CAMERON BROWN RAOUL GRASSELLA OLIPHANT MAYA

Transcription

May 2012 | No. 121
Your FREE Guide to the NYC Jazz Scene
nycjazzrecord.com
CAMERON • RAOUL • GRASSELLA • MAYA • EVENT
BROWN
BJÖRKENHEIM OLIPHANT
RECORDS
CALENDAR
W e at The New York City Jazz Record are not ones to spend a lot of time patting
4
6
7
8
New York@Night
Interview: Cameron Brown
by Laurence Donohue-Greene
Artist Feature: Raoul Björkenheim
by Martin Longley
Encore: Grassella Oliphant
by George Kanzler
9
10
by Donald Elfman
MegaphoneVOXNews
by Marc Hannaford
by Katie Bull
Label Spotlight:
Maya Records
Listen Up!:
by Ken Waxman
11
12
24
38
45
47
Lest We Forget:
Chick Webb
Chris Crenshaw
& John Yao
Festival Report: Festa do Jazz do São Luiz
CD Reviews: Mikko Innanen, Bucky Pizzarelli, Aaron Diehl,
Ben Riley, Eric Reed, David Bindman, Mary Halvorson and more
On The Cover: 10th Anniversary Celebration
ourselves on the collective back. There is simply too much jazz to cover in the city
and beyond to get wrapped up in self-congratulation. Plus we know that we
couldn’t exist without all the hard work of our writers and photographers as well
as the jazz community at large. But there are few milestones worth celebrating.
This issue marks 10 years of operation as New York’s only homegrown jazz
gazette. It makes us dizzy to think of it. A decade. 121 issues. Hundreds of artists
featured. Thousands of CDs reviewed. Seemingly millions of concerts listed. When
we started this venture in May of 2002, we honestly had no idea what we were
getting ourselves into and we’ve barely had a minute to breathe since.
But 10 years of anything is an accomplishment and to that end we’ve taken
the bold step of dedicating this month’s cover story to ourselves. Take a look at
our commemorative centerfold spread, wherein we’ve canvassed many of the
legendary musicians who have graced our covers over the past years (all of which
make up the image on the front cover) for testimonials. We are truly humbled by
the kind words they have shared with us, taking time out of their schedules to
offer praise for our efforts to support the world of jazz in all its iterations: in and
out, local and international, large and small. That we have their support has made
the monthly struggle more than worth it and invigorates us for another decade of
continuing our mission.
But their thanks are not reserved for us; they apply to anyone who supports
jazz, whether it be by playing, attending a concert, buying an album, running a
record label, booking a club, writing a review, teaching a class or, most importantly,
turning someone else on to this wonderful and timeless art form. We’ll keep doing
our part, content with our modest role as jazz proponents, and you do yours.
Together we’ll succeed and jazz will continue to thrive.
Thank you so much for 10 years of support.
Laurence Donohue-Greene, Managing Editor
Andrey Henkin, Editorial Director
On the cover: 10 Years and 120 issues of The New York City Jazz Record
Event Calendar
Corrections: In last month’s Globe Unity threefer CD review, Michel Delville of
Machine Mass Trio is Belgian, not Dutch. In the Birthdays, we neglected to indicate
that Eddie Marshall passed away in 2011.
Club Directory
Miscellany: In Memoriam • Birthdays • On This Day
Submit Letters to the Editor by emailing [email protected]
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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, Laurel Gross, Alex Henderson, Marcia Hillman,
Terrell Holmes, Robert Iannapollo, Francis Lo Kee, Martin Longley, Wilbur MacKenzie,
Marc Medwin, Sharon Mizrahi, Russ Musto, Joel Roberts, John Sharpe, Elliott Simon,
Jeff Stockton, Andrew Vélez, Ken Waxman
Contributing Writers
Duck Baker, Marc Hannaford, George Kanzler, Matthew Kassel, Sean J. O’Connell
Contributing Photographers
Enid Farber, Scott Friedlander, Peter Gannushkin, Hervé Hette, John Rogers, 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]
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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 | May 2012
3
N EW YOR K @ N I G HT
P ianist Craig Taborn has gigged with bassist Thomas The
YEARS
the new
school for
jazz and
contemporary
music
25th
anniversary
celebration
Join us for special
programs and
performances through
spring 2012.
Morgan and drummer Gerald Cleaver for a number of
years, but it took the trio all this time finally to play
New York. The late Saturday set at the Village Vanguard
(Apr. 7th) moved from deep abstraction and stillness to
a kind of beat-based pulsing energy, reflecting Taborn’s
far-flung influences, from Cecil Taylor to Detroit
techno. Large stretches were free, but the precision was
unmistakable, a key aesthetic ingredient. Taborn and
Morgan, immersed in the densest thickets of
improvised sound, would launch suddenly into tight
unison passages, some of which seemed to stretch the
limits of the possible (Morgan’s contorted fingerings
belied the elegance of the ideas themselves). Taborn
announced no titles, but some of his repertoire for the
week, including “American Landscape”, was from the
2001 trio disc Light Made Lighter, though completely
reinvented. Newer pieces had working titles like
“Chorales” and “Gal 1”. The leader gave his lyrical,
reflective side plenty of room to show itself, yet the
rhythms were true puzzlers, marked by hypnotic
repetition, aggressive attack and exceedingly subtle
shifts over time. Seeds of this approach were sown
during Taborn’s period with Tim Berne; there are
interesting parallels to be drawn with Vijay Iyer ’s
Accelerando as well. But the trio’s ECM debut - the
follow-up to Taborn’s 2011 solo piano stunner Avenging
Angel - will likely defy all comparisons when it’s
recorded later this year.
- David R. Adler
Italian percussionist Andrea Centazzo included
in his two weeks curating The Stone a tribute to one of
the founding fathers of free improvisation, the guitarist
Derek Bailey (Apr. 6th), who Centazzo has credited as
an inspiration and with whom he played. There was a
bit of modesty to the program. Centazzo himself didn’t
perform but rather sat in the back, playing short,
unreleased recordings of Bailey for a sextet of guitarists
for each to duet in turn. It could have been seen as a
one-way street with Bailey sitting at the end of the
block, thus running counter to the idea of a ‘jazz
conversation’. But in fact it reaffirmed the aesthetic
ethos Bailey espoused: playing with individual
commitment over playing ‘together ’. The remarkable
assemblage (Marco Cappelli, Chris Cochrane, Henry
Kaiser, Anders Nilsson, Elliott Sharp, Davey Wilson,
with Cochrane and Williams on electric and Nilsson
switching between electric and a beautiful, acoustic
alto with five resonating strings) then played a group
improvisation and some round-robin duets. If it is to
be characterized in a phrase, it was an exercise in
tasteful extended instrumental technique. Even
without Bailey coming through the PA, the playing
during the second half remained every bit as in the
spirit of the patron saint of musical spontaneity. Maybe
even moreso, as the pumps had already been primed
by the virtual duets. The sextet played with purpose,
as if Bailey were still in the room, or perhaps because
he no longer was.
- Kurt Gottschalk
Craig Taborn, Thomas Morgan, Gerald Cleaver @ Village Vanguard
Derek Bailey Tribute @ The Stone
It’s always been the case: Kneebody just has to be
experienced live. That’s the logic behind the band’s
multi-night residencies hosted by promoting
organization Search & Restore. The last of four
evenings at Littlefield (Apr. 14th) was appropriately
festive. Trumpeter Shane Endsley, tenor saxophonist
Ben Wendel, keyboardist Adam Benjamin, bassist
Kaveh Rastegar and drummer Nate Wood were visibly
thrilled to have bassist and singer-songwriter Meshell
Ndegeocello as their guest (previous nights found the
band covering music by Tom Zé, Judee Sill and others).
But first Kneebody offered a set of its own, playing
music from a forthcoming album, including Benjamin’s
“Blorp”, which segued into “Unforeseen Influences”
from 2010’s You Can Have Your Moment (Winter &
Winter). There’s no exact name for Kneebody’s music
- it’s electric jazz, surely, with wall-shaking beats and a
phenomenal intricacy typified by “Trite”, with a killer
drum intro from Wood, and “Towel Hard”, the
blistering final encore. But Ndegeocello’s set brought
out another kind of versatility in these players, as they
tackled Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be
Televised”, Jimi Hendrix’ “Spanish Castle Magic” and
items from Ndegeocello’s 2011 disc Weather including
“Dead End”, the P-Funkish “Rapid Fire” and the noir
ballad “Crazy and Wild”. Chris Bruce added scratchy
Telecaster and Ndegeocello wielded Fender bass when
she wasn’t singing with a rueful tenderness - a sound
as hard to pin down as Kneebody itself.
(DA)
The history of jazz is built on mimicry. Aping and
comping are par for the course. But it’s odd when the
borrowing occurs on such a small branch of the tree as
is the one inhabited by the longstanding Australian
piano trio The Necks and the younger and similarlyconstructed trio Dawn of Midi. It’s hard to ignore the
similarities in their slowly evolving instrumental
excursions, minimalism mixed with the warmth of
jazz, but one hopes there’s room for both. The younger
band displayed their devotion to the craft at Le Poisson
Rouge (Apr. 3rd), sharing a Search & Restore double
bill with bassist Eivind Opsvik’s Overseas group.
Drummer Qasim Naqvi opened the set with a steady
beat on dual toms, which was met with a two-note
figure from Aakaash Israni’s contrabass. A third
rhythm played by Amino Belyamani on muted piano
strings somehow stitched the two together. Before long
the staccato piano had taken over and soon stretched
out to allow isolated chords into the rhythmic mix. It
came off a bit like a round of the children’s game
“button, button, who’s got the button” but only
because of the limitations of the listening mind, the
desire to hear time as a progression, the want for
hierarchy of sounds, or at least for order. And that’s
the trio’s trick: they are so orderly that there is not
“what” to ask so we instead wonder “how?” and the
how it would seem is deceptively easy. It’s assumedly
something like hang-gliding or walking on hot coals;
that is, it’s done by doing it. (KG)
monday, may 7
Joe’s pub, 425 lafayette st.
$15; tickets can be purchased in person
at the public theater Box office or
online at www.joespub.com or by calling
212.539.8778.
monday, may 14, 8:00 p.m.
JaZrael: festival of israeli Jazz & World
music at the new school for Jazz &
contemporary music
featuring alumni shimrit shoshan along
with nsJcm student groups
Jazz and contemporary music
performance space, arnhold hall,
55 West 13th street, 5th floor
$10 advance tickets can be purchased
by emailing [email protected] or
calling 212.229.5488.
www.newschool.edu/jazzevents
An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution
John Rogers/WBGO
the new school rhythm & Blues revue,
directed by michael Wolff at 7:00 p.m.
the new school afro-cuban Jazz orchestra,
directed by Bobby sanabria at 9:30 p.m.
Photo by Scott Friedlander
We are proud to announce a new partnership with the world-renowned downtown
performance venue, Joe’s pub at the public
theater. Join us for our first event!
4 May 2012 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD
WHAT’S NEWS
N EA Jazz Master Randy Weston continues his quest
to explore the African roots of jazz, premiering an
ambitious new work, An African Nubian Suite, at the
NYU Skirball Center (Apr. 8th). An elegantly attired
crowd filled the hall on Easter Sunday to hear the great
pianist’s latest homage to the cradle of civilization, an
elucidating 15-movement suite, which opened with
narration by esteemed author Wayne Chandler
recounting the continent’s ancient history, accompanied
on the stringed nefer by Egypt’s Ayodele Maakheru for
“Nubia” and “Tehuti”. Weston was then featured at the
piano with African Rhythms Orchestra trumpeter Cecil
Bridgewater and conguero Candido on Weston's
pulsating original “The Call” and in duo with Howard
Johnson’s tuba on “Ardi”, again with narration by
Chandler. Middle movements found the pianist
exploring the African diaspora with the Moroccan
Gnawa Lhoussine Bouhamidy, Gambian kora player
Salieu Suso, American flutist TK Blue, Chinese pipa
player Min Xiao-Fen and Ghanaian balafonist Kwaku
Obeng. Three blues paired Weston’s deeply rooted
piano with trombonist Robin Trowers, tenorist Billy
Harper and bassist Alex Blake in soulful expression.
Chandler ’s recitation on “The Woman” preceded poet
Sonia Sanchez’ lively reading accompanied by Weston.
The band with Lewis Nash on drums and Neil Clarke
on percussion then fired things up on “African Family”
before Mali’s Tanpani Demda Cissoko’s stirring
closing song. - Russ Musto
The jazz programming at The Kitano Hotel is about to
get brand new digs. The rechristened Jazz at Kitano
will move from the upstairs balcony area of the hotel to
a renovated ground floor space, with three times the
capacity and unobstructed sight lines. The new space,
entrance on 38th Street, will open May 2nd with Bob
Rodriguez’ trio. For more information, visit kitano.com.
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, the centerpiece of Jazz at
Lincoln Center, has made an adjustment to their
monthly programming. Each Thursday starting May
3rd at 11 pm, instead of the usual After Hours set,
there will be a Late Night Session hosted by Michael
Mwenso (of London’s Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club), with
the “mission is to provide local and visiting musicians
a place to hang, commune and play together into the
morning hours while featuring some of today’s greatest
young musicians.” For more information, visit jalc.org.
The Jazz Gallery, the venerable club just north of
Canal Street, has lost its lease after 17 years and
needs to relocate by the end of 2012. The venue has
set up a website about the transition and to raise
funds. For more information, visit jazzspeaks.org/
a-home-run.
A (somewhat ghastly) 20-foot, stainless steel sculpture
of bandleader Duke Ellington, surrounded by an
abstract representation of a piano, has been installed
in Ellington Plaza in Northwest Washington DC in front
of the Howard Theatre. Ellington grew up in the area
and the statue, by DC artist Zachary Oxman, was
commissioned by the DC Commission on the Arts and
Humanities.
© Enid Farber 2012
Peter Gannushkin/DOWNTOWNMUSIC.NET
Befitting his exploratory personality as a player, the
late German bassist Peter Kowald was truly an
international musician, collaborating with all sorts of
people in all sorts of places. One place in particular
that felt the vibration of his strings was New York City.
In 1984 he connected with Patricia Parker to organize
the Sound Unity Festival, precursor to today’s Vision
Festival, the latter at which Kowald could always be
found making sandwiches before his death almost ten
years ago. Parker and several former colleagues, as
well as stylistic heirs, came together at Clemente Soto
Velez Cultural Center (Apr. 2nd) to fête his memory.
With no composed music to be played, the festivities
tried to recall the spirit of Kowald in expansive and
often gregarious spontaneous expositions. Of the
evening’s several mini-sets, anywhere from 2 to 12
minutes long, the highlights were a dirgey quartet of
Kowald collaborator Masahiko Kono (trombone)
alongside the modern jazz triumvirate of saxist Tony
Malaby, bassist John Hébert and drummer Ches Smith;
a unique chamber group featuring the twin basses of
Hébert and William Parker (a nod to Kowald’s love of
bass duos) bubbling under kotoist Miya Masaoka,
violinist Jean Cook and guitarist Tor Snyder, a series of
wails, moans and scrapes, and an unscheduled duo
between saxophonist Joe McPhee and French horn
player Vincent Chancey that ended with forceful
cohesion, something Kowald the improviser always
stressed in his own music.
- Andrey Henkin
Vincent Chancey & Joe McPhee @ Clemente Soto Velez
Ayodele Maakheru @ NYU Skirball Center
The late guitarist Derek Bailey was a firm believer in
the power of improvisation and from 1977-94 he
organized Company weeks, annual meetings of
improvisers from around the world, held in London,
New York or Hakushu, Japan. Josh Sinton, gatekeeper
of the Douglass Street Music Collective, a man with an
ear for history, has revived these encounters with his
semi-regular Gowanus Company evenings. And even
on a modest scale, Sinton still brings together not only
musicians from different jazz spheres but also countries
(even if they mostly live in Brooklyn). The only out-oftowner at the fourth iteration (Apr. 8th) was British
trumpeter Roland Ramanan, who gelled nicely with
saxist/clarinetist Matt Bauder, bassist Ken Filiano and
drummer Vinnie Sperrazza in an 18-minute set, which
recalled the New York Contemporary Five, and later
with former fellow Londoner Ingrid Laubrock (in a
rare alto turn) for nine minutes with violinist Sarah
Bernstein, Filiano and the aptly named Booker
Stardrum. A band that could very easily work again
was Bauder in a quartet with trumpeter Brad Henkel,
bassist Michael Bates and pianist Jesse Stacken, Bauder
pulling a Rahsaan at the end of the 12 minutes by
playing both halves of his clarinet simultaneously.
Sinton played twice in the first “act”, providing nine
minutes of otherworldly whooshes on bass clarinet
alongside Laubrock, Henkel and Stardrum and then
during a 12-minute acid trip with Sperrazza, Weston
Minissali (synth) and Han-Earl Park (guitar).
(AH)
A rising star in her native Chile, as well as Mexico,
Spain and Boston, where she studied with George
Garzone at Berklee, Melissa Aldana is just beginning
to make a name for herself in New York, with recent
engagements at Dizzy’s Club and The Jazz Gallery and
a guest appearance with mentor George Coleman at
Jazz Standard. Fronting her own group at Smalls (Apr.
4th), where she is a regular, Aldana proved herself to
be an innovative force as a bandleader and composer,
as well as an authoritative player. Wielding the classic
Selmer Mark VI her grandfather Kiko once played in
Santiago’s renowned Orquesta Huambaly, the
saxophonist paired off with trumpeter Gordon Au in
the frontline to open her first set with his “Ellemeno”,
a boppish melody that found the two engaged in a
stimulating dialogue, buoyed by Nir Felder ’s
alternately exotic and classic guitar sound. The
conversation continued on Au’s “Liquiescence”, a
flowing narrative line on which both the horn players
demonstrated distinctively personal voices, the
trumpeter growling Ellingtonian effects as Aldana
purred and roared through her impressive range.
Bassist Joseph Lepore and drummer Ross Pederson
provided a powerfully shifting rhythmic foundation
on the fiery title track of Aldana’s impressive debut CD
Free Fall (Inner Circle). On “I’ll Be Seeing You”, the
tenorist displayed an unsentimental romanticism that
recalled great balladeers Don Byas and Chu Berry,
before ending with her hard-driving “L – Line”. (RM)
The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) has
awarded in excess of $5.5 million to its first class of
Doris Duke Artists, each receiving an unrestricted,
multi-year cash grant of $225,000, plus as much as
$50,000 more in targeted support for retirement
savings and audience development. Among the 21
initial recipients, jazz musicians are very well
represented: Don Byron, Bill Frisell, John Hollenbeck,
Vijay Iyer and Nicole Mitchell. To be eligible for the
award, an artist must have won grants, prizes or
awards on a national level for at least three different
projects over the past ten years, with at least one
project having received support from a DDCF-funded
program. For more information, visit ddcf.org.
Legendary pianist Herbie Hancock has agreed to a
deal with Viking Press to write his memoir of not only
decades in the music industry but also his life and
spirituality. His collaborator on the book, expected for
publication in 2014, is as yet to be named.
The estate of the late saxophonist Paul Plummer,
who died in January at 73, has donated $1.9 million to
the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Jazz
Studies, as chaired by Professor David N. Baker.
Plummer worked in a band of Baker’s in Indiana in the
late ‘50s and both went on to record on seminal albums
by pianist/composer George Russell. For more
information, visit indiana.edu.
An effort is underway to renovate the Philadelphia
house in which saxophonist John Coltrane lived from
1952-58 in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood.
Though named a national historic landmark in 1999,
the house has been unoccupied for several years and
is deteriorating rapidly. A non-profit organization has
been established to raise funds for repairs. For more
information, visit johncoltranehouse.org.
Submit news to [email protected]
5
INT ER V I EW
Photograph © 2010 Jack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotos.
Cameron
Brown
George in Oslo, that gig, with Bo Stief from Denmark
on bass, is documented on ESP-Disk.
I stayed close with Don and his family back in the
States, but didn’t play with him that much. Decades
later I did part of a week at the Village Vanguard with
him in ‘85. In ‘86, I did a whole week with him, Ed
Blackwell and Carlos Ward there. It was the thrill of a
lifetime for me. Nine sets got recorded, but none of it’s
been released. I was listening to it just yesterday and
there is at least one, maybe two, really good CDs-worth
of material in there.
TNYCJR: Perhaps one of your best-known associations
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 46)
Bassist,
educator and bandleader Cameron Brown has
anchored some of the most important jazz ensembles since
the ‘70s and has performed and/or recorded with a who’s
who of jazz including George Russell, Don Cherry, Archie
Shepp, Art Blakey, George Adams, Don Pullen, Dewey
Redman and Joe Lovano. He leads two ensembles - Cameron
Brown and the Hear and Now and his Dannie’s Calypso.
This month, he performs at Cornelia Street Café in his
longtime duo with vocalist Sheila Jordan and with
saxophonist Jason Rigby’s trio and his Dannie’s Calypso
performs north of the city at The Falcon in Marlboro.
The New York City Jazz Record: You were born in
Detroit. Did you also grow up musically in Detroit?
Cameron Brown: There was lots of music and amazing
musical opportunities in Detroit when I was a kid and
I soaked it all up. I had a great first teacher, at 10, on
piano, who made music a safe haven for me, then
played clarinet from 7th grade and, in the middle of
the 10th grade, I picked up the bass on an instrument
made out of sheet-metal that a buddy of mine had in
his basement. I had great band and orchestra directors
in junior high and high school and started to learn how
to play in an ensemble. By senior year I made first
chair bass in the orchestra.
And there was this club, the Minor Key, where I
got to hear and see Miles, Coltrane, Bobby Timmons’
trio with Ron Carter and “Tootie” Heath, Blakey’s
band and many more. Blakey’s band wore these slim
French suits with no lapels and their shirts had ruffles
at the sleeves. Later when I played with Blakey he
wore farmer overalls [laughs]!
TNYCJR: Many may not realize or remember that you
were briefly with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. How
long did you play with him?
CB: I played with Blakey for six months - the second
half of ‘76. It was intense. I was hanging in Paris,
working with [saxist] Archie Shepp whose band I had
joined the year previous and I got a call from the
notorious Dutch agent, Wim Wigt, who was booking
some gigs for Shepp and knew I was off. Did I want to
do a couple of gigs with the Messengers? Wow, is the
bear catholic?! I went up to Belgium to meet Art. I
didn’t know him and, as far as I knew, he didn’t know
me at all. On the way up to the bandstand on that first
gig, he put his arm around me - before we even played
a note - and said, “Yeah, Cam, I heard about you, I
want you in the band.” Buhaina [Blakey’s Muslim
name] was irresistible. I left Shepp, had a day or two
off and became a Jazz Messenger in Torino. It was a
dream come true to be with Art, but I had a daughter
who was not yet one year old and who I almost never
saw... I kind of burned out and finally, in December,
after five weeks in Japan, I actually left the band. And
even though my time with Blakey was brief, there is a
DVD documenting the band recorded at the TDK Jazz
Club that year. With Archie teaching at UMass, he
couldn’t be on the road all the time like Bu. I called him
and was very thankful to get back into his band. Then
I could freelance in New York between his tours and
spend some very precious time with my first-born.
TNYCJR: And how did you initially join Archie
Shepp’s band?
CB: I had first gotten together with Shepp in ’75. His
bassist Jimmy Garrison was very sick and Shepp had a
big tour that summer. It was a humbling experience to
know I was taking Jimmy’s place - he was one of my
big heros. When I was a kid, I had no idea what Trane
was doing, but I was totally mesmerized listening to
and watching Jimmy and Elvin [Jones]. I wanted to try
to figure out how to do THAT - I wanted to get inside
that kind of connection and intensity! I was very close
with Beaver Harris, Archie’s drummer. Beaver
recommended me to Shepp and he hired me. I was
completely green. I hadn’t done any tours like this and
had no clue what a huge star Shepp was in Europe.
TNYCJR: A decade prior to you joining Shepp was
your recording debut, George Russell’s At Beethoven
Hall (SABA-MPS, 1965) featuring Don Cherry.
CB: That was a remarkable chain of events. There was
this trombone player, Brian Trenton, who was a junior
at Columbia when I arrived as a freshman in ‘64. We
played some intercollegiate jazz festivals with a
quartet. Brian was David Baker ’s star student. Dave,
who was George’s trombonist, had hurt his chops in a
car accident and could no longer play the horn. Brian
had already played the trombone chair with George
and studied composition with him. George was living
in Sweden and Brian was taking a year off school to go
over to play with him. When he got there, he talked
George into inviting me over. If you had asked me to
choose somebody that I might want to play with at that
moment, it would probably have been Russell. I was a
totally green 19-year old who had been playing bass
four years. But, there I am, on that record... Of course,
the main heavy, heavy thing that happened was that I
met and played with Don Cherry that year and he had
a huge impact on me, musically and personally.
TNYCJR: And did you get to work with Cherry much?
CB: In March of ‘66, I got a chance to play for a week
and a half in Copenhagen with his legendary band
from Paris - with Gato Barbieri, Karl Berger and Aldo
Romano. Trying to play that music, with that band,
totally changed my life and my perception of music. I
work with Don’s ideas today in my Dannie’s Calypso
band. The Danish radio recorded Don’s month-long
stand at the Club Montmartre but for the radio to
record, there had to be at least one Danish guy in the
band and so since I had to split to play a concert with
AR TIST F EA T U RE
Peter Gannushkin/DOWNTOWNMUSIC.NET
Raoul
Björkenheim
Recommended Listening:
• Edward Vesala Sound and Fury - Lumi (s/r, 1986)
• UMO Jazz Orchestra - Primal Mind: UMO Plays the
Music of Raoul Björkenheim (Live in Helsinki 1991)
(UMO, 1991)
• Krakatau - Matinale (ECM, 1993)
• Raoul Björkenheim/Ingebrigt Håker Flaten/
Paal Nilssen-Love - Scorch Trio
(Rune Grammofon, 2002)
• Raoul Björkenheim/William Parker/Hamid Drake DMG @The Stone, Vol. 2 (Arc-DMG, 2006)
• Raoul Björkenheim/Bill Laswell/Morgan Ågren Blixt (Cuneiform, 2010)
by Martin Longley
W hile we’re searching for an even more precise term,
we shall deem guitarist Raoul Björkenheim’s prime
musical fetish as being the power trio. He will be
bringing at least one of these formations to New York
this month. Blixt will be appearing at The Stone, still
celebrating the recent release of their debut album on
the Cuneiform label. Most definitely a power trio.
Björkenheim will also be gigging with another
threesome, one that will certainly display a degree of
power, if not the full charge. Any group setting that
features this guitarist guarantees a high energy level.
This second trio will play at Le Poisson Rouge to
celebrate the 21st anniversary of the mighty disc’n’vinyl
emporium Downtown Music Gallery (DMG).
Although born in Los Angeles, Björkenheim’s
parents are Finnish. He moved to their homeland at the
age of 15. In 2001, he came to live in NYC, but has
recently resettled in Helsinki. Björkenheim came to
international prominence as a member of drummer/
composer Edward Vesala’s Sound And Fury. Vesala
was one of Finland’s most famed jazzers and a
strikingly individual bandleader. This was an
auspicious beginning. Then, Björkenheim formed the
Krakatau band at the end of the ‘80s and the modern
day descendant of this combo is Scorch Trio, now on
the brink of being reincarnated with a new lineup.
“My playing took a few sharp turns during those
years,” says Björkenheim, contemplating his arrival in
NYC. “But any money to be made in playing jazz was
in Europe, so I wound up flying back and forth
something like 25 times, which became quite a burden.
To help make ends meet, I also played blues guitar on
Union Square for about three years, another education
in itself. Finally, I just needed a change of air, so I
moved back to Helsinki in 2008. Here I have a good
university teaching gig. I get commissions to compose
and I have several bands that keep me playing in live
situations. Now I’m coming to play in New York, I
miss the vibe of living there, but I guess Helsinki just
makes more sense. There’s a good scene going on and
a lot of very talented young players.”
The Blixt trio features Björkenheim along with
bassist Bill Laswell and Swedish drummer Morgan
Ågren. The album makes a fierce attack on the ears, but
Laswell’s bass is limber and Ågren’s stick-style skitters
nimbly. They provide an agile bracing for Björkenheim’s
molten topping. Blixt enjoys the heaviness of hard
rock, the suppleness of funk and the improvisatory
speed-reflexes of jazz. The combined result is mostly
cataclysmic, but never blundering. There’s always a
subtlety of step, despite any onslaught of excess.
Björkenheim first recorded with Ågren in 2006,
under freely improvising conditions. This resulted in
the Box project for the Rune Grammofon label. They
subsequently toured around European parts. “I would
have loved to start booking that band,” says
Björkenheim. “But the logistics made it unfeasible, so
it sort of died out. Too bad, is what I say...”
Björkenheim’s relationship with Laswell stretches
back much further, to their late ‘90s membership of
Paul Schütze’s Phantom City. “I would have loved that
band to continue touring, but here again the logistics
got in the way. The band’s Tampere Jazz Happening
gig was recorded and released as Shiva Recoil. I
originally wanted to be a bass player after being
mesmerized by Jack Bruce with Cream, so I have a
great affinity for that instrument. Playing with Bill is
great, I only wish there were more opportunities for us
to get together.” A few years later, Björkenheim also
toured with the Ethiopian singer Gigi, who also
happens to be Laswell’s wife.
“I started to imagine this wicked power trio thing,”
recalls Björkenheim. “So I corresponded with Morgan
and asked if he was into doing a recording with
Laswell, which he indeed was. Then I called Bill who
was also into the idea.”
Bruce Gallanter, one of the owners of DMG, set up
a gig at the Bowery Poetry Club, which was followed
by two days of recording at Laswell’s Orange Studio in
New Jersey. “This was one of those stories of one thing
leading to another, so it felt very organic and exciting
all at once,” says Björkenheim. “I hear this wild music
based on unusual polyrhythmic combinations. I’ve
always been a rocker at heart and I’d love to create an
anthemic sound with Blixt that would defy so-called
music genres and even compel people to move their
asses to some heavy sounds!”
For the Le Poisson Rouge gig, dynamics are
different. Björkenheim will be joined by fellow guitarist
Anders Nilsson, with drummer Gerald Cleaver
completing this possibly less extreme trio. They played
at The Shrine in Harlem and DMG, just over a year
ago, and this led directly to a recording session. The
combo and their soon-coming album share the same
name, Kalabalik. “This is a Swedish word meaning an
insanely wild party. The approach is stream-ofconsciousness interplay and the record shows an
attitude reminiscent of Tony Williams and his Lifetime,
but I think there are many avenues to be explored with
this group.”
Björkenheim’s next move will probably involve
(we guessed it!) another power trio manifestation. He
played a short tour last May with the new Scorch,
except that this threesome has now grown to a quartet,
with Mars Williams (saxophones), Ingebrigt Håker
Flaten (bass) and Frank Rosaly (drums). “We connected
very well and two of the gigs were recorded and are on
our new double LP on Rune Grammofon, Made in
Norway [a limited edition vinyl set]. We’re definitely
going to continue the saga, but at the moment we’re
again hindered by logistics. I’ve recently put together a
new website and my plan is to now activate all my
connections and get the ball rolling so that there would
soon be more Scorch gigs on the horizon.” v
For more information, visit raoulbjorkenheim.com.
Björkenheim is at The Stone May 17th and Le Poisson
Rouge May 25th. See Calendar.
7
E NC OR E
Grassella Oliphant
by George Kanzler
It’s an enticing story.
The Collectables reissue
label brings out a CD in
2005 combining the
only two LPs a jazz
drummer recorded, in
1965, and three years
later the drummer, Grassella Oliphant, seems suddenly
to appear out of nowhere on the jazz scene after an
absence of almost four decades, a return being capped
by an appearance with his band at Dizzy’s Club this
month. An irresistible narrative but, like many good
stories, short on the actual facts.
Not long after that 1967 LP, The Grass is Greener,
came out on Atlantic, Oliphant moved out of Manhattan
to a house in East Orange, NJ, determined to raise his
own family. “I knew I was going to get out of playing,”
he said from East Orange last month, “because I’d
learned that just doesn’t work with a wife and a
family.” But Oliphant continued to work in the New
York area through the early ‘70s while also developing
a business as a jazz promoter, booking agent and
manager. Among those he booked and promoted mostly musicians he had worked with - were the Thad
Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, Clark Terry’s Big
Band, Duke Ellington and Ahmad Jamal. He was the
first jazz producer to bring acts to Wolf Trap, the music
venue outside Washington, DC and is proud of teaming
up Ellington’s orchestra with the New Jersey Symphony
for a concert.
Booking and promoting weren’t Oliphant’s first
ventures into business. He had gone to business school
in the ‘40s and worked for the government for a couple
of years before returning to jazz in 1951 to join Jamal,
with whom he’d grown up in Pittsburgh. In the ‘70s
the pianist became the first act he managed as well as
booked.
In late ‘30s Pittsburgh, Oliphant, who was born
Sep. 1st, 1929, performed in nightclubs with his brother
as a tap dancing duo. “We danced for a few years but
when I got hold of the drums I stopped dancing,” he
says, although his drumming suggests he never really
did. His stepfather, also a drummer, had a big band
that included Jamal - “we knew him as Fritzy Jones
back then” - and trumpeter Tommy Turrentine and
would let the young Oliphant sit in. “But he wouldn’t
let me play with sticks. He said ‘until you can swing
this band with brushes, I don’t want you to put a
drumstick in your hand.’ So I became quite good with
brushes. It was Sarah Vaughan [who he worked with
for two years in the early ‘60s] who said I had such a
nice touch with brushes.”
Asked what was the appeal of playing with
singers, Oliphant quickly says: “The money”. The
money, or actually the lack of it, brought about changes
- he says jazz musicians “got too extreme; I used to call
it music to starve by” - that by 1980 had Oliphant
abandoning his music business. But he did run a club,
La Sala, in East Orange for a while, leading the house
trio, with pianist Hugh Lawson and bassist Andy
McCloud. He remembers having Cassandra Wilson at
the club and also remembers playing in another club in
Orange, El-C’s, with David “Fathead” Newman. “That
was my last gig before my career with the city of East
Orange.”
Oliphant worked over 20 years for the city, the last
decade as manager of the East Orange Golf Club in
Short Hills, a job he retired from in 2008. While at the
club he reconnected with Cecil Brooks III, whose father
he had known in Pittsburgh, who was running his own
jazz club, Cecil’s, in West Orange (the club closed
earlier this year). Brooks, also a drummer, asked
Oliphant to come and play Saturday afternoons. “I told
him I’d think about it and then one day I heard a trio at
the golf club and I asked the organist and guitarist if
they’d like to play on Saturday afternoons. What blew
it out for me was that they knew me better than I knew
myself, they knew all about me as a jazz musician.
Then at Cecil’s, there was a kid who said he’d bring in
my CD, but I didn’t know I even had one. The next
week he brought in the Collectables CD.”
Oliphant then undertook the task of trying to find
out about his rights in the CD and after months finally
found a connection with the record company, a woman
who happened to be the wife of a golf club member. So
now he’s actually one of the very few jazz musicians
who is collecting royalties for reissues of recordings he
did over 40 years ago.
Now he has a new band, a sextet he calls “one
helluva band” and describes as “strictly traditional” in
that “if you don’t swing, don’t play with me.”
“Traditional” for him means the music of his prime
and he’s bringing tunes by Oscar Pettiford and
Cannonball Adderley, both of whom he knew and
played with, into the sextet’s repertoire. And he’s
hoping to record the sextet soon, but until then there’s
plenty of evidence of his former prowess as a
bandleader on the Collectables CD. v
For more information, visit goliphant.com. Oliphant is at
Dizzy’s Club May 29th-Jun 2nd. See Calendar.
• Tony Scott - South Pacific Jazz (ABC-Paramount, 1958)
• Herman Foster - The Explosive Piano of Herman Foster
(Epic, 1961)
• Shirley Scott - The Soul is Willing (Prestige, 1963)
• Shirley Scott/Stanley Turrentine - Soul Shoutin’
(Prestige, 1963)
• Grassella Oliphant - The Grass Roots
(Atlantic-Collectables, 1965)
• Grassella Oliphant - The Grass is Greener
(Atlantic-Collectables, 1965)
May 8th
Daoud David Williams
and Spirit of Life
May 15th
Warren Smith
and the Composer’s
Workshop Orchestra
New York Baha’i Center
53 E. 11th Street
(between University Place and Broadway)
Shows: 8:00 & 9:30 PM
Gen Adm: $15 Students $10
212-222-5159
bahainyc.org/nyc-bahai-center/jazz-night
LE ST WE F OR GE T
Chick Webb (???-1939)
by Donald Elfman
W ith a childhood illness that left him very short in
height and with a severely deformed spine, Chick
Webb went on to become an unlikely pioneer of big
band swing drumming and bandleading and also
introduced a singer who was to become one of the
world’s most popular entertainers.
William Henry Webb was born … well, note that
there’s a question mark about his birth year, which has
been reported as 1902, 1905, 1907 and 1909. It is agreed
that this birth took place in Baltimore, Maryland and
that as a child he suffered from tuberculosis of the
spine. Webb came to music at an early age and
reportedly bought his first set of drums with money he
earned as a newsboy, beginning to play professionally
around age 11! He made his way to New York in 1925
and within a year was leading his own band in Harlem
in clubs and on pleasure boats. In 1931, the Webb band
became the house band at the Savoy Ballroom. In the
Savoy’s regular “battle of the bands features” - against
such orchestras as Benny Goodman and Count Basie Webb’s band always seemed to come out on top.
Among those who played in the Webb band were
Johnny Hodges, Benny Carter and Louis Jordan and
Webb was a bold and hard-driving leader in tunes and
charts by noted composer Edgar Sampson - “Blue Lou”
and “Stomping at the Savoy”, to name but two.
In 1935, teenager Ella Fitzgerald won a talent
contest at the Apollo Theater and Webb hired her and
soon began to build his show around her. They had
enormous hits with such tunes as “A-Tisket A-Tasket”
in 1938 (B-side of “T’ain’t What You Do [It’s The Way
That You Do It]”). But Webb’s health, shaky at the best
of times, began to fail and on Jun. 16th, 1939, he died
after an operation. After Webb’s death, Fitzgerald
fronted the band until its disbandment in 1942.
Beginning in 1927, Webb recorded for Vocalion,
Vocalion/Brunswick, Columbia and Decca. To be fair,
according to all reports, no label could adequately
capture the range of this master ’s brilliance and
diversity of sounds. In addition to his personally
rigged drum set, he used custom-made pedals, gooseneck cymbal holders, a 28-inch bass drum and a wide
variety of other percussion instruments.
