new york city jazz record

8/19/2019 new york city jazz record

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THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | JULY 201

A year ago we had our first Piano Issue. But let’s be honest, folks, givenhistory of jazz and its myriad pianists, every issue could be a piano issue. Whit be the cerebral intimacy of Bill Evans, abstract melodicism of Thelonious Mminimalism of Paul Bley, percussivism of Cecil Taylor or pastoralism of AbdIbrahim, the fabric of jazz has been woven behind the eighty-eight keys (and pedals). So, with a run up the entire keyboard, we present you with another devoted to that most dynamic of instruments.

Bill Charlap (On The Cover) has continued the sterling romanticism oEvans, celebrating the Great American Songbook in his trio of long standingduo with his wife and fellow pianist Renee Rosnes. He is also celebrating 10 as Artistic Director of the 92nd Street Y’s annual Jazz in July concert series andperform throughout during the festivities. Henry Butler (Interview) has kepflame of New Orleans piano jazz alive for many years and he adds a new ch

to its history with a band co-led with trumpeter Steven Bernstein and a new aon the recently relaunched Impulse Records, which will be celebrated this mat The Cutting Room. Matt Mitchell (Artist Feature) has made signicontributions to the bands of Tim Berne and Dave Douglas as well as his projects, which include a piano-drum duo. This month he presents the wide of his music at a three-night residency at Ibeam Brooklyn. Art Lande (Encorebeen a sideman to many jazz greats over the years as well as a leader for ECMWindham Hill. He makes a rare East Coast appearance this month at JaKitano. And few pianists single-handedly encompassed the full piano tradlike the late Jaki Byard (Lest We Forget). To complete our piano theme, ouReviews are front-loaded with a number of compelling piano-led albums fromearliest days of jazz right up until five minutes ago. So no matter your tasinside/outside; Steinway/Bosendorfer—there’s something here for you.

We’ll see you out there...

On The Cover: Bill Charlap (photo by Richard Termine)

In Correction: In last month’s Norma Winstone Encore, the song “Bein’ Greenfrom Sesame Street .

Submit Letters to the Editor by emailing [email protected] US Subscription rates: 12 issues, $35 (International: 12 issues, $45)For subscription assistance, send check, cash or money order to theaddress below or email [email protected].

Laurence Donohue-Greene, Managing Editor Andrey Henkin, Editorial Dire

The New York City Jazz Recordwww.nycjazzrecord.com - twitter: @nycjazzrecord - facebook.com/nycjazzrecord

Managing Editor: Laurence Donohue-Greene

Editorial Director & Production Manager: Andrey HenkinStaff WritersDavid R. Adler, Clifford Allen, Fred Bouchard, Stuart Broomer, Katie Bull, Tom Conrad,

Ken Dryden, Donald Elfman, Brad Farberman, Sean Fitzell, Kurt Gottschalk, Tom Greenland,Alex Henderson, Marcia Hillman, Terrell Holmes, Robert Iannapollo, Suzanne Lorge,

Marc Medwin, Robert Milburn, Russ Musto, Sean J. O’Connell, Joel Roberts, John Sharpe, Elliott Simon, Jeff Stockton, Andrew Vélez, Ken Waxman

Contributing WritersBrad Cohan, Irwin Block, Brian Charette, George Kanzler,

Ken Micallef, Michael Steinman, Jon WeberContributing Photographers

Laurence Donohue-Greene, Patrick and Elisa Essex, Scott Friedlander,Peter Gannushkin, Martin Morissette, Ryan Muir, Alan Nahigian,

Dino Perrucci, Robert I. Sutherland-Cohen, Richard Termine

To Contact:

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All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission strictly prohibited. All material copyrights property of the authors.

New York@Night

Interview: Henry Butlerby Alex Henderson

Artist Feature: Matt Mitchellby Ken Waxman

On The Cover: Bill Charlapby Ken Dryden9

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Megaphone VOXNewsby Jon Weber by Katie Bull

Label Spotlight: Listen Up!:Int’l Phonograph Christian Sandsby Marc Medwin & Carolina Calvache

Encore: Lest We Forget:Art Lande Jaki Byardby Suzanne Lorge by Russ Musto

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Event Calendar

CD Reviews: Orrin Evans, Fred Hersch, Dick Hyman, Ahmad Jamal,Alexander von Schlippenbach, Art Tatum, Stefano Bollani and more

Festival Reports: FIMAV •Moers •Musketer

Club Directory

Miscellany: In Memoriam •Birthdays •On This Day 434134

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4 JULY 2014 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

Merely printing a list of names of musicians from theworlds of jazz and rock who played at the CelebrateOrnette concert at the Prospect Park Bandshell (Jun.12th) would be enough to put into the record thesphere of influence of the man of the hour. But simplylisting names might suggest that this was your typicalwalk-on, walk-off tribute. Many who took the stagestuck around for the unhurried concert, not the least ofwhom being the honoree himself. And so the audiencewitnessed Coleman sharing the stage with Flea, David

Murray and Henry Threadgill backed by DenardoColeman’s Vibe, listening with a broad grin more oftenthan playing. They watched Patti Smith dedicate apoem to Coleman as he sat at her side, cradling hiswhite plastic sax. They heard Bachir Achtar, Nels Cline,Ravi Coltrane, Savion Glover, Bruce Hornsby, JoeLovano, Branford Marsalis, Thurston Moore and James“Blood” Ulmer all take on familiar Coleman tunes.They witnessed two renditions of “Lonely Woman”.For the first, Bill Laswell carried the familiar theme onelectric bass while John Zorn surrounded him withsaxophone textures and Laurie Anderson playedglistening arpeggios against soft waves of controlledfeedback emanating from a row of guitars belonging tothe late Lou Reed. The second was initiated by GeriAllen at the piano, soon joined by a quartet ofsaxophones and then, like a slow parade, most of therest of the cast who’d crossed the stage.

- Kurt Gottschalk

The student and professional musicians who convenedat The New School over the first weekend in June forthe annual International Society for Improvised MusicFestival Conference spent much of their time—according to Jin Hi Kim, who introduced the culminatingconcert at the Alvin Johnson/J.M. Kaplan Hallauditorium (Jun. 7th)—talking about the use of timeand space in performance. Complex notions of timewere on clear display from the outset, with drummersSamir Chatterjee and Bobby Previte meshing counter-rhythms, then adding students—trombone, flute,clarinet—each entering in a slow circle, each givengenerous space. A trio of drummer Bobby Previte,saxophonist Dave Liebman and trum peter Wadada LeoSmith was unsurprisingly on point from the get go.

Previte—who announced before their piece th at playingwith the two was “a dream of his”—seemed to revel inshifting settings every few minutes, steering a series ofconcise, blistering solos. A sextet played John Coltrane’s“India”, led off by Chatterjee with Liebman setting thetheme on a small, straight flute before switching tosoprano saxophone. But it was when Michael JefryStevens came in on piano, playing full two-hand chord s,that they found not just the Indian but the Coltranevibe. A final improvisation brought nine players to thestage, including Kim on komungo and drum, andseemed a continuation of the Coltrane feeling, reachingback through time perhaps to the early days of freeimprovisation. (KG)

There’s only one person doing what Bobby McFdoes, flying nightly by the seat of his pants onwith only his voice and body percussion for supengaging audiences so completely in the creprocess that they leave with beaming faces. McFworked his improvisational alchemy on Town Hal(Jun. 13th), accompanied by The Roots’ drummeQuestlove (aka Ahmir-Khalib Thompson), who, warming up the pre-show crowd with funky bhumbly introduced himself as McFerrin’s “side

random-guy”. Not quite true—it was McFerrin’s syes, but Questlove proved more than an apt matcthe singer’s musical hijinks. McFerrin wisely drepopular repertoire, referencing tunes well familmany listeners: Bob Marley’s “I Shot the SheBuddy Miles’ “Them Changes”; Cole Porter’s “I Paris”; the Gershwins’ “Summertime”; McCartney’s “Blackbird” and “Rocky RaccPrince’s “Kiss”; Led Zeppelin’s “Rock & R“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from Mary PoElton John’s “Bennie & the Jets”; Bacharach-Da“Close to You”; The Isley Brothers’ “It’s Your Th

James Brown’ s “Make It Funky”; Whitf ield- StronHeard It Through the Grapevine”, even “TwTwinkle, Little Star” and “The Star-Spangled BanMcFerrin didn’t just reinterpret these tunes, he pwith them. “Do you always have this much fun ongigs?” wondered Questlove, asking for all of us.

