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New Jazz Adds – 4/2/2018

Benjamin Boone & Philip Levine – The Poetry of Jazz (Origin): This release is a tribute to the late Phillip Levine, a U.S. Poet Laureate and recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, whose recitations are heard throughout this recording. Benjamin Boone is the musical leader, having composed all but three of the selections in addition to playing alto and soprano sax. He is supported by a shifting assembly of players, including David Rus and Craig Von Berg switching off on piano; Spee Kosloff, Nye Morton, and John Lauffenburger (bass); Brian Hamada and Gary Newmark (drums); Stefan Poetzsch (violin); Karen Marguth (vocals), Max Hembd (trumpet); Atticus Boone (French horn); and Asher Boone (trumpet). There are also special guests soloing on one song apiece: Chris Potter (tenor sax); Tom Harrell (trumpet); Branford Marsalis (tenor sax); and Greg Osby (alto sax). The poems range from “Gin”, which describes its many images and impacts as life progresses, to poems of homage to Sonny Rollins (with Chris Potter on tenor), Clifford Brown (with Tom Harrell on trumpet), John Coltrane (with Branford Marsalis on tenor sax) and Charlie Parker (with Greg Osby on alto). Taken altogether, this is a wonderful tribute to the poetry of Phillip Levine and to the heroes and music called jazz. Click here to listen to samples of two songs on this disc.    

Counterweight – Counterweight (Wide Hive): Here’s a new configuration of Throttle Elevator Music featuring ten new compositions. The players are Matt Montgomery (bass, piano, 4 original tunes), Gregory Howe (3 original tunes, but does not perform), Erik Jekabson (trumpet), Mike Hughes (drums), Mike Ramos (guitar), Kasey Knudsen (sax) and Doug Morton (French horn). Montgomery and Howe co-wrote the remaining three songs. The instrumental line-up varies significantly from one cut to the next and the music shifts from recalling Miles in his earlier psychedelic experiments to the group’s own unique voice. It is fascinating to hear the “eastern psychedelic” phrases shift to trumpet and to hear other aspects of their sonic shifts. They definitely have a groovy side and a style that pushes at the edges, as well as their own voice. Click here to listen to the opening song, “Hum”.    

Kurt Elling – The Questions (OKeh): Veteran singer/composer Kurt Elling has won many awards throughout his career. In fact, he has won a Grammy and won the “Downbeat Critics’ Poll” fourteen years in a row! He is also a well-respected arranger. On this disc, he begins with Dylan’s “Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and ultimately covers such songs as Paul Simon’s “American Tune” and Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael’s “Skylark”. He added lyrics and rearranged  Jaco Patorius’ “Secret In Three Views” and Carla Bley’s “Endless Lawns”. His musical backing is provided by Stu Mindeman (piano, Hammond B-3), Joey Calderazzo (piano), John McLean (guitars), Clark Sommers (bass), Branford Marsalis (sax), Marquis Hill (trumpet, flugelhorn) and Jeff “Tain” Watts (drums). Click here to listen to Carla Bley’s “Endless Lawns” from this disc.   

Bill Frisell – Music Is (OKeh): Guitarist Bill Frisell offers 15 new compositions in this solo release. He plays electric and acoustic guitars, bass, loops, ukulele and music boxes, offering many fresh sounds in somewhat sparse settings. It is intriguing and haunting music with a warmth that fans have enjoyed for years. That being said, this is Frisell’s first solo recording in 18 years!   Click here and scroll way down to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.   

Monika Herzig – Sheroes (Whaling City Sound): Pianist/composer/arranger Monika Herzig has released numerous recordings over the years. She is widely respected as a musician,  composer and  teacher. Her current group includes Ingrid Jensen (trumpet), Jennifer Vincent (bass, cello), Leni Stern (guitar), Jamie Baum (flute), Ada Rovatti (tenor sax), Reut Regev (trombone), Rosa Avila (drums) and Mayra Casales (percussion), collectively know as Herzig’s “Sheroes”. It doesn’t take very much time to recognize accuracy of their name. The variety of music and the absolute skill and thrill of their individual and collective performances is fantastic! Four of the ten songs are compositions by Herzig who also rearranged “The House Of The Rising Sun”. Stern, Vincent, Baum and Regev contributed one composition apiece and the group created a new arrangement for “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”. After listening to this disc, I would certainly say that Monika Herzig must likely be the “shero” of many! Click here and scroll way down to listen to samples of several of the cuts on this disc.   

Jen Hodge Allstars – All’s Fair In Love And Jazz (Self-produced): Take a trip back to the twenties and thirties with Jen Hodge and her All Stars where you’ll find a variety of blues and jazz songs guaranteed to keep your toes tapping. The material ranges from 1914’s “Blame It On The Blues” (Charles C. Cooke), and James P. Johnson’s “If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight” (1926) to “Viper’s Dream” (1935) and even a 2015 composition by Hodge herself called “Southern Lover”. The band includes Jen Hodge (bass, vocals), Chris Davis (trumpet), Connor Stewart (clarinet, tenor sax), Josh Roberts (guitar) and Marti Elias (drums). It’s mostly easy going in a lazy groove. Click here and scroll down to listen to the songs on this disc.   

