música en espiral

Even though Henry Threadgill is often considered "difficult to listen to," most blindfolded listeners would probably find themselves identifying any randomly selected 20-second segment of Where's Your Cup as something a little more mainstream. It wouldn't be unreasonable, for example, to hear Brandon Ross on "The Flew" and ask "Might this be a snot-raunchy John McLaughlin electric guitar solo?" with a good bit of confidence. Someone else may smile smugly and say, "I don't suppose this is from the soundtrack of an especially eerie David Lynch film, perhaps Blue Velvet, or an old episode of Twin Peaks maybe?" when Threadgill's alto sax groove kicks off "100 Year Old Game." Such is the elusiveness of Threadgill's a-bit-of-everything approach to modern jazz, a style-collage sound he achieves here with a lot of help from his band, Make a Move. A majority of the tracks here are over eight minutes long, with a lot of room for soloists to stretch out. Ross can sound like two slabs of grinding sheet metal on one song, and softly strum a flamenco-tinged acoustic guitar behind Threadgill's flute on the next. Alternating between accordion and harmonium, Tony Cedras recalls everything from a Sunday hymn to your local seventh-inning stretch organ grinder. But give the credit of assembling these varied and sundry elements into a consistent product to Threadgill. Where's My Cup has its highly organized moments as well, which possess the same spaced-out mysteriousness as all the clamoring jam-out uproar. - John Uhl

Tracks

1. 100 Year Old Game

2. Laughing Club

3. Where's Your Cup?

4. And This

5. Feels Like It

6. The Flew

7. Go To Far

HENRY THREADGILL alto saxophone and flute

BRANDON ROSS electric and classic guitar

TONY CEDRAS accordion and harmonium

S TOMU TAKEISHI 5-string fretless bass

J.T. LEWIS drums

All compositions by Henry Threadgill

Recorded and mixed at East Side Sound, New York, August 1996

Columbia CK 67617

The great tenor saxophonist and flutist Lew Tabackin is joined by pianist Hank Jones, bassist Dave Holland,and drummer Victor Lewis on this well-rounded program. The Concord CD has many highlights, including "Hot House," Duke Ellington's "Serenade to Sweden," Tabackin's "A Bit Byas'd," and "You Leave Me Breathless"; the leader's tenor in particular is in top form. Highly recommended to fans of straight-ahead jazz, this release gives one a strong sampling of Lew Tabackin’s talents. - Scott Yanow

Tracks

01.Hot House (Tadd Dameron)

02.Pyramid (Ellington/Gordon/Mills/Tizol

03.Serenade to Sweden (Duke Ellington)

04. Chelsea Bridge (Billy Strayhorn)

05. Johnny Come Lately (Billy Strayhorn)

06. Desert Lady (Lew Tabackin)

07. A Bit Byas’d (Lew Tabackin)

08. You’ll Never Know (Gordon/Warren)

09.Yesterdays (Arkeen/Harbach/James/Johnson/Kern/Rose)

10. You Leave Me Breathless (Freed/Hollander)

LEW TABACKIN flute, tenor saxophone

HANK JONES piano

DAVE HOLLAND bass

VICTOR LEWIS drums

Recorded at A & R Recording Studios, NYC December 1989

CONCORD JAZZ CCD - 4411

"This album was recorded last summer when Waldron and his friends were invited to celebrate his birthday at Jazz Middelheim in Antwerp, Belgium, the bi-annual festival of Brtn Public Radio. His regular US bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille came over from New York. Jeanne Lee was only a short trainride away, in The Hague, Holland, where she teaches. Joe Henderson was flown in from San Francisco. Abbey Lincoln, who had performed with her own band the night before, stayed over to make an impromptu appearance. [...]

The same week they all went into the studio near Antwerp for what is Waldron's first album under his new RCA Victor recording contract. (Steve Coleman, a special favorite of Waldron's among a younger generation of players, later recorded his tracks in New York.)"

Tracks

01. Judy (Mal Waldron)

02. 02. Soul Eyes (Mal Waldron)

03. Fire Waltz (Mal Waldron)

04. Spaces (Mal Waldron)

05. Straight Ahead (Mal Waldron/Abbey Lincoln/Leon Baker)

06. From Darkness Into Light (Mal Waldron)

07. God Bless The Child (Billie Holiday/Harthur Herzog)

08. Dee’s Dilema (Mal Waldron)

09. The Git Go (Mal Waldron)

10. No More Tears (Mal Waldron)

MAL WALDRON piano

STEVE COLEMAN alto saxophone (1) (2)

ANDREW CYRILLE drums

JOE HENDERSON tenor saxophone (9)

JEANNE LEE vocals (2) (3) (10)

ABBEY LINCOLN vocals (5) (7)

REGGIE WORKMAN bass

Recorded August 15-17 at The Groove, Schelle in Antwerp, Belgium except “Judy” and “Soul Eyes” recorded October 10, 1997 at System Two Recording Studios, New York USA

BMG Ariola Belgium 74321 538872

L' Orchestra Del Titanic is the first solo album by 25-year-old Florentine pianist Stefano Bollani, "Best New Talent 1999" according to Musica Jazz, Italy's leading jazz's magazine.

For years, Bollani, who has lately added his identifiable touch to many Italian jazz records, has expressed in interviews his search for a unique project to fit to his own musical taste to. As a young guy with a witty sense of black humor, the overwhelming recent popularity of the romance and tragedy of the film, Titanic was a perfect place to start.

Against whatever preconceptions his listeners bring to it, L' Orchestra Del Titanic does not re-create the lounge-jazz numbers the original the ill-fated ship's orchestra performed, nor does Bollani rely on James Horner's romantic score (or Celine Dion's unbelievably popular theme).

