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.
The other day at the Portland Jazz Festival someone asked me how my biography of Paul Desmond came about. I gave him the short version, but it occurs to me that folks interested in Desmond might want to hear a fuller account. I gave one a few years ago when I was the guest on Jason Crane’s wonderful interview program The Jazz Session. To hear the podcast, 
Romero Lubambo. Effusive and dramatic in a garment of geometric design, she appeared after the quartet warmed up with “Summertime,†a nice touch in wet and wintry Portland.
the soul feeling that Martino absorbed and refined with the saxophonists Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt and with organists Richard Groove Holmes, Jack McDuff, Jimmy Smith and Don Patterson. Martino is admired equally for his technical agility and a mathematical approach to improvisation that he is able to combine with his blues sensibility. In Portland, that resulted in an exhilarating series of solos. Bianchi at least matched his leader’s verve and inventiveness and in a couple of cases outstripped Martino in swing and interesting ideas. Intorre’s drumming propels without intruding. His ability to place a rhythm accent at precisely the right millisecond was a major factor in the band’s swing.
Another established firm took over when pianist Kenny Barron (pictured at rehearsal) brought bassist Kyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Jonathan Blake to the stage. As if he had inherited a portion of Bud Powell’s manic energy, Barron tore into “Bud Like,†his composition named with Powell in mind. He unquestionably makes use of Powell’s way with harmony, although Barron’s softer keyboard touch is a major part of the individuality he brings to whatever he plays. “Lullaby,†another original, was a waltz in which Blake’s brushes provided a backdrop for Barron’s application of that touch and for the pianist’s ingenuity in deepening a tune’s harmonic interest. “Nightfall†was Barron’s tribute to the ballad’s composer, the late bassist Charlie Haden, with whom he recorded a memorable 
bobbing or swaying in place, Lloyd gave bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Eric Harland (pictured left) the same close attention. The quartet’s unity was remarkable through the traditional Mexican song “La Llorona†and three parts of 
                              Peacock     Baron     Copland
bass pattern that set up “Footprints,†the Wayne Shorter piece played by several bands at this festival. Peacock maintained his bass pattern for Copland’s solo. Baron continued to sculpt patterns of his own that continued during the virtuoso Peacock solo that followed Copland’s. Baron switched from brushes to sticks for a melodic solo that included a deftly placed “Salt Peanuts†quote that brought smiles from his colleagues and chuckles in the audience.
right), Charles Lloyd, Sonny Fortune, Pharaoh Sanders, Gary Bartz, Javon Jackson, Jimmy Greene, James Carter, Joe Lovano and other saxophonists who have come to prominence under Coltrane’s influence. Among the festival’s other main-stage artists will be Chuck Israels (pictured left), Pat Martinto, Kenny Barron, the Brian Blade Fellowship, Dianne Reeves, John Scofield and Orrin Evans. To see
the complete rundown, 
In case you have been in solitary confinement and haven’t heard the news, below are the winners of 2016 Grammys in the jazz category. The links (in blue) are to Rifftides posts that contain reviews of three of the winning albums.
It’s not his birthday or the anniversary of his death, but Bill Evans seems to be in the air. Perhaps he’s always in the air. Response to the previous Rifftides post seems to say so.
Last month’s Rifftides post titled “Evans After LaFaro†included video of the Bill Evans Trio in a 1962 performance that I credited to Italian television because of its imprint RAIDUE, the name of an Italian broadcast company. Reader Peter Levin’s detective work turned up the true source of the clip. He wrote,
In the years before his death in late 2013, the American alto saxophonist Herb Geller often traveled from his home in Hamburg for appearances with Italian pianist Roberto Magris and his trio. This last live Geller album is from the 2009 Novi Sad Jazz Festival in Serbia, with bonus tracks recorded shortly after at Vienna’s Porgy & Bess club. It finds Geller still thriving at 81, playing heartily and treating the audience to stories about several of the tunes in his repertoire. He emphasizes his debt to Benny Carter, then performs a moving version of Carter’s “Lonely Woman.†The album has Geller in good form in pieces by Johnny Mandel, Zoot Sims, Cole Porter and Billy Strayhorn, among others. The energy and joy he pours into Frank Loesser’s “If I Were A Bell†inspire Magris and the young bassist Nikola Matosic to solo with equal vigor. Enzo Carpentieri is the resourceful drummer.
concentrates on his connections to the hip-hop phenomenon (Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus, et al). That may cause apprehension among those yet to be enamored of hip-hop. They needn’t be too concerned.
