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www.jazzINSIDEMAGAZINE.com
June 2013
Interviews
Ramsey Lewis
Bob James
Buster Williams
Joe Locke
Jaimeo Brown
Greg Bobulinski
Five Towns College Jazz
Mingus Big Band
Jazz Standard, June 3, 17, 24
Gato Barbieri
Blue Note, June 3 & 17
Comprehensive Directory of
NY Club Concert & Event Listings
Expanded CD Review Section!
Barry
Cedar
Harris
Walton
Jazz Piano Summit | Saturday, June 22 | Allen Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center
The Jazz Music Dashboard — Smart Listening Experiences
www.The-TownHall-NYC.org
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Tony Kadleck
Tom Kennedy
Joe LaBarbera
Christoph Luty
Dennis Mackrel
Manhattan Transfer
Marcus Miller
Quartet
Bob Mintzer
Lewis Nash Trio
Dick Oatts
Ken Peplowski
Ernie Adams
John Allred
Shelly Berg
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Alonzo Bodden
COMEDIAN
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Randy Brecker
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Ann Hampton Calla
Quartet
Bill Charlap Trio
Clay ton Brothers
Quintet
Freddy Cole Trio
Kurt Elling Quartet
Robin Eubanks
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John Fedcho
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SHOW HOST
BIG BAND DIRECT
David Finck
Chuck Findley
Bruce Forman
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Nnenna Freelon Tr
Wyclif fe Gordon
GOSPEL SHOW HO
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Jimmy Greene
Jeff Hamilton
Niki Haris
Antonio Har t
Tamir Hendelman
Dick Hyman
Tommy Igoe Sextet
Sean Jones
Houston Person
Quartet
John Pizzarelli
Quartet
rtet
Gregor y Porter Qua
Poncho Sanchez
Ar turo Sandoval
Gary Smulyan
Cedar Walton Trio
Jennifer Wharton
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Jazz Inside Magazine
ISSN: 2150-3419 (print) • ISSN 2150-3427 (online)
June 2013 – Volume 4, Number 11
Cover Design by Shelly Rhodes
Cover photos and photos on this page (right)
Cedar Walton & Barry Harris by Ken Weiss
Publisher: Eric Nemeyer
Associate Publisher: Jerry Gordon
Editor: John R. Barrett, Jr.
Advertising Sales & Marketing: Eric Nemeyer
Circulation: Susan Brodsky
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Layout and Design: Gail Gentry
Contributing Artists: Shelly Rhodes
Contributing Photographers: Eric Nemeyer, Ken Weiss
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Davenport; Eric Harabadian; Gary Heimbauer; Alex Henderson; Rick
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CONTENTS
CLUBS, CONCERTS, EVENTS
Calendar of Events, Concerts,
Festivals and Club Performances
Clubs & Venue Listings
FEATURE
Cedar Walton & Barry Harris
Remembering Mulgrew Miller
Jazz Birthday Gallery
30
32
37
38
40
46
47
48
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Jazz Inside™ (published monthly). To order a subscription, call 215-887-8880 or
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Companies or individuals seeking reviews of their recordings, books, videos,
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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Copyright © 2013 by Eric Nemeyer Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of
this publication may be copied or duplicated in any form, by any means without
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States Federal Copyright Law (17 USC 101 et seq.). Violators may be subject to
criminal penalties and liability for substantial monetary damages, including
statutory damages up to $50,000 per infringement, costs and attorneys fees.
INTERVIEWS
Greg Bobulinski (Five Towns)
Gato Barbieri
Diane Marino
Joe Locke
Bob James
Ramsey Lewis
Jaimeo Brown
Buster Williams
PERFORMANCE REVIEW
49 Vision Festival by Ken Weiss
75 Vision Festival Photo Gallery
NOTEWORTHY PERFORMANCES
76 Wayne Shorter, June 28 (Town Hall, Blue
Note Jazz Festival); Roy Haynes June
27-29 (Blue Note); John McLaughlin,
June 12-14 (Blue Note) Buster Williams,
June 11-12 (Dizzy’s Club); Freddie Cole,
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June 2013 Jazz Inside Magazine www.JazzInsideMagazine.com
June 20-23 (Jazz Standard); Bob James
& David Sanborn, June 6, Town Hall
REVIEWS OF RECORDINGS
57 Clifton Anderson; The Avengers; Jaimeo
Brown; Gerald Clayton; Freddy Cole;
Larry Coryell; Jerry Costanzo; Eldar
Djangirov; Tommy Flanagan & Jaki
Byard; Lars Haake; Joe Locke; Steven
Lugerner; Christian McBride; Cecile
McLorin Salvant; Mikrokolektyw; Charnett
Moffett; Next Collective; Jussi Reijonen;
Jim Ridl; Slobber Pup; Soft Machine
Legacy; Markus Stockhausen; Akira
Tana; Steve Tyrell; Frank Wess; Lenny
White
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Jazz Piano Summit
— In Memory of Mulgrew Miller —
Saturday, June 22
7:30 & 9:30pm
Cedar Walton
The Allen Room
Jazz at Lincoln Center’s
Frederick P. Rose Hall
Time Warner Center
New York, NY
Barry Harris
Two Steinway Grands
Buster Williams, Bass | Willie Jones III, Drums
Sponsored by:
Pink Stone
Capital
Information & Tickets
CenterCharge 212-721-6500 • www.jalc.org
Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office
Broadway at 60th St., Ground Floor
Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 12pm-6pm
Feature
National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters in
January 2010.
Cedar Walton & Barry Harris
By Eric Nemeyer
(Photo of Cedar Walton, below left by Ken Weiss; Barry Harris, below right, by Eric Nemeyer)
Barry Harris, the quintessential keeper of the bebop
piano flame, was part of a group of Detroit-bred musicians that also included Tommy Flanagan and Donald
Byrd. Born in 1929, he was given his first music lessons at age four by his church piano-playing mother.
Immersed in jazz by the mid-1940’s he fell under the
spell of Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and Bud
Powell, and later would become a key translator of
Monk’s music. During the ‘40s, he was house pianist
at Detroit’s hottest jazz spots, backing such artists as
Miles Davis, Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, Lee Konitz and
Lester Young. Harris began teaching his bebop theories as early as 1956. At the urging of Cannonball
Adderley, he left Detroit in 1960 and moved to New
York, working with Adderley as well as fellow Detroiter
Yusef Lateef, Charles McPherson, Coleman Hawkins
and tap dancer Jimmy Slyde. He also led various trios
and duos around New York and worked as a composer and arranger, particularly for strings. In 1989,
Harris was honored as a National Endowment for the
Arts Jazz Master, received an Honorary Doctorate
from Northwestern University (1995), was inducted
into the American Jazz Hall of Fame in 2000, and is a
recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
(2006).
*****
Cedar Walton, one of the great hard-bop pianists, is
also known for his compositions including “Bolivia”,
“Clockwise” and “Firm Roots”, which have become
jazz standards. Walton grew up in Dallas, Texas
where he learned to play the piano from his mother
who encouraged him to emulate the recordings of jazz
piano legends such as Nat King Cole, Thelonious
Monk and Art Tatum. While attending college at the
University of Denver, he met Charlie Parker, Dizzy
Gillespie and John Coltrane, who would sit in with his
group at after-hours clubs when they were traveling
through town. After college and a couple of years in
the army, Walton moved to New York City to play and
record with Kenny Dorham, J. J. Johnson and Gigi
Gryce. In 1959, he recorded alternate tracks with
Coltrane for his seminal album Giant Steps, that were
released when the CD version was issued. From
1960-61, he worked with Art Farmer and Benny Golson and then joined up with Art Blakey and the Jazz
Messengers (along with Freddie Hubbard and Wayne
Shorter), stepping forward as a composer, contributing originals such as “Mosaic”, “Ugetsu” and “The
Promised Land”. He then worked as a sideman for
well-known artists such as Abbey Lincoln (1965-66)
and Lee Morgan (1966-68). In 1974 he formed the
group Eastern Rebellion with Sam Jones, Billy Higgins and Clifford Jordan, recording five albums over
the next 20 years. Continuing to be very active, both
as a prodigious leader (with over 48 releases) and as
a sideman, Walton was inducted as a member of the
Jazz Piano Summit: Cedar Walton & Barry Harris
June 22, Jazz At Lincoln Center — In Memory of Mulgrew Miller
Jazz Forum Arts presents Jazz Piano Summit: Cedar Walton & Barry Harris, performing on
two nine-foot Steinway Concert Grand Pianos at The Allen Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P.
Rose Hall, Time Warner Center, NYC, at 7:30 & 9:30pm, Saturday, June 22nd, 2013. The two NEA Jazz
Masters will be joined by bassist Buster Williams and Willie Jones III on drums. For tickets: CenterCharge
212-721-6500, or at https://ticketing.jalc.org/single/SelectSeating.aspx?p=1790, or at the Jazz at Lincoln
Center Box Office, Broadway at 60th Street, Ground Floor. This is a featured event of the 2013 Blue Note
Jazz Festival.
Jazz Piano Summit is the fifth piano event at Jazz at Lincoln Center presented by Jazz Forum
Arts, which reprised its “Two Steinways, Bass and Drums” series in 2005 with concerts by Dave
Frishberg & Dick Hyman, and later Hank Jones & Barry Harris, Kenny Barron & Eliane Elias, all taking place
in The Allen Room. Mark Morganelli began the original series in 1981, featuring Tommy Flanagan & Barry
Harris at his Jazz Forum loft/club in Greenwich Village. Launched by Morganelli in 1985, Jazz Forum Arts
also produces events at the Tarrytown Music Hall and other area venues. For information about Jazz Forum
Arts, call 914-631-1000 or visit www.JazzForumArts.org..
4
During the 1980s Mark Morganelli presented numerous performances under his Jazz
Forum banner — at the several different locations in Manhattan that this institution grew.
When I spoke with Barry Harris, he spoke glowingly about the Jazz Forum and the decades-long
relationship he and Mark have developed. Indeed, it was in the formative years of Mark’s
Jazz Forum presentations, that Barry performed
in the two piano setting. Mark had also hosted
Barry’s workshops during the early incarnations
of Jazz Forum.
The forthcoming concert being presented
by Jazz Forum Arts is historic in that it is the
first time that these two jazz masters — Barry
Harris and Cedar Walton — will be performing
together in a two piano setting. Both Cedar and
Barry spoke with me about their mutual admiration for each other. The cooperative spirit with
each of these artists spoke about the forthcoming
event and each other suggests that this performance will be extraordinary and unforgettable.
Based on what the two pianists told me, the repertoire will include various of their own compositions, as well as jazz standards and standards
from the Great American Songbook.
On Wednesday, May 22, 2013, around 5:30
PM, I interviewed Mulgrew Miller about this
event and his career. As with previous conversations I have had with this towering giant of the
piano — a humble, articulate, generous soul —
Mulgrew had an array of complimentary things
to say about Cedar, and shared his perspectives
about working in a two piano setting, among
other things. As with everyone in the jazz community, when I heard that he had suffered a
stroke hours later, I was shocked. He died on
May 29, 2013. The two piano summit with Barry
and Cedar is being dedicated to Mulgrew Miller.
June 2013  Jazz Inside Magazine  www.JazzInsideMagazine.com
(Continued on page 6)
Below are excerpts from interviews I conducted with Cedar Walton
and Barry Harris about their lives and experiences.
Cedar Walton
JI: Since you worked as an accompanist for notable trumpet players as
Art Farmer, Kenny Dorham and Lee Morgan, can you discuss what impact trumpet players may have had on your composing or improvisational approach?
CW: Kenny Dorham in particular I have to say stands out in my memory and, of course, second would be Freddie Hubbard, but we were more
contemporary. Kenny Dorham was a mentor. I was so excited to be exposed to his vast knowledge. He had been with Bud Powell and he had
gotten a lot from Bud — I guess, by just watching him, and Kenny being
sharp as he was picked up an enormous amount of the Bud Powell piano
concept, and I was just amazed to see him sit down and not only play
just chords, but runs and voicings and he along with other sources put
together a concept which for me was totally immaculate like an inspiration. I get goose pimples thinking about when we were together. When I
first met him, it was in Brooklyn at a club called the Chess Club —
where they actually played chess. But there were a lot of musicians involved including Brooklyn-ites such as Max Roach and adopted Brooklyn-ite Kenny Dorham, who’s originally from Fairfield, Texas, maybe
Cecil Taylor. Max and Kenny stand out in my memory most of all. Gil
Coggins, I think, was the one who took me by there. Ronnie Matthews, I
think, was too young to be around then. There was a big community in
Brooklyn that sort of evaporated in the seventies. When I got to New
York in the mid-fifties, it was flourishing. Brooklyn was the place to go
as well as the Bronx. I first got there in my early twenties and I was
fearless. There wasn’t anything to be fearful of in those days when you
went to these different boroughs. I got there in 1955 and I didn’t live
there at first. I used to just go out there on one of my trips. I made
friends and tried to soak up some of that culture. Actually, I came directly from Denver; I had been a student at the University of Denver for
at least three years until I dropped out. A friend of mine and I made the
drive from Denver to New York, which took a considerable amount of
time, and we had about seventy dollars a piece. Now, you probably can’t
even get out of state with that amount of money. In 1955 we pulled it
off, and we got to New York without much of a hitch. The traffic, first of
all, made me so nervous. I wasn’t used to alternate side of the street
parking for instance. I had never seen that before. We were staying at the
Sloan House Y on 34th Street, and I had to park in the Bronx. I was just
flabbergasted by this routine. I had to go so far to get my car and it didn’t take too long before it got stripped. But before it got stripped, I was
at a rehearsal at the old club downtown where Miles and used to play
and Blakey recorded — Club Bohemia. It was an Art Farmer rehearsal.
Art Farmer’s twin brother, Addison, was on bass and I think Freddie
Redd on piano. It was exciting for me. I would go to rehearsals. I would
just do anything I could do to soak up and get acquainted firsthand with
the music that I had heard on record, before on an occasional meeting
with somebody who was passing through Denver. So, I was giving Addison Farmer a lift from downtown which was quite far. In those days,
the café societies still existed. So we went through Central Park and I ran
into a poll, to make a long story short. No fatalities, except for my car. I
hadn’t had that experience before. In my early twenties I thought I could
get out and pull the fender away from the tire, you know, but it just was
not to be. I must have pulled it enough to continue the drive and those
kind of things happened to me. Back to my adventures. Sessions were
quite popular in those days. Harlem like was very active. There was a
place up there, right on Seventh Avenue, not too far from Small’s Paradise, with a woman who’s nickname was Boo Pleasant. I don’t know her
real name. She was a pianist who lived there. I had a chance to sit in
there and re-meet some of the people who had passed through Denver,
such as the late brother of Bud Powell, Richie Powell. Of course, I had
to take a day job because nobody knew me. That lasted about a year. At
that time, they had a military draft — and I got drafted.
JI: An inopportune thing to happen at that time?
6
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(Continued from page 6)
CW: No, I was happy because of that. I wasn’t
enjoying New York like I thought I would. It
was no vacation. I was working in places like
Horn and Hardart [restaurant] and Macy’s …
trying to practice over at the Y. But it was no
picnic. I was almost relieved. Being in New
York prepared me — facing the reality — something I don’t think I’d have the nerve to do today. At twenty-one, I was fearless, and so I think
I got a lot out of that one year. It was all compacted into that one year.
JI: When did you start playing piano?
CW: I was always playing piano, I just couldn’t
play it in the band – the marching band. I started
playing piano, as far back as I can remember,
before I started taking lessons. My mother was
my first teacher. She had students including me.
She and my father, especially my mother, were
great jazz lovers. I saw people like Hank Jones
playing, and the likes of Coleman Hawkins, Ray
Brown, maybe Buddy Rich on drums …. Roy
Eldridge. Charlie Parker made some of those
tours. I did get a chance to see Dizzy though.
One time I took a job as an usher out in the
Brooklyn Paramount Theatre where the Jazz at
the Philharmonic had it’s concert that year, so I
was able to see Dizzy. That was quite an experience. My mother assured me that all of those
guys could read music. Even though they didn’t
have music in front of them. She was trying to
entice me to do my studies.
JI: Years after the Giant Steps album came out
by Coltrane, alternate takes of the session were
put out on another LP and you performed on
several alternate takes of Giant Steps.
CW: Those takes were with me along with a
drummer Lex Humphries, from Philadelphia.
We had been in the military at the same time in
Germany. He was in the Air Force and I was in
the Army and we would meet on the weekends
and play — I mean incessantly — along with
people like Houston Person, the late Don Ellis
and a couple of other people who’s names escape me. We were scheduled to do that [Giant
Steps] session after the initial recording. Lex
Humphries went on tour with Dizzy, and I went
on tour with J.J. Johnson. We had to leave town,
and John had to finish the album. We thought we
could come back and resume [completion of the
album]. I didn’t have any kind of foresight, let
alone hindsight at that age. So, when we came
back he had finished it. That had just broken my
heart – not realizing that record companies have
schedules. In other words, we were the originals
and then he [Coltrane] got Tommy Flanagan and
Arthur Taylor.
thinking landmark. Landmarks happen as landmarks in hindsight. You don’t realize that while
you’re in the middle of them. In hindsight, of
course I can see why, because I even declined
the solo on it [“Giant Steps”]. I couldn’t do anything with it, not at that speed. But ‘Trane was
an incessant practicer. He practiced until he just
fell over on the bed, with the saxophone across
his chest, according to his wife. Lex and I went
over to his house unannounced a number of
times. Lex had his whole drum set with him.
Before we approached the door, you could hear
Coltrane in there playing — and he played all of
the time - all day and all night—until he couldn’t
breathe any more and fell over. He [Coltrane]
was onto something. He was possessed. He had a
compulsion to finish this thing he had gotten,
stumbled onto or come upon in his practice. He
was an incessant student.
JI: Do you remember specific things at the recording session?
JI: How did you meet John Coltrane and what
was your impression of his music? Did you perceive that that particular tune was of a landmark
nature – that there was something really unique
about it?
CW: I remember more about a live performance
we did at Birdland. They used to have Monday
nights there. Tuesday through Sunday, of course,
was the regular attractions. Monday nights they
had the new artists, so I played there with John
Coltrane, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter,
Elvin Jones. I remember that event because we
had one rehearsal over at John’s house. There
was one tuned named “Moment’s Notice.” That
was also a tune named “Pristine” if I’m not mis-
CW: Not landmark, just difficult. I really wasn’t
8
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Barry Harris
taken. Coltrane used it just as an intro. It was
richly and simply orchestrated for three horns. It
would just blow my mind. He would walk over
to the piano and play these triads, and that’s
what he wanted the horns to play and they just
sounded so good. That wasn’t my style of arranging, but it certainly was his. I was too flabbergasted to take anything from this except total
exhilaration. It’s just like being in the presence
of God or somebody that’s so talented and such
a virtuoso. To this day I feel lucky and fortunate
to have been a participant in these activities. I’ve
seen him and people like Hank Mobley sitting on
the couch saying “Man, you sure complement
each other.”
I couldn’t imagine anyone better at the time.
When Sam had to take off one night, that’s how
we found David. David, who is a Trinidadian by
birth, and spent a lot of time in London. David
played in a very similar style to Sam, only a little
less percussive – if you can be percussive on the
bass.
JI: You worked a lot with Sam Jones and Buster
Williams and David Williams. Could you discuss how different bass players like this have
influenced your approach?
BH: I had some people talk me into it. I had a
little bit of money and I was thinking I would
buy a small brownstone uptown. There was a
lady on 132nd Street that was trying to get rid of
her place. Some other people we saying, “Barry,
why don’t we get a place in midtown?” I said,
“Well, we’ll look at the place and we’ll see.” We
went to it. We had a meeting and they talked me
into it. “Okay, let’s try it.” It began in 1982 and
lasted for five years. The whole idea for this
teaching thing started a long time ago. I was
teaching for [trumpet player] Joe Newman’s Jazz
Interactions in the 1970s. One time, at the end of
the schedule when I was teaching, I was supposed to be there at 4:00 PM and go involved in
things and realized that I was late. And, I said,
CW: I really rely on the notes. In Sam Jones’
case, he really didn’t do a lot of variation from
chord to chord, compared to say Paul Chambers,
or even Tony Dumas. Tony Dumas is less well
known. He is in Los Angeles, and he’s also phenomenal in terms of harmony and variations.
Buster Williams also. He’s the most active in
that area of variations from chord to chord. Sam
Jones was the least. He would play the same
thing, but you could rely on him. He was the
staple of the community of the rhythm section.
Sam Jones was flawless, flawless. He was just
dependable and enabled me to let my ideas flow.

Barry Harris
JI: What was the driving motivation behind your
creation of the Jazz Cultural Theatre?
10
Jazz Tuesdays
at the John Birks Gillespie Auditorium in the NYC Baha’i Center
Home base for Legendary
Pianist/Composer
Mike Longo
and his 17 piece big band
The NY State of the Art
Jazz Ensemble
World Class Jazz At Affordable Prices
All Shows
on Tuesdays
at 8:00 PM
June 11: Corina Bartra Peruvian
Jazz Ensemble
June 25: Mike Longo Trio Salutes
Herbie Hancock & Wayne Shorter
July 2: Bob Arthur Duo
July 9: Jabbo Ware and the Me,
We and Them Ensemble
July 16: Frank Perowsky Big Band
July 23: Mike Longo’s 17 piece NY State
of the Art Jazz Ensemble
July 30: Ray Blue Ensemble
The NYC Baha’i Center
53 E. 11th Street
(btw. University Place & Broadway)
Shows: 8:00 and 9:30 PM
General Admission: $15
Students: $10
www.jazzbeat.com
212-222-5159
“Oh my.” I got a cab and it was about 6:30 and I
thought, “Nobody’s gonna be there now.” But,
when I got there, everybody was still waiting on
me. So I said, “Well, this was supposed to be the
last class, but we’re going to keep this going,
because you waited. I’m going to find a place,
and you have to do is bring enough money to
pay the rent.” That’s how the class started. We
had musicians who would come and play on the
weekend. It was hard though. I never really
made enough money. I was blessed though.
There was a lady who was my benefactress. I
also had a friend I met at Bradley’s. When I
decided to do these concerts with strings, I kept
talking about it. He said, “All you do is talk
about it. When are you going to do something?”
When I went back there next time, I told him I
was going to do my concert with strings. He
handed me a $1,500 check. He was my other
helper.
JI: Talk about how you structured the performance and teaching elements of the Jazz Cultural
Center.
BH: You sort of goof at things when you start
out. I goofed at the beginning. I wanted to have
music every weekend. When I had the gig, I was
bringing my money to pay the musicians. The
first class I had there had 90 people in the class. I
thought, “This is nice. Maybe if I do three days
of this, that’ll be nice.” That was the dumbest
thing I ever did. I should have done one class
with 90 people. I spread it out and started getting
30 people at each class because they came when
they wanted to. Rent was $3,000 a month and
then the landlord wanted to raise the rent without
doing any repairs. I ended up with a real mess on
my hands. But we tried. Frank Foster taught
harmony. Vernell Fournier taught drums. I
taught the singers and the piano players and the
horn players. Jaki Byard’s Big Band played there
every month. I had Walter Bishop play there,
Walter Davis, Sun Ra … quite a few people
played there. I had jam sessions there and I gave
them a list of songs that they needed to learn—
no two chord songs in here … not when I’m
paying the rent. Dealing with people is difficult.
One of the hardest things to do is to get people to
represent you in your manner, not in their manner. You want people to come back to your
place, your business. You want people to feel
wonderful so they’ll come back.
JI: When you first came to New York in the
1950s, what kinds of challenges and opportunities did you experience?
BH: Since I didn’t stay with Max’s band too
long, I went back to Detroit. When I really came
to New York and stayed was 1960. We had a lot
of record dates. I was recording with everybody.
The record companies found us and took advantage of us — Cedar Walton, Herbie Hancock,
Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley … we all recorded.
Since I was recording with all these people on
Blue Note, I called Alfred Lion at Blue Note and
said, “I recorded for you with Hank Mobley and
Lee Morgan, why don’t you give me a date?” He
said, “No, no, no, no.” I said, “Why?” He said,
“You play too beautiful.” I said, “Thank you
man.” I made it. I recorded. I got little gigs. I
went out of town with people. I went to Europe
occasionally. So I made it, and that’s when I
stayed around New York. It was around 1960.
JI: So you spent most of the day practicing at
the Riverside Records company offices?
BH: They had a little spinet piano. It wasn’t bad.
At some point they brought in this baby grand
piano. It sounded like hell. I wouldn’t even go
and touch it. After a few weeks or months, I
decided I’d touch this piano and see what’s happening. I went over there, and as I played that
piano, it got more and more in tune. You wouldn’t have believed it. That piano began to sound
so good to me. I wondered how could I sit here
and play that spinet and not come over here and
check out this grand and really work with it. This
grand began to sound better and better and better. I’m not lying to you. The piano is funny. It
needs attention.
JI: How do you address that and get everyone to
work together and interact?
BH: It’s hard. What we do is very hard. If we
were all solo people, that would be different. But
we play with other people and then you’ve got to
think, when you have five people on the stage,
that’s five heartbeats. Heartbeats are not the
same. That’s five breathing and there’s no perfect breathing where we all breathe the same. So
there needs to be a compromise from every individual. That’s how we get along.

12
Mulgrew Miller
Pianist, Composer, Bandleader, Educator
August 13, 1955 - May 29, 2013
Calendar of Events
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 Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band at Blue Note, 8:00
Saturday, June 1
and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Larry Newcomb Trio at Garage, 12PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Lou Donaldson Quartet with Akiko Tsuruga at Con-
cord Baptist Church, 1:00 PM. 833 Gardner C. Taylor
Boulevard, Brooklyn.
 JoAnne Brackeen at Shanghai Jazz, 6:30 and 8:45 PM.
24 Main St, Madison NJ.
 Mauricio DeSouza/ Jerry Weir Duo at Whitney Museum
of American Art, 6:30 PM. 945 Madison Avenue.
 Hammerhead Quartet at Dauphin Grille, Berkeley
Oceanfront Hotel, 7PM. 1401 Ocean Avenue, Asbury
Park NJ.
 Simona Premazzi Quintet with Melissa Aldana at Fat
Cat, 7PM. 75 Christopher St.
 Bill Charlap Trio at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, 7:30 and
9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Circle #5.
 Terence Blanchard Quintet at Jazz Standard, 7:30,
9:30, and 11:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 Hayes Greenfield/ Roger Rosenberg Quintet at Smalls,
7:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 Bernard “Pretty” Purdie and Friends at Lucille's Bar,
B. B. King Blues Club, 8PM. 237 West 42nd St.
 Mike DiRubbo Quintet at Kitano, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. 66
Park Avenue.
 Antonio Ciacca at Measure, Langham Place Hotel,
8PM. 400 Fifth Avenue.
 Eliane Elias at Birdland, 8:30 and 11PM. 315 W. 44 St.
 Joe Lovano Nonet at Village Vanguard, 8:30 and 10:30
PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Lionel Loueke Solo Guitar at Jazz Gallery, 9:00 and
10:30 PM. Fifth floor, 1160 Broadway.
 Emilio Solla and Bien Sur! at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183
West 10th St.
 Dylan Meek Trio at Garage, 10:45 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Richard Johnson at Dizzy's After Hours, 11:30 PM. 10
Columbus Circle #5.
 Eric Wyatt Quartet at Smalls, 1:00 AM. 183 West 10th St.
15
Coastal Bistro, 7PM. 908 Shore Road, Somers Point NJ
Sunday, June 2
 Dan Levinson's Jam Session of the Millenium: The
 Mike Fahn Quartet at Garage, 11:30 AM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Pedro Giraudo 'Expansions' Big Band at Blue Note,
12:30 and 2:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Vicki Burns Trio with Saul Rubin at North Square
Lounge, 12:30 and 2:15 PM. 103 Waverly Place.
 Amir Gwirtzman at Celebrate Israel, 1:00 PM. Parade
along Fifth Avenue, from
57th
to
74th
St.
 Bill Robinson Promising Vocalist Competition at Jazz
966, 4:00 PM. 966 Fulton St, Brooklyn.
 John Merrill Trio at Smalls, 4:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 David Coss Quartet at Garage, 6:30 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Bill Charlap Trio at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, 7:30 and
 Terence Blanchard Quintet at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and
9:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band at Blue Note, 8:00
and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Jon Davis at Measure, Langham Place Hotel, 8PM. 400
Fifth Avenue.
 Secret Chiefs 3 at The Stone, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. Cor-
ner of Avenue C and 2nd St.
 Pam Purvis and the Blue Skies Band at Van Gogh's
Ear, 8PM. 1017 Stuyvesant Avenue, Union NJ.
 Cyrille Aimee at Stage Two, Rockwood Music Hall,
8:30 PM. 196 Allen St.
 Felix and the Cats at Swing 46, 8:30 PM. 349 West 46th
St.
 Joe Lovano Nonet at Village Vanguard, 8:30 and 10:30
PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
Monday, June 3
 Jonathan Saraga Trio at The Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM.
129 MacDougal St.
 Beka Gochiasvili at Birdland, 7PM. 315 W. 44 St.
 Susan Wagner High School Jazz Band and Paul Corn
Quartet at Garage, 7PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Ed Vezinho/ Jim Ward Big Band at Sandi Pointe
16
New Torch Bearers of Traditional Jazz at Peter Jay
Sharp Theater, Symphony Space, 7:15 PM. 2537 Broadway at 95th St.
 Molly Ryan and Band at Le Cirque Cafe, 7:30 PM. 151
East 58th St.
 Juilliard Jazz Ensemble at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola,
7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Circle #5.
 John Chin Trio at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 Gato Barbieri at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W.
3rd St.
 Lucio Ferrara at Measure, Langham Place Hotel, 8PM.
400 Fifth Avenue.
 Clarence Penn featuring Seamus Blake and James
Genus: Dali in Cobble Hill at Shapeshifter Lab, 8:15
and 9:30 PM. 18 Whitwell Place, Brooklyn.
 Melissa Stylianou Trio at The Bar Next Door, 8:30 and
10:30 PM. 129 MacDougal St.
 Dana Hawkins Quartet at Smalls, 9:30 PM. 183 West
10th St.
Tuesday, June 4
 Pablo Masis Quartet at Garage, 6:00 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 John LaBarbera Guitar and Mandolin Workshop at
Trumpets, 6:00 PM. Dinner served at 6:00 PM; Workshop
begins at 7PM. 6 Depot Square, Montclair NJ.
 Paul Jones Trio at The Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129
MacDougal St.
 Jazz Stars of Tomorrow: Students from New School of
Jazz and Contemporary Music at Pier 45, Hudson
River Park, 6:30 PM. Free. West St at West 10th.
 Flamenco Special with Juana Cala at Drom, 7:15 PM.
85 Avenue A.
 Abe Ovadia Trio at Antibes Bistro, 7:30 PM. 112 Suffolk
 Dmitry Bavesky Quartet at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola,
 Melissa Aldana and Crash Trio with special guest
Aaron Parks at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E.
27 St.
 Marsha Ambrosius at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM.
131 W. 3rd St.
 Matt Vorzimer Trio at Harlem Tavern, 8PM. 2153 Fre-
derick Douglass Boulevard.
 (Re)Conception Project + 1 at Kitano, 8PM. 66 Park
Avenue.
400 Fifth Avenue.
 Sylvie Courvoisier and Mark Feldman Quartet at The
Stone, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. Corner of Avenue C & 2nd St
 Yuki Shibata Quartet at Tomi Jazz, 8PM. Lower level,
239 East 53rd St.
 Joshua Redman Quartet with Brad Mehldau, Larry
Grenadier, and The Knights Orchestra at Town Hall,
8PM. 123 West 43rd St.
 Tucker Flythe Band at Tumulty's Pub, 8PM. 361
George St, New Brunswick NJ.
 Jack Jeffers and the New York Classics featuring
Monika Oliveira at Zinc Bar, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. 82
West 3rd St.
 Matt Slocum Quartet with Dayna Stephens and Sam
Yahel at Shapeshifter Lab, 8:15 PM. 18 Whitwell Place,
Brooklyn.
 Matt Marantz Trio at The Bar Next Door, 8:30 and 10:30
PM. 129 MacDougal St.
 Paolo Fresu/ Uri Caine Duo at Birdland, 8:30 and 11PM.
315 W. 44 St.
 Kenny Barron Quartet at Village Vanguard, 8:30 and
10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Michael-Louis Smith CD Release Party at Drom, 9:30
PM. 85 Avenue A.
 Pete Rende Band with Mark Turner at Shapeshifter
Lab, 9:30 PM. 18 Whitwell Place, Brooklyn.
 Chickentown at The Wayland, 9:30 PM. 700 East 9th St.
 Smalls Legacy Band at Smalls, 10:00 PM. 183 West 10th
 Paul Francis Trio at Garage, 10:30 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
Wednesday, June 5
 Rick Stone Trio at Garage, 6:00 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Nick Finzer Trio at The Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129 MacDougal St.
 Dave Roper Trio at The Inn at Millrace Pond, 6:30 PM. 313 Hope Johnsonburg Road,
Hope NJ.
Warren Vache Trio at Shanghai Jazz, 7PM. 24 Main St, Madison NJ.
Like Minds with Marty Isenberg at Antibes Bistro, 7:30 PM. 112 Suffolk St.
Joe Locke Quintet at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Circle
Yotam Silberstein Trio with Sam Yahel and Jeff Ballard at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and
9:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 Jackie Jones Group at New Brunswick Hyatt, 7:30 PM. 2 Albany St, New Brunswick
NJ.
 Marsha Ambrosius at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Nick Didikovsky's Eris 136199 at Douglass St Music Collective, 8PM. 295 Douglass
St, Brooklyn.
 Tine Bruhn Trio with Johnny O'Neal at Kitano, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. 66 Park Avenue.
 Lucio Ferrara at Measure, Langham Place Hotel, 8PM. 400 Fifth Avenue.
 Baby Soda at Arts and Community Center, Ocean County College, 8PM. One College
Drive, Toms River NJ.
 Sylvie Courvoisier and Mark Feldman Quartet at The Stone, 8:00 and 10:00 PM.
Corner of Avenue C and 2nd St.
 Yui Tsuchida at Tomi Jazz, 8PM. Lower level, 239 East 53rd St.
 Yaala Ballin at Zeb's, 8PM. Second floor, 223 West 28th St.
 Valery Ponomarev Big Band at Zinc Bar, 8PM; Jam Session to follow. 82 West 3rd St.
 Ben Allison Band at Shapeshifter Lab, 8:15 and 9:30 PM. 18 Whitwell Place, Brooklyn.
 Paolo Fresu/ Uri Caine Duo at Birdland, 8:30 and 11PM. 315 W. 44 St.
 Jerome Sabbagh Quartet featuring Ben Monder at Seeds, 8:30 PM. Ground floor, 617
Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Kenny Barron Quartet at Village Vanguard, 8:30 and 10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Gregg August Quartet with Sam Newsome at Smalls, 9:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 Grandpa Musselman and the Syncopators at The Wayland, 10:00 PM. 700 East 9th St.
 Benjamin Drazen Quartet at Garage, 10:30 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Roxy Coss Quartet at Smalls, 12:30 AM. 183 West 10th St.




Thursday, June 6
 Champian Fulton Quartet at Garage, 6:00 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Tom Finn Trio at The Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129 MacDougal St.
 Amy Cervini and Friends: Duet Night featuring Roz Corral, Hilary Gardner, Melissa
Stylianou and others at 55 Bar, 7PM. 55 Christopher St.
Lebby Richman Trio at Cleopatra's Needle, 7PM. 2485 Broadway.
Jim Hall Trio at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
Lauren Sevian Quartet at Makeda, 7:30 PM. 338 George St, New Brunswick NJ.
Jerry Douglas at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
B. D. Lenz Trio at DeAnna's, 8PM. 54 North Franklin St, Lambertville NJ.
Roni Ben-Hur, Santi Debriano and Duduka Da Fonseca at Greenwich House, 8PM. 46
Barrow St
 Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra at B. B. King Blues Club, 8PM. 237 West 42nd St.
 Noah Haidu Trio CD Release Party at Kitano, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. 66 Park Avenue.
 Lucio Ferrara at Measure, Langham Place Hotel, 8PM. 400 Fifth Avenue.
 Swingadelic at Pilsener Haus, 8PM. 1422 Grand St, Hoboken NJ.
 Sylvie Courvoisier Solo Piano at The Stone, 8PM. Corner of Avenue C and 2nd St.
 Bob James and David Sanborn at Town Hall, 8PM. 123 West 43rd St.
 Stefano Bollani Trio at Birdland, 8:30 and 11PM. 315 W. 44 St.
 Kenny Barron Quartet at Village Vanguard, 8:30 and 10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Nick Sanders Trio CD Release Party at Jazz Gallery, 9:00 and 10:30 PM. Fifth floor,
1160 Broadway.
 Greg Tardy Quartet at Smalls, 9:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 Sylvie Courvoisier/ Ellery Eskelin Duo at The Stone, 10:00 PM. Corner of Avenue C
and 2nd St.
 Amir Gwirtzman at Drom, 10:30 PM. 85 Avenue A.
 Tom Tallitsch Quartet at Garage, 10:30 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Carlos Abadie Quartet at Smalls, 12:00 AM. 183 West 10th St.







Friday, June 7
 Hot Club of Flatbush featuring Olli Soikkeli at Radegast Hall, 6:00 PM. 113 North 3rd
St, Brooklyn.
Brooks Hartell Trio at Garage, 6:15 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
Chuck Braman Jazz Band at Pier 45, Hudson River Park, 7PM, Free, West St at W.10
Tom Dempsey Trio at The Bar Next Door, 7:30, 9:30, and 11:30 PM. 129 MacDougal St.
Esencia at BeanRunner Cafe, 7:30 PM. 201 South Division St, Peekskill NY.
#5.
 Jim Hall Trio at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 Hot 8 Brass Band at The Saint, 7:30 PM. 601 Main St, Asbury Park NJ.
 Ray Gallon Trio at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 Jerry Douglas at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Masami Ishikawa Organ Trio at Cleopatra's Needle, 8PM. 2485 Broadway.