It does, however, feature Stefano Bollani's personal approach to the great melodic jazz tradition. The mostly original program belies a soft, sly and slightly seventies touch, aided in no small measure by guitarist Riccardo Onori, who reminds the listener of Sam Brown's playing with Keith Jarrett during the 1970s.

Everything here is appropriately elegant: the live recording, the pretty songs and the intimate tempos. Antonello Salis is especially notable on accordion, suggesting an even more lighthearted overall affair.

Stefano Bollani makes it possible to imagine yourself listening to a great little jazz combo filling a large ballroom with warm, intimate sounds while at least one beautiful couple dances passionately as the romantic lights begin to dim. You get the picture. - Ernesto De Pascale

Tracks

01. La sagra di Paolòpoli (Bollani)

02. Elena e il suo violino (Bollani)

03. Prima o poi io e te faremo l’amore (Bollani)

04. Piove (Domenico Modugno / Dino Verde)

05. I viaggi di Gulliver (Bollani)

06. Anema e core (Tito Manlio / Salve D’ Esposito)

07. 17 ore (Bollani)

08. Il barbone di Siviglia (Bollani)

09. Comunicaziooni interrotte (Bollani)

10. Natalie in casa Cappelli (Pereti)

11. L’orchestra del Titanic (Bollani)

STEFANO BOLLANI piano

LELLO PARETI bass

RICCARDO ONOPI guitar

WALTER PAOLI drums, percussion

ANTONELLO SELIS acordeon

Recorded at Studio Le Bozze of Castagneto Carducci 1999

Via Veneto Jazz – VVJ 021

www.viavenetojazz.it

Denver trumpeter Ron Miles' resume includes time with Bill Frisell, Don Byron, the Ellington Orchestra, and Fred Hess’ Boulder Creative Music Ensemble. Besides being solicited all over the world for his unique sound, Ron is a staple of the Denver jazz scene and his recent releases as band leader show off his skills as a composer and arranger as well as a “phenomenally gifted trumpeter” (Bill Milkowski).
A resident of Denver since he was 11, he began playing the trumpet seriously in junior high school and studied music at the University of Denver (1981-1985) and the Manhattan School of Music (1986). Miles says that living in Denver has given him an appreciation for a broad array of musical styles that he might not have acquired elsewhere. “Country and Western music, Latin, jazz, and rock are all popular here, so you find yourself trying out a lot of ideas with other musicians and gaining a healthy respect for the music,” he explains.
Ron Miles was widely recognized as a musical director and arranger with the release of Ginger Baker’s Coward of the County (Atlantic 1999). His compositions anchor that record and highlight the varied influences from which Ron draws inspiration. Hailed as an inventive composer and gifted trumpeter on his solo releases, Ron cruised through the 1990s with a series of well-received releases on Gramavision (My Cruel Heart, Woman’s Day) and Capri (Witness, Ron Miles Trio).
In 2002 Ron slowed it down for a quiet, intimate recording with friend and master jazz guitarist Bill Frisell. Heaven again showcases Ron’s talent as an arranger, particularly on Hank Williams’ “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” (which Ron heard for the first time in the sessions!) According to Bill Frisell, “What is so exciting about Ron is that he really has his own voice. It seems like everything that is going on right now is either very conservative or it rejects everything. Ron has found a way to include everything and not reject things, and still be his own person.” Miles said of his playing with Bill, “I think we share a fondness for striking melody, patience and the importance of individual timbre.”

Tracks
01. Finger Palace
02. Howard Beach
03. Erase Yourself
04. My Cruel Heart
05. Naked
06. Fire Downtown
07. Boy Gone
08. Say It Loud
09. Rachel Has A Secret
10. Hosea & Gomer

RON MILES trumpet
ARTIE MOORE bass
RUDY ROYSTON drums
FARRELL LOWE guitar
TODD AYERS guitar
EDDIE TURNER guitar
FRED HESS tenor saxophone
AL MOORE organ
ERIC MOON piano
KARI MILES flute
JOHN STUBBS sinthesizer, samples
ARNIE SWENSON guitar
DAVE WILLY guitar

All compositions by Ron Miles
Recorded at kerr/Macy Recording Studios, Denver, CO
GRAMMAVISION GCD 79510, 1996

Jim Hall is no stranger to guitar/bass duets after several memorable outings with the likes of Ron Carter and Red Mitchell, but this series of studio sessions is even more challenging, mixing it up in pairings with Dave Holland, Christian McBride, Charlie Haden, George Mraz, and Scott Colley. Only three of the 13 pieces are standards, including a soft and sparse treatment of "All the Things You Are" with Mraz, a whisper-soft and slowly savored "Don't Explain" with Haden, and a switch to acoustic guitar for a tense "Besame Mucho" with Colley. Hall's skills as a composer are vastly underrated by the jazz audience as a whole, but his fellow players recognize his formidable skills. He makes a relatively rare appearance on a 12-string acoustic guitar in his challenging opener, "End the Beguine," in which he and Holland rise to the demands of this captivating piece. McBride joins the leader for the playful waltz "Dog Walk," whileColley, Hall's regular bassist at the time of these recording sessions, joins him for the invigorating "Dream Steps," a reworking of the chords to the standard "You Stepped Out of a Dream." In addition to several memorable duo (or trio) improvisations, Hall is joined by both Colley and Mraz for the initially loping and suddenly very abstract "Tango Loco," featuring Mraz's tasty arco bass. Hall's adventuresome streak as a composer, arranger, and performer continues to flourish. - Ken Dryden

Tracks

01.End the Beguine! (Jim Hall)

Bass – Dave Holland

02.Bent Blue (Jim Hall)

Bass – Christian McBride

03.Abstract 1 (Charlie Haden / Jim Hall)

Bass – Charlie Haden

04. All The Things You Are (Oscar Hammerstein / Jerome Kern)

Bass – George Mraz

05. Abstract 2 (Scott Colley / Jim Hall / George Mraz)

Bass – Scott Colley / George Mraz

06. Sam Jones (Jim Hall)

Bass – Dave Holland

07.Don´t Explain (Billie Holiday / Arthur Herzog, Jr.)

