Ted Gioa, How To Listen To Jazz (Basic Books)
Opposite the contents page of this concise book is a quote from Duke Ellington: “Listening is the most important thing in music.†It seems an obvious truth, yet the idea eludes many people who claim that they wish they understood jazz. Gioia marshals his skills as an accomplished musician, clear thinker and gifted writer, inspiring readers to want to listen. He stresses that fear of technical matters is no reason to shy away from the music. “In fact,†he writes, “the deepest aspect of jazz music has absolutely nothing to do with music theory. Zero. Zilch.†He stresses that records are not enough, that hearing jazz live is essential. The appendix naming 150 important contemporary jazz musicians is helpful. Gioia’s chapters dealing with rhythm, structure, origins of jazz, and evolution of styles are invaluable aids to understanding—for newcomers and experienced listeners alike.
The trumpet’s tubing is elongated and relatively straight until it reaches the flare of the bell. That gives the instrument volume and brilliance. The cornet’s tubing is tightly wound compared to that of the trumpet, resulting in more air resistance when the player blows into the horn. Its tubing is conical, growing bigger around as it approaches the bell. Taken together, those two factors give the cornet a mellower, softer sound than the trumpet’s. Trumpets predominate these days in orchestras and bands, but through the last half of the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, the cornet was king. It was developed by the Frenchman 
In case you’ve forgotten what joy a big band can generate at its peak of performance, here is the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra on Ralph J. Gleason’s Jazz Casual telecast on public television. The set list is “Just Blues,” “St. Louis Blues” and “Kids Are Pretty People.” This was broadcast on PBS in April, 1968. We bring you the entire program.
admired for work as a sideman with bassist Matt Ulery and pianist-singer Patricia Barber, among others. He debuts as a leader with a trio album due out June 3 that is peaceful, almost placid—except for the moments when Clearfield’s energy and unconventional harmonic content combine to create force fields that can take a listener by surprise. It happens in his first tune, “With and Without,†and often throughout the album. The soft sell of the promotional video clip featuring the title tune gives little indication of the album’s variety and moments of excitement.
and Kirchner inject it with a welling rhythm. In the title track, Clearfield (pictured) plays piano and electric organ simultaneously, driven by Kirchner’s insistent 4/4 beat of a stick on a snare drum. As the piece closes, Clearfield melds back into keyboard serenity that contrasts with the rhythm that yields ever so slightly. In a tune with the picaresque title “Pierce is Kind of a Weird Name for a Street,†the trio breaks up the time without losing the swing; a neat trick.
with vibraharpist Milt Jackson, pianist John Lewis, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Kenny Clarke. They first recorded as an entity in 1951 as the Milt Jackson Quartet. After Percy Heath replaced Brown the following year the group changed its name to The Modern Jazz Quartet. When Clarke concentrated on freelancing around New York in 1955 and then moved to Paris, Connie Kay assumed the drum chair.
This Rollins collection validates yet again the magisterial status conferred on him in the title of a 1956 album: Saxophone Colossus. In concert performances recorded over more than three decades and never before released, Rollins’s energy, melodic inventiveness, humor and rhythmic daring are breathtaking. The most recent piece, from 2012 when Rollins was 81, is no less gripping than the earliest, from 1979. The ’79 track, recorded in Finland, is an expanded version of “Disco Monk,†first heard on that year’s 
Miles Davis (1926-1991) would have turned 90 today. He apprenticed with Charlie Parker when he was 19 and quickly became a soloist whose signature style was recognizable even as he was still refining it. Davis is frequently quoted as claiming that he changed music five or six times. The circumstances of the alleged quote and to whom he may have addressed it are in dispute. Hyperbole aside, from his bebop beginnings to his integration of jazz with rock and pop during his final years, Davis had a profound effect on music in the twentieth century. He continues to influence musicians of several generations and in several fields. 
The wisdom of Allen’s choice of material is borne out in nine performances that illustrate an article of faith he expresses in his notes, “…the blues is the gateway to the past and future of American music; the well from which gospel, jazz, rock, country, rhythm & blues and hip hop are drawn.†In the album’s audio spectrum, Allen’s tenor saxophone is firmly between bassist Gregg August and drummer Rudy Royston. The sonic relationship emphasizes the interdependence the three have developed in their years as a working band. The power of August’s bass lines and the responsiveness of Royston’s drumming frame Allen’s deep musings and the harmonic coloring he uses to stir emotions. Seven of the nine blues lines are his. The trio’s passion makes this a living blues statement and a landmark in Allen’s impressive discography. 
When he was a member of the Ray Charles band in the 1950s, saxophonist David “Fathead†Newman was frequently the featured soloist on Paul Mitchell’s and George V. Johnson’s “Hard Times.†It became a musical signature that Newman made indelibly his own. He featured the piece for the rest of his life. In this case, he played it with an all-star group assembled for a festival in New Jersey in—we think—1993. The other members of the band are Steve Nelson, vibraphone; Walter Bishop, Jr., piano; David Wiliams, bass; and Eddie Gladden drums.
