Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2016 i JazzTimes

This column was supposed to be different. This column was supposed to be a fervent, even giddy recounting of an inspired dialogue between two absolute giants of the avant-garde, Pharoah Sanders and Archie Shepp, perfectly timed to kick off this saxophone-themed issue. “At one of the jazz year’s essential events, the NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert” it might have read, “Sanders and Shepp turned the stately Kennedy Center Concert Hall into a sonic cathedral.” I probably would’ve revised that last trite bit, but you get the idea: Sanders and Shepp were in the building, but their axes must have stayed back at the hotel. In 2014, the Jazz Masters induction ceremony reached a kind of tipping point, stretching toward three and a half hours, as the New York Times detailed,…

Born to Be Blue, writer-director Robert Budreau’s superb pseudo-biopic on midcareer Chet Baker, has quietly become a critical hit, and for good reason. Bucking the rote chronology and reenactments that plague the biopic genre, the film both dramatizes reality and invents history to make larger points about Baker’s music, his addiction and his deep existential wounds—and about how profoundly and problematically intertwined they were. At the core of the film’s success is Ethan Hawke’s performance as Baker, a terrifically understated take on a jazz anti-hero who continues to personify tragic romance. He recently spoke to JT about Baker, the trappings of biopics, why director Richard Linklater’s films are like jazz and more. EVAN HAGA HAGA: AS A JAZZ FAN WATCHING THIS FILM, I IMMEDIATELY BEGAN DOING THAT JAZZ-NERD THING OF…

The most recently recorded track on Sonny Rollins’ new album, Holding the Stage: Road Shows, Vol. 4 (Doxy/ OKeh), is a ballad called “Mixed Emotions.” On its face, it’s the latest manifestation of the sublime way that Rollins—jazz’s preeminent tenor saxophonist and most heralded improviser, as well as its most admired living master—can extract truth and beauty from a mawkish, minor piece of the American Songbook, as if spinning straw into gold. “Mixed Emotions,” composed by Stuart F. Louchheim, was a moderate hit in 1951 for Rosemary Clooney, who recorded it with Percy Faith and His Orchestra. Rollins first heard a version of the song recorded by Dinah Washington, with backing by musicians like the Lester Young-ish tenor saxophonist Paul Quinichette. Washington does her regal best with the song, a…

The posts on saxophonist, composer and bandleader Ken Vandermark’s Facebook page appear almost daily. His 5,000 friends—Facebook’s limit—are able to view gallery-quality photographs, notices for gigs by him and friends, erudite thoughts on the arts and popular culture, and postcard-like updates from the road and home. They’re always interesting and generally longer than a pithy sound bite designed to generate responses. Nonetheless, the posts from early January, during his weeklong residency at the Stone in the East Village of Manhattan, were particularly poignant. He shared his thoughts on what each lineup offered, what happened and the history between him and the other players, including old friends, current collaborators and new faces. No doubt this is just the kind of thing that Stone artistic director John Zorn hopes for in inviting…

What I remember most about growing up in Philadelphia was its diversity, culture and consciousness. There was such a big community in Philly when I was coming up that you didn’t really think about genres. I had mentors like Byard Lancaster and John Blake, and then I had mentors like Grover Washington Jr. I used to hang out with the Roots when I was a kid. To me, the Philly sound is the ability to bring everything together. This list is about what certain artists did for that sound. Shirley Scott “ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER” On a Clear Day (Impulse!, 1966) The organ scene in Philadelphia was very strong. In a lot of places, when you went to sit in there would be an organ—Shirley Scott…

Since the late 1980s, when alto saxophonist Greg Osby stepped out of bands led by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Jack DeJohnette, Jaki Byard and Andrew Hill, he’s been his own man: fronting groups, developing projects and serving a primary role in the influential Brooklyn-based M-Base Collective, along with Steve Coleman, Cassandra Wilson and others. His unique attack and compositional approach distinguish his more than 20 albums released under his own name, the majority of them on Blue Note with the unrelenting support of the late Bruce Lundvall. Osby now records for his own label, Inner Circle Music, where he’s also fostered leading young talent including saxophonist Melissa Aldana and vocalist Sara Serpa. And while his sense of commitment hasn’t diminished in the least, Osby, now 55, seems to be…