17
 Bob Dorough Trio at Kitano, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. 66
and his 17 piece big band The
NY State of the Art Jazz Ensemble
June 2013
All Shows on Tuesdays at 8:00 PM
June 11: Corina Bartra Peruvian Jazz Ensemble
June 25: Mike Longo Trio Salutes Herbie Hancock
& Wayne Shorter
July 2: Bob Arthur Duo
Park Avenue.
400 Fifth Avenue.
 Ben Perowsky Lost Tribe featuring David Gilmore at
Shapeshifter Lab, 8:00 and 9:30 PM. 18 Whitwell Place,
Brooklyn.
 Sylvie Courvoisier Trio at The Stone, 8:00 and 10:00
PM. Corner of Avenue C and 2nd St.
 Lisle Atkinson's Neo Bass Ensemble featuring Leon
Dorsey, Paul West, Frank Owens, Andy Bey, and
others at Leonard Nimoy Thalia, Symphony Space,
8PM. 2537 Broadway at 95th St.
 Nikita White at Jazz 966, 8:15 PM. 966 Fulton St, Brooklyn.
 Stefano Bollani Trio at Birdland, 8:30 and 11PM. 315 W.
44 St.
 Amina Figarova Sextet at Firehouse 12, 8:30 and 10:00
PM. 45 Crown St, New Haven CT.
10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 John Escreet Trio featuring Nasheet Waits + Sirius
Quartet at Jazz Gallery, 9:00 and 10:30 PM. Fifth floor,
1160 Broadway.
 Kayo Hiraki at Tomi Jazz, 8PM. Lower level, 239 East
53rd St.
 Mark Soskin Quartet with Harvie S at Smalls, 10:30
PM. 183 West 10th St.
 Kevin Dorn and the BIG 72 at Garage, 10:45 PM. 99 7th
Ave. S.
 Sammy Miller at Dizzy's After Hours, 11:30 PM. 10
Columbus Circle #5.
 Adam Deitch and the Midnight Marauders at Blue
Note, 12:30 AM. 131 W. 3rd St.
Saturday, June 8
 Daniela Schaechter Trio at Garage, 12PM. 99 7th Ave.
S.
 Benny Benack III Quartet at Garage, 6:15 PM. 99 7th
Ave. S.
 P. J. Rasmussen Trio at Dauphin Grille, Berkeley
Park NJ.
 Nancy Reed Trio with Jim Ridl at Deer Head Inn, 7PM.
5 Main St, Delaware Water Gap PA
 Sheryl Bailey Trio at The Bar Next Door, 7:30, 9:30, and
 Gypsy Jazz with Doug Munro at BeanRunner Cafe,
7:30 PM. 201 South Division St, Peekskill NY.
 Joe Locke Quintet at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, 7:30 and
 Miles, Steely Dan, and Sugar Songbooks: Burnt Sugar
The Arkestra Chamber at Ginny's Supper Club, 7:30
and 10:00 PM. 310 Lenox Avenue.
 Jim Hall Trio at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116
E. 27 St.
 Joel Press Quartet at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 Jerry Douglas at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W.
3rd St.
 Cathy Harley Trio at Cleopatra's Needle, 8PM. 2485
Broadway.
 Bob Dorough Trio at Kitano, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. 66
Park Avenue.
400 Fifth Avenue.
 Carrie Jackson and Her Jazzin' All Stars at Salem
Roadhouse Cafe, 8PM. 829 Salem Road, Union NJ
 Houston Person Quartet at Trumpets, 8:00 and 10:00
PM. 6 Depot Square, Montclair NJ.
 Enrico Rava 'Tribe' Quintet at Birdland, 8:30 and 11PM.
315 W. 44 St.
10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 John Escreet Trio featuring Nasheet Waits + Sirius
Quartet at Jazz Gallery, 9:00 and 10:30 PM. Fifth floor,
1160 Broadway.
 Billy Martin's Wicked Knee featuring Steve Bernstein
at Shapeshifter Lab, 9:30 PM. 18 Whitwell Place, Brook18
lyn.
 Simona Premazzi Trio at Silver Lining, 9:30 PM. 75
Murray St.
 Crescent City Maulers at Swing 46, 9:30 PM. 349 West
46th St.
 Sylvie Courvoisier Trio and Special Guest at The
Stone, 10:00 PM. Corner of Avenue C and 2nd St.
 Mark Soskin Quartet with Harvie S at Smalls, 10:30
 Virginia Mayhew Quartet at Garage, 10:45 PM. 99 7th
Ave. S.
 Sam Kulok Trio at Tomi Jazz, 11PM. Lower level, 239
East 53rd St.
 Ruby Velle and the Soulphonics at Blue Note, 12:30
AM. 131 W. 3rd St.
Sunday, June 9
 Michika Fukumori Trio, Garage, 11AM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Henry Butler's New Orleans Brunch at Joe's Pub,
12PM. 425 Lafayette St.
 Mike Moreno Quartet at Blue Note, 12:30 and 2:30 PM.
131 W. 3rd St.
 Roz Corral Trio at North Square Lounge, 12:30 and
2:15 PM. 103 Waverly Place.
 Joel Zelnik Trio at Pearl River Public Library, 3:00 PM.
80 Franklin Avenue, Pearl River NY.
 Chicken Fat Ball: 2013 Spring Swing featuring Warren
Vache, Nikki Parrott, Rosano Sportiello and others at
Prospect Presbyterian Church, 646 Prospect St, Maplewood NJ.
 Susan Didrichsen Quintet at Deer Head Inn, 5:00 PM. 5
Main St, Delaware Water Gap PA
 Thaddeus Expose at Shanghai Jazz, 6:00 PM. 24 Main
St, Madison NJ.
 Joshua White Quartet at Shapeshifter Lab, 7PM. 18
Whitwell Place, Brooklyn.
 Joe Locke Quintet at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, 7:30 and
 Jim Hall Trio at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116
E. 27 St.
 Ottmar Liebert and Luna Negra at Newton Theatre,
7:30 PM. 234 Spring St, Newton NJ.
 Deanna Kirk at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 Jerry Douglas at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W.
3rd St.
 Tadataka Unno at Measure, Langham Place Hotel,
 Mephista Trio at The Stone, 8PM. Corner of Avenue C
and 2nd St.
 Trio Django at Van Gogh's Ear, 8PM. 1017 Stuyvesant
Avenue, Union NJ.
 Sirius Quartet and Friends with special guest Billy
Martin at Shapeshifter Lab, 8:15 and 9:30 PM. 18 Whitwell Place, Brooklyn.
 Enrico Rava 'Tribe' Quintet at Birdland, 8:30 and 11PM.
315 W. 44 St.
 Swingadelic at Swing 46, 8:30 PM. 349 West 46th St.
10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Gypsy Jazz with The Bailsmen at The Wayland, 9:30
PM. 700 East 9th St.
 Mephista Trio plus Lotte Anker at The Stone, 10:00
 Yaacov Mayman Trio at Garage, 11PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Charles Owens Quartet with Peter Bernstein at Smalls,
11:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
Monday, June 10
 Angela Davis Trio at The Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129
MacDougal St.
 Lou Caputo Not So Big Band at Garage, 7PM. 99 7th
Ave. S.
 The Music of Grappelli: Jon Burr Trio with Howard
Alden and special Guest Bria Skonberg at The Metropolitan Room, 7PM. 34 West 22nd St.
 Danny Bacher at Le Cirque Cafe, 7:30 PM. 151 East 58th
St.
 Cyrus Chestnut's Berklee Sextet at Dizzy's Club Coca
Cola, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Circle #5.
 Mingus Orchestra at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM.
116 E. 27 St.
 Vadim Neselovskyi Quartet at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183
West 10th St.
 Pedrito Martinez Group at Brooklyn Bowl, 8PM. 61
Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Poncho Sanchez at B. B. King Blues Club, 8PM. 237
West 42nd St.
 B B & C (Tim Berne, Jim Black, and Nels Cline) at
Shapeshifter Lab, 8PM. 18 Whitwell Place, Brooklyn.
 Nori Ochiai Duo at Tomi Jazz, 8PM. Lower level, 239
East 53rd St.
 Deborah Latz Trio at The Bar Next Door, 8:30 and 10:30
 Shoshana Bush at Anyway Cafe, 9:00 PM. 34 East 2nd
St.
 Swingadelic at Maxwell's, 9:00 PM. 1039 Washington St,
Hoboken NJ.
 Fork featuring Nels Cline and Tim Berne at
Shapeshifter Lab, 9:30 PM. 18 Whitwell Place, Brooklyn.
 Austin Walker Trio at Garage, 10:30 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Ari Hoenig Group with Gilad Hekselman at Smalls,
10:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
Tuesday, June 11
 Eyal Vilner Quartet at Garage, 6:00 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Kyle Hernandez Trio at The Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM.
129 MacDougal St.
 Steven Feifke Trio at Blue Note, 6:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Bucky Pizzarelli at 54 Below, 7:00 and 9:00 PM. Lower
level, 254 West 54th St.
 Adam Smale Duo + 1 at Antibes Bistro, 7:30 PM. 112
Suffolk St.
 Buster Williams and Something More at Dizzy's Club
Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks with Connie
Evingson and Sachal Vasandani at The Allen Room,
Lincoln Center, 7PM. Hosted by Michael Feinstein.
Corner of Broadway and 60th St.
 Milford Graves and Afro-Cuban Roots at Roulette,
7PM. 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Bucky Pizzarelli at Shanghai Jazz, 7PM. 24 Main St,
Madison NJ.
 Asuka Kakitani Jazz Orchestra at Shapeshifter Lab,
7PM. 18 Whitwell Place, Brooklyn.
 Chloé Perrier Trio at Antibes Bistro, 7:30 PM. 112
Suffolk St.
 Buster Williams and Something More at Dizzy's Club
Coca Cola, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Circle #5.
 Gilad Hekselman Trio featuring Mark Turner at Jazz
Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 Rosena and Jason Jackson Group at New Brunswick
Hyatt, 7:30 PM. 2 Albany St, New Brunswick NJ.
 Kenny Werner Quintet with Lionel Loueke at Blue
Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Mercedes Hall Quartet at Kitano, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. 66
Park Avenue.
 Shekhinah Big Band at The Stone, 8:00 and 10:00 PM.
 Shu Odamura at Tomi Jazz, 8PM. Lower level, 239 East
53rd St.
 Vicki Burns at Zeb's, 8PM. Second floor, 223 West 28th
 Nathan Parker Smith Large Ensemble at Shapeshifter
 Ravi Coltrane Quartet at Birdland, 8:30 and 11PM. 315
W. 44 St.
 Milford Graves' Transition Trio at Roulette, 8:30 PM.
509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Greg Osby 4 with Simona Premazzi at Village Vanguard, 8:30 and 10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Jason Prover and His Sneak Thievery Orchestra at
Radegast Hall, 9:00 PM. 113 North 3rd St, Brooklyn.
 J. C. Sanford Orchestra at Shapeshifter Lab, 9:30 PM.
18 Whitwell Place, Brooklyn.
 David Liebman: Expansions at Smalls, 9:30 PM. 183
West 10th St.
 Kenichi Sonoda and the Dixie Kings at Tomi Jazz, 9:40
PM. Lower level, 239 East 53rd St.
 Milford Graves' New York Heart Ensemble featuring
Charles Gayle, Roswell Rudd, William Parker, and
Amiri Baraka at Roulette, 10:00 PM. 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Nobuki Takamen 3 at Garage, 10:30 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 George Delancy at Dizzy's After Hours, 11PM. 10
Columbus Circle #5.
 Isaac Darche at The Metropolitan Room, 11:30 PM. 34
West 22nd St.
 Ryan Berg at Smalls, 12:30 AM. 183 West 10th St.
Thursday, June 13
 George Weldon Trio at Garage, 6:00 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Benny Benack III Trio at The Bar Next Door, 6:30 and
 Dan Furman Trio at Cleopatra's Needle, 7PM. 2485
Broadway.
 Swinging with the Big Bands: Wynton Marsalis and
Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks with Connie
Evingson and Sachal Vasandani at The Allen Room,
Lincoln Center, 7:00 and 9:00 PM. Hosted by Michael
Feinstein. Corner of Broadway and 60th St.
 Karl Berger's Improvisers Orchestra at Shapeshifter
Lab, 7PM. Rehearsal/ workshop at 7PM; concert at 8:30
PM. 18 Whitwell Place, Brooklyn.
 Willie Jones III Septet at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, 7:30
and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Circle #5.
 Azar Lawrence Quintet with Essiet Essiet and Billy
Hart at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 Andrea Brachfield and Phoenix Rising at Makeda, 7:30
PM. 338 George St, New Brunswick NJ.
 Roy Campbell's Akhenaten Ensemble with Bryan
Carrott at Roulette, 7:45 PM. 509 Atlantic Avenue, Bklyn.
 Gilad Hekselman Trio featuring John Ellis at Jazz
Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 Mike Hashim Trio at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Corina Bartra Peruvian Jazz Ensemble at New York
City Baha'i Center, 8:00 and 9:30 PM. 53 East 11th St.
 Shekhinah Big Band at The Stone, 8:00 and 10:00 PM.
 Yoo Sun Nam Quartet at Tomi Jazz, 8PM. Lower level,
239 East 53rd St.
 James Ohn Band at Tumulty's Pub, 8PM. 361 George
St, New Brunswick NJ.
 Tom Guarna Quintet at Shapeshifter Lab, 8:15 PM. 18
 Nat Janoff Trio at The Bar Next Door, 8:30 and 10:30
W. 44 St.
 Greg Osby 4 with Simona Premazzi at Village Van-
guard, 8:30 and 10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Gene Lake Group at Shapeshifter Lab, 9:30 PM. 18
 Cyrille Aimee at Smalls, 9:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 New York Gypsy All Stars at Drom, 10:00 PM. 85 Ave-
nue A.
Columbus Circle #5.
Wednesday, June 12
 Anderson Brothers at Garage, 6:00 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Matt Heister Trio at The Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129
MacDougal St.
 Swinging with the Big Bands: Wynton Marsalis and
19
Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Allen Toussaint at City Winery, 8PM. 155 Varick St.
 Olivia Foschi Quintet at Kitano, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. 66
Park Avenue.
 Spiritual Music: Frank London Trio with Special
Guests at The Stone, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. Corner of
Avenue C and 2nd St.
 Buika at Town Hall, 8PM. 123 West 43rd St.
 Howard Alden/ Warren Vache Duo at The Bar Next
Door, 8:30 and 10:30 PM. 129 MacDougal St.
W. 44 St.
 Sam Harris Group at Jazz Gallery, 9:00 and 10:30 PM.
Fifth floor, 1160 Broadway.
 Baby Soda Jazz Band at Radegast Hall, 9:00 PM. 113
North 3rd St, Brooklyn.
 Rob Brown U_L Project with Mark Helias and Joe
McPhee at Roulette, 9:00 PM. 509 Atlantic Avenue,
Brooklyn.
 Chickentown Duo at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228
West 47th St.
 Hang 'Em High featuring Lucien Dubuis at
 David Liebman: Expansions at Smalls, 9:30 PM. 183
West 10th St.
 Roscoe Mitchell Trio with Henry Grimes and Tani
Tabbal at Roulette, 10:00 PM. 509 Atlantic Avenue,
Brooklyn.
 Chris Beck Trio at Garage, 10:30 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
Columbus Circle #5.
 Emmett Cohen Trio at Smalls, 12:00 AM. 183 West 10th
Friday, June 14
PM. 66 Park Avenue.
 Jorge Luis Pacheco at Drom, 6:00 PM. 85 Avenue A.
 Joel Beaver Swingtet at Radegast Hall, 6:00 PM. 113
 Frank London's Bhangra Brass Party at The Stone,
 Masami Ishikawa Trio at Garage, 6:15 PM. 99 7th Ave.
S.
 Reggie Pittman/ Loren Daniels Quintet at Classic
Quiche Cafe, 7PM. 330 Queen Anne Road, Teaneck NJ.
 Michele Bautier at Deer Head Inn, 7PM. 5 Main St,
Delaware Water Gap PA
 Greg Murphy Solo Piano at Lorenzo's, Hilton Garden
Inn, 7PM. 1100 South Avenue, Staten Island.
 Baby Soda at Pier 45, Hudson River Park, 7PM. Free.
West St at West 10th.
 Rebirth Brass Band at B. B. King Blues Club, 7:00 and
11:30 PM. (7PM show also includes Mamojam and Indaculture.) 237 West 42nd St.
 Vocal Ease: Steve Dalachinsky and Connie Crothers at
Roulette, 7PM. 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Roberto Gatto Trio at The Bar Next Door, 7:30, 9:30,
and 11:30 PM. 129 MacDougal St.
Hart at Jazz Standard, 7:30, 9:30, and 11:30 PM. 116 E.
27 St.
 Bern Nix Quartet at Roulette, 7:30 PM. 509 Atlantic
Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Ralph Lalama and Bop Juice at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183
West 10th St.
 McCoy Tyner with The Latin All-Stars at Blue Note,
8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Joel Forrester Trio at Cleopatra's Needle, 8PM. 2485
Broadway.
 The Hot Sardines at Lucille's Bar, B. B. King Blues
Club, 8PM. 237 West 42nd St.
 Ran Blake/ Sara Serpa Duo at Kitano, 8:00 and 10:00
 Enrico Granafei Quartet at Trumpets, 8:00 and 10:00
8:00 and 10:00 PM. Corner of Avenue C and 2nd St.
 Mark Chernoff Trio at Urban Nest, 8PM. 631 Lake
Avenue, Asbury Park NJ.
 SaRon Crenshaw at Jazz 966, 8:15 and 10:15 PM. 966
Fulton St, Brooklyn.
 Jamshied Shaifi Project at Shapeshifter Lab, 8:15 PM.
W. 44 St.
 Ches Smith and These Arches featuring Mary
Halvorson and Tim Berne at Firehouse 12, 8:30 and
10:00 PM. 45 Crown St, New Haven CT.
 East-West Collective with Larry Ochs at Roulette, 8:45
PM. 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Andy Milne and DAPP THEORY at Jazz Gallery, 9:00
and 10:30 PM. Fifth floor, 1160 Broadway.
 Antonello Parisi Trio at Tomi Jazz, 9:00 PM. Lower
level, 239 East 53rd St.
 Red Light District with Broadway Brassy at Edison
Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 West 47th St.
 Matthew Garrison at Shapeshifter Lab, 9:30 PM. 18
 George Gee Swing Orchestra at Swing 46, 9:30 PM.
349 West 46th St.
 Hoodoo Loungers at Lucille's Bar, B. B. King Blues
Club, 10:00 PM. 237 West 42nd St.
 French-American Peace Ensemble with William Parker
and Hamid Drake at Roulette, 10:00 PM. 509 Atlantic
Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Rob Scheps Core-tet at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 West
10th St.
20
sunday, june 2 @ 8 pm
Friday, June 7 @ 8 pm
The Bacon
Brothers
Jim Breuer
Breuer is one of the most
recognizable comedians in
the business, known for his
charismatic stage antics,
dead-on impressions, and
family-friendly stand-up. $40
Dynamic lyrics and amazing
harmonies and melody’s have
gained their own notoriety on
the country-folk scene. True
musical talent! $65
Saturday, June 8 @ 8 pm
Friday, June 21 @ 8 pm
Ottmar Liebert
& Luna Negra
Ben Taylor
special guests Jeff LeBlanc
& Kath Buckell
Nominated five-times for a
Grammy award, his debut
album has become one of the
best-selling guitar albums of
all time. $47.50
Saturday, June 22 @ 6:30 pm
Taylor seamlessly merges the
sounds and styles of rock, pop,
folk and hip-hop to create
music that defies genres. $35
Thursday, August 29 @ 8 PM
This House
Dave Koz
& Friends
National Theatre
in HD - The Best
of British Theatre
On tour, expect to see the
Summer Horns playing gems
from the album and the
hottest hits from their
individual catalogues. $80
The corridors of Westminster
ring with the sound of
infighting. $25-$15
80 East Ridge, Ridgefield, CT
203.438.5795 • www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org
 Hot House at Garage, 10:45 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
Columbus Circle #5.
 Billy Carrion Jr. Trio at Hat City Kitchen, 11PM. 459
Valley St, Orange NJ.
 Alex DeZenzo Trio at The Metropolitan Room, 11:30
PM. 34 West 22nd St.
 Nigel Hall at Blue Note, 12:30 AM. 131 W. 3rd St.
Saturday, June 15
 Alex Layne Trio at Garage, 12PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Joanne Pascale at Candlelight Lounge, 3:30 PM. 24
Passaic St, Trenton NJ.
 Robin Nolan Guitar Workshop: A Master Class in
Gypsy Jazz Guitar at Shapeshifter Lab, 5:30 PM. 18
 Mark Marino Trio at Garage, 6:15 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Joe Peterson Trio at Dauphin Grille, Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel, 7PM. 1401 Ocean Avenue, Asbury Park NJ.
 Ilona Knopfler with Jesse Green Trio at Deer Head Inn,
7PM. 5 Main St, Delaware Water Gap PA
 Andy McDonough at Salt Creek Grille, 7PM. One Rockingham Row, Princeton NJ.
 Franglais and Robin Nolan Trio at Shapeshifter Lab,
7PM. 18 Whitwell Place, Brooklyn.
 Dan Wilson Trio at The Bar Next Door, 7:30, 9:30, and
 Cuttin' Up, Two Musicians, Same Instrument: Wycliffe
Gordon and Ryan Keberle at Ginny's Supper Club,
7:30 and 10:00 PM. 310 Lenox Avenue.
Hart at Jazz Standard, 7:30, 9:30, and 11:30 PM. 116 E.
27 St.
 Grant Stewart Quartet at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 West
10th St.
8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Champian Fulton Quartet at Cleopatra's Needle, 8PM.
2485 Broadway.
 Manhattan Transfer at B. B. King Blues Club, 8PM. 237
West 42nd St.
 Ran Blake/ Sara Serpa Duo at Kitano, 8:00 and 10:00
PM. 66 Park Avenue.
 Trumpet Hazonos: Frank London and Steve Bernstein
with Kenny Wolleson and Jamie Saft at The Stone,
8:00 and 10:00 PM. Corner of Avenue C and 2nd St.
 Dave Stryker at Trumpets, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. 6 Depot
Square, Montclair NJ.
 Ethan Iverson/ Sam Newsome Duo at Shapeshifter
W. 44 St.
 Davis/Revis/Cyrille Trio at Roulette, 8:45 PM. 509
Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Trio Cachimbo at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228
West 47th St.
 Shai Maestro Trio at Shapeshifter Lab, 9:30 PM. 18
 Akiko Tsuruga Trio at Garage, 10:45 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Reggie Workman WORKz with Marilyn Crispell and
Odean Pope at Roulette, 7PM. 509 Atlantic Avenue,
Brooklyn.
Columbus Circle #5.
 Kenji Yoshitake at Tomi Jazz, 11PM. Lower level, 239
East 53rd St.
Sunday, June 16
22
 Steve Gluzband Quartet at Garage, 11:30 AM. 99 7th
Ave. S.
 Giulia Valle Quartet at Blue Note, 12:30 and 2:30 PM.
131 W. 3rd St.
 Laura Brunner Trio at North Square Lounge, 12:30 and
2:15 PM. 103 Waverly Place.
 Perfect Alibi Quintet with Meg Macan at Hailey's Harp,
3:00 PM. 400 Main St, Metuchen NJ.
at Rutherfurd Hall, 3:00 PM. 1686
Route 517, Allamuchy NJ.
 Outerplay at Deer Head Inn, 5:00 PM. 5 Main St, Delaware Water Gap PA
 Nancy Nelson Dinner and Music at Shanghai Jazz,
5:00 PM. Dinner served at 5:00 PM; concert begins at
6:00 PM. 24 Main St, Madison NJ.
 Jorge Luis Pacheco at Drom, 5:30 and 8:30 PM. 85
Avenue A.
 Film Screening: Butch Morris – Black February at
Roulette, 5:30 PM. 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Inner City: Migration featuring Hamid Drake at Roulette, 7PM. 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.
Hart at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 Positive Knowledge featuring Henry Grimes at Roulette, 7:30 PM. 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Ehud Asherie Duo at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 Davy Mooney Trio at The Bar Next Door, 8:00 and
8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Tadataka Unno at Measure, Langham Place Hotel,
 Ran Tan Toon at Van Gogh's Ear, 8PM. 1017 Stuyvesant Avenue, Union NJ.
 Nicki Shrire Quartet at Shapeshifter Lab, 8:15 PM. 18
 Hamiet Bluiett Quartet at Roulette, 8:30 PM. 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Ray Abrams Big Band at Swing 46, 8:30 PM. 349 West
46th St.
 Mario Pavone ARC Trio at Roulette, 9:30 PM. 509
Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Natalie Cressman and Secret Garden at Shapeshifter
 Marshall Allen and Christian McBride: Bass Routes at
Roulette, 10:30 PM. 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Mauricio DeSouza Trio at Garage, 11PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Spike Wilner's Birthday Party at Smalls, 11:30 PM. 183
West 10th St.
 Diva Trio + One
Monday, June 17
 Abe Ovadia Trio at The Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129
MacDougal St.
 Casey Berman Trio at Blue Note, 6:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd
St.
 Howard Williams Jazz Orchestra at Garage, 7PM. 99
7th Ave. S.
 Deturtle at Shapeshifter Lab, 7PM. 18 Whitwell Place,
Brooklyn.
 LaTanya Hall at Le Cirque Cafe, 7:30 PM. 151 E. 58th St.
 Moutin Reunion Quartet at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola,
 Hans Glawischnig Duo at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 West
10th St.
 Scot Albertson CD Relase Party featuring Ron Jack-
son and Mayu Saeki at Leonard Nimoy Thalia, Symphony Space, 7:30 PM. Admission includes a copy of the
new CD. 2537 Broadway at 95th St.
 Gato Barbieri at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W.
3rd St.
 Kevin Sholar at Measure, Langham Place Hotel, 8PM.
400 Fifth Avenue.
 Masahiro Yamamoto Quintet at Tomi Jazz, 8PM. Lower
 Harish Raghavan Group at Shapeshifter Lab, 8:15 PM.
 Marianne Solivan Trio with Ron Affif at The Bar Next
Door, 8:30 and 10:30 PM. 129 MacDougal St.
 Aaron Parks Quartet at Shapeshifter Lab, 9:30 PM. 18
 Sam Yahel Trio at Smalls, 10:00 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 Kenny Shanker Quartet at Garage, 10:30 PM. 99 7th
Ave. S.
 Hajime Yoshida at Tomi Jazz, 8PM. Lower level, 239
East 53rd St.
 Students from Marianne Solivan's Vocal Workshop at
Zeb's, 8PM. Second floor, 223 West 28th St.
 Stacey Kent at Birdland, 8:30 and 11PM. 315 W. 44 St.
 Arthur Hnatek Nonet at Seeds, 8:30 PM. Ground floor,
617 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Johnny Boyd at Swing 46, 8:30 PM. 349 West 46th St.
 Mark Turner Quartet at Village Vanguard, 8:30 and
10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Professor Cunningham and His Old School at Rade-
gast Hall, 9:00 PM. 113 North 3rd St, Brooklyn.
Tuesday, June 18
 Nir Felder Quartet at Smalls, 9:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 J. Lew Treboo 4tet at Seeds, 10:00 PM. Ground floor,
 Caleb Curtis Trio at Garage, 6:00 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Alex Sugerman Trio at The Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM.
 Grandpa Musselman and the Syncopators at The
129 MacDougal St.
 Paquito D'Rivera and the Classics at 54 Below, 7:00
and 9:00 PM. Lower level, 254 West 54th St.
 Fatum Brothers at Antibes Bistro, 7:30 PM. 112 Suffolk
St.
 Papo Vazquez' Mighty Pirates Troubadours at Dizzy's
Club Coca Cola, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 10 Columbus Circle
 Harold Lopez-Nussa Duo at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and
9:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension at Blue Note,
8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
400 Fifth Avenue.
 Joel Beaver Swingtet at Radegast Hall, 8PM. 113 North
3rd St, Brooklyn.
 Ned Rothenberg, Ikue Mori, and Zeena Parkins at The
Stone, 8PM. Corner of Avenue C and 2nd St.
 Akemi Yamada Duo at Tomi Jazz, 8PM. Lower level, 239
East 53rd St.
 Matt Echols Band at Tumulty's Pub, 8PM. 361 George
 Jean Paul Boureilly/ Adam Rudolph Duo at
 Perry Smith Trio at The Bar Next Door, 8:30 and 10:30
 Johnny Boyd at Swing 46, 8:30 PM. 349 West 46th St.
10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Gene Lake Group at Shapeshifter Lab, 9:30 PM. 18
 Ned Rothenberg and Marc Ribot at The Stone, 10:00
 Cecilia Coleman Quartet at Garage, 10:30 PM. 99 7th
Wednesday, June 19
 Nick Moran Trio at Garage, 6:00 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Alex LoRe Trio at The Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129
MacDougal St.
 Harry Allen Trio at Shanghai Jazz, 7PM. 24 Main St,
Madison NJ.
 Laura Campisi Trio at Antibes Bistro, 7:30 PM. 112
Suffolk St.
 Papo Vazquez' Mighty Pirates Troubadours at Dizzy's
#5.
 Ben Wolfe Quartet with Orrin Evans at Jazz Standard,
7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 Dave Gibson Group at New Brunswick Hyatt, 7:30 PM.
2 Albany St, New Brunswick NJ.
8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Peter Beets/ Joe Cohn Quartet at Kitano, 8:00 and
10:00 PM. 66 Park Avenue.
400 Fifth Avenue.
 Dan Levinson and Fête Manouche at Arts and Community Center, Ocean County College, 8PM. One College
Drive, Toms River NJ.
 Ned Rothenberg's Sync featuring Jerome Harris and
Samir Chatterjee at The Stone, 8:00 and 10:00 PM.
617 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn.
Wayland, 10:00 PM. 700 East 9th St.
Ave. S.
 Aidan Carroll Quartet at Smalls, 12:30 AM. 183 West
10th St.
Thursday, June 20
 Dylan Meek Trio at Garage, 6:00 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Aleksi Glick Trio at The Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129
MacDougal St.
 Marco DiGennaro Trio at Cleopatra's Needle, 7PM.
2485 Broadway.
 Eric Alexander/ Harold Mabern Quintet at Dizzy's Club
 Freddy Cole Quartet plus special Guest Harry Allen at
Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 Todd Bashore Quartet at Makeda, 7:30 PM. 338 George
 Los Mas Valiantes CD Release Party at Trumpets, 7:30
8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Angelo DiLoreto Trio at Kitano, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. 66
Park Avenue.
400 Fifth Avenue.
 Ned Rothenberg's Ghost Stories: Trio Composition
and Quartet Improvisation at The Stone, 8PM. Corner
of Avenue C and 2nd St.
 Lage Lund Trio at The Bar Next Door, 8:30 and 10:30
 Emily Wolf at Caffe Vivaldi, 8:30 PM. 32 Jones St.
10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Thiefs featuring Guillermo Brown at Jazz Gallery, 9:00
and 10:30 PM. Fifth floor, 1160 Broadway.
 Emily Asher's Garden Party at Radegast Hall, 9:00 PM.
113 North 3rd St, Brooklyn.
 Scot Albertson at Tomi Jazz, 9:00 PM. Lower level, 239
East 53rd St.
 Nir Felder Quartet at Smalls, 9:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 Ned Rothenberg's Ghost Stories: Quartet Piece and
Duo for Alto Sax and Percussion at The Stone, 10:00
 Ryan Meagher Trio at Garage, 10:30 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Carlos Abadie Quintet at Smalls, 12:00 AM. 183 West
10th St.
Friday, June 21
 Son de Madre at Jacobi Medical Center, 12PM. 1400
Pelham Parkway, Bronx.
 Rio Clemente at Cosy Cupboard Tea Room, 6:00 PM. 4
Old Turnpike Road, Convent Station NJ.
 Joel Perry Trio at Garage, 6:15 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Jerry Vivino Quartet at Shanghai Jazz, 6:30 and 8:30
PM. 24 Main St, Madison NJ.
 Davey Lantz at Deer Head Inn, 7PM. 5 Main St, Dela-
23
ware Water Gap PA
Jazz Lovers
Heaven
Scan the QR Code below
with your mobile device
East Main St, Somerville NJ.
 Paul Bollenback Trio at The Bar Next Door, 7:30, 9:30,
 Michaël Attias and Sean Conly performing selections
from Ornette Coleman's Soapsuds, Soapsuds and
their own album Think Shadow at Greenwich House,
7:30 PM. 46 Barrow St
 Tardo Hammer Trio at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 West 10th
 Sadao Watanabe at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131
W. 3rd St.
 Joonsam Lee Trio at Cleopatra's Needle, 8PM. 2485
Broadway.
 Sacha Boutros Quartet CD Release Party at Kitano,
8:00 and 10:00 PM. 66 Park Avenue.
400 Fifth Avenue.
 Ned Rothenberg and John Zorn at The Stone, 8PM.
 Kym Hampton at Sugar Bar, 8PM. 254 West 72nd St.
 Chucho Valdes and the Afro-Cuban Messengers at
Town Hall, 8PM. 123 West 43rd St.
 Greg Jones Trio at Trumpets, 8PM. 6 Depot Square,
Montclair NJ.
 Ahmed Abdullah at Jazz 966, 8:15 and 10:15 PM. 966
Fulton St, Brooklyn.
 Matthew Garrison at Shapeshifter Lab, 8:15 and 9:30
10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Philip Dizack at Jazz Gallery, 9:00 and 10:30 PM. Fifth
floor, 1160 Broadway.
 Tomoyasu Ikuta at Tomi Jazz, 9:00 PM. Lower level, 239
East 53rd St.
 George Gee Swing Orchestra at Swing 46, 9:30 PM.
349 West 46th St.
 Ned Rothenberg Quartet with Ray Anderson at The
Stone, 10:00 PM. Corner of Avenue C and 2nd St.
 Mike DiRubbo Quintet at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 West
10th St.
 Kevin Dorn and the BIG 72 at Garage, 10:45 PM. 99 7th
Ave. S.
 Susan Tobocman Quartet with Ari Hoenig at The
Metropolitan Room, 11:30 PM. 34 West 22nd St.
 Dessy DiLauro at Blue Note, 12:30 AM. 131 W. 3rd St.
Saturday, June 22
 Marsha Heydt Quartet at Garage, 12PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Pawel Ignatowicz Quartet at Snug Harbor Cultural
Your Own Personal
Lifetime Access!
Jazz Listening,
Enjoyment, Discovery
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24
 Billy Carrion Jr. Trio at Dragonfly Music Cafe, 7PM. 14
Center, 3:00 PM. 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island.
 Lee Hogans at Candlelight Lounge, 3:30 PM. 24
 Yorgis Goiricelaya at Drom, 6:00 and 8:30 PM. 85 Avenue A.
 Natalie Carter and Trio at Puffin Cultural Forum, 6:00
PM. 20 Puffin Way, Teaneck NJ
 Champian Fulton Quartet at Garage, 6:15 PM. 99 7th
Ave. S.
 Christian Sands Trio at Shanghai Jazz, 6:30 and 8:45
PM. 24 Main St, Madison NJ.
 Smooth Sounds Trio at Dauphin Grille, Berkeley
Park NJ.
 Joe Locke Quartet with Jim Ridl at Deer Head Inn,
7PM. 5 Main St, Delaware Water Gap PA
 Jazz Piano Summit: Cedar Walton and Mulgrew Miller
at The Allen Room, Lincoln Center, 7:30 and 9:30 PM.
Corner of Broadway and 60th St.
 Ed Cherry Trio at The Bar Next Door, 7:30, 9:30, and
 Valerie Capers Ensemble at BeanRunner Cafe, 7:30
PM. 201 South Division St, Peekskill NY.
 David Schnitter Quartet at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 West
10th St.
W. 3rd St.
 Satchmo Mannan Quartet at Cleopatra's Needle, 8PM.
2485 Broadway.
 Earthman Experience at Ginny's Supper Club, 8PM.
310 Lenox Avenue.
 Sacha Boutros Quartet CD Release Party at Kitano,
8:00 and 10:00 PM. 66 Park Avenue.
400 Fifth Avenue.
 Mauricio DeSouza and Bossa Brasil at The Mill, 8PM.
101 Old Mill Road, Spring Lake Heights NJ.
 Ned Rothenberg with Sylvie Courvoisier and Mark
Feldman at The Stone, 8PM. Corner of Avenue C and 2nd
 Allegra Levy at Tomi Jazz, 8PM. Lower level, 239 East
53rd St.
 Ty Stephens and Soul Jaazz at Trumpets, 8:00 and
10:00 PM. 6 Depot Square, Montclair NJ.
 Russell Kirk and the Path at Shapeshifter Lab, 8:15
10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Tim Green 5tet featuring Gilad Hekselman: Songs of
This Season at Jazz Gallery, 9:00 and 10:30 PM. Fifth
floor, 1160 Broadway.
 Red Light District with Broadway Brassy at Edison
Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228 West 47th St.
 Greg Osby 4 with Simona Premazzi at Shapeshifter
 Ned Rothenberg with Adam Matta at The Stone, 10:00
 Mike DiRubbo Quintet at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 West
10th St.
 Daylight Blues Band at Garage, 10:45 PM. 99 7th Ave.
S.
 Arthur Sadowski at Tomi Jazz, 11PM. Lower level, 239
East 53rd St.
 Spokinn Movement at Blue Note, 12:30 AM. 131 W. 3rd
Sunday, June 23
 Iris Ornig Quartet at Garage, 11:30 AM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Joe Alterman Trio with Houston Person at Blue Note,
12:30 and 2:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Roz Corral/ Eddie Monteiro Duo at North Square
Lounge, 12:30 and 2:15 PM. 103 Waverly Place.
 Kevin Harris CD Release Party at Smalls, 4:30 PM. 183
West 10th St.
 Dave Roper Trio at Deer Head Inn, 5:00 PM. 5 Main St,
 Yorgis Goiricelaya at Drom, 5:30 and 8PM. 85 Ave A.
 Marlene VerPlanck at Shanghai Jazz, 6:00 PM. 24 Main
St, Madison NJ.
 Dee Lucas: Rebirth of the Smooth at The Metropolitan
Room, 7PM. 34 West 22nd St.
 Joe Cohn/ Peter Beets Trio at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183
West 10th St.
 Anthony and Blue Tiger Big Band at Whiskey Cafe,
7:30 PM. Dance lessons at 6:30 PM; buffet and music
begin at 7:30 PM. 1050 Wall St, Lyndhurst NJ.
W. 3rd St.
400 Fifth Avenue.
 Ned Rothenberg with Mivos String Quartet at The
Stone, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. Corner of Avenue C and 2nd
Gypsy Jazz at Birdland, 8:30 and 11PM. 315 W. 44 St.
 Komeda Project at Van Gogh's Ear, 8PM. 1017 Stuyve-
 David Torn: Done Undone at Shapeshifter Lab, 8:30
sant Avenue, Union NJ.
10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Afro Mantra at Garage, 11PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Bruce Harris Quintet at Smalls, 11:30 PM. 183 West 10th
 Roy Hargrove Quintet at Village Vanguard, 8:30 and
10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Lucas Pino No Net Nonet at Smalls, 10:00 PM. 183
West 10th St.
 Zeena Parkins/ Nate Woolley Duo at The Stone, 10:00
 Tsutomu Naki Trio at Garage, 10:30 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
Monday, June 24
 Zeena Parkins' Phantom Orchard at The Stone, 8:00
and 10:00 PM. Corner of Avenue C and 2nd St.
 Mike Rood Trio at The Bar Next Door, 8:30 and 10:30
 Django Reinhardt New York Festival: Young Lions of
 Andrew N. D'Angelo DNA Orchestra at Shapeshifter
 Kevin Wang Trio at The Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129
Wednesday, June 26
MacDougal St.
 Eyal Vilner Big Band at Garage, 7PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Mara Rosenbloom Quartet at Shapeshifter Lab, 7PM.
 Winelight Quintet at Garage, 6:00 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Benny Benack III Trio at The Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM.
 Silver Arrow Band at Drom, 7:15 PM. 85 Avenue A.
 Avalon Jazz Band at Le Cirque Cafe, 7:30 PM. 151 East
58th St.
 Deer Head Inn Jazz Orchestra at Deer Head Inn, 7:30
PM. 5 Main St, Delaware Water Gap PA
 Spiritrio at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, 7:30 and 9:30 PM.
10 Columbus Circle #5.
 Peter Bernstein Solo Guitar at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183
West 10th St.
 Greyboy All-Stars with Houston Person at Blue Note,
8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Masako Fujimoto Quartet at Tomi Jazz, 8PM. Lower
 Bloodlines with Kaoru Watanabe and Sara Schoenbeck at Shapeshifter Lab, 8:15 PM. 18 Whitwell Place,
Brooklyn.
 Magos Herrera Trio at The Bar Next Door, 8:30 and
 Shoshana Bush at Anyway Cafe, 9:00 PM. 34 East 2nd
St.
 Kaoru Watanabe Ensemble at Shapeshifter Lab, 9:30
 Mayu Saeki Trio at Garage, 10:30 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Ari Hoenig Group with Jean-MIchel Pilc at Smalls,
10:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
129 MacDougal St.
 Pawel Ignatowicz Quartet at Kosciuszko Foundation,
7PM. 15 East 65th St.
 Cleveland Watkiss Quartet at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola,
 Chris Bergson Band with Ellis Hooks at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 Diana Tuffin Group at New Brunswick Hyatt, 7:30 PM.
2 Albany St, New Brunswick NJ.
 Greyboy All-Stars with Gary Bartz at Blue Note, 8:00
and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Buddy Guy at B. B. King Blues Club, 8PM. 237 West
42nd St.
 Tony Middleton Quartet Birthday Bash at Kitano, 8:00
and 10:00 PM. 66 Park Avenue.
 Zeena Parkins/ Weasel Walter Duo at The Stone, 8PM.
 Mamiko Taira Duo at Tomi Jazz, 8PM. Lower level, 239
East 53rd St.
 Maya Nova at Zeb's, 8PM. Second floor, 223 West 28th
 Ohad Talmor Trio at Seeds, 8:30 PM. Ground floor, 617
Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn.
10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Grand St Stompers at Radegast Hall, 9:00 PM. 113
 Hans Tammen's Third Eye Electric Band: Zavodniks at
 Simona Premazzi Quartet with Melissa Aldana: CD
Release Party at Smalls, 9:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 Zeena Parkins/ Deep Singh Duo at The Stone, 10:00
 Jared Gold Trio with Dave Stryker at Smalls, 12:30 AM.
183 West 10th St.
Tuesday, June 25
 New Tricks at Garage, 6:00 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Ben Flocks Trio at The Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM. 129
MacDougal St.
 Jazz Stars of Tomorrow: Students from New School of
Jazz and Contemporary Music at Pier 45, Hudson
River Park, 6:30 PM. Free. West St at West 10th.
 Cecile McLorin Salvant at 54 Below, 7:00 and 9:00 PM.
Lower level, 254 West 54th St.
 Fred McFarlane Band at Harlem Tavern, 7PM. 2153
Frederick Douglass Boulevard.
 Soweto Kinch Trio at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, 7:30 and
 Chris Bergson Band with Ellis Hooks at Jazz Standard, 7:30 and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 Gonzalo Bergara Quartet at Joe's Pub, 7:30 PM. 425
Lafayette St.
 Greyboy All-Stars with James Carter at Blue Note, 8:00
and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd St.
 Mike Longo Trio Celebrates Herbie Hancock and
Wayne Shorter at New York City Baha'i Center, 8:00
and 9:30 PM. 53 East 11th St.
 Zeena Parkins/ Mick Barr Duo at The Stone, 8PM.
 Yasuno Katsuki Quartet at Tomi Jazz, 8PM. Lower
 Eitan Levine Band at Tumulty's Pub, 8PM. 361 George
 Jacam Manricks Trio at The Bar Next Door, 8:30 and
Thursday, June 27
10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Henry Threadgill at Jazz Gallery, 9:00 and 10:30 PM.
 Phil Robson with Mark Turner, Ingrid Jensen, and Billy
Hart at Shapeshifter Lab, 9:30 PM. 18 Whitwell Place,
Brooklyn.
 Mimi Jones at Smalls, 9:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 Masami Ishikawa Trio at Garage, 10:30 PM. 99 7th Av S.
 Emmett Cohen Trio at Smalls, 12:00 AM. 183 West 10th .
Friday, June 28
 Michika Fukumori at Garage, 6:15 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Matt Vashilishan Quartet at Deer Head Inn, 7PM. 5
 Chuck Braman Jazz Band at Pier 45, Hudson River
Park, 7PM. Free. West St at West 10th.
 Makaya McCraven Trio with special guests TBA at
Drom, 7:15 PM. 85 Avenue A.
 Jack Wilkins Trio with Jon Burr at The Bar Next Door,
7:30, 9:30, and 11:30 PM. 129 MacDougal St.
 Richie Goods and Nuclear Fusion at BeanRunner
Cafe, 7:30 PM. 201 South Division St, Peekskill NY.
 Dion Parsons and the 21st Century Band at Dizzy's
 Hugh Masekela and Larry Willis at Jazz Standard, 7:30,
9:30, and 11:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 Marion Cowings Trio at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 West 10th
 Roy Haynes at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W.
3rd St.
 Darrell Smith Trio at Cleopatra's Needle, 8PM. 2485
Broadway.
 Ralph Alessi/ Fred Hersch Duo CD Release Party at
Kitano, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. 66 Park Avenue.
 Zeena Parkins: Music for Harps at The Stone, 8PM.
 Wayne Shorter Quartet with Allen Carrington Spalding
and Sound Prints, Dave Douglas, and Joe Lovano
Quintet at Town Hall, 8PM. 123 West 43rd St.
 Roni Ben-Hur at Trumpets, 8PM. 6 Depot Square, Montclair NJ.
 Dre Barnes Project at Garage, 6:00 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Jeff McLaughlin Trio at The Bar Next Door, 6:30 PM.
129 MacDougal St.
 Sonelius Smith Trio at Cleopatra's Needle, 7PM. 2485
Broadway.
 Simona Premazzi and Irene Jalenti: Italian Music in
Jazz at New York Botanical Garden, 7PM. 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx.
 J. D. Allen at Ginny's Supper Club, 7:30 and 10:00 PM.
310 Lenox Avenue.
 Hugh Masekela and Larry Willis at Jazz Standard, 7:30
and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 Dave Stryker Quartet at Makeda, 7:30 PM. 338 George
3rd St.
 Buddy Guy at B. B. King Blues Club, 8PM. 237 West
42nd St.
 Mamiko Watanabe Trio at Kitano, 8:00 and 10:00 PM.
66 Park Avenue.
“When a person
cannot deceive himself
the chances are against
his being able to deceive
other people.”
- Mark Twain
25
 Keisha St. Joan with Bertha Hope and Jazzberry Jam
at Jazz 966, 8:15 and 10:15 PM. 966 Fulton St, Brooklyn.
 Avalon Jazz Band at FADA, 8:30 PM. 530 Driggs Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Matthew Garrison and Gregoire Maret at Shapeshifter
10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Powerhouse Big Band at Tim McLoone's Supper Club,
9:00 PM. 1200 Ocean Avenue, Asbury Park NJ.
 Takeshi Asai Duo at Tomi Jazz, 9:00 PM. Lower level,
239 East 53rd St.
 New York Funk Exchange at Drom, 9:30 PM. 85 Ave A.
 Jook Joint Shufflers at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM.
228 West 47th St.
 Ron Sunshine and Full Swing at Swing 46, 9:30 PM.
349 West 46th St.
 White Out + Zeena Parkins at The Stone, 10:00 PM.
 Lew Tabackin Trio at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 West 10th
 Jason Prover and the Sneak Thievery Orchestra at
Garage, 10:45 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 No BS! Brass Band at Joe's Pub, 11:30 PM. 425 Lafayette St.
 Alan Evans Trio at Blue Note, 12:30 AM. 131 W. 3rd St.
Saturday, June 29
 Ben Healy Trio at Garage, 12PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Sylvia Cuenca at Candlelight Lounge, 3:30 PM. 24
 Mark Devine Trio at Garage, 6:15 PM. 99 7th Ave. S.
 Billy Carrion Jr. Trio at Dauphin Grille, Berkeley
Park NJ.
 Carrie Jackson and Her Jazzin' All Star Trio at Deer
Head Inn, 7PM. 5 Main St, Delaware Water Gap PA
 B. D. Lenz at Salt Creek Grille, 7PM. One Rockingham
Row, Princeton NJ.
 Petros Klampanis Trio at The Bar Next Door, 7:30,
9:30, and 11:30 PM. 129 MacDougal St.
 Hugh Masekela and Larry Willis at Jazz Standard, 7:30,
9:30, and 11:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 Peter Zak Trio at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
3rd St.
 Larry Newcomb Quartet at Cleopatra's Needle, 8PM.
2485 Broadway.
 Tommy Emmanuel Solo Guitar at B. B. King Blues
 J. J. Sanseverino at Lucille's Bar, B. B. King Blues
 Ralph Alessi/ Fred Hersch Duo CD Release Party at
Kitano, 8:00 and 10:00 PM. 66 Park Avenue.
 Jerry Topinka at The Mill, 8PM. 101 Old Mill Road,
Spring Lake Heights NJ.
 Zeena Parkins' What Is?? What Is Is?: Improvisations
and Songs Without Words at The Stone, 8:00 and 10:00
 Daniel Benett at Tomi Jazz, 8PM. Lower level, 239 East
53rd St.
 Art Opening and Music Performance: New Drawings
and Songs by Mariano Gil at Shapeshifter Lab, 8:15
10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Rosie 151 and the Red Hook Ramblers at Edison Rum
26
House, 9:30 PM. 228 West 47th St.
 Terry Waldo and His Rum House Jass Band (except
 Ron Sunshine and Full Swing at Swing 46, 9:30 PM.
6/10) at Edison Rum House, 10:00 PM. 228 West 47th St.
349 West 46th St.
 Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra at Lucille's Bar, B. B.
King Blues Club, 10:30 PM. 237 West 42nd St.
 Lew Tabackin Trio at Smalls, 10:30 PM. 183 West 10th
 Carl Bartlett Jr. Quartet at Garage, 10:45 PM. 99 7th
Ave. S.
 Sam Kulok at Tomi Jazz, 11PM. Lower level, 239 East
53rd St.
 Marcus Strickland's Twi-Life at Blue Note, 12:30 AM.
131 W. 3rd St.
 Richie Cannata Jam Session at The Bitter End, 11:45
Sunday, June 30
 Ben Allison Trio at Blue Note, 12:30 and 2:30 PM. 131
PM. 147 Bleecker St.
 Spencer Murphy at Smalls, 12:30 AM. 183 West 10th St.
Tuesdays (6/4, 6/11, 6/18, 6/25)
 Steve Coleman Workshop at Seeds, 1:00 PM. Ground
floor, 617 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn.
 Chris Gillespie at Bemelmans' Bar, Hotel Carlyle, 5:30
 Yuichi Hirakawa House Band at Arthur's Tavern, 7PM.
57 Grove St.
 Spike Wilner Trio (except 6/11) at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183
West 10th St.
W. 3rd St.
 Roz Corral Trio with Ron Affif at North Square Lounge,
12:30 and 2:15 PM. 103 Waverly Place.
 Camille Thurman Quartet at Emmanuel Baptist
Church, 3:00 PM. 279 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn.
 John Merrill Trio at Smalls, 4:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 Hugh Masekela and Larry Willis at Jazz Standard, 7:30
and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 Carolin Pook's Pookestra at Shapeshifter Lab, 7:30
 Lezlie Harrison at Smalls, 7:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 Anthony and Blue Tiger Jazz Band at Trumpets, 7:30
 Andy Bey at Blue Note, 8:00 and 10:30 PM. 131 W. 3rd
 Jon Davis at Measure, Langham Place Hotel, 8PM. 400
Fifth Avenue.
 Zeena Parkins' Lace Piece at The Stone, 8:00 and 10:00
 L.E.S. Hot Club at Shapeshifter Lab, 8:30 PM. 18 Whitwell Place, Brooklyn.
 Felix and the Cats at Swing 46, 8:30 PM. 349 West 46th
10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Gypsy Jazz Jam Session at Shapeshifter Lab, 9:30 PM.
 Marc Devine Trio at Cleopatra's Needle, 8PM. 2485
REGULAR GIGS
 Marianne Solivan's Vocal Jazz Workshop (except 6/26)
Mondays (6/3, 6/10, 6/17, 6/24)
Broadway.
 Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks at Sofia's, Edison
Hotel, 8PM. 228 West 47th St.
 Carlos Cuevas (except 6/4) at Kitano, 8PM. 66 Park
Avenue.
 Pedrito Martinez Band at Guantanamera, 8:30 PM. 939
Eighth Avenue.
 Dandy Wellington and His Band at Hotel Chantelle,
8:30 PM. 92 Ludlow St.
 George Gee Swing Orchestra (except 6/18) at Swing
46, 8:30 PM. 349 West 46th St.
 Jam Session at Cleopatra's Needle, 9:00 PM. 2485
Broadway.
 Loston Harris Trio at Bemelmans' Bar, Hotel Carlyle,
9:30 PM. 35 East 76th St.
 Annie Ross at The Metropolitan Room, 9:30 PM. 34
West 22nd St.
 Jam Session at Tumulty's Pub, 9:30 PM. 361 George
 Orrin Evans Jam Session at Zinc Bar, 11PM. 82 West
3rd St.
 Kyle Poole and Friends at Smalls, 12:00 AM. 183 West
10th St.
Wednesdays (6/5, 6/12, 6/19, 6/26)
at Zeb's, 5:00 PM. Second floor, 223 West 28th St.
 Louis Armstrong Centennial Band at Birdland, 5:30
PM. 315 W. 44 St.
 Earl Rose at Bemelmans' Bar, Hotel Carlyle, 5:30 PM.
35 East 76th St.
 Eve Silber at Arthur's Tavern, 7PM. 57 Grove St.
 Les Kurtz Trio at Cleopatra's Needle, 7PM. 2485 Broad-
way.
 Kat Gang with Joe Young at Arcane Bistro, 7PM. 111
Avenue C.
 Grove St Stompers at Arthur's Tavern, 7PM. 57 Grove
 Ken Fowser and Friends (except 6/3) at Sandi Pointe
Coastal Bistro, 7PM. 908 Shore Road, Somers Point NJ
 Mingus Big Band (except 6/10) at Jazz Standard, 7:30
and 9:30 PM. 116 E. 27 St.
 Noah Haidu Trio at Cleopatra's Needle, 8PM. 2485
Broadway.
 Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks at Sofia's, Edison
Hotel, 8PM. 228 West 47th St.
 Iris Ornig Jam Session at Kitano, 8PM. 66 Park Avenue.
 Swing Dance Night with the Cotton Club All Stars at
The Cotton Club, 8:30 PM. 656 West 125th St.
 Tom Abbott Big Bang Big Band at Swing 46, 8:30 PM.
349 West 46th St.
 Vanguard Jazz Orchestra at Village Vanguard, 8:30 and
10:30 PM. 178 7th Ave. S.
 Woody Allen and the Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz
Band (6/3 and 6/10 only) at Cafe Carlyle, 8:45 PM. 35
East 76th St.
 Earl Rose Trio at Bemelmans' Bar, Hotel Carlyle, 9:00
 Jam Session at Cleopatra's Needle, 9:00 PM. 2485
Broadway.
 Cole Ramstad and the Chinatown All Stars at Apotheke, 10:00 PM. 9 Doyers St.
 Julie Milgram Trio at Lime Leaf Thai Restaurant, 7PM.
128 West 72nd St.
Courtney Graf at Millesime, 8PM. 92 Madison Avenue.
Reggie Woods at Sapphire, 7PM. 333 East 60th St.
Roger Davidson at Caffe Vivaldi, 7:15 PM. 32 Jones St.
Jason Marshall Organ Trio at American Legion Post
#398, 7:30 PM. 248 West 132nd St.
 Avalon Jazz Band at Apotheke, 8PM. 9 Doyers St.
 Jonathan Kreisberg Trio at The Bar Next Door, 8:30
Eighth Avenue.
 Stan Rubin Orchestra (except 6/19) at Swing 46, 8:30
 Kat Gang at The Rose Club, Plaza Hotel, 9:00 PM.
Corner of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South.
 Smokin' Billy Slater at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM.
228 West 47th St.
 Alyson Williams with Arthur's House Band at Arthur's
Tavern, 10:00 PM. 57 Grove St.
 Jam with Joonsam Lee at Cleopatra's Needle, 11:30
PM. 2485 Broadway.




