Recent Listening: Jason Palmer, Rhyme and Reason (GiantStepArts)

In his early work with saxophonists Noah Preminger and Grace Kelly and many others, trumpeter Jason Palmer made it clear with his substantial tone, wide range and flexibility that he had the potential to become one of the new century’s outstanding trumpeters. His debut on producer and photographer Jimmy Katz’s GiantStepArts label, is the latest proof that Palmer has attained that distinction—and then some. Joined by the veteran tenor saxophonist Mark Turner and supported by bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Kendrick Scott, Palmer further establishes that he is also a composer of originality and imagination. So effective are Turner, Palmer and Brewer in the chords department, it is possible a listener will take a few minutes to realize that there is no instrument providing harmonic support. That function is in the interaction among the horns and the bassist, with plenty of rhythmic encouragement from Scott’s urgencies at the drums.

Beautifully engineered and mixed, the album’s sound places Brewer where a bass belongs in this kind of band, in the middle providing stability and a home port for the ear. In the liner notes, Palmer’s track-by-track references to his compositions are occasionally nearly obliterated by white lettering on light backgrounds, but held under a strong lamp they can be read, and they give the listener information about inspirations and relationships. It is valuable, for example, to learn that Palmer’s “Waltz For Diana” has connections to Bill Evans’s “Waltz For Debbie,” Kurt Roswenwinkel’s “Dream Of The Old” and the Diana of ancient mythology. His “Kalispel Bay” is almost certainly the only jazz composition ever inspired by a visit to Priest Lake, Idaho. In addition to the trumpet virtues mentioned in the opening line above, Palmer’s playing here encompasses a spaciousness that seems based in a refusal to let ideas crowd one another. That is a welcome attribute in an era when note-packing often seems the order of the day.

John Coltrane, Coltrane ’58: The Prestige Recordings (Craft)

Every few years, curators of the great saxophonist John Coltrane’s extensive body of recordings come up with yet another retrospective of his work. Craft Recordings is now the overseer of Coltrane’s massively productive years with the Prestige label. The company has reissued a five-disc album of music that he made in 1958. That was when Coltrane rejoined Miles Davis as part of the classic sextet that also included alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, pianist Bill Evans, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones. Jones was later succeeded by Jimmy Cobb. It was also a year in which Coltrane—firmly into what critic Ira Gitler indelibly labeled his “sheets of sound” period—was expanding further his technical, harmonic and expressive horizons. This box set is a dramatic exposition of a musician who with Davis, and then in the 1960s with his own groups, became one of the most influential stylists in all of music. Some reasons why are explained in a liner notes quote from a Coltrane successor, saxophonist David Liebman: “Trane’s unique tone during this period (was) full of edge and bite, yet there was a lyrical quality to his phrasing, especially on ballads…and of course the very scalar, legato approach that he was into at the time.” Making “Spring Is Here” an upper-medium-tempo swinger is a demonstration of success in his partnership with trumpeter Wilbur Harden. That combination was not always as rewarding. Coltrane’s initial encounter with the young Freddie Hubbard was more satisfying. Three tracks here bear that out, with his improvisation on “Then I’ll Be Tired Of You” providing an early indication of what the youngster from Indianapolis would achieve. Other guests on these invaluable revisits with Coltrane include guitarist Kenny Burrell, who is impeccable in a hand-in-glove duet with Coltrane on Jerome Kern’s “Why Was I Born.” Two pianists with whom the saxophonist was extraordinarily compatible in the ‘50s stand out: his Davis quintet partner Red Garland, and the elegant Tommy Flanagan. Drummers Cobb. Arthur Taylor and Louis Hayes have their moments as well.

Ashley Kahn’s comprehensive album notes give insights into Coltrane’s continued development at a crucial point in his career, and valuable play-by-play impressions of the performances.

If five Coltrane CDs aren’t enough for you, keep in mind that the 16-disc box of his Prestige recordings is still available. In notes for that 1991 compendium, I wrote,

“To those who worship Trane as a burning prophet, I commend his playing for its humor and humanity; to the instrumentalists who think that music started with Coltrane and that Coltrane started with freedom, for its discipline; and to listeners in search of agony, for its lyricism and beauty.”

True as ever.

The Rifftides series of occasional visits to jazz bands of the United States armed services continues with the US Army’s Jazz Ambassadors. In a concert at the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas, singer Alexis Cole joined the Ambassadors in trumpeter Clifford Brown’s “Joy Spring.” That classic composition was one of the showpieces of the quintet that Brown co-led with drummer Max Roach in the 1950s. The tune has become a part of the modern jazz repertoire. This version features vocalist Alexis Cole, who spent seven years of her Army career with the Jazz Ambassadors. Since she left the service in 2017, Ms. Cole has launched a civilian singing career and heads the vocal program at the State University Of New York, Purchase. The “Joy Spring” arrangement is by retired Sergeant Major Scott Arcangel. The trumpet soloist is Sergeant Major Kevin Watt.

