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New Jazz Adds – 11/4/2016

Joshua Breakstone – The Cello Quartet – 88 (Capri): Joshua Breakstone (guitar) offers a lovely sounding jazz set with support from Lisle Atkinson (bass), Andy Watson (drums), and Mike Richmond (cello). Breakstone’s tone is full, warm and quite mellow. He also composed one song on the disc, while drawing from a variety masters including Sonny Clark, Cedar Walton, Mal Waldron, and Lenny Tristano. I regret I am unable to find a sample from this disc, but click here to listen to a performance by this exact group from a year ago.   

Gabriel Espinosa – Songs Of Bacharach and Manzanero (Zoho): Leader Gariel Espinosa (bass, vocals) explores the common ground shared by composers Burt Bacharach and Armando Manzanero (Mexico). Songs alternate from one composer to the other. Espinosa sings the Mexican songs and Tierney Sutton sings the American songs. They a re backed by Misha Tsiganov (keys), Mauricio Zottarelli (drums, percussion), Jim Seeley (trumpet, flugelhorn), Hendrik Meurkens (harmonica), Gustavo Amarante and Gabriel Espinosa (electric bass), Joe Martin (acoustic bass), Rubens De La Corte (guitar), Itai Kriss (flute), and Jonathan Gomez (bongos). Click here and on the disc cover to listen to songs on this disc.   

Grant Green – Green Street (Blue Note): This 1961 session featuring leader/composer/guitarist Grant Green with Ben Tucker (bass) and Dave Bailey (drums) offers five songs – three composed by Green and covers of “‘Round About Midnight” and “Alone Together” with two alternate takes. The sound was remastered in 2002. Green’s work was straight-forward and less  rhythm-oriented than that of Wes Montgomery, but still a treat. Click here to listen to samples of songs on this disc.   

Giovanni Guidi – Ida Lupino (ECM): Giovanni Guidi (piano), Gianluca Petrella (trombone), Louis Sclavis (clarinet) and Gerald Cleaver (drums) present a set of 14 mostly original tunes composed by two or more members of the group. Guidi and Petrella are considered to be two of the finest Italian jazz players on the scene. The performance and highy improvised and features  many rhythmic shifts and tonal blends. At the same time, there are plenty of serene moments. According to the participants, the “title track “Ida Lupino” serves double duty as a salute to composer Carla Bley in her 80th year (Petrella once played in a big band under Carla’s direction) and as a tribute to Paul Bley, who popularized the tune and influenced so many improvisers (not least Giovanni Guidi).”  Click here to listen to a sample.  

Andrew Hill – Compulsion!!!! (Blue Note): This is a digital remastered session from 1965, led by pianist Andrew Hill and featuring Freddie Hubbard (trumpet, flugelhorn), John Gilmore (tenor sax, bass clarinet), Cecil McBee (bass) and Richard Davis (bass on one song), Joe Chambers (drums), Nadiqamar (African drums, thumb piano, percussion) and Renaud Simmons (congas, percussion). “Hill’s intention was to ‘…construct an album expressing the legacy of the Negro tradition’, and to use the piano more as a percussive instrument than a melodic one.” (Original liner notes) Click here to listen to samples of songs on this disc.   

Honey Ear Trio – Swivel (Little Music): This is the second release from Honey Ear Trio. The group includes saxophonist Jeff Lederer, bassist Rene Hart and drummer Allison Miller. “Together, these three passionate musicians approach the music with a sense of playfulness and elasticity. Honey Ear Trio creatively fuses the acoustic sound of a traditional saxophone trio with modern electronics. The trio also explores mixing multiple genres (jazz, rock, soul, folk) while bending, stretching, and decompressing the rhythmic and harmonic characteristics of the music.” (Honey Ear Trio webpage) They do cover a lot of ground and their constant style shifting gives them a unique presence. Click here to sample a few songs on this disc.   