Thursdays (6/6, 6/13, 6/20, 6/27)
Broadway, Brooklyn.
 Alyson Williams with Arthur's House Band at Arthur's
PM. 35 East
76th
St.
 Sam Raderman/ Luc Decker Jam Session at Smalls,
5:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 Eri Yamamoto Trio at Arthur's Tavern, 7PM. 57 Grove
 Tiffany Chang Trio at Lime Leaf Thai Restaurant, 7PM.
128 West 72nd St.
 Bill Goodwin and Friends at Deer Head Inn, 8PM. 5
 Lauren Henderson Trio at Millesime, 8PM. 92 Madison
Avenue.
Eighth Avenue.
 Lapis Luna at The Rose Club, Plaza Hotel, 8:30 PM.
Corner of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South.
 Felix and the Cats (except 6/20) at Swing 46, 8:30 PM.
349 West 46th St.
 Nicole Zuraitis with Dandy Wellington and His Band at
Ella Lounge, 9:00 PM. 9 Avenue A.
 Jam Session at Deer Head Inn, 9:00 PM. 5 Main St,
 Sweet Georgia Brown with Off the Hook at Arthur's
 Jam with Kazu Trio at Cleopatra's Needle, 11:30 PM.
2485 Broadway.
Fridays (6/7, 6/14, 6/21, 6/28)
 Pasquale Grasso Jam Session at Smalls, 4:00 PM. 183
West 10th St.
 Birdland Big Band at Birdland, 5:00 PM. 315 W. 44 St.
 Eri Yamamoto at Arthur's Tavern, 7PM. 57 Grove St.
 Lauren Henderson Trio at Millesime, 8PM. 92 Madison
Avenue.
 Scot Albertson and Lucy Galliher at Parnell's, 8PM.
350 East 53rd St.
 Gerardo Contino y Sus Habaneros at Guantanamera,
8:30 PM. 939 Eighth Avenue.
 Sweet Georgia Brown with Off the Hook at Arthur's
 Jam with Joanna Sternberg at Cleopatra's Needle,
12:00 AM. 2485 Broadway.
 Jam with Jesse Simpson at Cleopatra's Needle, 12:00
AM. 2485 Broadway.
“In times of change
learners inherit the earth;
while the learned find themselves
beautifully equipped to deal with a
world that no longer exists.”
Sundays (6/2, 6/9, 6/16, 6/23, 6/30)
 Tony Middleton Trio at Kitano, 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM.
66 Park Avenue.
 Avalon Jazz Band at The Lambs Club, 11:00 AM. 132
West 44th St.
 Dandy Wellington and His Band at The Astor Room,
11:30 AM. 34-12 36th St, Astoria, Queens.
 Baby Soda Jazz Band at Tribeca Grand Hotel, 11:30
AM. 2 Avenue of the Americas.
 Emily Wolf at Millesime, 12PM. 92 Madison Avenue.
 Bob Kindred Trio at Cafe Loup, 12:30 PM. 105 West
13th St.
 Gabrielle Stravelli at Le Pescadeux, 12:30 PM. 90
Thompson St.
 Marion Cowings Vocal Master Class at Smalls, 1:00
 Koran Agan Trio at Radegast Hall, 1:30 PM. 113 North
3rd St, Brooklyn.
 Keith Ingham at Cleopatra's Needle, 4:00 PM. 2485
Broadway.
 Jazz Vespers at Saint Peter's Church, 5:00 PM. 619
Lexington Avenue.
 Birdland Jazz Party featuring John Hart Quartet and
guest vocalist (Shoshana Bush on 6/2, Scott Alan on
6/16, Cyrille Aimee on 6/23) at Birdland, 6:00 PM. 315
W. 44 St.
 Junior Mance Trio at Cafe Loup, 6:30 PM. 105 West 13th
St.
 Jam Session at American Legion Post #398, 7PM. 248
West 132nd St.
 Creole Cooking Jazz Band at Arthur's Tavern, 7PM. 57
Grove St.
- Eric Hoffer
 Peter Mazza Trio (except 6/16) at The Bar Next Door,
8:00 and 10:00 PM. 129 MacDougal St.
 Forroteria at Millesime, 8PM. 92 Madison Avenue.
 Juan Carlos Formel y su Son Radical at Guantanam-
era, 8:30 PM. 939 Eighth Avenue.
 Mary Alouette and The Bailsmen at Hotel Chantelle,
8:30 PM. 92 Ludlow St.
 Arturo O'Farrill Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra at Birdland,
9:00 and 11PM. 315 W. 44 St.
 Jam with Michika Fukumori Trio at Cleopatra's Needle,
9:00 PM. 2485 Broadway.
 Candy Shop Boys at Edison Rum House, 9:30 PM. 228
West 47th St.
 Baby Soda (except 6/9) at St. Mazie, 9:30 PM. 345 Grand
St, Brooklyn.
 Johnny O'Neal at Smalls, 9:30 PM. 183 West 10th St.

Saturdays (6/1, 6/8, 6/15, 6/22, 6/29)
 New York Jazz Academy Big Band Workshop (except
6/8) at Saint Peter's Church, 10:00 AM. 619 Lexington
Avenue.
 Dandy Wellington and His Band at Hotel Chantelle,
12PM. 92 Ludlow St.
 New York Jazz Academy Vocal Jazz Workshop (except
6/8) at Saint Peter's Church, 12:00 AM. 619 Lexington
Avenue.
 Dwayne Clemons/ Sasha Perry Jam Session at Smalls,
4:00 PM. 183 West 10th St.
 Eri Yamamoto Trio at Arthur's Tavern, 7PM. 57 Grove
 Dandy Wellington and His Band at The Astor Room,
8PM. 34-12 36th St, Astoria, Queens.
 Avalon Jazz Band at Matisse, 8PM. 924 2nd Avenue.
 Scot Albertson and Lucy Galliher at Parnell's, 8PM.
350 East 53rd St.
 Gerardo Contino y Sus Habaneros at Guantanamera,
8:30 PM. 939 Eighth Avenue.
 Mal Stein at Cupping Room Cafe, 9:00 PM. 359 West
Broadway.
 Baby Soda (except 6/8) at Cafe Moto, 9:30 PM. 394
27
Clubs & Venues
55 Bar, 55 Christopher St. (betw 6th & 7th Ave.), 212-929-9883,
www.55bar.com
92nd St Y, 1395 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10128
212.415.5500, www.92ndsty.org
Aaron Davis Hall, City College of NY, Convent Ave., 212-6506900, www.aarondavishall.org
Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, Broadway & 65th St., 212-8755050, www.lincolncenter.org/default.asp
Allen Room, Lincoln Center, Time Warner Center, Broadway
and 60th, 5th floor, 212-258-9800, www.lincolncenter.org/
default.asp
American Museum of Natural History, 81st St. &
Central Park W., 212-769-5100, www.amnh.org
Arthur’s Tavern, 57 Grove St., 212-675-6879 or 917-301-8759,
www.arthurstavernnyc.com
Arts Maplewood, P.O. Box 383, Maplewood, NJ 07040; 973378-2133, www.artsmaplewood.org
Avery Fischer Hall, Lincoln Center, Columbus Ave. & 65th St.,
212-875-5030, www.lincolncenter.org
Backroom at Freddie’s, 485 Dean St. (at 6th Ave.), Brooklyn,
NY, 718-622-7035, www.freddysbackroom.com
BAM Café, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 718-636-4100,
www.bam.org
Bar 4, 7 Ave and 15th, Brooklyn NY 11215, 718-832-9800,
www.Bar4.net
Langham Place, Fifth Avenue, 400 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10018, 212-613-8738,
http://www.langhamplacehotels.com
Barbes, 376 9th St. (corner of 6th Ave.), Park Slope, Brooklyn,
718-965-9177, www.barbesbrooklyn.com
Barge Music, Fulton Ferry Landing, Brooklyn, 718-624-2083,
www.bargemusic.org
B.B. King’s Blues Bar, 237 W. 42nd St., 212-997-4144,
www.bbkingblues.com
Beacon Theatre, 74th St. & Broadway, 212-496-7070
Bickford Theatre, on Columbia Turnpike @ Normandy Heights
Road, east of downtown Morristown. 973-744-2600
Birdland, 315 W. 44th St., 212-581-3080
Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St., 212-475-8592,
www.bluenotejazz.com/newyork
Bluestone Bar & Grill, 117 Columbia St., Brooklyn, NY, 718403-7450, www.bluestonebarngrill.com
Bourbon St Bar and Grille, 346 W. 46th St, NY, 10036,
212-245-2030, contact@bourbonny.com,
contact@frenchquartersny.com
Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery (at Bleecker), 212-614-0505,
www.bowerypoetry.com
Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza, 2nd Fl, Brooklyn,
NY, 718-230-2100, www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org
Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts & Cultural Center, 605
Main St., Middletown, CT. 860-347-4957, www.buttonwood.org.
Café Carlyle, 35 E. 76th St., 212-570-7189, www.thecarlyle.com
Café Loup, 105 W. 13th St. (West Village) , between Sixth and
Seventh Aves., 212-255-4746
Cafe Mozart, 308 Mamaroneck Ave., Mamaroneck, NY
Café St. Bart’s, 109 E. 50th St. (at Park Ave.), 212-888-2664,
www.cafestbarts.com
Caffe Vivaldi, 32 Jones St, NYC; www.caffevivaldi.com
Candlelight Lounge, 24 Passaic St, Trenton. 609-695-9612.
Carnegie Club, 156 W. 56th St., 212-957-9676,
www.hospitalityholdings.com
Carnegie Hall, 7th Av & 57th, 212-247-7800,
www.carnegiehall.org
Casa Dante, 737 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ,
www.casadante.com
Chico’s House Of Jazz, In Shoppes at the Arcade, 631 Lake
Ave., Asbury Park, 732-774-5299
City Winery, 155 Varick St. Bet. Vandam & Spring St., 212608-0555. www.citywinery.com
Cleopatra’s Needle, 2485 Broadway (betw 92nd & 93rd),
212-769-6969, www.cleopatrasneedleny.com
Copeland’s, 547 W. 145th St. (at Bdwy), 212-234-2356
Cornelia St Café, 29 Cornelia St., 212-989-9319, www.
corneliaStcafe.com
Creole Café, 2167 Third Ave (at 118th), 212-876-8838.
Crossroads at Garwood, 78 North Ave., Garwood, NJ 07027,
908-232-5666
Crossroads – 78 North Avenue, Garwood, NJ
Cutting Room, 19 W. 24th St, Tel: 212-691-1900,
www.thecuttingroomnyc.com
Destino, 891 First Ave. & 50th St., 212-751-0700
Detour, 349 E. 13th St. (betw 1st & 2nd Ave.), 212-533-6212,
www.jazzatdetour.com
Division St Grill, 26 North Division St, Peekskill, NY,
914-739-6380, www.divisionStgrill.com
Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Broadway at 60th St., 5th Floor, 212258-9595, www.jalc.com
DROM, 85 Avenue A, New York, 212-777-1157,
www.dromnyc.com/
The Ear Inn, 326 Spring St., NY, 212-226-9060,
www.earinn.com
28
El Museo Del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Ave (at 104th St.), Tel: 212831-7272, Fax: 212-831-7927, www.elmuseo.org
The Encore, 266 W. 47th St., 212-221-3960,
www.theencorenyc.com
The Falcon, 1348 Rt. 9W, Marlboro, NY., 845) 236-7970,
Fat Cat, 75 Christopher St. (at &th Ave.), 212-675-7369,
www.fatcatjazz.com
Five Spot, 459 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 718-852-0202,
www.fivespotsoulfood.com
Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY,
718-463-7700 x222, www.flushingtownhall.org
For My Sweet, 1103 Fulton St., Brooklyn, NY 718-857-1427
Frank’s Cocktail Lounge, 660 Fulton St. (at Lafayette), Brooklyn, NY, 718-625-9339, www.frankscocktaillounge.com
Galapagos, 70 N. 6th St., Brooklyn, NY, 718-782-5188,
www.galapagosartspace.com
Garage Restaurant and Café, 99 Seventh Ave. (betw 4th and
Bleecker), 212-645-0600, www.garagerest.com
Garden Café, 4961 Broadway, by 207th St., New York, 10034,
212-544-9480
Ginny’s Supper Club, 310 Malcolm X Boulevard Manhattan,
NY 10027, 212-792-9001, http://redroosterharlem.com/ginnys/
Glen Rock Inn, 222 Rock Road, Glen Rock, NJ, (201) 445-2362,
www.glenrockinn.com
Greenwich Village Bistro, 13 Carmine St., 212-206-9777,
www.greenwichvillagebistro.com
Harlem Tea Room, 1793A Madison Ave., 212-348-3471,
www.harlemtearoom.com
Hat City Kitchen, 459 Valley St, Orange. 862-252-9147.
www.hatcitykitchen.com
Havana Central West End, 2911 Broadway/114th St), NYC,
212-662-8830, www.havanacentral.com
Hibiscus Restaurant, 270 S. St, Morristown, NJ, 973-359-0200,
www.hibiscusrestaurantnj.com
Highline Ballroom, 431 West 16th St (between 9th & 10th Ave.
www.highlineballroom.com, 212-414-4314.
Hopewell Valley Bistro, 15 East Broad St, Hopewell, NJ 08525,
609-466-9889, www.hopewellvalleybistro.com
Hyatt New Brunswick, 2 Albany St., New Brunswick, NJ
IBeam Music Studio, 168 7th St., Brooklyn, ibeambrooklyn.com
Iridium, 1650 Broadway, 212-582-2121, iridiumjazzclub.com
Jazz 966, 966 Fulton St., Brooklyn, NY, 718-638-6910
Jazz at Lincoln Center, 33 W. 60th St., 212-258-9800,
www.jalc.org
Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th St., 5th Floor
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Reservations: 212-258-9595
Rose Theater, Tickets: 212-721-6500
The Allen Room, Tickets: 212-721-6500
Jazz Gallery, 1160 Broadway, New York, NY 10001
Phone: (212) 242-1063, www.jazzgallery.org
The Jazz Spot, 375 Kosciuszko St. (enter at 179 Marcus Garvey
Blvd.), Brooklyn, NY, 718-453-7825, www.thejazz.8m.com
Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St., 212-576-2232,
www.jazzstandard.net
Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St & Astor Pl.,
212-539-8778, www.joespub.com
John Birks Gillespie Auditorium (see Baha’i Center)
Jules Bistro, 65 St. Marks Place, Tel: 212-477-5560, Fax: 212420-0998, www.julesbistro.com
Kasser Theater, 1 Normal Avenue, Montclair State College,
Montclair, 973-655-4000, www.montclair.edu/arts/
performancefacilities/alexanderkasser.html
Key Club, 58 Park Place, Newark, NJ, (973) 799-0306,
www.keyclubnj.com
Kitano Hotel, 66 Park Ave., 212-885-7119. www.kitano.com
Knickerbocker Bar & Grill, 33 University Pl., 212-228-8490,
www.knickerbockerbarandgrill.com
The Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St., Tel: 212-219-3132,
www.knittingfactory.com
La Famiglia Sorrento, 631 Central Ave, Westfield, NJ, 07090,
908-232-2642, www.lafamigliasorrento.com
La Lanterna (Bar Next Door at La Lanterna), 129 MacDougal
St, New York, 212-529-5945, www.lalanternarcaffe.com
Le Grand Dakar Cafe, 285 Grand Ave, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn,
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/le-grand-dakar/
Le Madeleine, 403 W. 43rd St. (betw 9th & 10th Ave.), New
York, New York, 212-246-2993, www.lemadeleine.com
Lenox Lounge, 288 Lenox Ave. (above 124th St.), 212-4270253, www.lenoxlounge.com
Les Gallery Clemente Soto Velez, 107 Suffolk St. (at Rivington
St.), 212-260-4080
Live @ The Falcon, 1348 Route 9W, Marlboro, NY 12542,
Living Room, 154 Ludlow St. (betw Rivington & Stanton),
212-533-7235, www.livingroomny.com
The Local 269, 269 E. Houston St. (corner of Suffolk St.), NYC
Makor, 35 W. 67th St. (at Columbus Ave.), 212-601-1000,
www.makor.org
Lounge Zen, 254 DeGraw Ave, Teaneck, NJ, (201) 692-8585,
www.lounge-zen.com
Makeda, George St., New Brunswick. NJ, www.nbjp.org
Maxwell’s, 1039 Washington St, Hoboken, NJ, 201-653-1703,
www.maxwellsnj.com
McCarter Theater, 91 University Pl., Princeton, 609-258-2787,
www.mccarter.org
Merkin Concert Hall, Kaufman Center, 129 W. 67th St. (betw
Broadway & Amsterdam), 212-501-3330, www.ekcc.org/
merkin.htm
Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St New York City, NY
10012, 212-206-0440,
Mirelle’s, 170 Post Ave., Westbury, NY, 516-338-4933
Mixed Notes Café, 333 Elmont Rd., Elmont, NY (Queens area),
516-328-2233, www.mixednotescafe.com
Montauk Club, 25 Eighth Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 718-638-0800,
www.montaukclub.com
Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave. (between
103rd & 104th St.), 212-534-1672, www.mcny.org
Musicians’ Local 802, 332 W. 48th St., 718-468-7376 or
860-231-0663
Newark Museum, 49 Washington St, Newark, New Jersey
07102-3176, 973-596-6550, www.newarkmuseum.org
New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center St., Newark, NJ,
07102, 973-642-8989, www.njpac.org
New School Performance Space, 55 W. 13th St., 5th Floor
(betw 5th & 6th Ave.), 212-229-5896, www.newschool.edu.
New School University-Tishman Auditorium, 66 W. 12th St.,
1st Floor, Room 106, 212-229-5488, www.newschool.edu
New York City Baha’i Center, 53 E. 11th St. (betw Broadway
& University), 212-222-5159, www.bahainyc.org
Night of the Cookers, 767 Fulton St., Brooklyn, NY, Tel: 718797-1197, Fax: 718-797-0975
North Square Lounge, 103 Waverly Pl. (at MacDougal St.),
212-254-1200, www.northsquarejazz.com
Novita Bistro & Lounge, 25 New St, Metuchen.
Nublu, 62 Ave. C (betw 4th & 5th St.), 212-979-9925,
www.nublu.net
Nuyorican Poet’s Café, 236 E. 3rd St. (betw Ave. B & C), 212505-8183, www.nuyorican.org
Oak Room at The Algonquin Hotel, 59 W. 44th St. (betw 5th
and 6th Ave.), 212-840-6800, www.thealgonquin.net
Oceana Restaurant, 120 West 49th St, New York, NY 10020
212-759-5941, www.oceanarestaurant.com
Opia, 130 East 57th St, New York, NY 10022, 212-688-3939
www.opiarestaurant.com
Orchid, 765 Sixth Ave. (betw 25th & 26th St.), 212-206-9928
Palazzo Restaurant, 11 South Fullerton Avenue, Montclair. 973746-6778. www.palazzonj.com
Pigalle, 790 8th Ave. 212-489-2233. www.pigallenyc.com
Priory Restaurant & Jazz Club: 223 W Market St., Newark, NJ
07103, 973-639-7885
Private Place, 29 S. Center St, South Orange, NJ, 973-675-6620
www.privateplacelounge.com
Proper Café, 217-01 Linden Blvd., Queens, 718-341-2233
Prospect Park Bandshell, 9th St. & Prospect Park W., Brooklyn,
NY, 718-768-0855
Prospect Wine Bar & Bistro, 16 Prospect St. Westfield, NJ,
908-232-7320, www.16prospect.com, www.cjayrecords.com
Red Eye Grill, 890 Seventh Ave. (at 56th St.), 212-541-9000,
www.redeyegrill.com
Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main St.,
Ridgefield, CT; ridgefieldplayhouse.org, 203-438-5795
Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St, New York, NY 10002
212-477-4155
Rose Center (American Museum of Natural History), 81st St.
(Central Park W. & Columbus), 212-769-5100, amnh.org/rose
Rose Hall, 33 W. 60th St., 212-258-9800, www.jalc.org
Rosendale Café, 434 Main St., PO Box 436, Rosendale, NY
12472, 845-658-9048, www.rosendalecafe.com
Rubin Museum of Art - “Harlem in the Himalayas”, 150 W.
17th St. 212-620-5000. www.rmanyc.org
Rustik, 471 DeKalb Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 347-406-9700, www.
rustikrestaurant.com
Shapeshifter Lab, 18 Whitwell Pl, Brooklyn, 646-820-9452.
www.shapeshifterlab.com
St. Mark’s Church, 131 10th St. (at 2nd Ave.), 212-674-6377
St. Nick’s Pub, 773 St. Nicholas Av (at 149th), 212-283-9728
St. Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington (at 54th), 212-935-2200,
www.saintpeters.org
Salon at Rue 57, 60 West 57th St, 212-307-5656,
www.rue57.com
Sasa’s Lounge, 924 Columbus Ave, Between 105th & 106th St.
NY, NY 10025, 212-865-5159,
www.sasasloungenyc.yolasite.com
Savoy Grill, 60 Park Place, Newark, NJ 07102, 973-286-1700
Schomburg Center, 515 Malcolm X Blvd., 212-491-2200,
www.nypl.org/research/sc/sc.html
Session Bistro. 245 Maywood Avenue, Maywood. 201-8807810.
Shanghai Jazz, 24 Main St., Madison, NJ, 973-822-2899,
www.shanghaijazz.com
ShapeShifter Lab, 18 Whitwell Place, Brooklyn, NY 11215
www.shapeshifterlab.com
Showman’s, 375 W. 125th St., 212-864-8941
Clubs & Venues
Sidewalk Café, 94 Ave. A, 212-473-7373
Silver Spoon, 124 Main St., Cold Spring, NY 10516, 845-2652525, www.silverspooncoldpspring.com
Sista’s Place, 456 Nostrand Ave. (at Jefferson Ave.), Brooklyn,
NY, 718-398-1766, www.sistasplace.org
Skippers Plane St Pub, 304 University Ave. Newark NJ, 973733-9300, www.skippersplaneStpub.com
Smalls Jazz Club, 183 W. 10th St. (at 7th Ave.), 212-929-7565,
www.SmallsJazzClub.com
Smith’s Bar, 701 8th Ave, New York, 212-246-3268
Sofia’s Restaurant - Club Cache’ [downstairs], Edison Hotel,
221 W. 46th St. (between Broadway & 8th Ave), 212-719-5799
Somethin’ Jazz Club, 212 E. 52nd St., NY 10022, 212-371-7657
Sophie’s Bistro, 700 Hamilton St., Somerset. www.nbjp.org
South Gate Restaurant & Bar, 154 Central Park South, 212484-5120, www.154southgate.com
South Orange Performing Arts Center, One SOPAC
Way, South Orange, NJ 07079, sopacnow.org, 973-313-2787
South St Seaport, 207 Front St., 212-748-8600,
www.southstseaport.org.
Spoken Words Café, 266 4th Av, Brooklyn, 718-596-3923
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, 165 W. 65th St., 10th Floor,
212-721-6500, www.lincolncenter.org
The Stone, Ave. C & 2nd St., www.thestonenyc.com
Sugar Bar, 254 W. 72nd St., 212-579-0222,
www.sugarbarnyc.com
Swing 46, 349 W. 46th St.(betw 8th & 9th Ave.),
212-262-9554, www.swing46.com
Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, Tel: 212-864-1414, Fax:
212- 932-3228, www.symphonyspace.org
Tea Lounge, 837 Union St. (betw 6th & 7th Ave), Park Slope,
Broooklyn, 718-789-2762, www.tealoungeNY.com
Terra Blues, 149 Bleecker St. (betw Thompson & LaGuardia),
212-777-7776, www.terrablues.com
Theatre Row, 410 W. 42nd, 212-714-2442, www.theatrerow.org
Tito Puente’s Restaurant and Cabaret, 64 City Island Avenue,
City Island, Bronx, 718-885-3200, titopuentesrestaurant.com
Tomi Jazz, 239 E. 53rd St., lower level. 646-497-1254,
www.tomijazz.com
Tonic, 107 Norfolk St. (betw Delancey & Rivington), Tel: 212358-7501, Fax: 212-358-1237, tonicnyc.com
Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd St., 212-997-1003
Trash Bar, 256 Grand St. 718-599-1000. www.thetrashbar.com
Triad Theater, 158 W. 72nd St. (betw Broadway & Columbus
Ave.), 212-362-2590, www.triadnyc.com
Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St, 10007,
info@tribecapac.org, www.tribecapac.org
Trumpets, 6 Depot Square, Montclair, NJ, 973-744-2600, www.
trumpetsjazz.com
Tumulty’s Pub, 361 George St., New Brunswick
Turning Point Cafe, 468 Piermont Ave. Piermont, N.Y. 10968
(845) 359-1089, http://www.turningpointcafe.com/
Village Vanguard, 178 7th Ave S., 212-255-4037,
www.villagevanguard.net
Vision Festival, 212-696-6681, info@visionfestival.org,
www.visionfestival.org
Watchung Arts Center, 18 Stirling Rd, Watchung, NJ 07069,
908-753-0190, www.watchungarts.org
Watercolor Café, 2094 Boston Post Road, Larchmont, NY
10538, 914-834-2213, www.watercolorcafe.net
Weill Receital Hall at Carnegie Hall, 57th & 7th Ave,
212-247-7800
Williamsburg Music Center, 367 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn,
NY 11211, (718) 384-1654 www.wmcjazz.org
Zankel Hall, 881 7th Ave, New York, 212-247-7800
Zebulon, 258 Wythe St., Brooklyn, NY, 11211, 718-218-6934,
www.zebuloncafeconcert.com
Zinc Bar, 82 West 3rd St.
RECORD STORES
Barnes & Noble, 1960 Broadway, at 67th St, 212-595-6859
Colony Music Center, 1619 Broadway. 212-265-2050,
www.colonymusic.com
Downtown Music Gallery, 13 Monroe St, New York, NY
10002, (212) 473-0043, www.downtownmusicgallery.com
J&R Music World, 13 Monroe St, 212-238-9000, www,jr.com
Jazz Record Center, 236 W. 26th St., Room 804,
212-675-4480, www.jazzrecordcenter.com
Norman’s Sound & Vision, 555 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn,
New York 11211
Princeton Record Exchange, 20 South Tulane St, Princeton,
NJ 08542, 609-921-0881, www.prex.com
Rainbow Music 2002 Ltd., 130 1st Ave (between 7th & St.
Marks Pl.), 212-505-1774
Scotti’s Records, 351 Springfield Ave, Summit, NJ, 07901,
908-277-3893, www.scotticd.com
MUSIC STORES
Manny’s Music, 156 W. 48th St. (betw. 6th and 7th Ave),
212-819-0576, Fax: 212-391-9250, www.mannysmusic.com
Drummers World, Inc., 151 W. 46th St., NY, NY 10036, 212840-3057, 212-391-1185, www.drummersworld.com
Roberto’s Woodwind & Brass, 149 West 46th St. NY, NY
10036, 646-366-0240, Repair Shop: 212-391-1315; 212-8407224, www.robertoswoodwind.com
Rod Baltimore Intl Woodwind & Brass, 168 W. 48 St. New
York, NY 10036, 212-302-5893
Sam Ash, 333 W 34th St, New York, NY 10001
Phone: (212) 719-2299 www.samash.com
Sadowsky Guitars Ltd, 2107 41st Avenue 4th Floor, Long
Island City, NY 11101, 718-433-1990. www.sadowsky.com
Steve Maxwell Vintage Drums, 723 7th Ave, 3rd Floor, New
York, NY 10019, 212-730-8138, www.maxwelldrums.com
SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, CONSERVATORIES
92nd St Y, 1395 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10128
212.415.5500; www.92ndsty.org
Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory of Music, 42-76 Main St.,
Flushing, NY, Tel: 718-461-8910, Fax: 718-886-2450
Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, 58 Seventh Ave., Brooklyn,
NY, 718-622-3300, www.brooklynconservatory.com
City College of NY-Jazz Program, 212-650-5411,
Columbia University, 2960 Broadway, 10027
Drummers Collective, 541 6th Ave, New York, NY 10011,
212-741-0091, www.thecoll.com
Five Towns College, 305 N. Service Rd., 516-424-7000, ext.163,
Dix Hills, NY
Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow St., Tel: 212-2424770, Fax: 212-366-9621, www.greenwichhouse.org
Juilliard School of Music, 60 Lincoln Ctr, 212-799-5000
LaGuardia Community College/CUNI, 31-10 Thomson Ave.,
Long Island City, 718-482-5151
Lincoln Center — Jazz At Lincoln Center, 140 W. 65th St.,
10023, 212-258-9816, 212-258-9900
Long Island University — Brooklyn Campus, Dept. of Music,
University Plaza, Brooklyn, 718-488-1051, 718-488-1372
Manhattan School of Music, 120 Claremont Ave., 10027,
212-749-2805, 2802, 212-749-3025
New Jersey City University, 2039 Kennedy Blvd., Jersey City,
NJ 07305, 888-441-6528
New School, 55 W. 13th St., 212-229-5896, 212-229-8936
New York University-Jazz/Contemporary Music Studies, 35
West 4th St. Room#777, 212-998-5446, 212-995-4043
New York Jazz Academy, (718) 426-0633
www.NYJazzAcademy.com
Princeton University-Dept. of Music, Woolworth Center Musical Studies, Princeton, NJ, 609-258-4241, 609-258-6793
Queens College — Copland School of Music, City University
of NY, Flushing, 718-997-3800
Rutgers Univ. at New Brunswick, Jazz Studies, Douglass
Campus, PO Box 270, New Brunswick, NJ, 908-932-9302
Rutgers University Institute of Jazz Studies, 185 University
Avenue, Newark NJ 07102, 973-353-5595
newarkwww.rutgers.edu/IJS/index1.html
SUNY Purchase, 735 Anderson Hill Rd., Purchase, NY
914-251-6300, 914-251-6314
William Paterson University Jazz Studies Program, 300 Pompton Rd, Wayne, NJ, 973-720-2320
RADIO
WBGO 88.3 FM, 54 Park Pl, Newark, NJ 07102, Tel: 973-6248880, Fax: 973-824-8888, www.wbgo.org
WCWP, LIU/C.W. Post Campus
WFDU, http://alpha.fdu.edu/wfdu/wfdufm/index2.html
WKCR 89.9, Columbia University, 2920 Broadway
Mailcode 2612, New York, NY 10027, Listener Line: (212) 8549920, www.columbia.edu/cu/wkcr, jazz@wkcr.org
One Great Song, Hosted by Jay Harris, www.wmnr.org (at 6 on
Saturdays, and at www.tribecaradio.net at 11AM Sundays and
again on Monday and Thursday nights at 11PM.)
Lenore Raphael’s JazzSpot, www.purejazzradio.com.
PERFORMING GROUPS
Westchester Jazz Orchestra, Emily Tabin, Director, PO Box
506, Chappaqua, NY 10514, 914-861-9100,
www.westjazzorch.org
ADDITIONAL JAZZ RESOURCES
Big Apple Jazz, www.bigapplejazz.com, 718-606-8442,
gordon@bigapplejazz.com
Louis Armstrong House, 34-56 107th St, Corona, NY 11368,
718-997-3670, www.satchmo.net
Institute of Jazz Studies, John Cotton Dana Library, RutgersUniv, 185 University Av, Newark, NJ, 07102, 973-353-5595
Jazzmobile, Inc., 154 W. 126th St., 10027, 212-866-4900,
www.jazzmobile.org
Jazz Museum in Harlem, 104 E. 126th St., 212-348-8300,
www.jazzmuseuminharlem.org
Jazz Foundation of America, 322 W. 48th St. 10036,
212-245-3999, www.jazzfoundation.org
New Jersey Jazz Society, 1-800-303-NJJS, www.njjs.org
New York Blues & Jazz Society, www.NYBluesandJazz.org
Rubin Museum, 150 W. 17th St, New York, NY,
212-620-5000 ex 344, www.rmanyc.org.
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29
Interview
Greg Bobulinski
Trumpeter, Educator at
Five Towns College
Interview by Joe Patitucci
Jazz Inside: What were some of the key understandings that you picked up that made an impact on your artistry and business understanding
working with Clark Terry’s Big Band in the
1970’s?
GB: The Clark Terry Big Bad Band was truly
one of the great experiences of my life. For one,
I watched Clark perform over a period of ten to
twelve years and he was always flawless. He
always played his best. CT is an accomplished
virtuoso on the trumpet, a master educator, as
well as one of the true Giants of Jazz History. He
was always learning. He was always alive and
vibrant. While touring the Deep South, Clark
would mesmerize an audience of 1,000 elementary school children by himself. In minutes, he
would have them clapping, foot stomping, and
doodle-singing. It was a remarkable sight to
behold. I learned many things from Clark and his
interaction with audiences worldwide. I began to
fully realize what men like Louis Armstrong,
Dizzy Gillespie, and Clark Terry were really
about. It also helped me to see who I was in
relation to these masters. The music life has
many facets to it and there are many places/
spaces to spend quality time developing your art.
sical music or jazz music, must support each
other and encourage all of the many avenues in
the musical cosmos. Other key understandings
that I realized while with Clark’s Big Band came
from the steady flow of jazz masters that performed regularly with his band … trombonists
like Al Grey to Quentin Jackson to Britt Woodman to Sonny Costanza …. trumpets like Willie
Cook, Mike Vax, Waymon Reed, Paul Cohen,
Richard Williams … saxophones like Jimmy
Heath, Phil Woods, Charles Davis, Frank Wess,
Frank Foster … rhythm Players like Duke Jordan, Ronnie Matthews, Grady Tate, Eddie Jones,
Ed Soph, Bobby Timmons, Walter Bishop, Jr.,
Victor Sproles, Wilbur Little … arrangers like
Ernie Wilkins, Peter Herbolzheimer, Frank
Wess, Phil Woods. It was like a high profile
organization with the elite jazz musicians of the
world. And it was big fun, too! Clark Terry’s
band was unique in that everyone collaborated as
an equal. What a fantastic learning experience on
how to act, how to dress, how to do the right
thing, what not to do. Musically, it was like
heaven with a continuous array of ideas and
singular methods presented by each individual
artist. I have worked with many of the greats
over the years through my association with Clark
Terry. One of my most important and influential
supporter’s was the late great ‘Shepherd of the
Night Flock’ Reverend John Garcia Gensel,
pastor to the jazz community. I met Reverend
John at Buddy’s Place in the 1970’s while performing with the Big Bad Band of Clark Terry.
He promoted several concerts of my music.
Later, as time would have it, one of my biggest
compositional successes was Artist’s Mass For
The Laity sponsored by Reverend John, premiered at Saint Peter’s Church in The Citicorp
Building, NYC on Easter Sunday, April 11,
“Clark Terry’s band was unique in that everyone
collaborated as an equal. What a fantastic learning
experience on how to act, how to dress, how to do
the right thing, what not to do. Musically, it was like
heaven with a continuous array of ideas and singular methods presented by each individual artist.”
Not many could live the lives of these Jazz Good
Will Ambassadors to the world. One time, I
wrote a salute to Clark for a testimonial on his
behalf. I wrote that when Gabriel, the Lord’s
Trumpet Man decided to retire, that Clark Terry,
his one and only substitute, was waiting off in
the wings. Clark is that great! And when he sang
‘Mumbles’, one could not keep a straight face.
One night, I went to see the great Maurice Andre
perform at Carnegie Hall, in New York City. As
I got to my seat and looked across the hall, my
eyes met Clark Terry’s eyes and we both had a
good laugh. During the concert, I watched as
Maurice would discreetly wave to CT in his seat.
On intermission, I went to see Clark and we
hugged and had a good laugh. I realized how
members of the music community, whether clas30
1993.
JI: Could you discuss the curriculum and the
activities for which you are responsible at Five
Towns College?
GB: I am an adjunct professor at Five Towns
College for twenty years now. I teach the small
group jazz ensembles which is an exciting
hands-on approach to performing in a music
group. The repertoire encompasses all time periods and styles of jazz through Jazz’s first 100
years. Ensembles vary from beginner through to
advanced players. Students are offered the opportunity to solo, interpret the melody, to accompany other performers, and to fully develop as
jazz performers. Each ensemble features differ-
ent instrumentation, repertoire, style, and level
of development. Most important, the class environment is open to ideas and continually evolving. The ensemble scenario changes every semester bringing with it new students, new music,
new challenges, and a continued variety of musical directions. I also teach: Improvisation I And
II — a concept course with direct correlation to
jazz history - past, present, future, sociology,
musicology, listening, transposition, transcription, composition, free form improvisation, ability to keep form, etc., and private lessons in
trumpet – all levels – Classical through to Jazz.
My Heuristic Method For The Trumpet (GAB
MUSIC, 1985) is about teaching the student to
teach themselves, encourages the student to ask
questions in the pursuit of knowledge and excellence, in this instance, on the trumpet. Heuristics
are employed in today’s computer programming
and date back to Socrates and his most famous
student Plato. My Maieutic Method For Jazz
Improvisation And Musical Composition (GAB
MUSIC, 1985) teaches the student to develop
their own personal style, bringing ideas that are
latent in the mind to the foreground for use in
jazz improvisation. From time to time, I also
teach the lower brasses – trombone, euphonium,
and tuba. All of the courses I teach are based on
fifty years of professional experience as a jazz /
trumpet performer, composer, and educator. By
introducing realistic goals into my courses at
Five Towns College, the students must face
themselves and their individual game plans head
on. This is usually a jarring experience but absolutely necessary in developing these young musical minds into working professional musicians.
