmusic and musicians on the session is daunting.
Baerman has a lot of friends and over 100 musicians
are spread across 17 pieces with the listening experience
divided into four sections to mirror that of a doubleLP. The only way to get the music, however, is digitallywith an offered insert that identifies each musician andtheir respective contributions. It includes a clever
photo collage of all the participants with a numbered
map to identify each person.
Myriad styles and settings bear testimony toBaerman’s excellent arranging skills and abilities as atalent scout. In addition to the aforementioned Coltrane
tune, rearrangements of the Jimmy McHugh-Dorothy
Fields standard “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love”
that features tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene, Joni
Mitchell’s “Good Friends” with an on-point vocal fromMel Hsu and Bruce Cockburn’s “Joy Will Find a Way”
are tailored to fit the players and interspersed among
the original music.
There is a definite ‘60s pop ethos here and although
the collage insert reminds more of the cover to The
Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Capitol,
1967) the feel is more akin to their White Album (Capitol,
1968). Songs switch styles from cut to cut without any
seeming unifying thread save for Baerman himself andmusic written and arranged for the strengths andemotions of the various artist groupings. These include“I’m Goin Home”, a heart wrenching blues perfect for
Garth Taylor ’s vocal counterpointed by Baerman’s
acoustic guitar and Sam Friedman’s harmonica, as wellas the classic country-infused “Beautiful and Cruel”
pleadingly delivered by vocalist Rebecca Koval,
Baerman’s electric slide guitar, Rani Arbo’s fiddle andKaren Hogg’s mandolin.
“Cliff Palace”, an expansive modern jazz
instrumental suite, which pairs Baerman’s piano withan exceptional rhythm section of bassist Henry Lugoand drummer Tyshawn Sorey, takes up one full “side”.
The offering draws its wonderful depth from the
textural voicings of Nadje Noordhuis’ trumpet andKris Allen’s alto saxophone. The title song is presented
as a four-part acapella lyrical statement with Mariana

16 APRIL 2021 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

Quinn-Makwaia on lead vocal. On Side 4, the melody
is elegantly reprised in an instrumental setting by
Chris Dingman’s stunning vibraphone, Baerman’selectric piano and Amanda Monaco’s electric guitar.
On several tunes, vocals, perhaps amateurish byintention, lack control and while an overabundance of‘70s Godspell cliché detracts from bassist Dave
Kopperman’s “Mercy” and Cockburn’s “Joy Will Finda Way” could use more clarity, the missteps are minor
and Love Right impresses as a sweeping soundtrack insearch of a magnificent musical.
For more information, visit resonantmotion.org. Baerman
live-streams Apr. 19th at continue.wesleyan.edu/register/
InfoandJazz.

Power from the Air
Brian Charette (SteepleChase)by Phil Freeman

O rgan player Brian Charette is one of the most creative

players on his chosen instrument. He frequently
experiments with other sounds, including acoustic
pianos and various synthesizers, and sometimes
cracked electronics of his own devising, and his allergy
to orthodoxy also manifests in his ensembles: he has
made two solo Hammond B3 albums, 2013’s Borderline
and 2019’s Beyond Borderline; on 2017’s Backup,
he was joined by pianist Henry Hey and drummer
Jochen Rueckert; and the collaborative 2017 project
Kürrent and its eponymous self-released debut waswith Charette’s organ and electronics, Ben Monder ’s
guitar and Jordan Young’s drums and electronics.
In 2012, he released Music For Organ Sextette(SteepleChase), which had Joel Frahm on tenor
saxophone, Mike DiRubbo on alto sax, Jay Collins onflute and baritone saxophone, John Ellis on bass
clarinet, and Rueckert behind the kit. On 2014’s The
Question That Drives Us (SteepleChase), Kriss had
replaced Collins. Power from the Air is the third releaseby his sextet, which currently is comprised of Kriss,
DiRubbo, Kenny Brooks on tenor saxophone, Karel
Ruzicka on bass clarinet, and Brian Fishler on drums.
The album is long—10 tracks, nearly 72 minutes—
but Charette’s compositions (and a few well-chosen
standards) are creative enough to hold the listener ’s
attention. The reed arrangements are frequently
surprising; toward the end of an already unorthodox
version of Earle Hagen-Dick Rogers’ “Harlem
Nocturne”, on which the organ is shadowed by gentle
flute drones, the music stops and all four horns burst
forth in all-too-brief freedom.
The longest track on the album by far is a version of
Ray Noble’s “Cherokee” that lasts nearly 14 minutes.
That’s a long time to spend on such a familiar theme,
but Fishler keeps the rhythm twitchy and energetic andeveryone else involved speaks bebop with equal fluency
so, as it’s been for what seems like a century, it serves asa trampoline from which to launch high-flying, fleetfingered solos all around. The title piece is much moreinteresting; the horns weave past each other like dancers
performing a complex ballroom routine, before theensemble settles into a gentle soul-jazz groove. “Silver
Lining” is set to a harder, strutting beat and Kriss’ solo
in particular has a surprising intensity. It could havecome from one of Larry Young’s later Blue Note albums.
For more information, visit steeplechase.dk. Charette livestreams Tuesdays at facebook.com/pinchbrian.

Dark Is Light Is
Elsa Nilsson (s/r)
by Alex Henderson

The term “concept album” is usually used inconnection to classic rock of the ‘60s-70s. But jazz has
also had its share of imaginative concept albums over
the years, from Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain to Duke
Ellington’s The Far East Suite. Swedish flutist Elsa
Nilsson’s Dark Is Light Is easily qualifies: instrumental
jazz spins on familiar Nordic songs associated with
Lucia, a Swedish holiday celebrated in December, witha quartet of guitarist Jeff McLaughlin, acoustic/electricbassist Alex Minier and drummer Cody Rahn.
Although Lucia-associated songs like Ruben
Liljefors’ “När Det Lider Mot Jul” and Carl Bertil
Agnestig’s “Så Mörk Är Natten” are traditional in
Sweden, what Nilsson does with them is not. She
draws on elements of postbop, avant garde jazz andfusion, with McLaughlin bringing a lot of rock muscle
to his solos. When he stretches out on “När Det Lider
Mot Jul”, Emmy Köhler ’s “Nu Tändas Tusen Juleljus”
or Christmas song “När Juldagsmorgon Glimmar”, theinfluence of John Scofield, Bill Frisell and other fusion
guitarists comes through.
Many of Nilsson’s solos are highly lyrical. The
Swedish flutist, who was born and raised in

Gothenburg, Sweden but now lives in Brooklyn, brings
a warm, lilting quality to “Nu Tändas Tusen Juleljus”,“När Det Lider Mot Jul” and other melodic offerings,
favoring an inside/outside approach.
Anyone who expects to hear these Lucia-associatedsongs performed in a strictly traditional way will haveto adapt. Nilsson isn’t shy about taking chances withit. “Sankta Lucia”, for example, receives a Latin jazzinfluenced makeover while “Julpolska” and “HejTomtegubbar Slå I Glasen” incorporate elements ofMiddle Eastern music. Dark Is Light Is celebrates
Swedish culture, but it doesn’t claim to be a typical
Swedish folk date. Nilsson has put a lot of thought into
it—from the musicians to the choice of material to thearrangements—and it pays off.
For more information, visit elsanilssonmusic.com. Nilsson
live-streams Apr. 22nd at soapboxgallery.org.

Human Dust Suite
Miki Yamanaka (Outside In Music)
by Ken Dryden

A native of Japan who moved to New York City in2012, Miki Yamanaka is a promising young composer,
pianist and arranger who has studied with notables
like Fred Hersch, Jeb Patton and Larry Goldings. For

Human Dust Suite, she brought demanding original
music into the studio for a quartet of alto saxophonist
Anthony Orji, bassist Orlando Le Fleming anddrummer Jochen Rueckert.
One can hear a multitude of influences in her
writing while her self-confident arrangements turnover much of the spotlight to her fellow musicians, allof whom are outstanding players. Opener “Pre-School”
is anything but elementary, a darting bop anthem withrepeated lines and sudden twists before it moves into
more straightahead territory. Her liner notes tease that
it is a contrafact of a standard (“I Remember You),
inspired by Lee Konitz, but dry, mysterious saxophone
and the striking interplay of the rhythm section keep
one guessing. Her spirited “March” blends an upbeat
theme with just a hint of melancholy infused by soft,
intricate horn.
The centerpiece is the five-part title suite, inspiredby her viewing of a photographer ’s shots of crematedremains. Of the individual movements, the humor
within “Feet Go Bad First”, with Le Fleming carrying
much of the load and Yamanaka overdubbing
vibraphone in the background, is an obvious favorite.
To wrap the project, Yamanaka’s lively interpretationof the late Randy Weston’s “Berkshire Blues” builds
upon its Caribbean flavor, though she doesn’t attempt
to duplicate Weston’s heavier touch at the piano. Just
as with her original compositions, her band devours
this infrequently performed work, conjuring a virtualstreet parade as they sway down the street playing thisjazz anthem. With her inventive songwriting andconsiderable chops, more great music is expected from
Miki Yamanaka.
For more information, visit outsideinmusic.com. Yamanaka
live-streams Wednesdays at facebook.com/mikiyamanakamusic.