Radial Engineering Direct-Drive JDX Imagine being able to dial in excellent guitar tone at your gig or session without hauling around heavy amps or worrying about lousy backline. Radial Engineering’s Direct-Drive JDX combines direct-box functions with sharp amp simulations (think Marshall, Fender Twin), allowing players to sound authentic through the house PA. $199 MAP. radialeng.com Sabian HH Vanguard Cymbals The venerable cymbal brand’s “Remastered” HH line now includes the Vanguard series—several lightweight, thin models with smaller cups and larger profiles, for drummers who seek, as the literature reads, “darker cymbals with quick responses” and “clean, woody stick definition” Cymbals include 16 and 18-inch crashes; 20, 21 and 22-inch rides; and 14-inch hi-hats. $299-$499 online. sabian.com Rovner Mouthpiece Manager Tired of your pricey new and vintage mouthpieces clanging around in your…

GREGORY PORTER TAKE ME TO THE ALLEY (Blue Note) Whatever the discipline, whenever a star rises too far too fast there’s invariably backlash, a too-big-for-his-britches reset. Gregory Porter, his breakout velocity rivaled only by Cécile McLorin Salvant, is surely due. But judging by Take Me to the Alley, his fourth album as leader, anything but sustained praise is unjustified. As a jazz singer he remains beyond type. You can’t draw a straight line from, say, Billy Eckstine, Jon Hendricks or Mark Murphy to Porter. He is too steeped in soul and R&B, with the influence of Marvin Gaye and Al Green underscored by the gruff majesty of “Rainy Night in Georgia”-era Brook Benton—all essential to his earthy, comforting style. Alley’s dozen tracks, all but one written or co-written by Porter,…

“OPEN PLAN: CECIL TAYLOR,” AN EXHIBITION AND PERFORMANCE SERIES AT THE WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART THAT RAN FOR 10 DAYS IN APRIL, INHABITED A GRAND FLOOR-THROUGH GALLERY ON AN UPPER TIER OF THE BUILDING. The gallery measures an imposing 18,200 square feet, making it the largest column-free exhibition space in New York—and yet it seemed barely capable of containing the irreducible creative energies of the subject at hand. That was the overwhelming impression left by a glorious, transfixing and challenging opening concert on April 14, featuring Taylor at the piano with two sets of volatile collaborators. Taylor has been a restless paragon of the avant-garde for more than 60 years, leaving an incalculable influence on the development of free improvisation while also embodying an ideal of rigorous interdisciplinary practice.…

IT WAS NEARLY 11 P.M. ON A MONDAY NIGHT AND LOS ANGELES’ OLDEST FULLTIME JAZZ CLUB, THE BAKED POTATO, was at standing-room-only capacity. Six musicians dressed in T-shirts crowded the small stage amid the garage-chic décor of promo photos featuring long-defunct bands. The sextet performed a blistering version of the Allman Brothers’ “Whipping Post” and embarked on a more subdued journey via Joe Zawinul’s “In a Silent Way” Bookended by electric guitars and propelled by drummer Danny Carey, best known for his work with the alternative-metal band Tool, saxophonist Doug Webb stood in the middle of the tornado, blasting his horn with as much strength as his heavily amplified friends. Twelve hours later Webb was due for a commercial studio session. By the end of the week, he was in…

The outdoors have always been an enemy to electronics. Water, dust, heat and cold can destroy a circuit or a speaker as fast as a broken string can wreck a guitarist’s solo. But thanks to a new technical standard, it’s now easy and affordable to get good sound out in your backyard, at the beach, on a boat or practically anywhere else. The new standard is called the IP rating, which, depending on who you ask, stands for International Protection or Ingress Protection. It’s expressed as the letters IP followed by two numbers—for example, IP57. It tells you exactly what the device you’re buying is protected against, and what might damage it. The first number represents protection against intrusion by solid objects, such as dust, wires and screws. A rating…

HENRY THREADGILL ENSEMBLE DOUBLE UP OLD LOCKS AND IRREGULAR VERBS (Pi) Recent Pulitzer winner Henry Threadgill only makes important records. In the jazz avant-garde, he is both revered elder statesman and active agent provocateur. Old Locks and Irregular Verbs is momentous in at least three aspects. Threadgill, a major multireed instrumentalist, does not play on it. Double Up is his first new group in 15 years. And it is his first band to feature piano. Because he is Henry Threadgill, he went directly from 50 years of no pianos to an ensemble with two. His bands often include little-known players, but for his first pianists he chose two youthful masters, Jason Moran and David Virelles. The rest of the septet is Roman Filiu and Curtis MacDonald on alto saxophones, Jose…