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November 2005

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The Brian Blade Fellowship has a way of reminding one why music (not just jazz) matters. Gigging and recording infrequently, the group has nonetheless moved many with its cathartic mini-symphonies, so this Village Vanguard engagement was hotly anticipated. With saxophonist Chris Cheek standing in for Melvin Butler, Blade's lineup was otherwise close to that of the 2000 classic Perceptual: Myron Walden on alto, Kurt Rosenwinkel on guitar, Christopher Thomas on double bass and Jon Cowherd, who has composed a good deal of the band's book, on piano. (Alas, there was no pedal steel player.) The first Thursday set (Sep. 1st) opened with a majestic piano intro, paving the way for involved alto/tenor/guitar orchestration and gripping solos by Walden and Rosenwinkel. Accompanying these flights, as well as Cheek's finely calibrated statement on the next number, Blade seemed to read every mind on the bandstand, accenting micro and macro gestures with controlled fire. But "Evinrude-Fifty (Trembling) and "Variations of a Bloodline , both from Perceptual, were the centerpieces. "Variations began with a bass clarinet/ harmonium intro, identified by Ben Ratliff in the Times as "Alpha and Omega - although it closely paralleled "The Sunday Boys , an interlude that preceded "Variations on the album. Blade changed the scenery with subtle hand-drumming and though one could hear a pin drop, the music could not have grooved harder.

For five years running, the Jazz Gallery has presented "The Trumpet Shall Sound , a series pairing Roy Hargrove with a different fellow trumpeter each night. This September marked the Gallery's 10th year as a live music venue, a circumstance heralded by several marquee names. Darren Barrett, Claudio Roditi, Tom Harrell, Nicholas Payton and Marcus Belgrave all joined Hargrove and a house rhythm section - pianist Danny Grissett, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Greg Hutchinson. Being a New Orleanian, Payton almost had to cancel, so his appearance (Sep. 10th) had a certain post-Katrina resonance. Hargrove nudged the band into a precipitous "Alone Together , took the first solo and provoked alert responses from the drums. Payton followed, displaying a bit more presence and agility; his angular approach to the form's two extra bars drew cries of delight from the musicians in the house; His lines were no less adventurous on "Stablemates . Payton chose for a quartet feature Donald Byrd's upbeat "Fly Little Bird Fly , packed with chord changes that flattered the Mulgrew-esque Grissett. Hargrove's feature, on fluegelhorn, was "I Fall in Love Too Easily , played with a glowing, understated tone. The finale, a modified minor-blues original, began with stormy rubato swells and soon launched into a blistering 4/4 swing. In one of the set's most engrossing turns, Hargrove took his first few choruses with nothing but the bass behind him.

~ David Adler

Trombonist Steve Swell and Berlin multi-reed specialist Gebhard Ullmann took to the new impressive Brecht Forum space (Sep. 16th) by bringing in the quartet from their recent CD (Desert Songs & Other Landscapes, CIMP) with drummer Barry Altschul and 3-stringed (one broke) upright bassist William Parker (replacing Hilliard Greene). The comfortable first floor, though open loft-like, space naturally reverberated the acoustic performance, the double horn frontline forcefully lambasting echoed runs one moment, delicately and dynamically whispering notes off the floors and walls the next. Forthright in their solos, up-tempo and ballad alike - Ullmann and Swell's thick, dynamic harmonies melded seamlessly, showing why trombone and tenor have had such a lucrative relationship in jazz. For this group, Ullmann consciously and impressively showcases his flexibility and expertise on tenor over his other "first instrument - the bass clarinet, which he interestingly plays very tenor-like, focusing primarily and uniquely on the mid-range and altissimo register. He did, however, commonly switch between them, creating suite-like multi-movement compositions. Reminiscent of the NY Art Quartet (particularly Swell's brassy Roswell Rudd roots and Altschul's Milford Graves-like multi-rhythmic expertise), this quartet's tight heads and arrangements, intertwining improvisations around highly structured pieces, demanded undivided attention.

