Innholdsfortegnelse for January/February 2022 i JazzTimes

This month’s musings were prompted by the arrival of a new book, Phil Freeman’s Ugly Beauty: Jazz in the 21st Century, and word of two others that are due to be published later in 2022, a biography of Bill Frisell by Irish journalist Philip Watson and a memoir by Henry Threadgill. You’ll read more about all three of these books in future issues of JazzTimes; I’m just using them here as a platform for arguably pointless but enjoyable speculation. Freeman’s book—much like Nate Chinen’s Playing Changes: Jazz for the New Century (2018), which covers much of the same time period and some of the same topics—has an episodic structure. Vijay Iyer gets a chapter, followed by a chapter on Taylor Ho Bynum. There’s a chapter on Shabaka Hutchings, and one…

1. James Brandon Lewis/Red Lily Quintet Jesup Wagon (Tao Forms) Jesup Wagon musically channels the curiosity, empathy, and intellectual rigor of George Washington Carver—a renaissance man and role model for James Brandon Lewis—in ways that avoid easy labels. Comprising two horns, two strings, and a drummer, the Red Lily Quintet is rigged for blues gravity even as its members, schooled by Butch Morris, Henry Threadgill, and Cecil Taylor, finesse knotty time signatures that flash, float, and fade away. Impeccable liner notes by Robin D.G. Kelley contextualize how Carver refused to compromise between art and science, even as he was born into the Reconstruction backlash and witnessed crushing poverty on his Jesup Wagon rides to bring higher learning to the rural heartland. Lewis’ seven compositions, two poems, and jaggedly lyrical tenor…

It could be argued that the most underrecognized person in jazz recording and performance is not the producer, the live sound engineer, or the recording engineer, but the piano tuner. There are no Grammys for tuners, but if the piano’s out of tune, we’re all going to notice. One of the most surprising things we learned in talking with three different pianists who work as piano tuners or technicians is that there are really only two schools that offer training in the field: the North Bennet Street School in Boston, which has two different nine-month programs, and Florida State University in Tallahassee, which offers a Master of Arts degree. “Yes, there aren’t many,” says Jim Alfredson, a noted jazz pianist and organist from Grand Rapids, Mich. “When I’m asked how…

HAROLD MABERN Mabern Plays Coltrane Smoke Sessions Memphis’ late great towering pianist Harold Mabern had it all down cold. Whether it was the many shades of bop, the varied hues of the blues, or the (then) bourgeoning soul-jazz genre of his solo albums’ start, Mabern always moved forward with an impassioned brand of aggression, a twirling rangy tremolo, and a simple, beautiful tone. His sweet-and-sour block chords, coated in a rainbow of flavor, are something to savor. And nothing brought it out of Mabern better than the music of John Coltrane. Mabern Plays Coltrane was recorded in January 2018 at New York City’s Smoke Jazz Club with longtime tenor-sax collaborator Eric Alexander, altoist Vincent Herring, bassist John Webber, drummer Joe Farnsworth, and trombonist Steve Davis. Each craftsman played, singularly, in…

Retrospect in Retirement of Delay: The Solo Recordings Omnivore For years, the only known recordings of the great Philadelphia-based pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali were on a 1964 recording auspiciously titled The Max Roach Trio featuring the Legendary Hasaan (Atlantic). Another recording was made but not released, then presumed lost. 57 years later—and 41 years after Hasaan’s death in 1980—the piano great is having a breakout season. Earlier in 2021, Metaphysics: The Lost Atlantic Album was released to great and richly deserved acclaim. Now, the same team that brought forth Metaphysics emerges with two-and-a-half hours of solo Hasaan, Retrospect in Retirement of Delay: The Solo Recordings, and the results are a revelation. Simply put, the pianist deserved the accolades afforded him in the billing of the 1964 recording. He is a…

Few things are more intimidating for a musician than playing in front of your idols. In 1985, Pete Malinverni, a 28-year-old itinerant jazz pianist who had been trying to make a dent in the New York City jazz scene for four years, landed a steady gig at a swanky waterfront restaurant in Long Island City, across the East River from Manhattan. One evening, the restaurant hosted a star-studded cast party for the Metropolitan Opera’s new version of Tosca, directed by Franco Zeffirelli. When the young pianist spotted Leonard Bernstein entering the restaurant, he immediately launched into a favorite Bernstein tune, “Lucky to Be Me” from On the Town. The maestro came over to the young pianist, kissed him on the cheek, and spent much of the evening by his side,…

1. John Coltrane A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle (Impulse!) The primary marvel of this album is that it exists—a live sextet rendition of Coltrane’s magnum opus, astutely captured on tape by pal Joe Brazil, available to all a mere 56 years later. But there are plenty of other marvels, and the ones that stand out the most come from players other than Trane: the intricate spiderweb bassists Rafael Garrett and Jimmy Garrison weave on “Acknowledgement,” the starkly contrasting solos by Pharoah Sanders and McCoy Tyner on “Resolution,” and Elvin Jones everywhere. M.R. 2. Lee Morgan The Complete Live at the Lighthouse (Blue Note) How often can you add four hours of music to an already legendary live engagement without the slightest dip in quality? The extra renditions retain the quintet’s cohesive…