Hakan A. Toker, Messing Around…With The Classics (Navona)

For several months since this CD arrived, I have occasionally looked at the cover photo and concluded that there must be more rewarding things to do than listen to a musician who poses upside down atop a piano giving a victory sign with his right hand and playing what may be a C-D-E triad with his left.

Well, I finally listened, and guess what? It’s an entertaining collection by a pianist with enormous technique and good time feel that often becomes outright swing. A native of Turkey with a music degree from Indiana University, Toker begins with Beethoven’s “Fur Elise”…as a blues. He moves through pieces by Eric Satie, Henry Mancini, J.S. Bach, Paul Desmond, Dvorák and Mozart. He concludes with a 1950s pop song, “Istanbul, Not Constantinople.” Toker is impressive for his massive keyboard skill and his irreverent sense of humor. I’m sorry I waited so long to hear him.

You can’t judge an album by its cover.

There is no way that Rifftides can keep up with the flood of new jazz albums put on the market by record companies and—in the new world of relatively low production costs—by dozens of independent musicians. The best that we can do is be alert for exceptional releases and bring them to your attention. Sometimes that means brief notices about music of quality that deserves even greater attention. That is the case in today’s catch-up effort about the veteran bassist John Patitucci’s latest album. Born in Brooklyn and with extensive early experience in California, Patitucci has long been a major player of the acoustic and electric versions of the instrument. Celebrated in recent years for his work with Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter and Joshua Redman—to mention a few of his collaborators—Patitucci has become one of the most sought-after bassists alive.

His Soul Of The Bass (Three Faces Records) puts him in a variety of uncrowded settings that demonstrate his flexibility in pieces that range from J.S. Bach’s “Allemande in D-Minor” to several of Patitucci’s own compositions. Among his pieces is the title tune, a riveting unaccompanied performance on acoustic bass. Elsewhere in the collection, Patitucci and drummer Nate Smith lock up in mutual improvisation. The bassist duets with his wife, the cellist Sachi Patitucci, whose arco playing has the presence and depth of a full string section. He also performs with his daughter, the singer Isabella Patitucci, in a vocalese display expanded and enhanced by multi-tracking and dominated by the pure, powerful tone and articulation of her father’s acoustic bass.

Coming soon: Further catching up.

If you live in Los Angeles or will be there later this month, here’s good news from the L.A. County Museum Of Art (LACMA). On April 26th The Bill Holman Band will open the museum’s season of summer jazz concerts. Word from the Holman organization is that, inspired by the continuing success of the band’s Brilliant Corners album, the repertoire will include a variety of Thelonious Monk compositions. Holman’s writing for Brilliant Corners won a Grammy that year. He has had fifteen Grammy nominations. A National Endowment For The Arts Jazz Master, Holman has been at the helm of his 16-piece ensemble for 45 years and before that was a key figure as a tenor saxophonist and arranger. He has written extensively for Stan Kenton, Gerry Mulligan, Woody Herman, Count Basie, Shorty Rogers, Maynard Ferguson and Charlie Barnet, among other major leaders. He has written arrangements for singers including Tony Bennett, June Christy, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan and Anita O’Day.

From the Brilliant Corners album, here is Holman’s arrangement of Monk’s “Ruby My Dear.” Bob Summers is the trumpet soloist, Pete Christlieb the tenor saxophonist.

                                         

Further good news: admission to the April 26th Holman concert at LACMA is free.

The Jazz Journalists Association has announced its slate of 2019 Jazz Heroes, people who have made significant contributions to the health, well-being and exposure of jazz in their cities and towns. The list includes performing artists, presenters, broadcasters and—well, of course—journalists. In the extensive list you are likely to find someone you know. Click here, scroll down, and meet the 22 new honorees. They are an impressive, hard-workng bunch.

A couple of months ago, I mentioned that I had been given the privilege and pleasure of writing the liner notes for Scott Robinson’s new album. Today, he announced that the CD has been released. His notice includes background about the project, a link to a promotional video and a link to the company that is releasing Tenormore. Reading what Scott wrote, you may get the feeling that he’s happy with the results. He should be.

Today is the official release day for my new CD, Tenormore. It is my first all-tenor sax album – something that’s been a long time coming – featuring the same 1924 Conn tenor I’ve been playing all these years, that came out of an antique shop in 1975. This is also the first album by my longstanding group with Helen Sung, Martin Wind and Dennis Mackrel. See our little promo video here.