John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble – All Can Work (New Amsterdam): John Hollenbeck is a highly respected composer for his many large group works. “Hollenbeck has been acclaimed for his unique twist on big band music – most notably through the work of the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, which trades the gale force blowing of most such bands for a multi-hued palette of tonal colors and rich, evocative atmospheres.” (http://johnhollenbeck.com/about/biography/) These works are complicated, but not terribly difficult to enjoy unless one’s taste is quite mainstream. Ensemble musicians are Ben Kono (soprano/alto/tenor sax, flute); Jeremy Viner (clarinet, tenor sax); Tony Malaby (tenor/soprano sax); Dan Willis (tenor sax, clarinet); Anna Webber (flute, tenor sax); Bohdan Hilash (clarinet, bass clarinet, bass sax, tuba); Mark Patterson, Mike Christianson, Alan Ferber and Jeff Nelson (trombone); Jacob Garchik (trombone, euphonium); Tony Kadleck, Jon Owens, Dave Ballou and Matt Holman (trumpet, flugelhorn); Chris Tordini (acoustic, electric bass); Matt Mitchell (piano, organ, keyboard); Patricia Brennan (vibes, marimba, glockenspiel); John Hollenbeck (drums, composition); Theo Bleckmann (voice) and JC Sanford (conductor). Click here and scroll to listen to samples of songs on this disc.   

Josh Lawrence & Color Theory – Contrast (Positone): Composer/trumpeter Josh Lawrence offers his second recording with his group Color Theory and explains it’s connection between his life, including the death of his brother, and the music: “Contrast is the second project with my band Color Theory conceived as a companion piece to our debut. Whereas our first album brimmed with optimism (having been recorded two weeks prior to Grisha’s passing), Contrast (recorded on his birthday one year later) is more nuanced and complex. It’s the blues, a bembe, #BlackLivesMatter, making America great again, the sloping streets of Washington Heights, the sweeping ramp of the Guggenheim Museum, Ferguson, Baltimore, Selma, Philly, Prince, Princess Leia, love, loss, and everything in between. It’s me dealing with those days that followed; the year that followed. Life is both joy and pain; life is the blues. That’s the counterpoint in this project.” (http://www.joshlawrencejazz.com/contrast–new-album.html) Lawrence presents nine new originals and Prince’s “Sometimes It Snows In April”. The group members are Caleb Curtis (alto sax), David Gibson (trombone) Zaccai Curtis (piano, Rhodes), Orrin Evans (piano on two tracks), Luques Curtis (bass) and Anwar Marshal (drums). This is a solid and varied offering. Everyone is in fine form. Click here and scroll down to listen to “Circles On Black”, the opening song on this disc.   

Dave Liebman & John Stowell – Petite Fleur: The Music Of Sidney Bechet (Origin): As Dave Liebman started planning for this new disc, he realized that Sidney Bechet was someone he had never studied, despite his stature in defining the depth and breadth of the soprano sax. Secondly, Liebman felt that a duo with a guitar would allow both instruments to shine simultaneously. This disc is the result. John Stowell plays acoustic guitar (steel string and nylon, and fretless baritone guitar) while Liebman adds wood flute and piano to his sax. At the same time, the musical play is rather on the laid back side, focusing on the sweetness rather the power of the instruments and the overall sound is bluesy and quite modern. It turns out that this disc celebrates the genius of Sidney Bechet and of Liebman and Stowell. Click here to listen to samples of two songs on this disc.   

Wynton Marsalis Septet – United We Swing: Best Of The Jazz At Lincoln Center Galas (Blue Engine): Wynton Marsalis has been terrifically creative and successful with his special programs at Lincoln Center with the goal of casting his net to larger and more diverse audiences while showing off the outstanding musicians and music performed by the Center’s musicians. This set of performances from 2003 – 2008 showcases Lincoln Center musicians Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson (alto sax), Victor Goines (tenor sax), Wycliffe Gordon (trombone), Dan Nimmer (piano), Carlos Henriquez (bass), Herlin Riley (drums) and, of course, Marsalis on killer trumpet. Special guests include The Blind Boys of Alabama, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Audra McDonald, Willie Nelson, John Mayer, Lyle Lovett, Natalie Merchant, John Legend, James Taylor, Lenny Kravitz, Jimmy Buffett, Carrie Smith, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. There are a lot of wonderful performances and new takes of some familiar songs. Click here and scroll down to listen to samples of each of the songs on this disc.   

Meg Okura & NPO Trio – Live At The Stone (Chant): The NPO Trio is a powerfully improvisational jazz collective featuring Meg Okura (composer, violinist), Sam Newsome (soprano sax) and Guggenheim fellow Jean-Michel Pilc (pianist, composer). The three are equally comfortable with straight-up, conventional jazz and with stepping outside of conventional music boundaries. All of the music on the disc is improvised based upon the framework drawn out or established by Okura. The entire disc was performed live. There are some difficult or outside segments and there are some exquisitely wonderfully melodic selections as well. Sometimes a difficult journey brings great rewards. This is one of those trails. Click here and scroll down to listen to the performances on this disc.   

Ken Peplowski Big Band – Sunrise (Arbors): Clarinetist Ken Peplowski has been a swing player since the early days of his youth. He joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra under the direction of Buddy Morrow one year into college and, in addition to steadily playing in swing bands, he has recorded roughly twenty discs as a leader. The musical selections on this disc include “All I Need Is The Girl” from “Gypsy” and “If I Were A Bell” from “Guys And Dolls”; standards like “When You Wish Upon A Star”; two compositions by Duke Ellington; and even Sonny Stitt’s “The Eternal Triangle”. Band members include Jack Stuckey, Jon Gordon, Mark Lopeman, Adrian Cunningham, and Carl Maraghi (saxes, flutes, clarinets); John Allred, Harvey Tibbs, Brice Eidem and Jennifer Wharton (trombones); Bob Millikan, Jon-Erik Kellso, Randy Reinhart and Gary Gravish (trumpets); Ehud Asherie (piano); Nicki Parrott (bass); Matt Minister (guitar); and Chuck Redd (drums). I regret that I am unable to access a sample from this disc.

Kopasetically,

Professor Bebop