CDs of Note - Short Takes

Taking a look at new CD projects by Jim Clayton, Bill Evans, June Garber, Lisa Lindsley, Mike Moreno and Ernie Watts…

Jim Clayton, Lenny Jumps In (Clay-Tone)

Toronto-based Jim Clayton finds great musical inspiration in the delights and interests of his young daughter. The germination of those efforts came with his delightful 2014 release, Songs My Daughter Knows. Now he’s back with another gem, Lenny Jumps In. The gems here include the funky “Louisiana Cat Club,” The DeRozan Effect” (written for young Lenny’s favorite Toronto Raptor, guard DeMar DeRozan) and Clayton’s take on Kenny Loggins’ “Return to Pooh Corner.” Also, be sure to check out “Miss Kelly’s House,” a waltz that was inspired by his daughter’s visits to the home of Kelly Peterson, the widow of the great Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson. Clayton’s band includes guitarist Andrew Scott, bassist Steve Lucas, drummer David Peters and percussionist Paul Ormandy

Bill Evans, Some Other Time (Resonance)

If you’re like me, the piano jazz of Bill Evans never gets tired. Every listen brings out crafty nuances within his deep, careful melodic invention. So imagine the delight in hearing Some Other Time: The Lost Session From the Black Forest, a recording that sat in a safe in Germany for nearly 50 years. Resonance Records acquired it, and released this two-CD set this spring. It features Evans, performing in solo, duo and trio contexts in June 1968 at the MPS Studios in Villingen, Germany, while on tour in Europe.

Evans’ trio at the time included drummer Jack DeJohnette and bassist Eddie Gomez. DeJohnette was in this trio for just six months – and this was his only studio session with Evans. It includes Evans’ only recording of “These Foolish Things.” His solo explorations are “Lover Man” and “It’s All Right With Me.” The trio's take on the standard “How About You?” reveals the pianist’s stylistic evolution toward a more percussive attack to the piano, as CD annotator Marc Myers describes, “egged on by Mr. DeJohnette’s peppery cymbal work.” This is a great addition to the Evans discography.

June Garber, This I Know (self-produced)

Happiness, joy, grief, melancholy and sadness are all part of the adult experience. June Garber has experienced them all – and on this CD, the Toronto-based singer shares them in a cathartic way. It no doubt helped her move beyond the sudden loss of her husband, Bob Doherty, nearly three years ago. Some of the joy comes out on tunes from or inspired by her childhood in South Africa – “Underneath the Jacaranda Tree” and “Meadowlands.” Other treats include her poignant take on Hoagy Carmichael’s classic “Baltimore Oriole” and a clever medley pairing Adele’s “Rumour Has It” with the Peggy Lee-associated torch anthem “Fever.”

Her core band – pianist Mark Kieswetter, bassist George Koller and drummer Ben Wittman – is joined by a variety of special guests on various tracks. This project also finds Garber in a slightly different musical role. She co-wrote two of the tunes – “Underneath the Jacaranda Tree” and “Unbroken” – and she took a subtler approach to vocals, meshing herself into the band rather than riding roughshod over the instrumentals as too many vocalists do. This fresh approach serves her well.

Lisa Lindsley, Long After Midnight (Take One)

Five years after her stunning debut CD, Everytime We Say Goodbye, Lisa Lindsley is back with a very different gem. The Californian’s newest CD was recorded while she spent a year living in Paris (2013-14), finding gigs and musicians she enjoyed working with. She was joined by pianist Laurent Marode, drummer Mourad Benhammou and reed player Esaie Cid, and brought in Bay Area bassist Jeff Chambers for this session. Lindsley put her own varied emotional stamp on a variety of American standards, plus two tunes written by guitarist James Wilson, a native Californian who now teaches music at the American School of Paris. They are the title track, co-written by Tricia Lee Sampson, and “Skylark Song.” Her selections also included Donovan’s 1966 pop hit “Mellow Yellow.” She twists each tune to emphasize her own various moods. Dig the spare, wistful, what-might-have-been treatment of “The House is Haunted (By The Echo of Your Last Goodbye)” – and her playful take on the Jule Styne-Leo Robin classic “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.”