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | APRIL 2021 17

ON SCREEN

Look Within
Joe Dyson (s/r)
by Alex Henderson
Buster Williams: Bass to Infinity
A Film by Adam Kahan
by Kevin Canfield

In the opening minutes of this skillful documentary,a bit of nifty craftsmanship gives the viewer a striking
view of Buster Williams. Placing a camera at his feetand shooting skyward, director Adam Kahan andcinematographer Jennifer Cox film Williams from anangle that makes both him and his bass look a dozen
feet tall. The sequence presents the musician—abandleader and treasured sideman to Sarah Vaughan,Nancy Wilson and Herbie Hancock—as a monumental
figure, setting the tone for this admiring film.
Instead of attempting to cram a comprehensive
biography into its 90-minute running time, Buster
Williams: Bass to Infinity is primarily composed of
new sequences filmed at famed performance spaces
and other notable jazz sites. At each venue, Williams
teams with fellow musicians on casual renditions ofwell-known songs. Much of the footage, which
predates the pandemic, was apparently shot during
off-hours in mostly empty spaces, uncannily
foreshadowing the long period of enforced isolationthat was to follow. At the National Jazz Museum inHarlem, Williams and saxophonist Benny Golson
saunter through Clifford Brown’s “Tiny Capers”.
Seated before Birdland’s red curtain, Williams backs
singer Carmen Lundy on an impressionistic renditionof Jimmy Van Heusen’s “But Beautiful”. At Jazz at
Lincoln Center, one of the only performances with anaudience, he’s part of a rhythm section that anchors
an introspective version of his “Christina”.
Adding texture to the proceedings, Williams
swaps memorable anecdotes with friends andfamily. As a boy, Williams recalls, he bought a bassfrom his father, also a musician, in $2 installments.
Barely 21 and playing with Vaughan, he wanted abass with “a fat neck” and “big hips”; she loaned
him $450 for the instrument. In Seattle, circa 1970,
Williams and fellow members of Hancock’s
Mwandishi Band played a set that moved some fansto grateful tears. “The engine for this was Buster,”whose muscular intro to a midtempo number “wokeeverybody up,” Hancock says.
This is a stylish, intelligent film, a capable blendof recent footage and archival clips of a young
Williams on various bandstands, absorbed in his
work. Anecdotes for which there’s no accompanying
film are told via vibrant animation by Matt Smithson.
One scene, an allusion to the “infinite” spiritualjourney of Williams’ Buddhist faith, shows him
determinedly wheeling his bass down a paved pathin a wooded area. Not everything in thisdocumentary works. An awkward scene in which
Williams and other musicians trade some aimlesschat about the Godfather films could’ve been
trimmed. Meanwhile, if Williams has sharp edges oreven basic human flaws, Kahan isn’t interested—thetone is one of unflagging approbation. But if thisfilm doesn’t go as deep as it could have, it
nevertheless is an admirable work, an aptly likableportrait of a talented, wise and beloved musician.
For more information, visit busterwilliamsmovie.com

N ew Orleans drummer Joe Dyson is known for his

work with trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis and organ
player Dr. Lonnie Smith. Look Within finds him leadinga band of trumpeter Stephen Lands, tenor saxophonist
Stephen Gladney, pianist Oscar Rossignoli, bassist
Jasen Weaver and percussionist Daniel Sadownick on a
program combining elements of Blue Note postbop
with the ‘60s spirituality of saxophonists like John
Coltrane, Yusef Lateef, Pharoah Sanders and Rahsaan
Roland Kirk.
When the horns of Lands and Gladney cometogether on “Pious Walk”, “Forward” and “Fleeting
Faith”, one hears some of the crispness and energy thatBlue Note’s small groups were known for during the‘60s. Lands is obviously well aware of big-toned Blue
Note trumpeters such as Freddie Hubbard, Woody
Shaw and Lee Morgan and Coltrane’s early ‘60s quartet
is an equally prominent influence, Gladney andRossignoli recalling the saxophone trailblazer ’s workwith pianist McCoy Tyner during that era.
A female singer, L.E., is featured on the title track,
which combines postbop with a touch of ‘70s soul,
L.E.’s performance, stylistically, somewhere between
Abbey Lincoln and early Deniece Williams. On othervocal offerings, however, Dyson doesn’t feature actual
singing but, rather, uses samples from church or
mosque sermons, including “Naysayers” and “Cometo Thee”. The speakers sampled include his father Rev.
J.C. Dyson and Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis
Farrakhan.
Out of ten tracks, nine are Dyson originals. The
exception is Thelonious Monk’s “Rhythm-a-Ning”,
tackled at a medium tempo, giving it an unexpected
Caribbean flavor. With its festive mood, this is a
departure after so much Coltrane-minded introspection
and nods to Tyner, Sanders and Lateef, feeling like avacation in the Bahamas. Dyson was wise to place it at
the end.
Look Within doesn’t pretend to point jazz in any
new directions. Nonetheless, this is a respectable,
albeit derivative, outing from the young New Orleans
drummer.
For more information, visit joedyson.com. Dyson livestreams Apr. 28th at barbayeux.com.

In-Between Position(s)Joel Futterman (Bellaphon-Silkheart)
Spirits
Kidd Jordan/Joel Futterman/Alvin Fielder(Silkheart)by John Sharpe

Although Joel Futterman has pursued his career outof the limelight, having moved to Virginia from his
native Chicago back in 1972, that hasn’t held him back.
The pianist, who turns 75 this month, still actively
adds to a discography of over 70 entries, showcasing

18 APRIL 2021 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

a style in which his laser focus, independence of
movement between hands and articulation at speed
are given full rein. Two reed titans stand out among his
many collaborators and a brace of newly issued albums
on the Swedish Silkheart imprint offer an opportunity
to revisit his interface with both.
In 1980 Futterman encountered a kindred spirit inalto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons, six years before thelatter ’s untimely death at 54, and they spent many
hours in intensive practice. Four recordings reveal thefruits of their alliance, of which In-Between Position(s),recorded in concert in 1982, but not originally released
until 1990, was the first.
An undulating piano motif, answered by aparaphrase from Lyons, nudged along by Robert
Adkins’ cymbals and they’re off in a high intensity
exchange, which runs unbroken for 67 minutes. The
pace and density of the interaction, particularly
between Futterman and Lyons, is breathtaking. In
Lyons’ extended tenure with pianist Cecil Taylor hemastered the febrile sustained invention, which meshes
so well with Futterman’s sensibility. Like Taylor,
Futterman feeds Lyons with material, which the
saxophonist transforms, repeats and expands into
continuous dialogue. Futterman’s flowing horn-likephrasing touches on melodic kernels as much as
percussive emphasis, but always proves liable tosparkling digression. Adkins’ amalgam of hi-hat
chatter, rumbling drums and incisive accentssupercharges the momentum, which emerges fromsaxophonist and pianist. Though the sleeve partitions
the piece into eight sections, it’s tracked as a single cut.
Regular keystone passages for piano, either alone orwith only drums for company, serve to initiate further
trio extrapolation and may indicate the divisions.
Futterman’s composition has been so thoroughlyinternalized by the principals that what could befragmentary themes may equally be skilfulextemporization. While not everyone will invest the
meticulous attention needed to appreciate the overallarchitecture, just to luxuriate in their dazzling interplay
is ample reward.
Futterman began a highly productive association
with New Orleans tenor saxophonist Kidd Jordan in
1994 lasting to the present day. Indeed, the pairappeared at the 2019 Vision Festival, in a tribute to latedrummer Alvin Fielder, who is the third member of thegroup on Spirits.
This previously unreleased studio date from 1997
finds all three at the top of their game. As was theircustom, they collectively improvise all of the sevencuts, which include three duets and a Futterman solo
alongside the trio outings. With Jordan the tradition,from John Coltrane to spirituals, is never far awayeven in the most freeform moments. The saxophonist’s
soulful soliloquy on “Opening” sets the scene, aligninga yearning keen with his trademark falsetto. Fielder ’smallets and Futterman’s sparse chording jointentatively, but the complexity of their interchange
soon increases, as Futterman’s responsive lines
intertwine with Jordan. So attuned are they to eachother ’s trajectories that they forge an almost symbiotic
partnership. That’s most obvious on the tandem“Serenity” where point/counterpoint proves an utterly
inadequate description of their quicksilver movement
and near instantaneous rejoinders. Even alone, as on“Ripples”, Futterman can seem as if he is inconversation, as fast streams of notes in his left handcontrast with a crystalline staccato in the right. Not
content with keyboard dexterity, Futterman broadens
his palette by switching to Indian flute part way
through “Double Strike”, his birdlike twittering
flickering between Jordan’s altissimo filigree, thenlater on “Start-Continue” he unleashes his curved
soprano saxophone in consort with Fielder ’s tuneful
but buoyant drum pulse.
For more information, visit silkheart.seunearthed gem

Lifting the Bandstand
Cecil Taylor Quintet (Fundacja Słuchaj!)
Being Astral and All Registers
Cecil Taylor/Tony Oxley (Discus Music)
by George Grella

One of the more overused quotes from Ralph Waldo

Emerson is, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin oflittle minds.” Fair enough, but the following sentencegoes: “With consistency a great soul has simply nothing
to do.” This perspective actually leverages the greatnessof pianist Cecil Taylor. His playing over the last 40-plus
years of his life, up to his death three years ago thismonth, was nothing but consistent and by that not only
was the quality always astounding—a vital value in freeplaying, when a wayward thought can turn into disasterat any moment—but the bulk of the notes he broughtout of the piano was also consistent. Taylor used a
specific set of musical ideas and gestures, notably arising and falling set of minor-key tremolos that were
never anything but breathtaking and that very
consistency was essential to the greatness of his art andsoul. The intellectual and aesthetic stakes of his music
were so profound and expansive that each performanceand record was a step in chipping away at an edifice,which, given an infinite amount of time, could haverivaled the scope of the universe. Taylor’s consistency
was the tool with which he fashioned his legacy.
These two live recordings were captured four years
apart, a hair’s breadth in Taylor’s world and, except for
the acoustics, could be consecutive performances fromthe same stage. The Quintet played in Finland in 1998,
Taylor and Oxley at the Ulrichsberg Festival in Austria
in 2002. Both would be at home in the live discography
on FMP that is the centerpiece of Taylor’s late style andalong with Oxley, the Quintet shares some personnel
from those albums, with cellist Tristan Honsinger anddrummer Paul Lovens joined by saxophonist Harri
Sjöström and bassist Teppo Hauta-Aho.
The differences in musicians make for significant
contrasts. Taylor is Taylor; his followers will want tohear every note they can find over the last two decadesof his life, when recordings were almost nonexistent.
And he is as penetrating, dazzling and imaginative as
always with the Quintet. But Sjöström is a wayward
presence for much of the first of the two tracks. He
plays with misdirected energy, running through andover the music without showing any response to what
Taylor and the others are doing. Perhaps he had toblow off some nerves, because he’s far better integrated
in the second of the two long tracks, though still
dependent on free-playing clichés like smears andsquawks. One misses Jimmy Lyons’ lyricism.
Oxley was one of Taylor ’s finest partners, the best
behind the drumkit, and his self-effacing quickthinking and choice of colors are an almost Bach-esquecounterpoint to Taylor ’s clusters, runs and sonicmysteries. As usual with the two, they start playing
but the music feels like it had been going on all along
between them, before they sat at their instruments. As
much as Taylor could stab down on a moment in time,
there is a constant linear flow to the music, a flexible
suppleness that integrates every event with all thosethat have come before.
The Quintet was recorded by Finnish Radio while
Oxley himself made the duo recording. You’d neverknow—the sound has space and depth while theQuintet comes off flat and not well integrated. Consider
that one for fans only while Being Astral is essential.

