As the hours left in 2016 dwindle, we briefly acknowledge a few of the hundreds of albums that have accumulated this year at Rifftides world headquarters. Many releases stacked up without reviews. This does not indicate that they are unworthy, only that there are limits to how much music the linear process of listening can accommodate. Science has yet to come up with digital downloading directly into the brain, but I’ll bet someone is working on it.
Clare Fischer, Out of the Blue (Clavo Records).
This album slipped beneath the incoming waves of CDs more than a year ago. I am delighted
that it surfaced. Fischer (1928-2012) was a brilliant pianist, composer and interpreter of music by others. His son Brent put together Out of the Blue as he researched his father’s archives. He recruited drummers Peter Erskine and Mike Shapiro to alternate in accompanying piano tracks that Clare Fischer recorded before his death. Overdubbing, Brent plays bass and percussion. Singers Denise Donatelli and John Proulx provide vocalese lines on the title track. Among the delights of this bonus to the elder Fischer’s legacy:
• His unaccompanied medley of “When You Wish Upon a Star†and “Someday My Prince Will Come.â€
• Father and son in a whimsical, rhythmically irresistible version of Johnny Hodges’ “Squatty Roo.â€
• The two in Django Reinhardt’s “Nuages,†which manages to be both muscular and—thanks to Erskine’s brush work—delicate.
• New approaches to two modern Brazilian classics, “Amor Em Paz†and “Samba de Orfeu,†important additions to the Clare Fischer discography.
• An early 1960s piano sketch taped by Fischer per that he ultimately transformed into “Novelho.†The free flow of his improvisation on this is a high point.
Abbey Lincoln, Love Having You Around, Vol. 2 (High Note)
The late singer (1930-2010) recorded this intimate album during an engagement at San Francisco’s Keystone Corner in the spring of 1980, a decade before the flurry of releases that brought her renewed fame. Lincoln’s combination of toughness and tenderness was fully engaged in the urgencies of the Stevie Wonder title song, “When Malindy Sings,†the slavery lament “Driva Man†and in “Throw It Away.†Warmheartedness and Billie Holiday inflection guide “Little Girl Blue.†She presents her own “Rainbow†and “Throw It Away†as pieces of a poetic optimism that also informs John Coltrane’s “Africa,†which has Lincoln’s lyric (…â€this land of milk and honey on the river called the Nile…â€). The final track is two minutes of Lincoln singing introductions of pianist Phil Wright, drummer Doug Sides and bassist Art Washington. San Francisco veteran James Leary plays bass on all the other tracks.
Burak Bedikyan, Awakening (Steeplechase LookOut)
Pianist and composer Bedikyan, a native of Turkey, has established himself among an elite
circle of New York jazz artists. His colleagues on Awakening are alto saxophonist Loren Stillman, bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Donald Edwards. Bedikyan’s playing and some of his compositions reflect his roots in bebop, his classical training and his Middle Eastern origins. If “Memory Of A Fading Dream†was intended to evoke his heritage, it succeeds in creating an exotic atmosphere that Stillman and Bedikyan expand on in their solos, energized by Edwards’ strategically and delicately placed cymbal splashes. In his third Steeplechase album, Bedikyan has grown impressively.
Jim Hall & Red Mitchell, Valse Hot, Sweet Basil 1978 (ArtistShare)
Jazz improvisation at its best is a listener’s art. There are few better illustrations of that truth than Hall playing off the power and sensitivity of Mitchell’s bass lines and Mitchell making instant accommodation to Hall’s often unexpected turns of phrase and harmonic shifts. Highlights: Charlie Parker’s blues “Now’s The Time,†a lengthy exploration of Billie Holiday’s “God Bless The Child,†and stunning interpretations of “Stella By Starlight†and Sonny Rollins’s “Valse Hot.†Originally recorded for John Snyder’s ArtistsHouse label, the album captures the guitarist and the bassist at the top of their duo game. Thirty-eight years on, it is as fresh as the day it was issued.
Art Pepper & Warne Marsh, Unreleased Art, Volume 9 (Widow’s Taste)
Laurie Pepper continues to release unissued recordings by her late alto saxophonist husband
Art. Her latest installment is from Pepper and tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh in their 1974 engagement at the lamented Los Angeles jazz stronghold Donte’s. On three CDs the saxophonists and a stalwart rhythm exercise their formidable energies and imaginations in standard songs and bebop standbys. In their contrasting approaches,
Pepper and Marsh were two of the most daring improvisers of the second half of the twentieth century. Pepper got plenty of acclaim and basked in it. Marsh, a borderline recluse, maintained a low profile and kept quiet except when playing. Both do astounding (term used advisedly) up-tempo work on “Donna Lee.†In “Rhythm-a-ning,†they interlock horns like a pair of bull elk in mating season. Ballad relief comes in â€What’s New?†and “’Round Midnight;†both saxophonists are contemplative in comparison with their fast pieces, although Pepper’s edginess doesn’t quite subside. In a blazing “Cherokee,†pianist Bill Mays sits in for Mark Levine. John Heard is the bassist throughout, with Lew Malin on drums. One must wonder what Laurie Pepper will come up with next in her continuing Art Pepper retrospective.
Ray Brown (pictured left) wrote “Gravy Waltz,†with a lyric by comedian and talk show host Steve Allen. Allen recorded the piece on piano and got extensive airplay with it in the early 1960s. Jazz listeners, however, tend to think of Oscar Peterson’s version as the definitive recording. Peterson recorded it for Verve in 1962 with Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen playing drums—a classic edition of Peterson’s trio.
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