GRACE NOTES
April, 2005

Cecil Taylor & Italian Instabile Orchestra/The Owner of the River Bank (Enja)
The Owner of the River Bank is a Cecil Taylor composition—though hardly a composition at all in the traditional sense—that was performed twice by Taylor and the Italian Instabile Orchestra to celebrate that group’s 10th anniversary at the Talos Festival in Ruva di Puglia in 2000. Marcello Lorrai’s excellent liner notes discuss Taylor’s methods in detail. Taylor doesn’t work from a normal score, but rather from one that includes drawings, shapes, and words. He then encouraged the musicians of the Instabile, one of the world’s greatest groups working in improvisational orchestra music, to infuse the piece with their own ideas and personalities. He accepted suggestions or sounds that were true to the tenor of the piece he had conceived even if they were very different from what he may have heard in his head. In short, this hour long, seven-part suite is a product not only of Taylor’s compositional conception, but also of the members of the Instabile and the time and place in which it was rehearsed and performed.

Standing in front of such a massive piece of music, conceived as sheer sound, is daunting, just as it is standing before an enormous abstract painting. There is ebb and flow, but the tension that results from Taylor’s piano work and the contributions of the Orchestra isn’t all that interesting, nor does it ever really resolve. Furthermore, Taylor’s piano is almost never the central focus of the piece. That is as he wished, because the piece is conceived as an orchestral piece rather than one for piano with orchestra, so the piano was clearly meant to be just another voice. But when Taylor does burst forth with some amazingly lyrical playing on the brief fourth movement, it really lifts this otherwise scattershot performance to a new level. Unfortunately, such moments are too rare, and ultimately the collaboration between Taylor and Instabile is an interesting, but ultimately failed experiment.

Solar/Suns of Cosmic Cosciousness (Aztac Records)
Solar’s Suns of Cosmic Consciousness is a remarkable CD, fusing elements of post-bop, fusion, modal, and free jazz into a very satisfying and surprisingly cohesive listening experience. Tracks that begin as one thing often end up as something completely different. For example, the opener, bassist Adam Bernstein’s composition “Samba De Aztac” starts off with a Pharoah Sanders/Alice Coltrane drone intro before bursting into a driving number reminiscent of some of Chick Corea’s Spanish-themed numbers. Along the way listeners will forget the expectations they came to the recording with and just follow the group’s exquisite improvisational forays. Just as one gets used to the group as a straight ahead acoustic jazz trio, comes “Reincarnation 1968,” composed by pianist Eli Yamin. Yamin sets an impressionistic tone that is then supported by percussionist, drummer, and tenor saxophonist Andy Demos’ tabla work. Yamin and Bernstein provide some vocal backing (aided by Kate McGarry and Jane Kelly Williams), allowing Bernstein to float in and out of the spaces until at last a funky figure is outlined by piano and bass.

The group does a nice job as well with Mingus’ “Remember Rockefeller at Attica,” essentially a showcase for Yamin, though Bernstein and Demos do an excellent job of negotiating the piece’s constant shifts in tempo and mood. Despite some of the fusionary trappings of the CD (the cover photos, some of the song titles) this is really an excellent acoustic jazz trio recording by a group that is able to vary its sound and texture by using voice and changes in instrumentation. Yamin and Bernstein are the chief composers here, with Demos offering an arrangement of Kurt Weill’s “September Song.” On “Waltz on the Hudson” Yamin suggests, at times, the romantic, Bill Evans-inspired approach of Vince Guaraldi’s early recordings. “Solar 2002” on the other hand, moves from a tightly constructed head to a brief foray into free improvisation. Well worth checking out.

Steve Venz/Scoop (Daal Jazz)
Bassist Venz presents a program of nine original pieces and a cover of the Lennon/McCartney tune “I Will” backed by an ensemble that includes Doug Webb on soprano and tenor, Steve Cotter on guitars, Jason Harnell at the drum kit, and Joe Bagg on piano and organ. The opening track, “Waiting For Relief” is built around a bass riff. Webb takes off on a soprano solo before Venz checks in with his solo. Venz has a beautiful, full tone on the instrument and maintains intonation well, particularly in the upper registers. The pieces come, develop briefly before heading into solos, then resolve nicely in the space, usually, of under five minutes. That’s fairly succinct for jazz performers, and the focus helps keep the listener interested. “Scoop” uses organ and electric guitar in a piece that is heavily blues and gospel oriented. Webb provides some nice honking R&B-style tenor sax. Being able to change between a group with keyboards and one that uses guitar instead allows Venz to vary the color of the pieces dramatically and also allows him adequate space to fill with his bass playing. The bossa version of “I Will” puts the familiar pretty melody into a new rhythmic framework to great advantage. While there’s nothing especially new or innovative here, the musicianship is of high quality and the compositions are solid.

Sakesho/We Want You To Say… (Heads Up)
Sakesho returns with the followup to their 2002 Heads Up debut. As on that album, steel pan master Andy Narell and his collegues, pianist Mario Canonge, bassist Michel Alibo, and drummer Jean Philippe Fanfant offer a refreshing blend of American jazz played through the filter of Carribean and African music. It seems hardly surprising that this is a good fit since the there would be no jazz without the musical influence of Africa and the islands, but damned if this doesn’t sound like an altogether new idea, in part because of the musical skill and conviction with which Sakesho plays. Canonge is capable of both full-blown post-bop jazz piano and more funky Fender Rhodes playing, while Alibo and Fanfant display the ability to play supporting roles as well as pushing the soloists forward. Narell’s steel pan work is the icing on the very tasty cake, making this unlikely instrument sound as though it was always meant to play jazz. Guest spots by vocalist Angelique Kidjo and flautist Magix Malik add varying sounds and textures to the group’s already potent sound. A winner.

