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January 2024—ISSUE 261

SPECIAL FEATUREBEST OF 2023

NDUDUZOMAKHATHINIISAIAHCOLLIERROBERT
HURST

MAX
ROACH

:

Managing Editor:
Laurence Donohue-Greene[Co-Founder/Editor Emeritus: Andrey Henkin]

To Contact:
The New York City Jazz Record
66 Mt. Airy Road East
Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520
United States
Phone/Fax: 212-568-9628
Laurence Donohue-Greene:ldgreene@nycjazzrecord.com
Nate Dorward (Copy Editor):ndorward@nycjazzrecord.com
Marilyn Lester (Associate Copy Editor)
Advertising:advertising@nycjazzrecord.com
Keith Hoffman(Event Calendar Manager):calendar@nycjazzrecord.com
Suzanne Lorge (VOXNews):
voxnews@nycjazzrecord.com

January 2024 – ISSUE 261
NEW YORK@NIGHT
INTERVIEW: NDUDUZO MAKHATHINIARTIST FEATURE: ISAIAH COLLIER
ON THE COVER: BRANDEE YOUNGER
ENCORE: ROBERT HURSTLEST WE FORGET: MAX ROACH

US Subscription rates: 12 issues, $40
Canada Subscription rates: 12 issues, $45
International Subscription rates: 12 issues, $50
For subscription assistance, send check, cash ormoney order to the address aboveor email ldgreene@nycjazzrecord.com

LABEL SPOTLIGHT: MILES HIGH
VOXNEWS

Staff Writers
Matty Bannond, Stuart Broomer,
Daniel A. Brown, Marco Cangiano,
Brian Charette, Thomas Conrad,
Ken Dryden, Tristan Geary,
Pierre Giroux, Kurt Gottschalk,
Tom Greenland, George Grella,
Tyran Grillo, Andrew Hamlin,
Keith Hoffman, Terrell Holmes,
Marilyn Lester, Steven Loewy,
Suzanne Lorge, Kyla Marshell,
Francesco Martinelli, Marc Medwin,
Jim Motavalli, Russ Musto,
John Pietaro, Mike Shanley,John Sharpe, Elijah Shiffer, Elliott Simon,
Thomas Staudter, Anna Steegman,
Ken Waxman, Scott Yanow

FESTIVAL REPORTALBUM REVIEWSSPECIAL FEATURE: BEST OF 2023
EVENT CALENDARCLUB DIRECTORY
IN MEMORIAM

Contributing Writers
Fred Bouchard, Jason Gross, George Kanzler
Contributing Photographers
Caroline Conejero, Tim Dickeson,Peter Gannushkin, Christine Hoffman,
Alan Nahigian, Erin Patrice O’Brien,
Ndumiso Mtshali, Robert Sutherland-Cohen
IN CORRECTION (December 2023 issue)
We regret the following errors…
In the Paul r. Harding ESP-Disk’ album
review, there was bio info inadvertently
included (of another Paul Harding, thepoet); in the Berlin JazzFest Festival Report,
Henry Threadgill premiered his “Simply
Existing Surface” (mistakenly referenced as“Simply Extreme Surfaces”).

nycjazzrecord.com

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by matty bannondby john sharpeby marilyn lester
by terrell k. holmes
by george kanzler
by jim motavalli
by suzanne lorge

Letter from the Editor

If you’re going to make a New Year’s resolution, let it be to go out and hear more live music. It’ll certainly
be the most realistic goal you can set for yourself, particularly with a copy of TNYCJR in-hand. And now
especially, in the first month of the New Year, you couldn’t ask for a better time to get cracking, with options
galore: adding to the seven-nights-a-week barrage of live jazz that is NYC, this month there’s the 20th annual
Winter Jazzfest, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Unity Festival, Lincoln Center’s globalFEST, Arts For Art’s Out Music
Festival, French Quarter 2024, New York Jazz Piano Festival, New Ear Festival, plus performance showcasesand panels at APAP (Association of Performing Arts Professionals) and Jazz Congress conferences. There aresimply no good days to stay in! And while you’re out enjoying yourselves and supporting all those who makethe music happen night in and night out, we also invite you to reflect on the year that was in jazz, fromTNYCJR’s “Best of 2023” center spread, to the expanded In Memoriam section at the back of the issue that
includes a regrettably long list of all those the jazz world lost in 2023 (including several pages of album reviewsof what might be some of those musicians’ final discographical entries).
Here’s to a happy, healthy and hopefully more peaceful and evermore musical 2024. Happy New Year,
thanks for reading and see you out at the shows. Onwards and outwards…

On The Cover: Photos by Erin Patrice O’Brien
All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission strictly prohibited. All material copyrights property of the authors.

2 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORDNEW YORK @ N IGHT
This year’s Catalytic Sound Festival staged ten At the delightfully named Ellington (Dec. 10)—off DukeThe Boston-born, New York City based Mehler
has become well known for his fluid touch on
piano and his skilled bandleading. He is also wellknown for his record label, Newvelle Records, thatcaters to vinyl lovers with series of recordings covering a wide range of jazz and creative music. It
happened to be during the culmination of Mehler’s
work on a series of recordings by New Orleanianartists that Trouble In Mind was born.

GUI DUVIGNAU
LIVE IN RED HOOK
SSC 1714 / AVAILABLE 1/26/24

T

he true magic in jazz and other improvised musiccomes from pairing the right musicians with theright musical circumstances, the variables tending to be
the right material to work from and a conducive performance space. In Live In Red Hook, bassist/composer
Gui Duvignau took advantage of a great space in Brooklyn and the brilliance of two outstanding musicians,
pianist Jacob Sacks and drummer Nathan Ellman-Bell.

www.sunnysiderecords.com

Ellington Blvd. (106th St.) on the Upper West Side—
another Ellington, Mercedes, granddaughter of Duke,
presented the Ellington Center Holiday Show!, a talentpacked production featuring a tight band: Eli Yamin(keyboard/musical director), Evan Christopher (clarinet),
Mimi Block (violin), Chip Jackson (bass), David Gibson(drums) plus vocalists and dancers in a nod to Mercedes’
career as a dancer/choreographer (later in the evening,
she and tap master Tony Waag led “Dancers in Love”
with appropriate snaps). Starting the show with a rousing
second line to drum and tambourines, the Ellington/
Strayhorn Nutcracker ensued, with Christopher’s clarinet
a prominent feature of arrangements adapted by Yamin.
Later in the show, Christopher beautifully played thehaunting “Single Petal of a Rose” (from The Queen’s
Suite) reminiscent of Joe Temperley’s now-legendary
bass clarinet version. Tap features by AC Lincoln, DeWitt
Fleming, Karen Calloway Williams and Karen Tomczak
and exotic dance to “Arabesque Cookie” by Valerie
Levine added holiday spice. Vocal highlights from act
two included Marion Cowings, a disciple of vocalesesuperstar Jon Hendricks, with “Cottontail” (Mercedes
Ellington and company backing with bunny ears andsoft toy rabbits). Ty Stephens sang a creative, theatrical“Drop Me Off in Harlem”. And R&B/soul/blues queen
Antoinette Montague inspired with “Come Sunday” and“David Danced Before the Lord”, with Lincoln in the role
originally tapped by Bunny Briggs.
— Marilyn Lester

PHOTO BY CAROLINE CONEJERO

SSC 1713 / AVAILABLE 1/12/24

PHOTO BY PETER GANNUSHKIN/ DOWNTOWNMUSIC.NET

ELAN MEHLER
TROUBLE IN MIND

concerts in six cities, the last two in Chicago and
New York. At Brooklyn’s Public Records (Dec. 10), an
intimate Gowanus venue with apposite acoustics andatmosphere for free improvisation, the two-and-a-halfhour event included six sets, each with a unique groupof performers. Sylvie Courvoisier (piano), Fred LonbergHolm (cello), Brandon Lopez (bass), Ikue Mori (laptop),
Zeena Parkins (harp) and Nate Wooley (trumpet)—all
members of Catalytic’s co-operative imprint—were
joined by Lotte Anker (saxophones), Charmaine Lee(vocals, synth), Celia Lopez (synth, sound processing),
Ned Rothenberg (reeds) and Tom Rainey (drums).
A surfeit of talented cooks in one small kitchen, but
thankfully each knew when to turn on the creative juices
and when to lay back or out, giving others a chance to
add ingredients. The initial trio and quartet offerings
expanded to a sextet and finally a nonet, generatinga slowly rising dynamic curve over the course of theevent. Tentative ‘conversations’ in the earlier sets grew
more animated, rhythmic pulses more pronounced, thethird set achieving an immersive, hypnotic ambiance,
the fourth escalating to a collective caterwaul andcrescendo. A jungle soundscape suggesting territorial
monkeys and amorous parrots led to the night’s firstreal groove, laid out by Lopez and Rainey. The finale
began dubiously as the nonet improvised to an irksome
electronic hum, but ended gloriously with an ad hoc bigband shout section.
— Tom Greenland

Sylvie Courvoisier @Public Records

Antoinette Montague @The Ellington

A show must go on, and this was no exception. Though
her father, Matthew Garrett, a renowned jazz trumpeter/
educator, had died the previous morning, it didn’t stop
Dee Dee Bridgewater from delivering a spectacular
two-set show at Carnegie Hall (Dec. 6), fronting NYO
Jazz. The all-star ensemble, led by trumpeter Sean
Jones, composed of precociously talented musiciansin their late teens to early twenties, warmed the hallwith a John Clayton blues and Carla Bley’s “Lawns”
before Bridgewater strode out to sing Ella Fitzgerald’s“A-Tisket, A-Tasket”, Mongo Santamaria’s “Afro Blue”
and a fitting fusion of light playfulness and heavy emotion
in “Good Morning Heartache” (Irene Higginbotham,
Dan Fisher, Ervin Drake). Remarking on her father’s
demise, she conceded that the young musicians were
helping her heal, knowing that jazz’ future is in “verygood hands.” For the finale the vocalist brought it backto her birthplace, Memphis, strutting the stage andgrowling out B.B. King’s “Let the Good Times Roll”. The
second set began with two difficult but adeptly rendered
charts featuring crafty solos and expert sectional work.
Bridgewater scatted cannily on Holiday/Nichols’ “LadySings the Blues” and Duke Ellington’s “Cotton Tail”,
then uplifted spirits with soulful interpretations of Nina
Simone’s “Feeling Good” and “God Bless the Child”.
She left listeners fully sated and amazed, but Jones
took it one level higher/deeper during the band encore,pausing to play an unaccompanied trumpet solo on“Danny Boy”, bringing the crowd to its feet.
(TG)

W hen vocalist Libby York announced during her set
at Mezzrow (Dec. 3) that she’ll be 80 years old in 2024,
there was collective disbelief. But that admission
spotlighted her membership in a generation of jazz
singers—including Sandy Stewart, Mary Stallings
and the late Carol Sloane—who could wrap
themselves around a lyric and, with a deep dive,tell a powerful story. This she did with her longstanding trio featuring John di Martino (piano) and
Warren Vaché (cornet), who, playing mostly muted
throughout, provided texture and color. Many tunes
in the set were ballads aimed precisely at storytelling;these included Abbey Lincoln’s “Throw It Away”,
which in a pointed, slow-tempo made meaning pop,
and “When October Goes”, with Barry Manilow’s
music providing a platform for the brilliant Johnny
Mercer lyrics. York’s smooth, smoky tone similarly
gave gravitas to James Taylor’s philosophical number“Secret O’ Life”. York is easy-going, personable andfond of “Ella-fying” any given tune with on-thespot observational lyrics. She was well-supported
in her delivery by di Martino, who has a sensibility
for lyric and ear for singers whether he’s comping,playing or taking a feature (in which he’ll often insert
a riff of a related tune). He was especially in thegroove with a solo on a swinging “Moonray” (Shaw,
Quenzer, Madison), sometimes seeming to channel
Teddy Wilson and Ellis Larkins through his own
sensibility.
(ML)

4 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORDThe label “all-star band” is perhaps one of the mostoverworked descriptions of the many great groups
that appear regularly in New York, but the term isunquestionably applicable to the band that appeared atFlushing Town Hall’s Annual NEA Jazz Masters Concert(Dec. 15). The unit, assembled by trumpeter Jimmy
Owens, recipient of the 2012 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz
Masters Fellowship for Jazz Advocacy, with fellow NEA
Jazz Masters Gary Bartz (saxophones), Joanne Brackeen(piano), Ron Carter (bass) and Louis Hayes (drums),
plus Wycliffe Gordon (trombone), got things started bycharging straight ahead on “Walkin’”. It was the firstof several songs associated with Miles Davis, in what
Owens would later describe as a mini-tribute to the iconic
trumpeter. Owens, Bartz, Gordon and Brackeen turned in
hard-bopping solos on top of Carter’s rock-solid walking
bass and Hayes’ crackling drums. Gordon was featured
with Carter and Hayes, digging deep into his instrument’s
roots on the trio’s rendition of Ellington’s “In a Mellow
Tone”. Brackeen was in the spotlight with Bartz andCarter on “All the Things You Are”. The bassist wowed
the crowd with a virtuosic solo bass version of “You Are
My Sunshine”, then led the band back in for Miles’ “SoWhat” to close the show’s first half. The second set started
with more Miles, the sextet stretching out on “All Blues”.
Bartz, backed by bass and drums, gave a jaw-dropping
interpretation of “Star Eyes”. The band then closed with
Gordon singing Owens’ “Broken Foot Blues” and an
encore of Sonny Rollins’ ”Oleo”.
— Russ Musto

PHOTO BY ALAN NAHIGIAN

PHOTO BY R.I. SUTHERLAND-COHEN/JAZZEXPRESSIONS.ORG

Trumpeter Marquis Hill brought his Composers
Collective project to Smoke for what he’d described prior
to the performance online as “five nights of exploration”.
Other than this and thank-yous at the end of his group’s
opening night (Dec. 13), he didn’t speak at all, and hecertainly didn’t explain himself. Like many musicians, helet the work speak for itself. But there were clues along
the way, audio clips he played of various artists speaking,their statements meant to stand in for his: a snippet of Roy
Hargrove saying, “The whole reason I make music is forGod”; Oliver Nelson stating that his mission was to “playmusic and bring world peace”; a Wayne Shorter quote on
his musical roadmap not being oriented toward fame orfortune. Hill’s 2020 project, Love Tape: With Voices, wasbased on a similar premise, incorporating the wisdomof others into jazz-inflected songs with mainstream R&B
appeal. His band at Smoke was an all-Chicago group with
Junius Paul (bass), Michael Piolet (drums) and Joel Ross
alternating between piano and vibes, sometimes within apiece. The latter sounded perfectly fine on piano, moreso comping than soloing, but he shone, as usual, on vibes.
And though Hill was the headliner, Ross, a mesmerizing
soloist, stole the show. By the time Ross had laid into manyof his captivating moments, seemingly caught up in themusic in the best of ways, the trumpeter had already madeit clear that his intention and purpose as an artist were inservice to the music, not his or anyone else’s ego. Nothing
could therefore be stolen from one musician by another—
only allowed, and encouraged to exist. — Kyla Marshell

Marquis Hill @Smoke

Jimmy Owens @Flushing Town Hall

Vocalist Amirtha Kidambi and alto saxophonist Darius
Jones delivered another installment of their Sun Rainspired project Angels & Demons at The Kitchen (Dec. 9).
The name comes from the Ra album Angels and Demonsat Play—the duality and possible meanings of those two
extremes, both rich sources of material. The program
featured six compositions by the two, with Ra’s poems as
lyrics. Contrary to his persona, much of the Ra poetry here
was relatively straightforward (“My music sings of thediscipline of depths”, from the title piece), and in certain
ways didn’t translate to the abstract, angular, improvised
art songs that the saxophonist and vocalist had put together.
Though Jones mostly accompanied Kidambi, doubling her
melodic lines, mirroring her shrieks and growls through his
own amazingly voice-like tone, she used her own voice asa drone for his often-impassioned solos. One illuminating
moment came via the after-show conversation moderated
by poet/sound artist LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs, during
which Kidambi shared Jones’ appraisal of a Westernclassical singing performance she’d once done: “I don’t
believe you.” She described it as a turning point in her artmaking, a pivot toward greater authenticity in her work.
Though Kidambi and Jones appear to come from different
worlds, both musically and demographically, there is a clear
symbiosis between them in their commitment to creatingart beyond the boundaries of accessibility or respectability.
A project honoring Sun Ra, famously extra-temporal andextra-terrestrial, proved to be the ideal vehicle throughwhich to explore their own unique depths.
(KM)

Appearing as special guests with New York’s AllCity Latin Ensemble, part of its performance at Alianza
Dominicana Cultural Center (Dec. 13), Zaccai Curtis(piano) and Luques Curtis (bass) paid tribute to theiraugust mentor with An Ode to Eddie Palmieri. The
concert began with the big band of talented young highschool teens under the direction of veteran saxophonist/sonero Alberto Toro, playing with impressive
professionalism to a fiery Marcus Persiani arrangementof Mario Bauzá’s Machito-Palladium-Mambo eraclassic, “Zambia”. The brothers Curtis joined the bandmidway through Palmieri’s “Ritmo Alegre” (from La
Perfecta, 1962), noticeably ramping up the tempo of thesong, on which Toro sang lead vocal. The mood thencalmed as alto saxophonist Monica McShane steppedout of the reed section to stirringly sing the bolero“Perfidia” (from Charlie Palmieri’s Easy Does It, 1965).
Vocalist Annabelle Salvi transported the ensemble toher native Brazil with a sauntering version of Antônio
Carlos Jobim’s “Só Danço Samba”, and remained tosing lead on Palmieri’s “Nada de Ti”. Centerstage, tenor
saxophonist Jack McShane both sang and played on thebolero, “Alma Con Alma”. The band then played tributeto its Dominican hosts with the merengue “Visa Para
Un Sueño”. The Curtises, along with Toro, trumpeter
Stephen Oquendo and percussionist Carmelo Molina,
jammed excitingly with the band, both on Palmieri’s“Muñeca” (from Lo Que Traigo Es Sabroso, 1964) plus an“Oye Como Va” encore.
(RM)

W H AT ’ S N E W S
For the 20th anniversary of NYC Winter Jazzfest(Jan. 10-18), to be held at venues in Manhattan and
Brooklyn, there will be a silent auction (open throughJan. 20) to benefit the festival’s Artist Fund. Included in
the auction: artist hangs, consultations with industry
professionals, artist signed vinyl and concert passes(including tickets to hear such artists as Samara Joy andChristian McBride, venues Brooklyn Bowl, City Winery
and Roulette and passes to other jazz festivals such as
those in San Jose, CA, and Pittsburgh, PA). For more
info visit winterjazzfest.com.
Though we may be getting our snow shovels and icemelt salt out in preparation for the cold weather, now thatwe’ve officially entered the winter months, registration
for summer jazz camps has already begun. Located at
the Full Moon Resort in Big Indian, NY, north of NYC, the
7th Alternative Guitar Summit Camp (Aug. 19-23) staff
will feature camp co-producer Joel Harrison andguitarists Kurt Rosenwinkel, John Scofield, Nels Cline,
Mike and Leni Stern, Gilad Hekselman, Camila Mezaand Rodney Jones. For more info visit
alternativeguitarsummitcamp.com. The 28th annual
Litchfield Jazz Camp (Jun. 30 – Jul. 26) offers one- tofour-week sessions and is held at the Frederick Gunn
School in Washington, CT, northeast of Manhattan.
Discounts are available for those who register before theend of this month. All are welcome to enroll: teenagers
to adults, beginners to advanced players. Litchfieldteaching artists include: saxophonists Don Braden,
Jimmy Greene, Troy Roberts and Mike DiRubbo;
trumpeters Dave Ballou and Russ Johnson; trombonist
Peter McEachern; pianist Orrin Evans; bassist Luques
Curtis; drummers Steve Johns and Matt Wilson, et al.
For more info visit litchfieldjazzcamp.com. Across theriver from Manhattan, there’s the Milt Hinton Institutefor Studio Bass Summer Camp (Jul. 14-20), in
residence at Montclair State University and hosted by
the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Student bassists(ages 14-18) are invited to apply for the July 2024 music
and performance camp. Faculty will include: Peter
Dominguez (Hinton Institute Artistic Director) as well as
Rufus Reid, Ben Williams, Martin Wind, Marcus
McLaurine, Mimi Jones, Bill Crow and others. For more
info visit njpac.org/hinton.
Hatian-American vocalist Tyreek McDole (who resides in
Washington Heights, a.k.a. “Upstate Manhattan”) recently
won the 12th annual Sarah Vaughan International Jazz
Vocal Competition, marking only the second time a male
vocalist has received the honor. Runner-ups included
Darynn Dean (2nd place), Ekep Nkwelle (3rd place) andfinalists Bianca Love and Emma Smith. Previous winners
include Cyrille Aimée, Jazzmeia Horn, Samara Joy andGabrielle Cavassa. The SASSY Awards, in conjunction
with New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s TD James
Moody Jazz Festival, are also part of NJPAC’s year-roundtributes honoring Vaughan’s centennial. McDole isscheduled to perform at Jazz at Lincoln Center(Apr. 19-20), along with past winners, at the Sarah
Vaughan Centennial Concert hosted by Dee Dee
Bridgewater. For more info visit njpac.org and jazz.org.
As part of this month’s APAP (Association of Performing
Arts Professionals) NYC 2024 conference (Jan. 12-16),
trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard — alongwith Lisa Booth, Shanta Thake, Randy Cohen, John W.
Brown, Rosemary Kopel Brown and Ruby Morales—
receives the APAP Honors award (on Jan. 15), which
recognizes and celebrates trailblazers and visionaries ofthe performing arts each year. It will be the first in-person
ceremony since Jan. 2020. For more info visit
apap365.org/conference.
Our congratulations go out to Wolfram Knauer, founding
Director of the renowned Jazzinstitut Darmstadt jazzmusic research center in 1990, who was recently given an
honorary professorship at Johannes Gutenberg
Universität in Mainz, Germany. Knauer holds a musicology
doctorate and, since 1992, teaches at Gutenberg
University. In 2008, he taught at Columbia University
during which time he was the Louis Armstrong Professorof Jazz Studies. For more info visit jazzinstitut.de.

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 5

I NTERVIEW

PHOTO BY NDUMISO MTSHALINDUDUZOMAKHATHINI

building a transatlantic bridge
BY MATTY BANNOND
S everal live concert spotlights around New York will
shine on South African pianist Nduduzo Makhathini in
January, as the Blue Note Records artist will be flying
from his homeland to the U.S. for a series of high-profileand highly-anticipated concerts. He will also step onto thestage for discussions about the globalization of jazz and his
experiences of making music, within the context of African
traditions, knowledge systems and healing rituals. TNYCJR
got the chance to speak with Makhathini about his mentors
and the concepts that have helped to shape his captivating,
dynamic sound.
The New York City Jazz Record: Can you remember
the first time you pressed keys on a piano?
Nduduzo Makhathini: I was nine or ten. There was a
piano at home because my mom was taking lessons.
But the piano was locked the entire time. My mom
didn’t want us to get distracted from our academic
work at school. She would play on Sundays and I
started to develop this fascination for motion and…
shapes. I would stand behind her and observe the way
her fingers moved and the particular shapes that she
held. Those are my earliest encounters. They were
fundamentally visual, very shape-oriented.
TNYCJR: Why did you pursue piano instead of an
instrument that wasn’t locked?
Makhathini: Like most boys, I wanted to do what myfather did—and he was a phenomenal guitar player.
But there was one family gathering where the piano
was left open for a number of days. I recall just playing
something and everyone was like, “How did he justdo that?” And it feels prophetic now, in retrospect,because my mom handed over the keys. But I didn’t
utilize that opportunity much.
Years later, I was led to study music. I did anaudition and tried the guitar first, but they were like
“No, we don’t think so.” Eventually I played somethingon piano and they said maybe that’s what I should do.
So it wasn’t by choice, it was just that I tried a couple ofthings in that particular audition, and piano tended tobe the thing that could be explored.
TNYCJR: Then you went to university, but not to study
jazz.
Makhathini: Well, I didn’t really know what I wasgoing to study. They gave us music by Charlie Parker
and I was like, “Oh my god, why did I do this?” It’s
something I never really meditated on. All these things
became like a kind of unfolding that had to do withsome higher energy source and purpose. Later, thewhole thing with the piano would connect with thegift of divination practices in Nguni systems. And thewhole jazz thing would make sense in the way that
I was thinking about improvisation as a divination
practice and prophetic tradition. But none of these

Makhathini: The South African jazz archive suffersfrom erasure because it developed under the apartheid
period. As a matter of fact, there is a ragtime recordingthat took place in KwaZulu-Natal around 1920. But thenthere is a huge gap because, under the apartheid regime,
the SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation)
deemed those recordings to be less important. They
started recording over the tapes. So there are lost years
in the archive.
The characteristics of the music are swing elements.
It has syncopation. But in South Africa, each geography
and location has a different language. That plays into
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 36)

things were my own decisions. I feel like there’s always
been this kind of guidedness in my journey.
TNYCJR: What was your experience of improvised
music at that point?
Makhathini: I was brought up in improvised music,
as a dancer and singer. This was one of the inherent
properties of being brought up in Nguni traditions.
Improvisation was a way of being, as opposed toa thing you do. It’s a thing that governs your being.
That’s what frustrated me: there was no effort to makeconnections between upbringing and curriculum. We
were deemed as people that didn’t have any musicalbackground. We had to do a foundation year of being
introduced to music. And I had problems with suchan outlook, because it fundamentally disrespected
one’s background that I always deemed to be so richin music. I struggled to see continuities until I heard
John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme. That was the momentof connection between the way I was brought up andstudying jazz to become an improviser.
TNYCJR: Despite that frustration, you stayed within
academia and completed a PhD this year.
Makhathini: One of the reasons for staying is
disruption. There has to be a way to disrupt this canon
towards some kind of transformation that leads to
producing multiple itineraries within curricula, where
it makes sense where people come from and who theyare.
I’m there to work together and outline a postcolonial
option that considers a pluriversality with regard toknowing, and a way to honor the fact that various
peoples around the world have different knowledge
systems. And with a particular focus on transcending
the colonial confines that assume hegemony and pushindigenous people to some kind of peripheral register.
TNYCJR: Outside academia, did you connect with
South African musicians as mentors?
Makhathini: For me, influence starts in the village. It’sa place that blurs the borders between ways of being,
religiosities, community, music-making… There arethese influences that really opened this connection
between myself and the music. One is Bheki Mseleku.
He was a great piano player who harnessed cycles asways of stepping into an infinite idea of sound-making.
After him, I met Zim Ngqawana, a saxophone player
heavily influenced by Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra
and the idea of another world. He was also heavily
influenced by the Nguni music matrix and making
connections to what he understood as ubungoma (aninnate gift/calling from the ancestors).
TNYCJR: How would you describe the characteristics
of South African jazz?

6 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD JANUARY 2ND - JANUARY 7THCHRIS POTTER QUARTETCRAIG TABORN - SCOTT COLLEY - MARCUS GILMOREJANUARY 9TH - JANUARY 14THKRIS DAVIS TRIOROBERT HURST - JOHNATHAN BLAKE
 JANUARY 16TH - JANUARY 21ST

FRED HERSCHTHOMAS MORGANMARCUS GILMORE
 JANUARY 23RD - JANUARY 28TH 

ETHAN IVERSON TRIOTHOMAS MORGAN - KUSH ABADEY
 JANUARY 30TH - FEBRUARY 3RD 

VIJAY IYER TRIO

LINDA MAY HAN OH - TYSHAWN SOREY

COMING IN FEBRUARY VANGUARD JAZZ ORCHESTRA 
CELEBRATING FIFTY-EIGHT YEARS OF MONDAY NIGHTS KURT ROSENWINKEL  JOE LOVANO  WYCLIFFE GORDON 
MONDAY NIGHTS ARE RESERVED FOR

THE VANGUARD JAZZ ORCHESTRA

PHOTO COURTESTY OF ARTISTARTIST F EATURE

You could say that saxophonist Isaiah Collier has

always been a visionary. In his senior year at highschool, he was fortunate enough to perform at The
White House for International Jazz Day as part of a
selected group of talented students. That culminated ina recording at the legendary Rudy Van Gelder studio,
where so many of the classic dates that make up the
jazz canon have been waxed. It was a space that hada big impact on the teenager: “It was very powerful
the way that it felt, like you were in a church. That’s
how heavy and thick the energy in the room was.”Afterward, Collier promised himself that one day hewould come back and record there as a leader. Four
years later he did just that, in the session that became
his acclaimed Cosmic Transitions (Division 81).
The 25-year-old’s trajectory has been rapid but both
hard-earned and well-deserved. He has been garnering
attention nationally and internationally since his 2016
debut and work with an array of esteemed elders
and peers such as Ernest Dawkins, Bennie Maupin,
Kahil El’Zabar, jaimie branch and Angel Bat Dawid.
His big sound, irrepressible drive and wellspring of
improvisational ideas place him firmly in the great
Chicago tenor tradition. But unlike some of his forebears,
he also plays soprano and flutes, as well as piano andpercussion, and boasts a fine voice, all of which hepresses into the service of his vision at various times.
Raised by a family of musicians on Chicago’s South
Side, Collier started working with his father by the time
he was 12. As he notes: “I was getting my dosage ofBlack music and its totality, from gospel to soul to R&B
to blues.” Even though he saw jazz as just one part ofthis continuum, the likes of Charlie Parker and John
Coltrane made an impression, yet “it made more sense
to me what Trane was saying more than Bird did.”It was former AACM Chairman saxophonist Ernest
Dawkins who gave him his debut in his Young Masters
Quartet. As he recalls: “I met Isaiah and his brother[drummer Jeremiah] when he was in high school. He
was gifted at first, but every time I see him, it’s likehe sounds better and better. What we noticed is thathe’s really taken to heart all of the saxophone players
in Chicago and incorporated that in his sound, such as
older guys like Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Ari Brown,
James Perkins and Roscoe Mitchell, even on the avant
garde side. He’s taken in all this and then all the hiphop genres and has incorporated it into his playing andhis music. So he’s a product of the existing scene. He’s
actually the embodiment of the extension of this scene
in Chicago.”
Collier also features on A Time For Healing, a 2021
record by percussionist El’Zabar, who is similarly
effusive in his praise: “Isaiah Collier is an extraordinarily
talented saxophonist and composer, who brings thepurity of feeling with a refined and robust soundthat amplifies legacy through every performance. He
brings brevity and passion with a razor-sharp wit thatis constantly inventive. I so admire his work effort, andam also so proud of all he has accomplished in such a

ISAIAHCOLLIER

Recommended Listening:• Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few—
Return Of The Black Emperor(Good Vibes Only, 2017)• Kahil El’Zabar Quartet—A Time For Healing(Spiritmuse, 2020)• Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few—
Cosmic Transitions (Division 81, 2020)• I AM (Isaiah Collier/Michael Shekwoaga Ode)—
Beyond (Division 81, 2021)• jaimie branch/Isaiah Collier/Gilles Coronado/
Tim Daisy—Stembells (The Bridge Sessions, 2021)• Isaiah Collier—Parallel Universe(Night Dreamer, 2023)

to be this and that
BY JOHN SHARPE
short time. He has definitely put in the work, though,and it shows every time he picks up that horn.”
He formed his band Isaiah Collier and The Chosen
Few while still studying at Chicago State University.
The group has made three albums, of which the last,Cosmic Transitions, dropped to rave reviews. It’s a fivepart 56-minute suite in which contemplative moments
vie with unrestrained free jazz which never forgets
its roots. Auspiciously, it was recorded in 2020 on
September 23, Coltrane’s birthday. His influence isclear. But lest Collier seem immodest in his ambitions,he explains: “I wasn’t anticipating doing that record sosoon. I mean, yes, I wrote the music, but I felt like I
was a little bit out of place with living experience toreally play the music. Or to really execute it to thefullest context and beyond the emotional, but just withmore understanding harmonically. The opportunity
presented itself, so one must strike while the iron ishot!” But at the same time as processing Coltrane (hementions Transition as a particular inspiration), he wasalso studying with AACM members Roscoe Mitchelland drummer Vincent Davis, keen to marry the avant
garde with the tradition.
However, his latest release, Parallel Universe, offersa more expansive feel. It’s overtly melodic: vocalist
Jimetta Rose accentuates gospel and soul aspects while“Village Song” moves from Yoruba chants to a sprightly
refrain led by Collier’s flute. To Collier, these are all partof the same spectrum. “Those things have always beenpresent in the music. Listen to the Trane quartet play
‘Afro Blue’. They’re emphasizing the ‘Afro’. You listen
to any other stuff, the syncopation is still there. Even
in its most melodic aspect, we’re still referencing those
things. And I assure you if those guys were around,they would have figured out how to do the same thing.”
Dawkins echoes the point: “He’s just become freer in his
approach. He’s not restricted by any limitations now.
He’s incorporated all the elements of the music.”
There will be more chances for New Yorkers towitness Collier’s development this month when heappears at Jazz at Lincoln Center and at Winter Jazzfest
with the Chosen Few, comprising Julian Davis Reed
(piano), his cousin Micah Collier (bass) and Michael
Shekwoaga Ode (drums), together presenting musicfrom a forthcoming release entitled The Almighty.
Collier gives a foretaste: “Cosmic Transitions spoke to
one form of introspection for one’s personal self, and
The Almighty speaks to another introspection thatspeaks to your own relationship to however you may
see the universe, God or however you know it. We are
not just one thing. We can be this and that, not this orthat.”For more info visit colliersworld.com. Collier & The Chosen
Few is at Smalls Jan. 4 and Nublu Jan. 13 & 16, part ofWinter Jazzfest. Collier is also at Appel Room with Franklin
Kiermyer’s Scatter The Atoms That Remain Jan. 12 and with
his quartet at Ertegun Atrium, both part of Jazz at Lincoln
Center’s Unity Festival. See Calendar.

PHIL RANELIN
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spinning them back and forth in slow motion. But he also plays homemade
records cast by himself from organic matter that is similarly laden withmemory and personal significance.” - Bill Meyer, The WireAVALIABLE AT AMALGAMUSIC.ORG

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 7

PHOTO BY ERIN PATRICE O’BRIENON THE COVER

Brandee Younger
The Jimmie Blanton of the Harpby marilyn lester

Think about the harp. And think about its absence fromjazz—largely excluded from the noble family of strings; thepiano, bass, guitar and banjo, all so easily have found glory
in the music. Jazz harpist Brandee Younger (winner of the2020 DownBeat Critics Poll in the category of “Rising Star
Miscellaneous Instrument”) has certainly thought about
it and she aims to fix that deficiency. “This may soundnaive,” she says, “but I see the harp one day being just as
common as piano.”
Younger thinks way outside the box. Like Jimmie
Blanton, who joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra in 1939
and who forever transformed bass playing, Younger has
already cut a wide swath in harp evolution. Self-aware fromher earliest years, she says, “I have always wanted whatever
instrument that I played to match my personality, which
included playing the kind of music that I was listening
to—R&B, hip-hop, gospel, jazz.” As she got deeper into hermusic studies and classical music, she realized, “I wanted
to do more with it (the harp). Of course I was met withresistance—this is inevitable. But I’ve always been the typeto march to the beat of my own drum.”
But first, a short tutorial to understand the harp
“situation”: it’s the oldest known stringed instrument.
First documented in ancient Sumer and Egypt, it’s beenin continuous use ever since in various shapes and sizes.
The harp is so important that it’s a mainstay of Celtic music
and is the national symbol of the Republic of Ireland. Yet,it’s a sure bet that people generally think of the harp as alarge symphonic instrument played by gowned women.
From the outset, Younger’s thinking was more expansive:“It’s unique. We can think of piano or guitar as the closest,
sonically. There have been times that I heard a guitar andthought it was a harp and vice versa!” And therein lies the
key to Younger’s revolutionary attempt to bring the harp
into the mainstream.
In the modern era, Carlos Salzedo, an early 20thcentury French harpist, vigorously presented the harp as a
virtuoso instrument. The first harpist to appear specificallyin jazz is thought to be Casper Reardon (“The World’s
Hottest Harpist”). Then there was Adele Girard, whoplayed with the Joe Marsala Band in the ’30s and ’40s, notto mention Rhythm Willie, Robert Lee McCoy, Corky Haleand Alice Coltrane. But the crown in jazz harp awarenessgoes to Dorothy Ashby, active in the ’50s and ’60s, andit’s she who inspired Younger the most and who led her
to dismiss the notion that the harp is a foreign voice injazz. Hope springs eternal, especially with grit as its ally.
“As labels become less of a thing (hopefully) and the lines
between genres are blurred,” Younger says, “for sure there
will be progress. I feel people are more accepting of it, themore they hear it.”
Since Younger’s emergence on the music scene alittle over 15 years ago, she’s made quite an impression
as a performer, leader, concert curator and educator.
And she has self-managed her career. Her close musicalcollaborator, bassist Dezron Douglas, observes, “Brandee
has gotten everywhere she has on her own. She has singlehandedly broken the barriers between the worlds andscenes of classical and jazz—facing much adversity inregard to stigmas on both sides of the music.” And did
we mention versatility? Younger has played classical harpwith the Hartford Symphony, the Waterbury Symphonyand Harlem Chamber Players Monde, and performed hiphop and R&B with the likes of Drake, Common and John
Legend.
Her latest album, Brand New Life (Impulse!) tackles
the heady subject of creating new paths personal, artistic,
political and spiritual. On it, Younger pays tribute to Ashby.
“Dorothy Ashby was working as a harpist before Alice
Coltrane, and had been recording her records prior to Alice
Coltrane,” Younger says. “I do think that Alice Coltrane’svisibility helped the instrument for sure, but overall, it
felt very niche-like and still feels niche-like today.” It
was by way of hip-hop musician Pete Rock that Younger
discovered Ashby; Rock used a sample of her music on oneof his tracks. Younger had already discovered the astralmusic of Alice Coltrane, but it was Ashby’s ability to takethat instrument into pop culture that resonated. Drummer
and collaborator E.J. Strickland observes that “Brandee has
emerged on the jazz scene as the leading voice on harp.
While she has been heavily influenced by Alice Coltrane
and Dorothy Ashby, she has also forged her own voice andher own contributions to the history.”
Younger grew up in Hempstead, NY, and beinga child of the ’90s listened to artists such as LL Cool J,
Queen Latifah and Busta Rhymes. But she’d actually been
studying harp since age eleven. She was introduced to theharp by a female harp player who was a coworker of her
father’s. “My parents thought it’d be a good idea to play
together,” she says. “It was this woman who mentioned
the potential of a scholarship to my parents, and the rest is
history.” Younger earned undergraduate degrees in Harp
Performance and Music Business from the University ofHartford, where she was mentored by saxophonist Jackie
McLean at the Institute of Jazz and African American
Studies, and where she made her foray into jazz harp. Backin NYC, she enrolled in New York University’s Steinhardt
School, obtaining a Master of Music in 2008. But she wasalready busy making breakthroughs as a performer.
Following her debut EP, Prelude (released in 2011),
two years later she recorded Soul Awakening, a seminal
work which wouldn’t be issued for another five years.
Self-released, it’s a benchmark recording of eight tracks,
featuring Douglas (bass), E.J. Strickland (drums) and Stacy
Dillard and Chelsea Baratz (saxophones) with guest artists
Antoine Roney and Ravi Coltrane (saxophones), Freddie
Hendrix and Sean Jones (trumpets), Chris Beck (drums) andNiia (vocals). The same year she also appeared on drummer
Makaya McCraven’s Universal Beings (International
Anthem) and, a few years later, Universal Beings E&F Sides.
Following the pandemic, another self-release, Force
Majeure, includes 15 tracks of “comfort music”, intended
to provide catharsis of the shared experience of 2020. A
majority of the tracks were live-streamed by Younger
and Douglas during the lockdown. To date, Younger has
seven albums as leader, and has made innumerable sideplayer appearances with the likes of Pharoah Sanders, Ravi
Coltrane, Lakecia Benjamin, Robert Glasper, Jeremy Pelt,
Jack DeJohnette and Reggie Workman.
The old saw, “if you want something done, ask abusy person,” definitely applies to Younger. Committed toeducation, she’s on the faculties of New York University

8 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

and The New School, not to mention visiting gigs with ahost of institutions (including her alma mater, The Hartt
School Community Division at the University of Hartford).
And she’s already inspired and even collaborated withseveral jazz harpists today, including Destiny Muhammad
who, along with harpist Radha Botosafina, performed
with Younger live at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles,in tribute to Alice Coltrane, a few years after Coltrane’s
passing. Elizabeth Steiner, a young, cross-genre harpist,
who recently appeared with Ken Peplowski at Birdland
in Charlie Parker with Strings, acknowledges that Younger“is making a tremendous impact in the harp world and theworld of music as a whole.” And progress has not been loston Younger. “I see a growing interest in the harp in various
styles—so exciting!” she enthuses.
Last, but far from least, about Brandee Younger’s
muli-faceted talent: “(She) is a gifted composer,” Douglas
adds. “She utilizes all of her skills on the harp to convey
what her message is.” Among her many original recent
works, she composed for the HBO TV series Random Actsof Flyness (2018). In April 2019, “Hortense” was featured
in the Beyoncé documentary Homecoming. Younger also
hopes other composers will write for the harp. “So muchcan be done,” she says. “But I think it’s important forcomposers to understand sonically how and where theharp fits into an ensemble. There’s no point in doublinga trumpet, or playing in the same range as the piano… I
suggest all composers take at least one harp lesson, to learn
how the pedals work. That can save so much time for boththe composer and the harpist.” She adds that currently,
harpists are trained to write in the pedal changes in theirmusic, which helps to ensure the correct notes get played,
but also creates a musical handicap when it comes to sightreading: “harp playing and reading ALWAYS takes extra
steps to be able to accommodate the pedals, so I think it’sa good practice to work on sight reading regularly to keep
our brains sharp.”
There’s a reason history is important. For a musician,knowing whose shoulders one stands upon helps to define
one’s creativity in the present. The story of the jazz harp
informed Brandee Younger’s trajectory. Now the harpist is
making her own way, and as Jimmie Blanton was to thebass, she may be remembered and go down in history as
the one who changed the harp forevermore.
For more info visit brandeeyounger.com. Younger is at Le Poisson
Rouge Jan. 12 and Jan. 15, both presented by Winter Jazzfest,
the latter as part of “Impulse! at Winter Jazzfest” as leader
performing “The Music of Alice Coltrane” and with Shabaka
Hutchings. See Calendar.
Recommended Listening:• Brandee Younger—Soul Awakening (s/r, 2013)• Brandee Younger—Wax & Wayne (s/r, 2014)• Brandee Younger 4tet—Live at the Breeding Ground(s/r, 2014)• Makaya McCraven—Universal Beings E&F Sides(International Anthem, 2017-18)• Dezron Douglas/Brandee Younger—Force Majeure(International Anthem, 2020)• Brandee Younger—Somewhere Different (Impulse!, 2021)

INTAKT RECORDS www.intaktrec.ch

INGRID LAUBROCK MONOCHROMESSYLVIE COURVOISIER CHIMAERA

Ingrid Laubrock: T. & Sop Sax ∙ Jon Irabagon:
Sopranino Sax ∙ Zeena Parkins: Electric Harp ∙Tom Rainey: Drums
Tape pieces in order of appearance:
Trumpets: Nate Wooley ∙ Accordions: Adam
Matlock ∙ Percussion: Tom Rainey

Sylvie Courvoisier: Piano ∙ Wadada Leo Smith:
Trumpet ∙ Nate Wooley: Trumpet ∙ ChristianFennesz: Guitar, Electronics ∙ Drew Gress:
Bass ∙ Kenny Wollesen: Drums, Vibraphone

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MUSIC DELIVERY/PERCUSSIONSUNNY FIVE CANDID
Tim Berne: Alto Sax ∙ Marc Ducret: Vendramini
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Ches Smith: Drums, Electronics ∙ David Torn: Elec.
Guitar and Live Multi-Looping

Andrew Cyrille: Drums, Percussion

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Angelika Niescier: Alto Saxophone
Tomeka Reid: Cello ∙ Savannah Harris: Drums

Anna Webber: Tenor Sax, Flutes
Adam O'Farrill: Trumpet ∙ Mariel Roberts:
Cello ∙ Elias Stemeseder: Synthesizer
Lesley Mok: Drums

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ANNA WEBBER SHIMMER WINCE

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ANGELIKA NIESCIER – TOMEKAREID – SAVANNAH HARRIS
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Distribution USA: Virtual Label Group / NYC: Downtown Music Gallery / Digital: intaktrec.bandcamp.com

EVAN PARKER MATTHEW WRIGHTTRANCE MAP+ ETCHING THE ETHERJAMES BRANDON LEWISQUARTET TRANSFIGURATION

Evan Parker: Sax ∙ Matthew Wright: Live
Electronics and Sound Design ∙ Peter Evans:
Trumpets ∙ Mark Nauseef: Percussion

James Brandon Lewis: Tenor Sax
Aruán Ortiz: Piano ∙ Brad Jones: Bass
Chad Taylor: Drums
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PHOTO COURTESY OF ARTISTENCOREROBERT
HURST

A BASSIST’S SAGE ADVICEBY TERRELL K. HOLMES

Born and raised in Detroit, a city that has always beenat the forefront of musical innovations and trends, theGrammy and Emmy award-winning bassist, composerand educator Robert Hurst has been a mainstay on themusic scene for four decades and counting. High indemand as a sideman since he first entered the recording
studio in the mid ’80s (two of his first recordings werewith the Blue Note Records all-star collective Out of theBlue and Wynton Marsalis), he has additionally released
a number of highly-acclaimed albums under his own
name, starting with his first two as leader: Robert Hurst
Presents Robert Hurst (with pianist Kenny Kirkland,
reedmen Branford Marsalis and Ralph Miles Jones III,
trumpeter Marcus Belgrave and drummer Jeff “Tain”
Watts) and One for Namesake (a trio with Kirkland anddrummer Elvin Jones).
Hurst’s extensive résumé includes collaborations
with the Marsalis family (Ellis, Wynton, Branford,
Delfeayo, Jason), Pharoah Sanders, Mulgrew Miller,
Kenny Garrett, Dianne Reeves and Diana Krall, as
well as Yo-Yo Ma, Sting, Barbra Streisand and Sir Paul
McCartney. And perhaps it is due to his being so highin-demand by so many artists, spanning jazz and othergenres, that New Yorkers these days simply don’t get tohear Hurst perform live nearly enough.
The bassist recalls going to jazz clubs since he was five
years old. “My father exposed me to great music. [Therewas] all that great music around Detroit, and he liked tohang out and enjoy it, and luckily, he took me along,”
Hurst recalled during a recent telephone interview whileon winter break from teaching at University of Michigan.
“One of the cats my dad went to high school with was
Melvin Franklin, the bass singer, and every time I would
see him, he’d say ‘Hey, I’m your Uncle Melvin!’ in thatlow voice. Around 1972, I went with all my cousins tohear the Jackson Five, and that next Christmas, all mymale cousins and I got guitars.” Hurst would break the
top two strings and started taking bass lessons on that
guitar, tuning it like a bass, an octave up, before getting
and playing an actual bass by the time he was 10.

