“Stiles writes and plays brilliantly with great respect for melody and clarity. She is an authentic original,” says Dave Frishberg about pianist/composer/arranger Joan Stiles. Bill Milkowski compares her to piano legends when he writes, “swings with wit and verve brimming with the joyous flair of a Wynton Kelly or Erroll Garner.”
On Hurly-Burly, her 2nd CD (July 17th release on Oo-Bla-Dee Records) Stiles presents originals and exciting new arrangements of compositions by her major influences�”the great pianist/composers Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Mary Lou Williams. Hurly-Burly features an all-star ensemble of world-class musicians, Jeremy Pelt, Steve Wilson, Joel Frahm, Peter Washington and Lewis Nash. In the liner notes, Doug Ramsey writes, “Adventure, daring, exuberance and wit inform this second collection by the New York pianist and composer…I can’t think of a new recording in years that’s given me more enjoyment.” He praises her arrangements, “the vigor of her piano work, the musicianship and camaraderie of the band” and how “she weaves into her modern piano style the blues, swing, stride and boogie that still inspire her.”
About the genesis of the project, Joan explains, “I titled the CD after my composition of the same name, an homage to Mary Lou Williams, whose maiden name was Burley�”hence Hurly-Burly. Although this isn’t a tribute album per se, many of the selections evolved from my ’Mostly Mary Lou‘ concert series in which Jeremy, Joel, Steve and Lewis have all played.”
Since 2000, Stiles has been actively involved with the music of Mary Lou Williams. She re-arranges and performs this repertoire in her “Mostly Mary Lou” concert series and has also presented lecture/demonstrations entitled “Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band.” Her “Mostly Mary Lou” quintet was featured at the “Kool-Knowledge Conference on Mary Lou Williams” at the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers and an analytical article, “Waltz Boogie: Unity, Inflection and the Blues” will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Jazz Studies (Rutgers). Last year, “Hurly-Burly (J2Mary Lou) was performed by Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge at the Jazz Composers’ Symposium at the University of South Florida; Dave Douglas, John Clayton and Bob Brookmeyer were the guest panelists.
Joan Stiles has led a very eclectic musical life. As a teenager, although her two favorite records were by Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans, she sang and played in pop music groups and in college, seriously studied classical piano. While still in graduate school, she taught classical theory at Brooklyn College, worked as an accompanist on harpsichord and piano, and wrote instructional articles for music magazines. But Jazz was never far from her heart and she pursued her interest in the music while at the same time earning advanced degrees in classical music and jazz--and raising two children. One rainy evening en route to a concert of Duke Ellington's Black, Brown and Beige, she slipped on a cellar door in and suffered multiple fractures of her left wrist. Following surgery and a long recuperative process, her commitment to Jazz was strengthened and she began to work regularly in concerts and NY area clubs.
For her 2004 debut recording, Love Call (Zoho) Stiles wrote arrangements for an all-star octet with special guests, Frank Wess and Clark Terry. Love Call was on many Top Ten lists for 2004�”Cadence Magazine Editor’s Choice, JazzWeek Radio #9 and was cited by Frequency Media as “one of the best new and emerging artist releases” on their Artist Breakthough Chart. The opening track on Love Call, “Spherical” (a homage to Thelonious Monk) has been published in Jazz Piano Pieces to Grow On, the latest volume in the popular series from The Steinway Library of Piano Music.
Joan Stiles is also an active Jazz educator�”a full-time faculty member of Manhattan School of Music and instructor of theory and piano at the New School University Jazz Program.
A review of a “Mostly Mary Lou” concert sums it up, “Stiles is a skilled musical architect, dedicated to the craft of balance and dynamics, of blend and boldness. She is more than just a graceful interpreter of Mary Lou, Duke and Monk; her playing illuminated the masterpieces she made her own.” �” Michael Hochandel, The Daily Gazette.
“Joan Stiles shines throughout her second CD as a leader. The pianist recruited a first-rate band and then treated them to her inspiring arrangements and originals. Her wild, amusing ‘The Brilliant Corners of Thelonious’ Jumpin’ Jeep’ mingles Monk with Johnny Hodges in an unusual tapestry that utilizes counterpoint to play one theme off another. Stiles salutes Mary Lou Williams with her inventive original composition, ‘Hurly-Burly,’ a challenging bop vehicle that is worthy of comparison to the late Williams’ work. She also revisits Williams’ unjustly obscure, ‘Knowledge,’ along with a side-splitting vocal of the late pianist’s ‘In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee.’ Highly recommended.”
-- Ken Dryden, All Music Guide, Billboard.com
“New York City pianist and composer, Joan Stiles mixes a deep knowledge of the jazz tradition with an ear for fresh sounds, giving her music a welcome authenticity that has contemporary heft.”
-- Zan Stewart, The NJ Star Ledger
“I love Joan Stiles’ Hurly-Burly. A lot. Stiles is not only the best female jazz musician since Joanne Brackeen and Jessica Williams but also a fresh wit rare in jazz at any time. On Rowles’ ‘The Peacocks’ you’re in a region of purity and beauty most jazz musicians couldn’t find, much less inhabit so easily for five minutes. It’s her 2nd disc and proves conclusively, that she’s a jazz treasure.”
-- Jeff Simon, The Buffalo News
“This NY pianist mixes a wicked sense of humor with exemplary taste and a smoking horn section. It opens with a colorful collage of Monk and Johnny Hodges, and ends with a weird and wonderful vocal version of ‘In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee.’”
-- Richard Gehr, Shopping List: The New and the Notable, AARP
“Pianist, Stiles, who also sings Mary Lou Williams’ bebop fairy tale, “In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee” and a Ray Charles original, comes up with one of this year’s finest releases. This one’s a must. 10 out of 10.”
-- Len Dobbin, The Montreal Mirror
“Each track is its own small event immaculately prepared by Stiles and masterfully played by all concerned�”jazz playing of a very high order. Stiles writes and plays brilliantly with great respect for melody and clarity. She is an authentic original who also happens to have great taste in music.”
-- Dave Frishberg
“Stiles is the complete East Coast package when it comes to comping, soloing, arranging and playing…The band is white hot from the get-go…‘The Brilliant Corners of Thelonious’ Jumpin’ Jeep’ is certainly the niftiest bit of arranging offered this year. On the 2nd pivotal vocal selection, the bop classic ‘In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee,’ Stiles turns this nonsensical bebop vocal exercise into a delicious, sexually ambiguous romp…Hurly-Burly represents a light-year advance over the previous Love Call, which was pretty damn good.”
-- C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
“You’ll have to get a hold of this disc, listen and enjoy it as much as I did. An honest appraisal of the album would include a tribute to the arranging talents of the pianist, the excellent selection of music and the fine cadre of players. Hurly-Burly is a burner of an album sure to garnish Joan Stiles critical acclaim.”
-- Edward Blanco
“Adventure, daring, exuberance and wit inform this 2nd collection by the New York pianist and composer. I can’t think of a new recording in years that has given me more enjoyment.”
-- Doug Ramsey
“One of the most enjoyable recordings to come along so far this year, pianist Joan Stiles’ Hurly-Burly will have you grinning ear to ear. Stiles shows her chops as a singer on Ray Charles’ ‘What Would I Do Without You?’ and the closer ‘In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee’ featuring Stiles on lead and backing vocals (as ‘the Joanettes’) ends the album on a note of joyous fun. Joan Stiles shows herself to be a remarkable arranger and bandleader, as well as one of the best and most interesting jazz pianists within the genre today.”
-- Brad Walseth, JazzChicago.net
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