Yellowjackets @ 30 | Vernon Reid Blindfold Test

DownBeat
DownBeat
Marc Ribot & Nels Cline // Yellowjackets
xxx //
// xxx
Wessell
// xxxAnderson
// xxx // Gerry Hemingway // Vernon Reid

Wessell
Anderson
Tales of
“Warmdaddy”

Gerry
Hemingway
Guitar School
Dave Stryker
JULY 2011 U.K. £3.50 Master Class
John Abercrombie
Transcribed
JULY
JULY 2011
2011

downbeat.com
 JULY 2011
Volume 78 – Number 7

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4 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011
 JULY 2011

On the Cover

24
24 Marc Ribot &
Nels Cline
Gargantuan Impact
By Jim Macnie

Marc Ribot and Nels Cline know

about unpredictable motions.
For the last 30 years, each has
proven himself an eloquent
experimentalist, moving from
skronk to rock with equal
aplomb—darting, gliding and
floating through an array of
projects, associations and solos.
Concocting a steady stream of
soundscapes is job one for both
of these guys. Odd then that they
barely knew each other before
DownBeat suggested this chat.
But call them fast friends now.

Jimmy and Dena Katz

Marc Ribot (left) and Nels Cline

Features Cover photography of Marc Ribot and Nels Cline shot by Jimmy and Dena Katz on location at Le Poisson Rouge, New York City.

32 Yellowjackets
Perfect Unison
By Ed Enright

38 Gerry Hemingway
Pluralistic Attitude
By Ted Panken

42 Wessell Anderson 50 Paul van Kemenade 55 Ken Peplowski 61 Trio Dolce Vita 64 Arturo O’Farrill

Tales Of “Warmdaddy”
By Ted Panken

GUITAR SCHOOL Departments

68 Master Class
By Dave Stryker 8 First Take 18 Caught 47 Reviews
70 Pro Session 10 Chords & 20 Players 78 Jazz On Campus
By Jimi Durso Discords Brad Shepik 82 Blindfold Test
72 Transcription 13 The Beat Eli Degibri Vernon Reid
Greg Ward
74 Toolshed 16 Vinyl Freak Yaron Herman

6 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

 First Take | By bobby reed

Guitars and geeks

W
e’re geeks.
Here in the DownBeat office, we’re all music geeks—and
proud of it. Just like Star Wars fanatics and sports fiends, we
embrace our obsession. It’s a part of who we are. Our appetite for music
(both old and new) is insatiable.
As music geeks, our extended community includes professional musi-
cians, educators, record store clerks, instrument manufacturers, music pub-
lishers, record label staff, managers, promoters and publicists. It also includes
millions of fans. While some of them are merely causal music consumers,
other fans can be categorized as mu-
sic geeks. Stevie Ray Vaughan
The fact that you’re reading this
column means there’s a good
chance you’re one of us. Take this
quiz and score one point every time
you answer yes: 1) Do you listen to
music every day? 2) Do you spend
a significant portion of your income
on albums and/or concert tickets?
3) Have you ever run out of storage

don hunstein/sony Music Entertainment

space for your music? 4) Do you
decorate your living space with im-
ages of musicians? 5) Has a friend
or family member ever complained
about your obsession? (e.g., “Do
you really need all these CDs?”
“We can’t afford to hire a band for
the party.” “You left your iPod in the bathroom again.” “Could we do this
without listening to music?”) If you scored three points or higher on the
quiz, then glance in a mirror and spot the music geek.
My personal evolution toward geekdom was completed in 1984. That
year, as a collegiate journalist, I was given an assignment to review a Stevie
Ray Vaughan concert on campus. Seeing Vaughan’s performance—partic-
ularly his rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s “Third Stone From The Sun”—was a
transformative experience. I’ve been fascinated by mysterious, otherworld-
ly guitar sounds ever since.
So it was a thrill and an honor to help assemble the editorial content
for this guitar-themed issue of DownBeat. The artists in our cover story,
Marc Ribot and Nels Cline, have spent decades exploring the sonic pos-
sibilities of the guitar. Putting these two eloquent musicians together with
journalist Jim Macnie resulted in a conversation that is thoughtful, reve-
latory and wildly entertaining. (Spoiler alert: There’s an appearance by a
wax-loving dominatrix.)
Elsewhere in this issue, Vernon Reid takes the Blindfold Test, Dave
Stryker provides a Master Class, a John Abercrombie guitar solo is tran-
scribed, and guitar gear is the focus of the Toolshed section. Plus, Bill
Frisell and Al Di Meola are in The Hot Box. The Caught section high-
lights concerts by Jeff Beck, who saluted guitar innovator Les Paul during
a spring tour, and Eric Clapton, who recently collaborated with Wynton
Marsalis at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
But if a six-string isn’t your thing, don’t fret. We’ve got great features on
saxophonist Wessell “Warmdaddy” Anderson and drummer Gerry
Hemingway, as well as a look at the 30-year career of Yellowjackets, who
have welcomed drummer Will Kennedy back to their lineup.
One final note about that 1984 concert review: My college newspaper
ran it with a photo of the opening act rather than the headliner. That has
always bothered me, so above we have included a photo of the late, great
Stevie Ray Vaughan. Somehow, that just feels right.
Thanks for supporting geeks like us, and please keep on reading.DB

8 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

 Chords & Discords 

Monk Right
On The Mark
The issue featuring
T.S. Monk was great
reading (“Growing
Up Monk,” June). His
comments on jazz
education (or rather
the institutionalization
of jazz) were right on
the mark. In today’s
programs, there is
little or no discussion
on the origins of jazz
and its relation to a
segregated America.
The fact that jazz
originated with African Americans who had to More Winners!
create this music in many cases under a Jim In the 34th Annual DownBeat Student Music
Crow–type system usually never comes up for Awards in the June issue, the winners of the
discussion in the mostly white jazz programs Vocal Jazz Group, Graduate College, did
of today. It’s just the way it is in America! not get published due to a communication
Darryl Lynn breakdown. The winner in that category is
Richmond, Va. Extensions from the Frost School of Music
at the University of Miami. Under the
St. Olaf Marches Forward direction of Larry Lapin, the group consists of
Thank you for the Student Music Award to Tyler Bernhardt, Tim Buchholz, Bridget Davis,
the St. Olaf jazz band (“34th Annual Student Michael Gullo, Kathleen Hollingsworth,
Music Awards,” June). The article on the band Alessandra Levy, Taylor O’Donnell,
is wonderful, and I appreciate the fact that it Vivian Ortega and John Splithoff.
focuses on the students, since they are who
make things work. The impact of this has Also, in the same category, Afro Blue from
been immense, both on campus and off. I’ve Howard University won an Outstanding
been hearing from all over the country from Performance Award. Under the direction of
friends of mine, as well as getting some media Connaitre Miller, the group includes
attention here in Minnesota. This tremendous Mariah Maxwell, Tonya Khakazi, Integriti Reeves,
boost is an affirmation of what we are doing Shacara Bradham-Rogers, Rochelle Rice,
here, and most certainly will help us to get Trenton Cokley, Devin Robinson,
more prospective students interested in the John Kenniebrew and Reginald Bowens.
program so we can keep moving forward.
David Hagedorn Congratulations to both groups.
Director of Jazz Ensembles DownBeat regrets the omission.
St. Olaf College
Northfield, Minn.
Corrections
Editor’s note: St. Olaf College’s Jazz I was the „„ The feature on Monty Alexander (“One
winner for Large Jazz Ensemble, Undergradu- World Of Music,” May) misidentified the
ate College. drummers on his album Harlem-Kingston
Express (Motéma). They are Obed Cal-
Where Was Weston? vaire, Karl Wright, Desmond Jack Jones
How did your reviewer totally miss Randy and Frits Landesbergen. Drummer Herlin
Weston, the one bona fide jazz master who Riley appears on Alexander’s album Uplift
played the recent Portland Jazz Festival (Jazz Legacy Productions).
(“Caught,” May)? And in a rare solo piano ap- „„ In the Summer Festival Guide in the May
pearance no less! Given the struggles of that issue, there was a misspelling in the name
festival, which your reviewer notes, it seems of the Les DeMerle Amelia Island Jazz
a more complete review would have been Festival (ameliaislandjazzfestival.com),
illuminating—testifying more to the breadth which runs Oct. 2–9.
of Bill Royston’s impressive artistic vision— DownBeat regrets the errors.
and more educational for your readers.
Willard Jenkins Have a chord or discord?
muzikmuse@comcast.net E-mail us at editor@downbeat.com.

10 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

 News & Views From Around The Music World

The
Inside 
14 I Riffs
16 I Vinyl Freak
18 I Caught
20 I Players

Months Of Miles
Nicholas Payton

Chicago celebration honors Miles

Davis, reworks classic recordings
C hicago’s oldest concert hall, the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt
University, has hosted everyone from Theodore Roosevelt to Mikhail
Baryshnikov and Jimi Hendrix, as well as a celebrated trumpet player
born in Alton, Ill., 85 years ago, Miles Davis. A tribute to the jazz icon ran
throughout the city during the first four months of the year.
The Miles Davis Festival included more than 16 Chicago club shows
and three Auditorium performances running from January through April,
culminating in the April 16 premiere of choreographer Frank Chaves’
Simply Miles, Simply Us, a graceful and hip suite of dances from River
North Dance company set to “So What,” “Bitches Brew,” “Blue In Green”
and “Half Nelson.”
Another festival highlight was the March 31 summit at the club
Martyrs’ that Davis’ nephew, Vince Wilburn Jr., assembled to honor
Bitches Brew. With Davis’ son Erin and daughter Cheryl Davis in atten-
dance, the phenomenal Bitches Brew Remix 40th Anniversary Band in-

Michael Jackson
cluded drummer Wilburn alongside a dream team of percussionists—
Mino Cinelu, tabla master Badal Roy and Munyungo Jackson on congas.
The concentration of Miles Davis’ ’80s cohorts included bassist Darryl
Jones, tenorist/flutist Gary Thomas, guitarist Blackbyrd McKnight and suite Sketches Of Spain numerous times with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble.
keyboardists Baabe Irving and John Beasley, with DJ Logic added on turn- For the first half of his presentation “Sketches Of Blue” at the Auditorium
tables for a contemporary edge. “The event was inspired by Miles Davis on April 14, Davis revisited Kind Of Blue alongside tenor saxophonist Ari
touching each member’s life,” Wilburn said. “We wanted to say, ‘Thanks, Brown and alto saxophonist Ernest Dawkins, bassist Stewart Miller, drum-
Chief, we miss you!’” mer Ernie Adams and pianist Ryan Cohan. Though the sextet hued closely
Despite boasting a host of bandleaders in the ranks, the group played to the track order of the 1959 album, Dawkins’ edgy articulation differed
with restraint and vibe-over-histrionics, keeping the brew on simmer rath- markedly from Cannonball Adderley, and his frequent upper-register rasps
er than boil. Trumpeter Nicholas Payton picked choice moments for singu- pushed the dynamic in a more emotionally charged direction. Brown con-
lar emphatic statements, a trait that separated Davis from the pack. Along jured something of the searing impact of his playing without aping John
with “Miles Runs The Voodoo Down,” Joe Zawinul’s “Pharoah’s Dance” Coltrane, expertly editing breath gaps in his solo on “Flamenco Sketches”
and Wayne Shorter’s “Sanctuary,” other interpretations included “Jack to grapple with a sticking pad on his horn. The second half of the concert,
Johnson,” “Nefertiti” and the popular live jam “Jean Pierre.” which featured the 19-member Chicago Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble,
Jones noted backstage that Davis encapsulated the Spanish term duen- revealed a different level of involvement with the source material.
de—that he was original in many aspects of his style. “If he handed you “I replaced his second, third and fourth movements with an adaptation
the salt one way, he’d find a different way to hand you the pepper,” he said. of the second movement, having the entire ensemble improvise spontane-
Jones first heard Davis at the Auditorium in the early ’80s, and waited ously,” Davis said. “And I added a new composition, ‘El Moreno,’ which
in the backstage alley after the show. “He passed six feet in front of me,” celebrates the North African and Moorish influence on Spanish culture.”
Jones said. “I remember feeling nearly lifted off of my feet just being that “El Moreno” made use of Latin music specialist Steve Eisen’s dramatic
close to him.” A couple years later Jones would be in the band and per- tenor saxophone solo, Nicole Mitchell’s snake-charming flute, and percus-
forming alongside Davis at the Auditorium. sion effects from Sarah Allen on martial snare drum and Suzanne Osman
Trumpeter Orbert Davis has performed the Miles Davis/Gil Evans’ on doumbek, djembe and oud. —Michael Jackson

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 13

 Riffs 

erika goldring
Mark Sheldon
Preservation Hall Jazz Band performing at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art

Aaron Diehl

Ogden Museum Celebrates Preservation Hall

P
Diehl Wins Fellowship: Aaron Diehl
reservation Hall in New Orleans has long “My parents preserved the experience they
won the American Pianist Association’s
served as a gathering place for visual and had the first time they entered that space,” said
Cole Porter Fellowship Award on April
16 at the Athenaeum Theatre in Indianapo-
performing artists, as well as a living homage to their son, Ben Jaffe, who has managed the
lis. Judges for the competition included one of America’s most prized art forms. So it’s Hall since 1993, chatting between sets by the
Geri Allen and Danilo Pérez. In addition to fitting that the Ogden Museum of Southern Art’s Preservation Hall Band at the show’s opening in
pocketing a check for $50,000, Diehl will new exhibition honoring the venue traces not just April. He added, “In 1961, it seemed like we were
also receive that amount in in-kind career half a century of New Orleans jazz, but also the just figuring out what it meant to be American.
development assistance. community that supported it. They were in the center of it.”
Details: americanpianists.org “Art and Jazz: Preservation Hall at 50,” Indeed, the Hall became a place where
which runs through mid-July, features photo- music and art flourished, and where lasting re-
New England Home: The New England graphs, instruments, concert posters, record- lationships formed between artists—and be-
Jazz Alliance has announced that the ings and other artifacts that highlight the lives tween generations.
radio station WICN in Worcester, Mass., and work of the people who made the venue Discussing the exhibition’s cornerstone, co-
will provide a permanent home for the what it is today. The exhibit focuses on Allan curators Bradley Sumrall and Libra Lagrone
New England Jazz Hall Of Fame. Work on and Sandra Jaffe, who breathed new life into both pointed to Noel Rockmore’s portraits of the
the facility is slated to begin this summer. what had been a gallery that hosted jazz con- Jaffe family, which illustrate what Sumrall calls
Details: nejazz.org certs. They opened the building at 726 St. Peter “the emotional, personal history of the Hall.”
St. as Preservation Hall on June 11, 1961.  —Jennifer Odell
Johnson Celebration: The centennial for
blues icon Robert Johnson includes new
reissues of his recordings and a limited-edi-
tion beer. Sony/Legacy is releasing Robert Houserockin’
Johnson: The Complete Original Masters– Alligator Label
Centennial Edition in CD, DVD and vinyl
packages. Sony/Legacy is partnering with Celebrates
Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales to pro- 40th Birthday
A
duce Hellhound On My Ale, a citrus-infused
beer that takes its name from Johnson’s nyone who thinks that mod-
1937 song “Hellhound On My Trail.” ern blues has been incapable
Details: legacyrecordings.com of producing records of lasting
merit should spend time with the
Chicago-based record company
paul natkin/photoreserve
Mexican Reinterpretations: Singer
Magos Herrera has released Mexico Azul Alligator’s new 40th Anniversary
(Sunnyside), which features her interpreta- Collection. Thirty-eight album
tions of songs from vintage Mexican films tracks by as many roster notables Kelly Littleton (left), Pookie Young, Bruce Iglauer,
Lil’ Ed Williams and Michael Garrett
and television shows. Saxophonist Tim offer a glance into a catalog of
Ries produced the disc, which also in- 242 releases since the label was founded in 1971. Williams is close kin, too. “I’ve nurtured Lil’
cludes trumpeter Tim Hagans and guitarist “I’m very proud of the history of the label,” Ed from the very first time he ever saw a record-
Adam Rogers. Herrera will perform at the said Bruce Iglauer, who started Alligator to re- ing studio. Ed has said more than once public-
Montreal Jazz Festival on July 2 and the cord his favorite barroom guitar brawler, Hound ly—and it chokes me up—that I’m the closest
Vail Jazz Festival in Colorado on July 21.
Dog Taylor. “But I didn’t just do this collection to thing he ever had to a father.”
look backward. This is not a closing statement.” The anniversary year also includes a new
Details: magosherrera.com

Alligator also manages musicians’ careers, album from Gulf Coast pianist Marcia Ball,
RIP, Zim Ngqawana: South African saxo-
phonist/flutist Zim Ngqawana died in Johan-
and this was particularly true with the late Koko Roadside Attractions. Iglauer gave her total cre-
nesburg on May 9 after suffering a stroke. Taylor. “Koko was family,” Iglauer said. “She ative control over it. Ball, in turn, said she ap-
He was 52. Along with touring the world with and I worked together for 35 years, and I was preciated her affiliation with Alligator: “Bruce
his band, Ingoma, Ngqawana directed the with her in some very dire circumstances with has always been completely faithful to his mis-
100-person Drums For Peace Orchestra at her health. Her last album, Old School, was sion of presenting and promoting blues, and
Nelson Mandela’s 1994 inauguration. such a triumph—for her to come back from lit- supporting and sustaining blues artists.”
erally being at death’s door.” Guitarist Lil’ Ed —Frank-John Hadley

14 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

 Vinyl Freak | By john corbett

Red Garland
Quintet
Red’s Good Groove
Jazzland 7-inch, 1962

AMM
At The Roundhouse
Incus EP, 1972

I’ve been thinking about jukeboxes lately.

Strictly in terms of musical selection,
my iPod now does the job of a jukebox.
A sort of hyper-juke, in fact, given that I
have about 15,000 songs loaded up and
can simply put it on “shuffle” and let my
little selector do all the work, keeping me
entertained for hours at a stretch, consis-
tently teasing my brain by introducing im-
promptu Blindfold Tests into my day. But
shuffle only really works for me if I pay at-
tention to it. If it’s just background, it takes
all the interest away and can homogenize
even the greatest music. If I need back-
ground, I prefer to listen to something
more concentratedly programmed, like
an album or an artist or even just a genre.
On the other hand, by shifting my
attention, the activity of shuffling can
take on a different significance. In recent
months, I’ve taken to pretending that
my iPod is a disc jockey. That way I can
judge its performance. Sometimes it’s in
the zone, and sometimes it loses the thread. Adams’ baritone sax, along with Sam and
But when I attend to the iPod as a sort of Philly Joe Jones on rhythm along with their
miniature DJ, there’s something at stake in its leader. It was, quite literally, music made for
juxtapositions, transitions, good choices and jukeboxes, a black-and-white picture sleeve
fumbles. My colleagues might think I’m weird released alongside the color LP version.
when I blurt out: “iPod is on fire today!” But Now switch radically to a beautiful, ex-
that’s how I feel when it abuts two things that tremely rare single by the British improvising
somehow work but would never have seemed group AMM. This gem, which, like the Gar-
like a match. land, has been reissued on CD, featured short
Looking through my singles recently, I excerpts from a 45-minute performance by
thought a little about how much jukeboxes the duo version of the group, with Lou Gare
were like that, how they were harbingers of on tenor saxophone and Eddie Prévost on
the possibility of random play, the idea that drums. I love the idea of a groovy jazz ses-
a machine could make cool decisions. Here sion interrupted by a spacious, noisy spate
you have a format, the 7-inch single, which is of freely improvised music. It’s the kind of
a standard unit. Anything could be put on it; thing that my iPod might kick up, but there’s
wildly divergent music could be programmed the added thought of the actual vinyl whirl-
using the same automaton. Two record cov- ing around in the juke, the heavy tone-arm
ers caught my attention, and I immediately slapping down on the disc, the vinyl living its
imagined them played back to back on a ephemeral life, serving its life’s purpose—to
jukebox. Here’s the Red Garland Quintet, with make us listen, to entertain us, maybe to
the beautiful graphic of a record profile, with make us think and feel something we haven’t
a nifty arrow pointing down into the groove thought or felt before. DB
like a stylus. Super bad hard-bop, with a top-
flight lineup, Blue Mitchell’s trumpet, Pepper Email the vinyl freak: vinylfreak@downbeat.com

Subscribe More than 60 years separate the first jazz recording in 1917 and the introduction of the CD in the early ’80s. In this column, DB’s

877-904-JAZZ Vinyl Freak unearths some of the musical gems made during this time that have yet to be reissued on CD.

16 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

Billy Bang’s Energy, Compassion Won Billy Bang

Over Listeners and Musicians Alike

V iolinist Billy Bang’s music came from con-
trasts: He delved into his instrument’s his-
tory in swing while creating a new mingling of
1970s loft scene along with such
longtime friends as William Parker.
Hwang saw what made Bang’s
free improvisation within a chamber ensemble. sound distinctive.
He also recorded serene hymnals that reflected “He loved to use ricochet bows
his harsh memories of serving in the Vietnam percussively, when the bow bounc-
War. Optimistic to the end, Bang died at age 63 es against the string—playing the
in New York on April 11 of complications from violin like a drum,” Hwang said. “It

Jack vartoogian/frontrow photos

lung cancer. would be like the left and right hand
“That celebration in Billy’s sound made him of congas. He would make a note
such a charismatic performer, people just got sing, which was his very person-
happy hearing him,” said violinist Jason Hwang. al use of vibrato. Where and how
“He would win over the musicians in the band much he let a note bend and then
and the audience just because of that transcen- resonate with vibrato was like a
dent kind of enthusiasm.” great singer. You could hear Leroy Jenkins, Stuff “I always felt a sensitive collectiveness with
Bang was born in Mobile, Ala. (as William Smith—Billy was aware of all the history, but he Billy,” El’Zabar said. “He was a dynamo who
Walker), but moved with his mother to New was by no means derivative.” could share on the stage and encourage other
York’s Harlem shortly afterwards. Although In 1977 Bang co-founded the String Trio of people to shine.”
Bang studied violin and flute and played drums New York with guitarist James Emery and During the past few years, Bang revisited his
informally while he was growing up, he didn’t bassist John Lindberg. The group featured new experiences in Vietnam for such recordings as
actively pursue a career in music. Then he was compositions for the format that combined the Vietnam: Reflections, Vietnam: The Aftermath
drafted and served as an army combat squad musicians’ jazz experiences with their own (Justin Time) and Prayer For Peace (Tum).
leader during the war. takes on classical inspirations. Bang began re- “There was an intensity to him, and he would
Returning from Vietnam and struggling cording more actively under his own name in talk about his time in Vietnam,” said trumpeter
with post-traumatic issues, Bang picked up the the 1980s, including such discs as The Fire James Zollar, who played on Prayer For Peace.
violin after hearing Ornette Coleman play the From Within (Soul Note), and served in Sun “But he was gentle. Billy was proud that he went
instrument. He studied intensely with Leroy Ra’s Arkestra as well as Kahil El’Zabar’s Ritual over there the first time with a rifle, and returned
Jenkins and became prominent in New York’s Trio in the ’80s and ’90s. there years later with a violin.”  —Aaron Cohen

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 17

 Caught 

Wynton Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis (left)

and Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton Pairing

Falls Short of Sparks
W ynton Marsalis may be all jazz all the
time in his philosophical musical stance,
but in recent years he’s been increasingly open
to crossing over, albeit with an infusion of swing
and blues utmost in his delivery at the house that
he built. Case in point: his beyond-category col-
laborations with Willie Nelson and Norah Jones
(documented on the live album Here We Go
Again: Celebrating The Genius Of Ray Charles),
which magically melded jazz, country and the
blues. However, even though batting .500 would
be a phenomenal average in baseball, it’s not so
great when it comes to staging big-name events.

julie skarratt
The unlikely Marsalis summit with blues guitar
icon Eric Clapton that took place April 9—the fi-
nal show of a three-night stint at Jazz at Lincoln stage meeting for unveiling the relationship of into a New Orleans brass band–like zip through
Center’s Rose Theater—proved to be a bust, with the blues to jazz had been in the works for some “Ice Cream,” with everyone getting equal solo
only two musically successful tunes in the hour- seven to eight years. Just before playing their time, including the guest, who made the most
plus set. (Granted, the April 7 opening night show first notes of the evening, Marsalis reminded the of his few bars with his signature low-smudged
and gala raised more than $3.6 million for the crowd that they were being welcomed “to the notes. OK, we had the Big Easy-styled blues to
JALC educational fund.) house of swing.” In other words, don’t expect too begin the proceedings, which then turned into a
The prospects of hearing the searing guitar much outside of that zone. down ’n’ dirty, blistering blast on Howlin’ Wolf’s
sting of Slowhand, who came up in the British Backed by the fine, albeit predictable, “Forty-Four,” with Clapton’s extended—and ex-
electric blues scene with both the Yardbirds and Marsalis crew—trumpeter Marcus Printup, citing—run of high-pitched bent notes above the
John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers in the mid-’60s, trombonist Chris Crenshaw, clarinetist-sopra- horns’ coloring.
mix it up with the trumpeting jazz statesman in no saxophonist Victor Goines, pianist Dan Lest the crowd get too excited by this rau-
a full-fledged performance were indeed promis- Nimmer, banjo player Don Vappie, bassist Carlos cous change in pace, Marsalis quickly announced
ing. But soon, it became apparent that the show Henriquez and drummer Ali Jackson, augment- the next tune by saying that this would be in “a
was a home-turf affair. Both dressed in suits with ed by keyboardist Chris Stainton and solo open- different vein.” Up next came W.C. Handy’s “Joe
ties, the amiable pair talked about how the on- ing-act star Taj Mahal—the musicians launched Turner Blues,” another old-timey delivery where
the horns obliterated the sound of Clapton’s gui-
tar. And from there on, that tenor banjo rhythm
continued unabated for the rest of the show, with
Masada Marathon few exceptions, thus undermining the expansive
range of the blues.
Clapton was pleased to be playing in a jazz
setting, he said, noting that it was a challenge for
him to “play my little jingly stuff” in the midst
of musicians who had so much “sophisticated
depth.” But it was a brilliantly slowed-down take
on the Derek & the Dominos’ hit “Layla” that
trained the spotlight on his emotionally raw gui-
tar styling. The song earned Clapton, Marsalis
and company its first standing ovation, before the
show returned to an old-time blues setting.
Overall, this collaboration felt one-sided.
Marsalis said that Clapton picked the tunes, but
Jack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotos

the arrangements were in the trumpeter’s camp,

which boxed in the guitarist. It was disappoint-
ing that the full scope of the blues was not re-
vealed. Where was the Delta slide guitar? What
about a duo of guitarist and trumpeter where the
band left the stage and let the two greats con-
John Zorn (right) conducted his Bar Kokhba Sextet with guitarist Marc Ribot, violinist Mark Feldman, cellist Erik
Friedlander, percussionist Cyro Baptista, bassist Greg Cohen and drummer Joey Baron to perform music from his verse together? The show, full of high expecta-
“The Book Of Angels” at “Masada Marathon—The Book of Angels” at New York’s Lincoln Center on March 30.
As part of the event, Zorn also led his Electric Masada and Dreamers bands.
tions, turned out to be a major disappointment.
 —Dan Ouellette

18 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

Jeff Beck Revisits The Jeff Beck (left),
Darrel Higham
Music Of His Youth and Imelda May

J eff Beck can do whatever he wants. The British

guitar wizard, who helped popularize jazz-
rock fusion with his ’70s albums Blow By Blow
and Wired, has won eight Grammy awards. He
has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame twice—first as a member of the Yardbirds,
and then as a solo artist and bandleader.
Beck, still youthful at 67, has nothing left to
prove. Free from commercial pressures, he can

Andy Argyrakis
go wherever the muse takes him. So in the spring,
he hit the road with Irish singer Imelda May and
her backing band of rockabilly revivalists. Dur-
ing the April 2 show at Chicago’s posh Cadil- chirping birds, and on “Tiger Rag,” he and May few songs from that film’s soundtrack, including
lac Palace Theatre, the set list adhered closely to engaged in a call-and-response routine wherein “Cry Me A River,” “Rocking Is Our Business”
the track listing on Beck’s recent live album and she repeatedly chimed “Meow” while his ax and the title track (sung by Little Richard in the
DVD Rock ’n’ Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul). purred like a feline. movie). Beck’s version was anchored by the
The concert was a retro-oriented journey that This segment of the show was interrupted by booming, boisterous lead vocals of singer/guitar-
took Beck back to the days of his early childhood, an unusual incident. Apparently May’s concentra- ist Darrel Higham, who is May’s husband.
when he heard songs like Les Paul and Mary tion was broken by an unruly male fan, so at the Two key highlights were a taut reading of
Ford’s “How High The Moon” on the radio. onset of “Vaya Con Dios,” she abruptly stopped James Brown’s “I’ll Go Crazy,” which was sung
During his 100-minute performance in Chicago, singing and demanded that the band stop playing. by May and augmented by a punchy horn sec-
Beck often fulfilled the role of sideman, gracious- Addressing the problematic fan, May chided, “If tion, and an epic rendition of The Shangri-Las’
ly yielding the spotlight to the charismatic May. you don’t like it, you can leave. Nobody’s mak- 1964 hit “Remember (Walking In The Sand)”
This was especially true during a seven-song ing you stay.” Sensing that May was upset, Beck that found May pressing both palms against her
segment of tunes associated with Paul and Ford. stormed to the front of the stage, glared aggressive- temples as she dramatically emoted. Meanwhile,
In a fitting homage to Paul (who died in 2009 at ly at the fan and then turned his backside toward Beck gracefully built tension using subtle tech-
the age of 94), Beck masterfully played a sun- him, crouched down and pointed toward his own niques, such as finger-tapping, before transform-
burst Les Paul guitar on a charming rendition of buttocks in a gesture that succinctly conveyed the ing the song into mighty maelstrom.
“Bye Bye Blues.” In a similarly fitting homage, message, “You can kiss my ass.” Unfazed by this Whether he was delivering potent slide guitar
May bolstered her powerful lead vocals by sing- episode, Beck continued to provide a virtual clinic licks on “Poor Boy” or working the whammy bar
ing along to her own prerecorded harmony vocal in pop and early rock guitar styles. on the instrumental “Apache,” Beck proved that
tracks, following a technique that Ford used. The concert also nodded to a 1956 film that he remains just as fascinated by complex guitar
During a version of “Mockin’ Bird Hill,” had a profound impact on an adolescent Beck — sounds today as he was when he was a lad grow-
Beck’s guitar briefly mimicked the sound of The Girl Can’t Help It. Beck’s set list featured a ing up in England.  —Bobby Reed

