Jason Stein Quartet Lucille!

Jason Stein Quartet
Lucille!
Delmark Records

Very welcome is this new release from Stein, one of the few bass clarinet specialists. As on Stein's Delmark debut "This Story, this Time," Keefe Jackson is present with his tenor sax (and contrabass clarinet for a couple numbers) and Joshua Abrams is on bass. Drummer Tom Rainey replaces Frank Rosaly who was on the earlier release as the quintet negotiate here several originals along with some songs representing the Tristano school as well as bop standards from Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk.

About the earlier album I wrote, "Some might describe this as free jazz, but that may refer to the looser musical structures they build their improvisations and with few exceptions do not relate to frenzied or frenetic playing … ." Certainly the interplay between Jackson's tenor sax and Stein on Warne Marsh's "Marshmallow' establishes the 'in the moment' quality of the performances here with Abrams and Rainey providing an almost atemporal underpinning between their well crafted intricate interplay. Stein's own "Halls and Room" has Stein stretching out as his serpentine lines illustrate his focus on the normal range of the instrument (say compared to Dolphy's bluesy employment of the upper range) and followed by a sober tenor sax from Jackson, set against Abrams' bass before Rainey joins in to support the smoldering heat in Jackson's solo.

Jackson's contrabass clarinet sets out the theme on Parker's "Dexterity," a nicely loose rendition of this modern music classic (to use the phrase Symphony Sid employed in radio broadcasts of Bird). Equally engrossing is the performance of Monk's "Little Rootie Tootie," again with Jackson on contrabass clarinet), with some honking, squawks and other effects again with the two clarinets weaving in and around each other. The interplay between tenor sax and bass clarinet also is present in their vibrant handling of Tristano's "Wow."

Stein's own "I Knew You Were" has a floating drone-like quality as a duet by him with Abrams as Rainey adds some understated accompaniment and on Tristano's "April," Stein states the theme as well as ably negotiates the twists and turns of the melody before Jackson's tenor joins in adding his weight and counterpoint to Stein's lead. It is a strong close to a terrific new recording from Jason Stein.

I received my review copy from Delmark. Here is "Marshmallow" from this album.

Dave McDonnell Group The Time Inside a Year

While no longer resident in Chicago, alto saxophonist and composer, Dave McDonnell, is a product of the fertile Windy City music scene (jazz and rock), playing in a number of genre-crossing groups. Influenced by Fela Kuti, his playing may be rooted more in bop than funk, but as annotator Arief Sless-Kitain suggests, the layered sequences and interlocking rhythms so essential to Kuti's music factors heavily in McConnell's songbook. On the second Dave McDonnell Group album, "The Time Inside a Year" (Delmark Records), he draws on these interests, and touchstones as varied as Thomas Mapfumo, Jon Hassell and Fletche Henderson. Also included are interludes with cello-enhanced electronics reflecting his current interest and teaching of such.

Sless-Kitain observes that McDonnell has "a desire for his own music to be immediate and reactive, minful of the pulse and body's innate rhythm but also cerebral." To achieve this on his compositions he is joined by a quartet of guitarist Chris Welcome and the rhythm section of bassist Joshua Abrams and drummer Frank Rosaly with Jason Adasiewicz adding vibes to two selections and Nate Lepine playing tenor on one. Three of the eleven selections are his three-movement piece "Aespe," with his computer generated tones interlaced with Tomeka Reid's Cello.

There is plenty of energy and a intriguing mix of structure and free playing. Certainly the tone is set on the fervent drive of the opening "Bullitt," with McDonnell's hyper-charged alto (with a very bluesy tone) riding over Welcome's chording and the remarkable rhythm duo. Welcome's guitar solo provides a contrast in its clean, less assertive tone. In contrast "Vox Orion," one of the two compositions with Adasiewicz, opens with Welcome playing a vamp that is the foundation for this with the shimmering vibes adding embellishments as well as brightens the mood of this which also has some fierce alto sax. "Baker's Man" opens and closes with with bluesy groove bookending some free playing with Welcome suggesting Sonny Sharrrock as the leader's blistering alto helps develop the performances intensity.

On "Discovery of the Ancient Geologist," Rosaly imaginatively develops a solo against Abrams' bass vamp, before Lepine and the leader state the theme to ride this out. "Brandywine" is a hard swinging number with O'Donnell taking no prisoners with his energized sax. The three movements of "Aespe," with cello against the computer tones, have an a ethereal mood that is a refreshing contrast to the heated playing on the quartet performances here.

McDonnell's is a very passionate saxophonist who plays with plenty of fervor although there are times one wishes he would relax a bit and leave a little space in his playing. Guitarist Welcome and the free-bop interplay with the rhythm provides contrast and a bit of breathing space to the music. In any event, there is plenty to stimulate and engage a listener on "The Time Inside a Year."


I received my review copy from Delmark.

