 Rachel Z Be it a blessing or curse, Z’s eclectic appetite has proven a commercial success over the release of eight recordings, bridging genres and sonic sensibilities in reaching listeners from multiple generations. And assuming the diverse origins of musical ideas are simultaneously irrelevant and basic to modern jazz, Z’s newest recording should serve to place her exactly where she belongs—among the most talented and inventive of 21st century post bop magicians, one who should appeal equally to those raised on U2 and Smashing Pumpkins and those steeped in the lineage of Evans, Jarrett, Hancock and Tyner. Released in mid March on Savoy Jazz, the eponymous Dept of Good and Evil will be celebrated at the Dakota in Minneapolis (April 6-7), Jazz Standard in Manhattan (April 10-11), and Blues Alley in Washington, DC (April 12). Joining Rachel Z will be her “Good and Evil” trio-mates, Maeve Royce on bass and Bobbie Rae (also producer and arranger) on drums.
Rachel Z  Rachel Z initially seemed destined to follow her mother into the world of opera. Growing up in Manhattan, she began voice lessons at age two, then classical piano at seven; she attended her first opera at age nine. “My first doll house was a Metropolitan Opera House,” she notes. But on hearing “Miles’ Smiles” at age 15, she began improvising against the grain of her classical repertoire and was soon playing in a band covering Joni Mitchell and Steely Dan. She further crossed the classical-to-jazz divide by listening to Herbie Hancock’s interpretations of Wayne Shorter, launching a quintet named Nardis, and studying with Joanne Brackeen and Richie Bierach.
Rachel graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where she worked with Bob Moses, Miroslav Vitous and George Garzone. Back in New York in 1988, she toured with NEC classmate Najee and co-wrote the title track to the smooth saxman’s best-selling Tokyo Blue. Throughout the 90s, she played with fusion band Steps Ahead, Al DiMeola, Larry Coryell, Special EFX, Angela Bonfil and Mike Mainieri, who produced her debut release, Trust the Universe (1993). Next Z collaborated with hero Wayne Shorter, arranging, playing acoustic piano, and directing his tour for the Grammy-winning High Life. In the mid-90s, she extensively toured in support of her album dedicated to women artists, A Room of One’s Own, before turning to more electronic-driven music via Vertu (Al DiMeola, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White). Over the past decade, her efforts have encompassed interpretations of everyone from classic jazz giants to contemporary pop and rock stars, including recorded tributes to Wayne Shorter and Joni Mitchell. A global tour with Peter Gabriel (2002-2004) as well as three more recordings brought her international attention. About a year ago, Rachel formed Dept. of Good and Evil with young bassist Maeve Royce (one of Z’s students at the New School in New York), long-time collaborator/drummer Bobbie Rae, another long-time partner, electric bassist Tony Levin, and trumpeter Erik Naslund. Touring extensively throughout the US and Europe in 2006, the band is a natural extension of Z’s tendency to reconstruct favorite tunes from pop, rock, and Goth. Notes Rachel, “I loved the Good and Evil concept, which reflects everything going on these days, not only in government but also in the music world where overhyped projects are often terrible and others which get no hype are great… In the music, I tend to play minor chords. That's why I'm in the department of evil. We joke about it a lot, but the chords are kind of scary. They represent a harmony I really enjoy, one that came out of the late '60s with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. The department of good has the bass and drums. They're funky, groovy, slinky, sexy -- all the happy things…Dept. of Good and Evil is the best of everything for me…we can play a whole night of jazz standards and then turn around the next and do a strictly rock and groove thing.” Dept. of Good and Evil  Mixing the “rock and groove thing” with inventive post bop explorations yields a set that covers both familiar and obscure tunes as well as three original compositions, two from Rachel Z and one co-written with Bobbie Rae. Despite the disparate sources, overall the recording flows like a multi-part suite, not only from track to track but even within specific tracks as Z and company shift mood and rhythm from moment to moment, yet always tethered by a golden thread of musical logic. The result is one of the most exciting piano-led recordings I’ve heard in the past year--Z’s eclectic history may disguise the fact that she is among the top echelon of modern jazz pianists, with a strong emphasis on “jazz.” Listen to Rachel and multiple influences are apparent: Fred Hersch in the elegance of her elongated phrases with contrasting clipped and chordal passages; McCoy Tyner in the runs that swing with power while challenging the speed limit; Keith Jarrett in the structures that spiral through the universe, exploring all directions; and most of all, idol Herbie Hancock who integrates all of the above.
