DON BYRON
Ivey-Divey

Blue Note

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. Cole provided a perfect template for the piano style that would be carried forth by performers like Hank Jones and Red Garland, while Rich is a model of restraint, utilizing brushes on many tracks, always pushing the music forward but exhibiting none of the pyrotechnics that would later become his trademark. 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. DeJohnette has a long history that includes work with Charles Lloyd, Miles Davis, John Abercrombie, Dave Holland, and, of course, Keith Jarrett as part of Jarrett’s standards trio. This group is more than up to the challenge of retooling some of the Young trio’s performances as well as tackling some Byron originals and a couple of Miles Davis tunes. The group swings like mad, recalling the original Young trio, but they also get into distinctly modern territory, moving ‘outside’ at times and allowing time to become elastic to the point of near-breakage. Yet there is never any doubt that what one is hearing is a jazz ensemble that has a thorough understanding and respect for the music they are playing.

Byron’s playing on this disc is full of energy, driving where Young was often more laid back. At times Byron has allowed his brilliant conceptual mind to overpower his considerable abilities as a player, but on Ivey-Divey he sounds relaxed and inspired. The sheer joie de vivre with which he attacks the album’s opener, “I Want to Be Happy,” kicks the listener into the stratosphere almost from the first note. Likewise Moran, who plays some fantastic solos (listen, for example, to his tempestuous turn on “I’ve Found a New Baby”) and also proves to be an accompanist who is never at a loss for ideas.

You can hear the difference in the elastic way that the group treats time as a bassless trio vs. the second half of the album, on which bassist Lonnie Plaxico is added. The group seems to calm down somewhat with the anchor of Plaxico’s bass, with both Moran and DeJohnette becoming less frenetic, but still pushing things along. Trumpeter Ralph Alessi joins the group on “The Goon Drag” and “Leopold, Leopold…” (the title refers to the classic Bugs Bunny cartoon in which Bugs imitates classical conductor Leopold Stokowski). “Goon Drag,” composed by pianist Sammy Price. Byron plays tenor sax on the tune, which Lester Young recorded with Price in 1941. His tenor work recalls Young without being an outright imitation of his style. “Leopold, Leopold…” sports a funky bass line and drum beat as well as providing Moran, Alessi, and Byron to stretch out a bit.

The Miles Davis tunes provide a real opportunity for the trio to experiment. “Freddie Freeloader” begins with Byron stating the theme joined by Moran, then DeJohnette enters playing half time to them. Things quickly evolve into a fairly free blowing session, with all three musicians asserting themselves. It’s a far cry from the low-key version recorded by Davis on Kind of Blue. "In a Silent Way", with Plaxico, is not all that different than Davis’ version in feel, but the overall effect is somewhat less calm than that achieved by the Davis group. Byron takes a turn on bass clarinet, providing an anchor for Jason Moran’s solo pyrotechnics before returning to clarinet to soar above the fray as the piece winds down to its conclusion. It’s a performance that demonstrates the importance and influence of the tune without the addition of electric instruments to muddy the waters. Even if Miles had recorded the tune without those electric pianos and bass, it is clear from the performance here that is would still have been a revolutionary recording. The CD ends with a reprise of “Somebody Loves Me” done in a somewhat more relaxed manner with Moran the featured performer.

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 that will come down the pike in what is proving to be a fairly impressive year for the genre.