December 2012 - The New York City Jazz Record

Transcription

December 2012 | No. 128
Your FREE Guide to the NYC Jazz Scene
nycjazzrecord.com
CHUCHO
VALDÉS
N
I
T UE
A
L SS
I
Havana - New York
GATO
•
BARBIERI
MIGUEL
ZENÓN
•
JOE
BATAAN
•
FESTINA
LENTE
•
EVENT
CALENDAR
CASSANDRA WILSON
11/29 - 12/2
GATO BARBIERI
12/3 & 4
DAVID SANBORN
12/5-9
MEDESKI MARTIN & WOOD
W/ NELS CLINE (12/12), MARC RIBOT (12/13)
& BILL EVANS (12/14)
12/11-16
LATE NIGHT GROOVE SERIES:
THE Z THREE 12/1
SONuVO 12/7
THE FLOWDOWN 12/8
INTERNATIONAL ORANGE 12/14
SOPHISTAFuNK 12/15
RAY ANGRY 12/21
JEF LEE JOHNSON 12/22
QuEEN AAMINAH 12/28
CHRIS BOTTI
ANNuAL RESIDENCY
12/17 - 1/6
SuNdAy BRuNcH SERIES:
NYu: BILLY DRuMMOND 12/2
MARK GROSS & BLACKSIDE 12/9
AKIKO TSuRuGA 12/16
MARLENE VERPLANCK 12/23
SONY HOLLAND 12/30
TELECHARGE.COM
TERMS, CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS APPLY
4
6
7
9
10
New York@Night
Interview: Gato Barbieri
by Brad Farberman
Artist Feature: Miguel Zenón
by Tom Greenland
On The Cover: Chucho Valdés
by Russ Musto
Encore: Joe Bataan
by Marcia Hillman
11
12
by Donald Elfman
MegaphoneVOXNews
by Bobby Sanabria
by Katie Bull
Label Spotlight:
Festina Lente
Listen Up!:
by Ken Waxman
14
16
36
38
45
47
Lest We Forget:
Willie Bobo
Rogerio Boccato
& Magos Herrera
In Memoriam: John Tchicai (1936-2012)
CD Reviews: Gonzalo Rubalcaba, David Virelles, Bobby Sanabria,
Ondatrópica, Poncho Sanchez, Papo Vazquez, Aruán Ortiz and more
Special Feature: Holiday Gift Guide
Much has been made about the term “jazz” throughout this music’s history; some
find it to be an inclusive term, encompassing all stripes of styles and players while
others find it limiting, even demeaning. A topic not often discussed though is the
sub-genre “Latin jazz”. It is hard to believe that this term has existed as long as it
has, trying ineffectually to cover dozens of cultures under its generic umbrella.
For this The New York City Jazz Record’s first Latin issue, we would like to take
the opportunity to use the term as a starting point for discussion. There is no
uniformity between the musics that come out of the various Southern and Central
American countries and to imply such is overly simplistic and culturally
insensitive. Just as “classical music” hardly represents centuries worth of
composition, Latin jazz should either be broken into its component countries
(would that work?) or just called jazz - in the most expansive sense of the word.
To reinforce this notion, you need only leaf through our coverage this month.
Cuban piano legend Chucho Valdés (On The Cover, appearing at both Zankel Hall
and Stern Auditorium as part of the Voices from Latin America series), famed
Argentinean saxophonist Gato Barbieri (Interview, at Blue Note celebrating his
80th birthday) and Puerto Rican cachorro de león Miguel Zenón (Artist Feature,
leading a group at Jazz Standard) are as different as their native countries. Vocalist
Joe Bataan (Encore) shows that one not even need be of Spanish extraction to play
Latin jazz while the late percussionist Willie Bobo (Lest We Forget) comes not from
Central or South America but Harlem. Colombian imprint Festina Lente (Label
Spotlight) will upend anyone’s notions of what Equatorial music should sound
like and if anyone can wax prolific on the subject of needing to recognize the
uniqueness of “Latin jazz”, it would be our Megaphone writer, percussionist
Bobby Sanabria (just ask the Grammy Awards). And we’ve dedicated the beginning
of our CD Reviews (pages 16-21) to a wide array of disparate “Latin” artists.
Próspero Año Nuevo!
Laurence Donohue-Greene, Managing Editor
Andrey Henkin, Editorial Director
On the cover: Chucho Valdés (photo courtesy CAMI MUSIC)
Corrections: In last month’s VOXNews, the poet’s name is Cornelius Eady. In the
Dayna Stephens CD review, Aaron Parks does not play Fender Rhodes. In the In
Memoriam, John Tchicai passed away on Oct. 8th.
Event Calendar
Club Directory
Miscellany: In Memoriam • Birthdays • On This Day
Submit Letters to the Editor by emailing [email protected]
US Subscription rates: 12 issues, $30 (International: 12 issues, $40)
For subscription assistance, send check, cash or money order to the
address below or email [email protected].
The New York City Jazz Record
www.nycjazzrecord.com / twitter: @nycjazzrecord
Managing Editor: Laurence Donohue-Greene
Editorial Director & Production Manager: Andrey Henkin
Staff Writers
David R. Adler, Clifford Allen, Fred Bouchard, Stuart Broomer, Katie Bull,
Tom Conrad, Ken Dryden, Donald Elfman, Sean Fitzell, Graham Flanagan,
Kurt Gottschalk, Tom Greenland, Alex Henderson, Marcia Hillman,
Terrell Holmes, Robert Iannapollo, Francis Lo Kee, Martin Longley, Wilbur MacKenzie,
Marc Medwin, Matthew Miller, Sharon Mizrahi, Russ Musto, Sean O’Connell, Joel Roberts,
John Sharpe, Elliott Simon, Jeff Stockton, Andrew Vélez, Ken Waxman
Contributing Writers
Duck Baker, Brad Farberman, George Kanzler, Suzanne Lorge, Bobby Sanabria
Contributing Photographers
Jim Anness, Scott Friedlander, Alan Nahigian, Jack Vartoogian
To Contact:
The New York City Jazz Record
116 Pinehurst Avenue, Ste. J41
New York, NY 10033
United States
Laurence Donohue-Greene: [email protected]
Andrey Henkin: [email protected]
General Inquiries: [email protected]
Advertising: [email protected]
Editorial: [email protected]
Calendar: [email protected]
All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission strictly prohibited. All material copyrights property of the authors.
THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | December 2012
3
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Trumpeter Jeremy Pelt’s quintet, arguably one of the
strongest working bands in jazz, has held together
long enough to record four albums: November, Men of
Honor, The Talented Mr. Pelt and this year ’s Soul. There
were new faces onstage, however, when Pelt arrived
for a special birthday engagement at Smoke (Nov.
11th). Pianist Danny Grissett and bassist Dwayne
Burno remained in place, bringing characteristic depth
and poise to Pelt’s original material. On tenor sax, in
JD Allen’s stead, was the inspired Roxy Coss, whose
slow-burning and methodical approach paired well
with Pelt’s more incendiary solos. Jonathan Barber,
occupying Gerald Cleaver ’s spot on drums, swung
without inhibition and did much to enhance the
music’s wide dynamic range. Having begun the second
set with the intricate “Dreamcatcher”, Pelt transitioned
immediately to Myron Walden’s slow and dreamlike
“Pulse”, which elicited bluesy, carefully placed phrases
from the leader at maximum volume - as if he were
shouting to the streets just outside. On “Second Love”,
the most straightforwardly lyrical piece, Pelt was
subdued yet just as pointedly expressive. He put
Barber in the spotlight after a full rotation of solos on
the animated “Milo Hayward” and closed with “What’s
Wrong Is Right”, a forceful midtempo blues with no
chordal backing (Grissett soloed with only his right
hand). The pacing of the set was superb - Pelt knew
exactly what he wanted and his band was right there to
do it. - David R. Adler
It may well have been the well-known complexities of
Anthony Braxton’s music that led vocalists Kyoko
Kitamura and Anne Rhodes to decide to turn a recital
of his music at Downtown Music Gallery (Nov. 11th)
into a workshop. It’s something that some listeners
may wish was a regular part of Braxton concerts (and
some, no doubt, are glad is not). The pair discussed
aspects of Braxton’s gestural language for conducting
and structuring music before leading the room abetted by accordionist Adam Catlock, saxophonist
Ras Moshe and bassist Carl Testa - and if it didn’t result
in a concert experience, it still grasped something of
the jazz revolutionary’s creative process. It seemed,
however, that even explaining what was being
explained wasn’t an easy task. “We’re not going to
explain Anthony Braxton’s music but we’re going to
explain something about what it’s like to be in a
Braxton ensemble,” Kitamura said while Rhodes
offered that while performing Braxton’s music “you’re
overwhelmed with information, but you’re just in it.”
They explained Braxton building with such names as
“uneven, unbalanced attacks” that could be cued midperformance and the iconography which connotes that
a staff can be in either treble or bass clef or that a note
can be either a half step flat or sharp. If the end question
was whether or not a Braxton ensemble can be created
in under an hour, the answer was “no”. But the
assemblage still managed moments of the layered and
translucent Braxtonian beauty.
- Kurt Gottschalk
Jeremy Pelt @ Smoke
Anne Rhodes & Kyoko Kitamura @ Downtown Music Gallery
Dormant for years, the Jazz Composers Collective
reunited for a festival at Jazz Standard and closed out
the week with the remarkable Herbie Nichols Project
(Nov. 11th). This sextet’s sole purpose is to showcase
the lost music of pianist/composer Nichols, one of
jazz’ unheralded geniuses. To that end, pianist Frank
Kimbrough, bassist Ben Allison and cohorts opened
with “Wildflower”, encored with “Spinning Song” and
got loose mid-set over the blazing tempo of “Crisp
Day/Blue Chopsticks” - all from the band’s 1996 debut
Love Is Proximity. Since then, however, there’s been a
startling development: an old trunk containing
manuscripts for over 160 Nichols compositions, long
rumored lost in a flood, was recently located. The
pieces range from the late ’50s to the early ’60s (Nichols
died in 1963). “Tell the Birds I Said Hello”, the second
tune of the set, was from this lost batch and it found
Michael Blake pondering a simple lyrical melody on
soprano sax before yielding to solos from Kimbrough
and trumpeter Ron Horton. “Games and Codes”, with
Blake and Ted Nash on tenors, was a doleful ballad
with laid-back swing passages and tight orchestration.
“Blues No. 1” also featured dual tenors up front and a
go-for-broke bass solo from Allison as the main focus.
“Van Allen Belt”, a showstopper, inspired a fierce
outpouring from Nash on alto. While Nichols’ tunes
were nothing short of a revelation, the band’s
interpretive prowess at every step was equally a thing
of beauty.
(DA)
P ianist Fred Van Hove and drummer Lou Grassi have
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MAGOS HERRERA QUARTET
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AARON DIEHL TRIO
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FRANK KIMBROUGH TRIO
© 2012 Jack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotos
MAGOS HERRERA, HELIO ALVES
MIKE MORENO, ALEX KAUTZ
4 December 2012 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD
played in a trio with trombonist Gunter Heinz for close
to a decade, but a couple of New York dates during
Van Hove’s recent tour of the States afforded them
their first opportunity to perform as a duo. And by
their second engagement, Nov. 9th at The Firehouse
Space in Williamsburg, they were a pair of old hands.
The first improvisation started as a serene meditation
and grew in dynamic, ending up as a percussive duet,
so it made perfect sense when Grassi started the second
piece with small statements on muted cymbals and
bells before Van Hove joined from inside the piano
case. As Grassi switched to mallets and cymbal rolls,
Van Hove held the sustain pedal firm and made the
baby grand resonate like a rack of gongs. The pianist
moved back toward melody, the music grew full and
lush and Grassi adopted a steady clip with the mallets.
It was a thoughtful 20-minute expedition that ended
on instinct, not resolving because there was nothing
that needed to be resolved. Having established terrain,
they began the second set with an easy ballad, growing
bold but never forceful, uptempo but unhurried. At
length they were positioned for a sound experiment.
Capitalizing on repetition with small variations, Van
Hove worked the strings with a rubber ball while
Grassi did exemplary work with brush and cymbals.
They ended the evening with another improvised
ballad, but it was in the outré piece that they found the
strongest narrative arc. (KG)
WHAT’S NEWS
“Music is the Message” sang Kool & the Gang in 1972 The famed team of Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke,
but sometimes the message needs more to be properly
expressed. So it was at St. Mary’s Church (Nov. 15th)
with a benefit organized by the political organization
Scientific Soul Sessions to free Russell Maroon Shoatz.
A longtime convict in the Pennsylvania Department of
Corrections, Shoatz was sentenced to life imprisonment
over 30 years ago and has been kept in solitary
confinement during all that time. The evening was
dedicated to raising both awareness and funds to help
in his legal defense, so that he may be released into
general population. Among the evening’s speakers
were journalist Kanya D’Almeida, activist/author
Matt Meyer and Shoatz’ daughter Theresa, as well as
poet/activist Amiri Baraka. The evening’s musical
component, interspersed with the speeches, came via
baritone saxophonist/composer Fred Ho, himself a
scholar and proponent of numerous revolutionary
ideologies. He appeared first as one third of a trio with
vocalists Iyanna Jones and Angel Martinez, his
impassioned
honks
and
shrieks
unnervingly
representational. Later he played in duo with cellist
Seth Woods, presenting his work “The Fire This Time!
Prepare for a World Revolutionary Matriarchy”. But
his most compelling contribution to the invocational
tone of the evening was with his Saxophone Liberation
Front, comprised of himself, James Carter, Darius Jones
and Bhinda Keidel, playing three of four selections
from his The Black Nation Suite.
- Andrey Henkin
which helped define the fusion jazz genre with Return
To Forever (RTF), revisited their roots in a largely
acoustic engagement at the Blue Note with saxophonist
Ravi Coltrane, guitarist Charles Altura and drummer
Marcus Gilmore. “Stanley and I kind of grew up here,”
the ageless pianist announced, alluding to time spent
in New York in the ‘60s, as he took the stage for the
band’s election night second show (Nov. 6th). The set
began wistfully with a ruminative solo piano prelude
replete with hip harmonic variations, which evolved
into a fiery straightahead rendition of “How Deep Is
The Ocean” with the entrance of Clarke’s powerful
walking bass and Coltrane’s dark toned tenor
variations on the well-known melody. Corea responded
with cleverly constructed retorts to Coltrane’s lines
and then engaged in a rhythmic tête-à-tête with
Gilmore that danced around Clarke’s deep solo. The
virtuoso bassist opened his own “Topasio”
unaccompanied, before being joined by Corea on
electric keyboard to recall the archetypal RTF sound. A
shout from the crowd that Obama’s victory had been
proclaimed prompted Clarke to declare, “Well I voted
for Chick”, before introducing Corea’s timely “Pledge
For Peace”. The pianist’s “Planet Shia” followed,
featuring Coltrane’s soprano and Altura’s nylon string
guitar. The night ended blissfully with an airy encore,
Gayle Moran Corea singing RTF’s Light As A Feather
classic “You’re Everything”. - Russ Musto
Just in time for our first Latin issue, Jazz at Lincoln
Center will be presenting a two-day career
retrospective of the legendary pianist Eddie Palmieri
Dec. 14th-15th. For more information, visit jalc.org.
And conveniently, the winners of the Latin Grammys
have been announced. Dear Diz (Every Day I Think
Of You) - Arturo Sandoval (Concord Jazz) won Best
Latin Jazz Album and Best Engineered Album while
Further Explorations - Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez &
Paul Motian (Concord Jazz) won Best Instrumental
Album. For more information, visit latingrammy.com.
Panamanian pianist Danilo Pérez was named a
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) Artist for Peace in a
ceremony in Paris last month. In addition to his many
achievements in the world of music, Pérez has long
been active in philanthropy and social work.
Arts for Art, the fine folks who bring you the annual
Vision Festival, are presenting The Under_Line
Benefit Launch Dec. 4th at Angel Orensanz
Foundation, an allstar event to support the founding of
a progressive music venue in the Lower East Side.
For more information, visit artsforart.org.
As part of its 40th Anniversary celebration, the New
England Conservatory of Music’s Contemporary
Improvisation Department gave founding member/
pianist Ran Blake a Lifetime Achievement Award in a
ceremony at the school last month. For more
information, visit necmusic.edu/ci40.
Photo by Jim Anness
Photo by Alan Nahigian
Fred Ho Saxophone Liberation Front @ St. Mary’s Church
Some
two days after the devastation wreaked by
Hurricane Sandy, a somewhat less destructive (though
not for lack of trying) force also made landfall in the
city. On Nov. 1st, the American-Dutch free jazz trio
Cactus Truck stopped in at Zebulon (seemingly spared
any damage despite its proximity to the Brooklyn
shoreline) as part of an extensive US tour running
through mid December (check out the band this month
at Spectrum and Sycamore Dec. 9th and 10th). A direct
line can be drawn backwards to the Peter Brötzmann
Trio of 1967 and many hip Williamsburgers quickly
headed for emergency shelters, ironic since what
Cactus Truck does shouldn’t be shocking to the parents
of hipsters, much less the hipsters themselves. This is
not a criticism; you don’t get to hear too much brutal
free jazz anymore and its effect is oddly soothing,
reassuring even. The group’s members are all in their
20s but play with remarkable conviction and maturity.
Saxist John Dikeman, the lone American, is forceful
and throaty on both tenor and alto; Jasper Stadhouders
varies texture by performing on either (both heavily
distorted) electric guitar or electric bass and Onno
Govaert is a fine exemplar of the perpetual motion
machine school of free drumming. Refreshing though
was how the group operated in short bursts. Its
22-minute set (the opening act of a Public Eyesore label
showcase) was made up of four ‘pieces’, all distinct in
approach and focused in execution, more like an
earthquake than any other natural disaster.
(AH)
Chick Corea/Stanley Clarke Band @ Blue Note
Merging its longtime support of Latin jazz with its
more recent focus on weekly presentations of large
ensembles, Zinc Bar hosted bassist Pedro Giraudo’s
‘Expansions’ big band for a night of exciting sounds,
smoothly joining the jazz and popular Argentinean
music traditions (Nov. 13th). From the opening notes
of his “Push Gift”, a feature for the bittersweet tenor
sax of John Ellis, Giraudo’s prodigious abilities as a
composer/arranger were instantly apparent, lush
orchestrations inspiring the soloist’s expansive
improvisation as his engaging basslines navigated the
band through both sudden and subtle shifts in tempo
and rhythm. Prefacing his “Duende del Mate” with a
skillful acappella electric bass solo, Giraudo eased the
ensemble into the playful melody, which featured Miki
Hirose’s open belled trumpet surrounded by his
section mates’ muted horns and Ellis, spurred on by
Jess Jurkovic’s halting piano chords. The song climaxed
with an exciting discourse between the leader, Paulo
Stagnaro’s propulsive cajón and drummer Eric Doob’s
deft brushwork, encouraged by the band’s rhythmic
flamenco-styled hand-clapping. Songstress Sofia
Tosello joined the group for a stunning reading of
“Cuchi” Leguizamon’s “Juan Panadero”. Giraudo,
moving to acoustic bass, concluded with his three-part
“Desconsuelo Suite”, spotlighting Carl Maraghi’s
baritone, Jonathan Powell‘s trumpet, Nate Mayland’s
bass trombone, Alejandro Aviles’ soprano and finally
James Hirschfeld’s trombone. (RM)
A tentative schedule for the inaugural Jazz Connect
Conference at APAP | NYC 2013 has been
announced. The conference will take place at the
Sheraton New York in midtown Manhattan Jan.
10th-11th. For schedule and ticket registration, visit
eventzilla.net/web/event?eventid=2138967906.
Saxophonist Sonny Rollins is reported to be a guest
in an upcoming The Simpsons’ episode, to be aired
this spring as part of its 24th season. Rollins will be
the fourth jazz-related personality to appear after Tony
Bennett (Seasons 2 and 14), Tito Puente (Seasons 6
and 7) and Jack Sheldon (Season 7).
Trumpeter/composer Wadada Leo Smith was among
14 composers selected to receive a 2012 commission
from Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University.
Smith will write a work commemorating the 50th
anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a
Dream” speech. The work will receive its premiere at
Roulette in May 2013. Additionally, West Coast
trombonist Michael Dessen was another recipient.
For more information, visit music.fas.harvard.edu/
fromm.html#winners.
Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) is the beneficiary of a
$1 million bequest from The Ammon Foundation to
name the R. Theodore Ammon Archives and Music
Library, in honor of the noted investment banker and
philanthropist who was murdered in 2001 by his wife’s
lover. This repository contains printed music and
archival recordings of concert productions from
JALC’s 25-year history, recordings from Jazz at
Lincoln Center Radio, photos, archival videos and
over 500 jazz and reference books. A ribbon-cutting
for the new library took place last month. For more
information, visit jalc.org.
Submit news to [email protected]
5
INT ER V I EW
Photo courtesy Blue Note Club
Gato
Barbieri
Ja ZZ at lincoln ce nte r
25 years of JaZZ
dec
by Brad Farberman
I t was a prophetic move when, early on, the Argentinean
tenor saxophonist Leandro Barbieri took the nickname
“Gato” (Spanish for cat), as he would go on to live multiple
lives. Starting off as a member of Lalo Schifrin’s orchestra
in the ‘50s, Barbieri soon turned to the avant garde,
conjuring up violent but melodic horn hollers and appearing
on important ‘60s documents like Don Cherry’s Complete
Communion and Alan Shorter’s Orgasm. In the ‘70s,
Barbieri mellowed a bit and began infusing his work with
elements of Latin music, an experiment that hit its
commercial peak with the 1972 soundtrack to Last Tango in
Paris. With 1976’s Herb Alpert-produced Caliente!,
Barbieri moved into a slick R&B phase, recording songs by
Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Santana and Ralph
MacDonald. And in the late ‘90s, after having stepped away
from music for more than a decade, Barbieri returned with a
string of smooth jazz albums, the most recent of which was
2002’s The Shadow of the Cat. But he’s not done yet - in
2010, the saxophonist turned yet another corner with New
York Meeting, his first album of jazz standards. Having
just turned 80, the Scarved One hits the Blue Note for a
two-night stand early this month.
The New York City Jazz Record: Can you talk about
growing up in Argentina and discovering jazz?
Gato Barbieri: It was a beautiful time. Not like now,
because now, too much music is stupid music. I
understand people want to play, but I am very natural.
When I was 12 years old, I listened to the first record of
Charlie Parker. For me, something opened. I was
waiting for something and it came. It was incredible.
Miles. Monk. So many other people. So many.
TNYCJR: In the ‘60s, you worked with trumpeter Don
Cherry and moved to New York at his urging. You then
appeared on Cherry albums like Complete Communion
and Symphony for Improvisers.
GB: [Working with] Don Cherry was incredible
experience because when I was in Buenos Aires before
I went to Italy, I already listened to the quartet with
Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, Charlie Haden and Ed
Blackwell. So I was in Italy and suddenly [Cherry]
comes with Sonny Rollins to play. And I go to his hotel.
He told me, “I go to play in Paris after.” I go and he
was happy. I tell you, it was incredible experience. Don
Cherry, he didn’t write any music. So I write all the
music he had. In 45 minutes, we played 15 tunes. 15!
Don Cherry - you never know what’s happening. So I
started to learn to listen. Very important. To listen with
Don Cherry and a lot of other people. For instance,
Carla Bley. I played with [Haden’s] Liberation
Orchestra. I played with the big orchestra of Mike
Mantler. Everybody there.
TNYCJR: On Symphony for Improvisers, the horn section
of you and Cherry was augmented by saxophonist
Pharoah Sanders.
GB: I listened when [Sanders] played with Coltrane in
the Village Vanguard. My mode to play was completely
different. He made a big solo. I don’t like to make big
solos. I like to have, like, when you play soccer - you
give the ball to another one, to make an assist.
I played a lot of soccer when I was young. It was very
beautiful. Very beautiful. In those days there was a lot
of free jazz. Especially in the context of Don Cherry,
Rashied Ali. Ornette Coleman, obviously. There was a
lot of people who played free jazz. Now, I don’t see too
much people who play free jazz. Some people play
because they want to play. I like to play because I like
to play.
TNYCJR: Your first album as a leader was 1967’s In
Search of the Mystery, released on ESP-Disk’.
GB: Everybody recorded for ESP [laughs]. [ESP
founder Bernard Stollman] don’t pay. He don’t pay.
Everybody wanted to record. Because in those days, it
was a lot of people who wanted to play. Free jazz, there
was a lot of people. Not now. For instance, he calls me
now to make a record and I say, “Listen, I make a
record with you, like, 40 years ago. Maybe more.” You
know, he was a businessman. A businessman. He made
money. We don’t make money. But it’s okay. Life is that
way. You have to be strong. The most important,
important thing was to play the beautiful music.
TNYCJR: Your The Third World album, recorded in
1969, fused elements of Latin music with free jazz.
GB: [Keyboardist] Lonnie Liston [Smith] is an
incredible person, for instance. He played on [The Third
World] with me and I have to say thank you, Lonnie,
because he was an incredible musician. He moved to
another place. When I made The Third World...it was
me, Charlie Haden, Beaver Harris, Lonnie Liston Smith
and a trombone player. This trombone player played a
lot with Carla Bley. Maybe you can look The Third
World up and know who it was. [laughs] He was
incredible. He was incredible...incredible. [It was
Roswell Rudd.]
TNYCJR: Also in 1969, you were on bassist Charlie
Haden’s debut as a leader, Liberation Music Orchestra.
GB: The Liberation Orchestra with Charlie Haden was
a lot of musicians. Dewey Redman, Carla Bley, Mike
Mantler, myself. I dunno, like...12, 13, 15 pieces. It was
very, very, very, very beautiful. But [Haden] couldn’t
continue because it was expensive. To have 15
musicians and you have to pay, you know? But it’s
okay, it’s okay. He did that because he wanted to do it
and he’s continuing. He played something different
after.
eddie palmiere Photo by Frank Stewart
d e c 7– 8
7: 3 0 P M
& 9 : 3 0 PM
the music of
nina simone
Vocalist Kim Nalley with
saxophonist James Carter
dec 7
8 PM
B i g B a n d h o li day s
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
with Wynton Marsalis & vocalists
René Marie & Gregory Porter
dec 8
2 PM & 8 PM
dec 14–15
8 PM
e ddie Pal mie ri:
a career
retrosPective
Eddie Palmieri with his Salsa
Orchestra & Latin Jazz Band
dec 31
8 : 3 0 PM
ring in the swing:
a new year’s eve
dance Part y
The Harlem Renaissance
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B o X o f f i c e B r o a d w a y a t 6 0 th
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TNYCJR: You may perhaps be most famous for
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 46)
AR TIST F EA T U RE
Photo by Scott Friedlander
Miguel
Zenón
For more information, visit miguelzenon.com. Zenón‘s
Rayuela is at Jazz Standard Dec. 6th-9th. See Calendar.
Recommended Listening:
• Miguel Zenón - Looking Forward
(Fresh Sound-New Talent, 2001)
• Antonio Sanchez - Live in New York (CAMJazz, 2008)
• Miguel Zenón - Esta Plena (Marsalis Music, 2009)
• SFJAZZ Collective - Live 2009 (6th Annual Tour:
The Works of McCoy Tyner) (SFJAZZ, 2009)
• Miguel Zenón - Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican
Songbook (Marsalis Music, 2011)
• Miguel Zenón/Laurent Coq - Rayuela
(Sunnyside, 2012)
by Tom Greenland
Miguel Zenón is a musician’s musician, a fiery yet
cool alto saxophonist with an expansive imagination
and the technique to express it, an innovative composer
who combines folkloric and progressive influences and
a dynamic bandleader with seven albums to his name,
each successive project documenting his rapid
development as an artist of singular vision.
Growing up in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Zenón
acquired a solid foundation in classical music at the
Escuela Libre de Música, matriculated at Boston’s
Berklee College of Music in the late ‘90s while gigging
locally with Bob Moses’ Mozamba and Russ Gershon’s
Either/Orchestra and then earned a master ’s degree
from Manhattan School of Music in 2001. He gained
valuable professional experience with Guillermo Klein,
Ray Barretto, Charlie Haden, the Village Vanguard
Orchestra, Mingus Big Band and, in particular,
saxophonist David Sánchez, with whom he played for
five years, forming deep musical and personal bonds
with pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig
and drummer Antonio Sánchez. This developed into a
long-standing quartet, recording Zenón’s first six
albums as a leader, the last three with fellow Puerto
Rican Henry Cole on drums replacing Sánchez. In
these days when jazz artists switch ‘teams’ as often as
professional baseball’s free agents, the longevity of
Zenón’s quartet is singular: Perdomo and Glawischnig
have worked with him for 12 years while ‘newcomer ’
Cole has logged in seven. “It’s not very common,”
Zenón admits. “I consider myself very lucky that I’ve
been able to keep a band together for so long and I
think it has a lot to do with us liking each other and
liking to play with each other, but also I just feel I got
lucky and found the right people.”
Zenón has gained additional exposure as a
founding member of the SFJAZZ Collective, a group
formed in 2004, which tours and records each year in
tribute to a rotating roster of musical icons. His
arrangements of Thelonious Monk’s “Epistrophy”,
Wayne Shorter ’s “Armageddon”, McCoy Tyner ’s
“Four by Five”, Horace Silver ’s “Lonely Woman” and
Stevie Wonder ’s “Superstition”, as well as his original
compositions “Lingala”, “2 and 2”, “Orchestral
Overture”, “Life at the End of the Tunnel”, “Frontline”,
“No Filter”, “The Mystery of Water” and “More to
Give”, have been highlights of the group’s repertoire.
The collective recently completed its annual residency
and fall tour in support of new works dedicated to
Chick Corea, including Zenón’s arrangement of “La
Fiesta” (from Return to Forever ’s eponymous debut)
and a brand-new composition, “Grand Opening”,
dedicated to the SFJAZZ Center, a freestanding jazzonly venue to be inaugurated this January. Interestingly,
Zenón used architectural drawings of the edifice to
create a compositional algorithm, “sort of turning
numbers into notes and that kind of stuff”, as he
explained it. Interested fans can hear these works when
the collective goes back on tour in late spring.
The South American connection is strong in
Zenón’s music, but to call him a Latin jazz musician is
like calling William Faulkner a “Southern writer”, thus
overlooking the broader scope of each artist’s output.
While Zenón states he is “very proud” of his Puerto
Rican roots, he finds the “Latin jazz” label problematic,
partly because, in his estimation, most people
specifically associate the term with AfroCuban music
and in particular the seminal works of Dizzy Gillespie,
Chano Pozo, Mario Bauzá and others. “We’re all an
extension of that, because all of us Latin American
musicians would not have been able to do what we do
without that music happening,” he explains but
suggests that such labels are beginning to disappear:
“Jazz music is becoming so global and so infused with
musicians from all over the place - Latin America,
Africa, Asia, Europe - and they bring their own music
and their own ideas into jazz… When I listen to the
music of Danilo Pérez or David Sánchez or Gonzalo
Rubalcaba or musicians of that nature, I think of them
as jazz musicians, but they’re Latin American jazz
musicians; they bring their own music into what
they’re doing and they’re really well-versed in both
worlds.” Zenón has explored his cultural lineage on
albums dedicated to La Música Jíbara, Plena and
Puerto Rican popular songwriters and anticipates
similar projects in the future.
Zenón’s latest project, Rayuela, a collaboration
with pianist Laurent Coq, is named for Argentinean
author Julio Cortázar ’s innovative novel (translated as
Hopscotch in English), which gives readers an option:
either read the book from cover to cover or else zigzag
back and forth among chapters in a prescribed series of
skips. “It actually changes the plot of the book,
depending on how you read it,” Zenón explained.
“That attracted me, this idea of giving the reader
freedom to choose where he wanted to go and the way
[Cortázar] was playing with form through the book.”
Inspired, Zenón translated some of the novel’s ideas to
music. For example, Rayuela’s closing track, “El Club
de la Serpiente”, is comprised of three sections, each
representing different characters from the plot. “When
we play it,” says Zenón, “it’s different every time
because whoever ’s soloing chooses which section will
come next and that keeps it fresh, in the spirit of that
part of the book.” Zenón contends that he works most
effectively when he bases his compositions on concrete
(as opposed to abstract) ideas. As he did for “Grand
Opening”, Zenón drew on numerical formulas to
generate musical ideas. “Some of the compositions on
Rayuela are direct translations from words to numbers
to music using the basic concept of, for example, the
letter A would signify the number 1, which would
signify the note C and then I would build a composition
using that logic. And then I could turn a whole word
into a series of notes or a chord, or I could think about
it in terms of rhythms, like all the even letters, for
example, would create a rhythm, etc. - so basically
using creative systems that will build themselves into
music.” v
JSnycjr1212
11/15/12
1:24 PM
Page 1
“Best Jazz Venue of the Year” NYC JAZZ RECORD“Best Jazz Club” NY MAGAZINE+CITYSEARCH
WED-SUN NOV 28-DEC 2NO 11:30PM SET ON FRIDAY
GERI ALLEN’S TIMELINE BAND
KENNY DAVIS - KASSA OVERALL - MAURICE CHESTNUT
TUE-WED DEC 4-5
DONNY
McCASLIN GROUP
JASON LINDNER - TIM LEFEBVRE - MARK GUILIANA
THU-SUN DEC 6-9
MIGUEL ZENÓN “RAYUELA”
& LAURENT COQ
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CONCERT
DANA LEONG - DAN WEISS
TUE DEC 11
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BROCK QUARTET
AARON GOLDBERG - MATT PENMAN - ERIC HARLAND
WED DEC 12 CLOSED FOR PRIVATE EVENT
THU-SUN DEC 13-167:30PM & 9:30PM ONLY
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TUE DEC 25 CLOSED. HAPPY HOLIDAY!
WED DEC 26
CHRIS BERGSON WITH HORNS
KENNY RAMPTON - DAVID LUTHER - CHRIS KARLIC - CRAIG DREYER - MATT CLOHESY - TONY LEONE
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SWING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH US!
MON DEC 31
A NEW YEAR’S EVE GALA WITH
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JAZZ FOR KIDS WITH THE JAZZ STANDARD YOUTH ORCHESTRA EVERY SUNDAYAT 2PM [EXCEPT 12/16, 23 &30] - DIRECTED BY DAVID O’ROURKE
7
723 7th Ave. 3rd Floor
New York, NY. 10019
212-730-8138 Store Hours: 11-7 Monday-Friday & 11-6 Saturday
Owner: Steve Maxwell Manager: Jess Birch
Steve’s cell: 630-865-6849 Email: [email protected]
Visit us on the web at: www.maxwelldrums.com
COME SEE US IN IN MANHATTAN
We celebrated our 1 year anniversary in Manhattan
on April 1st. Our shop is located at 723 7th Ave. 3rd
floor. We’re right at the corner of 7th Avenue and
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NEW: We have a full service repair facility now
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lessons and practice space.
Our philosophy for the shop is to create an inviting atmosphere where players and collectors alike can visit and see wonderful vintage and custom drums
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exchange ideas and information with friends. We even have sound proof rooms for testing cymbals, drum sets and snare drums. Our sets, snares and
cymbals are set up and ready for you to play. We believe in the highest level of personal, professional service and we have the experience you need when
considering vintage and custom drums and cymbals. Call Steve on his cell anytime, or email him at [email protected] . He wants to hear from you.
Our shop includes:
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Rogers, Slingerland, Ludwig, Leedy, Camco and more!
• Player’s Specials: Snares, sets and cymbals focused
on the needs of players
• Gretsch: USA Custom drums in bebop sizes made
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• George Way: We are your source for Ronn Dunnett’s
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WE NOW HAVE OUR BRAND NEW VINTAGE STYLE RAIL
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O N T HE CO VER
Photo courtesy CAMI MUSIC
CHUCHO VALDÉS
Havana - New York
by Russ Musto
“It’s
always exciting to return to New York City,“
pianist Chucho Valdés proclaims eagerly. “To all
people there who love this music, I’m sending out a
greeting. And as always, I return to New York with
something different than what I came with last time.”
Speaking through a translator from his hotel room in
Los Angeles, the eight-time Grammy Award winner
graciously took precious time out from a demanding
North American touring schedule that has him
performing 25 concerts in seven weeks, culminating in
two dates this month in Carnegie Hall, as part of its
groundbreaking Voices from Latin America festival.
Appearing not only as a headline performer, the Cuban
maestro is also serving as Artistic Advisor to the
“citywide festival celebrating Latin America’s music
and arts”, curating it along with Brazil’s Gilberto Gil
and Venezuela’s Gustavo Dudamel at the invitation of
composer Osvaldo Golijov, Carnegie Hall’s 2012–2013
Richard and Barbara Debs Composer ’s Chair.
Golijov hails Valdés as “a pioneer...a hugely
important musician in the development of Cuban
music and in the definition of what Cuba could
contribute to the world as a musical culture.” “It’s an
honor to have been chosen as an organizer; it’s
incredible for me,” proudly says Valdés, who invited
representatives from Carnegie Hall to Cuba to see
performers that he held in esteem and then worked
closely with the Hall to determine who would be
included in the festival. “It’s important - and I don’t
know if this has been done before - that we have a
relationship between the various histories and roots of
music from the Caribbean, from South America, from
Brazil and Panama. As examples of those various
traditions, to have Danilo [Pérez], Egberto [Gismonti]
and Gonzalo [Rubalcaba] all playing at the same
festival, that is very important.” Valdés is speaking
about his upcoming concert, which will feature him
with the three aforementioned artists playing piano
solos, duos and quartets in Stern Auditorium following
a Zankel Hall outing with his new quintet.
Valdés’ previous two New York appearances, at
Carnegie Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center ’s Allen
Room, featured the pianist with his group The
AfroCuban Messengers, the ensemble featured on the
Best Latin Jazz Album Grammy Award-winning CD
Chucho’s Steps (Four Quarters Entertainment, 2009), a
sextet featuring a trumpet-tenor frontline in the
tradition of the Art Blakey unit from which the
ensemble takes its name. Valdés describes himself as
the drummer ’s “number one fan” in Cuba. “From the
time I was a very young man I was a very avid collector
of his music.” He goes on to say, “Without me setting
out to do this, I have in fact been doing what Blakey
did by introducing talented young musicians. I have
with me now the youngest most brilliant bassist from
Cuba, Angel Gaston Joya Perellada, who is only 23
years old, and the most ‘terrible’ - in the best sense of
the word - drummer we’ve had, 28-year-old Rodney
Yllarza Barreto. Both of these musicians, the drummer
and the bassist, are being presented to international
audiences for the first time.” Filling out the new band
are AfroCuban Messenger veterans, percussionist
Yaroldy Abreu Robles and Dreiser Durruthy Bombalé
on bata drums and vocals.
Without the melodic voices of the horns in the
group, emphasis will move away from Valdés’
masterful compositional skills impressively displayed
on Chucho’s Steps, at times recalling his revolutionary
work with Irakere, the legendary ensemble he
co-founded in 1973 with Armando de Sequeira Romeu,
which introduced trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and
saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera to international
audiences. “With Irakere, there was a period of
experimentation, of finding how to mix Yoruba [tribal
music of West Africa] rhythms and adapt them to
Cuban dance music and jazz,” he observed in a recent
conversation with Fernando González. “Now I have
retaken that storyline, but with a different focus. In
Irakere, we treated those rhythms in standard,
conventional [ways]...now, instead of using regular
time signatures, I’m using odd meters - 5/4, 7/8 or
11/4. ...You can feel the accents changing. The
[rhythmic] sequence might be the same, but it changes
completely with the accents and the different meters.
It’s a deeper work than we used to do.”
With the new group the focal point will be more on
Valdés’ virtuoso piano playing. He notes, “Playing in
the quintet, almost all the responsibility is on the
piano, which has to become the ‘orchestra’, so it’s more
complicated work for me, but very exciting! The whole
show will have a very different sound because the new
musicians play differently and think differently
rhythmically. That has completely changed the sound
of the quintet. The whole feel is more contemporary.”
Valdés’ ever burgeoning sound has always blended
traditional and modern aspects. Growing up in Cuba,
his earliest inspirations included his father Bebo
(himself a legend of Cuban music) and other maestros
from the Caribbean, including Pedro “Peruchin” Justiz,
Frank Emilio and Noro Morales, as well as US jazz
masters Duke Ellington, Earl Hines, Thelonious Monk,
Bud Powell and Cecil Taylor. He also cites the music of
Lennie Tristano and Dave Brubeck, as well as Ravel
and Debussy, as influencing his development.
These days Valdés himself is an influence to
countless young musicians of Cuban origin.
Saxophonist Yosvany Terry says, “Chucho Valdés was
one of the greatest inspirations for all of the musicians
of my generation. Irakere became a role model for us
learning and aspiring to play jazz and other forms of
popular music while inspiring us to look deeply into
our rich cultural legacy in Cuba.” Drummer Dafnis
Prieto, who counts playing with the pianist for a week
at the Village Vanguard several years ago as a “truly
great experience”, concurs, asserting, “In Cuba I used
to listen to Irakere constantly and they became a great
source of inspiration, for me and all of the musicians of
my generation.“
Young veteran Osmany Paredes affirms the
pianist’s strong effect on other players of his chosen
instrument, asserting “His pianistic legacy is so strong
that you could say that all Latin jazz pianists have had
him as a reference one way or another.” Rising star
David Virelles, who Valdés calls “an extraordinary
talent”, is the latest in that lineage of Cuban-born
pianists to cite Valdés’ influence on his own inventive
style. “He is one of Cuba’s most important musical
figures. His music has touched generations upon
generations of musicians to come out of the island.
And not only so called jazz musicians, as his influence
can be felt beyond that. Over the course of his career he
has redefined our music and has brought it to audiences
all over the world. He is without a doubt one of the
giants and innovators of Cuban music.”
At 71 years old Chucho Valdés remains an
innovative force in AfroCuban music. Currently he is
preparing for his next pioneering project. “It’s going to
be a tremendous exploration of Afro Flamenco and
indigenous Indio music,” he says. “There have been a
lot of explorations done with flamenco - a lot of
mixtures - but there has not been any exploration of
flamenco with Yoruba. That has not been done and that
is something that I’m doing. I’m mixing the flamenco
and the Yoruba styles of singing - the cante. In terms of
the Native American music, there has always been a
relationship. Cuba had a native population and it has
its own very own interesting indigenous rhythms that
have not been explored either. So I’m exploring that as
well - particularly Comanche rhythms.”