In high school, Hurst made an important connection
with one of Detroit’s most influential jazz musicians:“When I was fifteen, my high school band director had
the great Marcus Belgrave come to our school and do aclinic, and he heard me play and asked my parents if hecould start calling me for gigs.” Belgrave had a program
known as the Jazz Development Workshop, a summer
program for young musicians. He would get grants anddo concerts. Hurst fondly remembers, “I got the best of
everything because I was playing in his band but also
got a chance to work with great Detroit artists that werestill here.” During this time the bassist met Geri Allen,
Regina Carter, James Carter, Kenny Burrell, Tommy
Flanagan and Barry Harris, all well-known Detroiters
who would come back to the city during the holidays. “I
got a chance to work with those cats in my late teens. It
was both a nurturing and beautiful experience because
all of the Detroit cats really support the younger cats.
(But) it wasn’t always pretty! They’d let you know if
you’re doing something wrong, but (they) were pullingfor you. I’ve always felt that (and) I still feel that.”
Since that time, Hurst has earned recognitionand praise and learned valuable lessons. “Early in mycareer I worked with musicians of my generation, ora little bit older, with Wynton and Branford, Terence
Blanchard and Donald Harrison. And that was always agreat experience to really kind of discover music alongwith these guys.” After the bassist left Blanchard andHarrison’s band, he got the chance to play with one of
his heroes, the legendary drummer Tony Williams. “Justbeing around him, and just getting beat up and kicked
every kind of way you can think of, helped me develop
my confidence. I felt like after that, it was like sparringwith Mike Tyson, I could take on any drummer. After abrief pause, Hurst added, “[With] drummers, you gotta
bring some heat! I heard Tony say once in an interview
that if you can have three generations in the band, that’s
how you can really get a great band. Like the band withMiles, he was the oldest cat, then Wayne [Shorter] wasa little younger than Miles, and Ron [Carter] was a little
younger, and Herbie [Hancock] and Tony were thebabies.” Hurst enjoys playing with his peers, but also
enjoys the energy from playing with younger musicians.
With Wynton, the bassist was the youngest in the band
but now he’s typically the oldest with the bands he plays
in and leads.
Having transitioned from young lion to elder
statesman, Hurst notes one key difference in the attitude
of today’s jazz players compared to those in the past that
he embraces fully. “When I was first in New York there

was a divide between popular music and jazz, definitely
in my circle playing jazz with Wynton. He didn’t reallymess around with pop music that much. So that’s one
thing that I’ve seen younger musicians embrace, catsthat came up in the hip-hop era, like Karriem Riggins
and Robert Glasper—those cats have credibility in bothworlds. Karriem has played with Common, Ray Brown
and Roy Hargrove. And a lot of the older cats haveembraced hip-hop and other forms as well. So that’s apositive thing. And I like to think of the cross-pollinationof African-American music and African music. You heara lot of Afro-beat in hip-hop, and that wouldn’t have
happened without James Brown or Fela Kuti, who arelike kindred spirits. And I think that affected Americanmusic as well as African music, and hence the wholeworld.”
The advice that Hurst would give young people
pursuing musical careers today is as current as a TikTokvideo, and as enduring as music itself. “Have some kindof organized ritual for listening and understanding themusic. Now you have access to every piece of music
that’s ever been recorded. [Learn] how to use social
media to your benefit: club owners are looking at yourlikes and your followers and all that kind of stuff, so it’sa good business tool you can communicate with. You can
get to Herbie Hancock way easier now than you could
when I was a kid. I’m not saying he’ll respond, but you
could actually reach him. You can just reach out to me
and get to me some kind of way. So use those elements,
use all the tools you have. It doesn’t have to be used justfor evil; it can be used for good. And practice!”

house drummer at Monroe’s Uptown House in Harlem,
also participating in after-hours sessions at Minton’s
Playhouse, the two clubs immortalized as incubators of
the bebop movement.
Along with Kenny Clarke, Roach revolutionized
jazz time-keeping by transferring the rhythmic pulse
from the bass drum or hi-hat to the ride cymbal, creating
a flowing rhythmic feel. Of the jazz drum kit, Roachsaid: “In no other society do they have one person playwith all four limbs.” And he described his approach tomusic as “the creation of organized sound.”“Working with Max night after night,” says bassist
Calvin Hill, a longtime member of Roach’s bands, “itwas amazing how he could create new ideas every time.
He was a tremendous teacher as well as a musician. I
know that after I worked with him, I heard a little of
Max Roach in every drummer I heard.”
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz lists a numberof firsts that establish Roach as one of the music’s
most important artists, including: the first drummer
to record fours (4-bar exchanges with bassist Tommy
Potter on Charlie Parker’s 1947 recording of “Bird Gets
the Worm”); the first to master the 3/4 swing beat (asdocumented on Thelonious Monk’s 1952 recordingof “Carolina Moon” and his quintet’s 1957 album
Valse Hot); the first to transfer Afro-Cuban rhythms
to the drum set in an idiomatic manner, without its
appearing to be exotic or pretentious (Bud Powell’s
1951 recording of “Un Poco Loco”); first MacArthur
Fellowship (Genius Grant) in the field of jazz, 1988
(he was also recognized and awarded as an NEA Jazz
Master in 1984).
A pioneer of bebop, Roach was also instrumental
in the development of hard bop, notably with the mid’50s quintet he co-led with trumpeter Clifford Brown.
That band featured brilliant arrangements from pianist
Richie Powell (younger brother of Bud) that turned pop
songbook standards into driving hard-bop anthems.
Tragically, Brown and Powell both died in an auto
crash in 1956, only a year after tenor saxophonist Sonny
Rollins joined the band (following predecessors Teddy
Edwards and Harold Land).
On his Chronicles blog, the drummer Vinnie
Sperrazza, reviewing Aiden Levy’s recent biographyof Rollins, Saxophone Colossus, gets at the heart of the

For more info visit roberthurst.com. Hurst is at Dizzy’s Club
with GBD Trio with Mark Whitfield and Jeff “Tain” Watts
Jan. 5-7, and Village Vanguard with Kris Davis Trio Jan.
9-14. See Calendar.
Recommended Listening:• Wynton Marsalis Quartet—Live at Blues Alley(CBS-Columbia, 1986)• Branford Marsalis—The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet
Born (Columbia, 1991)• Robert Hurst—Presents Robert Hurst(DIW-Columbia, 1992)• Robert Hurst—BOB: a palindrome (Bebob, 2001)• Robert Hurst/Chris Dave/Robert Glasper—
Unrehurst, Volume 2 (Bebob, 2007)• Junko Onishi (featuring Robert Hurst & Karriem
Riggins)—Junko Onishi Presents Jatriot (Live at Blue
Note Tokyo) (Somethin’ Cool/DIW, 2019)

PHOTO BY ALAN NAHIGIANLEST WE FORGET

MAX
ROACH

BEBOP ARCHITECTBY GEORGE KANZLER

Stan Levy, a drummer who can also be heard on

early bebop recordings by Charlie Parker and Dizzy
Gillespie, once said of Max Roach: “I came to realize
that, because of him, drumming no longer was justtime, it was music.”
Roach, whose first fame came on the “birth of
bebop” recordings of Parker and Gillespie in 1945, iscelebrated this month on his centennial. Born January
8, 1924, in Newland, NC, his family moved to the
Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, where
he grew up from age 4. While still a teenager, he subbed
for drummer Sonny Greer with Duke Ellington at theParamount Theater, and in the early ’40s he was the

10 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD(CONTINUED ON PAGE 36)

L ABEL SPOTLIGHT

MILES
HIGH
TO RAISE ONE’S PROFILEBY JIM MOTAVALLIIn 2003, after a long period of studio work, vibraphonist/
percussionist/pianist/composer Mark Sherman told
his friend, musician David Chesky (of Chesky Records),
that he wanted to get back into the game as a leader
with a quartet date. “Chesky said to me, ‘I could do thatfor you, but I’d end up making all the money. What
you need to do is start your own label, put out fiveCDs in five years, hire publicists to promote them, andyou’ll own the music and it will lead to workshops andconcerts.’ And you know what, he was absolutely right.
Now when musicians tell me, ‘I play as well as [X], but
he gets the recognition and bookings,’ I tell them, ‘It’s
because you don’t have any recording presence as aleader.’”
The label is Miles High Records, and it has sincereleased 36 albums, 11 of them with Sherman as leader.
The records (aided by the expert PR of, among others,
Braithwaite & Katz Communications and Mark Elf)have gotten reviewed and played on the radio, andenable Sherman to tour regularly in Europe and Asia.
Some of the artists on Miles High are musicalLive @ The Bird’s EyeMark Sherman Quartet

TributeTim Hegartycolleagues of the Riverdale-based Sherman (just northof New York City), such as drummer Tim Horner,guitarist Paul Meyers and saxophonist Dan Block(who, like Sherman, teaches at Juilliard). The styles
and formats vary, but center on bebop in all its variety:vocalist Erin McDougald’s Outside the Soiree (2018)
features contributions from Sherman (on vibes), TomHarrell (trumpet) and Dave Liebman (saxophones),
while Cynthia Holiday’s All The Way (2008) features
pianist Cedar Walton’s trio.
Sherman accepts submissions and gives artists 70
percent ownership of the resulting product. “The artist
owns the master,” he said. “I license the music andcollect my 30 percent on sales from my distributor. The
artists pay all expenses related to creating the product,
and they’re free to sell their albums. They own all
publishing. And it’s a two-year deal with an opt-out, asI don’t want any unhappy artists.”
The arrangement works for the artists on thelabel—Block, for instance, has released three records.
And much of the sales are digital. “Very few are CDs;
we suggest pressing 300 per release,” Sherman says.
“They work for promotion and selling at gigs—they
still buy CDs in Europe and Asia!”
In a common dilemma, Sherman got tired of
waiting for labels to make up their minds after his
sophomore album as leader, A New Balance (1986) for

All The Way (feat. Cedar Walton Trio)
Cynthia Holiday

Columbia, went double platinum in the Philippines.
“If you submitted your work to the majors, you’d haveto wait months to even get a response,” he said. “Andby then you’d have written another album’s worth ofmaterial and your priority is getting those tunes out.
With independent digital releases, we can get the musicin front of people in a few weeks.”
Just getting songs on, for instance, the Spotify Coffee
Table Jazz list can lead to millions of plays (including
in a lot of hotels) and significant revenue from a source
not known for that. “Kenny Barron may have more
followers than me, but I’m doing pretty well,” Sherman
said. His ballad recording of Cole Porter’s “Every TimeWe Say Goodbye”, on that Spotify playlist for years, hasgotten streamed there more than seven million times.
In the spring, Sherman is headed to Europe withhis working group, featuring Joe Magnarelli (trumpet),
Stephan Kurmann (bass) and Bernd Reiter (drums).
Later in the summer, he heads for China. Starting arecord label seems to have been a good idea when it
comes to raising his, and others’, public profile.
For more info visit mileshighrecords.com. Miles High artists
performing this month include Mark Sherman with Tim
Horner at Ornithology Jan. 31; Horner at Dizzy’s Club withJo Harrop Jan. 24; Enrico Granafei at New York Hilton Jan.
13-14. See Calendar.

The Places We Feel Free
Tim Horner

In Search of the Third Dimension
Enrico Granafei

VOX NEWSTIN PAN ALLEYBY SUZANNE LORGE

L ast year, singer/songwriter Ann Hampton
Callaway entered the Women Songwriters Hallof Fame for her many contributions to jazz andtraditional pop music. Callaway started out in New
York’s cabaret scene in the ’80s, accompanying herself
on piano; her specialty was tunes that tear your heart
into shreds.
Soon, her warmly textured voice and accessible
writing attracted the best kind of attention, andstars as formidable as Barbra Streisand, Blossom
Dearie, Karrin Allyson and Michael Feinstein began
recording her songs. Her biggest commercial breakcame after a performance at Don’t Tell Mama, when
TV actress Fran Drescher introduced herself to the
up-and-comer; later, Drescher would handpick
Callaway to write and sing the theme song to her’90s hit TV show, The Nanny. Then, in 2000, Callaway
was nominated for a Tony for her scatting role in
Broadway’s Swing!.
On the jazz front, Callaway counts among
her many legendary colleagues the likes of Kenny
Barron, Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride, Dizzy
Gillespie, Dianne Reeves, Ted Rosenthal and Dee Dee
Bridgewater. But arguably her most exclusive claim
as a jazz singer is her collaboration with Cole Porter,
given decades after his death. In 1992 she released“I Gaze in Your Eyes”— a setting of posthumously
discovered Porter lyrics to one of her heart-shredding

tunes, which had his estate’s blessing.
Callaway’s
2023
record,Finding
Beauty(Shanachie), commits to tape 16 of her originals,
pulled from her busy musical life over the last 25
years. (The liner notes provide a fascinating glimpse
into that world.) Many friends from those years show
up to sing in duet with Callaway—Kurt Elling on theanthemic funk tune “Love and Let Love”, Tierney
Sutton on an eerie, layered “You Can’t Rush Spring”,
Melissa Manchester on the pop-rock ballad “NewEyes”—and Callaway’s sister, Liz Callaway (one ofStephen Sondheim’s favorite singers) on the album’s
biggest heartbreaker, “Wherever You Are”, about afriend lost to AIDS. In all, it’s a lovely, moving ride.
Visit 54 Below to hear Callaway re-create some of its
most poignant moments (Jan. 12).
As the Callaway album shows, the line between
vocal jazz and traditional pop is provisional.
Traditional Pop as a Grammy award didn’t even exist
before 1992, when (it seemed) NARAS created thecategory to accommodate the growing number of pop
singers turning out songbook albums. Tin Pan Alley,
with its strong ties to Broadway, is the common
ancestor of both; what distinguishes these kissing
cousins from one another is the singer’s approachto a standard. Improvisation and groove are thehallmarks of vocal jazz, and mellifluous melody andstraightforward harmony (preferably lush) are thoseof traditional pop. Informed folks may disagree on
this, of course.
What they’d be unlikely to challenge, however,is that bass trombonist Jennifer Wharton is a badass
jazz artist, even as she kills it eight times a week
in a Broadway pit. Her new album, Grit & Grace(Sunnyside) has Wharton leading her brass ensemble
Bonegasm through a series of self-penned andcommissioned originals, including one vocal track:
trumpeter Nadje Noordhuis’ “Coop’s Condiments”,
a comical blues romp about, er, sauces. Humor aside,
when Wharton sings, you hear the phrasing of theconsummate jazz instrumentalist she is—a great
lesson in indelible groove. Wharton will be withSondheim’s Sweeney Todd on Broadway.
Singer Audrey Silver hears jazz in the strains ofRodgers & Hammerstein’s 1943 musical, Oklahoma!.
Her new album by that name couches these longfavorite melodies in swing and spontaneity, backed
by pared-down piano (Bruce Barth) and guitar(Peter Bernstein) and, at times, a string quartet.
This minimal setting draws attention to the writers’
careful craftsmanship and how it conveys emotional
complexity—the surprising tenderness of “Boys andGirls”, the subtle trepidation of “Out of My Dreams”,
the refreshing frankness of “I Cain’t Say No”. Silver
captures all of these moods with her amber-rich
vocals and sensitive understanding of a lyric. Her
album release concert is at Pangea (Jan. 17).
Historical note: Four years ago last month, NewYork City gave five buildings along W. 28th Street
landmark status. “Tin Pan Alley was the birthplaceof American popular music, defined by achievementsof songwriters and publishers of color… [it]paved the way for what would become ‘the Great
American Songbook’,” said Landmarks Preservation
Commission Chair Sarah Carroll of the block at thetime. “Together, these five buildings represent oneof the most important and diverse contributions topopular culture.”

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 11

FESTIVAL REPORTBELGRADEJAZZ FESTIVAL

JAZZ@THEPOINT
FESTIVAL

Isaiah Collier @Belgrade Jazz Festival

BY KEITH HOFFMAN

PHOTO BY CHRISTINE HOFFMAN

PHOTO BY TIM DICKESONBY THOMAS CONRAD

Sharel Cassity @Jazz@thePoint Festival

The Belgrade Jazz Festival can claim a history that
goes back to 1971. But the 2023 edition (Oct. 24-29) wasadvertised as the 39th. The explanation is that, becauseof the wars in the former Yugoslavia, the festival
went dark for 15 years, between 1991 and 2004. In the’70s and ’80s, Belgrade was an important stop on theEuropean festival circuit. Duke, Dizzy, Miles, Monkand Sonny all played there.
When the festival returned in 2005, it started
small, but over the years its profile has gradually risen.
The people who run it are dedicated and smart. They
include Artistic Director Vojislav Pantič, Program
Editor Dragan Ambrozić and festival board member
Milica Ševarlić. Every year they face challenges,
mostly budgetary, as Serbia is one of the poorest
countries in Europe. After the Yugoslav wars, Serbia
became a pariah in the world community and it has notentirely transcended that status. It is still not a memberof the European Union. Belgrade is not a romantic
tourist destination. It is a huge, gritty city of mostly
mean streets that, even late at night, are loud withtraffic. Every year, though, the festival surmounts its
challenges. Jazz crowds are intense, concerts are wellattended and the festival’s programming proves to be
in touch with the cutting edge of jazz as an art form. In
Belgrade, you are sure to make some new discoveries.
Case in point in this past edition of the festival:
Isaiah Collier, tenor saxophonist and multiinstrumentalist from Chicago. He played in Amerikana,
the smaller (300 seats), darker and funkier of the two
Belgrade Youth Center venues. (The other venue in theCenter is Velika Sala, a nice auditorium with 520 seats.)
Collier is 25, and just starting to generate a buzz. He
may be the next major voice in avant garde jazz. Helaid waste to the crowd in Belgrade. Many outcats play
only originals, but Collier made the inspired decision
to play “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, the Black national
anthem. His soaring calls and wild cries always
turned out to contain the famous hymn, which wastransfigured by Collier’s spiritual power. The song
has never sounded so passionate in its striving andaspiring. Collier’s drummer, Michael Shekwoaga Ode(the two have played and recorded together, including
as the duo, I AM), is also an exciting new talent.
Another case in point: Hugo Carvalhais, bassist
from Portugal. His sextet of atypical instrumentation(himself; two saxophonists, Fábio Almeida and Liudas
Mockunas; two keyboardists, Fernando Rodriguez andGabriel Pinto; drummer Mário Costa) played free jazz

As a tune finished at South Jersey Jazz Society’s(CONTINUED ON PAGE 37)(CONTINUED ON PAGE 37)

12 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

Jazz@thePoint Festival (Nov. 2-4), local Philly legend
Fostina Dixon looked up from her horn toward theback of a crowded Gregory’s Restaurant in Somers
Point, on the mainland outside of Atlantic City. “Is thatyou, Tommy Campbell?” In fairness, Campbell is hard
to miss anywhere, but in the low-ceilinged Gregory’s,
the famously tall world-class drummer seemed to haveto bend a bit as he ambled toward the front of theroom. He appeared not to be sure what he was walking
towards. Then recognition: “Fostina!” he called out, as
the two hugged.
“More than 30 years ago, I used to carry thiswoman’s baritone, just to get a little peck on thecheek—and a gig,” Campbell told the laughing room.
The third-most famous musician from Norristown, PA(Campbell’s uncle, organist Jimmy Smith and electricbassist Jaco Pastorius being the others) was home again,
playing “down the shore”. “Oh, we got to hit,” Campbell
concluded, and another Philly veteran, drummer Craig
McIver, was happy to give way to the inevitable.
And it was on. The after-party at Gregory’s was
now officially smoking. Richie Budesa launched into
the blues-soaked “Big Richie” written for his father, his
keyboard sounding for all the world like a Hammond
B3, Campbell’s hits mirroring Dixon’s wailing alto. For
the final chapter of the Jazz@thePoint Fall Festival, alto
saxophonist Sharel Cassity and trumpeter Freddie
Hendrix came up and just tore the roof off with “MoreToday Than Yesterday”, a perfect tune for the moment,
given that Philly organ legends Shirley Scott andCharles “The Mighty Burner” Earland both covered
the tune as a rolling shuffle in the soulful Philly organ
tradition.
Jazz@thePoint Festival Artistic Director Joe
Donofrio beamed as this year’s version of the festival(which was first held in 2004) came to a joyous end, withworld-class musicians sharing the stage with excellent
South Jersey/Philadelphia musicians and an adoring
crowd standing and shouting in appreciation of themagic it had just experienced. The festival punches
well above its weight because Donofrio is a serious
ringer. As the late guitarist Pat Martino’s longtime
manager for a quarter-century and a constant presencein Philadelphia recording studios, he knows just about
everyone. Through the years he’s attracted and booked
a level of talent that speaks for itself, even if in a small
venue in a small town, deep in southern New Jersey:
Mulgrew Miller, Jimmy Cobb, Chico Freeman, TheThurman Barker, a charter member of the AACM, has collaborated with Joseph Jarman, Muhal Richard Abrams,
Amina Claudine Myers, Anthony Braxton, Leroy Jenkins, Roscoe Mitchell,
Henry Threadgill, plus Sam Rivers and Cecil Taylor.
A celebrated percussionist who has built his career oninnovation, the drummer/percussionist’s C.V. spans decades,from jazz and blues to contemporary, classical and beyond,with a sound blurring traditionally rigid lines.

“Barker has the rare ability to make thunder intimate. If
there is an art to playing softly with intensity, there is also
an art to playing loudly with restive ease and he’s got it.”

— Chicago Sun Times“Barker’s sound on traps is invitingly warm but filled withtension between an early buoyancy and a brooding, dark,
blues drenched undercurrent… emotional nuance withdisplaced accents, sometimes funky and sexy, sometimes
marching and proud.”— CODA Magazine“Barker is the AACM’s equivalent of Philly Joe Jones.”— The Village VoiceDr. Muhal Richard Abrams had a lifelong impact on mydevelopment as a musician. He mentored me from the ageof 16. Watching Muhal carry out his duties as a pianist,
conducting the Experimental Band, performing with him
and watching him carry the weight of President of the
AACM, gave me the strength to become the person I am
today. That is the IMPACT! he had on me as a musician.

— Thurman Barker

upteeproductions.com

ALBUM REVIEWSJohn Zorn’s Olympiad, Volume 3: Pops Plays Pops
Eugene Chadbourne (Tzadik)
by Andrew Hamlin

N YC’s hyperactive John Zorn wrote The Book of Heads
in 1978. Structured as 35 etudes for solo guitar andscored with a combination of standard notation, helpful
hints and modern-day hieroglyphics, Zorn wrote it
originally for Eugene Chadbourne (who celebrates his
70th birthday this month), although both Marc Ribot
and Christoph Funabashi ended up recording it first.
Given at last his chance to let this hieroglyphic flag
fly, Chadbourne goes at it every inch with the spirit ofa man who plunks, plucks and occasionally snaps his
own strings, can tame feedback but prefers to let it run
free-range and finishes sets with an elaborate solo onelectric rake. The man “can out-Hendrix Hendrix,”
wrote one ’80s critic; and while only Hendrix is
Hendrix, Chadbourne found where Hendrix stopped
experimenting, and long ago pushed on, further, deeper.
He also solved the Hendrix dilemma of experimentation
vs. commercial appeal by cheerfully long ago flipping
the bird to the latter.
What’s here? A pocket universe of timbre. “Etude#23”, to pull an example more-or-less at random, harks
back to the jangly, silvery, sinister vibe Blind Willie
Johnson conjured for “I Know His Blood Can Make
Me Whole”: the spirit of ancient folk gospel calling toolder, holier figures out of deep time. “Etude #2” moves
quicksilver from a clonk that sounds like the amp
being switched on, to a melodic strum, glissandos, tapsnapping, the sound of a slide whistle morphing intoa wolf whistle, wet wiping up and down the strings,
drier tapping, what could be balloons scraped acrossthose strings, a short funky strut, shorter whistles and anoncommittal signoff. All in 2:33!
Longer pieces naturally may or may not vary morethan shorter ones: “Etude #35” confines itself to healthy,
sensible six-string exploration of the kind John Fahey
made his trademark, complete with soulful hummingin the background. “Etude #2”, on the other hand,plays up nonsensical gnome-like squeaks over burbling
dyspepsia from the six-string.
You’ll need extra time with this set. The multitudes
it contains run not only large, but deep, wide and, by
the end, trans-dimensional.
For more info visit tzadik.com

Nighttime Creatures
Angelica Sanchez Nonet (Pyroclastic)
by John Sharpe

P ianist Angelica Sanchez drew inspiration for thiscollection of nine originals and two covers performedby her Nonet from her experience staying in a secluded
cabin while teaching for several months in upstate
New York. Although night-time creatures might be thecatalyst, there are no nocturnal terrors here. Rather,the beings evoked are consistently stimulating andbenign even in their most out-there forms. To realize
her arrangements, she has assembled a starry castof her peers who also contribute telling passages ofindividual brilliance.
By sharing the written lines around, she gives theillusion of a much larger band. In particular, she utilizes
Ben Goldberg’s contralto clarinet to give distinctive heft
to the bottom end, amid darting horns that swerve fromchamber music to parade marches. But crucially she
still retains the flexibility of a small group, not least in
her ability to support and prompt from the piano stool.
Further grounding comes from Omar Tamez (guitar),
Sam Ospovat (drums) and the resonant counterpointof John Hébert (bass). From the dense plotting of“Wrong Door for Rocket Fuel”, via the spare voicingsof “Tristeza” (by Chilean composer Armando Carvajal),
to the polyphonic tumult of “Land Here”, Sanchez
explores the seemingly limitless possibilities inherent
in her mid-sized ensemble.
All the soloists acquit themselves admirably,
notably: Michaël Attias, whose airy then passionate
alto saxophone swoons through the lush reimaginingof Duke Ellington’s “Lady of the Lavender Mist”;
Goldberg, who spirals through the registers on the
opening title cut; and quarter-tone trumpeter Thomas
Heberer, an expressive presence on the slinky “Big
Weirdo”. Good as the solos are, the leader also programs
some fine duet sparring, including a twisting altercation
between Goldberg and Attias on the same cut, and arambunctious encounter between Chris Speed on tenor
and Ospovat on “Ringleader”. The pianist of course
demands attention too, demonstrating a percussive
touch allied to a lyrical imagination, especially on“Astral Light of Alarid”, a multifaceted dedication to
her late father.
Sanchez cites Carla Bley, Anthony Braxton, Muhal
Richard Abrams and Duke Ellington as influences, andit’s to her credit that her work doesn’t seem out of placein that elevated company.
For more info visit pyroclasticrecords.com. Sanchez is at
Owl Music Parlor with Kenneth Jimenez Jan. 7, Barbes with
Tony Malaby Jan. 12, Bar LunÀtico with Malaby Jan. 14
and Roulette with Brandon Ross Jan. 16. See Calendar.

Monochromes
Ingrid Laubrock (Intakt)
by Kurt Gottschalk

Last year was a good one for Ingrid Laubrock. She
ended 2023 in a saxophone duet with JD Allen as a partof Sculpting Sound, a program of improvised duos with
sculptures. (The set of six duets can still be streamed
via the Pyroclastic Records website.) She also released
a duo with Cecilia Lopez’ electronics, did a double duo
album with drummer Tom Rainey and Dutch power
couple Ab Baars (reeds) and Ig Henneman (viola) andrecorded and toured with Myra Melford’s exceptional
Fire & Water Quintet.
Another 2023 effort, The Last Quiet Place (released
by Pyroclastic last spring), hinted at more structured
ensemble arrangements in its nuanced textures. In June,
the Wet Ink Ensemble premiered her Fight, Flight, Freeze(that performance can be found on Laubrock’s YouTube
channel). The new Monochromes may not be Laubrock’s
first venture into more formalized composition, but it

14 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

is a remarkable piece of work that may prove to be asignificant album in her discography.
The single, 40-minute track is a thick chunk ofsound in four segments. The work is built aroundrecordings made during the Sculpting Sound shoot at
Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas. Both the audio andthe video incorporate sculptures made by artist andfurniture designer Harry Bertoia. After initial successdesigning wire chairs, Bertoia crafted “sonambient”
sculptures designed to make sound when vibrated by
the wind or struck by hand, and he released elevenalbums of recordings of his sculptures before his deathin 1978.
Laubrock, joined by Allen and writer/producer
David Breskin, made recordings on the sculptures(separate from the video performance) and crafted
one of the four tape pieces that provide the foundation
for Monochromes. Other tracks were created using
recordings of Adam Matlock’s accordion, Tom Rainey’s
drums and Nate Wooley’s trumpet. Laubrock, Rainey,
saxophonist Jon Irabagon and electric harpist Zeena
Parkins then played over the tapes. The resulting album
is as dense with sonic information as its origin story
makes it sound. It’s not an album for passive listening,but it’s hardly monochromatic. The record is rich withdetail, balancing soloists atop generally unidentifiablesounds. It’s an exciting listen, repeatedly rewarding thelistener’s focused attention.
Monochromes might not prove to be a pivotal album
for Laubrock. It might turn out to be some weird odd
disc she did way back when. But even still, it will endure
as a rarified example of improvised musique concrète, asubgenre that shouldn’t even make sense.
For more info visit intaktrec.ch. Laubrock is at Ibeam
Brooklyn with Shawn Lovato’s Biotic Jan. 5. See Calendar.

Ambrose Akinmusire—Owl Song (Nonesuch)
R •• Geri
Allen/Kurt Rosenwinkel—A Lovesome(Motéma Music/Heartcore)e • ThingFred Anderson Quartet—The Milwaukeec Tapes, Vol.2 (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Buck/Mark Nauseef—Mongrelso • Tony(Relative Pitch)m • Sylvie Courvoisier—Chimaera (Intakt)m • Harold Danko—Trillium (SteepleChase)
Dyberg Trio—Timestretch (Clean Feed)e •• Mia
Fjall—From The Rough Hill (Discus Music)n • Muriel Grossman—Devotion (Third Man)
Gantar—Amsterdam (Clean Feed)d •• Miha
Ron Horton—A Prayer for Andrew
e (Newvelle)
Entanglements—d • Irreversible
Protect Your Light (Impulse!)• Ahmad Jamal—Emerald City Nights: Live atn the Penthouse (1966-1968) (Jazz Detective)
Lazro/Benjamin Duboc/Mathieue • Daunik
Bec—Standards Combustion (Dark Tree)w • Charles Mingus—Mingus Takes Manhattan:
r
e
l
e
a
s
e
s

The Complete Birdland Dates (1961-1962)(No Land)• Sam Newsome/Jean-Michel Pilc—
Cosmic Unconsciousness (Somenewmusic)• Angelica Sanchez Nonet—
Nighttime Creatures (Pyroclastic)• Adam Schroeder/Mark Masters—
CT! (Adam Schroeder & Mark Masters
Celebrate Clark Terry) (Capri)• Trio San (Satoko Fujii/Taiko Saito/
Yuko Oshima)—Hibiki (Jazzdor)• Benjamín Vergara & Amanda Irarrázabal—Último Sosiego (577 Records)

Live at LunÀtico
Arthur Kell Speculation Quartet (Origin)by George Grella

It can be good to be the boss. Bassist Arthur Kell is

one of the owners of the music venue Bar LunÀtico in
Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, which is a convenient way to bookhis quartet and make a live recording. This isn’t poking
fun, but to say it can be hard for worthwhile musicians
to even get an audience, much less release an album
and Kell and his group are very much worth hearing as
this album attests.
The lineup features two guitars (Brad Shepik andNate Radley), bass and drums (Allan Mednard), a lineup that will remind many of Marc Johnson’s Bass Desires(with Bill Frisell and John Scofield). The first main track
after the intro, “Haflat Zifaf”, is unmistakably inspiredby “Samurai Hee-Haw” (from Bass Desires) sharing
similar combinations of rhythm, scale material andeven instances of stacking two guitarists.
This is a light-footed group, working withstraight-eighths, rock and, on a couple tracks, 12/8
rhythms, right in the pocket of modern jazz with someinternational flavor. Even when the guitars grow more
intense, there’s no concession to rock. The guitarists
work together; there’s no indication in the release who
is in what channel, but the two aren’t widely separated
and their parts intertwine so much that there’s little in
the way to tell who is passing off what to whom.
That’s of little concern. Radley is always a welcomepresence, and Shepik is criminally under-recorded,making this a valuable addition to his discography.
But this is a band album, and Kell’s quartet is a fineunit whose members take audible joy in working witheach other. The leader wrote all of the material: some isprosaic, but “Haflat Zifaf”, “Dry Delta” and “Lullaby”
are distinctive, the latter featuring a charming solofrom the bassist. And the band shows all its range andstrength on “Pisciotta Blue”.
For more info visit originarts.com. Kell’s album release
concert is at Smalls Jan. 31. See Calendar.

Stravaganze consonanti
Gianluigi Trovesi/Stefano Montanari (ECM)
by Tyran Grillo

Italian reed virtuoso Gianluigi Trovesi—who turns 80

this month—and baroque violinist Stefano Montanari(doubling here as concertmaster) lead an ensemble ofperiod instruments for a fresh take on the music of
the 15th through 17th centuries. Meshing melodies
from towering figures of the Renaissance and Baroquewith equally visionary interpretations, the program
manages to carve new initials into old pillars without
marring their beauty. Some new compositions by
Trovesi, plus a couple of improvisations with Fulvio
Maras (percussion, electronics), complete the mix.

The album’s title, which translates as “consonant
extravagances,” offers an accurate description of what
is happening sonically, creatively and even spiritually.
“The Witches’ Dance” (from Henry Purcell’s opera Dido
and Aeneas) leads off on a courtly foot. Purcell makesa handful of appearances throughout, most gorgeously
as a motivic inspiration for Trovesi’s “For a While”.
Like all of his pieces, it benefits from the robustness
of Corrado Guarino’s arrangements, which takeadvantage of the period instrument ensemble underMontanari’s charge. The latter brings the crispnessof strings to “Consonanze stravaganti” by Giovanni
Maria Trabaci (an influence on Girolamo Frescobaldi),
Guillaume Dufay’s Missa L’homme armé and a sonata by
Giovanni Battista Buonamente. Whether threading his
alto through Andrea Falconieri’s “La suave melodia”
or revealing his compositional wonders in “L’ometto
disarmato” and the alto clarinet jaunt of “Bergheim”,
Trovesi is a force of nature shapeshifting between songand cry on the turn of a dime. If the past is alive in hissound, then so is the future.
For more info visit ecmrecords.com

JAN 3

SHENEL JOHNS: A PORTRAIT OF DINAH WASHINGTONJAN 4MATHIS PICARD SOUND ORCHESTRAJAN 5–7

GBD TRIO: MARK WHITFIELD, BOB HURST,
AND JEFF “TAIN” WATTS
JAN 8–9

YES TRIO FEAT. ALI JACKSON, JR., AARON GOLDBERG,
AND OMER AVITAL
JAN 10MIHO HAZAMA AND M-UNIT
JAN 11

SEAN MASON QUARTET
JAN 12–13

SPECIAL JALC EVENT: THE UNITY FESTIVAL
JAN 14MARIUS VAN DEN BRINK 5PM
STELLA COLE 7:30PM & 9:30PM
JAN 15–16

SACHAL VASANDANIGood Evening Cats!
Gunhild Carling (s/r)
by Scott Yanow

G unhild Carling is a remarkable musician, and insome ways could be considered the Rahsaan Roland
Kirk of today. She can play three trumpets at once
for a full chorus, sounds quite credible on harmonica,
recorder and even bagpipes, has been known to play aduet with herself on trumpet and banjo, and can singin styles ranging from Billie Holiday to Cab Calloway.
She is quite an entertainer, who also dances, has astrong sense of humor and stage presence.
Also like Rahsaan, Carling is far from a novelty
act. She is a very talented swing-based soloist equallyskilled on trumpet and trombone in addition to being
an excellent songwriter. Good Evening Cats! features
Carling performing six of her originals and fourstandards with a group that includes Billy Stritch(piano), Steve Doyle (bass), Daniel Glass (drums) and,on various selections, her two daughters (Idun Carling,trombone; Nanna Carling, soprano), her husband
Johan Blome (banjo), her niece Viggo Blome (clarinet),
Jason Bellenkies (alto, tenor) and, on three songs, a pairof violinists.
The performances are colorful and generally
exciting. The rollicking title track (a relative of “You’re
Driving Me Crazy”) has a joyful vocal and trumpet
solo. In addition to her top-notch ballad singing, theleader takes an expressive trombone solo (think Tommy
Dorsey) on “My Lovin’ Heart Can’t Forget”, plays a hotrecorder solo (in the key of B!) on “Mack the Knife” andbrings back the spirit of Lady Day on the bittersweet“Love Song from the Attic”. Other highlights include
several tuneful originals (her heated trumpet on“Million Stars Are Out Tonight” should not be missed),her fine singing on “La Vie En Rose”, and a cover of
Jobim’s “Wave”.
Anyone with an interest in swing or New Orleans
jazz should definitely check out the unique Gunhild
Carling.
For more info visit gunhildcarling.net. Carling is at Birdland
Jan. 16-18. See Calendar.

JAN 17

THE MAESTRO: CELEBRATING CEDAR WALTON AT 90
JAN 18

DONALD VEGA QUARTET
JAN 19–20

DOMO BRANCH AND BRANCHIN’ OUT:
MEMBERS DON’T GIT WEARY
JAN 21

SONGBOOK SUNDAYS: FRANK LOESSER
JAN 22JJ JOHNSON CENTENNIAL TRIBUTE
WITH THE STEVE DAVIS QUINTETJAN 23

SAMMY MILLER AND THE CONGREGATION BIG BAND
JAN 24JO HARROP WITH SPECIAL GUEST JUMAANE SMITH
AND FRIENDS
JAN 25–28

REUNION TRIO FEAT. BRUCE FORMAN, JOHN CLAYTON& JEFF HAMILTON
JAN 29JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER YOUTH ORCHESTRAJAN 30A CELEBRATION OF WOMEN IN JAZZ, CURATED BY
ALEXA TARANTINO AND CECILE MCLORIN SALVANTJAN 31–FEB 1

JOSH EVANS BIG BAND: MUSIC OF THE DIASPORAJAZZ.ORG/DIZZYS
7PM & 9PM
SUNDAYS 5PM & 7:30PM

212.258.9595
BROADWAY AT 60TH ST.

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 15

Artificial Intelligence
Ivo Perelman/Elliott Sharp (Mahakala)by Elijah Shiffer

It’s a bit of a surprise that Artificial Intelligence is the first

JAN 12–13

THE UNITY JAZZ FESTIVAL

1 Weekend. 3 Venues. 15 acts. Experience Jazz at Lincoln
Center’s inaugural Unity Jazz Festival, featuring Scatterthe Atoms That Remain, Chief Adjuah, Linda May Han Oh,
Endea Owens, Summer Camargo, and more incredible
artists leading acoustic ensembles and electric projects.
Doors open at 6pm.

JAN 19–20 ROSE THEATER

MAX ROACH CENTENNIAL:
THE JLCO WITH WYNTON MARSALIS

Celebrate the centennial of the great drummer, band leader,and activist Max Roach (1924–2007), a leader in the civilrights and social justice movements whose no-limits virtuosityand endless musicality render him a legend of modern
drumming.

JAN 26–27 THE APPEL ROOMTHE BLUES WITH BOBBY RUSH
AND SHEMEKIA COPELAND

Join two-time Grammy Award winner and Blues Hall of Famer
Bobby Rush alongside multi-Grammy-nominated vocalist
Shemekia Copeland for an evening of down-home blues.
A legendary singer, harmonicist, and guitarist, Rush brings
soulful storytelling, gritty vocals, and stylish fingerpicking
to The Appel Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s striking indoor
amphitheater.

FEB 2–3 ROSE THEATER

recorded meeting of tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman andguitarist/multi-instrumentalist Elliott Sharp. Both aremasters of free improvisation who have lent their unique
voices to countless settings over the decades. On thisalbum’s four extended tracks, Perelman and Sharp (whoconcentrates on guitar here with some electronic effects)
collaborate as a very tight duo. Their respective, individual
styles are already fascinating in any situation, but together
they create something truly riveting.
This is a mature style of improvising, coming froma place of melody and harmony despite both players’
repertoires of extended techniques. Artificial Intelligence isa fitting title, at least with the associations of this term ina visual arts context; Sharp’s playing in particular is fullof uncanny flickerings between tonality and abstraction.
Perelman occupies a similar space at the beginnings of“Part Two” and “Part Three”, where his lines display asort of alternate-universe romanticism. In the playful “PartFour”, both players dig into extended techniques while
simultaneously infusing their improvising with a bit of blues
vocabulary. Perelman blows on only his mouthpiece formuch of the track; toward the middle he creates a charming
approximation of melody, like an R&B tenor saxophonist
who has lost the rest of the instrument.
Sharp can make his sound tiny with acoustic scrapes
and boings, or huge with immersive electronic noise-scapes.
But the transitions between textures on this album, and thelengths of time the two devote to exploring each texture, arejust as varied as the textures themselves. This duo can turnon a dime (five minutes into “Part One” is a great example)
or climb gradually from balladic plains onto mountains
of noise. A range of textures and transitions as vast as
this requires deep listening on the part of the musicians,
and Perelman and Sharp certainly have the necessary
experience. Even though this is a first-time encounter (andhopefully not last), their improvisations prove to always beclosely interconnected.
For more info visit mahakalamusic.com. Sharp is at Barbès Jan. 8
and Nublu Jan. 24. See Calendar.

MASTERS OF FORM:
DUKE, JELLY ROLL, AND MINGUS

FEATURING THE JLCO WITH WYNTON MARSALIS AND
SPECIAL GUEST ANDY FARBER

Explore sublime works from sound architects Duke Ellington,
Jelly Roll Morton, and Charles Mingus, and new music inspiredby structural architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Begin the evening
with thrilling arrangements from the JLCO with Wynton
Marsalis, music directed by Vincent Gardner; then enjoy
the premiere of special guest Andy Farber’s ambitious suite
Usonian Structures.
This program is presented as part of the Ertegun Jazz Concert Series.

MAX ROACH

Photo courtesy of the Frank Driggs Collection

212.721.6500
BROADWAY AT 60TH ST., 5TH FL.

Dream Louder
Rotem Sivan (s/r)
by Elliott Simon

Guitarist Rotem Sivan’s Dream Louder is more than a forum

for his impressive virtuosity and succeeds on multiple
levels. Sivan hails from Israel, but NYC has been his homefor over a decade, and he is widely recognized as a dazzlingtechnician. Here, he showcases his chops, but they arebalanced by compositional skill, leadership and a cohesive
dynamic that results in a unified celebration of familial andmusical connections. Completing an international trio are

16 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORDNew Zealander Hamish Smith (bass), prominently featured
in the mix, and NYC wunderkind Miguel Russell (drums).
“The Tree—For Hilde”, a piece dedicated to Sivan’s
mother-in-law, opens with ethereal harmonics creating agentle atmosphere. Smith’s emotive bass blends with guest
Luke Krafka’s subtle whistling and Sivan’s intricate guitar
work to create a melodic representation of a tender spirit.
In the same way, “Anneleen”, a delicate ode to the leader’ssister-in-law, emerges as a music box of grace and beauty.
Sami Stevens’ wordless vocals intertwine with flowing
chords to paint a tapestry that reflects complex familial
relationships.
“Luc” pays homage to Sivan’s father-in-law andintroduces a more energetic texture, with weighty bass andshifting moods. Here, bass takes center stage, providing afoundation for explorative guitar runs. “Magis” likewiseis robust, offering a rocking acknowledgment of Sivan’s
brother-in-law, while “Lore Luv”, for his wife, resists
easy classification, as it navigates through moments of
mysterious elegance and bursts of heavy metal thunder.
“The Hamish” epitomizes the trio’s synergy and is astandout moment. With its funky/blues vibe and spiritedinterchanges, the track exemplifies the power of musicalconnection and camaraderie. It moves beyond a dedication
to a celebration of shared artistic expression. In addition
to Sivan’s original compositions, The Beatles’ “Blackbird”(Lennon/McCartney), Jean Ritchie’s “West Virginia Mine
Disaster” and Kurt Weill’s “Mack the Knife” are reimagined.
Sivan’s interpretations integrate these classics into thenarrative, but the session truly shines on the originals.
For more info visit rotemsivan.com. Sivan is at Bees Knees
Thursdays. See Calendar.