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 19

 Players 

Brad Shepik
A Consistent Variety
I t’s no accident guitarist Brad Shepik
bears the mark of so many music styles.
On a Saturday afternoon in late March,
he retrieved a stack of CD wallets from
the downstairs room of his apartment in
Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights neighbor-
hood. He found a jumble of albums by
George Benson and Georges Brassens,
Dorothy Ashby and Chet Atkins.
“Great cataloging,” Shepik cracked.
He played several tracks from a laptop
computer, where much of his CD col-
lection—roughly 1,500 recordings—is
stored. The small sample included syn-
copated Ethiopian Tigrigna music from
a compilation series called Ethiopiques,
then classical guitarist John Williams’
reading of Augustín Barrios Mangoré’s
La Catedral. “I wish I could play like
that,” he said.
Not long after Shepik started middle
school, he began signing out records
from libraries and taking buses to record
shops scattered in and around Seattle. He
not only discovered jazz, but also folklor-
ic music from overseas that would intro-
duce him to odd meters and exotic scales.
An album cover depicting an oud or a
Caroline Mardok

lute invariably piqued his interest. “Some

of it I couldn’t quite get my ear around,”
recalled Shepik, 45. After a few months,
he added, he would listen to the music again and The album is by turns quiet and intense. The Shepik earned a music degree from Cornish
start to appreciate it. group often maintains a cool veneer while adher- College of the Arts in Seattle before moving to
Shepik’s exposure to a wide spectrum of mu- ing to a strict dynamic range. Playing with a clean New York in 1990. He established a profile on
sic in the ’70s and ’80s anticipates the varied na- tone, Shepik avoids blues licks. But his double- the city’s adventurous downtown scene while
ture of his career: He’s at home performing Great time solos turn up the heat on tracks like “Down completing a master’s degree at New York
American Songbook standards; he tours over- The Hill” and the syncopated “Marburg.” An at- University. His fondness for world music found
seas alongside musicians from Eastern Europe tractive groove highlights “Mambo Terni,” and a supportive environment at clubs like the origi-
and the Middle East; and he doubles on tradi- “Your Egg Roll” includes multiple key signa- nal Knitting Factory and Tonic. By the mid-’90s
tional instruments like the tambura, oud and saz. tures. “As with a lot of Brad’s music, there’s a folk he had received exposure in several groups—
The new Brad Shepik Quartet album, Across element to it,” said Beckham, a longtime collab- Dave Douglas’ Tiny Bell Trio, Pachora and the
The Way (Songlines), displays little of this cross- orator. “Because of his body of work, I think that Paradox Trio—that drew inspiration from the
pollination. Shepik composed the music in 2008 [many critics] don’t quite know that he’s also an music of Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
during a German tour with drummer George amazing jazz guitarist.” These days, Shepik focuses on electric gui-
Schuller’s group, Circle Wide. The tour high- The tracks on Across The Way are more tar, specifically a vintage Gretsch Tennessean
lighted music that Keith Jarrett recorded in the streamlined than on 2009’s conservation-themed he’s played since 1998. He sticks to standard
first half of the ’70s with his American quartet. Human Activity Suite, which is busy and eclectic. tuning and uses a pick, although he sometimes
Before recording Across The Way, Shepik Shepik offered his perspective over dinner at a plays fingerstyle or with just his thumb. He pre-
experimented with groups that included organ, Mexican cafe near his co-op building. fers tube amps and uses effects pedals for dis-
drums and several different saxophone players. “I just try to absorb music and see how it tortion or delay.
Saying he found the format “confining,” Shepik comes out,” he said. “It’s not really interest- While embracing a variety of music and
replaced the organ and reeds with vibraphone ing or necessary for me to know where every- instruments, Shepik’s approach has remained
player Tom Beckham and bassist Jorge Roeder; thing comes from or what’s influencing what.” remarkably consistent. In particular, he con-
Mark Guiliana plays drums. “I wanted to hear Yet his large palette of influences, he conced- tinuously listens to a hodgepodge of music. “I
more of the harmonic material that was in the ed, has distinct advantages: “Maybe it’s the idea consider myself still learning,” he explained.
tunes,” he said. The music, he added, “is pret- that you have to bring something of your own to “I try to hear new things all the time in my
ty uncomplicated, so it really allows people to the table. You can’t just play it the way the oth- favorite recordings. And I often revisit music
stretch and be themselves.” er guys played it.” that puzzles me.”  —Eric Fine

20 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

Eli DegibriOld In A New Way
F ew saxophonists possess the mojo to convene
Brad Mehldau, Ron Carter and Al Foster as
a one-off rhythm section. Even fewer possess the
drummer Obed Calvaire.
“Not every saxophone player can interact the
way Eli does with a rhythm section,” Goldberg
sufficient maturity and soulfulness to convey said. “You feel he’s hiring you not because you’re
their vision in a way that allows each virtuoso playing a certain functional role in the music, but
to fulfill the team-player function while also ex- because he loves you and your spirit.”
pressing individuality within the flow. After graduating from the Thelma Yellin
Eli Degibri accomplishes precisely this on High School of the Arts in Tel Aviv, Digibri en-
Israeli Song (Anzic), directing the band through rolled in Boston’s Berklee College of Music in
six of his originals, a composition from each side- 1997. One day at Berklee, after a solo on Wayne
man and two standards. Degibri creates an ambi- Shorter’s “Yes Or No” on a session with Hal
ance of risk-taking and dramatic tension, project- Crook, the professor stopped the music. “Hal
ing an attitude that, to cite pianist and longtime said, ‘You play old in a new way,’” Degibri re-
bandmate Aaron Goldberg, “is less about playing called. “That one phrase is basically my motto.” collaboration with Foster, as documented on
a lot of stuff over the changes than trying to tell Degibri left Berklee after a semester to at- Love, Peace And Jazz! (Jazz Eyes). “Al always
a story every time he puts a horn in his mouth.” tend the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz says, ‘What’s wrong with telling a story?’” Degibri
Whether playing tenor or soprano, Degibri has Performance, where he studied with Carter. He said. “At first he gave me so much shit, yelling that
a warm, old-school sound, and, in deference to graduated in 1999 and joined Herbie Hancock, I’m not playing the right stuff. It made me a bet-
Carter and Foster, postulates a swing feel more with whom he toured for 30 months. ter musician.”
on Israeli Song than he did on his Fresh Sound After leaving Hancock, Degibri formed a Next on Degibri’s docket is a studio date with
releases In The Beginning and Emotionally quintet in New York with guitarist Kurt his organ trio and a project with Brazilian sing-
Available—on which Goldberg, bassist Ben Rosenwinkel, Goldberg, Street and Ballard, and er Fabiana Cozza. “To me, ‘modern’ means to-
Street and drummer Jeff Ballard were his part- he started writing music. “If there’s one thing I’m day, and it’s important for me to be part of today’s
ners—or the more experimental Live At Louis proud of, it’s my composition,” he said. music,” Degibri said. “This is where we are, and I
649 (Anzic), with organist Gary Versace and Nine years ago Degibri began his ongoing want to be part of that family.”  —Ted Panken

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 21

 Players 

Greg Ward
Forward Motion
O n a rainy evening in Evanston, Ill., alto saxo-
phonist Greg Ward was playing with drum-
mer Ted Sirota’s Rebel Souls. Normally a quintet,
the band had contracted to a trio, which allowed
Ward to fully express himself. Attendance was
sparse. I asked Ward, given the vicissitudes of the
jazz life, what were its imperatives, to which he
responded with a confident smile, “Excellence!”
Such upbeat determination was evident that
night as Ward tore passionately through “In A
Sentimental Mood,” ceaselessly mining the har-
mony with corkscrewing lines, notes almost
ghosted in a subtle dynamic.
Ward—who hails from Peoria, Ill., but is cur-
rently based in New York—honed his craft front-
ing jams at Fred Anderson’s Velvet Lounge
while attending Northern Illinois University dur-

Michael Jackson
ing the early aughts. Local tenorist Doug Stone
helped broaden Ward’s listening, turning him on
to players like Joshua Redman and Mark Turner.
After he met trumpeter Maurice Brown, the mental virtuosity. Phonic Juggernaut, his New
two would often call each other and trade favor- York trio with bassist Joe Sanders and drummer
ite licks over the telephone. Ward was partial to Damion Reid, has a record in the works. When
Kenny Garrett, but by the time his imitation of he’s off the road, pride doesn’t impede Ward
Garrett had become credible, Brown informed from quartet gigs in Central Park, taking music
him that was no longer the goal—he had to start to the people. But he still has strong connections
sounding like himself. to Chicago and groups such as Mike Reed’s
Although the intensity, altissimo cry and re- People Places and Things, Loose Assembly,
lentless forward motion of Garrett influenced post-rockers Tortoise and rapper Lupe Fiasco.
Ward, today his style resists comparisons. He returned to the Chicago area in mid-April
Alongside jazz, Ward followed classical and at the invitation of Highland Park High School
contemporary music during weekly visits to the (HPHS), as part of the school’s ambitious Focus
Chicago Symphony Center. Witnessing Daniel on the Arts event. Ward had all manner of other
Barenboim perform a piano concerto had a pro- gigs lined up, including a hit at the Green Mill
found effect. “A moment took my breath away, a with the Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble,
drone in the low strings and a descending scale a recording session with drummer Charles
in the upper register,” recalls Ward, citing the in- Rumbach and a CD release party with the band
spiration for “Like Mozart” from his debut CD, blink. At HPHS, Ward didn’t spare the horses for
South Side Story, recorded with the Chicago- his lunchtime concert with Fitted Shards—which
based quartet Fitted Shards. Such fascination followed a setting of his piece “Adrenaline” with
led to studies with orchestrator Cliff Colnot and students the night before—generating a sweat
composition teacher Sebastian Huydts. during a rip through his climactic all-or-nothing
“University Of Opportunity” from South manifesto “All In.” Before the bell for afternoon
Side Story speaks of Ward’s eagerness to grow classes clipped the group’s last number, Ward
through challenges. “Studying with Cliff was mentioned how his apprenticeship at the Velvet
like kung fu lessons—he breaks you down and Lounge, on Chicago’s near South Side, had in-
builds you up,” said Ward, who valued succinct spired the title for South Side Story, released by
advice from Colnot after a commissioned piece 19-8 Records.
flopped in performance. Though his manner is gallant and humble,
“I had written for an ensemble including vi- Ward takes the implications of his talent seriously.
braphone, string quintet, trumpet, bassoon and “You work so hard for so little that you have to
DJ. It sounded fine on the computer, but didn’t look past material matters,” he said. “I feel a re-
translate live. Cliff pointed out a few things that sponsibility for this gift I have been given, to be
all made sense; you take risks, fall on your face, nothing less than excellent and put all my heart

Subscribe then pay attention to the lesson.”

Ward has become a prolific composer and
into it. If you believe in what you do, then it has
some value and you can touch people and make a
877-904-JAZZ arranger—no small feat given the hours of prac-
tice necessary to maintain his level of instru-
difference. Good art will find its place.”
—Michael Jackson

22 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

Yaron HermanThe Endless Path
Y aron Herman didn’t start playing piano un-
til he was 16. He’s just turned 30, and his
journey continues to be anything but orthodox.
The Tel Aviv native does confess to influences,
though. “I was always fascinated by Keith Jarrett,
and other great improvisers, such as classical com-
The Paris-based pianist has just released his fifth posers, to create structures in real time and to im-
album, the trio date Follow The White Rabbit, provise works that seemed to be composed in ad-
his debut for the ACT label. And, like the ones vance. And even though they were spontaneous
that have preceded it, there’s a lot of unconven- improvisations, they had a logic and the intellec-
tional and interesting interaction, this time be- tual rigor of written compositions.”
tween him and bassist Chris Tordini and drum- Stating that he initially had no desire to be-
mer Tommy Crane. Is it due to inspiration, or to come a professional musician, Herman says, “I
something else? just wanted to be able to play a little.” And that
“I don’t want to rely only on inspiration,” trip down the rabbit hole of theory and creativity
Herman explained. “I want to know how the ma- eventually led to his search for a teacher. Meeting
chine works, what laws, if you apply them at the Opher Brayer was significant.
right time and order, will create structure and “He made me discover jazz and got me into
logic. In a normal compositional process, one improvisation immediately,” Herman said. “He
can take his time, look back and erase, modify had developed an incredibly creative approach to
and do all kind of changes. But what happens music teaching, based on mathematics, inspired
when it’s all happening in real time? That’s why by the writings of Joseph Schillinger and psy-
I’m trying to find formulas that could create con- chology. He always adapted to the rhythm and
tinuity and structure in my playing, especially personality of his students and kept weaving the
when playing totally free.” study of music with personal development and
the maximization of one’s creative potential.”
Sounding profound beyond his years, Herman
added, “In jazz, more so than in any other mu-
sic genre, you play who you are. Therefore, you
have to work on your being and not just accumu-
late technical knowledge with things like phras-
es, licks, knowing styles. It’s an endless path.”
When asked why he chose the piano-trio
format for his new CD, Herman said, “As a jazz
pianist, you cannot ignore the beauty of the trio
formation, or its history. I started thinking about
the trio when I met [drummer] Gerald Cleaver,
who is definitely one of my favorite musicians,
and then later, [bassist] Matt Brewer. They both
made me want to get into a room and start play-
ing.” Herman’s other trio dates include A Time
For Everything and Muse.
Herman composes all the time, even when
he’s on a plane or in a hotel. “I always carry this
black music notebook with me, and whenever an
idea arises I immediately write it down,” he said.
Indeed, Herman springs from a fountain of “It can be two bars, a chord or whole tune that
knowledge that touts a different vibe about cre- somehow writes itself out as a whole. I also like
ativity and expression. After a brief stint at sitting at the piano inventing musical games, lim-
Berklee College of Music, Herman sees it this iting myself to one element that I commit myself
way: “I never went to jazz school, which has its to developing and manipulating. Make a lot out
bad and good parts,” he said. “It’s bad because it of a little—it’s a good exercise.”
took me a while to study all the theoretical stuff, Though Herman cites Paul Bley, Lennie
especially because I started to play really late for Tristano, Art Tatum, Bud Powell and Thelonious
a pianist. So I had to find a way of learning all Monk as some of his favorite pianists, he said
that by myself, through listening to the masters, that non-musical influences have had a more
transcribing and books. The good part is that profound effect on his artistry. “Something that
I was never formatted, never told I couldn’t do has to do with a quest that can be related to one’s
something, never got under someone’s influence roots, origins or identity—I think that’s more im-
to change my playing to fit a certain ideal. I was portant than music,” he said. “Grow as a human
always free to play what I wanted, and free to not being, and your music will grow. It’s a mathemat-
sound like others.” ical law of nature.”  —John Ephland

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 23

Marc Ribot & Nels Cline
Gargantuan
Impact
By Jim Macnie I Photography by Jimmy and Dena Katz

A
t the entrance to the New York music venue Le Poisson Rouge,
two fat goldfish swim around a massive tank. Sometimes they dart,
sometimes they glide, sometimes they float. The foyer lighting is a bit
crazed, so their allure has a psychedelic tinge. Off to the side, Marc
Ribot and Nels Cline ham it up a bit for a photo session, wielding
their guitars in a variety of ways. They, too, know about unpredictable motions.
For the last 30 years each has proven himself an eloquent experimentalist, mov-
ing from skronk to rock with equal aplomb—darting, gliding and floating through
an array of projects, associations and solos. The allure of their oft-frenzied art
has a psychedelic tinge to it as well.
Marc Ribot (left) and Nels Cline at
Le Poisson Rouge, New York City
Marc ribot & Nels Cline

Ubiquitous New Yorker Ribot leads a bevy refining an initially outré viewpoint. The Nels Yuka Honda, in the duo Fig.
of bands. Ceramic Dog is an aggressive trio Cline Singers—which, despite the name, actu- Concocting a steady stream of soundscapes
with a dreamy side. Spiritual Unity is an Albert ally has few vocals—is a trio responsible for is job one for both of these guys. Odd then that
Ayler homage that searches for ecstasy in a se- a constantly morphing songbook. On 2010’s they barely knew each other before DownBeat
ries of explosions. Sun Ship features guitarist Initiate, there’s a surging excursion here, and a suggested this chat. But call them fast friends
Mary Halvorson and parallels John Coltrane’s mysterious valentine there; breadth is the band’s now. Their mutual respect was obvious from
rugged intensities. The Majestic Silver Strings essence. BB&C, a hookup with Tim Berne and the start, and by the time the interview closed,
aligns him with Bill Frisell and leader Buddy Jim Black, recently dropped a gnarly free-im- they promised to set up some sort of working
Miller, while providing a chance to sing “Bury prov onslaught, The Veil. Cline can also lay relationship in the near future.
Me Not On The Lone Prairie.” His latest disc is claim to some impressive hi-jinks with Jenny
Silent Movies, an acoustic affair built on lyri- Scheinman’s group Mischief & Mayhem. DownBeat: You guys have met, but
cism and poignancy—two elements this occa- But it’s Dirty Baby—a provocative collabo- don’t really know each other, right?
sional wiseacre holds dear. ration with visual artist Ed Ruscha and poet/
Of course, Ribot is known as a hired gun in producer David Breskin—that’s had tongues Nels Cline: We’ve never hung out. We had
the pop world as well. A cagey colorist, he’s re- wagging of late. The elaborate project, which lunch with Elliott Sharp eight or nine years ago.
sponsible for vivid work with Elvis Costello, finds Cline and Breskin providing a soundtrack Marc Ribot: I was aware of your playing.
Tom Waits and Robert Plant, dodging the ob- for Ruscha’s paintings, is a whirl of ideas that There are a lot of freaky parallels between us.
vious at every turn and placing inspired filigree never fails to fascinate. The guitarist is an in- We’ve arrived at some similar places because
into their tunes. sightful orchestrator of ephemera, uniting myr- of thought and experience.
In Los Angeles, Cline created a similar ca- iad echoes, buzzes and beats. Since 2004 he’s
reer arc, moving through scads of ventures that also applied such skills as the lead guitarist of What was the name of your first
found him broadening the guitar lexicon and Wilco. Of late, he’s been working with his wife, bands?

Cline: In elementary school it was

Homogenized Goo. 
Ribot: I didn’t get my band together until
Elvis Costello junior high. One was called Mirage, after the
film. Then we changed the name to Love Gun.
on Marc Ribot It’s symbolic of something…you’ll have to ask
Robert Plant or Sigmund Freud about its larg-
“After playing with so many people, er implications.
Marc’s sonic palette has gotten broader Cline: My twin brother, Alex, and I had
and broader. He has stretched from the bands since we were 11 or 12. Psych, blues,
angular, aggressive style he’s associated rock, whatever. At one point, the music was in-
with in one context, to beautifully voiced, strumental. We’d drone and make stuff up; it
beautifully expressed stuff you can hear sounded like the Stooges without a vocalist, or
on my ‘Jimmie Standing In The Rain.’ the first Wire album. Texturally and composi-
There’s musicality in all of it—I under- tionally, it became more interesting as we got
higher aspirations. We tacked on things with-
stood that the moment I heard him play
out knowing what we were really doing. In ju-
years ago. He’s never going for shock
nior high, we had a band I sang in. It was called
James O'Mara

value, or playing for effect.”

Toe Queen Love, which was a name taken from
the inside of the Fugs album It Crawled Into My
Hand, Honest.

Jeff Tweedy Do you remember trying to figure

on Nels Cline out the instrument back then?

Ribot: I took classical guitar lessons, but

“Nels can play anything. We struggle with his otherwise I’m self-taught. Years later I took 10
spot in the band sometimes, but we always lessons with a bebop guy, but I was basically
come to a place that’s unique and interesting on my own.
because we did struggle, we did think it through. Cline: Until high school I played every-
The commitment we have to finding moments thing with just two fingers. My dad showed me
for each person to express himself really pays an E chord and of course the next day I had a
off. On the new record we have places where drone song with just an E and tons of fuzz. In
Nels can do his thing and other places where his autobiography, Keith Richards insists you
maybe you don’t know that Nels is doing his should start with acoustic to get the feel. I think
thing, but if you took it away it would make a big he might be right. But that’s not the way I did it.
difference. He’s behind a lot of stuff on a lot of Ribot: Oh, I think there are no rules.
songs. My 11-year-old son listens to rough mixes Cline: Kids coming out of schools these
on the way to school, and he says, ‘I’m always days are kind of taken with the sound of distor-
pretty sure that if I can’t tell what it is, it’s Nels.’” tion. It would take ’em awhile to come around
to what Keith’s saying.
Autumn de wilde

Ribot: I think the opposite is true. Anyone

studying classical guitar needs to spend a year

26 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

Marc ribot & Nels Cline

playing with reverb and distortion—feeding

back in general. That will improve their world-
view considerably!
Cline: I used to be a bit perplexed by read-
Jenny Scheinman
ing interviews with jazz guitarists in the ’70s on Nels Cline
that said, “When I play, I’m thinking of a pia-
no or a horn.” Fine, but I’ve always been a fan “You can rely on Nels to commit com-
of the guitar’s idiomatic sound in terms of tim- pletely to the playing, to take the music
bre and all, even though I do lots of things with as deep and far as possible. He’s never
gadgetry, or as I like to call them, “gimmicks.” distracted or critical. He’s totally positive
Someone once saw my pedals on the floor and about what he’s bringing to the show, or
pointed down, yelling, “Gimmicks!”
to the song. Plus, there’s the super-fast
Ribot: [laughing] I like that. I feel a new al-
mind, quick reflexes and fearlessness.
bum title coming on.
He’ll jump off the cliff with you and build a
Have either of you ever reached a helicopter out of an eggbeater before you

Michael wilson
point where you became saturated hit the ground.”
with electronic effects?

Cline: I stopped playing electric guitar for

years. I had an acoustic quartet with my brother. Mary HAlvOrson
In the ’80s, I was playing with Charlie Haden in on Marc Ribot
the Liberation Music Orchestra, and used nylon
strings with that. I was completely torn up by the
dichotomies between jazz and rock and electric “Getting to work with Ribot solidified
and acoustic. I almost gave up completely. I was what I always kind of thought about
listening to Joe Pass and Pat Martino, but still him. He’s one of the most in-the-
interested in Hendrix and Steve Howe. I didn’t moment musicians I know. He will
know how to merge these sensibilities. switch gears or do something out of
Ribot: On one side there are these bebop left field if the idea strikes him. He’ll
guys with thick, flat-wound strings, and on the plan out a set, but completely derail
other side there are guys with lighter strings who if he wants to go somewhere else al-
could bend notes without having muscles on together. You’re always on your toes,
their index fingers. Hmm…to me the language not falling back on anything.”
of jazz guitar is a very sonically constricted lan-
amani willett

guage. Sonically minimalist, you might say—

which is an artistic choice. Jim Hall could go get
a fuzz box just as easily as I can, but he doesn’t.
Cline: He actually does use a whammy But in terms of free improvising, people in besides a dude pushing buttons and
pedal, the harmonizer part. you’re both experts at filling in a plucking strings. I’m going to do a sound and
Ribot: Wait, he does? No way. Gimmicks! blank canvas. sonics digital workshop with [Wilco drummer]
But on the other side is a much richer sonic Glenn Kotche.
language that does not rely on the kind of har- Ribot: Literally in Nels’ case. I saw that Ribot: It’s a very deep area.
monic development that gives traditional jazz show. Cline: You starting wondering, particularly
its “go.” In other words, the “event” in a trad with a silent film, how can you make something
jazz tune is going to be a harmonic event or a With the painter Norton Wisdom, at as old as the hills sound fresh. You wonder
tempo event. Whereas the event in rock will be Le Poisson Rouge in January. about use of space, dynamics and melody as re-
sonic. Were you trying to reconcile these two lated to motion.
sets of rules? Ribot: I was blown away by what both of Ribot: Those are classic film score func-
Cline: I had a neurotic propensity to di- you did. That’s another parallel you and I have. tions. Did the audience come away sincerely be-
chotomize the rules rather than merge them, Around the time you were getting that togeth- lieving that they saw what they actually heard?
which is what I wanted to do. It only changed er, I was starting to tour with Chaplin’s film The You show a shot of an actress, the orchestra
in the late ’80s, when I formed my trio and Kid. The idea of doing something with a living changes chords, and the audience believes that
said, “Screw everything, I’ll do what I want.” artist is the next step in that audio-visual terri- the actress became sad. This weekend I’m do-
I’d been in these democratic bands where I tory, because the advantage of a live artist is he ing a film noir project at the New School. I’ve
contributed, but I wasn’t making any major can respond to you. No matter what I do, Charlie come to realize that from looking at noir I can
aesthetic decisions as a leader. That’s when I Chaplin does the same thing to me every night— say everything I want to say in music.
finally loosened up. the motherfucker just doesn’t give. But really, it Cline: I’m a noir fan, too. Making Dirty
seems to be a moment where we’re reconsidering Baby, we had to come up with the idea of
You guys have tried your hands at all what live shows mean. Audiences are hungry for “cityscapes,” these “censor-strip” pieces, and
sorts of various styles, from straight things that can happen in the room in real time, had discussions about the titles, which are all
jazz guitar to— like collaborations with artists. threats, some from noir. Long talks about what
Cline: The reaction to my work with elements from the stylistic pantheon should be
Ribot: I would not say that bebop guitar is Norton is unexpectedly strong. He’s charis- used to create a sense of dread, pure tension,
my forte. The most I can say is that I’ve tried it. matic, but there is some zeitgeist in the air as etc. Beethoven and Brahms were merciless-
Cline: Nor mine. well. It’s helpful to have something else to draw ly ripped off by film composers, so the dimin-

28 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

ished chord is forever attached to the suspense stricted that it demanded a guitar counterpart. terview and I realized at the end that the one
thing in movies… Cline: Before Wilco I was playing with the thing the three of us had in common was a re-
Ribot: The original impetus for using clas- Geraldine Fibbers, which wasn’t about guitar spect for the song. Because that record could
sical composers in cartoons was to introduce solos; it was about the band sounding like an or- have been an attempt to be a shredder record.
kids to the music. Now you can’t hear “The chestra. In a certain sense, so is Wilco. As a kid That’s what people might have expected from
Anvil Chorus” without seeing a cartoon image I wanted to be a hippie, but I was too young. But three guitarists, like a long-playing version of
in your mind. hippies like all sorts of stuff. The mixed concert Deliverance. I don’t want to impose some agen-
Cline: “Rabbit of Seville.” bills: Charles Lloyd, B.B. King and The Seeds da on a song. I respect the ability to read the
playing together. Coming out of that, I knew song, to figure out the song’s intentions. Chops
Let’s talk about improvisers playing there were lots of options. But working with a need to be in the service of meaning. People
in a pop setting. What are the de- rock band is about using a different brain. It’s who don’t get that are…dumb.
mands of those gigs, the process of not about stuffing an improvising methodology Cline: I think that’s something you’re very
bringing an improvisational mindset into the music. The music has its own demands. good at, and something I’m still learning. Carla
to a rock song? Are the languages I don’t feel inhibited by fitting into what makes Bozulich of the Geraldine Fibbers once asked
similar? Do you feel like you fit in? a song communicate itself. To me it’s like meth- me to take a solo and play it like a really earnest
od acting. People, and sometimes Jeff [Tweedy], 14-year-old in his bedroom. I tried it, but I didn’t
Ribot: Waits sat in with the Lounge Lizards. will frequently ask me to play in a certain way. really get it quite right. My take was wacky, cra-
He heard me with those specific sounds. He was There’s a color he’s looking for. zy, not poignant enough.
interested in them. I wasn’t going in improvis- Ribot: That’s hard.
ing sui generis on Tom’s pop tunes. Plus, I have There’s good candor between you
an interest in pop music that predates having and Tweedy? What kind of language works the
ever heard any form of improvised music. Waits best with you guys? How do you
is basically a guy who has the intelligence and Cline: Absolutely. Yes, he wants to honor talk about this stuff?
grace to feel an anxiety of influence about being my style, but I don’t want to have a style. What
a white blues musician, and it’s that terror, and I need to do is to have the song sound the way it Cline: Mike Watt uses metaphor. “Bicycle
guilt and intelligence, that make the music in- wants to sound. I’ll do whatever it takes to com- chains!” “Propellers!” That drives my ideas.
teresting—along with his many gifts as a song- municate the essence of the song. Ribot: Waits works a lot with metaphoric
writer. His approach drives the music to a place Ribot: That’s a key point. I just finished a instructions, too. But I need to qualify what I
where I almost had to find a new sound, or I’d be gig with Buddy Miller and Bill Frisell, to launch said. Placing the needs of the song first does
shamed. That music was so conflicted and con- the Majestic Silver Strings record. We did an in- not necessarily mean placing the desires of the

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 29

Marc ribot & Nels Cline

songwriter first. I’ve found that with some song- cause I’d just joined Wilco and all eyes were ing a guitar so much as he’s trying to strangle a
writers, I sometimes disagree about the mean- on me all of a sudden, and I wanted to point live snake that’s going to bite him and kill him.
ings of their songs, or the meanings I want them my finger somewhere else. The idea was, “You I never heard Albert Ayler live, but it’s what I
to have. Usually I win. Well, when they don’t think that there’s something going on here? hear in his music.
fire me, I win. Well, check this guy out.” I thought Andrew
was great, and generally underappreciat- Was there a time when you didn’t
Do the pop gigs sharpen any mus- ed. I chose his music because it’s very open. know how to listen to free-jazz, or
cles? Do they make you better at It wasn’t going to have to be a vernacular ex- you didn’t understand it? Was there
certain things? perience. We weren’t going to blow over kill- an “a-ha” moment for either of you?
er changes with a Blue Note sound. I could
Cline: I’m still in need of help. Working change the instrumentation to be somewhat Cline: I had to have an a-ha moment about
on this new Wilco record, I find that I get to untraditional, like Rova [Saxophone Quartet] Ornette [Coleman]. Being a Coltrane devo-
a point where I started to do something that had done with Ascension. Strangely, the reac- tee, and loving the deep voice of pieces like
might be for an instrumental break, and Jeff tion to it was, “I don’t know about this, there’s “Alabama,” there was something that sound-
will come in and say, “Man, will you just play no piano.” Which I found odd, because this ed too happy about Ornette’s music. I couldn’t
that on the chorus?” And it becomes the signa- music is in the world to be interpreted. That’s connect with it. I thought it was novel, energetic,
ture sound of the track. Putting it all together the point. People didn’t write Tin Pan Alley fascinating and at times comical. A wild piece
is rather amazing. songs thinking improvisers were going to play like “Moon Inhabitants,” say. It was only later
Ribot: There’s a certain discipline in pop. instrumental solos over the changes. Can’t we that I found the way to play free from listening
My aunt would say, “Where’s the hook?” And a do what we want with it? The fun was to take to Ornette, actually.
hook can be anything! A hook is a funny thing. a living tradition approach. Jazz isn’t my tra- Ribot: I have a continual series of a-ha mo-
Cline: The tiniest sound can have a gargan- dition to protect. These records were tiny lit- ments listening to Ayler. And I remember hear-
tuan impact. tle pleas for flexibility rather than mothballing. ing Sun Ship in high school and it having a re-
Ribot: You talked about taking traditional ligious impact. And when I came back and
You’ve both been involved in rep- jazz instrumentation and providing some- listened later, from the mid-’80s until recent-
ertory to some degree—Nels with thing that is not trad jazz, but more narrowly ly, my a-ha moment was their compositional
John Coltrane’s Interstellar Space than that, I’ve had an interest in taking things smarts. It was like, “Fuck, these are composi-
and Andrew Hill’s songbook, and that were done in traditional jazz instrumenta- tions! This isn’t just a bunch of people blowing
Marc with Spiritual Unity and Ar- tion and re-inscribing them as guitar music. I their brains out; it’s a set of improvising rules
senio Rodriguez. Marc’s ’90s en- feel there are certain commonalities between and strategies and whole new set of parameters
semble Shrek even made hay with free-jazz and punk rock and certain parts of the being laid out.”
The Modern Jazz Quartet’s “Softly, rock tradition. I feel they’re both part of great
As In A Morning Sunrise.” What’s black music, a form that has included many ex- How important is fun?
the worst crime a modern interpre- cellent white players over the years. The con-
tation of a classic piece can make? nection becomes audible. On your recording of Ribot: I don’t have any other ambition. I
the Coltrane piece, I’m sure it worked for you can’t think of any other motive. It’s the only im-
Ribot: To fail to interpret. To have a read- on electric guitar, but I’m not sure it could work pulse I trust. 
ing that doesn’t add anything. Not that there’s with any instrument.
not a place for repertory. Museums and history Cline: The sound of an overdriven guitar Rhythm has become more a part of
serve a valuable function. But an interpretation and a tenor saxophone are similar. But it hadn’t your work of late. You’re both work-
has to re-inscribe the original with a new mean- really dawned on me, until I was playing that ing with joyous grooves.
ing. Be of its time, or project into the future or with Gregg [Bendian].
create a new level of meaning. If it fails in that— Ribot: I think there’s something about the Ribot: Well, I’ve always tried to rock the
I don’t know about a crime, but it’s probably the way I’m playing the guitar on an Ayler piece, house. The most rabid free-prov playing has its
crime of boredom. or you’re playing, or when Robert Quine plays groove. I am not a friend of rubato. It doesn’t
Cline: I made the Andrew Hill record be- a solo. You get the feeling that he’s not play- interest me. Pulse, forward motion. That’s me.

