Jung on Jazz June 1999

The recording commences with the first of two versions of “The Girls Back Home,” one of the trumpeter’s originals (the second version is a radio edit). The composition’s down home appeal can be traced back to the brothers’ southern roots and includes some charming licks from Werner. The melody is catchy enough to hum. The trumpeter’s bright sound sustains much of its majesty on a surprisingly upbeat run through “Body and Soul” and a mellow “In a Sentimental Mood.” The warm environment is only elaborated by Colley’s meditative commentary.

Terzic has chops as a composer. The leader’s melodic sense coupled with Garzone’s mellifluous tone creates an ideal scenario for Terzic’s two most interesting originals, “Childish Things” and “Big Argument.” The young drummer also has well-developed ideas as evident by his brisk changes and his crisp comping on “Night’s Shadow.” Terzic’s fine treatment of “Spartacus Love Theme” is also quite impressive. Accompanying Garzone, who switches to soprano, Terzic draws the listener in with his sincere brush sentiments.

Bassist Malachi Favors has long been a champion of the let free jazz ring motto. After all, Favors has been a member of Chicago’s AACM since its inception. Teaming with Japanese bassist Tatsu Aoki, Favors unleashes 2 X 4.

It should be easy for people to agree on this-for a duo bass album to work, both players had better be masters of their domain, and even that may not be enough to hold the audience’s interest. In this case, both Aoki and Favors have interesting ideas, but they struggle to develop those ideas into anything more than one substantial bass line after another. A prime example of this is “Chop Stick Blues.” “The Keeper,” with its even-tempered interchanges between Favors and his Japanese counterpart, is arguably their best moment. The various percussion effects add color throughout the outing, but just aren’t enough to prevent the overall session from dragging.

A live recital recording done at the New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, Hersch’s Let Yourself Go is the pianist letting go of any preconceived notions and candidly playing. Hersch leads off with a lush “Black is the Color/Love Theme from ‘Spartacus’.” The pianist pours his elegant romanticism over “Black is the Color,” then with effortless ease, logically connects the traditional’s last note with Bill Evan’s anthem, “Love Theme from ‘Spartacus’.” Hersch has a profound understanding of the late Evan’s work and his touching sympathy makes the tune the album’s curtain call in it of its self to a roar of applause. Other highlights include a gentle “I Loves You, Porgy” and a chromatic “Blue Monk.” The night concludes with a luminous rendition of “The Nearness of You,” a strong candidate for “Song of the Year.” It’s too much.

The revolution that is happening in the avant-garde is not centralized to America. The movement has an equal footing in Europe and Japan and although the American form seems to be the basis of both these uprisings, they each have a distinctly individual vocabulary, blending elements within their own culture with that of free jazz. Pianist Satoko Fujii is one of Japan’s most unique voices, integrating often callous dissonance with more affable melodies. Heightening the tension are bassist Mark Dresser, drummer Jim Black, and soprano saxophonist Sachi Hayasaka.

From its opening “Sound of Stone” takes off on a dissonant path and remains contained in a cavern of discord for the composition’s duration. A solo improvisational piece, Fujii’s show of soliloquizing is compelling do in great part to her uncanny ability to finesse away from uncomfortable drones by adding some humor. “Past of Life,” with its abstract spaciousness and dark theme is draining for the listener, challenging and provoking thought. And on a much grander level, Kitsune-Bi does also.

Mathews’s profound block chords and right hand flourishes serve as a catalyst for the rest of the quintet on the opening “Jean Marie.” Shaw’s resolute maneuvers are brief, graciously making room for more ensemble involvement, but still poignant. The leader’s contributions are more extended for “Sashianova,” which has some jaunty call and response moments between Shaw and Strozier. Check out the subtle romanticism of “Little Red’s Fantasy,” yet another example of Shaw’s downright diversity.

