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March 2011
DownBeat Brad Mehldau // Terence Blanchard // Bob Belden // Jazz Camp Guidemarch 2011
MARCH 2011
Volume 78 – Number 3
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4 DOWNBEAT MARCH 2011
MARCH 2011
On the Cover
32
24 Brad Mehldau
Idiom Weaver
By Ted Panken
With the exception of Wynton

Marsalis, it’s difficult to think of
a musician possessing greater
bona fides in the classical and
jazz arenas. From his earliest
albums, pianist Mehldau
established his ability to weave
the harmonic language and
feeling of Brahms and Mahler
into the improvisational warp and
woof—swinging or rubato—of
his trio and solo performances.
mark sheldon
Terence Blanchard
Cover photography by Mark Sheldon
Features
32 Terence Blanchard
No Boundaries
By Dave Helland
36 Bob Belden 59 Microscopic Septet 64 Helio Alves 67 Walter Smith III 75 Buddy Guy
Spanish Key
By John Ephland
Departments
44 Charles Mingus
Changed Man?

By Mike Hennessey // May 13, 1971 8 First Take 20 Players 104 Transcription
Kenny Werner
10 Chords & Rondi Charleston 106 Toolshed
48 Indie Life Discords David S. Ware 110 Jazz On Campus
Andy Farber
13 The Beat 114 Blindfold Test
77 Summertime Swingin’ 53 Reviews Roberta Gambarini
DownBeat’s International 16 Vinyl Freak
102 Master Class
Jazz Camp Guide 18 Caught Billy Martin

First Take | By frank alkyer
Billy Taylor, Elegant Advocate

D
r. Billy Taylor’s passing on Dec. 28 at age 89 leaves huge shoes to
fill in the battle to spread the word about great art, like jazz.
Never before had an indi-
vidual so quietly and calmly done
so much to take jazz to the mass-
es—even when not playing a note.
That’s not to say Dr. Taylor
wasn’t a great musician. As a pianist
and composer, he displayed artistry,
taste and class. Remember, he got
his start playing for Ben Webster on
52nd Street and became the house
pianist for Birdland playing behind
the likes of Charlie Parker, Dizzy
Gillespie and Miles Davis.
But history will show that his
contributions as a jazz ambassador
will well overshadow his contribu-
tions as a jazz musician. All of us Billy Taylor with his DownBeat
Brian McMillen
who work in—or simply enjoy— Lifetime Achievement Award
jazz owe him a debt of gratitude for sary celebration in 1984.
at Jazzmobile’s 20th anniver-
his dedication to the cause.

For starters, there’s Jazzmobile, the not-for-profit organization Dr.
Taylor founded in the 1960s to take jazz performances on a mobile stage
into New York neighborhoods that might otherwise never see live music.
The organization is still going strong and deserves our attention and sup-
port with its mission to “present, preserve, promote and propagate Jazz,
America’s classical music.”
Then, there’s Billy Taylor, the broadcaster, who began programming
jazz shows for radio in New York and created award-winning shows for
National Public Radio. He became the arts correspondent for television’s
“CBS Sunday Morning” in the 1980s and for the next two decades profiled
more than 250 jazz musicians in what he considered to be one of his great-
est contributions to this music.
And finally, there’s Dr. Taylor the jazz advocate and lobbyist. Because
of his eloquence and his passion to have the music recognized as a cul-
tural touchstone, Dr. Taylor served on many boards, such as the National
Council of the Arts, and even took on a few powerful politicians.
Dr. Taylor was an outspoken proponent for not just jazz, but all of the
arts. My first encounter with him was also my first year at DownBeat in
1990. At that time, Sen. Jesse Helms was attempting to disband the National
Endowment for the Arts over grants for art that the ultra-conservative sena-
tor from North Carolina considered to be blasphemous or obscene.
Dr. Taylor was, well, angry and wanted to get the word out to stop
Helms in his tracks. He called the office, and we talked for a few min-
utes. For the next 20 minutes, he spoke factually, forcefully and beautiful-
ly. I copied down his words, and printed them just as they came out of his
mouth: “Sen. Helms has chosen to focus on 20 grants—that’s 20 grants out
of 80,000—in his efforts to cast doubt on everything the Endowment has
accomplished. The Endowment is fighting for its life, unnecessarily. It has
a tremendous record and has served the country well on one of the smallest
budgets in the Federal government. In the jazz world, I can attest that first-
hand that for every dollar the government gives, at least five more are gen-
erated.” He ended with a call to action for arts lovers to take five minutes
and contact their legislators.
His words helped save the NEA, but shockingly such battles continue.
Billy Taylor was an elegant fighter. In his memory, we all need to put on
those velvet gloves and soldier on. That would be the most fitting of tributes
to jazz’s greatest advocate. DB

Chords & Discords 
Bright Female Future but I certainly would share any of your features
The Sidewomen of Soul feature (January) was a with him either. Why limit your already limited
marvelous read. I recently had the opportunity audience? Maybe DownBeat has passed
to see Tia Fuller and her group perform live me by. I will certainly re-evaluate when my
at a holiday series for the monthly Richmond, current subscription comes up for renewal.
Va., Jazz Society Guest Educators series. Todd Bolton
Her performance captured the essence of the Smithsburg, Md.
bebop tradition while calling upon images of the

avant-garde and the blues and gospel traditions I read that Kevin McIntosh takes issue with some
of soul. In particular, her female bandmates— of the language used in an interview of Paul
pianist Shamie Royston and long time bassist Motian by Ken Micallef. In particular, McIntosh
Mimi Jones—showcased why they are all artists is upset at the use of the f-word, and the s- and
deserving higher recognition. If their creativ- b.s.-words in the interview. After reading his
ity and poise is an example of what the future letter, I went back and reread the interview, and
beholds for the ladies of jazz (or just jazz in I did notice that those words in a few variations
general), then the future will be excitingly bright! were indeed used. However, the words were
Darrl Davenport part of a direct quote from Motian, and were not
Richmond, Va. the language used by Micallef. While I’m not
condoning the use of foul language, Micallef
Top Jamal was simply doing his job. Censoring any part
Regarding the review of Ahmad Jamal’s of a direct quote makes it not a direct quote.
1956–’62 Argo recordings (“Reviews,” Janu- And, if the offensive words were bleeped out,
ary): Mosaic should have released the entire it would actually draw more attention to them.
Live At The Spotlite Club ’58, it’s his best. My suggestion to McIntosh is this: Don’t kill the
Dennis Hendley messenger. In this case, Paul Motian is the one
Milwaukee, Wis. responsible for the language, not DownBeat.
Moe Denham
Blue Words and Blue Notes Burns, Tenn.
I must agree with Kevin McIntosh’s letter urg-

ing DownBeat to lose the cursing (“Chords & Correction
Discords,” January). I’m sick of the profanity- The mention of the Jazz Journalists Associ-
laced features in Downbeat. I too am a longtime ation’s video training program in the January
subscriber. I have an 85-year-old mother who issue should have listed the organization’s
loves jazz, and I often wish I could share some website as jjanews.org.
of the DownBeat articles about the music she DownBeat regrets the error.
loves. But she doesn’t like trash talk. I also
have a 10-year-old grandson playing trumpet Have a chord or discord?
and hopefully going into his school jazz band, E-mail us at [email protected].
10 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2011

News & Views From Around The Music World
The
Inside 
14 I Riffs
16 I Vinyl Freak
18 I Caught
20 I Players
New Headhunting
Bill Summers
Funk Experience
Classic ’70s Jazz Fusion Band Returns
To Studio With Surprising Guests
D rummer Mike Clark earned acclaim as a master of funk rhythms af-
ter joining Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters in 1973. But Clark is hard-
ly nostalgic about his four-year tenure with the band. Ask Clark whether he
thought the Headhunters would still exist more than 30 years after the band
regularly backed Hancock, and Clark responds quickly: Absolutely not, he
says. He would have been especially shocked with the group’s new incar-
nation and its planned spring release.
A reunion album (Return Of The Headhunters!) in 1998 notwithstand-
ing, the Headhunters’ new era began after a promoter asked Clark to as-
semble a jazz-funk band in the late 1990s for a national tour. Appearing
under the name Prescription Renewal, the lineup paired young players like
guitarist Charlie Hunter and DJ Logic with original Headhunters bassist
Paul Jackson, organ player Dr. Lonnie Smith and trombonist Fred Wesley.
After percussionist Bill Summers, another original Headhunter, sat in with
Clark, the two revived the Headhunters’ moniker in 2001 while adding
saxophonist Donald Harrison to the lineup.
Recent editions of the Headhunters continue to mix youth and experi-
ence, and have toured internationally. The band embarked on a series of
dates in November at pop-oriented venues, where it performed on bills
that also featured the Mumbles, a keyboard duo from London. The current
mark sheldon
group includes rapper Private Pile, and increasingly spotlights new mate-
rial. It resurrects 1970s tunes like “Watermelon Man” and “Sly,” but only
by request. “You should have heard the first track we had—immediately, it was all
“I don’t mind playing these tunes,” Clark said, “but we put the focus on three [taboos] pulled into one or two sentences,” said Hall, who founded
what we’re doing now. Nobody’s even thinking about the old days, [and] Owl Studios in 2005 in Indianapolis. “We’re working around that. It’s kind
nobody’s reflecting back on what we did with Herbie. This is a different of a business part of it that you can’t have radio play if you’re going to be
group of musicians, except for Bill and me.” using the f-word, the n-word or all those other things.”
The Headhunters will release their most ambitious album since the Profane or not, bassist Richie Goods said the band attracts a growing
1970s in May. Platinum (Owl Studios) will include rapper Snoop Dogg, number of the young people largely absent from straightahead gigs. “Even
funk legend George Clinton and original Headhunter saxophonist Bennie if we didn’t have the rapper there’s a whole younger audience that’s into
Maupin. what we do,” said Goods, the Headhunters’ bassist since 2007. “But that’s
Al Hall, the album’s executive producer, was reluctant to incorporate the direction they want to move. Everyone’s writing a lot of music, and they
rap, but relented after establishing guidelines. “I said let’s go ahead and do recorded some new music, and they want almost like a new face for the
it, but with three rules: no racial stuff; no heavy cursing; and no demoniz- Headhunters. I don’t think they ever want to take those vintage songs out of
ing women. And so [Clark and Summers] looked at each other and said, their repertoire, but they want to start building a new repertoire that’s just
‘We don’t have anything to do,’” Hall said, laughing. as strong as the old repertoire.” —Eric Fine
MARCH 2011 DOWNBEAT 13

Riffs  iTunes Makes Ellis Marsalis
Room For Jazz

Lawrence “Butch” Morris
Albums
The iTunes format released its first full-
length jazz album, Ellis Marsalis’ An
Open Letter To Thelonious (Nu Jazz
Entertainment), on Jan. 4. Since the format
was launched in September 2009, its 30 al-
bums have focused on pop artists and major
labels, and Nu Jazz president Jerald Miller
said that releasing an album through iTunes
could bring younger fans into the music.
“I don’t think you have to educate an au-
dience as much as present a compelling
package,” Miller said. “More than in the
’70s–’90s, people appreciate different types
Jazz Docs: A new documentary about
of music across different genres. It’s a com-
composer/conductor Lawrence “Butch”
Morris, Black February, has been completed
pelling package for people who want to
and will tour festivals across North America learn more about good music. It can appeal
and Europe this year. Another documentary not only to jazz fans.” University of New Orleans, and the pianist/edu-
that focuses on New Orleans musicians, Along with the album’s music (11 album cator’s son, Jason Marsalis, helped convince him
Tradition Is A Temple, is in production. tracks and three bonus performances on cer- that he should try out iTunes. Both Marsalises
Participants include drummer Shannon tain editions), An Open Letter also includes vid- and Miller felt that Monk’s modern rhythms fit
Powell and saxophonist Ed Petersen. eo conversations and excerpts from Robin D.G. in with contemporary technology, and the father
Details: blackfeb.com; traditionisatemple.com Kelley’s biography Thelonious Monk: The Life is looking forward to the format developing.
And Times Of An American Original. “In the early 20th century, people got around
Chicago Jazz Parks: The Jazz Institute “We don’t have major label money and went on a horse and buggy, by the time it was over,
of Chicago has begun its 2011 JazzCity all out in developing different packages price- we were getting around on rocket ships,” Ellis
series which brings jazz performances to wise to fit you in any way you want to go,” Miller Marsalis said. “With Monk’s music and Bach’s
different neighborhood park facilities. said. “I had a blank chalkboard. On an iTunes LP, music, it doesn’t matter what you play it on, the
Upcoming concerts include Bebop if we conceive it, we can include it.” music remains fundamentally the same.”
Brass at LaFollette Park on March 11, Miller had been Ellis Marsalis’ student at the —Aaron Cohen
Guy Kings’ Little Big Band at Kilbourn
Park on April 8 and Young Jazz Lions
at Gage Park on May 13.
Details: jazzinchicago.org
Jazzers Dig Into Esperanza Spalding
Hubbard Live: An early ’80s recording Disney Repertoire

of Freddie Hubbard at San Francisco’s
Keystone Korner, Pinnacle (Resonance), Walt Disney Records’ Disney Pearl imprint has
will be released on March 8. released Disney Jazz Volume 1: Everybody
Details: resonancerecords.org Wants To Be A Cat. The CD’s 13 tracks include
Disney classics as well as more contemporary
Stax Trustee: Al Bell, chair of the Memphis Disney hits, executed in a range of styles from
Music Foundation and former president of straightahead to experimental.
Stax Records, has been given a Recording Recorded last year and produced by Jason
Academy Trustees Award. Olaine, Everybody Wants To Be A Cat fea-
Details: soulsvilleusa.com tures performances by numerous jazz artists
who are active today, including Dave Brubeck,
RIP, Jack Tracy, Charles Fambrough: Joshua Redman, Roy Hargrove, Dianne Reeves,
Jack Tracy, who edited DownBeat from Roberta Gambarini, the Bad Plus, Mark Rapp,
1953–’58, died of heart failure on Dec. 21 Nikki Yanofsky, Esperanza Spalding, Regina
sandrine lee
at his home in Nooksack, Wash. He was 84. Carter, Gilad Hekselman, Kurt Rosenwinkel and
Tracy was also a producer for Mercury and Alfredo Rodriguez.
Argo, where he worked with Miles Davis, “Once we started with Brubeck, you couldn’t
Thelonious Monk and Sarah Vaughan.
go wrong from there,” Olaine said. “Once he got made it onto the Hit Parade, interpreted by such
Bassist Charles Fambrough died of a heart
onboard, I think everybody else was inspired by bandleaders as Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller and
attack at his home in Allentown, Pa., on Jan.
the source material. Hopefully it will inspire oth- Bunny Berigan. By the end of the ’60s, jazz art-
1. He was 60. Fambrough was a member
of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and also
ers to delve into the Disney songbook as well.” ists of all stripes had embraced Disney show
worked alongside McCoy Tyner and Historically, Disney tunes have proved to be tunes, prime examples being Brubeck’s album
Wynton Marsalis. The bassist released inspiring fodder for jazz musicians. In the decade Dave Digs Disney, Louis Armstrong’s Disney
seven recordings as a leader, including following Disney’s first forays into creating new Songs The Satchmo Way and Miles Davis’ and
The Proper Angle in 1991 and Live At music (1929–’39), songs from the studio’s Silly John Coltrane’s takes on “Someday My Prince
Zanzibar Blue in 2002. Symphony series and full-length films like Snow Will Come” and “Chim Chim Cheree.”
White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio —Ed Enright

Artvark
Vinyl Freak | By john corbett
Eddie Shu/Joe Roland/Wild Bill Davis

New Stars–New Sounds
Mercer Records, 1950
marcel van den broek

Sometimes all it takes is a
font. I recognized the sans
serif design on this 10-inch
as being early Prestige,
but looking a bit closer
found little evidence of the New Dutch
better-known label, just the
intriguing Mercer appella-
Conference
tion, which was at the time Showcases Talent for
unknown to me. The text
layout, the different font
International Market
weights, the absence of
images, even the little “non
breakable—long playing mi-
T he Music Center the Netherlands (MCN)
held the first Dutch Jazz & World Meeting
(DJWM) in Amsterdam during the first week
cro groove,” were all straight of December. About 31 Dutch acts were select-
from the Prestige drawing ed for a three-day whirlwind of performances,
board. The other puzzler seminars and trade schmoozing. Four stages
was the presence of the of the Melkweg (“Milky Way”), a multi-tiered
New Stars–New Sounds ti- venue in the theater district of Amsterdam,
tle, which I remembered also teemed with musicians Dec. 1–3, and guests
being a Prestige special- included promoters from across the United
ity. There was a Lee Konitz/ States.
Stan Getz 10-inch called New Sounds, and What They Used To Be,” Davis is joined by The objective of bringing dozens of inter-
a Lars Gullin one called New Sounds From Duke Ellington (who was two-timing Colum- national producers, club and festival bookers
Sweden, a Leo Parker one titled New Sounds bia Records in the process), and together their to Amsterdam was to provide local musicians
In Modern Music, and a Sam Most record interplay is perfectly in sync. Davis is still wed with opportunities to be heard beyond Holland,
called Introducing A New Star: all Prestiges to a prehistoric sense of what the organ can in addition to underscoring the MCN’s pride in
from the early ’50s. Then again, there was a do, but it’s a great swing side nonetheless. local scenes. DJWM is also the first time that
New Faces–New Sounds series on Blue Note, The final three tracks are the hottest draw for
globalist acts like the Moroccan funk band
so it wasn’t by any means a patented idea. me on this platter. Vibraphonist Joe Roland,
Maghreb Mania and the East European-cum-
On further investigation, it turns out that who plays with the Shu band, leads a group
Middle Eastern quartet Arifa have been com-
Mercer was the label run by Mercer Ellington billed as “his vibes and his boppin’ strings.”
bined with groups like the freewheeling im-
and Leonard Feather, with financial support Truth in advertising, amigo. Starting with the
from Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. A Miles Davis classic “Half-Nelson,” Roland and
provisational foursome Ambush Party. Other
short-lived project, the label ran from 1950 to a string quartet (plus Joe Puma on guitar and participants included the bands Knalport and
1952, and it was relatively unsuccessful, fall- Harold Granowsky on drums) run through the Artvark.
ing in the nether zone between 78 rpm and hairpin turns and tricky changes. It is delight- “The jazz and world scenes in the
33 1/3 rpm formats. Mercer released both, but fully free of any Third Stream pretensions, Netherlands are quite similar in size, though
couldn’t seem to gain traction. In truth, listen- simply instigating the string players to kick up world music is often seen as folklore rather
ing to this strange little compilation of tracks, some dust and have some whip-crackin’ fun. than a higher form of art like jazz,” said Arjen
one could hardly imagine they thought they’d A sly line at the tail of “Dee Dee’s Dance,” a Davidse, who heads up the rock, jazz & world
have a hit on their hands, but it is certainly tune contributed by Denzil Best, ingeniously department at MCN. “More and more, jazz and
an oddball, and a very enjoyable one. Three blends the various instruments’ sonorities world music acts are occupying the same ven-
tracks feature multi-instrumentalist (and part- with a tart twist. ues, festivals and media. Radio 6, a public ra-
time ventriloquist) Eddie Shu, together with a Back to the Prestige conundrum. In fact, dio station, is for both.”
quintet featuring Denzil Best on drums and there was a direct connection: Mercer was By day at DJWM 2010, commerce includ-
Barbara Carroll on piano, the latter sound- distributed by Prestige, and they may well ed a trade mart where 110 musicians and labels
ing very solid. Shu switches between horns, have used the same designers and manufac- set up booths. Panels like “Focus On USA”
playing alto sax, trumpet and clarinet, but the turers. According to Feather, Prestige “invari- (which featured Lincoln Center’s Bill Bragin,
emphasis is clearly on his bebop harmonica ably gave precedence to the selling of its own Seattle-based booking agent Alison Loerke
playing, which is remarkably happening, if product,” hence Mercer’s demise. But not be- and Susanna Von Canon, Instant Composers
also borderline kitsch. fore they introduced these hot new stars and Pool’s director), provided tips on pursuing the
Wielding his “real gone organ,” Wild Bill bracing new sounds. DB
hard-to-crack American market.
Davis contributes two tracks, both sporting “In essence, the Netherlands is a small
Papa Jo Jones on drums. On “Things Ain’t
country,” Davidse said. “For professional mu-
Email the vinyl freak: [email protected]
sicians, it is of vital importance that their work

More than 60 years separate the first jazz recording in 1917 and the introduction of the CD in the early ’80s. In this column, DB's territory is bigger than only the few clubs and
Vinyl Freak unearths some of the musical gems made during this time that have yet to be reissued on CD.
festivals in the Netherlands.”
—K. Leander Williams

Delfeayo Marsalis Reimagines Delfeayo Marsalis
Ellington–Shakespeare Meeting
D elfeayo Marsalis has always been drawn to
storytelling. His debut release as a leader,
Pontius Pilate’s Decision, was built on a Biblical
es. Marsalis took on the daunting task of edit-
ing the scoring down to eight instruments from
its original 15. He also expanded the piece by 30
tale, and the trombonist has written kid-friend- minutes and altered how key instruments func-
ly musicals for New Orleans’ Uptown Music tion within the ensemble. A hallmark of Such
Theatre for the past 10 years. This narrative ped- Sweet Thunder is the beefy Ellington saxophone
igree enhances his recent Sweet Thunder (Duke section; with the reduced band, Marsalis gave
& Shark). the trumpet, which isn’t used during the original
Marsalis’ latest recording is an octet arrange- sonnets, a saxophone role. Amending the score
ment of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s was a challenge, but the sparseness of Ellington’s
big-band tribute to William Shakespeare, Such arrangement invited creativity.
Sweet Thunder. The disc was released last month “There are not a lot of sections in the music
in conjunction with the start of a staged 36-city where the entire orchestra plays at the same time.
production, complete with narration, costumes [Ellington] really uses a few instruments to pro-
and scenery. vide a palette of colors and sounds underneath
As in the original, Marsalis’ reimagining solo instruments,” Marsalis said. “Whenever
pays tribute to William Shakespeare through you’re scaling down, there will be challenges, but
music based on cherished plays, but script writ- we worked it out, and I think most of the impor-
er Charles E. Gerber, a faculty member at The tant notes are covered.”
Harlem School of the Arts, has taken appropri- During the tour, Marsalis will stage a short-
ate bits of Elizabethan prose to sprinkle through- ened production for school children in 21 cit- Birdland. Jazz fits with Shakespeare’s works,
out the concert. Actor Kenneth Brown Jr. plays ies. He said his goal is to break down the notion Marsalis said, because to compose imaginative
Strayhorn to Marsalis’ Ellington. that Shakespeare is “highfalutin territory” and to stories based in reality, the Bard had to improvise.
“You not only have the emotional aspect teach kids that there are things they can enjoy in “You have to imagine something exists and
from the music side,” Marsalis said, “but now both Shakespeare and jazz music. make it exist, and that’s what Shakespeare did,”
also from the dramatic side.” Ellington knew jazz was a perfect match Marsalis said. “He would love the creativity and
Ellington’s original is a compact suite com- with Shakespeare’s plays, even going as far to the spontaneity that’s required in jazz.”
prising musical sonnets and other aural set piec- say Shakespeare would have been a regular at —Jon Ross

Caught 
Alice Coltrane Tribute McCoy Tyner
At UCLA Shapes Its

Own Identity
P oetic justice was served with the Alice
Coltrane Tribute at the University of
California, Los Angeles’ Royce Hall on Dec.
5. Coltrane, who died in 2007, was a longtime
Angeleno with significant ties to the campus.
She recorded her 1976 album Transfiguration
at UCLA, and then presented one of the more
memorable Los Angeles jazz concerts of the
past decade at UCLA’s Royce Hall in 2006,
shortly before her death, and two years after her
Translinear Light—her first album in a quarter
century. The unconventional and vaguely mys-
tical jazz musician was, of course, the famed
spouse of John and mother of saxophonist Ravi,
was an avowed Vedanta spiritualist and Ashram
Earl Gibson
director who spent her last decades more in tune
with spiritual work than jazz work.
Given the multiple hats and entities involved Kyp Malone, of TV On The Radio fame, was an be nice to have a wooden leg”).
in Coltrane’s life, she touched many shores be- anchoring and charismatic presence for this trib- Late in the program, McCoy Tyner—that
yond just the jazz scene. At the Royce Hall tribute, but musically, he’s more jammy than jazzy. critical piece of the Coltrane story puzzle—ap-
ute, ally and spiritual protege Radha Botofasina That point was made especially noticeable in a peared for two solo piano pieces, but he passed
led the chanting charge, and Coltrane great- quartet with the more fluently jazz-inclined gui- on Alice’s daughter Michelle Coltrane’s offer to
nephew producer and laptop player Flying Lotus tarist Nels Cline, who has been a starring, veter- sit in on the loose-fit finale of “A Love Supreme.”
(a.k.a. Steve Ellison), a rising electronica star, of- an presence in Los Angeles’ left-end jazz popu- Violinist Michael White, who shared with Alice
fered up an organically beautiful sonic event. lation. Cline later led a large ensemble, including Coltrane certain musical-modal qualities and a
The sound beautifully adorned a short film re- harpist Zeena Parkins (harp being an important stint on Impulse! in the ’70s, accompanied the
counting his visit to India with his great-aunt, part of Coltrane’s musical vocabulary), on the distinctively intriguing singer Leisei Chen. They
whom we also heard sermonizing in her engag- lyrical Haden tune “For Turiya,” dedicated to wove some medley magic, in and out of impres-
ingly sonorous voice. Coltrane. sive impressionistic ventures and a telling snip-
Still, it was somewhat disappointing that this Overall, this evening’s high points came in pet of “Every Time We Say Goodbye.”
tribute didn’t have more actual jazz content in- jazz guises. Daniel Carter, making his L.A. de- Fittingly but also sometimes frustratingly,
volved. It would have been nice to have Ravi but here, was the show’s resident saxophonic the Royce Hall tribute moved in many direc-
Coltrane involved (as he was, and inspiring- force and poet—and those descriptions neatly tions, in and out of jazz, suiting the complexities
ly so, at the 2007 concert) or Angeleno Charlie suit his contributions to the mix. Trustily enter- of this unique musical and spiritual figure. She
Haden, who worked with Alice Coltrane at var- taining Dutch drummer Han Bennink opened never played by the rules or fit neatly into a given
ious points, including on the luminously fine the second set with some of his swinging comic box or identity, and that’s just one facet of fasci-
Translinear Light. relief, playing a single snare, the stage floor and nation surrounding the Alice Coltrane story.
Avowed Alice Coltrane admirer guitarist his own body (joking that “sometimes, it would —Josef Woodard
Jack DeJohnette Jazz Loyalty Rewarded, Education

Emphasized at Xalapa Festival
R ay Drummond seemed genuinely taken
aback by the roar of approval that greeted
him at the Teatro del Estado in Xalapa, Mexico,
third festival visit, trumpeter Jason Palmer’s ev-
ery appearance was greeted by something like
a miniature Beatlemania.
which emanated from a crowd that not only filled Drummond played the avuncular host
the theater’s seats but crowded the aisles on ei- throughout his trio performance, where pianist
ther side. Such enthusiasm would turn out to and festival director Edgar Dorantes and drum-
be the norm over the seven days of the third mer John Ramsay joined him. The bassist’s play-
Festival Internacional JazzUV, sponsored by ing was erudite and playful, whether chuckling
the eponymous school, which ran Nov. 8–14. at his own solo on “Yesterdays” or a more garru-
The legendary headliners—McCoy Tyner, Jack lous than usual take on “’Round Midnight.”
eduardo vazquez
DeJohnette—were given heroes’ welcomes, JazzUV is a small jazz school under the um-
while loyalty was especially rewarded: In his brella of the Universidad Veracruzana founded

in 2008 by Dorantes, who this year ceded his pecially prominent, each taking the lead role in
role as artistic director to Francisco Mela. The performances that featured most or all of the
Cuban-born drummer brought several of his others. The surprise throughout the festival was
Berklee cohorts with him, including Ramsay, 18-year-old bassist Emiliano Coronel, JazzUV’s
Palmer, saxophonist Grace Kelly and Daniel Ian director of bass studies. Stunningly confident, he
Smith, who whipped the school’s young big band began one solo with long, resonant tones when
into fighting shape in a remarkably short time. he was interrupted by the ringing of an audience
A shaky “Early Autumn” aside, Smith’s member’s cell phone, the melody of which he
band sounded well-polished on the blazing used as the basis of a series of variations.
opener, Nat Adderley’s “Sweet Emma,” and DeJohnette used similar components
managed to navigate the labyrinthine turns of through lesser-known pieces by Joe Henderson,
Ken Schaphorst’s tricked-out rearrangement of Freddie Hubbard and Ornette Coleman. The
“Stolen Moments.” With a mission of encour- drummer was inspired, constructing an intricate
aging jazz education, the festival was orient- solo on a Dorantes original that was like listen-
ed toward engaging with students. The guests ing to architecture in action. He also gave a mas-
stayed throughout the week, giving master class- ter class that was mostly performance—a tex-
es by day and performing at night. Palmer, Kelly, tured half-hour solo followed by a run through of
Mela, Dorantes and guitarist Nir Felder were es- Hubbard’s “Bird-Like.” —Shaun Brady
Dave Brubeck Revels Dave Brubeck
In 90th Birthday
Celebration
A t the start of the second half of the Dave
Brubeck Quartet concert at the Music
Hall in Tarrytown, N.Y., held on Dec. 3, a few
days before the legendary pianist and compos-
er turned 90, the capacity crowd began sing-
ing “Happy Birthday” as the musicians were
readying on stage. Brubeck, beaming with ap-
preciation, sat at the piano and listened to the
serenade, then decided to add some accom-
paniment with blocks of dramatic chords. As
the chorus ended, though, he signaled to his
kevin mason
bandmates to keep the song going, and alto

saxophonist Bobby Militello took advantage
of the bluesy waltz tempo to frost the confec- firmed in top-notch performances of “Pange
tion with a bold solo that brought forth a big Lingua March” and “Thank You,” two nods to
ovation. Militello then took out a lighter out of his wife, Iola, as well as the ballad “Theme For
his pocket and asked the chuckling Brubeck June,” written by Brubeck’s brother Howard.
to blow out the flame. After Brubeck’s solo— Ultimately, the quartet delivered a take-no-
the pace more swinging as he toyed with the prisoners reading of “Take Five,” complete with
song’s harmonies—the band wrapped up the a ferocious drum solo by Randy Jones, his rim-
informal jam, and when the applause died shots sounding like rifle fire. A birthday cake
down, Brubeck pulled the microphone over was brought out, and then Brubeck’s manag-
and said in a hoarse voice, “That’s a first!” er, Russell Gloyd, sensing enough was enough,
Equal parts of celebration and valediction walked onstage to lead the maestro off. Fully
marked the quartet’s appearance in Tarrytown, enjoying another night out with his bandmates,
which came close on the heels of a three-night however, Brubeck was in no hurry, and after lick-
stay at Manhattan’s Blue Note. The jazz great ing some icing off his sleeve, he acquiesced to a
walked out on stage holding onto bassist Michael shouted request for “Unsquare Dance” that fea-
Moore’s arm for support, but once seated at the tured another tough solo from Militello.
piano showed little effect of recent heart surgery. Another long ovation ended, and out in the
The band warmed up with a Duke Ellington audience a baby cried. Brubeck, starting to get
medley, and Brubeck laughed through Moore’s up from the piano, sat down again and played
entertaining bow solo before driving his cohorts Brahm’s Lullaby, a.k.a “Guten Abend, gute
to a “Take The ‘A’ Train” conclusion. The band Nacht”—a considerate gesture and exquisite
alternated between energetic uptempo numbers finish to a purposeful gathering.
and Brubeck’s serious, more classical side, af- —Thomas Staudter

Players 
Kenny Werner
Voices From The Wind
L ike the old standard “You Don’t Know What Love Is,”
Kenny Werner had to agree when his inner voice would
say that to him.
A self-centered person, by his own admission, it wasn’t
until his daughter Katheryn was born, in 1990, that Werner
finally understood what love truly meant. “I wrote a tune,
‘Uncovered Heart,’ when she was born,” recalls Werner dur-
ing a conversation prior to his performance with Patricia
Barber at Northwestern University’s Pick-Staiger Hall last
November. “Oftentimes the best tune a musician will write is
on the day their child is born, the absolute most heartfelt tune,
and it is often the one people relate to the most.”
Werner reprised “Uncovered Heart,” originally recorded
on Beauty Secrets (BMG 1999), for his 2007 Blue Note debut,
Lawn Chair Society (2007). But this was more than filler for
the CD. In October 2006, Katheryn, aged 16, hit a tree in her
car on the way home from martial arts class and was killed.
Suddenly there was a gaping void. “That first Christmas
was tough,” Werner recalled. “She was born on Dec. 1, and
the whole month was usually a celebration of her. I finally
said, ‘I’ve got to find a melody to express this sadness.’”
A year before, saxophonist Joe Lovano, who has been a
close collaborator with Werner since the two met at Berklee
College of Music in the ’70s, together with Fred Harris, con-
ductor of the MIT Wind Ensemble, helped win a commis-
sion for Werner for a piece in honor of arts patron Bradford
Endicott’s 80th birthday. Werner, juggling composing duties
with touring and performing, had had a hectic summer and
was at last settling down to focus on the commission when his
world changed that fateful day in October.
Buoyed by the strength of meditative practice and his con-
Michael Jackson
nection to spiritual essence, as outlined in his book Effortless
Mastery, Werner sought to channel the cataclysmic tragedy of
Katheryn’s death through music. Luckily the sympathetic folk at MIT ac- however much he claims he needs to learn about orchestration, he knew
cepted his request to reattribute the commission to the only theme he could exactly what he was doing.
deal with, which became a tour de force exploration of the respective suf- “What I am proud of is that the piece moves compositionally so well
ferings and sublimations of life as we know it and the realm beyond. but it doesn’t lose the anguish of the first statement. In other words, I didn’t
No Beginning, No End (Half Note), the recording that ultimately ful- sacrifice the emotions to be a more professional writer,” said Werner, stay-
filled the commission, won a Guggenheim Fellowship, an acknowledg- ing true to the tenets of his inner judge.
ment of the consuming cohesion of Werner’s orchestrations for the project. Though Werner had some experience with strings, he had never
Utilizing Lovano’s tenor voice as Katheryn herself (she knew him as worked with a choir before. However, he said he had no choice but to use
Uncle Joe and Joe’s wife, Judi Silvano, as Auntie Judi), Werner begins the human voice after experiencing a dream that he terms a “visitation”
“Death Is Not The Answer” with musical twitterings suggestive of the from his daughter. “We were in the backyard of my high school and there
mental distractions that may have led to Katheryn’s driving error. An om- were all these little groups of choirs, like piles of leaves,” he recalled. “Then
inous rumble rises from the orchestra culminating in thundering tym- I see my daughter in the middle of one and all of a sudden her mouth gets
pani, splintering into high woodwind sounds preceding an adaptation of wider and wider and she sings, ‘ooOOH!’ And then I woke up.”
Werner’s eponymous poem recited by Silvano. Where “Cry Out” represented the aching dismay of those left behind,
Though Lovano seems to freely improvise around the ensemble or- the choral piece “Visitation: Waves Of Unborn” is Werner’s attempt to sim-
chestrations, Werner composed some complex passages for him. “In all my ulate what a choir would sound like on the other side of existence, if music
music I like a rhythm you can’t exactly count on, so you have to pay more were like the noise of air alone.
attention. Things move in an unusual way and you have to stay connected,” Though Werner has reservations that the effect fell short of what he had
said Werner. “This piece has parts where Joe seems like he’s just floating in mind, the piece shares the heavenly beauty of the aria from Villa-Lobos’
through air, but he lands with the woodwinds and it feels more like nature Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5. You can feel the leaves scatter in that school-
than some unified beat, like a butterfly landed on a leaf, but that wouldn’t yard and the choirs levitate.
happen here unless I scripted it.” “That piece is about the completely transcendent side,” Werner says,
Listening to the gorgeous, if heart-wrenching string quartet perfor- almost as if he has been there. “Death is the learning time between life-
mance of “Cry Out” (the melody of earthbound sorrow that Werner was times. The choir actually envisions the place where they go.”
seeking that turbulent December eventually came to him), it’s clear that —Michael Jackson

Rondi CharlestonTime Traveler
M any vocalists, regardless of genre, think of themselves as storytell-
ers, as someone serving the song through music. But sometimes,
the song’s meaning is obliterated as the vocalist in question leaps through
the gymnastic squalls of technique meant to impress, the equivalent of
a guitarist playing too many notes. Vocalist Randi Charleston is one of
those rare artists for whom a song’s meaning is as important as its melody.
Charleston’s second album, Who Knows Where The Time Goes (Motéma),
couples the American Songbook, choice covers and her original material
with a documentarian’s acuity.
“I respect the traditions of jazz,” Charleston explains, “and try to stay
grounded in those traditions—on this particular album, ‘I Hear Music’ is
a great example of that. But then I also branch out with my originals and
do a lot of storytelling. I seem to mentally catalog every little snapshot.
Ultimately those little snapshots of memories will turn into songs. In this
case, we did four originals; I collaborated with pianist Lynne Arriale. I
would write out snippets of melodies then she would expand on them. I
had the lyrics fully formed by the time I got to Lynne.”
Also joined by Dave Stryker (guitar), James Genus (bass), Clarence
Penn (drums), Brandon McCune (piano) and Mayra Casales (percussion),
Charleston’s personal, thought-provoking original songs slow the heart-
beat and raise the mental senses. In “The Spirit Lingers,” Charleston tells
the story of her great grandmother, a great storyteller herself, who rode
covered wagons across Norway. “Song For The Ages” ponders the lay-
ers of time (as does the entire album). “Land Of Galilee” is particularly
striking. By no means a jazz vehicle, it’s Charleston’s prayer for peace.
“‘Land Of Galilee’ was based on an experience I had with my family
in Israel a couple years ago,” she explains. “All of sudden the skies opened
up and it started to snow. It snows once every 25 years in Jerusalem. We
witnessed this amazing event where people started coming out of their
houses—Christians, Muslims, Jews, young, old. Soon they were laugh-
ing and playing together. I realized in that moment that peace is possi-
ble. Just maybe.”
Charleston doesn’t come by her storytelling abilities by accident. A for-
mer investigative journalist who won Emmy and Peabody Awards while
working (for six years) with Diane Sawyer on ABC’s “Primetime Live,”
she’s also a graduate of Juilliard, where she earned her master’s in voice.
“I do have eclectic tastes in music, and I have this insatiable curiosity
about the world,” Charleston says. “You can apply that to investigative
journalism or to music and songwriting. I try to do both. It’s new and
original and I hope people will go along with me on this ride. The uni-
fying element in all these songs is the storytelling element. Every song
reflects some aspect of our communal experience with time. It’s a docu-
mentary storytelling approach.” —Ken Micallef