Bass – Charlie Haden

08.Dog Walk (Jim Hall)

Bass – Christian McBride

09.Abstract 3 (Scott Colley / Jim Hall / George Mraz)

Bass – Scott Colley / George Mraz

10.Bésame Mucho (Consuelo Velázquez / Sunny Skylar)

Bass – Scott Colley

11.Dream Steps (Jim Hall)

Bass – Scott Colley

12.Abstract 4 (Scott Colley / Jim Hall)

Bass – Scott Colley

13.Tango Loco (Jim Hall)

Bass – Scott Colley / George Mraz

JIM HALL acoustic and electric guitars, 12-string guitar

CHARLIE HADEN bass

CHRISTIAN McBRIDE bass

SCOTT COLLEY bass

GEORGE MRAZ bass

DAVE HOLLAND bass

Recorded January 7 & 8, 2001

TELARC - CD - 83506

Befitting its title, Down Home is a surprisingly soulful set by four pros who live up to their promising intrigue as an all-star quartet. Arthur Blythe, Bill Frisell, Ron Carter and leader Baron combine forces and the result is not what you'd expect. Such a quartet may suggest a hip trip through the downtown avant-garde, with Carter, whose playing has tended more toward classical these days, something of an afterthought. But all four have exceptional musical versatility, so any preconceptions are unwise.

Smart and sassy soul is what's on the menu here. There's the gut-bucket R&B of old Prestige records ("Mighty Fine"), the Meters beat of "Wide Load" (featuring a gem of a Carter solo), the James Brown funk of "What" (with the funkiest Frisell solo ever) and the lively bar band blues of "The Crock Pot" (showcasing Baron himself).

The tunes, all Baron originals, seem to pay homage to the other players as well; especially Baron's former boss, Frisell. There's the Frisell-like ballad of "Little Boy," the all-too brief guitar-bass duo of "Listen To The Woman" (which, surprisingly, suggests Gabor Szabo) and "Supposing," a short recollection of Jerry Granelli's A Song I Thought I Heard Buddy Sing(another Frisell project). "Aren't We All" is prototypical Arthur Blythe. And "Wide Load" is reminiscent of Carter's CTI days.

The spotlight, however, shines on Blythe and Frisell. Blythe—whose style is never less than distinctively his own—strikes a balance somewhere between David Sanborn and Hank Crawford in these environs. And Frisell, who sticks to his electric guitar throughout (no synth), is outstanding; giving at least two solos ("Mighty Fine" and "Wide Load") that are worth the price of admission. - Douglas Payne

1. Mighty
2. Little Boy
3. Wide Load
4. The Crock Pot
5. What
6. Listen to the Woman
7. Aren't We All?
8. Supposing

JOEY BARON drums
ARTHUR BLYTHE alto saophone
BILL FRISELL guitar
RON CARTER acoustic bass

All compositions by Joey Baron
Recorded at Avatar, Studios, New York, New York
Intuition Records - INT 3503 - 2

Perhaps the core, and highly noticeable component here, is that traditional groove oriented, R&B induced music, while in the hands of musicians who respectively possess a distinctive voice enables the tried and true to be elevated to a higher plane. With drummer Joey Baron’s second “Songline/Tone Field” release titled We’ll Soon Find Out, these characteristics provide the winning edge, in an often huge way!

The opener, a composition titled “ Slow Charleston”, is indicative of what looms ahead. Here, alto saxophonist Arthur Blythe’s searing vibrato and soul drenched lines surge onward while bassist Ron Carter and Baron implement slow fours with coy understatement amid a loose vibe. On “Junior”, Baron is a one-man percussion band as he employs complex Afro-Cuban rhythms in support of Blythe’s quite ferocity, linear themes and melodic interludes as guitarist Bill Frisell converges with funkified chords and unison lines. Whereas, “Widely” is a moving ballad of perhaps transcendental proportions as Frisell delves into some airy chord structures along with his now infamous injections of C&W style twang and poignant single note leads.

Basically, We’ll Soon Find Out offers breezy passages, finger snapping rhythms, strong yet unobtrusive and quite thoughtful soloing in accordance with Baron’s conspicuous compositional pen. Yet within the hands of ordinary souls, the music and overall format might signify more of the norm; however, Baron, Frisell, Blythe and Carter shine forth with a candid demeanor while also providing a clinic of sorts - on the art of making good music that certainly strikes a memorable chord. - Glenn Astarita

Tracks
01. Slow Charleston
02. Closer Than You Think
03. Junior
04. Time to Cry
05. Wisely
06. Bit o' Water
07. M
08. Equaled
09. Contact

JOEY BARON drums
ARTHUR BLYTHE alto saxophone
RON CARTER bass
BILL FRISELL electric and acoustic guitars

