CDs of Note…

Lionel Loueke, Mwaliko (Blue Note)
Singer-guitarist Lionel Loueke’s newest project is an exotic and interesting blend of jazz and the native music of West Africa, produced with a rotation of guest artists from both overlapping genres. They include, on two tracks apiece, fellow Benin native Angelique Kidjo (on “Ami O” and “Vi Ma Yon”), bassist-singer Richard Bona (a Cameroon native) on “Wishes” and Hide Life,” and bassist-singer Esperanza Spalding on the enchanting “Twins” and “Flying.” Interspersed with the duo pieces, three trio tracks combine the talents of Loueke with bassist Massimo Biolcati and drummer Ferenc Nemeth. My favorites are the interplay of Bona and Loueke on the closing track, “Hide Life” and Loueke’s intimate guitar and drums (Marcus Gilmore) reworking of Wayne Shorter’s “Nefertiti.” As the tune moves along, Loueke boils it down gradually to its melodic essence - eventually settling on the impact of three key notes. The CD title, Mwaliko, means “invitation” in Swahili. It is most fitting for thus essentially duo project with talented good friends.

Carl Fischer & Organic Groove Ensemble, Adverse Times (Fischmusic)
Don’t pigeonhole this CD. Just enjoy it. Carl Fischer’s CD is likely to find a comfortable home on mainstream jazz and instrumental pop charts because of the leader’s pedigree. He toured early in his career with Maynard Ferguson and leads his own Organic Groove Ensemble from his Long Island NY home base when not touring with Billy Joel or subbing in Broadway pit bands. Fischer’s sound is strong and sure - without the constant high-octane, ear-cleansing notes of a Ferguson performance. He can hit it once in a while for impact, particularly on the title track. Other great treats here are the work of guitarist Jay Azzolina and the Hammond B3 work of Ron Oswanski. While the CD contains mostly Fischer originals, the covers here include Marcus Miller’s “Tutu” composition recorded by Miles Davis, and extended versions of Billy Joel’s “Downeaster Alexa” and “Elegy for the Fishermen.”

Various Artists, Putumayo Presents Rhythm & Blues (Putumayo World Music)
Since 1993, Putumayo World Music has been specializing in compilation discs featuring music from specific countries, regions or styles. Its newest in the series, Rhythm & Blues, is terrific because it blends classic tunes and artists with some of the contemporary singers and players touching on the R&B genre. Examples: Lavelle White’s version of “I’ve Never Found a Man to Love,” James Hunter’s original “’Til Your Fool Comes Home,” Sam Moore, Keb’ Mo’ and Angie Stone’s rollicking remake of “Wang Dang Doodle,” Catherine Russell’s take on Sam Cooke’s “Put Me Down Easy” and Irma Thomas’s collaboration with pianist Henry Butler on John Fogerty’s “River is Waiting.” There are a dozen such gems.

Reminders of the future of jazz

For those naysayers and/or moldy figs who say, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, that jazz is dead, don’t buy it. The music isn’t even on life support, given the attention and interest it receives from music educators and their serious students at college, high school and lower levels.

Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington” competition each May draws perhaps the most fanfare. But it certainly holds no monopoly.

Consider last weekend’s Charles Mingus High School Competition at the Manhattan School of Music, where schools from New England dominated the winner’s circle.

Among Mingus’s compositions performed were “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,” “Fables of Faubus,” “Better Get Hit in Your Soul,” “Jelly Roll” and “Ecclusiastics.”

Competition co-founder Sue Mingus, the bassist’s widow and musical champion, said: “For years, Mingus’s music was thought to be too difficult to perform, and today, the spirit and vitality that was heard by all of the young musicians playing Mingus’s music was really thrilling.”

The winning ensembles included:

• Best Big Band – Regular High School: The Rivers Big Band, The Rivers School; Weston, Massachusetts (Philippe Crettienne, director).
• Best Big Band – Specialized School: Academy Big Band, Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts; Hartford, Connecticut (Douglas Maher, director).
• Mingus Spirit Award: Rio Americano Combo, Rio Americano High School, Sacramento, California. (Maxwell Kiesner, director).
• Best Combo – Regular High School: Foxborough High School Jazz Quintet, Foxborough, Massachusetts (Stephen C. Massey, director).
• Best Combo – Specialized High School: Manasia Improv Ensemble, Manhattan School of Music Precollege (Jeremy Manasia, director).
  

Congratulations to these winners, as well as the winners of best arranger, and outstanding and section categories from this nationwide competition.

Berklee Festival is right around the corner
It is also good to note that in less than a month – March 13 – Boston’s Berklee College of Music will host its 42nd annual High School Jazz Festival, with 200 bands and 3,000 musicians expected to compete for $175,000 in partial scholarships to Berklee’s Five-Week Summer Performance Program.

The Hynes Convention Center event will also feature free clinics by trombonist and producer Delfeayo Marsalis, drummer Peter Erskine and trumpeter Eric Miyashiro, as well as performances by the Crescent Super Band, an internationally touring all-star high school ensemble from Utah, Berklee's Concert Jazz Orchestra, Global Jazz Institute, City Music, Salsa, and P-Funk ensembles. New this year is Band Slam, a non-competing category for students who play non-jazz styles, ranging from hip-hop to bluegrass.

For more information, visit: http://www.berklee.edu/events/hsjazzfest

CDs of Note…

Sheryl Bailey, A New Promise (MCG Jazz)
New York-based guitarist Sheryl Bailey teamed with the Three Rivers Jazz Orchestra in her native Pittsburgh for this session, which was developed as a tribute to late guitarist Emily Remler, who Bailey feels paved the way for her and other female guitarists. My favorites: her versions of three Remler-written tunes - the Wes Montgomery tribute ”East to Wes,” and the Samba-tinged “Mocha Spice” and “Carenia” - plus Bailey’s own “Miekaniemi” and rather elegiac title track “A New Promise.” This CD has a lot going for it on multiple levels. The big band and soloist support is terrific.

Rose Colella Trio, Small Hours (Lola Bard)
Chicago-based singer Rose Colella tackles an array of American Songbook chestnuts on this debut CD, released in mid-2009. She’s a veteran of quite of a few of the Windy City’s jazz clubs and bistros, and has a pleasant, enjoyable voice. My favorite tunes of the 11 tracks are “After You’ve Gone” and Blossom Dearie’s “Blossom’s Blues.” This project with guitarist Dan Effland and bassist Joe Policastro is a splendid showcase for Effland’s inventive playing and solo artistry. Colella comes by her love of song quite honestly. Her grandmother, and label namesake, Lola Bard was a 1930s singer who recorded with Bobby Hackett and The Original Dixieland Jazz Band.

