2010 July 01

Recent Listening: Geri Allen

July 1, 2010 by Doug Ramsey

Geri Allen & Timeline, Live (Motéma). Allen's considerable strengths are on display in the pianist's recording with her trio and a percussive guest. She integrates dancer Maurice Chestnut's steely tapping with the time-keeping and soloing of her gifted young sidemen, drummer Kassa Overall and bassist Kenny Davis. Chestnut expands on the tradition established by Savion Glover and—long before—dancers like Baby Laurence who accommodated themselves to bebop. The crowds at the Oberlin … [Read more...]

Lionel Ferbos At 99

July 1, 2010 by Doug Ramsey

The man who may well be the world's oldest performing jazz musician is approaching his 99th birthday. Befitting a man nearly the age of the music itself, he's from New Orleans. Lionel Ferbos was born July 17, 1911. He played trumpet in the 1920s with bands led by Walter "Fats" Pichon and Sidney Desvigne and in the 1930s with Harold Dejan and the quintessential New Orleans alto saxophonist Captain John Handy. In demand for his reading ability and lead playing, Ferbos is the trumpeter in the New … [Read more...]

Ed Bride on Recent Listening: Kenton Alums, Coltrane, Mraz, Among Others
Well-deserved high praise for the Vax offering. One after another, the soloists amaze me, both in person and on the CD. The importance of the...
Posted Jan 25, 2015
Marla on Recent Listening: Kenton Alums, Coltrane, Mraz, Among Others
Thanks, Doug! Appreciate the written heads up regarding these gems and will most definitely add all to my collection. Happy New Year!
Posted Jan 25, 2015
Jim Brown on Recent Listening: Kenton Alums, Coltrane, Mraz, Among Others
I had the pleasure of hearing a lot of the Kenton band between about 1962 and 1978 as well as a full collection of their...
Posted Jan 24, 2015
Mike Harris on Monday Recommendation: Art Tatum
"Virtuousity," yes! But "invention?" Well, how many great songs did he compose, relative to Bill Evans? " Superhuman note-production to...
Posted Jan 24, 2015
Mike Vax on Recent Listening: Kenton Alums, Coltrane, Mraz, Among Others
Thanks so much for this, Doug. We are one of the few bands left that actually gets on the bus and does one-nighters anymore. It...
Posted Jan 24, 2015

Monday Recommendation: Art Tatum

Art Tatum, God Is In The House (High Note)

The title comes from what Fats Waller said when he saw Art Tatum walk into a club where Waller was playing. Dan Morgenstern tells the story in his notes for this essential collection, “…he stopped the music and announced: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I play the piano, but God is in the house tonight.’” Tatum was Waller’s primary inspiration. The master had no hesitation about paying obeisance to the student. Using a disc recorder, Jerry Newman captured the incredible pianist in Harlem clubs in 1940 and ‘41. The music on this album is not a recent discovery. Don Schlitten released it as an LP on his Onyx label in 1973. The High Note CD has been available since 1998. I’m recommending it now it out of concern that some of you may have deprived yourselves of these indispensible snapshots of Tatum’s genius.

Monday Recommendation: Jimmy Greene

Jimmy Greene, Beautiful Life (Mack Avenue)

The album opens with saxophonist Jimmy Greene’s 6-year-old daughter Ana angelically singing “Come Thou Almighty King” at a 2011 family Christmas celebration. A year later Ana was one of the 26 pupils and teachers murdered in the assault on Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. In his notes, Mr. Greene stresses that the album is in memory not of how she died, but of “how she lived, lovingly, faithfully and joyfully.” Joining him in the tribute to Ana are pianists Renee Rosnes, Kenny Barron and Cyrus Chestnut; guitarist Pat Metheny; vocalists Kurt Elling, Latanya Farrell and Javier Colon; bassist Christian McBride; drummer Lewis Nash; strings of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra; voice actress Anika Noni Rose; and a children’s choir of Ana’s classmates from the period when the Greenes lived in Winnipeg, Canada. This memorial is indescribably moving and, yes, joyful.

Monday Recommendation: Nat Hentoff

The Pleasures Of Being Out Of Step: Notes On The Life Of Nat Hentoff (First Run Features)

In his 89 years, Nat Hentoff has melded defense of the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment of the US Constitution with his love of jazz. His writings on those passions have made him a powerful voice in music journalism and in the turbulent arena populated by those who debate what the American founders intended in the Bill of Rights. This David L. Lewis film presents Hentoff reflecting—often wryly—on his life as a reporter, columnist, critic, writer of books and record producer. It has musicians, politicians, civil libertarians, family, friends and colleagues reflecting on Hentoff and his importance. Lewis integrates music by Ellington, Mingus, Parker and Coltrane, among others. Along the way we meet Lenny Bruce, Bob Dylan, William F. Buckley, Jr., Amiri Baraka, and others whose lives have intersected with Hentoff’s. (DVD release January 6.)

Monday Recommendation: Edward Simon

Edward Simon, Venezuelan Suite (Sunnyside)

Few jazz albums have been devoted to the music of Venezuela. Victor Feldman’s superb The Venezuelan Joropo (1967) was an exception. Latin musicians were impressed with the authenticity that Feldman achieved using Los Angeles colleagues to interpret traditional Venezuelan music. When it comes to authenticity, however, Edward Simon has an advantage. He is a native of Venezuela who has established himself in the US as a versatile pianist, composer and arranger. Venezuelan Suite has four parts named for cities or regions in the country. Each section uses typical rhythms or song forms. “Caracas,” for instance, is a meringue, “Barinas” a joropo, the dance rhythm that also inspired Feldman. The instrumentation incorporates flute, harp and percussion, all essential to Venezuelan music. Simon, tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, flutist Marcos Granados, bass clarinetist John Ellis and drummer Adam Cruz are among the stars of this delightful album.

Monday Recommendation: Holly Hofmann

Holly Hofmann, Low Life (Capri)

Holly Hofmann made her reputation concentrating on the C flute, an instrument whose flexibility and three-octave range are suited to her customary orientation toward the bop tradition. Here, she sets it aside in favor of its relative the alto flute. Pitched in G, the alto is capable of bewitching resonance and dynamic presence at the low end of its range. Ms. Hofmann takes full advantage of those qualities in a collection that tends toward romanticism tinged with a bluesy, minor sensibility. Her collaborators are pianist Mike Wofford, bassist John Clayton, guitarist Anthony Wilson and drummer Jeff Hamilton. Wilson’s composition “Jack of Hearts” and Clayton’s “Touch The Fog” are highlights. Ms. Hofmann’s deceptively simple-sounding “Lumière de la Vie,” in four time signatures; and Pat Metheny’s modern classic “Farmer’s Trust” linger in the mind. This album casts a spell.

Monday Recommendation: Alan Broadbent

Alan Broadbent, Just One Of Those Things (Edition Longplay)

This week’s recommendation is included in the December 15, 2014, roundup titled Recent Listening, Vinyly…. To see it, please go here.

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