Players 
David S. Ware
Deep Statements
S axophonist David S. Ware’s trip to
Chicago early November to perform a
solo set at the 5th Annual Umbrella Music
Festival tested his ability to tour. Indeed, it
was his first concert outside of New York
since his kidney transplant in May 2009.
The transplant itself has not affected his
playing, but he now has difficulty walking
and standing up. Ware blames the anti-re-
jection medication he takes twice a day for
shutting down nerves in his legs and feet.
The performance came in the wake of
the releases of two new albums where his
legendary ferocious playing—Ware is the
quintessential free-jazz player—is tem-
pered by thoughtful and deep statements.
Saturnian and Onecept (both on AUM
Fidelity) indicate that Ware still has a lot
to contribute to the music. The former—
the first in a planned series of solo record-
ings—describes his current state accord-
ing to Vedic astrology, an interest he has
Michael Jackson
been pursuing for about 40 years. “I am
[currently] under the major influence of
Saturn,” said the 61-year-old saxophonist.
“Saturn gives out certain lessons. When you’re Sometime, I like to mess around with the territo-
in a Saturn period, it’s for 19 years. Saturn is the ry he was dealing with—it’s fun. I saw him a lot
slowest moving planet. It is intense because it’s in the ’60s and ’70s. He was one of the corner-
slow. I am in the middle of it. I went through di- stones of jazz saxophone.” The recordings also
alysis, my father died, my mother died, my dogs include nods to Thelonious Monk, a musician
died. If I can make it through the next 10 years, Ware describes as his first favorite piano player.
I’ll be here for a long, long time.” Whether his recent health problems have
“Onecept,” the title of a trio date with bass given him a sense of urgency or not—he believes
player William Parker and percussionist Warren strongly in reincarnation—Ware is moving fast.
Smith, is a word of Ware’s creation but again On his Chicago trip, Ware had only brought his
reflects his spiritual convictions. “Everybody tenor and his new love, a sopranino (P. Mauriat
knows about waking, dreaming and sleeping, 50sx) James Carter brought back from Taiwan
but there is a fourth state, which is enlighten- for him. “I seem to have a natural affinity for
ment,” he continued. “It is a universal witness this horn,” he said. “I don’t have to search. The
to the waking, the dreaming and the sleeping. ideas just come. The sound of the horn brings the
Meditation prepares your mind to be in that ideas. It seems almost effortless.” Ware has been
state, and ‘onecept’ means that all the tunes, all working on it relentlessly since December 2009
the streams, are going towards enlightenment or to get it under control—control is a key element
cosmic consciousness. They are transcending in his musical quest—and has already acquired
time and space. It is like a flower opening up.” an incredibly full and personal tone.
Both albums feature Ware on tenor sax, Recorded a couple of weeks following his
stritch and saxello and are fully improvised, Chicago appearance, his next project will fea-
which signals a new stage in Ware’s musical ture yet another set of fully improvised mu-
journey. sic, this time featuring a quartet comprising pi-
Over the years, Ware’s fierce playing has anist Cooper-Moore, whom he knows since his
drawn comparisons to Albert Ayler, Pharoah Berklee days, bassist Parker, possibly Ware’s clos-
Sanders, or late John Coltrane, but Saturnian and est musical partner, and drummer Muhammad
Onecept equally attest to broader influences. For Ali, whom he met when he first went to Europe
instance, his return to the stritch and the saxello, with Cecil Taylor’s group. “People forget that
which immediately bring to mind Roland Kirk, when we came from Boston to New York, with
is no coincidence. “Roland was certainly an in- Cooper-Moore and [drummer] Marc Edwards,
fluence,” said Ware. “He is the reason why I have we were improvisers, we had no music,” he said.
those two horns. What he did is still in the air. —Alain Drouot

Andy Farber
No Dinosaur
I n Andy Farber’s view, the essence of jazz
modernity has less to do with the raw ma-
terials than the sensibility deployed in mold-
ing them.
“I don’t want to pigeonhole myself, and I’m
no dinosaur,” Farber said, “but I don’t appreci-
ate pressure from people who say, ‘Why are you
playing all this old-fashioned shit? This is 2010.’ I
say, ‘I don’t understand—the stuff you’re playing
sounds like John Coltrane from 1964; that’s 45
years old.’ Modern jazz doesn’t have tunes like
‘Royal Garden Blues,’ which changes key after
the first section and goes into another section.
You don’t always have to be modern harmonical-
ly. Other things can make it sound fresh.”
Ron Schwerin
Farber, 41, embodies this notion on This
Could Be The Start Of Something Big (Black
Warrior), leading a 17-piece band of swing-ori- session.” Around 1990, he assembled a big band
ented New York A-listers—he solos authorita- at the West End Gate in Morningside Heights.
tively on alto, tenor and baritone sax, and flute— “I had dreams of being Oliver Nelson or Benny
through 14 originals and arrangements honed Carter, where you play saxophone and write.”
during a two-year Sunday run at Birdland. A few years later, Berger recommended
Although the originals “Space Suit” and the ana- Farber to Jon Hendricks—who sings two tracks
grammatic “Short Yarn” reveal Farber’s fluency on Something Big—to arrange and rehearse
in the Duke Ellington-Billy Strayhorn language four-horn, four-rhythm charts for a date at the
of the Such Sweet Thunder era, he draws most Blue Note (Boppin’ At The Blue Note) on which
deeply from the well of Ernie Wilkins’ surging Wynton Marsalis subbed the trumpet chair for
charts for the New Testament Basie Band and the Clark Terry for most of the week.
Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra circa 1956–’57. “We were hanging out every day, and got
“Art music, whatever that means, requires an friendly,” Farber said, tracing the events that
attention to detail that isn’t useful for tourists launched his longstanding relationship with Jazz
who aren’t necessarily jazz fans,” Farber said, at Lincoln Center. This most recently manifest-
referencing his Birdland audience. “But none of ed in a five-city August 2010 tour, on which he
this was designed to do anything but satisfy what conducted a 12-piece JALCO unit through the
I felt like writing and listening to.” He converted soundtrack score of the silent film Louis, jux-
from a “five-star meal” to “coconut cream pie” taposing Marsalis compositions and arrange-
a decade ago, after hearing the 1959 LP Here ments that reference early jazz with pianist
Comes The Swingin’ Mr. Wilkins, which includ- Cecile Nicad’s interpretations of Louis Moreau
ed an all-Basie trumpet section. Gottschalk’s piano music.
“The first thing I heard was a blues,” Farber To follow up on Something Big, his third
recalled. “I realized that everybody in the brass leader date, Farber hopes to record either a
section played with vibrato, playing each line, large-scale Gottschalk project or an already-ex-
even up-tempos, like they’re playing a ballad by ecuted instrumental jazz score for the musical
themselves. That kind of expression is lost art.” Oklahoma that gestated when he transcribed
A native of Huntington, Long Island, Farber Wilkins’ arrangement of “Surrey With The
(the son of a one-time professional jazz drum- Fringe On Top.”
mer and nephew of arranger-guitarist Mitchell He describes Gottschalk’s oeuvre as “a pre-
Farber) learned the fundamentals early un- cursor to the ragtime era—demanding classical
der the tutelage of “mainstreamers” like Chris piano music that requires technique and doesn’t
Woods, Budd Johnson and Billy Mitchell. “My require improvisation, with a harmonic sense
father loved Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane— reminiscent of popular song from the 20th cen-
my rebellion came in college, when I got heav- tury. You change little things here and there, and
ily into Ben Webster and Don Byas,” he joked. modify the phrasing, but it’s basically the same
Attending Manhattan School of Music at the end piece that Gottschalk wrote, just like Strayhorn
of the ’80s, he studied with David Berger—then and Ellington’s arrangements of The Peer Gynt
conducting the Ellington-centric early editions Suite or The Nutcracker Suite. That’s the aesthet-
of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra—and de- ic—we’re going to play that music our way.”
veloped his own “heavy Ellington-Strayhorn ob- —Ted Panken

Mark sheldon

Idiom
By Ted Panken
Weaver
Brad Mehldau goes full-throttle
T
he announcement last spring that Brad Mehldau
would be the first jazz musician to occupy the Rich-
ard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair at Carn-
egie Hall for the 2010–’11 season—an honorific he
shares with such luminaries as Pierre Boulez, Elliott
Carter, John Adams and Thomas Adès—drew surprisingly scant
notice from mainstream cultural gatekeepers as a watershed event.

brad mehldau
With the exception of Wynton Marsalis, it’s Brad has managed—and this is not so easy—to self. After all these issues were settled, after Yoo
difficult to think of a musician possessing great- create his very own sound, something fresh and and SPCO had resolved to their satisfaction var-
er bona fides in the classical and jazz arenas. new.” ious nuances of phrasing and vibrato, the quin-
From his earliest albums, Mehldau established There’s no mistaking the Mehldau touch on tet soundchecked with a brisk version of Charlie
his ability to weave the harmonic language and Highway Rider (Nonesuch), his first recorded ex- Parker’s “Ornithology.” Left leg crossed over
feeling of Brahms and Mahler into the impro- ploration of the orchestral implications of his pi- right, leaning into the keyboard, Mehldau tossed
visational warp and woof—swinging or ruba- anism. Recorded last March, it’s a motivically off an intense, ready-for-prime-time solo of sev-
to—of trio and solo performance. He gave his connected, 15-movement suite on which a two- eral choruses, abstracting the refrain, alternating
songs Germanophilic titles (“Young Werther,” drummer edition of Mehldau’s working trio and block chords with hurtling single-note passages.
“Mignon’s Song,” “Angst,” “Sehnsucht”) and de- saxophone soloist Joshua Redman interact with Hit time was 8:30, and Mehldau had a 5
scribed his intentions and thought process in lin- a chamber orchestra consisting of 23 strings, o’clock meeting with pianist-composer Timothy
er notes and essays that refracted a long timeline three french horns, bassoon and oboe, each given Andres at Steinway’s 57th Street premises for a
of German philosophy and literature, producing a separate part on two selections, and function- pre-dinner parsing of the selections from Andres’
as extensive an aesthetic manifesto as ever pro- ing sectionally elsewhere. Both on the orchestral two-piano suite, Shy And Mighty, that the two are
duced by any jazz musician not named Anthony slated to perform at a March 11 Zankel Hall con-
Braxton. His deep grounding in the various tribu- cert that will conclude Mehldau’s composer-in-
taries of post-Bud Powell piano expression came residence obligations. (The third concert, on Feb.
through in the career-launching Introducing 19, presented Mehldau and Von Otter in sup-
Brad Mehldau, which also documented his
“Music travels through port of Love Songs; for the second, on Jan. 26,
knack—he was then 25—for getting to the heart time; often we are Mehldau played solo, per his 2010 Nonesuch re-
of a ballad. By Mehldau’s second recording, The lease Live At Marciac.)
Art Of The Trio, Volume 1, he displayed a nascent travelling through Before leaving, Mehldau took 10 minutes to
comfort zone with 5/4 and 7/4 time signatures, space. So travel sit and talk. He turned 40 last year, and his dark
constructing contrapuntal phrases with a flow- hair contains the barest intimations of gray. He’s
ing, over-the-barline quality. Numerous pianists works well for me as taller and more buff than is evident from a dis-
of his Generation-X peer group paid close atten- tance or in photos, with ropy arm muscles—
tion. They kept listening as Mehldau, after mov- a metaphor for music. accentuated by a tattoo on his left bicep—that
ing to Los Angeles in 1996, increasingly brought I think that’s pretty are a pianist’s equivalent of an embouchure.
contemporary pop songs into his mix, resolving, Unfailingly polite, he reiterated a message con-
as he once wrote, to “bypass the temptation to universal—when you veyed by management the day before: He had
use the collective language of the past.” no time to meet face-to-face before his depar-
Long a devotee of art song, Mehldau upped
begin a piece, you ture for London two days hence, and he’d re-
the ante five years ago with Love Songs feel like you’re in one main in Europe through December with his wife,
(Nonesuch), a pair of fully notated song cycles Fleurine, the Dutch singer, and their three chil-
set to poems by Rainer Maria Rilke and Louise place, and when it dren. A more in-depth conversation would have
Bogan for interpretation by the prominent mez- ends, you have gone to take place by phone and email.
zo soprano Renee Fleming. Fellow diva Anne
Sophie von Otter, already a fan of his trio record-
ings, was impressed, and requested Carnegie Hall
to commission her own project with Mehldau.
somewhere.”
S peaking on New York’s WKCR in 2006,
Mehldau related that when he was “around
22, maybe four years in New York,” he rediscov-
The result is Love Sublime (Naive), comprising ered classical music, which he’d played as a child.
one disc on which von Otter sings five stark, rav- selections and the quintet, quartet, trio and duo “I’d lost enough left-hand facility that I thought I
aged Sara Teasdale lyrics from the ’10s and ’20s pieces that constitute much of Highway Rider’s had more dexterity in my left hand when I was
and a poem apiece by e.e. cummings and Philip second part, Mehldau weaves into his own ar- 12,” he said. Spurred by “a sort of ego or vanity
Larkin, and a second on which she traverses a got a host of dialects—Euro and American thing,” he immersed himself in recordings and
varied menu drawn from a trans-genre cohort streams of classical music, various iterations of scores, and played piano literature that required
of songwriter-composers, among them Jacques post-songbook pop and classic rock, swinging the left hand to be more proactive than typical
Brel, Joni Mitchell, Leo Ferré and Bob Telson. and odd-metered jazz, flamenco and bolero, the jazz comping. These investigations ultimately
Throughout the proceedings, Mehldau, the vir- blues. The piece, which has an imaginary screen- led to the gestation of Highway Rider.
tuoso soloist, embraces the role of accompanist, play quality, is chock-a-block with achingly gor- “I like to read scores like someone else
playing throughout with restraint and dynamic geous songs—seasoned with well-proportioned reads a regular book—in the train, in bed if
nuance. For the poems, he adheres strictly to the dollops of atonality, and threaded together with I’m trying to fall asleep, wherever,” Mehldau
scores, which are at once fresh and idiomatically recurring harmonic and melodic themes—that said. “It’s a great way to get inside a compos-
evocative of the lieder tradition; on the “middle- seem to be begging for a lyric. er’s head; I feel like I’m getting to know the per-
brow” fare, he imparts an old-school saloon pia- Mehldau toured Highway Rider in early son who wrote it, even if he’s been dead for 200
no feel, interpolating graceful comp with solos November, recruiting the St. Paul Chamber years. It’s like he’s telling you everything about
that contain no wasted notes. Orchestra for a three-concert American leg that himself, right there in the room with you. So
“Brad plays beautifully, in the truest, most concluded with a Nov. 9 appearance at Zankel writing for orchestra came on its own time. The
seriously meant sense,” von Otter emailed. Hall, in advance of a fortnight-long, seven-con- inspiration was cumulative. All the events in my
“During one of our early meetings, I described cert European sojourn. During the afternoon life led to that moment.”
my range to him, my strengths and weaknesses, run-through, Mehldau negotiated the mix sec- Later, Mehldau emailed a passage from
what I would encourage and discourage in the tion by section with conductor Scott Yoo and Rilke, first in the original German, then in
vocal lines. We also discussed our tastes in poet- Zankel’s efficient soundman. Occasionally, he translation: “Every-thing is gestation and then
ry. The songs sound American to me—Copland responded to the flow with extemporaneous con- birth. To let every impression and every germ
comes to mind, though not overly so. But they trapuntal responses; at other points, he walked to of feeling complete itself, wholly in itself, in the
also have a strong Mehldau style, meaning that different spots in the auditorium to hear for him- dark, the unsayable, the unconscious, unreach-

brad mehldau
michael jackson
able by one’s own conscious understanding; and that was interesting and maybe I could exploit it. strumental lyricism as striving for a voice-like
then to wait with deep humility and patience Then I began to consciously stay with that mo- quality. In 2006, he addressed the way these
for the hour of deliverance, when a new clarity tif. But the order of the pieces, and more impor- concerns play out in his musical production, re-
comes: This alone is the artist’s life: in compre- tantly, what I think of as the narrative ‘arc’ wasn’t sponding to a question on his Germanophilia.
hension as well as in creation.” there yet—it took another year.” “I was trying to bridge the gap between ev-
“Highway Rider is the largest scale thing I’ve Said narrative arc pertains explicitly to trav- erything I loved musically, from Brahms in 1865
done,” Mehldau declared. “I don’t mean just the el—the notion of a journey, a life cycle. Since the to Wynton Kelly in 1958,” Mehldau said. “I was
amount of musicians; I mean the aspiration to 2000 trio recording Places, the road has been an very concerned then with creating an identity
have formal continuity throughout an extended, ongoing trope in Mehldau’s work. that would somehow mesh together this more
multifaceted piece. The process in which I wrote “Music travels through time; often we are European, particularly Germanic Romantic 19th
it might be something like writing a novel, in the traveling through space,” he said. “So trav- Century sensibility (in some ways) with jazz,
sense that when you start to write, you are not el works well for me as a metaphor for music. I which is a more American, 20th century thing
starting at the beginning, and as you go along, think that’s pretty universal—when you begin a (in some ways). One connection that still re-
you don’t know where it’s leading. You have to piece, you feel like you’re in one place, and when mains between them is the song—the art songs
pay attention, and not overextend yourself by it ends, you have gone somewhere. Or perhaps, of Schubert or Schumann, these miniature, per-
adding too much material—you achieve continu- like in a few things I’ve done already, Highway fect 3- or 4-minute creations. To me, there is a
ity by vigorously sticking with one central idea. Rider included, you’ve traveled back to where real corollary between them and a great jazz per-
What happens, then, is super cool: At a certain you started, and maybe you’ve had some kind formance that can tell a story—Lester Young or
point in writing—maybe about one third of the of gnosis: You’re where you were, but you’ve Billie Holiday telling a story in a beautiful song.
way—the theme starts to take over. It starts to gained something. Music always expresses it- Also pop. Really nice Beatles tunes. All those
dictate what you’re writing, and, in spooky ways, self through the dialectic of a fixed identity and song-oriented things are miniature, and inhabit a
large-scale connections between the various difference: As a piece develops, some part of its small portion of your life. You don’t have to com-
parts of the whole start connecting to each other, identity is constant, but there is also constant mit an hour-and-a-half to get through it. But re-
without your effort, by their own accord. I wrote change. Likewise, in a journey, there is always ally good songs leave you with a feeling of possi-
the first piece for Highway Rider—it wound up the traveler—his or her surroundings change, bility and endlessness.”
being the title track—in a dressing room when I but he or she remains the same conduit for all of During this more recent exchange, Mehldau
was touring with Pat Metheny. I let it sit awhile, those varied surroundings.” elaborated on the topics of song and voice. “As a
thinking maybe it could be a trio tune. Then, a As a teenager, Mehldau discovered the pianist you have the limitations of your instru-
month later, in the tour bus with Pat, I got some Songbook tunes that would later enter his reper- ment, and the big one is that the note dies away
ideas for the string piece, ‘Now You Must Walk toire through recordings by female singers like after it’s played,” he said. “Still, you have all these
Alone.’ I saw a thematic connection, and thought Julie London and Peggy Lee; he’s described in- models from the human voice, horns and bowed

brad mehldau
stringed instruments, where the sound continues. mentation mirrors/responds to Richard Strauss’ it. I thought, ‘OK, fine; that makes sense.’ From
You try to find your own way of sounding like a Metamorphosen, a civilizational threnody com- night to night, the cadenza became more elabo-
horn. A lot of the expression comes in the actual posed in 1945, at the end of World War II. rate. Actually, it was very classical. There were
intention—if as a piano player you are getting in- “Metamorphosen is the perfect piece of times where I thought it was a shame that what
spired by a horn and try to play with a horn-qual- music for me if there ever was one. It has every- he was putting forth wasn’t being documented,
ity, you won’t sound like a horn, but something thing: That thematic economy I mentioned, on because he was making up such profound mu-
different will happen in your playing.” a high level, and the perfect marriage between sic on the spot. Then I realized, ‘Aha, so this is
“horizontal” and “vertical” expression—very what jazz is all about.’ The ephemeral quality of
D o “classical” and “jazz” sides coexist with-

in Mehldau? Does he enter different mind-
spaces in addressing one idiom vis-a-vis the oth-
harmonic and very melodic all at once. The
contrapuntal rigor is unparalleled, yet at times
the piece can come at you like a big, fat, beauti-
something existing in a brief second of time, and
then evaporating, never to appear again, that’s the
whole beauty of it.”
er, or is the process more holistic? ful series of chords. Strauss’ harmonic language Joshua Redman, in whose quartet Mehldau
“It doesn’t feel holistic, but it is,” he ex- at this period in time—and early Schoenberg in entered the international jazz conversation in
plained. “Basically, my gift is this: I have the pieces like Pelleas und Mellisande, and Mahler 1994, played “Don’t Be Sad,” “The Falcon Will
ability to synthesize the classical music I’m lis- in his later symphonies, particularly the Ninth Fly Again” and “Old West” on duo concerts with
tening to, studying, and playing, and let it find and the unfinished Tenth—is a language that Mehldau in 2008 and 2009. However, he noted,
a way into my conception. I’m an OK classical I want to inhabit. It’s right on the edge of the he had no foreknowledge of the orchestral as-
player, but I never would have made it as a virtu- abyss; yet it’s still tonal. There’s a tragic, hyper- pects of Highway Rider when he went into the
oso concert artist. You have to have steel balls for real feeling to that.” recording session. “Often when I’m soloing, it’s
that; it’s just not in my character. For example, a Scott Yoo, who also conducted Highway in the context of orchestral passages with bold,
few years back I worked on Prokofiev’s seventh Rider on the European tour, discovered that the sometimes dissonant harmonies,” he said. “So
piano sonata—a real warhorse ass-kicker—for a more he lived with the piece, the more he liked it was a wonderful challenge, hearing it for the
few months. I gave up in self-disgust after trying it. “I enjoyed conducting it most on the last day,” first time in the studio, to interact and figure out
to play it for some friends and completely flail- he said. “That’s something that happens with how to make my soloistic voice blend and com-
ing. But then it seeped into my solo thing—dif- Mozart or Beethoven or Brahms—the real- plement what the orchestra was doing. On the
ferent parts of it at different times. So I never stop ly great pieces are the ones you enjoy more as tour, the challenge, night after night, as I gained
learning classical music or exposing myself to you do them more. I’m as much of a layman on more insight into how everything fit together,
new things. Art Tatum, Bud Powell, Bill Evans, jazz music as you can get, but with each different was somehow to approach the music like I was
Herbie Hancock—each of them let classical mu- show, I could see what stayed the same with the playing it for the first time.
sic rub off on their jazz playing.” group and what changed. For example, Brad had “There’s a lot in the piece that’s new and
In the program notes for Highway Rider, a lot of cadenzas. One of them is the epilogue, groundbreaking, but it sounds like a natural ex-
Mehldau writes that the structure and instru- and he played it very straight the first time I heard tension and development of all the musical ideas
Massimo Mantovani

Brad’s worked with in the past. Almost every the next few years and I gradually got drawn to various composers have influenced how I write,
band he’s had, almost every record he’s done, doing it more and more in concert. I put out the improvise and arrange other people’s tunes. I
there has been a sense of arrival, of completion, first live record, In Tokyo, because it represented never take this approach; it’s intentionally didac-
as though fully formed in its time. He’s a true vir- for me a transition in my solo conception—the tic, and that’s not my thing. But I’m doing it in my
tuoso, but it’s not intimidating—in every instance end point of something that had developed, and role as the composer-in-residence at Carnegie
he employs his chops in the service of musicality the beginning of something that was hatching. In Hall. The position is certainly a great honor. A
and an emotional statement, not for display. You the same way, Live In Marciac is the summation lot of ink is spilled about how the jazz and classi-
feel so much warmth, empathy, soul and love, of certain things I’ve done, with some glimmers cal music worlds inform each other, and it’s been
as well as the intelligence, rigor and complexi- of a new conception, which is now in full throt- a tired trope for years—it kind of knocks the dan-
ty music should have. Hands-down, he’s the best tle, I would say. ger out of each one. The only way for both genres
comper I’ve ever heard; he plays exactly what “In the January solo concert I’ll intersperse to inform what you’re doing in a meaningful
you would play for yourself if you were smart music from the classical repertoire with my own way, whatever kind of musician you are, is to en-
enough to think about it and empathic enough music and talk a little, showing examples of how gage deeply in both disciplines.” DB
to feel it. The raw, God-given musical talent; the
skill he’s acquired through years of playing and
working on music; and that empathy—I’m not
sure I’ve encountered that combination of ele-
ments in any other musician.”
Back in 2006, Mehldau related that although
he was well-conversant in the jazz vocabulary
when he arrived at Manhattan’s New School in
1988, he didn’t have much practical knowledge
of how to apply it in a group setting. He add-
ed that comping is “part of his definition of be-
ing a jazz piano player,” that it’s “a social, intui-
tive thing” better learned by osmosis than in the
classroom. He observed elder peer-groupers like
Larry Goldings and Kevin Hays, and veterans
like Cedar Walton and Kenny Barron, noticing
what worked and what didn’t, and learning on the
job with veterans like Jimmy Cobb and contem-
poraries Peter Bernstein, Mark Turner and Leon
Parker. Junior Mance, Mehldau’s first teacher at
the New School, helped, too. “I told Junior, ‘I lis-
tened to you on these Dizzy Gillespie records,
and your comping is perfect. How do you do
that?’ He said, ‘Well, let’s do it.’ We sat down,
and Junior would comp for me, and then I would
comp for him and try to mimic him. Doing these
things helped me become a more social musi-
cian, versus friends of mine who came to the city
but stayed in their practice room the whole time.”
Indeed, Mehldau still finds that thoughtful,
sensitive comping contributes greatly to his en-
joyment of ensemble play, from intimate duet
settings to the full orchestra. “Comping is just
plain fun,” he said. “Think about it: Someone
is blowing his or her brains out in front of you,
telling a story. What to do? Do you interject? Do
you support? OK, you support, but ... do you sup-
port strongly like a church choir, or softly like a
harp? Or a little of both? It’s like playing basket-
ball—you’re where you need to be right when
your guy needs you to be there. That takes matu-
rity. Comping is also a quick way to find out how
a pianist thinks about harmony. You may show-
case some worked-out stuff in a solo, but comp-
ing will show your actual knowledge of things
like voice leading, register considerations, etc.”
This being said, the preponderance of
Mehldau’s schedule until the end of April con-
sists of solo concerts in support of Live In
Marciac. “I felt like I had something to say solo
with Elegiac Cycle, but my solo concept wasn’t
as loose in the concert setting. The looseness—
the relaxed thing I have playing trio—kicked in

No
Terence Blanchard
Boundaries
By Dave Helland
“T
rust me: I’m not bragging or complaining,” says Terence Blanchard
as an introduction to a list of his recent projects. This February saw
the premiere of Concerto For Roger Dickerson by the Louisiana
Philharmonic. “This was me saying thank you to my composition
teacher,” explains Blanchard, who studied with the renowned pia-
nist and educator at Southern University when he was a teen.
“One thing he always said: You have to let the music tell you what it films with Chris Rock and Spike Lee as well as another Concord Records
is, and tell you what it means. You have to learn how to listen because release. So there’s always an excuse not to do the dishes.
ideas are always out there. “No. I wish,” he deadpans.
“It’s a fine balance between using techniques as a composer to devel- Blanchard’s role as composer goes back three decades to his stint in
op an idea versus allowing ideas to present themselves to you. Sometimes the Jazz Messengers—Art Blakey required everyone to write—and wid-
you want to work from beginning to end but there’s an idea going, hey, ened when Spike Lee hired him to write the scores for School Daze, Do
hey, I’m over here.” The Right Thing and Mo’ Better Blues in the late ’80s. Commissions to
Blanchard also worked on director Guy Moshe’s Bunraku, which write concertos and for opera are recent, but being a jazz musician proves
combines ’50s noir with centuries-old Japanese puppet drama, and to be helpful in composing regardless of the project. “It allows me to see
Anthony Hemingway’s Red Tails, about the Tuskegee Airmen, produced ideas and see immediately how to manipulate them,” explains Blanchard.
by George Lucas. For Opera St. Louis he is composing music for an op- “The very techniques I learned as a composer help in improvization; it’s
era about boxer Emil Griffith, whose knockout of Benny Peret was na- give-and-take.
tionally televised (Peret never regained consciousness). There’s music to “Composition is the most important thing, to my mind, because com-
be written for a Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire and position is how you find yourself. When you compose you have to com-

Mark sheldon

mit to those notes, you have to commit to those Second, a composition needs an idea that is me right now in my life is all of the boundaries
phrases. When you do that you have to make developed, that goes somewhere. “To me, a melo- have been broken down; there are no boundaries
some very distinct decisions about that concept dy has to reach a logical conclusion.” A tune with anymore. When I would write for film, when I
rhythmically, melodically, harmonically. That a great “A” section but the bridge sounds like an- first got in the business, it was, oh, I have to learn
starts to shape style and form, which also helps other tune is not his idea of good composition; to write for orchestra. No, no, no, no. What I’m
your improvization.” Blanchard offers two crite- but there are also matters of tempo, singability, learning now is I have to learn how to write what
ria for a good composition: memorability. “When a tune has all those dif- it is I want to say no matter who I’m writing for.”
“First, it has to be universal and malleable. ferent criteria it becomes an inspiration for im- Blanchard’s New Orleans home—shared
That’s the first mark of any great composition; provization.” As an example, he scats Thelonious with his wife, Robin, and their children—has two
it can cross over to any style. You can twist it up, Monk’s “Rhythm-a-Ning.” work spaces. There’s a Yamaha grand piano in
turn it around and it will be strong.” He mentions “For me, it’s about music at this point. What the living room. “I like composing there because
Wayne Shorter’s “Ana Maria” as “the kind of it really boils down to is in art you have some- of the solitude. It’s a calm atmosphere.”
tune that will work in any situation.” thing you want to express. What’s happening to In the attic there is a fully equipped studio
with Digital Performer, 5.1 Surround Sound, an
assortment of instruments and sound modules
with space carved out for a drum booth. This is
where he does most of his film scoring.
But even the most fertile mind runs into a dry
spell. When that happens to Blanchard he heads
for the front porch to watch the St. Charles street-
car pass by.
“It’s just matter of relaxing. You’re thinking
too much; pressing too hard; trying to force
something without letting it happen naturally. I
take some time to step away from it. Sometimes
when I come back fresh, ideas start to flow again.
It’s just matter of getting away from it and not al-
lowing your brain to sit there and fester.”
B lanchard is no homebody. He plays scores of

dates each year with his band but also takes
part in the rare all-star tour. Last fall he toured
Asia with Jeff Watts and Branford Marsalis in
support of Tain’s latest release. Several years
ago he toured Europe with Herbie Hancock and
more recently with the Monterey All-Stars—he
was artistic director of the festival—with Benny
Green, James Moody and Nnenna Freelon. His
tour with Branford Marsalis kicked off at Jazz At
Lincoln Center’s Rose Theatre before Christmas
and will extend into the spring, their bands tak-
ing turns as opening act. Is the jazz scene miss-
ing out by not having more of these events?
“No, when those things happen they have to
be very special moments. Years ago, there was
too much of what you’re talking about: all-star
bands that were always touring, and it was very
hard for some guys to tour as leaders. That way
the opposite happened: You would see all these
all-stars together but never have chance to see
where their total musical personalities were com-
ing from because you’re not hearing them in their
own situations,” explains Blanchard, comparing
it to all-star sports teams that never gel into win-
ners in spite of the skill of each player.
So don’t expect each evening’s concert with
Marsalis to end with a jam session. “It is some-
thing that should happen naturally because you
enjoy playing with each other and you have that
moment when you don’t want things to end,”
Blanchard said. “You say, hey, come out and let’s
play something together.”
But don’t be surprised, either: “No, we’re not
planning on that, but who knows what will hap-
pen. Me and Branford have been really good
friends a long time. We’ve always had fun play-

ing together; that goes back to elementary school cians be who they are. There’s something that music. When you bring in a new piece of music,
at the Loyola Summer Music Camp.” made you hire them to begin with. You have to it changes over the course of time. The guys may
Another hat Blanchard wears is that of artis- learn to let them be. There’s always a framework add things. Tempos may shift. You may add oth-
tic director of the Monk Institute. His chief duties you operate under because there will be a con- er little sections.” Still there are limits in the in-
are weeklong sessions every month with the six cept in place. But inside of that it’s about dis- terplay of composed melodies and countermelo-
to eight young musicians who are the Institute’s covery, and the only way to discover things is to dies with solo improvization. Blanchard stresses
Fellows. “The whole idea to is find the most inno- let people go out and do things, make mistakes, “paying attention to the concept, to the melodic
vative and uniquely talented musicians and try to learn from their mistakes and move on. content of the tune. Don’t totally abandon that;
give them a platform to help them develop their “Art, he never browbeat us or said you have don’t play something arbitrary.”
uniqueness. The whole idea given to me from to play this way. He just let us play. He would cre- He compares the interplay of soloist and en-
Wayne, Herbie and T.S. Monk is that we need ate a safety net for us, because his personality semble to basketball. “All too often you’ve heard
more innovators in the business; we need more was so strong musically, that as long as you were about guys who are serious scorers. The thing
creative thinkers. That’s been our mandate.” up for the challenge you would never falter.” about those dudes, sometimes their teams don’t
Blanchard’s sessions with the Monk Fellows Blanchard follows Blakey’s example in run- make it to the playoffs. But Magic Johnson knew
focus on improvization and composition skills as ning his own band. Five years ago when guitar- how to take charge and still give everybody room
well as general performance. The Fellows per- ist Lionel Loueke joined his group, Blanchard to do their thing. He could see the whole court,”
form at Snug Harbor on Tuesday nights; they pledged to “do anything in my power to make says Blanchard. “That’s the way I think about
also stage open jam sessions and conduct classes sure this guy has a forum to express himself. I’ll interaction in a jazz ensemble. When I play my
at local middle schools and high schools. do whatever I need to do to make sure he doesn’t solo, someone may play a phrase that’s interest-
feel uncomfortable being who he is.” ing. I don’t want to step on that phrase; I want to
B lanchard received his MBA from Bu U.

