Smooth As Silk

I try wherever possible to live with a CD for a while before reviewing it, and I came to appreciate Mark Carter’s jazz album, Smooth As Silk, the more I spun it in my player. The ten-track album features seven original compositions from the smooth jazz guitarist and covers of tunes by Smokey Robinson, Luther Vandross and Barney Perry. I do not pretend to be an audiophile, but one of the things that jumped out at me right away is that the music on this CD is very well engineered and balanced.

The opening track, Barney Perry’s “Walking In Rhythm,” conjures up images of watching a bird effortlessly glide on the wind, simply allowing the jet streams to lift it, and then watching it gracefully float down again. Carter’s guitar work is contagious, as he infuses his chords with personality and flair. Greg Adams’ trumpet work is always a treat to listen to, but this time it is the mellow, fatter notes of his flugelhorn that bring warmth to “Walking In Rhythm.”

Tchaikovsky

Among other things, what classical music has in common with jazz is how often its history is distorted. One finds apocryphal tales repeated so often that they move beyond lore into “fact.” Often, too, for both types of music, an incident from the life or aspect of a composer’s personality are cited as impetus to their creative process. To be sure, these things are usually components that go towards forming part of their artistic process, but it is likely inaccurate to paint an entire artist’s life in such broad, sweeping strokes. Romantic era composer Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) is a prime example of life and legend becoming firmly enmeshed, coming together in his final symphony, the “Pathetique.” A 1997 release from GMMC (Tchaikovsky/Plumeri) bring further life to the legend under the baton of contemporary conductor/composer and sometimes jazz artist, Terry Plumeri.  

Tchiakovsky—Life and Legend

Born in Votkinsk, Piotr was multi-lingual (French and German) and beginning his studies on the piano by age seven. After his father quit his government post of mining engineer, the family moved Moscow and later St. Petersburg, where Piotr was sent to boarding school, eventually studying jurisprudence. His initial separation from his family and his mother’s death from cholera when he was in his early teens proved to be particularly traumatic events for Piotr. Later he clerked four years at the Ministry of Justice, but his interest in piano and poetry shifted his attentions into that less practical existence after a lynchpin moment of seeing Mozart’s opera, Don Giovanni. Despite his father’s opposition, he entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory where he studied under Anton Rubinstein and Nicholas Zaremba.  A job as Professor of Harmony at the new Moscow Conservatory paid just fifty rubles a month, but the stimulation furthered Piotr’s foray into composing. 

Little Did I Dream

With the release of Little Did I Dream (2008, Minnehaha Music), the reigning “swing queen” of hot club music in the Twin Cities cuts no corners in reminding us that she is an artist of diverse tastes and talents. Over her career, Connie Evingson has explored a wide range of music, from Peggy Lee to Hoagy Carmichael to John Lennon, as well as her recent foray into the era of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. Connie's latest recording celebrates her collaboration with one of the nation’s most beloved and acclaimed songwriters, David Frishberg.

Connie and the Daves

A native of Hibbing in northern Minnesota’s Iron Range, Connie Evingson grew up listening to her father’s records of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Williams, Tony Bennett, Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, and later Peggy Lee and Shirley Horn. Influenced by these early muses as well as the musical icons of her generation (the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Sting, Bonnie Raitt), Connie’s eclectic tastes were soon evident, from her first club gig at the old Night Train in St. Paul to a brief stint with the Minnesota Vocal Jazz Ensemble before she joined Moore By Four in 1986. With Moore by Four, Connie performed and toured the world throughout the late 80s and 90s, often opening for the biggest stars in music. In the past decade, her career as a soloist has included six CDs for Minnehaha Music, her most releases charting on Jazzweek's Top 50 for extended periods. Long regarded as among the top echelon of jazz artists in the Midwest and nominated as Jazz Week’s Vocalist of the Year in 2005, Connie’s back-to-back recordings of hot club swing (Gypsy in My Soul, Stockholm Sweetnin’) brought renewed attention to the genre and led to performances at Jazz Alley in Seattle, Blues Alley in Washington, DC and appearances in Europe.

Roots & Grooves

Saxophonist Maceo Parker’s double CD Roots & Grooves (Heads Up International) provides ample evidence that the man who creatively collaborated with, and shared the stage with, James Brown during the 1960’s is still one of the coolest cats on the planet. Parker’s album, released on February 12th of this year, was recorded live with Germany’s critically acclaimed WDR Big Band, during February and March of 2007. This may be as close to musical heaven as we will be in this life. The listener gets to enjoy a sensational big band that boasts an incredible horn section, consisting of five trumpeters, four trombonists, and five saxophonists, in addition to Parker. We are also presented with an opportunity to tap into Parker’s creative genius and outstanding musicianship.

The first CD is a tribute to the music of Ray Charles. Parker does a good job of interpreting the music, but as someone who grew up with Ray Charles’ music, I was astounded by how uncannily Parker sounds like Charles while singing these songs. The first time we get an opportunity to really appreciate the likeness occurs during “You Don’t Know Me,” a song originally written in 1955 by Eddie Arnold and Cindy Walker. Oddly enough, even though the Tennessee Plowboy Arnold charted 145 songs, “You Don’t Know Me” was not one of them. Although numerous other artists have recorded the tune, it was Ray Charles who took the song to the # 2 spot on the 1962 charts, and if released as a single, Parker could very well equal that accomplishment. His delivery of “You give your hand to me / Then you say hello / I can hardly speak / My heart is beating so” is soulful and heartbreaking. It is Parker’s ability to be vulnerable that gives authenticity to this confession of love.

Terms of Art: A Tribute To Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Volume 1

The John Brown Quintet set out to create an album that would serve as a tribute to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers who, as their liner notes for Terms of Art: A Tribute To Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Volume 1 so aptly says, “inspired multiple generations of musicians with their vision and commitment to jazz.” In that vein, the Quintet recorded a great cover (second track) of Bobby Timmons’ “Moanin’,” one of Blakey and The Jazz Messenger’s better-known tunes. Brown lays down a deep bass groove over which the rest of the rhythm section --Ray Codrington (trumpet), Brian Miller (saxophones), pianist Gabe Evens, and drummer Adonis Rose--creates the hard bop melody. The John Brown Quintet plays with personality and a bit of sass, an attitude that is particularly noticeable when Brown solos during “Moanin’,” and then engages in a call and response with the horns.

Let It Go

A native of Southern California, Josh Nelson maintains a busy schedule as a jazz pianist, composer and recording artist. At age 28, he is already performing with some of the most respected names in jazz. Now a soloist in his own right, Josh debuts with Let It Go, released on Native Language, featuring a cavalcade of stars: Matt Wilson (drums), Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz (acoustic bass),  Seamus Blake (tenor saxophone), Anthony Wilson (acoustic and electric guitars), and special guest, vocalist Sara Gazarek, featured on “Leaving Here.”  The program on Let It Go (including six of Nelson’s original compositions) varies from classical-esque introspective moments to driving modern grooves; the overall tone of the release is a cohesive lyrical presentation.  

Nelson’s “Loose End” begins the journey, the pianist bringing a melting pot of influences ranging from the Bill Evans school of complex harmony to the deep grooves found in this generation’s popular music   The cut features odd phrase lengths of 3 and 5 measures, which could have resulted in a total train wreck, but in Nelson’s able hands it is the perfect notion of resolve through the ever shifting harmonic landscape.