Tom Waits on Marc Ribot

“Ribot has as much respect for and affinity with noise and distortion as he does with
Segovia or Solomon Burke. He is comfortable with crunk, filk, Ezengileer (Tuvan
xoomi, like galloping horses), Detroit blues, funeral doom, Danzón, dabke (Palestin-
ian wedding music)…even furniture music! Although he categorizes himself as a ‘soul
man,’ he is the Lon Chaney of the guitar. He is a gypsy, a killer, a nervous teen, a pro-
fessor, a stripper or a slave and like Lon Chaney, he does all his own makeup and is a
man with a thousand faces. You can evoke a metaphor from practically anywhere…
you can say, ‘Hagfish, Rod Steiger, Sterling Holloway, the Contortions,’ you can use
animals of the forest or something from a dream. He responds to suggestions like
a man under hypnosis. He challenges you to show him material that is worthy of his
michael o’Brien

interest. He usually knows what a song needs whether you agree or not.”

30 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

 Cline: I thought it was rather risky to deal ing Interstellar Space in Portland, and I was so was dripping hot wax onto her victim laying
in grooves, because someone could point a fin- completely lost in my world, I missed a wom- on the floor? The best is probably me, Shahzad
ger and say, “This is an Ali Farka Touré beat,” an on the other side of Gregg’s drums, knock- [Ismaily] and Ches [Smith] playing behind Iggy
or, “This is a Brazilian rhythm.” When I fi- ing over all Gregg’s water and masturbating on Pop at a festival in the Ruhr Valley [in north-
nally decided to do my own stuff, I wanted it stage. They carried her out on a stretcher later. I western Germany]. We convinced Iggy to do
to be free playing meets garage rock or King didn’t even notice. “Mass Production” in a restored theater that
Crimson, something I thought was authentical- Ribot: Well, I would say that’s one of the was once a factory that had poured the molten
ly white suburban stuff. Can’t say why. Plus, I highest compliments to your solo that I could steel for Nazi tanks. He was there without his
wasn’t happy. Things were good, but I felt a sad- ever imagine. That gives me a new ambition. shirt on, wrapping the mic around his neck, en-
ness about other stuff. I thought of my love for Mine will pale in comparison. You have a couraging people to have a riot on stage. The
Brazilian pop. Finally I said I want some joy. choice, actually. What do you want, the night mental snapshot and soundtrack to that is one
For some reason when Joe Zawinul died, some- the piano fell on Evan Lurie, or the night after of the stranger things I’ve experienced. But it’s
thing about the joy in his best music really hit the Shrek show in Tokyo where the dominatrix still not as good as that orgasm.  DB
me. Breskin said that Gunther Schuller said
that Zawinul threw away a concert career for
a riff. Which is exactly what I love about him!
Killer riffs. C’mon, the guy wrote “Country
Preacher.” I wanted to find some celebratory
energy, too. So after tossing this into the uni-
verse, I just went for it, and my life changed.
Fell in love with Yuka. Happiness and groove
go together. In the ’80s, I played tons of funk
rhythm guitar. Sometimes I wanted to be Roger
Troutman from Zapp or Prince or Nile Rodgers.
Ribot: I think that describes how I feel as
well. Going forward means going back to some
degree. I trust that desire to go back and find fun.
Cline: The Postizos records you made have
emboldened me. You’ve done this killer groov-
ing, and I wrote a piece based on those records.
It’s still on the cutting room floor, but it’s there.
“Revenge Of The Piñata.”

Let’s talk about a dream project.

What do you lie in bed and hope to
accomplish?

Cline: A mood music record called Lovers.

Mood music except that the romance is more
dark and twisted, and not in a negative way. It’s
songs by other writers, reinvestigated and at the
same time honored. “Touching” by Annette
Peacock, “I Have Dreamed” from The King and
I. “Snare, Girl” by Sonic Youth. Something like
those Jackie Gleason 1000 Mandolins discs—
not as lame as that, but you should be able to put
it on in your bachelor pad.

Marc, what haven’t you gotten out

of your system?

Ribot: I felt like I got something out of my

system with Silent Movies. I have a lot of things
to do, but one would be Ceramic Dog. We have
such a fantastic time playing together, laugh our
heads off and play amazing things, and my big
ambition for the next year is to translate that
into a record that causes listeners to react just
as strongly.

You guys have been everywhere.

What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever
seen from the stage?

Cline: I didn’t see the wildest thing I ever

saw. I was on stage with Gregg Bendian do-

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 31

Perfect
Unison
30-Year-Old Yellowjackets All
Abuzz Over the Auspicious
Return of Will Kennedy
By Ed Enright

I f there was ever a buzz surrounding

Yellowjackets, it’s right now.
The high-flying quartet turns 30 this year, a milestone In St. Louis, the band sizzled as one through the complex,
marked by the release of Timeline, its 21st album to date and angular unison passages that mark the heads of many
the first of two Yellowjackets CDs the group will record and Yellowjackets compositions and stretched out with individu-
produce under a new arrangement with the Mack Avenue label. al solos that showcased each member’s unique melodic, har-
Biggest news of all: Drummer Will Kennedy is back in monic and rhythmic personality. The loyal Jazz at the Bistro
the band, having rejoined his old cohorts of a dozen years last audience expressed strong approval of the group, a house fa-
summer after spending a decade away working on television vorite for many years, seemingly thrilled with the familiar
sets (including the “Wayne Brady Show”), producing vari- configuration of musicians on stage.
ous recordings and raising his son, Joshua, now 7. Kennedy Indeed, with Kennedy back onboard, Yellowjackets ap-
replaces outgoing drummer Marcus Baylor, a longtime band pear to be completely reinvigorated. They’ve got plenty of
member who is currently pursuing his own original projects. sting to back up the media buzz they’re generating nowadays.
Electric bassist Jimmy Haslip and pianist-keyboardist “Every band has kind of a sweet spot,” Mintzer said. “If
Russell Ferrante—both founding members—are playing in you think of the John Coltrane Quartet—I mean, Elvin Jones,
top form, as always. And reedman Bob Mintzer, with the John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner were a team, they were a
band 20 years now since the departure of original saxophon- unit. Miles Davis in the early 1960s with Tony Williams on
ist Marc Russo, continues to tear it up and swing hard on ten- drums—it was a certain particular thing, and I think a lot of
or and soprano sax, bass clarinet and EWI. the music in this band was fashioned around Will Kennedy’s
Yellowjackets’ repertoire is expansive after so many drumming. It’s just this fit that is somehow meant to be. Not
years writing and performing together. A band of equals, that there was anything wrong with anything that was a hap-
they’ve been tight in recent live performances, from their pening prior, but it became apparent on some level that this
high-power concert on the main stage of the 2010 Detroit music called for Will Kennedy, and it just seemed like that
International Jazz Festival to an intimate engagement in was the direction in which to go.”
April at Jazz at the Bistro in St. Louis, where they played “I think everybody that’s been in this band has been a valu-
from entirely different set lists every night. able commodity, but we are very excited about having Will

Yellowjackets, clockwise from front left: Will Kennedy, Jimmy Haslip, Bob Minzter and Russell Ferrante
Raj Naik
yellowjackets

back,” Haslip said. “There is a definite chemis- Mintzer mumbled. ly great to get all of these different perspectives,
try there between him and me. And I think in this “Russell is guilty of it as well,” Kennedy add- but somehow at the end of the day, it sounds like
band the body of work that Will was involved with ed. “We are all still doing the homework to pull a Yellowjackets recording, whether it’s electric,
was a pretty major part of the band’s history. We’re these tunes off live.” acoustic or whatever.”
glad to have him back in the fold, and this new re- “In all honesty, I wrote some quirky melo- The group is augmented on one track by gui-
cord shows a really nice side of what the band is all dies with large interval skips in there,” Mintzer tarist Robben Ford, who has a history of per-
about. Our fans spoke up about that as well. They admitted. forming and recording with the group and who
were very happy to have Will back. And if you “With the advent of notation software, you last appeared with them on 1994’s Run For Your
look at the records that William was involved in, can write some really crazy stuff that sounds Life. Two cuts feature guest trumpeter John
like Politics, for example, which won a Grammy great when the computer plays it in perfect time,” Diversa, an educator and bandleader in Los
[in 1988], he had a lot to do with composition on Ferrante observed. “But how does it translate Angeles who also plays in Mintzer’s highly ac-
that record as well.” when real guys are trying to play it?” claimed big band.
On the afternoon of their final Jazz at the The guys said they prepared the Timeline “I remember we specifically thought about it:
Bistro show, the guys got together to discuss the material individually, sharing music files and This is going to be a band record,” Kennedy said.
creation of Timeline. Comfortably seated in a demo tapes of compositions they had been work- “The main focus was going to be the four of us,
hotel business center near the famous Gateway ing up on their own. They met up later to play with me returning, and trying to capture that
Arch of St. Louis, they joked about the amount through the material together during some jam original group sound.”
of preparation required to learn some of the com- sessions at Ferrante’s garage in California before Meanwhile, on stage again with his once and
plex melodic lines, unconventional chord chang- going into the studio to record. future bandmates, Kennedy was hard at work
es and odd meters—signature elements that “The emphasis in this collection of music trying to capture the proper feel and form of
make the new CD yet another ultra-ambitious was us playing together and Will being there,” Yellowjackets repertoire he inherited from the
Yellowjackets project. Mintzer said. “And the things I wrote, I thought, Baylor era.
“I think some of this music was among the ‘How would I most like to play with this band, “Every drummer has a fingerprint in the setup
most challenging,” Ferrante suggested. “At least with these people, and in what fashion?’ And I that he has,” Kennedy said. “There’s a certain way
the songs that Bob wrote.” just kind of constructed these tunes around that. of tuning and arranging the kit that’s unique to that
“My fault,” Mintzer deadpanned. I knew what everyone did, and I just brought [the person. I’m sure there are qualities of that in every
Ferrante assumed a slightly less accusing compositions] in, and we started playing them. chair. But somehow the way Marcus kind of an-
tone: “There were some really difficult things But the unknown is always how people inter- gled and played things was unique to him, and I
that didn’t lay well on the instrument.” pret whatever you bring in and change things, actually have a unique way of playing as well: I’m
“That’s Russell talking,” Kennedy teased. and it’s always a great adventure to see where the physically left-handed, but my strong foot is my
“And that’s Bob trying to defend himself,” tune winds up. Everyone here writes, so it’s real- right foot, so I’m playing with the ride cymbal on

34 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

the opposite side. So there are things that Marcus played with the band at one time or anoth- er things that are happening with it,” Ferrante
and I are doing behind the drum kit that are much er. “There was Peter Erskine, who played summarized. “That’s the strength of the music
different from each other, and to make that con- for a year. Then we did gigs with Terri Lyne when it’s a band.”
nection, that relationship behind the kit, it took a Carrington, Greg Hutchinson, Vinnie Colaiuta,
minute to really get that going. But I feel comfort-
able now. There’s a lot of stuff in our live perfor-
mances that Marcus played originally, and I feel
Alex Acuña. We had some fantastic musicians.
But it sort of goes beyond a person’s musician-
ship when you’ve spent all that time together
T his once-electric and now more acoustic-
leaning band has seen its share of chang-
es over the decades. Yet it continues to find its
completely at home with it now.” and have this chemistry. A similar thing hap- path—and its motivation—every step of the way.
“When you have a group of musicians who pens on occasion when we have to sub out a “I think it became more of a jazz band than
are together for a long time and then one person gig—sometimes Bob or Jim will have a conflict, in the early days when we brought a lot of equip-
leaves or you have to sub a person for a gig, it re- and we’ll have to get someone to fill in on that ment and we had a big crew,” Ferrante said, re-
ally flips the whole picture,” Kennedy continued. chair. Certainly the people can learn the notes membering grandiose past Yellowjackets tours
“There’s a fair amount of adjustment that occurs and learn the songs, but that’s only the begin- with a laugh. “There were times we brought
when somebody goes away.” ning, right? Even something that’s as simple as, backdrops with [lighting] scrims and risers and
“How many leaderless bands are there?” How does someone shape their solos? We’re so all this stuff. Now, it’s like we carry our instru-
Mintzer asked. “Not so many, I think. By virtue used to knowing how to accompany one anoth- ments onto the airplane, and we come to the
of the fact that there is no leader and there are er when we play. You just kind of know that en- place, and it’s really on the strength of the music
four equal members, each member’s input is pro- ergy, and you can tell when it’s getting ready to now if we live or die.”
found, and when you remove one of those mem- go to the next gear. When we’re playing with “Another thing that radically changed was
bers, it’s like taking this big chunk of the inner other people, you’re guessing a lot, which can the exposure of this music in the media,” Mintzer
workings of the music away.” be cool, too. What’s gonna happen? But it’s not said. “There’s hardly any radio stations that play
“You kind of reinvent the situation,” Haslip this solid thing that’s really secure and moving the music that we do, which is kind of in the
observed. forward. You’re kind of wobbling a little bit.” cracks. Some pieces are more acoustic, some
“When Will left, it was like I felt like an arm “And you can liken that back to the John pieces might veer more toward the electric. But
had been torn off in some strange way,” Mintzer Coltrane Quartet again,” Mintzer noted. “The it’s not comfortably smooth jazz at all, and it’s
said. “We had played with a lot of stellar drum- way McCoy Tyner accompanied John Coltrane not totally to the liking of acoustic aficionados
mers, but this whole language and vocabulary was very specific—it just fit together so splendid- since we have electric bass and we use synth.
had been developed based on Will being one- ly. And when you remove McCoy Tyner and put So we’re in the cracks. There used to be stations
quarter of this whole.” another piano player in there, it offsets the whole that would play it a lot, but now … it seems like
“I’m trying to remember,” Ferrante chimed equation and it sounds totally different.” what’s taken up the slack is YouTube. So if we
in, listing the various drummers who have “Each thing makes sense because of the oth- play a concert somewhere in Europe, the next

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 35

yellowjackets

day, or later that night, you can go on YouTube came to my school—Billy Taylor, Ron Carter, all adds to the individual, makes the individual
and watch that concert. You can see the con- Harold Land and Blue Mitchell—that made a stronger with experience, and when the four of us
cert verbatim. And I think that affords bands huge impression. So it’s great that we have an come together it makes that even more intense.”
that have past history and fans the opportunity opportunity to do that, to share our experience All four Yellowjackets are involved in out-
to keep what we’re doing out there and in view. and get these kids maybe interested in pursu- side musical projects, not to mention teaching
With the demise of the record business and re- ing what we do.” gigs, that add dimension and depth to their lives
cord stores, what it really comes down to now is The band is maintaining a high profile this and careers. This particular arrangement is spe-
going out and playing. Whatever it takes—if it summer with appearances at the Rio das Ostras cial, the ultimate reward for three decades of
means getting up there on YouTube, so be it. We Jazz & Blues Festival in Brazil on June 24– hard work and heartfelt commitment.
want to go out and play.” 25, as well as four big gigs with vocalist Bobby “These musicians playing this music, which
Yellowjackets have found that one good McFerrin, who tapped Ferrante, Kennedy and was crafted based around these four players, is
way to maintain a presence, so to speak, is by Haslip for his own Bang Zoom project back in something totally unique,” Mintzer said. “I’ve
taking their act into schools while they’re on the 1995 and appeared on Yellowjackets’ Dreamland never experienced this before; I don’t know if I
road. A prime example would be their recent album the same year. ever will again. There’s a certain chemistry here
visit to St. Louis’ Normandy High School ar- “Being an instrumental band, there’s plenty that’s profound. There’s something that happens
ranged by Jazz at the Bistro, which is supported of room to collaborate with a variety of artists,” when you’re together all these years and you’re
by a grassroots organization with powerful edu- Kennedy explained. “We all work with other playing on an ongoing basis that won’t happen,
cational outreach. people, so the concept of hooking up with some- no matter how great the musicianship is, if you’re
“We can do a concert with the school big body is right there in front of you.” not playing together that much. And every year I
band, and we can do a concert with the four of “The fact that we’re involved with outside grow to appreciate it more. I think we all want to
us, which will generally raise a crowd,” Mintzer things, that also feeds the creative fire of this keep doing it.”
said, noting that the group offers workshops for band,” Haslip said. “You learn stuff when you Ferrante wrapped up the hour-long conver-
students of all ages. “It’s great to teach with the work with other people that maybe you wouldn’t sation as the others indicated they were ready
whole group because it covers a lot of territory. learn if we stayed in a bubble and just worked to head out to the gig: “It’s a cliche, but it is like
You have four fairly savvy, experienced musi- with the four of us and didn’t venture off into a family,” he said. “If it wasn’t, we couldn’t
cians here who have played with everybody, and anything else. Once you go out and start work- have survived the 30 years because the friction
there’s really a lot to offer aspiring musicians in ing with people from all over the world, then would build up. We’ve spent a lot of time to-
the way of inspiration and information. there’s new ideas, new perspectives, all kinds of gether on airplanes and buses and trains, hang-
“Frequently we’ll do a concert at a college, things start happening, and you come back into ing out in terminals and hotels, on the band-
and part of the deal is we speak to the student the fold with the four of us and have all this new stand, eating. So you’ve really got to feel like
body for a period of time. I remember back experience at hand that we’re all willing to share. you’re connected to the other people to have it
when I was in high school and Jazzmobile That can only bring positive things to the table. It all really work.” DB

36 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

 Jordan Hemingway

38 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

Gerry Hemingway

Pluralistic
Attitude
By Ted Panken

G
erry Hemingway is a collector with purpose. In addition to teaching percussion, impro-
visation and composition in the music department of Hochschule Luzern in Switzer-
land since 2009, the acclaimed drummer is also an obsessive collector and archivist.
Which is why, in early January, near the end of a two-week stateside visit undertaken
with the intention of selling his New Jersey home and 1913 Steinway B piano, he ex-
pressed relief that, after a year’s separation, he would soon reunite with his holdings.
“When the job was offered, I told them that about half his time—after a 30-year stretch devot- originals that constitute Riptide (Clean Feed)—
moving would be difficult because I’ve accumu- ed almost exclusively to playing—he is currently performed by his current quintet (Ellery Eskelin,
lated so much stuff,” Hemingway said over din- experiencing an extraordinarily prolific period of tenor saxophone; Oscar Noriega, alto sax and
ner in Brooklyn. “It’s my resource, and I can’t re- performance, composition and recording. clarinet; Terrence McManus, guitars; Kermit
ally work without it.” Hemingway sat alongside a bulging knap- Driscoll, electric bass)—he distills a boutique
With teaching chops honed from two de- sack and cymbal case, which he would later lug homebrew from a congeries of stylistic ingredi-
cades of leading ad hoc master classes and work- on the subway to the East Village apartment ents: postbop, Aylerian freedom, Stockhausenish
shops, Hemingway codified a pedagogy during where he was spending the night. In the morn- sound and space rubatos, electronica, pastorales,
his 2004–’09 tenure at the New School, where he ing, he would reconvene with violinist Mark the blues, reggae, funk. He seasons them with
inherited a class called Sound in Time from bass- Feldman, pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and bassist a metrically modulated, global array of beats
ist Mark Dresser. There, Hemingway became Thomas Morgan, with whom he had rehearsed (there are hints, more implied than in-your-face,
an adept lecturer, adding Contemporary Jazz for the previous six hours, to record Hôtel Du of West Africa, Indonesia and New Orleans),
History and World Music History to his teaching Nord (released in April by Intakt), a followup to much polyphony and constant melodic develop-
portfolio. “These are large lecture classes, and I last year’s To Fly To Steal. He betrayed no signs ment. That the feel is suite-like may stem from
had to engage the students,” he said. “To find out of fatigue. Hemingway’s intention to “weave each musi-
about the Art Ensemble of Chicago or Ayler, or “All of us are sensitive to a notion of transpar- cian’s sound, their idea, their way of playing not
Coltrane, they need to see them, get a real feeling ency in music, where all the elements can speak,” just into the improvising, but into the material
for what went on in the ’60s. I got as much foot- Hemingway observed. “Mark thinks acoustically, itself.”
age as possible, did tons of research and accumu- with many leanings—as Sylvie also has—to the On both Riptide and The Other Parade
lated a strong body of work.” nuance of chamber music dynamics or control, (Clean Feed), an earthy recording by
Hemingway has spent decades collecting a which I have a lot of experience with. Sylvie and I BassDrumBone—a collective trio with trom-
wide array of sounds and experiences. He ex- have a compatible concept of what I call ‘negative bonist Ray Anderson and bassist Mark Helias
plained the circumstances by which he joined space’—how you organize the space between the that has operated, off and on, since 1977—
the faculty of the Lucerne University of Applied notes—that forms an interesting tapestry of rhyth- Hemingway propels the flow with an idio-
Sciences and Arts, the differences in maturity mic tension. That way of thinking has roots in the syncratic pulse and precisely executed attack.
and purpose between European and American traditions of modern classical music, serialized He tends to eschew a drums-as-orchestra ap-
students, and the complexities of connecting his rhythms and things of that nature.” proach, instead favoring minimalist strate-
charges to the diverse flavors of the jazz timeline. Tropes of abstraction are less prominent on gies, by which he elaborates rhythmic de-
He observed that, although teaching now occupies two 2009 studio recordings. On the nine episodic signs on the drum kit’s discrete components.

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 39

gerry hemingway

Released on Auricle (Hemingway’s own im- Hemingway said. “He was tremendously gener-
print) is a series of scratch-improvised duos ous in sharing his thinking. He was experiment-
with Eskelin, McManus, komungo virtuoso ing with ideas, and I was helping him experiment.”
Jin Hi Kim, extended-techniques saxophonist Parallel influences entered the mix.
John Butcher and synthesizer player Thomas Hemingway played in Davis’ group, Advent,
Lehn. Sometimes augmenting his drums with with bassist Wes Brown and trombonist George
vibraphone or electronics, Hemingway un- Lewis of the Association for the Advancement
failingly addresses and dialogues with his of Creative Musicians (AACM). Yale fac-
partners’ postulations, extracting maximum ulty member Willie Ruff brought Papa Jo
juice from core motifs. Jones, Willie “The Lion” Smith and Duke
He follows more expansive paths on Affinities Ellington to campus for concerts. Reedmen
(Intakt), culled from 2010 concerts with pianist Dwight Andrews and Oliver Lake and bassists
Marilyn Crispell. But in Hemingway’s view, his Helias and Dresser were in town. Meanwhile,
summational recording of recent years is Old Hemingway, who attended Berklee College of
Dogs (2007) (Avant/Mode), on which he and Music for the fall 1973 semester before opting
Anthony Braxton, who employed Hemingway for the autodidactic path, studied privately in
and Crispell from 1983 to 1994, engage in four Boston with drum master Alan Dawson, and
separate, no-roadmap, timed-to-the-hourglass with members of Wesleyan University’s ethno-
musical conversations. musicology department, including—on an in-
“It’s a heavy piece of listening,” said formal basis—Ed Blackwell.
Hemingway, who utilized his “full orchestra”— Hemingway moved to New York in 1977. By
drums, mallets, vibraphone, marimba, two ver- then he had thoroughly assimilated the AACM
sions of an electronic setup, percussion odds precept that the most efficacious paths to self-
and ends—for the epic event. “But if you get definition are composition and solo performance.
through the four hours, the experience might “Many things shape you, and one of them is
give you the largest insight into who I am. We the pure serendipity of the people you meet,”
go through a very broad world, and the depth Hemingway said. “Until I met Anthony, this bad-
of interaction is profound—we seem to know ass piano player who also composed, I never real-
where the other is going in every nanosecond. ly thought about writing music. Then it made per-
“It also amazes me how things move har- fect sense, even though I didn’t know a damn thing
monically between us. Of course I hear rhythm about it. Leo was thinking globally, about the re-
and melodies, but I’m really listening to the lationship and communication between the differ-
pitches and frequencies that everybody is play- ent traditions. We weren’t scholars of the things
ing, and connecting and interrelating my instru- we were listening to, but we transcribed them,
ment primarily from that perspective. It seems analyzed them, digested them, and found salient
crazy, because the drums are limited in their points to incorporate into ‘your sound,’ this some-
pitch production, but I don’t see it that way. I’m what nebulous term. It opened up another option,
able to propose and initiate a huge host of pitch- another way of thinking. My whole life, I’ve dealt
es by using my hands, or tubes and other devices, with all kinds of different cultures, and hung out
or different sticks and pressures. This was always many different ways in many different places. So
my orientation, but I only recently noticed that I in the end, yes, I have a pluralistic attitude.”
think this way.” The AACM’s example helped Hemingway
There is a geography-is-destiny quality to devise ways to build a viable career within the
Hemingway’s backstory. It begins in New Haven, creative music subculture. “I think that more
Conn., where his family—his father is a bank- than almost anywhere else in my life, I can re-
er who, earlier in life, studied composition with ally channel what I feel through what I play,” he
Paul Hindemith—had laid firm roots. There, explained. “When I realized that life is not worth
Hemingway, as a self-described “wild and wool- living unless you’re engaged in some direct way
ly hippie,” developed 360-degree interests span- with what you care most about, I started to ask
ning electronic music and the timeline of jazz myself: ‘If I want to do this great, how do I make
drums. In the fall of 1972, Hemingway ran an ad a living? How do I pay the rent?’ I took the ques-
for “a Chick Corea-Keith Jarrett style piano trio.” tion seriously. That’s partly why pretty immedi-
It was answered by pianist Anthony Davis, then a ately I shunned going to schools. I fought to be
Yale undergraduate, four years his senior. able to make a living as a musician. It takes te-
“I was raving about Leo Smith, Coltrane’s nacity. The AACM guys have tenacity forever.”
Expression, Eric Dolphy’s Last Date,” Heming- Other conceptual options emerged during
way recalled. “Anthony was like, ‘How did you his decade with Braxton, who required band
get on to all this stuff?’ That was my way. I was members to sight-read complexly notated scores
always exploring. I was way ahead of the curve, and develop their improvisations upon the ideas
and I seem to remain there even now.” contained therein. Hemingway refined his ideas
Davis informed Hemingway that Smith was, through the ’90s and ’00s, writing increasing-
in fact, living in New Haven, and made introduc- ly ambitious quintet and quartet music for sev-
tions. An unlikely friendship ensued. “I hung out eral configurations. Some included Americans
at Leo’s house, and we listened to everything to- (his personnel has included Anderson or Robin
gether—the Peking Opera, the Burundi beat, Cage Eubanks on trombone, Herb Robertson on trum-
and King Oliver, who he was deeply into then,” pet, Don Byron on clarinet, Eskelin on tenor sax-

