McCoy TynerİAndrea Canter

It was billed as a convention and festival, and indeed it was. The inaugural Jazz Improv Live! event reflected a few bugs of inexperience but overall was a welcome addition to the learning and performance opportunities that bring together musicians, educators, journalists, promoters and fans of America’s indigenous music—jazz, a genre that defies definition, engenders debate and boasts some of the most passionate advocates in the arts. With the much larger IAJE Conference held away from Manhattan this winter (set for Toronto in January), the late October Jazz Improv Live! provided a venue and forum for informative presentations, master classes and panel discussions. And of course, there was nearly non-stop live music that showcased living legends like McCoy Tyner and Roy Haynes, active New York-based artists such as Frank Kimbrough and Don Braden, and rising new stars such as Katie Bull. Students too were well represented by the bands of the Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard.

Much as I have enjoyed the diversity and multiple options of IAJE, sometimes it is just too much to absorb, too many choices, and too many bodies pushing to find seats for the evening landmark sets. With 7-8,000 attendees, IAJE has become a Super Bowl of Jazz, with education its central focus. Jazz Improv Live!, the brainchild of the magazine’s publisher (and vibes master himself) Eric Nemeyer and Marketing Director Jamie Cosnowsky, had a less lofty mission, to provide an extravaganza focused on the serious jazz fan. Drawing maybe 1,000 to midtown Manhattan for two full days (and nights) of music-related sessions and live gigs, there was no need to stake out a space in line an hour or more ahead of the headliner performances. If you met someone interesting in a morning session, chances are you would run into him or her again later in the day. 

 Like any large conference, not all sessions were equally compelling; some seemed only tangentially related to the description in the schedule. Particularly in the Grand Ballroom of the adjacent Manhattan Center, performances were scheduled too closely together to allow adequate time to changeover bands and check sound, thus evening music schedules fell behind quickly. Communicating schedule changes was another challenge only partially addressed. But this was the first such adventure for Jazz Improv and the quality of presentations and the incredible array of live music more than compensated for such frustrations. Organizing any convention or festival, let alone both, has a steep learning curve. 

Ask anyone attending Jazz Improv Live! and you will undoubtedly find significant variations in sessions and gigs attended, so be warned, the following is only this one jazz fan’s perspective. A Midwesterner by birth and long-term residence, I love New York as my alternative universe. I try to go at least once each year, and if I can squeeze in a Broadway show, great, but my agenda is (in this order?), jazz, food, and jazz. I can’t be in Manhattan and only attend IAJE or Jazz Improv or whatever; if there is an unscheduled evening, or even a partial evening, then I spend weeks studying club calendars and make my frustrated choices—so much music, so little time. I book-ended my long weekend in New York this time with sets at the Iridium (“Endangered Species” ensemble, tribute to Wayne Shorter featuring Wallace Roney) and Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola (Steve Turre’s “Keep Searching” band with Stefon Harris). The music was surely on par with the headline sets at the convention. Good (and inexpensive) food is never a long walk away in Manhattan and I literally stumbled upon some of the best Thai I’ve eaten anywhere and surprisingly good sushi and curry at Hell’s Kitchen “dives.” My usual trek to the nearly invisible Jazz Record Center in Chelsea yielded a boxful of books. If I had done nothing else, the trip was already worth the airfare. But I also attended the Jazz Improv Live! Convention and Festival. 

Presentations and Panels

Don BradenİAndrea Canter

“What Is Jazz” promised to be an interesting discussion among three jazzheads—writer Will Friedwald, critic Ira Gitler, and drummer/educator Stix Hooper. Yet the discussion started with Hooper’s assertion that the very term “jazz” was a poor choice from the beginning, and did not convey the intent of the music. No other genre of music has been so defined by a single word, he noted. Is improvised music the same as jazz? Is swing an essential element? Does the word “jazz” incorporate the spontaneity, the instantaneous compositions, movement and passion that is associated with jazz? Is what is often labeled “avant garde” truly “jazz?” “It’s an evolving music,” said Hooper, “musicians didn’t label it or set the rules.”  Gitler asserted that it was not the individual elements that defined jazz but how these elements are combined. Needless to say, the panel did not reach consensus or develop a new word or definition. But we had some fun thinking about it! 

Singers Versus Musicians—Is There a Difference? And why is this topic debatable? Vocalist Veronica Nunn and pianist Travis Shook found themselves preaching to the choir, as the audience for this interactive panel was largely vocalists, vocal instructors, and fans of vocal jazz—who seemed unanimous in their opinion that, of course, singers are musicians who use their voice as their instrument. Yet Nunn presented some research regarding perceptions of singers, indicating that vocalists are often perceived as having less musicianship than their instrumental counterparts. Indeed, many in the audience shared experiences of this dichotomy and discussion ensued as to why vocal music is both more popular and less respected, at least within jazz. Issues of gender bias, public school music programs, musician preparation and more surfaced in this interesting discussion. But perhaps next time this “debate” should take place when half in the audience are instrumentalists! 

