Reggie Quinerly - New York Nowhere

Reggie Quinerly - New York Nowhere - Redefinition Records

Drummer-composer-leader Reggie Quinerly celebrates the Big Apple, which was his home for 21 years, in his fourth album, "New York Nowhere." The album title, "New York Nowhere," seems contradictory as New York would appear to be far from being in the middle of nowhere. Quinerly reflects that "You're surrounded by eight million people. But everybody has their own story and everybody's living their own life with a very singular focus. So even in the midst of all these people, you're kind of completely alone. It's everywhere and nowhere at the same time." 

Quinerly is from Houston, where he attended the "High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. His schoolmates there included Robert Glasper, Kendrick Scott, and Mike Moreno. He then attended New York City's New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, where he studied under Jimmy Cobb, Lewis Nash, and Kenny Washington. He spent several years performing in the New York Scene before enrolling at Julliard to earn a Master's in Jazz Studies. In the Fall of 2020, he moved away to Los Angelos with his family. In this session, he is joined by trumpeter Antoine Drye, tenor saxophonist John Ellis, pianist John Chin, and bassist Sean Conly. Quinerly has an association with each. Furthermore, Drye and Ellis have been associated with each for several deuces, as has Chin and Conly. One result is that this band is tight-sounding as if they have played together for years. 

The light swing of "Reflections of the Hudson" opens a strongly performed set of modern jazz with echoes of the classic sixties Blue Note recordings along with such other masters as Woody Shaw. All five members showcase themselves, and in addition to showcasing his compositional skills here, Quinerly propels the band with a relaxed propulsive swing. Ellis' plaintive tenor sax and Conley's bass begin the plaintive ballad, "Dreaming in Place," with Drye melancholic trumpet and Chin's piano adding some harmony before the leader joins in with restrained brushwork. There are fitting moody solos from Chin and Conley. 

While Quinerly is from Houston, he often played gigs in the vicinity of New York's Houston Street. Houston Street is pronounced differently than his hometown. It is the inspiration for "Somewhere on Houston," a bright, brisk finger-snapping number that captures some of the flavor of some Lou Donaldson and Lee Morgan recordings. Ellis takes a vibrant solo against the leader's shifting tempo, while Drye's solo is full of slurs and cries along with some fiery bursts. 

There are two versions of the title track that is centered on an eight-bar theme. The first version is a traditional swinger with Ellis' tempestuous solo starting as a bass-drums trio before Chin sparingly add chords before Chin talks a mercurial solo on his own. The other version closes the album. It is a Latin-tinged rendition, which again places the spotlight on Ellis, who plays with an invention that Drye matches with his well-crafted trumpet solo. "Celso" is a groover with a bossa nova feel that is a tribute to Brazilian singer Celso Fonseca on which Drye's poignant trumpet sets the mood. Chin impresses again on this number. The remaining track, "Wine Cooler Heads Prevail," is a toe-tapping bluesy bop with superb Drye before Quinerly lays down a crisp solo. 

The playing time for the seven tracks is a little over a half-hour. That reflects the conciseness and focus of the performances, and one would be hard-pressed to find a wasted note in the exquisite music on the recording. "New York Nowhere" is a simply superb album.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is the EPK for this album.

Anna Mette Iversen Quartet + 1 Racing a Butterfly

Anna Mette Iversen Quartet + 1
Racing a Butterfly
Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records
Is
The Danish bassist-composer-bandleader Anne Mette Iversen has established herself as one of international jazz's prominent bassists and composers. She moved to New York in 1998, where she flourished until moving to Berlin in 2012 to pursue other opportunities. She remains a member of the Brooklyn Jazz Underground (BJU), she continues to record for the BJU Records label. On her latest album, the bassist is joined by her longest-running group, with John Ellis (tenor saxophone), Peter Dahlgren (trombone), Danny Grissett (piano), and Otis Brown III (drums & cymbals).

In the brief liner notes, she explains that "the title track on this album was inspired by a literal race with a butterfly I had during a run one summer morning in Provence, France. Running along the lavender fields on a dirt road, while the temperature was quickly rising, a colorful butterfly came out of the wild flowers that grow on the roadside; having apparently decided to keep me company. We stayed side by side for a moment and then it started to play. It flew ahead, dropped back, caught up with me again, spun circles, twisted and turned in a kind of a dance. This went on for a surprising long while until the butterfly finally took off. It was the fun, the enjoyment, the playfulness and lightness that was so beautiful and which nature displayed so naturally, that made me feel that I really ought to celebrate those sides of life more than I have previously done in my music." In the manner of that experience, there is a playfulness permeating not only this track but the entire album.