This is a long and tedious process for most. Ultimately, evolution to the life and status of an
artist is another difficult goal to obtain but with
proper application, education, observation, and
individual practice, an obtainable and worthwhile result. Five Towns College has a unique
degree program which encompasses both the
jazz and commercial fields of music/audio/
theatre equipped with state-of-the-art technology. The staff of Jazz Professors is an eclectic
group for sure, but all are dedicated to the musical life and imparting the correct procedure to
achieve that life. Many are the top tier of the
music business in general.
JI: Are there some words of wisdom or encouragement that you received from one or more
mentors or artists that made a significant impact
on that you might share?
GB: I decided to become a trumpet player early
on in life. I was already working professional
engagements from age thirteen and had traveled
to Venezuela with the East Meadow High
School Jazz Band under director Bill Katz. I
remember one concert, standing with him in the
back of the auditorium and telling him that I
wanted to be a professional musician. He proceeded to somewhat discourage me from what
he knew first hand to be a tough life, but instead
after a moment of thought said – “Patience!” It
took me many years to fully comprehend the
wisdom behind Mr. Katz’s single word of advice
but wow was he ever correct! Patience is so
important in the life of a musical artist. Nuff
said! Clark Terry taught me how to keep on
keepin’ on – to keep practicing at something
until you finally got it right – Practice, Practice,
Practice! Big Nick Nicholas taught me, “Play it
Pretty!” Red Garland called me “New School!”
It took me years to figure that one out but it had
to do with my compositional mind and my improvisational / creative abilities. As a result of
my trumpet studies, I gleaned this knowledge
over the years – In the early 1900’s Herbert L.
Clarke, cornetist supreme, taught “Practice to
Improve.” In the late 1950’s and 1960’s Carmine
Caruso taught “Practice is Repitition.” Now in
2013 I teach “Practice to the Ideal.” Even if you
never get there you will have a very interesting
and productive journey through life and the
study of music. All three statements are true. All
three statements work. So work all three and
logically you will develop instrumental mastery.
When I was seventeen, Freddie Hubbard used to
say to me, “How could I play so square?” Yet, as
I learned and listened and performed, square
became hip — until hip was all that was left, and
then you really began the musical artistic process. An essential emotional skill found in any
good jazz player. Carmine Caruso used to always tell me, “If it works use it!!!” and “Take
your time!” Sherlock Holmes taught me, “It
must take . . . some time!”
JI: Could you discuss some of your mentors and
how you became inspired to pursue a career in
music, and especially as a jazz player on trumpet?
GB: Who can truly say which person influenced
them the most over the years? My life has been a
blessing to me due to the thousands of lives I
have come into contact with throughout my musical life this far. I sincerely and respectfully
thank all! Yet, there comes a time in one’s life
when we are forced by the aging process to look
back over what has passed and then evaluate it
over again. This formula is inevitable in human
beings but is also a great time for cherishing
certain memories that make us who we are as we
develop along the way. I call these gifted and
special individuals “My Jazzmen.” They were
my friends, my advisors, my teachers, my mentors, my collaborators, my pals who gave me
special attention and their interest in my activities as a young jazz performer. I am forever indebted to them and will always continue to hold
a firm position because of them concerning the
joys, the dignity, the pains, and the triumph of
being a creative jazz artist. They are listed below
in the order in which they appeared in my life –
Sir James Nottingham: As an adjudicator, he
wrote about me ‘fine trumpet soloist’. This gave
me a total boost. Later, I got to jam with Jimmy
at his club in Queens and we toured on the road
together with different bands. Ernest Brooks
Wilkins: As a young man, I met Ernie at the
Village Door and he was so helpful and supportive. This gave me solid ground to build upon.
Later, he wrote my first LP’s liner notes and
encouraged my original compositions. Richard
‘Notes’ Williams: I can still remember the first
time I heard the great ‘Notes’ play. He was an
awesome trumpet man, modern, yet very respectful of his roots. He was always friendly to
me and we became great pals who shared many
nights jamming in clubs worldwide. They even
called me ‘Little Notes’ on CT’s band. William
McKinley ‘Red’ Garland: The first night I met
Red Garland, I went up to him and exclaimed,
“I’ve been looking for you for five years, Red.”
He jumped off the piano and gave me a big hug
and said, “Well, you finally found me.” I worked
with his band from that night on for the next two
years. Leaving Red in Texas, when I came back
to New York City, was the hardest thing I had
ever had to do. I learned from Red how to construct long solos and keep them interesting and
fresh with evolving ideas. Clark Terry ‘Rebo’ Freddie Hubbard sent me to play with CT’s big
band in Summer/1973. I did not make that first
tour but when Clark got back he called from the
airport and gave me the gig. I was ecstatic.
(Read Part 2 of this interview, next issue)
31
Interview
JI: You’ve said in the past that, “Music is mysterious by nature and cannot be explained.”
Would you elaborate on that?
Gato Barbieri
Interview & photo by Ken Weiss
(Translation assistance by Silvia Pedrini)
Barbieri has called home for the past forty
years. Spanish and Italian remain his primary
language and I’d like to acknowledge the help
provided by his wife, Laura, and also Silvia
Pedrini, who served as Italian interpreter during
the interview.
Hear Gato Barbieri at the Blue Note
in New York on June 13 and 17 as
part of the Blue Note Jazz Festival.
Visit: www.GatoBarbieriMusic.com
Argentine tenor saxophonist Gato Barbieri (born
November 28, 1934) got his first professional
experience in pianist Lalo Schifrin’s orchestra in
the ‘50s, working on alto sax and clarinet before
switching to tenor. After moving to Rome in
1962 with his Italian-born, first wife, Michelle,
he met legendary trumpeter Don Cherry and
soon joined his band in Paris, becoming heavily
absorbed into the burgeoning avant-garde jazz
scene. Barbieri moved to New York City along
with Cherry in order to record and ended up
making some stunningly free and creative recordings such as Cherry’s definitive Blue Note’s
– Complete Communion (1965) and Symphony
for Improvisers (1966), as well as notable ferocious albums under his own name. A restless
artist, he moved on in the late ‘60s, fusing the
musics from South America into his playing and
recording his classic four-part Chapter series
for Impulse! – Latin America (1973), Hasta
Siempre (1973), Viva Emiliano Zapata (1974)
Jazz Inside Magazine: Your given name is
Leandro but we’ve always known you as Gato
(Spanish for cat). When and why did you become known as Gato?
Gato Barbieri: In Latin America it’s very normal to have a little name, it’s common. Look at
all the soccer players who have special names. In
Buenos Aires, I worked a lot in many of the
clubs. I ran the alleyways from club to club playing sets, one set here, one set there. I could play
four clubs a night. I ran like a cat and it was my
mother, Aldacienda, who was known as
“China” (pronounced Cheena), who named me
Gato when I was eighteen. I’m sorry, when I
talk, my three languages – Spanish, Italian and
English – all come out together.
JI: You live in New York City now. Do you
“I didn’t play for a number of years …
because of the manipulation of the
producers. They wanted to take my music
and make it radio friendly and that’s when I
stopped. They were starting to change me
and use money as a manipulative thing.”
and Alive in New York (1975). Barbieri would
venture into the jazz-pop arena in the late ‘70s,
signing with Herb Alpert’s A & M label, to produce, amongst other recordings, Caliente!,
which included megahit single “Europa,” a
reworked Carlos Santana tune that featured
Barbieri’s unique, emotional sax playing at its
most sensuous. His musical score for Bernardo
Bertolucci’s 1972 film, Last Tango in Paris,
earned him a Grammy Award and instant world
recognition and acclaim.
Today, Barbieri is still performing, although not as much as he would choose, and is
unfortunately dealing with macular degeneration
which has robbed his vision. This interview took
place on June 15, 2012 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel,
not far from the Central Park South apartment
32
think of yourself as a New Yorker or as an Argentinean?
GB: I don’t like American politics. I don’t feel
that I am of one country. I feel that I am part of
the world.
JI: Your vision has been a problem for many
years now. Has blindness altered your perception
of music?
GB: Not only music, but also cinema. My perception of music comes from the cinema. You
see something and you know what you have to
play. Something beautiful, something dramatic,
something fast, and this applies to all the music
of tango, jazz, Latino, Brazilian. Life is filled
with mystery. When you look at Jupiter as it
crosses the Sun, you have to look at it with dark
glasses because it blinds you. For me, everything
is mysterious. A lot of people have problems
with Thelonious Monk’s music or John Coltrane’s music or Don Cherry and Ornette Coleman, but for me, it’s all beautiful and mysterious.
JI: It’s interesting to hear that after playing professionally for 60 years that music remains a
mystery for you.
GB: The music is still mysterious to me. When
you play, if you don’t feel it here (points to
heart) then it’s no good, and every time you play
it, it’s different.
JI: Your latest CD is New York Meeting
(Melopea Discos). What’s behind the title of the
recording?
GB: Pianist Carlos Franzetti and drummer
Nestor Astorita, two very good Argentinean
musicians, came to New York to record with me
along with American bassist David Finck. We
met for this recording. It was all very natural.
There were no rehearsals, we just played and
recorded.
JI: One of the songs on the new record is Coltrane’s “Equinox.” How much of an influence
does Coltrane remain for you?
GB: Everybody influenced me – Miles, Parker.
It’s difficult to understand Miles Davis because
he played one note but this note is like the soul. I
listened in Buenos Aires to “Concierto de Aranjuez” and Miles Ahead. He already made everything. I got into jazz by listening to music
brought to me by a man who worked on an
ocean liner as a linen keeper and he had all the
records. I was the only one [in my town] who
had these incredible records because he gave
them to me. One day I said, “I need a mouthpiece” and he brought me a saxophone!
JI: You also cover “Someday My Prince Will
Come.” How do you approach a song that’s been
covered thousands of times?
GB: I don’t think, I play from the heart.
JI: Are you still actively composing?
GB: I am almost totally blind. It’s hard to even
put on the mouthpiece correctly and it makes me
crazy because I have to use the sound [of the
horn] to make sure it’s OK. When I play, I feel
obliged to invent more and feel the music more
intimately.
GB: No, I’m not composing but when someone
needs me to record and they send me a CD I can
play and improvise all around their music. I just
did that recently for an anthem that was redone
Gato Barbieri
after a hundred years for Newell’s Old Boys
Futbol team in Argentina. I now like to have
something that is constructed somewhat to start
with.
JI: At the time you were growing up in Argentina, what level of interest did the country have
in Jazz? Was it unusual that you found a love for
Jazz?
GB: People who play tango, for them, jazz is not
for a man. Tango is very macho and they didn’t
see us [jazz players] as macho. They were wrong
but that’s OK. I know so many musicians and
everyone is different. I was twelve-years old and
already I was listening to everything.
JI: Lalo Schifrin gave you your first profession
gig. What did you learn from Schifrin?
GB: I was close friends with Lalo. We played
together. I wouldn’t say it was a learning situation as much as it was a jam session.
JI: You left Argentina in 1962 for Italy and
ended up in the European avant-garde jazz
movement. Was that why you left home, to play
the avant-garde?
three years with him. I learned a great deal. He
didn’t talk. You had to use your mind. He had
songs that didn’t have time signatures and he
was very impressed with how much challenging
pieces I could learn quickly. My confidence
really grew and Don Cherry was proud to play
with good South American musicians because he
knew we are different.
JI: What was your experience playing with the
Italian musicians when you arrived in Italy?
GB: I lived in Rome for a long period in the ‘60s
and performed with many people including Enrico Rava, Franco D’Andrea and Giovanni Tommaso. When I first came to Italy, the musicians I
played with did not play with confidence. After
many jam sessions together, they learned a lot
from me. I showed up and I played. You cannot
teach musicians to play, they had to show up and
give it all. No place for the faint of heart. They
learned to have guts and some went on to become leaders. I also got the chance to enter the
film business in Italy by composing the film
soundtrack of Appunti per una Orestiade Africana [the 1968 documentary film written and
directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini].
JI: How were you accepted in Europe as a Latin
American musician playing music pioneered by
African Americans?
34
JI: Your earliest recordings rivaled the free Jazz
of Albert Ayler. What were those early days
playing free Jazz like for you?
GB: [Hums some Ayler] Albert Ayler, he borrowed my saxophone. He didn’t know how to
play saxophone but he was from the Gods. He
played notes from his spirit that came from his
head and heart. He didn’t know B-flat or A, G,
F. He was a nice guy but him, they killed because they told him to play blues — but he doesn’t play that thing, he plays something he invented. Suddenly, I think, he started to go with
drugs and he died very young.
GB: I don’t categorize the music that way. I
“When I came to America and got to Harlem, a lot
of the players would ask me to sit in on the gig
and they would go off and do cocaine. I sat there,
I didn’t know where they were going, and when
they came back they would be mad at me and
told me I could go because they thought that I
was maybe undercover or something because I
didn’t join in. The next day, they would call me
back to play again because they figured out
what they had lost, but I would never go back.”
GB: Lalo Schifrin had already left for the United
States and suddenly I was in a country with people who didn’t like what I liked so I went to Italy
and it was a disaster because they liked the
“West Coast” music and I was “East coast.” I
wanted the Romans to play something different.
Even when I was in Buenos Aires, I always liked
this kind of music. If you listen to Charlie
Parker, he played everything and I learned to
play everything. I did not set out from Argentina
to play the avant-garde, it was an opportunity
that presented itself when I met Don Cherry in
Italy and I seized the moment. He asked me to
come play in France and I ended up playing
GB: No, I did everything. If you listen to my
first record, it has the spirit of Latin America. If
you listen to all my records, I play everything
but different. When I played with Don Cherry I
had to play his music, I couldn’t just put my
interpretation on it. When I came to America and
got to Harlem, a lot of the players would ask me
to sit in on the gig and they would go off and do
cocaine. I sat there, I didn’t know where they
were going, and when they came back they
would be mad at me and told me I could go because they thought that I was maybe undercover
or something because I didn’t join in. The next
day, they would call me back to play again because they figured out what they had lost, but I
would never go back. I wasn’t part of that scene,
it was uncomfortable for me.
don’t consider the music I played in Europe to
be African American. I played “music.” It is
always an exploration, sometimes familiar,
sometimes not. I don’t think of the music that
I’ve played as jazz music. I improvise and, at
times, follow the original piece of work more
closely or reinvent it on the spot. My music is
like an ensalada [salad] – a mixture of Latin,
jazz, fusion and, at times, R & B.
JI: During your early playing and recording
career, you didn’t show your Latin roots. Was
that done out of necessity to fit in with the scene
at that time?
JI: How did it feel to you to play the avantgarde?
GB: I knew all the bebop tunes and then when I
went to Europe, I learned other things from Don
Cherry, he was a genius. He didn’t know how to
play trumpet. When I started playing with him it
was sort of strange. I had to learn 30-40 songs
quickly, but then it became a great music union.
Don Cherry was very impressed that I could
memorize his songs so easily because they were
very difficult. They changed tempos every three
or four chords and shifted so much all in the
same song. I earned my place with him and he
decided that he wanted to play here [in America]
so we came and made a record called Togetherness [recorded 1965]. But even with our history
together, when we got to New York and got off
the plane, there was a problem. We were in a
very tough neighborhood and his [Cherry’s]
girlfriend came and he said, “Okay, I’ll see you
tomorrow,” and he was gone. [Laughs] I didn’t
know where the hell to go, I had never been
anywhere there before. I walked, I don’t know
how many blocks and I passed many very
strange people, very strong people. So I went
into a fleabag hotel and I asked for a room. I
took an elevator with a man and he asked me for
a cigarette and I gave him a Marlboro and he
said, “Shit” and threw it down. This was my
introduction to New York [Laughs]. I was
shocked. That first trip to New York really affected me, it was incredible. People said things
about me and my playing. The worst was Herbie
Hancock who made fun of my sound years ago.
JI: Did you just say Don Cherry didn’t know
how to play trumpet?
only on cable here, it only started recently.
Gato Barbieri
JI: What did you have to work with when you
were composing the score? Did you have film to
watch or just the script?
GB: A lot of free jazz musicians, they don’t
know, they play more by instincts – Albert
Ayler, Don Cherry. Ornette Coleman? No, he
studied a lot of things.
JI: The free jazz movement was “freedom music,” it was a rebellion against society’s injustices. Where did your personal source of inspiration come from?
GB: For me, this “freedom music” was not a
rebellion against society’s injustice. Che
Guevara was a revolutionary, not me. I played
the music that was there at that time and I had to
learn to play the music by instinct.
JI: It wasn’t too long after the start of your solo
career that you changed up your playing by incorporating South American music. What led to
this change? Did you view the avant-garde as the
wrong path?
GB: Everybody changes and I wasn’t a revolutionary. I changed because I needed money, I
didn’t have any money. My brother gave me
some money but he said, “I’ll give you all this
money but remember.” By that time, it was
1969. I had just recorded my Third World Gato
album in New York which included the music of
my area. I started to play tangos and
“Chakarara” which is music from the gauchos.
Each country has its own unique music so I
picked up things from each country. It was just
time for me to change. My father paid for a
plane ticket and I came back to Argentina in
1969 and played a three-week gig with many
Argentinean musicians.
JI: Scoring the soundtrack for Last Tango in
Paris (1972) turned into a monumental success
for you, leading to fame and a Grammy Award.
Did you know the film was going to be as controversial as it was when you accepted the work?
GB: Well, here [America]), everybody is conservative when it comes to sex scenes. It’s incredible. The music was difficult, there were 45 cues
(breaks in the film) that required music. Each
sequence of Last Tango is different, each time it
had to be a change. I worked for a month on it
and then after that came Oliver Nelson, who
made all of the arrangements. As far as it being
controversial, we had never seen a film like that
before. It was a very sensual film but in America
they like to say sexual. It was very tough for
Americans.
JI: Did you have any reservations about being
connected with the film?
GB: Oh, no, I love Bernardo [Bertolucci –
director]. It’s only in America that you can’t say
Last Tango. It can’t be played on television in
America, unlike in Europe. If it could be seen on
American television I would be rich by now. I
only get money from European television. It’s
GB: Last Tango was four hours long. I said,
“Oh, my goodness!” After Bernardo wrote two
hours we started to talk about how I had to approach it. I got to watch parts of the film being
made as I composed the music.
JI: What does it feel like to become an international “overnight success?”
GB: I didn’t look at it too much like that, I was
only interested in playing and I remember getting to play a lot everywhere, everywhere, everywhere. I made a lot of money and we spent it
too. Everybody was after me to talk, like you’re
doing now, but I was naïve. I was with everybody from [Liza] Minnelli, Howard Hawks,
[Roberto] Rossellini, Bernardo [Bertolucci], and
others. I was in this element. I was working with
serious people, not jokers. It was high art. My
wife at the time protected me from a lot of interviews and watched after my image and many
other things. She was amazing in helping me
with my career.
JI: Another huge success for you came with the
Caliente! recording (1976) and the hit single of
Carlos Santana’s “Europa.” Would you talk
about recreating Santana’s song?
GB: You pick out whatever tune and you do
what you want [Laughs]. I liked the tune.
Santana played it differently and I wanted to
play with this beautiful melody because I like
melody. I also recorded “I Want You” by
Marvin Gaye because I liked the melody. He
[Gaye] came to a place I played on the West
Coast, coming to see. He said, “I never listened
to something so beautiful,” and I said, ‘Thank
you.’ It was something to have a relationship
with Marvin Gaye because, for me, he was a
genius. It’s such a shame his father killed him.
We were supposed to do an album together.
JI: Caliente! was produced by Herb Alpert for
A&M Records and represented a major musical
shift for you. Would you talk about your change
to a more pop focus?
He didn’t understand but when I finished, he
said, “It’s incredible, it’s another tune.” It was
really a collaboration between the producer and
the musician, although the producer has the real
power.
JI: The Last Tango in Paris and your version of
“Europa” are two of the most powerfully romantic/erotic recordings ever made. From what
you’ve heard from listeners, which of the two
recordings have led to the most romance for your
fans?
GB: It’s “Europa.” There have been contests in
the past [for most romantic songs] and it’s been
voted the number one song to make love to.
JI: It’s stunning to think that only nine years
separate your wildly intense avant-garde ESP
release – In Search of the Mystery and the
smooth Caliente!. You really blew the critic’s
minds with that shift. Would you talk about the
backlash that came with your major genre
change?
GB: The critics overreacted. In nine years, I
change a lot. I am somebody who wants to play
and I’ve been controversial. You have to understand that in each record company, there’s a lot
of friction and things. I didn’t play for a number
of years because I was taking care of my wife,
Michelle. I didn’t play because of the manipulation of the producers. They wanted to take my
music and make it radio friendly and that’s when
I stopped. They were starting to change me and
use money as a manipulative thing. Even when I
did the two albums with Sony, I loved the music
I was going to play but when we got into the
studio, and after, when they edited it and I wasn’t there - I was two hours from where they were
changing my music. They kept cutting it and
overproducing it and making it that smooth jazz
format. I don’t even consider those albums. I
needed the money at the time, I had a wife and a
child. I don’t like these two records.
JI: Is it fair that you’ve been criticized by the
critics?
GB: I don’t care about the critics. I don’t read
what they have to say and I don’t care.
JI: Do you have any life philosophies that have
guided you?
GB: A lot of people change, even Chick Corea.
He’s done a lot of things. He’s played everything. The piano player with Miles Davis, Keith
Jarrett, he’s done many things. Everybody is
trying to pick up things but it’s not easy.
GB: I was really close to my mom and it’s been
really important to have close relationships with
my two wives, Michelle and Laura.
JI: Was the idea to change to a pop focus Herb
Alpert’s idea or was it yours?
JI: In 2004, the Argentina Government honored
you with a Lifetime Achievement Award. What
did it mean to you to be celebrated by your
homeland?
GB: No, it was everybody’s idea. It was a lot of
my idea because he didn’t understand what I
wanted. On the Santana tune [“Europa”], we had
the rhythm section with only piano, drum, bass
and we recorded the tune but he didn’t want
violin on it. I said, ‘Listen, this is no good!’ And
I said, ‘Bring tomorrow the arrangement and I
play it one time and you’ll see the difference.’
GB: I’ve gotten a lot of honors and awards.
JI: The interview can’t be complete without
asking about Zoot, the Muppet character that
was specifically inspired and modeled after you.
35
Dino Saluzzi, pianist Osvaldo Berlinghieri and
bassist Adalberto Cevasco. I would love to hear
stories about that and impressions on Jazz and
tango fusion in general.”
Gato Barbieri
GB: I don’t like this Muppet, it’s true. (Laughs)
My son was very happy. He thought it was a
really big deal, although now he’s fourteen so
it’s a little different. I was never raised on the
Muppets so it’s not a big deal to me.
JI: Did you view this as an honor or was it
something else to be criticized for?
GB: No, it was a compliment but it’s not going
to change anything for me today.
JI: The last questions are from other artists.
Lonnie Liston Smith said, “I remember being in
Italy with Gato and Nana Vasconcelos. We were
playing in Rome and Bernardo Bertolucci, the
film director, walked up with a fancy hat and a
topcoat hanging over one shoulder. It was like a
dream. He really looked like a film director.
That’s when he first talked to Gato about doing
the film score for Last Tango in Paris.”
GB: Sorry, I don’t remember this the way he
does. The way I got approached to write the
music for Last Tango was by phone. I was asked
to write the best melody, the most beautiful music I could and they would decide what to pick
for the film. My wife, Michelle, was involved in
the film industry and she made the connection
through friends of hers with Bernardo.
Pablo Aslan said, “As a teenager, his albums
(especially Chapter One and Chapter Two – the
ones with Argentine musicians) opened up a lot
of creative possibilities. I am curious about his
involvement with jazz + tango. He made a recording (released only many years later on an
Impulse! compilation but apparently meant to be
included in Chapter One) with bandoneonist
CD Reviews — Lenny White
made its mark with funk hits like “Peanut Butter” and “Kid Stuff”). This live CD finds the
veteran drummer in fusion mode, offering some
highlights of a July 1997 tour of Japan. And
while Lenny White Live isn’t quite in a class with
his classic work with Return to Forever or some
of the really essential fusion albums he has recorded as a leader (such as 1975’s Venusian
Summer and 1978’s The Adventures of Astral
Pirates), it is still an exciting document of that
tour.
White leads an all-star band on this CD,
employing Mark Ledford on trumpet, Bennie
Maupin on tenor sax, Patrice Rushen and Donald
Blackman on electric keyboards and Victor Bailey and Foley on electric bass. That’s quite a
lineup, and the band is faithful to the improvisatory spirit of jazz on White originals that include
the moody “Dark,” the driving “Wolfbane,” the
dusky “Pic Pocket” and the funky “Whew! What
a Dream.” There is plenty of amplified rock and
36
GB: I made Saluzzi famous with this. After he
worked with me, he was called to play in France
and everywhere. When I started, there was no
such thing as jazz and tango together but after I
started to combine them, others could pick up on
it. Now a lot of people work with it, it’s become
very popular. In fact, there’s a Belgium artist
named Bo van de Graaf who took Last Tango
and did a fantastic job in redoing it in his own
way. For me, the fusion of jazz and tango is
something I already did, many years ago. I don’t
remember everything, I’m going to be 80. When
I was 17, I started to play with the most important orchestra in Buenos Aires, so, like “Bogie”
said in Casablanca – “A lot of water under my
bridge.”
Diego Urcola said, “Pizzerias are a big part of
the music scene in Buenos Aires. What’s your
favorite pizzeria in Buenos Aires?”
GB: Oh, the one’s I know I don’t think exist
anymore. My favorite was Edelweiss, a lot of the
musicians used to hang out there. It was very
classic with white tablecloths and we would
have good meals there and we would split the
bill because I had no money. There were so
many in those days. I used to love to order sweet
milk and the incredible pancakes.
Ivo Perelman said, “Ask Gato about the time he
spent in Brazil before he moved to the States. I
think he lived in Rio for a year. Ask him how
that influenced his music?”
GB: I love Brazil, I’ve spent a lot of time in
Rio. I was influenced by the rhythm of the Brazilian music, it’s very different. I played with the
Escola de Samba (a samba school). It was very
nice. They were blind but they played together.
The Brazilians care about music, sex, the beach,
food and futbol but maybe not in that order! I
have to say though that I am very much into
Argentine futbol. We beat Brazil.
Ivo Perelman also said, “Ask him about his
mouthpiece/reed combination that helps producing his great trademark sound.”
GB: I always play Berg Larsen (mouthpiece).
Before, when I was very young in Buenos Aires,
I was brought a mouth piece but it doesn’t work
so I used epoxy and made my own version. I use
a very light reed, a 1 1/2, so I don’t need to blow
so hard. Everyone else does the opposite, they
play with a 3, 4 or 5, but I could never play with
that. It’s like breathing. I really blow gentle, not
hard, unless there’s something wrong with the
saxophone.
Dave Liebman said, “To my mind you were
among the first saxophonists to use the altissimo
register more than for a passing gesture here and
there, beyond how the rhythm and blues type
players might use this color. Also, your sound
had an edge to it that, at the time (early ‘60s?),
was unique. Any comments on how you “heard”
or conceived of these developments in your
playing? Love from Lieb.”
GB: Because I started to listen to jazz when I
was ten-years-old and suddenly this linenkeeper’s ship comes to Buenos Aires and he
brings me Don Cherry with Ornette Coleman
and they were starting to play high pitch sounds
and I started to play more and more high up
because of their influence. Bach and Beethoven
played concerts as five-year-olds and Mozart at
six. They are geniuses, I’m not a genius. I’m
someone aspiring to live with my music and the
beautiful music in this world. I am happy.


