R NG

year in review: the top 50 releases • john mc laughlin

EA I
Y AT
S
R
50 EB
L
CE

A Keyboard Master
Stays in TUne

KRIS DAVIS
Mixes and Matches

MICHEL CAMILO
Big Band, Big Stories

JOANNE BRACKEEN
Goes All the Way

+
Emmet Cohen
Dave Grusin
Jacky Terrasson
Fabian Almazan
Carmen Sandim
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CONTENTS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 x VOLUME 50 x NUMBER 1

In every issue

Features 3 JT Notes
4 Opening Chorus
ECM turns 50 (and so does JazzTimes),
a documentary on Dave Grusin, Fabian
THE TOP 50 ALBUMS OF 2019
22 From untold thousands of jazz releases both new and historical, our
Almazan, Carmen Sandim, Senri Oe,
farewells to Ray Santos, Fred Taylor,
contributors picked their absolute favorites and commented on a few. Gerry Teekens, Jan Erik Kongshaug,
For those who haven’t already seen the list on our website, we won’t give and Mary Ann Topper
anything away on this page. (And if you have already seen it online, don’t
13 The Scene
be a spoilsport, okay?)
Brooklyn’s Bar LunÀtico
14 Chronology
CHICK COREA
28
Ethan Iverson on three late great
From Mongo to Miles to Circle—and from Return to Forever through piano men
combos Akoustic and Elektric to the Spanish Heart Band—Corea has had 16 Before & After
a remarkable life in music. Now, at 78, he’s busier than he’s ever been. Emmet Cohen
Tom Moon sat down with the keyboard maven to find out how he does it.
20 Overdue Ovation
Joanne Brackeen
KRIS DAVIS
34 For her latest album Diatom Ribbons, the daring pianist gathered together
46 Audio Files
Brent Butterworth on amplified
an astonishing array of players, including Esperanza Spalding, Nels Cline, speakers
JD Allen, Ches Smith, Terri Lyne Carrington, and turntablist Val Jeanty. And
48 Chops
yet, she tells Shaun Brady, she still feels wary of being pigeonholed.
The Real Book gets reharmonized

50 Gearhead
John McLaughlin goes hi-tech, plus
products from KRK and Expressive E
52 Album Reviews
Chet Baker, Tomeka Reid, and more
63 Ad Index
64 Artist’s Choice
Jacky Terrasson praises pianists you

40 MICHEL CAMILO
The Dominican Republic, Harvard University, Leonard Slatkin, and George
know right away

Wein (of course)—all play major roles in the history of Michel Camilo. To
celebrate the 25th album of his career, he delved back into that history and Cover image of Chick Corea by Mad
came out with a big-band gem called, appropriately, Essence. Camilo told Hatter Studios; Table of Contents image
by Frankie Celenza
Jeff Tamarkin plenty about that, and much more.

JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 1
 what's on
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JAZZTIMES FOUNDER: IRA SABIN (1928-2018)

2 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
 JT NOTES
Sacred Spaces
t the heart of pianist Jason Moran’s
#
Ì recent exhibition at the Whitney
Museum of American Art in New
York—the first full-fledged museum
survey of his work, simply titled “Jason
Moran”—were three life-size stage sets.
Each replicated a long-gone venue that
had once played an important role in the
history of jazz: the Savoy Ballroom in
Harlem, the Three Deuces on West 52nd
St., and Slugs’ Saloon in the East Village
(the latter complete with sawdust on the
floor and a fallen chair, clearly meant to
evoke memories of trumpeter Lee Mor-
gan, who met his gruesome end there in
1972). Over the course of the exhibition,
various musicians performed in each of
these “rooms,” sometimes moving from
one to another, as if to call up different
JOSEPH ROSEN
spirits for different songs.
That the presence of music can turn
four walls, some furniture, and the air
in between into something
special, memorable, even sa-
cred is no novel observation.
It certainly must have been
on the minds of the folks who
reopened the legendary Café Inside the “new”
Bohemia in its original West Café Bohemia
Village location last October.
As of this writing, I haven’t
paid it a visit yet, but the mere thought look forward to celebrating five decades
of hearing new sounds in the same room of those connections with you in 2020.
that Art Blakey and Cannonball Adder- MAC RANDALL
ley brought alive in the 1950s is thrilling.
As JazzTimes enters its 50th-anni- Sour Notes: In our November feature on
versary year, I’d like to think that this Roy DeCarava, we misidentified DeCarava’s
magazine has become one more such widow; she is Sherry Turner DeCarava, not
sacred space. It may only physically Sherry Tucker DeCarava. And our December
exist on a few square inches of paper (or obituary for Harold Mabern incorrectly stated
screen, depending on your preference), that he had retired from his faculty position
but somewhere between that artifact at William Paterson University in 2017; in fact,
and the reader’s mind an emotional con- he taught a full schedule of classes there on
nection is made—and jazz happens. I the day he died. We regret the errors.
NEW from award winning composer
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 OPENING CHORUS
The Munich Connection
An all-star crew of more than 30 musicians celebrates
ECM Records’ 50th anniversary
o say that there is a single ECM
6
Ì Records sound is to oversimplify a
catalog that now encompasses more
than 1,600 albums. One suspects that if
the late Jan Erik Kongshaug, who engi-
neered hundreds of those albums, were
still with us, he’d coolly dispute such a
statement with a nuts-and-bolts response,
pointing out the many different models
of microphones he used over the years,
how he placed them in different positions
in different studios and enhanced their
output with different types of reverb
units. All true enough. But even so, a
few general, long-established traits of the
Munich-based label that Manfred Eicher
has helmed since 1969 are undeniable:
an emphasis on the space around and be-
tween instruments, whether it be defined
4 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
ECM 50 x DAVE GRUSIN FILM x FABIAN ALMAZAN x
solely by room ambience or bolstered by
artificial means; a focus on capturing the
intellectual interplay between musicians
(or the thought processes within one mu-
sician) and treating the rhythmic feel they
create or imply as a byproduct of those
processes; a certain aesthetic refinement,
even when the volume rises.
All of these traits were on display Nov.
1 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick
P. Rose Hall for the first of two all-star
concerts honoring ECM’s 50th anniver-
sary, the culmination of a year of cele-
bratory performances around the world
by various artists on the label’s distin-
guished roster. (Eicher himself wasn’t in
the house, but he sent a note of con-
gratulations and thanks that was read
to the audience before the show began.)
x JazzTimes 10: Landmark ECM albums
L to R: Giovanni Guidi, Joe
Lovano, Enrico Rava, Dezron
Douglas, and Nasheet Waits
On this evening, over approximately
three hours, 32 musicians combined to
play 20 pieces. Although ECM’s work in
the classical and new-music realms was
represented—Meredith Monk played
the still-striking meditation “Gotham
Lullaby” from her 1981 debut for the
label, Dolmen Music, and cellist Anja
Lechner paid homage to the 18th-cen-
tury German composer Carl Friedrich
Abel—jazz was first and foremost, ap-
propriately given both the surroundings
and ECM’s history.
On record, a little of the Eicher vibe
can go a long way (and I say this while
also acknowledging with gratitude that
my life has been irrevocably altered
by numerous ECM releases). But on
a concert stage in the moment, it’s a
different matter, as the warmth that
LUCIANO ROSSETTI ©PHOCUSAGENCY
passes between the players is palpable.
You could feel it as guitarist Bill Frisell
and bassist Thomas Morgan tossed little
jewel-like phrases to each other during
a lovely rendition of Paul Motian’s “It
Should Have Happened a Long Time
Ago”; as Vijay Iyer, switching between
CARMEN SANDIM xSENRI OE x FAREWELLS
Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano, communed with
trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith on the ominous “Rite”; and
as saxophonist Joe Lovano and pianist Marilyn Crispell
explored the many possibilities within the minor/ma-
jor-seventh chord over Carmen Castaldi’s percussion on
“Seeds of Change.”
Later on, pianist Ethan Iverson—wearing a T-shirt with a
vintage ECM logo—joined with saxophonist Mark Turner
for a take on the former’s composition “Showdown.” Back in
the summer at Newport, I’d heard Iverson play the tune by
himself in dramatic, cathartic style; Turner’s tenor gave the
same melody a new sweetness and a sense of deep accep-
tance. The subtly barbed byplay of trumpeter Avishai Co-
hen and pianist Fabian Almazan on “Shoot Me in the Leg”
was notable too, as was the very ECM move Cohen pulled:
walking over to the piano and aiming his horn under the lid
at the strings below (the resonance, y’know).
Because ECM has been responsible for so many memo-
rable solo piano recordings (Keith Jarrett’s mystical opuses
like Facing You and The Köln Concert being only the most
famous), it was fitting that pianists took sole possession of
the spotlight several times during the show. Egberto Gis-
monti opened the evening with a medley of “Infância” and
“Forrobodó” that was by turns bouncy and rhapsodic. Craig
Taborn imbued an improvisation based on his Avenging
Angel album with icy intensity. And Nik Bärtsch, dressed
in his usual loose black martial-arts-studio garb, tapped
out a stark Morse-code message that ended up beaming us
straight to the Crab Nebula in “Modul Five.” Another capti-
vating solo spot was bassist Larry Grenadier’s; his “Oceanic”
offered a combination of bow work and natural harmonics
that at times seemed to stretch the limits of the possible.
The groups that wrapped up the concert’s two sets
nodded to the label’s illustrious past while also suggest-
ing directions worth pursuing in the future. For the title
track of their 2016 In Movement album, drummer Jack
DeJohnette, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, and electric bassist
Matthew Garrison built from quiet abstraction to a heavy
funk-infused groove to end the first half. When Garrison
kicked on his distortion pedal, the sound probably got as
close to Black Sabbath as has ever been heard in Rose Hall
(though my inner metalhead wished it were louder).
For the night’s final segment, trumpeter Enrico Rava—
celebrating his 80th birthday in 2019—reunited with Lo-
vano, pianist Giovanni Guidi, and bassist Dezron Douglas
for a reprise of two songs from their live album Roma,
one of the outstanding jazz releases of the year; Nasheet
Waits more than ably filled the shoes of Gerald Cleaver,
the drummer on that album. As Lovano and Rava’s lines
loosely danced around each other, sort of together, sort of
not, echoes of Dewey Redman’s Old and New Dreams (who
recorded two albums for ECM 40 years ago), and of the
classic Ornette Coleman Quartet that inspired it, weren’t
hard to hear. Not surprisingly, their closing tune was
Lovano’s “Fort Worth,” which namechecks the hometown
of both Redman and Coleman, and left the audience with a
savory and welcome taste of the blues. MAC RANDALL
JT A look back at
50 notable issues in our
five-decade history
This month: September 2000
In 2000, our computer systems and infrastructure did not
simultaneously crash and cause a Y2K-induced apocalypse.
JazzTimes turned 30 that year, and to recognize that marker
of youth gone by, we put together an anniversary issue
that ended up being both timely and timeless, and for
the first time featured no image on the cover, just text—
appropriately for the content inside.
The September 2000 issue was anchored by long-form
essays on the three preceding decades in jazz—Chip Stern
on the ’70s, Bob Blumenthal on the ’80s, and Peter Watrous
on the ’90s—as well as eight shorter pieces on various
genres of jazz, such as mainstream, avant-garde, fusion,
Latin jazz, smooth jazz and more, from contributors like
Stanley Crouch, Bill Shoemaker, and Bill Milkowski. A serious
jazz fan could well guess
who did what. The writing
throughout was both
incisive and colorful, and
it well reflected what was
going on as JazzTimes grew
into a mature publication.
It wasn’t all black ink either,
as we commissioned several
accomplished visual artists
to provide vivid images for
the Anniversary section.
Also inside the September
2000 issue was a riveting
excerpt from a book by Ashley
Kahn on Miles Davis’ album
Kind of Blue. Ashley would
go on to preview more of his work in JazzTimes, including
a 10,000-word piece on Impulse! Records that later turned
into the book The House That Trane Built. Dan Morgenstern
chronicled the founding and evolution of the magazine in
a piece that captured the particular charm of its founder,
the swinging Ira Sabin. I compiled a quirky Best of Leonard
Feather’s Before & After column, showing the entertaining
results when Leonard would throw his curveball of playing
a Sun Ra or avant-garde cut for mainstream artists such
as Stan Getz, Artie Shaw, Joe Pass, and others. The issue
ends with Nat Hentoff’s Final Chorus column, featuring his
typically frank assessment of the legacy of jazz journalism.
With its September 2000 edition, JazzTimes had not only
come of age but had also produced a literary tribute to the
music, the artists, and itself. LEE MERGNER
JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 5
 OPENING CHORUS
Time’s on His Side
Pianist, composer, and exec DAVE GRUSIN
is the subject of a revealing new film
uring the documentary Dave
Ì& Grusin: Not Enough Time, there’s a
clip of the keyboardist and compos-
er seated at his piano during a concert.
He tells the audience, “I have a gratitude
factor that I can’t even express about
being allowed to have this kind of life.”
And what a life it’s been. Over a
career spanning six decades, Grusin
touched virtually every corner of the
entertainment world. He scored dozens
of major films, including Tootsie, The
Firm, The Fabulous Baker Boys, and
On Golden Pond, earning eight Oscar
nominations and winning one, for his
score of The Milagro Beanfield War in
1988. He composed the themes to a
slew of hit TV shows like St. Elsewhere,
6 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
x Profile: Dave Grusin in 1998
Maude, Good Times, and Baretta. As a
recording artist he’s won 10 Grammys,
and as the co-founder of the massive-
ly successful jazz label GRP Records
he helped pioneer digital recording
technology. We all know his work, yet
many people don’t know his name or
the astonishing breadth of his artistry.
Dave Grusin: Not Enough Time aims to
change that.
“For a long time, we were going to call
the film He Did That?” the documen-
tary’s director and producer, Barbara
Bentree, says by phone from her Santa
Fe home. “I didn’t even know some of
the stuff that he had done.”
Part oral history, part affectionate
tribute, Dave Grusin: Not Enough Time
traces the now 85-year-old artist’s ascent
from singer Andy Williams’ pianist/
bandleader (in one delightful clip, a
twentysomething Grusin participates
in a comedy bit with Williams and Jack
Benny on Williams’ 1960s TV show) to
Hollywood giant.
Throughout the film, Grusin is open
and reflective about his life and work.
He says when composing his scores, the
visual dictates the music he’ll create.
“The thing that impresses me about a
film and that triggers any kind of idea
isn’t what the story is about at all—or
has very little to do with it,” he ex-
plains. “It’s what it looks like.” Bentree
adds that during production, “someone
said something about color. [Grusin]
said, ‘I don’t see color. I hear it.’”
Andy Williams’ band included
a drummer named Larry Rosen,
and in 1978 he and Grusin formed
Grusin-Rosen Productions, which
became GRP Records. In the film,
bassist Marcus Miller says he thinks it
was the pair’s ability to speak the same
language as the artists on their roster
that set GRP apart from other labels.
“You didn’t get in the music business
unless you were a music lover,” he
says. “But there’s another level when
you’re talking about somebody like
Dave Grusin, Larry Rosen, who were
musicians, who could communicate to
the musicians if something wasn’t right
exactly what wasn’t right. And I think
that made it special.”
GRP embraced the then-nascent CD
technology, becoming the first all-dig-
ital label. Says guitarist Lee Ritenour,
one of the label’s stars, “They beat all
the big guys, because the big guys were
still so invested in vinyl.” Grusin cred-
its Rosen, who died in 2015, for much
of GRP’s success, and he dedicates
Dave Grusin: Not Enough Time to his
former partner’s memory.
Remarkably, music wasn’t Grusin’s
first ambition. Growing up in Littleton,
Colorado as the eldest of three chil-
dren (brother Don is also a successful
jazz keyboardist), he was profoundly
influenced by his father Henri, a Latvi-
an-born watchmaker and accomplished
violinist who saw to it that his children
received music lessons.
But Grusin wanted to be a veteri-
 narian, and in the film he recalls that
shortly before he was due to begin Larry Rosen (L)
veterinary studies, he experienced what and Grusin in
he calls “this terrible pang of guilt about younger days
my father having put all this time and
energy into my music education.” He
adds, “He never discouraged me from
going this agricultural route, but I kept
thinking, ‘Wait a minute. Maybe I ought
to try music for a minute just to see if it
would work. I know it would make him
happier—even if he wouldn’t admit to
it.’” Years later, when Grusin’s alma ma-
ter, the University of Colorado, Boulder,
wanted to name its music hall for him,
he asked that the university name it in
honor of his father.
Although he continues to perform
live and create music for select projects,
Grusin leads a quieter life these days.
The documentary includes scenes of
him fly-fishing in a river near his ranch
in Montana surrounded by magnificent screened last year at jazz and film “My deepest hope is just that he feels
scenery, and affectionately playing with festivals, and Bentree says she expects it like it’s been a good ride and that he’s
a child—presumably a grandchild— to be available on streaming platforms made a contribution. And certainly, I
ANDY BALTIMORE

while sitting at a beautiful blonde Stein- throughout the first quarter of this year. know he’s starting to get a sense of how
way piano at his home in New Mexico. “I think it’s been an opportunity for much people have appreciated him.”
Dave Grusin: Not Enough Time [Grusin] to really look back,” she says. LUCY TAUSS

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 OPENING CHORUS
Roots to Hold Close,
Wings to Set Free
FABIAN ALMAZAN returned to his native Cuba—and its
birds—for his latest project, This Land Abounds with Life
abian Almazan left Cuba with his
Ì( parents, fleeing an oppressive at-
mosphere, when he was only nine
years old. Approximately 23 years later, a
two-pronged purpose brought the cele-
brated pianist back. “Terence Blanchard
was performing at a festival in Cuba,” the
longtime Blanchard sideman explains.
“But I was planning on going anyway
because of a Jerome Foundation grant
that I had received to record the endemic
birds in Cuba, and then the resulting
album, This Land Abounds with Life.”
Featuring Almazan’s longstanding
trio with bassist Linda May Han Oh
and drummer Henry Cole, that release
artfully integrates Cuba’s birds into its
story. Field recordings that Almazan
captured on the eastern edge of the is-
land introduce “Songs of the Forgotten,”
a composition referencing the personal
and prevalent topic of displaced persons,
but those sounds are also sewn into
the number’s DNA. “I literally took the
pitch material from the birdsongs,” he
explains. “It might be a little subtle, but
it’s the song of the chichinguaco, which
is one of the native birds of Cuba.”
8 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
x Profile: Fabian Almazan in 2012
While speaking directly to one of
Almazan’s reasons for return, that use of
birdsong also touches on a larger theme:
the intersection of man and nature. It’s a
concern that surfaces in “The Everglades,”
a meditation on the seasonal wonders of
the titular swamplands, and it’s a subject
of prime importance in his work. “Differ-
ent pieces on the album reflect the nature
theme more than others, but I definitely
wanted to have nature play the role of
being at the center of most of the issues
that we have as human beings.”
Almazan also explores the darker side
of those issues. “Jaula,” Spanish for “cage,”
was inspired by a 2013 visit to Johannes-
burg’s Apartheid Museum and envisions
Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment while
alluding to post-apartheid South Africa’s
raw wounds. “Benjamin,” a frenzied yet
focused number, nods to George Orwell’s
Animal Farm, which was banned in
Cuba. For both pieces, Almazan’s mes-
sage is the same: “It’s important that we
don’t forget the past so we don’t repeat the
same mistakes of our predecessors.”
In Almazan’s hands, Cuba’s cultural
riches are painted with vivid colors. The
vitality of its people is ever-present in
the grooves and celebrations of “The No-
mads.” Cuba’s street culture, as elevated
by the Afrocubanismo movement, is run
through a modernist’s filter for “Folklor-
ism.” And Bola de Nieve, an iconic pia-
nist/singer/songwriter, receives his due
on a Radiohead-esque, strings-enhanced
cover of Cuban rocker Carlos Varela’s
eponymous tribute. Elsewhere Almazan
approaches his own lineage with a
creative bent, exploring the evolution of
familial roles on “Uncle Tio” and saluting
his parents and their resilience on “Pet
Steps Sitters Theme Song.”
The Cuban artists who paved the
way for Almazan’s pursuits receive
their due on “The Poets,” a composi-
tion influenced by musica campesina,
a nature-themed style of music with a
freestyle-poetry slant to its structure.
The opening to that track, featuring the
poet El Macagüero de Pinar delivering a
decima, as the 10-line poems are called,
was the result of an unplanned encoun-
ter. Captured in the moment on a cell
phone, it came to represent a meeting of
two worlds for Almazan. “Because I left
Cuba relatively young,” he says, “I have
this Never Never Land Peter Pan thing
where my childhood and adulthood
were disconnected. And honestly, that
[meeting with Pinar] was the point
where my whole life just connected. It
was a very meaningful experience.”
As with previous efforts like 2017’s Al-
canza, This Land Abounds with Life was
released on Almazan’s own Biophilia im-
print, an eco-friendly label that eschews
waste. The origami-inspired packaging,
made from FSC-certified paper and
containing a download code, appeals to
those who seek tangibles like liner notes
while eliminating the use of CDs and
vinyl. Almazan, Oh, and like-minded
artists such as saxophonist María Grand
and trumpeter Adam O’Farrill have all
released projects through Biophilia.
“I understand it’s an enormous
problem we have with climate change,
and this is just a drop in the bucket,”
Almazan says. “But any true movement
has to have some sort of cultural shift.
I’m not a climate-change scientist, and
neither are any of the artists on the label,
CLARA PEREIRA
but I think this helps because we spark
a conversation, and that in turn creates
some awareness.” DAN BILAWSKY

On the Night Shift
To keep composing music, CARMEN SANDIM had to
make a major sacrifice: sleep
aising two young children as a single
4
Ì parent while holding down four
teaching positions is more than
enough to fill anyone’s days. Trying to
juggle all that and compose an album’s
worth of new material had begun to feel
unachievable for Carmen Sandim. The
Colorado-based pianist thought about
setting her music career aside—not for the
first time—when a viewing of the John
Coltrane documentary Chasing Trane pro-
vided a much-needed jolt of inspiration.
“I felt like I received a message from
that movie,” Sandim recalls. “There’s
such an intensity to both single parent-
ing and musicianship, I realized that
MEL HAYNES
there’s no such thing as balance. There’s
just do what you love or don’t do what
you love. Something’s got to give, and
balance is what I chose to let go of.”
Sandim’s solution was to forfeit two
nights of sleep per week. For the next six
months, she would stay up every Friday
and Monday night, composing nonstop
from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m., when her kids, aged
2 and 4, awoke. “It was a really weird,
surprisingly possible endeavor,” she says.
“The first couple of years that I had my
kids, when I had to stay up the whole
night, that was horrible. When I did it on
purpose twice a week, the next day would
be great. I would be tired but so happy.”
The result of those binge-compos-
ing sessions is Play Doh (Ropeadope),
Sandim’s sophomore release. Sounding
far more celebratory than fatigued, the
album offers a vibrant blend of har-
monically sophisticated modern jazz,
keen-edged rock influences, and rhyth-
mic accents from the composer’s native
Brazil. Despite the time that parent-
hood inevitably took away from music,
Sandim intended the title to be a playful
tribute to her son and daughter, whose
inspiration was even more essential.
“Kids do this funny thing: they just
amplify everything,” she explains. “My
heart got expanded and I felt things a
lot more, including my connection with
music. All of a sudden I felt like the muse
had become my BFF; I just had stuff
pouring out of me and I felt a lot more
desire and urgency.”
Classically trained as a young girl,
Sandim fell in love with the Brazilian
jazz sound epitomized by Antônio Carlos
Jobim, starting her down a path that
eventually led to Boston’s Berklee College
of Music. Intimidated by her limited
English at the time, she focused more on
composing than on performance, gradu-
ating in 2000 with a B.M. in film scoring.
She then moved to Washington, D.C.,
and embarked on a successful career in
composing for radio, TV, and political
advertising. The work was lucrative but
far from fulfilling.
“I thought that I’d be able to do both
[music for ads and jazz], but the reality
was that I was constantly on deadline,
so I got burned out after just a few years.
Not to mention writing music for polit-
ical stuff is not exactly inspiring. Back
then it wasn’t as nasty as it is now, but it
still didn’t feel very clean.”
In 2005, she left that life behind and
relocated to Boulder (she now lives in
Denver), where she soon encountered
the vital local scene centered on the
likes of Art Lande and Ron Miles. Many
of the key figures of that scene appear
on Play Doh, including Kneebody trum-
peter Shane Endsley and recent trans-
plants Khabu Doug Young (guitar) and
Bruce Williamson (reeds). Lande served
as producer, continuing the mentorship
role he’s played since Sandim’s arrival.
“I pretty quickly realized that I’d
come to the right place,” Sandim said.
“I feel like I found my musical family
here.” SHAUN BRADY
JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 9
 OPENING CHORUS
From Pop to Jazz
Japan’s SENRI OE is well into his second act as a musician
apanese jazz pianist Senri Oe was a
,
Ì stadium-scale pop star in the 1980s
and ’90s, performing on lavishly de-
signed stages with choreographed danc-
ers and exploding fireworks. He even
had a body double cavort in front of the
crowd while the real Oe was backstage.
“One time, the scenery was the Greek
Parthenon,” he tells JazzTimes. “And
darkness fell over all of our vision. I
hid, and fake me went out in the same
costume. I was already [offstage], and
[my double] popped out right in front
of you. I went this way, but fake me was
still singing.”
One day in 2007, the singer/songwrit-
er walked by a glass façade, stopped,
and took a good look at himself. “I saw
someone unknown in the shop window.
That was me. He was not smiling in the
reflection,” he says. “I tried to smile, but
in my eyes, inside, I was very serious. I
wanted to go to New York to learn jazz.”
Ever since his 1983 major-label debut
for Sony, Waku Waku, Oe had seen the
music industry’s highs and lows, and at
47, he was struggling to feel relevant as
a pop singer. “Pop music, the best time
is 20, always,” he says. “I was thinking
about how life is one time, so limited.”
He decided to look up the School of
10 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
x Video: Senri Oe introduces Hmmm
Jazz at the New School in Manhattan,
which he’d been fascinated by for years;
in the early ’90s, Oe had stayed nearby
and caught conversations between
young New School students in the
streets. “For me, jazz music was in the
cabinet, but someday, I wanted to try to
learn theory,” he said.
Oe got a teacher, bassist Osamu
Kawakami, who had played with the
alto-sax legend Sadao Watanabe, and
the pair cut a demo as an application to
the New School. Soon after, the pianist
got a letter that changed his life.
“I got mail from the New School—
accepted,” Oe says, still somewhat
blown away. He went to the Sony office,
tendered his resignation from pop,
and moved to 13th Street near the New
School. One frigid January day, he
walked into his first day of orientation—
and hit some bumps in the road.
“We were going to do F blues,” he
says of a preliminary jam with his class-
mates. “I knew the blues, but I didn’t
know jazz blues form in 12 bars.” He
counted on the downbeat rather than
the upbeat and brought the jam to a
halt. Soon after, he suffered a left-hand
injury that took him away from the
piano for three months.
Instead of bemoaning his lack of
progress, Oe paused and absorbed
music. “That time changed me a lot
because I tried to listen to some other
people playing,” he says. “The music is
not standing in the center of the stage
highlighted. No … it’s communication.
Maybe someone’s phrase is like a catch
ball, and I respond to him or her.”
After recovering from his injury, Oe
righted the ship, improved as a jazz
player, and graduated from the New
School in 2012. The next year, he made
his debut on PND Records, Boys Ma-
ture Slow, featuring a two-horn quintet.
He tried a variety of configurations:
a big band on 2013’s Spooky Hotel, a
saxophone-led trio on 2015’s Collec-
tive Scribble, and a variety of vocalists
(including Sheila Jordan and Becca
Stevens) abetting 2016’s Answer July.
Clean, melodic and funky, Oe takes
inspiration from Bill Evans, Wynton
Kelly, Antônio Carlos Jobim, and The-
lonious Monk. “If I find the dominant
seventh in the left hand, that gives me
a very powerful moment,” he says,
playing invisible sweeps in the air. “I
can twist it, the mood, the air.”
Oe’s latest album, 2019’s Hmmm, is
his definitive jazz recording to date: nine
breezy, appealing originals recorded
with bassist Matt Clohesy and drummer
Ari Hoenig. He recorded it directly in
the wake of his father Tokio’s death from
cancer. Prior to recording, Oe flew back
to Osaka to see his dad for the last time
and the pair took a toast of nonalcoholic
beer; the day Oe returned to New York,
he learned his father had died.
Although he was devastated, Oe
made buoyant music. Hmmm tracks like
“Re:Vision,” “Indoor Voices,” and “When
Life Was a Pizza Party” embrace a mod-
ern approach that doesn’t sound much
like J-pop or traditional jazz. Catch his
regular gig at Tomi Jazz on Third Avenue,
and you’re in for a treat: Oe vamping on
the rickety house piano like Erroll Gar-
ner, grinning and gesturing at the tiny
audience like he’s still a pop phenom.
“I was riding a rollercoaster of good
and bad things and felt like I was in
emotional limbo,” Oe, now 59, wrote on
TRACEY KETCHER
his website about the difficult gestation
of Hmmm. “[But] I make music to get
fresh air.” MORGAN ENOS
“The Sound”
as requested by you.
You asked for the playability and
sound of the early Otto Links.