40 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

ophone and Dresser on bass), but Hemingway
drew particular inspiration during most of the
’90s from an Amsterdam-centric group built
around Michael Moore on alto saxophone and
clarinet, trombonist Wolter Wierbos and cellist
Ernst Reijseger.
“I was attracted by the elastic capability of
these musicians,” he said. “They tended to bring
in the European classical 20th century tradition a
bit more than showed up in other places, but with
the visceral strain of Ayler and Coltrane, too. We
could talk about Wagner and Bechet at the same
time. It was all relevant. That broadness of think-
ing is the mentality that’s emerged. When a drum
student comes to me, we’re going to talk about
Xenakis as much as Baby Dodds. We’re going to
integrate the whole story.”
Hemingway moved to Switzerland with the
intention of staying. “I stipulated that it needs
to be a permanent job,” he said in April in New
York, where he performed at The Cornelia Street
Café with his quintet, and in trios with McManus
and Eskelin. Over the foreseeable future, he’ll
try to maintain equipoise between teaching
and breathing new life into various projects, in-
cluding European units such as the WHO Trio
(with pianist Michel Wintsch and bassist Baenz
Oester) and bands led by saxophonist Frank
Gratkowski and pianist Georg Graewe, as well
as his American ensembles.
“I can take the train to do one gig and come
back,” Hemingway said. “I’m trying to get to
New York to perform as much as I can, even
though it’s almost impossible to earn enough to
pay for the plane ticket. But I’m comfortable in
European culture, and I feel as at home there as I
would here. It works well for me.”
Admired by associates for his comprehen-
sive logistical competence and single-minded
determination to realize projects, the 56-year-old
artist seems unlikely to slacken the pace of his
musical production. “Moving through time, you
let go of the filigree and begin to get closer to
these basic essences that are the most important
materials,” Hemingway said. “You tend not to be
frivolous. You learn how to save. You learn how
to finish a story. I guess the cliche is that there’s
not a whole lot of time left. You want to make
sure you get your idea out there.
“I always had to do it myself. This is impor-
tant work, and the only way it’s going to hap-
pen is if somebody like me steps up to the plate.
It’s stressful and exhausting, and sometimes I
work a little too hard. But it comes down to the
bottom line. I often ask all my students: ‘What
did you run into recently that blew your mind?’
If you don’t know, then you’re not yet in touch
with being in the arts. That’s your guide to sift
through this mountain of information and get
some sense of how to navigate it and eventu-
ally formulate who you are within it. That was
key for me when I did it alone. Not that I didn’t
get help from institutions, but I initiated the re-
lationships and did it more or less on a one-on-
one basis. That was my way, which really can’t
be duplicated anymore.” DB

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 41

 Tales of
Wessell
Anderson

“Warmdaddy”
I
By Ted Panken

n late March, Wessell “Warmdaddy” Anderson arose at dawn in his home in East Lansing, Mich.,
and caught an early flight to New York. After checking in at his Upper West Side hotel, he caught
a cab down Broadway to the Time Warner Center, where Wynton Marsalis was leading a run-
through of his septet repertoire in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s rehearsal space for a three-night stint
at the Rose Theater.
Things proceeded efficiently, and the members dispersed at 2 p.m. “We me by getting married,” she bantered. “Don’t be mad,” he beamed, flash-
know this music,” Anderson said. In contrast to his casually dressed col- ing a warm smile worthy of his memorable nickname.
leagues, he wore a tailored brown jacket, a lavender dress shirt, tan slacks Returning to his anecdote, he said, “I lost the get-up-and-go to want to
and custom-made, alligator skin loafers with running-shoe soles. “We stay at school,” he continued. “My son was in 10th grade when I left
worked three weeks every month for four or five years straight,” he noted. Lincoln Center. I was working a lot, making great money, but my wife
“People grew up and left the band, but whenever we come back together, asked me to come home. I said, ‘I’ll give you whatever he needs.’ She said,
it’s the same.” ‘He needs you.’ I liked being inside a jazz environment and being able to
At this moment, Anderson—who is about 6 feet 4 inches tall and looks come home every night. But after the stroke, my son had graduated and de-
more like a left tackle than the world-class alto and sopranino saxophonist cided he wanted to be a musician. I realized that he wasn’t seeing a profes-
that he is—was hungry. He donned his black porkpie and knee-length black sional musician anymore, but just a teacher. I decided that if I made it back
overcoat, picked up his sax case and headed downtown to Manganaro to school, I’d try to work more. Then work started coming, and it reached a
Foods, an old-school emporium on Ninth Avenue that serves Italian provi- point where I always had to check with someone to do it. I felt like I was in
sions and sandwiches in the front and home cooking in the back. During a box. The pay is good. The benefits are great. But I’m not satisfied.”
a lunch that included a bocconcini-and-tomato salad and linguine with So when the semester concluded, Anderson relocated to Baton Rouge,
clams, “Warmdaddy” reflected on his life and career. La., the city where, in 1982, he had enrolled at Southern University to study
“It’s been a good month,” he said. “I’ve had a chance to come out and with clarinetist Alvin Batiste. Already working a fair number of weekends
let people hear me after my stroke.” Without prompting, Anderson, 46, of- and one-offs in the Midwest and the South, he hit the road full-stride, bal-
fered the details of the catastrophe that befell him in July 2007, a couple lyhooing the gigs with the 2011 album Warmdaddy Plays Cannonball, his
of years after he had ended a 17-year run with Marsalis to assume a fac- fifth as a leader. On the CD, a sextet of four young, New Orleans-based
ulty position at Michigan State University. “My left side was weak—my musicians—among them his son on trombone—and veteran bassist Harry
hand, my foot, my lip, which was the last thing that healed. During re- Anderson (Southern University’s current director of jazz studies) interpret
hab, I’d come in early every day to get in the pool. They said, ‘Why are six Cannonball Adderley staples in a modern Crescent City manner.
you here early?’ I said, ‘I want to play.’ They said, ‘You’ll play some day.’ Born and raised in Brooklyn, the son of a working drummer,
I said, ‘No. I’m going to play tomorrow. You don’t understand me. Even if “Warmdaddy” started soaking up Charlie Parker at 14, and was sufficiently
I’m in a wheelchair, as long as my lip and fingers can move, I’m OK.’ That conversant with modernist vocabulary to play Thelonious Monk’s “Played
December, Wynton asked me to do a Christmas show. I said, ‘If it don’t Twice” for his audition tape.
look right, don’t have me do the show.’ He said, ‘No, you’re all right.’” “I was raised with older musicians,” he explained. “I carried my dad’s
Anderson suddently turned his attention to the Manganaro’s propri- drum case to gigs. He took me with him when he went to Philly Joe Jones’
etress, who had just presented a complimentary cannoli. “He cheated on loft on the Lower East Side for a lesson. At the time, Philly was making his

42 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

Pablo Secca

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 43

wessell anderson

stick book, and he and my dad practiced on his bar. Then he took me to see Batiste’s practicum included switching Anderson to a double-lip em-
Elvin Jones. Elvin would squeeze the heck out of me. When he saw me lat- bouchure and eliminating any possible tendencies of being “too hip for
er, he said, ‘Oh, I see you’re big now. Don’t think I can’t pick your big ass the room,” as the saying goes. “When I got there, Alvin said, ‘I see you’ve
up!’—and he picked me up. These people were like family.” been saturated with bebop. We have to go back in the history.’ I said, ‘This
Anderson transcribed numerous Bird solos by ear, internalizing is history.’ He said, ‘Oh, no. You’re already playing modern. I know what
Parker’s attack, the way he breathed, his alternate fingerings. He took pri- I’m going to do with you.’ He sent me on the Greyhound to New Orleans
vate lessons with Eddie Daniels and Walter Bishop Jr., attended Jazzmobile to a gig with Doc Paulin’s Marching Band for Mardi Gras. He said, ‘Wear
workshops led by Charles Davis and Frank Foster, and had university-of- black pants and a white shirt, have your ax and be ready to march.’ Next
the-streets experiences sitting in with pianist Gil Coggins and Sonny Stitt thing I know, we’re marching around a hotel, going from one conference
in outer-borough clubs. He also attended sessions at the Star Café, then room to another, playing ‘Little Liza Jane’ and ‘Down By The Riverside.’
a serious hang for New York’s bebop-oriented musicians. “My dad said, I didn’t know how to play inside a second-line band, but after six hours of
‘Watch yourself in there; they’re drinking and smoking—it’s bad stuff you marching, I figured it out. When I got back, Bat said, ‘Did you understand
want to stay away from,’” Anderson related. “But people knew my father, the polyphony?’ I said, ‘Yeah, everybody was playing something different.’
and they didn’t bother me.” He said, ‘That’s three-part harmony.’ Then he started playing some music
The summer before his senior year, Anderson joined a friend at Grant’s with Sidney Bechet, and then Louis Armstrong.
Tomb to hear a concert by Art Blakey and a new edition of the Jazz “He said, ‘You’ve got to figure out how to make everything modern.
Messengers featuring Wynton and Branford Marsalis (then playing alto Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s old. Check out those solos; people
saxophone). Later, they went to the Lickity Split in Harlem for a jam ses- still can’t play them.’ He was right, because Sidney Bechet’s solos are hard-
sion. “I loved what Branford was doing,” Anderson recalled. “He sounded er than Bird’s.”
like a latter-day Cannonball. At the club, I was playing with my eyes closed, Within a few years, Anderson had transitioned to a more ensemble-ori-
and my friend told me to open them. Branford was standing there, looking ented, multidirectional conception of musical production that, he would
right at me. I got nervous. He said, ‘No, keep playing; I like it.’ soon discover, paralleled the direction Wynton Marsalis was beginning to
“Later Branford asked where I was going to school. I told him I was move toward in 1986, when he came to Baton Rouge to do a workshop.
thinking about Berklee—I had a full scholarship. He told me I needed to “Whenever someone was soloing, I came up with different licks for the
go study with Alvin Batiste. I’d never heard of him. He said, ‘That’s the cat saxophone section,” Anderson said. “Wynton looked perplexed, like,
who taught me.’ I said, ‘Whoever taught you, I want him to teach me.’ He ‘These country musicians don’t know how to play a solo, but they come up
told me he was getting ready to leave Art and asked, ‘Are you ready?’ I told with very good licks in between—how is this going on?’ Everybody point-
him no. He said, ‘Donald Harrison’s about to start—check him out, too.’ ed to me.”
‘Who’s Donald?’ ‘That’s my man from New Orleans.’ I put two and two to- Soon thereafter, Marsalis brought Anderson to Cleveland for a tryout
gether. I wanted to go where I thought the young musicians were, and New week with Marcus Roberts, Bob Hurst and Jeff “Tain” Watts. “He was
Orleans seemed like the right direction.” still doing ‘Black Codes’ and ‘Knozz-Moe-King,’ playing the same way

44 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

Woody Shaw had been doing, but different forms played by younger peo-
ple,” Anderson said. “It was exciting, and I loved it. Wynton told me, ‘You
sound good, but you’re not ready yet. Go in the shed, and we’ll get back to-
gether.’ [I thought,] ‘Yeah, that’s probably the last time I’ll see you.’ Two
years later, he called me back. I said, ‘You’re never going to use an alto.’ He
said, ‘It’s a different instrument, but I like the way you play.’
“It was a big challenge, but Wynton makes the challenge work for you.
He said, ‘You need to listen to stuff you don’t know.’ I’d checked out Benny
Carter, but I didn’t know Johnny Hodges. I had to play a lot of Johnny
Hodges’ music, and I had to figure out what I was going to do with it. And
I had to learn how to lead the section.”
Toward this end, Marsalis suggested that Anderson observe Norris
Turney, who had filled Hodges’ chair with Duke Ellington after Hodges
died in 1970, and was fulfilling the lead alto function in the first iteration
of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO). “Norris told me that the
feeling of the music has to go through you. He said, ‘It’s all right to read
what’s written, but make them move with the feeling.’ He’d play turned to
the band, with his back to the audience. He said, ‘That’s love, baby. You
play for the band first, then you play for the audience.’ By being around a
musician like that, I understood. When he left, Wynton said, ‘You’d better
move over.’ I said, ‘I don’t know if I’m ready.’ He said, ‘You’d better be.’”
In 1987 Anderson played his first Lincoln Center concert, a Charlie
Parker tribute with elder Birdologist Charles McPherson. “I knew about
him, but I didn’t know until I got on the stage how bad he’d cut me up,”
Anderson remarked. “Wynton said, ‘Well, you learned.’”
Some years later, Anderson and McPherson matched wits on Monk
repertoire. “The same thing happened,” Anderson said. “I wasn’t ready.”
Two weeks before our lunch conversation, Anderson had experienced
his third “dueling altos” encounter with McPherson, which was also his
first solo appearance at the Rose Theater since the stroke. More than 20
years had passed since their first battle, and Anderson demonstrated just
how ready he now was. The repartee began about 45 minutes into the first
set, devoted primarily to less-traveled Parker tunes. Propelled by a first-
class bebop rhythm section of Ehud Asherie on piano, Ben Wolfe on bass
and Victor Lewis on drums, Anderson pranced through “Cardboard” with
high poise, creating fresh, thematic lines that he phrased on the beat in
a way owing much to his assimilation of the Benny Carter-Cannonball
Adderley playbook, in contrast to McPherson’s swooping, barline-cross-
ing, Bird-like arpeggiations. On “Another Hair-Do,” McPherson ratcheted
into a supersonic opening solo, soaring through the changes, cramming
note clusters, quoting Parker licks in unexpected places. When it came his
turn, Anderson waited a few measures, quoted “Red Top” and, with due de-
liberation, built a long, ascendant solo in which melody was paramount—
as Sonny Stitt used to do in his prime—before engaging in a stimulating
series of exchanges.
The altoists assumed similar characters on the second set, which paid
homage to Parker’s Bird With Strings oeuvre. The program included once-
commissioned, never-recorded charts by John Lewis and Gerry Mulligan,
lyric Anderson features on “Repetition,” “Laura” and “Rocker” and an in-
tense dialogue on “What Is This Thing Called Love.”
Thinking back on his time onstage with McPherson, Anderson joked,
“I said, ‘As long as I’m bleeding, I’m going to have some of your blood on
me, too.’ Charles is going to play like Charlie Parker, so it doesn’t make
sense for me to do it.” Again, Anderson referenced his attitude toward in-
terpreting Johnny Hodges features with JLCO. “The first thing I decided
was not to play like him. But playing his tunes actually explained to me
how to make a ballad sound beautiful, but my way.”
This is precisely the dictum to which Anderson hews on his new re-
cording, which gestated in a series of “Wess Anderson Presents” ap-
pearances at Snug Harbor in New Orleans devoted to repertoire by John
Coltrane, Monk and, most recently, Adderley. “Most of my records have
been original music, and I thought people might like something different,”
he said, en route from Manganaro’s to a nearby cigar store to stock up on
hand-rolleds for his New York week. “People say, ‘I remember hearing
you with Wynton years ago.’ I say, ‘Thank you very much. Check out what
we’re doing now.’” DB

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 45

 Masterpiece ★★★★★ Excellent ★★★★ Good ★★★ Fair ★★ Poor ★
Inside 
53 I Jazz
56 I Blues
59 I Beyond
63 I Historical
65 I Books
Courtesy of nonesuch

Joshua Redman/ that each member is of such special Some seem gratuitous. The steep inant contemporary language.
Aaron Parks/ merit that none could presume to be pick-up halfway into his composi- Bassist Matt Penman’s “Coax”
Matt Penman/ boss. It also implies that each play- tion “Star Crossed,” for example, opens on a simple interval that
Eric Harland er is a composer, an easy term to ap- sounds tacked on, as if everyone just Redman builds into a lean but in-
James Farm propriate but a rather pointless one got bored poking along. sistent trance-like mantra and soon
Nonesuch 526294 until other people play your music. In its particulars, there are mo- melts into a sleepy piano medita-
★★★ After all, though, James Farm is ments to be esteemed. But over- tion by Parks. When Redman re-
still a contemporary acoustic quar- all the music and time signatures turns to re-stir the piece, his lines
Who or where is James Farm, I tet and Redman is still its star. are too busy and austere to swing. seem less an improvisation than
wondered as I sliced open Joshua Yet, in the 10 original titles here, Pianist Aaron Parks’ “Chronos,” a rather mechanical roller coaster
Redman’s new co-led quartet disc, the musicians seem to be talking for instance, is a rather interesting over a series of shifting scales. It
which arrived in a plain brown more to each other than to an eaves- minor-key melody that exudes the leaves little behind, even after re-
wrapper without explanation. I dropping audience. Redman re- kind of intrigue that could extract a peated auditions. Penman’s “Low
trust there’s a great story to be told mains commanding and fastidious, snake from a basket. Exotic in the Fives,” with its long, meandering
about why he chose the name for but he hides behind complex masks manner of Juan Tizol’s “Caravan,” bass intro, sounds indolent until
this combo, which makes its CD of his own creation. The material it becomes haughty, hard and im- Redman takes over on soprano. 
debut here. Alas, perhaps it’s a sto- derives from many global sources. personal in performance. To some  —John McDonough
ry more interesting than I found on It has an aloof but challenging chill degree, this is built into Redman’s
some of the music. that surges and ebbs according to an unromantic sound. He’s such an ac-
James Farm: Coax; Polliwog; Bijou; Chronos;
Star Crossed; 1981; I-10; Unravel; If By Air; Low
James Farm calls itself a collab- unpredictable but formal rigor, rely- complished player that one almost Fives. (69:00)
Personnel: Joshua Redman, tenor saxophone;
orative band, a term intended to ing on tempo shifts, swooping dou- wishes he wasn’t such a captive of Aaron Parks, piano; Matt Penman, bass; Eric
Harland, drums.
suggest an absence of hierarchy— ble-time flights and similar devices. post-’60s tenor. But that’s the dom-
Caption
Ordering info: nonesuch.com

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 47

 Corea, Clarke & White for a master, “Bud Powell,” highlights
Forever Chick’s hard clarity of mind, and the
Concord 32627 trio exudes pure joy. White steps out on
★★★★ Thelonious Monk’s “Hackensack” with
a martial snare, brilliantly riffing on an-
In Chick Corea’s notes for this much- gular fragments of the tune. The main
anticipated album, he says that he had disc closes with a long jam on “Señor
always hoped to do an acoustic tour Mouse” that draws you into the exuber-
with Stanley Clarke and Lenny White— ant spirit of these performances.
the trio at the core of his ’70s super- There’s a second, mostly electric disc
group Return To Forever—but never with this album, but calling it a “bonus”
got around to it. Finally, in the fall of is a misnomer; only diehard nostalgists or
2009, he did. Along the way, tape was collectors are likely to enjoy it. With the
rolling. Six sound captures were made exception of the last live track, it’s a re-
at Yoshi’s, in Oakland, as well as one hearsal recorded in a Los Angeles studio
each at Seattle’s Jazz Alley and Tokyo’s before a performance at the Hollywood
Blue Note. The three seasoned veterans Bowl and features guest appearances
sound wildly happy to be playing to- by Bill Connors, Chaka Khan and Jean-
gether again, as if the 30-plus years be- Luc Ponty. The violinist plays with won-
tween the old days and the new had sim- derful verve and abandon, and a take of
ply fallen away. “Armando’s Rhumba” achieves an attrac-
RTF always had a brisk, eager, alert the first creamy notes of “On Green Dolphin tive, stately feel, but most of the tracks feel
quality, as if the players were standing on the Street” and “Windows,” there’s no doubt about like what they were—generic warmups—and
edge of a cliff preparing to hang-glide. Man, who’s playing piano, as Corea obliquely cir- Khan’s shrieks are just dreadful. 
did they soar, catching the rhythmic updrafts cles the edges of the tune then darts into his  —Paul de Barros
and reveling in the free falls, drifts and switch- smart lines. Clarke—quick as ever, but with a Forever: Disc One: On Green Dolphin Street; Waltz For Debby;
backs. That exhilaration is still evident here, slightly nasal tone that recalls the ’70s in a bad Bud Powell; La Canción De Sofia; Windows; Hackensack; No
as are the crisp optimism and occasional way—finds a clever descending trail on an up- Mouse; Crescent; Armando’s Rhumba; Renaissance; High Wire—
Mystery; Señor Mouse. (72:52) Disc Two: Captain Marvel; Señor

dark throbs of the Spanish tinge that charac- tempo “Waltz For Debby,” boldly rethinking The Aerialist; I Loves You Porgy; After The Cosmic Rain; Space
Circus; 500 Miles High. (66:14)
terized the group. At the heart of the sound, the rhythm in his solo, though his percussive acoustic andChick
Personnel: Corea, piano and keyboards; Stanley Clarke,
electric bass; Lenny White; drums; Bill Connors (Disc
of course, are Corea’s childlike dreaminess, exhibition on “La Canción De Sofia” comes Two: 2, 7, 8, 9), electric guitar; Jean-Luc Ponty (Disc Two: 4, 5, 7, 8,
crunchy attack and fearless technique. From across as a crowd-pleaser. Corea’s composition Ordering info: concordmusicgroup.com
9), violin; Chaka Khan (Disc Two: 6, 7) vocals.

Al Di Meola on a nylon-stringed instrument. A flu-

Pursuit Of Radical id phrase, a breath of air, a lingering
Rhapsody note that’s fretted over—it makes for
Telarc 32835 a dreamy package. Back on electric,
★★★ there’s “Paramour’s Lullaby,” a mid-
tempo reflection with ballad tenden-
We all know the primary bugaboo with cies. The blend of the leader’s guitar
most Al Di Meola records, right? Too and Fausto Beccalossi’s accordion
many notes. From “Race With The creates a fetching swirl.
Devil On Spanish Highway” back in Two pop surprises arrive at the end
1977 to “Flesh On Flesh” a few years of the program, and each tilts towards
ago, the guitarist has filled his tracks the precious side. “Strawberry Fields”
with great sprays of athletic licks. In the is played with little embellishment and
large, they’re bravura turns that satu- filled with Baby Boomer sentiment,
rate the music at hand. Happily, on this but not as much sentiment as the ac-
new disc, Di Meola hits the brakes a bit, companying “Over The Rainbow.”
giving his itchy, pan-cultural pieces a With Charlie Haden plunking som-
chance to breathe, even when they’re berly and a string quartet glistening in
barreling along. It’s a move that bolsters the background, Di Meola’s farewell to
the music’s lyrical nature, and it makes Les Paul is too mushy by half. It’s also
the album one of his strongest state- revealing: Who knew Mr. Muscle was
ments yet. so taken with melancholy?
A blend of flamenco, tango and exacting approach makes the speediest sec-  —Jim Macnie
Caribbean strains inform the charts. Di tions more than just parades of flash. Same Pursuit Of Radical Rhapsody: Siberiana; Paramour’s Lullaby;
Meola’s World Sinfonia ensemble is well goes for “Destination Gonzalo,” which finds Mawazine Pt. 1; Michelangelo’s 7th Child; Gumbiero; Brave New
Word; Full Frontal Contrapuntal; That Way Before; Fireflies; Destina-
aware of the music’s nuances. When the tem- pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba sitting in, and the tion Gonzalo; Bona; Radical Rhapsody; Strawberry Fields; Mawa-
zine Part 2; Over The Rainbow.
pos ignite, a commitment to subtlety can be leader pining in the upper register à la Carlos Personnel: Al Di Meola, acoustic and electric guitars, percussion,
heard in their rich blend of electric and acous- Santana.
keyboards; Fausto Beccalossi, accordion; Kevin Seddiki, 2nd guitar
parts; Gumbi Ortiz, percussion; Peter Kaszas, drums, percussion;
tic instruments. A Gypsy essay like “Full When the group turns to ballads, like the Victor Miranda, acoustic upright baby bass; Charlie Haden, acous-
tic bass (13, 15); Peter Erskine, drums (4, 10, 12); Gonzalo Rubal-
Frontal Contrapuntal” impresses with explo- romantic “Bona,” that lyricism is nudged even caba, piano (5 10, 12); Barry Miles, string arrangements, additional
keyboards; Mino Cinelu, percussion (3, 4, 13, 14).
sive moments of darting runs, but the band’s further to the front. Di Meola has a sweet sound Ordering info: concordmusicgroup.com

48 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

 Hot Box
The

CD Critics 

Joshua Redman/Aaron Parks/

John McDonough John Corbett Jim Macnie Paul de Barros

Matt Penman/Eric Harland ★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★

James Farm

Corea, Clarke & White ★★★½ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★★

Forever

Al Di Meola ★★★½ ★★ ★★★ ★★★★

Pursuit Of Radical Rhapsody
Bill Frisell
Sign Of Life Bill Frisell ★★★★ ★★★ ★★★½ ★★★½
Savoy Jazz 17818 Sign Of Life
★★★
Critics’ Comments 
This is droll music. It’s quietly humorous, slight-
ly cute, self-effacing and sometimes sneakily
Joshua Redman/Aaron Parks/Matt Penman/Eric Harland, James Farm
substantive. There’s a tipping point with some
droll music, however, a place where it moves Willing to go in an unexpected direction or toss in a surprising sound without making a fetish of it, this demo-
from being laid-back to lacking gumption. cratic foursome makes unassuming and very satisfying music. Takes a minute to catch how unusual it is, but
James Farm is such a good vehicle for Redman, the best I’ve heard. Harland and Penman are dreamy and
Frisell is playing on that line on the short cuts precise, and Parks offers super-hip details.  —John Corbett
on his Sign Of Life, and here and there he and
I definitely like the players, I kind of like the tunes, but the music seldom soars—it’s lacking a certain perfor-
his wonderful 858 Quartet arrive at a place that mance spark. Maybe it’s the rhythms. Sometimes the pieces sound like unplugged fusion tunes. That said, the
lacks the verve of other related efforts.   notion that the band can allow all of its members to have a say singularly and collectively remains impressive.
 —Jim Macnie
The material is cut from familiar cloth, the
Americana quilt that the guitarist has been Four stellar players here, no doubt, with the fluid and evocative pianist Aaron Parks clearly the standout
(“Bijou”), but it’s not clear if the pervasively subdued and pensive mood is where they want to live or a prelude
creating for quite awhile. In the most engag- to something more explosive and coherent to come—the latter, one hopes.  —Paul de Barros
ing passages, the music succeeds in evok-
ing a particular atmosphere, rich in associa- Corea, Clarke & White, Forever
tions and connotations, from country, blues Forever trades youth for wisdom, and is better for the bargain. With the politics of Scientology and the bombast
and bluegrass to Copeland and Dvorák. It’s of fusion behind them, this trio finds its roots in crystal-clear, hard-swinging jamming. Quickly transcends the
music that would suit a soundtrack perfectly, justifications of nostalgia and asserts its own authority. Bonus CD adds some finished rehearsals with guests.
 —John McDonough
like behind scenes from “Deadwood.” And the
Corea and White make the transition from fusion speedboat to acoustic Sunfish smoothly. Clarke is typically
America that Frisell posits is a sort of imag- audacious and hard-swinging, but he burdens the date with too much of a clanky, ’70s over-amped sound—
inary 19th century soundscape of gently hu- particularly untoward in the more sensitive moments, like those on “La Canción De Sophia.”  —John Corbett 
morous scenes. There’s dissonance, of course, You can hear the years of chemistry-building in the interaction of the acoustic disc, but there’s something a
and when it arrives, it comes as a relief from tad heavy-handed in the delivery. Corea seems as spry as ever—his music always has some kind of lilt—but
the rhythm section italicizes their moves too much. The “guests” disc gets over on agility, making odd time
lots of rather similar optimistic or melancholic signatures flow smoothly.  —Jim Macnie
harmonic material. “Teacher” contains beauti-
ful tandem lines by all the bowed strings. Al Di Meola, Pursuit Of Radical Rhapsody
Cellist Hank Roberts sounds great here.
Di Meola’s magnificent guitar playing is its own best reward in this set that seems to meet the basic definitions
Violinist Jenny Scheinman is perfectly suited of jazz without exactly feeling like a jazz set. Its heart is in the world pop arena of Latin and flamenco, with its
to Frisell’s compositions, which relate close- terse, complex rhythms. Di Meola’s at his best on the soft, intimate “Bona.”  —John McDonough
ly to her own. She and Eyvind Kang (viola) Spoiler alert:  There is nothing radical here. A flamencoid world blend melée, making space for the flashy
share Frisell’s whimsical, muted sense of hu- flourishes that give it Di Meola’s trademark. In the realm of world-flash, I’ll turn to my old Egberto Gismonti or
Shakti records instead.  —John Corbett
mor. When the music seems about to break
After years of tossing aside Al Di Meola albums with the reasonable assumption that they would be tasteless
into a square dance, as on “Suitcase In My displays of obsessive technique, I was absolutely delighted to hear this jaunty, sweetly woven ensemble of
Hand,” they all cut loose, but most of the time folky, Mediterranean beats. Fausto Beccalossi’s accordion is a special treat. Lovely project.  —Paul de Barros
the players show great restraint, keeping the
Bill Frisell, Sign Of Life
expressive quality in the details. There are
minimalist selections, like “Sixty Four” and More a collection of atmospherics than songs, though there are a few melodies of great rural poignancy. “It’s
“Wonderland,” disturbing the homey vibe A Long Story” calls to mind Ken Burns’ Civil War series. Some, e.g. “Sixty Four,” are minimalist sketches in the
tonalities of tension, more appropriate for a Hitchcock film. But there is an overriding bucolic beauty that links
with stasis and repetition, breaking with the the cameos.  —John McDonough
pastoral for a hint of the urban. 
The esprit is here, the whimsy is here, and they both service a nimble interplay that gives this oddball string
 —John Corbett quartet a natural gravitas. Frisell’s version of waxing pensive delights in lyricism and fetching dissonance.
Sign Of Life:  It’s A Long Story (1); Old Times; Sign Of Life; Friend  —Jim Macnie
Of Mine (1); Wonderland; It’s A Long Story (2); Mother Daughter;
Youngster; Recollection; Suitcase In My Hand; Sixty Four; Friend Though I confess I kept wishing the arrangements were a little meatier, the disarming, Stephen Foster-like sim-
Of Mine (2); Painter; Teacher; All The People, All The Time; Village; plicity and succinctness and the simple luxuriance in string sounds of each cut have grown on me. Even those
As It Should Be. (53:31) who have become tired of Frisell’s cartoonish Americana should ask themselves: How many jazz composers
Personnel: Bill Frisell, guitar; Jenny Scheinman, violin; Eyvind write songs that sound absolutely personal but also like they’ve always been there?  —Paul de Barros
Kang, viola; Hank Roberts, cello.
Ordering info: savoyjazz.com