(Master of Band Arts under the tutelage of
Art “Buhaina” Blakey). “Art talked to me about
It seems to have worked. Loueke signed with
Blue Note and has been listed in various catego-
ries of both DownBeat polls since ’07, includ-
give them room to do their thing.
“Working bands are really, for me, the cor-
nerstone of the history of this music in terms of
everything: about being a man, being responsi- ing a string of wins as Rising Star guitarist. It’s its development. Look at any major development
ble. The list is endless,” recalls Blanchard, who an attitude Blanchard applies to the whole band: in jazz: It’s been very hard for one person to do
says the drummer was a major force in his life, currently pianist Fabian Almazan, tenor saxist it by themselves. They always had great support,
pointing out the two of the most important things Brice Winston, bassist Joe Sanders and drum- people to push them, to introduce great ideas in
he learned about being a musician. “He always mer Kendrick Scott. their respective musical styles.”
used to tell us, never speak above or beneath your “I’m always encouraging these guys to do Living up to the responsibility of the band:
audience, speak directly to them. their thing, to stretch. I love it when they bring This is the engine of innovation in jazz, accord-
“The other thing was you have to let musi- new ideas to the band. It breathes life into the ing to Blanchard. DB
Mike Figgis

Bob Belden’s
Spanish Key
By John Ephland // Photos by Jojo Pennebaker
I
t’s a sunny, spring day in vention of Gil Evans’ arrangement of Rodrigo’s soon and then bass flute provide their delicate
“Concierto de Aranjuez.” Along with harp, melody lines. What was, just a short while ago,
May in midtown Manhat- woodwinds, percussion and horn sections in tow, a controlled chaos has suddenly become a flow-
Rabih and his oud (a pear-shaped stringed instru- ing musical experience. All the moving, musi-
tan that begins a week ment commonly used in Middle Eastern music) cal parts cohere, with limited, shorthand instruc-
are poised, ready to begin. tions from Belden. He periodically looks behind
of recording. And every- “Shall we start from the top?” Belden beck- him to the control room, seeking confirmation
ons as his arms start to wave, flowing beneath the of new directions via eye contact with engineer
body’s waiting for Rabih. room’s elegant, imposing chandelier. Richard King and co-producer (for this track
There’s a pause as he motions to acoustic as well as “Solea” and “Saeta/The Pan Piper”)
From the podium, the leader croons, “I’m in bassist John Benitez on his left, offering some Robert Sadin.
the oud for love.” special direction: “Allow the guitar player inside “OK, let’s do it while we’ve got the vibe.”
With these words of wit that typically go in you to transform your instrument into a flamen- There’s a break, and later the percussionists
more than one musical direction at once, Bob co bass.” re-enter. The room now seems swarmed with
Belden commences yet another massive musi- In time, it becomes clear—as the music starts wild banshees, the mood changing instantly.
cal adventure. Due out this August, the project and stops and starts again—that Belden’s tem- Belden is challenged to reel them in. What en-
is the double-CD Miles Espanol (eONE), a re- perament is ideally suited for this artistic endeav- sues is a loose series of exchanges, some related,
creation of selected material from Miles Davis or, his balanced perfectionism expressing seem- some clearly asides. These separate worlds then
and Gil Evans’ Sketches Of Spain along with ingly limitless patience. reconvene as sound-check and camera crews (a
music written especially for this event. Belden’s “Yeah, that’s the basic idea.” video production company is filming the whole
initial inspiration for it all reflects on his love of After many rehearsed parts are played with shebang) move about, arrangements are checked,
history. As he explained in 2010, “Next year— this section, it all comes together, very quietly, and engineer King goes from loose to focused.
2011—is the ‘anniversary’ of the Berber/Arab in- methodically, the music evoking a relaxed, calm The inevitable percussion jams stop, and Belden
vasion and subjugation of Spain ... 1,300 years yet mysterious world, not unlike Rodrigo’s (or once again takes charge. Getting more signals
ago. This project takes that as a beginning of the Evans’) original work of art. straight, he pays a lot of attention to everything
actual musical culture of Spain—as it had been As the next section begins, trumpeters Tim and everybody, as if waiting for the best moment
a Roman Visigoth outpost, its ‘art’ culture was Hagans and Mike Williams are brought in more to restart.
Roman/Greek—and paints a cyclorama of color closely. Belden then takes suggestions from the Belden smiles, again, as he now directs the
and sound to define the metaphoric progression woodwinds. He responds to their comments, percussion troupe of Alex Acuña (on bongos),
of history as art through culture via music.” “Play whole notes during the transition.” After Adam Rudolph (cajon) and Brahim Fribgane
Come again? hearing it, he decides, “It’s too dense.” (dumbek), his body bending at the knees, arms
Expressing a new burst of enthusiasm, the once again waving.
B ack in New York City, circa 2010, a musical entertainer in him begins to cracks wise, sug-
army is forming at the Sear Sound studio. gesting a disarming looseness even as the clock
And, crossing the main studio floor is Rabih— (i.e., “meter”) ticks away. Just as the oud and
“OK, you wanna do it one more time?”
A medium-tempo jam soon follows.
Suddenly, the music stops. And you can hear
Rabih Abou-Kahlil from Beirut, Lebanon. oboe state the famous melody, Belden again a pin drop.
Before you know it, he’s sequestered behind a looks to his left, to where this writer is sitting, It’s the first signs of what will be yet another
sliding glass door (along with his oud) in a sepa- grinning: “I’m just thinking of the DownBeat marvel of planning, logistics and execution.
rate room looking in on everyone else. He awaits, poll, the Miscellaneous Instrument category.”
along with a sizeable group of other players ar- Even with all those starts and stops, the mu-
ranged throughout the main studio, everyone sic becomes a mesmerizing Monday morning
perched and ready to explore their leader’s rein- aural feast, as the oud, harp, bass, oboe, bas-
I ndeed, this is familiar territory for the al-
ways quixotic all-around troublemaker, a
man who sports a highly refined albeit some-

Michael Rabinowitz Tim Hagans
Chick Corea (left), Ron Carter and Antonio Sanchez
Rabih Abou-Kahlil
Bob Belden
Howard Johnson Jerry Gonzalez Charles Benevant Nino Joseles (left) and Chano Dominguez
Bob Belden
times bent sense of humor. More significantly, continual health problems, however, he’s clear- and quick visual cues have become the order of
it’s Bob Belden’s reputation—as an organizer, or- ly overjoyed to have all this bustling activity and the day. “He’s well prepared, with a very clear
chestrator, arranger, composer, bandleader, sax- creative energy surrounding him. And, in what is sense of where he’s going,” the veteran Sadin
ophonist, collaborator, conceptualist and racon- already becoming yet another example of Belden says. “And he has a good rapport with the musi-
teur of the first order—that has brought everyone the orchestrating party host, the “vibe” starts to cians; it’s all the things an arranger/producer/mu-
here. And “everyone,” in this case, includes folks take on the feel of a reunion, with a cross-pol- sician is supposed to do.
like Chick Corea, Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette lination of musical types and personalities, the “As it got closer to the project,” Sadin recalls
and John Scofield, but also lesser-known giants air filled with laughter and much storytelling ... as he sits atop a stool in one of the sound rooms,
on their respective instruments, such as pianist once the players are off in the other room, a room “Bob realized he was going to be conducting so
Chano Dominguez, drummer Acuña and flautist spiked with refreshments, comfortable furniture much, that you need somebody behind the glass
Jorge Pardo. Others on board are familiar names and all manner of conviviality. keeping a sense of things. Plus, it’s a lot to do to
to Belden fans like Tim Hagans, Scott Kinsey have written the music, to be conducting it, con-
and Vince Wilburn Jr. (Miles Davis’ nephew).
And it is Belden’s brainchild to gather up this
group, some of whom share a history with Davis
A brief history of other large-scale Belden
projects includes such relatively moun-
tainous undertakings as his take on Puccini’s
ceiving it and just kind of keeping things going,
not to mention all the sonic aspects to it. So he
asked if I would help, and I was thrilled to do it.”
along with others who represent the vibrancy of Turandot (Blue Note), Miles In India (combining King is another example of someone whose
contemporary Spanish music. They come from Eastern and Western musicians, Times Square background only served to support Belden’s
across the country, around the world and just Records), Straight To My Heart: The Music Of seemingly scheming ways. “In the late ’90s,” the
down the block to be part of what will be an ex- Sting and Black Dahlia (both Blue Note), the lat- youthful, gangly King relates from the comfort
travaganza of sound, sight and community. (The ter “a movie in one’s imagination,” created with a of his recliner behind the massive mixing board,
others who will partake in this musical fiesta in- 65-piece orchestra. “I was working on the mix of a classical album,
clude Jerry Gonzalez, John Clark, Lou Marini, Two of Black Dahlia’s collaborators, King a piano concerto from Berlin, and Bob wan-
Howard Johnson, Charles Pillow, Michael and Sadin, are glad to be working behind the dered into my room at Sony. I think he was do-
Rabinowitz, Nino Joseles, Edsel Gomez, bag- glass again. Vital “players” in their own right, ing some remastering of a Miles Davis box set.
pipe player Christina Pato, Victor Prieto, Charles Sadin and King express nothing but praise for But the personal project was Black Dahlia with
Benevant, Sonny Fortune and John Riley.) Belden’s style of music-making. Producer of a the full string section, big band and rhythm sec-
Belden is dressed casually in faded jeans and wide array of musics, including last year’s stun- tion. It was coming up in a few months. He heard
a dark striped long-sleeve collared shirt, his al- ning, heartfelt Art Of Love: Music Of Machaut, my string sounds with the Berlin Philharmonic,
ways curly, blondish hair topping off a body that’s Sadin has been a close colleague and friend of and said, ‘That’s it. I want to hire you to do my
experienced much turmoil in recent years, reduc- Belden’s for more than 15 years, the two having next record.’”
ing his torso by more than 100 pounds. Despite worked together long enough where “shorthand” A wealth of information on how the prescient
Belden operates, King notes, “Bob always has a
big, main concept mapped out in his head, and
he’s real obscure with everyone around him
in terms of what needs to be done when. So, it
seems like we’re scrambling all the time. But
when you get to the end of the project you real-
ize he knew exactly what he was doing right from
the start. I’ve gotten used to that way of working
with him. This project as well ... he’s keeping ev-
erything on one track and one thought. The con-
cept’s very strong, but there are many variables
along the way.”
He takes a moment to communicate with
Belden. “What I do is I pepper him with ques-
tions,” King continues. “I draw out of him what
I need to know. I ask very specific questions. I
don’t ask what’s happening this week. I say,
‘What’s happening in the next three hours?’ I’m
on a need-to-know basis; I draw from him what
I need to know immediately to finish the day. At
the end of the day, I ask what’s happening in the
morning and we just go from there.”
It should come as no surprise that the man
everyone was waiting for, “Mr. Oud,” Rabih
Abou-Kahlil, is the musical epitome of what
King has just described. “I like recording in a
very leisurely fashion,” Rabih casually intones
afterwards. “So it’s not that strange for me. I
think Bob gets a certain feel of where things are
going, and I like that. Jazz needs this spirit; that’s
what I think is missing from a lot of the newer
productions—you’re pressed for time, it’s very
serious, academic.”
Pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, who will come
in towards the end of the week, understands this

Bob Belden
method, later stating that when he plays he wants

“to do something open; but it must be in some
way connected or linked to the concept of the al-
bum. What Belden is doing,” Rubalcaba says, “is
kind of a revisit to what that record was original-
ly, Sketches Of Spain. The good thing is that ev-
erybody is totally free to do whatever they want,
to paint about that recording, about that music.
It’s like bringing that musical experience with
Miles at that moment to this moment, without
any borders, without any preconceptions.”
Belden himself sounds very Ellingtonian in
the way he has structured the music with peo-
ple in mind. “What you do is you put a melody in
front of people who all play a certain thing,” he
says. “It’s what I call human orchestration, where
the individual does a certain thing, they play a
phrase a certain way, they play a rhythm a certain
way, their tone is a certain tone. If you can imag-
ine those people working in a certain context to-
gether, then you can put these things together.”
There is a standard form to work from, ac-
cording to Belden, but “nothing is written down
completely where you have to play this note at
that exact spot.” Instead, he spells it out like this:
“Here’s a melody, here’s the harmonic idea. What
are you going to do with it?”
Later, when a fair amount of music has al-
ready been recorded, Belden speaks more
broadly about the setting and style. “There are
no rules,” he states baldly. “Most of the stuff
is new, but with the larger ensembles, with all
the folk music that’s associated with Miles, we
have ‘Flamenco Sketches,’ ‘Teo’ and ‘Solea,’”
among other tunes. “They’re all back here party-
ing, man,” Belden admits, referring to the rooms
away from the studio floor. “It’s like a hang. At
first, it took them a minute to get used to the con-
cept: ‘Like, wow, we can just sorta play, and do
this?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ And now, it’s like a free-
for-all; they just all want to be part of it.”
And a part of it everyone is, including per-
cussionist Acuña, a player Belden met in
Denver back in the mid-1970s when Acuña was
flying high with Weather Report and Belden
was with the Woody Herman band. A call out
of the blue (and the first contact they’ve had
since those heady days) was all it took to get
him here. An obvious bonus to these sessions is
the time to schmooze and talk shop. “The mu-
sic that we’ve been recording has been very full
of life,” Acuña says. “Not only that, the connec-
tions ... I got everybody’s numbers and they got
my numbers, and we’re gonna continue to do
some things.”
Fresh from a head-spinning session with
Rubalcaba and Ron Carter, Acuña (playing
drums) can hardly contain himself. “So, I’m
in the middle of those two guys, playing with
them,” he exclaims. “Wow! And I didn’t know
till I got here. That’s the kind of thing that Bob
has been creating these days. How can you or-
chestrate that? How can you premeditate that?”
Another head-spinner comes via Colombian
harpist Edmar Castaneda. A marvel of furious,
jamming orchestration on the “Saeta/Pan Piper”

Thinking Big by Bob Belden
T
o be able to produce concept record- and this is what separates the professionals
ings that are constructed in the way from the hacks. I actually imagined the entire
that I do requires a few things that process in my mind, the imagined flights and
can’t be taught but can be developed. One is cab rides, the time in the studio. I calculated
trust. Large-scale productions depend on the the time of each process, then estimated as
producer/creator’s ability to instill trust in the close as possible the artist fees, airline fees,
company that is spending a very large amount recording fees, unimagined expenses and so
of money (between $100–300K depending on on until I had a complete map of the produc-
scope) on a singular project. Trust that you will tion from a logistical standpoint cemented in
get the job done on time and on budget and my mind with costs and timelines detailed to
without enhancing your own personal fortune the minute and penny.
at the expense of quality or the reputation of You then have to help guide the musicians
the musicians and the company. If you add to into their comfort zone, either by providing a
the mix the abstract nature of my concepts, piano in the hotel to compose with or to get
you then understand the deep level of trust the “dream band” on the track for the artist.
you must have. You must instill the same level You have to be open to suggestions, and if you
of trust with the musicians, the managers and trust the musicians, the suggestions enhance
agents (and the wives and girlfriends!). the music tenfold.
You need to have partners. I can produce I have made a conscious effort to ap-
the music based on my idea, but I can’t pro- proach a recording project like a movie project
duce the film or book the band on a tour or in that I have interwoven film-production con-
get hotel rooms for the sessions. So if you cepts within the production of the music, often
partner with another person, such as Eli Cane, merging the purposes, so that there is a unity
who brings a similar set of skills essential to the of thought between the aural and visual. Miles
production, the job is less daunting. Eli mixes Espanol was fashioned from the standpoint of
film and music so we can communicate simply making a film about the music and the way it
on complex production issues. is created, a “documentary” of sorts, but with
If you know that a media company has the multiple media platforms for presentation and
resources to fund an idea, then you must actu- promotion.
ally think about what works within the frame- One also has to look at this kind of pro-
work of that individual company or with that duction from this multiple-media viewpoint.
A&R person. Sometimes a company will ap- You have the actual audio recording, the pro-
proach you but this rarely happens to me; as a motional video, the documentary video, then
rule I decide on what project I want to create in the packaging (physical CD/DVD, iTunes and
that environment and then pursue the correct iPad applications). Then there’s the touring
avenue to obtain funding. If you know person- and the potential for television (PBS or private
ally the people in the various companies, then channel). All of this has to be considered be-
you can eliminate that initial barrier of getting fore you make any request of any major com-
time to make your “pitch.” Chuck Mitchell at pany to invest in an idea based on an obscure
eONE and I have had a musical and personal historical reference (the Berber invasion of
relationship going back to our days working on Spain in 711 was part of my overview of the
projects for Verve, him in the capacity as presi- project) or elegance (just making the title of
dent of the label and me as a producer, arrang- the concept easy to perceive). Then there are
er and reissue producer. We’ve maintained our mundane things like paying the musicians (on
friendship over the years, and, as the industry time!), flying them in, car from airport to hotel,
changed, we’ve been able to discuss various per diem, rentals, special needs. In this case,
production and marketing ideas in the context for 34 people!
of progressive jazz music and then apply our This can only be accomplished if the pro-
ideas to an actual project. ducer is the “artist,” in that I take complete re-
I met with Joan Cararach, the producer sponsibility for engaging the musicians in my
of the Barcelona Jazz Festival, at the Jazz own musical endeavor. This makes it so that
Standard in January of 2010, and we dis- none of the production elements are in the
cussed ideas about a live show at the fes- minds of the actual artists, the musicians who
tival. I mentioned a concept called “Miles are recording.
Espanol,” and he liked the idea. We started In the end, one can create an international
discussing ideas and musicians. I rethought concert attraction, a concept that will perform
the project as a recording concept, and in in concert halls and large jazz festivals around
February I met with Chuck at his office and the world. In this environment jazz can survive
made the pitch. He liked the idea and I was as a viable and visible art form on an interna-
then instructed to create a budget (in film tional scale.
this is called “green lighting a project”). So This is an evolution of my own life as a pro-
between February and late April, I construct- ducer and musician and has nothing to do with
ed the basic production outline. any other producer in jazz or the music biz in
The next step was creating the budget, general. DB

medley, he echoes what is becoming a domi-
nant theme about their leader’s style. “Bob gives
the freedom to the musician to express himself,”
he says. With a background in classical music,
Castaneda notes, “It’s great to play what a com-
poser writes. But when he gives you an idea and
you just play what you feel in your heart, that’s
when everything you know becomes new and
fresh, and you play your essence.”
I t was Jack DeJohnette who offered Belden

a new idea early on that changed much
that was to come. “The original idea of Miles
Espanol was to have different people associat-
ed with Miles come in and rearrange some of
those original compositions,” says DeJohnette.
“Then I said to Bob, ‘Why don’t you take it a lit-
tle step further, and have each one who comes
in and rearranges a piece also write some-
thing in a Spanish vein?’ He thought it was a
great idea, to have people come in with piec-
es but develop the music and leave it open to
improvisation and discussion, develop it and re-
cord it.” DeJohnette’s “Spantango” ends up go-
ing through just such a process midway through
the week. Featuring killer piano player Chano
Dominguez, stalwart bassist Eddie Gomez and
yet another amazing percussionist in Luisito
Quintero, the song’s full emergence becomes
an object lesson in on-the-spot creativity.
“This process is not unlike how Miles did
things like Bitches Brew, not having too much
complicated music but to have the players, in es-
sence, come together and birth a new concep-
tion,” says the drummer, who was one of those
players for the now legendary 1969 sessions.
Of all the people here, no one knows Belden
better than trumpeter Tim Hagans. With a
shared history going back to 1989, Hagans
also compares his work with Davis. Starting at
a time when their music was all pre-prepared
charts with the Bob Belden Ensemble, Hagans
notes, “Bob has come in with a vision and ideas
that he just relays to the musicians. And after
several takes we realize that vision that he has.
Everybody gets some lead sheets and some in-
structions. And, of course, he takes a lot of his
cues musically and production-wise from Miles
Davis, when Miles would just walk into the stu-
dio and the tape would roll. And he trusts the
musicians and they trust him. He handpicks
those that he can work with in this fashion. He’s
an expert at putting everyone at ease. He just
says, ‘Do what you normally do and I’ll set up
the vibe around it so that you feel comfortable.’
M iles Espanol, among many things, as-

serts a model for how music can be de-
veloped, documented and marketed (see side-
bar). Formerly a member of Nonesuch Records’
production department, Eli Cane has gone on to
create a film production company, Normal Life
Pictures, the company now documenting Miles
Espanol (with a possible DVD). Cane, serving
as project coordinator, is also handling logistics
for everyone coming and going, and everything

in between. Reflecting on his role and the in- And, speaking of investors, Miles Espanol second, and then, within a few minutes we had
novations they’ve come up with, he says, “Bob is yet another example of Belden’s penchant for done the first take.” Colleagues since the ear-
wanted to think about novel approaches to mak- working outside the system. “This is what you ly ’80s, Scofield says, “Some producers try and
ing this record, and so my involvement—a sort have to create to compete with the past and the produce when the music’s already good, and
of hybrid of session and film producer—made entertainment industry ... make overpowering Bob just lets it happen. He always knows the
sense. In the end, it was about creating a multi- artistic productions.” right thing to do, or when to not do something.
faceted project: Pay the film company a flat fee, Another Belden project, Animation Asiento, He’s completely organic.”
and they deliver an epk [electronic press kit], a will be released in April on the U.K.-based elec- A native of Mexico City, drummer Antonio
mini-doc for iTunes, complete takes of several tronica label Rare Noise Records. Along with Sanchez’s first experience working with Belden
tunes and two discs worth of recorded material. Belden, the musicians included in the project on the last day of recording also included Jorge
“For some marketing folks,” Cane empha- are Tim Hagans, Scott Kinsey (both on Miles Pardo, Corea and Carter on Corea’s flamenco-
sizes, “the multi-platform aspect of a record Espanol), Matthew Garrison, Guy Licata and flavored “Trampolin.” “Chick’s tunes are so
isn’t a bonus, it’s a necessity. And if that’s the DJ Logic. Also scheduled for 2011 is a project well-written,” Sanchez remarks. “They kind of
case, it makes a lot of sense to film it while it’s called Coltrane Afrique, an exploration of the play themselves out, the structure is so strong,
happening, not as an afterthought. We ended up music of John Coltrane with African textures. yet they’re easy to play.”
with about 60 hours of footage, so there are a lot In the midst of all the activity, with all the
of possibilities for things to make. Making the
record simultaneously with the film, and with
the same mindset, is something I think Bob, in
C oming in for the weekend, and final days
of recording, regular guest Chick Corea is
now joined by DeJohnette, Eddie Gomez and
musicians who have come and gone, the cen-
tral voice, sound and musical personality re-
mains Bob Belden. Unlike Miles Davis and Gil
his search to find new ways to make and listen Scofield, whose “El Swing” now becomes the Evans sharing the spotlight, however (when he
and talk about music, is really interested in.” focus in the studio. “We just did a real nice take; hasn’t been conducting or playing tympani and
At press time, the prospects of a world tour everyone was smiling, too,” Corea notes. “The marimba), Belden has been the man behind the
featuring a core band with special additions first take was sensitive ’cause we were learning curtain, the understated star, the center of gravi-
was being negotiated. “The entire process, from the song, and then the second take ... we knew ty around which everything ultimately revolves.
idea to pitch to financing to production to me- it a little bit so there were more risks, chanc- Indeed, there were times when he wasn’t
dia-content creation to tours to packaging, are es taken.” even there, trusting his colleagues to get the job
all part of the plan,” Belden says. “To take a “I wrote ‘El Swing’ with those musicians in done, creating a musical mechanism capable of
simple idea and turn it into something satisfy- mind,” Scofield comments from behind the running on its own.
ing for all parties—the investor, the musicians, mixing board, referring to Corea, Gomez and In the end, Belden’s style seems to revolve
agents, festival promoters, TV, media and, most DeJohnette. “It has a Spanish feel, but it’s a around one created design: “When there are no
importantly, the audience.” swinging tune. We talked about the chords for a rules ... it’s perfect.” DB

Charles Mingus
Changed
Man?
By Mike Hennessey // May 13, 1971
A
s a “cauldron of emotions”—which an American critic once
called him—Charles Mingus, a true giant of jazz, seemed
to have gone a little off the boil. He sat in the restaurant in
London’s St. Martin’s Lane like a sagging Buddha, con-
templating half a lobster with a certain mournful enthusi-
asm and looking tired and resigned—a million moods away from Mingus the
enfant terrible of the ’50s, the man who was so frequently at the center of
controversy.
And when this great man said softly, with deep mel- oppressive.
ancholy, that fighting to get just appreciation and ac- When a man like Mingus stops fighting, thinking
knowledgement for black creativity was a “waste people everywhere have cause to reflect on the agony
of time,” the sadness in the atmosphere was almost and fearfulness of a cultural burden massive enough to

downbeat archives
Charles mingus
sap even his seemingly unquenchable spirit. festival at Newport.

Mingus today seems a weary man, a sad man, a lonely man—and, I He even abandoned music once to work in the post office, but the ad-
feel, a disillusioned man. In his colorful career as a musician, composer vent of Charlie Parker brought him eagerly back.
and bandleader, he has fought with great conviction and tenacity for a better If you ask him whether he is disillusioned with the music business he
deal for the black artist and has constantly condemned racial injustice. (And replies: “It is not a business, it is a racket,” and that tells it all.
this without bigotry, because he has used many white musicians includ- But, if nothing else, Mingus’ Debut record company was responsible
ing Jimmy Knepper, Bill Evans and, currently, Bobby Jones in his bands.) for one of the most remarkable recordings in the history of jazz—the
But now, it seems, he has come to terms with the realization that a Jazz at Massey Hall concert in May 1953 which featured Charlie Parker,
change of face is a matter of a moment, but a change of heart can take sev- Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Bud Powell and Mingus. That recording is a
eral lifetimes. milestone.
Amid all this despondency, however, there is a brighter side—repre- Recalling it, Mingus says: “That concert was recorded on professional
sented by Mingus’ own music, which was acknowledged by many critics equipment—not an ordinary home tape recorder, as some people have sug-
during the band’s recent European and Japanese trips, as some of the most gested. But we didn’t have the best engineer. I intended to keep the mas-
vital and rewarding small group jazz to be heard anywhere. ter tape for 10 years and then sell it for $25,000, but the record was put on
In a career spanning more than 30 years, Mingus, now 48, has made a Debut.
major contribution to the evolution of jazz. His music, a personal, earthy “The Massey Hall gig was mine—a guy wrote from Toronto asking me
and colorful compound of such disparate influences as Duke Ellington, to bring a band up, so I got the musicians together. It was the only time
Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, gospel songs and modern European musical that band ever played together although I played with Bird afterwards in
forms, is powerfully emotional and richly varied. Boston. Each guy asked for the amount of bread he needed, and the highest
Mingus makes dramatic use of vocal cries, dissonance, and tempo and paid guy was Bird. I don’t know how much Bud got paid, but I don’t sup-
time signature changes. If his music today sounds pretty orthodox, it is al- pose he saw the money.
most certainly because the ear of the jazz public has become more adjust- “I also remember complaining to Dizzy that there were no bass solos
ed to free music. on any of the numbers, and he got wild and violent.”
Mingus recalls: “Barry Ulanov used to call me avant-garde 25 years Mingus paused, registered some pain at recalling the past, took another
ago.” hefty swig from a glass of lager beer and lime and got on with his meal.
Certainly Mingus has explored music with the same courage and spirit Interviewing him is not the easiest task in the world, since he is mani-
he has shown in defending the cause of the black artist—but, not unnatu- festly reluctant to elaborate on his answers to questions and, when he does,
rally, his music has flourished while his political and social initiatives have his comments are often barely audible.
constantly run up against an unyielding wall of prejudice or indifference. Although he acknowledges Parker’s overall contribution to music,
His attempts to launch a record label giving black artists a fair deal were Mingus says he was not influenced by Bird. “Maybe, like me, he listened to
soon frustrated, as was his endeavor in 1960 to establish a rival annual jazz Tatum,” he says. “I never tried to imitate Bird. And I wouldn’t say his mu-
sic lives on. When you’re dead you’re dead.
“He made a big contribution. But so did Harry Carney and J.J. (Johnson)
and Fats Navarro and Freddie Webster and Thad Jones . . .”
The lobster now in ruins, Mingus began to attack apple pie and custard
with rare vigor and called for a second pint of lager and lime.
After a short hiatus, I asked him for his views on pop music. Perhaps
predictably, he was devastatingly antagonistic: “I don’t pay any attention to
pop and rock. I just don’t think about it. It just makes no impression on me
at all,” he said.
His preferred listening today is Duke Ellington and Beethoven string
quartets, and when you ask him who he particularly digs in jazz he looks a
little baleful and says: “I don’t call my music jazz. Jazz has come to mean
the music of second-class citizenship. It means nigger music. Jazz is a word
which separates the black musician from the money. I just play and dig mu-
sic. Good music.”
And that doesn’t permit compromise. Going through a short list of mu-
sicians and their work evoked some terse and surprising replies.
Miles?
“The stuff he’s doing now is bullshit.”
John Lewis?
“Yeah, maybe if he writes something, but I’ve had enough of the small
group.”
Bill Evans?
“He was in my band 15 years ago with Knepper and Clarence Shaw
and Shafi Hadi. We made some sides for Bethlehem, including ‘Celia.’” But
Mingus offered no evaluation.
“What do you think of Thelonious Monk?” I asked.
“I never think of Monk. Or maybe now and again he crosses my mind,”
he said for the first time with the slightest trace of a smile. “I like his play-
ing. I worked with him, Bird and Roy Haynes at the Open Door in the ear-
ly ’50s.”
Ornette Coleman?”
“He ain’t working that much. When it comes to free music, I have a re-
cord on Candid which is complete freedom. Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, with
Eric Dolphy, Ted Curson and Danny Richmond.”

Freddie Hubbard?”
“Never heard of him.”
More silence as Mingus puts away the rest of the apple pie and calls for
more lager.
I risked a question about his reputation as a sore-headed bear on the
stand, and asked why Jaki Byard had sworn at one time never to work with
him again.
“I’m not hard to get along with,” he said. “The reason Jaki got mad was
because on that European trip with Eric [Dolphy] we had a television show
scheduled in Liège, Belgium. It was in the contract as part of the deal but
Jaki wanted extra money. He was on salary and I had to tell him that the TV
money just paid our trip over. I could no nothing. That’s why he got sore.”
Mingus sighed a mighty sigh, drained his glass and sat back in his seat.
And then—for the first time in the interview—he volunteered a comment,
clearly expecting that it would terminate the interview.
“The book I started 20 years ago says everything I want to say. It’s
coming out in April.” This will be his autobiography, Beneath the
Underdog, published by Knopf.
As we waited for the bill, I suggested he seemed more relaxed than
most people gave him credit for, and he answered: “Not relaxed; just tired.
I quit after Monterey in 1969—everybody should retire sometime. But I
don’t have enough to live on—otherwise I wouldn’t still be playing. I had to
come back just to make a living.”
He said he had written a couple of hundred tunes which should be
bringing him money, “but they haven’t been handled right.” Now he wants
to write for a symphony orchestra. “Most of the things I’ve written are not
what I really want to do. When I write what I really want to write, nobody
can play it.”
It is difficult to believe, as Mingus insists, that he gets little pleasure
from his playing and none at all from the acclaim it has received. But he
claims he would be just as happy playing with no audience (“I could work
out new tunes”) and even says he is tempted sometimes to go back to work
in the post office. (“I enjoyed working with those sacks—the exercise was
good.”) And again comes that flicker of a tongue-in-cheek smile.
He doesn’t feel the music business has been good to him and feels ra-
cial discrimination will never improve. “They’ll never open up the studios
to black musicians,” he said.
He attributes the decline of the jazz club scene to the fact that the own-
ers and promoters wanted to take all the money and exploit the black
musicians.
When I suggested that certain musicians might sometimes have been at
fault, arriving late or being high on the stand, Mingus’ “No” was quite em-
phatic, brooking no argument.
“The audiences like it that way because that’s what jazz is. I remember
Monk came into the Jazz Gallery one night an hour-and-a-half late, and the
people stood up and applauded him. They’re not bitter. That’s the kind of
thing they expect from time to time.”
On the subject of the narcotics scourge that hit so many of his contem-
poraries, Mingus said he didn’t know why they got hooked. (“Bird didn’t
play as good when he was high.”) But then he added, “Nine out of 10 doc-
tors are junkies. Musicians rank about ninth on the list, yet they’re always
the scapegoats.”
As we walked out into the London dusk I asked whom he would choose
if he could put together an ideal band. His choices were mildly surprising.
“I’d pick Ernie Royal, Jerome Richardson, Jaki Byard and . . . it would
have to be Danny Richmond. Elvin (Jones) and Max (Roach) couldn’t—or
wouldn’t—play my music.”
Until he gets the chance to record with that dream group, he considers
his most satisfying album The Black Saints And The Sinner Lady on
Impulse.
We reached his hotel. Mingus shook hands absently and his broad back
disappeared through the door—a man as wide as a coal barge, and still in-
timidating as an interview prospect.
But—though you may choke on the cliche—beneath the gruff and truc-
ulent exterior is the spirit of a gentle and sensitive man, a man who has giv-
en a great deal more to music than music has given back to him. DB

Indie Life

Pianist Chen’s Jazz Focus Sparks Musical Transformation
I n making the switch from polished classi-
cal student to full-time jazz performer, Jo-
Yu Chen demonstrated patience and technical
ing piano lessons from Sam Yahel. Chen came to
him completely raw—she knew her way around
the piano, but the rhythms and improvisation of
skill. Her most important asset, however, was jazz were foreign to her.
confidence. “When you step into a world that’s not your
Chen grew up in Taiwan listening exclusive- world and you don’t even know what you don’t
ly to classical composers—the Romantics were know, it can be very intimidating, and it can
her favorites—and this intense study shone make it hard for you to be productive,” said
through in her piano and oboe technique. So ab- Yahel, who added that Chen jumped into this
solute was her classical training that when she new world with tenacity. “She’s a fast learner, and
traveled to New York at 16 to study at Juilliard she’s very focused.”
and train as a symphonic oboist, she had never Even with a clear goal in sight, it wasn’t easy
heard any other music. for her to stay on the same level with students
“After I came to New York, there were a lot who had been analyzing jazz for most of their
of genres that I could check out,” Chen said. lives. She said that her biggest challenge at the
“That made me want to explore more.” New School was how to play with a drummer.
hai zhang
A Baroque-influenced piece by Keith Jarrett Writing compositions that blended a classi-
set Chen’s career on a different path. This was cal sense of melody with improvisation gave her
classical music in a jazz space, and the young pi- the confidence to pursue jazz on a professional album. Yahel was again at the controls, push-
anist realized that ideas she studied in Taiwan level. Her debut CD, which Yahel produced, in- ing Chen to put out the best possible work. She
could be applied to this exciting American cluded five originals and a Taiwanese folk tune. brought more originals with her this time—clas-
genre—even though she grew up without the Released in 2009, Obsession featured bassist sically structured songs with easily ingrained
slightest subconscious bits of swing and bebop Chris Tordini and drummer Tommy Crane, who melodies.
that Americans might hear while going about are now part of her touring band. The chemis- “Sometimes I ask myself if I can recall a tune
their daily lives. try of a working jazz group is another lesson that when I get home after checking out some jazz
After receiving a Ph.D. in music education Chen learned in New York. gig,” Chen said. “I want to write songs—some-
from Columbia University’s Teachers College, Chen began recording a new batch of com- thing that I can sing along to and something peo-
she enrolled in the New School and began tak- positions a few months ago for her sophomore ple can remember.” —Jon Ross

Indie Life
Drummer Amendola Layers Effects, Challenges Audiences

A bout 20 years ago, while home for sum-
mer break from Berklee College of Music,
Scott Amendola failed an audition with pianist
broadened. Known for working with the Nels
Cline Singers and TJ Kirk, Amendola leads sev-
eral groups: a quintet featuring Jenny Scheinman
Michel Camilo. The experience changed the and separate duos alongside an organ play-
course of his music. er and a guitar player; his albums include a trio
Until that afternoon, the New Jersey native date (with a clarinetist) spotlighting Thelonious
had emulated Dave Weckl and other ’80s jazz- Monk’s repertoire.
rock drummers. Amendola played a kit with four Drummer Dan Rieser, Amendola’s friend
or five tom-toms and up to a half-dozen cymbals. since their days at Berklee, isn’t surprised by
Day after day he practiced technically challeng- Amendola’s wide-ranging sensibilities. “Some-
ing patterns at demanding tempos, a regimen of- times I’ve heard him on a gig and it’s so loud it’s
ten lasting 12 hours. almost painful,” Rieser said. “But it’s so musical
lenny gonzalez
While preparing for his audition, Amendola and it’s so emotional, and it always seems total-
lost interest not just in the music, but also his own ly appropriate. But I’ve also heard him play at a
approach. “What crossed my mind is I don’t hear whisper.”
the music that way,” he recalled. “I’m not that Amendola self-released his recent Lift Solid Sound Festival. Presented by the rock
drummer.” (SAZi) after two previous CDs on Crypto- group Wilco at the Massachusetts Museum of
Auditioning the next day in New York, gramophone. Alongside guitarist Jeff Parker and Contemporary Art, Amendola said, “The range
Amendola emphasized creativity over flashy bassist John Shifflett, the trio’s music encom- of ages of the people there was just phenomenal,
chops. During a ballad he stood up and scraped passes lyrical melodies, dissonant riffs and lay- and that’s what it’s about—trying to get people to
the cymbals with the tips of his drumsticks; the ers of electronic sounds that Amendola triggers like your music.”
resulting overtones created a jarring effect. using eight different devices. Amendola books his own bands at rock ven-
“I felt this is what I’m supposed to be doing,” Lift typifies a brand of jazz not belonging to ues. Such rooms attract audiences that typical-
he said. “It was almost like becoming an adult, one type of audience. The highlights include ly avoid pricey clubs and concert halls. “You’ll
in a way.” “The Knife,” an instrumental suggesting rock- play a Thelonious Monk song at a rock club, and
Amendola will celebrate his 19th year in the abilly and surf music. While discussing influ- people love it because they like music,” he said.
San Francisco Bay area this spring. His drum ences, Amendola recalls a gig in which he per- “However, they want to be able to have it present-
kit has shrunk to a four-piece and his focus has formed with Nels Cline last summer at the ed in their environment.” —Eric Fine

Masterpiece ★★★★★ Excellent ★★★★ Good ★★★ Fair ★★ Poor ★
Inside 
58 I Jazz
63 I Blues
65 I Beyond
68 I Historical
73 I Books
Joe Lovano Us Five

Bird Songs
Blue Note 05861
★★★★
W hat a smart idea, to recon-

textualize Charlie Parker’s
music in the lyrical, song-based con-
tinuum he no doubt thought of him-
self as living in, rather than as the
work of an angular, “radical” hero,
frozen in the past. And what better
guy to do the job than Joe Lovano, a
supremely lyrical, song-based play-
er himself, whose warm sound, me-
lodic gifts and unique rhythmic flu-
idity effortlessly envelope Parker’s
repertoire like a bear giving Bird a
big hug. Though the band occasion-
ally rambles, and the two-drummer
setup gets a bit distracting at times,
this project sparkles, normalizing
Parker at the same time as illumi-
nating—through several brilliant
devices—aspects of his composi-
tions and style we’ve become blind
to through overexposure.
Slowing “Donna Lee” and
“Moose The Mooche” to a crawl
is particularly brilliant, since speed
was such a bebop ideal. The former
is, after all, only “Indiana” in dis-
guise, and Lovano caresses the mel-
ody as if he were playing “Stardust.”
On the latter (based on “I Got
jimmy katz
Rhythm”), he spins into swing time

and pianist James Weidman ex-
hibits a graceful sense of phrasing. to on “Ko Ko” is pure Kirk) and the the choppy bite and throaty squalls In much the same way James
“Blues Collage,” a brave foray that rhythm section changing keys with of Sonny Rollins on both. The sp- Joyce made readers hear the English
recalls Lennie Tristano, makes a abandon. The “straight” version, roingy percussion of a Brazilian language in the context of its histo-
fugue of three Bird blues, played si- rubato, is like a little symphonette. samba school sneaks into “Dewey ry, Lovano has shined a light on a
multaneously on alto saxophone, pi- Lovano’s lengthy deconstruction of Square,” though the double-drum musical language we all speak to-
ano and bass. It comes and goes in the intro to “Ko Ko” is breathtak- feature closing the track feels arbi- day, but whose particulars we may
a flash and when it’s over you shake ing, as snatches of that starburst re- trary and unrelated to the tune. The have become numb to. Great work.
your head and say, “Huh? I think I’d peatedly interrupt his lines. percussion gets a little annoying —Paul de Barros
like to hear that again.” The band The band’s calypso-goosed ver- on Lovano’s mezzo soprano saxo-
takes two stabs at “Yardbird Suite,” sion of “Barbados” came as a natu- phone outing on “Lover Man,” too, Bird Songs: Passport; Donna Lee; Barbados;
Moose The Mooche: Lover Man; Birdyard: Ko
the first the loopy “Birdyard,” with ral inspiration while playing on that though the lift he gives that tune— Ko; Blues Collage; Dexterity; Dewey Square;
Lovano playing the double-sopra- island, and Latin rhythms infuse associated with so much pain in the
Yardbird Suite. (65:33)
Personnel: Joe Lovano, tenor saxophone, alto
no he calls the aulochrome (not the much of the playing here, not only Bird saga—is a nice touch. Gifted saxophone, aulochrome, mezzosoprano saxo-
phone; James Weidman, piano; Esperanza
only reference to Rahsaan Roland on that one, but the happy open- bassist Esperanza Spalding’s warm, Spalding, bass; Otis Brown III, Francisco Mela,
drums.
Kirk here; Lovano’s opening vibra- er, “Passport”; Lovano references fleet solo is a treat. Ordering info: bluenote.com

Kevin Eubanks house. Gary Elkins’ piano is slinky and
Zen Food sly, and saxophonist Bill Pierce rolls
Mack Avenue 1054 in with a sweeping, bump-and-grind
★★★ tenor before everything sinks back
into tranquility. It’s a modestly rous-
S ome years ago I gave five stars to

a Doc Severensen CD by the old
“Tonight Show” big band. Perhaps
ing performance in an otherwise soft
set. Pierce’s most animated work is on
“Los Angeles,” a fast, straight-up romp
more than it had coming, but it seemed that remains the truest test track for
a rousing account of some familiar any tenor. “6/8” also offers some fair-
swing staples. And familiarity, espe- ly exciting guitar-tenor interaction and
cially well rendered, tends to seduce a deft interlude of uplifting brushwork
critical rectitude. from Marvin Smith. Eubanks’ talents
Here Kevin Eubanks, Severensen’s make short work of such intense tem-
principal successor, offers his first pos, though when he occasionally dou-
post-“Tonight” effort, and I find my- bles up, his lines become clogged and
self a little less seduced. The band is immobile.
Eubanks’ working quintet from the lo- “Adoration” is a quiet duet between
cal Baked Potato, and it’s as formed Eubanks (at his most pensive) and
and polished a unit as you’d expect ris- Elkins, while “I Remember Loving You”
ing from the cream of the Los Angeles is so dreamy it almost nods off. But such
music scene. There’s no trading on the gauzy tempos give Eubanks the open
“Tonight Show” either. So Eubanks, whose pro- tiple ensemble themes and interlocking tempo space to let notes bend and flex into soft sinewy
file under Jay Leno was fairly utilitarian, any- shifts that give his pieces a sense of architectur- curves. Weakest of the slower pieces is “G.G.,” a
way, takes the freedom to play with the kind of al exactitude and structure. The short but eager two-note theme that never changes key or seems
ideas he was thinking about when the cameras motifs of “Dancing Sea” and “Spider Monkey to stop sighing. Though Eubanks and Pierce play
were off. Café” become memorable by sheer weight of against it a bit, the main lesson is that little can
The result builds on 10 originals of the con- repetition—10 times in five minutes for the for- come of pushing an F against a C for four min-
temporary mainstream variety: well-burnished, mer —then are forgotten. But then, gauging utes. —John McDonough
atmospheric silhouettes in the contemporary original music can often be a fool’s game. Zen Food: The Dancing Sea; Spider Monkey Café; The Dirty
mainstream that one often hears more easi- “Dirty Monk” begins reflectively, taking Monk; Adoration; Los Angeles; I Remember Loving You; 6/8; G.G.;
Offering; Das It. (59:16)
ly than listens to. It’s not that Eubanks isn’t su- pleasure in its own sound. It then morphs into Personnel: Kevin Eubanks, guitar; Bill Pierce, saxophone; Gary
premely versatile and skilled. He deploys mul- the barroom bluesiness of a Friday night road-
Elkins, keyboards; Rene Camacho, bass; Marvin Smith, drums.
Ordering info: mackavenue.com
Wadada Leo Smith/ quartet. Smith is much too strong an in-

