Allan Harris
Love Came: The Songs Of Strayhorn
(Love Productions - 2001)
by John Barrett

He first joined the Ellington organization as a lyricist, he taught its "vocal wing: how to sing the songs he wrote, he gave the world a wealth of great tunes - yet, unbelievably, this is the first vocal album entirely devoted to Billy Strayhorn. Allan Harris is right for this project: his voice is deep and full-bodied, with its reedy moments. He brings a smile to "Sittin' and A-Rockin'", warbling as Essiet Essiet snaps a mean bass. When Eric Reed enters, Allan hits the top of his range, floating above Reed's lively chords. On "Something to Live For", the voice has an amber glow, touched with a light vibrato. He trips through the erudite words, and the trio adds a bossa-like background. Reed is sweet, bouncing from note to note - and Harris returns, more passionate this time around. If he thought a song of his was played well, Strayhorn would raise his glass, and nod in the performer's direction. After hearing this track, I think Allan would earn that honor.

The songs are well chosen, the famous rubbing elbows with the unjustly obscure. "My Little Brown Book", with its slight resemblance to "Lush Life", dazzles with its clever lyric and crisp delivery. Eric's sweet comp is helped by Ron Affif's guitar, strumming gently in the distance. Ron and Allan do "Love Came" as a duo, reflecting on Billy's most intimate lyric. It's good, but I think the voice is "too dramatic"; sung simply, maybe the words would seem more beautiful. And speaking of beautiful, we come to "Lush Life" itself: Ron hits the "Killer Joe" riff, and Allan radiates sophistication … trying hard to hide the misery. He smiles through it all, but we know it's an act … much like the "lush life" he sings of. You've never heard it this way before - and it all sounds perfectly natural.

With a voice that's pure honey, Allan gives special meaning to "Day Dream" - while Don Braden hums in mellow agreement. Reed's thick solo is a treat, with a quick quote of Adderley's "Work Song". "Pretty Girl" (which is "The Star-Crossed Lovers" called by its original name) whispers with romance, and "Passion Flower" blooms with Coltrane's intensity, as everyone solos at once. (It's an interesting experiment, if not entirely successful. For contrast we get "Oo! (You Make Me Tingle)", with its calypso beat and delirious joy. Your feet will be skipping - along with your heart.

Strayhorn gave his "flower songs" the same status as "Lush Life" - they meant a lot to him personally, and were to be sung only by the best. Allan coos softly on "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing", while a samba runs fast and Braden chugs hard. It's deliciously different … as is "Lotus Blossom", shouted over tribal drums. The best voice of all might be on the closer, "Love Has Passed Me By Again": singing alone, the creamy words are draped in the prettiest echo. Such stark beauty calls needed attention to the songs of Billy Strayhorn - and to Allan Harris, whose readings show as much thought as Billy gave in writing them.

Jim Hall
Jim Hall & Basses
(Telarc Jazz - 2001)
by John Barrett

The first instrument learned by Jim Hall was the bass, which he came to regard as "the downward extension of the guitar". In this group of (mostly) duos, bass and guitar frequently intersect, though rarely in expected directions. Dave Holland starts wiry on "End the Beguine!", plucking at the top of his range. I thought this was Holland until he enters, in similar tone but a little bit lower. At first Dave bats a simple rhythm; after Hall states the theme, Holland plays something similar. As this happens, Jim turns more abstract: he flicks the strings near the tuning knobs, sounding like the high note of a piano. He sounds like Richard Leo Johnson, or early Steve Tibbets: organic, spontaneous, and full of thought.

"Bent Blue" is decidedly different: Christian McBride walks in the conventional manner, and Hall … doesn't. With sour chords and unlikely harmonies, it's the most intellectual-sounding blues I've ever heard. (McBride steadily grows more active, with spindly high notes and deep resonance.) Starting with the bridge, "All the Things You Are" reduces the tune to a sketch, surrounded by empty space. George Mraz goes his own way, keeping time but doing more than just that. (His solo, while straying far from the tune, nonetheless captures its spirit.)