The Hot Club Of San Francisco – John Paul George & Django (Hot Club): The story here is all in the title: fifteen Beatles’ songs played in the style of Django. The group includes Paul Mehling (lead guitar, banjo, vocal), Evan Price (violin, baritone violin, saw, melodica), Sam Rocha (bass, vocal), Isabelle Fontaine (rhythm guitar, washboard, vocal), and Jordan Samuels (rhythm guitar). Click here to listen to a sample song from the disc.   

Norah Jones – Day Breaks (Blue Note): Norah Jones new disc is being compared to her first release “Come Away With Me” and the musical setting certainly fits that description. She wrote or co-wrote eight of the twelve songs and covers Neil Young’s “Don’t Be Denied”, Horace Silver’s “Peace” and Duke Ellington’s “Fleurette Africaine”. Accompanying musicians include Wayne Shorter (soprano sax), John Patitucci (bass), Dr Lonnie Smith (B-3), Brian Blade (drums), Pete Remm and Jon Cowherd (B-3), Chris Thomas, Vincent Archer and Tony Macelli (bass), Tony Scherr (guitar), Danny Sadownick (percussion), Dave Eggar (cello, string arrangement), Katie Kresek and Max Moston (violin), Todd Low (viola), Karriem Riggins (drums), Dave Guy (trumpet), Leon Michels (tenor sax), J Walter Hawks (trombone), and Dan Iead (pedal steel). Click here to listen to a song from this disc.   

Thad Jones / Mel Lewis – Central Park North (Blue Note): This session was originally released on the Solid State label in 1969 and has now been remastered for re-release.  Four of the six songs were composed by Thad Jones (flugelhorn). In addition to Mel Lewis (drums), the remaining players include Snooky Young, Danny Moore, Jimmy Nottingham and Richard Williams (trumpets), Eddie Bert, Benny Powell and Jimmy Knepper (trombones), Cliff Heather (bass trombone), Jerome Richardson (soprano and alto sax, piccolo), Jerry Dodgion (alto sax, clarinet), Joe Farrell and Eddie Daniels (tenor sax, clarinet), Joe Temperley (bari sax, bass clarinet), Roland Hanna (piano), Barry Galbraith and Sam Brown (guitar) and Richard Davis (bass). Big band lovers already know about these guys and if you don’t this is a fine introduction. Click here and scroll down to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.   

Dave Liebman Group – Expansions (Whaling City Sound): Dave Liebman’s latest release is live and features one acoustic and one electric set. Liebman’s choices are, as usual, deliberate. “Studio recordings present a totally different atmosphere and aesthetic. When recording live with people in front of you…, a sound system to deal with, lights in your face with spontaneity as the goal…’things’ happen that would be hard-pressed to occur in a studio…even when playing the same music…but…in live performance …you really can feel a band’s particular kind of energy.” (liner notes) Liebman also points out that acoustic and electric programs are “quite different in scope and texture.”  The music is not always easy listening, but it is fascinating and more more accessible than not. For those not so familiar with Liebman’s work, this could be a great introduction. In addition to Liebman (soprano sax, c flute), the players are Matt Vashlishan (alto sax, clarinet, c flute), Bobby Avey (piano, keyboard), Tony Marino (acoustic & electric bass) and Alex Ritz (drums, frame drum).  Click here for an introduction to this disc.   

MarchFourth – Magic Number (Self-produced): MarchFourth is an actual marching band that tackles a variety of styles from New Orleans to football half times revue and whips it into their own entertaining blend. They are presumably from NOLA or at least recorded this, their fourth disc, there. All of the songs are originals. Band members are Katie Presley and Paul Chandler (trumpets), Daniel Lamb and Anthony Meade (trombones), Michelle Christiansen (alto sax), Cameron DePalma and Andy Shaprio (tenor sax), Jon Vancura and Taylor Aglipay (bari and bass sax), Jenny DiDonato, Cheo Larcombe, Will McKinney, Dan Stauffer and Jake Wood (drums, percussion), John Averill (electric bass), and Jon Vancura and Taylor Aglipay (guitars), with special guests Trombone Shorty (trombone), Stanton Moore (drums), Matt Perrine (tuba) and Ben Ellman (harmonica) on one track each. Click here and scroll down to listen to samples of songs on this disc.   