All compositions by Joey Baron

Recorded at Avatar Studios, New York, NY, 1999

Intuition INT 3515 - 2

Apogee would never have been released on Warner Bros. if Steely Dan’s Walter Becker and Donald Fagen -- then coming off of Aja -- hadn't produced it. Warner was not in the business of issuing new jazz records at the time. Apogee is an anomaly in many ways. First, it is a Southern California answer to the great titan tenor battle records of the '40s and '50s. Rather than sounding like a cutting contest, it sounds like a gorgeous exercise in swinging harmony and melodic improvisation by two compadres. Pete Christlieb, who was then a member of the Tonight Show Band and played onTom Waits records, is a solid, old-school swinging tenor player whose style comes out of the West Coast school, but whose phrasing feels more like 52nd Street circa 1947. Warne Marsh was already a legend, 20 years older than Christlieb, a warrior who had developed his own style on the tenor apart from Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordonor any of the big stylists. His phrasing and improvisational ideas are outside of time and space because he thwarted the conventions at every turn, yet he remained one of the most rhythmically astute improvisers in jazz history. His time spent with piano and composition genius Lennie Tristano is what laid the groundwork, but by the time Marsh recorded this set he was in a league of his own. With a rhythm section that included Lou Levy on piano, Jim Hughart (another Waits sideman at the time), and Nick Ceroli on drums, the pair engaged a kind of freewheeling, good-time set that remains one of the most harmonically sophisticated recordings to come out of the 1970s. The track selection revolves around the opening track, "Magna-Tism," a jam reworked around the title cut of another like-minded Southern California tenors album from the 1950s called Just Friends by Bill Perkins and Richie Kamuca. Here, Christlieb and Marsh executed their lines -- courtesy of beautiful charts by Joe Roccisano -- with grace, ease, and maverick intensity. There is a playfulness that comes to the front line from the rhythm section that both propels and lures the players into one another's orbits. While the opener offers long and loping dual lines, the intense solo contrasts on "Tenors of the Time," written by Roccisano especially for the session, showcase their wildly divergent solo approaches. Marsh could charge the rhythm section or wind his way around it, while Christlieb's sense of swing was open and hard. When they go after one another at about five and a half minutes into the track, the entire thing breaks wide open and becomes one of the great contrapuntal "singalong" moments in recorded jazz history. Other standouts include the two blowout jam approaches to Charlie Parker's "Donna Lee" and the Kern/Mercer classic "I'm Old Fashioned." But this is not merely some neo-bop exercise in self-congratulation, as evidenced by the radical chromatic reworking of Tristano's "317 E. 32nd" or the melodic extrapolation at the heart of "Rapunzel," composed by Becker and Fagen after the Bacharach/Davis tune "Land of Make Believe." - Thom Jurek

Tracks

01.Marga-tism (Pete Christlieb)

02.317 E. 32nd (Lennie Tristano)

03.Rapunzel (Donal Fagen, Walter Becker)

04.Tenors Of The Time (Joe Roccisano)

05.Donna Lee (Charlie Parker)

06.I’m Old Fashioned (Jerome Kern, John Mercer)

07.Lunarcy (Lou Levy)

08.Love Me (Burton Lane, Ralph Freed)

09.How About You (Burton Lane, Ralph Freed)

JIM HUGHART bass

NICK CEROLI drums

LOU LEVY piano

PETE CHRISTLIEB tenor saxophone

WARNE MARSH tenor saxophone

Recorded at ABC Recording Studio, Los Angeles

Warner Bros. Records / Rhino Records – 8122 73723

Throughout the 1960s, Joe Henderson was the busiest tenor saxophonist at Blue Note, releasing several outstanding albums as a leader and appearing often as a highly-regarded sideman with most of the label's talented and innovative stable of jazz artists. ( Henderson's ubiquity makes his box set The Blue Note Years probably the best available overview of the label's glory days, offering not just a sampling of his solo efforts, but takes from sessions led by Kenny Dorham, Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson, Horace Silver, Lee Morgan, Andrew Hill, Grant Green, and McCoy Tyner, among others.) An accomplished composer and powerful improviser, Henderson enjoyed moderate success and an excellent reputation among jazz fans for years, but did not emerge as a jazz superstar until the 1990s, when his albums on Verve paying tribute to Billy Strayhorn and Miles Davis achieved enormous critical and popular acclaim.

The Joe Henderson Big Band, recorded during two sessions in 1992 and 1996, continues his successful formula of reworking older tunes by a well-known artist, only this time the artist in question is Henderson himself. The seven originals and two standards on the album are all new versions of tunes previously recorded by Henderson, though none ever in a big band setting. His own compositions are challenging and harmonically complex and would not translate well into the big band format without first-rate musicians and arrangers. Fortunately, Henderson has both of these at his disposal. Classic tunes from the Blue Note years such as "Inner Urge,""Black Narcissus," and "Isotope" are given fresh and exciting arrangements by Henderson, Slide Hampton, Bob Belden, and Michael Philip Mossman. Featured soloists, besides Henderson's dynamic tenor, include Freddie Hubbard, Nicholas Payton, and Chick Corea.

Rarely heard with a big band, Corea's playing here is a special revelation. In addition to his expectedly remarkable melodic improvising, Corea displays an unexpected rhythmic ferocity as both a soloist and accompanist with the big band. Henderson's tenor playing is equally virtuosic. He brings out all the romance and passion in ballads like Billy Strayhorn's "Chelsea Bridge," and plays fast and furious on up-tempo numbers like his own "A Shade of Jade," on which he trades solos with Freddie Hubbard, no slouch when it comes to high-energy, aggressive playing. More than two dozen musicians appear on the album, with prominent roles being taken by such top-flight performers as Jon Faddis, Christian McBride, Lew Soloff, Al Foster, Lewis Nash, and Joe Chambers. One only wishes that market trends and economic realities made it possible for a band like this to tour and record together regularly. This is as good as progressive, modern big band music gets. - Joel Roberts

Tracks

01.Without a Song (Edward Eliscu/Billy Rose/ Vincent Youmans)

02.Isotope (Joe Henderson)

03.Inner Urge (Joe Henderson)

04.Black Narcissus (Joe Henderson)

05.A Shade of Jade (Joe Henderson)