funk muscle on this album, but the rock and funk
elements never undermine the disc’s jazz appeal;
in fact, they compliment it. The Miles Davisflavored “East St. Louis” lasts a full 20 minutes,
and during Maupin’s tenor solo, he incorporates
the Eden Ahbez standard “Nature Boy” (which
was a major hit for Nat King Cole in 1948).
Rushen enjoyed her greatest commercial
success after making the transition from jazz
instrumentalist to R&B singer in the late 1970s.
Many of the R&B fans who discovered Rushen
with sleek soul gems like 1979’s “Haven’t You
Heard” and 1982’s “Forget Me Nots” didn’t
know that she had been a fine jazz improviser.
But Rushen, who doesn’t do any singing at all on
Lenny White Live, eventually got back to playing
some instrumental jazz—and thankfully, White
gives her plenty of room to stretch out as a keyboardist.
Lenny White Live is recommended to those
who like their jazz with a lot of rock and funk
power.

“Even if our efforts of
attention seem for years to
be producing no result, one
day a light that is in exact
proportion to them will
flood the soul.”
--Simone Weil, 1909-1943
Interview
Diane Marino
Jazz Inside: Could you talk about your new
recording Loads of Love, which features Houston Person, and how it developed from concept
to finished product?
Diane Marino: Loads of Love evolved from my
desire to record an album of standards from the
Great American Songbook. I wanted to choose
songs that were known but not overly recorded.
Houston Person was influential in choosing this
direction — it was something he had suggested a
couple of years ago after we had worked together on my third CD Just Groovin’. While
researching songs, I was drawn in the direction
of the discography of Shirley Horn. I admire
Shirley’s wonderful playing and singing. Her
tune selection is full of bluesy swinging songs
and very emotional ballads. I was unfamiliar
with some of these songs and it was a joy to
discover them. Houston was very helpful in
choosing songs for this project – Duke Ellington’s; “It Shouldn’t Happen To A Dream” is one
he suggested. When I chose “I Didn’t Know
What Time It Was,” Houston would say, “Make
sure you include the verse in the beginning …
it’s an important part of the song, and very often
doesn’t get included in a recording.” Houston
has a very broad knowledge of the American
Songbook and his direction in planning this CD
was invaluable. After deciding on the tunes, I
spent considerable time at the piano coming up
with the arrangements that would work with the
songs. We didn’t want to dwell on a great deal of
soloing. Instead, we focused on the song itselfconcentrating on the lyric and melody. Finally
when schedules permitted the studio was
booked. Houston arrived and we had one run-
grow up in an environment filled with music
and song. My mother was
my earliest musical influence and both my parents
were extremely supportive of my musical abilities. When my first piano
teacher felt that I needed
to “move on to advance,”
he suggested contacting
the Julliard School for a
new private teacher. That
teacher guided me in preparing for an audition for
the High School for the
Performing Arts. A school
such as “PA” is an amazing opportunity for any
student of music, dance or
drama. Three years of
intensive study in a rich
environment suited for all
serious minded developing artists. The original
“Fame” school was situated on West 46th Street,
right in the heart of Times
Square and the theatre
district. An interesting
and colorful place to experience while walking
from the subway station to class! The courses at
Performing Arts High School prepared me well
for college at Mannes College of Music. At that
time Mannes was located on East 74th Street, in
a quiet brownstone-lined street — quite a change
from Times Square! My private piano studies
were with concert pianist Murray Perahia, who
at the time was himself a recent graduate from
Mannes — another excellent school in New
York City. Often musicians from the other
“sister” music colleges in Manhattan (Manhattan
School of Music, Juilliard) would interact and
spend time together, sharing music, ideas and
gig experiences. In this way it was like a close-
“there is so much to be learned
just by playing with other people.
That’s when it’s time to put all that
theory in the back of your mind and
just listen and play from the soul.”
JI: What was it like for you growing up in New
York?
knit musical community. Of course growing up
in New York City had all the cultural advantages
of the best museums and sights of the greatest
city in the world — a melting pot for people
from all over the world. You’re exposed to so
many different cultures, music and languages —
all at an incredibly fast pace that prepares you
for just about any challenge that awaits!
DM: New York City is and always will be an
amazing place to grow up in. I was fortunate to
JI: What were some of the ideas, people and
events that you were exposed to in your family
through the day before the session. Not wanting
to be too pre-conceived in structure, some of the
forms of the tunes actually developed in the
studio. Mixing and mastering was done in another studio and Loads of Love was completed!
life, friends, school and around the city that inspired your interest in music?
DM: As I mentioned, my earliest interest in
music was inspired by the fact that there was
always music in my family home. My mother
would sing constantly at home. She was not a
professional singer, but music was a huge part of
her life. I would hear great standards and show
tunes from her all the time. She also played piano by ear, having no formal training — just an
incredible love of music. Actually that’s how I
began to play piano, at about age 8, by ear —
recreating what I would hear on the radio. Fortunately for me I was given piano lessons to further my natural abilities and so I became very
focused on what I knew I would do for the rest
of my life. Music became the vehicle from
which I had to best express myself. Although
classically trained, I would also spend hours at a
time just improvising what I would hear inside
my head. My fellow music students would later
inspire and influence me to listen to Jazz. As
many of my friends were already gigging, they
encouraged me to do so and urged me to develop
a vocal repertoire as well. I always loved singing
and so combining the two came pretty natural to
me.
JI: How did your classical training on piano
provide a foundation for pursuits into jazz improvisation and as a vocalist.
DM: Having a foundation in classical piano
gives you the facility and dexterity to play all
styles of music. I think it must be the best way
for any pianist to begin their studies. Having
somewhat small sized hands, I had to work that
37
Interview
JI: Could you discuss one or more composers /
arrangers who have made a significant impact on
your own compositions and in what ways?
Joe Locke
Interview by Eric Nemeyer
(Photo by Joseph Boggess)
make some good music and enjoy the ride!
Hear Joe Locke at Dizzy’s Club
in New York on June 5 and 7-9.
Visit www.Motema.com | www.JoeLocke.com
Jazz Inside: Could you discuss the development
of your new recording, Lay ay Down My Heart
(Blues & Ballads, Volume 1), on Motema Records?
Joe Locke: I have wanted make this recording
for a long time — a recording which is simple by
design, and which speaks in a direct way to any
listener who needs a respite from the cares and
troubles of day-to-day life — if only for 55 minutes! The first time I played this music with
Ryan, David and Jaimeo, I knew I had the right
combination of musicians for this project, and
that it was time to go into the studio. I’m gratified by peoples’ responses to Lay Down My
Heart, that we’ve been able to achieve what we
were trying to do.
JI: How do the strictures and structures of performing in the context of a symphony orchestra,
as was the case on your album Wish Upon A
Star, with the Lincoln Symphony, compare or
JI: Talk about your association with pianist
Geoff Keezer — with whom you have performed and recorded over the years — and how
that developed?
JL: I first played with GK in Marvin “Smitty”
Smith’s quintet almost 20 years ago — a really
fun week at the Village Vanguard. Since then
we’ve made a lot of music together in many
different contexts, playing everything from The
Isley Brothers to Peruvian folk music. I think I
am most proud of the Joe Locke / Geoffrey
Keezer Group, and the two recordings we made
under that name, Live in Seattle and Signing.
JI: I’d like to pursue the comment that you made
that jazz “should always be People Music.” Jazz
embodies the gamut of styles — a range of music that exists with and without essentials with
which audiences find they can connect - such as
vocals, memorable melodies and so forth. By
contrast, jazz also embodies music with which
audiences find challenging to connect ... including more open forms, abstract and complex
rhythms, melodies and so on. Could you elabo-
“The word jazz provides a huge umbrella for
all kinds of musical styles and a broad range
of concepts and philosophies. It can be
incredibly simple or it can be quite
complicated. In either case, if the result is
that it puts the listener more deeply in touch
with his or her own humanity, then it is valid. ”
contrast with the preparation, perspectives and
opportunities for expression in the context of a
small group?
JL: The nice thing about the Wish Upon A Star
project is that the quartet was at the core of the
symphony. Because of Ryan Cohan and Tim
Garland’s brilliant arrangements, I was able to
still function as I would normally in a small
group setting. Of course, it was a thrill to feel a
symphony orchestra wrapping itself around us.
There was very little preparation time for Wish
Upon A Star, only 2 rehearsals with the quartet
and orchestra in the days before the recording of
the concert. We had one chance to get it right.
But everyone involved was of one mind — to
rate on your views about this is in concert or
conflict with your ideas.
JL: The word jazz provides a huge umbrella for
all kinds of musical styles and a broad range of
concepts and philosophies. It can be incredibly
simple or it can be quite complicated. In either
case, if the result is that it puts the listener more
deeply in touch with his or her own humanity,
then it is valid. I am a product of my musical
upbringing. In the clubs I played early in my
career, the music and the social scene were part
of one another. That is what I mean by People
Music — and I’m encouraged when I see that
still happening today, in whatever musical genre.
JL: I love so many composers and arrangers. A
few who come to mind: Don Grolnick, for the
beauty and humor of his writing; Seamus Blake,
for his understanding that every song should
have a great hook; Ed Simon, simply because he
composed “Govinda,” one of the prettiest pieces
I ever heard. Let’s see .... Thad Jones, Joe Henderson, Peter Gabriel, Jonatha Brooke, Irving
Berlin, Faure, Ravel, Takemitsu, Bobby Hutcherson, Jim McNealy, Billy Joel. So many.
JI: Talk about the importance of developing a
solid rhythmic foundation to bolster development in the pursuit of musical mastery and in the
development of the skill of improvisation.
JL: I can only speak from my own experience. I
played drums in a rock band from age 11 to 14.
An important thing it did was to give me good
time. I think that it really served to help me as I
got more deeply into jazz improvisation.
JI: How has your work as an educator challenged, supported or influenced your artistry and
creative pursuits?
JL: Students I have worked with over the years
have given me a lot of inspiration. I love discovering what they are working on and developing
in their own music — often times things I’ve
never thought of. The enthusiastic sharing of
ideas helps to keep my muse happy.
JI: What are your ideas about the benefits or
shortcomings of the academic route versus
performance and apprenticeship in the real world
that had been the pathway to a performance career in the past?
JL: Again, I can only speak from my own experience. My education has not been an academic one. I learned, and continue to do so, by
trial and error. I went the apprenticeship route
and was fortunate to have had some good guidance along the way. Music is a soul thing. There
are many ways to get to it, none are right or
wrong, good or bad. Some of the greatest teachers I’ve known have had positions in conservatories. Others have been cab drivers. One thing I
will say: there is nothing more valuable in this
world than a great teacher, wherever they are to
be found.
JI: Could you discuss some of the words of
wisdom or advice you’ve picked up from a mentor, or one or more of the influential jazz artists
with whom you have worked?
JL: From Keith Copeland: Be proud of who you
are, and always play your self. From Ron
Carter: Never underestimate the quarter note.
From Dizzy Gillespie: Just when you think
you’re on top of it, your instrument will always
have more to give you with which to kick your
ass.
38
Interview
tempo, they don’t sound the same or they don’t
work right and just everything tends to change.
Bob James
Interview by Eric Nemeyer (Photo by Steven Haberland, Courtesy Concord Music Group)
Hear Bob James with David Sanborn at
Town Hall in New York on June 6.
Visit: www.BobJames.com
JI: Could you talk about the challenges you
experienced working with Sarah Vaughn and in
working as an accompanist for vocalists?
BJ: It was a major time in my life, I had been a
big fan of hers before I got the job and it was
major, because I got the job. I wasn’t getting that
many jobs in that period and that era and landing
it as a steady job of her stature having not been
in New York that long before that was a very big
deal. Much more than that, I think she was a
very malleable artist in the since that she was
influenced by the supporting people that were
behind her. I very quickly realized that there was
a power in performing for her because I could
really make a difference in the way she sounded
and how inspired she was. Being the jazz singer
and doing her stuff differently every night you
could really tell when she was bored or when she
was inspired and feeling the power of that made
me realize early on that being an accompanist
was a big part of my life and I loved it. And I
still do to this day; I carry on that same feeling
of sometimes being more comfortable being the
person playing the chords than being the person
playing the melody. I’ve had the chance to do
both and certainly love the challenge of being
the leader but, part of the reason why I like the
group foreplay is that I can go back into that role
of being the supporting character, the pianist that
lays down a foundation and being an arranger.
All of those things when I look back on it, that
four years I spent with her probably formed my
whole basic music personality.
JI: How did you respond on those nights where
she was less than inspired?
BJ: I don’t know if I can remember too many
details. What I do remember, for example, is that
she was very, very influenced by tempo. I had
never really thought that much about it before I
worked with her - because playing mostly instrumental music, I used to love playing the same
tune at ten different tempos … maybe play it as a
ballad one night, and play it as a fast tune the
next night ... and that was part of the fun. But,
for a singer, breathing and the way she breathes,
and the way she wanted to have a particular song
breathe for her, was very important — and particularly on the ballads, which she tended to like
to have very slow - and slow in a way that was
very hard for me to capture magically every
night. I always remember having to have that
four bar or eight bar introduction, or whatever it
was, where you would establish a tempo, and
40
then she would come in. If it was wrong, then it
was really embarrassing for you. It was kind of
too late — unless you started to manipulate it
around in an awkward and embarrassing way to
get it at the right tempo. Early on, it was really
hard for me to figure out what the magic tempo
was that she was going to love when she came
in. Gradually I got better at it. Toward the end, I
can remember how much fun it was to know that
I played that introduction [just right], because
when she would come in she would have a big
smile on her face, and she would be relaxed.
Many times I told the story about “Wings.” I
actually wrote a song called Wings for Sarah.
But “Wings” were her elbows. She would hold
the microphone in both hands, and generally way
behind her, with her between us and the audience — so we would kind of be seeing her back.
If she came in to sing on one of the songs where
I had established the tempo wrong, we would get
the “wings” — which was her flopping both
elbows downward, very dramatically and very
obviously: “whack – whack – whack,” here’s
where the tempo is supposed to be. It was so
excruciating to see it, and you would say “Oh
no”. I didn’t get very many “wings” by the end
of the time. I have carried it with me since. No
matter what setting I’m playing in, I’m very
conscious, all the time, of “what’s the best tempo
for that piece of material.” Even if it’s instrumental music, I think there’s a place where the
song grooves in the best possible way and what
that is, I learned it from her.
JI: How did your association with Quincy Jones
develop — since he apparently recommended
you to the CTI label, according to what I have
read?
BJ: Well, it was pretty much the same as with
Sarah. Quincy had indirectly recommended me
to a copying service in New York where an awful lot of great arrangers hung out — including
Thad Jones, by the way, who used the same
service. It was Sam Herman’s music copy service — and I got to meet them and look at their
charts and all that kind of stuff. I learned the lay
of the land when I first moved to New York. It
was through that little hang out place that I
learned that Sarah’s piano player had just left,
and she was looking for somebody. Sarah came
in one night and sat in. That was the first time I
had met her. She wanted to play this fairly obscure song which very, very coincidentally, I
knew. She was impressed, and two years later
she remembered the incident, when I was supposed to replace her piano player. It helped me
get the job with her. She was really close to
Quincy, and Quincy recommended me. That
probably meant more to me than anything else.
Quincy called me to play on Walking in Space,
the album, which was on Creed Taylor’s label
before he called it CTI. Creed was a producer for
A&M under his own CTI Productions. It had the
song from Hair. Quincy asked me to write two
arrangements for that project and play on it.
That’s when I met Creed Taylor. He heard me
play and liked my arrangements, and very
shortly after that started calling me to do sessions with him for his label. That basically led to
everything. So as a result of playing on that session with Quincy, I met Creed.
JI: That’s the overnight success that happens in
“It’s interesting how life is that thing that
comes along while you’re trying to figure out
who you are and what you want to do and all
of sudden it’s ten years later, then twenty
years later and your life is what happened,
rather than what you wanted to happen.”
JI: I think that is a sensitivity that we all grow
into as we evolve. Certainly when we are all
younger, we are looking to play fast and high
and all that - without regard to interactivity,
which is essential to be able to have that communication and make the music really resonate.
BJ: Yeah and certain phases or certain things,
arrangements, or whatever, reside at a particular
tempo. Then when you play them at a different
the music business after you spent twenty years
in New York.
BJ: Yeah, at that point I’d already been in New
York for thirteen years or something like that.
JI: Were there specific suggestions or was there
any advice that Creed Taylor offered you about
arranging?
Bob James
BJ: Well, I was very lucky because Creed
wanted his records to be more produced. He
realized that they spent a lot more money on
[producing] pop albums. There were a lot more
string sections and brass, and very slick packaging. The jazz records at that time were done on a
very low budget — one or two days in the studio
and it was done. He felt he could separate himself from everything else by producing jazz records — taking the same jazz artists and surrounding them with the luster of more production. As we know, in retrospect, it worked in a
great way. He was able to take a lot of his jazz
artists and bring them to a wider audience. It’s
not that this was the first time it had been done.
There had been recordings like Charlie Parker
with Strings. For the most part, this very slick,
more expensively produced records for jazz
artists was Creed’s thing. It just happened that,
from the timing stand point, I was getting hired
as an arranger. He discovered that I had the
training both in jazz arranging and in classical
music, and that I was comfortable working with
large ensembles, with string section and woodwinds. Creed would suggest really unusual combinations of instruments and it was fun for me. It
also fit in with his idea of how he wanted to put
the jazz artist in a different setting. There were
several of us. Don Sebesky was one of the other
primary arrangers that he was using. Actually
Don was getting most of the work, and I would
get the stuff he did not have time to do. Eventually, it ended up that we sort of had parity, and
occasionally some other arrangers were brought
in – Deodato, et. al. A whole art form that was
separate from the music was the copying. At
those production houses today you would see
them sitting in front of the computer screens —
BJ: Of those three, Ron was the one I got to
know the best, and worked with him the most.
Ron was very influential. He always set his standards very high. He’s a very specific individual
when it comes to the way he injects his personality into his music. He is a no-compromise artist
and I felt very proud and happy every time I had
the opportunity to be working with him. As a
matter fact, Harvey Mason and I talk all the time
about figuring out a time to do a trio thing with
Ron. Harvey has a whole separate history with
Ron, and we’ve worked together on several studio situations. But the three of us have never
worked together as a trio. I would love to do
that. I remember Stanley Turrentine in a different way. The groups with him were so strong
that I felt I could float right out of my chair
when I was playing with him. I was always trying to figure out why it is that the grooves, and
the bottom of every note, were so much in the
pocket and so powerful that it just couldn’t be
anybody else but him. One tour that I took, Ray
Brown was playing bass with Stanley Turrentine. I just felt like I was on this freight train
ride. Oh my God, part of me was terrified that I
would play some notes in the wrong place—
because every note they played was so happening. The grooves were so strong that in a way it
was like being hit over the head with a sledge
hammer or something. I remember that to this
day too. It has always has been an obsession of
mine — the placement of notes and the difference between when things are swinging in a
powerful way [and not]. With Stanley Turrentine, his placement or his feeling of swing was so
strong that you just knew it and you went along
for the ride.
JI: That’s funny, what you’re saying, I was
speaking with Steve Turre [who played in Thad
Jones and Mel Lewis’ Big Band] about Thad
Jones’ arrangements. He said that when Thad
would arrange a chord for the trombone section,
“…some people took away from that only the
negative aspect. ‘Oh, okay it’s really cool to
turn your back on somebody or to be cold and
negative.’ … There are other ways to make
music — where you could actually be friends
with the people with whom you were actually
making music … and that you could get a
compliment from them and it would be real.”
which I’m sure they do for Broadway shows and
everything else now, or use Finale or Sibelius
notation programs.
JI: Could you discuss some of the artists with
whom you worked during the CTI Records period? Freddie Hubbard? Stanley Turrentine?
Ron Carter?
42
Steve might have had one of those notes in the
chord voicing where the ninth would rub up
against the third, or some similar “grind,” in the
middle of the chord. He thought those “rubs”
were wrong notes, and he would lay back on the
note. Thad would then motion to him to bring
out the note – “come on give me that note.” He
would keep motioning to him for more sound.
Finally when it reached the sound Thad sought,
he would say “ahhhh there it is.” Steve said that
it was at that point that the chord would “buzz.”
It’s kind of like that when you get that groove. It
seems like there’s a lot of emphasis on technique
as apposed to groove in jazz education.
BJ: I don’t think there’s any question about that.
One reason is that it’s much harder to put into
words. It’s hard to put that into an educational
system or harder. I’m sure that a great educator
can deal with that too. Ultimately, it can be reduced down to specifics of placement or whatever it is. But, there’s something magical or
something that’s just different when great people
do it — and where they place it, or when they
choose to “rub” just a little bit behind, or just a
little bit ahead or whatever that is. That’s the
part, the grease, that isn’t going to be in the text
books.
JI: You were on that recording Live at Carnegie
Hall with Stan Getz, and those two albums Volume One and Volume Two, I remember one had
a yellow cover and one a black cover. The personnel included Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Gerry
Mulligan, Harvey Mason, Ron Carter. It was
around 1975 or 1976. What observations did you
make about the music of Mulligan and Baker?
What was that experience like?
BJ: Very brief. I don’t really have a whole lot of
memories about it. It was a very influential recording and I have people constantly referring
back to that recording - asking me about it. It
was kind of just a session for me in a way. I
remember it. I found it to be a little frustrating
that it was towards the end of Gerry Mulligan’s
and Chet Baker’s careers. I knew their music
when I was in high school and college and listened to it all the time. They were already so
established and I was a very small drop in the
ocean in their world. So it was just a gig in
which I worked maybe once or twice with Chet
Baker. After that I never worked with Mulligan
again. I only worked with Chet Baker because
Creed Taylor was recording him at the time and
Creed hired me. I didn’t really have any major
bonding with them the way I got to know musicians later — on a more parallel level. We were
talking about Ron Carter. Ron Carter was on a
session and I remember Ron being so much himself — and so bored with the lack of preparation
that was going on there, and actually giving the
people pretty much a hard time. I remember
being so impressed with how Ron stood his
ground and didn’t put up with any crap - no matter whom it was he was playing for.
JI: When you talk about lack of preparation are
you specifically referring to the mechanics of the
session?
BJ: I remembered it was during rehearsal. I
don’t remember the details of it. I remember
somebody was late. Or, maybe no music was
there, and Ron had to sit around not doing anything. He let everybody know how he felt about
it — the way he usually does about most everything. I have a wonderful memory. Occasionally
when I listen back to those recordings, I listen to
Bob James
the whole thing and realize it was some pretty
good stuff and that my small moments on those
recordings held up ... and I’m very flattered
when people refer to it.
JI: One of the arranging teachers with whom I
studied suggested spending most of your time
creating great lines, as opposed to deliberating
about orchestrating. His perspective was that by
the time one is arranging professionally, knowledge of the instrument ranges and basics ought
to be at your fingertips – thereby freeing you up
to focus on the creative process.
BJ: Yeah, I guess so, I think it was a combination, in my college days. I was studying mostly
classical music. I remember feeling at that time
that it was better to learn the technique from the
classical side of things. Learn about the instruments. Learn about the balance and the range
and all of those technical aspects from a classical
perspective rather than the jazz perspective —
which was quite limited at that time and a much
narrower focus. I naturally gravitated toward
arrangers like Bill Evans, who was dealing with
a broader palette. But I also remember really
loving Bill Holman. You were talking about
lines and the arrangers that could think in a linear way — as opposed to that kind of up and
down each note had to have with a specific
chord. I was influenced to have the music flow
in a more contrapuntal way. I can still remember
loving a lot of those arrangements that Bill
Holman did for Stan Kenton.
JI: Bob, could you talk about when you began to
record as a leader in the 1970s and the kind of
freedom you began to experience being on your
own?
BJ: Well, when I made my record One, for
Creed Taylor, I believe in 1974, I had almost
given up on a solo career. I came to New York in
1963 hoping to be a jazz soloist. When I was in
college I primarily worked in a trio setting. I had
my own trio. But, the reality of the New York
scene was that there was no opportunity for me
to get any gigs with my own trio. So I started
taking other work and whatever work I could
get. A lot turned out to be arranging work —
maybe as much or more than I was getting as a
pianist. That was for that ten or twelve year period, including working with Sarah Vaughan, in
which I was also an arranger and kind of support
person. I wasn’t really thinking of being a solo
artist. Creed Taylor offered me to make a solo
record. I was frankly looking at it as a one time
thing. I had no idea that it would turn out to be
anything in a new career. In many ways, looking
back on it, I was looking at it as an opportunity
to have something I could use as an audition to
get other arranging jobs. I did a lot of different
stuff with brass and different styles, different
instrumentation. I can remember thinking about
that pretty consciously - when I was making the
choices about what tunes to do and what stuff to
do. Creed gave me a lot of flexibility and it was
a very interesting combination of events that
lead to it — becoming much more than I thought
it would be. I did a song called “Feel Like
Makin’ Love” which came simultaneously with
Roberta Flack’s version of the song. I got a lot of
commercial attention because of that. The arrangement I did “Night On Bald Mountain” got a
lot air play on the radio. It took off and suddenly
it was thrust in front of me, and it was happening
simultaneously with Creed’s overall success
with the label. I was riding along on that band
wagon for half a dozen years or so. By the time I
had made these four solo records with him, there
was a whole different kind of career that started
to get established. I still wasn’t touring that
much. I was still doing mostly studio work and
going along for the ride — which I thought was
temporary for the longest period of time. I struggled a lot even with what kind of identity that I
had as a solo artist. I had reached the point
where it always felt to me like I wanted someone
else to be playing the melody. On many of those
records, I either had Hubert Laws or I had
Grover Washington or somebody. The piano role
was not really the prominent thing. I had paranoia about it. I can remember my wife actually
helping me through it to make me realize that I
didn’t have to be one or the other - that my identity was all of that. She just encouraged me to be
myself and let whatever that identity turned out
to be, be natural. If it turned out to be fifty-fifty,
arranger-pianist, or a little one direction or the
other, it was okay. I didn’t have to feel like,
“Gee, if I had spent more time as a pianist, and
practicing eight hours a day, I could be a lot
better pianist and that I should focus on that or
the opposite, concentrate on the arranging side.”
I think she was right, in my case. I was both, and
I would have been unhappy to have given up
either side of it.
JI: I think that’s a healthy perspective. I guess
we have ideas about what we want to play, how
we want to play it or write or whatever, how our
creative efforts are going to go—and then suddenly we’re dragged in a different direction.
BJ: It’s interesting how life is that thing that
comes along while you’re trying to figure out
who you are and what you want to do and all of
sudden it’s ten years later, then twenty years
later and your life is what happened, rather than
what you wanted to happen.
JI: That’s okay. As you mentioned that your
wife pointed out to you, you’re not one of those
things, you’re all of those things. It’s interesting
to realize that if there are a thousand people in an
audience, you don’t have one reputation, but
perhaps a thousand different reputations.
BJ: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, boy it’s really true. I am
frustrated when I hear people become so focused
on what you aren’t rather than what you are. I
have a problem with criticism, in general. Certainly in the jazz world we have had that problem for quite a long time. There’s a need among
some people to have to put things in the right
box — and if you don’t fit in that box, then they
don’t know how to deal with you. Then they end
up, more often than not, having a negative feeling about it because it doesn’t fit into this set of
rules that they have figured out as the right way,
the correct way.
JI: Those people have limited, predetermined
understandings of the world as they believe it
should be. What if people simply allowed the
music to speak for itself? Critics apparently
sometimes want to characterize it in order to
bring it down to their level — or as you say put
it that box that they can feel comfortable with it.
BJ: Exactly.
JI: What have been the challenges and paths of
least resistance to your creativity?
BJ: I realize I have always had a lot of eclectic
interests and I was being thrust into it by Creed
Taylor — who definitely wanted his label to
have his personality [and involving] the crossover aspect. He was looking at it in many ways
— including from a commercial stand point of
wanting to bring in fans into his jazz world that
weren’t the normal fans. How can you bring in
people who are fans of other kinds of music?
One way is to use the [musical] style, the instruments, or have rock influences, or to have the
jazz artist play pieces [of music] that they
wouldn’t normally play. So, he would have them
playing Beatles songs, or have them play classical songs or themes — all of which, from his
vantage point, were designed to increase audience potential. From my vantage point, it was
my opportunity to learn a lot of things that I
normally wasn’t involved with. But I was given
the assignment, and I wanted to do a good job of
it. As I was doing it, I found that my own style
started to emerge out of that — which was an
eclectic combination of influences from different
areas of music, with jazz being the meat and
potatoes part of it.
JI: Recently I spoke with saxophonist Andy
Snitzer. He credits you with being a significant
influence in his getting a jump into the active
and professional world of music. He spoke of
you in very inspiring terms and that kind of encouragement you offered. Could you talk about
the kinds of encouragement you experienced as
you were an aspiring musician?
BJ: Well I come back to Quincy [Jones] an awful lot of times because he was perhaps the person who encouraged me the most at the time I
most needed it — when I was trying to establish
a reputation. I can always remember how he had
a great instinct for making you feel good about
yourself, rather than it being about him. It was
because he liked you or because he encouraged
you. It wasn’t me just feeling this. In the room,
we were all feeling good about ourselves —
because he was making us feel that way. He was
always a positive energy. He instinctively knew
when you did something special. Being giving as
he is, he would let you know that. I certainly
have tried to do that whenever I possibly can —
with people that I think are special. That’s because I also come from an era in jazz history
43
Bob James
where, for a number reasons, there were aloof,
standoff-ish, almost cold and distant attitudes
that many jazz artists took on. It was considered
very un-cool or un-hip to give compliments to
other musicians or comrades that you were playing with. A lot of this came from people like
Miles Davis — who made it into his whole persona. I think many artists misunderstood what
Miles was doing. Miles had a way. He was theatrical, and he was very charismatic when he did
it. But some people took away from that only the
ticular style of music that it grew out of … and
when you looked at those guys on the stage,
there was no interaction with the audience. They
are in their own world. The feeling that they give
off is that “You, the audience, are supposed to
feel really lucky to be eaves-dropping on what
we are doing — but, you are probably not going
to understand only about one percent of it, so we
are going to ignore you and we are off doing this
thing which is pretty much beyond your comprehension.” That’s the feeling you get and you
look at them, and their whole body language is
internal. Even sometimes amongst themselves,
the body language doesn’t suggest they are interacting with each other. They are in their own
“...sometimes things that are preconceived
ideas can get in the way of allowing the new
thing to happen … which is what should be the
most exciting thing for any of us ... You will
either be stuck in your past habits or in the
expectations of what other people want
from you …. or you can open up.”
negative aspect. “Oh, okay it’s really cool to turn
your back on somebody or to be cold and negative.” There are some artists still that make that
work. They create an aura around themselves
that’s almost scary. The business is very competitive in that way — so that in some circles
that’s a habitual carry-over from the Bebop era,
where you had to prove yourself ... and where
nobody would take you seriously … and where
last the thing they would do is give you any
compliments … unless you blew everybody
away. Even then it wouldn’t be considered to be
cool. Now enter in a different group of musicians. You take a person like Quincy Jones, or
more recently with me a person I just met, Nathan East, who is at the opposite end of that
spectrum. They are so giving and positive and
comfortable with themselves, that they generate
a kind, completely different, positive energy —
which is infinitely more fun and interesting, and
more productive, in my opinion, in terms of what
I would like to be. I can remember having to be
in the other kind of setting. I put up with it because I loved the music. But it was never my
kind of personality, and sometimes it comes as a
shock to me. There are other ways to make music — where you could actually be friends with
the people with whom you were actually making
music … and that you could get a compliment
from them and it would be real.
JI: The funny looks and aloofness never felt
right to me. I would always say, why it is this
way – and when you’re totally involved in making music – at a recording or performance – and
somebody would look over with a weird glance,
or mumble something negative under their
breath — that could ruin the whole attitude and
the energy of the session or the performance.
BJ: If you were in that world … there was a
particular reason for it … and there was a par44
world. I could certainly say, that seems horrible
to me, and ridiculous in terms of behavior. But,
in fact, you listen to the music that they are playing, and it’s incredible. It’s fantastic. It’s great,
and probably that attitude wasn’t very much part
why the music is what it is. That same audience
that is being ignored and being patronized, is
also loving it. They are frantically tuned into this
in a whole different way than the more friendly
way we sometimes think of music. So the critics
now say that we are compromising if we are
friendly with our audience, and if we want to
interact with them in a positive way. Certainly,
it’s the antithesis of what that sort of attitude
was. However, if you go further back into jazz
history, you will find plenty of examples just as
pure, just as highly regarded — back to Louis
Armstrong maybe being the most dramatic example of it — in which there was none of that
kind of aloofness, and there was certainly a direct one-on-one positive relationship with the
audience.
JI: Could you talk about your group Fourplay,
which includes Harvey Mason, Nathan East and
Lee Ritenour and how the group has evolved?
BJ: Again it was an accident — the way so
many things seem to be. They just happen and
take own a life of their own. It was a very casual
conversation that I was having in the studio
when I was working on my album Grand Piano
Canyon. I intended to go to Los Angeles to work
for a change — because all my records up to the
time had been done in New York. I knew I
wanted to use Harvey Mason because he and I
had a long history already by that time — usually with me having him come to New York.
But, I had done a guest appearance with Lee
Ritenour on one of his records. So I was getting
something from him to have him play on my
record. Both Lee and Harvey lived in Los Ange-
les and I asked who they would recommend for a
bass player and they both recommend Nathan
East. I had not met him. I had only seen his
name on record labels. So on this one particular
session we all seemed to be having the same
feeling — a very unusual simpatico feeling that
we all had and that led us to talk about how
sometimes a particular group can take on an
identity of its own — just by virtue of the way
they interact with each other. I was asking them
if any of them had ever been in a group, or a
member of a group. I had not been. I think one
of them had been, for a short time, early on in
their careers. Eventually I kind of said, “Gee, I
wonder what it would be like to form a group
from scratch?” Coincidentally I had an A&R job
with Warner Brothers at the time. I was able to
take the idea immediately into the record company and see if I could convince them to let us
make a record. The record company was positive
about it. Very shortly — it was less than six
months after we had that first conversation —
we were in the studio doing what we thought
could be just a one-off album project. But, from
the very beginning, the whole idea of it was the
intrigue of forming a group identity. We knew
that we couldn’t really do that in one record. So
here we are about thirteen, fourteen years into it.
We certainly have established that we did find a
group identity far beyond what any of us would
have envisioned at the time.
JI: One of my favorite quotes is: “The greatest
obstacle to discovery is not ignorance, it is the
illusion of knowledge.” That was by Dan Boorstin, a past Librarian of Congress. Maybe you
could comment on how you have experienced or
dealt with this in your creative life, and the development you experienced over many years?
BJ: Well, that’s a very powerful statement. It
really does relate to what we were already talking about — about how sometimes things that
are preconceived ideas can get in the way of
allowing the new thing to happen … which is
what should be the most exciting thing for any of
us ... and maybe in jazz more than most other
areas of arts. The reason is because jazz depends
on spontaneity, and being able to be open to be
creative in that moment. Every time you play in
a jazz situation, in a live performance, it’s something new that has not existed before. You will
either be stuck in your past habits or in the expectations of what other people want from you
…. or you can open up. That’s sometimes very
hard to do. In my opinion that’s when the best
things happen - when there’s the least obstacle to
that, and when you can stay open to what ever
that new thing is going to turn out to be.
JI: How do you stay balanced as an artist and
individual given the nature of contemporary
society?
BJ: Well, I immediately have to say that my
wife is responsible for that. We have been married for forty two years and I’m very, very lucky
to have that stability at home. I can’t say enough
good about that. That’s the reason I’ve been able
to do all of this stuff — and have been able to
avoid a lot of obstacles and a lot of pitfalls as a
result of it.

Diane Marino
much harder to develop the proper technique and
skill required playing the demanding repertoire I
was studying. Chopin and Beethoven are my
favorites, and their beautiful melodies always
remained in my mind. The melodic phrasing in
the repertoire probably translates to how I hear a
vocal phrase today. It all connects and applies to
whatever I’m singing and/or playing.
JI: Could you discuss the jazz artists and or
recordings that most influenced your interest in
improvised music?
DM: Sarah Vaughn, Nancy Wilson, Dinah
Washington, Carmen McRae, Shirley Horn,
Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett are among my favorite singers to listen to and who have influenced me the most. The soulfulness on Nancy,
Dinah, Sarah and Shirley has had a profound
influence in the way I hear and shape a melody.
Frank Sinatra’s phrasing is unsurpassed and has
taught me to sing a lyric as if speaking to someone… to be a ‘conversational singer’. There are
so many influential pianists — Oscar Peterson,
Monk, Gene Harris, Art Tatum. I love the classical influence as well as the bluesy-ness of their
playing. Coltrane, Miles … these were the first
musicians I listened to when I was first introduced to Jazz. They’re still among my favorites…
JI: What are the musical and business benefits
and the challenges of being married to a fellow
artist, namely your husband Frank who is an
accomplished upright bassist?
DM: Frank and I have been working together for
over three decades. People often ask, “How does
that work?” I tell them “It either does or it doesn’t”! In our case, it does! Music is what brought
us together and is a common bond. Playing together for so many years, we’ve developed a
kind of musical “sixth sense”. Frank is a very
accomplished jazz and classical bassist. His bass
lines as well as solos are so melodic and harmonically supportive. He has greatly influenced
my playing. The “business” part of our musical
life can be a challenge — as it is with all musicians. Frank is more the “business type.” Thank
goodness! I prefer to keep my focus on the mu-
sic. This works out nicely! Another business
benefit is the fact that our instrumentation of
Piano/Vocals/Bass makes us very self-contained,
even though we enjoy performing as a quartet
most times.
JI: Talk about the mentoring that you have experienced from various influential artists and
invaluable guidance you received.
DM: My mentors have largely come from the
artists and recordings I have listened to over the
years. Besides the artists I previously mentioned,
I’ve had the pleasure of working with many
wonderful musicians over the many years I have
performed. You never stop learning as long as
you keep listening. For my latest recording,
Loads of Love, Houston Person’s guidance was
an invaluable asset. His approach to playing
these standards focuses on the melody and so he
was pretty adamant about that. He also believes
in spontaneity and so, although I had arranged
the tunes prior to our session, some of the forms
and amount of soloing was left “to the moment”
in the studio.
JI: What are your opinions about the benefits or
shortcomings of the academic route versus performance and apprenticeship in the real world —
an approach that had, in the past, been the pathway to a performance career?
DM: I really believe both are important. You
can’t substitute one for the other. The knowledge
gained from an academic background in Jazz is
so important to develop a keen sense of harmony
and repertoire. However there is so much to be
learned just by playing with other people. That’s
when it’s time to put all that theory in the back
of your mind and just listen and play from the
soul. There are aspects of performance that can
only be learned by constant playing with others.
Listening is number one and the experience is
invaluable.
JI: What words of wisdom or encouragement
from some of the influential artists with whom
you have worked, have resonated with you in a
way that has inspired your character and the way
you lead your life?
JI: Could you define what integrity and good
character mean to you?
JI: Ron Carter, Little Jimmy Scott, Vic Juris,
Grover Washington Jr., Cecil Taylor, Bob Berg,
Kenny Barron, Eddie Henderson, Eddie Gomez,
John Hicks are among the influential jazz artists
with whom you’ve performed or recorded. Talk
about some of the key understandings about
performance, and or music business, and or leadership that you might have gleaned from those
experiences and associations.
JL: It is the nature of the human being to struggle with ego. I wrestle with mine every day.
JL: I’ve learned from them all. All of these people play with 100% commitment. They have
JI: The music world, the jazz world are replete
with temptations associated with varying desires
for power, fame, fortune that can have the potential to compromise one’s focus, one’s integrity
and character. What do you do to maintain your
focus and to ensure that you minimize those
kinds of influences and people?
DM: Again, a focus and a belief in one’s self
will lead you to depend on yourself as opposed
to others. I think I’m a pretty good judge of character and can usually tell when a person is being
sincere or not.
JI: What do you do to relax when you’re not
making music?
DM: Movies, movies, movies! I’m a huge fan. I
think It’s so important to every once in a while
turn everything else off and “escape”. For me,
that’s a great story and great acting. I never turn
away from the music, though. I can get completely enthralled in a beautiful film score. I also
enjoy long walks to clear the mind and relax.
JI: Is there anything you’d like to discuss or
promote for which I haven’t prompted you?
DM: I would like to mention my love for Brazilian Jazz as well. My first two CDs contain some
great Brazilian tunes from Jobim, Joao Bosco &
Dori Caymmi - which I sing in Brazilian Portuguese. During the early 90’s I began researching
the vast Brazilian repertoire from Jobim as well
as other great composers. From listening to such
great singers as Elis Regina, Gal Costa, Joao
Bosco, Clara Nunes and others, I soon developed
a sizeable repertoire of Bossa Novas and Sambas. In 1993, together with my husband Frank,
we formed a nine-piece Samba group — “Som
Brasileiro”. I sang the band’s repertoire entirely
in Portuguese, with the help of some coaching
by a dear friend from Brazil). We recorded one
CD and performed at many Jazz Festivals and
events. I still incorporate the Bossas and lighter
sambas in my Jazz performances today.
DM: I think the most important thing I’ve always heard is to remain true to yourself. I’ve
always tried to do what comes naturally to me. I
taught me many things about being a musician
and a human being, by way of their example.
Joe Locke
don’t like pretentiousness. I just try to stay focused and stay on course no matter what obstacles I’m faced with. The first thing you have to
believe in is yourself.
JL: If music is a reflection of our humanity, then
integrity and good character mean everything.
JI: How do you deal with the tyranny of the ego
that has the potential to impact anyone with fans
or an audience?

for power, fame, fortune that can have the potential to compromise one’s focus, one’s integrity
and character. What do you do to maintain your
focus and to ensure that you minimize those
JL: Fame? Fortune? Thankfully I don’t have
those problems!!! Seriously, I have always tried
to focus on the music, on trying to become a
better player. That in itself is a tall order.
JI: If there is one for you, what is the connection
between music and spirituality?
JL: They’re one and the same.

45
Interview
Ramsey Lewis
can tell that.
Hear Ramsey Lewis at Aaron Davis Hall
in New York on June 14.
Visit: www.RamseyLewis.com
JI: How did your association develop with Henry Johnson , who is
a native Chicagoan as you are?
Jazz Inside: What can listeners expect to hear
from the Electric Band during your upcoming
performance in New York?
Ramsey Lewis: The Electric Band is fun. I’ve
played with a trio for many, many years. When
the occasion came along, and enough people
requested the electric band, I put it back together. We had a little jam session to see if we
wanted to be back together—and it went so very,
very well. But before the jam session — Henry
Johnson on guitar, Charles Heath on drums,
Joshua Ramos on bass, and Tim Gant on keyboards — asked me what we’re going to jam on.
Everyone knows a number of songs. I told them
to check out what we have—and they did that. It
was really, really a lot of fun. So I decided, let’s
do that. It has been well over a year now that
we’ve been out touring—and I’ll probably do
this for quite some time to come. On the one
hand, you have young guys like Joshua and
Charles and Jim. On the other hand, you have
one of the all-time greats on guitar—Henry
Johnson. It’s a wonderful mix—and we all sort
of like the same things. We all throw our two
cents in the pot during rehearsal … or even on
RL: Henry must have been in his
twenties when I met him. Henry
has been involved with me in any
situation that involved guitar. We
call it the Electric Band now, but
I’ve always added musicians to the
band—and he’s been one of the
first I’d call.
JI: How have you observed audiences have changed over the past
few years?
RL: Well, it’s a greater mix. The older I get, the
older my original audience becomes. But as I
look out I see that there are younger people—
high school and college kids out in the audience
now. Then backstage, after the show, many of
them say, “My father or my grandfather or great
grandfather [laughs] used to talk about you” and
now I’m a fan. It’s a testament to the fact that
maybe I’m doing something right — because
one does not have a 60 year career, as a jazz
musician, based on records he or she had 40
years ago. I’m playing the kind of music I love
“Before the 1960s, touring was our lifeblood. Record
companies were not that together. There were pop records —
Sinatra and Perry Como. But jazz was just an also ran ... they
started doing some marketing … and we had some hit
records ... today, the record companies have gone bye-bye
and we’re back doing what we were doing in the first place.”
stage, if someone decides to take a left turn instead of going right, it’s kind of fun.
JI: Will you be performing some of the hits you
had in the 196os, such as “The In Crowd,”
“Hang On Sloopy” and so forth?
RL: I found that what works for me is having a
set where in the first part of the set we do some
of the newer things—maybe some of the less
familiar songs that we enjoy doing. The in the
last part of the set, we play “Sun Goddess,” “the
In Crowd.” “Wade In The Water,” “Spiritual
Medley” - things that people still want to hear.
“wade In The Water” in 50 years old. “The In
Crowd” is 50 years old. “Sun Goddess” is 40
years old. I’m flattered that people still want to
hear those songs. Far be it from me to say no.
But night after night, we have fun playing them
and the whole show … and I think that people
46
to play, playing the songs I love to play, and
playing them with musicians I love to be with.
And lo and behold, there are thousands of people
of all ages who love to come to see me — without a hit record. But you know, that’s the way
jazz was before the 1960s. Before the 1960s,
touring was our lifeblood. Record companies
were not that together. There were pop records—
Sinatra and Perry Como. But jazz was just an
also ran. It was not a big deal. That was okay.
We toured. But with the 1960s, the record companies said, “You gotta pull your own weight
jazz people. We want you guys to sell some
records jazz people.” So they started doing some
marketing and promotion and lo and behold, we
had some hit records. Then it was, “We need you
to go out and tour behind your records.” But
today, the record companies have gone bye-bye
and we’re back doing what we were doing in the
first place.
JI: Back in the late 1950s and 1960s, your records were released on the Argo and Cadet labels, which were smaller independent labels
from Chicago. How did that compare to your
experience with larger labels.
RL: There was no pressure from Chess Records.
My first seventeen albums were with the Chess
people. We toured—because that’s how we paid
our bills. But there was never any pressure. If
you played ten different cities back then, you
had ten different distributors. Some distributors
wanted you to get out and do some interviews
and some distributors didn’t even know you
were in town. But that’s okay. We were building
our audience based on our performances on
stage.
JI: What were some of the challenges you experienced as you were beginning your career in
Chicago?
RL: No challenges. I’ve been able to do what I
thought I’d like to do at that point in my life and
my career. One thing led to another and doors
opened. We were playing night clubs—and there
was always a night club in the United States
where they wanted us to play with the trio. And,
life was good. We put out an album … and then
the fifteenth album and the sixteenth album and
seventeenth album … and we’re in Detroit and I
got a phone call from Phil Chess or Leonard
Chess. He said, “I think you got a hit record.” I
said, “What’s a hit record? Like Perry Como? Or
who?…” He said, “No. The record you just did,
“The In Crowd” — people are asking for it like
hotcakes.” So there it is. I’ve always believed in
what I am, who I am. Be prepared. Keep your
nose clean. Live a good life. Be kind to people.
Work hard at what you do. Here I am, 77 years
old — and life is good.


Interview
Jaimeo Brown
Jazz Inside: You had the opportunity to study
privately with one of a number of notable artists,
Rufus Reid, Stanley Cowell, Harold Mabern.
Talk about the mentoring that you experienced and some of the invaluable guidance you
received.
Jaimeo Brown: My first drum teacher, Sly
Randolph, made a great impression on me. He
taught me the importance of the power of making a groove feel good. Another educator who
had a deep impact on my development was
Rufus Reid. He was able to articulate abstract
and spiritual elements of the music in a way that
I could understand and integrate into my music
and the way that I expressed it. Drummer and
composer Victor Lewis, who was one of my
professors at Rutgers, communicated and demonstrated the value of being a complete musician.
JI: What are your opinions about the benefits or
shortcomings of the academic route versus performance and apprenticeship in the real world
that had been the pathway to a performance career in the past?
JB: The most valuable things about my experiences at WPU and Rutgers were the relationships that were formed and access to valuable
localized information. It was important to me,
that while I was in school, I was also immersing
myself in musical arenas that were not schoolrelated - because I observed that there were
many things that the academic atmosphere could
not teach me … getting gigs, being yourself,
playing the blues.
JI: Could you discuss your experiences or highlights in the creation of your new CD, Transcendence from concept to completed work of art?
JB: The making of Transcendence was a profound journey in my life. The roots of this music
come from the Black spiritual. Historically, the
purpose of the Black Spirituals was to build up
community, express the deep emotions of struggle and worship. In the academic arena it is often
taught that the performance is the end goal. In
my life I needed my music to come from a place
directly tied to the Black Spiritual’s purpose.
This vision led me to use samples from the
Gee’s Bend community in Alabama and experiment with different uses of instrumentation and
technology. JD Allen and Chris Sholar embodied
this vision because of my close relationships
with them, and their love for the blues and creative experimentation. I was spiritually impacted
in the making of this album.
JI: When you completed your studies at William
Courtesy Motema Music
Paterson University you began performing with
vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. Could you talk
about some of the ideas or suggestions he offered, or conversations about music, creativity,
or business that you
experienced that made a significant impact on
your artistry?
JB: Bobby Hutcherson has been an extremely
influential figure in my life. He is a hero because
of his honesty, creativity and sense of humor. I
can’t say enough about him. Obviously his music has affected me but I was most impacted by
seeing how he lived his life outside of the music.
He inspired me to laugh more and enjoy the
experience of life itself. It can be difficult to
balance the complexity and simplicity of life,
and he has been my role model in that journey.
JI: Could you define what integrity and good
character mean to you?
JB: Striving to let your yes mean yes, and no
mean no. It also means loving - especially when
it is uncomfortable doing it. Consistency in life
and music is a beast.
for power, fame, fortune that can have the potential to compromise one’s focus, one’s integrity and character. What do you do to maintain
your focus and to ensure that you minimize those
JB: Everything in my life revolves around
prayer. Prayer always opens up my eyes so that I
am able to see the end goal. My end goal is to
love and to learn about Christ. One prayer at the
right time can change the whole course of your
life. I believe the same posture that delivered my
early ancestors through great oppression can also
deliver us from the challenges of success.
JI: How would you characterize improvisation
in the context of your approach to making music?
spirituals, the blues, East Indian classical music,
twelve-tone atonal music and Hip- Hop music.
My history of jazz music allowed me to find
freedom within these structures. I was already
experimenting with these ideas when the music
was formed so it it wasn’t a big jump to see their
similarities.
JI: What do you say to fans who are curious
about improvisation and what the process is
about?
JB: I would say that improvisation is freedom
but it’s not possible to be without structure.
Learning the fundamentals of melody, harmony,
rhythm, phrasing, dynamics etc. is so important
if one want to communicate a clear message with
improvisation in a jazz context.
JI: In a few words, what are your short and long
terms goals?
JB: Short goals are to continue to follow the
path that was revealed through Transcendence. I
want to start recording the next album this fall.
Long Term - to stay awake, alive, attentive and
excited about life.
JI: What do you do to relax when you’re not
making music?
JB: Movies help me to slow down.
JI: Is there anything you’d like to promote or
discuss that I haven’t prompted you about?
JB: Chris Sholar and I have been friends for
around 16 years. His experience of producing
contributed so much to this project. JD Allen
was equally influential and had a big impact on
my thinking. The great producer Russ Titelman
offered me many pearls of wisdom in the formation of Transcendence. It was an honor to share
ideas with him. I was amazed with his deep love
for music which showed me why he is a
Grammy Award winning producer. Todd Whitelock and Mark Wilder did phenomenal work in
the mixing and mastering work.
JB: I found common denominators with the

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
Visit: www.JaumeiBrown.com
47
Interview
Buster Williams
(this is an excerpt from the full interview)
ership skills, how to deal with people
and so on?
Hear Buster Williams at Dizzy’s Club
in New York, June 11-12 and then with
Cedar Walton & Barry Harris - The Piano Summit,
June 22, Allen Room, Jazz At Lincoln Center
www.busterwilliams.com
Buster Williams: Ron Carter had basically left
[Miles Davs’ band]. He would come back and
play with the band when they came back to New
York. I’m feeling like, why is it coming now? I
got a Corvette Stingray, I got a house, and I got a
steady gig. While I’m working with Miles,
Nancy Wilson has me on retainer. So I’m making double money, I’m being paid by Miles, and
I’m being paid by Nancy. It just so happened
that when I got the call to work with Miles,
Nancy had decided to take off for about two
months, and Miles had a tour. It was ideal. When
Herbie asked me this, I saw Miles standing not
too far from Herbie, behind him. I said to Herbie, “well, why doesn’t Miles come and ask me
himself?” So Miles came by and took me by the
arm, and we went back in the dressing room.
Miles leaned up to me and said [whispering], “I
just don’t like to fuck with nobody.” [laughs]
Miles and I start talking about staying with the
band. I tell him about the situation that I’m in. I
asked him what kind of an itinerary he can offer
me — and it’s nothing compared to what Nancy
had. I turned it down. [pause] I turned it down.
And he respected that. Every night, we’d spend
the whole intermission together. We’d talk about
clothes. We’d talk about cars. Every night he’d
always tell, “Man, I love those little suits you
wear.” I had my own tailor. Just like he had his
stuff tailor-made, my stuff was tailor-made. We
got along great. This was an ideal time in his
BW: Well, the first thing I got from
Miles was his trust. Miles trusted you.
Once, we had to fly to somewhere. Tony
and I were roommates on the road —
because we were really buddies. Tony
would stay at my house, and Tony always broke a bottle of wine. Tony liked
to sit at this spot at my dining room
table. There was a wine thing, an accordion rack, on the wall, with bottles of
wine in it. Tony would like to light up
his cigars and at some point he would
throw his arm back and hit the wine
rack, and he would always break a bottle
of wine. Anyway, we were flying the
day after the band did. We were going to
pay our own airfare and Miles was going
to reimburse us. So Tony decides, let’s
fly first class. So we fly first class. So I
said, “Tony, do you think Miles is gonna reimburse us for first class?” “Yeah, man, I’m sure
he will.” So we fly to the gig first class and we
go to the gig. At the end of the gig, we’re going
to get paid. We give Miles a receipt, and Miles
looks at the receipt, and he looks at me and he
smiles—and he gives me coach money—and he
doesn’t say anything. There was an agreement in
our eyes, you know, “Yes, Miles, that’s right. No
problem here.” He said, with his eyes, “No problem?” and I was like, “No problem.” On the
bandstand, Miles trusted you. He never talked
about the music. About the third night at the
Both And, I get confident enough to ask Miles a
question, because he’s befriending me. So we’re
sitting there at the table talking at intermission. I
“At some point every night, a bolt of incredibility
comes down from the heavens and shoots
through Miles and comes out of his horn. And
Herbie spends the rest of the night trying to find
those notes. It’s amazing. Miles was brilliant.”
life. He wasn’t drinking, and he wasn’t using any
drugs, and his mind was clear. Every night when
we got to work he was already there.
JI: So the whole band was cooking.
BW: The band was cooking, man. And then we
finished that tour. We went up to Seattle, played
the Penthouse. We played at Shelley’s Manne
Hole. We played Marty’s on the Hill, which is
another club in L.A. When he came out to L.A.
again he called me, and we did another tour.
JI: Could you share some of your observations
about Miles that influenced you in terms of lead48
really have some concerns, because Herbie’s
laying out half the time. Tony looks like a big
ball of smoke — his legs are going like that and
he’s playing, and he’s playing all kinds of stuff.
At some point every night, a bolt of incredibility
comes down from the heavens and shoots
through Miles and comes out of his horn. And
Herbie spends the rest of the night trying to find
those notes. It’s amazing. Miles was brilliant.
But at some point every night, there was this
exceptional brilliance. And you never knew
when it was going to come and it would just
knock you out. It was like “Wow, this is what I
live for,” and “I can die right now.” So, here we
are sitting at the table talking, and I ask Miles, I
said “Miles, how strict do you want me to be up
there? There’s changes, but there aren’t changes.
There’s form but there isn’t form.” There is definitely form. And if you don’t watch out you’re
going to get lost. Because everything is disguised. And it’s disguised differently night after
night. There is nothing being repeated. And so, I
want to know if I’m free, if I’m free to be free,
or do I have to be a stabilizer? ’Cause Tony is
not worrying about making sure you know
where the beat is.” It’s like nothing you ever
heard before. It was just magic. So I asked
Miles, “What do you want me to do, man? Needless to say, I’m enjoying myself, but can I be
free, should I stick with the changes or what?”
And Miles looked at me, a gleam in his eye and
a smile on his face—with a look like this is the
revelation …. like he’s going to reveal something …. like this is the Buddha talking. My
question was, “Miles what do you want me to
do? Can I be as free as everyone else? Or do you
need me to just keep time with the changes?”
Miles looks at me and he said, “When they play
fast then you play slow, and when they play slow
then you play fast.” And then his expression
was, “you dig? What’s clearer than that?” And I
said, “OK, I see.” And that’s all we ever said
about music. Whatever that meant, it helped me.
I never had that question again. One night, Miles
counted off “So What,” and it was so fast. Miles
never counted. He just started snapping his finger [snaps his fingers], and you always knew
that was two and four. And it was so fast, I
flubbed on the melody—to the point where I
couldn’t follow it up. So Miles turned around to
me—another smile on his face, with the horn
pointing to the ground and his tongue stuck in
the mouthpiece. He took his left hand and ran it
down the strings of my bass and as he did, he
said, “Ahhhhhhhh!!” And then he counted it off
again. Same tempo and I played it.