“Good things always come from the melding of
AfroCuban roots and black American music, but its
something that happened throughout history,” Valdés
explains. “We could start with Jelly Roll Morton, who
had some Cuban musicians in his band, like the
trumpeter name Manuel Perez, who went to New
Orleans and played with all these people and then took
ragtime back to Cuba. Later you had Chano Pozo’s
influence on Dizzy Gillespie during the age of the bop
revolution and more recently you have Roy Hargrove
with his band Crisol, bringing musicians from Puerto
Rico, the Caribbean and from Cuba. So this exchange these musical exchanges have always been important.
Particularly now in the 21st Century it’s equally
significant, because it has an influence on the artistic
discipline itself, on the musicians and audiences.” v
For more information, visit valdeschucho.com. Valdés is at
Zankel Hall Dec. 1st with his quintet and Stern Auditorium
Dec. 4th with Egberto Gismonti, Danilo Pérez and Gonzalo
Rubalcaba. See Calendar.
• Irakere - Irakere [1979] (Columbia-Legacy, 1979)
• Chucho Valdés - Solo Piano (The Music of Cuba)
(Blue Note, 1991)
• Chucho Valdés -Bele Bele en La Habana
(Blue Note, 1998)
• Chucho Valdés - Live at the Village Vanguard
(Blue Note, 1999)
• Bebo Valdés/Chucho Valdés - Juntos para Siempre
(Calle 54-Sony, 2007)
• Chucho Valdés & The Afro-Cuban Messengers Chucho’s Steps (Four Quarters Entertainment, 2009)
9
E NC OR E
Joe Bataan
by Marcia Hillman
J oe Bataan is a
neighborhood
guy.
Born in 1942 of Filipino
and African-American
descent in what is
known as New York’s
Spanish Harlem, this
soul musician grew up learning from the “university of
the streets”. As to what he learned, Bataan comments:
“There were only two ways to escape poverty. One was
sports and the other was music. I’m too short to play
basketball, so I went for the music.” There was singing
with the Doo-wop groups on the corners in the ‘50s but
also the teenage street gangs with which Bataan
became associated. This eventually led him to a fiveyear sentence at Coxsackie State Prison at age 15 for
riding in a stolen vehicle. However, his musical
education continued behind bars. “They wouldn’t let
us have any instruments,” he recalls, “but I did learn
music theory and when I was released I formed my
first band, Joe Bataan and the Latin Swingers.”
Influenced by two musical styles - the Latin
boogaloo and African-American Doo-wop - Bataan
was able to combine them. “This country is a melting
pot and I had listened to the pop singers of my day and
groups like The Ink Spots and also to salsa music. I also
tried to style my stage presence after Tito Puente and
Machito. So it all came together,” he explains. This
unique unity brought him to the attention of Fania
Records and made him the preeminent creator of
“Latin Soul”. His first record for the label was “Gypsy
Woman”, a hit with the Latin community but also
crossing over to R&B radio. But “it was my record of
‘Riot’ that went gold in 1968. And then there was
‘Ordinary Guy’ and ‘Subway Joe’, which also did very
well,” Bataan remembers. In total, Fania Records
released eight Bataan titles before he “had some fallout
with the record company”. After leaving Fania, he
helped coin the word “salsoul” and lent the word to
his next album release in 1973. As a co-founder of the
Salsoul label, he recorded three albums and several
singles. By this time, Latin soul music had begun to
fade, replaced by disco. Bataan anticipated this change
and came out with “Rap-O-Clap”, which turned out to
be a very early hip-hop hit. Although the recording did
not do well domestically, it went top ten throughout
Europe, adding to his international recognition. His
album Bataan II (released in 1981) was the last recording
he did for Salsoul and he later sold his interest in the
company.
This last album also marked Bataan’s retirement
from music and began the next phase of his life: youth
counseling. He worked for 25 years at Spofford Juvenile
Detention Center, recounting his experiences as a
teenager and how he managed to turn his life around.
By 1995, Bataan felt the need to return to the stage
and performed for a benefit. Other performances
followed and by 2005, he had a new recording
opportunity afforded him by Vampisoul Recording, a
label that usually dealt with reissues of Latin soul
music, but made a new album with Bataan. Call My
Name uses Bataan’s vintage sound - the clavinet,
Hammond organ, prominent bass, Latin percussion
and Bataan’s impassioned singing. This was followed
in 2009 by King of Latin Soul.
In conjunction with his renewed recording career,
Bataan launched a performance schedule that has
taken him all over the world again. “I’ve been traveling
to places as far as Australia - to Sydney and Melbourne.
I’ve worked in Japan with the Japanese All Stars and in
the Philippines. I have a good following in the
Philippines but I have been well received everywhere.
Music is a universal language and I happen to appeal
to different cultures because of my openness and my
own multi-cultural background,” he comments. Next
on his schedule is a concert performance at Flushing
Town Hall this month, an appearance in London and a
return tour of the Philippines. “There are many
talented Filipinos, but they never get off the island. My
message is for them to share their heritage,” he adds.
Bataan recently was honored by performing in
concert on Oct. 19th at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific
American Center. “I guess they see me as a bridge.
What a journey - from the barrio all the way to Capitol
Hill,” he chuckles. He was also presented with a
Lifetime Achievement Award by the Filipino American
National Historical Society at John Jay College here in
New York City.
Back on track and enjoying his reborn career,
Bataan once again shares his multi-cultural roots and
urban background in his singing and his songwriting.
And he also shares a message: “Something I used to
tell my kids when I was a youth counselor. There are
three ingredients to success. One is spirit. You must
believe in a supreme being who is bigger than yourself.
The second is health. You must take care of your body.
Without your health, you can’t do anything else. And
the third is knowledge. It’s criminal to let a day go by
without learning something new.” Joe Bataan is still an
ordinary guy from the neighborhood who tells it from
the heart. v
For more information, visit joebataan.com. Bataan is at
Flushing Town Hall Dec. 8th. See Calendar.
when, it is said, Mary Lou Williams bestowed it on him
in the early ‘50s.
When the Machito Orchestra played New York in
1947, Bobo became the bandboy so he could get to hear
the music. Sometimes he was able to sit in on bongos
and at one point a few years later was tutored by
Mongo Santamaria. Soon, Latin music percussionists
were in demand as dances such as the mambo took
hold. In the summer of 1952, Bobo joined the Santamaria
band and then, at age 19, was hired for local hero Tito
Puente’s band, sometimes playing timbales when the
leader switched to vibes.
In 1957, Bobo joined the band of Capitol recording
artist George Shearing. From there he went to play and
record with Santamaria and with Cal Tjader. The latter
had a huge hit with his Verve album Soul Sauce and
from his extensive work on that recording, Bobo made
the legendary Spanish Grease album for the same label.
A big break occurred in 1969 when guitarist Carlos
Santana got big airplay for “Evil Ways”, a tune that
guitarist Sonny Henry had written and recorded with
Bobo. In that same year, with his star on the rise, Bobo
relocated to Los Angeles.
In California, Bobo became a regular on Bill
Cosby’s weekly television show, got to be a sideman
for Carlos Santana and recorded albums for Blue Note
and Columbia. He reunited with Santamaria and
Tjader for a historic performance at the first annual
Latin Music Festival in 1972.
Willie Bobo’s last recording was made for
Columbia in 1979 (Bobo) but in 2006, his son Eric Correa
(also a percussionist) released through Concord Picante
some demo recordings done between 1970-76 (Lost and
Found). These plus Spanish Grease, his phenomenal
work on Herbie Hancock’s Inventions and Dimensions
from 1964, his playing with Chico Hamilton on two
mid ‘60s recordings for Impulse (El Chico and The
Further Adventures of El Chico) and the rest of his
appealing albums for Verve, reveal a great legacy. Bobo
died of cancer on Sep. 15th, 1983. v
• Joe Bataan - Subway Joe (Fania, 1968)
• Joe Bataan - Mr. New York (Fania, 1971)
• Joe Bataan - Saint Latin Day’s Massacre (Fania, 1972)
• Joe Bataan - Salsoul (Mericana-Salsoul, 1973)
• Joe Bataan - The Lost Sessions (Ace, 1976)
• Joe Bataan - King of Latin Soul (Vampisoul, 2009)
Latin Jazz on Dot Time
The Greg Diamond Band is a
collective of emerging NYC
artists that interprets
Latin-infused contemporary
jazz. Diamond puts forth a
diverse array of original music
that is fresh, innovative, and
widely appealing.
Greg Diamond
Conduit
(DT9011)
Portugese Vocalist, Maria
Mendes has engaged a all star
line-up of top European
musicians for her debut CD
"Along the Road". Recently
Quincy Jones stated "I see a
promising and shining future
for this young talented singer".
We coudn't agree more.
Maria Mendes
Along the road
(DT9013)
www.dottimerecords.com
Distributed by
www.premieremusic.net
LE ST WE F OR GE T
Willie Bobo (1934-83)
by Donald Elfman
Percussionist Willie Bobo, whose presence graced the
recordings of Mongo Santamaria, Cal Tjader, Herbie
Hancock and more and who had a successful career as
a leader and composer, once said, “My idea was to
build a bridge between Latin music and jazz.” Bobo
did indeed do just that in his relatively short life.
Bobo was born William Correa on Feb. 24th, 1934.
A poor family recently moved from Puerto Rico, the
Correas settled in New York and turned to music as a
source of income. Pedro, the father, played guitar to
supplement his pay in a sugar refinery and young
Willie accompanied him on bongos fashioned from
cardboard boxes. He was taken with music and learned
enough songs to begin a sort of informal music career.
Willie was nicknamed Babalu, which became Bobo
ME GA PHON E
East Harlem - Birthplace
of AfroCuban Jazz
by Bobby Sanabria
Ask anyone where AfroCuban jazz was born and they
would probably answer with the perfunctory, “Cuba”.
Little do they know that they would be completely
wrong. The answer is a small neighborhood that would
transform New York City into a place whose pulse is
defined by a uniquely American-born music.
East Harlem at the turn of the century was an
ethnically diverse neighborhood with enclaves of
Germans, Italians, Irish and Jews. In 1916, when
Bernardo Vega, the cigar maker who later wrote his
widely read memoirs, arrived there he recalled there
were about 50 Puerto Rican families living in what
later became known as “El Barrio”. Between the two
world wars this community grew. By 1926 60% of the
Puerto Rican migrant population lived there. The
Jewish vendors, who sold their wares at the open-air
market, began to sell Caribbean products and food for
this burgeoning community. Though there were other
Puerto Rican settlements in the city during the ‘20s30s, East Harlem became the largest and most
important. It was here where the emerging Latin
popular music scene really took off.
In the ‘20s the Jewish hall for hire at 110th Street
and Fifth Avenue was rented by political and civic
organizations for various affairs. Later the Park Palace
(named for its elegant decor) featured Latin music
entertainment. Located on the second floor, it was a
large hall which held 1,500 people; downstairs was the
Carlton Club, later renamed the Golden Casino.
During the ‘30s the Golden Casino often hosted
Puerto Rican bandleader Augusto Coen’s orchestra,
which played boleros, guarachas, son (or what was
popularly and erroneously called “rumba”) from Cuba,
plena from Puerto Rico, pasodobles from Spain and
Swing tunes (what every Latin band at the time
included in their repertoire). The building, standing at
the crossroads of Black and Spanish Harlem, became
the focal point of the Latin music scene, so much so
that Puerto Rican pianist Noro Morales composed a
song, “110th St. and 5th Ave.”, in tribute. The
neighborhood was bordered by Lenox Avenue - the
dividing line between Black and Spanish Harlem. It
was on Lenox that most of the Black Cuban immigrants
took a foothold. Between 115th and 116th and Lenox
Avenue, Simon Grau, a white Cuban of Catalan
descent, had the most popular bakery in the
neighborhood. Its name was La Moderna and it was
unique not only for its delicious wares but as the only
place in the United States at that time to buy authentic
AfroCuban percussion instruments, which he would
import. Grau would only sell instruments to
knowledgeable players, most of whom were Cuban
immigrants. They would in turn teach the youngsters
eager to learn, like New York-born Puerto Rican Ernest
Anthony “Tito” Puente.
Grau’s La Moderna also had one unique feature - a
backyard patio. Here the sounds of congas, timbales,
bongo, maracas, claves, guiros and quijas would
resonate as local players would play rumba. Thus it
was a gathering place for knowledgeable percussionists
and their apprentices. The building’s geography - on
the border of Black and Spanish Harlem - also reflected
the community and the interaction between African
Americans and Latinos.
The Park Palace also benefited from its
geographical closeness to Black Harlem and one of its
residents. Prudencio Mario Bauzá was a child prodigy
on clarinet born in Cuba and raised in La Habana’s
Pogolloti barrio. Raised with the rumba and son
tradition and trained in classical music, he came to
NYC in 1926, playing clarinet with the flute and string
(charanga) orchestra of pianist Antonio Maria Romeu.
He was exposed to Harlem through his cousin René
Endreira, who played trumpet for the Harlem-based
Santo Domingo Serenaders, whose musicians were of
Cuban, Dominican, African-American and Puerto
Rican descent. Bauzá fell in love with Harlem’s
nightlife and as he said, “Harlem back then was
incredible. I saw Black people running their own
business, dressed sharp, walking with pride and the
music, incredible! I vowed I would return to play jazz.
I was only 15 back then and had to return to Cuba.” By
1930 Bauzá had returned to New York and made a
remarkable switch to trumpet to perform on a recording
session for Cuban vocalist Antonio Machin as a lastminute replacement. Machin was also part of the
legendary Don Azpiazu Havana Casino Orchestra who
had come to NYC the same year to expose US audiences
to authentic Cuban music through their appearance in
a film short and their hit recording of “The Peanut
Vendor” (El Manisero).
Bauzá began playing house parties with stride
pianist Lucky Roberts and by 1933 had become the
lead trumpet player for the acknowledged “King of
Swing”, dynamic drummer Chick Webb’s big band.
Bauzá would be partially responsible for bringing
vocalist Ella Fitzgerald to the Webb organization and
remarkably takes both a clarinet and trumpet solo on
Webb’s hit “Stompin’ At The Savoy”. During this
period as Webb’s lead trumpeter and Musical Director
Bauzá would also record with notable big band leaders
Noble Sissle, Don Redman and Jimmie Lunceford. In
1938 Bauzá would join the Cab Calloway Orchestra
and bring Dizzy Gillespie to the band. Bauzá and
Gillespie would form a lifelong friendship, which
started the latter ’s love affair with all things Latin.
By 1939 Bauzá had begun discussing with his
brother-in-law, vocalist Francisco “Machito” Grillo, his
vision of forming an orchestra combining the harmonic
sophistication of a jazz orchestra, virtuosity of the jazz
soloist and intensity of authentic AfroCuban rhythms.
That same year it would become a reality. The Machito
AfroCubans would debut at Spanish Harlem’s Park
Palace Ballroom. The band became the first AfroCuban/
Latin jazz orchestra, completing the fusion that had
began at the turn of the century. v
art. Veteran free spirited crooner Judi Silvano will sing
as part of an uptown-meets-downtown Who’s Who of
instrumentalists. Attending this event will be a chance
to experience the bounty of the united jazz community.
Speaking of uniting, Claudia Acuña, a singer whose
caring energy could make her Mother Theresa’s jazzy
doppelganger, will be featured in the first Spanishlanguage production of Jazz Nativity, La Natividad en
Jazz, alongside many top-notch Latin musicians such
as Ray Vega, Candido, Chembo Corniel and Bobby
Sanabria. The earthy Acuña will pour her love into the
role of Mary at BB Kings (Dec. 21st).
Focusing on this month’s Latin theme, I was
listening to Sarah Vaughan’s Complete Columbia Records
Collection (Columbia-Legacy), which includes Brazilian
Romance, her final album and third recording of
Brazilian music. Obsessed with her luscious
“Obsession”, I received the exciting news that Cyrille
Aimée just won the first “Sassy” award at the Sarah
Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition,
sponsored by Jazzroots WBGO 88.3 and judged by such
legendary singers as Dee Dee Bridgewater and Jon
Hendricks. Young soulful talent Jazzmeia Horn won
Rising Star.
Self-assured Argentinean singer, instrumentalist
and composer Sofia Rei will be winning an award one
day soon so my inner-oracle whispers. Rei subtly
integrates jazz influences into folk-edged originals. At
her CD release for De Tierra y Oro (Lili House) at Drom
(Dec. 1st) Rei will weave her South American roots
with improvisational experimentation. Singing all
originals, with one tribute to Chavela Vargas, she is as
remarkable on recording as she is in performance. Rei’s
band is multi-national and their combined sound is
building something very fresh.
As we enter the winter months post-storm, the
vocal jazz community will help rebuild New York,
through nourishing shared song and assistance to
those in need. “Common” is the root word of
community. I guess we’ve got a lot in common-unity. v
For more information, visit bobbysanabria.com. Sanabria is
at Baruch College Performing Arts Center Dec. 13th with
Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble and BB King’s Blues
Bar Dec. 21st as part of La Natividad en Jazz. See Calendar.
Bobby Sanabria is a drummer, percussionist, composer
arranger, educator, activist and five-time Grammy nominee
as a leader. He was the drummer for Mario Bauzá’s
AfroCuban Jazz Orchestra, recording three Grammynominated CDs with them. He is on the faculty of the New
School and the Manhattan School of Music. Sanabria’s
latest CD with his own big band is entitled Multiverse
(Jazzheads).
Thank
you for
giving us
a week in
June
2011
NEW CD
listen to:
„This is jazz at its best.“-WUMR U92FM
Wishing Everyone a Happy
and Safe Holiday Season!
Jan Matthies Music Management
VO X NEW S
by Katie Bull
As our city continues to recover from the
unprecedented effects of Superstorm Sandy, The Jazz
Foundation of America’s Wendy Oxenhorn has made a
special request for donations to jazz musicians in need.
Contribute by going to jazzfoundation.org/donate.
Donations have also yielded, in Oxenhorn’s words, an
“avalanche of love and mutual communion”.
Oxenhorn’s call to action for our jazz family is music to
these ears.
December brings several tremendous large
community gatherings featuring jazz vocalists. The
Arts for Arts organization features jazz singers of all
stripes as part of their Evolving Music Series and will
present the Under_Line Benefit Launch (Dec. 4th), an
all-star benefit towards the development of a new
Lower East Side underground performing venue, the
Under_Line. The new venue, housed at the Angel
Orensanz Center, will support innovative music and
11
LA BE L SPO T LIG HT
Tierra Acústica
Jaime Andrés Castillo
(...)
Etcétera
Meleyólamente
Ricardo Gallo/Alejandro Flórez
“O ur idea is to put on record all those sounds that
can be produced in a city like Bogotá,” explains Luis
Daniel Vega, producer and founder of Festina Lente
Discos, a jazz and other musics imprint based in the
Colombian capital. “Bogotá is a city where there’s very
creative music, everything from jazz, in its most
dissimilar expressions, to salsa, reggaeton, punk,
electro-acoustic, vallenato and classical music. We
want to show all sides of this musical city.”
Since its founding in 2009, Festina Lente has
released 15 CDs, reflecting the variety of improvised
music present in the country’s largest city. All its artists
are Colombian, most based in Bogotá, plus a few
expatriates. The label name is an oxymoron adds Vega,
meaning “more haste, less speed”, a wise motto for
many entrepreneurs.
A long-time music fan, Vega’s day job for the past
10 years has been as a radio journalist and researcher,
which gives him a unique perspective on the country’s
jazz scene. “I like what has happened in Colombia in
the last 15 years,” he notes. “Jazz has attained a new
originality.” With an initial investment of 4,000 pesos,
or $2,000, he and José Fernando Perilla, started Festina
Lente by releasing pianist Ricardo Gallo and string
player Alejandro Flórez’ Meleyólamente, which
combines Andean music and free improvisation. Since
then Perilla’s place has been taken by Mario Cubillos,
another radio colleague. Pressed in an edition of 500
sound weird, edgy and avant gardish - whatever that
means. They couldn’t define me, so they said no. But
Luis Daniel liked the idea; he knows where it comes
from.”
Festina Lente’s appreciation for all sorts of music
means that the catalogue is diverse. Releases include
the free improvisation of Asociacion Libre Orkesta’s
eponymous CD and includes smoother sounds like
guitarist Daniel Pinilla’s Intuiciones, world jazz from
Tibaguí’s Malandanza as well as the tropical - not “Latin
jazz” insists Vega - punk-jazz cumbia of Los Pirañas’
Toma tu jabón Kapax. “Many CDs have elements of jazz
it’s true, but also contain elements of rock, chamber
music and traditional Colombian music,” Vega asserts.
“We could say that it’s ‘anywhere music’.”
“I love the diversity,” declares Botero. “It makes
each release unique and each CD different from the
other. Most labels’ catalogues are boring and you
might not notice artists because a lot of them sound
similar. It makes me happy to know that my CD is in a
whole different world from other releases.”
Adds Gallo: “Festina Lente records projects
without genre barrier, as a reflection of not only jazz in
Colombia but recent Colombian music in general - lots
of people doing interesting stuff in-between-the-lines.
I’m also interested in the ‘in-betweens’. Meleyólamente
takes a tradition of plucked string instruments from
the Andes of Colombia, which is almost always linked
to song forms or instrumental music, and uses those
elements to improvise. That can be uncomfortable to
some Colombian purists of the traditional genre, but
that’s what we’re interested in.”
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 46)
Intuiciones
Daniel Pinilla
by Ken Waxman
copies - like all the label’s CDs - Meleyólamente has sold
out its initial run.
Vega, who makes Festina Lente’s artistic decisions,
says: “I started the label to record discs that nobody
otherwise would have recorded here in Bogotá.” While
some are previously-recorded sessions, most discs are
commissioned by the imprint, which pays all art,
design, pressing and distribution costs and, for the
latter, recording costs as well. “The label is financed
through disc sales,” explains Vega. “But in some cases,
Mario and I contribute extra money out of our own
pockets.”
“When I recorded with Flórez for Festina Lente, it
was going to be my third CD and an experiment,”
recalls Gallo, who divides his time between Bogotá
and New York. “Festina Lente appeared without big
pretensions or aspirations, so we weren’t expecting
much; it was like doing the CD independently but with
financial and press support from Vega. I think it’s
really interesting that the label has been noticed
outside of Colombia, because it has evolved in a nonentrepreneurial way, focusing on the music and
facilitating new possibilities of what music from
Colombia can be.”
Adds bassist Santiago Botero, who works in both
Amsterdam and Bogotá: “I recorded my CD and then
Festina Lente was interested in releasing it. It’s an
experiment using melodies based on cumbia and
Andres Landeros’ accordion music, given a treatment
similar to Ornette Coleman or John Zorn’s Masada. In
Europe labels weren’t thrilled by the idea. If you’re
doing Latin music you must have maracas and make
everybody dance and if you’re doing free jazz it must
Malandanza
Alejandro Flórez & Tibaguí
Festina Lente
LISTEN UP!
Brazilian percussionist ROGÉRIO BOCCATO plays
in projects led by some of today’s leading jazz players
and has also collaborated with top-ranking Brazilian
artists. As a longtime member of the Orquestra Jazz
Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, he has played with
Antonio Carlos Jobim, Hermeto Pascoal, Milton
Nascimento, Egberto Gismonti, João Bosco and Joe
Zawinul, among many others. Boccato holds teaching
positions at The Hartt School, the Manhattan School of
Music and Montclair State University.
Did you know? I attended school with my daughter we were even in the same combo for a semester! She
was doing her undergrad and I my master ’s degree at
SUNY Purchase. She’s a great pianist, composer and
vocalist, by the way.
For more information, visit rogerioboccato.com. Boccato is
at Bar Next Door Dec. 4th with Fabio Gouvea and Cornelia
Street Café Dec. 11th with James Shipp. See Calendar.
By Day: Teaching Brazilian music and Ritmica at the
Manhattan School of Music.
I knew I wanted to be a musician when... I looked
back and realized I was already doing it.
Dream Band: Toninho Horta, John Patitucci, Brian
Blade and Wayne Shorter, then Egberto Gismonti joins
in for the 2nd set.
Russell Cochran
Current Projects: Rogério Boccato Quarteto - ‘After
Bossa Nova Project’; duo with vocalist Jean Rohe; part
of the bands of Ben Allison, John Patitucci, Magos
Herrera and James Shipp.
Influences: Betty Carter, Bill Evans, Miles Davis, Brad
Mehldau, Dianne Reeves, Kurt Elling, Bobby McFerrin,
Wayne Shorter, Tom Jobim, Edu Lobo, Caetano Veloso,
Cassandra Wilson, Danilo Pérez, Miguel Zenón,
Guillermo Klein, Maria Schneider, Chico Buarque
Silvio Rodriguez, Pablo Milanes, etc.
Current Projects: A tour in Mexico for my new album
Mexico Azul (Sunnyside). Working for a 2013 project
with Javier Limon. Running a weekly radio show for
Horizonte 107.9 FM Mexican jazz station from New
York. A spokeperson for the UN campaign “UNITE” to
stop violence against women.
Teachers: José Eduardo Gramani, Fulvia Escobar, John
Riley, Todd Coolman.
Influences: Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, Roy Haynes,
Billy Higgins, Hermeto Pascoal, Nenê.
Teachers: Konstantin Jada, Kevin Lattau, Alejandro
Mercado and all the wonderful musicians I have
played with that have helped me to grow.
By Day: Being thankful.
Rogério Boccato
Magos Herrera
Born in Mexico City, MAGOS HERRERA is considered
one of the most beautiful voices and most active
vocalists of contemporary Latin American jazz. While
living in Mexico she recorded five CDs, two
international compilations for Brazil and Japan and
was part of the acclaimed Mexican Divas CD series.
Herrera has performed at the Montreal International
Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center in New York, Millennium
Park in Chicago, Teatro de la Ciudad de Mexico and
Sala Galileo Galilei in Madrid, among many others.
I knew I wanted to be a musician when... I was walking
in the sand of the Mexican Pacific coast and had the
revelation that I wanted to embrace music fully.
Dream Band: The one I’m playing with right now.
Did you know? Everyday I learn a new odd thing
about myself.
For more information, visit magosherrera.com. Herrera is at Bar
Next Door Dec. 3rd and Jazz at Kitano Dec. 12th. See Calendar.
SAVANT SCD 2123
SHIFTING GEARS
HIGHNOTE HCD 7241
WONDERFUL! WONDERFUL!
T h e s e r e c o r d i n g s f r o m PAT
MARTINO's personal collection document
the interplay and chemistry he forged with rhythm
guitarist Bobby Rose on their first duet tour in
the summer of 1977. We are fortunate to have these
superb performances preserved for posterity.
HAROLD MABERN has played with
all the greats and with his long-time colleague,
Eric Alexander, he romps and stomps through
an interesting repertoire of songs that convey the
conviviality of the session, the player’s mutual
respect & their complete joy in making music.
106 West 71st Street, New York, NY 10023
[email protected] • www.jazzdepot.com
SAvANT SCD 2117
HIGNOTE HCD 7237
SOUL SHADOWS
LAVERNE BUTLER's impressive
debut on HighNote Records is a true jazz-vocal
record in every sense of the phrase. Featuring the
deeply burnished tenor sax of Houston
Person LaVerne’s new recording exudes
confidence and impeccable taste.
HIGHNOTE HCD 7242
JERRY BERGONZI's tenor sax style
melds the linear, chromatic approach of such
greats as Joe Henderson and Wayne Shorter with
the horizontal, chordal techniques of John
Coltrane. Featuring Bruce Barth on piano and
Phil Grenadier on trumpet.
MR. LUCKY
HIGHNOTE HCD 7244
MY MUSE
JOEY DeFRANCESCO established
his credentials with a virtuoso technique and an
innate soulfulness. With jazz guitar great Larry
Coryell & legendary drummer Jimmy Cobb,
Joey imbues the genre with new life, vigor & a
modern sensibility.
ALONE TOGETHER
HIGHNOTE HCD 7245
Pianist GEORGE CABLES has been
one of the most sought-after sidemen in jazz.
His versatile playing and ability to bring out the
best in any group's sound have made
him indispensable to artists like Art Blakey & the
Jazz Messengers and Sonny Rollins.
HIGHNOTE HCD 7239
HOUSTON PERSON asked
legendary pianist Cedar Walton to sit in with
his group on this recording and the collaboration
between these two giants results in some of the
most genuinely musical playing to come out of the
famed Rudy Van Gelder studio.
LOVE LOST & FOUND AGAIN
NATURALLY
Eight Exciting New Releases from America’s Most Listened-To Jazz Labels
Vocalist DENISE DONATELLI won
a Grammy nomination with her second Savant CD,
displaying the ability to imbue whatever she sings
with her special warmth, wit and insight. Catch
Denise in concert with Peter Marshall at the
Metropolitan Room on January 11-14.
© 2010 Jack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotos
IN M EMO RI A M
JOHN TCHICAI
1936-2012
It was just about this time in 1963 that I found myself
sitting in with John Tchicai at a midtown NYC
restaurant. Don Cherry had sent me; he thought John
and I would sound good together and he was right:
Thus began a musical partnership that endured until
the end of 1965. We worked on getting a sound and
gradually the music came. I emphasize sound
because John had a very warm, original and instantly
recognizable sound. What became The New York Art
Quartet was his idea. We had some colorful musical
experiences together, a few of which are documented.
I feel I owe much of my musical inspiration at the
time to John Tchicai’s vision. His is a heavy loss.
- ROSWELL RUDD, TROMBONIST
I think the thing that most people remember John for
is his approachability and kindness to younger
musicians. I remember John sitting in with the
Either/Orchestra on a gig in Sacramento in 1992.
Afterward a bunch of us were gushing to him about
how much we loved his playing: his sound, time,
articulation...all very special. In that distinctive
accent and intonation John said, “You can do that
too...you have the capability...there is no mystery to
it...you just have to develop.” I told him I was
working on transcribing his composition “Exercise
15”. He said, “Don’t bother, I have it in a book.” I
drove him to his apartment, under a spectacular
lunar eclipse. He gave me a copy of his book, Advice
For Improvisers, and said, “maybe someday I’ll play
this composition with your group” and, in fact, he
did the following year. That was the beginning of
many collaborations over the next 15 years. I feel
very privileged to have shared in this master
musician’s sound world. I’m having a hard time
acclimating myself to a world without Master Tchicai.
- CHARLIE KOHLHASE, SAXOPHONIST
John Tchicai had an absolutely fabulous sound on the
alto sax. Whatever the setting he played in, his tone
would always be very present and recognizable,
without being loud. His playing also had a sort of
mesmerizing quality. In early photos you can see him
playing a Conn “Lady Face” alto saxophone. During
the years 1977-82, however, while we had our alto
sax and bass clarinet duo, he used to play a Pan
American alto. One day I asked him what had
happened to the Lady Face. It was broken, he said.
During a recording session he wanted to listen to a
piece that he had just played. When the recording
engineer told him that there was a problem and the
piece had not been recorded, John got so furious that
he smashed his horn against the wall.
He often stayed at our place and showed
himself to be a very nice guest. I learned a lot from
him about playing the saxophone and developing
my personal sound. Thank you, John!
- ANDRE GOUDBEEK, SAXOPHONIST
John Tchicai was a giant. He was one of the strongest
people I have ever known. He was an instigator of
freedom across the world for more than four decades.
I have so many memories of playing music with
John, talking to him about small and large topics,
watching him eat strawberry jelly and make abstract
paintings with the cream, reciting fantastic poems (“I
want the big Orgasm - said the small man”), playing
louder than any saxophonist I have ever heard,
schooling his fellow musicians on stage, scat-singing.
His presence was so strong - he was a proud firstgeneration free musician, a cultural leader, a total
prima donna, a very social human being and an
eternally curious artist - oh and a brilliant composer.
- KRESTEN OSGOOD, DRUMMER
I wish you a great journey. From 1966 until 1970 it
was a very intense playing for us. I always will
remember and admire your beautiful sound.
- HAN BENNINK, DRUMMER
John was a nomad, a Cosmopo Confused Bird if you
like, an impressive giant of music, a mystery, a downto-earth person, a dear friend and an icon of modern
music. I consider him my musical mentor, who
guided me into a world of endless possibilities and
challenges. He would play with the greatest artists
on earth and the next day throw all his efforts into an
unskilled amateur band, with the weirdest lineup,
and make it sound great.
When I joined him in the mid ‘70s his main
instrument was alto and he had a distinct sound, a
cry that I think most musicians would hold on to if
they had found something like it. But John changed
to tenor, soprano, flute and singing, too. He was not
looking for security or shelter. He was not Danish,
nor African, American or European. He would play
any song, in any tradition and make it his own. If you
tried to make him play in a certain way, he would
probably do something else. He could deconstruct
the music in the most productive way, shape it into
something you would never had dreamed of. We
will miss him tremendously.
- PETER DANSTRUP, BASSIST
When John came to visit us in Afghanistan and in
Greece, where we lived in the ‘70s and ‘80s, my wife
Sigi always had to extend his bed with fruit boxes.
His height didn’t fit into a normal-sized bed and his
musical dimensions were too far out to fit into the
mainstream taste of the masses.
It was wonderful to hike with him in the
Hindu Kush Mountains. Afghanistan was a very
peaceful and hospitable country before the
Westerners destroyed this unique paradise.
Sometimes in the mountains we reached a remarkable
altitude in rarefied air and had to gasp for breath. It
was the same during our trio concerts with Famoudou
Don Moye in West Africa. All three of us were in
black Africa for the first time and that was a unique
and unforgettable experience of extremely high
musical intensity and enigmatic magic. John still had
his pocket loaded with Sierra Leonean cola nuts
when, after the African tour, we had our final
performance in the biggest concert hall of Athens.
When John was starting his wild and crazy highpitched singing, one could see deep into his cola nutcolored, glaring red throat. Requiescat in pace.
John and I did many duo shows at a local art gallery
in Davis, CA. One night his son Yolo, who was maybe
six months old at the time, was there. We took a
break, the owner of the place put on some music and
John put down his horn, ran over to Yolo, picked him
up and started to dance all across the room with him.
This hulking six-foot-plus great Dane holding this
tiny little baby! Just dancing around with such joy
and such love and devotion. Seeing that much love
radiating from him was probably the most inspiring
moment I ever spent with him. He was a truly
remarkable man, filled with love and joy and
kindness and full of genius. All of it came out in his
remarkable playing and writing. He was a gift to this
planet. We were all fortunate to have him.
- ADAM LANE, BASSIST
John Tchicai was a giant among men, both figuratively
and literally. Standing well over six feet tall he
towered over everyone. I felt sorry for him every
time he had to bend double to give me a hug.
Musically, of course, he was a giant among giants.
I was blessed to have had the chance to know
him as a friend and colleague. Having never met
him, I invited him in 2001 to be a guest artist on a
recording with my PoBand. I sent him a couple of
CDs and he quickly agreed to the project. John then
invited me to do a trio recording with him and Pierre
Dørge, but requested that I compose something for
it. As the date approached he gave me an ultimatum
- either I compose something or the date wouldn’t
happen. Unwilling to lose the opportunity to record
again with John I wrote a short theme entitled “Ballad
of 9/11”. Although I may never be a prolific composer,
I do now have 10 compositions that have all been
recorded, some of them several times. John somehow
knew that composing was a dream of mine, even
though I didn’t believe I had the ‘gift’ for it. John, as
only he could, gave me that gift and for this I am
eternally indebted and grateful. Thank you John!
- LOU GRASSI, DRUMMER
I met John Tchicai in the early ‘70s, when he first
came to Zürich in 1971 to play in a workshop band
called Wiebelfetzer with a bunch of young local
musicians including myself. He was a very good
teacher and I have been influenced by his free playing
ever since. Later on I was invited to play in a quartet
with John, the late German bass player Buschi
Niebergall and South African drummer Makaya
Ntshoko at the very first Jazzfest Willisau in
Switzerland in 1975. Five years later I had the chance
to play again with John, Don Cherry and Pierre Favre
at the Jazzfest Willisau in 1980. These two concerts
with John are among the most important ones in my
career. His free playing was very exciting and always
full of surprises - sometimes after a long solo with his
unmistakable sound on the alto saxophone, he would
suddenly start to sing! John was a strong personality
and a great musician and I shall always miss him and
his music tremendously.
When I was a young cat in Copenhagen during the
late ‘90s, I wanted to dig into the improvised music
scene. Everybody talked about a Danish musician
called John Tchicai back then but I did not know who
that man was and I actually thought his last name
was a kind of nickname meaning ‘’Ten Cay’’ (Ti
means ten in Danish). I got a chance to play with
John for the first time in Copenhagen in 1997 and I
was very surprised that SO many people showed up
for the gig. Back then I did not realize who this man
really was, but AFTER that gig I understood! And
ever since that experience, John Tchicai has continued
to grow in my musical awareness and to me he is one
of the - if not the - most interesting musical
personalities that I’ve ever played with.
I have so many great memories: when John
taught me the hard way - in front of a live audience
- how to imitate him in a drum/sax-duo section;
when John recited the poem called ‘’Blue Giant’’
while taking GIGANTIC steps across the stage in
Montpellier, France; when John got angry at the
audience in Sweden because they requested a piece
by Miles Davis and John told them: ‘’It’s our name on
the poster. Don’t you like us? Miles Davis is dead,
you know!’’; when John made a legendary recital/
singing version of ‘’Alice in Wonderland’’ in Helsinki
- the best version I’ve ever heard of that song/theme.
His playing was so personal and beautiful
and he has been such a great inspiration for
everybody around him. John, you will be missed
dearly. Thank you for opening my ears and for
teaching me how to ‘’imitate’’.
- HARTMUT GEERKEN, PERCUSSIONIST
- IRÈNE SCHWEIZER, PIANIST
- STEFAN PASBORG, DRUMMER
John Tchicai is no longer on the scene to create magic
- changing the agreed course, in chaos - an
unpredictable adventure. John was a true artist in
improvised music and with his sax placed deeply in
the jazz roots he created new captivating musical
journeys. For more than half a century he has been an
invaluable source of inspiration for improvising
musicians. As a teacher, he has shown us new ways
and inspired young musicians to jump into free
improvisation from the high-diving board. He has
opened our ears and changed our perception of the
musical language. John lives on inside us - and we
will constantly meet him in the music, the inspiration
he gave us in our body and soul. We will miss John as a person and as an artist. His presence and
spontaneity was unique.
- PIERRE DØRGE, GUITARIST
I met John Tchicai in April 2003 and our relationship
and music continued to develop over the ten years
we played together. He had a truly amazing ear, his
improvisations were a study in motivic abstraction,
repetition and development. He could play with
more intensity at a low volume than anyone. His
sensitivity and pureness of sound were ethereal and
so perfect in the moment you knew it would never
happen again that way.
John wasn’t a man of many words, preferring
to lead by example in the way he lived and played. I
once asked him about the title of his composition “A
Yogi in Disguise”. He humbly replied, “The Yogi in
Disguise - that’s me, my real ‘self’, a yogi disguised
as a musician.” Like a yogi, John’s music contained
no compromises. It wasn’t always easy to enter into
his musical world, but once you were there you
didn’t want to leave. Great music aspires to express the infinite
through sound and if anyone touched the infinite
through music, it was John. His music reached
uncommon levels of spirituality, something he had
in common with John Coltrane and the basis for the
group “Ascension Unending”, a sextet Tchicai
formed in 2010 to explore the revolution in music
following in Coltrane’s footsteps.
It’s been several weeks since my good friend
John Tchicai made his ultimate “Ascension”. I dearly
miss his soulful sound, graceful spirit and
mischievous laugh. Thank you John.
- GARRISON FEWELL, GUITARIST
I had the fortune to work with the great John Tchicai
over the years, to make three great records and have
him participate on sessions as a sideman. John is one
of the greatest and most original alto saxophonists
since Charlie Parker. Few musicians have such a
personal sound, for me it is the “Danish Sound”.
In 2007 John emailed me. He wrote that he
had been looking through the SteepleChase catalogue
and pointed out that there were far too few Tchicai
records and that we should do more. I replied that I
found that there were too many Tchicai CDs in the
market and that if we should do another recording
we needed to discuss the project, which would be
Monk ballads. We discussed the repertoire and the
sidemen, decided on a standard sax-piano-bassdrum session and invited the musicians we thought
would fit John best. John was a little surprised when
I demanded that he play alto saxophone on the
session, but he understood my reasoning and
accepted. This CD, In Monk’s Mood, is one of the
recordings closest to my heart.
John’s music and his many recordings show
his openness and creativity while the Monk ballad
date reveals the mature, one and only John Tchicai.
- NILS WINTHER, STEEPLECHASE RECORDS
15
CD R EVI EW S
XXI Century
Gonzalo Rubalcaba (5Passion)
by Ken Dryden
Cuban
pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba made a major
impact with his Blue Note debut in 1990, showing off a
thunderous attack in interpreting the jazz canon. Since
then, he has evolved as an artist, incorporating many
styles into his approach. With XXI Century, a two-disc
set, Rubalcaba displays his versatility and imagination,
joined by bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Marcus
Gilmore, with a few guests on several tracks.
Included are familiar pieces by well known
pianists taken in new directions. Bill Evans performed
his bittersweet ballad “Time Remembered” with a
touch of melancholy yet Rubalcaba takes a different
path, increasing its spaciousness by slowly working
his way into it and having the rhythm section playing
a bit off-center, considerably reducing its emotional
impact. Rubalcaba’s furious take of Lennie Tristano’s
“Lennie’s Pennies” (a reworking of “Pennies From
Heaven”) disguises the song’s source until it is well
underway, as the trio launches a tense postbop
workout. “Moore”, credited to Paul Bley (actually Gary
Peacock’s “Moor”), has an avant garde air, with darting
piano and dissonant arco bass.
The pianist’s originals are even more varied. His
“Fifty” blends AfroCuban and funk with a heavy
percussive touch, prominent electric bass and judicious
use of the electric keyboards. Lionel Loueke adds his
voice and guitar to Rubalcaba’s intense, percussive
“Oshun”, though the primary focus remains on the
core trio and guest percussionist Pedro “Pedrito”
Martinez. Loueke contributed the ominous and
introspective “Alafia”, the leader ’s tense solo,
sporadically adding synthesizer, leaving the most
lasting impression. Enrique Ubieta’s “Son XXI” initially
puts the focus on the long solos by Brewer and
Martinez, followed by Rubalcaba’s wild solo blending
Cuban jazz and postbop. XXI Century is easily Gonzalo
Rubalcaba’s most diverse and demanding release.