06.Step Lightly (Joe Henderson)

07.Serenity (Joe Henderson)

08.Chelsea Bridge (Billy Strayhorn)

09.Recorda Me (Joe Henderson)

JOE HENDERSON tenor saxophone

DICK OATTS soprano saxophone, alto saxophone

PETE YELLIN alto saxophone

STEVE WILSON alto saxophone

BOBBY PORCELLI alto saxophone

CRAIG HANDY tenor saxophone

RICH PERRY tenor saxophone

TIM RIES tenor saxophone

CHARLES PILLOW tenor saxophone

JOE TEMPERLEY baritone saxophone

GARY SMULYAN baritone saxophone

FREDDIE HUBBARD trumpet

RAYMOND VEGA trumpet

IDREES SULIEMAN trumpet

JIMMY OWENS trumpet

JON FADDIS trumpet

LEW SOLOFF trumpet

MARCUS BELGRAVE trumpet

NICHOLAS PAYTON trumpet

TONY KADLECK trumpet

MICHAEL MOSSMAN trumpet

VIRGIL JONES trumpet

EARL GARDNER trumpet

BYRON STRIPLING trumpet

CONRAD HERWIG trombone

JIMMY KNEPPER trombone

ROBIN EUBANKS trombone

KEITH 0’QUINN trombone

LARRY FARRELL trombone

KIANE ZAWADI trombone

DAVID TAYLOR bass trombone

DOUGLAS PURVIANCE bass trombone

CHICK COREA piano

HELIO ALVES piano

RONNIE MATHEWS piano

CHRISTIAN McBRIDE bass

JOE CHAMBER drums

AL FOSTER drums

LEWIS NASH drums

PAULINHO BRAGA drums

Recorded at Power Station, Studio C, March 6, 1992 and at The Hit Factory, Studio 1, June 24 & June 26, 1992

Verve Records 314 - 533 451-2

Mark Turner’s Ballad Session presents a tenor saxophonist of extraordinary poise and emotional attunement. Throughout this recording Turner deftly maintains his balance, avoiding sentimentality, presenting a consistently direct emotional response to the compositions and to his fellow musicians. This disc reveals Mark Turner to be a young musician to watch carefully.

Pianist Kevin Hays is an especially attentive accompanist whose solos add to the emotional focus of this recording. Bassist Larry Grenadier plays a spare, loping bass that allows plenty of room for interaction. Guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel alternates with Hays in the second instrument slot, replacing Hays on about half of the disc’s tracks. He is also an excellent accompanist; his duet work with Turner is a highlight of this recording. Drummer Brian Blade’s presence is low-key and affective throughout; his lack of an intrusive ego is notable.

Above this band soars Mark Turner with a clear, bright sound that often emphasizes the higher registers of the tenor. The earthier Zoot Sims provides an interesting comparison to Turner. They both have a harmonic sophistication that results in a sure-footed ability to make every phrase sound as if it were inevitable.

Turner has succeeded in developing a band that seems to bring out the best in him. This recording is a dramatic advance from his earlier (1998) somewhat “steely” disc entitled In This World the difference being the emotional depth of this very fine session. Highly recommended. - Mike Neely

Tracks

01.I Loves You, Porgy (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin/DuBose Heyward)

02.Some Other Time (Leonard Bernstein/Betty Comden/Adolph Green)

03.Nefertiti (Wayne Shorter)

04.Skylark (Hoagy Carmichael/Johnny Mercer)

05.No More (Tutti Camarata/Bob Russell)

06.All or Nothing at All (Arthur Altman/Jack Lawrence)

07.Visions (Bobby Hutcherson)

08.Alone and I (Herbie Hancock)

09.Late Lament (Paul Desmond)

10.Jesus Maria (Carla Bley)

LARRY GRENADIER bass

BRIAN BLADE drums

KURT ROSENWINKEL guitar

KEVIN HAYS piano

MARK TURNER tenor saxophone

Recorded at Sear Sound, NYC on Oct. 4-5, 1999

Warner Bros. Records – 9362-47631-

For decades, the Modern Jazz Quartet's Milt Jackson was jazz's leading player of the vibraphone. Both in the Modern Jazz Quartet and on his own solo albums, Jackson redefined the role of vibes in jazz, turning them from a percussion instrument into a lead more than capable of holding its own in any format. Not even Bags, though, would have recorded an album like Walt Dickerson's Serendipity. Recorded live in Dickerson's hometown of Philadelphia in 1976, Serendipity was the vibraphonist's second album as leader after an extended layoff, and it's remarkable in its spareness. This is a trio date, but drummer Edgar Bateman and future superstar bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma (barely 20, but already a veteran of Ornette Coleman & Prime Time) stand way back and give Dickerson room to breathe. (Unusually for Tacuma, who has turned over-playing into an art form; even his extended solo at the opening of the 15-minute "Magnificent Glimpse" is a model of economy and restraint.) From the solo opener "My Prayer" onwards, this is entirely Dickerson's show; he remains in control of the improvisations, even on the jaggedly free passages that erupt on even the most conventionally melodic of these tunes. He subtly steers things back to a tonal and melodic center as the lengthy tracks (all but one well over ten minutes) come to a logical and shapely close. Those expecting a nice melodic vibes album à la Lionel Hampton will probably freak, but Serendipity is a stunner for fans of Dickerson's more out-there sets.

