Karl Berger- Jason Kao Hwang Conjure True Sound Recordings
This is a recording of two major artists of the modern 'free' jazz world. Karl Berger heard on piano and vibes, is a veteran of the new music scene. He has collaborated with numerous legends such as Don Cherry, Ed Blackwell, Lee Konitz, Ray Anderson, Dave Holland, and Pharaoh sanders as well as founded the Creative Music Studio. Jason Kao Hwang, heard on violin and viola, is likewise a significant artist having worked with William Parker, Tomeka Reid, Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill, and Reggie Workman. The present recording is a series of musical duets that were performed without any written scores.
This is very much a recording of musical conversations between the two as opposed to tune based performances. If one is going to use a label, new music might be appropriate. Listening to this dialogue does have its rewards, and these selections might be considered the musical equivalent of two abstract artists collaborating on a painting, alternating in who applies the brush.
Hwang is a fascinating musician who brings forth a variety of colors ranging from cat-like scratches to a cantorial viola solo. Berger plays dark chords on the piano and shimmering tones on the vibraphone. This contrast adds to the fascination of the performances here. This is challenging music, which may not be for everyone. This listener found "Conjure" fascinating and often compelling.
I received my review copy from a publicist. This review appeared in the January-February 2020 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 388).
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.
Congratulations to Don Cherry for his selection in the DownBeat Critics Poll to the magazine's Hall of Fame. Cherry, with his pocket trumpet was an important part of Ornette Coleman's "Change of the Century." In addition to being a vital part of Coleman's pioneering group, he later played with Sonny Rollins, recorded with John Coltrane, as well as joined Steve Lacy for an album devoted to Thelonious Monk's Music. He was a member of the New York Contemporary Five with Archie Shepp and John Tchicai and recorded with Albert Ayler and Gato Barbieri. He also recorded for Blue Note as a leader including the albums Complete Communion and Symphony For Improvisors. With Coleman alumni Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, and Eddie Blackwell, he was a member of the group Old and New Dreams who had four albums on Black Saint and ECM. He then became involved in world fusion music, including the "world jazz" group Codona, a trio that consisted of Don Cherry (trumpet, melodica, organ), Collin Walcott (tabla, sitar, percussion), and Nana Vasconcelos and recorded 3 albums for ECM.
Cherry also recorded duets with Eddie Blackwell and several world music albums under his own name including Brown Rice, and MultiKulti. He passed away from liver cancer at the age of 58 in 1995.
Here are several videos to celebrate his music. First the Don Cherry Trio in Paris in 1971.
Joseph Daley dedicates "The Tuba Trio Chronicles" to the memory of his good friend and mentor, Sam Rivers, with whom he played in the Rivbea Tuba Trio along with Barry Altschul. Daley is heard on this on tuba and euphonium and joined by Warren Smith, heard on a drum set, bass marimba, marimba and a variety of percussion instruments, and Scott Robinson on a variety of reeds including tenor sax, bass sax, a jazzophone, contra alto clarinet and theremin.
As evident from the opening "Interplay" which Daley describes as "An exploration into the intervallic melodic concepts of Sam Rivers …" which underlies improvisations by Daley on Euphonium (and he displays remarkable facility on this) and Robinson on tenor. "Modality" is centered on a modal line as a theme for the three with Daley on tuba, Robinson on bass sax and Smith adding bass marimba accents with remarkable interaction between Daley and Robinson. For "Emergence," Smith is on tympani, gongs, bass drum and Chinese cymbal, Daley on Euphonium while Robinson is on the sour sounding contrabass sarrusophone and the jazzphone (the latter a trumpet sounding instrument) and the feel of the performance is akin to some Art Ensemble of Chicago performances. "Sonorous" is a similar open improvisation vehicle with Robinson's bass sax replacing the sarrusophone and Daley on tuba including playing it with a mute. These performances are like abstract painting with sound as opposed to colors with bit of melody mixing with the tuba's bass lines and the rhythmic accents of gongs and other percussion.
Daley prepared sound textures for 'Terrarium," the longest performance with Smith's marimba adding to his instruments while Robinson in on bass flute, theremin, waterphone and contra alto clarinet on a performance that sounds like a soundtrack to an experimental film and at other times a spellbinding musical kaleidoscope. A lovely rendition of Sam Rivers' "Beatrice" is the only composition that Daley did not write with Smith's vibraphone adding a nice flavor here. The closing "Proclamation" is similar in concept to the opening "Interplay," allowing for some remarkable improvisational segments on tuba and bass sax along with the counterpoint they exhibit at times. Daley, who is exceptional throughout, is remarkable on tuba here.
"The Tuba Trio Chronicles" is an exceptional release of challenging jazz that may not be for those with traditional tastes.
I received a review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the January-February Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 364).
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."
Matt Lavelle is a reed and brass player who has studied with Ornette Coleman while John Pietaro is a percussionist and the two have collaborated on duos for ten compositions of Thelonious Monk approached from the musical philosophy of Ornette Coleman. The resulting recording on Unseen Rain is “Harmolodic Monk,” that provides intriguing and in some cases radical deconstruction and rebuilding of some of Monk’s celebrated compositions. Lavalle is heard or cornet, flugelhorn and alto clarinet while Pietaro plays vibraphone, bodhran, congas and percussion.