- Tom Green

PRISM Quartet presented the third and installment of its Heritage/Evolution serieSymphony Space Leonard Nimoy Thalia (Jun. 1this one featuring the compositions and performof saxophonists David Liebman (soprano) andOsby (alto). Setting the mood for a two-part evethe quartet opened alone with four movements

Jennif er Higdon’s Short Series. The sheer beauty osaxophones’ collective sound, sweet and virtwithout vibrato, is incredible, demonstratingaesthetic in many ways closer to that of a clastring quartet than that of a jazz sax section. navigating the complex harmonies, counterpoinhypnotic chorales of Higdon’s opus, Liebman and came onstage for director/tenor saxophonist Mat

Levy’s “Serial Mood: Reflection”, Liebman lobreathy flurries over lush chords, Osby later duwith baritone saxophonist Taimur Sullivan Phrygian mode. The first set concluded with the wpremiere of Osby’s “Covenant of Voices”, writtePRISM and inspired by the Bulgarian Women’s CDemonstrating admirable control over his dynrange, Osby began with a low-pitched motif,

joined by soprano saxophonist Timothy McAll iswhose beautiful high register rivaled that of a colo rvocalist—leading the quartet through a gorgchorale, which also showcased alto saxophZachary Shemon’s dulcet tone and Liebman’s boisterous soprano.

P h

o t o b y A l a n N a h i g i a n

Ornette Coleman & Henry Threadgill Questlove & Bobby McFerrin @ Town Hall

NEW YORK @ NIGHT

P h

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Adam Rudolph has been ‘playing the band’, toparaphrase the Ellington-ian ideal, as conductor ofvarious iterations of his Go:Organic Orchestra for wellover a decade. But he never had the band he did atRoulette (Jun. 4th), the premiere of his Go:OrganicGuitars, comprised of Rez Abbasi, Damon Banks,Marco Cappelli, Nels Cline, Tomas Doncker, LibertyEllman, David Gilmore, Joel Harrison, Jerome Harris,Michael Gregory Jackson, Miles Okazaki, BrandonRoss, Marvin Sewell and Kenny Wessel, a convincing

cross-section of trendsetters. But it was to Rudolph’scredit (and experience with various instrumentation)that the resulting music was far more wash—asopposed to wall—of sound. The currency was simplemelodic fragments in the opening 18-minuteconduction, fleshed out by eerie slides and wails,fusion leavened by avant garde filigrees. Harrison’sacoustic opened the second eight-minute piece, joinedby Wessel’s banjo and Abbasi twittering in thebackground, oozing forward slowly, with an emphasison pick attack. The third 12-minute piece featured themost aggressive ‘guitary’ opening and more tremolopicking than you could shake a Vibrolux at, rising inintensity on a variation of the opening piece’s funkgroove as Rudolph pulled out soloists. The final10-minue exposition functioned as “Green Sleeves”, aspacey, pastoral foundation for exploring stringharmonics. This kind of non-ego-driven guitar expo

couldn’t have happened 30 years ago. - Andrey Henkin

Anyone coming to The Stone (Jun. 15th) for the duo ofsaxophonist Briggan Krauss and drummer Kenny

Wollesen expecting something remotely Sex Mob-likewould have been quite confused for the duration of the48-minute set. And the other obvious demographic—the Interstellar Space crowd—got only about 5 minutesof a ‘typical’ energy sax-drum pairing 15 minutes in.The rest of the time the audience was actuallywitnessing a trio, the third member a preprogrammedelectronics track. The set began with that track, twominutes of loud, harsh buzzing, which just reached thepoint of being overwhelming when it dropped intomuffled spacey noise. Krauss’ alto sax lines when heentered were the merest puffed flecks, enabled byWollesen and a spring attached to his snare drum.

When the electronics moved into a bit-like pattern,Krauss’ baritone answered with trills and Wollesenadded his own apiary-like electronics and radio static.After the aforementioned Coltrane-Ali tribute, theelectronics track reasserted itself and Krauss switchedto electric guitar, playing it through processing andwith a whisk, which resulted in a surprisingly prettysection. A brief flurry of alto gusts yielded to guitaronce more, this time heavily overdriven and manic inpacing, then back to yowling sax, punctuated byWollesen. Insectile weirdness on guitar gave way tocircular-breathed baritone/brushed drums/droningelectronics before Krauss closed on alto, accompanyingthe return of the opening buzz. (AH)

Vision Festival 19, Celebrating Charles Gayle Lifetimeof Achievement, kicked off at Roulette (Jun. 11th) witha night of music showcasing the versatile artistry of thisyear’s honoree in three different settings. The eveningbegan with Gayle, costumed as his alter ego Streets,playing bass on a series of duets with drummer MichaelT. A. Thompson, then moving to piano, soon to be

joined by Daniel Carter, first on muted trumpet, thenvarious reeds, blowing atmospherically as Miriam andPatricia Nicholson Parker danced expressionistically to

the music. The concert’s middle set featured Gayleplaying tenor saxophone, the instrument on which he isbest known, leading a commanding quartet featuringpianist Dave Burrell, bassist William Parker anddrummer Michael Wimberly. Wasting no time, thefoursome jumped right into a collective improvisation,which found Gayle blowing gritty speechlike cries thatat times recalled both Sonny Rollins and Albert Ayler,but remained steadfastly in his own distinctive voice.As Burrell hammered out percussive Monk-ish chordsover Parker’s whirlwind bass and Wimberly’ssprawling rhythms the music moved from raging free

jazz throug h boppish and bluesy intervals and thenback. A short encore began with a drum solo leadinginto a breakneck unison line before ending abruptly.The night ended with Gayle at the piano with the VisionArtist Orchestra in an “Ascension”-like piece, whichfeatured individual solos between group motifs.

- Russ Musto

Elio Villafranca and the Jass Syncopators celebratedthe release of their latest album Caribbean Tinge: Live atDizzy’s Club Coca-Cola (Motéma) with a returnengagement at the Jazz at Lincoln Center club. Thegroup featured the leader at the piano heading ahardbopping sextet with a frontline of alto saxophonistVincent Herring, tenor saxophonist Greg Tardy,trombonist Steve Turre and the rhythm team of bassistCarlos Henriquez and drummer Lewis Nash, pluspercussionists Jonathan Troncoso and Nelson MateoGonzales. They kicked off their Saturday night (Jun.14th) second set playing the disc’s title track, anuptempo flagwaver by Villafranca in the tradition ofGillespie’s “Things To Come”, which featured burningsolos from the horn players and pianist with rousing

drum and percussion interludes alternating betweenfiery swing and AfroCuban rhythms. The leader’s“Blues For Paula” proved the Cuban pianist to be afine purveyor of the distinctively AfroAmerican songform, as he slowly built an engaging melodic line thatrecalled Monk’s “Misterioso”. Tardy was especiallyengaging, blowing old school tenor on Pat Martino’s“El Hombre”. The group swung ferociously onVillafranca’s “Sunday Stomp at Congo Square”, areminder of the Crescent City’s AfroCaribbeanheritage, while the closing “Comparsa” paid tribute tothe leader’s Cuban roots. Throughout the evening thesounds of the music were offered a compelling visualelement in the dancing of Julia Gutierrez-Rivera. (RM)

Pianist Jason Moran has had his contract the Kennedy Center’s Artistic Director for Jaextended for three years. Moran replaced tlate Dr. Billy Taylor in 2010. For moinformation, visit kennedy-center.org.

