Laurence Hobgood, Honor Thy Fathers
It’s not that Laurence Hobgood was buried during his 18 years as Kurt Elling’s musical director. Indeed, he was one of the most admired supporting pianists in modern music. But last year—evidently with Elling’s encouragement—Hobgood parted ways with the singer and launched his solo career. This album showcases the extent of his mastery. With bassist John Patitucci and drummer Kendrick Scott, Hobgood plays original compositions that include tributes to Bill Evans and Charlie Haden. He works a transformation in 7/4 time of Nat Cole’s “Straighten Up and Fly
Rightâ€, takes Stevie Wonder’s leisurely “If It’s Magic†at a brisk clip and makes the standard “Give Me the Simple Life†a three-way conversation with Patitucci and Scott. Hobgood dedicates the album to his own late father and to musical father figures Evans and Oscar Peterson.
This is an alert to an event—a recording documenting the birth of an ensemble that electrified listeners and set a new standard for big band jazz. Count Basie trumpeter Thad Jones and Stan Kenton drummer Mel Lewis first played together at a jam session in Detroit in 1955. More than a decade later, their affinity coalesced into the creation of a big band that debuted in New York’s Village Vanguard. Fifty years later, its successor still appears there every Monday night. What began as rehearsals of leading jazzmen playing for the joy of it became one of the most admired outfits in the music’s history. Resonance Records’ George Klabin recorded the band’s first night. He captured the joy in excellent sound. This is an invaluable addition to the Jones/Lewis canon. For background, see 
Any marriage depends on how the partners blend. Drummer Peter Erskine helped Weather Report and Steps Ahead achieve two of the most successful of all efforts to fuse jazz with other elements. In Dr. Um (get it?), he does it again, with collaborators who share his sense of music as a broad canvas for intermingling colors. The sources include two pieces by master Weather Report painter Joe Zawinul, one of Gustav Mahler’s deeply felt songs, Gary McFarland’s “Sage Hands,†a Vince Mendoza number and originals by Erskine and keyboardist John Beasely, the album’s co-producers. Beasely, tenor saxophonist Bob Sheppard, and guitarists Jeff Parker and Larry Koonse solo impressively. The powerful electric bass is by Janek Gwizdala. Underneath it all, Erskine gives perfect buoyancy to every mood. His solo on “Northern Cross†is riveting for its subtlety. 
The documentary tells the story of the meteoric career and early burnout of the electric bassist who transformed the instrument. Video showing Pastorius (1951-1987) at work and at play alternates with appearances by musicians and others who idolized him as a performer and a composer. The rock bassist Flea’s assertion that “Jaco changed the rules of what’s possible for the bass†summarizes their collective conclusion. Herbie Hancock, Joni Mitchell, Mike Stern, Peter Erskine and Bootsy Collins are among dozens of colleagues who recall what several of them describe as Pastorius’s genius, and the joys and downsides of his manic-depressive nature. As for Pastorius in Weather Report—the band with which he became famous—Ms. Mitchell calls them “a circle of sorcerers, really.†Anyone who wants to understand how the music changed during Pastorius’s short life will learn much from this film. 
A longtime favorite in Canada, Susie Arioli’s fame could spread abroad on the strength of her singing in this collection. Indeed, strength is a fair description of her work, not in terms of force or volume but of lyric interpretation, phrasing and time feeling that sends her gliding through a song. Whether at sprightly tempos, as in her composition “Loverboy,†in ballads or a classic blues like “Evenin’,†she is in cool control, her alto voice impeccably in tune. An ensemble of Canadian stars assembled by veteran producer John Snyder and headed by multi-instrumentalist Don Thompson puts her in compatible company. There are notable solos from Thompson, saxophonist Phil Dwyer and trumpeter Kevin Turcotte. Bassist Neil Swainson, drummer Terry Clarke and guitarist Reg Schwager are the forthright rhythm section. Of her originals, Ms. Arioli’s drinker’s lament “Can’t Say No,†tinged with remorse, could cross into C&W territory. 
The mystery, melancholy and minimalist magic of Mette Henriette Martedatter Rølvåg’s music stems in part from her family origins in the Sámi, the indigenous people of northern Scandinavia. The young Norwegian tenor saxophonist and composer shares qualities of Nordic cool and daring that have brought attention to such established ECM artists as Jan Garbarek and Ketil Bjørnstad. The first CD of her debut album for the label presents her with cellist Katrine Schiott and pianist Johan Lindvall in pieces approaching pure impressionism. At first, she keeps her saxophone in a minor role. When it emerges, her quiet authority on the instrument commands attention. The second disc finds Ms. Rølvåg with a 13-piece ensemble in which she establishes a significant composition and arranging talent. In a piece like “Wind on Rocks,†her playing and the entwined subtlety of her writing make her doubly impressive.
With a subdued manner and undercurrents of strong feeling, the Oregon singer ranges across a dozen songs of varying genres. Among them are standards by the Gershwins, Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, Charles Trenet and Harry Warren; a Horace Silver classic; and three impressive compositions of her own. She unifies the pieces with a rhythmic pulse, musicianly phrasing and the subtlety of a slight terminal vibrato on note endings. Her “Danger in Loving You†and a gospel treatment of Sarah Masen’s “Carry Us Through†have qualities that could send them onto soul charts. Accompanied by piano, bass and baritone saxophone, she scats half a chorus of “Our Love Is Here To Stay,†exhibiting an understanding of the chords, a trait not rampant among scat singers. With conviction, Ms. Loren delivers the message of Silver’s “Peace,†whose unidentified lyricist deserves credit.