Big Crazy Energy New York Band, Inspirations (Rosa)
Norwegian-born, New York-based trombonist Jens Wendelboe picked the perfect name for his robust band. It is big, it is based in the Big Apple and it has a crazy sort of energy as it works its way through a blend of originals by the leader, three jazz standards (compliments of Joe Henderson, Scott Lafaro and Billy Cobham) and Lennon and McCartney’s “A Day in the Life.” There’s also a beautiful extended rendition (featuring a fiery solo by trumpeter Vinnie Cutro) of the traditional “Dear Old Stockholm”, which many jazz players have used as a wonderful improvisation vehicle through the years. My favorite: the band’s thorough exploration of the aforementioned Beatles classic. Wendelboe is a great leader and player. He’s also a Blood, Sweat and Tears instrumentalist and musical director for disco diva Donna Summer. This is a February 16 release.

Geaux Saints, with a trumpeter’s fanfare

Once in a while, jazz and popular culture conveniently cross paths. And how fitting that it was on the sporting world’s biggest stage last weekend with the NFL’s Super Bowl XLIV festivities.

CBS’s pre-game broadcast leading up to the New Orleans Saints' gritty, stunning - and most welcome - win over the Colts included Wynton Marsalis’s music-and-spoken word tribute to The Big Easy, and the Saints organization's perseverence through 43 years of suffering before this season.

He did a masterful job of putting the spirit of his beloved city in perspective. And today… it was live-streamed out to the jazz world and other Marsalis followers after an online conversation with the trumpeter/bandleader/Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director on Ustream.

“Down on the Bayou where the mighty Mississippi kisses Lake Pontchartrain and spills into the Gulf of Mexico. There sits that jewel of the Southland. What the French lost to the British who gave it to the Spanish who lost it back to the French who sold it to America for…. Well, some folks say Jefferson conned Napoleon in a card game and won it for some jambalaya and a chicory coffee….” Read more about the ‘haints and the Saints’

here on Wynton's Web site.

Yes, the musical sage captured it perfectly… a unique city in America, a city of struggles, a team of struggles - and pride and perseverance.

Sunday’s improbable victory signaled more - and shined a spotlight back on a city that, with a new mayor-elect ready to take office, that does and will continue to persevere - and someday flourish again post-Katrina. Its spirit is undeniable and unstoppable.

The music hasn’t lost a beat… as it provides the essential rhythm. So how fitting that Mardi Gras began nine days early this year. How uplifting for New Orleans, its team, its residents and its longtime admirers and visitors.

CDs of Note…

Whitney James, The Nature of Love (Damselfly Productions)
Singer Whitney James’s debut CD is a dandy. The singer, who divides her non-touring time between Florida and New York City, has a very good handle on the essential jazz vocal qualities that elude so many aspirants - phrasing, timing, and a shading / shaping / twisting emphasis on the lyrics in ways that better serve the material. And she knows how to become part of the band, not use it as ornamentation, or vice-versa. She’s got wonderful teammates here - with Ingrid Jensen on trumpet and flugelhorn, Joshua Wolff on piano, Matt Clohesy on bass and Jon Wikan on drums, to explore songs that all tough on aspects of love. Jensen’s playing is masterful, whether she is soloing or comping behind James. The clear highlight is their work on the Benny Golson classic “Whisper Not.” I also love Jensen’s poignant horn work on Jimmy Rowles’ “The Peacocks.” She and James make a great team - and James’s project is richer for her creative support.

Jamie Cullum, The Pursuit (Verve)
Not strictly jazz, too sophisticated for pure pop, and enough energy and showmanship to power a small city. That about sums up the talented Brit Jamie Cullum. You’ve got to love his charm and enthusiasm - and way with a song - regardless of whether you enjoy his in-concert piano gymnastics. His latest recording, The Pursuit, is his first in four years - and it is quite interesting. It’s a blend of standards and originals - and a few pop/rock covers. I particularly like the opener, a Frank Wess-arranged version of “Just One of Those Things” (recorded in live performance with the Count Basie Orchestra) and his version of Rhianna’s 2007 hit single “Don’t Stop the Music.” The latter song’s incessant energy could be a Cullum anthem. He also takes on current economic events with his own “Wheels” (key refrain: The wheels are falling off the world”). This a March 2 U.S. release, though it has been out since November in the U.K.

John Stein, Raising the Roof (Whaling City Sound)
Boston-based guitarist John Stein is a mainstreamer whose music always swings hard in service to the melody. This time out, he’s working with Koichi Sato keyboards, John Lockwood bass and Brazil’s Zé Eduardo Nazario on drums. It is a fine, empathetic band tackling Stein’s new arrangements on seven jazz standards, plus two very nice originals: “Elvin!” and “Wild Woods.” The re-arrangements are interesting. For example, they accelerate the tempo on Horace Silver’s classic “Nica’s Dream” without diminishing the tune’s beauty. Conversely, he takes a laid-back approach to Thad Jones’s “A Child is Born.” Stein is an inventive veteran player deserving far-greater recognition. If you’re not yet familiar, do give him a listen. He’s creative and his music is solid, harmonically and melodically inventive - and pleasant.

Grammy/jazz reprise

For those of you lacking the courage or patience to endure the glitz and non-music that dominate the Grammy Awards, here is a rundown of Sunday night’s winners in the jazz-related categories. Congrats to every one of the fine nominees as well.

How sad that jazz doesn’t get a significant place on the Grammy stage anymore. It was great , however, to see Clark Terry present for his Lifetime Achievement Award acknowledgement. The Recording Academy comp’ed him a room - but how unfortunate that Clark had to pony up the airfare from the East Coast for himself, his wife and his nurse who accompanies whenever he travels now.