Ed Blackwell dividualist to play anyone else’s role, and
The Blue Mountain’s while he has a definite multicultural orien-
Sun Drummer tation and clearly loves the raw sonic poten-
Kabell 111 tial of the trumpet, you’d never mistake him
★★★★½ for Cherry. On The Blue Mountain’s Sun
Drummer his radiant core sound, warm
M emory has the capacity to

cloud or improve a concert,
which makes recordings of spe-
and projective, floats over Blackwell’s im-
possibly relaxed drumming.
When Smith brings in mbira, making
cial meetings particularly impor- his own plucky percussion, Blackwell re-
tant. When an event brings brilliant sponds perfectly, adding soft gong or quick
players like Wadada Leo Smith and cross-rhythmic rimshots. On “Sellasie-I,”
Edward Blackwell together for a first he pumps a repeated six-note pattern on the
meeting, the excitement and antici- kick-drum so delicately you’d think he was
pation can play havoc on one’s criti- using his hands. At the time I recall hav-
cal facilities. In mind’s hindsight the ing trouble with Smith’s holistic recitations.
music we hear might not match the Listening back, I don’t understand my ret-
music that was actually made. icence. He has a beautiful voice and the
It’s a pleasure to be able to say that quiet interludes are a welcome part of the
on this occasion the music actual- performance’s dynamic. When Smith and
ly surpasses the memory. In 1986, Blackwell swing into higher gear, as on
Smith and Blackwell played together on a radio to pretty it up; it was cramped and a little uncom- “Albert Ayler In A Spiritual Light,” the tremen-
broadcast concert series at WBRS at Brandeis fortable. But it was unforgettable. dous sensitivity of two highly attuned souls is un-
University. The performance took place in what The main reference points in our heads were deniable. —John Corbett
was, in essence, an atrium or hallway outside the two spectacularly important BYG/Actuel LPs The Blue Mountain’s Sun Drummer: Uprising; Love; Seeds Of A
the radio studio: a very humble setting for such that Blackwell had made with Don Cherry in Celestial River; Don’t You Remember; Sellasie-I; Seven Arrows In
Forgotten Flower; The Blue Mountain’s Sun Drummer; Mto: The
splendid sounds. I was fortunate to be part of a 1969. On these the drummer had proven himself The Garden Of Light; Buffalo People: A Blues Ritual Dance; Albert
Ayler In A Spiritual Light. (51:43)
small audience. Seating was on the floor, a few to be even more expansive and responsive than voice; Ed Blackwell,
Personnel: Wadada Leo Smith, trumpet, flugelhorn, flute, mbira,
drums, percussion.
feet from the musicians. To say it was intimate is we’d known from his time in Ornette Coleman’s Ordering info: wadadaleosmith.com

Hot Box
The
CD Critics 
Joe Lovano Us Five

John McDonough John Corbett Jim Macnie Paul de Barros
★★★★½ ★★★★½ ★★★★ ★★★★

Bird Songs
Kevin Eubanks ★★★ ★★★½ ★★½ ★★★

Zen Food
Wadada Leo Smith/

Ed Blackwell ★★★½ ★★★★½ ★★★★ ★★★
The Blue Mountain’s Sun Drummer
The Dave Liebman Group The Dave Liebman Group

Turnaround Turnaround
★★★★ ★★★½ ★★★★ ★★★½
Jazzwerkstatt 079
★★★★ Critics’ Comments 
E ric Boeren bent him. John Zorn and Tim

Berne ran him through the grinder. Old
And New Dreams kissed his ring. Improvisers
Joe Lovano Us Five, Bird Songs
Lovano paints his Parker much as Picasso painted his women: a phrase here, a theme there, scrambling the
have tried all sorts of ways to tackle Ornette configurations and finding fresh juxtapositions. He re-imagines “Donna Lee” as a ballad, “Moose” as a dirge
and “Cool Blues” pasted into “Scrapple.” Lovano’s rendering is masterfully original. —John McDonough
Coleman. On this sashay through the iconoclast’s
songbook, Dave Liebman has his ultra-tight The songbook notion has been squeezed dry by folks desperate for a good idea, but Lovano’s impetus here
comes from a circumstance of plenitude, not scarcity—he’s got so much juju that even a Charlie Parker project
group re-imagine 10 of the maestro’s pieces— turns out wonderfully. Rare to find two drummers working together with such clarity. —John Corbett
some usual suspects, some oddballs—illustrat- Parker is a tough nut to crack, but as usual Lovano has his own take on this material. Nothing too abstract;
ing just how pliable the material is. In doing so swinging is something that the bandleader does naturally. But there are some nice wrinkles in the arrange-
he somehow liberates Coleman, or at least cracks ments, and it’s refreshing to hear jewels like “Dexterity” and “Dewey Square” tenor-ized by a living titan.
—Jim Macnie
apart the now-codified architecture of those clas-
sic Atlantic quartets. Liebman has no interest in Kevin Eubanks, Zen Food
mirror images, however. During several of these
Must be a challenge coming back to the creative side from the highest echelon of the commercial. Eubanks
feisty little performances, it takes a second to has great facility and is very inventive, particularly at brisker tempos where his soft fingerpad attack, gutsy lines
hear Coleman floating around the room. and supple way with time are often thrilling. —John Corbett
That, of course, speaks to Liebman’s individ- Wonderfully agile guitar playing, but in the service of tunes that stretch from predictable to pedestrian. As
uality. This homage stresses his imagination much as I’m impressed by the fleet fingers of “Los Angeles,” I’m not sure that I’d ever need to hear it again.
One nifty twist: the acoustic duet of “Adoration,” which might fit on a Dan Fogelberg or Bruce Cockburn disc.
as much as it illustrates sax prowess. From the —Jim Macnie
wooden flute of “Lonely Woman” to the Steve Eubanks plays with fluid drive and imagination, soaring through passages with speedy, odd-numbered clusters
Lacy-like chirps of “Bird Food,” there are dis- of notes that ride over the time, but there’s a glossy patina that makes almost everything feel remote, like it’s
crete approaches to each tune. Using a series of happening in a fish tank. I found myself most attracted to the simple, folksy acoustic guitar arpeggios of “Ado-
ration,” though “Los Angeles” has a brawny, frenetic appeal. —Paul de Barros
ballsy exclamations, “Turnaround” enjoys sever-
al slants, the most convincing of which are a strip- Wadada Leo Smith/Ed Blackwell, The Blue Mountain’s Sun Drummer
club swagger and a momentary barroom shuffle.
Somewhere between the space guitar and the Think Rex Stewart, Sonny Greer and “Menelik,” and this duo looks less insurgent than it might seem, notwith-
standing the AACM pedigree. Lots of trills, fanfares and fireworks, but safely anchored in melodic roots. Sheer
cracked second line allusions, Liebman finds a length gives it the avant glaze of a daring marathon coda. But Stewart’s subtone mischief was first and briefer.
way to bring the bluesy side of Texas to the table —John McDonough
while dodging honking-and-shouting orthodoxy. What a joy to hear Blackwell in action again. I’d forgotten just how compelling he was. He sets up his partner
Technique has its place. “Kathelin Gray” is nicely here. Smith’s strong suit is the clarion approach, but here, the bittersweet musings and ballad maneu-
vers—poignant squeaks, poetic sighs—stand out. —Jim Macnie
one of Coleman’s most plaintive ballads, and the
A postmodern field holler by a usually more abstract trumpet player exploring his melodic side. It’s an
smooch it gets from Team Liebman places its el- appropriate move, given Blackwell’s gifts in that department, though the interaction between the two is
egance front and center. The leader’s reeds are limited by the fact that Blackwell lays down a pulse while Smith ranges freely; the conversation rarely
full of grace, and guitar foil Vic Juris comes off breaks open. The mood here is also far from celebratory, but mired in lonely pain—otherwise known as
the blues. —Paul de Barros
with lithe lines on nylon strings. The foursome
has an aggressive side, though. It’s also a kick The Dave Liebman Group, Turnaround
to hear them tumble through the turf of “Cross
Liebman find new doors into Coleman’s prime 1958–’61 songbook, softening the harshness without damp-
Breeding,” a pithy investigation into freedom. ening the logic or restlessness. “Lonely Woman” transforms into a dark, brooding soundscape. “Breeding”
With Coleman, Liebman comes up with one generates a tangle of bracing interplay. —John McDonough
of his most novel celebrations yet. —Jim Macnie Unexpected songbook project from the saxophonist, some fascinating repurposing of (mostly early) Coleman,
surprising arrangements like strummed chords on “Una Muy Bonita” and intensified blues of the title cut. One
Turnaround: Enfant; Turnaround; Kathelin Gray; Bird Food; Lonely grave error: dressing “Lonely Woman” in exotic garb and removing the dignity from the tune. —John Corbett
Woman; Cross Breeding; Face Of The Bass/Beauty Is A Rare
Thing; Una Muy Bonita; The Blessing; The Sky. (60:34) Liebman has evolved into such an expressive musician, it’s ironic that Coleman’s repertoire has him occasion-
Personnel: Dave Liebman, tenor and soprano saxophones, ally relying too much on a clever plan. That said, I can’t think of anyone else who has captured Coleman’s
wooden flute; Vic Juris, electric and acoustic guitars; Tony Marino,
acoustic bass; Marko Marcinko, drums and percussion. unique time feel so accurately. —Paul de Barros
Ordering info: jazzwerkstatt.com

Benjamin Herman
Hypochristmastreefuzz
Dox 096
★★½
P ianist Misha Mengelberg’s influence on

younger musicians in the Netherlands
should not come as a surprise. Alto saxophon-
ist Benjamin Herman pays tribute to him on this
action-packed double-CD that is divided into a
studio and a live set. Given Mengelberg’s reputa-
tion as an avant-gardist, the performances swing
surprisingly hard and are often dance-enticing.
Herman’s earlier work with the pianist and the
presence of bass player Ernst Glerum, a longtime
Mengelberg associate, add to the legitimacy.
On the studio session, drummer Joost ophonist should be commended for putting fun
Patocko joins Herman and Glerum to form a and entertainment back into jazz, but the good
core trio and the occasional additions provide nature fails to compensate for the predictability
some variety: children voices, vocalist Ruben of most of the solos. After the initial impact, the
Hein, guitarist Anton Goudsmit, Willem Friede effect quickly wears thin because Herman deci-
on mellotron, or even Glerum doubling on the sion relies on some of the cliches that have be-
philicorda, a keyboard developed by the Philips come the Dutch scene’s trademark, namely the
company. The band revisits compositions that overly witty and cartoonish references to styles
span Mengelberg’s extensive career, and the in- that have seen better days under the leadership of
terpretations stress his earlier influences as well Mengelberg himself. —Alain Drouot
as tunefulness. A fine example is “Brozziman,” Hypochristmastreefuzz: CD1: Hypochristmastreefuzz; Brozzi-
an r&b stomper that benefits from Herman’s man; No Idea; De Sprong O Romantiek Der Hazen; Rollo III; Kwela
P Kwana; Blues After Piet; Wij Gaan Naar De Italiaan; Arm Wiel;
raunchy delivery. Een Beetje Zenuwachtig; Interview with Misha Mengelberg. (47:42)
The second disc is a live performance at the
CD2: Een Beetje Zenuwachting; Arachibutyrophobia; De Sprong O
Romantiek Der Haren; Do the Roach; Kwela P Kwana; Blues After
North Sea Jazz Festival. This time, Goudsmit Piet; Arm Wiel; Brozziman; Announcement. (59:00)
Personnel: Benjamin Herman, alto saxophone; Anton Goudsmit,
joins the trio on all the selections and the combo guitar; Ernst Glerum, bass, philicorda (2, 9); Joost Patocka, drums;
Willem Friede, mellotron (4); Ruben Hein, vocals (4).
raises the energy level another notch. The sax- Ordering info: doxrecords.com
Taylor Eigsti ers the music of Feist, Elliott

Daylight At Smith, Mutemath and Imogen
Midnight Heap.
Concord 32100 Throughout, Eigsti and his
★★★★ bandmates keep the proceed-
ings focused yet flexible, al-
T aylor Eigsti contin-

ues his stride in be-
coming one of the most
lowing for engaging group
dialogue and exciting impro-
visations. Yet it’s the pres-
compelling and subver- ence of singer Becca Stevens
sively soulful jazz pia- that elevates the disc slight-
nists of his generation. ly about other like-minded
The former child prodi- discs. She draws you in with
gy is a true modernist, someone capable of ac- her gorgeous voice while also making you pay
cessing a wealth of jazz history, who embellishes attention to the lyrics on the evocative rendition
his music with pop, electronica and r&b elements of Feist’s “The Water” and her misty-eyed take
and then articulates it all in a seamless, willfully on Smith’s “Between The Bars.” Interestingly
uncontrived manner. enough, she’s most poignant on the originals
Like kindred spirits Robert Glasper and such as “Magnolia” and “Midnight After Noon,”
Brad Mehldau, Eigsti explicitly explores the pop which best feature her exquisite, economical and
realm on Daylight At Midnight. Leading a sup- expressive phrasing and slightly bristly soprano.
ple ensemble that includes Eric Harland’s crack- Because of how Eigsti and the ensemble cast
ling, almost hip-hop-centric drumming, Harish a consistent, late-night haze throughout the disc,
Raghaven’s shadowy yet supportive bass lines nothing leaps out in an obvious way.
and Julian Lage’s burnished guitar chords on —John Murph
many tracks, Eigsti delivers a suspenseful rendi- Daylight At Midnight: Daylight; Magnolia; The Art Teacher; The
tion of Rufus Wainwright’s “The Art Teacher,” Water; Pink Moon; Little Bird; Secreto; Chaos; Between The Bars;
Speaking Song; Midnight After Noon. (55:09)
a heartfelt, bucolic take on Nick Drake’s “Pink Personnel: Taylor Eigsti, piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer electric
piano; Harish Raghaven, electric bass, acoustic bass; Julian Lage,
Moon” and gives a dramatic almost broken-beat guitar (2, 5); Eric Harland, drums; Becca Stevens, vocals, ukulele
feel to Coldplay’s “Daylight.” Elsewhere, he cov-
(2); vocals (4, 6, 9, 11).
Ordering info: concordmusicgroup.com

Vinicius Cantuária ing all over the song with signature touches and
& Bill Frisell Cantuária singing as one possessed. These are
Lagrimas Mexicanas songs where the unexpected and novel meet with
Entertainment One Music 2110 the gentle upending of the song form, keeping
★★★ you close and listening for what may suddenly
appear just around the corner. Lee Townsend’s
T hese two artists have already

logged some pretty amazing mu-
sic miles between them (over the course
production, facilitates all this intimacy.
However, most of Lagrimas Mexicanas
emerges as a modest success, coming via sim-
of 25 years). Highlights include his The ple, unadorned almost self-effacing efforts
Intercontinentals and his three spots on like the anthemic instrumentals “La Curva”
Cantuária’s Vinicius. In both settings, the and “Cafezhino” or the playful but musical-
artists on board, combined with superb ly straightforward title track, where the cho-
writing and arranging, offered up amaz- rus and chord progression are repeated but go
ing results, and with musics that are as var- nowhere, Frisell’s flourishes the only aberrant
ied as they were indicative of each leader’s touches that keep things interesting. Having said
evolving musical personalities at the time that, the closer, “Forinfas,” manages to turn this
of these recordings. approach on its head, the song’s playful, Hoagy
This new collaboration (their first as co-lead- tive fancy. From the sweet, lyrical turns of phrase Carmichael-ish whimsy and loving glances re-
ers) is an occasion for celebration, if only in that that only Cantuária’s intimate, haunting voice vealing yet another side to the Brazilian bard.
it signals that these two incredible music forc- can muster (he sings in a mix of Portuguese, And while nobody does this kind of music bet-
es continue to hang. Unfortunately, Lagrimas Spanish and English throughout the album) to ter, Lagrimas Mexicanas often plays as if the
Mexicanas, with few exceptions, plays more like the delicate timing and odd, subtle effects that two were approaching the material a tad too rev-
a series of experiments en route to being fin- only Frisell and his guitar can conjure up, “Mi erentially, almost as folk music to be conveyed,
ished works than the real deal. Listed as co-au- Declaracion” reflects the best that these two are and not, as in years past, what could be the stuff
thors across all 10 tunes, the best cut is the first capable of, the song’s delicate waltzing rhythm dreams are made of. —John Ephland
cut, which seems to signal that this duo’s unique gliding the duo’s mingling vocal and guitar lines Lagrimas Mexicanas: Mi Declaración; Calle 7; La Curva; Lágri-
take on all things Brazilian and beyond, will, exquisitely. Similarly, with another slow drawl, mas Mexicanas; Lágrimas de Amor; Cafezinho; El Camino;
Aquela Mulher; Briga de Namorados; Forinfas. (41:08)
like other collaborations, serve as a launching this time in 4/4, “Calle 7” marries a seductive yet Personnel: Vinicius Cantuária, vocals, percussion and acoustic
guitar; Bill Frisell, electric and acoustic guitars, loops.
pad for even more imaginative flights of inven- simple rhythm with an expressive Frisell crawl- Ordering info: entertainmentonegroup.com

Jazz | By Eric fine
New Organ-ic Voices The City Champs:

George Sluppick
(left), Joe Restivo
and Al Gamble
While some contemporary musicians keep
the unwieldy Hammond B-3 relevant, the
repertoire often sounds like the heyday of
Jimmy Smith, along with the same old adjec-
tives: “soulful,” “greasy,” “bluesy,” “churchy,”
“funky.” Yet the organ combo remains as du-
rable as the stately big band, and new voices
are present and always welcome.
Organ player Jeff Palmer is the rare down-
town (or experimental) player on a largely up-
town scene. Permutation (Rank R604; 44:02
★★★★), his 17th under-the-radar release,
Trondheim Jazz Orchestra
bridges this gap. Backed by Palmer’s work-
& Eirik Hegdal with Special
ing band, the album features blues riffs galore; Guest Joshua Redman
most of the tracks fall between roughly two to Triads And More
MNJ 010
four minutes. Alto saxophonist Devin Garra-
mone’s freeform flights often climax in the al- ★★★★
tissimo register. Drummer John Fisher creates
a dense pocket, lots of bashing and splashy
cymbals. The set’s off-kilter sensibilities make
up for its lack of variety. The tracks include
F or his recordings and at his gigs, saxo-
phonist Joshua Redman has built up repu-
tation for emerging himself in diverse settings.
unusual sounds such as an alarm clock, chil- ing back to 1960s instrumental rock and r&b Performing unaccompanied? Check. Leading a
dren’s voices, or just weird organ effects. The fare, the tight, catchy tunes would work well quintet with two double bassists and two drum-
highlights include a live recording of “Penetra- as backing tracks for a singer. There is, how- mers? Affirmative. Being a co-founding member
tion” and the exuberant “Pancakes.” But there ever, little stretching out or jazz-inspired so- of the all-star SFJAZZ Collective? Sure.
isn’t a weak track. phistication. Yet Joe Restivo’s guitar parts on Still, few would have anticipated this record-
Ordering info: rankrecordsinc.com “Ricky’s Rant” and “Chinatown,” and the calling with Norway’s Trondheim Jazz Orchestra
While Joey DeFrancesco needs no in- and-response between Restivo and Al Gam- (TJO). Redman was the artist-in-residence at the
troduction, his colleagues on the co-led One ble’s Hammond on “Local Jones,” remind us 2006 Molde International Jazz Festival, where
Take, Volume Four (Alma ACD11912; 54:52 how good pop music can sound. The album
he played with the 12-piece TJO. The parties
★★★★½) are less well-known. The trio of is also well recorded.
reunited two years later for more concerts in
Canadians includes piano, sax and drums.
Scandinavia as well as a recording of the works,
Ordering info: scottbomar.com
The choice of a blues and several war horses The title track of Jared Gold’s Out Of Line
(“Tenderly,” “Broadway,” etc.) sounds vanilla, (Posi-tone PR8067; 50:56 ★★★★) refreshes
which were composed by fellow saxophonist and
but the results are inspired. No bass? No prob- the organ’s gene pool: a modal-sounding co-leader Eirik Hegdal. The orchestra consists
lem, as DeFrancesco pinch-hits with panache head, played by tenor player Chris Cheek, that of jazz and classical alumni of the University
(but more legato). Phil Dwyer’s commitment to has few if any blue notes. The rest of the set of Trondheim and currently fields a guitar-dou-
the modern mainstream tenor tradition recalls features a bop tune, Songbook standards and ble bass-drums rhythm section as well as wood-
Grant Stewart. Robi Botos complements De- classic pop songs. “Preachin’” begins as a lei- winds, brass and strings.
Francesco, whether playing fleet bop lines on surely soul-jazz stroll spotlighting guitarist Dave The centerpiece of Triads And More is a
piano or adding color with a Fender Rhodes. Stryker. Gold’s subsequent organ solo demon- four-movement, 20-plus minute “Blind March-
On an up-tempo reading of “Village Green,” strates why he deserves more exposure—a ing Band” suite that kicks off the album and, cu-
everyone contributes something memorable. series of double-time runs that breathe fire riously, is concluded on the second-to-last track.
Ordering info: almarecords.com and brimstone. With less space, Gold reaches “The Opening” commences with Redman’s ten-
Bob Mintzer’s Canyon Cove (self rel- for similar heights on Stevie Wonder’s “You or assuredly floating over a semi-cacophonous
tease; 68:35 ★★½) features a high-profile Haven’t Done Nothin’,” pushing well past the bed of horns, strings and drums. “Flow Away”
trio that includes organ player Larry Gold- groove embedded in the song’s foundation. mixes a hearty sax trio passage with Redman
ings and drummer Peter Erskine. Originally Ordering info: posi-tone.com and Hegdal battling it out on tenor and bari-
released in Japan, this hour-plus set has its Guitarist Corey Christiansen’s Outlaw tone saxophone, respectively, and superb comp-
moments. Mintzer’s choice of bass clarinet on Tractor (Origin 82562; 50:12 ★★★½) is the ing from the rest of the orchestra. The stunning
“Bebop Special” proves surprisingly effective. second release to feature a quartet hailing
“Eroiki” features some of Redman’s most beau-
Goldings and Erskine play strong grooves on mostly from the Western part of the country.
tiful tenor playing to date, while on the title track
“Bugaloo To You” and especially the title track; But there’s nothing West Coast about its in-
Redman demonstrates how effortlessly he can
it’s not a coincidence Mintzer reacts with more tent. The group recalls hard-bop more than
urgency. Even with three free-jazz tracks, too anything: fast tempos, catchy riffs and inspired
stretch—and play—out. — Yoshi Kato
much of the album is composed of bluesy sax solos stoked by drummer Matt Jorgensen’s Triads And More: Blind Marching Band: The Opening; Blind
or clarinet over bright organ swirls. shuffle rhythms and backbeats. Christiansen, Marching Band: Parade; Blind Marching Band: Flow Away; Triads
And More; Walking On Green; Glory; Eroiki; Country; Peas. A Stew;
Ordering info: bobmintzer.com tenor saxophonist David Halliday and organ Blind Marching Band: Marching Home; Hymn Hymn. (72:32)
You rarely hear recorded music like the player Pat Bianchi all shine. Yet the group’s re- Personnel: Joshua Redman, tenor/soprano saxophone; Trine
Knutsen, flute, piccolo, alto flute; Stig Førde Aarksog, clarinet, bass
City Champs’ The Set-Up (Electraphonic straint on the blues ballad “When You Want” clarinet; Eirik Hegdal, baritone/soprano/sopranino saxophone;
Eivind Lønning, trumpet, piccolo trumpet; Stein Villanger, French
ER 105; 43:18 ★★★) played by an actual speaks just as loudly. DB horn; Erik Johannessen, trombone; Ola Kvernberg, violin; Øyvind
band—so much in this vein is sampled. Hark- Ordering info: origin-records.com Engen, Marianne Baudouin Lie, cello; Nils Olav Johansen, guitars;
Mats Eilertsen, double bass; Tor Haugerud, drums, percussion.
Ordering info: trondheimjazzorchestra.no

The Microscopic Septet quality, and the proceedings move decided-
Friday The Thirteenth, The ly freer for baritone saxist Dave Sewelson’s
Micros Play Monk raucous solo “outing” on the otherwise rock
Cuneiform 310 and roiling, spanking-the-backbeat take
★★★★ on “Teo.” The famed intervallic melody of
“Misterioso” is wryly over-accentuated, as if
V irtually every jazz musician or ag-

gregate worth their salt could em-
bark on a tribute to the glorious and ev-
played by a teetering machine-cum-monster,
yielding to a slow-brew blues.
From the party-phonic end of the spec-
er-fresh Thelonious Monk songbook and trum, “We See” heads to New Orleans-ian
create a personalized vision of the music, second line, and “Bye-Ya” sounds fine and
in a particular artist’s own image. For the natural in its calypso. The rubbery ease
long-standing, avant-swinging and semi- of “Worry Later” lives up to its Zen koan-
zany Microscopic Septet, the natural in- like title and nicely showcases soprano sax-
clination is to play up the idea of Monk ist Philip Johnston and pianist Joel Forrester
as a mystic trickster genius—an jazz de- (leader Johnston and Forrester are the proj-
ity whose music brilliantly straddled the ect’s main arrangers, as well). For the al-
paradoxical approaches of inside-out- bum’s stellar title track, “Friday The 13th,”
side, bebop-experimental, urban-rootsy horns open lightly over tickling rimshot
and passionate-cool. The Micros can go there, On this wonderful Monk celebration, the work from drummer Richard Dworkin, expand-
and do so persuasively on this fascinating trip to Micros grab onto Monk’s angular themes, giving into some blissfully chaotic collective im-
Monkville. ing a new sinew and sheen to tunes like “Off provisation before landing in the land of swing,
As it happens, the septet—whose “micro- Minor,” the gleaming ballad “Pannonica” and half-time lazing and a lulling anthemic melodic
scopic” qualifier indicates an agenda of think- the classic set-closer (and here, album-closer) statement to close. It all adds up to a half-bow-
ing big in a more compact package—supplies “Epistrophy.” Vis-a-vis the inside-outside plan, ing, half-smirking and wholly suitable love let-
just about the right size and attitude to beefing the album’s arrangements continually swerve ter to the Monk songbook. —Josef Woodard
up Monk’s music while retaining its leanness and from fidelity to the source to agreeable liberties Friday The Thirteenth, The Micros Play Monk: Brilliant Corners;
internally logical strangeness. Big band Monk taken, starting with the mostly faithful opening Friday the 13th; Gallop’s Gallop; Teo; Pannonica; Evidence; We
See; Off Minor; Bye-Ya; Worry Later; Misterioso; Epistrophy. (59:21)
can get unwieldy, or unfocused. But the Micros blast of “Brilliant Corners.” “Evidence,” with Personnel:. Philip Johnston, soprano saxophone; Don Davis, alto
saxophone; Mike Hashim, tenor saxophone; Dave Sewelson, bari-
find the sweet spot between large ensemble pal- its playfully stabbing syncopations, doesn’t need tone saxophone; Joel Forrester, piano; David Hofstra, bass; Richard
ette and fattened-up combo sounds. much rethinking to capture the tune’s modernist Ordering info: cuneiformrecords.com
Dworkin, drums.
Jason Stein’s
Locksmith Isidore
Three Kinds Of Happiness
NotTwo 846
★★★½
B ass clarinetist Jason Stein says on his web-

site that his instrument’s range is enough to
keep him busy for many lifetimes. The Chicago-
based musician works exclusively on that wood-
wind, and his aesthetic doesn’t suffer for it.
Though his enthusiasm for jazz’s outer
reaches is palpable, Stein hews close to the tra-
dition on Three Kinds Of Happiness, the latest
dispatch from his trio, Locksmith Isidore. Titled
after a concept coined by Plato, the album’s a
treatise of sorts that finds the restless reedist ma- Traces of Eric Dolphy abound, as the bandlead-
neuvering the middle of the jazz spectrum. That’s er deploys quirky motifs with a cool, supple tone. Charles Evans/Neil Shah
not to say it’s staid—spontaneity dominates the In addition to Dolphy, other iconoclasts in- Live At Saint Stephens
disc. A string of ideas spills out of Stein’s horn forming Stein include Archie Shepp and Joe Hot Cup 092
before the head snaps the band back into place Maneri, each of whom gets a pun-filled nod on ★★★★½
on opening track “Crayons For Sammy.” Jason “Arch And Shipp” and “Man Or Ray.” On the
Roebke’s elegant walking bass drives it to swing
swiftly and playfully.
Roebke makes the instrument creak and
latter, one of this album’s most satisfying cuts,
Stein honks and chirps over bustling low end and T
his fantastic and exciting duo album from
baritone saxophonist Charles Evans and
skittering ride cymbal. Tones bleed together in pianist Neil Shah continues to blow me away.
moan with his bow on the ruminative “Ground succession, offering a glimpse at the clarinetist’s Recorded in January 2009 at Saint Stephen’s
Floor South,” until Stein beckons the rhythm fearless sonic palette. —Areif Sless-Kitain Episcopal Church in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., this al-
section into a slow-burning shuffle. Mike Pride, Three Kinds of Happiness: Crayons For Sammy; Cash, Couch, bum is more of an art music chamber recital than
a drummer known for his heavy hand, offers And Camper; Little Bird; Ground Floor South; Arch And Shipp;
More Gone Door Gone; Man Or Ray; Miss Izzy. (59:23) it is a jazz date. Evans’ compositions are high-
understated support in this setting, his tasteful Personnel: Jason Stein, bass clarinet; Jason Roebke, bass; Mike ly complex, chromatic and dissonant, the music
Pride, drums.
brush-work allowing plenty of breathing room. Ordering info: nottwo.com rarely “swings,” and their improvisational vo-
cabulary seems to draw more from 20th Century
concert music than jazz.
Sidi Touré & Friends Cavernous, raw, massive, pliable and com-
Sahel Folk plex describe Evans’ astounding baritone sound.
Thrill Jockey 256 His virtuosity and creativity are impressive.
★★★★ Evans demonstrates his ability to make his bari
do whatever he wants, from rich and sustained
S idi Touré was never supposed to make mu-

sic. His family, Malian nobility, disap-
proved of his singing as a child, and his broth-
altissimo, to multiphonics, to trills, huge inter-
vallic leaps, alternate fingerings, rapid changes
of dynamics to ferocious furies in the horn’s bot-
er often broke the guitars he made from found tom end. His ability to manipulate pitch and ton-
materials. He persisted, though, developing al color recalls Johnny Hodges. Shah is Evans’
a repertoire and approach on his instrument perfect counterpart. He uses the entire keyboard,
that stretch the folk music of his homeland into pulling out crystalline right-hand runs, sparse
something new. rolled chords and thick, heavy, dissonant two-
Thirteen years after his electrified, frenetic hand block chords at will. Shah varies his accom-
debut, Sahel Folk shows another side of him. paniment pattern, keeping the music interesting
Each song on the album pairs him with one three-string kurbu and Jambala Maïga on the and giving Evans more to engage with. His in-
friend, indulging in casual acoustic conversa- monochordal kuntigui add some much-needed ventive solos, especially on “Junie,” often exper-
tion in the front room of a house in his Malian tonal variety. Some of the most exciting playing iment with and reconfigure melodic fragments.
hometown of Gao. Most of his five collaborators on the album is found in Douma Maïga’s virtuo- “Mother And Others” displays Evans and Shah
have never recorded before, and the spartan con- so kurbu leads on “Bera Nay Wassa.” His terse, at their conversational best. They trade and feed
text makes each of their debuts feel like a minor fluid phrasing translates well outside the Songhai off each other’s version of the tune, developing it
revelation. traditions the music comes from. into something new.
Those familiar with Touré’s ragged, rough The recording process was as unhurried as The acoustics of Saint Stephen’s, along with
debut may be surprised by the crisp, finely ar- the music: on day one, Touré and his current the excellent engineering, create an intimate al-
ticulated interplay captured here. His three duets collaborator chose songs over tea; on day two, bum with superb sound quality. Evans’ key ac-
with the late Jiba Akolane Touré are nearly tele- they recorded just two takes of each to preserve tion, like his breathing, is just barely audible.
pathic; their cyclical arpeggios merge so thor- a spirit of spontaneity. It was the right approach. Shah’s piano tone is dynamic, and his touch
oughly as to become one. As children, Sidi Touré Sahel Folk finds its strength in simplicity. comes to life. Even the silence haunts.
and Dourra Cissé played their homemade guitars —Joe Tangari —Chris Robinson
together on the way to school. Here, their playing Sahel Folk: Bon Koum; Adema; Djarii Ber; Bera Nay Wassa; Sïnji; Live At Saint Stephens: Junie—Part I “The Father,” Part II “The
is a series of calls and responses that beget real Kongo; Haallah; Wayey Zarrabo; Artiatanat. (50:12)
Personnel: Sidi Touré, guitar, vocals; Dourra Cissé, guitar, vocals;
Friend”; On Tone Yet—Parts I, II and III; Mono Monk; An Die Fliegen-
den Fische; Mother And Others; What Worked, What Didn’t; What
dramatic tension and effortless shifts in rhythm. Douma Maïga, kurbu; Jambala Maïga, kuntigui, vocals; Jiba Ako-
lane Touré, guitar, vocals; Yéhiya Arby, guitar, vocals.
Wouldn’t, What Would’ve. (54:24)
Personnel: Charles Evans, baritone saxophone; Neil Shah, piano.
Touré’s duets with Douma Maïga on the Ordering info: thrilljockey.com Ordering info: hotcuprecords.com

Joona Toivanen Trio
At My Side
CAM Jazz 3308
★★½
A t the top of Federico Scoppio’s liner notes

to this Finnish threesome’s release, he ac-
knowledges the expectations that the music of At
My Side is about to confirm. Noting that “any pi-
ano trio coming from Scandinavia … seems to
have emerged from a film by Andrei Tarkovsky
as if a eulogy of slowness,” the Italian critic ex-
tinguishes any expectation that pianist Joona
Toivanen et al. might belie that stereotype.
Rather, they hold that preconception in a
chilly embrace. The emphasis on minor tonali- Plunge
ties, the occasional resolution to churchy majors, bal implying more than delineating the time. Tin Fish Tango
the space that permeates the players’ sparely ar- But “Sleeping Treasure” offers the album’s Immersion Records IRM 10-05
ticulated interactions—all of these hallmarks best representation of “less is more.” Played un- ★★½
might have been lifted from the ECM playbook. accompanied on piano, it edges forward slowly,
Toivanen conjures elements of Paul Bley at his
moodiest, with right-hand ruminations warmed
by the kinds of gospel figurations Keith Jarrett
generally no more than two notes at a time, with
plenty of rubato. More to the point, Toivanen
deadens the strings, so that his instrument sounds
P lunge—a suitable name for this New Orleans
based drum-less trio, especially consider-
ing that the group’s third album takes its listen-
likes to work into somewhat busier contexts. somewhat like a muffled lute. It adds up to a little ers into deep waters. Taking risks in improvised
Whether playing at a tempo so free that it more than two minutes of bleak reflection—yet music is important, but sometimes they don’t pay
borders on static or playing in a kind of misty its symmetry and intriguing sonic quality don’t off, as is largely the case with Tin Fish Tango,
swing, the trio seems to challenge itself to find let the listener go easily. a difficult album that demands much from its
the most minimal language. The results can be The album closes with “Dream Of A audience. The trio, which features trombon-
intriguing: At medium-up tempo on “Walrus,” Family,” leaving us with an impression that the ist Mark McGrain, bassist James Singleton, and
each musician stretches out, more languidly family alluded to in this stark, trudging tune may Tim Green and Tom Fitzpatrick, splitting the
than intensely, using the spaces between notes be dreaming, during a brief crescendo before one saxophone duties, specializes in creating cham-
to outline the structure of the tune and push the last sigh at the end. —Robert L. Doerschuk ber jazz meditations on a multitude of different
rhythm forward like a sail opening to a cold At My Side: At My Side; Mistakes; Five Years; Shades Of Gray; styles (blues, tango, avant-garde) and emotions
ocean breeze. They go further down this path on Walrus; El Castillo; Sleeping Treasure; What Did She Do?; Aava;
Dream Of A Family. (45:19) (joy, angst, anxiety, contemplation).
“What Did She Do?,” which dissolves into a two- Personnel: Joona Toivanen, piano; Tapani Tolvanen, bass; Olavi
Louhivuori, drums.
Despite the album’s shortcomings there are
note bossa pattern on the bass and a hiss of cym- Ordering info: camoriginalsoundtracks.com some great things on the disc, particularly the
various textures and colors available given the
group’s uncommon instrumentation. No com-
Sabbagh/Monder/Humair binations are off limits: soprano doubled with
I Will Follow You arco bass, alto with trombone, etc. The nu-
Bee Jazz 034 merous call-and-response sections between
★★★★ McGrain and either Green or Fiztpatrick, as
on the title track and the group improvisa-
T he French New York-based saxophonist

Jerome Sabbagh has been turning heads
with his series of elegant inside-out efforts over
tion “Pelican Down,” show off their musician-
ship and maturity. Fitzpatrick’s mix of relaxed
West Coast and bluesy phrasing is particular-
the last few years, but on his latest effort he goes ly compelling, especially on the plodding “The
out on a limb by pushing into free improv terri- Kroop” and the swinging “Diddlin’.”
tory. It helps that one of his main partners here There is a flatness to the music, however,
is guitarist Ben Monder who smoothly intu- which sometimes borders on stagnation.
its where to go and when, but even the veteran Although it sounds like there is energy behind
Swiss drummer Daniel Humair forms an instant the compositions and performances, that ener-
rapport here in his first meeting with Sabbagh. gy didn’t quite transfer to the recording. This
At times the instrumentation—and the relative- the title track his low-end zigzags stomp like a could be partially due to the engineering, as the
ly gauzy attack on some of the pre-composed dinosaur—but that doesn’t mean he plays it safe. instruments sound dry and stuffy, especially the
pieces like “The Clown”—suggest the sound of On his gorgeous ballad “La Fée Morgane” he front line. The players, though, could do more
Paul Motian’s great trio with Joe Lovano and summons the baroque beauty of medieval mu- to breathe life into the record. For example, the
Bill Frisell, but by the time I Will Follow You has sic, while on the aptly titled “Haiku” he borrows horns don’t blow through “Bright Side’s” phras-
efficiently ripped through its 13 concise pieces poetic form to construct his austerely attractive es or give shape to the notes. Tin Fish Tango
there’s little doubt that this grouping has carved lines. There’s a consistent feeling of exploration could have used more dynamic performances
out its own turf. on display tempered with an unforgiving disci- like the mischievous “Jugs.” —Chris Robinson
It’s a bit surprising that Sabbagh tends to be pline—a great combination. —Peter Margasak Tin Fish Tango: Tin Fish Tango; Bright Side; Huff-A-Round; No
the most restrained presence here, especial-
Spill, Spew!; Strollin’ With Sidney; Life Lite; Big Bhang Theory;
I Will Follow You: I Will Follow You; Monolith; The Clown; Comp- Pelican Down; The Koop; Love’s Wildest Talent; Jugs; Lost To The
ly when heard against some of Monder’s most tine; Come With Me; More; La Fée Morgane; Saloon; Apaisé; Ra-
han; Haiku; We Play, Then You Play; I Should Care. (43:59)
Vapors; Diddlin’. (67:55)
Personnel: Mark McGrain, trombone; Tim Green, saxophones (1,
extroverted and acid-toned performances—on Personnel: Jerome Sabbagh, tenor and soprano saxophones;
Ben Monder, guitar; Daniel Humair, drums.
2, 4, 8, 10, 11, 12); Tom Fitzpatrick, saxophones (3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13);
Kirk Joseph, sousaphone (3, 7); James Singleton, bass.
“Saloon” he unleashes his inner rocker, while on Ordering info: beejazz.com Ordering info: immersionrecords.com

