jazz adds october 27, 2014
By Ann Porotti
bill frisell. guitar in the space age. OKeh. Bookended by pipeline and telstar, the talented mr. frissell gives us the pleasure of recognition with his whimsical playlist (mid 50’s to late 60’s +). old dance buddies are present: link wray’s rumble; lee hazelwood’s baja & rebel rouser, + iconic seeger and brian wilson. mr. bill @ electric guitar; greg leisz, steel pedal; tony scherr, bass; kenny wollesen, percussions. oddly dynamic, time-travel reveries. sure to be popular; no home visits.
marcin wasilewski. spark of life. ecm. Classic piano trio + tenor led by pianist marcin wasilewski (formerly with trumpeter tomas stanko band) mixes Polish classical composers ( k.komeda’s rosemary’s baby & grazyna baciewicz’s largo) with sting, herbie hancock and originals. inventive, gorgeous, accessible; slawomir kurkiewicz, double bass; michal miskiewicz, drums; joakim milder, tenor.
kenny barron + dave holland. the art of conversation. impulse. No introductions necessary, two masters of the form at their most confident and collaborative. holland, double bassist/ composer in eloquent conversation with legendary pianist/composer barron. on European tour into 2015, catch them on november 15 @ the Bimhuis in Amsterdam.
annie lennox. nostalgia. blue note. The strong voice, unmistakeable; her tone–elegiac, the melancholy of a late career recording. surrounding her choice of billie holliday’s strange fruit has grown an internet brush fire, but the playlist/production are solid and simply stated. Scottish-native lennox, one of the UK’s most successful composer/performers has embraced activism and philanthropy –and she still knows how to deliver a song.
james farm. city folk. nonesuch. Second release of acoustic quartet led by the partners: joshua redman, tenor; pianist aaron parks; matt penman on bass; eric harland @ drums. all originals playlist, equal-headliner jazz group refreshes the tired old-school format. musical dialogue between redman and parks demonstrates their talents as well as any solo would; time-keepers penman and harland hold their own.
richard galliano. sentimentale. resonance. Accordion legend galliano infuses his Latin/ jazzy playlist with new musette charts. no tangos (boo,hoo)–a first for galliano–but covers of trad Brazilian (the island, verbos do amor), a man and a woman sound track (plus fort que nous), bill evans dark horse ( why did i choose you)…. all given the improv treatment from anthony wilson, guitars; carlitos del puerto, bass; tamir hendelman, piano; mauricio zottarelli@drums.
jason marsalis. the 21st century trad band. basin street. Second release from drummer marsalis–exclusively now playing vibraphone+ marimba, glock, bells, xylo. joining him are austin johnson on piano; will goble, bass; david potter@drums. marsalis seems to carry a muse for the vibes with him; arrangements allow all players to shine in the post-bop or neo-pop selections. originals playlist, cool graphic design.
radio kaizman. eponymous. self. Snuck into Cville LAST week; ah, well, here is the cd! Ten personnes French brass band, playing Latin, New Orleans, other rough n’ tumble forms of street combo; title track + #3 are friendly, other cues are klezmer-rap hybrids. sorry to have missed them.
champian fulton. change partners. cellar live. American vocalist/pianist champian fulton recording with cellar live artists cory weeds, tenor; jodi proznick, bass; julian macdonough @drums. as a pianist fulton is a powerhouse, but her voicings rely on too much theatricality. recorded @the Yardbird Suite, Edmunton, Alberta.
houston person. the melody lingers on. highnote. Tenor man person lays out a beautiful selection of ballads, chief among them gone again–signature piece of person’s long-time partner etta jones. all good, as is the band: ray drummond on bass; lewis nash@drums; steve nelson on vibes; lafayette harris, piano.
peter hand. big band: out of hand. savant. Fine and fancy arrangements from guitarist/ band leader peter hand get elegant interpretation from the all-star group. houston person, tenor; valery ponomarev on trumpet; harvie s. on bass; james weidman, piano. originals & standards.
dave liebman. samsara. whaling city. Award-winning reed master liebman’s new group comes from young conservatory schooled players: alex ritz@drums; matt vashlishan, alto + more; bobby avery, keyboards. plus bassist tony marino. emphasis is on improv, and rhythmic harmonies.
happy halloween.