Metaphysics: The Lost Atlantic Album
Hasaan Ibn Ali (Omnivore)by Duck Baker

F or over half a century, the reputation ofPhiladelphia-based pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali has rested
on a single record, The Max Roach Trio Featuring the
Legendary Hasaan, which appeared on Atlantic in
early 1965. Given what an astonishing record it is,
many have always believed that reputation shouldhave been greater. Roach, for example, considered
Ali as one of the three great pianist/composers of his
generation, along with Thelonious Monk and Herbie
Nichols and the Legendary Hasaan date confirms that
he was an extraordinarily original musician. His
piano technique could be almost overwhelming andas an improviser he can seem, at first blush, like a
missing link between Bud Powell and Cecil Taylor,though this description is not quite satisfactory on
either end. Ali does feel a bit like Taylor in terms of
harmonic density, but he is usually referencing‘normal’ jazz harmonic thinking, albeit in a way thatis further removed than what we are used to, even in
2021. And the strongest earlier influence was another
underrated genius of modern jazz piano, Elmo Hope,rather than Powell.
Some listeners are aware that Ali did lead afollowup quartet session for Atlantic later in 1965,
but that the unissued masters were later lost in thenotorious 1978 warehouse fire. Rumor of a surviving
tape copy persisted, however, and this unissued dateassumed legendary status in its own right, the stuff
jazz dreams have been made of, ever since the ideaof a Buddy Bolden cylinder recording first circulated.
Some of these dreams have materialized over theyears, such as Dean Benedetti’s recordings of Charlie
Parker or the session featuring Albert Ayler with
Cecil Taylor. And it’s wonderful to have these, evenwhen the historical value supersedes their musicalworth, but it’s hard to remember a case where thereality of one of these dreamed-of lost sessions
exceeded expectations.
Metaphysics will exceed expectations. It is evenstronger in some ways than the trio record and helps
us understand why people like Roach, Johnny Griffin
and so many other musicians considered Ali a genius.
The presence of Odean Pope is essential. He is one of
the great line of Philadelphia tenor saxophonists,
which included Bill Barron, John Coltrane and Archie
Shepp, and Ali, like many pianists, assumes adifferent role when there is a horn player present
both because we hear him comp behind a soloist but
also because his own solos are constructed differently.
He’s delivering a chapter, not a whole novel. Popesounds great on this, his debut recording. Ali had
been mentoring the younger man for over a decadeby the time of these sessions and Pope was not only
comfortable with Ali’s compositions but also able toexpand on them. He is viewed as coming out of
Coltrane, stylistically, and there is nothing but honor
in this, but we should remember that Ali was a major
influence on Coltrane, and Pope often heard the twoolder musicians play together (there was even a
recording of Coltrane and Barron jamming with Ali,
though that really has been lost, alas).

Accepting that Ali was an important influence is
one thing, but explaining that influence is difficult.
Pope and others tell us that the pianist provided
a model for Coltrane’s demanding work ethic andinfluenced his harmonic thinking, as well as his“sheets of sound” approach to improvising. But wecannot point to any unified theoretical approach like
George Russell’s Lydian Chromatic Concept and it
doesn’t clarify things much when we hear that Ali
talked about things like twenty-ninth chords. He
himself felt that he was extending an approach usedby Hope, though most people would hear Hope as
an advanced bebopper. It’s easy to hear his influence,
though. Something of the brooding harmonic qualityof Hope ballads like “Barfly” was heard in “Hope
So, Elmo” on the Legendary Hasaan record and isheard again on the dedication here to anotherpianist, Bud’s brother Richie Powell, “Richard May
Love Give Powell”. There are also specific chordvoicings that sound similar and Ali, like Hope, madeample use of the higher registers of the piano whilesoloing, though his touch was always more assertive.
Both Hope (“De-Dah”) and Ali (“Almost Like Me”)
wrote great tunes based on riff figures, but so did
Monk and Herbie Nichols, among others. Metaphysics
opens with a textbook example of such a tune,“Atlantic Ones”, a performance that evokes a genie
bursting free from confinement. Apart from Coltrane
himself, it’s hard to imagine a tenor saxophonist
who could have sounded as assured as Pope in thisrocky harmonic terrain. The next tune, “Viceroy”, islike bent bebop, written over the chord sequence of“Mean To Me”, and both Ali and Pope reference thenormal changes as well as mysteriously derived
substitutions. The tag to this tune is reminiscent of
Hope’s recording of “It’s a Lovely Day Today”.
The self-referencing title “El Hasaan” isparticularly impressive. It is not a complicatedmelody but takes two or three cubist turns and thestructure and chord sequence also feel slightly offkilter. Appropriately, Pope takes a more abstract
approach, so that while we hear echoes of Coltrane’s
sheets of sound, they seem to come from unexpected
directions. When his solo ends abruptly in midphrase, we are left feeling that every unpredictable
twist follows the piece’s internal logic. Ali’s own
solo evokes not only Hope and Monk but Count
Basie, Art Tatum and even boogie woogie pianists
like Cripple Clarence Lofton, but again, we feel thatevery note and nuance makes perfect sense. This isalso a good place to note how much the rhythm teamof Art Davis and Kalil Madi add to the music. The
latter was a fine drummer who has been heard
mostly in situations that required him to rein thingsin (Freddie McCoy, The Three Sounds, Earl Hines),
but this situation requires a lot of push andimagination and he provides both. He is assertive on
tracks like “Viceroy”, but the tension he generates
while holding things down for much of “El Hasaan”
is impressive and frames Ali’s solo perfectly. Davisis invaluable as well, as he was on the trio date. Hisbass sound is so enormous that we might not evennotice how complex his lines are at times. Not busy,
but complex—there’s no need to be busy behind thelikes of Ali and Pope!
The outstanding liner notes are by Alan
Sukoenig, who also wrote the notes for original
release of the Legendary Hasaan, with additional
notes from Coltrane biographer Lewis Porter, andboth writers give us a much fuller picture of Hasaan
Ibn Ali than we had before, depressing as some ofthe story is. Sukoenig also has other unreleased
recordings that we may hope to hear on a future
release, which gives us further reason to buy thislong-awaited masterpiece, if any is needed.
For more information, visit omnivorerecordings.com

For more information, visit fsrecords.net and discus-music.co.uk

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | APRIL 2021 19

IN PRINT

The Poets Are Gathering
Benjamin Boone (Origin)
A Living Past
Eliot Cardinaux (The Bodily Press)
by John Pietaro
Cal Tjader: The Life and Recordings of the Man
Who Revolutionized Latin Jazz (Second Edition)
S. Duncan Reid (McFarland Books)
by Ken Dryden

Cal Tjader ’s contributions to Latin jazz have beensomewhat overlooked since his death in 1982,
though he was a pioneer whose innovations wereabsorbed into the style after his career began toblossom in the ‘50s.
S. Duncan Reid’s first biography of thevibraphonist, composer and bandleader exploredmuch of his life but Reid felt compelled to expand it
into a second edition, due to additional interviews
he had since conducted. There is now more detailed
background of Tjader ’s childhood, including his tap
dancing before he turned to music, stories by friendsof his youth who remained close to Tjader for the
rest of his life, along with musicians not interviewed
for the first edition.
After serving in WWII, Tjader played drums,
vibraphone and percussion in Dave Brubeck’s trio
and octet, until the pianist’s swimming accident andlengthy recovery ended the band. Tjader then playedin pianist George Shearing’s quintet for over a year
before concentrating on working as a leader for theremainder of his life. Among the musicians who
worked in Tjader ’s bands before gaining greaterfame were pianists Sonny Clark and Vince Guaraldi,
reedplayer Paul Horn, percussionist Mongo
Santamaria and bassist Eugene Wright.
Part of the issue with Tjader ’s not receiving due
credit from critics is that the bandleader was a bit
humble, not overly aggressive at promoting himself,
and that much of his performing career was on theWest Coast, rather than appearing regularly in New
York City. Instead he was focused on his music andgetting the best possible players to help make it
happen. His skills as an improviser, composer andarranger also deserve greater study.
One of the author ’s greatest strengths is weaving
together concert and LP reviews, memories of those
who witnessed or took part in performances, alongwith honest assessments of his recordings, a few ofwhich Tjader himself openly detested. Reid also
discusses the difficulties from Tjader ’s alcoholism.
Included are numerous footnotes, plus athorough discography (including known but
unissued tapes) by Tjader discographer Mike Weilwith additional contributions by the author, alongwith an extensive musical glossary. The addition of
excerpts from concert and LP reviews during his
lifetime and previously unpublished photographs
also add value.
Reid is a talented storyteller who has seeminglyleft no stone unturned in his research. It is the kindof volume that will encourage readers to seek andhear the recordings. Although Reid detours on
occasion to discuss certain subjects in detail, thebook is very fast-paced and an easy read. This
greatly expanded biography/discography shouldbe essential reading for anyone interested in both
Cal Tjader and Latin jazz.
For more information, visit mcfarlandbooks.com