PERFORMANCE REVIEW
Reggie Workman
Vision Festival
Roulette, Brooklyn, June 11-17, 2012
Review & Photos by Ken Weiss
The Vision Festival, New York City’s longest continually running jazz festival, a feat as
impressive as the uncompromisingly creative
music, dance, poetry and art it presents each
year, ventured out of Manhattan’s Lower East
Side to the comfy confines of Brooklyn’s new
and improved Roulette on Atlantic Avenue. This
year’s theme was “This Time Freedom” and
saxophonist/trumpeter Joe McPhee was celebrated with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
What follows is a review of the festival’s final
four nights. More information on the festival and
its presenting organization, Arts for Arts, which
does a yeoman’s job of keeping the flame lit and
in supporting emerging artists as well as exposing students to the various art forms with its
outreach program, is available at artsforart.org.
Thursday, June 14
After commencing with an early panel discussion (Dave Burrell, Hamiet Bluiett, Wadada
Leo Smith, Elliott Sharp, Howard Mandel, Scott
Currie) dealing with “Free Jazz/Free Music –
Why Then/Why Now,” which raised explosive
thoughts onstage, and even more offstage, the
music began with Eternal Unity, a collective
combining four leaders (pianist Dave Burrell,
multireedist Sabir Mateen, bassist/ festival coorganizer William Parker, drummer William
Hooker) for the first time. Although expectations
were for a fierce, free-ranging set, the quartet
spent the bulk of the time on highly textured
sounds and a contained attack, making the occasional, rattling peaks all the more sweet. Mateen
ended up on tenor sax, expressing some lovely,
unheard ballad as if it were the most natural
ending possible for the thorny playing that preceded it. Burrell followed suit with a nursery
rhyme-esque section complete with violent
thrusts from his rigidly straightened fingertips,
announcing at the end – “We call this process
from liquid to solid.” After the set, Mateen, who
played on alto and tenor sax, bass clarinet, clarinet and flute, lamented - “I should have brought
my piccolo!”
Dangerous Women/Moving Sound followed – a duo of pianist Connie Crothers and
dancer/primary event organizer Patricia N.
Parker. Crothers said nothing had been discussed
before the performance and she didn’t even
know the meaning of the group’s name until the
very end of the poignant performance, at which
time Parker ended with some poetry that included - “Breathe like rain, like tears, like flowers…We’re dangerous because we’re not so
afraid anymore.” I was at least as surprised as
anyone else in the room,” Crothers said. “How
did we go there? We were getting unisons that I
thought were sometimes uncanny, hitting the
same pitch at the same moment. If you can trust
it, not second guess it, it’s truer.”
Brazilian tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman
(see Photo Gallery on page 75)
played in trio with bassist Michael
Bisio and drummer Whit Dickey for
the first time live (they had recorded
together two weeks prior with Matt
Shipp) for what was a rollicking set
featuring Perelman’s soulful, blistering
horn which was chock full of quotes,
against a rumbling backdrop from the
rhythm section. Shades of Ayler,
Rollins and Gayle seemed present in
Perelman’s outpouring and when he
ended the set blowing through his
mouthpiece, it was akin to Coltrane’s
beating of his own chest after exhausting everything there was to play.
Sound-splitting percussionist,
Hamid Drake, led a thought-provoking
ensemble of fellow Chicagoans – guitarist Jeff Parker, trombonist Jeb
Bishop and bassist Josh Abrams, along
with the first United States appearance
of Italian (Amalfi Coast) vibist
Pasquale Mira. The unusual combination of vibes, guitar and trombone added a rare
dynamic to Drake’s ‘Lhasa-City of the Gods’
project. The leader’s vibrant playing featured
grounded beats along with breathtaking thunderous onslaughts, especially during his mid-set
solo. The new compositions covered kept the
melody and harmony close at hand and shifting
themes and tempos kept the listener at the edge
of their seat. A late duo by Abrams on gimbre
and Drake on frame drum cemented this memorable performance.
Friday, June 15
Sheila Jordan and Jay Clayton / Bebop to
Freebop spotlighted the two singers, lifelong
musical colleagues, who’ve made careers out of
the uncanny use of both words and wordless
vocalization. NEA Jazz Master Jordan began
with a recitation of Martin Luther King’s invocation written for the first Berlin Jazz Festival in
1964 called “Humanity and the Importance of
Jazz” and soon the ladies were taking turns rendering songs. Bassist Cameron Brown and guitarist Jack Wilkins had the tough task of lending
support to the leaders’ trademark styles which
fused an avant edge into the jazz singing tradition. Jordan said, “It feels incredible to sing with
another singer. It teaches me not to be in competition, but to join forces to make wonderful music together, and that’s what I feel when I sing
with Jay. We are like family. It’s like singing
with my kid sister, only my kid sister can’t
sing!”
Next came an inspiring segment from Yoshiko Chuma, a conceptual artist, dancer, choreographer and artistic director of the School of
Hard Knocks based in New York City and Japan, who’s collaborated with avant-garde musicians since the ‘70s. With support from trum-
peter Roy Campbell, who she used as a prop at
times, even sticking her hand into his horn’s bell
to deaden the sound, and Akihito Obama on
shakuhachi, Chuma strikingly delivered martial
arts-esque leaps (although she denied any martial
arts training) and expansive physicality. Staging
her 20-minute piece to go from intensely bright
lighting to darkness, Chuma used her time to
make a political statement, asking the audience
to remember the Bikini Islands, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Fukushima, all areas that have felt the
wrath of nuclear disaster. Just one day prior, to
Chuma’s dismay, the Japanese government had
ordered the reactivation of two nuclear reactors,
the first to go back online since the 2011 crisis in
Fukushima.
After impressive duet efforts by Roy Campbell and drummer Ehran Elisha, who performed
music dedicated to their late collaborator, bassist
Wilbur Morris, and featured the sound-shifting
work of Campbell on trumpet, flugelhorn, pocket
trumpet and even an arghul, and then the pair of
trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and bassist/
violinist Henry Grimes, who had their artistic
say on today’s modern music. Unfortunately,
Smith, who never emits a meaningless note, had
some technical sound problems, exiting the stage
at one point to speak with the soundman. There
was also a noticeable disconnect between the
two artists, although individually, their playing
was striking with Grimes showing real growth
on violin from previous years.
The Pheeroan akLaff ensemble took over
with Jun Miyaki (sax, flutes), Santi Debriano
(bass, electric guitar), Angelica Sanchez (piano)
and poet Amiri Baraka to perform the percussionist leader’s “Dear Freedom Suite,” fashioned
as a reference to Sonny Rollins’ 1958 stellar
49
Vision Festival
work Freedom Suite and as a tribute to, as
printed in the distributed flyer, “The musicians
who have used their art to illuminate the concerns of human rights and human justice.” akLaff’s music surged and receded with passionate
calls and response and episodes of intense improvisation, slowing at points to let Baraka read
venomous prose from a held book. Baraka has
few peers spinning words but hearing him once
again perform “Somebody Blew Up America,”
which still includes a section claiming that “the
Jews” were warned to stay away from the World
Trade Towers on 9/11, is simply outrageous.
Who does he think the Arabic militants are after
the most, if not the Jews?
Saturday, June 16
The festival’s sixth night opened with a Rachel
Bernsen dance solo and then four bands that
played highly memorable sets of inspired music.
The Steve Swell Quintet’s “Light and Sound”
presentation was dedicated to “supporters of the
Live Music Experience,” which trombonist
Swell explained to mean the listener’s relationship with sound and how they deal with it. Rob
Brown (alto sax), Hill Greene (bass) and Michael T.A. Thompson (drums), along with (the
festival’s biggest surprise for many) pianist
Chris Forbes, silently took the stage and hit with
a full-frontal offensive. It’s a testament to
Swell’s talent that he’s able to take such fearsome sluggers and lead them through, what’s
essentially a combustible dialogue, and keep it,
not only musical, but dazzlingly held together
organically. The little-heard Forbes was a complete revelation, dwarfing the piano with his
large frame and challenging the instrument’s
very foundation with his powerful, piston-like
hands and fingers, forming an explosive partnership with Thompson’s drumming, or simply
adding colorful notes when needed. The fleetfingered and underrated Greene, who also holds
the fort for Little Jimmy Scott, was the deft center grounding for the ensemble, adding depth and
emotion.
Premiere, a new trio of French bassist Joelle
Leandre, flutist Nicole Mitchell and human/alien
sound machine Thomas Buckner, was all about
finding music never made before. Fascinating to
hear, as well as to watch, Buckner’s beyond extended vocalizations evoke a mix of fright and
wonderment. It was enthralling to see how the
trio worked together. Mitchell, who also used
her voice experimentally by singing through her
flute at times, said post-set, “It’s not just that he
(Buckner) comes up with these incredible
sounds, but where he places them is always
really magical.”
It’s safe to say that supergroup Trio 3’s
Oliver Lake (alto sax), Reggie Workman (bass)
and Andrew Cyrille (drums) can all be labeled
“legends” at this point, each with a rich and long
pedigree of raising-the-bar performances, recordings, and solid roles in modern jazz’ evolution. They appeared to be performing brand new
music this night as they were deep in their charts
but they still hit with a rugged ferocity that dug
50
through jazz’ rooted tradition. Three became
one as Lake growled and grunted through his
horn, the petite Workman pulled and plucked a
monstrous sound from his bass, and Cyrille fashioned a wealth of activity from all parts of his
set.
The best was saved for last, an opinion
further substantiated by the spirited standing
ovation received after the genre-expanding performance by Jason Kao Hwang/Burning Bridge.
The understated and virtuosic violinist Hwang
led Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet, flugelhorn), Steve
Swell (trombone), Sun Li (pipa), Wang Guowei
(erhu), Joe Daley (tuba), Ken Filiano (bass) and
Andrew Drury (drums). It wasn’t just that
Hwang was using exotic instruments in a jazz
medium, it was the way he humanized the emulsion into a very personal experience. Four movements were covered, the first of which was formatted upon the speech patterns of Hwang’s late
mother reciting her favorite Chinese proverbs.
The music was frequently in flux - a rock motif
came in section three, preceded by some raucous
Swell gut-bucket trombone in cahoots with tuba
bassline. When Hwang played in trio with pipa
and erhu, it was pure ecstasy, an exotic extravagance that was all too soon yanked away by a
different combination of instruments. Hwang
later somehow conjured up, what sounded like a
human voice, with the use of his bow during the
final movement. Afterwards, Hwang explained
his project – “When I include Chinese instruments in the music it has an autobiographical
feeling to me. If you look at the orchestration as
a living being, in the voice and body language,
there is a certain quality that has indelible Chinese roots. The traditional Chinese instruments
in this Western context have a very ineradicable
presence because there’s a certain novelty to it,
although I don’t use them as a novelty, I use
them as a sound. But eventually all the sounds
become a democratic spectrum. There’s a tradition of improvisation in Chinese music - improvising from folk melodies. Wang Guowei is a
virtuoso on the erhu, he played with Ornette
Coleman in London in the past. And Sun Li on
the pipa, this was her first experience with a jazz
group. I told her to play out of her tradition and
just respond as she would. When you’re improvising with someone, there’s a process of empathy and in doing so, you absorb some of the
other person’s phrases and nuances and it becomes part of you, and that’s how you connect in
the music.”
Sunday, June 17
The last night burst with more wonderful
performances from an especially eclectic mix of
artists and styles. After a quiet panel discussion,
including Amiri Baraka and Patricia Parker discussing the role of Freedom, the Ingrid Laubrock
Anti-House (Laubrock, sax - Kris Davis, pianoMary Halvorson, guitar - John Hebert, bass Tom Rainey, drums) shook the house with intricate, knotty compositions that worked in large
swaths of improvisation. An early piece opened
darkly, with Davis’ prepared piano leading the
way before the music quickly built into a teeming angst commanded by Laubrock’s tenor sax
tonguing and pops. The quintet ended with a
tune dedicated to Henry Threadgill, featuring
pop-up beautiful melodies and rock segments,
but not before the leader humorously turned
around to wave to herself on the large backdrop
screen filled with artist Paul Clay’s live video
projections.
Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber presented “Holy Ghost & Fire” with a lineup that
included founders bassist Jared Nickerson, guitarist/conductor Greg Tate, and a whole bunch
more, spilling across the stage, unleashing a
fearless whooping that cut across the jazz- experimental-rock-soul-hip hop-blues continuum.
Wildly stimulating, the set was dedicated to the
memory of late guitarist Pete Cosey and was
surprisingly devoid of the band’s usually plentiful cover tunes.
Virtuosic cellist, Daniel Levin, was featured
in the next two performances, a duet with talented young dancer Jason Jordan, who’s had a
long relationship with the festival, and next with
downtown music veteran and alto saxophone
demon, Rob Brown. The latter pairing required
Brown to forgo his usual caustic, reach-to-theheavens conceptions in order to meet his partner
on more flattened ground. The two share a long
history together - Levin used to go to Brown’s
house to jam and later played in a trio with him which permitted trust and a common vocabulary
time to build without excluding the possibility of
surprise. Immediately after the set, Levin ran up
to the second level to see how his two-week-old
son Benjamin, a tough critic apparently, had
enjoyed the set.
Fittingly, the festival closed with a one-off
by the Kidd Jordan Quintet, a fire-eating brigade
led by the renowned New Orleans tenor saxophonist and long-time festival favorite. Jordan,
who touches nothing that doesn’t flow free, pure
and egoless, had said earlier in the day that this
was the first year he’d felt his age (77) creeping
up, but he proved to still be quite the conduit of
sheer sonic force. Delving high up in the altissimo range for extended periods, Jordan paired
well with multireedist J.D. Parran, whose boisterous bass saxophone stood ground amongst the
rest of the star-laden group – bassist William
Parker, drummer Hamid Drake, and the ever
versatile Charles Gayle, who, on this night, was
strictly a pianist, a completely devouring pianist
that is, until the very end when he jumped up,
strapped on his tenor sax, and joined the full-on
assault, tagging an emphatic end to another
mind-expanding and spiritually-broadening Vision Festival. As the crowd dispersed and Ornette Coleman’s son, Denardo, hugged William
Parker, Charles Gayle said, “It’s a privilege to
play with Kidd Jordan, that’s all I can say. For
him to ask me to play piano was a Godsend. To
have the opportunity to experience that, for
someone to ask me to play piano, and then to
play with him, and all his energy, and the lines
and ideas he has, that was a privilege. And I say
that straight-up honestly.” Kidd Jordan was
equally ecstatic, saying, “Oh, man, that felt very
good. I play with William and Hamid quite a bit,
and playing with Charles was a dream come true
because Charles can do everything well. I’ve
admired him for years so this is special. And J.D.
on the bass sax, and all the stuff he was doing,
added some nice flavor to it. I really enjoyed it.
Do you think the people enjoyed it?”


JAZZ BIRTHDAY GALLERY

 Phil Nimmons, 90 (06/03/1923). Canadian clarinetist,
THIS DAY IN JAZZ — JUNE
June 1
 Hal McKusick (6/1/1924-4/11/2012). Cool-toned alto
saxophonist who was also proficient on clarinet and flute.
Remembered for his work with Claude Thornhill, Bill
Evans, and George Russell. Was 87 when he passed
away in 2012.
June 2
 Valaida Snow (6/2/1903-5/30/1956). Tennessee-born
trumpeter/singer with a strong Louis Armstrong influence.
Active from the 1920s until the 1950s. Was imprisoned in
a Nazi concentration camp in Denmark in 1941 but was
released as part of a prisoner exchange and returned to
the USA.
 Marty Napoleon, 92 (6/2/1921). New York City-born
swing/bop pianist known for playing with Louis Armstrong
in the 1950s and 1960s. Also played with Charlie Ventura’s Big Four. The nephew of trumpeter Phil Napoleon.
 Connie Crothers, 72 (6/2/1941). Veteran acoustic pianist
and composer whose influences have included Lennie
Tristano, Thelonious Monk and Herbie Nichols. Material
has ranged from hard bop and post-bop to avant-garde.
June 3
 Josephine Baker (06/03/1906-04/12/1975). Famous jazz-
influenced cabaret/traditional pop singer who was also
known for her dancing and sexy live show. Worked in
France extensively and was active in the French Resistance during World War II.
composer and arranger who is primarily a jazz musician
but has also performed classical music.
 Dakota Staton (06/03/1930-04/10/2007). Jazz vocalist
with blues and soul influences. Recorded from the 1950s
to the 2000s; often compared to Dinah Washington.
 Ted Curson (06/03/1935-11/04/2012). Philadelphia-born
hard bop/post-bop/avant-garde trumpeter remembered for
his work with Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor, Bill Barron and
Archie Shepp. Wrote “Tears for Dolphy” in memory of alto
saxophonist Eric Dolphy.
 Grachan Moncur III, 76 (06/03/1937). Versatile New York
City-born trombonist known for post-bop and hard bop as
well as avant-garde jazz. One of the first trombonists to
explore free jazz.
 Jack Wilkins, 69 (06/03/1944). Veteran post-bop guitarist
who has played with Stanley Turrentine, Bob Brookmeyer,
Jimmy Heath and others. Has also backed quite a few
singers.
June 4
 Britt Woodman
(06/04/1920-10/13/2000). Trombonist
remembered for playing with Duke Ellington and Charles
Mingus. Started out with swing before embracing bop.
 Morgana King, 83 (06/04/1930). Veteran jazz/traditional
pop vocalist who is also known for her acting. Played
Carmela Corleone in “The Godfather” and “The Godfather,
Part II.”
 Oliver Nelson (06/04/1932-10/27/1975). Celebrated
bandleader/saxophonist who was well-known for his
composing and arranging. Wrote the famous standard
“Stolen Moments,” which appeared on his 1961 album
Blues and the Abstract Truth. As an arranger, he worked
with Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery, Eddie “Lockjaw”
Davis, Johnny Hodges and many others. Proficient on
alto, tenor, soprano saxes.
 Anthony Braxton, 68 (06/04/1945). Influential avantgarde saxophonist, clarinetist and flutist from who is famous for his contributions to the Chicago-based Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM).
Played alongside Chick Corea, bassist Dave Holland and
drummer Barry Altschul in Circle, an avant-garde group
that Corea led in the early 1970s prior to his famous
Return to Forever.
 Paquito D'Rivera, 65 (06/04/1948). Havana-born reedman who specializes in hard bop, post-bop and AfroCuban jazz. Defected from Cuba (where he was a member of the band Irakere) in the early 1980s and has lived in
the United States ever since. D’Rivera is proficient on the
alto sax, soprano sax, clarinet and flute and has been a
member of the Caribbean Jazz Project along with vibist/
marimba player Dave Samuels and steel pan player Andy
Narell.
 Winard Harper, 51 (06/04/1962). Hard bop/post-bop
drummer Winard Harper is among the Young Lions
(younger musicians who opted to play straight-ahead
acoustic jazz rather than fusion or smooth jazz) who
emerged in the 1980s; co-led the Harper Brothers; has
been a sideman for Dexter Gordon, Betty Carter, Johnny
Griffin and others.
June 5
 Pete Jolly (06/05/1932-11/06/2004). Lyrical, melodic
acoustic pianist who specialized in cool jazz and bop and
was active on the Los Angeles jazz scene from the 1950s
until his death in 2004 at the age of 72. Worked with Chet
Photos of Connie Crothers, Ted Curson, Geri Allen — by Ken Weiss | Photos of Stanley Clarke, Paquito D’Rivera, Reggie Workman, Donald Harrison — by Eric Nemeyer
51
Baker, Art Pepper, Shorty Rogers, Terry Gibbs and other
improvisers who were closely identified with West Coast
jazz. In addition to playing straight-ahead jazz, Jolly had
extensive television and film credits.
 Jerry Gonzalez, 65 (06/05/1949). New York City-based
trumpeter known for playing Afro-Cuban jazz, post-bop,
hard bop and salsa.
 Peter Erskine, 59 (06/05/1954). Eclectic drummer who is
known for fusion as well as straight-ahead post-bop and
hard bop. Played with major fusion artists (including
Weather Report, Steps Ahead and Al DiMeola), but has
also been a sideman for Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson,
Gary Burton, Eddie Daniels and Stan Getz.
June 6
 Jimmie Lunceford
(06/06/1902-07/12/1947). Bandleader/alto saxophonist who oversaw one of the most
hard-swinging big bands of the 1930s and 1940s. No one
mistook the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra for a sweet band
of the Guy Lombardo/Sammy Kaye variety; their aggressive, energetic work was the epitome of hot jazz. Lunceford was only 45 when he suddenly collapsed and died in
1947.
 Al Grey (06/06/1925-03/24/2000). Hard-swinging trom-
bonist who is best remembered for his association with
Count Basie but also played in the big bands of Lionel
Hampton, Benny Carter and Dizzy Gillespie. Influenced by
Trummy Young, Grey started out playing swing but later
got into bop. Recorded as a leader from the 1960s to the
1990s.
 Ernie Royal (6/6/1921-3/16/1983). Los Angeles-born
swing/bop trumpeter who spent much of his career in
studio bands but also played in the big bands of Stan
Kenton and Count Basie and was part of Woody Herman’s
Second Herd from 1947-1949.
 Grant Green (06/06/1935-1/31/1979). Distinctive St.
Louis-born guitarist who recorded for Blue Note Records
in the 1960s and 1970s. Started out playing hard bop but
later got into post-bop and soul-jazz; his latter recordings
were especially R&B-minded. Influenced Peter Bernstein,
Mark Whitfield, Russell Malone and other guitarists.
 Monty Alexander, 69 (06/06/1944). Kingston, Jamaicaborn acoustic pianist who has lived in the United States
since 1961 and has been influenced by Wynton Kelly, Nat
King Cole, Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson, among others.
Essentially a hard bop/post-bop musician but has incorporated Caribbean influences and played some jazz interpretations of reggae songs. Was married to the late guitarist
Emily Remler from 1981-1985.
June 7
 Tal Farlow (06/07/1921-07/25/1998). Bop guitarist who is
remembered for his associations with Artie Shaw (he was
a member of a 1953 edition of the Gramercy Five) and
Red Norvo but began recording and performing live as a
leader in 1953. Was 77 when he died of cancer in 1998.
 Tina Brooks (06/07/1932-08/13/1974). Hard bop/post-bop
tenor saxophonist who recorded for Blue Note Records in
the late 1950s and early 1960s. Although he only recorded
four albums as a leader (most of which weren’t released
until after his death), Brooks was featured as a sideman
on albums by Jackie McLean, Jimmy Smith, Kenny
Burrell, Freddie Hubbard, Howard McGhee and others.
Brooks, who battled heroin addiction, was only 42 when
he died of liver failure in 1974.
June 8
 Bill Watrous, 74 (06/08/1939). Flexible, broad-minded
trombonist who has played everything from hard bop to
fusion over the years and began recording as a leader in
1964. The Connecticut native has lived in Los Angeles
since the late 1970s and is part of the music faculty at the
University of Southern California (USC).
June 9
 Cole Porter (06/09/1891-10/15/1964). One of the most
famous Tin Pan Alley songwriters, Cole Porter composed
a long list of traditional pop songs that became standards.
Porter wasn’t a jazz musician per se, but many of the
songs he wrote in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s have been
recorded by countless jazz artists as well as countless
cabaret, Broadway and traditional pop artists (including
“Night and Day,” “Love for Sale,” “I Get a Kick Out of You”
and “Begin the Beguine”). Porter was 73 when he died in
1964.
 Les Paul (06/09/1916-08/13/2009). One of the most
influential swing/traditional pop guitarists of the 1940s,
1950s and 1960s. A variety of jazz guitarists have claimed
Les Paul as an influence, ranging from George Benson,
Pat Martino and Bucky Pizzarelli to fusion players like Al
DiMeola and Stanley Jordan. Paul’s partnership with
singer Mary Ford (his second wife) in the 1950s yielded
some major hits, including “How High the Moon.” Paul also
had a country music connection: Ford started off as a
country singer, and Paul recorded some albums with
guitarist Chet Atkins in the 1970s.
 Kenny Barron, 70 (06/09/1943). Major-league acoustic
pianist and Philadelphia native who has been recording as
a leader since the 1960s and has played with a who’s-who
of post-bop and hard bop, including Joe Henderson,
Bobby Hutcherson, Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson and
Eddie Harris (among countless others). Kenny Barron has
also played electric keyboards along the way but is best
known for his acoustic piano playing. Stylistically, he has
often been compared to McCoy Tyner and Cedar Walton.
 Mick Goodrick, 68 (06/09/1945). Veteran guitarist who is
best known for his work as a sideman for vibist Gary
Burton. Goodrick has sporadically recorded as a leader
but has spent much of his career in music education in
and around Boston.
June 10
 Dickie Wells (06/10/1907-11/12/1985). Swing trombonist
Paquito D’Rivera
June 4
52
who is best remembered for playing in Count Basie’s
orchestra in the 1930s and 1940s. Also played with
Fletcher Henderson and trumpeter Buck Clayton.
 Gary Thomas, 52 (06/10/1961). Veteran saxophonist/
flutist from Baltimore who is known for playing post-bop
and fusion as well as avant-garde jazz. Has been a member of Jack DeJohnette’s Special Edition but has been
recording as a leader since the 1980s. Currently works as
director of jazz studies at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore.
 Charnett Moffett, 46 (06/10/1967). A flexible bassist/
composer who has made his mark on both acoustic and
electric bass and is comfortable playing post-bop as well
as fusion and avant-garde jazz. Moffett made a name for
himself as a sideman for trumpeter Wynton Marsalis in the
mid-1980s but has been recording as a leader since 1987.
June 11
 Lennie Niehaus, 84 (6/11/1929). West coast-associated
alto saxophonist who is also known for his arranging and
film and television work. Spent five years in Stan Kenton’s
orchestra.
 Shelly Manne (6/11/1920-09/26/1984). Shelly Manne’s
subtle, understated approach made him one of the top
cool jazz drummers of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. A
native New Yorker, Manne moved to Los Angeles in 1952
and became closely identified with the West Coast jazz
scene. Manne also did his share of film and television
work and operated his own jazz club in Hollywood:
Shelly's Manne-Hole, which lasted from 1960-1972. Was a
member of the Lighthouse All-Stars in the 1950s.
 Hazel Scott (6/11/1920-10/02/1981). An acoustic pianist
who brought the influence of European classical music to
her bop recordings in the 1950s and 1960s. 1955’s Relaxed Piano Moods, one of Scott’s best albums, was a trio
recording that boasted Charles Mingus on bass and Max
Roach on drums.
 Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, 74 (6/11/1939). Veteran drummer who is known for his contributions to instrumental
soul-jazz and has also backed his share of R&B singers
over the years.
 Stu Martin (6/21/1938-06/11/1980). Bop drummer who is
remembered for his work with Sonny Rollins, Quincy
Jones and Curtis Fuller, among others.
June 12
 Marcus Belgrave, 77 (6/12/1936). Big-toned hard bop/
post-bop trumpeter who grew up in Detroit and is known
for his extensive sideman credits but has been recording
as a leader sporadically since the 1970s.
 Chick Corea, 72 (6/12/1941). A giant on both acoustic
piano and electric keyboards, Chick Corea has been
hugely influential in post-bop as well as fusion. Corea
started out as a sideman in the 1960s, playing with major
artists like Miles Davis, Blue Mitchell and Stan Getz. But
his greatest impact came when he founded the influential
fusion band Return to Forever in the early 1970s. Corea
has occasionally dabbled in avant-garde jazz (in 1970, his
group Circle had a strong AACM influence), but he is
mostly known for fusion and post-bop.
 Geri Allen, 56 (6/12/1957). Flexible Post-bop pianist who
has sometimes contributed to avant-garde jazz. Allen has
been recording as a leader since 1984 but has also been
featured as a soloist by Ornette Coleman, Paul Motian and
others.
rock. Influenced by Stanley Clarke, Larry Graham and
Jaco Pastorius. Known for his association with Miles
Davis in the 1980s but has also backed the late Luther
Vandross and many other non-jazz artists.
June 15
 Erroll Garner (6/15/1921-01/02/1977). Distinctive acoustic
pianist and Pittsburgh native who started out in swing but
proved quite receptive to bebop in the 1940s. Wrote his
most famous song, “Misty,” in 1954. “Misty” was originally
an instrumental but quickly became a standard when
Johnny Burke’s lyrics were added.
 Jaki Byard (6/15/1922-02/11/1999). Eclectic acoustic
pianist who played everything from hard bop, swing, stride
piano and post-bop to avant-garde jazz. His long list of
influences ranged from Bud Powell, Erroll Garner, Teddy
Wilson and James P. Johnson to McCoy Tyner to Cecil
Taylor.
 Tony Oxley, 75 (6/15/1938). Veteran British drummer who
has been contributing to the U.K.’s avant-garde jazz scene
since the 1960s.
 John Hart, 52 (6/15/1961). Post-bop/hard bop guitarist
who is known for his sideman work with Jack McDuff,
Maria Schneider, Larry Goldings and Terumasu Hino,
among others.
June 16
 Lucky Thompson (6/16/1924-07/30/2005). Big-toned
tenor saxophonist who started out playing swing but easily
made the transition to bop in the 1940s. Early influences
included Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster, although he
was a recognizable saxman in his own right. Played the
Reggie Workman
June 26
soprano sax as a second instrument.
 Albert Dailey (6/16/1939-06/26/1984). Acoustic hard bop/
post-bop pianist from Baltimore who only recorded about
three albums as a leader but had quite a few sideman
credits in the 1960s and 1970s. Played with Stan Getz,
Dexter Gordon, Freddie Hubbard and Sonny Rollins,
among many others.
 Tom Harrell, 67 (6/16/1946). Lyrical but swinging post-
June 13
 Doc Cheatham (6/13/1905-06/02/1997). Swing/Dixieland
trumpeter who played with a who-who’s of pre-bebop
musicians, including Fletcher Henderson, Teddy Wilson
and Cab Calloway. Heavily influenced by King Oliver and
Louis Armstrong. Cheatham was still performing when he
passed away at 91 in 1997.
 Phil Bodner (6/13/1919-02/24/2008). Clarinetist Phil
Bodner spent most of his career as a studio musician but
also played swing and bop. Sporadically recorded as a
leader and was employed as a sideman by Gil Evans,
Miles Davis, Oliver Nelson and others.
 Attila Zoller (6/13/1927-01/25/1998). Hungarian guitarist
who was mostly a bop/post-bop player but brought an
East European influence to some of his work. Began
recording as a leader in the 1960s.
 Frank Strozier, 76 (6/13/1937). Passionate, big-toned,
Memphis-born alto saxophonist who has sometimes been
compared to Jackie McLean and Phil Woods. Began
recording as a leader in 1960.
 Harold Danko, 66 (6/13/1947). Acoustic hard bop/postbop pianist who has been recording as a leader since the
mid-1970s. Sideman credits include Lee Konitz, Chet
Baker, Woody Herman, Gerry Mulligan, among many
others.
June 14
 Marcus Miller, 54 (6/14/1959). Versatile electric bassist
who has played everything from fusion to soul, funk and
Ted Curson
June 3
53
bop trumpeter/flugelhornist who has been influenced by
Freddie Hubbard and Miles Davis but is a distinctive
player in his own right. Began recording as a leader in
1976 and has built a sizable catalogue since then.
 Javon Jackson, 48 (6/16/1965). Big-toned tenor saxophonist whose influences include Joe Henderson and
John Coltrane. Was part of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers
from 1987-1990 and is known for hard bop and post-bop.
June 17
 Tony Scott (6/17/1921-03/28/2007). Bop clarinetist who
was known for his interest in eastern religion and world
music. Began recording as a leader in the 1950s.
 Chuck Rainey, 73 (6/17/1940). Electric bassist who
played on numerous R&B sessions in the 1960s and
1970s but is also quite capable of playing instrumental
jazz. Has recorded as a leader sporadically.
June 18
 Ray Bauduc (6/18/1909-01/08/1988). Swing/Dixieland
drummer who only recorded a few albums as a leader but
had a long list of sideman credits. Red Nichols, Benny
Goodman, Glenn Miller, Jack Teagarden and Ben Pollack
are among the many pre-bop improvisers he worked with.
 Ray McKinley (6/18/1910-05/07/1995). Swing/Dixieland
drummer who emerged during the Swing Era and played
with Glenn Miller, Jimmy Dorsey and other pre-bop jazzmen.
 Jim Pepper (6/18/1941-02/10/1992). Innovative tenor
saxophonist/clarinetist who sometimes brought the influence of traditional Native American music to post-bop,
fusion and avant-garde jazz.
June 19
 Dave
Lambert (6/19/1917-10/03/1966). Risk-taking,
Boston-born singer who was among the fathers of vocalese and was part of the vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks &
Ross (along with Jon Hendicks and Annie Ross). Not to be
confused with the Dave Lambert who was part of the
British folk-rock group the Strawbs in the 60s and 70s.
June 20
 Doc Evans (6/20/1907-01/10/1977). Dixieland cornetist
from the Midwest whose was influenced by Louis Armstrong and King Oliver. Began recording as a leader in
Chicago in 1949.
Anthony Braxton
June 4
 Eric Dolphy (6/20/1928-06/29/1964). Distinctive post-bop/avant-garde reedman who was
known for both “inside” and “outside” playing.
Proficient on alto sax as well as bass clarinet and
flute. Dolphy had a relatively short career as a
recording artist and was only 36 when he died in
1964 but influenced everyone from James Newton to Oliver Lake.
 Dennis Budimir, 75 (6/20/1938). Los Angelesbased guitarist who is known for playing straightahead bop but has also done studio work and film
scoring.
June 21
 Jamil Nasser (6/21/1932-02/13/2010). Hard
Geri Allen
June 12
54
bop bassist Jamil Nasser, a.k.a. George Joyner,
never recorded an album as a leader but is remembered for his sideman work with Randy
Weston, Gene Ammons, Ahmad Jamal, Al Haig
and others. Father of alto sax player Zaid Nasser.
 Lalo Schifrin (6/21/1932). Buenos Aires-born
acoustic pianist who is famous for his arranging,
composing and conducting. Has done extensive
film and television scoring over the years and
composed the theme from the spy thriller
“Mission: Impossible.”
June 22
 Ben
Pollack (6/22/1903-06/07/1971). Swing-oriented
drummer/bandleader who was especially popular during
the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Benny Goodman, Glenn
Miller, Harry James and Jack Teagarden are among the
many swing icons who played in Pollack’s band. Was 67
when he committed suicide by hanging himself in 1971.
 Ray Mantilla, 79 (6/22/1934). New York City-born drummer known for Afro-Cuban jazz and hard bop. Began
recording as a leader in the late 1970s after many years of
sideman work.
 Hermeto Pascoal, 77 (6/22/1936). Veteran multiinstrumentalist who has been active in Brazilian jazz and
Brazilian pop since the 1950s. Forró and other traditional
music from Northeastern Brazil have had a major impact
on his work.
June 23
 Milt Hinton (6/23/1910-12/19/2000). Legendary acoustic
bassist who entered the jazz world in the late 1920s and
played with many major swing and bop musicians during
his long career. Joined Cab Calloway’s band in the 1930s
but went on to play bop with Sonny Stitt, Willis “Gator”
Jackson, Charles Mingus, Curtis Fuller and countless
others. Was 90 when he passed away in 2000.
 Helen Humes (6/23/1913-9/9/1981). Expressive vocalist
Stanley Clarke
June 30
who initially made a name for herself performing in the
bands of Count Basie and Harry James in the 1930s but
started performing on her own in the 1940s. Started out
with swing and later embraced soul-jazz and bop.
 George Russell (6/23/1923-07/27/2009). Acoustic pianist,
composer and bandleader who was a major contributor to
the third stream movement, which combined jazz with
European classical music. Began recording as a leader in
the 1950s; remained active in the 2000s. Was 86 when he
died from Alzheimer’s-related complications in 2009.
 Sahib Shihab (6/23/1925-10/24/1989). Bop-oriented
saxophonist who entered the jazz world in the 1940s and
was proficient on the baritone, alto and soprano saxes as
well as the flute. Recorded as a leader in the 1950s,
1960s and 1970s but is best remembered for his extensive
sideman work.
 Anthony Jackson, 61 (6/23/1952). Electric bassist whose
influences have included Stanley Clarke and Larry Graham. In addition to playing fusion, Jackson has appeared
on many R&B sessions.
 Donald Harrison, 53 (6/23/1960). New Orleans-born hard
bop/post-bop saxophonist who was one of Art Blakey’s
Jazz Messengers in the 1980s and came out of the Young
Lion movement (young musicians who emphasized
straight-ahead jazz). Has also experimented with hip-hop.
June 24
 Cap'n John Handy (6/24/1900-1/12/1971). Dixieland-
oriented alto saxophonist/clarinetist who became active in
New Orleans in the 1920s and contributed to the Dixieland
revival movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Frequently
played with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Not to be
confused with the hard bop/post-bop alto saxophonist
John Handy.
 Manny Albam (6/24/1922-10/2/2001). Dominican drummer who started out playing swing but is best remembered
for his contributions to hard bop. Recorded his first albums
as a leader in the 1950s.
 George Gruntz (6/24/1932-01/10/2013). Swiss pianist,
bandleader and arranger who is best remembered for his
long-running Concert Jazz Band, which he founded in
1972. Passed away at 80 in 2013.
 Frank Lowe (6/24/1943-09/19/2003). Avant-garde tenor
saxophonist who was active in free jazz from the 1960s
until the early 2000s.
 Marvin "Smitty" Smith, 52 (6/24/1961). Drummer who
has been emphasizing post-bop since the 1980s. Hasn’t
recorded many albums as a leader but has extensive
sideman credits.
June 25
 Johnny Smith, 91 (6/25/1922). Lyrical, melodic bop
guitarist who is remembered for his 1952 recording of
“Moonlight in Vermont” (which featured Stan Getz) and for
his song “Walk, Don’t Run,” which became a major hit for
surf rock instrumentalists the Ventures in 1959.
 Bill Russo (6/25/1928-
1/11/2003). Composer,
arranger and trombonist
who is remembered for
his work with Stan
Kenton’s orchestra in
the 1950s.
 Joe Chambers, 71
(6/25/1942). Philadelphia native who is
known for his subtle,
understated approach to
the drums. Has recorded as a leader
sporadically since the
1970s but has spent
much of his long career
as a sideman.
June 26
 D o n
Lanphere
(6/26/1928-10/9/2003).
Tenor and soprano
saxophonist from the
Pacific Northwest who
played with Woody
Herman, Fats Navarro
and others.
 Dave
Grusin, 79
(6/26/1934). Composer,
arranger and pianist
who is best known for
co-founding GRP Records with his partner,
Larry Rosen, in the late
1970s. Has scored a
long list of hit films over
the years, including
“The Graduate” and
“The Fabulous Baker
Boys.”
 Reggie Workman, 76
(6/26/1937). Veteran acoustic bassist who is known for his
contributions to post-bop and hard bop as well as avantgarde jazz. Originally from Philadelphia but now lives in
New York City, where he is a professor at the New School
for Jazz and Contemporary Music.
 Joey Baron, 58 (6/26/1955). Post-bop/avant-garde drummer who is known for his work with Bill Frisell, Dave Douglas and John Abercrombie. Has appeared on a long list of
John Zorn albums.
June 27
 Elmo Hope (6/27/1923-5/19/1967). Hard bop pianist who
recorded as a leader in the 1950s and 1960s and was a
sideman for Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, Frank Foster,
Lou Donaldson and others. Was only 43 when he died of
heart failure in 1967.
 George Braith, 74 (6/27/1939). Soul-jazz alto and soprano saxophonist known for his ability to play two different horns at the same time, a technique inspired by
Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Recorded as a leader for Prestige
and Blue Note in the 1960s.
 Wayne Dockery, 72 (6/27/1941). Acoustic bassist, recorded with George Benson, Eddie Henderson, Hal
Galper and others.
June 28
 Adrian Rollini (6/28/1904-5/15/1956). Swing musician
Connie Crothers
June 2
56
who is best remembered for playing the bass saxophone
but was also a skillful vibist. Was the older brother of tenor
saxophonist Arthur Rollini.
 Jimmy Mundy (6/28/1907-4/24/1983). Swing-oriented
arranger and tenor saxophonist who was especially busy
in the 1930s and 1940s. Wrote charts for Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Paul Whiteman and others. Occasionally led his own bands; recorded albums for Epic Records
in the late 1950s.
 Pete Candoli (6/28/1923-1/1/2008). Pete Candoli, the
Donald Harrison
June 23
other brother of fellow trumpeter Conte Candoli, started
out as a swing musician but is also remembered for his
contributions to bop. Was part of Woody Herman’s First
Herd in the 1940s and played with Stan Kenton’s band in
the 1950s.
June 29
 Mousie Alexander (6/29/1922-10/9/1988). Flexible drum-
mer who is remembered for his contributions to bop and
swing. His résumé included Benny Goodman, Jimmy
McPartland, Charlie Ventura, Johnny Smith and others.
 Julian Priester, 78 (6/29/1935). Flexible trombonist who
has played everything from hard bop, post-bop to free jazz
to fusion; recorded as a leader, starting in the 1970s.
 Gilberto Gil, 71 (6/29/1942). Iconic Brazilian vocalist who
did a lot to popularize the rhythmic style known as tropicalia or tropicalismo in the 1960s. Known for his collaborations with fellow tropicalia icon Caetano Veloso and for his
political activism (Gil was imprisoned by Brazil’s military
government in the 1960s).
June 30
 Lena Horne (6/30/1917-5/9/2010). Traditional pop vocalist
and actress who was huge in the 1940s and 1950s but
continued to perform long after her commercial heyday. Was 92 when she passed away in 2010.
 Andrew Hill (6/30/1937-4/20/2007). Aventurous post-bop
pianist/composer influenced by Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk. Recorded as a leader for Blue Note in the
1960s.
 Stanley Clarke, 62 (6/30/1951). Innovative, highly influential electric bassist whose unique sound has combined
jazz elements with the funk-rock influences; was member
of Chick Corea’s Return to Forever in the 1970s; also
known for his acoustic bass playing.