Frank WessİAndrea Canter

Several sessions targeted the musicians in the audience, offering more technical discussions of such elements as reharmonization (vibist Mark Sherman) and Oscar Peterson’s approaches to improvisation (pianist Mike Longo). Master classes and workshops with such leading artists as Jimmy Bruno and Pat Martino (guitar), Ken Peplowski (clarinet), Ron Blake (sax), Stanley Clarke (bass) and Barry Harris (piano) provided additional learning opportunities for musicians at all levels. 

The Music, Live! (Friday)

If the $145 advance registration fee only covered live music, then the Jazz Improv Live! Convention and Festival—or just the festival—was well worth the price. In Manhattan’s larger jazz clubs, $145 will get you into maybe four shows including the usual bar minimums. At Jazz Improv Live!, your ticket gave you access to 8 back-to-back sets on Friday and Saturday night, featuring a who’s who in modern jazz. And that was just the shows in the Manhattan Center Ballroom. One floor down in the much smaller studio space, concurrent gigs featuring some of the finest, if less familiar, names in jazz performed, and throughout both Friday and Saturday from morning til night, two and sometimes three or more live performances were held in the New Yorker Hotel’s lounges, small performance areas, and the nearby Irish pub, Tir Na Nóg. You could even travel into the Village for a few performances at Virgin MegaStore, where additional pre- and post-convention events were scheduled. So what music did I hear for my $145? 

Avery SharpeİAndrea Canter

I appreciated the opportunity to see and hear master bassist Avery Sharpe in two contexts, having not seen him live since he last appeared in Minneapolis with McCoy Tyner. With his trio (Onaje Allen Gums on piano, Winard Harper on drums), Sharpe led several original compositions which not only featured fine music but lovely choreography—both Sharpe and Harper are among the most graceful pulsesetters on the planet, and you could turn off the volume and still enjoy the performance. Gums is also a consummate improviser, and fortunately all three musicians appeared in other ensembles during the weekend. A particularly gratifying moment in the Trio setting found Sharpe singing an octave above his bowed bass. 

Geri AllenİAndrea Canter

Tenor saxman, composer and bandleader Jimmy Heath recently celebrated 80 with a new release (Turn Up the Heath) and made it clear he is not slowing down.  With a Big Band of high-flying New York musicians (including pianist Jeb Patton, bassist David Wong and drummer Lewis Nash), Heath directed a crowd-pleasing set of original charts, including “The Voice of the Saxophone” dedicated to Coleman Hawkins and “Project S”—of which he reminded us that “S is for swing!” 

The crowd’s anticipation of the appearance of McCoy Tyner with Stanley Clarke and Jack DeJohnette was aptly rewarded with a stunning set of original tunes. Despite his 68 years and now-thin frame, Tyner played with his signature percussive power and rhapsodic reverence for melody and harmony, in solo or in his thickly developed interactions with his famed bandmates. On acoustic bass throughout the set, Clarke, like Tyner, made full use of his instrument, plucking, strumming, slapping, whatever would coax the right sound at the right time. DeJohnette, busy behind the largest array of drums observed all weekend, filled the set with his trademark polyrhythms and dynamic contrasts. Special guest Gary Bartz appeared on the latter half of the set, creating another fluid voice on alto and curved soprano.  

Pat MartinoİAndrea Canter

The Music Live! (Saturday)

I couldn’t pass up another opportunity to hear the students from the Manhattan School of Music, this time the Latin Ensemble directed by the fiery percussion master, Bobby Sanabria. Occasionally sitting at the congas himself, Sanabria led the band through “Blues a la Manchito” (with a monster trumpet solo from student Kilpatrick), Kevin Mahogany’s “Three Little Words” (featuring guest vocalist Charenee Wade) and Michael Phillip Mossman’s “Afro Cuban Suite for Duke Ellington.”

Charenee WadeİAndrea Canter

Somewhat south of the border but also reaching to other continents, the IC Express (Intercontinental Express), directed by Ralph Ravello, is a relatively new chamber orchestra representing musicians from all corners of the globe. Performing everything from Bossa Nova to BeBop to Middle Eastern and Afro-Cuban grooves, ICE’s vocalists are often featured in any of seven languages; diversity extends to gender here with several women holding down horn assignments. The setlist in the Manhattan Center studio reflected the band’s commitment to both the jazz tradition and global influences—Brubeck’s “Nomad” (from Jazz Impressions of Eurasia) featuring Matt Snider’s swirling clarinet and Smadar’s haunting vocals; Ellington’s “I’m Beginning to See the Light” with a trio of voices, including Ravello; Ravello’s own “Take the J Train;” an inventive arrangement of Strayhorn’s “Chelsea Bridge;” and a bilingual rendition of “Night in Tunisia” featuring vocals from Smadar (Arabic) and Rhoda Dunlap (English).  Even with little sleep the night before, one could not help but leave this set fully energized for the rest of the day…and night. 

