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Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...
Doug's most recent book is a novel, Poodie James. Previously, he published Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond. He is also the author of Jazz Matters: Reflections on the Music and Some of its Makers. He contributed to The Oxford Companion to Jazz and co-edited Journalism Ethics: Why Change? He is at work on another novel in which, as in Poodie James, music is incidental.
Jimmy Owens, The Monk Project (IPO)
In this Thelonious Monk tribute, trumpeter Owens’ septet includes pianist Kenny Barron, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, tenor saxophonist Marcus Strickland and low-register specialist Howard Johnson on tuba and baritone sax. Kenny Davis is the bassist, Winard Harper the drummer. There are good solos throughout, but the stars of the album are Owens’ conceptions of the tunes, and his arrangements. He brings freshness through textures and tempos. Among the surprises: a Latin approach to “Well You Needn’t,” “Let’s Cool One” as a waltz and “Brilliant Corners” alternating between a crawl and a blues-inflected march
Jack DeJohnette, Sound Travels (e one)
DeJohnette leads small ensembles in seven of his compositions. He plays both drums and piano on several. His sidepersons include Ambrose Akinmusire, Tim Ries, Jason Moran, Lionel Loueke, percussionist Luisito Quintero and vocalists Bobby McFerrin, Bruce Hornsby and Esperanza Spaulding. Spaulding also plays bass. The personnel list may suggest random eclecticism, but within its stylistic diversity the album has unity and a beguiling sense of relaxation. DeJohnette opens and closes with unaccompanied piano performances, reminding us that despite his fame and influence as a drummer, he plays his first instrument with a fine touch and harmonic sensibility.
Wesla Whitfield, Mike Greensill Trio, The Best Things In Life
Wesla Whitfield plugs her current of understated energy into a diverse collection that encompasses “The Best Things in Life Are Free” from 1927, “Bein’ Green” from Sesame Street, and “Walkin’ After Midnight” from the Patsy Cline hit parade. There are also standards by Loesser, LeGrand, Arlen and Frishberg, among others. Whitfield is often billed as a cabaret singer, but with the rhythm section of pianist Mike Greensill, bassist John Witala and drummer Vince Lateano supporting her time sense, phrasing and inflection, the fuzzy border between cabaret and jazz disappears. Nat Cole’s “Errand Girl For Rhythm” is a case in point.
Lee Konitz with Dan Tepfer (Jazz Heaven)
Designed as a master class, the DVD provides fascinating listening and viewing for anyone curious about the creative process of making jazz. In conversation with his frequent collaborator, pianist Tepfer, Konitz discusses and demonstrates the wisdom he has accumulated in his nearly 85 years. In the hour-and-a-half conversation, he frequently picks up his alto saxophone to demonstrate a concept or a point and brings Tepfer into the spoken and played discussion. It is a Socratic dialogue, with the teacher and student occasionally reversing roles. An easily accessible menu makes browsing possible. The audio and video quality are superb.
Clark: The Autobiography of Clark Terry (UC Press)
The great trumpeter, flugelhornist and mumbler writes with joy about the good times in his long life and with frankness about the rough patches. His humor and generous spirit are intact whether he is telling of his love for Basie and Ellington, his triumphs as a performer, his legions of friends, or encounters with racists and bottom feeders in and out of the jazz world. Terry’s ear, eye and memory for detail provide insights into not only his remarkable career but also the trajectory and development of jazz as an art form and a social force during his many decades in music.
Chick Corea, Eddie Gomez, Paul Motian, Further Explorations (Concord)
The two-CD album is described in the notes as a “template,” a “tabula rasa,” rather than a tribute to Bill Evans. Nonetheless, Corea’s encounter with two great Evans sidemen underlines Evans’s profound influence on the development of the jazz piano trio and on Corea’s own playing. Released less than a month following Motian’s death at 80, the live recording from New York’s Blue Note beautifully captures the drummer’s freedom, swing and interaction. In pieces from Evans’s repertoire and others by members of the trio, there is a spirit of adventure and, in Evans’s newly found “Song No. 1,” the challenge of discovery.
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