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Brad Mehldau: Elegiac Cycle; Art of the Trio 4: Back at the Vanguard
by David Adler
Some jazz musicians warn against excessive talk and analysis, insisting that the music be allowed to speak for itself. Brad Mehldau does not belong to this school of thought. Reading his self-authored, exhaustive (exhausting?) liner notes to both these albums, a critic might be tempted to throw up his hands and conclude that nothing more can ...
Dave Liebman Trio: Monk's Mood
by David Adler
It’s nice to hear Dave Liebman undo a few buttons and dig in with a trio session. Of late the sax icon has taken to larger ensembles and concept albums. The only concept here is Monk, and Liebman’s only guests are Eddie Gomez on bass and Adam Nussbaum on drums. Seldom-played gems such as “Teo," “Gallop’s ...
Rez Abbasi: Third Ear
by David Adler
Third Ear was recorded in 1991 and 1992 and released on the Ozone label in 1995. It’s been remastered and repackaged for Abbasi’s current label, Cathexis. Despite its slightly dated content, the disc demonstrates that nearly a decade ago, Abbasi was already a player and composer to be reckoned with. He also knew all the right ...
Vaughn Nark & The Airmen of Note: Flying High
by David Adler
Vaughn Nark is a trumpet showman along the lines of Maynard Ferguson or Jon Faddis. He’s featured here with an Air Force big band called The Airmen of Note. Nark’s penchant for high-note theatrics is immediately apparent on the opener, a fast latin arrangement of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Lorraine." His control and accuracy is no less dazzling ...
Tom Taylor: The Crossing
by David Adler
“Aubade," the first track on this disc, won guitarist/composer Tom Taylor the Musician magazine “best unsigned band" contest in 1997. The tune does reveal the workings of an exceptional musical mind. Folky melodies bump up against harmonic and rhythmic concepts borrowed from classical and jazz fusion. Taylor’s multi-tracked acoustic and electric guitars mesh with David Grisman’s ...
Konitz/Mehldau/Haden: Another Shade of Blue
by David Adler
Put these three highly individualized players in a room together and the music will take to glorious flight. It’s that simple. This drumless trio thrilled us back in 1997 with Alone Together, and they’re back to thrill us again. No surprises in the format department: once again, the saxophonist, pianist, and bassist ruminate at length on ...
Liberty Ellman: Orthodoxy
by David Adler
Talk about talent deserving wider recognition. Guitarist Liberty Ellman has been placed in the M-BASE camp by some, but it’s not quite so easy to pin him down. His highly enjoyable debut, Orthodoxy, is an ultra-hip mix of abstract swing and spacey but intense groove—call it Greg Osby meets In a Silent Way by way of ...
Steve Smith and Buddy's Buddies: Steve Smith and Buddy's Buddies
by David Adler
Drummer Steve Smith, of Journey and Steps Ahead fame, leads a quintet featuring Buddy Rich alumni through a set of jazz charts. Coming from 80s rock and fusion, Smith tends toward flash and heavy-handedness (like Rich himself, some would say). Add Anthony Jackson on electric bass and you have a rhythm section that sounds like what ...
Larry Goldings Trio: Moonbird
by David Adler
One of the most consistently satisfying straight-ahead jazz outfits, the Larry Goldings Trio joins the Palmetto Records roster with the fine Moonbird. Goldings has made his mark on the Hammond organ as a sideman with the likes of John Scofield, Jim Hall, Chris Potter, and Maceo Parker. His long-standing trio, with Peter Bernstein on guitar and ...
Jeff "Tain" Watts: Citizen Tain
by David Adler
In the mid 80s a single record got me hooked on straight-ahead jazz, and that record was Wynton Marsalis’s Black Codes from the Underground. The powerhouse drumming of Jeff “Tain" Watts was one of the elements that floored me. Watts remains a pillar of the current scene, playing in Branford Marsalis’s brilliant quartet and doing fine ...
