The bassoon is “known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, variety of character, and agility.” --Wikipedia

You know from the first notes of the first track that this is not a typical jazz recording. What is that sound? A tuba at the top of its range? An oddly muted trombone? A bari sax under water? It’s a bassoon, a bassoon playing a great bop standard from Benny Golson, “Killer Joe.” Daniel Smith has given this long hollow tube a new purpose—to sing melody and improvise as if it was truly a jazz instrument. And so it becomes, as delightfully illustrated on Bebop Bassoon, released this month on Swiss-based ZahZah Records.

David Smith and the Jazz Bassoon

Simultaneously dubbed the “Gerry Mulligan of the Bassoon” in jazz circles and the “Rampal of the Bassoon” in the classical realm, Daniel Smith is above all a versatile pioneer when it comes to this great double reed. With recordings and performances that stretch from Baroque to ragtime to bop, Smith has turned the bassoon repertoire upside-down and inside-out, resulting in a much greater appreciation of this unique and difficult-to-master instrument. Smith appears to be the only bassoonist today who is performing and recording both classical and jazz, although the first appearance of the bassoon in a jazz context goes back to the 1920s and Paul Whiteman’s orchestra. In the 1960s, both Yusef Lateef and Chick Corea incorporated some bassoon into their recordings, and saxophonists Illinois Jacquet and Frank Tiberi occasionally doubled on the bassoon. A few contemporary jazz artists exclusively play bassoon (Karen Borca, Michael Rabinowitz). Yet only Smith, who has enjoyed a highly successful classical career, has managed to actively span both genres, and particularly bring public attention to the bassoon as a solo jazz instrument as well as ensemble playmate.

Daniel Smith’s career in music did not have an auspicious beginning. Growing up in The Bronx with aspirations to be a visual artist, his first real exposure to music came at age 16 when he saw Benny Goodman perform on a televised New Year’s Eve special. So unfamiliar with the music was Smith that he identified the wonderful instrument he heard as a trumpet rather than clarinet. Nevertheless inspired by Goodman, Smith first sought clarinet lessons, then studied saxophone and flute. He initially enrolled at the Manhattan School of Music as a clarinet major, later switching his emphasis to flute. After completing his military obligation as a clarinet/flute player with the West Point Army Band, Smith decided to learn the bassoon to increase his options for studio work and as a Broadway pit musician.

Despite his classical training and expertise, Smith notes that his background is atypical of both classical and jazz musicians, “…although I did study eventually with some of the best players and teachers, including the principal players from the NY Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Boston Symphony and even from Toscanini's NBC Symphony.” At one time or another, Smith played with the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and other leading classical ensembles. “However, along the way, I also did many things in music that a strictly classically trained bassoonist would never experience and certainly not which you would associate with someone known as a solo classical or jazz bassoonist,” such as playing sax and flute with Latin bands in New York clubs. Eventually, Smith found himself gravitating more and more toward work as a bassoon soloist, and seeking “to plunge into areas of music where the bassoon had never gone before—crossover, ragtime, popular music, and of course jazz.” While his “double life” is unique, Smith has also displayed some unusual efforts strictly within the classical tradition, such as recording the complete (37!) bassoon concerti of Vivaldi (voted “Best Concerto Recording of the Year” by the Music Industry Association and awarded the Penguin Guide's coveted *** rosette rating). In 2003, Smith was designated as “Ambassador for the Bassoon” by Youth Music in the United Kingdom.

Smith has previously released recordings of jazz bassoon with his quartet “Bassoon and Beyond,” including Baroque Jazz (jazz renditions of Baroque classics) and Jazz Suite for Bassoon (a commissioned work by Steve Gray). A follow-up to Bebop Bassoon will be released in fall 2006 on ZahZah Records as The Swinging Bassoon.

BeBop Bassoon

For this quartet release, Daniel Smith has brought together a rhythm section of 20-somethings that define “young lions.” Martin Bejerano is still in his 20s but his tenure with Roy Haynes’ Fountain of Youth band turned him into a seasoned veteran. He can swing at any tempo and his embellishments are filled with spiraling lines and melodic chords. John Sullivan, a partner of Bejerano as bassist for Haynes, is a master at walking around the melody and pushing the pulse. Cuban native Ludwig Afonso was well versed in Latin grooves before enrolling at the University of Miami and playing with Ira Sullivan, Nestor Torres and Sammy Figueroa. Now he manages the drumkit for Spryo Gyra.

