Dave Douglas is a trumpeter whose adherence to basic jazz values fully justifies the title of the new album he shares with pianist Uri Caine and drummer Andrew Cyrille in their unusual trio. Unusual? Yes. For one thing, there is no bass player to help with harmonic and rhythmic responsibilities. At the piano, Caine takes care of business in both departments, abetted by Cyrille, a drummer whose strength and drive have seemed to intensify as he built on the qualities that first brought him to listeners’ attention when he worked with guitarist Eric Gale in the early 1960s. He went on to make his mark with Cecil Taylor and other free jazz leaders. Free jazz is only one of the genres that captivates Douglas. Trace his career, and you’ll find that he is familiar with–in fact, captivated by–music of all jazz eras up to and following bebop. As an example, here are Douglas, Cyrille and Caine in a piece dedicated to Mary Lou Williams. They titled it, “Rose And Thorn.” We follow it with two pieces that capture the joy in performance that helped make Williams one of the most prominent performers and composers of the late 1920s and early thirties.

Dave Douglas, Uri Caine and Andrew Cyrille followed by Mary Lou Williams with, “My Mama Pinned A Rose On Me” and “Fandangle.”

Dave Douglas is a trumpeter whose adherence to basic jazz values justifies the title of the new album that he shares with pianist Uri Caine and drummer Andrew Cyrille in their unusual trio. How unusual? First of all, there is no bass player to help with harmonic and rhythmic responsibilities. At the piano, Caine takes care of business in both departments, abetted by Cyrille, a drummer whose strength and drive have seemed to intensify as he built on the qualities that first brought him to listeners’ attention when he worked with guitarist Eric Gale in the early 1960s. He went on to make his mark with Cecil Taylor and other free jazz leaders. Free jazz is only one of the genres that captivates Douglas. Trace his career, and you’ll find that he is familiar with–in fact, captivated by–music of all jazz eras up to and following bebop. As an example, here are Douglas, Cyrille and Caine in a piece dedicated to Mary Lou Williams. They titled it, “Rose And Thorn.” We follow it with two pieces that capture the joy in performance that helped make Williams one of the most prominent performers and composers beginning in the late 1920s and until her death in 1981.

Really brief, indeed, because during and since the Rifftides staff’s return from the Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival, albums hoping to be reviewed have arrived by the dozens (not an exaggeration). Here, we begin to consider a few of them.

Rondi Marsh The Pink Room

The Pacific Northwest singer addresses eleven songs mostly from the 1950s. Among her eclectic choices are Lieber-Stoller’s “Black Denim Trousers (And Motorcycle Boots),” Erroll Garner’s “Misty” and Henry Mancini’s “Slow Hot Wind.” She has an exuberant few minutes with the 1954 Rosemary Clooney  hit “Mambo Italiano,” mastering the Italian-American New York accent that Clooney made obligatory for this song.

 

Of The Pink Room’s more restrained pieces, Ms. Marsh does thorough justice to “Summer Wind” and the 1953 Earl Brent-Matt Dennis classic “Angel Eyes.”

Bill O’Connell And The Afro-Caribbean Ensemble, Wind Off The Hudson (Savant)

The title might lead a listener to expect a New York winter chill in the air. Rather, what we hear is O’Connell at the helm of a band that sometimes sounds big and heated, sometimes smallish and intimate and–throughout–as if the musicians are having great fun. O’Connell’s early immersion in New York’s Latin music and salsa community helped imbue him with the spirit that courses through the collection. His superb writing and piano playing are at the heart of the album’s success. Lively performances by major players including saxophonists Gary Smulyan and Ralph Bowen, trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, flutist Andrea Brachfeld and trombonist Conrad Herwig, draw us in and elevate the sense that the players thoroughly enjoyed their studio time together. Nothing in the album captures that feeling more effectively than O’Connell’s personalization of Duke Ellington’s “C Jam Blues,” unless it is his adventurous closing track, “Discombobulation,” about which Russ Musto’s liner notes quote O’Connell as saying that he hoped it would “perhaps expand the horizons of Latin Jazz.” The arrangement may be outré enough to do just that.