With a proliferation of weekly jazz vocal series throughout the city since Chez Suzette's demise a few years back, Sweet Rhythm's Tuesday series curated by our very own Tessa Souter is second to none (with Fred Hersch's Mondays at Jazz Standard close behind). On Sep. 6th , Kingston, NY-based vocalist Teri Roiger brought in her rhythm section of vocal-accompanying veterans (pianist Frank Kimbrough, bassist/husband John Menegon and drummer Matt Wilson) to the Greenwich Village club to perform selections from her newly released CD (Still Life, Moki). Roiger's selection of such material by Mingus, Dewey Redman and Abbey Lincoln is commendable and her treatment of each syllable is performed like an instrumental note progression. Case and point was Roiger's rendition of Lincoln's "Throw It Away , which remained in my head long thereafter her performance. Her smoky, human voice of experience versus the more common schooled - though cold - approach is a relief to hear. I dare say Roiger is to Abbey Lincoln what Carol Sloane is to the inherited legacy of Carmen McRae and not in the imitative sense of the niche Madeleine Peyroux has created in recreating Billie Holiday's delivery and style, but in a more genuine and even inspirational sense. Teri Roiger's the real item. And could a singer ask for a stronger, more empathetic, flexible and creative rhythm section than the one she has in Kimbrough, Menegon and Wilson?! I think not.

~ Laurence Donohue-Greene

When Quest - saxophonist Dave Liebman, pianist Richie Beirach, bassist Ron McClure and drummer Billy Hart - reunited at Birdland (Sep. 15th, playing their first show since 1991), they were under the watchful eye of the President of Portugal and his contingent of security guards (in town for the UN Summit). Despite such heady audience members, the quartet showed very quickly why they were such a New York favorite a couple of decades ago. Liebman and Beirach, conspirators since the '70s, have a special connection, Liebman's bravado tempered by Beirach's delicacy. Liebman spent much of the evening on tenor surprisingly, making the proceedings particularly energetic. "Softly as in a Morning Sunrise featured tasty punctuations to Liebman's leads by Hart. "For All We Know was one of a few opportunities to hear Beirach, who makes very few stateside appearances, play unaccompanied. "Elm , a tribute to Beirach's late collaborator, Polish violinist Zbigniew Seifert, featured a classical-inspired melody and an intriguing shift into a faster tempo. The final piece of the evening was also its highlight. Wayne Shorter's "Footprints has been almost done to death as a melancholy ballad. Quest subverted its somberness by switching the tempo throughout, creating an angular tension to the piece, often playing it in double time. It was here that Hart had an opportunity to demonstrate his incomparable technique, both solo and in duet with Liebman.

As a precursor to the season of Jewish High Holidays, Michael Dorf organized his second annual New York Jewish Music & Heritage Festival. The theme of the opening night concert was "Great Jewish Artists perform Great Jewish Composers . Seven acts were each given about 15 minutes at the 92nd Street Y (Sep. 13th) to fête a Jewish composer of their choice. The Klezmatics on Randy Newman in a klez-meets- country affair was unconvincing as the tunes had klezmer sections perfunctorily added. Uri Caine played a solo version of "Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copland that was rollicking and gorgeous. Marc Ribot was supposed to focus on Billy Joel but he began his segment saying he would add Mozart since new scholarship indicates that the composer might have been Jewish. The following medley of "I Love You Just the Way You Are and "Don Giovanni was fractured and almost farcical, Ribot improvising lyrics over the operatic theme. The melodies were barely recognizable but the crowd seemed to appreciate Ribot's tongue-in-cheek approach. Of the performers relevant to this publication, the most successful of the evening was Pharoah's Daughter, led by Basya Schecter, playing Carly Simon. "Haven't Got Time for the Pain , "You're So Vain and "Let the River Run were transformed into middle eastern jaunts, a new sound for hippiedom. Perhaps 20 years from now, these performers will be celebrated in a similar way.

~ Andrey Henkin

Jazz at Lincoln Center hosted a gala benefit concert at Rose Hall Sep. 17th to raise funds for Higher Ground to aid the New Orleans music community devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Crescent City favorite son Wynton Marsalis initiated the program with his septet coming to the stage clapping their hands and stomping their feet on his "Ain' No . Renee Fleming and Mark O'Connor opened with "Amazing Grace , followed by Shirley Ceasar's spirituals medley, providing a reverent tone before Aaron and Art Neville rocked the house with Professor Longhair's "Go To The Mardi Gras . Herbie Hancock relevantly performed his "Eye of Hurricane .

