Gregory Lewis Organ Monk, The Breathe Suite Self-produced
The remarkable organist Gregory Lewis's latest album represents an attempt to pay homage to the victims of police violence in the US, several of which are named in the various parts of the work. The title is a reference to the cries of "I Can't Breathe" that Eric Garner was heard saying several times while in the chokehold that ended his life. He is supported here by an impressive cast of musicians including drummers Nasheet Waits and Jeremy 'BEAN' Clemons; guitarists Marc Ribot and Ron Jackson; tenor saxophonist Reggie Woods and trumpeter Riley Mullins.
Lewis is of course one of today's most striking Hammond B-3 players, and this release also illustrates how original a composer he is. The album opens with "The Chronicles of Michael Brown," the victim of a police shooting outside St. Louis. It opens with Lewis' sober atmospheric introduction with Ribot adding some acidic guitar as the horns join in the opening statement with Waits' drumming adding to the suspended tempo of the opening before Woods, Mullins, and Ribot explode with their solos. The second part of the suite, "Trayvon" (for Trayvon Martin) is a brisk, bluesy trio with trio Jackson and Clemons, followed by "Aiyana Jones Song" (Jones being a seven-year old killed during a police raid of a residence), a reflective performance by this trio with some stunning straight-ahead guitar along with Lewis' marvelous, at times bouncy playing here more in the vein of a Larry Young than Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff. The quintet with Waits, Ribot, Woods and Mullins returns for the atmospheric "Eric Garner," that slowly builds intensity with Wait's standing out.
The final two parts of the suite are "Ausar And The Race Soldiers" and "Ausar And The Race Soldiers Reprise." The title here likely refers to the Ausar Auset Society, a Pan-African religious organization. The first part is a spirited quintet performance with Clemons, Jackson, Woods and Mullins, all of whom are on fire here. The Reprise is a driving trio performance by Lewis with the two drummers where Lewis's virtuosity and his improvisatory imagination is at the fore here. They conclude a recording full of exceptional music that is a worthy homage to the tragic events that inspired Lewis here.
I received my review copy from a publicist. In the video below, Gregory Lewis discusses how he became Organ Monk.
The compositions range from an Indonesian folk song to Louis Armstrong’s theme song and indicate the range of musical flavors heard here. The opening Gambang Suling is the Indonesian folk song referred to with just the trio as Etkin displays his mastery of the bass clarinet's full range from the deep woody low reaches to saxophone like horn lines as the rhythm duo of Allison and Waits provide the groove and complement Etkin’s serpentine playing that sugests a klezmer clarinet. Taxi Dance has an African flair with Loueke’s guitar contributing with his chords and single run accents while Fowlkes adds color behind the leader’s clarinet. Loueke also solos with his mix of distorted staccato runs and rhythmic accenting before the three take off with some collective improvisation. The lovely Israeli song Shirim Ad Kan has lovely clarinet and a brief bass interlude from Allison.
African flavor characterizes the joyous, Gratitude, with the quintet that opens with Etkin's’s woody tone punctuated with squeaks while Loueke adds some prickly guitar and a vocal as the ensemble gets into an energetic groove. Takeda (Homesick Blues) has a more subued feel with Etkin’s clarinet (with Fowlkes’ trombone’s embellishments) casting a melancholic flavor on a composition based on a traditional Japanese song.
Tony’s Dance with its unusual structure is a performance in the spirit of some of Eric Dolphy, while Guangzhou Taxi is a fascinating performance with changes in tempo and temperature of the performance as Loueke sets off some fireworks during his solo. Louis Armstrong was Etkin’s first inspiration and a rendition of When it’s Sleepy Time Down South is full of lyricism It is a marvelous performance that concludes a superb recording.
I received my review copy from a publicist. His website is www.oranetkin.com. Here is a video of Gambang Suling.
This writer missed Introducing Triveni, trumpeter Avishai Cohen’s first trio album with bassist Omer Avital and drummer Nasheet Waits. Anzic Records has issued Triveni II, recorded at the same two-day session in Brooklyn that produced the earlier album. Triveni is a Sanskrit word for “the meeting point of three sacred rivers: two physical rivers the Ganges and Yamuna, and the invisible Saraswati River,” which parallels the meeting of the three musicians. Like the earlier CD, this was recorded in one room, without separation, or without headphones that allowed the three to interact in a more natural fashion. The music consists of originals by Cohen with interpretations of tunes by Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Don Cherry and Ornette Coleman. Cohen is hot right from the start on his Safety Land, with some fiery playing and both Avital and Waits solo in the middle of the performance. He exhibits his wonderful ballad approach on Nov. 30, which is dedicated to his mother. Cohen mixes his bright tone and fiery passages with smears and judicious use of mutes. While on Nov. 30, his playing is in the vein of Miles Davis, on the rendition of Willow Weep For Me, and his original Get Blue, he plays in a bluesy gutbucket fashion that evokes Bubba Miley and Cootie Williams. There are two marvelous interpretations of Ornette Coleman compositions, the lively Music News and the swinging Follow the Sound. One of these tunes was not previously recorded and Coleman taught it to Cohen in Cohen’s apartment. Other tunes here come from the pens of Charles Mingus and Don Cherry (the closing Art Deco which is an alternate take of a performance on the earlier disc). Cohen’s brilliant playing is so well supported throughout and the interplay between him, Avital and Waits stands out as much as their individual contributions, resulting in the imaginative and terrific playing that make Triveni II the superlative recording and one of the finest recent recordings I have heard. I received a review copy from a publicist. Here is Avishai Cohen and Triveni at WBGO-FM.