IC ExpressİAndrea Canter

Throughout the weekend, one could break away from the formality of the New Yorker Hotel and Manhattan Center with a brief walk down the block to the Jazz Improv “club” at the Tir Na Nóg Irish pub. Crowded, loud, and with a small stage overlooking 8th Avenue, the pub served up a variety of small band sets for those lucky enough to find a seat somewhere near the music. I was lucky early Saturday evening, catching Judi Silvano’s Women’s Work Quartet (and a pretty decent Shepherd’s Pie!). The quartet recently celebrated the release of its debut recording (click here for a Jazz Police review), recorded live at Sweet Rhythm, and this was a festive setting to hear the music as intended—live. The band, with pianist Janice Friedman, bassist Jennifer Vincent and drummer Barb Merjens collaborating with Silvano, swung through a number of the songs from women composers that appear on the recording, including Abbey Lincoln’s “Not to Worry” (a great introduction to Friedman’s swinging counterpoint and Judi’s trademark scat); Blossom Dearie’s very lovely “Inside a Silent Tear” (fueled by a Caribbean pulse); Mary Lou Williams’ famed “What’s Your Story, Morning Glory” (featuring Vincent’s convincing bass solo); and Sheila Jordan’s “Ballad for Miles” (with hand percussion from Merjens). The recording is a must-have, but seeing/hearing the band live offers a different level of energy. 

Back on the studio stage, another singer gathered an impressive band and introduced the audience to her skills as vocalist, songwriter, and performance artist arranger. Young Katie Bull, buoyed by a quartet of such heavyweights as Frank Kimbrough, Jay Anderson, Harvie Sorgen (drums) and Jeff Lederer (sax), provided a set of original compositions and arrangements that transformed voice into horn and back again with seeming ease, and melded related art forms (including spoken word and acrobatic performance art) into a surprisingly cohesive whole. On “The Fountain,” Bull’s elastic voice blended with the band into a soft and ethereal haze; on “Jack,” several athletic cohorts tumbled in response to the lyrics, nearly flying headlong into the audience in a much-too-small space. “Wake Up Time” was written as an ode to the upcoming election, and one could not help but think of Bull as a potential Mose Allison or Dave Frishberg for Gen X. More of this creative approach can be found on Bull’s new CD/DVD project, The Story So Far. 

The “Saturday Night Live” edition of Jazz Improv headliners was nearly as iconic as the first night, starting with Don Braden’s Quartet with George Colligan (piano), Dwayne Burno (bass) and Winard Harper (drums). Burno’s thumpy tone had been an integral part of the Endangered Species band at the Iridium a few nights earlier. Braden’s multi-reed skills were highlighted, first via his hollow, lyrical tone on flute, then with his mournful vibrato and scale-climbing feats through an opening solo cadenza on his own “She’s On Her Way.” But most spectacular was the band’s rendition of “Invitation”, from Harper’s rimshot opening to Colligan’s heated improvisation, all brought to a climax with Harper literally throwing himself across the trapset with outstretched arms flailing at the cymbals on opposite sides—like a bird in flight. 

Eric Nemeyer, in addition to his role as publisher of Jazz Improv Magazine and producer of the convention, is an accomplished vibist and bandleader. His Jazz Improv Big Band was another collection of acclaimed New York musicians, including John DiMartino (piano), Avery Sharpe (bass), Tim Horner (drums), Claire Daily (bari sax), Pete McGuinness (trombone), and a full complement of horns, along with a guest appearance from Sonny Fortune. The band roared through an arrangement of “Cherokee,” soared through a hymn-like composition by trumpeter Jimmy Owens; featured the buzzy bari of Daily on “Speak Low,” and ignited the audience with the two-vibraphone duel (Nemeyer and Mark Sherman) on “Kosher Comas.” 

Legendary drummer Roy Haynes, another octogenarian who defies time in leading the otherwise youthful Fountain of Youth, is normally one to interact and joke with the audience as well as his bandmates, but this evening’s schedule was falling further behind and, apparently, Haynes took on the task of trying to catch up. Ordinarily leading at a blistering pace, the set in the Grand Ballroom took on the feel of a sprint with barely a blink between tunes that seemed to end all too soon. With pianist Martin Bejerano, bassist David Wong and altoist Jaleel Shaw, tunes such as Question and Answer, Summer Nights, and ---------flew by. Bejerano is a young monster to watch, playing a lot of notes, to be sure, but making good use of every one. Shaw’s solos were marked by spiraling phrases and fragmented passages, at one point blowing soprano with the alto still tucked under his arm. And at 82, Haynes can still attack the drumkit with controlled frenzy and surprising grace, taking few solos as he led his young charges to the finish line, then jumping up in characteristic fashion as the he took the last swing. 

Stanley Clarke, now in the leading role, brought his trio up for the last set. Again, it was well after midnight, only this time I recognized the wall when it hit me and headed back to the hotel to recover from a weekend that would (pleasantly) ring in my ears for days.

 It’s surely possible to be exposed to more jazz than one can absorb over a few days. But there’s never too much jazz. Save the dates for an expanded 2008 Jazz Improv Live!, October 23-28.  

Andrea Canter thinks she has recovered her jazz equilibrium and is blogging at http://jazzink.blogspot.com