Here are the winners:

Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group

Five Peace Band - Live

Chick Corea & John McLaughlin Five Peace Band (Concord Jazz)

Best Contemporary Jazz Album
75
Joe Zawinul & The Zawinul Syndicate (Heads Up International)

Best Jazz Vocal Album

Dedicated To You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman

Kurt Elling (Concord Jazz)

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

Book One

New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (World Village)

Best Latin Jazz Album -Vocal or Instrumental
Juntos Para Siempre

Bebo Valdés and Chucho Valdés (Sony Music/Calle 54)

Best Improvised Jazz Solo
Dancin' 4 Chicken

Terence Blanchard

Track from Watts (Jeff "Tain" Watts) (Dark Key Music)

Best Instrumental Arrangement

West Side Story Medley

Bill Cunliffe, arranger (Resonance Big Band)

Track from Resonance Big Band Plays Tribute To Oscar Peterson (Resonance Records)

Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)

Quiet Nights

Claus Ogerman, arranger, track from Diana Krall’s Quiet Nights (Verve)

Best Pop Instrumental Album
Potato Hole

Booker T. Jones (Anti)

Best Pop Instrumental Performance

Throw Down Your Heart

Béla Fleck

Track from Throw Down Your Heart: Tales From The Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3 - Africa Sessions (Rounder)

Best Contemporary World Music Album Vocal or Instrumental
Throw Down Your Heart: Tales From The Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3 - Africa Sessions

Béla Fleck (Rounder)

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden

Michael Bublé (143/Reprise)

Best Rock Instrumental Performance

A Day In The Life

Jeff Beck,track from Performing This Week...Live At Ronnie Scott's (Eagle Records)

Best Album Notes
The Complete Louis Armstrong Decca Sessions (1935-1946)

Dan Morgenstern, album notes writer Mosaic Records)

Best Historical Album
The Complete Chess Masters (1950-1967)

Andy McKaie, compilation producer; Erick Labson, mastering engineer. Hip-O Select/Geffen Records)

Best Classical Crossover Album

Yo-Yo Ma & Friends: Songs Of Joy And Peace

Yo-Yo Ma wiith Odair Assad, Sergio Assad, Chris Botti, Dave Brubeck, Matt Brubeck, John Clayton, Paquito d'Rivera, Renée Fleming, Diana Krall, Alison Krauss, Natalie McMaster, Edgar Meyer, Cristina Pato, Joshua Redman, Jake Shimabukuro, Silk Road Ensemble, James Taylor, Chris Thile, Wu Tong, Alon Yavnai & Amelia Zirin-Brown. (Sony Classical)

Note: I threw in Jeff Beck for two reasons, even though he won in an instrumental rock category. 1) He recorded his CD at Ronnie Scott’s. 2) He had a super jazz-related performance on the telecast with a Les Paul tribute performance – playing “How High the Moon” – on a Les Paul model guitar, of course.

One thing that doesn’t really make sense to me
You’ll note the category for Best Latin Jazz Album - Vocal or Instrumental.
Latin Jazz is also a part of the now-10-years-old Latin Grammy Awards. Why the duplication? And if it is so necessary, why don’t we have separate nights for Bluegrass Grammys, Blues Grammys, Classical Grammys, Folk Grammys, Jazz Grammys, Movie Soundtrack Grammys and Grab-Your-Crotch & Rhyme Grammys, etc.?

I’m curious why one genre gets its own separate night but NOTeach of the others. Then again, we are talking about a mainstream entertainment awards event.

I think I just answered my own question.

Parris takes the music south

No matter that there was another Arctic blast of winter in New England, singer Rebecca Parris packed in a full house at Chan's in Woonsocket RI Saturday evening with a heated set that had us feeling like we were in Rio.

The Boston-based singer, always a huge draw at Chan's, was joined by saxophonist Dan Moretti, pianist Tim Ray, bassist Dave Zinno and drummer Steve Langone for a heart-warming and solid evening.

They took a blend of American Songboook and jazz standards - and performed them with a variety of Brazilian rhythms. Parris was in her element, a master of working the beat with her uncanny phrasing and sense of time.

The first set explored "Speak Low," "Darn That Dream," "I Fall in Love Too Easily," "You Don't Know What Love Is" and quite appropriately Tom Jobim's classic "Dindi" - with a Parris storytelling twist - and "Chega de Saudade" (No More Blues).

Parris has taken a hit with health issues over the last few years, but it hasn't affected her singing. Hallelujah.

CDs of Note…

Roberto Magris & The Europlane Orchestra, Current Views (Soul Note)
Italian pianist Roberto Magris keeps rolling out great recordings that should afford him much more recognition in the United States as well as abroad. And this is no exception. Current Views features Magris with his Europlane Orchestra, a small big band whose size varies from sextet to septet to octet as the robust sound requires. The gems here include “The Storyteller” (an extended piece that features a guest appearance by guitarist Philip Catherine), his uptempo”React!,” the high-energy, Latin-tinged “Hombres,” “Steady Mood” and “For Naima,” which Magris wrote for his daughter. The mood-setting writing and the musicianship here are very fine indeed.

Omar Sosa & NDR Bigband, Ceremony (Otá)
Every Omar Sosa performance swings deeply and is imbued with mystical/spiritual elements that are ingrained in his being and his music. Ceremony explores 10 of the pianist’s original compositions – pieces in which the music is also in service to the Orishas, the Yoruban gods of his native Cuba who are his guideposts and sometimes his inspiration. Sosa, in his brief notes, refers to music as “the voice of my soul.” Germany’s excellent NDR Bigband tapped into the expressive elements at work here, adding even more depth to Sosa’s pieces, with arrangements by cellist Jaques Morelenbaum. My favorites: “Yemaya En Egua Larga” (on which Sosa plays piano and marimba), “Cha Con Marimba” (with a fiery trombone solo by Dan Gottschall), the Thelonious-inspired “Monkurú” and one of his new works, “Salida Con Elegba.” This is a February 9, 2010 release.

RG Royal Sound Orchestra, Impact (RG Records)
Here’s a genre-bending, genre blending salute to a dozen of the most enduring pop melodies of the past 50 years or so – from “As Time Goes By” to “My Way” and “Hotel California.” The treatment is most unusual, in which it takes the jazz and Afro-Cuban big band format, and adds a strong dollop of flamenco. The Miami-based orchestra, assembled by Recaredo Gutiérrez, is enhanced by the strong soloing of tenor saxophonist Ed Calle and trumpeter Adalberto Lara (“Trompetica”). “Macarena” was included as an enduring pop melody – perhaps inescapable is a better term. It’s treatment might have been interesting if they had resisted the temptation to add vocals. This is a February 10, 2010 release.

Overdue honor at Grammys

Amid all of the deserved, but lingering, attention that will be heaped upon the Michael Jackson legacy at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards on January 31, there will be some attention paid to JAZZ.

Trumpeter Clark Terry, 89, will receive the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award. Other lifetime honorees this year are Leonard Cohen, Bobby Darin, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Michael Jackson, Loretta Lynn and André Previn.

They will be feted at a special ceremony the night before the Grammys 'main event, but will be acknowledged in the telecast. You can bet Jackson will get far more attention than the others - or any of winners in the competitive categories. That's just the way it is.

The Terry honor is richly deserved for a life's work spanning more than 60 years of creativity on trumpet and fluegelhorn, as well as composing, bandleading, great sense of humor and mumbling - his zany and charming "Mumbles" twist on scatting that became a highlight when he was a resident member of NBC's "Tonight Show" band - where he helped break the network's musician color barrier.