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 49

 Ernest Dawkins’ lineup with new trumpet-
New Horizons ers Marquis Hill and Shaun
Ensemble Johnson joining Dawkins
The Prairie and trombonist Steve Berry.
Prophet Both newcomers deliver de-
Delmark Records 598 lectable solos, whether on the
★★★★ surging political statement
of “Baghdad Boogie” or on
After a five-year hiatus “Mal-Lester,” a lovely tribute
from recording, Ernest to Lester Bowie and Malachi
Hawkins’ New Horizons Favors Maghostut. Each
Ensemble returns with member plays extremely well
another splendid example of free-bop—music with a focus on group empathy, as demonstrat-
nudging toward the edges of modern bop, flirt- ed on Berry’s gorgeous “Mesopotamia” or when
ing intermittently with free jazz, yet never ful- delivering individual solos, such as guitarist Jeff
ly abandoning the cohesive momentum of swing. Parker does on the boisterous “Sketches.”
With The Prairie Prophet, Dawkins pays When Dawkins solos, like on the opening
homage to the late saxophonist, cultural pro- “Hymn For A Hip King” or the roiling “Shades Paul van Kemenade
genitor and fellow AACM member Fred Of The Prairie Prophet,” he shows great com- Close Enough
Anderson. Just as Anderson was, Dawkins is mand on alto and tenor saxophones. Without KEMO 09
capable of addressing a broad jazz vocabu- attempting to make grandiose statements, The ★★★★★
lary as a player and composer—a talent that’s Prairie Prophet illustrates the excellence of
made clear from the get-go as the disc opens Dawkins as a consummate jazz figure. Ever heard a jazz CD open with Gregorian
with the South African-inflected “Hymn For  —John Murph chant? A composition involving a Renaissance
A Hip King” and then shifts into “Sketches,” The Prairie Prophet: Hymn For A Hip King, Sketches, Ballad- vocal ensemble, flamenco guitar, Senegalese
which expands and constricts between avant- Baghdad Boogie. (64:50) percussion and jazz quartet also has to be a first.
esque, Mal-Lester, Shades of the Prairie Prophet, Mesopotamia,

garde and modern big band swing with hints Personnel: Ernest Dawkins, alto and tenor saxophones, percus-
sion, vocals; Marquis Hill, flugelhorn (1), trumpet (2, 3, 7); Shaun Further listening reveals rich variety and surpris-
of blues shouts and country music. Johnson, trumpet (1, 2, 4); Steve Berry, trombone; Jeff Parker, gui-
tar; Junius Paul, bass; Isaiah Spencer, drums, percussion.
ing homogeneity, driven with deep conviction
The disc showcases a slightly new front-line Ordering info: delmark.com from the leader, already confirming this as one
of my albums of the year.
Dutch saxophonist Paul van Kemenade’s
Anthony Brown’s Asian expressive alto and bluesy feel betray a like-
American Orchestra ly debt to David Sanborn and Maceo Parker,
India & Africa: A Tribute To but might also have been distilled from Bunky
John Coltrane Green, Johnny Hodges or Amsterdam-based
Water Baby Records 1110 saxophonist Michael Moore. Clawing for prec-
★★★½ edents ends there, since this is a unique re-
cord. Contexts are ingenious, from three horns
Unincorporated, independent large ensembles or plus bass, to duo with cello, to big-shot quin-
big bands such as Anthony Brown’s Asian tet with Ray Anderson, Ernst Glerum and Han
American Orchestra serve myriad purposes. Bennink. The latter plays snare with brushes,
Founded in 1997, the ABAAO is a showcase contributing to an overall chamber-like vibe.
of all-star Bay Area-based musicians. It plac- Collaborations with Angelo Verploegen and
es Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Iranian in- Louk Boudesteijn suggest a regular band given
struments alongside brass and reeds and has the perfect tonal overlay, bassist Wiro Mahieu
performed and recorded its own arrangements as a fine counterweight.
of selections from the likes of Duke Ellington, The leader’s “Close Enough” and “It Is
Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus, as well Two original works—Kenneth Nash’s deeply Never Too Late” whiff of rhapsodic ballads
as its members’ original works. felt vocal and percussion “Exaltation” and Nash and detour into peculiar polyphonic places, the
For India & Africa, drummer/percussionist/ and Brown’s dual “Percussion Discussion” former fragmenting into spacious abstraction.
composer/scholar Brown culled Spanish- and (as — further personalize “Suite: Africa.” A spirited His alto darts and dives luxuriously, a rainbow
the title lays out) Indian- and African-influenced reading of “Afro Blue” seems somewhat aesthet- feathered bird of paradise riding to the strato-
pieces that John Coltrane was exploring in the ically out of place as the final number, until one sphere. Speaking of birds, “Cuckoo,” with Ernst
latter part of his career. The album is sourced reads the track listing and realizes it was done as Reijseger plucking and strumming cello and
from a pair of concerts held, appropriately an encore; in that context, it makes perfect sense. guffawing like a tipsy woodchopper, is brilliant
enough, at both the San Francisco and Oakland  —Yoshi Kato and hilarious. Despite the alto’s distinct pump
locations of Yoshi’s nightclub. India & Africa: A Tribute To John Coltrane: India: Diaspora Living
in the mix, there is great sensitivity to dynam-
“Living Space” opens the program with an Space; India; Olé; Tabla-Sarod Duet; India-Reprise; Suite: Af- ics and a lovely hover betwixt classical, compo-
unexpected twin presentation of the Japanese sition and improv.  —Michael Jackson
rica: Exaltation; Africa; Liberia; Percussion Discussion; Dahomey
Dance; Africa-Reprise; Encore: Afro Blue. (59:19)
shakuhachi flute and the Chinese sheng mouth Personnel: Anthony Brown, drums, percussion, conductor;
Danny Bittker, baritone sax, contralto clarinet, soprano saxo- Close Enough: Fantasy Colors; Close Enough; Lapstop; Take It
organ, recontextualizing Coltrane’s underex- phone; Mark Izu, bass, sheng (Chinese mouth organ); Henry
Hung, trumpet, flügelhorn; Masaru Koga, soprano and tenor
Easy; Cool Man, Coleman Part 1 & 2; Cuckoo; It Is Never Too Late;
posed composition that was recorded with his
Gathering For Alto And Cello; Vormärz. (51:59)
saxophones, shakuhachi; Richard Lee, bass trombone; Melecio Personnel: Paul van Kemenade, alto saxophone; Ernst Reijseger,
classic quartet in 1965. Appealingly dense ar-
Magdaluyo, alto, tenor and soprano saxophones; Marcia Miget, cello; Han Bennink, snaredrum; Ray Anderson, trombone; Cappella
flute, soprano, alto and tenor saxophones; Kenneth Nash, Afri- Pratensis, vocals; Frank Möbus, guitar; El Periquín, guitar; Ernst
rangements of the title tracks are sequenced sec- can, American and Indian percussion; Pushpa Oda, tambura;
Steve Oda, North Indian lute; Dana Pandey, tabla; Glen Pearson,
Glerum, bass; Serigne Gueye, percussion; Wiro Mahieu, bass; Eck-
ard Koltermann, bass clarinet; Stevko Busch, piano; Achim Kramer,
ond within each section, with a short reprise of piano; Geechi Taylor, trumpet, flügelhorn; Kathleen Torres, French
horn; Wayne Wallace, trombone.
drums; Benjamin Trawinski, bass; Angelo Verploegen, flugelhorn;
each closing out both.
Louk Boudesteijn, trombone.
Ordering info: anthonybrown.org Ordering info: paulvankemenade.com

50 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

Byron Morris Eric Bibb
and Unity Troubadour Live
Unity, A Retrospective Telarc 32760
By-Mor Music 004 ★★★★
★★ ½
More than a few road warriors in
Like many others in the 1970s, roots music call themselves trou-
Byron Morris is a remarkable badours. Nearly all are delusional.
jazz talent whose name often Eric Bibb is not. Traveling constant-
falls through the cracks. The sax- ly from his home base in Finland,
ophonist mostly steered clear of Bibb fits the bill as the rare solo per-
fusion, opting to follow John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders’ artistic tra- former of graciousness and refinement whose blues has a lyric poetry.
jectories. But he didn’t forsake funk, soul and blues; at their best, his LPs In concert at a venue in Sweden, making his third live album, Bibb
evoked the sounds established by labels such as Strata-East and Tribe. As displays his inclination for entertaining. The sage deliberation of his sing-
the title of Unity, A Retrospective suggests, the material largely consists of ing and his delicate, beguiling touch on acoustic guitar, evidenced on
compositions that have long been in Morris’ repertoire. Morris zeroes in fine new and old songs, would be enough to recommend the album, but
on a comfort zone in which his ensemble plays with decided ease. Morris’ further appeal comes from the presence of Staffan Astner. The Swede’s
alto and tenor saxophone melodies are bluesy and solid, but neither he nor electric guitar brings a rougher aesthetic to Bibb’s music, positively sub-
the rest of the artists work up much of a sweat. The rhythm sections keeps versive as a runaway train in “Walkin’ Blues Again.” With pianist Glen
the pace locked in a clunky mid-tempo groove. But on the Morris original Scott of the Psalm4 gospel trio joining the pair onstage, Bibb does some
“ERAA” bassist Frank Clayton and drummer Tyrone Walker ignite a com- of his best, truest singing on “Connected.” Here he delivers an unstuffy
paratively spirited rhythm that propels Morris’ coiling tenor saxophone im- message on the importance of individuality within the framework of hu-
provisation and Vincent McEwan’s clarion trumpet flights. But vocalist Jay man interaction. Toward the end of “Connected,” Psalm4’s Andre De
Clayton takes the most striking solo with a soaring, sometimes skittering Lange surprises everyone by singing in Zulu. Psalm4 singer Paris Renita
excursion.  —John Murph also joins the bunch and helps locate sunshine in a dimming world, exult-
Unity, A Retrospective: Sunshower, Eyewitness News Bluze, Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, Entrenched In ing “Thanks For The Joy.”  —Frank-John Hadley
The Blues, Lay It On The Line, Balls Groove, ERAA, Suite To Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Lonely Woman. (61:28)
Personnel: Byron Morris, tenor and alto saxophones and flute; Gene Adler, piano (3, 7); Alonzo Bailey, Troubadour Live: The Cape; Introducing Staffan Astner; New Home; Troubadour; Shavin’ Talk;
trumpet (9); Stanley Benders, congas and percussion (1, 2, 4, 5, 8); Frank Clayton, bass (3, 7, 8); Jay Walkin’ Blues Again; Tell Riley; Connected; New World Comin’ Through; Thanks For The Joy; For You;
Clayton, vocals (3, 7); David Fuller, drums (1, 2, 4, 5); Hakim Jami, bass (9); Cedric Lawson, piano (1, 2, Put Your Love First; If You Were Not My Woman. (53:40)
4, 5, 6); Lenny Martin, electric bass (6); Vincent McEwan, trumpet, flugelhorn, kalimba, claves (1, 2, 4, Personnel: Eric Bibb, acoustic guitar, vocals; Staffan Astner, electric guitar; Psalm4, vocals (9, 10); Paris Renita,
5, 6, 7, 8); Kevin Parham, electric bass (1, 5); Don Pate, bass (1, 2, 4); Richard E. Spencer, drums and lead vocal (11); Glen Scott, keyboards (8, 12, 13), background vocals (12), electric guitar, bass, drums (13);
percussion (3, 8, 9); Tyrone Walker, drums (3, 6, 7, 8); Tony Waters, congas, percussion (6). Troy Cassar-Daley, vocal (12), mandolin and 12-string guitar (12); Erik Arvinder, string arranger, conductor (13).
Ordering info: bymormusic.com Ordering info: telarc.com

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 51

 Come Sunday
Crosscurrents
CSJ 101
★★★
An explicit connection between two musical
worlds, the group Come Sunday bridges the gap
between the blues and gospel on Crosscurrents.
With an innovative mix of group singing and
group interplay, Come Sunday balances the deft
touch of jazz and blues with some traditional
church singing, all of it performed in a relatively
light-hearted, uplifting spirit.
The most interesting and moving pieces are
the ones that take the traditional gospel approach a slightly funky “Wade In The Water.” There is
and uplift it with guitarist Mike Allemana’s also a mix of vocals and solo voices on differ-
novel jazz arrangements. Indeed, for anyone ent tracks, as when we hear either Weinberg or
Tiempo Libre not particularly interested in gospel or religious Demel evoking what amounts to a kind of lulla-
My Secret Radio music, per se, Crosscurrents can almost pass by/lament on Ellington’s “Come Sunday.” With
Sony Masterworks 8458520 as lounge music if you don’t listen too closely. Allemana’s sympathetic stylings helping to keep
★★★★ Made up of four singers—Bill Brickey, Lindsay things intimate, if a bit more jazzy than tradi-
Weinberg, Alton Smith and Sue Demel—as tionalists might expect. “Come Sunday,” with
Consisting of keyboardist Jorge Gómez and well as the rhythm section of Allemana, bassist its pared-down, simple approach, signifies how
seven more Cuban emigres in Miami, Tiempo Al Ehrich and drummer Lenny Marsh, the en- Crosscurrents is as much about reinterpretation
Libre brings lessons learned in Havana classi- semble moves through a mix of 13 traditionals as it is emulation.
cal conservatories to an exciting confluence of along with covers of songs by Duke Ellington, It may not be “church,” but the vibe is sincere
Afro-Cuban rhythm, modern jazz harmonies Stevie Wonder and Alex Bradford (his “Too and worthy of a close listen.  —John Ephland
and Cuban cancion. These timbreros have been Close To Heaven” takes us out of the church Crosscurrents: Keep Your Hand On The Plow; Jesus Gave Me
emphasizing the Baroque side of their sound re- and into a blues bar, almost). Water; Trouble Of The World; Down By The Riverside; Come Sun-
cently, particularly the album Bach In Havana. Some of those novel approaches include the
day; Wade In The Water; Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away; I’m
On My Way To Canaan’s Land; Too Close To Heaven; The Christian
My Secret Radio marks their return to the mournful, reggae-flavored, jazzy waltzing of Testimony; Just A Closer Walk With Thee; My Rock; Deep River.
(60:20)
dance timba of their mid-2000s albums, Arroz the traditional “Trouble Of The World,” a Latin Personnel: Bill Brickey, Lindsay Weinberg, Alton Smith, Sue Demel,
vocals; Mike Allemana, guitar; Al Ehrich, bass; Lenny Marsh, drums.
Con Mango and What You’ve Been Waiting samba-imbued “Down By The Riverside” and Ordering info: comesundayjazz.com
For. The title refers to listening to outlawed pop
and r&b when the group was growing up in re-
pressive Cuba. who’s now a regular bandmate in the quartet
On “Lo Mio Primero,” Joaquin Diaz sings Agogic—to cohere Vu’s bicoastal reality. But
heartily as the others channel surges of in- the lineup does much more than provide a nice
strumental and vocalized timba in celebration symbol. Neither bassist is content with serv-
of both their Caribbean heritage and the per- ing up simple lines, and through various ef-
sonal freedom found in their adopted coun- fects and varied techniques their instruments
try. “Mujer De Fuego” spontaneously com- are veering between sources of melody, atmo-
busts with groove, brass flourishes and vocal sphere, color and harmony, rumbling and soar-
shouts. “Prende La Radio” injects strong funk ing with low-end authority.
into timba, while “Ahora Te Quieres Ir” modi- After spending his career writing original
fies the funk-timba intensity when Diaz shares music, Vu tackles standards and modern pop
the heartbreak he feels over a soured romance. tunes here, all of them with the kind of smol-
Latin jazz-funk instrumental “Aceite” is the dering, unhurried melodies perfectly suited to
band’s fiery salute to Dizzy Gillespie and the group’s slow-burn attack, with each play-
Chano Pozo’s “Manteca.” er seeming as if carving lines from huge slabs
Tiempo Libre’s radio signal doesn’t always of sound. There’s a deeply sculptural feel to
come in loud and clear. Guest Albita’s dramatic the improvisations, and when Vu finally un-
vocal on the danzon ballad “Como Hace Años” Cuong Vu 4-Tet veils the melodies to pieces like “Body And
is appropriate for lyrics about love-sickness but Leaps Of Faith Soul” and “My Funny Valentine” after blow-
her passion is at odds with the bleached-out elec- Origin 82585 ing billowy abstractions, it almost feels like
tronic keyboards. Like all the songs on this al- ★★★★ he’s wrestled them to the ground. Sometimes
bum, Tiempo Libre’s cha-cha makeover of Earth, the music floats with an ethereal grace, while
Wind & Fire’s “After The Love Is Gone” suc- Trumpeter Cuong Vu moved back to his native at other moments the finely wrought lyricism
ceeds in celebrating the human spirit even if lis- Seattle in 2006 to teach, but five years lat- glides over heavy turbulence, but in every case
teners have to cope with Rachelle Fleming’s self- er he’s still working with the members of his the results are seriously transporting. This is
conscious singing.  —Frank-John Hadley long-running New York trio, drummer Ted the finest manifestation of Vu’s post–Miles
My Secret Radio: Lo Mio Primero; San Antonio; Como Hace Años; Poor and electric bassist Stomu Takeishi. But Davis originality.  —Peter Margasak
Prende La Radio; La Gente; Aceite; Mecánica; Mujer De Fuego;
Ahora Te Quieres Ir; After The Love Is Gone; Mi Antena. (55:38). on Leaps Of Faith, a gorgeous live recording Leaps Of Faith: Body And Soul; All The Things You Are; My Funny
Personnel: Jorge Gómez, keyboards, vocals; Joaquin Diaz vocals;
Leandro Gonzalez, congas, bongo, vocals; Tebelio Fonte bass, vo-
made in Seattle in April 2010, he brings in Valentine; Leaps Of Faith; Child-Like (For Vina); Something; I Shall
Never Come Back; My Opening Farewell. (69:00)
cals; Luis Beltran, saxophone; Armando Arce, drums, timbales, con- second electric bassist Luke Bergman—a for- electric bass;Cuong
Personnel: Vu, trumpet; Luke Bergman, Stomu Takeishi,
Ted Poor, drums.
mer University of Washington student of his Ordering info: origin-records.com
gas (4, 11); Raul Rodriquez, trumpet; Chad Bernstein, trombone (4).
Ordering info: sonymasterworks.com

52 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

Jazz | By James Hale

Ben Allison

Courtesy Ben Allison

Distilling Beauty From The Low End
Bottom heavy—with Michael Blake’s bass Ordering info: leorecords.com
clarinet and two grinding electric guitars joining Moon And Sand (Tosky 004; 55:49
Ben Allison’s bass—Action-Refraction (Pal- ★★★½) begins so off-handedly—with a three-
metto 2149; 43:32 ★★★) shares a fondness minute solo piano intro to Alec Wilder’s title
for the forms and bombast of prog-rock with composition—that the contrast to the hard
The Bad Plus. The comparison is most apt bop take on Billy Strayhorn’s “Johnny Come
on pounding versions of Donny Hathaway’s Lately” is extremely stark. Leader Michel Ro-
“Some Day We’ll All Be Free” and PJ Harvey’s sciglione is a sturdy bass player with an attrac-
“Missed” and an arch rendition of Paul Wil- tive tone, but he dodges the role of composer,
liams’ “We’ve Only Just Begun.” Balancing instead favoring Kenny Kirkland (two pieces),
that tendency to build dense sonic walls is an Christian McBride and John Coltrane. Band-
ultra-minimalist take on Neil Young’s “Philadel- mates Vincent Bourgeyx and Remi Vignolo get
phia,” which sounds achingly beautiful. a slot each, leaving the listener wondering just
Ordering info: palmetto-records.com what Rosciglione imparts. No matter, both the
More mash-up than album, bassist Greg trio and quintet versions of his group sound
Byers’ Some Dark, Beautiful Morning (self- confident and practiced.
release; 35:31 ★★) begins with a lushly tex- Ordering info: toskyrecords.com
tured blend of dark strings and then veers into Exceptionally self-effacing as a leader,
techno, ersatz Frank Zappa and sludgy jazz- bassist Sean Smith gives so much of Trust
rock fusion. It hits its nadir with a self-indulgent (Smithereen 1001; 69:38 ★★★½) over to
piece called “Snake Tail” that is rife with ba- guitarist John Hart and saxophonist John El-
nal lyrics and terrible singing by Byers. There lis that the quartet sounds like a co-operative
is no question he has big ears when it comes band. Hart’s attack is taut and incisive, particu-
to influences, and his instrumental work has larly on “Wayne’s World,” and Ellis’ soprano
some interesting moments, but it sounds like dominates “Occam’s Razor.” But, while Trust
Byers might have benefitted from an outside is a pleasant outing by a quartet that sounds
producer who knows when things are going more than competent, there is a certain lack
over the top. of distinctive character. On tenor, Ellis rarely
Ordering info: gregbyersmusic.com digs any deeper than mid-register, and Smith’s
One of Europe’s most prolific improvising compositions bear few unique signatures.
artists, Joëlle Léandre stretches out with two Ordering info: seansmithjazz.com
different bands on Can You Hear Me? (Leo Featuring three separate sextets anchored
594/595; 53:53/46:58 ★★★★), recorded live by bassist Charles Thomas, The Colors Of A
over two nights in 2009. Her string-heavy Dream (Sea Tea 104; 68:01 ★★★) is a hard-
tentet sounds like it could use either more re- boppers’ fantasy, rife with unison horn lines
hearsal time or a tighter course to follow; its and sturdy rhythm sections. The raucous Latin
movements are somewhat predictable and the beat of “Sunburst” and the loping pace of “The
parts seldom coalesce into a larger whole. Her Blue Sea” are attractive, and the crisp trum-
trio, on the other hand, with pianist John Til- pet of Mike Olmos on the storming “Git Wid
bury and vibraphonist Kevin Norton, expands It” and “Pride’s Glide” is a clear instrumental
textural shards into a piece of extraordinary highlight. Less winning is the leader’s wobbly
beauty and tenderness. Slow to unfold and vocal outing on “My Foolish Heart” and the
highly gestural, the trio’s improvisation shifts obvious technical inequality between the three
and turns to both catch the light and reveal a saxophonists who are featured. DB
darker core. Ordering info: charlesthomasmusic.com

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 53

 Brian Carpenter’s Ghost
Train Orchestra           
Hothouse Stomp: The Music Of
1920s Chicago And Harlem
Accurate 5062
★★★½
Seabrook Powerplant
Seabrook Powerplant II
Loyal Label 009
★★★½ 
Brian Carpenter, who leads and plays trumpet
in Ghost Train Orchestra, is not a devoted re-
vivalist or a fevered student of traditional jazz.
When not leading the experimental rock band
Beat Circus he’s been making a documentary of prog, metal, punk and noisy experimental-
about Albert Ayler. But when he became mu- ism. He circumvents the banjo’s lack of sustain
sical director for a vaudeville project in cele- with furious runs and riffs to simulate a ring-
bration of the 90th anniversary of the Regent ing presence, exploiting the instrument’s spiky,
Theater in Arlington, Mass., he dug into the percussive possibilities, and even uses bowing
past, and the giddy performances on Hothouse on a track like “I’m Too Good For You.” The
Stomp are the fruits of his explorations. The al- whiplash opener “Lamborghini Helicopter” is
bum looks at lesser-known bands of the ’20s one of his episodic blowouts, switching tem-
from New York and Harlem. pos, groove, mood and density with ADD ra-
Carpenter leads a superb band of New pidity and tossing in some sharp wordless vocal
York-based vanguardists, and while most of clusters courtesy of microtonal specialist Judith
the solos ditch period authenticity and em- Berkson. On half the tracks he busts out an elec-
ploy a vocabulary that contains ideas from the tric guitar, emphasizing metal roots—made ex-
next 90 years of jazz history, his sharp arrange- tra clear on “0515,” which salutes Van Halen.
ments retain the contrapuntal flash, sweet voic-  —Peter Margasak
ings and fiery rhythms of the original era, from Hothouse Stomp: The Music Of 1920s Chicago And Harlem:
the manic, percussive strumming of banjo whiz Ghost Train (Orchestra); Mojo Strut; Stop Kidding; Gee Baby, Ain’t I
Good To You?; Voodoo; Blues Sure Have Got Me; Hot Bones And
Brandon Seabrook to the fat puffing lines of Rice; Dixie Stomp; Lucky 3-6-9; The Boy In The Boat; Slide, Mr.
Jelly, Slide; Hot Tempered Blues. (38:44)
tubaist Ron Caswell. The group highlights the Personnel: Brian Carpenter, trumpet, harmonica (1), voice (5);
quirkiness of tunes like Parham’s otherworld-
Dennis Lichtman, clarinet; Andy Laster, alto saxophone; Matt
Bauder, tenor saxophone (3–9, 12), alto saxophone (11), clarinet (1,
ly “Voodoo,” dropping in a saw solo by violist 2, 10); Curtis Hasslebring, trombone; Mazz Swift, violin, vocals (4,
6); Jordan Voelker, viola, saw (5, 6, 10); Brandon Seabrook, banjo;
Jordan Voelker. Ron Caswell, tuba; Rob Garcia, drums.
Ordering info: accuraterecords.com 
Seabrook shows off his trad chops on tenor Seabrook Powerplant II: Lamborghini Helicopter; Black Sheep
banjo in Ghost Train Orchestra, but in his own Squadron; The Night Shift; I’m Too Good For You; Kush Lamps
Ablaze; Sacchetto Mal D’Aria; Forcep Perfection; 0515. (36:56) 
knotty power trio, Seabrook Powerplant, he puts Personnel: Brandon Seabrook, banjo, guitar; Tom Blancarte,
it to more extreme use, crafting a tough mix
bass; Jared Seabrook, drums; Judith Berkson, vocal (1).
Ordering info: seabrookpowerplant.com

Noah Haidu elaborate, pointed exchanges be-

Slipstream tween the horns as they dance upon
Posi-Tone 807 an acoustic funk groove.
★★★ However, isn’t the slipstream
also the place where a racer hangs
What’s in a name? In when he doesn’t want to take the
the case of pianist Noah lead? The rhythmic choices in
Haidu’s Slipstream: an “Break Tune” are as close as this
apt description of one music comes to breaking out of a
of his album’s chief vir- template established before most
tues as well as its great- of these musicians were born. Sure,
est flaw. Haidu’s compositions progress with a Horace Silver and Wayne Shorter made great mu-
forthright liveliness and ease that belies the com- sic, but do we really need to hear it recapitulated
manding skills that the players exercised whilst quite so specifically as Haidu and company do
negotiating them. Take the title track’s head: It on “Soulstep” and “Where We Are Right Now”?
requires trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and saxophon- While beautifully wrought, this record feels like it
ist Jon Irabagon to execute a tricky unison and is in a holding pattern. —Bill Meyer
then pitches them into a series of succinct, head-
long solos before they hand the melody over to its
Slipstream: Soulstep; Where We Are Right Now; Slipstream;
Break Tune; Float; Take Your Time; Just One Of Those Things; The
composer, who digs into the fleet rhythm before Trouble Makers. (49:14)
Personnel: Noah Haidu, piano; Jeremy Pelt, trumpet; Jon Iraba-
contributing some quick and elegant right-hand gon, alto saxophone; Chris Haney, bass; John Davis, drums (2, 4,
5, 7, 8); Willie Jones III, drums (1, 3, 6).
figures. “Break Tune” follows up that act with Ordering info: posi-tone.com

54 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

Harriet Tubman ates a menacing evoca-
Ascension tion throughout as does
Sunnyside 1274 Ross’ apocalyptic gui-
★★ ½ tar chords and slash-
ing riffs. The dueling
Harriet Tubman comes DJs certainly feed the
with more firepower fire, creating cacopho-
than ever on its third nous soundscapes that
disc, beefing up the ar- add rhythmic friction
senal into a double trio. and even more humid
DJ Logic, DJ Singe and chords.
trumpeter Ron Miles Still, Transition in-
join the already incen- vites more repeated lis-
diary triumvirate of tening than Ascension,
guitarist Brandon Ross, bassist Melvin Gibbs not only because Haynes allotted more studio
and drummer J.T. Lewis. post-production finesse to the earlier album,
At the beginning, Ascension recalls but also because it featured more durable ma-
Graham Haynes’ 1996 masterpiece Transition, terial. As fascinating and energetic as Harriet
which is no mere coincidence considering that Tubman pieces like “Down Shift/Ascension”
both Ross and Logic played splendidly on that and “Stellar Attraction” are, hardly anything
disc. Also, like Haynes did with John Coltrane’s sticks because Harriet Tubman consistently fa-
adventurous “Tradition,” Harriet Tubman takes vors sonic textures over conventional songcraft.
an equally aggressive route with Coltrane’s Pieces like “Plasmaroid” and “Sidereal Flux”
“Ascension.” This time though, it’s Miles’ clar- start out promising with a funky riff or an en-
ion trumpet soaring above turbulent waves of trancing mood, but soon overheat into melodic-
jangly guitar riffs, pounding drums and sear- deficient pools of harrowing sound. Toward the
ing sonic textures. Perhaps another reason why end, the relentless sonic assault leads to listener
Ascension bears resemblance to the late-’90s is fatigue with too few hooky memories.
that it was recorded in September 2000, live at  —John Murph
the Knitting Factory. Ascension: Ascension; Ritual Rubbin’; Down Shift/Ascension;
Chalk this up as “canned heat,” because its Night Master/Ascension; Ascension; Stellar Attraction; Probe; Si-
dereal Flux; Plasmaroid; Widely Known. (51:45)
lengthy time on the shelf hasn’t diminished Personnel: Brandon Ross, guitar; Melvin Gibbs, bass; J.T. Lewis,
drums; Ron Miles, trumpet; DJ Logic, DJ Singe, turntables.
any of its intensity. Gibbs’ subsonic bass cre- Ordering info: sunnysiderecords.com

