Editors’ Picks: June
2010: August | July | June | May | April | March

By FRANK ALKYER
Jason Moran, Ten (Blue Note)
Ten documents composer/bandleader/pianist Jason Moran a decade after his debut recording for the Blue Note label. It’s a simple enough concept, but the title alone doesn’t do justice to the development of Moran during that time span. That first record, Soundtrack To Human Motion, gave us just a hint of a young pianist full of ideas and hope. But Ten shows Moran as a mature, searching artist fully in control of his musical vision. He’s become one of the best jazz artists of his generation, one of the best making music today. Ten serves as proof. With his fine trio The Bandwagon (which includes drummer Nasheet Waits and bassist Tarus Mateen), Moran mixes abundant playing chops with an ability to capture the soul of what it means to be a jazz artist today. The influences fly in from all fields — classical and jazz to hip-hop, soul, gospel, the blues and pop. One great aspect of the recording is that the originals are as strong as the covers. Moran’s “Blue Blocks” and “Gangsterism Over 10 Years” sound just as good as his updates of Thelonious Monk’s “Crepuscule With Nellie” and Leonard Bernstein’s “Big Stuff.” Mateen’s beautiful ballad “The Subtle One” holds its own when followed by The Bandwagon’s buoyantly fun version of Jaki Byard’s “To Bob Vatel Of Paris.” Ten is a “10.”
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By Ed Enright
Geri Allen, Flying Toward
The Sound and Geri Allen & Timeline – Live (Motéma)
For all that pianist Allen has achieved as a composer, performer and scholar, these two new CD releases vividly document her boundless curiosity, innovation and commitment to growth in every aspect of her artistry. Flying Toward The Sound is a moving solo disc that features Allen playing a suite of compositions on a Fazioli piano; a blend of scored and improvised passages, her playing here is informed and inspired by modern piano giants Cecil Taylor, McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock. When Allen tours the U.S. and abroad in support of the CD, she will share the stage with thematic film projections created by performance artist Carrie Mae Weems; a taste of the visual imagery from the live shows is included as enhanced content on the CD. The music on the companion release Geri Allen & Timeline – Live (Allen’s first live release) offers a completely different perspective. The Timeline band — which includes bassist Kenny Davis, drummer Kassa Overall and tap percussionist Maurice Chestnut — represents another facet of Allen in which she embraces elements of dance, rhythmic syncopation and intense band dialog.
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By Frank Alkyer
David Smith Quintet, Anticipation (Brooklyn Jazz Underground)
Anticipation is a perfect title for the latest release from the David Smith Quintet. Every note on this record is played with a hunger and burst that’s missing from much of jazz today. Smith, a Canadian-born trumpeter living in New York, has power and beautiful tone on his instrument, and he’s a fine composer, too. A fixture on New York’s underground scene, Smith has surrounded himself here with like-minded souls who create music that’s on the edge but surprisingly comfortable, too. Smith, saxophonist Kenji Omae and guitarist Nate Radley have a natural musical affinity. They play easily off of each other’s musical ideas, weaving beautiful lines and interplay. Meanwhile, bassist Gary Wang and drummer Greg Ritchie provide a solid rhythmic backdrop, with Ritchie dropping in his own sonic bombs and sweet touches. High points on the recording are the title track and “Bittersweet” (both Smith originals), a version of “All Or Nothing At All” that’s quite different from any you’ve heard, and a Radley original called “Carillon” that serves as a jumping-off point for some of the strongest soloing on the recording.
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By Ed Enright
Ernie Watts Quartet, Four Plus Four (Flying Dolphin)
Tenor saxophonist Watts has two quartets: His U.S. outfit with pianist David Witham, bassist Bruce Lett and drummer Bob Leatherbarrow has been gigging for some 20 years, while his German-based group with pianist Christopher Saenger, bassist Rudi Engel and drummer Heinrich Koebberling has been working together for more than a decade. On Four Plus Four Watts brings the two ensembles together, so to speak, recording three tracks with each quartet and one tune with both (the centerpiece “Through My Window,” which segues from one to the other). The cross-continental recording sessions with each quartet were held several months apart, but you wouldn't know it by listening, as Watts and his varied musical partners merge seamlessly into a single entity. Parallel universes collide on Four Plus Four, a personal travelogue for Watts that transports the listener overseas and back again in just under an hour.
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By ed Enright
Marian Petrescu Quartet, Thrivin’: Live At The Jazz Standard (Resonance)
Romanian pianist Petrescu combines his conservatory training and an attitude of jazz-inspired abandon on this live release, which brims with brains and swagger. In fact, you could say it downright burns with kinetic energy. From the speedy set-opener “Cakewalk” through a no-hold-barred solo performance of “Indiana,” Petrescu and his team (Andreas Oberg, guitar; David Finck, bass; Mark McLean, drums) show plenty of flair and sensitivity as they tackle a hard-swinging program of jazz and songbook standards. If you enjoyed last year’s CD The Resonance Big Band Plays Tribute To Oscar Peterson, you’ll immediately recognize Petrescu’s deft touch, masterful technique and impassioned improvising. Gentler tracks like “My Romance” and “Blue In Green” bring out the hushed romantic in Petrescu and give his quartet some space and time to reflect.
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By aaron cohen
Keefe Jackson Quartet, Seeing You See (Clean Feed)
For the past few years, saxophonist/bass clarinetist Keefe Jackson has been a major player among a new generation of Chicago jazz musicians who are investigating new directions for jazz composition and band interplay. This disc is kind of a stripped-down followup to his earlier Fast Citizens and Project Project, both of which are larger ensembles. Here, the quartet is ideal for taking on — and, seemingly, having great fun with — the sudden stops and starts on such tunes as “Turns To Everything.” The most striking moments on this disc are often the most sparse, like the duet between Jackson (on bass clarinet) and bassist Jason Roebke on the aptly named “How-A-Low.”

