Rifftides

Bill Mays and I have frequently been asked whether our History Of Jazz Piano project would ever be available to the public. After a good deal of discussion, attention to detail and audio remastering, the answer is yes. The concert is now a free download on Bill’s website. We have performed the History three times in various parts of the world and may do further versions of it at festivals. For now, the 2015 presentation lives as a digital presence on the web. Go here to see Bill’s … [Read more...]

There are several jazz pieces called “Eclipse.” Tenor saxophonist Gato Barbieri, the Japanese group called Kyoto Jazz Massive, and the Mexican singer Bere Contreras, among others, have performed or recorded compositions with that name. The best known “Eclipse,” though, remains the one that Charles Mingus first recorded in the 1950s and revived for a 1972 concert at Philharmonic Hall in New York. In the ‘72 concert, Mingus performed with a 21 piece all-star band conducted by Teo Macero. The … [Read more...]

It is an open secret long acknowledged nearly everywhere: the best jazz musicians in other parts of the world are in a league with top players from the United States. Evidence of that excellence—if further evidence was needed—surfaced this summer in Prague when visiting American trumpeters Marcus Printup and Greg Gisbert sat in with pianist Emil Viklický (pictured) and his quartet of fellow Czechs. Printup and Gisbert were on tour with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. They … [Read more...]

The Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival ran six days and was packed with so much music that there was no chance of hearing it all. Here are brief impressions of a few more performances. Gilbert Holmström New Sextet In the Per Helsas Gard courtyard, the 80-year-old tenor saxophonist led five younger musicians in pieces that drew in equal measure on late bebop and on free jazz of the Ornette Coleman school. Holmström blended with trumpeter Magnus Broo, at times incisively, at others floating and … [Read more...]

At the Ystads Konstmuseum, the Carsten Dahl Experience was, indeed, an experience. After launching his career as a drummer, Dahl taught himself piano in the early 1980s and quickly developed formidable technique that was on full display with his quartet of fellow Danes. At the beginning of his concert, the pianist reached inside the instrument to make harp-like sounds. Alto saxophonist Jesper Zeuthen played notes that seemed incidental but may have been intended as commentary on Dahl’s … [Read more...]

Catching up is a noble ambition, but the quantity of music at the Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival and the tight scheduling make it all but impossible to be comprehensive. My notebook is overflowing with impressions. Here are brief reports on a few performances. The festival’s opening concert was by the New York band The Rad Trads, whose blend of traditional, jazz, rock and folk music accounts for their name. They enlivened the ancient courtyard of Per Helsas Gård for an hour and a half before they … [Read more...]

Joy In An Ancient Ystad Church Swedish bassist Hans Backenroth and Danish guitarist Jacob Fischer played in the 11th century Klosterkyrkan, not far from Ystad’s center. Among the most experienced European jazz artists, they found ways of dealing with the acoustical challenge created by the church’s recesses and stone surfaces, famous for causing sound delays of as much as six seconds. Indeed, they made the phenomenon work for them. The resonating effect was enchanting when Backenroth bowed his … [Read more...]

At the Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival, the American trumpeter Bobby Medina led a big band in a program that drew on his bebop credentials and his Latin American heritage. Claus Sörenson’s XL Big Band of musicians from throughout southern Sweden was impressive in its versatility as it negotiated Medina’s demanding arrangements. Married to a woman from Sweden, Medina is known here for his history with the festival. For the 2015 edition, he was chosen to play from the St. Mary’s Church tower the … [Read more...]

The 2017 Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival launched with a tribute to Monica Zetterlund (1937-2005). The singer’s legacy in her homeland seems to steadily expand, and the attendance reflected her continued presence in Sweden’s cultural life. The concert, “Monica Z—Forever and Ever,” attracted 1,500 listeners to the Ystad Arena. Recently opened, the imposing athletic and cultural center was funded by the taxpayers of this town of 29,000, which has a medieval history and a modern community spirit. We see … [Read more...]

Following flights across the United States and the Atlantic Ocean and a gorgeous car ride from Copenhagen to Ystad, the Rifftides staff is looking out the window of our room in the storied Saltsjöbad hotel (opened in 1897) on southern Sweden’s Baltic shore. The customary collection of summer swimmers, tanners and loungers is on the beach, and the bike path is busy. I’ve shown you similar shots in the runups to previous Ystad Sweden Jazz Festivals, but this view is hard to resist. The … [Read more...]

I am running soon for a plane headed to Sweden. But first: I must tell you about a discovery by blogger, Rifftides reader and tune-detective-first-class Tarik Townsend. Mr. Townsend (pictured) writes that he has found a recording of one of the most elusive quotes that Paul Desmond ever worked into a solo. As evidence, his story incorporates three videos, one of which has the quote itself. It’s a valuable and entertaining discovery. I congratulate Mr. Townsend for his diligent pursuit of a piece … [Read more...]