Drummer Billy Cobham has launched his of the Rhythm Section Retreat, an intensworkshop program, taking place Aug. 4th-10in the Czech Republic, for experiencinstrumentalists. Participants will work wCobham and notable faculty on teamwoand collaboration within ensembles. For moinformation, visit billycobhamsretreat.com.

The 2014 Echo Jazz Awards, given by tGerman Recording Academy have beannounced. Notable winners include HeSauer/Michael Wollny, RudreMahanthappa, Gregory Porter, JoachKühn, Enrico Pieranunzi, Joshua Redmand Dusko Goykovich. For the complete lvisit echojazz.de/jazz-preistraeger-2014.

Roy Hargrove was recently arrested amade a court appearance stemming fromdrug possession charge in April. The multipGrammy Award-winning trumpeter wsentenced in New York City court to two daof community service in exchange for a guplea that will not appear on his record.

The widow of bassist Ben Tucker , who din a golf cart accident last June at the age82, is suing the city of Savannah, Georgcounty of Chatham and the hotel, part of t

Starwoods chain, for damages in relation her husband’s death.

Actor Don Cheadle, who we previoureported is producing a biopic on trumpeMiles Davis, has begun a crowdfundicampaign to assist in its completion. Interestparties may contribute until Jul. 10th indiegogo.com/projects/join-miles-aheaddon-cheadle-film.

C Major Music and vocalist Janet Lawson aoffering two-week jazz music classes children ages 5-10, consisting of ten four-howorkshops. Participants are not required have previously played an instrument. Tprogram has three sessions in July and AuguFor more information, visit jazzclassesncom/registration-jazz-journey.php

Last month, E. 112th Street at Park Avenwas renamed Charlie Palmieri Way in honof the salsa big band leader (and older brothof pianist Eddie), who passed away in 1988

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P h

o t o b y S c o t t F r i e d l a n d e r

R .

I . S u t h e r l a n d - C o h e n / w w w . j a z z e x p r e s s i o n s . o r g

Adam Rudolph GO: Go:Organic Guitars @ ShapeShifter Lab Charles Gayle @ Vision Festival

W H A T ’ S N E W S

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7/44

ARTIST FEATURE

After a year’s unhappy experience in the late ‘90strying to establish himself in New York City, pianistMatt Mitchell, 38, escaped, as he terms it, to hishometown of Philadelphia and got a day job at theUniversity of the Arts’ library. “I swore I’d never againplay one music gig I didn’t want to play and I haven’t.” He’s certainly lived up to that pledge. Mitchell isstill in Philly but he now divides his time working insuch high-profile ensembles as Dave Douglas’ Quintet,

Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Bird Project, Tim Berne’sSnakeoil, Darius Jones’ Quartet, John Hollenbeck’sLarge Ensemble, Rez Abbasi’s Invocation, plus his ownband with bassist Chris Tordini, drummer Dan Weissand tenor saxophonist/clarinetist Chris Speed.Mitchell has also been widely praised for Fiction, his PiRecordings debut, which is a series of duets withSnakeoil drummer Ches Smith. At the turn of the century Mitchell wanted to freehimself from having to play jobs that were devoted towhat he calls “utilitarian” rather than creative music,since he had spent the previous few years dedicated tostudying his craft. Growing up in Exton, PA, he startedplaying the familiar so-called classical repertoire atfive (“although I remember ‘improvising’ at the pianobefore taking lessons,” he says), but wasn’t exposed to

jazz until h is ear ly teens when his father brought hometwo tapes: The Best of Thelonious Monk and Wynton

Marsalis’ J Mood. “I was attracted to the music becauseit sounded crazy and new to me,” he recalls. “Also Iwas looking to get into playing ‘other things’.” Theother things soon escalated into playing house sessionswith the likes of bassist Reid Anderson and drummerAri Hoenig and eventually an undergraduate degree inmusic from Indiana University (IU) and a masters fromThe Eastman School of Music (ESM). With one of theoldest university jazz departments, IU was an easychoice while “Eastman initially came about because Ifrankly had no idea what to do after IU and I was alsointerested in other things such as the music history andcomposition and orchestration classes.” Serendipitouslytrumpeter Ralph Alessi was one of his teachers and thetrumpeter subsequently became a friend and “vitalfigure” with whom Mitchell con tinues to play regularly.The pianist also teaches for a week each year at Alessi’sBrooklyn-based School for Improvisational Music

(SIM), his busy schedule permitting. Mitchell admits that another reason for attendingESM was “not feeling ready to plunge into any scene atthe time. I’m not sure I ever felt ready in a way. MaybeI sort of gradually materialized into the scene insteadonce it finally happened.” So after his disappointingNYC experience, he continued to hone his skills inPhiladelphia, where in the late ‘90s, he and a group offriends started Scrapple Records to document theirplaying in various configurations. Vapor Squint,

Antique Chrom atic is an electro-acoustic CD released in2007 on which he played, then processed, edited andreassembled the tracks. “I’m definitely proud of thatdisc and I have continued working on similar types of

approaches,” he explains. But I keep getting hired toplay piano so it’s hard to find enough time to doeverything justice.” Hiring Mitchell to play piano may cut into his ownmusical explorations, but it’s proven to be a boon toothers’ bands. Most of his gigs, he explains, come aboutin “the typical ‘jazz way’. One leader sees me play withsomeone and hires me, or I got recommended bysomeone for something else. John Hollenbeck, Rez

Abbasi, Rudresh Mahanthappa...that was a chain thathappened for me one year, which was nice to experience.I think Dave [Douglas] was tracking me for a littlewhile from afar before hitting me up for his group.” The affiliation with Berne actually has a longergenesis. “I corresponded with Tim in 1996 when I wasat Eastman; I wrote him and asked hi m for some scores.But I didn’t start playing with him until 2008 when weboth taught at SIM one summer. We had a rehearsalwith just the two of us. He hired me at the end of it andwe’ve played together ever since.” By coincidence, the origins of Fiction grew out ofhis gigs with Snakeoil. “The concept began as a seriesof études intended to maximally stretch my abilities asa pianist and improviser and also to focus my thoughtsas a composer. I wanted to compose free of anyconcerns involving practice time for anyone other thanmyself,” he recalls. “Ches became involved as a result

of his playfully joining in with me on Snakeoil tourswhile I’d practice the pieces during soundchecks. Weplayed once or twice prior to Snakeoil but Snakeoil iswhere it really took off.” The Smith-Mitchell duo is one focus of the pianist’sthree-day residency this month at Ibeam Brooklyn.Featured will be three duo sets with Smith plus threesets by an extended ensemble called NormalRemarkable Persons. Performing all Mitchellcompositions, the other bandmembers are Berne,trumpeter Shane Endsley, tenor saxophonist TravisLaplante, Tyshawn Sorey on drums, trombone andmelodica plus Smith on drums, vibes and percussion.“The sextet was a quintet until I decided to add Chesas a member,” Mitchell elucidates. “We’ve done acouple of gigs before, but this will be the firstconcentrated run we’ve done. I’ll be writing a newpiece for it, since with that band I like to explore longer,

more sprawling forms.” Mitchell would also like tofind time to record Normal Remarkable Persons.However he expects that his next CD release willfeature the quartet with Speed, Weiss and Tordini, allof whom, with the exception of Mitchell, live inBrooklyn. As for his overall concept for the future, the pianiststates: “I definitely will continue exploring the areas ofmusic that I documented on Fiction as I feel there’s a lotmore to be discovered. But by no means will it be myonly focus. Basically I like to try and follow ideas towhat seems like some sort of logical fruition and howthis happens usually depends on the groups I playwith.” v

For more information, visit mattmitchell.us. MitchellCornelia Street Café Jul. 2nd with Michaël Attias’ Tree, Ibeam Brooklyn Jul. 18th-20th as a leader anStone Jul. 30th with Tyshawn Sorey. See Calendar.

