George Colligan: Ultimatum

Unlike classical music, where so much of the performance is based on an authentic interpretation of the material, jazz has always been more about inventiveness and the musician's quest to find an original voice. Additionally, some of the most innovative artists in the genre have been known not only for their instrumental prowess, but also for great bodies of work that have substantially contributed to the jazz annals. Men like Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, and Thad Jones, to name only a few, were not only gifted instrumentalists but were also composers of great merit. In the same tradition and part of a new breed, George Colligan has expanded the mainstream language as a composer in novel ways that distinguish him as one of the strongest new voices to come along in some time. This in turn has led to such high-profile activities as stints with Cassandra Wilson, Lonnie Plaxico, Don Braden, Ravi Coltrane, and David Gilmore. A native of Maryland, Colligan grew up in a suburb of Baltimore and gravitated towards the trumpet musings of Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, and Clifford Brown after a brief period of tutelage on the piano. "In fourth grade I took up trumpet for the school band," says Colligan of this early endeavor. "I almost quit, but kept doing it and then when I got to middle school there was a teacher there who was really inspiring and really made you want to practice. That's really where I got the music bug, in sixth grade, with Lee Stevens as my teacher. He just totally turned me on to music."

Following high school, Colligan attended Peabody Conservatory as a trumpet major, although he would eventually change the course of his creative pursuits by switching back to piano. Without much in the way of formal training, Colligan got his pianistic skills together and soon became a mainstay on the Washington/Baltimore club curcuit, where he would perfect his craft via gigs with Buck Hill and Gary Thomas. In 1995, Colligan made the move to New York and within a year he would be cutting his debut as a leader, the first of nearly a dozen albums that now fill out a distinctive catalog.

Although Ultimatum is Colligan's first effort for Criss Cross, he had made the acquaintance of producer Gerry Teekens while searching for a record deal upon arrival in New York. "Gerry came to hear me at Bradley's with Steve Wilson and Dwayne Burno. He called me to do a recording about a year later, but at the time I had been trying to sign with another label." Fast-forward to the fall of 2001 and the saga takes on a new twist "While in Europe with Don Byron, I called Gerry out of the blue and asked if I could record for him. Ralph Peterson, who was also touring with Byron, sent Gerry an e-mail to seal the deal."

Critical to the artistic atmosphere that spawned Ultimatum was the presence of Gary Thomas, a harmonically advanced saxophonist and flutist whose involvement with academia keeps him just a few degrees below the radar of the current scene. Both men had worked together previously and the pianist admits to being greatly influenced by such Thomas albums as 1991's The Kold Kage. "The first time I heard Gary was on a Wallace Roney record and I remember seeing him around at different gigs in Baltimore," explains Colligan. "I always felt like his concept was really original because he deals with rhythm in an interesting way. I have to say, at first it sounded really "out" and I really liked that because dissonance has always attracted me harmonically. But the more I listen to him play, the more I see how much of it relates to the harmony."

Another prime element significant in the interpretation of Colligan's charts is drummer Ralph Peterson, Jr., who appeared on the pianist's maiden voyage, Activism. A recent addition to the Criss Cross stable himself, the drummer can be heard on his own critically-acclaimed The Art of War (Criss 1206) and has been a prized sideman and leader of his own ensembles since the mid-'80s. "He truly has his own style, yet has more of an understanding of the jazz tradition than most," Colligan says about his esteemed colleague. "I always enjoy playing with Ralph because no matter how many ideas he plays, his time is rock steady and he always plays the form. Ralph is truly one of the great drummers of our time."

The third leg of a well-anchored rhythm trio, bassist Drew Gress also frequented the Baltimore/D.C. proving ground that fostered the growth of both Colligan and Thomas. In addition to leading Jagged Sky, a New York-based quartet that performs his original charts, Gress has been heard with such forward-thinking jazzers as Dave Douglas, Tim Berne, Franklin Kiermeyer, Uri Caine, and Ellery Eskelin. Speaking of Gress and their musical history together, Colligan explains, "We played a few gigs in Baltimore and Washington and a lot with singers. I've always liked Drew's concept, and his sound is great because he gets a very pointed attack, but also a singing sustain. He can play very loose and open, but also groove hard."

