Evan Christopher Follows Sidney's Footsteps

Once again nominated in the Jazz Journalists Association’s Awards for clarinet, Evan Christopher has a new release in his Clarinet’s Road series, In Sidney’s Footsteps (STR Digital Records). This edition was recorded in Paris with a band that includes David Blenkhorn on guitar; Julien Brunetaud on piano; Sébastien Girardot on bass and Guillaume Nouaux on drums. As indicated by the title, the music of Sidney Bechet is inspiration for the music here, although not all the performances are of songs recorded by Bechet.

Christopher is brilliant on this recordings from the opening I Got a Right to Sing the Blues through the jaunty rendition of When I Grow Too Old to Dream that closes this recording. His clarinet sings with warmth, bluesy expression, fluidity and melodic invention supported by a fabulous band whose members complement the leader and add their own stamp. Pianist Brunetaud and guitarist Blenkhorn shine on their solos as well as their accompaniments and the rhythm duo get the right groove.

Photo © Ron Weinstock

Delights include Christopher’s driving boogie woogie Cinq Minutes! (Boogie), which allows Brunetaud to display his considerable facility along with some rather hot playing from Christopher and a spotlight on drummer Nouaux as well as Christopher’s lovely and wistful interpretation of Bechet’s famous Petite Fleur, with guitarist Blenkhorn adding embellishments as well as a tasteful solo.

Bechet’s Blues In The Air also displays Christopher and band’s facility with the blues with Brunetaud helping establish the movement with his understated blues playing over which Christopher states the theme and then elaborates. Blenkhorn mixes in single note runs with chords on his own jazzy blues solo. Blenkhorn is also prominent on the delicate and lovely performance of Django Reinhardt’s Manoir De Mes Rêves.

While not as strong a singer as clarinet player, Christopher has a definite charm as he shows on his vocal on James P. Johnson’s Old Fashioned Love, followed by his marvelous clarinet. He and pianist Brunetaud (singing in French) share the vocal on the closing When I Grow Too Old To Dream, with a very lively arrangement of this musical chestnut.

There is a presence to his clarinet and the performances on this wonderfully recorded album that continues to delight after repeated listening. In Sidney’s Footsteps may be Evan Christopher’s most exceptional recording yet. Given the high level of his prior albums, that is saying something.

I purchased this recording. Here is Evan Christopher performing Sidney Bechet's Petite Fleur.

Evan Christopher Remembering Songs On The Clarinet Road

One of two new albums, clarinetist Evan Christopher had issued in 2010, Remembering Song (Arbors), is another exploration in following the clarinet road he has has embarked on the last two decades or so. A 2011 Jazz Journalist Association finalist for clarinet, and a favorite of Nat Hentoff and the late Ahmet Ertegun, Christopher is joined by a fine quartet with legendary Bucky Pizzarelli on acoustic guitar, James Chirillo on electric guitar and bassist Greg Cohen. As quoted in Larry Blumenfeld’s notes, Christopher observes “By not using drums, the texture is more introspective, more subtle.”

After a brief introduction of The Remembering Song, the group launches into Christopher’s original The Wrath of Grapes” inspired by a wine shop-cum-performance space in the Bywater area which has embedded within a quote from Louis Prima’s Sing Sing Sing. Its a lively performance with Christopher’s warm, fluid swooping tone complemented by the band and Chirillo takes a nice horn like solo. Way Down in New Orleans starts at a languid, dreamy tempo with the interplay between Christopher’s warm woody tone accented by Chirillo’s single note responses, before the performance revives a tango section in the original sheet music before transitioning back to the dreamy mood for the lovely close. Christopher’s The River By the Road is inspired by a quote from Sidney Bechet’s autobiography with bassist Cohen taking a solo on a performance that conjures up a picnic on a delightful spring day.

Tommy Ladnier is somewhat forgotten figure these days but he had a close association with Sidney Bechet, and his Mojo Blues is a lovely minor key tune with a bluesy mood and wonderful solos from all four. Bechet is inspiration for You Gotta Treat it Gentle another lovely melody that Christopher develops and caresses. The quartet take what Blumenfeld describes as a deliberate tempo on the rarely performed Jelly Roll Morton ruminative composition, My Home Is a Southern Town followed by the delightfully lazy Serenade. The Remembering Song heard in a full rendition, is an original that sounds so familiar yet new and the performance particularly sings.

Evan Christopher is a thoughtful person who continues to mine what some would consider traditional byways of jazz, yet brings a contemporary approach along with substantial lyricism and soulfulness to his music. Remembering Song is simply amongst the latest recording of his sublime playing and music.