Mike Moreno, Lotus (World Culture)

Houston native Mike Moreno brings chops and a world-music feel to the table on Lotus, a quartet CD that teams the guitarist with pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Doug Weiss and drummer Eric Harland. Favorites include the title track, “The Empress” and “Can We Stay Forever?” – thoughtful soundscapes that shimmer with invention. New York-based Moreno wrote all nine tracks on this, his fifth CD as a leader.

Ernie Watts, Wheel of Time (Flying Dolphin)

Ernie Watts’ bittersweet tenor sax sound was a hallmark of Charlie Haden’s longtime small band, Quartet West – and it continues to serve Watts well on his own outpouring of CDs. The latest, Wheel of Time, teams Watts with his first-call European rhythm section of nearly 20 years: pianist Christof Saenger, bassist Rudi Engel and drummer Heinrich Koebberling. All four players contributed compositions to the project, which also includes covers of Joe Henderson’s “Inner Urge” and Toronto pianist Adrean Farrugia’s whimsical “Goose Dance.” The highlight is the title track, “Wheel of Time” (subtitled “Anthem for Charlie”) – a pensive homage to the late Charlie Haden that Watts co-wrote with Seattle-based pianist Marc Seales. It’s a thing of beauty.

A most-unexpected tip of many jazz hats....

Each June, the Jazz Journalists Association holds a matinee program in Manhattan to honor journalists, broadcasters and photographers who have done distinguished work in the past year.

Wednesday afternoon's festivities at the Blue Note jazz club included an unexpected surprise. JJA's voting members selected yours truly as the 2016 winner of the Lona Foote-Bob Parent Award for Jazz Photography.

When my name surfaced with five other very talented nominees (John Abbott, Jimmy Katz, Richard Conde, Lauren Deutsch and Michael Jackson) several months ago on the JJA Awards ballot, I figured it was a mistake, since I won the award back in 2003.

More than a few JJA member photographers had been under the impression this was sort of a lifetime achievement award, one and done. Apparently not - or maybe the JJA Awards committee forgot that caveat.

New Jersey-based photographer and writer Mitchell Seidel, with whom I've shared concert photo pits dating back to 1985, shared an interesting perspective: something along the lines that winning a lifetime achievement award twice in one lifetime is quite a feat.


I am humbled by the honor, knowing full well that each of the five other nominees was just as deserving.

As best I can surmise, my book, "Jazz in the Key of Light," must have developed some degree of awareness within the JJA community over the past year and a half. Maybe the voters took note of a 30+ year commitment to writing about and photographing the jazz world. We'll never know with any certainty.

Here is the full list this year's winners in the various categories:

• Lifetime achievement in jazz journalism: Ted Panken
• Jazz periodical: DownBeat
• Jazz blog: Ethan Iverson‘s “Do the Math”
• Jazz book: “Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth,” by John Szwed
• Robert Palmer-Helen Oakley Dance Award for Excellence in Writing in 2015: Nate Chinen
• Willis Conover-Marian McPartland Award for Broadcasting in 2015: Linda Yohn, WEMU, Ypsilanti, MI
• Lona Foote-Bob Parent Award for Photography in 2015: Ken Franckling
• Jazz Photo of the Year: Patrick Marek
• Jazz Album Art of the Year: Mike Park, for Kamasi Washington, The Epic

For more details, including all of the musician winners announced earlier this spring, visit the JJA online. Composer/orchestra leader Maria Schneider took home a whopping five trophies this time around: for Musician, Composer, Arranger, Large Ensemble and Record of the Year, the latter for her exquisite CD The Thompson Fields (artistShare).