Ken Peplowski Peplowski breathes with

In Search Of… such sublime analogue
Capri 74108 softness that every move-
★★★★ ment his mouth makes
on the reed seems per-
As you might expect ceptible, while Berg’s
from a veteran who’s tiptoeing fingers match
counted the varied likes nostalgic drum patterns.
of Benny Goodman, But the tune transcends
Leon Redbone and its ballad beginnings,
Mel Tormé as collabo- climbing into an uptem-
rators, Ken Peplowski’s po showcase for symmet-
tastes run the gamut rical concepts.
here from Beatles in- The final three tracks
terpretations to torch are self-produced, unre-
songs to obscure ballads. But start to finish, the leased material from 2007. Runs of Eastern-
common denominator on his latest release is style percussion reformat the entire album’s
beauty, pure and simple. vibe on the George Harrison-penned “Within
In Search Of... spans material from two You And Without You.” The spare but swinging
very different sessions. Tracks 1–9 were record- “No Regrets” works its way into your head by
ed in February 2010 and heavily influenced by way of your tapping foot. Finally, a unexpect-
the audibly symbiotic relationship between ed duet rendition of “Rum And Coca-Cola” hits
Peplowski and pianist Shelly Berg, who also the listener with Peplowki’s Professor Longhair-
composed “In Flower” and “Peps.” The pair’s like agility and peerless foray into the clarinet’s
interaction plays out like a ballroom dance on upper register.  —Jennifer Odell
“With Every Breath I Take,” as the clarinet’s In Search Of…: The Thespian; Love’s Disguise; When Joanna
steady lead gives Berg’s delicate piano work Loved Me; Falsa Baiana; A Ship Without A Sail; With Every Breath
plenty of room to trace delicate, right hand– You And Without You; Rum And Coca-Cola (60:49).
I Take; In Flower; Peps; This Nearly Was Mine; No Regrets; Within

driven twirls before dipping into the reed’s rich Personnel: Ken Peplowski, clarinet and tenor saxophone; Jeff
Hamilton, drums (1–9); Tom Kennedy, bass (1–9); Shelly Berg,
lower registers. They ultimately balance each (11) ; Joe Ascione,Cohen,
piano (1–9); Greg bass (10–12); Chuck Redd, vibraphone
percussion (11, 12).
other’s playfulness on “The Thespian.” At first, Ordering info: caprirecords.com

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 55

 Blues | By frank-john hadley

Strength in Diversity Johnny Rawls

Johnny Rawls: Memphis Still Got Soul

(Catfood 008; 40:01 ★★★★) Owning a rich
and distinctive voice, Rawls sings as if he
were experiencing wonder over his discov-
ery of Southern soul-blues. Actually, he’s
been a leading exponent of the style since
the late-1970s, at his best in the studio the
past few years with bassist Bob Trenchard’s
unobtrusively powerful gang of Texans called
the Rays. Also cutting a fresh and satisfying
groove on the new album are drummer Dan
Nichols and his Montanans. Rawls and his
aides write memorable songs in thoughtful,
plain spoken language. Listeners not familiar
with the Mississippi-born singer (and part-
time guitarist) will be caught by surprise at the
depth and degree of his authority.
Ordering info: catfoodrecords.com
Tab Benoit: Medicine (Telarc 32823;
50:17 ★★★½) The singer and guitarist from
Louisiana delivers just the right prescription—
a mixture of bayou blues, rock and r&b that
has a core of emotional authenticity only
suggested sporadically on his many previ-
ous albums. It helps to have Anders Osborne
present as a punch-in-the-gut co-producer
and a collaborating tunesmith. Cajun fiddler
Michael Doucet is a marvel contributor to
three tracks, especially “Long Lonely Bayou,”
where he and Benoit color their phrases with

James Gregus
an indelible ache beyond treatment.
Ordering info: telarc.com
Magic Sam Blues Band: West Side
Soul (Delmark 615; 44:38 ★★★★½) First miX & dorp: blues + beat (Black & Tan
issued in 1967, this monument of Chicago 036; 64:16 ★★★) Give Dutch guitarist Jan
blues finds Sam grounding his thrillingly Mitterdorff credit. Like the Europeans Ra-
high singing and his cataclysmic guitar riffs mon Goose and Eric Bling, he brings imagi-
in life experiences, those of a Delta-raised nation and a sense of cockeyed purpose to
young man in the big city who’d spent time his stomping electronic makeovers of the
in an Army brig. He grasps for greatness blues. Without debasing or trivializing tradi-
and gets it—despite blemishes in tech- tion, loops and beats explode with kinetic,
nique. “All Your Love” and the rest stand the rhythmic energy in tracks by Boo Boo Da-
test of time. Sam’s colleague Luther Allison vis, George Jackson, Harrison Kennedy and
used to say, “Blues should make you want two other American blues singers. Good
to cry a little and then get up and shout.” funk guitar interjections, too. Only some
Thunderous shouts, right here. Howlin’ Wolf-on-the-prowl jive and John
Ordering info: delmark.com Lee Hooker-ish boogie are trite.
Marion James: Essence (Eller Soul Ordering info: black-and-tan.com
1103-0002; 68:00 ★★★) The long-serving The Paul Speidel Band: Retrorocket
“Queen of Nashville Blues” exudes un- (PSP Recordings 1007; 59:48 ★★★½)
feigned spirit when she roars or worries over Ronnie Earl and Matthew Stubbs aren’t the
originals and smartly chosen Southern soul only blues-and-beyond guitarists in south-
gems like Benny Latimore’s “Let’s Straighten ern New England making strong instrumen-
It Out.” James almost bursts a blood vessel tal albums. On his own material, Speidel
smacking some two-timer in “You’re History, shines with calibrated, elevated playing
Baby.” In contrast, showing a sense of style that draws on his muse and on a congenital
and decorum, James follows a balladic jazz sense of what makes sense musically. For-
direction with classy pianist Beege Adair. tunately, he doesn’t feel compelled to show
There’s also an “interview” track with James off his technical skill. “Transatlantic Beat
seated at the piano for two songs and talking Exchange,” one standout, makes fascinat-
about local r&b history. ing connections to Nigeria’s Fela Kuti. DB
Ordering info: ellersoulrecords.com Ordering info: paulspeidelband.com

56 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

Matana Roberts ence with musicians she’s
Live In London know for up to a decade,
Central Control 1014 it is a committed perfor-
★★★ mance that combines the-
ater and music to address
Matana Roberts the common heritage of
Coin Coin Chapter African Americans, par-
One: Les Gens De ticularly slavery. There’s a
Couleur Libres lot to appreciate here. The
Constellation 079 opening alto/piano duet
★★★ has a bracing immedia-
cy that would have done
Matana Roberts’ early appearances at Fred Live In London a world of good, and there are
Anderson’s Velvet Lounge in Chicago and initial moments where Roberts’ arrangements strike a
recordings with Sticks And Stones served notice balance between pungent horns and unbridled,
that she was an alto saxophonist with a knack emotional strings that recalls Don Cherry’s work
for strong melodies and a tone that traversed the with the Jazz Composers Orchestra. The beauti-
pitch range from menthol sharpness to melted- ful, churchy cadence of the a cappella “Libation
butter warmth. But her work since leaving the For Mr. Brown: Bid Em In” bolsters the power of
city suggests that she wants to be a multidisci- Roberts’ lament for her ancestors’ suffering, but
plinary artist. Roberts made Live In London at her overwrought vocalizing turns parts of “Pov
the Vortex, and it has been the site of several su- Piti” and “I Am” into unintentional parodies.
perb live CDs. Despite that, the sound is a tad While Roberts is to be commended for her am-
flat. Roberts apparently did not have the oppor- bition, one hopes she’ll find a producer who will
tunity to rehearse with her combo, and it shows challenge her to only include the good stuff. 
in their deference to her. Bassist Tom Mason’s  —Bill Meyer
playing is solid but anonymous, and drummer Live In London: My Sistr; Pieces Of We; Glass; Turn It Around;
Chris Vatalaro only asserts himself near the end Oska T; Exchange. (73:16)
of penultimate tune, a rather too circuitous im-
Personnel: Matana Roberts, alto saxophone; Tom Mason, bass;
Robert Mitchell, piano; Chris Vatalaro, drums.
provisation that resolves into Duke Ellington’s Ordering info: centralcontrol.co.uk

“Oska T.” Only pianist Robert Mitchell steps up Coin Coin Chapter One: Les Gens De Couleur Libres: Rise; Pov
Piti; Song For Eulalie; Kersalia; Libation For Mr. Brown: Bid Em In;
and challenges Roberts, who plays with plenty Lulla/bye; I Am; How Much Would You Cost? (61:15)
of stamina but runs out of ideas during the more
Personnel: Matana Roberts, reeds and voice; Gitu Jain, voice;
David Ryshpan, piano and organ; Nicolas Caloia, cello; Gordon Al-
lengthy pieces. len, trumpet; Fred Bazil, tenor saxophone; Jason Sharp, baritone
saxophone; Xarah Dion, prepared guitar; Marie Davidson, Josh
Engagement is not the issue on Coin Coin Zubot, violin; Lisa Gamble, musical saw; Thierry Amar, Jonah For-
tune, bass; David Payant, drums and vibes.
Chapter One. Recorded before an invited audi- Ordering info: cstrecords.com

MSG tar to anchor odd-time workouts

Tasty! like the rigid funk of “Groove Band
Plus Loin Music 4537 Rebellion” and the nimble “Waltz
★★★ For The Anatomically Correct.”
Guilfoyle and Mahanthappa are in
Few improvisers are lockstep throughout the brisk swing
working at the prodi- of “Traditional” while the for-
gious pace set by alto mer easily keeps pace with the lat-
saxophonist Rudresh ter’s chromatic hoop-jumping on
Mahanthappa. Known “Installation.” By contrast, the sax-
for navigating the in- ophonist’s “Chant” arrives like a
tersections of India’s breath of fresh air simply for its rel-
Carnatic tradition and Western jazz, the New ative restraint and amorphous textures. In fact,
York City–based reedist and educator proudly the washy tune’s practically cathartic following
wears those influences on his sleeve in the sev- the dense and knotty flights consuming the ma-
eral working groups that he juggles. And while jority of the disc.
he’s not the leader of international combo MSG If its pun-evoking moniker—the collected
per se, he’s nevertheless brought in more than initials of the members’ surnames—tells us any-
half the tunes for this trio session, recorded in thing, it’s that this is a group having fun during
2006 but only recently released. its brief time together. But the titular wordplay
So it’s fitting that a passion for South Indian is also telling in another regard. After all, the
classical music also happens to be the common word “tasty” is most often deployed in reference
thread between Mahanthappa, Dutch drum- to chops, and in that department this album does
mer Chander Sardjoe and Irish bassist Ronan not come up short.  —Areif Sless-Kitain
Guilfoyle. Fusion in every sense, their collec- Tasty!: Blackjack!; Sucking Stones; Installation; Guile; Groove
tive bow, Tasty!, teems with serpentine sax Band Rebellion; Traditional; Chant; Waltz For The Anatomically
Correct. (48:57)
work that transcends a glut of showy, mechan- Sardjoe, drums;
Personnel: Rudresh Mahanthappa, alto saxophone; Chander
Ronan Guilfoyle, bass.
ical percussion, leaving the acoustic bass gui- Ordering info: plusloin.net

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 57

 Darius Jones and
Matthew Shipp
Cosmic Lieder
Aum Fidelity 066
★★★★
Matthew Shipp first invited Darius
Jones to make a duo record several
years ago, when Jones was still rela-
tively new to the New York jazz scene.
The project was worth the wait; on
Cosmic Lieder, it’s easy to hear why
Shipp was so taken with the young sax-
ophonist. Jones speaks through his alto
in an original and unforced language,
conversing easily with Shipp in a dia-
log of equals. Tedeschi Trucks Band
Given the generational difference Revelator
between the two musicians, it would be easy to Jones moving fluidly from droning, ney-like Sony Masterworks 8142023
expect a student-master relationship to come phrases into unexpectedly sweet melody while ★★★★
through in the music, but if anything the op- Shipp frames the shifts almost telepathically.
posite is true. Shipp lets Jones take the lead, Even when the duo squeaks and pounds its Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks set aside their
responding to the saxophonist’s searching way into a seemingly inescapable corner, the al- solo endeavors for a collaborative project that
phrases with great sensitivity. The pieces are bum’s structure allows them to simply stop and finds them leading a little big band made up of
short and to the point, each originating with head in another direction. The brevity of Cosmic friends like keyboard player Kofi Burbridge
a statement from Jones and proceeding down Lieder lends it the sense that this is just the be- (Derek Trucks Band) and jazz trumpeter
a dual stream of consciousness. Some break ginning of the conversation and that there’s much Maurice Brown. To help out with songwriting,
down into sparse desolation, others build to more left to explore.  —Joe Tangari they looked to the band and eight others, in-
Igor Stravinskian overload, with Shipp’s low- cluding Gary Louris and singer-guitarist Sonya
er-register block chords shuddering as Jones Cosmic Lieder: Bleed; Ultima Thule; Zillo Valla; Multiverse; Man-
drakk; Overvoid; Weeja Dell; Motherboxxx; Black Lightning; Nix Kitchell. Mr. and Mrs. Trucks might have settled
ties himself in knots. Most are left harmonical- Uotan; Jonesy; 4-D Vision; Geh-Jedollah. (39:55)
Personnel: Darius Jones, alto saxophone; Matthew Shipp, piano.
for a genial mix of blues, funk and Southern soul
ly unresolved. Exquisite opener “Bleed” finds Ordering info: aumfidelity.com that signified their contentment with marriage,
parenthood and careers. But no, they don’t play it
cozy and safe here; instead, they champion gen-
erosity of spirit and a sense of adventure.
Tedeschi is in particularly fine voice, singing
sweet or rough with authority at a level once oc-
cupied by foremothers Bonnie Raitt and Tracy
Nelson in their prime. She stirs the soul, wheth-
er calling out for a shoulder to lean on in “Don’t
Let Me Slide” or appraising dizzying romance
in the Otis Redding–type ballad “Until You
Remember.” Her repertoire of expression sheds
favorable light on all the songs. For his part,
Trucks, a prince to his queen, makes a strong
impression throughout the album, even though
he’s constricted by tidy, tight song arrangements.
The pony-tailed slide guitarist rebels against
creative stagnation as naturally as he breathes.
When the bandleaders sublimate their self-inter-
est in service of superior image-laden material,
as on backup singer Mike Mattison’s “Midnight
In Harlem” and “Bound For Glory,” their air
of emotional candor is downright disarming.
Trucks’ interest in Indian classical music is re-
flected by the overdubbed sarod and tabla that
contribute to the poignant mood of another ace
ballad, “These Walls.”  —Frank-John Hadley
Revelator: Come See About Me; Don’t Let Me Slide; Midnight In
Harlem; Bound For Glory; Simple Things; Until You Remember; Ball
And Chain; These Walls; Learn How To Live; Shrimp & Grits; Love
Has Something Else To Say; Shelter. (65:37)
Personnel: Susan Tedeschi, vocals, guitar; Derek Trucks, slide gui-
tar; Oteil Burbridge, bass; Kofi Burbridge, keyboards, flute; J. J.
Johnson, Tyler Greenwell, drums; Maurice Brown, trumpet; Saun-
ders Sermons, trombone; Kebbi Williams, tenor saxophone; Mark
Rivers, Mike Mattison, Ryan Shaw, harmony vocals; David Ryan
Harris, lead vocal (12), harmony vocals; Eric Krasno, guitar (8); Alam
Khan, sarod (8), Salar Nadfer, tabla (8).
Ordering info: sonymasterworks.com

58 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

Beyond | By Peter Margasak

Classic Salsa Curro Fuentes

Explosion
Chicago has never been a salsa town, but
leave it to the Numero Group, the meticulous
reissue label, to uncover another lost chapter
in the city’s history with Cult Cargo: Salsa Bo-
ricua De Chicago (Numero Group 036; 69:45
★★★), which chronicles the work of the ob-
scure imprint Ebirac. That label grew out of a
Puerto Rican social center run by Carlos “Cari-
be” Ruiz that lasted through the mid-’80s. The
material here covers a wide range of styles,
from brassy Fania-style traditionalism to post-
Santana fusion to heavy tres-driven burners;
some of it is superb (especially La Justicia),
some mediocre, but all of it is largely unknown
to anyone who didn’t witness it first hand. The
thick booklet with Rob Sevier’s liner notes and
abundant photos might be the most valuable
part of the gorgeous package.
Ordering info: numerogroup.com
Blazing a path for salsa in Chicago—and
just about everywhere else in the world—was
Machito, who formed one of the first and most
influential Afro-Cuban jazz outfits in New York
in the early ’40s, the decade that marked his
finest, most original work. But he continued
brian cross

much longer, and El Padrino: A Man And

His Music (Fania 508008; 71:39/67:55 ★★★)
packs two CDs with 44 recordings made be- mix with modern beats. I think his avuncular
tween 1955–’68, ranging from ultra-brassy charm is better served by the traditional ar-
mainstream mambo and cha cha cha to rather rangements, but he capably handles most of
schmaltzy stabs at exotica and wan bossa the nu-grooves.
nova cash-ins. Luckily, most of this stuff kills, Ordering info: cdbaby.com/cd/sammyayala2
with fiery singing from Graciela, airtight ar- While cumbia ruled the dance scene in
rangements designed for maximum punch, Colombia, there’s no missing the impact of
and sharp solos. The decent liner notes in- mambo and early salsa on Cartagena! Curro
clude terrific archival photos and original al- Fuentes & The Big Band Cumbia And Des-
bum covers. carga Sound Of Colombia 1962–72 (Sound-
As good as the new collections Fania has way 026; 68:15 ★★★★★), a knockout collec-
been assembling are, there’s still no compari- tion focusing on productions by José Maria
son with the straight album reissues like the “Curro” Fuentes—part of the Discos Fuentes
eponymous debut Tipica ’73 (Fania 509058; dynasty. These insanely buoyant tracks (which
44:28 ★★★★), from a group centered around employ other dynamic rhythms like porro, ma-
five breakaway musicians from Ray Barretto’s palé, fandango and gaita) bristle with sharp,
powerhouse band that quickly took on a life of contrapuntal arrangements that pit various
its own. Fronted by the superb singer Adalber- horn clusters in cubist configurations, often
to Santiago and featuring pianist Sonny Bravo allowing a wild, wayward clarinet to dance
and the explosive timbalero Orestes Vilató, the deliriously atop the searing grooves. It’s mind-
group saluted the music’s Cuban roots more boggling that this stuff isn’t standard curricu-
than a lot of other New York bands, including lum, but Soundway is changing the situation.           
covers of classics by Miguel Matamoros and Aqui Los Bravos! The Best of Michi
Arsenio Rodriguez (the band would soon add a Sarmiento Y Su Combo Bravo 1967–77 
tres player Nelson González to its lineup). (Soundway 028; 52:35 ★★★★) digs deep-
Ordering info: fania.com er into the Discos Fuentes legacy, with 16
On his new self-titled album Sammy killer tracks by the titular saxophonist and
Ayala (Candela 01; 50:13 ★★★), the veteran bandleader, whose father was the label’s in-
Puerto Rican singer who worked with Cortijo house arranger. These scrappy tracks opt for
and Ismael Rivera meets a variety of young ad- a more explicitly Cuban and contemporary
mirers. The album was cut in San Juan with an sound, with a boogaloo presence, more fero-
old-school, if slightly ragged, salsa band, but cious grooves, and electric guitar and piano
on five tracks producers like Quantic, Nickode- (natch, cumbia is still heavily in the mix). DB
mus and Matthias Heilbronn complement the Ordering info: soundwayrecords.com             

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 59

 Abdullah Ibrahim & Ekaya
Sotho Blue
Sunnyside 1276
★★★★
The beauty of Sotho Blue isn’t in its breadth. In
terms of dynamics, tempo and timbre, it’s actu-
ally cast narrow. Except for a moment here and
there, everyone plays quietly. No one is in a rush.
Nor should they be. Within these constraints,
Sotho Blue blooms in beautiful muted hues.
Ibrahim and the Ekaya ensemble have a history
of working together. The wind instrumentation
leans toward lower registers, where tenor and
baritone saxes establish a sonic foundation that’s
sturdy and tactile. Trombone and alto sax either
reinforce or add a sheen to this mix. It’s a gor-
geous weave, made expressive through rich har-
monies and/or gospel voicings.
Each member of Ekaya solos with intelli-
gence, taste and understatement—except for
drummer George Gray, the only one who doesn’t
get his turn in the spotlight. But Gray is criti-
cal. On “Calypso Minor” he taps out a basic
kick, closed hi-hat and snare pattern, keeping
fills minimal in order to anchor the bass figure
that threads throughout. He plays more free-
ly on “Nisa” to balance the horns, which lock
onto a rhythm reminiscent of Herbie Hancock’s
“Maiden Voyage.”
Ibrahim keeps his presence low, too, pre-
ferring to let his compositions speak for them-
selves. He allows himself one unaccompa-
nied performance, “Abide,” a meditation rich
in gospel reverie. Perhaps the greatest of the
many great moments lie in the album’s sole
cover. Again with bass and drums absent, Bud
Powell’s “Glass Enclosure” becomes a dialog
between horns and piano. The former con-
sists of block chords with a few unison or oc-
tave lines; though not in steady tempo, there
is a sense of movement as the changes unfold.
Ibrahim answers these with dissonances and
empty spaces suggesting that mysteries persist
even within illusions of order. 
 —Bob Doerschuk
Sotho Blue: Calypso Minor; Sotho Blue; Abide; Nisa; The Moun-
tain; The Wedding; Glass Enclosure; Star Dance; Joan Capetown
Flower (Emerald Bay) (48:55)
Personnel: Abdullah Ibrahim, piano; Cleave Guyton, alto saxo-
phone, flute; Keith Loftis, tenor saxophone; Jason Marshall, bari-
tone saxophone; Andrae Murchison, trombone; Belden Bullock,
bass; George Gray, drums.
Ordering info: sunnysiderecords.com

60 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

Trio Dolce Vita adds bass clarinet, glocken-
Amarcord spiel, “toys” and a Hohner
Jazzwerkstatt 082 organa 30 here and there.
★★★★ ½ This interaction can be heard
with “Cantilena,” where the
For anyone familiar with simple lines expressed by
the works of Nino Rota, all carry this delicate and
Amarcord is bound to prick beautiful melody. One of
up one’s ears. But the trick the more true-to-form rendi-
in this kind of situation is tions comes with the dance-
to get over with anyone, able “L’Acrobata,” a live-
not just those familiar with ly waltz that’s over before
such themes at the title track or “Padrino” (from you know it. “La Dolce Vita” is jazzy, breezy,
The Godfather). And even though it isn’t a jazz a lazy walk through a bed of flowers. “Fellini’s
album, per se, Trio Dolce Vita pulls off a rare Waltz,” a light-footed, more brisk swinger, is a
admixture of semi-classical with pop, jazz and showcase for Brinkmann’s cello playing. Full of
more world-music- type flavorings. life, the cellist is very at ease with this carefree
The trio’s magical yet modest blend of in- interpretation.
strumentation is easy on the ears, at times sooth- But the more telling and enjoyable treat-
ing (when it isn’t more lively and a tad wild), with ments are heard on creative reinterpretations
an execution that makes it obvious these guys of such imaginative melodies as “Canto Della
know their Rota. While the music is less swing- Buranella,” with Brinkmann’s subtle, tasteful ef-
ing and light on blue notes, the jacket does at- fects helping to lift the music into another realm,
test to the music being “elaborated by Trio Dolce as Puntin’s toys add texture next to the slightly
Vita.” In other words, the “jazz” is in the de- restless cello lines. There is an almost ethereal
tails of interpretation. “Padrino” takes a nor- sense of disorientation with this track that keeps
mally mournful dirge and turns it into a festive you guessing where the melody went, until the
romp, while “La Strada” eventually gets a hoe- end. The closer is filled with dreams, both classi-
down makeover, complete with the CD’s longest cal and folk-like, reminding us of Rota’s way of
stretches of improvisation. making music sound like the aural movie it is.
Johannes Fink’s full-bodied bass notes and  —John Ephland
expressive arco treatments buttress everything
here, and Jorg Brinkmann’s cello counterlines
Amarcord: Amarcord; Padrino; Cantilena; L’Acrobata; Canto Della
Buranella; La Dolce Vita; Fellini’s Waltz; La Strada; L’Intermezzo
add depth when he isn’t also adding some elec- Della Mantide Religiosa. (45:45)
Personnel: Claudio Puntin, clarinet, bass clarinet, glockenspiel,
tronics. The strings are the “surround” sound for toys, Hohner organa 30; Jorg Brinkmann, cello, electronics; Jo-
hannes Fink, bass.
Claudio Puntin’s signature clarinet voice, and he Ordering info: records-cd.com

Youn Sun Nah intonations, as well as inflec-

Same Girl tions that sound neither forced
ACT 9024-2 nor mannered. Moreover, she has
★★★ a strong instrument and enough
confidence to work with mini-
German label ACT mum backing.
has earned a reputa- The often bare accompani-
tion for producing art- ment that she opted for was a
ists or projects on the wise decision. With her kalimba
outer margins of jazz. for sole accompaniment, she puts
This opus by Korean her own stamp on “My Favorite
singer Youn Sun Nah Things.” With Wakenius’ fierce
is no exception. With source material ranging support, Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” takes
from heavy metal titans Metallica, folk-rock her in a totally different direction and echoes
icons Pentangle, traditional Korean music and British rock singer PJ Harvey—she’s not afraid
singer-songwriter Randy Newman not to men- of sounding like a banshee.
tion originals by both Nah and Swedish guitar- Her two compositions show two quite dis-
ist Ulf Wakenius, nothing can stand in the way similar sides of her personality as well as her
of the vocalist. In this endeavor, she gets great talent as a songwriter. The plaintive “Uncertain
help from Wakenius, who displays a versatility Weather” offers quite a contrast to the jagged
that will surprise those who are mainly familiar “Pancake,” a humorous wink at fast-food hab-
with his work alongside pianist Oscar Peterson. its that also brings a ray of sunshine to a rather
Because Nah’s voice does not have the mournful collection.  —Alain Drouot
depth or warmth of Cassandra Wilson, she is Same Girl: My Favorite Things; My Name Is Carnival; Breakfast In
more reminiscent of Patricia Barber—just to Baghdad; Uncertain Weather; Song Of No Regrets; Kangwondo
Arirang; Enter Sandman; Same Girl; Moondog; Pancake; La Chan-
mention two prime examples of jazz singers Personnel: Youn
son D’Hélène. (47:12)
Sun Nah, vocals, kalimba, music box, kazoo; Ulf
who have looked for inspiration outside the jazz Wakenius, guitars; Lars Danielsson, bass, cello; Xavier Desandre-
realm. Nah compensates with a wide range of Ordering info: actmusic.com
Navarre, percussion; Roland Brival, narration (11).