The unusual nature of their approach can be heard on the opening rendition “Epistrophy” taken at a slower temp than usual with the development of the performance in art involving breaking down the composition and reconstructing it. In addition to his percussion coloring his alto clarinet, Lavelle's employs the vibraphone to offer his own musical construction. Lavelle’s alto clarinet is also featured on “Pannonica” with swoops, leaps and bluesy cries suggestive of Eric Dolphy on bass clarinet while Pietaro’s vibes provides a shimmering musical underpinning and takes a reflective solo followed by Lavelle returning on cornet to restate the theme.
It is fascinating to hear Lavelle’s machine gun brass blasts on “Green Chimneys” matched by percussion and congas while Pietaro states the theme of “Round Midnight” before Lavelle enters at an unhurried tempo on alto clarinet. “Ruby My Dear” is a performed as a solo interpretation by Pietaro. Pietaro's vibes then open ”Let’s Cool One,” serving as an intro before the entrance of Lavelle’s cornet playing which is mostly unaccompanied. “Blue Monk,” another brass-vibes duet, does not seem as satisfactory a performance until Lavelle transitions into “Straight No Chaser.” Overdubbing may have employed to enable Lavelle play alto clarinet and brass on “Monk’s Mood.”
Monk’s compositions seem to work especially well with spare instrumentation (including the absence of piano) and the imaginative playing of Lavelle and Pietaro intrigue listeners while the familiarity of the compositions provide a foundation to engage those who listen. “Harmolodic Monk,” is a fresh, imaginative approach to one of modern music’s iconic composers of considerable merit.
I receive my review copy from a publicist. Here are the two playing "Blue Monk."
Keefe Jackson’s Likely So is a seven person all-reed group led by the Chicago saxophonist and bass clarinetist. The international group includes fellow Chicagoans Mars Williams on alto, soprano and sopranino saxophones and Dave Rempis on alto and baritone saxophonists; Waclaw Zimpel from Poland on clarinet and alto clarinet; and Swiss players Marc Stucki on tenor saxophone, bass clarinet and harmonium; Peter A. Schmid on baritone, bass and sopranino saxophones, bass clarinet and e-flat clarinet and Thomas K.J. Mejer on contrabass and sopranino saxophones.
The seven piece ensemble performed at Jazzwerkstatt Festival in Berne, Switzerland on February 20, 2013 and Delmark has issued a recording from that evening A Round Goal. As Larry Kart notes in the liner notes, Jackson used the opportunity to explore his compositional voice in an all-read ensemble. he provides the structure for the players to improvise and interact with each other in this meeting of some participants of todays jazz avant grade.
The performances include passages of collective improvisation as well tranquil solo interludes and the structures Jackson has established allows for the fascinating and thoughtful interplay between the seven players along with the development of musical colors. Jackson, on the first of two bridge solos heard here displays warmth and a concern for tone and timbre, whereas Stucki on Wat Ist Kultur?,exhibits a focus on the upper reaches of the tenor (in a 60s Pharaoh Sanders manner) with the ensemble establishing a foundation for his explorations. Mejer’s contrabass sax sounds like a bowed bass solo on My Time Is My Own, before the ensemble cradles the coda of this and leading into Pastorale where Mejer helps establish the foundation for this intriguing performance with a rhythmic motif. Williams alto evokes bagpipes opening the title track as he plays over the ensembles repeated riff before he launches into the higher reaches with some fiery, Ayler-esque improvisation before Rempis barrels in on baritone with slurs and screeches in his torrid solo.
This is imply a snippet of some of the music to be heard on A Round Go. Keefe Jackson’s Likely So was quite lively that evening resulting in the music here that rewards listeners with music to stimulate and fascinate them.
I received my review copy from Delmark. Here is a short video clip.
It was in September 1971 when inmates rebelled at New York State’s Attica Prison to protest the inhumane conditions. A few days later when Governor Nelson Rockefeller ordered the prison to be retaken by force. Thirty-nine people were left dead: twenty-nine prisoners and ten hostages were all killed by the troopers’ bullets. A month later there was another tragedy at San Quentin resulting in more deaths including that of Black Panther George Jackson. These events inspired Archie Shepp to record Attica Blues a few months later in January 1972 to pay tribute to those whose lives were taken during these events.
Performances of this ensemble was recorded on Sept 9 2012 at the Jazz à La Villette Festival, June 14 2013 at CNCDC de Châteauvallon and on June17 2013 at Les Nuits de Fourvière Festival and Shepp has released this on his own Archieball label as I Hear The Sound. The production of this release was helped by a Kickstarter crowd funding campaign that I was among the contributors to. The actual CD has 11 tracks with two additional tracks available as downloads. It includes a booklet with background information.
The music is captivating and often compelling ranging from the revival of Attica Blues and Mama Too Tight, the moving renditions of Duke Ellington’ Come Sunday and Cal Massey’s The Cry of My People, to the lovely Ballad For a Child and The Stars Are In Your Eyes. Shepp, in addition to being featured throughout on tenor and soprano saxophones, adds his vocals to those of Myers, McLorin-Salvant, and Rampal. Shepp’s vocals have a certain amateurish charm and contrast with Myers and McLorin-Salvant.
