{"id":9624,"date":"2018-05-30T22:47:47","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T05:47:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/?p=9624"},"modified":"2018-05-30T22:53:15","modified_gmt":"2018-05-31T05:53:15","slug":"recent-listening-in-brief-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/2018\/05\/recent-listening-in-brief-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent Listening, In Brief"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keeping up with the ceaseless flow of jazz albums is impossible, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a pleasure to try.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Here are short reviews of a few relatively recent releases.<\/p>\n

Hank Jones<\/a><\/strong> In Copenhagen: Live At Jazzhus Slukefter 1983<\/em> (Storyville)<\/p>\n

\"\"From nearly the moment he moved from Detroit to New York in 1944, pianist Hank Jones was a central figure in jazz as the music evolved from swing to bebop. In this album recorded at a leading Danish jazz club, Jones reunites with drummer Shelly Manne, another key musician who thrived in New York in the mid-1940s. Manne moved west and became a leader in the community of musicians who coalesced into the movement eventually labeled West Coast Jazz. Danish bassist Mads Vinding completed the Jones trio for the Jazzhus engagement. Half the age of Jones and Manne, Vinding was a professional at 16. By 1983 he was in demand by American stars who visited Copenhagen, among them Art Farmer, Kenny Drew, Dexter Gordon, Roland Hanna and Johnny Griffin. Of a generation that produced several, he is one of Scandinavia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true jazz stars.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a pleasure to hear Vinding in such company. His solos on Bud Powell\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Budo\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and Sonny Rollins\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oleo\u00e2\u20ac\u009d are highlights of the date. Unfortunately, a listing error on the back of the album misidentifies \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oleo\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as Charlie Parker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Scrapple From The Apple.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d If there are playing<\/em> errors, better ears than mine will have to find them. This is a rewarding live date by three master musicians. They blend flawlessly through five standard songs and four classic jazz pieces by Parker, Benny Golson and Bud Powell. Sound quality and instrumental balance are excellent. Jones, as always, is superb.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Don Braden<\/strong>, Earth Wind And Wonder<\/a><\/em> (Creative Perspectve Music)<\/p>\n

For a time, a cyst on his jaw threatened to end Don Braden\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s playing days, but following his\"\" recovery the tenor saxophonist and flutist sounds as confident and inventive as ever. Braden\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s generation was immersed in the music of Stevie Wonder and the pop\/jazz ensemble Earth Wind And Fire. He adapted some of their best-known pieces for this tribute collection. He is particularly moving on flute as he expresses the melody of Wonder\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I Can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Help It.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The album gets underway with Braden on tenor sax in EW&F\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fantasy.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d His fluid solo underlines this relatively young musician\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s familiarity with saxophone masters going back as far as Lester Young and Don Byas. Braden\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s two combos on the album include pianists Brandon McCune and Art Hirahara, bassists Kenny Davis and Joris Teepe, and drummers Cecil Brooks III and Jeremy Warren. The music may be inspired by preferences of the 1970s, but Braden and company find its timeless qualities.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jim Snidero & Jeremy Pelt<\/strong>, Jubilation!<\/a><\/em> (Savant)<\/p>\n

\"\"The exclamation point on the album title emphasizes the spirit of Cannonball Adderley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s music and
\nlife. Jim Snidero\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s expansive alto saxophone style observes Adderley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s way of playing without his being a literal-minded imitator. By pointing out the age he would be in 2018, Braden\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s composition \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ball\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 90th\u00e2\u20ac\u009d reminds us that Cannonball has been gone since 1975. Trumpeter Pelt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s original \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Party Time\u00e2\u20ac\u009d captures something of Nat Adderley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s puckishness. Among the album\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s delights are Pelt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Harmon mute solo on Cannonball\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Wabash\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and the fun of he and Snidero exchanging eight-bar phrases with drummer Billy Drummond in that track. Nat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Work Song\u00e2\u20ac\u009d puts the cap on an album that indeed lauds the irrepressible natures of the Adderley brothers and pays tribute to their perennially fresh legacies. Snidero and Pelt play beautifully throughout, as do the members of their rhythm section\u00e2\u20ac\u201dpianist David Hazeltine, bassist Nat Reeves and Drummond on drums. Bound to have a long shelf life in any collection, this album will be forever fresh.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Brubeck Brothers Quartet<\/strong>, Timeline 1958-2018<\/a><\/em> (Blue Forest Records)<\/p>\n

Chris Brubeck points out in his informative album notes that it has been 60 years since the Dave
\nBrubeck Quartet served as Jazz Ambassadors of their counry in US State Department tours that\"\" helped spread American culture across the world. Now Brubeck\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sons Chris and Danny pay homage to their father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s contribution in a collection with seven of his compositions and four by members of the BBQ. The album includes famous Dave Brubeck pieces\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u009dBlue Rondo A La Turk\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Thank You (Dziekuje)\u00e2\u20ac\u009d among them\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good to hear them by his sons, pianist Chuck Lamb and guitarist Mike DiMicco. Apart from the commemorative aspect, it is a pleasure to hear the quartet playing so well. After several years together in this format, they have become one of the most consistently satisfying small bands in jazz. Lamb\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Prime Directive\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Boundward Home,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with its enticing use of repetition; DeMicco\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153North Coast,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and Chris Brubeck\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s atmospheric \u00e2\u20ac\u01533 Wise Men\u00e2\u20ac\u009d do not merely hold up well side by side with father Dave\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pieces; they sound as if he might have written them.<\/p>\n

Roger Kellaway<\/strong> Trio, New Jazz Standards Vol. 3<\/a><\/em> (Summit)<\/p>\n

It may be one of the better-kept secrets in contemporary jazz\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe fact that with the appearance\"\"
\nof this album there are now three CDs of compositions by the versatile and respected trumpeter Carl Saunders, but all credited to other musicians. We learn by way of Vol. 3\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s liner notes that the first two were released under the names of the late flutist Sam Most and trombonist Mark Whitfield, who is very much with us. In the case at hand, Saunders recruited pianist Roger Kellaway to be the leader, and added bassist Jay Leonhart and drummer Peter Erskine. He also produced the album. It is a welcome addition to the discography of Kellaway, one of the most technically and imaginatively gifted pianists alive. His collaborators are bassist Jay Leonhart and drummer Peter Erskine. Leonhart also sings Saunders\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Is That Asking Too Much?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which is as wry as the title indicates. On some of these pieces Kellaway plays like the wind (or Art Tatum), on others with fetching tenderness\u00e2\u20ac\u201dfor instance on Saunders\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Short & Sweet.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Saunders the composer deserves wider recognition.<\/p>\n

If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re interested in hearing Carl Saunders as trumpeter, leader and composer, investigate the albums listed on this Amazon page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We will have further brief reviews anon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keeping up with the ceaseless flow of jazz albums is impossible, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a pleasure to try. Here are short reviews of a few relatively recent releases. Hank Jones In Copenhagen: Live At Jazzhus Slukefter 1983 (Storyville) From nearly the moment he moved from Detroit to New York in 1944, pianist Hank Jones was a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9625,"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-9624","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-main","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9624","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=9624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}