Leeway

MULTIDIRECTION - Kenny Cox and the Contemporary Jazz Quintet - Blue Note (1969).

Alex Georgie Dim

Mrs. Field Auntie Anne Rita's

Johnny Appleseed Chiquita Banana Orange Julius

Friday, March 21st, I was back on the road, headed to Philadelphia, to take in the "Celebrating Ornette" concert (wouldn't "Honoring Ornette" have been a more harmolodic title?) Like the "Celebrating Cecil" concert, once again, the event took place at the Painted Bride Art Center, in conjunction with Ars Nova Workshop, and once again, the event was sold out. On the bill were musicians closely associated with Ornette. The Denardo Coleman Group consisted of Denardo on drums (of course), Al MacDowell on electric bass, Tony Falanga on acoustic bass, Charles Ellerbee on guitar, and Antoine Roney on tenor sax. The Jamaaladeen Tacuma Band consisted of Tacuma on electric bass guitar; Wolfgang Puschnig (alto sax, flute, Hojak); Ben Schachter (tenor sax); Yoichi Uzeki (p, keyboards); G. Calvin Weston (drums); Wadud Ahmad (spoken word); Asha Puthli (vocals). Denardo opened the concert with a personal address to the audience about his father, Ornette. It was a nice way to start. His group then took the stage. One could tell that they wanted to do the utmost to make the show a memorable one. They played hard, sometimes, a bit too hard, so that the music occasionally lost some necessary control and shape. The real problem with their set was they had the wrong tenor player. Antoine Roney, whatever his other abilities, just had no concept of how to play within a harmolodic framework, or even just to make his playing interesting. I kept thinking this guy belongs on the 2nd line at JALC, not here. To test my own impression, after the set, I asked the guy sitting next to me, who has been following Ornette since the early 80s, "So what did you think?" His first response was, "I felt sorry for the tenor player." I asked him why, he said "the guy looked lost." The good news was that when Roney laid out, the rest of the band was really cooking. The one who impressed me most was Charlie Ellerbee. I could have listened to him solo all night. Plus he had the right attitude and approach to the music. Denardo was absolutely fine. He played so hard he broke the bass pedal on his drum; have not seen that before. I suppose everyone was hoping Ornette might come out and join his son, but not to be. What I would not have predicted was that the night would belong to Jamaaladeen Tacuma. In every way he and his group made it a memorable evening. First of all, Tacuma is an authentically charismatic figure. He reminded me of Sonny Rollins in those recent photos where Sonny is in those striking white or red suits. In fact, all of the members of Tacuma's group, including Tacuma, were wearing all-white outfits. My first thought s were that they looked like a cult for the Comet Kahoutek, But it turned out to be a nice bit of stagecraft. The best part of Tacuma's group was that they all understood Ornette's music, and Puschnig and Schachter, relative unknowns, played absolutely within Ornette's concepts without mere imitation or play-by-number. They really brought the music alive and they did everything Roney failed to do. Damn, it sounded good to hear it played right. Weston is a banger on drums, huge kit, not usually my thing, but it worked here well enough. Tacuma is a monster on his electric bass guitar. If you have an allergy to electric bass, you would not get very far with this sound, but I found Tacuma's playing funky as hell, yet always with a great sense of ensemble and Ornette's aesthetic. But Tacuma went beyond simply playing his set. Tacuma understood it was more than just the music. On the stage wall behind him he arranged to have pictures of Ornette, pictures of Ornette album covers, statements from Ornette. It set an appropriate mood. He brought in Wadud Ahmad, who recited a poem on "Celebrating Ornette." Usually the words "poetry recitation" brings things to a screeching halt. But Ahmad's poem was sharp, tart, bittersweet and short, and well-received. But the masterstroke on Tacuma's part, he arranged to bring in Asha Puthli, who sang, "What Reason Could I Give" on Ornette's "Science Fiction" session in 1971, and sang it again that night. It was a goose-bump moment. Tacuma really raised it from a concert to an occasion, a memorable one. Painted Bride usually has to wrap at 11, but Tacuma's set rolled on to 11:30, and everyone was still digging it when it came to a close. What I found really interesting is how much Ornette is loved on a personal level in the community. Compared to the Cecil Concert two weeks before, Cecil is respected, but for Ornette, it is a personal affection. There was a lot to think about and remember as i headed back down I-95, but mostly I was glad to have been at this show.

OLEO - The Lee Konitz Trio: LK (as, ss), Dick Katz (p), Wilbur Little (b). Sonet LP. 1975

Windy (ref. The Association) Misty Foghorn Leghorn

TED DANIEL - Ted Daniel Sextet: Daniel (tp, flug, Fr. hunting horn, Moroccan bugle), Otis Harris (as), Hakim Jami and Richard Pierce (basses), Kenneth Hughes and Warren Benbow (percussion). Ujamaa Records LP. (1970). Great fire music album.

Kylie Minogue The Pogues Pogo

ILLUSION SUITE - Stanley Cowell Trio: Cowell (p), Stanley Clarke (b), Jimmy Hopps (d). ECM 1973.