J azz has had a century to flourish in the company ofpoetry—Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissancethrough the Beats, Umbra, Bob Dorough, the Barakas
and Black Arts, Ishmael Reed, David Henderson,
William Burroughs, Anne Waldman, John Giorno,Louis Reyes Rivera, Philip Levine and voices wellbeyond—and yet this commix stands boldly tenacious,
seeking further expanse. Especially now, during
National Poetry Month.
In his foray through the fused genre of spoken
word/jazz, saxophonist Benjamin Boone now unites adozen celebrated poets in The Poets Are Gathering. This
album follows two posthumous releases Boone recordedwith Levine, so he’s all too familiar with the terrain.
Boone’s alto and soprano partner with Kenny Werner’s
piano, Corcoran Holt’s bass and Ari Hoenig’s drums,
but multiple other musicians are called to duty on
varying cuts, adding horns, guitars (Ben Monder andEyal Maoz) and rhythm sections for seamless blends inthe rage of emotions. Right from the top, Patricia Smith(author, Incendiary Art) launches into “That’s My Son
There”, a piece at the very core of the Black Lives Mattermovement. Boone seems to reimagine John Coltrane’s“Alabama” as Smith, alarmingly static, embodies aparent grieving one more police killing, numbed withreality. The effect is nothing short of chilling. “That’s my
son there / shot as kill / shot as prey… / shot as payback/ shot for sport / shot as history”.
The album’s liner notes cite injustices of the Trump
years and Boone’s 2017 start of this project, culminatingin the leadup to the 2020 election. But under nocircumstances is this agit-prop at the cost of creativity.
Pulitzer-winning Tyehimba Jess emotes in “Against
Silence” with Werner casting harmonies of perfectdissonance against the naming of the many murderedin police shootings: “I’m a question passed from one
generation to the next…ask the silence about yourrights…My name is a nation of funerals…”
Juan Felipe Herrera, 2015 U.S. Poet Laureate, has
the title piece, one based on a driving rhumba by
drummer Nathan Guzman, percussionist Richard
Juarez, pianist Craig Vonberg, bassist Patrick Olvera
and Boone. Symbolizing the words of poets as thepeople’s voice, it’s steeped in pathos. The album also
includes poets Edward Hirsch, Kimiko Hahn, Patrick
Sylvain, Dustin Prestridge, Lee Herrick, hip-hop artist
Donald Brown II, Fresno Poet Laureate Marisol Bacaand T.R. Hummer. The latter ’s “The Sun One”,
dedicated to Sun Ra, offers the virulent drama of
spoken word matched by the pure joy of sound. The
Poets Are Gathering stands as a vital addition to theproud history of verse in and as the jazz artform.
Whereas Boone is an instrumentalist enamoredwith the joint venture of improvisational music andpoetry, Eliot Cardinaux embodies both roles. On A
Living Past, the pianist/poet debuts a new international
quartet, which may best be described as progressive inthe best sense possible. Alto saxophonist Jonas Engel,bassist Asger Thomsen and drummer Simon
Forchhammer, with the leader’s piano, forge music at
once modern and post-mod, tossing in liberal doses ofwhat we used to call 20th Century music as well astheater music for drama of the mind’s eye. The collection
functions best as a whole, with the 12-tone piano riffs
and wandering alto lament of “Ion”, an instrumental

20 APRIL 2021 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

work, leading directly into “Age Old Tale” wherein
Cardinaux seems to conjure the tormented spirit ofCharles Bukowski, reciting caustically: “Alcohol hands
the clocks diseases / rising the moon looks down
between orange scales / tells the age old tale”.
Strains of Mingus’ orchestral concepts are evident,
yet a Brechtian feeling never appears far off,particularly in “Disillusionment” on which Cardinaux
sings the words in tandem with piano, doubled by alto.
By the time the rhythm section joins in, the leader ’ssolo, a single-handed, spacious line, sounds as faltering
and wounded as the title would indicate. Intriguing is
the role of the bass throughout: an ongoing collaboratorof Cardinaux, Thomsen is prominent, adding gripping
countermelodies and rhythmic challenges to the music,
somewhat reminiscent of Scott LaFaro’s iconic vision,
though of a more pensive sort. A musical highlight is“Theme”, the primary melody of which is a wonderfully
stressful jaunt of liberated harmony before erupting
into an Eric Dolphy-esque saxophone solo fading into
the seeming night.
Much of the poetry herein, primarily drawn from
Cardinaux’ 2020 book Around the Faded Sun, could belabelled experimental (“In the newspaper of the future/ wounds were read / by light cast on sky”), but thenso much of the music, too, fits this mold. But thesymbolism’s strength in memories of 9/11 (“I rage at
the sky in blue”) and its aftermath of white supremacy
ring out with clarity.
For more information, visit originarts.com and bodilypress.
bandcamp.com/album/a-living-past

George the Bomb!
George Freeman (Southport)
by Kyle Oleksiuk

A blues record from a jazz master who’s been aroundsince 1927 and who turns 94 this month. If you’ve got
any respect for your elders, you’ve got to check it out.
It’s got that easy, wailing, frailing feeling that makes
you just want to take your pants off and run down the
highway. All the songs but two on this album are
originals by guitarist George Freeman, but to listen tothem you would think they’d been written by Howlin’
Wolf or Muddy Waters in their electric blues heyday.
Billy Branch makes major contributions to thisrecord. His harmonica is some of the most natural andexpressive you’ll hear from anybody living. He also
sings with extreme competence on “Help Me” and has
a few funny vocal exchanges with Freeman throughout
the album (his questions about food and drink on“Where’s the Cornbread?” are a particular joy).
Every track on this album has something to offer
and the whole thing is highly recommended, but if you
must only listen to one track, let it be “Help Me”. Other
notable tracks include “Cha Cha Blues”, which will
have you looking for Stan Getz behind the curtains, and“Al Carter-Bey”, a tribute to the Chicago jazz radio
personality known as “The Impresario of American
Classical Music”, which begins with an incrediblyrousing riff on “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe”. This
reviewer’s favorite track is “Gorgeous George,” named
after the pro wrestler and master showman, famous
during Freeman’s youth, whose slogan was “Win if you
can, lose if you must, but always cheat!”—a vivacious,
artistic, bluesy sentiment if ever there was one.
For more information, visit chicagosound.com

Tough Baritones
Gary Smulyan/Ronnie Cuber (SteepleChase)
Our Contrafacts
Gary Smulyan (SteepleChase)by Jim Motavalli

H orace Silver isn’t obscure, but he deserves evengreater recognition than he gets as an incredible
composer. Gary Smulyan, who turns 65 this month andRonnie Cuber, who will reach octogenarian status at
the end of 2021, do their part on Tough Baritones byrecording four of his tunes in an uncompromisinghardbop session. Think back to those ‘50s blowing
dates on Prestige for what this album sounds like. It
could be described as a “cutting session” if these twoveteran baritone saxophone masters were trying to
one-up each other.
Let’s start at the beginning with Silver ’s “Blowin’
the Blues Away”. Both players come boiling out of the
speakers at breakneck speed, Smulyan (in the rightchannel throughout) and an equally intense Cuber (onthe left). Then pianist Gary Versace shows why he’s on
speed-dial. Red Prysock’s “That’s the Groovy Thing”
is a honker, with the guys walking the bar. Dig the way
they throw the simple melody back and forth. Cuber,in particular, really gets into the spirit of this one.
Freddie Hubbard’s “Little Sunflower” slows theproceedings slightly, but still swings mightily. Cuber ’stone is slightly darker than Smulyan’s, but they arevery well matched. Jay Anderson’s bass solo is soulful
and fed by Versace.
“Nica’s Dream” (Silver again) finds the players
overlapping each other to enhance an already strong
theme. Smulyan’s solo entry is like being hit by a steam
train and includes a hint of welcome dissonance that
Versace picks up. Cuber ’s own “Damn Right Blues” isan in-the-pocket piece of soul jazz, the composer
channeling Cannonball Adderley as Smulyan honks incounterpoint. Versace sparkles in this context, bowing
to Joe Zawinul and Les McCann. Richard Rodgers’“Lover” starts out at a saunter and soon turns intoa sprint as Smulyan heats things up. There’s strong
drum work and a solo by Jason Tiemann here. After
Smulyan and Cuber navigate the familiar chords ofMonk’s “Well, You Needn’t” in perfect sync, they taketurns in muscular explorations of its mysteries. “Split
Kick” is another Silver gem, first recorded with Art
Blakey at Birdland in ’54. His “The Preacher” is much
more familiar and given a loping treatment. Listen to
Versace supporting the horns on the closer, Cuber ’s“Intervals”. The album is beautifully recorded witheach instrument clear as a bell. This is pre-COVID
work, but it still sounds like two giants tasting free air
after a long down time.
Tough Baritones has no Smulyan tunes, but hemakes up for that on Our Contrafacts, which has six ofthem—based on the harmonic structure of standards,
an old practice popular in jazz to avoid paying
publishing fees but also a way to put new wine into oldbottles—in a no-hiding trio with bassist David Wongand drummer Rodney Green. Not quite as viscerally
exciting as the duo album, Our Contrafacts is acelebration of the leader ’s on-steroids baritone playing,heard without a net.
“Quarter Blues” is a cool tune from Green’s penothers should pick up on and it really gives Smulyan achance to stretch out. The solo ends with the theme
again, sliding into a relaxed solo from Wong and Greengets some at the end. Smulyan’s “Drink Up”, a variation
on “Angel Eyes”, is equally catchy. “Homebody” isanother Smulyan original and a standout for the sheer
authority of his solo. This is what it would be like tohear Smulyan live, with the tarnished bell of his
baritone mere feet away from your head. Wong takesout his bow as the three musicians trade licks. Green’s“It Happens” is based on “Watch What Happens” andshares a pensive feel. Smulyan plays with a lighter
touch, though the intensity builds. The tune is nearlystolen by Wong, whose solo swings the second half.
Smulyan’s “Miles Tones” is based on, well, you know.
Smulyan really digs into the lower register of his horn
and Green is heard to good advantage, supporting
another typically probing Wong solo, before Smulyan
leaps back in. “How Deep” is Wong’s take on Irving
Berlin and the bassist is featured, but Smulyan isparticularly bright—and there’s lovely drum work.
Smulyan’s “Tritonious Monk” is the pianist filteredthrough “I Got Rhythm”. Continuing the trickery,
Smulyan’s horn on “What’s Her Name” initially sounds
like it’s going to slide into “But Beautiful” but, in fact,
it’s Wong’s variation on “My Old Flame”. Whatever thesource material, it’s a welcome ballad.
Finally, lest we forget that Smulyan came to swing,
there’s his sprightly “Sourpuss” to clean the palate. It’s
in fact anything but sour. All three are really on for thisone and Green is particularly strong. If one has tochoose, give the nod to Tough Baritones, simply because
it’s such a simpatico meeting of the horns, but either isa good introduction to the artistry of Gary Smulyan.
For more information, visit steeplechase.dk

Reggie Nicholson Percussion Concept
No Preservatives Addedwith Bryan Carrott, Baba Don Eaton, Hanah Jon Taylor“Nicholson seems to have learned well from Henry Threadgill
and Muhal Richard Abrams how to write advantageously for
instruments, using melody, harmony and counterpoint to put
together uncommon and attractive forms.” -AllAboutJazz.com

CD available at Downtown Music Gallery
Digital version at Amazon, iTunes
reggienicholson.com

Wide Hive Records recording artists include Calvin Keys,
Roscoe Mitchell, Larry Coryell, Phil Ranelin, Erik Jekabson,
Throttle Elevator Music featuring Kamasi Washington and more
For more information please visit
www.widehive.com
THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | APRIL 2021 21