This playfulness is evident on the opening "Triangular Waves," where Grissett, Ellis, and Brown are featured on a performance that grows out of the leader's catchy bass figure. Also noteworthy is the interplay between Ellis and Dahlgren here and throughout. There is an effervescent quality to the title track with the intriguing interaction between Ellis and Dahlgren, who introduce an especially charming and lyrical composition. There is also an exceptional Grissett solo here. Iversen solos to open up the first of the two parts of "Parallel Flying," the first part of which is performed andante while showcasing Dahlgren's wooly trombone. The tempo is kicked up quite a notch with Ellis and Grissett dazzling with their energetic soloing. This is simply a sampling of the superb performances on this recording by Iversen's Quartet + 1.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here the Anna Mette Iversen Quartet + 1 are heard performing.

Michael Blanco Spirit Forward

Michael Blanco
Spirit Forward
Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records

"Spirit Forward" the title of bassist-composer Michael Blanco's new album, is a bartending term for a type of cocktail made with strong spirits (like the Manhattan or Martini) that seeks to highlight and enhance the flavor of the base spirit, not to mask its flavor. Blanco states, "When choosing Spirit Forward for the album title, I had this definition in mind and how it relates to my music. It's a good metaphor for how strong musical personalities can come together and create a dynamic unit, while still maintaining their individuality." This refers to the Michael Blanco Quartet featuring John Ellis (tenor saxophone), Kevin Hays (piano) and Clarence Penn (drums). He also observed "I like the idea that the act of releasing an album of original music is akin to putting your 'spirit forward' out into the world, as well as the way the word spirit can be used to mean motion (like 'spirit away'), so Spirit Forward also means forward motion and continuing progress."

Saxophonist Ellis has been a long-time friend and musical collaborator with Blanco, whereas the pianist Hays and drummer Penn (who I am most familiar with) are more recent additions to his group. And the band did a number of dates in 2015 working out on these compositions before actually going into the stdio resulting in this imaginative and intriguing recording. This is suggested by the first composition, "The Mystic Chord" which Blanco observes "The Mystic Chord is a six-note chord used by Russian composer Alexander Scriabin, and believed by Scriabin to have mystical properties. While practicing at home one day, I discovered that I could create a bass line with an interesting 6/4 groove by spelling out this chord one note at a time." The resulting melody has a "funky, lopsided quality," and the quartet explores the possibilities of this chord with Ellis' tenor providing a fluid, light sound.

"Notes From the Underground" was inspired by the Cornelia Street Cafe, and employs a low-register piano/bass counter-melody hat offsets Ellis' tenor at several points as well as impresses with his own solo. Blanco notes that so many of his favorite jazz clubs are basement rooms, hence the double entendre of the title. "Song Without Words" is a pretty number where the quartet displays its lyricism with Hays displaying his nice touch here, while the swinging title track evokes some classic 70s hard bop compositions with Hayes, Ellis and the leader stretching out. Then there is a quirky blues "Last Stable Orbit," (title is astronomical term that denotes" last orbit possible before an object (planet, spaceship, etc) gets sucked into a black hole.") with Ellis on soprano sax with a bit of squeal in his tone. A Neal LaBute play is the source of the tile for "Reasons To Be Pretty," a slow number opening with Ellis, again on soprano sax setting the mood before Hays takes a beautiful solo. Penn's cymbals play, whether with brushes or sticks, merits mention here, but is expectedly superb throughout.


Blanco's prior two albums have both garnered considerable praise. Listening to "Spirit Forward," one can understand why. There is so much to enjoy on this sparkling recording. Here is Michael Blanco and John Ellis with a different rhythm section.

I received my review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the November-December 2016 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 369). 

Anne Mette Iversen’s Double Life So Many Roads

Anne Mette Iversen’s Double Life
So Many Roads
BJU Records

Danish born bassist, composer and leader Anne Mette Iversen leads Double Life which is comprised of her own Quintet comprised of John Ellis on saxophone, Peter Dahlgren on trombone; Danny Grissett on piano and Otis Brown III on drums; and 4Corners, a string quartet comprised of Tine Rudloff on violin; Sarah McClelland on violin; Anne Soren on viola; and Mats Larsson on cello.

In her brief notes, she states she wants to have the music speak for itself: "Its conception and realisation has been a long journey. Along the road I had many ideas about how to present it to you: which story to tell you, which words to describe it with and which pictures to paint in your head. In the end, I rejected them all to let the music speak for itself, and, hopefully, to leave space for it to become your own personal journey.” In line with the above, she has eschewed titles for the parts of her recording and simply refers to them as Chapters. For this recording, we have a solo bass prologue followed for four chapters and then a brief epilogue.

Iversen’s bass solo enables her to provide an underlying motif that the strings, her and Ellis first state with the strings spotlighted with Ellis’ soprano sax providing a counterpoint to them which has the full ensemble restating the theme before Dahlgren takes lead on the remainder of the first chapter backed by the quintet with the strings providing additional musical shading on a performance with a pastoral feel. It it illustrative of Iversen’s adeptness at integrating strings into a swinging jazz performance and not simply being a sweet background.