Recommended Listening:• Darius Jones Quartet - Book of Mae’bul

(Another Kind of Sunrise) (AUM Fidel ity, 2011)• Claudia Quintet + 1 - What is the Beautiful?

(Cuneiform, 2011)• Michaël Attias - Spun Tree (Clean Feed, 2012)• Dave Douglas Quintet - Time Travel (Greenleaf, 2• Matt Mitchell/Ches Smith - Fiction (Pi, 2012)• Tim Berne Snakeoil - Shadow Man (ECM, 2013)


Matt

Mitchellby Ken Waxman P e t e

r G a n n u s h k i n / D O W N T O W N M U S I C . N E T

“Best Jazz Venue of the Year” NYC JAZZ RECORD“Best Jazz Club” NY MAGAZINE+CIT

MON JUNE 7,14, 21 & 28

MINGUS BIG BAND

THU-SUN JULY 17-20

SEAN JONES QUARTETORRIN EVANS - LUQUES CURTIS - OBED CALVAIRE

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JOHN ABERCROMBIE - HOWARD ALDEN - GENE BERTONCINIJIMMY BRUNO - LARRY CORYELL - JOE DIORIO - VIC JURIS

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NIR FELDERSHAI MAESTRO - MATT PENMAN - NATE SMITH

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CHRIS BERGSON BANDELLIS HOOKS - STEVEN BERNSTEIN - DAVID LUTHER - IAN HENDRICKSON-SMITH

CRAIG DREYER - MATT CLOHESY - ETHAN EUBANKS

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2014 MARKS 40 YEARS OF OGUN MUSIC

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It’s hard for Bill Charlap to imagine beco ming anythingother than a jazz pianist. The son of the late Broadwaycomposer Moose Charlap and vocalist Sandy Stewartis recognized as one of the top interpreters of the GreatAmerican Songbook. Charlap credits his parents withgiving him strong musical roots, explaining, “I don’tever remember a time when I didn’t play piano. I triedto imitate what my father was doing; he had greatenergy and was very dynamic. He wasn’t a pianist orsinger, he was a songwriter and a great theater writer.His playing was so infectious that other composers

asked him to do backer auditions of their songs forthem.” The pianist is influenced by his mother, too.“Sandy is a great singer. I’ve always heard her turn aphrase in my inner ear; I hear certain things that shedoes musically. She sang with Benny Goodman in the‘60s. We’ve made records for Ghostlight and Blue Note.We performed together for years at the Algonquin andFeinstein’s; she’ll join us at the Y. A child hears hismother’s voice and it must do something psychically.But neither parent was a jazz musician, so a kid has tofind his own way.” His early musical education included studies withDick Hyman, who has remained an important mentor.“Dick is a distant cousin on my father’s side. Mymother sent me to his home when I was in my earlyteens. He knew my mom when she was very youngand accompanied her at her high school graduation.Dick and I just played together in Chicago. We shared

the bill. Dick played solo and I joined him, then my trioplayed and Dick joined me on one piano with the trio.” The Jazz in July series at the 92nd Street Y has beena high point of the pianist’s schedule for the pastdecade. “It was hosted and curated by Dick Hyman for20 years. When he decided to give it u p, he recommendedme. I love the venue. It was Gerry [Mulligan]’s favoriteconcert hall in New York and the first place I playedwith him.” This year’ s series includes tributes to HoagyCarmichael, Leonard Bernstein, Miles Davis, SarahVaughan and Fred Astaire, plus a three piano concertwith Dick Hyman and Christian Sands, in honor ofMarian McPartland. Charlap’s introduction to Gerry Mulligan led tohis first appearance on a recording, the saxophonist’sLonesome Boulevard. “I had admired Bill Mays for sometime. We became friends when I was in my 20s. I’dgone to hear him a lot and he’d heard me play. He was

leaving Gerry Mulligan and recommended me. Iplayed with Gerry and he hired me. I was so young; Iwish I could play with him now. There were so manythings going on that were musically over my head, butit was seeping in, too. The way that Gerry would playa melody, just sing the song like a singer. Brubeck saidsomething fantastic about Gerry: ‘He sounds like he’splaying the past, the present and the future, all at thesame time.’ Gerry had a very unique melodic gift. Hisimprovisations were informed by Lester Young, someCharlie Parker harmony and plenty of Gerry’s ownstamp on it, too. The baritone sax never sounded likethat. Two things that caught my ear was Gerry’sarrangement of ‘Godchild’ for Miles, followed by

Gerry’s ‘Ontet’, featuring his tentet with Gerry playingthe shout figure from ‘Godchild’ at the piano, butslower, so you could hear the inner voicings. I knewthen I was really hearing a different kind of pianist.When I played with Gerry, I asked him to show mesome of the things that he was doin g and he even wroteout ‘Godchild’ for me. That was a great break for me.” Charlap was friends with saxophonist Jon Gordonin high school. He recalled, “We both idolized PhilWoods, because he was such a virtuoso when heplayed. We’d go hear him.” Not long after leaving

Mulligan, Charlap joined Phil Woods’ quintet andstayed 15 years. “I was younger than the other guys inPhil’s group, so it was a trial by fire. Phil would just eatup the music; I didn’t know what he was going to callfrom night to night. You need different sets of tools toplay that music, we weren’t getting a second chance.With Phil in the studio, it’s one take; he has the highestwork ethic. The guys in the band [Brian Lynch, SteveGilmore and Bill Goodwin] were so unpretentious—they were serious about the music but having somelaughs when we weren’t playing.” Charlap has enjoyed the opportunity to play a fewsolo concerts. Yet he has almost as much freedomplaying in his longtime trio with the unrelatedWashingtons. “We’ve been together for 18 years andhave so much music that the sets change from what weplanned. It’s nice to have that chemistry.” He hadrecorded several CDs for Criss Cross Jazz, but wanted

to make a change. “I wanted to get a rhythm sectionthat felt the way that Peter Washington and KennyWashington sounded together, because I already knewtheir playing individually and together. I loved theway they sounded on their many records as a rhythmsection. I thought, ‘Why not get them?’ They wereavailable and there was chemistry right away. It wasone of those magical moments when you’re listening toand playing with someone that we looked at each otherand thought, ‘This is really nice.’ I asked them a fewdays later if they would like to do some gigs. I wasn’tplaying at the Vanguard or the 92nd St. Y then. I wasplaying places that weren’t on the same tier. Peter andKenny were already working with Dizzy, Milt Jacksonand Tommy Flanagan. One thing led to another afterwe started working togeth er. We got some good noticesand ended up recording quite a few more.”

