{"id":1587,"date":"2014-04-20T14:18:56","date_gmt":"2014-04-20T18:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/?p=1587"},"modified":"2019-09-12T16:00:41","modified_gmt":"2019-09-12T20:00:41","slug":"evolving-jazz-beyond-jazz-in-march-jazzapril","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2014\/04\/evolving-jazz-beyond-jazz-in-march-jazzapril.html","title":{"rendered":"Evolving jazz beyond jazz in March & JazzApril"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leading up to and so far during\u00c2\u00a0Jazz Appreciation Month<\/a>, I’ve heard some stunning, challenging and engaging if not always<\/em> 100%, brilliantly revelatory music that goes beyond the strictest (old) definitions of jazz. I’m just getting\u00c2\u00a0to\u00c2\u00a0post about certain\u00c2\u00a0performances (here’s a preview:<\/p>\n

\"jamaaladeen<\/a>

Ben Schachter, tenor; G. Calvin Weston, drums; Jamaaladeen Tacuma, bass; photo: Sound Evidence<\/p><\/div>\n

— having been busy with grassroots organizations and activists in 22 cities publicly celebrating local Jazz Heroes<\/a>, part\u00c2\u00a0of the\u00c2\u00a0Jazz Journalists Association’<\/a>s\u00c2\u00a0JazzApril<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0efforts to raise media profile of jazz (broadly defined) throughout especially the USA, hoping to attract some attention from those who\u00c2\u00a0aren’t already into it.<\/p>\n

My next posts will be \u00c2\u00a0a photo gallery and comments on\u00c2\u00a0Celebrating Ornette<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0at the Painted Bride in Philadelphia on March 21, as above — and a report on\u00c2\u00a0Universal Synchrony Music Volume 2,\u00c2\u00a0a telematic improvisation<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0conducted by Sarah Weaver\u00c2\u00a0at SUNY Stonybrook connected with Stanford U and NASA’s\u00c2\u00a0Kepler Space Mission.<\/p>\n

But for starters: Thanks for permission to reprint from\u00c2\u00a0The Wire: Adventures in Music and Sound<\/em><\/a>, which assigned me to review the 11h weekly concert of the Evolving Music series<\/a>, here are my comments on the\u00c2\u00a0ongoing and quite worthwhile project\u00c2\u00a0of\u00c2\u00a0devoted<\/p>\n

\"parker\"<\/a>

Patricia Nicholson Parker; photo credit desired, no copyright infringement intended<\/p><\/div>\n

and extremely hardworking Patricia Nicholson Parker\u00c2\u00a0(winner of the JJA’s Producer of the \u00c2\u00a0year Award in\u00c2\u00a02003, 2007 and 2008<\/span>), executive director of non-profit Arts for Art, Inc. which puts on\u00c2\u00a0the annual Vision festival (this coming June honoring\u00c2\u00a0Charles Gayle,<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0who I profiled in The Wire in 1997).<\/p>\n

I can recommend Evolving’s\u00c2\u00a0scheduled performances on Monday 4\/21 featuring guitarist Kenny Wessel in drummer Lou Grassi’s “and friends” band, and saxophonist Jon Irabagon playing with pianist Luis Perdomo (in quartet, which I haven’t heard; I haven’t\u00c2\u00a0heard William Hooker’s trio\u00c2\u00a0as on the bill either, but multi-talented Matt Lavelle is playing trumpet and Mark Hennen, another interesting individualist, piano). Monday 4\/28 Evolving presents Jonathan Finlayson, a\u00c2\u00a0young\u00c2\u00a0trumpeter-composer\u00c2\u00a0whose live playing and 2013 album\u00c2\u00a0Moment and the Message<\/em><\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve been enjoying,\u00c2\u00a0with a trio paying tribute to the late, great John Tchicai; guitarist Garrison Fewell with\u00c2\u00a0too-little-known reeds master Will Connell, in what’s listed as (drummer) Gerald Cleaver’s Black Host, but with drummer Reggie Nicholson (who’s been a favorite guest lecturer\/demonstrated at my NYU class “The Arts: Jazz”), and saxist Yoni Kretzmer’s 2Bass Quartet.<\/p>\n