Abracadabra In Osaka
Soft Works (MoonJune)by Marc Medwin

O f course, there had to be more. It seemed obvious

Exciting new
Trio Album by
Bassist and producer
Leon Lee Dorsey
entitledThank You Mr. Mabernfeaturing twolegendary artists,
pianist Harold Mabernin his final recording
and drum phenom
Mike Clark
blaze a trail throughjazz classics including
Mabern’s “Rakin’ andScrapin’”.
Available at Apple Music,
Spotify, CD Baby,
DeezerPromotion: Lydia Liebman Productions
lydialiebman.com

that live performances by a band consisting of bassist
Hugh Hopper, drummer John Marshall, saxophonist/keyboard player Elton Dean and guitarist Allan
Holdsworth
must
have
been
documented,
demonstrating that other level to which thisextraordinary group ascended beyond studio confines;
finally, we have an official release! As satisfying as
their 2003 album Abracadabra often is, the extremes ofthis performance, recorded in Japan in August of thesame year, offers the urgency and immediacy of an
audience experience and that makes all the difference.
The double-disc constitutes one of only 11
performances Soft Works gave us before Holdsworth
resumed his solo career. For the die-hard Holdsworth
fan, of which your humble narrator is one, the album
contains an official release of the Soft Works take on“Alphrazallan”, a delightfully swinging Holdsworthcomposition. As for his playing, every solo is precious.
Yes, there’s a gorgeous solo on “Alphrazallan”, but theone on Dean’s “Seven Formerly” attains concise
mastery as it rises angelically and returns to Earthagainst its composer’s Fender Rhodes and the filigreed
brilliance flung and laid down by Hopper and Marshall.
The latter is in especially fine form, digging firmly into
jazz and rock traditions while coloring each moment as
he has done so often over the past half century.
To hear Dean in a similarly ecstatic state, checkout Hopper ’s no-holds-barred “Facelift” concluding
the album, one of only a few tracks not taken from
Abracadabra, even the first few notes from his saxello,
jumping register and transgressing timbral boundaries,
his playing even more rawly beautiful as he and theband propel each other to new dialogic heights,
especially at the gloriously unbuttoned five-minutemark, with Holdsworth floating those magical chords
over Hopper and Marshall’s bone-and-fire groove andriffage. What drummer besides Marshall could be so
sensitive as proceedings wane, letting gentle cymbals
and a breath or two from the snare bring everything
serenely to rest on those luscious B-flats Dean halosaround everything? Hopper is magnificent throughout
but especially on his rollicking “First Train”, where theoverused term ‘walking’ doesn’t even begin to describe
the majestic tones and dare-devil intervallic jumps as
he lays the foundation for another Holdsworth solo.
Yes, the band is wonderful, the audienceappreciative, and, despite some deep reverberation,
the sound very good, but there’s a moment to consider,
one that brings another side of Soft Machine’s legacy tolistener attention. When Soft Machine co-founder
Robert Wyatt used to do “Dedicated to You, but You
Weren’t Listening”, he’d bring a deep and slightly
snarky humor to the table and Soft Works does thesame on the exquisite Phil Miller-penned “Calyx”. As
on the studio album, Hopper and Dean play the tune inoctaves, but dig the last note of the second phrase as
Dean drops down to the unison and changes up theovertones, introducing just a microhint of growl, but
the microtonally-inflected octaves concluding the thirdphrase are even better, an irreverent inclusion thatmight bring a smile to Wyatt’s face. Yet, when that last
unison is reached and Holdsworth comes in with hisjasmine-scented harmonies, frozen moments in firstthaw, humor gives way to transcendence and two polar

22 APRIL 2021 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

but intricately linked aspects of Soft Machine’s
influence are encapsulated.
Like the current Softs lineup, the intergenerational
dialogue Soft Works brings to the table goes well beyond
the music of that seminal ‘60s and ‘70s band whose
legacy they perpetuate. Such is also the case with
Leonardo Pavkovic, boss of MoonJune, which celebrates
its 20th anniversary this year, whose tireless work andcommitment to all things Soft Machine cannot be
overstated. The long and intersecting journeys leading
to this concert, Pavkovic being at their center, areexpertly documented and exhaustively presented in the
set’s accompanying booklet. The multiple reminiscences
therein place the music in wonderful historicalperspective, crowning a package whose pride of placein the broader Soft Machine discography is matched
only by the sonic pleasure and intrigue it will afford.
For more information, visit moonjune.com

Open Ends
Frank Paul Schubert, Uwe Oberg, Paul Rogers,
Mark Sanders (Trouble in the East)
by John Sharpe

British bassist Paul Rogers, who turns 65 this month,

may be best known as part of the collective Mujician,sadly defunct since the deaths of drummer Tony Levinand pianist Keith Tippett, but he’s also a fixture inother groupings, including the Anglo-German quartet
Rope. Rogers replaces Dutch bassist Wilbert deJoodefor the band’s second release, this 2017 live date from
Münster, which finds him alongside compatriot Mark
Sanders on drums and the Teutonic pairing of FrankPaul Schubert on soprano saxophone and Uwe Obergon piano. Long-form improvisation is their speciality,
evidenced by the two near-set-length pieces of highorder free jazz that constitute Open Ends.
On “First Movement” they conjure controlled
pulsing menace from sparse components—deep bass
twangs, nagging piano phrases and cymbal scrapes—
until offset by lightly cavorting soprano. It’s an opening
gambit that speaks to trust, lack of ego and understandingthat something worthwhile will happen. In thesubsequent animated interplay Schubert’s undulatinglines, which can flirt with melody or become hoarsewith excitement, predominate. As they circle throughvarying permutations Rogers comes to the fore, his
customized seven-string bass stretching up into thecello register with an acerbic wiriness in one of thepassages of individual brilliance which periodically
illuminate the egalitarian exchanges.
“Last Movement” reveals further opportunities
for sustained invention, even more space andcontrasting dynamic extremes. In one remarkableepisode of unaccompanied bow work, Rogers seems toaccess more strings simultaneously than should bepossible. A lyrical solo spot from Oberg morphs into a
jazzy-tinged ensemble, which gradually orbits further
and further from convention. Here and throughout
Sanders constantly recalibrates the emphasis between
texture and impetus in a peerless cascade, the only
downside being that his drums are recorded slightly
hot, muddying the bottom end in the densest moments.
However, that doesn’t detract from a cohesive outing,which generates tension, disquiet and exhilaration, butultimately, and most importantly, satisfaction.
For more information, visit troubleintheeast-records.com

Creation
Sabir Mateen (577 Records)
by Phil Freeman

Saxophonist Sabir Mateen, who turns 70 this month,is an old-school fire-breather. He started out as amember of Horace Tapscott’s Pan-Afrikan Peoples
Arkestra in the late ’70s and early ’80s, but came backto the East Coast (he’s originally from Philadelphia)
and made his name during the free jazz resurgence ofthe ‘90s, most notably as a member of TEST with fellow
reed player Daniel Carter, bassist Matt Heyner and latedrummer Tom Bruno. Their subterranean performanceswere notable for being audible over the crash and roarof subway trains and MTA announcements. Mateen
performed and recorded in any number of othersituations, of course, including brilliant duo recordings
with drummers Hamid Drake and the late Sunny
Murray. Of late, he lives in Europe, which is where thisset was captured; it’s a document of a 2012 show in
Berlin, featuring three German musicians: vibraphonist
Christopher Dell, bassist Christian Ramond anddrummer Klaus Kugel.
The physical version of this release contains justover 45 minutes of music, divided into a 15-minutetrack and a 31-minute track, though they flow
seamlessly into each other. The digital version adds
a third piece, running about 24 minutes. The
performance starts off relatively gently, with Dellsetting a meditative mood even though Mateen isalready off and running. The two men take turns in the
spotlight and the vibraphonist’s initial solo is quite
beautiful, a fine counterpoint to Mateen’s hoarse,
harmonically fierce, almost Charles Gayle-ish
eruptions. The long second piece begins with anotherlovely passage of vibraphone, accompanied by bass
and very minimal drumming. About halfway through,after an initial salvo, Mateen puts the horn down andbegins vocalizing—scatting isn’t the right word, butwhat he’s doing is fascinating.
On the digital-only third track, he duets withRamond, bowed drones from the bass matched by soft
squeals and murmurs from the saxophone. Eventually,
though, Kugel rises up again like an undersea volcano
and the quartet launches a final sprint. Though this is
free jazz, there’s plenty of bebop language in Mateen’s
playing and the sustained intensity never becomesmere scorched-earth abstract expressionism.
For more information, visit 577records.com

I pledge allegiance to the flag—the white flag
Stephanie Nilles (Sunnyside)by George Kanzler“I consider Charles Mingus a beacon in a world gonemad. His music celebrates the joy of living, mourns thepain of grief - and simultaneously harangues injustice.
That it manages such a feat boggles my mind (and,I believe, transcends the construct of genres). I hope tocontinue to live with this music as long as I’mprivileged to do so,” writes Stephanie Nilles in thenotes to these solo piano (and occasional vocal)
renditions of music by the legendary bassist/composer,
who would have turned 99 this month.
Nilles doesn’t employ a band here and the
30-something singer-songwriter confesses to a classicalpiano background. In fact, she doth protest too much,claiming she doesn’t swing when she obviously does.
Just listen to her “East Coasting” or “Remember
Rockefeller at Attica”. But Mingus’ music has often
been characterized by the often-headlong energy ofensembles, testifying horn soloists and rhythm sections
accelerating and decelerating behind it all. Nilles
jettisons all that, paring down Mingus’ pieces toskeleton and scaffolding, showing us the bones that
hold the tunes together. Nilles does employ one
favorite Mingus strategy: varied dynamics. The
contrasting melodies of “Pithecanthropus Erectus” rise
up off her piano keys like the titular character risingfrom the primordial ooze into great clashing, banging
chords. And “Peggy’s Blue Skylight” contrasts soft
tinkling intro with sprightly main melody.
The hypnotic, mesmeric quality of Mingus’ best
melodies comes out in a deeply meditative “Goodbye
Pork Pie Hat” while the longest track, “Fables ofFaubus”, reels off into an extended improvisation,
which includes quotes from “Joshua Fit the Battle ofJericho”, “Yankee Doodle”, “Lift Every Voice and Sing”
and some classical pieces, as well as including Mingus’
lyrics. Nilles also sings and bluesily plays “Devil
Woman” and “Oh Lord Don’t Let Them Drop That
Atomic Bomb On Me”. This album pares away Mingus’
music to its core, in revelatory fashion.
For more information, visit sunnysiderecords.com