Among his many prior honors , the Black World History Museum in his hometown of St. Louis features a life-sized wax figure.

In the heyday of big bands, Terry passed through or was a fixture in many of them - including the bands of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Charlie Barnet, Doc Severinsen, Lionel Hampton and much later, his own big band on occasion.

So here come the Grammys, a great way to jump start Clark Terry's 90th birthday year.

A mouse, a museum and music

The three M’s headlined above are the prime ingredients in an exhibition that’s making its only North American appearance through March 14 in New Orleans.

The Walt Disney Animation Research Library and New Orleans Museum of Art teamed up on "Dreams Come True: Art of the Classic Fairy Tales from the Walt Disney Studio." The Crescent City is the ideal location for the exhibition. It coincides with the release of Disney's animated feature, "The Princess and the Frog," which is set in New Orleans during the 1920s Jazz Age.

Jazz at Lincoln Center is involved in the project by adding a live music series, a professional training session and donating Jazz for Young People curriculum sets, thanks to The Brian J. Ratner Philanthropic Fund.

The exhibit showcases original artwork from legendary Disney animated films including "Snow White," "Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty," "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast" and celebrates Disney's connections with jazz and the Crescent City.

New Orleans native and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra member Victor Goines is programming a live-music series at NOMA featuring New Orleans-based musicians. The performances, free to the public, began today with Don Vappie and The Creole Jazz Serenaders. The music series runs through March 14.

Jazz at Lincoln Center will also hold a workshop at NOMA for New Orleans area music teachers and educators to learn how to introduce jazz in their classrooms. JALC will distribute a number of its Jazz for Young People curriculum to various New Orleans schools.

In addition, children and parents who visit the exhibition will receive a copy of the "The Princess and the Frog" Curriculum, created in partnership by Disney, Scholastic and Jazz at Lincoln Center.

For more information on "Dreams Come True: Art of the Classic Fairy Tales from the Walt Disney Studio," go to the museum's Web site.

CDs of Note... (revised release date)

The David Leonhardt Trio, Bach to the Blues (Big Bang)
If you love jazz and classical - and have ears that are open improvisation on some of the great classical works, this one’s for you. Pianist David Leonhardt, bassist Matthew Parrish and drummer Alvester Garnett have done an excellent job of building the musical bridge here. The swing and rhythmic openness of their jazz and blues approach brings out new facets in the pieces. Even some clavẽ finds its way into the mix to spice up their take on Bach’s “Prelude in G Minor.” Other favorites: Erick Satie’s “Gymnopedie No. 1,” Beethoven’s “Adagio from Pathetique” and a turtle’s pace reworking of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D” that gives the work a meditative feel.

Ori Dagan, S’Cat Got My Tongue (Scatcat)
A good amount of scat, a pinch of vocalese and some straight-ahead vocals fill this debut CD by Toronto-based singer Ori Dagan. Thank God for the mix, for an outing with nothing but scat would have been a bit tiresome. Dagan, his band and four vocal duet partners roll through a blend of jazz classics, show tunes and originals. My favorites: his duet with Heather Bambrick on “Swing’s the Thing” and his rendition of “Here’s That Rainy Day.”

Monica Mancini, I’ve Loved These Days (Concord)
There are standards, generally pulled from the first few decades of Tin Pan Alley. And there are relatively new standards, or standards-in-the-making. That’s where Monica Mancini is focusing on this fifth CD. Musical chops are in the genes as late, great composer Henry Mancini’s daughter pleasantly covered music by Jackson Browne, Brian Wilson, Harry Nilsson, The Rascals, The Beatles, Bill Joel, Janis Ian and Paul Simon. She actually explores two Simon works - “American Tune” and Something So Right.” Browne, Wonder, Wilson and The Rascals’ Felix Cavaliere also participate either vocally and/or instrumentally on their respective tracks. This is a stunning update of classic 1960s songs, bookended by her takes on 1959’s “The Ballad of the Sad Young Men” from Fran Landesman and Tommy Wolf, and Joel’s 1976 hit, “I’ve Loved These Days.” This is a March 30, 2010 release.

Bridging the musical waters

One of the most poignant moments at the Rock & R0ll Hall of Fame's 25th anniversary concert (night one, October 29) when Art Garfunkel joined old musical partner Paul Simon on stage at Madison Square Garden to sing several of their hits. There's no need to wonder if more reunions might happen anytime soon.

There is one such event set for the remainder of 2010. Further blurring the lines between jazz events and other musical genres, it will be an opening weekend performance, April 24 to be exact, at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" analogy will be everywhere - and it is most appropriate, given how music has helped galvanize New Orleans, its residents and the city's appreciators in their drive to rebuild post-Katrina.

It is also appropriate because that work is far from over.

Kudos to festival producer Quint Davis for making the connection happen.

The pulse of New Orleans

Larry Blumenfeld’s “Cultural Conversation” with TV producer David Simon in today’s Wall Street Journal is a highly recommended read. Simon, producer of HBO’s acclaimed series “The Wire,” is now focusing on a new jazz-tinged program that will debut on HBO in April.

Tinged is not a strong enough word. Jazz is the undercurrent, and the heartbeat, of the program, scheduled for 10 episodes in Season One.

“Treme” is the series… and it is named for Tremé, a hotbed of jazz that is considered one of America’s oldest black neighborhoods.

Simon is using New Orleans as his new focus on why the American city matters. In Blumenfeld’s view: “With any success, he can achieve something mightier too - an understanding of the essential role musicians play in New Orleans’s social order and recovery, as well as the embattled position they often find themselves in.”

Several actors (Wendell Pierce and Clarke Peters to name two) who had prominent roles in “The Wire” are cast in the new series as musicians. Trumpeter Kermit Ruffins will appear regularly in the series - as himself.

This is shaping up as a series that will keep many of us with HBO glued to our TVs.

Royal honors

The reigning queen of jazz piano, honored through the years with numerous musical and broadcast-related awards, has another biggie – from her queen, no less.

Pianist and NPR’s “Piano Jazz” host, Marian McPartland was named an "Officer of the Order of the British Empire" by Queen Elizabeth II in her majesty’s 2010 New Year Honors, which were announced on January 1.

The Order of the British Empire recognizes distinguished service to the arts and sciences, public services outside the Civil Service and work with charitable and welfare organizations of all kinds. In this case, British-born McPartland was cited for her services to jazz and for aspiring young musicians in the United States.

"I am thrilled and proud to have received this great honor bestowed on me by Queen Elizabeth," McPartland said in a news release. "I am truly grateful."

Sir Alan Collins, British Consul-General in New York, said the award acknowledges McPartland’s significant contributions to the arts and for her role “in strengthening the U.K.-U.S. relationship."

