recommendations: October 2006 Archives

Sonny Rollins, Sonny, Please (Doxy). A canny balance between new compositions and show tunes he loved in his youth. The great tenor saxophonist proves that since 2001's Without a Song, and following the loss of his wife two years ago, his strength, imagination and intensity are undiminished. Steady work together has finely attuned Rollins and his five bandmates. His solos, laced with allusions and quotes, are notably cheerful. Stephen Foster is on his mind. "Oh! Susannah" pops up on two tracks, and he summons "Old Folks at Home" on another. Of the new pieces, his tribute to Tommy Flanagan, "Remembering Tommy," should have the staying power to become a jazz standard. With this release on his own label, Rollins joins the ranks of musicians taking their business affairs into their own hands. Universal will distribute Sonny, Please as a digital download in November and a CD in January, but now it is available in both forms only through Rollins's web site.

Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri, Simpático (ArtistShare). Lynch, trumpeter for Eddie Palmieri, is the leader in this immensely satisfying album. He also works for Phil Woods and brings in both of his bosses as sidemen. At the piano, Palmieri ignites the proceedings spectacularly on Lynch's "The Palmieri Effect." Woods contributes stunning alto sax solos. Lynch plays throughout with fire, technical perfection and bebop harmonic understanding. Lila Downs brings emotional depth to vocals on two pieces, including Palmieri's classic "Páginas De Mujer." The bands range from six to thirteen musicians. This is Palmieri's most impressive jazz/Latin collaboration since his 1966 El Sonido Nuevo with Cal Tjader. It is a major achievement for Lynch, who composed four of the pieces and collaborated with Palmieri on the rest. Like Rollins, he is now in business for himself. The Simpático link above takes you to Lynch's web site.

Alan Broadbent, Every Time I Think of You (Artistry Music). The pianist applies his keyboard elegance and arranging talent to an album featuring his piano, Brian Bromberg's bass, Kendall Kay's drums and a string section. Broadbent's treatment of "Blue in Green" is a highlight, as haunting in its evocation of Bill Evans as is his "E. 32nd Elegy" of New York City in Lennie Tristano's day. His string writing supports and enhances the trio without a single harmonic clash, and it avoids the most common sins of jazz albums with strings, repetition and boredom. I keep going back to the shimmering ensemble beneath the simplicity of Broadbent tracing the melody of "Last Night When We Were Young" and to the noirish introduction to "Nirvana Blues."

Vic Juris, Corey Christiansen, Live at the Smithsonian Jazz Café (Mel Bay). Relaxation and amiable swing characterize two-and-a-half hours with the veteran Juris and the relative newcomer Christiansen. The guitarists are close listeners and thoughtful improvisers more concerned with line, chords and mood than with display and fire. The varied repertoire includes well chosen standards, compositions by each and originals by Carla Bley and Wayne Shorter. Over the years, "All The Things You Are" has been ratcheted up faster and faster, the meaning squeezed out of it. Juris and Christiansen take it at ballad tempo, give it a minor tinge and find new insights into the piece. Bassist Bill Moring and drummer Tim Horner are strong in support. Sound is excellent. Video production is straightforward, with nary a three-second cut or exploded shot. The most adventurous techniques are the judicious use of split screens and occasional fades between color and black and white.

Lee Tanner, The Jazz Image: Masters of Photography (Abrams). The veteran jazz photographer assembles under one roof 150 examples of the best work of twenty-seven of his peers. Many of the prints are familiar--Herman Leonard's image of Dexter Gordon and a cloud of backlit smoke at the Royal Roost, Tanner's of Horace Silver musing. Others, less well known, are as surprising as the music itself--Ole Brask's image of a meeting of the Roy Eldridge-Norman Granz mutual admiration society; William Claxton's overhead view of young Chet Baker; Jim Marshall's picture of Duke Ellington clapping time and urging Paul Gonsalves to wail; a convocation of drummers photographed by Milt Hinton; Ornette Coleman cooly appraising his rhythm section in a double spread by Jan Persson. On your coffee table or your lap, this is an entertaining companion.