We listened.
With structural changes both
inside and out, “the sound”
of yesteryear has been
recaptured.

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www.jjbabbitt.com MOUTHPIECES FOR CLARINETS AND SAXOPHONES

 OPENING CHORUS
FAREWELLS
Ray Santos, a Latin-jazz saxophon-
ist, composer, and arranger whose
exceptional craftsmanship and depth
of musical knowledge earned him
the nickname “El Maestro,” died Oct.
17 from congestive heart failure at a
hospital in the South Bronx. He was 90.
A lifelong resident of New York, Santos
was a member of the city’s Nuyorican
community and eventually played in the
bands of both of that community’s two
leading musical lights, Tito Puente and
Tito Rodriguez. Those two bandleaders,
along with the Cuban American Machi-
to—with whom Santos also played—
formed the “Big Three” of mambo
music. He later lent his saxophone
and arranging talents to Dizzy
Gillespie, Eddie Palmieri, Mario
Bauzá, and Celia Cruz, cementing
his place as a major figure in the
world of Afro-Latin music. Santos
was best known, however, for two
projects from 1992: the soundtrack
to the motion picture The Mambo
Kings, on which he served as musi-
cal director and primary arranger,
and Linda Ronstadt’s Grammy-win-
ning album Frenesi. He remained
active until 2018 as a performer,
writer, and conductor.
Fred Taylor, a jazz impresario who
presented legends and emerging
artists alike in the Boston area for
more than five decades, died on
Oct. 26. He was 90. As the founder of
two of the Massachusetts capital’s
most important jazz clubs—Paul’s
Mall and the Jazz Workshop—Taylor
promoted artists such as Miles Davis,
Duke Ellington, and Charles Mingus
during the height of their careers. He
went on to book jazz and even some
pop music at venues throughout New
England, including the club Scullers,
which he ran for more than a quar-
ter-century. Taylor had been battling
cancer for the last few years, but he
was still a ubiquitous presence on the
Boston jazz scene.
12 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
Gerry Teekens, a record producer
and label owner who was passion-
ate in his embrace and promotion of
straight-ahead jazz artists (especially
in the United States), died on Oct. 31 in
Enschede, the Netherlands. He was 83.
Himself a veteran drummer, Teekens was
also a tour producer and promoter in the
Netherlands. He founded the Criss Cross
Jazz label in 1981 as a means to record
one of his clients at the conclusion of a
European tour. Over the course of nearly
four decades, he would oversee a prolif-
ic and beloved recorded legacy of over
400 albums on that label—nearly all by
Gerry Teekens
(1935-2019)
American artists, whom Teekens would
seek out and record on his biannual
trips to New York. “There are never any
restrictions on my dates; I just let the
musicians play their music,” Teekens
told jazz journalist David R. Adler in 2003.
“As long as the music has some fire and
some blood, I’m happy.”
Jan Erik Kongshaug, a Norwegian
guitarist and sound engineer who
was essential in the creation of the
legendary “ECM Sound” (or “Rainbow
Sound”), died Nov. 5 in Oslo, Norway
from a chronic lung condition. He was
75. Through his work with ECM Records’
Manfred Eicher and at his own Rainbow
Studios in Oslo, Kongshaug helped put
his country’s jazz music on the map. As
of his death, he had been engineer on
some 700 ECM studio albums, nearly
half of the label’s catalog; he also
produced over 3,000 more recordings
in his own right. Among the credits in
his discography are the albums with
which Norwegian artists like guitarist
Terje Rypdal and saxophonist Jan
Garbarek made their breakthroughs, as
well as numerous titles by Keith Jarrett
and Pat Metheny. Long recognized as
one of the world’s foremost sound
specialists, Kongshaug twice won
the Spellemannprisen, Norway’s
most prestigious musical award; in
January 2019, he received the King’s
Medal of Merit from the Norwegian
government, his nation’s highest
civilian honor.
Mary Ann Topper, manager to nu-
merous notable jazz artists including
Ray Brown, Diana Krall, Joshua
Redman, Jane Monheit, and Ron
Carter, died on Nov. 14 in Hyndman,
Pa., where she had been living for
the last few years. She was 79. Top-
per had a long history as a starmaker
and could rightfully claim credit for
launching the careers of more than
a dozen successful jazz artists. After
spending approximately 15 years
as a music educator and vocalist, she
founded her own management company,
the Jazz Tree, in 1980 and started
working with greats such as Brown, J.J.
Johnson, Jim Hall, Tony Williams, and
Carter. She soon transitioned into man-
aging more up-and-coming artists and
became known for raising their profiles.
Krall, introduced to Topper by Brown,
was an early success story and perhaps
her greatest, but certainly not her last.
During the late ’80s and early ’90s she
also managed Redman, Christian Mc-
Bride, Russell Malone, Benny Green, and
several others.
ETHAN IVERSON
 THE SCENE
The historically African-Amer-
Kora master and LunÀtico regular
Yacouba Sissoko (center) performs ican neighborhood of Bed-
with his band; inset: the LunÀtico bar ford-Stuyvesant used to have a
thriving jazz scene. But aside from
Sistas’ Place—which has been in
the area for close to a quarter of
a century—there isn’t much jazz
there to speak of these days, which
makes the addition of Bar LunÀti-
co all the more welcome.
Designed with salvaged materi-
als, the bar has a rustic-chic atmo-
sphere and gives off an internation-
al vibe. Kèss, a singer and guitarist,
is from Venice, and her family
once owned a club outside that city
during the late 1980s. “I carried
with me a little bit of this,” she told
JazzTimes, “that maybe one day I
would like to have my own place.”
The venue also serves food
and drinks, including a diverse
selection of cocktails. The owners
wanted the space to have a

A Club Grows in Brooklyn liminal feel, in which the music

is respected but guests aren’t told
to be quiet if they exchange a few
Bar LunÀtico, which celebrates its fifth anniversary this words during a set. Although
year, consistently brings in some of jazz's hippest names jazz is heavily represented on the
schedule, the bookings are mixed,
BY MATTHEW KASSEL
featuring funk, flamenco, and
Haitian music, among other styles.
There are dreams of buying a neigh-
hose who pay close attention to New Kèss. They are each longtime residents of boring building and expanding the club,
Ì6 York jazz will probably have noticed Brooklyn and tap their own personal net- as well as hosting weeklong engage-
that, over the past few years, a works for bookings. “We’ve been able to ments à la the Village Vanguard. But for
number of top-shelf musicians have been bring in people that are not well-known, now the owners are content that their
performing at a venue called Bar LunÀti- and they get exposed here and most often enterprise has been able to exist for as
co. Located on an unassuming residential do great,” Kell said in an interview at the long as it has—and that they’ve earned
block in the Brooklyn neighborhood of club one recent morning. the appreciation of locals,
Bedford-Stuyvesant, the matchbox-sized In a city where clubs LUNÀTICO FACTS who make up a good
club opened without much fanfare in come and go, felled by percentage of the core
> Bar LunÀtico is located
2015, despite the fact that Madeleine onerous regulations clientele.
at 486 Halsey Street,
Peyroux performed that first night. and astronomical rents, “I used to go hear
Brooklyn, NY 11233; phone
Since then, Bar LunÀtico has consis- Bar LunÀtico’s success (718) 513-0339
music all the time,” Julian
tently punched above its weight, hosting stands out. The club, said. “I went because I
an impressive array of musicians, includ- which celebrates its fifth > Admission is free, with a knew who was playing. I
recommended donation of
ing Guillermo Klein and his Gauchos, anniversary in January, went right when the mu-
$10 for the musicians
Evan Christopher, Ethan Iverson, Greg doesn’t struggle with sic was starting, ordered
Lewis, Roy Nathanson, Jon Cleary, the challenges that of- > Food and drinks are the one drink that I didn’t
and the late Henry Butler, who lived in ten plague similar DIY available really want, drank it, and
the area and helped pick out the club’s venues. For one, Kell, > The club celebrates then left. And this is just
upright piano. Julian, and Kèss own its fifth anniversary in very different people.
The bar is owned by three well-con- the building, which January They come in and are
ROSITA KÈSS

nected musicians who are also friends: insulates them from > Go to barlunatico.com for like, ‘Hey, what’s gonna
Arthur Kell, Richard Julian, and Rosita capricious landlords. the schedule happen tonight?’” JT

JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 13
 CHRONOLOGY
Clockwise from left: Harold
Mabern, Richard Wyands,
and Larry Willis
A Trio Remembered
The classical music of HAROLD MABERN, LARRY
WILLIS, and RICHARD WYANDS BY ETHAN IVERSON
n September, the jazz community
Ì+ was rocked by the near-simulta-
neous passings of pianists Harold
Mabern, Larry Willis, and Richard
Wyands. Each night during his week at
the Village Vanguard that month, Barry
Harris sang the original farewell ballad
he has sung at the funerals of pianists
since the death of Al Haig in 1982, this
time dedicated to the late “trio.”
Jazz is full of grandeur, irony, and
the unknowable: The minute you try to
write down what it really is, the words
look wrong on the page. But one way to
frame the music of Mabern, Willis, and
Wyands might be as “classical music.”
John Coltrane said, “The term ‘classical
music’ means the music of the compos-
ers and musicians of the country, more
or less, as opposed to the music that peo-
ple dance or sing along with, the popular
music. …There are different types of
classical music all over the world.”
Coltrane made this argument because
the name “classical music” might suggest
more sophistication than “jazz.” But
that’s simply not true. While the music
of Coltrane himself is perhaps unusually
sophisticated, all consecrated jazz musi-
cians have spectacular breadth and depth.
14 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
x Obituary: Harold Mabern
ican students, they were hindered by
racism, but also nurtured by a strong
internal network of African-American
teachers and professionals determined to
help the best succeed.
In 2019, our feverish culture war
includes hand-wringing about the partic-
ipation of African-Americans in “classical
music,” in this case referring to music
that holds European-based presentation
as the ideal. Around the time of the death
of Mabern, Willis, and Wyands, two
think pieces from eminent critics went
viral. In The American Scholar, Joseph
Horowitz unearthed and promoted the
Negro Folk Symphony of William Levi
Dawson; in The New York Times, Seth
Colter Walls trumpeted eight operas by
black composers, including H. Lawrence
Freeman and Shirley Graham Du Bois as
well as jazz avant-gardists like Anthony
Davis and Anthony Braxton. (Regretta-
bly, the names of great composers who
just happen to be black while swimming
comfortably in the mainstream of Amer-
ican concert music—George Walker,
Ulysses Kay, and Alvin Singleton come to
The three members of the late “trio” mind—seldom appear in such articles.)
could swing and place each articulation The impulse to present more black
inside the beat with casual mastery. They composers and performers in concert
knew every standard. They could play halls and opera houses is commendable,
the blues, bebop, and modal jazz. They but those high perches are not automat-
were perfect accompanists for singers. ically better or longer-lasting than the
They were ideal trio pianists. They could humbler venues inhabited by Mabern,
quickly learn any tune off the radio and Willis, and Wyands. It would be helpful
arrange it in any style for a compar- if American institutions, academics,
atively commercial circumstance. and critics with a bent toward European
Furthermore, since Mabern, Willis, and forms kept learning about the high art
Wyands were born before the civil rights found in jazz clubs and on jazz LPs. Our
era, the very fabric of their experience is very best American musicians are often
uniquely American. As African-Amer- hidden in plain sight. JT
THREE PIECES FROM THREE GREATS
> Richard Wyands, > Harold Mabern, > Larry Willis, “Lawns”
“Blues for Kosi” (Half “The Beehive” (from (from Carla Bley, Sextet,
and Half, Criss Cross Lee Morgan, Live at Watt/ECM, 1987): Willis
Jazz, 1999): An elder the Lighthouse, Blue plays the melody and
Note, 1970): Mabern’s takes a florid solo that
statesman with a
legendary younger original modal burner utterly reframes Bley’s
rhythm section (Peter brings out the best in beautiful rock tune.
and Kenny Washington), an all-star quintet. His The composer was so
Wyands deals out a strength and endurance impressed she named the
faultless round of urbane were certainly striking piece for him (“Lawns” is
grit. Kenny Washington athletic achievements, a diminutive of Lawrence,
ALAN NAHIGIAN
calls Wyands “perfect” but he was also an Willis’ given name). Bley:
in the liner notes, and it’s intellectual and a poet at “That style of playing was
easy to hear why. the keyboard. just velvet.”
x Obituary: Richard Wyands x Obituary: Larry Willis
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 BEFORE & AFTER A LISTENING SESSION THAT PUTS ARTISTS' KNOWLEDGE TO THE TEST
Emmet Cohen
An award-winning pianist holds forth on players past and present BY ASHLEY KAHN
azz is always busy writing its own history, sharing stories
,
Ì that lead to other stories. Take the documentary Keep
on Keepin’ On, in which trumpeter Clark Terry—facing
health challenges in his old age, yet unbowed in spirit—in-
spires young pianist Justin Kauflin. As their story deepens
and unfolds, Kauflin is invited to enter the 2011 Thelonious
Monk International Jazz Competition. He does not win de-
spite Terry’s advice and lucky socks, but there’s a brief scene
when we meet the three finalists—Kris Bowers, Josh White,
and Emmet Cohen—and with that, the realization dawns that
the true message of the film is as much about celebrating an
undying continuum as it is about two individuals.
I mention this cinematic moment because Emmet Cohen is
one pianist who is acutely conscious of this lesson, and whose
jovial spirit—the guy’s blessed with a perennial smile—is
fueled by that self-awareness. Get him started and he speaks
proudly of being part of a “particular generation in my scene—
in my larger circle of pianists and musicians with the common
thread between us that we’re all interested in studying the deep
history of the music.”
The Monk competition was but one of many Cohen tri-
umphs—most recently, he was awarded the American Pianists
Association’s Cole Porter Fellowship. His trio performances
and his self-released recordings, including collaborations with
jazz legends such ads Albert “Tootie” Heath, Jimmy Cobb, and
16 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
Emmet Cohen
relaxes with a
beverage and some
tunes at NYU
Ron Carter (he calls them the “Masters Legacy Series”), reflect
his dedication to not only the musical tradition but the musi-
cians as well. He’s prolific too; 2019 saw the release of his sixth
album, the live Dirty in Detroit with his trio (full disclosure:
this writer was asked to pen the liner essay, and did). By the
time of this publication, there’ll be two more volumes in the
Masters series, with saxophonists Benny Golson and George
Coleman, respectively.
On piano, Cohen is noted for the warmth, clarity, and preci-
sion in his playing. His penchant for stride, swing, and pre-bop
piano vocabulary is a characteristic he shares with others of his
generation like Jon Batiste and Sullivan Fortner. This was his
first Before & After, conducted at New York University’s Clive
Davis Institute of Recorded Music in Brooklyn.
1. Harold Mabern and Geoff Keezer
“Jeannine” (For Phineas, Sackville). Mabern, Keezer, pianos.
Recorded in 1995.
BEFORE: It sounds like the pianist has four hands [winks]. That
sounds like Harold Mabern playing second. I got a chance
ASHLEY KAHN
to see him many times and he was a mentor of mine. I went
to take a lesson with him when I was 20 and met him at the
[American Federation of Musicians] Union [building on 48th
x Album Review: Emmet Cohen’s Masters Legacy Series, Vol. 2

Street]. He was trying to get everyone to join but my generation master. I think it’s a really interesting match between [him and]
has nothing to do with that—you just play a gig and then go Harold—or Professor Mabs, as I would always call him—and
home. So we met but the piano room was taken so he said, “We the kind of passing of the torch, the young and the new, and
don’t need it, we’ll go sit and talk.” So we went to McDonald’s you can hear that on the recording too.
and he got himself a senior-citizen coffee and a sandwich and
he talked to me about jazz for three hours. It was one of the best
lessons I ever had. From then on, he was so nice and so kind. 2. Jon Batiste
It was surprising that he passed away last month, and “Creative” (Anatomy of Angels: Live at the Village Vanguard,
whenever [a jazz legend passes], I’ll add a tune of theirs into Verve). Batiste, piano; Phil Kuehn, bass; Joe Saylor, drums.
my trio book. So on the last couple tours we’ve been playing Recorded in 2018.
one of Mabs’ tunes—“Edward Lee,” which he wrote for Lee
Morgan—and taking the time to say his name and thank him BEFORE: I’m embarrassed, I should know these. It sounds
for his contributions. Monk-influenced to me. Wait, this is Batiste. It’s Phil Kuehn,
I could always tell when it’s Mabs. He’s one of the most iden- Joe Saylor. I was at this gig, actually. This is “Creative.” I really
tifiable pianists: just the time feel and the way he gets around like this tune—it strikes me in an emotional way. I don’t think
the harmony. He had such big hands and he used them in a it has the strongest melody to latch onto, but I don’t think it
very specific way. He had—I don’t want to use past tense—he matters. It’s a study in groove and time and feel and the way a
has such great rhythmic ideas and it’s interesting to hear both piano trio can play together in the futuristic setting, which I’m
of these pianists’ time-feel work together. very interested in.
It’s cool to hear them both play walking bass too. When you J-Bat has had a big influence on the jazz scene, especially on
hear Chick or Herbie or Brad play duo pi- his generation, which is my generation.
ano, they’ll almost never go into walking I absolutely love him and have gotten
bass. They like to leave the space open. “ When your heroes a chance to spend some time around
To pursue intensity with two pianos can become your friends him and see how he’s able to control a
take a lot of forms, and walking bass room with his music and his personality.
lines can often be overbearing in that and know your name, I love the concept of this music—how
setting. But these players are so rhyth- the musicians play together, and how it
mically strong that it feels easy. Maybe
your career goes to a comes from Marcus Roberts, his concept
James Williams is the other pianist? whole other level.” of groove and time, which became Wyn-
ton’s concept, and which has protruded
AFTER: It was in my mind that it might into almost every corner of postmodern
have been Keezer. His left hand is one of straight-ahead playing. And I love it
the best in the business, like he has two right hands. I knew it because it’s an extension also of Miles Davis’ second quintet.
was someone that had that kind of control when you go into I played with Saylor for five years every week at Smoke,
double octaves like that. Mabs has some other techniques and Phil joined my trio sometimes too. Joe is a master—one
like taking an interval and bringing it really fast down the of the most recent innovators of jazz drums, in my opinion.
keyboard—that’s a signature Mabs thing. But Keezer has the He’s got everyone that’s come before. He’s perfectly comfort-
cleanest double octaves that you could possibly have, in the able playing with Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, and
style of Phineas Newborn. he also internalized Jeff “Tain” Watts’ concept, and Ali Jack-
son and Herlin Riley, and he uses all that seamlessly in any
In fact, the album is a tribute to Phineas. musical setting he’s in, even on the Colbert show. Joe is one
of my best friends, and it’s nice to hear him at the Vanguard
I did not know that. That makes sense, and Mabern always really playing jazz.
talked about Phineas and his spirit, his ability to play anything.
Talk about someone with two right hands, that’s a big similari-
ty between Keezer and Phineas. 3. Monty Alexander
I took one lesson with Keezer when I was in college. He “Where Is Love” (Here Comes the Sun, MPS Records). Alexander,
came to visit the University of Miami and played for the whole piano; Eugene Wright, bass; Duffy Jackson, drums. Recorded in 1971.
jazz department. He played “Alone Together” with the school
rhythm section and it was just so swinging. There were so many BEFORE: I hear a little of everything in there. A little bit of
ideas he weaved between his two hands—that really opened my Oscar Peterson, a little bit of Ahmad, a big classical influence,
eyes to some new possibilities on how to approach a song. I also a complete mastery of the instrument. There are certain
remember he played “Cherokee” as a ballad, and then when I people—when they sit at the piano you can hear them trying
took my lesson he hipped me to what became one of my favorite to express their ideas. And then there are certain people that
records of all time: Tiptoe Tapdance, Hank Jones, solo piano. He have this command. Their ideas come out so clearly and in
said he transcribed every note on that, and also all the back- so many ornamented ways that it almost sounds too easy for
grounds from all the Frank Sinatra recordings. Keezer is just a them. Like Tatum, like Oscar Peterson. There’s even humor
 BEFORE & AFTER
in this; while he was playing all this lusciousness, he held
down a chord and just plucked the strings inside the piano
with the other hand. I love that.
His name is on the tip of my tongue. I play this song—I can’t
remember the name. It’s from Oliver!—“Where Is Love.”
AFTER: Monty was one of the first people my father took me
to see at the Jazz Standard when I was 11 or 12. I got a chance
to meet him and he signed a little postcard for me and I had
it in my room all of my childhood. When your heroes be-
come your friends and know your name, your career goes to
a whole other level. I kept hearing Oscar Peterson, but Monty
has so much more than just that, he’s so clear and emotional.
What’s the name of the record?
4. Shirley Scott
“You Do Something to Me” (Like Cozy, Moodsville). Scott, piano;
George Duvivier, bass; Arthur Edgehill, drums. Recorded in 1960.
BEFORE: Cole Porter, “You Do Something to Me.” Tamir
Hendelman taught me this on a jazz
cruise at 4 a.m. a few years ago. This is
Shirley Scott.
On Ahmad
way he’s evolved is so far we were together was at the American
What made you guess her?
advanced from anything five years ago or something like that.
It’s just so in the pocket in a special else that’s
way, and it must be George Duvivier
on bass, who she always plays with. I the jazz idiom.”
hesitate to guess because I prefer not
being wrong in front of millions of
readers, but I’m convinced it’s him. On
all my favorite records of Shirley playing organ, he’s playing
bass and they have a certain way of locking up—George plays
in the center of the beat and Shirley’s a little behind. Also,
Shirley’s rhythmic approach is very unique, especially when
she goes into the block chords and starts playing two-hand-
edly. There are parts in this where she’s comping specific
rhythms that are influenced by the Basie band, and it sounds
like a whole big band playing.
It was interesting to hear her on piano. Nice light touch. It
reminds me of the way Ahmad would orchestrate. Ahmad
really is the father of the piano trio. I heard him two months
ago at SFJAZZ playing with his trio plus percussion. The way
he’s evolved is so far advanced from anything else that’s going
on in the jazz idiom, and the New Orleans influence is always
palpable. Everyone goes after his touch and his control of the
rhythm section—myself included.
5. “Don Shirley Trio” (Kris Bowers) Coleman Hawkins; his wife called him Hawky. Greg was a
“Lullaby of Birdland” (Green Book [Original Motion Picture
Soundtrack], Milan). Bowers, piano; Kevin Axt, bass; Artyom
Manukyan, cello. Recorded in 2018.
BEFORE: I love the through-composed arrangement. That’s one
thing that keeps the music interesting and had my attention
18 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
the whole time. I love short musical statements that go to a few
different places and then leave you—like a nice little dessert or a
sweet little snack. It’s sweet and salty and it takes you to a couple
of places in your own experience and then leads you right back
where you started. Very contrapuntal, Bach-esque. I also love the
other textures, the bass and the guitar—is that a guitar in there?
I’m going to give you a hint. It’s someone consciously playing
like another piano player, performing for a film.
Very scenic music. It’s funny that you mentioned movies
because it’s often the way I’ll talk to students who are in a box
about jazz being exclusively melody followed by solos, followed
by the melody again. That being said, it’s such a short track
with little improvisation, it’s hard to tell who it is.
AFTER: Oh, okay. I did see the movie and I thought Kris did
a great job with the soundtrack. It’s funny—I recognized his
hands in the movie because we spent a lot of time hanging out
at the piano in past years, in different competitions. I could
tell the way his fingers move and because he has very elegant
motions at the keyboard. I haven’t
seen him in many years, though I’m
Jamal: “The an admirer from afar. The last time
Pianists Association [competition]
going on in He was pretty heavy into film scoring
then, working on stuff on the plane, in
the airport and in the cab, and I’m still
trying to figure out how to play the
acoustic piano. I asked him, “How did
you learn all that stuff?”
6. Joe Morello
“Secret Love” (Going Places, Digital Music Products). Ralph Lala-
ma, tenor saxophone; Greg Kogan, piano; Gary Mazzaroppi, bass;
Morello, drums. Recorded in 1993.
BEFORE: “My Secret Love.” I know—it’s Kogan. It’s so funny
you played me this recording. I’ve heard this before but the
tenor player is … Ralph Llama? There are very few recordings
of Greg and he passed away just last month. Did you know
we’re related? Kogan, Cohen—Ellis Island. It was Kogano-
vitch in Russia. He is my dad’s first cousin and I hadn’t met
him until I was about 17. I don’t know how that happened,
just family dynamics and all that. His father was a great
saxophone player named Maurice Kogan who transitioned
from jazz to Broadway theater music, and played a thou-
sand shows. They called him Hawk because he sounded like
big player on the scene in the ’70s—with Buddy Rich, Joe
Morello. Everyone has great memories. I’ve talked to Randy
Brecker about him, and all the guys that played in the Lionel
Hampton orchestra.
Greg resurfaced in my family’s life when I was in high
school in Montclair, New Jersey and he would play at Trum-
pets with Joe Morello, and let me sit in.
So I got a chance to hear Greg play, and
there were times where he would come
over the house and I would ask him to
play this song for me and that song for
me. He had this ability to do these cra-
zy runs that were so fast and so clean,
slightly Tatum-esque but so unique
too. He was also a big Cedar [Walton]
fan and he’d show me all the little
inner voicing possibilities—I would be
like, “Stop, what’s that?” He had these
stock things he would do on different
tunes that I’ve never heard from any
other pianists.
We joke in my family that this makes
a good case for genetics. He continues
to inspire me. After he passed away I
become a grandfather figure to me,
Mr. Albert Heath. Bobby Timmons
and Tootie have these little punctua-
tions that support the music perfectly.
Timmons doesn’t even play for the
first few minutes of this track. Tootie is
on brushes the whole time, he doesn’t
need sticks to go to that elevation. They
play in a fashion that’s subtle but so
powerful, and they leave much for the
listener to imagine, especially in this
performance. They’re not cramming
in everything [they] know, it’s just so
tasty. That’s one thing about Mr. Carter.
His taste is immaculate. JT
Read the rest of Emmet Cohen’s
Before & After listening session,
including comments on music by
Mary Lou Williams, Jason Moran, and
Carmen McRae and George Shearing,
at jazztimes.com.