For more information, visit 5passion.com. Rubalcaba is at
Stern Auditorium Dec. 4th. See Calendar.
The ‘Infancia’ Project
Luis Perdomo (Criss Cross)
by Russ Musto
N otwithstanding
his Venezuelan background and
tenures with straightahead AfroCuban ensembles led
by Ray Barretto and Ralph Irizarry, pianist Luis
Perdomo’s playing has always stretched well beyond
“Latin jazz” categorization, with an unrestrained
exploratory character marked by audacious harmonic
sophistication. On The ‘Infancia’ Project he presents
himself in what appears to be a more ‘típico‘
environment, enlisting the aid of Latino rhythm section
mates (bassist Andy Gonzalez, drummer Ignacio
Berroa and conguero Mauricio Herrera), but the music,
which also features tenor saxophonist Mark Shim, is
anything but typical. In fact the program, comprised of
four original pieces, arrangements of four jazz masters’
compositions and a classic bolero, affirms Perdomo’s
inventive spirit.
Beginning with his “The Other Left”, Perdomo
demonstrates an ability to move the Latin jazz genre in
his own direction, opening with a dissonant montuno
after which Shim’s dark-toned tenor takes things out
before the pianist solos in a manner distinctively his
own. Even the percussion discussion that follows is
somewhat atypical in its free-flowing meter.
“Berimvela” is an easy grooving piece, the composer
on electric piano and Shim blowing soft Joe Hendersoninspired tenor. Arrangements of Miles’’ “Solar” and
Ornette’s “Happy House” combine AfroCuban
rhythms with daring harmonic explorations.
The pianist evinces a delicate melodicism on his
trio recital of the beautiful Hector Lavoe-associated
“Comedia” then digs in with the quintet on a swinging
Latinization of Bud Powell’s “Un Poco Loco”. Two
more originals, the imposing “Meggido Girl” and
impressionistic “Mind And Time” (the latter featuring
Perdomo on Fender Rhodes), showcase the composer ’s
impressive talent. A commanding rendition of Jack
DeJohnette’s
“Major
General”,
appropriately
showcasing Berroa’s authoritative drums - soloing, in
duo with Shim and driving the whole band - closes the
date on a powerful note.
end the song. Although running over 11 minutes, the
track does not lose any intensity and excitement.
Other notable selections are Alegría’s “Pucasana” and
Leguia’s “Puerto Pimentel”. The former features a
chant-like slow melody over drums beating a doubletime rhythm while the latter captures Leguia’s lyrical
approach and includes a haunting flugelhorn solo by
Alegría. Also notable is Menares’ bass work on “ Toro
Mata”.
Now that el secreto has been disclosed, all you
need to do is sit back and listen.
For more information, visit gabrielalegria.com. This band is
at Roger Smith Hotel Dec. 8th. See Calendar.
For more information, visit crisscrossjazz.com. Perdomo is
at Birdland Dec. 6th and ShapeShifter Lab Dec. 14th, both
with Gregg August, and Smoke Dec. 12th with EJ
Strickland. See Calendar.
RECOMMENDED
NEW RELEASES
El Secreto del Jazz Afroperuano
Gabriel Alegría Afro-Peruvian Sextet (Saponegro)
by Marcia Hillman
Recorded live at the Festival Miami in October 2010,
El Secreto del Jazz Afroperuano is a high-energy
performance set by the Gabriel Alegría AfroPeruvian
Sextet. Although the concert format makes for lengthy
tracks, the energy is sustained and there are no dull
moments. The cohesive group features Alegría on
trumpet and flugelhorn alongside saxophonist Laura
Andrea Leguia, guitarist Yuri Juarez, Freddy “Huevito”
Lobaton on cajón, cajita and quijada, drummers
Shirazette Tinnin and Daniel Susnjar, bassist Pablo
Menares and pianist Shelly Berg. The material is
comprised of one standard with the rest originals by
Alegría and one by Leguia.
This group is chock-full of talent. Alegría displays
a rich warm tone on both his horns and a talent for
composition and arranging. Leguia’s playing is smooth
and flowing and the percussion section contributes
support that is fiery and forceful. Juarez’ guitar playing
stands out on all of the tracks, adding color. But what
this live recording really captures is the passion of all
of the members (right down to their intermittent cries)
and the response of their enthusiastic audience.
Gershwin’s “Summertime” is the aforementioned
standard and an opening track hot as a summer day in
the tropics. Alegría starts, taking the melody with a
growling muted trumpet above driving drums and
percussion. Leguia’s saxophone provides a cooling
breeze, followed by Berg’s dynamic octave runs. The
intensity of this rendition builds to a collective riff
fueled by the polyrhythms of the percussion section to
• Jeff Davis - Leaf House (Fresh Sound-New Talent)
• David Gilmore - Numerology: Live at Jazz Standard
(Evolutionary Music)
• Frank Kimbrough Trio - Live at Kitano (Palmetto)
• Bill McHenry - La Peur du Vide (Sunnyside)
• Kurt Rosenwinkel - Star of Jupiter (Wommusic)
• Jacques Schwarz-Bart Quartet The Art of Dreaming (Aztec Musique)
David Adler, New York@Night Columnist
• Avishai Cohen - Triveni II (Anzic)
• Jason Kao Hwang - Burning Bridge (Innova)
• Dave King - I’ve Been Ringing You (Sunnyside)
• Charles Mingus - The Jazz Workshop Concerts 1964-65
(Mosaic)
• Sam Newsome - The Art of the Soprano, Vol. 1 (s/r)
• Eve Risser/Benjamin Duboc/Edward Perraud En Corps (Dark Tree)
Laurence Donohue-Greene
Managing Editor, The New York City Jazz Record
• Christopher Alpiar Quartet The Jazz Expression (Behip)
• Albert Mangelsdorff Quintet - Legends Live:
Audimax Freiburg (June 22, 1964) (Jazzhaus)
• Ra-Kalam Bob Moses Sacred Exhalations (Ra-Kalam)
• Evan Parker/Georg Graewe Dortmund Variations (Nuscope)
• Pretty Monsters - Eponymous (Public Eyesore)
• Hal Russell - NRG Ensemble (Nessa)
Andrey Henkin
Editorial Director, The New York City Jazz Record
Continuum
David Virelles (Pi)
by Clifford Allen
Cuban-born and New York-based pianist David
Virelles’ second disc as a leader, Continuum, presents
the audio component of a multimedia experience that
reconciles AfroCuban folklore/spiritualism and
contemporary art. The 12 pieces are at times supplanted
by poetry (recited by the group’s percussionist Román
Díaz) and Cuban painter Alberto Lescay produced a
series of 20 paintings in conjunction with the music. In
addition to Virelles (who also plays organ and
harmonium) and Díaz, the group includes bassist Ben
Street and veteran drummer Andrew Cyrille, the latter
brought in partly because of his place within the
AfroCaribbean jali. “Our Birthright” adds trumpeter
Jonathan Finlayson (like Virelles, a fellow acolyte of
saxophonist Steve Coleman) and saxophonists Román
Filiú and Mark Turner to the group, the latter one of
the pianist’s regular collaborators.
Following a spectral and rough invocation for
voice, percussion and organ, the quartet moves into
disarming quiet on “El Brujo and the Pyramid”,
Virelles producing spare, low and mid-register
chiaroscuro both weighty and tentative with slight
romantic flourishes. “The Executioner” is robust at the
outset, but against a tough vamp, Virelles is methodical
in his minimalism, almost obstinate. Following a
rhapsodic shove, Díaz emerges with a recitation that
matches well with the ensemble’s muscularity.
Whether approaching the music with a dense
push or disappearing-act eddies, Virelles is consistently
an uneasy player, lending tension to every nook of the
compositions. In fragmentary and allusive passages,
such as the bass-piano duet “Unseen Mother”, it’s as
though he were hiding a significant amount of the
music away from the listener. In the subsequent
“Royalty”, his attack is face-forward in a way that is
remarkable and shocking. A fuller example of the latter
is the septet piece “Our Birthright”, which pits a bonerattling collective wail against Díaz’ poetry.
For a mid-sized ensemble the group sounds huge,
with ensemble trills that could rival Mike Mantler ’s
work with the Jazz Composer ’s Orchestra. Continuum
is not easily accessible and nor are the secrets and gifts
of its AfroCuban/AfroCaribbean inspiration.
For more information, visit pirecordings.com. This project
is at Drom Dec. 12th. See Calendar.
Multiverse
Bobby Sanabria Big Band (Jazzheads)
by Terrell Holmes
The concept of a “multiverse” may be rooted in
astronomy, but for percussionist Bobby Sanabria its
origin is en clave, with Latin jazz shining at its
luminous center. Sanabria leads his big band on a
vibrant excursion through the musical and cultural
influences he has used to forge his dynamic sound.
Sanabria’s pride and expertise in Latin jazz
informs every note. Tunes like “Cachita” and “¡Qué
Viva Candido!” move between robust big band
strutting and sole-burning salsa, but the invigorating
singing and chanting gets down to the roots of these
songs and illuminates their AfroCuban bloodlines.
There are also shouts to the elders: Wayne Shorter ’s
“Speak No Evil” includes a spoken word tribute to
Mario Bauzá (with whom Sanabria played), Tito Puente
and Dizzy Gillespie while “AfroCuban Jazz Suite for
Ellington” is a fabulous medley of some of Duke’s
finest hours. Film, too, is a source of inspiration. Danny
Rivera’s gritty electric baritone sax drives the theme
from The French Connection, shrieking horns, driving
percussion, brooding piano and a didgeridoo capturing
the pulsating rhythm of New York vividly, from sirens
to seagulls. And Sanabria’s arrangement of “Over the
Rainbow”, with lovely singing by Charenee Wade, is
spiced with Spanish exclamations.
The album’s last tune crystallizes its concept. “The
Chicken/From Havana to Harlem/100 Years of Mario
Bauzá” is a big band, salsa and funk riot, highlighted
by a fiery slam poem recited by Caridad “La Bruja” De
la Luz, which expands on the history, forms and
personages that have made Latin jazz an indispensable
part of the canon. Multiverse is an album that embodies
and honors the traditional while embracing the
modern. The breadth of Sanabria’s creative vision, as
articulated by his wonderful band, ensures that this
great music will continue to endure and grow.
found in studio sessions.
They take on the encounters with ska, beat boxers
and even a clever reprise of Black Sabbath’s “I Ron
Man” totally in stride and strut their stuff on the more
traditional tunes. Sarmiento’s “Linda Mañana” is
impossible to keep still through; “Descarga Trópica” is
a stellar forum allowing each musician in turn to show
their chops while “Bomba Trópica” is delightfully hot
salsa. A very comprehensive website includes in-depth
interviews, a documentary on the making of the project
and other background information for what very well
may be the Latin party release of the year.
For more information, visit ondatropica.com
For more information, visit jazzheads.com. Sanabria is at
Baruch College Performing Arts Center Dec. 13th with
Eugene Marlow and BB King’s Blues Bar Dec. 21st as part
of La Natividad en Jazz. See Calendar.
Papo Vazquez
Mighty Pirates Troubadours
Eponymous
Ondatrópica (Soundway)
by Elliott Simon
O n the surface Ondatrópica is a celebration of
‘cumbia’, a musical style that arose from a fusion of
Spanish, African and Colombian folk music. Reliance
on drums and clave as well as flute, accordion and
guitar stems from its hybrid origins. However, below
the surface this release is much more. Colombian
bandleader Mario Galeano and English DJ Will
“Quantic” Holland have produced a fathers-and-sons
celebration that features old heads and new interacting
and baiting each other. The result is a showcase of the
music’s symbiotic ability to transform by engaging
multiple world genres. But on a more basic level,
Ondatrópica is a kick-ass two-CD display of rhythmical
expertise, equal parts brassiness and ballsy-ness.
Recently modern genres such as techno, ska, hiphop, rap and apparently pretty much anything you can
think of have intermingled with traditional ‘cumbia’
and expanded its reach and scope. Ondatrópica mixes
and matches a total of 40+ musicians to surf the music’s
‘tropical wave’ across 26 tunes reflecting tradition and
its multiple new faces. A lot of great players have been
brought together for these sessions and Latin American
legends such as timbalero Julio Ernesto “Fruko”
Estrada, saxophonist Michi Sarmiento, pianist Alfredo
Linares, conguero Freddy Colorado, trumpet player
Luis Bravo and trombonist Jose Miguel Vega “El Profe”
are at home in this group performance. The live party
production engenders an electric immediacy not often
Papo Vázquez – Trombone / Willie Williams – Tenor Sax
Rick Germanson – Piano / Dezron Douglas – Bass
Alvester Garnett – Drums / Anthony Carrillo – Perc.
Carlitos Maldonado – Perc.
Special Invited Pirates
Wynton Marsalis / Regina Carter / Akua Dixon’s Quartette Indigo
Invited Pirates
Sherman Irby / Andy Farber / Candido Reyes
Benito Gonzales / John Benitez
Papo Vazquez’ Mighty Pirates
Troubadours ensemble is the
foremost progenitor of the
distinctively swinging sound that
can best be described
as Afro-Puerto Rican Jazz.
-The New York City Jazz Record
In Oasis Papo Vazquez has
created a major work;
something that will endure for
many years to come.
- Latin Jazz Network
www.papovazquez.com
17
GLOBE UNITY: CHILE
Live at Cubadisco
Ninety Miles (Concord Picante)
by Fred Bouchard
Open For Business
Pancho Molina/Elias Meister (EMPM)
Second Cycle Melissa Aldana (Inner Circle)
Borderfall Novas Trio (Discos Pendiente)
by Tom Greenland
Chile, spanning South America’s southwest coast,
supports a thriving jazz scene in Santiago’s
Bellavista neighborhood and has spawned dynamic
artists such as those described below.
Drummer Francisco “Pancho” Molina, from
Concepción, veteran of Chilean rock supergroup
Los Tres, teams up with Munich-born guitarist Elias
Meister on the self-produced Open For Business, a
genre-bender delivering postbop with rock attitude.
Joined by tenor saxist George Garzone, keyboardist
Leo Genovese and bassist Ben Street, the group’s
music, all composed by Molina or Meister, is both
intelligent and accessible, recalling Tribal Tech or
Steve Khan’s Eyewitness. Molina’s backbeat is
heavier and harder than standard jazz fare yet
retains sensitivity and flow while Meister ’s gently
overdriven tone colors chunky strums and edgy but
tasteful leads. Garzone is feisty on “Ulises”,
subdued and lyrical on “Bedstuy Facilities” and
outward bound on “Samurai Tale” while Genovese’s
fleet, flexible touch effects chameleonic textural
shifts on “Time Traveler”.
Santiago-born tenor saxist Melissa Aldana’s
Second Cycle, her sophomore release on Greg Osby’s
Inner Circle label, is a piano-less quartet outing that
gives the young (mid 20s) lioness ample freedom
(and responsibility) to display a musical maturity
well beyond her years. Beginning her solos
unassumingly, coloring notes with subtle pitch
variations and vibrato, her ‘stories’ develop with an
unerring narrative logic, often built on morphing
motifs and shifting sequences that wend and weave
to unexpected places, inviting interaction through
pregnant pauses even as they build density and
intensity. The unforced dazzle of “Free Fall”, the
two-minute soliloquy opening “My Own World”,
her peppery exchanges with trumpeter Gordon Au
on “Polyphemus” and the architectonic elegance of
her solo on “I’ll Be Seeing You” all attest to a
romantic and highly intelligent musical personality.
Bassist Joseph Lepore and drummer Ross Pederson
provide synchronicity and inspiration.
The Novas Trio’s Borderfall features two more
Santiago progeny, drummer Rodrigo Recabarren
and vibraphonist Carlos Vera, with guitarist Jeff
Miles. The bass-less combo has an airy aura,
anchored by the guitar ’s low strings, with Vera’s
shimmering arpeggios floating atop. Like the
Molina/Meister group, the trio plays jazz with a
rock ethos, but here the model is closer to Radiohead,
with jangly rhythms, spiky harmonies, quirky
riffing and legato leads. Vera is in fine form over
“KSR” while Miles hits his peak on “Desorientado”
with rippling lines and unusual intervallic leaps.
For
more
information,
visit
panchomolina.com,
innercirclemusic.net and discospendiente.com. Aldana is at
Smalls Dec. 6th and Bar Next Door Dec. 14th. See Calendar.
The America/Cuba jazz connections never really went
away during the protracted regime of Fidel Castro,
from the Dizzy Gillespie/David Amram/Stan Getz
tour of 1977 and eventual ‘90s defections by Irakere
stars Arturo Sandoval and Paquito D’Rivera to lively,
near-continuous annual exchanges at Havana’s Jazz
Festival. The (still largely) one-way visitations appear
to be picking up steam in today’s détente mood under
Fidel’s brother Raul, as we witness this second release
from Ninety Miles, taken from a 2011 appearance at
Feria Internacional Cubadisco, a Havana festival.
Vibraphonist Stefon Harris contributes the soaring
modal opener “ And This Too Shall Pass”, which draws
tenor saxist David Sanchez and trumpeter Christian
Scott to overlapping impassioned skeins of melody,
followed by “Brown Belle Blues”, a lively mambo with
Scott’s typically brief trumpet sizzler and Harris’
windmilling solo. Sanchez follows with two of his
own. “City Sunrise” opens with a pensive bass solo,
morphing into a simmering vamp and groove laid with
congas and drumkit over which Harris bubbles and the
horns jostling on the choruses rather than soloing. A
delicate bolero, “The Forgotten Ones”, spreads Harris’
bed of bells for Sanchez’ pretty tenor line.
The two featured Cuban pianists pitch in one each.
Rember Duharte’s jaunty “Congo” lays down a fierce
vamp for his piano turn, Scott’s broadly gritty chorus,
more ensemble unison and snappy out-chorus with a
little vocalizing. After “Paradise Found”, a subtly
gliding unison ballad by Scott’s uncle Donald Harrison,
educes feral bleating from Sanchez and Harris’
sumptuous voice-over malletry, Harold López-Nussa’s
“La Fiesta Va” proves a stunning showcase for the
composer ’s agile montuno and daring pianistics.
The barn-like acoustics of Amadeo Roldan Hall
were pretty well tamed in by the engineers, revealing
plenty of exquisite ensemble tracery, discernible
especially in interplay between mallets and keyboard,
often with the [unidentified] bass imitating kalimba
and consistently keen postings between the
[unidentified] congueros and traps drummers.
For more information, visit concordmusicgroup.com. Stefon
Harris is at Dizzy’s Club Dec. 3rd with NYU Jazz
Orchestra. See Calendar.
Live in Hollywood
Poncho Sanchez And His Latin Jazz Band
(Concord Picante)
by Joel Roberts
P oncho Sanchez joined Concord Records in 1982 on
the recommendation of his friend and mentor Cal
Tjader. 30 years later, the conguero and bandleader is
still with the label, which is an anomaly, if not a
miracle, given all the upheaval in the music industry in
general and the jazz music business in particular over
the past three decades. To celebrate this improbable
but very welcome anniversary, Sanchez and His Latin
Jazz Band have released their 26th Concord album, a
live date recorded last summer in Hollywood.
The album neatly encapsulates Sanchez’ by-now
lengthy career, showcasing his festive, high-energy
style and his tight, seasoned octet (three horns, three
percussion, bass and keyboards) on a widely varied set
of nine numbers. The disc, like the concert it’s drawn
from, opens with “Promenade”, a rousing tune from
the pen of Musical Director and arranger Francesco
Torres, followed by a 12-minute medley of three
Sanchez originals, which features some stirring group
vocals, as well as star turns by tenor saxophonist Rob
Hardt, trumpeter Ron Francis Blake and Sanchez
himself. Next, he neatly combines two timeless tunes
in another medley, one the jazz standard “On Green
Dolphin Street”, the other “Mambo Inn”, the Latin jazz
classic from Mario Bauzá.
Elsewhere, Sanchez and guest vocalist/guitarist
George Dez put a Latin spin on some hard-edged blues
on the RG Ford tune “Crosscut Saw”. Sanchez also
pays tribute to two other mentors, offering a tender
reading of the late pianist/arranger Clare Fischer ’s
tune “Morning” and a fittingly high-octane rendition
of fellow conga master Mongo Santamaria’s “Afro
Blue”. A final highlight is the smoldering salsa of the
album closer, “Son Son Charari”.
Throughout, Sanchez and company blend bebop
and Latin rhythms, along with rock and blues
influences, seamlessly. This is danceable, irresistible,
exuberant music; a master class in Latin jazz taught by
one of the very best around.
For more information, visit concordmusicgroup.com
Conquistador
Ed Byrne’s Latin Jazz Evolution (Blue Truffle Music)
by Tom Greenland
Latin Jazz Evolution, a Boston-based combo co-led by
trombonist Ed Byrne and conguero/bonguero Carlos
Clinton, straddles the fence between concert and dance
music, a product of its history playing for both types of
audiences. Conquistador, an original set of mambos,
cha-chas, a rumba, bolero and boogaloo, all composed
and arranged by Byrne, is rendered in classic Nuyorican
style with the palpable presence of blues form and
feeling.
Byrne, tenor saxist Carl Clements and pianist
Damian Curtis are the primary soloists, who typically
deliver short but compelling choruses while the
rhythm team consists of Clinton, timbalero Esteban
Arrufatt and bassist Art “Jayko” Clinton (or else
Luques Curtis). Violinist Maureen Choi is heard on
head arrangements and background figures, briefly
joining a group improvisation during “Passing Fancy”.
The arrangements often contain interesting twists.
The title track, for example, juxtaposes a standard
mambo bass line with an 8 + 8 beat structure against a
piano montuno with a 9 + 7 structure, creating a
wrinkle in the forward momentum. On “Fenway
Funk”, Curtis continually alternates, phrase for phrase,
between acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes in the
course of his solo. “Stairway to the Blues” contains a
stepwise bassline that first descends, then ascends
over a bluesy melody. “One for Carlos”, the closing
mambo, foregoes a statement of the head melody until
the very end of the track.
If this music were bottled as hot sauce, it would
fall somewhere between suave (“mild”) and muy
picante (“hot”), packing enough zing to prickle the
tongue without watering one’s eyes.
For more information, visit bluetrufflemusic.com
Live From Stern Grove Festival
Pete Escovedo (Concord Picante)
by Suzanne Lorge
Timbale player Pete Escovedo and his son conjunto the Latin jazz band he leads - headlined at the Stern
Grove Festival’s 75th anniversary concert in San
Francisco earlier this year. This live recording not only
showcases Escovedo’s talents as a genre-defining
percussionist but reveals his mastery behind the scenes
as an arranger, songwriter and inspiring bandleader.
On the recording his 10-man ensemble (half horns,
half rhythm section) moves boldly through eight
highly charged tunes, some of them Latin classics,
some originals. Escovedo’s arrangements, full of
enticing two-part harmonies and forceful percussive
lines, propel the listener to some rousing musical
conclusions; by the end of each tune, even the slowest
among us will just want to get up and move.
Escovedo takes considerable rhythmic support
from his regular bandmates - especially sons Juan on
congas/percussion and Peter Michael on drums.
Conga player/vocalist Sheila E., Escovedo’s daughter,
also sits in on two tunes; of these, the pop-inflected
uptempo “Dance” - written by the four family members
- stands out for its happy, infectious vibe. Joe Rotondi
(piano), Marc Van Wageningen (bass) and Michael
Angel Alvarado (guitar) round out the rhythm section;
Mario Gonzales and Louis Fasman (trumpets), Kerry
Loeschen and Joel Behrman (trombones) and Melecio
Magdaluyo (sax/flute) complete the horn section.
Several other guest players fill the solos spots in
the repertoire: On “Suenos De Los Torreros”, Arturo
Sandoval sends up a riveting improv that just touches
the upper limits of the trumpet’s range; saxist Dave
Koz follows Alvarado’s raging Santana-ish guitar solo
with his more cerebral, more melodious effort on “True
or False”; guitarist Ray Obiedo’s placid groove on
Escovedo’s composition “Brasiliero” points to the
place where cool and hot can meet in Latin jazz.
Concord Picante released the CD in digital format
in September of this year. One of the things missing
from the download is the CD cover, which features
Escovedo’s original artwork. The image that Escovedo
chose for this album is that of a grey-haired man, half
light-skinned, half dark, holding up his drumsticks.
The face is expressionless, but the joy in the image is
palpable.
For more information, visit concordmusicgroup.com
Flushing Town Hall
THE CAMPBELL BROTHERS
SACRED STEEL GUITAR
SUN, DEC 2, 4 PM
$20/$15 Members/$10 Students with I.D.
“The Campbells create a unique, steel-guitardriven music called “sacred steel” that’s every
bit as earth-shattering as Johnson’s music was
in the ‘30s...” – National Public Radio
Joe Bataan
JAZZ JAM SPECIAL GUESTS:
WED, DEC 5, 7-10pm
$10/FREE for Performers, Members & Students
JOE BATAAN TENTET –
“KING OF LATIN SOUL”
SAT, DEC 8, 8 PM
Campbell Brothers
$40/$32 Members/$10 Students with I.D.
The originator of New York Latin Soul. Joe
Bataan and his band will play his classic
hits “Ordinary Guy”, “La Botella”, “Gypsy
Woman” and songs from his new CD.
ORDER TICKETS TODAy!
(718) 463-7700 x222 flushingtownhall.org
Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY 11354
Supported by National Endowment for the Arts; New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; New York City Department of Cultural
Affairs; Bloomberg Philanthropies; Con Edison; Macy’s and New York Community Bank Foundation. THE CAMPBELL BROTHERS is also funded
through the American Masterpieces program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. THE
CAMPBELL BROTHERS is part of The New York State Presenters Network Presenter-Artist Partnership Project made possible through a regrant
from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
19
JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER
SWING
UNIVERSITY
Oasis
Papo Vazquez Mighty Pirates Troubadours (Picaro)
by Russ Musto
WINTER 2013 TERM
CLASSES INCLUDE
D I S C O G R A P H Y with Ed Berger
D I Z Z Y G I L L E S P I E with Boo Frazier
J A Z Z 1 0 1 with Ben Young
J A Z Z 2 0 1 with Phil Schaap
J A Z Z 3 0 1 with Phil Schaap
dizzy gillespie Photo Courtesy of the Frank Driggs collection
Learn about jazz from the
musicians who make
the music and the scholars
who have mastered it
P apo Vazquez’ Mighty Pirates Troubadours ensemble
is the foremost progenitor of the distinctively swinging
sound that can best be described as Afro-Puerto Rican
jazz, music that finds its rhythmic impetus in the
bomba and plena forms native to the US Caribbean
island where the Philadelphia-born NEA Latino Master
Award-winning trombonist spent much of his youth.
Oasis is an ambitious excursion on which the leader ’s
septet - fellow Philadelphian saxophonist Willie
Williams sharing the frontline and a rhythm section of
Rick Germanson, Dezron Douglas and Alvester Garnett
plus percussionists Anthony Carillo and Carlos
Maldonado - is joined by guests including violinist
Regina Carter and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis.
The first four pieces on this 12-track disc clearly
demonstrate Vazquez’ allegiance to his Puerto Rican
roots. The opening bomba “Manga Larga”, a rhythmic
tour de force, adds Joel Mateo’s brake drum to the
percussion section, propelling high-flying trombone,
tenor and piano improvisations while the appealing
plena “Sol Tropical” displays the leader ’s melodic gift,
with guest pianist Benito Gonzalez’ infectious vamp
driving lyrical frontline solos. “Danzaon Don
Vázquez”, a traditional Puerto Rican danza form,
features Sherman Irby’s flute expanding the rich sonic
palette. It’s followed by a second bomba, “Que Sabes
Tu”, spotlighting African roots that reach into the
present with a Spanish language rap by poet Maikol El
Mago. The Latin percussionists lay out for two ‘pure’
jazz numbers: “Psalm 59”, a potent uptempo waltz,
and ”City of Brotherly Love”, a stirringly melancholy
ballad.
The title track is a grandly episodic expedition,
employing the string section of Regina Carter plus
Akua Dixon’s Quartette Indigo in combination with
clarinet, bass clarinet and flutes to craft an exotic
setting simultaneously traditional and original. The
string quartet remains on the affecting plena lament
“Redemption” and is heard later in the date with just
the leader on his Stravinsky-inspired “Igor ’s Mail”.
Marsalis, who is heard on three tracks - “San Juan de la
Maguana”, “Verdura de Apio/The Real McCoy” and
“Plena Drumline”, proves himself to be more than
proficient in the respective merengue, bomba and
carnival environments, adding a resounding stamp of
approval to a date that is impressive in its many facets.
For more information, visit papovazquez.com
AFTER COLTRANE, BEFORE
JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER
with Larry Ridley
CLASSES START JANUARY 7
ENROLL TODAY / 212-258-9922
JALC.ORG / SWINGU
Lead Corporate Sponsor
Orbiting
Aruán Ortiz Quartet (Fresh Sound-New Talent)
by Terrell Holmes
The defining moment on Orbiting, the excellent new
album by Cuban-born pianist Aruán Ortiz, is the
arrangement of Charlie Parker ’s watershed classic
“Koko”. While remaining true to the theme at head
and foot, the band stamps its signature on the body by
riffing on the song’s harmony and rhythm, stretching
its borders and ultimately honoring its pedigree by
challenging its structure.
Ortiz leads a remarkable quartet with guitarist
David Gilmore, bassist Rashaan Carter and drummer
Eric McPherson, a band defined by experimental
daring and a refreshing spirit of exploration. The song
“Ginga Carioca” exemplifies their interplay. Ortiz
muses on the piano as if looking for a melody and soon
the other bandmembers join him in the search. When
they finally hit on a theme they agree upon, it is
discarded at once, a point of improvisational departure
to more harmonically free pastures. In fact, throughout
the album there’s free-form playing behind solos
instead of plain mechanical comping.
The quartet feeds off of Ortiz’ impressive range as
a composer: “The Heir” is a sophisticated tune ignited
by a Bad Plus-type of vibe; the gradual crescendo of
the brooding “Numbers” builds toward something
mysterious and keeps the listener in suspense and the
straightahead “Green City” is an old-fashioned burner.
The band is also dynamite on covers, as proven by its
blistering version of Ornette Coleman’s “Wru” and the
tenderness of the chestnut “Alone Together”.
Ortiz’ piano skills are indisputable. He can play
with a humorous, open-spaced Monk-ish laconism or a
soulfulness both heartwarming and heartbreaking.
Although still young, Ortiz has clearly moved past the
‘apprentice’ phase of his development, forging a
startlingly original voice. Orbiting is the calling card of
a group of inventive, daring souls who are unbound by
musical boundaries and will push them to their limit.
For more information, visit freshsoundrecords.com
Primero Amarillo Después Malva
Lara Bello (Granada)
by Elliott Simon
Do not let the dreamy idyllic cover photo fool you
into thinking that Primero Amarillo Después Malva (First
Yellow Then Mauve) is a lilting samba-esque jaunt
through love, peace and harmony. Although a couple
of these 10 tunes lean in that direction, vocalist Lara
Bello is from Granada, Spain and has very effectively
used her city’s history to present a varied and potent
contemporary program. NYC-based pianist Luis
Perdomo is brilliant throughout, anchoring the sound
with guitarist Jean-Christophe Maillard, bassist Jorge
Roeder and drummer Franco Pinna. Perdomo and
Maillard are both exceptional at keeping up with Bello
and the diverse cast of musicians and cultures that she
throws the band’s way.
Bello’s voice can be quite touching and emotive
but she grabs your attention most when engaging
other cultures and musics head on. She brings an
in-depth understanding of her city’s Moorish past to
much of the session while guest Syrian singer Lena
Chamamyan has her own powerful vocal style
combining jazz and melismata. On “Horizonte-Yumma
Lala”, Bello adeptly partners with Chamamyan and
bandoneonist Hector del Curto to turn the traditional
Armenian folk melody into a seamless inter-cultural
mini-masterpiece. Cultural dynamics continue to
intertwine in novel ways as Brazilian percussionist
Gilmar Gomes is tapped to provide an infectious
polyrhythmical floor, allowing Bello and Perdomo to
present an upbeat “Rastro de Luz”, and Diego
Obregon’s earthy Colombian marimba creates a
charming forum for Bello and French male vocalist
Gerald Toto to engage in cross-lingual repartee.
Bello soars over the achingly beautiful combination
of a four-piece string section and Edmar Castañeda’s
Colombian harp on “Nana de Chocolate y Leche”
while flamenco taps from dancer Luis de Luis inform
the fiercely beautiful title cut as changes in floral
coloration are used to impart metaphorically the
passage of time and the cycle of life. With Primero
Amarillo Después Malva, Bello has shown that she is not
only a dynamic vocal stylist but also a creative voice
for musical cultural harmony.
For more information, visit jazzgranada.es
The Skyline Session
Olegario Diaz Quintet (SteepleChase)
by Tom Greenland
J ourneyman jazzer Olegario Diaz hails from Venezuela,
but has been part of the New York scene for at least a
quarter century, playing various keyboards for a
number of Latin artists since the late ‘70s. The Skyline
Session is a blowing date in the tradition of vintage
Verve recordings: a setlist of jazz and Great American
Songbook standards, plus a couple of originals, no
rehearsal, then ready, set, go. Diaz assembled an
allstar cast composed of Randy Brecker (trumpet), Rich
Perry (tenor sax), Ron McClure (bass) and Lewis Nash
(drums) - Perry and McClure were on Diaz’ previous
SteepleChase date Having Fun - and the mood is just
what you’d expect: confident and competent
improvisation that takes just enough chances within
the mainstream formula to keep curious listeners
occupied.
Diaz’ piano style consists of halting phrases that
build logically, organically, with a few surprises, heard
to best effect on Thelonious Monk’s “Eronel”, Victor
Young’s “A Weaver of Dreams” (the latter taken at an
unusually fast clip) and on Diaz’ own samba, “Rosa del
Viento”. Brecker is in fine form throughout, enlivening
his lines with half-valvings and pinched tones, creating
fluid, unforced momentum on “You Are My
Everything” and “You Stepped Out of a Dream”. Perry
meanders with a purpose on Diaz’ “Easy Come Easy
Go”, then bobs and weaves over “Eronel”. McClure
takes two solos with strong melodic curves on “You
Are My Everything” and on “Eronel”. Nash,
meanwhile, lives up to his considerable reputation:
swinging masterfully over Wayne Shorter ’s “Black
Nile”; trading inspired four-bar phrases on “Black
Nile”, “You Stepped Out of a Dream”, “Just Friends”
and “A Weaver of Dreams” and, in general, playing
like he’s having fun.
For more information, visit steeplechase.dk
21
Eponymous
Pretty Monsters
(Public Eyesore)
Releasing Bound Water...
Katherine Young
(Prom Night)
by Clifford Allen
Merging populist threads with an experimental
palette rarely serves either approach well - for every
Arthur Russell or Laurie Anderson, there are countless
artists and composers who come up short. But Chicagobased bassoonist Katherine Young luckily finds herself
in the former category with participation in chamber
ensembles Till By Turning and Architeuthis Walks on
Land and off-kilter pop group The Fancy.
Pretty Monsters is a hybrid quartet bringing
together noise-rock, chamber music and free improv;
in addition to Young, the group consists of violinist
Erica Dicker, drummer Mike Pride and guitarist Owen
Stewart-Robinson. The cyclical “Patricia Highsmith”
(a highlight of Young’s solo disc Further Secret Origins)
is rendered with slinky undertow, lunkheaded beats
colliding with fractured and skittering guitar (StewartRobinson is a no-wave blues revelation here) and
mated with swooping ponticello bowing and low,
reedy blats. Young’s bassoon is not always in the
foreground; frequently, she supports higher-pitched
statements from guitar and violin with droning warble
or a patchwork of live electronics and loops. “For
Autonauts, For Travelers” is an opportunity to hear
her carve out a broad instrumental section as a soloist
with an agitated supporting atmosphere. A solid
vehicle for collective structure and Young’s
compositional ideas, this is an impressive debut.
Releasing Bound Water from Green Material is a suite
for three percussionists (playing notated music) and
improvising ensemble, generated collaboratively with
filmmaker Michael Kenney. Fluttering brass and reeds
swirl around a plaintive synthesizer progression, with
Young’s bassoon gurgle and trumpeter Jacob Wick’s
disembodied chuffs and kisses. Both ensemble
improvisations are short and bookend “Capacity”, the
longer percussion piece - though Young doesn’t play
on it, the composer ’s hand is quite clear. A dark
shimmer is pervasive, fluttering tonal modulations
pierced by incisive actions at seemingly loose intervals.
Kenney’s grainy, striated shots of a swimming turtle
mirror the movement of the percussionists, small flecks
appearing amidst lingering slabs gradually developing
into an intricate web of actions. It will be interesting to
see how Young develops as a composer in addition to
her already clear improvising/bandleading mettle.
For more information, visit publiceyesore.com and
promnightrecords.com. Pretty Monsters is at Douglass
Street Music Collective Dec. 1st. See Calendar.
Confluence
Dave Phillips & Freedance (Innova)
by Ken Waxman
After
over a decade of recording together, bassist
Dave Phillips and his Freedance ensemble has evolved
a distinctive sound that shows off each member to his
best advantage. But often there is little diversity from
track to track, making the disc sound like eight
variations on a single theme.
Phillips composed all the tunes here, never shying
away from the mainstream and emphasizing melodies
and clean instrumental interplay. Each of the regular
quartet members - alto saxophonist John O’Gallagher,
guitarist Rez Abbasi and drummer Tony Moreno performs with nothing less than sympathetic
interaction. The most common thematic strategy
involves blending O’Gallagher ’s lyrical patterns with
Abbasi’s power chording as the others periodically
decorate the narrative. One would suspect that pianist
Jon Werking and percussionist Glen Fitten are added to
provide more tonal colors, but except in a couple of
instances, it’s more a case of accentuating the alreadypresent textures.
Relaxed and confident and possessing a certain
charm in consistency, it still sounds as if no one is
raising a sweat during the performances. This
regularity soon hardens into formula though, with
very little outside of a slight tempo change on say,
“RT”, or Phillips’ moderated pizzicato lines on
“Mistral”, to distinguish one tune from another. That
way when Fitten’s tambourine smacks move to
foreground on “Tanchjaz” or the hint of a Latin beat
appears during the exposition of “Cricket Song”, the
variances appear monumental.
“Cricket Song” and “Gathering Rain” come across
as the most memorable performances. On the former,
alongside conga bounces, staccato acoustic guitar lines
are notably dexterous when paired with bass strings
snaps and smooth sax runs. On the latter, a soupçon of
tension is initially advanced, with rapid strumming
from both string players creating an underlying buzz.
Soon, however, rapid guitar picking and arching bass
bow work downshift to a more moderated theme
statement. Confluence has little trouble reflecting the
‘dance’ portion of the band’s name. The ‘free’
designation is more problematic.
For more information, visit innova.mu. This band is at
ShapeShifter Lab Dec. 1st. See Calendar.
Don’t Look Back (featuring Eric Reed)
Mary Stallings (HighNote)
by Alex Henderson
San Francisco-based jazz vocalist Mary Stallings was
72 when, in November 2011, she recorded Don’t Look
Back after finishing a weeklong engagement at Dizzy’s
Club joined by the cohesive trio of pianist Eric Reed,
bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Carl Allen. Don’t
Look Back was produced by Reed and also uses his
tasteful bop arrangements.
By their 70s, many singers are past their prime,
lacking the vocal power they once had. But the Carmen
McRae-influenced Stallings hasn’t lost any of her
vitality, vocal power or charisma. She is in fine form on
an interesting mixture of songs, ranging from Gordon
Parks’ “Don’t Misunderstand” and Mal Waldron’s
“Soul Eyes” to no less than three Benny Carter staples
(“When Lights Are Low”, “Key Largo” and “People
Time”). Another highlight is the six-minute “Goodbye
Medley”, which finds Stallings uniting Cole Porter ’s
“Every Time We Say Goodbye” and Gordon Jenkins’
“Goodbye”, recalling Jimmy Scott’s torchy melancholy.
Anyone who wants to be a great traditional jazz
singer must convey the feeling of the blues, not a
problem for Stallings. She is as bluesy on the Walter
Donaldson/Gus Kahn standard “Love Me or Leave
Me” as she is on Reed’s “Mary’s Blues”, even if the
former isn’t a 12-bar blues but instead a traditional
pop/Tin Pan Alley favorite from the late ‘20s.
Half a century has passed since Stallings caught
the jazz world’s attention with Cal Tjader Plays, Mary
Stallings Sings. Don’t Look Back makes it clear that she is
still very much on top of her game.
For more information, visit jazzdepot.com. This group is at
Dizzy’s Club Dec. 1st-2nd. See Calendar.
UNEARTHED GEM
First Date (Live at the third annual Vision Festival)
The Joe McPhee Trio (CjR Records)
by Marc Medwin
“I’d
like to introduce a very beautiful trio,” the
voice at the 1998 Vision Festival announced. So
opened the first gig by a group whose concerts are
loved worldwide, though, if these and other notes
ring true, they were all but ignored at the start.
At this inaugural outing, the trio had not yet
developed the unique approach encompassing
improvisation and quotation that would become so
integral to the group aesthetic. Despite this, their
approach to collective music making is remarkably
similar in terms of listening and communication.
Already, they demonstrate the spot-on reflexes and
intuitive dialogue that their fans have come to
expect. McPhee’s trumpet playing is especially good
and one could be forgiven for believing that it was
his main instrument. Nonetheless, what would
become Trio X also traversed musical plains in those
early days that would not be explored again, such as
the sounds on the four-minute second track “Second
of Three”. Despite this, as the third part of the suite
jangles in on Jay Rosen’s percussion and Joe
McPhee’s heavily vibrated tenor, bassist Dominic
Duval fully supporting every gesture, the unified
vibe could not be stronger. It is not merely the 20/20
hindsight afforded by technology, as in a very real
sense the group’s interactive playing has only
deepened rather than improved.