 

Further brief reviews coming soon on Rifftides.

(If you missed our Ystad coverage, you’ll find a wrapup report here.)

 

The word “all-star” does not appear in Jim Wilke’s description of this weekend’s Jazz Northwest program, but the band supporting singer Michael Mayo fits the all-star category. Here is Jim’s preview paragraph:

“Vocalist Michael Mayo won many new fans with his performance at the 2019 Jazz Port Townsend. His wide-ranging flexible voice was surprisingly supple and expresive in a program mostly given to the popular standards songbook with the exception of the opening original song in which he used loops and effects building to a choral effect in a solo performance.”

“In the balance of the concert Mayo enjoyed all-star backing from Geoffrey Keezer, piano, Graham Dechter, guitar, Vicente Archer, bass and Obed Callvaire, drums.  The concert was recorded for radio and will air Sunday, September 8 at 2 PM Pacific on 88.5 KNKX and knkx.org.”  

“Jazz Northwest airs every Sunday at 2 PM Pacific on 88.5 KNKX and streams at knkx.org.  After broadcast, shows are archived at jazznw.org.  The program is recorded and produced by Jim Wilke.  Next week, a concert by the Centrum Big Band directed by John Clayton from Jazz Port Townsend.”

Earlier this week at The Seasons, an acoustically blessed performance hall in Yakima, Washington, alto saxophonist Logan Strosahl and pianist Nick Sanders demonstrated the like-mindedness that makes them one of the most riveting duos in jazz. Sanders (on the left here) traveled to the Pacific Northwest from New York, his headquarters for a decade. Strosahl was visiting from Berlin, Germany, where he has been expanding his musical trilogy based on the King Arthur legend. The album cover below shows that project’s first volume.

Strosahl’s and Sanders’ repertoire at The Seasons included dazzling original compositions, jazz standards by–among others–Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk, and classics from what has become known as The Great American Songbook. Among the latter was the 1935 Jimmy McHugh-Dorothy Fields standard “I’m In The Mood For Love.” There is no video from this week’s concert at The Seasons, but Logan and Sanders recorded the piece recently in New York City at the club called Mezzrow.

In the 1980s the singer Lisa Rich seemed on her way to a long and successful career. She was featured with symphony orchestras and her recordings received enthusiastic reviews from critics including Leonard Feather in The Los Angeles Times.  She was on the Jazz Times national airplay chart for fifteen weeks.  In 1985, she became one of the rare American jazz artists to perform in China and India.  She recorded the successful album Touch Of The Rare with Clare Fischer, the pianist and arranger then making a mark for his work with Cal Tjader, Dizzy Gillespie and the Hi-Los, among others.

Ms. Rich recorded Highwire in 1987. For reasons not disclosed by Tritone Records, the album was not released for 32 years. Her version of Chick Corea’s “Bud Powell” makes one wonder why.

According to her publicity, Ms. Rich “recently remixed and is releasing the album for the first time–sounding as fresh as ever.” Her performance justifies the claim of freshness. Tritone’s album notes and press release information do not explain whether the rhythm section accompanying the singer was with her on the original session or recently added. It doesn’t matter.  Pianist Marc Copland, basssist Drew Gress and drummer Michael Smith are attuned to her in every respect. The repertoire includes five Chick Corea compositions, among them “The Jinn” “Bud Powell” and “Stardancer.” The album also has her moving versions of the classic standard song  “We’ll Be Together Again and “Ornette Coleman’s “Lonely Woman.”

I have been unable to find information about Ms. Rich’s current musical activities.

In the wake of the Ystad Jazz Festival in Sweden, the distinguished Swedish jazz journalist Jan Olsson sent a  photograph of the late saxophonist and clarinetist Bob Wilber and his wife, British singer Pug Horton, at the Stockamöllan Swing Fesival in June 2013. Wilber (1928-2019) died earlier this month. Jan took the photo at an earler Swedish jazz festival.