Blues | By frank-john hadley
courtesy mark pucci media

Jonn Del Toro (left) and Rich Del Grosso
Global Affairs
Rich Del Grosso & Jonn Del Toro Rich- guitarist-songwriter Prado and four other
ardson: Time Slips On By (Mandolin Blues young musicians based in the largest city in
10002; 63:33 ★★★★) Del Grosso confidently South America. They revive Chicago blues,
matches his plugged-in resonator mandolin Western swing and Tin Pan Alley songs prob-
to the electric guitar of Richardson on an im- ably found in their record collections.
pressive bunch of original songs that could Ordering info: deltagroovemusic.com
only come from the marshlands and bayous Ana Popovic Band: An Evening At Tra-
of Southeast Texas. That old string-band in- simeno Lake (Artist Exclusive 001 DVD;
strument has an air of gracefulness about it. 72:33 ★★) Slavic vocalist-guitarist Popovic,
Above-average singers, the two share the abil- performing with her hyper-dramatic band at a
ity to convey boundless joy (“She’s Sweet”) medieval castle in Italy, has the crowd of 5,000
and romantic uncertainty (“Hard To Live With”), at her mercy for the duration of 14 songs. Her
supported by their crackerjack rhythm section, grandiose blues-rock proves excitement isn’t
the Texas Horns and local guests. necessarily a pleasure for those of us not lake-
Ordering info: mandolinblues.com side. Bonus: uninteresting acoustic solo per-
Latvian Blues Band: Unreal (Blue Skunk formances and an interview.
4520; 66:37 ★★★) These young northern Ordering info: artistexclusive.com
Europeans, merging blues, soul and r&b, ap- Andrea Marr: Little Sister Got Soul!
pear to have a stronger congenital sense of (Blue Skunk 4524; 41:24 ★★★) Reminiscent
style and form than many of their roots-music of early Susan Tedeschi by way of the Stax
brethren in the States. They impress with their grooming school, Marr has won several Aus-
imagination, individuality, musicianship and tralian blues awards in a singing career begun
songwriting. Though no songs are really out- in the late-1990s. Her first North American re-
standing, LBB has made a strong debut record lease (and fourth overall) finds her successfully
with guidance from Duke Robillard. bridling and harnessing her passion in sugges-
Ordering info: latvianbluesband.com tive originals like “Steam Up The Windows”
Arsen Shomakhov: On The Move and in classics identified with Etta James and
(Blues Leaf 9845; 40:09 ★★★) Shomakhov’s Dinah Washington. But locating the emotion in
strengths, apparent on his second album re- religious rocker Glenn Kaiser’s “If I Leave This
leased in North America, are his formidable World Tomorrow” eludes her. The band makes
guitar playing across the spectrum of blues up in professionalism what it lacks in inspira-
and r&b styles, his songwriting and his knack tion. Rather than producing herself again, Marr
for finding good obscure material to cover like would be smart next time to enlist an American
Detroit blues great Eddie Burns’ “When I Get like Dennis Walker or Robillard.
Drunk.” Tolerate his inexpressive singing and Ordering info: blueskunkmusic.com
be thankful for four rock’em-sock’em instru- Joanne Shaw Taylor: Diamonds In The
mentals. Dirt (Ruf 1164; 45:21 ★) This British singer and
Ordering info: bluesleaf.com guitarist has been described as the “new face
Lynwood Slim & The Igor Prado Band: of the blues.” Oh sure, and so’s deep-wrinkled
Brazilian Kicks (Delta Groove 141; 53:25 Pinetop Perkins, bless him. Overblown, pon-
★★★) Slim is at the top of his game as an derous and pointless blues-rock typified by the
entertainer in the São Paulo studio, singing unimaginatively titled “Let It Burn.” And that’s
and wailing Chicago-style harmonica with a being charitable. DB
smooth swagger in the fast company of ace Ordering info: rufredcords.de

Helio Alves
Música
JLP 1001010
★★★½
F ireworks flash here and there throughout

Música, but there’s virtually no excess, no
display for the sake of bedazzlement. A more
revealing light illuminates this album in the
subtlety, musicianship and extraordinary im-
provisational facility that distinguish Helio
Alves.
Part of his success throughout Música owes
to the supreme communication he enjoys with
bassist Rueben Rogers and drummer Antonio On every cut, Música highlights Alves’ out-
Sanchez. Their interplay is a ceaseless joy, par- standing capabilities as a melodic improviser.
ticularly within more complex meters. Seldom His solos at all tempos center on beautifully con-
has a smoother treatment of 5/4 time appeared on ceived phrases, almost always winding without Perry Robinson Trio
disc than in their rendering of the Moacir Santos interruption throughout their full extent. He is From A To Z
tune “Kathy.” Sanchez sets the stage amusing- fully capable of incisive, rhythmic passages, as jazzwerkstatt 085
ly by tapping alternate quarter-notes on a bell in demonstrated on the up-tempo samba “Gafeira,” ★★★½
the intro; with each bar, the pulse shifts from up marked by dense, well-placed chords and vig-
to downbeat and then back again the next. Alves
takes his solo with a natural, unforced sense of
swing and melodic invention.
orous interactions between left and right hands.
Though Claudio Roditi sits in on this one, con-
tributing a solo that ends with a between-the-
C larinetist Perry Robinson may not be a big
name in jazz. That’s understandable, giv-
en his apparent reticence for the spotlight and
The point is made clearer in 7/8 on “Música beats descent into the last chorus, he underplays, because he’s been known primarily as a side-
Das Nuvens E Do Chão.” Again, dynamics tastefully, as if to keep the spotlight on Alves. man. This even though Robinson emerged on
are more critical and impressive than even the Even the production is noteworthy, with a the scene in 1962, playing with Kenny Barron,
long, fiery lines on the piano and the incendiary separation of the drums on the stereo mix to Henry Grimes and Paul Motian. Because of his
rhythm. At the top of the reprise of the theme to- Wayne Shorter’s “Black Nile” that positions the relative absence, it comes as a surprise that he’s
ward the end, Sanchez plays high-register deli- listener right on the throne next to Sanchez. had this trio with bassist Ed Schuller and drum-
cacies and all three musicians work graceful- —Robert L. Doerschuk mer/percussionist Ernst Bier since 1984.
ly around brief, breath-like silences. Then, with From A To Z may be indicative of the kinds
the finish line in sight, they bear down into the Música: Gafeira; Kathy; Sombra; Black Nile; Flor Das Estradas;
Música Das Nuvens E Do Chão; Adeus Alf; Tribute to Charlie 2; of musical dialogues these three have been hav-
groove, with Alves again playing alternate quar- Chan’s Song. (58:36)
Personnel: Helio Alves, piano; Rueben Rogers, bass; Antonio
ing ever since. And for fans of such outings as
ter-notes, this time on snare, to animate the mo- Sanchez, drums; Claudio Roditi, trumpet, flugelhorn; Romero the ones Jimmy Giuffre had around the time
mentum into the album’s only faded ending. Robinson was just getting started, From A To
Lubambo, guitar.
Ordering info: jazzlegacyproductions.com
Z may serve as a kind of welcomed 21st centu-
ry take on the art of the (relatively) improvised
Tony Malaby’s Nasheet Waits nimbly ne- clarinet trio. Like Giuffre, Robinson is comfort-
Tamarindo gotiate the music’s shifts be- able with tonality but also has a penchant for the
Tamarindo Live tween burly brass oration obscure and angular. While the band’s rhyth-
Clean Feed 200 and hushed, suspenseful ex- mic sense may be more folkloric than jazz-ori-
★★★ ploration. The leader’s play- ented, their cohesion as a group of longstand-
ing is adroit and evidently ing helps to make this album click from track
T he personnel and
circumstances au-
gur something extraor-
heartfelt, and there are mo-
ments on “Jack The Hat”
when his straining against
to track.
Robinson’s “encyclopedic” take on the mu-
sic includes such variety as the oddly titled,
dinary. Take one singu- the limits of his horn’s upper klezmerized “Funky Giora” (complete with a
lar saxophonist with his register is thrilling. There touch of the vocal); an ode to an old friend with
most incendiary rhythm and elsewhere Wadada Leo the politically charged, impressionistic “Joe
section, add the presence Smith shadows his state- Hill,” an anthem that swings with more vocals;
of a free-jazz elder who ments in ragged Ornette the modest, mystically folk-ish “Switchback”;
is still playing at the top of his game as he nears Coleman-Don Cherry fashion. At such moments and the tonally whimsical, wayward uptempo
70, and let them rip in a club on a late spring you get a whiff of the soulfulness they want to swing of “A.K.A. Snake.” The music is all orig-
night. Tamarindo’s music is as close as Malaby convey. But for long passages what comes across inal material, various songs written by various
gets to ecstatic jazz. Its album covers reference is effort without grace. I don’t have any doubts Robinson family members as well as Schuller.
the spirituality of his Latin American heritage. about Malaby’s ability to fashion strong state- Through it all, one is left not with an impression
He’s named his tunes after people and things ments from economical materials; consider, for of one who is a musical virtuoso but of one who
he loves, as well as the mortal end that will take example, his exemplary sparring with Pheeroan has taken his instrument of choice to tell his sto-
them all away. This record, the group’s second, Aklaff on Sean Conly’s Re:action. But he rarely ries through his music, however humble, how-
ought to light up the sky; instead it only occa- finds that sort of release here. —Bill Meyer ever unadorned. —John Ephland
sional bursts into flame. From A To Z: Sooner Than Before; Loose Nuts; Unisphere; Funky
It’s certainly not for lack of trying. William Tamarindo Live: Buoyant Boy; Death Rattle; Hibiscus; Jack The
Hat With Coda. (58:30)
Giora; Joe Hill; Switchbacks; A.K.A. Snake; Mountain Soup; From
A To Z. (52:31)
Parker’s bass sounds as big as a house, and his Personnel: Tony Malaby, tenor, soprano saxophones; Wadada
Leo Smith, trumpet; William Parker, bass; Nasheet Waits, drums.
Personnel: Perry Robinson, clarinet; Ed Schuller, bass; Ernst Bier,
drums, percussion.
bowed solos are appealingly rough; he and Ordering info: cleanfeed-records.com Ordering info: jazzwerkstatt.com

Beyond | By peter margasak
Transcending Samba Kiko Dinucci
On Na Bocas Dos Outros (Desmonta 006;

48:26 ★★★★) São Paulo multi-instrumentalist
Kiko Dinucci operates as an auteur, writing the
songs and playing most of the instruments, but
enlisting a raft of strong underground figures to
sing the words (the title translates loosely as “in
the mouths of others”). The 14 tracks cover a
wide range of moods, styles and approaches,
presenting Dinucci as a curious student of
Brazilian music history with an eye toward the
future. Fabiana Cozza brings a luxuriant sor-
row to “Ciranda Para Janaina,” Mamelo Sound
System rap across “Pobre Star,” Vésper Voca
suggests five Bjorks singing Tom Ze on “Agen-
da” and Paula Sanches bringing throaty joy to
the horn-stoked marcha “Perua.” It’s an album
of steady delight and consistent surprise.
Ordering info: desmonta.com
Brazilian keyboardist and frequently over-
looked bossa nova pioneer João Donato
adopts the auteur approach on Agua (Biscoi-
to Fino 992: 43:10 ★★★), his recent collabo-
ration with singer Paula Morelenbaum. Donato sicians, that some string arrangements were
performs a dozen tunes he’s co-written over done by Sean O’Hagan, founder of Irish orch-
the years, employing some of his homeland’s pop legends High Llamas, and that Gilberto Gil
best musical minds (including Jaques Mo- turns up for an intimate duet on the closer.
relenbaum, Kassin and Beto Villares) to craft Ordering info: sambastore.com/en
new arrangements. The results are mixed, Zipping in from Brasilia, from under any
with some of the tunes veering toward cocktail kind of radar, is Bad Trip Simulator #2 (self-
lounge schmaltz, but other tunes deliver brisk- release; 26:46 ★★★★), the third album from
ness and soul without all of the empty fizz, and Satanique Samba Trio, a post-everything in-
Morelenbaum shapes the melodies with con- strumental combo. The band views a wide
sistent ease and grace. variety of traditional styles from their home-
Ordering info: biscoitofino.com land, well beyond merely samba, through a
Rio samba prodigy Marcos Valle has wildly askew lens. The band’s grip on these
been plugging away for nearly five decades hallowed traditions, with pandeiro beats, fluid,
and on his new album Estática (Far Out 153: choro clarinet and brisk, piquant cavaquinho,
51:57 ★★½) his enthusiasm and energy are is firm and assured, but the group’s primary
undiminished, but his creativity shows some musical muscle suggests a deep fondness
signs of age. The album is well-crafted but and understanding for off-kilter rock heavies
the breezy modes, hot tub flourishes, cloying like the late Captain Beefheart and The Min-
synthesizer tones and treacly arrangements utemen. One of the most unique records I’ve
too often summon the ’80s nadir of Brazilian heard in the last year.
popular music, as if the last two decades never Ordering info: sataniquesambatrio.net
happened. Just the same, Valle can still write Rodrigo Maranhão, who first gained atten-
timeless-sounding sambas in his sleep, and tion by writing songs for Maria Rita, comes into
beneath the sonic lily-gilding his band evokes his own as a performer on his second album,
that classic, chill Rio vibe. Passageiro (MPB/Universal 60252733541;
Ordering info: faroutrecordings.com 41:08 ★★★★). He favors a largely acoustic
Singer Vanessa Da Mata’s excellent Bici- attack, alternating between gentle samba
cletas, Bolos E Outras Alegrias (Sony Music grooves and region-free pop balladry—he
Brasil 88697804442 ★★★★) demonstrates even tackles some fado on “Quase um Fado,”
just about everything good about contempo- a duet with the great António Zambujo—that
rary Brazilian pop music, writing and singing reminds me a little of Lenine at his most re-
deliciously infectious melodies over simmer- strained. Maranhão makes the most of his
ing grooves that effortlessly reference samba, limited range, imbuing his performances with
forro and other native forms while sounding warmth and intimacy, leaving something a little
radio-ready. This effort suggests she’s on par mysterious and elusive in their resolution. A
or superior to the great Marisa Monte in terms number of tracks use excellent string arrange-
of depth and accessibility. It doesn’t hurt that ments, giving the music a gorgeous harmonic
the album was produced by the adventurous ambiguity. DB
studio whiz Kassin and his clever crew of mu- Ordering info: sambastore.com/en

Georg Breinschmid
Brein’s World
Preiser Records 90787
★★★★
V iennese bassist Georg Breinschmid’s ex-

cellent two-disc Brein’s World borrows
from, among other styles, classical chamber
music, Viennese song, European folk music
and hard bop. It’s at times frustrating, but sure
to elicit a few chuckles. Part tongue-in-cheek
(check Breinschmid’s song tribute to the in-
ternet on “Computer-Wienerlied”), part pas-
tiche, part high-brow, the album ranges from
playfulness to longing. Brein’s World shows
Breinschmid, who sings in German on five Cyrus Chestnut Trio
cuts and raps on another (he is no Jay-Z), to be a Susanne Paul. On the gorgeous “Without Me,” Journeys
talented and eccentric artist who can deliver the Schynder blows lyrical lines over Dobler’s vibra- Jazz Legacy Productions 1001011
goods in whatever style he chooses. phone arpeggios. Breinschmid fills out the rest ★★★★
Just over half of Brein’s World’s tracks, sev- of the album with instrumental configurations
eral of which are waltzes, showcase three of
Breinschmid’s working groups. Brein’s Café,
which includes violinist Roman Janoska and pi-
and styles. “Oldtime Hit” is a nod to Cannonball
Adderley’s groups, and the fast and hard-groov- N o one would make a case for pianist Cyrus
Chestnut as a stylistic innovator or artis-
ing “Dream #71” features Manu Delago on the tic rebel. Though he swims in the mainstream,
anist Frantisek Janoska, mixes intimate classical hang, which sound a bit like steel drums. Chestnut’s keyboard explorations are not row-
chamber music with jazz-influenced improvisa- —Chris Robinson boat exercises. He’s a master of melodic and
tion. Roman Janoska is the group’s primary me- rhythmic invention with an endless reservoir
lodic voice, but each member has plenty of solo puter-Wienerlied; Brein’s Knights; Quartier Latin; Liebstraum; Flug- of dynamics. The soft touch alone can caress,
Brein’s World: Disc 1: 7/8 Landler; Musette #2; Jacaranda; Com-
space and they expertly interject short statements zeugderorist; Intermezzo; 5/4; Bach 11/16; Tschukkn Belle; Fes- whisper or plead. When he chooses to unleash
tivalse; Room 422 (75:41). Disc 2: Without Me; Trompetenpolka/
into the often thick textures. Frantisek Janoska Radetzkymarsch; Schnucki von Heanois; Dark Lights; Dream #71; his strong left hand on a galvanizing swinger
evokes Chopin on “Liebestraum,” Roman like “New Light,” it’s full-throttle propulsion.
Lied des Zwangsdenkers; Petite Valse; Oldtime Hit; Urlaub am
Giatl; Blues Five; Ma mauss aufhean wanns am scheenstn is; Win-
Janoska is a hell of an improviser, and the pretty Personnel: Georg Breinschmid, bass, composer, vocals, guitar, Except for “Lover,” all the tunes are Chestnut
dow Serenade; Todespolka; Wienerlied - GPS (76:11).
“Petite Valse” is a charmer. Breinschmid’s dig- whistle; Daniel Schnyder, soprano saxophone; Clemens Salesny,
alto saxophone; Thomas Gansch, trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals,
originals. As songs they might not attract inter-
ging and funky bass lines support his duo piec- percussion, mouth percussion; Horst-Michael Schaffer, trumpet; preters, but as trio features they’re more than
es with trumpeter Thomas Gansch, who greas- Bentz, violin; Sebastian Gürtler, violin, mandolin, vocals; Susanne adequate.
Robert Bachner, trombone; Roman Janoska, Azzi Finder, Roland
es up his sound as easily as he plays it straight. Paul, Daniel Pezzotti, cello; Tommaso Huber, accordion, vocals;
Clemens Wenger, Frantisek Janoska, piano; Andi Tausch, guitar; Much is made of Chestnut’s gospel back-
ClassXXX features Daniel Schnyder on sopra- Thomas Dobler, vibraphone; Manu Delago, hang; Christian Salfell-
ner, drums; Erni M., vocals, kazoo; Marta Sudraba, vocals.
ground but nowhere in this collection are there
no saxophone, vibist Thomas Dobler and cellist Ordering info: preiserrecords.at overt gospel devices (like, say, Les McCann’s
patented minor thirds); maybe in some ballad
passages of “In The Still Hours” and “Goliath.”
Billy White Swing abounds but Chestnut doesn’t need to
First Things First pound bass chords to achieve it. His right hand
Porto Franco Records 013 dances through “Little Jon,” a musical party
★★★ that recalls Erroll Garner at his most delightful.
This is a collection brimming with subtle-
B illy White studied ethnomusicology in ad-

dition to piano during college, so he’s been
exposed to music from around the world. Yet
ties, and not just in the soft numbers. A cou-
ple of bars of block chords on the title num-
ber manage to be both rhythmic and lyric at the
White’s debut, First Things First, stays close same time. His comping sticks and moves in
to home. Think a modern strain of hard-bop an intriguing way, playing with placement and
performed by a quintet without the perfuncto- phrasing. “Eyes Of An Angel,” an introspective
ry blues-inspired compositions often included waltz, conjures treble cascades that sparkle and
on Blue Note and Prestige LPs in their heyday. whirl. For the deep listener, Chestnut has pro-
Judging by the brief length of half the vided a pageant of near recessed delights.
tracks, White’s intent was to showcase his Bassist Derzon Douglas and drummer Neal
prowess as a composer. He’s quite good, in Beginning,” “Jelly Bean” and “The Incredible Smith are deferential collaborators, underlining
this regard. I listened to the 11 heads that White Bob.” Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire stands Chestnut everywhere and stepping forward for
composed, sans solos; this litmus test con- out on the up-tempo tunes “Cellular” and “Jelly the occasional solo. Douglas displays nice lyri-
firmed my initial impression. “ABC Blues,” Bean.” In most cases, though, they have only a cal content on his pizzicato outing, and Smith
“Cutouts,” “Song for A Friend” and “The End chorus apiece to work with. The album is good, peppers a nice chorus on “Smitty’s Joint,”
Of The Beginning” feature strong melodies and but with more solos, it could have been better. though each of them could have been mixed a
arrangements. —Eric Fine little more prominently on his album, in the so-
But how much weight should be attached to First Things First: ABC Blues; Cutouts; First Day Of Spring; Under los at least. —Kirk Silsbee
the solos? While White is impressive, the horn
The Train; Song For A Friend; The End Of The Beginning; Adios,
Shermano; Rue Roy; Cellular; Jelly Bean; The Incredible Bob; Au- Journeys: Smitty’s Joint; Lover; Eyes Of An Angel; Little Jon; New
players distinguish themselves on just a hand- tumn In New York. (59:50)
Personnel: Billy White, piano; Dayna Stephens, tenor sax; Am-
Light; Journeys; The Flowers On; The Terrace; Yu’s Blues; In The
Still Hours; Goliath. (57:17)
ful of tracks. Tenor player Dayna Stephens ex- brose Akinmusire, trumpet; Yunior Terry, bass; Steve Belvilus,
drums; Yaala Balin, vocals (12).
Personnel: Cyrus Chestnut, piano; Derzon Douglas, bass; Neal
Smith, drums.
cels on “Under The Train,” “The End Of The Ordering info: portofrancorecords.com Ordering info: jazzlegacyproductions.com

Chase Baird
Crosscurrent
Junebeat 005
★★★½
O ne of the first things that strikes the listener

to this freshman offering is the confidence
and fearlessness that Chase Baird brings to the
tenor saxophone. The 22 year-old Salt Lake City
native has a full-frontal sound and brooks no hes-
itation when spinning lines and phrases; he goes
for the gusto every time. It’s not surprising that a
youngblood would play hard, fast and pack lots
of notes into his solos—that’s to be expected.
What’s remarkable is the clarity and logic of his
ideas. As prolix an improviser as Baird is, there’s
very little excess in his work.
The sound of the band is that of a contempo- Baird has cited Gato Barbieri as an impor-
rary jazz outfit, one that has internalized, say, tant influence, and the latter’s handling of Bob
Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra to Haggart’s venerable ballad “What’s New” gives
the point of not having to reiterate their respec- a clue to his identity. He has a full, florid tone that
tive musics. John Stori’s electric guitar and Julian expands on held notes yet sidesteps Barbieri’s
Pollock’s keyboards are restrained in volume in blowtorch sound. He draws out the notes lan-
the largely supportive roles they play. Baird’s guidly over drummer Christopher Tordini’s slow
originals are full of time changes and shifts in backbeat. Like many a young player, Baird can’t
mood, and usually proceed in a linear manner— resist doubling up and packing a chorus with fil-
with few great crescendos or ascending thrusts. igree that can shinny up into overtones. If this is
While this generally challenges his players, Baird’s entry point, it’ll be interesting to trace his
sometimes tunes like his modal “The Traveler” trajectory from here. —Kirk Silsbee
can be aimless and overly long. Likewise, the tor- Crosscurrent: Fifth Direction; Crosscurrent; Infinite Motion; What’s
pid “Dusk” is a study in note-shaping and artic- New; Lunessence; The Traveler; Cascade; Dusk; All Of You. (62:02)
Personnel: Chase Baird, tenor saxophone; Julian Pollock, piano,
ulation that overstays its welcome at more than keyboards; John Storie, guitar; Christopher Tordini, bass; Steve Ly-
man, drums; James Yoshizawa, percussion.
six minutes. Ordering info: jazzhangrecords.com
Walter Smith III

III
Criss Cross 1328
★★★★
W hether it’s the bond between tenor sax-

ophonist Walter Smith III and trumpet-
er Ambrose Akinmusire, the way that drum-
mer Eric Harland introduces new phrases, or
the uncomplicated approach that Smith takes,
there is something about III that makes it sound
like it’s from an earlier time in the best possible
sense. Recorded mostly in one take, this has the
highly melodic feel of a Woody Shaw/Dexter
Gordon or mid-’60s Wayne Shorter recording.
Smith signals his intention with the open-
ing 80 seconds of “Working Title,” playing a
contemplative solo that begins almost off-hand- Moran’s DNA is almost as much in evidence
edly and builds substance up to the point where here. In addition to “Aubade” “Moranish” pro-
the band enters, steaming. His ability to devel- vides a platform for gospel-tinged playing,
op statements that have rigorous form and un- his stabbing interjections on “Byus” add ten-
erring logic is an obvious strength. On “Capital sion to the free-flowing soloing of Smith and
Wasteland”—which, being based on a post- Akinmusire, and he gets the final word with a
apocalypse video game, follows in the tradition graceful conclusion on “Goodnight Now.”
of cowboy-obsessed Sonny Rollins and super- III is not a recording that demands attention,
hero-loving Shorter—his central solo begins as but its depths and subtle grace reward it.
a series of short, high cries and then circles up —James Hale
to a hoarse, anxious climax. Duetting with Jason III: Working Title; Capital Wasteland; Highschoolish; Himorme; Au-
Moran on the pianist’s lovely “Aubade,” Smith bade; Byus; Henya; Moranish; Goodnight Now. (54:55)
Personnel: Walter Smith III, tenor saxophone; Ambrose Akinmu-
has his heart on his sleeve, balancing breathy sib- sire, trumpet; Jason Moran, piano; Joe Sanders, bass; Eric Har-
land, drums; Logan Richardson, alto saxophone (4).
ilance with grainy, full-bodied tone. Ordering info: crisscrossjazz.com

Historical | By jim macnie
Threadgill’s Henry Threadgill
Hidden Hand
There’s a classic Henry Threadgill interview
where the bandleader describes the trio Air
as an “octopus,” with tentacles reaching out
three different ways while still working as one.
Nice image, and on point as well. The saxo-
phonist makes music that seems larger than
the number of participants would suggest
possible. Clever arrangements and compo-
sitional sleight of hand developed throughout
the myriad bands and eras documented on the
eight discs of The Complete Novus And Co-
lumbia Recordings Of Henry Threadgill And
Air (Mosaic MD8-247; 64:04/51:55/72:02/65:
54/65:28/37:26/64:25/66:22 ★★★★)
Members of the AACM in the early ’70s,
Threadgill, drummer Steve McCall and bassist
downbeat archives
Fred Hopkins were responsible for some of the
decade’s most novel small-group abstractions.
As Air, they’d cut discs for the Japanese Why
Not label and Chicago’s Nessa imprint before
moving to New York and connecting with pro- with RCA.
ducer Steve Backer and his Arista subsidiary You Know The Number kicked off the se-
Novus for the 1978 session that became Open ries, and its swirl of sound is indicative of the
Air Suit. By this time they had an approach ensemble’s roiling interplay. N’awlins-esque
down: collective flights of fancy were tethered polyphony was one of the Sextett’s defining
by a wealth of knotty rhythm maneuvers. Live traits, and the two-drummer battery provided
tracks from the Montreux Jazz Festival and the plenty of liftoff for the trumpet and trombone
studio work that generated the lithe intricacies players. Threadgill had personalized ways to
of “Card Two: The Jick Or Mandrill’s Cosmic voice bluster. Both ominous and audacious,
Ass” illustrate just how deep an architectural “The Devil Is On The Loose And Dancin’ With
achievement this is. It ain’t easy to make ten- A Monkey” is indicative of this era. The group’s
sion seem mercurial. other forte is the idea of bewitching gloom.
The trio’s most eloquent moments arise “Gift” fairly glows with a funereal aura, pulling
on Air Lore. Examining New Orleans through you deeper into the thickening plot as each
the filters of Jelly Roll Morton and Scott Joplin, minute passes.
the group winds its way around “King Porter This template sets the parameters for the
Stomp” and “The Ragtime Dance” with an rest of the music here, albeit with memorable
anything-goes spirit that salutes their experi- tweaks such as the prominence of an accor-
mentalism while still celebrating melody. Mc- dion in the mid-’90s. That band, the Make A
Call, revealing his deep sense of swing, burns Move ensemble, stressed guitars and low-
throughout. ered the brass to French horn and tuba with-
While Air was refining its approach, out forfeiting swagger or bounce. And if the
Threadgill created X-75, a larger group featur- composer’s formula started to become a tad
ing woodwinds, basses and voice. It opened predictable, the group’s interplay sustained its
the door to the modern classical realm, bal- fizz. Threadgill’s charts are all about fluid coun-
ancing euphoric pieces such as “Fe Fi Fo terpoint.
Fum” with works that boasted an enchanting Perhaps his cagiest of moves has been
eeriness. Without a percussionist, the four finding a spot for his sax and flute in the mid-
basses were tasked with delivering the oomph. dle of these whirlwinds. From Air’s “Let’s All
They fulfilled. “Salute To The Enema Bandit,” Go Down To The Footwash” to Where’s Your
one of three previously unreleased X-75 tracks Cup’s “Laughing Club,” his attack is the box
here, starts out with a series of growls that are set’s most tell-tale through line. Lyrical jabs
built on nothing but thrust. chop in a way that augments the music’s in-
A larger palette, filled with unlikely combi- herent anxiety. There are moments where
nations of strings and horns, was something Threadgill seems to spit phrases into exis-
Threadgill embraced from that point on. His tence, a percussive approach bolstering “the
’80s work is flecked with orchestral allusions dam’s about to bust” feeling that marks many
that fend for themselves even during the deep- pieces here. Ultimately it underscores the es-
Subscribe est jazz passages. A trio of Sextett discs on
the About Time label gave way to three thrill-
sence of this perpetually fascinating music: a
beaming dedication to adventure. DB
877-904-JAZZ ing titles on Novus, which was newly affiliated Ordering info: mosaicrecords.com

Cynthia Felton Her “Sophisticated Lady” is more re-
Come Sunday: strained, though either by neglect or intent she
The Music of takes a crucial liberty with Mitchell Parish’s
Duke Ellington frowning lyric. “Some man in a restaurant” be-
Felton Entertainment 0002 comes “some man in the restaurant.” The res-
★★★½ taurant? One word and the casual, nothing-in-
particular promiscuity implied in the image
A ttending a Duke Ellington

concert never stopped being
an event. But the dreaded non-
is contradicted. “Prelude To A Kiss” is more
conventionally romantic, and her way with a
ballad serves it nicely. Better still, her state-
event that loomed within so many ly “Come Sunday,” with its gospel roots and
such concerts was his “medley of Cyrus Chestnut’s counterpoint, is a more appro-
hits.” These were the songs that priate vehicle for Felton’s technique and sense
everyone knew but that had no of theater.
surprise left to give in Ellington’s She has good fun with “Perdido” and “It
obligatory parade. Don’t Mean A Thing,” offering some loose-
I thought of that listening to limbed scatting and interaction with her instru-
this work by singer Cynthia mental colleagues, especially Wallace Rooney
Felton, who has picked most of the and a swaggering Ernie Watts on the latter.
low-hanging plums from the Ellingtonian med- players whom she shuffles in a continual cy- Quite good, but not exceptional.
ley tree. Had she reached just a bit higher she cle of musical chairs. It would appear that these —John McDonough
might have found a few specimens made more tunes come from the same sessions that pro- Come Sunday: The Music Of Duke Ellington: It Don’t Mean A
interesting by their comparative scarcity: “Creole duced her first CD, Afro-Blue, two years ago. Thing; Caravan; In A Sentimental Mood; In A Mellowtone; Lush Life;
Love Call,” for instance, or “Azure.” Something All this is to the good. “Mellowtone” finds cated Lady; I’m Beginning To See The Light; Duke’s Place; Prelude
Perdido; Come Sunday; Take The “A” Train; I Got It Bad; Sophisti-
that might have made this CD an event. an appealingly hip voice as a simple duet with To A Kiss. (46:53)
The burden is on her to see things in them bassist Ryan Cross. And “Lush Life” spins its Personnel: Cynthia Felton, vocals; Wallace Roney (2, 8, 9), Nolan
Shaheed (12), trumpet; Ernie Watts (2, 11), Jeff Clayton (6, 9, 12),
that others have not. Felton brings a lot of virtu- sad web of ennui as Felton wraps herself con- saxophone; Patrice Rushen (1, 8, 12, 13), Cyrus Chestnut (2, 5,
osity to the task—range, a sense of drama, a flu- vincingly in its elegant depravity. But she has a Muldrow (3, 6, 11), guitar; Tony Dumas (1, 8, 12, 13), Robert Hurst
7), Donald Brown (3, 6, 9, 10), John Beasley (11), piano; Ronald
ent scat vocabulary and the multilingual vocal powerful voice that projects without trying, and (2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10), Ryan Cross (4), John B. Williams (11), bass; Terri
Lyne Carrington (1, 8, 12, 13), Jeff Tan Watts (2, 7), Yoron Israel (3,
skills of a soul, gospel and pop talent. She has this tends to fight the intimacy needed to smoke percussion;
6, 9, 10), Lorca Hart (11), drums; Munyoungo Jackson (2, 3, 8),
Carol Robbins (13), harp.
also surrounded herself with a team of A-list out the song’s dimly lit saloon poetry. Ordering info: cynthiafelton.com

Louis Hayes Jazz
Communicators
Lou’s Idea
American Showplace Music
★★★½
I f you like your jazz played right down the

middle with a few surprises thrown in for ex-
tra measure, veteran drummer Louis Hayes is
your man. Recent releases such as last year’s
The Time Keeper and the reissue of Freddie
Hubbard’s 1969 live date Without A Song: Live
remind us that everything this ageless talent
touches seems to swing and glide almost ef-
fortlessly. And, just like a live date, Lou’s Idea
plays just like a jazz set of sorts. Whether it’s the
leader’s opening, casually swinging title track,
a rarified unique bossa arrangement of “This Is
New,” or more upbeat fare like “Just Feeling,”
the conventional still sounds convincing.
With Hayes and company, it’s less about
what than how. This is due in large part to the
bright combination of Steve Nelson’s vibes,
Mulgrew Miller on piano and saxist Abraham
Burton, all held together by Hayes and Santi
DeBriano’s solid basslines. The underrated
Hayes knows how to orchestrate, organize and
utilize his talented crew.
One can get the sense of pacing with Lou’s
Idea, when the cool, evocative ballad “Nothing
Better To Do” follows on the heels of the heat-
ed “Curtain Call.” This is not a blowing date,
but rather a series of visits. The repertoire bears
this out, where the music goes from the origi-
nal to the jazz standard to something a bit dif-
ferent, as with the band’s swinging take on Burt
Bacharach’s ’60s hit “Say A Little Prayer.” The
song’s familiar theme is followed by a breezy
run that’s lively and fun, some minor chords al-
tering events reminiscent of other jazz excur-
sions through pop fare, Burton’s slightly men-
acing horn and Miller’s urgent, incessant piano
playing helping to take the song from a devo-
tional track toward something closer to an in-
cantation. —John Ephland
Lou’s Idea: Lou’s Idea; Curtain Call; Nothing Better To Do; Say A
Little Prayer; Bolivia; Soul Eyes; This Is New; Just Feeling; Same
Page; I Have Nothing Better To Do (extended version). (57:06)
Personnel: Louis Hayes, drums; Mulgrew Miller, piano; Santi De-
Briano, bass; Steve Nelson, vibes; Abraham Burton, saxophones.
Ordering info: americanshowplacemusic.com

Magnus Broo Agustí Fernández/Barry
Swedish Wood Guy/Ramón López
Moserobie 072 Morning Glory
★★★★ Maya 1001
★★★ ½
O n his latest and best recording
as a leader, Magnus Broo, the
Swedish trumpeter and brass fire- B y intent, this trio stays away from
the jagged total improv that its
brand of the quintet Atomic, drew members have explored in myriad
conceptual inspiration from fellow other encounters. Likewise they steer
horn greats Bill Dixon and Bobby clear of the electronic hall of revolving
Bradford, fronting a quartet anchored by two bassists. The trumpeter mirrors that Barry Guy and Agustí Fernández navigate as part of Evan
doesn’t pointedly emulate either predecessor, retaining his own febrile Parker’s Electro-Acoustic Ensemble in favor of a pristine acoustic sound-
sound, but he clearly recognized the space and plushness a pair of intuitive stage: even the live bonus CD that reprises material from the trio’s first al-
bass players can provide. On “Oh What Beautiful Day,” muted blowing bum, Aurora, is quite cleanly recorded. It’s more pertinent to remember
and melodic tenderness evoke Don Cherry, with the counterpoint plucked that Guy has a parallel career playing baroque music, and to note that Bill
by Torbjörn Zetterberg and Joe Williamson delivering the first part of the Evans once performed a tune called “Morning Glory.”
theme and Broo finishing it off, tag-team style. The leader introduces a This trio isn’t trying to sound like Evans, but they adhere to some of his
flash of humor with the ascending hiccup of a melody on “Thought” before aesthetics of clarity, elegance and restraint. Instead of the avalanche of in-
leaping into an improvisation of fleetness and finesse. side-the-piano rumbling he has used to confront power players like Mats
During the gorgeous ballad “Acoustic Kitten” the bassists unobtrusive- Gustafsson, Fernández plays sparse figures that leave plenty of space for
ly split arco and pizz roles with the drummer Håkon Mjåset Johansen, sen- Guy to suspend isolated knots of sound, pluck serene melodies, or bow
sitively prodding and poking along the way. The episodic “I Hear You” ghostly harmonics. Even when Fernández does get nimble, as on the group
veers from pointillistic fury to funereal luxury, with Broo blowing uncan- improvisation “Perpetuum Mobile,” his line is easy to follow. Lopez’s role
ny New Orleans-style vibrato as Johansen stutters and dances over his kit. is key; he adorns and shapes the music, but rarely propels it. The result will
On “And Suddenly” Broo delivers a bravura turn, ripping apart an attrac- sound abstract to followers of conventional piano trios, but genteel to any-
tive melody that would seem perfect for a film score. —Peter Margasak one familiar with the participants’ other efforts. —Bill Meyer
Morning Glory (Disc 1): La niña de la calle Ibiza; Morning Glory; Unfinished Letter; Zahori; An Anony-
Swedish Wood: Oh What A Beautiful Day; Thoughts Are Things; Acoustic Kitten; Swedish Wood; I mous Soul; Perpetuum Mobile; Benito (Jordi Benito in absentia); The Magical Chorus; Mourning; A
Hear You; I Am Coming Home; And Suddenly; New Weather. (50:20) Sudden Appearance; Belvedere (57:41). Live In New York (Disc 2): Dong Miguel; Odyssey; Can Ram;
Personnel: Magnus Broo, trumpet; Torbjörn Zetterberg, bass; Joe Williamson, bass; Håkon Mjåset David M; Aurora; No Ni Nó; Rounds (57:11).
Johansen, drums. Personnel: Agustí Fernández, piano; Barry Guy, bass; Ramón López, drums, percussion.
Ordering info: moserobie.com Ordering info: maya-recordings.com