Perhaps even more fascinating is the only
studio recording made outside of their normal
haunt, CIMP’s Spirit Room. Rediscovered and
presented here as a bonus track, the 2004 sound is
quite different than that on any other Trio X disc. It’s
somehow fuller but without the huge dynamic
range afforded by CIMP, a recording philosophy
that is especially detrimental to Rosen’s huge
arsenal of timbres. That said, there’s some
astonishing music on offer, some of it approaching a
volcanic eruption. Duval is absolutely on fire, fairly
far afield from his introspective arco and pizzicato
of recent years.
This is an excellent slab of music, but as a
document of a birth in progress, it is invaluable.
For more information, visit cadencebuilding.com.
McPhee is at Angel Orensanz Center Dec. 4th as part of
Under_Line Benefit Launch. See Calendar.
Pound Cake
Ted Brown/Kirk Knuffke (SteepleChase)
by Duck Baker
This record stands out from the solid fare that
SteepleChase is known for, owing to the presence of
the great Ted Brown on tenor saxophone. Now in his
eighth decade as a professional musician, Brown looks
and sounds ready to work for at least a couple more.
Brown’s frontline partner here is cornetist Kirk
Knuffke, a well-grounded player whose style is a little
hotter than cool and a little cooler than hardbop and
who can also evoke earlier stylists like Bobby Hackett
and such modernists as Dave Douglas. Knuffke favors
long melodic lines that he breaks up with double-time
bursts or punctuates with smears and he also displays
an impish sense of humor. It’s a joy to hear the cornet
on tunes like Brown’s “Jazz of Two Cities” and
“Featherbed”, long twisty lines in the Lennie Tristanoschool tradition, because, for whatever reason, brass
players have not often been heard playing in this style.
If we think of early records by Tristano-ites, it was
usually all saxes, as it was when Warne Marsh and
Brown first recorded “Jazz of Two Cities” in 1956. At
that point, Brown’s style represented a sort of middle
ground between that of Marsh and Lester Young’s
cool-school disciples and this remains true. The
influence of Young seems even stronger than before
and Brown has developed a tendency to ride over and
around the rhythm that is subtle and very attractive.
The two horns complement each other well and
the piano-less quartet leaves things nice and open.
Drummer Matt Wilson uses all the shades on his
timbral palette to color the background and bassist
John Hébert holds the bottom down admirably, filling
up the void left by the absence of chordal
accompaniment without overdoing it.
‘Round Midnight is a testament to the enduring
appeal of swing, of that steady, uplifting, lilting, mostly
4/4 feel that imbues the jazz mainstream with
exhilarating momentum. All but the ballad title tune
are swingers here, ranging from barnburner to elevated
heartbeat tempo and the two tenors negotiate the
swing with élan and gusto. They are also very convivial
throughout, trading phrases and leads, weaving in
solo tandem and expanding and complementing each
other ’s lines, phrases and solo turns. Their mutual
inspiration is the mirror quintet of tenors Al Cohn and
Zoot Sims and like those, it is sometimes hard here to
distinguish one tenor from another, especially in the
heat of fast exchanges. “The Opener”, a tune Bill Potts
wrote for Cohn and Sims, is a highlight, as is Eddie
“Lockjaw” Davis’ “Hey Lock!”, a piece he wrote for the
mirror quintet he co-led with Johnny Griffin. There’s
also the irresistible, easy swaying swing of the unjustly
neglected “How Am I To Know” and a lesson in how to
swing bossa on “Baubles, Bangles and Beads”.
The mainstream vibe on Greg Abate’s CD tilts
toward bop, as might be expected when half the album
features one of the last of the original Charlie Parker
acolytes in Woods. Unlike the tenors, there’s not much
give and take between the altos here, with each soloing
and little trading, except at the end of “Roger Over and
Out” and “Carmel by the Sea”. An altos high-point is
the recorded debut of Woods’ “Goodbye Mr. Pepper”,
a dedication to Art Pepper with a Latin feel and fine
emoting from both saxophonists. Woods indulges in
some witty swoops on “Rocco’s Place”, with Abate on
baritone, a sax he also plays to advantage on John
Patrick’s ballad, “Marny”. Woods is paired with
Abate’s flute on a winning, fast bossa, “J.A.G.” and
Abate features that, as well as soprano, alto and
baritone saxes on his various quartet tracks.
For more information, visit challengerecords.com and
rhombus-records.com. Phil Woods is at Birdland Dec.
4th-8th. See Calendar.
The continuous performance exists in a state of
constant change. The music is often quite dense, as it is
rare that fewer than three of the four players are
playing at a given moment. That said, it is hard to
imagine a more astute level of interaction, listening,
and responding. The near-constant shifts in texture
and mood are possible mainly because the players
have such an amazing ability not only to anticipate
each other ’s ideas, but make room for it without any
discernible shift in momentum.
For more information, visit leorecords.com. Léandre is at
Angel Orensanz Center Dec. 4th as part of Under_Line
Benefit Launch and Roulette Dec. 5th. See Calendar.
New Release
2012
The first performance of
the trio that became Trio X
The Joe McPhee Trio
FIRST DATE
For more information, visit steeplechase.dk. This project is
at The Drawing Room Dec. 2nd. See Calendar.
Live at the third annual Vision Festival
MMM (Live at the Metz’ Arsenal)
Joëlle Léandre/Fred Frith/Alvin Curran/
Urs Leimgruber (Leo)
by Wilbur MacKenzie
‘Round Midnight
Harry Allen/Scott
Hamilton (Challenge)
Featuring Phil Woods
Greg Abate Quintet
(Rhombus)
by George Kanzler
Mirror quintets featuring two musicians playing the
same instrument with a rhythm section were
popularized in jazz in the ‘50s, but their appeal still
beckons today. Two tenor saxophonists in the swing
tradition of Lester Young and the Four Brothers, Harry
Allen and Scott Hamilton, share the frontline on ‘Round
Midnight while Phil Woods, an alto saxophonist who
was in the vanguard of mirror quintets with fellow alto
Gene Quill a half century ago, pairs up with Greg
Abate on five of the ten tracks of his CD (although only
three are alto duets), a quartet session for the remainder.
Aside from an Allen original, ‘Round Midnight sticks to
standards and tunes written for mirror quintets while
Abate’s album consists of originals, all but two by him.
It is a special moment when a meeting of distinguished
and very creative individuals can assemble and from
the first moment produce results that completely
transcend even the highest of expectations. Such is the
case with MMM, convened by renowned bassist Joëlle
Léandre and including pioneering electronic musician
Alvin Curran, genre-crossing guitarist Fred Frith and
saxophonist Urs Leimgruber.
Leimgruber and Léandre, whose virtuosic bass
playing is on constant display, have the most experience
working together; it is profoundly evident how much
these artists comprehend each other ’s vocabularies.
Curran, veteran of groundbreaking ‘60s ensemble
Musica Elettronica Viva, on both sampler and piano
here, conjures everything from delicate Erik Satieesque delicacy to expertly placed snippets of werewolf
calls, car crashes, orchestral quotes, even hip-hop.
Frith’s history is as diverse as Curran’s arsenal of
samples. His work in the ‘70s with Henry Cow and in
the late ‘80s with Tom Cora and John Zorn leaves little
musical ground uncovered, yet he has filled the last
quarter century with all manner of new musical
concepts.
Joe McPhee
tenor and soprano saxophones and pocket trumpet
Dominic Duval
bass
Jay Rosen
drums
North Country Distributors
Cadence Building, Redwood, NY 13679-3104
Tel: 315-287-2852 s Fax: 315-287-2860
Email: [email protected]
23
Hippin’
Connie Crothers & Alexis Parsons (New Artists)
by Kurt Gottschalk
V ocalist
Alexis Parsons is well seated in the jazz
tradition. Her previous record was a set of wideranging takes on standards accompanied by pianist
Frank Kimbrough. One can sense the influence of
theatrical and art songs and perhaps even the phonetics
of her Greek and Swedish heritage.
Her second recording is another duo with a pianist
and her playing partner couldn’t be a better choice.
Like Parsons, Connie Crothers has a unique way of
extending the jazz language without abandoning it,
often recalling romantic elegance of Chopin, Elgar or
Schumann but with the punctuated underpinnings of
her mentor Lennie Tristano. Together they have crafted
a spirited and inventive record.
There is a throwback feeling to their duets at
times; Parson’s wordless vocals would not have been
out of place alongside the avant garde art songs of the
‘70s. But she’s able to go there and come back again.
She nicely borrows snatches of “It Ain’t Necessarily
So” (from Porgy and Bess) in “Stranger” and the pair
resolves the record with a wonderful take on “Wild is
the Wind”, a song that already bears the fingerprints of
Johnny Mathis, Nina Simone and David Bowie. But the
two find their own way through it with Crothers’
simply elegant phrasing and the most vulnerable
vocals Parsons delivers in the set, focusing on the
poetry of the words and almost whispering the melody.
Singer-with-piano-accompaniment isn’t often a
pairing of equals, but Parsons and Crothers approach
it as a couple of instrumentalists, moving in and out of
themes, playing together and apart with ease. Hippin’
is a fresh setting of jazz classicism.
For more information, visit newartistsrecords.com. Parsons
is at Metropolitan Room Dec. 5th. Crothers is at Angel
Orensanz Center Dec. 4th as part of Under_Line Benefit
Launch. See Calendar.
Casting for Gravity
Donny McCaslin (Greenleaf Music)
by Tom Greenland
Casting for Gravity is a benchmark in tenor saxophonist
Donny McCaslin’s career, his tenth date as a leader and
third for Dave Douglas’ Greenleaf label with David
Binney producing, a more-than-able-bodied effort
from a master of his craft but somehow lacking the ‘it
factor ’. Returning from his previous outing, Perpetual
Motion, are electric bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer
Mark Guiliana, with Jason Lindner sitting in on the
keyboard stool and this effort follows form in its
exploration of electricity and electronica, layering
repetitive tune structures with synthesized pads.
Cuts like “Says Who”, “Losing Track of Daytime”,
the title track and “Tension” sound like Herbie
Hancock’s Thrust-era funkathons, Guiliana laying
down a shifting backbeat recalling Tower of Power ’s
David Garibaldi, adding fills that push and pull on the
pocket. On “Alpha & Omega”, in contrast, McCaslin’s
bounce-echoed tenor sets up a rave-beat loop, suddenly
interrupted by prog-metal power riffs, while “Bend”
has a limping hocket pattern that sounds as if the bass
and drums are playing in a parallel rhythmic reality.
There are fine moments: McCaslin’s soloing on
“Tension”, “Praia Grande” and “Henry” are up to
anyone’s standards, combustive yet cohesive
statements rife with intelligence and intensity,
cascading sequences and double-decker melodies
crowned by swooping runs, peppery bursts and subtle
tone shading; while the latter half of “Love Song for an
Echo” is a paragon of group simpatico, Lindner ’s
acoustic piano solo a welcome respite from the Star
Wars sound effects in orbit elsewhere. McCaslin is
casting for something truly anthemic here, a jazz sound
unbound by the bare brick walls of intimate clubs.
For more information, visit greenleafmusic.com. This
project is at Jazz Standard Dec. 4th-5th. See Calendar.
Questionable Creatures
Matthew Silberman (DeSoto Sound Factory)
by Sharon Mizrahi
Matthew Silberman captures a saga as sound in
Questionable Creatures. The tenor saxist and his four
bandmates traverse across several distinct themes
throughout the record, exploring both harmony and
discord in eight provocative compositions.
Dark sparks fly between Silberman and guitarist
Ryan Ferreira in “Ghost of the Prairie”, as they jolt into
a tense dialogue augmented by electronic knocks and
screeches. Long, jagged sequences follow low,
repetitive refrains, until Silberman interjects. His
changes in pitch occur with hypnotic regularity, akin
to an aural zigzag between two compelling extremes.
The intensity heightens as drummer Tommy Crane sets
a vibrant rhythm into motion.
Following the bout of musical fireworks,
Christopher Tordini preps the band for “The Battle at
Dawn” with his pensive opening bass sequence. Crane
spares a few stray cymbal wisps in the distant
background before tumbling into an understated yet
resonant rhythm. And just as subtly, Greg Ruggiero
fades in on electric guitar, conjuring a cool jazz vibe
with a touch of serene bossa nova undertones. Between
the guitarist’s solos, Silberman opens fire in the form
of outspoken brassiness. But Ruggiero joins him on the
frontlines, echoing the tenor saxist’s energetic streams
of thought.
Though guitar and tenor sax also trail one another
in “Dream Machine”, silence and space serve as the
groundwork for this airy piece. Crane brushes across
his cymbals and scatters the aural dust while Silberman
explores rich intricacies. The tune resembles an aural
nest, comprised of twigs of sound. “The Process” also
resembles the piecing together of musical parts - yet
the band’s result appears more concrete this time,
evolving into a complex conversation among Ruggiero,
Ferreira and Silberman. Most intriguingly, however,
Crane and Tordini also slip into a reflective dialogue,
complementing the brass-guitar trio with their own
subtle brand of dynamism.
For more information, visit desotoinc.com. Silberman is at
Rockwood Music Hall Dec. 4th. See Calendar.
I Don’t Hear Nothin’ But The Blues, Vol. 2:
Appalachian Haze Jon Irabagon (Irrabagast)
Unhinged Jon Irabagon’s Outright! (Irrabagast)
Reunion: Live in New York
Sam Rivers/Dave Holland/Barry Altschul (Pi)
by Stuart Broomer
by Jeff Stockton
In 2007, WKCR presented a week-long tribute to Sam
Rivers, culminating in a reunion concert at the Miller
Theatre by River ’s greatest band, the trio with bassist
Dave Holland and drummer Barry Altschul that had
played together from 1972-78. As annotator Brent
Hayes Edwards points out, the recorded evidence of
the trio was scant, just two LPs - The Quest and Paragon
- as well as Holland’s extraordinary Conference of the
Birds from 1972 with Anthony Braxton added, uniting
the trio with the Braxton Quartet of which Holland and
Altschul were also members.
Rivers was 83 years old at the time of this
recording, but you wouldn’t guess it from the vigor of
his performance. Each CD is devoted to a continuous
free improvisation. Typical of the trio’s earlier practice,
each set ranges through different tempos and harmonic
approaches with Rivers cycling through his instruments
as well, from tenor saxophone to soprano to flute. The
first set opens with Rivers on tenor, creating dense
lines of harmonic and rhythmic information, filled
with sudden interval leaps, each of them charged with
significance. Before long he slips into a warm and
lyrical approach, a sudden tenor ballad. Holland and
Altschul are engaged with Rivers in a three-way
dialogue in which each one’s input continuously
directs the shape of the unfolding music. It’s especially
good to hear Holland improvising and soloing at
length. He’s a great bass player yet seldom in the
foreground in projects that emphasize his compositions.
While the first set contains long solos, the shorter
second set emphasizes sustained group interplay.
Rivers’ initial choice of flute emphasizes both Holland’s
developed lyricism and Altschul’s subtle exploration
of pitch. However, when Rivers turns to tenor - always
his most distinctive voice, whether blistering, cajoling
or pensive - the performance reaches its most
concentrated levels of interplay and creativity: they’re
as engaged in moments of quiet reflection and
transition as they are in the gathering storms. This set
is a fitting tribute to Rivers, one of the great improvisers.
Almost
everything you read about tenor/alto/
soprano saxophonist Jon Irabagon mentions that in
2008 he won the Thelonious Monk Saxophone
Competition. This tells you that he has a great
command of and facility with his instrument. What it
doesn’t quite prepare you for is how far his playing,
composing and concept range across the musical
spectrum. He plays straightahead as well as free. His
tunes incorporate elements of hardbop, avant garde,
jazz balladry, Latin jazz, hip-hop, hard rock and even
dashes of metal. He’s young, he’s energetic, he’s filled
with ideas and he’s busy. In addition to his own bands,
he’s a member of guitarist Mary Halvorson’s highly
regarded quintet as well as a key member of Mostly
Other People Do the Killing, arguably the hottest band
on the New York scene. In many respects, Irabagon
represents the future of jazz. A man who lives in his
times, he blends his eclectic tastes and massive
technique into an exciting and accessible mixture.
The first volume of I Don’t Hear Nothin’ But The
Blues was a 47-minute uninterrupted improvised duet
with drummer Mike Pride, which gave the pair the
opportunity to test some of the motifs they had been
working on together. And since the sax/drum duo is a
form familiar to jazz listeners, the disc served as a
showcase for Irabagon’s style and attack, as well as a
forum for Pride’s impressive stick work. Volume 2,
subtitled Appalachian Haze, is a “follow-up in every
way”, according to Irabagon. This time, however, tenor
and drums are joined by electric guitarist Mick Barr,
who shreds and melts faces for the majority of the
program while Irabagon keeps pace alongside and
Pride bashes away in the background. Without let-up,
it makes for a challenging listen.
With Unhinged we get the bandleader and musician
we know and love. Here Irabagon is joined by his core
quintet, rounded out by Jacob Sacks on a variety of
keyboards, the great John Hébert on bass, drummer
Tom Rainey and, most notably, trumpeter Ralph Alessi,
who serves as the key performer in many of this disc’s
most bracing moments. On the Latinized “Lola
Pastillas”, the band states the melody, Irabagon solos
and Alessi leads a free-for-all to the finish line. “Charles
Barkley” is a feature for Alessi in Miles Davis-mode,
supported by a walking bass, plinking piano and
rolling drums before the performance turns back to
Irabagon, like a honking Wayne Shorter. The Zappaesque “Krem2eek!” features a scalding electric guitar
solo from Glenn Alexander while Paul Desmond’s
“Take Five” is rendered unrecognizable via waves of
Coltrane-inspired arpeggios, cascading piano and
roiling malleted percussion and cymbal crashes. “Silent
Smile” begins with Hébert in the spotlight and its
Outright! Jazz Orchestra balladry brings Charlie
Haden to mind, a half-remembered melody gradually
resolving into a wall of sound, with Alessi and Irabagon
in counterpoint bursting through. Finally, “Parker
Posey” brings the program to a rousing finish, its brash
‘40s swagger layered with a millennial sensibility.
For more information, visit jonirabagon.com. The inaugural
Irrabagast Records Festival is at Cornelia Street Café Dec.
6th-7th, with Jon Irabagon/Mike Pride/Mick Barr Dec. 6th
and Jon Irabagon’s Outright! Dec. 7th. See Calendar.
For more information, visit pirecordings.com. Barry
Altschul is at Cornelia Street Café Dec. 6th with Jon
Irabagon. Dave Holland is at Jazz Standard Dec. 13th-16th
in duo with Kenny Barron. See Calendar.
Sakura Akiko Tsuruga (American Showplace Music)
Celebration Tony Monaco (Chicken Coup)
Music for Organ Sextette
Brian Charette (SteepleChase)
by Donald Elfman
Though the jazz organ is still often unfairly viewed as
a novelty instrument fit either for a skating rink or a
greasy blues bar, it’s evident from titles like the
following that the instrument is a vital element in
innovative modern music. Though very different in
approach, these younger practitioners all demonstrate
that their instrument is not to be taken for granted.
Funky sax and organ music from a Japanese
woman? You bet your life. Akiko Tsuruga is the real
deal and she breathes fresh yet familiar life into this
popular format with Sakura.
What better way to demonstrate a comfort zone
with her adopted home in New York than by opening
with a blues? It’s “Sweet Yam Potato”, down-home
slow cooking. When first hearing Tsuruga, it is clear
immediately why people such as Lou Donaldson and
Dr. Lonnie Smith are so high on her talents. She’s all
over her instrument with show-stopping bravura that
finds her digging into the tradition but making it fresh
and engaging. There’s so much music on this disc originals by the organist including the lovely title
track, standards and pop tunes. Highlights are the
briskly swinging take on Wes Montgomery’s “S.O.S.”
and Tsuruga’s supremely grooving “Showman’s
Boogaloo”, in which guitarist Bob DeVos rocks out
against Tsuruga’s full-powered organ show. And
there’s even a nod to an early Japanese hit song in the
USA, “Sukiyaki”, on which Tsuruga rocks with an even
happier bounce than the 1961 Kyu Sakamoto original.
Celebration is truly an ambitious undertaking, two
discs of organ music by Ohio’s Tony Monaco. It’s got
ballads, blues, cookers and even a spiritual tune with
three choirs. Monaco brings along drummer Jason
Brown from employer Pat Martino’s band and together
with guitarist Derek DiCenzo, saxophonist Ken Fowser
and drummer Reggie Jackson thrusts the classic organand-tenor group to the forefront.
An intriguing treat is the piece for choirs, “Just
Give Thanks and Praise”. It’s a rollicking song of joy
all the way, with Monaco prodding the Columbus
Choir Singers, Tuscia in Jazz Vocal Singers and The
School at Church Farm High School Music Choir to do
as the title suggests. “I’ll Remember Jimmy” is a
moving and soulful tribute to Jimmy Smith and it
shows Monaco has learned lessons from the masters
yet brought his own sensibility to them. The second
disc is a collection of highlights from Monaco’s
recordings and includes a large handful of players and
guests like Joey DeFrancesco, Adam Nussbaum, Donny
McCaslin and Kenny Rampton. Monaco is a force of
nature, a talented and dynamic writer, leader and
performer who comes at you with all burners.
Brian Charette’s Music for Organ Sextette is yet
another step in finding different settings for the
Hammond B3. The music is smart and diverse - all the
tunes are by the organist - and the combination of
organ, drums and four reeds expressively gives voice
to fresh sounds. Charette has a tight, controlled
approach to his instrument and also a terrific sense,
sometimes rare in an organist, of space and even when
and what not to play.
The music has soul, humor, warmth and a sense of
adventure, clearly written with the four horns in mind
(Jay Collins: flute, baritone saxophone, tambourine;
Mike DiRubbo: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone;
Joel Frahm: tenor saxophone; John Ellis: bass clarinet).
On “Late Night TV”, for example, he pays funky
homage to players who earn a living by playing for
television. And on “Fugue for Kathleen Anne” Charette
opens with a paean to Bach, a personal hero; the horns
plays a gorgeous ensemble fugue and then each soloist
plays variations. Charette also pays tribute to Olivier
Messiaen, gospel hymns (though for an agnostic) and
more. Charette, as a composer, player and thinker, has
delivered a gem.
For more information, visit showplacerecordingstudionj.com,
summitrecords.com and steeplechase.dk. Tsuruga is at The
Garage Dec. 8th and Blue Note Dec. 16th. Charette is at Smalls
Dec. 28th-29th with Mike DiRubbo. See Calendar.
25
Songs I Like A lot
John Hollenbeck (Sunnyside)
by Robert Iannapollo
In the ten years he’s been issuing recordings under his
own name, percussionist John Hollenbeck’s outlets
have included The Claudia Quintet, an unusual hybrid
of jazz/chamber music/art rock, The John Hollenbeck
Large Ensemble, boasting some of New York’s finest,
and major works recorded with European big bands. The disarmingly titled Songs I Like A Lot was
recorded with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band,
augmented by pianist/keyboardist Gary Versace and
singers Theo Bleckmann (who with Hollenbeck and
Versace form The Refuge Trio) and Kate McGarry. The
songs are a varied group: two by Jimmy Webb,
traditional folk song “Man Of Constant Sorrow”,
Ornette Coleman’s “All My Life”, Queen’s “Bicycle
Race” and songs by electronic pop artists Imogen Heap
and Nobukazu Takemura. The arrangements are
lengthy (half are near the ten minute mark or above)
and intricately structured without being overly fussy.
Hollenbeck conducts and limits himself to mallet
percussion
and
bicycle.
Drummer
Jean-Paul
Hochstadter fills the main percussionist role admirably.
Having been mentored by the late Bob Brookmeyer,
Hollenbeck has learned his lessons well, as made clear
by the warm brass and reed voicings on “Wichita
Lineman” (a stunning track and perfect opener). But
Hollenbeck’s vision isn’t merely imitative, frequently
handling the songs in unexpected ways. “Man Of
Constant Sorrow” is given a driving rhythm track with
blaring horns and dual tenor sax solos. “Bicycle Race”
has a bicycle solo (naturally) by the leader. One of the
most intriguing tracks is Takemura’s “Falls Lake” with
its wah-wahing horns, distorted vocals and the clarinet
of Oliver Leicht laced throughout. The singers are well
chosen, with Kate McGarry’s unusual mixture of folkish timbre and jazz phrasing working well, especially
on the Webb songs, while Bleckmann seems to have a
way of getting into a song and taking it in an unexpected
direction. They also blend wonderfully.
Hollenbeck has delivered a gem, building on
previous successes and pointing towards the future.
For more information, visit sunnysiderecords.com.
Hollenbeck’s Big Band with Theo Bleckmann and Kate
McGarry is at Roulette Dec. 10th. See Calendar.
Believe
The Cookers (Motéma Music)
by Sean O’Connell
The liner notes to the newest release from The Cookers
refers to pianist George Cables, bassist Cecil McBee,
drummer Billy Hart, saxophonist Billy Harper and
trumpeter Eddie Henderson as “damn near jazz
royalty”. How modest. These men are kings though
and what is so refreshing about this album (their third
release as a unit) is how they play with the force of
musicians nearly half their age.
As a sort-of hardbop Expendables, this septet has
the grizzled life experience to imbue any tune with a
meaty sense of swing. The group is rounded out by a
couple action stars in their own right but with a little
less grey. Trumpeter David Weiss brought the group
together while alto saxist Craig Handy lends a little
fire and mid-range honk.
The album, except for a brisk and faithful reading
of Wayne Shorter ’s Messengers-era “Free For All”, is
entirely penned by the band. Harper contributes two
tunes, including the dense album opener “Believe, For
It Is True”. The four horns swing a breathless line as
Cables pulses with a Hancock-esque mid ‘60s nautical
vibe. Cables also provides a pair of originals including
“Ebony Moonbeams”. Not to be left out, McBee
provides two of his own lines; “Tight Squeeze” is a
brisk, off-kilter tune that gives Hart a nice chance to
shine. The band goes out with Hart’s lone contribution,
“Naaj”, as an upbeat jaunt that best embodies the
band’s name.
The final product is a comforting slice of hardbop
that delivers on its expectations. This isn’t just a
blowing session but a working band with a great book
of original tunes. These men have formed a solid
ensemble, which provides a lot of space for solo voices,
all who make the most of it.
For more information, visit motema.com. This band is at
92YTribeca Dec. 12th. See Calendar.
Enter D iscount Code “nycjazz” at
checkout to receive 10% off your total
order
Offer Valid Until 1/1/13
Live at Kitano
Frank Kimbrough Trio (Palmetto)
by Ken Dryden
A
veteran of over three decades on the jazz scene,
Frank Kimbrough has created a style that draws from
many influences, among them Bill Evans, Andrew Hill
and Paul Bley, to name just a few. This live recording
from the Kitano Hotel features the pianist with bassist
Jay Anderson and the in-demand drummer Matt
Wilson, recorded over two nights in 2011. The Kitano
is a listener ’s space, with the combination of a firstrate piano, excellent acoustics and attentive, quiet
audiences helping bands focus on their music.
Kimbrough’s preference is to play sets without a
prepared setlist, with only minimal discussion of
possible songs. His delicate, whimsical take of bassist
Oscar Pettiford’s “Blues in the Closet” features great
interplay, Anderson given plenty of space to show off.
The trio’s superb interpretation of Paul Motian’s
moody ballad “Arabesque” has a sense of longing,
with Kimbrough’s poignant playing buoyed by
Anderson’s conversational lines and Wilson’s soft
percussion. Andrew Hill’s “Dusk”, which blends a
quirky, repetitious theme with an infectious Caribbean
rhythm, is a masterful selection, the trio gradually
unveiling an increasing complex improvisation. Duke
Ellington’s beautiful “The Single Petal of A Rose” is
overplayed by many interpreters, but Kimbrough
chooses to stay somewhat in the background by
playing a shimmering improvised line, with Anderson
carrying its theme. And it would seem that there would
be no new territory to explore on “Lover Man” yet
Kimbrough’s lyrical, slightly obtuse rendition proves
otherwise. The leader ’s originals are just as
invigorating, particularly his joyful “Falling Waltz”
and the lumbering “Hymn”, which combines elements
of blues and gospel in a jagged, playful setting.
For more information, visit palmetto-records.com. This trio
is at Jazz at Kitano Dec. 14th. See Calendar.
Different Times
Frode Gjerstad/Nick Stephens (Loose Torque)
by John Sharpe
The combination of reeds and bass first achieved
prominence in the jazz consciousness thanks to three
duets waxed by Eric Dolphy and Richard Davis in
1963. While sounding nothing like that, the convergence
between the clarinets of Norwegian reedman Frode
Gjerstad and the acoustic bass of Englishman Nick
Stephens forms part of the same lineage of intimate
exchanges. The pair first met as part of drummer John
Stevens’ ensembles back in the ‘80s and have renewed
their acquaintance at regular intervals ever since,
largely documented on the bassist’s Loose Torque
imprint, Different Times their second duo disc.
While some of the titles might suggest lyricism,
any melodies are of the most offhand kind, brief
allusions surfacing during a stream of highly abstracted
but focused give and take. Even though recorded over
a two-year period, there is no discernible difference in
the commitment to a totally improvised approach,
using whatever tools and techniques they need to
make the exchange work. Not only do they transcend
the conventional range of their instruments, but also
their traditional roles in a display of mercurial interplay
and shifting moods. In a meeting of minds, both men
demonstrate a keen appreciation of light and shade they know when to affirm and when to counter.
Stephens is spiky, energetic and springy, inventive
with the bow, veering from the abrasive to the
querulous and even the percussive while on clarinets,
Gjerstad essays a cascade of barking fragments, his
dog-bothering whistle register used sparingly. Though
on occasion breathily diaphanous, at the other extreme
he deploys split tones and a vocalized edge, most
notably on “Everything Must Change”.
There is little to differentiate the eight tracks from
one another, except for some particularly felicitous
sound or conjugation, such as delicate clarinet crooning
over the bounding bass calisthenics at the conclusion
of “Nothing Stays The Same”. Nevertheless, there
remains a sense of narrative and propulsion to the
conversations and a clear devotion to uncompromising
and unvarnished communication.
For more information, visit loosetorque.com. Gjerstad is at
I-Beam Dec. 15th. See Calendar.
27
Spun Tree
Michaël Attias (Clean Feed)
by Andrey Henkin
V ery
often the term “composer” is amended to a
musician’s name, meaning simply they write their own
material. But in some cases, it is a defining classification.
So it is with saxophonist Michaël Attias, who always
maintains his aesthetic construction - often appealingly
impenetrable - no matter the group, whether it be for
his Credo sextet, the cooperative trio Renku, his Twines
of Colesion quintet or now his new group Spun Tree.
And the more one listens to Attias the player, the more
it seems that his musicianship is, contrary to usual
practice, informed by his composing.
Spun Tree brings together new and old recording
associations, the former represented by trumpeter
Ralph Alessi, pianist Matt Mitchell and drummer Tom
Rainey, the latter bassist Sean Conly, the equivalent of
a teddy bear for the first summer at sleep-away camp.
With repeated listens to the group’s debut, a recollection
forms: the first time this reviewer heard Andrew Hill’s
Point of Departure. Spun Tree may be a tenor sax or bass
clarinet short of that monumental recording but there
is the same easy density and oblique movement. The
players don’t stack upon one another but instead nestle
in each other ’s folds, making for remarkably organic
improvisations within the compositional structure,
itself deceptively open-sounding.
The eight pieces range from the long exploratory
opener “Bad Lucid” and martial ballad “No’s No” to
slow-burning-then-exploding “Calendar Song” and
Elfin dance “Ghost Practice” (lovely miniature “ArcEn-Ciel” was co-written with pianist Russ Lossing
from Twines of Colesion). Attias’ voice is rarely the
first (or second or third) one heard, demonstrating the
intense faith he has in the music he has conceived and
the players he has chosen to deliver it.
For more information, visit cleanfeed-records.com. This
project is at Cornelia Street Café Dec. 19th. See Calendar.
I’ve Been Ringing You
Dave King (Sunnyside)
by David R. Adler
Trios loom large in drummer Dave King’s career:
consider two of his best-known musical endeavors,
The Bad Plus and Happy Apple. The piano, too, is
central to King’s identity as a player and composer and
it’s not just his hookup with The Bad Plus’ Ethan
Iverson that bears this out. Indelicate (2010), King’s
debut under his own name, revealed the drummer to
be a pianist himself and the resulting overdubbed
piano-drum pieces were fresh and unexpected. King
also played some piano on his 2011 quintet follow-up
Good Old Light by the Dave King Trucking Company.
There’s one other obscure piano item in King’s
oeuvre, a 2005 Fresh Sound trio date under pianist Bill
Carrothers’ name called Shine Ball, with bassist Gordon
Johnson. Wholly improvised, the session catches King
and Carrothers in moments of volatility and moody
reflection. On I’ve Been Ringing You, they reunite (with
Billy Peterson on bass) to play repertoire of a very
different kind, along the lines of “So In Love”, “If I
Should Lose You”, “People Will Say We’re In Love”
and “This Nearly Was Mine”. Carrothers makes the
melodies sing out, pure and distinct, but somehow
transforms each song into a ghostly unresolved riddle.
The opener is Gordon Jenkins’ “Goodbye”, a dark
ballad, stretched into a slow and hazy rubato
meditation. The transition to Ornette Coleman’s
“Lonely Woman” is natural - open and spacious to
start, more aggressive as it develops. The closing title
track is an original trio improvisation marked by
Carrothers’ steady block chords, King’s slow brush
patterns and Peterson’s perfectly timed ascending
notes in response.
King’s subtle shifts of timbre and momentum are
all the more engrossing for being so beautifully
captured (the album was recorded at “a little church in
Minnesota”, per the album credits). We can hear the
leader shift in his seat, flick on his snares, swipe his
hands or other objects across the skins and create
worlds of intimate detail. The big piano sound brings
every lingering nuance of Carrothers’ harmonies into
striking relief.
For more information, visit sunnysiderecords.com. King is at
Village Vanguard Dec. 31st with The Bad Plus. See Calendar.
There Now Josh Berman & His Gang (Delmark)
Where My Dreams Go To Die Tres Hongos (Molk)
Centering and Displacement Frank Rosaly (Utech)
At the Hideout
Jeb Bishop/Jaap Blonk/Lou Mallozzi/Frank Rosaly
(Kontrans)
Live at Jazzfestival Willisau
The Luzern-Chicago Connection (Veto-Records)
by Clifford Allen
Chicago’s musical environment has always seemed to
encourage cross-pollination between scenes and
players. That goes beyond the interpolation of semitraditional musicians and the avant garde into the
interaction of improvisers, experimental and newmusic composers and rock musicians that Chicago
posits today. Percussionist Frank Rosaly is among its
most diverse improvisers, working in jazz, free improv,
noisy rock and sound art locally and internationally.
If swinging credentials are necessary for any
drummer in this music, one can look no further than
Rosaly’s work in the “Gang” of cornetist Josh Berman
on the excellent There Now. Rosaly hooks up brilliantly
with the chunky and deft lines of bassist Josh Abrams
to fill out the rhythm section; the rest of the ensemble
includes Windy City stalwarts Jason Stein (bass
clarinet), Keefe Jackson (tenor), Guillermo Gregorio
(clarinet), Jeb Bishop (trombone) and Jason Adasiewicz
(vibes). The program includes three Berman originals
in addition to five pre-war standards. Of course, pieces
like “Sugar”, “Liza” and “I’ve Found a New Baby” are
rendered with distinct modernism, even if Berman’s
fat cornet sound, Gregorio’s woody delicacy and
Rosaly’s softshoe brushwork are traditional signposts.
The rousing collective theme and close-hued riffs of
“Sugar” are pure Dixieland inspiration even as the
musicianship is contemporary in tone and phraseology.
Although there are certainly other instances of such
fascinating discontinuity in modern creative music,
Josh Berman & His Gang are rare pre-Birds indeed.
Tres Hongos is the trio of Rosaly, trumpeter Jacob
Wick and pianist Marc Riordan and Where My Dreams
Go To Die is their debut. A program of five collective
improvisations, Tres Hongos present a worldview that
is spiky and unsettled, Rosaly moving through selected
and unselected drums and cymbals as Riordan
deconstructs boppish and stride-like phrases, echoing
Jaki Byard and Alexander von Schlippenbach in robust,
terse motifs. Wick (who splits his allegiances between
Chicago and the coasts) is an incredibly bright and
kaleidoscopic improviser, utilizing subtones and
disassembled breath with as much rigor as he does
when approaching brittle, Monkish fragments (check
the spare “God’s Girlfriend”). The nearly 20-minute
“Champagne Bayside” is an epic example of the
group’s interplay; triangulated around Riordan’s
jagged regularity, Rosaly shifting from damped patter
to pulsing waves as Wick threads his lanky, mocking
statements. A powerful trio with minimal means, Tres
Hongos is not to be missed.
Centering and Displacement is Rosaly’s second solo
percussion LP, following 2010’s excellent Milkwork
(Contraphonic). Both are built around manipulating
the solo language through rerecording and studio
alteration; the present pieces each span a side and are
composed from chance-selected improvised fragments,
which generally retain their identities even as they’ve
been heavily processed. The results were mixed as a
six-channel sound installation, though the released
version is two-channel stereo. In a sense, it’s hard to
place this work within Rosaly’s breadth as an
improviser, but the intuitiveness and naturalness with
which he approaches sounds (both in isolation and as
an aggregation) make this environmental composition
stand out from other electro-acoustic work. The last
section of the second side has a Darkwave quality to it,
which, if not entirely fit for minimal-wave DJs, still
proves that Rosaly’s oeuvre is far from limited.
Drawing from both sound art/new music and free
improvisation is At the Hideout, a live quartet recording
featuring Dutch voice artist Jaap Blonk and the Chicago
sound/new media artist Lou Mallozzi along with
Rosaly and trombonist Jeb Bishop. Blonk and Bishop
make a particularly nice pair, chortling, yammering
and squawking in both highly extroverted fashion and
in cooler, more laconic interplay. Rosaly provides heft
as well as sensitivity, pushing the music when it is in
danger of losing focus or dropping out, allowing
Blonk, Mallozzi and Bishop to explore a range of
technical absurdities. While his gentle brushwork
behind sputtering trombone, glitchy no-input mixer
and drawling voice might seem incongruous, Rosaly
nudges the quartet into spirited and disconcerting
density.
Another live disc presents Rosaly and Bishop as
part of The Luzern-Chicago Connection, a group that
also features bassist Jason Roebke, pianist Hans-Peter
Pfammatter, vocalist Isa Weiss and tubaist Marc
Unternährer. Live at Jazzfestival Willisau consists of a
2010 performance of the sextet on seven compositions
including Rosaly’s “Apples/Tree Structures”. A stately
ballad initiated by bowed bass and long tones from
brass and voice, the ensemble splays out into spatial
ricochets before returning to initial mass. The piece
nearly segues into Bishop’s jaunty and modal “Third
Spin”, the composer exuberant atop Pfammatter ’s
pointillist comping as the ensemble increases in
density. There are some surprisingly straightahead
moments as well, evident in the gently shuffling
Roebke-Weiss collaboration “Willisau Thing/Poor
Feathers”. A curious unit, The Luzern-Chicago
Connection
eloquently
bridges
contemporary
improvisation and modern jazz.
Sat, Dec 1
AMANDA BAISINGER 9PM & 10:30PM
Ben Monder, Pete Rende, Matt Brewer, Tommy Crane
Sun, Dec 2
PETER EPSTEIN QUARTET 8:30PM
Ralph Alessi, Scott Colley, Mark Ferber
Mon, Dec 3
AMRAM & CO 8:30PM
David Amram, Kevin Twigg, John de Witt, Adam Amram
Wed, Dec 5
VOXIFY: MARIA NECKAM 8:30PM
Mike Moreno, Fabian Almazan, Joe Martin, Colin Stranahan VOXIFY: SARA SERPA: CROSSING OCEANS 10PM
Samuel Blaser, Bill McHenry, André Matos, Linda Oh
Nicky Schrire, host
Thu, Dec 6
IRABBAGAST RECORDS FESTIVAL 9PM
Jon Irabagon, Mark Helias, Barry Altschul
IRABBAGAST RECORDS FESTIVAL 10:30PM
Jon Irabagon, Mick Barr, Mike Pride
Fri, Dec 7
IRABBAGAST RECORDS FESTIVAL 9PM
Jon Irabagon, Ralph Alessi, Jacob Sacks,
Eivind Opsvik, Tom Rainey
Sat, Dec 8
BEN ALLISON BAND 9PM & 10:30PM
Steve Cardenas, Brandon Seabrook, Allison Miller
Sun, Dec 9
SEUNG-HEE QUINTET,
CD RELEASE OF ‘SKETCHES ON THE SKY 8:30PM Adam Kolker, Toru Dodo, Ike Sturn, Mark Ferber
Tue, Dec 11
NÓS NOVO 8:30PM
James Shipp:, Becca Stevens, Jean Rohe,
Gilad Hekselman, Rogério Boccato
Wed, Dec 12 SHAI MAESTRO TRIO 8:30PM
Scott Colley, Henry Cole
Thu, Dec 13
NICKY SCHRIRE 8:30PM
Fabian Almazan, Desmond White, Otis Brown III
Fri, Dec 14
LORA-FAYE AND
THE STRAIGHT MAN BAND 9PM & 10:30PM
Sasha Hirsch, Andrew Sheron, Brett Chalfin
Sat, Dec 15
MERGER 9PM & 10:30PM
Andrew D’Angelo, Josh Roseman, Ben Street, Nasheet Waits
Sun, Dec 16
NEW BRAZILIAN PERSPECTIVES: ALEX KAUTZ 8:30PM
Helio Alves, Mike Moreno, Peter Slavov, Magos Herrera
Billy Newman, host
Tue, Dec 18
SARA GAZAREK/DAN TEPFER DUO 8:30PM
Wed, Dec 19 MICHAËL ATTIAS SPUN TREE 8:30PM
Ralph Alessi, Matt Mitchell, Sean Conly, Tom Rainey
Thu, Dec 20
PILC MOUTIN HOENIG 8:30PM
Jean-Michel Pilc, Francois Moutin, Ari Hoenig
Fri, Dec 21
ADAM KOLKER TRIO 9PM & 10:30PM
John Hébert, Billy Hart
Sat, Dec 22
OPEN LOOSE: CD RELEASE,
EXPLICIT - LIVE AT THE SUNSET 9PM & 10:30PM
Mark Helias, Tony Malaby, Tom Rainey
Thu, Dec 27
PETROS KLAMPANIS: CONTEXTUAL 8:30PM
Gilad Hekselman, Jean-Michel Pilc, John Hadfield,
Maria Im, Maria Manousaki, Ljova Zhurbin, Julia MacLaine,
Fri, Dec 28
Sat, Dec 29 HEAVY METAL DUO 9PM & 10:30PM
Ray Anderson, Bob Stewart
Sun, Dec 30
TOM RAINEY TRIO 8:30PM Mary Halvorson, Ingrid Laubrock
For more information, visit delmark.com, molkrecords.
blogspot.com, utechrecords.com, jaapblonk.com and
veto-records.ch. Rosaly is at ShapeShifter Lab Dec. 11th,
JACK Dec. 12th and Terraza 7 Dec. 13th, all with Ingebrigt
Håker Flaten. See Calendar.