There is an extraordinary four-disc import,
Stomping at the Savoy, which documents one hundred
compositions by this phenomenon. In addition, there
are a number of individual discs that highlight Webb
and his great singer. Jazz musicians from Art Blakey
and Duke Ellington to Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich
claim to have been influenced by him. Rich called him
“the greatest soloist I ever heard on drums” and “the
greatest drummer who ever lived”. v
A film on Webb will be screened at Columbia University May
11th. For more information, visit harlemjazzshrines.org.
ME GA PHON E
D-Day
by Marc Hannaford
I have recently released two albums: Sarcophile
explores points of intersection between the improvising
piano trio and aspects of American composer Elliott
Carter ’s rhythmic and harmonic language while
Ordinary Madness contains three improvisations by Tim
Berne, Scott Tinkler, Simon Barker, Philip Rex and
myself. I have decided against producing physical
copies for these releases, instead opting to manage
each aspect of the releases myself and offer them as
download-only. Below I discuss some of the reasons
and why I think I’m on the right track.
Digital distribution is nothing new. For at least 10
years people have been talking about the decline of
physical CD sales, the death of the traditional record
store, piracy and what these things mean for musicians.
Usually, the argument goes along the lines of: “digital
media = greater piracy = less sales = closure of record
stores = greater difficulty in getting label support.”
Cue depression.
Sure, times are a-changin’, but artists and labels, if
they are to survive, need to adapt. So rather than sit
and complain, let’s figure out what opportunities are
presented by this changing landscape. I am definitely
not saying that, just because I feel there is the option
for artists to release music themselves, that all labels
should disband or that they’re no longer needed. But I
feel that, in the turmoil that is the digital age, everyone
needs to regroup and formulate some sort of plan.
Physical CDs, in my opinion, are almost, if not
already, obsolete. Even more so for marginal genres
such as the one in which I operate. That a large
percentage of the audience for jazz and improvised
music is of a generation that still relates to physical
CDs more so than iTunes/iPods doesn’t change the
fact that, if we want to broaden our audience, the time
has come for artists to save money on printing CDs
and use those funds for advertising and touring. For
my existing audience, I believe their desire to hear my
new releases will surpass any reservations about the
digital format. So far I am correct.
Recording, mixing and mastering have never been
cheaper, mainly due to advances in technology: opensource programs such as Gimp make artwork easy and
essentially free and there are a number of services that
will get your music on Amazon, iTunes and more.
Releasing an album can be done without the need for a
major label. Advantages of releasing music yourself
include control of scheduling (how many times have
we waited patiently by the email account for a
response from a label?); control of artwork (although
most major labels seem to employ at least one person
with design/visual art credentials, I’ve found the
control that I have over how my music is ‘packaged’
enables me to create a much more artistically holistic
product) and greater return (no percentage of sales is
taken by the label and you get to choose the
recommended retail price of your album). This results
in an album release being much more financially
viable, which is important in order for artists to
concentrate their efforts on what I think is the most
useful promotional tool: touring.
Here in Australia, a national tour is a hugely
expensive and time-consuming affair. Our land mass
(7.6 million square kilometers) is on par with that of
the contiguous states of America. Our population,
however, is approximately one-thirteenth of the size.
For musicians this means flying a band around a
continent the size of the contiguous states and visiting
a maximum of seven cities. Tours are often fleshed out
with visits to regional centres, but I think you get the
idea: touring here is expensive and saving money on
releasing the album only makes touring the country
less of a loss for the local musician.
Here in Melbourne, Australia, a very interesting
thing happened concerning two music/book stores.
Readings (an independent, niche store) and Borders (a
large chain) were open literally across the road from
each other. Last year, in what I see as reflective of the
increasing challenges posed to the commercial
marketplace, Borders closed. Readings continues to
service a devoted customer base: it prides itself on
intimate knowledge of its stock and a discerning eye
for books and music. This might suggest that old axiom
of “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” as applied
to the marketplace for music.
What about those who prefer the physical product
and/or the audiophiles? Vinyl satisfies both parties
and, though expensive to print, saves boxes of CDs
clogging up your house. It’s probably also more
economical. Download cards (available from the
above-mentioned online services) take the place of
CDs as a physical object that can be bought at gigs. It’s
also only a matter of time, I feel, before suppliers like
Apple reconfigure portable audio players to support
24-bit audio; 1-bit recording technology is dropping in
price and there are quite a few music download sites
that cater to the audiophile.
Which brings me to my main point: if we are
willing to accept that piracy is here to stay, no matter
how many times we draw people’s attention to the
morality of it all, the thing that becomes most prized is
the live performance. It cannot be replicated. The
temporal nature of music, which is even more
pronounced in music involving improvisation, offers a
built-in guarantee against the live medium becoming
obsolete. Even if the general public are offered more
and more reasons to stay at home and watch TV/trawl
YouTube/play Xbox, the live performance, extramusical elements included, seems, at least for now,
irreplaceable.
In conclusion, I envisage the priorities for
musicians being live performances (including touring)
and increased financial viability of documenting
musical projects with a view to digital distribution and
online presence. This article is not intended to be a
“death-of-record-stores/labels” one; I quite happily
frequent those stores that remain committed to
bringing the physical product to the public, especially
if the store is dedicated to providing music outside the
mainstream. Rather I hope we can begin discussing
how modern musicians can engage in the changing
landscape of music consumption. Contemporary music
invites contemporary solutions. v
16th). René Marie’s passionate range of vocal
expression invokes a filmic flash flood of your most
private inner photo album. A transformative singer,
it’s likely you won’t be the same person after you hear
her live in duo with pianist Fred Hersch at Jazz
Standard (May 27th).
The Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival will feature
Grammy-winning drummer Terri Lyne Carrington’s
Mosaic Project. Carrington curates a genre-blending
sound that is like a mural of sturdy pointillist tile and
includes Lizz Wright and Nona Hendryx at Harlem
Stage Gatehouse (May 10th). With unforced power,
straightahead
trumpeter/vocalist/composer
Bria
Skonberg splashes orange and fuchsia as she
seamlessly sews singing and trumpeting with her band
at a Sidney Bechet Society concert at Kaye Playhouse
(May 21st) with legendary guest guitarist Bucky
Pizzarelli and featuring originals from her new album
So Is the Day (Random Act).
Other albums in the sonic kaleidoscope include
Andreas Schaerer, who invents a new form of scat
splicing, in quick-cutting virtuoso, on Cinema Hildegarde
(Unit) with a German ensemble that creates an epic
sonic-cinematic-semiotic of Proustian proportion.
Hildegarde is a double release, with an art film DVD of
a recent Russian tour.
Ethiopian-born singer Sofia Jernberg delicately
animates the inanimate with her fluidly merged French
ensemble A Nest at the Junction of Paths on The New
Songs (Umlaut), as if life were a sonic big bang found
in the mundane.
Korean vocal experimentalist DoHee Lee exhales
an environment of sonic Dadaism with San Francisco’s
Asian/African/American-influenced Kihnoua (with
Larry Ochs) on The Sybil’s Whisper (Metalanguage). In
Greek times the name might have meant ‘differences’
but now, the band says, “It means unity of opposites.”
This month, vocalists will hold your hand with
song. Or, as Oscar Hammerstein would say, “The song
is you.” v
For more information, visit marchannaford.com. Marc
Hannaford is an Australian improvising pianist living in
Melbourne. He draws on a wide range of influences to create
something original, fun and engaging. He has a deep interest
in the music of Thelonious Monk, Elliott Carter and J. Dilla,
but prefers his music to avoid imitation. The recipient of
numerous national awards, he also travels regularly to
present his music to others.
VO X NEW S
by Katie Bull
W hen I hear sounds, colors and images explode in my
mind’s eye. Inanimate objects have inherent music;
their textures, shapes, edges, curves, even the holes are visually sonic. This is one manifestation of a
phenomenon that many musicians report and it has a
name: synesthesia. Many musicians’ ability to hear
what they see and see what they hear is a key aspect of
their process. As the team of Jerome Kern and Oscar
Hammerstein would say, “I hear music when I look at
you.” The singers highlighted this month will bring
you on a synesthetic ride. The soundscapes of master singer/composer/
poet Fay Victor will float cloud formations, fry hot oil,
turn red, track mud and flutter birds’ wings in your
face at Barbès (May 16th). Teri Roiger invokes feline
images; her phrasing saunters, rolls and stares. Roiger
will spin blue silk thread for her Dear Abbey: The Music
of Abbey Lincoln CD release at Jazz at Kitano (May
9
LA BE L SPO T LIG HT
Fernández/Guy/López
Tarfala
Biber ’s Mystery Sonatas, in Maya Homburger ’s
version, is one of the most amazing recorded music
documents of the past 30 years - I kid you not. And, of
course, Barry Guy´s Fizzles is one of the most creative
solo recordings in the history of improvised music. It’s
totally DNA-changing. I’m very proud to be part of
this.”
Releasing CDs from two genres of music has never
been a problem, Homburger affirms. “The mixture
mirrors our touring and concerts. So everybody
appreciates the label for exactly this. We know well in
advance what we love, like Bach, Biber and the Parker/
Guy/Lytton or the Tarfala trio [Guy/Gustafsson/
Strid], so there is never a shortage of projects for the
label.”
“Smaller labels are always nicer to work with,
since you have direct communication about the
details,” adds Gustafsson. “With larger labels too
many people have opinions so it easily gets confused
and non-creative.”
Unlike many boutique imprints, Maya, based in
Oberstammheim, Switzerland has a distribution
agreement with the established label Intakt. “I can’t
remember when this started exactly,” Homburger
admits. “Perhaps it was when we moved to Switzerland
in 2006. Now we collaborate with Intakt on many
levels. One can see us as a sister company.” Intakt and
Maya are involved in many co-productions. For
instance, Harmos - Live at Schaffhausen, an Intakt DVD
featuring the LJCO, was co-produced and co-financed
by Maya, as were three CDs pianist Marilyn Crispell
recorded for Intakt with Guy. “Hexentrio, a new CD
Morning Glory
Guy/Gustafsson/Strid
Homburger/Guy/Favre
Dakryon
Frogging
Mats Gustafsson/Barry Guy
As much as anything else, the birth of Maya
Recordings, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last
year, was driven by impatience. Swiss violinist Maya
Homburger, who operates the boutique label with her
husband, British bassist/composer Barry Guy, recalls
that in 1991, since another label was slow in releasing
Arcus, a recording by Guy and bassist Barre Phillips,
they decided to do so themselves. By 2012 31 Maya
CDs have been released.
The two were already veteran musicians. Zürichborn Homburger, for instance, has worked with
ensembles such as Trio Virtuoso and Camerata
Kilkenny while London-born Guy is in many free jazz
aggregations and is the founder/artistic director of the
London Jazz Composers Orchestra (LJCO). Maya was
envisioned as a different sort of imprint, Homburger
recalls. “We wanted to create a label where music,
cover art and writing were all related and on the
highest level. We wanted to have control over the look
as well as the sound.” Maya’s logo, based on an Indian
sculpture references both the Mayan people and
Homburger.
As an example she points to Fizzles, Guy’s 1991
solo session, which not only benefitted from the care
taken with the sound recorded in a Swiss church, but
was coupled with informative texts plus what she calls
“an amazing cover painting by Fred Hellier.” More
recently, The Musical Offering (J.S. Bach) by Camerata
Vandermark/Guy/Sanders
by Ken Waxman
Kilkenny was the culmination of excellent recording of
the ensemble’s performance, a distinctive cover by
Irish artist George Vaughan plus a specially
commissioned poem by Fergal Gaynor.
Since Arcus, Maya has released CDs at a rate of one
to three a year. The bassist’s playing partners have
ranged from Catalan pianist Agustí Fernández to
British saxophonist Evan Parker and Swedish reedist
Mats Gustafsson while Homburger on baroque violin
and in ensembles has recorded compositions by
classical composers and Guy. Dakryon is Homburger,
Guy and percussionist Pierre Favre interpreting works
by 17th Century composers H.I.F. Biber and Dario
Castello. “My interpretation of Bach and Biber is
influenced by the freedom I have experienced in the
improvising scene,” Homburger explains.
Three days of concerts in Winterthur, Switzerland
marked Maya’s 20th anniversary celebration in
September 2011. Among the performers were the
Camerata, Homburger with Malcolm Proud on
cembalo harpsichord plus various trios, solos and duos
featuring Guy, Parker, Gustafsson, Fernández and
percussionists Paul Lytton and Raymond Strid.
“I love the process of making a record, a real
album; not just the iTunes adopted ‘one-track sensation’
bullshit,” affirms Gustafsson. “There’s recording the
music properly, mixing, mastering, sequencing, cover
art, design, liner notes etc., as well as dealing with
selling the album and marketing it. Maya Recordings
has this level of quality. The variety and flexibility of
Maya Recording is also very unique, if you ask me,
because it releases top-notch free jazz, contemporary
music and out-of-control, fantastic baroque music.
Fox Fire
Maya Records
LISTEN UP!
CHRIS CRENSHAW was born on Dec. 20th, 1982. He
started playing piano at the age of three; this love for
piano led to his first gig with Echoes of Joy, his father
Casper’s gospel quartet. Crenshaw picked up the
trombone at 11. He graduated from Thomson High
School in 2001 and received his Bachelor’s degree in
Jazz Performance from Valdosta State University in
2005, with honors throughout his education. In 2004, he
won the Eastern Trombone Workshop National Jazz
Solo Competition in Ft. Myer, VA. He was one of the
first graduates to receive his Master’s degree in Jazz
Studies from The Juilliard School in 2007. He has worked
with Gerald Wilson, Dianne Reeves, Christian McBride,
Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, Marcus Printup, Jiggs
Whigham, Wessell Anderson, Cassandra Wilson, Eric
Reed and many more. In 2006, Chris Crenshaw joined
the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
I knew I wanted to be a musician when... I played in a
concert with Wycliffe Gordon while I was in eighth
grade. He fascinated me with what he played and we
grew up in the same area of Georgia.
influence on him as bandleader, composer and arranger
of the Yaozeki Big Band. Separately, his small ensemble,
John Yao Quintet, just released its debut recording In the
Now on Innova Recordings.
Dream Band: Hank Jones, Jymie Merritt, Art Blakey.
Teachers: David Baker, Pat Harbison, Michael Philip
Mossman, Luis Bonilla.
Did you know? I didn’t talk until my sister was born.
Every word was basically sung according to my mother.
For more information, visit jalc.org/concerts/artist209.
asp?PersonID=571. Crenshaw is at Rose Theatre May
17th-19th. See Calendar.
Influences: Miles Davis, Bob Brookmeyer, Luis Bonilla,
Wayne Shorter.
Current Projects: Of late, my focus has been on my
quintet featuring Jon Irabagon, Randy Ingram, Leon
Boykins and Will Clark. My new venture is the trio
project, which is something I’ve wanted to pursue for a
while. And last the Yaozeki Big Band, which I co-founded
with Yoichi Uzeki in 2009.
Teachers: Stephen Pruitt, Douglas Farwell, Wycliffe
Gordon.
By Day: Along with teaching a few days a week, I’m
practicing, composing, arranging, hustling, more practicing.
Influences: Wycliffe Gordon, JJ Johnson, Curtis Fuller
and many others in differing genres.
I knew I wanted to be a musician when... at age 10 I
switched from piano to trombone.
Current Projects: My commission, God’s Trombones,
based on the poem by James Weldon Johnson, will be
played by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra this
month.
By Day: Writing, arranging, husband and father,
occasional teacher.
Chris Crenshaw
John Yao
Owing to his versatility as a trombonist, composer and
arranger, JOHN YAO has enjoyed a steady rise on the
New York City jazz scene since arriving from his native
Chicago in 2005. He has worked as a sideman for such
iconic bands as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and the
AfroLatin Jazz Orchestra, both of which have had great
Dream Band: Miles with Wayne, Herbie, Ron and Tony.
Did you know? Some people think I’m ethnically
ambiguous, but I am actually half-Chinese.
For more information, visit johnyao.com. Yao is at Brooklyn
Lyceum May 30th. See Calendar.
F ES TIVA L REP OR T
Festa do Jazz do São Luiz
Photo by Hervé Hette
Carlos Bica
Like The New York City Jazz Record, the annual Festa do
Jazz do São Luiz in hilly and historic Lisbon is
celebrating its first decade. Cofounded and run by
Artistic Director Carlos Martins and Executive Director
Luís Hilário (also manager of the venerable Jazz Hot
Club de Portugal), this year ’s festival (Mar. 31st-Apr.
1st) featured a wide swath of mostly Portuguese talent.
What separates this jazz festival from many others
is its presentation of musicians. Various sized spaces at
the historic São Luiz Theater (its extravagant main Sala
Principal concert hall the largest of four different
stages) feature bands throughout the afternoon into
the late evening. The festival also recognizes up-andcoming talent by presenting student bands. Secondary
and University-level school ensembles play throughout
the afternoons at the upstairs (though unfortunately
boomy) Jardim de Inverno (Winter Garden). This year
14 schools were represented, competing for the national
awards given at the end of the festival to the best
instrumentalists and ensemble (which is booked for
the following year ’s festival). 2011 “Best Combo”
winner, the Quinteto do Conservatório da Jobra
(Ensemble Jobra), boasted 17-year old drummer Gil
Costa, who impressively fused Philly Joe Jones, Jim
Black and Tony Williams into a unique supportive but
soloistic approach. For years, the Ensemble ESMAE
from Porto, which generates much of Portugal’s strong
young jazz talent, has dominated the competition.
When not performing, the students listened to
their competition or went to absorb the music being
featured downstairs, many filing into the TeatroEstudio Mario Viegas - the studio space showcasing
four piano trios and two Masterclass workshops. Each
Coming!!
The 6th Annual
“Rhythm in the Kitchen”
Music Festival
Friday - Saturday,
June 1 and 2, 2012
Church For All Nations, NYC
Presented by the Hell’s Kitchen Cultural Center, Inc.
Visit our exciting lineup:
hkculturalcenter.org;
Facebook.com/rhythminthekitchen
year there is an invited foreign musician; this year it
was drummer Jim Black, a wise selection given his
20-year history with bassist Carlos Bica, one of
Portugal’s better-known musicians (both Black and
Bica gave Masterclasses). Black brings an attractive
jazz-meets-rock approach to his kit and no young
Portuguese drummer wanted to miss him sharing
some of his wisdom in words - in a single thought, he
mentioned Glenn Miller, Led Zeppelin, the Jackson 5,
Rush and Joe Henderson - let alone demonstrate his
skills unaccompanied.
Bica, though Berlin-based and only in his 50s, is an
‘elder ’ statesman for Portuguese jazz (I was hardpressed to find anyone who could mention any local
musicians older than 60 with the exception of
exceptional violinist Carlos Zingaro). The fall of the
country’s dictatorship by the mid ‘70s was partially
blamed, consequently creating a youthful and
evidently well-nurtured jazz population open to
numerous possibilities and influences, including the
incorporation of the country’s distinct musical
contribution to the world: the achingly beautiful Fado
tradition, which dates back to at least the 1820s and is
still ubiquitous in the streets and cafés of Lisbon. Those
who incorporated Fado and traditional music from
Portugal made the greatest impression of the festival.
Bica performed on a number of occasions, first off
with pianist Filipe Raposo’s trio. Opening with “Em
Fado” and “As Guerras Se Apregoaram” (the latter
based on a traditional theme), the trio fused the
mournful but hypnotic Fado tradition with jazz and
classical music (“Kind of Impatience”, their pre-closer,
was based on Schubert’s trio op. 100). Instead of a
walking bassline, Bica swayed with his bass, his fingers
dancing in circular fashion on his instrument,
projecting a well rounded, mature and extremely
melodic Fado-influenced approach.
One of the festival’s main events was Bica’s Azul
group in Sala Principal featuring Black and German
guitarist Frank Möbus. Bica’s eponymously titled 1996
debut recording was with this group, whose fifth
album - Things About (Clean Feed) - was released last
year, so their chemistry was unequaled. Throughout
the strong set, Möbus’ lurching between aggressive
and more splattering paint-like improvisations and
resonating lines was flanked by Black’s peripatetic and
colorful rhythmic exclamations and percussive effects
and Bica’s catchy, circular pizzicato crescendos.
The Brussels-based Cornettada (with Italian
pianist Giovanni Di Domenico and Lisbon-born bassist
and drummer Hugo Antunes and João Lobo) commonly
dissects Ornette Coleman melodies. However, most of
their set included attractive originals, save for the
encore - Coleman’s “The Invisible” (with “Turnaround”
and “Brother Blues” quotes). The band’s challenging
balancing act of discipline and outright freedom
proved rewarding in their succinct improvisations and
tune length, each hovering around five minutes.
In the theatre’s Spot São Luiz restaurant space,
duos played each afternoon. Altoist Ricardo Toscano
and bassist António Quintino performed mostly
standards and reminded listeners of how simple and
yet challenging a combination this can be. The second
afternoon featured an altogether different pairing:
Mane Fernandes (guitar) and Alexandre Dahmen
(electric piano), the latter ’s dark, mysterious chord
voicings and original compositions providing less
pleasant jazzy ambiance, instead conjuring a dream
meeting between Attila Zoller and Larry Young.
Other stirring sets included Cine Qua Non (with
pianist Paula Sousa and accordionist João Paulo
Esteves da Silva) accentuating Portuguese music
sonorities and the wild and woolly Tora Tora Big Band,
a rare large group on the festival bill, delightfully
fusing jazz, Latin, funk, Arabic, Afrobeat, reggae and
other world musics. v
For more information, visit sonsdalusofonia.com
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JEAN-MICHEL PILC, FRANCOIS MOUTIN, ARI HOENIG
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11
CD R EVI EW S
soprano. All of the tracks shimmer with a singularity
often missing in this kind of jazz and the three trio
tracks without Ridl are a significant addition to the
current sax-bass-drums revival.
For more information, visit jimridl.com and origin-records.com.
Ridl is at 55Bar May 1st. See Calendar.
Blue Corn
Enchilada Dreams
Jim Ridl (s/r)
Dialogic
Anthony Branker &
Word Play (Origin)
For more information, visit ayler.com and cdbaby.com/cd/
motiansickness. Mat Maneri is at Cornelia Street Café May
2nd with Ryan Blotnick and The Stone May 5th with Travis
Laplante. See Calendar.
by George Kanzler
J im Ridl, a personal and assertive pianist as well as an
imaginative composer, leads a quartet on his own Blue
Corn Enchilada Dreams and is part of one on composer
Anthony Branker ’s Dialogic. Both highlight composition
as a framework for extensive improvisation.
The eight Ridl compositions on Blue Corn Enchilada
Dreams are musical reflections of pantheistic poems
Ridl wrote inspired by visits to New Mexico. There are
suggestions of the Southwest, in rhythms and Mexicanlike accents, on the opening “Chilis Rule”, a fast,
springy, driven piece with synthesizer from Ridl
adding a jazz-rock flavor and trumpeter Terell Stafford
soaring with mariachi machismo. Powering the quartet
are bassist John Benitez and drummer Donald Edwards.
Each of the seven quartet pieces (“God Is A Canopy”,
the closing track, is an over-dubbed piano canon on a
tone row) is distinctive, often memorable in a cinematic
way, none more so than “Why Wait for the Saints?”,
which begins with a hymn-like fanfare aided by
churchy organ keyboard colors before a churning
backbeat underpins trumpet lead and solo over synths;
a shift creates a syncopated electric bass and drums
8/4 for Ridl’s fervid piano solo before the trumpet
returns to take out the hymn-like opening, but this
time over a rocking beat.
Ridl expertly employs, and the band executes, a
variety of rhythms and time signatures on the album,
often more than one per track. There’s an enticing
tribal beat with tom-toms on “I Taste In Color”, also
notable for a piano solo devoid of clichés that begins as
a spacey, spare enunciation of single notes and
develops into a two-handed colloquy. “Scoria Hair”,
inspired by the most pantheistic poem, is a beguiling
evocation of the arc of a day, from dawn through dusk;
Harmon-muted trumpet and a ticking 8/8 beat plus
chiming keyboard and drum paradiddles all conjure
up wind chimes on “The Wind Gleans”. Suggestions of
montuno and emphatic repetition add to the powerful
drive of “Tree Tone” while “Blue Tortilla Waltz” is
airily captivating.
Anthony Branker is the director of the program in
jazz studies at Princeton University. He’s a trumpeter
but does not play on Dialogic, only providing
compositions and musical direction for the players:
Ridl (piano and Fender Rhodes), Ralph Bowen (saxes),
Kenny Davis (bass) and Adam Cruz (drums). Branker ’s
music is highly informed by rhythms, from rolling 6/8
and funk to swing and AfroCuban. And his concept of
small group composition seems rooted in such
inspirations as the quartets of John Coltrane, Wayne
Shorter and Branford Marsalis, providing his musicians
with challenging launching pads but never confining
them too tightly within any musical framework. Ridl
and Bowen both thrive in this environment, the pianist
delivering many galvanizing, incrementally built solos
and the saxophonist combining momentum with
intensity and fervor. Branker keeps everything on a
creative edge with his diversity of compositions, from
the metrically shifting, African-accented “Ancestral
Tales” to the series of dialogues and fugues on “The
Fire Spitters”, a highlight for the torrid duet of Bowen’s
tenor sax and Cruz’ drums. “Skirting the Issue” reveals
the composer and musicians’ sense of humor, burbling
up from Ridl’s Fender Rhodes in trades with Bowen’s
Strings and brushes hang in tense orbit around Hébert’s
gorgeously intoned pizzicato before the violist goes
aloft in a flurry of harmonics and poetic exhortation.
Cosgrove and company have a tall order in putting
their own stamp on compositions already interpreted
by memorable, unique ensembles. For the Love of Sarah
succeeds in continuing the lively elegance of Paul
Motian’s music through curious voicing and a balance
between swinging postbop and toothy dissonance.
Live at Vision Festival
Stone Quartet
(Ayler)
For the Love of Sarah
Motian Sickness
(Grizzley Music)
by Clifford Allen
V iolinist/violist and composer Mat Maneri first came
to prominence in the early to mid ‘90s working in
ensembles led by his late father, composer and reedman
Joe Maneri. The elder Maneri was and is something of
a hero in microtonal improvisation and the two players
steadily worked on developing spare, bent,
instantaneous chamber music. With an approach that
transgresses Western harmony, Mat Maneri’s string
palette expanded to include the baritone violin and
six-string electric violin as well as traditional violin
and viola, thus broadening his non-tempered range.
That said, his own work has often fallen within the
realm of accessible modernism. In other words, it is
nothing that someone whose ears are tuned to the
music of the last century couldn’t handle.
Maneri is one of four equally prominent voices on
the allstar game that is the Stone Quartet, which also
includes French bassist Joëlle Léandre, pianist Marilyn
Crispell and trumpeter/flutist Roy Campbell, Jr. on
two group improvisations recorded live at the 2010
Vision Festival. The first piece begins with a stirring
midrange duet between Maneri (on viola) and Léandre,
swooping lines and bullish fiddling offset by pocket
trumpet gurgles and Crispell’s fractured bombs (on a
somewhat out-of-tune piano). The general mode seems
to be a continual breaking off into smaller, sparser
combos and reconvening in massive whorls of sound.
The most rewarding moments are the most melodic,
when viola and brass keen alongside Crispell’s glassy,
upper-register filigree, or parallel and contrasting
duets emerge to accent fisticuffs with grace and detail.
Though quite different in temperament, each possible
pairing can result in some beautiful, intense
improvising. When Campbell switches to flute and the
bassist uses her voice, the quartet approximates a postDarmstadt chamber group, perhaps derived from
Luciano Berio. At its heights, the Stone Quartet’s
Vision performance produced some captivating music
that deserves a rehearing.
It’s fitting that Maneri’s viola found its way into
the Paul Motian tribute band of Washington, DC
drummer Jeff Cosgrove, as Maneri and Motian worked
together in the latter ’s Electric Bebop Band. Motian
Sickness (hopefully named before the late drummer
was diagnosed with cancer) also adds bassist John
Hébert and Jazz Mandolin Project linchpin Jamie
Masefield to the proceedings, across a program of ten
Motian originals from a broad range of his career.
Motian had a predilection towards unique
instrumentation - trios with tenor and guitar, an early
group with flute, piano, violin and drums - so this
particular instrumental setting is apt. The centerpiece
is a 13-minute version of “Arabesque”, in which the
roles of two saxophonists on the original Electric Bebop
Band recording are handed to Maneri’s sinewy viola
and the dusky condensation of Masefield’s mandolin.
RECOMMENDED
NEW RELEASES
• Andy Clausen - The Wishbone Suite (Table & Chairs)
• Tomas Fujiwara & The Hook Up The Air Is Different (482 Music)
• Steve Lehman - Dialect Fluorescent (Pi)
• Eric Reed - The Baddest Monk (Savant)
• Tom Tallitsch - Heads Or Tales (Posi-Tone)
• Yosvany Terry - Today’s Opinion (Criss Cross)
David Adler, New York@Night Columnist
• Marc Hannaford - Ordinary Madness (s/r)
• Werner Hasler - The Outer String (Unit)
• Simon Nabatov - Spinning Songs of
Herbie Nichols (Solo) (Leo)
• Henning Sieverts - Symmethree (Pirouet)
• Simon Toldam Trio - Sunshine Sunshine or
Green as Grass (ILK Music)
• Sumi Tonooka - Now - Live at the Howland (ARC)
Laurence Donohue-Greene
Managing Editor, The New York City Jazz Record
• Marty Ehrlich’s Rites Quartet Frog Leg Logic (Clean Feed)
• Ahmad Jamal - Blue Moon (Jazz Village)
• Kidd Jordan - On Fire (Engine)
• Evan Parker/Okkyung Lee/Peter Evans The Bleeding Edge (psi)
• Gary Smulyan - Smul’s Paradise (Capri)
• Zanussi Thirteen - Live (Moserobie)
Andrey Henkin
Editorial Director, The New York City Jazz Record
Turn Signal
Mike Wofford/Holly Hofmann Quintet (Capri)
Con Brio!
Ali Ryerson (ACR Music)
Old Wine New Bottled
Jiri Stivin/Ali Haurand (Konnex)
Random Roads Collection
Project Trio (Tummy Touch)
by Fred Bouchard
The four flutists gathered in this review indicate two
prevailing niceties about this transverse horn: women
are among its stalwart proponents and performers and
the jam-band short-take syndrome retains a certain
live caché and durable popularity. Ali Ryerson and
Holly Hofmann, seasoned players who’ve enjoyed
distinctive careers on East and West coasts respectively,
notably joined forces a decade ago in Flutology, a
joyful three-flute sextet with veteran Frank Wess.
Hofmann’s Turn Signal is the more challenging
and satisfactory; she’s a consistently probing,
surprising soloist with a robust, earthy tone. Mike
Wofford, her husband and long-time collaborator,
writes fine charts and plays terrific postbop piano
while Terell Stafford’s tart observations on trumpet
make for a neat foil. Repertoire is broad and rich: a
laid-back Horace Silver tribute, a breezy smoker to
close, blues by Jimmy Forrest and Bobby Watson. A
noble, complex Vince Mendoza ballad gets voiced like
Indian chant; Wofford quotes “Pannonica” in his solo
and there is a free cadenza in 5/4 and a piccolo coda.
Wofford’s wild take on “Pure Imagination” ends as
Stafford blazes away on a closing vamp, his piano
feature unearthing a sparkling geode: Dick Twardzik’s
“Girl From Greenland”.
Ali Ryerson’s Con Brio! - despite the “!” tagged on
her endorsed flute’s brand name - plays out smooth
and low-key, relaxed and ruminative. Most tunes are
medium tempo, Ryerson’s C flute bright and cheerful,
her vibrato synching with Mike Mainieri’s vibraphone
reverb and Mark Egan’s sirupy electric bass. The mood
is relaxed and urbane, late nods to Jimmy Giuffre and
Erik Satie, with blues-tinged tunes - stretched for solos
by pianist/arranger Pete Levin and Ali’s slow-burn
flute - a-smolder yet never quite igniting. Liveliest of
show are the four tracks that feature guitarist Mike
DeMicco.
Septuagenarian multi-reedist Jiri Stivin and
bassist Ali Haurand have had the earthy, mellow duo
thing of Old Wine New Bottled going since 1968: it’s part
head arrangement, part improv, all sotto-voce lightly
swing, brooding, amiably moody. Playing mainly
Stivin’s originals in a hip, breathy Jimmy Giuffre vein
(slippery lines like “My Garden”), these old salts wax
salty, ruminating on pleasant memories as if in a woodpaneled Prague coffeehouse. Snap your fingers and
toke your jay: you could be in North Beach, 1955.
Stivin rattles bluesy and cool on C flute, alto flute,
chalumeau clarinet, with a Lee Konitz-turns-Art
Pepper alto shot on Haurand’s folksy “No More
Chains” and coupla tenor honks. They nod to
standards: Bill Evans’ “Interplay”, “Spring Is Here”
(bridge only), “Lover Man”, “Softly as in a Morning
Sunrise”. Kick back and nod along.
As for Project Trio, yes, some among us jeered at
Blues Project and Jethro Tull (also way back in 1968), as
they rode simple folksy bluesy vamps up the new
crossover charts to fame and fortune. Well, history
does repeat and repeat: the Cleveland-Institutespawned Project Trio clumps anew into the laserlight
with similarly catchy nonentities on Random Roads
Collection to captivate and bedizen the attentionchallenged market. What’s recognizable? Mingus’
“Fables of Faubus” (melody only, no political message),
“Grass” (hoe-down), “Adagio” (classical drone and
harmonics), “Sweet Pea” (pizzicato funk), ersatz ditties
and bowdlerized movie themes. The magnum opus is a
seven-minute “Visual Machine”, a choppy, saucy tango
with few twists. So, cellist Eric Stephenson, bassist
Peter Seymour and flutist Greg Pattillo (often beatboxing or wheesht-ing percussively) fortuitously ride
their galumphing, two-beat miniatures into YouTube
hits topping 70 million. Go figure.
James Brown-inspired vocal exhortations of “757”,
with its phat synth-bass and meaty organ.
If the playing wasn’t excellent, the compositions
so good and the various soundworlds brought together
with such skill and taste, this album could have been a
huge disappointment. As it stands, it’s even better than
their first disc, Paa-da-pap, which was a breath of fresh
air a few years back. This is one for anyone wishing to
avoid the stodginess of category, or who likes the avant
garde with a mischievous twist.
For more information, visit tumrecords.com. Innanen is at
Douglass Street Music Collective May 3rd and Downtown
Music Gallery May 6th. See Calendar.
UNEARTHED GEM
For more information, visit caprirecords.com, aliryerson.com,
konnex-records.de and tummytouch.com. Ryerson is at Birdland
May 3rd. Project Trio is at Joe’s Pub May 23rd. See Calendar.
Yesterdays
Sheila Jordan/Harvie S (HighNote)
by George Kanzler
Clustrophy
Mikko Innanen & Innkvisitio (TUM)
by Marc Medwin
Injecting any music with what is supposed to be
humor is a dangerous business. Even if the listener
gets the joke, be it pure silliness or subtle reference, the
most responsible and serious musician may just end
up looking goofy. That said, countless examples of fun
and genuinely funny music pervade jazz history, from
Don Redman’s “The Reefer Man” up to the present
day. Saxophonist Mikko Innanen’s Innkvisitio occupies
a rarified place in the pantheon of those whose sense of
humor demands a bit of background knowledge. Now
boasting additional reedmen Fredrik Ljungkvist and
Daniel Erdmann while retaining the services of
synthesizer player Seppo Kantonen and percussionist
Joonas Riippa, the group has made it all work on this
excellent and stunningly recorded new disc.
If the kitschy but somehow profound spaciness of
‘70s Sun Ra is evoked by the brief and cryptic “Earth’s
Second Moon”, then “Vraa-Tender” pushes the
envelope further with a few well-placed silences and
freaky timbres juxtaposed with gorgeously neoEllingtonian harmonies. Nothing, however, prepares
for the title track, which swings into, or screams out,
another homage: Monk’s “Evidence” is clearly the
point of departure for this jovial romp, as the
Innkvisitio rhythm section is transformed into some
sort of space-age bebop organ trio. The triple-threat
saxophone section is heard to great effect here,
tightness and dissonance their playthings, on what
sounds like a mixture of baritones and tenors. They
stretch as well as they comp, improvising collectively
and soloing with the best.
Monk’s whimsical angularity certainly informs
much of the disc, but one name kept springing to mind
as these forays into trippy funk and spacy skronk flew
by - Albert Marcoeur. The French musician’s
iconoclastic compositions, embracing but never
succumbing to the trappings of fusion and prog, are
closest in spirit to the range of explorations on offer
from Innkvisitio and the way in which one transitions
to the other. The aesthetic unifies, as much as possible,
the whiles of a solo keyboard excursion like “Detto the
Magician” with the odd-metered loping funk and
Rare is the recording where the exhilaration of the
performers is something palpable. This duo CD by
singer Sheila Jordan and bassist Harvie S, in concert
circa 1990, is such a recording. The recently
discovered tapes - the details are frustratingly
murky - live up to the bassist’s assessment: “I feel
vindicated by this album. We only recorded three
other CDs but the magic is on this one. This
recording is us; it’s what we did best.”
Jordan pioneered the concept of vocal and bass
duos and her work with Harvie S from the mid ‘80s
exemplifies the freewheeling interplay and flexible
scope of the most creative duets. Although Jordan
doesn’t have a ‘big’ voice, or wide range, she
employs it in a grand, adventurous way, often
through nuances of tone and color. She approaches
songs musically with the unbridled melodic and
harmonic invention of an acolyte of Charlie Parker
and lyrically with the high regard for words and
meaning of a law secretary (part of her resumé).
Harvie S is equally commanding, from big booming
notes and riffs to flamenco-like arpeggios, downhome slapped strings and singing bowed lines.
The program here is almost all standards,
familiar but fresh due to the duo’s creativity.
“Yesterdays” becomes elastic as Jordan stretches the
middle vowels in “truth” and “love” sensuously.
“You Don’t Know What Love Is” matches legato
phrasing to long bowed chords and on “I Concentrate
On You” Jordan’s slinky vocal embraces the farthest
reaches of chords, rather than the melody note. A
creative high point is “Lazy Afternoon”, mixing
high-note scatting and bass, then suave lyrics
followed by muezzin-like scatting. An infinity of
colors inhabits the subtle “Blue Skies”. But the duo’s
joie de vivre is encapsulated in the concluding “Fred
Astaire Medley”, beginning with a fleet “Let’s Face
the Music and Dance”, segueing to a slower “Cheek
to Cheek” turned tongue-in-cheek by slap bass and
ending with an over-the-top “I Could Have Danced
All Night”, flirting with tango and Broadway on the
way to a boffo operatic-high-note climax.