I purchased this recording

Evan Christopher's musical meeting of Django and Sidney Bechet

Evan Christopher has established himself as amongst the premiere clarinet players in jazz today. While associated with more traditional forms of jazz, Christopher has displayed a healthy catholicism in the range of music he plays whether traditional Sidney Bechet numbers or a medley of Ornette Coleman compositions. After Hurricane Katrina, he was briefly based in Paris at the invitation of the French government. Among his various groups is Django à la Créole, which is his effort to bridge the gypsy swing of the legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt and the New Orleans creole tradition. In 2008, they issued their original album Django à la Créole and in 2010 issued their second recording, Finesse (Frémeaux & Associés).

Django à la Créole is comprised of Christopher on clarinet, David Blenkhorn on lead guitar, Dave Kelbie on rhythm guitar and Sébatien Giradot on bass. As the drummer less instrumentation suggests, there is perhaps a bit more intimacy and chamber music quality to the performances similar to that of Reinhardt’s own recordings. While Reinhardt and Bechet lived in Paris for several years and likely their paths crossed, they never recorded, although Bechet recorded Nuages. 12 days after the guitarist passed. A couple of Bechet compositions bookend the eleven performances here, starting with the West Indian flavored Tropical Moon, where Blenkhorn’s guitar weaves single notes and chords around Christopher’s entrancing clarinet lead as the other two deliver a swinging rhythm. The closing Passaporte Ao Paraiso (Passport to Paradise), which is treated as a Brazilian Choro, and again displays Christopher’s warm, woody tone.

The title track was by bassist Billy Taylor and was originally recorded in a trio with Duke Ellington and clarinetist Barney Bigard. Several months later, it was recorded in Europe by Reinhardt in the company of Taylor, Bigard and Ellington trumpeter, Rex Stewart. On this, Blenkhorn states the theme before Christopher enters with a slight touch of vibrato (perhaps a bit more Bechet style on this) followed by a lovely electric guitar solo. A brisk Riverboat Shuffle features some delightful interplay between Blenkhorn and Christopher again, with Christopher’s clarinet evoking some of the charm and heat of Bix Beiderbecke’s cornet, with Blenkhorn particularly nice here.

Christopher’s Django à la Créole, is an original based on Reinhardt’s Improvisation #3 which Christopher says he arranged in the manner of the spanish tinge compositions of Jelly Roll Morton such as The Crave. The guitar accompaniment adds a flamenco accent to the performance. Solid Old Man is a charming performance of a Rex Stewart blues that was originally recorded at the same Paris session as Finesse, and displays Christopher’s warmth, tone and phrasing in his marvelous blues playing.

Evan Christopher at Louisiana Music Factory

Song d'Automne (Autumn Dream) by English composer Archibald Joyce is a waltz transformed into a lively samba and followed by Hoagy Charmichael’s Jubilee that Louis Armstrong introduced in a Mae West film. Armstrong was one of Reinhardt’s idols and in addition to Christopher’s thrilling playing, guitarist Blenkhorn interpolates quotes from Armstrong’s recordings of St. Louis Blues and the famous introduction of Mahogany Hall Stomp, in his delightful playing. Other strong performances include the delightful performance of Louis Moreau Gottschalk Creole Eyes, originally composed for solo piano, and the rendition here  highlights some of the Cuban influences in this 19th Century composition. Féerie is an usual hot tempo Reinhardt original with precise, warp speed playing followed by a lovely gypsy-creole distillation of the Ellington class Mood Indigo which Barney Bigard claimed he was authored the second theme with more lovely clarinet.

The originality and invention that Evan Christopher and his associates bring is thoroughly captivating. I had been waiting for several months for Finesse to be available in the United States and the wait was well worth it. Highly recommended, this is available from www.lousianamusicfactory.com and other sources.

This was a purchase.

After All These Years McDermott and Christopher are Almost Native

It is easy to label both pianist Tom McDermott and clarinetist Evan Christopher as traditional jazz musicians, but both transcend that simple label.McDermott, a pianist rooted in ragtime and Jelly Roll Morton, has also become renown for his interpretations of the Brazilian choro idiom and the music of New Orleans legend James Booker. Christopher has become one of the most highly regarded clarinet players today and is a 2011 Jazz Journalists Association nominee, who has also exhibited abilities to excel beyond traditional jazz as evident by his European gypsy jazz recordings and his intriguing interpretations of modern jazz including a marvelous medley of Ornette Coleman’s Lonely Woman and Ramblin’, and John Coltrane’s After The Rain.