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 61

 Anthony Brian Lynch
Branker & Ascent Unsung Heroes: A
Dance Music Tribute To Some
Origin 82579 Underappreciated
★★★ ½ Trumpet Masters
Holistic MusicWorks 1
On his third Ascent project, ★★★★★
Princeton University educa-
tor Anthony Branker chal- Brian Lynch’s Unsung Heroes
lenges preconceptions that a honors the legacies of 10 under-
composer’s erudition might rated trumpet players. The se-
impinge upon accessibili- ries is more than a tribute; it’s an
ty. From the hummingbird- effort to preserve and perpetu-
paced piano and horn vamp ate the bop legacy. Lynch, who performed and recorded in the final edition
that opens the rousing “The House Of Brotherhood Of The Black Heads” of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, exhibits a full sound, good range
to Tia Fuller’s blistering solo on “The Renewal,” Branker inspires buoyant, and a bop-inspired style. Unsung Heroes features his peers and proteges
animated performances from his sextet. performing a trove of obscure compositions. The opener, Joe Gordon’s
Bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Adam Cruz guide each other into “Terra Firma Irma,” closely resembles Donald Byrd’s “Jeannine,” albe-
the pocket on the title track: Cruz then steps out of it to support an on- it with a distinct turnaround of descending chords—Lynch and his side-
slaught of percussive tenor lines, each of which creates a metered tension men take full advantage. Lynch is also in fine form on his tune “Further
that turns rapturously free. When he’s not slapping the swing out of his in- Arrivals.” His intense solo on Tommy Turrentine’s “Big Red” provides a
strument, Davis shows off his tender side, finding a pillowy bottom on “A nice contrast to the track’s relaxed swing. But the album isn’t just about
Beautiful Life” and balancing out piano interludes with a gentle yet dy- Lynch. Veteran alto player Vincent Herring and tenor player Alex Hoffman
namic solo on “A Smile Awaits.” Estonian singer Kadri Voorand craft- also pitch in. So does pianist Rob Schneiderman, an unheralded veteran
ed lyrics for four out of the disc’s tracks. Her words reflect her reaction to whose resume includes work with J.J. Johnson and Art Farmer. The set
Branker’s music, as her phrasing plays hide-and-seek with melodies. The closes with a fast reading of Louis Smith’s challenging “Wetu.” While re-
effect can be over-the-top, though a few uncomfortable notes barely blem- leases like Unsung Heroes appear with some frequency, few sound as ac-
ish an otherwise moving listen.  —Jennifer Odell complished or exuberant.  —Eric Fine
Dance Music: The Renewal; Mysterious Ways; Dance Music; A Smile Awaits; Asking Answers; The House Unsung Heroes: Terra Firma Irma; I Could Never Forget You; Further Arrivals; Saturday Afternoon At
Of The Brotherhood Of The Black Heads; The Holy Innocent; A Beautiful Life; Truth; Depende. (60:00) Four; Household Of Saud; RoditiSamba; Big Red; Unsung Blues; Wetu. (68:22)
Personnel: Anthony Branker, musical director; Kadri Voorand, vocals (2, 5, 7, 8); Tia Fuller, alto saxo- Personnel: Brian Lynch, trumpet, flugelhorn; Vincent Herring, alto saxophone; Alex Hoffman, tenor
phone; Ralph Bowen, tenor and soprano saxophones; Clifford Adams, Jr., trombone; Jonny King, saxophone; Rob Schneiderman, piano; David Wong, bass; Pete Van Nostrand, drums; Vicente “Little
piano; Kenny Davis, bass; Adam Cruz, drums; Freddie Bryant, guitar (9). Johnny” Rivero, congas (tracks 3, 6).
Ordering info: origin-records.com Ordering info: hollisticmusicworks.com

62 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

Historical | By Ted Panken

Autodidact Bill Dixon Bill Dixon

Wove Singular
Orchestrations
In June 1980, Giovanni Bonandrini, the
proprietor of Black Saint/Soul Note, drove from
Milan to Verona to hear trumpeter Bill Dixon—
who had contracted with Bonandrini to do one
recording—play a concert opposite Andrew
Hill. After the show, Bonandrini asked Dixon to
record two LPs worth of material, countering
Dixon’s protestation of unpreparedness with a
sizable advance.
The ensuing recordings, In Italy Volume
1 and Volume 2 the fourth and fifth in Dix-
on’s discography, launched an 18-year Dix-
on-Bonandrini relationship that generated
six sessions and nine albums. Documented
on Bill Dixon: The Complete Remastered
Recordings On Black Saint & Soul Note

michael jackson
(CamJazz 1009 41:38/41:31/79:15/64:12/
39:21/77:40/69:59/68:45/72:41 ★★★★), it’s a
fascinating corpus, tracing Dixon’s concep-
tual evolution from formal notation and pre- the seeds of everything that Dixon would
cise interpretation to a process-based ap- subsequently do.
proach. Going forward, he would endeavor Several duets with bassist Alan Silva on the
to transcend the trumpet’s theoretical limi- In Italy dates illustrate how exhaustively Dixon
tations in order to project upon it, as Taylor had worked during the years following Intents
Ho Bynum wrote, “the full timbral, dynamic And Purposes—spent in the isolation of aca-
and register range of an orchestra.” Dixon deme—on refining a solo trumpet language. He
had played for dancers from the early ’50s, plays piano on the ensemble tracks, ceding
and knew how to bob and weave impec- solo duties to a well-trained front line of trum-
cably within long-form non-metered and ru- peters Stephen Haynes and Arthur Brooks and
bato time feels. He also abstracted the flow tenor saxophonist Stephen Horenstein.
with multiphonics, sound-silence contrasts A second Italian tour with bassists Alan Sil-
and liberal use of delay and reverb—always va and Mario Pavone and drummer Laurence
landing on the one, wherever it was. Cook resulted in November 1981, on which
Dixon admired the “floating cloud” sound Dixon synthesizes technical particulars into an
of Claude Thornhill’s four-French horn band of authoritatively executed argot. Less satisfying
the ’40s and Gil Evans’ subsequent iterations is Thoughts, a sloppy 1985 concert at Ben-
of those possibilities in Miles Davis’ Birth Of nington (where Dixon taught) on which tubist
The Cool nonet. He strove for Davis’ archi- John Buckingham and bassists William Parker
tectural precision, authoritative intention and and Peter Kowald join the quartet. On the
fluidity of line. His voice referenced Duke El- ensemble-oriented Song Of Sisyphus, a 1988
lington’s frameworks for Rex Stewart’s quar- Milan studio encounter with Buckingham,
ter-valvings, George Russell’s showcases for Cook and Pavone, the improvisations proceed
Dizzy Gillespie’s intervallic audacity, the som- along statelier, more tectonic lines. Recorded
ber formalism of Arnold Schoenberg and Karl- in 1993, Vade Mecum and Vade Mecum II,
heinz Stockhausen’s sonic extravagance. The document Dixon’s work with bassists Barry
resulting brew toggled between stark lyricism Guy and Parker along with drummer Tony Ox-
conveying transcendentalist aesthetics asso- ley. Rather than orchestrate the bass parts, as
ciated with New England, where Dixon lived on November 1981, Dixon expresses his inten-
for the last 37 years of his life, and ferociously tions on the horn and has the collaborators fuel
sardonic explosions denoting imperatives that high-level spontaneous composition.
animated New York’s black intelligentsia. The Dixon-Soul Note relationship ends in
Dixon began to develop his mature 1998, with Papyrus Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, on which
voice in the ’60s. His 1964 recording, “Win- Dixon, playing piano and both acoustic and
ter Song,” is a stiff, conventional septet per- electronically processed trumpet, and Oxley,
formance, but the 1966–’67 RCA session playing drums, percussion and electronics, en-
Intents And Purposes (International Phono- gage in 22 beyond-category sound paintings,
graph; 32:24 ★★★★), recently reissued by masterfully executed. DB
International Phonograph in facsimile mini- Ordering info: camjazz.com;
LP format with fabulous sound, contains internationalphotographinc.com

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 63

 Muhal Richard Abrams take and ebb-and-flow distinguished by ex-
SoundDance quisite detail within each interaction. 
Pi 137 The second disc contains a September
★★★★ 2010 concert with George Lewis, alternat-
ing between laptop and trombone, and here
Now into his ninth decade, pianist Muhal there’s a much greater use of space, silence
Richard Abrams hasn’t surrendered an ounce and drift. Lewis employs electronic textures
of his resoluteness. You can hear his singular, that range from serrated long tones to sibi-
sober style dominating the two duet perfor- lant flurries to quasi-orchestral masses, but
mances presented on SoundDance, both with each synthetic tone rolls quickly into a new
longtime colleagues from his Chicago days. episode. These sounds give Abrams plenty of
“Focus, ThruTime…Time” was recorded live space to work with, which allows him to grow
in October of 2009, one of the last record- both meditative and brooding. When Lewis
ings by tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson, picks up his horn—he sounds as sharp, me-
who was by the side of Abrams when the lodically generous and rhythmically deft as
Association for the Advancement of Creative ever—the interactions are a bit more conven-
Musicians was founded. The two icons en- heard, but Abrams forces the reedist to mod- tional, yet hardly predictable. Age obviously
gage in a battle of wills guided by a commu- ulate and reshape familiar phrases, rechan- hasn’t slowed down Abrams at all. 
nal artistic vision; they find ways to make their neling the usual rangy intensity into some-  —Peter Margasak
disparate improvisational approaches work, thing more simmering and concentrated. At SoundDance: Disc One: Focus, ThruTime…Time: Part 1; Part 2;
and in those differences it’s easy to notice how the same time Anderson’s rhythmic steeliness Part 3; Part 4 (38:10). Disc Two: SoundDance: Part 1; Part 2: Part
3; Part 4 (45:14).
attuned to one another they are. Anderson’s keeps the pianist from growing too contempla- saxophone (disc
Personnel: Muhal Richard Abrams, piano; Fred Anderson, tenor
one); George Lewis, laptop, trombone (disc two).
telltale licks and melodic structures are clearly tive. Together, they deliver generous give-and- Ordering info: pirecordings.com

Arturo O’Farrill & The Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and
Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra his dramatic title track, which features Charles
40 Acres And A Burro Mingus-like vocalizations. Each song brims
Zoho 201102 with bravura polyrhythms pulsating forward
★★★★½ and various soloists delivering pyrotechnical
fireworks.
The disc’s title may initially come off as humor- The disc is most winning on the soothing
ous, but a sharp socio-political message lies un- “She Moves Through The Fair,” which fea-
derneath, one that involves how many compo- tures Heather Martin Bixler’s rich violin mel-
sitions within the Latin jazz idiom have yet to odies intertwined with Peter Brainin’s raspy
gain the same recognition as the ones that fall in tenor saxophone essay.  —John Murph
the big band or bebop categories. Now going on 40 Acres And A Burro: Rumba Urbana; A Wise Latina; Almendra;
three years since splitting with Jazz at Lincoln Um A Zero; El Sur; She Moves Through The Fair; Ruminaciones
Sobre Cuba; Tanguango; Bebe; A Night In Tunisia; 40 Acres And
Center, the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra plays as A Burro. (69:04)
Personnel: Arturo O’Farrill, piano; Ricardo Rodriguez, bass; Vince
if it has an understandable chip on its shoulder Cherico, drums; Roland Guerrero, congas; Joe Gonzalez, percus-
and its energy never lets up.
sion; David DeJesus, Bobby Porcelli, alto saxophone; Peter Brainin,
Ivan Renta, tenor saxophone; Jason Marshall, baritone saxophone;
O’Farrill makes a strong case for Afro- “Tanguango” and an enchanting reading of Seneca Black, Michael Philip Mossman, Jim Seeley, John Walsh,
trumpet; Reynaldo Jorge, Tokunori Kajiwara, Earl McIntyre, Gary
Latin jazz pieces that are worthy of more Hermeto Pascoal’s avant-samba “Bebe,” as Valante; trombone; Sharon Moe, Jeff Scott, French horn (2); Pablo
O. Bilbraut, güiro (3, 6); Paquito D’Rivera, clarinet (4, 9); Guilherme
canonical exploration, particularly his en- well as boisterous originals such as O’Farrill’s Monteiro, guitar (4); Yuri Juárez, guitar (5); Freddy “Huevito” Lo-
semble’s spirited take on Astor Piazzolla’s swirling “A Wise Latina,” his homage to
batón, cajón, cajita, quijada (5); Heather Martin Bixler, violin (6).
Ordering info: zohomusic.com

Oliver Lake/Christian penned all but one of the pieces, those renditions
Weber/Dieter Ulrich remain the result of a collective effort.
For A Little Dancin’ Lake’s sinuous lines occasionally punctuated
Intakt 172 by screeches or strangled notes, get prime sup-
★★★½ port. Weber can deliver an effective ostinato or
cleverly shadow the altoist, and Ulrich is a fine
Because the debut album by this trio featuring player who is just as adroit with sticks, brushes,
stalwart alto saxophonist Oliver Lake in compa- or mallets and can bring his bass drum to the fore
ny of Swiss musicians Christian Weber on bass to create an original syncopation.
and Dieter Ulrich on drums is branded as a com- The clarity of the delivery throughout For A
munal effort, it will draw comparisons to Trio Little Dancin’ makes it a convincing first state-
3, the project Lake has been spearheading with ment that might not only put the spotlight on two
bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew deserving European musicians, but also make
Cyrille for more than 20 years. new Lake converts, which would be quite a feat
But this new group has its own idiosyncra- at this stage of his career.  —Alain Drouot
sies. The music concocted is more straightfor- For A Little Dancin’: Marion Theme; “Z” Trio; Rollin’ Vamp; Art
ward and less cerebral. A sprightly atmosphere ing him to play with impressive verve and focus. 101; In This; Spring-Ing Trio; Spots; For A Little Dancin’; Spelman;
Backup. (53:37)
often pervades. The fresh setting seems to have And there is much to say about the interaction Personnel: Oliver Lake, alto saxophone; Christian Weber, bass;
Dieter Ulrich, drums.
given Lake a renewed sense of discovery, allow- between the three musicians. Even though Lake Ordering info: intaktrec.ch

64 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

Books | By John Ephland

Pianist Arrigo Paul Bley

Cappelletti
Traces Paul
Bley’s Work
and Life
“It’s okay to steal, but only
from oneself.” That’s pianist
Paul Bley commenting on the
nature of “total improvisation.”
Beyond his own words, Bley
emerges from the pages of
musician/author Arrigo Cap-
pelletti’s Paul Bley: The Logic
Of Chance (Vehicule Press)
as a quixotic, almost mercurial
figure, one playing his music
somewhere between the wild

carol goss
expanses of free-jazz and its
opposite world of tradition,
including the blues. This is not a unique view: that includes musical analysis of five compo-
Bley’s 1999 autobiography, Stopping Time: sitions by former wife/collaborator Carla Bley
Paul Bley And The Transformation Of Jazz, supposedly showcases Paul Bley’s affinity
and Norman Meehan’s oral history Time Will with her music. But one is left wondering, are
Tell: Conversations With Paul Bley (2003) help these in-depth analyses of his methods and
complete this picture. approaches or just descriptions of the songs
Translated from the Italian by American themselves? While Cappalletti’s “Critical Re-
pianist Gregory Burk, The Logic Of Chance flections On Paul Bley’s Music” in the chapter
is more analysis and history than a speaking “Notes For A New Poetic Of Improvisation”
biography, with Bley’s own words about his can make for fascinating reading, it has little or
music and life taking a back seat to Cappel- no direct reference to Bley or Bley’s music: The
letti’s engaged writing style. In what is perhaps reader is left to connect the dots. Cappelletti
a telling signal as to the nature of the author’s does a good job of addressing Bley’s essential,
relationship to his subject, the last chapter is creative use of time and rhythm as a means to
a seven-page interview from 2002 conducted getting at such musical notions as movement,
via e-mail between Cappelletti and Bley (and duration and silence. In the author’s plainspo-
wife Carol Goss). Toward the end of the inter- ken words, for Bley “stopping time” refers to
view, the author, more often than not, has more “the idea of breaking away from a regular and
to say to his subject than the subject seems defined meter.”
willing to share. For example, after cataloging a Burk’s translation can be choppy at times,
long list of notable musicians Bley has worked and the book could have used a good copy
with, Cappelletti goes on to ask him, “Can editor. Cappelletti’s writing style can also take
you think of an example of this collaboration some getting used to: Frequently, he moves
which has influenced your musical evolution?” from citing “Bley” to “Paul” to “Paul Bley” to
Bley responds, “Playing with Charlie Parker the one being talked about and back again.
showed me how much I didn’t know.” That’s it. Similar to his tendency to speak generally,
That said, Cappelletti—author of Il Pro- Cappelletti likes to expound. When discussing
fumo Del Jazz in addition to being a pianist, “Paul Bley and the art of the trio,” he begins
music journalist and professor of jazz at the with a brief discussion of a incident in 1965
Conservatory of Venice—clearly knows his when Bley performed with (supposedly) drum-
subject, packing a lot of information into this mer Barry Altschul and bassist Steve Swallow
concise paperback. A 71-page “musical biog- at a concert in Dalmine, Italy. After two para-
raphy” covers the basics: born in Montreal in graphs, Cappelletti uses this performance as
1932, violin studies at age 5, on to New York, a launching pad for a direction that has more
studied composition at Juilliard, and played to do with the author’s musings than with Bley
with, among others, Parker, Charles Mingus, (e.g., text about dreams, “what Italo Calvino
George Russell, Lester Young, Ornette Cole- says about speed” and “the careful search for
man, Jimmy Giuffre and Sonny Rollins. Also the right partner”). This isn’t necessarily bad
covered are his novel use of keyboard syn- writing, but rather, a style of writing that ends
thesizers and video (with Goss), starting the up saying more about the writer than the prin-
Improvising Artists label and Bley’s lasting cipal subject. DB
presence on the European scene. A chapter Ordering info: vehiculepress.com

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 65

 Sammy Nestico And
The SWR Big Band
Fun Time And More Live
SWR Music 93.271
★★★
If you became a DownBeat reader while playing
in a high school or college jazz ensemble any
time during the last 40 years, you probably de-
veloped a musical relationship with Sammy
Nestico. Few could make it through any top per-
formance curriculum without playing some of
the Nestico charts that found their way into the
jazz education establishment, many by way of
the Count Basie band.
The SWR Band is a superior German unit
that throughout the past 15 years has put itself at
the disposal of a procession of arranger/conduc-
tors, some with Basie links, including Nestico,
for whom this is a fourth collaboration. Given
the huge size of Nestico’s output, it’s surprising
that he chose to repeat at least three charts previ-
ously recorded by the SWR. But given the CD’s
limited availability here, redundancy won’t be an
issue for most.
Nestico’s specialty is lightly swinging origi-
nals punctuated by punchy brass hits and play-
ful dynamics. His ensemble voicings are gener-
ic, without the identifiable shadings of, say, prime
Gil Evans. His writing for reeds was inclined
to be a bit lazy, subordinated to the brass and
sketched in unison combinations, sometimes fla-
vored with a flute voicing. One delightful excep-
tion here is the swinging “Dimensions In Blue.”
A couple of charts come with heavy mileage.
“Fun Time,” and “Samantha” were recorded and
are still performed by the Basie band, and “Satin
’n’ Glass” was recorded by the Frank Capp
Juggernaut band. It’s a measure of the SWR
Band that these performances never disappoint.
One surprise is “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue,”
a swinging take on an old warhorse modeled on
the spirit, if not the letter, of Louis Armstrong’s
great 1938 record.  —John McDonough
Fun Time And More Live: Fun Time; Not Really The Blues; Cel-
ebration; A Song For Sarah; Blue Samuel; Samantha; Rare Mo-
ment; A New Day; A Pair Of Aces; Struttin’ With Some Barbecue;
Orchids And Butterflies; Satin ’n’ Glass; Dimensions In Blue. (66:28)
Personnel: Felice Civitareale, Martin de Laat, Ralf Hesse, Karl Fer-
rent, Rudolf Reindl, trumpets; Marc Godfroid, Ernst Hutter, Ian
Cumming, Georg Maus, trombones; Karus Graf, Joerg Kaufmann,
Steffen Weber, Andreas Maile, Pierre Paquette, saxophones; Klaus
Wagenleiter, piano; Klaus Peter Schopfer, guitar; Decebal Badila,
bass; Guido Joeris, drums.
Ordering info: haenssler-classic.com

66 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

Tim Brady and white linear over- digital technology. The final 15-minute opus, “57
Bradyworks + laps of “Trance,” which Ways Of Playing Guitar,” culminates in an apoc-
Martin Messier look like an update of “Dr. alyptic concoction of chopper sounds, dull im-
24 Frames Who” titles from the ’60s plosions and distant sirens foregrounded by fre-
Scatter + Trance in collision with the fu- netic, dueling guitar tracks.  —Michael Jackson
Ambiences turistic drawings of archi- 24 Frames Scatter + Trance: Disc One: Scatter Six Duos: Frame
Magnétiques 206 tect Zaha Hadid. “Trance” 1, Scatter; Frame 2, In Almost Unison; Frame 3, Canonic Strategies;
hits heavy, referencing the
Frame 4, Still; Frame 5, Shadow; Frame 6, Four Elements. (56:39)
★★★½ Disc Two: Scatter, 12 Miniatures:  Threefold Scordatura Frame
genre where techno, indus- 7, Push; Frame 8, Pull; Frame 9, Hold; Delay Tactics Frame 10,
Clouds; Frame 11, Discretion; Frame 12, Pursuit; Frame 13 Slant;
Canadian guitarist Tim trial, house, ambient and Five Colours Frame 14, Azure; Frame 15, Sienna; Frame 16, Lava;
Frame 17, Harlequin; Frame 18, Tenne. (41:23) Disc Three: Frame
Brady has had a re- perhaps the Mahavinshnu 19, Trance; Frame 20, Sul A; Frame 21, Switch Seconds; Liquid;
markably fertile career Orchestra intersect, am-
Leaps; Singularity; Melismatic; Frame 22, O Is For Ostinato; Frame
23, Invisible Quartet; Frame 24, 57 Ways Of Playing Guitar. (59:39)
as performer, conceptu- plifying the whole through Personnel: Tim Brady, electric guitar, electronics; Karen Young,
voice; Jean-Marc Bouchard, baritone saxophone; Lori Freedman,
alist, concert promoter a battery of vintage tube bass clarinet; Pemi Paull, viola; Trevor Dix, bass trombone; Cath-
erine Meunier, percussion.
and cultural magpie. Brady lived in Toronto mics, preamps and guitar amps augmented by Ordering info: actuellecd.com
in the mid-’80s, creating unusual settings like
“Sound Off,” for massed sections of saxo-
phones, brass and bass drums; and “Visions,”
featuring trumpeter Kenny Wheeler with
string orchestra. During a sojourn to London,
he played with U.K. jazz musicians and began
to hatch a concept that would embrace all his
influences—improv, jazz, rock, minimalism,
orchestral and chamber music, electronics—
yet focus in on his guitar prowess. A succes-
sion of solo guitar records ensued along with
a fusion of electric guitar and contemporary
chamber orchestra under the banner The Body
Electric. Brady has also investigated the mu-
sic of Kurt Cobain, Les Paul and The Guess
Who and created a song cycle/theater piece ex-
ploring the life of Marie Curie. But 24 Frames
Scatter + Trance may be his most ambitious
project to date.
The first of the three CDs comprises six duos
with members of his Bradyworks ensemble,
which includes voice, viola, baritone sax, bass
clarinet and bass trombone. “Frame 1” opens
with the ethereal voice of Karen Young navigat-
ing a reverberating cavern, the voice looped and
processed, then interrupted by elastic textures,
including slap bass guitar and a shearing effect.
Nylon strings herald ominous noise that spills
into industrial shred, somewhat similar to ear-
ly John McLaughlin. “Frame 2” twins Brady’s
clanging ax with baritone saxophonist Jean-
Marc Bouchard in a brash unison best described
as heavy metal pointillism, reminiscent of King
Crimson’s darker moments.
The dozen miniatures on disc two, all ap-
proximately three minutes long, are for solo
guitar, the first three using an alternate tun-
ing known as scordatura. “Azure” from “Five
Colours” is loud with spiralling rock riffs,
while “Sienna,” “Lava” and the suitably subtle
“Discretion” are jazzily acoustic in a Goodrick-
like introspective way. “Clouds” is awash with
reverb and cross-fading shimmers, whereas
“Pursuit” suggests the guitarist is being stalked
by a factory monster fashioned from shattered
glass. The third CD includes a DVD illustrating
nine tracks with animated interpretations of the
music by video artist Martin Messier. Listening
to the brew of overdubbed guitar orchestra and
electronics is best done while enjoying Messier’s
varied graphic depictions, starting with the black

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 67

 Guitar School Woodshed | Master Class
By Dave Stryker

The ‘Minor Sub’ Example 1

Approach To
Improvising Over
Dominant 7ths
W
Example 2
hen improvising over a dominant seventh
chord (V7), there are plenty of chord and
scale substitutions that you can use to achieve
a more interesting, jazzier sound. I personally
like to think of the minor scale that relates to the
dominant chord, the II minor.
To properly apply this substitution, I play the Example 3
minor scale starting a fifth above (or a fourth
below) the root of the dominant seventh chord.
For example, on an F7 chord, I think of the C
dorian scale. A dorian scale is a minor scale with
a raised sixth. If you play an F mixolydian scale
starting on the fifth note, you will also get a C
dorian scale.
I first heard this “Minor Sub” approach when
I started getting into jazz as a teenager listening
to improvising guitarists like Wes Montgomery,
Grant Green and Pat Martino. It seemed more
like a certain “sound” they used, and I also heard Example 4

that same sound on the Blue Note records of sax-

ophonist Hank Mobley, trumpeter Lee Morgan
and many other great improvisers.
I’d like to stress how important it is to listen
to the masters if you want to learn the language
of jazz. The fastest way to improve your play-
ing is by listening to records and transcribing so-
los. When transcribing, I suggest you listen to the
solo over and over to soak it in.
Once you can sing along with the recorded
solo, then it’s time to proceed with learning it on
your instrument, paying close attention to the ex-
act rhythmic phrasing of the notes. Don’t wor-
ry about not being original. Certain ideas of the
masters that speak to you will eventually be ab-
sorbed into your playing, and over time your own
sound will start to emerge organically.
Example 1, top right, is a quick demonstra-
tion of playing the relative II minor (a C minor
line) over a dominant F7 chord.
Example 2 is the same line, extended over a
couple more bars.
Example 3 is a nice II–V–I run in Bb starting
on a C minor.
Play through each of these examples on your
instrument, all the while keeping the sound of
the dominant chord (F7) of the key (Bb) in your
head.
Once you start to get the feel for how the
Minor Sub approach works in improvisation, you
can begin to incorporate it into your own solos
and make it part of your own sound.
Example 4 is an original solo titled “Minor

68 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

 Dave Stryker
jimmy katz

Sub Improv” that I’ve written over a progression of well-known bebop

changes using the Minor Sub approach to improvisation. On the bridge, my
solo follows the chord substitutions that Miles Davis came up with when he
performed his version of the popular jazz standard.
Play my written solo on your instrument until you start to hear how
the harmony fits the chord changes. Notice how I start the C minor line
from Example 1 on the first chord/first measure F9, but finish it by mov-
ing it up a half-step (Db minor) on the second measure when the chord
moves up to Gb9.
In the second eight bars of the AABA form, I employ the same idea,
only using the first measure of Example 3.
On the bridge, I use Example 1 in D minor for the G13 chord and Eb
minor for the Ab13 chord. I continue with the Minor Sub approach for each
dominant chord in an ascending and descending pattern as the chords
move to two beats each on the last four bars of the bridge.
This approach helps to define the harmony as the chords move in half-
steps. You can also use the F blues scale on the first 16 measures if you want
to open it up in that way. Mixing these two approaches will help you create
a more interesting solo.
Good luck, and remember: The best way to learn is by listening to and
transcribing the masters.  DB

Guitarist Dave Stryker’s 22nd CD as a leader, Blue Strike, will be out in Novem-
ber on the SteepleChase label. Stryker also records and has a long-running
group with saxophonist Steve Slagle called The Stryker/Slagle Band, whose
latest CD is called Keeper. On the New York scene since the 1980s, Stryker
got his start working with Jack McDuff and Stanley Turrentine. He currently
teaches at Jamey Aebersold’s Summer Jazz Workshop, the Litchfield Jazz
Camp and the Cali School of the Arts at Montclair State University. musical
examples 1–3 are excerpted from Dave Stryker’s Jazz Guitar Improvisation
Method (Mel Bay). Stryker’s CDs and info can be found at davestryker.com.

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 69

 Guitar School Woodshed | Pro session
by jimi durso

How To Transcribe Jazz Solos From Recordings

I ’ve been transcribing solos for quite a long
time, and have had many of those transcrip-
tions appear in this very magazine. I’ve found
Chromatic? If you find you’re incorrect, don’t let
that get you down. You’re actually learning more
this way than when you are correct, because your
Jimi Durso

it to be a great method for improving multiple ear is getting familiar with a sound it didn’t fully
aspects of one’s musicianship. For those of you recognize before. If you’re stumped as to what it
who wish to improve your transcription ability, is, go back to the note-by-note method.
or who just need a push to start transcribing, here I used to start by finding out the key and
are what I hope will be some helpful pointers. chord progression, but I’ve found that it saves
The first “mistake” I notice people make time to do that afterwards. This is because if
when starting the transcribing process is to the soloist does something unexpected (or if I’m
go way beyond their level. John Coltrane’s wrong about the changes), I sometimes waste
“Countdown” doesn’t have to (and likely a lot of time checking the note over and over.
shouldn’t) be your first transcription. Start with There was a transcription I was doing where the
something you feel you could accomplish. soloist leaned on a C natural against an Emaj7
One of my first transcriptions was guitarist chord, and my left brain kept insisting that that
Jimmy Page’s solo on the Led Zeppelin song couldn’t be the note. So I spent a lot of time try-
“Tangerine.” It’s only eight measures long and ing notes on either side of the C to see if they
consists mostly half and whole notes. Don’t were better, only to discover that the C was in-
feel pressured to do an entire solo, either. Just a deed the correct note.
chorus or an eight-measure phrase can provide After finding the notes, we need to write
huge benefits. them down, which requires knowing what the
Once you’ve decided on something that you rhythm is. This is the part people find to be the
want to transcribe, start by figuring out just one most difficult. In this case, you do need to deter-
note. It could be the first note, but I’ll often start mine what time-signature and subdivision the
with whatever note is clearest. If there’s a string song is based on before you start. I just tap my
of 16th notes that lead to a held note, I’ll like- foot and count along until the cycle sounds like sounds wrong, I’ll listen for what sounds differ-
ly start with the held note and then work back- it’s reached “one.” I may then count along for a ent. Are some notes played earlier or later than
wards. Often the highest note in a phrase may while to make sure I’m correct (and that there what I wrote? I’ll use the same technique that
stick out for me, and I’ll start with that. are no odd measures or time changes). Just like I use for figuring out the initial rhythm to fix
I find it helpful to listen to the note I’m tar- with phrases, you develop the ability to recog- those errors.
geting—pausing the playback right after this nize what 4, 3, and even 5 and 7 feel like with There is plenty of software that can help
note—and then sing it to myself. Then I will de- enough experience. with transcribing. One useful tool is anything
termine what pitch it is, usually by playing it on After the meter, I’ll next determine if the that can slow the playback down, especial-
an instrument simultaneously with the record- song has an eighth-note, 16th, or triplet feel ly if it doesn’t change the pitch (in my youth I
ing for verification. by counting subdivisions along with it and see used a vari-speed tape recorder, but changing
In my early days I would do this note by which one feels right. Don’t worry too much the speed also changed the key, so after figur-
note, but as one accumulates experience, it be- about this, as it’s not uncommon for a soloist to ing out a slowed-down phrase I would then have
comes easier to hear notes in groups, and you change what subdivisions they’re basing their to transpose it to the original key). Also, I no
may find that you are able to hear and figure out phrases off of as they play. longer do transcriptions by hand; I type them
phrases fairly quickly. After that, I use a similar “start simple” ap- into music notation software. A big advantage
Once you’ve got a note, you can figure out proach for determining rhythms: I start with ei- of this is the software will play back what I have
the next note (or previous note, if you’re start- ther the first note or a note that has a clear rhyth- typed in, and I can simply listen to check if I
ing in the middle of a phrase) intervallically. mic attack, then I count along with the track and have transcribed it correctly. I don’t use this in
If you’re not at the stage where you can read- listen for what count I’m on when the note is place of playing it myself, mainly because play-
ily identify intervals (which is where I started; struck. If it’s in between the subdivisions I’m ing it improves my technique and helps put the
transcribing helps with this in a hurry), take a counting, then I know I need to count a differ- sounds and ideas under my fingers, so they’re
guess. Is it a step or larger? Does it sound larg- ent subdivision for that rhythm. As with notes, not just theoretical concepts that I can’t execute.
er than a fifth? When you’ve made your guess, at first you may need to find what part of the I strongly recommend playing through every-
play the note you figured out and then what you measure every single note is on, but with expe- thing you transcribe, and along with the record-
believe to be the next note. If it’s incorrect, is the rience you will start hearing rhythmic phrases ing. This not only puts the licks into your vocab-
interval larger or smaller than you had guessed? and be able to write out entire measures without ulary, but also the feel (whether it’s behind the
Repeat this process until you’ve got the right the need to count every note. beat or ahead of the beat, which our system of
sound. Then play that along with the recording When I’ve got a phrase written down, one musical notation doesn’t allow for) and dynam-
to check it. way I’ll check myself is to play the phrase as ics. I also find it to be a lot of fun. DB
As you get better at intervals, you may want if I’ve never heard it and am sight-reading it.
to start working on phrases or groups of notes. If either rhythmically or melodically it doesn’t A guitarist and bassist based in the New York area,
Before determining pitches, establish the sound like what’s on the recording, I’ll examine Jimi Durso frequently contributes solo tran-
scriptions and analyses to DownBeat’s Woodshed
sound: Is it pentatonic? A mode? An arpeggio? whatever it is that sounds “off.” If the rhythm department. Visit Durso online on jimidurso.com.