In recent years, Bill has played numerous duo

concerts with his wife Renee Rosnes. Recently theyplayed in Phoenix, San Diego and at the HealdsburgFestival, where Bobby Hutcherson guested with them.Their duo CD Double Portrait (Blue Note) drew criticalacclaim and a followup will eventually take place.Charlap explained that piano duos take some work,noting, “Two pianos can be difficult if you don’t havesimpatico. The idea to me is not to be competitive, it’sabout making the whole greater than its parts. Whetherit’s a pianist, horn player, bass and drums, it should besomething that you communicate together. It doesn’thave to be one person’s concept that everyone elsecomes along with. It should be a combination. There’salways been a natural chemistry with me and Renee;

you can’t make it happen, it does or doesn’t. Itability to listen and not clutter the palette. naturally orchestrate with each other. Reneeexquisite taste, style and command, but her eunlike anyone’s I’ve ever encountered. If you droneedle on any record, she instantaneously knows note she’s hearing. It sounds impossible, but it’sShe’s almost incapable of playing something going to clash. We have ways of continuing other’s thoughts.” When asked about which jazz musicians influe

him, Charlap immediately joked, “This is going tovery long list and not comprehensive: Dick HyHank Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Cedar Walton, SClark, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, George SheaWynton Kelly and Red Garland. It’s our peers toopeople we grow up hearing play also influence us

just pianists. I’ve learned a lot from KWashington and Peter Washington over the yearsfrom Renee, naturally. Everything from ArmstroBird to Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Dizzy, Roy EldrMiles, Monk, the arranging of Johnny MandelEvans and Duke Ellington. Jimmie Lunceford,Hines and James P. Johnson. I listen to classical mtoo. The biggest challenge for me was getting gMy first gig was in my teens, playing at The Amendment Improvisation Company in New Yowas a comedy troupe that would take suggesfrom the audience and invent skits on them. I w

play solo piano as people filed in and out. I couldanything I wanted, from Scott Joplin to Cecil TaWorking with the troupe was like being a pianissilent movie. I would underscore whatever was on onstage.”

Charlap had other ways to expand his knowl“I would take any gig and do it as well as I couldwas working with a singer who had many tunes I dknow, I tried to find original sheet music and listas many recordings as possible to be over-prepareanything. Now I don’t have time to do anythingprepare just enough. I know how to get where I nequickly just from experience. I wondered what reof ‘Body and Soul’ Coleman Hawkins and BGoodman heard and try to find out their refepoints. I think it’s a key in deepening your craftsee the branches of the tree.” v

For more information, visit billcharlap.com. Charlap92nd Street Y Jul. 22nd-24th and 29th-31st as part ofin July. See Calendar.

Recommended Listening:• Gerry Mulligan - Lonesome Boulevard

(A&M-Verve, 1989)• Bill Charlap Trio - Souvenir (Criss Cross, 1995)• Phil Woods - Chasin’ The Bird (Venus, 1997)• New York Trio - Blues in the Night (Venus, 2001)• Bill Charlap Trio - Live at the Village Vanguard

(Blue Note, 2003)• Bill Charlap/Renee Rosnes - Double Portrait

(Blue Note, 2009)

ON THE COVER


BILL CHARLAP

MUSICAL DESTINY by Ken Dryden

http://www.nycjazzrecord.com/http://billcharlap.com/http://www.nycjazzrecord.com/


10/44


Art Landeby Suzanne Lorge

Soft-spoken pianistArt Lande’s approachto just aboute v e r y t h i n g — m u s i c ,cooking, teaching,

coaching ball games—isto improvise with the

sounds, words, ideas and actions in the moment. “Ilike creating environments where things can happenthat are unpredictable, that involve everybody’s realenergy,” he explains. To the jazz world, inspired playing and expansivecompositions are Lande’s tour de force. But to Landehimself, music is just one of the many mediums that heuses to interact with others. “Music is more of alanguage for me,” he explains. “I’m not so intriguedwith music on its own, but as a means of sharing,communicating, [and] creating energy.” Even so,Lande’s music credentials are impressive: He’s gotmore than 45 albums to his name as a soloist, ensembleplayer, composer, producer, or any combination ofthese. He’s worked with a multitude of allstarinstrumentalists and headlining singers. And in 1987

he received a Grammy nomination for his solo album,Hardball (Great American Music Hall Records). The same year he received the Grammy nomination,Lande settled in Boulder, Colorado, after almost 20years of playing and teaching. Musicians don’tgravitate to Boulder the way they do to Los Angeles orNew York but Lande isn’t looking for the mainstream.He knew early on that he wasn’t the performer type.“I’m not out touring all the time with strangers formoney and recognition,” he reveals. “That’s not theway my life works.” What does work is trustinghimself, the musicians and the audience—wherever heis—to create the music that needs to be played in thattime and that space on that day. This kind of music-making requires more than just spontaneity and solidchops; Lande says that over time he’s learned to

become less imposing, more relaxed and more receptivephysically and emotionally, so that the audience andmusicians’ “responses are more authentic. Deeper.More spacious. Everybody has their say and contributesto the whole.” Because the music arises organically outof an immediate collective need, every performance isa success, whether it’s in a living room or a studio or aconcert space. “Every time I play…I say that was thebest music I ever played in my life,” Lande avows. Lande’s approach to performance is not without

process. He writes structured pieces for specificperformances and he typically performs with highlyskilled players whose styles he knows well. To preparefor a gig the band will rehearse, but not too much. “Weneed to know enough to be able to create something,but not so much that we become glib,” he says. “It’sabout knowing just enough to get into trouble.” And ifone of the players shows up with a new idea orsomething happens in real time to change the course ofthe gig, that’s fine, too. Lande can’t predict what hehimself might do. He will carry a book of poems withhim on stage and open to a random page during aperformance, for instance, and “by magic” he’ll find apoem to read that exactly matches the aesthetic of themusic. Or perhaps the band will pause in the middle ofa tune and wait—one, two, three minutes—beforeresuming the performance. Lande doesn’t leave theaudience out of the musical collaboration, however.

From the stage he’ll actively invite them to participatein creating the shared experience. It’s okay, he says, ifthe resultant sounds are weird or boring. The point isto leave space for the exceptional to happen. People“yearn for this kind of interaction,” Lande asserts.“They’re ready to meet something fresh and authentic.” Lande’s ability to create safe spaces forcollaboration factors prominently in his work withstudents. He first began teaching almost 40 years agoand since then he’s been affiliated with several learni nginstitutions such as the Cornish Institute in Seattle,

Jazz Schoo l of Migros Klub schul e in St. Gallen,Switzerland, Naropa Institute in Boulder andpresently the University of Colorado, Boulder, to nameonly a few. Aside from coaching students in thetechnical aspects of jazz, Lande “sponsor[s] the energy

of the young ones” to help them bring clreceptiveness and honesty to their musical expresIn young musicians today he sees similaritiehimself as an up-and-coming instrumentalist in‘60s. “They’re communal—they want to participhe observes. Lande does, too. When he plays, “itlike we’re all doing something together,” he saysno matter what happens, it’s as it should be. Thebeauty to that. v

For more information, visit artlande.com. Lande is aat Kitano Jul. 30th. See Calendar.