As We Are Strikezone Guitarist/composer Dave Stryker possesses golden tone, urgent style, and the kind of heated technique that can blow the roof off any gig. Stryker cut his teeth with organist Jack McDuff and tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, and that grits-’n’-gravy goodness seemed to mark his music: an urban talespinner, a sharp stylist able to improve any bandstand, a storyteller in sound of the highest degree. With As We Are, the jazz gods have alighted on the guitarist and elevated his playing, his composing, his soloing, and his music. A beautiful, bittersweet concept album, As We Are includes pianist/arranger Julian Shore, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade, who convey newfound depth and empathy to Stryker’s compositions. A shimmering string quartet—violinists Sara Caswell and Monica K. Davis, violist Bennie…

Earl Newman wasn’t much of a jazz fan back in 1963 when he was hired to produce a poster promoting the Monterey Jazz Festival; the blues was more his style. He wasn’t going to let that stop him, though. The Massachusetts-to-California transplant went to work, applying his hand-silkscreen technique to a black-and-white piece based on a sketch he’d made of trumpeter Joe Gordon blowing. Jimmy Lyons, the festival’s founder, was so impressed with it that he invited Newman back—for the next 50 years. During his five decades as the official poster artist for the annual Monterey event, Newman not only designed some of the festival’s most enduringly popular artworks but also came to love the music—and to know many of the artists whose visages graced his work. “I met Dizzy…

Pat Martino, a renowned guitarist and composer who overcame remarkable adversity to retain his place in the top echelon of jazz guitar, died Nov. 1 at his home in Philadelphia, Pa. He was 77. Martino’s career began in the late 1950s but reached its greatest heights after it nearly ended in 1980 when a brain seizure left him close to death. Emergency surgery removed 70 percent of his temporal lobe, leaving him with severe amnesia that blocked all of his memories before the seizure—including his ability to play guitar. With the help of his father, his own recordings, and a small home computer, Martino spent several years rebuilding his musical acumen. He returned to performance in 1984, and in 1987 recorded a celebrated comeback album, The Return. His reputation soared,…

America’s most famous harpist is Harpo Marx: he of the curly mop of hair, sealed lips, and an overcoat full of props. When he sat down before the concert harp in the Marx Brothers movies, he usually played classical pieces, but he often improvised comic variations on the tunes. In the process, he liberated the instrument from its staid, stodgy reputation. And his anarchic spirit lives on in a new wave of harpists who are staking out a space for the instrument in modern jazz. Most prominent of these is Brandee Younger, whose new album Somewhere Different came out in August. But she’s just the tip of the spear in a movement that includes Edmar Castaneda, Jacqueline Kerrod, Zeena Parkins, Park Stickney, and Carol Robbins. They all point to Dorothy…

With demand for new gear at an all-time high, colossal container ships waiting weeks to get unloaded, and supplies of integrated circuit chips and workers to install them famously low, 2021 turned out to be one of the most challenging years the audio industry has ever faced. Yet engineers, designers, and factories still managed to launch impressive new products, offering advances in sound quality, style, and convenience. Here are a few of our favorite gear debuts from the past year. ➊ HIFIMAN HE400SE HEADPHONES ($149) I’d argue that the HE400se sounds better than any headphone you could buy 10 years ago, with a near-perfect balance of bass to mids to treble and a delicate, spacious sound that beats all but the best headphones on the market. And it’s comfortable too.…

Sling Along The String Sling performs two functions. First, it’s a premium microfiber cloth that protects guitar strings from oxidation, hand grease, and environmental wear. Use it to cover your guitar’s fretboard and it’ll be a shield against the elements; wipe the guitar with it and it won’t leave any fuzzy residue behind. Second, it’s a strap, complete with compartments for picks, capos, slides, and whatever other accessories you fancy. $42.95 online | thestringsling.com A 360 Deal Designed in partnership with legendary luthier Ned Steinberger (he of the headless electric guitars), the D’Addario Nexxus 360 tuner is powered by a rechargeable lithium battery that goes 24 hours on a single charge. If that weren’t handy enough, the clip-on unit can be rotated a full 360 degrees—thus the “360” in the…

Live at Blues Alley—25th Anniversary Edition Blix Street When singer Eva Cassidy died of melanoma in November 1996, at age 33, she was barely known outside her home base of Washington, D.C. Those fortunate enough to have witnessed her in concert marveled at her interpretive skills, her ability to take seemingly any song from any style or period and customize it. Cassidy seemingly had what it took to reach mainstream success without compromising, but she never had the chance. Live at Blues Alley, recorded at the popular D.C. nightclub early in 1996, became the only solo album she released during her lifetime. It found a sizable audience posthumously, naturally spurring speculation as to where Cassidy might have ventured had she lived to enjoy its success. It has reportedly sold millions…

Future Memories Greenleaf It’s not easy for a young German drummer to get noticed on the American jazz scene. That Mareike Wiening’s debut album Metropolis Paradise was so well-received in 2019 confirms that jazz is a meritocracy. The only thing it had going for it was high quality. Her new recording, Future Memories, is even stronger. Wiening is from Nuremberg but came west in 2012 to do graduate work at New York University. Press notes tell us that Future Memories “is based on … the ambition to unite both worlds” in Wiening’s experience: Europe and the United States. European jazz often prioritizes the ensemble over the individual. Wiening’s quintet here includes three Americans (tenor saxophonist Rich Perry, pianist Glenn Zaleski, and guitarist Alex Goodman) and another German (bassist Johannes Felscher).…