relyles

By coincidence earlier today I was reading about the new Dennis Gonzalez Yels at Els recording with Mittal. I had never heard of him before, but may have to check him out.

Last night I traveled three hours in rush hour traffic to Shapeshifter Lab in Brooklyn to catch the premier performance of bassist Michael Formanek's Ensemble Kolossus. This big band featured a lot of heavy hitters. The trumpet section included Dave Ballou, Jonathan Finlayson, Ralph Alessi and Shane Endsley. The trombones were Alan Ferber, Jacob Garchik, Ben Gerstein and Jeff Nelson. The reed section was Chris Speed, Oscar Noriega, Loren Stillman, Brian Settles and Tim Berne. Finally, in addition to Formanek in the rhythm section was Kris Davis, Mary Halvorson, Tomas Fujiwara and Patricia Franceschy on vibes and marimba. In both sets the ensemble performed Formanek's extended piece written for the ensemble titled Exoskeleton if I recall correctly. It is an eight part composition that evolves through a variety of moods, tempos and textures. It was a very structured piece with tight ensemble parts – which I appreciated a lot, but at the same time there were opportunities for expressive solos by just about all of the musicians. Very interesting. Hope they have the opportunity to continue to develop as a band and ultimately record. Forgot to mention that last Friday I caught David Binney’s quartet at Firehouse 12 with Jacob Sacks, Eivind Opsvik and Nasheet Waits. I have been a fan of Binney’s music for a few years, but this was my first opportunity to hear him live. They did not disappoint. Binney was as to be expected – “heady”, but with a lot of fire when needed. I had never really paid attention to Sacks before, but he was impressive Friday night – kind of quirky like I like, but still swinging. Nasheet Waits may have been the star of the night. I have heard him live a few times and as always the rhythms he conjured and the manner in which he engaged with and pushed soloists was mesmerizing. The final update on my live adventures is that last Saturday I caught Cyrus Chestnut’s Trio at the Artists Collective in Hartford. To be honest, although I appreciate Chestnut’s playing, he is not someone I would normally go out of my way to hear. On this occasion since it was five minutes from my home and free, I felt like I had to go. No real surprises on this night, but nonetheless some enjoyable, bluesy, swinging piano trio music. Now my big decision after getting home at 2:00 am last night from my Brooklyn excursion is whether I venture back out tonight to Firehouse 12 to hear Larry Ochs and Donald Robinson?

I caught Yoron Israel's quartet with Gardony a couple of weeks ago. the show easily exceeded my expectations that night. With Lockwood on bass looks like a very interesting trio.

It was a very musical weekend for me. Friday night i caught Gerald Cleaver and Black Host at Firehouse 12 in New Haven. In addition to Cleaver, the band features pianist Cooper-Moore, alto saxophonist Darius Jones, bassist Pascal Niggenkemper and guitarist Brandon Seabrook. Cleaver describes the concept of the band essentially as playing with a certain type of energy using grooves, simple melodies and "pop music". It really is hard to explain the experience. Before the set began Gerald handed out ear plugs to the audience, explaining that "this is a loud band". Indeed it is, but it is much more than that. It is a very intense experience and they do take it out - at times it feels like a sixties free jazz blowout, but underneath it there is always a groove and/or melodic content that keeps it grounded. Interestingly, a few of the Firehouse 12 regulars whose tastes I do not think go very far out loved the show. Saturday night I traveled to Goshen, MA to hear Harris' Eisenstadt's Golden State with Nicole Mitchell, bassonist Sara Schoenback and bassist Mark Dresser. This was on the other end of the spectrum than Black Host, but very enjoyable. I think I am ready to leave my family for Nicole Mitchell. She is a flute player that forces me to actually listen to flute when most don't and there is something about her overall spirit that is warm and inviting. As is true with most of Eisenstadt's bands there is an emphasis on composition and most of the tunes had interesting grooves, twists and turns. Interestingly, most of the rhythm foundation fell to Dresser because Eisenstadt never seems to play a groove, pattern or beat more than once. Instead, he skitters around the drum set interacting with the band in more of a melodic manner. every time I hear Dresser I am reminded that he is a vastly skilled bassist. Sunday was the Hartford Jazz Society's 52nd Annual Jazz Cruise. The featured artist was Nat Reeves' All Star Quintet with Eric Alexander, Steve Davis, Harold Mabern, Joe Farnsworth and a number of guests. They performed the expected hard bop repetoire, but played it with sincerity and conviction. Really hard not to enjoy. Since I am on the board of the Hartford Jazz Society the event was more work than pure entertainment for me and three hours into the seven hour cruise I was ready do go home. The music was also a bit too loud for my preferences. In any event, it was a great day on the river with non-stop good sounds from Reeves' ensemble and the other more local band that played.