The Miles Davis legacy, still vibrant after all these years

Trumpeter, bandleader and jazz innovator Miles Davis would have turned 90 today (May 26), had he not passed away nearly 25 years ago. That quarter-century absence from the jazz scene arrives on September 28, 2016.

His music continues to resonate for lovers of his various styles of performance: bop, cool bop, modal jazz, hard bop, electronic fusion, and instrumental pop music. He was one of the pivotal figures in modern jazz. Miles was a charming, frustrating enigma – blessed with one of the sweetest tones ever heard on trumpet and dogged by a "Prince of Darkness" persona that was as much a buffer guarding his private space as it was a mystique.

On this Milestone day, here’s an opportunity to check out or revisit the 4,000-word profile I prepared just before his 60^th birthday. The four-hour interview experience was quite illuminating about the man and his music. I’m also sharing a few images from that April 7, 1986 afternoon in Manhattan.

 

Happy 90^th, Miles. wherever your spirit resides today. It certainly resides in countless musical hearts, given the relentless interest in the music.

 Photos © Ken Franckling 1986, all rights reserved.

CDs of Note – Short Takes

Tis the season for jazz tribute recordings. Taking a look at CD projects honoring the musical legacies of Jackie McLean, Marian McPartland, Oscar Peterson, Dinah Washington, Grover Washington Jr. and Attila Zoller.... 

Opening a month-long tribute to a jazz legend

James Suggs

Much attention will be paid throughout May to the musical legacy of trumpeter Miles Davis, who would have turned 90 this May 26. His musical legacy remains so strong today that it sometimes is hard to fathom that he left us a quarter-century ago - on September 28, 1991.

Trumpeter James Suggs assembled a fine quintet to honor Davis's imprint on mainstream jazz and shared music from the horn legend at a Sunday, May 1 concert co-sponsored by the Tampa (FL) Jazz Club, WUSF's "All Night Jazz" program and Hillsborough Community College's Visual and Performing Arts Series.

What’s on your jazz list?

By the very nature of the process of making the music, any tune can become a jazz tune. Some well-known standards, which I need not mention to further popularize them, are done so often that they are beyond tiresome. But jazz compositions stick with you for other reasons. The melody may be striking, or perhaps you’ve witnessed a performance that left you with goosebumps. The reasons will vary from listener to listener.

Just for fun, I started thinking the other night about my most favorite jazz tunes.

Here are the top 12 – right now. The first five are ranked by personal preference. The others are close behind but not listed in any particular order.

CDs of Note - Short Takes

Taking a look at new CD releases by Harry Allen and Scott Hamilton, Ari Erev, Lyle Mays and Sonny Rollins…

Spotlighting Naples-area jazz talent

Two Naples FL bandleaders brought their groups to Port Charlotte on Monday, April 11 to close the Charlotte County Jazz Society's 25th Anniversary Season with a double concert.

Jazz Appreciation Month is here

April is Jazz Appreciation Month, by proclamation of the Smithsonian, and that's no joke.

For the next 30 days, a lot of things will be happening across the US and around the world to celebrate this great art form that continues to thrive and grow - despite the sometimes overpowering hype and celebrity spotlight enjoyed by other forms of music appealing to mass audiences.

A spirited finale to jazz club's fifth season

Al Hixon

The South County Jazz Club wrapped up its fifth season on Thursday, March 31, with a splendid concert by the latest edition of drummer Al Hixon's "Underheard Herd."

That's a fitting name for his band, which generally includes a player or two who have been under-exposed in the area, or who are so good, you never tire of hearing them.

The matinee event at the Venice Art Center teamed Hixon with ex-Ellington bassist John Lamb, pianist Dick Reynolds (longtime house pianist at Mr. Kelly's in Chicago), tenor saxophonist Jim Wellen and St. Petersburg-based trumpeter James Suggs, who moved to Florida a couple of years ago after an eight-year residency in Argentina.

