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New Jazz Adds – 12/15/2020

David Bixler – Inside The Grief (Red Piano): “Living through the trifecta of 2020: COVID-19, systemic racism, and the presidential election. Inside The Grief is a product of these strange times in which we are living:The pandemic has changed all aspects of our lives; family, education, and work; society has been upended by an invisible virus.The murder of George Floyd was both violent and polarizing. His murder functioned as the tipping point where American society was forced to deal with the systemic racism entrenched in this country. From my perspective, it seemed that certain attitudes that had been ignored or buried in various societal groups exploded into the forefront of our national consciousness. For the positive, this convinced a large portion of our society of the necessity for change. However, there remains a large portion of our society who clings to lies and hate. This reality affects all of us whatever each personal view may be. The election of 2020 has been the most contested election I have experienced in my lifetime where the very core of democracy in our country has been called into question. The distress and distrust resulting from the behavior of government leaders has created an even deeper chasm between opposing sides in society, a chasm that is confusing and frightening. I find myself asking how we as a group of people will ever recover. Back in May, after two months of not creating music in community, I ventured to the backyard of a friend for a session, then to RiversideParkas well as other parks throughout the city. At first, it felt slightly uncomfortable, but it soon became the norm. In August, I reached out to the Soapbox Gallery, an art gallery in Brooklyn, where a release gig for a previous project, Blended Lineage, had been canceled due to the pandemic. I heard that they had started to present live streams, and I discussed with the proprietor, Jimmy Greenfield, the possibility of bringing in a trio–a group whose size he was comfortable hosting in his space. Initially, it felt strange doing a live stream performance. Four people in the audience (though I have had more than one gig with an audience of that size!), sparce audience feedback, and yet it was thrilling to be creating music with friends. After we had secured a date for the next month for which I wrote new material, we recorded this music shortly after the gig.The first track is a fusion of two pieces bridged by a percussion solo. The first of the two is a blues and its name comes from a phrase my son used to say during his recovery from major brain surgery when his language center was being relocated to a healthy part of his brain. As he struggled to find words to communicate, the phrase What Does it Care? was used to convey what does it matter? I Spy is a melody with a suggestion of a tonal center. It is from a series of tunes I have written based on the Beatitudes. Like Shosti has a tango vibe and was written about 15 years ago. It is a nod to the Coltrane tune Like Sonny, which is based on something that Trane had heard Sonny Rollins play. However, in this case the melodic motif comes from one of Shostakovich’s string quartets. 389 is a medium tempo swinger whose title signifies the only number my afore mentioned son could remember immediately after his surgery. The title track, Inside the Grief, consists of two contrasting themes. The opening figure is in your face and punctuated with uncertain silences which contrasts with a second theme that floats freely over the bass and drums. Balm, with its swing and blues vibe, comes from the set of music based on the Beatitudes, and is a song composed for the hope of promised comfort and healing. The set closes with Vote! which was named by my father. He heard the tune on the live stream while it was untitled, and after the gig told me that he heard someone saying “vote, vote, vote, vote” while we played the tune’s opening. The election was on everyone’s mind in September and the title stuck. The emphasis on my earlier recordings has been equally divided between the writing and the improvisation.But on this recording the focus is tilted toward the playing. This year has illustrated how vulnerable we are and how fragile life is;I hope that this vulnerability is conveyed in the music.” (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/au8phxk63t12vdm/AABa0-PUwOMAgzXELkUrg2X9a?dl=0&preview=Inside+the+Grief+PR.docx) Click here for a live version of “What Does It Care”.

Dave Brubeck – Dave Brubeck Lullabies (Verve): “Verve Records has posthumously released the final studio recording by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, a solo album titled Lullabies that he created especially for children and families. The record is a mix of children’s songs, standards and originals, delivered with the signature style that made Brubeck a jazz icon who remains widely revered to this day. “From the beginning of time, mothers have lulled their babies to sleep — softly singing familiar melodies,” Brubeck said when he recorded Lullabies in 2010. “Some of the melodies on this album are like those familiar songs. Some are original pieces that I thought would appeal to babies as well as an older generation. I hope the littlest ones will respond to this music, and that parents and grandparents will enjoy it as well.” (https://jazz.fm/dave-brubeck-lullabies-final-album-verve-records/) Click here to listen to the opening song, “Brahms Lullaby”. 

