|
It was my first IAJE Convention, and it was overwhelming. Everywhere you turned, there was a familiar face from a CD cover or the bandstand. The ballrooms and smaller halls of the Hilton New York and New York Sheraton buzzed from morning til well after midnight with the sounds of big bands, big voices, small ensembles, and solo performers, from high school and college students to the most prominent musicians in modern jazz. But beyond the conference zone, Manhattan clubs beckoned, many recognizing the extended audience down the street and booking everyone in sight. Like kids turned loose in FAO Schwartz, our eyes rolled back as we scanned the club schedules. Even more than usual, New York was the Garden of Eden of Jazz in January. Too many choices, too little time—but I managed, with four clubs in three nights. [Read on forthe following reviews: Lewis Nash Quartet; Terell Stafford Quintet with Carla Cook; Karl Elling]
 Photo by Andrea Canter If there is a club with more elegant ambience than Minneapolis’ Dakota, this must be it. The smallest of three jazz venues within Manhattan’s new Jazz at Lincoln Center complex, Dizzy’s is dazzling. From the sleek curved bar to the warm wood stage, the room reflects a sparse but warm intimacy. But it’s all about the view. A wall of windows backs the stage, and at night the lights of Columbus Circle and Central Park environs sparkle like a beaded curtain. It can almost distract you from the music. But not quite.
On stage, the Lewis Nash Quartet presented a chapter in their week-long celebration of the music of Tommy Flanagan and Milt Jackson, part of JALC’s celebration of the Detroit connection. One could not ask for a more fitting ensemble—pianist Rene Rosness, vibes master Steve Nelson, bassist Peter Washington, and of course Lewis Nash on drums. Echoes of The Modern Jazz Quartet? It was Nash’s bash but Steve Nelson (perhaps best known for his work with Dave Holland’s ensembles) was the musical muscle, at the same time limber and sinewy. From exuberant soloing on Thad Jones’ “Bird Song” and a swift moving dance on Matt Dennis’ “That Tired Routine Called Love” to his precise attack on Ray Brown’s “FSR” (For Sonny Rollins) and polyrhythmic adventures on the late James Williams’ “Arioso,” Nelson engaged his bandmates as well as the audience throughout the set.
Canadian virtuoso Rene Rosness has built a solid reputation leading her own ensembles, holding the piano chair for the esteemed SF Jazz Collective, and working with husband/drummer Billy Drummond and (unrelated) bassist Ray Drummond as “The Drummonds.” She plays with a strong left hand that often changes roles with the right in leading the melodic line; her improvisations range from delicate arpeggios jumping to thick chords (deftly executed on “That Tired Routine Called Love”) to two-handed chord combinations followed by trilling riffs (“FSR”). Her comping on “Arioso” was multi-layered while yielding plenty of space for Nelson; on “Caravan” her quirky rhythms set the stage for an upbeat right-handed workout up and down the keyboard.
Peter Washington is one of the busiest bassists in modern jazz, and a long-time partner of keyboard giants Bill Charlap, Mulgrew Miller, and David Hazeltine. With his deep resonant tone, he managed the pulse without intrusion, yet at times would break away with climbing, spiraling phrases (“FSR”) and provided a constant, zinging undertone on “Caravan.” Lewis Nash may not be familiar as a leader, but he steers an ensemble with finesse. A long-time associate of the late Tommy Flanagan, Nash is master of the ride cymbal and subtle propulsion; his soloing throughout this set offered a clinic for young drummers who tend to equate percussive attack with bombastic extravagance. Rather, Nash effectively demonstrated the power of understatement sprinkled with selective “bombs” from crash and snare, and electrified the audience (and quartet) with his opening solo on “Caravan,” initially hands-on conguero-style before moving into single stick, then two-stick patterns.
While each artist starred in his or her own right, the ensemble as a whole provided the ultimate tribute to its Detroit heroes, Flanagan and Jackson. The interactions flowed easily, transitions generally seamless and as logical as they were lyrical, improvisations richly textured, spaces generously offered and thoughtfully filled. Inspiration trumped innovation, and that is not a criticism. The group’s rendition of “Caravan” seemed reflective of the entire evening—a more melodic arrangement than typically heard these days, yet one filled with all the quirkiness and sense of urgency worthy of Ellington’s spirit, buoyed by energetic contributions from each musician.
It was a beautiful venue and well-chosen ensemble for a tribute to two of the genre’s most inspired, and inspiring, muses.
January 13, Jazz Standard: Terell Stafford Quintet With Carla Cook  Photo by Andrea Canter
I couldn’t resist the opportunity to hear Terell Stafford and his working quintet again. I’ve heard him twice at the Dakota in Minneapolis and once at the Iowa City Jazz Festival over the past two years, and quite a while back when he was with Bobby Watson’s Horizon. The added attraction was the chance to hear for the first time the acclaimed vocalist Carla Cook. The early set on Friday the 13th must have been good luck. Despite the late reservation, we got a great table and the barbecue from the Blue Smoke kitchen (the restaurant above the jazz room) was outstanding (particularly high marks for the pulled pork and those deadly delicious sweet potato fries). But most delectable was the music, from the crisply energetic lines of Stafford’s trumpet to the whirling dervish of Tim Warfield’s tenor to the sublimely warm smoke of Cook’s contralto. Terell Stafford has a multi-lingual vocabulary, exhibiting crisp ascents and descents on the bluesy Benny Goodman opener, “Soft Winds;” an uzi-like attack on “September in the Rain;” a dusky flugelhorn vibrato on a rather abstract rendition of “Polka Dots and Moonbeams;” a brawny solo complementing Cook’s featured vocal on “So What?;” and a polytonal fury on his funky tribute to his father, “JT’s Blues.” Perfectly foiling the leader, Tim Warfield’s monster chops were frequently in the spotlight. Particularly noteworthy were his up-tempo, spiraling tempest on “September in the Rain,” his nasal, buzzy vibrato on “Let Someone in Your Heart,” and his soprano’s burning combinations of sinks and swells on “JT’s Blues.” Bruce Barth was everywhere during IAJE, backing saxman Steve Wilson’s master class on time, comping for Karrin Allyson at one of the Sheraton ballroom gigs, and, most spectacularly, holding down the piano at Jazz Standard. His trilling right-hand figures and hefty left-handed basslines oozed the blues on “Soft Winds;” his assertive chord patterns gave way to more complex conversations between hands on “September in the Rain;” his lilting lines gave a lyrical lift to “Polkadots and Moonbeams;” and his two-fisted chords powered “JT’s Blues.”