Jan writes, “The photo of Mr and Mrs Wilber was taken at the Stockamöllan Swing Fesival in June, 2013. Stockamöllan is a small village in SkÃ¥ne – not very far from Ystad – and was multi-intrumentalist Gunhild Carling´s home until she moved to California last year. She was also that festival’s arranger.”  

Veteran Ystad festivalgoers may recall that Gunhild Carling was something of a sensation at Ystad a few years ago. Here is a portion of the 2014 Rifftides wrapup report.

In an Ystad park, Gunhild Carling led a big band composed primarily of her family members. She sang, shimmied, strutted and played trumpet, trombone, flute and bagpipes. Between numbers she delivered a nonstop stream of Swedish patter. Although her breathless pacing and fervor sometimes bordered on the absurd, Ms. Carling’s instrumental solos were substantial improvisations. On bagpipes, she played a blues solo notable for content, pacing and phrasing. In a piece of shtick straight out of 1920s vaudeville, she did the splits as she executed a downward trombone glissando, but her plunger mute solo on the next number was an accurate impression of Duke Ellington’s great trombonist Tricky Sam Nanton. Several members of the band played solos that reflected the swing era and edged on bebop. The Carling Big Band delivers credible jazz in the context of easily digestible comic entertainment.
(Carling photo by Markus Fägersten)

Looking ahead to your radio listening this weekend, Jim Wilke alerts us to a special edition of his Jazz Northwest. He traveled to the Port Townsend Jazz Festival to capture this concert. Jim Levitt’s photo captures (left to right) George Cables, Chuck Deardorf, Terell Stafford, Matt Wilson and Marquis Hill. Here’s Mr. Wilke’s announcement.

Two great trumpet players were featured together at Jazz Port Townsend this Summer.  Terell Stafford and Marquis Hill traded brilliant solos during a matinee concert in McCurdy Pavilion at Fort Worden during the 2019 festival.  With George Cables at the piano, Chuck Deardorf on bass and Matt Wilson at the drums, the quintet generated a lot of excitement for a near-capacity crowd.  The concert was recorded for radio and will be broadcast on Sunday, August 18 at 2 PM Pacific Time on 88.5 KNKX and stream at knkx.org. (that’s the link to click on).

 

We have learned that the superlative clarinetist and soprano saxophonist Bob Wilber died at his home in England earlier this month. He was 91. Wilber studied with the New Orleans reed pioneer Sidney Bechet and spent decades extending the Bechet legacy. Unusual among those who specialize in traditional music, Wilber also became adept in the bebop idiom and worked with, among others, trumpeter Clark Terry. In the Washington Post, arts writer Matt Schudel profiled Wilber in an extensive obituary. To read it, go here.

The 2019 Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival encompassed far more concerts than it would have been possible for anyone to attend. Here are impressions of some of that I managed to hear. And, just to remind us of Ystad’s physical attractiveness, here’s a photo taken from a window of my hotel room, complete with the Swedish flag, and St. Mary’s church in the distance.

The festival opener, as usual, was a jazz parade through the streets of this medieval village, whose charm and warmth are central factors in the festival’s success. The band called Funk Off led the parade. They are from Italy. It is possible that the name of the group is not Italian. Described as a marching band, Funk Off does more than march. They accompany their blues-laden, R&B-oriented music with coordinated, infectious, choreography.

Funk Off’s second appearance came the day after the parade on the grounds of Bergsjohölm castle, a spacious green estate on a hillside a few miles outside of Ystad. Slowly, concertgoers awaiting the event became aware of music coming from behind them. (above photo) When they looked back, they saw the twenty-odd Funk Off musicians grooving and jiving their way out of the woods and up the hillside. They were individually equipped with wireless microphones so that no matter where the listeners were seated or how distant the players, the music had stage-quality presence. At the end of their arrival march, the band went into a stage formation with the Funk Off drum corps in the rear and the trumpets, trombones and saxophones in front. There were moments when the standard configuration gave way to mobility and musicians would wander into the audience to sit beside a listener who may have been surprised to find a baritone saxophonist or trumpeter was next to her gazing deeply into her eyes.