The set opens with a page from the songbook of indie pop band Death Cab for Cutie, “Soul Meets Body,” and it’s a multi-layered introduction to the rest of the disc, from Z’s foundation of majestic Tyneresque chords and luxurious ascending and descending phrases to Rae’s percussive pulse that pushes the ensemble, creating tension as well as sonic inspiration. It’s a repetitive theme with elegant phrasing and assertive lines that ends in melodic resolution. From the Aussie band, The Church, Z recreates “Under the Milky Way” a la Bill Evans with extra swing, following a shimmering intro from the drums with her own filigree touch, her tightly woven excursions embellished with elaborate phrases and harp-like chords. “King of Pain” (from Police and Sting) has the initial feel of a Chopin etude, Erik Naslund’s trumpet providing muted hauntings. The track has the ethereal quality of an EST set with horn, a Jarrettish, Euro-jazz feel. Delibes’ “Lakmé” may provide the least likely material for this ensemble, but indeed it makes sense for Z to include a salute to opera, her first inspiration. A luminous drum roll introduces Z’s majestic combination of left handed bass chords and right handed melodic sequences, the bassist (or both bassists) riding first in tandem and then in dark counterpoint. The percussion is light, airy and ever-present. An acoustic bass solo shows young Royce to be a promising force, blending ultimately into Z’s left hand. With a return to the dignified swing of the theme, the piano sings a harp-like finale. Two short covers of classic jazz offer no less interesting reworkings. On a 2-minute arrangement of Joe Henderson’s “Inner Urge,” Z manages to retain a sense of delicacy in her phrasing while exerting considerable power and speed. Hero Wayne Shorter’s “ESP” goes all of two and one-half minutes, featuring frenetic percussion and dense keyboard strategies. YeahYeah Yeahs’ “Maps” is launched by triplet drum beats, bowed acoustic bass and elegant chord structures from Z, followed by her repeating left hand figure and harmonically complex, modal meanderings. More repetitive in structure than other tracks, “Maps” includes some delightful arpeggionated descending phrases and lyrical segments where delicate piano lines sail above the thunder from drum and bass. From Joy Division, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” features Naslund’s bright but subdued trumpet, while Rae alternates the deep rolls of the toms and the lighter-than-air ripples of his cymbals. Z’s Hancockian improvisation races across the ensemble with little hints of montuno tossed in for rhythmic surprise. Bill Wither’s “Ain’t No Sunshine” is deconstructed from the first note; Naslund’s muted trumpet pushing its own version of the familiar melody. The three original compositions fit into the set with ease, although the vocals on both “Moon and Sun” and “Walking on Water” seem to contribute more to marketing strategies than to musical substance. While Naslund’s trumpet on Z’s “Moon and Sun” adds emotional color, Rachel’s very pleasant, almost Norah Jonesish voice seems better suited to a project targeting the pop audience of her original sources. On her “Walking on Water,” the instrumental interplay is tight; the slight buzz of Levin’s electric bass creates more texture for Z’s spiraling keyboard explorations. Again, the vocals (from Rachel and Bobbie), as good as they are, seem conceptually at odds with the instrumental direction. The final (and longest) track, co-written by Z and Bobbie Rae, “Saint of New Orleans” is perhaps the most interesting of all, taking several sharp turns along its nine-minute route.  The classical start with simple piano line and bowed bass has the feel of a Fred Hersch duet, while the whine of the trumpet in the background foretells powerful forces ahead. A percussive rumble shifts gears into a more futuristic mode, while the ensuing dark bass notes from the piano conjure Ethan Iverson’s minimalist experiments with the Bad Plus. The next turn moves the ensemble into a more mainstream interaction, more swing with a counter-rhythm provided by the bassists, more aggressive percussion and more note-heavy improvisation from Z, who seems to morph from Iverson to Tyner to Hancock within a single verse. In the final minute, the darkness returns, Naslund providing a Milesian resolution. Having noted at the outset that Rachel Z defies classification, I’ll risk contradicting myself and state that this is a modern jazz recording with repertoire inspired by diverse music genres, not a recording of “jazzed up” rock and pop covers. The original sources are often unrecognizable and even irrelevant to the end result, which is melodic, introspective, sometimes swinging, sometimes modal, and always dependent on collective interaction. Some may find the vocals simply add another layer of interest, others may find that the two vocal tracks merely confuse the mission of the music in an otherwise cohesive, often brilliant program of wide-ranging elements brought together through thoughtful improvisation. Dept. of Good and Evil reinforces Rachel Z’s reputation as pianist, composer, bandleader, even vocalist, and should bring her more respect from the “real jazz” community. The Rachel Z Trio will perform this spring in support of the release of Dept. of Good and Evil with stops in Minneapolis at the Dakota Jazz Club (www.dakotacooks.com) on April 6-7; in Manhattan at Jazz Standard, April 10-11 (www.jazzstandard.com); and in Washington, DC at Blues Alley, April 12 (www.bluesalley.com). More about Rachel Z is available at www.rachelz.com
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Friday, 09 January 2009
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