The new album by the pair, Almost Native (Threadhead Records) takes it title from the fact that someone asked Tom if he was born in New Orleans, and after he answers he moved there in 1984, they respond, “”Oh, well you’re almost a native then.” This latest recording is a duo recording of originals by the pair, eight by McDermott, and two by Christopher that displays the considerable empathy between them which enhances the lyricism at root of both their styles.

The music moves from the wistfulness of the opening Tango Ambiguo (Ambiguous Tango), the indigo charm of Christopher’s slow Waltz For All Souls which evokes George Lewis’ bluesy playing, the raggy playfulness of Le Manège Rouge (The Red Merry-Go-Round), to the the atmospheric Spooky Blues (For Booker)/Quite Enough Blues, with McDermott’s spare, restrained playing effectively setting the mood. There is a bit of cheeky humor for “The Don’t-Mess-With-My Two-Step, a piano solo, followed by a delightful and playful, Chorando Em Paris (Playing Choro In Paris). The last original recording here is a march, March of the Pony Girls, which exhibits all the warmth and humor the two exhibit throughout this.

A bonus track, the lively Irresistível (Irresistible), derives from McDermott’s New Orleans Duets and concludes a thoroughly charming recording. It is available from www.louisianamusicfactory.com, cdbaby, itunes and other sources. Tom McDermott’s website is www.mcdermottmusic.com and Evan Christopher's website is www.clarinetroad.net. 

Evan Christopher and Tom McDermott doing an in-store performance
at the Louisiana Music Factory on Decatur Street in New Orleans.

Anat Cohen's Marvelous Village Notes

Anat Cohen certainly has established herself among the rising new performers in jazz today. The following review originally appeared in the November 2008 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 310), although I have made minor edits. I believe I received a review copy from Jazz & Blues Report.
One of the many prominent Israeli born jazz artists to come to our attention, Anat Cohen has been receiving critical kudos from the jazz press as well as making her mark. The first female horn player to headline the Village Vanguard, she has opened eyes and ears with her marvelous reed playing.

This writer was captivated by her performance as part of the United Jazz Orchestra led by Paquito D’Rivera at the 2007 Duke Elllington Jazz Festival. Her latest album is the marvelous Notes From the Village (Anzic), and has her backed by Jason Lindner on piano; Omer Avital on bass; and drummer Daniel Freedman, with guitarist Hekselman appearing on three of the eight performances.

This is lively and uplifting music from the start with the opening Washington Square Park, incorporating latin elements along with modern and traditional jazz. the music sings and its hard to resist the urge to dance with this including Hekselman’s twisting, lively solo and Cohen’s serpentine soprano sax playing here. Its followed by Cohen’s lovely ballad Until You’re in Love Again, with its echoes of Gordon Jenkins’ Goodbye, with her lovely woody clarinet tone evoking Goodman’s legacy before taking the song into a new direction. It is as indicative as any track here showing the freshness of her music and playing.

Cuban composer Ernesto Lecouna’s Siboney, features an arrangement by Lindner which fuses elements of tango with the Afro-Cuban foundation as Cohen’s horn sings again. She plays bass clarinet on the lovely, wistful rendition of Coltrane’s After the Rain, with Lindner taking a nice solo. J Blues is a lively original with her playing mesmerizing, while her interpretation of Sam Cooke’s A Change is Gonna Come, opens with a work song like tempo as emphatically laid out by drummer Freedman, while her playing is both soulful and thoughtful.

A playful rendition of Fats Waller’s Jitterbug Waltz takes this out on another high note with a very fresh, effervescent arrangement by Cohen and her sax weaving its magic throughout, concluding a CD of music rooted in the past and present yet looking forward to the future. It certainly will add to the many kudos she already has received.

Captivating Afro-Jazz Disc

From the December 2009 Jazz & Blues Report (who provided me with the review copy) comes my review of a terrific recording by Israeli-born clarinetist Oran Etkin and the marvelous Group Kelenia. African grooves and jazz mix here in a truly fine recording.