Hannah Svensson has become an Ystad favorite, frequently performing at the festival with her guitarist father Evan. In this instance, the Svenssons were joined by drummer Zoltan Czörsz Jr., the veteran bassist Matz Nilsson and a pianist whose mysterious advance billing in the printed program was “secret guest.” To the surprise of almost no one who keeps up with trends in Swedish jazz, the guest turned out to be Jan Lundgren, the pianist who is artistic director and co- founder of the Ystad festival. In addition to star turns in his own group and with the unusual trio Mare Nostrum, Lundgren frequently accompanies Ms. Svensson. The presence of Czörsz in the accompanying group might have been another giveaway; he is the drummer in Lundgren’s own trio. All of the members of the band made much of their generous solo opportunities but it was Ms. Svensson’s singing that the Per Helsas Gard audience came to hear. She beautifully performed her own compositions including the bittersweet “Not Meant To Be” and the cleverly constructed “Friday Afternoon,” which contained one of several instances of Ms. Svensson’s individual approach to scatting. There is about her singing a sweetness that has taken on added richness, but it’s the growing depth of musicianship that is most impressive in her current work. Her phrasing of Andy Razaf’s lyric to Fats Waller’s “Honeysuckle Rose” was an example of that in this Ystad concer

Traditional jazz got its due–and then some–in a concert  by the Paul Strandberg Quartet
called “The Great 1920s.” Working with his frequent collaborator cornetist Kiki Desplat, clarinetist Strandberg’s session brought a decided traditional flavor from the music’s early days, thanks in great part
to Ms. Desplat’s cornet playing. She revived the spirit of Bix Beiderbecke in a festival that generally hews to the mainstream of 1940s, ’50s and ’60s jazz rather than to one of the music’s earliest manifestations. Pianist Tony Baldwin added touches of Fats Waller that worked nicely with Desplat’s Bixisms. A number of listeners appeared to be in their late teens or early twenties, perhaps an encouraging sign for early-jazz fans who are always hoping for a 20s revival. Ms. Desplat played a number of solos that were not merely imitative of Beiderbecke, but captured his spirit. Strandberg and Ms. Desplat both sang. Her rendition of “Am I Blue?” was an audience pleaser, as was “Hands Across The Table,” a ’20s ballad rarely performed these days.

The singer Hyati Kafe immigrated to Sweden from his native Turkey in 1962 and has long been known by Swedes as “The Crooner.” According to the festival’s printed program, Kafe specializes in singing with large aggregations. At Ystad, he was accompanied by the Roger Berg Big Band which the festival program says “specializes in swing classics.” In a succession of songs, many from the late 1930s and the 1940s, Kafe displayed good phrasing and intonation, although his swing feeling on some of the pieces seemed more forced than felt. His opening number, “Sweet Georgia Brown,” was one of the most successful in regard to rhythm, Sammy Fain’s and Lew Brown’s 1937 hit “That Old Feeling” another. Berg, or whoever wrote the arrangement of the Fain-Brown song, gave that swing-era classic an inventive held-note tag.

Mimi Terris’s seven-piece band featured her singing and resourceful arranging. She was born in
Göteborg, but her base of operations in recent years has been Malmö, 30 miles or so from Ystad. She arranges with an attractive balance between mainstream values and suggestions of outré edginess. Among the attractions of Ms.Terris’s writing for the septet was the harmonic blending of her voice and the instruments, especially in segments shaped for her to become, in effect, an eighth horn. Her conducting encompassed an attractive style of subtle dancing in place–not a Thelonious Monk shamble but movements that signaled changes in rhythmic emphasis. Her set had effective solos from several members of the band including trumpeter MÃ¥rten Lundgren, guitarist MÃ¥ns Persson and accordionist-pianist Johann Ohlsson.