Pianist Diehl attracted attention and favorable reviews with his first album, The Bespoke Man’s Narrative. Touring and recording with singer Cécile McLorin Savant brought him further acclaim for his thoroughgoing musicianship and grasp of all aspects of the jazz tradition. With bassist David Wong and drummer Quincy Davis rounding out a solid rhythm section, Diehl brings in four collaborators. The young tenor saxophonist Stephen Riley appears on two tracks, pleasing with his light tone and impressive for fluency and harmonic acuity reminiscent of Lucky Thompson and Benny Golson. Perhaps not coincidentally, Golson plays on two tracks. There is a rollicking guest shot on another by the venerable baritone saxophonist Joe Temperley.
final performance—might lead a listener to expect stark, autumnal music. Nine months before Kenny Wheeler died in 2014, his celebrated extreme high register was gone, but his lyricism and sense of beauty were intact. He had confined his playing to the trumpet’s gentler cousin the flugelhorn. If anything, his expression was more profound. Little abrasions in some of his notes, burryness in his tone, don’t matter because the content he invents in piece after piece is perfection. The emotion he expresses and the clarity of the spontaneous composing in his solos are flawlessly in synch. Guitarist John Parricelli, bassist Chris Laurence, and especially tenor saxophonist Stan Sulzmann and drummer Martin France, made Wheeler’s last quintet a nonpareil vessel and a mirror for his brilliance. There is much in Wheeler’s long career to remember him by. Songs For Quintet provides a heartfelt Amen.
For the next couple of Rifftides sessions, let’s try to catch up with the ceaseless incoming flow of jazz recordings. Catching up can’t be done, of course, but why not enjoy attempting the impossible? The first installment considers a few relatively recent releases.
Pianist Matthew Shipp’s solo, duo, trio and quartet CDs appear so frequently that the only way to keep up with them would be to leave little time for other listening. Following last year’s tribute to Ellington, To Duke, the pianist applies his imagination, risk-taking and formidable technique to seven of his own compositions. The mainstream jazz current that has flowed through his music even at its most daring is strong here, notably so in “Blue Abyss†and “Primary Form.†Michael Bisio is again the pianist’s bassist, joined at the hip with Shipp. The veteran Newman Taylor Baker is in for Shipp’s longtime drummer Whit Dickey. The setup riff for the title tune might serve as an introduction to Bernstein’s “Something’s Coming.†Shipp incorporates a dancing feeling that would be compatible with an avant garde Broadway musical, if there were such a thing. Baker has thoughtful drum breaks in the piece that speak of his bebop and post-bop leanings. Shipp’s unaccompanied solo piece, “Stream of Light,†seems to be sheer invention, with no apparent compositional reference points. Yet, it hangs together as a high point of the album.
best-known compositions. Bassist Hans Backenroth (Swedish) and drummer Kristian Leth (Danish) add to the spirit of international cooperation. For the most part, Allen avoids the blandness that has sometimes encouraged naps during his solos. More than that, he all but explodes with energy in “Cinnamon and Clove,†which has an equally stirring Lundgren solo. Allen ends the piece with a saxophone sigh of satisfaction. In “Suicide is Painless,†the theme from M*A*S*H, both dig into stirring double-time passages. Backenroth’s bass line and Leth’s brushes on his snare drum work hand-in-hand to give “Quietly There†propulsion that makes the piece at once relaxed and compelling. The quartet performs loving versions of two classic Mandel ballads, “A Time For Love†and “Just A Child.†This 2014 album got lost in the shuffle and worked its way back to the top of the logjam. I’m glad that it did.
The press release that came with Rebecca Kilgore’s new album quotes Johnny Mandel:
The German saxophonist Nicole Johänntgen is one of Europe’s busiest musicians, traveling frequently from her home in Switzerland to play with a cross-section of the continent’s jazz artists. In a review, the critic Mane Stelzer called her “a bundle of energy with great creative power.†Ms. Johänntgen has organized a movement called Sofia that is dedicated to bringing together accomplished women jazz artists. A recent promotional video brings her together with herself—in quadruplicate.
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 
Rifftides reader Mike Harris responded to last week’s post about the passing of pianist Frank Collett (pictured) and the outpouring of comments about him.
In early December, Rifftides Moscow correspondent Svetlana Ilicheva reported with enthusiasm about an appearance by singer Victoria Tchekovaya (pictured) at a vocal festival of the Moscow Jazz Art Club. Ms. Tchekovaya’s concert was in observance of the 95th birthdays of Dave Brubeck and Carmen McRae. She included songs on which those two collaborated in the Brubeck musical The Real Ambassadors, plus vocal versions of other Brubeck instrumentals with lyrics by Iola Brubeck. Svetlana told us that “Blue Rondo a la Turk†was a highlight of the occasion. Video of that performance has materialized. Here is Ms. Tchekovaya with a quartet headed by the veteran pianist Victor Friedman. Pavel Kurtz is the alto saxophonist, with bassist Eugene Onischenko and drummer Valery Dedov.
worked with Louis Armstrong, Zoot Sims, Shelly Manne, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, Freddie Hubbard and a list of vocalists that included Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughan, Ernestine Anderson, Helen Merrill, Jon Hendricks, Diane Reeves and Barbra Streisand.
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.