Reggie Washington’s bass helps gets things going on the funky Attica Blues before Myers comes in on piano joined by guitarist Pierre Durand and drummer Famoudou Don Moye as Shepp digs in on tenor as a trombone growls. The women provide vocal coloring singing “I Gotta Feeling” while Shepp sings about things going wrong, folks not knowing what is right or wrong and there is a story that is gotta be told as the vocalists and the horns add emphasis to Shepp’s wail. The shifting textures and moods of this performance is indicative of the multi-faceted nature of the music on the recording. This is followed by Amina Claudia Myers doing her original Arms with Shepp on soprano sax and the strings caressing her vocal (which Shepp joins in).
Muted trumpets and a bass ostinato introduce Blues For Brother G Jackson with its cry of there being no justice throughout the land prior to Shepp wailing the strong blues groove on tenor. Shepp’s admiration of Duke Ellington is displayed on Come Sunday as his tenor caresses the theme before Cecile McLorin-Salvant delivers the prayer at the center. Three of the compositions on I Hear The Sound are by Cal Massey whom Shepp and John Coltrane both championed. Particularly moving is The Cry of My People, with moving vocal choruses and soaring trumpet from Ambrose Akinmusire in addition to strong playing from Shepp and a stunning blues-drenched piano solo (likely from Myers) .
The rest of the album is equally stirring and full of passion. Orchestrations and vocals help provide fresh takes on a couple of Shepp staples, Steam (with Shepp on soprano and McLorin-Savant taking the latter vocal), and Mama Too Tight. The latter number certain is quite a bit of fun, although the performance of this funky James Brown influenced classic does not quite have the taut groove of the original from some 45 years ago..
The physical CD has eleven tracks along with instructions to download two further selections; the ballad The Stars Are In Your Eyes and the driving Ujaama. They complete the moving and exhilarating music by Archie Shepp's Attica Blues Orchestra. I have listened to I Hear the Sound a number of times over the past few months and each time I am moved by the heart and power of the music captured.
As I have noted, I supported the production of this release on Kickstarter. I also received a review copy from a publicist. Here is a performance of Archie Shepp's Attica Blues Orchestra performing Cal Massey's The Cry of My People.
Here is a lengthy interview (80 minutes), from the youtube.com video series "The Hang," of Archie Shepp with Bret Primack and Willard Jenkins discussing thsi recording, kickstarter, John Coltrane, the state of jazz today and so much more.
Chicago cornetist and composer Rob Mazurek brings seven compositions to a new recording by his Pulsar Quartet, Stellar Pulsations (Delmark) . Like Mazurek, pianist Angelica Sanchez, bass guitarist Matthew Lux and drummer John Herndon on drums, all are members of the acclaimed Exploding Star Orchestra and bring their talents to the compositions that mix melodic freedom in shifting contexts that range from emphasizing lyricism as well as bring order to what sounds like chaos. In his liner notes, Jeff Parker observes “The music is all about sound: sound as matter, visual sound,sound as motion, sound in motion. This music is four individuals moving together through and within time, creating color that is sound.”
The titles of the seven compositions on Stellar Pulsations refer to the various planets in our solar system although one does not have to be a science fiction disciple to appreciate the performances. Mazurek has a bright tone, although often playing in an introspective manner. Still he is capable of blazing furies as on the opening Primitive Jupiter, with pianist Sanchez’s use of chords and thundering lines adding aural contrast to the leaders play while the rhythm duo rumbles underneath. In contrast Magic Saturn displays a more lyrical side to Mazurek and his quartet with him making very nice use of a mute.
Spiritual Mars opens in a free manner with the leader floating over the free backing. Drummer Herndon takes a solo break on this before the group rides this out quite energetically. Its perhaps the most ‘out’ performance on Stellar Pulsations. Spiral Mercury, features more vibrant playing with excellent solos form Sanchez and Mazurek, while Spanish Venus has a relaxed feel with more lyricism from the leader’s use of a mute as well as Sanchez’s spare piano.
Mazurek's imaginative music and the Pulsar Quartet’s mix of lyricism and fire result in the strong, fresh and energetic performances of Stellar Pulsations.
I received a review copy from Delmark Records. Here is a video of the Pulsar Quartet in performance.
David S. Ware passed away at the age of 62. I never had the pleasure to see him perform but have purchased a number of the recordings. He was a robust 'free' saxophonist, yet rooted deeply in the tradition with Sonny Rollins influence very apparent in his playing. This was not surprising and he recorded several of Sonny's compositions, most notably am album length version of The Freedon Suite. He performed and recorded with Cecil Taylor, Andrew Cyrille before his own impressive recordings over the past coupled ecdaes. He also had a remarkable long-standing quartet with pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake. His Thirsty Ear release,Live in the World, contains three CDs of riveting music may be hard to find but worth searching out. To remember him, here he is in performance for you to enjoy.