XR TYPE
went through and listened to a lot of the
stuff that he recorded. It’s a pretty close
bloodline, so it’s always a pleasure to be
reminded of him. Thank you for that.
AMONG ALL SAXOPHONES
THIS XR TYPE IS UNMISTAKABLE
7. Bobby Timmons
Trio
“Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise” (The
Bobby Timmons Trio in Person, Riverside).
Timmons, piano; Ron Carter, bass; Albert
Heath, drums. Recorded in 1961.

BEFORE: One of the biggest compli-

ments I could give someone is that I
know it’s him right off the bat. In one
note I could tell you it’s Ron Carter—
let’s call him Mr. Carter—the most
recorded bassist of all time. There’s a
logic about the directions of his lines,
when it’s high, when it’s low. He is the
most intense bass player, and there are
different levels of the intensity too. He’s
able to elevate the music so gradually
you don’t know what’s happening.
You play a few choruses with him
and then all of a sudden it feels like
the bandstand is going to lift off, then
he’ll start digging in a little bit harder.
Mr. Carter only gives it up to two or
three bassists—like Percy Heath, Israel
Crosby, and Jimmy Blanton. I love that.
I decided a while ago I wanted to make
playing with Ron Carter one of my
missions as a jazz musician.
This record is one of my—I hate
the phrase “desert island disc”—but it
is one of my bibles. Bobby Timmons
with Mr. Carter and someone who’s
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 OVERDUE OVATION
Joanne Brackeen
Now an NEA Jazz Master, still proudly unorthodox
BY JOHN MURPH
hen the National Endowment
9
Ì for the Arts contacted Joanne
Brackeen to inform her that she
was going to be inducted into the 2018
class of the NEA Jazz Masters, she was
shocked. Why? Because so few women
who were strictly instrumentalists and
composers had gained that prestigious
honor. Indeed, since the program started
in 1982, the only other non-singing fe-
male musicians to be crowned NEA Jazz
Masters had been trombonist/arranger
Melba Liston (1987) and pianists Marian
McPartland (2000), Toshiko Akiyoshi
(2007), and Carla Bley (2015).
Few if any would argue that Brackeen
belongs among that illustrious group.
But she was still surprised, because of
her idiosyncratic approach to piano im-
20 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
x Artist’s Choice: Joanne Brackeen on fantastic piano solos
provisation and composing. “[The NEA]
didn’t have any women who were all the
way into the music on piano like I was,”
the 81-year-old explained in mid-Sep-
tember at her spacious apartment near
New York City’s Battery Park.
All the way? What does that mean?
Pianist/composer Jason Moran explains
that what separates Brackeen from
other jazz pianists is the way she uses
her hands. “She’s unafraid to disrupt
that notion about how the two hands
should work together,” he says. “She
allows lines to emerge from both hands.
Many pianists use their left hand to
support their right hand. But Joanne
wants the left to have just as much
power and say in the musical conversa-
tion as the right. So her hands often get
Joanne Brackeen at the
2006 Charlie Parker Jazz
Festival in New York
into real conversations with each other.
Strangely, only a handful of pianists
spend time focusing on that approach.
Her music is a challenge technically,
and it’s a challenge for the listener. But
it’s soulful and needed.”
Saxophonist/composer Chris Potter,
who worked with Brackeen on her 1999
disc Pink Elephant Magic, remembers
the unique complexities of her harmonic
language. “She had things in her music
that I haven’t really seen since,” he
laughs. “She would write three chords
right on top of each other. We normally
might write one chord with a different
bass note than it would usually have. To
write two completely different chords
on top of each other is unusual. To write
three? Wow. That sent me to the piano to
figure out what she might have in mind.
When she showed me, she was very
specific. And there was no simpler way
for her to write it.”
ALAN NAHIGIAN
During Brackeen’s acceptance speech
at the Jazz Masters Awards ceremony in
Washington, she spoke of her creative
process. “The music that I play appears
to originate in silence,” she explained.
“The silence forms vibrations and col-
ors that come into my body. It’s like a
very energetic feeling but it doesn’t yet
have sound. And I go to the piano and
find the sound.”
Brackeen insists that she has never
consciously striven for originality.
Instead, she saw herself as part of the
jazz lineage that she grew up admiring.
“When we were coming through, there
was Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Stan
Getz, Ornette Coleman, Joe Henderson,
and others,” she said. “You wouldn’t
mistake one of them for the other.”
Still, she understands that her
music—particularly from the mid-
1970s and 1980s—was incredibly, if not
intimidatingly, forward-thinking. “Few
people understood what was going on
inside my music back then,” she noted.
“The only drummer that I could get who
could grasp my concepts was Billy Hart.
Regarding the horn players—I had a
sound in my mind, but few people could
put the ideas together to get that sound.
Now, it’s no problem.”
She then references “Egyptian Dune
Dance,” a rhythmically intrepid original
that first appeared on her 1982 LP Spe-
cial Identity. Drummer Jack DeJohnette
and bassist Eddie Gomez craft a devilish
push-pull propulsion, which Brackeen
explains is in 5/4½ meter rather than
a Westernized 11/8. On top of that
shifting rhythmic bed she embroiders
hypnotic intersecting passages, distin-
guished by a punchy rhythmic motif.
“Students love trying to get that bass line
right so they can improvise on top of it,”
she said with glee.
Brackeen’s unconventional approach
to music was evident early on. As six-
year-old child prodigy Joanne Grogan
in Ventura, Calif., she intuitively could
comprehend the inner workings of songs
she heard on the radio without knowing
the actual names of chords and other
musical terminology. When her mother
hired a piano teacher, Brackeen disliked
the regimen. “I would never practice.
Why would I want to practice just a cou-
ple of notes at one time?” she remem-
bered, before explaining that she was
already thinking holistically about how
to interpret music by the likes of Frankie
Carle and Carmen Cavallaro.
As a seventh-grader, Brackeen joined
her middle school’s jazz big band, which
played several Glenn Miller arrange-
ments. Again, she took an intuitive,
ear-based approach to learning the rep-
ertoire. “I’d never seen any of the sheet
music before,” she said. “But I’d heard
his music. I didn’t think anything about
it. I just went into the band and played.”
In her teens, she moved to the West-
chester neighborhood of Los Angeles
with her family, then immersed herself
“I just enjoyed what I
was doing … I never,
ever thought of
myself as a ‘woman
playing jazz.’”
in the L.A. jazz scene. She began to get
steady gigs—leading her first trio at 16,
landing the opportunity to play with
Dexter Gordon at 18—and gradu-
ally became a professional musician
without intending to do so. In 1965, she
moved to New York with saxophonist/
then-husband Charles Brackeen and
three children (their fourth was born
on the East Coast). Three years later, she
became the first female instrumentalist
to play in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers
for any substantial length of time.
Brackeen recalls first playing with
Blakey at New York’s notorious Slugs’
Saloon. She lived near the East Village
venue and decided to check out Blakey’s
concert one night. During their first set,
she noticed that the Messengers’ pianist
was just sitting at the piano without
playing. “[The music] sounded like there
should’ve been a pianist playing,” she
remembered. “So I just asked Art if I
could play. And he said, ‘Yes.’”
She soon found herself on a grueling
Japanese tour with the Messengers—
after which she remained with the group
for three years. Among her bandmates
were trumpeters Woody Shaw and
Bill Hardman, as well as saxophonists
Carlos Garnett, Buddy Terry, and Ra-
mon Morris. She called the experience
“great” because everybody in the band
was serious about the music. “That’s all I
needed,” Brackeen said. “Art and I never
talked that much. But we knew each
other really well. He used to call me his
adopted daughter.”
In the decades since, Brackeen
has cultivated a wondrous body of
work as a leader that includes bracing
duets with guitarist Ryo Kawasaki
and bassists Eddie Gomez and Clint
Houston; career-defining trio dates
with DeJohnette and Gomez, Al Foster
and Cecil McBee, and Billy Hart and
Walter Schmocker; larger instrumental
settings featuring the likes of saxo-
phonist Branford Marsalis and trum-
peter Terence Blanchard; and brilliant
explorations into American standards
and Brazilian jazz. She’s also backed
up George Benson, Freddie McCoy, Joe
Henderson, Sonny Stitt, Lee Konitz,
and Stan Getz, among many others.
Despite her history, Brackeen winces
at being labeled a pioneering female
jazz musician. “I just enjoyed what I
was doing,” she said before recounting
her discomfort when she was asked to
perform at a 1978 Women’s Jazz Festival
in Kansas City. “I thought that was the
weirdest thing in the world, because I’d
been playing jazz all my life. During the
whole time that I worked in all of those
bands, I never, ever thought of myself as
a ‘woman playing jazz.’”
Brackeen contends that if someone
is willing to put in the hard work and
is relatively easy to work with, their
gender will not become an obstacle for
mapping out a jazz career. When asked
to share her thoughts on saxophonist
Roxy Coss’ Women in Jazz Organiza-
tion or Terri Lyne Carrington’s Berklee
College of Music of Jazz and Gender
Justice—both of which, in part, aim to
level the playing field for performance
and recording opportunities based on
gender—Brackeen says that she could
never conscientiously be a part of either
one. “However, I can help people indi-
vidually,” she acknowledged. “Talking
in front of a mass of people about gen-
der issues in jazz would never work for
me. I often tell my students that dealing
with life has a lot to do with having a
sense of humor.” JT
JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 21
 ear in Review
e Y 201
Th 9

We calculated our top 40 new releases and top 10 historical/reissue recordings

of 2019 based on year-end lists by our writers. They were asked to choose the
10 best new releases and five best historical titles—i.e., albums and box sets
consisting primarily of music recorded 10 or more years ago. To see each
voter’s ballot, visit JazzTimes.com. Albums and box sets released between Nov.
10, 2018 and Nov. 9, 2019 were eligible. Some discs may have slipped through
the cracks, however, as official release dates shifted or weren’t available.

BLURBS BY PHILIP BOOTH, THOMAS CONRAD, J.D. CONSIDINE,

MORGAN ENOS, STEVE GREENLEE, GEOFFREY HIMES, MATTHEW KASSEL, KEN MICALLEF,
MAC RANDALL, BRITT ROBSON, JEFF TAMARKIN, AND CHRIS J. WALKER

22 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
 L to R: Branford Marsalis,
Justin Faulkner, Eric Revis,
and Joey Calderazzo

Branford Marsalis Quartet

The Secret Between the Shadow
and the Soul (Okeh)
That some will talk trash about the
Marsalis brothers forever is a given.
Wynton and Branford are jazz warriors
unafraid to chart their individual
courses against trend, against style,
against East and West Coast jazz
divisions. Branford and pianist Joey Calderazzo live
in the South, bassist Eric Revis in L.A., and drummer
Justin Faulkner wherever his hat falls; this seeming group
dislocation is mirrored in the oddly open-ended but
focused splendor of The Secret Between the Shadow and
the Soul. While many pay mere lip service to the idea of
free expression, the Quartet raise the creative stakes to
incendiary levels, adding classical and operatic influences
to the common jazz menu of blues, swing, and solos, with
searing group interplay. An hour of envelope-smashing
improvisations, the record tilts on Revis’ rowdy “Dance
of the Evil Toys” and Calderazzo’s stately “Conversation
Among the Ruins,” while Marsalis’ “Life Filtering from
the Water Flowers” battles through nearly 10 minutes
of nose-diving improvisations and refined instrumental
ballistics. Andrew Hill’s “Snake Hip Waltz” and Keith
Jarrett’s “The Windup” form the opposing poles of this
album’s bipolar but beautiful character. K.M.
ERIC RYAN ANDERSON
2. Dave Holland/Zakir Hussain/
Chris Potter Good Hope (Edition)
Saxophone, bass, and
drums make a relatively
standard trio—except when
the drums are tablas, and
the player is Zakir Hussain. But don’t
mistake this for raga-jazz, as Hus-
sain meets bassist Dave Holland and
saxophonist Chris Potter on their own
turf, sparking performances that range
from the bass-driven “Good Hope” and
the easy, tuneful “Island Feel” to the
swirling group improvisation in “Lucky
Seven.” J.D.C.
3. Chick Corea Trilogy 2 (Concord)
The ever-restless pianist

collaborates with bassist

Christian McBride and
drummer Brian Blade
on a double-disc sequel to their 2013

x Feature: The Top 50 albums of 2018

 triple-disc release. Taking a mostly
democratic approach to music mak-
ing, they cook up arresting versions
of Return to Forever tunes “500 Miles
High” and “La Fiesta,” nod to Monk on
“Crepuscule with Nellie” and the rarely
played “Work” (also on the first Trilogy),
and put creative spins on “How Deep Is
the Ocean” and “But Beautiful.” P.B.
4. Camila Meza & the Nectar Or-
chestra Ámbar (Sony Masterworks)
Rarely has a group been
so aptly named; dipping
into its bittersweet timbres
may leave you drunk as a
bumblebee. Over swirling strings and
a subtly driving rhythm section, Meza
sings and plays guitar with an emotional
power that’s all the more compelling for
how casual it seems. Eleven gorgeous
Latin-inflected alt-jazz art songs are
capped by a rendition of “This Is Not
America” that’s both a tribute to heroes
David Bowie and Pat Metheny and a
deeply personal lament. M.R.
5. Kris Davis Diatom Ribbons
(Pyroclastic)
A stunning achievement
from the inventive pianist
whose daring projects keep
us guessing. Diatom Rib-
bons is Davis’ most ambitious yet. She
assembles an A-list cast—including
saxophonist J.D. Allen, drummer Terri
Lyne Carrington, guitarists Nels Cline
and Marc Ribot, and vocalist Esperan-
za Spalding—for a post-postmodern,
genre-defiant outing that traverses an
enormous amount of territory, corral-
ling influences from the avant-garde,
electronica, hip-hop, R&B, and rock.
S.G.
6. Tom Harrell Infinity (HighNote)
Joined by familiar associ-
ates, including drummer
Johnathan Blake, the
trumpeter and flugelhornist
offers searing, soaring lines on well-
drawn compositions that feel distinctly
forward-looking. With saxophonist
Mark Turner and guitarist Charles
Altura (replacing piano for a more open
group sound) as chief foils, Harrell
opens with the chugging groove and
speedy head of “The Fast,” hints at
Gaelic themes on “Dublin” and “The
Isle,” and makes great use of a hypnotic
riff on closer “Taurus.” P.B.
7. Joel Ross KingMaker (Blue Note)
Ross is only in his early
twenties, but he has already
established himself as one
of the most vital musicians
on the scene—and on the vibra-
phone, no less. His debut as a leader
is a refreshingly inventive postbop
document, aware of the tradition but
in no way bowing to it. Ross’ crisp,
bell-like tone stands apart in his work-
ing quintet, Good Vibes, which also
features alto saxophone, piano, bass,
and drums. M.K.
8. Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah
Ancestral Recall (Ropeadope)
With its layers of roiling
African-suffused percussion
crossbreeding with Western
instrumentation, gripping
spoken-word interludes, and Adjuah’s
own trumpet and electronics, Ancestral
Recall teems with audacity and author-
ity. At times there is an overpowering
sense of otherworldliness and displace-
ment within these incessantly engag-
ing grooves, the music transcending
conventional rules of time and space to
forge its own self-contained world. J.T.
9. Johnathan Blake Trion (Giant
Step Arts)
Trion launched the nonprofit
Giant Step Arts program
founded by photographer/re-
cording engineer Jimmy Katz. Two hours
of live music were beautifully recorded
by Katz at the Jazz Gallery in New York.
Three exceptional players (Johnathan
Blake, Chris Potter, Linda May Han Oh)
were given freedom, space, and time.
They responded with epic 17-minute
onslaughts of theme-and-variation like
“Synchronicity I,” and by incinerating
“Relaxin’ at Camarillo.” T.C.
10. Linda May Han Oh
Aventurine (Biophilia)
Bassist Linda May Han Oh
has made waves as an ac-
companist, but Aventurine,
named after a viridescent

17. Ralph Alessi 21. Joey DeFrancesco 25. Frank Kimbrough

Imaginary Friends (ECM) In the Key of the Universe Monk’s Dreams: (Sunnyside)
(Mack Avenue)
18. Brad Mehldau 22. Melissa Aldana 26. Ryan Keberle & Catharsis
Finding Gabriel (Nonesuch) Visions (Motéma) The Hope I Hold (Greenleaf)

19. Anat Cohen Tentet 23. Kendrick Scott Oracle 27. Tyshawn Sorey/
Triple Helix (Anzic) A Wall Becomes A Bridge Marilyn Crispell
(Blue Note) The Adornment of Time (Pi)
20. Art Ensemble of Chicago 24. Matt Mitchell 28. Joe Lovano
We Are on the Edge (Pi) Phalanx Ambassadors (Pi) Trio Tapestry (ECM)

24 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
form of quartz, is her boldest leap for-
ward to date as a composer. She expands
her lineup to include a jazz quartet, a
string quartet and, on four tracks, the
Invenio Singers ensemble. These sepa-
rate elements bond into a lucent whole,
a reflection of both Oh’s master’s from
the Manhattan School of Music and her
mastery as an arranger. M.E.
11. Tomeka Reid Quartet
Old New (Cuneiform)
The title is an apt descrip-
tion. However abstract
Tomeka Reid’s cello gets
with its screechy harmonics
and clattering bow noise, and despite the
Dali-esque droop of Mary Halvorson’s
guitar tone, the playing here is ground-
ed by the roots-deep rhythm of bassist
Jason Roebke’s straightforward time and
Tomas Fujiwara’s New Orleans-spiced
drumming. So the blues are blessedly
cliché-free and the bop swings with
refreshing angularity, while the free
blowing is tuneful and inspired. J.D.C.
12. Dave Douglas/Uri Caine/An-
drew Cyrille Devotion (Greenleaf)
Jazz is glutted with tribute
albums—to Bird, to Monk,
to Dizzy—but Dave Doug-
las’ trio album Devotion is
a more personal and nebulous kind of
homage. The trumpeter’s compositions,
written for pianist Franco D’Andrea
(“D’Andrea,” “Francis of Anthony”),
composer Carla Bley (“False Allegianc-
29. Terri Lyne Carrington
and Social Science Waiting
Game (Motéma)
30. Steve Lehman Trio +
Craig Taborn The People
I Love (Pi)
31. James Carter Organ Trio
Live from Newport Jazz
(Blue Note)
32. JD Allen Barracoon
(Savant)
es”), and even a Stooge (“Curly”), sound
open and egoless, leaving room for
pianist Uri Caine and drummer An-
drew Cyrille to play off each other both
sympathetically and irreverently. M.E.
13. Fabian Almazan Trio This Land
Abounds With Life (Biophilia)
The “land” referred to
in the title of Almazan’s
excellent fourth album
is—in most instances—
Cuba, where he was born. The pianist
traveled to his homeland in 2016 and
brought back field recordings of bird
song, among other things, which he
features alongside his bandmates,
bassist Linda May Han Oh and Henry
Cole. The record functions as a love
letter as well as a warning, as the
threat of climate change looms. M.K.
14. Jaimie Branch Fly or Die II:
Bird Dogs of Paradise
(International Anthem)
A pugnacious wail amid
a polarizing period of
American democracy, Fly or
Die II is nevertheless more
ambitious than it is angry. “Prayer for
Amerikka Pt. 1 & 2,” a riveting punk-
jazz narrative that channels vintage
Patti Smith, deservedly draws the most
attention, but there is an ever-twirling
array of textures and moods that sashay
forth. Trumpeter (and now vocalist)
Branch has doubled down on the
33. Miho Hazama
Dancer in Nowhere
(Sunnyside)
34. Quiana Lynell A Little
Love (Concord Jazz)
35. Enrico Rava/Joe Lovano
Roma (ECM)
36. Fred Hersch & WDR Big
Band Begin Again (Palmetto)
visceral appeal of her debut Fly or Die
while expanding her musical scope. B.R.
15. Bill Frisell/Thomas Morgan
Epistrophy (ECM)
Yes, it’s more of the same:
further recordings from the
2016 Village Vanguard duo
engagement that gave us
Small Town two years ago, with a similar
set list (Motian, John Barry, “Wild-
wood Flower”). But does anyone really
have a problem with a few extra quiet
epiphanies? Frisell and Morgan further
demonstrate their shared fondness for
the surprising pause, as the Vanguard
stage becomes a cozy cantina on the
border between the expressed and the
unexpressed thought. M.R.
16. Miguel Zenón Sonero: The
Music of Ismael Rivera (Miel)
Puerto Rican singer Ismael
Rivera (1931-1987), appre-
ciatively called “El Sonero
Mayor” (The Greatest Latin
Singer), was an improvisatory master
of Puerto Rican bomba and plena, and
Cuban son. He influenced generations
of salsa and jazz artists, such as Ismael
Miranda, Rubén Blades, and now sax-
ophonist Miguel Zenón. Sonero is the
innovative reedist’s tribute to the leg-
endary singer in a scintillating vocal-less
modern Latin-jazz context—except for
the remixed intro featuring Rivera’s
mesmerizing a cappella singing. C.J.W.
37. Allison Miller’s Boom
Tic Boom Glitter Wolf (Royal
Potato Family)
38. Keith Jarrett Munich 2016
(ECM)
39. Tierney Sutton Band
ScreenPlay (BFM)
40. David Torn/Tim Berne/
Ches Smith Sun of
Goldfinger (ECM)
 John Coltrane
Blue World
(Impulse!)
In my JazzTimes record review,
I said Blue World might not win
the historical category this year
because it is only 37 minutes long
and contains only eight takes of
five tunes. My bad. When there is
JIM MARSHALL/COURTESY OF UME

John Coltrane music never heard

before, performed by the greatest
small jazz ensemble of all time at
the top of its game, recorded by
no less than Rudy Van Gelder,
the jazz world seizes upon it, and
why not? T.C. John Coltrane

26 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
 2. Eric Dolphy Musical Prophet:
The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions (Resonance)
In the summer of 1963, Eric Dolphy recorded two long sessions for FM Records.
The unreleased tracks from those sessions—both the unaccompanied duets with
bassist Richard Davis and the piano-less ensembles with Bobby Hutcherson, Woody
Shaw, and others, supplemented by a surprising avant-garde collaboration with Bob
James—are finally available on this set, revealing Dolphy’s rapidly evolving skills at
composition and playing bass clarinet, flute, and alto sax. He was dead 13 months
later. G.H.