For more information, visit jazzdepot.com. Jordan is at
Cornelia Street Café May 12th and Blue Note May 21st
as part of a Mark Murphy tribute. See Calendar.
13
GLOBE UNITY: ISRAEL
Mad About Thad
NYJAZZ Initiative (Jazzheads)
by Donald Elfman
Shir Ahava Alon Yavnai/NDR Big Band (s/r)
East of Jaffa
Ehran Elisha/Harold Rubin/Haim Elisha (OutNow)
Myelination JC Jones (Kadima Collective)
by Tom Greenland
Is it something in the climate, the water? Or in the
unique confluence of Middle Eastern cultures on
ancient holy grounds? Whatever it is, Israel has
become a wellspring of vital jazz talent, producing a
copious flow of creative young artists.
Israeli expat pianist/composer Alon Yavnai,
who established considerable cred as Paquito
D’Rivera’s musical director, offers a more personal
vision on Shir Ahava, recorded with the Hamburgbased NDR big band. Yavnai achieves a signature
sound with flute- and clarinet-dominated woodwind
passages, by borrowing from various ‘world’ musics
- “Travel Notes” is influenced by Moroccan Gnawa
and Peruvian Festejo, “Bitter Roots” by Egyptian
Malfuf, “Ilha B’nit” by Cape Verdean Bandera - and
through his ability to combine traditional big band
voicings with lighter, floating textures à la Gil Evans
and Maria Schneider. The date also features fine
piano work from the leader and several standout
solos by flutist Fiete Felsch.
East of Jaffa is a free-blowing collaboration by
Johannesburg-born, Tel Aviv-based clarinetist
Harold Rubin with the father-son team of pianist
Haim and percussionist Ehran Elisha. In addition to
their jazz activities, both Rubin and the elder Elisha
are acclaimed visual artists, so it is not surprising
that their sonic improvisations have a certain
painterly quality, evoking landscapes and still life
imagery through an eclectic palette of animal cries,
birdsong, burred tones, trickles, waterfalls and the
like. Rubin’s restrained clarinet occasionally rises to
ecstatic climaxes, but generally favors a more
discreet approach that leaves ample room for group
interaction; Elisha pere’s piano is tonal without
lapsing into harmonic clichés while Elisha fils’
percussion ranges from subtle to subliminal,
contributing to the chamber-like ambiance of the
outing. The 20-plus minute “Serpentine Suite”
epitomizes the trio’s cool yet suspenseful ethos.
Myelination, from Jerusalem-based Jean Claude
Jones, is ‘nervous’ - both literally and figuratively a visceral and cathartic reaction to the bassist’s
discovery that he had developed multiple sclerosis.
Using a computer simulation of myelin sheath
vibrations - the pulsing chains of amino acids that
insulate human nerve tissue - Jones brought in
colleagues to improvise separate, isolated
‘responses’ to the 16-minute track, then mixed the
results together. “Voices”, for example, layers two
takes by vocalist Yael Tai while “JC’s Remix”
features four reedmen: Harold Rubin (clarinet),
Stephen Horenstein (bari sax), Yoni Silver (bass
clarinet) and Ariel Shibolet (soprano sax). The
project is poignant proof of music’s healing powers.
For
more
information,
visit
alonyavnai.com,
outnowrecords.com and kadimacollective.com. Yavnai is
at Joe’s Pub May 8th, part of Jazzrael Fest. See Calendar.
J azz musicians and the smartest of jazz listeners have
long recognized the intricate genius in the compositions
of Thad Jones. Emerging from Detroit and then the ‘50s
Basie band trumpet section, Jones became a smart
composer and then bandleader. These qualities
brilliantly coalesced in his co-leadership of the Thad
Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra in the late ‘60s and
throughout the ‘70s. The NYJAZZ Initiative, and
Artistic Director Rob Derke, who also plays tenor and
soprano saxophones with the group, have chosen tunes
from throughout Jones’ career for this fresh tribute.
“Elusive” comes from Jones’ first date as a leader
in 1954. The horns weave in and out and around and
through the creative arrangement by Brooklyn-based
saxophonist Justin Flynn. One might guess that it’ll be
a feature for the trumpet, with tricky intervals and a
truly elusive set of changes, but after just a few notes
from trumpeter David Smith, the whole band plays the
theme and it’s quirky and sinuous but it feels like a
jazz standard. The horns, which also include trombonist
Sam Burtis, a Jones-Lewis alumnus, provide the
interludes before tenor saxophone solos by Ralph
Lalama, another Jones-Lewis Orchestra alum, who
works his way into the heart and soul of this complex
swinger. He’s followed, almost imperceptibly, by
Derke, who takes an athletic ride before running
exchanges of four bars with Lalama. They are soon
replaced by an energetic Smith who briefly invokes the
composer ’s sound with his own modern approach.
The arrangements, mostly by Flynn and Derke,
include some well-known pieces from the Jones book:
the popular “A Child is Born”, Smith keeping the quiet
beauty but adding an air of mystery and strangeness
on flugelhorn; a lush yet deeply swinging, everevolving “Mean What You Say” and the intricately
in-the-pocket groove of “Three and One”. But there are
lesser-known gems as well. “Evol Deklaw Ni” is, well,
a famous standard spelled backwards; here, in an
arrangement by Toby Wine, a guitarist in jazz, r&b and
rock bands, the tune sounds simultaneously fresh and
authentic. What Derke and his players have done is
revitalize and refresh the music of a composer whose
work deserves to be heard and reheard.
For more information, visit jazzheads.com. This group is at
The Players Club May 4th, as part of the Jazzheads Festival.
See Calendar.
Figurations
Miles Okazaki (Sunnyside)
by Terrell Holmes
The new album by Miles Okazaki is a live set captured
last June at The Jazz Gallery, the venue that actually
commissioned the disc’s music. The venerable guitarist
leads a stellar quartet of altoist Miguel Zenón, bassist
Thomas Morgan and drummer Dan Weiss and certainly
earned his commission: not only did he write, produce
and arrange the music, he also illustrated the CD cover.
Okazaki is a fretboard poet who carefully searches
with persistence and care for the right elements upon
which he can build his compact and eloquent layered
solo passages. For example, on the pulsating “Dozens”,
amidst Okazaki’s lightning flourishes and beneaththe-radar octaves, it sometimes sounds like he’s
hesitant or has lost his place. Not so; he’s simply
mining the melody for those precious gold nuggets.
Okazaki’s soft strumming introduces “Rain”, a
moody tune whose shifting tempos range from
brooding to mildly funky to workman-like. Zenón‘s
powerhouse alto drives the tune as he wails in the
upper register, soaring up and spiraling down with
each change in character. Okazaki and Morgan’s gentle
guitar/bass duet sets the pace for “Wheel”. After a
measured start, the song accelerates into a vicious,
frenetic dialogue between Okazaki and Zenón, with
Morgan and Weiss throbbing behind them. Okazaki
plays like a cyclone on the dynamite title cut,
percolating with Weiss and Morgan. Okazaki and Zenón’s call and response at the
beginning of the outstanding “Mandala” gives the
song a distinctly African feeling, which is underscored
by fluctuating guitar riffs beneath intense and balanced
drumming. “Loom” is a lovely ballad and “Corazon” is
in the same vein, slow, with well-placed percussive
highlights and carefully wrought musicality. These
two songs sound like afterthoughts but are no less
effective, which is a credit to both Okazaki’s skilled
composing and the chops of this first-class quartet.
For more information, visit sunnysiderecords.com. This
group is at The Jazz Gallery May 5th. See Calendar.
Snakeoil
Tim Berne (ECM)
by Jeff Stockton
Imagine a time when an avant garde jazz artist could
have his recordings issued by a major label. Today,
even the labels aren’t so major, but somehow in the
mid ‘80s, in an era defined by Wynton Marsalis’ new
traditionalism, downtown New York’s own Tim Berne
was signed to Columbia Records. 25 years later, Berne
never stopped writing and creating. He made
connections and formed band after band, recording for
small labels European and domestic, or most often, for
his self-owned-and-operated Screwgun. So, after
appearing as a sideman on a pair of CDs recorded by
his colleagues, it’s as much an inevitability that Berne
would release his own project as a leader on ECM as it
is a feel-good story about one of our own getting
something long and well deserved.
How Berne’s uncompromising artistic approach
and DIY aesthetic would blend with Manfred Eicher ’s
hands-on production technique is a question answered
very satisfyingly by Snakeoil, the studio debut of
Berne’s working band of the last couple of years. While
not quite Berne Lite, the music is rarely assaultive or
cacophonous, as often driven by Matt Mitchell’s
dominant piano and Ches Smith’s impressionistic
drumming as by the leader ’s alto. The opening “Simple
City” is a lengthy episodic piece that ranges outward
and returns without ever separating from its center.
Berne and clarinetist Oscar Noriega intertwine in
tandem and flake off in counterpoint, but the two play
with great empathy throughout. The more
confrontational “Scanners” has Mitchell leading the
two horns down the rabbit hole and back out again.
“Spare Parts” manages to be orchestral, thanks to
Smith’s tympani, Mitchell’s forceful touch and Noriega
and Berne’s complementary sonorities. At times this
band is reminiscent of Wayne Shorter ’s modern
quartet, as the tunes turn circles while they move
forward, like tops zipped by cords across the floor.
Snakeoil is as accessible as it is challenging, melodic
yet aggressive, intricate without being cerebral.
For more information, visit ecmrecords.com. Berne is at
Shapeshifter Lab May 7th-8th. See Calendar.
Wisteria
Steve Kuhn (ECM)
by Joel Roberts
P ianist Steve Kuhn’s new trio, which makes its debut
here, has a lot of shared history. Kuhn and electric
bassist Steve Swallow have been frequent collaborators
for more than half a century, going back to their days
in trumpeter/flugelhornist Art Farmer ’s ‘60s group.
And drummer Joey Baron has worked with Kuhn for
more than 20 years, including on his stellar 2009
release, Mostly Coltrane, a tribute to the saxophone
titan who famously and briefly hired Kuhn as the first
pianist in his quartet before McCoy Tyner.
It’s a wonder then that this is the first time the trio
has ever worked together as a unit. Right from the
start, however, the group displays a rare rapport and
ease, reminiscent of the reflective, intimate and highly
collaborative trios of Bill Evans and Paul Bley (a
longtime partner of Swallow). The set revisits a number
of Kuhn compositions from years past, mostly quite
emotional and evocative ballads, like the opening
“Chalet” and “Pastorale”, along with a few uptempo
hardbop tunes like “A Likely Story” and Swallow’s
“Good Lookin’ Rookie”. Carla Bley’s “Permanent
Wave” provides a taste of gospel and soul while the
title tune is a gently swinging nod to Kuhn and
Swallow’s former boss, highlighting Kuhn’s ever
impeccable touch and Baron’s deft drum and cymbal
work. Swallow is impressive throughout, showing yet
again why he is the most imaginative and nimble of
electric bassists.
The group doesn’t break any new ground, but
theirs is a perfectly matched and timeless partnership
that showcases three masters who make this quite
challenging music appear easy. And Kuhn, who seems
to be in the midst of a career renaissance at the age of
74, or is at least getting a long overdue burst of
recognition, proves again why he is one of our true
piano masters.
For more information, visit ecmrecords.com. This group is
at Birdland May 8th-12th. See Calendar.
BOB RODRIGUEZ TRIO
JAZZ AT KITANO - OPENING NIGHT
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2
with Steve Varner (bass) & Bill Tesar (drums)
66 Park Avenue at 38th Street, NY, NY
Reservations: 212.885.7119
$10 Cover/$15 Minimum - Sets 8PM & 10PM
“A rewarding and idiosyncratic addition to the piano trio literature...Rodriguez has a lovely touch ...” - The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD
****...”the end product is an intriguing trio sound that is, largely, unlike
anything on the scene.” - DownBeat Magazine
“enjoyable music with performances that reveal themselves to be
much deeper than at first blush.” - Jazziz
bobrodriguez.com
15
Bittersweet
Tom Guarna (SteepleChase)
by Ken Dryden
Brooklyn native Tom Guarna started playing guitar at
the age of 15. Studying classical guitar performance
and composition at the Brooklyn Conservatory of
Music and the Guitar Institute of Technology in Los
Angeles, Guarna continued private studies with Steve
Kahn and John Abercrombie after returning to New
York City. In addition to appearing on recordings by
George Colligan, Lenny White and Vincent Gardner
and performing with Branford Marsalis, Mulgrew
Miller, Bob Dorough, Craig Handy, Buddy DeFranco
and the Mingus Jazz Orchestra, among others, Guarna
was a member of the jazz/rock band Blood, Sweat and
Tears from 1995-98.
For his fifth SteepleChase CD, Guarna is joined by
pianist Peter Zak’s working trio of bassist Paul Gill
and drummer Willie Jones. The mostly bop orientation
of this session includes its share of overlooked gems,
like Elmo Hope’s breezy “Crazy” and Sam Jones’
intricate “Bitter Sweet”, both of which sound like
they’re a part of the musicians’ day-to-day repertoire.
“Moment’s Notice” has long been an essential part of
John Coltrane’s canon; Guarna keeps the tempo
moderate, allowing more breathing room for potent
solos. Bud Powell’s rollicking “Bouncing With Bud” is
in good hands, with a humorous, conversational vibe.
The band also excels with songs from the Great
American Songbook: a leisurely, intimate setting of
“Ghost of a Chance” has a whispering air while the
lively bossa nova rendition of “I Never Knew” is
engaging. In his unaccompanied treatment of Monk’s
“Ugly Beauty”, Guarna brings out the lyricism within
this ballad with his spacious playing.
For more information, visit steeplechase.dk. Guarna is at
Dizzy’s Club May 8th-12th with Manuel Valera. See Calendar.
Accelerando
Vijay Iyer Trio (ACT Music)
by Ken Waxman
P erceptive
enough to realize that an improvising
musician must constantly change, pianist Vijay Iyer
has experimented with several combo formats and
choice of material during his recording career.
Accelerando, his 16th CD, concentrates on the storytelling available from carefully selected tunes played
in classic piano trio format.
Although the configuration, with bassist Stephan
Crump and drummer Marcus Gilmore, may be classic,
the program isn’t. Iyer shows his taste by including
under-recorded pieces by jazz masters (Duke
Ellington’s “The Village of The Virgins”, Herbie
Nichols’ “Wildflower” and a miniaturization of Henry
Threadgill’s “Little Pocket Size Demons”), five
originals, plus pop tunes associated with Heatwave,
Flying Lotus and, most saliently, Michael Jackson.
He sounds more comfortable on the contemporary
material. Complete with drum rolls, walking basslines
plus syncopated harmonies and passing chords that
appear self-consciously jazzy, “The Village of The
Virgins” suggests Iyer won’t become a revivalist any
time soon. Jackson’s “Human Nature” is given a
treatment that frees it of its banality, giving it a harder
edge with left-handed piano pressure, drum bounces
and bass string glides. Reorchestrated with guitar-like
strums and cascading keyboard glissandi, the melody
that reappears after the turnaround is transformed
from pop bauble to a precious jazz stone. “Little Pocket
Size Demons” is interpreted in such a way that this
stripped-down variant could be the equal of
Threadgill’s original, recorded with a brass-heavy
larger band. While Crump’s screeching arco runs and
Gilmore’s paradiddles deconstructs it, Iyer ’s tremolo
piano pressure preserves the pseudo-marching-band
theme. At the same time he changes the emphasis with
each repetition.
This dualism extends to Iyer ’s originals, which
match Ahmad Jamal-like timing with jocular iPad-era
pulses. “Action Speaks”, for instance, could pass for a
bebop line, complete with measured rim shots, if Iyer ’s
staccato pacing and dynamic accelerations didn’t give
the 21st century game away. Similarly the woody yet
unforced bass solo on “Optimism” is thoroughly
modern, with emphasized, but not sharp tones echoed
by kinetic piano that is intense but never loses the beat.
With Accelerando, Iyer has created a Sweet Sixteen
party many will like to attend.
For more information, visit actmusic.com. Iyer is at Harlem
Stage Gatehouse May 8th-9th as part of Celebrating Cecil
and Roulette May 16th as part of ImproTech Paris/New
York 2012. See Calendar.
Challis in Wonderland
Bucky Pizzarelli (Arbors)
by Sean O'Connell
G uitar legend Bucky Pizzarelli, at the age of 86, has
produced an album in tribute to some of his
inspirations. The memories of arranger Bill Challis and
trumpeter Bix Beiderbecke anchor the album with a
collection of obscure standards aided by Pizzarelli’s
guitarist son John, bassist Jerry Bruno and the Dick
Lieb Strings.
The album opens with the bouncy “Sunday”,
setting the tone with Pizzarelli’s chunky four-to-thebar chords as the Dick Lieb Strings carry the melody.
After Pizzarelli’s full-bodied solo he trades fours with
featured violinist Aaron Weinstein who proves the
gem of the album with engaging solos on the seesawing
“Davenport Blues” as well as both versions of “Sugar”.
With just Bruno accompanying them, Pizzarelli
and Weinstein cut loose on the first version of “Sugar”
with a bouncy midtempo approach. Weinstein does his
best to summon the legacy of Stephane Grappelli in his
melodic phrasing while Pizzarelli lays down an equally
Hot Club-indebted jaunt. The full-band reprise of
“Sugar” towards the end of the album finds Pizzarelli
and Weinstein equally playful but pushed a little
harder by the presence of the string section. “Oh Baby”
is the most upbeat track on the album, with a
delightfully thick pulse laid down by the leader and
Bruno while Weinstein steps up to the plate to highlight
his mandolin skills. The foot-tapping pulse proves you
don’t need a drummer to drive a beat.
The self-titled track is the lone original of the
album. Pizzarelli’s gentle melody nods to Ellington’s
“Prelude to a Kiss” as it floats gently with help from
his son on seven-string guitar. Father and son later
stretch out for the most recognizable standard on the
album, “What’s New”. Guitars and bass delicately
swing across the changes before the senior Pizzarelli
closes out the record alone with Beiderbecke’s
“Flashes”, leaving no doubt about his mastery.
The album is a swinging collection of tunes that
honors the undersung Challis while also displaying
Pizzarelli’s still boisterous chops. The string
arrangements by Lieb are a nice touch, putting them
front and center rather than swaying delicately in the
background while the alternating tracks offer smooth,
in-the-pocket performances from family and friends.
For more information, visit arborsrecords.com. Pizzarelli is
at Bella Luna May 8th, Saint Peter’s May 9th and Kaye
Playhouse May 21st with Bria Skonberg. See Calendar.
Plugged In
Jerome Sabbagh (Bee Jazz)
by Elliott Simon
Since
arriving here from France, tenor saxophonist
Jerome Sabbagh has impressed with several releases
mixing his accessible improvisational approach with
Ben Monder ’s burning electric guitar. Plugged In, as the
title implies, has Sabbagh going electric but avoiding
the obvious as Monder ’s charged guitar is replaced
with fellow Frenchman Jozef Dumoulin’s Fender
Rhodes, which can eerily mimic searing guitar runs as
well as bathe tunes in mellow funky ooze. Electric
bassist Patrice Blanchard combines with drummer
Rudy Royston for a lyrical rhythm section that fits into
and jointly creates these diverse moods and, when
called upon, blends with Dumoulin’s freer moments.
Sabbagh and Dumoulin essentially split the
leader ’s role with each penning half of the 14 compact
cuts. Dumoulin’s tunes tend to meander a bit while
Sabbagh’s are the more structured and potent. Take,
for example, Sabbagh’s popish “Special K”, which
owes its approachable nature to a restated melodic
hook, showcasing his gorgeous tone; Dumoulin
prevents the tune from devolving into smoothness
through a bit of off-kilter keyboarding.
A gracefully stated “Kasbah” has Blanchard
blending with Royston to build an elegant structure
while the quartet displays superb worldly chops on
Sabbagh’s “Jeli”, which also features some tasty bass
work. Blanchard is a talented bassist and when up in
the mix he keeps things from drifting too much. The
band rocks on several cuts and Sabbagh’s “City Dawn”
and Dumoulin’s “Ur” are reminiscent of ‘70s fusion
thanks mainly to Dumoulin’s fiery runs. Plugged In is
steeped in variety and if it falls a bit short as a
conceptual work with Sabbagh never appearing totally
comfortable in Dumoulin’s more abstract compositions
it contains many noteworthy moments.
For more information, visit beejazz.com. Sabbagh is at
Cornelia Street Café May 9th and Bar Next Door May 31st.
See Calendar.
17
Borscht Belt Studies
Jamie Saft (Tzadik)
by Sean Fitzell
The “Borscht Belt” or “Jewish Alps” referred to a
string of summer resorts and bungalows in the Catskill
Mountains popular with New York City Jews,
providing entertainers a circuit to hone their acts and
build an audience. Inspired by this history for Borscht
Belt Studies, keyboardist Jamie Saft ruminates on
themes that allude to the past but are contemporary in
form and execution, conjuring a heartfelt memorial
that is part celebration and part lamentation.
Starting upbeat, “Issachar” opens with subtle
Fender Rhodes that develops a swanky swing
supporting clarinetist Ben Goldberg’s spare theme.
Shimmering Rhodes buoys Goldberg’s bluesy, breathy
lines, imparting a cool vibe for “Pinkus”. Ominous
piano rumblings underscore the traditionally Jewishsounding clarinet melody of “Dark Arts”. Similarly, on
“Darash”, Saft’s classically inflected techniques bolster
Goldberg’s folksy Klezmer asides. The prepared piano
of “Jews for Joseph (Maneri)” accentuates the attack
for a harpsichord-like sound, which Saft contrasts with
tumbling keys as lilting clarinet soars over, then spars
with, the tumult.
Saft showcases his piano mastery with four solo
pieces trafficking in tension and release: he glides from
deep murmurs to high trills and back with graceful
touch and dynamic control on “Hellenville”; rhythmic
angularity dominates “The Pines”; the patient
minimalism of “Solomon County” is countered by
shifting dynamics, pounded accents and string rakes
and “Kutshers” lyrically unfurls with its quasi-blues
theme juxtaposed by cascading rolls. Bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Craig
Santiago lay down a hypnotic reggae groove under the
leader ’s gauzy romantic lines on the concluding “New
Zion”. The piece synthesizes Saft’s interests in groove,
minimalism, extended technique and micro-tonality,
reflecting a personal approach to the piano trio
tradition that warrants further exploration.
Live: In Case The World Changes Its Mind
Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood (Indirecto)
by Matthew Kassel
and rock and funk. It wasn’t until eight years later that
the musicians put out another album, Out Louder,
under the name of Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood. It
didn’t groove as hard as the first but when the band
took the songs from both albums on the road in 2006,
the differences between the two didn’t really matter.
MMW, which could be called a ‘jazz trio’, usually
acts more like a jam band live and it shows on In Case
The World Changes Its Mind, a collection of recordings
from that 2006 tour. The tracks go as long as about 13
minutes, there’s a lot of extended noodling, ideas take
shape slowly. Neither bad nor good, you might do
better with studio takes if you haven’t heard them yet.
Scofield is one of the most influential jazz
guitarists of the last couple of decades and his presence
reigns here, despite the democratic band name. If you
could drink his tone, it would have a heavily tannic
aftertaste. His solos are jagged and sneaky, a good foil
to keyboardist John Medeski, who has similar harmonic
ideas - funky and atonal both - but improvises
differently, grabbing handfuls of keys and building
dynamics awkwardly, as on the track “Little Walter
Rides Again”.
Drummer Billy Martin and bassist Chris Wood
bring it all together, forming deep, rhythmic pockets.
And there’s a jazz ethic here in the way the band
returns to the chorus at the end of most songs, but this
music is much different from modern jazz in that it’s so
danceable. The band works at its best when it gets
straight to the beat, as on “A Go Go”, “Tootie Ma Is A
Big Fine Thing” and “South Pacific”. You feel these
songs in your feet.
In 1998, guitarist John Scofield released the album A
Go Go, which he recorded with Medeski Martin &
Wood (MMW). It grooved hard, skirting jazz and blues
For more information, visit mmw.net. MMW is at Brooklyn
Masonic Temple May 10th as part of Undead Music
Festival. See Calendar.
For more information, visit tzadik.com. Saft is at Le Poisson
Rouge May 9th as part of Undead Music Festival and The
Stone May 11th. See Calendar.
InterpretatIons
presents
Saturday May 12 2012 @ 8pm
earl Howard // tom CHIu
+ Conrad HarrIs
Chiu & Harris perform works by Elizabeth Hoffman, Ben Johnston,
Alvin Lucier, Giacinto Scelsi, Christian Wolff, & Chiu, plus the premiere
of Howard’s Guggenheim commission “Superstring”, w/ Wu Wei (sheng,
erhu), Alan Jaffe (guitar), Miya Masaoka (koto), Ernst Reijseger (cello),
Mark Dresser (bass), Harris Eisenstadt (percussion), & Earl Howard,
(Kurzweil K2600). Tickets: $15 / $10.
roulette Brooklyn
509 Atlantic Ave (@ 3rd Ave) 2, 3, 4, 5,
C, G, D, M, N, R, B & Q trains & the LIRR
roulette
www.InterpretatIons.Info
www.roulette.org
presents
Tuesday May 29 2012 @ 8pm
peter m wyer “tHe InvIsIBle”,
w/ tHomas BuCkner, kevIn
norton, ralpH samuelson,
and mattHew sHIpp
British composer Pete M Wyer brings together an extraordinary
improvising collective to perform his amazing song cycle, based on
Charles Simic’s series of eleven poems on the theme of ‘The Invisible’.
roulette Brooklyn
509 Atlantic Ave (@ 3rd Ave) 2, 3, 4, 5,
C, G, D, M, N, R, B & Q trains & the LIRR
www.InterpretatIons.Info
www.roulette.org
Frog Leg Logic
Marty Ehrlich's Rites Quartet (Clean Feed)
by Stuart Broomer
The first thing you notice about Marty Ehrlich is the
sound of his alto saxophone. It’s one of the great alto
tones, round and full and summoning up great
traditions, touching on presences like Benny Carter
and Cannonball Adderley in its richness and yet with
an expressive edge that speaks of the blues and that
free alto tradition - one that runs through Ornette
Coleman and Julius Hemphill, Ehrlich’s immediate
mentor.
Those historical resonances, embedded in his
sound, extend through the compositions here and also
through the way he’s put together his band. Ehrlich’s
pieces move from the sprightly freebop of the opening
title track to the resilient beauty of “Ballade” and “My
Song” to the oddly cerebral funk of “You Can Beat the
Slanted Card” and “The Gravedigger ’s Respite”.
There’s a consistent feeling of the classic about
Frog Leg Logic in the way the compositions are mated to
the members of this edition of the Rites Quartet. James
Zollar is a trumpeter of great subtlety, whether
burnishing the melody of “Ballade” or using mutes to
summon up and transform ancient traditions. Cellist
Hank Roberts frequently contributes a high-pitched
equivalent of a walking bass, but he’s just as adept at
adding a distinctive bowed voice to the ensembles or
solos of genuine emotional resonance, including the
Asian touches that decorate the slightly eerie “Walk
Along the Way”. Drummer Michael Sarin is equally
masterful at filling out Ehrlich’s thematic inspirations,
from ironic back-beats to the drive of the title track.
There’s tremendous freedom here as well, as each
soloist rewrites the mood and direction of the pieces.
Ehrlich has crafted a setting in which he can soar and
every solo testifies to it, lighting up the music with free
flights in which bop and blues materials are transmuted
into an intense personal lyricism.
For more information, visit cleanfeed-records.com. Ehrlich
is at Cornelia Street Café May 10th with Allison Miller. See
Calendar.
Immersed in the Quest, Vol. 1
Carlos Abadie Quintet (Pursuance)
by Alex Henderson
Carlos Abadie is not a newcomer to the New York City
jazz scene; the Jersey City native has been playing jazz
here since the ‘90s. But Immersed in the Quest, Vol. 1 is
the trumpeter ’s first album as a leader, a 2010 recording
of his working quintet with tenor saxophonist Joe
Sucato, pianist Jonathan Lefcoski, bassist Jason Stewart
and drummer Luca Santaniello. The disc owes much to
the hardbop of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and the
hard-swinging Blue Note dates of the late ‘50s and, as
a trumpeter, Abadie favors a big, fat, full-bodied tone
along the lines of Clifford Brown and his heirs like
Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan and
Woody Shaw.
But while Immersed in the Quest, Vol. 1 is derivative,
it is far from generic. What prevents this is Abadie’s
wisdom in offering surprises when it comes to material.
There aren’t a lot of originals, only his own “People on
the Hill” and Sucato’s “Action Jackson” (which stay
consistent with the overall Jazz Messengers aesthetic).
But elsewhere he turns his attention to a lot of worthy
material that hasn’t been beaten to death, including
Hubbard’s “Hub’s Nub”, Duke Pearson’s “Each Time I
Think of You”, Kenny Dorham’s “La Mesha” and the
Horace Silver pieces “Metamorphosis” and “Pyramid”.
Abadie also unearths the ballad “Funny (Not Much)”,
which was a medium-sized hit for Nat King Cole in
1952 and is mostly recorded by vocalists, turning it
into a good vehicle for his lyrical playing.
The title indicates a planned sequel; if this
enjoyable disc is any indication, straightahead jazz
fans should look forward to that and future albums.
For more information, visit myspace.com/carlosabadie.
Abadie is at Smalls May 3rd, 17th and 31st and Fat Cat
May 12th. See Calendar.
Upper West Side (with Harry Allen)
Ehud Asherie (Posi-Tone)
by Marcia Hillman
N amed after a culturally diverse region of Manhattan,
this is a duo offering from pianist Ehud Asherie and
tenor saxophonist Harry Allen. In this day of many
releases by pairs of musicians in various configurations,
it is not a surprise that these two have teamed up. Both
are in demand, known for playing with just about
everyone on the straightahead jazz scene and have
performed together often. Here they achieve a magical,
musical connection that allows them to be of one mind
on the same page.
Choosing some of the best from the standard
songbook (just about all written for the Broadway
shows and movies of the ‘30s-40s) Asherie and Allen
adhere to the melodies for a chorus before taking their
solos. Allen’s full tenor sound, with just enough
textural breathiness, voices his music with ease while
Asherie backs him up with basslines and stride piano
on most of the tracks. Asherie has a wide variety of
rhythmic figures in his fingers and his improvisations
say just enough - reminiscent of the legendary Teddy
Wilson. But the magic is the seamless way that these
two performers pass their ideas back and forth, so in
tune with each other that it often takes a second to
recognize which instrument is playing.
There are many highlights here such as Allen’s
gutty approach to “Learnin’ The Blues” and, by
contrast, a tender rendition of Strayhorn’s “Passion
Flower” that can take your breath away. Asherie’s
stride technique stands out on Eubie Blake’s “Love
Will Find A Way”, there is a playful take on the bossa
“O Patu” and both musicians are heartfelt on a version
of the last of the Gershwins’ songs “Our Love Is Here
To Stay” (Ira’s love song for his brother, George).
This delightful album is guaranteed to grow on
listeners track by track. It is full of exciting and
enjoyable music made by two instrumental masters,
joined together in a perfect pairing.
Tue, May 1
Wed, May 2
Thu, May 3
Fri, May 4
Sat, May 5
Sun, May 6
Mon, May 7
Tue, May 8
Wed, May 9
Thu, May 10
Fri, May 11
Sat, May 12
Tue, May 15
Wed, May 16
Thu, May 17
Fri, May 18
Sat, May 19
Sun, May 20
Tue, May 22
Thu, May 24
Fri, May 25
Sat, May 26
Tue, May 29
Wed, May 30
Thu, May 31
BLUE TUESDAYS PRESENTS:
“DOUBLE BASS DOUBLE VOICE” 8:30PM
Nancy Harms, Emily Braden, Steve Whipple
THE BRIANNA THOMAS BAND 10PM
RYAN BLOTNICK’S SAUT-E SARMAD 8:30PM
Mat Maneri, Michael Blake, Perry Wortman, Randy Peterson
SPOTLIGHT ON NEW TALENT:
BEN VAN GELDER 8:30PM
Kyle Wilson, Joe Sanders, Craig Weinrib
JOHN MCNEIL’S URBAN LEGEND 9PM & 10:30PM
Bill McHenry, Steve Cardenas, Joel Martin, Rodney Green
MICHAEL BATES’ ACROBAT: MUSIC FOR, AND BY,
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH 9PM & 10:30PM
Greg Tardy, Russ Johnson, Russ Lossing, Michael Sarin
NEW BRAZILIAN PERSPECTIVES:
BILLY NEWMAN SEXTET 8:30PM
Ben Holmes, Michael Attias, Eric Schugren,
Leco Reis, Conor Meehan
AMRAM & CO 8:30PM
David Amram, Kevin Twigg, John de Witt, Adam Amram
LEIF ARNTZEN BAND WITH MICHAEL BLAKE 8:30PM
Landon Knoblock, Ryan Blotnick, Michael Bates, Jeff Davis
JEROME SABBAGH QUARTET CD RELEASE: “PLUGGED IN” 8:30PM
Pete Rende, Simon Jermyn, Rudy Royston
ALLISON MILLER’S BOOM TIC BOOM CD RELEASE: “LIVE AT WILLISAU” 8:30PM
Dan Tepfer, Marty Ehrlich, Todd Sickafoose
GERALD CLEAVER 9PM & 10:30PM
Darius Jones, Brandon Seabrook,
Cooper-Moore, Pascal Niggenkemper
SHEILA JORDAN & CAMERON BROWN 9PM & 10:30PM
MARK DRESSER QUINTET 8:30PM
Rudresh Mahanthappa, Michael Dessen,
Denman Maroney, Tom Rainey
PANNONIA 8:30PM
Josh Deutsch, Zach Brock, Brian Drye, Gary Wang, Ronen Itzik
AUGMENTED REALITY 10PM
Roy Assaf, Jorge Roeder, Ronen Itzik
JEFF DAVIS QUARTET 8:30PM
Chris Speed, Russ Lossing, Eivind Opsvik
DAN RUFOLO TRIO
FEATURING RICH PERRY 9PM & 10:30PM
Bill Thoman, Arthur Vint
MARY HALVORSON QUINTET CD RELEASE: “BENDING BRIDGES” 9PM & 10:30PM
Jonathan Finlayson, Jon Irabagon, Stephan Crump, Ches Smith
LOREN STILLMAN AND BAD TOUCH 8:30PM
Nate Radley, Gary Versace, Ted Poor
BLUE TUESDAYS PRESENTS:
LOUISE ROGERS/RICK STRONG 8:30PM
TOM CHANG QUARTET 8:30PM
Jason Rigby, Chris Lightcap, Gerald Cleaver
REGIONAL DE NY: BRAZILIAN CHORO 6PM
Justin Douglas, Rodrigo Ursaia, Kahil Nayton,
Cesar Garabini, Ranjan Ramchandani
AMANDA BAISINGER 9PM & 10:30PM
Ryan Scott, Pete Rende, Matt Brewer, Dan Rieser
JASON RIGBY’S
CLEVELAND-DETROIT TRIO 9PM & 10:30PM
Cameron Brown, Gerald Cleaver
ANDREW RATHBUN QUARTET 8:30PM
Phil Markowitz, Jay Anderson, Bill Stewart
JAMES SHIPP’S NÓS NOVO 8:30PM
Jean Rohe, Becca Stevens, Jesse Lewis, Rogério Boccato
DUANE EUBANKS QUINTET 8:30PM
Abraham Burton, Orrin Evans,
Dezron Douglas, Eric McPherson
For more information, visit posi-tone.com. This duo is at
Knickerbocker Bar and Grill May 11th-12th. See Calendar.
19
Live at the Players
Aaron Diehl Trio (s/r)
by David R. Adler
P ianist Aaron Diehl is a young Juilliard graduate, a
scholarly devotee of Fats Waller, James P. Johnson and
even earlier figures. His work on record reveals
absolutely no debt to hiphop, indie rock, the avant
garde or any other de rigueur influence. Yes, Diehl is a
proud jazz classicist, with an impeccable touch and
deep musical insights. His Mack Avenue debut, The
Bespoke Man’s Narrative, is forthcoming so it’s a good
time to listen closely to his previous effort.
Though his interests stretch back to ragtime, Diehl
is not a ‘trad’ player. His rapport with bassist David
Wong and drummer Quincy Davis on “Pick Yourself
Up” and Thelonious Monk’s “Green Chimneys” brings
to mind the crisp, strutting swing of Miles Davis’ ‘50s
quintet. His effortless-sounding arrangements and use
of the trio as a canvas recalls Ahmad Jamal. His
restraint and elegance as a soloist is in the tradition of
John Lewis and the Modern Jazz Quartet (the addition
of vibraphone on the forthcoming album makes the
MJQ parallel even clearer).
Although Diehl’s chops are considerable, he
unleashes them with taste, in ways we wouldn’t expect
(eg, his fills on the original ballad “Dorsem” and ultraslow opener “The Player ’s Blues”). Not that he has
anything against speed: his original “Tag You’re It!”,
with its train-like feel (and slight resemblance to
“Seven Steps to Heaven”), is the date’s most bracing
virtuoso showpiece. But the George Shearing classic
“Conception” gets a slower treatment than usual and
Diehl hints at Monk’s influence with gestures of
repetition and counterpoint. His wide octaves - a
frequent device during solos - highlight the piano’s
flawless intonation and the fine recording quality.
Two tracks feature a different rhythm section, but
mainly we hear from Wong in a pronounced soloing
and melodic role and Davis in great form on sticks and
brushes. There’s a curious effect at the start of the
album, where ambient crowd noise nearly drowns out
the band, then disappears in time for the second blues
chorus. It’s likely a post-production trick, but it gives
the impression that Diehl and his trio succeeded in
quieting a loud room - an easy scenario to believe.
For more information, visit aarondiehl.com. Diehl is at Apollo
Theater May 12th with Wycliffe Gordon as part of Harlem
Jazz Shrines Festival. See Calendar.
Overseas IV
Eivind Opsvik (Loyal Label)
by Tom Conrad
Like so much of the best current jazz, Overseas IV
comes out of a European sensibility filtered through
edgy New York energy. Eivind Opsvik was born in
Norway and is now based in Brooklyn. He plays bass,
but his true instrument is his ensemble. Not interested
in conventional solo brilliance and complexity, his
priority is collective ensemble texture and narrative.