Meets Hank Jones, Vol. 1
Steve Davis (Smoke Sessions)by Keith Hoffman

Although animated, John Lee was practically whispering
into the phone. The bassist and proprietor of JLP Studio inSouth Orange, NJ, wanted trombonist Steve Davis in his
living room studio as soon as humanly possible. “Hank
Jones is here at the piano,” Lee told Davis. Despite nearly
two decades on the scene by 2006, Davis had never playedwith the venerable pianist, the eldest and last surviving
brother of Detroit’s remarkable Jones Family, trumpeter
Thad and drummer Elvin having passed previously.
Defying both common sense and the motor vehicle laws of
New Jersey, Davis arrived quickly, trombone case in hand.
Jones apparently liked what he heard and a live datefollowed, then Eloquence on JLP. On June 17, 2008, Davisand Jones brought in bassist Peter Washington to mirror theswing of the piano/bass combos appearing at Bradley’s—“plus me trying not to mess things up,” Davis joked recently.
One month later, Hank Jones celebrated his 90th birthday.
The resulting album is available now on vinyl from
Smoke Sessions (the venue’s in-house label), as well as
streaming. The master musicians in this drummerless trio
share the philosophy that the best improvisation consistsof variations on a theme, that theme being the melody.
Consisting mostly of standards, the date swings frombeginning to end with unerring beauty, taste and soul. The
lone original, written by Jones in the ’70s, is the fantastic
uptempo “Interface”, which the inveterately playful 1989
NEA Jazz Master called “In-Yo-Face”. It’s a simple minor
blues until a wholly unexpected whole tone progression
appears. “That’s Hank,” Davis marveled. “He always hada twist.”Beyond the lightness and presence revealed by a decent
record-playing system, the great advantages of the releasein the LP format are the excellent liner notes by Ted Panken(which you can actually read without squinting), and thefull-sized cover art by the great contemporary artist of
jazz, Andres Chaparro. In the liners, Washington observes
that even after an excellent take Jones would insist that hecould improve an intro or outro, and then play an entirely
different version on the next take. “It was the most amazing
thing I’ve ever seen,” says Washington. This is the bassist
who played with Tommy Flanagan for nearly a decade. Letthat sink in. Bring on Vol. 2!

Bruno Råberg . Look Insidesolo bass

For more info visit smokesessionsrecords.com. Davis is at Birdlandwith “The Octet Celebrates Frank Wess” Jan. 2-7, Dizzy’s
Club for a “J.J. Johnson Centennial Tribute” Jan. 22, Mezzrow
Jan. 26-27 and Smalls Jan. 27. See Calendar.

Visitation of Spirits: The Pyramid Trio Live, 1985
Roy Campbell/William Parker/Zen Matsuura (NoBusiness)by Stuart Broomer

Bassist William Parker and the late trumpeter Roy Campbell(who died ten years ago this month) enjoyed a long and close
musical partnership. They played together in the collective
quartet Other Dimensions in Music with Daniel Carter andRashid Bakr for over 30 years, and Campbell was a constantpresence in Parker’s large ensembles. The Pyramid Trio,however, presents the essence of their partnership.
The group, under Campbell’s leadership, released threealbums during its history, with Parker a constant presence:
Communion, from 1994, with Reggie Nicholson on drums;
Ancestral Homeland, from 1998, with Zen Matsuura; the last,Ethnic Stew and Brew, in 2000, with Hamid Drake. Visitation of
Spirits, recorded in 1985 (with Matsuura) presses the grouphistory almost a decade closer to its beginnings in 1981. The
band’s identity is already fully formed, and some Campbell
compositions heard on later recordings are already in thebook, including “Vigilance” (later heard on Communion);“Brother Yusef” (Ancestral Homeland) and “Imhotep” (Ethnic
Stew and Brew).
The dedicatees of Campbell’s compositions from thetrio’s other albums are keys to the music’s character: Don
Cherry, Hannibal Marvin Peterson, Alan Shorter, Yusef
Lateef and Albert and Don Ayler. Campbell is a passionate,
melodic player, equally committed to expression and clarity
with a complementary interest in world music (mostly
African and Middle Eastern). The music is emotionallydirect, essentially rhythmic and almost minimalist, as true to
Parker’s mission as Campbell’s; it tends to focus on rhythm
and voice, with Matsuura an additional strong presence.
From the opening bars of “Charmaine”, the music is
intense and sustained; three of the five tracks run over fifteen
minutes. Parker’s bass lines define the music’s architecture,and there are strong connections to blues and to early jazz.
Campbell’s splintering, emotive lines can suggest Cherryor Alan Shorter, but there’s also the spirit of early jazztrumpeters, a declarative, brassy emphasis on fundamentals
suggesting pioneering voices. “Imhotep” is particularly
subtle, with an expansive—even noble—calm, while“Vigilance” is the most powerful statement: it’s forcefuland determined, featuring Campbell and Matsuura’s mostdramatic performances.

For more info visit nobusinessrecords.com. Parker is at Ertegun
Atrium Jan. 13 as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Unity Festival,
Nublu Jan. 18 as part of Winter Jazzfest and Theater for the New City
Jan. 31 as part of Arts for Art’s Out Music Festival. See Calendar.

Honorable Mention
Best of 2023
NYC Jazz Record"This is bass playing at its most enchanting.”
Ian Patterson, All About Jazz
“Bass virtuoso Bruno Råberg's remarkable new solo
recording, showcasing his deep, resonant timbre.”
Kevin Lowenthal, Boston Globe

Orbis Music Records
brunoraberg.com
brunoraberg.bandcamp.com
THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 17

G LO B E U N I T Y

Shinjuku
Bo van de Graaf (icdisc)una ofrenda a la ausencia
Camila Nebbia (Relative Pitch)
Vol. II
Berghäll Brothers Big Band (Boulder Music Helsinki)
by Daniel A. Brown

A universal requirement of jazz is the ability to play

well with others. Technical proficiency, active listening,
intuition, conversational interplay—even restraint—
are all factors that bring cohesion and clarity to theperformance stage and recording studio. However,running in tandem with that paradigm is the role of thesoloist. From the earliest days of the stride piano of Willie“The Lion” Smith and others, to Eric Dolphy’s incendiarytakes on “God Bless the Child” and the overdubbed
solos of Bill Evans’ Conversations with Myself, some jazzartists have chosen to perform with their greatest allyand nemesis: themselves. This month, we focus on threeinternational jazz musicians who all share a unique vision
and approach in going it alone.
Shinjuku, the recent album by Dutch saxophonist
Bo van de Graaf, is both a memoir and a technologicaletude. Taking its title from the first venue in Japan whereJohn Coltrane performed in 1966, van de Graaf explainsthat the album was in part inspired by listening to a
mid ’70s recording of one of his earliest forays into live
improvisation. On “Benny Golson” he turns the tenor blues
into soulful elasticity, a concise study of breath, brass andgliding octave shifts. Using overdubbed electronicallyprocessed alto saxophone, “Ruhig” features a bedrockof cryptic minor-key melodies over which he offers
somber commentaries of sustained tones, bent notes andglimmers of traditional jazz phrasing. While the releasealso includes tracks featuring van de Graaf performing
in ensembles, the solo excursions offer listeners more aheightened focus on his creative vision.
Argentinian, Berlin-based tenor saxophonist Camila
Nebbia is a DIY polymath and activist who works inmusic, spoken word and multidisciplinary arts. On her
recent full-length una ofrenda a la ausencia (“an offering
to absence”) she fuses these aesthetic threads together togreat effect. As “Dejo que me lleve” unfurls, Nebbia toys
with gurgling, cooing tones from her horn, emitting ampfeedback overtones with a series of brief melodies that riseand fall. The fever dream of “Ríos que se cruzan” is jazzdistilled into pure abstraction, where she sketches upperregister cries over a shimmering electronic drone. The 16
tracks range from clamorous to contemplative, but they
are innately human and personal, and Nebbia continues
to surprise listeners with a passionate approach to jazz.
The most conventional album of the three is thelatest from Berghäll Brothers Big Band: Vol. II. Despite thebandname, this is indeed a solo project. It’s the brainchildof Finnish reedsman Joakim Berghäll, who plays anarsenal of instruments including keyboards, guitar, bass,
drums, percussion and cello. His compositions boast
the same fearless tenacity as large-ensemble works by
Carla Bley. On the crescendo of the noir-style “Dolores”,
Berghäll digs deep into his horn, building up to a soulful
wail that is akin to the sound of a police car arriving toolate to the crime scene. In total, the album has a suite-like
quality, and while Berghäll routinely hires side players for
his Brothers Big Band work, he uses the recording studioand his own technical and melodic prowess to great effect.
For more info visit toondist.nl/icdisc.html,
relativepitchrecords.com and joakimberghall.fi

Through a Sonic Prism:
The Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim
Doug Richards Orchestra (s/r)
by Marilyn Lester

Spiritual Drum KingshipKresten Osgood/Bob Moses/Tisziji Muñoz(Gotta Let It Out)by Brian CharetteO ver the many decades of his life, Brazilian pianist,
guitarist, songwriter, arranger and singer Antônio
Carlos (Tom) Jobim (who passed away 30 years ago
and would have turned 97 this month) was amazingly
prolific—and popular. He was also the main force
behind bossa nova, which came to prominence inthe early ’60s, and which encapsulates the Brazilian
philosophy of happiness and “no stress.” In Througha Sonic Prism: The Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim,
Doug Richards and his orchestra have rendered
the magic of Jobim toothless. Bossa nova is derived
from samba, whose beat is 2/4 or 4/4 in a fast,spirited style, played “son clave,” which createsa syncopated cross-rhythm. Bossa nova takes thatbeat and emphasizes beat two. In this offering, thisbasic musical foundation is ignored.
Make no mistake, the orchestra is tight andprofessional—top class. The problem is it’s mostly
brass and woodwinds. The Jobim-ness, the brasileiro
core of the music, is absent. Aside from a relegatedguitar there’s not a güiro, foxé, cuica or berimbau—
staples of Brazilian musical repertoire—to befound. Of the 14 tracks, a few approach a bossa
beat, though detecting it somewhat strains theimagination. For those who truly admire and love
Jobim, and understand the power of Brazilian
music, the treatment of the classic and very wellknown “Meditação”, entirely brass-heavy, might
drive listeners to knock back a couple shots ofcachaça.
The high point of Through a Sonic Prism is vocalist
Laura Ann Singh, who brightens up most of the cuts(ten of the fourteen). Singh is a multilingual singer
who specializes in música popular brasileira and Latinboleros. In engaging her, Richards made the smartest
choice of this enterprise. Her vocal tone is pure andclear. It’s incredibly reminiscent of the great singers
of Jobim’s era, such as Elis Regina, Maria Bethania,
Leny Andrade and most especially Gal Costa. Her
Portuguese is perfect and transformative. Her
interpretation of “Se Todos Fossem Iguala a Você”
captures the lyric’s story perfectly. In translation,
the title is “If Everyone Was Just Like You”. It’s nota love song, but a wish that peace would come to
the world if the goodness in the person who’s theobject of the song was shared by all. Even for those
who know nothing of the language, the tone andmood are on point. On the popular “Insensatez”,
Singh demonstrates her range and mastery of vocal
dynamics, breathing much-needed life into thesetunes, and hence the album.
Taken for what it is—a Doug Richards-centricendeavor—this album will please liberal andforgiving listeners. Richards is a creative andtalented arranger. The music is sophisticated in its
way, with multi-layered arrangements featuring
elements of dissonance and contrapuntal contrasts,
played by superb musicians. But this album reworks
the material to Richards’ own tastes. It’s radical,
if not misguided, and the question is, how many
listeners will truly appreciate this approach?

S piritual Drum Kingship is a provocative new album

For more info visit dougrichardsmusic.com

18 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

from the trio of guitarist Tisziji Muñoz (who supplies
all of the tonal colors and chords often with ripping
distortion), drummer Kresten Osgood (additionally an
incredible Hammond organist) and iconic drummer/
percussionist Bob Moses (a genius of unorthodox
drumming).
The album opener “When Purple Bangs True”
starts with changing chord qualities and a low “E”
drone from Muñoz. Percolating drum clouds startto emerge in churning tom rolls and sticked cymbal
hits. As the guitarist starts to shred, the drums growin intensity then cut out abruptly. Osgood, whosechildlike enthusiasm is coupled with powerful
technique and effortless finesse, and Moses are soin tune with each other it actually sounds like one
four-armed Ganesha drumming iconoclast. A hint ofsymmetrical diminished from Muñoz is washed in big
cymbals. “Bone Rolling Moans” is higher in the guitar
register and in thirds, with slick hand percussion
from the two drummers. A triadic melody becomesthe framework as 4th intervals and side pick tricks getsome real estate too. British invasion harmonics fromthe guitarist set up a groove then slip into alteredside-stepping pentatonics. Deep bends scream andcry in some of the best fast passages and lines on thealbum. 440hz feedback is the only accompaniment
behind the interstellar drum solo. The overdrive on
the guitar has a Black Sabbath Tony Iommi, Marshall
Plexi vibe. Both drummers know they don’t need tohit too hard as cinched hi-hat puts a point on the tom
and cymbal musings.
“Spirit Time: Exhalations” has a major pentatonic
melody that slowly climbs and grows in intensity
until it’s way up on the neck. Low stabs sneak in à
la Hendrix while Muñoz seamlessly combines guitar
tricks with great melodies and rocks out. The middle
section of the piece changes direction, its slower pulse
propelled by snare rolls and open-string hammer-ons.
This section is faintly reminiscent of the orchestral dinof Frank Zappa’s Uncle Meat. High string-smashing
explodes into drumgasm as Moses (whose rolledoff snare and homemade sticks always bring a fresh
drumming perspective to every group he plays with)and Osgood double-time a hint of swing, which theguitarist answers with pickup selector switch clicking.
“The Heart-String Sermon” opens into a pedal point
solo guitar and baroque sequence. Cool harmonics
are created with every picking and string touch from
Muñoz, providing even more motivic material for his
collaborators to capitalize on.
This album is a lone wolf, and you probably don’t
have one quite like it in your collection. Moses (whose
three lovely paintings adorn the album’s packaging)perhaps sums it up best in the liner notes: “This music
is frightening. Cataclysmic, Catastrophic God fire
all soul guitar over thunderous tsunami Mt. Everest
rainbow drums.”
For more info visit gottaletitout.com. Muńoz is at Le
Poisson Rouge with the “The Harvest Time Project”
Pharoah Sanders tribute Jan. 12, part of Winter Jazzfest.
See Calendar.

B OXED SE T

RITES (Alto Saxophone Solos 2003-2023)
Seymour Wright (s/r)
by Stuart Broomer

English saxophonist Seymour Wright’s name may

not be well known in America… yet. But he is anincreasingly significant figure in European free jazzand improvised music. A key participant in Eddie
Prévost’s workshops and small groups, Wright has
been active for two decades. Along the way, he hasrecorded duet albums with both Evan Parker (Tie theStone to the Wheel) and Nate Wooley (About Trumpet andSaxophone), and he has also contributed an 18-minutesolo performance to Wooley’s latest major project,
Four Experiments.
Wright’s recent group activities are signal eventsin current free jazz. He’s a member of ‫[ دمحأ‬Ahmed], acollective quartet with Pat Thomas (piano), Joel Grip(bass) and Antonin Gerbal (drums) that is reworking
Ahmed Abdul-Malik’s fusion of jazz and Middle
Eastern music circa 1960. Last year, XT (Wright’s
duo with drummer Paul Abbott) and Thomas
released a two-LP homage to the Cecil Taylor Trio’s
1973 masterpiece Akisakila, integrating both theirown visions and interview tapes of Taylor into theperformance.
RITES’ four CD-set here can inspire comparison
with the most dauntingly original and expansive ofsaxophone recordings, e.g., the two LPs of Anthony
Braxton’s For Alto (1969) and the boxed set of Evan
Parker’s Collected Solos (1989) which gathered his
four Incus solo albums. The methodologies Wright
has absorbed might stretch to Harry Partch’s playing
a clarinet with a vacuum cleaner and John Butcher
holding up an amplified soprano saxophone to aparticularly strong wind on a Scottish beach. In
Wright’s case, it’s three saxophones played by electricfans with microphone feedback! Endlessly punningon his name (“write,” “right”, “rite”), Wright’s RITES
are just that, occasions of ceremony and invocation,
mystery and transformation.
If some schools of improvisers (most moreconservative than Wright) tend to distance themselvesfrom the “jazz” label, Wright pays insistent homage tofigures from the tradition, whether referencing Tina
Brooks or quoting Duke Ellington on Johnny Hodges’
use of the term “kitchen” to describe his storehouse oftechniques and sounds. Meanwhile, even at the outsetof his practice, Wright employs some of the mostradical methodologies ever applied to a saxophone.
The earliest disc in this set, titled Ancient Rites (20032008), begins with “New Cross”, which sounds like thesaxophone is played percussively with something likeelectric swizzle sticks. The 16-minute long “Brixton[‘Lost Wright 3’]” (2005) might be percussion music,
electronic music or collage as well as saxophonemusic. The works can exploit mouth sounds, a scraped
saxophone, humming into the instrument, objects
struck against the saxophone, pad click percussion withunarticulated mouth percussion and interior miking.
The specifics may be unclear from the audio record,
but Wright was already mounting an exploration of
the alto comparable to the multiple reinventions of

the piano undertaken since John Cage’s first leap into
preparing the instrument.
The second disc, (If) I Remember Rites, leaps ahead
to 2020; the gap is covered by three previous individual
releases (Seymour Wright of Darby, 2008; Seymour Writes
Back, 2014; Is This Right?, 2017). He describes the fourpieces as a connected suite, but the assemblage withineven a single piece is daunting to describe. “Futility
Rite” (2020) suggests entrapment in a tunnel, whether
subway or saxophone. Sounds familiar but unspecific(horn honks that are both a honking horn and things
resembling horns honking) emerge in a kind of
station (saxophone as mine disaster?); amplified
acoustic sounds pass increasingly into the electronic,
seemingly both real and imitated. It’s a compoundthat can suggest or include backwards recordings,
electronic pops, even the accumulated environmental
saxophone sounds from Werner Ludi’s memorable
first trip to the Lucendro Dam to John Butcher’s mostrecent foray into epic architecture. But all of thiswas recorded in the Café Oto Project Room and later
assembled into its present form by Wright. It may not
be a single improvisation, but it is music assembled
from improvisation.
Other “Remember Rites”, heard here in arecording made in an empty Café Oto during the 2020
COVID-19 lockdown, were previously released as adownload. “Natural Rite [angle]” has the saxophone
coming in contact with a window, shutters, a radiatorand a wall, while “Knot Rite” is achieved by means of
three amplified altos played by fans, which feed backdifferently based on their room placement.
At their most daunting, these RITES can begin asa virtual amusement park ride only to wander into
territory increasingly strange. Among the pieces on thethird CD, Seasonal Rites (2017-2023), “Vernal on Brumal
Rite” (2022 and 2023) stands out for its overdubbingof two performances of the same piece, with longsilences and shifting relations between the mirrored
sonic events of the two versions. It begins as a seriesof harsh sustained notes in which the superimpositionof sustained sounds combines the gritty gauze of bothhorns into an industrial roar. This eventually gives
way to accordion-like intrusions, overlapping twonote phrases and increasingly mysterious complexity,
ultimately achieving an uncanny combinationof unisons, short glissandi and chords that defy
speculation—an unpredictable and unknowable worldthat remains so before your ears until its conclusion.
“Stoke Newington (2023b.)” from the fourth
CD, Real and Imaginary Rites (2022-2023), includes
a credit to someone for supplying a hydrophone,
no doubt necessary for the watery recording of an
extraordinarily bubbly overlay of pad clicks andotherwise unidentifiable sounds. Wright doesn’t makeexcuses about making high art. His brief notes here
are as arcane as symbolist poetry and as fascinatingly
allusive and elusive. The centerpiece of the album’s
artwork is a diagram based on saxophone keys
consisting of images coded to pitches and signaling
sources and influences, from John Coltrane playing
shakuhachi to a cross-sectional photo of molds
growing in a saxophone’s interior.
If the most extensive revisionings of saxophone
technique and sonic possibilities in the past 50
years have arisen in England, from Evan Parker’s
continuous polyphony through Butcher’s use ofaberrant architectures as mutes, amplifiers andcollaborators, then Wright’s additions, including fans
and furnishings, mark him as another major figure ina still-expanding tradition.
For more info visit seymourwright.bandcamp.com

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 19

UNEARTHED GEM

Duo in Concert
Derek Bailey & Paul Motian (Frozen Reeds)
by Kurt GottschalkA never before released duo recording by Derek
Bailey and Paul Motian has a built-in audience. In fact,given what might fairly be presumed to be a narrowoverlap between their quite faithful fan bases, there
are two built-in audiences. The record sells itself. The
question is, what’s in the box?
Bailey (born 94 years ago this month andpassing away Christmas Day 2005) is, of course, thegranddaddy of British free improvisation, and isrevered by many to this day for creating an altogether
unique approach to the guitar, for breaking free fromthe established languages of music-making and forhelping to bring the spirit of the American free jazz
movement into the U.K. and Europe. Motian (19312011) is well known for his associations (from Bill
Evans to Keith Jarrett to Bill Frisell); for his own bands,
which launched many high-profile jazz careers; andfor freeing drummers from the role of timekeeper. The
two early ’90s performances documented here are theonly known instances of the two sharing a stage, andare certainly the only recordings to have surfaced.
Inside the physical box is an LP (there’s no CD
release) containing the duo’s December 7, 1990
Holland concert as part of JazzMarathon at De
Oosterpoort, in Groningen. The recording is warm andthe playing even warmer. Bailey often played against
the grain of his duo partners. Here that tendency istempered, and the feeling is that it’s out of respect, notcaution. The result is a genial conversation between
two agreeable, if not entirely like-minded, musicians
who know how (and care enough) to find a middle
ground between Motian’s jazzier tendencies andBailey’s inclination to break down any tendencies.
The digital box (available separately and included
with the physical release) adds a 52-minute set fromthe New Music Café in New York City on December
19, 1991. A year later, the gentlemanly dialogue is justas strong, but the recording quality is less inviting:it’s better than listenable, and having double thelistening is exciting, but this is still bonus material.
The 43-minute Groningen recording is by far the
better find. It’s an illuminating piece of history and awonderful archival discovery, and it alone makes thisa great record.
For more info visit frozenreeds.com. “Improv Nights: A
Tribute to Derek Bailey” with John Zorn and company isat Roulette Jan. 25-27. See Calendar.

20 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

Foreverland
Keyon Harrold (Concord)by Keith Hoffman

When I was a music-loving, searching kid, the question

was, “But is it jazz?” Weather Report, Tony Williams
Lifetime, Cobham and Mahavishnu sent millions of us
searching back through time to Coltrane, Blakey, Birdand ultimately Pops. The only reasonable answer tothat question, then and now is, “Who cares?” The realquestion is: “Is it good music?” Is it authentic, does it
proceed from the depths of the soul, does it speak to
my soul?
Trumpeter Keyon Harrold’s third leader date,
Foreverland, is not merely good music. It is great music.
From the first notes of opener “Find Your Peace”,
with the lovely vocals of Jean Baylor, Common’s rap,
Robert Glasper’s Rhodes and the beauty and depthof Harrold’s magnificent horn, you are envelopedby masters of genre-less crossover. And while very
appealing, that tune is not yet the high point of therecording.
The cast is enormous but the glue that holds it
together is the lock between drummer Chris “Daddy”
Dave and bassist Burniss Travis. Dave often lets theelectronic click keep time, while he dives in and out, up,around and over. It wouldn’t work, except for Travis
holding down the bottom with taste and simplicity. The
stretch of tunes at the middle of the recording, really its
soul, are “The Intellectual”, “Foreverland” and “Well
Walk Now (Perseverance)”. Penned by Harrold andDave, “The Intellectual” opens as rhythmic ambience,
which Harrold then develops into a gorgeous, long
instrumental trumpet feature. Shedrick Mitchell
contributes a gentle turn on piano, while Harrold’slayered production features distant rain.
The title track is an enigmatic love song,
apparently between two lovers who are apart, or
perhaps have never met and seek each other throughdreams. Harrold himself sings one lover’s part, while
Laura Mvula is outstanding in the other. The songbuilds up to Harrold’s searing solo, and finally winds
down to Glasper’s gentle piano denouement. This songis a masterpiece. Harrold penned “Well Walk Now(Perseverence)”, a lilting yet arresting melody on horn(with electronic treatment); guitars wail deep in themix (contributed by Nir Felder and Justus West).
Keyon Harrold is an important contemporary
voice. We can only hope he continues to create at sucha stunningly high level.
For more info visit concordjazz.com. Harrold’s album release
concerts are at Blue Note Jan. 22-24. See Calendar.

to listen carefully and to understand that jazz doesn’t
always need to follow the theme-solos-theme format.
Other styles and points of view are equally valid, andthis trio makes a brilliant case. Balance is the key totheir interplay; no one element overwhelms the others.
Variations in pacing, tone, emphasis or volume cantransform a song. Spacing, how long a note is held,even flaws in playing, can deepen a song’s poignancy.
These elements are what make Owl Song a challenging,
impressive and rewarding sonic experience. All one
has to do is listen.
For more info visit nonesuch.com. Akinmusire is at The
Appel Room with Linda May Han Oh Jan. 13, part of Jazz at
Lincoln Center’s Unity Festival. See Calendar.

Owl Song, the bold new trio album by trumpeter
Ambrose Akinmusire, contains no rapid-fire shredding,thunderous drum solos or zenith-scraping trumpet
shrieks. The music is stripped down to its essence,deliberately paced and skillfully arranged, resulting ina singular work that demands careful listening.
The brushstrokes by drummer Herlin Riley
at the beginning of “Owl Song I” announce thealbum’s minimalism; guitarist Bill Frisell’s crisp
single notes serve as a conscience to Akinmusire’s
reflective statements. Riley’s variegated percussive
elements on “Weighted Corners”, sleek and delivered
with impeccable timing, show that to describe him
merely as a drummer doesn’t nearly do him justice.
The trumpeter’s jagged riffs drive “Flux Fuelings”,
accompanied by Riley’s cowbell-enhanced, slightly
funky drumming and Frisell’s western sky tonality.
Akinmusire and Riley have a nice tête-à-tête at theend of “Owl Song 2”: the trumpeter’s fluttering notes
drive Riley’s hand drumming as the guitarist mines
the riches a simple repeated figure can offer. The two“Owl Song” pieces are the album’s most spirited tunes
and the closest to “traditional” jazz. “Mr. Frisell”
finds the leader fluttering and spiraling about Frisell’smeasured, thoughtful chords. “Mr. Riley” begins
with the suggestion of Vernel Fournier’s famed drum
pattern from Ahmad Jamal’s version of “Poinciana”,
but then moves into a joyful trip to Mardi Gras, with
Akinmusire and Riley forming a two-man second line.
The guitarist stands front and center on “Henya”,
laying down raga-like chords over the unadorned but
arresting melody and throwing in some Methenyinflected notes for good measure.
The soft sound of waterdrops falling at the end of thealbum serve as a perfect statement of what Akinmusire
set out to do with his Owl Song. He wants his audience

Cedar: The Life and Music of Cedar Walton
Ben Markley (University of North Texas Press)by Marco Cangiano

T his biography is a long-overdue celebration of

Beyond Dragons
Angelika Niescier/Tomeka Reid/Savannah Harris(Intakt)
by John Sharpe

P olish-born,

Owl Song
Ambrose Akinmusire
by Terrell K. Holmes

IN PRINT

Germany-basedalto
saxophonist
Angelika Niescier has already made some outstanding
records—sessions with drummer Tyshawn Sorey andpianist Alexander Hawkins spring to mind—but thistrio outing ranks among her best. Joined by cellophenom Tomeka Reid and up-and-coming drummer
Savannah Harris on a program of seven originals,
Niescier’s absorbing compositions vary from theelegant yet enigmatic to the intricately wild, eachencouraging sensational extemporized interplay as
well as top-drawer soloing.
This is fully ensemble music, despite the small sizeof the band, evident both in the way Niescier offers
reiterated saxophone patterns as a foundation foradventure from other elements of the unit, and how she
utilizes Reid’s talents in particular. Indeed, the album
provides a great showcase for the cellist’s gorgeoustone, sure sense of swing and incisive improvisational
prowess. In particular, she wields her bow more on thisset than is sometimes the case elsewhere, enabling her
to fulfill a role that constantly morphs between front ofhouse and cooking on gas.
But the nominal leader also spends time in the
spotlight, demonstrating the supercharged fluency
of a Dave Rempis with a seemingly bottomless fountof ideas expounded at speed. She imparts poise andflow to, nonetheless, jagged and asymmetric lines.
Although Harris often seems to be given free rein(especially when Reid anchors the interaction), shealways uses this freedom to further the group dynamic.
Her resourceful clatter, full of tight rolls and emphatic
thwacks, creates necessary momentum but at the sametime adroitly embellishes and accentuates.
If the parts are high spec, the mesh is superb. The
opening “Hic Svnt Dracones” seethes with souped-up
aggression and fractious squawk. Elsewhere, rhythmic
figures pepper both the writing and the ensuing
shenanigans, notably in “Morphoizm” where a seriesof stuttered snags begets a martial sax/drum duet andthen a spiky bristling jostle between Niescier and Reid.
Similarly, in “Risse”, the harsh juddering honks thatpunctuate the twisty unison form a recurrent motif,
exploited to the max. What a band!
For more info visit intaktrec.ch. The album release concert
is at Zürcher Gallery Jan. 12, part of Winter Jazzfest. See
Calendar.

the late Cedar Walton, the man, the composer,
the arranger, the bandleader, the pianist. Not
as widely recognized as some of his mentors
and inspirations (e.g. Bud Powell and Hank
Jones), Walton (who would have turned 90 thismonth) was additionally later overshadowedby the likes of McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock
and Chick Corea. A Mulgrew Miller quote in thebook best sums it up: “Cedar has always been
one of the most criminally underrated pianists inthe world.” But Walton was revered by his peers
and had a profound influence on many pianists,
including Renee Rosnes, David Hazeltine andMike LeDonne. Among the many aspects of his
playing, what stand out are his outstanding
arranging skills, his tasteful comping and hugesound—a legacy of having had to cope with
Art Blakey’s thunderous drumming, as bassist
Reggie Workman suggests.
This is a remarkable volume. The author,
Ben Markley, is an associate director of Jazz
Studies at the University of Wyoming and awell-known musician himself, whose recordings
include the 2017 big band album Clockwise:
The Music of Cedar Walton. His book draws
from some 80 interviews with a wide range ofsubjects, including Walton as well as membersof the pianist’s family. Markley allows his
interviewees to speak with their own voices, thus
taking a back seat rather than imposing his own
voice. What comes across is a composite portraitof an honest artist who never compromised—aleader, a mentor and a warm human being witha distinctly dry sense of humor. The book recaps
his long and impressive career that saw him
work with some of the most important hard bop
formations: Art Farmer/Benny Golson’s Jazztet,
Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and his own Magic
Triangle trios. Finally, there are the various
incarnations of his Eastern Rebellion, one of thevery best post-Coltrane quartets. But there arealso his countless contributions to other artists’recordings—a who’s-who of jazz musiciansfrom the mid ’50s up to his passing in 2012. Hispresence in New York City is still felt throughhis compositions, many of which have become
standards, notably “Midnight Waltz”, “Bolivia”,“Ugetsu” and “Mode for Joe”. Even if legendary
venues such as Bradley’s and Boomer’s,
where Walton made his home, have long sincedisappeared, his music lives on. And the manhimself lives on through Markley’s book, which
despite its richness leaves the reader wanting
more.

For more info visit untpress.unt.edu. Cedar Walton
tributes are at Baha’i Center Jan. 14 and Dizzy’s Club
Jan. 17. See Calendar.

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 21

DROP THE NEEDLE

Beyond Orbits
Miho Hazama m_unit (Edition)
by George Grella
Creative Improvisation Ensemble
Marion Brown & Leo Smith (Freedom-ORG Music)
by Fred Bouchard

Weigh the name: it rings formal, professional. It

confers the heft of strength in numbers, an order ofdignity, maybe followed by Inc., Ltd. or CIE. Naw,
it’s just two solid Southern-born horn players loose
in a studio in jazz-famished Paris, with mallets
and tinkertoys. They don’t swing, follow a beat orblow frenetic bebop heads, but rather play fromwritten scores, a bit like other acronymed Black
Music entities: Saint Louis’ BAG, Chicago’s AEC
and AACM. Alto saxophonist Marion Brown andtrumpeter (pre-Wadada) Leo Smith, as free-jazzitinerants in 1970, do not emulate the screechers andhowlers, but rather adopt the experimental tenets
and quiescent aura of academic minimalism, even if
they don’t trade dashikis for robes.
Through-scored with ‘structural improvising’(Smith’s notes outline the sequence), these pieces
require them to play as many rests as notes. The
musicians trade amicably in rich melodic lines andspontaneous outbursts, and pause for consideredor wild discursions into increasingly relevant West
African cultural history with the plink of kalimba,
plunk of marimba, bells, gongs, whistles andtintinnabulations of hand percussion toys.
As jazz bars closed quietly and rock clubs
opened raucously, prominent cats headed to thehalls of academe, some for distinguished careers:
Max Roach and Archie Shepp to UMass Amherst,
Jackie McLean to U. Hartford. Brown, too, between
stays in Europe and two NEA grants, immersed
himself in New England higher education: he taught
at colleges (Bowdoin, Colby, Amherst) and obtained
an MA in ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University,where he and Smith again crossed paths. They’dalready made this date and waxed Brown’s Geechee
Recollections (Impulse!, 1973). Smith, an early AACM
member, eventually had a lengthy teaching career at
Cal Arts, 1993-2014.
They get everyone’s attention on “Centering”
by hitting everything in a hot minute. A complex
paean to assassinated leaders Patrice Lumumbaand Malcolm X, the piece sifts hymnic chorales withabrupt outcries, ngoni/woodblocks with gongs/
chimes, impassioned sustains with woeful bleats.
“And Then They Danced” opens with a pristine,
stark horn melody varied three times and later slyly
reprised; the dancing proves ritual, not ballroom,
as prickly horn/percussion duos follow. The
40-minute set (released on see-thru red vinyl!) ends
with a gongs/drums not-quite-free-for-all. When, as
reedsman Marty Ehrlich put it, “improvisation andnotation combust,” they warm all within hearing.
CIE here makes a stirring, cogent contribution tomodern chamber music that’s been out of print 50
years: all Brown & Smith require is your company, adialectic with the attentive listener.
For more info visit orgmusic.com. Smith is at The Stone
with Sylvie Courvoisier Jan. 26. See Calendar.

M iho Hazama is one of the finest contemporary

big band composers, her style and this release aworthy companion and contrast to Darcy James
Argue’s Secret Society and his own recent Dynamic
Maximum Tension. While the two are steeped in thecharts and traditions of big band music, Hazama is a
neo-classicist to Argue’s neo-romanticism, focusing
on updating the rhythmic rather than harmonic
vocabulary of big bands. That means working withfamiliar riff-based concepts and slicing and dicing
them into new forms.
Beyond Orbits is heavier on the riffs than her
stunning 2019 album Dancer in Nowhere, and it feels
like a consolidation, even slightly conservative,
which does suit the album’s emotional tenor: itcelebrates both the 10th anniversary of her big bandand the exploration of “intra-planetary space andescapism”—though the specific outer-space qualities
are not separate from the music. This is joyful music,
rich with positive vibes; it is not simplistic but
muscular, especially the meaty hip-hop beats fromthe rhythm section (Billy Test, piano; Sam Anning,
bass; Jake Goldbas, drums) and Hazama’s superb
use of strings to both thicken phrases and deepen
rhythmic accents.
The mood can be slightly flighty, though. Theband builds up an exciting momentum on the multipart “Exoplanet Suite” (with guest bassist Christian
McBride), and the following “Can’t Hide Love” provides
a release but also proves to be a little awkward: is thatflute (Steve Wilson) and bari (Andrew Gutauskas)
voicing over smooth Latin rhythms tongue-in-cheek,or an homage? Everything is well-made, though things
don’t always fit together. It can seem like two different
albums are sequenced together.
The heights, though, are as high as they get. “A
Monk in Ascending and Descending” is a subtle andbrilliant composition, and the final track, “From Life
Comes Beauty”, is arguably some of the finest music
released last year (featuring an extraordinary solofrom guest alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins).
For more info visit editionrecords.com. Hazama’s m_unit
is at Dizzy’s Club Jan. 10. See Calendar.

Windy City drummer Tim Daisy. It’s the 17th
installment of the Bridge Sessions, a Transatlantic
initiative that matches up French and Chicagoassociated musicians for tours in each locale andsubsequent recording opportunities. They landedin the Experimental Sound Studios in April 2022
midway through a Midwest tour, where the single
37-minute piece was recorded.
Time on the road created a collective ethos.
Rather than grandstanding, the participants bend
their contributions to the needs of the freewheeling
improvisation. The atmospheric opening sets the
template with shaken percussion, reverbed guitar
chords and zoomy electronic washes, before Daisy
initiates a gently loping beat. Branch employs synthand circuitry as much as her characteristically defiant
yet tender trumpet, contributing squelchy echoes,
proto-funk bass lines and glitchy discontinuities. In
any case, the sound of both her trumpet and Collier’s
saxophones have often been transformed, whether bylive processing or post-production manipulation, andrecede into an overall mix in which guitar and various
FX frequently provide the most recognizable features.
Moods vary from a swirling maelstrom of noise,out of which Collier’s soprano snakes upwards, toan unsettling ambience in which careworn trumpet
vies with heavily treated voice, to a pounding
tattoo accentuated by wailing guitar. Towards theend of the track Collier’s tenor saxophone grabs
the spotlight as he squalls and honks assuredly,
showcasing his distinctive updating of late-period
John Coltrane within a choppy rhythmic setting. But
when it arrives, the finale is as unexpected as it ismesmerizing, a percussive groove with thumb pianoand jaw harp which ushers the music out along a
dusty track into the sunset. While some might havepreferred a bravura blowing date, the four combine
to deliver a vibrantly colorful sonic cross-pollination.
It’s easy to lose oneself within this music.
For more info visit acrossthebridges.org. Collier is at
Smalls Jan. 4 and Nublu Jan. 13 & 16, part of WinterJazzfest. He is also at Appel Room with Franklin
Kiermyer’s Scatter The Atoms That Remain Jan. 12 andwith his quartet at Ertegun Atrium, both part of Jazz at
Lincoln Center’s Unity Festival. See Calendar.

Rainbow RevisitedThandi Ntuli with Carlos Niño
(International Anthem)by Kurt Gottschalk

T he Chicago label International Anthem of late

The Bridge Sessions: Stembells
jaimie branch/Isaiah Collier/Gilles Coronado/
Tim Daisy (Across the Bridges)
by John Sharpe

S tembells brings together a dream team comprisinggone-too-soon trumpeter jaimie branch, rising starreedman Isaiah Collier, guitarist Gilles Coronado(stalwart of the Parisian scene) and the celebrated

22 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

has been documenting what might be seen as a new
spirituality in jazz. Releases by Angel Bat Dawid,
Ben Lamar Gay and Damon Locks—while certainly
contemporary in execution and production—have
imparted a racial consciousness and humanity that
calls to mind the spirit of universality and awarenessput forth (in different ways) by Alice Coltrane,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Nina Simone and others in
the early ’70s. It’s not always a spoken message, butwhen such phrases as “Black Power” then or “Black
Lives Matter” now are so close to the surface, it
doesn’t always need to be said aloud in art.
With the new Rainbow Revisited, the record label
has expanded the embrace to South Africa, witha warm and beautiful album by the singer/pianist

Thandi Ntuli. Even in her homeland, Ntuli’s work
is underdocumented on record, with only a coupleof self-released CD-Rs prior to the new album. She
gained some international attention after appearing
on Shabaka Hutchings’ 2020 Impulse! release We Are
Sent Here by History. But a year before that album
came out, Ntuli made a trip to Los Angeles, where she
played a concert with the multidisciplinary troupe
the Nonsemble. That trip also provided opportunity
to go into the studio with percussionist and producer
Carlos Niño (another International Anthem name),and Rainbow Revisited, with cover art supplied by
Hutchings, is the striking result.
Ntuli has generally worked with fusion-leaningelectric bands, but Niño encouraged her to use thesession to explore unaccompanied variations on her
song “Rainbow” (from her 2018 album Exile). He
then added tasteful percussion and atmospherics,
resulting in a record that is very much a collaboration
but with the intimacy of a solo performance. The“Rainbow” theme recurs several times during thealbum’s 48 minutes, but the arc functions more likea meditation than a suite. Ntuli intones the title andworks the syllables, making it into vocalized chants.
Few artists make abstract expression so inviting,and maybe no one since Amina Claudine Myers has
so successfully made such passionate and secularimprovised gospel music. It’s not a music confined
to Sunday mornings, though. It’s a prayer sung to theheavens, to the natural world and to the rainbows.
For more info visit intlanthem.com. Carlos Niño is at
National Sawdust with Photay Jan. 14, part of WinterJazzfest. See Calendar.

With Roses
The Harry Allen Orchestra (Triangle 7)
by Ken Dryden

T enor saxophonist Harry Allen has recorded

prolifically worldwide over the past three-plus
decades, leading small groups playing standards orfamiliar jazz works. Recently he has focused on his
own compositions, but his With Roses provides a twist,
since he showcases two different bands, playing his
arrangements of works by Roger Frankham (a newname to this reviewer, though Allen has worked with
him in the past), co-written with either Bruce Brown
or Mark Winkler. The lyrics are by Brown and Roger
Schore.
Band one consists of Allen with Grant Stewart(tenor), Warren Vaché and Freddie Hendrix(trumpets), John Allred (trombone), John di Martino(piano), Mike Karn (bass) and Aaron Kimmel(drums). Band two features Allen with Peter andWill Anderson (clarinets), Dan Block (bass clarinet),
Steve Kenyon and Kathleen Nester (flutes), with thesame rhythm section. American-Armenian vocalist
Lucy Yeghiazaryan’s swinging vocals appear on nineof the ten selections: she brings life to each lyric as
if she has sung it for years, though she had to learn
them just prior to recording. The instrumental solos
are short but powerful, usually not more than achorus or two; unfortunately, the liner notes don’t
identify individual soloists.
Band one kicks things off with “It All Catches Up
With You in the End”, which swings mightily withoccasional detours into bossa nova. Yeghiazaryan

nails the humor in the light-hearted “That Far
Away Fellow”, with all too brief contributions by diMartino, Allred and Karn. The sole instrumental is“That’s When the Fun Starts”, a snappy bossa nova
spotlighting Allen’s smooth tenor in an extended
solo with rich voicings from the backing brass.
Band two provides a sensuous backdrop in thelush ballad “Be the One” for twin clarinets and flutes;
Block’s bass clarinet adds to its allure. Yeghiazaryaninterprets “Diamonds”, an atypical ballad about awealthy wife who left a rich man for a new life in thereal world to discover true love, with finesse.
This enjoyable album reveals new facets witheach listening.
For more info visit harryallenjazz.com. Allen is at
Birdland Theater Jan. 5-7. See Calendar.

New York Knock
Marius Van Den Brink (Highline Music NYC)
by Anna Steegmann

P ianist and composer Marius Van Den Brink may be

Dutch by origin, but his career has benefited from themove he made to New York City. Within just a few
years, he has made a name for himself in the New
York jazz scene, playing with the likes of Jeff “Tain”
Watts, Francisco Mela, Ingrid Jensen and the Birdland
Big Band. Influenced by a long line of piano greats,
including Duke Ellington, Bill Evans, Cedar Walton,
Herbie Hancock, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Billy
Strayhorn and several others (trumpeter Sean Jones
compares him to a “modern Horace Silver”), Van Den
Brink finds additional inspiration in other genres ofmusic, as well. But it is jazz, ultimately, that remains
his primary focus.
For New York Knock, his third album, the pianist
has assembled a stellar group of collaborators: Jones(trumpet), Stacy Dillard (saxophone), Matt Penman(bass), Willie Jones III (drums) and Keita Ogawa(percussion), and each are given space to shine. The
album was three years in the making, and its ten
selections each tell a different story. The title track
is joyful, rhythmic and swinging and transports thelistener to a stroll on a lively city street. It starts
with piano and percussion, then allows saxophone,trumpet and bass to take the lead before returning
to its gorgeous, memorable melody. “Margot”,
dedicated to his infant daughter, stands out with
its lovely, heartfelt theme and the pianist’s warm,
bluesy improvisation. Jones is outstanding on “TheLion”, dedicated to stride pianist Willie “The Lion”
Smith (Van Den Brink is not only inspired by Smith’smusic, but he actually lives at the same address where
Smith passed away). “In Greece, We Drink” entices
the listener to get up and dance to its Mediterranean
rhythms and melodies, which are complemented by arich sound tapestry provided by the addition of oud,kanun, clarinet and electric bass.
This excellent studio album will evidently befollowed by a live album (recorded last year at Dizzy’sClub) and Van Den Brink promises, in the spirit ofjazz (and for those who weren’t in attendance), thatit sounds completely different from New York Knock.
For more info visit highlinemusicnyc.com. Van Den
Brink’s album release concert is at Dizzy’s Club Jan. 14.
See Calendar.