Neal Schon/I on U (Favored Nations)
Schon is an arena guitar hero from the same era as folks like Steve Vai (who started the Favored Nations label). Having joined Santana at the age of 17, where he contributed spirited guitar work before departing, along with original Santana member Greg Rolie, to form Journey. Schon’s work is epic and big, but ultimately much more about power than the work of pioneer progressive rock guitarists like Steve Howe and Robert Fripp. Schon has vision, as he demonstrates here with a fully realized aural landscape that pulls the listener in with its three-dimensional sound, but ultimately the tracks sound more like overwrought soundtrack pieces than cuts meant just for listening. In the end, the whole thing is a bit too mannered to be worthy of more than a few listenings. Pleasant, but lacking both spontaneity and spirit.

James Robinson/Colours (Favored Nations)
Schon’s labelmate Robinson presents a much more intimate and ultimately satisfying listening experience on this CD. The flamenco influence instantly brings comparisons to the likes of Al DiMeola and Paco DeLucia, but the influences of Pat Metheney and Larry Carlton are also felt. Robinson says that Colours is a tribute to the San Francisco Bay area and the influence its cultural diversity has had on his musical stylings. “Wave Upon Wave,” for example brings a subtle Moorish/Arabic influence to his gypsy flamenco style that adds a layer of complexity that many guitarists cannot summon. Robinson’s take on Coltrane’s “Giant Steps,” “Six Giant Steps to Seven” is a real standout track.

Mark Sherman/The Motive Series (Miles High Productions)
Sherman’s vibraphone playing owes a dept of gratitude not only to the great vibraphonist Milt Jackson, but also to pianists such as McCoy Tyner and Bill Evans. He’s also worked with a variety of musicians, including singers such as Mel Torme, Liza Minelli, and Ruth Brown. One might surmise that this experience with vocalists has brought the fore Sherman’s ability to listen and contribute to what other musicians are doing. Guest tenor player Michael Brecker contributes to the burning “Motive #10 Judaican” and the gentle “Motive #11 Always Reaching.”

Stefano di Battista/Parker’s Mood (Blue Note)
After the sumptuous, late night beauty of di Battista’s previous CD, Round About Roma, this tribute to Charlie Parker can only come as something of a disappointment. Sure, the saxophonist manages to channel Bird quite convincingly at many times, on numbers like “Salt Peanuts”, “Night In Tunisia”, and “Confirmation”, but then what’s the real point of that? There are college students all around the country who can do a credible Bird, but one senses that an artist recording for a major label should have moved beyond that. And di Battista has—it’s clear that he understands the lessons of Parker and has full command of his instrument. Round About Rome demonstrated that he had his own voice, so this is something of a pointless exercise in nostalgia despite some sharp playing by pianist Kenny Barron and New Orleans-born drummer Herlin Riley. I’d keep an ear open for di Battista’s next project, though, and hope it presents more of his own vision.

Terry Gibbs/52nd & Broadway: Songs of the Bebop Era (Mack Avenue)
Gibbs was actually around during the bebop era, but his CD is anything but an exercise in nostalgia. Gibbs has brought in a driving rhythm section and special guests Nicholas Payton and James Moody, but he’s also gotten some great charts from arrangers Tom Rainer (who also plays piano throughout), Phil Kelly, Med Flory, and Howie Shear. Scored for the septet plus twenty-two strings and three French horns, they are sumptuous charts that swing and never undercut the bop aesthetic at the core of the album. Further, Gibbs pays homage to a variety of bop influences and stars, not limiting himself to Charlie Parker. Gibbs covers Thelonious Monk (“Round Midnight”), bop precursor Lester Young (“Jumping With Symphony Sid”), bop composer Tad Dameron (“If You Could See Me Now”), Sonny Rollins (“Doxy”) and Duke Ellington (“Perdido”). Of course, Parker’s influence is keenly felt on numbers associated with him, such as “Groovin’ High,” “Cherokee,” “Night In Tunisia,” “Lover Man,” and “Salt Peanuts.” But overall one feels one is listening to the music of the era filtered through modern ears rather than a carbon copy.

Joao Gilberto/In Tokyo (Verve)
Gilberto is a cultural icon to North Americans and Europeans, who consider his compositions as modern masterpieces of songwriting equal to that of our greatest popular songwriters. Brazilians ackowledge his legacy, but the bossa nova that he helped establish long ago has been succeeded by a variety of styles in that musically fertile country. This disc was culled from a performance given in Tokyo’s International Forum Hall in September of 2003. Since he played something like twenty-five songs each night and there are only fifteen presented here at a little over an hour, it seems likely that each performance by the 72 year old Gilberto was around an hour and a half long. And he’s got no band to fall back on—it’s just Gilberto’s voice accompanied by his guitar comping. He’s a little less smooth than he once was, and there are a couple of stumbles, but this performance demonstrates why so much of the world holds Gilberto in such high esteem.

John Pizzarelli/Knowing You (Telarc)
Pizarelli consistently turns in a reliably swinging and competent performance even if he lacks a bit in the excitement department. Knowing You continues a string of well-defined albums for Pizzarelli, a tasteful selection of standards with the occasional surprise (Brian Wilson’s “God Only Knows”) that will delight listeners who enjoy his way with a song. Relying neither on a strong voice nor blistering instrumental technique, Pizzarelli does manage to get inside a song and illuminate its many beauties, and here he expands his working group with guests like tenor saxophonist Harry alen, clarinetist Ken Peplowski, and ubiquitous pianist Larry Goldings. Some will find Pizzarelli as comfortable as a pair of Dockers, others will find him a bit on the dull side.