Overseas IV propagates unfamiliar colors and sonorities
because of its instrumentation. Kenny Wollesen plays
drums but also timpani, vibraphone and “marching
machine”. Jacob Sacks plays piano but also harpsichord
and farfisa organ. Tony Malaby plays tenor saxophone,
but often in the falsetto register. Brandon Seabrook
plays electric guitar but also mandolin. The blend is so
deep that many sounds can’t be specifically attributed.
Opsvik meticulously arranges his ten compositions
into diverse organic designs. “1786” begins with a
hypnotic drum and bass vamp bonded to a cycling
harpsichord figure. Then Malaby enters like a buzz
saw, placing a wild, raving, rasping saxophone in a
context of Baroque formality. “Robbers and Fairground
Folk” is similarly odd and intense. Malaby’s saxophone
is the rhythm section, croaking a foundational hook
over which Seabrook’s guitar screams.
But often Overseas IV is relatively quiet, made
from simple, solemn melodic forms. “Silkweavers’
Song” and “Men on Horses” are dark and austere, like
antiquarian dirges refracted through the relativism of
21st century consciousness. “Det Kalde Havet”, like
several pieces here, is continuously cinematic. Over
stark drum rituals and incantatory chords, a brooding
drama of melody unfolds. Is it arco bass and tenor sax?
Which keyboard instrument is Sacks playing? Is that a
guitar or a mandolin strumming? It doesn’t matter.
Someone needs to make a movie to this music.
For more information, visit loyallabel.com. Opsvik is at
Sullivan Hall with Kris Davis and Kenny’s Castaways with
Nate Wooley, both May 9th as part of Undead Music
Festival, Cornelia Street Café May 17th with Jeff Davis and
I-Beam May 18th with Nate Wooley. See Calendar.
Live at Smalls
Lage Lund Four (smallsLIVE)
by Sharon Mizrahi
Slip the Lage Lund Four ’s newest CD into the stereo
and skip to “Soliloquy”. You’ll hear a few clinks of
glass cups in the background in the opening seconds.
Yet oddly enough, this unintentional bit of sound
captures the spirit of the album perfectly. The guitarist’s
quartet brims with tangy surprises and fresh changes
of pace throughout the hour-long record, each tune
more creative than the last.
Lund’s presence is sparse, serving as the electrictinged counterpart to Pete Rende’s conversational
piano. On “Circus Island”, he comes alive only a
handful of times during the track, rising out from
Marcus Gilmore’s cymbal tap mist like a spare bolt of
lightning. Rende whittles down his sunny vibe to a
functional whisper, providing a backbone for Lund’s
acidic chords. Once he darts his way out, Rende and
Gilmore lapse back into their breezy tumble. On
“Circus Blues”, Lund lands a while longer, rejuvenating
the darker piece with a vibrant flair.
The band reaches its darkest apex, however, in
“Party of One”. Bassist Ben Street breaks from the
rhythmic background, bouncing forward like a thick
slab of aural rubber. Rende interlaces his melody with
a few ear-catching high notes while Gilmore knocks
out hollow drum accents. As the minutes pass, the
piece reaches visceral heights - one second taking on a
teary melancholy and the next densely twisting in
place. After the extracurricular sounds are through,
“Soliloquy” evokes a similar hint of distress, though
smoothed by Gilmore’s balmy cymbals.
“Strangely” unites both ends of the Lage Lund
Four spectrum, reaching heavy pensiveness and
mellow ease often in the same phrase. While Street and
Gilmore fade in and out of percussive harmony, Lund
and Rende take the piece home in a bout of sheer
brilliance. The two unite into a collective instrument
that sounds like neither piano nor guitar - but rather a
beautifully strange voice of their own.
For more information, visit smallslive.com. This group is at
Smalls May 23rd. See Calendar.
Threedom
Jean-Michel Pilc/Francois Moutin/Ari Hoenig
(Motéma Music)
by Tom Greenland
N ew York jazz fans out and about in the mid ‘90s were
sure to run across pianist Jean-Michel Pilc, whose trio
with bassist François Moutin and drummer Ari Hoenig
delivered some of the most consistently surprising and
satisfying performances over the next decade.
Threedom, an inspired reunion, proves the magic is still
there, a sparkling set combining artfully deconstructed
standard songs with coherently composed free
improvisations.
Well-cooked chestnuts like “Nardis”, “A Foggy
Day”, “You and the Night and the Music”, “Afro Blue”,
“I’m Beginning to See the Light”, “Confirmation” and
even “Giant Steps” get a fresh roasting here, pared
down to their essential elements, then reimagined with
the trio’s inimitable imprint. On the other hand, free
improvisations like the calypsonian “The Grinch
Dance” or the delicate “Lily” are so tuneful that it’s
easy to forget they were realized on the spot.
Pilc is often the chief brainstormer, pursuing
various inklings and intuitions with restless curiosity,
but Moutin and Hoenig can also swim deeply in the
think-tank, injecting ideas of their own, or taking the
pianist’s catalytic gestures to new places. The tracks
tend to run short, like a pastiche of anecdotes rather
than a thematically bound suite, but the trio’s energy
and edge remain constant. Deeply rooted in the swing
rhythms and soulful blues of traditional jazz, the Pilc/
Moutin/Hoenig trio is nonetheless progressive and
topical, reflecting the excitement of old friends who,
meeting after a hiatus, are brimming with new stories
to share. In the liner notes, Moutin likens their
partnership to an uncontrollable beast - “Its three parts
enhance our freedom and its free part invents our
Threedom” - elegantly summarizing the interplay of
chaos and constraint, of foreign and familiar, that make
this music so compelling.
For more information, visit motema.com. This trio is at Jazz
at Kitano May 24th and Smalls May 28th. See Calendar.
www.jazzmessengers.com
Since 1980 Jazz Messengers, located in Barcelona (Spain), has been offering
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the United States, Europe and Japanese Imports. More than 10.000
references available (hard to find labels–hard to find titles from all jazz styles).
Over the years Jazz Messengers has become the most reliable source for Jazz
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21
Live at Smalls Seamus Blake Quintet (smallsLIVE)
Visitor (with Seamus Blake) SOLID! (Parallell)
Introducing Opus 5 (Criss Cross)
by Matthew Miller
Local jazz fans don’t need an introduction to Seamus
Blake. The Vancouver-born, New York-based
saxophonist is known for his flawlessly fluid technique
and consistently inspired improvisations. Three new
releases speak to his versatility as a deft ensemble
player, gifted composer and fearless improviser.
On Live at Smalls, a blistering set recorded at the
Greenwich Village club in summer 2009, Blake is joined
by longtime collaborators Bill Stewart (drums), Matt
Clohesy (bass), Dave Kikoski (piano) as well as
guitarist Lage Lund. Aside from a gorgeous rendition
of the lesser-known standard “Stranger In Paradise”,
the pieces that comprise the album are all penned by
the leader and effortlessly performed by the ensemble.
“Subterfuge” opens the set with a bravura melody,
followed by a series of equally assertive solos. Blake’s
statement weaves a jumble of snaking lines into a
highly coherent and emotionally resonant performance,
peaking multiple times in a hail of altissimo, before
Lund’s guitar enters with a surge of probing lines.
As much as the melodic and harmonic fireworks
of Blake and Lund captivate, the rhythmic cohesion
achieved by Kikoski, Clohesy and Stewart take the
proceedings to a whole new plane. Stewart’s endlessly
inventive ride and snare beats inspire and propel each
soloist through “Amuse Bouche”, a 12-minute tour de
force that also features characteristically buoyant and
sophisticated basslines from Clohesy. Kikoski’s myriad
gifts as an ensemble player and soloist shine throughout
the disc, but never more than on reflective moments
like his supple and incisive solo on the leader ’s
“Consequence” and the arresting opening duo with
Blake on “Stranger in Paradise”.
Blake is one of his generation’s most prolific guest
soloists for reasons made clear in the written
acknowledgements of Visitor, an album by the
Norwegian organ trio Solid!. “Thanks to Seamus for
sharing his talents and being solid as a rock.” The
saxophonist certainly sounds like he’s on sure footing
from his opening notes on “Insert Witty Title”, the
album’s intriguing opener. Following an ethereal
introduction by guitarist Bjorn Vidar Solli, Blake plays
a singing rubato melody that quickly transitions into
the sinewy, effervescent body of the tune and then a
brawny solo over the entrance of organist Daniel Buner
Formo and drummer Håkon Mjåset Johansen.
The album is a clever and ultimately satisfying
amalgam of traditional organ trio fare like the driving
“Weeks on End”, a swinging modal piece that features
Blake in blistering form over creative bass pedal lines
from Solli and Johansen’s irrepressible percussion, and
“Chasing Fanshawe”, a harmonically surprising and
soulful ballad that once again features searching tenor
over burbling, pliant organ. Rocker John Brion’s “Here
We Go” - from the soundtrack to the 2002 film Punch
Drunk Love - gets a subtle reworking as the album’s
conclusion, the group opening up the harmonically
fertile pop tune to probing and inventive solos by
Blake and Solli’s almost theremin-like organ.
Another organ tone - this time the Fender Rhodes
of Dave Kikoski - opens Introducing Opus 5, a quintet
date for Criss Cross records that finds Blake sharing
the frontline with frequent bandmate trumpeter Alex
Sipiagin along with the powerful rhythmic team of
Kikoski, bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Donald
Edwards. The piece - “Think of Me” by pianist George
Cables - is a deceptively complex composition in 9/4
with unexpected harmonic pivots the veteran quintet
navigates with ease. Blake and Sipiagin deftly run
down the melody before the trumpeter embarks on a
tightly thematic statement that sets a high bar for the
rest of the album.
Each member of the quintet has strong ties to the
Charles Mingus repertory bands and that connection
figures heavily into pieces like Kozlov’s episodic
“Nostalgia In Time” - a play on Mingus’ “Nostalgia In
Times Square” that actually has little in common
musically with the earlier composition - and “Sokol”, a
brilliantly reworked Russian folk song, which
incorporates Mingus-ian blues repetition and freeblowing sections. Despite the Mingus connection and
the seemingly straightahead lineup and repertoire,
Opus 5 is much more than a blowing session among
musical compatriots. Blake and Sipiagin push each
other toward the outer bounds of a tune’s formal
strictures and the adventurous rhythm section is
always there with them. On Kikoski’s “Baker ’s Dozen”,
a grooving composition in 11/8, Blake and Sipiagin
solo with fire and rhythmic freedom before a bass solo
makes way for a completely untethered Kikoski. The
unaccompanied pianist channels Keith Jarrett while
exploring the edges of the piece’s harmonies before
making way once again for the telepathic horns.
For more information, visit smallslive.com, parallell.eu and
crisscrossjazz.com. Blake is at Dizzy’s Club May 29th-Jun.
3rd with Eric Reed. See Calendar.
CONGRATULATIONS
TO
THE NEW YORK CITY
JAZZ RECORD
ON THEIR
10TH ANNIVERSARY
FROM
CAPRI RECORDS
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Continued success,
Mike Stern,
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Class of 2003
Our sincerest gratitude for
rk
your constant support in
to The New Yo
Congratulationsecord on its 10th
bringing our music to your
City Jazz R thanks for all of
readership and beyond.
anniversary andthat you have done
Your coverage endures and
the great worklf of the music.
reflects the creative
07
on beha
sincerity for which we
s, Class of 20
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Ab
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strive. Our best wishes for
Being a New Yorker
your continued success.
for more than 50 years,
Bravo.
Abdullah Ibrahim,
and having read lots of
Class of 2004
Congratulations
newspapers and music
ising,
.
Jazz means improv you play
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York City Jazz Re ass of 2007
Sonny Rollins,
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The New York City Jazz Record Class of 2004
is a well-written paper covering
Your publication is
a broad spectrum of jazz. It is
so very helpful to all
interesting, has good article
the musicians in this fills a void.... and amazingly s and
enough
area. There is no
it's free! Congratulations on
other place they
your 10th anniversary.
Thank you for what you are doing
are going to get
and keep up the good work!
this recognition
it!
Jack DeJohnette,
as well as you do
elli,
Class of 2012
zar
Bucky Piz
Class of 2008
l of
ULATIONS to al
Congratulations on
your 10th
anniversary!!! I ha
ve been a big
supporter of your
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CONGRAT
efforts in
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Karl Berger, Classh appreciated.
io
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therein. Keep doin
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of 2011
g what you
Long may tnt
are doing 24/7.
co inue.
09
s of 20
Ahmad Jamal, Class
I think it's
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of 2008
grea
t that New
jazz new
world andspaper. This is the York has its own
best in th New York jazz fan center of the jaz
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Gary Burt
Class of o2n,
010
Like many of us I'
ve been trying to
consume local pr,od
uc
ts and to eschew
the big nationa
chains. Why noltand international
New York is a vast,read local too?
diverse city, but
it's also a compe
nd
ium
of particular
communities, th
among them. Wee'jazz community
to be served by Thre most fortunate
e New York City
Jazz Record, which
but inspires. It's no not only informs
w spent ten years
keeping its head
ab
ov
something we mus e water,
icians know a lot
about. Here's to
te
Carla Bley, Class n more and more.
of 2003
magazines, I stil find
The New York City
Jazz Record the easiest
to read, as wel as the
most informative jazz
l.
magazine and calendar of al
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!
Ron Carter, Class of 2005
I would like to thank The New
York City Jazz Record for their
insightful reporting and continued
support to the music community.
I am grateful and honored to have
been included in this great legacy.
Roscoe Mitchell, Class of 2004
at surprise
e
It was a gre
ppear on thme
a
o
t
e
m
r
fo
astic welco
cover, a fant
to NYC. As
to my visit attempts to
o
someone whross musical
c
a
work
at
it was a greo
,
s
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ri
da
n
u
bo
privilege t
honour and NYCJR.
front the ss of 2011
Cla
Keith Rowe,
The New York City Jazz
Record offers the
musicians who create the
music a chance to voice
their opinions about their
music and their lives, a
window, a mirror that
includes all sounds.
William Parker,
Class of 2009
I never go to
New York wit or leave
newspaper in hout your
m
Keep up the gy briefcase!
Phil Woods, Cla ood work.
ss of 2009
Your paper does a grea
t service
because it lists and cover
of the smaller jazz place s a lot
New York, especially Has around
Brooklyn, that most pe rlem and
would not even know of ople
articles are wonderful, . Your
very
person to person. The big
magazines do not have th
personal effect like you at
They just push who theydo.
want to push but you se
to cover everybody. It em
a service that we need,is
and it is essential. Keep
up the great work! I
read The New York
City Jazz Record
every time I see it!
Lou Donaldson,
Class of 2007
ITY JAZZ RECORD
Happy Birthday
and long life to
one of the best
jazz journals
in the world.
Martial Solal,
Class of 2007
MAY 2012
support of
I want to congratulate
Your publication has consistently gone
Thanks for your l Music and
a
The New York City Jazz
above and beyond - combining
America's Classic the Heath
Record for 10 years of
comprehensive listings, great photos and
your inclusion of ur publication
bringing fans all the
insightful features, year after year for
thers. You and yo ciated.
ro
B
information about
the fulfillment of our fans. I have long
deeply appre
e
ar
jazz in New York. This
appreciated your efforts and am
d "Tootie" Heath,
an
y
m
ma
im
gazine is very valuable
J
pleased to have been featured in your
2
0
0
2
f
o
ss
la
for jazz musicians living
C
pages. Happy Anniversary.
and
playing there. I wish
Nancy Wilson, Class of 2007
Congratulations for your
ead
r their straightahgements
fo
rd
co
Re
zz
Ja
C
d enga
f of NY
Kudos to the staf agnitude of great jazz artists ane'd do without
handling of the m Big Apple. We don't know what w
in and around thekeeping on and staying in touch.
dedicated people ass of 2006
Happy 10 year anniversary
Buddy DeFranco, Cl
Jazz Record!Ne
10th Anniversary. Thank you for
giving the maximum support for
our music that we all love.
Randy Weston, Class of 2004
to The New York Cit
w York is the center of the y
jazz universe and it is a bless
ing
such a great "homegrown" per that we have
I always felt that jazz is a special
iodical that
features the musicians and the
music that's not for everyone; it's
many of the memorable mome city where
especially now my feeling about jazz. It's
nts of jazz
history have been made!
also very difficult to survive as a
musician. For The New York City Jazz Record
George Coleman, Class of 20
10
to have a 10th anniversary and just be
dedicated to jazz is very important for
musicians like me. It helps to keep us and
the music alive. I feel very fortunate to
have been on the cover and to have your
publication keep the public informed about
the musicians - and I know it's not that
easy. I want to congratulate you and hope
we all keep going strong.
Toshiko Akiyoshi, Class of 2009
you many more years!
Toots Thielemans,
Class of 2011
Kudos to the New York City
Jazz Record for making it
to
your tenth anniversary!
It takes a lot of effort and
wisdom to do what you do, but
I'm
telling you that your endeavo
rs
in keeping us posted with the
music and the scene are de
eply
appreciated. You keep writin
g
and we'll keep subscribing!
Larry Coryell, Class of 2010
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
It has been a great pleasure to watch the
Happy Birthday, The New
development of TNYCJR over the last ten years.
York City Jazz Record,
Although there are many other centres of excellence for
Happy Birthday to you.
jazz and improvised musics spread around the world
6
200
of
ss
Cla
y,
now
( read London :-) ), New York retains its special
Ble
l
Pau
place in the pantheon. Based as it is, at the heart of
,
r
te
n
e
things, TNYCJR keeps us all in touch. Your coverage is
C
y
d
e
the Kenn
at
d
r
ar
o
w
l
a
te
an
o
broad and unbiased. May you live long and prosper.
h
t
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recently
es finding
s
m
n
ti
lli
e
o
m
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so
ny
d
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S
e
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Evan Parker, Class of 2003
w
e
lik
Wh
wspaper
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ki
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in
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an
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Helping keep jazz living
You have something good.
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a restaurant!
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it go.
The
Congratulations on NYC Jazz
Record's anniversary. Finding
an intelligent and wide-ranging
view of the jazz scene is
difficult - but the gazette
does just that! Vital reading
for all jazz musicians and fans
- long may you continue!
John Surman, Class of 2009
I've always appreciated ha
ving your
free newspaper in an
y
Ne
w
Yo
rk club I
come into and loo forwa
rd to reading
the articles in yourk pa
per. It's a very
positive action and I alw
there are enough subscribays wonder if
for this - apparently th ers to pay
ere
keeps coming out every are, as it
mo
Le e Ko nit z, Cla ss of 20 nth!
05
e
st informativ
o
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e
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T
!
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d of the gam
rtant genre
Always ahea eaturing the most impo ns from the
gazette f
the musicia sed to have
ll
A
.
ic
s
u
m
in American in jazz and jazz are bles
tion.
genre of Lat
this publica s of 2005
ri, Clas
Eddie Palmie
ple
out there for people - peo
and
d
ste
ere
int
are
who
it's going to affect people
the way you intend it.
:
The universe works that wayd,
goo
ing
eth
som
got
've
you
when
t's
people want more of it! Thakeep
uld
sho
You
ut.
abo
all
what it's
have,
moving forward and, as you h age
wit
ter
bet
get
to
ue
contin
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like a Dom Perignon champagne
08
Benny Golson, Class of 20
All the best w
ith
John Zorn, Claall that you do!
ss of 2003
For a decade? Maaaaan,
that is over the moon!
George Benson,
Class of 2011
I consider The New York City
Jazz Record to be the jazz
community’s true hometown
paper. Every venue is listed,
no gig is too small or too
unimportant to be listed. The
most renown musicians might
be heard at any venue no matter
how small. We owe much to
the Record for letting
everyone know where the
excitement might happen.
Don Byron, Class of 2006
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
NEW YORK'S ONLY TRUE VINTAGE AND CUSTOM DRUM SHOP
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
and cymbals that you can't find anywhere else; enjoy listening to some jazz vinyl while hanging in the drummer's lounge area of our museum; and
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.
Expansion underway - new showroom and museum on the 4th floor! Come see us!
Recording Studio Support:
Enormous selection of vintage and custom drums to suit the needs of any recording studio looking for that special, unique sound.
Need that “vintage” drum or cymbal sound? Come see us. We have what you need. Need a versatile but unique custom drum sound?
We have that as well with our Craviotto solid shell drums. None finer in the world.
NYC DRUMMERS, WE HAVE DRUM SET PRACTICE SPACE AVAILABLE FOR RENT ON AN HOURLY BASIS.
CALL JESS AT 212-730-8138 FOR DETAILS.
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22)
Grace
Rich Perry (SteepleChase)
by Francis Lo Kee
Grown Folks Music
Ben Riley Quartet (Sunnyside)
by Russ Musto
For more information, visit steeplechase.dk. Perry is at
Cornelia Street Café May 18th with Dan Rufolo and Somethin’
Jazz Club May 19th with Matt Panayides. See Calendar.
For more information, visit sunnysiderecords.com. Riley is
at Minton’s Playhouse May 9th as part of Harlem Jazz
Shrines Festival. See Calendar.
resonantmusic 009
Though saxophonist Rich Perry often records with a
piano player, for Grace he decided to leave it out. All
the more interesting considering that some of the tunes
he chooses to improvise on were composed by pianists:
“Very Early”, “Funkallero” and “Time Remembered”
by Bill Evans, “Eronel” by Monk and, even though
“Falling Grace” was composed by bassist Steve
Swallow, Perry states his affinity for the Chick Corea/
Gary Burton version on 1972’s Crystal Silence. On “Time Remembered” Perry takes his time in
his first couple of choruses, after stating the long-note
melody; only after a few minutes in does he begin to
unleash cascading 16th notes, diving below and
soaring above the majestic form. “Eronel” receives a
funkier treatment - drummer Jeff Hirshfield and bassist
Jay Anderson poke and prod more, urging Perry to
stretch further and once again he rises to the challenge.
Charles Mingus’ “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” must be one
of the most performed tunes by a jazz composer ever,
yet the version here is as striking as any you could
find. Perry pays homage to honoree Lester Young with
his breathy tone and floating rhythms. Aptly Anderson
also solos, displaying great feeling as well as a rich
tone through the entire range of the bass. An ending
complete with bass and saxophone cadenzas on
isolated chords comes to a breathtaking conclusion
with the final sound being that of the sizzling cymbal.
The deceptively riffing “Funkallero” provides rich
harmonic territory. Hirshfield’s spectacularly dynamic
playing through the form drives this track to make it a
standout.
There have been some fantastic sax, bass, drums
trios in the history of jazz: Sonny Rollins (Freedom Suite
or Live at the Village Vanguard) or Ornette Coleman (At
the Golden Circle) or Lee Konitz (Motion) come quickly
to mind. Now with Grace, Rich Perry joins their
illustrious company.
A largely unheralded master, drummer Ben Riley has
spent the major part of a distinguished half-centurylong career in the service of others, including notable
tenures with the tough tenor team of Eddie “Lockjaw”
Davis” and Johnny Griffin, saxophone colossus Sonny
Rollins, the Ron Carter Quartet and Kenny Barron Trio.
Yet, it is his association with Monk - as part of the
pianist’s last great quartet, founding member of the
cooperative Sphere and most recently as leader of the
Monk Legacy Septet - for which he is best known. For
only his third album as a leader, the veteran teams up
with his tenorist from the latter group, Wayne Escoffery,
for a quartet session that exhibits the many attributes
that have made him a favorite of so many.
Also on the date are bassist Ray Drummond and
Freddie Bryant or Avi Rothbard on guitar. The group
performs sophisticated arrangements of both familiar
and less common pieces from the jazz repertory.
Beginning with a slow marching take on Monk’s
“Friday The 13th”, Riley’s credentials as an impeccable
timekeeper and creative colorist come clearly to the
fore. The group’s “Poinciana”-like “Laura” showcases
the drummer ’s tonally nuanced mallets while the crisp
stick work on Monk’s “Teo” demonstrates his engaging
rhythmic melodicism. Escoffery is a masterful
improviser, with a classic sound - the dappled sonance
of which at times recalls Charlie Rouse - and a racing
facility reminiscent of Johnny Griffin, as on the tour de
force renditions of “Without A Song” and “Lulu’s Back
In Town”. He’s consummately lyrical on “A Weaver Of
Dreams” and swings with restrained passion on “If I
Ever I Would Leave You”.
Celebrating the release at Smalls last month the
quintet, with Kiyoshi Kitagawa on bass, played with
even livelier abandon on renditions of “Without A
Song” and “Lulu”, taut snare and expansive cymbals
driving Escoffery’s sinuous improvisations, enhancing
them with telling melodic interjections while
decorating “Ugly Beauty” with painterly brushwork.
5C CAFE
68 AVENUE C
(At 5th Street)
212-477-5993
5cculturalcenter.org
Happy 10 Years that
made a difference
from 5C Cafe and
Cultural Center
Listen and Free Downloads
@ soundcloud.com/asktheoracle
27
Meets Coleman Hawkins/& John Coltrane
Duke Ellington (Impulse-Verve)
by George Kanzler
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Duke
Ellington’s recorded meetings with two of the most
important and influential tenor saxophonists in jazz
history. And this album brings together the music from
the original LPs, Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins
and Duke Ellington & John Coltrane on one CD. Hearing
them together enhances our appreciation of the protean
genius of Ellington, for it is hard to think of another
jazz giant who could have engineered two such
different musical encounters so successfully. The Duke
crafted musical settings tailored to the strengths and
styles of his saxophone partners, the one for Hawkins
very Ellingtonian, the other in the quartet setting
comfortable to Coltrane.
At first the Hawkins session did not bode well.
The pioneering tenor sax titan had expected, as was his
rightful due, to be recording with the full Duke
Ellington Orchestra. But Ellington showed up at Rudy
Van Gelder ’s studio with only his rhythm section and
four of the band’s most senior members: Harry Carney,
Johnny Hodges, Lawrence Brown and Ray Nance. It
helped, as a matter of noblesse oblige, that Carney and
Hodges, as baritone and alto saxophonist respectively,
occupied similarly seminal positions as Hawkins to the
tenor saxophone. But Duke’s legendary, suave charm
must have soon dispelled Hawkins’ disappointment,
judging from “Limbo Jazz”, the catchy calypso opening
track - although not recorded first - captured in a
rehearsal/gestation take with drummer Sam Woodyard
vocalizing
along,
emphasizing
the
convivial
informality of the proceedings.
Ellington also unveiled four other new works: the
riffy blues-shuffle “Ray Charles’ Place”, the bluesy
swinger “You Dirty Dog”, the exotic, Latiny “The
Ricitic”, featuring Nance on violin sharing solo space
with Duke and Hawk, and a sumptuous feature, “Self
Portrait (Of the Bean)”, fashioned for Hawkins. There’s
also a “Mood Indigo” letting Hawkins stretch out, a
fleet “The Jeep Is Jumpin‘” and a forgotten Ellington/
Hodges gem of 1938 vintage, “Wanderlust”.
Back at Van Gelder ’s five weeks later to meet
Coltrane, Ellington brought along only bassist Aaron
Bell and drummer Woodyard from the Hawkins date
and Trane brought the rhythm team from his classic
quartet: bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin
Jones. They split rhythm section duties on the seven
quartet tracks.
There are parallels here to the Thelonious Monk
Quartet with Coltrane, as Ellington the pianist was a
favorite of, and influence on, Monk. In these quartet
settings, Ellington’s sparse, percussive, suggestively
dissonant approach in soloing and comping finds him
asserting his place as a progenitor of a prominent
branch of ongoing jazz piano. His insistent ostinatos,
intimating the modal, on “In A Sentimental Mood”
complement Coltrane’s tenor to create a thoroughly
modern take on that classic. On the tracks with
Coltrane’s rhythm section, there’s a definite Trane vibe
as Ellington adapts to the rolling polyrhythms with hip
poise. But when the Duke’s rhythm section is on board,
the pianist imposes a swing agenda that takes Coltrane
in a definitely Ellingtonian direction, exemplified by
the tenor ’s elaboration of riffs on “Stevie”. And don’t
miss the original of “Take the Coltrane”, written by
Duke for the session, or “Angelica”, an exotic Ellington
rarity (Jones laying down an Afroshuffle on toms and
cymbals) and further proof of the vast riches of his
oeuvre.
For more information, visit vervemusicgroup.com. The music
of Ellington is at Dizzy’s Club May 1st-6th. See Calendar.
of extraordinary recordings in the post-Carter era, one
of which is an unforgettable trio date with bassist Mark
Dresser and trombonist Glenn Ferris.
The program is a mixture of group improvisations
and compositions by the trio’s members, though only
one is a Bradford original (the oft-recorded “Comin’
On”). Ferris is probably the least well known of the
group - while he’s recorded with Steve Lacy and Don
Ellis, his Parisian expatriate lifestyle has kept him from
being a household name. That’s too bad, because he’s
one of the most fascinatingly expressive trombonists
this side of Roswell Rudd and Albert Mangelsdorff.
His vocal chortles, whines and guffaws are built into a
measured language that displays a range of emotions,
from pathos to bemusement, with a few ‘bugle flicks’.
Bradford’s brawny elegance is in an almost ‘straight
man’ role compared to Ferris, ebulliently swinging
through even the most abstract of situations. The
closing “Ready to Go” is an aptly-titled dirge composed
by the trombonist, in which a stately Bill Harris-worthy
hymn is declaimed atop Dresser ’s low-slung pizzicato,
gradually picking up the trumpeter ’s sure-yet-brittle
commentary. The bassist’s “For Bradford” opens the
set, its theme likely drawn from fragments of the
trumpeter ’s compositions. Its dedicatee crackles
through thick, gobbed phrases, making deep statements
that are airily emphatic as he stretches, crumples and
punctuates in a way that quickly unifies the group’s
collectivity. Bradford is always a player to sit up and
pay attention to, but Live in LA provides an especially
powerful setting that should be required listening.
For more information, visit cleanfeed-records.com. Dresser
is at NYU Steinhardt School May 4th, Korzo May 8th,
Roulette May 12th with Earl Howard and Cornelia Street
Café May 15th. See Calendar.
MAY 2012
JAZZ VESPERS
Sundays at 5:00 P.M. — All Are Welcome — Free
6—
13 —
20 —
Peter Eldridge Band
Timo Vollbrecht Quartet
Cindy Scott & Brian Seeger
27 — Pentecost
Jazz Mass
Ike Sturm Ensemble
MIDTOWN JAZZ AT MIDDAY
Sponsored by Midtown Arts Common
Wednesdays at 1:00 P.M. — ($10 suggested)
Live in LA
Bobby Bradford/Mark Dresser/Glen Ferris (Clean Feed)
by Clifford Allen
While
often compared to the Ornette Coleman-Don
Cherry quartets of the early ‘60s, the work of reedman
John Carter (1929-91) and cornetist Bobby Bradford
(1934) in Los Angeles from the late ‘60s through the
mid ‘80s is anything but Coleman-esque. Chief among
the reasons why and how their music differed was its
chamber sensibility, fueled by sparse, moody
reservation
and
parallelism
amid
multi-part
arrangements. That’s not to say the Carter-Bradford
Quartet wasn’t equally full of bebop energy or bluesy
swagger, but those elements were approached as part
of a vast aesthetic reach. At the heart of the quartet was
the interplay between trumpet and woodwinds and
their powerful swing didn’t necessarily require a
bassist and drummer to get things done. Bradford has
carried his incisive, round tone and attack to a number
2 — Cecelia
Coleman Big Band
9 — Champian
Fulton, singer/pianist
16 — Marlene
23 — Band
VerPlanck, singer
of Bones: Dave Chamberlain
30 — Barbara
Carroll, singer/pianist
Jay Leonhart, bass
SPECIAL EVENT
May 9 at 7:00 p.m.
Midtown Jazz 30th Anniversary Gala
Art Baron, Joyce Breach, Catherine DuPuis, Barbara Carroll,
Eric Comstock, Marion Cowings, Mauricio DeSouza,
Carol Fredette, Chris Gillespie, Russ Kassoff Big Band,
Ed Laub, Alex Leonard, Jay Leonhart, Boots Maleson,
Junior Mance, Jann Parker, Bucky Pizzarelli, Daryl Sherman,
Frank Tate, Marlene VerPlanck, Ronny Whyte
Dedication
Crunch Time
Ron McClure (SteepleChase)
by Donald Elfman
Ron McClure once again demonstrates how steady,
reliable, professional, generous and talented a musician
he is with his 15th and 16th recordings for SteepleChase.
The bassist continues to grow as a fine composer,
sterling bandleader and nurturer of talent.
Dedication is a collection of tunes that honor
musicians who have influenced McClure - John
Coltrane, Richie Beirach, Herbie Hancock, Wayne
Shorter, Lee Morgan - but also can refer to McClure’s
approach to what he does. There are two featured tenor
saxophonists: Rich Perry, who has been on several of
McClure’s recordings and whom the bassist calls “as
creative a soloist as anyone on the instrument today”,
and Stephen Riley, whom McClure had never used
before this session but now describes as “truly a unique
voice in today’s jazz scene.” Pianist Billy Eckroth had
worked with McClure at NYU but this is his first
SteepleChase recording and drummer Billy Drummond
was on McClure’s previous album, New Moon.
The opening “LAL” is dedicated to pianist Lee
Ann Ledgerwood and is a swinging demonstration of
McClure’s way with composition. Perry is strong,
robust and inventive while Riley has a more airy
approach. The smart rhythm section holds together the
various elements including intriguing changes. The
two saxophones come together again for the heartfelt
theme of the gorgeous ballad “Better Angels”,
dedicated to the American president. They weave in
and out of each other ’s individuality but never lose the
direction of this very special ballad. Under and over it
all is the propulsive expressive bass of the leader.
Crunch Time introduces Gabe Terracciano, a
17-year-old NYU violin student whose intelligence and
conception floored Professor McClure. Eckroth and
another NYU student, drummer Shareef Taher, round
out the quartet and it is at once a band of substance
and style, McClure’s powerful bass and terrific tunes
stimulating the young players.
Terracciano leads off the album with some inspired
phrasing and creative soloing on the standard
“Beautiful Love”. Eckroth also digs down into the tune
and comes up with a solo statement both vital and
personal. The gently Latin “My Pal Al” was originally
written by McClure for pianist Albert Dailey (1939-84);
Eckroth salutes him with a lovely, impassioned solo as,
in a quieter yet no less emotional way, does Terracciano.
McClure’s compositions, some written just before the
session, utilize the expressive strengths of these
musicians. “Yes We Can” might be thought of as the
album’s concept - it’s three talented musicians led by a
seasoned pro who make music in the leader ’s vision.
Terracciano leads this one off pizzicato and then works
smoothly into the theme on the bow. McClure takes
one of a number of pointed and most musical solos and
is followed by his bandmates picking up on the feeling
the bassist has created. On “Dibs” (written by Israeli
harmonica player Roni Eytan), there’s an intimate
Latin-ish vibe over which all the players do terrific
solo work. McClure says in the liner notes that he
works as the “supportive” bass player. He is certainly
that but also a visionary and steadfast leader.
For more information, visit steeplechase.dk. McClure plays
solo piano at McDonald’s Restaurant at 160 Broadway
Wednesdays and Saturdays. See Regular Engagements.
29
The Baddest Monk
Eric Reed (Savant)
by Jeff Stockton
P ianist Eric Reed is a confident musician of dazzling
proficiency, equally capable of handling a ballad with
delicacy and grace or hammering chords and
unraveling uptempo rhythms. On The Baddest Monk,
Reed offers another recording of the great composer ’s
songs, meeting head on the legacy that all jazz piano
players must eventually confront. Monk tributes
appear with dependable frequency, so the challenge is
to bring something fresh to the melodies while veering
away from note-for-note reiterations or catastrophic
over-embellishment.
Reed supplements seven Monk tunes with two of
his own, sprinkling lesser-known selections (“Green
Chimneys”, “Bright Mississippi”) among the more
familiar titles (“Epistrophy”, “Monk’s Mood”, a vocal
version of “’Round Midnight”). The band is comprised
of drummer Henry Cole, tenor saxist Seamus Blake,
bassist Matt Clohesy and trumpeter Etienne Charles,
Blake being the only one with whom Reed has had any
real history. While some bands thrive on group identity
and practiced empathy, this one relies on spontaneity,
which results in a vaguely Latin-ized trio performance
of “Monk’s Mood”, a funkified “Rhythm-a-Ning”
featuring Reed’s deft and heavy left hand and “Bright
Mississippi” in 7/4 time, all of which emphasize Cole’s
emergence as an important young drummer. But where
the trio swings tightly and takes risks, the quintet fares
less well with Charles’ smooth soloing coming across a
bit more favorably than Blake’s tenor, which sounds
better suited to a Dave Grusin soundtrack.
Reed’s provocative harmonies and pristine
pianism are given their clearest expression on the solo
title track as well as a piano-and-voice rendering of
“’Round Midnight”, which features a languid,
unaffected reading of Bernie Hanighen’s lyric by José
James. With this second thoughtful and sensitive take
on the work of Monk, Eric Reed is positioning himself
as one of the legend’s foremost interpreters.
For more information, visit jazzdepot.com. This band is at
Dizzy’s Club May 29th-Jun. 3rd. See Calendar.
Black Lace Freudian Slip
René Marie (Motéma Music)
by Joel Roberts
V ocalist René Marie’s last CD, the acclaimed Voice of
My Beautiful Country, was a highly personal vision of
American song that included everything from “John
Henry” to the Temptations to a bold and controversial
pairing of “The Star Spangled Banner” and “Lift Every
Voice and Sing”. Her new Black Lace Freudian Slip is a
departure in many ways, as it draws almost entirely on
Marie’s original compositions. But it shares the intense
honesty, conviction and broad vision of what
constitutes jazz as its predecessor.
Marie quickly sets a tone of playfulness mixed
with seriousness, along with a hint of bravado, on the
opening title tune. The next track, “This for Joe”, is a
mission statement of sorts. Written as a retort to a club
owner who urged her to stick to standards, she pleads,
“Please don’t compare me to Ella or Sarah” and
bemoans, “Singing the songs I write is an uphill battle.”
Indeed, the album stands out as one of the relatively
rare recordings of original tunes by a jazz vocalist, a
sharp contrast to the norm for jazz instrumentalists.
(And an interesting contrast, as well, with the world of
pop music, where singers frequently write their own
material.)
Marie is certainly no jazz purist, delving into
country-folk territory on the heartfelt “Wishes”, gospel
and soul on “Deep in the Mountains”, samba on
“Rufast Daliarg” and the kind of sultry blues
championed by Cassandra Wilson on “Ahn’s Dream”.