John Sullivan, photo by Andrea Canter

The playlist reads like a “best of bop” with classic tunes from Parker, Monk, Silver, Ellington, Davis, Rollins, Gillespie and Gordon. The one uncommon track is from the back pages of John Coltrane’s songbook, “Up Against the Wall.” It’s not an inventive selection, but perhaps that works to the advantage of the unique instrumentation—it’s a kick to hear tunes we know well with a totally new sound. If the CD title alone doesn’t make you smile, the first few bars of Benny Golson’s “Killer Joe” should be sufficient. Bejerano gives a bouncy introduction before the bassoon sounds the melody and makes clear that the set will offer a lot more than a run through jazz standards. There’s a slight vibrato, a slightly growly tone, legato phrases and more staccato pops, or maybe burps in the case of the bassoon. Bejerano provides an angular swinging solo, Sullivan walks with authority, and Afonso manages the pulse with occasional bursts of energy. Smith opens Charlie Parker’s “Anthropology” in perfect tandem with Sullivan and Afonso, and with the addition of Bejerano, it sounds more like a choir of horns. Bejerano and Sullivan take the first improvisational chorus and their duet is charming, particularly Sullivan’s hearty swinging line. Smith takes over, this time sounding more like a muted trombone with a bubbly tone that evokes the sonic image of a yodeling bullfrog—not exactly a beautiful sound but one that brings a smile. Sullivan’s solo echoes the bassoon’s tone, and Smith manages to articulate a quick run to the finish.

An off quadrant introduction from Bejerano introduces “Blue Monk” before Smith sounds the melody with a buzzy vibrato. He climbs to the very top of the bassoon with twists and slides over some heavy marching basslines, chordal figures from the piano, and steady flow from Afonso. Bejerano provides one of his most enjoyable and quirky solos of the set before Smith returns playing off Sullivan’s minor diversions. Even Smith’s closing tremolo makes it sound as if Monk actually had a bassoon in mind all along, and certainly one has to assume that Monk would have enjoyed this translation.

Horace Silver’s “Sister Sadie” is one of my favorites in this set, as the bassoon becomes an instrument of fleet-fingered funk. Smith slides along the melody as easily as if this was just an “ordinary” sax. The rhythm section has a field day, Sullivan burning up and down the box while Bejerano shows off his articulate post bop chops and Afonso reels off some dandy popping combinations. Smith closes with a flutter worthy of any saxman. While even Smith’s bassoon is no match for the buttery tone of a tenor sax on a ballad such as “In a Sentimental Mood,” he nevertheless delivers a version that preserves the emotion of Ellington’s classic; the bassoon is well suited to evoke melancholy if not traditional balladic beauty. Again the pairing of Bejerano and Sullivan is a heavenly match, with Sullivan creating avibrato that mimics the bassoon. Smith’s phrases move smoothly and his closing cadenza and final stretched note leave a wistfully sweet buzz lingering in the air.

Miles Davis’ “All Blues” features the bassoon’s soaring message over Sullivan’s skipping bassline. Smith covers the full range of the bassoon here, but largely Sullivan is the star of this track, executing a gnarly solo and, like the leader, is a master at pulling endless variations of sound from his instrument. The ensemble’s rendition of the Rollins’ classic, “Doxy,” swings with heft from the first phrase, the bassoon doing its best to speak the tenor language while always maintaining a distinctive voice. Again, Sullivan is a perfect foil, carrying on much in the same tone in support of Bejerano’s swinging romp, as well as letting loose on his own solo turn. The last chorus is just the two bottom lines, as Sullivan and Smith play off each other with delight. Coltrane’s “Up Against the Wall” is one of the sax legend’s seldom-heard masterpieces. Bejerano sits out on this track, leaving the bassoon as the primary melodic force. This one comes far closer to the edge than any other track and forces one to really listen to the way Smith delves into melody and improvisation. Afonso’s contributions are more readily apparent as well, and he engages in a solo that shows off his broad palette of sonic devices.

Dizzy Gillespie’s “Birks Works” gives the rhythm section plenty of space, Bejerano exploring the intricacies of the minor blues form with steadily marching support from Sullivan and subtle but firm accents from Afonso. Smith responds in a similar vein, the hollow tone of the bassoon fitting the mood perfectly. Sullivan reveals his melodic sense, setting up Smith’s vibrant return to the head. The closing track, “Sticky Wicket” (Dexter Gordon) is another sax classic that translates well to the bassoon. And again Sullivan proves himself a compatible soloist, almost like a second horn (especially when the first horn is a bassoon!), while Afonso’s contribution here, as throughout, is more to inject comments than to carry the conversation. Although the shortest track, everyone has a moment in the sun, an appropriate finale to a set that is equal parts lead instrument and ensemble interplay.

I have plenty of good jazz ensemble recordings on my shelves, but none surpass Bebop Bassoon for pure fun. And none provide such an in-depth introduction to an unlikely instrument’s potential to bring yet one more new sound to jazz performance. I hope to hear a lot more from Daniel Smith’s bassoon “and beyond.”

“Just as a beautiful melodic line or a well-shaped phrase is what you are aiming for in classical music, the same can be said about jazz. As you improvise, always try to play something that expresses an emotion, be it one of joy, sadness, excitement, or whatever the piece calls for.” –Daniel Smith (Music Teacher, 1999)