Rituals of Transition
Misha Mengelberg (I dischi di angelica)
by Kurt Gottschalk

Brimming though he was with ideas during his life,

Dutch composer, bandleader and Instant Composers
Pool co-founder Misha Mengelberg released only
a handful of unaccompanied piano albums during his
six decades of making records. He was committed tothe band dynamic and, it often seemed, didn’t quite
feel the need to play all of the time anyway.
Notable among them is the FMP release
Impromptus, a set of improvised miniatures recorded ina Berlin studio in 1988. Rituals of Transition is aconsiderably different collection than that earlier gem,but sits comfortably alongside it as a fine example ofMengelberg’s quizzical mind at work. Where
Impromptus was 13 pieces of a whole, the six tracks on
Rituals of Transition are culled from appearances overa span of eight years, from 2002-10 in Bologna, Italy;
Kiev, Ukraine; Pantin, France; and Amsterdam,
Holland. (He retired from public performance in 2014
and died three years later.)
Mengelberg was the rare example of a performer
with deep knowledge and nothing to prove. There
were plenty of quotes and phrases up his sleeve, but hewas as committed to absurdism as he was jazzology.
He could work in prolonged ideas, but was neverthelesshappy to have plans interrupted or subverted. That
playfulness, the willingness to accept the accidental asintentional, is on display within the first 60 seconds ofRituals of Transition, when a baby in the audience

erupts in what sounds like amused delight andMengelberg accepts it as an invitation to a duet.
It was easy during Mengelberg’s concerts to be
distracted by waiting for the humor, rather like theanticipation that arises while anticipating Inspector
Clouseau’s return to the screen during a Pink Panthermovie. Rituals of Transition rewards the wait in the
final 14-minute track. In between times, there’s plentyof the rest of what made Mengelberg great:a wonderful ear for melody, an odd predilection for
broken syncopation and an ever-endearing playfulness
in the playing.
For more information, visit idischidiangelica.bandcamp.com

DROP THE NEEDLE

Talking Gong
Susie Ibarra (New Focus)
by Franz Matzner

The centrality of percussion on Susie Ibarra’s

Talking Gong is nothing shocking, considering her
prolific awards as a percussionist, composer, soundstylist and researcher. It is the nature of thepercussion that both surprises and mesmerizes. The
album has Alex Peh on piano and Claire Chase on
woodwinds, offering an amalgam of the novel
sounds each has developed on their respective
instrument. Utilized in ways that merge traditional
Western-European, jazz, folk styles and pure
innovation, the overall effect is like nothing else.
Drawn from Ibarra’s Filipina-American heritage
and the Philippines’ environment, Talking Gong
reflects the traditional Philippine use of gongs tocommunicate. Ibarra also folds in other percussive
tools, including a standard drumkit. Chase presents
her own diversity of wind instruments, including
piccolo, flute and bass flute. Peh’s notes and plucked
strings dance and dart with unexpected techniques.
Expanding overtones spread through gaps ofsilence. The piano rumbles in its lowest register.
A piccolo breaks forth, simulacrum for more ancient
instruments. Melodic shapes flicker. A plucked
piano string here, a jaunty rhythm there. Drums andpiano chase and tumble in a playful duet.
“Kolubri (hummingbird)” and “Sunbird”
underscore Ibarra’s environmental engagement.
Dedicated to a tiny Philippine hummingbird, theformer solo drum piece is astonishing in its sheer
technical achievement. The triumph, however, isIbarra’s ability to evoke the bird’s singular beautyand strength in exquisite detail. Extraordinarily fastbrush-snare rolls flutter like wings, complex tom
patterns dart and dive. Similarly, “Sunbird”, asongbird known for its gorgeous music, gives Chasea platform to develop her own crystalline evocations.
Trills, whistles, scattered melodies, tremulous bass,
all unfold into a detailed sonic rendition of theattributes of the unique winged species.
An album of joy and insight, sophisticatedtechnique and improvisational delight, Talking Gong
is a nuanced universe of sound grounded in
traditional musical roots and natural splendor.
For more information, visit newfocusrecordings.com. This project
live-streams Apr. 19th at twitch.tv/bennington_college_music.

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | APRIL 2021 23

B OXED SE T

Passion Flower (for Doris Duke)
Joe Castro (Clover-Sunnyside)
by Scott Yanow

Pianist Joe Castro (1927-2009) is today best

remembered for recording two albums for Atlantic(1956’s Mood Jazz and 1959’s Groove Funk Soul) andworking with tenor saxophonist Teddy Edwards.
However there was much more to his musical life
than that relatively brief period, as the liner notes forthe six-CD Sunnyside set Passion Flower (and theprevious Lush Life) reveal. A professional musician
by the time he was 15, Castro served in the Army
during 1946-47 and then formed a trio that spenttime working in Hawaii. Influenced by Bud Powell,
Castro gradually developed his own bop-oriented
style. After he met Doris Duke (one of the richest
women in the world) in 1952, they had a 13-year
relationship. At her homes in Beverly Hills and New
York, Castro hosted allstar jam sessions, much ofwhich was recorded but unreleased until recently.
In the late ‘50s, Castro worked in L.A. both with
Edward’s quartet and bassist Leroy Vinnegar’s trio.

He also was an accompanist to Anita O’Day, June
Christy and Tony Martin. In 1963, he and Duke started
Clover Records. Several albums were recorded but allthat was released was 1965’s Lush Life and a few
singles. In 1966 both their relationship and the label
were finished. Strangely enough Castro made nofurther recordings (although a cassette with O’Day in1985 later came out) despite being active for another43 years. The pianist worked in Vegas, most notably as
the musical director for the Tropicana Hotel’s Folies
Bergère for quite a few years and he was happily
married from 1967 until his wife’s passing in 2008.
The 2019 Sunnyside six-CD set Lush Life – AMusical Journey consisted entirely of previously
unreleased performances from 1954-66, including acomplete disc dedicated to Teddy Wilson (highlighted
by a wonderful quartet session with Stan Getz) inwhich Castro does not appear. The more recent Passion
Flower – For Doris Duke is also comprised of six CDs;
most of the music is making its first appearance.
The first disc features Castro during 1955-56 at
the head of trios with either Vinnegar, Red Mitchellor Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Pratt, Lawrence
Marable or Philly Joe Jones on drums. This CD
serves as an ideal place to get introduced to Castro’s
playing. As on Lush Life, Castro does not appear on
the second disc. Pianist Paul Bley is featured on fivesolo numbers and five with a trio from 1956 when he
was a fine boppish player who had not yet formed
his own style. Also on this disc are eight numbersfeaturing singer Flo Handy, her husband pianist
George Handy and, on three songs, an orchestra.
These art songs are difficult to sit through, a bit
pompous and easily the low point of this release.
The third CD brings back Castro’s Mood Jazz

new releases

album. The leader is featured while accompanied by
the Ray Ellis Orchestra and Voices, the Neal Hefti
String Orchestra or the Neal Hefti Singers. While thisproject does not seem too promising on the surface,
Castro flourishes in these settings with strings andvoices and on a few numbers he is joined by Cannonballand Nat Adderley. The original album is augmented by
two additional songs plus four alternate takes. The
Groove Funk Soul album returns on the fourth disc. Thisis a much more freewheeling session, Castro with what
was really the Edwards Quartet, which also includes
Vinnegar and drummer Billy Higgins. The original six
numbers are joined by four previously unreleased
performances: two other songs and two alternates.
While Castro plays quite well, Edwards often steals theshow with his inventive playing and big tenor sound.
The final two discs jump to 1965-66 and mostly
have Castro playing with bassist Teddy Kotick anddrummer Paul Motian. The fifth CD features the trio
performing nine standards, a Johnny Hodges blues
and one original. The final disc showcases the trio bythemselves on three numbers, becoming a quartet
with Edwards on “Just Squeeze Me” and playing foursongs in which they are joined by six horns (the Bob
Cooper Ensemble) arranged by the pianist. The final
two performances on this box (“Passion Flower” and“Remind Me”) have Castro and the trio interactingwith another pianist, possibly Duke herself.
While there is a great deal of rewarding musicon Passion Flower and Lush Life, one hopes that
Sunnyside will eventually put together a third Castro
set, one that includes the elusive Lush Life Clover
album along with more unheard gems.
For more information, visit sunnysiderecords.com