It wasn’t billed as a jam session, but the Ystad Festival’s tribute to the late violinist Svend Asmussen frequently had
the robust spirit of a jam. With several of her fellow Danes in the lineup, the featured singer, Sinne Eeg, found herself in comfortable surroundings. When he played at Ystad, Asmussen, who died in 2017 at the age of 99, was a consistent inspiration to other musicians and to his listeners. If the enthusiasm of the audience at this tribute is an indication, his status as an icon of the festival is likely to continue. His widow, Ellen Bick Asmussen, was in attendance and when she was introduced received warm, sustained, applause. Early that morning in her own session at the Hos Mortens Café, Mrs. Asmussen (pictured left) spoke movingly and at length about her life with him. The featured players in the tribute included guitarist Jacob Fisher, who was a prominent member of Asmussen’s quartet; Danish singer and tenor saxophonist Mads Mathias, a formidable, enthusiastic and harmonically gifted scat singer. Mathias and Ms. Eeg had several scatting exchanges. Each of them demonstrated refined harmonic sensibility that too often takes a back seat to raw enthusiasm when singers venture into sophisticated vocalise. Ms. Eeg’s “Melancholy Baby,” sung at a profoundly mellow tempo, was one of her triumphs. “Makin’ Whoopee” and “Skylark” were others, the latter concluding on a perfectly sustained long note. Swedish harmonica player Flip Jers had an impressive evening before what amounted to an enthusiastic hometown crowd. The bassist in the Asmussen tribute was the powerful German Hans Backenroth, who received huge applause after each of his solos.

Pianist Jan Lundgren combined his trio with the 22 members of the Göteberg Wind Orchestra in a concert devoted to arrangements of well-known Swedish folk themes. Lundgren’s regular trio members–bassist Mattias Svensson and drummer Zoltan Csörz Jr.–rounded out the ensemble, whose history as a Swedish cultural institution goes back 114 years. This was one of several Lundgren appearances in the festival that he helped to create and has served for years as its artistic director. The concert title, “Jazz pa svenskt vis” translates into English as “Jazz in Swedish way.” One of Lundgren’s earliest and most popular albums, Swedish Standards, followed that concept, which he has kept alive in his repertoire ever since.

The next night, Lundgren reunited with French accordion master Richard Galliano and Italian trumpet virtuoso Paolo Fresu in their third Ystad festival appearance as Mare Nostrum. Their three albums under that name have given them footholds with both dedicated jazz audiences and listeners whose predilictions might be described as easy listening. The Lundgren composition “Mare Nostrum” opened their set, as it has in previous Ystad appearances by the trio. Lundgren’s “Love Land” is one of the group’s consistent favorites. This version of the piece is from the ACT record company promotional video.

My optimistic promise that reports from the Ystad, Sweden, Jazz Festival would begin “in a few days” did not take into account the packed schedule of this festival. Determined to hear as much music as possible, I’ve been moving from one event to the next but not getting much news prepared for posting. At last, there is what passes for a break, so let’s address some of the high points of this busy and beautifully produced festival. To the left is the cover of the 2019 festival program brochure by artist Ardy Strüwer. This is the festival’s 10th year, by the way, and Strüwer’s 80th.

Over the years, the veteran Swedish trombonist Nils Landgren has packed Ystad festival concerts. His singing is as important to his popularity as his playing. Landgren was back this year with three colleagues in the relatively new quartet that he calls 4 Wheel Drive.
We see him above in the Ystad Theater with one of those sidemen, bassist Lars Danielsson. Danielsson’s interaction with Landgren, pianist Michael Wolny and drummer Wolfgang Haffner is an essential element. It helps make this band one of the tightest in contemporary music. When Landgren applies his, light, high, voice to ballads, he is affecting, as he was at the concert in his “She’s Only A Woman” and later in the set another of his compositions, “Shadows In The Rain.” He includes the latter in his new album with Danielsson, Wolny and Haffner.

Each of the members of 4 Wheel Drive contributed at least one composition to the concert. Haffner’s was “Lobito,” which included a Landgren solo that in three or four minutes put his formidable trombonism on full display while he and the rhythm section generated a joyous Latin spirit. Many of the evening’s high points, however, came in the quiet moments, confirming what jazz fans and sometimes jazz musicians tend to forget:

It is possible for quietness and showmanship to go hand in hand. This night, they did.