Here’s what The Wire published, except the photos I found on the web, which unfortunately are not watermarked with the photographers’ credits.<\/p>\n

Evolving Music: 11th week\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>C<\/em>lemente Soto Velez Cultural Center, New York, US<\/em><\/p>\n

The very title of the Evolving Music series, a weekly showcase produced in a small theatre of a Lower East Side community centre, begs the questions: evolving from what, how, and to what ends?\u00c2\u00a0 A Monday evening in mid-March featuring intimate improvisational groups led by guitarist Bern Nix, alto saxophonist Rob Brown and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter provided few answers, though each of the three performances offered listening satisfactions.<\/p>\n

Chief among them were Nix\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s spidery lines as echoed, emphasized and expanded upon by Matt Lavelle on cornet and alto clarinet; Brown and trumpeter Kenny Warren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s frontline teamwork, and Carter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s chameleon-like shifts of musical personality, as he chose to pick up his trumpet, flute, tenor or alto sax. All three ensembles, each with their own bass and drums rhythm teams, derived their approaches from Ornette Coleman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s free jazz revolution, now more than 55 years old, with key characteristics being loosely interpreted song forms, intuitive collective interplay, exploratory and unrestricted personal expression.<\/p>\n

\"bern<\/a>Nix himself is best known as a member of Coleman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 1970s and ’80s band Prime Time,<\/a> but his quartet with Lavelle, staunch bassist Francois Grillot and light, fast drummer Reggie Sylvester has a more transparent sound than that amplified septet or octet
\n<\/a>usually projected. Bern\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s recently self-released CD Negative Capability<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0<\/em>was the basis of his Evolving set, throughout which he sat facing his fellow musicians rather than the audience of 50.<\/p>\n

With a determinedly dry, clipped guitar sound, Nix rejects grandstanding. Rather than imposing his artistry, he elicits listeners\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 attentions the way a soft talker gets people to lean in for every nuance. This was offset by Lavelle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gregarious nature, blowing his brand new horn prettily, and exploiting his alto clarinet for both its low burble and high bite.<\/p>\n

Rob Brown and Kenny Warren, with bassist Peter Bitenc and drummer Juan P Carlletti, were altogether more aggressive. A constant in New York\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s downtown scene since the early 80s, Brown has often collaborated with Matthew Shipp and\/or William Parker, and developed an insistent, steely\u00c2\u00a0sax sound. He introduced brief motifs<\/p>\n

\"Unknown-1\"<\/a>

Rob Brown; photo credit desired , no copyright infringement intended<\/p><\/div>\n

in unfussy unison with Warren, then focused on de- and re-constructing their integral intervals for all imaginable possibilities. Warren worked hard to match Brown\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s concentration; his forays seemed like successive stabs rather than methodical linear extrapolations. But shoulder to shoulder, the altoist and trumpeter presented a united front before supportive rhythm.<\/p>\n

Daniel Carter is one of downtown\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most elusive figures, at once everywhere and yet somehow ephemeral. His musical persona is perhaps the least studied or self-conscious of any of his peers. He relies on impulse and inspiration, and is almost always able to catch a spark as if it were a lightning bug to be coached into beaming a steady stream of penetrating melody. Carter was particularly beguiling playing muted trumpet and flute. Drummer Ehran Elisha and bassist Jeremy Harlos accompanied him, and the three were alert to each other\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s inflections.<\/p>\n

\"daniel\"<\/a>

Daniel Carter; photo credit desired,\u00c2\u00a0no copyright infringement intended<\/p><\/div>\n

Return, however, to the premise of Evolving Music, a project of Arts For Arts, the non-profit organisation directed by Patricia Nicholson Parker (bassist William Parker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wife), which also produces the annual Vision Festival. Both fest and series are platforms for the once revolutionary but now questionably progressive practice of letting preconceptions go, trusting instinct above traditional forms and standards. The notion that spontaneity itself guarantees transcendence or evolutionary change ought to be examined. To the talents Evolving Music convenes, complex structures and old school virtuosity should not be limits or threats \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they might lend bright ideas supportive strengths. Then what could music that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s free to tap all techniques, strategies and human capacities become? — Howard Mandel
\nhowardmandel.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Subscribe by Email or RSS<\/a><\/p>\n

All JBJ posts <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stunning, challenging and engaging if not always 100%, brilliantly revelatory music that goes beyond the strictest (old) definitions of jazz . . . What could music that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s free to tap all techniques, strategies and human capacities become? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1587","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-main","8":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/daniel.jpeg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1i3CL-pB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":70,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2008\/02\/too_much_fun.html","url_meta":{"origin":1587,"position":0},"title":"too much fun","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"February 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"jazz-beyond-jazz fans (that's yours truly!) exult in Ornette Coleman, Myra Melford's Be Bread, the Bad Plus and the overall Portland Jazz Festival Complete disclosure -- I am a guest and advisor to the Portland Jazz Festival, also here to promote my book (at the incredible bookstore Powell's, and also the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":769,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2012\/01\/etta-james-and-johnny-otis-jazz-masters.html","url_meta":{"origin":1587,"position":1},"title":"Etta James and Johnny Otis — Jazz Masters?","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"January 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Etta James, who died today Jan. 20 at age 73, and Johnny Otis, who died Jan. 17 at 90, \u00c2\u00a0are rightly recognized as innovators and icons of American rhythm 'n' blues and soul. But the jazz world -- listeners, broadcasters and journalists, musicians and institutions up to and including the\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 10 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 10 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2012\/01\/etta-james-and-johnny-otis-jazz-masters.html#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/download-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2007\/07\/jazz_beyond_jazz.html","url_meta":{"origin":1587,"position":2},"title":"Jazz Beyond Jazz","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"July 17, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"What if there's more to jazz than you suppose? What if jazz demolishes suppositions and breaks all bounds? What if jazz - and the jazz beyond, behind, under and around jazz - could enrich your life? What if jazz is the subtle, insightful, stylish, soulful, substantive guide to successful navigation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "about"","block_context":{"text":"about","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/about"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3074,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2023\/04\/36-jazz-heroes-in-32-us-cities-and-there-are-many-more.html","url_meta":{"origin":1587,"position":3},"title":"36 Jazz Heroes in 32 US cities – and there are many more","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"April 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Jazz Journalists Association announces the 2023 Jazz Heroes -- \"activists, advocates, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz,\" formerly the A Team -- emphasizing as it has annually since 2001 that jazz is culture that comes from the ground up, by individuals crossing all demographic categories, working frequently with others\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/2023-heroes-collage-1-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/2023-heroes-collage-1-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/2023-heroes-collage-1-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/2023-heroes-collage-1-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/2023-heroes-collage-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/2023-heroes-collage-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":255,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2009\/10\/miles_ornette_cecil_goes_kindl.html","url_meta":{"origin":1587,"position":4},"title":"Miles Ornette Cecil goes Kindle","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"October 12, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Huzzah! My book Miles Ornette Cecil -- Jazz Beyond Jazz is now an e-book from Amazon for Kindle-reading and maybe other e-book formats, too (I'm checking see below). It's cheaper than the hardbound version and a long sample including epigrams, Greg Tate's preface and the start of my first chapter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1945,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2015\/10\/nea-doubles-down-on-beyond-jazz-with-2016-jazz-masters.html","url_meta":{"origin":1587,"position":5},"title":"NEA doubles down on beyond-jazz with 2016 Jazz Masters","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"October 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The National Endowment of the Arts has doubled down on celebrating\u00c2\u00a0jazz beyond \"jazz\" -- music that has exploded historic\u00c2\u00a0parameters or preconceptions of \u00c2\u00a0\"jazz\" conventions\u00c2\u00a0-- by naming as 2016 Jazz Masters\u00c2\u00a0the saxophonists\u00c2\u00a0Pharoah Sanders and Archie Shepp -- both\u00c2\u00a0prot\u00c3\u00a9g\u00c3\u00a9s of the late, great\u00c2\u00a0John Coltrane -- and Gary Burton, an innovator of technique\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"shepp","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/shepp.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}