{"id":6355,"date":"2015-01-24T14:12:41","date_gmt":"2015-01-24T22:12:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/?p=6355"},"modified":"2015-01-25T16:31:11","modified_gmt":"2015-01-26T00:31:11","slug":"recent-listening-kenton-alums-coltrane-mraz-among-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/2015\/01\/recent-listening-kenton-alums-coltrane-mraz-among-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent Listening: Kenton Alums, Coltrane, Mraz, Among Others"},"content":{"rendered":"

[contextly_auto_sidebar id=”cgkFUzjLcEgStbK9iij1ouHvrzkhKLPB”]<\/p>\n

Stan Kenton Alumni Band<\/strong>, Road Scholars<\/em><\/a> (Summit)<\/p>\n

Before he died, Stan Kenton ruled that there would never be a Kenton ghost band. Nor has there been. Still, 35 years after his death there is considerable demand for the expansive Kenton approach. The 18-piece road band led by former Kenton trumpeter Mike Vax goes a long way toward satisfying that demand. Half of the band\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s members worked for Kenton. The others are from the rich pool of southern California musicians with extensive big band experience.<\/p>\n

\"Kenton<\/a>Vax and his troops recorded the CD\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 14 selections on a 2013 tour through six states and the District of Columbia. He includes Bill Holman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s imperishable arrangements of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yesterdays\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Stompin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 at the Savoy,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but the album is not primarily a nostalgia trip. There are impressive new arrangements by trombonists Scott Whitfield and Dale DeVoe, both Kenton veterans. Whitfield\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s charts on Johnny Mandel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cinnamon & Clove\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and Quincy Jones\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Stockholm Sweetnin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d incorporate energized vocal passages by him and his partner Ginger Berglund. Lennie Niehaus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Lullaby of Broadway\u00e2\u20ac\u009d opens with an obvious reference to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Intermission Riff,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d an early 1950s artifact. But \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Lullaby\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and Ray Brown\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Neverbird,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d staples of the Kenton book, maintain their freshness<\/p>\n

With the drama of its contrasting lines among the horn sections, trumpeter Steve Huffsteter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s arrangement of his composition \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sneaky\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is one of the album\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s creative high points, his muted trumpet solo another. Vax showcases his own upper register virtuosity in Puccini\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Nessum Dorma.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d There are solo highlights elsewhere from trumpeters Carl Saunders and Don Rader, and from saxophonists Pete Gallio, Kim Richmond and Rick Condit. Bassist Jennifer Leitham and drummer Gary Hobbs drive the band compellingly, aided in the rhythm section by the young pianist Charlie Ferguson. Considering that the album was recorded live under varying conditions in several locations, the sound quality is admirable.<\/p>\n

So many noteworthy releases have arrived in recent months that it is impossible to do more than point you toward a few of them. So:<\/p>\n

IN BRIEF\u00e2\u20ac\u201dREALLY BRIEF<\/strong><\/div>\n

\nEmil Viklick\u00c3\u00bd & George Mraz<\/strong>, Duo Art: Together Again<\/em><\/a> (ACT)<\/p>\n

Mraz\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Viklick\u00c3\u00bd\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s collaborations on the sublime albums\"Mraz\"<\/a> Morava<\/a><\/em> and Moravian Gems<\/a><\/em> left no doubt about their love of the music of that celebrated region of their native land, or of their ability to infuse it with jazz values. Mraz, one of the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s great bass virtuosos, reunites with Viklick\u00c3\u00bd, a pianist, composer and arranger of vast scope. They interpret Viklick\u00c3\u00bd compositions, his arrangements of Moravian folk songs and pieces by Czech composers Leo\u00c5\u00a1 Jan\u00c3\u00a1\u00c4\u008dek and Zden\u00c4\u203ak Fibich. Mraz has lived in New York for years. Viklick\u00c3\u00bd keeps Prague as his home base. When they get together, all the world is Czech.<\/p>\n

John Coltrane<\/strong>, Offering: Live At Temple University<\/em><\/a> (Impulse)<\/p>\n

\"Coltrane,<\/a>No matter how deep you are into late Coltrane, this is demanding listening. Toward the end of his life, the great tenor saxophonist said that he was in search of the universal sound. Critic Jack Fuller once pointed out in a discussion of late-period Coltrane that the sound of the universe is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153random noise.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Coltrane achieves that here. In terms of overall balance and fidelity, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a substandard recording, but his horn is in bold relief. Coltrane is so important to music that familiarity with this record is of consequence in understanding him.<\/p>\n

Nels Cline & Julian Lage<\/strong>, Room<\/a> (Mack Avenue)<\/p>\n

Cline, an established guitar hero, and Lage, a new one, play duets on two of Lage\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s compositions\"Cline<\/a> and eight of Cline\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. Their mastery of the acoustic and electric versions of the instrument will have other guitarists shaking their heads in disbelief, frustration or admiration. The collaboration was reportedly inspired by the late Jim Hall\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s example. Despite the dazzle of their virtuosity, however, Cline and Lage do not rise to the level of Hall\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ability to impart a sense of wonder.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jeremy Pelt<\/strong>, Tales, Musings and other Reverie<\/em>s<\/a> (High Note)<\/p>\n

\"Pelt\"<\/a>Pelt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sense of wonder and adventure has never been in question. It has sometimes led the trumpeter into experimentation and risk-taking that might have paid off better. That is not the case here. He teams up with the intriguing Italian pianist Simona Premazzi, bassist Ben Allison and two drummers, Billy Drummond and Victor Lewis. The drummers energize Pelt and he them. The entire album is stimulating, but Pelt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and the drummers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 romp through Clifford Jordan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Glass Bead Games\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is extraordinary.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Mike Longo<\/strong> Trio Celebrates Oscar Peterson<\/em><\/a> Live (CAP)<\/p>\n

The pianist pays homage to Oscar Peterson for his tutelage and inspiration during Longo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s six\"Longo\"<\/a> months of intensive private study with him during a formative period. On \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Tenderly,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d one of Peterson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s signature pieces, Longo demonstrates that he got the message when Peterson commanded him, loudly and with heat, never to imitate anyone, including Peterson. His individuality is unmistakable in this concert with longtime colleagues bassist Paul West and drummer Ray Mosca. The pianist\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s glistening melodic inventions in Irving Berlin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Always\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and Victor Schertzinger\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I Remember You\u00e2\u20ac\u009d are highlights.<\/p>\n

More reviews coming soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[contextly_auto_sidebar id=”cgkFUzjLcEgStbK9iij1ouHvrzkhKLPB”] Stan Kenton Alumni Band, Road Scholars (Summit) Before he died, Stan Kenton ruled that there would never be a Kenton ghost band. Nor has there been. Still, 35 years after his death there is considerable demand for the expansive Kenton approach. The 18-piece road band led by former Kenton trumpeter Mike Vax goes […]<\/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-6355","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\/6355","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=6355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6355\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}