29
Synchronicity
Karl Berger/Dom Minasi (Re: Konstrukt-Nacht)
by Ken Waxman
H ighlighting his skills on both piano and vibraphone,
this unpresumptuous yet arresting duo session could
be subtitled: Two Sides of Karl Berger. Yet the
impression that resonates after digesting the dozen
improvisations that make up this meeting with
guitarist Dom Minasi is how seamlessly both are able
to balance inside-outside sensibilities.
Throughout their careers, Berger and Minasi have
individually walked that sonic tightrope. An innovator
who founded Woodstock’s Creative Music Studio and
was active playing with Don Cherry and other jazz
experimenters, Berger also incorporates so-called
world music into his sound and has arranged sessions
for popsters such as Natalie Merchant and Better Than
Ezra. Author of several books on jazz theory, chord
substitution and improvising, Minasi not only plays in
the abstract music realm with violinist Jason Kao
Hwang and bassist Ken Filiano among others, but
frequently accompanies singers and specializes in
drastic reinterpretations of Ellington and American
songbook classics.
Not that there are any standards here. But a swing
undercurrent is maintained, no matter how prickly the
melodies or how provocatively the tunes are
constructed. Tracks such as “Dancing on the Stars” and
“Waterfall” find Berger ’s tremolo mallet shimmers
suggesting Milt Jackson; Minasi is more percussive
than Jackson partners like Joe Pass yet he and Berger
operate with the same sense of purpose. Through
variations in phrasing, they play catch-and-release
with the theme, but never lose the connective thread.
Piano-centric tunes such as “Prophesy” and
“Goodbye” are more methodical and impressionistic,
but paradoxically more jazz-like as well. On the first,
unhurried patterns unspooled by Berger are delicately
decorated by the guitarist, as if the partners were
Kenny Barron and Jim Hall. More expressive still,
“Goodbye” is almost lush, especially when warm, lowvoiced plucks from Minasi sympathetically harmonize
with Berger ’s legato pumps. Enough piano key clips
and sharp guitar string snaps remain though to keep
the result mercurial.
Featuring veterans playing at the height of their
craft, Synchronicity proves that abstract improvising
can be as notably advanced by inference as swagger.
For more information, visit nachtrecords.com. Berger is at
ShapeShifter Lab Dec. 3rd and El Taller LatinoAmericano
Dec. 13th. See Calendar.
Music Inspired By Freedman Town
Reggie Quinerly (Redefinition Music)
by George Kanzler
Among the many facets of Miles Davis’ genius and
perspicacity was his realization that an album is not a
concert or live set, that it exists as another, and unique,
facet of the jazz artist’s oeuvre. It’s a realization that
informs drummer Reggie Quinerly’s debut as a
bandleader, an album he says, in his spoken declaration
on the track “Freedmantown Interlude”, tries to
capture the “certain soulfulness of the music and the
people” of Freedman Town, a black neighborhood in
Houston’s Fourth Ward founded shortly after
Emancipation and the Civil War. As a drummer, Quinerly is not part of the
dominant, assertive school of younger drummers for
whom more is more, but a team player emphasizing
restraint and taste, as well as a penchant for crisp
cymbals and second-line rhythms. He leads through
his compositions, conception and arrangements. On
“Freedmantown”, the centerpiece of the album, a
sextet with three horns, organ and a vocal by B3 player
Enoch Smith Jr., Quinerly channels the rhythms of the
black church and New Orleans with his deft brush
work. That sextet, with Gerald Clayton’s piano rather
than Smith’s organ, also appears on “A Portrait of a
Southern Frame”, an evocation of a New Orleans dirge,
replete with the rising optimism of that genre.
Clayton is actually on 9 of the 11 tracks, most often
in a quartet or quintet setting (seven tracks) with tenor
saxophonist Tim Warfield and/or guitarist Mike
Moreno. They are the most open, solos-heavy tracks,
although often much more than frames for blowing.
For instance, “Live from the Last Row”, a quartet with
Moreno, divides into a samba-inflected first section to,
after a brief pause, a darker piano solo with sighing
guitar and 4/4 rhythm. A driving shuffle beat and
swaggering tenor sax power “#13 A Corner View from
Robin Street” while “#2Xylent Letters” is a slippery
waltz with shades of Wayne Shorter and Thelonious
Monk. “The Virginia Gentleman”, dedicated to an
early freedman settler, draws from the deep well of
New Orleans/Gulf jazz traditions while remaining
resolutely contemporary and the two final standards “I’m Old Fashioned” and “Sentimental Journey” show how everything old can be new again.
inspired set of compositions for improvisers.
Carrier Records is a logical pairing for the band’s
debut record, as the label is known as much for fiercely
DIY avant garde new music as it is for abstract free
improvisation and electronic noise. “Aeons of Decay”
opens the disc, the initial drone of feedback fading in
so gradually that by the time the foreboding tones
make themselves fully known, they are immediately
engulfed amidst the din of the band’s sudden arrival,
with Peck and Blancarte trudging along to Osborne’s
death-march. The music gradually falls completely offkilter, drums growing more frenetic as the initially taut
sound of the tuba and bass unravel into chaotic noise
by the end of this 10-minute track.
“Frozen Gods” opens with an orgy of noise, which
after four minutes recedes to reveal another seven
minutes of droning arco bass, before progressing to a
glacial pizzicato pulse over which the rest of the band
floats in a sea of morose, with the eventual transition
to solo percussion gradually building up to the brief,
pianissimo coda just before the 23rd minute.
“Buried Blasphemy” calls to mind some of the
more deliberate rhythmic drone of British industrial
metal band Godflesh. Peck’s wailing tuba soars over
the bass and drums as only a bass-heavy amplified
instrument could. The deliberate, driving tempo feels
almost upbeat in comparison to the lugubrious opener
and the true drone of the epic middle track. One of the
truly fascinating details of the band is the actual sound
of the instruments: kudos to engineer Colin Marston,
who took some essentially acoustic instruments and
captured the punishing live sound this trio creates
when amplified to such extreme levels.
For more information, visit carrierrecords.com. This band is
at JACK Dec. 7th and Spectrum Dec. 10th. See Calendar.
Jacob Anderskov Agnostic Revelations
Granular Alchemy
(ILK195CD)
For more information, visit reggiequinerly.com. Quinerly is
at Smoke Dec. 5th. See Calendar.
Chris Speed - Sax + clarinet
Jacob Anderskov - Piano
Michael Formanek - Bass
Gerald Cleaver - Drums
...the results are superb. Granular Alchemy is an interpretation of
what we see, hear, touch, smell, and feel, but it may also be the
sound interpretation of us. Only in sound can it be this simple, and
yet it sounds anything but simple. - www.thisisbooksmusic.com
Jacob Anderskov is a Genius at the piano. - www.ragazzi-music.de
Mark Solborg Solborg 4+4+1
S/T (ILK191CD)
Destruction of Darkness
The Gate (Carrier)
by Wilbur MacKenzie
Anders Banke - Reeds
Mark Solborg - Guitar
Jeppe Skovbakke - Bass
Bjørn Heebøll - Drums
+ Gunnar Halle - Trumpet
Laura Toxværd - Alto sax
Torben Snekkestad - Reeds
Jakob Munck - Tuba/trb.
+ Chris Speed - Reeds
A
long-overdue development in recent years in
improvised music is a resurgence of works quite
directly referencing developments in heavy metal.
Despite some over-intellectualization of the percussive
intricacies in more mixed-meter-prone math metal
bands, it is only more recently that some have
responded to the intensity and abrasiveness found in
the more drone-doom area of metal.
For the last couple years, tubaist Dan Peck’s trio
The Gate has been honing a sound that owes much to
Seattle mixed-metal band Sunn O))) or (going back 20
years) ‘90s groups like John Zorn’s Painkiller with
bassist Bill Laswell and Napalm Death drummer Mick
Harris and Washington State’s Earth, with Peck’s
amplified, overdriven tuba spraying giant steel girders
across the landscape laid out by Tom Blancarte’s
droning bowed bass and Brian Osborne’s punishing
drums. Destruction of Darkness is the band’s second
album and its three long tracks offer visions of the
abyss while at the same time being essentially a truly
Solborgs 4+4+1 nonet moves like a proud ship with all sails up
into the wind, carrying a valuable treasure delivered with great
trust and loving care. It is set ashore on the pier of this years most
exquisite Danish jazz. - Bjarne Søltoft, Jazznytt, Norway
…and when it gets there, it would be an understandable impulse
to hit the play button and start it again from the top.
- www.bird istheworm.com
Distributed by Stateside
2013: 10 years of
uncompromising music
The Business of Here ...
Steve Swell Nation of We
(Cadence Jazz)
Takes Off
Platform 1
(Clean Feed)
by Kurt Gottschalk
Steve Swell is a hard one to put a finger on. His playing
is so pure it’s hard to see him in it - what a trombone
would want to be if it didn’t need human assistance.
Such clarity of vision isn’t easily sustained in a
band two-dozen strong, at least not while keeping the
flame of the Downtown jazz scene Swell has been
associated with for close to 40 years. But on The Business
of Here … Live at Roulette he lets the big band unleash
its power at times while retaining a delicate control
over much of the proceedings. The result is an
uncompromising 70 minutes that breaks into some
lovely moments, including a violin duo (Rosi Hertlein
and Jason Kao Hwang) that dissolves into a sax-withstrings in miniature upon the entrance of Giuseppe
Logan. From that point, about 20 minutes in, Swell
deftly rebuilds the band, slowly bringing in players
and earning the momentum of a free jazz explosion but
not before a convincing beat invocation by bassist/
poet Albey Balgochian. It’s a fun ride all around and
shows the freedom to be found in discipline.
Platform 1’s Takes Off is a smaller ensemble, which
similarly benefits from judicious restraint and given
the players it’s no surprise. The quintet is fronted by
Swell, Ken Vandermark (tenor sax and Bb clarinet),
whose dedication to jazz discipline has extended to
numerous homages and dedications, and trumpeter
Magnus Broo, who has played with Vandermark before
- notably in the exceptional 4 Corners - and is a part of
the vital Swedish jazz scene. Backing them is the
wonderfully on-point drummer Michael Vatcher and
the fine Swedish-by-way-of-Canada bassist Joe
Williamson. All but Vatcher contribute compositions to
this fine collection and all show a respect for the
proceedings. It’s that sort of stoking flames, rather
than dumping lighter fluid on them, which makes fiery
jazz like these two records so exciting.
For more information, visit cadencejazzrecords.com and
cleanfeed-records.com. Swell is at Roulette Dec. 6th and The
Firehouse Space Dec. 16th. See Calendar.
Cement
Double Tandem
(PNL)
Snakelust
(to Kenji Nakagami)
Hairybones (Clean Feed)
by Stuart Broomer
O ver the past decade Paal Nilssen-Love has become
the percussionist of choice for a range of free jazz and
improvising musicians from his home country of
Norway to the rest of northern Europe and beyond.
Many of those roles call on the sheer force of his
drumming, but Nilssen-Love has far more to offer than
that. He’s a resourceful percussionist, able at will to
call on the jazz traditions as well as adroitly exploring
texture and sound.
Double Tandem is Nilssen-Love joined by the two
saxophonist/clarinetists Ken Vandermark and Ab
Baars, whose styles might seem initially incompatible.
The heated blowing one immediately associates with
Vandermark and Nilssen-Love is only one dimension
of Cement though and the distinctive qualities that link
the three musicians lie elsewhere. Baars and
Vandermark share affinities as traditional tenor players
and beyond that there’s their empathy as clarinetists,
connoisseurs of the instrument’s quirky woodiness.
Much of what characterizes Cement is a subtle
exploratory quality and Nilssen-Love’s ability to fit in,
reducing his work to the clearest rhythmic impetus,
often armed with brushes rather than sticks.
Peter Brötzmann’s name may not be in front of
Hairy Bones, but there’s no question who is the leader.
Snakelust is an enduring testimony to the galvanizing
power of his work. The band is a direct outgrowth of
the earlier Die Like a Dog quartet, retaining Toshinori
Kondo on trumpet and electronics but with the
amplified and machine-like team of Nilssen-Love and
electric bassist Massimo Pupillo replacing Hamid
Drake and William Parker. Kondo is an ideal foil for
Brötzmann, his trumpet lines often minimal blasts and
sputters that swirl off into space whereas Brötzmann is
as expressive as any tenor saxophonist has ever been.
The intensity never flags but it does shift direction
frequently, including sustained three-way inventions
between Pupillo’s pulsing bass, Kondo’s soaring
electronics and Nilssen-Love’s shifting rhythmic
patterns, all three reaching toward clarity in the midst
of the very sonic maelstrom that they create.
For more information, visit paalnilssen-love.com and
cleanfeed-records.com. Paal Nilssen-Love is at I-Beam Dec.
15th with Frode Gjerstad. See Calendar.
31
Burning Bridge
Jason Kao Hwang (Innova)
by Robert Iannapollo
V iolinist
Jason Kao Hwang has written some
substantial compositions: a chamber opera; a piece for
37 strings and percussionist and a tribute called “50
Strings For Leroy Jenkins”. Burning Bridge, scored for
strings (both Eastern and Western), brass and
percussion, is a genre-straddling work taking into
account traditional Chinese music, jazz in its many
manifestations and a Protestant church hymn
deconstructed for good measure.
Hwang had been working on the piece for years
but the death of his mother spurred him on to complete
it. One of the things he did was to incorporate certain
aspects of her speech patterns into the piece. Another
key feature is the interplay between Chinese and
Western instruments. Hwang frequently plays them off
against each other, such as a duet between erhu and
tuba or violin and pipa. But rather than displaying an
opposition or contrast, it’s amazing how the two
complement each other. This is also true of ensemble
passages, where the blend can be invigorating and
intoxicating. The incorporation of “Doxology” (aka
“Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow”), a
Protestant hymn, appears twice, initially in the second
movement as a brass chorale and then in the fifth
movement played on the Eastern instruments.
The ensemble is stacked with excellent players.
Joe Daley’s tuba is a prominent feature throughout and
he carries off some difficult passages with aplomb. The
same is true of cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum and
trombonist Steve Swell. Special mention has to be
made of Sun Li on pipa (a Chinese lute-like instrument)
and Wang Guowei on erhu (a two-stringed violin).
Both are classically trained players and this type of
ensemble playing is not common for them but they rise
to the occasion, making their instruments sound both
ancient and modern. The rhythm section of Ken Filiano
and Andrew Drury ties everything together. Hwang’s
composition, while epic in scope, conveys the intimacy
of a lives lived in a foreign culture.
For more information, visit innova.mu. Hwang is at The
Stone Dec. 20th. See Calendar.
4+4+1
Mark Solborg
(ILK Music)
Granular Alchemy
Jacob Anderskov
(ILK Music)
by Ken Waxman
These CDs from two veterans of the Danish improv
scene present differing versions of contemporary
Scandinavian music and the talents of tenor saxist/
clarinetist Chris Speed, featured on both discs.
Guitarist Mark Solborg’s 4+4+1 is distinctly group
music, exposure of complex harmonies or contrapuntal
patterns more important than individual solos. That
said, each of the reed soloists - trumpeter Gunnar
Halle, trombonist/tubaist Jakob Munck, saxists Laura
Toxværd, Torben Snekkestad plus Speed joining the
guitarist’s basic quartet of saxophonist/clarinetist
Anders Banke, bassist Jeppe Skovbakke and drummer
Bjørn Heebøl - acquits him or herself admirably, with
contributions ranging from harsh and squawking to
smooth and swinging. “The Whispers”, for instance, is
an atmospheric study that relies on unison sound
modulations rather than groove or flashy solos.
Throughout the disc, sympathetic polyphony is the
compositions’ main component as balanced textures
are subtly added and quickly subtracted.
If Solborg’s CD impresses due to formal balance,
then Anderskov’s Granular Alchemy, his second CD
with the quartet of Speed, bassist Michael Formanek
and drummer Gerald Cleaver, does so because of its
looseness. Whether playing lyrical clarinet lines or
vibrating rugged tenor fills, Speed maintains his
individuality. With equivalent high energy, he often
parallels the pianist’s staccato improvisations. This
reaches a climax with the final “Suite: Wind/Skin”.
Dramatically set up with passing chords from
Anderskov, Cleaver ’s unvarying thumps and Speed’s
pressurized clarinet chirps, the narrative tension only
dissipates when the pianist’s patterning halves the
tempo to introduce the second theme. As Anderskov
piles tremolo chords on top of one other, Speed’s theme
variations shrilly wheeze for emphasis. Exhibiting his
most abstract work here, the reedist stretches the
textures with strident glossolalia, until the pianist
redirects the final section to moderated motion.
Whether you prefer your jazz free-form and
energetic or stunningly built up from a palette of tonal
colors, each of these mostly Danish CDs will satisfy.
For more information, visit ilkmusic.com. Chris Speed is at
The Stone Dec. 14th, ShapeShifter Lab Dec. 15th and Barbès
Dec. 26th. See Calendar.
Four By Six
Gregg August (Iacuessa)
by George Kanzler
In the tradition of bassist leader-composers like
Charles Mingus and Dave Holland, Gregg August
creates challenging works for his ensembles. No mere
tunesmith, he is a composer/arranger who creates
complex, even convoluted pieces that can be flinty as
well as multi-faceted. On this album he convenes two
groups, a quartet and a sextet - sharing only his bass
and the piano of Luis Perdomo - with each playing on
four numbers, groups alternating every two tracks.
The quartet features Sam Newsome (soprano sax) and
EJ Strickland (drums) while the sextet has John Bailey
(trumpet), JD Allen (tenor saxophone), Yosvany Terry
(alto saxophone) and Rudy Royston (drums).
The quartet tracks are more rhythmically open
and adventurous, all but one featuring faster tempos.
“Affirmation” has a staccato step melody, piano and
soprano climbing in unison in a Monk-like manner.
“For Calle Picota” is a spirited round of exchanges and
chases between Newsome and Perdomo while “Strange
Street” is all rolling momentum. A ceremonial feel
pervades “A Ballad for MV”, a semi-rubato opening
rising to a climax with vamping under a soprano solo.
On the sextet tracks, August makes full use of the
tonal, contrapuntal and harmonic possibilities of the
ensemble. “For Max” begins with a fast drum solo and
rhythm counterbalanced by slower bass vamps and
long-toned horns, continuing under and around a
piano solo, a dropout ushering in a brooding tenor
statement followed by a bass solo gradually joined by
the horns in a thematic reprise. Flexible tempos inform
“Bandolim”, as the band accelerates and decelerates
behind solos from the three horns. “Relative Obscurity”
features counterpoint between the rhythm section and
horns, with two-beat interjections, solos from trumpet
and bass and a finale pitting bass against horns. “For
Miles” features alto over a slow, processional theme.
For more information, visit greggaugust.com. This project
is at Birdland Dec. 6th and ShapeShifter Lab Dec. 14th. See
Calendar.
IN PRINT
Princess Noire:
The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone
Nadine Cohodas (University of North Carolina Press)
by Sean O’Connell
N ina
Simone was known publicly as the High
Priestess of Soul but Nadine Cohodas’ biography
places her in a more pampered light that in many
ways feels appropriate. Simone has always had a
curious place in the jazz world. Her music was filled
with improvisation and swing but she more often
than not fell into the realm of pop interpretation,
putting her stamp on Tin Pan Alley classics while
also honing a catalogue of personal rage and
empowerment. Her humming vibrato and strident
piano style are unmistakable but her personality
seems to loom largest.
Cohodas’ nearly 400-page biography of Nina
Simone is both concise and circular, depending on
the sentence. Over the course of 28 exacting chapters,
Cohodas gets down and dirty with the story of the
reluctant, classical-aspiring Eunice Waymon and her
late-night, nicotine-scented alter-ego Nina Simone.
Cohodas chronicles Simone’s early career as moving
without a hitch. She grew up in a supportive family
and community who went out of their way to
encourage her musical skills. After a failed audition
for the Curtis School of Music (3 students were
accepted out of 72 applicants) she moonlighted as a
cabaret act in Atlantic City. She became a singer
because she was told to by a nightclub owner. She
became Nina Simone because the same owner asked
how she wanted to be billed. Her paychecks steadily
rose through the years. From there the book goes on
to document her rise and decline with an emphasis
on the details: the tantrums, politics, lost loves and,
naturally, the music.
The resulting doorstopper is an unapologetic
examination of one the most outspoken and
challenging artists of her generation. Cohodas has
clearly put in a massive amount of research and
there is an interesting anecdote on nearly every
page. Nearly ten years after Simone’s passing, she is
still a fascinating puzzle (a remix album from a few
years ago cast her music in a new light while an
upcoming biopic is already awash in controversy).
Princess Noire painstakingly helps to point out why.
For more information, visit uncpress.unc.edu. The Music of
Nina Simone is at Allen Room Dec. 7th-8th. See Calendar.
The Art of the Soprano, Vol. 1
Sam Newsome (s/r)
by Kurt Gottschalk
By the age of 25, saxophonist Sam Newsome had
toured with Donald Byrd and been a regular in Terence
Blanchard’s band. But 10 years later he was
determinedly reinventing himself. He gave up the
tenor for the soprano and started a new band, Globe
Unity. But even that wasn’t enough of an upheaval; in
2005 Newsome, then 40, shifted his focus toward solo
performance and began an intensive study of some of
the masters of the form. His studies of Steve Lacy may
have been evidenced in his first solo record, Monk
Abstractions, but Newsome’s listening was also taking
him into the deep waters of Anthony Braxton, Evan
Parker and Sonny Rollins. The second release in what
he saw as a trilogy of unaccompanied albums, 2010’s
Blue Soliloquy, revisited Monk and drew from his
studies of international styles.
The Art of the Soprano would have completed the
set but instead it’s beginning a new one. Upon
completing his admirable new album he decided that
he had more to explore and tacked the “Vol. 1” onto the
title, he says, to commit himself to further investigation.
Rarely have the ‘extended’ techniques he uses been
employed with such discipline. The album opens with
two reed-popping workouts, first in Ellington’s “In a
Mellow Tone” and then in a Burkino-Faso-inspired
song. Each in its own way demands a kind of groove
and Newsome’s timing - even while pushing the
soprano against its natural tendencies - is exquisite. His interpretation of Coltrane’s A Love Supreme is
bold and impassioned, full of rich, overblown
tonalities. The three parts of Coltrane’s suite are oddly
interspersed - like the “Ellington Medley” and the
“Soprano de Africana” selections - across the 45-minute
playing time. In his liner notes, Newsome says that the
arrangement of tracks was intended to keep it from
seeming like a “tribute disc”. On this point he fails: the
music is the music regardless of the sequencing but
that’s a small matter. The playing is fantastic however
the setlist is constructed.
For more information, visit samnewsome.com. Newsome
plays solo at ABC No-Rio Dec. 30th. See Calendar.
MONK: A NYC Tribute feat. Jimmy Cobb
& Randy Brecker (Jazz ‘n Arts)
by George Kanzler
This Monk tribute is something of a vanity project,
made possible through the support of the AugustWilhelm Scheer Foundation for Science and Art. The
eponymous bankroller of the foundation, “a renowned
business thought leader, entrepreneur - and a
passionate jazz musician” is also the album’s baritone
saxophonist. He joins a sextet boasting two genuine
jazz legends, drummer Jimmy Cobb and trumpeter
Randy Brecker, neither of whom were associated with
Monk during his lifetime. The musical leader and
arranger is tenor saxophonist Gunnar Mossblad, a
lifelong jazz academic-musician. Rounding out the
sextet are pianist Jim Ridl and bassist Tony Marino.
Although the solo improvisers are capable, even
scintillating in the case of Brecker and Ridl, the real
star of the CD is Monk’s music and the creative charts
Mossblad has devised for most of the tunes. It all gets
off to a rather pedestrian start with an oddly backbeatdominated version of “Teo”, propelled into a rocking
swinger by Cobb that is mainly a frame for solos from
the horns and Ridl. But “Evidence”, that melodically
spare gem, sprouts enriching counterpoint from
baritone versus the other horns and diminishing solo
exchanges between Brecker and Scheer, the latter ’s
best work here. A rolling drum solo and infectious odd
meter accents enliven “Green Chimneys”, along with
jangly piano and catchy trumpet and tenor solos.
Abstracted horns, sans rhythm section, introduce
“Little Rootie Tootie”, fragmenting into a polyphony of
simultaneous solos. Brecker ’s trumpet leads a sonorous
horn choir into “Ask Me Now”, solos following in a
lean, high key. Cobb’s patented shuffle invigorates
“Balue Bolivar Blues”, distinguished by a solo order of
trumpet-tenor sax tandems trading bars with piano. A
baritone vamp provides counterpoint to the other
horns on “Criss Cross”, notable for Ridl and Marino’s
deep groove solos.
For more information, visit jazznarts.com. Randy Brecker is
at Iridium Dec. 1st-2nd and 27th-31st with Mike Stern.
Jimmy Cobb is at Jazz Standard Dec. 27th-30th. See Calendar.
A Woman in Love - Barbara Lea - Lea/In Love
Barbara Lea (Riverside/Prestige - Fresh Sound)
by George Kanzler
Barbara Lea, who died last December at 82, had a
strong revival as a singer of the American Popular
Song from the mid ‘70s through the ‘90s. But Lea
originally made her mark in the ‘50s while in her 20s,
winning the DownBeat Critics poll for best new singer
in 1956. This two-CD album brings together the three
LPs she made in the mid ‘50s, plus both sides of a
single that was her 1954 debut. Lea was a fully assured
and confident talent at 25, a singer with a firm grasp of
meaning, nuance and, on the faster tunes, an
impeccable, laid back sense of swing. She also had a
fine affinity with jazz players, especially the warmtoned trumpeter Johnny Windhurst, who appears on
most of these sides.
The first eight tracks are from her debut 10”
Riverside album A Woman in Love and include three
classics: “Come Rain or Come Shine”, a warm embers
torch song delivered with long, understated legato
phrases; “As Long As We Live”, demonstrating her
ability to personalize a melody by raising end syllables
a half step and the Ellington gem, little recorded until
then, “I Didn’t Know About You”. Windhurst is joined
by Dick Cary’s alto horn on the Prestige album Barbara
Lea, which includes tributes to Bix Beiderbecke (“I’m
Coming Virginia”) and Pee Wee Russell (“My Honey’s
Lovin’ Arms”), a “Baltimore Oriole” with atmospheric,
mournful alto horn and a gently swinging “Blue Skies”
with muted and open trumpet.
Even while in her 20s, Lea was a keen connoisseur
and conservator. She gave us such obscurities as
“Honey in the Honeycomb” from Cabin in the Sky and
Mercer-Arlen’s “I Had Myself A True Love” from St.
Louis Woman. And as her own producer/A&R ‘man’ on
Lea/In Love (Prestige), she delved deep into the hidden/
forgotten treasure trove of American songs, from “Am
I In Love?” and “A Straw Hat Full of Lilacs”
(accompanied only by harp) to “Sleep Peaceful, Mr.
Used-To-Be”, delivered by a woman to the man she
just shot dead, also from St. Louis Woman. Lea also put
her own insouciant stamp on more familiar songs like
“Ain’t Misbehavin’”, including the long, obscure verse;
“Autumn Leaves”, an early instance of an American
singing the French lyric and, also including the verse,
Cole Porter ’s “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To”.
For more information, visit freshsoundrecords.com
ON DVD
Easter Suite
Oscar Peterson (Art Haus Musik)
by Ken Dryden
W ith a vast discography in a career that spanned
the late ‘40s into the 21st century, pianist Oscar
Peterson left a considerable legacy following his
death in December 2007. But his Easter Suite,
commissioned and performed for BBC-TV in 1984, is
an obscurity. First aired on Good Friday, it became
an annual broadcast for many years, opening with a
discussion of the work by host Melvin Bragg with
Peterson and his band (bassist Niels-Henning
Ørsted Pedersen and drummer Martin Drew),
though the discussion is sequenced after the
performance on this previously unavailable DVD.
The pianist’s initial response to the commission
was trepidation, as he explains in the discussion,
because Jesus Christ’s arrest, trial, torture and
execution is a tragic story until the purpose of his
suffering is revealed. Yet Peterson was no stranger
to religious music, having played classical music
and spirituals in his church while he also mentions
enjoying the religious approach to harmonics. The
suite has nine movements of varying length and
moods, starting with the brief, meditative “The Last
Supper”. The lovely “The Garden of Gethsemane”
showcases the glistening bass work of Ørsted
Pedersen, a virtuoso who rivaled Ray Brown as the
top bassist to work with the pianist. “Denial”,
representing the Apostles’ refusal to admit to the
Romans that they know Christ, is a surprisingly
conversational bop piece. The sorrowful “Why Have
You Betrayed Me” is a touching ballad, confronting
Judas for his treacherous behavior. Drew’s military
cadence is prominent in “The Trial”, Peterson’s
dramatic theme serving to level the charges that
Jesus faces. “Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me”
represents Jesus’ anguish through torture and a
slow, cruel execution yet Peterson’s interpretation is
a delicate, romantic ballad. The reverent requiem
“Jesus Christ Lies Here Tonight” leads into the
uptempo Gospel celebration “He Has Risen”.
The camera work and editing is first-rate, with
many closeups of the musicians’ hands. It is unclear
whether Peterson played any of the movements
from his Easter Suite in concert after this performance,
though the songs deserved further exploration.
For more information, visit arthaus-musik.com
33
BOXED SET
Centering (Unreleased Early Recordings 1976-1987)
William Parker (NoBusiness)
by Jeff Stockton
Bassist William Parker ’s Centering (Unreleased Early
Recordings 1976-1987) portrays an alternate universe
to the New York City Loft Scene as documented by
the Wildflowers boxed released on CD about a decade
ago. The musicians featured on that set - Sam Rivers,
Henry Threadgill, Julius Hemphill, Anthony Braxton,
et al - were relative stars in the free jazz firmament,
however marginal the category. The players featured
on these recordings, however, had been marginalized
even further, yet somehow managed to keep body
and soul together without means of support - visible
or otherwise. From Parker ’s inability to pay his
bandmates to his lack of carfare to the Bronx for his
father ’s funeral to the photo of his duct-taped bass,
the specter of poverty hangs over Centering.
In spite of this, Parker and his crew managed to
stay remarkably creative. Musicians worked on
mastering their instruments. They wrote poetry.
They penned philosophical manifestos. They painted
D E c 1 –2
cover art for albums that never found financing.
Singers sang and dancers choreographed and
performed, all of which is covered in the wonderfully
informative booklet containing Ed Hazell’s liner
notes, Parker ’s personal reflections, recording
information and old photographs of the musicians
and other ephemera. The music, more than seven
hours spread over six CDs, provides something of an
alternate history of Parker ’s career, too. Always a
busy sideman, playing live and appearing in (small
label) album credits, the sheer scope of this work
suggests Parker has always been a tornadic creative
force on the Downtown scene.
The box begins with almost an hour ’s worth of
serene duets from 1980 with alto saxist/trumpeter
Daniel Carter, a die-hard of the scene to this day and
an exemplar of the fierce asceticism and street
aesthetic coursing through this circle of kindred
spirits. Later in the set, Parker duets with tenor
saxist Charles Gayle in 1987, typically fiery,
unbridled and very nearly unhinged. Finding
middle ground between the two reed players is a set
by the Centering Dance Music Ensemble, featuring
drummer Denis Charles (a veteran of Cecil Taylor ’s
early years) and tenor saxist David S. Ware (who
took Parker with him to Columbia Records). The trio
could play as reflective as the music from Carter or
as out as Gayle, but it’s the interaction that pulls you
in, the rhythms prompted by their silent fourth
partner, dancer (and Parker ’s wife) Patricia
Nicholson. Ware would go on to patent his signature
style and tone, but here his playing draws explicitly
on hardbop and the dialogue between music and
dance is articulated in sound, meter and tempo.
Deeper into the box the focus turns to larger
DEc 17
M ary S tallingS & E ric rE E d trio
d o U g w a M B l E t r i o : holiday Swing
with Joshua Crumbly and Kevin Kanner
with Morgan James, Roy Dunlap, and Jeff Hanley
D E c 3 | M o n d ay n i g h t s w i t h w B g o
D E c 1 8 –2 3
nyU Jazz orchEStra
with StEfon harriS
dUdUk a da fonSEca
& h E l i o a l v E S : Jazz Samba christmas
with Maucha Adnet, Anat Cohen, Romero Lubambo,
DEc 4–9
and Hans Glawischnig
BUcky PizzarElli / kEn PEPlowSki
Q U i n t E t : american classics
D E c 2 4 –2 5
with Derek Smith, Greg Cohen, and Chuck Redd
cloSEd for chriStM aS
DEc 10
ny yoUth SyMPhony Ja zz cl aSSic
with Wycliffe Gordon
D E c 11–16
D E c 26 –31
wynton MarSaliS
the louis armstrong continuum:
Music of the hot five’s and Seven’s
kEnny garrEtt QUintEt
with Benito Gonzalez, Corcoran Holt, McClenty Hunter,
and Rudy Bird
l I V E jA z z N I g h T ly
RE S E RVATI O N S 2 12-2 5 8 -9 59 5 / 97 9 5
jalc.org/dizzys
groups, as well as Parker ’s work with vocalists in
varying configurations. The Big Moon Ensemble (a
double quartet inspired by Ornette Coleman’s Free
Jazz) included Carter, altoist Jemeel Moondoc,
trumpeter Roy Campbell, a second bassist in Jay
Oliver and Charles and Rashid Bakr double
drumming. They stir the stew relentlessly, ratcheting
and releasing tension, propelling the music forward
with mind-blowing power until the band settles
down to let Parker have his solo say. The Centering
Big Band adds baritone saxist Charles Tyler along
with Alex LoDico and Masahiko Kono on trombones,
among others. This expanded group and these
extended written/improvised pieces presage the
assembly of Parker ’s Little Huey Creative Orchestra
in the ‘90s and the integration of voice ultimately
that found its fruition in the Double Sunrise Over
Neptune orchestra from 2007.
There’s more. It’s a remarkable, inspirational
archive, as if the listener were to discover a new cave
where Cézanne painted his early work on the walls.
Parker seemed to turn a corner financially when he
got the call from Cecil Taylor and his own
opportunities expanded after awareness began to
surround the David S. Ware Quartet. “Art is the
process of living” stands as the booklet’s epigram
and almost every piece overflows with spiritualism,
uncompromising commitment and a love of
language, often wordless. Parker demonstrates that
staying true to your art is as serious as life itself.
For more information, visit nobusinessrecords.com.
Parker is at Angel Orensanz Center Dec. 4th as part of
Under_Line Benefit Launch, I-Beam Dec. 14th and The
Stone Dec. 15th. See Calendar.
H OLID A Y GI FT G UI DE
50TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION
PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND
Preservation Hall, the performance venue located
in New Orleans’ French Quarter, is a national
treasure, crucial in preserving the Crescent City
style of early jazz. For its 50th anniversary, a
four-CD, 58-track boxed set (including five
previously unissued tracks) has been released,
culling material from nearly 20 albums
recorded from 1962-2010 by the astonishing
array of musicians who have been
participants in the band.
LEGACYRECORDINGS.COM, $45
HAND-CRAFTED
INSTRUMENT
LAMPS
MUSICAL
INSTRUMENT
COOKIE CUTTERS
Nothing says Happy Holidays
more than cookies. This year,
fatten up your loved ones with
cute musical shapes like piano,
guitar, French horn, cello and
musical notes.
BIGCATPARTY.COM, $9.75
Made from vintage trumpets,
cornets, clarinets and flutes,
these one-of-a-kind creations
will shed some light on a friend
or relative’s love of jazz.
ETSY.COM/SHOP/
JAZZYMOONZ
$250-400
MR. P.C.: THE LIFE AND
MUSIC OF PAUL CHAMBERS
Bassist Paul Chambers was a crucial member of
Miles Davis’ groups from 1955-62, part of the
trumpeter’s “First Great Quintet”. But Chambers was
also a compelling leader in his own right, with albums
for Blue Note and Vee-Jay. This exhaustively
researched book by Rob Palmer traces Mr. P.C.’s
career from his early days in Detroit and move to
New York, working with a wide array of players, to his
time with Miles and very active career after leaving
the trumpeter’s group. Chambers died in 1969 at
the tragic age of 33, diminishing his legacy
somewhat. Palmer’s book, which includes a complete
discography, will reestablish Chambers among the
greats on the instrument.
EQUINOXPUB.COM, $29.95
MILES DAVIS:
THE COMPLETE
ILLUSTRATED
HISTORY
Trumpeter Miles Davis wasn’t just a
legendary musician, he was one of the
most visually arresting artists in jazz
history. So what better way to celebrate
his life and career than with this 224page tome, filled with wonderful archival
images and essays written by Sonny
Rollins, Bill Cosby, Herbie Hancock,
George Wein and many others.
VOYAGEURPRESS.COM, $40
THE ORCHESTRION PROJECT
In a career full of ambitious projects, guitarist
Pat Metheny’s Orchestrion, a virtual band of
dozens of mechanically-controlled
instruments, may be his most remarkable.
This 173-minute film on two DVDs presents
Metheny playing a suite written for and/or
interpreted by the Orchestrion as well as
interview and “Making Of” featurettes.
EAGLEROCKENT.COM, $24.98
THE JAZZ CRUISE
Cabins are still available for this week-long (Jan. 27th-Feb. 3rd)
cruise around the Bahamas, featuring such jazz legends as
Randy Brecker, Gary Burton, Freddy Cole, Jay Leonhart,
Eddie Palmieri, Houston Person, Phil Woods and many many more.
THEJAZZCRUISE.COM, $1,950-2,500
CHARLES MINGUS
THE JAZZ
WORKSHOP
CONCERTS
1964-65
As with those of Miles Davis
and John Coltrane, bassist
Charles Mingus’ groups of the
‘60s were among the most
groundbeaking in jazz, though
perhaps underappreciated.
That should change with this
Boxed Set, seven CDs of
concert recordings from New
York, Amsterdam, Monterey
and Minneapolis, all but one
receiving previous official
release and featuring such
players as Eric Dolphy, Jaki
Byard, Clifford Jordan and
Lonnie Hillyer on some of
Mingus’ finest compositions.
JACQUES
COURSIL:
MOSAICRECORDS.COM, $119
PHOTOGRAMMES
Jacques Coursil
has led a double
life. The trumpeter
was a big part of
the ‘60s avant
garde jazz scene in both New York
and Europe but then left music
behind for decades to become a
respected academic in the field of
linguistics. He returned to music last
decade with critically-acclaimed
albums for Tzadik and Universal.
This 43-minute film by Guillaume
Dero investigates Coursil’s
fascinating life through footage of
performances, interviews and
readings of poetry.
LAHUIT.COM, €16
LP FRAME
These classy, top-loading
(no need to take them off the wall!)
LP-sized frames are perfect for
displaying treasured selections
from record collections.
ACOUSTICSOUNDS.COM,
$52.50 (3 FOR $139.95)
Christmas Time is Here Knoxville Jazz Orchestra (Shade Street)
The Nutcracker Suite Tim Sparks (Tonewood)
Christmas Stomp The Grand St. Stompers (s/r)
Song of Simeon Will Scruggs Jazz Fellowship (s/r)
by Andrey Henkin
Lest one think Christmas spirit requires snow, four
albums for the upcoming holiday season all come from
the country’s southern region, where winter precipitation
is uncommon but merry music is in ample supply.
The Knoxville Jazz Orchestra’s Christmas Time is
Here represents the traditional model of holiday album
(arrangements by trumpeter Vance Thompson, tenor
saxophonist Greg Tardy as a principle soloist): faithful
readings of classic themes like “Have Yourself a Merry
Little Christmas”, “Jingle Bells” or the Vince Guaraldipenned title track, played with the intensity of a crackling
fireplace. A vocalist is on board for “O Little Town of
Bethlehem” and a pair of local choirs join the band for
the traditional “Children Go Where I Send Thee”. But the
highlight of the disc is a rollicking take on “Russian
Dance” from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker .
From a bit up north (North Carolina), guitarist Tim
Sparks tackles “Russian Dance” plus other pieces from
The Nutcracker arranged for solo guitar. This album,
receiving a 20th anniversary reissue this year, was
recorded just before Sparks won the 1993 National
Fingerstyle Guitar Championship and it is clear Sparks
must have asked Santa for virtuosic technique. Well,
the jolly fellow sure obliged. The readings of the various
dances from the ballet are expertly interpreted, with
“Chinese Dance” liberally frosted with down-home
flourishes. The second half of the album is a suite
inspired by the works of Belá Bartók, himself a composer
of Christmas carols.
Party time in New Orleans traditionally comes a
couple of months after Christmas but that doesn’t stop
The Grand St. Stompers, led by trumpeter Gordon Au,
for their Christmas Stomp album. The eight-piece
ensemble (two vocalists, drums, banjo, upright bass,
clarinet and trumpet) is made up of modern
traditionalists and the album’s repertoire reflects that,
with expected fare like “Winter Wonderland”, “Santa
Claus is Coming to Town” and “O Holy Night” performed
with a puckish insouciance. But the inclusion of “March
of the Toys”, Satchmo’s “’Zat you, Santa Claus” and a
short Christmas theme medley are unexpected gifts.
