{"id":2804,"date":"2011-07-23T01:14:58","date_gmt":"2011-07-23T08:14:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/?p=2804"},"modified":"2011-07-23T19:40:12","modified_gmt":"2011-07-24T02:40:12","slug":"recent-listening-shipp-crow-chamorro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/2011\/07\/recent-listening-shipp-crow-chamorro\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent Listening: Shipp, Crow, Chamorro"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matthew Shipp<\/strong>, The Art of the Improviser<\/em><\/a> (Thirsty Ear). <\/p>\n

This album will not show up on the soft jazz and easy listening charts. Shipp is strong medicine. The first disc of the two-CD set has the audacious avant garde<\/i> pianist with his trio, the second playing alone. They \"\"<\/a>capture concert performances in 2010. In each, Shipp blends separate pieces of music in an uninterrupted flow so that the audience doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t realize for a moment or two that he has melded the end of his \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Circular Temple\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with the trio into the beginning of Duke Ellington\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Take the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcA\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Train\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or, in the solo CD, his reflective \u00e2\u20ac\u01534D\u00e2\u20ac\u009d into \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fly Me to the Moon.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d With bassist Michael Bisio and his longtime drummer Whit Dickey, Shipp throttles back a bit on his power—if not on his intensity—to accommodate trio interaction and sideman features like Bisio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s virtuoso bowing on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Virgin Complex.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fly Me to the Moon\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u2122A Train\u00e2\u20ac\u009d are the only standards in the release. Beneath Shipp\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hands they serve, like his own compositions, as touchstones for an imagination and a keyboard technique that produce what I described a few years ago<\/a> as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153wild bursts, salvos of repetition, explosions in the lower regions of the piano and plenty of dissonance.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He is also capable of joyous headlong energy and bebop articulation that call to mind his hero Bud Powell, as well as impressionist gracefulness like that of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Patmos,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the lacy solo piece that ends this stimulating collection. Shipp seems to be attracting a widening base of listeners who might have avoided him ten years ago. He is no less intrepid than he was then. Maybe the new century is catching up with him.<\/p>\n

\n

Bill Crow<\/strong>, Embraceable You<\/em><\/a>
\nBill Crow<\/strong> Sings with Armand Hirsch<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Crow has been a stalwart among mainstream bassists from nearly the moment he moved from Seattle to New York in 1950. He has worked with Stan Getz, Claude Thornhill, Terry Gibbs, Marian McPartland, Gerry Mulligan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quartet and Concert Jazz Band, Benny Goodman, the Al Cohn-Zoot Sims quintet, Quincy Jones, Lee Konitz and the Bob Brookmeyer-Clark Terry quintet. That list covers just a few of his associations. His books, From Birdland to Broadway<\/a> and Second Time Around<\/a> are permanent items on the shelves of serious readers about jazz.\"\"<\/a> At 83, Crow is still playing bass, and sometimes tuba, in regular gigs. Many of them are with the trio heard in the first of these CDs on his own unnamed label. He, pianist Hiroshi Yamazaki and drummer John Cutrone were the rhythm section for Carmen Leggio<\/a>, a splendid tenor saxophonist who died in 2009. <\/p>\n