Donald Byrd – Mustang (Blue Note): “Donald Byrd, a talented hard bop trumpeter during his prime (although rarely reaching the technical heights of Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard), performs a varied repertoire on Mustang!. “Dixie Lee” has dated rhythms, and “Mustang” was an attempt to achieve a hit on the level of Morgan’s “The Sidewinder.” However, Byrd sounds fine on those numbers; he digs into the complex chord changes of “Fly Little Bird Fly,” is sensitive on “I Got It Bad,” swings on his “I’m So Excited by You,” and performs his memorable countermelody to “On the Trail,” which had been recorded earlier by several other musicians. Teamed with a typically impressive Blue Note crew (altoist Sonny Red, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Walter Booker, and drummer Freddie Waits), Byrd performs high-quality straight-ahead jazz that fits the modern mainstream of the era.” (https://www.allmusic.com/album/mustang-mw0000028884)  Click here and scroll down to listen to samples of the songs on this release.

Doug Carn, Adrian Younge, Ali Shaheed Muhammad – Jazz Is Dead 005 (Jazz Is Dead): “Doug’s newest project, his entry in the Jazz Is Dead album series helmed by Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, takes his unique and timeless art and places it within the context of a musical culture that has always taken cues from his 70s classics. There’s no mistaking the musical mind that created legendary albums like Infant Eyes and Adam’s Apple, but the encounter of that with the distinctive jazz-hip hop-funk-noir that is the Younge/Muhammad/JID trademark creates something worthy of comparison to Carn’s past work but which could only have been made right now. One can detect nods to musical motifs by Carn’s jazz peers that have served as frequent sample fodder, but his compositional and improvisational integrity remain indisputable throughout. The players are Doug Carn (Hammond B3), Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad (electric bass guitar, Fender Rhodes piano), Zach Ramacier (trumpet),  Shai Golan (alto sax) and Malachi Morehead (drums) with a guest appearance by Gary Bartz (alto sax) on one song. Groove is the thing on this set. Click here to listen to the songs on this disc.

Nina Ernst – A Diva’s Mind (Fina Flor): “Nina Ernst is a singer and actress. She grew up near Hamburg, where she completed her education at the „Stage School of Music, Dance and Drama“ and the „Schule für Schauspiel Hamburg“. She then moved to Berlin, where she discovered her love for jazz singing. In addition to her classical singing training, she took lessons with jazz legend Sheila Jordan, among others…In 2006 she sang German folk songs in Brazilian style on the album “Degas/Weiser – Heimat, von fern so nah” (label: Piranha Musik), with which she subsequently toured South America. 2009 she recorded the Bossa Nova – CD with the title “Nina Ernst canta Jobim” in Rio de Janeiro (label: Fina Flor), which has received many good reviews in Brazil and is even praised in the highest tones by Bossa Nova legend Leny Andrade (quote: “One of the best Bossa Nova CDs I have heard”)…. In her latest musical project “A Diva’s Mind” she brings the threads together and connects top-class artists from the two cities of Berlin and São Paulo in a creative collaboration.” (https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/ninaernst?width=1440) Click here to listen to “Quizaz,Quizaz, Quizaz ” from this release.

Leo Genovese – SIN TIEMPO (“without time”) (Ears & Eyes): “Calling Leo Genovese a “pianist” just doesn’t do him justice. Even the term “musician” is rather limiting. Sure, he’s a great musician and a great jazz pianist but Leo’s goals are more existential. Armed with 88 keys, Leo writes and performs music that feeds off of dissonance and unconventional improvisation all under the guise of “jazz.” But what Leo really wants to do is exist between the notes, in a state of musical enlightenment. Born and raised in Venado Tuerto, Argentina, Leo had an early musical influence through his mother who played classical piano… He later attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass. where he studied with Danilo Perez, Joanne Brackeen, Frank Carlberg and Ed Tomassi…. But what separates Leo’s style of piano from what’s already been done? Simple: his desire and ambition to achieve the zen (read: total consciousness) of music. You can hear it in Genovese’s chromaticism-fueled compositions, that pull no punches. Eerie dissonant tones flirt with traditional jazz style creating something that only Genovese’s mind could cook up…. “What’s the difference between dissonance and consonance?” Genovese asked. ‘There is no difference for me. It’s all the same. It’s all beauty. It’s all life. Titles, names, categories, definitions, rules and theories are mankind inventions. Those belong to the human world. I try to stay away from that and just keep moving forward. I believe in chromaticism.’” (https://www.last.fm/music/Leo+Genovese/+wiki) I regret I am unable to find a sample of the music on this release.