Fast Citizens is a Chicago based cutting edge sextet originally under the nominal leadership of Keefe Jackson that has a rotating leadership. For its third album Gather (Delmark), it is under the nominal leadership of Fred Lonberg-Holm who plays cello, tenor guitar and cornet and contributed 5 of the 7 compositions for the groups latest recording. Other members of Fast Citizens include Jackson on tenor saxophone, bass clarinet and reed trumpet; Aram Shelton on alto saxophone, clarinet and cornet; Josh Berman on cornet; Anton Hatwich on bass and trumpet; and Frank Rosaly on drums and pocket trumpet.
The opening Infra-Pass is a bouncy original with an Ornette Coleman flavored riff and some fine bass clarinet from Jackson, fiery alto saxophone from Shelton, the leader’s gut-bucket fiddling on the cello and an interlude of dialogue between the alto and bass clarinet before the ensemble picks up the tempo riding this performance out. Its a fascinating mix of shifting musical flavors and some tempo shifts. The mood shifts with some alley saw cello against cornet opening Shelton’s It’s a Tough Grid, before the leader’s firm bass solo followed by Jackson’s tenor supported by the rhythm as the other horns repeat a riff that segues to Shelton’s acerbic alto. The leader’s guitar opens up Later News, with a simple rock groove that underpins Jackson’s hard-edged tenor sax solo and Shelton’s somewhat coarse and almost frenetic alto.
Lazy Day with its moody chords and mix of musical colors from the cello, cornet and clarinet followed by Shelton’s strong clarinet is an evocative performance followed by the emphatic, rock-like rhythms of Faster Citizens! Kill! Kill! This latter number (whose title is a take off a Russ Meyer film title) includes a segment where Berman’s cornet engaging Shelton’s clarinet in a fiery unaccompanied dialogue. On Simpler Days, there are excellent solos from Jackson on bass clarinet, Berman on cornet and Shelton on alto sax, with the leader’s prickly guitar providing an interesting backdrop.
I have not heard the earlier recordings by Fast Citizens, but the mix of composition, improvised playing and empathetic ensemble playing on Gather rewards careful listening. It left a very favorable impression on this writer.
I was provided a review copy from Delmark Records. Here is a video clip of Fast Citizens, at the time under Aram Shelton's nominal leadership
Among the Universal reissues celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Impulse Records is For Losers/ Kwanza by Archie Shepp. Among those inspired by John Coltrane, Shepp brought together a fiery, passionate style but one rooted both in traditional as well as funk and soul music of the time while also bringing a strong focus on his culture and community. These two albums were recorded at the same sessions in 1969 or so.
For someone associated with ‘free jazz,’ the music has strong foundation the funk of James Brown and Junior Walker. This is clear on the opening track from The Losers, Stick it Up which has a Leon Thomas vocal with Doris Troy and Tasha Thomas providing backing vocals while Mel Brown adds guitar. Even better is Abstract with some nice trombone from Graham Moncur III. Chinalin Sharpe takes the vocal on Ellington’s I’ve Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good), with Shepp’s tenor embellishing the vocal with a Ben Webster-styled vibrato and alto saxophonist Clarence Sharpe solos marvelously. Cecil Payne adds flute behind Shepp’s robust tenor on Cal Massey’s lovely ballad What Would It Be Without You. The centerpiece of The Losers was Shepp’s Un Croque Monsieur (Poem: For Losers), an extended composition opening on a tight, funky, rhythmic vamp leading to strong energetic and at times free ensemble playing followed by a segment Shepp playing a sour sounding soprano sax, followed by Claritin Sharpe singing Shepp’s poem about everybody loves a winner and who gives a damn for losers. Others on this very strong performance include trumpeter Woody Shaw, Payne on baritone sax, and Clarence Sharpe on alto sax.
While recorded at many of the same sessions, the music on Kwanza was inspired by celebration of ‘Kwanza,’ which Shepp refers to as ‘our traditional African holy week.” In the reproduced liner notes of Emilan Sudan, it is noted that Shepp’s three contributions reflect the sounds of the African communities in the US. With selections such as Back Back, we get more heavy James Brown inspired funk as Shepp solos over the funk groove of Dave Burrell on organ, Wally Richardson on drums and Bernard Pretty Purdie on drums as he preaches the funk blues like a frenzied mix of post-bebop and Screaming R&B honker while Graham Moncur III adds his tailgating trombone. Leon Thomas handles the vocal as well as scatting and yodeling on Spoo Pee Doo, on which Robin Kenyatta’s flute stands out. One of the centerpieces of this album was Moncur’s New Africa, from a session Bob Thiele supervised and is a freer performance with Burrell on piano,Walter Booker on bass and Beaver Harris on drummers providing the foundation with Moncur’s blustery trombone and Shepp’s tenor (and yodels) joined by Jimmy Owens trumpet and Charles Davis’ baritone making for a highly animated and impassioned performance. Shepp’s Slow Drag includes Woody Shaw, Matthew Gee, Clarence Sharpe and Cecil Payne, Cedar Walton, Wilbur Ware and Joe Chambers for another passionate performance built upon a funky rhythmic figure with solos from Shaw and Shepp being especially galvanized. Cal Massey’s Bakai closed the original album as well as this reissue of the two albums and is another example of his marvelous compositions in his all to brief life. It mixes a rhythmic foundation with a strong melodic theme. Shepp plays impassioned here.