With her sensuous delivery and nimble technique, she
makes each of these tunes unique and memorable.
While she disdains comparisons, Marie recalls, in
personality more than vocal texture, such independent
spirits as Abbey Lincoln (a spectacular songwriter in
her own right) and Nina Simone. On Black Lace Freudian
Slip, she shows she’s not just one of the top vocalists in
jazz, but one of the more compelling songwriters on
the scene as well.
For more information, visit motema.com. Marie is at Jazz
Standard May 27th in duo with Fred Hersch. See Calendar.
Forsooth!
Jack Walrath (SteepleChase)
by Ken Dryden
Eponymous
Pail Bug (Generate)
by Ken Waxman
Ask the Oracle
Andy Haas (Resonant Music)
by Elliott Simon
A veteran trumpeter and composer, Jack Walrath has
led over two dozen albums of his own, in addition to
appearing on recordings by Miles Davis, Gerry
Mulligan, Muhal Richard Abrams, Red Rodney, Charli
Persip, John Hicks and Dannie Richmond. The Florida
native studied at Berklee during the ‘60s and toured
with Ray Charles. He gained attention as a sideman
with Charles Mingus during the bassist’s final years,
appearing on several of his late recordings (most
notably 1974’s Changes One and Two) and has performed
with the repertory groups Mingus Dynasty and the
Mingus Big Band as well. Walrath’s time with the
volatile composer/leader left a lasting impression, as
he writes compelling music that is demanding of his
musicians.
The quintet Walrath assembled for this date
includes two fellow Mingus Big Band veterans, tenor
saxophonist Abraham Burton and bassist Boris Kozlov,
plus pianist George Burton and drummer Donald
Edwards (an occasional sub with the Mingus Big
Band). “Espionage” sounds like a potboiler at first
with its brooding bass and sparse trumpet in an
ominous setting, but it is cooking postbop. Walrath
was inspired to write “Slightly After Midnight” after
listening to Monk’s “‘Round Midnight”, though it is
far more than a derivative work, with his brilliant
muted solo and Kozlov’s spirited arco bass. The
punchy “The Resurrection Machine” combines a
threatening vamp and loose blowing, with several
sudden changes in direction.
The driving “High Plains Riffer” showcases
Burton’s burning tenor and Kozlov’s intricate bass.
“Yet, A Tear Tells It’s Tale...” is a brief ballad that
compactly gets its message of longing across, as
Walrath’s
poignant
trumpet
is
beautifully
complemented by his bandmates. The leader ’s slow,
dissonant introduction to “Mescalito’s Birthday”
quickly gives way to a bold, often humorous postbop
line played at a brisk tempo. Forsooth! provides ample
proof that the trumpeter should be on a larger stage.
P olymath percussionist Jeff Arnal has pursued parallel A sk the Oracle is an open vehicle for saxophonist Andy
For more information, visit steeplechase.dk. Walrath is at
Somethin’ Jazz Club May 10th. See Calendar. For more information, visit generaterecords.net. Jeff Arnal
is at I-Beam May 18th. See Calendar.
paths since his arrival in New York in 2000. He has
found forums to display both the aggressive punk-like
approach that initially attracted him to music plus the
improvisational subtleties he picked up following his
studies with contemporary composer Stuart Saunders
Smith and percussion master Milford Graves.
Pail Bug, recorded with his longtime associate,
Berlin-based pianist Dietrich Eichmann plus two
bassists - Hamburg-based American expatriate John
Hughes and German Astrid Weins - exemplifies the
free music side of Arnal’s talents. Eichmann’s
contributions are crucial to the elaboration of the five
instant compositions or “pails”. A schooled composer
who has written pieces for the SWR Symphony
Orchestra, the Lyon Opéra Ballet as well as a concerto
for saxophonist Peter Brötzmann and the Ensemble
Modern, Eichmann still fits seamlessly into an improv
setting. Here he superimposes keyboard clanks and
clips onto the agitated friction produced by tandem
slashing bow work or sly pizzicato pops from the dual
bassists. Meanwhile Arnal’s rhythmic interpolations
encompass everything from positioned press rolls to
miniature bell pings and cymbal scratches. Frequently,
the group interface fragments enough for protracted
duo or trio interludes within the lengthier tracks.
Eichmann’s high-frequency chording and dynamic
contrasts are particularly distinctive on “Second Pail”
when, after an abrasive race across the keys, he outlines
a new melody sequence swiftly taken up by Hughes
and Weins. As the drummer doubles his strokes to
create polyrhythms, the bull fiddlers separate their
responses into high-pitched shrills or low-pitched
plucks. Eventually it’s the pianist’s cascading chords,
strengthened with pedal power, that push the others
together to a satisfying collusion. Eichmann operates
similarly on “Third Pail” as he builds metronomic
pulses and kinetic left-handed keyboard rumbles into
a pressurized theme whose tension only dissipates due
to Arnal’s subtle percussion accents.
Haas to stretch out his worldly and otherworldly
musical ideas in the context of a group of Torontobased musicians. Haas, who is a legend in those
environs for his stint with Martha and the Muffins, has
no trouble in connecting with like-minded jammers
from up North, to whom he brings several decades of
first-call NYC experience. The session is notable for its
use of world instruments such as African thumb piano,
zither-like Chinese guzheng, lute-like Persian tanbour
and double reed Korean hojok.
There is a lot of rhythmic potential here with
bassist Aaron Lumley and percussionists Brandon
Valdivia and Matthew “Doc” Dunn up in the mix.
When they are allowed to coalesce into a groove, Haas
and multi-instrumentalist Colin Fisher are freed up to
do their ‘thing’, which can be described as broadly
informed worldly improvisation against a danceable
beat. Haas can blow his soprano sax to smithereens but
amazingly manages to avoid completely what can be
the instrument’s somewhat annoying toy-like sound.
Fisher is a great string-smith and impresses with his
mood-inducing colors. He plays a mean electric guitar,
is at home on guzheng and tanbour and with his bluesy
tenor sax can go head to head with Haas.
“Surfing to Canada”, “Ass Gamelan” and “Dance
With a Jinn” are the standouts here and invite
relistening. The first tune is a brilliant combination of
surf speed guitar, exotic rhythms and captivating sax
melodic figures that introduces 2-tone to the Middle
East. The hypnotic percussive faux gamelan backdrop
of “Ass Gamelan” opens up a space for the horns to
interact in the finest jazz of the session while “Dance
with a Jinn” seductively engages through dense
rhythmic undercurrents and Middle-Eastern repartee
between sax and strings. When presenting rhythmically
grounded worldly excursions such as these, Ask the
Oracle succeeds admirably but in this milieu the
free-est tunes seem to be in search of a homeland.
For more information, visit soundcloud.com/asktheoracle.
Haas is at ABC No-Rio May 13th with Evan Gallagher and
Yippie Café May 29th. See Calendar.
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
31
Forget the Pixel
Michael Dessen Trio (Clean Feed)
by Stuart Broomer
Michael Dessen is a California-based trombonist, a
former member of/composer for the memorable band
Cosmologic and a frequent colleague of bassist Mark
Dresser. At one time a student of George Lewis, Dessen
appropriately combines brilliant trombone skills with
interests in electronics and novel compositional
strategies. His trio includes bassist Christopher Tordini
and drummer Dan Weiss and he describes Forget the
Pixel as an “hour-long cycle of music designed for this
trio to perform in a single, continuous set.”
The end result is a remarkable achievement. If the
timbral possibilities of a trombone-bass-drum band
might seem limited, Dessen varies things with
electronics and the trio maintains constant interest
through a multi-leveled interaction of compositional
methodologies,
collective
improvisation
and
polyrhythmic exploration. There are multiple senses of
movement and development going on at once in this
music, as it makes its way from the furious swing,
jazzy bluster and electronics of the opening “Fossils
and Flows” to the serene conclusion of “The Utopian
Sense of Green”, in which the players summon up all
the calm and grace of a Japanese garden.
Along the way, the music repeatedly finds original
dimensions, as in the elongated dialogue of “Three
Sepals”, a piece that is born in Dessen’s sweetly
traditional legato trombone then gradually opens into
a field in which first Tordini, then the others seem to be
etching the barest rhythmic and melodic materials on
silence. A similarly broad canvas on the title track
becomes a series of micro-explosions and dislocations:
Dessen’s opening vocalic explosion gradually
accumulates an electronic self-commentary; there are
passages of pointillist scattershot bass and a long trio
sequence in which Weiss’ snare drum seems to tie
together the group’s multiple rhythms in a compact
bundle. It’s fascinating work by an exceptional group
of musicians, at times combining the cheery openness
of song with a sense of underlying tectonic mystery.
For more information, visit cleanfeed-records.com. Dessen
is at Cornelia Street Café May 15th with Mark Dresser. See
Calendar.
The Music of America
Wynton Marsalis (Masterworks Jazz)
by Alex Henderson
So Is The Day
Bria Skonberg (Random Act)
by Marcia Hillman
Wynton Marsalis has come a long way since the ‘80s. Bria Skonberg’s new CD is like a breath of fresh air in
Back in his Black Codes from the Underground/J Mood
period, he was content to emulate mid ‘60s Miles Davis
as both a trumpeter and a composer (ironic in light of
how critical he could be of Davis in those days). But he
tended to view music in overly technical terms and, as
spoken word artist Burton Cummings pointed out in
his anti-Marsalis rant “Hey, Trumpet Man”, music isn’t
just about mathematics - it’s about expression. Marsalis
became increasingly expressive after the ‘80s and The
Music of America underscores the fact that his growth
as an artist was enormous.
Spanning 1988-2001, this two-CD set contains a
wide variety of previously released recordings and
shows how, instead of sounding so much like Davis, he
developed a distinctive, big-toned sound that drew on
everyone from Louis Armstrong to Clifford Brown.
And this collection demonstrates that much of
Marsalis’ post ‘80s expression has come not only as a
trumpeter and a composer but also as a bandleader/
arranger; one hears that on selections like “Jump” from
1995’s Jump Start and Jazz, “The Caboose” from 1998’s
Big Train and “Sunflower” from 1999’s The Marciac
Suite. And while The Music of America is predominantly
instrumental, the presence of singers on occasion is a
definite plus. Marsalis has the good taste to employ
Cassandra Wilson on “Move Over” and Jon Hendricks
on “Soul for Sale” (both from 1995’s Blood on the Fields)
and gospel singer Marion Williams on “In the Sweet
Embrace of Life Sermon: Holy Ghost” from 1992-93’s
In This House, On This Morning. Also beneficial is
Marsalis’ willingness to incorporate everything from
gospel to Euro-classical; on 1996’s “Go, Possum, Go”
(which features mandolin player/violinist Mark
O’Connor), he even incorporates Celtic elements.
Some people still think of Marsalis as an elitist
jazz snob but he is more eclectic and adventurous
nowadays. While The Music of America is by no means
the last word on Marsalis’ post ‘80s output, it does a
good job of illustrating just how much he has expanded.
a stuffy room. This triple-threat talent (trumpeter,
vocalist and composer) shows off on exciting
performances of nine originals and three eclectic items
(Irving Berlin’s “Let Yourself Go”, Joni Mitchell’s “Big
Yellow Taxi” and Erik Satie’s “Gymnopedie”) and
surrounds herself with some fine musicians: pianist
Jeff Lashaway, bassist Kelly Friesen, drummer Ulysses
Owen Jr., percussionist Roland Guerrero, guitarist
Randy Johnston, organist Scott Elias, plus trombonist
Michael Dease on one track, Victor Goines (on tenor
saxophone, clarinet and flute); trombonist Wycliffe
Gordon (two tracks) and an appearance by guest John
Pizzarelli on vocal and guitar.
Skonberg has a voice that is pure and almost little
girl in quality except on bluesy items where she
displays some of the authority of Dinah Washington.
She writes melodic songs with intelligent lyrics and
her arrangements are neatly put together.
Skonberg is quite at home playing traditional jazz
material as well as swinging in a more contemporary
manner. The title track sounds like New Orleans by
way of Duke Ellington and features Goines’ wailing
clarinet. “Chilliwack Cheer” is strictly “a Crescent City
anthem” for marching and celebrating featuring
Skonberg, Goines and Gordon. The charming duet
track with Pizzarelli (“I Wish I Hadn’t Forgotten”) is
reminiscent of the Swing Era. “Penny In Your Pocket”
is notable for Skonberg’s bluesy vocal and some
wonderful slap bass playing by Friesen. The three
“standard” selections are treated differently with “Let
Yourself Go” (written for Ginger Rogers) done in a
funky groove while “Big Yellow Taxi” and
“Gymnopedie” are decorated with AfroCuban
polyrhythms and fine conga playing by Guerrero.
This is a totally fun album and very contagious.
There is never a dull moment with lots of stellar
contributions by the entire cast. But most of all there is
the bright, inquisitive talents and spirit of Bria
Skonberg, who promises to be a mighty musical force.
For more information, visit sonymasterworks.com. Marsalis
is at Rose Theatre May 17th-19th. See Calendar.
For more information, visit randomactrecords.com. Skonberg
is at Kaye Playhouse May 21st. See Calendar.
Sunset Park Polyphony
David Bindman Ensemble (s/r)
by David R. Adler
It takes a wealth of ideas and inspiration to fill two
CDs and saxophonist David Bindman justifies his
large-canvas approach at every step on Sunset Park
Polyphony. There are four substantial pieces on disc
one, plus a six-part suite and two stand-alone pieces
on disc two. Staying within 45 minutes on both discs,
however, Bindman and his inspired sextet keep it
lively and never lose focus.
The orchestration, for three horns, piano, bass and
drums, is boundlessly colorful and indeed polyphonic:
complex intersecting patterns give Bindman’s work a
dissonant harmonic outline, but also a melodic allure.
Bindman also draws on Indian and African rhythmic
traditions to create irregular cycles or “pulse
groupings”, which he explains in some detail in the
liner notes. From these the music takes on a perpetually
unresolved quality but also a strong element of groove
and swing. It’s an adventurous sound, though not
wholly ‘free’ or ‘outside’.
Heard mainly on tenor sax, Bindman switches to
soprano for the closing “RH Reprise”, a variant of disc
one’s “Robeson House Echoes”. The leader also gives
ample space to trumpeter Frank London, trombonist
Reut Regev, pianist Art Hirahara, bassist Wes Brown
and drummer Royal Hartigan, a powerful lineup
deployed to full advantage. Hartigan’s handdrumming solo on the title track is a marvel of textural
richness. The solo flights of London and Regev,
respectively, on “Singing Bird Melody” and “Singing
Bird Reprise”, give disc two’s “Landings Suite” a sense
of pacing and proportion.
In his notes, the composer reveals a political
message that lies behind “Landings Suite”. Describing
the growing social consciousness of a young fictional
character called Eyepod, Bindman takes aim at “the
current war being waged on humanity for the cause of
capitalism/neocolonialism” - a hardline and onedimensional view that is certainly his right to put
forward, but somehow at odds with the subtlety of the
music itself.
For more information, visit davidbindman.com. This group
is at Sunset Park Library May 18th and Windsor Terrace
Library May 19th. See Calendar.
Carrera
Guillermo Klein & Los Guachos (Sunnyside)
by Tom Greenland
G uillermo Klein, a musical Renaissance man adept at
piano, guitar, vocals, composing and arranging, has
led a vagabond existence, moving between Buenos
Aires, Boston, New York and Barcelona before
returning home. Two constants in his life are a
distinctive artistic vision and Los Guachos (“the
bastards”), a star-studded ensemble that has endured
virtually intact since their first gigs as Big Van at the
original Smalls in 1995.
Carrera, Klein’s seventh release for Sunnyside,
reassembles brassmen Richard Nant, Taylor Haskins,
Sandro Tomasi and Diego Urcola; reedmen Miguel
Zenón, Bill McHenry, Chris Cheek and a rhythm
section of Ben Monder, Fernando Huergo and Jeff
Ballard, a posse of strong individualists who, under
Klein’s baton, reveal yet another side of their
multifaceted musical personalities. Like his previous
work, Carrera features tuneful songs, unusual
harmonies, subtle polyrhythms, intricate arrangements
that transition effortlessly and the leader ’s own
impeccable accompaniment. Like Wayne Shorter, Klein
has the remarkable ability to cloak stark melodies in
startling chords: his arrangements of “Niños” (by
Nant), “Mareados” (a classic tango), “ArteSano” (by
Haskins) and the title track (his own) are paradoxes of
intricate simplicity. Fine solos are offered by Cheek on
“Mariana”, McHenry on “ArteSano”, Zenón on
“Moreira” (which includes vocals by Klein) and
Monder on the title track. A third constant in Klein’s
life should be added: the high standard maintained in
his recorded output.
vehicle that finds him soloing forcefully over the
swinging rhythm section. The concluding “Heavenly
Hours” is a smartly constructed amalgam that merges
the melodies of “Epistrophy”, “Seven Steps To Heaven”
and “My Shining Hour” into a rhythmic tour de force
and a fitting close to this masterful date.
Bari saxists seldom get to lead their own small
bands on record dates (and even less often in clubs).
Smul’s Paradise supplies compelling argument that it’s
time for that to change for at least one of them.
For more information, visit caprirecords.com. Smulyan is at
Village Vanguard Mondays with the Vanguard Orchestra.
See Regular Engagements.
IN PRINT
For more information, visit sunnysiderecords.com. This group
is at Village Vanguard May 29th-Jun. 3rd. See Calendar.
What It Is: The Life of a Jazz Artist (Dave Liebman in
Conversation with Lewis Porter) (Scarecrow Press)
by Ken Dryden
Since
Smul's Paradise
Gary Smulyan (Capri)
by Russ Musto
The tenth outing as a leader by Gary Smulyan finds
the 2011 Downbeat and JazzTimes Critics’ Poll-winning
baritone saxophonist in a fresh new setting - fronting a
classic jazz organ quartet. Despite the palpably
companionable combination of the big horn with the
Hammond B3 keyboard, the configuration has been
rarely heard in jazz, most notably on the George
Benson Columbia recordings featuring Ronnie Cuber
with [Dr.] Lonnie Smith. Smulyan, who possesses a
rich sonorous sound, authoritative rhythmic drive,
harmonically sophisticated inventiveness and an
appealingly lyrical melodicism, sets a contemporary
new standard for the grouping here, with Mike
LeDonne behind the B3, his regular Smoke quartet
partner Peter Bernstein on guitar and the ubiquitous
drummer Kenny Washington, who plays with a crisp
refreshing looseness.
The disc opens with a novel arrangement of Bobby
Hebb’s ‘60s smash hit “Sunny” played as funky waltz,
the conversion of the song’s meter to 3/4 giving the
popular piece an intriguing quality. “Up In Betty’s
Room”, the first of two compositions by Don Patterson,
a vastly underappreciated late organist and original
inspiration for the date, is a soulful gospel-tinged
shuffle reminiscent of Bobby Timmons’ “Dat Dere”.
Pee Wee Ellis’ soulful swinger “Pistachio”, previously
recorded by organist Rhoda Scott, is played as a
calypso while the title track, by Smulyan, is an
intricately flowing uptempo hardbop number.
On the George Coleman burner “Little Miss Half
Steps” the baritonist plays with a fleet fluency
reminiscent of his primary influence Pepper Adams
while on the beautiful Don Patterson-Sonny Stitt soul
ballad “Aires”, he evinces a lush eloquence that recalls
the great Harry Carney. Two originals by Smulyan
complete the date. “Blues For D.P.”, his dedication to
the aforementioned Patterson, is a lyrical blowing
his arrival on the jazz scene, saxist Dave
Liebman has proven himself a multi-faceted artist.
The 2011 NEA Jazz Master ’s autobiography was
culled from interviews by jazz journalist and pianist
Dr. Lewis Porter. It isn’t strictly chronological, since
many topics overlap one another, but it is compelling
reading for educators, musicians and fans. Liebman
is open about nearly every facet of his life, from the
lifelong effects of polio in one leg and relationships
with fellow musicians to his transformation from
sideman into a leader and jazz educator.
Liebman discusses in detail some of the
important musicians and teachers in his life.
Saxophone teacher Joe Allard, while not a jazz
instructor, inspired Liebman to keep returning to
him for occasional “check-ups” well into his
professional career. He studied briefly with Lennie
Tristano but found him too abrasive, admitting his
own immaturity kept him from realizing the benefits
of the blind pianist’s methods. Liebman’s tenor
playing was influenced by seeing John Coltrane
play numerous times, yet he found his own voice
when he began playing soprano sax. He raves about
the lessons learned from drummer Pete La Roca
while his description of Miles (who had him playing
soprano without headphones on his initial session,
thus unable to hear any of the electric instruments)
provides an interesting contrast. Liebman also
discusses the experimentation of the ‘70s loft scene,
which also helped influence his playing.
Liebman discusses his work with Richie Beirach
- in Quest, as a duo and in other small groups - in
great detail, including both their strengths as a unit
and their conflicts, along with the unjust lack of
recognition that he feels the pianist has gotten
relative to himself. The leader also has strong praise
for the gifted pianist Phil Markowitz, who teaches a
course with him at Manhattan School of Music.
Liebman includes only a fraction of his considerable
discography in the appendix; a complete version
can be found on his website.
For more information, visit rowman.com/Scarecrow.
Liebman is at Joe’s Pub May 8th with Alon Yavnai and
Brooklyn Conservatory of Music May 19th with WORKS.
See Calendar.
Odd Time
Eugene Chadbourne/Warren Smith (Engine)
by Clifford Allen
Both
banjoist-guitarist Eugene Chadbourne and
percussionist Warren Smith are politically outspoken,
have an appetite for working across disparate musical
genres and a great amount of respect for tradition. The
program (Chadbourne solely on banjo) features nine
pieces in a mixture of ‘free’ duet improvisations and
Chadbourne originals, including such avant-hillbilly
classics as the priceless “Checkers of Blood”, “Choppin’
down Weeds” and “New New War War”.
Chadbourne’s banjo playing is squirrely and his
lines (vocal and musical) don’t follow conventional
rhythm, but of course the latter doesn’t matter too
much because their barbed humor is what counts.
“New New War War” is a wry protest song that first
appeared in the era of Bush and Cheney; coupled with
fluid and inventive dissonance and eliding, calloused
strums, Chadbourne’s delivery is engaging and in true
dialogue with Smith’s dry, shuffling beats. The
vibraphone-banjo duet “Mourning of the Praying
Mantis” mates full, resonant lamella and bright
cadenzas with buzzing masses and accented plinks for
an incredibly rich, concentrated sonic landscape. “Odd
Time for Two” emphasizes the African origins of the
banjo as Chadbourne engages it on the level of a
microscopic zither, bouncing off and coming into a
strange logic alongside Smith’s deep, fascinating
marimba work. “Put Me Back in the River” bridges
free improvisation and front-porch folk music, Smith
rustling and booming with bass drum and triangle as
Chadbourne spins a strange, multidirectional yarn on
childhood experience.
Chadbourne’s is an odd world and one that
straddles gravity and absurdity, but it’s made especially
nuanced through working with one of the most
versatile percussionists in contemporary music.
For more information, visit engine-studios.com. Smith is at
NYC Baha’i Center May 15th. See Calendar.
The Bleeding Edge
Evan Parker/Okkyung Lee/Peter Evans (psi)
by Ken Waxman
Maintaining his connection with younger international
improvisers, grizzled British saxophonist Evan Parker
has convened this trio with Korean-American cellist
Okkyung Lee and American trumpeter Peter Evans. A
CD of 11 duos and trios, The Bleeding Edge confirms
that there’s no generation gap among creative stylists.
Evans shows off experimental and atonal chops
here, fluttering, spluttering and spitting tremolo and
rubato sequences as well as unaccented air from his
trumpet and piccolo trumpet. Lee, whose juddering
percussive glissandi unite noise, improvisation and
classical techniques, keeps the action streaming with
staccato, sul ponticello and spiccato motions. Parker,
of course, has been a sound explorer since the mid ‘60s.
Mellow variants are present along with more stark
material. “Trio 3” for instance, is all about Evans’ highpitched tremolo peeps meeting staccato chirps from
the top range of Parker ’s horn, both balanced on wide
col legno cello lines. Yet “Trio 4” is as close to pleasingly
lyrical as unmetered sounds can be. This blend of
unforced soprano saxophone trills plus moderated
grace notes from Evans creates a sort of muted
sweetness connected by the cellist`s string
harmonization, the piece concluding with brassy
fanfares and multiphonic blowing.
Two-person interaction such as “Duo 1” and “Duo
4” expose similar strategies, but downsized. On the
latter, for instance, Lee’s spiccato stops and sharply
angled lines push Evans from plunger resonation to
gentle mouthpiece flutters. Similarly “Duo 1” mates
Parker ’s slurs and swoops with the cellist’s penetrating
string stretches until together they build up to
chromatic, harmonized cross-tones.
With each sequence blended into a sound mosaic,
the edges here may be bleeding, but with minimum
bloodiness and maximum improvisational circulation.
For more information, visit emanemdisc.com/psi.html.
Evans is at Zebulon May 21st. See Calendar.
Bending Bridges
Mary Halvorson Quintet (Firehouse 12)
by Stuart Broomer
Bending Bridges develops the vision from guitarist
Mary Halvorson’s 2010 quintet debut Saturn Sings. Her
music is focused on transformation and mutation
while themes are often multiple, fluid rhythmic and
harmonic bases to suggest shifting allegiances to
postbop, pop and microtonal methodologies. The
quintet with saxophonist Jon Irabagon and trumpeter
Jonathan Finlayson is very clearly an extension of
Halvorson’s trio with bassist John Hébert and drummer
Ches Smith. In fact, several of the pieces here are
played by just the trio.
When Halvorson uses the full resources of the
quintet, she develops almost suite-like structures with
asymmetrical parts that seem to fuse composition and
improvisation. Finlayson is thoughtfully probing on
the extended “Love in Eight Colors”, a piece that has
each soloist moving from unaccompanied to group
dialogue. “Sea Cut like Snow” has a distinct compound
of melodic directness and harmonic complexity.
Each of the trio pieces is a tour de force for
Halvorson the guitarist, often mixing traditional jazz
guitar lines and sonorities with sudden electronic
shifts. On the “Periphery of Scandal” these include
both wildly fluctuating pitches and a wall of chords
with the amp on overdrive, touching on bases that
include Harry Partch and Frank Zappa.
The best moments here are also genuine surprises,
the music suddenly finding an unexpected zone of
collective interaction, like the brilliant band blowout
that concludes “Sinks When She Rounds the Bend”,
the racing duo of Halvorson and Irabagon on the
almost pensive “Sea Cut Like Snow” or the fractured
three-way improvisation with Hébert and Smith on
“Deformed Weight of Hands”. Bending Bridges is both
distinctive and distinguished.
For more information, visit firehouse12.com. This group is
at Cornelia Street Café May 19th. See Calendar.
ON DVD
Moods and Modes
Nils Wogram/Simon
Nabatov (Plush Music)
Plays Herbie Nichols
Simon Nabatov
(Plush Music)
by Duck Baker
O ne thing that the music of trombonist Nils
Wogram and pianist Simon Nabatov’s duo on Moods
and Modes demonstrates is the extent to which
classical and jazz approaches have been merged
among many players of this generation, especially
Europeans. Where early “Third Stream” experiments
often felt like attempts by trained musicians to graft
some classical elements onto the body of jazz, an
understanding of both traditions informs every
aspect of the music here. Both can breeze through
lines that would leave lesser musicians gasping for
air and on pieces like Wogram’s opening title track,
the effect is dazzling. Taken at a very bright 9/8
tempo, this tune sets the tone, with the two
instruments moving through its unobvious
harmonic structure not only confidently, but brashly.
On most pieces, the focus remains on lines that shift
around a lot harmonically with a lot of quick darting
about melodically. The nearly unrelenting nature of
this could get wearing were it not for the dynamic
range employed and the fact that the program is
broken up with several ballad-type numbers like
Nabatov’s “Assuming”, which evokes some of the
more song-like melodies of Herbie Nichols.
Nabatov’s approach to Nichols is fascinating.
He mostly sticks with material the pianist recorded
for Blue Note in the mid ‘50s and at some point or
other in each performance makes a reasonably literal
reference to how the tune is played. But the way he
takes off from them is less straightforward; he
doesn’t follow the structures, as most musicians
would, so much as construct dense collages with the
harmonic, melodic and rhythmic elements. And the
longer one spends with the video, the more sense
Nabatov’s approach makes. After all, Nichols as an
improviser was less involved with creating new
melody than in constantly playing off the original
theme and Nabatov extends this idea. He repeats
passages, stretches them out, rearranges, rephrases
and adds his own riff figures that he uses to great
advantage, often as a way into the compositions. It
took this listener several hearings to grasp some of
the ways Nabatov interprets things and I’m still not
sure I understand what the insistent riff that he
interpolates into the originally placid “Sunday
Stroll” signifies, but so what? He shows us sidepaths we hadn’t known of and it’s obvious watching
him that he’s still making new discoveries himself.
Nabatov illuminates aspects of Nichols’ thinking
that others have neglected, no mean achievement.
Interestingly, though the Nichols set was a live
performance and the duo was shot in a studio, the
two have a very similar look, using a variety of
close-up and mid-range shots, without ever getting
too arty or distracting - good views of the performers
with the occasional closeup of piano keys or
hammers, all sensibly edited.
For more information, visit panrec.com. Nabatov is at The
Firehouse Space May 3rd and Korzo May 8th. See Calendar.
35
BOXED SET
The Complete Remastered Recordings
on Black Saint & Soul Note
Cecil Taylor (Black Saint/Soul Note - CAMJazz)
by Kurt Gottschalk
The window afforded into the artistry of pianist
Cecil Taylor by this new CAMJazz collection, like all
of that label’s Black Saint/Soul Note reissue sets, is
not that of a curated collection, greatest hits package
or introductory sampler in any way except that it
reflects producer Giovanni Bonandrini’s generally
excellent tastes and talent for running a label. But it
still allows for a fairly representative peek at the
work of one of the masters of contemporary jazz and
it comes at a more than reasonable price point as
well. The four titles included here (spread across five
compact discs) make for a wonderful cross section of
Taylor ’s work, even if the releases only reflect seven
years of a recording career which has carried over
five decades and counting.
The first selection is no doubt the one of greatest
historical interest. Historic Concerts is a 1979 meeting
with the legendary drummer Max Roach, occupying
two of the set’s CDs. After a five-minute solo from
each, the duo hunkers down together for an explosive
exchange. It’s a fascinating session, almost a
competition in a way, with each man seemingly
determined to outrun the other. While such footraces
don’t always result in the greatest good, Taylor and
Roach are both on their toes and the tension is
propulsive. The second disc is filled out (as was the
original release) by a post-game radio profile, which
includes interviews with each of the artists.
Winged Serpent (Sliding Quadrants) is a 1984
large ensemble record similar in feel to his Cecil
Taylor Unit and 3 Phasis, which is to say it works in
waves of energy built on undulating musical phrases
unfailingly bearing Taylor ’s imprint. The 11-piece
ensemble is seven horns strong (Enrico Rava, Tomasz
Stanko, Jimmy Lyons, Frank Wright, John Tchicai,
Gunter Hampel and Karen Borca) with bassist
William Parker and the paired drummers Rashid
Bakr and Andre Martinez but Taylor keeps a
remarkable hold over the forceful gathering. All of
the players are also credited with vocals and the
album includes a wonderful group chant piece very
much in keeping with the vocalese Taylor would
explore to greater extents in later years.
If this set is looked at as a primer (and it makes
a good one, even if that’s not how it came to pass), it
would have to include a solo set. For Olim, the one
featured here, is a fine such offering. Taylor is at his
most enigmatic when he’s alone onstage and this
concert - recorded in Berlin in 1986 - is an excellent
example, a nicely diverse set of eight pieces. Arguing
one Taylor solo recording against another is a
complex proposition. The 1981 release Garden would
have to be considered one of his best, but For Olim
wouldn’t rank far behind.
For Olim was recorded at the 1986 Workshop
Freie Musik in Berlin and recordings from two other
Taylor sets during that festival were paired to make
the 1987 release Olu Iwa, which stands out as one of
the finest titles in Taylor ’s expansive discography. At
27 minutes, “Olu Iwa (Lord of Character)” is the
shorter of the two cuts on the disc. It’s a beautiful
study for what could almost be called a percussion
quartet. It seems to explode Taylor ’s piano playing
(which has been described as “88 tuned drums”)
onto a group setting, with William Parker on bass,
Steve McCall on drums and Thurman Barker
contributing beautiful marimba and additional
percussion. It’s a sublime piece, with the interplay
between Barker and Taylor especially pronounced.
The next day, Taylor added three horns
(saxophonists Peter Brötzmann and Frank Wright
and trombonist Earl McIntyre) to the quartet,
arriving at the version of his Unit heard on the
48-minute “Be Ee Ba Nganga Ban’a Eee!” Here again
Taylor harnesses the energy of free improvisation
while keeping structure and retaining his own
indelible stamp. While it’s more incendiary than the
quartet piece, the horns seem at certain points to
come in as a section. It’s moments like these, the
likes of which occur throughout the collection, that
show there’s more method to his madness than for
which he is often credited. And to his genius as well.
For more information, visit camjazz.com. A Cecil Taylor
Tribute is at Harlem Stage Gatehouse May 8th-9th with
Vijay Iyer, Amina Claudine Myers and Craig Taborn.
Taylor himself plays solo there May 17th and at Issue
Project Room May 19th. See Calendar.