I have heard Mabern live two tmes in the last month. First with the Vincent Herring/Eric Alexander Quintet and yesterday in a band led by bassist Nat Reeves with Eric Alexander, Steve Davis, Joe Farnsworth and a few guests. He is still playing strong!

He is still very much involved in the Artists Collective in Hartford, which was founded by Dollie and Jackie McLean. Dollie McLean is still the executive director. I believe he also teaches at the University of Hartford. As a result, I see him quite frequently at musical events in the area and have had a few opportunities to hear him live. Most recently in May in a Jackie McLean tribute band with Gary Bartz, Steve Nelson, Steve Davis, Josh Evans, Alan Jay Palmer, Ronnie Burrage, Neil Clark and a bassist that I can not remember right now, but I think it was local product Matt Dwonszyk. Hot night of music!

Saturday night I caught an impromptu group at the Jazz Gallery featuring Chris Potter, Mark Turner, Ben Street and Johnathan Blake. David Virelles was scheduled to perform with his group, but one of the members of the ensemble was unable to make it, his show was therefore cancelled and this group was the replacement act. Virelles did sit in on two songs at the end. When I received the email Friday announceing the schedule change, I knew this was one of those "events" that I should make the effort to take the 2 - 2 1/2 hour drive from West Hartford into Manhattan. The SRO audience, which included many musicians and music students as well as obsessed fans like myself confirmed my thought. It was one of the best sets I have heard in a while. To my knowledge, these four musicians had never performed publicly as a group. Indeed at times their interaction on stage suggested some uncertainty about what to do next. I suspect the buzz that resulted in the large audience was because of the presence of Potter and Turner on the same stage. The two are considered to be amongst the top saxophonists of their generation. The differences between the two approaches are readily noticeable and I think they motivated each other to come with their A games. Every time I hear Street, I like him more. Good tone, nice ideas and very interactive/supportive of the soloists. I have also heard Blake a few times live. In some ways he functioned as the de facto leader - or at least he made all the announcements from the stage. A nice varied set list included Benny Golson's "Whisper Not", Monk's "Light Blue" (trio performance featuring Virelles), another standard that I can not remember and original compositions by Avishai Cohen, Paul Motian and Tom Harrell. It was so good that I would have stayed for the second show, which would have meant I would not have gotten back to West Hartford until around 3:00 a.m. This was one of those occassions, however, that the Jazz Gallery actually turned over the room because the second set was sold out. A little disappointing, but as I texted my wife before I got on the road to drive home, it is probably always best to leave wanting more.

I am ashamed to confess that I have owned Nebulosa for a while, but it has never made it to the top of my listening pile. Will have to remedy that.

Bern Nix - Alarms & Excursions

What he said!

There's just the small matter of the set being OOP... I suppose that would change things.

As said already, all the material is included in the Mosaic Select with additional material and remastered sound for less than the OP stated he is willing to pay. Seems to be the best option to me.

Interesting reveals so far. to answer your question, Alan Jay Palmer is still around. I think he is teaching somewhere, but occassionally he comes to Hartford to play. Most recently in May he participated in a Jackie McLean legacy band performance in Hartford that also featured Rene McLean, Josh Evans, Steve Davis, Gary Bartz, Steve Nelson, Nat Reeves, Ronnie Burrage and Neil Clarke. Interestingly, they focused on music from some of McLean's later recordings such as "rhythm of the Earth". Palmer's son is a drummer who I think is at the Hartt school now and plays around the area.

pm sent

I'll give it a try.

That sounds good but it is about 3 hours from me so I'm not sure I'll be able to make it for that. But as long as we are on the topic of traveling for shows, I am reminded that a certain Thom Keith and myself once made the trip down to your fair city for a show by none other than Cecil Taylor, Henry Grimes, and Pheeroan Aklaff. I think this was at least 5 years ago. Where you there by any chance? Was that the show at the Artists Collective? No, I missed that one. Although I am not a huge fan of the sound in that venue, I do try to support most of the jazz events they present. It is a very important cultural location in that community. I can't remember why I did not go, but I do regret missing it. Especially since it is five minutes from my home..

Well how do you feel about the squat?

I expected/hoped to enjoy this recording more than I actually did. I tried to listen to it a couple of times and simply could not connect with it. Perhaps I am just not one that totally appreciates samples, electronics and ambient influences as the OP described. I may return to it at some point, but for now this is far from one of the best recordings I have heard this year.

Tim, I do not know how far it is for you, but Mitchell will be performing with a group led by Harris Eisenstadt with Sara Schoenbeck and Mark Dresser on September 14th in Goshen, MA. It is not her own group, but this looks like an interesting ensemble to me.