There is plenty to get the listener invigorated on this forty-odd years old recordings that have held up well over the years and remind us that Archie Shepp has been always rooted in the past but always looking forward.
I received a review copy from Jazz & Blues Report for whom this review was initially written. Here is Archie Shepp on youtube.
Among the recent reissues of classic Impulse releases as part of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Impulse, there has been a CD containing two of his CDs, Village of the Pharoahs/ Wisdom Through Music. These albums date from the early 1970s after his path making earlier Impulse recordings that made use of rhythmic trance-inducing vamps and a raw, blues-rooted tenor sax style that on these albums may have some rough edges but also less of the high crying overblowing of some of his earlier recordings including those he made working with John Coltrane. He also made use of vocals including wordless chanting. Wisdom Through Music has a smaller group including pianist Joe Bonner, bassist Cecil McBee, drummer Norman Connors and percussionist Lawrence Killian, all of whom are part of the larger group on Village of the Pharaohs which also includes bassists Stanley Clarke and Calvin Hill, drummer Jimmy Hopps and vocalist and percussionist Sedatrius Brown.
The title track of Village of the Pharaohs is in three parts with Sanders on soprano sax sounding like a cross between a snake charmer and a rhythm and blues wailer and in the third part has an exchange in vocalizing and chants with Brown. “Mansion Worlds is another number which evokes The Creator Has a Master Plan, with Bonner setting forth the theme with a driving vamp and percussion with Sanders adding his soprano. Went Like It Came comes off as a rhythm’n’blues gospel infected blues with Sanders on tenor sax and Sedatrius Brown featured on the bluesy vocal. I had the pleasure of seeing this multi-talented woman (a terrific organist as well as singer) over a decade ago in Washington DC, but I understand she has devoted herself to gospel music.
In many respects, Sanders music was world jazz before that term, or ‘world music’ was coined, and heard on Wisdom Through Music. African grooves are most evident on High Life, with Sanders leading the rough house vocalizing of the Afro-Beat grooves before taking a robust tenor sax solo with some honks and squeals, followed by Love Is Everywhere, where he chants (mainly the title phrase) with the band echoing his chant. The title track finds Sanders playing soprano with a bagpipes quality with an intriguing backing.
These are not the best known of Sanders Impulse albums perhaps, but they certainly should be of interest to those who have followed his music (and may have overlooked these when they came out like I did) as well as interested in the important output of the Impulse label.
I received my review copy from Jazz & Blues Report for whom this review was written. Here is a you tube video of Pharoah Sanders.
Albert Ayler’s music was controversial during his life and today, four decades after his death. One of the ‘free’ jazz patriarchs of the sixties and seventies, Ayler employed a heavy vibrato and made use of overblowing and shrieks that came off as the saxophone equivalent of speaking in tongues. As part of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Impulse Records, Universal/Verve released Love Cry/ The Last Album, a two LP on one CD reissue of Ayler’s second and fifth albums for the legendary label.
Love Cry has been issued on CD, and this reissue does not include the alternate takes from that reissue. With the trumpet of brother Donald Ayler, Alan Silva on bass, Milford Graves on drums with Call Cobbs on harpsichord, this disc has brief and accessible versions of some of the staples of Ayler’s repertoire like Ghosts and Bells and display the brass band march and folk song roots of Ayler’s music. The longer recordings Zion Hill and Universal Indians (the latter a personal favorite) have a bit of what some would refer to as frenzied chaos.
The Last Album represents Ayler’s final studio recordings and derives from the same sessions that produced “Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe.” These recordings included Canned Heat guitarist Henry Vestine. This opens with an untitled duet of Ayler on bagpipes and Henry Vestine on electric guitar. Besides Vestine, others on this album include pianist Bobby Few, Bill Folwell and Stafford James on bass, Muhammad Ali on drums with Mary Maria (real name Parks) on vocals). Parks is credited with Again Comes The Rising Of The Sun, which she sings a bluesy lyric with Few’s rumbling piano complemented by Ayler’s bluesy buzz saw toned sax. Toiling co-written by Parks, Vestine and Folwell is a bluesy instrumental with Vestine’s Guitar Slim influenced guitar countered by Folwell’s picked bass and Few’s spare piano before Ayler enters like a sanctified Big Jay McNeely. Desert Blood opens with some raw sax before Ayler and Parks sing a lyric with biblical references in a manner suggestive of Sun Ra and June Tyson.
The Last Album probably is viewed along with New Grass as among the least essential recordings in Ayler’s discography although packaged with Love Cry, one certainly finds more than some moments that fans of Ayler will find compelling.
I was provided a review copy from Jazz & Blues Report for whom this review was originally drafted.
Saxophonist Odean Pope may be best known for his tenure with the late Max Roach, but was also part of the legendary cooperative group Catalyst and also the Saxophone Choir. The Philadelphia based tenor saxophonist is joined on his newest recording Universal Sounds (Porter Records) with Marshall Allen, one of the principal saxophonists with the late Sun Ra, on alto sax and electronic wind instruments, bassist Lee Smith and three drummers, Warren Smith, Craig McIver and Jim Hamilton creating an unusual setting for the performances here.