B OXED SE T

Dances With Questions
Steve Swell (Not Two)by Steven Loewy

Trombonist, poet, visual artist and out-of-the-box thinker

Steve Swell is one of a small number of trombonists who
have developed an original sound, technical prowess andexpanded range. His influences include Roswell Rudd
and George Lewis, with a tip of the hat to the late poet
Steve Dalachinsky and a touch of Broadway for goodmeasure. His mild, personal manner belies a burning
drive to push limits, in an almost mystical pursuit toperfect his craft. Much of his best work has come in small
groups, especially with saxophonists Rob Brown, thelate Jemeel Moondoc and Gebhard Ullmann (the latterof whom participates in this album). Rather than restingon his laurels, he has lately shifted his focus, reciting
his sophisticated poetry, paying homage to composers
from the classical music tradition, or, as is the case here,
pursued his free-style approach in new directions.
Dances With Questions encompasses three fulllength discs. The first two, recorded in 2019 at the 17th
Kraków Jazz Autumn Festival, feature rotating small
groups plus one large group. The last disc, recorded thefollowing day at Radio Kraków, features a compositionby the leader performed by a large ensemble. The results
are admittedly exhausting but a feast for those who
appreciate free jazz performed at an exceptionally highlevel.
Swell has assembled twelve outstanding improvisers(most, but not all, musicians are familiar names including
longtime collaborator Ullmann) divided into elevenrotating quartets (the final two tracks feature theentire ensemble). Many of Swell’s previous small
group recordings featured a mix of great melodies andindividual or duo improvisations, while here the focus
is on collective free improvisation. There is an incredible
amount of variety. And though the trombonist does
not place strong emphasis on himself, his presence is,in one form or another, felt everywhere. It is virtually
impossible to capture the diversity, matching Swell’smagnificent muted trombone and bursts of raggedclusters with fine work from: Signe Emmeluth, Mikołaj
Trzaska, Hanne de Backer (saxophones); Ullmann (bassclarinet); Niklas Brand (trumpet); Per-Åke Holmlander(tuba); Elisabeth Harnik (piano); Carlos Zingaro (violin);
Elisabeth Coudoux (cello); Jon Rune Strøm (bass) and
Paal Nilssen-Love (drums). There is so much goingon simultaneously, it is not easy to keep track of it all,though fortunately the packaging lists the detailed
combinations. For more than three hours, there is total
immersion, a sumptuous feast that titillates the senses.
The first large group piece is a freely improvised 15
minutes, while the second is a 70-minute composition
that takes up the entirety of the third and final disc. It’svery much in the tradition of the Globe Unity Orchestra
or Barry Guy’s large ensemble works, featuring big
band writing interspersed with conduction, swathes ofcomposed riffs and solo thrusts. Intense, to be sure, and afitting close to a remarkable set that proves to be anotherfeather in the cap of the multi-talented Steve Swell.
For more info visit nottwo.com. Swell is at Saint Peter’s
Church Jan. 14. See Calendar.

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 23

THE STONE RESIDENCIESSYLVIE COURVOISIERJANUARY 24–27

Wednesday January 24 8:30 PM

DUO/TRIO/QUARTETSYLVIE COURVOISIER piano
IKUE MORI electronics
NED ROTHENBERG reeds
ERIK FRIEDLANDER celloThursday January 25 8:30 PMSOLOSYLVIE COURVOISIER piano

Friday january 26 8:30 PMSYLVIE COURVOISIER TRIOSYLVIE COURVOISIER piano
DREW GRESS bass
KENNY WOLLESEN drums

Saturday January 27 8:30 PM

DUO

WADADA LEO SMITH

WITH
SYLVIE COURVOISIER piano
WADADA LEO SMITH trumpet

2023 BEST NEW RELEASESHONORABLE MENTIONSYLVIE COURVOISIERCHIMAERA - INTAKT
2023 BEST TRIBUTE RELEASESSYLVIE COURVOISIER/CORY SMYTHE
THE RITE OF SPRING - SPECTRE D’UN SONGEPYROCLASTIC

Mitchell’s tricky vision with aplomb, wrapping up
a thoroughly successful tribute to two giants.
For more info visit rubiconclassics.com. Mingus tributes
include the Mingus Big Band at Drom Mondays. See
Calendar.

JANUARY SHOWSJAN 8Sings the Charles Mingus/
Joni Mitchell Songbooks
Imogen Ryall(Rubicon Jazz)
by Jim Motavalli

I t’s amazing how jazz singers show so little
imagination when approaching the pop songbook.
They should get out more. There’s a tendency togravitate to the most well-worn songs by the mostpopular artists, showing none of the broad reachthey display when staying close to home. When it
comes to Joni Mitchell, it’s Blue that gets the mostattention (especially “A Case of You”) and thelater, jazzier material sadly gets ignored. That’s
why it’s refreshing to come across Imogen Ryall’s
album revolving around the work Mitchell did
with Charles Mingus (who died 45 years ago thismonth).
Mitchell’s Mingus album came out in 1979,
mere months after the bassist died. The tracks
were collaborations, Mingus’ music with Mitchell’s
lyrics, as well as Mitchell originals (“God Must bea Boogie Man”, based on a reading of the bassist’s
autobiography Beneath the Underdog). Mingus,
despite its many virtues, sold only 60,000 copies(versus 1.6 million for Blue), achieving a rank of
423 on the charts.
Ryall, an adventurous English singer, tackles
much of the material from the Mitchell/Mingus
collaboration, and also puts lyrics to several other
Mingus compositions. It all works very well, so
good on her. Her collaborators are Julian Nicholas(saxophones), David Beebee (piano), Nigel Thomas(bass) and Eric Ford (drums). Mitchell is an obvious
influence on the younger vocalist’s singing, but all
the classic jazz chanteuses are in there as well. She
has a warm, welcoming voice that increases theaccessibility of the material—which can be wordy.
“Boogie Man” benefits mightily from Nicholas’
big-hearted tenor work and swings nicely. By
contrast, the more abstract “A Chair in the Sky”
effectively captures Mingus in his wheelchair (withechoes of “Furry Sings the Blues”), but meanders
a bit. “The Wolf That Lives in Lindsey”, all
Mitchell, is properly atmospheric, with Nicholas’
haunting soprano playing and Thomas and Ford in
sympathetic lockstep.
Ryall’s lyrics to Mingus’ music are both fitting
and effective, as “Self-Portrait in Three Colors”(via Ah Um) demonstrates. It’s a shimmeringballad, introduced by Nicholas’ tenor, right out of
the John Coltrane/Johnny Hartman collaboration.
Ryall retains the poignancy of the original, andbassist Thomas and pianist Beebee have some nicemoments, too. “The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines”
is Joni-style funky-hip, with links to her hit version
of “Twisted”. Ryall executes it with aplomb (despite
admitting to never having visited Des Moines). The
original is heavy on Jaco Pastorius’ bass and hornarrangement; Ryall, instead, puts the drummer inthe spotlight.
The album closer is the iconic “Goodbye Pork
Pie Hat”. Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s original lyrics are
pretty direct, and Mitchell’s rewrite, represented
here, is both more impressionistic and morepolitical. (“The bandstands had a thousand ways /Of refusing a black man admission.”) Ryall executes

KOJO
MELCHÉ
RONEY

CELEBRATING
MAX ROACH’S
100TH BIRTHDAY

ChamaCyro Baptista (Ropeadope)by Tom Greenland

C ompared to his prolific output as a ‘sideman’—adubiousdesignationconsideringthat
hischarismatic presence on others’ projects often looms
front and center—percussionist Cyro Baptista’s
own albums are relatively infrequent. Chama (or“flame”), his eighth, released last year, sevenyears after Sunshine Seas, is a welcome update tohis catalog. Containing 14 short tracks (averaging
less than 4 minutes) recorded in New York, New
Jersey, Mexico City, Toronto and Paris, the album
is a salmagundi of diverse cultural ingredientsmixed and blended into a multifarious yet unified
composite. Two predominant elements are
Baptista’s singing/chanting and berimbau playing,
though he also layers on an impressive arrayof percussion instruments, including triangles,
bells, gongs, shakers, hand and frame drums, aswell as more exotic fare such as angklung (tuned
bamboo idiophone), qraqeb (finger cymbals), recoreco (wooden scraper), hadgini (clay pot drum),waterphone (untuned metallophone), talking
drum, washboard, Jew’s harp—even a whip—andsomething ominously listed as “death call.”Key collaborators include Gil Oliveira(drums), Brian Marsella (keyboards, flute), Felipe
Hostins (accordion) and Jorge Continentino (flute,
percussion), with a few notable cameos. Guitarist
Romero Lubambo, featured on “La Bamba”, plays
an extended solo over the 6/8 tropicália beatwith chromatic (Tom) Jobim-esque chords on thebridge. Laurie Anderson arranged and overdubbed
a string quartet at the end of “Annuntiatio”, anambient piece introduced by Baptista’s bullfrogtoned bass Jew’s harp. Guitarist Todd Clouser adds
Delta blues flavor to a cover of Mississippi Fred
McDowell’s “You Got to Move”, retitled “Gato
Morto…Gotta Move”.
“Afriksky” is all Baptista, who overdubbed
sundry parts, coaxing a moaning diddley-bow
sound from his berimbau, another allusion tocountry blues. “Constellation” juxtaposes postindustrial future-scapes against a bedrock ofearthy congas and bongos and perky flute whistles,
suggesting a prog-rock vibe. “Paramaribo”
could be the album’s ‘hit’, a reggae-funk outing
with catchy harmony vocals. The remaining
tracks derive interest primarily from infectious,
cleanly stratified grooves that toggle to and fromcontrasting but equally infectious chorus or bridge
sections. If you’re wondering what to throw on theplayer next time you host a cocktail mixer for your“big-eared” friends, this just might be the disc.
For more info visit ropeadope.com. Baptista is at City
Winery Jan. 12, part of Winter Jazzfest. See Calendar.
(ALBUM REVIEWS CONT’D. ON PAGE 28)

JAN 9-14
MESHELL

NDEGEOCELLO

JAN 15KASSA
OVERALL& FRIENDS

JAN 16-17
LOUIE VEGA
& THE ELEMENTS
OF LIFE

JAN 22-24
KEYON
HARROLDFOREVERLAND

JAN 25-28
DJ LOGIC &FRIENDS*BRUNCH* JAN 7, 14, 21, & 28
THE WORLD FAMOUS
HARLEM GOSPEL CHOIR

131 West 3rd Street | New York City 10012
212.475.8592 | bluenotejazz.com

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 25

BEST OF 2023 BEST OF 2023 BEST OF 2023 BEST OF 2023 BEST OF 2023 BEST OF 2023

ALBUMS OF THE YEARAROOJ AFTAB/VIJAY IYER/SHAHZAD ISMAILY—
Love In Exile (Verve)
BREW (MIYA MASAOKA/REGGIE WORKMAN/GERRY HEMINGWAY)—
Heat & Between Reflections (Clean Feed)JOE LOVANO TRIO TAPESTRY—Our Daily Bread (ECM)
JOHN BUTCHER/MARJOLAINE CHARBIN/UTE KANNGIESSER/EDDIE PRÉVOST—The Art of Noticing (Matchless)
JOHN ZORN—New Masada Quartet, Vol. 2 (Tzadik)
JON-ERIK KELLSO AND THE EARREGULARS—Live at The Ear Inn (Arbors)
KENNY BARRON—The Source (Artwork)
NITE BJUTI (VAL JEANTY/CANDICE HOYES/MIMI JONES)—Nite Bjuti (Whirlwind)
SATOKO FUJII/OTOMO YOSHIHIDE—
Perpetual Motion (Ayler)
TONY ALLEN/ADRIAN YOUNGE—
JID018 (Jazz Is Dead)—Laurence Donohue-Greene(Managing Editor)

MUSICIANS OF THE YEARHENRY THREADGILL (alto/flute/composer)
JASON MORAN (piano)
KRIS DAVIS (piano)
RON CARTER (bass)
SAMARA JOY (vocals)

UP-AND-COMERS OF THE YEARIZUMI KIMURA (piano)
MARTA WARELIS (piano)
MELANIE CHARLES (vocals/flute)
MICAH THOMAS (piano)
SIMON MOULLIER (vibraphone)

VENUES OF THE YEAR

THE JAZZ GALLERY (jazzgallery.org)
ROULETTE (roulette.org)
SISTAS’ PLACE (sistasplace.org)
THE STONE AT THE NEW SCHOOL (thestonenyc.com)
VILLAGE VANGUARD (villagevanguard.com)

LABELS OF THE YEAR

CLEAN FEED (cleanfeed-records.com)
INTAKT (intaktrec.ch)
PI RECORDINGS (pirecordings.com)
PYROCLASTIC (pyroclasticrecords.com)
RELATIVE PITCH (relativepitchrecords.bandcamp.com)

THE NEW YORK CI

CONCERTS OF THE YEAR
AMIR ELSAFFAR’S TWO RIVERS ENSEMBLE
Hamid Al-Saadi, Ole Mathisen, Carlo DeRosa, Nasheet Waits,
Tareq Abboushi, Zafer Tawil
April 2, Drom
MARILYN CRISPELL/MARK DRESSER/GERRY HEMINGWAY: “PLAYS ANTHONY BRAXTON”
July 1, The Stone at the New School
ARTHUR VERROCAI WITH ORCHESTRA
August 11, Damrosch Park
(Jazz Is Dead/Lincoln Center’s Summer For The City)—Tom Greenland (NY@Night)
RENEE ROSNES QUARTET
Steve Nelson, Peter Washington, Lewis Nash
March 5, Smoke
KURT ELLING AND
THE VANGUARD JAZZ ORCHESTRA
June 6, Village Vanguard
LIZZIE THOMAS
Wayne Escoffery, Roni Ben-Hur, Noriko Ueda, Neal Smith
Sep. 8, Arlo NoMad Room—Marilyn Lester (NY@Night)
SAMARA JOY
Luther Allison, Mikey Migliore, Evan Sherman
January 16, Le Poisson Rouge (Winter JazzFest)JASON MORAN BANDWAGON
FEAT. AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE
Tarus Mateen, Nasheet Waits
Sep. 9, Louis Armstrong Center
CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT
Sullivan Fortner, Yasushi Nakamura, Kyle Poole
October 5, Village Vanguard—Kyla Marshell (NY@Night)
JASON MORAN & THE BIG BANDWAGON: “JAMESREESE EUROPE AND THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS”
August 18, Marcus Garvey Park
(CityParks SummerStage/Jazzmobile)
SAMARA JOYJason Charles, David Mason, Kendric McCallister,Donovan Austin, Connor Rohrer, Mikey Migliore, Evan Sherman
October 7, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater

KAHIL EL’ZABAR ETHNIC HERITAGE ENSEMBLE
Alex Harding, Corey Wilkes
February 11, Sistas’ PlaceJD ALLEN QUARTETCharlie Hunter, Gregg August, Rudy Royston
April 14, Dizzy’s ClubJAKOB BRO/JOE LOVANO:“ONCE AROUND THE ROOM”
Larry Grenadier, Thomas Morgan, Anders Christensen,
Jorge Rossy, Joey BaronMay 25, Village VanguardJOËLLE LÉANDRE:“VISION LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT”
Tiger Trio (Léandre/Myra Melford/Nicole Mitchell);
Léandre/Fred Moten; Léandre with Craig Taborn, Mat Maneri;
Léandre Septet with Ingrid Laubrock, Steve Swell, Mat Maneri,
Jason Kao Hwang, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Joe Morris
June 13, Roulette (Vision Festival)
JASON MORAN & THE BIG BANDWAGON: “JAMESREESE EUROPE AND THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS”
August 18, Marcus Garvey Park
(CityParks SummerStage/Jazzmobile)
JOE LOVANO TRIO TAPESTRY
Marilyn Crispell, Carmen Castaldi
August 26, Village Vanguard
NDUDUZO MAKHATHINI TRIO
Zwelakhe-Duma Bell le Pere, Francisco Mela
August 26, Marcus Garvey Park
(CityParks Charlie Parker Jazz Festival)
MELISSA ALDANA/LINDA MAY HAN OH
August 26, The Stone at New School
JASON MORAN BANDWAGON
FEAT. AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE
Tarus Mateen, Nasheet Waits
Sep. 9, Louis Armstrong Center
JOHN ZORN “PLAYS HARRY SMITH”
Ikue Mori, Jorge Roeder, Kenny Grohowski
Oct. 21, Whitney Museum—Laurence Donohue-Greene(Managing Editor)

MAMBO LEGENDS ORCHESTRA:“MAMBO DIABLO - HONORING TITO PUENTE”
Ronnie Puente, Tito Puente, Jr., Jeremy Bosch, Lucrecia,
Yolanda Duke, Carlos Henríquez, Jimmy Delgado, Louis Bauzó,
Ray Vega, Humberto Rámirez
November 11, Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture—Russ Musto (NY@Night)
BRANFORD MARSALIS QUARTET
Joey Calderazzo, Eric Revis, Justin Faulkner
Jan. 26, 92NY
JD ALLEN QUARTETCharlie Hunter, Gregg August, Rudy Royston
Apr. 13, Dizzy’s Club
BILL FRISELL FOUR
Greg Tardy, Gerald Clayton, Johnathan Blake
Aug. 8, Village Vanguard—Keith Hoffman (Event Calendar Mgr.)

HONORABLE MENTIO.omawi (Marta Warelis/Onno Govaert/Wilbert de Joode) - Waive (Relative Pitch) • Alexander Hawkins Trio - Carnival Celestial (Intakt) • Alister Spence/Tony Buck - Mythographer (Alister Sp
Art Ensemble of Chicago - The Sixth Decade: From Paris to Paris (RogueArt) • ARTEMIS - In Real Time (Blue Note) • Arturo O’Farrill - Legacies (Blue Note) • Ben Wolfe - Unjust (ResBobo Stenson Trio - Sphere (ECM) • Brad Mehldau - Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles (Nonesuch) • Bruno Råberg - Look Inside (Solo Bass) (Orbis Music) • Daniel Bingert - A
Dave Scott - Song For Alice (SteepleChase) • David Ake - Green Thumb (Posi-Tone) • David Mirarchi - Ink Folly, Orchid Gleam (Unbroken Sounds) • Denman Maroney/Scot
Elisabeth Harnik/Zlatko Kaučič - One Foot In The Air (Not Two) • Ernst Bier/Gunnar Geisse/Ignaz Schick - Hawking Extended (Zarek) • Eva Novoa - Novoa/Kamaguchi/Cleaver Trio Vol.1 (577 Record
George Freeman - The Good Life (HighNote) • Harold Danko - Trillium (SteepleChase) • Harry Allen Orchestra - With Roses (Triangle 7) • Hedvig Mollestad Weejuns - Weejuns (Rune G
Imogen Ryall - Sings The Charles Mingus/Joni Mitchell Songbooks (Rubicon Jazz) • Ingrid Laubrock - The Last Quiet Place (Pyroclastic) • Irreversible Entanglements - Protect Your Light
Izumi Kimura/Artur Majewski/Barry Guy/Ramon Lopez - Kind of Shadow (Fundacja Słuchaj) • James Brandon Lewis - Eye Of I (ANTI-Records) • Jamie Breiwick - Awake: Volume 2 (The M
JD Allen - THIS (Savant) • Jeff Coffin - Look For Water (Ear Up) • Jeff Coffin/Jordan Perlson/Viktor Krauss - Coffin/Perlson/Krauss (Ear Up) • Jo Lawry - Acrobats (Whirlwind) • Joe Ch
Kate Gentile/International Contemporary Ensemble - biome i.i (Obliquity) • Kevin Sun - The Depths of Memory (Endectomorph) • Kresten Osgood/Bob Moses/Tisziji Muñoz - Spiritual Drum
Margaux Oswald/Jesper Zeuthen - Magnette (Clean Feed) • Mark De Clive-Lowe/Shigeto/Melanie Charles - Hotel San Claudio (Soul Bank Music) • Mark Dresser - Tines of Change (Pyroclastic) •Michael Bisio/Timothy Hill - Inside Voice/Outside Voice (Origin) • Michael Blake - Dance of the Mystic Bliss (P&M) • Michael Formanek Elusion Quartet - As Things Do (Intakt) • Mich
Mike Clark - Kosen Rofu (Wide Hive) • Mike Nock - Hearing (ABC) • Naïssam Jalal - Healing Rituals (Les Couleurs du Son) • Orhan Demir - Freedom In Jazz, Vol. 3
Phillip Johnston and the Greasy Chicken Orchestra - I Cakewalked with a Zombie (Earshift Music) • Ralph Alessi Quartet - It’s Always Now (ECM) • Ray Anderson/Bobby Previte - Double Tro
Sam Newsome/Dave Liebman - Soprano-Logues (Some New Music) • Samuel Blaser/Michael Bates - Book Nine (Blaser Music) • Simon Moullier Trio - Inception (Fresh Sound New T
The Necks - Travel (Northern Spy) • Thomas Heberer/Joe Fonda/Joe Hertenstein - Remedy II (Fundacja Słuchaj) • Tomas Fujiwara’s 7 Poets Trio - Pith (Out Of Your Head) • Tony Buck/M

ITY JAZZ RECORDBEST OF 2023 BEST OF 2023 BEST OF 2023 BEST OF 2023 BEST OF 2023 BEST OF 2023

MISCELLANEOUS CATEGORIES OF THE YEAR

UNEARTHED GEMSAHMAD JAMAL—Emerald City Nights: Live at thePenthouse (1966-1968) (Jazz Detective)
DONALD BYRD & BOBBY JASPAR—
Paris/Cannes ‘58 (Sam/INA)FRED ANDERSON QUARTET—
The Milwaukee Tapes, Vol.2 (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
JOHN COLTRANE WITH ERIC DOLPHY—
Evenings at the Village Gate (Impulse!)
NINA SIMONE—You’ve Got To Learn (Verve)

LATIN RELEASESANTONIO LIZANA/EMILIO SOLLA—El Siempre Mar (Tiger Turn)
AVISHAI COHEN/ABRAHAM RODRIGUEZ, JR.—IROKO (Naïve/Believe)
AYMÉE NUVIOLA FEAT. KEMUEL ROIG—
Havana Nocturne (Worldwide)
RACHEL THERRIEN LATIN JAZZ PROIECT—
Mi Hogar (Outside In Music)
SANTIAGO BIG BAND (FEATURING MARCOSFERNÁNDEZ) & AFRO LATIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA(FEATURING ARTURO O’FARRILL)—
Santiago Brooklyn Santiago (ZOHO)VOCAL RELEASESAROOJ AFTAB/VIJAY IYER/SHAHZAD ISMAILY—
Love In Exile (Verve)
CHAMPIAN FULTON—Meet Me At Birdland (s/r)
CHRISTINE CORREA—
Just Stand and Listen With Me (Sunnyside)
NITE BJUTI (VAL JEANTY/CANDICE HOYES/MIMI JONES)—Nite Bjuti (Whirlwind)
SCOTT CLARK—
Dawn & Dusk [with Laura Ann Singh] (Out Of Your Head)LARGE ENSEMBLE RELEASESANGELICA SANCHEZ NONET—Nighttime Creatures (Pyroclastic)
DARCY JAMES ARGUE’S SECRET SOCIETY—
Dynamic Maximum Tension (Nonesuch)
JOHAN LINDSTRÖM—
Johan Lindström & Norbotten Big Band (Moserobie)
SANTIAGO BIG BAND (FEATURING MARCOSFERNÁNDEZ) & AFRO LATIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA(FEATURING ARTURO O’FARRILL)—
Santiago Brooklyn Santiago (ZOHO)STEVE LEHMAN ORCHESTRE NATIONAL DE JAZZ—Ex Machina (Pi Recordings)

ONS—NEW RELEASESTRIBUTESORIGINAL ALBUM ARTWORK *see pg. 28

CHRISTINE CORREA—
Just Stand and Listen With Me (Sunnyside)
GREGORY LEWIS—Organ Monk Going Home (Sunnyside)
JAMES BRANDON LEWIS RED LILY QUINTET—
For Mahalia, With Love (TAO Forms)
JASON MORAN—From The Dancehall to the Battlefield(A meditation on the life and legacy of James Reese Europe) (Yes)SYLVIE COURVOISIER/CORY SMYTHE—The Rite of Spring—Spectre d’un songe (Pyroclastic)

FLY OR DIE—Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war))(International Anthem)
IDRIS ACKAMOOR & THE PYRAMIDS—
Afro Futuristic Dreams (Strut)
KATE GENTILE/INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARYENSEMBLE—biome i.i (Obliquity)
M.E.B. (MILES ELECTRIC BAND)—That You Not Dare To Forget (Legacy)
NOSAX NOCLAR—No Dåhïss (YOLK Music)

ANTHONY HERVEY—
Words from My Horn (Outside In Music)
ENDEA OWENS AND THE COOKOUT—
Feel Good Music (BassBae Music)
HEIN WESTGAARD TRIO—First as Farce (Nice Things)
LUKAS TRAXEL—One-Eyed Daruma (We Jazz)
VICENTE ARCHER—Short Stories (Cellar Music)

CHAMPIAN FULTON—Meet Me At Birdland (s/r)
DAVE LIEBMAN—Live at Smalls (Cellar Music)
DENNY ZEITLIN—Crazy Rhythm: Exploring George
Gershwin (Solo Piano) (Sunnyside)
JON-ERIK KELLSO AND THE EARREGULARS—Live at The Ear Inn (Arbors)
KRIS DAVIS DIATOM RIBBONS—
Live at the Village Vanguard (Pyroclastic)

DEBUTSREISSUESAMINA CLAUDINE MYERS—Song For Mother E (Leo)BAIKIDA E.J. CARROLL—
Orange Fish Tears (Souffle Continu-Palm)
CHARLIE PARKER/DIZZY GILLESPIE/BUD POWELL/
CHARLES MINGUS/MAX ROACH—
Hot House: The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall Recordings(Debut-Craft Recordings)
PHAROAH SANDERS—
Pharoah (India Navigation-Luaka Bop)
WES MONTGOMERY—The Complete Full House
Recordings (Riverside-Craft Recordings)

SOLO RECORDINGSANDREW CYRILLE—Music Delivery/Percussion (Intakt)
BRANDON LÓPEZ—vilevilevilevilevilevilevilevile (Relative Pitch)
DENNY ZEITLIN—Crazy Rhythm: Exploring George
Gershwin (Solo Piano) (Sunnyside)
KENNY BARRON—The Source (Artwork)
SATOKO FUJII—Torrent (Piano Solo) (Libra)

LIVE ALBUMSBOXED SETS

ALAN SKIDMORE—A Supreme Love (Confront)
BENGT “FRIPPE” NORDSTR​Ö​M—
Vinyl Box (NI VU NI CONNU)
CHARLES MINGUS—Mingus Takes Manhattan: The
Complete Birdland Dates (1961-1962) (No Land)
DON BYAS—Classic Don Byas Sessions 1944-1946 (Mosaic)
PHAROAH SANDERS—Pharoah (Luaka Bop)

JAZZ BOOKS

Easily Slip Into Another World: A Life In MusicHenry Threadgill and Brent Hayes Edwards(Knopf-Penguin Random House)
Gentleman of Jazz: A Life in Music
Ramsey Lewis (with Aaron Cohen)(Black Stone Publishing)
Milford Graves: A Mind-Body Deal
Anthony Elms, Celeste DiNucci, Mark Christman(Inventory Press/Ars Nova Workshop)
Rhythm Man: Chick Webb and the Beat that
Changed America
Stephanie Stein Crease (Oxford University Press)
The Williamsburg Avant Garde: Experimental Musicand Sound on the Brooklyn Waterfront
Cisco Bradley (Duke University Press)

pence Music) • Angelika Niescier/Tomeka Reid/Savannah Harris - Beyond Dragons (Intakt) • Anna Webber - Shimmer Wince (Intakt) • Antti Lötjönen Quintet East - Circus/Citadel (We Jazz)
sident Arts) • Berghäll Brothers Big Band - Vol.II (Boulder Music Helsinki) • BlankFor.ms/Jason Moran/Marcus Gilmore - Refract (Red Hook) • Bo van de Graaf - Shinjuku (icdisc)Ariba (Moserobie) • Daunik Lazro/Benjamin Duboc/Mathieu Bec - Standards Combustion (Dark Tree) • Dave Rempis/Elizabeth Harnik/Fred Lonberg-Holm/Tim Daisy - Earscratcher (Aerophonic)
ott Walton/Denis Fournier - O Kosmos Meta (RogueArt) • Devin Gray - Most Definitely (Rataplan) • East Axis - No Subject (Mack Avenue Music-Brother Mister Productions)ds) • Fink 70s Revisited - Sound of Music (Jazzwerkstatt) • Fly or Die - Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) (International Anthem) • François Houle Genera Sextet - In Memoriam (Clean Feed)
Grammofon) • Henry Threadgill Ensemble - The Other One (Pi Recordings) • Hitomi Oba - Water Stem (Asian Improv) • Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids - Afro Futuristic Dreams (Strut)(Impulse!) • Ivo Perelman/Dave Burrell/Bobby Kapp - Trichotomy (Mahakala Music) • Ivo Perelman/Ray Anderson/Joe Morris/Reggie Nicholson - Molten Gold (Fundacja Słuchaj)Music on Don Cherry) (Shifting Paradigm) • Jane Ira Bloom/Mark Helias/Bobby Previte - 2.3.23 (Radio Legs Music/Rank Hypocri$y) • Jason Adasiewicz - Roy’s World (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
hambers - Dance Kobina (Blue Note) • Johannes Nästesjö/Sten Sandell - Duo akt I-VII (Konvoj) • Josh Lawrence - And That Too (Posi-Tone) • Kasper Tranberg - Nobody’s Heart (April)Kingship (Gotta Let It Out) • Lauren Henderson - Conjuring (Brontosaurus) • Libby York - DreamLand (OA2) • Lina Allemano - Canons (Lumo) • Loren Stillman - Time and Again (Sunnyside)• Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the garden... (Constellation) • Matthew Shipp - The Intrinsic Nature of Shipp (Mahakala Music) • Mendoza Hoff Revels - Echolocation (AUM Fidelity)
hel Pilz/Reiner Winterschladen/Frank Paul Schubert/Christian Ramond/Klaus Kugel - Yamabiko Quintet (Nemu) • Miguel Zenón/Dan Tepfer - Internal Melodies (Main Door Music)(Hittite) • Paul Dunmall - Bright Light A Joyous Celebration (Discus Music) • Phil Ranelin/Wendell Harrison - JID016 (Jazz Is Dead) • Phil Slater - Immersion Lure (s/r)
ouble (Challenge-Doublemoon) • Rodrigo Amado - The Bridge (Trost) • Russ Johnson Quartet - Reveal (Calligram) • Russ Lossing & King Vulture - Alternate Side Parking Music (Aqua Piazza)
Talent) • Sullivan Fortner - Don’t You Worry About A Thing (Artwork) • Sylvie Courvoisier - Chimaera (Intakt) • Taiko Saito/Jan Roder/Michael Griener - Wald (Trouble in the East)
Mark Nauseef - Mongrels (Relative Pitch) • Trance Map+ - Etching The Ether (Intakt) • Tyshawn Sorey Trio - Continuing (Pi Recordings) • Zoh Amba - O Life, O Light: Vol. 2 (577 Records)

ORIGINAL ALBUM ARTWORKFLY OR DIE
Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war))(International Anthem)

IDRIS ACKAMOOR & THE PYRAMIDS
Afro Futuristic Dreams(Strut)KATE GENTILE/INTERNATIONALCONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE
biome i.i (Obliquity)

M.E.B. (MILES ELECTRIC BAND)
That You Not Dare To Forget(Legacy)

NOSAX NOCLAR
No Dåhïss
(YOLK Music)(ALBUM REVIEWS CONT’D. FROM PAGE 25)

Feel Good Music
Endea Owens and The Cookout(BassBae Music)
by Keith Hoffman

W hen she was a 15-year-old student at Detroit
School of the Arts, bassist Endea Owens watched
Rodney Whitaker stride confidently onto thestage, pick up his double bass and begin toplay. To the bewilderment of her friends, Owens
sobbed with joy. “Now I knew I could do this,”Owens reflected recently. “He was from Detroit
too. I got to see someone do it, and I could doit.” A few years later Owens was studying with
Whitaker, who was Director of Jazz Studies atMichigan State University.
“My Mom always told me ‘You can doanything. You’re a star.’” And, indeed, withEndea Owens’ increasingly significant hold on
the New York scene, from her nightly presenceon The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to her
scintillating live appearances, and now with therelease of her highly anticipated debut album,
Feel Good Music, she is the star her mother always
knew she was.
Owens’
writingishorn-section-based,reminiscent of the Art Blakey book. The opener,“Feel Good”, modulates between the 12/8 we’ve
come to identify with certain African rhythms
and a swinging 4/4, with fine solos by Jeffrey
Miller (trombone) and Kris Johnson (trumpet).
“Where the Nubians Grow” has a soulful melody
that grabs you and never lets go.
The tune most obviously influenced by The
Jazz Messengers sound is the uptempo swinger“Cycles”, with its intricate, challenging rhythms.
It features an excellent soprano by Louis Fouché(soprano), concentrating on the horn’s lower
register.
Owens’ live shows feature excellent vocal
turns by Shenel Johns and J. Hoard. Feel GoodMusic includes a fine version of “Miss Celie’s
Blues” (the Quincy Jones song featured in The
Color Purple), which Owens and Johns always
turn into a showstopper live.
The album finale is the tune the bassist often
sends her audience home with, “For the People”.
A shuffle gives way to J. Hoard and Johns leading
the way on the interpolated “Lift Every Voiceand Sing”, the hymn written by James Weldon
Johnson and his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson,
and now recognized, unofficially but universally,as the Black National Anthem.
The best thing, perhaps, about Owens’burgeoning success is that it has allowed her tobring her mother, Beth Jones, to live near her in
New York, where Mom can see her star everyday.
For more info visit endeaowens.bandcamp.com. Owens
and The Cookout’s album release concert is at Ertegun
Atrium Jan. 12, part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Unity
Festival. Owens is also at Crown Hill Theatre with
Melanie Charles and Savannah Harris performing
the music of Sarah Vaughan Jan. 14, part of WinterJazzfest. See Calendar.

28 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

New Works & Classics Reimagined:
Live 2022 SFJAZZ Center
SFJAZZ Collective (SFJAZZ)
s/t
Lowcountry (Ropeadope)by George Kanzler

M ulti-reed player Chris Potter, who turns 53 on

New Year’s Day, is one of the very few jazz artists
in his prime with a direct connection back to bebop.
Rather than pursue academic jazz studies, when
Potter was 21 he went on the road with trumpeter
Red Rodney’s quintet (Rodney was a trumpeter
in Charlie Parker’s quintet after Miles Davis left).
But bebop is only one of Potter’s many facets. He’s
played in a wide range of contexts, working witheveryone from Dave Holland and the Mingus Big
Band to Dave Douglas and Steely Dan, and his
versatility and adaptability come to the fore onthese two reviewed albums.
As musical director of the SFJAZZ Collective,
Potter helped shape the set on New Works &Classics Reimagined, a live recording from the
SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco. This edition of
the collective, a septet, includes David Sanchez(tenor), Mike Rodriguez (trumpet), Warren Wolf
(vibes), Edward Simon (piano), Matt Brewer(bass) and Kendrick Scott (drums). Each member
contributes a composition or arrangement, with
Potter responsible for two tracks and featured on
three of his reeds: tenor, soprano and bass clarinet.
On “Perseverance”, Simon’s evocation of the
3/4 roots of his Venezuelan musical heritage,
Potter’s soprano duels with Sanchez’ tenor. Bassist
Brewer’s tone poem “The Plains” features Potter’s
resonant bass clarinet out front and in duet with thecomposer. On Wolf’s “Prelude”, slow, atmosphericelements are heightened by Potter (on soprano)
and pianist Simon. It’s followed by a percolating,funky version of Donny Hathaway’s “Someday
We’ll All Be Free”, on which the vibraphonist
contributes electronically enhanced vocals andPotter and Sanchez trade fours on tenors withtrumpeter Rodriguez. Although Potter doesn’tsolo on his own “Smokey” (trumpet and piano areshowcased), his tenor dominates a rousing mashup of “God Bless the Child” and Earth, Wind andFire’s “That’s the Way of the World”.
That emotional/spiritual fervor Potter exhibits
is also evident in his guest tenor spots on four
tracks of the musical dive into South Carolina
black history that is Lowcountry. Having grown
up in Columbia, SC, Potter retains connections tothe state. Lowcountry is a project of South Carolina
poets, singers and musicians celebrating the Gullah
culture of coastal South Carolina, especially theoff-shore islands. The album features the voices of
Gullah men and women, singing praise songs andring shouts, as well as a band of musicians, led bydrummer Quentin E. Baxter. Potter enlivens “AyeNeve” with preacherly choruses, sings the lyrics
of “Were You There? (when they crucified mylord)” on his tenor, contributes cogent moments
to the multi-part “Watchman” which includes arecitation of the Emancipation Proclamation, andsolos authoritatively on “Prayed Up”, anotherjazzed-up church song.

For more info visit sfjazz.org and ropeadope.com/lowcountry.
Chris Potter is at Village Vanguard Jan. 2-7, Klavierhaus
Jan. 12, and Smoke with Al Foster Jan. 25-28. See Calendar.

ARTHUR KELL SPECULATION QUARTET @Smalls Jazz Club
January 31, 2024 (7:30/9 pm sets)

!

ase
e
l
e
R
ew

N

“[A] terric group...You can imagine that softly rocking line
on a ’60s Blue Note date....“Polyamorphous” might be one ofthose things that Alfred Lion and Francis Wolf recorded....
the same spiraling effect you used to get with the Bhundu
Boys....Kell plays neither inside nor outside. Like his oldfriend and associate, Thomas Chapin, he keeps his ears andmind open for new sounds and experiences.”–Bruce Morton, DownBeat
Available on originarts.com and arthurkell.bandcamp.com

MARIANNE
TRUDELPIANIST, COMPOSER“An extraordinary pianist, Marianne
Trudel is one of the most respectedjazz musicians in Canada.”- CBC Radio (Canada)“Trudel always conducts a finebalance between the delicate andthe powerful in her music.”- NBC San Diego (USA)Available on Bandcamp

IN PRINT

Time and Again
Loren Stillman (Sunnyside)by Mike Shanley
Gerry Mulligan: Writings on a Jazz Original
Steven A. Cerra (Amazon Plus)by Pierre Giroux

G erry Mulligan: Writings on a Jazz Original, by jazzhistorian Steven Cerra, delves into the life andwork of the groundbreaking baritone saxophonist,composer, arranger and bandleader. The book isa reader, and its seven discrete chapters cover
specific periods in the musician’s musical life,
each chapter presenting selections from essays,
articles, interviews and liner notes by various
hands and providing insights into Mulligan’s
unique style, contributions and impact on the jazz
genre.
Throughout a nearly 50-year career (thismonth marks the baritone saxophonist’s 28-year
deathaversary), Mulligan was at the inflection
point of many changes in jazz. In 1944, at the ageof 17, he started out in big bands and his musicalcareer from then until the early ’70s represents
his most productive and innovative period. This
fact is reflected in the compelling written material
sourced by Cerra, which comprises the book’s first
three chapters and represents over two-thirds ofthe book’s pages.
Among the many highlights, we learn of the
impact he made arranging and composing forthe big bands of Gene Krupa, Claude Thornhill
and Elliot Lawrence in the mid to late ’40s, his
captivating contributions to the Miles Davis
Nonet Birth of the Cool sessions (1949) and theformation of the groundbreaking pianolessquartet with trumpeter Chet Baker in the early‘50s, which foreshadowed the West Coast jazz
movement.
For the balance of the ’50s all the way into theearly ’70s, Mulligan burnished his reputation withvarious iterations of the quartet, which included
trombonist Bob Brookmeyer and trumpeter Art
Farmer. He also led an influential sextet that
included Brookmeyer, saxophonist Zoot Sims andtrumpeter Jon Eardley, led his own twelve-piece
Concert Jazz Band from 1960-64 and joined Dave
Brubeck’s group from 1968-72. This is not meant
to be an exhaustive recounting of Mulligan’s
activities but rather to demonstrate the richnessof his endeavors.
Readers will additionally gain valuable
insights into Mulligan’s musical influences,collaborations and partnerships, which affected
the evolution of his distinctive sound. Contributors
to the book include George T. Simon, Ira Gitler,
Michael Cuscuna, Jack Gordon, Nat Hentoff andLeonard Feather, among others.
Mulligan died on January 20, 1996, at what
would be considered a still youthful 68. Cerra
has provided a comprehensive and insightful
exploration of his contribution to jazz, offering a
profound exploration of Gerry Mulligan’s musicallegacy as well as his enduring impact.
For more info visit cerra.substack.com

L oren Stillman implements a few changes for his newrelease. Most significantly, he sidelines his usual alto
in favor of the tenor, to which he devoted himself
during the downtime allotted by the pandemic. The
lower horn also inspires him to revisit the horn/
bass/drums trio format on Time and Again, a settingthat he used on his Trio Alto albums in the late aughts.
Drew Gress (bass) and Mark Ferber (drums) act as
empathetic accomplices, frequently responding to
his extensive ideas by taking liberties of their own.
A creative player like Stillman is aware of thechallenges and pitfalls of the trio format. With nochordal instrument to color in the background, thisset could have had a stark quality if the lilting themes
and extended solos took precedence over dynamic
variation. Early in the album, the mood between tracks
feels similar, but that just means that the uptempo
pedal point of “Backyard” flows into “Unsung” as if
to continue the detailed exploration Stillman’s tenorbegan in the opening piece. In the latter, Gress andFerber play it spare, with occasional interjections,while Stillman sails over them, his trail of inventive
lines moving in and out of double-time. The title track
evokes a more languid version of Elvin Jones’ trio
(with Joe Farrell and Jimmy Garrison), the inquisitive
melody in dialogue with Ferber’s mallets on the kit.
Gress provides the anchor here and in “Foist”, which
begins as an unaccompanied bass statement.
The trio opens up as they move further into thealbum, reaching full rubato mode on “Kiss the Ring”,
though the bass double-stops and free drums neverveer into wild territory. The album may not go out
with a bang, but it does end with its most arrestingoriginal. The mood of “The Mask” is slightly blue,
reminiscent of both an Ornette Coleman melody andthe more cerebral work of the saxophonist’s heroes
Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh.
For more info visit sunnysiderecords.com. Stillman is at
Birdland with Elan Mehler Jan. 19-21 and Barbès with
Vinnie Sperrazza Jan. 24. See Calendar.

2002. This record, a recording technology triumphover both a diplomatic embargo and the COVID-19
pandemic, brings us alternating tracks from both
pianists’ big bands, with guest soloists from thealternate band on some tracks. Fernández’ band wasrecorded in Santiago, while the various membersof the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra were recorded athome, remotely. The results have been released as acollaboration between the American ZOHO label andCuba’s EGREM label.
The entire album is an exuberant celebrationof Afro-Cuban/Latin dance rhythms and big bandbravura. Although the notes are not clear on who
guests where, the Cubans Eglis Ochoa (maracas)and Jorge Manuel (bongo) are close to a constantpercussive presence in both bands. Among othernotable guest appearances are Brooklyn trumpeter
Rachel Therrien, who shines on the album title track,a combination of son and comparsa, from Cuba; tres
player Fernando Dewar of Septeto Santiaguero, whoenlivens the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra’s mambo“El Manicero” (which also features two trumpeters
and a trombonist from Cuba). Soprano saxophonist
Cesar Lopez from Santiago engages in a solo duelwith trumpeter Adam O’Farrill of Brooklyn on The
Santiago Big Band’s dynamic comparsa “Dialogo”.
Brooklyn clarinetist Jasper Dutz also shares solo
space with Fernández on the Santiago band’s cha
cha “Almendra”. Other highlights include StevenBernstein’s cha cha “Cha” for the Brooklyn bandwith the composer’s trumpet to the fore.
Both bands are adept at contrast and dynamics,
with solos and leads coming from the full pitch range,from the piping D flute of the Santiago band’s Iván
Acosta to the proudly low baritone saxes from Cuba
and Brooklyn. But what impresses most is the highspirits and feeling of exuberance that comes throughthis superbly infectious music.
For more info visit zohomusic.com. The Afro Latin Jazz
Orchestra with Arturo O’Farrill is at Birdland Jan. 7, 21,
28. See Calendar.

Songs for My Daughter
Camille Bertault/Paul Bertault (Sunnyside)by Anna Steegmann

T he French jazz singer Camille Bertault discovered

Santiago Brooklyn Santiago
The Santiago Big Band (feat. Marcos Fernández)& The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra(feat. Arturo O’Farrill) (ZOHO)
by George Kanzler

S antiago de Cuba, a city on the southeastern coastof the island, is over 400 miles from Havana, closer
to both Haiti and Jamaica than the capital. It is themost Afro-centric part of Cuba. It is there that pianist
Arturo O’Farrill met and befriended pianist Marcos
Fernández, the leader of The Santiago Big Band, in

30 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

her love of music through her father, Paul Bertault,
a pianist (jazz and classical) who taught her toplay piano. Unlike his daughter, he did not pursue
a music career and, instead, became a celebrated
sound engineer. When Camille failed an exam at
the Conservatoire de Paris in 2015, she videotaped
herself singing self-deprecating French lyrics toJohn Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”. She posted the video
on Facebook and it went viral. Soon after, Camille
released her debut album. Others followed, all tohigh acclaim. Vanity Fair called her “the new voice of
jazz.” Now, at 37, she’s an international star and an
Internet sensation because of the many humorous andinventive videos she has posted of herself singing.
Father and daughter Bertault frequently playand perform together and Songs for My Daughter
allows listeners to experience their unique musicalconnection. Paul’s playing is sparse but complex,
warm and playful, especially in his solos. Camillesounds both vintage and contemporary at the sametime. Over 13 tracks, she sings in French, English,
Portuguese and Spanish. There’s an ephemeral
beauty to her singing and her breathy vocals and scatsolos are genuinely remarkable.
The opening track, George & Ira Gershwin’s “OurLove Is Here to Stay”, reveals her voice’s dreamy,
seductive quality. The music unfolds unhurriedly,
creating a romantic mood which pulls the listenerright in. Each of the following tracks is a gem in
itself. Camille wrote French lyrics for the splendid
melody of Monk’s “Ruby My Dear”. “Chanson de
Lola” (Legrand, Varda) is uptempo and lively, her
vocal delivery both humorous and flirtatious. Billy
Strayhorn’s “Chelsea Bridge”, elegant and effortless,is another example of the musical chemistry between
father and daughter. The Cuban son “Y Decidete MiAmor” (José Antonio Méndez) shows off her spirited
scatting. The album ends with her own composition,“Winter in Aspremont”, a gorgeous ballad inspiredby the singer’s return to her family’s home during
the pandemic.
Listening to this album, one can sense the deeply
felt connection between Camille and her father
embodied in this musical and familial collaboration.
Bertault is at Mezzrow Jan. 11, Bar LunÀtico Jan. 15,
Lycée Français de New York Jan. 18 and InterContinental
Jan. 19. See Calendar.

their due. Montolli, an Italian living in London,
proves full of surprises and modest enough to hangthem behind everyone else. Pianist Charlie Stacey
waits patiently until you’re not paying any attention
at all, then splits off into showers of notes, storm
drops spackling a pane. Drummer Chris Henderson
applies a methodical dry pulse peppered withsuccinct fills. Here’s hoping this combo cuts anotherone soon. And here’s hoping Allen stays Allen andGod stays satisfied.
For more info visit nightdreamer.co.uk. Scott and Allen
are at Brooklyn’s The Opera House with the Sun Ra
Arkestra Jan. 14, part of Winter Jazzfest. See Calendar.