I heard Cowell last last week with his Empathlectrik quartet featuring Vic Juris, Tom Dicarlo and Ralph Peterson, Jr.. They played music from a recent SteepleChase release as well as other stuff. Twith this group Cowell uses a device for live electronic processing of the piano and guitar. It creates some very spacey sounds at times. The concert included a mix of songs without the processing to give some balance and variety. I am an unashamed fan of Cowell and overall the concert was an enjoyable experience for me.

I second the recommendations on Ari Brown. I am embarrased to say I own both Venus and Ultimate Frontier and have heard quite a bit of him with El'Zabar, but still did not recognize him here. I really need to spend more time with the recordings already in my collection and less on adding more titles to it.

I got to a point this afternoon at work where I needed a break from what I was working on, but did not want to start something new. So I decided to finish up this BFT. I really enjoyed this BFT as a whole. Thanks for your effort and time. 8. The soprano did not wow me, but I am enjoying the trombone. I am not having as strong a response to this track as the four preceding selections. Nonetheless it is a solid performance. 9. Piano-bass duet that I am pretty certain that I have heard before, even though I can not identify it. Fantastic performance! It made me think of the Muhal Richard Abrams-Malachi Favors duo recording. No, that is ridiculous. Great bass solo! Who is this? It is driving me crazy because I know I have heard it before and it is probably in my collection. If it isn’t it will be. 10. Tenor-piano duet. Moving performance that resonated with me in its soulful simplicity. Sounds like a mature saxophonist. Wish I knew who is playing. 11. Sounds a bit like Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble – at least the instrumentation seems to fit. Sounds like it could be Boykin on the saxophone. I am a big fan. This is very interesting. If it is not Mitchell, I could listen to more of this. 12. This one sounds like we came in on the middle of the performance. Strong bass solo and the flute has a nice sound. However, I have never warmed to the certain approach to the organ on this one. Some nice parts, but on the whole this track is not really grabbing my attention. 13. I have a limited appreciation of vocals within a “jazz” context. This is not something that I actively dislike, but I can’t say I affirmatively like it either. Kind of thing I would not mind as background music while I am focused on something else. No idea who it is. Bonus Track 1. I usually prefer clean toned guitarists, but this slightly gritty sound has some appeal. Where did the saxophone come from? As this goes on I am enjoying it more. Yes to this. Bonus Track 2. I like this vocal track somewhat more than the other track. I think I like the backing band the most, but to be frank this vocalist is not doing a whole heck of a lot for me either.

Since I was wrong and no one has yet identified track 7, i will just state that I am pretty sure it is from this recording http://www.allmusic.com/album/rhythm-of-the-earth-mw0000616160

I apologize for my tardy response. It is not a reflection of the quality of compilation because I am finding most of the music to be excellently within my own listening preferences. Here are my responses to the first eight tracks. 1. I have not spent much time investigating music like this. It sounds like something I should know. Nice feature for the tenor with punctuations from the band, although I have no idea who is playing. 2. From the outset I like the groove of this track. The sound of the bass and the electric piano seems to date the recording a bit. Familiar sounding tenor, but nothing I could commit to identifying. The trumpeter made me think of Freddie Hubbard or someone from that lineage. Again, familiar. Bass could be Ron Carter. I enjoyed the track – especially the tenor. 3. Another impressive tenor solo. I suspect it is a musician I am familiar with. The track itself is a solid performance, but not something I would likely feel compelled to investigate further. 4. This soprano sax workout certainly has the feel of the Coltrane quartet – down to the comping by the piano, which is reminiscent of Tyner. Now that I hear the piano solo I am wondering if it is indeed the Coltrane quartet. In any event, an intense performance. 5. This has that feeling of suspense/tension that I tend to gravitate toward in my listening; while at the same time have a nice groove. Effective solos by all. Good performance. 6. This one does not feel as “heavy” as the previous track, but that can simply be a function of the instrumentation. Nice work by the drums. Loving the flute and somewhat edgy alto. I am sure the alto is someone that I am familiar with, but I am not willing to go out on a limb and commit to any attempted identification. Nice groove with great solos! Oh wait, there are two basses? This is my kind of thing. 7. This I know and own. Come on man. I live three minutes from the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz and Mr. McLean’s influence is still pervasive in my area. But even before I lived in this McLean was already one of my heroes whose music I obsessively collected for completeness. I will assume this has already been identified by someone else, but let me just say it is a favorite of mine! 8. The soprano did not wow me, but I am enjoying the trombone. I am not having as strong a response to this track as the four preceding selections. Nonetheless it is a solid performance. Will post regarding the remaining tracks as soon as I can.

UMOJA Music Series Jen Allen Trio Jen Allen - Piano Jonathan Barber- Drums Henry Lugo - Bass New Jazz Workshop led by Dezron Douglas & Lummie Spann Lummie Spann - Alto Saxophone/Soprano Saxophone Dezron Douglas - Bass David Bryant - Piano Chris Beck - Drums