McPartland, 91, continues to host her George Foster Peabody Award-winning NPR program, which recently marked its 30th anniversary.

She also has been inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame and is a recipient of the Gracie Allen Award given by American Women in Radio and Television, the National Music Council's American Eagle Award, and a Grammy Trustee's Award for lifetime achievement. McPartland has received honorary degrees from Hamilton, Union and Bates Colleges, Bowling Green University and the University of South Carolina.

Congratulations are in order for this talented, genteel lady. Her musicality and sense of swing remain amazing.

A New Year's treat...

As promised, here's a link to the January 2010 issue of HotHouse, which includes my interview-profile of pianist Harold Mabern.

All the best to you and your families in 2010.

The Year in Jazz

As 2010 fast approaches, it is time for my annual review of jazz happenings over the past year. The 2009 edition of The Year in Jazz was published today on allaboutjazz.com.

There were a lot of noteworthy occurrences during 2009 - some big, some small but noteworthy, quite a few induced in some way by the economy, and there were far too many passings of musicians across the United States and around the world.

Happy holidays - and may it be a happy and healthy new year for all.

Happy holidays to one and all

It certainly has been quite a year for jazz and the economy. I’ll have more details and perspective shortly in the 2009 edition of my annual “Year in Jazz” review for allaboutjazz.com.

In the meantime, please enjoy what I consider to be one of the great Christmas-related animations. It may not be jazz – but now and then we must delve into the doo-wop world.

Peace and joy – and jazz be with you,

kf

The best in jazz recordings in 2009

Here are this writer's choices for the top jazz recordings and reissues of 2009. Always keep in mind that top 10 listings of this sort reflect the reviewer's musical taste at the moment he/she does the evaluations. They only carry significant weight when the same recordings show up on many such lists. That being said, here we go:

The 10 best new jazz releases of 2009, listed alphabetically:
- Lili Añel, “Every Second in Between” (Wall-I Records)
- Big Band Ritmo Sinfonica Città Di Verona, "Restless Spirits" (Velut Luna)
- Seamus Blake, “Live in Italy” (Jazz Eyes)
- Mike Clark, “Blueprints of Jazz, Vol. 1” (Talking House)
- Bill Cunliffe, “Blues and the Abstract Truth, Take 2” (Resonance)
- Kat Edmonson, “Take to the Sky” (Convivium Records)
- Steve Kuhn, “Mostly Coltrane” (ECM)
- LeBoeuf Brothers, “House Without a Door” (LeBoeuf Brothers Music)
- John Scofield, “Piety Street” (EmArcy)
- Joe Zawinul, “75” (Heads Up International)

The 10 best new songs of the year, listed alphabetically:
- Lynne Arriale, “A Gentle Soul” from “Nuance” (Motéma Music)
- Jeff Ballard, “Lady B” from Fly’s “Sky & Country” (ECM)
- Scotty Barnhart, “Haley’s Passage” from “Say It Plain” (Unity Music)
- Gerald Clayton, “Peace for the Moment” from “Two-Shade” (ArtistShare)
- N. Glenn Davis, “Come Right In” from “Come Right In” (Jazzed Media)
- Richie Goods, “Desert Song” from “Live at the Zinc Bar” (RichMan Productions)
- Fareed Haque. “Big Bhangra” from “Flat Planet” (Owl Studios)
- Sean Jones, “The Ambitious Violet” from “The Search Within” (Mack Avenue)
- Mark Rapp, “Thank You” from “Token Tales” (Paved Earth)
- Greg Skaff, “Willie D” from “East Harlem Skyline” (Zoho)

The best jazz boxed set or historic recordings of 2009, listed alphabetically:
- Dupree Bolton, “Fireball,” (Uptown)
- Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins, “The Classic Prestige Sessions, 1951-1956 (Prestige)
- Lucky Thompson, “New York City, 1965-65” (Uptown)
- Freddie Hubbard, “Without a Song (Live in Europe, 1969)” (Blue Note)
- Scott LaFaro, “Pieces of Jade” (Resonance)

The best jazz-related DVD of 2009
- "'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris," (Outsider Pictures/Naxos of America)

Mabern moments

I had a fascinating conversation with Harold Mabern last weekend in conjunction with the pianist's appearance at the Jazz Standard in mid-January as part of the George Coleman quartet. He's been a regular in Coleman's band for more than 30 years - and they went to high school together in Memphis. Mabern's comments will be a feature profile in HotHouse magazine's January issue. I will post a link when the article is available online.

Suffice it to say, Mabern had much to say - too much, in fact, for the space allotted. One interesting gem: his 9-year-old granddaughter, Maya, who lives in California but will be in metropolitan New York for the holidays, has been a voracious student of the piano since about 3. I wonder where she gets that from? If she has a question about something piano-related, she call's now and then, and Harold will put his own phone on speakerphone, and walk her through the challenge. And something I find most unusual for any 9-year-old today. Mabern said his granddaughter is into stride and boogie-woogie.

Mabern, 73, also seems to be a fixture in former student Eric Alexander's regular band... and is prominent in Eric's new CD, Revival of the Fittest, on High Note. The CD has been in heavy rotation on my player over the past four days. It too goes full circle, with the opening track being George Coleman's tune "Revival."

CDs of Note...

Norah Jones, The Fall (Blue Note)
The Norah Jones evolution continues. The singer-pianist-guitarist who made such a big splash and became Blue Note’s mega-platinum gravy train in 2002, has moved away from her jazz-tinged roots into an electronic rock sensibility that will also appeal to country fans at times. In doing so, she presents new songs that in great measure are grounded in her move ahead after a breakup with boyfriend and longtime bandmate Lee Alexander. Jesse Harris, who wrote her first big hit, “Don’t Know Why,” is a co-writer on two tunes here - ”Even Though” and “Tell Yer Mama.” My favorites: “Chasing Pirates,” “Light as a Feather,” “It’s Gonna Be” and “Back to Manhattan.”


Wayne Escoffery, Uptown (Posi-Tone)
London-born Wayne Escoffery (Mingus Dynasty, Tom Harrell, Monk Legacy Septet - and a Jackie McLean protege) is a rising mid-generation tenor player on the mainstream jazz scene. His playing is formidable, both in its sense of propulsion and melodic ideas. It also exudes an R&B feel at times. The session consists primarily of originals by the leader or bandmate Avi Rothbard plus Duke Pearson’s ballad “You Know I Care” and a version of Ellington’s “I Got It Bad” that opens in mellow fashion but builds into a burner. The other players in this fine quartet are Gary Versace on organ, Rothbard on guitar and Jason Brown on drums. My favorites: “No Desert,” I Got It Bad” and “Maya’s Waltz.”


