MOSS

My pile of vocal jazz recordings for 2008 seemed to grow by the day, and by the end of the year, I had kept more than usual in my pile of preferences. These short reviews are far less than these recordings deserve, but I want to sum up 2008 before 2009 gets any farther along. And yes, this is a pretty eclectic collection that might stretch the boundaries of jazz here and there, but all of these singers share at least one thing in common—they bring individual interpretation to each song, no matter how familiar the tune or lyric. 

MOSS (Sunnyside). MOSS, the one that stayed in my CD player the longest, might defy classification as a jazz album, but nevertheless is at the top of my favorite vocal releases. This is an eclectic and sumptuous project from five who also defy classification—Theo Bleckmann, Peter Eldridge, Lauren Kinhan, Kate McGarry and Lucian Souza. A chance meeting of Souza and Eldridge on a commuter train started the wheels turning—to assemble a group of singers of different styles to find a collective sound. A few months of rehearsals later, MOSS debuted at Joe’s Pub in Manhattan. In the liner note, Souza hopes that “each song reveals the curiosity and uniqueness of each voice, and the wonderful and intangible thing that happens when a group of friends blend their voices and sensibilities into one.” Success emanates from every track as the group covers three of the most beautiful melodies and impassioned lyrics in modern popular music, including Joni Mitchell’s “Shadow and Light” (which bookends the CD), Neil Young’s “Old Man,” and Tom Wait’s “Take It With Me,” and 9 original tunes that highlight each singer’s well of creativity.  

Dragonfly

The past year saw many fine recordings issued from the major labels to small Indies to the growing ArtistShare projects. In Part I, I summarized my take on the “favorites” that featured horns; now I’m faced with the equally daunting task of culling out favorites with piano and strings (and two featuring vibes) in leading roles. Of the following, each deserves its own extended review, but a one-track sampling of a handful, and shorter statements for another pile, will have to suffice and whet appetites for the rest. (Part III, coming soon, will address favorite voices.) 

Steve Allee Trio, Dragonfly (Owl).  Indianapolis-based pianist Steve Allee has much lower profile than his talent warrants. Pianist for Buddy Rich’s big band at only 19, Allee has enjoyed a prolific career as performer, composer and music director; has composed television and film soundtracks; and has appeared in bands led by Randy Brecker, John Clayton, David “Fathead” Newman, Rich Perry and Rufus Reid. His sixth national release, Dragonfly follows closely on the heels of another trio recording, Colors (2007), also with the stellar trio of Bill Moring (bass) and Tim Horner (drums). Although Allee has worked with both in the past, as a trio these artists have only been together for a surprisingly short time, given their apparent mutual respect and comfortable collaboration. Saxophonists Rich Perry (2 tracks) and Rob Dixon (1 track) are featured guests. 

Blue Bassoon

What sounds more blue than a bassoon? Even the instrument’s name conjures dark skies clouded with whimsy. On Blue Bassoon, jazz’s premiere bassoonist, Daniel Smith, gathers a rhythm section of young lions to tumble through a bakers’ dozen of blues classics, from Horace Silver’s “Jody Grind” to Charlie Parker’s “Billie’s Bounce” to Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints,” never suggesting the presence of a Real Book. Simultaneously dubbed the “Gerry Mulligan of the Bassoon” in jazz circles and the “Rampal of the Bassoon” in the classical realm, the doubly talented Daniel Smith has given this long hollow tube a new purpose—to sing melody and improvise. And through his recordings and performances, Smith has put this unlikely woodwind in the spotlight as a solo jazz instrument as well as ensemble playmate.

Zeitlin Trio

Pianist/psychiatrist Denny Zeitlin has managed to balance two seemingly disparate careers for four decades.  His large catalog of music is both inventive and enduring, suggesting an approach to therapy that prompts free association and creative, interactive problem solving. Performing and recording often in solo and duo formats, Zeitlin has always had a particular affinity for the trio of piano, bass and drums, which he describes as creating “an equilateral triangle of great flexibility, mutuality and stability.” These characteristics define his latest Sunnyside release, In Concert, as well as the simultaneously released retrospective from Mosaic, Denny Zeitlin: The Columbia Trio Sessions, amassed from his 1960s releases, Cathexis, Carnival, and Zeitgeist.  

In the 1960s, Zeitlin’s trio included bassists Cecil McBee, Charlie Haden and Joe Halpin; his drumming cohorts included Freddie Waits, Jerry Granelli and Oliver Johnson. Personnel changed over the years, and in the late 90s he finally had the opportunity to record with the great bassist Buster Williams and acclaimed drummer Al Foster. Foster was no longer available a few years later when Zeitlin organized a West Coast tour, and a friend recommended rising star Matt Wilson.  The Zeitlin/Williams/Wilson trio proved to be a magical ensemble, releasing the praised Slickrock on MaxJazz in 2004. The live In Concert is a worthy successor. 

Joe Lovano©Andrea Canter

Here it is,  February 2009, and I am still trying to listen to the sounds of 2008. The past year saw many fine recordings issued from the major labels to small Indies to the growing Artists Share projects. Of the following, each deserves its own extended review, but a one-track sampling of a handful, and shorter statements for another pile, will have to suffice and whet appetites for the rest. To manage attention spans, this first set of reviews includes recordings where horns are prominent throughout the recording; subsequent articles will address favorites “without horns” and vocal jazz. 

In no particular order, and in recognition that I have not (yet) heard every worthy recording of the past year... and not enough time to review them all: 

Joe Lovano, Symphonica (Blue Note/WDR). Tenor titan Joe Lovano has been a prolific in recent years as any jazz artist on the planet, but until Symphonica, he had not tackled a full-length production with symphony orchestra. When long-time friend, arranger Michael Abene, took the reins of the famed WDR Big Band/Rundfunk Orchestra of Cologne in 2003, the seeds of Symphonica were planted. This live recording is both a new context and retrospective celebration of Lovano’s creative output and association with Blue Note, drawing on six of his favorite compositions and Charles Mingus’ “Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love.”  Symphonic settings, particularly on this scale, don’t always work. This one excels. 

Aurea

“Whenever I hear a new music… I can’t just leave it alone, I have to sort of collaborate, to see how I can speak in that new language with my own voice, with my own way of looking at things... Those beats, particularly the lando, touch something really deep and really old... it's like looking back in time through the window of rhythm.” – Geoffrey Keezer  
 

If lando and festejo become staples of jazz north of the border, we’ll be able to trace these influences not only to their roots in West Africa, coastal Peru and rural Argentina, but all the way to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, hometown of Geoffrey Keezer, one of American jazz’s most ardent brokers of global music. Among the most respected performers and composers on the scene today, Keezer was the wunderkind pianist in the last edition of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers (at age 18) before moving on to other prestigious collaborations, including the Contemporary Piano Ensemble (with James Williams, Mulgrew Miller, Donald Brown, and Harold Mabern) in the early 1990s, and more recently with the late Ray Brown, Christian McBride, Jim Hall and Dianne Reeves.