Mario honor of the late trum-
Pavone peter Pavone worked
Orange with for years. Whereas
Double Tenor these pieces follow a
arc suite t/pi t/po vaguely ascending, at-
Playscape 061010 mospheric arc in hom-
★★★★ age to his former collab-
orator, much of Pavone’s
P rominent left-lean-
ing and ensemble-
sensitive bassist Mario
writing heeds a taut-
er and more structural-
ly rigorous plan of action
Pavone has associated and athletic-cum-cere-
with some of the avant- bral linear navigations.
garde, including Paul Bley and Bill Dixon, and That plan is heard throughout the suite, from the
countless others along the four-plus decades of opening “Continuing” to “West Crash,” the title
his active musical path. As a bandleader, com- track “T/pi T/po,” and the fervent finale of “17 The Modern Jazz Quartet
poser and confident creative force in his own Notes,” all with fluid metric shifts, snugly navi- Under The Jasmin Tree/Space
right, Pavone—going strong at 70—exerts a spe- gated lines, counter-themes and ideas generally Apple/EMI 0824524
cial brand of relaxed intensity, as heard once in restless motion. ★★★½
again on a rich and adventurously probing suite At times, Pavone’s writing suggests the
project with his Orange Double Tenor sextet.
In his suite, commissioned by Chamber
Music America’s 2009 New Jazz Works, we
multi-horn writing of another bold bassist-lead-
er-composer, Dave Holland. Whether or not it
has something to do with their powers as bass-
W hen the world’s most popular musicians
decide to launch a record label, anything
seems possible. That was the outlook that found
have complex “new jazz” at once intellectual and ists with a taste for adventure, both balance a the Modern Jazz Quartet recording under the
swinging, investigative and declarative. Not inci- searching modal character in the music they auspices of The Beatles in 1968, an arrangement
dentally, it is also formidably played by his ace write, while assuredly nailing down the bottom, that produced two albums that were marketed as
group, including the double tenor sound of Tony however intricate or quixotic the structure on top. something different than they actually were.
Malaby (also injecting some soprano action) And he has a great collective ally in this band: Under The Jasmin Tree had a cover that was
and Jimmy Greene, the commanding trumpeter All aboard deliver on the tricky structured sec- sexual and psychedelic, while Space was mar-
Dave Ballou, drummer Gerald Cleaver and pia- tions, and easily free up according to the leader’s keted using hyper-minimalism. Inside, the MJQ
nist Peter Madsen, in close, empathetic dialogue venturesome plan. —Josef Woodard hadn’t changed much from its mid-’50s roots;
with the man in the center. they still created charming acoustic music that
Situated at roughly the halfway mark in this reflected four distinct personalities. Being on
arc suite t/pi t/po: Continuing; East Arc; Poles; Nokimo; West Of
Crash; Half Dome (for Bill Dixon); The Dom; Silver Print; Dome; t/pi
12-track session is a brief, melancholy yet also t/po; Mid Code; 17 Notes. (59:34)
Personnel: Mario Pavone, bass; Tony Malaby, soprano, tenor Apple heightened the contrast between the
fittingly angular lament, “Half Dome (for Bill saxophone; Jimmy Greene, tenor saxophone; Dave Ballou, trum-
pet, cornet; Peter Madsen, piano; Gerald Cleaver, drums.
band’s Third Stream eclecticism and the elec-
Dixon),” and later the afterthought “Dome,” in Ordering info: playscape-recordings.com tric sounds that were beginning to push acous-
tic jazz aside.
Under The Jasmin Tree came to Apple
Nellie McKay rity as a lyricist, reflect- ready-made and centers around a three-part
Home Sweet ing on her younger wise- suite that showcases Milt Jackson’s shimmer-
Mobile Home cracking persona. Home ing sweeps of notes and John Lewis’ pointillis-
Verve Forecast 14721 Sweet Mobile Home is also tic, upper-register melodies. On “Exposure,” the
★★★ McKay’s most uneven col- pianist balances his pinched treble notes against
lection. The genre exer- Jackson’s arpeggios, creating counter movement
N ellie McKay first

displayed her bot-
tomless grab bag of tal-
cises (“Caribbean Time,”
“Beneath The Underdog”),
while pitch-perfect, are
and melody. Space bows a bit more to its con-
text, highlighting Jackson’s lingering reverb on
“Visitor From Venus” and the skirl of notes on
ents on 2004’s Get Away more crafted than inspired. top of Percy Heath’s pedal point on “Visitor From
From Me. Released They meander, too, suggest- Mars.” The drama-laden blues of “Dilemma,” a
when she was just 21, the ing McKay’s first sign of ar- relatively straightahead reading of “Here’s That
two-disc debut show- tistic weariness. The ques- Rainy Day” and a gently swinging “Yesterday”
cased her acerbic lyrical tion is what she should do put them on more traditional ground. Exoticism
flair and stylistic range, alternating from rock next with her gifts. She has the voice for another passed for hip in ’68, and the adagio movement
to cabaret to rap—sometimes in the same song. covers project, but here’s hoping she opts to pen from “Concierto De Aranjuez” fit that bill—a
She followed that up with two more strong re- more originals and gives each one the necessary brave move considering how Miles Davis and
leases (one of them another double album) and, TLC. — Zach Phillips Gil Evans had claimed the composition as their
in 2009, paid tribute to Doris Day with Normal Home Sweet Mobile Home: Bruise On The Sky; Adios; Carib- own less than a decade earlier. The band savors
As Blueberry Pie. bean Time; Please; Beneath The Underdog; Dispossessed; The the nuance of the piece, with Jackson’s vibes and
McKay’s fifth album, Home Sweet Mobile where; Unknown Reggae; Bluebird. (51:18) Connie Kay’s bells setting the Spanish mood,
Portal; ¡Bodega!; Coosada Blues; No Equality; Absolute Every-
Home, is easily her most accomplished work, Personnel: Nellie McKay, vocals, piano, organ, marimba, ukulele,
saxophone, clarinet, cello, additional percussion and synthesizer; and Lewis turning in a poignant piano solo that
benefitting from classy production and a know- Ben Bynum, drums; Danny Cahn, trumpet; Tim Carbone, violin;
Lucien Ceran, saxophone; Rick Chamberlain, trombone; Jim Dan-
is as affecting as Davis’ trumpet. —James Hale
ing voice that keeps getting stronger with ex- iels, tuba; Glenn Drewes, trumpet; Bob Glaub, bass; Paul Hold-
perience. “Coosada Blues” is a lovely piece of Reggie McBride, bass; Joslyn “Speckles” McKenzie, drums; Willie
erbaum, saxophone; Brian Jobson, bass; Wayne Jobson, guitar; Under The Jasmin Tree/Space: The Blue Necklace; Three Little
Feelings; Exposure; The Jasmin Tree; Visitor From Venus; Visitor
old-school Americana balladry, and among her Murillo, trumpet and backup vocals; Barry O’ Hare, keyboard; Cary
Park, guitar; Lance Rauh, saxophone; David Raven, drums; Spen-
From Mars; Here’s That Rainy Day (Carnival Of Flanders); Dilemma;
Adagio From Concierto De Aranjuez; Yesterday. (71:53)
finest songs. Such tracks as “Bruise On The clarinet, backup
cer Reed, guitar; Paul Rostock, bass; Mark Visher, saxophone,
vocals; Paul Wells, drums.
Personnel: John Lewis, piano; Milt Jackson, vibes; Percy Heath,
bass; Connie Kay, drums.
Sky” also demonstrate her continuing matu- Ordering info: vervemusicgroup.com Ordering info: applerecords.com

Books | By john mcdonough
Creating The
Ellington Brand
As the title, Duke Ellington’s America (Uni-
versity of Chicago Press), suggests, cultural
historian Harvey G. Cohen’s book is as much
about the country as about the composer.
Jazz biographies tend to be catalogs of
performances, assembled in the hope that a
person may emerge out of the work. But El-
lington was much more than a traveling musi-
cian. He was a brand, a corporation, a com-
poser and a publisher who employed lawyers,
accountants, managers, staff and a roll call of
musicians who became franchises of his fame.
Such careers generate great paper trails to
tempt ambitious biographers, and often, great
biographies.
This could be one of them. Cohen, who
teaches at Kings College, London, has drilled
into the vast Ellington collection at the Smith-
sonian and produced a work that presents
Ellington as the outcome of a pragmatic busi-
ness plan: a unique product of American mar- on the creative environment in the band and
keting and advertising that created a black the disputes over authorship, some of which
cultural hero specifically for white consump- involved significant money; and the logistics of
tion; one that accommodated, challenged and travel, especially in the South of the ’30s.
helped alter the Byzantine racial codes of mid- The Mills business plan took Ellington a
century America. long way and taught him many things. Never
Ellington was raised in a black middle- accept second billing, for instance, a rule that
class Washington, D.C., home, laced with a made him leave Columbia for RCA the mo-
Victorian sensibility and a faith in initiative and ment the label singed Count Basie in 1939.
achievement. Soon after arriving in New York, Mills’ plan taught him to hold himself apart from
he was signed by Irving Mills, who saw in black the fads of the swing era. It taught him hold his
music an empty niche in need of filling and in silence on racial issues, avoid confrontations,
which a savvy white music entrepreneur might and let his music speak for his politics. And it
build a business. To Ellington, Mills had the taught him to value good management—the
connections, claws and toughness to breach “white protector”—whatever its cost.
barriers he could not. To Mills, Ellington had It also taught him when it was time to leave
the temperament, demeanor and ambition to Mills. In 1939 Ellington cut all business ties
reach outside the race market to a wider and (over the cost of his mother’s casket, Cohen
more profitable white middle-class America. writes), launched his own publishing firm and
Duke Ellington Inc. was formed in 1928, part switched up to the William Morris Agency, pre-
of a long-term business plan that gave Mills 33 saging a surge in creativity and prestige (not to
percent of every dollar Duke earned over the mention income) that led to Carnegie Hall and
next decade plus a composer royalty on every Black, Brown And Beige in 1943. Cohen digs
song of the period in perpetuity. A predatory deeply into Ellington’s unpublished scenario
price, perhaps, but things began to happen. for BB&B and his ambivalence over public ra-
Mills insisted that Ellington record his own cial protest. “Maybe this explains the strange
songs under as many pseudonyms as neces- hesitancy in most of his comments at Carnegie
sary to enhance publishing income. Backed that night,” he writes. “[W]as he mulling over
by frequent radio broadcasts, Mills engineered whether he should have spoken his mind in a
a publicity push by Ned Williams (later Down- more forceful manner?”
Beat editor, 1941–’52) to position Ellington as Lost in the perspective is much discussion
the “Negro Gershwin,” a “serious” composer of the band’s musical evolution. But that old
of “genius” occupying a higher plateau of critical grist is easily sacrificed for the fascinat-
American music. The band’s formal stagecraft ing ground Cohen has broken, including an
and dress were conceived to support a halo examination of the band’s later years and the
of legitimacy, an image further enhanced in its declining financial fortunes that were in a grim
early movie appearances. race with Ellington’s own struggle with lung
Cohen builds his story through a series of cancer to bring the band’s history to an end.
thematic chapters, many of which read well as Fortunately, Ellington won. DB
stand-alone essays. He sheds interesting light Ordering info: press.uchicago.edu

Xavier Charles/Ivar Omer Klein
Grydeland/Christian Rockets On
Wallumrød/Ingar Zach The Balcony
Dans Les Arbres Tzadik 8156
ECM 2058 ★★★★
★★ ½
M inimalism is as challeng-
ing to free improvisers as
T he title track of Rockets On
The Balcony, pianist Omer
Klein’s fourth release, provides
ballads are to straightahead jazz a sense of the combustible politi-
players. This is what French clar- cal climate throughout the Middle
inetist Xavier Charles and his East. Rooted in the classical tradi-
three Norwegian cohorts—guitarist Ivar Grydeland, pianist Christian tion, Klein’s somber reading becomes progressively dark; Haggai Cohen
Wallumrød, and percussionist Ingar Zach—engage in during the course Milo’s arco bass, through the use of jarring overtones, evokes the down-
of their debut, which is finally receiving a domestic release (it came out in ward flights of missiles.
2008 in Europe). The foreboding mood the song strikes is misleading. Much of the al-
Dans Les Arbres, which is French for “in the trees,” seems a befitting bum is upbeat and—in the case of “Baghdad Blues”—ironic. Recalling
title. Sitting on a branch, the vantage point gives an opportunity to discern Hebrew folk songs, Milo bows in unison with Klein while drummer Ziv
some action that slowly develops. Imbued with subtle elements borrowing Ravitz pairs shakers with the kick drum. “Baghdad” features few if any
from global folklore, the sparse improvisations feature a pulse that com- blue notes and there’s not a hint of the standard I-IV-V chord progression.
pensates the absence of a real rhythm and brings a sense of temporality. The opening track, “España,” features a more conventional arrange-
The four musicians deserve kudos for not choosing an easy path, but they ment but a similar sensibility. Ditto for “The Wedding Song” and “Hope,”
achieve mixed results. The band is up to a strong start. “La Somnolence” im- and also “Shir Avoda,” which Klein performs on electric piano.
parts a compelling South Asian flavor, and the mournful “L’Indifférence” Rockets is an indicator of the sea change that has been occurring in
with its haunting clarinet work and mix of bowed, tingling, and scraped jazz. Pretty much everyone is dabbling with one ethnic music or another.
strings establishes a deep emotional connection. Unfortunately, most of the In the case of Klein’s trio, the musicians all happen to be from Israel and
subsequent pieces fail to make a real mark. —Alain Drouot the album successfully reconciles one world with another. —Eric Fine
Dans les Arbres: La Somnolence; L’Indifférence; Le Flegme; L’Engourdissement; Le Détachement; La Rockets On The Balcony: España; Baghdad Blues; The Wedding Song; Shining Through Broken
Froideur; L’Assoupissement; La Retenue. (49:31) Glass; Hope; Heidad; Rockets On The Balcony; Shir Avoda; Neila. (45:54)
Personnel: Xavier Charles, clarinet, harmonica; Ivar Grydeland, acoustic guitar, banjo, sruti box; Chris- Personnel: Omer Klein, piano, Fender Rhodes; Haggai Cohen Milo, bass, kalimba; Ziv Ravitz, drums,
tian Wallumrød, piano; Ingar Zach, percussion, bass drum. percussion.
Ordering info: ecmrecords.com Ordering info: tzadik.com

masterful understanding, or displays his orig- Knob Hit Ya; Guess What; Skanky. (54:04)
inality and intelligence with jazz inclinations.
Personnel: Buddy Guy, vocals, guitar; Michael Rhodes (1–4,
7–12), Tommy MacDonald (5, 6), bass; Tom Hambridge, drums,
His pained, grisly Blood Ulmer-like singing percussion, background vocals; David Grissom, guitar; Reese
Wynans, keyboards; The Memphis Horns (3); B. B. King, vocals,
packs fresh menace into overfamilar “Hoochie guitar (4); Carlos Santana, guitar (7); Wendy Moten, Bekka Bramlett,
background vocals (6, 7, 9).
Coochie Man.” Versatile Brown features his de- Ordering info: jiverecords.com
cent piano playing on two numbers, notably a
Love, Lost And Found: Love, Lost And Found; My Baby Wants To
version of Freddie King’s “You Were Wrong” Boogie; You Were Wrong, Pretty Baby; Red Wine And Moonshine;
that points to Professor Longhair’s New Orleans. Little Girl From Maine; Pattern B; Blues In The Alley; Feel Like Jump-
ing; Come Back Baby; Slow Moan; Under The Counter Blues;
Guests include the young Italian guitarist Enrico Hoochie Coochie Man. (57:40)
Personnel: Mel Brown, guitar, vocals, piano, organ, clavinet;
Crivellaro and such venerable old-timers as Sam Snooky Pryor, vocals, harmonica (2, 8); Sam Myers, vocals, har-
monica (5); Miss Angel, vocals (7); Enrico Crivellaro, guitar (4);
Myers and Snooky Pryor. —Frank-John Hadley Jimmy Boudreau, drums (1, 2, 5, 8); Michael Fonfara, piano (2, 8);
Al Richardson (1, 2), Leo Valvassori (12), Jimmie Calhoun (6, 7, 10,
Living Proof: 74 Years Young; Thank Me Someday; On The Road; 11) bass; Alec Fraser, bass (5), congas (11); Leonard Tarver or Jeff
Stay Around A Little Longer; Key Don’t Fit; Living Proof; Where The Osborne, drums (6, 7, 10, 11).
Blues Begins; Too Soon; Everybody’s Got To Go; Let The Door Ordering info: electrofi.com
Buddy Guy
Living Proof
Silvertone/JIVE 88697
★★★½
Mel Brown
Love, Lost & Found
Electro-Fi 3421
★★★½
H ail two guitar-playing blues senior citizens

of special merit. Buddy Guy, more than
a half-century into his recording career, main-
tains his vitality and imagination on his latest al-
bum. His colleague, the underappreciated Mel
Brown, turns in solid performances on an album
of tracks recorded in the decade before his death
in 2009.
Guy is a deeply expressive singer, most in
character when his aggressive pout torches lyr-
ics about spurned lovers, as with “Don’t Let The
Door Knob Hit Ya.” For a change of pace, he shifts
gears into a more thoughtful, modulated delivery
when addressing mortality on “Everybody’s Got
To Go” and “Stay Around A Little Longer,” the
latter a celebration of his friendship with guest
B. B. King. But Stratocaster electroshock blasts,
not vocals, are the main attraction; the archetyp-
al Chicago bluesman revels in short-circuiting a
listener’s nervous system. The bends-and-phras-
es pandemonium in “74 Years Young,” for one,
speaks to several generations of rock guitarists.
Conviction, as always, fuels his fire and drive,
separating him from the general lot of blues-
rock guitar hellraisers. It’s another guest, Carlos
Santana, who provides toned-down relief on
“Where The Blues Begins.” Guy, his point made
about still being the hot-guitar champ, is fortu-
nate to have Nashville’s Tom Hambridge on his
team as producer, drummer and songwriter. Like
Guy, Hambridge has a knack for putting his head
and heart into all his contributions.
Andrew Galloway provides a public service
by releasing previously unreleased material re-
corded by Brown for his Electro-Fi label. The
onetime Los Angeles session guitarist, whose
blues bona fides included work with Bobby
Bland and Etta James, shows the same excep-
tional conviction as Guy but without all the his-
trionic flair. On mostly original tunes, Brown
digs into the dark recesses of the blues with

Eastern U.S. Music Camp at Colgate University Skidmore Jazz Institute
Summertime
Swingin’
DownBeat’s 2011 International Jazz Camp Guide
College of Saint Rose Summer Jazz Program Hudson Jazz Works

EAST
Berklee’s Five Week Summer
Performance Program
Boston, Massachusetts
July 9–August 12
Berklee’s Five-Week Summer Performance
Program, now in its 25th year, is the largest,
most comprehensive summer music pro-
gram available, annually welcoming 1,000
students. You must be at least 15 years old
by the start of the program and have been
playing your instrument (or singing) for a
minimum of six months to attend.
Faculty: 160 various Berklee faculty and
visiting artists.
Cost: $7,680 (including housing).
Contact: Summer Programs, (617) 747-2245;
berklee.edu/summer.
Camp Encore/Coda
Sweden, Maine
June 29–July 24, July 24–August 14
This summer will be the 62nd season of en-
Maryland Summer Jazz Camp
couraging young musicians at this beautiful
lakeside Maine camp location.
Faculty: Brent LaCasce, Kevin Norton, Faculty: Various area musicians and educa-
Jared Andrews, Jared LaCasce, tors including members of the Village
Sean Richey, Kyle Moffat. Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and Lincoln
Cost: 1st session (3 1/2 weeks) is $4,600 Center Jazz Orchestra.
inclusive; 2nd session (3 weeks) is Cost: Single session tuition $1,840,
$3,850 inclusive; full season housing $750, meals $320.
(6 1/2 weeks) is $7,100 inclusive. Both sessions tuition $3,245,
Contact: James Saltman, (617) 325-1541; housing $1,500, meals $634.
[email protected]; Contact: (917) 493-4475; msmnyc.edu/special/
encore-coda.com camp; [email protected].
Camp Medeski Martin & Wood College of Saint Rose

Big Indian, New York Summer Jazz Program
July 31–August 5 Albany, New York
Located in the Catskill Mountains, Camp June 28–August 5
MMW is limited to 80 students ages 16 and Students will be divided into two jazz en-
up. No matter what instrument you play, you sembles: students who will be entering grades
will expand your approach to music, improve 7–9 and students entering grades 10–12. Both
your listening skills and interact with musicians bands meet every Tuesday and Thursday
in a completely fresh, innovative way. This is evening from 6–8 p.m.
five days of musical cross-training led by the Faculty: Paul Evoskevich, Matthew Cremisio,
band Medeski Martin & Wood. Danielle Cremisio.
Faculty: John Medeski, Billy Martin, Chris Wood Cost: $325.
and special guests. Contact: Paul Evoskevich, [email protected].
Cost: $2,000 full tuition (includes shared ac-
commodation at resort, tuition, meals); COTA CampJazz
$1,100 for outdoor camping tuition and Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania
meals (campers have access to public July 25–31
bathroom facility). Scholarships and Students ages 13 through adult will play in
discounts available. small ensembles based on ability and experi-
Contact: (212) 925-6458; [email protected]; ence. This intense program includes theory,
mmw.net/campmmw. ear training and sectionals.
Faculty: Phil Woods, Rick Chamberlain, Jim
Camp MSM at the Manhattan Daniels, Bill Goodwin, Eric Doney.
School of Music Cost: $450 excluding room and board.
New York, New York Contact: campjazz.org.
July 10–23, July 24–August 6
This rigorous musical theater camp includes Eastern U.S. Music Camp
acting, vocal coaching, dance and perfor- at Colgate University
mance techniques. All campers will receive Hamilton, New York
theory and ear-training classes. Campers can June 26–July 10, July 3–17, July 10–23,
also choose from a diverse array of musical June 26–July 17, July 3–23, June 26–July 23
and non-musical elective classes including Jazz education, performance, ensembles
dance, acting, art, jazz band, stagecraft and and combos, improvisation, theory, harmony,
more. In addition to studies with expert faculty, composition, arranging, conducting, guest
campers will also have the opportunity to artists and master classes are all included in
participate in master classes. this camp. Enrollment is approximately 200

students between the ages of 10 and 18.
Faculty: Sean Lowery, Tom Christensen,
Rick Montalbano.
Cost: Varies from $995 to $4,298
depending upon a two-, three-,
or four-week session.
Contact: (866) 777-7841, (518) 877-5121;
easternusmusiccamp.com;
[email protected].
Eastman Summer Jazz Studies

at the University of Rochester
Rochester, New York
June 26–July 8, July 25–August 5, June 13–17
The Jazz Studies Intensive is for highly
motivated students currently in grades 9–12
considering jazz studies at the collegiate level.
The rigorous two-week program provides an
intensive, performance based experience. Stu-
dents work directly with the renowned East-
man School of Music jazz faculty to enhance
improvisational and ensemble skills. The
middle school instrumental program focuses
on technique and introduces students to the
basics of jazz. Also offered is an introduction
to jazz history.
Faculty: Jeff Campbell, Harold Danko, Jose
Encarnacion, Bob Schneider, Paul Hof-
mann, Dariusz Terefendo, Bill Tiberio.
Cost: $1,150 (Jazz Intensive),
$350 (Middle School Instrumental).
Contact: (800) 246-4706;
[email protected];
esm.rochester.edu/summer.
Hudson Jazz Works

Hudson, New York
August 11–14
The fifth annual Hudson Jazz Workshop in
upstate New York offers a relaxed yet focused
weekend immersion in jazz improvisation and
composition conducive to intensive study.
Limited to 10 students who come from all over
the globe, the level is high.
Faculty: Armen Donelian, Marc Mommaas,
Vic Juris.
Cost: $585.
Contact: [email protected];
hudsonjazzworks.org.
Jazz Institute at Proctors

Schenectady, New York
July 18–29
Through jazz, students will build skills includ-
ing listening, critical thinking, communication
and teamwork, all without sheet music. The
program will include guest artists for master
classes and culminate in a swinging finale.
Faculty: Keith Pray and Arthur Falbush.
Cost: One week, $200; two weeks, $380.
Contact: Jessica Gelarden, (518) 382-3884,
ext. 150; [email protected].
Jazz in July Summer Music Programs

Amherst, Massachusetts
July 11–22
Jazz in July is a two-week program focused
on joining participants with jazz artists in a
learning intensive environment. Jazz in July is
centered on teaching improvisation and jazz
styles while working to enrich the total musical
experience of the participant. Held at the Uni-
versity of Massachusetts Amherst, participants
get a variety of interactions with jazz artists
through lectures, clinics, master classes and

ensemble coaching. Dafnis Prieto, Steve Smith, Dave
Faculty: Sheila Jordan, Jeff Holmes, Frederick Samuels, Giovanni Hidalgo.
Tillis, Chip Jackson, Steve Johns, Cost: TBD.
Bruce Diehl, Bob Ferrier, Catherine Contact: (800) 541-8401; kosamusic.com.
Jensen-Hole, Greg Caputo, Genevieve
Rose, Felipe Salles, Tom Giampetro. Litchfield Jazz Camp
Cost: $1,200, two weeks; $600, one week. Kent, Connecticut
Contact: (413) 545-3530; July 10–15, July 17–22, July 24–29,
[email protected]; July 31–August 5
umass.edu/fac/jazz. Classes offered include combo, theory, com-
position, improv, jazz history and the business
Jazz Intensives: Samba Meets Jazz of music. Electives include Latin big band, r&b
Bar Harbor, Maine band and boot camp for jazz musicians.
July 24–30, July 31–August 6 Faculty: Don Braden, Junior Mance, Onaje Allan
Experienced high school players and adults Gumbs, Dave Stryker, Eli Yamin.
gain the opportunity to work and learn with Cost: $950 tuition for one week, excluding
world-class faculty. The workshops focuses room and board.
on jazz and Brazilian music through hands- Contact: (860) 361-6285;
on classes with vocalists joining trios and [email protected];
ensembles. litchfieldjazzcamp.com.
Faculty: Roni Ben-Hur, Nilson Matta, Amy Lon-
don, Bill McHenry, John Cooper. Maryland Summer
Cost: $895 tuition; $1,360 including lodging Jazz Camp & Festival
and meals. Rockville, Maryland
Contact: Alice Schiller, (888) 435-4003; July 20–22, July 27–29
sambameetsjazz.com. Now in its seventh season, the goal of Mary-
land Summer Jazz is to get students “out of
Juilliard Jazz at Greens the basement and onto the bandstand.” Each
Farms Academy three-day session includes theory, master
Greens Farms, Connecticut classes, combo playing, elective sessions and
July 5–9 lunchtime and evening faculty concerts. This is
This new program for students grades 6–12 a day camp, so many students elect to stay in
includes instruction and/or participation in nearby hotels.
both small and large ensembles, theory and Faculty: Varies by session but may include Jeff
improvisation for all students based upon skill Antoniuk, John D’Earth, Wade Beach,
level. Conducted in partnership with Juilliard’s Red Lipsius, Frank Russo, Alan Black-
Institute for Jazz Studies. man, Felicia Carter.
Faculty: Various Juilliard and GFA faculty in ad- Cost: One session (register before May 1),
dition to world-class musicians. $470; one session (before June 30),
Cost: TBD. $544; two sessions (before June 30),
Contact: (203) 256-0717; gfacademy.org; $900.
juilliard.edu/summer/jazz.html. Contact: Jeff Antoniuk, artistic director, (410)
295-6691; marylandsummerjazz.com.
Kennedy Center Mary Lou Williams
Women in Jazz Piano Intensive National Jazz Workshop at
New York, New York Shenandoah University
May 18–21 Winchester, Virginia
This three-day intensive workshop provides July 10–15
female jazz artists ages 18 to 35 with an op- Inspired by the Stan Kenton Jazz Camp
portunity to explore and develop their artistry model, this camp includes improvisation, big
under the guidance of leading jazz artists and band and small-group performance, com-
instructors and focuses exclusively on the position, arranging, jazz history, Macintosh
piano this year. The workshop culminates in a software technology, recording technology
public performance by workshop participants and instrumental master classes.
on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage Faculty: The best jazz educators and perform-
during the 16th Annual Mary Lou Williams ers from Washington, D.C., including
Women in Jazz Festival. the Airmen of Note, the jazz ensemble
Faculty: Drawn from the artists present during of the U.S. Airforce and the U.S. Army
the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Blues band.
Festival. Cost: $500.
Cost: Free to those selected ($25 application Contact: nationaljazzworkshop.org.
fee). Applications must be postmarked
by March 18. New York Jazz Workshop
Contact: (202) 416-8811; kennedy-center.org/ Summer Summit
womeninjazzworkshop. New York, New York
July 28–31, August 4–7, August 11–14,
KoSA International Percussion August 18–21
Workshop, Camp & Festival A series of four-day summits taught by the
Castleton, Vermont nation’s leading educators and performers,
July 26–31 this workshop is dedicated to providing an
This intensive camp is taught at Castleton intensive learning experience for musicians of
State College by world-class drummers and all levels. Program includes an improvisation
percussionists with more than 100 attendees workshop, a vocal workshop, a guitar work-
of all ages. shop and a drums and percussion workshop,
Faculty: Past faculty have included John Riley, all presented in the heart of Manhattan.

Faculty: Marc Mommaas, Tim Horner, Vic Juris,
Fay Victor, Tony Moreno.
Cost: $575.
newyorkjazzworkshop.com.
New York Summer Music Festival

Oneonta, New York
June 26–July 9, July 10–23, July 24–August 6
This camp is for musicians of all levels be-
tween the ages of 11–25. Students choose
from 50 ensembles and classes with more
than 40 public performances each summer.
Jazz options include three jazz ensembles,
up to a dozen jazz combos, jazz choir and
classes in improv and jazz history.
Faculty: Justin DiCioccio, Mike Holober, Sher-
rie Maricle, Pete McGuinness, Chris
Rosenberg and faculty from Manhattan
School of Music and Juilliard.
Cost: $1,700 for two weeks; $3,300 for four
weeks; $4,800 for six weeks.
Contact: Keisuke Hoashi; [email protected];
nysmf.org.
Penn State Summer Music Camp

State College, Pennsylvania
July 17–23
Attendees participate in full-ensemble and
sectional rehearsals and master classes in
addition to daily ear-training, music theory and
music appreciation. Students will be placed
into big bands and combos based on audition.
Faculty: David Stambler.
Cost: TBD.
Contact: outreach.psu.edu/programs/
music camps;
[email protected].
New York University Summer

Jazz Workshops
New York, New York
August 1–12, July 11–August 29
Intended for intermediate or advanced par-
ticipants 18 years and older (applicants under
18 will be considered). Courses include jazz
theory, jazz improvisation, rhythm classes,
small group ensembles, and master classes.
Faculty: Various faculty from NYU’s Summer
Jazz Improvisation Workshop.
Cost: Tuition, $1,800; room and board, $825.
Contact: Dr. David Schroeder, (212) 998-5446;
[email protected]; steinhardt.nyu.edu/
music/jazz.
Purchase Summer Jazz Institute

Purchase, New York
July 11–August 5
This four-week immersion program focuses on
daily small ensemble rehearsals, instrumental
master classes and regular jam sessions with
the faculty. All levels of experience welcome..
Faculty: Frank Neimeyer, Tom McEvoy, Sam
Lester, Jerad Lippi, John Raymond,
Chris Miller.
Cost: $2,275.
Contact: purchase.edu/departments/
academicprograms/ce/summer.
School for Improvisational Music

Jazz Brooklyn Intensive
Brooklyn, New York
July 25–August 12
Focused on helping students grow as creative
beings through a better understanding of

improvisation and creative music, the SIM
Intensive at Long Island University combines
master classes, group and open rehearsals
and jamming with classes in technique culmi-
nating in faculty and student concerts.
Faculty: Ralph Alessi, Tim Berne, Ravi Coltrane,
Matt Mitchell, Andy Milne, Josh Rose-
man, Vijay Iyer.
Cost: $1,800 (full three weeks); $1,200 (two
weeks).
Contact: schoolforimprov.org.
Skidmore Jazz Institute

Saratoga Springs, New York
June 25–July 9
Skidmore Jazz Institute provides a new gen-
eration of musicians the opportunity to learn
from gifted educators and world-class per-
formers. Students participate in daily combo
rehearsals, improve and special classes.
Master classes are conducted each afternoon
by the evening’s performing artist.
Faculty: Todd Coolman, Bill Cunliffe, Dennis
Mackrel, Pat LaBarbera, John LaBar-
bera, Bobby Shew, Curtis Fuller, Hal
Miller.
Cost: $2,330.
Contact: (518) 580-5599; summerjazz@
skidmore.edu; skidmore.edu/summer.
Tritone Jazz Fantasy Camp

Jazz at Naz
Rochester, New York
July 24–29
Held at Nazareth College, this camp is de-
signed for adult players (21 and over) looking
to spend a week in a total-immersion jazz
playing experience regardless of ability or skill
level. Includes instrument and vocal master
classes, small-combo and large ensemble
playing, theory and improv and an intimate
meet-the-artists session.
Faculty: Fred Sturm, Jim Doser, Bob DeRosa,
Clay Jenkins, Ted Poor, Bill Tiberio.
Cost: $775 (tuition only), $1,075 (tuition and
meal plan), $1,275 (tuition plus room &
board).
Contact: (585) 377-2222; tritonejazz.com/
camps/naz.
University of the Arts

Jazz Intensive Studies
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
July 19–23
This workshop is designed for serious student
musicians in their junior or senior year of high
school. Many students may also participate in
the instrumental camp held during the previ-
ous week, which focuses on technique and
dovetails into the jazz intensive.
Faculty: From the School of Music.
Cost: $800.
Contact: (215) 717-6430; [email protected];
cs.uarts.edu/summerinstitute/
music-studies.
Vermont Jazz Center

Summer Program
Putney, Vermont
August 7–15
Focuses on theory, composition and arrang-
ing, ensembles, listening, master classes and
jam sessions.
Faculty: Sheila Jordan, Jimmy Heath, John
Abercrombie, Lee Konitz, Jimmy Cobb.

educator Fernando Jones and the Blues Kids Drury Jazz Camp
Foundation, will give national and international Springfield, Missouri
student musicians ages 12–18 an opportunity June 19–24
to learn and play America’s root music in the The oldest music camp in the state dates back
hands-on environment of Columbia College to the ’50s and ’60s, when the great bandlead-
Chicago’s South Loop campus. Placement er Stan Kenton was running it. Daily activities
in ensembles is competitive, and student include rehearsals, master classes, jazz theory,
musicians (for intermediate-to-advanced skill improvisation, listening and jam sessions.
levels) must audition for positions. A parent- The camp is open to students 13 years and
teacher workshop is also included. older with a minimum of one year experience
Faculty: Fernando Jones, Blues Ensemble on their instrument, as well as to adults with
Director. previous experience on a jazz instrument
Cost: Free for students. (saxophone, trumpet, trombone, guitar, piano,
Contact: (312) 369-3229; blueskids.com;
[email protected]. continued on page 87
Music For All Summer Symposium
Cost: $1,500 (tuition, single room and meal

plan); $1,375 (tuition, double occu-
pancy and meal plan); $1,100 (tuition,
lunch and dinner, no sleeping accom-
modations).
Contact: (802) 254-9088; vtjazz.org/ed/summer;
[email protected].
William Paterson University

Wayne, New Jersey
July 17–23
Includes seven days of small-group perfor-
mances and rehearsals; classes in improvisa-
tion (four levels), arranging and jazz history;
master classes with daily guest artists; free
admission to major nightly jazz concerts; and
a free trip to a New York City jazz club.
Faculty: Dr. Billy Taylor, Jim McNeely, Steve
LaSpina, Marcus McLaurine, Tim New-
man, David Demsey.
Cost: Resident tuition is $689 for commuters;
$989 including room and board.
Contact: WP Center for Continuing Education,
(937) 720-2354; wpunj.edu/coac/
departments/music.
MIDWEST
Birch Creek Music
Performance Center
Egg Harbor, Wisconsin
July 19–31, August 2–14
This camp provides students with advanced
training and the opportunity to perform pub-
licly alongside pros in the jazz industry. Enroll-
ment is limited to 50-54 students ages 14-19.
Faculty: Jeff Campbell, Tom Garling, Reggie
Thomas, Clay Jenkins, Bob Chmel,
Rick Haydon, David Bixler, Ron Carter,
Jim Warrick and others.
Cost: Tuition, Room and Board is $1,785.
Contact: (920) 868-3763; birchcreek.org.
Blues Camp at Columbia College

Chicago, Illinois
July 21 –22 (Blues Kids 101), July 25–July 29
This fun-filled experience, presented by