A laid back “Watermelon Man” features a dexterous Owens, one of the baddest tenors this side of the Mississippi. The raw delivery of Owens and the fast-paced trombone sequences of Smith, in front of a horde of percussive backbeats, brings the Latin jazz warhorse to a fever pitch. Dizzy Gillespie’s well-known “Manteca” is a showcase for Aquabella’s handiwork, which has not even slightly diminished. Look out below for a cranked up arrangement of “Milestones.” The ensemble pours it on, from an array of horn cries to a pulsating beat that is liable to tear down the walls.

If jazz had a utility player, Bill Frisell would fit the profile. Equally adept in avant-garde (his work with John Zorn’s Naked City), straight-ahead (his work with Paul Motian), as well as country, heavy metal, and bluegrass, Frisell is as diverse as this country’s ethnic collage and has become the standard to which all guitarists are now measured. The Denver guitarist’s expertise of Americana is unparalleled and his music crosses over so many lines, it’s almost a shame to call it jazz. Good Dog, Happy Man, Frisell’s latest, further explores those hybrids, touching on a little bit of folk, some honky tonk blues, and even looks in on a traditional number.

Frisell opens his eleventh Nonesuch album with “Rain, Rain,” a suggestive sonnet that invites images of the rugged majesty of the Great Plains. Frisell’s indiscretion in regards to his wide employment of switches and pedals, sampling and other forms of manipulation, as he does on “Cadillac 1959,” have brought unfair criticism. Frisell’s inventive chord sequences and the guitarist’s unfailing sense of the blues gives his melody all the creditability it needs. A sonorous “Poem for Eva” caps off the recording and further displays Frisell’s seemingly limitless harmonic vocabulary and mastery of the musical language.

In the wake of the passing of bassist Fred Hopkins earlier this year, drummer Kahil El’ Zabar returned to the studio with his Ritual Trio (saxophonist Ari Brown and bassist Malachi Favors) to record Conversations. Making this session even more notable is the unique appearance of tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp, who in recent years has largely been absent from the public eye.

For the majority of the outing, Brown sits in at the piano, holding his own quite admirably. The two most interesting pieces are the two “Conversations.” The first, “Conversations 1; The Introduction,” has Shepp as splendid as ever in moments of all-out aggression. The second part, “Conversations 2; The Dialogue,” is a heavy diet of Shepp, with even more vivid excitement being generated by the saxophonist. El’ Zabar unselfishly surrenders much of himself, allowing Shepp to take much of the fanfare during the long series. The result is an unintrusive one on three with a distinct balance reminiscent of Coltrane’s later recordings.

JOEL FUTTERMAN / ‘KIDD’ JORDAN
Southern Extreme
(Drimala Records)

The partisan politics of jazz have polarized much of the music. Stigmas surrounding “progressive,” “avant-garde,” “free,” “innovative,” or “forward-looking” jazz music have only served to stunt its growth and have added nothing to jazz’s assimilation into the mainstream culture of America in the new millennium. Most major labels have avoided it like the plague, leaving the smaller independents to keep the fire burning and stretching the envelope by utilizing unconventional and unstructured (music like the music itself) sources. College radio has played a pivotal role and the advent of the internet has given progressive improvisational music a new and resourceful outreach to spread the good news. Drimala Records is a label solely making their releases available online. Southern Extreme, one of their inaugural releases, is a graphic illustration of how avant-garde can be and should be. A trio recording featuring tenor wizard Edward “Kidd” Jordan, drummer Alvin Fielder, and pianist Joel Futterman, Southern Extreme is a hardcore trip through advanced free jazz that lasts over an hour. “Mississippi Sweet” is a masterpiece with muscular solos from Jordan and wide-open interaction amongst the trio. The music struggles between contained chaos and complete anarchy as Jordan slashes and carves his way through with strong counters from both Futterman and Fielder. Jordan’s helter-skelter sermon stretches on to a striking “Plato’s Reverie.” It is all done in a pure, unadulterated form.