It is impossible to review even a smattering of the dozens of albums that land in the Rifftides mailbox. With the Sweden trip looming, time allows for mentions of a few relatively recent releases that have caught the staff’s attention.   Maryanne de Prophetis, Tell A Star (ENNArecords) In this collection of her compositions, Ms. de Prophetis melds a clear voice and solid musicianship with a sense of daring. The title song begins as a straightforward ballad with a story-telling … [Read more...]

Roscoe Mitchell, Bells For The South Side (ECM) If you have followed Mitchell’s searching music over the past 50 years, Bells For The South Side will reassure you that the septuagenarian composer, saxophonist and tireless avant-garde inspiration continues to innovate. Mitchell’s music makes demands on listeners—and rewards them for their attention. This is not a rehash of his work in the 1960s with AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), or of Mitchell’s free jazz … [Read more...]

On July 12 we lost Joe Fields. During his long career Fields was the guiding spirit of record labels committed to unalloyed jazz. He started the Cobblestone label and later changed its name to Muse. Among the dozens of musicians he recorded on Muse over three decades were Woody Shaw, Houston Person, Grant Green and Pat Martino. In the 1980 Fields absorbed the Savoy and Landmark labels, whose holdings encompassed recordings by major figures including Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, … [Read more...]

Before long, the Rifftides staff will be flying to Europe for the 2017 Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival. As always, the festival lineup will include prominent visiting American artists. Among them are tenor saxophonists Jerry Bergonzi and Joshua Redman, trumpeter Tim Hagans, drummer Al Foster and guitarist Al Di Meola. In addition, the Ystad artistic director, pianist Jan Lundgren, has engaged some of Europe’s intriguing young musician—and a few older ones. For instance, the veteran pianists Louis … [Read more...]

Today’s early morning cycling expedition took me past a magnificent pear orchard in the hills west of town. Here is the orchard… …and here are pears taking on color and that lovely pear shape. Apples are the principal cash crop in this area of Eastern Washington State, but in a good year pears do nicely for their growers. Mulling over what music about pears to use with this post, I quickly ran out of options. You’d be surprised how few songs there are with “pear” in the title. So, I … [Read more...]

Our Rifftides Russian correspondent, Svetlana Ilicheva, writes that one of her favorite listening spots in Moscow is the Zhurfac café. Not far from the Kropotkinskaya metro stop on Gogol Boulevard, the Zhurfac is in a neighborhood of major cultural interest because of the State Art Museum named for writer and national icon Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837). Nearby on the bank of the Moskva River is the massive Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The district is a few blocks southwest of … [Read more...]

With the abeyance of certain physical annoyances, cycling is back in more or less full swing. Glorious weather makes it a pleasure to be on the road again, but only if the cyclist leaves before the morning heat gets serious. August temperatures here on the dry side of the Cascade Mountains often go above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, or nearly 38 degrees Celsius. Toward the end of this morning’s ride, I had to stop on a freeway overpass to make way for a semi truck and trailer, and I’m glad I did. … [Read more...]

Moments after I posted yesterday’s Riftides review of Fanny Gunnarsson’s Mirrors, I came across a video of the pianist and singer with her quartet performing a piece from the album. Again, the quartet members are Ms. Gunnarsson, piano: Karolina Almgren, soprano saxophone; Kristian Rimshult, bass; and Hannes Olbers, drums. They perform the Gunnarsson composition “Theme.” This was at the Victoriateatern in Malmö, Sweden, last February. There are more reports to come about recent … [Read more...]

Kurt Rosenwinkel, Caipi (RAZDAZ Records) From his emergence in the 1990s, Rosenwinkel has been a relaxed guitar improviser even when negotiating the complex pieces that make him one of the most interesting composers at work today. He retains his leisurely approach to soloing in this collection, which is redolent with feelings and flavors of modern Brazilian music. Rosenwinkel’s guitar solo on “Chromatic B” is a highlight. On that piece and several others he also plays piano, bass, drums, … [Read more...]

An annual Rifftides reminder Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. —Benjamin Franklin America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. —Abraham Lincoln … [Read more...]

It is always a challenge to decide how Rifftides should celebrate the anniversary of the independence of The United States Of America. In 2017, we are observing it with pieces by artists whose careers began on the west coast of the US before their names and their music became familiar around the world. Both works are short traditional songs that express feelings of profound importance to millions of Americans. The first piece, "America The Beautiful," is from Clare Fischer’s 1967 album Songs … [Read more...]

Alan Broadbent, Developing Story (Eden River Records) Broadbent’s title composition is in concerto form, although it is not described as a concerto. His piece combines jazz and classical sensibilities in a flow that evolves with logic rarely achieved when genres are blended. Broadbent’s booklet notes identify the orchestral beginning as a “forte introduction.” Robustly, it lives up to the promise of strength before a flute, then an oboe, quietly state a five-note theme and Broadbent’s piano … [Read more...]