Vocalists Diana Krall, Norah Jones and Peter Cincotti represented the pop side of jazz while Abbey Lincoln, Jon Hendricks, McCoy Tyner, Marcus Roberts and Joe Lovano with Idris Muhammed held forth for the mainstream. New Orleans trumpeters Irvin Mayfield, Terence Blanchard, Marlon Jordan (plus siblings Kent, Rachel and Stephanie) and Wynton (with the Marsalis Family Band) demonstrated the wide range of music that emanates from their hometown. Paquito D'Rivera performed "Havana Blues with Arturo O'Farrill and the AfroLatin Orchestra, pointing to New Orleans' Caribbean roots. Cassandra Wilson hauntingly sang "Come Sunday with the LCJO before Marsalis returned to close with his band leading the exuberant parading audience dancing through the hall.

Artists associated with the Vision Festival came together for a benefit for the artists of New Orleans at the Angel Orensanz Center Sep. 20th. The first half of the marathon concert included performances by the Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra, John Zorn's Masada Quartet, Matthew Shipp's trio plus dancer Patricia Nicholson, Bill Dixon playing solo trumpet and the ensemble of Oliver Lake, Ahmed Abdullah, Ted Daniel and Cooper-Moore with guest poet Amiri Baraka. Muhal Richard Abrams addressed the packed house (but declined to play the out-of-tune piano).

New Orleans avant-garde godfather Kidd Jordan was joined by Kali Z Fasteau, Clyde Kerr, Henry Grimes and Hamid Drake for a set that moved from Aylerish interplay to eastern-influenced microtonal intensity. Tri Factor (Kahil El'Zabar, Hamiet Bluiett and Billy Bang) accompanied Quincy Troupe's cadenced poetry reading and then played a powerful instrumental set. Jordan returned for a set with Roy Campbell, Charles Gayle, Dick Griffin and William Parker with Hamid Drake and Andrew Cyrille (sharing the drum kit) that prompted a standing ovation. Deborah Harry joined the Jazz Passengers for an entertaining set and the pairing of indie rockers Yo La Tengo with Other Dimensions in Music (Roy Campbell, Daniel Carter, Sabir Mateen, William Parker and Rashid Bakr) was surprisingly successful. The evening ended with the Passengers playing an encore with Elvis Costello.

~ Russ Musto

Recommended New Releases

· Michaël Attias - Renku (Playscape)

· Ray Barretto - Time Was-Time Is (O Plus Music)

· Billy Childs - Lyric (Lunacy)

· Gerry Hemingway - Double Blues Crossing (Between the Lines)

· Jenny Scheinman - 12 Songs (Cryptogramophone)

· Bebo Valdés - Bebo de Cuba (Calle 54)

~ David Adler (NY@Night Columnist, AllAboutJazz.com)

· Either/Orchestra - Ethiopiques 20: Live in Addis (Buda Musique)

· Prince Lasha/Odean Pope Trio - The Mystery of Prince Lasha (CIMP)

· Jean-Michel Pilc - Live at Iridium, New York (Dreyfus)

· Bebo Valdés - Bebo de Cuba (Calle 54)

· James Jabbo Ware/The Me We & Them Orchestra - Vignettes in the Spirit of Ellington (Y'All)

· Gerald Wilson Orchestra - In My Time (Mack Avenue)

~ Laurence Donohue-Greene (Managing Editor, AllAboutJazz-New York)

· Claudia Quintet - Semi-Formal (Cuneiform)

· Satoko Fujii Four - Live in Japan 2004 (Natsat)

· Paal Nilssen-Love - Townorchestrahouse (Clean Feed)

· Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble - The Eleventh Hour (ECM)

· Herb Robertson NY Downtown Allstars - Elaboration (Clean Feed)

· The Vandermark 5 - The Color of Memory (Atavistic)

~ Bruce Gallanter (Proprietor, Downtown Music Gallery)

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