Blue Mitchell – Bring It Home To Me (Blue Note): This set was originally released in March, 1967 on Blue Note’s “Bring It Home To Me”. Mitchell was the leader and contributed two originals: “Blues 3 For 1” and “Blue’s  Theme”. The backing players were Gene Taylor (drums), Billy Higgins (piano), Harold Maborn (tenor sax,) and Junior Cook (tenor sax) with Blue Mitchell on trumpet. The songs were straight ahead grooves. This is the classic Blue Note style. Click here to listen to samples of three songs from this release.

New Orleans Jazz Vipers – Going Going Gone (Self-produced): “The New Orleans Jazz Vipers For over eighteen years the New Orleans Jazz Vipers have been a favorite of swing dancers the world over. They are an Early Swing band with hard-driving acoustic rhythm, spirited New Orleans horns, and a punk sensibility. The Vipers’ unique sound comes from the absence of the drum kit; the tenacious rhythm is driven soundly by the guitar and upright bass.” (https://duckduckgo.com/?q=New+Orleans+Jazz+Vipers&t=ffab&ia=web) The members of the group are Earl Bonie (clarinet), Craig Klein (trombone), Joe Braun (saxophone), Steve Detroy (piano), Molly Reeves (guitar) and Mitchell Player (double bass). Most of the songs are oldies but the zing is there! Click here to listen to the songs on this disc.

John Sinclair & The Planet D Nonet – Monk’s Dream (East Lawn): “According to John Sinclair, this concert is 30 years in the making. Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including: ‘Round Midnight, Ruby, My Dear, In Walked Bud, Well You Needn’t, and Straight, No Chaser. Monk is the second most recorded jazz composer after Duke Ellington, which is particularly remarkable as Ellington composed more than a thousand pieces, whereas Monk wrote about 70. John Sinclair (born October 2, 1941) is an American poet, writer, and political activist from Flint, Michigan. Sinclair’s defining style is jazz poetry, and he has released most of his works in audio formats. Most of his pieces include musical accompaniment, usually by a varying group of collaborators dubbed the Blues Scholars. I consider him to be one of my mentors and a lifelong friend. The PLANET D NONET was founded by trumpeter James O’Donnell and me at the very beginning of 2007. James and I have been making music together since 1977. Our band is about swing, blues, space-age jazz, and classic American songs, all served with plenty of good humor with an eye toward turning people onto this kind of music…. Planet D Nonet includes Justin Jozwiak (alto sax), Jim Holden (tenor sax), Goode Wyche III (bari & alto saxes), James O’Donnell (trumpet, co-leader), Allen Dennard (trumpet), Tbone Paxton (trombone), Michael Zaporski (piano), Shannon Wade (bass), Sean Perlmutter (drums) and RJ Spangler (congas, percussion, leader, concert co-producer).” Click here to listen to the songs on this release.

The Whitney Project – Life’s Dimensions (Self-produced): “Jonathan Whitney, the drummer, the composer, the father, and the artivist is a native Delawarean. After attending the University of the Delaware, where he received his degree in Music Education, Jonathan took a position as band director at the Tatnall School for 11 years. In 2013, he moved on to attend the University of the Arts in Philadelphia where he received a Master’s in Jazz Studies. He then joined the Delaware Institute for the Arts in Education, first as a teaching artist and then as artistic director. Following his time at DIAE, Jonathan took on the position of manager of performance programs and community engagement at the Delaware Art Museum which allowed him to bring together his two passions, the arts and connecting people to create positive change in our communities. He is now co-owner of Flux Creative Consultants and artist-in-residence at the Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew where he focuses on jazz composition, performance, and using music to build community through the SsAM Drum Circle. He is a master teaching artist with experience working with all ages.” (https://www.jwwmusic.com/bio) “The works contained in this album were conceived as mediations. I encourage the listener to take a ride with us, using the music as a means to reflect on Life’s Dimensions and the many 
Perspectives from which any one situation can be viewed. How do we find ways to love more? Understand each other more? Center our own hearts more? I don’t have the answer, but I hope this music provides space for your search.” (https://jwhitney.bandcamp.com/releases) Players joining Whitney are Rob Swanson (bass), Tom Palmer (keys, dunuba), Joe Anderson (trumpet, E.V.I.) and Greg Riley (tenor sax, bass clarinet) with guests Chris Devany (sangban) and Pape Demba Samb (djembe) joining the ensemble on the opening song and Jea Street (vocals on “Simon’s Song). Straightforward melodic jazz with nice variety. Click here to listen to the songs on this release.

Kopasetically,

Professor Bebop