Tomasz
Stanko/Suspended Night
Working with a quartet made up of young, accomplished Polish
players, Stanko has produced two recordings—The
Soul of Things and the brand new Suspended Night—that
are as defining and innovative as was the Miles Davis Quintet
comprised of Davis, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams,
and Ron Carter. Suspended Night is a richly textured
tapestry that will always yield new insights and expose new
colors and patterns. That seems as good a definition of the
word “classic” as any.
Ben
Allison/Buzz
Ben Allison’s band Medicine Wheel is at the forefront
of creating small group jazz that honors the music’s
traditions (ie, utilizes real improvisation and swings) yet
pushes forward into new territory and has the potential to
attract audiences who enjoy interesting music but aren’t
totally committed to jazz. They create chamber jazz that is
smart but not overly intellectualized, is influenced by rock
and R&B but doesn’t pander, creates ample room for
the musicians to explore but doesn’t succumb to jam
band noodling.
Dom
Minasi/Time Will Tell
Dom Minasi’s latest recording, Time Will Tell,
offers a healthy helping of the outside playing that has dominated
Minasi’s last two trio recordings, Taking the Duke
Out and Goin’ Out Again. But there’s
also a great deal of more mainstream, swinging, lyrical playing
that tempers the more outside material, and there are some
new contributors: cellist Tomas Ulrich, drummer John Bollinger,
and Minasi’s wife, vocalist Carol Mennie.
Minasi refers to this recording as a group recording, saying
“It’s not about ego, it’s about the group.”
Indeed, everything that Minasi does is about the musicians
as a group and the music, and that is part of what makes his
work so refreshing.
Tierney
Sutton/Dancing In the Dark
Tierney Sutton’s latest CD, Dancing In the Dark,
is “inspired by the music of Frank Sinatra”, and
there is no accident in the use of the word ‘inspired.’
Sutton does not seek to slavishly imitate Sinatra’s
versions of these songs. Instead, she offers strongly individualistic
renditions that are based on a deep reading of the lyrics
and a treatment of the melodic structure of the songs as living,
breathing organisms. That’s an approach that she shares
with Sinatra, and the results here are similarly gratifying
for the listener.
Joe
Lovano/I’m All For You
Right from the start, Joe Lovano’s latest release, I’m
All For You, reminds us of the legendary Blue Note albums
from the late 1950s and early 60s. The cover photo of the
saxophonist, while not exactly retro, conveys the same aesthetic
as many of the color photographs found on classic Blue Note
recordings. The appearance and personnel of the CD immediately
make the listener expect a solid and unpretentious performance
that will stand the test of many listenings. The great news
is that Lovano, Jones, Mraz, and Motian deliver on that promise
with an album of ballads that will satisfy any jazz fan who
hungers for that classic period in recorded jazz history.
Chris
Potter/Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard Lift is a straightforward, no-nonsense live set that
showcases Potter’s playing with a rhythm section (Kevin
Hays on piano and Fender Rhodes, Scott Colley on bass, and
Bill Stewart at the drums) that can not only support him,
but also challenge him. Though the music is high-powered post-modern
jazz, there are just the right elements that locate this music
firmly in jazz’s present… Potter clearly has respect
for the bop and post-bop jazz traditions, but he also pushes
these styles further out with forays into much freer playing
that demonstrate a great deal of confidence in his own voice.
Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard makes it clear
that Potter is one of the best of the younger generation of
tenor players working today, and raises anticipation for his
next recording.
Claudia
Acuna/Luna Luna fulfills the promise of Claudia Acuna’s
first two recordings, Wind From the South and Rhythm
of Life. On Luna Acuna is committed to singing
the majority of the album in Spanish and exploring the variety
of styles from a variety of Latin musical traditions, including
Latin Jazz. There’s not a false step on the entire CD,
making it Acuna’s most consistent to date. It also sounds
like her most deeply felt project, one that grew directly
out of her artistry rather than any marketing plan or focus
group research.
Jackie
Allen/Love Is Blue
Jackie Allen casts an amazing spell with her voice. From the
opening lines of the opening track, “Lazy Afternoon”
you are seduced by the soaring yet intimate nature of her
voice—wide open, yet full of secrets. There is sensual
longing as well as a sense of peacefulness and contentedness
with the world that reminds one of the perfect quality of
certain late spring or early autumn days when one’s
appreciation for the beauty of the day and generousness of
the universe is colored by the knowledge that such perfection
must come to an end. Indeed, the title and song selection
on Allen’s latest recording point toward the melancholy
aspect of love, and this collection will definitely have listeners
contemplating their own lives even as they marvel at the rare
beauty of Allen’s voice and her ability to render these
songs in particularly flattering ways.