Born in Israel where he first heard Louis Armstrong as a youngster, Oran Etkin’s influences are many but it was playing Malian music in New York led him to travel to Mali where he stayed with a family of percussionist Jon Camara where he met and had the opportunity to play with some of the great groits in Mali and when he returned resumed an association with Balla Kouyate (on balaphon) leading to formation of Group Kelenia that also includes Makane Kouyate on calabash and Joe Sanders on bass. Kelenia comes from the Bambara word for love between peoples who are different from each other. On Etkin’s new recording “Kelenia” (Motéma Music), he introduces us to a marvelous meeting of ancient and modern, Jazz and African music, calls to prayer of different traditions for an enchanting experience. Primarily playing clarinet and bass clarinet with occasional tenor, Etkin’s deep woody tone resonates against Balla Kouyate’s dancing balaphon while Makane Kouyate’s calabash adds a gritty texture along with the haunting vocals of Abdoulaye Diabate. Both “Yekete” and the title track illustrate this, with overdubbing allowing Etkin to play off clarinet versus the bass clarinet. “Not a Waltz” is one of several tracks that feature Lionel Loueke’s guitar and John Benitez on bass with Mohamed ‘Joh’ Sidi Camara adding the talking drum. What is fascinating is the constant conversations that take place between the various musicians. Etkin’s tenor adds a honking tinge to “Nama,” as he plays over a vamping accompaniment from Balla Kuoyate. “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” has the ensemble adding a unique touch to the Ellington jazz standard as Etkin’s clarinets set the tone before Balla Kuoyate continues the musical dance with his solo. The music on “Kelenia” will enchant and invigorate the listener with the freshness and vigor of the music here. For more on Oran Etkin, visit www.oranetkin.com/group_kelenia.htm, or www.motema.com/artist/oran-etkin, where you can purchase this. It is available from amazon and iTunes.

Dr. Michael White at the French Embassy

2009-0610_Michael_White_at_French_Embassy-347
Originally uploaded by NoVARon

One of the delights of the 2009 Duke Ellington Jazz Festival was a perfromance by Dr, Michael White & the Original Liberty Jazz Band at the French Embassy. From my review of the Festival, here are my observations on that event.

"Wednesday, June 10, La Maison Française at the French Embassy in Washington hosted a gala performance, Vivre La Nouvelle Orleans, with Dr. Michael White and the Original Liberty Orchestra. This event occurred on the day of the horrible shooting at the Holocaust Museum which made traffic in Washington DC more miserable than usual so the performance went on a little later than originally scheduled. The program opened with some awards to several DC elected officials short speeches from (among others) the French Ambassador; Charlie Fishman, the Festival’s Executive Producer; and former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial (current head of the National Urban league) who introduced Dr. White noting that he had taught Morial Spanish.

Then the evening belonged to clarinetist White and his marvelous band consisting of Gregory Stafford on trumpet and vocals, Lucien Barbarin on trombone, Detroit Brooks on banjo, Steven Pistorious on piano, Kerry Lewis on bass and Herman Lebeaux on drums. This is a classic line-up for groups playing traditional New Orleans jazz and from the opening moments of “Shake It, Break It,” the Original Liberty Jazz Band entertained with their marvelous music, played at a relaxed tempo and lacking the frenzy and hyper-ness of some “Dixieland jazz.” The contrapunctual playing during the heads, the marvelous solos with Stafford adding his husky vocals and the crisp rhythmic pulse made the entire evening a delight. Included were classic New Orleans numbers like Sam Morgan’s “Bogalusa Strut,” and originals based on their own experience but rooted in the New Orleans tradition like “Come Together” one of the selections to feature Stafford on vocals. White was featured on a superb rendition of “Summertime,” inspired by Sidney Bechet’s hit recording for Blue Note seventy-odd years ago. A hot original second line number had Paquito D’Rivera join the ensemble adding his contrasting clarinet style to White's before a marvelous take of Duke Ellington’s “Black & Tan Fantasy.”

Evan Christopher and Django à la Créole

From the London CD release party for Evan Christopher's Django à la Créole (Lejazzetal & Classic Jazz), a tribute to the great Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt, performing "I Know That You Know," which Django recorded, but Christopher prefaces the performance by referring to the great Jimmy Noone. This is a marvelous CD, with other songs performed including Django's marvelous "Nuages,"as well as the love closing medley of Tears and Djangology. The empathy of the band and the music comes through in this video which should hopefully lead a few of you to sample more of the music on this recording.

I only have had the good fortune to see Evan perform live a few years back at Donna's on the edge of the French Quarter in a group with Tom McDermott, and have the marvelous duet album that they recorded, Danza (STR Digital). I have been enthralled by his wonderfully warm, fluid playing. He has a marvelous live album, Live At The Meridien (Jazz Club), where does a remarkable medley of Ornette Coleman's Ramblin and Lonely Woman, as well as Scott Joplin's, The Entertainer, and Duke Ellington's Prelude to a Kiss. Nat Hentoff wrote quite an enthusiastic piece in Jazz Times about Delta Bound, with pianist Dick Hyman, on Arbors.

Django à la Créole be obtained from (among other sources) the Louisiana Music Factory and cdbaby.com. The Louisiana Music Factory carries the other referenced recordings and more that Evan can be heard on.