Gary Peacock - Marc Copland, Insight (Pirouet)
The bassist and pianist have developed a wonderful affinity for complementing each other’s playing and improvising - and love to record together. After Peacock’s appearances on two Copland trio sessions (with Bill Stewart and Paul Motian) for Pirouet, this is their first duo adventure for the German label - and second in their 20-plus years of working together. They let the music breathe and the notes glow and resonate as they trade roles as soloist and accompanist with ease. This truly feels like a musical conversation as they explore a blend of standards and originals. My favorites: their take on Miles Davis’s “All Blues” and “Blue in Green” (a tune generally credited to Davis but likely written by Bill Evans) and Dave Brubeck’s “In Your Own Sweet Way,” as well as Copland’s “River’s Run,” Peacock’s “The Pond” and their collaborative improvisation “Late Night.”

Grammy nomination musings...

The Recording Academy (formerly the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) is out with its nominations for the 52nd annual Grammy Awards. The full list of nominees is available at the Grammy Web site.

It is encouraging to see that a former jazz categories for so-called "smooth jazz" recordings are listed this time around where they belong - "Pop Instrumental." Finally, we have some truth in advertising.

There are lots of nominations of great merit this time around. I was particularly glad to see the jazz vocal category dominated by mid-career singers who have worked so hard through the years to advance their craft - Kurt Elling, Roberta Gambarini, Luciana Souza and Tierney Sutton - with Randy Crawford joining from the senior generation. Also, kudos to Vince Mendoza for his THREE nominations in the best instrumental arrangement tiers for work on three different projects.

If The Recording Academy had a category for best humorous song title, Paquito d'Rivera would be a shoo-in. D'Rivera is nominated in the best instrumental composition category for his tune "Borat in Syracuse" from his CD Jazz-Clazz.

The Grammy Awards will be bestowed January 31 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

CDs of Note

Hal Weary, A Rendezvous with Déjà Vu (Musichal Entertainment)
There’s more than a little influence of Horace Silver on this hard-bop project. This is a good thing, as rarely can you gone with the funky sort of swing that graced the best of Silver’s projects. All right, all of his projects. Weary, a New York-based pianist, has strong support from trumpeter Kenyatta Beasley, saxophonist Stantawn Kendrick, bassist Gregory Williams and drummer Jerome Jennings. All of the playing is stellar. My favorites: “Hangin’ with Horace” and “Outback Blues.” The one non-original is Weary’s Garnerish take on “Tenderly,” which he plays solo for the first half before the full quintet joins in. Weary slips back into solo mode for the coda of this great arrangement.

Mike Longo, Sting Like A Bee (Consolidated Artists Productions)
Pianist Mike Longo has never really grabbed the attention enjoyed by many other first-tied pianists, but he certainly belongs among the elite. Sting Like a Bee is a natural follow to his 2007 CD Float Like a Butterfly. On this one, Longo uses the swinging jazz trio format, with bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Lewis Nash along for the ride, to pay tribute to some of his mentors.

Longo studied with Oscar Peterson in the early 1960s and worked extensively as pianist for trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie starting in 1966; the association spanning a quarter-century and including several years as the band’s musical director.

This CD is a wonderful showcase of Longo’s touch, sense of time and imagination. My clear favorite: the trio’s extended and interesting take on Cole Porter’s classic “Love for Sale.” It is filled with inventiveness and swings hard - for more than nine minutes. Three is much to savor, including a rather delicate take on Herbie Hancock’s “Tell Me a Bedtime Story.”

Marbin, Marbin (Marbin)
There’s nothing like consistency. The duo, the recording and the label all carry the same name. This is a collaboration by guitarist Dani Rabin and saxophonist Danny Markovitch, whose atmospheric sound often is reminiscent of the classic Paul Winter Consort. There is a bit more bite to the playing in spots, particularly on “Mei.” It’s quite an output, considering that except for one track with added vocals by Mat Davidson, this features just guitar and saxophone with some electronic enhancements. The strongest connections to mainstream jazz occur on “Abadaba” and “Rust.” Mainstream purists may not like it all, but this fits the grand scheme of jazz these days in a very pleasant way. No doubt, you’ll get a good chuckle from the cover art.

On the plus side…

After all of the angst and financial mess following the Festival Productions-Festival Network LLC transaction nearly three years ago, one positive has emerged. Ben Ratliff had the details this month in the New York Times in his article Historic Sounds of Newport, Newly Online.

Before Festival Network essentially collapsed from its self-inflicted financial woes, the short-lived new ownership of the Newport Jazz Festival empire sold its audio archives to San Francisco-based Wolfgang’s Vault. It may have been its only good move while or after running George Wein’s successful production operation into the ground. Fortunately, Wein was able to resurrect that - at least for Newport and New York, where his resumes in 2010 after a one-year hiatus under the sponsorship of the health-care company CareFusion.

The audio archive sale price has not been disclosed. But after spending nearly $5 million on audio transfers and mixing, Wolfgang’s Vault (an online concert recording and rock music memorabilia archive) has begun posting free audio streams of performances from the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival.

Many of the tapes likely were made by performers’ record companies. In addition to the free audio streaming, higher quality audio of the concerts can be downloaded at costs estimated between $10 and $13.

The company says it acquired tapes of more than 1,200 individual performances dating back to at least 1955, Newport’s second year. Twenty of the Newport '59 sets are now available - and hundreds more concerts through the years will be posted in the coming months from the jazz festival as well as its companion Newport Folk Festival.

From what I’ve heard so far, the material is terrific. Count Basie’s ’59 Newport set with Joe Williams and Lambert, Hendricks and Ross is top-notch. What a great way to relive key moments in jazz history.

Interesting developments at J@LC

Remember the halcyon days when to be considered a university, you had to have six or seven accredited colleges as well as graduate and professional divisions? In our society’s more recent cavalier and clever language-mashing, it seems anything goes.

It started with Hamburger University, then Dunkin’ Donuts University and probably thousands’ more corporate training initiatives that persist today with the university adjunct. And, of course, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Swing University.”

Grammar cop semantics barb aside as I jump back into blogging after two weeks in the sun, the JALC program is a great jazz education option for adults seeking a greater appreciation or understanding of the music we treasure so much. The program’s Winter 2010 session opens with a free January 5 open house at Irene Diamond Educational Center at Rose Hall in JALC’s Manhattan digs.

Available winter classes focus on Mary Lou Williams (taught by her spiritual guide and later manager, Father Peter O’Brien); drums and the workings of the jazz rhythm section (taught by Lewis Nash); bebop (taught by JALC trombonist Vincent Gardner); and Jazz 101 and Jazz 201 history courses (taught by the indefatigable broadcaster, archivist and jazz historian Phil Schaap).