Space Is The Place:Music From the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Solar Arkestra(Modern Harmonic)
by Jason Gross

Tell the Birds I Said Hello:
The Music of Herbie Nichols
Ben Allison/Steve Cardenas/Ted Nash
(Sonic Camera)by Ken Dryden

H erbie Nichols (whose 105th birthday would be

Celestial
Knoel Scott featuring Marshall Allen(Night Dreamer)
by Andrew Hamlin

T he ornery-er you run, says that old saw, thelonger God lets you live. A popular online meme
(well, popular amongst avant garde aficionados)shows a 99-year old Marshall Allen stalking down apresumably-Philadelphia street, going to work. His
eyes blaze from behind an eyeglassed squint. His
alto sax rests across his chest, but his mouth puffs asmoke. I’m here on my own, his stance seems to say,but I’m here on my own terms. God must hold someserious respect.
This Celestial set finds Allen splitting horn
chores with the much-younger Knoel Scott, who ata “mere” 67 chalks up an exceedingly rare outing
under his own name. Both men have had lengthy
careers in Sun Ra’s Arkestra and both strut on alto,
not always both at once but sometimes—the avant
garde, after all, never met a rule it couldn’t break,amiably or otherwise. Picking out who’s blowing
what gets tough for the opener “Les Funambules”,
but one drops in cascading galvanized shrieks withthe logic of a language; the other stays moored to acalmer, more lyrical style in sweet turns.
Elsewhere, Allen’s EVI (Electronic Valve
Instrument) proves a dominant flavor over these fivecuts. An electronic will-o’-the-wisp, it hangs above therhythm before darting off in mischievous directions
or, as on the title cut, counterbalancing Scott’s fluteand some supple bowed bass from Mikele Montolli.
Scott’s voice, worn but soft-edged and strong like
tried-and-true shoes, invokes the divinity and thefragility of home on our marble. Allen, meanwhile,
oscillates down and up like a flying saucer.
Those horn dialogues and EVI spacewalks rightly
command the forefront, but the other three deserve

ON SCREEN

this month) was recorded sporadically during his far
too brief lifetime, though over a half-century after
his death in 1963, artists are still engrossed withhis music. The late trombonist Roswell Rudd andbassist Buell Neidlinger were both long championsof his compositions, while the Herbie Nichols Project
explored Nichols’ unrecorded works over threealbums. Bassist Ben Allison and tenor saxophonist
Ted Nash, both Nichols Project members, are joined byguitarist Steve Cardenas on this new recording. (Thissame trio was responsible for another tribute in The
Music of Carla Bley, a 2022 release.) The present album
includes no fewer than six newly discovered Nichols
works, in addition to two songs previously arrangedby the Herbie Nichols Project. Since the manuscripts
didn’t include details of instrumentation, tempo andmood, the trio interpreted the pieces in their own
way, attempting to honor the spirit of their creator
even while omitting his instrument, the piano.
It is easy to hear why Nichols’ music appeals tomodern jazz musicians: it is intricate, with surprising
twists and intriguing voicings. The interplay within“She Insists” is sublime, the musicians weaving
their magic as one. “The Afterbeat” is a showcase
for Allison’s fluid bass playing, with potent solos
by both Cardenas and Nash as well. The title track
ballad has an air of lost love and would be a perfectmatch for the right lyricist, as the trio captures theessence of its intimate, bittersweet theme. With arecurring, ominous bass vamp, “Swan Song” brings a
sense of foreboding as Nash’s impassioned tenor and
Cardenas’ strident guitar explore its many facets.
“Van Allen Belt” likely reflects Nichols’ interest in
the early days of space exploration. While there arebop elements present, the jagged theme and many
detours are part of what made Nichols unique as acomposer. The trio’s journey through this selection
is as spacey as anything Sun Ra recorded in the early’60s.
Hopefully this will not be the last new Nichols
material to come to light. A future album from thistrio exploring more Nichols tunes would certainly bewelcome.
For more info visit benallison.com. The album release
concert is at Birdland Jan. 9. See Calendar.

I n the world of ’70s blaxploitation films, one movie
stands out as being possibly the strangest of thegenre. While almost every other title is known
mostly for action and violence, 1974’s Space Is thePlace featured the type of ‘cheesy sci-fi’ that thedirector (John Coney) loved: Egyptian mythology,
homages to avant garde cinema (The Seventh Seal,
Meshes of the Afternoon) and Marcus Garvey–
inspired racial separatism. As such, it may be oneof the oddest jazz-related films too. Now it’s beenreissued in a boxed set including a 2-CD soundtrackwith extra music, plus DVD and Blu-ray versions of
the movie.
The rapidly edited story concerns Ra’s returnfrom space to bring the Black race to his planet;first, however, he must duel with a trickster/hustler named the Overseer (played with finesse
by Ray Johnson) in a card game in the desert. Ra
seeks converts to his cause while the Overseer tries
to frustrate his efforts. The struggle climaxes in aconcert by Ra and his Arkestra.
Ra appears as a would-be leader and liberator,
speaking dialogue that he himself wrote, which deals
with his esoteric, head-spinning mystical beliefs.
His acting can be a bit awkward, as he sometimes
gives bemused glances as if he was nonplussed by
the camera. The special effects were also, as Coney
admitted, done on the cheap. The rest of the script
is also bizarre, with NASA scientists eavesdroppingon Ra and then kidnapping him before he’s saved bysome of the Black community center youngbloods
that he’s won over. Meanwhile, the Overseer ropes
in a reporter to cause mischief, including a few lowkey sex scenes.
Luckily, the movie’s soundtrack is a typical Sun
Ra mixture of big band swing, celestial musings andfree jazz; there’s also some stunning concert footage.
Some of his most outré music can be found here: solo
sax screams (“The Overseer”), heady Latin-tinged
drum ensembles (“Watusa”) and wild synthesizer
and musique concrète passages (“I Am the AlterDestiny”, “Cosmic Forces”). But June Tyson’s
soulful vocals on “Outer Spaceways Incorporated”,“Blackman” and the title track provide tuneful
highlights. The newly released material from thesame period mostly features Ra and Tyson’s cosmic
soothsaying over abstract conga-heavy Arkestra
stylings, which reach an apogee on the mad, roaring“Listen Intently to the Things I Do Not Say”.
Though most theatergoers shunned the initial
screenings, the film likely influenced latter-day
Afrofuturist cinema, such as Black Panther and Blade.
Not a bad legacy for a cult film.
For more info visit sundazed.com/modern-harmonic.aspx.
The Sun Ra Arkestra is at Brooklyn’s The Opera House
Jan. 14, part of Winter Jazzfest. See Calendar.

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 31

Seven Skies Orchestra
Ivo Perelman/Nate Wooley/Matt Moran/Mat Maneri/Fred Lonberg-Holm/Joe Morris (Fundacja Słuchaj)by Marc Medwin

H as there ever been a more beautiful and fitting

ensemble name? On this recording, saxophonist Ivo
Perelman is joined by Nate Wooley (trumpet), Matt
Moran (vibes), Mat Maneri (viola), Fred LonbergHolm (cello) and Joe Morris (bass) to create both more
and less than a sextet, a sound of cloudy ephemerality
and kaleidoscopic density.
The ten pieces of varying lengths capture vast
tracts of timbral and motivic interplay, but thejuxtaposition of strings, brass and percussion ensuresmaximum transparency when required and wall-ofsound density at a moment’s notice. For the latter,dig into the two-disc set’s finale, as the entire groupslams into collective improv mode. Of course, given
each player’s malleability and dynamic flexibility,
nothing remains static. At 4:23, Perelman lowers thetemperature while keeping energy sky-high, leavingroom for guitar and viola to bandy about gloriously
understated pizzicati while the tenor saxophonist andcellist trade aphorisms. A brief string trio ensues justbefore Perelman, Moran and Wooley rejoin, crescendoand finally descend to a whisper.
Several of the other pieces thrive on smaller
aggregates or on extended solo passages. Morris
commences the second piece in percussive blues
mode, finally teasing out an ascending slide followed
by a playful descent. The seventh piece begins with an
exquisite vibraphone/viola duo. There is absolutely
no mistaking Maneri’s elastic vibrato or the way heeases from one pitch to another with hairpin dynamic
shifts, and it’s a buzz to hear Perelman and LonbergHolm enter with chamber-music clarity and precisionat 1:58. Then, there are astonishing moments that
simply defy categorization, including the trumpeter’s
microtonal klangfarbenmelodie opening to the fifth
piece or vibraphonist Moran’s fluctuating vibrato at
its end, supported by a single-pitch resolution fromLonberg-Holm.
If a single moment encapsulates the group at its
finest, Maneri ushers it in as the eighth piece concludes.
His languid third at 6:09, immediately answered by
the tenor saxophonist, anchors the music as it swells,
climaxes and dissipates around a single sonority. This
passage exemplifies the unity in disparity that typifies
this exquisite sextet offering.
For more info visit fsrecords.net. Joe Morris is at The
Stone at The New School Jan. 5.; Mat Maneri is at Zürcher
Gallery Jan. 26. See Calendar.

HONORABLE MENTIONBEST NEW RELEASES 2023
Berghäll Brothers Big Band
Vol.IIUPCOMING RELEASES
Joakim Berghäll & Adele Sauros
Runoja rauhalle - Poems for Peace
Joakim Berghäll
Dialogues V

vinyl EP with
Ingrid Jensen, Tom Harrell,
Wayne Krantz, Marc Ribot
stFeb. 24 th
2

024

r. 1
Ma

4
202

Available at Jazz Record Center,
236 West 26th Street, NY

The New York City
Jazz Record

Best of 2023
“Honorable Mention –Best New Releases (2023)”—Downbeat"York’s voice is in splendid shape, but
it’s the vigor and judgement of her
storytelling that makes this one rather
special.” —Brian Morton"an elegant opus...a coup de coeur"—ParisMove
photo by John Abbott"…often brings [Rosemary] Clooney tomind, which is a very good thing
indeed.” —JazzTimeswww.libbyyork.com

Chimaera
Sylvie Courvoisier (Intakt)
by Stuart Broomer

C himaera is a suite of compositions inspired by theworks of the French artist Odilon Redon (1840-1916),
a proto-surrealist best known for prints in which aneyeball might be seen floating in the sky, whether
as a hot-air balloon or a rupture in the fabric of theworld. He often worked in subtly beautiful pastelsor brash colors, whether representing plants andflowers or grim spectres of the imagination. Redon
compared his own works to music, describing them as“plac[ing] us, as does music, in the ambiguous realmof the undetermined” (cited in Michelle Mercer’s liner
notes). Here pianist/composer Sylvie Courvoisierconstructs an idiom and a band to match Redon’s
subtly mysterious explorations of visions, flowers andambiguous states that mix horror and beauty.
Courvoisier’s suite has six movements, of whichfour are named for specific Redon works and two
have titles of her own imagining. It stretches to 86
minutes over two discs, realized by a band able toboth realize a complex score and suffuse it withvisionary improvisation. It begins with Courvoisierherself, a brilliant pianist and improviser capable ofcasually mixing dissonance and consonance and lightand dark textures, whether it’s a bright spray of rapid
high notes or pensive chords that mingle contrastingmoods. She’s joined by her regular supporting team ofDrew Gress (bass) and Kenny Wollesen (drums), thelatter switching occasionally to vibraphone, creating a
glittering complement to the pianist.
The rest of the band might make this thetrumpet record of the year: Wadada Leo Smith andNate Wooley, virtually the trumpeters of theirrespective generations at present, match one another

32 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

in intensity, invention and fire-breathing timbres,
whether air pressed violently through a horn or
brassy, mutating flurries. Christian Fennesz (guitar,electronics) is particularly suited to this homage toRedon. The Austrian experimentalist is a master ofunlikely sonorities, regularly passing through thewall of expectation, finding guitar sounds (drill-like,sustained buzzings or other mutations) that invoke
machinery. He regularly provides and amplifies
the strange, haunting presences that abide alike inRedon’s prints and paintings, and in Courvoisier’s
compositions.
For more info visit intaktrec.ch. Courvoisier is at The Stoneat New School Jan. 24-27. See Calendar.

Extensions
Simon Nabatov (Unbroken Sounds)
by Ken Waxman

T aking a break from his ambitious series of program

music albums, Russian-American pianist Simon
Nabatov (who turns 65 this month) invited five other
Köln-based musicians to participate in this two-part
improvisation, which features all of the freedom but
none of the formalism of his compositional work.
There’s no slackening of sonic invention in this groupcomposition, however, and that’s because the pianist’s
ensemble consists of players whose musical latitude isalmost as broad as his.
The band is multinational. Saxophonist Sebastian
Gille, who maneuvers between emotional colorationand technical experimentation, is German, as isbassist David Holm, who splits arco and pizzicato
rhythms and asides with Iranian-German bassist
Reza Askari. Trombonist Shannon Barnett, whose
strategy encompasses plunger smears and melodic
embellishments, is Australian, while drummer Mariá
Portugal, who prefers subtlety to thundering, isBrazilian.
Both tracks roam through multiple interludes.
These include hubs of crunching power impelled bydual bass thumps and percussion patterns; dramatic
pivots from reed bites to slurs; trombone tongue
flutters; and energetic note-fanning from the keyboard.
Focused horizontal thematic development maintains
linear consistency while allowing for individual
experimentation. However, it’s the slightly briefer“Extension 2” which is more suite-like, emphasizing
cadenced and compositional shifts.
Introduced a capella by harsh tenor saxophone
growls and split tones, the exposition is stimulated
to a quicker pace once forearm smashes along the
keyboard, thick bass string plucks and irregularreed vibrations are heard. Yet the piece soon slows
down to trombone moans and double bass strums.
Nabatov then alters the aural scenery by introducing
a processional melody surrounded by basso snarlsfrom the trombonist and smeary vibrations from
Gille’s soprano, as one bassist strums his strings andthe other bows alongside. By the finale, the theme(which the pianist has almost unobtrusively preserved
throughout) rises above tart brass tongue flutters,
reed twitters and sul tasto string scrubs.
In this respite from his program music, Nabatov
shows no lessening of his musical vision.
For more info visit unbrokensounds.com

50 years of jazz recordings&

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Protect Your Light
Irreversible Entanglements (Impulse!)
by John Pietaro

H ere’s the answer to anyone who’s asked whatlies beyond the Beat Generation. Irreversible
Entanglements has found the secret of melding theword to music. Camae Ayewa’s (a.k.a. Moor Mother)voice and verse are imbedded within these tracks asmuch as Aquiles Navarro (trumpet), Keir Neuringer(alto), Luke Stewart (bass) and Tcheser Holmes(drums), and therein lies the difference. As per
Protect Your Light’s liner notes, the album celebrates
Black culture as well as “love and rage, peace, power,
and self-determination with listeners and comradesaround the world.” That seems a tall order, but when
Ayewa’s words are paired with music that resoundswith the call of The Shape of Jazz to Come, the result ismusical, magical, literary urgency.

The opening cut, “Free Love”, immediately
establishes the place of the voice, and here Ayewa
speaks softly, determined, her words wrappedaround the melody of the horns and yet a part of therhythm section. With the pulse-conscious strengthof hip-hop and the unfailing cool of Beat poetry,
her words cascade through whispers, insistence andself-assured declarations.
Not only does the ensemble forge new paths, itcalls on the ancestors and the recently passed justas easily. In “Soundness”, one finds the essence ofVirginia Woolf: “I found a room to pray / See a prayer
needs a room / A direct body, a portal, temple, agency—/ Come on in the room / We call you in to the room…”
The stellar “Our Land Back” celebrates the best of
revolutionary poetry and keeps an eye on current
events. The intro music by Neuringer recalls
Haden’s original Liberation Music Orchestra,
funereal yet filled with bitter anger. But thepiece’s main vamp, beautifully, dreadfully, carries
a strong, unshakeable voice citing a plethora ofunjust landgrabs carried out through imperialism
and gentrification. The statement, bold andnecessary, is driven by Stewart and colored withthe haunting improvisations of Neuringer andNavarro: “Who knows what happened? / In South
Carolina / New York and Palestine and Iran?... / In
Ethiopia / In Nigeria? / We want our land back, / Land
back.”The eight selections exhibit the highest level ofmusicianship and poetry. Protect Your Light landsin this reviewer’s category of “Utterly Necessary”.
For more info visit impulserecords.com. Irreversible
Entanglements is at Music Hall of Williamsburg Jan.
13 and Le Poisson Rouge Jan. 15, both as part of WinterJazzfest. See Calendar.

Trouble in Mind
Elan Mehler (Sunnyside)
by Scott Yanow

E lan Mehler is perhaps best known as a record
producer and as the co-founder of Newvelle
Records in 2016 (which has 50+ releases so far), as
well as for organizing special concerts. However,
he has also led 11 albums as a pianist since his 2007
debut album (Scheme For Thought, Brownswood).

B OXED SE T

PharoahPharoah Sanders (Luaka Bop)
by Jim Motavalli

P haroah Sanders’ self-titled 1977 album on India

Navigation was made under adverse conditions
and didn’t get much distribution at the time, but
its impact is undeniable. The album has since
been a collector’s item, fetching top dollar. The
tenor saxophonist would keep the spontaneously
created “Harvest Time” in his repertoire for future
live sessions, and the shimmering “Love Will Finda Way” (written by Sanders’ wife Bedria Sanders)
was the title track of the much more commercial
follow-up to this album, released by Arista in 1978.
India Navigation’s main man, Bob Cummins,
was hoping for a sax/bass duo at his big Rockland
County studio, a former spring water factory. But
instead, a seven-piece band showed up that day
in 1976, challenging Cummins’ engineering skills.
Both Sanders and Cummins thought it went badly,
so a second session was scheduled—at which timethe influential “Harvest Time” was created. Luaka
Bop’s boxed set includes the original and highlycollectible, long out of print Pharoah, plus nicely
recorded 1977 live versions of “Harvest Time”
from Jazz Festival Willisau in Switzerland andJazz Middelheim in Antwerp, Belgium.
The original album has been remastered,though there are still some sonic deficiencies.
And there are plenty of extras: an informative andnicely illustrated booklet, concert ticket, a packetof photos, a music sheet for “Harvest Time”, a1977 jazz poster from Montmartre featuring the“Pharao Sanders Quartet,” a contact sheet and a“Hail Pharoah” review from the New York Daily
News in 1977 that praises guitarist Tisziji Muñoz
as “the best soloist [Pharoah] has ever had in hisbands.”
But it’s the music recorded in that drafty
studio by people who weren’t all that happy to be
there that draws you in. “Harvest Time” has been
described as an early piece of ambience, referencing
both “Astral Traveling” (with Lonnie Liston
Smith) and the late-period work Sanders madewith Floating Points. Drummer Greg Bandy sitsout “Harvest Time”. Muñoz says that Sanders told
the guitarist to “come up with something,” and so
he did, playing relatively up-front but subsumed
behind the leader who plays a long, limpid solowith plenty of slurring vibrato, a nod perhaps toStan Getz or Ben Webster. Though Bedria Sanders’pulsing, droning harmonium has its place, as wellas Steve Neil’s hypnotic, repetitive bass (he gets asolo five minutes in), it’s mostly the leader’s show.
Sanders comes back sounding breathier thanever, then slows the proceedings to a crawl,
fluttering percussive breaths through his horn.
And just when you think the piece is winding
down, he starts playing a circular figure—like John
Klemmer through an echoplex—that leads into a
moment for the harmonium (the same instrumentthat chanteuse Nico employed). And so it goesfor 20 minutes. It’s intoxicating stuff, very of thatmoment.
The live versions—with a quartet featuring
Khalid Moss (piano), Hayes Burnett (bass) andClifford Jarvis (drums)—are quite different. At
Willisau, “Harvest Time” becomes one extended
Sanders solo, with the saxophonist really shovelingin the coal six minutes in, speeding up the tempo,
channeling Coltrane, then slowing way down as
Jarvis offers some militaristic thumps. Then it’s
just Pharoah alone, bringing back that circularfigure from the studio version. (Neither Moss or

34 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

Burnett solo).
The longer version from Middelheim ismore collaborative. The influence of “Astral
Traveling” is strongly felt from Moss on electric
piano. Sanders is mellower, and Moss solos, a bit
off-mic. Burnett also solos quietly, building onthat repetitive figure. When Sanders comes backhe explores the seemingly endless bottom of his
tenor’s range, staying largely inside. It ends in awhisper of echoing solo saxophone.
Muñoz went on to a long career as both aleader and a spiritual guide, and fans of his ecstatic
playing will love the studio version of Bedria
Sanders’ “Love Will Find a Way”. Pharoah veteran
Lawrence Killian’s hand percussion and Clifton“Jiggs” Chase’s supportive but unfortunately
distant-sounding organ lead into Sanders’impassioned vocal. “I was no singer,” Sanders
admits in the booklet’s interview, but it works in
his imitable way. The song is compelling and leads
directly into one of the greatest Sanders spiritual
jazz solos on record. But then it’s Muñoz’ turn. He
so perfectly matches the leader’s intent with a very
long, questing, upward-bound statement that it’s
clear why Sanders picked him for the band. An
organ interlude is, again, heard in the distance,
which trails off with more percussion from Killian.
Finally, “Memories of Edith Johnson” (about
Pharoah’s aunt back in Little Rock, AR, a church
lady and good singer who disliked the spotlight) is
elegiac, with some wordless, high-pitched vocals.
The organ gives it that gospel feel. It’s a bit murky
until Pharoah’s tenor comes in and blows away
any cobwebs.
This welcomed package takes the listenerback to the uplift of spiritual jazz. Even if it
unfortunately may have already been on the wane
by its debut in 1977, it certainly serves a timely
release today.
The “Harvest Time Project” tribute to Pharoah Sanders
featuring Tisziji Muñoz is at Le Poisson Rouge Jan. 12,
part of Winter Jazzfest. See Calendar.

Mehler has a harmonically rich style and a relaxed
approach to playing that emphasizes thoughtfulimprovising.
In early 2020 he went to New Orleans to record
Ellis Marsalis as part of a New Orleans music series.
Mehler’s plane flight was diverted to Dallas, where
he spent nine hours before finally boarding a flightto the Crescent City. He arrived quite late and wasconfronted with a largely empty studio. Despite
Mehler’s exhaustion and his worry about theupcoming COVID-19 pandemic, his engineer andco-producer Ben Chace persuaded him to sit downat the piano and let the tapes roll. Trouble in Mindis the result.
The dozen songs on this solo set are taken
almost entirely at slow tempos and sound as if
Mehler was thinking aloud at the piano. While theplaying is spontaneous (there is subtle creativity
and some reharmonizing), he pays respect to allof the melodies he interprets. The opener, “Ina Sentimental Mood”, is given a few surprising
twists and turns and includes a little gentle stride
piano. Although “Esplanade Blues” is technicallya free improvisation, it is a slow blues with acatchy melody and some soulful playing. Most of
the other pieces are similar in mood and treatment
including Charles Mingus’ “Alice’s Wonderland”,
Bill Frisell’s folkish melody “Justice and Honor”(played quite tenderly), a pair of Duke Ellington
numbers (“Solitude” and “Come Sunday”), Richard
M. Jones’ “Trouble in Mind” and a partly reinvented“My Funny Valentine”.
The only performances that are played at close toa medium tempo are a swinging “Out of Nowhere”
and “I Should Have Prayed for Rain”, one of three
originals; the others are “There at the Heart”, whichbuilds a bit in passion and the harmonically rich

“Scheme for Thought”. While one might wish that
there were a few energetic numbers included forvariety, Trouble in Mind succeeds as a set of quietly
creative, tuneful music.
For more info visit sunnysiderecords.com. Mehler’s
album release concerts are at Birdland Jan. 19-21 withguests. See Calendar.

I Want More
Donny McCaslin (Edition)
by Tom Greenland

T enor saxophonist Donny McCaslin is doing

something new. For a dozen years he’s been working
with Jason Lindner (keyboards), Tim Lefebvre(electric bass) and Mark Guiliana (drums) todevelop an approach to jazz that retains the rigorous
technical and thematic improvisation of artists suchas John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, but now recast
against electronic soundscapes that incorporate pop,
rock, funk and EDM. I Want More is his latest, mostfully realized statement, an explosive collection of
tracks that pound on your eardrums. The standout
is “Body Blow”, driven by a radio-friendly hookplayed with a heavily distorted, ugly/beautiful
tenor sound, switching to an equally catchy second

hook, beautifully balancing the acoustic ambianceof the bass and drum groove with biting metallic
horn and keyboard tones. Even if it isn’t McCaslin’s
most decisive solo on the album, his false-fingered
tenor rant perfectly suits the song’s emotion, andyou can just imagine a sea of bobbing heads andlurching bodies responding to the sonic onslaught.
In fact, that’s exactly what occurred last January
when McCaslin & Co. unleashed this number ona standing-room-only crowd at Le Poisson Rouge
during Winter Jazzfest (see March 2023 issue of
TNYCJR for review).
Besides McCaslin, Lindner, Lefebvre andGuiliana, two other key ‘players’ on the project
are producer David Fridmann, who brings an
outsider, alt-rock perspective to jazz recording, andJannek Zechner, who, along with Lindner, handles
electronic production and sound design. All tracks
are the leader’s originals, three co-composed with
Lindner and/or Lefebvre. “Landsdown”, the second
single, has a pastoral texture, McCaslin using aharmonizer with long delay to bounce new ideas off
his own echoing phrases. Other highlights include
his aggressively melodic extended improvisation on“Turbo” and his sirening climax on the title track, anuber-funky tune driven by Lefebvre’s biting 16thnote basslines and Guiliana’s kinetic but relaxed
drumming. Boasting a variety of grooves, a prudent
balance of human touch and electronic machination,
performed by a closely attuned collective ofmusicians, this high-voltage set is bound to attractfans who don’t normally listen to ‘jazz’. Don’t be
surprised if you see a mosh pit forming next time
you catch the quartet live.
For more info visit editionrecords.com. McCaslin’s album
release concert is at Joe’s Pub Jan. 19. See Calendar.

David Pastor TimeLapse
TimeLapseisthenewreleasebyDavid
PastorafterFilmSessions,analbumthatwasrecognizedasthebestJazzalbumof2019bytheCarlesSantosAwardsfor
Valencianmusicandhastourednational
andinternationalfestivals.

available
January 19th
DAVIDPASTORTRIO:
David Pastor - Trumpet & Flugelhorn
Thomas K. Warburton - Double bass
Francesc Capella - Piano
visit dottimerecords.com to order“I absolutely love the Marcus Persiani In-Motion
album, one of the best piano trio albums
I've heard this year...“-Ed Blanco, Host WDNA Radio
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THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 35

(LEST WE FORGET CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10)
Rollins-Roach collaboration: “Basically, all the iconic
mid ‘50s Rollins improvisations are inconceivable
without Mr. Max Roach, as either a participant or
guiding light. Max’ gravitas and almost didactic
attitude are softened and put to use by Rollins’ humor
and expansiveness. In a sense, Roach and Rollins are
salty and sweet; two contrasting worldviews that cometogether to create something extraordinary.” Just prior
to that tragic car accident that took one of jazz’ greatest
trumpeters in Brown, another significant trumpeter inBooker Little (who similarly passed away far too young
at age 23) would start playing with Roach, subsequently
recording eight albums with the drummer in a shorttimespan between 1958-61. Eric Dolphy was also partof the new guard of young jazz musicians guiding themusic into the ‘60s, and Roach would take both Little
and Dolphy under his wing, resulting in now-classics
such as: Max Roach—Percussion Bitter Sweet (Impulse!),Max Roach—We Insist! Freedom Now Suite (Candid) and
Booker Little and his Quintet featuring Max Roach—
Out Front (Candid).
Philadelphian Odean Pope played with Roach forover two decades. His first record with the drummer
was Roach’s Pictures In A Frame (1979), the first in a
decade-long string of albums (nine total) that thedrummer recorded for the Italian Soul Note label.
Says the tenor saxophonist, “I was inspired by hismusical commitment to using his artistry to speak tothe social and political issues of his time. He was mythinking partner. He was an accomplished creative/
performance artist and cultural strategist.”
In an interview with DownBeat in the ’60s, Roachsaid: “We American jazz musicians of African descent
have proved beyond all doubt that we’re mastermusicians of our instruments. Now what we have to
do is employ our skill to tell the dramatic story of ourpeople and what we’ve been through.” Roach did justthat with politically and socially conscious albums
including the aforementioned We Insist! (with lyrics
by Oscar Brown Jr. and vocals by his then-wife Abbey
Lincoln) and Members, Don’t Git Weary.
In 1970 Roach co-founded M’Boom, an ensembleof 10 percussionists (including Freddie Waits, Warren
Smith, Ray Mantilla, Omar Clay, Joe Chambers, Roy
Brooks and Fred King) which performed for several
decades. He also led a piano-less quartet (trumpet,
sax, bass, drums), sometimes uniting it with daughter
Maxine’s Uptown String Quartet as The Double
Quartet. And he memorably recorded numerous free
improvisational duet albums with such avant garde
artists as Cecil Taylor, Anthony Braxton and Archie
Shepp.
Roach was also always ready to embrace new formsof music and art. Once I was with him on a Harlem
sidewalk and we saw some teens breakdancing. He
was enthusiastic about them, and eventually he did aconcert with rappers and breakdancers.
Max Roach died in 2007, at age 83.
For more info visit arts.gov/honors/jazz/max-roach. Max
Roach Centennial celebrations include: Kojo Roney at Blue
Note Jan. 8; Winard Harper at Interchurch Center Jan.
10, presented by Jazzmobile, and at Sistas’ Place Jan. 13;
Tyshawn Sorey “Reimagines Max Roach’s Members, Don’t
Git Weary” Jan. 10, part of Winter Jazzfest; Jazz at Lincoln
Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis at Rose Theater
Jan. 19-20; Domo Branch and Branchin’ Out at Dizzy’s
Club Jan. 19-20; The Drum Also Waltzes screening at
New Jersey Performing Arts Center Jan. 18; and Freedom
Now Suite featuring Cassandra Wilson, Sonia Sanchez,
Saul Williams, Ravi Coltrane, Nduduzo Makhathini, Eric
Revis and Nasheet Waits at New Jersey Performing Arts
Center Jan. 26. See Calendar.
Recommended Listening:• Clifford Brown/Max Roach—Clifford Brown and Max

Roach (EmArcy, 1954-55)• Max Roach—We Insist! Freedom Now Suite(Candid, 1960)• Max Roach—Members, Don’t Git Weary(Atlantic, 1968)• M’Boom—re: percussion (Strata-East, 1973)• Max Roach—Chattahoochie Red(CBS/Columbia, 1980)• Clark Terry/Max Roach—Friendship(Eight-Eight’s/Columbia, 2002)(INTERVIEW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6)
how we enunciate jazz. And jazz has always been a
dialogical experience for South Africans.
TNYCJR: And what’s it like to play with musiciansfrom other parts of the world?
Makhathini: We’ve been exploring what I call theTransatlantic Bridge. This tries to think about what areverse narrative would be, in a sense that jazz is anenunciation of displacement from people who weretaken as slaves. So what does it mean to echo back?
And do we have a collective memory?
There’s always this thing that draws us to thecenter of who we are and the ways that we really comefrom the same source. Sounds always go back to theresonator. So these sounds are echoes that have been
displaced in many ways and they echo back into thismother energy.
TNYCJR: As a musician who takes such a spiritualapproach, I’m curious what’s your view about
generative AI?
Makhathini: If technological developments wereextensions to what human beings can do, then I’d beon board. But the idea of replacing what a human can
do goes against the principles of being in the world, as
someone who’s collaborating within the much broader
paradigm of being.
Life itself is a form of technology. And if songs arereally generating healing… Someday, there won’t be aneed for songs.
TNYCJR: That idea of healing through music has deeproots in African traditions. How is it implemented inyour music?

TNYCJR: How did you first connect with Blue Note
Records?
Makhathini: I was in the U.S. for Winter Jazzfest anddid a couple of things, and played at the Blue Note Cluband at Jazz at Lincoln Center. I got this beautiful email
from Don Was (Blue Note Records president), who has
become a friend. I spoke to Don about how South Africa
has a lot of Blue Note-sounding albums that were notsigned and are 50 or 60 years old. He became interested
and came to South Africa. Blue Note Africa became thisinvention by myself and him to cater for those invisible
years. But I don’t have a formal role because I don’t
want it to implicate on my artistic work.
TNYCJR: And what can you share about your upcoming
appearances around New York?
Makhathini: At Jazz Congress, it’s a conversation that
follows many years of collaboration between myself
and [saxophonist] Shabaka Hutchings. We will bejoined by [bassist/vocalist] Esperanza Spalding todiscuss the globality of jazz and how jazz behaves invarious geographies.
I’m playing at Winter Jazzfest with my trio ofFrancisco Mela and Zwelakhe-Duma Bell le Pere. We’representing music from my new album, which will be
released later. The performance will be underpinnedby the stuff about the ongoing rehearsal, fugitive
aesthetics… Those are the new thoughts that I’mworking on, with and through my sound.
The show at Louis Armstrong Center is anothertrio gig. I feel like New Orleans has always been
writing letters to West Africa and doing meditations ofhome in the sound. So Louis Armstrong and that early
departure for this music was like… yearnings for home.
And then there’s the Max Roach tribute at New
Jersey Performing Arts Center. It’s a big honor because
when Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln were creating
We Insist!, they were also thinking about South Africa
and what it was going through. It was not only an
American message. It was a broader message from theblack aesthetics and the ways in which we’re yearning
for freedom. It’s with Nasheet Waits, who’s like a big
brother of mine. I have never played with Ravi Coltrane
before, so that’s truly an honor. And Cassandra Wilson
is really aware of South African music. It’s a big
moment.
TNYCJR: Anything else audiences should know?

Makhathini: We’re always introduced to soundin the context of ritual. So there would be no soundenunciation, as far as indigenous knowledge systems
are concerned, if it wasn’t to increase the vibrational
depth for a ritual. In trying to keep to these indigenous
knowledge systems, we try to think about what it means
to practice jazz in this paradigm of ritual technology.
In essence, rituals are concepts that generate an energythat builds back to Ntu, which is a vital force. And
because human beings go through so much, theycapture a kind of out-of-tuneness. Rituals are strategies
to align back to Ntu. And healing is really understoodas a harmonious vibration.

Makhathini: Oh, I just want to be grateful. I remember
when I put out my first record, the U.S. media wasso gracious in trying to understand these difficult
concepts that were coming with a lot of words from mylanguage. So gratitude and grace are always part of myvocabulary.

TNYCJR: That implies a journey of change too. Is yourmusic changing?

Recommended Listening:• Nduduzo Makhathini–Mother Tongue(Gundu Entertainment, 2014)• Nduduzo Makhathini–Icilongo: The African Peace
Suite (Gundu Entertainment, 2016)• Nduduzo Makhathini–Reflections (Solo Piano)(Gundu Entertainment, 2016)• Shabaka and the Ancestors—Wisdom of Elders(Brownswood, 2016)• Nduduzo Makhathini–Modes of Communication:
Letters from the Underworlds (Blue Note, 2018)• Nduduzo Makhathini–In the Spirit of Ntu(Blue Note, 2022)

Makhathini: Lately, I’ve been thinking of my practicein the sense of an ongoing rehearsal, but not towards
a performance. It’s a rehearsal as a way of being, not
as a thing we utilize to get to a much finer thing. But
what does it mean to think of sound-making as layersof rehearsals? That implicates in the idea of time, andhow we think about evolution and change. And thisbecomes a fugitive practice and a fugitive aesthetic, inthe sense that anything we understand about it tends to
be in the past already.

36 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

For more info visit bluenote.com/artist/nduduzo-makhathini.
Makhathini is speaking at Jazz Congress at Jazz at Lincoln
Center Jan. 11 and playing at City Winery Jan. 12, part ofWinter JazzFest; Louis Armstrong Center Jan. 13; and New
Jersey Performing Arts Center Jan. 26, celebrating Max
Roach’s centennial.

(THE POINT FESTIVAL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12)
Cookers, Arturo O’Farrill, Mark Whitfield, Russell
Malone, Jeff “Tain” Watts and, of course, Pat Martino
have all played Jazz@thePoint.
But this year, organizers Nick Regine, Michael
Pedicin and Donofrio really outdid themselves. They
wanted a theme, and the theme they chose was the
saxophone, more specifically women who play the
saxophone. Each day featured a different worldclass player on the distaff side of Adolphe Sax’ great
creation. On opening night, there was Lauren Sevian(baritone) with Troy Roberts (tenor), Pat Bianchi(organ) and Jimmy Macbride (drums); the secondday, Erena Terakubo (alto) was paired with Chad
LB (tenor), and a rhythm section of Liya Grigoryan(piano), Ben Tiberio (bass) and Bryan Carter (drums);
and on the final day, a Saturday, the prodigious
bassist/producer and anointed official keeper of
the Gillespie flame, John Lee brought in the Dizzy
Gillespie Afro-Latin Experience with Cassity (alto/
flute), Hendrix (trumpet), pianist/vocalist Abelita
Mateus (piano/vocals), Campbell (drums) and Roger
Squitero (congas).
The main venue was the historic and cozy Gateway
Playhouse, a 220-seat theater with perfect sound andsight lines. At $50 for the three nights of 90-minute sets(with the Gregory’s after-party thrown in on Friday
and Saturday), it’s a perfect long weekend for New
Yorkers looking for the peaceful and silent beauty ofthe beach in November, with boardwalk strolls on
Absecon Island or Ocean City by day and world-classmusic by night.
On Thursday, Troy Roberts’ straight-ahead group(as opposed to his Nu-Jive outfit) offered a funkypolyrhythmic take on “Love for Sale” and a greatreading of the Shirley Scott/Stanley Turrentine blues,“Deep Down Soul”. Sevian brought her magnificent
technique and burning grease to the Ellis Marsalis
original “Swinging at The Haven”. To close, Roberts
and Sevian played “Hey Lock”, recreating the famous
Griff & Lock cover by standing back-to-back, with
Roberts in the diminutive Johnny Griffin’s place andthe statuesque (and heeled) Sevian standing in tall for
Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis.
Friday featured the lightning lines of straight-up
bebop, with Erena Terakubo and Lefkowitz-Brown(Chad LB, if you prefer) trading high-energy, highflying, high-wire runs with no net in sight. Terakubo
honored Bird with a smoking cadenza on “A Night in
Tunisia”. Not to be outdone, LB demonstrated how
Coleman Hawkins anticipated the innovations ofParker and Gillespie in 1939, when his version of “Bodyand Soul” changed everything. LB gave it a beautiful
reading, but certainly brought out the proto-bop attack
that made musicians’ heads turn more than 80 years ago.
Drum master Bryan Carter, just months removed
from his Tony win for co-orchestrating Some Like It Hot,wasn’t listed in the program. But as a late, emergency
substitute (luckily, LB has no shortage of world-classmusicians in his contact list), he was in the drum chairfor the Gillespie standard “Bebop”, driving it at a
breakneck pace.
Fortunately, there’s no such thing as too much
Diz. After a Friday night drenched in bebop, it was on
to the Saturday festival finale with the 5-string electricbassist Lee showcasing the Dizzy Gillespie Afro-Latin
Experience. Concentrating on his former employer’s
exploration of the African Diaspora in Latin America,
Lee’s group led off with polyrhythmic “Toccata”(from Lalo Schifrin’s Gillespiana) with drummer andpercussionist, Campbell and Squitero, compelling
movement in every seat. There was never a break inintensity: Gillespie’s “Tin-Tin-Deo” was followed
by Jobim’s “Desafinado”, then serious shredding
by Cassity and Hendrix on the Ellington/Juan Tizol
standard “Caravan”.
Just when it seemed the night and Jazz@thePoint

could not get any better, it was over to Gregory’s. And,in fact, the weekend went from great to legendary
when the entirely improvised jam, how this whole
report started, demonstrated all that is great about thismusic and culture.
For more info visit southjerseyjazz.org(BELGRADE FESTIVAL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12)with a difference. It was sometimes almost ambient,
lingering in softly swirling seas of sound before it
exploded.
Another case in point: Oded Tzur, tenor saxophonist
from Israel. Tzur was not exactly a “discovery,” because
he has two well-received albums out on ECM. But if
you knew only the albums, you were not prepared
for the experience of Tzur in-person. He performedin Belgrade less than three weeks after the horrifying
outbreak of violence in Israel and Gaza. When he cameon stage he said, “This music was written about love.
I never thought we would play it at such a moment.”
His set was a haunting, incantatory, solemn ceremony.
He sometimes barely whispered through his horn, but
the aura he created was too emotionally vulnerable tobe serene.
Another case in point: Tzur’s piano player, Nitai
Hershkovits, who combined overpowering Middle
Eastern rhythmic urgency with mesmerizing singlenote delicacy. He balanced ethnicity with universality
and is going to be a star. (Call on the Old Wise, his first
ECM album, was released late last year).
The festival also always books some bigger names
from the U.S. and Europe. Among the former this year
were Gerald Clayton, John Scofield and Dave Douglas.
Among the latter were Leszek Możdżer, Paal NilssenLove, Verneri Pohjola, Stefano Di Battista and Max
Kochetov.
Pianist Gerald Clayton, with his world-class trioof bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Jeff Ballard, got
the festival off to a beautiful start on opening night.
The most captivating moment was Federico Mompou’s“Damunt de tu Només les Flors”, a deep ballad from
Clayton’s most recent Blue Note album Bells on Sand.
Guitarist John Scofield’s concert was the only one
outside the Belgrade Youth Center. He sold out the
1,400-seat MTS Dvorana on the festival’s last night,
playing music from his recent ECM album Uncle John’sBand, in addition to two pieces in tribute to Carla Bley
(who had passed away 12 days before the concert).
In the hush of the rapt encore, Bley’s “Ida Lupino”,
you could hear the proverbial pin drop. Trumpeter
Dave Douglas’ set with electronics virtuoso (and,secondarily, guitarist) Rafiq Bhatia was odd. Bhatia
created deafening drama that overwhelmed theleader’s acoustic trumpet.
Another disappointing concert was LeszekMożdżer’s. The Polish pianist had been a big hit
in Belgrade in 2013 (with bassist Lars Danielsson),but his duo this time, with his countryman, sopranosaxophonist Adam Pierończyk, never jelled. Drummer
Paal Nilssen-Love’s Large Unit, from Norway, kicked
ass this year, as they have done all over the world for a
decade. The drummer has solved the problem of how toorganize an avant garde big band. Notated interludes
provided islands of order within the cacophonous din,and served as launch pads for the maniacal soloists.
Two other successful concerts were by Verneri Pohjolaof Finland, one of the best trumpet players in Europe,and soprano/alto saxophonist Stefano Di Battista,
who played sweet but unsentimental music by thegreat film composer Ennio Morricone. Max Kochetov,a Ukrainian saxophonist now living in Belgrade,appeared with Italian trumpet badass Fabrizio Bosso
and kept up with him, no mean trick.
For more info visit bjf.rs

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 37

CALENDAR
Monday, January 1• Musics with Ilusha Tsinadze, Gocha Tsinadze, Chris Tordini, Jason Nazary
Barbès 7 pm $20• Greg Ruvolo Big Band Collective; The Anderson Brothers:“Play Irving Berlin”
Birdland 5:30, 8:30, 10:30 pm $30-40êVince Giordano and the Nighthawks
Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-40• Chris Botti with Lee Pearson, Daniel Chmielinski, Leonardo Amuedo
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $75-115
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Nick Hempton TrioêAlan Broadbent, Harvie S, Billy Mintz; Pasquale Grasso Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Shrine Big Band; Shrine Jazz Jam Session with Bennett Daponte-Smith
Shrine 8, 10 pm• Anthony Pinciotti Quartet; Mike Boone Quartet and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35

Tuesday, January 2• Wayne Tucker and The Bad Mothas

Arthur’s Tavern 8 pm

• Tamar Korn; Slavic Soul Party with John Carlson, Kenny Warren,Peter Hess, Peter Stan, Tim Vaughn, Adam Dotson, Ken Bentley, Matt Moran,
Chris Stromquist
Barbès 7, 9 pm $20
êThe Octet: “Celebrates Frank Wess” with Scott Robinson, Dick Oatts, Greg
Gisbert, Michael Rodriguez, Ryan Keberle, Steve Davis, Michael Weiss,
Rufus Reid, Winard Harper Birdland 7, 9:30 pm $35-45
êVince Giordano and the Nighthawks
Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-40• Chris Botti with Lee Pearson, Daniel Chmielinski, Leonardo Amuedo
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $75-95
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Ehud Asherie Trio
• Michael Kanan Trio; Mike DiRubbo Quartet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êFalkner Evans; Tamir Shmerling Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
Shrine 9 pm
• Gilad BloomêSanti Debriano’s Arkestra Bembe with Andrea Brachfeld, TK Blue,
Tommy Morimoto, Ray Scro, Adrian Alvarado, Mamiko Watanabe,
Robby Ameen; Tyler Mitchell Quartet and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êChris Potter Quartet with Craig Taborn, Scott Colley, Marcus Gilmore
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40• Yvonnick Prené with Jeb Patton, Clovis Nicolas, Aaron Seeber
Zinc Bar 7, 8:30 pm $25

Wednesday, January 3• Noah Gershwin with Joe Martin, Billy Hart

Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm• Andy Statman Trio with Larry Eagle, Jim Whitney; Mamady Kouyate and
His Mandingo Ambassadors Barbès 8, 10 pm $20