The hard swinging "Ultimatum" gets this program of all originals underway and the synergy that this quartet displays helps make the advanced charts swing in a deeply gratifying manner. "This one was originally called Gary's Groove, for Gary Bartz, another Baltimore saxophonist," asserts Colligan. "In a sense, the melody probably lays better for alto, but I like to hear tenor in that register, especially Gary Thomas, because the sound is very intense. This was our first tune of the day and Ralph is the ideal interpreter of something like this because he drops the bombs in all the right spots."

Utilizing odd meters in an unconscious way that makes the melody flow logically, Ancestral Wisdom contains passages of two-fisted brilliance from Colligan, not to mention the darkly provocative flute work of Thomas. "The melody is simple, yet the rhythm and harmony are much deeper. Which made me think about those pearls of wisdom, like the Confucian sayings, that are simple on the surface, but when applied to a real life situation become much deeper."

"'Catalyst' started out as just some chord changes to improvise over, sort of like Herbie Hancock's recording of Succotash, but then I decided that a melody would be nice," George says about a propulsive waltz that also has bars of four and five thrown in just to keep everyone on their toes. "Gary really pulls out the stops in his solo and Ralph executes the twists and turns with ease and enthusiasm."

If you listen closely, the first phrase of "Was It Not Meant To Be?" nicely echoes those words as if to suggest that George had some lyrical content in mind. "I was looking for a less intense, slower mood without playing the traditional jazz ballad sort of time, with sweeping brushes and the like." Following a harmonious bass solo, Thomas picks up his flute again before George speaks at length. "Gary wails on the flute and these chord changes are not for the faint of heart. Plus, Ralph is great for this type of tune because you know it will be the same tempo at the end because his time is so strong."

A modal line with some grit and substance, "Shiva's Dance" finds Peterson skating in and out of the melodic framework with some pointed interjections. "Everybody seemed to enjoy playing on this one and we knocked it out in one take. But this is the kind of tune that when performed live would be 15 minutes or more, it has so much momentum to it." Colligan, Thomas, and Peterson get to stretch out before the reprise of the head.

Offering a change in mood, "Silkscreen" is a solo piano performance that unfolds in a way that roughly evokes the tide breaking on the shore. "I wrote this when I was staying at a friend's in Edmonton, Canada," says George of the tune's genesis. "I had just looked at some silkscreen paintings at a museum. They were all scenes of beach houses in very calm and peaceful settings."

In regards to the propulsive "Across," Colligan clarifies the intent of some complex rhythmic shifts by explaining, "I was hearing some kind of 6/8 thing, like African clave, but then I wanted to make it uneven and unpredictable. This tune is so complex that we spent most of this performance trying to keep the form and not get lost! But this is the first take and Gary and Drew play excellent solos on a structure that became a challenge to navigate."

Gentle and ruminative, "Wishful Thinking" provides another wonderful forum for the idiosyncratic flute work of Thomas. Colligan says of the piece, "It's more of a traditional jazz ballad. It's sort of like those Wayne Shorter structures that are short in duration, but at the same time you get a lot of mileage out of them."

"Lords of Justice" is given a darkly ominous air that is tailor made for Thomas, who makes the most of a demanding structure. "It's my rock anthem tune," says George, succinctly describing the backbeat groove at the heart of the form. He then adds, "It's the theme song for perhaps some imaginary superheroes that might fly down and solve the Middle East conflict or set things right in the world."

Over the course of nine disparate compositions, the implications of the album's title come to mind in that Colligan's music demands your attention due to its technical virtuosity and rhythmic diversity. Furthermore, it's fresh, forward thinking, and bodes well for Colligan's pioneering efforts yet to come.

Liner Notes copyright © 2024 C. Andrew Hovan.

Ultimatum can be purchased here.

Contact C. Andrew Hovan at All About Jazz.
An avid audiophile and music collector, Chris Hovan is a Cleveland-based writer / photographer / musician.

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