Atlanta’s Will Scruggs is perhaps the most
ambitious of the group, using his Song of Simeon to
explore the more liturgical and inspirational themes
associated with Christmas. The tenor/soprano saxist
leads a typical jazz sextet but adds a horn ensemble to
flesh out his arrangements as needed. Only a few of
these pieces are well known (check out a slinky “God
Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” or a postboppish “We Three
Kings”) but Scruggs has woven them all together into a
cohesive suite, representing in music the spirituality
often lacking in what was once a solemn holiday. But
solemnity doesn’t mean somnolence and Song of
Simeon is perfect for celebration.
For more information, visit knoxjazz.org, timsparks.com,
grandststompers.com and willscruggs.com. The Grand
St. Stompers are at Nathan Bugh Diana Center at
Barnard College Dec. 1st. See Calendar.
37
CALENDAR
Saturday, December 1
êChucho Valdés Quintet with Yaroldy Abreu Robles, Rodney Yllarza Barreto,
Angel Gaston Joya Perellada, Dreiser Durruthy Bombalé
Zankel Hall 9 pm
• Ballet Hispanico with Paquito D’Rivera Ensemble
Apollo Theater 7:30 pm $33
• Cassandra Wilson with Brandon Ross, Gregoire Maret, Lonnie Plaxico, Jon Cowherd,
John Davis
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $55
êBilly Harper + 60 Voices with Francesca Tanksley, Freddie Hendrix, Aaron Scott,
Michael Dease, Santiago Vazquez-Vinas, Daniel Dor, Joel Kruzic, Neil Clarke
Saint Peter’s 8 pm $35
êJoe Lovano/Dave Douglas Sound Prints with Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh, Joey Baron
Village Vanguard 9, 11 pm $25
• Geri Allen’s Timeline Band with Kenny Davis, Kassa Overall, Maurice Chestnut
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
• Marc Johnson and Eliane Elias with Rafael Barata, Rubens de La Corte
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
êLords of the Trumpet play Dizzy Gillespie: Randy Brecker, Brian Lynch, Jeremy Pelt,
James Weidman, Lonnie Plaxico, Billy Drummond
Iridium 8, 10 pm $30
êMary Stallings and Eric Reed Trio with Joshua Crumbly, Kevin Kanner
Dizzy’s Club 7:30, 9:30 pm $35
• Victor Bailey’s V-BOP with Alex Foster, Monte Croft, Lenny White
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 pm $35
êScott Amendola Trio with Nels Cline, John Shifflett; Scott Amendola Quartet with
Ben Goldberg, Josh Smith, John Shifflett and guest Nels Cline
The Stone 8, 10 pm $10
êDarcy James Argue and Secret Society
The Jazz Gallery 9, 10:30 pm $20
êJoanne Brackeen/Cecil McBee
Knickerbocker Bar and Grill 9:45 pm $5
• The Manhattan Burn Unit: Mickey Bass, Bryan Carrott, Charles Davis Jr., Mark Johnson
Sistas’ Place 9, 10:30 pm $25
• John Yao Quintet with Jon Irabagon, Randy Ingram, Leon Boykins, Will Clark;
Dave Phillips’ Confluence with Rez Abbasi, John O’Gallagher, Tony Moreno
ShapeShifter Lab 8 pm $10
• NY3: Anat Cohen, Martin Wind, Matt Wilson
Greenwich House Music School 8 pm $20
• Sleep Song: Mike Ladd, Ahmed Abdul Hussein, Maurice Decaul, Vijay Iyer,
Serge Teyssot-Gay, Ahmed Mukhtar
Harlem Stage Gatehouse 7:30 pm $30
êGrand St. Stompers: Tamar Korn, Molly Ryan, Gordon Au, Dennis Lichtman,
Matt Musselman, Nick Russo, Rob Adkins, Kevin Dorn
Nathan Bugh Diana Center at Barnard College 8 pm $12
• Mark Sherman Quartet with Frank Kimbrough, Ray Drummond, Greg Hutchinson
Jazz at Kitano 8, 10 pm $25
• Dwayne Clemons; Andy Farber Group; Ian Hendrickson-Smith Quintet
Smalls 4, 7:30, 10:30 pm $20
• David Schnitter Quartet; Steve Carrington Quintet
Fat Cat 7, 10 pm
• East West Guitar Trio: John Stowell, Gene Bertoncini, Paul Meyers
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Sofia Rei
Drom 9:30 pm $15
• Pete Robbins’ Silent Z with Jesse Neuman, Mike Gamble, Simon Jermyn,
Tyshawn Sorey; Jesse Neuman’s Wolf Face with Loren Stillman, Simon Jermyn,
Rob Jost, Jeff Davis
I-Beam 8:30 pm $10
• Amanda Baisinger with Pete Rende, Matt Brewer, Tommy Crane
Cornelia Street Café 9, 10:30 pm $15
• Banana Puddin’ Jazz: Arnold Lee Band with Rashaan Carter, Kush Abadey, Theo Hill,
Ben Eunson and guest Bazaar Royale
Nuyorican Poets Café 9 pm $10
• HAG: Brad Henkel, Sean Ali, David Grollman and guest Dan Peck; Twins of El Dorado:
Kristin Slipp/Joe Moffett; Pretty Monsters: Katherine Young, Owen Stewart-Robertson,
Mike Pride
Douglass Street Music Collective 8 pm $10
• Collide-O-Scope Music: Augustus Arnone, Lou Bunk, Conrad Harris, Pauline Kim The Firehouse Space 8 pm $10
• Randy Napoleon
Eats Restaurant 7:30 pm
• Masami Ishikawa Quartet
Cleopatra’s Needle 8 pm
• Ross Kratter Big Band; Hiromi Kasuga Band with Joe Magnarelli, Marco Panascia,
Mark Taylor; Henry Grimes Trio with Marc Medwin, Tyshawn Sorey;
James Robbins Quintet with Christoph Huber, Nat Janoff, Sharik Hassan,
Charles Goold
Somethin’ Jazz Club 5, 7, 9, 11 pm $10-15
• Brianna Thomas
Oceana Restaurant 9 pm
• Mademoiselle Fleur
Shrine 8 pm
• Brynn Stanley
Metropolitan Room 4 pm $20
• Astoria Big Band: Stan Bielski, Alvin Pall, Keith Gurland, Charles Lee, Carol Sudhalter,
Brian Woodruff, Rick Stone, Doug Jordon, John Lieto, Glenn Mills, Wayne Johnson,
Jack Davis, James Smith, Mark McGowan, Charlie Franklin
Steinway Reformed Church 1 pm
• Larry Newcomb Trio; Catherine Toren; Virginia Mayhew Quartet
The Garage 12, 6:15, 10:45 pm
Sunday, December 2
êGeorge Wein and the Newport All Stars with Howard Alden, Bob Wilber,
Jon-Erik Kellso, Jay Leonhart, Rossano Sportiello, Chuck Riggs, Joel Forbes
Feinstein’s at Loews Regency 7 pm $25
êTed Brown/Kirk Knuffke Quartet The Drawing Room 7:30 pm $10
êNew Trick: Ted Chubb, Mike Lee, Kellen Harrison, Shawn Baltazor;
40twenty: Jacob Garchik, Jacob Sacks, Dave Ambrosio, Vinnie Sperrazza;
Francois Houle 5 + 1 with Taylor Ho Bynum, Samuel Blaser, Michael Bates,
Benoît Delbecq
ShapeShifter Lab 7:30, 8:30, 9:30 pm $10
êCharlie Hunter/Scott Amendola Duo; Comedies For The Young: Mathias Bossi,
Scott Amendola and guests Nels Cline, Charlie Hunter
• Peter Epstein Quartet with Ralph Alessi, Scott Colley, Mark Ferber
Cornelia Street Café 8:30 pm $10
• Peter Mazza Trio
Bar Next Door 8, 10 pm $12
• Chris Flory Duo; Johnny O’Neal Trio; Spike Wilner Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $20
• Terry Waldo’s Gotham City Band; Jade Synstelien’s Fat Cat Big Band with
Jon Irabagon; Brandon Lewis JamFat Cat 6, 8:30 pm 1 am
• St. Helena: Tim Dahl, Grey McMurray, Rick Parker, Ryan Ferreira, Joshua Valleau,
Chris Morrissey; Gregory StovetopThe Living Theatre 8 pm
• Janinah Burnett
Metropolitan Room 9:30 pm $20
• Stairway to Nowhere: Ras Moshe, Ken Kobayashi, Jochem van Dijk; Eli Asher,
Andrew Smiley, Greg Chudzik, Carlo Costa
ABC No-Rio 7 pm $5
• Old Time Musketry: Adam Schneit, JP Schlegelmilch, Phil Rowan, Max Goldman
Caffe Vivaldi 9:30 pm
• Out of Your Head: Jacob Teichroew, Greg Chudzik, Jesse Stacken, Nathan Ellman-Bell;
Jasmine Lovell-Smith, Owen Stewart-Robertson, David Grollman
The Backroom 9:30, 11 pm
• Human Equivalent: Leah Gough-Cooper, Andrew Baird, Sean McCluskey,
Bryan Percivall, Bob Edinger; Tim Armacost, Harvie S, Christian Finger
Somethin’ Jazz Club 7, 9 pm $5-15
• The Shrine Big Band
Shrine 8 pm
• Randy Napoleon
• Cassandra Wilson with Brandon Ross, Gregoire Maret, Lonnie Plaxico, Jon Cowherd,
John Davis
êJoe Lovano/Dave Douglas Sound Prints with Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh, Joey Baron
• Geri Allen’s Timeline Band with Kenny Davis, Kassa Overall, Maurice Chestnut
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30 pm $25
êLords of the Trumpet play Dizzy Gillespie: Randy Brecker, Brian Lynch, Jeremy Pelt,
James Weidman, Lonnie Plaxico, Billy Drummond
êMary Stallings and Eric Reed Trio with Joshua Crumbly, Kevin Kanner
• Isaac Darche, Haim Peskoff, Nick Jost; Jesse Dulman/Jason Candler
Downtown Music Gallery 6 pm
• Seung-Hee with Adam Kolker, Toru Dodo, Ike Sturm, Mark Ferber
Saint Peter’s 5 pm
êBrooklyn Jazz Orchestra Play Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn’s The Nutcracker Suite:
Steve Kortyka, Chris Bacas, Mark Lopeman, Dan Pratt, Paul Nedzela, John Yao,
Max Seigel; John Eckert, Kerry Mackillop, Bruce Harris, Todd Stoll, Alex Smith,
Daniel Foose, Paul Francis and guests Carla Cook, Vincent Gardner
Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church 5 pm $20
• NYU Jazz Brunch: Billy Drummond
Blue Note 12:30, 2:30 pm $29.50
• Jane Irving Trio with Ron Affif, Kevin Hailey
North Square Lounge 12:30, 2 pm
• Ben Healy Trio; David Coss Quartet; Mauricio de Souza Trio
The Garage 11:30 am 7, 11:30 pm
Monday, December 3
êGato Barbieri 80th Birthday Celebration with Eddie Martinez, Lincoln Goines,
Vince Cherico, Luisito Quintero Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $45
• Renee Rosnes Quartet with Steve Nelson, Peter Washington, Bill Stewart
Baruch College Performing Arts Center 7:30 pm $25-30
• NYU Jazz Orchestra directed by Rich Shemaria with guest Stefon Harris
êMingus Big Band
• Freddie Redd; Billy Kaye Jam Fat Cat 7 pm 12:30 am
• Karl Berger’s Improvisers Orchestra
• David Amram and Co. with Kevin Twigg, John de Witt, Adam Amram
• Warren Walker Quartet; Ari Hoenig Group; Spencer Murphy Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12 am $20
• Melissa Hamilton; Allan Harris Band
Zinc Bar 7, 9 pm
• Magos Herrera Trio with Mike Moreno, Hans Glawischnig
Bar Next Door 8:30, 10:30 pm $12
• Alix Paige
• Asuka Kakitani Jazz Orchestra Tea Lounge 9, 10:30 pm
• KW&Krew: Kevin Wang, Andrew Gould, Andrew Freedman, Jerad Lippi, Devin Starks
Somethin’ Jazz Club 7 pm
• Howard Williams Jazz Orchestra; Ben Cliness Trio
The Garage 7, 10:30 pm
• Matt Snow Group
Shrine 8 pm
Tuesday, December 4
êChucho Valdés, Egberto Gismonti, Danilo Pérez, Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Stern Auditorium 8 pm $15-75
êUnder_Line Benefit Launch with William Parker, John Forté, Jim Jarmusch, John Zorn,
DJ Spooky, Christian McBride, Milford Graves, Joe Lovano, Matthew Shipp,
Jason Moran, Miya Masaoka, Meredith Monk, Kamau Patton, Roy Campbell, Kris Davis,
Dave Burrell, Gerald Cleaver, Rob Brown, Craig Taborn, Charles Gayle, Qasim Naqvi,
Tony Malaby, Ingrid Laubrock, Joe McPhee, Yoshiko Chuma, Sally Silvers, Judi Silvano,
Ben Gerstein, Hamid Drake, Mary Halvorson, Joëlle Léandre, Connie Crothers,
Marc Ribot
Angel Orensanz Center 6:30 pm $150
• Free The Slaves Benefit Concert: Esperanza Spalding and guests Bobby McFerrin,
Gretchen Parlato
City Winery 8 pm $75-250
êPhil Woods Quintet with Brian Lynch, Bill Mays, Steve Gilmore, Bill Goodwin
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
êBucky Pizzarelli/Ken Peplowski Quintet with Derek Smith, David Finck, Chuck Redd
• Bryan Carter Trio
Dizzy’s Club 11 pm $10
êSteve Wilson Trio with Renee Rosnes, Peter Washington
êDonny McCaslin Group with Jason Lindner, Tim Lefebvre, Mark Guiliana
êHelen Sung Group
êLarry Ochs/Don Robinson Duo; Rob Sudduth
• Richard Boukas Quarteto Moderno with Chris Stover, Gustavo Amarante,
Maurício Zottarelli
NYC Baha’i Center 8, 9:30 pm $15
• Jack Jeffers and the New York Classics with Antoinette Montague
Zinc Bar 8, 10 pm
• Spike Wilner solo; Will Vinson Quartet; Frank Lacy, Theo Hill, Josh Evans
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12 am $20
êJames Carney Group with Peter Epstein, Ralph Alessi, Tony Malaby, Josh Roseman,
Chris Lightcap, Mark Ferber; Tim Berne, Baikida Carroll, Ryan Ferreira, Ches Smith
Korzo 9, 10:30 pm $5
• Composers Concordance Ensemble: David Soldier, Kinan Azmeh, Franz Hackl,
John Clark, Milica Paranosic, Patrik Grant, Gene Pritsker, Dan Cooper, Peter Jarvis;
Mike Baggetta Quartet with Jason Rigby, Eivind Opsvik, George Schuller;
Youngjoo Song Trio with Vicente Archer, Marcus Gilmore
ShapeShifter Lab 7:30, 8:30, 9:30 pm $10
êOliver Nelson’s Blues and the Abstract Truth: Manhattan School of Music
Chamber Jazz Ensemble
Borden Auditorium 7:30 pm $7-12
• Saul Rubin Zebtet; Máximo Bacháta Y Meréngue; Greg Glassman Jam
Fat Cat 7, 9 pm 12:30 am
• Mark Rapp/Derek Lee Bronston’s The Song Project with guest James Genus
Fordham University Butler Commons 8 pm
• Elizabeth Shepherd with Gordon Mowat, Colin Kingsworth;
Water Wins: Matthew Silberman, Carlos Homs, Simon Jermyn, Tommy Crane
Rockwood Music Hall 6, 11 pm
• Mark Miller Band with Cliff Lyons, Anton Denner, Sean Harkness, Nicki Denner,
Gary Wang, William “Beaver” Bausch
• Fabio Gouvea Trio with Felipe Brisola, Rogerio Boccato
• Ron Dabney
• Geoffrey Loomis/Theo Regan Rue B 9 pm
• Catherine Dupuis/Russ Kassoff Duo
Somethin’ Jazz Club 7 pm $10
• Kyle Athayde Big Band; Andrew Atkinson and Friends
• Megumi Hakuba
Shrine 7 pm
êGato Barbieri 80th Birthday Celebration with Eddie Martinez, Lincoln Goines,
Vince Cherico, Luisito Quintero Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $45
Wednesday, December 5
êJöelle Léandre Hommage à John Cage with Dominique Boivin
Roulette 8 pm $15
• David Sanborn with Ricky Peterson, Nicky Moroch, Richard Patterson, Gene Lake
êBen Goldberg’s Unfold Ordinary Mind with Ellery Eskelin, Nels Cline, Ches Smith;
Dougie Bowne
êTony Malaby Tuba Trio with Dan Peck, John Hollenbeck
Barbès 8 pm $10
êValery Ponomarev “Our Father Who Art Blakey” Big Band
Zinc Bar 8 pm
• Eric Alexander Quartet with Harold Mabern, Gerald Cannon, Joe Farnsworth
An Beal Bocht Café 8, 9:30 pm $15
• Reggie Quinerly with Brandon Wright, John di Martino, Hans Glawischnig,
EJ Strickland
Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm
• Nico Dan 5tet; Oscar Noriega, Brandon Seabrook, Tom Rainey
Seeds 8, 10 pm $10
• Brad Shepik/Tom Beckham Duo Grotto 8:30, 9:30 pm
• Gretchen Parlato
Rockwood Music Hall 7 pm
• Maria Neckam with Mike Moreno, Fabian Almazan, Joe Martin, Colin Stranahan;
Sara Serpa with Samuel Blaser, Bill McHenry, André Matos, Linda Oh
• Lainie Cooke Quartet with Tedd Firth, Martin Wind, Ralph Peterson
• Alexis Parsons/Frank Kimbrough Metropolitan Room 7 pm $20
• Raphael D’Lugoff Trio; The Groover Trio; Ned Goold Jam
• Roger Davidson; Joe Alterman Caffe Vivaldi 7:15, 9:30 pm
• Christine Vaindirlis with Atn Stadwijk, Jordan Scanella, John Caban, Harvey Wirht,
Dave Mullen; Jay Rodriguez
• Jamie Baum Quintet with Zack Lober, Jeff Hirshfield; NYU Mingus Ensemble:
Mike Richmond, Michael Sarian, Christian Anderson, Karl Lynden, Lee Meadvin,
Manuel Schmiede, Ross Kratter, Ellery Russell
• Marc Devine Trio; Anderson Brothers
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
êDonny McCaslin Group with Jason Lindner, Tim Lefebvre, Mark Guiliana
• Will Vinson Quartet; Marco DiGennero
Smalls 9:30 pm 12 am $20
• Black Yorks
Shrine 6 pm
• Chris Gillespie, Keith Loftis, Dmitri Kolesnik
Thursday, December 6
êMiguel Zenón Rayuela with Laurent Coq, Dana Leong, Dan Weiss
êIrrabagast Records Festival: Jon Irabagon, Mark Helias, Barry Altschul; Jon Irabagon,
Mike Pride, Mick Barr
êInterpretations: Steve Swell/Omar Tamez Group with Darius Jones, Jonathan Golove,
James Ilgenfritz; Douglas R. Ewart Inventions Ensemble with JD Parran, Ni’ja Whitson
Roulette 8 pm $15
êKris Davis/Tim Berne
êMarco Cappelli/Adam Rudolph The Firehouse Space 8 pm $10
• Miho Hatori; Josh Smith Group The Stone 8, 10 pm $10
• Ryan Keberle and Catharsis with Mike Rodriguez, Jorge Roeder, Eric Doob
• Dalton Ridenhour solo; Melissa Aldana Group; Carlos Abadie Group
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12 am $20
• Bob Mamet Trio with Rich Syracuse, Jeff “Siege” Siegel
ê40Twenty: Vinnie Sperrazza, Jacob Garchik, Jacob Sacks, Dave Ambrosio;
Jesse Stacken Trio + 1 with Michaël Attias, Eivind Opsvik, Jeff Davis
I-Beam 8:30, 10 pm $10
• Gregorio Uribe Big Band
Zinc Bar 9, 10:30 pm 12 am
êGato Loco
Barbès 10 pm $10
• The Ohnos: Dan Blake, Jef Lee Johnson, Leo Genovese, Dmitry Ishenko, Lukas Ligeti;
Sketches: Matt Holman, Jeremy Udden, Jarrett Cherner, Martin Nevin, Ziv Ravitz
Douglass Street Music Collective 8, 9:30 pm $10
• Grant Stewart Quartet; Saul Rubin Zebtet; Behn Gillece Jam
• Greg Chudzik solo; Trismegistus: Joe Moffett, Sean Ali, Dan Blacksberg
Lark Café 8 pm
Junior …Jazz
Mance
pianist
Hidé Tanaka…Bassist
Michi Fuji...violinist
at
Café Loup
EVERY SUNDAY
6:30 - 9:30 pm
NO COVER, JUST AWARD
WINNING JAZZ AND FOOD
105 West 13th Street 212-255-4746
www.juniormance.com
• Brooklyn Djangology Festival with Swing 30, Titi Bamberger and Friends;
Freddie Bryant and Kaleidoscope ShapeShifter Lab 7:30, 9:30 pm $10
• Myriad 3: Chris Donnelly, Dan Fortin, Ernesto Cervini
55Bar 7 pm
• Elizabeth Shepherd with Gordon Mowat, Colin Kingsworth
Two Moon Café 7 pm
• The Restrictor: Damien Olsen, Adam Dym, Anthony Delio, Kevin Rozza
Spectrum 8 pm
• Tyler Blanton Trio with Matt Clohesy, Obed Calvaire
• Sean Harkness Duos; Scot Albertson Trio with Christos Rafalides, Sean Conly
Metropolitan Room 9:30, 11:30 pm $20
• Fukushi Tainaka Trio
• Sapphire Adizes Great Time! with Lucas Del Calvo, Daid Williams, Zack Hartmann,
Donnie Spackman and guests; Scott Kulick 6 with Atsushi Ouchi, Jackson Hardaker,
Sebastien Ammann, Evan Jagels, Nico Dann; Straight Street: Sam Dillon, Nick Mauro,
Shinya Yonezawa, Steven Mooney, Paris Wright
Somethin’ Jazz Club 7, 9, 11 pm $5-10
• Rick Stone Trio; Yaacov Mayman Quartet
• Gretchen Parlato
Rockwood Music Hall 7 pm
• Gregg August Group with John Bailey, Yosvany Terry, JD Allen, Luis Perdomo,
EJ Strickland
Birdland 6 pm $20
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
• Harlem Speaks: Richard Wyands Jazz Museum in Harlem 6:30 pm
• Joa Guimares Band
Shrine 6 pm
BEN
HOLMES
QUARTET
NEW ALBUM
“ANVIL OF THE LORD”
Friday, December 7
êNew Languages Presents Music Factory: Aaron Ali Shaikh, Adam Hopkins,
Alan Sondheim, Amelia Marzec, Andrea Parkins, Andrew D’Angelo, Andrew Lafkas,
Anne Hege, Azure Nicole Carter, Barry Weisblat, Ben Gerstein, Benjamin Miller,
Brett Sroka, Brian Chase, Cameron Wisch, Chris Diasparra, Chris Funkhouser,
Chris McIntyre, Chuck Bettis, Constance Cooper, Dan Blake, Dave Ruder,
Dave Sewelson, Denman Maroney, Edward Schneider, Ginger Dolden,
Gregory Sogorka, Jackson Moore, Jacob Teichroew, James Ilgenfritz,
Jamie Paul Lamb, Jay Rozen, Joe Merolla, John Cacciatore, John Mark Rozendaal,
John Speck, Jonathan Chen, Jonathan Moritz, Jonathan Wood Vincent,
Josh Roseman, Josh Rutner, Josh Sinton, Lukas Ligeti, Mara Mayer, Matt Silberman,
Miguel Frasconi, Mike Pride, Myk Freedman, Patrick Holmes, Pete Lanctot, Peter Krag,
Peter Zummo, Ras Moshe, Russ Flynn, Ryan Sawyer, Sam Morrison, Stephen Dydo,
Tina Chancey, Tomoko Sugawara, Travis Just, Wendy Ultan, Yuko Pepe, Yuri Suzuki
Eyebeam Art+Technology Center 12 am
êBig Band Holidays: Jazz at Lincoln Center with guests René Marie, Gregory Porter
Rose Hall 8 pm $30-120
• The Music of Nina Simone: Kim Nalley with Tammy Hally, Michael Zisman, Kent Bryson,
Greg Skaff and guest James Carter
Allen Room 7:30, 9:30 pm $55-65
êPeter Bernstein Trio with Larry Goldings, Bill Stewart
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 pm $35
êHal Galper Trio; Billy Drummond Group; Jeremy Manasia
Smalls 7:30, 10:30 pm 1 am $20
êFausto Sierakowski/Nigel Taylor; The Gate: Dan Peck, Tom Blancarte, Brian Osborne;
Pulverize the Sound: Peter Evans, Tim Dahl, Mike Pride
JACK 8 pm $10
êFIG: Yuka Honda/Nels Cline; Erik Deutsch, Allison Miller, Rene Hart
êIrrabagast Records Festival: Jon Irabagon’s Outright! with Ralph Alessi, Jacob Sacks,
Eivind Opsvik, Tom Rainey
• Justin Brown Standards Quartet with Greg Osby, Vijay Iyer, Harish Rahgavan
• Tim Horner Quartet with Joe Locke, Jim Ridl, Dean Johnson
• Now vs. Now: Jason Lindner, Mark Guiliana, Panagiotis Andreou; Stix Beiderbecke
Drom 7:15 pm $15
• John King’s Kosmos
Roulette 8 pm $15
• Michael McNeill, Phil Haynes, Drew Gress
The Firehouse Space 8, 9:30 pm $10
• Vinnie Knight Quintet
Jazz 966 8 pm $20
êProtestMusic: Yoni Kretzmer, Pascal Niggenkemper, Weasel Walter;
Adam Hopkins Trio with Anna Weber, Nathan Elman-Bell
I-Beam 8:30, 9:30 pm $10
• New School Brazilian Choro Ensemble directed by Richard Boukas
New School Arnhold Hall 7 pm
• Dmitry Baevsky Quartet; Dave Gibson/Jared Gold B3 Quintet; Josh Evans Jam
• Tom Dempsey/Tim Ferguson DuoEats Restaurant 7:30 pm
• Jocelyn Medina Quartet with Pete McCann, Sean Smith, Paul Wiltgen
Tea Lounge 10 pm
• Andrea Veneziani Trio with Kenny Wessell, Mark Ferber
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Brooklyn Djangology Festival: Roklarom; Hot Club of the Lower East Side;
Jason Anick/Olli Soikkeli; Franglais; Titi Bamberger/Juan Arenales;
Dallas Vietty’s Musette Project ShapeShifter Lab 7:30 pm $10
• Mike Serrano Band with Stephen C. Josephs
University of the Streets 8 pm $10
• Rudi Mwongozi Quartet
• Hye-Jeung with David Sheetrit, Chris McGee, Byoung-sub Kim; Lisa Kalil/
Rubens Salles; The Grautet: Andrew Grau, Austin Day, Alessandro Fadini,
Luke Markham
Somethin’ Jazz Club 7, 9, 11 pm $10
• Hide Tanaka Trio; Hot House
The Garage 6:15, 10:45 pm
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
• SoNuvo: Marie Martin, Seth Johnson, Jerome Jennings
Blue Note 12:30 am $10
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
Dizzy’s Club 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $35
Dizzy’s Club 12:45 am $20
• Rakiem Walker Project
Shrine 6 pm
NOW AVAILABLE ON SKIRL RECORDS
“Nine originals capture the improvisational
magic and sonic cohesion rarely heard
from a quartet” - BRENT BLACK, CRITICAL JAZZ
“On just his second release as a leader,
Holmes establishes himself as a performer
and composer to note, craftily expressing
a range of emotion and influence”
-SEAN FITZELL, THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD
Deluxe audio CD package with artwork by
karlssonwilker available at skirlrecords.com
Download available on iTunes & Amazon
FEATURING BEN HOLMES trumpet
CURTIS HASSELBRING trombone
MATT PAVOLKA bass
VINNIE SPERRAZZA drums
The Quartet’s Barbès Residency continues on
TUESDAY DECEMBER 18TH 7PM
& 2ND Tuesdays of every month in 2013
Corner of 6TH Ave. & 9TH Street in Park Slope
barbesbrooklyn.com
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT
ben-holmes.com
skirlrecords.com
39
êJoe Bataan Tentet
Flushing Town Hall 8 pm $10-40
êCecil Bridgewater Trio
êBen Allison Band with Steve Cardenas, Brandon Seabrook, Allison Miller
êRahn Burton Trio
êGabriel Alegría Afro-Peruvian Sextet
Roger Smith Hotel 8 pm $30
• Rashied Ali Tribute Band with Lawrence Clark, Josh Evans, Greg Murphy, Joris Teepe,
Eric McPherson; Jean-Michel Pilc ShapeShifter Lab 7:30, 8:30 pm $10
êWill Connell Quartet with Chris Forbes, Larry Roland, Thurman Barker Brecht Forum 8 pm $15
• Swim Team: Casey Berman, Elliot Berman, Tim Merle, Mike Sink; Julian Pollack Quartet
with Nir Felder, Martin Nevin, Evan Hughes
I-Beam 8:30 pm $10
• Justin Peake’s Beautiful Bells with Dave LeBleu, Eivind Opsvik; Jim Campilongo and
High Space with Erik Deutsch, Jeff Hill, Tony Mason
• Tim Byrnes/C. Spencer Yeh
Exapno 8 pm $5
• Patrick Cornelius Trio with Hans Glawischnig, Luca Santanielo
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Lina Orfanos and Quartet with Daniel Kelly, Spiros Exaras, Lonnie Plaxico,
Richie Morales
Drom 7:15 pm $20
• Ben Meigners Band; Fabio Morgera New York Cats
Fat Cat 7, 10 pm
êPascAli: Sean Ali/Pascal Niggenkemper
109 Gallery 8 pm
• The Inbetweens: Mike Gamble, Noah Jarrett, Conor Elmes
Brooklyn Conservatory of Music 8 pm $10
• Carmen Intorre Jr.
• Elsa Nilsson Quartet with Yuka Tadano, Cody Rahn; Nick Di Maria Quartet with
Andrew Kosiba, Andrew Zwart, Michael Dick; Brett Sandler Trio with Peter Longofono,
Adam Pin
• Tunk Trio: Chris Tunkel, Anders Nilsson, Curt Sydnor
Branded Saloon 12:30 am
êBig Band Holidays: Jazz at Lincoln Center with guests René Marie, Gregory Porter
Rose Hall 2, 8 pm $30-120
• The Music of Nina Simone: Kim Nalley with Tammy Hally, Michael Zisman, Kent Bryson,
Greg Skaff and guest James Carter
Allen Room 7:30, 9:30 pm $55-65
êPeter Bernstein Trio with Larry Goldings, Bill Stewart
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 pm $35
• Dwayne Clemons; David Berkman Trio; Billy Drummond Group
Smalls 4, 7:30, 10:30 pm $20
• Tim Horner Quartet with Joe Locke, Jim Ridl, Dean Johnson
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
• Wade Barnes’ Unit Structures: Bill Ware, Tulivu-Donna Cumberbatch, Julian Pressley,
Gene Ghee, Marshall Sealy, Bertha Hope, Yoshiki Miura, Saadi Zain, Jaime Affoumado
Roulette 1 pm $5
• Marsha Heydt Quartet; Champian Fulton Trio; Akiko Tsuruga Trio
The Garage 12, 6:15, 10:45 pm
Sunday, December 9
• Chico Hamilton with Nick Demopoulos, Paul Ramsey, Evan Schwam, Mayu Saeki,
Jeremy Carlstedt and guests
Drom 7:15 pm $15
• Brandon Ross’ Yet Another Plane with Stomu Takeishi, Stephanie Richards, Hardedge;
Mike Kanan/Peter Bernstein
êWeasel Walter, Peter Evans, Mary Halvorson
Death By Audio 8 pm
êLage Lund 4 with Ed Simon, Ben Street, Bill Stewart
• Tony Hewitt; Johnny O’Neal Trio; David Schnitter Quartet
Smalls 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $20
• Translucent Explorations: Lena Bloch, Dan Tepfer, Dave Miller, Billy Mintz
The Firehouse Space 8 pm $10
• Seung-Hee with Adam Kolker, Toru Dodo, Ike Sturm, Mark Ferber
• Jane Getter Trio with Andy McKee, Mike Clark
• Devin Bing
• Unique: Steven Fowler, Ranzel Merrit, Dylan Meek, Alexander Claffy, Owen Erickson;
Lluis Capdevila Trio with Joonsam Lee, Eliot Zigmund
• Quentin Angus Quartet
Shrine 8 pm
Paulette McWilliams
Friday, December 14, 7pm & 9pm
She sang with Quincy Jones,
Marvin Gaye and Luther Vandross.
Experience her
sultry jazz vocals in this
rare NY appearance!
Telling Stories with
The Nat Adderley Jr. Quartet
Nat Adderley, Music Director & Piano
Vincent Herring, Reeds
Vince Ector, Drums
Trifon Dimitrov, Bass
Produced by GJ Productions
*Use Discount Code ADH1212 for $20 ticket by Dec 10
General admission $25*
www.adhatccny.org | Call 212-650-6900
AARON DAVIS HALL IS LOCATED AT W. 135TH ST.
& CONVENT AVE. ON THE CAMPUS OF THE CITY
COLLEGE OF NEW YORK
• Matt Lavelle solo; James Brandon Lewis, Max Johnson, Wes Reid
Downtown Music Gallery 6 pm
• Ike Sturm Ensemble
• Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble with guest Shira Lissek
Congregation Mount Sinai 4 pm $8-20
• Donn Trenner/Shaynee Rainbolt Metropolitan Room 4 pm $20
• Mark Gross and Blackside
Blue Note 12:30, 2:30 pm $29.50
• Roz Corral Trio with Roni Ben-Hur, Alex Gressel
• Lou Caputo Quartet; David Coss Quartet; Abe Ovadia Trio
Monday, December 10
êJohn Hollenbeck Big Band with Ben Kono, Jeremy Viner, Tony Malaby, Dan Willis,
Bohdan Hilash, Mark Patterson, Mike Christenson, Jacob Garchik, Alan Ferber,
Tony Kadleck, John Bailey, Dave Ballou, Laurie Frink, Kermit Driscoll, Matt Mitchell,
Patricia Franceshy, Theo Bleckmann, JC Sanford and guest Kate McGarry
Roulette 8 pm $15
êCindy Blackman-Santana Trio with Marc Cary, Rashaan Carter
Baruch College Performing Arts Center 7:30 pm $25-30
êMingus Orchestra
• NY Youth Symphony Jazz Classic with Wycliffe Gordon
• Laura Brunner; Jowee Omicil and the Core
Zinc Bar 7, 9 pm
êThe Gate: Dan Peck, Tom Blancarte, Brian Osborne; Cactus Truck: John Dikeman,
Jasper Stadhouders, Onno Govaert; The Home of Easy Credit:
Louise Dam Eckardt Jensen/Tom Blancarte
Spectrum 9 pm
• Cyrille Aimee Duet; Ari Hoenig Group; Spencer Murphy Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12 am $20
• Travis Sullivan’s Casual Sextet ShapeShifter Lab 8:30 pm $10
• Kyle Saulnier’s Awakening Orchestra with Jesse Lewis
• Red Thread: Sarah Bernstein, Anders Nilsson, Stuart Popejoy, Pete Nelson
• Stephanie Hacker Band with Pete McCann, Dan Fabricatore, Mark Ferber
Austrian Cultural Forum 7:30 pm
• Mika Harry Trio with Gilad Hekselman, Jorge Roeder
• Cecilia Coleman Big Band
Tea Lounge 9, 10:30 pm
• Juilliard Jazz Ensembles
Paul Hall 8 pm
• Elan Asch Trio with Corcoran Holt, Mark Whitfield Jr.
• Howard Williams Jazz Orchestra; Stan Killian Quartet
Tuesday, December 11
êRoy Haynes Quartet
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
êMedeski Martin & Wood
êKenny Garrett Quintet with Benito Gonzalez, Corcoran Holt, McClenty Hunter,
Rudy Bird
• Paul Sikivie Quartet with Grant Stewart
êChristian McBride Trio with Christian Sands, Ulysses Owens
• Zach Brock Quartet with Aaron Goldberg, Matt Penman, Eric Harland
• Bria Skonberg with Ehud Asherie, Sean Cronin, Colleen Clark, Ronnie Magri and guest
êChristopher Alpiar Quartet with Pete Rende, Matt Pavolka, Bob Meyer;
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten’s The Young Mothers with Jawwaad Taylor, Jason Jackson,
Jonathan Horne, Stefan Gonzalez, Frank Rosaly; Eivind Opsvik’s Overseas with
Tony Malaby, Kenny Wollesen, Brandon Seabrook, Jacob Sacks
ShapeShifter Lab 7, 8:30, 9:30 pm $10
êPhantom Orchard: Zeena Parkins; Ikue Mori; Pet Bottle Ningen
Roulette 8 pm $15
• Richard Andersson Quintet with Ralph Alessi, Herb Robertson, Tony Malaby,
Nasheet Waits
I-Beam 8:30 pm $10
• Spike Wilner solo; Sharel Cassity Group; Frank Lacy, Theo Hill, Josh Evans
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12 am $20
• Dan Rieser; Marika Hughes solo The Stone 8, 10 pm $10
êGordon Beeferman; Ideal Bread: Josh Sinton, Kirk Knuffke, Richard Giddens,
Tomas Fujiwara
Korzo 9, 10:30 pm $5
• James Shipp’s Nos Novo with Becca Stevens, Jean Rohe, Gilad Hekselman,
Rogério Boccato Cornelia Street Café 8:30 pm $10
• Stan Killian Quintet with Mike Moreno, Bryan Copeland, Darrell Green
55Bar 7 pm
• Javier Moreno Trio with George Dulin, Tony Moreno
• Billy Test solo
• Jose Luis Armengot Quintet with Yosuke Sato, Lluis Capdevila, Yuta Tanaka,
Jun Nishijima; Sarah Kervin
• Mike Dease Big Band; Chris Carroll Trio
• Isaac Darche
Shrine 6 pm
ê2012 Jazz Interlude honoring Spike Lee with Terence Blanchard, Jason Moran and the
Bandwagon with Tarus Mateen, Nasheet Waits and guest Ravi Coltrane
Museum of Modern Art 6:30 pm $125-1,000
êThe Cookers: Billy Harper, Eddie Henderson, David Weiss, Craig Handy,
George Cables, Cecil McBee, Billy Hart; Geri Allen’s Timeline with Kenny Davis,
Maurice Chestnut, Kassa Overall 92YTribeca 8, 9:15 pm $12
• Janis Siegel
Drom 7:15 pm $20
inner circle music
photo Janis Wilkins
JAZZ AT KITANO
December 20 (shows at 8 & 10 pm)
66 Park Ave @ E 38 St, New York City
res 212-885-7119
Teri Roiger (voice) James Weidman (piano)
John Menegon (bass) Steve Williams (drums)
DEAR ABBEY: THE MUSIC OF ABBEY LINCOLN
was chosen as a favorite new release in Sept 2012 by Laurence
Donohue-Greene, Managing Editor of NYC Jazz Record
On Dear Abbey, Roiger delivers a joyous, deeply felt vocal
tribute that gives Lincoln’s material fresh consideration...a
vocalist who wraps Lincoln’s complex songs around her finger.
