2012 July 22

Uncle Lionel Goes Out In Style

July 22, 2012 by Doug Ramsey

Of the many places where I’ve lived, from Choteau, Montana, to Iwakuni, Japan, to San Francisco and New York (mentioning a few), New Orleans is the most unusual, the one most often on my mind. “This is really a banana republic, you know,” my friend Bill Corrington once told me. He loved the city as much as I do, and he wasn’t the only one to invoke that metaphor. Most people know about above-ground cemeteries, jazz funerals, streetcars, beignets and the madness of Mardi Gras, to mention obvious … [Read more...]

Commenting Restored

July 22, 2012 by Doug Ramsey

Well, actually, we were never gone. However, for several hours, the Rifftides comment mechanism was broken. If you tried to use the "Speak Your Mind" box at the end of an item, or found that it had disappeared, we would like you to know that the feedback function is back in business. Provided that they are pertinent and civil, reader comments are always welcome. They give us some of our best stuff. Thanks to the artsjournal.com technical team for the restoration work. LATER: No sooner had … [Read more...]

Doug Ramsey on Dick Vartanian’s Little Book
Follow this link. You should see a choice of Kindle or paperback.
Posted Jan 31, 2015
Doug Ramsey on Just Because: Lester Young
Let's all see it again.
Posted Jan 31, 2015
John Bartholomew on Just Because: Lester Young
On the advice of a knowledgeable friend, I got the vinyl version when it was reissued in about 1978. I'm with you, Don Glander;...
Posted Jan 31, 2015
Dan Holm on Just Because: Lester Young
Thanks for posting an excellent Lester Young performance. While many do not consider it a high point of his career, I have always enjoyed...
Posted Jan 31, 2015
Bill Crow on Nick Travis
Not Moe Wechsler, not Eddie Costa.
Posted Jan 31, 2015

Monday Recommendation: Bley, Sheppard, Swallow

Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard, Steve Swallow, CBTrios (ECM)

Trios concentrates the essence of understanding that Bley, Sheppard and Swallow have developed over two decades of collaboration. She recorded the album’s five pieces in various configurations on earlier albums, but the spare instrumentation of her piano, Sheppard’s saxophones and Swallow’s bass creates space for leisurely exploration of the deep harmonic possibilities in her compositions. Most of all, though, melody is what dominates these performances—intriguing melodies like those of “Utviklingssang,” “Vashkar” and others written by Bley—but also those invented by Sheppard, a great tenor saxophonist. Swallow long since, in effect, remade the electric bass. He solos with the facility of a guitarist and, as in the first movement of “Les Trois Lagons (d’après Henri Matisse),” can create walking bass lines that make you want to dance. This album has become a habit around here.

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.

More Doug's Picks