Listening to this CD, a number of reference points strike me. Custody of American Spirit, opens with Pope’s strong tenor contrasted with Allen’s electronic wind instrument followed by the Warren Smith’s employment use of percussion and what sounds like Indian chants and whoops backed by Lee Smith’s arco playing followed by Warren Smith’s timpani and the other drummers creating a wall of percussion as Pope and Allen, both on saxophones state the theme. Pope and Allen state the theme of Mwalimu with its African flavor followed by Lee Smith’s dueting with one (or more) of the drummers. The Binder conjures up some of the more intense free jazz of the sixties and seventies which evokes some of the recordings by Pharoah Sanders, Coltrane (particularly the latter recordings with Rashied Ali, including those which included Sanders and/or Donald Garrett). Allen follows with a furious solo with a fair amount of overblowing, screeches and honks set against the furious cacophony of the percussionists.
She Smiled Again is a more pensive composition with Pope’s ballad playing employing a slightly harsh vibrato with Lee Smith anchoring the performance while the drummers add their own accents here. Bassist Smith contributed the lively Go Figure, which is a lengthy bass feature with the drummers adding their comments. The Track by Allen has him on the electronic wind instrument contributing various electronic effects and sounds and engaging in a musical colloquy with Warren Smith on marimba and timpani. Allen’s playing here was interesting and suggests the possibility of electronics in the mix of usual wind instrument musical ideas with sounds one might associate more with, say, keyboard synthesizers. Blues opens with some driving percussion before the saxophones state the simple blues riff at the performance’s heart leading to fresh and robust blues playing by Pope (once again Lee Smith’s bass playing merits kudos) with some intense, fresh passages. A longer rendition of Custody of the American (Bullshit Version), concludes with Warren Smith’s wordless chanting supplemented by soft shouts of ‘Bullshit,” with more furious percussion by the trio of drummers.
There is powerful music here and when one considers that Pope is 72, Warren Smith is 76 and Marshall Allen is 86, one has to be astonished by the energy they impart into these performances. Obviously if one is not a fan of free jazz, this will not appeal to that individual. However, there is more on Universal Sounds than what might strike some as the frenzied cacophony during The Binder. Most of the performances more structured and providing for some fascinating, and thoughtful musical conversations. While admittedly this won’t be for everyone’s tastes, this is a most potent session.
The website Destination-Out (http://destination-out.com) has continued its important series of digital reissues of out-of-print vinyl albums from the FMP label. Among the latest is that by the Willem Breuker Kollektief’s “Live in Berlin.” Originally issued in late 1975, it was one of the early works by the Breuker Kollektief which Breuker created after being dissatisfied with existing European free jazz big bands like the Instant Composers Pool and the Globe Unity Orchestra. Breuker, who passed away in 2010, wanted more focus on theatrical and compositional elements, not simply musical free-for-alls.
On the Destination-Out website, “Live in Berlin” is described “This live date finds his big band gleefully incorporating everything from pop standards, light opera, funeral marches, and shoo bop into their freewheeling brand of free jazz. The Kollektief offers both drama and inspired moments of humor, making for sheerly enjoyable music that’s joyful and fun!” The mix of free jazz, bebop, street music, tango, vaudeville and European musical hall fare with more than a few hints of Kurt Weill has long been a favorite of these ears since seeing this band at the original Tralfamadore Cafe in Buffalo in 1976 or 1977 and obtaining the original vinyl album at that time.
The members of the Kollektief at the time of this recording were Willem Breuker himself on saxophones & clarinets; Bob Driessen on alto saxophone; Maarten van Norden: tenor saxophone; Ronald Snijders: flute; Boy Raaijmakers: trumpet; Willem van Manen: trombone; Bernhard Hunnekink: trombone; Jan Wolff: French horn; Leo Cuypers: piano; Arjen Gorter: double bass; and Rob Verdurmen: drums and if one checked the personnel on various Breuker recordings throughout the years, many of these names would be present or on their own efforts on the BVHasst label Breuker established.
Substantial portions of this are taken from two of Breuker’s extended compositions, “La Plagiata” and “Anthology.” The former piece is ‘plagiarized’ from a variety of sources, both from serious music and street sources as the Snijders’ flute does a funeral march before a frantic sounding march-like tango segment with some blistering tenor set against a hot riff then Cuypers’ trance-like piano as the tenor squeals, honks and twists and turns with another tenor sax adds its own serpentine lines and honks before the full band leads a transition into the Music Hall. It is only the beginning of a whirlwind of musical scenarios and moods that continues throughout.
There is the fiery tango beginning of “Jan De Wit” that sets the tone for some inspired, and soaring, sax as Verdurmen underpins it with a hot march rhythm with Cuypers adding a trance-like piano backing before the horns add a quote “I’m an old cowhand” before the Kollektief restates the main theme and Cuypers takes the spotlight, at times enthralling with his use of repetition before a more linear and melodic approach that quotes japanese folksongs that leads into “Jalousie-Song” that opens like it was from a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta before the trombones add some gruff commentary. This magical musical circus continues until the closing, “Our Day Will Come,” which opens as if channelling Archie Shepp’s tribute to James Brown (“Mama Too Tight).” They play with similar reckless abandon with a rocking repeated riff until the rousing tango treatment of the melody of the Ruby and Romantics recording and then exuberantly singing it in Dutch.