Stewart Mason - All Music Guide

Tracks

1. My Prayer

2. Magnificent Glimps

3. Serendipity

4. This Way, Please

5. Inner View

WALT DICKERSON vibes

JAMAALADEEN TACUMA bass

EDGAR BATEMAN drums

All compositions by Walt Dickerson

Recorded live at "Player's Palace, Philadelphia, August 11, 1976

STEEPLE CHASE SCCD 31070

Despite his very erratic lifestyle, altoist Art Pepper never made a bad record. This collection is better than most. The first four titles team together Pepper with tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh, pianist Ronnie Ball, bassist Ben Tucker, and drummer Gary Frommer for generally intriguing explorations of four standards. One can feel the influence of Lennie Tristano (with Pepper in Lee Konitz's place), although Pepper had his own sound and a more hard-swinging style. The success of the Pepper-Marsh front line makes one wish that they had recorded together again. The other three selections are leftovers from a trio of classic Pepper albums, and all are quite worthwhile. Pepper is heard backed by three separate rhythm sections, which include pianists Red Garland, Dolo Coker, or Wynton Kelly; either Paul Chambers or Jimmy Bond on bass; and Philly Joe Jones, Frank Butler, or Jimmy Cobb on drums. Overall, this album sticks to bop standards and finds Art Pepper in top form. - Scott Yanow

Tracks

1. I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me (Gaskill-McHugh)

2. All The Things You Are (Hammerstein-Kern)

3. What’s New (Haggart-Burke)

4. Ticket Toe (Young)

5. The Man I Love You (G. Gershwin-I. Gershwin)

6. Autumn Leaves (Prevert-Kosma-Mercer)

7. The Way You Look Tonight (Fields-Kern)

8. I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me (alternate take)

9. All The Things You Are (alternate Take)

ART PEPPER alto sax

WARNE MARSH tenor sax (1-4) (8) (9)

RONNIE BALL piano (1-4) (8) (9)

BEN TUCKER bass (1-4) (8) (9)

GARY FROMMER drums (1-4) (8) (9)

RED GARLAND piano (5)

PAUL CHAMBERS bass (5) (7)

DOLO COKER piano (6)

JIMMY BOND bass (6)

FRANK BUTLER drums (6)

WYNTON KELLY piano (7)

JIMMY COBB drums (7)

All sessions recorded at Contemporary’s Studio in Los Angeles

(1-4) recorded November 26, 1956, released 1972

(5) recorded January 19, 1957, released 1972

(6) recorded November 23, 1960. Previously unreleased from sesión “Art Pepper; Intensity” (Contemporary S7607)

(7) recorded February 29, 1960. Previously unreleased sesión for “Art Pepper; Gettin’ Together” (Contemporary S7573

Contemporary Records UDSACD 2034

Tracks
1. There'll Never Be Another You (Harry Warren)
2. I Love You (Cole Porter)
3. I Fall In Love Too Easily (Juel Styne)
4. Lover Man (Ram Ramirez)
Salt Peanuts (Dizzy Gillespie)

TETE MONTOLIU piano
NIELS HENNING ORSTED PEDERSEN bass

Recorded April 15, 1982 in Umea, Sweden
SteepleChase SCCD 31185

If one were to draw a line between the ensemble aesthetics of Eberhard Weber and Keith Jarrett, then one might plot the compositions of orchestral jazz legend Mike Gibbs somewhere along the way. Born in 1937 in what was then Southern Rhodesia, and a graduate of Boston’s Berklee College of Music, Gibbs has laid down a musical path as diverse as his travels. On Seven Songs for Chamber Orchestra, one gains vision of a mind looking not so much to cross over into uncharted waters as to expand the inclusivity of jazz’s already broad topography. At the heart of this project is Gibbs’s most famous student, the inimitable Gary Burton, who presents a lovingly realized program of his mentor’s own design. “Nocturne Vulgaire” sets the album’s plaintive tone with a groundswell of strings, into which Burton drops his mercurial sound. This delicate blend of mallets and bows continues unabated in “Arise, Her Eyes” (Steve Swallow), the only non-Gibbs number on the album. Mick Goodrick’s steady strums and Ted Seibs’s cymbal-heavy drumming make the most of the tender “Throb,” as Burton’s vibes glow like phosphorescent blood in the piece’s ambulatory body. “By Way Of A Preface” spins the album’s densest song. Its abstract beginnings carry over into a gorgeously perpetual solo from Goodrick, while Swallow makes his memorable mark in the pensive confines of “Phases.” The vast open fields that underlie “The Rain Before It Falls” give way to the chromatic wonders of “Three,” in which Burton and Goodrick’s relays emerge with all the inevitability of a final word.
This is a dream album for admirers of both Burton and Weber, combining as it does the former’s dulcet precision and the latter’s lush arrangements, and is therefore well worth tracking down (a CD-reissue is long overdue). Burton’s ability to carry a tune to fruition is only enhanced by Gibbs’s affected settings, which hardly make a dent in their emotional reserves. If jazz is about discovering the integrity of every lifted voice, then certainly Seven Songs rises from its murky waters with just a few of many unheard treasures. - ecmreviews

Tracks
1. Nocturne Vulgaire/Arise, Her Eyes (M. Gibbs, S. Swallow)
2. Throb (M. Gibbs)
3. By Way Of A Preface (M. Gibbs)
4. Phases (M. Gibbs)
5. The Rain Before It Falls (M. Gibbs)
6. Three (M. Gibbs)

GARY BURTON vibraharp
MICK GOODRICK guitar
STEVE SWALLOW bass
TED SEIBS drums
NDR - Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg
Michael Gibbs conductor