3. Betty Carter The Music Never Stops (Blue Engine)

Further proof that improvisation was more essential to Betty Carter than to any
other jazz vocalist. Her commanding arsenal goes beyond the rhythms of scatting;
her tone, timbre, and note-shaping possess the mercurial integrity of master soloists
on any instrument. This 1992 live recording at Lincoln Center thrives under Carter’s
quality control: A mentor of equal caliber to Blakey and Miles, she handpicked a
series of trios to back her for an event she helped bankroll. B.R.

4. Nat King Cole Hittin’ the Ramp:

The Early Years (1936-1943)
(Resonance)
This seven-CD/10-LP compendium reaffirms that from the start, long before the pop-in-
formed hits that thrust him into the show-biz mainstream, Cole’s genius was full-blown.
The comprehensive set of formative recordings—much of its contents newly discovered—
displays the familiar Cole sophistication and distinctiveness despite his youth. Some sides
jump like crazy, others are silky smooth; he’s still searching but he’s unmistakably Nat. J.T.

5. Cannonball Adderley Swingin' in Seattle:

Live at the Penthouse 1966-67 (Real to Reel)
This release marks the entry of a potentially important new label into the histori-
cal-jazz category. The package, including rare photos, is lovingly crafted. The music
comes from four gigs at the Penthouse in Seattle in 1966 and 1967. It is not great
Cannonball. It is very good Cannonball, which is to say it puts the work of most other
alto saxophone players, living and dead, to shame. Brother Nat and Joe Zawinul also
kill. T.C.

6. John Coltrane 7. Wes Montgomery 8. Michel Petrucciani 9. Art Pepper Promise 10. Kenny Barron &
Coltrane ’58: Prestige Back on Indiana One Night in Karls- Kept: The Complete Mulgrew Miller The
Recordings (Craft) Avenue: The Carroll ruhe (SWR Jazzhaus) Artist House Record- Art of Piano Duo –
DeCamp Recordings ings (Omnivore) Live (Groovin’ High/
(Resonance) Sunnyside)

JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 27
 The
Well-Tempered
Clavierist

Corea in the studio with his Spanish

Heart Band (L to R: Jorge Pardo,
Marcus Gilmore [obscured], Nino
de los Reyes, Niño Josele, Michael
Rodriguez, Luisito Quintero, Steve
Davis, Carlitos Del Puerto) and
vocalist/wife Gayle Moran Corea

28 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
 At 78, in the midst of a wave of
creative activity that’s impressive
even for him, CHICK COREA is
intensely focused on staying in
tune—in every sense of that term
By Tom Moon
F or most of its recent tour,
the Chick Corea Trio has opened
its concerts with a seemingly ordinary
tuning ritual.
Corea plays a series of As in the pia-
no’s middle register. Christian McBride
adjusts his bass as needed. Brian Blade,
drums impeccably pre-tuned, tests a
few brush strokes on the snare drum.
Business as usual.
And then Corea offers that same A
440 to the audience.
He politely requests that they sing an
A back. After several more such exchang-
es, there comes a curveball: a short three-
note phrase. As Corea repeats the phrase,
he makes conductor-like gestures. The
next one is more intricate—a ringtone
from a galaxy with faster mental process-
ing. This loses people. Chick Corea smiles
a delighted evil-professor smile and keeps
going, adding a tritone monkey wrench,
upping the degree of difficulty.
It’s a little gimmicky, this call-and-re-
sponse game. The performance equiva-
lent of jumping jacks before gym class.
But on the night I caught the group,
at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia,
its effect was outsized. After the tuning,
when the first plaintive rubato notes of
“500 Miles High” arrived, the audience
seemed alert and fully receptive, ready
to listen, primed for something other
than the usual “legend playing the great-
est hits” experience.
Musicians rely on tuning to create a
sense of unity on the bandstand. Corea’s
MAD HATTER STUDIOS
tuning game widens the circle, luring
concertgoers into the trio’s workspace,
making them participants. In the age
of 24/7 handheld distraction machines,
it’s a gentle bit of subversion, an end run
around attention deficit disorder.
“At first I did it for a lark,” Corea ex-
plains. “And then I found out that beyond
just a fun moment we might have with the
audience, it sets us up for great communi-
cation right at the beginning of the show.”
Blade goes further: “You know, people
initially might be shy to sing out, if
they’re alone. But they hear the whole
room is doing it, and what a congre-
gational beauty that brings. It makes
everybody loosen up … Chick is all
about engaging with people, and this
opens the door and invites them to share
in the experience.”
Sure enough, that’s what happens.
For nearly two hours, the hall is a zone
of active listening. The three musicians
play at a hushed or moderate volume,
Blade mostly on brushes, through
a challenging program of Corea’s
originals, standards, and Thelonious
Monk tunes. They converse from the
first theme statement to the last chord,
following each other around blind-alley
corners and down rickety unlit stairs,
chasing dramatic extremes of soft and
loud, density and spaciousness, tension
and release.
Corea says his goal, particularly on
the ballads, is to glimpse new possibil-
ities of color and texture. “As a sonic
person, an orchestrator, I find it incred-
ibly interesting, and delicious actually,
to have these three different timbres
[piano, bass, drums] to work with. It’s
a classic sound but it doesn’t have to be
just that. We play with a lot of space—
you have to become very sensitive to
make each other sound good.”
Chick Corea is 78 years old.
He has been cultivating this discourse—
between himself, an astonishing list of
collaborators, and the audiences for his
varied projects—for more than six de-
cades. At a time of life when most people
are slowing down, Corea is in the midst
of a furious creative outpouring. He’s re-
leased 13 records of new or live material
since 2011. He’s toured around the world
with several completely different proj-
ects, and has commissions lined up that
will consume every scrap of “downtime”
he might get in 2020.
Our conversation took place in a
hotel suite overlooking Independence
Hall in Philadelphia. The focal point
of the room was a keyboard; Corea
has been preparing to play his Piano
Concerto with the Seattle and Portland
Symphonies when the current trio tour
ends. McBride says the pianist has been
obsessive about practicing the work, and
when I ask about it, Corea is blunt. “I
wrote this piano concerto with a good
spirit but never thought to myself that
I’d be playing it with orchestras. So now
I’m needing to learn it well enough so I
don’t look like a jerk when I get there.”
He laughs in a hearty, contagious
way, then abruptly pivots back to his
concern. “No, I mean that. It’s written
notes. I’ve got to play a certain amount
of the written notes in order to make it
sound like the piece I wrote. In order to
let the orchestra know where I’m at.”
This is the only time over an extend-
ed conversation that Corea expresses
anything resembling anxiety. He’s one
of those lively intellects who leaps across
disciplines to make a point—he invokes
JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 29

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Great
Stone Face” to answer a question about
interacting with Herbie Hancock in a
duo situation. As he speaks, it becomes
clear that the nitty-gritty challenges of
making music are way more important
to him than any of the after-effects, the
critical raves, or lifetime achievement
awards. He’s wired for the moment,
oriented in an almost obsessive way
toward new creative endeavors. For him,
everything lines up around a single
overarching goal: communication.
JT: Do you sense, in the audi-
ences at your shows, a difference
in terms of attention since the
smartphone came along? Is this a
concern for artists who are focus-
L to R: Brian Blade, Corea,
and Christian McBride on
stage in Montreal
ing on interplay, often unscripted
interplay?
CHICK COREA: As an artist I’ve
learned what I think is the wisdom
of putting those kinds of changes,
like attention, on a lower mechanical
level, in order to focus on the essential
thing that happens in music between
an artist and an audience. No matter
what culture you’re in or what period of
history, human beings communicating
comes down to the same basic thing: the
desire to get someone’s attention and to
maintain his attention. For you to have
30 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
x Profile: Chick Corea and Steve Gadd
an exchange that not only makes sense
but is pleasurable is, I hate to throw out
this word but I think it’s the correct one,
“archetypical.” It’s built into the human
way of living. The essential thing that
happens in music is an element that was
there from the beginning of time and
will never change until the end of time.
And that’s human spiritual contact.
Right, but as an improvising artist
you have an unusual hill to climb:
to involve listeners in your mostly
abstract pursuit. How do you bring
people into that?
Most of the audience, they’re not pro-
fessionals. They maybe don’t recognize
when we’re playing the melody from an
original score and when we’re depart-
ing from it. A lot of
people are surprised
to learn that we’re
playing on a form at
all! They hear it as one
endless meandering
of notes. I never gear
the performance
so that people need
to recognize the
tune—that’s never the
game we’re playing.
[Because] what I no-
tice is, anyone can get
into the thing I was
talking about before.
They pick up on the
visceral communica-
tion between the trio,
and between us and
them.
Are there ever
times when that’s
not enough?
It’s up to us as
performers to be
responsible for making
sure there’s a good groove there. My rule
number one of ethics as a performer is
that you can never blame the audience for
being a bad audience. You hear players
say stuff like “They weren’t so good to-
night.” C’mon! That’s not their job. They
paid to come into the hall to see us. It
then becomes our job to give them some-
thing that they can hold and enjoy. … I’ve
made music that totally loses the audience
sometimes. Not because I wanted to, but
because I didn’t give ’em enough hooks,
enough familiarity. That’s part of our job,
and it’s one of the reasons I like to talk
between tunes. Because it brings us down
to earth together for a moment. I’ll tell a
little bit about what we’re about to do, to
get them oriented. Honestly, I like it when
the audience gets what we’re doing.
Accessibility has never been a
negative in the lexicon of Chick Corea.
Though he’s pursued improvisational dis-
sonance in provocative ways (see Circle,
with Dave Holland and Anthony Brax-
ton), the pianist and composer has also
created profound yet easily relatable music
in a head-spinning array of settings. Early
on, Corea formed an agile, pathfinding
trio, with drummer Roy Haynes and
bassist Miroslav Vitous, for the classic
Now He Sings, Now He Sobs. After stints
as a sideman with Mongo Santamaría
and Blue Mitchell, he cultivated his own
approach to Afro-Cuban improvisation,
then wrote some of the most challenging
sambas in history (see Light as a Feather),
then explored flamenco and bolero and
tango (My Spanish Heart). Corea was in
the room when Miles Davis’ pioneering
Bitches Brew happened, and went on to
build a jazz-fusion juggernaut (Return to
Forever) that, through several iterations,
sold lots of records and influenced gener-
ations of musicians. His catalog includes
gorgeous Satie-like miniatures (Children’s
Songs) and luminous duet records (Crystal
Silence with Gary Burton, CoreaHancock
with Herbie Hancock, the underappre-
ciated Orvieto with Stefano Bollani) and
assorted jazz quartets and quintets.
Consider Corea’s activity just during
1972. That’s the year Crystal Silence was
recorded, and the release year for Piano
Improvisations Vol. 2, which had been
recorded the year before. 1972 was also
the year Corea recorded both Return to
Forever’s self-titled debut and Light as
a Feather—though the former album
wasn’t released in the U.S. until 1975.
Every musician should have a
year like you did in 1972.
I don’t go so much by the number
of the year as the project. Like if you’re
asking about that first Return to Forever,
I know where that sits because it was in
New York. That first one for ECM was
the first thing we did as a group—we
had no record company for it at the
time. We’d been performing regularly,
DAN MUSE
and all we did was go in and play our
set down and that was the record. We
 took the tapes to Germany and Manfred
[Eicher, the ECM founder] was in on
the mix. Light as a Feather happened
after that, and I think Crystal Silence
was before the first Return to Forever.
The records didn’t come out in the order
they were recorded. ... They’re all quite a
stretch from each other.
You’ve said before that RTF was
like a 180 from Circle, an attempt to
play music with a groove.
I had two tunes, “Some Time Ago”
and “La Fiesta,” and I put a band together
based on that. The first guy I bumped
into was Stanley Clarke, we played a gig
with Joe Henderson here in Philly ... then
I asked Joe Farrell, then Flora [Purim, the
vocalist] came to a rehearsal and brought
her husband Airto, who I had played
with earlier in Miles’ band. Our first
gig was at the Vanguard. I went to see
[Vanguard owner] Max [Gordon] and
told him I had a group he would like. He
said “Well, I can pay you blah-blah, and
you can open for Roy Haynes’ group this
weekend.” So we played two nights and
it was such a hit that he hired us again to
do a week. At that point I was booking technically demanding, he’s running on heart. I was like, “I know this somehow.
the gigs and me and Stanley were carry- impulse, not doctrine. Trying stuff. He I’ve been here. I don’t know when or
ing the Fender Rhodes around. can dispense musical heaviness in bulk, where. But this is really natural.”
Was the sound we know from but he tends to offset the meta-conceptu- Almost a déjà vu experience?
Light as a Feather there from the al with a rogue move or a comical quote. Exactly. It took what I had gotten into
beginning? Several times during our conversa- as a serious student of bebop and jazz
Yes. Stanley and me and Joe were tion, Corea uses the phrase “That’s not and put it into a different frame—the
steeped in Miles, Monk, Coltrane. But the game I’m playing” to draw distinc- openness within that music, the feeling
of course Airto was not, not so much. It tions between his philosophy and that of of dancing and people having fun, really
was a mixture for sure—Airto brought others. The distinctions themselves are spoke to me.
that authentic feel, and then Stanley, important if sometimes small; his choice Did you still consider yourself a
being a rebel from day one, played those of that phrase is more significant, speak- student?
rhythms his own way, not like Brazilians ing to temperament, orientation, the Absolutely. Of course. And then
played them. It just clicked. priority he places on mental agility and somebody recommended me for Mongo
flexibility. And, just as important, fun. [Santamaría]’s band, that’s when I got a
At what point were you drawn to taste of the real Cuban tradition. Mongo
The cover of the Spanish Heart Afro-Cuban music? was like a father. Real generous, and
Band’s ambitious recent album, Anti- In high school I had one fortunate gig patient. Gave me just the right kind of
dote, shows Chick Corea in a flamenco with a Portuguese trumpet player named instruction, showed me how to deal with
dance position. One hand is above his Phil Barbosa. He had a little quartet, rhythms that were new to me. It was
head doing the finger-snap, the other is and the conga player was Bill Fitch, who the first time I encountered that kind
at his belt, possibly just post-snap. He’s played with Cal Tjader later on. I knew of learning, and it’s a philosophy that’s
smiling in a rascally sly way, like he’s just nothing about Latin music. When we stayed with me my whole life. If you
been caught doing something supremely went to play the first time, I didn’t know want to learn how to do something, go
un-legend-like and could not care less. what to do, and Bill showed me how find the guy who’s doing it. Ask ques-
It’s not a distinguished-elder look. It’s to make a rhythm background on the tions. Take instructions from him. And
not a jazz look. It’s a “Lighten up! Come piano, like the Latino guys. That was then play the music.
dance!” look. my beginning. And then he played me Seems like you did that over and
The image speaks to a core truth of records—Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, over your first years in New York.
Corea’s approach to music: He comes at Cachao, a whole bunch of people. That When I got the gig with Blue Mitchell
DAN MUSE

his work with genuine lightness. Even music and those rhythms just completely I was over the moon, because that’s the
when the compositions are intricate and opened me up. It went straight to my music I grew up with, sort of hard-bop

JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 31
 rumba. I was basically stepping into
Horace Silver’s band, and Horace was
one of the megaheroes. I transcribed
more Horace, particularly his tunes,
more than any other transcription thing I
did. … And the gigs [with Mitchell] were
an adventure. We did two or three stints
at Minton’s Playhouse, long stints like
four to five weeks at a time, and six nights
a week playing three or four sets a night.
Me playing on a really shitty piano.
What was your experience of the
social world of musicians in New
York? Did people get what you were
bringing musically right away?
I have no idea. I sorta had my head in-
side my coat then. I was just trying to find
my heroes and play with them. ... I’ll tell
you one thing that was really important
to me. After Mongo’s band, Willie Bobo,
who was the timbale player, formed his
own Latin-jazz band and hired me. After
the gig the first night, I was at the bar at
Birdland having a drink. I think I might
have been down on myself—feeling like
I could have played better. It was just me
at the bar, the end of the night. I notice
this guy walking toward me. When he
got close up I recognized him as Tommy
Flanagan, and he just pointed at me and
he said, “You got something fresh.” I was
on cloud nine for two weeks.
He was an early adapter!
That was important for me because I
always thought I was copying everybody.
Because I was! About six months after
my first solo record Tones for Joan’s Bones
came out, I found it in a record shop and
bought it. Joe Farrell was on that—he was
my elder by several years and I looked up
to him. Anyway, I took it to his apart-
ment and we made some peanut-butter
sandwiches and sat down and listened.
And every time my piano solo came, he’d
be listening to the solo. I’d play a lick
and he’d go, “Horace.” Few seconds later,
another lick and he’d go, “Oh, Wynton
[Kelly].” He was blowing me up because
he was kinda right. I could hear what he
was saying. That’s the view I had of what
I was doing at that time.
For years now I’ve been wanting
to thank Corea for sharing a small but
significant detail about the making of
Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew. We talked on
the phone in 1998, for a Guitar World
magazine story marking the album’s 30th
anniversary. Everyone involved had vivid
recollections of the sessions, but Corea
dropped what was, for me, a mind-blow-
ing factoid—that the sessions began,
promptly, at 10 a.m. every day. I tell him
that knowing about the timing became
key to my understanding of the album,
and that I’d brought it up in discussions
around the 50th anniversary of the re-
cording, which was earlier this year.
“That was made 50 years ago?” Corea
asked, sounding genuinely stunned.
“Jesus Christ.”
Has your perception of Bitches
Brew changed over the years? I was
struck by the energy of that “third”
quintet on Live in Europe 1969. The
band with you, Dave Holland, Jack
DeJohnette, and Wayne Shorter
was really intense.
When we started recording [Bitches
Brew], I saw it as a comedown from the
live gigs that we were doing. They were
really an adventure—just the wildest
thing I had ever experienced up until
that time. With Miles and his incredible
melodic sense, and a laser intention that
would set the scene for everything. And
then the musicians in that band were
just taking it every direction, imagina-
tions were running wild in that band. So
when we got in the studio to do Bitches
Brew, I thought, “Oh, we’re making rock
& roll now, Miles is doing some com-
mercial music now.” Hahaha ...
Were you surprised by the editing?
When Bob Belden finally did the
[2004] remix, I got interested. Before
that I couldn’t tell what it was—it didn’t
sound like what I remembered was
happening in the studio. He put it back
together again in a way that made sense.
For one thing, finally you could hear
keyboards. I thought, “Oh yeah, there it
is! I knew I was in there somewhere.”
Corea has been averaging two
new releases a year since his 70th birth-

kk 10 Chick Corea Games to Play Today

Chick Corea: “Steps -
What Was” (from Now
He Sings, Now He Sobs,
1968)
The birth of a provoc-
atively new—and yet
fully realized—piano trio
sound.
Chick Corea: “No. 3” Gary Burton/Chick Chick Corea: “Day Chick Corea: “Litha”
(from Children’s Songs, Corea: “Crystal Danse” (from My Span- (from Tones for Joan’s
1984) Silence” (from Crystal ish Heart, 1976) Bones, 1968)
One compact crystalline Silence, 1973) The tightest track Corea’s leader debut
miniature in a set of A placid yet meta-mind- from an ambitious and features inventive hard-
them, designed to evoke ed conversation in wide-ranging work that bop composition and
the stealth lyricism of which two dialed-in celebrates traditional correspondingly agitat-
Béla Bartók and Erik improvisers take turns forms (bolero, rumba, ed blowing, particularly
Satie. discovering (and tango) using non-tradi- from tenor saxophonist
cultivating) constantly tional orchestration. Joe Farrell.
evolving, delicately
shaded landscapes.

32 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
day in 2011—a tear chronicled, in part,
in the new documentary Chick Corea: In
the Mind of a Master. Some of them have
been elaborate projects: a three-CD live
set of material from the trio with Mc-
Bride and Blade, a large-ensemble reboot
of the Spanish Heart concept, and so on.
There are plans for a U.S. tour with the
latter group, featuring Rubén Blades on
vocals, in 2020, and that’s in addition to
plans for another Akoustic Band record
and more solo piano music.
His primary label in recent years has
been Concord Records, which has issued
significant works by Paul Simon, Santa-
na, and many other established artists.
Talking to label president John Burk,
you get the sense that Corea presents his
team with a unique air-traffic-control
challenge: “He tours in three or four
different configurations, and he’s out on
the road a lot. Then he has a backlog of
music ready to go that he wants to re-
lease. It’s taken us a while to line up the
releases so they align with his touring
activity, so that there’s a strategy that
allows for each of the records to reach
their maximum potential audience.”
Corea has no specific issue with the
label; he says that Concord has been
extraordinarily supportive. His beef is
with the entire record industry. “I have
forever disagreed with the commercial
philosophy of ‘Don’t flood the market.’
My philosophy has always been, the more
communication the better, the more
records the better. I think we should cap-
ture ideas, document them, and put them
out. Then the ones who are trying their
best to market it go, ‘Oh no, not another
one, we’re still trying to work on the last
one.’ I understand that from the business
point of view. I just can’t let that commer-
cial reality affect the creative work.”
He mentions the trove of solo record-
ings he’s just begun to sort; another one
is slated for release early next year. By
then, he’ll be diving into an artist-in-res-
idence appointment with the New York
Philharmonic, and writing a concerto
for longtime principal trombonist Joe
Alessi. “It’s exciting to write for orches-
tra—an entirely different beast. These
projects, I’d really like to share them
with the people who know me from the
jazz stuff. … I guess to a label person
I must look like a creature with eight
heads or something.”
It seems like a gargantuan task to
juggle so many projects. Most musi-
cians just worry about the next gig.
And there’s nothing wrong with
that. For me the most important thing
is fun, being in situations like the trio,
where we know it’s going to be a differ-
ent challenge every time. Years ago I
realized that I could have a million ideas
and they might never get going without
some structure. It’s only fun if I can give
what’s needed. At this point, the real
way to get involved with any project is to
book a commitment. So when Joe Alessi
asked about the trombone concerto,
I immediately [said], “Wow, yes, I’d
love to do that.” And that turned into a
schedule, and the need to deliver it at a
certain time, and that meant planning.
Do you talk about this stuff in
master classes, or interactions with
young musicians? Seems like a lot
there doesn’t get covered in music
school—particularly that notion of
prioritizing projects.
The first thing I say is that doing
anything in the arts requires some
organization. It’s necessary. But I don’t
focus too much on that. I more want to
share my experience of being an artist,
because when I’m at work I can see
the result of what I do as I do it. That’s
incredibly fulfilling, and not like most
professions. I can see if I’m bringing
people pleasure. When you do that,
you’re putting something good into the
world. I believe that.
On a vibrational level?
On many levels. What making
music for people does, I’ve observed,
is it stimulates what’s natural in all of
us. You don’t have to be a professional
anything—all you need to do is be a
living human being, and open to the
play of imagination. After you do this
for a while, you see that you can use
your imagination and imbue life with
your creation. And that your happiness
comes from what you imbue, what you
bring of yourself. JT

Mongo Santamaría and Chick Corea Trio: “My Chick Corea & Stefano Sonny Stitt: “My Little Chick Corea and Return
his Afro-Latin Group: Foolish Heart” (from Bollani: “Retrato em Suede Shoes” (from to Forever: “500 Miles
“Tumba Le Le” (from Go, Trilogy, 2013) Blanco e Preto” (from Stitt Goes Latin, 1963) High” (from Light as a
Mongo!, 1962) The Corea/McBride/ Orvieto, 2011) On this spirited date, Feather, 1973)
Here, at age 21, Corea Blade trio, active for The highlight of this Stitt and Corea explore This entire album is an
shows that he has his nearly 20 years, em- underappreciated the harmonic complexi- ever-modern, endlessly
own approach to the phasizes lightness and two-pianos live affair is ties of bebop within the refracting essay on love,
stock piano-montuno balance, poise and pure a Brazilian ballad that sensual churn of the truth, and beauty in
patterns, as well as the swing. This track also Corea and Italian pianist cha-cha. samba form.
glib blues-based ver- has memorable solos Bollani stretch to ach-
nacular that prevailed in from guitarist Niño Josele ingly lyrical extremes.
the Latin-jazz combos of and flutist Jorge Pardo.
the day. For 10 more choice Corea tracks, visit JazzTimes.com.

JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 33
 On KRIS DAVIS’ 14th album, the macro and
the micro converge, along with a diverse
array of great musicians BY SHAUN BRADY
CAROLINE MARDOK

JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 35

Diatom Ribbons started life as a funk record.
Kris Davis was simply relaxing with
some music during the off hours of her
2018 duo tour with Craig Taborn when
her regular producer, David Breskin,
heard the muffled but unmistakable
thump of a James Brown groove pulsing
from her earphones. “You should do
a funk record,” Breskin suggested
offhandedly, perhaps at least half in jest.
Still, the idea triggered connections that
led Davis to think about what Brown
had in common with Ornette Cole-
man’s Prime Time, or Henry Thread-
gill’s Society Situation Dance Band, or
the Senegalese pop of Youssou N’Dour,
or with Stevie Wonder, the first artist
she ever saw live …
But maybe it didn’t start there.
Maybe it started with a run of
recent tribute concerts that brought
Davis together with several seemingly
unlikely collaborators. Drummer Terri
Lyne Carrington invited Davis to join
her and bassist Esperanza Spalding for
36 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
a series of memorial shows celebrating
the life of Geri Allen, whose music
was largely unfamiliar to the young-
er pianist but whose adventurous
spirit certainly resonated with her. A
centennial tribute to Thelonious Monk
found her sharing the stage with JD
Allen, whose molten tenor flow seems
to embody the “Pyroclastic” name that
Davis gave her own record label, its
brawny bop muscle a world apart from
but equaled in ferocity by her kaleido-
scopic angularity.
Then again, could be that it all
began with Davis alone at the piano in
her home in Ossining, N.Y., intensely
studying the scores of 20th-century
composer Olivier Messiaen, dissecting
his intricate harmonies and rhythmic
patterns to find ways of integrating
them with her own multifaceted vocab-
ulary. Or it was prompted by the death
of Cecil Taylor, or the perspective-shift-
ing experience of performing John
The trio (L to R): Terri
Lyne Carrington, Davis,
and Val Jeanty
Zorn’s Bagatelles on marathon concerts
featuring 14 different ensembles.
Whichever narrative thread you
choose to begin this particular story, all
of them converge in Diatom Ribbons,
Davis’ stunning 14th album as a leader.
It’s the sort of project that defies simple
encapsulation, weaving together players
from far-flung camps across the jazz
landscape, mixing and matching them
in unpredictable combinations, and pur-
suing a panoply of ideas leading down
scattershot paths.
Yet the album never feels less than
wholly cohesive; Davis is a master quil-
ter, able to turn a patchwork of colors,
inspirations, textures, and voices into
a single harmonious vision. The music
that she shepherds into existence here
is wildly diverse and compellingly rich
CAROLINE MARDOK
in its fine details—and the image that
forms once all those puzzle pieces are
joined together is breathtaking.
“I like to use my records as a win-
dow into that period of time,” Davis
explained in her cozy living room
last October. “All of these ideas were
marinating, and at the same time I was
just starting to connect with this circle
of musicians. Whatever’s coming in at
that moment—the music I’m listening
to, everything I’m experiencing, the
people I meet—I want to use that, to
try to encapsulate that somehow.”
he title of Diatom Ribbons un-
doubtedly sent most listeners (at
least those without a degree in
molecular biology) scrambling
for a Google search. Diatoms,
it turns out, are single-celled algae
that live in aquatic environments all
over the planet. Look at them under
a microscope and each one (there are
myriad species) reveals an elegant in-
terior architecture; gathered together
en masse they can form enormous
blooms in oceans and lakes, appear-
ing as ornately tendrilled ribbons via
satellite imagery.
Davis discovered this obscure
microorganism, beautiful from both
a vast perspective and under focused
scrutiny, through the random viewing
of a nature documentary. But she
immediately recognized its resonance
with her own creative approach,
forever alternating between the macro
and the micro. “If I’m out listening
to music or just walking around the
neighborhood and something grabs me
as a larger idea, then I have to go home
and write the notes and rhythms and
always be checking back and forth to
see if I’m actually accomplishing that
goal. If I’m not, I have to change what
that larger idea is about, so there’s al-
ways this give and take as I go through
the process.”
The various threads that Davis wove
together to form the tapestry of Dia-
tom Ribbons aren’t difficult to discern,
though they’re nearly impossible to un-
ravel. On the title track, which opens
the album, the exploratory turntablist
Val Jeanty makes striking use of the
late Cecil Taylor’s voice, philosophiz-
ing from a 1994 Piano Jazz interview
with Marian McPartland. “Music saved
my life,” Taylor muses as Davis ham-
mers out a spiraling prepared piano
accompaniment.
“When Cecil passed I wanted to pay
tribute to him,” Davis said. “But I didn’t
want to do it the obvious way, which
was to just play like Cecil Taylor. So I
thought I’d try to incorporate his voice.”
Later in the same tune, the tenor
tandem of Allen and Tony Malaby
begins to remold the rhythm into a
boisterous if obtuse-angled swing,
“We’re drawn to the people
that are like us. That’s what human
beings do. But that’s not necessarily
good for the music.”
though it ultimately proves elusive,
fragmenting and shifting in a way that
offers both firm footing and unex-
pected obstacles to the soloists. Soon
that funk inspiration insinuates itself,
through the sinuous groove of “Rhi-
zomes” and the blistering velocity of
“Certain Cells.”
“I always try to write towards what
the players represent,” Davis explained.
“I want to enhance where they’re coming
from, but also to push them, give them
space to improvise and create on the
spot with whoever’s there.”
On Diatom Ribbons that necessitat-
ed conceiving environments that could
accommodate both the guitar freak-
outs of Nels Cline and Marc Ribot
along with the lithe vocals of Esper-
anza Spalding; the shimmering vibes
of Ches Smith with the found-sound
eclecticism of Jeanty; the robust tenors
of Allen and Malaby with the rough-
hewn bass of Trevor Dunn. Many of
these musicians had not only never
met prior to the recording date, but
some of them had never even heard of
one another.
Perhaps the most important, and
most surprising, relationship that
Davis forged in the run-up to Diatom
Ribbons has been the one with Car-
rington. The inspiration has worked in
both directions: Carrington’s sprawl-
ing, politically driven new album
Waiting Game includes a 42-minute
improvised suite that she credits in
large part to Davis inviting the drum-
mer to play her first-ever completely
improvised gig at the Stone. She
returned the favor by inviting Davis to
join the Berklee Institute of Jazz and
Gender Justice.
“Sometimes you have to fight against
doing what’s been successful for you, or
what people expect of you,” Carrington
said in a separate interview. “I always
love the musicians that go against the
grain, that keep surprising you and
reinventing themselves.”
The preternatural rhythmic connec-
tion that Davis and Carrington share
is the gravitational center of Diatom
Ribbons, and both credit it to their
shared roots in the jazz tradition—
even if, as Davis says, she has long
since “veered off to do my own thing.”
Nonetheless, she became enamored of
jazz through the influence of Monk,
Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, and Keith
Jarrett, figures that also loom large in
Carrington’s pantheon.
“The thing that really spoke to me
about Kris was her time,” Carrington
said. “Her time is amazing, so I feel
like I can play anything and we just
hook up. I also had that like-minded-
ness with Geri Allen, which came from
having a similar language and aes-
thetic about what’s hip. Even though
the language may be a little different,
I feel that same connection with Kris.
She knows tradition and I come out
JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 37

of the tradition. When you know the
tradition, you can move away from it
but there’s a part of the language that’s
still there.”
“It all comes down to rhythm and
how you connect with time,” Davis
agreed. “I come from that jazz back-
ground, so it’s easy for me to understand
that world and play it—I don’t want
to say authentically, but all of that is
still in there. Everything that I’ve been
interested in informs how I play over
these tunes.”
“Forget your biases and try some things.
Every time I do that,
I’m never disappointed.”
A piece like “Stone’s Throw” exem-
plifies the way that these conceptions
meet on an evocative middle ground,
with complex evolving forms that blur
the lines between composition and im-
provisation, its overall structure proving
evasive on initial listen. “Certain Cells,”
meanwhile, is driven forcefully by a pro-
pulsive drum ’n’ bass-inspired groove
that anchors borealis-like atmospher-
ics. The deeper one delves, the more
layers are revealed; on the surface, the
experience is never less than infectious,
reveling in the “pleasure principle”
that Taylor discusses in his sampled
monologue.
“There’s a lot going on throughout the
record,” Davis admitted. “I found myself
grabbing different pieces of things from
all different genres and influences and
then creating the project, along with a
little bit of chaos. Maybe that’s where I’m
at right now.”
we zoom out further, we can
discover one more starting point
for the album, a much earlier
one. Shortly before moving to
New York in 2001, Davis attend-
ed the Banff International Workshop
in Jazz & Creative Music in her native
38 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
x Album Review: Kris Davis and Craig Taborn’s Octopus
Canada. There she met Malaby, who in-
troduced her to the world of avant-garde
jazz and free improvisation. He became
a key mentor and collaborator after she
moved to the States, but recognized from
their first meeting her ability to synthe-
size her influences and reimagine them
through her own very specialized lens.
“She asked to learn a certain piece
of mine, so I showed it to the group by
ear,” Malaby recalled, referring to an
ensemble he was leading at the Banff
Workshop. “Kris immediately got it and
then turned it into something else. She’s
always been able to absorb material and
bring it into her own world.”
In recent years that’s led Davis to
forgo, at least on record, the founda-
tion of a steady working band in favor
of project-based collaborations, a
concept that’s reached a culmination
on Diatom Ribbons. On 2016’s Duopoly
she engaged in improvised dialogues
with a variety of partners including
Bill Frisell, Don Byron, Tim Berne,
and Julian Lage; she focused in on one
of those pairings, with fellow pianist
Craig Taborn, for her followup, the
mesmerizing Octopus.
Those intimate outings were pre-
ceded by Save Your Breath, featuring
the eccentric octet Infrasound, which
coupled the rhythm section of Davis,
organist Gary Versace, guitarist Nate
Radley (Davis’ husband), and drum-
mer Jim Black with four clarinetists.
Before that came Waiting for You to
Grow, commemorating the birth of Da-
vis’ son, with trio mates John Hébert
and Tom Rainey; the captivating solo
album Massive Threads; the vividly
textured quintet session Capricorn
Climber; and Union, the second album
by Paradoxical Frog, Davis’ collective
trio with saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock
and percussionist Tyshawn Sorey.
“The thread for me has been the chal-
lenge of each project,” Davis said. “There
are so many musicians in New York that
it can feel like you have to specialize, just
choose a direction and go deeper into
that. The challenge is to reach outside of
your comfort zone and the people you
feel comfortable with to incorporate ev-
erything going on at that time in terms
of influences.”
Davis is hoping to pass those values
on to a new generation of musicians
through her work at Berklee. The Insti-
tute of Jazz and Gender Justice aims to
promote gender equity and inclusivity
in the jazz arena. Like Carrington before
her, Davis has long resisted identifying
her career with her gender, avoiding
“Women in Jazz” festivals or all-female
ensembles.
She even remembered an initial
reluctance to meet Laubrock, who has
since become one of her most important
collaborators and closest friends; the two
have a new duo album set for release on
Intakt in 2020. When Laubrock original-
ly moved to the city, Davis resisted calls
from male collaborators like Malaby and
Rainey to play with this newcomer.
“I was like, ‘Oh god, they want me
to play with a girl,’” Davis laughed. “So
I reluctantly asked her to come over
and play, and I set up a session with
Tyshawn. We improvised for an hour
and I just remember thinking, ‘Holy
shit. This is really cool.’ Ingrid is so
unique, and we all became dear friends
right after the session. It’s funny how
that works with music. Forget your
biases and try some things. Every time
I do that, I’m never disappointed.”
The aftereffects linger, even this long
into her career. Despite the exciting
possibilities offered by her collabora-
tion with Carrington and Jeanty, Davis
briefly hesitated to continue with them
as her core trio for fear that their lack of
Y chromosomes would influence others’
perception of the group. “I was slightly
worried that we were going to be pigeon-
holed,” she said.
“It just creeps in. It’s the right thing
for the music, but there was a little
moment there of ‘How is this going to be
 taken?’ As I’m getting older I’m seeing
the bigger picture: I know my music’s
solid, so I’m not having any kind of
crisis about gender relating to the music
for myself. But I do see in my students
so many women coming up and asking
how to navigate it all.”
Davis also brings a unique stylis-
tic perspective to the Berklee fac-
ulty, which is far more focused on
the straight-ahead path than on the
avant-garde. In addition to her work
MIMI CHAKAROVA
with the Institute, she’ll lead a free im-
provisation ensemble and a composi-
tion ensemble. She sees the pursuits as
inextricably linked, as the creative mu-
sic world proved to be more accepting
in the early stages of her career than
the more traditional jazz field.
“The straight-ahead scene was more
difficult,” Davis recalled. “The impro-
vised scene is just different. There’s
more gender balance and more diver-
sity. In a way I feel like I’ve benefited
from that, which is something that I
want to pass on as I contribute my ideas
to the Institute.”
“Berklee could use more musicians
and artists like Kris,” said Carrington.
“She’s the perfect person to help with
my goal of inviting more women into
the music that didn’t necessarily come
up studying the language of jazz and
embracing them as improvisers.”
Forming human connections has
become central to Davis’ career, whether
as an educator, a composer, or an impro-
viser. The unexpected chemistries and
surprise discoveries that can arise from
new relationships are what seem to thrill
her in every aspect of her work.
“We’re drawn to the people that are
like us,” she concluded. “That’s what hu-
man beings do. But that’s not necessarily
good for the music.” JT
JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 39
 FRANKIE CELENZA

40 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
25 albums into a prolific
and varied career,
MICHEL CAMILO has lots
to talk about

BY JEFF TAMARKIN

JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 41
 Y
YOU DON’T GET AN ANSWER
when you ask Michel Camilo a question,
you get a story—like the one about how
he gravitated toward the piano as a child
growing up in the Dominican Republic.
“When I turned almost five, that
Christmas my mother and father gave
me a very tiny accordion,” says the
now 65-year-old pianist, bandleader,
and composer. “Luckily it was in tune,
so I was able to pick out the melody to
‘Silent Night’ by ear. I discovered the
notes on my own. Then the next one I
played was ‘Happy Birthday.’ The fam-
ily said, ‘Wow!’ because I was learning
really fast. My uncle could also play
accordion, and just by watching him,
I was picking up everything. Then, by
the time I was six, I started coming up
with my own melodies. It was natural
to me. My parents noticed it and hired
a professional musician, who used to
come to my home. I would sit with him
and play my new songs: simple melo-
dies yet with a structure. I was writing
all kinds of things.
“But my first love was piano,” Camilo
continues. “My grandparents had one of
those old uprights, which all of us would
play. I didn’t know how to play the piano
well. I just moved my right hand, but not
the left yet, because I was used to playing
the accordion. Then when I was nine, I
asked my parents to send me to the con-
servatory, and they made a deal with me:
If I did well the first year, they would buy
my first piano. And I did great! That first
year, believe it or not, to practice I drew
the keyboard on a piece of cardboard,
because I could hear in my head all the
notes. My teachers were wonderful, and
42 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
by the time I turned 16, I was already
a member of the National Symphony
Orchestra, playing the piano parts and
the percussion parts as well.”
Then there are the stories behind
the songs on Camilo’s latest album,
Essence. It’s his 25th in all, and a very
special one to him. For the release, he
assembled a big band—only his third
big-band recording—to revisit, with
new arrangements, some of his favorite
compositions from throughout his 35-
year recording career. Three of the 11
tracks were inspired by drummers and
percussionists who have figured promi-
nently in his life: “And Sammy Walked
In,” the leadoff track, is a nod to Sam-
my Figueroa, the conguero in Camilo’s
first sextet, back in the days when he
held forth regularly at the long-defunct
jazz club Mikell’s on Manhattan’s Up-
per West Side, while “Mongo’s Blues” is
for Mongo Santamaría.
“He was my neighbor,” Camilo
recalls of the latter musician. “I was
always asking him to tell me stories
about 52nd Street, the scene at the clubs
and him coming up in the ranks and
his encounters with all the legends of
jazz, including Coltrane. He told me
about ‘Afro Blue’ and [Herbie Han-
cock’s] ‘Watermelon Man,’” a Top 10
single for Santamaría.
And then there’s “Repercussions,”
Camilo’s tribute to Art Blakey. “Art
Blakey and the Jazz Messengers used to
play at Mikell’s too,” he says. “He didn’t
play at the Vanguard, which would
have been what you expected. All the
youngsters, we would be in the audience,
hanging out and listening to him, and he
would go around the tables and find out
who was an up-and-coming musician.
I was one of those. One night, he came
to my table and said, ‘You’re a pianist?
Do you want to sit in?’ And he pulled
me out from my table. I said, ‘What do
we play?’ He told me, ‘No, that’s not the
way it works.’ I said, ‘How does it work?’
He said, ‘You dig your own grave and we
bury you in it.’”
GETTING AT THE ESSENCE
Essence is Camilo’s followup to 2017’s
Live in London, a solo piano perfor-
mance, which followed the previous
year’s Spain Forever, an album of duets
with flamenco guitarist Tomatito.
Camilo has recorded and performed
live with sextets, symphony orchestras,
and—more prolifically than anything
else—in trio settings. He’s composed
soundtracks, classical works, and
jazz that dodges easy categorization.
Although there’s a pronounced Latin
influence to much of his output, he
doesn’t slot solely into Latin jazz; his
2006 album-length interpretation of
George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue
heads in another direction completely,
and his early trio recordings, particu-
larly those with bassist Anthony Jack-
son and drummer Dave Weckl, only
hint at Camilo’s cultural roots.
“It keeps me fresh,” he says about
the diversity, “because each one has a
different approach. But, for example,
playing with symphony orchestras has
made me a stronger player, because I
have to project acoustically in front of a
90-piece orchestra, and be able to deliv-
er the sound and work on the phrasing
and be very aware of this monumental
elephant. You have to move and phrase
together and breathe together. It makes
you a better musician in certain ways,
that challenge. Playing solo is also
challenging because it gives you total
liberty, but you have to be very careful
when you have so much liberty. You
don’t want to lose your focus, and you
want to be concise and honest.”
Throughout Camilo’s canon, one con-
sistent trait has always been meticulous-
ness, both in his own playing and in the
arrangements, regardless of the style.
“That’s a signature of my music, the
tightness of the ensemble and the preci-
sion and its challenging passages. What
I did on Essence was to lay down all of
my rhythm tracks—and the big band
knew what was going on because we had
already rehearsed—then I brought in
 Camilo at the 2018
Newport Jazz Festival
the horns and conducted them.”
Essence was produced by Camilo,
with most of the music cut at the Power
Station at Berklee in New York. All
of it was composed by the artist, with
arrangements by longtime associate
Michael Phillip Mossman, who also con-
tributes trumpet and flugelhorn. Some
of the other musicians on the session
had worked with Camilo before, while
several—including trombonists Michael
Dease, Steve Davis, and Jason Jackson—
were new to him. “It was a nice assembly
of people and they all played their very
best,” Camilo says.
ALAN NAHIGIAN
It almost didn’t happen the way it did,
though. There’s a story for that too. The
Power Station studio had been acquired
by Berklee College of Music in 2017, to
be used for educational purposes, just
as Camilo was starting to piece together
the project. “They were telling me there’s
a deadline, because they were going
to shut it down for renovations that
summer,” he says. “I said, ‘No, I want
the room the way I know it, before you
start breaking the walls. I know that
room, I know that board, and I know
how it sounds because I’ve done so many
albums there in the different rooms.’ So
it was a back and forth until they said,
‘Okay, this is the date we’re going to shut
down.’ Then the challenge became, who
is in town, who’s back from the road?
Michael [Mossman] started making
phone calls until everyone was back.”
MAKINGS OF A MUSICIAN
Berklee itself figures into Camilo’s devel-
opment as an artist. As with much else
in his career, fortuitous occurrences put
him where he needed to be at a certain
time in his life. His roots were in clas-
sical music, but when he was 14, he dis-
covered jazz in a cousin’s record collec-
tion. “My cousin had a two-hour radio
show every Monday afternoon, where he
would play from his collection,” Camilo
says. “I vividly recall that I was practic-
ing my Beethoven and my Mozart and
I’d turn on the radio, and there was Art
Tatum, playing ‘Tea for Two.’ I was in
total shock at this incredible master who
had absolute command of the piano and
was so advanced harmonically. I said,
JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 43
 ‘What is this? My God!’ I didn’t even
know it was called jazz.”
Jazz recordings were difficult to find
in the Dominican Republic when Cami-
lo was coming up, but fortunately, his
cousin served as something of a lending
library. “I started transcribing like crazy,
and trying to understand this music.
Then I discovered that jazz was very
similar to classical music in a certain
way. There were schools, there were
movements, there was West Coast, there
was East Coast, Chicago, New Orleans,
all of this. But it was all compressed into
one century. That’s the way I started
approaching it, trying to understand the
different schools and different styles.”
Through the history, he learned about
44 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
theory and improvisation. Tatum led to
Oscar Peterson, then McCoy Tyner, Phin-
eas Newborn, Bud Powell, and Sonny
Clark. Dizzy Gillespie’s Afro-Cuban ex-
periments opened Camilo up to the world
of bebop and its intersection with Latin
rhythms. “But I didn’t go to jazz through
the Latin side,” he says. “I went through
the other side, the mainstream. Then I
went backwards, to Scott Joplin and Jelly
Roll Morton, and James P. Johnson.”
He didn’t hear any of this kind of
music live until Harvard University’s
big band came through Santo Domingo.
The story: “They came in on one of those
cultural ambassador trips, and then
there was a concert at a hall,” Camilo
says. “By then I was starting to play
with my trio. One guy, who was in the
Peace Corps in the Dominican but also
an advanced jazz player who was into
Miles, heard me playing jazz, and he got
me my first gig, at a very bohemian kind
of place where the poets and the painters
and the sculptors used to hang out. I
used to play there every Thursday night
with my trio, and then I got invited to a
reception at the American Embassy for
the Harvard Jazz Band. Then, of course,
a jam session ensued, and I sat in with
them, and their leader said, ‘You ought
to go to Berklee.’”
Camilo never did attend the college,
FRANKIE CELENZA
but he sent for Berklee’s correspondence
course on the music, which taught him
a lot. He finally visited jazz central, New
x Video: JazzTimes interviews Michel Camilo at the 2011 Newport Jazz Festival
York, in 1974, then moved to the city
in 1979, checking out heroes like Thad
Jones and Mel Lewis at the city’s venues
and buying records he couldn’t find at
home. “By then the hot guys were Keith
Jarrett, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock,”
he says. “I went back to the Dominican
and started studying those guys heavily
and my mind changed completely. Then
I started trying to play that with my
own group down there, and I set my
eyes on coming to New York. I waited
until I graduated from the conservatory
with my degree, and then my wife and I
decided to give it a chance.”
Once in America, Camilo attended
postgraduate classes at Juilliard and
Mannes School of Music while trying to
land gigs. He worked with a band called
French Toast (their leader was a French
horn player, Peter Gordon), which
attracted A-list guest musicians to their
gigs, including Peter Erskine, Lew Soloff,
Jon Faddis, and Steve Gadd. French
Toast recorded one self-titled album
in 1984, and through that experience
Camilo met Jackson and Weckl. They
formed their trio but Camilo, his repu-
tation building, also worked with Tito
Puente, who needed a fill-in pianist for
a date at the Montreal Jazz Festival and
subsequently kept Camilo employed. In
the audience one night was the Cu-
ban-born saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera,
who took Camilo on tour with him to
Europe. Camilo remained in D’Rivera’s
quintet for five years.
In the meantime, Camilo also kept
busy composing. One of his tunes, “Why
Not?,” was picked up by the Manhattan
Transfer and became popular enough for
others to cover. The song caught the ear
of a Japanese record company executive,
who signed him for two albums—Cami-
lo’s initial outings as a leader—Why Not?
and Suntan. A gig at New York’s Blue
Note impressed Newport Jazz Festival
promoter George Wein, who paid for
Camilo’s next session and brought the
tape to Columbia Records, handing it
over to A&R man/producer Dr. George
Butler, along with one sentence: “You
should sign this guy.” Columbia did and
Camilo’s recording career took off in
earnest from there. He has since released
music on several other labels.
TAKING NOTHING FOR
GRANTED
Michel Camilo has one standard
Grammy, for 2003’s Live at the Blue
Note, his personal favorite among his
recordings, and three Latin Grammys.
He has also taken home an Emmy, for
“The Goodwill Games Theme.” He’s
won awards from Billboard and the
Jazz Journalists Association, and has
earned a couple of honorary degrees
and a Herb Alpert Visiting Professor-
“I asked Art Blakey, ‘What
do we play?’ He told me, ‘No,
that’s not the way it works.’
I said, ‘How does it work?’ He
said, ‘You dig your own grave
and we bury you in it.’”
ship at Berklee, where he and his wife
also sponsor a scholarship.
But more than anything else, it’s the
gratitude he gets from performing in
front of audiences around the world that
makes it all worthwhile for him. His first
piano concerto, composed at the request
of acclaimed conductor Leonard Slatkin,
premiered at the Kennedy Center and
has now, according to Camilo’s own
count, been performed 117 times inter-
nationally. “Maestro Slatkin told me,
‘Don’t take it lightly; you’re a living com-
poser and it’s very rare to have a living
composer performing his own work.’”
Wherever Camilo performs, and re-
gardless of the circumstance, his guid-
ing principle is to always give his all.
“I learned my lesson a long time ago,”
he says. “Each audience is completely
different; you learn not to expect them
to react the same way. We’re spoiled
in New York because we get these
audiences that are jazz connoisseurs
and they are very interactive with you.
Sometimes they are very respectful
and quiet. It doesn’t mean they’re not
enjoying it; it just means that they’re
concentrating and they don’t want to
spoil the moment.”
He cites one such gig, a duo show
with Tomatito in Tokyo. “Some in the
audience put their heads down and
closed their eyes, because this music
was very hypnotic. Tomatito was freak-
ing out. He said, ‘Man, we’d better go
home. We’re bombing here. This is not
happening.’ I said, ‘No, no, this is a very
different audience.’ At the end there
was a standing ovation. You learn that
you cannot take it for granted.”
That’s a message Camilo makes sure
to convey to young musicians. “You
have a duty to your audience,” he says.
“If you go on the road it’s not to party
out. You go there to perform music, and
to give your best to your audience when
they pay to see you. It’s a thrill to be able
to make great music together at a very
high level and communicate the world of
ideas and feelings and extrapolate your
life experiences into sound,” he adds.
“It’s a process of self-discovery. You put
your heart, your soul, and your life into
what you do, and it’s really great when it
comes together. It’s a blessing.” JT
JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 45
 AUDIO FILES
A Fine Romance
Building amps into speakers is revolutionizing stereo systems
BY BRENT BUTTERWORTH
ince stereo came out—roughly
Ì5 around the same time as Kind of
Blue—audio systems have typically
included a couple of speakers and some
sort of separate amplifier. While this
arrangement still works well, audio
product designers started a couple of
decades ago to toy with the idea of
building an amplifier into a speaker.
For reasons we’ll discuss below, the
concept quickly became the norm in
professional recording monitors. But
even though every speaker and amplifier
designer I know believes that “powered”
or “active” speakers can deliver superior
performance, audiophiles have largely
rejected the idea, preferring to pick their
speakers and amps separately.
The home audio industry never quite
gave up on powered speakers, though.
A few companies, most notably Merid-
46 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
x Audio Files: Brent Butterworth on smartspeakers
ian and Dynaudio, kept pushing the
concept, and slowly persuaded more
and more audiophiles of the advantages
of internal amplification. But the trend
really took off about two years ago,
as audio companies started building
streaming services such as Spotify,
Apple Music, and Tidal into their
products—and as audiophiles got hip to
the convenience of mainstream active
speakers such as the Sonos Play:5.
The Active Advantage
On one level, the lure of powered
speakers is obvious: You have just one
pair of speakers, usually connected
with a single cable, instead of speakers,
an amp or receiver, maybe a preamp,
and cables connecting them. If the
speaker has streaming built in, that’s
at least one more component you don’t
need—and maybe a remote control you
can get rid of too.
However, internally amplified speak-
ers can also offer technical advantages.
Here we have to distinguish between
powered and active speakers. Although
the terms are sometimes used inter-
changeably, a powered speaker is gener-
ally considered to be just a conventional
speaker with an amplifier built in, an
arrangement that eliminates a compo-
nent but offers little improvement in
sound quality.
An active speaker, on the other hand,
incorporates separate amplifiers for
each speaker driver, as well as electron-
ic signal processing to divide the signal
into bass and treble for the woofer and
tweeter, respectively. (In powered and
passive speakers, this task is performed

