jazz adds march 2, 2015
helen tzatzimakis. soulfully. cobalt music. When sunny gets blue, she/he might turn to this collection of cabaret/torch songs–mostly needing subtitles–from Greek vocalist helen tzatzimakis (sounds like ja-ji-makis). the award-winning singer cooks her playlist from the mighty of the melancholy: jacques brel, billie holiday, violetta parra, mikis theodorakis, and marianne faithful. accompanied by manos athanasiadis, piano; antonis arvanitis, double bass; and the restrained quirky trumpet of stelios chatzikaleas.
tigran hamasyan. mockroot. nonesuch. Multi-stylistic composer & groove-powered pianist, says UK’s The Guardian about Armenia/US jazz wonder, twenty-seven year old tigran hamasyan. he sells out concerts, and has chick corea, brad mehldau, and his (tigran’s) hero/mentor herbie hancock extolling his harmonic innovations. that bag of tools includes the mourning Armenian folk song, electronic loops, poetry-based vocalise, thunderous-then-rippling piano. deliberately, not afraid to conquer us with the music. with ben wendel, tenor sax; nate wood, bass; chris tordini, bass, sam minaie, electric bass; arthur hnalek @percussion.
chantale gagne’. the left side of the moon. self. Quebecois pianist/composer chantale gagne launches her third cd with with lewis nash@drums; peter washington, bass; and the great steve wilson on alto, soproano and flute. all originals set list, title track supports gagne’s compositional talent.
ab baars trio. slate blue. stichting wig24. From the land of aged gouda and aged gin comes veteran–since 1990– avant grade trio led by tenor/clarinetist ab baars with wilbert de joode on bass and martin van duynhoven @drums. playlist= mood-driven, episodic rather than high drama. previous collaborators include cecil taylor, fred frith, and a Dutch punk band called ex.
ab baars trio. invisible blow. stichting wig23. More improv from ab baars trio plus New York guests: vincent chancy on french horn; spoken word, fay victor & anneke brassinga. thematic is poems–bukowski, williams, dickinson–or writing that reveals the KO’s (blow) of living. patience and the proper audience required.
gustavo cortinas. snapshot. ta babuno. Intelligent young drummer–Mexico City native, educated in New Orleans where he studied with johnny vidacovich (astral project), and then moved into the Chicago jazz/performing world. debut recording, all originals, cast includes roy mcgrath & victor goines sharing tenor duties; justin copeland, trumpet; michael allemana, guitar; mitt lyles, bass. check it out.
laura dickinson. one for my baby. music & mirror. To frank sinatra with love from vocalist laura dickinson. jewels of the American songbook, sharply revisited–some with arrangements by the legends: marty paich, nelson riddle, sammy nestico. LA-based, actress/singer dickinson has worked for Disney Studios, and been the voice of sofia the first, and on phineas and ferb.
jovan alexandre. collective consciousness. xippi. Debut recording from hard bop tenor saxophonist jovan alexandre, Hartford,CT musician, mentored by jackie mclean’s son rene’. mostly original compositions, with young musicians: andrew renfroe, guitar; tabor gable, keys; matt swonszyk, bass; jonathan barber@drums.
eyal vilner + big band. almost sunrise. gut string. Tel Aviv born-now-NYC reed musician eyal vilner brings his acclaimed big band back for round two. the playlist reaches back to ellington/strayhorn cues, CT’s tee pee time, two versions of the edison-hendrick lovely–centerpiece. + originals. three sharing vocalists, horns, reeds and rhythm galore.
dawan muhammad. smoke signal. life-force. A tribute to the work of two drummers: art blakey, and billy higgins, this re-issue of a 1993 analog tape master, features dawn muhammad on reeds; james smith on trumpet/flugel; phil ranelin, trombone; greg kirstin, piano; jesse murphy, bass; and billy higgins@drums. dawn describes his early days in NYC as a jazz musician/ groupie whom billy higgins encouraged to play.
ali bey. my finest hour. self. Detroit, MI electric bass player who tackles r&b, soul, funk, fusion, and blues–apparently he’s been doing that since grammar school. he likes the trio format, with timothy omar stroud (aka thunder) @drums, and larry andrew on guitar. he also like to compose his playlist.
markus rutz. second impression. self. A partnership band, gathering members from in and around Chicago, that is dedicated to the classic blue note sound with additives from the Afro-Cuban universe, urban blues and the energy that NoLa street music shares. members include paulinho garcia from vocalist grazyna auguscik’s band; pandeirist heitor garcia; drummers isaiah spencer + greg artery; bassists, scott hesse + jeff pedraz; pianist dennis luizon; brice winston on tenor, and led by trumpet/flugel collaborator markus rutz.
