jazz adds may 25, 2015
snarky puppy. sylva. impulse. Playful, refined suite (composition: michael league) where our dozen puppies play with the metropole orkest of Holland. all the familiars are present: prominent horns, funky grooves, and street band exuberance. Cues range from the abbreviated sintra to a 20 minute the clearing. if you are new to the puppy, it is a celebration of Horns a Plenty, the Guitar/Bass Bonanza and double drums/percussion. origins of this group are North Texas State Jazz 1’0clock Lab Band.
keith jarrett. creation. ecm. “I’m essentially an improviser. I learned that by playing classical music (laughs).”KJ. Curated from improvised solo concerts in Paris, Toronto, Tokyo, Rome, during 2014, pianist keith jarrett– as he turns seventy– wrangles the dark, the brooding and the beautiful. yes, it is the 40th anniversary of the Kohn concerts but creation is a freeing blank canvas for each listener to find personal reveries; as for me, i am sorry to have missed those transcendent selections @ Tokyo’s Orchard Hall .
aaron diehl. space time continuum. mack avenue. A great young pianist/composer, finding inspiration and material around every corner. his take on billy strayhorn, the steadfast titan, calls in the bari saxophone octogenarian joe temperley and turns it classical, languid, generously melody-wise. check this dynamic outing out; diehl, piano; david wong, bass; quincy davis@drums; benny golson + stephen riley sharing tenor; bruce harris, trumpet; charenee wade, vocals. don’t overlook the crisp insight in pianist ethan iverson’s notes.
joe locke. love is a pendulum. motema. A unique and adventurous voice in modern vibraphone composition and styling, joe locke’s new release on motema has abstraction and chops. the core band rests with young’uns ricky rodriguez on bass; terreon gully@drums; robert rodriguez on piano plus cameos from altoist rosario giuliani; tenor sax, donny mccaslin; victor provost, steel pan ( a favorite: embrace); paul bollenback, guitar and theo bleckmann. interior and nuanced.
lorin cohen. home. origin. Former bass player to monty alexander revisits his love of musical things Caribbean. starting with joe locke on vibraphone and victor provost on steel pan, lorin cohen moves the melody to the mallets; saudade, always in my heart, a brighter day. with the exceptional ryan cohan, keyboards; donald edwards and samuel torres@percussion + drums; yvonnick prene, harmonica.
behn gillece. mindset. posi-tone. Debut recording from NYC-area vibraphonist behn gillece features all original compositions–many reflecting on the works of bobby hutcherson and milt jackson. quintet includes rick germanson, keyboards; paul gill, bass; charles ruggiero@drums; ken fowser, saxes.
pete rodriguez. el conde negro. destiny. Afro-Cuban trumpeter pete rodriguez sneaks in vocals whenever he can; comfortable with orisha-style chants, or salsa exhortation, rodriguez cut his teeth with the elders of Latin music– johnny pacheco, bebo valdes, tito puente, eddie palmieri and his father, “el conde” rodriguez. stellar band with luis perdomo, piano; ricky rodriguez, bass; rudy royston@drums, robert quintero, percussion.
luis perdomo. twenty-two. hot-tone. In his mostly originals playlist, Venezuelan pianist luis perdomo goes back twenty-two years ago to imagine his Caracas to New York City emotional journey. a big trio format with rudy royston@drums, and young bassist/vocalist mimi jones co-producing with perdomo.
ramon valle. take off. in+out. Cuban pianist ramon valle plays in the tradition of chucho valdes and father bebo but he can also go the the cerebral gonzalo rubalcaba route. the liveliest of trios with Havana band mates omar rodriguez calvo on double bass, and ernesto simpson@drums + the producing savvy of suzi reynolds (motema label founder). playlist wanders between originals and terrific covers kern’s all the things you are , cohen’s hallelujuah, + Cuban staple levitando.
vince lewis. jazz musings. JMP. Polished ballads from the American Songbook–solo guitar by Virginia musician vince lewis. a dedication goes to legend herb ellis, a cover to wes montgomery ‘s serene; flawless and understated–everything is just exactly as it should be here.
pete malinverni. emerging markets. glass beach. Pianist/composer pete malinverni salutes the character of a handful of American cities. working with his quintet–rich perry, tenor and bruce harris, trumpet, + doug weiss, bass, victor lewis@drums– the classic and elegant compositions confirm the musical pre-eminence of Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, Buffalo, Newark, Pittsburgh.
henry kaiser. the celestial squid. cuneiform. Two legendary guitar improvisors/composers run amuck under the kindly guidance of cuneiform records. henry kaiser and ray russell, guitar; a quartet of saxophone players from the Bay area– steve adams, joshua allen, phillip greenlief, aram shelton; weasel walter & william winant@drums; damon smith, double bass; michael manring, electric bass. i like in another life; turns out kaiser has been composing soundtracks for film director werner herzog.