"Sam Jones", with Holland, finds the two walking parallel lines, in the style of the tune's namesake. As Holland walks a heady vamp, Hall punctuates it with octave bleeps, at once catching your attention. Charlie Haden brings a deep thrum to "Don't Explain", and Jim decorates with a simple burst of rhythm. McBride is back for "Dog Walk", a funky little waltz: Christian takes the theme and Jim makes quiet, ukulele-like strums. McBride also strums - his manic dashes are like a puppy in full scamper. Suddenly it's Hall's solo; the roles exchange effortlessly. (His chords are sweet and glassy, almost like Les Paul.) Scott Colley weeps sadly on "Besame Mucho" and Jim churns, at a fast 5/4 pace. His solo has some flamenco to it, which Colley enhances with a 4/4 walk. Colley and Mraz team up for something called "Tango Loco": George bows in the mood of a stern parent while Hall plays some gypsy figures, in time joined by Colley. Wandering far afield (and never played as a tango), we can tell that Jim Hall is a free spirit. And if you want free…

The four pieces titled "Abstract" are, having been improvised by Hall and his bassist(s) of the moment. "Abstract 1", with Haden, has Jim plucking high and Charlie doing likewise from the bottom of his range. When Haden gets a theme going, Hall compliments it with huge watery chords, like a marimba. Colley and Mraz groan their way through "2" (both bassists wield bows and it feels like a classical piece); "3" is similar, but a little more melodic. With Scott the lone bassist on 'Abstract 4", strums come from each man, then dissipate into silence. Colley sounds like a heartbeat; Hall, like an Autoharp. We have run the gamut on guitar styles and compositional approaches: this is where intelligence and instinct commingle. An innovator for decades, Jim Hall is hardly going to stop now.

Iréne Schweizer
Chicago Piano Solo
(Intakt Records - 2001)
by John Barrett

It was held at The Empty Bottle, a small Chicago rock club which also hosts jazz acts like Ken Vandermark. The group was supposed to be a trio, with Fred Anderson and Hamid Drake; scheduling difficulties made that group an impossibility. So Iréne Schweizer went onstage by herself and used a multitude of approaches. "So Oder So" has a Monkish theme, supported by a heavy left-hand riff. This becomes faster in time, turning ominous and percussive. It is a cross between the classical works of Conlon Nancarrow … and the music heard in silent movies.

Bleeping chords bring unrest to "the Bottle"; the tempo fluctuates, as does the attitude of the piece. Terse one moment, notes stretch out with eerie endurance - then they hurry in nervous procession. Even at her most frantic, she sounds more formal than Cecil Taylor … and maybe more disciplined. "Herlige Johanna" sounds like Nancarrow's Studies for Player Piano: starting from the depths of the keyboard, Iréne ascends slowly, in repetitive rhythmic patterns. Once at the top, she wanders: a few sour chords, surrounded by silence. Put simply, it's an avalanche of sound - after which the crowd thunders.

The only tune not by Schweizer (Don Cherry's "Togetherness One") gets the most conventional reading. It packs a bluesy wallop, and conveys the spirit of Monk, if not his style. She reaches inside the piano on "Stringfever": it sounds like a harpsichord … in a haunted house. She then scrapes the strings with frantic abandon, like metallic birds in flight. Lots of people use this technique, but I've never heard anyone do it so well. "Circle" is "Well, You Needn't", sort of played sideways. (I can't explain it; you'll just have to hear it.) "Rag" is in the heart of Thelonious country, while quoting no specific tune. There's a wild excursion after the theme, and a chord plucked from inside the piano - miles away from Monk or anyone else. And she signs off with "Roots", a sound of hurtling cars and restless rhythm. Her left hand bulldozes along, while the right shakes bitter phrases. It's a heady taste of the Big City - she bows, and it is over. It's one of the most challenging piano styles I have heard; it'll appeal to fans of jazz and avant-garde classical music. Chicago was impressed by her sound, and I think so will you.