with relatively crude and imprecise
networks of capacitors, resistors, and
inductors.) The signal can then be fine-
tuned to suit the performance charac-
teristics of each driver, thus delivering
performance that would be difficult and
expensive to match with traditional
speakers. The electronic processing also
makes it easy to include tone con-
trols, as well as a limiter that prevents
damage to the speakers when they’re
cranked all the way up.
What’s in the Box?
The capabilities and features of powered
and active speakers vary considerably.
Some basically just eliminate the need
for a separate amplifier, while others
are designed to operate as complete
audio entertainment systems.
At the simplest level are powered sys-
tems such as the Kanto YU6 ($399.99).
Each of its speakers has a 5.25-inch
woofer and a one-inch tweeter. A
two-channel amp is built into the left
speaker, with line and phono inputs
as well as Bluetooth wireless. Hook up
a turntable for your old Lee Morgan
sides; stream Spotify, Apple Music,
L to R: SVS Prime Wireless, Devialet Phantom,
Kanto YU6, and KEF LS50 Wireless
or Internet radio from your phone
through Bluetooth; and connect your
TV using the Toslink digital input, and
you probably have all the entertainment
options you need.
While there are some active speakers
without built-in streaming of some
sort, they’re uncommon; the best-
known example I can think of is Dy-
naudio’s $1,499 Xeo 10 system, a two-
way speaker with analog and digital
inputs as well as a Bluetooth receiver.
Four 65-watt amplifiers provide fully
separate power for the Xeo 10’s tweeters
and woofers.
More common these days are speak-
ers with streaming built in, usually
through a third-party technology such
as Apple AirPlay or DTS Play-Fi. SVS’s
$599 Prime Wireless speaker system
includes Play-Fi, which lets you play
music from streaming services such as
Spotify, Pandora, and Tidal, all selected
through your smartphone or through
the system’s front-panel preset buttons.
The Prime Wireless system has 50 watts
of power for each speaker driver.
The $2,499 KEF LS50 Wireless sys-
tem is sort of the Coltrane of wireless
speakers—i.e., a standard by which
most others tend to be judged. Its coin-
cident driver system centers the tweeter
inside the woofer, a design that made
the original, passive LS50 one of today’s
top audiophile speakers, and it streams
Tidal and Spotify directly.
Devialet’s Phantom series might
be the most extreme active speakers
in terms of radical engineering; they
look more like large pill capsules than
speakers, but extensive digital signal
processing and acoustical engineer-
ing give them an amazing sound for
their size. The line starts with the
$1,090-each Reactor 600, with two
drivers and 600 watts of total pow-
er per speaker, and goes up to the
$2,990-each Phantom Gold, with three
drivers and 4,500 watts per speaker.
All include Apple AirPlay streaming
technology plus Bluetooth.
With these active speakers providing
all the convenience of mass-market
wireless speakers and sound quality
exceeding that of traditional systems,
it’s hard to imagine they won’t soon
become the standard—especially when
kids who got started with Sonos and
Bluetooth speakers start to look for
something better. JT
JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 47
 CHOPS x Gearhead: The evolution of The Real Book
Reharmonizing
The Real Book
Jazz guitarist JACK GRASSEL makes giant steps toward
modernizing a treasured tome BY MICHAEL MUELLER
or nearly 50 years, The Real Book
Ì( has sat proudly on music stands
across the world, from clubs and
society gigs to practice rooms and jam
sessions. It’s—unofficially—the best-sell-
ing “fake book” of all time. Generations
of jazz musicians have learned to play
standards and classics from the Great
American Songbook via its venerable
pages. So why in the name of Irving
48 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
Jack Grassel in a
non-transcribing
moment
Berlin would someone set out to rehar-
monize its contents?
“Music is in a whole different place
now,” says guitarist Jack Grassel, 71, a
professional jazz musician and educator
of more than 50 years. “People don’t use
ii-V-I progressions now, and if they do, it
makes the music sound very old.”
The Reharmonized Real Book (Hal
Leonard) contains 393 songs from The
Real Book (6th Edition), featuring all-
new harmonizations of its time-honored
melodies, arranged by Grassel over an
eight-week period last year. The book was
originally conceived by Hal Leonard’s
executive vice president Jeff Schroedl
as a resource that would give players
some built-in options for adding color to
the harmony and provide a new way of
approaching songs that they might have
been playing the same way for years.
A man obsessed with musical growth
and improvement, Grassel saw the
project as an opportunity to modern-
ize these cherished songs using chord
progressions more indicative of today’s
music. “I saw Chick Corea recently,”
he recalls, “and on one of his tunes he
played 10 choruses, and every one had
a different set of chord changes. This,
I feel, is where jazz is going, where, in
addition to improvising the melody,
players will be improvising the chord
changes as well. My work in this book is
an instruction manual for other people
to do the same thing—harmonizing in a
more modern way.”
Grassel says he worked within a set
of criteria that he established to ensure
the resulting reharmonizations were still
musical. These included such consider-
ations as whether the reharmonization
of each melody note sounded good on its
own as well as against both the preced-
ing and succeeding chords; density or
sparsity of chord changes within each
section of the tune as well as in relation
to the melody; and whether the song still
retained its original character and stood
up to repeated listening, among others.
One of the methods employed fre-
quently in the reharmonized edition is
the transformation of AABA song form
to an AABC variation, which Grassel
uses to great effect on songs like “Body
and Soul,” “Oleo,” “Anthropology,” and
“The Girl from Ipanema.”
“When a song is in AABA form, you
might play the A section three times in a
row, exactly the same way,” Grassel says.
“And if you have a bunch of people tak-
COURTESY OF JACK GRASSEL
ing solos, you might hear that A section
50 or 60 times. That needs to change. So
what I tried to do was make a new song
form, where each of the three A sections
could be different, which makes it a lot

“When I look at a song like ‘Autumn Leaves’
and see that opening progression, I think,
‘Oh man, here’s another ii–V–I,’ and I’ve
become really repelled by that.”
easier for the player and the listener. I
think that makes for a more modern,
through-composed reading of the song,
like what Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea,
and Herbie Hancock did with some of
their more modern songs.”
Another thematic approach that
Grassel used to produce a more modern
sound was to drastically reduce the oc-
currence of the ii–V–I progression—a
bold move considering it’s foundational
to the jazz sound as we know it, but
one that he was eager to make. “When
I look at a song like ‘Autumn Leaves’
and see that opening Am7–D7–Gmaj7
progression, I think, ‘Oh man, here’s
another ii–V–I,’ and I’ve become really
repelled by that,” he says. “So I changed
♭
that opening three bars to a chromatic
movement of E 13–E9 ♯ 5–F9–F♯7–
♭
Gmaj7 5–Gmaj7, and it sounds like a
whole new song now. It’s still ‘Autumn
Leaves’ when the melody is played,
of course, but when the solos appear,
you’re presented with all-new harmonic
scenery you get to navigate while play-
ing this song that everybody loves.”
Even a sacred cow like John Col-
trane’s “Giant Steps” wasn’t immune
to Grassel’s modernization crusade,
FEBRUARY 19 – MARCH 1
Presented by
Archie Shepp
Branford Marsalis
Thundercat
as he streamlined the famously dense David Sanborn
changes and achieved one of his more Larry Carlton
radical reharmonizations along the Ghost-Note
way. “Well, it’s about time! We’ve Kenny Barron
been playing it the same way for 60 John Medeski
years,” Grassel quips. “When Coltrane Terry Riley
wrote ‘Giant Steps,’ he was trying to Kenny Garrett
push ii–V–I progressions as far as he Antibalas
could take them. And if you look at Eric Gales
the melody of the first two measures, Mark de Clive-Lowe
it’s just a Gmaj7 chord, so I removed Stanton Moore Trio
four of Coltrane’s chords in those two Terrace Martin
measures and replaced it with just Harrison-Clark-Blades Trio
one chord. Furthermore, you’ve now Stanley Jordan
♭ ♭
got this chromatic root movement of
G–A –A–B –B over the first seven bars,
Omar Sosa & Yilian Cañizares
Tuck & Patti
but the underlying chord qualities Kat Edmonson
create some counterpoint. I feel this Miguel Zenón Quartet
makes the song more contemporary, Dan Tepfer
because that’s the way jazz has been
going for quite a while.”
Kandace Springs
Mark Guiliana
What impact does Grassel think the James Francies
new volume will have? “I hope it makes Aaron Goldberg
people better players and boosts their
enjoyment of making music,” he says.
“It’s on my music stand right now, and Full lineup at pdxjazz.com
I’m playing through it page by page,
being confronted with new things every PDX Jazz thanks our major partners
practice session, and that’s making me
a better player.” JT
 GEARHEAD
McLaughlin in the studio
with Shankar Mahadevan (L)
John McLaughlin
Makes MiGiC
A six-year deep dive into synth control helped this guitar
icon create a new electronic voice BY EMILE MENASCHÉ
ver his 50-plus years on the world
Ì1 stage, John McLaughlin has never
been afraid to explore uncharted
territory. Yet, as the 78-year-old guitarist
jovially admitted by phone from his
home in Monaco, he’s always wanted
to be a singer. And though he’s counted
among the greatest players of all time,
his search for a voice-like sound keeps
driving him forward.
On his new duo album Is That So?,
McLaughlin’s guitar and Shankar
Mahadevan’s voice combine to create
something both meditative and emo-
tional. My first listen was in a noisy
(and irritating) environment, and it
took less than 30 seconds with head-
phones to be transported and transfixed
50 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
x Bright Moments: John McLaughlin
by the soundscape. Over the six years
it took to make the album, McLaughlin
built a new voice for himself using an
improbable tool—a synthesizer plugin
from Apple’s Logic Pro digital audio
workstation. Improbable not because
McLaughlin is new to guitar synthe-
sizers; he’s been messing with them
since the ’70s. The issue is that even
when synths can track the phrasing of a
guitar, it’s hard to capture the complex
decay and sustain that gives stringed
instruments their nonlinear dynamics.
McLaughlin did that and more on
Is That So? The vowel-like synth tone
moves with the nuances inside the
notes. The parts are unapologetical-
ly electronic but don’t sound pro-
grammed; they sound performed. “It
was a long time coming—oh brother!”
McLaughlin laughs. “Don’t get me
wrong, I love the guitar. That’s been
my instrument for my life. But for this
project with Shankar’s voice, which
is wonderful, I wanted to find a vocal
quality. It started with a standard tone
with the Logic ES-2 synth plugin. I
was tweaking aspects of the inside of
the tone.”
He created the instrumental tracks in
stages. When orchestrating background
parts, he relied on the Fishman Triple
Play MIDI pickup system (“polyphon-
ic and very accurate,” McLaughlin
reports). But when it came time for
the improvised solos with Shankar—
which are more of a musical dialogue
than a traditional vocal/instrumental
trading-off—he wanted to go beyond
the limitations of MIDI. “About a year
or so ago I found a program called
MiGiC,” he says. Billed as real-time
guitar-to-MIDI software, MiGiC pro-
cesses audio from the guitar’s output to
generate MIDI messages.
“It took some experimenting with the
pickups—you have to work with it and
with the synth patches,” McLaughlin
explains. “But the amount of gain you
put into it can give you different ‘inside’
tonal effects, which becomes much
more personal. The average MIDI note
is impersonal to me. Though it’s purely
monophonic, and it’s kind of demand-
ing because you need your playing to be
pretty accurate, it can handle whatever
you can give it. It sets that singing tone
you only get from a guitar string.”
MiGiC is available with a free 30-day demo
or at full purchase price of $24.95 at migic.
com. Fishman Triple Play starts at $229.95
street price.
S LFO Yeah
The TWA SS-01 Side Step universal tap-tempo LFO pedal
(distributed in the U.S. by Godlyke, Inc.) takes the low-fre-
quency oscillator (LFO) to the ground floor. Godlyke says it’s
a “variable-state, tap-tempo LFO that can be used to control
practically any device with an expression input and/or +5V
S Clock the Beat
Backbeater is a compact tool to help drummers play at a consistent
control voltage source.” For example, you might connect it
speed—or at least be more aware of variations in their tempo. The
to the expression-pedal input of another effects device and
basic version clips onto a snare drum and tracks tempo in real time,
use the LFO to control one or more parameters. There are
then transmits the results to a smartphone for display using a free app.
eight switchable waveforms, while the rate can be set by tap
There’s also a Backbeater Deluxe option, which comes with a mount-
tempo, an onboard pot, or an external expression pedal.
ing bracket to position the smartphone on a nearby cymbal or drum
stand for easy visibility. The app can save songs and set lists, making it
$179 street | godlyke.com
a useful tool for performance as well as practice.

$39 ($59 for Deluxe version) | backbeater.com

S The Ultimate in Reeding

RS Berkeley’s Ultimate ULT19 reed-sculpting tool is de-
signed to help players shape and balance their reeds for
maximum vibration and performance. It features a wood
handle and a hand-lapped and -shaped curved blade, and
works with both single and double reeds. Learn more and
find demo/instructional videos at the company’s website.
$39 street | rsberkeley.com
S Keyed Up Emotionally
According to manufacturer Expressive E, the new Osmose synth
expands on a standard keyboard’s capabilities with Augmented Key-
board Action (a.k.a. AKA), which “gives the player three dimensions
of continuous control for creating a closer bond between the player
and the instrument.” While the Osmose can control external instru-
ments and soft synths, Expressive E says its 24-bit onboard sounds
have been optimized to take advantage of the expressive control
offered by its 49 keys. The demo videos are impressive, and with a
low introductory price, the Osmose looks like it has a lot of potential.

$299 street | expressivee.com

W Take 5
KRK Systems’ Classic 5 Professional Bi-amp Studio Monitors have a bi-amped Class A/B power
section with built-in automatic limiter and an optional 2dB bass boost. Housed in a low-reso-
nance enclosure designed to minimize distortion and colorization, the five-inch glass-Aramid
composite woofer is voiced for clear midrange and tight bass. The company says its one-inch
soft-dome tweeter boasts an “optimized waveguide” for articulate highs up to 35KHz and
detailed imaging. To improve decoupling (and accuracy), hi-density foam pads are pre-installed
on the bottom of each monitor.

$149 each | krksys.com

JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 51
 REVIEWS
Before the Fall
Chet Baker's artistic peak, on five LPs
CHET BAKER
The Legendary Riverside
Albums
Craft
During his two years on the Riverside
label (1958-59), smooth-faced, square-
jawed son of the heartland Chet Baker
was an end-of-the-Eisenhower-era
dreamboat, and as soft-spoken a vocalist
as he was a trumpet player—unless tack-
ling hard bop, which he did with man-
nered zeal. His cool mix of “James Dean,
Sinatra, and Bix Beiderbecke” (historian
Dave Gelly’s description) put Chet,
early on, in a pantheon beyond jazz: the
humble hipster hero. That he wound up
abusing heroin even before his Riverside
tenure meant the dreamboat would soon
sail, even if his haunting musicality and
subtle invention would not.
This weighty five-LP set is a testa-
ment to such dreaminess, stuffed with
prints, booklet, and a solid disc of
alternate versions and outtakes. The
52 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
ALBUMS x VIDEOS x BOOKS
“A handsome, honeyed
delight”: Chet Baker
main event, however, is its pristine
remastering of (Chet Baker Sings) It
Could Happen to You, Chet Baker in
New York, Chet, and Chet Baker Plays
the Best of Lerner and Loewe.
As on Pacific Jazz albums such as Chet
Baker Sings (1954), the trumpeter spends
much of It Could Happen to You with his
axe by his side, crooning. Only here, his
chilly, whispery rasp is lithe and limber.
There’s a new confidence to his vocals
that offers a graceful counterweight to an
energetic, cranky set of East Coast play-
ers including pianist Kenny Drew and
drummers Philly Joe Jones and Dannie
Richmond. Nonchalant and nuanced,
Baker—as singer and trumpeter—turns
tunes like “Do It the Hard Way” and
“Old Devil Moon” into intimate mo-
ments, balancing his fluid melody lines
against the sniper-precise piano of Drew.
Chet Baker in New York keeps the
unruly East Coast vibes, loses the gently
vexing vocal lines, and relies less on
Broadway and more on contemporary
jazz compadres such as Bennys Gol-
son and Carter and Miles Davis for its
melodic kicks. While slow moments like
Golson’s “Blue Thoughts” allow Baker
& Co. stewing solitude, Owen Mar-
shall’s “Hotel 49” and Miles’ “Solar” are
aggravated bop workouts where everyone
flies (including tenor saxophonist Johnny
Griffin). Baker, in particular, sounds
freer than he has before in his still-young
career as a leader. Though known for
melodious simplicity and barely extend-
ing his range beyond a single octave, he
worked that staff like a rib on this album.
Chet continues Baker’s effortless
reach into romantic rumination with an
instrumental effort costarring the likes
of Bill Evans and Herbie Mann. When
Baker isn’t deep in the clinches with
guitarist Kenny Burrell for their tender
take on “September Song,” he’s letting
baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams
loose on “Alone Together.”
Flutist Mann, pianist Evans, and sax
man Zoot Sims help close out Baker’s
tenure with Riverside on an up note:
the showtunes of Lerner and Loewe. “I
Could Have Danced All Night” becomes
an open-ended waltz with Baker’s breezy
trumpet line bucking against Mann’s
sweet counterpoint, and “I’ve Grown
Accustomed to Her Face” grows more
sensual and languorous with each Sims
lick and pensive Baker solo.
The entirety of Chet Baker’s Riverside
is a handsome, honeyed delight, and a
true examination of the trumpeter/vocal-
ist’s range. A must-have. A.D. AMOROSI
MAT MANERI
QUARTET
Dust
Sunnyside
Putting aside for the moment mention of
chamber-jazz weaves, global influences,
modal designs, and high-wire improv,
what’s the most economical way to de-
scribe the performances on Dust? How
BOBBY WILLOUGHBY
about suggesting an alternative four-let-
ter album title? Soul, for instance.
After all, that’s the common emo-
tional thread running through these
mostly introspective, artfully executed performances—a yearning
vocal-like quality that helps account for why even the longest,
most multifaceted tracks consistently cohere. Of course, Maneri’s
contributions are crucial. In addition to playing viola and a key
role during two improvised pieces, he wrote five of the seven com-
positions included here. His seemingly innate lyricism, previously
highlighted in a variety of significant collaborations (Cecil Taylor, gregory porter
Paul Motian, et al.), is often distinguished by such a breathy,
& ledisi
reed-like tone that you may sometimes find yourself wondering
Sun, Feb 16 @ 7PM
whether this four-piece ensemble is larger than it is. It’s a night of soul
At its most expressive, Maneri’s viola offers an affecting con- with two of today’s
trast to the music’s occasional intervallic leaps, percussive bursts, most captivating
vocalists, Gregory
and keening exclamations; it also melodically sustains a series of Porter and Ledisi.
thoroughly absorbing excursions. Even so, he’s clearly content to
front what essentially sounds like a leaderless group devoted to
the art of interplay. No surprise there, in light of his impressive
track record and the caliber of the company he’s keeping on this
session, which features two familiar collaborators—pianist Lu-
cian Ban and drummer Randy Peterson—and the well-matched bokanté
bassist John Hébert. Not to be overlooked, the album’s remaining
Sat, Feb 29 @ 7:30PM
compositions, both written by Ban, further contribute to its qui- The world music
etly unfolding charms (“Mojave”) and spiritual resonance (“Two supergroup,
featuring members
Hymns”). MIKE JOYCE of Snarky Puppy!

ROBERTO FONSECA
Yesun
Mack Avenue

Is it necessary for jazz to be “challenging” or “complex” in order

to be considered “good”? Pianist Roberto Fonseca blazes few michael
new trails here, despite his blending of styles and influences that
some might consider disparate, if not oppositional. “We have a
feinstein
featuring Storm Large
little mambo and rumba, some reggaeton and hip-hop,” he says Shaken & Stirred
in the online press release, adding that “[t]his song is calling Sat, Mar 14 @ 3PM
people to a party so nice it will fill your soul completely.” A celebration of
the greats of
It’s that “nice” that some might find problematic. “La Llama- American Song
da,” textured by darkly propulsive yet buoyant interplay between and pop music!
Fonseca, bassist Yandy Martínez Rodríguez, and drummer Raul
Herrera, is infused with a brooding romanticism that’s accentu-
ated by the breathy vocals of the group Gema 4: ethereal enough
to retain a sense of mystery, yet dangerously close to crossing the
line between poignant and prettified. “Cadenas” is funkier —
there are echoes of Stevie Wonder in Fonseca’s keyboard work—
geri allen
and guest vocalist/rapper Danay Suárez’s vocal timbre is girded
jazz camp
with more emotional nuance than most North American rappers All-Female Residency
with Artistic Director
seem able or willing to summon, but the electronically tweaked Regina Carter
sung vocals may either widen the sonic spectrum or dilute the Jul 5–11
Students refine their
immediacy of the message, depending on one’s perspective. instrumental or vocal
Saxophonist Joe Lovano negotiates the bop-like melody line of skills with acclaimed
“Vivo” with unerring crispness, and his bristling tone effectively jazz musicians!
Sign up today!
leavens the grandiosity of the arrangement, although one wishes njpac.org/allfemalejazz
he’d been given the opportunity to stretch out more.
At times, as on “Mambo pa la Niña,” with its heady meld
of organ-trio soul and funk/salsa rhythms spiced with New
Orleans-tinged keyboard curlicues from Fonseca, we’re delivered
from “niceness” into a full-on, ecstatic dance party. Elsewhere,
For tickets & full schedule
though, despite the well-honed chops and imaginative depth of visit njpac.org or call 1.888.GO.NJPAC
One Center Street • Newark, NJ
 REVIEWS ALBUMS

instrumental arrangement of an R&B

Editor’s Pick track than his own “jazz” composi-
NICK DUNSTON tion. His trumpet trades phrases with
Atlantic Extraction keyboardist Michael King in a call and
(Out of Your Head) response that then develops into a new,
oscillating melody, much like a singer
Nick Dunston didn’t have a particular ensemble sound in his head when he built his turning from verse to chorus. The sound
new quintet last year. He just hoped a handful of committed improvisers would natural- of the trumpet here is soft and billowing,
ly morph into a working band, sharing their savvy and collectively shaping a music that the sonic portrait of a perfectly puffy
deep-sixed the constraints of idiom. Guess what? Dude’s dream came true. Atlantic white cloud. An echo effect that turns
Extraction’s debut is an engaging date that offers unique vista after unique vista, com- one horn into a small choir of trumpets
ing on like a suite regardless of how far-flung any of its individual elements seem to be. allows the listener to sink ever deeper
The young bassist, who has swooped onto the New York jazz scene with into the tranquil, unhurried mood.
surprising velocity in the last two years, has myriad interests. So the terrain of Hill regularly pulls back the music to
this program’s 16 tracks is in constant flux; his embrace of modern classical and
let the other stars of the album—the spo-
abstract improv lingos informs many of the vignettes. A guitar/flute/drums/violin/
ken (and recorded) thoughts of distin-
bass outfit has innumerable textures to investigate, and Team Dunston’s curiosity
guished black women like Abbey Lincoln
gets the green light at every turn. Plus, those experimental gambits are bolstered by
and Eartha Kitt, as well as the hauntingly
several arrangement insights.
That means there are solo tracks as well as passages by pared-down versions of beautiful vocals from singer Christie
the group. Luminous crescendos that exude a natural radiance. Poetic reveries that Dashiell—take prominence. He says that
thrill with their commitment to pith. Frenzied drama that manages to exude grace. the music’s direction was suggested by
Simple taps and gurgles that conjure the natural world. “String Solo No. 2” actually the spoken-word recordings, which focus
works as a percussion piece, with Tal Yahalom tapping a parade of feels from his gui- on philosophical concepts of love, but
tar. One section of “Contraband Peanut Butter” finds Ledah Finck’s violin drone sta- drawing a through line from the words
bilizing a swirl of hubbub just aching to boil over. Dunston has a way with suspense, to his music is a difficult, muddled task.
and his design game is strong. At some Still, the sounds they inspired suit Hill
points, it’s as if Air were interpreting Anthony well. JACKSON SINNENBERG
Davis’ I’ve Known Rivers or Leroy Jenkins’
Legend of Ai Glatson. Or both at once.
The bassist has worked with Tyshawn BARNEY WILEN
Sorey, Dave Douglas, and Amirtha Kidambi. A QUARTET
recent video portrait for NYC’s Roulette per-
Live in Tokyo ’91
formance space found him touting influences
Elemental
including Bartók and August Wilson. He’s said
his perspective is informed by the AACM and If you are American and you know the
BAG, and “S.S. Nemesis” features a momen-
name Barney Wilen, it is probably from
tary “Oh! Susanna” reference. Seems this
two recordings of film music. When he
broad-reaching testament to inclusion is also
was 20, in 1957, Wilen played on Miles
a refutation of formulaic expectations. Long
Davis’ groundbreaking improvised
story short: Dunston has made the debut of
2019, and it’s likely that its beauty will resonate soundtrack to Louis Malle’s Ascenseur
“His design game is strong”:
for much longer than that. JIM MACNIE pour L’échafaud. At 22, he played with
Nick Dunston
Thelonious Monk on the soundtrack for
another French film, Roger Vadim’s Les
Liaisons Dangereuses.
all concerned, the blend of aesthetics has been teasing this direction for years, An unknown kid tenor saxophone
and influences results mostly in a mix starting with the hip-hop cadences he player from France was an unlikely
that’s pleasant and occasionally bracing, folded into 2014’s Modern Flows Vol. 1. choice for both sessions, but Wilen had
but with few outright challenges or fresh But if you listen to his arrangements of something. Then and now, what he had
angles of vision. DAVID WHITEIS standards like Herbie Hancock’s “Maid- is called cool. He sounded like a West
en Voyage” as well as originals from his Coast tenor, but the coast was in France
last two albums (see parts of 2018’s Mod- and the accent was Parisian. You may
MARQUIS HILL ern Flows Vol. 2), you’ll hear him leaning have wondered whatever became of him.
Love Tape into the lyricism and lush production of Live in Tokyo ’91 answers the ques-
GAYA FELDHEIM-SCHORR