I recall that the Breuker Kollektief performed “Our Day Will Come,” that night thirty four odd years ago in Buffalo, and the performance that evening was very similar to the overall character of “Live in berlin.” Breuker, of course had many other recordings with the Kollektief as well as other projects. One recording of Breuker, apart from those of the Kollektief, that I am particularly fond of his was “The Compositions Of Eric Dolphy” on BVHaast that was issued in 2006. Bill Shoemaker’s cogent, contemporaneous review of that recording can be found at the Point of Departure music journal, http://www.pointofdeparture.org/PoD5MomentsNotice.html.
For more information on this digital download, http://destination-out.comalong with a download of a marvelous solo Sam Rivers album, “Portrait.”
The late alto saxophonist, Noah Howard passed away in early September leaving behind a considerable musical legacy. Born in New Orleans, he emerged in the 1960s among the first wave of ‘free jazz’ artists. He recorded a couple albums for ESP and then recorded “The Black Ark,” but finding the reception for free jazz cool at best in the United States, he relocated to Paris and spent much of the ensuing years of his life abroad, living in Brussels at the time of his death.
Growing up in New Orleans where he played first in church, his first instrument was the trumpet which he played in the military and it wasn’t until later he started playing the alto saxophone. His recordings for ESP were among the 28 or so albums he recorded over the years. Recently, Destination Out (http://destination-out.com/), a web site devoted to free jazz, has started issuing downloads from out-of-print FMP vinyl albums that have never been made available on compact disc. Among the recent albums they have made available is a couple by Howard from the seventies.
“Schizophrenic Blues” reissues a live 1977 performance from the Quartier Latin in Berlin where Howard is joined by Itaru Ok on trumpet; Jean-Jacques Avenel on double bass and Oliver Johnson on drums. The title track is a blues that displays his bluesy tone as he and Ok play variations on the blues theme. His tone has a bit of vibrato, but not overdone, and would indicate that both Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler were influences on a composition would not be out of place on a Coleman disc. Ok’s trumpet riffs provides a vinegary contrast to Howard, and the rhythm ably anchor the performance. “Birds of Beauty” is a slow ballad with trumpet more prominent at the lyrical opening and the two complement and interact off the other.
“Fire March,” a tribute to Albert Ayler, opens with Johnson taking a drum solo before the tempo changes to a march like groove as Howard enters in an Ayler-esque mode as Ok evokes Donald Ayler’s trumpet with his playing while Howard exploits the upper registers of his alto and overblows producing shrieks and cries. Ok’s trumpet sounds like a swarm of very unhappy bees here. Bassist Avenel opens up “Creole Girl,” the lengthiest performance of this album, with a lengthy solo. After Johnson sets the tempo, Howard and Ok join in tstating the theme and take solid solos that do not sound to these ears as very out.
“Solo Sax,” is a slice of saxophone exploration (but not a solo saxophone performance) with Howard employing a bit more vibrato here, as Avenel playing some buzz saw arco bass, Johnson laying an atemporal groove with brushes and Ok’s trumpet buzzes around the sax. The album concludes with a reading of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” with Howard and Ok embellishing the melody in an Ayler-esque fashion.
The performances on “Schizophrenic Blues” hold up over thirty years later. Certainly anyone familiar with the music of Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, and Old Dreams and New Dreams should find this quite accessible and even at its most Ayler-esque moments “Fire March,” there is a lyricism as well as a blues foundation that makes this release engaging. Recommended, and again this can be downloaded at http://destination-out.com. Just go to the store tab and look for this release.
The reissue on CD by Delmark of “The New York Contemporary Five” under Archie Shepp’s name is welcome for fans of early examples of “free jazz.” The group was actually a cooperative, with cornet from Don Cherry, alto sax from the Danish born John Tchicai, Shepp on tenor, Don Moore on bass and J.C. Moses on drums. Recorded in November, 1963 at the legendary Denmark club, Jazzhus Montmartre, the six performances here present a document of the exploratory direction of much music of the time. The trumpeter and composer, Bill Dixon, who recently passed away, arranged three of the performances and introduced the ensemble. There are originals by Cherry, Shepp and Tchicai along with two Ornette Coleman compositions and a straight rendition of Thelonious Monk’s “Crepuscule With Nellie.”
Cherry’s “Cisum,” opens with his cornet evoking “Fanfare for the Common Man,” before stating the theme leading to his solo backed by the rhythm with his interesting mix of burst of notes and more melodic lines as he rides over Moses’ rhythm. Cherry is followed by Tchicai who builds on repeated phases while employing the higher register of his alto. Shepp enters into like a buzz saw with a machine gun like attack. Ornette Coleman’s “O.C.,” is built upon a swinging jump riff and groove with Shepp first up taking a raspy solo that mixes Ben Webster with Big Jay McNeeley, followed by Cherry who is the most consistently interesting solo on this date. This is followed by the another Coleman composition “When Will the Blues Leave,” that has one of Coleman’s most memorable themes with a jaunty groove that Cherry explores with some of his most melodic playing on this date. Cherry doleful tone opens Shepp’s dirge, “The Funeral,” with the saxophones contributing to the mood and a relatively quiet passage where Moore and Moses are to the fore before some organized chaos at the close. Tchicai’s “Mik,” opens with a riff that evokes Tadd Dameron, with a bluesy solo followed by some bright playing from Cherry over a seemingly meter-less rhythm.