By Aaron Cohen
Azar Lawrence, Mystic Journey (Furthermore)
Saxophonist Azar Lawrence, who came up under the tutelage of McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones, has certainly earned the right to delve into his inner-Coltrane urge. And his latest disc (recorded in April 2009) also features one of the last recordings from the late drummer Rashied Ali, a latter-day Coltrane sideman. Lawrence nails the Trane tone and attack, whether it’s a cascade of sound (like the title track) or a big-hearted warmth on ballads (check out his take on Frank Loesser’s “Say It Over Again”). But this disc also captures what a lot of Coltrane disciples have forgotten: the importance of highlighting a great group. It can be heard particularly in the striking interplay among Lawrence, alto saxophonist Gerald Hayes and trumpeter Eddie Henderson. Pianist Benito Gozalez also shines on his three compositions.

By frank alkyer
Gabor Szabo, Jazz Raga (Impulse!/Light In The Attic Records)
Gabor Szabo is said to have influenced the music of everyone from Carlos Santana to Beck. He graced the cover of the Oct. 5, 1967, edition of DownBeat magazine with a message: “Jazz musicians would have a great future if they’d make these few adjustments and play 1967 style. I don’t mean commercialize themselves but bend just a little bit with the times.” His new record at that time, Jazz Raga, had just come out, and boy did he bend — like a contortionist. Four decades later, Jazz Raga, Szabo’s fantastically trippy world-fusion record has been reissued on CD and vinyl for the first time. It’s a great-sounding, great-looking package. The 40-page booklet includes terrific liner notes, and interviews with drummer Bernard Purdie and bassist Jack Gregg, who both played on the recording, as well as Rudy Van Gelder, the engineer on the project. It also includes that 1967 cover article from DB, and some flat-out wild music, too. Szabo, a Hungarian-born string musician, plays guitar and sitar, weaving music that’s a melding of Eastern and European styles and culture with ’60s psychedelia. That said, it’s surprisingly poppy, too. When you hear tunes like the Szabo original “Walking On Nails” and his cover of The Rolling Stones' “Paint It Black,” there’s no doubt that we’re deep in flower-power territory, but it’s a fun diversion. In case there’s any doubt, there’s an ode to Ravi Shankar (“Ravi”) as well as his unique take on tunes like “Caravan” and “Summertime.” While Szabo passed away in 1982, Jazz Raga remains as a testament to forward-thinking musicianship.

By aaron cohen
Various Artists, How Sweet It Was (Shanachie)
This CD/DVD package of gospel’s golden era (1940s through ’60s) is as universally spirited as everyone should expect when the cast includes Mahalia Jackson, Clara Ward and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. But it’s not just these stars who make this such an essential set. Producer Anthony Heilbut — author of the classic study The Gospel Sound — digs deeply and gives equal time to such equally stirring, if lesser-known, groups as Morgan Babb and the Radio Four (“My Imagination Of Heaven”). And as Tharpe’s “Up Above My Head I Hear Music In The Air” has become a YouTube hit (more than 400,000 views), this DVD presents the performance in the sterling video quality it deserves. Many of the best tracks, like Dorothy Love Coates’ house-wrecking duet with Claude Jeter on “Coming Home,” have never been released before. While these soloists and quartets set the foundation for the r&b and rock ’n’ roll that followed, Heilbut’s accompanying booklet delineates how the music’s rich history is fascinating on its own.

By FRANK ALKYER
Violinjazz, The Music Of Eddie South (Dorian Sono Luminus)
Eddie South is one of the greatest jazz violinists and composers you may have never heard of before. But it’s hard not to become a fan after hearing this tender and brilliant tribute to Eddie South’s music by the fine violinist Jeremy Cohen and his group Violinjazz. As Cohen points out, South, who was born in 1904 and died in 1962, would have been on track to become one of the great classical violinists of his time, if not for the racial inequality of the times. The classical music world’s loss became the jazz world’s gain, as Violinjazz highlights. Cohen chose his favorite South compositions, and he and the quintet play them faithfully but improvise beautifully, too. “Black Gypsy,” the opening track, shows off South’s composing virtuosity, as well as Cohen’s playing virtuosity. “Mad Monk” is a bebop number written by a young Billy Taylor, who played with South and looked up to him as an early musical mentor. It highlights pianist Larry Dunlap’s touch as well as more great rhythm-section work by guitarist Dix Bruce, drummer Harold Jones and bassist Jim Kerwin. And, South’s arrangement of “Kol Nidre,” a central prayer for the Jewish High Holidays, touches the heart, no matter what religion you might be. In all, this is a collection of fantastic songs and musicianship that puts a smile on your face.