I highlighted the upcoming DC Jazz Festival back in late April. Well the Festival starts in two weeks from today. One of the events associated with the Festival is the DC Jazz Loft Series that is being produced by the website Capital Bop, one of the DC area’s prime sources for what is happening jazz wise. Additionally they produce regular jazz loft shows highly upcoming performers and performers who have their own highly original approach to America’s musical art form.
To quote Luke Stewart and Giovanni Russonello, “We run CapitalBop.com, a website dedicated to promoting the city’s jazz scene by providing full-press coverage and by putting on concerts. … Since December 2010, we’ve been organizing D.C. Jazz Loft shows to spotlight this city’s vast and varied jazz talent in low-frills, exciting settings.” With respect to the DC Jazz Loft series, “[W]e’re proud to announce our return to the DC Jazz Festival for the second annual D.C. Jazz Loft Series. At three exciting shows next month, we’ll be presenting a tenacious argument for the relevance and power of contemporary jazz, and we'll be doing it at engaging, community-oriented venues." The shows at this year’s Jazz Loft series are:
June 1 // Todd Marcus Jazz Ensemble with D.C.'s Christie Dashiell Quartet, live at the Dunes. Baltimore’s Todd Marcus is among the few who specialize in the bass clarinet and is scheduled to lead his nine-piece ensemble headlining this show. Capital Bop notes that he leads a nine piece ensemble. “Thankfully, both Marcus’s oddball instrumentalism and his offbeat ensemble are astonishingly strong, modern and infectious. Few people improvise with more fervor or write music better than he does.” Opening will be vocalist Christie Dashiell featuring the former member of Howard University’s famed acapella group Afro-Blue. she’ll she’ll lead her own quartet through a blend of original compositions, and covers of jazz and pop songs.
June 2 // Tarbaby (Orrin Evans, Nasheet Waits and Eric Revis) with D.C.'s Kris Funn & Corner Store, live at the Fridge. Tarbaby is a jazz supergroup on a mission. Featuring pianist Orrin Evans (leader of the acclaimed Captain Black Big Band), bassist Eric Revis (a longtime collaborator with Branford Marsalis and a strong bandleader) and drummer Nasheet Waits (who performs with Jason Moran, among other greats), this band is uncompromisingly experimental and unabashedly outspoken. Opening will be bassist Kris Funn & Corner Store. Funn is currently a member of Christian Scott’s touring band, Corner Store, also features drummer Quincy Phillips of the Roy Hargrove Quintet. The band debuted at a jam-packed D.C. Jazz Loft where they “burned the house down, with Funn’s blues-battered bass lines, rocking originals, and dramatically danceable revisions of John Coltrane and Sam Cooke tunes taking center stage.”
June 9 // Jazz Loft MegaFest, feat. Marc Cary's Cosmic Indigenous with Lenny Robinson's Mad Curious and Elijah Jamal Balbed/Tarus Mateen/Lee Pearson II, live at the loft at 629 New York Ave. NW. “The series will culminate in a daylong Jazz Loft MegaFest on Sat., June 9. This won’t be any old concert: From 3 p.m. till 2 a.m., you’ll be immersed in a marketplace of improvised sound, visual art, quality food, drinks and creativity. We’re converting a gorgeous loft space on New York Avenue ( into a pop-up shop, music venue, art gallery, movie theater, and – with assistance from the foodies at the Taste of DC – an eatery and bar, catered by some of the top restaurants in the District.
With respect to Mark Cary, “His latest project, Cosmic Indigenous, throws everything into a pot and turns up the heat to a boil. The quintet is devastatingly danceable, which distracts you from how much creativity is happening onstage: Cary plays keyboard and laptop music, Malian singer and dancer Awa Sangho croons and yowls, two percussionists interweave (Sameer Gupta on tabla and drums, and Daniel Moreno on Latin percussion) and trumpeter Igmar Thomas brings a punchy rhythmic sensitivity to his melodic improvisations.”
Drummer Lenny Robinson is a DC fixture who plays with precision and grace, even at the swiftest tempos – but he’s also attuned to the malleability of a cymbal, or a snare drum. In his trio, Mad Curious, Robinson is joined by two of the greatest musicians in D.C. jazz, saxophone searcher Brian Settles and star bassist Tarus Mateen.
Tenor saxophonist Elijah Jamal Balbed is a young gun who plays every note like he’s got something crucial to prove. He swings hard, and calls up the memory of his forebears in the music such as John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon and Sonny Rollins. He will be accompanied by two veterans of the DC scene, bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Lee Pearson II.
Capital Bop is also engaged in a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to help produce this series. As I type this they still need to raise approximately 40% of their $4000 goal. I am one of those who are financially supporting this Kickstarter campaign and I encourage my fellow jazz lovers in the Washington DC area to show their support for the DC Jazz Loft Series, part of this year’s DC Jazz Festival. The Campaign is scheduled to end on May 31 at 11:00PM. Here is the link to the Kickstarter campaign, http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/capitalbop/capitalbops-dc-jazz-loft-series-at-the-2012-dc-jaz.
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