Details are at JALC’s Web site, www.jalc.org/swingu. Courses from $125 to $200. Single class tickets, from $30-40, are available for cash purchase at the door on the evening of the class. To enroll, visit the site or call 212.258.9786,

Of great note this week is JALC’s announcement, covered in depth in Monday’s New York Times, that the institution is broadening its programming to underscore the close relationship between jazz and popular song. Singer-pianist Michael Feinstein has signed on as director of JALC’s new popular music series. He will create three programs and a family event for the spring of 2011. Stephen Holden has it covered in depth. Read on – about the importance and the many nuances.

CDs of Note...

Various artists, Coming Together, (Inarhyme Records)
This is a very special recording, both for the emotional performances - and their inspiration. Saxophonist Brendan Romaneck was killed in an April 2005 traffic accident, two weeks after his 24th birthday and two months before this session was planned, with all tunes and arrangements set. It was to have been his recording debut as a leader.

His family decided to proceed with the session with pianist-producer Keith Javors, trumpeter Terell Stafford and bassist Delbert Felix and drummer John Davis. Javors, who taught Romaneck at the University of North Florida’s fine jazz program and also hired him for his own working band, recruited Chris Potter and Steve Wilson to split the saxophone duties.

Romaneck’s spirit lives on through this recording, as do his very fine compositions. The CD also included takes on three standards that he chose for the session: “My Shining Hour,” “Nancy With the Laughing Face” and “Killing Me Softly With His Song.” My favorites: Javors’ and Potter’s stirring performances on the gorgeous and robust “Dream Behind The Winter” and Wilson’s soprano sax take on “Killing Me Softly…”

Sachal Studios Orchestra, Lahore presents Take Five (Sachal Music)
Timing is everything, and in the 50th anniversary of the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Time Out recording, were treated to what may be the most unusual version of “Take Five” that you’ll ever hear. This take on the Paul Desmond tune features the Lahore, Pakistan-based Orchestra of Sachal Studios. This version fuses the tune with Indo-Pakistan classical instrumentation. It’s performed with sitar, tabla, sarod, Spanish guitars, percussion and an ample string section. The Spanish guitar tinge enhances the fusion here. This 5:42 CD single (plus a 3:12 radio mix) is an appetizer for a planned Jazz, Bossa Nova & Samba disc that also includes Jobim’s “Desafinado” and “The Girl from Ipanema,” as well as Erroll Garner’s classic composition “Misty.”

Capathia Jenkins and Louis Rosen, The Ache of Possibility (Di-Tone)
This is an interesting, genre-defying project - that sounds like the principals got caught in a vortex between jazz and folk concerts/festivals. The Ache of Possibility is the latest effort by Broadway singer Carpathia Jenkins and guitarist/songwriter Louis Rosen, whose biting lyrics contain more of a folk-style message than we usually hear in a jazz context. Parts are reminiscent of 1960’s Freedom Now Suite and and 1961’s The Real Ambassadors recordings. The title track lambastes America’s political climate post 9/11 but also celebrates the hope (“the ache of possibility”) offered by the Obama presidency. Rosen’s lyrics on “The Middle-Class (Used-To-Be) Blues” cleverly take a look at today’s economic mess - (“My shoes need soles / And my soul needs love / But my love needs money like a cold hand needs a glove” etc., etc., etc. It’s not all political. There are also tracks about love and redemption, four of which are poems by Nikki Giovanni that are set to music. The jazz elements in this ambitious project are very good as well. This is a November 10 release.

Is the pot calling the kettle black?

I got a chuckle today when reading a Web posting (Kenny G Steps Back Into the Spotlight) by AOL's PopEater entertainment news and celebrity gossip site about the Pied Piper of non-jazz saxophonists. It's an update on his career including work on a track ironically called "I'm Your Daddy" on alternate rock band Weeezer's latest album, Ratitude.

The saxophonist (I get a kick whenever the esteemed New York Times refers to him as "Mr. G" on second reference) also said he is working on an as-yet-untitled album that he hopes will move him in an R&B direction.

"I want more rhythm in my music," PopEater quotes him as saying. "I want my album to have a bit more tempo. Otherwise, I'm going to be lost in the huge smooth jazz array of saxophone players. Half of them don't even need to be making records."

Huh?

That's a bit harsh from the player who can be considered their musical Daddy. His mega-platinum successes gave birth to a legion of saxophone smoothies.

Jazz and folk intermingle – paying it forward

Louis Armstrong is credited with saying: "All music is folk music; I ain't never heard no horse sing a song." Another variation on the quote is “All music is folk music, because we're all just folk."Quotations aside, there are some interesting jazz-folk synergies at work this autumn.

Some may have been surprised when 90-year-old folk troubadour Pete Seeger was featured September 19 in a prime-time performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival. He got a standing ovation when he walked on stage at the festival’s Arena venue.

Yes indeed, this land is our land.

And on the afternoon of Sunday, December 6, Sonny Rollins will take to the stage at Tarrytown NY Music Hall with his band to perform a benefit concert. It will be Rollins’ first fund-raising performance for any cause… And the cause in this instance is the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater – an environment-focused vessel and nonprofit founded 40 years ago by singer Pete Seeger.

"Pete Seeger and I have the same heroes and beliefs. We are in the same family. He is my brother", says Rollins.

Besides brother, you say add neighbor. Rollins has called the Hudson Valley home since 1972.

CDs of Note...

Gerald Wilson Orchestra, Detroit (Mack Avenue Records)
At a time when it seems difficult to keep a big band afloat, composer and arranger Gerald Wilson has the luxury of keeping two big bands on call, one in Los Angeles, the other in the Big Apple. He used the L.A. band to produce the cornerstone of this ambitious project. It’s a six-part suite written in honor of the Midwest city where he spent five of his musically formative years, from 1934 to 1939. Detroit was bustling and publicly integrated, and that to Mississippi native Wilson meant freedom.

Each of the six parts can stand alone quite admirably with great moods and the harmonically solid and imaginative writing for which Wilson excels. You can feel aspects of the city’s energy throughout. My favorites are the Latin-tinged “Before Motown” and the rippling blues, “The Detroit River.” There is top-notch soloing throughout the project by tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington, trumpeter Sean Jones (a guest from the N.Y. band), trombonist Eric Jorgensen, guitarist Anthony Wilson (Gerald’s son) and violinist Yvette Devereaux, and by trumpeter Winston Byrd on “Miss Gretchen,” which Wilson wrote in honor of label owner and jazz patron Gretchen Valade. Wilson’s equally top-notch New York band recorded the two non-suite pieces, “Everywhere” and “Aram,” that close the disc.