Ronnie BuRRage
RoBuRRage Music PRoduction
MiMikalana RecoRds PResent:
www.ronnieburrage.biz
[email protected]
Ron n ie Bu R R age
SpiRit g u id eS
t R u t h & L ov e Mu S i c
for contact and booking:
www.ronnieburrage.biz
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prod master:
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Ronnie BuRRage:
em viLLage
feat. haMiet Bluiett,
Joe foRd, cyRus chestnut,
doc giBBs,fRank lacy,
& chaRnett Moffett
Blue Jess / Timeline OBservasTOry
005
Ronnie BuRRage:
spiRit guides /
tRuth & Love music
feat. kelvyn Bell, eli ByRne,
Quincy tRouPe, Rasul siddik,
dRew Jackson, sonny siMMons,
eQuille williaMs, Joe Bowie,
Mike dougheRty, ugo onyiata,
andy “stewlocks” ninvalle,
kiM claRke, eRik sayles,
gRegoiRe MaRet, tia fulleR
The Dale Barlow sessions
004
the daLe BaRLow
sessions:
BLue jess / timeLine
oBseRvastoRy
feat. dale BaRlow, John JB
ButleR, essiet okon essiet
Ronnie BuRRage
Just teasin‘
w/E r i c P E r s o n & T E r E n c E c o n l E y
003
Ronnie BuRRage:
just teasin
feat. eRic PeRson & teRence conley
001
Ronnie BuRRage:
in it - a pRoject
of dRumming
& jazz scat
feat. sid siMMons, Mike Boone,
Jason shattill & John swana
002
BLue noise
feat. Benito gonzalez, Mike Boone,
eRic delente, eRik sayles,
cosandRa BuRRage, Mika BuRRage,
scott aMBush, nicole delente
& chRistoPheR delente
music avaliable on
PLK_RoBU_2012.indd 1
07.02.12 16:18
CALENDAR
Tuesday, May 1
êHugh Masekela/Larry Willis
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30 pm $30
êThe Heath Brothers Quartet: Jimmy and Albert “Tootie” Heath, Jeb Patton, David Wong
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
• Randy Brecker’s Pop with David Sanchez, Kenny Werner, Adam Rogers,
John Patitucci, Nate Smith, Amanda Brecker
Blue Note 8, 10:30 pm $35
• The Music of Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie: Juilliard Jazz Orchestra
with Frank Wess
Dizzy’s Club 7:30, 9:30 pm $30
• Essentially Ellington All Stars Dizzy’s Club 11 pm $10
êRoy Hargrove Quintet with Justin Robinson, Sullivan Fortner, Ameen Saleem,
Quincy Phillips
Village Vanguard 9, 11 pm $25
• Sue Halloran and Ken Hitchcock with Ray Marchica; Ray Marchica Band
Iridium 8, 10 pm $25
• Jazz & Popular Song - Ethel Waters: Blues, Broadway, and Jazz: Michael Feinstein
with Adriane Lenox Allen Room 7:30 pm $95-120
• Karl Berger Workshop Orchestra The Jazz Gallery 9 pm $15
• Jack Jeffers and the New York Classics with Antoinette Montague
Zinc Bar 8, 10 pm $15
• Jim Ridl Quartet with Mike Rodriguez, John Benitez, Donald Edwards
55Bar 10 pm
• Spike Wilner solo; Eli Degibri Quartet with Aaron Goldberg, Greg Hutchinson,
Barak Mori
Smalls 6:30, 8:30 pm $20
• Shai Maestro Trio with Jorge Roeder, Ziv Ravitz; Tammy Scheffer Sextet with
Andrew Urbina, Dan Pratt, Chris Ziemba, Dan Foose, Ronen Itzik
Shapeshifter Lab 7:30, 9 pm
• Andrew D’Angelo/Kirk Knuffke Group; Tyler Blanton with John Ellis, Matt Clohesy,
Nate Wood
Korzo 9, 10:30 pm $5
• Double Bass Double Voice: Nancy Harms, Emily Braden, Steve Whipple;
Brianna Thomas Band
Cornelia Street Café 8:30, 10 pm $10
• Dmitry Baevsky Quartet; Maximo Bachata Y Merengue; Greg Glassman Jam
Fat Cat 7, 9 pm 12:30 am
• Jack Wilkins/Peter Bernstein Bella Luna 8 pm
• Antonio Ciacca
The Bar on Fifth 8 pm
• Rotem Sivan Trio with Sam Anning, Daniel Dor
Bowery Poetry Club 10 pm
• Bryan and the Aardvarks
Caffe Vivaldi 9:45 pm
• Ryan Brennan Organ Trio with Matt Turowski, Haru Sakita; Mark Miller Septet with
Cliff Lyons, Anton Denner, Nicki Denner, Sean Harkness, Gary Wang, Beaver Bausch
Somethin’ Jazz Club 7, 9 pm $10
• Mike Dease Big Band; Fukushi Tainaka Trio
The Garage 7, 10:30 pm
• Martin Loyato Shrine 6 pm
Wednesday, May 2
êValery Ponomarev Our Father Who Art Blakey Big Band with guest Kenny Barron
Zinc Bar 8, 10, 11:30 pm $15
êAbraham Inc.: David Krakauer, Fred Wesley, SoCalled
92YTribeca 8:30 pm $20
• Now vs Now: Jason Lindner, Panagiotis Andreou, Mark Guiliana
Shapeshifter Lab 8 pm
êRenku: Michael Attias, John Hébert, Satoshi Takeishi; Matt Darriau; Raya Brass Band
Barbès 8 pm $10
• Barbara Martinez with Cristian Puig, Gonzalo Grau, Sean Kupusa, Jose Moreno
Smoke 7, 9, 10:30
• Sam Kulik
The Stone 8 pm $10
• Nate Radley Quartet with Loren Stillman, Matt Pavolka, Mark Ferber;
Shane Endsley Drums Band with John Ellis, Mike Moreno, Dan Loomis
Seeds 8:30, 10 pm $10
• Bob Rodriguez Trio with Steve Varner, Bill Tesar
Jazz at Kitano 8, 10 pm $10
• Ryan Blotnick’s Saut-E Sarmad with Mat Maneri, Michael Blake, Perry Wortman,
Randy Peterson
Cornelia Street Café 8:30 pm $10
• Akiko Tsuruga Trio with Mike DiRubbo, Joe Strasser
An Beal Bocht Café 8, 9:30 pm
• Sean Smith Quartet with John Ellis, John Hart, Russell Meissner
55Bar 7 pm
• Maurício de Souza Quartet with Briana Cowlishaw, Dave Stryker, Iris Ornig
The Lambs Club 7:30 pm
• Rafi D’lugoff; Groover Trio; Ned Goold Jam
• Holger Scheidt
• Xan Campos Trio; Alan Leatherman with Rick Germanson, Dave Ostrem,
Bruce Edwards, Paul Amorese Somethin’ Jazz Club 7, 9 pm $10
• Melanie Marod
Flute 8 pm
• Marc Devine Trio; Sharel Cassity Quartet
êHugh Masekela/Larry Willis
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
with Frank Wess
• Essentially Ellington All Stars Dizzy’s Club 11 pm $10
Quincy Phillips
• Jazz & Popular Song - Ethel Waters: Blues, Broadway, and Jazz: Michael Feinstein
with Adriane Lenox Allen Room 7:30 pm $95-120
• Eli Degibri Quartet with Aaron Goldberg, Greg Hutchinson, Barak Mori;
Sound Quartet: Tivon Pennicott, Mike Battaglia, Spencer Murphy, Kenneth Salters
Smalls 8:30, 11 pm $20
• Antonio Ciacca
• Zach Brock; Cyrille Aimee
Rockwood Music Hall 6, 11 pm
• Sax E and Pure Pressure Shrine 6 pm
• Cecelia Coleman Big Band
Saint Peter’s 1 pm $10
Thursday, May 3
êPascal Niggenkemper Trio with Simon Nabatov, Satoshi Takeishi
The Firehouse Space 8 pm $10
êPeter Bernstein solo; Ben Allison Group; Carlos Abadie Quintet
Smalls 7:30, 10 pm 1 am $20
• Grégoire Maret Quartet with Frederico Gonzalez Peña, Ben Williams, Clarence Penn
and guest Raul Midón
êChris Corsano
The Stone 10 pm $10
• David Schnitter Quartet; Saul Rubin; Craig Wuepper
êKlaus Suonsaari, Mikko Innanen, Frank Carlberg, Pat O’Leary
Douglass Street Music Collective 8 pm $10
• Osmany Paredes Quartet with Yunior Terry, Ludwig Afonso, Yusnier Sanchez
The Jazz Gallery 9, 10:30 pm $15
êJesse Stacken solo; 40Twenty: Jacob Garchik, Jacob Sacks, Dave Ambrosio,
Vinnie Sperrazza
I-Beam 8:30, 10 pm $10
• Joel Forrester
Barbès 9:30 pm $10
• Ben van Gelder with Kyle Wilson, Joe Sanders, Craig Weinrib
• Samuel Torres Group
• Castle Magic: Santi DeBriano, Harvie S, Essiet Essiet Bar Next Door 8:30, 10:30 pm $12
• Gregorio Uribe Big Band
Zinc Bar 10, 11:30 pm 1 am $15
• Amy Cervini with Nadje Noordhuis, Pete McCann, Mark Lau, Ernesto Cervini;
Sean Nowell and The Kung-Fu Masters with Brad Mason, Andy Hunter, Art Hirahara,
Adam Klipple, Evan Marien, Marko Djordjevic
55Bar 7, 10 pm
• Peter Zak Trio with Paul Gill, Billy Drummond
• Jared Dubin Sextet; Cat Toren Band with Pat Redd, Ryan Ferreira, Tommy Crane;
Cracked Vessel: Ben Syversen, Xander Naylor, Jeremy Gustin
Williamsburg Music Center 9 pm $10
• Nick Gianni’s Evolution
Nublu 10 pm
• Bob Rodriguez Group with Bill Tesar, Steve Varner; Rave Tesar Trio with Bill Tesar,
Kermit Driscoll; Ark Ovrutski Trio with Roy Assaf, John Davis
Somethin’ Jazz Club 7, 9, 11 pm $10
• Fukui/Whipple Duo
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Denton Darien Trio
Cleopatra’s Needle 7 pm
• Rick Stone Trio; Dylan Meek Trio The Garage 6, 10:30 pm
• Ali Ryerson Group with Pete Levin, Mike DeMicco, Mark Egan, Karl Latham
Birdland 6 pm
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
with Frank Wess
Quincy Phillips
• Antonio Ciacca
• Xan Campos Trio Shrine 6 pm
Friday, May 4
êToshiko Akiyoshi Trio with Paul Gill, Aaron Kimmel
êBuster Williams Spanish Sun-Flamenco Rising with Mark Gross, Adam del Monte,
George Colligan, David Silliman, Gonzalo Grau
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 $35
• Winard Harper Group with Bruce Harris, Michael Dease, Jon Beshay, Roy Assaf,
Noah Jackson, Alioune Faye
Smalls 10 pm $20
• John McNeil’s Urban Legend with Bill McHenry, Steve Cardenas, Joel Martin,
Rodney Green
Cornelia Street Café 9, 10:30 pm $15
êErik Friedlander
Barbès 8 pm $10
• Ted Rosenthal Trio with Noriko Ueda, Tim Horner
Rubin Museum 7 pm $20
êAmir ElSaffar Quintet with John Escreet, Francois Moutin, Dan Weiss
• Jazzheads Festival: Mark Weinstein AfroCuban Jazz Project; Gabriele Tranchina Group;
Dave Frank solo; NYJazz InitiativeThe Players Club 7 pm $40
• Jason Mears Quintet with Jonathan Goldberger, Angelica Sanchez, Kevin Farrell,
Harris Eisenstadt
I-Beam 8:30 pm $10
• Nate Wooley/Joe Morris; Aaron Ryuko Shragge/Ben Monder;
Nadje Noordhuis/James Shipp Village Zendo 8 pm $20
êDaryl Sherman/Dan Levinson
Knickerbocker Bar and Grill 9:45 pm $5
• Ray Gallon Trio; George Burton; Will Terrill Quintet
Fat Cat 6, 10:30 pm 1:30 am
• Joe Giglio Trio with Rick Steffens, Eric Peters Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• NYU Jazz Orchestra plays Sy Johnson
Skirball Center 8 pm
• Simona Premazzi
• KyungGu Lee Group with HyungJin Choi, Pablo Menares, Takehiro Shimizu;
Eliane Amherd and Band; Derek Lucci with Jonathan Stein, Jonathan Ragonese
and guests
• Gary Negbaur
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Anne Mironchik
Alor Café 8 pm
ê2/3 Series: Josh Deutsch/Nico Soffiato; Crepuscular Activity: Yukari/Carlo Costa;
Fester: Sean Ali/David Grollman Launch Pad Gallery 8 pm
• Evan Schwam Quartet
• Rob Edwards Quartet; Hot House The Garage 6:15, 10:45 pm
and guest Raul Midón
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
with Frank Wess
• Essentially Ellington All Stars Dizzy’s Club 11:30 pm $20
Quincy Phillips
• Jon Hatamiya Shrine 6 pm
• Jazz at Noon: Art Baron
The Players Club 12 pm
• Thresholding 2012: Ellery Eskelin, Mark Dresser, Jim Black, Sarah Weaver
NYU Steinhardt School 11 am
Saturday, May 5
êMichael Bates’ Acrobat with Greg Tardy, Russ Johnson, Russ Lossing, Michael Sarin
êTravis Laplante Quartet with Mat Maneri, Michael Formanek, Randy Peterson;
Little Women: Travis Laplante, Darius Jones, Andrew Smiley, Jason Nazary
The Stone 8, 10 pm $10
êMiles Okazaki Quartet with Mark Turner, Thomas Morgan, Dan Weiss
êJoel Harrison with John Escreet, Kermit Driscoll, Ben Wittman
The Firehouse Space 8:30 pm $10
• Jazzheads Festival: Bobby Sanabria Big Band; Jeff Lederer Sunwatcher;
Randy Klein Two Duos with Alex Skolnick, Nik Munson
The Players Club 7 pm $40
• Gilad Hekselman Trio with Joe Martin, Justin Brown
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Keith Loftis Group
Sistas’ Place 9, 10:30 pm $25
• Jack Glottman Quintet; Martino Atangana African Blue Note Sextet; Tal Ronen
• Bernie Williams Quartet with Gil Parris
• Michael Bank’s Big 7 with Simon Wettenhall, Mike Mullins, Paul Nedzela, Sam Burris,
Matt Smith, Murray Wall, Steve Little; David Greer’s New Tuning System with
Alessandro Fadini; Tom Wetmore Ensemble; Anthony Fung
Somethin’ Jazz Club 5, 7, 9, 11 pm $10
• Scot Albertson/Frank Owens; New Tricks
Tomi Jazz 8, 11 pm $10
• Masami Ishikawa Organ Trio
êToshiko Akiyoshi Trio with Paul Gill, Aaron Kimmel
êBuster Williams Spanish Sun-Flamenco Rising with Mark Gross, Adam del Monte,
George Colligan, David Silliman, Gonzalo Grau
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 $35
• Jacquelyn Bonomo; Andy Farber Quartet; Winard Harper Group with Bruce Harris,
Michael Dease, Jon Beshay, Roy Assaf, Noah Jackson, Alioune Faye
Smalls 4, 7:30, 10 pm $20
• Jason Mears Quintet with Jonathan Goldberger, Angelica Sanchez, Kevin Farrell,
Harris Eisenstadt
I-Beam 8:30 pm $10
• Simona Premazzi
• Daryl Sherman/Dan Levinson Knickerbocker Bar and Grill 9:45 pm $5
and guest Cassandra Wilson
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
with Frank Wess
• Essentially Ellington All Stars Dizzy’s Club 11:30 pm $20
Quincy Phillips
• Carole Bufford with Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks
Metropolitan Room 4 pm $25
• Larry Newcomb Trio; Galen Pitman Quartet; Akiko Tsuruga Trio
The Garage 12, 6:15, 10:45 pm
Sunday, May 6
• 17th Annual Essentially Ellington Competition and Festival with guest Wynton Marsalis
Avery Fisher Hall 7:30 pm $25
êAnthony Coleman; Endangered Blood: Chris Speed, Oscar Noriega, Trevor Dunn,
Jim Black
Barbès 8 pm $10
• Otto Hauser/Anders Griffen; Cracked Vessel: Ben Syversen, Xander Naylor,
Jeremy Gustin and guest Don Godwin
• Billy Newman Sextet with Ben Holmes, Michael Attias, Eric Schugren, Leco Reis,
Conor Meehan
• Terry Waldo’s Gotham City Band; Fat Cat Big Band; Brandon Lewis/Renee Cruz Jam
Fat Cat 6, 8:30 pm 12:30 am
êMinerva Trio: JP Schlegelmilch, Pascal Niggenkemper, Carlo Costa
• Peter Leitch/Sean Smith
Walker’s 8 pm
• FASTER: Kayla Milmine/Brian Abbott; Frank Keeley’s Golden Rectangles;
John Pietaro’s Radio Noir; Stan Nishimura Ensemble
ABC No-Rio 6 pm $5
• Arturo Vera/Ethan Mann; New York Korean Jazz Orchestra: Sung Min Park, Irwin Park,
Chung Il Kim, Kyung Gu Lee, Sung Il Bae, Gul Jang, Hi Jong Lee, Tae Seog Yun,
Jin Sang Yoo, Man Su Jung, Gun Yong Lee, Hyun Jeong Lee, Jee Yong Park,
Ho Kyung Choi, Joonsam Lee, Joo Chan Im; Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble:
Anne Drummond, Meg Okura, Helen Sung, Dezron Douglas, EJ Strickland
Somethin’ Jazz Club 5, 7, 9, 11 pm $10
• Shrine Big Band
Shrine 8 pm
• Bernie Williams Quartet with Gil Parris
• Daryl Sherman
• Simona Premazzi
and guest Cassandra Wilson
with Frank Wess
Quincy Phillips
• Bonnie Kane/Chris Welcome; James Ilgenfritz/Mikko Innanen
Downtown Music Gallery 6 pm
• Peter Eldridge Band
Saint Peter’s 5 pm
• Kenny Werner NYU Ensemble Blue Note 12:30, 2:30 pm $24.50
• Vicki Burns Trio with Saul Rubin, Tom Hubbard
North Square Lounge 12:30, 2 pm
• Evan Schwam Quartet; David Coss Quartet; Afro Mantra
The Garage 11:30 am 7, 11:30 pm
Monday, May 7
• Salsa Meets Jazz Revisited: A Benefit Tribute to Dave Valentin with Manny Oquendo’s
Libre with Andy Gonzalez; Papo Vazquez’ Pirates and Troubadours; Sonny Fortune;
Steve Turre
Le Poisson Rouge 10 pm $25
êBB&C: Nels Cline, Jim Black, Tim Berne
Shapeshifter Lab 8 pm $15
• Magos Herrera Sextet with Aaron Goldberg, Mike Moreno, Peter Slavov,
Alex Kautz, Rogerio Boccato
• Jay Rodriguez
êMingus Big Band
êSteven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra
The Stone 9 pm $10
êRemembering Jimmy Lyons: Karen Borca Quartet; William Parker/William Hooker;
Sound Band: William Parker, Tor Snyder, Asim Barnes, Nicole Federici, Matt Lavelle,
Kirk Knuffke, Pete Dragotta, Ras Moshe, Zak Sherzad, Yoni Kretzmer, David Moss,
Max Johnson, Bernard Myers, Tiffany Chang
Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center 7:30 pm $22
• The New School Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra directed by Bobby Sanabria
Joe’s Pub 9:30 pm $15
• Harry Allen
Feinstein’s at Loews Regency 7 pm
• David Amram and Co. with Kevin Twigg, John de Witt
• Rick Rosato, Colin Stranahan, Glenn Zaleski; Ari Hoenig Group with Gilad Hekselman,
Orlando Le Fleming, Shai Maestro; Spencer Murphy Jam
Smalls 7:30, 10 pm 1 am $20
• Marianne Solivan; Dimitri Vassilakis’ Jazz Acts with Theo Hill, Essiet Essiet,
Sylvia Cuenca, Michela Marino Zinc Bar 7, 9 pm
êAmanda Monaco Three with Mark Wade, Nate Smith
Domaine Wine Bar 8:30 pm
• Dida Pelled Trio with Tal Ronen, Daniel Friedman
Bar Next Door 8:30, 10:30 pm $12
• Brandon McCune
• Alex Hoffman Quintet; Billy Kaye Jam
Fat Cat 9 pm 12:30 am
• Roy Assaf
Somethin’ Jazz Club 10 pm $10
• Howard Williams Jazz Orchestra; Ben Cliness Trio
• Charles Brewer Trio; Micky Lee; Bart-Jan Hogenhuis; Roy Assaf
Shrine 7 pm
Tuesday, May 8
êCelebrating Cecil: Vijay Iyer, Amina Claudine Myers, Craig Taborn
Harlem Stage Gatehouse 8 pm $10
êUpcoming Hurricane: Pascal Niggenkemper, Simon Nabatov, Gerald Cleaver;
Mark Dresser/Terry McManus
Korzo 9, 10:30 pm $5
êSteve Kuhn, Steve Swallow, Joey Baron
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
• Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band directed by Paquito D’Rivera
êGeri Allen Trio with Bob Hurst, Karriem Riggins
êJeff “Tain” Watts 4
• Bill Charlap Trio with Peter Washington, Kenny Washington
• Manuel Valera Quintet with John Benitez, Tom Guarna, Mauricio Herrera, Eric Doob Dizzy’s Club 11 pm $10
• Amina Figarova Sextet with Bart Platteau, Marc Mommaas, Ernie Hammes,
Jeroen Vierdag, Chris “Buckshot” Strik
• Daoud David Williams’ Spirit of LifeNYC Baha’i Center 8, 9:30 pm $15
• Alon Yavnai Big Band with Sam Sadigursky, Oscar Feldman, Donny McCaslin,
Eli Degibri, Paul Nedzela, Diego Urcola, Itamar Borochov, Tatum Greenblatt,
Brandon Lee, Rafi Malkiel, Noah Bless, Kaji Tokunori Kajiwara, Max Siegel,
Haggai Cohen-Milo, Ziv Ravitz and guest Dave Liebman
• Harlem Jazz Shrines: Danny MixonShowman’s 8:30, 10, 11:30 pm
• Harlem Jazz Shrines - Blazing Tongues: The Singers & Writers of Lenox Lounge with
Tulivu-Donna Cumberbatch
Lenox Lounge 7 pm $10
• Spike Wilner solo; Marco Panascia Group with Dayna Stephens, Daniela Schachter,
Peter Mazza
Smalls 6:30, 8:30 pm $20
• Leif Arntzen Band with Michael Blake, Landon Knoblock, Ryan Blotnick, Michael Bates,
Jeff Davis
• Adam Schatz/Thomas White’s OptionCopter with Max Jaffe, Jeremy Gustin,
Booker Stardrum, Ian Chang, Skye Steele, Brandon Seabrook, Spencer Zahn,
Jas Walton, Kirk Schoenherr, Jonah Parzen-Johnson, Noah Garabedian, Kirk Knuffke,
Curtis Hasselbring, Ross EdwardsThe Stone 10 pm $10
• Stan Killian Quartet with Mike Moreno, Ugonna Okegwo, Donald Edwards;
Noah Preminger Quartet with Ben Monder, Joe Martin, Colin Stranahan
55Bar 7, 10 pm
êJack Wilkins/Bucky Pizzarelli
Bella Luna 8 pm
• Saul Rubin; Peter Brainin Latin Jazz Workshop; Greg Glassman Jam
• Kyoko Oyobe solo
Jazz at Kitano 8 pm
• One Soul Fellowship: Sean Nowell, Haengsoo Seol, Art Hirahara, Kyle Struve;
Micky Lee Project with Ike Sturm, Gernot Bernroider
• Lou Caputo Not So Big Band; Justin Lees Trio
êBB&C: Nels Cline, Jim Black, Tim Berne
• Brandon McCune
Wednesday, May 9
ê2012 Undead Music Festival Marathon Night and Tonic Reunion Show:
Heather Greene and Ursa Minor; Jamie Saft’s New Zion Trio; The Rufuseniks;
Vinicius Cantuaria Sextet; Billy Martin Improv with Shelley Hirsch, Erik Friedlander;
Dougie Bowne’s Peninsula; Yuka C. Honda’s EUCADEMIX; White Out with Bill Nace;
Elysian Fields; Steven Bernstein’s Sex Mob; Ben Perowsky’s Moodswing Orchestra
with TK Webb, Danny Blume; Michael Blake; Mike Wolf; Vernon Reid, G. Calvin Weston,
Jamaaladeen Tacuma
Le Poisson Rouge 6:45 pm $55
ê2012 Undead Music Festival: Kris Davis Trio with Eivind Opsvik, Michael Sarin;
Positive Catastrophe; Stabbing Eastward; Tony Malaby’s Paloma Recio with
Ben Monder, Drew Gress, Flin van Hemmen; Chris Dingman’s Waking Dreams with
Loren Stillman, Fabian Almazan, Ike Sturm, Jared Schonig; Gerald Cleaver’s Black Host with Darius Jones, Brandon Seabrook, Cooper-Moore, Pascal Niggenkemper;
Jonathan Finlayson and Sicilian Defense with Shane Endsley, Miles Okazaki,
Keith Witty, Damion Reid
Sullivan Hall 7:30 pm $55
ê2012 Undead Music Festival: Secret Architecture; Ohad Talmor’s Newsreel with
Dan Weiss, Miles Okazaki, Shane Endsley, Jacob Sacks, Matt Pavolka;
Nate Wooley Quintet with Josh Sinton, Matt Moran, Eivind Opsvik, Harris Eisenstadt;
Greg Ward Trio with Joe Sanders, Damion Reid; Chicago Underground Duo:
Rob Mazurek/Chad Taylor; Joe Sanders with Pat Carroll, Rodney Green; Val-Inc
Kenny’s Castaways 7 pm $55
êMidtown Jazz at Midday Gala Evening Concert with Art Baron, Joyce Breach,
Catherine DuPuis, Barbara Carroll, Eric Comstock, Marion Cowings, Mauricio DeSouza,
Carol Fredette, Chris Gillespie, Russ Kassoff Big Band, Ed Laub, Alex Leonard,
Jay Leonhart, Boots Maleson, Junior Mance, Jann Parker, Bucky Pizzarelli,
Daryl Sherman, Frank Tate, Marlene VerPlanck, Ronny Whyte
• Ben Allison Band with Steve Cardenas, Rogerio Boccato and guest Robert Pinsky
Kaye Playhouse 7:30 pm
• The Big Band Theory: Hector Martignon’s Jazzics with Edmar Castañeda,
Breda Feliciano, Joe Burgstaller, John Benitez, Vince Cherico, Samuel Torres,
Christos Rafalides, Alex Han, Chelsea Baratz, Andy Hunter, Samuel Marchan
Merkin Hall 8:30 pm $30
êPete Zimmer Quartet with George Garzone, Peter Bernstein, Peter Slavov
Smoke 7, 9, 10:30
êDarius Jones, Tom Blancarte, Weasel Walter, Forbes Graham
The Stone 10 pm $10
• Jerome Sabbagh Quartet with Pete Rende, Simon Jermyn, Rudy Royston
• Matt Pavolka’s Horns Band with Kirk Knuffke, Loren Stillman, Jacob Garchik,
Mark Ferber
• Oscar Noriega with Trevor Dunn, Brandon Seabrook
Barbès 8 pm $10
• Brandon Wright Group with Helen Sung, Donald Edwards; Cameron Outlaw with
Ben Williams, David Bryant, Billy Buss, Bilal Salaam
Smalls 8:30, 11 pm $20
• Olive Branch Festival: Itai Kriss; Eyal Maoz’ Edom
The Center for Jewish Arts and Literacy 7:30, 9:30 pm $15
• Harlem Jazz Shrines: Lonnie Youngblood and the Blood Brothers
Showman’s 8:30, 10, 11:30 pm
êHarlem Jazz Shrines: Stanley Crouch with Charli Persip, Ben Riley;
TK Blue Charlie Parker Tribute Minton’s Playhouse 7, 10 pm
• Nancy Valentine Group with John di Martino, Marco Panascia
• Caravel String Trio: Kristi Helberg, Miranda Sielaf, Jane Cords O’Hara
Seeds 9 pm $10
• Rafi D’lugoff; Pete Malinverni Trio; Ned Goold Jam
• Matt Herskowitz Trio with Mat Fieldes, David Rozenblatt
Drom 7:15 pm
• Equilibrium: Brad Baker, Pam Belluck, Frederic Gilde, Rich Russo, Terry Schwadron,
Dan Silverstone
• Paolo Tomaselli’s Crossroads with Hailey Niswanger, Pasquale Strizzi, Shin Sakaino,
Alessio Romano
Somethin’ Jazz Club 9 pm
• Justin Rothberg Group
Flute 8 pm
• Natalia Bernal Trio; Will Terrill Quintet
êCelebrating Cecil: Vijay Iyer, Amina Claudine Myers, Craig Taborn
Harlem Stage Gatehouse 8 pm $10
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
êRuss Spiegel Orchestra; Jeff “Tain” Watts 4
Zinc Bar 7, 9, 10:30 pm 12 am $15
• Amina Figarova Sextet with Bart Platteau, Marc Mommaas, Ernie Hammes,
Jeroen Vierdag, Chris “Buckshot” Strik
• Brandon McCune
• Joe Breidenstine Quintet Shrine 6 pm
• Champian Fulton
39
Thursday, May 10
ê2012 Undead Music Festival: Medeski and Martin & Wood and guests
Marco Benevento, So Percussion, Anthony Coleman, Marcus Rojas, Oren Bloedow,
Vernon Reid, Charlie Burnham, Chuck Campbell, Miho Hatori, G Calvin Weston
Brooklyn Masonic Temple 8 pm $55
• Highlights in Jazz - We Call it Jazz: Christian McBride Big Band; Michael Wolff Trio with
Harvie S, Victor Jones; Baby Jane Dexter
Tribeca Performing Arts Center 8 pm $37.50-40
• Harlem Jazz Shrines: Terri Lyne Carrington’s The Mosaic Project with Lizz Wright,
Nona Hendryx, Ingrid Jensen, Tia Fuller, Mimi Jones, Helen Sung, Nir Felder
Harlem Stage Gatehouse 7:30 pm $10
êHarlem Jazz Shrines: Jeremy Pelt Dizzy Gillespie Tribute
Minton’s Playhouse 10 pm
• Paula West and George Mesterhazy Quartet with Ed Cherry, Barak Mori,
Jerome Jennings
êAllison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom with Dan Tepfer, Marty Ehrlich, Todd Sickafoose
• Lionel Loueke/Marcus Gilmore The Jazz Gallery 9, 10:30 pm $15
• Tomoko Miyata Trio with Romero Lubambo, Helio Alves
• Avi Avital Trio with Uri Sharlin, Shane Shanahan
• Ehud Asherie; John Ellis Group Smalls 7:30, 10 pm $20
• Nu Directions Chamber Brass: Thomas Madeja, Dawn Webster, Barry McCommon,
Larry Toft, Gabe Gloubus-Hoenich, Mason Ingram
• Hendrik Meurkens Trio with Gustavo Amarante, Misha Tsiganov
• Harlem Jazz Shrines: Lou Volpe Trio
Showman’s 8:30, 10, 11:30 pm
• Olive Branch Festival: Uri Gurvich Quartet with Asen Doykin, Peter Slavov,
Francisco Mela; Frank London, Guy Barash, Eyal Maoz
• Grant Stewart; Greg Glassman Quintet; Josh Evans Quartet
• Ahleuchatistas; Les Rhinoceros; Weasel Walter, Joe Merolla, Sandy Ewen
The Acheron/Anchored Inn Pub 8 pm $10
• Arts & Sciences: Matt Nelson, Jacob Zimmerman, Michael Coleman, Jordan Glenn
The Stone 10 pm $10
• Jocelyn Medina Quartet with Pete McCann, Zack Lober, Paul Wiltgen
Tea Lounge 9, 10:30 pm
• Jill McManus/Christian Fabian Sofia’s 7 pm
• Lyric Fury: Cynthia Hilts, Jack Walrath, Lily White, Leigh Stuart, Deborah Weisz,
Lisa Parrott, Ratzo Harris, Scott Neumann; Noah MacNeil Quartet
• Yuko Ito Trio
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Alan Rothenthal Trio
• Dre Barnes Project; Anderson Brothers
• Judy Wexler with Jeff Colella, Bill Moring, Steve Haas
Birdland 6 pm
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
êJeff “Tain” Watts 4
• Manuel Valera Quintet with John Benitez, Tom Guarna, Mauricio Herrera, Eric Doob Dizzy’s Club 11 pm $10
• Brandon McCune
• Todd Herbert Quintet; Yvonne Moneira; Duke Bantu X
Shrine 6 pm
Friday, May 11
êUndead Jazz Festival - Seeds Solo Acts Festival: Jacob Garchik; Greg Heffernan;
Ohad Talmor; Miles Okazaki; Craig Taborn; Steve Lehman
Seeds 9 pm $10
êBilly Harper Quartet with Freddie Hendrix, Francesca Tanksley, Clarence Seay,
Aaron Scott
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 $30
• Música Nueva 5: Big Band Poetry Jam & Beyond: Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra with guests
Angel R. Rodriguez, Sr., Sandra María Esteves, Tato Laviera, Odilia Rivera Santos,
Caridad “La Bruja” De La Luz, Patty Dukes, RephStar, Christopher “Chilo” Cajigas,
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Symphony Space Peter Jay Sharp Theatre 8 pm $30-50
êNew Orleans Celebration - The Music of Jelly Roll Morton: Marcus Roberts Octet with
Rodney Jordan, Jason Marsalis, Alphonso Horne, Ron Westray, Stephen Riley,
Ricardo Pascal, Joe Goldberg Rose Theatre 8 pm $30-120
êNew Orleans Celebration - New Orleans Piano Kings: Jon Batiste, Henry Butler,
Ellis Marsalis with Reginald Veal, Herlin Riley
Allen Room 7:30, 9:30 pm $55-65
êLost Jazz Shrines - Vocal Virtuosos of 52nd Street: Mr. B & Sassy... A Passionate Affair:
the Music of Billy Eckstine and Sarah Vaughan with Allan Harris and Somi
Tribeca Performing Arts Center 8:30 pm $25
• Lenore Raphael with Hilliard Greene, Rudy Lawless, Ray Blue and guest Jerry Mandel
NY Society for Ethical Culture 8 pm
êGerald Cleaver’s Black Host with Darius Jones, Brandon Seabrook, Cooper-Moore,
Pascal Niggenkemper
• Charlie Looker, Greg Fox, Jamie Saft; Glass Ghost: Eliot Krimsky/Mike Johnson
• José James; Taylor McFerrin Le Poisson Rouge 7 pm $20
• Harlem Jazz Shrines - Blazing Tongues: The Singers & Writers of Lenox Lounge with
Gregory Generet
Lenox Lounge 7 pm $10
êHarlem Jazz Shrines: Barry Harris Thelonious Monk Tribute
• Nick Hempton Band with Jeremy Manasia, Marco Panascia, Dan Aran
Smalls 10 pm $20
• Travis Sullivan’s Björkestra
êEhud Asherie/Harry Allen
• Chembo Corniel Quintet
Drom 6, 8:30 pm
• Lonnie Youngblood Dance Party Jazz 966 8 pm $25
• Lynette Washington/Dennis Bell Jazz NY with Jacques Schwarz-Bart, Dennis Bell,
Alex Blake, Victor Jones
• Emilio Solla y La Inestable de Brooklyn with Terry Goss, Dan Pratt, John Bailey,
Ryan Keberle, Meg Okura, Victor Prieto, Jorge Roeder, Eric Doob
Zinc Bar 7 pm $15
• Adriano Santos Trio with Eduardo Belo, Richard Padron
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Neal Miner Trio; Fabio Mogera; Jared Gold
Fat Cat 6, 10:30 pm 1:30 am
• Scot Albertson/Keith Ingham; Scot Albertson Group with Sedric Choukroun,
Ron Jackson, Keith Ingham
Baruch College 7:30 pm $25
• Kellylee Evans
Apollo Music Café 10 pm
• Harlem Jazz Shrines: Cynthia Holiday and Friends
Showman’s 8:30, 10, 11:30 pm
• Jack Furlong Quartet with Sean Gough, Roy Cumming, John O’Keefe;
Jovan Johnson’s Strictly Audio with Michael Stephenson, Jonathan Thomas,
Alex Claffy, Kyle Poole; Stevie Swaggz with Stephen Gladney, Rafeal Statin, Joe Harley,
Tony Lannen, Owen Erickson
• Kayo Hiraki
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Don Slatoff Quartet
• Kris Kaiser Alor Café 8 pm
• Dave Kain Group; Kevin Dorn and the Big 72
The Garage 6:15, 10:45 pm
Jerome Jennings
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
êLionel Loueke/Jeff “Tain” Watts The Jazz Gallery 9, 10:30 pm $15
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
Dizzy’s Club 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $35
• Manuel Valera Quintet with John Benitez, Tom Guarna, Mauricio Herrera, Eric Doob Dizzy’s Club 12:45 am $20
• Brandon McCune
• Asako Takasaki Shrine 6 pm
• Jazz at Noon: Maurice Goldberg The Players Club 12 pm
Saturday, May 12
êSheila Jordan/Cameron Brown Cornelia Street Café 9, 10:30 pm $15
ê Randy Weston’s African RhythmsJazz 966 8 pm $25
ê2012 Undead Music Festival - Improvised Round Robin Duets: Mark Helias,
Brandon Seabrook, Hilmar Jensson, Allison Miller, Amir Ziv, Mike Pride, Bob Stewart,
Cooper-Moore, Miles Okazaki, Marika Hughes, John Hollenbeck, Matthew Mottel,
Bill McHenry
92YTribeca 9 pm $15
êAhmed Abdullah’s Diaspora
êTed Nash Quartet
êEarl Howard Ensemble with Mark Dresser, Ernst Reijseger, Miya Masaoka, Wu Wei,
Alan Jaffe, Harris Eisenstadt; Tom Chiu/Conrad Harris Duo
Roulette 8 pm $15
• Wycliffe Gordon’s Jazz à la Carte with Kenneth L. Roberson, Maurice Hines,
Savion Glover, Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, Theresa Thomason, Aaron Diehl, Philip Dizack,
Natalie Cressman
Apollo Theater 3, 8 pm $10
• Marc Cary’s Cosmic Indigenous with Awa Sangho, Daniel Moreno, Sameer Gupta,
Igmar Thomas
Apollo Music Café 10 pm
• Harlem Jazz Shrines: Havana San Juan Orchestra led by Louis Bauzo
Harlem Stage Gatehouse 8, 10 pm $10
• Harlem Jazz Shrines: Sarah McLawler and Les Femmes Jazz
Showman’s 8:30, 10, 11:30 pm
êHarlem Jazz Shrines: Winard Harper Max Roach Tribute
êGowanus Jazz Fest: Frank Carlberg’s Big Enigma with Christine Correa,
Jeremy Udden, John Carlson, Matt Moran, Frank Carlberg, John Hébert, Michael Sarin,
Ken Mikolowski; Kris Davis solo Douglass Street Music Collective 8:30 pm $15
• Olive Branch Festival: Alon Nechustan
The Center for Jewish Arts and Literacy 9:30 pm $15
êMark Elf Trio; Walter Blanding
Smalls 7:30, 10 pm $20
• Vanderlei Pereira; Carlos Abadie Quintet; Nick Hempton Quartet
ê2/3 Series: Josh Deutsch/Nico Soffiato; Landon Knoblock/Elena Camerin;
Jesse Stacken/Kirk Knuffke
I-Beam 8 pm $10
• Rick Stone Trio with Marco Panascia, Greg Hutchinson
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• DODO Orchestra: Maria Sokolovsky, Leonid Gelman, Dmitry Sokolovsky,
Dmitry Ishenko, Boris Zeldin
Drom 9:30 pm $15
• Sunshine Soldier: Brad Henkel, Dustin Carlson, Booker Stardrum;
Carlo Costa/Ryan Ferreira
Sycamore 9 pm $5
• Luiz Simas; The Jersey Jazz Trio: David Berends, Lance Sulton, Mike Ipri;
George Heid III
• Eiko Rikuhashi Trio; Joonsam Lee Trio
êVitaly Golovnev Quartet
• The Blue Meanies
Alor Café 8 pm
êBilly Harper Quartet with Freddie Hendrix, Francesca Tanksley, Clarence Seay,
Aaron Scott
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 $30
• Música Nueva 5: Big Band Poetry Jam & Beyond: Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra with guests
Angel R. Rodriguez, Sr., Sandra María Esteves, Tato Laviera, Odilia Rivera Santos,
Caridad “La Bruja” De La Luz, Patty Dukes, RephStar, Christopher “Chilo” Cajigas,
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Symphony Space Peter Jay Sharp Theatre 8 pm $30-50
êNew Orleans Celebration - The Music of Jelly Roll Morton: Marcus Roberts Octet with
Rodney Jordan, Jason Marsalis, Alphonso Horne, Ron Westray, Stephen Riley,
Ricardo Pascal, Joe Goldberg Rose Theatre 8 pm $30-120
êNew Orleans Celebration - New Orleans Piano Kings: Jon Batiste, Henry Butler,
Ellis Marsalis with Reginald Veal, Herlin Riley
Allen Room 7:30, 9:30 pm $55-65
êEhud Asherie/Harry Allen
Jerome Jennings
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
• Lionel Loueke/Mark Guiliana
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
Dizzy’s Club 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $35
• Manuel Valera Quintet with John Benitez, Tom Guarna, Mauricio Herrera, Eric Doob Dizzy’s Club 12:45 am $20
• Brandon McCune
• Roz Corral Trio with Yotam Silberstein, Paul Gill
• Austin Walker Trio; Champian Fulton Trio; Virginia Mayhew Quartet
The Garage 12, 6:15, 10:45 pm
Sunday, May 13
• Ryan Sawyer, Colin Stetson, Nate Wooley, C. Spencer Yeh
êOlive Branch Festival: Daphna Mor; Amir ElSaffar
• The Restrictor: Angela Chambers, Adam Dym, Damien Olsen, Kevin Rozza,
Anthony Delio
• Terry Waldo’s Gotham City Band; Ehud Asherie Quartet;
Brandon Lewis/Renee Cruz Jam Fat Cat 6, 8:30 pm 12:30 am
• Chembo Corniel Quintet
Drom 5, 7:30 pm
• Peter Leitch/Harvie S
Walker’s 8 pm
• Arts & Sciences: Matt Nelson, Jacob Zimmerman, Michael Coleman, Jordan Glenn;
The Chives: Steven Lugerner, Matthew Wohl, Max Jaffe
I-Beam 8 pm $10
• Evan Gallagher Ensemble with Alan Brady, Blaise Siwula, Daniel Goode, Beth Schenk,
Frank Keeley, Andy Haas, Leslie Ross, John McDonough, Peter Zummo,
Kevin Schmidt, Anders Nilsson, David Watson, Jochem Van Dijk; Emmanuelle Zagoria
and guests; Western Pennsylvania: Jeffrey Betten, Mike Secilia, Joseph Ripple
ABC No-Rio 6 pm $5
• Manuel Valera
• Brad Clymer and The Everybody Trio with Gavin Harper, Matt McClellan, Jeffrey Schaeffer;
Ariadna Castellanos
• Faiz Lamouri; Steve Detroy Shrine 8 pm
Jerome Jennings
• Sarah Buechi/Christoph Knoche; Daniel Levin solo
• Timo Vollbrecht Group
• Noriko Ueda Jazz Orchestra
Blue Note 12:30, 2:30 pm $24.50
êAmanda Monaco Three with Noah Baerman, Mark Wade
Z Hotel 11 am
• Lou Caputo Quartet; David Coss Quartet; Bossa Brasil: Maurício de Souza,
Ben Winkelman, John Lenis
Monday, May 14
• Purchase Jazz Orchestra with John Fedchock Conducted by Todd Coolman
êMingus Orchestra
The Stone 9 pm $10
• Maryanne deProphetis with Frank Kimbrough, Ron Horton; Daniel Levin/Gianni Mimmo;
Mike Pride’s From Bacteria to Boys with Jon Irabagon, Alexis Marcelo, Peter Bitenc
and guest Jonathan Moritz
• Shimrit Shoshan and New School Jazz and Contemporary Music student groups
New School Arnhold Hall 8 pm $10
• Jamie Reynolds Trio with Gary Wang, Eric Doob; Ari Hoenig Group with
Tivon Pennicott, Shai Maestro, Matt Penman; Spencer Murphy Jam
Smalls 7:30, 10 pm 1 am $20
• Ned Goold; Billy Kaye Jam
• Brianna Thomas
Zinc Bar 7 pm $8
• Sofia Tosello Trio
• Antonio Ciacca
• Michael Eaton
• Howard Williams Jazz Orchestra; Eva Cortez
• Roy Eaton
Bryant Park 12:30 pm
Tuesday, May 15
• Jack Wilkins/Freddie Bryant
Bella Luna 8 pm
• Saul Rubin; Greg Glassman Jam Fat Cat 7 pm 12:30 am
• Kyoko Oyobe Jazz at Kitano 8 pm
• Stefania Tchantret
• Robert Locke with Tom Landman, Tim Ferguson, Robert Weiss; Darrell Smith
• Jazz Band Classic; Danny Walsh Quartet
• Sebastian Boehlen Shrine 6 pm
• Roy Eaton
Wednesday, May 16
êImproTech Paris/New York 2012: Roscoe Mitchell/David Wessel; Robert Rowe/
Esther Lamneck; George Lewis/Geri Allen; Georges Bloch/Laurent Mariusse;
Raphael Imbert, Simon Sieger, Benjamin Lévy; Bernard Lubat/Gerard Assayag;
Steve Lehman, Mari Kimura, Vijay Iyer; Jean-Baptiste Barrière/Margaret Lancaster;
Steve Coleman/Gilbert Nouno Roulette 8 pm $10
êWilliam Hooker with Matt Lavelle, Dave Ross, Adam Lane; Arrington de Dionyso/
Thollem McDonas
Issue Project Room 8 pm $15
êJohn Zorn Improv Night
The Stone 8 pm $20
• Fernando Otero Sextet with JP Jofre, Nick Danielson, Adam Fischer, Pablo Aslan,
David Silliman
• Brian McKnight and The Duke Ellington Orchestra
êTeri Roiger Quartet with Frank Kimbrough, John Menegon, Steve Williams
• Olive Branch Festival: Hadar Noiberg; Rafi Malkiel
• Chris Massey’s Nue Jazz Project with Melissa Aldana, Benny Benack III,
Willerm Delsifort, Chris Talio; Freddie Bryant and Kaleidoscope with Jaleel Shaw,
Melissa Aldana, Patrice Blanchard, Willard Dyson
Zinc Bar 7, 10:30 pm 12 am $15
êJosh Deutsch’s Pannonia with Zach Brock, Brian Drye, Gary Wang, Ronen Itzik;
Augmented Reality: Roy Assaf, Jorge Roeder, Ronen Itzik
êFay Victor Ensemble with Anders Nilsson, Ken Filiano
Barbès 8 pm $10
• Fabio Morgera Group; Jeremy Manasia Trio
Smalls 8:30, 11 pm $20
• Eric Rassmussen 4tet with Pete McCann, Dave Ambrosio, George Schuller
Seeds 10 pm $10
• Rema Hasumi Two Bass Quartet with Sean Ali, Mike LaValle, Satoshi Takeishi
Brooklyn Lyceum 8, 9:30 pm $10
• Whitfield Extended; Don Hahn/James Zeller Sextet; Ned Goold Jam
• Maurício de Souza Quartet with Nancy Harms, Ben Winkelman, Iris Ornig
The Lambs Club 7:30 pm
• Catherine Dupuis with Russ Kassoff, Jay Anderson; Rebecka Larsdotter
• Joe Saylor and Friends; Paul Francis Trio
êBill Frisell’s Beautiful Dreamers with Eyvind Kang, Rudy Royston
• Joey DeFrancesco Trio with George Coleman, Paul Bollenback
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
• Don Braden Quintet
Dizzy’s Club 11 pm $10
• Jazz & Popular Song - Cy Coleman: Bringing Jazz to Broadway: Michael Feinstein with
Michele Lee, Tamara Tunie, Chuck Cooper
Allen Room 7:30 pm $95-120
• Megumi Hakuba Shrine 6 pm
• Marlene VerPlanck
• Roy Eaton
AMANDA
MONACO
Monday, May 7
Amanda Monaco 3
with Mark Wade &
Nate Smith
- Domaine Wine Bar
8:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 17
Queens Jazz
Overground
Soft Launch
- Manducatis
Rustica
7 p.m.