Recommended Listening:• Ted Curson - Jazz Meet ing (Four Leaf Clover, 19• Art Lande - Rubisa Control (ECM, 1976)• Gary Peacock - Shift in the Wind (ECM, 1980)• Fred Hess - You Know I Care (Capri, 1994)• Paul McCandless/Art Lande/ Peter Barshay/ Alan Hall - Shapeshifter (Synergy, 2003)• Gebhard Ullmann/Chris Dahlgren/Art Lande -

Die Blaue Nixe (Between The Lines, 2003-04)

ENCORE

Jaki Byard (1922-1999)by Russ Musto

In a music that values, but doesn’t always reward,individualism, Jaki Byard stood out as one of a kind—asingular, yet relatively unheralded artist. Arguably themost versatile pianist of his or any generation, Byard’splaying embodied the full history of jazz—often withinone performance. Born in Worcester, Massachusetts on

Jun. 15th, 1 922, he came up in the Swin g Era and beganhis professional career playing locally before going onthe road with Earl Bostic. Embracing the new musicbebop, he formed a quintet with trumpeter Joe Gordon

and tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers. Later he worked inand around Boston in a quartet with alto saxophonistCharlie Mariano and as a member of Herb Pomeroy’slegendary big band, before leaving for a three-yearstint with trumpeter Maynard Ferguson’s aggregation. Upon moving to New York in 1960 Byard garnerednational attention recording with Eric Dolphy on thesaxophonist’s landmark Outward Bound album.Unfortunately, his own debut date, Blues For Smoke,produced by Nat Hentoff for Candid Records thatsame year, remained unreleased for nearly threedecades, although his already fully formed stylegained considerable exposure on a series of forward-looking recordings by both Dolphy and trumpeter Don

Ellis. In 1962 he began his tenure with Charles Mingus,where his wide-ranging pianistic style flourished. Byard’s own recordings as a leader, beginningwith 1961’s Here’s Jaki, revealed him to be a more thancapable frontman and composer, heading a trio ofbassist Ron Carter and drummer Roy Haynes on aprogram of five diverse originals and reinventions ofColtrane’s “Giant Steps” and the Gershwins’ “It Ain’tNecessarily So”. Subsequent dates as a sideman withRivers, Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Booker Ervin showedthat his eclectic stylings could enhance the music in avariety of settings—from Texas tenor blues to modalfreebop. His own series of recordings as a bandleaderand multi-instrumentalist (doubling on saxophones,vibes and drums), featuring the likes of Kirk, Joe

Farrell and Elvin Jones, received broad critical acclaim,but did little to gain him bookings for the groups. Beginning in the ‘70s Byard worked primarily as asoloist, either alone or with bassist Major Holley, withwhom he regularly held forth every Sunday atBradley’s for most of 1974-75. The recently releasedthree volumes of solo piano dates on High Note,recorded at the Keystone Korner during the decade,show off the pianist’s far reaching style to great effect,as does the superb 1982 duo date with TommyFlanagan, The Magic of 2: Live at Keystone Korner(Resonance). During the ‘80s, the pianist also led hisown big band, The Apollo Stompers, basically a pair ofrehearsal groups comprised of first-call journeymen

players in New York and students from his England Conservatory classes in Boston. Byard’s legacy as an educator is perhapimportant as his work as a pianist, having nurtularge number of today’s finest players. Flutist JBaum, who leads the group Yard Byard, a Brepertory group made up of the pianist’s fostudents notes, “Jaki never put different styles of minto categorical boxes. He had a deep understandithe jazz tradition as well as of classical music (andother style that he found interesting) and cincorporate them into his solos and compositionsway that was personal, convincing and autheByard’s work as a composer continues to gain attenhaving been recorded by Jason Moran, Fred He

Matt Wilson and Ethan Iverson. Byard died Feb. 1999 in an unsolved homicide. v

Recommended Listening:• Eric Dolphy Quintet - Outward Bound (New Jazz, • Charles Mingus - Town Hall Concert (OJC) (Jazz Workshop, 1964)• Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Rip, Rig and Panic

(Limelight, 1965)• Jaki By ard - Sunshine of My Soul (OJC) (Prestige, • Jaki Byard - The Late Show (An Evening with Jaki B

Live at the Keystone Korner, Vol. 3 (HighNote, 1979)• Jaki B yard - Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 17

(Concord, 1991)

LEST WE FORGET

Re: Storytime - Billy’s solo piano CD:

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“You won’t get any better than this.” -Rotcod Zzaj, rotcodzzaj.com

“Solo jazz piano at its best”- Scott Albin, Jazz Times

Billy Lesteris accepting new jazz piano studenoffering an original approach to ja

creativity, technique, theory and etraining to students of all leve

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11/44


MEGAPHONE

The Make Believe Ragby Jon Weber

So, I’m playing “The Maple Leaf Rag” on this ancientpiano at a Minsk, Belarus coffee house, valiantlyfocusing upon every note, every riveting pulsedeserving my laser-like concentration. I revere “TheMaple Leaf Rag” and consider it the most important

American composition of all time because it paved theway for so much music that I love. Scott Joplin’s two-minute masterpiece was the first instrumentalcomposition to sell one million copies of sheet music.An older Belorussian guy recognizes it, smiles andbarks out, “The Make Believe Rag!” Close enough.Seriously, how many 1899 compositions survive thatfickle journey from the year 1899 all the way into ourcollective musical consciousness in the year 2014?Quoting Stephen Sondheim, “Damn few”. If you consider what American popular musicsounded like at the turn of the 20th Century, “TheMaple Leaf Rag” truly represented a new era, artisticallyand socially. American original music sounded a lotlike Scottish and German folk songs—Europe Jr. untilScott Joplin’s great American wake-up call blindsidedthe music industry of its day. In 1899, this ever-so-slightly Africanized treatment of familiar European

folk music lured millions of consumers to sheet musicstores, where people of modest means forked over theirhard-earned cash in exchange for a chance to navigate

Joplin’s r agged, syncopated creations. I am astonished that any piece as technicallychallenging as “The Maple Leaf Rag”, and the thousandsthat would follow, would become blockbuster sellers.Conventional wisdom would suggest that “simpler ismore sellable”, yet pianists at all skill levels sought outthe more intricate rags, apparently having outgrownthe ordinary. They must’ve been so eager to raise thebar and perform the new, magical parlor trick—overand over. The ragtime craze achieved the early 1900sequivalent of viral. American creativity began taking amore respected place on the world stage. Even ClaudeDebussy started composing Joplin-esque works.

Europeans were beginning to imitate us. Where did this enormously popular and extremelyradical sound come from? By 1899, Africans had livedon this continent for three centuries. Why did it take solong for their music to surface? Simple answer: theywere slaves, deprived of freedom and any chance toexpress themselves artistically and/or activelyparticipate in mainstream American culture. In 1899few white Americans had any clue what African-American music sounded like. There was simply no

exposure to it and no commercial mechanism in placeto provide it for mass consumption. “The Maple LeafRag” launched us into the uncharted artistic waters ofgenuine American music. Occasional glimpses of African-American musicawareness would emerge for a white audience butwould quickly disappear. In 1842, Charles Dickensattended a performance by Juba at the BoweryAmphitheatre. Juba is generally regarded as thepioneering figure for American tap dance and hisaccompanying trio consisted of a trumpeter, violinistand drummer. One reviewer wrote: “The drummersweats profusely and plays contrary to all laws ofrhythm.” Wow! I want to hear that. “The corpulenttrumpeter plays red-hot needles of sound.” I definitelywant to hear that! Eight decades later, Louis Armstrongwould lead his groundbreaking jazz ensembles the “HotFive” and “Hot Seven”. Perhaps he read Juba’s reviews.

Clearly, in 1842, white mainstream Americans stillconsidered African-American music threatening andindecipherable but, by 1899, African influence finallyfound a welcome entry via ragtime. Maybe a generaloptimism drove everyday Americans toward reachingfor something better, smarter, more enlightened…at thedawn of the 20th Century. Joplin’s millions-selling compositions probablyattracted a lot of folks into the music business who maynot have otherwise paid attention to the fledglingindustry. Enormous amounts of cash quickly seducedcold, steely business sharks who didn’t care as muchabout the art as they did about the profitability of thehot sellers. There’s a joker in every deck, isn’t there?For better or wor se, thanks to alliances holy and unholy,the money flowed, the floodgates rushed open and

creativity for creativity’s sake often ruled the daythe past 11 decades. Whom do I specifically thank?grateful to the millions of people who fo und AfricaEuropean music irresistible 115 years ago and more grateful to the adventurous geniuses who crsomething seemingly out of nowhere. Their imupon American culture is incalculable, I couldn’t rthem in 100 lifetimes and even in Belarus, their stapower is anything but make-believe. v

For more information, visit jonwebermusic.com. W“Joplin to Jarrett” is at Metropolitan Room Jul. 2n8th. See Calendar.