Black Unlimited Music Group
Fans of trumpeter Marquis Hill
shouldn’t be surprised that his latest
album is more neo-soul than bop. Hill
contemporary soul and R&B. Love Tape
fully embraces this sound.
To the point, “Won’t You Celebrate
with Me,” the third of the record’s nine
tracks, sounds almost more like Hill’s
tion. Wilen was active on the European
jazz scene until his death at 59 in 1996.
This two-CD set catches him on a tour
of Japan with a capable straight-ahead
French rhythm section. The kid who

54 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
recorded with Miles has become a more
assertive, versatile tenor player. He
powers through tunes like “Doxy” and
“Bésame Mucho,” riveting ideas in place
and connecting them all.
But Wilen’s gift was for ballads. On
“Old Folks,” in a whisper, he lingers
behind the languid beat. He can remind
you of Stan Getz in the way he relaxes
into a song, trusting his Muse, letting
melodies flow. Gordon Jenkins’ “Good-
bye” reveals how he could brood over a
ballad and seduce you into its story.
The best historical jazz labels perform
a valuable service by rescuing lost music,
and an even more valuable service by
rescuing lost jazz musicians. Elemental, a
relatively new player in the historical-la-
bel category, has produced a nice package
with photos, reminiscences from friends
and musical associates, and high-quality
sound—all for the worthwhile purpose
of keeping Barney Wilen from being
forgotten. THOMAS CONRAD
NICOLAS
BEARDE
I Remember You: The
Music of Nat King Cole
Right Groove
ORICE JENKINS
Centennial Cole: The
Music of Nat “King” Cole
Truth Revolution
Nat King Cole didn’t need a milestone
birthday to elicit a flood of tribute
albums. A bona fide pop star and racial
barrier-breaking icon at the time of his
death from lung cancer in 1965 at the
age of 45, he’s been saluted and cele-
brated on dozens, probably hundreds of
discs, including the 1991 megahit Un-
forgettable…with Love by his daughter
Natalie Cole and 1992’s Just the Way I
Am by the inimitable Freddy Cole, Nat’s
younger brother (the Coles cornered
the market on cool). The undimmed
spotlight on Nathaniel Adams Coles
has blazed all the brighter in the year of
his 100th birthday, and two estimable
new albums explore different facets of
his multifarious musical legacy.
Building on 2016’s Invitation, a
hard-swinging program of standards
produced by pianist Nat Adderley Jr.,
San Francisco singer Nicolas Bearde
continues his evolution from suave
R&B crooner to poised jazz vocalist
with his encompassing Cole celebra-
tion. Covering a variety of musical
moods with easygoing authority,
from the wistful “I Remember You”
and the swooning “Tenderly” to the
snappy “Straighten Up and Fly Right”
and the elegiac “I Wish You Love,”
Bearde wades into the songs like he’s
stepping into a warm bath. For most
of the album, his accompanists are a
trio led by ace Los Angeles pianist Josh
Nelson, who also produced the tracks
and wrote the arrangements; two songs
feature pianist Peter Horvath, who
arranged and produced those pieces.
Tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, a
boon to any musical setting, contrib-
utes on three songs, adding a partic-
ularly poignant edge to the pathos of
“Funny (Not Much).”
If Bearde is the masculine yin com-
ponent of Cole’s musical persona, Con-
necticut-based vocalist, arranger, and
multi-instrumentalist Orice Jenkins
is the sensitive, torch-carrying yang.
He’s also more interested in vividly
ScOoP Up ThIs
reimagining familiar songs, both as a
singer and arranger. Accompanying his
imploring, almost androgynous vocals WiNtEr’S LaTeSt
on piano, Wurlitzer, Rhodes, and gui-
tar, Jenkins opens the album with “Let JaZz BiOgRaPhY!
There Be Love”—a cappella except for
his finger snaps, a setting that makes
the silliness of the lyric unavoidable,
and irresistible. The album’s most
arresting tracks feature string quartet
arrangements that are often effectively
counterintuitive, like the ominous
minimalist pulse on “Mona Lisa” that
imbues the song with a film-noir edge.
Similarly, Jenkins renders “Blame It
on My Youth” and “Stardust” more as
art songs than jazz vehicles, employing
idiosyncratic phrasing that might irk
some listeners. It’s a perspective on
Cole that’s well worth considering.
ANDREW GILBERT
DAN WEISS TRIO
PLUS 1
Utica Box
WwW.ChIcAgOrEvIeWpReSs.CoM/
Sunnyside BeTtErDaYsWiLlCoMeAgAiN
The unusual instrumentation of the new
album from drummer Dan Weiss brings
JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 55
 REVIEWS ALBUMS

semble unity. Here Weiss, best known

Editor’s Pick for bold statements, opts for nuanced
TODD MARCUS movements and a slightly refracted
Trio+ grace that makes the ensemble distinc-
Stricker Street tive. A Utica box is a 19th-century form
of torture, but this Utica Box makes an
Todd Marcus, one of the few bass clarinetists in modern jazz, has almost made a ideal form of 21st-century contempla-
point of understating his skill as a player throughout his recording career. His first tion. MARTIN JOHNSON
albums aimed to incorporate his ethnic heritage into his art, wedding Egyptian music
theory with big-band jazz. On These Streets, his 2018 release, was an immersive,
moving reflection of his work as an activist, organizer, and resident of West Balti- LEE KONITZ
more. Marcus’ instrument was more his group than his horn on these records, as he
NONET
used the ensembles to weave rich narratives through the arrangements.
However, the bass clarinet is front and center on Trio+, a strong postbop showcase Old Songs New
for Marcus’ unquestionable command of the instrument in a small-combo setting. His Sunnyside
ambition is announced swiftly and directly across the album’s four opening tracks,
The title might just as easily have been
which make up the “Something Suite.” Propelled by the engine of Ameen Saleem’s gal-
Old Freedoms Reimagined. Lee Konitz,
loping bass and Ralph Peterson’s piston-like attack on the drums, Marcus delves into
who in 1949 as a member of the Lennie
his penchant for “sheets of sound”-style soloing. Visualizing the dizzying dance of his
fingers across the valves as notes spill out will leave you winded and arthritic by proxy. Tristano Quintet helped blaze the trail
Marcus gets so much room to soar due to the group’s lack of harmonic resistance; for free improvisation on the landmark
though trumpeter Sean Jones appears on four tracks, the majority are only clarinet/ “Intuition,” here explores a very different,
bass/drums. This setting also allows Marcus to show a real ingenuity with his ar- but no less challenging, kind of freedom.
ranger’s pen to keep the sound Rather than creating spontaneously with
dynamic. See his version of no preset plan or structure, he takes
“My Foolish Heart,” where Pe- on material already familiar to him
terson becomes the principal (including his own bebop-tinged “Kary’s
accompanist during Jones’ Trance”), immerses himself in arranger
and Marcus’ lush solos. His Ohad Talmor’s richly colored aural land-
brushes are always in motion, scapes, and then, as Talmor’s liner notes
not just swirling on the snare explain, proceeds to “either play over or
head but whirling around the fit inside the lush sounds at will … where
kit, as if he’s improvising his the music would simultaneously stand on
fills in tandem with the horns. its own and complement Lee’s inspiration
It keeps things interesting, when he chose to play along with it.”
varied, and engaged—some- Indeed, this set is as much a showcase
thing Marcus never fails to do. “Will leave you winded and arthritic by proxy”:
for Talmor as it is for Konitz; the nonet
JACKSON SINNENBERG Todd Marcus
orchestrations are fully conceived works
in themselves—mini-symphonies, in
fact. For his part, the nonagenarian
to mind Smokestack, Andrew Hill’s 1966 title track, an elegantly structured piece, Konitz’s pitch has loosened somewhat,
Blue Note classic, as both recordings em- the rhythms change subtly in a nod to his vibrato wider and more watery in
ploy a drums/piano/two-basses lineup, composer Morton Feldman. “Jamerson” places, and, especially on ballads, he’s not
but Weiss didn’t intend the comparison. pays homage to the great Motown bassist above adding some syrup to his tone, his
For him, this was simply an outgrowth James Jamerson. “Rock and Heat” is a heart more visible on his sleeve (as if he
of the trio with bassist Thomas Morgan highlight for the interaction of Morgan can now afford to reveal a vulnerability
and pianist Jacob Sacks that he show- and Opsvik. Afro-Cuban rhythms high- that might have been anathema in his
cased on the 2006 recording Now Yes light “Please Don’t Leave,” and metallic Young Turk days). He continues to im-
When and 2010’s Timshel. Over the years thump is present in “Bonham,” a tribute provise primarily on melody instead of
Eivind Opsvik has often subbed for to one of Weiss’ cornerstone influences, chord structure, and despite his cerebral
Morgan, and Weiss began writing music Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. approach and his steadfast avoidance
for an ensemble with both bassists. Weiss’ decades-long study of the tabla and of sentimentality, he remains a deeply
This concept may seem a long distance its textures underpin all of the music. soulful player, if for no other reason than
from Weiss’ other recent projects, such as Whether led by pianists or drum- his deep-running, palpable infatuation
the heavy metal thrust of Starebaby, or the mers—Chad Taylor’s superb Circle with beauty. While there’s a sense of
South Asian tilt of his sideman work with Down comes to mind—the dynamic of isolation, a stark loneliness, at the heart
ERAIN RIBEIRO

Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Indo-Pak Coali- the piano/bass/drums trio has changed of his storytelling, he nonetheless basks
tion, yet elements of both and many other in the past 15-20 years, with tension in the intimacy of communication with
influences factor into the music. On the building from changing levels of en- his fellow musicians (and, by implication,

56 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
with the listener), invoking a spirituality
every bit as profound, if not necessarily
as overt, as that of such free-jazz mystics
as Coltrane, Ayler, and their latter-day
disciples. DAVID WHITEIS
DOPOLARIANS
Garden Party
Mahakala
Early in 2019, the avant-garde jazz
world suffered a crate-sized blow when
drummer Alvin Fielder passed away at
83. A Sun Ra Arkestra member in the
late 1950s, Fielder cofounded the Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Creative
Musicians (AACM), played on Roscoe
Mitchell’s 1966 touchstone Sound, and,
in recent years, teamed with double
bassist Damon Smith on several heady,
must-hear recordings.
Garden Party, the debut by Dopolar-
ians—a supergroup featuring Fielder,
tenor saxophonist Kidd Jordan, bassist
William Parker, pianist Christopher
Parker, alto saxophonist/saxello player
Chad Fowler, and vocalist Kelley Hurt—
is a bittersweet entry in the percussion-
ist’s canon: the final session he would
make before falling ill. It’s also a set that
bursts with joy and abandon, suggest-
ing the intoxicating big-band spirit of
Charles Mingus.
These six blissed-out, part-im-
provised, part-composed pieces are
a testament to the chemistry—and histo-
ry—that the members of Dopolarians
share. Fielder played with Jordan in the
Improvisational Arts Quintet, William
Parker and Jordan have appeared on
albums together and are Vision Festival
fixtures, and Chris Parker, Fowler, and
Hurt go way back. Their simpatico
interplay is palpable from Parker’s very
first playful piano notes, which open up
the jaunty 10-minute “C Melody.” With
Parker and Fielder leading the melodic
charge, Jordan and Fowler trade lines
and screams with soulful force. The po-
tent, blues-laden swagger of “C Melody”
percolates through the entire record.
Garden Party was recorded in New
Orleans, and all the players save William
Parker have Southern origins; those roots
resonate in glorious fashion. “Dopolaria,”
a love song with a theme inspired by part
of a Puccini melody, is slow-burning and
majestic, while the earthy title track is an
improvised children’s song akin to the
spiritual uplift of Sun Ra, featuring an
angelic-voiced Hurt.
It’s sad that Fielder isn’t here to see the
release of Garden Party, a perfect balance
of euphoric improvisation, bluesy mettle,
and melodic composition that’s as edgy
as it is infectious. BRAD COHAN
ERI YAMAMOTO
TRIO & CHORAL
CHAMELEON
Goshu Ondo Suite
AUM Fidelity
Although traditional folk songs have
been a favorite source for classical
composers from Brahms to Bartók, they
 REVIEWS ALBUMS

“yoiyamakka, yoiyamakka” refrain in

Editor’s Pick Part 2—while finding a way to make
that distinctly Japanese cadence feel
TOMEKA REID QUARTET jazzy. Even better, she makes harmony
Old New and counterpoint seem a natural part of
Cuneiform
the music, even though both are foreign
to the original.
Few records embody the spirit of jazz in 2019 as well as the new release from the
However much the Goshu Ondo Suite
Tomeka Reid Quartet. A cellist who began her rise in Chicago during the ’00s as a
showcases Yamamoto’s writing and
sidewoman in groups led by Mike Reed, Nicole Mitchell, and others associated with
the AACM, Reid leads a stellar group through nine compositions that blend tradition arranging, the album itself succeeds
and innovation seamlessly. Her ensemble includes guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist mostly because of the creative balance
Jason Roebke, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara, and they nimbly move through a wide maintained by her trio. Yamamoto,
range of musical styles—with influences ranging from Renaissance to Roscoe Ambrosio, and Takeuchi play in a
(Mitchell)—changing lead and support roles with ease. Solos feel organic rather conversational style that ultimately
than scripted, and group improvisations arrive at unsuspecting moments. defines a sense of community, and
Highlights include “Wabash Blues,” where Halvorson, Fujiwara, and the leader all nothing could be truer to the spirit of
reference the titular genre without a whiff of cliché. “Niki’s Bop,” a nod to a mentor, the original “Goshu Ondo” than that.
gently glides into an engrossing group improvisation. “Aug. 6” is a tour de force of J.D. CONSIDINE
skittery pizzicato and percussion that transitions into a noir-ish tune riding Halvor-
son’s knotty lines and Reid’s puckish responses. “Edelin” offers fragments of sound
that eventually cohere into a warm passage anchored by Roebke’s bass; Halvorson JOHN YAO’S
then blows things up, followed by Reid. “Peripatetic” leads with a cello-and-drum TRICERATOPS
duet before bass and guitar dive in and a tug-of-war between the entropy of group
improv and tight melodic How We Do
See Tao
structure ensues.
2019 may have John Yao’s Triceratops (named for a
been Reid’s breakout
three-horned dinosaur) is American,
year. In addition to this
but could be taken for European. Like
superb recording, she
many of the best current European
performed admirably on
Dave Douglas’ Engage
bands, Triceratops operates in that
and Fujiwara’s 7 Poets fertile zone between inside and outside,
Trio. However, Old New prioritizes the collective ensemble over
should function as a the individual soloist, and forgoes a
benchmark both for chording instrument.
Reid and for the variety The front line is indeed three horns:
of virtuosity that can be Yao on trombone, Jon Irabagon on tenor
found in today’s jazz. “Organic rather than scripted” (L to R): Tomas Fujiwara, saxophone, and Billy Drewes on soprano
MARTIN JOHNSON Mary Halvorson, Tomeka Reid, and Jason Roebke and alto saxophones. Peter Brendler and
Mark Ferber are on bass and drums.
Yao’s meticulous compositions and
don’t have a corresponding place in the this isn’t World Music fusion. Instead, arrangements contain many internal
jazz canon. And that’s a pity, as pianist her writing plays off the tune’s me- moving parts: shifting background
and composer Eri Yamamoto makes lodic resilience while emphasizing figures, motivic recurrences, punctuat-
plain with her Goshu Ondo Suite. its rhythmic potential. Although the ing riffs, fluid counterpoint, sudden calls
Composed for choir and jazz trio, it’s suite opens with a choral statement of and thoughtful responses. Tunes don’t
based around a traditional circle-dance the melody, which Yamamoto’s piano flow. They pitch and spike, episodically.
song that’s performed at festivals in and David Ambrosio’s bass support Even a lyrical ballad like “Circular Path”
the Shiga prefecture of Japan. Typi- with modal harmony, the real action contains nervous tension.
cally, “Goshu Ondo” is performed in lies with drummer Ikuo Takeuchi, For this album that is not about
a call-and-response format, with a who gradually builds the central pulse solos, the subject of solos cannot be
leader singing the main lyrics and the into a swinging stew of polyrhythms. avoided. Yao’s playing here places him
crowd answering key lines. Although Although the dynamics barely move with the best of the new trombone gen-
shamisen (or, these days, electric guitar) past mezzoforte, the range of rhythmic eration (e.g., Marshall Gilkes, Michael
is often used for accompaniment, the intensity is astonishing. Dease, Alan Ferber). Drewes, an un-
main interplay is between the voices The rest builds from that. Yamamo- der-the-radar veteran, is dynamic. On
JASMINE KWONG

and taiko drums. to’s choral writing keeps its focus on “Three Parts as One,” he even matches
Yamamoto retains that drums- the rhythmic quality of the Japanese Irabagon for trilling, squalling extrem-
against-voices energy in her suite, but lyrics—for instance, the repeated ity. As for Irabagon, he has dissociative