JazzWorks
Taking It Up A Notch
J ust as in sports, the ability to excel early in music
is viewed as being linked directly to longer-term
success. If you haven’t made your mark by the time
you’re old enough to vote, common perception goes
that you’re destined for a life on the sidelines. Judy
Humenick, the founder of JazzWorks—an Ottawa-
based jazz education non-profit—begs to differ. She’s
an enthusiastic proponent of lifelong learning.
The Saskatchewan native established the program
in 1994, with the idea of offering adults the opportu-
nity to study alongside gifted teens and seasoned cli-
nicians like Ottawa bassist John Geggie. Since then,
JazzWorks has attracted more than 1,000 students
and featured instructors that include saxophonists Ted
Nash, Don Braden and Donny McCaslin, percussion-
ist Aldo Mazza, and trumpeters Kevin Turcotte and
Jim Lewis. Some core members of the faculty have
John Fowler
been with the program since the beginning.
“What we offer is closer to sharing than teaching,”
said Humenick. “JazzWorks provides a creative, safe atmosphere where “I think one of the great things about the atmosphere is that there’s no
we can challenge participants to go deeper into the music than they might vibe,” said Frayne. “Even for a beginner, having the cushion of better play-
have previously.” ers around you frees you to take chances you might not take in other set-
In recent years, the program welcomed as many as 93 participants, tings. Plus, hearing someone like Donny McCaslin or pianist Dave Restivo
ranging in age up to 84, and 17 instructors. play next to you for three days tends to wear off on you; it takes your play-
One of the keys to JazzWorks’ success is that the program takes stu- ing up a notch, regardless of where you start.”
dents and instructors far outside their comfort zones, into a summer For Gretchen Schwarz, a middle-aged pianist who had never written a
camp setting in the Laurentian Mountains 90 minutes north of Montreal. song, the challenge of the JazzWorks camp was enough to ignite her com-
Operated by the Canadian Amateur Musicians, the Lake MacDonald posing chops. “Something happened,” she said. “I felt free enough to let my
Music Centre can seem as foreign to hotel-hopping musicians like Nash as ideas flow, and it was magical. It was especially magical hearing other peo-
it can to amateur saxophonists escaping from a public service cube farm. ple play what I’d written.”
Singer Kellylee Evans, a self-proclaimed musical late bloomer who tried Those types of stories are fulfilling for Humenick, who has seen the
her wings at JazzWorks in 1999, five years before placing second behind JazzWorks summer experience extend into the fall and beyond. “From
Gretchen Parlato in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, the beginning, we’ve held monthly jam sessions at various restaurants and
credited the camp setting with imparting a lesson that went far beyond vo- clubs in Ottawa. Those are now more popular than ever, drawing up to 60
cal exercises. people, and the quality of the music played just keeps going up, too.”
“I’m a city girl, so the prospect of going to summer camp was not excit- In 2007, JazzWorks initiated a composers symposium to allow partici-
ing for me,” she said. “What I found was an incredibly safe place where pants to develop their music, and off-season master classes have been
everybody shared. The chance to break bread with people of all different staged in conjunction with Canada’s National Arts Centre and the annual
ages and experiences, to go swimming together, that gave me a feeling of concert series curated by Geggie.
community. What I’ve discovered since then is that you need that at every For Ottawa, a city that—in spite of being home to artists like Evans,
stage of your development. The camp made me feel like, I can do this, and Frayne, Geggie and pianist D.D. Jackson—has never had enough of a jazz
it made me look for that sense of community as I’ve grown my career.” community to sustain a full-time performance venue, JazzWorks is pay-
Prospective JazzWorks adult campers submit audition tapes and are ing dividends.
sorted into combos, based on experience and instrumentation. Three high “At last summer’s TD Ottawa International Jazz Festival, 15 JazzWorks
school music students, who attend on scholarships, are chosen through the alumni led their own bands,” said Humenick. “That included every size of
MusicFest Canada program. Experience also determines which of three venue right up to Kellylee Evans on the mainstage. Overall, there are hun-
steams of improvisation study will be followed. Master classes begin each dreds of musicians playing in bands now—in Ottawa and other places—
morning, and workshop discussions cover topics ranging from jazz history who have sprung out of our program, including Kellylee, who’s headlining
to how to build a set list and extended performance techniques. all over the world. When I look back over the past 18 years, it’s the connec-
Veteran saxophonist and JazzWorks faculty member Rob Frayne tions that people make on their own that is the most gratifying.”
points to the workshops as a unique source of the kind of intangible mu- As a business, JazzWorks has now expanded well beyond its initial de-
sical knowledge that only comes from rubbing shoulders with seasoned cade, when Humenick funded the program herself. In 2004, it was incor-
players. “Just little things like tonguing techniques and reed choice, those porated as a non-profit, opening the way to receive funding from various
are things I didn’t find out about in school. Those are practical insights you levels of government, and last year it became a registered charity, enabling
only pick up through experience, and JazzWorks opens the door into that.” Humenick to look to other sources of individual support.
Vital information and experience are also shared at the nightly jam ses- “When I think of our successes, I think of the transformative experi-
sions, a camp feature that Evans remembered as being essential for helping ences we’ve witnessed. For example, last year we had a student who used
her gain the confidence to pursue a music career. Like camp itself, the jam to be a professional drummer in France. After coming to summer camp he
sessions defied expectations. “Rather than being competitive, I discovered started taking lessons again for the first time in 40 years. As adults, we are
how nurturing they can be,” she said. never too old to learn.” —James Hale

bass or drums). Previous experi- Phil Palombi, others.
ence in jazz is not necessary. Cost: $450 plus room and board.
Faculty: Tina Clausen, Ned Wilkin- Contact: (201) 406-5059; keithhall
son, Brian Hamada, James music.com; keith@
Miley, Jamey Simmons, keithhallmusic.com.
Rob Tapper, John Strickler.
Cost: $315 tuition; $220 room McNally Smith College of
and board. Music–Jazz Workshop
Contact: (417) 873-7296; St. Paul, Minnesota
music.drury.edu/jazz. June 25–30
Open to musicians of all skill lev-
Interlochen Arts Camp els, this camp offers an immersion
Jazz Program in jazz and improvisation through
Interlochen, Michigan ensemble training, improvisational
June 25–July 16, July 17–August 8 theory and technique, master
This three-week camp offers classes and jazz history.
students in grades 9–12 an op- Faculty: Scott Agster, Jerry Kosak,
portunity to experience a compre- Sean McPherson.
hensive set of jazz offerings that Cost: Registration $400, lunch
will take their improvisation and $60, housing $400, airport
performance skills to a new level pick-up $50 (if received by
and feature daily master classes, March 31).
sectional and combos. Contact: (800) 594-9500; sean.
Faculty: Bill Sears, Lennie Foy, mcpherson@mcnalysmith.
Michael Kocour, Luke edu; summercamps.
Gillespie, Frank Portolese, mcnallysmith.edu.
David Hardman, Robbie
Smith. Music for All Summer
Cost: $4,575. Symposium
Contact: (800) 681-5912; Muncie, Indiana
admission@interlochen. June 20–25
org; camp.interlochen.org. The camp offers several different
areas of study, including concert
Janice Borla band, percussion, marching
Vocal Jazz Camp band, color guard, orchestra,
Naperville, Illinois drum major and jazz band. The
July 17–22 Summer Symposium also offers a
This one-week intensive gives Leadership Weekend Experience
aspiring jazz vocalists a chance to (June 18–20). Open to high school
study with acclaimed professional students.
jazz artists. Focus on solo vocal Faculty: TBD.
performance and improvisation; Cost: Super Saver (past partici-
curriculum includes vocal jazz pant) fee $489, early bird
techniques, styles and repertoire, registration (before March
improvisation, master classes, 31) $539, full fee $599
student jam sessions, faculty artist (after March 31).
performances and more. Students Contact: (800) 848-2263; music-
ages 14–adult are welcome. forall.org/what-we-do/
Faculty: Janice Borla, Jay Clayton, summer-camp.
Rosana Eckert; also Dan
Haerle, Bob Bowman, Northern Illinois
Jack Mouse, Art Davis. University Jazz Camp
Cost: $625 for commuters. $925 DeKalb, Illinois
for residents. July 17–22
Contact: Janice Borla, (630) 416- This camp is for jazz musicians
3911; janiceborla@mac. of all skill levels who want to
com; janiceborlavocal focus on a creative approach
jazzcamp.org. to improvisation and ensemble
playing. Camp-goers will attend
Keith Hall Summer rehearsals, seminars on jazz styles
Drum Intensive and business of music, instrument
Kalamazoo, Michigan master classes, jam sessions,
June 14–19, June 19–24 sectionals, group classes and
Students of all ages learn different more, all taught by NIU jazz
aspects of jazz drumming includ- faculty alumni and students. This
ing tunes, drum choir ensemble camp is for students who have
and performances with profes- completed grades 8–12.
sional rhythm sections at a local Faculty: Ron Carter, NIU faculty
jazz club. Held on the campus of and graduate students.
Western Michigan University, this Cost: $460 early bird (June 1).
camp is held in two segments for Contact: Renee Page, (815) 753-
players at different skill levels. 1450;
Faculty: Keith Hall, Matthew Fries, niu.edu/extprograms.

Northwoods Jazz Camp
Rhinelander, Wisconsin
May 11–14
Students learn improvisation, jazz vocabulary,
repertoire, big band reading and interpretation,
jazz theory and history. They play and perform
with the eight professional faculty members
each night in concert, with a big band the final
night. Students must be 21 and over unless
accompanied by an adult.
Faculty: Kim Richmond, Clay Jenkins, Scot
Whitfield, Lee Tomboulian, Tom Hynes,
Jeff Campbell, Tim Davis and Betty
Tomboulian.
Cost: Student single occupancy room, $795;
student double occupancy room, $665.
Contact: Holiday Acres, (715) 369-1500;
northwoodsjazzcamp.com;
[email protected].
Oakland University Regina

Carter Workshop
Rochester Hills, Michigan
May 22
Oakland University alum and artist-in-resi-
dence Regina Carter brings her technical pro-
ficiency and improvisational gifts to students
May 22 for a one-hour jazz violin workshop
that explores surprising jazz combinations on
a typically classical instrument. Following the
workshop, Carter will perform a concert for
attendees.
Faculty: Regina Carter.
Cost: $20, including post-workshop concert.
Contact: Miles Brown, (248)-370-2805;
[email protected].
The Roberto Ocasio Latin Jazz

Music Camp with Bobby Sanabria
Cleveland, Ohio
July 11–16
Students in grades 8–12 playing any instru-
ment are invited to attend this camp, which fo-
cuses on playing, composition, improvisation,
rhythms, styles, history and culture. Artist-in-
residence Bobby Sanabria will conduct master
classes based upon his work with legendary
figures including Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie
and Mario Bauzá.
Faculty: Various.
Cost: $500.
Contact: (440) 572-2048;
[email protected];
robertoocasiofoundation.org.
Simpson College Jazz Combo Camp

Indianola, IA
June 12–17
Students participate in daily classes of jazz
theory and composition, improvisation, master
classes and jazz listening with each day
capped by a faculty combo concert.
Faculty: Dave Camwell, Jim Oatts, Jason Dan-
ielson, Jon Kizilarmut, Seth Hedquist,
Dave Kobberdahl, Dave Altemeier, John
Benoit, Eric Kreiger.
Cost: TBD.
Contact: Dave Camwell, (515) 961-1575;
simpson.edu/music/camps/jazz.
Steve Zegree Vocal Jazz Camp

Kalamazoo, Michigan
June 26–July 1
This camp at Western Michigan University
targets high school and college students,

teachers, professional and amateur singers University of Central Oklahoma University of Michigan
along with rhythm section players. Modern Recording Technology MPulse Jazz Institute
Faculty: Steve Zegree, Michael Wheaton, Duane Edmond, Oklahoma Ann Arbor, Michigan
Shields Davis, Diana Spradling, Ly July 11–15 July 17–30
Tartell, Peter Eldrige, Gary Fry. The spectrum of audio recording techniques Students attending MPulse will receive training
Cost: $495 plus room and board. are taught, including measurement of sound, provided by the university in improvisation, lis-
Contact: wmugoldcompany.com/camp. distortion, signal flow, transducers, micro- tening, jazz history, applied instrument training,
phones, bit resolution, analog vs. digital theory and musicianship. Students participate
Summer Jazz Workshops technique, modern sound editing and effective in small group performance and creative col-
Louisville, Kentucky use of using software and plug-ins. Space is laboration with other MPulse sessions. MPulse
July 3–18, July 10–18, limited. Early application encouraged. is open to students who have completed
July 2-3, July 9-10 Faculty: Brian Gorrell. grades 9–11 during the 2010–2011 academic
This camp features two week-long sessions Cost: Varies. year and are selected through auditions.
and three two-day sessions. Participants Contact: Brian Gorrell, (405) 359-7989; Faculty: Andrew Bishop (director) and various
receive master classes on their instruments, [email protected]. School of Music faculty.
ear-training sessions, concerts by the all-star
faculty, jazz theory classes and small group/
combo rehearsals. All ages/abilities welcome.
Faculty: Jamey Aebersold, Hunt Butler, Steve
Allee, Rufus Reid, Dave Stryker.
Cost: $500 plus dorm accommodations and
meal plan.
Contact: (800) 456-1388 ext. 5; Jason Lindsey,
[email protected].
Summer with the Jazz

Masters Program
Cleveland, Ohio
June–July 2011
Summer jazz studies program held at
Cuyahoga Community College with weekly
guest artists, workshops, clinics and perfor-
mances. Program has about 30 students, age
12–18.
Faculty: Steve Enos, Ernie Krivda, Dave Sterner,
Demetrius Steinmetz and Tri-C Jazz
Studies Artist(s)-in-Residence.
Cost: $350.
Contact: Steve Enos, (216) 987-4256;
[email protected].
Tritone Jazz Fantasy Camp

Cool at the Lake
Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin
July 10–15
Designed for adult players (21 and over) look-
ing to spend a week in a total-immersion jazz
playing experience regardless of ability or skill
level. Instrument and vocal master classes,
small-combo and large ensemble playing,
theory and improv and an intimate meet-the-
artists session.
Faculty: Gene Bertoncini, Ron Blumeneau, Mike
Hale, Tom Hampson, John Harmon,
Zach Harmon, Janet Planet, Mike
Washatka.
Cost: $775 (tuition only), $1,075 (tuition and
meal plan). Note: On-site lodging for
2011 is sold out.
Contact: (585) 377-2222; tritonejazz.com/
camps/bjorklunden.
University of Central Oklahoma

Jazz Guitar Workshops
Edmond, Oklahoma
June 20–24, July 11–15
Open to all ages with one year or more of gui-
tar experience. Incorporated into the program
is the university’s Jazz Lab, a state-of-the art
learning center and recording studio during the
day that turns into a live music club at night.
Faculty: Danny Vaughan.
Cost: TBD.
Contact: Brian Gorrell, (405) 359-7989;
[email protected].

Cost: $1,750. Contact: (419) 530-2448; [email protected];
Contact: (866) 936-2660; music.umich.edu/ summerjazz.utoledo.edu.
special_programs/youth/mpulse.
Western Illinois University
University of Missouri Summer Jazz Camp
Kansas City Jazz Camp Macomb, Illinois
Kansas City, Missouri June 26–July 1
June 26–30 Instruction includes ensemble, sectional, solo
The UMKC Jazz Camp brings world-renowned opportunities and optional private lessons led
performers and jazz educators to Kansas City by instructors and clinicians including Western
with talented instrumentalists and vocalists Illinois University School of Music faculty.
ages 14 and up. Camp directors Bobby Wat- Faculty: Various.
son and Dan Thomas work with distinguished Cost: TBD.
clinicians to provide insight and inspiration to Contact: (309) 298-1505;
student combos. The week features combo wiu.edu/summermusiccamps;
rehearsals, coaching sessions, master classes, [email protected].
theory and improvisation classes.
SOUTH
Faculty: Bobby Watson, Dan Thomas.
Cost: $350; $320 if registered and paid by
April 13.
Contact: Julie Koch, (816) 235-2741; kochjc@
umk.edu; conservatory.umkc.edu/
cmda/jazzcamp.cfm. Juilliard Summer Jazz
Residency in Atlanta
University of Missouri, St. Louis Atlanta, Georgia
Jazz Combo/Improv Camp June 20–24
St. Louis, Missouri This program is for disciplined students ages
June 12–17 12–18 who are passionate about jazz. It is de-
Students from beginner to advanced experi- signed to give young jazz musicians a taste of
ence jazz improvisation and combo playing, what a Juilliard Jazz student’s life is all about:
master and jazz theory classes, jam sessions refining technique, performance, and broaden-
and daily concerts. ing understanding of various jazz styles.
Faculty: Jim Widner, Dave Pietro, Dave Scott, Faculty: Various members of the Juilliard Jazz
Scott Whitfield. Division faculty, Juilliard students.
Cost: $299. Cost: TBD.
Contact: Stephen Smith, (314) 516-5948; Contact: (581) 882-387; juilliard.edu/summer/
umsl.edu. jazz.html.
The University of Nebraska Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong

at Omaha’s Jazz Workshop Summer Jazz Camp
Summer Camp New Orleans, Louisiana
Omaha, Nebraska July 6–24
June19–24 Students will receive beginner and advanced
Designed for students and band directors instruction in piano, bass drums, percussion,
from middle school through adults, attendees guitar, brass and woodwind instruments. The
take classes in improvisation, jazz theory, jazz camp employs the services of leading New Or-
history, big band and combos. The Jim Winder leans jazz educators and performers, Students
Big Band is featured nightly. must be 10–21 years old, actively involved in
Faculty: Jim Widner Big Band featuring Dave a music education program in school (or have
Pietro, Kim Richmond, Chip McNeil, a private instructor) and have studied their
Darren Pettit, Gary Anderson, John instrument for at least two years.
Harner, Mike Vax, Dave Scott, Jim Faculty: Wycliffe Gordon, Norma Miller, Edward
Oatts, Scott Whitfield, Paul McKee, “Kidd” Jordan, Clyde Kerr Jr., Marlon
Pete Madsen, Tom Matta, Ken Kehner, Jordan.
Rod Fleeman, Jim Widner, Gary Hobbs. Cost: Determined by residency, student
Cost: $330 tuition. status and program.
Contact: Pete Madsen, (402) 554-2297; Contact: (212) 987-0782; jazzcamp@louisarm
[email protected]; strongjazzcamp.com; louisarmstrong
unojazzcamp.com. jazzcamp.com.
The University of Toledo New Orleans Traditional Jazz Camp

2011 Summer Jazz Institute New Orleans, Louisiana
Toledo, Ohio June 5–10
June 19–25 Students are immersed in the jazz of New Or-
The UT Summer Jazz Institute offers an instru- leans beginning with guest lecturers followed
mental jazz, vocal jazz and teacher training by beginner and advanced group instruction.
program designed to provide fundamental, Highlights include performing at Preservation
intermediate and advanced jazz experiences Hall, nightly jam sessions, sitting in at jazz ven-
for high school, undergraduate and graduate ues in the French Quarter and a final camper
college students, and teachers desiring to performance at the Bourbon Orleans hotel.
refine and develop the pedagogy. Faculty: Connie Jones, Otis Bazoon, David
Faculty: Jon Hendricks, Vic Juris, Claude Black, Sager, David Boeddinghaus, Don Vap-
Gunnar Mossblad, Norm Manschroder, pie, Matt Perrine, Gerald French, Banu
Stephanie Nadasian, Mark Byerly. Gibson, Leah Chase.
Cost: Varies by program. Cost: $1,500, includes tuition, six days hous-

ing, breakfast and lunch.
Contact: Banu Gibson, executive director, (504)
895-0037; neworleanstradjazzcamp.
North Florida Music Camps

Jacksonville, Florida
July 3–7
Held at the new Fine Arts Facility at the Uni-
versity of North Florida, this five-day intensive
music performance camp is for students in en-
tering grades 8–12 or those currently enrolled
in a junior college music program. Campers
must have a minimum two years experi-
ence on their instruments. Students receive
instruction in music theory, improvisation and
participate in jazz ensembles and combos.
Faculty: University of North Florida faculty and
various guests.
Cost: $360, tuition and meals only; $495
tuition, meals and room.
Contact: (904) 620-3841, [email protected];
northflmusiccamps.com.
University of Miami
Frost School of
Music Young
Musicians’ Camp
University of Miami Frost School

of Music Young Musicians’ Camp
Coral Gables, Florida
June 20–July 1, July 5–July 22
Students will study all aspects of jazz, par-

ticipate in ensembles and jam sessions while
hearing world-class faculty perform. Open to
instrumentalists and vocalists from elementary
through high school. An Honors Jazz Program
is offered, which is open to all including strings
and voice, upon audition.
Faculty: Ira Sullivan, Lisanne Lyons, Brian Mur-
phy, Felix Gomez, Sandy Poltarack, Ed
Maina, Rob Friedman, Jackson Bunn,
Raina Murnak.
Cost: Varies.
Contact: Sarah Neham Salz, (305) 238-8937;
[email protected];
youngmusicianscamp.com.
University of North Carolina

Wilmington Summer Jazz Workshop
Wilmington, North Carolina
July 17–22
This workshop is geared toward ninth through
12th grade students and covers virtually every
aspect of jazz studies including music theory
and jazz history.
Faculty: Frank Bongiorno, Tom Davis, Steve

Bailey, Joe Chambers, Bob Russell, Faculty: Ed Soph, Lynn Seaton, Stefan Karls- in an intimate setting with master educator/
Jerald Shynett, Andy Whittington. son, Steve Jones, Brad Leali, Mike performers, students will study topics includ-
Cost: $475 for tuition, housing and three daily Steinel. ing big band performance, jazz improvisation
meals during the workshop. Cost: $495 (plus room and board). and combos, sight-reading and basic jazz
Contact: Dr. Frank Bongiorno, (910) 962-3395; Contact: Mike Steinel (940) 565-3758; michael. style.
uncw.edu/music. [email protected]; jazz.unt.edu. Faculty: Mike Steinel, Jay Saunders, Rodney
Booth, Brad Leali, Shelly Carroll.
University of North Texas University of North Texas Cost: $495 (plus room and board).
Jazz Combo Workshop Jazz Winds Workshop Contact: Mike Steinel (940) 565-3758;
Denton, Texas Denton, Texas [email protected]; jazz.unt.edu.
July 17–22 July 11–16
The Jazz Combo Workshop is open to The UNT Jazz Winds Workshop provides Lynn Seaton Jazz Double
musicians of all levels (minimum age 14) and saxophone, trumpet and trombone players Bass Workshop at the
provides comprehensive studies in jazz combo ages 14 and older with a comprehensive and University of North Texas
playing and improvisation. intensive curriculum devoted to jazz. Working Denton, Texas
June 13–17
Instruction in this intensive workshop includes
upright technique, bass line development,
theory and jazz bass history, in addition to
performance in bass ensembles and a rhythm
section, which will be coached.
Faculty: Lynn Seaton.
Cost: $495 (plus room and board).
Contact: Lynn Seaton, (940) 369-7639;
[email protected]; jazz.unt.edu.
University of North Texas

Vocal Workshop
Denton, Texas
June 19–24
Participants are immersed in every aspect of
vocal jazz from coached solo and ensemble
performance to improvisation, pedagogy and
theory. Writers pursue a separate track; their
work will be performed and recorded. Educa-
tors (both vocal and instrumental) may attend
a daily class devoted to vocal jazz directing,
programming and sound equipment.
Faculty: Paris Rutherford, Rosana Eckert, Jen-
nifer Shelton Barnes, Rodney Booth,
Gary Eckert.
Cost: $495 (plus room and board).
Contact: Paris Rutherford (940) 368-0773;
[email protected];
jazz.unt.edu.
WEST
Brubeck Institute Jazz Camp
Stockton, California
June 26–July 2
This camp at the University of the Pacific of-
fers students in grades 8–12 instruction in big
band, combos, improvisation, master classes,
jazz history and theory. Master classes taught
by professional jazz musicians are held daily.
Faculty: Tim Acosta, Chip Tingle, Patrick
Langham, Kristin, Florek, Aaron Garner,
Chris Amberger, Rick Lotter,
Steve Homan.
Cost: Overnight resident, $650;
commuter, $550.
Contact: Steve Perdicaris, (209) 946-2416;
[email protected].
CSN/Tom Ferguson Jazz

Combo Camp
Las Vegas, Nevada
July 19–23
This one-week program at the College of
Southern Nevada is open for vocalists and

instrumentalists of all abilities and ages and is registration is on a first come-first serve basis. artists-in-residence and guest artists for opera
designed for improving improvisation, theory Auditions for ensembles take place upon ar- and musical theater, choral groups, creative
and jazz choir skills. Musicians from top jazz rival at camp. writing, filmmaking and visual arts. This two-
bands and Las Vegas shows play side-by-side Faculty: Mike Bryan, Rob Tapper, week camp is for adults ages 18 and up.
with students. Daily faculty performances are a Don Goodwin, Brian McCann. Faculty: Vince Cherico, Josh Davis, Vardan
highlight of the camp. Cost: $445 includes all meals, housing Ovsepian, Giacomo Gates, Ron Drotos.
Faculty: Dick McGee, Walt Blanton, Matt Taylor and T-shirt. Cost: TBD.
Bob Bonora, Chris Davis, Gary Queen, Contact: Rob Tapper, (509) 359-7073; Contact: (907) 474-8869; fsaf.org.
Dave Loeb, Mark Wherry. [email protected]; ewu.edu.
Cost: $175. Great Basin Jazz Camp
Contact: Carolyn Barela, (702) 651-4110; Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival Twin Falls, Idaho
[email protected]; csn.edu. Fairbanks, Alaska July 11–15
July 17–31 Students ages 15 through adult will learn jazz
Centrum’s Jazz Port This multi-disciplinary study and performance phrasing, performance skills, sight-reading
Townsend Workshop festival at the University of Alaska features and one-on-one instruction. They will also be
Port Townsend, Washington
July 24–31
This workshop is open to musicians high-
school age and older. Participants receive
daily coaching in a small-group setting from
world-class faculty. Master classes, theory and
special topics classes and performances by
faculty and guest performers are included.
Faculty: John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton, Paquito
D’Rivera, Benny Green, Bill Holman,
George Cables, Stefon Harris, Matt
Wilson, Gary Smulyan, Terell Stafford,
Jiggs Whigham, Bruce Forman, Tamir
Hendelman, Christoph Luty, Jeff Clay-
ton, Dee Daniels, Gerald Clayton, Joe
Sanders, Walter Smith III, Arthur Ham-
ilton, Sunny Wilkinson, Dan Balmer,
Chuck Deardorf, Clarence Acox, Randy
Halberstadt, John Hansen, Doug Miller,
Dawn Clement, Byron Vannoy, Tom
Wakeling, Kelby MacNayr.
Cost: $745 tuition; $525 room/board.
Contact: Gregg Miller, (360) 385-3102 ext. 109;
[email protected]; centrum.org/jazz.
Eastern Washington University Jazz

Dialogue High School Summer Camp
Cheney, Washington
July 31–August 6
This instrumental and vocal camp includes
daily big bands or jazz choir, 12 levels of jazz
theory and improvisation, master classes
on every instrument, small groups or vocal
solos, listening sessions and faculty concerts.
Students entering 9th grade through college
are eligible to attend. Camp registration is on
a first come, first serve basis. Auditions for
ensembles take place upon arrival at camp.
Faculty: Rob Tapper, Todd DelGiudice,
Andy Plamondon, Dave Cazier,
Kristina Ploeger, Steve Treseler,
Vern Sielert, Don Goodwin,
Brian McCann and more.
Cost: $540 includes all meals,
housing and T-shirt.
Contact: Rob Tapper, (509) 359-7073;
[email protected]; ewu.edu.
Eastern Washington University

Jazz Dialogue Middle
School Summer Camp
Cheney, Washington
July 23–28
This instrumental educational experience
includes daily big bands, six levels of jazz
theory and improvisation, master classes
each day, small-groups, listening sessions
and evening concerts featuring faculty and
staff. Students entering 6th grade through
9th grade are eligible to attend. Camp

able to participate in big band and Jazz Camp West Yellowstone Jazz Camp
small group ensembles. La Honda, California
Faculty: Bruce Forman and June 25–July2
Carl Saunders, artists in Jazz Camp West is an eight-day
residence. jazz immersion program for instru-
Cost: $485–$525. Commuter mentalists, vocalists and dancers.
rate available; see website The camp includes workshops,
for special. personalized instruction, student
Contact: info@greatbasinjazzcamp. performances, faculty concerts,
com; greatbasinjazzcamp. late-night jams and more than 100
com. courses from which to choose.
The camp hosts 250 participants
Jazz Aspen Snowmass of all ages and levels. Students
Aspen, Colorado ages 14–adult welcome.
June 27–July 2 Faculty: Michael Wolff, Kellye Gray,
Entering its 16th year, JAS unites in addition to 45 all-star
the finest graduate-level jazz art- faculty. sessions, private lessons, music Mammoth Lakes Jazz
ists with the world’s jazz legends. Cost: $965–$1,150, based upon technology and improvisation. It Jubilee Jazz Camp
JAS Academy Summer Sessions accommodations. will also prepare students for a Mammoth Lakes, California
July 10–17
was created in 1995 out of the Contact: Stacey Hoffman, future in music by teaching them
collaboration between JAS and (501) 287-8880; essential skills and giving them the The Mammoth Lakes Jazz Jubilee
the Thelonious Monk Institute of stacey@jazzcampwest. opportunity to meet artists that Jazz Camp is open to students
Jazz. The academy coincides with com; jazzcampwest.com. have already succeeded in the ages 13–17, and all instruments
the JAS June Festival—giving par- business. Students will have an are welcome, but limited to 42
ticipants the opportunity to meet Juilliard Jazz Workshop opportunity to attend two concerts participants. The camp focuses
and work with artists who play the at Snow College presented by the workshop faculty. on improvisation, both collec-
festivals and providing students Ephraim, Utah Faculty: Carl Allen, James Burton tive and individual, and camp-
more public exposure while they July 11–16 III, Etienne Charles, Ron ers perform several times in the
are in the Aspen area. This workshop provides students Blake, Benny Green, Rod- Mammoth Lakes Jazz Jubilee. No
Faculty: Christian McBride, the opportunity to dramatically ney Jones, Ben Wolfe. audition; first-come, first-served.
Loren Schoenberg. improve their skills through access Cost: $490 (tuition), $300 (room Cost: $625.
Cost: Scholarship. Visit website to exceptional faculty and an and board). Faculty: Bill Dendle, Corey Gemme,
for application. intense focus on the key issues of Contact: (435) 283-7472; Anita Thomas, Jason
Contact: (970) 920-4996; instruction including big band and [email protected]; Wanner, Eddie Erickson,
jazzaspen.org. combo, master classes, listening snow.edu/music. Shelley Burns, Beth Good-

fellow, Lee Westenhofer. and small-band performance.
Contact: Bill Dendle, Traditional jazz and swing music is
[email protected]; emphasized. No audition to apply.
mammothjazz.org. Open to ages 12–18.
Cost: $600.
Mel Brown Summer Faculty: Rusty Stiers, Bria Skon-
Jazz Workshop berg, Terry Myers, Anita
Monmouth, Oregon Thomas, Greg Varlotta, Ja-
July 31–August 6 son Wanner, Bob Phillips,
Participants perform in both large Eddie Erickson, Lee West-
and small jazz ensembles and at- enhofer, Shelley Burns, Ed
tend seminars that cover various Metz, Bill Dendle.
topics including theory, history, Contact: Bill Dendle,
improvisation, the music business [email protected];
and music technology. sacjazzcamp.org.
Faculty: Stan Bock, Renato Caran-
to, Keller Coker, Robert Sacramento Traditional
Crowell, Clay Gilberson, Jazz Society Adult
Carlton Jackson, Warren Jazz Camp
Rand, Derek Sims, Tim Pollock Pines, California
Gilson and Chris Woitach. July 31–August 5
Cost: TBD. A full week of camp in Sly Park,
Contact: (503) 838-8275; melbrown with outstanding faculty and
[email protected]; counselors, focused on improvisa-
melbrownjazzcamp.com. tion, instrumental/vocal technique
and small-band performance.
Sacramento Traditional Traditional jazz and swing music is
Jazz Society Youth emphasized. No audition to apply.
Jazz Camp Open to ages 18 and above.
Pollock Pines, California Cost: $800.
August 7–13 Faculty: Rusty Stiers, Bria Skon-
A full week of camp in Sly Park, berg, Terry Myers, Anita
with outstanding faculty and Thomas, Greg Varlotta,
counselors, focused on improvisa-
tion, instrumental/vocal technique continued on page 98

Jazz
Institute
at Proctors
Learning To Play
By Ear
D ’Angelo, an eighth grader who looks more

like a football player than a musician, is
about 16 bars into his solo on “Pass The Peas,”
when he stops, looks to his left at no one in par-
ticular, and flashes a huge grin before continu-
ing. It is an endearing moment, one that defines
the joy of spontaneous creation, and the audience
roars its approval. D’Angelo is one of 60 students
at the final performance of the Jazz Institute at
Proctors, a 10-day camp in Schenectady, N.Y. for
students of any age. There are jazz camps all over
the world during the summer months, but this
one is unique: every aspect of the performance
is accomplished through listening, with no writ-
ten music. At the end of the camp, the students
will play for 90 minutes, completely by ear, mu-
sic by Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, Dizzy
Gillespie, the World Saxophone Quartet, Benny
Golson and the Rebirth Brass Band.
The current incarnation of Jazz at Proctors
has existed since 2006, a collaboration between
Keith Pray and Arthur Falbush. Pray is a profes- increasing their awareness and allowing them to Jazz at Proctors exists through the auspices
sional jazz saxophonist who also teaches music make choices that immediately affect the mu- of the Proctors Theater in Schenectady,
in the Schenectady City School District. Falbush sic they are playing. We hope that they then take N.Y., a beautifully restored theatre that hous-
is a veteran trumpet player who has toured with these skills and apply them to everything they do, es the Schenactady Symphony Orchestra, the
Mercer Ellington and now teaches jazz at SUNY in or out of a classroom.” Northeast Ballet and many touring productions.
Oneonta in upstate New York. The two met in Falbush emphasizes his belief that in addi- Proctors has a strong educational outreach pro-
2001, when both were assigned to teach at the tion to teaching the students to use their ears, gram focusing on the integration of the arts into
Summit School in Queens. They were the instru- their responsibility is to instill a passion for the area schools, and Jazz at Proctors is part of their
mental directors at the special education school, music, learning and achievement. Summer Adventures program for kids aged
and taught one day per week for a few hours. “We knew above all the program had to be six and above. Jessica Gelarden, the Summer
They soon discovered that they both had a pas- fun and challenging and that our curriculum Adventures director, works closely with the jazz
sion for jazz and a similar philosophy concerning should reflect how jazz had been taught before faculty each summer. In the early years of the
how it should be taught. The experiences of both academia became involved,” he said. “Over the camp, all publicity was done through Proctors.
men have led them to the conviction that jazz is years, I’ve had the good fortune to talk to many There were 17 students in 2006, the result of a
best learned through imitation of the masters. of my musical heroes and ask them how they cap that had been placed on a previous incar-
“The importance of learning by ear is the learned. Without exception, the answer was by nation of the camp. At that time, kids between
simple fact that if you know how to listen and ear and on the bandstand. So this is the path the ages of 13 and 18 were invited to apply. As
think for yourself, you have a large advantage we tried to take. The other ingredient was pas- the camp has progressed and word of mouth has
over many people, especially in an age where sion. I always think of a quote by the mythologist spread through the area, the camp has grown
the education system has been turning out stu- Joseph Campbell, ‘Preachers err by trying to talk quickly, with 75 students attending last year.
dents who can’t think for themselves and can’t people into belief; better they reveal the radiance “It is our duty as educators to use what we
problem solve,” Pray said. “Kids are very good of their own discovery.’ I knew that if Keith and are passionate about (jazz) to light a fire in stu-
at learning and accessing information, but few- I could first get the kids to buy into the passion dents so that they can use that fire to discover
er and fewer people can actually use their skill that we have for music and learning, that they their own passion and run with it,” Falbush said.
set to solve problems in their lives. The camp would follow us anywhere we took them musi- “It started as a way to teach jazz, but we quickly
is about showing the students what is possible, cally. And so far, that’s been the case. So instead realized it was much more important than that.
then helping them explore those possibilities. We of teaching scales and chords, we teach melody American music, of which jazz is a central part,
don’t teach theory or use written music, but we and harmony, phrasing and nuance—which is philosophically embodies the best of what we are
do teach them some of the basic notes, idiomatic the poetry that is built out of scales and chords. and hope to be. That idea is to take the tools you
phrases and stylistic techniques that work tradi- So many times in school, jazz is taught so that the have and use them to survive in the world in or-
tionally and encourage them to play those notes theory comes first before the music. But inspira- der to carve out your own identity.”
and techniques with their own voice. It is about tion comes from the music, not from the theory.” Pray adds, “The students at our camp are

thrown into a survival situation: 10 days of re-
hearsals, a 90-minute concert at the end, no writ-
ten music and students ranging from ages 7–59,
all ability levels, students from all over the area
(city, suburban, rural) and students with special
needs in one room figuring out that in order to
‘survive’ they have to learn to work together, ask
for help, help each other, communicate, and step
up to the plate and give in to the process of learn-
ing by ear. Although the process is not new, this
may be the first camp of its kind, as we take any-
one and everyone and teach them to make mu-
sic together.”
Pray notes that the level of the students has
generally been very mixed. There are no audition
requirements and no recommendation letters re-
quired, so students of any age and ability level are
welcome. Last year’s camp included a 7-year-old
guitarist and a 59-year-old saxophonist. Diversity
and inclusion are important elements of the ex-
perience; Pray and Falbush want to involve to as
many kids as possible. For last summer’s camp,
Pray’s school district in Schenectady awarded a
grant that allowed 24 students to attend free of
charge, even covering the cost of transportation.
The purpose of the grant is to improve the liter-
acy of at-risk students through exposure to jazz.
Because of this, there are high school aged stu-
dents with a high degree of proficiency sitting
next to kids who are just starting to play an in-
strument. Amazingly, this works, and all of the
students, regardless of level, grow and develop
during the two weeks.
Pray describes the first rehearsal of camp
each year as “chaos,” as the students feel their
way through their first musical experience that
does not include printed music. The first three
days of the camp are the toughest as the instruc-
tors introduce the music to the students and begin
to teach parts. It is a grind that Pray and Falbush
know will pay off during the second week.
One of the most exciting aspects of the camp
is the music itself. “The music selected for the
camp is always directly from the jazz greats, not
easy versions of them,” Pray said. “We teach the
songs from the recordings and then alter them to
fit our ensembles. Through the song selections
we try to teach the students that being different
is something to be proud of.”
This summer will mark the sixth time that
the camp has existed in its current format. When
asked about goals for the future, both instructors
tell me that they want keep their numbers grow-
ing, as long as the facilities, faculty and equip-
ment allow it. The goal is simple: to reach as
many kids as possible. They also want the stu-
dents to bring their enthusiasm for the music
back to their school music programs. Both men
hope that this type of teaching will become part
of school music programs throughout the United
States, and know that the best way to make this
happen is to demonstrate their own success
through the accomplishments of the students.
— Todd Kelly

Jason Wanner, Bob Phillips, Eddie
Erickson, Lee Westenhofer, Shelley
Burns, Ed Metz, Bill Dendle.
Contact: Bill Dendle, [email protected];
sacjazzcamp.org.
San Jose Jazz

San Jose, California
Dates TBD
In its 15th year, San Jose Jazz provides
students with two weeks of intense jazz music
instruction and playing in various areas of
jazz: theory, small ensemble, big band, master
classes, instrument-specific instruction, ar-
ranging and other areas. Students should have
basic playing knowledge on their instruments.
This is not a camp for people who have never
played before.
Faculty: Kristen Strom, Dave Gregoric, Wally
Schnalle, Jeff Lewis, David Flores,
Scott Sorkin, Seward McCain, Pascal
LeBoeuf, Matt Davis, Oscar Pangilinan,
Michelle Hawkins.
Cost: $650 for San Jose Jazz members’
children and grandchildren; $700 for
non-members.
Contact: Brian Brockhouse, (408) 288-7557
ext. 2342; [email protected];
sanjosejazz.org.
School for Improvisational Music

West Coast Intensive
Los Angeles, California
June 20–24
Focused on helping students grow as creative
beings through a better understanding of
improvisation and creative music, the SIM
Intensive combines master classes, group and
open rehearsals and jamming with classes in
technique culminating in faculty and student
concerts. The camp takes place at Cal State
Northridge.
Faculty: Ralph Alessi, Tony Malaby, Andy Milne,
Drew Gress, Mark Ferber.
Cost: $700.
Contact: schoolforimprov.org.
Stanford Jazz Workshops,

Jazz Camp and Jazz Residency
Palo Alto, California
July 17–22; July 24–29; July 31–August 5
SJW welcomes students of all skill levels to
both its jazz camp and jazz residency. The jazz
camp is for instrumentalists/vocalists ages
12–17, and the jazz residency (held the final
week) is designed for adults. See website for
information on additional evening and private
courses.
Faculty: TBD. Previous faculty included Wycliffe
Gordon, Ray Drummond, Branford
Marsalis and Joshua Redman.
Cost: $995 jazz camp, $1,095 jazz residency;
add room and board.
Contact: (650) 736-0324, [email protected];
stanfordjazz.org.
University of Northern
Colorado Jazz Camp
Greeley, Colorado
July 17–22
Open to middle school, high school and
college students, the camp includes four
student jazz bands and eight student combos.
Students participate in master classes and
courses in jazz improvisation, jazz theory and

jazz listening as well as nightly faculty combo
concerts and performances by the Colorado
Jazz Orchestra.
Faculty: Dana Landry, Erik Applegate, Jim
INT’L Faculty: Wolter Wierbos, Bart Van Der Putten,
Anne La Berge, Eric Boeren, Mary
Oliver, Han Bennink.
Cost: 950 including room and board
White, Clay Jenkins, Don Aliquo, Paul Dutch Impro Academy (approximately $1,250).
McKee, David Caffey, Andy Dahlke, Nat Amsterdam, the Netherlands Contact: [email protected];
August 21–27
Wickman, Dave Stamps, Kevin Whalen dutchimproacademy.com.
and Steve Kovalcheck. Techniques of free improvisation under the
Cost: TBD. auspices of the Dutch masters are the focus International Music Camp,
Contact: (970) 351-2394; uncjazz.com. of this academy. Music reading is not required Summer School of Fine Arts
for participants, although some coaching ses- International Peace Gardens
University of Southern sions may focus on composition. The week (North Dakota and Manitoba border)
California Guitar Seminar concludes with a concert at the Bimhuis in July 17–23
Los Angeles, California Amsterdam followed by a gig the next day at This camp features junior high and high school
July 3–30 ZomeJazzFietstour (SummerJazzCycleTour). jazz band sessions as well as vocal jazz and
This four-week intensive seminar is designed
to prepare high school guitarists for success-
ful college and professional careers. Classes
meet five days a week for five-and-a-half
hours a day, during which students study
music theory, improvisation, technique and
sight reading. The seminar also includes
master classes with distinguished studio and
jazz guitar faculty of the USC Thornton School
of Music, field trips to renowned jazz venues in
Los Angels and numerous student perfor-
mances.
Faculty: Frank Potenza, Richard Smith, Bruce
Forman, Steve Trovato, Pate Kelley,
Tim Kobza.
Cost: $5,000 four-weeks; $2,500 two-weeks
excluding room and board.
Contact: (213) 740-7399; [email protected];
summer.usc.edu.
Vail Jazz Festival Summer Workshop

Vail, Colorado
August 27–September 5
This intensive 10-day workshop provides
dedicated high-school age jazz musicians
from the United States and Canada the op-
portunity to study the piano, bass, trumpet,
drums or sax at the highest level. Its teaching
philosophy stresses learning by transcribing
the performances of the masters in order to
understand technique. The workshop com-
bines the rigors of study with the beauty and
grandeur of nature.
Faculty: Clayton Brothers Quintet; John Clay-
ton, Jeff Clayton, Terrell Stafford, Bill
Cunliffe, Lewis Nash.
Cost: Scholarships are available once ac-
cepted.
Contact: (888) VAILJAM; (888) 824-5526;
[email protected]; vailjazz.org.
Yellowstone Jazz Camp

Cody, Wyoming
July 10–15
The 24th annual Yellowstone Jazz Camp is
for students entering high school as well as
adults. Students participate in one of three big
bands and one of six jazz combos. Classes in
theory and improvisation are also offered. In
residence is the Yellowstone Big Band, which
presents two concerts during the camp and
at the Yellowstone Jazz Festival in Cody
on July 16.
Faculty: Neil Hansen, Art Bouton, Greg Yasin-
itsky, John Harbaugh, Mike Hackett,
Aric Schneller.
Cost: $595.
Contact: Neil Hansen (307) 754-6437,
[email protected];
northwestmusic.org.