CD Reviews
Clifton Anderson
AND SO WE CARRY ON—Daywood Drive
Records DDRLP1013. And So We Carry On;
Where or When; Niokim; Tomorrow; Alexer Is;
Bacalou Tonight; Falling in Love With Love;
Remember This; Mitsuru.
PERSONNEL: Clifton Anderson, trombone;
Monty Alexander, piano; Bob Cranshaw, acoustic bass; Kimati Dinizulu, percussion; Essiet
Okon Essiet, acoustic bass; Kenny Garrett, soprano saxophone; Steve Jordan, drums; Wallace
Roney, trumpet; Donald Vega, piano; Jeff
“Tain” Watts, drums; Steve Williams, drums;
Warren Wolf, vibraphone; Eric Wyatt, tenor
saxophone; Victor See Yuen, percussion.
By Eric Harabadian
Clifton Anderson wields a mighty trombone
and presents an album that is a balanced blend of
original content and time-honored classics. He is
a strong soloist and composer but, perhaps, one
of his stellar gifts is as leader and producer.
There is a real sense of camaraderie and a lot of
that can certainly be attributed to Anderson’s
work ethic and rapport with his players.
The title track ushers the program in on a
brisk and straight ahead note. This is an Anderson original and is a nice modern bop piece. The
leader demonstrates right out of the gate that he
is a consummate showman, with, seemingly,
effortless chops and the ability to compose challenging vehicles for the ensemble. Rodgers &
Hart’s “Where or When” has an interesting syncopated chordal figure at the outset. It quickly
unfolds into another up-tempo swing tune.
Anderson plays very lyrical and lucid here.
“Niokim” is another Anderson piece that shifts
gears in more of a bluesy direction. Again, the
tune features lyrical solos and is well constructed. Drummer Steve Jordan and bassist Bob
Cranshaw really lock it in here on their groove
and rhythmic accents. A modern Broadway classic “Tomorrow,” from the play “Annie,” is a
pleasant surprise. The band cleverly begins with
a funky beat that quickly morphs into a bouncy
traditional swing. The overall mood is sunny and
bright, with some shades of gray in the solo sections. After a series of upbeat numbers Anderson
slows down the pace for a ballad called “Alexer
Is.” The melody is lush and dedicated to the
leader’s mother, with wonderful solo turns by
Wallace Roney and Donald Vega. Tropical
breezes and sipping on a pina colada might be
what comes to mind when you check out Anderson’s “Bacalou Tonight.” The rhythms of Jamaica and The Bahamas inform the feel of this
piece and it is a nice departure from the majority
of the program here. It’s back to the classics,
with another Rodgers & Hart gem called
“Falling in Love With Love.” Anderson and
band play it pretty close to the vest as the quartet
of Monty Alexander, Cranshaw and Jordan
swing with self-assured passion and hubris.
“Remember This” is, yet, another Anderson tune
that begins with a solo trombone narrative. After
the intro is established the ensemble of Vega,
bassist Essiet Okon Essiet and drummer Steve
Williams kicks in strong and builds to a rapturous crescendo. Finally, the album concludes with
the leader’s tribute to a Japanese nightclub
owner called “Mitsuru.” This is, perhaps, a more
than appropriate number to end the festivities
with as Anderson coaxes brilliant performances
from tenor saxophonist Eric Wyatt, vibist Warren Wolf, Vega, Essiet and Jeff “Tain” Watts.
And So We Carry On is not just the title of a
modern jazz essential, it is also a rally cry for
listener and artist alike to be fully aware of our
collective past, integrate it into the present and
be willing and prepared to move on into the
future. Anderson is certainly in touch with all
these aspects of his life and, through this vehicle
of an album, wants to pass that knowledge along
to you.
The Avengers
ON A MISSION – Gudari Records
www.theavengersband.com. On A Mission; After
All; Exactly; Portia; Siddhartha’s Return;
Rauleando; No Big Deal; Jimmy O’Donnell’s
Air.
PERSONNEL: Adam Holzman, keyboards;
Lincoln Goines, bass; Beledo, guitar; Kim Plainfield, drums.
By Mark Keresman
It’s after the return to forever and orchestras
have come and gone, but the oft-maligned beast
known as fusion is still kicking. Some will say,
but of course, but this writer is, to coin a term,
old-school, a fan of fusion in/from its 1969-1974
heyday. Miles, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to
Forever, Larry Coryell, and Gary Burton, among
others made for a, dare I say, magical time. After
which it descended into the same excesses that
plagued mainstream rock...and while fusion sold,
some of its fans bemoaned the passing of its
primo years.
But—and you knew there was a “but” coming—as with anything, there are those that can
perform veritable resurrections, rejecting the flab
and wimpiness that defanged fusion. The Aven-
gers, a NY-based collective, is one such band
that evokes fusion’s glory days without overt
imitation. Its members have impressive backgrounds: Bassist Lincoln Goines includes stints
with Mike Stern, Dave Valentin, and Wayne
Krantz; aside from being keyboardist and musical director for Miles Davis for four years, Adam
Holzman has worked with Michel Petrucciani,
Grover Washington Jr., and Bob Belden, plus
he’s got a solo career. Uruguayan guitarist
Beledo has impressive and varied credits in
South America as well as the NY theater scene
along with leading the band Hemispheres.
Drummer Kim Plainfield has played with Bill
Connors, Andy Narell, John Pattitucci, and the
late Kenny Rankin. Much like their superheroic
namesakes, separately, they are formidable—but
a potent force when gathered for a common
good.
The band’s tunes, mostly composed by
guitarist Beledo, have an amiable, sleek, harmonious quality that recalls the tune-craft of 1970s
electric-era Chick Corea and Jeff Beck’s mid‘70s classic Blow By Blow. In fact, that’s the
zone in which the Avengers falter ever so
slightly—the tunes could be more distinctive.
But (yet another “but”) their playing and arranging more than compensate for this. While the
musicianship is aces, it’s utilized in the service
of the music as a whole—there is no watertreading or shallow flash to be had here.
Belado’s sound, while rooted in the searing,
soaring styles of Al DiMeola and the underrated
Bill Connors, has a subtle bluesy cast, a rockedged, blues-charged, soulfully smoldering edge
(a la Jeff Beck) to it that makes the opening
tunes “On A Mission” and “After All” such a
dandy introduction to the Avengers. Belado’s
aching, measured solo on the balladic “Portia” is
pure poetry. While some young guitarists in
fusion-land can tend to over-rely on technique,
his restraint is very striking, playing exactly
what’s needed, and most importantly, with true
(and focused) fervor.
Which is not to slight the rest of the Avengers. “After All” features some restrained organ
fills by Holzman that evoke R&B styles more
than soul-jazz aspects. Goines playing has a
sinewy quality to it, driving the ensemble almost
like a drummer; Plainfield’s drums crack like
Fourth of July mini-fireworks, and while
Holzman’s synthesizer can get a little overenthusiastic (a la Jan Hammer) at times, his
textural playing in the ensemble gives the compositions an almost orchestral-in-miniature presence. His electric piano solo on “Portia” is spare
like Monk with the bluesy élan of Otis Spann.
On A Mission is a most promising debut—
like the fusion that flourished in those days of
yore, the Avengers avail themselves of an assortment of ingredients, absorb and digest them, and
craft something that’s immediate, engaging, and
passionate with a feeling of newness, while sidestepping newness/novelty for its own sake.
57
Gerald Clayton
LIFE FORUM—Concord Jazz CJA-33770-02.
A Life Forum; Future Reflection; Shadamanthem; Sir Third; Deep Dry Ocean; Dusk Baby;
Mao Nas Massa; Prelude; Some Always; Like
Water; Unhidden; When An Angel Sheds a
Feather.
PERSONNEL: Gerald Clayton, piano; Joe
Sanders, bass; Justin Brown, drums; Logan
Richardson, sax; Dayna Stephens, sax ; Ambrose
Akinmusire, trumpet; Gretchen Parlato, vocals;
Sachal Vasandani, vocals; Carl Hancock Rux,
poetry.
By Eric Harabadian
Pianist Gerald Clayton may be barely
knocking on the door of age 30 but already has
the sophistication and compositional vision of
those twice his age. He has a freedom and romantic expressionism to his playing that is unencumbered by traditional devices. Oh, he certainly
knows from whence he came regarding the storied jazz lexicon, but he blazes his own trail in a
bold and inventive manner. His pianistic chops
are truly immense and there is plenty of solo
space displayed here. But on Life Forum the
focus is as much on the writing, and the ensemble as a whole, than just on Clayton as a leader.
This is an album that is somewhat grand in
scope, both sonically and conceptually. Sonically, it is one of Clayton’s most ambitious projects, graduating from, simply, the piano trio
format—which he is very adept in—and encompassing lush horn arrangements and voices. Conceptually, he brings something very personal to
the table in terms of presenting ideas that are
based on, or inspired by, love and life transitions
and events. In Clayton’s words: “All life experiences and interactions offer us the chance for
development of tolerance, love, honesty, compassion and acceptance. Personally, the creation
of this album has been an extraordinary opportunity for growth.” And that’s what you find here.
There is a well-spring of emotions that rise to the
surface and reveal themselves in Clayton and his
ensemble’s performance. And the “growth”
Clayton speaks of, most assuredly, takes place in
a symbiotic manner between artist and listener.
There is no way one cannot be affected on some
deeper level upon listening to this album.
Right out of the gate one is treated to an
elegant and imposing figure in spoken word
artist Carl Hancock Rux’s recitation of the title
track “Life Forum.” The crux of the words set
the tone for the disc revealing “ This is the map.
Old paths to new dangers. A place for passion
reserved, for brief touches, for remembering love
diminished, for freedom….” These are wistful
and very revealing glimpses into Clayton’s psyche . The musical accompaniment is dense in
58
horns that underscore Clayton’s rambling and
dreamy keyboard work. “Future Reflection”
features more orchestral backing and unison
voices . The leader’s Chick Corea/Keith Jarrettlike passages are intricate and soul stirring.
“Shadamanthem” has a Claus Ogerman- arranged feel, with a Yellowjackets sensibility.
The addition of Ambrose Akinmusire’s angular
trumpet gives things an avant-garde texture. “Sir
Third” is very intricately composed, yet seemingly reserved and quiet. The trio of Clayton, Joe
Sanders on bass and drummer Justin Brown is
more straight ahead jazz. “Deep Dry Ocean”
finds Gretchen Parlato singing unison lines with
the piano. The track is rich and complex, with
intersecting melodies and odd metered rhythms.
“Dusk Baby” is kind of a folky blues piano song,
with Sachal Vasandani crooning a sweet ballad.
Vasandani shines again on the album’s final
selection “When An Angel Sheds a Feather.” It
is an appropriately dreamy and heavenly sounding track. Clayton’s piano flows with ethereal
grace as Vasandani’s honey dripped vocals seem
simply otherworldly.
This is an amazing record and one that establishes Clayton as an artist that assembled a
top notch band and instilled outstanding and
unique performances out of them. A truly oneof-a-kind musician!
Freddy Cole
THIS AND THAT — FreddyCole.com. I Saw
Stars; You and Me Against the World; Everybody’s Talkin’; Never Never Never; Where Are
You/It Was So Good While It Lasted; Who Will
Take My Place?; Nothin’s Wrong with Nothin’;
What Color Is Love: Bang Bang Boogie; I Get
Sentimental Over Nothing; Sometimes, I’m
Happy; For the Love of You
PERSONNEL: Freddy Cole, vocals; Bootsie
Barnes, tenor saxophone; Josh Brown, trombone; John Di Martino, acoustic piano; Randy
Napoleon, electric guitar; Elias Bailey, bass;
Chris Boyd, drums; Todd Barkan, producer;
Katherine Miller, producer, engineer; Joe Fields,
executive producer; Will Friedwald, liner notes;
Ray Gumpel, photography; Keiji Obata, graphic
design; Junko Mayumi, graphic design
By Alex Henderson
For the sake of imagination, let’s say that
Freddy Cole had been the only member of the
prestigious Cole family who pursued a career in
music. How might things have turned out if his
oldest brother Nat King Cole and his niece Natalie Cole had become attorneys or physicians
instead of professional singers? Chances are that
Freddy, with the right promotion, would have
been recognized as an excellent singer (which he
is) anyway but would have done so without hearing frequent comparisons to his brother.
Fair or unfair, those comparisons continue
after all these years. When your brother was one
of the most iconic jazz and traditional pop vocalists of the 20th Century and you have been influenced by his work, comparisons are inevitable.
But Freddy Cole, with his raspier and edgier
voice, has long been his own person—and This
and That finds him in fine form at 81. This album deserves high marks in a number of areas.
First, Cole is as expressive and charismatic as
ever. Second, he isn’t afraid to offer some surprises when it comes to choosing material. And
third, he is backed by a solid team of players that
includes tenor saxophonist Bootsie Barnes (who
isn’t well-known nationally but is highly regarded in Philadelphia), trombonist Josh Brown,
guitarist Randy Napoleon, bassist Elias Bailey,
drummer Curtis Boyd and pianist John Di
Martino (although Cole is a skillful pianist, Di
Martino is the sole pianist on This and That).
A common problem with many jazz artists
(both singers and instrumentalists) is a tendency
to play it much too safe when it comes to choosing material. They insist on sticking to the most
overdone, beaten-to-death standards and refuse
to do anything out of the ordinary with them. But
Cole can hardly be accused of favoring an allwarhorses-all-the-time policy on this December
2012 recording. His sources are diverse, ranging
from Tin Pan Alley (the Vincent Youmans/
Irving Ceaser standard “Sometimes I’m Happy”)
to Charles Aznavour’s “Who Will Take My
Place?” to the Isley Brothers’ quiet storm classic
“For the Love of You” (which was a major hit
for the Isleys in 1975). Although Cole offers
some acknowledgement of Tin Pan Alley, it isn’t
a high priority on This and That—and he makes
it clear that unlike many jazz artists, he doesn’t
think that worthwhile popular music ended with
Tin Pan Alley. But despite having a variety of
pop sources, This and That is not a pop album;
Cole has no problem finding the jazz potential in
the popular songs he interprets.
Another pop source on this album is 1960s
and 1970s soft rock. Cole also tackles Paul Williams’ “You and Me Against the World” (a big
hit for Helen Reddy in 1974) and Fred Neil’s
“Everybody’s Talkin’,” which was originally
recorded by Neil in 1966 but became much better known when Harry Nilsson’s version was
used in the 1969 film “Midnight Cowboy” (starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight).
“Everybody’s Talkin’” had a country twang
coming from Neil and Williams, but Cole takes
the song in a much bluesier direction.
Cole has had a long career. His first recordings were made in the early 1950s, and This
and That demonstrates that he is still doing quality work after all these years.
Larry Coryell
THE
LIFT
–
Wide
Hive
www.widehiverecords.com. Going Up; Arena
Blues; The Lift; Lafayette; Clear Skies; Rough
Cut; Alternative Recollection; Broken Blues;
Counterweight; Stadium Wave; Wild Rye; First
Day of Autumn.
PERSONNEL: Larry Coryell, electric and
acoustic guitars; Chester Smith, organ; Matt
Montgomery, bass; Lumpy, drums.
By Mark Keresman
While it’s debatable whether or not he gets
enough credit for it, Larry Coryell has proven
himself to be one of jazz’s vanguard guitarists.
Long before “fusion” became a marketing term,
Coryell was combining the erudition of jazz with
the dynamics of rock on recordings with Gary
Burton, Herbie Mann, and the semi-legendary
proto-fusion combo The Free Spirits (which
included iconoclastic drummer Bob Moses).
While some players find their niche and seldom
(if ever) stray from it, Coryell has seldom stood
still, going variously from near-psychedelic jazzrock onslaughts to exquisite acoustic ventures (in
contexts as varied as Indian violinist L. Subramaniam and members of Oregon), Django
Reinhardt-style swing, slick funk, and straightahead bebop.
Coryell’s latest jaunt for the Berkeley Wide
Hive label finds him revisiting his firebrand
electric days. The Lift finds the master sixstringer engaging in some gregarious electric
sorties with the punchy, fluid rhythm team of
bassist Matt Montgomery and a drummer with
the droll sobriquet of Lumpy—on some tracks
they’re joined by organist Chester Smith. “Going
Up” and “Wild Rye” are cheerily ominous rockers with Coryell’s guitar getting a glorious dirty
fuzz tone, followed by some judicious yet searing Hendrix-like wailing—dirty-sounding yet
oddly elegant—over a churning groove. The title
track applies aggressive rock-flavored thunder to
the classic soul-jazz sound—imagine if Hendrix
infiltrated a Jimmy Smith combo disguised as
Kenny Burrell. Coryell combines the classy élan
of Burrell with Hendrix-esque aggression—
instead of oil-and-water, it works as a lively, offkilter juxtaposition. (Purists won’t like it, but
that’s purists for you.)
“Clear Skies” finds LC revisiting the acoustic ax—but don’t think “acoustic” means
“mellow.” Double-tracked, Coryell plays some
boisterous folk-tinged hard swing, part Leo Kottke, part Django. “Alternative Recollection”
finds LC in a smoldering bluesy mode, playing
with some seething sustain that I suspect both
Buddy Guy and Frank Zappa would approve of,
with the bass/drums team spurring him along.
Montgomery plays some especially supple bass
lines herein. “Rough Cut” is another lurching
near-rocker, evoking John McLaughlin’s early
solo venture Devotion (in which he was accompanied by Hendrix’s rhythm team and organist
Larry Young)—Coryell’s playing is feverish but
not frenzied, and Smith’s organ cools like Vaseline on Winter-chapped lips. “Stadium Wave” is
jolly, chunky funk, evoking the Meters at their
finest, with a driving riff that’ll set even the most
staid folk to a-partying. Dig that rippling bass
and minimalist in-the-pocket drumming! “First
Day of Autumn” is a sweetly Django-tinged
closer with LC engaging in some pastoral acoustic picking.
If you’re a Coryell fan that likes but one
particular aspect of his playing—straight-ahead,
fusion, acoustic—you may be a little frustrated
by this set. Without any overt nostalgia, Coryell
revisits much of his resume, especially reembracing the rock and R&B elements of his
youth, bringing them into an inclusive jazz context. Purists won’t like it, but if you’re a jazz
guitar fan that still listens to your Hendrix, Electric Flag, and early Jeff Beck platters when your
jazz-snob pals aren’t around, The Lift will do
that for your spirits. Rock on & keep swingin’!
Jerry Costanzo
INVITATION—Daywood Drive Records
DDRLP1015. Don’t Let it Go to Your Head;
Again; Here’s to the Losers; The Lonely One/
Nature Boy; Social Call; Little Boat ( O Barquinho); You’re Looking at Me; Invitation; I
Was a Little Too Lonely ( And You Were a Little
Too Late); I Wished on the Moon; Meet Me at
No Special Place; This is My Night to Dream;
Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries; Stella by Starlight.
PERSONNEL: Jerry Costanzo, vocals; Tedd
Firth, piano and arrangements; Joe Cohn, guitar;
Neal Miner, bass; Jonathan Mele, drums; Brian
Pareschi, trumpet and flugelhorn; Giada Valenti,
vocals; Champian Fulton, vocals.
soft and cool. Costanzo has a soft and rich tonal
quality to his voice that is evocative of Nat King
Cole. It’s no surprise that he performs some
songs that were signatures of the artist. In this
case the medley of “The Lonely One/Nature
Boy” is a fitting tribute and an excellent showcase for the leader’s range as well as Firth’s
piano and arranging acumen. “Little Boat (O
Barquinho) “is special for its cool samba
rhythms and vocal interplay between Costanzo’s
English lyrics and guest vocalist Giada Valenti’s
Portuguese words. This track brings out the best
of the entire ensemble as well, with tasteful percussive work by Jonathan Mele. A little down
the list the title track “Invitation” is another exotic Brazilian flavored piece. The band alternates
between samba and swing as the drums, guitar
and piano intersect in a seamless manner. “Meet
Me at No Special Place” is a little laid back and
sets up a smoky lounge-type scene. There is
some nice reverb enhanced guitar that adds to
the song’s ultra relaxed and bluesy feel. “This is
My Night to Dream” follows and is a clever
light-hearted track. Mele’s nuanced drum accents come into play here in a big way. The album closes as it began, with a classic take on
love in the form of “Stella by Starlight.” This
kind of tune is Costanzo’s stock and trade and he
gives it all the care and attention to intimate
detail that it requires.
It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that
Jerry Costanzo is on par with living legends like
Tony Bennett and the like. His love for the classic jazz repertoire is unquestionable and his musical skill set is more than ample. In the realm of
traditional song interpreters it doesn’t get much
better!
By Eric Harabadian
Graceful, effervescent, transcendent; these
are some words that could be used to describe
Jerry Costanzo’s lovely vocal style. He’s not one
for the flash. Rather, he delivers the lyric in an
almost “everyman” approach. It is as if he is
singing directly to you or confiding in you as a
friend. He embraces the classic Great American
Songbook and breathes new life into well-worn
material. He and arranger Tedd Firth offer a
program of road-tested tunes honed during his
seven month residency at Feinstein’s Night Club
at the Lowe’s Regency in NYC. And from the
first note you can tell Costanzo and his compadres are here to entertain, reminisce and inspire.
The leader tastefully enters the fray with the
effortless and light-hearted swing of “Don’t Let
it Go to Your Head.” There is a sweetness and
vulnerability that he brings to the second track
“Again” that is rare on the modern music landscape. Costanzo takes his time and personalizes
the lyric in a very intimate way. “Here’s to the
Losers” is a cover of a tune Frank Sinatra popularized in 1963. Constanzo is joined here by
vocalist Champian Fulton and it is a fun one.
They trade off on verses and blend divinely on
harmonies as trumpeter Brian Pareschi blows
Eldar Djangirov
BREAKTHROUGH—Motéma Music 115.
motema.com, eldarmusic.com. Point of View
Redux; Somebody Loves Me; Breakthrough;
What’ll I Do; Morning Bell; In Pursuit; No
Moon at All; Hope; Tokyo Pulse; Blink; Good
Morning, Heartache
PERSONNEL: Eldar Djangirov, acoustic piano,
producer; Armando Gola, acoustic bass; Ludwig
Afonso, drums; Chris Potter, tenor saxophone;
Joe Locke, vibes; Jana Herzen, executive producer; Todd Whitelock, engineer, Dave Darlington, engineer; Tim Marchiafava, assistant engineer; Oscar Zambrano, mastering; Rebecca
Meek, graphic design; Mac McAndrews, photography
By Alex Henderson
Child prodigies, in many cases, have failed
to live up to the hype that was showered upon
them. There are exceptions, certainly: Stevie
Wonder and the late Michael Jackson, for exam-
59
ple, were pre-teen stars who went on to record
their most essential albums when they were in
their 20s and 30s. Gladys Knight, who was only
seven when she won a competition on “Ted
Mack’s Amateur Hour” (which was sort of a
1950s equivalent of “American Idol”) still has a
loyal fan base at 68. But for every Wonder, Jackson or Knight who achieved longevity, there
have been numerous child prodigies who couldn’t get arrested as adults. And in the jazz realm,
labels certainly haven’t done pre-teen musicians
a favor by hyping them to death when they weren’t ready for prime time. However, Eldar
Djangirov (who turned 26 on January 28, 2013)
really has lived up to the favorable press he has
enjoyed. Djangirov was only nine when he performed at a jazz festival in Russia and recorded
three albums as a leader before he was 18, but he
isn’t a fantasy dreamed up by a publicist; he
really does have an impressive command of his
instrument. And on the self-produced Breakthrough, he handles himself well as both an
acoustic pianist and a composer (six of the 11
selections are Djangirov originals).
Breakthrough, for the most part, is a trio
album. Employing Armando Gola on upright
bass and Ludwig Afonso on drums, Djangirov
leads a traditional piano trio on George
Gershwin’s “Somebody Loves Me,” Redd Evans
& Davis Mann’s “No Moon at All” and Irving
Berlin’s “What’ll I Do” as well as on post-bop
originals that include “Tokyo Pulse,” “In Pursuit” and “Point of View Redux.” Another
memorable trio performance comes on Radiohead’s “Morning Bell,” which is a song that
many straight-ahead jazz musicians wouldn’t
think to record but works enjoyably well for
Djangirov in an acoustic post-bop context.
Djangirov is joined by multi-reedman Chris
Potter on the exuberant “Breakthrough” (Potter
plays the tenor sax this time) and by vibist Joe
Locke on the equally energetic “Blink.” But
most of the time, the New York City resident
(who is originally from Kyrgyzstan in what used
to be part of the Soviet Union) sticks to the timehonored piano trio format.
There is plenty of exuberance on Breakthrough. Djangirov spares no passion on
“Somebody Loves Me,” “Point of View Redux”
or “Morning Bell,” but he shows his more introspective side on “What’ll I Do,” “Hope” and an
unaccompanied solo-piano version of “Good
Morning Heartache” (a standard that has been
recorded by many different jazz and traditional
pop artists over the years but is closely identified
with Billie Holiday, who first recorded it in
1946). Djangirov has been accused of getting a
little too caught up in his own virtuosity at times,
but the more introspective parts of this album
demonstrate that there is a lot more to him than
pyrotechnics. Djangirov isn’t just about chops;
he also realizes the importance of playing with
feeling.
It’s good to see that Djangirov didn’t fall
into the “forgotten child prodigy” trap and is
now recording for a label as thoughtful as
Motéma. And on Breakthrough, he continues to
cut through the hype and deliver solid acoustic
jazz.
60
Tommy Flanagan
& Jaki Byard
THE MAGIC OF 2: LIVE AT KEYSTONE
KORNER—Resonance Records 2013. Web:
ResonanceRecords.org. Introduction by Todd
Barkan; Scrapple from the Apple; Just One of
Those Things; Satin Doll; Something to Live
For; Send One Your Love; Our Delight; All Day
Long; Sunday; Chelsea Bridge; Land of Make
Believe; The Theme
PERSONNEL: Tommy Flanagan, acoustic
piano; Jaki Byard, acoustic piano; Todd Barkan,
producer; Zev Feldman, producer; George
Klabin, executive producer ; Howard Mandel,
liner notes; Renee Rosnes, liner notes; Bill Charlap, liner notes; Diane Byard, liner notes; Fran
Gala, mastering; Tom Copi, photography; Burton Yount, graphic design
swing bands, and at Keystone Korner, Byard
uses it to show his appreciation of pre-bop pianists like Waller and Teddy Wilson. On “Land of
Make Believe,” however, he draws on both postbop and free jazz and ends up with an interpretation that is somewhere between Cecil Taylor and
McCoy Tyner. Of course, the very idea of Taylor being an influence on a performance of
“Land of Make Believe” will come as a shock;
when Mangione recorded that song in the early
1970s (first as an instrumental in 1972, then with
singer Esther Satterfield in 1973), he was going
for pure enchantment—not dissonance or abstraction. But Byard finds the avant-garde possibilities in “Land of Make Believe,” which shows
how wildly imaginative he could be. Byard
could do outlandish things and make them seem
perfectly natural; that was part of his greatness.
Flanagan, in contrast, excelled by sticking with
what he did so well: very straight-ahead bop.
Flanagan (who died of an aneurism in 2001
at the age of 71) maintained his devotion to bop,
while Byard (who was 76 when he died in 1999)
went down in history as one of jazz’ true eclectics. Their encounter at Keystone Korner back in
1982 was historic, and The Magic of 2 is a consistently rewarding document of that encounter.
By Alex Henderson
One of the pleasures of being a jazz collector is hearing previously unreleased live recordings that become commercially available
after many years of being in private collections.
A perfect example is this Tommy Flanagan/Jaki
Byard encounter from 1982, which went unreleased for 31 years but is finally seeing the light
of day in 2013.
Recorded at Keystone Korner in San Francisco, The Magic of 2 finds Flanagan and Byard
forming a two-piano duo. No bass, drums, guitar
or horns are heard on this 58-minute CD; the
only participants are the two pianists, and they
prove to be quite compatible despite coming
from different areas of the jazz spectrum.
Flanagan was very much a hard bopper; the
eclectic Byard enjoyed playing hard bop but was
also into everything from stride piano to modal
jazz to avant-garde jazz. Byard had a wide variety of pianistic influences, ranging from Dave
Brubeck to Bud Powell to Cecil Taylor to James
P. Johnson and Fats Waller. But sharing the
stage with Flanagan means emphasizing his bop
side, and the two of them have no problem finding common ground when they perform twopiano duets on Duke Ellington’s “Satin Doll,”
Tadd Dameron’s “Our Delight,” Charlie Parker’s
“Scrapple from the Apple,” Miles Davis’ “The
Theme” and Cole Porter’s “Just One of Those
Things.” At times, one of them will lay out.
Flanagan plays by himself on three Billy Strayhorn pieces (“Chelsea Bridge,” “Something to
Live For” and “All Day Long”), while Byard is
unaccompanied on Stevie Wonder’s “Send One
Your Love,” Chuck Mangione’s “Land of Make
Believe” and the 1920s standard “Sunday.” The
latter is easily the most swing-minded performance on this CD.
“Sunday” continues to be a favorite among
Lars Haake
IN THE PICTURE – Larsiosax.
www.larshaake.com. Organism; Intro to Larsio
Theme; Larsio Theme; Cheating; Ballad; Bengupe; Big Brother; On Green Dolphin Street;
Mr. P.C.
PERSONNEL: Lars Haake, alto sax; George
Burton, piano & Fender Rhodes piano; James
Genus, acoustic bass; Wayne Smith Jr., drums;
Oli Rockberger, vocals (track 3).
By Mark Keresman
Born in Germany in 1972, Lars Haake got
his basic training at home (clinics with Michael
Brecker and Vincent Herring) and Boston’s
Berklee College. Now, Haake is based in NYC
and he’s completed (and self-released) his debut
disc In The Picture with his “dream band.” We
should all be so lucky.
Haake has got a truly distinctive tone—it’s
lithe, richly tart with a blues feeling, a la Cannonball Adderley, Eric Dolphy, and Olive Lake,
with occasional amber, slightly brusque hues
that evoke a tenor sax. Yet his approach has a
touch of the frosty (in a good way), brainy yet
elegant cool of Lee Konitz. Haake gets mournful
but unsentimental with “Ballad” and sardonically jagged with “Cheating.” Phil Woods is a
likely influence too—hear him navigate with
steely aplomb on the Coltrane-penned standard
Mr. P.C.” Unlike some young bop-oriented players, some old-school R&B influences slips in—I
think there are some Maceo Parker and Junior
Walker moves in the rollicking opener
“Organism” and wee hints of same in
“Bengupe.”
Haake goes for some of the husky, earthy
swing of Gene Ammons on Stevie Wonder’s
“Big Brother,” and he gets it, too. On this, pianist George Burton gets in touch with his inner
McCoy Tyner with a punchy, deliberate, measured solo. James Genus and Wayne Smith kick
up a mighty ruckus on the “out” section of the
tune without abandoning the tune’s commanding
impetus. Burton’s ballad playing on “Ballad” is
gently supportive to Haake’s sweet-but-not-too
sweet, creamy horn and gets to shine himself on
the slightly oblique, nicely sprawling
“Bengupe”—Burton knows how to impress
without gumming-up the proceedings with too
many notes.
Stylistically, this Picture is invigorating
hard bop, with some forays into post bop (some
hints of free and R&B, but not funk). Nine tracks
in over 54 minutes, some thoughtful, freshsounding originals, a couple of evergreens, and
an R&B chestnut—nothing startling here, but
nothing that feels run-of-the-mill or facile, either. Mr. Haake, you done made a fine debut
platter.
Joe Locke
LAY DOWN MY HEART: BLUES & BALLADS VOLUME ONE. Motema 121.
www.motema.com ; www.joelocke.com . Ain't
No Sunshine; Broken Toy; Bittersweet; I Can't
Make You Love Me; The Meaning of the Blues;
Simone; This New October; Makin' Whoopee;
Dedicated to You.
PERSONNEL: Joe Locke, vibraphone; Ryan
Cohan, piano; David Finck, bass; Jaimeo Brown,
drums.
By John R. Barrett, Jr.
Orrin Keepnews calls it “bar music”, while
Prestige Records used the term “people music” and that is how Joe Locke describes this set.
Even it you've never heard the expression, you
know what it means: simple, strong grooves that
smooth out the worries and make you feel good.
Such music often fits in the background, but that
hardly makes it insubstantial: Wes Montgomery
and Lou Donaldson often mined this territory,
and Houston Person carries on in a tradition that
goes back to Gene Ammons. And into this musical legacy steps the group of Joe Locke, using
the instrumentation of The Modern Jazz Quartet,
for an entirely different result.
If I am honest, I cringed a little seeing
“Ain't No Sunshine” on the songlist; I'm reminded of a bored Sonny Stitt yawning through
this on a 1973 album. These fears were unTo Advertise CALL: 215-887-8880
founded: the intro is proud, David Finck bouncing his way on a taut, tangy bass. Then the piano
steps in, brash and equally percussive – against
this strength Locke shimmers, his tone glassy
and stuffed with vibrato. The sustain is long and
entwines with the comps of Ryan Cohan, who
plies the chords with bluesy asides. After playing
the theme straight, Joe sprints his solo, fluttering
in the upper register amid Cohan's spiky bursts
of sound. On his turn Ryan goes cruising, humming like Jarrett while his phrases hint Herbie
Hancock. Wait for the fadeout, where Joe's
chords turn blue and the bass marches into the
silence – your ears are grabbed, and stay that
way for the disc's duration.
Thanks to the cymbals of Jaimeo Brown,
the fog rolls warmly through “Broken Toy”, a
sleepy waltz where the chords are thick and the
vibes dance in wide circles. The theme may be
leisurely, but not the solo: Joe begins with two
notes, bathed in a pool of vibrato. As the overtones envelope all, the mood changes: some
delicate trills, then a busy race up the stairs, with
the mallets sounding very blunt. Perched on the
instrument's high scale, Locke again ruminates
as Cohan makes with dense chords. Joe hovers
rapidly, descends gently in steps, and eases into
the end-theme as the backing turns dense. I find
this part cluttered (especially when Joe rolls fast
in the last minute) but the whole is quite pleasant.
For the boppish “Bittersweet”, things turn
ominous: Ryan marches on deep dark chords as
the vibist gets breezy on a theme that recalls
Parker's “Cheryl”. As said theme progresses,
Cohan's right hand parallels Joe's action as his
left continues walkin'. You will love the solos:
Joe slinks around in mid-register, shuffling with
interlocked steps. Here the motor is turned
down, the sustain kept to a minimum – and the
whole thing crackles with joy. Ryan's effort is a
swift parade of blue chords, and Finck's turn (his
first on the disc) is agile and fast! Very reminiscent of 'Fifties vibe tracks: you've heard this
before but in a good way. As a song, “I Can't
Make You Love Me” may be overperformed, but
not like this: Ryan begins with the chord structure, never touching the melody. He ends with a
hopeful flourish, and now we get Locke: his
pace is measured, the notes deep and glassy.
There's a grace note or two, but mostly he lets
the theme have its impact as Cohan decorates the
edges. His solo, while staying in the deep end,
acquires a funky tinge, straying far from the tune
but faithful to its mood. The fade, like the start,
gets a chords-only reading, with a grand strut as
Ryan turns passionate. It's a stunning rendition
that omits what's too-familiar and retains what's
good: you haven't heard this before, and in a
good way.
Building on Finck's earthy intro, “Simone”
bursts from the gate and never stops running.
Ryan's chords are cold and splashy; Locke
bounces like mad as the Zappa-like theme squiggles in every direction. On a bed of thundering
cymbals, Cohan leans back a bit; his solo cruising slow while maintaining the tension. By
stages he revs it up, as choppy chords mix with
clustered single notes – Brown's drumming
maintains the heat, and Joe leaps in with spirals
of chiming sound. The sustain isn't as thick as on
other tracks, but the sheer activity engulfs you –
for respite there is Finck, and a solo that's wispy,
febrile, and very very swift. “This New October”
comes next, where Locke's held notes complete
chords and whose echoes seem to cross all
space. He's alone for the first minute, twinkling
like fairy dust on a lonely-sounding motif; Ryan
floats in with pillowy comps, as the drums patter
like rain. Joe's solo is told in straight lines, brief
phrases blending curiosity with hope. When he
turns busier, so does the band: Brown is especially atmospheric. Speaking of which: the end,
where Joe's ascent becomes a twinkling chord, is
a special mood indeed.
“Makin' Whoopee” comes recast in a shade
of light blue, as Cohan's comp hint at “Please
Send Me Someone to Love” - clever and cute.
Joe's solo gives you happy trills, octave leaps
and a quote of Charlie Christian; Ryan glows at
times like Red Garland, and Locke turns marimba-like as he fades, somplete with a quote of
“Moanin'”. And, as the bar closes on this set, we
have “Dedicated to You”, steeped in late-night
wistfulness. Ryan's graceful solo gets a barelyheard comp from Joe, sounding like the rims of
wine glasses. All is slow, all is warm, an easy
amble down a familiar path – such can be said of
this album. The group is cohesive, the tunes do
their part, and while your ears will not be challenged, they will enjoy the journey. Such is
“people music” … and what is music for, if not
people?
Steven Lugerner
FOR WE HAVE HEARD—Primary Records
013. Web: PrimaryRecords.org, NoBusinessrecords.com. Us and Our Fathers: When a Long
Blast Is Sounded; Drove Out Before Us; Be
Strong and Resolute; Before Our Very Eyes;
Through Whose Midst We Passed; For We Have
Heard; Up From the Land; All Those Kings;
Our Children in Time
PERSONNEL: Steve Lugerner, clarinet, flute,
saxophone, producer; Darren Johnston, trumpet;
Myra Melford, acoustic piano; Matt Wilson,
drums; Jacob Bergson, producer engineer;
Randy Merrill, mastering
By Alex Henderson
The term “concept album” has been used in
connection with rock more than it has been used
in connection with jazz, and yet, jazz has also
given us some classic concept albums over the
years. While rock had Pink Floyd’s The Wall,
Elton John’s Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road, the
Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
and Yes’ Tales from Topographic Oceans, jazz
gave us such essential concept albums as John
Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, Charles Mingus’
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady and Return
to Forever’s Romantic Warrior. So concept
albums have, in fact, been a valuable part of jazz
for a long time. And with For We Have Heard,
reedman Steven Lugerner offers a jazz concept
album with a Jewish theme.
For We Have Heard contains post-bop and
mildly avant-garde material that was inspired by
events in the Book of Joshua, the sixth book in
61
the Hebrew Bible. However, For We Have
Heard doesn’t depict those events with lyrics,
but rather, with melodies, harmonies and improvisation (the album is totally instrumental).
And Lugerner pieces like “Up from the Land,”
“Be Strong and Resolute,” “When a Long Blast
Is Sounded” and “All Those Kings” have a mystical quality and a highly spiritual feel. Listening
to For We Have Heard, it isn’t hard to believe
that Lugerner was thinking about the Book of
Joshua when he wrote these compositions; the
CD’s spirituality is evident. If a film director
decided to make a movie based on events in the
Book of Joshua and used For We Have Heard as
the soundtrack, Lugerner’s compositions would
be right at home.
Thankfully, Lugerner (who plays various
saxophones, clarinets and flutes) oversees a team
that understands where he is coming from musically and helps him bring those compositions to
life. The New York City resident (who is originally from San Francisco) leads a cohesive
acoustic quartet that includes Darren Johnston on
trumpet, Myra Melford on acoustic piano and
Matt Wilson on drums (no bass is used), and all
of them are perfectly comfortable with the inside/outside nature of the album. For We Have
Heard, on the whole, is more inside than outside;
many of the melodies are accessible post-bop
melodies. But when the improvisers do venture
outside, they aren’t apologetic about it. The dissonance on “Our Children in Time” and
“Through Whose Midst We Passed” (two of the
disc’s more abstract offerings) is dissonance that
Lugerner and his colleagues seem to be enjoying
a great deal. Melford obviously enjoys the Cecil
Taylor-ish moves that she makes on “Our Children in Time.” But even on the most free-form
parts of the album, Lugerner and his sidemen
play with a sense of purpose. For We Have
Heard never sounds like the work of someone
who is randomly throwing things against the
wall and hoping that perhaps some of them
might stick. Lugerner, Johnson, Melford and
Wilson all sound focused and sound like they
went into the studio with a sense of purpose.
For We Have Heard is an ambitious,
memorable and interesting concept album from
Lugerner.
Christian McBride
The liner notes refer to Christian McBride
as one of the hardest working men in show business, and that certainly can’t be disputed. His
influence crosses all lines of modern jazz-related
music and his latest is a foray into an area where
he continuously excels; straight ahead jazz. A lot
of the material here seems cut from the cloth of
Horace Silver, Art Blakey, with a strong Bobby
Hutcherson vibe in fellow Mack Avenue recording artist Warren Wolf. The pervasive feel
that permeates this disc is one of sophisticated
cool. But please, don’t take that the wrong way
or read it as pretentious. The last thing McBride
would want is to be misunderstood regarding his
intentions with this group. To paraphrase,
McBride feels that quite often jazz musicians
can get too caught up in the artistry that lies in
their own heads. Sometimes when this happens
they forget about the most important part, and
that’s communicating with the people. Hence,
the title of the album is People Music. It is a
strong and vibrant display of McBride’s core
ensemble that features Peter Martin, Carl Allen,
Steve Wilson and Wolf. But he also features
younger players Christian Sands and Ulysses
Owens, Jr. on the tracks “Listen to the Heroes
Cry” and “Dream Train.” And they really shine
on these stellar, energetic cuts. The disc travels
from ballads and blues to mid-tempo swing and
semi-classical structures. Whatever the context,
McBride shows remarkable sensitivity and acumen in the way he responds and reacts to his
fellow players. His dexterity on acoustic bass
and seemingly endless supply of original ideas is
breathtaking. And the interplay, particularly,
between his pianists and vibraphonist fosters a
musical dialogue that is transcendent, yet, approachable and real. Much of the program here
is also remarkable for the tasteful use of restraint
and dynamics. This is especially apparent on
tracks such as “Listen to the Heroes Cry” and
“The Movement, Revisited” where the band
scales heights of rapturous thunder and brings
things down to a pin drop. Christian McBride
and Inside Straight most definitely have the inside “track” on keeping traditional post-modern
bop and swing alive and kicking for years to
come!
Cecile McLorin Salvant
PEOPLE MUSIC—Mack Avenue Records
MAC 1070. Listen to the Heroes Cry; Fair Hope
Theme; Gang Gang; Ms. Angelou; The Movement, Revisited; Unusual Suspects; Dream
Train; New Hope’s Angel.
PERSONNEL: Christian McBride, bass; Peter
Martin, piano; Carl Allen, drums; Steve Wilson,
alto and soprano saxophone; Warren Wolf,
vibes; Christian Sands, piano; Ulysses Owens,
Jr., drums.
62
By Eric Harabadian
WOMANCHILD—Mack Avenue Records
MAC 1072. St. Louis Gal; I Didn’t Know What
Time it Was; Nobody; WomanChild; Le Front
Cache Sur Tes Genoux; Prelude/There’s a Lull
in My Life; You Bring Out the Savage in Me;
Baby Have Pity On Me; John Henry; Jitterbug
Waltz; What a Little Moonlight Can Do; Deep
Dark Blue.
PERSONNEL: Cecile McLorin Salvant, vocals;
Aaron Diehl, piano; Rodney Whitaker, double
bass; James Chirillo, guitar and banjo; Herlin
Riley, drums.
By Eric Harabadian
When you’ve got folks like Wynton Marsalis, Patti Austin, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt
Elling, Al Jarreau and Dianne Reeves singing
your praises you must be doing something right!
Well, that is, indeed, the case for vocalist Cecile
McLorin Salvant. The Miami born and bred
musician has been winning awards and receiving
well-deserved notice for her unique and expressive singing style in recent years. She is like the
modern embodiment of Bessie Smith, Billie
Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan all
rolled up in one.
“St. Louis Gal” is a fine introduction to her
gracious and provocative approach. You would
think you were listening to a vintage recording
from the turn of the century but it is no mere
