Paul Motian-Bill McHenry-Bill Frisell trio

[7/4]

September 4, 2008

Stand-In Finds His Way in Trio's Flexible Sound

By BEN RATLIFF

It was the first night of a two-week run for the Paul Motian-Joe Lovano-Bill Frisell trio at the Village Vanguard, and a relative's illness had called Mr. Lovano, the saxophonist, away to Ohio. The last-minute substitute, for one night only, was the saxophonist Bill McHenry.

Even in Mr. Lovano's absence Tuesday's early set demonstrated something about the group, which has been together since 1981: how flexible its frame is. The trio is led by Mr. Motian, the drummer, though you might not know that if you heard it cold. He is the author of about half of the group's repertory; the other half is Monk and Mingus and bebop and standards. But each player has an equal share in the band. Anyone can switch among melody, harmony, rhythm, color, texture.

Continue reading here...

[7/4]

It sucks I have to miss Motian and Frisell at the VV again.

Bah!

.

[DTMX]

NPR has an hour's worth of music from the Village Vanguard perfomance here.

Haven't listened to it and am not sure if it is Lovano or McHenry sitting in.

[Clunky]

I'm not surprised that Bill McHenry fitted in so well. As I have mentioned previously he's a very fine player IMO. It's pity that the author doesn't provide any background on McHenry because it almost appears as if he's an "unknown".

He doesn't sound remotely like Lovano and his ideas strike my untrained ears as being far removed from Lovano's. I've not followed Lovano's output since his BN VV 2Cd set from the 90s.

[7/4]

He's a local guy, I'm unfamiliar with him, probably not for long.

http://www.billmchenry.com/

.

[Clunky]

He's a local guy, I'm unfamiliar with him, probably not for long.

http://www.billmchenry.com/

.

I see from the review sections that Ben Ratliff has in fact given Bill no end of attention in his column over the years. So perhaps regular readers of his ,won't consider McHenry an unknown.

[7/4]

He's a local guy, I'm unfamiliar with him, probably not for long.

http://www.billmchenry.com/

I see from the review sections that Ben Ratliff has in fact given Bill no end of attention in his column over the years. So perhaps regular readers of his, won't consider McHenry an unknown.

And he's got a lot of albums out. I'd like to get that one with Paul Motian. It would be nice if he listed personnel, I'll have to surf around and see if he plays with any guitar players.

[Clunky]

He's a local guy, I'm unfamiliar with him, probably not for long.

http://www.billmchenry.com/

I see from the review sections that Ben Ratliff has in fact given Bill no end of attention in his column over the years. So perhaps regular readers of his, won't consider McHenry an unknown.

And he's got a lot of albums out. I'd like to get that one with Paul Motian. It would be nice if he listed personnel, I'll have to surf around and see if he plays with any guitar players.

His album with Motian on FSNT is my least favourite , on that label Rest Stop and Graphic are better. I forget the line ups but I'm pretty sure Ben Monder is on guitar on one of these.

[7/4]

His album with Motian on FSNT is my least favourite , on that label Rest Stop and Graphic are better. I forget the line ups but I'm pretty sure Ben Monder is on guitar on one of these.

It's on my want list now. Cash is tight now, but there's a bunch of things I'm interested in.

[Bol]

I've always wondered what McHenry would sound like in this setting -- with Motian and Frisell, that is. I think Lovano is a very fine player, but he gushes in some predictable ways after a while, and then one longs for some different emotional range. McHenry seems to me a much more unpredictable and elegant player. I was hoping that the NPR concert would be with McHenry, but alas it is from the Wednesday show when Lovano was back. I am a big fan of McHenry, and my faves are two he co-led:

"Live at Smalls" (FSNT) in a quartet with Ethan Iverson.

"Rediscovery" (Sunnyside) in a quartet with John McNeil

These are very fine recordings, and I hope many more will come in the near future.

[7/4]

He's a local guy, I'm unfamiliar with him, probably not for long.

http://www.billmchenry.com/

I see from the review sections that Ben Ratliff has in fact given Bill no end of attention in his column over the years. So perhaps regular readers of his ,won't consider McHenry an unknown.