58 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
identity disorder—in a good way. Very
few living jazz musicians can function
on such a high level in so many styles.
He’s relatively well-behaved on How We
Do, but he is still a wildly unpredict-
able, exciting improviser; on “Doin’ the
Thing,” his furious runs stay within the
margins of the song, barely. Yet he also
serves the ensemble as a participant in
enigmatic harmony and background
support. Yao provides space for impro-
visers (including himself) to cut loose,
but always pulls them back into the
overriding communal purpose.
How We Do is an outstanding exam-
ple of what is happening on the leading
edges of the jazz art form at this moment
in time. THOMAS CONRAD
WOODY
HERMAN
The Complete Woody
Herman Decca, Mars and
MGM Sessions (1943-1954)
Mosaic
Woody Herman aficionados will know
from this set’s title what it doesn’t
contain. The second Thundering Herd,
Herman’s 1947–49 bebop-laced (“Four
Brothers”) orchestra, made all its
records for Columbia and Capitol. The
presence here of the First and Third
Herds, along with some sides from
“The Band That Plays the Blues”
and the Woodchoppers small(er)
band, makes the Four Brothers’
absence all the more glaring.
Yet this absence may be the
seven-disc set’s linchpin. Hearing
the before-and-after of that inno-
vative ensemble—much of which
was obscure until now—reveals
that Herman was always attuned
to jazz’s cutting edge. The original
orchestra’s final two sessions (in
November 1943 and January 1944)
are still those of Swing Era hitmak-
ers; ’44’s “Do Nothin’ Till You Hear
From Me” was among Herman’s
biggest sellers. Yet “Do Nothin’”
also demonstrates that Herman had
taken Ellington’s forward-think-
ing cues. He took Ellington’s star
saxophonist Ben Webster too,
whose gruff swagger invigorates
“Who Dat Up Dere?” and “I Get a
Kick Out of You.” (On “Crying Sands,”
clarinetist Herman does a pretty fair
Johnny Hodges impression on alto.)
His influences are similarly upfront on
“Basie’s Basement.”
Following these two would give the
First Herd—which began in spring
1944 with the arrival of trumpeter
Neal Hefti, tenor saxophonist Budd
Johnson, and especially arranger Ralph
Burns—progressive jazz bona fides.
That’s audible in radio transcriptions
of “Ingie Speaks” (with a wondrous Hy
White guitar solo), “Blue Lullaby,” and
“Saturday Night,” and sealed with the
premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s “Ebony
Concerto” at the Herd’s 1946 Carnegie
Hall concert.
Four discs in, the set skips ahead to
1951, when the Third Herd arrived at
MGM. Their first outing there, a col-
laboration with fellow forward-thinker
Billy Eckstine, is surprisingly vanilla.
But though bebop hadn’t been lucrative
for Herman, he continued experiment-
ing with it, hiring trumpeter Shorty
Rogers, trombonist Carl Fontana,
pianist/arranger Nat Pierce, and
flutist Sam Staff to provide that flavor.
A cover of George Shearing’s “Bop,
Look and Listen” is a highlight of the
shaky MGM period, as is a somber but
sublime new arrangement of Herman’s
older hit “Blue Flame” with Urbie
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JAZZ
PHOTOGRAPHY
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JANUARY–FEBRUARY
www.gittermangallery.com
Green on trombone.
Herman and publisher Howard
Richmond’s 1952 cofounding of Mars
Records really brings the excitement.
The sound is bright, the music adven-
turous. “Celestial Blues” echoes “Bags’
Groove” from that same year; a Burns
arrangement of “Love Is Here to Stay”
flirts with bop harmonies and lovely
brass interplay. By the set’s conclusion
in 1954, the band is digging into rhythm
& blues—even a cover of Ray Charles’s
“Mess Around!”—foreshadowing their
’60s rock excursions.
Herman’s underrated singing is one
of the album’s pleasures; this writer
had forgotten he was a vocalist at all
until his silky baritone came through
the speakers, sounding (as is Mosaic’s
wont) better than ever. Unfortunately,
the label’s completist spirit means that
with such wheat comes chaff. In this
case, that’s mostly MGM’s creative
mismanagement of Herman, such as
an appearance with easy-listening
bandleader David Rose that even Jeffrey
Sultanof’s exhausting, insightful notes
can’t pretend has merit. That’s okay;
Herman completists are the most likely
consumers of the set’s 2,500-copy lim-
ited edition. The non-MGM material,
though, is worth exploring by fans of
progressive big-band and early modern
jazz. MICHAEL J. WEST
 REVIEWS ALBUMS
SCOTT KINSEY
We Speak Luniwaz: The
Music of Joe Zawinul
Whirlwind
Keyboardist Scott Kinsey’s fascination
with Joe Zawinul (1932-2007) increased
after he joined guitarist Scott Hender-
son’s band Tribal Tech upon graduating
from Berklee in 1991. It just so hap-
pened that Henderson had been part of
Zawinul’s post-Weather Report group,
the Zawinul Syndicate, in the 1980s.
Kinsey subsequently became a rarity:
a keyboardist who, like his idol, could
play piano, organ, and synthesizer with
equal aplomb. On We Speak Luniwaz,
Kinsey presents a sequence of creatively
arranged Zawinul gems, plus a couple of
original compositions, with a gifted core
band (saxophonist/flutist Katisse Buck-
ingham, bassist Hadrien Feraud, and
drummer Gergö Borlai) and guest stars.
Those guests include bassist Jimmy
Haslip (Yellowjackets, Allan Holdsworth),
who contributes his signature tone and
feel to the opening “The Harvest,” from
Zawinul’s 1986 release Dialects. Tool
drummer Danny Carey adds electronic
drum embellishments amid Bucking-
ham’s flute, a flexible Borlai cadence
making 4/4 time sound like anything but,
and Kinsey’s homage on keyboards and
vocoder. “Victims of the Groove,” from
the Zawinul Syndicate’s 1992 album Lost
Tribes, is likewise authentic, aided by the
accents of former Weather Report percus-
sionist Bobby Thomas Jr.
Kinsey’s originals include the rousing
title track, with contributions from
co-composers Steve Tavaglione (soprano
saxophone) and Cyril Atef (percussion)
and additional percussion by original
Tribal Tech member Brad Dutz, and
“Running the Dara Down,” featuring
the keyboardist’s worldly tonal voodoo
stew. Weather Report highlights include
a medley in which Feraud recreates
Alphonso Johnson’s signature bass line
from “Cucumber Slumber” and Buck-
ingham raps, “If I were you, I’d let the
legendary Joe Zawinul empower you.”
Kinsey cloaks the signature melody, and
slows the rhythm, of the title track to
the 1976 gem Black Market until late,
and Feraud cuts loose à la Jaco Pastorius
on Weather Report co-founder Wayne
Shorter’s aptly named “Fast City.”
BILL MEREDITH
Editor’s Pick
MICHELE ROSEWOMAN’S NEW YOR-UBA
Hallowed
Advance Dance Disques
The evolution of New Yor-Uba, pianist Michele Rosewoman’s painstaking synthesis
of modern jazz and ancient Afro-Cuban folkloric traditions, has been a journey of
slow-motion magnificence. Three full decades after premiering her semi-big band in
1983, Rosewoman released its first recording, the live double-disc New Yor-Uba, 30
Years: A Musical Celebration of Cuba in America, to critical acclaim. Now, six years
later, comes Hallowed, with Rosewoman offering only slight refinements of New
Yor-Uba’s unique template.
The crown jewel here is “Oru de Oro” (“Room of Gold”), a 10-song, nearly 48-min-
ute “rhythmic suite” commissioned by Chamber Music America. It’s undergirded by
batá drums, described by Rosewoman as “the orchestra of the Yoruba temple,” with
patterns recreated from tradition by folklorist Román Diaz. New Yor-Uba hews to the
traditional “six hands” of batá, three drummers hitting the double-sided drums to
call up the power of ancestral spirits. Occasionally the percussion assumes center
stage, but mostly it provides a density that’s both staccato and sinuous, creating a
rugged yet pliable springboard for the solos and choruses of Rosewoman and four
or five horn players. Rosewoman pounds and scampers in a manner reminiscent of
McCoy Tyner, while the brass and reeds generally play a low-toned, high-caliber
blend of postbop Latin jazz. To appreciate its ambitious arc and the import of its
slight shifts in momentum, “Oru de Oro” is best appreciated straight through.
Two other extended works, lasting approximately 10 minutes apiece, round out
Hallowed. “The Wind Is the First to Know” is a collection of traditional songs sung
by Diaz and Nina Rodríguez, with the airy ambience of Rosewoman’s Fender Rhodes
the dominant instrument. Then there’s the loping groove of “Alabanza” (“Praise”),
which won composer Rosewoman a Latin Jazz Grammy in 2016 when it appeared on
the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra’s Cuba, the Conversation Continues.
Rosewoman’s abiding faith in
these centuries-old rhythms, covert-
ly passed down by word of mouth to
safeguard their potency, provides
New Yor-Uba with an idiosyncratic
discipline similar to Henry Thread-
gill’s Zooid or Steve Coleman’s Five
Elements. As with those ensembles,
listeners are richly rewarded by
marinating in the music. Past history
suggests that you’ll have plenty of
time before another round becomes
available. BRITT ROBSON “Pounds and scampers”: Michele Rosewoman
MILES OKAZAKI previous recording of original material,
The Sky Below 2017’s The Trickster, with Okazaki and
Pi his new quartet channeling a kind of
epic storytelling through the Charybdis
The first sound you hear on Miles swirl of their music.
Okazaki’s latest album is something For The Trickster, Okazaki turned to
familiar: the warm, springy, and crisp legends of tricksters as inspiration—
tone of his Gibson Charlie Christian think the Norse god Loki or the West
model guitar. However, that small bit African spider god Anansi. He con-
of comfort quickly gives way to a rush tinues that line of thought on The Sky
CHRIS DRUKKER
of new, rumbling sounds as his quartet Below but takes cues from tales of the
launches into the adventure proper of sea; more Odyssey, less Br’er Rabbit. The
The Sky Below. It’s a sequel of sorts to his group thrashes stormily on “Dog Star,”
Okazaki and pianist Matt Mitchell
pushing and pulling against each other
like ocean waves in the tempest. Bassist
Anthony Tidd and drummer Sean
Rickman add to the onslaught on “Mon-
stropolous,” which beats out Lennie
Tristano’s “Descent into the Maelstrom”
as the most terrifyingly realistic sonic
portrait of a whirlpool. The four play
circular patterns that spiral downward,
unrelenting and dizzying in their pull.
These are just two stops on the
eight-track journey; others allow
Okazaki to play with the conventional
sounds associated with sea and shore.
A series of chords suggesting calm,
beachside-cabana bossa nova on “Seven
Sisters” grows into towering, foreboding
melodic exchanges between Okazaki
and Mitchell. On “The Castaway,” the
quartet makes isolation feel palpable
as the guitar wanders disjointedly over
the rhythm section, seemingly adrift.
Okazaki knows where he’s going, but
the music plays the trick all too well.
JACKSON SINNENBERG
JEROME
JENNINGS
Solidarity
Iola
The sophomore album from Jerome
Jennings further crystallizes the
rising-star drummer’s concept of
bandleading, framing it within a
clearly comprehensible matrix of social
justice. Addressing the experiences of
African-American women through the
lenses of the Black Lives Matter and
#MeToo movements, it presents an in-
creased focus on original compositions
while featuring the same sharp stick
work and arranging savvy that made
2016’s The Beast a standout debut.
With his wife, poet and scholar
Naomi Extra, to thank for his theme,
Jennings goes to work uncovering
stories too often ignored while elevating
brave heroes through musical action.
The soulful “Recy’s Lament” honors
Recy Taylor, who took a bold stand after
being raped by six white men in 1944.
A charged “The Theory of Difference,”
opening on a riveting bass intro from
Christian McBride, nods to writer
Audre Lorde, a pioneer in voicing issues
surrounding race, sexuality, and gender.
“Pay It No Mind,” marching in to
Jennings’ cadence before embracing an
understated hipness, salutes transgen-
der trailblazer Marsha P. Johnson. And
“Convo with Senator Flowers” finds the
leader percussively painting along to a
recording of Arkansas Senator Stepha-
nie Flowers’ speech lashing out against a
Stand Your Ground bill.
Solidarity offers opportunities to hear
Jennings in open spaces—on the solo
miniature title track and pulse-ground-
ed “Heart”—but he’s just as quick to
showcase his colleagues, be it on one
of his tributes or through sympathetic
covers like a genre-blurring “Be-Bop,”
upbeat “I Love Your Smile,” and tender
“You Are Never Far Away from Me.”
With guests like bassist Endea Owens,
saxophonist/flutist Tia Fuller, and
vocalist/saxophonist Camille Thurman
working alongside McBride, pianist
Zaccai Curtis, and trumpeter Josh Evans
(among others), Jennings clearly practic-
es the same solidarity that he preaches.
DAN BILAWSKY
RADICAL
EMPATHY TRIO
Reality and Other
Imaginary Places
ESP-Disk’
The pianist Thollem may go by a single
name, but his improvisational and
compositional wizardry has many
dimensions. A sort of freewheeling
cross between Cecil Taylor, comedian
Andy Kaufman, minimalist pioneer
Pauline Oliveros, and punk icons the
Minutemen, he’s extended his creative
reach into myriad styles from avant-gar-
de jazz and classical to blues and rock.
He’s also a road warrior, perpetually
on tour, and his travels have led to
collaborations with the headiest of his
fellow avant-gardists, including William
Parker, Susie Ibarra, Ava Mendoza, Rob
Mazurek, and Henry Kaiser.
In 2017, Thollem had a residency at
Brooklyn’s Pioneer Works, where he
reconvened Radical Empathy Trio, the
group he shares with guitarist Nels Cline
(Wilco) and drummer Michael Wimberly
(Charles Gayle). From that engagement
comes this live album, Thollem’s latest
record for the celebrated ESP-Disk’ label
and fourth overall, which follows the
trio’s exceptional 2015 debut Radical Em-
pathy and confirms that Cline and Wim-
berly are Thollem’s greatest free-improv
brothers-in-arms. From the moment the
record button is pressed for the opening
“Collective Tunn els,” these three virtu-
osos sculpt and splatter dizzying textures
and patterns that are like Sonny Shar-
rock-meets-Unit Structures-meets-In-
terstellar Space. The interplay here is on
musical mind-reader levels.
But although its two 18-minute-plus
marathons feature plenty of mayhem,
Reality and Other Imaginary Places
isn’t all take-no-prisoners. In fact, there
are moments of downright majesty,
particularly when Thollem switches
from electric piano to acoustic at the
beginning of “Conscious Tunnels.” His
classical-informed lines are playful and
eccentric, darting and galloping before
Cline and Wimberly join in. From there,
it’s a breakneck space-jazz trip into the
netherworld, which eventually slows
down for a Cline clinic of effects-laden
twang. BRAD COHAN
VARIOUS
ARTISTS
If You’re Going to the
City: A Tribute to Mose
Allison
Fat Possum
Mose Allison has long found favor
among pop and rock artists. John
Mayall and the Bluesbreakers adapted
his arrangement of “Parchman Farm”
on their 1966 album featuring Eric
Clapton, and the Who included his
 REVIEWS ALBUMS

“Young Man Blues” on their 1970 Live Editor’s Pick

at Leeds. Van Morrison cut an entire
album of Allison compositions in 1996,
while everyone from the Yardbirds to
the Clash to Leon Russell has dipped
into the late Mississippi-born singer/
songwriter/pianist’s extensive song
catalog. So it comes as no surprise that
artists as diverse as Jackson Browne,
Iggy Pop, Richard Thompson, and Taj
Mahal are collected on this 15-track
compilation, each giving Allison’s work
their own touch.
Allison’s allegiance to blues con-
ventions and his too-hip-for-the-room
demeanor are often pervasive, or at the
very least implied. Chrissie Hynde’s
“Stop This World” is consistent with
her recent covers album, suave and
sweet; Bonnie Raitt’s 2017 live take on
“Everybody’s Crying Mercy” (which
she cut originally back in 1973) takes
a deep dive into blues territory; Pop’s
reading of the title track goes heavy on
the MIDI electronics; Loudon Wain-
wright III’s solo acoustic “Ever Since the
World Ended” puts the focus squarely
on Allison’s words.
The most effective tracks are those
that veer just far enough from Allison’s
trademarks but still leave no doubt
whose songs these are: Former Blasters
co-leaders Dave and Phil Alvin place
“Wild Man on the Loose” into an
appropriate rockabilly-esque setting,
while Robbie Fulks recasts “My Brain”
as surrealistic bluegrass in a Béla
Fleck mold. Wrapping the consistently
impressive project are Amy Allison
(Mose’s daughter) and Elvis Costello,
who team on a dark, laconic “Monsters
of the Id,” a tune originally tucked away
on Allison’s 1970 Hello There, Universe.
The update, taken from Amy’s 2009
Sheffield Streets album, features Mose
on piano, his playing simple and direct,
just enough to remind us that he was
like no other. JEFF TAMARKIN
MARIA MENDES
KEITH JARRETT
Munich 2016
ECM
A Keith Jarrett solo recital is its own art form. It is unlike solo performances by other
jazz pianists, most of whom improvise off composed tunes or create free jazz absent
of structure. Calling Jarrett an improvising pianist is too limiting. He’s more akin
to a classical composer—except that he works really, really quickly. His original
solo works may be wholly improvised, but it’s more accurate to say that they’re
composed on the spot. He writes études and sonatas directly onto the keys, before
enormous crowds.
Maybe that’s why he demands such stillness from his audiences: He’s not just
playing, he’s composing (he’s trying to work here!). This is especially true of the
12-part suite that makes up most of the two-disc Munich 2016, recorded in July of
that year in the Bavarian capital’s Philharmonic Hall. Some parts are introspective.
Some are romps. The first part, a 14-minute behemoth, is all sharp edges, dizzying
runs and punchy chords. The blues abounds. So does the pastoral. Part IX is, of
all things, a boogie-woogie, Jarrett’s left hand anchoring the tune with stride-style
ostinatos while his right unleashes dramatic flourishes. He follows that with a gor-
geous movement whose story is told in minor chords and contrapuntal accents.
For an encore he takes on “Answer Me, My Love” (made famous by Nat King
Cole), “It’s a Lonesome Old
Town” (Frank Sinatra), and
“Over the Rainbow,” each
lovelier than the last.
Spontaneously com-
posed music is rarely as
glorious and sophisticated
as in Jarrett’s hands. Is this
his finest solo work? Who
knows and who cares? For
that honor it’s up against
The Köln Concert, Radiance,
and his others, which are
the best in the business.
STEVE GREENLEE “He’s trying to work here!”: Keith Jarrett
music style, one is easily transport- played keyboards, and wrote the or-
ed into its depths. On Close to Me, chestrations.
Mendes executes an eloquent love The album opens with the soft,
letter to her homeland of Portugal, haunting “Há Uma Música do Povo,”
but instead of using fado’s traditional as Mendes serenades listeners in her
stringed instrumentation, she adds a native tongue and engages in some light
symphonic touch. chanting. On the vibes-led “Tempo
Mendes’ third album, Close to Me is Emotivo” and “Hermeto’s Fado for
also her most personal. Her previous Maria,” she shows off her adept scat-
releases, 2012’s Along the Road and ting ability. While most of the tunes
2015’s Innocentia, consisted of more are bossa nova-ish, Mendes changes
straightforward standards; this time, the mood midway through with the
by tapping into her roots, she becomes chilling folk standard “Barco Negro”—
HENRY LEUTWYLER/ECM RECORDS

Close to Me
Justin Time
Fado is not a genre that’s well-known
to the average listener, but after
hearing vocalist Maria Mendes’ jazzy
version of that melancholy Portuguese
more adventurous. Throughout the
album, her elegant vocals are warm-
ly embraced by the sounds of an
outstanding orchestra, the Metropole
Orkest, led by pianist/composer John
Beasley, who also produced the album,
first recorded by fado legend Amália
Rodrigues in 1954—which she begins
by singing a cappella, beautifully. It
may be the most stirring track on the
album, but nothing here disappoints,
as Mendes cleverly revives an age-old

62 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
genre that clearly is not mournful
when sung by this graceful vocalist.
VERONICA JOHNSON
VINCENT
HERRING/
BOBBY
WATSON/
GARY BARTZ
Bird at 100
Smoke Sessions
His recorded body of work the holy
scripture of bebop saxophone, alto
giant Charlie Parker has been the
subject of hundreds of tribute albums
since his death, far too young, 64 years
ago, as Ted Panken points out in the
liner notes to Bird at 100. For the latest
disc honoring Parker, three of the finest
inheritors of the Bird tradition shared
the stage at Smoke Jazz Club in New
York in August for shows celebrating
what would have been the honoree’s
99th birthday.
It’s partly cutting contest, partly
joyful invocation of the spirit of Bird,
as Vincent Herring, Bobby Watson, and
Gary Bartz variously take solo flights
and offer three-part harmony readings
of Parker’s dizzying melodies. Among
the album’s greatest pleasures are the
pieces with the simplest foundations,
including “The Hymn.” The speedy
gospel-tinged blues has the alto men
sound the theme unaccompanied
before the rhythm section comes in to
drive roaring solos; Herring’s ends with
a figure repeated by Watson at the start
of his improvisation, and Bartz’s heady
outing cues extended open space for
drummer Carl Allen.
“Yardbird Suite” is here, of course.
It’s a relaxed version, at 11 minutes the
disc’s longest track, with the saxophon-
ists trading off on the sections and giv-
ing the bass player some. Allen, bassist
Yasushi Nakamura, and pianist David
Kikoski groove hard here and through-
out. Each of the leaders gets a ballad fea-
ture too. Herring is alternately elegant
and sultry, leaning hard into the long
notes on “Lover Man”; Watson fronts
“These Foolish Things” with a series of
fortunate twists, sans band; and Bartz,
too, goes it alone at the start of “April
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in Paris” before injecting new life into
the old, familiar melody. It all amounts
to a frequently thrilling saxopalooza.
Sequel, anyone? PHILIP BOOTH
RODNEY
WHITAKER
All Too Soon: The Music
of Duke Ellington
Origin
This spirited romp by top-tier jazz
professionals through the music of Duke
Ellington and Billy Strayhorn is long
overdue. Though many pay lip service to
their twin genius, the pair seem almost
forgotten in popular culture. No massive
vinyl reissue campaigns by major labels,
no racy docudramas, no Record Store
Day limited editions.
Bassist and educator Rodney Whita-
ker has studied the classic work of
Ellington and Strayhorn since he was
a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz
Orchestra (1994-2002), where spirited
debates with Wynton Marsalis drove
him deeper into the music. All Too Soon,
the second installment of a five-CD proj-
ect, finds Whitaker enlisting a stellar
sextet and singer Rockelle Fortin to pay
homage to this invaluable music.
“Cotton Tail” opens the recording,
drummer Karriem Riggins blistering
with forward-motion assaults before
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trumpeter Brian Lynch, tenor saxophon-
ist Diego Rivera, and trombonist Michael
Dease take their solo journeys. The play-
ers uphold tradition while living in the
here and now. Pianist Richard Roe plays
sweet notes leading into “All Too Soon,”
melody and lyrics recited by Fortin. “Take
the A Train” finds Whitaker in his best
Blanton/Pettiford mode, playing an evoc-
ative solo, followed (eventually) by further
bombs from Riggins. Sly and sweet, “Just
Squeeze Me” is the perfect low-key swing
engine, propelled by Whitaker’s dulcet
recitation of the melody.
Throughout All Too Soon, Whitaker
pays welcome respect to Ellington and
Strayhorn; may it ignite new interest and
further homage to the distinguished
duo. KEN MICALLEF
Scott s Aural Fixation
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Scott at: 978-930-0395
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 ARTIST'S CHOICE THEMATIC PLAYLISTS CREATED BY PLAYERS AND SINGERS

Pianists You Recognize

Right Away
There are certain pianists that just can’t hide—not that they would want to. I’ve always been
fascinated by those who have developed such a strong Identity. Commonly, people say they
have their own style, but there is so much more at stake. Key elements would be touch,
phrasing, language, sense of time and swing, orchestral visualization, harmonic approaches,
and of course heart and guts. I’ve chosen seven “easy” examples to make this obvious, but
the list goes on and on and has carried into my generation (Brad Mehldau, Gonzalo Rubalcaba,
Fred Hersch, Robert Glasper, etc.). JACKY TERRASSON

Ahmad Jamal Keith Jarrett

“Poinciana”
Ahmad Jamal Trio at the Pershing: But Not for Me (Argo, 1958)
A personal favorite for two important reasons. Mr. Jamal,
who possesses a brilliant technique, has shown us what “less
is more” means—the right choice of notes at the right time
with the right expression, and it’s all there, even if we’re only
talking about a few notes. Another thing is, some pianists not
only cultivated their own sound but pushed the envelope even
further by creating a band (here a trio) sound. This might be a
perfect example.
Bill Evans
“Never Let Me Go”
Alone (Verve, 1970)
Eloquence is the word that comes to mind. Bill Evans really de-
veloped his own language and redefined the voicings of chords.
Hear how he just goes and goes and tells his story with his own
words (notes) with such ease and fluidity. How romantic too.
Bud Powell
“Hallelujah” X
Piano Solos (Mercury, 1951)
The quintessential bebop pianist. Of
course, there were many, but Bud
Powell had this light, this fire, this
amazing furious energy. Yet always,
his lines are clear. I know I’ve used
“eloquence” before, but again, when a
writer uses the right word to make that to-the-point phrase …
Glenn Gould
“Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846”
Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I: Preludes and Fugues 1-8
(Columbia, 1963)
Yep! Notice the title of this is pianists, not jazz pianists. Some
music critics have criticized Gould’s playing of J.S. Bach for
being too metronomic or stiff. I believe the contrary. He teases
“The Masquerade Is Over”
Standards, Vol. 1 (ECM, 1983)
I was saying how I admired the way Ahmad Jamal paid atten-
tion to the sound of his trio, and I would say the same about
this mythic trio with Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette. Mr.
Jarrett brought us fresh approaches to the Great American
Songbook. What I admire the most is his phrasing; the way
notes follow each other has never been done that way. He
creates spaces, to enter into a musical “high” where you are just
transported. It’s almost stupid to try to describe it, so I’ll stop.
Just listen … a lot.
McCoy Tyner
“Afro Blue”
Song of the New World (Milestone, 1973)
Probably most known for being The Man in John Coltrane’s
quartet, Mr. Tyner has many sides. Hear how distingué he
sounds on ballads. I chose this album because I’m amazed that I
only discovered it recently—I was blown away! McCoy’s playing
is at times vertiginous. If you’re trying to quit coffee, take a shot
of this! (Actually, be careful, this would be a triple espresso.)
Thelonious Monk
“Just a Gigolo”
Monk Alone: The Complete Columbia Solo Studio Recordings 1962-1968
(Columbia, 1998)
You know right away when it’s Monk at the piano, just like
you know when he—or anyone else—is playing one of his com-
positions. His approach to everything is singular: the way he
strikes the keys, the voicing, the phrases, the rhythm, the use
of space or silence. He owns it all. I love his solo albums.
Jacky Terrasson, who won the Thelonious Monk International
Jazz Piano Competition in 1993, has performed with (among oth-
ers) Betty Carter, Wallace Roney, Cassandra Wilson, and his own
long-running trio. His 15th and latest album on Blue Note, 53, was
MARC OBIN

released in October 2019.

perfection. It’s architectural, it’s a house, a castle of cards where
everything is exactly where it needs to be. « For more of Terrasson's picks, visit JazzTimes.com

x Profile: Jacky Terrasson in 2003

64 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
 JAMES CARTER
JAMES CARTER ORGAN TRIO:
LIVE FROM NEWPORT JAZZ
Saxophone master JAMES CARTER makes
his Blue Note debut with this thrilling live set
captured at the 2018 Newport Jazz Festival
featuring his Organ Trio performing their
clever soul jazz reinvention of the music of
gypsy jazz legend DJANGO REINHARDT.
BLUE NOTE 80 SERIES
ALL-ANALOG VINYL
By 1970 guitarist GRANT GREEN’s style
had moved into funkier territory as captured
RQKLVƓUVWHYHUOLYHDOEXPAlive! featuring a
hard-driving set of jazz-funk. The album is part
of the Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series:
all-analog 180g vinyl releases in standard
packaging mastered by KEVIN GRAY from
original master tapes and manufactured
at Optimal with titles presented
by themes. For more titles visit
store.bluenote.com.
GET OFFICIAL BLUE NOTE MERCHANDISE AND EXCLUSIVE RELEASES AT
STORE.BLUENOTE.COM
BILL FRISELL
HARMONY
Acclaimed guitarist BILL FRISELL makes his
Blue Note debut with HARMONY, a gorgeous
and evocative journey across the landscape of
American music of the last century featuring
vocalist PETRA HADEN, cellist & vocalist
HANK ROBERTS, and guitarist, bassist &
vocalist LUKE BERGMAN.
BLUE NOTE REVIEW
VOLUME TWO — SPIRIT & TIME
Get the 2nd edition of our subscription vinyl
boxset before it’s gone! Curated by DON WAS, the
set includes all-analog, 180g vinyl reissues of
Africaine by ART BLAKEY & THE JAZZ MESSENGERS
and Patterns by BOBBY HUTCHERSON; a new
TONY WILLIAMS tribute album on 180g vinyl +
CD; FRANCIS WOLFF lithographs of ART BLAKEY
and ELVIN JONES; the book Spirit & Time: Jazz
Drummers On Their Art; the zine Out of the Blue;
a set of Topps Blue Note Trading Cards; and a Blue
Note record brush. Available exclusively
at bluenotereview.com.
JACKY TERRASSON
53
With 53, the 15th album in a recording
career that has now spanned 25 years
since his stunning self-titled debut on
Blue Note in 1994, the remarkable pianist
JACKY TERRASSON presents a collection
of original pieces brought to life by a
varied cast of trio mates.
TONE POET SERIES
ALL-ANALOG AUDIOPHILE VINYL
TINA BROOKS’ ƓUVWUHFRUGLQJMinor Move
from 1958 further revealed his status as one of
the most innovative tenor saxophone stylists
in jazz when it was released in 1980. The
album is part of the Tone Poet Audiophile
Vinyl Reissue Series: all-analog 180g
vinyl releases in deluxe gatefold packaging
produced by JOE HARLEY, mastered by
KEVIN GRAY from original master tapes, and
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 EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL PHOTOS FOR OUR DIGITAL READERS

L to R: Herbie Hancock, chairman of the Institute

that bears his name; Carnival Cruise Lines CEO
Arnold Donald; competition winner Evgeny
Pobozhiy; and Hancock Institute Board Vice-
Chairman Stuart Subotnick

From Russia with Chops

The 2019 Herbie Hancock International Jazz Guitar Competition winner
calls Moscow home

On December 3 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing

Arts in Washington, D.C., the Herbie Hancock International Jazz
Competition could claim two firsts: its first finals round under a
new name (it was the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competi-
tion from 1987 to 2018) and its first Russian champion—guitarist
Evgeny Pobozhiy, 30, who beat American pickers Max Light and
Cecil Alexander to win a $30,000 scholarship and guaranteed
recording contract with Concord Music Group. The closing night
of the competition doubled as an all-star gala concert, featuring
singers Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jane Monheit, Lizz Wright, and
Cassandra Wilson; actor Keith David; and guest of honor Terence
Blanchard (who received the Hancock Institute’s Maria Fisher
Founder’s Award), among many others. Photographer STEVE
MUNDINGER captured the highlights.

JA Z Z T I M E S .C O M 67
 EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL PHOTOS 2019 HANCOCK COMPETITION

Herbie Hancock

John Scofield
(standing) was one
of seven guitarist
judges, along with
Russell Malone, Lee
Ritenour, and Pat
Metheny (all seated)

Max Light

68 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
Carl Allen

Cecil Alexander Bobby Watson

 EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL PHOTOS 2019 HANCOCK COMPETITION

Evgeny Pobozhiy

Dee Dee Bridgewater Jane Monheit

70 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
Keith David

Lizz Wright Cassandra Wilson

 EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL PHOTOS 2019 HANCOCK COMPETITION

L to R: Terence Blanchard, Keith

David, Lizz Wright, Herbie Hancock,
Dee Dee Bridgewater, Cassandra
Wilson, and former New Orleans
mayor Mitch Landrieu

Terence Blanchard

72 JA Z Z T I M E S J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0