Complete catalogs: www.steeplechase.dk
CD - download - streaming

SCCD 31910

SCCD 31915

SCCD 31909

SCCD 31911

US distribution:www.statesidemusic.com email: info@statesidemusic.com

24 APRIL 2021 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

(INTERVIEW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6)
DO: This is what I was just talking about. What I wantto project with the band is what he did to me in an
instant. I felt like every human emotion was embodiedin every note that he played. He gave me chills down
my spine. He made me cry. He made me joyous. He
made me think about other people. He seems to hit all
the common nerves of humanity and it just knockedme over, that there could be one person who could dothat. “Swing That Music” in particular. As a 15-yearold full of pep and vigor, I was excited by the speed
and the unbridled joy of the music. And so that’s whatkind of caught my attention. That was the first one.
I started getting more and more interested in reading
about him and learning about him, learning about how
he lived his life and how he was treated and how hetreated other people, how he dealt with adversity andit all matched up with his playing.
TNYCJR: Was your attraction to the tuba as dramaticas your discovery of Armstrong?
DO: The passage of time has revealed an answer, but it
took a while for me actually to realize what it was
about the tuba because for years, when I was asked
that question, I would give a flippant sort of silly
answer. Like how can you not want to play the tuba?
A few years ago, I was hanging out with a friend ofmine who showed me a clip of a 1965 ballet of Romeoand Juliet with Margot Fonteyn. There was a musicalsection called “March of the Capulets”, which has themost incredible, beautiful, heavy, deep tuba part. I’dactually seen that production when I was 10. Shortly
after, I was passing the band room in school as we wererunning out for recess. I saw the tuba there. It was
actually a sousaphone, the kind that wraps around. It
was gold and beautiful. And, as I remember it, there
was a ray of sunshine coming in through the window
onto this golden horn. I screeched on the brakes, like ina cartoon, and I ran in and I started blowing on it. Theband director came out and gave me my first lesson on
the spot. I realized when I saw the clip that there wasa connection between it and learning to play the tuba.
That ballet experience sunk into my head and itchanged my life. Since then all I ever wanted to do wasto have kids and play the tuba in that order.
TNYCJR: And because of that first desire you also
became a lawyer.
DO: I did. In the beginning I tried to keep it secret that I
was a lawyer because I didn’t want people to think
I was a part-time musician. I found a position where
I could cut out to do gigs and I never turned down any
gigs. I didn’t make huge amounts like some lawyers do,but I made enough to assure an income and I was able to
do gigs along the way. I had worked for two years for alawyer who did personal injury and divorce cases andI really hated it. So, I quit without another job. I wasn’t
married at that time. When I did go back to being an
attorney, during my interview my prospective employer
allowed that he’d spoken to my old boss and learned I’dleave the office for a gig from time to time. I wanted to
be up front about it, so I told him that most of my gigs
are at night or on weekends so those won’t affect the job.
I added that occasionally a gig will come up during the
day and I won’t turn it down. Let me assure you, I said,
if you hire me, I’ll continue to do that. He hired me andit worked out. I’ve been very lucky.
TNYCJR: How do you feel about the future?
DO: We can’t be stopped. At some point we’re going to
be back at Birdland. I’m sure of that. I think that, before
you know it, things will ease back into where they
were. Hopefully, having lost so much, I think thatpeople will appreciate more what they have, because ofwhat was taken away from them. And so, I’m optimistic
about the future, not only for my band, but also forhumanity. As for streaming and virtual concerts—formusic, it really needs to be live, so those platforms werely on now will fade away eventually. And on a brightnote, things are beginning to pick up. On April 30th on
International Jazz Day, we’re going to be doing a live
stream from Flushing Town Hall. We’re going to beplaying at the Newport Jazz Festival on July 30th and
we also have a concert that Ricky Riccardi of the Louis
Armstrong House runs at Ocean County Community
College in Toms River, New Jersey on June 27th. v
For more information, visit ostwaldjazz.com. Ostwald’s
Louis Armstrong Eternity Band live-streams Apr. 30th atflushingtownhall.org.
Recommended Listening:• Big Joe Turner—With Knocky Parker And His
Houserockers (Southland, 1983)• Gully Low Jazz Band—In Dreamland (G.H.B., 1983)• David Ostwald’s Gully Low Jazz Band—
Down To Earth (G.H.B., 1985)• The New York Allstars—We Love You, Louis!
(Nagel Heyer, 1995)• David Ostwald’s Gully Low Jazz Band—
Blues In Our Heart (Nagel Heyer, 1998)• Randy Sandke and The New York Allstars—
George Avakian Presents: The Re-Discovered Louis and Bix(Nagel Heyer, 1999)(ENCORE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8)
the clubs, met a lot of musicians and did a few sessions
and I said, ‘there’s still something I wanna do’. Then I
got a call from Ray Charles. I think I joined Ray in 1970
and I worked with him ’70 through ‘72 and part of...
actually I worked with Ray off and on for the next 25,
30 years.”
It was also in 1970 that he met Gene Russell, who
was about to get Black Jazz Records off the ground.
Keys realized his dream of producing his own albums,
Shawn-Neeq (1971) and Proceed with Caution (1974).
“‘Cause it was a movement going on then. Whatever
you’re about you better proceed with caution in thismadness. And I had that experience. We were going
through the same thing that we’re going through now,
but it was 50 years ago!”
In 2020, Keys took part in the Black Jazz 50th
Anniversary tour with Doug Carn, Henry Franklin,
Michael Carvin and Jean Carne, breaking attendance
records at performance halls in Paris and Berlin before
the pandemic put a stop to everything.
After his first stint with Charles, around 1974 iswhen Keys got the opportunity to join Jamal’s trio withbassist Jamil Nasser and drummer Frank Gant. “Hecalled me and he gave me a couple charts and we
started playing some of his music. He looked at me
and he said, ‘Calvin, do you read that well?’ I said, ‘tell
you the truth, no, I don’t, but I know all your music
because my aunts and uncles used to play it on theweekends, that’s how I learned most of the stuff.’[laughs] He was just an incredible master of thisAmerican classical art form.” Between Charles andJamal, when he wasn’t working with one, he wasworking with the other for decades to follow.
Keys has two albums in the can, including Silver
Keys dedicated to Horace Silver and Simply Calvin
coming out on LifeForce Records. As soon as thevenues start opening again, he’ll be back on the
bandstand as he’s been for over 60 years.
“I’ve been so blessed, it’s unbelievable, to be able
to play this music. I’m fortunate enough to [have been]in the company of some of the greatest musicians on
the planet and I’m still searching for that note. This
music is one of the most powerful forces on the planet.
It’s all about life and love… Without this music, what

would it be?” v
For more information, visit calvinkeysjazz.com
Recommended Listening:• Calvin Keys—Shawn-Neeq (Black Jazz, 1971)• Ahmad Jamal—Steppin’ Out With a Dream(20th Century Fox, 1977)• Calvin Keys—Standard Keys (LifeForce, 1992)• Calvin Keys—Detours Into Unconscious Rhythms(Wide Hive, 1999)• Gloria Coleman—Sweet Missy (Doodlin’, 2007)• Calvin Keys—Electric Keys (Wide Hive, 2012)(LEST WE FORGET CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8)
using elements of classical music and jazz, the latterheavily influenced by Ellington.”
His Ellington connections also continued in his
semi-retirement years. “He got to play Duke Ellington’srole on piano in Clark Terry’s Spaceman bands, tributes
to the Duke, on summer tours in the ‘90s,” remembers
Bell-Stevens. Aaron Bell died in 2003 at 82. He would
have turned 100 this year on Apr. 24th. v
Jazzmobile’s “Keep The Music Playing” celebrates Bell’scentennial on International Jazz Day, Apr. 30th, on
JZMTV. For more information, visit jazzmobile.org.
Recommended Listening:• Aaron Bell—After The Party’s Over (RCA Victor, 1958)• Duke Ellington Orchestra—The Nutcracker Suite(Columbia, 1960)• Duke Ellington—Piano in the Foreground(Columbia-Legacy, 1961)• Duke Ellington—Meets Coleman Hawkins (Impulse, 1962)• Cat Anderson—Plays W.C. Handy (Definitive Black &Blue Sessions) (Black & Blue, 1978)• Harold Ashby—I’m Old Fashioned (Stash, 1991)(LABEL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9)
expect to make money. Some of the albums have met
their buy back and the artists make money off of it andwe make a bit to put towards future releases. Overall it
has been incredibly successful and we’re going to keep
pushing forward and putting music out.”
Whereas Hopkins and Clark schedule the physicalreleases so they are far enough apart that they can
devote attention to the production and marketing, they
aim to issue Untamed albums as fast as possible.
Upcoming physical releases include Asp Nimbus from
cellist Christopher Hoffman’s quartet and a solo
guitar/banjo outing from Wendy Eisenberg while thelatest editions of Untamed are live documents from
Jonathan Goldberger/Simon Jermyn/Mat Maneri/
Gerald Cleaver and a saxophone/drum duo from
Chicago pair Nick Mazzarella and Quin Kirchner.
Beside sharing music, OOYH has engenderedother benefits. “In hindsight it was a great thing for me
to start when I left NY. The record label has been an
incredible way, especially during COVID, to stay intouch with people, still be involved in the music scene
and hear about all this great music that’s coming out.
I was pleasantly surprised that my friends kept callingme to play with them.” v
For more information, visit outofyourheadrecords.com. Livestreaming events this month are Nick Mazzarella/Hamid
Drake on Apr. 4th at constellation-chicago.com; Anna
Webber with Simon Jermyn, Devin Gray/Simon Jermyn with
Nick Dunston, Cansu Tanrikulu, Jim Black on Apr. 6th at
a-trane.de; and NEA Jazz Masters Presents: Henry Threadgill
with Christopher Hoffman, David Virelles and Román Filiúon Apr. 22nd at arts.gov/about/news/2020/nationalendowment-arts-announces-2021-nea-jazz-masters.

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | APRIL 2021 25

MISCELLANY
ONbyTHISDAYAndrey HenkinVol. 2
Johnny Griffin (Blue Note)
April 6th, 1957

The Book Cooks
Booker Ervin (Bethlehem)
April 6th, 1960

Club Jazz 5
Opposite Corner/Palle Danielsson (SRP)
April 6th, 1971

Live At The Theaterhaus
Ian Carr (Mood)
April 6th, 1985

Carnegie Hall Salutes The Jazz Masters
Various Artists (Verve)
April 6th, 1994

On Apr. 17th, 1956, tenor saxophonist

Texas tenor Booker Ervin packed

This is the fifth of nine volumes of

By the time of this live recording from

While this concert, hosted by Vanessa

Johnny Griffin waxed his leader debutfor Blue Note. Then, as the story has
it, on his way back to Rudy Van
Gelder’s in Hackensack to record thefollowup, he ran into John Coltrane
and invited him along. Thus this date
has three of the era’s premier tenors in
the leader, Coltrane and Hank Mobley.
Plus you get Wynton Kelly (piano),Paul Chambers (bass) and Art Blakey(drums)...and a free set of Ginsu steak
knives. Two Griffin tunes and two
standards make up what was later
issued as A Blowing Session.

much music into the ten years he wasactive, dying in 1970 at 39. This leader
debut was made after work withCharles Mingus and is not to be
confused with Cookin’, made almost
eight months later for Savoy. Bassist
George Tucker and Mingus drummer
Dannie Richmond are on both, therest of the band Tommy Turrentine(trumpet, older brother to Stanley),(Zoot Sims, tenor) and Tommy
Flanagan (piano). The program is five
Ervin tunes and Raymond HubbellJohn L. Golden’s “Poor Butterfly”.

SRP’s Club Jazz series, split LPs bymostly Swedish artists. While others
feature more obscure bands, Side B
here is a sextet led by bassist Palle
Danielsson with Roland Keijser and
LennartÅberg(tenor/sopranosaxophone, flute), Bobo Stenson(piano) and Bengt Berger and Jon
Christensen (drums), playing four
leader pieces. Opposite Corner also
has Stenson and Christensen, plus
Gunnar Lindgren (tenor/soprano),
Gunnar Fors (trumpet) and LarsUrban Helje (bass).

Stuttgart’s Theaterhaus, British jazzrock band Nucleus was known as Ian
Carr’s Nucleus, reflecting thetrumpeter’s founding of the group in1969 and leading role alongside a few
dozen different players through the‘80s. Though archival releases havecontinued into the new millennium,
this is the band’s last official album, aquintet with Phil Todd (saxophone),Mark Wood (guitar), Dill Katz (bass)
and John Marshall (drums), the lattera veteran of the earliest iterations, onfive of Carr’s originals.

