jazz adds april 25, 2016
By Ann Porotti
david murray+geri allen+terri lyne carrington. perfection. motema. tribute to innovator ornette coleman from david murray, tenor +bass clarinet; geri allen, queen of the piano; and terri lyne carrington@drums. quality material all around, especially folk song barbara allen which the late charlie haden (inspired by years with ornette) brought to geri allen’s earlier trio ; centerpiece, coleman’s perfection, brings in guests: charnett moffett on bass; craig harris, trombone; wallace roney jr, trumpet.
marcus strickland. nihil novi. blue note. With his new band, twi-life, tenor marcus strickland engages meshell ndegeocello (bassist) to produce his playlist of originals based on hip-hop beat making. nothing new, he says but the goal is makin’ it fresh. personnel include trumpet keyon harrod from miles ahead; charles haynes@drums; mitch henry, keyboards; jean baylor, vocals; kyle miles, electric bass + robert glasper, pino palladino.
tom tallitsch. gratitude. posi-tone. Tenor tom tallitsch has three covers on his new cd, each worth a listen: stevie nicks’ gold dust woman and led zeppelin’s thank you–done gospel-style– both benefit from brian charette on the B-3; + there’s a sweet version of beatles’ because. a-list band: rudy royston@drums; jon davis, piano; peter brendler, bass.
miles ahead. original motion picture soundtrack. columbia. This is an accessory in support of don cheadle’s film miles ahead about miles davis. None of the spoken word cues may be played on the radio because they contain words prohibited by the FCC. the earlier tracks are edits of miles’ performances– the full versions are in the wtju library. cues 19-24 include incidental music, written for the movie by robert glasper & don cheadle.
various. the same heart. motema. Soundtrack to advocacy documentary about global children in poverty directed by len & georgia morris. jana herzen of motema produced this compilation, whose highlights include geri allen’s red velvet in winter; say la and spirit of sound by bassist charnett moffett; jaimeo brown’s slave chant mean world; kana maloundi by ablaye cissoko & volker goetze. my favorite record label.
mark isbell. encontro. tratore. Explorations of Sao Paulo’s unique Brasilian sound, led by American saxophonist mark isbell. the quintet rounds out with exceptional locals; pianist/arranger debora gurgel demonstrates her talents on ivan lins doce presenca, moacir santos’ april child, and her own da pa virada; guitarist conrado paulino shows his chops on baden powell’s deixa. with thiago rabello@drums and sidiel vieira, bass.
dave anderson. blue innuendo. label1. Soprano as much as tenor, dave anderson’s all originals release feels like an organ band– perhaps because pat bianchi is at the B-3. the quartet fills out with matt wilson@drums and tom guarna on guitar.
jon crowley. i walk amongst the humans. destiny. Ambitious and courageous composer/trumpeter jon crowley defies easy labeling; his compositions drive the playlist, which comes across as a unified jazz suite. much horn interplay btw crowley’s trumpet and alto john beaty, with colorations from brad whiteley’s piano and noah berman’s guitar. rhythm section–ben thomas, bass and max maples@drums share the love. someone to watch!
greg fishman. new journey. self. Multi-reed instrumentalist greg fishman dedicates his newest recording to bop and Brasilian originals, performed during a recent tour of Asia. the polished Chicago-based band includes dennis luxion on piano; eric hochberg, bass; and phil gratteau@drums. check out dahlia, the ninth degree.
rolf sturm. young. water street music. Guitarist rolf sturm’s solo release builds his playlist from the music of neil young, and American film composer victor young (1900-1956); of the chosen dozen–4 x neil, 8 x victor, the omission of cues from victor’s johnny guitar score is a loss for listeners. sturm’s style is finger picking with an easy command of jazz swing and a finely played lyrical line.
the giving trio. defuser. self. A drum and piano-less trio out of the Chicago area– alex kerwin, alto; justin cash, guitar; jw lauler, bass–nicely interpret lennie tristano’s 317 e.32nd st. as well as their originals.
andy jaffe. arc: nonet+4. playscape. Nine great jazz players + the Taiwan interestring quartet. pianist/leader andy jaffe composed/arranged the inventive music. wallace roney, trumpet; john clark, french horn; kris allen, alto; jimmy greene, tenor; jonathan barber@drums; + more. to play, try fleurette chinoise, go down moses, arc.