“kick start” for beginning jazz rhythm section
players. Students will study jazz theory and
improvisation, perform in combos and big
bands (vocal ensembles for vocal jazz stu-
dents) and attend master classes.
Faculty: Jazz Program Coordinator: Greg Ga-
tien.
Cost: Tuition is $355 before May 1.
Contact: (701) 838-8472;
internationalmusiccamp.com.
JazzWorks 2011
Lake McDonald, Quebec, Canada
August 18–21
JazzWorks is an intensive, combo-based
learning opportunity for adult jazz musicians
(beginner through professional) and advanced
high school musicians. Learn jazz theory and
technique from highly innovative Canadian
jazz musicians and special guests. The pro-
gram includes master classes, improvisation
and original composition workshops, combo
rehearsals and faculty-guided jam sessions.
Faculty: Frank Lozano, Rémi Bolduc, Dave
Restivo, Jim Lewis, Nancy Walker,
Christine Duncan, Jean Martin, Nick
Fraser, Kevin Barrett plus John Geggie,
Artistic Director.
Cost: $395 fee plus meals/accommodation.
Contact: (613) 523-0316;
[email protected];
jazzworkscanada.com.
Juilliard Winter Jazz School at Trinity

Melbourne, Australia
July 4–8
Located at Trinity College, the University of
Melbourne, this one-week residential program
is for dedicated students aged 15–18. Winter
Jazz will give young jazz musicians the op-
portunity to focus on public performance
for jazz orchestra and small ensembles. The
program is open to students Australia-wide
and internationally.
Faculty: Carl Allen, Director of Jazz Studies at
Juilliard.
Cost: $1,490.
trinity.unimelb.edu.au/jazz/about.
Keep An Eye Summer Jazz Workshop

Amsterdam, The Netherlands
June 27–July 1
This advanced-level weeklong workshop, led
by faculty of New York’s Manhattan School
of Music and the Amsterdam Conservatory,
includes private lessons, ensembles, work-
shops, master classes, lectures and concerts.
Faculty: Justin DiCioccio, Luis Bonilla, John
Riley, distinguished jazz faculty from
Amsterdam Conservatory, special
guest artist Dick Oatts.
Cost: 480 euro (about $775).
Contact: Sigrid Paans, Sofia Chanou; summer-
jazz@[email protected];
conservatoriumvanamsterdam.nl.
KoSA Cuba
Havana,Cuba
Subscribe
March 6–13
The KoSA Cuba One-week Study Program
and Fiesta del Tambor allows students of all
877-904-JAZZ ages and skill levels to be immersed in Cuban
rhythms, music and culture while taking
classes in conga, bongo, timbales, bata, drum

set and more. Veneto Jazz Summer Program Victoria Conservatory of Music
Faculty: Giraldo Piloto and his band Klimax, Bassano del Grappa, Italy Summer Jazz Workshop
Julio Lopez Sanchez, Jean Roberto July 11–22 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
San Cristobal, Panga, Yaroldy Abreu, Veneto Jazz offers a two-week workshop July 4–9
Adel Gonzales, Oliver Valdez. in Bassano del Grappa, Italy. Taught by eight Offers programs for big band, jazz combo and
Cost: Varies by package. New York musician/faculty members from vocals at every skill level, from teen to adult.
Contact: (800) 541-8401; [email protected]; The New School, course are divided into a Each day begins with an ensemble rehearsal,
kosamusic.com. variety of levels, include master classes, followed by master classes and instruction in
theory, arranging, combos, and Big Band. technique, improv and performance.
The MacEwan Summer Faculty: Adam Holzman, Cameron Brown, Faculty: Gord Clements, Brad Turner, Misha
Jazz Workshop Jeff Hirshfield, David Stryker, Dave Piatigorsky, Don Thompson.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Glasser, Brandon Lee, Amy London. Cost: $295 to $495 CAD per program.
August 14–19 Cost: TBD. Contact: (866) 386-5311; vcm.bc.ca.
The workshop is designed for students 13–20 Contact: [email protected];
years of age who are serious about music. The newschool.edu/jazz. Listings compiled by Angeline Muday
workshop will provide students with an op-
portunity to learn, rehearse and perform jazz in
combo and big band formats.
Faculty: Grand MacEwan University faculty.
Cost: $395.
Contact: Brenda Philp, (780) 497-4303,
[email protected].
The Phil Dwyer Academy of

Musical and Culinary Arts
Summer Music Camps
Qualicum Beach, British Columbia,
Canada
July 18–22, July 25–30,
August 1–11, August 8–13
The PDAMCA is composed of four week-long
specialty jazz camps that focus on master
classes, big band and combo participation,
ear training, theory and performance. Instruc-
tion is tailored to specialty and skill level.
Students also participate in the culinary arts
program and under their tutelage of profes-
sional chefs.
Faculty: Ingrid Jensen, Phil Dwyer, Christin
Jensen, Jon Wikan, Dee Daniels, Ian
McDougall, Mark Fewer.
Cost: TBD.
Contact: [email protected]; pdamca.com.
Siena Jazz Summer Workshop

Siena, Italy
July 24–August 7
Aimed at experienced young jazz musicians,
this two-week workshop accepts a maximum
number of 120 students with previous per-
formance experience in jazz ensembles. Cur-
riculum focuses on instrument and ensemble
performance. Students will attend two instru-
mental and two jazz combo classes every day,
six days per week, in addition to Jazz History
and Musical Forms Analysis (second week).
Faculty: Renowned musicians, many from Italy.
Cost: TBD.
Contact: [email protected]; sienajazz.it/en.
University of Manitoba
Summer Jazz Camp
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
August 14–20
This week-long camp welcomes players of all
ages and abilities. The instrumental program
is based on the small ensemble setting. Stu-
dents will study rhythmic interaction, dynamic
interplay, call and response and improv.
Faculty: Steve Kirby, Jimmy Greene, George
Colligan, Quincy Davis.
Cost: $380 CDN+GST, subject to change.
Contact: Warren Otto, [email protected],
(888) 216-7011 ext. 6037;
umanitoba.ca/summer.

Woodshed | Master Class
By Billy Martin
Billy Martin
JACK VARTOOGIAN/FRONTROWPHOTOS
Notes From Camp MMW: The Conversation
F irst off, I would like to say that I am as much a student as I am a teacher.
And if someone held a gun to my head and forced me to make a choice,
I would choose to be the student. That’s why my students hear me say of-
tude we can develop and practice who we really are. We can get to know
ourselves this way without distraction. I believe soloing to be the most di-
rect and powerful way of developing your own voice, style and language.
ten: “I am a student for life.” If I can’t learn and grow—what’s the point?! There is no hiding behind anything here. You are the music—all of it! This
When discussing musical improvisation I like to start simply by say- type of soloing is most often practiced as improvisation. This is experimen-
ing it’s a conversation. tal in nature and requires some serious dedication or discipline.
This conversation may be with one or more musicians, a soloist com- One of the methods I use to help develop my musical vocabulary is
municating with their audience or the soloist conversing with them- called “String of Phrases”—a term I coined for any instrumentalist to use
selves. In this case we need to think of ourselves as composers. When as a means of conjuring sound into phrases. It is a linear process and a
we play we are culling sounds from our vocabulary. We are arranging good experiment for beginners who are just getting into the soloing realm.
sounds compositionally to communicate something. This something can In words: Play—don’t play—play—don’t play, etc. Or: Make a musical ges-
have specific meaning or mean nothing at all. As an instrumentalist this ture followed by an equal amount of space (silence) and repeat that pat-
“something” is often abstract and has no definite meaning. (Personally, tern while making contrasting statements each time you make sound. This
I like to leave the “meaning” up to the listener). We (Medeski Martin & is the “conversation” I was talking about. Think “call and response” or
Wood and other like-minded musicians) call this “spontaneous composi- “tension and release.” The most important thing to remember is leaving
tion.” This is just a more meaningful word for improvisation or jamming. space between each statement. The silent space is as important as what you
A lot of our musical vocabulary comes from listening to and observ- played. That balance between sound and no sound is very powerful. It de-
ing other music. It’s often an aural experience like listening to records fines even the most abstract, messy thing you are capable of and makes it
or going to a performance. I specifically have gained a lot of vocabu- coherent. The listener will hear it—you will hear it—and learn from it. With
lary from oral traditions such as Brazilian and African music. We imitate space between words we understand what is being said. This is articulation.
what we hear because we fall in love with it—especially in our early de- One more thing: It is very important to not preconceive any ideas. We
velopment. Babies and children learn this way. They listen and then try must be in the moment. We must not be thinking ahead or behind too much
to communicate with sound vocally and end up communicating directly or we will lose that magic of creating something fresh. We need to react to
long before it’s time to go to school. what we just heard and not think too much about it. The more we do this
As we grow and start mixing all these influences, there comes a time to the more surprises we experience. If you want people to understand you,
start experimenting and developing a more personal language. This new you must leave some space between words and phrases. Finally: Listen to
approach to musical language often comes from within and less from out- what you are doing and react to it. It’s a conversation. Tell us a story! DB
side influences. This is the artist’s way. (Most children have this figured
out—then the adults screw them up with formalities and they have to re- Drummer/percussionist Billy Martin’s most recent educational endeavor is an
instructional DVD called Life On Drums (Vongole). In addition to his ongoing
learn what they had all along!) The artist often needs solitude to figure this work with the band Medeski Martin & Wood, Martin has started a new group
out. Think John Coltrane (alone in his room practicing for weeks at a time) called Wicked Knee with Steven Bernstein, Curtis Fowlkes and Marcus Rojas
(visit them online at wickedknee.com). Every summer, Martin teaches students
or Sonny Rollins (playing on the Williamsburg Bridge). Within this soli- at Camp Medeski Martin & Wood, held in the Catskill Mountains of New York.

Woodshed | solo
by jimi durso
Ray Anderson
JAN PERSSON
Ray Anderson’s Idiomatic

Trombone Solo On ‘My Wish’
L ast year trombonist Ray Anderson and reed-
man Marty Ehrlich co-led a quartet and re-
leased the CD Hear You Say, a live performance
measures 10, 11, pickup to 21, 22, 27, 29 and 36),
though we hear him doing this in the middle of
phrases as well (6, 7, 8, 32–33). He connect notes
from Willisau, Switzerland. Backed only by with legato slides (18, 19, 34, 35), and in mea-
bass and drums, there is the challenge, and free- sures 23 and 24 slides across such a range as to
dom, of soloing with no chordal accompani- make it near impossible to reproduce on any oth-
ment. Presented here is Anderson’s solo on his er instrument, and quite difficult to notate (treat
gorgeous ballad “My Wish.” The tune is a slow what’s written in these measures as an approxi-
3/4, but because of the quantity of triplet-based mation of the sounds he makes).
rhythms, it has been transcribed as 9/8 for ease For the most part, Anderson sticks close to
of reading. the chords. He tends to end phrases on chord
Anderson’s improvising is very idiomatic to tones, though it’s surprising how often he comes
the trombone. He often slides into notes from be- to rest on root notes. In measures 4, 9, 10, 15, 18
low, especially at beginnings of phrases (as in and 22 the phrases end on roots, and in measures

11–13 Anderson leans on the ascending root se- rhythmic energy, which sets up the next mea-
quence in parallel with the bass. It’s an interest- sure, where he starts lower (on the sixth of the
ing choice since it doesn’t help the listener to Bb7) and then runs the entire Bb mixolydian scale
discern the harmonies. But for the stretch from from root to root, making the sound of Bb7 very
22–34 Anderson stops putting so much empha- clear. It’s also quite effective that this run ends a
sis on roots. Maybe this is what makes the penul- whole step higher than the last three, but then re-
timate phrase ending on the Ab root in measure solves down to the same Ab in the next bar, where
35 sound so final. the chord is also Ab.
Anderson does make scale choices that help Another great scale choice is the Eb major
define the harmonies. A wonderful example pentatonic in measure 17. Not only does this
can be found in the motif he uses for measures make the Eb major tonality clear, but also pro-
5–8. The lines all climb from around middle vides a bluesy quality.
C up to a high Ab. The first one, over the F in The final seven measures are another won-
the bass, gives us all the elements of Fm9 (fifth, derful example. Measures 31–33 contain only
seventh, root, ninth, third), but played as a sca- Abm7 chord tones, and in the next two measures
lar run it implies F dorian. For the next mea- all Anderson adds are a sixth and second to fill
sure, though still starting on C (in this case the out the dorian scale. He ends with a very peculiar
root), Anderson jumps instead to E natural, the idea, using the sixth, root and fifth. Though all
third of the chord, and then climbs up the rest of of these are in the dorian scale, playing them to-
a C altered dominant scale to the Ab (the sharp gether in this way makes the lick sound more like
fifth). For the B7 Anderson also starts on the root major pentatonic rather than minor, which helps
and then jumps to the third, and then continues set up the return to the Eb major tonality at the top
through the fourth and fifth of B mixolydian be- of the next chorus. DB
fore continuing chromatically to the sixth, which
is the same Ab (enharmonically, G# is the sixth JIMI DURSO IS A GUITARIST AND BASSIST IN THE NEW YORK
of B). By adding an extra note he creates more AREA. HE CAN BE REACHED AT JIMIDURSO.COM.

Toolshed 
Pro Tools 9
Open to the
World at Large
P ro Tools has been the de facto industry stan-
dard in professional digital recording almost
as far back as the industry has existed. In many
ways, Pro Tools 9 is the most important prod-
uct release in the line since 1991, when it first
introduced multi-track recording software and
changed its name to Pro Tools. From its initial
release in 1989 as Sound Tools, this has been a
piece of software that has defined trends in the in-
dustry, and eventually transformed the recording
process and production techniques at their core.
As it became more and more the standard of pro-
fessional studios, the home recording market was
largely ignored by Digidesign. In order to use Pro
Tools at all, you had to purchase extremely ex-
pensive Digidesign hardware, which put it out of
reach for even mid-level studios. When that mar-
ket exploded in the ’90s, they made some late at-
tempts to join in by releasing stripped-down ver- some hobbled “lite” version, either—a fully func- addition to the PT9 basic setup.
sions of their software with M-Audio interfaces, tional, well-equipped version. The same version, PT9 is stereo only, whereas the HD systems
and had some success, but Pro Tools had become in fact, that runs on the Pro Tools 9 HD sys- can mix up to 7.1 surround, but if you really need
in our industry what Microsoft was to comput- tems—although the HD systems have more ca- the horsepower and surround capabilities of an
er software and what AT&T was to telecommu- pabilities out of the box. The track counts are HD system running on your own hardware, they
nications—the Evil Empire. It was thought that healthy in a third-party system, allowing for 32 have made the Complete Production Toolkit
Digi showed no real interest in cultivating the channels of I/O and 96 simultaneous playback available, which increases your track limits to
project studio, composition houses, or MIDI stu- and recording tracks at 48K—and you can record HD levels and adds surround support, as well as
dios, and was only interested in the highest of the at sample rates up to 192K, with reduced track VCA track mixing, advanced video editing and
high end. As more and more quality interfaces counts. The HD systems double these track lim- virtually every other component of the HD sys-
started to flood the market and software com- its, and increase voiceable tracks to 512. There tem to yours, with the exception of specific TDM
petitors caught up and in some cases surpassed are 256 busses available—quite an upgrade from functions. The toolkit is expensive at $1,995, but
the capabilities of PT, there were questions about LE’s 18, or even PT 8 HD’s 128. that could be a lot cheaper than replacing all of
whether or not the flagging large studio system MIDI implementation is also more robust, your high-end converters with HD hardware.
could keep them afloat at all. with 512 MIDI tracks and 64 instrument tracks Getting back to the base package, there is a
Avid stepped in and purchased Digidesign in available. There are a good complement of vir- ton of functionality here that was either a paid
1995, and many thought this would either be the tual instruments included, but if you really want add-on before, or not available at all. Delay com-
death knell of Pro Tools as it was integrated into the best that Avid has to offer, you’ll want to pensation is now standard in both versions. This
Avid’s video editing software, or a completely look at the Instrument Expansion Pack. This in- has been a major request from the non-HD user
new direction for the software. At first, neither cludes five additional virtual instruments opti- base for years. Avid is also signaling its com-
happened. For a few years, Avid stayed out of mized for PT, designed with AIR technology. mitment to opening up the platform by includ-
Digidesign’s business altogether it seemed, and Structure is their sampler, and version 1.1 in- ing OMF/AAF and MP3 export standard, which
Pro Tools forged ahead using the same strategies cludes a 17.5 GB library and natively supports used to be a paid option. There are really so
as before, but behind the scenes there were major Kontakt, Giga, Samplecell and EXS formats. many features that are now standard issue, it feels
plans in progress. This first became evident with I found it was very capable, although I wished like a different program altogether from LE and
the release of version 8 in 2008, which finally up- for it to be a little less resource-intensive—very M-Powered.
graded the compositional and MIDI toolset to a useful to be sure. Strike 1.5 is a drum sampler Avid has adopted the iLok for copy-protec-
professional level. They also included a large set and performance creator a la BFD that includes tion, which makes it easy to move between sys-
of virtual instruments—this was a major depar- 30 GB of great sounding samples. Velvet mim- tems and platforms. No longer will you have to
ture for Pro Tools, and signaled the sea change ics the gamut of electric pianos convincingly. wait to get back to the studio (or buy a separate
that was to come. In 2010, Avid completely re- Transfuser is a real-time groove-creation tool interface) to do that quick edit on the plane—
moved the Digidesign name from PT, and with that adds some sorely missed functionality to have iLok, will travel.
version 9, it has decided to open up this software PT that is center to a lot of modern pop compo- I installed PT9 on both a Windows 7 and a
to the world at large. sition. Lastly, but certainly not least, is Hybrid, Mac OSX 10.6.5 system, and the install went
First of all, they have discontinued all the a programmable synth that sounds great out of without a hitch. It took a little while for me to
stripped-down versions—LE and M-Powered the box, and offers some impressive depth of tweak each system so that Pro Tools would
are gone. The biggest news of all is this: It will programmability—I’ll spend a lot of time play- run smoothly, but once I did I was thrilled and
run with third-party audio hardware—and not ing with this one. These instruments are a nice amazed to open up an existing PT session on my

RME hardware and have it work just as if it never The MIDI and compositional aspects of PT prise—audio recording and editing. This pro-
left the original box (once I reconfigured the out- are still not up to par with Logic or Cubase, but gram is a beast for all your audio burdens, and it
puts, of course). It worked well on both platforms, they are gaining steadily, and I felt less inclined feels slick and professional from the get-go. The
although to me the Mac seemed a little snappier. to leave the PT environment to work with MIDI interface has been tweaked and is extremely con-
This could also be a function of the different sys- issues as I might have in the past. Virtual in- figurable to make your workflow sing. All of the
tem architectures, and both were very stable. Pro struments still draw too much power, but less so strengths of previous versions are here, and many
Tools is still a resource eater, and it may tax your than even in version 8, and hopefully Avid will are updated. At $599 list, and with affordable up-
system more than another DAW, but most mod- accelerate Pro Tools’ traditionally slow mainte- grade paths from all previous versions, Avid is
ern professional computers are well suited to this nance update schedule to address some of these keeping Pro Tools at the top of the heap.
kind of work, and with the right optimization, small issues quickly. —Chris Neville
you can get things flowing very well. But where Pro Tools 9 really shines is no sur- Ordering info: avid.com
Gretsch Catalina Birch

Euro-Fusion Shell Pack
Built For Power
G retsch’s Catalina Birch delivers cutting at-
tack coupled with a powerful, low fun-
damental tone. Excellent build quality, high-
end features, and an affordable price make the
Catalina Birch a major contender in the highly
competitive mid-price market. The drums fea-
ture all birch shells, tom isolation mounts, low-
mass mini lugs, and a choice of sparkle and pearl
wraps or high gloss lacquer finishes.
My test kit was the “Euro-Fusion” shell pack,
and featured 10- by 8-inch and 12- by 9-inch
toms, a 16- by 16-inch floor tom, 22- by 18-inch
bass drum and a 5.5- by 14-inch wood snare
drum. The walnut burst lacquer was beauti-
ful and was finished flawlessly. The 100-per-
cent birch seven-ply shells have 30-degree edges,
which give them a slightly warmer sound with-
out sacrificing attack.
The Catalina Birch kit tuned up very easily
right out of the box. The 22 by 18 bass drum is
a force to reckon with! Simply put, it is a can-
non—lots of attack and punch, coupled with deep
bass that will rattle your body. The 10 by 8 and
12 by 9 toms have a lot of attack, and a very clear, and 6.5-inch depth. Ambassadors solved this problem, and brought
focused tone. Positioning of the toms was easy The kit was a lot of fun to play live. I took it out the depth and added the punch and clarity
thanks to the slick ball-and-socket double tom out on a job that required styles ranging from I was looking for. Any high-quality head that’s
mount. The 16 by 16 floor tom has similar sound classic rock and soul to jazz and big band. The similar should give you the same result. The fac-
characteristics to the toms coupled with a power- toms cut through volume, but did so without loss tory bass drum and snare heads were fine. The
ful low-end tone. The snare drum sounds good in of tone. The snare responded easily to every- isolation mounts on the 10-inch and 12-inch
a variety of tuning ranges. Cross-sticks are cut- thing from light jazz comping to heavy 2 and 4 toms choked the drums a bit due to their design.
ting, and the drum is sensitive at quiet volumes. backbeats. The Catalina Birch excels particular- The mounts attach at the rims, but also have a
It can produce a cutting crack when called for, ly well at rock and any kind of music requiring a rubber contact point on the side of the drum that
but never without compromising the tone. The heavy bass drum. The bass drum is very difficult cuts resonance somewhat.
strainer works very smoothly. to control for lighter “feathering” or any lower- The Gretsch Catalina Birch gives you seri-
The sizes available for the Catalina Birch volume playing. ous features and sound for the money and will
are somewhat limiting. In particular, I’d like I only have a couple of minor complaints please everyone from a starter to a gigging pro-
to see a choice of smaller bass drum sizes. All with the kit. The factory heads are a thin, sin- fessional. The lack of available bass drum siz-
that is available is the massive 22 by 18. It’s gle-ply Evans/Gretsch heads that just didn’t do es make versatility somewhat limited, but then
too powerful for most low-volume musical sit- the toms justice. No matter what tuning range again, that’s not what they are designed for.
uations. The only available floor tom size is 16 they were in, the result was always a thin sound —Ryan Bennett
by 16. Snare drums are available in a 5.5-inch with a lot of overtones. Medium-weight Remo Ordering info: gretschdrums.com

Toolshed | Gear Box
{1} Pop Blocker

JZ Microphones has launched the JZ/
PF pop filter, designed to reduce plosive
{3} sounds coming at the microphone capsule
without altering the sound source’s har-
monic content.
More info: jzmic.com
{2} Vibrant Vibratos

V-Moda’s new Vibrato noise-isolating in-ear
headphones are crafted from zinc alloy and
feature a Kevlar fabric cable with a three-but-
ton remote and microphone. The headphones
{1} have a geometric design and solid, durable
feel. Constructed with an 8mm dynamic HD
neodymium driver, the Vibrato delivers vibrant
bass, midrange and highs.
More info: v-moda.com
{3} Vaulting Ahead

Zildjian’s Gen16 Digital Vault series offers high-
resolution acoustic samples of the company’s
master reference cymbals, along with limited-
edition cymbals never before available to the
public. Each cymbal was hand-selected from
{6}
the vaults at the company’s Norwell, Mass.,
workshop and recorded by percussion sam-
pling guru John Emrich. Powering the Gen16
Digital Vaults is a custom version of FXpan-
sion’s BFD Eco.
More info: gen-16.com
{4} Cheers to 20
Sabian has released a new 20th-anniversary
version of the B8 Pro Cymbal. It’s not only
richer sounding and opens up when hit hard,
{5} but now it also gives up the goods when
played lightly. The cymbal features a brilliant
finish and a two-year warranty.
More info: sabian.com
{5} Tuned by the Sun

Tascam’s TC-1S is the company’s first
solar-powered instrument tuner. It charges
its battery from a bank of solar cells on the
front panel, while a USB input is available for
{2} quick charging when in the dark. The tuner is
wrapped in a shockproof silicon cover and is
available in six colors with a strap and clip that
keep it charging all day long.
More info: tascam.com
{6} King of the Banjos

Recording King’s RK-R35 Madison banjo is
built around a three-ply steam-bent maple
rim. It features a maple neck with an ad-
justable two-way truss rod and a comfort-
able rosewood fretboard. The banjo boasts
a maple resonator with a hand-rubbed
{4} brown matte finish.
More info: recordingking.com

Jazz On Campus  School Notes 
Chris Potter
Julia Easterlin (left), Enrico de Trezio, Chucho Valdés,
Katie Bilinski and John Hull
maria magdalena campos pons

Potter Class: Chris Potter will perform with
the Jazzschool Studio Bands of Berkeley,
Berklee Students Connect with Cuban Calif., at the nearby El Cerrito High School
Counterparts During Havana Visit Performing Arts Theater on March 20. The
bands, under Keith Johnson’s direction, will
B erklee College of Music professor Neil

Leonard and four students in his electronic
production and design department have broken
nology available at Berklee. Hull said, “It was
cool to see how interested the ISA students were
in the live performance software and controllers
perform Potter’s compositions along with
other pieces for large ensembles.
Details: jazzschool.com
new ground, not on the Boston campus, but in the we were using.”
Caribbean. Cuban-American relations have loos- Days before a final concert at the Museo Northwest Cool: The Washington State
ened up on the cultural front so it’s not as difficult Nacional de Bellas Artes, Leonard had request- University Jazz Big Band has released the
for American artists to travel to the island. The ed of his crew that they become aware of the ar- Kinda Fabulous CD. The disc features three
Berklee students and professor landed in Havana tistic milieu in Havana. songs by ensemble director Greg Yasinitsky
last December, not long after Wynton Marsalis “I didn’t want them to try to become amateur as well as “Ofuscato” by saxophonist and
and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra made specialists in Cuban music so much,” Leonard WSU student Adam Donohue.
the trip. said. “I wanted them to allow themselves to be Details: libarts.wsu.edu/music
Leonard wanted the pupils in his Interarts open to and partially inspired and influenced by
TCU Spotlight: The Texas Christian
Ensemble—bassist Kate Bilinski, guitarist John the city of Havana.”
University Jazz Ensemble has released the
Hull, singer Julia Easterlin, pianist Enrico de Toward that end, de Trizio went to a ceremo-
two-disc set Limelight (Sea Breeze Vista).
Trizio—to be exposed to what he called “man- ny held at a castle and taped the shouts of a sol- Director Curt Wilson’s big band includes
ifestations of interdisciplinary art and those dier leading a procession of marchers. interpretations of Gerry Mulligan and Frank
wonderful Cuban artists who work across “As a composer, I’m always fascinated by Foster compositions as well as two pieces
disciplines.” paradoxes,” de Trizio said. “In this case, it’s a by TCU alum Mario Cruz, who also plays
The Cuban trip, which Leonard planned march, but the guy screamed a very nice melo- tenor saxophone on the date.
with help from the Laboratorio Nacional de dy then ‘silencio!’ and I ended up writing a lul- Details: music.tcu.edu
Music Electroacústica, turned out to be success- laby.” As for lyrics, he and Easterlin adapted an
ful beyond his expectations. Eliseo Diego poem about Havana’s impressive Jazz Talks @ UCLA: Seattle’s Experi-
“I’ve been to Cuba a number of times and old architecture. “Silencio” turned up as one of ence Music Project will host its annual Pop
had amazing experiences,” he said upon his re- the short vignettes written by the students for the Conference at University of California–Los
turn to Berklee. “But this was the highlight of my Museo concert’s feature piece “Nuestro Tiempo” Angeles, Feb. 25–27. The event will include
25 years of encounters with Cubans, all packed (“Our Times”). lectures on the development of Los Angeles’
into one week, sharing it with young musicians After that show, the Berklee gang went to the free-jazz scene and the economics of tour-
who were making their first contact with Cuba.” home of master percussionists the Arango broth- ing to support improvised music. Multireed-
Going in, Leonard was concerned about how ers, who were hosting a Yoruban holiday celebra- ist Vinny Golia will respond to these topics.
well his students would collaborate with stu- tion in honor of the deity Chango. “I had chills Details: empsfm.org
dents at the prestigious Instituto Superior de Arte when the entire patio of musicians erupted in a
(ISA) on pieces intended for a concert, but ul- Indiana Win: Guitarist and University of
ritual chorus complete with beautiful harmo-
Indiana graduate student Jeff McLaughlin’s
timately, he said there was no problem: “They nies,” Bilinski said.
ensemble has received the first Emerg-
were ambassadors for the arts and did every- Of other activities during the hectic week,
ing Jazz Artists Project Award, which Owl
thing possible to be welcoming and appreciative there was a memorable visit with Chucho Valdés. Studios established for jazz students at
of the Cubans.” De Trizio tried out his Steinway, with Easterlin the university’s Jacobs School Of Music.
Under the Havana moon, the students mixed singing. Thrilled by their music, Valdés took over McLaughlin’s group recorded its first album
music, dance, poetry and spirituality. A highlight on the keys and unleashed his own “Chucho’s in December at the studio, scheduled for re-
of the ISA show was Bilinski and Hull on iPads Steps.” “We were in his parlor,” Leonard release later this year. McLaughlin also serves
manipulating and incorporating samples from called, “listening to Chucho do his thing from as an assistant instructor in the department.
the Cubans into the electronic music tradition, three feet away. There’s nothing like that!” Details: music.indiana.edu
especially as ISA has just a fraction of the tech- —Frank-John Hadley

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Blindfold Test | By dan ouellette
Roberta Gambarini
A t the 2010 Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy, Roberta Gambarini
returned to her homeland and took her first DownBeat Blindfold Test
in front of a live audience at the grand concert hall Teatro Morlacchi. She
took the listening test right before her performance there, responding first
in English then translating into Italian.
Dinah Washington
“Destination Moon” (from Dinah Washington: Jazz Profile, Roulette/Blue Note,
rec’d 1962, 1997) Washington, vocals; Fred Norman, arranger; others not listed.
This is an easy one. What can I say? It’s Dinah Washington. She’s up there
in the pantheon of the greatest of the greats. What I learned from Dinah
Washington, who I listened to hard, was that she had great diction. She’s
vartoogian/front row photos

one of the best in that way along with Nat “King” Cole and Frank Sinatra.
When I learn a song, I want to be sure of the words, and she was great with
that. She was just 39 when she died. It was a different time, and it was so
much harder.
Abbey Lincoln Luciana Souza

“Wholly Earth” (from Wholly Earth, Verve, 1998) Lincoln, vocals; Marc Cary, piano; “House” (from Neruda, Sunnyside, 2004) Souza, vocals; Edward Simon, piano.
John Ormond, bass; Alvester Garnett, drums; Daniel Moreno, percussion. I don’t know who this is, but I can make some guesses. One thing—but I’m
This is another easy one. It’s Abbey Lincoln. What year was this? ’98? I not 100 percent sure—is that I don’t think this is an American-born singer.
like this a lot, but I love Abbey’s earlier albums like It’s Magic and Abbey Is I might be wrong. This could be Luciana Souza. It is? I know Luciana, and
Blue with the great Kenny Dorham. Abbey has a special place in the world she’s a wonderful singer. I could hear something in her pronunciation that
of singers because she’s also a songwriter and lyric writer. Her lyrics have made me think she wasn’t originally from the U.S. Luciana has great into-
a lot of character. She’s not always talking about romantic subjects, but also nation. Is this her track with Herbie? No? Oh, it’s the Neruda album. I only
about life, various issues and politics. I admire her very much for this rea- know a few tracks from that album, but she sounds great, as does Edward
son. She’s a great storyteller. As for her band here, I know most of these Simon. What’s also impressive about Luciana is that she comes from the
guys, and they’re great, too. full spectrum of a vocalist. She’s a musician and a composer.
Melody Gardot Herbie Hancock/Christina Aguilera

“Who Will Comfort Me” (from My One And Only Thrill, Verve, 2009) Gardot, vo- “A Song For You” (from Possibilities, Hear/Hancock/Vector 2005) Hancock, pia-
cals, guitar; Larry Goldings, Hammond organ; Bryan Rogers, tenor saxophone; no; Aguilera, vocals; Michael Bearden, keyboards; Nathan East, bass; Teddy
Patrick Hughes, trumpet; Ken Pendergast, bass; Charlie Patierno, drums; Pau- Campbell, drums; Bashiri Johnson, percussion.
linho Da Costa, percussion; Larry Klein, backing vocals.
It’s Herbie, and he’s killing here. But when I first heard this, I was per-
I’m on tour a lot, and when I can, I always try to see other acts. I saw Melody plexed. Why Christina? When I listen to this track, which I love, for some
Gardot for the first time in Germany. She’s a good example of a singer who strange reason my ear migrates to the accompaniment of Herbie, which is
has the contemporary tendency in modern music to tell a story by mood, amazing. Christina is a pop singer, straight up, so she sings with a differ-
putting a beat onto a song and bringing in different styles like gospel and ent kind of attitude and intent. What’s different also is that the best kind of
other genres to captivate the audience. It’s like Norah Jones. They relate a jazz singer will be a part of the band, which is not happening here. She’s a
flavor of the song. So Melody is telling a story, but not like someone like great pop singer, but what attracts me the most is the way Herbie plays be-
Dinah Washington. She told a story that went word by word, that construct- neath her. Years ago, I played with Herbie once, with Michael Brecker, John
ed a phrase so perfectly. Dinah was more like an instrumentalist, telling the Pattitucci and Brian Blade at Princeton.
story within the song.
Lena Horne
Jane Monheit “I Feel So Smoochie” (from Lena Horne Sings: The M-G-M Singles, Verve/Hip-O-
“I Didn’t Know About You/All Too Soon” (from Home, Emarcy, 2010) Monheit, Select, rec’d 1947, 2010) Horne, vocals; Luther Henderson, orchestration; others
vocals; Michael Kaman, piano; Mark O’Connor, violin; Frank Vignola, guitar, Neil not listed.
Miner, bass; Rick Montalbano, drums. I should know this. It’s a tune from the ’30s or ’40s that someone recorded
At first I thought it was the Cannonball Adderley introduction to “Save recently. I think it was Jeanie Bryson. But I don’t know who this is. At
Your Love For Me” with Nancy Wilson. But then I heard this young singer, first, I thought maybe it was Hank [Jones], but it’s not. This is Lena Horne?
who I know because we were both in the 1998 Monk Competition [which Really? I should have got that. I thought this was great, but I’m more fa-
Teri Thorton won]. Jane Monheit is another example of a fine singer who miliar with Lena Horne later in her career than this recording. I wasn’t pre-
uses a beautiful mixture of technique and style from another genre, anoth- pared to hear this sweetness. There’s a brilliance in her voice—a light and
er stylistic world—in this case cabaret. So what Jane brings is an ornamen- lovely feel that I don’t associate with her. But I loved it. DB
tation to a tune that is one of the greatest songs in the jazz canon. I guess
this is another way for jazz to cross over to a popular audience, to make The “Blindfold Test” is a listening test that challenges the featured art-
the song more fluid, more attractive. But it has an opposite attitude to what ist to discuss and identify the music and musicians who performed on
selected recordings. The artist is then asked to rate each tune using
Dinah Washington does with the song, which is to dive into the heart of it. a 5-star system. No information is given to the artist prior to the test.

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President Kevin Maher

Record Companies & Schools

Musical Instruments & East Coast Schools

Classified Advertising Sales

102 N. Haven Road

Jack Maher, President 1970-2003

Subscription Information: Send orders and address changes to: DOWNBEAT,

With the exception of Wynton

Cover photography by Mark Sheldon

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Billy Taylor, Elegant Advocate

his dedication to the cause.

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bebop tradition while calling upon images of the

I must agree with Kevin McIntosh’s letter urg-

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MARCH 2011 DOWNBEAT 13

Room For Jazz

Hubbard Live: An early ’80s recording Disney Repertoire

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Vinyl Freak | By john corbett

Eddie Shu/Joe Roland/Wild Bill Davis

marcel van den broek

sicians, it is of vital importance that their work

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Alice Coltrane Tribute McCoy Tyner

At UCLA Shapes Its

Jack DeJohnette Jazz Loyalty Rewarded, Education

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Dave Brubeck Revels Dave Brubeck

bandmates to keep the song going, and alto

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D o “classical” and “jazz” sides coexist with-

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B lanchard is no homebody. He plays scores of

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B lanchard received his MBA from Bu U.

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Chick Corea (left), Ron Carter and Antonio Sanchez

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method, later stating that when he plays he wants

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I t was Jack DeJohnette who offered Belden

M iles Espanol, among many things, as-

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With the exception of Wynton