Please help me celebrate my 60th birthday month by checking out this very special project, which has already been rated 4 stars in DownBeat and 4 1/2 stars in All About Jazz. This new album is from Arbors Records (not ScienSonic), and you can pick it up here (trust me, you will be pleasantly surprised at the price!) 

An out-and-out plug on Rifftides is rare. This one is an exception we are happy to make.

David Friesen, My Faith, My Life (Origin)

Friesen’s virtuosity brought him to prominence as a bassist nearly fifty years ago. He has remained one of the instrument’s most adventurous players through a career including associations with Duke Jordan, Marian McPartland, John Handy, Denny Zeitlin, Paul Horn and other major jazz artists. This two-CD album presents him on the first disc playing his compositions on the Homage bass, an instrument he developed. On some tracks in that CD he overdubs on the Japanese bamboo flute known as the shakuhatchi, which gives the music a ghostly exoticism. The CD featuring Friesen on bass has stretches of quietness, but playing his primary instrument, Friesen’s celebrated energy is a major component in such originals as ”Long Trip Home,” “Sitka In The Woods,” “Martin’s Balcony” and, particularly, the album’s extended final track, “Lament For The Lost/Procession.” In that piece he incorporates the bass’s bowing and plucking capabilities along with electronic enhancements that become, in effect, a third voice.

On disc number 2, Friesen plays sixteen more of his original compositions, but on unaccompanied grand piano. Those selections are reflective in keeping with themes suggested by their titles, among them “A Light Shining Through,” “New Hope” and “Another Time, Another Place.” He gives his harmonic imagination full reign throughout that part of the program. The sound of the Ravenscroft grand piano is impressive. Despite a fair amount of online research, it is unclear to me why the Ravenscroft is described on some sites as a “virtual” instrument. It sounds like a full-fledged well-tuned grand.

When the 1960s jazz avant garde was cranking up, George Russell (1923-2009) set an example, as was his way. It had been more than two decades since the intrepid composer captured the attention of the jazz world with his 1947 “Cubano Be-Cubano Bop” for the Dizzy Gillespie big band. He had gone on to compose and arrange for leaders as varied and influential as Artie Shaw, Buddy DeFranco and Lee Konitz. Russell’s Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization became an influence among serious composers and arrangers. He went on to teach in Scandinavia and, later, at the New England Conservatory. Russell’s 1961 album Ezz-thetics featured another inspirational jazz educator, Dave Baker, on trombone, Russell playing piano, and two daring soloists in trumpeter Don Ellis and alto saxophonist Eric Dolphy. Russell’s blues “Honesty” is a highlight in an album whose release was a major event as the music consolidated stylistic changes and turned the corner into a new decade.

Logan Strosahl, Sure (Sunnyside)

Piping at the high end of the flute’s range, guttural near the tenor sax’s low end, sliding, slurring and sometimes punching notes on alto saxophone, Strosahl is intense and full of surprises with his trio. His music is laced with classical allusions and marinated in jazz feeling. He, bassist Henry Fraser and drummer Allan Mednard create moments in this album in which they come remarkably close to what few groups in the history of improvised music have truly achieved; performing as if the music were the product of a single mind. That is stunningly so in parts of Strosahl’s “Three” and it is the case with the rhythmic interaction in a short version of Thelonious Monk’s “Coming On The Hudson.” Strosahl’s music has amusing moments and relaxing ones, but that is not to say that it’s easily accessible. The rewards—and there are many—come to those who listen closely. Fraser’s bass draws the listener inside in the opening moments of Billy Strayhorn’s “Isfahan,” and Strosahl’s alto sax caresses that precious melody with allusions to the style of Johnny Hodges, who made the piece a bulwark of the Duke Ellington Orchestra’s repertoire. The three inject Mel Stitzel’s “The Chant” with New Orleans parade-beat feeling, and Strosahl ends the album with a masterful, beautifully contained, solo that is occasionally out-and-out funny even before the abrupt ending.

The jazz bands of the United States military services have long histories of impressive achievement. There are high levels of musicianship in the big jazz bands of the Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard.

Now and then, Rifftides samples performances by these service bands. Frequently, established name musicians from civilian life join them in concert as featured soloists. Let’s see and hear the veteran Los Angeles trombonist Andy Martin with the US Air Force’s Airmen Of Note. In this 2012 concert in Washington, DC, Martin is preceded in solos by Airmen Of Note trombonist Ben Patterson and trumpeter Dave McDonald. Martin’s closing cadenza includes notes so high they may have been illegal.

                  

Andy Martin with the Airmen Of Note. To find Airmen Of Note albums, click here.