Arturo Stable, Call (Origen Records)
Percussionist Arturo Stable and his bandmates have created a gem in Call, which blends the Afro-Cuban rhythms of his homeland with other strong influences from around the globe, but most notably the bebop tradition and intensity that remains the bedrock of jazz. His bandmates are Aruan Ortiz on piano, Edward Perez on bass, Javier Vercher on brass and reeds, and Francisco Mela on drums, with special guest Ian Izquierdo on violin on the title track. The music on all 10 originals is riveting and bubbles with beautiful energy and ideas. Favorite tracks: “Call,” “African Sunrise,” “Spider Web.” and “Old Memories,” which features a gorgeous piano solo by Ortiz.

Keeping the faith, growing the jazz faithful

There are examples here and there of jazz clubs, jazz festivals and jazz musicians doing their part to increase the audience and give the jazzfaithful an economic break in these difficult times. Some do it low key, some even anonymously.

Wynton Marsalis is doing his part. The trumpeter and Jazz at Lincoln Center artistic director will give back to his fans next mont when he opens the doors of Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 29. Gratis.

According to a JALC news release , more than 100 fans will be invited to join Marsalis and his quintet. Free tickets will be distributed randomly to Wynton Marsalis e-newsletter subscribers. And one lucky grand prize winner will receive a two-night stay at the Mandarin Oriental, New York. Additional winners will receive invitations to the quintet's sound check, gift certificates to Gabriel's Bar & Restaurant and tours of Jazz at Lincoln Center's House of Swing. Fans can sign up for free and view full details and rules at wyntonmarsalis.com.

And what's Wynton's take on this?

"My fans have stuck with me through many styles of music - from modern burnout to standards to New Orleans music to baroque and beyond. They have embraced all of my bands - from small groups of various sizes to the big band, and they have celebrated the diverse personalities of those ensembles. My fans are of all nations and kinds, ages and beliefs. Every day, I recommit to creating a better music for their enjoyment.

"I strive to justify, through my work, the unwavering faith and trust they have shown through these years," he said. "At every performance and sometimes just in the streets, someone gives me the inspiration and confidence to become a better musician and person. It is a blessing."

Amen.

When music meets science

In addition to their strong musical interests, John Medeski, Billy Martin and Chris Wood share interests in biology and science. The longtime bandmates melded those interests philosophically with their latest, and perhaps most ambitious project, The Radiolarians Series. It is named after the Radiolarian, a type of single-celled marine organism with a very intricate exoskeleton.


MMW took an organic, evolutionary approach to the tour and the recordings that have resulted in Radiolarians: The Evolutionary Set, which is being released November 24th by Indirecto Records.


The Radiolarians Series was designed to move away from the traditional music-industry cycle of write/record/tour in a way that would keep their music fresh. Here's how the process worked:


MMW got together for brief writing retreats, performed only that new material on tour and recorded the material immediately after getting off the road. The band repeated that process three times while touring in different regions of the United States and South America. MMW and Indirecto Records released this music on three separate CDs that came out over the course of the past year.

Radiolarians: The Evolutionary Set compiles Radiolarians I, II, and III in the same package - plus three previously unreleased bonus tracks; a special edition, high quality audio, double vinyl pressing of highlights from the three Radiolarians albums; a 10-track disc of remixed music featuring contributions from nine different DJs and producers; a previously unreleased 70-minute live album; and a Billy Martin-directed DVD feature film entitled Fly In A Bottle. That's quite an ambitious boxed set.


German biologist Ernst Haeckel. Haeckel’s beautiful Radiolarians drawings were featured on the covers of all three Radiolarians records - and were a visual inspiration for the trio’s music throughout the project. Haeckel is credited with discovering and naming thousands of new species and popularizing the studies of Charles Darwin in Germany during the late 1800s.

You can call this a musical salute to evolution... as Medeski, Martin and Wood pushed its music in new, experimental directions - energized by new challenges rather than tiring after 19 years together.

CDs of Note...

Amanda Carr and the Kenny Hadley Big Band, Common Thread (Original Music)
This disc is terrific on a number of levels. It captures swinging singer Amanda Carr at her finest. It marks the hopeful rebirth of the Boston-based Kenny Hadley Big Band after a seven-year absence, featuring many of the area’s finest jazz soloists. And it shines new attention on more than a dozen great big band arrangements crafted for this unit and Carr’s pleasant and direct delivery. And there’s another bonus. They stay away from the so-called “tired tunes” in the Great American Songbook, choosing instead to bring freshness and introduce new ears to a lot of under-performed gems. My favorites -”Something Wonderful Happens in Summer,” “I Understand” and Irving Berlin’s “The Song is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On).” There’s also a wonderful instrumental showcase for trumpeter Rick Hammett, who arranged the rarely heard Dizzy Gillespie-Walter Fuller tune “I Waited for You.” (This is an October 20 release.)

Also worth noting: Carr and Hadley have started American Big Band Preservation Society, Inc., a pending 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is “to preserve and promote American big band music through the preservation and performance of the great American songbook with an emphasis on acquiring, preserving and making publicly available unpublished big band arrangements.” The Web site is: http://http://www.americanbigband.org/.

Sharel Cassity, Relentless (JLP, Jazz Legacy Productions)
Iowa-born, Oklahoma City-raised, New York-based Sharel Cassity is a young alto sax player to keep both ears on. This second CD as a leader is a dandy. And its title describes Cassity’s approach to her music. She’s a skilled writer, bandleader and player, as shown on this sextet session with trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, trombonist Michael Dease, pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Dwayne Burno and drummer E.J. Strickland plus three guests on several tracks. The band is tight and the music is well-developed. My favorites: “Song of Those Who Seek” and “No Turning Back.” The latter is a high-flying bop tune with a blistering and memorable solos from Cassity and Pelt.

Robert Kyle, Bossalicious (Dark Delishious Music)
The breezy blend of the tenor saxophone and Brazil’s enchanting rhythms have captured our fancy ever since Stan Getz put his stamp on the combination that fueled the bossa nova craze. On this quartet project with guests on two tracks, Californian Robert Kyle adds his own contributions both as a player (tenor sax and flute primarily) and a writer adding kindred material that stands up well alongside his interpretations of works by Jobim (“Favela” and “A Felicidade”), Lobo, Barroso and others. Favorites: his own “Carolina,” “Inspiração” and “The Long Goodbye,” guitarist Roberto Montero’s “Bossa Pra Um Bom Dia”, as well as their intriguing bossa take on “Nature Boy.” There’s also a beautiful extended version of Dori Caymmi’s “Amazon River.”