Jazz piani st Jon Weber ha s re corde d an d toured all ovworld, winning numerous honors for performancecomposition—scoring extensively for television since Gary Burton, Roy Hargrove, Niels-Henning ØPedersen and Avishai Cohen have all recorded his musihis newest release, Simple Complex , rose to #1. Whosts NPR’s Piano Jazz with Jon Weber after frequserving as guest host for Marian McPartland.

What on Unearthed?!by Katie Bull

With a new archival release Mosaic Records hascreated a sonic time machine and you have just enteredthe jazz past through your listening ears. It’s May 17th,1947. Sitting on the edge of a front-row seat in NewYork City’s Town Hall, you are part of the expectantcrowd’s electric energy. What you are about to hear onDisc 1/Track 1 will go down in jazz history as the birthof Louis Armstrong ’s All Stars. The elegantly buoyantand adoring announcer’s voice of radio host FredRobbins fades in: “…We give you the greatest singer in

American jazz!” It is a sizzling turning point night inArmstrong’s career. Bow down to Mosaic for TheColumbia and RCA Victor Live Recordings of Louis

Armstron g’s All Stars, a stunning boxed set of 8 discsspanning 12 years of time travel to the roots of thetradition. Culled from archival vaults and othersources, including the famed George Avakian’sbasement, the unedited, full-length restoredperformances on this boxed set are a windfall. FromTown Hall to Accra (go to Ghana on Disc IV!),Armstrong throws down his signature sound, shiftingbetween trumpet and his sweet and gritty voice onnearly every cut! Armstrong also welcomes the richand meaty singing of his regular vocalist, Velma

Middleton. These live recordings defy the phenomenonthat separates us from the departed, bringing the mid20th century into your 21st century living room. You’rethere.

If you love Louis, you may already know about theyounger pioneer bebop m aster, trumpet player HowardMcGhee. Thanks to McGhee’s work with singers, theunearthed gem Howard McGhee West Coast 1945-47(Uptown), though mostly instrumental, includesseveral entirely sublime vocal tracks by the solidlyhearty Monette Moore and crooning drummer DanGrissom, McGhee’s sideman. Their voices, re-etchedinto the present air, are priceless. German vocalist Inge Brandenburg has also‘returned’ via ten unreleased, restored and remastered

concert recordings and two live recording sessions onDon’t Blame Me (Sonorama). Voted “Europe’s bestfemale jazz singer” at the festival of Juan-Le-Pins in1960, Brandenburg’s uninhibited and velvety altovoice on jazz standards reveals masterful instrumentalphrasing, effortless melodic invention and rhythmicallydaring scat. The vibrant mix is in perfect balance witha buzzing crowd ambiance as backdrop.

Present day gems playing homage to greats of thepast can be heard at the 92nd Street Y’s Jazz in July andinclude Grammy-nominated, First Place winner of theThelonious Monk competition Cécile McLorin Salvant,a shatteringly beautiful singer. The 25-year-old wise-old-soul will offer a Sarah Vaughan tribute with pianist

Bill Charlap (Jul. 30th). Also at Jazz in July (and toto this month’s piano theme) don’t miss veteran Sandy Stewart commanding consummate synergyCharlap, who is also her son. The two will join Hoagy Carmichael tribute (Jul. 22nd). The critacclaimed Sachal Vasandani will top the series offhis relaxed simplicity and ease to honor Fred Asagain with Charlap and also with pianist Renee Rin a tribute titled “I Won’t Dance” (Jul. 31st).

And “dig” two new albums containing musica new ground of fusion between jazz vocal genrethe French-born singer/composer Christine Pytorganic album Meme S i (Unit), her trio weaves tradroots, driving electric guitar lines and electronicsa flock of birds, Python’s band swoops and gathe

the singer intones the mellifluous French words of Joël Bastard. Meme Si’s rigorous contrasts of megritty, bluesy and raucous sounds require listenerelease expectation and go for the flight. And speaof sonic aviation, the self-produced Paper Birds, bBrooklyn-based group Ralliade—Angela Morrvoice and tenor, Scott Colberg on acoustic bassvocalist Alex Samaras—is exciting and should breakthrough album for this exquisite colleMorris’ original poems (and one by Johanna Skibmanifest in a high-caliber alchemical exchange betthe threesome.

Unearthed from the past, living in the presenflying into the future, jazz is here—for the record

VOXNEWS

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12/44

International Phonographby Marc Medwin

“Would you please call me on my landline? I hate thesound of the voice on cell phones!” Jonathan Horwich,the man behind International Phonograph Inc. (IPI),makes no bones about his likes or dislikes. Directnessseems integral to his character and the strength of his

opinions serves as a foil for the boundless enthusiasmwith which he approaches every aspect of his life’spassion, which is music. Upon reconsideration, musicis only a part of what motivates Horwich to suchheights of excitement. The way the music sounds isabsolutely paramount in his vision of how it should beunderstood and the sonic fidelity of his reissues is justas much a part of the whole experience as the visualpresentation; the combination sets IPI apart from thecountless labels of varying repute, devoted toreintroducing neglected or long-unavailable items intothe catalogue and, hopefully, to a larger public.

“It was very simple,” Horwich smiles when askedabout the name of his label. “I started it back in 1981, inthe days when we were issuing everything on vinyl.”The label released one title at that time, Rendezvous bypianist Richie Beirach and bassist George Mraz, but thestory leading to that pivotal moment is as rich with

discovery as is the music the label preserves. “Iremember listening to lots of Elvis and rhythm andblues on the radio in the ‘50s, just after my familymoved to Chicago,” muses Horwich. “But it wasn’t

until I was just about to go to college that the epiphanycame.” His sister brought him a copy of Herbie Mann’snow-ubiquitous At The Vill age Gate album and he wasthunderstruck. “What’s this, what have I beenmissing!” His voice rises, the words quickening withanticipation, as he describes hearing Charles Mingus’Tijuana Moods and then Jeremy Steig’s Flute Fever ,released on Columbia in 1963 and which Horwich has

just reissued. “Then I really star ted to get it; what anabsolutely burnin’ record!”

One of those lucky situations that can determinelife’s entire aftercourse occurred for Horwich atOccidental College, where, pursuing an EnglishLiterature degree, he met John William Hardy,ornithologist, DownBeat columnist and, Horwichmaintains, one of the finest liner notes writers themusic has ever had. “He started mentoring me. I’d goto his house and he’d be showing me how to listen tothis music. ‘Listen to that moment, how that group isinteracting, how the rhythm section is playing as asingle unit; hear how they’re avoiding clichés?’” Aftera year or so, the two founded Revelation Records torecord underserved musicians in the L.A. area. Theirmost readily available work constitutes the BobbyBradford and John Carter collaborations reissued byMosaic in their Select series, but the catalogue becamefairly large, reaching to about 50 records. Piano studieswith Clare Fischer and alto lessons with Gary Foster

augmented Horwich’s knowledge and experience withthe music and he learned the fundamentals of recordi ngand mastering on the job.