-Marc Myers, www.jazzwax.com
www.teriroiger.com
êDavid Virelles’ Continuum with Ben Street, Andrew Cyrille, Roman Diaz, Roman Filiu
Drom 9:30 pm $15
êIngebrigt Håker Flaten’s The Young Mothers with Jawwaad Taylor, Jason Jackson,
Jonathan Horne, Stefan Gonzalez, Frank Rosaly; Cactus Truck: John Dikeman,
Jasper Stadhouders, Onno Govaert; Zombi Jazz: Michael Foster, Alex Hood,
Eric Silberberg, Dan Stern
JACK 8 pm
• EJ Strickland Quintet with Godwin Louis, Marcus Strickland, Luis Perdomo, Linda Oh
Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm
êAngelica Sanchez Trio; Ingrid Laubrock, Ralph Alessi, Kris Davis, Tom Rainey
• Tyshawn Sorey
Barbès 8 pm $10
• Magos Herrera Quintet with Helio Alves, Mike Moreno, Alex Kautz
• Aaron Goldberg Quartet; David Gibson Quartet
• Shai Maestro Trio with Scott Colley, Henry Cole
êSamuel Blaser group with Michael Blake, Russ Lossing, Michael Bates, Jeff Davis;
George Schuller, Thomas Heberer, Anders Nilsson, Joe Fonda
Seeds 8, 10 pm $10
• Hildegunn Gjedrem Group Expanded with David Cook, Ben Stivers, Bob Lanzetti,
Michael League, Jordan Perlson, Nate Werth, Alison Wedding, Sarah Tolar, Katya Diaz
ShapeShifter Lab 8:30 pm $10
• Jonathan Batiste and the Stay Human Band
Metropolitan Community Church 7 pm
• David White Jazz Orchestra with Andrew Gould, Omar Daniels, Sam Taylor, Sam Dillon,
Stephen Plekan, Miki Hirose, Volker Goetze, Alicia Rau, Pablo Masis, Deborah Weisz,
Dan Reitz, Alaina Alster, Robert Stattel, Nick Consol, Doug Drewes, Ryan Cavan
Studios 353 7:30 pm $5
• Roger Davidson; Equilibrium Caffe Vivaldi 7:15, 8:30 pm
• Cristina Morrison
• Terry Vakirtzoglou/Tuomo Uusitalo; Hiro Momoi Identified Strangers with
Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, Nir Felder, Julian Shore, Sam Minaie, Hiro Momoi
Somethin’ Jazz Club 7, 9 pm $7
• Carl Bartlett Jr. Quartet; Mauricio de Souza’s Bossa Brasil
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
êMedeski Martin & Wood with guest Nels Cline
Rudy Bird
• Terese Genecco, Shaynee Rainbolt and the Little Big Band
êKenny Barron/Dave Holland Duo
• Songs in the Key of Life - Robert Glasper with Questlove, Derrick Hodge,
êTrevor Dunn solo; Endangered Blood: Chris Speed, Oscar Noriega, Trevor Dunn,
Jim Black
êGregg August Group with Sam Newsome, Luis Perdomo, EJ Strickland; Marty Ehrlich/
James Weidman Duo; Marty Ehrlich Rites Quartet with James Zollar, Erik Friedlander,
Michael Sarin
ShapeShifter Lab 7:30, 9:30 pm $10
• Joel Harrison 7 with Donny McCaslin, Zach Brock, Dave Eggar, Jacob Sacks,
Drew Gress, Jordan Perlson; Brandon Ross’ Pendulum with Kevin Ross,
Chris Eddleton, Hardedge
92YTribeca 8, 9:30 pm $20
êLast Jam at 290 Hudson hosted by Marcus Strickland
The Jazz Gallery 8 pm
• Eliot Zigmund Trio; Walt Weiskopf Quartet
Smalls 7:30, 10:30 pm $20
• Paulette McWilliams and Nat Adderley Jr. Quartet with Vincent Herring, Trifon Dimitrov,
Vince Ector
Aaron Davis Hall 7, 9 pm $25
• Allison Miller and Big Molasses; Marika Hughes and Bottom Heavy
Littlefield 8 pm $12-15
• Melissa Aldana Trio with Pablo Valle, Rodney Green
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Max Johnson’s Grayscale with Angelica Sanchez, Kenny Wollesen
The Firehouse Space 8:30, 10 pm $10
• Banda Magda: Magda Giannikou, Petros Klampanis, Marcelo Woloski, Mika Mimura,
Ignacio Hernandez
Drom 11:30 pm $10
• Joe Alterman
• Douglas Bradford Trio with Pascal Niggenkemper, Nick Anderson
Turtle Bay Music School 7 pm
• Lara-Faye and the Straight Man Band with Sasha Hirsch, Andrew Sheron, Brett Chalfin Cornelia Street Café 9, 10:30 pm $15
• Alston Jack Quintet
Jazz 966 8 pm $20
• Larry Newcomb Quartet
• Primordial Jazz Funktet: Maya Azucena, Dan Furman, Miki Hirose, Arun Luthra,
Ariel de la Portilla, Luciana Padmore; Alex Bosworth; Sapphire Adizes Quintet with
Lucas Del Calvo, Jochem Le Cointre, Zack Hartmann, Donnie Spackman
• Dave Kain Group; Kevin Dorn and the BIG 72
êKenny Barron/Dave Holland Duo Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30 pm $30
• Songs in the Key of Life - Robert Glasper with Questlove, Derrick Hodge,
Lalah Hathaway, Stokley, Eric Roberson,
Harlem Stage Gatehouse 7:30 pm $20-45
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
êMedeski Martin & Wood with guest Bill Evans
• International Orange: Dave Phelps, Todd Isler, Gaku Takanashi
Blue Note 12:30 am $10
Rudy Bird
Dizzy’s Club 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $35
Shrine 6 pm
Lalah Hathaway, Stokley, Eric Roberson,
Harlem Stage Gatehouse 7:30 pm $20-45
êGrass Roots: Darius Jones, Alex Harding, Sean Conly, Chad Taylor
Barbès 7, 8:30 pm $10
êAlexis Cuadrado Group; Steven Bernstein
• Sam Harris Group with Roman Filiu, Martin Nevin, Craig Weinrib
êIngebrigt Håker Flaten’s The Young Mothers with Jawwaad Taylor, Jason Jackson,
Jonathan Horne, Stefan Gonzalez, Frank Rosaly; The Home of Easy Credit:
Louise Dam Eckardt Jensen/Tom Blancarte
Terraza 7 9 pm $5
• Russ Nolan Group with Art Hirahara, Michael O’Brien, Brian Fishler and guest
Zach Brock
• Ehud Asherie Trio; Steve Slagle Group; Bruce Harris/Alex Hoffman Group
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12 am $20
êGabriel Alegría/Badal Roy
Nuyorican Poets Café 9 pm
• Michael Feinberg; Harish Raghavan Trio with Ben Wendel, Clarence Penn;
Ronnie Burrage
ShapeShifter Lab 8, 9, 10 pm $10
• Will Mason Band with Terrence McManus, Rafiq Bhatia, Stuart Breczinski,
Danny Fisher-Locchead, Dan Stein; Josh Sinton’s Caput Sufferre with Brad Henkel,
Liz Kosack, Landon Knoblock, Adam Hopkins, Simon Jermyn, Devin Gray
• Eli Keszler/Ashley Paul
• Nicky Schrire with Fabian Almazan, Desmond White, Otis Brown III Cornelia Street Café 8:30 pm $10
• Karl Berger’s Improvisers Orchestra
El Taller LatinoAmericano 9 pm
• Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble with Bobby Sanabria, Michael Hashim,
Frank Wagner, Obanilu Allende Baruch College Performing Arts Center 7:30 pm $25-30
• Minerva: JP Schlegelmilch, Pascal Niggenkemper, Carlo Costa
I-Beam 9 pm $10
• Jacam Manricks Trio with Chris Tordini, Ross Pederson
• Chris Welcome Quartet
Goodbye Blue Monday 9 pm
• Marchelle Jackson
• Justin Lees Trio
• Bob Arthurs Quintet with Ted Brown, Jon Easton, Joe Solomon, Barbara Merjan;
Dan DeChellis Trio with Mitch Shelly, Zack Martin
• Dre Barnes Project; Andrew Hadro Quartet
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
êMedeski Martin & Wood with guest Marc Ribot
Rudy Bird
• Harlem Speaks: Jean-Michel Pilc Jazz Museum in Harlem 6:30 pm
Friday, December 14
êEddie Palmieri - A Career Retrospective: Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band;
Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra Rose Hall 8 pm $30-120
êBuster Williams Quartet with Mark Gross, Renee Rosnes, Lenny White
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 pm $35
êFrank Kimbrough Trio with Jay Anderson, Matt Wilson
• The Dream: Daniel Carter, William Parker, Federico Ughi
I-Beam 8:30 pm $10
41
êLouis and Gerald Hayes Band
êBrooklyn Jazz Wide Open: WORKS: Michel Gentile, Daniel Kelly, Rob Garcia with
guests David Binney, Scott Colley Brooklyn Conservatory of Music 8 pm $15
êWycliffe Gordon Quintet with Zach Brock, Aaron Diehl, Yasushi Nakamura,
Alvin Atkinson, Jr.
Miller Theatre 8 pm $25-30
êMin Xiao-Fen’s Dim Sum with Satoshi Takeishi; William Parker’s Winter Music for
Mixed Ensemble with Dave Hofstra, JD Parran, Justin Fryer, Keith Park,
Kyoko Kitamura, Miya Masoka The Stone 8, 10 pm $10
êEndangered Blood: Jim Black, Oscar Noriega, Trevor Dunn, Chris Speed
êAcreage: Uri Caine, Steve Cardenas, Lonnie Plaxico, Matt Wilson
• Travis Laplante Quartet with Mat Maneri, Michael Formanek, Randy Peterson;
Frode Gjerstad Trio with Jon Rune Strom, Paal Nilssen-Love
I-Beam 8:30 pm $10
êMichael Bisio/Ken Filiano
The Firehouse Space 8, 9:30 pm $10
• Merger: Andrew D’Angelo, Josh Roseman, Ben Street, Nasheet Waits
• Patrick Breiner/Cathlene Pineda; Minerva: JP Schlegelmilch, Pascal Niggenkemper,
Carlo Costa; Noah Kaplan, Pascal Niggenkemper, Devin Gray
êMikarimba and Richard Stoltzman with John Tropea, Anthony Jackson, Duke Gadd
Drom 7 pm $15
• Bill Cole, Ras Moshe, Shayna Dulberger; Lisa Mezzacappa, Daniel Carter, Fay Victor,
Adam Lane; D3: Bruce Ditmas, Matt Lavelle, Tony Diccico, Jack Desalvo;
Send Out Signals: Thomas DeSteno, Ras Moshe, Tom Zlabinger
Brecht Forum 7 pm $10
• Yotam Silberstein Trio with Matt Penman, Jochen Rueckert
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Tarek Yamani Trio with Carlo De Rosa, John Davis
Alwan for the Arts 8 pm $20
• Craig Brann Group
The Stoop 8 pm
• Tony Purrone Trio
• Nobody’s Business Trio: Cadden Jones, Alecia Evans, Linda Sue Moshier; Stix Bones
• Satchmo Mannan Holiday Celebration: John “Satchmo” McRae, Vinnie Knight,
Alvin Flythe, Brian McKenzie, Chuck Ferruggia, Rahn Burton, Yayoi Ikawa, Kim Clark
• Luiz Simas with Itaiguara, Adriano Santos; Charles Sibirsky with Bonnie Goodman,
Alexa Fila, Joe Solomon; Olli Soikkeli with Luke Hendon, James Robbins
êEddie Palmieri - A Career Retrospective: Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band;
Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra Rose Hall 8 pm $30-120
êBuster Williams Quartet with Mark Gross, Renee Rosnes, Lenny White
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 pm $35
êLast Jam at 290 Hudson hosted by Marcus Strickland
The Jazz Gallery 8 pm
• Dwayne Clemons; Ralph LaLama and Bop Juice; Walt Weiskopf Quartet
Smalls 4, 7:30, 10:30 pm $20
• Joe Alterman
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
Rudy Bird
• Nick Di Maria
Shrine 6 pm
• Fukushi Tainaka Trio; Mark Marino Trio; Iris Ornig Quartet
The Garage 12, 6:15, 10:45 pm
Sunday, December 16
êJohn Hébert Trinity Project with Benoît Delbecq, Gerald Cleaver
Joe’s Pub 7 pm $15
êBucky Pizzarelli/Ed Laub Duet; Johnny O’Neal Trio; Spike Wilner Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $20
• Momenta Quartet and Ensemble FIRE; Matthias Müller Trio
êMinerva: Carlo Costa, Pascal Niggenkemper, JP Schlegelmilch; Steve Swell Band with
Rob Brown, Chris Forbes, Hill Greene, Michael TA Thompson
The Firehouse Space 8, 9 pm $10
• Andrea Wood
• Reggie Young/Camille Gainer Explorations; Uri Gurvich Group with Asen Doykin,
Peter Slavov, Eric Doob; Daniel Ori Quintet with Jean Caze, Oz Noy, Glenn Zaleski,
Ross Pederson
• Alex Kautz with Helio Alves, Mike Moreno, Hans Glawischnig, Magos Herrera
• Mike Rood Trio with Rick Rosato, Colin Stranahan
• Out of Your Head: Jake Henry, Brad Henkel, Darius C. Jones, Matt Plummer;
Nathaniel Morgan, Ed Rosenberg, Dave Miller, Adam Hopkins, Martin Urbach
The Backroom 9:30, 11 pm
• Linda Presgrave Quartet with Stan Chovnick, Fred Weidenhammer, Seiji Ochiai;
Hyuna Park Quintet with David Bertrand, Amadis Dunkel, Joseph Han, Spiro Sinigos;
Ehud Ettun Quartet with Tal Gur, Kevin Harris, Jorge Perez Albela
• Joe Alterman
Rudy Bird
• George Schuller Circle Wide with Brad Shepik, Peter Apfelbaum; Lisa Mezzacappa,
Matt Nelson, Jonathan GoldbergerDowntown Music Gallery 6 pm
• Sean Smith Trio with John Ellis, Russell Meissner
55Bar 6 pm
• Andy Ezrin Trio
• Akiko Tsuruga with Jerry Weldon, Joe Magnarelli, Bob DeVos, Rudy Petschauer
Blue Note 12:30, 2:30 pm $29.50
• Roz Corral Trio with Paul Meyers North Square Lounge 12:30, 2 pm
• Iris Ornig Quartet; David Coss Quartet; Jacob Deaton Trio
Monday, December 17
êEddie Bert Memorial
êMingus Big Band
• Chris Botti
êBQE Jazz Fest: Queens Jazz Overground: Josh Deutsch, Amanda Monaco,
Mark Wade, Brian Woodruff and Brooklyn Jazz Underground: David Smith,
Adam Kolker, Tammy Scheffer, David Cook, Rob Garcia, Owen Howard
ShapeShifter Lab 7:30 pm $10
• Matt Pavolka Band with Ben Monder, Pete Rende, Ted Poor
• Holiday Swing: Doug Wamble Trio with Morgan James
• Colin Stranahan Trio; Ari Hoenig Group; Spencer Murphy Jam
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12 am $20
• Lisa Mezzacappa Trio with Chris Welcome, Mike Pride; James Brandon Lewis/
Haim Peskoff Duo; Shayna Dulberger Quartet with Yoni Kretzmer, Chris Welcome,
Carlo Costa
Legion 8:30 pm
• Julie Eigenberg, Yaron Gershovsky, Conrad Korsch
Drom 7:30 pm $20
• Charles Brewer Trio with Douglas Bradford, Nicolas Letman-Burtinovic
Sycamore 9:30 pm $5
• Stan Killian Trio with Zack Lober, Darrell Green
Ave D 9 pm
• Camille Thurman
Zinc Bar 7 pm
• Camila Meza Trio with Sam Anning, Colin Stranahan
• Steve Newcomb Orchestra
Tea Lounge 9, 10:30 pm
• Amadis Dunkel Big Band
Somethin’ Jazz Club 7 pm
• Howard Williams Jazz Orchestra; Kenny Shanker Quartet
êMatt Wilson’s Christmas Tree ‘O with Jeff Lederer, Paul Sikivie and guest Bill Frisell
êChristian McBride and Inside Straight with Steve Wilson, Warren Wolf, Peter Martin,
Carl Allen
êFreddy Cole
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
• Jazz Samba Christmas: Duduka Da Fonseca, Helio Alves, Maucha Adnet, Anat Cohen,
Romero Lubambo, Hans Glawischnig
• Tony Lustig Quintet
êJason Robinson Tiresian Symmetry with JD Parran, Marty Ehrlich, Bill Lowe,
Marcus Rojas, Liberty Ellman, Drew Gress, George Schuller, Ches Smith
êJoe Fiedler’s Big Sackbut with Josh Roseman, Ryan Keberle, Marcus Rojas;
The Inbetweens: Mike Gamble, Noah Jarrett, Conor Elmes
Korzo 9, 10:30 pm $5
• Spike Wilner solo; David Kikoski Trio; Frank Lacy, Theo Hill, Josh Evans
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12 am $20
• Terese Genecco Little Big Band Iridium 8, 10 pm $25
• Sara Gazarek/Dan Tepfer
• Yoon Sun Choi’s The E-String Band with Jacob Sacks, Khabu Doug Young,
Thomas Morgan, Vinnie Sperrazza; Steve Salerno Trio with Dean Johnson,
Frank Bellucci
êBen Holmes Quartet with Curtis Hasselbring, Matt Pavolka, Ben Perowsky
Barbès 7 pm $10
• Paul Carlon Trio with Paul Bollenback, Trifon Dimitrov
• Billy Test solo
• James Robbins Quintet with Christoph Huber, Nat Janoff, Sharik Hassan,
Charles Goold; Dorian Wallace Big Band with Cam Collins, Lynn Ligammari,
Tim McDonald, Zach Mayer, Frank London, Wayne Tucker, Alphonso Horne,
John Raymond, Andy Hunter, Frank Niemeyer, Joe McDonough, Frank Cohen,
Tim Basom, Dmitri Kolesnik, Mike Campenni, Madison Cano
• Lou Caputo Not So Big Band; David Baron Trio
• Chris Botti
• Elise Wood Duo
Shrine 6 pm
• L’Image: Mike Mainieri, Warren Bernhardt, David Spinozza, Tony Levin, Steve Gadd
êMichaël Attias’ Spun Tree with Ralph Alessi, Matt Mitchell, Sean Conly, Tom Rainey
êDan Weiss Trio with Jacob Sacks, Thomas Morgan
Barbès 8 pm $10
• Marcus Miller; Wallace Roney Zinc Bar 8, 9:30, 11:30 pm 1 am
• George Schuller’s Circle Wide with Peter Apfelbaum, Brad Shepik, Tom Beckham,
Dave Ambrosio; Instant Strangers: Tim Berne, Mary Halvorson, Stephan Crump,
Tomas Fujiwara
Shapeshifter Lab 8:30, 9:30 pm $15
• John Coltrane Festival: Bruce Harris Sextet with Jerry Weldon, Julius Tolentino,
Jeb Patton, David Wong, Pete van Nostrand
Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm
• Oded Tzur Quartet with Shai Maestro, Petros Klampanis, Ziv Ravitz; Damon Banks’
Travelguides with Graham HaynesThe Stone 8, 10 pm $10
• Beat Kaestli with Ben Stivers, Matt Wigton, Fred Kennedy and guest Kenny Rampton
• Randy Johnston Trio; Noah Jackson
• Curtis Macdonald Trio with Chris Tordini, Adam Jackson; Steve Gorn/Eric Fraser
Seeds 8:30 pm
• Melissa Stylianou Quintet with Jamie Reynolds, Pete McCann, Gary Wang, Mark Ferber
55Bar 7, 8:15 pm
• The New York Bakery Connection: Antonello Parisi, Joseph Han, Luiz Ebert
• Bobby Porcelli Quartet; John Raymond Quartet
• Teriver Cheung
Shrine 7 pm
êMatt Wilson’s Christmas Tree ‘O with Jeff Lederer, Paul Sikivie and guest Bill Frisell
Carl Allen
êFreddy Cole
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
• Chris Botti
êFreddy Cole Trio
êJoe Fiedler’s Big Sackbut with Josh Roseman, Luis Bonilla, Marcus Rojas
êPhilip Harper; Will Calhoun Trio Zinc Bar 8, 10 pm 12 am
• John Coltrane Festival: Autumn Serenade - Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane
Revisited: Gregory Generet Quintet with Mark Gross
Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm
êDarius Jones Quartet with Matt Mitchell, Trevor Dunn, Ches Smith
êJean-Michel Pilc, Francois Moutin, Ari Hoenig Cornelia Street Café 8:30 pm $10
êJane Ira Bloom’s Trio with Mark Helias, Bobby Previte; Jason Kao Hwang’s EDGE with
Taylor Ho Bynum, Andrew Drury, Ken Filiano
êTeri Roiger Quartet with James Weidman, John Menegon, Steve Williams
• Deanna Kirk Duet; Adam Brenner/David Hazeltine Group; Carlos Abadie Group
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12 am $20
• Christopher Jentsch Group No Net with Michel Gentile, Mike McGinnis, Jason Rigby,
David Smith, Brian Drye, Jacob Sacks, Jim Whitney, John Mettam;
Adelante: J. Jody Janetta, Jack Jez, Steve Testa
• Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble
Bronx Music Heritage Center 8 pm $5
• Stan Killian Trio with Bryan Copeland, McClenty Hunter
• Josh Sinton/Aryeh Kobrinsky Noella Brew Bar 7 pm
• Simon Jermyn/Dan Tepfer; Jonathan Moritz’s Secret Tempo Trio with
Shayna Dulberger, Mike Pride
Lark Café 8, 9 pm $10
• Joelle and The Pinehurst Trio; Nick Finzer/Joe McDonough Quintet with Chris Ziemba,
Dave Baron, Jimmy Macbride
• Mamiko Watanabe Trio
• Eliane Amherd; Alex Levine with Danny Fisher-Lochhead, Julian Smith, Jay Sawyer
• George Weldon Trio; Will Terrill Trio
Carl Allen
êFreddy Cole
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
• Chris Botti
Friday, December 21
êLa Natividad en Jazz: Steve Turre, Ray Vega, Max Pollak, Brenda Feliciano,
Claudia Acuña, Mauricio Trejo, Jorge Ocasio, David DeJesus, Daniel Rodriguez,
Franshees Richardo, Candido, Chembo Corniel, Bobby Sanabria, Enrique Sanchez,
Alex Brown, Shadia Almasri, Elise Hernandez, Bert Dovo, Edwin David Vargas,
Michael Mossman, Jon Gordon, Bob Kindred, Art Baron, Adam Asarnow,
Dean Johnson, Tim Horner
BB King’s Blues Bar 7:30 pm $35-70
êMarion Cowings; Sam Newsome Group
Smalls 7:30, 10:30 pm $20
êThe Respect Sextet - Respect In Yule
Joe’s Pub 7:30 pm $15
• Lonnie Youngblood
Jazz 966 8 pm $20
• Adam Kolker with John Hébert, Billy Hart
Cornelia Street Café 9, 10:30 pm
• John Coltrane Festival: Javon Jackson Quartet with Joel Holmes, Corcoran Holt,
McClenty Hunter
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 pm $35
• New York Voices: Kim Nazarian, Lauren Kinhan, Darmon Meader, Peter Eldridge
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
• Aaron Diehl
• Schubert Uncorked: David Taylor/William; Alan Chan’s Winter News Project with
Brittany Aujou, Gregory Chudzik, Joe Hertenstein, Sean Sonderegger,
Kristin Page Stuart, Harvey ValdesThe Stone 8, 10 pm $10
• Barry Greene Trio with Marco Panascia, Adam Nussbaum
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Marianne Solivan
• Justin Purtill
• Jun Miyake Quartet
• jazzXpression: Debbie Goodrige Quinn, Tom Caldin, Robert Mwamba, Sergio Pereira,
Olivier Rambeloson, Bruno Razafindrakoto, Derrick Mbatha; Mind Open:
Andrew Ahr, Chris Covais, Dave Pellegrino, Hugo Lopez; Gianni Gagliardi Nomadic
Nature Project
• Tom Tallitsch Quartet; Kevin Dorn and the BIG 72
Carl Allen
êFreddy Cole
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
Dizzy’s Club 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $35
• Chris Botti
• Phill Niblock Winter Solstice Concert
Roulette 6 pm $15
• A Charlie Brown Christmas: John Lander Trio
Caffe Vivaldi 6 pm
Shrine 6 pm
êMark Helias’ Open Loose with Tony Malaby, Tom Rainey
• Jin Hi Kim’s KNOT with David Wallace, Richard Carrick, James Ilgenfritz;
Sarah Weaver”s Cycles of Awakening with Robert Dick, Jane Ira Bloom, Oliver Lake,
Min Xiao-Fen, Dave Taylor, Miya Masaoka, Ursel Schlicht
• Eric Vloeimans, Kinan Azmeh, Florian Weber; Loren Stillman and Bad Touch with
Nate Radley, Gary Versace, Ted Poor; George Colligan
ShapeShifter Lab 7:30, 9, 10 pm $10
• Ronny Whyte Trio
• Gilad Hekselman Trio with Joe Martin, Justin Brown
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Joonsam Lee Trio
• Emilie Weibel; Ralph Lalama; Tomoyasu Ikuta Group with Atsushi Ouchi, Hyuna Park
• Dwayne Clemons; Pete Brainin and Native Soul; Sam Newsome Group
Smalls 4, 7:30, 10:30 pm $20
McClenty Hunter
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 pm $35
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
• Justin Purtill
Carl Allen
êFreddy Cole
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
• Chris Botti
• Roz Corral Quartet with John Hart, Boris Kozlov, Eric Halvorson
55Bar 6 pm
• Brown Girl Blue Jazzage; Russel Brown and his G-Slinger Band
Metropolitan Room 4, 11:30 pm $20
• Rob Edwards Quartet; Michika Fukumori; Jason Prover Quartet
The Garage 12, 6:15, 10:45 pm
Sunday, December 23
• Terry Waldo Duo; Johnny O’Neal Trio; Grant Stewart Quartet
Smalls 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $20
• Mimi Jong’s AppalAsia with Jeff Berman, Susan Powers; Le Zhang Quintet with
Sebastien Ammann, Russ Flynn, Max Jaffe, Jacob Teichroew
• Carol Sudhalter with Martha J., Francesco Chebat, Lorenzo Sandi
• Samantha Carlson Jazz’tet with George Cotten, Steve Kaiser
McClenty Hunter
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 pm $35
• Justin Purtill
Carl Allen
• Chris Botti
• Alex Brown Band
• Marlene VerPlanck
Blue Note 12:30, 2:30 pm $29.50
• The Music of Louis Armstrong: Hot Lips Joey Morant and Catfish Stew
BB King’s Blues Bar 12 pm $25
• Roz Corral Trio with Freddie Bryant, Paul Gill
• Evan Schwam Quartet; David Coss Quartet; Joel Perry Trio
Monday, December 24
êJohn Coltrane Festival: Louis Hayes Black Pearls with Harold Mabern Quartet with
Eric Alexander Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm
êMingus Big Band
• The Magic Trio: Chris McNulty, Paul Bollenback, Ugonna Okegwo
• Chris Botti
• Tomoyasu Ikuta; Duke Bantu X Shrine 6, 8 pm
• Alex Hoffman Quartet
The Garage 5:30 pm
• Mihoko Trio Plus One with Waldron Ricks, Larry Roland, Vince Ector;
Sam Mortellaro Trio with Peter Yuskauskas, Dan Kleffmann
• Mark Marino Trio; Joey Morant Trio
êJimmy Cobb and The ‘Kind of Blue’ Band with Jeremy Pelt, Vincent Herring,
Javon Jackson, Larry Willis, Buster Williams
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
• Mike Stern Band with Randy Brecker, Anthony Jackson, Dave Weckl
êJohn Coltrane Festival: In Chicago - Cannonball & Coltrane: Steve Wilson,
Eric Alexander, Harold Mabern, Joe Farnsworth
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 pm $35
• Birdland Big Band directed by Tommy Igoe
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
êWynton Marsalis: The Louis Armstrong Continuum – Music of the Hot Five’s
and Seven’s
Dizzy’s Club 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $35
êCedar Walton Trio with David Williams, Willie Jones III
• Chris Botti
Shrine 6 pm
• Spike Wilner solo; Eli Digibri Group; Frank Lacy, Theo Hill, Josh Evans
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12 am $20
• Chris Botti
• Cecilia Coleman Trio; Evan Schwam Quartet
The Garage 1:30, 6 pm
and Seven’s
êLas Rositas: Chris Speed, Brandon Seabrook, Trevor Dunn, Oscar Noriega
Barbès 8 pm $10
• Chris Bergson Band with Jay Collins, Kenny Rampton, Chris Karlic, Craig Dreyer,
Matt Clohesy, Tony Leone
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
• Alex Minasian Trio with Dwayne “Cook” Broadnax
• JC Hopkins Biggish Band
• Eli Digibri Group
Smalls 9:30 pm $20
• Josh Lawrence Quartet; Paul Francis Trio
• Chris Botti
BROOKYLN JAZZ UNDERGROUND
(David Smith, Adam Kolker, Tammy Scheffer,
David Cook, Rob Garcia, Owen Howard)
meets
QUEENS JAZZ OVERGROUND
(Josh Deutsch, Amanda Monaco,
Mark Wade, Brian Woodruff)
SHAPESHIFTER LAB
DECEMBER 17TH - 7 PM $10
18 WHITWELL PLACE, BROOKLYN
brooklynjazz.org - queensjazz.org
êJohn Coltrane Festival: In Chicago - Cannonball & Coltrane: Steve Wilson,
Eric Alexander, Harold Mabern, Joe Farnsworth
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 pm $35
• Ehud Asherie Trio; Yotam Silberstein Quartet; Bruce Harris/Alex Hoffman Group
Smalls 7:30, 9:30 pm 12 am $20
êFay Victor with Anders Nilsson, Ratzo Harris, Jason Nazary
55Bar 7 pm
• Du Yun Quartet with Zhou Yi, Gareth Flowers, Theo Metz; Trio Tritticali: Helen Yee,
Leanne Darling, Loren Kiyoshi Dempster
êLage Lund Trio with Orlando Le Fleming, Johnathan Blake
êMikarimba
• Petros Klampanis’ Contextual with Gilad Hekselman, Jean-Michel Pilc, John Hadfield,
Maria Im, Maria Manousaki, Ljova Zhurbin, Julia MacLaine
• Yaron Gershovsky Trio with David Finck, Buddy Williams
• Michika Fukumori Trio
• The Verge: Jon Hanser, Kenny Shanker, Brian Fishler, Danny Conga;
Carol Sudhalter, Martha J., Francesco Chebat, Saadi Zain, Doug Richardson
• Champian Fulton Trio; Stan Killian Quartet
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
and Seven’s
• Chris Botti
Friday, December 28
êPete LaRoca Sims Celebration
Saint Peter’s
êHeavy Metal Duo: Bob Stewart/Ray Anderson
7 pm
êTardo Hammer Trio; Mike DiRubbo Quartet with Brian Charette
Smalls 7:30, 10:30 pm $20
• Marlene VerPlanck Quartet with Tedd Firth
• Shoko Nagai/Satoshi Takeishi; Howie Kenty with Adrianna Mateo, Joe Fee,
Vasudevan Panicker, Elzbieta Polak, Fred Trumpy
• Grupo Los Santos: Paul Carlon, David Ambrosio, Pete Smith, William Bausch,
Max Pollak and guest Kaori Fuji ShapeShifter Lab 8, 10 pm $10
êUnderground Horns
Nublu 11:45 pm
• Paul Bollenback Trio with Joseph Lepore, Roberto Gatto
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Mike Moreno
• Sa Ron Crenshaw Quartet
Jazz 966 8 pm $20
• Masami Ishikawa Quartet
43
êDavid Tronzo Trio with Stomu Takeshi, Ben Perowsky; Spanish Fly: Steven Bernstein,
David Tronzo, Marcus Rojas and guest
êJohn Zorn End of the Year Improv Festival with guests
êCyro Baptista’s Beat The Donkey with guests Jennifer Hartswick, Natalie Cressman and
James Casey
Le Poisson Rouge 11:15 pm $20
êJohn Coltrane Festival: Blue Train: Steve Turre, Eric Alexander, Harold Mabern,
Joe Farnsworth
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 pm $35
êEri Yamamoto Trio with David Ambrosio, Ikuo Takeuchi
Klavierhaus 7:30 pm
• Kaleidoscope Trio: Freddie Bryant, Patrice Blanchard, Willard Dyson
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Scot Albertson Trio with Christos Rafalides, Sean Conly; Scot Albertson Trio with
Mayu Saeki, Ron Jackson
• Dave Kain Quartet with Matt Garrison, Thomson Kneeland, Joe Abba
I-Beam 8:30 pm $10
• William Spaulding Quartet
• Zach Resnick Quintet with Mitch Guido, Gianni Bianchini, Ross Kratter,
Steve Picataggio; Yuko Kimura/Sebastien Ammann; Steve Kaiser Quartet with
Kevin Golden, George Cotten, Matt Garrity
êHeavy Metal Duo: Bob Stewart/Ray Anderson
• Dwayne Clemons; Chris Byars Octet; Mike DiRubbo Quartet with Brian Charette
Smalls 4, 7:30, 10:30 pm $20
• Mike Moreno
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
and Seven’s
Dizzy’s Club 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $35
• Chris Botti
• Marsha Heydt Quartet; Alex Layne Trio
Sunday, December 30
êTom Rainey Trio with Ingrid Laubrock, Mary Halvorson
êSam Newsome solo; Masahiko Kono, Stan Nishimura, Michael Evans
ABC No-Rio 7 pm $5
• Lezlie Harrison; Johnny O’Neal Trio; Joe Magnarelli Quartet
Smalls 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $20
êJohn Zorn End of the Year Improv Festival with guests
êJohn Coltrane Festival: Blue Train: Steve Turre, Eric Alexander, Harold Mabern,
Joe Farnsworth
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 pm $35
• Mike Moreno
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
and Seven’s
• Chris Botti
• Glenn White Quintet
• Antoinette Silicato
• Sony Holland
Blue Note 12:30, 2:30 pm $29.50
• The Music of Louis Armstrong: Hot Lips Joey Morant and Catfish Stew
BB King’s Blues Bar 12 pm $25
• Nicole Pasternak Trio with Gene Bertoncini, Sean Smith
• Mayu Saeki Trio; David Coss Quartet; Tsutomu Naki Trio
New Year’s Eve 2012
êThe Bad Plus: Ethan Iverson, Reid Anderson, Dave King
Village Vanguard 9:30, 11:30 pm $150
êMingus Big Band: Alex Sipiagin, Tatum Greenblatt, Philip Harper, Wayne Escoffery,
Abraham Burton, Alex Foster, Scott Robinson, Lauren Sevian, Ku-umba Frank Lacy,
Robin Eubanks, Dave Taylor, Helen Sung, Boris Kozlov, Donald Edwards
Jazz Standard 7:30, 10:30 pm $125-195
• Ring In The Swing: Harlem Renaissance Orchestra
Allen Room 10 pm $325
êJohn Coltrane Festival: Harold Mabern/Eric Alexander Quartet with guest
Vivian Sessoms
Smoke 6:30, 9:45 pm $112-289
êRalph Peterson
Zinc Bar 11 pm
• Joe Locke Quartet; Nilson Matta’s Brazilian Voyage Band
Jazz at Kitano 9 pm $95
• Lennie Cuje Group
Smalls 8 pm $20
• Nick Moran Trio
• Ryan Hayden Quintet with Stacy Dillard, Marianne Solivan
• David Coss Quintet
The Garage 7 pm
Iridium 7, 10:30 pm $50-175
Birdland 8, 11 pm $50-100
and Seven’s
• Chris Botti
Blue Note 7, 10 pm $75-150
U
SE
EW
D
N
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: [email protected]
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. Fresh Sound, Criss Cross,
Ayler, Silkheart, AUM Fidelity,
Nagel Heyer, Eremite, Venus,
Clean Feed, Enja and many more
R E G U L A R
E N G A G E M E N T S
MONDAYS
• Tom Abbott Big Bang Big Band Swing 46 8:30 pm
• Ron Affif Trio
Zinc Bar 9, 11pm, 12:30, 2 am
• Woody Allen/Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band Café Carlyle 8:45 pm $125
• SMOKE or Captain Black Big Band; John Farnsworth Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm
• Michael Brecker Tribute with Dan Barman The Counting Room 8 pm
• Sedric Choukroun and The Brasilieros Chez Lola 7:30 pm
• Pete Davenport/Ed Schuller Jam Session Frank’s Cocktail Lounge 9 pm
• Emerging Artists Series Bar Next Door 6:30 pm (ALSO TUE-THU)
• Joel Forrester solo
Brandy Library 8 pm
• Gato Loco
ZirZamin 10 pm
• George Gee Swing Orchestra Gospel Uptown 8 pm
• Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks Sofia’s 8 pm (ALSO TUE)
• Grove Street Stompers Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm
• JFA Jazz Jam
Local 802 7 pm
• Roger Lent Trio Jam
• Mingus Big Band
• Iris Ornig Jam Session The Kitano 8 pm
• Les Paul Trio with guests Iridium 8, 10 pm $35
• Ian Rapien’s Spectral Awakenings Jazz Groove Session Ave D 9 pm
• Stan Rubin All-Stars
Charley O’s 8:30 pm
• Vanguard Jazz Orchestra Village Vanguard 9, 11 pm $30
• Rakiem Walker Project Red Rooster 7:30 pm
• Jordan Young Group
Bflat 8 pm (ALSO WED 8:30 pm)
TUESDAYS
• Daisuke Abe Trio
Sprig 6 pm (ALSO WED-THU)
• Rick Bogart Trio with Louisa Poster L’ybane 9 pm (ALSO FRI)
• Orrin Evans Evolution Series Jam Session Zinc Bar 11 pm
• Irving Fields
Nino’s Tuscany 7 pm (ALSO WED-SUN)
• George Gee Swing Orchestra Swing 46 8:30 pm
• Loston Harris
Café Carlyle 9:30 pm $20 (ALSO WED-SAT)
• Art Hirahara Trio
Arturo’s 8 pm
• Yuichi Hirakawa Trio
Arthur’s Tavern 7, 8:30 pm
• Sandy Jordan and Larry Luger Trio Notaro 8 pm
• Mike LeDonne Quartet; Jason Marshall Quartet Smoke 7, 9, 10:30, 11:30 pm
• Russ Nolan Jazz Organ Trio Cassa Hotel and Residences 6 pm
• Iris Ornig Quartet
Crooked Knife 7 pm
• Annie Ross
The Metropolitan Room 9:30 pm $25
• Robert Rucker Trio Jam Cleopatra’s Needle 8 pm
• Slavic Soul Party Barbès 9 pm $10
• Ed Vodicka Trio with guests Pier 9 8 pm (ALSO WED-THU; FRI-SAT 9 PM)
WEDNESDAYS
• Astoria Jazz Composers Workshop Waltz-Astoria 6 pm
• Sedric Choukroun and the Eccentrics Chez Oskar 7 pm
• Roxy Coss Smoke 11:30 pm
• Roger Davidson/Pablo Aslan Caffe Vivaldi 6 pm
• Walter Fischbacher Trio Water Street Restaurant 8 pm
• Jeanne Gies with Howard Alden and Friends Joe G’s 6:30 pm
• Les Kurtz Trio; Joonsam Lee Trio Cleopatra’s Needle 7, 11:30 pm
• Jonathan Kreisberg Trio Bar Next Door 8:30, 10:30 pm $12
• Guillaume Laurent Trio Bar Tabac 7 pm
• Jake K. Leckie Trio
Kif Bistro 8 pm
• Jed Levy and Friends
Vino di Vino Wine Bar 7:30 pm (ALSO FRI)
• Greg Lewis Organ Monk with Reggie Woods Sapphire NYC 8 pm
• Ron McClure solo piano McDonald’s 12 pm (ALSO SAT)
• John McNeil/Mike Fahie Tea and Jam Tea Lounge 9 pm
• Jacob Melchior
Philip Marie 7 pm (ALSO SUN 12 PM)
• Alex Obert’s Hollow BonesVia Della Pace 10 pm
• David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Centennial Band Birdland 5:30 pm $20
• Saul Rubin Vocalist SeriesZeb’s 8 pm $10
• Stan Rubin Orchestra
Swing 46 8:30 pm
• David Schnug
Papa’s Gino’s Restaurant 8:30 pm
• Alex Terrier Trio
Antibes Bistro 7:30 pm
• Justin Wert/Corcoran Holt Benoit 7 pm
• Bill Wurtzel/Mike Gari
American Folk Art Museum Lincoln Square 2 pm
• Bill Wurtzel Duo
Velour Lounge 6:30 pm
THURSDAYS
• Rahn Burton
449 Lounge 1 pm (ALSO SAT)
• Jason Campbell Trio
Perk’s 8 pm
• Sedric Choukroun
Brasserie Jullien 7:30 pm (ALSO FRI, SAT)
• Jazz Open Mic
Perk’s 8 pm
• Lapis Luna Quintet
The Plaza Hotel Rose Club 9 pm
• Michael Mwenso and Friends Dizzy’s Club 11 pm (ALSO SAT 11:30 pm)
• Eri Yamamoto Trio
Arthur’s Tavern 7 pm (ALSO FRI-SAT)
FRIDAYS
• The Crooked Trio: Oscar Noriega, Brian Drye, Ari Folman-Cohen Barbès 5 pm
• Deep Pedestrian
Sintir 8 pm
• Charles Downs’ CentipedeThe Complete Music Studio 7 pm
• Gerry Eastman’s Quartet Williamsburg Music Center 10 pm
• Patience Higgins & The Sugar Hill Quartet Smoke 11:30 pm
• Kengo Nakamura Trio
Club A Steakhouse 11 pm
• Brian Newman Quartet
Duane Park 10:30 pm
• Frank Owens Open Mic The Local 802 6 pm
• Albert Rivera Organ Trio B Smith’s 8:30 pm (ALSO SAT)
• Brandon Sanders Trio
Londel’s 8, 9, 10 pm (ALSO SAT)
• Bill Saxton and Friends Bill’s Place 9, 11 pm $15
SATURDAYS
• Cyrille Aimee
The Cupping Room 8:30 pm
• Candy Shop Boys
Duane Park 8, 10:30 pm
• Jesse Elder/Greg RuggieroRothmann’s 6 pm
Indian Road Café 11 am
• Guillaume Laurent/Luke Franco Casaville 1 pm
• Johnny O’Neal Smoke 12:30 am
• Skye Jazz Trio
Jack 8:30 pm
• UOTS Jam Session
University of the Streets 11:30 pm $5 (ALSO SAT)
• Michelle Walker/Nick Russo Anyway Café 9 pm
• Bill Wurtzel Duo
Henry’s 12 pm
SUNDAYS
• Birdland Jazz Party
Birdland 6 pm $25
• Bill Cantrall Trio
Crescent and Vine 8 pm
• Barbara Carroll
54Below 1 pm $30-40
• Marc Devine Trio
TGIFriday’s 6 pm
• JaRon Eames/Emme KempEats 6 pm
• Ear Regulars with Jon-Erik Kellso The Ear Inn 8 pm
• Marjorie Eliot/Rudell Drears/Sedric Choukroun Parlor Entertainment 4 pm
• Gene Ess Jam Session ShapeShifter Lab 3 pm $3
• Sean Fitzpatrick and Friends Ra Café 1 pm
Grace Gospel Church 11 am
• Nancy Goudinaki’s Trio Kellari Taverna 12 pm
• Enrico Granafei solo
Sora Lella 7 pm
• Broc Hempel/Sam Trapchak/Christian Coleman Trio Dominie’s Astoria 9 pm
• Annette St. John; Allan Harris; Cynthia Soriano Smoke 11:30 am, 7, 11:30 pm
• Bob Kindred Group
Café Loup 12:30 pm
• Nate Lucas All Stars
Ginny’s Supper Club 7 pm
• Alexander McCabe Trio CJ Cullens Tavern 5 pm
• Junior Mance Trio
Café Loup 6:30 pm
• Arturo O’Farrill Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra Birdland 9, 11 pm $30
• Lu Reid Jam Session
Shrine 4 pm
• Vocal Open Mic; Johnny O’Neal Smalls 4:30, 8:30 pm
• Rose Rutledge Trio
Ardesia Wine Bar 6:30 pm
• Secret Architecture
Caffe Vivaldi 9:45 pm
• Gabrielle Stravelli Trio
The Village Trattoria 12:30 pm
• Cidinho Teixeira
Zinc Bar 10, 11:30 1 am
• Jazz Jam hosted by Michael Vitali Comix Lounge 8 pm
• Brian Woodruff Jam
Blackbird’s 9 pm
CLUB DIRECTORY
• 109 Gallery 109 Broadway Subway: 4, 5 to Wall Street
• 449 Lounge 449 Lenox Avenue Subway: 2, 3 to 135th Street
• 54 Below 254 W. 54th Street (646-476-3551) Subway: N, Q, R to 57th
Street; B, D, E to Seventh Avenue www.54below.com
• 55Bar 55 Christopher Street (212-929-9883)
Subway: 1 to Christopher Street www.55bar.com
• 92YTribeca 200 Hudson Street
(212-601-1000) Subway: 1, A, C, E to Canal Street www.92ytribeca.org
• Aaron Davis Hall 133rd Street and Convent Avenue (212-650-7100)
Subway: 1 to 137th Street/City College www.aarondavishall.org
• ABC No-Rio 156 Rivington Street (212-254-3697)
Subway: J,M,Z to Delancey Street www.abcnorio.org
• Allen Room Broadway at 60th Street, 5th floor (212-258-9800)
Subway: 1, 2, 3, 9, A, C, E, B, D, F to Columbus Circle www.jalc.org
• Alwan for the Arts 16 Beaver Street, 4th floor
(646-732-3261) Subway: 4, 5 to Bowling Green www.alwanforthearts.org
• American Folk Art Museum 45 W 53rd Street (212-265-1040)
Subway: E to 53rd Street www.folkartmuseum.org
• An Beal Bocht Café 445 W. 238th Street
Subway: 1 to 238th Street www.anbealbochtcafe.com