Nicole Mitchell's Ice Crystals CD - Aquarius

The remarkable flutist, composer, and bandleader Nicole Mitchell has a new group, Ice Crystals, a group comprised of vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, bassist Joshua Abrams and drummer Frank Rosaly. With an instrumentation similar to Eric Dolphy’s collaborations with Bobby Hutcherson, comparisons are inevitable but Mitchell has over the past two decades established herself as one of the most significant jazz voices on flute, becoming a critics favorite. On her new Delmark recording with Ice Crystals, Aquarius, she displays a variety of aspects of her music (although not her long-suite compositions) which the author of the liner notes Lofton A Eminari III describe as ‘free swing.”

The marvelous opening number Aqua Blue, opens and Mitchell relates it bears some resemblance to Herbie Hancock’s Eye of the Hurricane, as well as displaying the interplay of her with Adasiewicz (and evoking Dolphy with Hutchinson), as well as allowing both to solo, while Abrams and Rosaly swing the performance along. A different mood is fostered by Today, Today, which opens with vibes before Mitchell’s flute states and develops the theme. Mitchell’s fluidity and tone (including where she hums along with her playing) contrasts with Adasiewicz’s shimmering vibe through changes in tempo and mood. 

“Aquarius” is Mitchell’s birth sign which she notes expresses her “attraction to changing colors, fluidity and surprise,” reflected in changes in mood and tempo from Abrams sober arco solo to Mitchell’s flute floating before the four heat up with Rosaly taking a solo. The remainder of the performances further display changing musical colors, the group’s fluidity along with elements of surprise as Ice Crystal conveys varied moods from reflectiveness to playfulness, and goes from being from sober to flighty to celebratory as on the closing “Fred Anderson. This closing performance, with Calvin Grant’s narration, celebrates the late giant of Chicago jazz who was a mentor to Mitchell and others.

Aquarius is another excellent recording by Nicole Mitchell, showcasing her compositions, exquisite flute playing and splendid group, Ice Crystals. 

I received my review copy from Delmark. Among upcoming performances by Nicole Mitchell include an appearance at the Kennedy Center's Mary Lou Williams Women In Jazz Festival where she opens the final night of the Festival, Saturday May 18 on a bill with the winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition, Cécile McLorin Salvant and Cindy Blackman Santana. It is the final night of three extraordinary evenings of Jazz. For more details visit http://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=MNWIL.

The Bass Clarinet of Jason Stein Tells The Story This Time

After starting on rock and blues guitar, Jason Stein has focused his musical career on the bass clarinet. In this respect he differs from a variety of multi-instrumentalists such as Bernie Maupin, Eric Dolphy, James Carter and David Murray who have made major statements on the instrument, but not play it exclusively. His Chicago quartet is heard on his Delmark release, The Story This Time, and includes Keefe Jackson who plays mainly tenor saxophone but also doubles on contrabass clarinet here, bassist Joshua Abrams and drummer Frank Rosaly. Jackson’s use of the contrabass clarinet also serves to provide a deep bottom on the selections he employs it on.

The eleven performances here include five originals along with three compositions from the Lennie Tristano school and three from Thelonious Monk. The choice of compositions from Tristano along with Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz are reflected in his interaction with Jackson throughout. Their playing is akin to the interplay of Konitz and Marsh on Tristano’s classic oeuvre and provides a feeling of the suspension of time, although the two generally eschew the tonal purity of the Konitz-Marsh front lines.

Marsh’s Background Music opens this with some heat and bebop flavor as Stein quickly displays a strong attack followed by Jackson’s hot tenor as the two weave in and out of each other’s lines while the rhythm keeps the tempo heated. It is followed by Stein’s, Laced Case, which suggests free jazz in the vein of Ornette Coleman. The two play in a bluesy vein as the rhythm embellish Stein’s growls and then provide provide a base for the swinging groove of by the leader and Jackson. There is a lively opening to Stein’s Little Big Horse, which makes use of the contrast in pitches and tonalities between tenor sax and bass clarinet. The three interpretations of Monk’s music also provides an interesting rhythmic approach. Unlike Steve Lacy’s explorations of Monk’s music which were quite close to Monk’s conceptions of his songs, Stein and his band provide a rhythmic feel that I suggest is akin to the Tristano school with its rhythmic static-ness as on Skippy.

This overview of several of the performances hopefully will give a sense of the performances on this. Some might describe this as free jazz, but that may refer to the looser musical structures they build their improvisations and with few exceptions do not relate to frenzied or frenetic playing (although the two reeds sound a bit abrasive at the beginning of Konitz’s Palo Alto), and certainly will not sound too out for those who have listened to a broad spectrum of contemporary jazz. Stein has put together a fine band for the musical explorations heard on this very absorbing recording.

I received a review copy from Delmark Records. Here is Jason Stein rehearsing Monk's "Skippy."