James Suggs

It was Suggs' first Venice Art Center appearance since last June, when he headlined a Louis Armstrong tribute evening. He is a young man with an old soul. He digs deep into the jazz repertoire to revisit material - and imbues it with great finesse and bright, clean melodic lines. The concert paired him with Wellen, a terrific swing-style tenor player whose sound is reminiscent of a couple of relative youngsters - Scott Hamilton and Harry Allen.

Jim Wellen, John Lamb

Suggs' shining moments included the band's takes on "The Very Thought of You," Lil Hardin Armstrong's 1922 classic "Struttin' With Some Barbecue," "St. James Infirmary" and an encore tease - the high-energy introduction to "West End Blues," another Satchmo-related gem.
 
Reynolds treated the crowd to a solo rendition of an original ballad, "Reflections," that was both pensive and lovely.

Dick Reynolds, Jim Wellen, James Suggs, John Lamb, AL Hixon

 

Reaching out to casual jazz listeners

Guitarist and singer Tony Boffa has an easy-going way of drawing listeners to jazz, whether they realize it - or not.

Tony Boffa

While he was working in the Portland, Maine area as a music educator for many years, he also had his own in-demand band that played weddings and jazz gigs dating to the mid-1970s. Since retiring to southwest Florida in 2014, Boffa, 65, has been playing jazz exclusively, but drawing on his immense repertoire to build a musical bridge for casual listeners.

He's the Saturday night headliner at JD's Bistro in Port Charlotte FL, an upscale gourmet restaurant that features jazz six nights a week. It has an atmosphere rivaling the finest New York City supper clubs. He also performs on Fridays at the Roadhouse Cafe in Fort Myers.

You'll hear a few jazz chestnuts or standards from the Great American Songbook - rarely repeated from week to week or even month to month. Scattered among them, and just as prevalent, are songs drawn from the pop, rock and blues repertoires.

Mac Chrupcala, Tony Boffa

Examples? A couple of Saturdays ago, Boffa included the Harry Belafonte hit "Jamaica Farewell," Delbert McClinton's "Got To Get It Worked On" and two classic TV theme songs: one from "I Love Lucy" and "Those Were The Days" from "All in the Family."

Listeners are familiar with the original versions, but have never heard them in this context - arranged as jazz instrumentals and featuring extended, improvised solos. Even the members of his backing trio have never played a lot of these gems in a jazz context before. 

That concept keeps the band fresh and lively in the same way that Boffa has made jazz more accessible and interesting for a wide range of listeners. He delivers his music with an engaging but not overbearing vocal style, and excellent mainstream guitar chops. And the band stretches out mightily.

Bravo.

Jazz pianist shows what he's made of

Pianist Cyrus Chestnut shared an keen understanding of jazz improvisation at a South County Jazz Club concert in Sarasota FL on Saturday, March 19: He called it "composition at a rapid pace with no erasers."

Cyrus Chestnut

Then for the next 90 minutes or so, he gave a dazzling display of the art form in a solo piano concert at the Glenridge Performing Arts Center. Chestnut crafted a series of extended improvisational gems built on or stretching five instrumental jazz classics, one classical piece, several songs from the Great American Songbook and a couple of gospel tunes. 

Whether he is playing actual gospel music or merely adding his own gospel feel to a variety of jazz standards, the genre is embedded in Chestnut's musical psyche. He began playing the piano at age 3, was performing in his family's church in Baltimore at 7 and by 9 was promoted to church pianist. 

Chestnut, now 53, has worked in a wide variety of bands over the past three decades and led his own trio. But he said he gets a particular thrill from performing without any accompaniment: "You really find out what you're made of when you strip it all away and do it yourself."

The result was musical risk taking at its finest. Most every tune he selected was reworked with teasing introductions and extensions, as well as clever chordal and melodic twists - all of that delivered with contrasting thunder and delicacy.