êThe Octet: “Celebrates Frank Wess” with Scott Robinson, Dick Oatts,

Greg Gisbert, Michael Rodriguez, Ryan Keberle, Steve Davis, Michael Weiss,
Rufus Reid, Winard Harper Birdland 7, 9:30 pm $35-45
êDavid Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band; Frank Vignola’s Guitar
Night with Mike Stern
Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-30• Chris Botti with Lee Pearson, Daniel Chmielinski, Leonardo Amuedo
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $75-95
êJohnny O’Neal Trio
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5êShenel Johns: “A Portrait of Dinah Washington”
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-55• Neal Caine Quartet; James Carney Quartet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Dal Segño Trio with Dr. Darrell Smith
Gotham Bar and Grill 7 pm
• Dan Kaufman Trio; Tyler Bullock Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Harlem Jazz Session with Peter Brainin
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 9:30 pm $20
Shrine 8 pm
• Leo Kim
• Matt Pavolka’s Horns Band with Ralph Alessi, Charlotte Greve, Jacob
Garchik, Allan Mednard; Evan Sherman Quintet and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êBill Charlap Trio with Peter Washington, Kenny Washington
Smoke 7, 9 pm $35-55
êMary Halvorson, Kalia Vandever, Weston Olencki
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20
êChris Potter Quartet with Craig Taborn, Scott Colley, Marcus Gilmore
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Thursday, January 4êTerry Waldo’s Gotham City Band

Arthur’s Tavern 10 pm
Back Bar 5:30 pmêGary Versace, Adam Kolker, Jeremy Stratton, Anthony Pinciotti
Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Tablao Flamenco• Erica Mancini’s Fun Machine with Anthony Coleman
Barbès 8 pm $20
êRotem Sivan Trio with Hamish Smith, Miguel Russel
Bee’s Knees Provisions 7:30 pm• Maria Kaushansky

38 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

ê = Recommended Shows
êThe Octet: “Celebrates Frank Wess” with Scott Robinson, Dick Oatts,

Greg Gisbert, Michael Rodriguez, Ryan Keberle, Steve Davis, Michael Weiss,
Rufus Reid, Winard Harper Birdland 7, 9:30 pm $35-45• Richard Cortez and Esteban Castro: “Standards in Orbit”
Birdland Theater 8:30 pm $25-35• Chris Botti with Lee Pearson, Daniel Chmielinski, Leonardo Amuedo
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $75-95• Brandon Lee Quintet; Ai Murakami Quartet
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $5• Pedro Giraudo Tango Quartet David Rubenstein Atrium 7:30 pm• Mathis Picard Sound Orchestra Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-50• Eric Alexander Quartet; Edsel Gomez Quartet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
Joe’s Pub 7 pm $25• Arun Ramamurthy Trio
• Noah Haidu, Paul Sikivie, Charles Goold; Davis Whitfield Quartet
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Charlotte Greve, Emma Frank, Simon Jermyn
The Owl Music Parlor 8 pm $12
Silvana 8 pm
• Harlem Jazz CircusêIsaiah Collier and the Chosen Few with Cameron Campbell, Jeremiah
Edwards, Austin Williamson; David Gibson Quartet and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êBill Charlap Trio with Peter Washington, Kenny Washington
Smoke 7, 9 pm $35-55
êMary Halvorson/Immanuel Wilkins The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20
êChris Potter Quartet with Craig Taborn, Scott Colley, Marcus Gilmore
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Friday, January 5êJohnny O’Neal Trio; Bobby Harden with Off Da Hook

Arthur’s Tavern 7, 10 pm

Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm• Defay Brothers• “SStreet Life: A Tribute to The Crusaders” with Craig Dreyer
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Oscar Noriega’s Crooked Quartet with Marta Sanchez, Christopher Tordini,

Jason Nazary; VKB with Rachelle Garniez, Amanda Homi, Mamie Minch;
Super Yamba Quartet
Barbès 5:30, 8, 10 pm $20• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pm $30
êBirdand Big Band; The Octet: “Celebrates Frank Wess” with
Scott Robinson, Dick Oatts, Greg Gisbert, Michael Rodriguez,
Ryan Keberle, Steve Davis, Michael Weiss, Rufus Reid, Winard Harper
Birdland 5:30, 8:30, 10:30 pm $25-45
êHarry Allen Quartet
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35• Chris Botti with Lee Pearson, Daniel Chmielinski, Leonardo Amuedo
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $75-95• Cellar Dog All Stars; Miki Yamanaka Quartet
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10êGBD Trio with Mark Whitfield, Bob Hurst, Jeff “Tain” Watts
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-65êSheryl Bailey Quartet; Ben Stivers Quartet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êMike Stern
Drom 8 pm $20-25êNew Ear Festival: Alaara with Grey McMurray, Sonya Belaya, Nicole Patrick;
Larum with Micah Frank, Chet Doxas Fridman Gallery 7:30 pmêShawn Lovato’s Biotic with Ingrid Laubrock, Henry Mermer
Ibeam Brooklyn 8 pm $20
Knickerbocker Bar & Grill 9 pm
• Kuni Mikani/Jon Roche• Peter Zak, David Wong, Jason Brown; Eden Ladin Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40• Andy Clausen’s SHUTTER with Riley Mulherkar, Gregg Belisle-Chi, Ryan
El-Sohl, Carmen Rothwell, Zosha Warpeha
The Owl Music Parlor 8 pm $12
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 10 pm $20• Markus Howell
Shrine 9 pm
• Villagers Brass BandêValery Ponomarev Quintet with Todd Bashore, Mamiko Watanabe, Lonnie
Plaxico, Victor Jones; Eric Person Quartet and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40
êBill Charlap Trio with Peter Washington, Kenny Washington
Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm $35-55
êMary Halvorson/Joe Morris The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20
êChris Potter Quartet with Craig Taborn, Scott Colley, Marcus Gilmore
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Saturday, January 6• Axel Tosca

Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Super Yamba• Pakula Surprise with Eric Pakula, Blake Lindberg, Nick Cudahy; Joy Askew
with Tony Mason, Andy Hess, Luca Benedetti; Banda de Los Muertos with
Oscar Noriega, Jacob Garchik, Chris Speed, Ben Holmes, Justin Mullens,Curtis Hasselbring, Brian Drye, Rachel Drehmann, Jim Black,
Mireya I. Ramos
Barbès 3, 8, 10 pm $20• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pm $30
êNicole Zuraitis; The Octet: “Celebrates Frank Wess” with Scott Robinson,
Dick Oatts, Greg Gisbert, Michael Rodriguez, Ryan Keberle, Steve Davis,
Michael Weiss, Rufus Reid, Winard Harper
Birdland 5:30, 8:30, 10:30 pm $20-45
êHarry Allen Quartet
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $20• Chris Botti with Lee Pearson, Daniel Chmielinski, Leonardo Amuedo
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $75-95• James Austin Quartet; Clovis Nicolas Quartet Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10êGBD Trio with Mark Whitfield, Bob Hurst, Jeff “Tain” Watts
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-65êMimi Jones

Tuesday, January 9• Ed Cherry Quartet; Richard Cortez BandThe Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Dal Segño Trio with Dr. Darrell Smith Gotham Bar and Grill 7:30 pmêNew Ear Festival: Bilal, Pink Siifu, T’Nah
Fridman Gallery 7:30 pm
Knickerbocker Bar & Grill 9 pm
• Kuni Mikani/Jon Roche• Peter Zak, David Wong, Jason Brown; John Chin Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40• Alena Spanger; Scree with Ryan El-Solh, Carmen Rothwell, Jason Burger
The Owl Music Parlor 8 pm $12• YD Trio; Composers Concordance Presents: “Eclectic Bands”;
Michael Morgan
Silvana 7, 8, 10 pmêValery Ponomarev Quintet with Todd Bashore, Mamiko Watanabe,Lonnie Plaxico, Victor Jones; George Garzone Trio and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40
êBill Charlap Trio with Peter Washington, Kenny Washington
Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm $35-55• Sarah Elizabeth Charles & Dawn with Linda May Han Oh, Maya Keren
Soapbox Gallery 7 pm $20• Mary Halvorson, Brett Deschenes, Dan St. Clair, Nat Baldwin
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20
êChris Potter Quartet with Craig Taborn, Scott Colley, Marcus Gilmore
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Sunday, January 7• Creole Cookin’ Jazz Band
• Carolina Mama

Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10êReed Basket with Andy Biskin, Peter Hess, Mike McGinnis, Sam Sadigursky;
Stephane Wrembel; Daisy Castro with Max O’Rourke, Brad Brose,
James Robbins
Barbès 6, 8, 10 pm $20• John Sturino’s BLOWGLOBE with Mar Vilaseca; The Afro Latin
Jazz Orchestra
Birdland 5:30, 8:30, 10:30 pm $20-40êHarry Allen Quartet
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $20• Chris Botti with Lee Pearson, Daniel Chmielinski, Leonardo Amuedo
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-95
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Brazilian GroovesêGBD Trio with Mark Whitfield, Bob Hurst, Jeff “Tain” Watts
Dizzy’s Club 5, 7:30 pm $20-65• Joe Farnsworth Trio; Peter Zak Quartet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êJon-Erik Kellso and the EarRegulars The Ear Inn 8 pmêNew Ear Festival: Nepenthae; HxH with Lester St. Louis, Chris Williams
Fridman Gallery 7:30 pm• Welf Dorr with Robert Boston, Dmitry Ishenko, Yuko Togami
The Keep 9 pm
• Melissa Stylianou, Gary Versace, Gary Wang; Vanisha Gould Polite Jam
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
North Square Lounge 12:30, 2 pm
• Emily Braden Trio
• Dan Loomis’ Mycellium Trio with Adam Levy, Tony Mason;
Kenneth Jimenez with Hery Paz, Angelica Sanchez, Tom Rainey
The Owl Music Parlor 8 pm $12• Marcus Goldhaber; Mimi Jones and Jam Room 623 at B2 Harlem 6, 8 pm $20
êLou Grassi, Roni Ben-Hur, Cameron Brown, Sheila Jordan
Saint Peter’s Church 5 pm
Shrine 8 pm
• Shrine Big BandêSheryl Bailey Trio with Ron Oswanski, Ian Froman; Aaron Johnson Boplicity
and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êBill Charlap Trio with Peter Washington, Kenny Washington
Smoke 7, 9 pm $35-55
êChris Potter Quartet with Craig Taborn, Scott Colley, Marcus Gilmore
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Monday, January 8• Grove Street Stompers

Arthur’s Tavern 7 pmêHilliard Greene & Chad Taylor Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10êElliott Sharp, Marco Cappelli, JT Lewis

Barbès 7 pm $20• Julia Keefe: “Mildred Bailey Project”

Birdland 5:30 pm $20-30êVince Giordano and the Nighthawks

Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-40êKojo Melché Roney: “Honoring Max Roach”

Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $25-35

êEd Cherry Trio
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5êYES Trio with Ali Jackson, Jr., Aaron Goldberg, Omer Avital

Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-55• Naama Gheber Quartet; Liam Sutcliffe Quintet

The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
Drom 7:30, 9:30 pm $30-35• Spike Wilner Trio; Ed Cherry Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
New Amsterdam Musical Association NAMA 7 pm
• “Music of the Diaspora”
Shrine 8 pm
• Shrine Jazz Jam Session with Bennett Daponte-Smith• Ari Hoenig Trio with Gadi Lehavi, Ben Tiberio; Obasi Akoto Quintet andJam with Anna-Lisa Kirby, Tim Green, Eric Lewis, Eric Kennedy
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êVanguard Jazz Orchestra with Dick Oatts, Billy Drewes, Rich Perry,
Ralph Lalama, Gary Smulyan, John Chudoba, Terell Stafford,
Scott Wendholt, Marshall Gilkes, Jason Jackson, Dion Tucker,
Douglas Purviance, Adam Birnbaum, David Wong, John Riley
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40
êPaul Bollenback, Santi Debriano, Tommy Campbell
Zinc Bar 7, 8:30 pm $25
êMingus Big BandêRotem Sivan Trio with Hamish Smith, Miguel Russel

Bee’s Knees Provisions 7:30 pm• The Ladles with Katie Martucci, Caroline Kuhn, Lucia Pontoniere• Yellowjackets with Russell Ferrante, Bob Mintzer, Will Kennedy,êSlavic Soul Party with John Carlson, Kenny Warren, Peter Hess, Peter Stan,

Birdland Theater 8:30 pm $20-30• Daniel Glass Trio
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $40-55• Meshell Ndegeocello• Greg Glassman Quartet; Mariel Bildsten Quartet

Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10

Tim Vaughn, Adam Dotson, Ken Bentley, Matt Moran, Chris Stromquist
Barbès 9 pm $20
êBen Allison, Steve Cardenas, Ted Nash: “The Music of Herbie Nichols”
Birdland 7, 9:30 pm $30-40
Birdland Theater 5:30 pm $25-35• Ashley Pezzotti
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $40-55• Meshell NdegeocelloCellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Our DelightêDavid Sanborn
City Winery 6, 9 pm $45-80êYES Trio with Ali Jackson, Jr., Aaron Goldberg, Omer Avital
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-55• Tyler Blanton Quartet; Ron Jackson Trio
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30, 12 am $25
êSonic Openings with patrick brennan, Hilliard Greene, Jason Kao Hwang,
Michael TA Thompson; patrick brennan, On Ka’a Davis, Jason Kao Hwang,
Cooper-Moore; Stan Zenkov; Lorin Benedict
Downtown Music Gallery 6:30 pm
Drom 8 pm• Silver Arrow BandThe Jazz Gallery 7:30, 9:30 pm $25-35• Shai Maestro• Kevin Sun Trio with Walter Stinson, Kayvon Gordon
Lowlands 8, 9:30 pm $10êDaryl Sherman, Harry Allen, Boots Maleson; Michael Kanan Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
Saint Tuesday 9:30 pm• Joe WittmanêSteve Nelson Quartet with Rick Germanson, Kiyoshi Kitagawa,Charles Goold; Jason Clotter Quartet and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êKris Davis Trio with Robert Hurst, Johnathan Blake
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40• Hendrik Meurkens: “Só Brasil - Tribute to Jobim” with Misha Tsiganov,
Gili Lopez, Portinho
Zinc Bar 7, 8:30 pm $30

Wednesday, January 10

Dane Alderson

Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $5
David Rubenstein Atrium 7:30 pmêSean Mason Quartet with Chris Lewis, Felix Moseholm, Domo Branch;
Winter Jazzfest: Joe Lovano/Shabaka Hutchings
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9, 11:15 pm $20-55• Jonny King Trio; Joe Strasser Quartet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êTatiana Eva-Marie & The Avalon Jazz Band: “The Djangology”; Rachel
Therrien’s Latin Jazz Project Drom 7, 10:45 pm $20-25• Vanisha Gould/Chris McCarthy with Kayla Williams
The Jazz Gallery 7:30, 9:30 pm $25-35• Camille Bertault Quintet with Julien Alour, Cameron Campbell,
Eduardo Belo, Franco Pinna; Ray Gallon Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Afro-Peruvian New Trends Orchestra
Shrine 8 pm
Silvana 8 pm
• Harlem Jazz Circus• Jason Kao Hwang, David Soldier, Gene Pritsker, Robert C. Ford: “Low Key”
Sky Vault 7:30 pmêWill Bernard Quartet
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êBilly Childs Quartet with Steve Wilson, Matt Penman, Ari Hoenig
Smoke 7, 9 pm $35-55
êDavid Mirarchi, Yvonne Rogers, Gian Perez, Kevin Eichenberger,
Angus Mason
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20
êWinter Jazzfest: Big Chief Donald Harrison with Dave Holland,
DJ Logic, Vernon Reid, Charles Tolliver, Joe Dyson, Arturo O’Farrill,
Fred Wesley, The Headhunters with Mike Clark, Bill Summers
Town Hall 8 pm $58-75
êKris Davis Trio with Robert Hurst, Johnathan Blake
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40• Olivia K & The Parkers

Friday, January 12• Brandon Lee with Willie Applewhite, Glenn Zaleski, David Wong,

Aaron Kimmel
Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Big Lazy
• Brooklyn Maqam with George Crotty, John Murchison, Jeremy Smith, Firas
Zreik; Mamady Kouyate and His Mandingo Ambassadors
Barbès 7, 10 pm $20• Yellowjackets with Russell Ferrante, Bob Mintzer, Will Kennedy,
Dane Alderson
Birdland 7, 9:30 pm $30-40êDavid Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band; Frank Vignola’s Guitar
Night with Janis Siegel, Pasquale Grasso
Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-30
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $40-55• Meshell NdegeocelloCellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Brandi Disterheft Trio
• Miho Hazama and m_unit Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-50• Max Johnson Trio; People of EarthThe Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Louis Armstrong Legacy Jazz Jam with Carol Sudhalter
Flushing Town Hall 7 pm
• Dal Segño Trio with Dr. Darrell Smith
Gotham Bar and Grill 7 pmêJazzmobile presents Winard Harper: “Celebrates Max Roach”
Interchurch Center 8:30 pm• Jazz House All-Stars with Birsa Chatterjee, Tyreek McDole; Ebban Dorsey;
Andrew Wagner; Esteban Castro; Liany Mateo; Ben Schwartz
The Jazz Gallery 7:30, 9:30 pm $25-35• Gian Perez, Tete Leguia, Nick Neuburg; Michael Larocca, Luke Rovinsky,
Caleb Duval; Stephen Gauci, Adam Lane, Kevin Shea; Michael Eaton,
Max Kutner, Adam Minkoff, Nick Anderson; Welf Dorr, Sandy Ewen,
Lim Yang, Kevin Shea
Main Drag Music 7 pm $15• Alex Wintz, Leighton Harrell, Mark Whitfield Jr; Thomas Linger Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êWinter Jazzfest: Tyshawn Sorey Sextet with Adam O’Farrill, Mark Shim,
Sullivan Fortner, Matt Brewer, Fay Victor: “Reimagines Max Roach’s
Members, Don’t Git Weary” Public Records 8 pm $35-45• Harlem Jazz Session with Peter Brainin
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 9:30 pm $20
Sarabeth’s Park Avenue South 6 pm
• Joe Wittman
Shrine 7, 8 pm
• Gil Schwartz; Leo Kim• Sam Weinberg Trio; Wendy Eisenberg Band
Sisters 8 pm
• Willy Rodriguez Quintet with Joseph Doubleday, Adam Seigel, Isaac Levien
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• David Mirarchi, Maya Keren, Emmanuel Michael, Mathias Højgaard Jensen,
Eliza SalemThe Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20
êKris Davis Trio with Robert Hurst, Johnathan Blake
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Birdland 7, 9:30 pm $30-40êJohnny O’Neal Trio; Bobby Harden with Off Da Hook

Arthur’s Tavern 7, 10 pm
Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pmêOscar Noriega’s Crooked Quartet with Marta Sanchez, Christopher Tordini,
Jason Nazary; Tony Malaby with Angelica Sanchez, Tom Rainey
Barbès 5:30, 8, 10 pm $20• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pm $30• Birdand Big Band; Yellowjackets with Russell Ferrante, Bob Mintzer,
Will Kennedy, Dane Alderson Birdland 5:30, 8:30, 10:30 pm $25-40
êTia Fuller Quartet
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35
êFrench Quarter 2024: Aurore Voilqué Quartet; Lionel Belmondopresents Deadjazz; Leon Phal; Alexis Valet Quintet; Ludovic Louis Quintet
Bitter End 6:30 pm $65• Meshell Ndegeocello; Josh Johnson, Abe Rounds, Jake Sherman:“Monologues”
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm, 12 am $15-55
êWinter Jazzfest: Marc Ribot New Trio with James Brandon Lewis;
Marc Ribot/Mary Halvorson; Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog; Jazz Passengers“Celebrate Curtis Fowlkes” Bowery Ballroom 6:30 pm $65
êAbraham Burton Quartet; Jamale Davis Quartet
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10êCamille Thurman with the Darrell Green Quartet
Chelsea Table + Stage 7 pm $40-50êWinter Jazzfest: Cyro Baptista, Aaron Parks’ Little Big, Rogê,Immanuel Wilkins, Shabaka & Quartetto Fantastico, Nduduzo MakhathiniCity Winery 6 pm $65• Bob Beamon/Stix Bones: “Olimpik Soul”
The Cutting Room 6 pm $98.34
êJerome Sabbagh

Thursday, January 11êTerry Waldo’s Gotham City Band

Arthur’s Tavern 10 pm
Back Bar 5:30 pmêMarc Copland, Adam Kolker, Jeremy Stratton, Anthony Pinciotti
Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm• Miss Maybell & The Jazz Age Artistes with Charlie Judkins, Brian Nalepka
Barbès 8 pm $20• Maria Kaushansky

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 39

• Jumaane Smith Quintet; Sam Barsh Quartet

The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êThe Unity Festival: Sonido Solar “Tribute to Eddie Palmieri”;
Scatter the Atoms That Remain with Billy Harper, Isaiah Collier,Randy Brecker, Davis Whitfield, Nat Reeves, Franklin Kiermyer;
Isaiah J. Thompson Quartet; Endea Owens and The Cookout; Chief Adjuah
Christian Scott; Summer Camargo; New Jazz Underground with
Abdias Armenteros, Sebastian Rios, TJ Reddick; Sarah Hanahan Quartet
Jazz at Lincoln Center 6:30 pm $85.50
êDarcy James Argue’s Secret Society with Dave Pietro, Max Bessesen,
Sam Sadigursky, Robert Gilliam, John Ellis, Chet Doxas, Carl Maraghi,
Sam Hoyt, Ravi Best, Brandon Lee, Nadje Noordhuis, David Smith,
Ingrid Jensen, Mike Fahie, Nick Grinder; Ryan Keberle, Jacob Garchik,Jennifer Wharton, Sebastian Noelle, Adam Birnbaum, Jorge Roeder,
Jon Wikan
The Jazz Gallery 7:30, 9:30 pm $35-45
êBria Skonberg/Anat Cohen Joe’s Pub 7 pm $30
êNew York Jazz Piano Festival: John Beasley/Chris Potter
Klavierhaus 7:30, 9 pm $40• Lesley Pintchik/Scott Hardy Knickerbocker Bar & Grill 9 pmêWinter Jazz Fest: Next Jazz Legacy, Brandee Younger Trio,
Samora Pinderhughes, Tyshawn Sorey Piano Trio, Karl Denson Project;
Harvest Time Project: “Tribute to Pharoah Sanders” with Joshua Abrams,
Tisziji Muñoz, James Brandon Lewis and Chad Taylor; Craig Taborn with
Ches Smith, Tomeka Reid
Le Poisson Rouge 6:15 pm $65• Jonny King, Dezron Douglas, Billy Drummond; Jon Davis
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40• yuniya edi kwon and Holland Andrews: “Work In Progress - How Does It
Feel To Look At Nothing”
National Sawdust 7:30 pm $20
êWinter Jazzfest: Surya Botofasina with Carlos Niño;
Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones; Okan; Jason Lindner’s Moment Machine’Nublu 7:15 pm $65
êWinter Jazzfest: Bark Culture; Anthony Tidd’s Sanity with Ursula Rucker;
Marshall Allen’s Ghost Horizons; Saul Williams; Black Buttafly;
Charlie Hall’s Get Up With It Nublu 151 7 pm $65
êWinter Jazzfest: Mark Whitfield & JK with Ray Angry, James Genus,
Gene Lake: “Soul Conversation”; Chiquita Magic, Ambrose Akinmusire,
Justin Brown; Ray Angry/J.Period: “J Dilla 50”; Alissia
Racket 7 pm $65• Marcos Valera; Jason MarshallRoom 623 at B2 Harlem 7, 8:30, 10 pm $20
Silvana 8 pm
• Bob Dee’s Cosmosis• Julius Tolentino Quintet; Donald Edwards Quintet and Jam

Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40
êBilly Childs Quartet with Steve Wilson, Matt Penman, Ari Hoenig
Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm $35-55
êDavid Mirarchi, Davy Lazar, Vittorio Mura, Yuma Uesaka, Elias Stemeseder,
Keenan Ruffin, Jon Starks The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20
êKris Davis Trio with Robert Hurst, Johnathan Blake
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40
êWinter Jazzfest: Arcoiris Sandoval Sonic Asylum Trio; Micah Thomas Trio;
Christie Dashiell; Tobias Meinhart; Alexis Lombre; J. Hoard; Nite Bjuti with
Candice Hoyes, Val Jeanty, Mimi Jones
Zinc Bar 6 pm $65
êWinter Jazzfest: Kalia Vandever; Alex Zhang Hungtai, Che Chen, Leo Chang;Angelika Niescier, Tomeka Reid, Savannah Harris
Zürcher Gallery 7:30 pm $65

Saturday, January 13êWinter Jazzfest: Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science; Milena Casado;

Zacchae’us Paul; Morgan Guerin; Cisco Swank; Zoh Amba, Shahzad Ismaily,
Jim White, Steve Gunn; Yonatan Gat, Maalem Hassan BenJafaar, Greg Fox
Baby’s All Right 6 pm $65
Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm• Ember• Brooklyn Qawwali Party with Kenny Warren, Oscar Noriega, Brian Drye,
Xavier Del Castillo, Michael Gamble, Tony Kieraldo, Noah Jarrett,Conor Elmes, Brook Martinez Barbès 10 pm $20• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pm $30• Nicole Zuraitis; Yellowjackets with Russell Ferrante, Bob Mintzer,
Will Kennedy, Dane Alderson Birdland 8:30, 10:30 pm $20-40êTia Fuller Quartet
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35• Meshell Ndegeocello; Josh Johnson, Abe Rounds, Jake Sherman:“Monologues”
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm, 12 am $15-55
êWinter Jazzfest: Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber; Mama’s Gun;
Allysha Joy; Ghost-Note; Project Logic; Jharis Yokley/BIGYUKI
Brooklyn Bowl 7:30 pm $65• Bebop Collective; Kyoko Oyobe Quartet
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10• Billy Stritch & Gabrielle Stravelli
Chelsea Table + Stage 9:30 pm $30-40• Dwayne “Cook” Broadnax Quartet; Craig Handy and 2nd Line Smith
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Steps Trio with Carmen Isabel Delgado, Samuel Marchan; Mara Navas
Gallery MC 7 pm $20-30• Dal Segño Trio with Dr. Darrell Smith
Gotham Bar and Grill 7:30 pmêThe Unity Festival: Isaiah Collier Quartet; Linda May Han Oh with
Fabian Almazan, Obed Calvaire, Ambrose Akinmusire, Michael Mayo;
Ekep Nkwelle; Bokani and Steve Dyer & Friends feat. Naledi Masilo;
Chief Adjuah Christian Scott; Stacy Dillard and Brooklyn Circle;
William Parker’s Light Ensemble; Alphonso Horne & The Gotham Kings
Jazz at Lincoln Center 6:30 pm $85.50
êDarcy James Argue’s Secret Society with Dave Pietro, Max Bessesen,
Sam Sadigursky, Robert Gilliam, John Ellis, Chet Doxas, Carl Maraghi,
Sam Hoyt, Ravi Best, Brandon Lee, Nadje Noordhuis, David Smith,
Ingrid Jensen, Mike Fahie, Nick Grinder; Ryan Keberle, Jacob Garchik,Jennifer Wharton, Sebastian Noelle, Adam Birnbaum, Jorge Roeder,
Jon Wikan
The Jazz Gallery 7:30, 9:30 pm $35-45• Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band; Mali Obomsawin
Joe’s Pub 6:30 pm $25• Winter Jazzfest: Toribio; Rich Medina
Jolene Soundroom 7 pm $65
Knickerbocker Bar & Grill 9 pm
• Jill McCarron/Will LyleêWinter Jazzfest: Anna Webber: “Shimmer Wince”; Kate Gentile:“Find Letter X”; Simon Moullier Quartet; Roy Nathanson’s 82 Days
Loove Labs 7 pm $65
êNduduzo MakhathiniLouis Armstrong Center 3 pm $28.52
êJonny King, Dezron Douglas, Billy Drummond; Johnny O’Neal Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40
êWinter Jazzfest: Julius Rodriguez; Rafiq Bhatia/Chris Pattishall;
Shabaka, Jason Moran, Carlos Niño, Saul Williams; Jose James:“Presents 1978”; Harvest Time Project: “Tribute to Pharoah Sanders”
with Joshua Abrams, Tisziji Muñoz, Irreversible Entanglements
Music Hall of Williamsburg 6:30 pm $65
êNew York Jazz Piano Festival: Alan Broadbent Trio; Edsel Gomez; Rufus
Reid/George Cables Duo; Dave Kikoski with Joe Martin, Billy Hart: “McCoy
Tyner/Chick Corea Tribute” New York City Baha’i Center 7:30 pm $55• APAP 2024: Jo Harrop; Allan Harris; Jumaane Smith; Amber Weekes;
Tracey Yarad; Dario Acosta Teich; David Francis; Chelsey Green; Enrico
Granafei; Vanessa Racci; Yael Acher “KAT” Modiano New York Hilton 11 amêWinter Jazzfest: Brandon Seabrook; Jonathan Maron
Nublu 8 pm $40• Winter Jazzfest: Leon Phal Quintet; Harish Raghavan; Felix Pastorius; Ilhan
Ersahin, Dave Harrington, Trevor Dunn, Kenny Wollesen; Dave Harrington’s
Pranksters East
Nublu 151 6 pm $45.32
Shrine 6 pm
• Derek Quartet• Hiroko Kanna; Spaghetti Eastern; Mitchell Trio
Silvana 7, 8, 9 pmêWinard Harper Quintet: “Tribute to Max Roach Centennial”
Sistas’ Place 8, 9:30 pm $30• Julius Tolentino Quintet; Eric Wyatt Quartet and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40
êBilly Childs Quartet with Steve Wilson, Matt Penman, Ari Hoenig
Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm $35-55
êDavid Mirarchi, Gregg Belisle-Chi, Addie Vogt
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20

40 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORDêWinter Jazzfest: Mary Halvorson and Tomas Fujiwara; Mark Guiliana;

Matana Roberts; Intercity Sound Ensemble with Mark de Clive-Lowe,
Melanie Charles, Shigeto; Kahil El’Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble;
Damon Locks/Rob Mazurek: “New Future City Radio”
Superior Ingredients 7:15 pm $65
êWinter Jazzfest: Laraaji: “Sunset Meditation”; Steve Lehman Trio withMark Turner: “The Music of Anthony Braxton”; Tineke Postma;
Caroline Davis; Oran Etkin: “Open Arms Project”
Superior Ingredients Rooftop 4:30 pm $65
êWinter Jazzfest: Samir Langus; Natural Information Society;
Mendoza Hoff Revels with Ava Mendoza, Devin Hoff, James Brandon Lewis,
Ches Smith; Ryan Sawyer/Wendy Eisenberg Duo; Harriet Tubman
Union Pool 6:15 pm $65
êKris Davis Trio with Robert Hurst, Johnathan Blake
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40
êFrench Quarter 2024: Alexis Valet Quintet; Aurore Voilqué;
Deadjazz; Ludovic Louis; Gabi Hartmann
Zinc Bar 5:30 pm

Sunday, January 14• Creole Cookin’ Jazz Band

Arthur’s Tavern 7 pmêTony Malaby with Angelica Sanchez, Ben Monder, Tom Rainey

Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10êSirius Quartet with Fung Chen Hwei, Gregor Huebner, Sunjay Jayaram,

Jeremy Harman; Stephane Wrembel; Olli Soikkeli with Paul Sikivie,
Dani Danor
Barbès 6, 8, 10 pm $20
êCyrille Aimée
Birdland 8:30, 10:30 pm $30-40êLakecia Benjamin Quartet
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-55• Meshell NdegeocelloCellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Mike Karn Trio
• Jumaane Smith, Billy Stritch, Nicole Zuraitis
Chelsea Table + Stage 1 pm $25-40• Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East City Winery 7:30 pm $20-30êWinter Jazzfest: “A Night at the East” with Gary Bartz, Billy Hart,
Shabaka, Moor Mother, Julius Rodriguez, Luke Stewart, Nicole Mitchell,
Elucid, Kweku Sumbry, Charles Burnham; Melanie Charles,
Endea Owens, Savannah Harris: “The Music of Sarah Vaughan”
Crown Hill Theatre 8 pm $55-65• Marius van den Brink; Stella Cole
Dizzy’s Club 5, 7:30, 9:30 pm $20-50• Alexander Claffy Quartet; Neal Miner Trio
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
Drom 8 pm $25-30• Pedrito MartinezêJames Brandon Lewis/ETHELJoe’s Pub 5:30 pm $25• Welf Dorr with Elias Meister, Dmitry Ishenko, Yuko Togami
The Keep 9 pm
• Hilary Gardner Quartet; Naama Polite Jam
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êNew York Jazz Piano Festival: Aaron Parks; Luis Perdomo/Miguel Zenon:“El Arte Del Bolero”; Elio Villafranca; David Hazeltine with David Williams,
Willie Jones III: “Celebrate Cedar Walton”
New York City Baha’i Center 6:30 pm $55• APAP 2024: David Francis; Allison Adams Tucker; Tracey Yarad;
Enrico Granafei; Allan Harris; Jumaane Smith; Gabrielle Stravelli& Billy Stritch
New York Hilton, NY Suite, 4th Floor 3 pm
• Kate Baker with Jim Ridl, Dean Johnson
North Square Lounge 12:30, 2 pm
• Winter Jazzfest: Pedro Martins; Justin Brown; Rocket Sci; Muscle Tough
Nublu 7:15 pm $40
êWinter Jazzfest: Sasha Berliner; Starebaby Trio; Joel Ross; Guy Mintus;
Tarbaby; Blaque Dynamite Nublu 151 5 pm $45.32
êFrench Quarter 2024: Leon Phal Quintet
Nublu 151 6 pm
• Tyrone Allen Quartet; Alex Hamburger
The Owl Music Parlor 8 pm $12êMichael Leonhart Carte Blanche
Rizzoli Bookstore 3 pm $35
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 10 pm $20• Mimi Jones and JamêSteve Swell, Hans Tammen, Luke Stewart
Saint Peter’s Church 5 pm
• Mitchell Trio; Phil Gammage Quartet
Shrine 9, 10 pm• Dmitry Baevsky Quartet with Adam Birnbaum, David Wong, Jason Brown;
Jeff McGregor Quintet
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êBilly Childs Quartet with Steve Wilson, Matt Penman, Ari Hoenig
Smoke 7, 9 pm $35-55
êKris Davis Trio with Robert Hurst, Johnathan Blake
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40• Carmen Isabel Delgado, Samuel Marchan, Mara Navas, Robert C. Ford
Westbeth Artists Complex 7 pm

Monday, January 15• Grove Street Stompers

Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10êMaria Schneider Orchestra
Birdland 7, 9:30 pm $30-40êVince Giordano and the Nighthawks
Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-40
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $25• Kassa OverallêChris Beck Trio
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Sachal Vasandani with Dayna Stephens, Charles Altura, Romain Collin,
Dezron Douglas, Obed Calvaire
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-55
êCamille Bertault• Adam Lamoureux Quartet; Nick Di Maria Quintet

The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êMingus Big Band
Drom 7:30, 9:30 pm $30-35
Iridium 8:30 pm $40-60• Vienna TengêWinter Jazzfest: “Impulse! Records at NYC Winter Jazzfest” with Shabaka,esperanza spalding, Brandee Younger, Charles Overton; Irreversible
Entanglements; Brandee Younger: “Performs Alice Coltrane”; Messthetics& James Brandon Lewis
Le Poisson Rouge 7 pm $45-55• New York Jazz Piano Festival: Laurence Hobgood Trio with Matt Clohesy,
Jared Schonig; Rachel Z Trio with Jonathan Toscano, Omar Hakim
Mercedes Benz Showroom 2, 4 pm $40• Guy Mintus, Luke Sellick, Philippe Lemm; Pasquale Grasso Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
New Amsterdam Musical Association NAMA 7 pm
• “Music of the Diaspora”• Winter Jazzfest: Felix Pastorius; Pedro Martins; Justin Brown
Nublu 8 pm $40• Winter Jazzfest: Elsa Nilsson; Natalie Greffel; Queen Esther; Ray Angry:“Producer Mondays”
Nublu 151 7 pm $20• Shrine Jazz Jam Session with Bennett Daponte-Smith
Shrine 8 pmêFrench Quarter 2024: Alexis Valet Quintet; Aurore Voilqué; Clovis Nicolas;Gabi Hartmann
Smalls 7:30 pm $35• Lisa Fischer & Take 6; Morgan JamesSony Hall 7:30 pm $28-90êVanguard Jazz Orchestra with Dick Oatts, Billy Drewes, Rich Perry,
Ralph Lalama, Gary Smulyan, John Chudoba, Terell Stafford,
Scott Wendholt, Marshall Gilkes, Jason Jackson, Dion Tucker,
Douglas Purviance, Adam Birnbaum, David Wong, John Riley
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40
Zinc Bar 7, 8:30 pm $25• Yotam Silberstein

Tuesday, January 16• Wayne Tucker and The Bad Mothas

Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm

• Tamar Korn; Slavic Soul Party with John Carlson, Kenny Warren,Peter Hess, Peter Stan, Tim Vaughn, Adam Dotson, Ken Bentley, Matt Moran,
Chris Stromquist
Barbès 7, 9 pm $20
êGunhild Carling
Birdland 7, 9:30 pm $30-40
Birdland Theater 5:30 pm $25-35• Ashley Pezzotti• Louie Vega & The Elements Of Life
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Ehud Asherie Trio
• Sachal Vasandani with Dayna Stephens, Charles Altura, Romain Collin,
Dezron Douglas, Obed Calvaire
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-55• Manuel Valera Quartet; Luther S. Allison Quartet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Dafna Naphtali, Katie Porter, Ras Moshe Burnett; Kenny Warren, Nathaniel
Morgan, Aryeh Kabrinski, Carlo Costa; Laurie Amat/Nomadic Structures
Downtown Music Gallery 6:30 pmêJohnathan Blake Quintet with Dabin Ryu, Jaleel Shaw, Dayna Stephens,
Dezron Douglas
The Jazz Gallery 7:30, 9:30 pm $35-45• Deanna Kirk Quartet; Tardo Hammer Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Winter Jazzfest: Hess Is More: “Apollonian Circles”
National Sawdust 8 pm $35
êWinter Jazzfest: Peter Evans; Felix Pastorius; Pedro Martins; Justin Brown
Nublu 6 pm $40
êWinter Jazzfest: “My Words Are Music - A Celebration of Sun Ra’s Poetry”
with Mahogany L. Browne & Jive Poetic; Carl Hancock Rux; Moor Mother;
Abiodun Oyewole; Isaiah Collier with Julian Davis, Micah Colllier, Michael
Shekwoaga Ode; Katalyst
Nublu 151 8 pm $30-35
êBr-An-Ch with Angelica Sanchez, Brandon Ross, Chad Taylor
Roulette 8 pm $25
Shrine 10 pm• Gilad BloomêAllen Lowe Sextet; Russell Hall Septet and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êFred Hersch, Thomas Morgan, Marcus Gilmore
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40
Zinc Bar 7, 8:30 pm $30• Miki Yamanaka

Wednesday, January 17êBill Goodwin Quartet with Jerome Sabbagh, Jon Ballantyne, Evan Gregor

Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm

Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Richard Julian Band
• Buck And A Quarter Quartet; Mamady Kouyate and His Mandingo
Ambassadors

Barbès 8, 10 pm $20
Birdland 7, 9:30 pm $30-40êDavid Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band; Frank Vignola’s Guitar
Night with Jocelyn Gould
Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-30• Louie Vega & The Elements Of Life
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Vanderlei Pereira TrioêRalph Moore with Jeremy Manasia, David Williams, Caelan Cardello,
Jason Clotter, Willie Jones III: “The Maestro - Celebrating Cedar Walton
at 90”
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-50
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Tsutomu Nakai Quartet• Dal Segño Trio with Dr. Darrell Smith
Gotham Bar and Grill 7 pm
• Happi Medium with Chaz Martineau, Dabin Ryu, Eliza Salem,
Benjamin Young
Ibeam Brooklyn 8 pm $20• Melissa Stylianou Jazz Trio Interchurch Center 12 pm
êGunhild Carling• Steven Crammer Quartet with Kevin Sun, Evan Main, Walter Stinson

Lowlands 8, 9:30 pm $10• Ryan Honaker, Alex Syner, Finn Fine, Greg Albert; Main Drag Conduction
Orchestra; Stephen Gauci, Adam Lane, Colin Hinton; Titus Abbot,
Harris Eisenstadt, Sean Conly; Jonathan Haffner, Yvonne Rogers, Kevin
Eichenberger, Matt Bent
Main Drag Music 7 pm $15• Vinicius Gomes Trio; James Austin Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Winter Jazzfest: Hess Is More: “Apollonian Circles”
National Sawdust 8 pm $35• Winter Jazzfest: Big Yuki; Genevieve Artadi with Louis Cole, Chiquita Magic;
Pedro Martins; Justin Brown Nublu 151 9 pm $45.32
êAudrey Silver with Bruce Barth, Nick Russo, Adam Kolker
Pangea 7 pm $25• Harlem Jazz Session with Peter Brainin
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 9:30 pm $20• Winter Jazzfest: “Celebrating Ryuichi Sakamoto” with Sakamoto Tribute
Ensemble, DJ Spooky, Yuka C. Honda, Anne Drummond, Sam Sadigursky,
Meg Okura, Rubin Kodheli, Yotam Ishay, Steve Whipple, Dan Mintseris,
Rogerio Bocatto
Roulette 8 pm $55-65
Sarabeth’s Park Avenue South 6 pm
• Joe Wittman
Shrine 7, 8 pm
• Gil Schwartz; Leo Kim
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Dave Pietro QuintetêAmir ElSaffar, Tomas Fujiwara, Ole Mathisen
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20
êFred Hersch, Thomas Morgan, Marcus Gilmore
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Thursday, January 18êTerry Waldo’s Gotham City Band

Arthur’s Tavern 10 pm

Back Bar 5:30 pm• Maria Kaushansky
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Huntertones• Pre-War Ponies with Daria Grace, J. Walter Hawkes, Jim Whitney,

Willie Martinez; Balsa de Fuego with Raquel Baena, Dan Neville,
Justin Flynn, Andrés Fonseca, Juan Sebastián Monsalve
Barbès 8, 10 pm $20
êRotem Sivan Trio with Hamish Smith, Miguel Russel
Bee’s Knees Provisions 7:30 pmêGunhild Carling
Birdland 7, 9:30 pm $30-40
Birdland Theater 8:30 pm $20-30• Carolyn MontgomeryêSamara Joy
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm• MonoNeon with Knower, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Hannibal Buress, Tivon
Pennicott, David Fiuczynski Brooklyn Steel 7 pm $50-60• Darrell Green Quartet; Carol Morgan Quartet
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $5• Donald Vega with Carlos Henriquez, Obed Calvaire
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-55• Alex Brown Quartet; AC Lincoln Quintet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
The Jazz Gallery 7:30, 9:30 pm $25-35• Korean Jazz TrioêCamille BerthautLycée Francais de New York 6:30 pm $15• Tal Cohen Trio with Dion Kerr, Billy Drummond; Greg Murphy Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êWinter Jazzfest: William Parker Nublu 7 pm $40• Winter Jazzfest: Khondzi; Cameron Brown; Mauro Refosco Airto Project;
Forro in the Dark; Oceanvs Orientalis & Ilhan Ersahin
Nublu 151 6 pm $45.32
Silvana 6 pm
• Harlem Jazz Circus• Darryl Yokley Quartet; David Gibson Quartet and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êBilly Harper Quintet with Freddie Hendrix, Francesca Tanksley, Dezron
Douglas, Aaron Scott
Smoke 7, 9 pm $35-55
êAmir ElSaffar, Sonya Belaya, Jerome Harris, Rajna Swaminathan, Firas
Zreik, Zafer Tawil
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20
êFred Hersch, Thomas Morgan, Marcus Gilmore
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40• Gabriel Chakarji

The Jazz Gallery 7:30, 9:30 pm $30-40
Joe’s Pub 7, 9:30 pm $35• Arnie Sainz/Marshall Herridge Knickerbocker Bar & Grill 9 pmêUri Caine, Mark Helias, Ben Perowsky; Jesse Green Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40
êRotem Sivan Trio with Hamish Smith, Miguel Russel: “Dream Louder”
Nublu 151 7 pm $22.66
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 10 pm $20• Alex “Apolo” AyalaêJazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis:“Max Roach Centennial”
Rose Theater 8 pm $40-185
Shrine 10 pm• John Colonna• Jared Gold Trio with Dave Stryker, McClenty Hunter; Corey Wallace Dubtet
and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40
êBilly Harper Quintet with Freddie Hendrix, Francesca Tanksley,
Dezron Douglas, Aaron Scott Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm $35-55
êAmir ElSaffar, Brandon Ross, Nasheet Waits, Darius JonesThe Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20
êFred Hersch,Thomas Morgan, Marcus Gilmore
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40
êDonny McCaslin

Saturday, January 20
Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
• Axel Tosca
Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm• Tyler Bullock• Pakula Surprise with Eric Pakula, Blake Lindberg, Nick Cudahy; Yotoco with

Sebastian Lopez, Natalia Perez, Gabo Tomassini, Rubén Coca,
Geovani Caldero
Barbès 3, 10 pm $20• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pm $30
êNicole Zuraitis; Gunhild Carling Birdland 5:30, 8:30, 10:30 pm $20-40êElan Mehler Sextet with Nadje Noordhuis, Loren Stillman, Andy Zimmerman,
Ben Monder, Tony Scherr, Francisco Mela
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35
êSamara Joy
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm• Jade Synstelien Quartet; Simona Premazzi Quartet
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10êDomo Branch and Branchin’ Out with Noah Simpson, Chris Lewis,
Luther Allison, Garrett Baxter, Ekep Nkwelle: “Members, Don’t Git Weary Max Roach Centennial”
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-60• Philippe Lemm Trio; Hector Martignon’s Foreign Affair
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Dal Segño Trio with Dr. Darrell Smith Gotham Bar and Grill 7:30 pm

Friday, January 19êJohnny O’Neal Trio; Bobby Harden with Off Da Hook

Arthur’s Tavern 7, 10 pm
Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10êOscar Noriega’s Crooked Quartet with Marta Sanchez, Christopher Tordini,
Jason Nazary; SLOW Motion with Joel Matteo, Julia Chen, Kyle Miles, Alex
Asher; Zemog El Gallo Bueno with Abraham Gomez-Delgado, Rosa Avila,
Gabo Tomasini, Reinaldo Dejesus, Bryan Vargas, Juancho Herrera, Stefan
Zeniuk, Olia Toporovsky
Barbès 5:30, 8, 10 pm $20• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pm $30
êBirdand Big Band; Gunhild Carling
Birdland 5:30, 8:30, 10:30 pm $25-40
êElan Mehler Sextet with Ron Horton, Loren Stillman, Andy Zimmerman,
Ben Monder, Tony Scherr, Francisco Mela
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35
êSamara Joy
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm• Wayne Tucker Quintet; Avi Rothbard Trio Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10êDomo Branch and Branchin’ Out with Noah Simpson, Chris Lewis,
Luther Allison, Garrett Baxter, Ekep Nkwelle: “Members, Don’t Git Weary Max Roach Centennial”
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-60êDavid Gibson Quartet; JC Hopkins Biggish BandThe Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êCamille Bertault
InterContinental New York Barclay’s Club 5 pm $55• Carmen Staaf• Sondido Solar

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 41

Tuesday, January 23• “Rhapsody in Blue Centennial”

eek!