While Revelation is still under Horwich’s control,

he began IPI in 1981 with engineering maverick Roumanis. As both Hardy and Roumanis are deceHorwich has kept the home fires burning. “Wcame back to Chicago after 40 years out in Califand Michael Cuscuna asked me to mix, masterproduce the Bradford/Carter set, I started looaround for other music that I felt should be givsecond chance. That’s why I reactivated IPI. It seto be a way for me to get back into the music.”

He began with Bill Dixon’s 1967 album Inten

Purposes , which had never been available on CDwas in production at the time of Dixon’s 2010 pas“I told him that I was going to reissue the album juit was, complete with original artwork and linerwith improved sound,” Horwich reminisces, “anwas thrilled! That was just how he wanted it.” Evethose of us who had long treasured the excellrecorded RCA LP, IPI’s transfer proved revelaboasting what might be described as a fuller, open but incredibly detailed and still highly vissound. Julius Hemphill’s Dogon A.D., IPI’s seproject, garnered similar praise and its popunecessitated multiple printings. “We go back tmasters,” Horwich explains, “and we transfer dirdigital, nothing in between. We’ve also developproprietary method of making the digital copy sas full as possible.” The level of reproduction is reapparent on Clare Fischer’s Extension, an album

which Horwich clearly maintains a special affe“It’s his masterpiece,” he states emphatically. “Lto the disc with no distractions and you’ll hear th

(CONTINUED ON PAG

CHRISTIAN SANDS is a multi-nominated Grammy jazz and Steinway artis t whose missio n is to expandand teach the music of jazz through performances andteachings. He says, “My music is about teaching theway of jazz and keeping it alive. It’s unfortunate thatthe older styles, like stride, are starting to drift away.”True to his word, Sands develops the past whileproviding unusual and stimulating vehicles for thepresent...and for the future. Musicality, sensitivity, tasteand swing—hallmarks for as long as he has beenplaying.

Teachers: Dr. Billy Taylor, Jason Moran, Phillip Kawin,Vijay Iyer, Sonny Bravo, Rex Cadwallader, DaveBrubeck, Bobby Sanabria and Dave Liebman.

Influences: Jason Moran, Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson,

Sun Ra, Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Dr. Billy Taylor,Herbie Hancock, Maurice Ravel and Erik Satie.

Current Projects: Jazz Mobile 50th Anniversary atMarcus Garvey Park; APA Cole Porter Fellowshipfinalist; GRAMMY nomination for Christian McBrideTrio album Out Here; Music Producer for internationalartists; producing and writing for my new recording.

By Day: Philanthropy and educator for jazz music.

I knew I wanted to be a musician when... I sawtrumpeter Clark Terry perform at age seven. I thoughthe was phenomenal. He inspired me.

Dream Band: Charles Mingus, Art Blakey and JohnColtrane.

Did you know? I can play piano backward and upsidedown.

For more information, visit christiansandsjazz.com. Sands isat 92nd Street Y Jul. 29th as part of Jazz in July’s ThreeGenerations of Piano Jazz. See Calendar.

Pianist CAROLINA CALVACHE was born in 1985 inColombia. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree from theUniversidad del Valle and in 2007 started a Master’sdegree in Jazz Performance and Composition at theUniversity of North Texas. In 2011, Calvache moved toNew York and was part of the Mary Lou Williams JazzFestival at the Kennedy Center. She has worked withAntonio Sanchez, Jaleel Shaw, Michael Rodriguez,Samuel Torres, Ludwig Afonso, John Ellis and HansGlawischnig, among others.

Teachers: Stefan Karlsson, Ed Soph, Dan HManfred Gerhardt.

Influences: Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Wynton KellyEvans, Keith Jarrett, Fred Hersch, Mulgrew Miller, Corea, Dave Kikoski, Maria Schneider, Bob Brookm

Current Projects: Last April I released my debut aSotareño on Sunnyside, songs and original composirepresenting a mix of traditional rhythms Colombia and contemporary jazz. I am currently iprocess of musicalizing some of the writings bgreat Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who just passed aw

By Day: Practicing, teaching, listening, writing.

I knew I wanted to be a musician when... I al

knew I wanted to play piano, but I reaffirmedpassion for composition and creativity when I wand played my first composition for flute, pianocello. That same year I heard a recording of CCorea’s electric band. After that I knew I wantplay, improvise and create m usic for the rest of m

Dream Band: Jeff “Tain” Watts and Hans G lawisc

Did you know? I love dancing salsa and profouadmire artistic roller-skating.

For more information, visit carolinacalvache.com. Calis at Somethin’ Jazz Club Jul. 23rd. See Calendar.


LISTEN UP!

LABEL SPOTLIGHT

Jeremy SteigFlute Fever

John Carter & Bobby BradfordFlight for Four

Julius HemphillDogon A.D.

Bill DixonIntents and Purposes

Clare Fischer OrchestraExtension

Carolina CalvacheChristian Sands

http://www.nycjazzrecord.com/http://www.carolinacalvache.com/http://www.christiansandsjazz.com/http://www.internationalphonographinc.com/http://www.internationalphonographinc.com/http://actmusic.com/http://www.internationalphonographinc.com/http://www.internationalphonographinc.com/http://bethlehemrecords.com/http://www.internationalphonographinc.com/http://www.potlatch.fr/http://www.nycjazzrecord.com/


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FESTIVAL REPORT

FIMAVby Irwin Block

Nestled among the hills and dairy farms of centralQuebec, the good news is that the off-the-beaten-tracktown of Victoriaville remains a prime showcase for abroad selection of improvised and experimental music.It once produced furniture and hockey sticks, but once

again fans gathered for the 30th edition of the FestivalInternational de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville(FIMAV). The 20 concerts (May 15th-18th) constituteda cross-section, with nothing terribly extreme oroutlandish, of what makes this a happening scene. Itreflects the scope and ambiguity of the French word“actuelle”—coined at the first group of concerts, heldin an automobile showroom in 1983, to mean new,immediate and spontaneous. With almost 5,000 ticketssold over four days and an estimated 10,000 visitors toeight free outdoor musical installations, ArtisticDirector Michel Levasseur said he was satisfied withmatching last year’s gate, especially lacking the starpower of that edition’s Zorn @ 60 marathon. This year’ s lineup amounted to something of aretrospective in that its highest profile performers,saxophonist Evan Parker and electric guitarist FredFrith, have had everything to do with opening new

vistas for improvised music over the past 30 years.Parker, 70 and Frith, 65, playing together as a duo foronly the third time, did what great improvisers do sowell—they created something from nothing but theirinstinct, experience and the vibe from an expectantcrowd sitting around tables in the town Coliseum, itswalls draped in black and decorated by new abstractart. Parker roamed and explored mainly on tenor sax,crafting long complex lines, enabled by his remarkablecircular breathing and curiosity. Frith sounded moreadventurous and dramatic, using his guitar as arhythmic and percussive device, with his instrumentsitting on his knees as often as on his hip.

Parker and Frith reappeared Sunday, each leadinglarger ensembles. The former’s electro-acoustic septet—Peter Evans (trumpet), Okkyung Lee (cello), NedRothenberg (clarinets) and Ikue Mori, Sam Pluta,George Lewis (electronics)—kicked off the 50-minute

opener with jungle-like sounds and silences, buildinginto a big orchestral creation. Lee in particularimpressed with her passionate and idea-rich bursts, attimes injecting drama and passion when it was needed.Frith’s 11-member Gravity Band—a mix of formerstudents such as crackerjack guitarist Ava Mendozaand Bay area musicians Aaron Novik (clarinet) andWilliam Winant (percussion)—reprised Frith’s 1980dance album, with its joyful Celtic, Slavic and “Dancingin the Streets” sections, an antidote to the then-dominant disco craze. What emerged was a passionateand swingin

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