It was the subject that was interesting, not the writer. Any writer could have written an article about Motian or Frisell and I would have read it. It's all about music for me, not the critic.

[relyles]

McHenry is a solid player. I heard him live a couple of weeks ago in a group he colead with trumpeter John McNeil. Impressive performance.

[DTMX]

Bassist Chris Lightcap has two great quartet recordings - Bigmouth and Lay-Up - with McHenry and Tony Malaby on tenors (Gerald Cleaver on drums). Lots of good tenor interplay all 'round.

[Mark Stryker]

Bassist Chris Lightcap has two great quartet recordings - Bigmouth and Lay-Up - with McHenry and Tony Malaby on tenors (Gerald Cleaver on drums). Lots of good tenor interplay all 'round.

Related note: Lightcap is in metro Detroit for the next three nights with Gerald Cleaver's Violet Hour, also with two reeds, J.D. Allen and Andrew Bishop. Tonight in Ann Arbor at the Kerrytown Concert House and Friday and Saturday at Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit. The band also played at last weekend's jazz festival here in Detroit, where they were smokin.'

Edited September 4, 2008 by Mark Stryker

[jlhoots]

John McNeil / Bill McHenry Quartet: Rediscovery (Sunnyside)

Really, really good (IMHO).

Oops, noted earlier. Still excellent.

Edited September 4, 2008 by jlhoots

[Larry Kart]

Bassist Chris Lightcap has two great quartet recordings - Bigmouth and Lay-Up - with McHenry and Tony Malaby on tenors (Gerald Cleaver on drums). Lots of good tenor interplay all 'round.

Related note: Lightcap is in metro Detroit for the next three nights with Gerald Cleaver's Violet Hour, also with two reeds, J.D. Allen and Andrew Bishop. Tonight in Ann Arbor at the Kerrytown Concert House and Friday and Saturday at Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit. The band also played at last weekend's jazz festival here in Detroit, where they were smokin.'

Heard them at The Hungry Brain in Chicago last Saturday night. A good deal of talent onstand (Bishop in particular IMO, though an aquaintance found him too slick), but after a few pieces Allen and Cleaver gave me a headache. Cleaver is f------- loud, while Allen's lines have a difficult-to-evade forcefulness but a good deal less rhythmic/melodic variety than I would wish. At times I felt like he was laying down strips of asphalt. How old is Allen? If he's no longer in his 20s, I'm not optimistic about future growth.

[Mark Stryker]

Bassist Chris Lightcap has two great quartet recordings - Bigmouth and Lay-Up - with McHenry and Tony Malaby on tenors (Gerald Cleaver on drums). Lots of good tenor interplay all 'round.

Related note: Lightcap is in metro Detroit for the next three nights with Gerald Cleaver's Violet Hour, also with two reeds, J.D. Allen and Andrew Bishop. Tonight in Ann Arbor at the Kerrytown Concert House and Friday and Saturday at Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit. The band also played at last weekend's jazz festival here in Detroit, where they were smokin.'

Heard them at The Hungry Brain in Chicago last Saturday night. A good deal of talent onstand (Bishop in particular IMO, though an aquaintance found him too slick), but after a few pieces Allen and Cleaver gave me a headache. Cleaver is f------- loud, while Allen's lines have a difficult-to-evade forcefulness but a good deal less rhythmic/melodic variety than I would wish. At times I felt like he was laying down strips of asphalt. How old is Allen? If he's no longer in his 20s, I'm not optimistic about future growth.

Allen is 35. Bishop has an interesting background -- ph.d in composition, plays in all kinds of styles, from bebop to free, including a post-modern Hank Williams band. I know what your friend means -- there's that Brecker-derived harmonic and technical facility, but the ideas are rhythmically interesting enough to me that he slips the noose. In the festival setting, the drums didn't come off as unusually loud, but club dates can be different. Should have also noted that Jeremy Pelt was playing trumpet, which added an interesting mainstream voice into the mix and filled out the melodic contrast/variety on the front line. Was he with the band in Chicago? He's on the latest record called Gerald Cleaver's Detroit, from which most of the material they played here was derived.