(©Marek Piechnat Photo)

Departure for Sweden is delayed a day. Let’s use the pause to mention some of what I’m looking forward to at the Ystad Jazz Festival, in addition to the charming medieval town itself. We don’t have time for more than a couple of mentions and preview videos, but I must tell you that I’m anticipating my first live performance by the Swedish singer Rigmor Gustafsson. The video was made of part of her quartet gig aboard a boat, the s/s Blidösund. We’re not told the name of the body of water or the other members of the band, but we know who the drummer is–Johan Löfcrantz Ramsay (no relation). If this is the group Ms. Gustafsson is taking to Ystad, hooray. The song is by Cole Porter.

 

It will also be a treat to once again hear Mare Nostrum, the trio composed of accordionist Richard Galliano, pianist Jan Lundgren and trumpeter Paolo Fresu. They have become favorites of the Ystad audience…for good reason. Here, they play Lundgren’s “Love Land.”

 

Rifftides reports from Ystad 2019 will begin in a couple of days.

Recent Listening In Brief

Preparing to leave for Sweden to report on the Ystad Jazz Festival, we call your attention to two of the dozens of piano trio recordings that have appeared fairly recently.

Yoko Miwa Trio, Keep Talkin’ (Ocean Blue Tear Music)

A professor at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, pianist Miwa has become a featured performer in Boston and New York clubs. Her playing and composing reflect influences in the post-bop and hard-bop milieus of the 1950s and later, but even when she plays pieces by Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus or–for that matter–by Lennon and McCartney, there is a firm lyricism in her approach. In part, that has to do with her sure but soft keyboard touch. Other factors include a predisposition to harmonies and rhythms that reflect Brazilian music. Often, that means a subtle adaptation, as in Marcelo Camelo’s “Casa Pre-Fabricada,” in which Scott Goulding’s brushes on cymbals hint at echoes of Brazil, even as Miwa’s rich harmonies steal the scene. Other highlights: Miwa’s take on Mingus’s “Boogie Stop Shuffle,” where she observes the feeling of the famous Mingus recording while managing to make the piece her own–no mean feat with Mingus looking over your shoulder. Her “If You’re Blue” is a nifty turn on, of all things, the harmonic changes of Irving Berlin’s “Puttin’ On The Ritz.” Her own “Sunshine Follows The Rain” is an exquisite album closer featuring guest bassist Brad Barrett’s bowed bass and his sensitive pizzicato solo. Miwa’s primary rhythm section is bassist Will Slater and Scott Goulding, her husband, on drums.

Greg Reitan, West 60th (Sunnyside)

Fleet as ever in his keyboard forays, Reitan also achieves an aching sentimentality in the late vibraharpist Bobby Hutcherson’s “When You Are Near,” which features superb backing from his longtime sidemen, drummer Dean Korba and bassist Jack Daro. Reitan and his trio are also notably gentle in Herbie Hancock’s “Little One” and his adaptation of Aaron Copland’s “Four Piano Blues. Movement No. 3.” The eight Reitan compositions on the album range from the excitement of “Hindemith,” inspired by German composer Paul Hindemith’s sonatas, to “Epilogue,” the fast yet gentle waltz that closes the album. Throughout, Reitan has notable support from Korba and Daro. They are a trio tightly connected and conditioned by years of mutual achievement. In recent years, Reitan has written and arranged music for a variety of film and television projects, but this album is a reminder that he is prominent among contemporary jazz pianists.

The time-consuming non-Rifftides project we told you about earlier this month has wrapped up and we are moving on to other matters. When certain permissions have been approved, that project’s overseers will announce it. I think it’s safe to predict that many of you will be pleased to know about it.

Among impending commitments: we will be covering the 2019 Ystad Jazz Festival in Sweden. It has been a couple of years since Rifftides has been to Ystad, which hosts one of Europe’s most consistently rewarding festivals. We are looking forward to returning. The neighborhood in the photo gives an idea of the charm of that medeival town on the Baltic coast of southern Sweden. The festival is overseen by its artistic director, pianist Jan Lundgren; chairman Thomas Lantz, a dedicated staff and a and board of volunteers whose community spirit and dedication have kept the festival thriving for a decade. Before I leave, I hope to post a rundown on the schedule and the artists.