Michael Musillami & Rich Syracuse – Of The Night (Playscape Recordings): Strong guitar / bass duos must be intimate and fluid if they are to be successful and this offering is as successful as any I’ve ever heard. Musillami (guitar) and Syracuse (bass) opted for a full program of Wayne Shorter compositions enhancing need for both technical rigor and the luscious flow. Absolutely recommended!  Click here and then click any of the three titles in yellow to hear samples of these songs on the disc.   

Naughty Professor – In The Flesh (Self-produced): Live performance by a jammin’ New Orleans group that takes the NOLA funk sound one step further with its terrific horn trio, amped up bass and electric guitar, and hot drumming while creating a novel jazz/funk/shredded rock jamming style. If you missed them when they played at the Ix Park, you’ll need to settle for this live performance, which is not as strong as they were here, but that’s only to clarify just how good they were here. The logical comparison would probably be with Galactic, with the main difference being these horns are more jazz influenced and Naughty Professor cannot hold the full bore funk down the way Galactic does. It’s like two flavors of your favorite ice cream. Click here to check out the group’s releases.   This release is the one on the left. I would definitely recommend checking several songs on this disc to catch the full range. 

Revolutionary Snake Ensemble – I Want That Sound (Innova): “Most bands can’t get the New Orleans stuff right, but the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble is one of the few who does and then takes it in fascinating directions.” (Offbeat Magazine) The band consists of Ken Field (alto sax), Tom Hall (tenor sax), Jerry Sabatini (trumpet), Dave Harris (trombone, tuba), Blake Newman (bass), and Phil Neighbors (drums). Based in the greater Boston area, “the band is a costumed funk/street beat improvisational brass band performing a unique blend of original and traditional music.” (webpage) Feeling uncertain? One more quote from Offbeat : “New Orleans brass band meets Sun Ra and Ornette Coleman – fiery yet booty-shaking music – it’s a stone cold killer diller!” The Juddermeister is in heaven this week!! Click here to listen to the opening song on this disc.   

Stanley Turrentine – The Spoiler (Blue Note): This is a 1966 session with the final track added when the session was released on cd in 1996. Tenor man Turrentine shares the session with Blue Mitchell (trumpet), Julian Priester (trombone), James Spaulding (alto sax, flute), Pepper Adams (bari sax), McCoy Tyner (piano), Bob Crenshaw (electric bass), Mickey Roker (drums), and Joseph Rivera (shakers, tambourine). The performances are fine and solid throughout and Turpentine is in particularly good form. This is a pleasant and buoyant set. “The Magilla” and “La Fiesta” truly stand out. Click here to listen to the performances it contains.   

McCoy Tyner – Asante (Blue Note): Two sessions from 1970 featuring pianist Tyner as the leader and a significant shift in players from one date to the next. “Asante” was originally released with the first four songs while the next three were originally part of the two LP set “”Cosmos”. This combination came about with the arrival of cds. Personnel for the first set include Andrew White (alto sax), Buster Williams (bass), Billy Hart (drums) with Songai (vocals on two songs). The second trio of songs included Hubert Laws (flute, alto flute), Gary Bartz (soprano and alto saxes), Andrew White (oboe), Herbie Lewis (bass), and Freddie Waits (drums). All songs are Tyner compositions. Click here and scroll down to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.   

David S. Ware & Matthew Shipp Duo – Live In Sant’ Anna Arresi, 2004 (AUM Fidelity): This disc is a collaboration between longterm bandmates in the David S. Ware quartet, the late saxophonist David Ware and pianist Matthew Shipp seeking to explore a musical conversation between their two instruments. The result is a walk on the outer rim of musical improvisation. Intensity gives way to calm, but the main sense here is of musicians playing independently then finding common expression until they begin their own excursions once again. Ship has continued to release significant performances to honor their powerful collaborations. Click here to listen to a sample from this disc.   

Kopasetically,

Professor Bebop