AMANDAMONACO.COM
Photo by Jesse Winter
Sunday, May 13
Amanda Monaco 3
with Noah Baerman
& Mark Wade
- Z Hotel, 11 a.m.
celebrates 20 years of
recording with her 10th CD
Indigo Moods.
Available now at
www.jazzedmedia.com &
www.amazon.com
Thursday, May 17
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
• David Gilmore/Andy Emler Paris to New York Express with Francois Moutin,
Marque Gilmore
êWarren Smith and the Composer’s Workshop Orchestra
NYC Baha’i Center 8, 9:30 pm $15
êMark Dresser Quintet with Rudresh Mahanthappa, Michael Dessen, Denman Maroney,
Tom Rainey
êMatana Roberts/Ches Smith; Arrington de Dionyso/Thollem McDonas
• Jazz & Popular Song - Cy Coleman: Bringing Jazz to Broadway: Michael Feinstein with
Michele Lee, Tamara Tunie, Chuck Cooper
Allen Room 7:30 pm $95-120
• Orquesta Sarabia: Zafer Taweel, Igor Arias, Amir ElSaffar, Lefteris Bournias,
Megan Weeder Gould, Hadar Noiberg, Jennifer Vincent, Tareq Abboushi, Uri Sharlin,
Roberto Rodriguez
David Rubenstein Atrium 8:30 pm
• Olive Branch Festival: Reut Regev; Jonathan Greenstein
• Spike Wilner solo; Marc Devine TrioSmalls 6:30, 8:30 pm $20
• Luba’s Mixture; Joe Alterman Iridium 8, 10 pm $25
• Karl Berger Workshop Orchestra The Jazz Gallery 9 pm $15
• Ricardo Vogt/Leala Cyr
Judi Silvano
êBlixt: Raoul Björkenheim, Bill Laswell, Morgen Ågren
The Stone 10 pm $10
êCecil Taylor solo
Harlem Stage Gatehouse 7:30 pm $45
êA Great Night in Harlem: Quincy Jones; Randy Weston African Rhythms Trio; Dr. John;
James Carter; Battle of the Saxes; Treme Brass Band; Rebirth Brass Band; Macy Gray;
David Johansen; Stanley Jordan; Christian McBride; Geri Allen; Steven Bernstein;
Essie Mae Brooks; Etta James Tribute; Howlin’ Wolf Tribute
Apollo Theater 7 pm $55-1500
êGil Evans Centennial Project Directed by Ryan Truesdell with Steve Wilson, Dave Pietro,
Donny McCaslin, Scott Robinson, Brian Landrus, Charles Pillow, Michael Rabinowitz,
Alden Banta, Jesse Han, Adam Unsworth, Dave Peel, Augie Haas, Greg Gisbert,
Laurie Frink, Ryan Keberle, Marshall Gilkes, George Flynn, Marcus Rojas,
James Chirillo, Romero Lubambo, Frank Kimbrough, Rufus Reid, Lewis Nash,
Dan Weiss, Mike Truesdell, Kate McGarry, Wendy Gilles
êJazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra New Works: Chris Crenshaw’s God’s Trombones;
Sherman Irby’s Inferno
Rose Theatre 8 pm $30-120
• Rosi Hertlein, Joe Kubera, Joe McPhee
Roulette 8 pm $10
êJeff Davis Quartet with Chris Speed, Russ Lossing, Eivind Opsvik
• Queens Jazz Overground Launch: Amanda Monaco, Mika Mimura, Mark Wade,
Brian Woodruff and guests
Manducatis Rustica 7 pm
• Camila Meza Trio; Ben and Frank Perowsky with Pete Malinverni, Aidan O’Donnel;
Carlos Abadie Quintet
Smalls 7:30, 10 pm 1 am $20
• Olive Branch Festival: Dan Aran; Rashid Halihal
The Center for Jewish Arts and Literacy 8, 9:30 pm $15
• Dan Aran; Wayne Escoffery; Reid Taylor
• Paul Beaudry and Pathways with Tim Armacost, Bennett Paster, Tony Jefferson
• Ferenc Nemeth Group with Chris Potter, Sam Yahel
• Stephane Wrembel
• Daryl Shawn The Firehouse Space 8 pm $10
• Samir Zarif Trio with Zack Lober, Tommy Crane
• DCASD Trio; Vinnie Sperrazza Quartet; Signal Problems
• Andrew Shoniker Shapeshifter Lab 8 pm
• Primordial Jazz Funktet: Maya Azucena, Dan Furman, Miki Hirose, Arun Luthra,
Ariel de la Portilla, Luciana Padmore; Media Noche Trio + 1: Max Marshall,
Coleman Cook, Ryan Knudsen, Hunter Diamond
• Scot Albertson Trio with Freddie Bryant, Sean Conly
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Justin Lees Trio
• Ryan Anselmi Quintet; Randy Johnston Trio
• Omar Haddad Shrine 7 pm
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
• Roy Eaton
It is clear that Silvano has
lived these well-known songs
and she delivers them with
both purity and raw
emotion, supported by
trumpeter Fred Jacobs and
pianist Peter Tomlinson.
“…infectious swing…style
and elegance… melodic yet
melancholy…”
- Critical Jazz.com
Please visit
www.judisilvano.com
for appearance dates,
new videos, photos
and find me on Facebook.
41
Friday, May 18
êWillie Jones III Quintet with Stacy Dillard, Warren Wolf, Donald Vega, Dezron Douglas
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 $30
êEric Revis Trio with Kris Davis, Andrew Cyrille
êBarbara Carroll/Jay Leonhart Duo Jazz at Kitano 8, 10 pm $25
• Gordon Beeferman/Jeff Arnal Duo with guest Evan Rapport; Nate Wooley Quintet Alpha
with Josh Sinton, Matt Moran, Eivind Opsvik, Harris Eisenstadt
I-Beam 8:30, 9:30 pm $10
• Greg Osby, Shimrit Shoshan, Carlo De Rosa, Eric McPherson
92YTribeca 9 pm $15
• Lynette Washington
Jazz 966 8 pm $15
• Dan Rufolo Trio with Bill Thoman, Arthur Vint and guest Rich Perry
• Tardo Hammer Trio; The Flail: Dan Blankinship, Stephan Moutot, Brian Marsella,
Reid Taylor, Matt Zebroski
Smalls 7:30, 10 pm $20
• Dmitry Baevsky Trio with David Wong, Joe Strasser
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Aaron Weinstein
• Melissa Aldana Quartet; Raphael D’Lugoff; Ben Meigners Quartet
Fat Cat 6, 10:30 pm 1:30 am
• Ed Cherry with Kyle Koehler, McClenty Hunter; Deon Yates
• Jo-Yu Chen Duo
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Marc Devine Quartet
• The Blue Vipers
Alor Café 8 pm
• Enoch Smith Jr. Misfits; Joey Morant Trio
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
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
• David Bindman Ensemble with Frank London, Reut Regev, Art Hirahara, Wes Brown,
Royal Hartigan
Sunset Park Library 3:30 pm
• Jazz at Noon: Warren Chiasson The Players Club 12 pm
• Roy Eaton
Saturday, May 19
êCecil Taylor solo
Issue Project Room 8 pm $55-150
êMary Halvorson Quintet with Jonathan Finlayson, Jon Irabagon, Stephan Crump,
Ches Smith
êDave Liebman and Scott Colley with WORKS: Michel Gentile, Daniel Kelly, Rob Garcia
Brooklyn Conservatory of Music 8 pm $10
êGowanus Jazz Fest: City Band: Alan Ferber, John Carlson, Douglas Yates,
Jeremy Udden, Gary Wang, Mark Ferber, Brian Landrus, Kenny Pexton, Max Seigal,
Ben Holmes, Albert Leusink, Nicholas Urie, Frank Carlberg; Endangered Blood:
Chris Speed, Oscar Noriega, Trevor Dunn, Jim Black
Douglass Street Music Collective 8:30 pm $15
êSheryl Bailey Trio with Harvie S, Steve Johns
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
êThe Exposed Blues Duo: Fay Victor/Anders Nilsson; Shayna Dulberger Quartet with
Yoni Kretzmer, Chris Welcome, Carlo Costa
Sycamore 9, 10 pm
• Mark Manzcuk solo; Electric Red: Eran Asias, Harvey Valdes, Mark Koch, Cryptic 303,
David Dovo I-Beam 8:30, 10 pm $10
• Rodney Green; The Program of Deprogramming; Dmitry Baevsky Quartet
• Robert Rutledge Tribute to Malcolm X
• Jennifer Beckles and Bernard Linnette Trio with Sacha Perry, Ralph Hamperian
University of the Streets 8 pm $10
• Matt Panayides with Rich Perry, Fumi Tomita, Mark Ferber; Jeron White Quartet with
Samuel King, Dimitri Nassar, B Dean
• Akemi Yamada Trio; Angela Davis Trio
• Satchamo Mannan Quartet
• Jonathan Scales Fourchestra; Nick Gianni
Shrine 8 pm
êWillie Jones III Quintet with Stacy Dillard, Warren Wolf, Donald Vega, Dezron Douglas
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 $30
êEric Revis Trio with Kris Davis, Andrew Cyrille and guest Darius Jones
êBarbara Carroll/Jay Leonhart Duo Jazz at Kitano 8, 10 pm $25
• The Flail: Dan Blankinship, Stephan Moutot, Brian Marsella, Reid Taylor, Matt Zebroski
Smalls 10 pm $20
• Aaron Weinstein
Jazz Standard 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $30
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
• David Bindman Ensemble with Frank London, Reut Regev, Art Hirahara, Wes Brown,
Royal Hartigan
Windsor Terrace Library 1:30 pm
• Daniela Schaechter Trio; Mark Marino Trio
Sunday, May 20
• Chico Hamilton with Paul Ramsey, Nick Demopoulos, Evan Schwam, Mayu Saeki,
Jeremy Carlstedt
Drom 7:15 pm $15
êMarilyn Lerner, Ken Filiano, Lou Grassi
The Firehouse Space 8, 9:30 pm $10
• Eldar Djangirov Trio with guest Pat Martino
êBad Touch, Loren Stillman, Gary Versace, Nate Radley, Ted Poor
• Off the Cliff: Clarice Assad, João Luiz Resende, Keita Ogawa;
The Magic Number: Zach Brock, Matt Wigton, Fred Kennedy
The Stone 10 pm $10
êMay 19th Ensemble: Bill Cole, Ras Moshe, Larry Roland, Tor Yochai Snyder, Dave Ross,
Adesanya Akinyele; Ngoma Hill Brecht Forum 7 pm $20
• Peter Leitch/Ugonna Okegwo Walker’s 8 pm
• Simona Premazzi
• Matt Garrison; Adrian Cunningham Quartet with Chris Ziemba, John Tate,
Jeremy Noller
• David Caldwell-Mason Shrine 8 pm
• Cindy Scott/Brian Seeger
• Juilliard Jazz Brunch
Blue Note 12:30, 2:30 pm $24.50
• Tribute To The Village Gate with Junior Mance and Buddy Dorough;
Brandon Lewis/Renee Cruz Jam Fat Cat 2:30 pm 12:30 am
• Roz Corral Trio with Roni Ben-Hur, Alex Gressel
• Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble
Kupferberg Holocaust Center 1 pm
• Iris Ornig Quartet; David Coss Quartet; Javier Nero Quartet
Monday, May 21
êMark Murphy – A Life in Song: Sheila Jordan, Helen Merrill, Annie Ross,
Sachal Vasandani, Roseanna Vitro, Tessa Souter, Rhiannon, Dena DeRose,
George Mesterhazy, Sean Smith, Willard Dyson
êRalph Peterson 50th Birthday Celebration with Sean Jones, Steve Wilson,
Eddie Bayard, Zaccai Curtis, Luques Curtis
êBria Skonberg and Dave Bennett with Derek Smith, Bucky Pizzarelli, Frank Tate,
Jackie Williams
Kaye Playhouse 7:15 pm $35
êMingus Dynasty
The Stone 9 pm $10
êPulverize the Sound: Peter Evans, Tim Dahl, Mike Pride; Dave Buddin solo;
Sam Pluta solo
Zebulon 9 pm
• George Braith; Billy Kaye Jam Fat Cat 9 pm 12:30 am
• Dred Scott Trio with Ben Rubin, Tony Mason; Ari Hoenig Punkbop with
Jonathan Kreisberg, Will Vinson, Danton Boller; Spencer Murphy Jam
Smalls 7:30, 10 pm 1 am $20
• AZARES: Ryan Ferreira, Joe Morris, Darius Jones, Jean Carla Rodea, Gerald Cleaver;
Katie Bull Group Project with Landon Knoblock, Joe Fonda, Jeff Lederer, Deric Dickens;
Joe Chonto Group with David Tamura, Martin McDonald, Pete Mattheissen
• Simon Jermyn Band; Eli Asher, Andrew Smiley, Greg Chudzik, Carlo Costa
Sycamore 8, 9:30 pm $5
• Memorial for Clem DeRosa
Saint Peter’s 7:15 pm
• Donald Vega
• Nancy Harms; Senri Oe
Zinc Bar 7, 9, 10:15 pm $8
• Niki King Trio with Gene Ess, Thomson Kneeland
• Howard Williams Jazz Orchestra; Kenny Shanker
• Todd Robbins
Tuesday, May 22
• Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society
êJoe Lovano US Five
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
êFred Hersch/Miguel Zenón
• Juilliard Jazz Quintet: Ron Carter, Ron Blake, Rodney Jones, Frank Kimbrough,
Carl Allen
• Juilliard Jazz Ensemble
• Charlie Hunter/Scott Amendola The Stone 10 pm $10
• Kelley Suttenfield Band with Tosh Sheridan, Michael Cabe, Matt Aronoff, Brian Adler;
Marianne Solivan
• Wet Ink Ensemble: Erin Lesser, Alicia Lee, Alex Mincek, Kate Soper, Eric Wubbels,
Joshua Modney, Miranda Sielaff, Victor Lowrie, Jessie Marino, Ian Antonio,
Russell Greenberg, Jeff Snyder, Sam Pluta; Jacob Garchik Trio
Littlefield 8 pm $15
• Spike Wilner solo; Loren Stillman Group with Nate Radley, Gary Versace, Ted Poor
Smalls 6:30, 8:30 pm $20
• Saul Rubin; Nu D’Lux Sextet; Greg Glassman Jam
• Louise Rogers/Rick Strong
• David Rothenberg, Billy Gomberg, Garth Stevenson; Joe Moffett, Jack Wright,
Evan Lipson, Andrew Drury The Backroom 8:30 pm $10
• Art Lillard’s Heavenly Big Band Shrine 8 pm
• Amanda Ruzza Group with Mauricio Zottarelli, Chris Stover, Lucas Pino, Alex Nolan,
Mamiko Watanabe and guests David Binney, Camila Meza
Zinc Bar 8, 10 pm
• Carlo Costa Quartet with Frantz Loriot, Simon Jermyn, Jon Irabagon
• Jack Wilkins/Peter Mazza
Bella Luna 8 pm
Jazz at Kitano 8 pm
• PJ Rasmussen; Alex Wyatt with Kyle Wilson, Jon DeLucia, Danny Fox, Greg Ruggiero,
Chris Tordini
• Cecilia Coleman Big Band; Lamy Estrefi’s No Smoking Trio
• Donald Vega
• Todd Robbins
Wednesday, May 23
• Victor Jones Culturversy
• Donald Edwards Quintet
Zinc Bar 9, 10:30 pm 12 am $15
Smoke 7, 9, 10:30
êProject Trio: Eric Stephenson, Peter Seymour, Greg Pattillo
êLage Lund Quartet with Pete Rende, Ben Street, Craig Weinrib; Neal Caine Group
Smalls 8:30, 11 pm $20
• Leslie Pintchik Trio with Scott Harding, Michael Sarin
• Chris Tordini Trio with Jeremy Viner, Alex Wyatt; Todd Neufeld/Thomas Morgan
Seeds 8:30, 10 pm $10
• Noah Garabedian
Barbès 8 pm $10
• Rafi D’lugoff; Mike DiRubbo Quartet; Ned Goold Jam
• Andrew Gutauskas Quintet
• Ronen Itzik
Flute 8 pm
• Lee Feldman with Byron Isaacs, Bill Dobrow and geusts
• Nick Moran Trio; Nueva Encarnacion
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
êFred Hersch/Ambrose AkinmusireJazz Standard 7:30, 9:30 pm $25
Carl Allen
• Donald Vega
• Antonio Mazzei Shrine 6 pm
êDavid Chamberlain’s Band of Bones with Charley Gordon, Matt Haviland,
Nate Mayland, Matt McDonald, Chris Rinaman, Bob Suttmann, Max Seigel, Dale Turk,
Kenny Ascher, Jerry DeVore, Mike Campenni, Chembo Corniel, Kat Gang
• Todd Robbins
LESLIE PINTCHIK TRIO
Wednesday, May 23rd 8:00 PM & 10:00 PM
The Kitano Hotel
66 Park Ave @ 38th St. NYC
(212) 885-7119 for reservations
“...enormous gifts as a composer, arranger and pianist.”
All Music Guide
Leslie Pintchik - piano
Scott Hardy - bass
MIchael Sarin - drums
New DVD/CD Combo
LESLIE PINTCHIK QUARTET
LIVE IN CONCERT
available now at Amazon.com
www.lesliepintchik.com
Thursday, May 24
êJerry Gonzalez and The Fort Apache Band
êJean-Michel Pilc, Francois Moutin, Ari Hoenig
• Lenny Pickett with Michael Wolff, James Genus, John Hadfield
Roulette 8 pm $15
• Oz Noy Trio with Will Lee, Dave Weckl
êDavid Virelles and Continuum with Jonathan Finlayson, Andrew Cyrille
• Joe Magnarelli Quartet; Dave Schnitter/Marti Mabin Fat Cat 7, 10 pm
• Gregg August Group
Smalls 10 pm $20
• Tom Chang Quartet with Jason Rigby, Chris Lightcap, Gerald Cleaver
• Curtis Hasselbring
• Carioca Trio: James Shipp, Mike LaValle, Ze Mauricio
• Memorial for Ernie Ensley
êTimo Vollbrecht Group
Tutuma Social Club 8:30 pm
• Celso and New York Friends; Travis Sullivan’s Casual Sextet
• Shoko Amano Trio
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Jon Weiss Trio
• Champian Fulton Trio; Alan Chaubert Trio
• Christos Rafalides’ Manhattan Vibes with Sergio Salvatore, Mike Pope, Vince Cherico
Birdland 6 pm
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
êFred Hersch/Julian Lage
Carl Allen
• Donald Vega
• Harlem Speaks: Janis Siegel
Jazz Museum in Harlem 6:30 pm
• Yoshida Hajime Shrine 6 pm
• Todd Robbins
Friday, May 25
êQueens Jazz Orchestra directed by Jimmy Heath
Flushing Town Hall 8 pm $20-40
êDowntown Music Gallery 21st Anniversary Celebration: Nels Cline/Julian Lage;
Kalabalik: Raoul Björkenheim, Anders Nilsson, Gerald Cleaver
êFred Hersch Trio with Dave Holland, Billy Hart
êMiles Davis Birthday Celebration with Jeremy Pelt, Larry Willis, Buster Williams,
Louis Hayes
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 $35
êLost Jazz Shrines - Vocal Virtuosos of 52nd Street: Nat “King” Cole - Long Live the King
with Allan Harris Band with Jesse Jones Jr.
Tribeca Performing Arts Center 8:30 pm $25
êJohn Butcher solo; Twistycat: Ed Bear/Lea Bertucci
Issue Project Room 8 pm $15
• David Bixler Group; Sam Newsome Quartet with Andy Milne, Gregg August,
EJ Strickland
Smalls 7:30, 10 pm $20
êMatana Roberts with Liberty Ellman, Kevin Tkacz, Ches Smith
êYoni Kreztmer, Joe Fonda, Jeremy Carlstadt; TOTEM: Tom Blancarte, Andrew Drury,
Bruce Eisenbeil
I-Beam 8:30 pm $10
êLage Lund Trio with Orlando Le Fleming, Jochen Reuckert
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
• Amanda Baisinger with Ryan Scott, Pete Rende, Matt Brewer, Dan Rieser
• Eric Comstock/Barbara Fasano Quartet with Marco Panascia, Vito Lesczak
• Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble Kupferberg
Nuyorican Poets Café 7:30 pm $12
• Maria Guida with Mark Soskin, Essiet Essiet, Tony Jefferson
• Andre Matos Quartet with Aaron Kruziki, Petros Klampanis, RJ Miller; Todd Colby;
Brinsk: Jeremy Viner, Nate Radley, Aryeh Kobrinsky, Jason Nazary; Bobby Avey Trio
with Thomson Kneeland, Jordan Perlson
Douglass Street Music Collective 8 pm $10
• Jake Hertzog Trio with Harvie S, Victor Jones
• Daniela Schaechter
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Keiko Kurita Quartet
• Ray Scro
Alor Café 8 pm
• Andrew Atkinson and Friends; Kevin Dorn and the BIG 72
• Moth To Flame Shrine 8 pm
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
Carl Allen
Dizzy’s Club 11:30 pm $20
• Donald Vega
• Clem Orth Organ Smarties Trio Fat Cat 6 pm
• SYOTOS with Chris Washburne West Harlem Piers Park 12 pm
• Todd Robbins
Saturday, May 26
• Steve Hudson Chamber Ensemble with Sara Caswell, Jody Redhage, Martin Urbach
Cornelia Street Café 6 pm $20
êJason Rigby’s Cleveland-Detroit Trio with Cameron Brown, Gerald Cleaver
• Benny Russell African Liberation Day Celebration
• Tillery: Gretchen Parlato, Becca Stevens, Rebecca Martin
• Underground Horns; PitchBlak Brass Band; Zongo Junction
92YTribeca 9 pm $10
• Avi Rothbard Quartet; Point of Departure
Fat Cat 7, 10 pm
• Sacha Boutros Quartet with John di Martino, Peter Washington, Lewis Nash
• Barry Greene Trio
Bar Next Door 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 pm $12
ISION
FESTIVAL
This Time Freedom
JUNE 11-17, 2012
@ ROULETTE
509 Atlantic Ave.,
Brooklyn, NY
êMarco Cappelli Acoustic Trio with Ken Filiano, Satoshi Takeishi
Brecht Forum 8 pm $15
• Banda Magda
• Luis Ianes Group with Jonathan Moritz, Ivan Berenboim, Carlo Costa
I-Beam 8 pm $10
• Frank Senior with Deanna Witkowski, Nathan Webb; Gene Ess/Niki King
• Chieko Honda Trio; Tobias Meinhart Trio
• Art Lillard Quartet
êFred Hersch Trio with Dave Holland, Billy Hart
êMiles Davis Birthday Celebration with Jeremy Pelt, Larry Willis, Buster Williams,
Louis Hayes
Smoke 8, 10, 11:30 $35
• Joe Pino Quintet; Yaala Ballin Group; Sam Newsome Quartet with Andy Milne,
Gregg August, EJ Strickland
Smalls 4, 7:30, 10 pm $20
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
Carl Allen
Dizzy’s Club 11:30 pm $20
• Donald Vega
• Marsha Heydt Quartet; Brooks Hartell Trio; Virginia Mayhew Quartet
The Garage 12, 6:15, 10:45 pm
Sunday, May 27
êFred Hersch/René Marie
• Tillery: Gretchen Parlato, Becca Stevens, Rebecca Martin
• Terry Waldo’s Gotham City Band; The Flail; Brandon Lewis/Renee Cruz Jam
• Peter Leitch/Ray Drummond
Walker’s 8 pm
• Rocco John Iacovone Ensemble; Han-earl Park Ensemble with Catherine Sikora,
Nick Didkovsky
ABC No-Rio 6 pm $5
• Manuel Valera
• Jerry Gonzalez and The Fort Apache Band
Carl Allen
• Jesse Dulman/Jason Candler; Martin Philadelphy solo
• Pentecost Jazz Mass: Ike Sturm Ensemble
• Young Joo Song with David Wong, Pete VanNostrand
Blue Note 12:30, 2:30 pm $24.50
• Double Bass Double Voice: Emily Braden, Nancy Harms, Steve Whipple
• Jay Rodriguez
Dwyer Cultural Center 2 pm $20
• Jazz Kids! with Amy Cervini
55Bar 2 pm $5
• Michika Fukumori Trio; David Coss Quartet; Abe Ovadia Trio
Joe McPhee
A Lifetime of Achievement
JOE MCPHEE • THE THING
WILLIAM PARKER • SONNY SIMMONS
SABIR MATEEN • KNEEBODY
MATTHEW SHIPP • GERALD CLEAVER
MARK DRESSER • DAVID S. WARE
DARIUS JONES • ELLIOTT SHARP
IVO PERELMAN • WHIT DICKEY
HAMID DRAKE • J.D. PARRAN
SHEILA JORDAN & JAY CLAYTON
ROY CAMPBELL • HENRY GRIMES
WADADA LEO SMITH • STEVE SWELL
JOËLLE LÉANDRE • NICOLE MITCHELL
REGGIE WORKMAN • ANDREW CYRILLE
OLIVER LAKE • JASON KAO HWANG
INGRID LAUBROCK • GREG TATE
ROB BROWN • KIDD JORDAN
CHARLES GAYLE • WILLIAM HOOKER
PHEEROAN AKLAFF • BURNT SUGAR
www.artsforart.org
®
43
Monday, May 28
êPapo Vazquez Mighty Pirates and Troubadours with Willie Williams, Rick Germanson,
Dezron Douglas, Alvester Garnett, Anthony Carrillo, Carlitos Maldonado
• Reggie Washington’s Freedom with David Gilmore, Gene Lake
The Stone 9 pm $10
• Tiffany Chang’s Free Association with Jonah Parzen-Johnson, Ross Edwards,
Evan Crane; Pet Bottle Ningen: Nonoko Yoshida, Dave Scanlon, Dave Miller;
Rema Hasumi Trio with Darius Jones, Carlo Costa
• Davy Mooney Quartet with John Ellis, Matt Clohesy, Mark Ferber; Ari Hoenig Trio with
Jean-Michel Pilc, Francois Moutin; Spencer Murphy Jam
Smalls 7:30, 10 pm 1 am $20
• Peter Eldridge/Matt Aranoff
êFreddie Redd Birthday Bash; Billy Kaye Jam
• Jazzmeia Horn
Zinc Bar 7 pm $8
• Antonio Ciacca
• Howard Williams Jazz Orchestra; Alex Hoffman Quartet
• Nick West Quartet Shrine 6 pm
• Terry Waldo
• Jerry Costanzo and Trio with Steve Ash, Jennifer Vincent, Jimmy Madison
• Maria Neckham with Lars Dietrich, Samir Zarif, Will Vinson, Mariel Roberts, Aaron Parks,
Nir Felder, Thomas Morgan, Colin Stranahan and guest
• Salim Washington Quartet; Gregg August; Ben Meigners Quartet
• NY Jazz Force; Marla Sampson Somethin’ Jazz Club 7, 9 pm $10
• Arthur Sadowsky Trio
Tomi Jazz 9 pm $10
• Roseanna Vitro Trio
• Joe Pino Quintet; Steve Kortyka Quartet
êEric Reed UNMONK Quintet with Seamus Blake, Etienne Charles, Matt Clohesy,
Henry Cole
êGuillermo Klein Y Los Guachos with Chris Cheek, Bill McHenry, Miguel Zenón,
Taylor Haskins, Richard Nant, Diego Urcola, Sandro Tomasi, Ben Monder,
Fernando Huergo, Jeff Ballard Village Vanguard 9, 11 pm $25
• Ravi Coltrane Quartet
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
• Antonio Ciacca
• Harlem Speaks: Daniel Bernard Roumain
Jazz Museum in Harlem 6:30 pm
• Terry Waldo
Tuesday, May 29
Henry Cole
êGrassella Oliphant Quintet with Willie Williams, Freddie Hendrix, Brandon McCune,
Tom DiCarlo
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
• David Kikoski Trio with Ed Howard, Al Foster
• Terese Genecco Little Big Band Iridium 8, 10 pm $25
• Peter M Wyer’s The Invisible with Thomas Buckner, Matthew Shipp, Ralph Samuelson,
Kevin Norton
Roulette 8 pm $15
• Andrew Rathbun Quartet with Phil Markowitz, Jay Anderson, Bill Stewart
• Spike Wilner solo; Ray Gallon TrioSmalls 6:30, 8:30 pm $20
• Sofia’s Heart: Marco Pignataro, Nando Michelin, Paolo Orlandi
Shapeshifter Lab 7:30, 9 pm $12
• Jack Wilkins/Howard Alden
Bella Luna 8 pm
• Andy Haas/Dee Pop
Yippee Café 8:30 pm
• Saul Rubin; Itai Kriss and the Salsa All-Stars; Greg Glassman Jam
Jazz at Kitano 8 pm
• Elias Meister/Pancho Molina
• Paul Corn Big Band; Nick Finzer/Joe McDonough Quintet
• Antonio Ciacca
• Chris Massey’s Nue Jazz Project Shrine 6 pm
• Terry Waldo
Wednesday, May 30
êDawn of Midi: Aakaash Israni, Amino Belyamani, Qasim Naqvi
Roulette 8 pm $15
êHenry Cole and the Afrobeat Collective; Gilad Hekselman Quartet with Mark Turner
92YTribeca 8 pm $15
• Nicki Parrott Trio
• James Shipp’s Nos Novo with Jean Rohe, Becca Stevens, Jesse Lewis,
Rogério Boccato
• Russ Lossing Heavy Merge with Jason Rigby, Russ Lossing, Jeff Davis
Seeds 10 pm $10
êDave Ballou, Jason Robinson, James Ilgenfritz, George Schuller
Barbès 8 pm $10
• John Yao
• Sherrie Maricle Group; Dan Aran Group
Smalls 8:30, 11 pm $20
• Rafi D’lugoff; Richie Vitale Quintet; Ned Goold Jam
• Lizzie Thomas
Flute 8 pm
• Arthur Sadowsky and The Troubadours
• Kyoko Oyobe Trio; Vitaly Golovnev Quartet
• Trevor Long Group Shrine 7 pm
Henry Cole
êGrassella Oliphant Quintet with Willie Williams, Freddie Hendrix, Brandon McCune,
Tom DiCarlo
Birdland 8:30, 11 pm $30-40
• David Kikoski Trio with Ed Howard, Al Foster
• Antonio Ciacca
• Barbara Carroll/Jay Leonhart Saint Peter’s 1 pm $10
• Terry Waldo
Thursday, May 31
êTomasz Stanko Quartet with Dave Virelles, Thomas Morgan, Gerald Cleaver
• Duane Eubanks Quintet with Abraham Burton, Orrin Evans, Dezron Douglas,
Eric McPherson
êThurston Moore, Bill Nace, Joe McPhee
Roulette 8 pm $20
• Lukas Ligeti
The Stone 8 pm $10
• Sam Raderman with Tim McCall, Jon Roche, Luc Decker; Mike Ledonne Quartet with
Eric Alexander, John Webber, Joe Farnsworth; Carlos Abadie Quintet
Smalls 4, 10 pm 1 am $20
êJerome Sabbagh Trio with Joe Martin, Rodney Green Bar Next Door 8:30, 10:30 pm $12
• Stuart Popejoy’s Single Payer with Steve Swell, Avram Fefer, Sarah Bernstein,
Kenny Wollesen
• Anna Webber’s Third Floor People; Cacaw; Jonathan Lindhorst Quartet
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
• Quentin Angus Duo
Tomi Jazz 8 pm
• Michael Brecker Tribute with Dan Barman The Counting Room 8 pm
• Sedric Choukroun and The Brasilieros Chez Lola 7:30 pm
• Steve Coleman Presents The Jazz Gallery 9 pm $15
• Pete Davenport/Ed Schuller Jam Session Frank’s Cocktail Lounge 9 pm
• Joel Forrester solo
Brandy Library 8 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
• John Raymond Trio or Syberen van Munster Trio Bar Next Door 6:30 pm
• Roger Lent Trio Jam
• 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 Rhythm Splash 9 pm
• Stan Rubin All-Stars
Charley O’s 8:30 pm
• Smoke Big Band; John Farnsworth Quartet Smoke 7, 9, 10:30 pm
• Vanguard Jazz Orchestra Village Vanguard 9, 11 pm $30
TUESDAYS
• Daisuke Abe Trio
Sprig 6 pm (ALSO WED-THU))
• Bill Campbell and Friends Bar Next Door 8 pm $12
• 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
• Yvonnick Prene Group
Tomi Jazz 8 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
WEDNESDAYS
• Astoria Jazz Composers Workshop Waltz-Astoria 6 pm
• Sedric Choukroun and the Eccentrics Chez Oskar 7 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)
• 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
• Yuko Okamoto Trio
Tomi Jazz 8 pm
• David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Centennial Band Birdland 5 pm $10
• Sam Raderman Quartet Smoke 11:30 pm
• 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/Tony DecaprioAmerican Folk Art Museum Lincoln Square 2 pm
• Jordan Young Group
Bflat 8:30 pm
THURSDAYS
• Jason Campbell Trio
Perk’s 8 pm
• Sedric Choukroun
Brasserie Jullien 7:30 pm (ALSO FRI, SAT)
• JaRon & Emme
One Fish Two Fish 7:30 pm
• Lapis Luna Quintet
The Plaza Hotel Rose Club 9 pm
• Latin Jazz Jam
Nuyorican Poets Café 9 pm
• Gregory Porter; Jazz Meets HipHop Smoke 7, 9, 10:30, 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
• Ken Fowser Quintet Smoke 12:30 am
• Greg Lewis Organ Trio
Night of the Cookers 10 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
• 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
• Michelle Walker/Nick Russo Anyway Café 9 pm
• Bill Wurtzel Duo
Henry’s 12 pm
SUNDAYS
• Bill Cantrall Trio
Crescent and Vine 8 pm
• Marc Devine Trio
TGIFriday’s 6 pm
• Ear Regulars with Jon-Erik Kellso The Ear Inn 8 pm
• Marjorie Eliot/Rudell Drears/Sedric Choukroun Parlor Entertainment 4 pm
• 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
• Annette St. John; Allan Harris; Jason Teborek Smoke 11:30 am, 7, 11:30 pm
• Stan Killian Trio
Ocean’s 8 8:30 pm
• Bob Kindred Group
Café Loup 12:30 pm
• Alexander McCabe Trio CJ Cullens Tavern 5 pm
• Junior Mance Trio
Café Loup 6:30 pm
• Peter Mazza
Bar Next Door 8 pm $12
• Arturo O’Farrill Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra Birdland 9, 11 pm $30
• Lu Reid Jam Session
Shrine 4 pm
• Vocal Open Mic; Ruth Brisbane; Johnny O’Neal solo Smalls 4, 7:30, 9:30 pm
• Rose Rusciani
Alor 11 am
• Rose Rutledge Trio
Ardesia Wine Bar 6:30 pm
• Annette St. John and Trio Smoke 11:30 am, 1, 2:30 pm
• Secret Architecture
• 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
• 5C Café 68 Avenue C (212-477-5993)
Subway: F to Second Avenue www.5ccc.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.92y.org
• ABC No-Rio 156 Rivington Street (212-254-3697)
Subway: J,M,Z to Delancey Street www.abcnorio.org
• The Acheron/Anchored Inn Pub 57 Waterbury Street
(718-576-3927) Subway: L to Montrose Avenue www.theanchoredinn.com
• Alor Café 2110 Richmond Road, Staten Island (718-351-1101)
www.alorcafe.com
• 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
• Antibes Bistro 112 Suffolk Street (212-533-6088)
Subway: J, Z to Essex Street www.antibesbistro.com
• Antique Garage 41 Mercer Street (212-219-1019)
Subway: N, Q, R, W to Canal Street
• 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 West 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 to W. 4th Street
• Avery Fisher Hall (at Lincoln Center) 1941 Broadway at 65th Street
(212-875-5030) Subway: 1 to 66th Street www.lincolncenter.org
• BAMCafé 30 Lafayette Ave at Ashland Pl, Fort Greene, Brooklyn
(718-636-4139) Subway: M, N, R, W to Pacific Street; Q, 1, 2, 4, 5
to Atlantic Avenue www.bam.org
• 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, Brooklyn
(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, C, E, F to W. 4th Street www.lalanternacaffe.com
• The Bar on Fifth 400 Fifth Avenue
(212-695-4005) Subway: 6 to 33rd Street www.jazzbaronfifth.com
• Barbès 376 9th Street at 6th Avenue, Brooklyn (718-965-9177)
Subway: F to 7th Avenue www.barbesbrooklyn.com
• Baruch College 17 Lexington Avenue at 23rd Street
(646-312-3924) Subway: 6 to 23rd Street www.baruch.cuny.edu
• 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 blackbirdsbar.com
• Blue Note 131 W. 3rd Street at 6th Avenue (212-475-8592)
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F to W. 4th Street www.bluenotejazz.com
• Bowery Poetry Club 308 Bowery (between 1st and Bleeker Streets)
(212-614-0505) Subway: F to Second Avenue; 6 to Bleecker Street
www.bowerypoetry.com
• Brandy Library 25 N. Moore Street
(212-226-5545) Subway: 1 to Franklin Street
• Brecht Forum 451 West Street (212-242-4201)
Subway: A, C, E, L, 1, 2, 3, 9 to 14th Street www.brechtforum.org
• Brooklyn Conservatory of Music 58 Seventh Avenue
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
• Brooklyn Masonic Temple 317 Clermont Avenue
(718-638-1256) Subway: G to Clinton-Washington Avenues
• Buona Sera 12th Street and University Place
Subway: 4, 5, 6, L, N, R, Q, W to Union Square
• Bryant Park 5th and 6th Avenues between 40th and 42nd Streets
Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 42nd Street www.bryantpark.org
• CJ Cullens Tavern 4340 White Plains Road, Bronx
Subway: 2 to Nereid Avenue/238th Street
• Café Carlyle 35 East 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, Q 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
• The Center for Jewish Arts and Literacy 325 E. 6th Street (212-473-3665)
Subway: 6 to Astor Place www.eastvillageshul.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
• Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center 107 Suffolk Street
Subway: F, J, M, Z to Delancey Street www.visionfestival.org
• 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
• Cornelia Street Café 29 Cornelia Street (212-989-9319)
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F 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 East 30th Street (212-696-2593)
Subway: 6 to 33rd Street www.thecrookedknife.com
• David Rubenstein Atrium Broadway at 60th Street (212-258-9800)
Subway: 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, B, D, F to Columbus Circle www.jalc.org
• 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
• Domaine Wine Bar 50-04 Vernon Boulevard (718-784-2350)
Subway: 7 to Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue www.domainewinebar.com
• 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
• 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
• Dwyer Cultural Center 259 St. Nicholas Avenue
(212-222-3060) Subway: D to 125th Street www.dwyercc.org
• The Ear Inn 326 Spring Street at Greenwich Street (212-246-5074)
Subway: C, E to Spring Street www.earinn.com
• 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
• Flute 205 W. 54th St.between 7th and Broadway
(212-265-5169) Subway: B, D, E to 7th Avenue www.flutebar.com
• For My Sweet Restaurant 1103 Fulton Street at Claver Place
(718-857-1427) Subway: C to Franklin Avenue
• 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
• 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 East 164th Street
(718-328-0166) Subway: 2, 5 to Prospect Avenue
