Dr. Lonnie Smith, Evolution (Blue Note)
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.
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€
the memory lane of modern jazz classics. No, Norman’s ensemble combines gifted players and arrangers with fresh approaches to familiar music.
Thanks to
Seattle bassist Bren Plummer for calling our attention to a short video of trumpeter Jon Faddis getting acquainted with Bix Beiderbecke’s horn. Beiderbecke (1903-1931) was second only to his friend Louis Armstrong as an influence on the development of jazz trumpet style in the 1920s and 1930s. Three years ago, Faddis was a guest artist of Quad City Arts in Rock Island, Illinois. The staff removed Bix’s horn from a display and handed it to Faddis.
Mose Allison has died at the age of 89. A Mississippi pianist, singer, composer, songwriter and sometime trumpeter, Allison made his New York debut in the 1950s as a bebop pianist. He worked with Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Gerry Mulligan and a variety of other post-bop musicians, but came to fame employing his Mississippi folksiness and command of the blues idiom. He led trios in that genre for most of his career. His work had a powerful effect on such emerging British R&B and rock performers as John Mayall and Georgie Fame, but Allison avoided rock and its offshoots. He attracted an audience devoted to his blues feeling and the wryness and irony of his lyrics. “Your Mind Is On Vacation†was one of his great successes. Here, he sings it in a 1975 PBS television broadcast, with bassist Jack Hannah and drummer Jerry Granelli. Sorry about a few unavoidable audio dropouts; they are part of the YouTube package.
Pianist, composer and bandleader Chick Corea (born June 12, 1941) continues the long celebration of his 75th birthday, currently at his frequent New York headquarters the Blue Note.  Corea’s career has brought him together with virtually every major figure in modern jazz. We congratulate him and wish him many more years of the creativity, daring and joyous expression that have made his work an inspiration for musicians and a source of deep satisfaction for listeners. Let’s listen to “Matrix†from his 1968 album 
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During the decades he spent developing Indiana University’s jazz studies program, David Baker (1931-2016) became one of the most honored educators in his field. His student bands produced top-level players like trumpeter Randy Brecker and guitarist Dave Stryker, guest soloists on this album. Tenor saxophonist Rich Perry of the Maria Schneider Orchestra is another. The true stars, however, are Baker the master arranger and the members of the 22-piece band. Many of these outstanding soloists are IU alumni. In his teaching years, Baker wrote arrangements that made up