The strings help set the transition to the second chapter that opens with very invigorating playing by Grissett accompanied by Iversen’s firm bass and Brown’s driving drumming before the horns enter. Ellis takes a fiery solo which is followed by the gruffer sound of Dahlgren on trombone. If the first chapter is a pastoral stroll down a rural roadway, Chapter two takes us to a busy interstate with the strings accenting the hard bop including Brown’s drum solo. After Brown’s solo, the music segues into an interlude from the string quartet before the entire ensemble rides this piece out with the voicing of Dahlgren and the strings prominent.

Chapter Three opens in a languid vein with the strings and Dahlgren up front while Brown’s light touch enhances the mood. Ellis takes a lovely solo exhibiting his marvelous tone, followed by Iversen taking a solo with the strings, especially cellist Larsson, providing counterpoint, leading to a lovely solo trombone segment. The tempo rackets up with the strings adding to the heat with spirited interaction among themselves and the quintet.

This is an engaging recording that illustrates Iversen’s adroit blending of the string quintet with a jazz ensemble for varied, and captivating, recording.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is the Anne Mette Iversen Quintet in performance.

GILFEMA's Enchanting Collaboration

The trio Gilfema takes its name from initials of its members, West African guitarist, Lionel GILles Loueke, Hungarian drummer, FErenc Nemeth and Swedish Italian bassist MAssimo Biolcati. Loueke is the best known of the three as a regular member of Herbie Hancock’s touring band and highly rated as a rising star guitarist in DownBeat’s critic’s poll. The three have been friends and musical collaborators since meeting at Berklee College of Music and have developed an intuitive interactivity that results from years of playing together. They had a prior album which received considerable acclaim. The trio’s new album is Gilfema + 2 (ObliqSound) reflecting the addition of Anat Cohen on clarinet and John Ellis on bass clarinet and ocarina.

The resulting recording is a marvelous mix of world music grooves and jazz with their use of West African grooves along with their New World counterparts as the opening Twins, by Loueke whose rhythms and vocal evoke Brazil as well as West African with the reed voices of Cohen and Ellis complementing and adding further seasoning here. Nemeth’s Question of Perspective, suggests some of Chick Corea’s compositions with Ellis’ smoky bass clarinet and Loueke’s scatting in unison with his deft single note runs. Loueke’s Your World, sports a mesmerizing African groove, with clarinets adding a flavor that suggests some of Abdullah Ibrahim’s recordings, with the deft interplay between Cohen’s clarinet and Loueke’s guitar being simply one of the small delights here.

The remaining selections are equally melodic as well as rhythmically lively as the quintet conjures up a different set of moods and rhythms with marvelous interplay throughout and interesting instrumental textures created by the clarinet and bass clarinet such as on Biocati’s Salomé. Gilfema + 2 is playful in spirit but deep in musical substance. Highly recommended.

This review originally appeared in the September 2009, Jazz and Blues Report (Issue 320). I do not recall if I was sent my review copy from the publication or a record company or its publicist.

Anne Mette Iversen Celebrates Jazz & Motherhood

Bassist-composer Anne Mette Iversen is among the jazz artists associated with the Brooklyn Jazz Underground and the associated BJU records has just issued Milo Songs. Performed by her Quartet with her on bass, John Ellis on tenor sax and clarinet, Danny Grissett on piano and Otis Brown III on drums, the seven compositions on this album grew from a melody her son made up at the age of 2, and the recording is an affirmation and her celebration of her successfully juggling motherhood and being a professional jazz musician. She explains that the titles of her compositions indicate her intent that each tells stories of a child’s life such as the turbulence of a new sibling in the home, the ability to focus on something seemingly unimportant to others, the fantasy world, dreams shared with mom in the morning and more.

Whatever the particular employment of Milo’s song in a specific composition, the seven years of having played together is reflected in the interplay among the quartet. The performances flow organically as on the opening The Terrace, on which Ellis displays a full tenor sound as Grissett dances around him, while Brown adds percussive accents and Iversen anchors the quartet before Grissett takes a strong solo. From the somewhat romantic feel of The Terrace the mood shifts on the The Storm. This opens as a heated dialogue between Ellis and Grissett before Brown and Iversen join in to vigorously frame the pair’s call and response with each other. Then Grissett launches into his high energy solo followed by some vigorous tenor sax.
 
Drum Dreams, with Ellis on clarinet, has a meditative tone to it and both Grissett and Ellis display restraint while Iversen’s bass provides a strong axis for the performance. Brown takes a solo here that is an extension of the performance. There is a playful lyricism displayed on Trains & Chocolate, and a latin tinge to the animated Milo’s Brother. Child’s Worlds with Iversen taking a solo might be the highpoint of this excellent set with Grissett and Ellis shining as well and Brown being terrifiic in pushing this performance forward.

For more information on this excellent recording (including ordering information), check out the BJU Records website, www.bjurecords.com and Anne Mette Iversen’s own website, www.annemetteiversen.com.


As I write this I note that the Anne Mette Iversen Quartet is scheduled to celebrate the release of this at An Die Musik in Baltimore on Friday, June 24 and at Twin’s Jazz in Washington DC on Wednesday June 29.

I received this from a publicist for this release.