Open 7 Days a W

Presenting

NEXT GENERATION JAZZ
Monday Nites ft. Up & Coming Talent!

2 Sets of Shows—7:30pm & 10:30pm Every Week!

TUE
1/2

Michael Kanan Trio
Mike Dirubbo Quartet

7:30pm
10:30pm

WED
1/3

Neal Caine Quartet
James Carney Quartet

7:30pm
10:30pm

THR
1/4

Eric Alexander Quartet
Edsel Gomez Quartet

7:30pm
10:30pm

FRI
1/5

Sheryl Bailey Quartet
Ben Stivers Quartet

7:30pm
10:30pm

SAT
1/6

Ed Cherry Quartet
The Richard Cortez Band

7:30pm
10:30pm

SUN
1/7

Joe Farnsworth Trio
Peter Zak Quartet

6:30pm
9:30pmMON
1/8

Naama Gheber Quartet
Liam Sutcliffe Quintet

7:30pm
10:30pm

TUE
1/9

Tyler Blanton Quartet
Ron Jackson Trio

7:30pm
10:30pm

WED
1/10

Max Johnson Trio
People Of Earth

7:30pm
10:30pm

THR
1/11

Jonny King Trio
Joe Strasser Quartet

7:30pm
10:30pm

FRI
1/12

Jumaane Smith Quintet
Sam Barsh Quartet

7:30pm
10:30pm

SAT
1/13

Dwayne “Cook” Broadnax Quartet
7:30pm
Craig Handy And 2nd Line Smith 10:30pm

SUN
1/14

Alexander Claffy Quartet
Neal Miner Trio

6:30pm
9:30pmMON
1/15

Adam Lamoureux Quartet
Nick Di Maria Quintet

7:30pm
10:30pm

TUE
1/16

Manuel Valera Quartet
Luther S. Allison Quartet

7:30pm
10:30pm

Greenwich House Music School 7 pmêHarvey Diamond, Lena Bloch, Luca Rosenfeld, Michael Sarin
Ibeam Brooklyn 7:30 pm $20• Arnie Sainz/Marshall Herridge Knickerbocker Bar & Grill 9 pmêUri Caine, Mark Helias, Ben Perowsky; Jeremy Manasia Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40• Oceanvs Orientalis & Ilhan Ersahin Nublu 151 10 pm $24.72
êJazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis:“Max Roach Centennial”
Rose Theater 8 pm $45-185• Ken Kobayashi Quartet; Reginald Chapman
Shrine 8, 10 pm
Silvana 7 pm
• SiMoN• Jared Gold Trio with Dave Stryker, McClenty Hunter; Saul Rubin Zebtet
and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40
êBilly Harper Quintet with Freddie Hendrix, Francesca Tanksley,
Dezron Douglas, Aaron Scott Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm $35-55
êAmir ElSaffar
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20
êFred Hersch, Thomas Morgan, Marcus Gilmore
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40
êRobert Dick/Stephan Haluska Zürcher Gallery 8 pm $20

Sunday, January 21
440Gallery 4:40 pm $20• Avram Fefer• Creole Cookin’ Jazz Band Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
• Juancho Herrera/Franco Pinna; Jack Grace
Barbès 6, 8 pm $20

êUptown Jazz Tentet with Brandon Lee, Willie Applewhite, James Burton III,

Andrew Gutauskas, Lucas Pino, Carl Maraghi, Tatum Greenblatt, Adam
Birnbaum, Clovis Nicolas, Jimmy Macbride; The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
Birdland 5:30, 8:30, 10:30 pm $20-40êElan Mehler Sextet with Riley Mulherkar, Loren Stillman, Andy Zimmerman,
Ben Monder, Tony Scherr, Francisco Mela
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35
êSamara Joy
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Nick Biello TrioêDave Chamberlain’s Band of Bones: “J.J. Johnson’s 100th Birthday”
with Steve Turre, James Burton III, Antoinette Montague, Kenny Ascher,Mark Wade, Scott Neumann, Renato Thoms , Max Seigel, Dale Turk,
Sara Jacovino, Juanga Lakunza, Chris Rinaman, Michael Rorby,
Charley Gordon
Christ and St. Stephen’s Church 3, 4 pm $20-30• Joe Davidian, Emily Skinner: “Songbook Sundays - Frank Loesser”
Dizzy’s Club 5, 7 pm $20-55• Jed Levy Quartet; Michael Kanan Trio
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
êPaul Shapiro’s Midnight Minyan and Peter Apfelbaum Quartet
Drom 7 pm $20-25• Welf Dorr with Elias Meister, Dmitry Ishenko, Yuko Togami
The Keep 9 pm
• Lauren Kinhan, Sean Fitzpatrick, Dean Johnson; Jamile Polite jam
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Ben Cassara with Nicki Adams, Eddy Khaimovich
North Square Lounge 12:30, 2 pm
• Kate Kortum; Mimi Jones and Jam
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 6, 8, 10 pm $20
êMegumi Yonezawa/Thomas Morgan Saint Peter’s Church 5 pm
• Tim Miller, Santiago Bosch, Josh Davis, Nate Wood
ShapeShifter Lab 7 pm
• Tad Shull Quartet with Paul Gill, Joe Strasser; Aaron Johnson Boplicity
and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êBilly Harper Quintet with Freddie Hendrix, Francesca Tanksley,
Dezron Douglas, Aaron Scott Smoke 7, 9 pm $35-55
êFred Hersch, Thomas Morgan, Marcus Gilmore
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Monday, January 22• Grove Street Stompers

Arthur’s Tavern 7 pmêVince Giordano and the NighthawksêSteve Davis: “J.J. Johnson Centennial”

Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-50

The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
Drom 7:30, 9:30 pm $30-35
Iridium 8:30 pm $30• Ed Palermo Big Band• Spike Wilner Trio; Pasquale Grasso Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• “MMusic of the Diaspora” New Amsterdam Musical Association NAMA 7 pm
• Shrine Jazz Jam Session with Bennett Daponte-Smith
Shrine 8 pm
• Joe Farnsworth Trio; Miki Yamanaka Trio and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êVanguard Jazz Orchestra with Dick Oatts, Billy Drewes, Rich Perry,
Ralph Lalama, Gary Smulyan, John Chudoba, Terell Stafford,
Scott Wendholt, Marshall Gilkes, Jason Jackson, Dion Tucker,
Douglas Purviance, Adam Birnbaum, David Wong, John Riley
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40• Al Gafa with Ted Rosenthal, Jay Leonhart
Zinc Bar 7, 8:30 pm $25
êMingus Big BandTHEDJANGONYC.COM
DINNER, LIBATIONS & LIVE JAZZ!
IN THE OF TRIBECA

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Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10êSlavic Soul Party with John Carlson, Kenny Warren, Peter Hess, Peter Stan,

Tim Vaughn, Adam Dotson, Ken Bentley, Matt Moran, Chris Stromquist
Barbès 9 pm $20
Birdland 7, 9:30 pm $30-40• Frank Catalano
Birdland Theater 5:30 pm $25-35• Ashley Pezzotti• Keyon Harrold: “Foreverland” Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $25-35
êAkiko Tsuruga Trio
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Sammy Miller and the Congregation Big Band
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-55• Rick Germanson Trio; Shane Allessio Quartet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Sylvain Leroux – Fula; James Paul Nadien; Antonin Fajt/Carlo Costa
Downtown Music Gallery 6:30 pm
Drom 7 pm• Silver Arrow Band
Joe’s Pub 7 pm $20• Lau NoahêKevin Sun Quartet with Max Light, Walter Stinson, Jon Starks
Lowlands 8, 9:30 pm $10êGilad Hekselman Trio with Matt Brewer; John Merrill Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Lojii; Axel Tosca; The Voodoo Public Records 7 pm $23.69
Saint Tuesday 9:30 pm• Joe Wittman
Shrine 10 pm• Gilad BloomêAbraham Burton Quintet; Barry Stephenson Quartet and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êEthan Iverson with Thomas Morgan, Kush Abadey
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40
êGary Versace with Ugonna Okegwo, Rudy Royston
Zinc Bar 7, 8:30 pm $30

Wednesday, January 24• Patrick Cornelius Octet

42 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pmêVinnie Sperrazza Apocryphal with Loren Stillman, Brandon Seabrook,

Eivind Opsvik; Mamady Kouyate and His Mandingo Ambassadors
Barbès 8, 10 pm $20
êDee Dee Bridgewater
Birdland 7, 9:30 pm $35-45
êDavid Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band; Frank Vignola’s Guitar
Night with Janis Siegel, Dave Stryker
Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-30• Keyon Harrold: “Foreverland” Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $25-35
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Saul Rubin Trio
• Jo Harrop with Jumaane Smith, Paul Edis, Paul Bollenback, Dean Johnson,
Tim Horner
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-55• Misha Piatigorsky Quartet; Fima Ephron Quartet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Dal Segño Trio with Dr. Darrell Smith
Gotham Bar and Grill 7 pmêWillis Edmundson, Andre Sacalxot, Charlie Lincoln; Bonnie Kane,John Loggia, Shayna Dulberger; Stephen Gauci, Adam Lane, Colin Hinton;
Santiago Leibson, Noa Fort, Kenny Warren, Carlo Costa;
Ryan Siegel Ensemble
Main Drag Music 7 pm $15êGilad Hekselman Trio with Matt Brewer; Marc Devine Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êElliott Sharp: solo + “Playfield - Magic Heart” Nublu 151 8 pm $20• Harlem Jazz Session with Peter Brainin Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 9:30 pm $20
Roulette 8 pm $25• Chris CochraneSarabeth’s Park Avenue South 6 pm
• Joe Wittman
Shrine 7, 8 pm
• Gil Schwartz; Leo Kim• Nikara Warren Quartet with Mike King, Jonathon Muir-Cotton, Jonathan
Barber; Sarah Hanahan Quartet and Jam Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êAl Foster Quintet with Nicholas Payton, Chris Potter, Kevin Hays,
Vicente Archer
Smoke 7, 9 pm $35-55
êSylvie Courvoisier, Ikue Mori, Ned Rothenberg, Erik Friedlander
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20
êEthan Iverson with Thomas Morgan, Kush Abadey
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Thursday, January 25

Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-40• Keyon Harrold: “Foreverland” Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $25-35
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Organ Grooves• Jihee Heo Trio; April Varner Quartet

See The Line-Up AND Reserve AtêJerome Sabbagh Quartet with Greg TuoheyêTerry Waldo’s Gotham City Band

Arthur’s Tavern 10 pm
Back Bar 5:30 pmêUri Caine, Adam Kolker, Jeremy Stratton Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pmêRotem Sivan Trio with Hamish Smith, Miguel Russel
Bee’s Knees Provisions 7:30 pmêDee Dee Bridgewater
Birdland 7, 9:30 pm $35-45
Birdland Theater 8:30 pm $20-30• Joie Bianco• DJ Logic with Sonny T, Adam Deitch, James Hurt
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $25-35• Samba de Gringo; Jihee Heo Quartet Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $5• Reunion Trio with Bruce Forman, John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-55
êBenito Gonzalez Trio; Lee Taylor The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25
The Jazz Gallery 7:30, 9:30 pm $40-50• Roy Hargrove Big Band• Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra Joe’s Pub 7 pm $25• Mike Holober Trio; Andrea Domenici Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
ê“Tribute to Derek Bailey” with John Zorn, Ned Rothenberg, Jim Staley,
Michael Nicolas, Miles Okazaki, Simon Hanes, Selendis Sebastian Alexander
Johnson, Arturo O’Farrill, Anna Abondolo, Nava Dunkelman, Kenny
WollesenRoulette 8 pm $25• Maria Kaushansky• Nick Cavoli Quartet• Harlem Jazz Circus

Shrine 8 pm
Silvana 8 pmêRalph Alessi Quartet with David Virelles, Sean Conly, Timothy Angulo
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êAl Foster Quintet with Nicholas Payton, Chris Potter, Kevin Hays, Vicente
ArcherSmoke 7, 9 pm $35-55
êSylvie Courvoisier
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20
Symphony Space 7:30 pm $20-30• Queen EstherêEthan Iverson with Thomas Morgan, Kush Abadey
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Friday, January 26êChuck Zueren Quartet; Steve Davis Quintet and Jam

Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40
êAl Foster Quintet with Nicholas Payton, Chris Potter, Kevin Hays, Vicente
ArcherSmoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm $35-55
êSylvie Courvoisier, Wadada Leo Smith
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20
êEthan Iverson with Thomas Morgan, Kush Abadey
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Sunday, January 28• Bobby Rush and Shemekia Copeland: “The Blues”

êJohnny O’Neal Trio; Bobby Harden with Off Da Hook

• Angela DeNiro with the Ron Aprea Big Band and Randy Brecker, Ken

Arthur’s Tavern 7, 10 pmêVinnie Sperrazza with Ravi Coltrane, Jonathan Finlayson

Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm• Juan Cruz de Urquiza Quintet with Aaron Goldberg

Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10êOscar Noriega’s Crooked Quartet with Marta Sanchez, Christopher Tordini,

Jason Nazary; Shoko Nagai’s TOKALA with Satoshi Takeishi, Sita Chay
Barbès 5:30, 8 pm $20• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pm $30
êBirdand Big Band; Dee Dee Bridgewater
Birdland 5:30, 8:30, 10:30 pm $25-45• The Andersons: “Play the Dorsey Brothers”
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35• DJ Logic with Sonny T, Adam Deitch, James Hurt
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $25-35• Frank Lacy Quartet; Jinjoo Yoo Quartet Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10• Reunion Trio with Bruce Forman, John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-55
êTommy Campbell Trio; Mariel Bildsten Septet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Brooklyn Jazz Ensemble with Tammy Scheffer, David Smith, David Cook,
Hannah Marks, Owen Howard, Rob Garcia
Ibeam Brooklyn 8 pm $20• Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra Joe’s Pub 7 pm $25
Knickerbocker Bar & Grill 9 pm
• Maria KaushanskyêKen Peplowski Trio; Steve Davis Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40• Vitor Goncalves: “Brazil Night” Room 623 at B2 Harlem 7, 8:30 pm $20
ê“Tribute to Derek Bailey” with John Zorn, Jon Irabagon, Peter Evans,Dave Taylor, Erik Friedlander, Wendy Eisenberg, Sae Hashimoto,
Brian Marsella, Jorge Roeder, Henry Fraser, David Weinstein
Roulette 8 pm $25• Andrej Jusufbegovic Jazz Trio; Random Strangers Jam; John Colonna
Shrine 7, 8, 10 pm• Alex Souris Quartet; Goon Dads Silvana 7, 8 pm
• Chuck Zueren Quartet; Philip Harper Quintet and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40
êAl Foster Quintet with Nicholas Payton, Chris Potter, Kevin Hays,
Vicente Archer
Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm $35-55
êSylvie Courvoisier, Drew Gress, Kenny Wollesen
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20• Hazmat Modine Symphony Space Leonard Nimoy Thalia 7:30 pm $20-30êEthan Iverson with Thomas Morgan, Kush Abadey
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40
êMat Maneri/Brandon Lopez Zürcher Gallery 8 pm $20

Saturday, January 27
Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
• Axel Tosca• Ingrid Schyborger with Loke Risberg, Savannah Harris
Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm• La Banda Chuska with Felipe Wurst, Sam Day Harmet, Adele Fournet, Erica

Mancini, Abe Pollack, Joel Mateo Barbès 10 pm $20• Bill Saxton Harlem All-Stars Bill’s Place 7, 9 pm $30
êNicole Zuraitis; Dee Dee Bridgewater
Birdland 5:30, 8:30, 10:30 pm $20-45• The Andersons: “Play the Dorsey Brothers”
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35
êDJ Logic with Christian McBride, James Hurt, Casey Benjamin,
Terreon Gully
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $30-45• Richard Clements Quintet; Gabriele Donati Quartet
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30, 11 pm $10• Reunion Trio with Bruce Forman, John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-55• Jason Marshall Quartet; Helio Alves Quintet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Dal Segño Trio with Dr. Darrell Smith Gotham Bar and Grill 7:30 pm• Yoko Yates Quintet with Jamie Baum, Sam Sadigursky, Aryeh Kobrinsky,
Jeff Hirshfield
Greenwich House Music School 7:30 pm $20-25• Alexander Leonard/Jay Leonhart
Knickerbocker Bar & Grill 9 pmêKen Peplowski Trio; Steve Davis Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $40
ê“Tribute to Derek Bailey” with John Zorn, Melissa Aldana, Kalia Vandever,Dave Douglas, Micah Thomas, Sean Ono Lennon, Josh Modney, Jay
Campbell, Luke Stewart, Ikue Mori, Brian Chase
Roulette 8 pm $25
Silvana 7 pm
• Social Animals

Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40• David Janeway with Harvie S, Steve Johns Zinc Bar 7, 8:30 pm $30

Wednesday, January 31• Sandbox Percussion with Conor Hanick The 92nd Street Y 7:30 pm $40-45
êBrian Charette Trio with Gilad Hekselman, Jochen Rueckert

Bar Bayeux 8, 9:30 pm
Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Mamady Kouyate and His Mandingo Ambassadors Barbès 10 pm $20
Birdland 7, 9:30 pm $40-50• John PizzarelliêDavid Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band; Frank Vignola’s Guitar
Night with Saul Rubin
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $20
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Ehud Asherie Quartet• Josh Evans Big Band: “Music of the Diaspora” Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-55
êMichael Rabinowitz Quartet; Ben Wolfe Trio
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Dal Segño Trio with Dr. Darrell Smith Gotham Bar and Grill 7 pm
• Ken Kobayashi, Jonathan Reisin, Jeff Miles, Charley Sabatino;
Yoni Kretzmer & Juan Pablo Carletti’s BIGGISH; Stephen Gauci, Adam Lane,
Kevin Shea; Anders Nilsson, Nick Lyons, Ken Filiano; Takuma Kanaiwa,
Paul r. Harding, Daniel Carter, Jonathan Wilson Main Drag Music 7 pm $15êAlvaro Torres, John Hebert, Barry Altschul; Miki Yamanaka Trio
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êMark Sherman Quartet with Joe Magnarelli, Dean Johnson, Tim Horner
Ornithology Jazz Club 6:30 pm• Harlem Jazz Session with Peter Brainin
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 9:30 pm $20
Sarabeth’s Park Avenue South 6 pm
• Joe Wittman
Shrine 8 pm
• Leo KimêArthur Kell Quartet; Jon Elbaz Quartet and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Brandon Lopez, James McKain, TJ Borden, Joey Sullivan
The Stone at The New School 8:30 pm $20
êArts for Art presents “Out Music Festival”: William Parker Project with
Rob Brown, Jason Hwang; Michael TA Thompson Trio with Sam Newsome,Michael Foster
Theater for the New City 7:30 pmêVijay Iyer with Linda May Han Oh, Tyshawn Sorey
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40
êBrad Mehldau solo
Zankel Hall 7:30 pm $135
êDan Weiss Trio

• Creole Cookin’ Jazz Band Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
• Night Service with Jon Lampley Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Stephane Wrembel; Baklava Express with Josh Kaye, Daisy Castro,

The Appel Room 7, 9:30 pm $85-105

êVijay Iyer with Linda May Han Oh, Tyshawn Sorey

Max O’Rourke, James Robbins, Jeremy Smith Barbès 8, 10 pm $20

Peplowski, Lew Tabackin: “Swingin’ With Legends”; The Afro Latin Jazz
Orchestra
Birdland 5:30, 8:30, 10:30 pm $20-40• The Andersons: “Play the Dorsey Brothers”
Birdland Theater 7, 9:30 pm $25-35• DJ Logic with Robert Randolph, Christian McBride, James Hurt, Casey
Benjamin, Terreon Gully
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $25-35
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Ned Goold Trio
• Reunion Trio with Bruce Forman, John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton
Dizzy’s Club 5, 7:30 pm $20-55
êMichael Weiss Quartet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $25• Welf Dorr with Robert Boston, Dmitry Ishenko, Dave Miller
The Keep 9 pm
Kismat 7:30 pm• Joe Wittman• Danny Fox Trio; Lucy Wijnands Polite Jam
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êTessa Souter with Paul Bollenback, Boris Kozlov
North Square Lounge 12:30, 2 pm
The Owl Music Parlor 8 pm $12• Minnie Jordan Quartet
Room 623 at B2 Harlem 8, 10 pm $20• Mimi Jones and JamêGeorge Braith Quartet
Saint Peter’s Church 5 pm
• Saul Dautch Quintet; Panas Athanatos Trio and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35
êAl Foster Quintet with Nicholas Payton, Chris Potter, Kevin Hays,
Vicente Archer
Smoke 7, 9 pm $35-55
êEthan Iverson with Thomas Morgan, Kush Abadey
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40

Monday, January 29
Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
• Grove Street Stompers• Vanisha Gould/Chris McCarthy Duo Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10êVince Giordano and the Nighthawks

Birdland Theater 5:30, 8:30 pm $20-40
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Jazz at Lincoln Center Youth Orchestra Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-45
êMingus Big Band
Drom 7:30, 9:30 pm $30-35
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Pasquale Grasso Trio
New Amsterdam Musical Association NAMA 7 pm
• “Music of the Diaspora”
Shrine 8 pm
• Shrine Jazz Jam Session with Bennett Daponte-Smith• Joris Dudli Trio; ELEW Trio and Jam Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Arts for Art presents “Out Music Festival”: Chris Williams Quartet with
Shara Lunon, Luke Stewart, Lesley Mok; Ava Mendoza;
Dave Burrell/Ellen Christi
Theater for the New City 7:30 pmêVanguard Jazz Orchestra with Dick Oatts, Billy Drewes, Rich Perry,
Ralph Lalama, Gary Smulyan, John Chudoba, Terell Stafford,
Scott Wendholt, Marshall Gilkes, Jason Jackson, Dion Tucker,
Douglas Purviance, Adam Birnbaum, David Wong, John Riley
Village Vanguard 8, 10 pm $40• Charlie Ballantine, Peter Brendler, Dan Weiss
Zinc Bar 7, 8:30 pm $25
êZaid Nasser Trio

Tuesday, January 30êCaroline Davis’ Portals with Julian Shore, Chris Tordini, Allan Mednard

Bar LunÀtico 9, 10:30 pm $10• Curtis Hasselbring and his Curhachestra with Raphael McGregor, Adam

Minkoff, Dan Rieser; Slavic Soul Party with John Carlson, Kenny Warren,Peter Hess, Peter Stan, Tim Vaughn, Adam Dotson, Ken Bentley, Matt Moran,
Chris Stromquist
Barbès 7, 9 pm $20
Birdland 7, 9:30 pm $40-50• John Pizzarelli
Birdland Theater 5:30 pm $25-35• Ashley Pezzotti
Cellar Dog 7, 8:30 pm $5• Neal Miner TrioêAlexa Tarantino and Cécile McLorin Salvant: “A Celebration of Women in
Jazz”
Dizzy’s Club 7, 9 pm $20-55• Carolyn Leonhart Quintet; Jeb Patton Quartet
The Django 7:30, 9, 10:30, 12 am $25• Viv Corringham, Al Margolis, Sandy Gordon; Yoni Kretzmer, Shanir
Blumenkranz; Gian Perez, Diego Hedez, Patrick Golden
Downtown Music Gallery 6:30 pmêKevin Sun ROSELESS with Andrew Boudreau, Simón Willson, Kayvon
GordonLowlands 8, 9:30 pm $10
Mezzrow 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Chris Flory Trio
Shrine 11 pm• Gilad Bloom• Andrew Gould Quartet; Neal Caine Quartet and Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9, 10:30 pm, 12 am $35• Arts for Art presents “Out Music Festival”: Alfredo Colon Group with Kevin
Eichenberger, Connor Parks; Yasmine Lee 4tet; Warren Smith Trio with Rod
Williams, Hilliard Greene
Theater for the New City 7:30 pm

Honorable Mention Best New Releases(2023)

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 43

Wednesday, February 1êMonte Croft Trio

CONNECTICUT

333 Lounge 7:30, 9:30 pm
Douglas-Moore, Eric Wong, Dominic Coles; Seth Cluet			
• Ian
Jazz
		1/3, 1/17 (7 pm) Corinthian411
K Band

1/5, 1/12, 1/19, 1/26 (7 pm) Bill’s All-Star jazz Band
1/6 (7 pm) Dave Lefkin1/13 (7 pm) Triple PlayBill’s Seafood (Westbrook, CT) www.billsseafood.com
1/9 (7 pm) Wes Lewis and Jam
1/23 (7 pm) Conway Campbell and Jam
Café Nine (New Haven, CT) cafenine.com

1/1, 1/8, 1/15, 1/22, 1/29 (7:30 pm) Hartford Jazz Orchestra
Elicit Brewery (Manchester, CT) elicitbrewing.com
1/7 (3 pm) Nat Reeves
Hartford Public Library (Hartford, CT) hartfordjazzsociety.com
1/12 (7/9 pm) Rachel Z Trio
1/26 (7/9 pm) Broken Reed Sax Quartet
Palace Theater Poli Club (Waterbury, CT)palacetheaterct.org/shows/jazz
1/7, 1/14, 1/21, 1/28 (12 pm) Dr. G’s Jazz Brunch with Gary Grippo
Quattro’s Italian Restaurant (Guilford, CT)
hartfordjazzsociety.com
1/7 (2:30 pm) Mark Helias, Angela Morris, Joe Morris
Real Art Ways (Hartford, CT) realartways.org
1/28 (7:30 pm) Brad Mehldau
Ridgefield Playhouse (Ridgefield, CT) ridgefieldplayhouse.org
1/12, 1/13 (8:30 pm) Bill Charlap Trio
1/14 (6:30 pm) Bill Charlap Trio
1/19 (8:30 pm) Emmett Goods, Nathan Edwards, Haneef Nelson,
Andrew Wilcox, Richie Goods
Side Door (Old Lyme, CT) thesidedoorjazz.com
NEW JERSEY
1/5 (7 pm) Yayoi Ikawa Trio
1/12 (7 pm) Ginetta Vendetta Band
1/19 (7 pm) Bertha Hope Trio
1/26 (7 pm) T.K.Blue
Brothers Smokehouse (Ramsey, NJ)
brotherssmokehousenj.com

100 MILES OUT
1/24 (7/9:15 pm) Warren Vache Trio with Earl Sauls, Eddie Monteiro
Shanghai Jazz (Madison, NJ) shanghaijazz.com
1/2 (7/8:30 pm) Danny Raycraft Quartet and Jam
1/4 (7/8:30 pm) Brian Charette Quartet
1/9 (7/8:30 pm) Jacob Hurlock Quartet and Jam
1/11 (7/8:30 pm) Keith Franklin Quartet
1/16 (7/8:30 pm) Sam Wilson Quartet and Jam
1/18 (7/8:30 pm) Virginia Mayhew Quartet
1/23 (7/8:30 pm) Donald Solomon Quartet
1/25 (7/8:30 pm) Mike Lee Quartet
1/30 (7/8:30 pm) Zach Dessel Quartet and JamTavern on George (New Brunswick, NJ) tavernongeorge.com
NEW YORK
1/5 (7/9 pm) Carlos Jimenez Mambo Quintet
1/6 (6 pm) Alltertone Project with Pasha Karchevsky, Gene Segal,
Steve Laspina, Colby Inzer
1/7 (3 pm) Fred Gillen Jr.
1/12 (7 pm) Joe Duraes & The Skills
1/13 (6 pm) Premik Russell Tubbs’ Oneness-World Jazz Quartet
1/20 (6 pm) Gerry Malkin Sextet with Alex Norris, Chris Morrison,
Mike McGuirk, Steve Johns, David Janeway
1/27 (6 pm) Chien Chien Lu with Richie Goods
1/28 (3 pm) Alexandra Noailles/Sarah Jane Cion
Bean Runner Café (Peekskill, NY) beanrunnercafe.com
1/4, 1/11, 1/18, 1/25 (7/8:30 pm) Organ Groove with Al Orlo,Paul Connors, Jon Doty
1/13 (7/8:30 pm) Jones Factor Lite
1/25 (7/8:30 pm) Slide Attack with Alan Goidel, Howard Levy
Jazz at The Lodge (Ossining, NY) jazzatthelodge.com
1/5, 1/6 (7/9:30 pm) Mike LeDonne Quartet with Steve Nelson:“Centennial Salute to Milt Jackson”
1/7 (4/6 pm) Ana Fernandez Brazilian Quartet
1/12, 1/13 (7/9:30 pm) Camille Bertault Trio
1/14 (4/6 pm) Carla Berg Brazilian Quartet
1/19, 1/20 (7/9:30 pm) Cyrus Chestnut Trio
1/21 (4/6 pm) Ark Ovrutski Brazilian Quartet
1/26, 1/27 (7/9:30 pm) Fred Hersch Trio with Drew Gress, Billy Hart
1/28 (4/6 pm) Steve Sandberg Brazilian Quartet
Jazz Forum Arts (Tarrytown, NY) jazzforumarts.org

1/4 (8 pm) B.D. Lenz Trio and Jam with Jay Anderson,
Adam Nussbaum
1/26 (8/9:30 pm) Freddie Hendrix Quartet
1/5 (7/9 pm) Eddie Allen
Brush Culture (Teaneck, NJ) brvshcul7ur3.com
1/6 (7/9 pm) Dan Blake
1/18 (7:30 pm) Jazz Jam with James Austin, Jr.
1/7 (12 pm) Tammy Brown
Clement’s Place (Newark, NJ) njpac.org
1/11 (8 pm) DreamHunter with Gottfried Stoger, Sarah Jane Cion,Mark Hagan, Bob Meyer and Jam
1/4 (7:30 pm) Greg Farnese
1/12 (7/9 pm) Ron Jackson Trio
Collingswood Community Center (Collingswood, NJ)
1/13 (7/9 pm) Jeremy Baum Triojazzbridge.org
1/14 (12 pm) Kari van der Kloot/Jamie Reynolds
1/25 (7:30 pm) The Blue Note Quintet with Gerald Clayton, Immanuel 1/18 (8 pm) DRD Modern Organ Trio with Rafael Rosa, Danny Borg,
Wilkins, Joel Ross, Kendrick Scott, Matt Brewer
Dylan DeFeo and Jam
McCarter Theater (Princeton, NJ) mccarter.org
1/19 (7 pm) Congliaro Consort with Brian Conigliaro, Michael Goetz,
Hiroshi Yamazaki, Chris Parker
1/5, 1/12, 1/19, 1/26 (8 pm) Winard Harper Hosts The Jazz Jam
1/20 (7/9 pm) Hiroshi Yamazaki Quintet with Mark Kraszewski,
1/7, 1/14, 1/21, 1/28 (7 pm) Winard Harper Hosts The Jazz Jam
Vinnie Cutro, Miles Gilbert, Jake Robinson
Moore’s Lounge (Jersey City, NJ)
1/21 (12 pm) The Frost Duowinardharperjazz.com/moore-s-lounge
1/26 (7/9 pm) Marianne Solivan Quartet with Brandon McCune,
Steve Wood, Jay Sawyer
1/20 (7 pm) Chris Barron
1/27
(7/9
pm)
Gustavo
Casenave Trio with Franco Pinna,
Moorestown Community House (Moorestown, NJ)
Pedro Giraudo
thecommunityhouse.com
1/28 (12 pm) Niccolò Cavoli Trio with Stefano Battaglia,
1/26 (8 pm) “Freedom Now Suite - Celebrating Max Roach”
Oto Gvardjančič
with Nasheet Waits, Cassandra Wilson, Sonia Sanchez, Jazz on Main (Mt. Kisco, NY) jazzonmain.com
Saul Williams, Ravi Coltrane, Nduduzo Makhathini,
1/19 (8 pm) Marya Lawrence/Erik Lawrence Quartet with
Eric Revis, The Last Poets
Cameron Brown, Bram Kincheloe
New Jersey Performing Arts Center @Prudential Hall
1/20 (8 pm) Danny’’s Calypso with Cameron Brown, David Ballou,(Newark, NJ) njpac.org
Lisa Parrott, Jason Rigby, Tony Jefferson
1/9 (6:30/8:30 pm) John Korba with Hal Slapin, John Vourtsis
1/26 (8 pm) Brandon Sanders Quartet with Keith Brown,
1/12 (7/9:15 pm) Dave Stryker
Eric Wheeler, Rob Gilliam
1/16 (6:30/8:30 pm) Leonieke Scheuble with Hal Slapin,
1/27 (8 pm) Michelle Lordi/Matt Parrish Quartet with Tim Horner,John Vourtsis
David Budway
1/17 (7/9:15 pm) Olli Soikkeli Trio with Paul Sikivie, Joe Peri
Maureen’s Jazz Cellar (Nyack, NY) maureensjazzcellar.com

44 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

1/27 (8 pm) Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis:“Max Roach Centennial Celebration”
Staller Center for the Performing Arts (Stony Brook, NY)
stallercenter.com
1/12 (7:30 pm) Wayne Henderson
1/13 (7:30 pm) Pete Malinverni
1/14 (12 pm) Tyler Blanton: “Brazilian Jazz Brunch”
1/17 (7 pm) Ari Hest with Natalia Zukerman
1/18 (7:30 pm) Brewster’s Millions with Adam Small
1/19 (7:30 pm) Rodney Jones
Uncle Cheef (Brewster, NY) unclecheef.com
PENNSYLVANIA
1/3 (7:30 pm) Elliot Bild
Cheltenham Center for the Arts (Cheltenham, PA) jazzbridge.org
1/3 (7:30/9 pm) Sean Butkovich Band
1/4 (7:30/9 pm) Eli Pace Band
1/5 (7:30/9:30 pm) Benny Benack III Quintet with Emily Braden
1/6 (7:30/9:30 pm) Miki Yamanaka Trio
1/9 (7:30/9 pm) Atomic Fizz with Joe Lockwood, Nick Lombardeli,
Anthony Nigro, Zach Guise, Noah Uy, Steve Perry,
Nathaniel Hawk
1/10 (7:30/9 pm) The Bruce Klauber Jazz Trio with Mary Ellen Desmond,James Dell’Orefice, Bruce Kaminsky
1/12, 1/13 (7:30/9:30 pm) Peter Bernstein with Joe Block, Alex Claffy,
Joe Peri, Aidan McKeon:“Larry McKenna Tribute”
1/16 (7:30/9 pm) Ryan Devlin Quartet with Thomas Milovac,
Anthony Aldissi, John Lumpkin
1/18 (7:30/9 pm) Earl Phillips Big Band
1/19 (7:30/9:30 pm) Brian Charette Quartet with Ken Fowser
1/20 (7:30/9:30 pm) Ed Cherry Trio plus Matthew Rotker Lynn
1/23 (7:30/9 pm) São Paulo - Philly Connection
1/24 (7:30/9 pm) Justin Farquhar Jazz Orchestra
1/25 (7:30/9 pm) Mike Raymond’s Octet
1/26, 1/27 (7:30/9:30 pm) Jonathan Michel Quartet with Jimmy Greene
1/30 (7:30/9 pm) Group 4 with Norman David, Tom Lawton,
Jason Fraticelli, Dan Monaghan
1/31 (7:30/9 pm) Ikechi Onyenaka Quintet
Chris’ Jazz Café (Philadephia, PA) chrisjazzcafe.com
1/21 (5 pm) Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis:“Max Roach Centennial Celebration”
1/18 (7:30 pm) The Philadelphia Orchestra:“Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue”
1/19 (2 pm) The Philadelphia Orchestra: “Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue”
1/20 (8 pm) The Philadelphia Orchestra: “Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue”
Kimmel Center @MillerTheater (Philadelphia, PA)
kimmelculturalcampus.org
1/12 (7:30 pm) Hot Club of Reading with Ken Gehret, Chris Heslop,
Trey LaRue, Andy Roberts, Josh Taylor
1/20 (7:30 pm) Allentown Symphony: “Lush Life - The Music of
Ellington and Strayhorn”
Miller Symphony Hall (Allentown, PA) millersymphonyhall.org
1/28 (7 pm) John Blum; Michael Foster; Brandon Lopez Trio;
The Ghost
The Perch (Philadelphia, PA) firemuseumpresents.com
1/22 (7:30 pm) Astroturf Noise; Systolic Murmurs; Sam Wenc
The Rotunda (Philadelphia, PA) firemuseumpresents.com
1/3 (8 pm) Zoh Amba with Steve Gunn, Shahzad Ismaily, Jim White
1/4 (8 pm) Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog
1/5, 1/6 (8 pm) William Parker’s In Order To Survive
1/26 (8 pm) Nite Bjuti
1/27 (8 pm) Surya Botofasina with Swiss Chris
Solar Myth (Philadelphia, PA) arsnovaworkshop.org
1/4, 1/5 (7/9 pm) Chris “Big Dog” Davis with Carl Cox, Gerald Veasley1/11 (7/9 pm) Althea René/Gerald Veasley Band
1/18 (7/9 pm) Jacob Webb with Phylicia Rae
South Jazz Club (Philadelphia, PA) southjazzkitchen.com
1/6 (8 pm) gabby fluke-mogul, Milarepa Dorji, Sonali Singh
Studio 34 (Philadelphia, PA) firemuseumpresents.com

C LU B D I RE C TO RY•440Gallery 440 Sixth Ave., Brooklyn(718-499-3844) Subway: F, G to Seventh Ave.
440gallery.com•The 92nd Street Y Lexington Ave. at 92nd Str.
(212-415-5500) Subway: 6 to 96th Str.
92NY.org•The Appel Room Broadway at 60th Str., 5th floor(212-258-9800) Subway: 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, B, D, F to Columbus Circle
jazz.org•Arthur’s Tavern 57 Grove Str.
(212-675-6879) Subway: 1 to Christopher Str.
arthurstavernnyc.com•Baby’s All Right 146 Broadway, Brooklyn(718-599-5800) Subway: J, M, Z to Marcy Ave.
babysallright.com•Back Bar 851 Avenue of the Americas(212-201-4065) Subway: B, D, F, M to 34th Str.; 1, 2 to 28 Str.;
hoteleventi.com•Bar Bayeux 1066 Nostrand Ave.
(347-533-7845) Subway: 2, 5 to Sterling Str.
barbayeux.com•Bar LunÀtico 486 Halsey Str.
(917-495-9473) Subway: C to Kingston-Throop Ave.
barlunatico.com•Barbès 376 9th Str. at 6th Ave., Brooklyn(718-965-9177) Subway: F to 7th Ave.
barbesbrooklyn.com•Bee’s Knees Provisions 215 Smith Str., Brooklyn(718-971-1197) Subway: F, G to Bergen Str.
beeskneesprovisions.com•Bill’s Place 148 W. 133rd Str. btwn. Lenox and 7th Ave.
(212-281-0777) Subway: 2, 3 to 125th Str.
billsplaceharlem.com•Birdland 315 W. 44th Str. btwn. 8th and 9th Ave.
(212-581-3080) Subway: 7, A, C, E, F, N, Q, R, to 42nd Str.
birdlandjazz.com•Birdland Theater 315 W. 44th Str. btwn. 8th and 9th Ave.
(212-581-3080) Subway: 7, A, C, E, F, N, Q, R, to 42nd Str.
birdlandjazz.com•The Bitter End 147 Bleecker Str. btwn. Thompson and LaGuardia(212-673-7030) Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, V to W. 4th Str.
bitterend.com•Blue Note 131 W. 3rd Str. at 6th Ave.
(212-475-8592) Subway: A, C, E, F, V Grand Str. Shuttle to W. 4th Str.
bluenotejazz.com•Bowery Ballroom 6 Delancey Str.
(212-533-2111) Subway: F to Delancey Str.
boweryballroom.com•Brooklyn Bowl 61 Wythe Ave., Brooklyn(718-963-3369) Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
brooklynbowl.com•Brooklyn Steel 319 Frost Str., Brooklyn(888-929-7849) Subway: L to Graham Ave.
bowerypresents.com•Cellar Dog 75 Christopher Str. at 7th Ave.
(212-675-6056) Subway: 1 to Christopher Str. /Sheridan Sq.
cellardog.net•Chelsea Table + Stage Hilton Fashion District Hotel, 152 W 26th Str.
(212-434-0499) Subway: C, E to 23rd Str.; R, W to 28th Str.
chelseatableandstage.com•Christ and St. Stephen’s Church 120 W. 69th Str.
Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 72nd Str.
•City Winery 25 11th Ave. (at 15th Str.)(646-751-6033) Subway: A, C, E, L to 14th Str.
citywinery.com•Crown Hill Theatre 750 Nostrand Ave., Brooklyn
crownhilltheatre.com•The Cutting Room 44 E. 32nd Str.
(212-691-1900) Subway: 6 to 33rd Str.
thecuttingroomnyc.com•Cynthia’s 212 W. 14th Str. btwn. 7th and 8th Ave.
(212-633-2820) Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 14th Str.
•David Rubenstein Atrium Broadway at 60th Str.
(212-258-9800) Subway: 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, B, D, F to Columbus Circle
atrium.lincolncenter.org•Dizzy’s Club 33 W. 60th Str., 11th floor(212-258-9800) Subway: 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, B, D, F to Columbus Circle
jazz.org•The Django 2 Sixth Ave.
(212-519-6600) Subway: A, C, E to Canal Str. ; 1 to Franklin Str.
thedjangonyc.com•Downtown Music Gallery 13 Monroe Str.
(212-473-0043) Subway: F to East Broadway
downtownmusicgallery.com•Drom 85 Ave. A(212-777-1157) Subway: F to Second Ave.
dromnyc.com•The Ear Inn 326 Spring Str. at Greenwich Str.
(212-246-5074) Subway: C, E to Spring Str.
earinn.com•Flushing Town Hall 137-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing(718-463-7700) Subway: 7 to Main Str.
flushingtownhall.org•Gallery MC 549 W 52nd Str.
(212-581-1966) Subway: C, E to 50th Str.
gallerymc.org•Gotham Bar and Grill 12 E. 12th Str.
(212-620-4020) Subway: R, W to 8th Str.
gothambarandgrill.com•Greenwich House Music School 46 Barrow Str.
(212-242-4770) Subway: 1 to Christopher Str.
greenwichhouse.org•Ibeam Brooklyn 168 7th Str. btwn. Second and Third Ave.
Subway: F to 4th Ave.
ibeambrooklyn.com•Interchurch Center 475 Riverside Drive at 120th Str.
Subway: 1 to 116th Str.
•InterContinental New York Barclay’s Club 111 E. 48th Str.
(212-755-5900) Subway: 6 to 51st Str.
intercontinentalnybarclay.com/•Iridium 1650 Broadway at 51st Str.
(212-582-2121) Subway: 1,2 to 50th Str.
theiridium.com•Jazz at Lincoln Center Broadway at 60th Str.
(212-258-9800) Subway: A, B, C, D to 59th Str./Columbus Circle; N, Q, R, W to57th Str./7th Ave.
jazz.org•The Jazz Gallery 1158 Broadway, 5th fl(212-242-1063) Subway: N, Q, R, W to 28th Str.; F, M to 23rd Str.
jazzgallery.org•Joe’s Pub 425 Lafayette Str.
(212-539-8770) Subway: N, R to 8th Str. -NYU; 6 to Astor Pl.
joespub.com•Jolene Soundroom 353 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn(929-489-0150) Subway: J, M, Z to Marcy Ave;jolenesoundroom.com•The Keep 205 Cypress Ave., Queens(718-381-0400) Subway: L to Jefferson Str.
thekeepny.com•Kismat 603 Fort Washington Ave.
(212-795-8633) Subway: 1 to 191st Str.
kismatny.com•Klavierhaus 549 W. 52nd Str., 7th Floor(212-245-4535) Subway: C, E to 50th Str.
klavierhaus.com•Knickerbocker Bar & Grill 33 University Pl. at 9th Str.
(212-228-8490) Subway: N, R to 8th Str. -NYU
knickerbockerbarandgrill.com•Le Poisson Rouge 158 Bleecker Str.
(212-228-4854) Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, V to W. 4th Str.
lepoissonrouge.com•Loove Labs 58 N. Sixth Str., Brooklyn(718-388-3244) Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
theloove.com•Louis Armstrong House Museum 34-56 107th Str., Queens(718-478-8274) Subway: 7 to 11th Str.
louisarmstronghouse.org•Lowlands 543 Third Ave., Brooklyn(347-463-9458) Subway: R to Prospect Ave.
lowlandsbar.com•Lycée Francais de New York 505 E. 75th Str.
(212-439-3820) Subway: 6 to 77th Str.
•Main Drag Music 50 S. 1st Str. btwn. Kent and Wythe Ave., Brooklyn(718-388-6365) Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
maindragmusic.com•Mercedes Benz Showroom 770 11th Ave.
(212-629-1600) Subway: A, B, C, D to Columbus Circle; 1, 2 to 50th Str.
mbmanhattan.com•Mezzrow 163 W. 10th Str.
(646-476-4346) Subway: 1 to Christopher Str.
smallslive.com•Music Hall of Williamsburg 66 North 6th Str.
(718-486-5400) Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
musichallofwilliamsburg.com•National Sawdust 80 N. 6th Str.
(646-779-8455) Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
nationalsawdust.org•New Amsterdam Musical Association NAMA 107 W. 130th Str.
(212-234-2973) Subway: 2, 3 to 125th Str.
•New York City Baha’i Center 53 E.11th Str.
Subway: 4, 5, 6, N, R, L to 14th Str. -Union Sq.
bahainyc.org•New York Hilton, NY Suite, 4th Floor 1335 Avenue of the Americas
Subway: B, D, E to 7th Ave; 1,2 to 50th Str.
hilton.com•North Square Lounge 103 Waverly Pl. at McDougal Str.
(212-254-1200) Subway: A, B, C, E, F, V to West 4th Str.
northsquareny.com/about-jazz.php•Nublu 62 Ave. C btwn. 4th and 5th Str.
(212-979-9925) Subway: F, V to Second Ave.
nublu.net•Nublu 151 151 Ave C
Subway: L to 1st Ave.
nublu.net•Ornithology Jazz Club 6 Suydam Str., Brooklyn(917-231-4766) Subway: J, M, Z to Myrtle Ave.
ornithologyjazzclub.com•The Owl Music Parlor 497 Rogers Ave.
(718-774-0042) Subway: Subway: 2 to to Sterling Str.
theowl.nyc•Pangea 178 Second Ave.
(212-995-0900) Subway: L to First Ave.
pangeanyc.com•Public Records 233 Butler Str.
(347-529-4869) Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, B, D, N, Q, R to Atlantic Ave.
publicrecords.nyc•The Racket 431 W. 16th Str.
(332-219-2151) Subway: A, C, E, L to 14th Str.
racketnyc.com•Rizzoli Bookstore 1133 Broadway(212-759-2424) Subway: R, W to 28th Str.
rizzolibookstore.com•Room 623 at B2 Harlem 271 W. 119th Str.
(212-280-2248) Subway: B, C to 116th Str.
b2harlem.com•Rose Theater Broadway at 60th Str., 5th floor(212-258-9800) Subway: 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, B, D, F to Columbus Circle
jazz.org•Roulette 509 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn(917-267-0363) Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic Ave.
roulette.org•Saint Peter’s Church 619 Lexington Ave. at 54th Str.
(212-935-2200) Subway: 6 to 51st Str.
saintpeters.org•Saint Tuesday 24 Cortlandt Alley(212-735-8000) Subway: 4, 6 to Canal Str.; J, Z to Canal Str.
sainttuesdaynyc.com•Sarabeth’s Park Avenue South 381 Park Ave. South(212-335-0093) Subway: 4, 6 to 28th Str.; N, Q, R, W to 28th Str.
sarabethsrestaurants.com•ShapeShifter Lab 837 Union Str., Brooklyn(646-820-9452) Subway: D, N, R, W to Union Str.; B, Q to 7th Ave.;
shapeshifterlab.com•Shrine 2271 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. btwn. 133rd & 134th Str.
(212-690-7807) Subway: B, 2, 3 to 135th Str.
shrinenyc.com•Silvana 300 W. 116th Str.
(646-692-4935) Subway: B, C, to 116th Str.
silvana-nyc.com•Sisters 900 Fulton Str.
(347-763-2537) Subway: C to Clinton-Washington Ave.s
sistersbklyn.com•Sky Vault, The 20 Pine Str.
Subway: 2,3 to Wall Str.; J to Broad Str.
composersconcordance.com•Smalls 183 W 10th Str. at Seventh Ave.
(212-252-5091) Subway: 1 to Christopher Str.
smallslive.com•Smoke 2751 Broadway btwn. 105th and 106th Str.
(212-864-6662) Subway: 1 to 103rd Str.
smokejazz.com•Soapbox Gallery 636 Dean Str.
Subway: 2, 3 to Bergen Str.
soapboxgallery.org•Sony Hall 235 W. 46th Str.
(212-997-5123) Subway: N, R, W to 49th Str.
sonyhall.com•Stone at The New School, The 55 West 13th Str.
(212-229-5600) Subway: F, V to 14th Str.
thestonenyc.com•Superior Ingredients 74 Wythe Ave., Brooklyn
Subway: G to Nassau Ave.; L to Bedford Ave.
si-bk.com•Symphony Space Leonard Nimoy Thalia 2537 Broadway at 95th Str.
(212-864-5400) Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 96th Str.
symphonyspace.org•Theatre of the New City 155 2nd Ave. at 10th Str.
Subway: 6 to Astor Pl.
•Town Hall 123 W. 43rd Str.
(212-997-1003) Subway: 7, B, D, F, M to 42nd Str. -Bryant Park
the-townhall-nyc.org•Union Pool 484 Union Ave. at Meeker(718-609-0484) Subway: L to Lorimer St
union-pool.com•Village Vanguard 178 Seventh Ave. South at 11th Str.
(212-255-4037) Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 14th Str.
villagevanguard.com•Westbeth Artists Complex 55 Bethune Str.
(212-691-1500) Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 14th Str.
•Zankel Hall 881 Seventh Ave. at 57th Str.
(212-247-7800) Subway: N, Q, R, W to 57th Str.
carnegiehall.org•Zinc Bar 82 W. 3rd Str.
(212-477-8337) Subway: A, C, E, F, V, Grand Str. Shuttle to W. 4th Str.
zincbar.com•Zürcher Gallery 33 Bleecker Str.
(212-777-0790) Subway: 6 to Bleeker Str. ; B, D, F to Broadway-Lafayettegaleriezurcher.com