There is some excellent playing with Cherry and Tchicai especially exceptional. Moore and Moses do not strike this listener as organic a rhythm combo compared to say Charlie Haden and Eddie Blackwell (or Billy Higgins) with Ornette, or Henry Grimes or Gary Peacock and Sunny Murray with Albert Ayler. Moses spent time with Roland Kirk, recorded with Eric Dolphy and was a house drummer at Jazzhus Montmartre playing with such as Dexter Gordon and Ben Webster in a vein that shows his strengths better. Still, that is a minor issue as listeners should be pleased to have this readily available again.
For FTC purposes the review copy was provided by Delmark Records.
Trumpeter, slide-trumpeter, arranger and composer, Steven Bernstein, is most famous for his band Sex Mob, with the Millennial Territory Orchestra being another of his musical aggregations. Its a spirited big little band with nine members (Doug Wamble guests on guitar and banjo on two tracks), which mixes a variety of influences, hot swing, New Orleans brass with some modernistic tinges. Their new recording, “We Are MTO” (MOWO), displays the fascinating mix of old and new sounds.
The disc opens with the dirge-like, swampy rhythm of the title track with the violin of Charles Burnham’s violin setting the mood before the trio of reeds state the melody that hints at “Stormy Weather followed by the exuberance of “in the Corner,” a slightly surreal take of a Charleston styled number with Clark Gayton’s tailgating trombone soloing over the riffing reeds. An old Floyd Tillman & Jimmie Davis country song “It Makes No Difference” (recorded by Ernest Tubb, Ray Charles and others) is given a blues-tinged reworking with Matt Munisteri’s single note guitar runs with Gayton’s trombone providing the bass bottom while Burnham’s violin provides a running musical commentary with a New Orleans brass tinge added. It is followed by a similarly original reinvention of the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love,” which opens with Burnham’s violin before the Doug Wieselman states the melody on his clarinet with Bernstein’s imaginative orchestration of the other horns and Burnham’s violin in the back ground (and the brass providing a further contrast in musical colors). MTO opens Don Redman’s “Paducah,” with some free-jazz sounding riffing before Wieselman takes center-stage against moaning horns followed by Bernstein’s open trumpet backed against more stately horn riffs, before bassist Ben Allison takes a bass solo where he walks the bass with some slapping of the bass mixed in. The two guitars of Munisteri and Doug Wamble, and the slightly frantic tempo, give Dickie’s Dream,” a distinctive and rollicking flavor, with perhaps the highpoint being Erik Lawrence’s baritone sax solo. The two guitarists share a vocal duet on Fats Waller’s “Viper Song,” with its lazy tempo as Bernstein’s imaginative arrangements again add spice behind the vocals and solos as different instrumentalists come in to provide the main accompaniment behind the vocals. The final number is Preston Jackson’s “It’s Tight Jim,” again having varying tempos and contrasting musical settings with the accompaniments, ending this kaleidoscope of sounds on an a mesmerizing note.
The drummer, best known for his time playing with John Coltrane passed away this past Wednesday, August 12, of a heart attack at the age of 76 according to the NY Times obituary which ran on Friday the 14th.
Here is the review I did of the Rashied Ali Quintet, Judgment Day Volume 2 on Survical records for the September 2008 (issue 308) Jazz & Blues Report.
"Its been four decades since Rashied Ali was a part of John Coltrane's band after having spent time working with the likes of Archie Shepp, Don Cherry and Albert Ayler. He was added for Trane's experiments with a two-drummer format and was with Trane for his final performances and recording.
Four decades later, this Philadelphia native still goes strong, leading a quintet of trumpeter Jumaane Smith; tenor saxophonist Lawrence Clark; pianist Greg Murphy; and bassist Joris Teepe who are heard on this latest release on Ali's Survival records label. While Ali is known for his work as a free drummer, much of this is quite inside, akin to the hot freebop sounds of classic sixties and seventies pioneered by Blue Note and carried forward by the bands of Louis Hayes and Woody Shaw as well as Roy Haynes Hip Ensemble. This is evident on pianist Murphy's opening Skane's Refrain. Saxophonist Clark displays a Coltrane influence on the nice rendition of Billy Strayhorn's Lush Life and James Ulmer's Thing For Joe, with the playing of the whole band being freer and high energy.
Clark's own original, Judgment Day, is another energetic Blue Note style freebop burner with strong tenor, hot trumpet from Smith who takes things into the stratosphere, Tyner-ish piano from Murphy and a bass tour de force from Teepe before Ali takes the spotlight. Ali is terrific throughout, pushing the groove but staying in the pocket. Flight #643, [co-]written by Teepe, has a funky blues flavor, while Smith's trumpet sets the tone with his solo for a strong rendition of Monk's Round Midnight. Judgment Day Volume 2 is an impressive achievement and one suspects Volume 1 might be just as compelling."
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