Bob Sheppard, The Fine Line (Challenge)

The veteran saxophonist and flutist Bob Sheppard has worked with a cross-section of other major jazz artists including Freddie Hubbard, Billy Childs and the Akiyoshi-Tabackin big band. He has also been a major player in the film and television studios of Los Angeles. All of that activity may account for Sheppard’s not having achieved greater fan recognition. The Fine Line could change that. Sheppard’s alto, soprano and–particularly–the fluidity and forcefulness of his tenor saxophone seem bound to attract more listeners. In an annex to Sheppard’s liner notes, Dutch bassist Jasper Somsen stresses the compatibility that he and Sheppard felt at their first meeting and then developed in this project and others. They played a series of concerts in The Netherlands and eventually developed this album for the Challenge label. With Somsen, drummer Kendrick Scott and pianist John Beasley in support, the music exudes solidity and creates a sense that just around the next turn of phrase, something interesting and surprising is about to happen. The tantalizing, almost teasing, ending of “Maria’s Tango” is one example. The waltz-time treatment of Rodgers and Hart’s “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was,” with its compelling Sheppard soprano saxophone line, is another. That piece also provides a superior instance of rhythm section sensitivity in Scott’s, Beasley’s and Somsen’s interactions under Sheppard’s solo, as they adjust to him and one another. Few jazz artists think of the old Ralph Rainger Bob Hope theme song “Thanks For The Memory” as a contemporary ballad choice. The feeling that Sheppard pours into it may make you wonder why they don’t.

Maria Puga Lareo–Mrs. Sheppard–sings unison melody with her husband’s alto sax on his intriguing title tune, which is briefly enhanced by his flute obbligato. Bassist Somsen’s “Above & Beyond” features his bass line swinging flawlessly and opening the way for a Scott drum solo. Sheppard wraps up this satisfying album with understated tenor sax power on his reflective arrangement of Billy Strayhorn’s “A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing.” As throughout, the rhythm section supports him beautifully.

The man often called the founding father of bossa nova, died today at home in Rio de Janeiro. Joao Gilberto was 88. Along with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Gilberto pioneered the form that became a phenomenon of popular music in the early 1960s. With varying degrees of authenticity, bossa nova was adapted  by performers around the world. It sprang from traditions of Brazilian music that reached far into Brazil’s history and reflected aspects of American music that in the fifties and sixties was often described as cool jazz. This recording by Gilberto, his wife Astrud, composer-pianist Jobim and tenor saxophonist Stan Getz dominated radio air waves for weeks and is still a favorite today.

For a comprehensive history and obituary of Joao Gilberto, see Ben Ratliff’s article in The New York Times.

 

 

George Cables, I’m All Smiles (High Note)

When George Cables was the pianist in the late saxophonist Art Pepper’s quartet, Pepper gave him a nickname that has endured: “Mr. Beautiful.” Anyone coming to Cables for the first time by way of this superb trio album will have no difficulty understanding what inspired Pepper’s choice of words. Whether in his unaccompanied version of Thelonious Monk’s “Monk’s Mood,” or waltzing through the title tune, Cables is at the top of his optimistic game. He is as positive and resourceful as ever, managing to maintain his sunny musical disposition despite having been through a seige of medical setbacks that included the amputation of one of his legs above the knee. Essiet Essiet is the gifted bassist in the trio. His tone and note choices have put him in consistent demand in New York jazz circles. Essiet often teams with drummer Victor Lewis, and they work together beautifully in this collaboration with Cables, the three exploring tunes that will be unfamiliar to many listeners and others that have been neglected or too seldom revived. Among the latter are Jaco Pastorius’s “Three Views Of A Secret” and Freddie Hubbard’s “Thermo.” On the other hand, if you think that “Besame Mucho” has been overdone, the unrestrained joy of Cables’ version may change your mind.