John Goldsby and the young veteran German pianist Ranier Böhm. Strassmayer has absorbed, internalized and personalized what John Coltrane gave to jazz and often evokes him purely on the power of her tone and inflection. The subtlety of Mondlak’s drumming is epitomized in his unaccompanied feature “Cascades.†Pauses and silences are among the attributes of that four-minute work of the imagination, made all the more effective by Mondlak’s upwellings of contrasting intensity. Strassmayer’s closing duet with Böhm, “Still In Her Ears,†is notable for her emotional range and the purity of her flute sound.
Pianist Vijay Iyer’s new collaboration with the ceaselessly adventurous trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith stems from the closeness they developed when Iyer was a member of Smith’s Golden Quartet late in the late 1990s. In his notes, Iyer calls Smith his “hero, friend and teacher.†The centerpiece of their album of duets is the album’s title suite, seven movements in which the fluency of Iyer’s playing often contrasts with Smith’s pointillism, split tones and abstract musings. And yet, for all of the metaphysics of his approach, the trumpeter now and then smoothes out into the held tones of a balladist. That aspect is striking in the section called “Notes on water,†with electronic keyboard background from Iyer that is both supportive and ethereal. The album begins with Iyer’s “Passage.†It closes with Smith’s “Marian Anderson,†both imbued with power that grows out of quietness. Close listening to this music is a must. Frequent listening discloses depths and surprises.
dominant role in placing Sweden second only to the United States as a force in the evolution of modern jazz. This pair of four-CD box sets contains substantial amounts of the music that Gullin recorded from 1951 to 1960 when he and Swedish jazz were flourishing. They contain his collaborations with countrymen like pianist Bengt Hallberg, 
alto saxophonist Arne Domnérus, trombonist Åke Persson, trumpeters Jan Allan and Rolf Ericson and clarinetist Putte Wickmann. There are also celebrated encounters with visiting Americans Lee Konitz, Zoot Sims, Conte Candoli and Frank Rosolino. Throughout, the smoothness, swing and harmonic inventiveness in Gullin’s playing demonstrate what made him a perennial poll winner on both sides of the Atlantic. These volumes provide a fair picture of the state of Swedish jazz during one of its yeastiest periods. Ray Comiskey’s comprehensive liner notes are a bonus. 
With young Kansas Citians Dominique Sanders (bass) and Brian Steever (drums) in his trio, the prolific Italian pianist follows up his 2015 Emigmatix. Magris decorates his improvisations with keyboard runs and swirls that enhance excitement without putting a hitch in his solid bebop approach. The compositions are primarily by Magris. Highlights include “Out There Somewhere†and “What Love,†which is nearly ten minutes of exhilarating soloing and interaction on famous Cole Porter harmonic changes. The trio invests the late Don Pullen’s “Joycie Girl†with insistent bounce. Magris plays beautifully on Billy Eckstine’s “I Want To Talk About You,†but a guest female vocalist has problems with the song’s low notes. A different vocalist sings two other songs without range difficulties but is saddled with mundane lyrics. Perhaps as a service to listeners who don’t get the message from the music, two narrators in a final “Audio Notebook†promote the goal of the album’s title.
explains that he writes music not to label it “about something†in order to snag foundation grants, but to employ what he’s learned and make it work for him and his players. Interview Music does that. Even better, it works for the listener. Carey’s influences reflect not only his extensive academic study but also include a long list of composers from before Bach to Stravinsky, Ellington, Mingus, Hindemith, Gil Evans, Clare Fischer and Maria Schneider. His sextet plays the five-part suite with drive, wit, swing and a palpable unity of purpose. It is complex chamber music with solo space for Carey, long an impressive trumpeter; bass clarinetist Sheldon Brown; alto saxophonist Kasey Knudsen; pianist Adam Shulman; bassist Fred Randolph; and drummer Jon Arkin. They are among the cream of the Bay Area’s jazz community. In a victory for his creative policy, the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music supported Interview Music with a grant despite its not being “about something,†which, of course, it is. It’s about music.
Joe Temperley is dead at 86. In recent years, he was a mainstay of the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra. In the 1970s following the death of Harry Carney, his glorious baritone saxophone sound anchored the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Temperley was born on September 20, 1929 in Crowdenbeath, Scotland and moved to New York in 1965. Also a master of the bass clarinet, he worked with the big bands of Woody Herman, Thad Jones-Mel Lewis, Clark Terry, Duke Pearson, Charles Mingus, and with a score of all-star groups.
The unprecedented double recommendation this week is because both albums have the brilliant Tom Harrell on trumpet and flugelhorn as a sideman, a rare role for him these days— and because they are among the most compellingly conceived and executed quintet collections in years. Kirk MacDonald is a Canadian tenor saxophonist whose imagination, firmness and drive recall Dexter Gordon and other mainstream tenor heroes. The rhythm section of pianist Brian Dickinson, bassist Neal Swainson and drummer Dennis Mackrel might have been made to order for MacDonald and Harrell.
MacDonald’s ten compositions are perfect for the band. The Russian tenor saxophonist Kireyev and American pianist Javors have recorded together before, but The Meeting, with Harrell’s buoyant contribution, takes the collaboration to a new height. Ben Williams on bass and E.J. Strickland on drums round out the rhythm section. Surprise: Kireyev’s Tuvan throat singing in “Caravan.†