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 45

I N ME MORIAM
IN MEMORIAM 2023
GABRIELLE AGACHIKOROB AGERBEEKULF ANDERSSONLENY ANDRADE
TOM ARTIN
CLARENCE AVANT
BURT BACHARACH
DENIS BADAULTPETER BADIEJULIAN BAHULA
BUDDY BAKER
MICHAEL BAKER
EMILI BALERIOLAANGSAR BALLHORNHARRISON BANKHEAD
JOHN BANYDAVID BARKER
GUIDO BASSO
ALAN BATESRUSSELL BATISTEJEFF BECKHOWARD BECKERTONY BENNETTALISON BENTLEYKARL BERGERLEE BERKFRANZ BIFFIGERMICHAEL BLACKWOODCARLA BLEY
ROGER BOBO
NEAL BONSANTISIMON BOOTH
TOMMY “SLIM” BORGUDD
RUUD BOSGLORIA BOSMANDANIEL BOURQUIN
OSCAR BRASHEARKWAME BRATHWAITEDAVID BRAYNARD
HERMANN BREUER
BOSSE BROBERG
BILLY BROOKSPETER BRÖTZMANNPETE BROWNDIX BRUCE
DENNIS BUDIMIRROBERT BUSH
ARTIE CABRALBOBBY CALDWELL
PHILIPPE CARLESZITA CARNOTED CASHERBEBETO CASTILHOYVES CHAMBERLAND
ARNI CHEATHAMHARRIET CHOICERAY CODRINGTONFRANK CODY
TONY COE
JERRY COLEMAN
JOHN COLIANNI
IVAN MAMÃO CONTIPHILIPPE “DOUDOU” CUILLERIERKIM CUSACKCHRIS DANIELSMARTIN DAVIDSONRICHARD DAVISTHÉO DE BARROSMIKE DENNY
JERRY DODGION
JOÃO DONATOJOSÉ DUARTEPIERRE DUTOURHERSCHEL DWELLINGHAM
ROMAN DYLĄGWOLFGANG ENGSTFELD
VICTOR EVANSCHRIS FARLOWEJON FAUSTYWALLY FAWKESSCOTT FEINERTHOMAS FINKWILLIAM S. FISCHERDICK FONTAINEHELMUT FORSTHOFFMICHAEL “MO” FOSTERCURTIS FOWLKESKEN FRANCKLINGGERALD FRIEDJOHN FROSKRICHIE FROSTCARLOS GARNETTERNIE GARSIDECHARLES GAYLEJOST GEBERSROY GERSONJOHN GIBLINASTRUD GILBERTOGARY GLADSTONESTEVE GNITKA
BRIAN GODDINGDUŠKO GOJKOVIĆCARIN GOLDBERG
JORGE GONZALEZJIM GORDONROBERT GOTTLIEBMICKEY GRAVINEERNEST GREGORYMARGARET DAVIS-GRIMESJOAQUIM “LUCKY” GURIJUKKA HAAVISTOJIM HACKER
AL HAMMELES HANDSCOMBETONI HARPER
MARK HENNENGABY KLEINSCHMIDT HENNESSEYGARY HOBISHISAAC “REDD” HOLTPETER HOLTZ
ALLEN HONIGBERG
TRISTAN HONSINGERROEFIE HUETINGPATRICK HUGHESRALPH HUMPHREY
IAN HUNTLEYSUSI HYLDGAARDROBERT IRWIN
CARL MORTEN IVERSEN
BUBBA JACKSONZBIGNIEW JAKUBEKAHMAD JAMALROBERT L. JONESTOM JONES

46 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORDEDWARD “KIDD” JORDANRALPH KAFFELNOEL KALETSKYDAVID KAMIEN
J. HAYES KAVANAGH
RYOICHI KAWAIDON KENNEDYPETRI KESKITALOGÜNTHER KIESERPAUL KNOPFDAVE KOETHER
MAJ-BRITT KRAMERTAMAZ KURASHVILIRALPH LAMPKIN, JR.
JIMMY LAROCCANORMAN LEAR
BILL LEE
FELIX “PUPI” LEGARRETADUBI LENZJACK LITCHFIELD
JOACHIM LUHRMANNROBIN LUMLEYNORBERTO MACHLINE
LILS MACKINTOSHPETE MAGADINI
MAURIZIO MAJORANAHORACIO MALVICINOKARAIKUDI MANIMUSA MANZINIJOSEPH MARCIANO
JOHN MARSHALLDAVE MARTELL
BOB MARTINERNEST “CURLY” MARTINTERRY MARTINBARRY “KID” MARTYN
KOICHI MATSUKAZE
LINCOLN MAYORGAADRIANO MAZZOLETTISPENCER MBADU
TIM MCCARVER
LARRY MCKENNASYLVIA MDUNYELWADAVID MEEKER
BUTCH MILESJON MILLER
DOM MINASIUDO MOLLJENS ARNE MOLVÆRDOMINICK “MECO” MONARDOMAX MORATH
JERRY MOSSNOBUKO “COBI” NARITA
PETER NEROHARALD NEUWIRTHTOM NICHOLAS
STEFAN NILSSONELITH “NULLE” NYKJÆR
RICHARD ÖSTERREICHERFRANK OWENSTONY OXLEYAISHI OYAUCHIJEFF PALMERMARCEL PAPAUXSIMON PEARSONERNST-LUDWIG PETROWSKYDINO PIANAMICHEL PILZMORGAN POWELLCHRIS QUADON RADERLARRY RAMIREZTONINHO RAMOSKNUT RIISNÆS
ALAIN ROCHETTEMARTÍN ROJASLARRY ROLAND
ARMANDO DE SEQUEIRA ROMEUCHRISTIAN ROSEBERNT ROSENGRENRICHARD ROUNDTREE
WILLIE RUFFRYUICHI SAKAMOTOGORDON SAMSMICHEL SARDABYCARL SAUNDERSEARL SCHEELERDON SEBESKYMICHEL SÉGUIN
MANFRED SELCHOWHOWIE SHEARWILLIAM SHEPHERD, JR.
WAYNE SHORTERRASUL SIDDIKFRANS SJÖSTRÖMCAROL SLOANELARRY SMITHMICHAEL SNOWMARIO STANCHEVJACKSON STOCKCHRIS STRACHWITZPHIL SUNKELTOM SWIFTMÁTYÁS SZANDAIDAVID TATHAMLILLIAN TERRYLARRY RENI THOMAS
LAURI TORNIVUORIMIKE TRAVISLÁZARO VALDÉSOSCAR VALDÉSRAFAEL VIÑOLY
STEVE VOCEGARY WALFORDLARS WESTINBARRY WESTONJAY WESTONJACK WILKINSJACKIE WILLIAMSMARS WILLIAMS
TIM WILLIAMSTOM WILLIAMSTONY WILLIAMSJEN WILSONJOHN DOC WILSONREUBEN WILSONGEORGE WINSTONWALTER WOLFFRICHARD B. WOODWARD
JOHN WURR
MASAHIKO YUH
MARCEL ZANINIALFONS ZSCHOCKELT*Courtesy of jazzpassings.com

Triangle–Live at OHM, 1987
Peter Brötzmann/Sabu Toyozumi(NoBusiness Chap Chap)
Naked Nudes: Brötz 80th at Ada 2021
Peter Brötzmann/Heather Leigh/Fred Lonberg-Holm(Trost)by Steven Loewy

Just Sayin’ and Playin’
Larry Roland & Kiyoko Layne(Boston Composers Group)
by John Pietaro

T he saxophonist/reedsman Peter Brötzmann was T he loss of Larry Roland (who passed away Feb.

a seminal figure in free jazz, producing a plethora 25th of last year at the age of 73) continues to echo
of superb recordings from the ’60s up until shortly through the NYC underground. The bassist/poet
before his death on June 22nd, 2023. His music effortlessly threaded moving, revolutionary spoken
explored the emotional vicissitudes and depths of word around gorgeously open, wandering basslines,
life itself, and his sound on his various horns could all the while maintaining driving swing and tempo.
be heard as a cry to the heavens. But he was much With a grasp on music as strong as the real-life
more than a flamethrower. His playing disdained verse he was committed to, Roland fearlessly
cheap emotion in favor of subtlety and rapturous explored, pondered and demanded as much frombeauty. On an occasion I spent extended time with those onstage as everyone in the audience. In ahim, he told me that his goal was to achieve a perfect lengthy interview with this writer just a few years
sound so that a single note blown through his ago, Roland said that the bass came into his life
saxophone would express everything he wanted to relatively late, the result of “fooling around” withsay. A lofty goal. His performances left an indelible the house bass in a café where he hosted a weekly
mark on countless listeners.
poetry night. Yeah, he got it right. And honest. Of
The two live recordings under review here show the instrument, he once wrote: “Mystical, magical
two sides of his personality; while neither arguably launch pads / Of harmonic happenings / On the low end
touches the heights of his earlier work, both feature of sound. / Inspiring pulse and heartbeat flow / And it
many special moments and, together, make fine if knows where to go…”
Pianist Kiyoko Layne partnered with the
not final additions to his discography. Perhaps themore developed of the two, Triangle—Live at OHM, bassist/poet on several powerful outings, including
1987 presents Brötzmann in duo with Japanese this final statement. Befittingly, the pieces here are
drummer Sabu Toyozumi, one of Japan’s leading free drawn from the sumptuous collection he publishedstyle drummers of the period. The two had played in 2019, Just Sayin’: Selected Poems. Sadly, it was
and recorded several times prior to this meeting his first book, one he complained about as having(though the limited Japanese releases are out-of- been rushed and improperly edited. But it remains
print and available only at substantial premiums). powerful, especially in its dedications, as evidenced
The saxophonist enjoyed duos with drummer/ in several cuts on this set. “We Will Miss You”
percussionists throughout his career: Han Bennink, speaks to his father’s life-lessons as strongly as
Andrew Cyrille, Hamid Drake, Paal Nilssen-Love the influence of Charlie Parker, and namechecks
and Walter Perkins each uniquely offered Brötzmann many others within the ’50s and ’60s modern jazzmaximum freedom to explore and interact in this and poetry scenes. And there’s no small irony inpared-down setting. Toyozumi’s straightforward, Roland’s citing his own mortality: “Hated to see youoften militaristic style here is an excellent foil to leave the room / See you when we get there.”
From the opening “The Blues”, Roland’s dark,
the saxophonist’s powerful yet melodic approach.
On the lengthy “Depth of Focus”, the duo explores rhythmic hold is clear, his bass (and drum overdubs!)
a wide array of emotions: Brötzmann (on tenor and as percussive as melodic, Layne’s piano drenchedtarogato) builds tension, screeching, whispering, in expansive blues. The flexible, agitational,
trilling, while the drummer pushes, pounds and confessional poetry grasps the times so nakedly.
bangs, frequently challenging and prodding, proving Listen for the harsh realism of “Whose Dope isThis?”, “Peace, Can We Handle It?” (goddamned
to be a sensitive, empathetic partner.
Fast forward 34 years to 2021. In the midst of prescient) and “Thinking”, let alone the music’s
the pandemic, after having laid low for a couple of history painted across “On Their Shoulders”. Roland
years, Brötzmann burst forth for an 80th birthday rarely stopped long enough to document his restlessconcert recording on Naked Nudes: Brötz 80th at Ada creativity, so take this album as a vital historic
2021, performing with two of his favorite players: document. Even as his closing words remind us:
the masterful Heather Leigh (pedal steel guitar) and “But it’s never, it’s never-ever / Goodbye.”Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello, electronics). The result
is a different sound than we have been accustomed For more info visit larryrolandkiyokolayne.com...a striking
to expect from the saxophonist. “Naked Nudes”
one-of-adevelops slowly over almost 30 minutes, the moodkind album
dominated by the gentle pulse of Leigh’s spacey– Kevinpedal steel and droning electronics with a few, toWhitehead,
be expected high-pitched altissimo forays from the
NPR
saxophonist. On the remaining two shorter tracks,
Brötzmann favors brief bursts of notes, sometimes
melodic, occasionally harsher, but always with a
total grasp of the full potential of the saxophone in a
CLIFFORD JORDAN’SJAZZ VOCAL
ALBUM
ShorterONLY
Moments:
Blue Ballads
way only Peter Brötzmann could summon. The endresult: more contemplative and calm than usual, but
RecordedShorterin 1974 –Moments:
unreleased Citizen
until now!Wayne
Various(Posi-Tone)
On most streaming
servicesArtists
and at selectretailersa fitting send-off for the great saxophonist.
by Anna Steegmannwww.cliffordjordan.com harvestsongrecords@yahoo.com

For more info visit nobusinessrecords.com and trost.atF ans mourning the loss of Wayne Shorter (whodied March 2nd of last year) can find consolationin the second and third Shorter Moments tributealbums, on which outstanding musicians whorecord with the Posi-Tone label interpret the latetenor/soprano saxophonist’s compositions. The
albums were originally conceived as a present
for Shorter’s 90th birthday, and feature fresh andexciting takes on many of his memorable originaltunes (some familiar while others have been rarely
covered). Included are Shorter compositions fromthe late ‘50s through the ’60s, covering his tenureswith Art Blakey and Miles Davis as well as his
many now-classic albums as bandleader for Blue
Note Records. The results: primarily melodic,
unencumbered, straight-ahead jazz that would
have made Shorter proud.
A core group appears on most tracks: Diego
Rivera enriches with his deliberate, muscular andheartfelt tenor saxophone approach; pianist Art
Hirahara’s intense playing seems effortless, willowy
and lyrical; bassist Boris Kozlov (known for his
work with the Mingus Big Band) impresses with his
sophisticated style and feel for harmony; and Rudy
Royston, “a first-tier talent” (Nate Chinen), whose
drumming can be either feathery or forceful, but
always provides a solid foundation.
Some other participants deserve special
mention. Saxophonist Markus Howell (who has
performed with the Count Basie Orchestra) shines
on “Dear Sir” (from Lee Morgan’s The Procrastinator),
playing flute and interacting brilliantly as a foil
to Joe Magnarelli (on flugelhorn). “Fall” (fromMiles Davis’ Nefertiti) features trombonist Altin
Sencalar, whose virtuosity, control and articulation
are remarkable. A faithful rendition of “Teru”(from Shorter’s Adam’s Apple) unfolds slowly anddeliberately, providing an excellent showcase for
Hirahara’s solo. “Mahjong” (from Juju) presents
an inviting arrangement and captivating solos
by Behn Gillece (vibraphone), Patrick Cornelius(bass clarinet), Rivera (saxophone) and Hirahara(piano). The bluesy “Twelve More Bars to Go” (alsofrom Juju) is a remarkable rediscovery. TrumpeterAlex Sipiagin is impressive and his crystal-clear
articulation and exceptional control on flugelhorn,
along with Kozlov’s solo, make “Miyako” (fromSchizophrenia) truly shine. Wayne Escoffery (tenor)
and Avi Rothbard (guitar) collaborate on the soulful
ballad “Infant Eyes” (from Speak No Evil), which
serves as a riveting culmination to Citizen Wayne,
Posi-Tone’s final installment of its triumvirate ofShorter tribute albums, each of which help savor the
saxophonist/composer’s genius.
For more info visit posi-tone.com...a striking
one-of-akind album– KevinWhitehead,
NPR

CLIFFORD JORDAN’S ONLY JAZZ VOCAL ALBUM
Recorded in 1974 – unreleased until now!
On most streaming services and at select retailers
www.cliffordjordan.com harvestsongrecords@yahoo.com

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 47

UNEARTHED GEM

Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse 1966-1968
Ahmad Jamal (Jazz Detective)by Thomas Conrad

The vast archive of tapes that Jim Wilke recorded at
the Penthouse in Seattle in the ‘60s has yielded many
historic discoveries. The three double-disc sets by the
pianist Ahmad Jamal released on Zev Feldman’s Jazz
Detective label are among the most important. They
contain music from eleven nights, spanning five years
and four different trios. The third (and final) volume
comes from the years 1966-1968, and it will always
occupy a special place in the heart of this reviewer.
The reason is personal: he was there.
To be precise, I was there during Jamal’s
engagement that included two of the nights in thiscollection: August 24 and 31, 1967. Whether I was there
on one of these two nights specifically is, at this verylate date, impossible to know. Jamal’s huge hit recordof 1958, At the Pershing, was one of the first LPs I everowned (and wore out). But the music at the Penthouse

was largely unfamiliar at the time. The tunes here
are not tight, mannered, impeccable miniature
masterpieces of surpassing cleverness, as on At thePershing. At the Penthouse, Jamal was looser, louder,wilder, more flamboyant—and definitely more longwinded. On this set, he plays “Corcovado” hard andfast for 11 minutes, and transforms it almost beyond
recognition. He adds so much fresh content to “Misty”,
over 13 minutes, that it also becomes a new song.
Now, over half a century later, it is possible tohear that in the years since At the Pershing made him
a household name, Jamal had opened up his art andgiven it new scale. One thing didn’t change: he could
still sell a song like few other pianists. He was a masterof musical space and tension-and-release; here, when
he plays “Emily”, he crushes you with the poignanceof his haunting hesitations. Then, without pausing, heflows seamlessly into “Alfie”, and breaks your heart allover again with his portrayal of love’s vulnerability. The
Jamal of 1967 had become a bolder, more exploratory
artist. He was less disciplined and more inclined toexcess. He was also less predictable and more exciting.
Two factors affect the present experience provided
by this music. First, if you heard it in 1967 and are rehearing it now, there is the perspective gained by anintervening lifetime. Second, there is the sadness of
immersing oneself in the work of a unique American
artist in the year of his passing. Ahmad Jamal died at
92 on April 16, 2023.
For more info visit thejazzdetective.com

Luten at Jazzwerkstatt Peitz
Ernest-Ludwig Petrowsky (Jazzwerkstatt)by Francesco Martinelli

Alto saxophonist, clarinetist and flutist ErnestLudwig Petrowsky, also known as Luten Petrowsky(who passed away July 10, 2023, a few months shortof his 90th birthday), was one of the very first modern
jazz musicians in post-war East Germany (GDR). After
playing with Eberhard Weise and Manfred Schulze,
inspired by Ornette, Bird and the pianist Joachim
Kühn, he created (with Ulrich Gumpert, Conrad Bauer
and Günter Sommer) the Synopsis band, which later
became the Zentralquartett. At the same time, heworked as a musician in radio dance orchestras. His
album Just for Fun (FMP, 1973) with Bauer, Klaus Kochand Wolfgang Winkler, was the first document of freejazz in GDR, and he later played with the Globe Unity
Orchestra, George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band and Tony
Oxley’s Celebration Orchestra. Especially memorable
were his duos with his wife, the singer Uschi Brüning.
Luten personified invention and freedom, in a way
being the twin of Peter Brötzmann on the other side of
the Berlin Wall, with a similar power.
This album was recorded live on May 14,
2011, at the 48 Jazzwerkstatt in Peitz, a city in the
U

SE

EW

D

N

Poet & Bassist

LARRY ROLAND’s
Last ProjectTo purchase CDs & more info
Larryrolandkiyokolayne.com

236 West 26 Street, Room 804
New York, NY 10001
Monday-Saturday, 10:00-6:00
Tel: 212-675-4480
Fax: 212-675-4504
Email: jazzrecordcenter@verizon.net
Web: jazzrecordcenter.com
LP’s, CD, Videos (DVD/VHS),Books, Magazines, Posters,
Postcards, T-shirts,
Calendars, Ephemera
Buy, Sell, Trade
Collections bought
and/or appraised
Also carrying specialist labels
e.g. Criss Cross, ECM, Enja, ESP,
Fresh Sound, High Note, Pi, Savant,Sunnyside, Venus and many more.

48 January 2024 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

former GDR where Peter Metag (d. 2013) and Ulli
Blobel have been promoting jazz events since 1973.
Longtime collaborators, and two generations apart,veteran Alexander von Schlippenbach (piano) andChristian Lillinger (drums) are on hand for two long
freely improvised tracks, “Auf ein Neues” (32:21)
and “Freie Improvisation” (10:28). Both tracks are
introduced by piano and drums, with Petrowsky
entering later in response. At 77 at the time of thisrecording, Luten sounds energetic and full of humor,
his partners swiftly following the leader’s twists
and turns, changes of intensity and mood, from soft,
tender sounds to high-pitched squeals. Schlippenbachoften hints at his early inspiration, Thelonious Monk.
Powerful piano clusters establish waves of energy;
meditative piano–percussion duo segments allow
respite, focus and instrument changes for the reedplayer. The much younger percussionist sometimes
takes a second to follow the telepathic communication
between the two old accomplices, but his dry, to-thepoint comments always add something significant,spurring the partners to further experimentation.
The trio increases the tempo in a final breathtaking
succession of fireworks and a brief coda. Impassioned
and absorbing, this music is a fitting tribute to the lateGerman saxophone pioneer.

Orchestra, free jazz scene and big band roots—
perform the piece three times on Two or Three, withtwo extended improvisations in between. As a result,
the whole 42-minute album flows like a continuous
work with a recurring theme.
That’s not to say that each reading of “Twoor Three” sounds the same. Sometimes the quick
emanations from the players resemble a three-way
game of ping pong. Kleijn presses her bow down hardin one passage while Kassinger sits out on another. The
act of deep listening continues in the two spontaneous
tracks. When Williams gets behind Kleijn’s pedal point
in “Improvisation I” , Kassinger responds by playing
the wood of his instrument percussively. Much of thelengthy “Improvisation II” consists of little more thanfaint long tones and string scrapes. The power of theperformance lies in the way that the trio bookends thisdiminuendo with incisive group interaction. It, alongwith Critical Mass, serves as a reminder that Williams’
passing last November was a big blow to creative
music.
For more info visit nottwo.com and amalgamusic.org

For more info visit jazzwerkstatt.eu

Critical Mass
Mars Williams/Vasco Trilla (Not Two)
Two or Three
Mars Williams/Katinka Kleijn/Rob Kassinger(Amalgam)by Mike Shanley

The first two minutes of “The Shaking Hand That
Leaves a Mark” in Critical Mass evokes a scene in an
old clock shop. The sound doesn’t conjure the chaosthat occurs at the top of every hour; percussionist
Vasco Trilla creates an array of low, tranquil chimes,of the kind that a roomful of timepieces might produce
at the bottom, or quarter, of the hour. The effect issoothing, and when saxophonist Mars Williams (whopassed away Nov. 20, 2023 at the age of 68) joins Trilla,
his alto begins cautiously with long tones, so as not
to disturb the serenity. This is the duo’s second (andfinal) recording and it also delivers some high-volume
blowing, but that comes later.
Throughout the album, Trilla draws on extended
technique with his trap kit and percussion. His scrapes
and rolls in “Fogo” eventually echo the long tones that
Williams blows on his sopranino horn. The unearthly
rumble in the final minutes of “Thin Air” are hardto trace and sound as thick as a wall of overdubbing(though it’s likely all live). Williams, credited with“reeds and toy instruments”, pulls out an exotic double
reed instrument (“The Tongue Set Free”), whistles andtoy flutes as well as saxophones. The rapid spray oflines in the title track might be his calling card, but thehaunting unaccompanied coda of “Fogo” has just as
strong an impact.
Shortly before her death in 2016, Pauline
Oliveros finished the composition “For Two or Three
Instruments”. The piece utilizes a technique called
Deep Listening, a heightened state of awarenessof sound surrounding the performers, which
requires them to determine the duration, dynamics
and structure of what they play. Williams (reeds),
Katinka Kleijn (cello) and Rob Kassinger (bass)—
who collectively bring together Chicago’s Symphony

Memoria
John Zorn/Bill Laswell (Tzadik)
by Tyran Grillo

B uilding on well over four decades of collaboration,
Memoria convenes two musicians—saxophonist
John Zorn and bassist Bill Laswell—at their most
exposed. While their duality has often been magnified
in ensemble settings (most notably in Painkiller),
they have often performed as a unit live. Here, theintensity of those performances leans toward ambient
music but also toward elegy, as the album pays tributeto three fallen visionaries: Pharoah Sanders (19402022), Milford Graves (1941-2021), and, most recently,
Wayne Shorter who died on March 2, 2023 at the ageof 89.
Zorn seems to always have something (orsomeone) firmly in mind as a catalyst for his recorded
music, and in these tracks, we feel the depth of theblues in his playing, while Laswell offers an embraceof brotherhood. Sanders gets a proper eulogy:
Laswell’s harmonics shimmer like a body of watercut from living rock, while Zorn’s expectorations are
gut-wrenchingly heartfelt. The music moves with anunforced flow that eschews rhythmic impulses. At theother end is the duo’s nod to Shorter, which brings theheaviest sense of finality. The gentleness of Laswell’s
echoing lines serves to highlight Zorn’s feel for detail.
There is more to every gesture than meets the eye: asense of history, of having been somewhere important,and of eternity.
Between these two spirits is Graves, no stranger tothe Zorn universe (having at one time graced the stage
with Painkiller). Zorn’s alto unleashes keening, warped
brilliance, using circular breathing not as a technicalflourish but as a way of sustaining the override of his
multiphonic chatter, before ending with the light patterof footsteps on puddles soon to dry and fade. Thus,
Memoria returns to the shadows but leaves us a light tohold on to. This is not a catharsis, if only because toomuch of what has been expressed remains on the inside
to be emotionally digested.
For more info visit tzadik.com

UNEARTHED GEM

Drink Plenty Water
Clifford Jordan (Harvest Song)by Tristan Geary

Recorded in 1974 and brought to light in 2023 bytenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan’s widow Sandy
Jordan, Drink Plenty Water reveals another dimensionof an already kaleidoscopic musical personality.
The album marks a departure from recordings ofbrooding intensity that Jordan was enmeshed in.
As pianist Franz Biffiger recounts in the liner notes,
Drink Plenty Water is “the pure opposite of [Jordan’s]album Glass Bead Games”, released the year before.
Recounting the recording session, trombonist Dick
Griffin recalls how Jordan set the musicians up ina semicircle, rather than isolated in booths. The
democratizing effect of this permeates the album’s
sound. Splitting bass duties with Sam Jones andspearheading the album’s arrangements was noneother than the legendary Bill Lee (who passed away
May 24, 2023 at age 94).
Dulcet vocals in lush harmony immediately
grab the listener on the powerful opening track “TheHighest Mountain”, sung by a quartet of singers
including the leader’s daughter Donna Jordan
Harris and sister-in-law Denise Williams. The bond,both familial and friendly, between the musicianson the album works its way into the sound of themusic: it too is close-knit. Catchy and danceable,
the brief “My Papa’s Coming Home” rolls alongwith an infectious lilting vamp. Williams recalls
rehearsals full of laughter and warmth, noting one
particular episode where a mid-rehearsal blueberry
cobbler was devoured without a trace by the singers
to hilarious effect. The playful repartee between themusicians throughout the recording process is felt
deeply in the music itself.
Underneath the singers, Clifford Jordan’squartet (Stanley Cowell, piano; Billy Higgins,
drums; Jones or Lee, bass) is a sophisticatedly
understated swinging unit. They are joined by
Griffin (trombone), Bill Hardman (trumpet),Charlie Rouse (bass clarinet) and Bernard Fennell(cello), and the resulting ensemble operates as botha collective improvising machine and a tightly
orchestrated voice, as if in conversation with thesingers themselves. Although often snappy, thealbum is equally expansive. The title track is a wise
and melancholic spoken word parable delivered byDavid Smyrl, underscored by meandering collective
improvisations; Fennell’s cello is particularly
effective in creating a moody atmosphere. Similarly,“Talking Blues” is delivered with swagger by Smyrl,as the band wails behind him.
Today, the memory of the recording, touchingly
recounted in the liner notes, informs the listening
experience. The recent passing of bassist Bill Lee
makes this belated release especially poignant. A
convivial cohesion shines in the music, akin to anapartment party amongst family and friends, full oflove and depth.
For more info visit shop.mapleshadestore.com

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 49

freedom now suite
celebrating
max roach’s centennial
jan 26 @ 8PM

with Cassandra Wilson, Ravi Coltrane, Sonia Sanchez,
Saul Williams, Nasheet Waits, Nduduzo Makhathini and more

njpac arts education

celebrating peggy lee
and frank sinatra

feb 8 @ 7:30PMfeaturing Aloe Blacc,
Dee Dee Bridgewater,
Paula Cole, Bettye LaVette,
Christian McBride,
Rachael Price,
Brian Stokes Mitchelland The Christian McBride
Big BandThe American Song series at NJPAC is presented, in part, through thegenerous support of the Blanche and rving Laurie Foundation,
the David S. Steiner and Sylvia Steiner Charitable Trust,the Joan and Allen Bildner Family Fund, and the Smart Family Foundation/David S. Stone, Esq., Stone & Magnanini.

jul 14 – 20
upright bass players | ages 14 – 18
Dive into an immersive week of masterclasses, performances, small ensemble work,
studio sessions, lectures and workshops on
the Montclair State University campus.
To learn more, contact
Rosa Hyde, Sr. Director, Performances
at 973.297.5805 or rhyde@njpac.org.

@NJPAC • 1.888.MY.NJPAC • njpac.org
One Center Street, Newark, NJ

JazzRecord_color_9.5x12_Dec.indd 1

11/21/23 9:31 AM

I N ME MORIAM
JOHN COLIANNI (January 7, 1962 - November 28, 2023)
With a career spanning five decades, the pianist died at age
61 at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Langhorne, PA. Whilestill in high school, he became active on the Washington
D.C. jazz scene. Just months out of high school, he met
vibraphonist and band leader Lionel Hampton, toured withhim and recorded three albums with the Lionel Hampton
Big Band. In the mid ’80s, Colianni recorded three of his
own albums for Concord Records, and was a finalist in theFirst International Thelonious Monk Piano Competition,
following which he toured with Mel Tormé and performedon six of the vocalist’s albums. He also had credits with
Harry Allen, Spider Saloff, Scott Whitfield, Toni Ballard,
Larry Coryell, Ruby Alexander, Lizzie Thomas and others.
In 2016 he formed the 17-piece John Colianni Jazz Orchestra,
which performed swing, modern jazz, standards and originalcompositions in various venues around New York City.
THOMAS FINK (May 26, 1935 - November 6, 2023) The
German pianist, who died at age 88, came from a musicalfamily; his father was a church organist, conductor of several
choirs and leader of a brass band. For several decades he was
the house pianist at the Nuremberg studio of the BavarianRadio; until it disbanded in 1992, he was part of the BR bigband led by Josef Niessen and later Ed Sperber. He was alsopart of Günter Noris’ Swingtet. With bassist Rainer Glas,
Fink recorded several albums, adding drummer and singer
Carola Gray to complete his Thomas Fink Trio.
BRIAN GODDING (August 19, 1945 - November 26, 2023)
The Welsh jazz, rock and pop guitarist died at age 78. He wasa founding member of the psychedelic rock band Blossom
Toes: two albums with the group, 1967’s We Are Ever So Cleanand If Only for a Moment from 1969, are now considered culttreasures. Godding was also a member of Keith Tippett’s
jazz-rock big band Centipede. He additionally had credits
with Solid Gold Cadillac, Mike Westbrook, Julie Tippetts,
Bob Downes and Annette Peacock.
JUKKA HAAVISTO (June 5, 1930 - November 24, 2023) The
Finnish vibraphonist, who had a dual career in business andmusic, died at age 93. He worked in advertising from 1959 intothe ’90s, when he retired, but his first public appearance as amusician was at age 10 playing harmonica in a broadcast byYle. Taking up accordion and vibraphone, Haavisto fell in lovewith swing. He worked with Combo 50, Happy Swing Band,
Jazz Society Big Band, Thor Forsskåhl and DDT Jazzband. He
also led the Jukka Haavisto Band and the Haavisto Swingers.
CATHERINE CHRISTER HENNIX (1948 - November
19, 2023) Steeped in music and culture from a young age,the Stockholm-born drone musician and composer died ather home in Istanbul at age 75. Hennix took lessons from
Idrees Sulieman, the American bop trumpeter. She wasthen an early member of the Elektronmusikstudion (EMS),
where she composed works for large mainframe computers.
In 1968 she moved to New York for a time and became
immersed in the downtown scene, where she encountered
John Cage and Walter De Maria as well as a great influence,
La Monte Young. In the early ’70s, Hennix returned toSweden to found her own group, inspired by the Theatreof Eternal Music, becoming prolific as a musician, artist
and writer. She pursued a degree in mathematical logic at
Uppsala University, relocated to New York in 1978, andserved as a professor of mathematics and computer scienceat SUNY New Paltz, later joining MIT’s Artificial Intelligence
Laboratory. At the end of the ’80s, she returned to Europe,
first to Sweden and later to Amsterdam, pursuing music andacademia. A figure in musical minimalism, Hennix returned
to producing computer-generated sound works, initiatinga productive two-decade run. She formed the Chora(s)sanTime-Court Mirage in 2005 and later led the just intonationgroup the Kamigaku Ensemble. Hennix formally converted
to Islam before relocating to Istanbul, where she spent the
final years of her life.
PATRICK HUGHES (October 14, 1977 - November 1, 2023)
The trumpeter died suddenly of natural causes at age 46 in

BY MARILYN LESTER
Ardmore, PA. He studied under Terell Stafford at Temple
University, and worked with Bobby Zankel, Melody Gardot,
Jordan Berger and others. He released two solo albums,
Herevibe and An Invitation to Connect.
MAURIZIO MAJORANA (September 22, 1938 - November
22, 2023) The Italian bassist, a significant figure in Italianmusic production, died at age 85. He was one-fourth of
the group I Marc 4, a versatile studio band in the late ’60s
and ’70s. He also worked with the Roman New Orleans
Jazz Band, René Thomas/Bobby Jaspar, Franco Cerri, Gino
Marinacci and Piero Umiliani. Majorana was also a vital
member of the bands Modern Jazz Gang and Epicarpus Duo.
HORACIO MALVICINO (October 20, 1929 - November 21,2023) The Argentine guitarist, who died at age 94, was partof his country’s nascent jazz scene in the late ’40s. In 1947 hearrived in Buenos Aires and studied medicine before music
took over his life. He became part of the bop generation
centered on the Bop Club Argentino, a venue frequented
by Gato Barbieri and Lalo Schifrin, where the first attempts
to develop modern jazz in Argentina took place. He had
a long association with Astor Piazzolla; in 1955, he joined
Piazzolla’s Octeto Buenos Aires, which pioneered nuevo
tango. With Piazzolla, Malvicino travelled the world andrecorded 15 albums. But by the time Piazzolla met Malvicino
improvising in the Bop Club, the guitarist had already playedwith several orquesta típicas, including those of Fernando
Roca, Eduardo Armani and René Cóspito. He also led his
own groups for albums on Sonus, Microfon and Melopea
Discos. Malvicino was a prolific film composer and has aplace in IMDb as an actor. He worked under 15 pseudonyms,
typically when playing music outside the world of jazz. In
2008, he published a book entitled El Tano y Yo, about hismusical career as an electric guitarist in Piazzolla’s various
ensembles.
LARRY MCKENNA (July 21, 1937 - November 19, 2023)
The saxophonist died at age 86 at KeystoneCare Hospice in
Wyndmoor, PA, from chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseand congestive heart failure. He lived almost his entire life injust two houses, three blocks apart in the Olney neighborhoodof Philadelphia. From his home base in the City of Brotherly
Love he performed and recorded with Frank Sinatra, Tony
Bennett, Shirley Scott and Clark Terry, among others, andmentored generations of Philly musicians. He was briefly
a member of Woody Herman’s The New Swingin’ Herman
Herd in the early ’60s before opting to remain in Philly. In
the late ’90s he recorded for Alanna, Dreambox Media andConsolidated Artists Productions.
NOBUKO “COBI” NARITA (March 3, 1926 - November
8, 2023) The fierce jazz advocate and widow of music store
owner, Sam Ash (her second marriage), died at age 97 in Los
Angeles, in her native California. Narita was a well-known
fixture on the NYC jazz scene, as much a cheerleader as
she was an effective promoter of the genre, and of womenin jazz in particular. She was an impresario who produced
concerts and ran performance spaces for over 40 years in
the city. A survivor of a U.S. internment camp for JapaneseAmericans, Narita was a volunteer at Jazz Interactions,Executive Director of Collective Black Artists, created the
Universal Jazz Coalition and The New York Women’s Jazz
Festival, established the Jazz Center of New York, foundedInternational Women in Jazz and ran a longtime concert
series under the banner Cobi’s Place. In later years, before
returning to California for health reasons, she ran a Friday
night open mic with the late pianist Frank Owens. Even inadvanced age and wheelchair-bound, Narita continued to bea presence and force in her advocacy for jazz.
DINO PIANA (August 3, 1930 - November 5, 2023) Activewith his Dino e Franco Piana Jazz Orchestra until a few
months before his death in Rome at age 93, the Italiantrombonist worked with Giorgio Azzolini, Armando
Trovaioli, Helen Merrill, Buddy Collette, Quintetto Di
Torino, Gianni Basso/Oscar Valdambrini, Jacques Pelzer,
Romano Mussolini, Franco Cerri, Giorgio Gaslini, Eraldo

Volonté, Piero Umiliani, Pedro Iturralde, Angel “Pocho”
Gatti, Gil Cuppini, Amedeo Tommasi, Franco Tonani,
Giorgio Buratti, Orchestra Sinfonica Di Roma Della RAI,
Marcello Rosa, Charles Mingus, Kai Winding, RAI Big Band,
Gianni Coscia, Gianluca Petrella and others. He recorded
many albums beginning in the ’60s, for Cetra, Globe, Horo,
Vedette, Penta Flowers, Philology, Casa Del Jazz and Alfa
Music.
MICHEL PILZ (October 28, 1945 - November 2, 2023) The
bass clarinetist, who was born in Bad Neustadt an der
Saale, Germany, died at age 78. His musical journey beganat the Luxembourg Conservatory in the mid ’60s. He thenjoined Manfred Schoof’s ensemble in 1968, an association
he maintained into the ’80s. In his evolution from a classicalclarinet student to a significant jazz musician, Pilz wasamong the few to concentrate solely on the bass clarinet,
whether in the Globe Unity Orchestra, German All Stars orother groups. He founded his own ensemble in 1972, playing
with Peter Kowald, Paul Lovens, Buschi Niebergall and Itaru
Oki, among others. Pilz’ musical style was a unique blend ofclassical and jazz elements with improvisation. He worked
with Alexander von Schlippenbach, Guru Guru, V.V.
Systém, Klaus König and others, and recorded his own orcollaborative albums since the ’70s on FMP, Trion, DROPS,
Adda, Bimbo Tower, Creative Works, shaa-music, Konnex,
Jazz Haus Musik, Badass Yogi Productions and Nemu.
Pilz also left a mark as a composer of eclectic, complex yet
accessible music, and as an influential educator.
LARRY RAMIREZ (December 29, 1938 - November 14,2023) The trumpet player, who died at age 84, spent most of
his career as an instrument engineer. He had as clients major
players including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry,
Maynard Ferguson and Arturo Sandoval, many of whom
became close friends.
MANFRED SELCHOW (October 2, 1936 - November 5,2023) The jazz enthusiast, who died at age 87, booked tours
in his native Germany and Switzerland, authored books on
clarinetist Edmond Hall and trombonist Vic Dickenson andwrote liner notes for archival releases on Mosaic, Timelessand Nagel Heyer.
STEVE VOCE (1933 - November 23, 2023) The British
journalist and writer, who died at age 89, was a decadeslong contributor to Jazz Journal and also penned liner
notes for albums on Pye Nixa, Riverside, Polydor, Verve,
Spotlite, Affinity, Black Lion, Roulette, Jazzology, Storyville,
Hep, Candid, Arbors and other labels. He was, among
other pursuits, an expert on Duke Ellington and an active
participant in the decades-old LYM Listserv about Ellington.
MARS WILLIAMS (May 29, 1955 - November 20, 2023) The
saxophonist died of ampullary cancer at age 68 in his native
Chicago. He had numerous rock and pop credits, mostnotably The Waitresses and The Psychedelic Furs, and also
worked with Fred Frith, Hal Russell, Ken Vandermark, Peter
Brötzmann, Harrison Bankhead, Raoul Björkenheim, Keefe
Jackson, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Paul Giallorenzo, Michael
Zerang and Tim Daisy. Williams was also a member of
Audio One, Boneshaker, Chicago Edge Ensemble, Chicago
Reed Quartet, Liquid Soul and Switchback. He had his own
or collaborative albums on OkkaDisk, Trost, Idyllic Noise,
Soul What, The Bridge Sessions, Not Two and Aerophonic,
including the five volumes of An Ayler Xmas.
TONY WILLIAMS (1931 - November 11, 2023) The
saxophonist, who played and taught music in Philadelphia
for more than 60 years, died at age 92 of age-associateddecline and chronic illnesses. Williams, who also had a career
teaching physical education in the public school system,
worked with many of that city’s jazz stars. He released twoof his own albums since the ’90s, was a member of the bandon “The Bill Cosby Show” and founded the Tony Williams
Scholarship Jazz Festival and the Mt. Airy Cultural Center,the latter providing music instruction for many of today’s
leading jazz artists.

THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | January 2024 51

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