• Angel Orsensanz Center for the Arts 172 Norfolk Street (between Houston
& Stanton) Subway: F, V to Second Avenue, J, M, Z to Delancey
• Antibes Bistro 112 Suffolk Street (212-533-6088)
Subway: J, Z to Essex Street www.antibesbistro.com
• Anyway Café 34 E. 2nd Street (212-533-3412)
Subway: F to Second Avenue
• Apollo Theater & Music Café 253 W. 125th Street (212-531-5305)
Subway: A, B, C, D, 2, 3 to 125th Street www.apollotheater.org
• Ardesia Wine Bar 510 W. 52nd Street
(212-247-9191) Subway: C to 50th Street www.ardesia-ny.com
• Arthur’s Tavern 57 Grove Street (212-675-6879)
Subway: 1 to Christopher Street www.arthurstavernnyc.com
• Arturo’s 106 W. Houston Street (at Thompson Street)
(212-677-3820) Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, M to W. 4th Street
• Austrian Cultural Forum 11 East 52nd Street at Madison Avenue
(212-319-5300) Subway: 6 to 51st Street www.acfny.org
• Ave D 673 Flatbush Avenue Subway: B, Q to Parkside Avenue
• BB King’s Blues Bar 237 W. 42nd Street (212-997-2144)
Subway: 1, 2, 3, 7 to 42nd Street/Times Square www.bbkingblues.com
• Baruch College PAC 17 Lexington Avenue at 23rd Street
(646-312-3924) Subway: 6 to 23rd Street www.baruch.cuny.edu
• Bflat 277 Church Street (between Franklin and White Streets)
Subway: 1, 2 to Franklin Streets
• The Backroom 627 5th Avenue (718-768-0131)
Subway: D, N, R to Prospect Avenue www.freddysbar.com
• Bar 4 15th Street and 7th Avenue (718-832-9800) Subway: F to 7th Avenue,
N, M, R, D to Prospect Avenue www.bar4brooklyn.com
• Bar Next Door 129 MacDougal Street (212-529-5945)
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, M to W. 4th Street www.lalanternacaffe.com
• The Bar on Fifth 400 Fifth Avenue (212-695-4005) Subway: 6 to 33rd Street
www.capellahotels.com/newyork/bar-on-fifth-en.html
• Barbès 376 9th Street at 6th Avenue, Brooklyn (718-965-9177)
Subway: F to 7th Avenue www.barbesbrooklyn.com
• Bella Luna 584 Columbus Avenue Subway: B, C to 86th Street
• Benoit 60 W. 55th Street
Subway: F to 57th Street, N, Q, R,W to 57th Street
• Bill’s Place 148 W. 133rd Street (between Lenox and 7th Avenues)
(212-281-0777) Subway: 2, 3 to 125th Street
• Birdland 315 W. 44th Street (212-581-3080)
Subway: A, C, E, to 42nd Street www.birdlandjazz.com
• Blackbird’s 41-19 30th Avenue (718-943-6898)
Subway: R to Steinway Street www.blackbirdsbar.com
• Blue Note 131 W. 3rd Street at 6th Avenue (212-475-8592)
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, M to W. 4th Street www.bluenotejazz.com
• Borden Auditorium Broadway and 122nd Street (212-749-2802 ext. 4428)
Subway: 1 to 116th Street www.msmnyc.edu
• Branded Saloon 603 Vanderbilt Avenue (between St. Marks Avenue and
Bergen Street Subway: 2, 3 to Bergen Street www.brandedsaloon.com
• Brandy Library 25 N. Moore Street
(212-226-5545) Subway: 1 to Franklin Street
• Brecht Forum 451 W. Street (212-242-4201)
Subway: A, C, E, L, 1, 2, 3, 9 to 14th Street www.brechtforum.org
• Bronx Music Heritage Center 1303 Louis Niñe Boulevard
Subway: 2, 5 to Freeman
• Brooklyn Conservatory of Music 58 Seventh Avenue, Brooklyn
Subway: F to Seventh Avenue, N, R to Union Street www.bqcm.org
• Brooklyn Lyceum 227 4th Avenue
(718-857-4816) Subway: R to Union Street www.brooklynlyceum.com
• CJ Cullens Tavern 4340 White Plains Road, Bronx
Subway: 2 to Nereid Avenue/238th Street
• Café Carlyle 35 E. 76th Street (212-744-1600)
Subway: 6 to 77th Street www.thecarlyle.com
• Café Loup 105 W. 13th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues
(212-255-4746) Subway: F to 14th Street www.cafeloupnyc.com
• Caffe Vivaldi 32 Jones Street Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, M to W. 4th Street www.caffevivaldi.com
• Casaville 633 Second Avenue
(212-685-8558) Subway: 6 to 33rd Street www.casavillenyc.com
• Cassa Hotel and Residences 70 W. 45th Street, 10th Floor Terrace
(212-302-87000 Subway: B, D, F, 7 to Fifth Avenue www.cassahotelny.com
• Charley O’s 1611 Broadway at 49th Street (212-246-1960)
Subway: N, R, W to 49th Street
• Chez Lola 387 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn (718-858-1484)
Subway: C to Clinton-Washington Avenues www.bistrolola.com
• Chez Oskar 211 Dekalb Ave, Brooklyn (718-852-6250)
Subway: C to Lafayette Avenue www.chezoskar.com
• City Winery 155 Varick Street
(212-608-0555) Subway: 1 to Houston Street www.citywinery.com
• Cleopatra’s Needle 2485 Broadway (212-769-6969)
Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 96th Street www.cleopatrasneedleny.com
• Club A Steakhouse 240 E. 58th Street (212-618-4190)
Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 59th Street www.clubasteak.com
• Comix Lounge 353 W. 14th Street Subway: L to 8th Avenue
• The Complete Music Studio 227 Saint Marks Avenue, Brooklyn
(718-857-3175) Subway: B, Q to Seventh Avenue www.completemusic.com
• Congregation Mount Sinai 250 Cadman Plaza West (718-875-9124)
Subway: 2, 3 to Clark Street www.congregationmountsinai.org
• Cornelia Street Café 29 Cornelia Street (212-989-9319)
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, M to W. 4th Street www.corneliastreetcafé.com
• The Counting Room 44 Berry Street (718-599-1860)
Subway: L to Bedford Avenue www.thecountingroombk.com
• Creole 2167 3rd Avenue at 118th Street
(212-876-8838) Subway: 6 th 116th Street www.creolenyc.com
• Crescent and Vine 25-01 Ditmars Boulevard at Crescent Street
(718-204-4774) Subway: N, Q to Ditmars Boulevard-Astoria
• Crooked Knife 29 E. 30th Street (212-696-2593)
Subway: 6 to 33rd Street www.thecrookedknife.com
• The Cupping Room 359 West Broadway between Broome and Grand Street
(212-925-2898) Subway: A, C, E to Canal Street
• Death By Audio 49 S. 2nd St between Wythe and Kent
Subway: L to Bedford www.myspace.com/deathbyaudioshows
• Dizzy’s Club Broadway at 60th Street, 5th Floor (212-258-9800)
Subway: 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, B, D, F to Columbus Circle www.jalc.org
• Dominie’s Astoria 34-07 30th Avenue Subway: N, Q to 30th Avenue
• Douglass Street Music Collective 295 Douglass Street
Subway: R to Union Street www.295douglass.org
• Downtown Music Gallery 13 Monroe Street (212-473-0043)
Subway: F to East Broadway www.downtownmusicgallery.com
• The Drawing Room 70 Willoughby Street Subway: A, C to High Street
• Drom 85 Avenue A (212-777-1157)
Subway: F to Second Avenue www.dromnyc.com
• Duane Park 157 Duane Street (212-732-5555)
Subway: 1, 2, 3 to Chambers Street www.duaneparknyc.com
• The Ear Inn 326 Spring Street at Greenwich Street (212-246-5074)
Subway: C, E to Spring Street www.earinn.com
• Eats Restaurant 1055 Lexington Avenue
(212-396-3287) Subway: 6 to 77th Street www.eatsonlex.com
• El Taller LatinoAmericano 2710 Broadway (at 104th Street - 3rd floor)
(212-665-9460) Subway: 1 to 103rd Street
• Exapno 33 Flatbush Avenue Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5 to Nevins Street
• Eyebeam Art+Technology Center 540 W. 21st Street
(212-937-6580) Subway: C, E to 23rd Street www.eyebeam.org
• Fat Cat 75 Christopher Street at 7th Avenue (212-675-6056)
Subway: 1 to Christopher Street/Sheridan Square www.fatcatmusic.org
• Feinstein’s at Loews Regency 540 Park Avenue (212-339-4095)
Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 59th Street www.feinsteinsattheregency.com
• The Firehouse Space 246 Frost Street
Subway: L to Graham Avenue www.thefirehousespace.org
• Flushing Town Hall 137-35 Northern Boulevard, Flushing
(718-463-7700) Subway: 7 to Main Street www.flushingtownhall.org
• For My Sweet Restaurant 1103 Fulton Street at Claver Place
(718-857-1427) Subway: C to Franklin Avenue
• Fordham University Butler Commons Subway: D to Fordham Road
• Frank’s Cocktail Lounge 660 Fulton St. at Lafayette, Brooklyn
(718-625-9339) Subway: G to Fulton Street
• The Garage 99 Seventh Avenue South (212-645-0600)
Subway: 1 to Christopher Street www.garagerest.com
• Garden Café 4961 Broadway at 207 Street
(212-544-9480) Subway: A to 207th Street-Inwood
• Ginny’s Supper Club at Red Rooster Harlem 310 Malcolm X Boulevard
(212-792-9001) Subway: 2, 3 to 125th Street www.redroosterharlem.com
• Goodbye Blue Monday 1087 Broadway, Brooklyn (718-453-6343)
Subway: J, M train to Myrtle Avenue www.goodbye-blue-monday.com
• Gospel Uptown 2110 Adam Clayton Powell Junior Boulevard
(212-280-2110) Subway: A, B, C, D to 125th Street www.gospeluptown.com
• Grace Gospel Church 589 E. 164th Street
(718-328-0166) Subway: 2, 5 to Prospect Avenue
• Greenwich House Music School 46 Barrow Street
(212-242-4770) Subway: 1 to Christopher Street www.greenwichhouse.org
• Grotto 100 Forsyth Street (212-625-3444) Subway: B, D to Grand Street
www.grotto-nyc.com
• Harlem Stage Gatehouse 150 Convent Avenue at West 135th Street
(212-650-7100) Subway: 1 to 137th Street www.harlemstage.org
• Henry’s 2745 Broadway (212-866-060) 1 to 103rd Street
• I-Beam 168 7th Street between Second and Third Avenues
Subway: F to 4th Avenue www.ibeambrooklyn.com
• Indian Road Café 600 W. 218th Street @ Indian Road
(212-942-7451) Subway: 1 to 215th Street www.indianroadcafe.com
• Inkwell Café 408 Rogers Avenue between Lefferts and Sterling
Subway: 5 to Sterling Street www.plgarts.org
• Iridium 1650 Broadway at 51st Street (212-582-2121)
Subway: 1,2 to 50th Street www.theiridium.com
• Issue Project Room 22 Boerum Place
(718-330-0313) Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5 to Borough Hall; A, C, F, N, R to Jay Street
www.issueprojectroom.org
• JACK 505 Waverly Avenue
(718-388-2251) Subway: C to Clinton-Washington Avenue www.jackny.org
• Jack 80 University Place Subway: 4, 5, 6, N, R to 14th Street
• Jazz 966 966 Fulton Street
(718-638-6910) Subway: C to Clinton Street www.jazz966.com
• Jazz at Kitano 66 Park Avenue at 38th Street (212-885-7000)
Subway: 4, 5, 6 to Grand Central www.kitano.com
• The Jazz Gallery 290 Hudson Street (212-242-1063)
Subway: C, E, to Spring Street www.jazzgallery.org
• Jazz Museum in Harlem 104 E.126th Street (212-348-8300)
Subway: 6 to 125th Street www.jazzmuseuminharlem.org
• Jazz Standard 116 E. 27th between Park and Lexington Avenue
(212-576-2232) Subway: 6 to 28th Street www.jazzstandard.net
• Joe G’s 244 W. 56th Street (212-765-3160)
Subway: 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, B, D, F to Columbus Circle
• Joe’s Pub 425 Lafayette Street (212-539-8770)
Subway: N, R to 8th Street-NYU; 6 to Astor Place www.joespub.com
• Kellari Taverna 19 W. 44th Street (212-221-0144)
Subway: B, D, F, M, 7 to 42nd Street-Bryant Park www.kellari.us
• Klavierhaus 211 West 58th Street (212-245-4535)
Subway: 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, B, D, F to Columbus Circle www.klavierhaus.com
• Knickerbocker Bar & Grill 33 University Place (212-228-8490)
Subway: N, R to 8th Street-NYU www.knickerbockerbarandgrill.com
• Korzo 667 5th Avenue, Brooklyn (718-285-9425)
Subway: R to Prospect Avenue www.korzorestaurant.com
• Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church 85 South Oxford Street
(718-625-7515) Subway: G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue
• Lark Café 1007 Church Avenue, Brooklyn
(718-469-0140) Subway: Q to Beverly Road www.larkcafe.com
• Le Poisson Rouge 158 Bleecker Street (212-228-4854)
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, M to W. 4th Street www.lepoissonrouge.com
• Legion Bar 790 Metropolitan Avenue
(718-387-3797) Subway: L to Graham Avenue www.legionbrooklyn.com
• Lenox Lounge 288 Lenox Avenue between 124th and 125th Streets
(212-427-0253) Subway: 2, 3 to 125th Street www.lenoxlounge.com
• Littlefield 622 Degraw Street
(718-855-3388) Subway: M, R to Union Street www.littlefieldnyc.com
• The Living Theatre 21 Clinton Street below Houston Street
Subway: F to Second Avenue www.livingtheatre.org
• The Local 802 322 W. 48th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues
(212-245-4802) Subway: C to 50th Street www.jazzfoundation.org
• Londel’s 2620 Frederick Douglas Boulevard (212-234-6114)
Subway: 1 to 145th Street www.londelsrestaurant.com
• L’ybane 709 8th Avenue (212-582-2012)
Subway: A, C, E to 42nd Street-Port Authority www.lybane.com
• McDonald’s 160 Broadway between Maiden Lane and Liberty Street
(212-385-2063) Subway: 4, 5 to Fulton Street www.mcdonalds.com
• Metropolitan Comm. Church 1975 Madison Avenue at 126th Street
Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 125th Street
• Metropolitan Room 34 W. 22nd Street (212-206-0440)
Subway: N, R to 23rd Street www.metropolitanroom.com
• Miller Theatre 2960 Broadway and 116th Street (212-854-7799)
Subway: 1 to 116th Street-Columbia University www.millertheater.com
• Museum of Modern Art 11 West 53rd Street (212-708-9400)
Subway: E, V train to Fifth Avenue/53rd Street www.moma.org
• NYC Baha’i Center 53 E. 11th Street (212-222-5159)
Subway: 4, 5, 6, N, R to 14th Street-Union Square www.bahainyc.org
• Nathan Bugh Diana Center at Barnard College 3009 Broadway
(212-854-5262) Subway: 1 to 116th Street www.barnard.edu
• New School Arnhold Hall 55 West 13th Street
(212-229-5600) Subway: F, V to 14th Street www.newschool.edu
• Noella Brew Bar 72 Seventh Avenue, Brooklyn
(718-636-0424) Subway: B, Q to Seventh Avenue www.noellabrewbar.com
• Night of the Cookers 767 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
(718-797-1197) Subway: C to Lafayette Avenue
• Nino’s Tuscany 117 W. 58th Street (212-757-8630)
Subway: 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, B, D, F to Columbus Circle www.ninostuscany.com
• North Square Lounge 103 Waverly Place (212-254-1200)
Subway: A, B, C, E, F to West 4th Street www.northsquarejazz.com
• Notaro Second Avenue between 34th & 35th Streets (212-686-3400)
Subway: 6 to 33rd Street
• Nublu 62 Avenue C between 4th and 5th Streets
(212-979-9925) Subway: F, M to Second Avenue www.nublu.net
• Nuyorican Poets Café 236 E. 3rd Street between Avenues B and C
(212-505-8183) Subway: F, M to Second Avenue www.nuyorican.org
• Oceana Restaurant 120 W. 49th Street (212-759-5941)
Subway: B, D, F, M to 47-50 Streets - Rockefeller Center
www.oceanarestaurant.com
• Parlor Entertainment 555 Edgecombe Ave. #3F between 159th and
160th Streets (212-781-6595) Subway: C to 155th Street www.parlorentertainment.com
• Paul Hall 155 W. 65th Street (212-769-7406) Subway: 1 to 66th Street www.juilliard.edu
• The Plaza Hotel Rose Club Fifth Avenue at Central Park South
(212-759-3000) Subway: N, Q, R to Fifth Avenue www.fairmont.com
• Rockwood Music Hall 196 Allen Street (212-477-4155)
Subway: F, M to Second Avenue www.rockwoodmusichall.com
• Roger Smith Hotel 501 Lexington Avenue at 47th Street (212-755-1400)
Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 42nd Street/Grand Central
• Rose Hall Broadway at 60th Street, 5th floor (212-258-9800)
Subway: 1, 2, 3, 9, A, C, E, B, D, F to Columbus Circle www.jalc.org
• Roulette 509 Atlantic Avenue
(212-219-8242) Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic Avenue www.roulette.org
• Rubin Museum 150 W. 17th Street (212-620-5000)
Subway: A, C, E to 14th Street www.rmanyc.org
• Rue B 188 Avenue B (212-358-1700) Subway: L to First Avenue
• Saint Peter’s Church 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street
(212-935-2200) Subway: 6 to 51st Street www.saintpeters.org
• Sapphire NYC 333 E. 60th Street (212-421-3600)
Subway: 4, 5, 6, N, Q, R to 59th Street www.nysapphire.com
• Seeds 617 Vanderbilt Avenue Subway: 2, 3, 4 to Grand Army Plaza
www.seedsbrooklyn.org
• ShapeShifter Lab 18 Whitwell Place
(646-820-9452) Subway: R to Union Street www.shapeshifterlab.com
• Showman’s 375 W. 125th Street at Morningside) (212-864-8941)
Subway: A, B, C, D to 125th Street www.showmansjazz.webs.com
• Shrine 2271 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard (212-690-7807)
Subway: B, 2, 3 to 135th Street www.shrinenyc.com
• Sintir 424 E. 9th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue
(212-477-4333) Subway: 6 to Astor Place
• Sistas’ Place 456 Nostrand Avenue at Jefferson Avenue, Brooklyn
(718-398-1766) Subway: A to Nostrand Avenue www.sistasplace.org
• Smalls 183 W 10th Street at Seventh Avenue (212-252-5091)
Subway: 1,2,3,9 to 14th Street www.smallsjazzclub.com
• Smoke 2751 Broadway between 105th and 106th Streets
(212-864-6662) Subway: 1 to 103rd Street www.smokejazz.com
• Sofia’s 221 W. 46th Street Subway: B, D, F to 42nd Street
• Somethin’ Jazz Club 212 E. 52nd Street, 3rd floor (212-371-7657)
Subway: 6 to 51st Street; E to Lexington Avenue-53rd Street
www.somethinjazz.com/ny
• Sora Lella 300 Spring Street (212-366-4749)
Subway: C, E to Spring Street www.soralellanyc.com
• Spectrum 121 Ludlow Street, 2nd floor Subway: F, M to Second Avenue
• Steinway Reformed Church 21-65 41 Street at Ditmars Boulevard
Subway: N to Ditmars Blvd-Astoria
• Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall 881 Seventh Avenue (212-247-7800)
Subway: N, Q, R, W to 57th- Seventh Avenue www.carnegiehall.org
• The Stone Avenue C and 2nd Street
Subway: F to Second Avenue www.thestonenyc.com
• The Stoop 417 West 57th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues
(212-333-5583) Subway: 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, B, D, F to Columbus Circle www.thestoopny.com
• Studios 353 353 W. 48th Street, 2nd Floor
(212-757-2539) Subway: A, C, E, to 42nd Street www.studios353.com
• Swing 46 349 W. 46th Street (646-322-4051)
Subway: A, C, E to 42nd Street www.swing46.com
• Sycamore 1118 Cortelyou Road (347-240-5850)
Subway: B, Q to to Cortelyou Road www.sycamorebrooklyn.com
• Symphony Space Leonard Nimoy Thalia and Peter Jay Sharp Theatre
2537 Broadway at 95th Street (212-864-5400)
Subway: 1, 2, 3, 9 to 96th Street www.symphonyspace.org
• Tea Lounge 837 Union Street, Brooklyn (718-789-2762)
Subway: N, R to Union Street www.tealoungeNY.com
• Terraza 7 40-19 Gleane Street (718-803-9602)
Subway: 7 to 82nd Street/Jackson Heights www.terrazacafe.com
• Triad 158 West 72nd Street, 2nd floor
(212-787-7921) Subway: B, C to 72nd Street www.triadnyc.com
• Turtle Bay Music School 244 East 52nd Street Subway: 6 to 51st Street
• Two Moon Art House and Café 315 4th Avenue, Brooklyn
(718-499-0460) Subway: R to 9th Street www.twomoonbklyn.com
• University of the Streets 130 E. 7th Street
(212-254-9300) Subway: 6 to Astor Place www.universityofthestreets.org
• Velour Lounge 297 10th Avenue
(212-279-9707) Subway: C, E to 23rd Street www.velournyc.com
• Via Della Pace 48 E. 7th Street and Second Avenue
(212-253-5803) Subway: 6 to Astor Place
• The Village Trattoria 135 W. 3rd Street (212-598-0011)
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, M to W. 4th Street www.thevillagetrattoria.com
• Village Vanguard 178 Seventh Avenue South at 11th Street
(212-255-4037) Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 14th Street www.villagevanguard.com
• Vino di Vino Wine Bar 29-21 Ditmars Boulevard, Queens
(718-721-3010) Subway: N to Ditmars Blvd-Astoria
• Walker’s 16 North Moore Street (212-941-0142)
Subway: A, C, E to Canal Street
• Waltz-Astoria 23-14 Ditmars Boulevard (718-95-MUSIC)
Subway: N, R to Ditmars Blvd-Astoria www.Waltz-Astoria.com
• Water Street Restaurant 66 Water Street (718-625-9352)
Subway: F to York Street, A, C to High Street
• Williamsburg Music Center 367 Bedford Avenue
(718-384-1654) Subway: L to Bedford Avenue
• Zankel Hall 881 Seventh Avenue at 57th Street
(212-247-7800) Subway: N, Q, R, W to 57th Street www.carnegiehall.org
• Zeb’s 223 W. 28th Street
212-695-8081 Subway: 1 to 28th Street www.zebulonsoundandlight.com
• Zinc Bar 82 W. 3rd Street (212-477-8337)
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, M to W. 4th Street www.zincbar.com
• ZirZamin 90 West Houston Street (646-823-9617)
Subway: B, D, F, M to Broadway-Lafayette Street www.zirzaminnyc.com
45
visitors center:
OPEN M-F 10 AM - 4 PM
104 E. 126th Street, #4D, New York, NY 10035
(Take the 2/3/4/5/6 train)
W W W. J M I H . O R G
THE NATIONAL JAZZ MUSEUM IN HARLEM PRESENTS
Harlem Speaks
A SERIES DEDICATED TO CAPTURING THE HISTORY AND LEGACY OF JAZZ
12/6:
Richard
Wyands 9/27:
9/20:
Roy Eaton
Gee
12/13:George
Jean-Michel
Pianist
Pianist
Bandleader
Pianist
T ime : 6:30 --- 8:30 pm
P rice : Free
Pilc
LocaTion: The NJMH Visitors Center, 104 E. 126th Street, #4D
(INTERVIEW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6)
composing and playing on the soundtrack to the film
Last Tango in Paris in 1972.
GB: In Europe, I made a lot of music for small films. I
was a friend of [Last Tango in Paris director] Bernardo
Bertolucci. And he knew I made a lot of records...some
records I do some tango. Different tangos. And one day
he called me and he said, “It’s time to write a beautiful
melody, because I want you to make the music of Last
Tango in Paris.” And this started like that. I see Last
Tango, which was [originally] four hours, and after, cut
to two hours. And I see the cuts many times. It was a
really good experience. Bernardo told me, “I don’t
want like a Hitchcock movie. I don’t like, like, European
music. No. I want in between”. So what I did was that.
TNYCJR: In 1976, you released the Herb Alpertproduced Caliente!, which features a pair of pop songs.
GB: [All of the music] was mine except “Europa” [by
Santana] and “I Want You” by Marvin Gaye. One day
I played in Los Angeles and Marvin Gaye came to see
me. He said, “I’ve never listened to something so
beautiful as your recording of ‘I Want You’.” “Europa”
was Carlos Santana. I had to do something different. v
For more information, visit gatobarbierimusic.com.
Barbieri’s 80th Birthday Celebration is at Blue Note Dec.
3rd-4th. See Calendar.
Jazz for Curious Listeners
Tuesdays 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
The NJMH Visitors Center, 104 E. 126th Street, #4D
Free classes celebrating Harlem and its legacy.
Attend any individual class.
The Savory Collection: An Update
December 4: Basie/Ellington+: The Big Band
December 11: Jam Sessions with Lester Young and friends
December 17: Odds and Ends: Louis Jordan+
saturday panels
12 PM –
4 PM
FREE
Jazz Is Now
December 15:
Hosted by Jonathan Batiste
and the STAY HUMAN band
Savory Jam - Contemporary reactions
to the glories of the Savory Collection
December 12th 7:00-8:30pm
New Location:
NJMH Visitors Center, 104 E. 126th St. #4D
• Don Cherry - Complete Communion (Blue Note, 1965)
• Gato Barbieri - In Search of Mystery (ESP-Disk’, 1967)
• Gato Barbieri/Dollar Brand - Jazz Duo (Confluence)
(Togetherness/Arista, 1968)
• Alan Shorter - Orgasm (Verve, 1968-69)
• Gato Barbieri - Fenix (Flying Dutchman, 1971)
• Gato Barbieri - The Shadow of the Cat (Peak, 2002)
Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church
NE Corner of 126th Street and Madison Avenue,
(enter on 126th)
FREE | For more information: 212-348-8300
Funded in part by Council Member Inez E. Dickens, 9th C.D., Speaker Christine Quinn and the New York City Council
(LABEL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12)
Another characteristic of Festina Lente CDs is that
few are recorded in professional studios. Instead
unconventional spaces including halls, farms and,
more frequently, bars such as Bogotá’s well-known
Matik-Matik, are the sites of choice. “In a studio, we
would have all the amenities, but studios are expensive
and cold,” notes Vega. “But now it’s easy and effective
to record at home or at a bar. Budgets are reduced. And
if you change the setting, the music flows differently.”
As for the sound quality of these CDs, “we have
nothing to envy from studio sessions,” he asserts.
What of the future? Many projects are on tap,
divulges Vega. “Soon an unprecedented meeting
between Jacobo Velez, one of the best saxophonists of
Colombia, and Edson Velandia, an insane singer,
guitarist and songwriter who lives on the outskirts of
Bogotá. With Velandia we’ll also be recording Municipal
Symphonies, an improvised session he’s conducting
that combines jazz, rock, symphonic music and rasqa,
an indefinable genre he invented. We’re also editing
the debut CD by Botero’s group Mula, as well as Los
Pirañas’ second disc.”
“In general Festina Lente feels fresh,” adds Botero.
“It’s not a label of musicians for musicians. It’s a label
from a bunch of music lovers to get out the music they
would like to see in record stores. I knew Luis Daniel
before he started Festina Lente. He doesn’t
underestimate the audience. He feels that anybody can
listen to a non-commercial-music concert and
appreciate it as much as something supported by the
mainstream media.” v
For more information, visit festinalentediscos.com
IN MEMORIAM
By Andrey Henkin
BORAH BERGMAN - The pianist, who came late to the instrument,
upended the notion of left- and right-hand technique during his long
career. He also came late to recording, making his first albums (all solo
affairs) only in his late 40s. Bergman worked primarily as a leader but
did have the occasional ‘sideman’ credit with Roscoe Mitchell, Thomas
Chapin and George Haslam. When he did release his own albums, he
tended towards small groups - duos with Chapin or Evan Parker, a
trio with Peter Brötzmann and Andrew Cyrille - playing his own
lengthy, discursive pieces or free improvisations. Bergman died Oct.
18th at 85.
BILL BRIMFIELD - The trumpeter was one of the first participants in
the nascent Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians
(AACM) in ‘60s Chicago. He was on Joseph Jarman’s 1966 album Song
For, worked with Windy City sax icon Fred Anderson in the ‘70s-80s
and later Famadou Don Moye. A stroke at the turn of the century
curtailed his musical endeavors and Brimfield died Oct. 9th at 74.
TED CURSON - The trumpeter was a key member of Charles Mingus’
groups in 1960, participating in such albums as Pre-Bird and
Reincarnation Of A Love Bird as well as appearing on discs by fellow
Mingus sideman Eric Dolphy the next year. But it was in cooperative
groups with tenor saxist Bill Barron that Curson made his mark from
1961-65, releasing three wonderful sessions. He continued making
albums into the last decade, often in Europe, featuring his bluesy
originals in groups of varying sizes. Curson died Nov. 4th at 77.
EDDIE HARVEY - The British trombonist came up during the height
of England’s trad-jazz era but went on to participate in more modern
settings after meeting such figures as saxophonists Ronnie Scott and
Johnny Dankworth. He was part of the latter ’s groups in the early
‘50s, worked with bandleader Woody Herman in the late ‘50s, later
played with Humphrey Lyttelton and eventually settled into a
teaching career at the London and Royal Colleges of Music. Harvey
died Oct. 9th at 86.
ERIK MOSEHOLM - The 1958 Danish Jazz Musician of the Year,
bassist Erik Moseholm led the Danish Radio Big Band in the ‘60s, was
a soloist with the Copenhagen Symphony Orchestra, the principal of
the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen during the ‘90s and
still found time to record with Eric Dolphy and Clifford Brown during
the ‘50s-60s. Moseholm died Oct. 11th at 82.
DAVID S. WARE - The saxist was the logical extension of two New
York City musical scenes: ‘60s New Thing and ‘70s Loft jazz. His early
work with Cecil Taylor and Andrew Cyrille cemented his reputation
but it was his own ‘90s quartet that made him as much of a superstar
as avant garde jazz artists may be. Ware’s emotional intensity belied
his instrumental facility; he was a nuanced musician even at top
volume. Among his last sessions were two solo albums for AUM
Fidelity, his musical home of the last decade, featuring not just tenor
but also saxello and stritch. Ware died Oct. 18th at 62 after
complications from a 2009 kidney transplant.
BIRTHDAYS
December 1
†Ike Isaacs 1919-96
†DickJohnson 1925-2010
Ted Brown b.1927
†Hadley Caliman 1932-2010
†Jimmy Lyons 1933-86
Carlos Garnett b.1938
†Jaco Pastorius 1951-87
December 2
†Charlie Ventura 1916-92
†John Bunch 1921-2010
†Wynton Kelly 1931-71
†Ronnie Mathews 1935-2008
Jason Rigby b.1974
Tal Wilkenfeld b.1986
December 3
†Corky Cornelius 1914-43
†Herbie Nichols 1919-63
December 4
†Eddie Heywood 1915-89
Frank Tiberi b.1928
Jim Hall b.1930
†Denis Charles 1933-98
Andy Laverne b.1947
Cassandra Wilson b.1955
Andrew Drury b.1964
December 5
†Art Davis 1934-2007
Enrico Pieranunzu b.1949
Anders Bergkrantz b.1961
December 6
†Ira Gershwin 1896-1985
Dave Brubeck b.1920
†Bob Cooper 1925-93
Frankie Dunlop b.1928
Jay Leonhart b.1940
Miroslav Vitous b.1947
Harvie S b.1948
Steve Swell b.1954
Jason Stein b.1976
December 7
†Teddy Hill 1909-78
Sonny Phillips b.1936
Mads Vinding b.1948
Matthew Shipp b.1960
December 8
Sol Yaged b.1922
†Jimmy Smith 1928-2005
Tim Armacost b. 1962
December 9
†Matty Malneck 1903-81
†Bob Scobey 1916-63
Donald Byrd b.1932
Jimmy Owens b.1943
December 10
†Irving Fazola 1912-49
†Ray Nance 1913-76
†George Tucker 1927-65
Bob Cranshaw b.1932
Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky
b.1933
December 11
†Perez Prado 1916-89
McCoy Tyner b.1938
Mara Rosenbloom b.1984
December 12
†Eddie Barefield 1909-91
†Frank Sinatra 1915-98
†Joe Williams 1918-99
Bob Dorough b.1923
†Dodo Marmarosa 1925-2002
Toshiko Akiyoshi b.1929
Juhani Aaltonen b.1935
Michael Carvin b.1944
†Tony Williams 1945-97
Bruce Ditmas b.1946
December 13
†Sonny Greer 1895-1982
Ben Tucker b.1930
†Borah Bergman 1933-2012
Reggie Johnson b.1940
†Joe Farrell 1937-86
Radu Malfatti b.1943
John Abercrombie b.1944
December 17
†Ray Noble 1903-78
†Sonny Red 1932-81
†Walter Booker 1933-2006
John Ore b.1933
Vyacheslav Ganelin b.1944
Chris Welcome b.1980
December 18
†Fletcher Henderson
1897-1952
†Willis Conover 1920-96
†Harold Land 1928-2001
†Nick Stabulas 1929-73
Wadada Leo Smith b.1941
December 14
†Budd Johnson 1910-84
†Spike Jones 1911-64
Clark Terry b.1920
†Cecil Payne 1922-2007
†Phineas Newborn 1931-89
†Leo Wright 1933-91
Jerome Cooper b.1946
December 15
†Stan Kenton 1911-79
†Jimmy Nottingham 1925-78
†Gene Quill b.1927-89
Barry Harris b.1929
Curtis Fuller b.1934
†Dannie Richmond 1935-88
Eddie Palmieri b.1936
Toshinori Kondo b.1948
Kris Tiner b.1977
December 16
†Andy Razaf 1905-73
†Turk Murphy 1915-87
†Steve Allen 1921-2000
†Johnny “Hammond” Smith
1933-97
December 19
†Erskine Tate 1895-1978
†Bob Brookmeyer 1929-2011
†Bobby Timmons 1935-74
Milcho Leviev b.1937
Lenny White b.1949
Kuni Mikami b.1954
Quinsin Nachoff b.1973
December 22
†Ronnie Ball 1927-84
†Joe Lee Wilson 1935-2011
†Nick Ceroli 1939-85
John Patitucci b.1959
December 23
†Chet Baker 1929-88
†Frank Morgan 1933-2007
John McAll b.1960
December 24
†Baby Dodds 1898-1959
†Jabbo Smith 1908-91
†Henry Coker 1919-79
†Ray Bryant 1931-2011
†Chris McGregor 1936-90
†Woody Shaw 1944-89
Ralph Moore b.1956
Paal Nilssen-Love b.1974
December 20
†John Hardee 1918-84
Sam Falzone b.1933
Larry Willis b.1940
Ehud Asherie b.1979
December 25
†Louis Cottrell 1878-1927
†Kid Ory 1886-1973
†Big Jim Robinson 1892-1976
†Cab Calloway 1907-94
†Oscar Moore 1912-81
†Pete Rugolo 1915-2011
†Eddie Safranski 1918-74
†Don Pullen 1941-95
Ronnie Cuber b.1941
December 21
†Marshall Brown 1920-83
Rita Reys b.1924
†Hank Crawford 1934-2009
†John Hicks 1941-2006
Cameron Brown b.1945
December 26
†Butch Ballard 1917-2011
†Monty Budwig 1929-92
†Billy Bean 1933-2012
Brooks Kerr b.1951
John Scofield b.1951
December 27
†Bunk Johnson 1889-1949
†Booty Wood 1919-87
Bill Crow b.1927
†Walter Norris 1931-2011
TS Monk b.1949
Pablo Held b.1986
December 28
†Earl “Fatha” Hines 1903-83
†Al Klink 1915-91
†Moe Koffman 1928-2001
†Ed Thigpen 1930-2010
Bob Cunningham b.1934
†Dick Sudhalter 1938-2008
Ted Nash b.1960
December 29
†Cutty Cutshall 1911-68
†Irving Ashby 1920-87
Jan Konopasek b.1931
Joe Lovano b.1952
George Schuller b.1958
Danilo Pérez b.1960
Reuben Radding b.1966
George Colligan b.1969
December 30
†Jimmy Jones 1918-82
†Jack Montrose 1928-2006
Wolfgang Dauner b.1935
Jerry Granelli b.1940
Lewis Nash b.1958
Frank Vignola b.1965
December 31
†John Kirby 1908-52
†Jonah Jones 1909-2000
†Peter Herbolzheimer
1935-2010
BOB CRANSHAW
December 10th, 1932
How many people can say
they’ve played with both
Sonny Rollins and Big Bird?
Only one: bassist Bob
Cranshaw. He started working
with Rollins on 1962’s
legendary The Bridge and is a
current member of the saxist’s
group while being the only
bassist for the Children’s
Television Workshop during
composer Joe Raposo’s tenure
in the late ‘60-70s. But
Cranshaw’s resumé, originally
as an upright player but then
on electric bass after a car
accident, also includes prolific
sideman work with Grant
Green, Bobby Hutcherson,
Milt Jackson, Duke Pearson,
Shirley
Scott,
Stanley
Turrentine and a host of
others, most often on Blue
Note Records, from the late
‘50s on, yet without a single
album as a leader. -AH
ON THIS DAY
by Andrey Henkin
Primitivo Soul!
Sonny Stitt (Prestige)
December 31st, 1963
Manhattan Cycles
The Revolutionary Ensemble (India Nav.)
December 31st, 1972
Beyond the Purple Star Zone
Sun Ra (Saturn)
December 31st, 1980
saxist Sonny Stitt has unfairly
been undervalued because of his
affinity for the style of Charlie Parker
but that didn’t stop him from having a
prolific recording career as a leader
for a number of labels. Primitivo Soul!
was one of several records Stitt made
for Prestige over the years and is still
unavailable on CD. On this New
Year’s Eve studio date, Stitt leads a
typical jazz quartet with pianist
Ronnie Mathews, bassist Leonard
Gaskin and drummer Herbie Lovelle,
plus percussionists Marcelino Valdez
and Osvaldo “Chihuahua” Martinez.
The name of this band is not bluster.
This recording, originally released on
The Forward Look
Red Norvo (Reference)
December 31st, 1957
Reference Records’ mission is as
much about the sound of the music it
releases as the music itself. Label
engineer “Professor” Keith O. Johnson
made this Ultra High Quality
Recording 45-rpm LP of vibist Red
Norvo’s quintet live at an unknown
club on New Year’s Eve 1957. Joining
Norvo, one of the first players of his
instrument in jazz, for six short tunes
including the title track and “Between
The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea”
are Jimmy Wyble (guitar), Jerry
Dodgion (reeds), Red Wooten (bass)
and John Markham (drums).
Alto
Violinist/violist
Leroy
Jenkins,
bassist/cellist Sirone and drummer/
pianist Jerome Cooper created a
heady style - later dubbed chamber
jazz and inspiring many subsequent
groups like the String Trio of NY from disparate pieces and influences
across five albums in the ‘70s (and
two after a 2004 reunion). As with
their debut Vietnam, Manhattan Cycles
is a single piece across two LP sides,
composed by Leo Smith, recorded live
at an unknown location (presumably
in Manhattan) on New Year’s Eve.
Sun Ra’s personal imprint Saturn but
later reissued by the British Art Yard
label, was taken from the final concert
of a six-day New Year’s Eve run at the
Detroit Jazz Center. This incarnation
of Ra’s Arkestra included usual
suspects like Marshall Allen, John
Gilmore, Danny Ray Thompson and
June Tyson alongside ‘new’ members
like Vincent Chancey. This excerpted
concert contains four new pieces,
including the title track and subtitular
“Immortal Being”, and one Ra
‘standard’, “Rocket Number Nine”.
Common Ground
Mike LeDonne (Criss Cross)
December 31st, 1990
Pianist/organist
Mike LeDonne’s
career came squarely out of the jazz
tradition, initially through his father
and then later by work with Milt
Jackson and others. LeDonne became
a leader right after New Year’s Day in
1990 and followed up that album with
this New Year’s Eve recording at the
end of the same year. Joining him are
the late bassist Dennis Irwin and
drummer Kenny Washington for a
nine-tune program of three originals
and a collection of standards of
various repute, including thenemployer Jackson’s “Blues for Edith”.
NEW YORK’S ONLY HOMEGROWN JAZZ GAZETTE!
• EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ON JAZZ AND IMPROVISED MUSIC IN NEW YORK CITY
• COMPETITIVE & EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING: [email protected]
• SUBSCRIPTIONS AND GENERAL INFO: [email protected]
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47

December 2012 - The New York City Jazz Record

Transcription

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