gimmick. She sings with a bravado and poise
that is immediate and fresh. The addition of
James Chirillo on acoustic guitar is sweet. Rodgers & Hart’s “I Didn’t Know What Time it
Was” further spotlights her expressive voice as
she illuminates emotion on every word. Aaron
Diehl’s spare piano and Herlin Riley’s delicately
brushed drums are real assets here. Salvant studied for many years in France and is totally fluent
in the language. She also has a strong fan base
there. “Le Front Cache Sur Tes Genoux” is a tip
of the hat to that side of her experience. The
piece has an elegant Edith Piaf kind of essence
that is brilliantly supported by her ensemble’s
empathetic and transparent interplay. “Prelude/
There’s a Lull in My Life” exemplifies that Fitzgerald/Vaughan appeal. Salvant places weight on
each lyric and is playful with time. For instance,
when she sings the word “lull,” she pauses and
makes you feel what she’s feeling along with it.
Speaking of playful, the leader also has a witty
sense of humor. That is never more evident than
on the coquettish “You Bring out the Savage in
Me.” The alliteration and feverish attention to
detail that she brings to the table are delightful
and border on camp. Riley’s exotic percussion
on trap set is essential to her performance and
sends it over the top. The traditional folk-blues
of “John Henry” is very soulful and real. The
ensemble of piano, bass and drums is spare and
adds to the drama and poignancy of the lyrics.
She digs back into her vintage bag of tricks for
Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz.” This is another
piece that brings out the playful and lighthearted side of Salvant. Diehl steps out here as
well. “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” finds
Salvant using her voice in the higher ranges
almost like a flute or horn. She totally deconstructs the tune, stretching the time and focusing
on nuance. “Deep Dark Blue” concludes the
album in the form of a brief and pensive tone
poem. It is haunting and will pleasantly remain
in your mind for some time. Cecile McLorin
Salvant is a beautiful interpreter of classic song
as well as an interesting singer-songwriter in her
own right. With one foot in the present and one
in the past, she proves that jazz has an enduring
quality that will continue to thrive and evolve for
(continued on page 64)
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CD Reviews
Jaimeo Brown
TRANSCENDENCE
–
Motema
www.Motema.com. Mean World; Somebody’s
Knocking; Patience; You Can’t Hide; Be Free;
Power of God; I Know I’ve Been Changed; I
Said; Baby Miesh; Accra; You Needn’t Mind
My Dying; This World Ain’t My Home.
PERSONNEL: Jaimeo Brown, drums; Chris
Sholar, guitar, electronics; J.D. Allen, tenor sax;
Gee’s Bend Singers, Marisha Brown, Selah
Brown, Falu, vocals; Geri Allen, piano; Kevin
Sholar, keyboards; Andrew Shantz, harmonium;
Dartanyan Brown, bass.
By Mark Keresman
Without getting into a discussion about
religion itself, sacred music—of various cultures—has always had an influence on the development of (many forms/styles of) music, from
music to accompany assorted to European classi-
64
cal music to contemporary pop music to the
ecstatic, pan-cultural/cosmic jaunts of free jazz.
Transcendence, a set led by drummer/composer
Jaimeo Brown—is a fervent exploration on the
influence of spiritual music on jazz. Gospel music—specifically African-American gospel—is
but one part of the equation. The Carnatic music
of East India, West African sounds, blues, rock,
hip hop, and jazz make up a tapestry that displays the concept that these forms have more
aspects in common than what might “separate”
them. (Let us not forget that blues, jazz, and rock
& roll were all at various times in history derided and denounced as “the Devil’s music” and
corruptors of young people’s vulnerable moral
systems.)
Brown learned his lessons well from vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Ed Kelly,
percussionist Pete Escovedo, and even rock guitarist Carlos Santana on the West Coast and
drummers Victor Lewis and Horacee Arnold,
pianist James Williams, and bassist Rufus Reid
on the East Coast. Brown—whose extra-jazz
adventures include stints with Stevie Wonder
and electronica whiz Carl Craig—obviously has
an inclusive view of music and culture and it
shows mightily throughout Transcendence. But
it’s not a little-of-everything smorgasbord—it
shows how Brown absorbed their essences to
engender a unified and compelling work about
the Spirit’s Presence in Music. “Mean World”
uses a sample from a traditional gospel tunes as
a basis for some (somewhat) free-form
“testifying” by Brown and the tenor saxophonist
J.D. Allen. “Somebody’s Knocking” features
percussive washes by Brown, melismatic wailing
from singer Falu, and eerie guitar drones ‘n’
atmospherics from guitarist Chris Sholar—
American gospel meets East Indian vocalizations
and drones, the latter courtesy of Andrew
Shantz’s harmonium. It’s mysterious, it’s puzzling, it sounds tentative and yet fully-formed, it
shouldn’t work but it does. “You Can’t Hide”
could be a mash-up or lost recording session of
Led Zeppelin, Charles Mingus, and a Southern
gospel choir—anguished guitar by Shofar is
juxtaposed against a distant-sounding chorus
declaring the title until some passionate, bluesinspired, not-quite-speaking-in-tongues playing
by Allen. “Power of God” features more cyclic,
insistent choral singing and sublimely lyrical,
minimalism-tinged keys-strokes from Geri Allen, who plays with such a sense of gentleness
and peacefulness that she’d make millions if she
could figure a way to bottle same.
While Transcendence is most definitely
jazz, post bop division, it is not your typical
theme-solos-theme deal, format-wise. Themes
and melodies are stated, to be sure, and there is
improvisation, but they flow from and into each
other. In some ways, this albums is Brown’s
symphony, though it does not follow the
“classical” model—motifs and textures, from
and of different points in time, are introduced
and clash/coexist with each other in an ebb-andflow manner. It’s a mélange of contrasting and
seemingly opposing elements, accent on the
“seeming”—Brown knows musics have commonality. If you’re the type of person that expects one sort of approach throughout an album
or even throughout a particular track, you may
find Transcendence trying. If you can appreciate
an album with a truly kaleidoscopic approach,
from Black Saint and the Sinner Lady to Sgt.
Pepper’s to the Art Ensemble of Chicago and
John Zorn, this album lives up to its title and
then some.
Mikrokolektyw
ABSENT MINDED – Delmark www.delmark
Vacuum; Dream About Mind Master; Sonar
Toy; Thistle Soup; Fossil Stairway; Dream
About City Backyards; Trilobite; Trouble Spot;
Superconductor; Crazy Idea of Jakub S; Little
Warrior; No Magic; Dream About the One.
PERSONNEL: Artur Majewski, trumpet, cornet, electronics; Kuba Suchar, drums, percus-
sion, electronics.
By Mark Keresman
Odd as it might seem, this disc by the Chicago-based Polish duo/combo Mikrokolektyw
fits within a “tradition” in jazz’s avant-garde
continuum. This would be that of the trumpeterand-drummer duet, with antecedents including
Don Cherry/Ed Blackwell, Lester Bowie/Philip
Wilson, Wadada Leo Smith/Jack DeJohnette,
and the Chicago Underground Duo—brass and
percussion gadabouts all. While Mikrokolektyw
has affinities with their forbears, Absent Minded
stands on its own four feet, a charmingly disorienting and alluringly creative work.
Artur Majewski gets his mojo from the
openness of Wadada Leo Smith, Don Cherry,
Miles Davis, and Freddie Hubbard. His phrasing
has the cry of Cherry, the plaintive quality of
Smith, the elastic nature of sound from Miles,
and the assertive bristle from Hubbard. Kuba
Suchar has some of the New Orleans crackling
cadence of Blackwell and the ability to toss conventional “time” out the window while still laying down a powerful sense of forward motion
similar to Sunny Murray (the “father” of free
jazz drumming). As with some avant jazz, the
line between “composed” and improvised is
blurred, and there are moments that are clearly
intuitive, coming from the empathy of welltuned-to-each-other improvisers. Some of
Minded has an Impressionistic quality, but what
keeps it well-away from Vague City is a sense of
succinctness (most tracks are in the three-to-six-
minute range) and this duo’s affection for
rhythm in various forms.
“Little Warrior” has a dramatic, circular
rhythm milieu that evokes Balinese gamelan
music, while Majewski testifies with blues-laden
hard bop fervency that brings to mind preelectric Donald Byrd. The hissing cadences of
“Superconductor” might be the sound of electrons making their way through a maze of metal
molecules, while the trumpet sings an anguished,
haunted/haunting lament for the electrons that
couldn’t make it from beginning to end. With its
siren-like wails, engine roils, rapid-fire drum
patterns, and brisk, noir-ish trumpet bleats,
“Fossil Stairway” is a chase-scene waiting for an
appropriate thriller-movie.
“Trilobite” is some slightly rowdy free jazz
that juggles anguish and mischievousness, Majewski’s horn is especially soulful here, bringing
to mind W.L. Smith in his blues-hued moods
while Suchar’s drums roll as if heralding the
holy sound of the horn. “Trouble Spot” has torrid trumpet (filtered through electronics) and
whimsical electronic sounds—a study in contrasts, as is most of Absent Minded. The title is
somewhat apt—this set is alternately playful and
somber, nonfigurative and stirring, investigating
sound and driven music-making. Absent Minded
is like unto a jazz counterpart to a David Lynch
film—curiously convivial and confounding at
the same time. Fans of the aforementioned duos
should most definitely investigate this.
Charnett Moffett
THE BRIDGE: SOLO BASS WORKS—
Motéma Music 66. Web: motema.com. Caravan; Eleanor Rigby; Black Codes From the Underground; Fragile; Haitian Fight Song;
Kalengo; Bow Song; Joshua Fought the Battle of
Jericho/Rolling in the Deep; Skip Hop; The
Slump; Monk Medley; Oversun; Swinging
Etude; Walk Sprit, Talk Spirit; Truth; The
Bridge; Nature Boy; Things Ain’t What They
Used to Be; All Blues; Free Your Mind
PERSONNEL: Charnett Moffett, acoustic bass.
By Alex Henderson
Charnett Moffett has been building a diverse catalogue since the 1980s. Along the way,
the former Wynton Marsalis sideman has made
his mark playing both acoustic and electric bass
and has expressed himself playing everything
from fusion to post-bop to avant-garde jazz.
Moffett, on occasion, dropped the ball when he
played some saccharin “smooth jazz” fluff, but
on the whole, his output has been respectable.
And The Bridge: Solo Bass Works is an album
that he can be proud to add to his catalogue.
This 2011 recording, which Moffett produced with Mary Ann Topper and Motéma Re66
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cords president Jana Herzen, marks the first time
he has devoted an entire album to playing nothing but unaccompanied acoustic solo bass.
There are no drums, piano, guitar or horns to be
found on The Bridge; Moffett’s upright bass is
the only instrument. And he keeps things interesting by choosing a variety of material, all of
which he approaches in a post-bop fashion.
Moffett puts a solo-bass spin on a lot of songs
that one would expect to hear on a straight-ahead
jazz album, including McCoy Tyner’s “Walk
Spirit, Talk Spirit,” Miles Davis’ “All Blues,”
Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” and Eden Ahbez’
“Nature Boy” (which was a major hit for Nat
King Cole in the late 1940s). And he acknowledges his association with Marsalis with a performance of the title track from Marsalis’ 1985
Black Codes from the Underground.
But
Moffett has never considered himself a jazz
snob; he hasn’t been shy about pointing out that
he also enjoys listening to rock, R&B and the
blues. So given that enlightened outlook, it
makes perfect sense for him to include Sting’s
“Fragile” and the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” on
this album along with jazz compositions by
Charles Mingus (“Haitian Fight Song”), Mercer
Ellington (“Things Ain’t What They Used to
Be”) and Tony Williams (“The Slump”).
One of the most interesting parts of the CD
is a medley of British singer Adele Adkins’ 2011
hit “Rolling in the Deep” and the 19th Century
African-American spiritual “Joshua Fought the
Battle of Jericho.” That’s an unlikely combination, but Moffett makes it work by finding the
bluesiness in both songs. The black spirituals of
the 19th Century influenced the blues, and Adkins has brought a lot of blues feeling to her
material. So in a sense, Moffett’s “Joshua
Fought the Battle of Jericho”/“Rolling in the
Deep” medley acknowledges both a precursor to
the blues and the results of the blues.
The Bridge is a creative success not only
because of Moffett’s performances, but also,
because the CD configuration is visually appealing. At a time when many musicians are putting
out digital-only albums and some people in the
music industry believe that CD’s will ultimately
go the way of eight-track tapes and 78s, Motéma
gave The Bridge attractive, thoughtful art work
and hired jazz critic Howard Mandel to write
informative liner notes. Motéma, in other words,
gives listeners the sort of audio-visual jazz experience that they simply don’t get from digitalonly albums.
Granted, solo-bass recordings aren’t exactly
the most commercial releases in the world (even
by jazz standards). But The Bridge is an album
that needed to be recorded, and Moffett is clearly
on top of his game.
Next Collective
COVER ART – www.concordmusicgroup.com;
www.nextcollectivemusic.com. Twice; No
Church in the Wild*; Africa; Fly or Die*;
Oceans*; Refractions in the Plastic Pulse;
Marvins Room*; Come Smoke My Herb*; Perth;
Thank You.
PERSONNEL: Logan Richardson, alto saxophone, flute on “Refractions in the Plastic
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Pulse”; Walter Smith III, tenor saxophone, bass
clarinet on “Refractions in the Plastic Pulse”;
Matthew Stevens, guitars; Gerald Clayton, piano, Fender Rhodes on “Africa”; Kris Bowers,
Fender Rhodes on “Marvins Room” and
“Refractions in the Plastic Pulse”; Ben Williams,
acoustic and electric basses; Jamire Williams,
drums; Christian Scott, trumpet and siren on
tunes marked *.
By John R. Barrett, Jr.
In a sense, the first musicians to sample
came from jazz: pop tunes (and/or their chord
structures) were regularly borrowed by boppers
and their progeny, to the extent that things like “I
Got Rhythm” are rarely heard as vocals anymore. So too with quotes – Mozart or Charles
Ives may have referenced other compositions in
their own, but before the electronic sampler one
rarely heard song-quotes in musics other than
jazz. However, things have changed somewhat:
jazzers still reshape pop material in their image,
but rarely with songs written after 1950. Sure,
you can cite Gerry Mulligan's album of Beatles
tunes or Lester Bowie doing “Thriller”, but such
ventures are few and far between – and Next
Collective feels that should change. Nearly everything here was composed in the 21st century,
bent in ways their authors would scarcely recognize.
Before the review, a confession: I was unfamiliar with most of these tunes in their original
versions. That probably helps, as it meant I wasn't comparing the renditions or letting my opinion of the pop artist color my thoughts on the
new version. Case in point: the intro to “Twice”
is enchanting, with a backwards sequence leading to a lonely alto. Logan Richardson moves in
arcs, optimistic despite the sad-sounding notes;
Walter Smith steps in and does likewise, then
dabs of sour piano, and wait for the guitar – it
spins and burns, with broad phasing that recalls
the psych era.
This is thoroughly magical, and there's
another surprise: nothing like this can be found
in Little Dragon's original version. The into belongs entirely to the Collective; they don't begin
playing “Twice” until 90 seconds in, joined to
what precedes it in a way that's seamless.
Richardson's theme statement gets an echo effect, quickly lost in Gerald Clayton's chords and
the surging drums. Soon after we hear Smith and
the two horns parallel the theme as the guitar
burrows through in fuzz-drenched ecstasy. The
final minutes go to Clayton and Richardson: as
the sticks click hard, Logan twists in tension,
labyrinthine paths that go everywhere and say
everything. Yes, the tune is here but much more
as well: while recent songcraft rarely gets this
treatment, these guys are doing what talented
musicians have always done. Which is to say:
they have taken something they like, and they
have made it their own.
“No Church in the Wild” is not only primeval, but a step into Fusion Country. Here we get
Christian Scott, playing Kanye West's theme
almost as an afterthought before he sets to blaring. The strings of Matthew Stevens ripple restlessly, capturing well the sound of West's background; over this, Scott's short phrases speak
loud, climbing high as Clayton drapes all in
Alice Coltrane piano cascades, sustain pedal
down the whole time. With the brew sufficiently
bitchy, it suddenly turns calm: Scott takes a
breather, and Gerald takes a terse solo, using the
silence in the same way he applied the echo
before. By steps he turns bluesy, and percussive
as well; drums and bass retain their earlier texture so when Clayton resumes his intensity and
Christian returns, we are back in the realm of
'Seventies Miles. And, considering the source
material, that is a surprising place to be.
“Africa” is not Coltrane's tune and
(thankfully) not Toto's, but that of a crooner
named D'Angelo; Clayton's Fender Rhodes intro
is a near-perfect match of the original. The focus
is Smith; he rarely strays from the theme but
hums nicely among the Rhodes and the sprinkling percussion. On the choruses the saxes sway
together wonderfully; Stevens' solo has a liquid
touch that heightens the tropical feel. “Fly or
Die” is a layer cake full of flavors: first up is a
three-horn hum backed by brushes, sounding
much like “One Less Bell to Answer”. Next
comes a fevered drum workout, an earthy bass
vamp, then a wiry-sounding Stevens, whose
echo could fill out outdoors. As things slow
down, here comes Scott with a Harmon mute
and a glowing two-note riff; the other horns join
briefly and we cycle through the previous motifs,
now more intensely. The spotlight here shines on
Ben Williams, whose pulse is strong and whose
solo slithers like a more muscular Eddie Gomez.
Christian's turn, stately in a fog of cymbals,
picks up steam when the piano jumps in. Good
luck finding much here in common with Rock
Mafia's original; I know I couldn't. And
“Refractions in the Plastic Pulse” takes Stereolab's simple riff swimming in a pool of Rhodes
as Richardson's flute sketches the melody with
easy glides. This is augmented by a bass clarinet,
felt more than heard. In keeping with the original's mad changes in style, about half way in we
move to waltz time, the Rhodes does some crazy
stereo-panning (use your headphones!) and Stevens takes off on his most rock-like solo of the
set. This is Alice in Fusionland, a wild ride that
gets curiouser and curiouser...
“Marvins Room”, originally by Drake, may
be the closest thing to a standard in this collection, having been covered by JoJo, L'il Wayne,
and a ton of other names I scarcely recognize.
Between Ben's bass and the electric keys of Kris
Bowers, Christian gives the theme: softly,
breathily, beautifully. The drums press the issue,
and the trumpet slowly raises its voice, while
still sounding pained – denuded of its standardissue rap lyrics, this song really shines. In the
final minute, Scott repeats the theme ever softer,
as Bowers jabs tiny counterpoints … a mood that
remains after the silence takes over. Logan's turn
on “Come Smoke My Herb” is easily his best, a
rhythmic riff that really seems to talk. The other
horns goad him on, the drums keep growing, and
on his solo Richardson moves from introspection
to cyclonic motion. Clayton whispers, the horns
coo, and all comes to a hazy end – this is a buzz.
And Dido's “Thank You” is an appropriate coda,
as choppy keys and rock-hard drums lead to a
forceful horn and the theme told plain and true.
Stevens gets the solo, rippling on the turbulent
surface … and an electrified soprano whistles
the finale. On a batch of songs foreign to most
jazz fans, the Collective delivers joy that is very
familiar.
sic. There are no traditional Indian instruments
on “Nuku Sie”—no tamboura, no sitar, no vina,
no tabla drums. But Reijonen plays his guitar in
a way that hints at a sitar. And while “Nuku Sie”
is not a raga in the strict sense, it has a raga-ish
appeal.
The impressionistic “Kaiku” incorporates elements of traditional Finnish music and features
singer Eva Louhivuori, who performs some
wordless scat vocals. “Kaiku” is the only vocal
offering on the CD; everything else is an instrumental.
Different musicians are employed on different tracks, but the constant is Reijonen and his
ongoing desire to combine jazz with world music. It’s a desire that serves the Nordic improviser well on this promising debut.
Jussi Reijonen
UN—Un Music 01. Web: JussiReijonen.com.
Serpentine; Naima; Bayatiful; Toumani (Blues
for Mick); Nuku Sie; Kaiku
PERSONNEL: Jussi Reijonen, oud, guitar,
producer; Utar Artun, acoustic piano; Bruno
Råberg, acoustic bass; Tareq Rantisi, percussion,
Sergio Martinez, percussion; Ali Amr, qanun;
Eva Louhivuori, vocals; Maio Obregón,
engineer; Nuno Fernandes, engineer
By Alex Henderson
Jim Ridl
BLUE CORN ENCHILADA DREAMS – JRR
www.JimRidl.com. Chilis Rule; I Taste in Color;
The Wind Gleans; Scoria Hair; Why Wait For
the Saints; Blue Tortilla Waltz; Tone Tree; God
Is A Canopy (First Rose, variation 8).
PERSONNEL: Jim Ridl, piano, Privia & Korg
Although the term “world jazz” has only
been in vogue since the 1980s and 1990s, the
idea has been around much longer than that. Jazz
started in the multicultural city of New Orleans,
and the Dixieland players of the 1910s and
1920s had plenty of world music influences
(African, Latin, Caribbean, French Creole). But
different jazz musicians have found different
ways of expressing their interest in world music—some via Dixieland or swing, some via hard
bop or post-bop, some via fusion. And on Un,
Finnish electric guitarist/oud player Jussi Reijonen (who now lives in Boston) expresses his
world jazz aesthetic via a combination of postbop and fusion.
“Un” is the French word for “one,” and that
is an appropriate title for this album because it is
Reijonen’s first album as a leader. The guitar is
his main instrument on Un; he plays guitar on
four of the six selections (“Toumani,” “Nuku
Sie,” “Kaiku” and John Coltrane’s “Naima”) and
the oud (a traditional Middle Eastern lute) on the
other two (“Serpentine” and “Bayatiful”). Except
for Reijonen’s airy, spacious performance of
“Naima,” he sticks to material he either wrote or
co-wrote—and whether he is playing guitar or
the oud, the world music influence is impossible
to miss.
Reijonen brings a strong Arabic/Middle
Eastern influence to “Serpentine” and
“Bayatiful,” which stands to reason given that
those are the two tracks that find him playing the
oud. But there are hints of African music on the
contemplative “Toumani (Blues for Nick),”
while “Nuku Sie” hints at traditional Indian muTo Advertise CALL: 215-887-8880
69
keyboards; Terrell Stafford, trumpet, flugelhorn;
John Benitez, acoustic & electric basses; Donald
Edwards, drums.
By Mark Keresman
North Dakota-bred, NY area-based pianist/
keyboardist Jim Ridl can count memberships in
the ensembles of Dave Liebman, Mark Sherman/
Tim Horner, Michael Pedicin, Ximo Tebar’s
IVAM Jazz Ensemble of Spain, and the vocal
group Rare Silk. His latest album as a leader
basically combines the infectious, genial tunefulness of early-1970s Chick Corea (before his
Return to Forever got super-amped-up) and the
punchy, bristling hard bop-ery of Freddie Hubbard’s recordings circa 1965-1972. Also notable
is the sense of concision here—most tracks are
between five and eight minutes in length, so no
excess, no water-treading or meandering.
“I Taste In Color” is a slightly funky jaunt
down New Mexico way (appropriately enough,
as New Mexico was the inspiration for the music
herein), resplendent with John Benitez’s throbbing, snaky, sinuous electric bass and Terrell
Stafford’s rippling trumpet (provide him to be a
worthy successor to both Hubbard and Lee Morgan). Ridl’s piano is fiercely lyrical, with a generousness of notes similar to McCoy Tyner.
“The Wind Gleans” is a gently swaying, Spanish-tinged (in the melody) ballad with some very
pretty muted Stafford (that is, Stafford playing
with a mute), some pointedly pretty Ridl, and
Donald Edwards providing both some languid
brushing and lively swing on drums.
The tender, wistful “Scoria Hair” finds Ridl
and his band getting in touch with their inner
Bill Evans Trio, letting the spaces between notes
do the talking. “Blue Tortilla Waltz” is a tantalizing near-ballad—“near” because even though
the tune proceeds at a languid tempo, there is a
delicate undercurrent of tension throughout.
Stafford’s solo, though lovely, has moments
where it seems as if he and the band are about to
break into a gallop that never quite happens—
almost to “remind” the listener that beauty, in
some incarnations, does not always last. “Tone
Tree” begins in a nearly ominous fashion, similar to Charles Tolliver’s “On the Nile,” before
segueing into a hard bop swinger that’d be at
home on a Max Roach or Art Blakey session in
the 1970s. Ridl’s surging solo has some AfroCuban elements running through it and Benitez
and Edwards provide plenty of rhythmic stimulation and drive. The brief, semi-free, sweetly
atonal “God Is a Canopy” closes this set on a
mysteriously somber yet oddly appropriate note,
as if Ridl brings down the curtain on a platter
brimming over with vigorous joie de vive, sly
invention, and crackerjack musicianship.
Slobber Pup
BLACK
ACES
–
Rare
Noise
www.rarenoiserecords.com. Accuser; Basalt;
Black Aces; Suffrage; Taint of Satan.
PERSONNEL: Jamie Saft, keyboards; Joe Morris, guitar; Trevor Dunn, bass; Balazs Pandi,
drums.
By Mark Keresman
Over the past few years there have been a
proliferation of ensembles that blur the lines
between the spheres of not “just” jazz and rock,
but the more confrontational aspects of free jazz
and aggressive rock (especially the onceopposed styles of punk and metal), but also between free improvisation and noise. (The latter is
a “sub-genre” of rock’s avant-garde in which
folks—some with backgrounds in various avantgarde scenes while some purely amateurs—
delight in whipping up some bracing sonic onslaughts.) At times there have been collabora-
tions between such contrasting types—for one,
the trio Borbetomagus; for another, electronic
assault maven John Wiese and free sax icon
Evan Parker, and fairly recently, AACM founder
Anthony Braxton collaborated with the uncompromising free-punk-metal assault trio Wolf
Eyes for the demurely-titled album Black Vomit.
Now there is Slobber Pup, whose members
cut across genre lines: Joe Morris, guitarist and
occasional bassist, established in NYC’s avantjazz scene, playing with William Parker, Rob
Brown, and Joe and Mat Maneri; Trevor Dunn,
bassist for “rockers” the Melvins and Mr. Bungle
and avant-polymath John Zorn, Jamie Saft, a
veteran of NYC’s so-called Downtown scene
and frequent cohort of Zorn and jazz drummer
Bobby Previte, and Hungarian drummer Balazs
Pandi, who plays live with Japanese noise demigod Merzbow and who’s recently joined jazzy
Italian noisemakers Zu. Their debut as a foursome, Black Aces, is both unyielding and yet
strangely user-friendly, at least to ears weaned
on both loud rock music and loud free jazz.
The opener “Accuser” begins with some
stinging, slow-burning guitar redolent of Jimi
Hendrix at his mostly bluesy and least frenzied—the bass and drums rumble like the beginnings of an earthquake, and Saft’s organ is the
cool breeze providing some balm to the proceedings. Then Saft’s organ begins to pick up steam,
ebbing and flowing like Larry Young at his best,
while Morris grows white-hot, laying down a
layer of frantic but focused guitar slabs, going
from crescendo to crescendo. This track recalls a
heady but short-lived fusion combo from the
early 1970s, the original Tony Williams Lifetime, the edition with Williams, Young, John
McLaughlin, and (for one album) Jack Bruce,
along with some of the more inspired jamming
by Hendrix late in his career. (Interesting aside:
Hendrix was scheduled to record with Gil Evans
but died about one week before.) It does not
swing, it barely “rocks” in the conventional
sense—it’s an unrelenting modal-type improvisation that shows than John Coltrane’s Interstellar Space, Hendrix, Sonny Sharrock, Dinosaur
Jr., and Sonic Youth have more commonality
that one might assume.
“Basalt” has Morris making like a delta
bluesman for the end of the world, playing over
a shifting, apocalyptic matrix by the rest of the
band—again, Saft’s organ—coolly soothing,
Hammond B-3 rich with gospel-ish undertones—is the cool breeze wafting over/through a
fiery tumult. The title track finds Morris playing
jazz-like chord-age, but with a dark, burred,
densely gothic tone, Saft making like a Phantom
of a Hip Opera house, Dunn and Pandi churning
away like there’s no tomorrow…and with music
as feverish and driven as this, who knows,
maybe they know something we don’t.
“Suffrage” is like unto an unholy jam session between Philly organ wizard Don Patterson
and John McLaughlin circa his work with Miles
Davis (especially Live-Evil), Saft’s sleek yet
soulful organ chords so thick you’d think you
could walk upon them. What separates Black
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70
Aces—and puts it far above—similar noise-fests
and guitar/keys/bass/drums jam-sessions is the
passion and general oomph the players invest
herein. There are no long stretches of “silence”
and/or noodling “timbral exploration of interplay
blah blah”—Aces burns with and like a fever,
it’s urgent and cathartic, it’s impossibly alive.
Soft Machine Legacy
BURDEN OF PROOF – Moonjune
Burden of Proof;
www.moonjune.com.
Voyage Beyond Seven; Kitto; Pie Chart; ISP;
Kings and Queens; Fallout; Going Somewhere
Canorous?; Black and Crimson; The Brief;
Pump Room; Green Cubes; They Landed On a
Hill.
PERSONNEL: John Ethridge, guitar; Theo
Travis, tenor sax, Fender Rhodes piano; Roy
Babbington, electric bass; John Marshall, drums,
percussion.
By Mark Keresman
When the glory days of the birth of fusion
are discussed, the focus is almost entirely on the
jazz side of the “equation”—Miles, Chick,
McLaughin, etc., are oft-mentioned but seldom
is heard an encouraging word about fusion from
the rock side. There were intrepid performers—
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention,
Blood Sweat & Tears, Tim Buckley, Spirit, and
others that worked on commingling elements of
rock and jazz albeit in “rock”-song oriented
contexts (mostly). Formed in the UK in the mid1960s, Soft Machine evolved from a jazzinfluenced psychedelic rock outfit to one of THE
bands working on fusion equation from the
(nominally) rock side of the divide. (Many of the
Soft Machine’s members had extensive backgrounds in the UK jazz scene.)
From Third onward, Soft Machine more or
less dispensed with “song form” and devoted
itself to (often extended) instrumental excursions—but this was not “jamming” (again, in the
“rock” sense) but was in essence post bop and
avant-garde jazz, including the influence of
minimalists such as Terry Riley and Phillip
Glass with driving rock-edged rhythmic impetus.
Since founding member Mike Ratlidge’s departure, the Machine has been in a state of flux
(always has been, really) until morphing into
Soft Machine Legacy, featuring three cats that
have been in one edition of the Machine or another: Guitarist John Etheridge (who’s played
with everyone from Stephane Grappelli to Pat
Metheny); bassist Roy Babbington, and drummer John Marshall, and one that wasn’t, saxophonist Theo Travis (who also plays flute and
electric piano).
On Burden of Proof, they come into their
own a bit—instead of interpreting gems from the
Softs’ beloved catalog (as on previous albums),
most tunes are originals. Which is not to imply
71
the lads are forsaking the mothership—herein is
a spacious version of the Softs’ “Kings and
Queens,” composed by longtime Soft Machine
bassist Hugh Hopper. The opening title track
features a shimmering, echo-ed electric piano
intro along with a modal walking bass-line—
both evoke vintage Softs. Etheridge plays with a
biting, slightly smoldering tone evoking preMahavishnu John McLaughlin; Travis has a
fluid, surging wail out of Coltrane, Rollins, and
Joe Henderson, and the bass/drums team is tight
and propulsive as you’re likely to hear this year.
(John Marshall is a somewhat underrated drummer, says this writer.) “Pie Chart” even has hints
of old-school roadhouse R&B via Travis’ tenor
roar (think Willis Jackson and Junior Walker).
This set will warm the heart’s cockles of
anyone that looks back fondly on the time before
fusion became a too-common marketing term.
(To narrow that down a bit, let’s say for the sake
of argument, the 1969-74 epoch.) No, Burden
doesn’t evoke early Soft Machine as it uses the
Softs’ innovative approach as a point of departure. However, if you still savor edgier (and for
the most part non-funky) fusion, dive in, the
waters are more than fine.
Markus Stockhausen
MARKUS STOCKHAUSEN AND THE
METROPOLE ORKEST – Intuition
www.intuiition-music.com. Yin; Yang; Tanzendes Licht; Felice.
PERSONNEL: Markus Stockhausen, trumpet;
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Metropole Orchestra cond. by Jules Buckley.
By Mark Keresman
First off, yes, Markus Stockhausen is the
son of the legendary German avant-garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Secondly, the
music of the younger has little to do with that of
the elder—while there are some overtones of the
Western/Central European classical tradition,
this is most definitely a jazz album, and not particularly avant-garde at that. (Not that there’s
anything wrong with that.)
Stockhausen has a buttery-soft but fullbodied nature, slightly evocative of Miles Davis
(who admitted to admiring the elder Stockhausen) but more reminiscent of the lyrical,
slightly breathy-toned flugelhorn of Art Farmer.
Stylistically, the four long suite-like compositions herein bring to mind the film scores by
Max Steiner and Elmer Bernstein; the Third
Stream (jazz and classical elements combined)
fusions of John Lewis, Gunther Schuller, and
Teo Macero, and, occasionally, the Wagner-ian
density of Stan Kenton. There is swing, to be
sure—note the terpsichorean swirl of
“Tanzendes Licht,” which builds to a brassy,
Kenton-like crescendo before segueing into a
Spanish-tinged swing that could be an (upbeat)
outtake from the Miles D & Gil Evans’ Sketches
of Spain collaboration. Plus there’s an arching
but restrained guitar solo that sounds like Carlos
Santana in his Abraxas heyday and a bank of
wailing horns that recall Woody Herman’s Herd
at one his 1970s peaks, all buttressed by some
swelling, schmaltz-free strings.
The breezy, upbeat “Felice” sounds like an
orchestrated version of some of Chick Corea’s
ebullient, pre-electric Return To Forever tunes
such as “500 Miles High” or “Spain.” With playful, blithe majesty, the electric piano soars in
conjunction with low-toned woodwinds, and a
quasi-samba rhythm makes it complete—a
sunny, idyllic vacation on the French Riviera or
southernmost Spain. “Yin” features a chilledout, sustained, Asian-tinged motif, similar to the
orchestral works of Alan Hovhaness and Lou
Harrison, while “Yang” bubbles and simmers in
a manner line unto early Weather Report, until
the strings and horns swell and dart until an Ellington-like crescendo where Stockhausen’s horn
claims the tip of the mountain range. (Did I mention this set has cinematic qualities?)
While …and the Metropole Orkest won’t
win any awards in the originality department…
but that’s hardly the point, really. Originality
does not necessarily equal creativity, and this
album features somewhat familiar elements
combined and reinvented not as pastiche but
rather in fresh and engaging ways.
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Steve Tyrell
IT’S MAGIC: THE SONGS OF SAMMY
CAHN—Concord Jazz 34467. Web: SteveTyrell.com, concordmusicgroup.com. Come Fly
with Me; It’s Magic; The Tender Trap; Teach
Me Tonight; The second Time Around; It’s
Crazy; Call Me Irresponsible; Ain’t That a Kick
in the Head; I Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to
Dry; It’s Been a Long, Long Time; Saturday
Night; I Fall in Love Too Easily
PERSONNEL: Steve Tyrell, vocals, producer;
Lew Soloff, trumpet, flugelhorn; Tony Kadlek,
trumpet; Mike Davis, trombone; David Mann,
clarinet, tenor saxophone; David Riekenberg,
baritone saxophone; Lawrence Feldman, alto
saxophone, flute; Alan Broadbent, John Oddo,
acoustic piano, arranger; David Finck, Ed Howard, acoustic bass; Bob Mann, arr., electric guitar, Jim Sapporito, drums; Don Sebesky, arr.
By Alex Henderson
Although Concord is primarily a jazz label,
it has a long history of dabbling in traditional
pop here and there. The late Rosemary Clooney,
for example, was one of Concord’s top artists
back in the 1980s and 1990s. And traditional pop
is exactly what veteran singer Steve Tyrell, who
is now 68, provides on this tribute to songwriter
Sammy Cahn. It would make no sense to judge
It’s Magic: The Songs of Sammy Cahn by
straight-ahead jazz vocal standards because it
doesn’t pretend to be a straight-ahead jazz vocal
album. Jazz is an influence, certainly. But instead of going the Mark Murphy/Jon Hendricks/
Andy Bey route, this album draws on traditional
pop influences such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett and Sammy Davis, Jr. Of
course, Sinatra, Martin and Davis were all part
of the Rat Pack (Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop
were also members). And because the Rat Pack
influence is so strong on It’s Magic, the album
becomes not only a tribute to Cahn, but also,
something of a Rat Pack tribute.
It’s Magic often reminds the listener just
how popular Cahn’s lyrics were among members
of the Rat Pack. “Come Fly with Me,” “All the
Way,” “The Second Time Around” and “The
Tender Trap” are closely identified with Sinatra,
while “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” was a
major hit for Martin in 1960. And “Teach Me
Tonight” was part of Davis’ repertoire. Davis, it
should be noted, is somewhat underrated as far
as crooners go. Nonetheless, Davis was a superb
crooner, and when Tyrell is performing “Teach
Me Tonight,” one is reminded how valuable a
part of the Rat Pack he was.
The sentimental “It’s Been a Long, Long
Time” is a song that some listeners associate
primarily with female vocalists—most notably,
74
Kitty Kallen, who trumpeter/big band leader
Harry James featured on his famous version in
1945. But the song has also been recorded by
some important male crooners, including Perry
Como and the seminal Bing Crosby (whose 1945
version with Les Paul’s trio hit #1 in Billboard
in 1945). And Tyrell’s Sinatra-ish performance
demonstrates that “It’s Been a Long, Long
Time” isn’t strictly a song for women; it is
equally effective as a pop vehicle for male
crooners.
The fact that It’s Magic is traditional pop
rather than vocal jazz doesn’t mean that Tyrell
doesn’t work with jazz musicians on this album.
For example, pianist Alan Broadbent helps with
the arrangements, while Lew Soloff is among the
trumpeters. And that use of jazz musicians in a
traditional pop/crooner setting is quite appropriate in light of the fact that so jazz musicians
were used on traditional pop recordings back in
the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Granted, they
couldn’t improvise with Sinatra, Martin, Crosby,
Rudy Vallée or Perry Como the way they could
improvise with Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald
or Babs Gonzales, but crooners gave jazz musicians a lot of work back then.
It’s Magic won’t be accused of reinventing
the wheel or trying to push traditional pop and
the Cahn songbook in any new directions. From
the big band arrangements to Tyrell’s vocals, It’s
Magic is an exercise in crooner nostalgia and
often sounds like it could have been recorded
when Harry
Truman or
Dwight D. Eisenhower was president. But
there’s nothing wrong with nostalgia as long as
it’s well-done, and It’s Magic is well-done. Tyrell does a decent job of recreating the 1940s,
1950s and early 1960s in 2013, making It’s
Magic an enjoyable celebration of the glory
years of traditional pop.
Frank Wess
MAGIC 101—IPO Recordings, Inc. IPOC1023.
Say it Isn’t So; The Very Thought of You; Pretty
Lady; Come Rain or Come Shine; Easy Living;
Blue Monk; All Too Soon.
PERSONNEL: Frank Wess, tenor saxophone;
Kenny Barron, piano; Kenny Davis, bass; Winard Harper, drums.
By Eric Harabadian
So, picture this setting. As this reviewer is
gazing out the window and enjoying some overcast skies, a slight drizzle and cool breezes,
Frank Wess is playing in the background. And,
frankly, one would be hard pressed to find a
better audio companion for that state of being
than this album. There is a pervasive moodiness
and sense of contemplation that is engendered by
the veteran saxophonist’s breathy tone and re-
laxed approach. As the liner notes by journalist
and musician Chris Vandercook imply, Wess is
an artist with nothing left to prove. He is, and
always has been, about the music.
With the Irving Berlin piece “Say it Isn’t
So” Wess and band come out swinging. The
leader plays in an authentic and meaningful way
where every note counts and none are wasted.
His statements are wise and well constructed, yet
still feel totally improvised and free. “The Very
Thought of You” finds Wess really getting to the
heart of the melody and draws it out in a lush
and strikingly beautiful way. Kenny Barron is
the perfect counterpart as he responds to Wess’
sophisticated lines, with his own array of expression. There is a lovely restraint and empathy
here that is rare and one-of-a-kind. The leader’s
own composition “Pretty Lady” fits like a glove
with the predominantly standards collection. His
is a ballad that teeters on the melancholic and
romantic. Wess’ soulful range and technique
really comes to play here. “Come Rain or Come
Shine” by Mercer and Arlen is, of course, a jazz
lexicon mainstay. Wess and Barron display wonderful textbook interplay on this understated
ballad. “Easy Living” finds Wess with a seemingly endless supply of phrases and techniques
that flow out of him like a refreshing mountain
stream. You feel revived, with a sense of renewal when you hear him play. On this particular tune Wess is, at once romantic and tender, yet
vital and robust. He plays with a cascading style
where he slides in and out of passages and individual notes. Barron responds in kind, countering with like-minded ideas. Thelonius Monk’s
“Blue Monk” spotlights Wess and Barron playing in and out of the classic tune’s changes. They
retain the somewhat signature bluesy and jovial
mood as bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Winard Harper play with a jaunty gait to their step.
Duke Ellington’s “All Too Soon” rounds out this
date, with a solo spot for the leader. Here Wess
shows what he’s all about, unaccompanied by
his ensemble. The timbre of his sax is just perfect and the rhythmic pulse of his playing is so
strong that drums and bass are not even required.
It’s a unique way to conclude the album but it
surely proves why Wess was tagged, early on,
with the nickname “Magic!”
Lenny White
LENNY WHITE LIVE—BFM Jazz 24172.
Web: BFMJazz.com, LennyWhite.com. Whew!
What a Dream; East St. Louis; Pic Pocket;
Dark; Wolfbane; Whew! What a Dream
(Alternate Version)
PERSONNEL: Lenny White, drums, producer;
Mark Ledford, trumpet; Bennie Maupin, tenor
saxophone; Patrice Rushen, electric keyboards;
Donald Blackman, electric keyboards; Foley,
electric bass; Victor Bailey, electric bass.
By Alex Henderson
Lenny White has played a wide variety of
music over the years, ranging from fusion to
straight-ahead bop to soul and funk (his Twennynine band of the late 1970s and early 1980s
(continued on page 36)
Vision Festival
2012
Reggie Workman
Photos by Ken Weiss
(see review on page 49)
Charles Gayle
William Parker, Kid Jordan, Hamid Drake
Mary Halvorson
Noteworthy Performance
© Ken Weiss
John McLaughlin - Blue Note: June 12-14
© Eric Nemeyer
Buster Williams - Dizzy’s Club, June 11-12
Wayne Shorter - Town Hall, June 28
© Ken Weiss
Freddy Cole
Jazz Standard
June 20-23
Roy Haynes - Blue Note, June 27-29
© Ken Weiss
Bob James
& David
Sanborn
Town Hall
Thursday,
June 6
(Photo by Steven Haberland)
76
Jazz Inside-2013-06_075_...
page 2
June 2013 Jazz Inside Magazine www.JazzInsideMagazine.com
Friday, May 31, 2013 17:02
Magenta
Yellow
Black
Cyan
Wayne Shorter Quartet ▪ Buika
Joshua Redman ▪ McCoy TyneR
John McLaughlin ▪ Buddy Guy
ACS: Allen Carrington Spalding
Eddie Palmieri ▪ Brad Mehldau
WYCLEF JEAN ▪ Yasiin Bey (fKA Mos Def)
Dave Douglas ▪ Joe Lovano ▪ Gato Barbieri
Dizzy Gillespie™ All-Star Big Band
Jerry Douglas ▪ ANDY BEY ▪ The Greyboy Allstars
tommy Emmanuel ▪ Bob James & David Sanborn
Chucho Valdés ▪ Susana Baca ▪ ROY HAYNES
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble ▪ DJ Logic ▪ Poncho Sanchez
Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra ▪ The Manhattan Transfer
Amel Larrieux ▪ Mint Condition ▪ Paul Mooney
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All stars ▪ Rebirth Brass Band
Pedrito Martinez ▪ Sadao Watanabe ▪ Delbert McClinton
rahsaan patterson ▪ leon redbone
AND MANY MORE!
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