Larry
Coryell/Tricycles Tricycles stands with the best work in Coryell’s
discography, and that’s saying a lot, considering that
his catalog includes forays into fusion, free jazz, and rock
as well as displaying the influences of such legendary jazz
guitarists as Tal Farlow and Barney Kessel. There are several
factors contributing to the success of this release. First,
the sound of the disc is absolutely flawless. German producer
Frank Kleinschmidt and Engineer Winnie Leyh are to be commended
for capturing so beautifully the sound of Coryell’s
trio. The drums are crisp and dry, the bass clearly audible
yet well mixed, and Coryell’s guitar is warm and open.
Yep, the sheer sound of Coryell’s guitar is stunning,
conveying heat and yet flying coolly below the radar.
Great
Jazz Trio/Someday My Prince Will Come
The Great Jazz Trio’s Columbia 88s recording Someday
My Prince Will Come, will forever be remembered as the
final recording by drummer Elvin Jones. In so far as it brings
the excellent performances here to more listeners’ attention
that’s fine, but the music contained on this CD already
merits such attention without any backstory whatsoever. Hank
is in the lead on most of this disc, yet it’s the fantastic
playing of Elvin that will stick in many listeners’
minds. Elvin Jones will be hugely missed by all jazz fans,
and Someday My Prince Will Come is a fitting remembrance
of him as well as a testament to the talents of Richard Davis
and Hank Jones.
Don
Byron/Ivey-Divey
Back in 1946 Lester Young recorded a trio album with Nat Cole
on piano and Buddy rich behind the drum set. The results were
consummate Young, swinging and laid back but with plenty of
energy. Now, some fifty-eight years later, clarinetist/saxophonist
Don Byron uses the classic Young trio sessions as a starting
point for his latest recording, Ivey-Divey. Byron
has assembled a similarly talented trio for this recording,
surrounding himself with pianist Jason Moran, who, like Byron,
is able to take the traditions of jazz along with his own
personal influences and meld them into performances that are
inside the tradition while sounding fresh and contemporary,
and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Ivey-Divey is not only
one of Don Byron’s best and most thoroughly realized
recordings, it is undoubtedly one of the best jazz CD’s
to be released in an impressive year of releases.
E.S.T./Seven
Days of Falling
It is very difficult to make music this uncluttered and filled
with space, but the group makes it sound as natural as breathing.
It’s the kind of awestruck quietness that Bill Evans
could also effortlessly create, though the two pianists do
it somewhat differently. As a statement of intent the album’s
opener, “Ballad For the Unborn” lets the listener
know that E.S.T. is concerned with creating music that is
beautiful and not difficult for the listener to apprehend.
That does not mean that there isn’t a lot happening
in the group’s music, however. Pianist Esbjorn Svensson
often calls to mind Keith Jarrett’s gospel and blues
infused playing with his European quartet, yet the group is
unafraid to incorporate samples and loops into their overall
sound as well as some electronic effects. But they can definitely
burn as an acoustic trio as well.
Jarrett, Peacock, DeJohnette/Out
of Towners
Every year I think, well this year’s inevitable Keith
Jarrett Standards Trio release will finally be the one that
is completely competent in every way, but not completely essential.
But every year the release is truly so swinging, deep, and
reverential that it ranks with all the highlights of the group’s
considerable catalog of recordings. This year’s is no
exception, a stunning live performance from Munich that also
features two Jarrett solo piano renditions of standards. Maybe
it’s cheating a bit that this performance was actually
recorded in 2001, but who cares? When the music’s this
good, it deserves recognition and enjoyment regardless of
the year.
Tomasz
Stanko/Suspended Night
Ben
Allison/Buzz
Dom
Minasi/Time Will Tell
Tierney
Sutton/Dancing In the Dark
Joe
Lovano/I’m All For You
Chris
Potter/Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard
Claudia
Acuna/Luna
Jackie
Allen/Love Is Blue 
Larry
Coryell/Tricycles
Great
Jazz Trio/Someday My Prince Will Come
Don
Byron/Ivey-Divey
E.S.T./Seven
Days of Falling