Edited September 4, 2008 by Mark Stryker

[Larry Kart]

No Pelt there, Mark -- would like to have heard him. Of his generation of "young lions" trumpeters, I like what I've heard from him, mostly as a sideman on Ralph Peterson albums on Criss Cross. Some of his own things struck me as a bit studied.

[AllenLowe]

Bishop's avant-country record is quite good, but I have been disappointed to find that some of his other, more jazz-style stuff, sounds somewhat generic -

[DTMX]

in Ann Arbor at the Kerrytown Concert House

Speaking of appearing in Ann Arbor at the Kerrytown Concert House, the 2008 EdgeFest line-up has been posted. Lots of strings and reeds this time out. No Andrew Bishop this year, but Gerald Cleaver sits in twice.

Edited September 4, 2008 by DTMX

[relyles]

Bassist Chris Lightcap has two great quartet recordings - Bigmouth and Lay-Up - with McHenry and Tony Malaby on tenors (Gerald Cleaver on drums). Lots of good tenor interplay all 'round.

Related note: Lightcap is in metro Detroit for the next three nights with Gerald Cleaver's Violet Hour, also with two reeds, J.D. Allen and Andrew Bishop. Tonight in Ann Arbor at the Kerrytown Concert House and Friday and Saturday at Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit. The band also played at last weekend's jazz festival here in Detroit, where they were smokin.'

Heard them at The Hungry Brain in Chicago last Saturday night. A good deal of talent onstand (Bishop in particular IMO, though an aquaintance found him too slick), but after a few pieces Allen and Cleaver gave me a headache. Cleaver is f------- loud, while Allen's lines have a difficult-to-evade forcefulness but a good deal less rhythmic/melodic variety than I would wish. At times I felt like he was laying down strips of asphalt. How old is Allen? If he's no longer in his 20s, I'm not optimistic about future growth.

I heard Cleaver's group this summer and had a more positive response. Cleaver is also known for his associations with many of the "cutting edge" musicians in NYC, but his own group is surprisingly much more low key. Pelt was not there the night I heard them either - instead Duane Eubanks (who arrived late) played with the group. I agree that Bishop did seem to be the highlighted musician in the group, but overall I thought everyone played well.

[Mark Stryker]

in Ann Arbor at the Kerrytown Concert House

Speaking of appearing in Ann Arbor at the Kerrytown Concert House, the 2008 EdgeFest line-up has been posted. Lots of strings and reeds this time out. No Andrew Bishop this year, but Gerald Cleaver sits in twice.

In case it's not been made clear, Cleaver is Detroit-born and went to school at the University of Michigan. Allen's resume is the same I believe. Not sure where Bishop was born but his advanced degrees are from U-M and was/is part of the extended scene.

Edited September 4, 2008 by Mark Stryker

[ghost of miles]

I've always wondered what McHenry would sound like in this setting -- with Motian and Frisell, that is. I think Lovano is a very fine player, but he gushes in some predictable ways after a while, and then one longs for some different emotional range. McHenry seems to me a much more unpredictable and elegant player. I was hoping that the NPR concert would be with McHenry, but alas it is from the Wednesday show when Lovano was back. I am a big fan of McHenry, and my faves are two he co-led:

"Live at Smalls" (FSNT) in a quartet with Ethan Iverson.

"Rediscovery" (Sunnyside) in a quartet with John McNeil

These are very fine recordings, and I hope many more will come in the near future.

Isn't McHenry the saxophonist you told me about at lunch a year or so back, Bol? I'll have to check him out.

[Bol]

Yes, I think so. I think you will like him. I think Ratliff once described McHenry's playing as what Stan Getz would have sounded like if he had grown up with Ornette Coleman. I thought that was quite spot-on.

[Nate Dorward]

Re: McHenry--there's an excellent posting on the Do the Math blog about his albums as a leader:

http://thebadplus.typepad.com/dothemath/20...ll-mchenry.html

I don't know his music well, but he sounds excellent on Reid Anderson's The Vastness of Space (FSNT), which has Monder, Andrew D'Angelo, & Marlon Browden. Very, very nice CD.