His take on "Polkadots and Moonbeams" included a dalliance with the distinctive melody from "Think!," better known as the theme music to TV's "Jeopardy!" game show. "Jeopardy!" creator Merv Griffin originally wrote it as a lullaby for his son.

Other gems included Chestnut's interpretations of "The Old Rugged Cross,"  a blues and gospel-drenched version of vibes player Milt Jackson's "Bag's Groove," Charlie Parker's bebop standard "Yardbird Suite" and pianist Ray Bryant's "Tonk," which the composer named after a card game he used to play.

The finest moment was Chestnut's teasing, twisting take on the jazz classic "Body and Soul." As he dug deep into various aspects of the tune, he barely hinted at the melody until the end. It became a puzzle to keep the audience guessing - until the pianist dropped in the final few pieces. Even Chestnut was amazed by what the process revealed. "I just played 'Body and Soul' like I've never played it before in my life," he said. 

Chestnut's performance earned him a standing ovation. But he had little time to savor it, flying well before dawn to perform Sunday at the 2016 Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Festival. 

Harry Allen - Part B

It was most fitting that the South County Jazz Club featured tenor saxophonist Harry Allen on Tuesday, March 15 at a free concert to thank members for their support over the past five years. Allen was the first big-name jazz artist presented in the club's inaugural season when he appeared with guitarist Nate Najar.

Allen, Kilgore

This latest event, held at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Venice, featured Allen with his New York-based band (pianist Bill Cunliffe, bassist Joel Forbes and drummer Kevin Kanner), plus singer Rebecca Kilgore as special guest. It was the final night of a five-concert Florida tour that included stops in Avon Park, Vero Beach, St. Petersburg and Port Charlotte.

Saxophonist's "A Team" delivers a night filled with musical gems

A touring jazz saxophonist's lot often means solitary travel to a distant city or country- and working with a local or regional rhythm section with whom they may or may not be familiar.

Harry Allen, Rebecca Kilgore

The fine swing tenor Harry Allen had none of that uncertainty for his March 14 appearance in the Charlotte County Jazz Society's concert series. Allen brought his own New York-based band to Port Charlotte as part of a five-concert Florida tour. His ace rhythm section included the superb pianist Bill Cunliffe, bassist Joel Forbes and drummer Kevin Kanner. He also shared the spotlight with a special guest, Portland, Oregon-based singer Rebecca Kilgore.

A jazz trombonist who thrives in her two worlds

Louise Wilson

Pianist Mac Chrupcala's quartet concert on Thursday, March 10, in the South County Jazz Club's matinee series at the Venice Art Center introduced most in the room to a new face on the Southwest Florida jazz scene.

Trombonist Louise Wilson is spending the winter and a good chunk of the spring on the Gulf Coast. This snowbird is making the most of her playing opportunities until she and her husband head back to Colorado in May.

Newport's jazz beat keeps rolling on....

George Wein

Producer George Wein and his team make a big splash in January when they announce the lineup for the Newport Jazz Festival, long considered the granddaddy of outdoor music festivals. But it was only a tease in some ways. Read on.

The 2016 edition, scheduled July 29-31, has a vast array of talent, including Chick Corea's all-star trio, singers Gregory Porter, Tierney Sutton (festival debut), Jose James and Angelique Kidjo; saxophonists Charles Lloyd, Donny McCaslin and Kamasi Washington (debut); pianists Toshiko Akiyoshi, Kenny Barron, Sullivan Fortner (debut), Robert Glasper and Rossano Sportiello (debut); the bands The Bad Plus, Galactic (debut), Kneebody, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, the John Scofield/Joe Lovano Quintet, and the Chris Potter-Dave Holland-Lionel Loueke-Eric Harland Supergroup; among many others. 

CDs of Note - Short Takes

Taking a look at new CD releases by Greg Abate & Phil Woods, Acme Jazz Garage, Lisa Hilton, the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and Matt Kane…