Recorded December 1973 in Hamburg
ECM 1040

One of the characteristics shared by most of my favorite jazz musicians is versatility. They have "big ears" in their musical interests as well as in their playing environments. If you look at the list of guitarist Brad Shepik's recording credits, you'll see everything from nearly straight ahead jazz to music heavily influenced by Middle Eastern and European folk music.
And then there's the Tiny Bell Trio. Led by trumpeter Dave Douglas, the trio's combination of horn, guitar, and drums (the phenomenal Jim Black) made for some unique and open music. By 'open' I'm referring to the large amount of space in the music. While the "idea density" is quite high, each player seems to know when to lay back, allowing for a maximum of subtle interplay.
Live in Europe finds Shepik and his bandmates taking up a varied set of musical roles. Necessitated by the decidedly non-traditional lineup, lead and support roles are shared and swapped as each each composition's improvisation moves forward. The opening track "Around The Bend" is a perfect example of what this great trio was capable of. At first, Douglas and Shepik play in unison as Black sketches out a rhythmic framework. A few minutes later, Shepik drops out as Douglas solos while Black, in all of his amazing resourcefulness, provides both rhythmic and harmonic accompaniment. As Blacks cranks up the idea machine, Douglas plays with increased enthusiasm, even tossing in a bit of Sonny Rollins'"St. Thomas." Shepik comes back in for a bit and then Douglas take a break as Shepik takes a winding turn with Black. Chord solos are mixed in with twisting single lines as Black spills out more ideas than a rational person might think is possible. The trio riffs together for a bit before Black takes his own solo, sounding like nothing you've ever heard before. The entire group reprises the original theme before ending on one long trumpet note. It's inventive and exhilarating stuff.
To get an idea of the breadth of this trio's interest's, it's instructive to look at what they chose to cover at this concert. First is "Langsam," a transcription of part of a Schumann piece originally written for cello and piano. It's romantic, harmonically rich (especially the way Douglas and Shepik intertwine their lines), and just gorgeous. Serious, yes? So skip to the end of the night and revel in "Czardas". A traditional Hungarian folk tune is run through with humor and affection. Beginning at Zorn-like speed, the Tiny Bell Trio steps back and examines the themes piecemeal to see what improvisational nuggets can be discovered. Listening to what Shepik does with these lines, it's fairly obvious that he's equally at home in the worlds of both jazz and traditional musics.
"Big ears" might have become a jazz stereotype, but if you give a listen to this concert, you'll see that there's a lot of meaning behind that idea. Jim Black, Dave Douglas and Brad Shepik give new meaning to the word 'versatility.' - Mark Saleski

Tracks

1. Around the Bend

2. Bardot

3. Zeno

4. Preprandial

5. Song for My Father-in-Law/Uncle Wiggly

6. Langsam (Schumann)

7. Not Thinkin’ Too Good

8. If the Cherry Tree Still Stands

DAVE DOUGLAS trumpet

BRAD SCHOEPPACH guitar

JIM BLACK drums

All compositions by Dave Douglas except as indicated

Tracks 1,3,6 & 8 recorded at Theatre an der Molenlaan, Bussum (Holland) on October 24, 1996; Tracks 2, 4 & 7 recorded at Bimhuis, Amsterdam on October 22, 1996; Track 5 recorded at Paradox, Tilburg (Belgium) on October 10, 1996

Arabesque Recordings – AJ0126

While the last Bobo Stenson Trio offering found the band cohesively searching for a new harmonic language together and separately as composers, on War Orphans they seem to have found it. Stenson (piano), Anders Jormin (double bass), and Jon Christensen (drums) have sought to distill their tonal language into meditational musical space. They are content to open everything up slowly to get everybody on board and then head for new harmonic directions constantly, through melodic invention and lyrical interplay. As evidence of this, only one of the album's eight selections is by Stenson, three are by Jormin, and the rest by Ornette Coleman (two works including the title), Duke Elington, and Silvio Rodriguez, whose "Oleo de Mujer Con Sombrero" opens the album. Stenson plays the melody in the upper register, a full octave higher than the original. Jormin takes a Mingus-ike role, playing melody and counterpoint simultaneously and never stepping out of Christensen’s rhythmic boundaries. On Coleman’s stitle track, the trio fuels a quiet fire with responsive harmonic invention by tracking mode and interval to the melodic source -- and if you can't hear melody in Coleman, then you can't hear. Stenson takes the melodic idea, reduces it to five notes, and allows Jormin to bow in near silence as if he were playing a drum. The tonal range of his restraint is noted in the way Stenson reassembles the melody and brings with it the resident deep emotion it was composed with. Christensen whispers along his cymbals and snare. The delicate overtonal balance is swaying between piano and bass, fragile, sorrowful, and sharp. When Stenson finds the melodic part of the tune coming around again, he stutters and staggers the harmony, and just when you think it will go into overdrive, his glistens head to a shimmering, near-silent close. This was truly a meditation on death. On Jormin’s "Sediment" we hear the lighter side of the trio playing out a series of chromatic interludes that resemble preludes but are actually interludes with a melodic framework to guide them through their open, spatial architecture here. On this tune, we can hear Paul Bley’s influence come to bear on Stenson, as he organizes the melodic frame around the space Jormin has given him to play it. It's cool and collected and musically out of this world when Stenson’s arpeggios begin to move angularly against the rhythm. The set closes with a gorgeous reading of Ellington’s "Melancholia," a healthy dose of balladic psychosis wrapped around a creative jazz fugue. Everyone seems to be playing out of time, but the time is in the center of the changes that are stretched out to the breaking point and left for dead as new ones enter the intervallic proscenium. Stenson’s power as a pianist is in full evidence here; one can hear every year he put in with Charles Lloyd holding down the ever-weird fort where melody and harmonic strangeness fought each and every night and resolution was temporal and fleeting. As the trio moves through the middle and end of the tune, it's Christensen who shows its true flavor by stomping the sh*t out of the rhythm and changing it to suit his own improvisational needs since the band is so adaptable. Seven time signatures reveal themselves before it's all done and a flurry of soft arpeggios on top of diminished ninths. As the melody disappears into silence, the listener becomes aware that he or she has just witnessed something aurally so special he or she will be tempted never to play it again for fear of losing its feeling. Not to worry; it happens every time.