Time was expertly managed throughout the set by Derrick Hodge and Rodney Green, bassist Hodge (also onstage at the Sheraton with Stefon Harris) injecting some zingy buzz and thump into his tuneful walking on “Soft Winds” and clever rhythmic shifts on the out-chorus of “Let Someone in Your Heart;” trapsmaster Green assumed the role of Energizer Bunny with his consistent, busy support, nearly maniacal on “September in the Rain,” infusing a clavé pulse on “Let Someone in Your Heart,” and soloing with an assertive, polyrhythmic groove on “JT’s Blues.” Carla Cook was sheer delight, joining the quintet for three tunes in the first set. “Free of artifice or affectation” (Jazz Times), the Grammy-nominated vocalist offered a sultry “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” complete with some flirty give-and-take with Warfield. Her rich tone and clear diction, ad-libbed lyric, and masterful scat highlighted a soulful “So What?” while her punctuated phrases created horn-like pops even before she launched into her scat on the samba flavored final verses of “Let Someone in Your Heart.”
Carla was not the only “cook” in the ensemble; in fact the Terell Stafford Quintet smoked in sync with the Jazz Standard menu. From the opening tones of “Soft Winds” to the final two-horn chorus of “JT’s Blues,” the ensemble spewed radiant energy fueled by telepathic communication. The respect among the musicians was contagious, and the audience was not immune. Maxjazz promises to return Stafford and company to the Dakota to release a CD recorded there last summer, as well as to schedule a live recording session with Carla Cook. Big Apple or Minne-apple, anywhere in-between, this jazz rocks.
January 11 & 13, Birdland: Kurt Elling
Elastic vocalist Kurt Elling is six for six—six recordings, six Grammy nominations. The most inventive of male jazz singers and lyricists of his—or perhaps any—generation, Elling and his quartet (pianist Lawrence Hobgood, bassist Rob Amster, and drummer Willie Jones III) reigned at Birdland throughout IAJE. We hit the late set Wednesday night and decided we needed another fix before the week was over. He was truly great on Wednesday. But his performance late Friday night was on another plane altogether. Inspired? Make that cosmic.
Still in his 30s, with his string of hit recordings and Vocalist of the Year decrees from DownBeat and others, Elling could easily ride on his high tide of acclaim. But that’s not his style. As intense and cerebral as he is poetic and engaging, Elling is a master of improvisation, both vocal and literary, twisting covers of the Guess Who’s “Undun” and “Detour Ahead” and inventing lyrics to unsung gems from Grolnick (“Nighttown”) and Coltrane (“Resolution”). Why is Elling special? Because he can hold a note forever and yet it never seems too long nor does it waver off the mark (“Undun”). Because his unique phrasing makes even familiar standards memorable (“April in Paris,” “More Than You Know”). Because his classical training is never too far removed, even from covers of Horace Silver or John Coltrane. Because his arrangements have shapes as exquisite as their sounds (Curtis Lundy’s “Orange Blossom”). Because he is the musical equivalent of a gold medal Olympian gymnast, “leaping octaves in a single bound” (Pamela Espeland, Jazz Police), shifting meters as well as dynamics and pitch as if it is all a ball of vocal silly putty (“More Than You Know,” “Resolution”). Because he has the ultimate control of his own instrument—his voice, sliding up and down like a melodic slinky toy (“Orange Blossom”), splattering rounds of notes like machine gun fire (“Resolution”), filling space like a horn soloist (“April in Paris”). Because he has assembled one of the finest supporting rhythm sections in jazz—pianist Lawrence Hobgood, the master of tight improvisation, be it comping with zesty chords (“Resolution”) or inventing blues-infested ripples (“Night Town”); strangely unheralded bassist Rob Amster, creator of ethereal, haunting lines (“Stairway to the Stars”), magical bent note and double-stop phrases (“Orange Blossom”), and pulsating ostinato vamps (“Resolution”); and multi-faceted drummer Willie Jones III, wizard of fractured time (“Nature Boy”), shifting rhythm (“Never Neverland”), muscular fireworks (“Resolution”), and dynamic subtlty (“Orange Blossom”). The late set Friday night closed with a simply mesmerizing arrangement of “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” (which it nearly was), introduced by Elling’s own long and elegantly written prelude to what is best described as an impassioned tone poem, his phrases stretching as if to encompass every emotion in one bittersweet moment. A very special moment. |
Home | CD Reviews | Interviews | SF Bay Area | Chicago | Los Angeles | New York | Twin Cities, MN | More Cities | Festivals | FAQ | News | Contact | Video of the Week | 
Tuesday, 02 December 2008