• 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 West 218th Street @ Indian Road
(212-942-7451) Subway: 1 to 215th Street www.indianroadcafe.com
• Iridium 1650 Broadway at 51st Street (212-582-2121)
Subway: 1,2 to 50th Street www.theiridium.com
• Issue Project Room 110 Livingston Street
Subway: 4, 5 to Borough Hall www.issueprojectroom.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 West 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
• Kaye Playhouse 695 Park Avenue at 68th Street (212-772-5207)
Subway: 6 to 68th Street www.kayeplayhouse.hunter.cuny.edu
• Kellari Taverna 19 West 44th Street (212-221-0144)
Subway: B, D, F, M, 7 to 42nd Street-Bryant Park www.kellari.us
• Kenny’s Castaways 157 Bleecker Street between Thompson and Sullivan
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, V to W. 4th Street
• 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
• Kupferberg Holocaust Center 222-05 56th Avenue (718-631-6262)
Subway: F to 169th Street; E to Sutphin Boulevard/ Archer Avenue
• The Lambs Club 132 W. 44th Street
212-997-5262 Subway: A, C, E, to 42nd Street www.thelambsclub.com
• Launch Pad Gallery 721 Franklin Avenue, Brooklyn
(718-928-7112) Subway: S to Park Place www.brooklynlaunchpad.org
• Le Poisson Rouge 158 Bleecker Street (212-228-4854)
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F to W. 4th Street www.lepoissonrouge.com
• Lenox Lounge 288 Lenox Avenue between 124th and 125th Streets
(212-427-0253) Subway: 2, 3 to 125th Street
• Littlefield 622 Degraw Street
(718-855-3388) Subway: M, R to Union Street www.littlefieldnyc.com
• 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
• McDonald’s 160 Broadway between Maiden Lane and Liberty Street
(212-385-2063) Subway: 4, 5 to Fulton Street www.mcdonalds.com
• Manducatis Rustica 46-33 Vernon Boulevard (718-937-1312)
Subway: 7 to Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue www.manducatisrustica.com
• Merkin Concert Hall 129 W. 67th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam
(212-501-3330) Subway: 1 to 66th Street-Lincoln Center
www.kaufman-center.org
• Metropolitan Room 34 West 22nd Street (212-206-0440)
Subway: N, R to 23rd Street www.metropolitanroom.com
• Minton’s Playhouse 208 West 118th Street (between St. Nicholas Avenue
and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd) (212-864-8346)
Subway: B, C to 116th Street
• NY Society for Ethical Culture 2 W. 64th Street at Central Park West
(212-873-2848) Subway: 1, 2 to 66th Street-Lincoln Center www.nysec.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/nyc-bahai-center/jazz-night
• NYU Steinhardt School 35 W. 4th Street, 6th Floor
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, V to W. 4th Street www.nyu.edu
• New School Arnhold Hall 55 West 13th Street
(212-229-5600) Subway: F, V to 14th Street www.newschool.edu
• 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, V to Second Avenue www.nublu.net
• Nuyorican Poets Café 236 E. 3rd Street between Avenues B and C
(212-505-8183) Subway: F, V to Second Avenue www.nuyorican.org
• Ocean’s 8 at Brownstone Billiards 308 Flatbush Avenue
(718-857-5555) Subway: B, Q to Seventh Avenue
• One Fish Two Fish 1399 Madison Avenue
(212-369-5677) Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 96th www.onefishtwofish.com
• Parlor Entertainment 555 Edgecombe Ave. #3F between 159th and
160th Streets (212-781-6595) Subway: C to 155th Street www.parlorentertainment.com
• The Players Club 16 Gramercy Park South
(212-475-6116) Subway: 6 to 23rd Street www.theplayersnyc.org
• The Plaza Hotel Rose Club Fifth Avenue at Central Park South
(212-759-3000) Subway: N, Q, R to Fifth Avenue www.fairmont.com
• Rhythm Splash 673 Flatbush Avenue
Subway: B, Q to Parkside Avenue
• Rockwood Music Hall 196 Allen Street (212-477-4155)
Subway: F to Second Avenue www.rockwoodmusichall.com
• Rose Theatre 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 West 17th Street (212-620-5000)
Subway: A, C, E to 14th Street www.rmanyc.org
• Saint Peter’s Church 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street
(212-935-2200) Subway: 6 to 51st Street www.saintpeters.org
• 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 West 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
• Skirball Center 566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square
(212-992-8484) Subway: B, D, F, V, A, C, E to West 4th Street www.nyu.edu
• 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 53rd Street www.somethinjazz.com/ny
• Sora Lella 300 Spring Street (212-366-4749)
Subway: C, E to Spring Street www.soralellanyc.com
• The Stone Avenue C and 2nd Street
Subway: F to Second Avenue www.thestonenyc.com
• Sullivan Hall 214 Sullivan Street (212-634-0427)
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, V to W. 4th Street www.sullivanhallnyc.com
• Sunset Park Library 5108 4th Avenue, Brooklyn
(718-567-2806) Subway: R to 53rd Street
• 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
• Tomi Jazz 239 E. 53rd Street (646-497-1254)
Subway: 6 to 51st Street www.tomijazz.com
• Triad 158 West 72nd Street, 2nd floor (212-787-7921)
Subway: B, C to 72nd Street www.triadnyc.com
• Tribeca Performing Arts Center 199 Chambers Street (212-220-1460)
Subway: A, 1, 2, 3, 9 to Chambers Street www.tribecapac.org
• Tutuma Social Club 164 East 56th Street 646-300-0305
Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 59th Street www.TutumaSocialClub.com
• University of the Streets 130 East 7th Street
(212-254-9300) Subway: 6 to Astor Place www.universityofthestreets.org
• Via Della Pace 48 East 7th Street and Second Avenue
(212-253-5803) Subway: 6 to Astor Place
• The Village Trattoria 135 West 3rd Street (212-598-0011)
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F 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
• Village Zendo 588 Broadway (212-340-4656)
Subway: B, D, F, M to Broadway-Lafayette Street www.villagezendo.org
• 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
• West Harlem Piers Park Riverside Drive and 130th Street
Subway: 1 to 125th Street
• Williamsburg Music Center 367 Bedford Avenue
(718-384-1654) Subway: L to Bedford Avenue
• Windsor Terrace Library 160 East 5th Street, Brooklyn (718-686-9707)
Subway: F, G to Fort Hamilton Parkway www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org
• Yippie Café Manhattan 9 Bleeker Street between Elisabeth and Bowery
Subway: 6 to Bleeker Street
• Z Hotel 11-01 43rd Avenue, Long Island City (212-319-7000)
Subway: F to 21st Street-Queensbridge www.zhotelny.com
• Zeb’s 223 W. 28th Street
212-695-8081 Subway: 1 to 28th Street www.zebulonsoundandlight.com
• Zebulon 258 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn (718-218-6934)
Subway: L to Bedford Avenue www.zebuloncafeconcert.com
• Zinc Bar 82 West 3rd Street (212-477-8337) Subway: A, C, E, F,
Grand Street Shuttle to W. 4th Street www.zincbar.com
45
(INTERVIEW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6)
is the George Adams/Don Pullen Quartet, which you
first joined in the late ‘70s, recorded around a dozen
albums with and are the surviving member of since
pianist Don Pullen’s passing in 1995 (drummer Dannie
Richmond died in 1988, saxist Adams in 1992).
CB: That was the band of my lifetime! In the summer
of 1979, the phone rang and it was Pullen, who I had
been playing with in Beaver Harris’ 360 Degree Music
Experience. I remember exactly where I was, where I
was sitting. Wim Wigt had asked George and Don to
put together a band in the wake of Charles Mingus’
passing and they immediately asked [former Mingus
drummer] Dannie to play drums. Don wanted me to
play bass. He said, “I think you can bridge the gap
between the more inside stuff and the more outside
stuff that I like doing.” I knew that my life had changed
forever, though I couldn’t have known that it would
change for 10 incredible years.
I don’t think anyone knew the band was going to
have that longevity, but it was explosive immediately.
There was so much energy. And for a young bass player
to get to make music with Dannie every night - there
aren’t words to describe that... I learned so much; I
named my band after him.
I wish they were alive. I always say, “Those guys
lived two days every day, so they all lived to be a
hundred and ten!” Especially Dannie. Though Dannie
was apparently a bit older than his passport said, his
wife told me. I used to say nobody ever made it to 55,
but I think Dannie actually made it to 57 or 58. And
here I am going on 67 by the end of this year!
TNYCJR: You’ve worked and played with a fair share
of significant drummers in addition to Richmond,
Harris and Blackwell. How important are drummers in
the band for you? It seems you would join just about
any band because of the drummer…
CB: Well, yes! The drums are everything. If the
drummer is mediocre and not happening, I can be
playing anything and it won’t matter to the whole
gestalt of the music. It started when I was a teenager
sitting in front of Jimmy and Elvin, Paul Chambers and
Jimmy Cobb, Mingus and Dannie. This music comes
from the drums. The instrument has a decisive impact
on all aspects of the music: coloring and shaping the
melody, transitions of all sorts.
And then there is the amazing variety and subtlety
of each master drummer ’s swing feel - infinite depth
there, each so different and so much fun. Listening to
and trying to figure out how to support and complement
the drums - that’s always in the forefront of my
consciousness.
I remember a gig - Dewey Redman got Billy Hart
to do a weekend at the old Birdland on 105th Street. I’d
never played with Billy before. But when we finished,
he said, “Man, you really hear what I’m doing.” That
was a big compliment. It’s huge for me that I’ve had
special relationships with great drummers. I got to
play with my hero Philly Joe [Jones], my favorite guy
from that era because I was such a Miles freak. And
younger, newer guys - I got to make a record with [Jim]
McNeely with John Hollenbeck, who is amazing;
Gerald Cleaver now in Jason Rigby’s trio; Matt Wilson
with Dewey’s later band... When I teach, I always say,
“In this music, rhythm is job 1.”
TNYCJR: You’ve also had special musical relationships
with some singers, most notably Sheila Jordan. I hadn’t
realized that 1975 was your first recording with her
(Confirmation, East Wind), which has your old friend
Beaver playing drums. When did you and Sheila start
to perform duo?
CB: That’s a great record. I can’t remember exactly
where I met her but she’s always been this huge
supporter of me. Sheila asked me to do the bass and
voice duo a LONG time ago. But I knew I wasn’t ready.
The I’ve Grown Accustomed to the Bass record in 1997
was the first duo gig we ever did. It got recorded and
she liked it so much she got Joe Fields [of HighNote
Records] to put it out.
instrument.
Then I have jazz students at the New School and
I’ve enjoyed teaching at its summer workshop in Italy
the last three years. It’s a simple truism that, when he
or she is fully present, fully engaged, the teacher learns
more than the student. Teaching has been such a
positive growth engine for me. v
TNYCJR: It’s a very special connection you two have.
To work with someone like Sheila must be a dream
come true for anyone, not only musically - but also as a
person. She is one of the most sincere and musical not
to mention fun musicians you’ll ever come across.
For more information, visit jazzhalo.be/homepagesframe.
html. Brown is at Cornelia Street Café May 12 in duo with
Sheila Jordan and 26th with Jason Rigby. See Calendar.
CB: Absolutely. I love the transparency and delicacy of
the duo with Sheila - the space, honoring the silences.
She loves the sparse, nearly blank canvas the bass and
voice offers. There’s been so much for me to learn
about improvising, interacting, listening. “Less is
more,” she always says. 15 years in I feel like I’m doing
a better job. Really! It’s so challenging and so special.
As Dewey used to say, “We dig a little deeper.” And
Sheila always does. I got to experience Miles and Trane
live, but not Bird, who was her good friend. Through
her, I get to touch the origins of modern jazz. And I
have no closer or better friend than Sheila.
I’m just blessed all the way around with the people
I’ve gotten to play with. I get to do both extremes:
George and Don’s band and Joe [Lovano]’s bands
involve some of the most intense, physical, athletic
music imaginable and then Sheila is as delicate as
could possibly be. I love them both. That’s the depth
and breadth of this music!
TNYCJR: In addition to Jordan, what other vocalists
have you worked with?
CB: Early on I got to play with Jay Clayton, who had a
loft in the late ‘60s where we did some of the first loft
concerts ever. In fact, the loft I had in Brooklyn I bought
from her which helped to buy her house in Seattle,
which then she sold to come back to the East Coast!
And now we’ve got the Bebop to Freebop Band playing
the Vision Festival in June with both Jay and Sheila. I
got to play with Etta Jones briefly - what a thrill; an
intense three months with Betty Carter; tours with the
wonderful Maria Pia de Vito in Italy; Lisa Sokolov is a
very special musician. I love the human voice, the
immediacy of the connection - that’s why I have a
singer in my Hear and Now band.
TNYCJR: And you’ve been a teacher - briefly in the
early ‘70s in New York, but more consistently in the
last decade.
CB: Every male person who graduated from college in
1969 was going straight to Vietnam. If you taught
school in New York City, your deferment continued. I
taught 5th and 6th grades in the South Bronx - the
worst urban slum in the United States of America at
that time. That was a hell of a three years. I quit
teaching in 1972. It took me about three years to get
back on the scene...
I was Dave Holland’s first student, summer of ’70,
after my first year of teaching. There was a legendary
loft building on 19th Street - Liebman was on the top
floor, Dave and family on the 2nd floor and Chick
[Corea] on the 1st floor. Mike Brecker later lived in
Holland’s space. My nerves were so shot that Dave had
to get me on a macrobiotic diet for a couple of weeks
before I could even practice for an hour. We had these
one-hour lessons that lasted at least three hours - stuff
I’m still working on!... And now I’ve kind of become
the designated acoustic bass teacher of Rockland
County - 5th grade through high school - which started
at the Green Meadow Waldorf School where the
commitment to music is such that they require all the
kids to take private lessons on a band or orchestra
• George Russell - At Beethoven Hall (SABA-MPS, 1965)
• Archie Shepp - Montreux One/Montreux Two
(Arista-Freedom, 1975)
• George Adams/Don Pullen Quartet Song Everlasting (Blue Note, 1987)
• Cameron Brown’s Hear and Now - Here and How,
Vol. 1 & 2 (Omnitone, 1997)
• Joe Lovano - Trio Fascination, Edition Two:
Flights of Fancy (Blue Note, 2000)
• Sheila Jordan/Cameron Brown Celebration: Live at the Triad (HighNote, 2004)
(LABEL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10)
with Guy, Plimley and Swiss drummer Lucas Niggli is
a co-production in every sense: organizing, editing,
financing etc,” she adds.
Maya CDs are financed in different fashions. In the
main, funds needed to release live concerts of
improvised music come from CD sales. “However
studio recordings like Aurora [with Guy, Fernández
and percussionist Ramón López] and the baroque
recordings are financed with the help of specific
sponsors and from concert fees, our savings and
sometimes sales of musical instruments,” Homburger
notes. As for the musicians, the average form of
compensation is mostly CDs they sell at gigs.
“The history of musician-owned labels is a proud
one,” notes Evan Parker, who was involved with Incus
and now runs psi. “Barry and Maya have a specific
musical agenda which relates baroque music to
improvised music. This gives their label a unique place
in the overall scheme. Because they’re practitioners,
they’re sympathetic to the needs of their fellow
musicians. Each musician-owned label allows the
expression of an aesthetic that supports and perhaps
illuminates aspects of the particular emphasis that
each brings to the job.”
Switzerland, where Homburger and Guy moved
after nine years in Ireland, has also been beneficial for
Maya Recordings. As the Swiss violinist states: “any
business like designing, printing, distributing, etc. was
more complicated in Ireland. Loads of things in Ireland
are not handled in the so-called Swiss efficient way.”
While pressing LPs for the collectors’ market
remain one avenue left for Maya to explore, downloads
of the imprint’s CDs can be accessed through Proper
Music, its United Kingdom distributor. And projects
continue to appear. Maya’s next release will be a live
recording of the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra
playing Guy’s composition “Schweben”.
When it comes to the administrative side,
Homburger admits that sometimes the temptation to
turn the whole company over to Intakt exists. “But
when we receive personal reactions via emails from
wonderful fans of the music in many countries or when
we have special encounters after concerts during the
stage sales of our CDs, we know that it’s worth all the
effort,” she avers. v
For more information, visit maya-recordings.com
IN MEMORIAM
By Andrey Henkin
BOB “BADGE” BADGLEY - The trombonist came out of Detroit’s
famed Cass Tech High School. After playing in the army band in the
‘40s-50s, he relocated to Los Angeles where he played with Dizzy
Gillespie, Maynard Ferguson, Oscar Peterson and others, later doing
tours with Joe Williams. Badgley died Feb. 24th at 83.
WADE BARNES - Director of the 17-piece Brooklyn Repertory
Ensemble and leader of his own The Bottom Line and Unit Structures,
the drummer worked with Howard McGhee, Cecil Payne, Candido,
Benny Powell, Archie Shepp, George Coleman, Sonny Fortune and Jon
Faddis, among others. Barnes died Mar. 3rd at 57.
DON INGLE - The son of Spike Jones alumnus Ernest ‘Red” Ingle, the
trumpeter was also an accomplished wildlife journalist and a member
of the bands Sons of Bix and Michigan Nighthawks, both devoted to
the music of Bix Beiderbecke. Ingle died Mar. 9th at 81 in a house fire.
DICK KNISS - Popular music listeners will know the bassist’s
complementary lines through decades of work with Peter, Paul and
Mary as well as years with John Denver. But Kniss was a jazz bassist
first, appearing on two excellent ‘60s Don Friedman albums and
working with Woody Herman. Kniss died Jan. 25th at 74.
JOE BYRD - The bassist was not the most famous Byrd in his nest; that
distinction goes to older brother/guitarist Charlie. Most of his
discography was with his sibling but after Charlie’s death, Joe stepped
out as a leader, usually with a guitarist. Byrd died Mar. 6th at 78.
WARREN LUENING - The Big Easy trumpeter was a fixture in that
city’s Parisian Room for many years. Luening later went on to work
with Lawrence Welk and appeared as a section musician on albums by
Lalo Schifrin, Jaco Pastorius, Diane Schuur and Bob Florence. Luening
died Mar. 18th at 70.
JOE CIAVARDONE - Early work for the trombonist came with such
leaders as Tommy Reynolds, Charlie Barnet and later Stan Kenton
during the ‘50s. He later worked for other big band leaders like Benny
Goodman, Artie Shaw and Count Basie and often played with singers,
such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett and Sarah
Vaughan. Ciavardone died Mar. 26th at 83.
FRANK MAROCCO - There haven’t been too many accordionists in
jazz but Marocco was one of the first to bring the genre to the unwieldy
instrument. He made a solo record for Verve in 1960 and one called
Jazz Accordion for Discovery in 1979. But his discography in the pop,
rock and soundtrack world is extensive. Marocco die Mar. 3rd at 81.
LOU COLUMBO - A fixture of the Massachusetts jazz scene, the
trumpeter was part of the ‘50s big bands of Benny Goodman and Artie
Shaw. Columbo owned the Roadhouse Café in Hyannis, Mass., where
folks like Tony Bennett would stop in to perform. Columbo died Mar.
3rd at 84 from injuries sustained in a car crash.
MIKE MELVOIN - The West Coast transplant had a long career
playing piano and keyboards for leaders like Nancy Wilson, Oliver
Nelson, Gabor Szabo, Herb Ellis, Stan Getz and others. But he is also
known as an accomplished studio musician, songwriter/arranger and
first active musician to become National President of the Recording
Academy. Melvoin died Feb. 22nd at 74.
SONNY IGOE - Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Chuck Wayne and
Charlie Ventura all employed the drummer in the ‘40s-50s, only a few
years after he won a drumming contest organized by his stylistic
antecedent Gene Krupa. In the ‘80s he co-led a big band with saxist
Dick Meldonian. Igoe died Mar. 28th at 88.
CHUCK METCALF - A longtime accompanist to vocalist Mark
Murphy, the bassist worked with a wide swath of the jazz community,
from Larry Coryell and Joe Pass to Art Farmer and Woody Shaw. His
discography includes sessions with Doug Hammond, Bert Wilson,
Gerry Grosz and a few albums as a leader. Metcalf died Jan. 11th at 81.
ANN MARIE MOSS - The Canadian vocalist worked in her native
country during the ‘50s, most notably with Don Thompson. In 1959
she worked with Maynard Ferguson’s big band, then Count Basie, as
well as briefly replacing Annie Ross in Lambert, Hendricks and Ross.
Once married to fellow vocalist Jackie Paris, Moss died Feb. 29th at 77.
PAUL PLUMMER - Though his later years found him mostly as a
local player in Indianapolis and occasional leader for Cadence Jazz,
the saxophonist’s early work was in the fabulous early ‘60s groups of
George Russell that recorded Outer View and The Stratus Seekers.
Plummer died Jan. 17th at 73.
PETE SABERTON - The British pianist/keyboardist recorded during
his career with countrymen Don Rendell, Eddie Parker, Mike
Westbrook and Barry Guy. He was a composer for the London Jazz
Orchestra, worked with Pete Hurt, Henry Lowther and Stan Sulzmann
and was a longtime educator. Saberton died Mar. 21st at 61.
KHALIL SHAHEED - The Oakland, Calif. stalwart is best known for
a long association with Buddy Miles but the trumpeter also worked
with Woody Shaw, performed as a soloist with the Oakland East Bay
Symphony Orchestra and led the Open Mind Ensemble. The founder
of Oakland’s Oaktown Jazz Workshops and Jazz in the Schools
Program died Mar. 23rd at 68.
HORST WEBER - Artists like Mal Waldron, Albert Mangelsdorff,
Abdullah Ibrahim, Tommy Flanagan, John Scofield, Chet Baker, Ray
Anderson, Terumasa Hino, Yosuke Yamashita, Aki Takase and many
many others saw some of their most important work released on the
German label Enja, co-founded in 1971 by Matthias Winckelmann and
Weber, after the former made connections with the Japanese jazz scene
as a visiting fashion designer and later worked as concert organizer in
Germany. The label has released hundreds of recordings from a
remarkably international and polystylistic roster. Weber died Feb.
24th at 78.
BIRTHDAYS
May 1
Ira Sullivan b.1931
†Shirley Horn 1934-2005
Carlos Ward b.1940
James Newton b.1953
Kevin Hays b.1968
Ambrose Akinmusire b.1982
May 2
†Pat Smyth 1923-83
†Richard "Groove" Holmes
1931-91
Eddy Louiss b.1941
Mickey Bass b.1943
Keith Ganz b.1972
May 3
†John Lewis 1920-2001
†Jimmy Cleveland 1926-2008
Jymie Merritt b.1926
Johnny Fischer b.1930
John Alexander b.1948
Larry Ochs b.1949
Guillermo E. Brown b.1974
Matt Bauder b.1976
Alexander Hawkins b.1981
May 4
†Sonny Payne 1926-79
†Maynard Ferguson 1928-2006
Warren Smith b.1932
Don Friedman b.1935
Ron Carter b.1937
Chuck Folds b.1938
Rudresh Mahanthappa b.1971
Jeremiah Cymerman b.1980
May 5
Kidd Jordan b.1935
Stanley Cowell b.1941
Jack Walrath b.1946
Pablo Aslan b.1962
May 6
†Freddy Randall 1921-99
†Denny Wright 1924-92
Isla Eckinger b.1939
Paul Dunmall b.1953
May 7
†Yank Porter 1895-1944
†Pete Jacobs 1899-1952
†Leon Abbey 1900-75
†Edward Inge 1906-88
†Herbie Steward 1926-2003
Arthur Blythe b.1940
Michael Formanek b.1958
May 8
†Red Nichols 1905-65
†Mary Lou Williams 1910-81
†Jerry Rusch 1943-2003
Keith Jarrett b.1945
Jon-Erik Kellso b.1964
Meinrad Kneer b.1970
May 9
†George Simon 1912-2001
†Dick Morrissey 1940-2000
Dennis Chambers b.1959
Ricardo Gallo b.1978
May 10
†Pee Wee Hunt 1907-79
†Al Hendrickson 1920-2007
†Mel Lewis 1929-90
George Golla b.1935
†Julius Wechter 1935-99
Mike Melvoin b.1937
Jimmy Ponder b.1946
Ahmed Abdullah b.1947
†Hans Reichel 1949-2011
Alex Foster b.1953
Philip Harper b.1965
Jasper Hoiby b.1977
May 11
†King Oliver 1885-1938
†JC Higginbotham 1906-73
†Oscar Valdambrini 1924-97
John Coppola b.1929
Dick Garcia b.1931
†Freddie Roach 1931-80
Carla Bley b.1938
Ralph Humphrey b.1944
Mikkel Ploug b.1978
May 12
†Marshall Royal 1912-95
†Don DeMichael 1928-82
Gary Peacock b.1935
Klaus Doldinger b.1936
Trevor Tompkins b.1941
May 16
†Woody Herman 1913-87
Eddie Bert b.1922
†Betty Carter 1930-98
Billy Cobham b.1944
May 22
†Sun Ra 1914-93
†Elek Bacsik 1926-1993
Giuseppi Logan b.1935
Dick Berk b.1939
May 17
†Paul Quinichette 1916-83
†Dewey Redman 1931-2006
†David Izenzon 1932-79
†Jackie McLean 1932-2006
Michiel Braam b.1964
May 23
†Artie Shaw 1910-2004
†Rosemary Clooney 1928-2002
†Les Spann 1932-89
Daniel Humair b.1938
Marvin Stamm b.1939
Don Moye b.1946
Richie Beirach b.1947
Ken Peplowski b.1959
Darcy James Argue b.1975
May 18
†Joe Turner 1911-85
†Kai Winding 1922-83
Jim McNeely b.1949
Weasel Walter b.1972
May 13
†Maxine Sullivan 1911-87
†Gil Evans 1912-88
†Red Garland 1923-84
Creed Taylor b.1929
Erick Moseholm b.1930
John Engels b.1935
Gregoire Maret b.1975
May 19
Cecil McBee b.1935
Sonny Fortune b.1939
Richard Teitelbaum b.1939
Henry Butler b.1949
Michael Blake b.1964
May 20
Tommy Gumina b.1931
Louis Smith b.1931
†Bob Florence 1932-2008
Charles Davis b.1933
†Rufus Harley 1936-2006
Victor Lewis b.1950
Ralph Peterson b.1962
Sheryl Bailey b.1966
Benjamin Duboc b.1969
May 14
†Sidney Bechet 1897-1959
†Zutty Singleton 1898-1975
†Skip Martin 1916-76
Al Porcino b.1925
Jack Bruce b.1943
Virginia Mayhew b.1959
Frank Basile b.1978
May 15
†Ellis Larkins 1923-2002
Karin Krog b.1937
Oscar Castro-Neves b.1940
Omer Klein b.1982
Grace Kelly b.1992
May 21
†Fats Waller 1904-43
†Tommy Bryant 1930-82
Marc Ribot b.1954
Lewis "Flip" Barnes b.1955
May 24
†Frank Signorelli 1901-75
†Herbie Fields 1919-58
Max Bennett b.1928
†Gianni Basso 1931-2009
Michael White b.1933
Archie Shepp b.1937
†Charles Earland 1941-99
Francesco Cafiso b.1989
May 27
†Albert Nicholas 1900-73
†Jock Carruthers 1910-71
†Bud Shank 1926-2009
Ramsey Lewis b.1935
†Rufus Jones 1936-90
†Niels-Henning Orsted
Pedersen 1946-2005
Gonzalo Rubalcaba b.1963
May 28
†Andy Kirk 1898-1992
†Al Tinney 1921-2002
†Russ Freeman 1926-2002
Alfred Patterson b.1937
Claudio Roditi b.1946
May 29
Freddie Redd b.1927
†Hilton Ruiz 1952-2006
Jim Snidero b.1958
Lafayette Harris, Jr. b.1963
Wycliffe Gordon b.1967
Sean Jones b.1978
May 25
Marshall Allen b.1924
†Miles Davis 1926-91
†Piet Noordijk 1932-2011
Gary Foster b.1936
Christof Lauer b.1953
Wallace Roney b.1960
May 30
†Sidney DeParis 1905-67
†Benny Goodman 1909-86
†Pee Wee Erwin 1913-81
†Shake Keane 1927-97
†Harry Beckett 1935-2010
Ann Hampton Callaway b.1959
Juan Pablo Carletti b.1973
Frank Rosaly b.1974
May 26
†Ady Rosner 1910-76
†Shorty Baker 1914-66
†Ziggy Elman 1914-68
†Calvin Jackson 1919-85
†Neil Ardley 1937-2004
David Torn b.1953
May 31
†Red Holloway 1927-2012
Albert “Tootie ”Heath b.1935
Louis Hayes b.1937
Marty Ehrlich b.1955
Eric Revis b.1967
Christian McBride b.1972
MARTY EHRLICH
May 31st, 1955
Coming out of St. Louis, the
reedman worked very early
on with the Human Arts
Ensemble, an offshoot of the
Gateway to the West’s Black
Artists’ Group. He met two of
his mentors through this
association: saxist Oliver Lake
and, most importantly, saxist
Julius Hemphill. Ehrlich
studied with pianist Jaki
Byard in Boston at the New
England Conservatory before
moving to New York in the
‘70s. He has been a sideman to
such important figures as
Muhal Richard Abrams and
Leroy Jenkins and worked
with peers like John Lindberg,
Ned Rothenberg and Myra
Melford. After Hemphill’s
death in 1995, Ehrlich took
over as Musical Director of his
Sextet, honoring his legacy. In
addition to other projects, he
leads the 4 Altos group. - AH
ON THIS DAY
by Andrey Henkin
Eponymous
Don Rendell Quintet (Tempo)
May 16th, 1955
Saxophonist Don Rendell came out of
the English club circuit in the late ‘40s,
working with John Dankworth and a
visiting Stan Kenton. By the mid ‘60s,
he was among many British jazz
musicians creating something new on
their side of the Atlantic (mostly in a
quintet with trumpeter Ian Carr). He
began his career as a recording leader
about a year before this session, which
features members of his original
sextet - baritonist Ronnie Ross and
pianist Damian Robinson - playing a
short program of his (three pieces)
and Robinson’s (one) originals.
Black Woman
Sonny Sharrock (Vortex)
May 16th, 1969
Iconic
avant garde guitarist Sonny
Sharrock came out of the ‘60s groups
of Pharoah Sanders, Marzette Watts
and Herbie Mann. Black Woman was
his debut as a leader and for his band
Sharrock drew from the fertile free
jazz scene of New York with players
like pianist Dave Burrell, trumpeter
Ted Daniel, bassist Norris Sirone
Jones, drummer Milford Graves and
then-wife Linda on vocals. The
guitarist wrote four of the five pieces
on the disc (alongside the traditional
“Bialero”), including the epic “Portrait
of Linda in Three Colors, All Black”.
Headed and Gutted
Willis Jackson (Muse)
May 16th, 1974
Thoughts
Bill Dixon (Soul Note)
May 16th, 1985
Looking Out Our Window
Burgener/Phillips/Schütz (For 4 Ears)
May 16th, 1992
soul jazz genre would be a lot
thinner without the remarkably
prolific work of the tenor saxophonist.
From his debut recording in 1959 on
Prestige, Jackson (whose nickname
was Gator) made over 30 albums by
the time of this session for the
relatively new Muse Records. Joining
him is quite a cast: Mickey Tucker
(keyboards), Bob Cranshaw (bass),
Richard Landrum and Sonny Morgan
(percussion), Freddie Waits (drums)
and guitarist Pat Martino, who, as Pat
Azzara, made his earliest recordings
with Jackson in the ‘60s.
After a small discography for several
A most unusual string trio this, with
The
different labels, trumpeter/composer
Bill Dixon found a home on the Italian
Soul Note imprint in the ‘80s-90s. For
this album, Dixon put together a new
band, keeping the rhythm section of
Mario Pavone and Lawrence Cook
from a 1981 session but adding two
more basses - William Parker and
Peter Kowald - plus alto saxist Marco
Eneidi and tuba player John
Buckingham. Dixon of course
composed all the music, including a
suite honoring Nelson and Winnie
Mandela, the former then imprisoned.
violinist Hans Burgener, bassist Barre
Phillips and cellist Martin Schütz.
Recorded live at the Aargauer
Kunsthaus in Aarau, Switzerland, the
album is four lengthy improvisations
with evocative names like “Tidal
Awakening”,
“Evening
Bamboo
Growth”, “Steppes” and the title
track. It is unknown how this group
formed but one imagines the always
exploratory Phillips, some two
decades older than his compatriots,
was the instigator. The trio would
make another album six years later.
47

CAMERON BROWN RAOUL GRASSELLA OLIPHANT MAYA

Transcription

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