Thom Jurek

Tracks

01.Oleo de mujer con sombrero

02.Natt

03.All My Life

04.Eleventh Of January

05.War Orphans

06.Sediment

07.Bengali Blue

08.Melancholia

BOBO STENSON piano

ANDERS JORMIN double-bass

JON CHRISTENSEN drums

Recorded May 1997, Rainbow Studio, Oslo

ECM 1604 539 723 - 2

Trumpeter Enrico Rava and his quartet (with guitaristHarry Pepl, bassist Furio Di Castri and drummer Bruce Ditmas meet the Argentinian bandoneon player Dino Saluzzi on six group originals. Rava’s introverted yet inwardly passionate playing matches well with Saluzzi’s modern tangos, and the results are fairly accessible yet still exploratory. An intriguing set. - Scott Yanow

Tracks

01.Le Bout Du Souffle (Enrico Rava)

02.Minguito (Dino Saluzzi)

03.Luna – Volver (Dino Saluzzi)

04.Tiempos De Ausencia (Dino Saluzzi)

05.Ballantine For Valentine (Harry Pepl)

06.Visions (Enrico Rava)

ENRICO RAVA trumpet

DINO SALUZZI bandoneón

HARRY PEPL guitar

FURIO DI CASTRI bass

BRUCE DITMAS drums

Recorded October 1986 at Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg

ECM 1343 831 395 - 2

Bassist Henri Texier leads an all-star quintet bolstered by the presence of special guest Joe Lovano on tenor sax in this live 1986 recording. While Texier either wrote or co-wrote many of the selections, he amply features his musicians while not taking much of the solo spotlight for himself. The leader's energetic post-bop cooker "Zentral Motiv is a potent opener, highlighted by strong solos from Lovano and Louis Sclavis on soprano sax. The eerie "Baton Rouge" is a slow-to-develop group improvisation, with guitarist Philippe Deschepper prominent in the mix and explosive bursts bySclavis on bass clarinet. The four-part suite "Grillage" blends several different contributions by the quintet's members. "Paris Batignolles" is a joyous celebration, with the blend of reeds almost suggesting an accordion. This fun-filled concert is warmly recommended. - Ken Dryden

Tracks

1. Zentral Motive (Henri Texier)

2. Baton Rouge (Deschepper/Lovano/Sclavis/Texier)

3. La Louisiane (Joe Lovano)

4. Grillagel Seul Contre Tous/Jall/Grillage/Cavale (Mahieux/Sclavis/Texier)

5. Paris Batignolles (Henri Texier)

6. Noises (Henri Texier)

JACQUES MAHIEUX drums

JOE LOVANO tenor saxophone

HENRI TEXIER doublé bass, cymbals, chinese gong, bendir

PHILIPPE DESCHEPPER guitar, piccolo-guitar

LOUIS SCLAVIS bass clarinet, soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone

Recorded live May 21, 1986 at “LE TEMPS DU JAZZ” International Jazz festival of Amiens in le Grande Théâtre de la Maison de la Culture.

LABEL BLEU – LBLC 6506 France

http://www.label-bleu.com/flash.htm

ANDREW! finds the avant-garde composer and pianist Andrew Hill following up his landmark 1964 LP, POINT OF DEPARTURE, with a more flowing quintet session, featuring the estimable vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson and Sun Ra tenor saxophonist John Gilmore (in a rare appearance outside of the Arkestra). This is the Blue Note sound of the '60s at its best, cutting edge yet beautifully produced with room enough for full, exploratory improvisations by all concerned. Hutcherson in particular provides a warm, fluent foil to Hill's more abstract conceptions, and Gilmore's bright tone and energetically structured solos bring even more fire to the mix. Andrew Hill remained somewhat underrated throughout his career, but few musicians of the time possessed his special intellectual integrity, the mark of a true composer. ANDREW! captures him in a peak period.

Tracks
01. The Groits
02. Black Monday
03. Duplicity
04. Le Serpent Qui Danse
05. No Doubt
06. Symmetry

ANDREW HILL  piano
BOBBY HUTCHERSON  vibraphone
RICHARD DAVIS bass
JOHN GILMORE  tenor saxophone
JOE CHAMBERS  drums

Music composed by Andrew Hill
Recorded on June 25, 1964 at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Blue Note 0946 3 11438 2 3, originally issued as Blue Note BST 84203

HENRY THREADGILL & MAKE A MOVE - Where's Your Cup (1997)

LEW TABACKIN QUARTET - Desert Lady (1990)

MAL WALDRON - Soul Eyes (1997)

STEFANO BOLLANI - L' Orchestra Del Titanic (1999)

RON MILES - My Cruel Heart (1996)

JIM HALL - Jim Hall & Basses (2001)

JOEY BARON - Down Home (1997)

JOEY BARON - We'll Soon Find Out (1999)

PETE CHRISTLIEB & WARNE MARSH - Apogee (1978)

JOE HENDERSON - Big Band (1996)

MARK TURNER - Ballad Session (2000)

WALT DICKERSON - Serendipity (1976)

ART PEPPER - The Way It Is (1972)

TETE MONTOLIU & NHOP - Face To Face (1982)

GARY BURTON - Seven Songs For Quartet And Chamber Orchestra (1974)

DAVE DOUGLAS TINY BELL TRIO - Live In Europe (1997)

BOBO STENSON TRIO - War Orphans (1998)

ENRICO RAVA, DINO SALUZZI QUINTET - Volver (1988)

HENRI TEXIER QUARTET & JOE LOVANO - Paris Batignolles (1986)

ANDREW HILL - Andrew (1964)