Williams and Herbie Hancock, wasconvened to celebrate 50 years ofVerve, it is more of a rounded-up
golden anniversary for Norman
Granz, who started Clef back in 1946,
Norgran in 1953 and Verve in 1956.
The then-recently founded CarnegieHall Jazz Band led by trumpeter Jon
Faddis is the foundation upon which
dozens of stars—from Ray Brown toAbbey Lincoln to J.J. Johnson to Joe
Henderson to John McLaughlin toJackie McLean to Pat Metheny—play
16 jazz standards of varying vintage.

BIRTHDAYS
April 1
†John LaPorta 1902-2004†Harry Carney 1910-74†Duke Jordan 1922-2006
Eric Ineke b.1947
Frank Tusa b.1947†Gil Scott-Heron 1949-2011
Antoine Roney b.1963
April 2
†Max Greger 1926-2015†Booker Little 1938-61†Sal Nistico 1940-91†Larry Coryell 1943-2017
Rahsaan and Roland Barberb.1980April 3
†Bill Potts 1928-2005†Scott LaFaro 1936-61†Jimmy McGriff 1936-2008†Harold Vick 1936-87
Linda Sharrock b.1947
Eric Kloss b.1949
Ali Jackson b.1976

April 6†Charlie Rouse 1924-88†Randy Weston 1926-2018†Gerry Mulligan 1927-96†André Previn 1929-2019†Art Taylor 1929-95†Bill Hardman 1933-90†Horace Tapscott 1934-99
Manfred Schoof b.1936
Gene Bertoncini b.1937†Noah Howard 1943-2010
John Pizzarelli b.1960

April 11
†John Levy 1912-2012
Emil Mangelsdorff b.1925
Raymond A. King b.1929
Matt Lavelle b.1970
Jakob Bro b.1978

April 7
†Billie Holiday 1915-59†Mongo Santamaria 1922-2003†Victor Feldman 1934-87†Freddie Hubbard 1938-2008†Pete La Roca Sims 1938-2012
Alex von Schlippenbach b.1938†Bob Berg 1951-2002
Fredrik Lundin b.1964

April 13
†Bud Freeman 1906-91†Teddy Charles 1928-2012†Rusty Jones 1932-2015†Eddie Marshall 1938-2011
Simon Spang-Hanssen b.1955
John Ellis b.1974

April 12†Johnny Dodds 1892-1940†Russ Garcia 1916-2011
Herbie Hancock b.1940
Ryan Kisor b.1973

April 8†George Dixon 1909-94†Carmen McRae 1922-94†Paul Jeffrey 1933-2015

April 4
†Gene Ramey 1913-84†Buster Cooper 1929-2016†Jake Hanna 1931-2010†Hugh Masekela 1939-2018
Ole Kock Hansen b.1945
Ray Russell b.1947
Michel Camilo b.1954
Gary Smulyan b.1956
April 5
†Stan Levey 1925-2005†Stanley Turrentine 1934-2000
Evan Parker b.1944
Jerome Harris b.1953
Håkon Kornstad b.1977

April 17†Chris Barber 1930-2021
Sam Noto b.1930
Warren Chiasson b.1934
Han Bennink b.1942
Buster Williams b.1942
Jan Hammer b.1948
Mark Sherman b.1957
Sam Sadigursky b.1979

April 14
†Shorty Rogers 1924-94†Gene Ammons 1925-74†Monty Waters 1938-2008
Steve Davis b.1967

April 18
†Tony Mottola 1918-2004†Leo Parker 1925-62†Ken Colyer 1928-88
Freddy Hill b.1932
Hal Galper b.1938
Susanna Lindeborg b.1952
April 19
†Tommy Benford 1905-94†Alex Hill 1906-37
Randy Ingram b.1978
April 20
†Lionel Hampton 1909-2002
Ran Blake b.1935“Sonny” Brown b.1936†Beaver Harris 1936-91†Billy James 1936-2009†Joe Bonner 1948-2014
Avishai Cohen b.1971
Matt Brewer b.1983

April 9†Teddy Roy 1905-66†Julian Dash 1916-74
Steve Gadd b.1945
Hugh Ragin b.1951
Dave Allen b.1970

April 15
†Bessie Smith 1894-1937†Charlie Smith 1927-66
Richard Davis b.1930
Sy Johnson b.1930†Herb Pomeroy 1930-2007†Gene Cherico 1935-94

April 10
†Fess Williams 1894-1975†Morty Corb 1917-96†Fraser MacPherson 1928-93†Claude Bolling 1930-2020†Barbara Lea 1929-2011
Omar Sosa b.1965

April 16
†Herbie Mann 1930-2003
Sabir Mateen b.1951
Jukka Tolonen b.1952†Esbjorn Svensson 1964-2008
Junko Onishi b.1967
Landon Knoblock b.1982

April 21
†Johnny Blowers 1911-2006†Joe Dixon 1917-98†Mundell Lowe 1922-2017
Slide Hampton b.1932†Ian Carr 1933-2009
Alan Skidmore b.1942†Peter Kowald 1944-2002
Mike Holober b.1957

April 22
†Buzzy Drootin 1910-2000†Cándido Camero 1921-2020†Charles Mingus 1922-79†Tommy Turrentine 1928-97†Paul Chambers 1935-69
Barry Guy b.1947

April 26
†Dave Tough 1907-48†Jimmy Giuffre 1921-2008†Teddy Edwards 1924-2003†Herman Foster 1928-99†Bill Byrne 1942-2002
Axel Dörner b.1964

April 23
April 27
†Jimmie Noone 1895-1944†Connie Kay 1927-94†Little Benny Harris 1919-75†Sal Mosca 1927-2007†Tito Puente 1920-2000†Calvin Newborn 1933-2018†Bobby Rosengarden 1924-2007 Ruth Price b.1938
Bunky Green b.1935†Freddie Waits 1943-89
Pierre Courbois b.1940
Scott Robinson b.1959
Alan Broadbent b.1947
Martin Wind b.1968
Narada Michael Walden b.1952
Kendra Shank b.1958
April 28
Bryan Carrott b.1959†Russ Morgan 1904-69
Chris Lightcap b.1971†Blossom Dearie 1926-2009
Petr Cancura b.1977†Oliver Jackson 1933-94†John Tchicai 1936-2012
April 24Mickey Tucker b.1941†Rube Bloom 1902-76
Willie Colon b.1950†Aaron Bell 1922-2003†Fatty George 1927-82
April 29
†Johnny Griffin 1928-2008†Duke Ellington 1899-1974†Frank Strazzeri 1930-2014†Philippe Brun 1908-94†Spanky DeBrest 1937-73†Toots Thielemans 1922-2016†Joe Henderson 1937-2001†Big Jay McNeely 1927-2018†Colin Walcott 1945-84†Ray Barretto 1929-2006
Stafford James b.1946†Andy Simpkins 1932-99
Trudy Silver b.1953†George Adams 1940-92†Hugh Hopper 1945-2009
April 25
Julius Tolentino b.1975†Earl Bostic 1913-65†Ella Fitzgerald 1918-96
April 30
†Willis “Gator” Jackson 1932-87 †Sid Weiss 1914-94†Harry Miller 1941-83†Percy Heath 1923-2005†Michael Cosmic 1950-2001†Dick Twardzik 1931-55
Phill Musra 1950
Abdul Wadud b.1947
Carl Allen b.1961
Russ Nolan b.1968

ALAN SKIDMORE

April 21st, 1942

One of the Ss in the famed
British saxophone trio S.O.S,
tenor/soprano saxophonist
and flutist Alan Skidmore,son of fellow tenor Jimmy,
was among the U.K.’s firstwave of avant garde players,
coming out of the country’s
blues scene and the launch
pad that was the bands ofMike Westbrook. After his
first albums for Deram andPhillips in the late ‘60s-early‘70s was work with the other
S in S.O.S (John Surman),
Léon Francioli, Stan Tracey,
Graham Collier, Mike Gibbs,
Rolf Kühn, Harry Beckett,Soft Machine, Ali Haurand,
Chris McGregor, Norma
Winstone, Elton Dean, George
Gruntz, Charlie Watts andmany others in both the jazzand rock worlds. Skidmore’s
own output since the ‘80s
often has been in tribute tomuse John Coltrane.
(AH)

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By Andrey Henkin 			

ACROSS

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DOWN

1. Drummer El’Zabar to his friends?
1. Irreversible Entanglements saxophonist Neuringer
4. Musical line of great imp.
2. Mack is one
8. This TV host won the 1964 Grammy Award for3. 1971-72 Hank Crawford Kudu album ____ Me Make It
Best Original Jazz Composition
Through The Night
11. Harmonica tooter?
4. William Parker named an album for these prehistoric
12. Acknowledge a bad solo
people of Mexico
13. Earlier entry in a discography (abbr.)
5. Woody Shaw legacy?
14. Gene de Paul-Patricia Johnston-Don Raye standard
6. Bassist Allison or Williams“____ Remember April”
7. ‘70s Mexican Epic catalogue prefix
15. British clarinetist Bilk
8. She is best seen by starlight
18. Like ““The artists alone decide what you will hear on 9. His 19 Down is the most famous in jazz
their ESP-Disk”. (abbr.)
10. ‘70s Bavarian jazz-rock band
20. Leaders need this info. from their band
12. Slang word thought to be the origin of the term jazz
21. 1956 Buddy Collette Contemporary album
16. Anthony Montgomery, grandson of Wes, played one of____ Many Parts
these on Star Trek: Enterprise
23. Traveling musicians are very aware of this org.
17. 1974 Buddy Rich Groove Merchant album
24. British saxophonist Bellamy
The ____ Of ‘74
26. 1955 Sidney Bechet Vogue 45 Dansons Samedi ____
19. Joe Lovano plays through one
27. He banned jazz in China
22. 1974 Motoharu Yoshizawa Trio album Inland ____
30. 1978 Takeshi Inomata/Akira Sakata 45 based on the
25. 1975 Eddie Harris Atlantic album I ____ Some Money
Ziegfeld Follies song
26. Not good touring vehicles
31. Violinist Fred-Henrik or vocalist Tone
27. Musicians should consider getting this deg.
32. 1977 Cachao Salsoul album that should be number one 28. Dave Brubeck classic “Blue Rondo ____ Turk”
29. With Forms, Whit Dickey label

visit nycjazzrecord.com for answers

26 APRIL 2021 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD