Dr. Lonnie Smith, Evolution (Blue Note)
The venerable organist’s doctorate is a figment, but his musicianship and ability to mold combos of any size into formidable units are even more real than when he moved from piano to organ in the 1950s. In this return to the Blue Note label after nearly half a century, Smith gives monumental trio performances of Thelonious Monk’s “Straight No Chaser†and Richard Rodgers’s “My Favorite Things.†In septet and sextet collaborations with his former saxophone sideman Joe Lovano, he tears it up in “Afrodesia†and his composition “For Heaven’s Sake.†Among the other guest artists in this inspired album are pianist Robert Glasper, saxophonist-flutist John Ellis, drummer Jonathan Blake and the impressive young trumpeters Maurice Brown and Keyon Harold. It’s an intergenerational fiesta. The good “doctor†is in top form, as funky and—when the funk subsides a bit—as subtle as ever.
A cross-generational and cross-racial gathering of Crescent City jazz veterans generates spirited versions of traditional Christmas music. Some of the players are well known outside of New Orleans; bassist Roland Guerin, percussionist Jason Marsalis, saxophonist Tony DaGradi and trumpeter Bobby Campo among them. All eighteen musicians have the celebrated N’Yawlins feeling for rhythm and good times. Campo’s first notes of “Jingle Bells†over a modified parade beat morph into a series of solos featuring him, Dagradi and drummer Geoff Clapp, followed by a stretch of group improvisation by all the horns and the rhythm section. “Away In A Manger†is funky, “Silent Night†a peaceful oasis, “Go Tell It On The Mountain†a series of gospel declarations. It’s a joyous collection.
ago when he concentrated for a time on interpreting Frank Sinatra’s legacy. Here, he indeed sings Christmas, but includes just four traditional melodies and a double handful of less familiar pieces that includes three stimulating impressions inspired by the classic “Good King Wenceslaus.†He bases his own new composition, “The Michigan Farm,†on a melody by Norwegian classical composer Edward Grieg and adapts songs from Leslie Bricusse’s score for the 1970 motion picture musical Scrooge. Elling brings to this album what I have often found missing from his singing—deep feeling—and it’s a pleasure to experience it. The duet with his daughter Luiza on Bricusse’s title song brings the collection to a charming close.
This 2002 collection is a perennial holiday favorite. Alto and tenor saxophonist Teuber, guitarist Dave Peterson, bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop interpret ten standard and traditional winter songs. Horace Silver’s “Peace†and Peterson’s “December†and “Winter Waltz,†meld beautifully with†“Greensleeves,†“Silver Bells,†“Coventry Carol†and the others. The interpretations are relaxed and reflective. Teuber’s tenor sax solo in “What Are You Doing New Years Eve?†is notable for the inventiveness of his harmonic turns. On alto in this sample track, he waltzes through “Greensleeves,†and Johnson’s bass solo flows with vigor.
They forged their empathy when Mehldau was the pianist in saxophonist Redman’s quartet in the mid-1990s. In encounters over the years since, they have honed their rapport to a remarkable degree. These duo recordings from six cities on their 2011 European tour find them knitting together improvisational lines in Redman’s “Melsancholy Mood,†sparring with vigor in exchanges of 2-bar phrases during Thelonious Monk’s “In Walked Bud†and issuing blazing bebop pronouncements in Charlie Parker’s “Ornithology.†They rhapsodize through the Mehldau originals “Always August†and “Old West.†The height of their inventiveness comes despite—or perhaps because of—the extremely slow tempo of Hoagy Carmichael’s “The Nearness of You.†Reflecting on that incomparable melody, they create a mood deepened further by Redman’s unaccompanied tenor saxophone musings, which at the end prompt the audience to emerge from the reverie and deliver an ovation.
Chet Baker became famous as a trumpeter, not a composer. Still, when he was with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet he wrote a tune that attracts musicians more than sixty years later. “Freeway†has clever rhythmic aspects and undemanding harmonies, and in the recording Baker played like the wind. His solo was remarkable for its fleetness, compactness of expression and—even at blazing speed— his lyricism. Here’s the track from Mulligan’s first Pacific Jazz quartet album. (1952).
At Christmas time he brightened the season for our family with music he taped at the grand piano in the living room of his house in Seattle. Just once, when we were living in New Orleans, he made his Christmas recording using the Fender-Rhodes electric piano. Something about that instrument invested his Christmas songs with unusual sprightliness at 
up-tempos and a contemplative quality at slow ones; all with his special harmonic gift.
Legacy follows the 
Admired for his piano and arranging talents in the service of others, recordings under Johnson’s own name have rarely received the critical or popular attention they warranted. The longtime pianist and music director for singer Steve Tyrell, Johnson backs young artists like saxophonist Grace Kelly and plays for Rod Stewart, Diana Ross and other pop stars. His eclectic life may have kept his own light under a bushel, but it shines bright in this album interpreting standard songs in Latin grooves.
be a dash of Mose Allison. In any case, this tight little band draws on rock, pop, gospel and blues for a series of performances with a distinct contemporary New York edge. Pianist Matt Robbins sings Gray’s compositions and lyrics in a light voice that on the title tune he laces with a tough-guy growl. Tenor saxophonist Ayumi Ishito matches Robbins’ toughness with her obbligatos and solos on “I’m Hopeful†and “You’ll Turn Out OK.†Gray uses his bow to dramatic effect in the ballad “Cayuga.†Drummer Tim Ford weaves a backbeat into his cymbal and snare patterns on “Friday.†This short, solid album could have what it takes for a breakthrough of the kind that occasionally happens to independently published books.
The MJQ was born as the rhythm section of Dizzy Gillespie’s big band. They first recorded on their own for Prestige Records in 1952. By the mid-1950s pianist John Lewis had achieved his vision of the quartet as the jazz parallel to classical chamber groups—with a firm bebop and blues foundation. Lewis’s “Django†became a jazz standard that boosted the quartet’s fame. It led to commissions for film scores including No Sun in Venice, whose “Cortège†section is adapted in this album. “Django†and Lewis’s “Midsömmer†are spirited collaborations with studio orchestras. The repertoire includes “Buesology,†“God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,†“I’ll Remember April†and other MJQ staples at a time when the quartet was breaking out as a phenomenon and the members were feeling good about themselves. Lewis, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, bassist Percy Heath and drummer Connie Kay sound ebullient, nowhere more than in the impromptu “J.B. Blues†that ends the album.
the rhythm section accompanying singer Sharon Clark and was intrigued. His solo album Dreams of Belonging arrived a few weeks ago and intrigued me further. It opens with “Folk Melody From Västmanland†and includes three other pieces with folk-like melodies incorporating major/minor harmonic aspects that make so much Swedish music—well—intriguing. I don’t know whether Thore Swanerud’s “Södermalm†came to Nilsson equipped with the bluesy turns he gives it or they are his own, but he makes it compelling. Touch, phrasing and blending with keyboard and pedal are among Nilsson’s strong suits. They are valuable assets in the performance of his lyrical title tune.
Outside Rifftides world headquarters, we’re having the first snowfall of the season. The prediction is for three inches here tonight and an accumulation of as much as a foot in the nearby ski areas of the Cascade Mountains. The temperature is in the low twenties (Fahrenheit), but neighborhood children are in their yards laughing, shouting and building snowmen. So, what does it make sense to listen to? Why, Bill Charlap playing “Blue Skies,” of course. This was in Germany in 2002
The Austrian Guitarist Muthspiel is the leader, but he and his sidemen are so wrapped together in the music on Rising Grace that they might have been billed as a collective. Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Brian Blade share with Muthspiel a commitment to lyrical expression that is apparent from the title tune through ten pieces, all but one composed by Muthspiel. Toward the end of Mehldau’s “Wolfgang’s Waltz†concentrated moments of mutual invention have Muthspiel and Mehldau intertwining guitar and piano lines as Grenadier and Blade elevate the swing while coloring the background. A tribute to the late trumpeter Kenny Wheeler has equally compelling interaction. Brilliant throughout, Akinmusire makes a showpiece of “Superonny†with blues feeling, daring interval leaps, a military allusion, a whinny and a growl. Rising Grace deserves the attention it’s getting.
one of Jefferson’s most frequently quoted beliefs came in correspondence years earlier, before he endured the scrutiny that comes with being president:
By its decision to give Rivera time off to campaign for McGovern, Channel seven is approving a newsman’s claim that he doesn’t have to be publicly nonpartisan in order to be a trusted reporter. They are saying—in effect—that, having become an advocate in one area, the reporter can nonetheless function as an independent, fair and objective journalist in another. 
There is news from Portland, Oregon, that Jimmy Mak’s jazz club will permanently close at the end of 2016. A leading west coast club for 20 years, Mak’s has been a primary outlet for the talents of musicians in Oregon’s active jazz community and for touring national artists. Owner Jimmy Makarounis told The Oregonian that a chronic health problem forced the decision:
As he awaits news about a second kidney transplant, health problems haven’t affected Cables’ fleetness and lyricism at the piano. Most of the compositions here are new, although his celebrated “Think On Me†dates to 1968 and “The Dark The Light†to 1975. “Think On Me†has a new lyric by Sarah Elizabeth Charles, who also wrote and sings words to four other Cables pieces. Her voice is light and sweet. She phrases well and sings in tune. Supported by the regular members of his trio, bassist Essiet Essiet and drummer Victor Lewis, Cables is joined on some of Ms. Charles’s numbers by saxophonist Craig Handy and percussionist Steven Kroon. Handy’s shining solo moment is on “For Honey Lulu.†With the trio, Cables adopts the harmonic structure of a certain omnipresent John Coltrane piece and dances through what he calls “Baby Steps.â€
I hope that you have as much fun watching and listening to this video as Ray Brown had when it was recorded. Brown is the bassist in a reunion with his old boss Dizzy Gillespie. He was on the original recording of “Ow!†by 