The qualities that attracted so many top-level leaders to Crow—time, tone and firm swing— form the foundation of the group\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s treatments of standards, originals based on standards and pieces by Crow and Yamazaki. The tracks include Crow\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153News from Blueport,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a staple of Mulligan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s big band and quartet, with a melodic solo by the composer that incorporates phrases going back to King Oliver\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chimes Blues.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Cutrone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brush work is impressive in his solo on that piece. Yamazaki complements his light touch with lyrical ideas, imaginative phrasing and on faster pieces, earthiness that recalls Wynton Kelly. The extended take on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Embraceable You\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is relaxed and irresistibly rhythmic, a combination that characterizes the entire album.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always been a sucker for jazz musicians who sing on the side. Their vocal chops may not be Sinatra quality, their intonation may slip a bit, but feeling, phrasing and lyric interpretation that arise out of experience can compensate. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have in mind doubly- gifted musicians like Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden, present-day phenomena like Diana Krall and John Pizzarelli or singer-songwriters like Johnny Mercer, Dave Frishberg and Jay Leonhart. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m thinking of instrumentalists who now and then sing because they enjoy it. Benny Goodman and Dizzy Gillespie could sing and didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do it often enough. My favorite recording of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Laura\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is still Woody Herman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. Bunny Berrigan may not have been a singer, but his vocal on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I Can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Get Started\u00e2\u20ac\u009d had a lot to do with its becoming a hit. Tex Beneke stepped out of Glenn Miller\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reed section to do \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chatanooga Choo Choo\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and found himself more famous as a singer than as a tenor saxophonist. Zoots Sims recorded a touching \u00e2\u20ac\u0153September Song.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Bill Crow has been a vocalist all his life. He was good enough to be a member of the Dave Lambert Singers in his early New York days but gave up singing to concentrate on his bass playing. Now, on his gigs he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s singing again. He sought out the fine young guitarist Armand Hirsch<\/a> to go into the studio and accompany him on 14 songs. That line above about feeling, phrasing and understanding of lyrics applies to Crow\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s singing. His deep baritone, with its slightly ragged edge, is perfect for classic blues associated with Jimmy Witherspoon, Joe Turner and Leroy Carr. I cannot imagine a more ironic delivery than that he gives Saunders King\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s great line, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I went downtown and bought you some hair, when the good Lord never gave you none.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d On standard songs including \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That Old Feeling,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You Came a Long Way From St. Louis,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Skylark,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Detour Ahead\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I Didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Know About You,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d notes that wander a bit off center do not detract from Crow\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story-telling through lyrics. Hearing him negotiate Frishberg\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tricky \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Zoot Walks In\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a treat. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll take worldly wisdom and musical understanding over bland perfection every time.<\/p>\n

\n

Joan Chamorro<\/strong>, Baritone Rhapsody<\/em><\/a> (Fresh Sound New Talent).<\/p>\n

Almost exactly two years ago, I posted a video<\/a> of the rising young Spanish baritone saxophonist Joan Chamorro, with the notation that Fresh Sound Records planned to release a Chamorro CD. That CD is out. As the title hints, it is an accolade to his predecessors on the instrument, but it is a good deal\"\"<\/a> more. The jazz scene that thrives in Spain, particularly in Barcelona, is far from secret, but the depth of talent disclosed in this disc may come as a revelation to listeners who haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t paid attention to new European jazz. In that 2006 video, the individuality of Chamorro, trombonist Toni Belenguer, bassist David Mengual and drummer David Xirgu was striking, as it is on the CD. So, too, is that of tenor saxophonists Enrique Oliver, V\u00c3\u00adctor de Diego and Jon Robles; trumpeter Julian S\u00c3\u00a1nchez; trombonist Sergi Verges; and pianist Joan Monn\u00c3\u00a9. I mention all of those young Spaniards because their names are worth noting. It seems inevitable that you will be hearing them in years to come. Visiting American Scott Robinson adds his prodigious talent on six quintet pieces, playing tenor, bass and baritone saxophones and trumpet. Since he discovered the extent of their talent, Robinson has become a fan and advocate of his new Spanish friends.<\/p>\n

The pianoless quintet tracks pay tribute to Mulligan and Pepper Adams, primary among Chamorro\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s inspirations. It is easy to detect their influences in his improvisations, but they flow beneath the surface of his highly personal solos, which include unexpected interval leaps and tonal quirks. He is adventurous in Adams\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Bossa Nouveau\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and two Mulligan pieces deftly arranged for nonet by Verges, who orchestrates for four saxophones Zoot Sims\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 famous solo from Mulligan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s big band recording of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Motel.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d On his various instruments, Robinson is the foil for Chamorro in six pieces, among them compositions by Adams and a quick bow to Serge Chaloff, the bebop baritone sax giant. Chamorro\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lyrical solo on Ellington\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sophisticated Lady\u00e2\u20ac\u009d reflects his admiration for Harry Carney, whom Ellington featured for decades in the piece. Chamorro\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Robinson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s baritones intertwine in mutual improvisation for a stimulating conclusion to the title tune, based on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I Hear a Rhapsody.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Now that Chamorro has paid obeisance to his baritone heroes, we may look forward to his developing the distinctive voice we get satisfying glimpses of in this album.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Matthew Shipp, The Art of the Improviser (Thirsty Ear). This album will not show up on the soft jazz and easy listening charts. Shipp is strong medicine. The first disc of the two-CD set has the audacious avant garde pianist with his trio, the second playing alone. They capture concert performances in 2010. In each, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2804","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-main","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2804\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}