On a collection of horns that amounts to an instrument museum, Scott Robinson plays every style of jazz from traditional to free. One night he might be with the cornetist Jon-
Erik Kelso playing music inspired by Bix Beiderbecke, the next anchoring the floating impressionism of Maria Schneider’s orchestra. His arsenal, dozens of instruments, ranges from the slide soprano sax to the contrabass saxophone. It includes the theremin, the normaphone and the bass marimba. He plays all of those and more, and plays them well. In a video attached to the online version of Will Friedwald’s portrait of Robinson in the Wall Street Journal, he demonstrates a few of his prized possessions. To read the article and see the clip, go here.
In Friedwald’s piece, Robinson mentions his love of the tenor saxophone, which he considers his main horn. Here he is, playing tenor last year with the amazing 87-year-old Frank Wess on the Gene Ammons-Sonny Stitt specialty “Blues Up And Down.” The rhythm section is Ilya Lushtak, guitar; Tal Ronen, bass; and Quincy Davis, drums. Robinson is the one on the right, in the conservative jacket.
Scott Robinson
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Doug Ramsey
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Doug’s Picks
CD: Ron Miles
Ron Miles: Quiver (enja yellow bird)
Miles’s playing on “There Ain’t No Sweet Man Worth the Salt of My Tears” draws 21st century Denver and 1928 Chicago close. Some of his flurries of wildness on this album are as daring as the work of any modern trumpeter, but the Bix Beiderbecke lyricism in Miles’s soul extends into everything he plays. With just Bill Frisell’s guitar and Brian Blade’s drums, Miles may seem to be operating lean. No, there is richness in their harmonic inventiveness and rhythmic compatibility. The nine pieces are not officially a suite, but unity of conception runs through the performances. This is a satisfying album.
CD: Heather Masse And Dick Hyman
Heather Masse And Dick Hyman: Lock My Heart (Red House)
With The Wailin’ Jennys and the Wayfaring Strangers and appearances on radio’s Prairie Home Companion, Heather Masse has attracted a following among folk and bluegrass fans. This album of duets with master pianist Dick Hyman discloses the jazz foundation that has long been evident in her singing. Their treatments of Strayhorn’s “A Flower is a Lovesome Thing” and Buddy Johnson’s “Since I Fell For You” are ballad perfection. In their delightful “I’m Gonna Lock My Heart and Throw Away the Key,” she manages to combine Billie Holiday and Marilyn Monroe. Hyman’s accompaniments and solos are reminders that this 86-year-old wonder is one of the most interesting pianists alive.
CD/DVD: Miles Davis
Miles Davis Quintet Live In Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2 (Columbia/Legacy)
This three-CD, one-DVD set finds the trumpeter fomenting even more dramatic change than usual. The first volume in the so-called bootleg series of Davis concert recordings found his primarily acoustic 1967 quintet already tending toward electronic music and rock. Saxophonist Wayne Shorter remains from that band. Here, the transition intensifies. Electric pianist Chick Corea, bassist Dave Holland and drummer Jack DeJohnette accelerate the shift Davis initiated with In A Silent Way. The repertoire is redolent of Davis’s Bitches Brew period. We hear the headiness, excitement and—sometimes—the aimlessness of newfound freedom. The DVD’s superb sound and picture bring the band alive.
DVD: Bill Frisell
Bill Frisell, The Disfarmer Project (La Huit)
Belgian filmmaker Guillame Dero captures the eclectic guitarist Frisell, violinist Carrie Rodriguez, guitarist Greg Leisz and bassist Viktor Krauss in a live performance set to portraits by the 1950s Arkansas photographer Mike Disfarmer. Some of the music was on a 2009 CD mentioned in this Rifftides post. Hearing it in new versions with Disfarmer’s eccentric and vaguely disturbing photos looming over the band is an adventure. Watching interaction and reaction among the quartet increases the fascination. Frisell salts his original compositions with songs by Hank Williams, Arthur Crudup and Cliff Friend.
Book: Paul de Barros on Marian McPartland
Paul de Barros, Shall We Play That One Together? The Life and Art of Jazz Piano Legend Marian McPartland (St. Martin’s Press)
The nonagenarian pianist presented de Barros with every biographer’s hope, unrestricted access to his subject’s personal papers and nearly unrestricted access to her private thoughts. He made the most of it, turning exhaustive research and hundreds of hours of interviews into a true story with the sweep of a novel. From the early discovery of McPartland’s musical gift through her wartime service, her ecstatic and stormy marriage to Jimmy McPartland, her growth as a pianist, her deep affair with Joe Morello, and the radio show that made her a national figure, she has had a fascinating life. It makes a splendid read.
CD: Gerry Mulligan
Gerry Mulligan and the Concert Jazz Band, Santa Monica 1960 (Fresh Sound)
Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band had three fewer musicians than most big jazz outfits. Its size permitted precision, flexibility and subtlety, yet the band had the power of sprung steel. In this concert from a half century ago, the CJB is as fresh as yesterday. Arrangements by Mulligan, Bob Brookmeyer, Al Cohn and Johnny Mandel set standards to which big band writers still aspire. Bassist Buddy Clark and drummer Mel Lewis inspired Mulligan, Brookmeyer, Conte Candoli, Gene Quill and Zoot Sims to some of the best soloing of their careers. This beautifully produced issue of the complete concert is a basic repertoire item.
“I stay with the youngsters, and when these get too old, I get some younger ones. — Keeps the mind active.” Art Blakey (at “Birdland”, 1954).
Yeah, Doug! Frank Wess … didn’t know he’s still kickin’. His ideas were flowing. When you’d close your eyes you hear a young man playing. And Mr. Robinson … *very* “conservative” indeed
That one brings you really up in the morning, especially after the long night I had yesterday.
By the way: Love the jacket.
In an interview for a Hot House article, I commented on Scott’s always colorful clothing. During an IAJE concert a few years ago, I recall Jim McNeely introducing him and mentioning that he won the award for “Best Shirt.” Scott told me that his wife makes all of his shirts, while it’s a safe bet she made that jacket, too.
Nice to see Scott getting the attention he deserves. I saw him last year at a little community center in Teaneck, NJ with the Little Big Band of Ron Horton and Tim Horner (Ron is another one of those hidden gems of a player on Trumpet/flugelhorn). I took my kids, who aren’t particularly big jazz fans, and they were blown away by his particularly moving saxophone solo and his tremendous breath control.
Mr. Robinson’s baritone is also on this killer tribute album – Haunted Melodies: The Songs of Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Highly recommended.
http://www.metropolitanrecordsnyc.com/tribute.html
Scott’s solo on “Body and Soul,” in Vienna, on a tour with the Jim McNeely Tentet, I think in early 2003, was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard in my life. No flash, just beauty. We were all on the bandstand, mouths open, fighting tears. What a great player, whether ‘multi’ or on just one instrument.