70 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

 Guitar School Woodshed | solo
by jimi durso

John John Abercrombie

Abercrombie’s
Modal Guitar
Solo On
‘Timeless’
R ecorded in 1974 for the ECM la-
bel, guitarist John Abercrombie’s
debut album as a leader featured him
in an organ trio setting with key-
boardist Jan Hammer and drum-
mer Jack DeJohnette. The title track,
“Timeless,” consists of patterns of
stacked fifths within a structure that is
14 beats long, divided into two mea-
sures of four and one measure of six.
For the most part, Abercrombie
takes a modal approach to his solo,
with a minimum of chromatic notes.
Mainly centering around E aeolian
(the mode of the melody), we do find
a couple of instances of E dorian to-
wards the end of his solo (measures 27,
33 and 48). All of these occur on the

jørgen bo
Gadd9 chord, where the presence of a
C# creates a bright lydian sound.
But there is also a lot of E minor pentatonic way through measure 21, where in beat 3
happening, which at times gives his solo a more Abercrombie plays a five-note idea in 32nds (D,
“rock ’n’ roll” attitude, especially with the bends B, G, F#, G). He plays this a total of seven com-
in measures 42–44. The first instance of a pure- plete times, over the barline into measure 22,
ly pentatonic idea starts at the pickup to mea- where he then drops the last G note and chang-
sure 11 and continues through the end of the es the rhythm to resolve out of the polyrhythm.
phrase at measure 15. There also occurs an idea It’s interesting to note that in each of these cas-
Abercrombie will reuse in this solo, that of note es Abercrombie doesn’t resolve his polyrhythmic
groupings inconsistent with the underlying sub- ideas to a strong beat, as a Hindustani tehi would,
division, creating a polyrhythm. Starting with but instead chooses to morph back into the back-
the pickups to measure 11, Abercrombie plays ing rhythm.
an ascending and descending E minor pentaton- This last example also incorporates another
ic scale in 16th notes, but it takes 14 notes before scalar concept we find throughout his improvi-
the pattern repeats. Since 16th notes are grouped sation: minor pentatonic with the second add-
in fours, the pattern repeats every three-and- ed. Though not fully a dorian or aeolian sound,
a-half beats. Abercrombie plays this idea three it is still more than a pentatonic flavor. In fact,
full times, and the last time, the one that actual- starting at measure 2, we hear only this sound
ly starts on the downbeat at measure 14, he de- through measure 11, where the strict pentatonic
cides to take it in a different direction on the de- starts (with the exception of the G# that occurs
scent, playing 32nd-note pentatonic ideas with in measure 8, but this was smeared through so
more slurring. as to be barely noticeable, and it’s not even clear
In a simpler form, this occurs in measures 30 if it was intended). When Abercrombie leaves
and 31. We have a four-note lick with the final the pentatonic sound at measure 15, it is to re-
note held for three 16ths, totaling two-and-a-half turn to this pentatonic-plus-second texture; he
beats. Abercrombie starts this lick on the second comes back to straight pentatonic at measure
beat of what should have been a 6/4 measure, but 18. Abercrombie’s entire solo consists mainly
the entire trio drops an eighth note, as if they all of these two sounds, with Cs and C#s occurring
heard the line resolve to what has become the rarely (bars 23, 24, 26, 27, 33, 46 and 48). That’s
first beat of measure 31. However, Abercrombie less that 15 percent of his solo where he actually
continues his idea with some variation three defines the mode. DB
more times before resolving to the downbeat of
measure 32. Jimi Durso is a guitarist and bassist in the New York
The same type of idea happens almost half- area. He can be reached at jimidurso.com.

72 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

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877-904-JAZZ
JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 73
 Guitar School Toolshed 

Peterson Stomp Classic Strobotuner

No-Settle Pedal
P eterson is a familiar name among those
who demand the absolute best in tuner ac-
curacy. Famous for its mechanical strobe devic-
your instrument. The high-resolution display is
large and easy to read with its backlit digital-
ly simulated strobe wheel. The real power of
es, Peterson revolutionized the industry with the the tuner can be found in the “sweetened tun-
introduction of the virtual strobe tuner. The lat- ings” capabilities, which utilize custom offsets
est evolution in the company’s digital line is the for each note that insure that a particular instru-
Stomp Classic Strobotuner, a roadworthy pedal ment is in tune with itself. Peterson offers this
tuner that offers 0.1-cent accuracy plus some nice feature in other products but has added sweet-
additional features like an onboard DI and user eners for additional instruments plus the ability
customization via USB connectivity. to create your own via the editor software and
The Stomp Classic is actually the replace- the pedal’s USB port.
ment for the StroboStomp 2. According to Scott The Stomp Classic’s mode button not only
Peterson, company president, “We received a selects the sweeteners, but also provides drop-
lot of feedback from our user forums and trade tuning and capo settings as well as adjustments
shows which went into the design of this ped- for concert pitch. As with the StroboStomp,
al.” The company also felt it would be great the Stomp Classic is true bypass and also has a
to “tap into the mojo” of one of the industry’s built-in active DI. It can handle virtually any in-
most iconic products, the Conn ST-11, which strument you throw at it, and I also love the abil-
Peterson acquired in the 1980s when it pur- ity to store custom presets, create new sweeten-
chased the Conn company. In fact, the Stomp ers and even upgrade firmware via USB.
Classic’s die-cast casing does bear a striking re- With the Stomp Classic, it looks like
semblance to the old Conn. Peterson has once again accomplished its goal
As with all Peterson digital strobe tuners, of producing the best tuners on the market. 
the Stomp Classic is extremely easy to use by  —Keith Baumann
simply plugging in, stomping down and tuning Ordering info: petersontuners.com

Matt Raines Serena Archtop

Comfortable 7-String Adventure
A dventurous jazz guitarists will delight in the
Serena, a new 7-string archtop from Matt
Raines guitars, one of three in the company’s
Matt Raines explains that he advanced
the idea for this smaller archtop after no-
ticing how fatigued his arm and shoulder
with the acoustic projection that the body
and neck delivered.
Plugging the Serena into a few classic am-
Master Series collection. became when playing a standard length, plifier setups, the single pickup provided a
Hailed as Raines’ flagship archtop, this jazz 3.5-inch-thick jazz box. clean, open brightness on top while captur-
box is eye-catching with its solid-carved and The guitar arrived already set up and ing the rolling lows of the 7-string adventure
book-matched flame maple back and sides. in fine playing condition with spot-on on bottom. There was just the right amount
Manufatured in China, the guitar has a hand- action and intonation between the tune- of sustain without sounding forced, and the
carved spruce top and flame maple neck with eb- o-matic bridge and flatwound strings. medium “C”-shape neck is comfortable in all
ony fretboard. The tailpiece, pickguard, tuners, Before plugging in, I challenged playing positions.
volume and tone knobs are also in ebony, which the Serena acoustically, applying The easily accessible ebony vol-
gives the guitar a stately consistency of dark varied plectrum strum dynam- ume and tone wheels mounted on
highlighted by its nitro clear maple finish. The ics and fingerpicking, using the the raised pickguard offer an ad-
single-neck pickup, made by Artec, is designed seventh string as an open A or ditional perk if you like to em-
to deliver an even tonal response with accentu- B for bass-note complements. ploy volume vibrato or tweak your
ated midrange and less bass. The Serena touts The smaller archtop body de- tone on the fly. I do wonder about
all wood multi-ply binding including the f-holes, livered a bright, consistent the longterm durability of the all-
and the overall construction is solid. acoustic sound that main- in-one connection of pickup to
Things get real interesting with the modified tained a classic jazz tone pickguard; while this setup is
dimensions of this archtop. The 25-inch scale, 20 unplugged through the f- a commendable customiza-
frets and 2-inch bone nut feel right with the sev- holes. My initial skepti- tion for the jazz player, road-
en strings. The scaled-down, 15-inch lower bout cism about the tonal in- heavy use will require care
with just a 2.4-inch thickness to the body real- tegrity of the low seventh and vigilance for this aspect of
ly places playing comfort at a premium and al- string on this smaller arch the guitar. —John LaMantia
lows maximum dexterity on the instrument. was pleasantly ameliorated Ordering info: mattraines.com

74 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

 D’Addario Strings
Enhanced Acoustic,
Electric &
Flamenco Sets

MusicCord Pro Power Distributor

C ontinuing in its efforts to answer the grow-
ing needs of the market, D’Addario has
released several new guitar string sets that
feature enhanced materials for better tone,
Six Ways To Sound Your Best and custom gauges

M ichael Griffin of Essential Sound

Products believes that a properly en-
gineered power cord will have a major im-
The power distributor is built like a tank.
The unit features six isolated hospital-grade
outlets with bronze contacts housed in a fully
that provide a more
balanced tension and
sound across your
pact on improving the performance of au- shielded aluminum chassis filled with a pro- instrument.
dio equipment, and he convinced us when prietary damping material to reduce the oc- First up are two
we reviewed his MusicCord Pro cord (see currence of any anomalies caused by vibra- new sets for flamen-
“Toolshed” January 2009). Now with the tion. To protect your gear, the distributor has co players, EJ25B
MusicCord Pro Power Distributor, users can both mode-1 surge protection plus an internal and EJ25C, which
benefit from the ESP advantage on up to six ceramic fuse, and it all comes together with utilize D’Addario’s
separate components at once. a 2-meter, 12-gauge MusicCord Pro cable to multi-filament strand-
The heart of all Essential Sound’s prod- power the unit. ed core material
ucts lies in their ability to deliver a consistent The new power distributor has the major- wound in silver-plate.
and abundant power flow, thus eliminating the ity of the benefits that you get from using the Compared to tradi-
tonal coloration that occurs when using an in- regular MusicCord Pro, even when connect- tional nylon cores,
expensive “stock” power cord. According to ing to it via a standard power cable. I ran two these strings offer in-
Griffin, the power distributor is less expen- tube amplifiers through the distributor, and in creased lifespan and
sive than purchasing individual power cords both cases there was a definite improvement improved intonation.
and will give you most of the same benefits. in clarity, particularly noticeable at higher vol- The sets are available
“It is great for setups involving multiple com- umes. Those who demand the best perfor- in two options, with
ponents and for use with devices containing mance from their equipment will find it well black nylon on the
hardwired cords such as vintage amps or con- worth the $499 price tag. —Keith Baumann EJ25B set and clear
sumer audio gear,” he said. Ordering info: essentialsound.com nylon on the EJ25C.
For jazz guitar-
ists, D’Addario now
offers its Jazz Medium XL set in pure nickel.
In contrast to the standard nickel-plated steel
used in the standard XL jazz sets, the EPN22
David Gage Realist strings are made entirely from pure nickel rem-
SoundClip For Cello iniscent of the 1950s, when it was the industry
standard. With slightly lower magnetic proper-
Clean Amplifcation ties, these strings produce a warmer tone that

D avid Gage Stringed Instruments has de-

signed a Realist SoundClip pickup for
cello that shares the same design characteris-
is not as bright as steel, offering players a nice
alternative.
The new EXL111 electric and EJ24 acous-
tics as the Realist SoundClip for bass. tic sets are what D’Addario calls “balanced ten-
Machined from solid brass, the Realist sion” sets. The string gauges have been modi-
SoundClip attaches to the cello bridge without fied to result in a more equal tension across all
any marring and is easily removed. The cable up produces. The pickup gets a great sound six strings. In a standard set, the tension of the
fits vertically into the jack, which was just a with the EQ set flat. However, boosting the G, D and A strings can be significantly high-
little snug for my taste. Two weights, one 25g bass yields incredibly clean bottom end pow- er than that of the other three strings. By using
and the other 50g, can be screwed separately er, with no boominess. The treble is surpris- slightly lighter gauges on these strings and eve-
or together onto the pickup to suppress wolf ingly usable as well, with warmth throughout ning out the tension, a more balanced tone can
tones from the cello. Additionally, there is a its range. During all my tests, I was able to at- be achieved. Players also benefit from the abil-
volume knob on the pickup within easy reach tain a wonderfully natural sound without the ity to use a more consistent attack across the
of the player. use of a pre-amp. neck. The EJ24’s True Medium set is phosphor
I tested the Realist SoundClip through a The jack is integral to the pickup, with no bronze for acoustic players, and the EXL111
variety of amplifiers and direct into a PA sys- external wiring and no need for additional Balanced Light Gauge is nickel-plated steel for
tem. I was consistently impressed with the mounting—a huge plus. —Erica Lessie electric guitarists. —Keith Baumann
clarity and warmth of sound that this pick- Ordering info: davidgage.com Ordering info: daddario.com

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 75

 Guitar School Toolshed | Gear Box

Jack Tightener
The tedious and time-
consuming process of
tightening guitar/bass input
and output jacks is now
a thing of the past with
Allparts’ new LT-1400-023,
the Bullet Guitar Jack
Tightener. The Bullet’s
patented Grip-Tip holds
the jack while tightening,
preventing damage to wir-
ing and solder joints. With
the Bullet at your disposal,
you’ll never take your jack
plate off again to tighten
things up. Similar products
require additional wrenches
or tools and are made of
metal, which can scratch
and damage your hardware
and finish. The Bullet has
Distressed Beauty
Morgan Monroe has intro-
everything you need in a
duced the MDM-2 distressed
quality plastic tool that fits
mandolin. The MDM-2 features
in the palm of your hand.
solid hand-carved woods,
Simply position the socket
a radiused fingerboard,
head around the nut on
ebony fretboard and bridge,
your guitar jack, firmly push
cast antique brass tailpiece,
the Grip Tip down onto
antique brass Grover tuning
the guitar jack opening to
keys and 31mm nut width. It
hold it in place and use the
also has a custom tone bar.
swivel handle to tighten or
More info: morganmonroe.com
loosen the nut and the jack.
More info: allparts.com

Midnight Train
Vox recently rolled out the Night
Train 50 tube amplifier and
V212NT speaker cabinet.
The all-tube Night Train
50 offers two channels
for a diverse range of
sounds. The V212NT
extension cabinet is an
ideal sonic comple-
ment to the Night Train
50, which includes
EL34 tubes in the
power stage to pro-
duce a tight sound.
More info: voxamps.com

76 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

 Anniversary
Axes
Celebrating its 60th
anniversary, Fender has
introduced two collect-
ible models: the Anniversary
Telecaster and Anniversary P-Bass. Both
models feature Blackguard Blonde thinskin nitrocellulose lacquer
finishes and 60th anniversary commemorative nameplates.
Plus, the P-Bass has a vintage-style pickguard, and the Tele has
a new American Standard bridge and No-Load tone control.
More info: fender.com

Exotic
Picks
Harris Musical
Products is
now distribut-
ing Timber
Tones,
hand-fin-
ished guitar
picks that
have been
crafted from
18 different
exotic woods
using end cuts
from guitar manu-
facturers. Each pick is
the same size and thickness,
although each different wood has its own
sonic characteristics and variations in tone.
More info: timber-tones.com

Tube Adaptation
VHT has released the
Special 6 EL84 adapter,
which reconfigures the
Special 6’s 6V6 output
tube socket to accept an
EL84 output tube. With the
adapter, players can enjoy
earlier breakup, distinctive
midrange complexity and
top-end chime. The Special
6 EL84 also works in other
6V6 amps.
More info: vhtamp.com

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 77

 Jazz On Campus  School Notes 
Kenny Garrett

Tom Everett Tom Everett

Celebrates 40 Years
Leading Harvard’s
Jazz Bands
T he combined firepower of Benny Golson,
Brian Lynch, Don Braden, Eddie Palmieri,
Cecil McBee and Roy Haynes gathered at
Harvard University’s Sanders Theater on April
9. These jazz all-stars convened on the band-

Jimmy Katz
stand to help Tom Everett celebrate his 40-
year anniversary as director of the university’s
Dr. Garrett: Kenny Garrett received an
jazz bands. Not coincidentally, these giants are

harvard university
honorary doctorate of music degree from
also among the alumni of Harvard’s Office of Berklee College of Music and spoke at
the Arts’ (OFA) Artists In Residence Program. the Boston school’s commencement
During the anniversary concert, Everett shunned ceremony on May 7. Chucho Valdés,
the limelight, conducted a bit and beamed a lot. masters, along with teaching Harvard’s first ac- Bebo Valdés and Mavis Staples also
When Everett arrived at Harvard in 1971, he credited jazz courses. received honorary doctorates from the
was amazed to find no campus exposure to “Musical freshmen coming to Harvard find college. “I was totally elated when I was
America’s indigenous musical art form. He set out something’s happening,” Everett said. advised that I’d be receiving an honorary
about improving matters by recruiting jazz play- “Beyond its academic credentials and amaz- doctorate from the world’s largest college
ers from the marching band, and then inviting ing athletic programs, Harvard offers more mu- of contemporary music,” Garrett said.
Carl Fontana and Phil Wilson. Soon, the OFA sic opportunities than most specialized schools: Details: berklee.edu
took interest, and the program took off. Harvard four orchestras, three bands, three choral groups,
residents have included Hank Jones, Bill Evans, untold a cappella choruses, ‘house’ opera and UCLA Expansion: Music industry execu-
John Lewis, Randy Weston, Andrew Hill and chamber groups.” tive Morris “Mo” Ostin has donated $10
Benny Carter. Harvard stays have restoked the Off-campus, Everett played bass trombone million to UCLA for a state-of-the-art music
careers of tenor giant Illinois Jacquet and trum- in the Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey Orchestras facility to be known as the Evelyn and Mo
pet legend Buck Clayton. Ostin Music Center. The Ostin Music Cen-
as well as Wilson’s Big Band, and gigged in
ter will include a high-tech recording studio,
Resident artists who worked with students Boston’s pit bands. He also conducted recordings
spaces for rehearsal and teaching, a café
found non-music majors more interested in per- and concerts for trombone wizard J.J. Johnson.
and an Internet-based music production
sonal histories than ferreting out theory and nice- In 1972, he founded and was the first president center. Construction will begin in the spring
ties of technique. of the International Trombone Association. His of 2012, with a projected completion date
“lnterpreting the music of Charles Mingus quick wit, easy humor and administrative genius in 2014. “Mo’s magnificent gift secures
and Duke Ellington sparked enlightened re- haved earned him tremendous respect among UCLA’s standing as a leader in music and
hearsal moments,” Everett said. “When the band music educators worldwide. music education,” UCLA Chancellor Gene
steps over that bar, you realize: They are get- Everett’s outreach also helped knit Boston’s Block said. “As a cutting-edge music facil-
ting this! Max Roach had them on the edge of jazz community. In 1972, he and Berklee College ity, the Evelyn and Mo Ostin Music Center
their chairs. Whether you later become a doc- of Music’s trombonists Wilson and Tom Plsek will allow UCLA to provide the dynamic
tor or CEO, you know certain life priorities have co-founded Boston Sackbut Week, mastermind- training ground students need to be future
changed forever.” ing coups like 76 trombones playing opening leaders in the performing arts.”
Harvard jazz band members who have cho- day at Fenway Park. Crosstown exchanges fea- Details: arts.ucla.edu
sen to follow their artistic muse include Joshua tured faculty at Berklee (Herb Pomeroy, Michael
Redman, Braden, Jerome Harris, Akira Tana and Gibbs and Alan Dawson) and New England Usdan Grant: New York’s Usdan Center
Aaron Goldberg. Conservatory (Jaki Byard, George Russell, for the Creative and Performing Arts sum-
“I regard myself as a catalyst,” Everett said. Gunther Schuller and Ran Blake). Everett’s acu- mer arts day camp received a two-year ini-
“I facilitate events. The pros, the kids and the men extends beyond jazz. He has commissioned tiative grant from the Rauch Foundation’s
music make things happen.” 100 works for bass trombone, and brought to Founders’ Memorial Program for a new
program, “Sustaining American Jazz: In-
Ingrid Monson, Harvard’s Quincy Jones Harvard the composers Peter Schickele, Henry
spiring Young Artists and Audiences.” The
Professor of African American Music, who is Brant and Vincent Persichetti.
program will include scholarships awarded
tasked with expanding Harvard’s jazz curricu- Bringing such distinguished musicians to
to promising high school students for sum-
lum, added, “That’s how Tom is. He acts like Harvard continues to the present day. On April mer jazz study at the center, commissions
he does nothing, when he’s actually the life- 28, Wynton Marsalis began a two-year perfor- for new works by leading composers,
blood of it all.” mance/lecture series. The trumpeter intends to collaborations with Long Island high school
Everett actually did plenty. On campus, he visit the campus for two to three days at a time to jazz ensembles for additional performanc-
directed Crimson Bands in hundreds of witty discuss American music and culture. He’ll also es of the new pieces, and concerts and
football half-time shows, inspired concert and bring along dancers, his own ensembles and a master classes at the center.
wind ensembles, founded the pops band, and New Orleans parade band to illustrate his points. Details: usdan.com
commissioned and collected manuscripts by jazz  —Fred Bouchard

78 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

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80 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011

INSTRUMENTS & ACCESSORIES DB Buyers Guide 
All Parts...........................62 ESP..................................44 P. Mauriat
allparts.com essentialsound.com Saxophones.....................9
pmauriatmusic.com
Allegro Corporation......35 Five Towns
allegro-music.com College............................67 Peterson Tuners............71
ftc.edu petersontuners.com/
Auricle Records.............66
Music instruments, stands, mic stands, gerryhemingway.com George L’s .....................41 Resonance
all accessories, storage boxes. www.musicity. georgels.com Records...........................16
com 1-800-777-7871. Web-based since 1999 Band of Bones..............56 resonancerecords.com
bandofbones.com
Godin Guitars................27
godinguitars.com RS Berkeley...................76
Bari Mouthpieces.........10 rsberkeley.com
BOOKS & MAGAZINES bariwoodwind.com
Jamey Aebersold............5
jazzbooks.com Sabian.............................31
Berklee College sabian.com
of Music............................8 Jazz Clef.........................60
berklee.edu
jazzclef.com Sam Ash.........................40
samash.com
Billy Bauer Music..........72
billybauersmusic.com Jody Jazz........................72
jodyjazz.com Samson...........................84
zoomfx.com
Bradyworks....................22
timbrady.ca Joe Barth........................62
pjosephbarth@aol.com Sunnyside
Cannonball Music.....2, 37 Records.....................53, 55
cannonballmusic.com LA Sax.............................69 sunnysiderecords.com
lasax.com
ETC.
Capri Records...............54 Telluride Jazz
caprirecords.com LaBella Strings..............69 Festival............................36
labella.com telluridejazz.org
Catfood Records..........56
catfoodrecords.com Lisa Hilton Music..........60 The Jazz Cruise.............19
lisahiltonmusic.com thejazzcruise.com
Chicago Jazz
Festival............................79 Litchfield Jazz Theo Wanne
chicagojazzfestival.us Festival............................66 Mouthpieces..................23
litchfieldjazzfest.com theowanne.com
CMI/Hofner.....................73
hofner.com Mark Campellone.........76 U.S. Air Force
mcampellone.com Academy Band.............41
Subscribe Columbia College peterson.af.mil
Chicago.............................4 Matt Raines....................77
DownBeat.com colum.edu
877-904-JAZZ
mattraines.com Universal Music
Group–Decca..................7
Concord Monterey Jazz deccalabelgroup.com
Music Group..................17 Festival............................46
concordmusicgroup.com
montereyjazzfestival.org University of
Southern California –
Concord Records.........51 Motéma.........57, 59, 61 63 Thornton School...........34
concordrecords.com usc.edu/music
motema.com

Cuneiform University of the

Records...........................62 Music Dispatch.............21
cuneiformrecords.com musicdispatch.com Pacific..............................67
pacific.edu

Detroit International Newport Jazz

Jazz Festival...................15 Festival............................45 University of the
detroitjazzfest.com newportjazzfest.net Pacific Library................60
library.pacific.edu/ha/brubeck

Dream Cymbals............11 On Board

dreamcymbals.com Research.........................29 Vandoren...........................3
tuners.com vandojazzusa.com
Eastman School
of Music..........................58 Owl Studios....................65 Zildjian.............................83
esm.rochester.edu owlstudios.com zildjian.com

JULY 2011 DOWNBEAT 81

 Blindfold Test | By Frank-John Hadley

Vernon Reid
T hough hailed internationally as a guitarist with the rock band Living
Colour, Vernon Reid has made his mark on the cutting-edge jazz, blues,
and r&b scenes in New York. In addition to Living Colour, he keeps busy
with the Memphis Blood Blues Band, Free Form Funky Freqs, the Bitches
Brew Revisited project and the Tony Williams Lifetime Tribute Band with
Cindy Blackman, Jack Bruce and John Medeski. Living Colour’s latest
album is The Chair In The Doorway (Megaforce). This is Reid’s second
Blindfold Test.

Bill Frisell
“It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine” (from Beautiful Dreamers, Savoy Jazz, 2010) Bill
Frisell, guitar; Eyvind Kang, viola; Rudy Royston, drums.
Wow! I love the feeling of this, the laid-back feeling of time, the way the
spaces are used. I think it’s Olu Dara. It’s really a communal feeling. It’s

Bill Bernstein
the opposite of “OK, we’re doing this at a blistering tempo.” It’s thrilling
to do that, but there’s a fine line between whether the muse is calling for
that, or whether it’s manhood-proving, I-have-the-largest-male-organ-in-
the-room. Bill Frisell? I should recuse myself. [laughter] We did the duo al- Santana
bum Smash & Scatteration. [This] reminds me a little of Charlie Burnham. “Welcome” (from Welcome, Columbia, 1973) Carlos Santana, guitar; Tom Coster,
I’d give that 5 stars. acoustic piano; Richard Kermode, electric piano; José “Chepito” Areas, Arman-
do Peraza, percussion; Doug Rauch, bass.
John Coltrane This is Coltrane’s song “Welcome,” played by Santana. I’m very emotional
“Blues To Elvin” (from Coltrane Plays The Blues, Atlantic, 1962) John Coltrane, about this music as well, particularly this period with the albums
saxophone; McCoy Tyner, piano; Steve Davis, bass; Elvin Jones, drums. Caravanserai, Welcome and Borboletta. You can feel how open and
John Coltrane. It’s lovely to occupy a space and not be ironic or clever or purely loving it is. It’s shockingly open. It’s really beautiful, the feeling of
arch in any way. It is what it is. It’s interesting because I’ve had conversa- it. This is the music that really influenced me as far as what I wanted to
tions with Carlos Santana just about Coltrane. Like a lot of the greatest mu- do with guitars. 5 stars.
sicians, he was outside of his time, but he really exemplified this emerging
sense of exploration and freedom of the 1960s. He was part of what made Gary Lucas and Dean Bowman
the times what they were. He opened up so many people’s heads at that “Nobody’s House” (from Chase The Devil, Knitting Factory, 2009) Gary Lucas,
point. He was really challenging his older audience. He broke it open to guitar; Dean Bowman, vocal.
so many people to be moved by his expression, his journey, by his genius. Wow! Now, wait a minute. That sounds like Dean. The guitar player is out-
That’s fantastic. 5 stars. standing. It’s Gary Lucas! I’ve always admired Gary’s technique as a fin-
gerpicker. He’s a bad-ass. The way he incorporates looping and things like
John McLaughlin that are really nasty. It’s amazing. It’s a pure duo? Yeah, man. 4½ stars.
“Don’t Let The Dragon Eat Your Mother” (from Devotion, Varèse Sarabande,
2001; rec’d 1970) John McLaughlin, guitar; Billy Rich, bass; Larry Young, organ; Jimi Hendrix
Buddy Miles, drums. “Bleeding Heart” (from Valleys Of Neptune, Legacy/Experience Hendrix, 2010;
That’s totally psychedelic, with a free-form beginning and loop delays. rec’d 1969) Jimi Hendrix, vocal and guitar; Billy Cox, bass; Rocky Isaac, drums;
[He’s told it’s McLaughlin.] Right. This was before My Goal’s Beyond. Chris Grimes, tambourine; Al Marks, maracas.
I like it. John’s a big influence. The Inner Mounting Flame was massive. It’s funny, the introduction, the very first thing Hendrix plays, you almost
3½ stars. think he’s going to play “Sunshine Of Your Love.” There are so many peo-
ple who play the notes of Hendrix, but the feeling of his vibrato, his tone,
Lionel Loueke the way he occupies space, that’s really the thing and is very dramatic. He’s
“Twins” (from Mwaliko, Blue Note, 2010) Lionel Loueke, guitar; Esperanza Spald- the architect of a certain approach. He synthesized the emerging technol-
ing, bass and voice. ogy of the time with a background in r&b and blues. He took one part
Incredible musicality. I like it. [He’s told it’s Loueke.] Aaah! This is fan- Curtis Mayfield’s guitar playing, one part Bob Dylan’s songwriting, one
tastic. Harmonically, it’s very sophisticated. There’s a mysterious feel- part Albert King’s guitar playing, all of that combined, and he made some-
ing to it. On the one hand, it’s so sophisticated on a certain mainstream thing new. “Wah-wah pedal—what’s this? Octavia pedal? I’ll plug it in!”
jazz level but there’s also a sense of folk. The players are very, very in- That’s the thing about it; he just dived in. He’s absolutely one of my heroes.
formed. And the vocalizing is outstanding. They’re of the current genera- I was too young to see him, but I can’t even begin to imagine the Monterey
tion. There’s also a sense of music of the world in what that is. I was very Pop Festival, when he smashed his guitar. It was literally the concept of
impressed with it because of the chords, the harmonies. The difference having your face melted and your mind blown. There was no way that you
between the Bill Frisell piece—I loved it and got immediately into it— weren’t transformed by it. 5 stars. DB
and this piece is that I was a little distanced because it’s so sophisticated.
So I’m kind of wowed by it as opposed to being part of it. I’m blown away The “Blindfold Test” is a listening test that challenges the featured art-
by it because it’s kind of designed to blow me away. Just for the high level ist to discuss and identify the music and musicians who performed on
selected recordings. The artist is then asked to rate each tune using
of musicianship, I give it 5 stars. a 5-star system. No information is given to the artist prior to the test.

82 DOWNBEAT JULY 2011