I thought it might be useful for purposes of comparison to include a couple of photos of the Fontana CDs (CD-Rs) that I got from DMG. The "Mohawk" pic shows the inside tray, the front of the booklet, and the CD. The "Juba Lee" photo shows the inside of back tray, and the back of the booklet with info on Roling, and the CD. They are nice productions--considering. I ordered a couple of CDs from Clean Feed from their recent sale, and it took between 2 and 3 weeks (to US).

Made an interesting discovery at a record store in Baltimore last week. I was flipping through the LPs when I spotted a Dennis Gonzalez LP, "ANTHEM SUITE." There are plenty of Gonzalez CDs out there, but I'd not run across any of his early LPs. So I flip over the record to get more information and find out that it is the Dennis Gonzalez-John Purcell 6TET and "also Jim Sangrey"! I thought, "I have to have this record." The album is on daagnim Records (daagnim 11), Dallas, Tx, 1984. Included is a 4-sided insert prepared by a radio station in Yugoslavia, which apparently had a deep interest in Dennis Gonzalez. I'm not sure what the connection is there. It's useful though, because it gives a lot of information on who is playing on what track. Sangrey is on 3 of the 6 tracks. Music is mostly post-bop, with some free playing, and one reggae-ish piece as well. Standout track for me was "Hymn for Albert Ayler" but the album as a whole is pretty good.

Thanks mjazzg. I told Halvorson that that big hollow body guitar she plays is becoming almost-iconic.She gets a great sound out of it. She told me that it is too big to bring overseas, so she uses a travel guitar. So if Thumbscrew did get over there, it might look a little different. BTW, the show was actually a CD release party; they just put out a CD on Cuneiform.

Who was it that once said that jazz guitar is an oxymoron? Don't recall, but I'm pretty sure that's not true. Anyway, I went out to Baltimore Thursday night to catch Thumscrew, a trio with Mary Halvorson on guitar, Michael Formanek on bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums, and to take a look and listen to what jazz guitar sounds like 21st century edition. I missed them the last time they were in town, about a year ago, which I think was soon after the trio was founded. To get right to the point, I'm a Halvorson believer (but not a "belieber"). Halvorson once told a audience during an interview segment that three of her influences were Johnny Smith, Jimi Hendrix, and Lenny Breau (IIRC). Somehow she manages to combine and distill these influences, while adding a healthy measure of Braxton (with whom she studied at Wesleyan), as well as her own native ability to compose interesting and engaging pieces that are both in , and out of, the tradition. This was all on display Thursday. The best thing about the group though was that they play so well together. It really is a very balanced trio. Formanek adds depth, while Fujiwara provides crisp, clean and precise drumming. It's always rewarding when you can hear a trio playing close attention to each others and playing off each other's strengths. It was a generous set and yet the time passed easily. To go back to the original question. I suppose the answer is, it is,,,and it isn't.

I like that one a lot and was initially taken aback by the 'formal' nature. It led me to the Bill Smith leader dates which I also enjoy. Would love to track down their release with McPhee but it proves elusive In fact, I do have that Bill Smith Ensemble with Joe McPhee date on Sackville (3036), "VISITATION." And it's inscribed (rather ribaldly) and signed by McPhee. Should spin that one soon. BTW, I saw "RASTAFARI" on a Sackville insert a few weeks ago, and thought, "That looks interesting!" Wasn't aware of it. Saw it this week and picked it up. Something about synergy....

RASTAFARI - Leo Smith with the Bill Smith Ensemble: Bill Smith (ss, sopranino sax, acl), David Lee (b, cello), Larry Potter (vibe) and David Prentice (vn). Sackville LP. 1983. Nothing remotely Rastafarian about this album, maybe aside from Leo Smith. Really more of a modern classical/composition quality to it.

Do cartoon-ish covers promise great experimental music? Seem to, witness these two (and others). I'm hoping that Obamacare provides me with a "Beak Doctor," since other efforts have been fruitless. And has Joe McPhee produced any better albums than his HatART albums? Good question. I hadn't spotted that connection . Yes, The McPhee Hats that I've heard are all very strong. I followed 'Rotation' with 'The Willisau Concert'. We don't get Beak Doctors on our National Health Service either maybe because it is really only really a Socialist Conspiracy to keep us all in good health without having to pay too much. I bet our compatriots who 'go private' for their healthcare get a choice of Beak Doctors. (oops straying into 'political', will stop there) Here's hoping Obamacare comes up trumps for you I recall that I mentioned the Beak Doctor record to Evan Parker while he was in NYC for his Stone Residency. He told me that the Western Front LP was recorded a week after Beak Doctor, and that some people felt it was as strong or stronger. I think they were recorded following a tour of Japan (?). Anyway, he said his chops were in great shape for those records.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds Rita: Meter Maid Michelle

I'd suggest the Iridium box, the Moscow and Mestre discs, the Echo Echo Mirror House disc, and Trio (Glasgow) 2005 on Leo.

Do cartoon-ish covers promise great experimental music? Seem to, witness these two (and others). I'm hoping that Obamacare provides me with a "Beak Doctor," since other efforts have been fruitless. And has Joe McPhee produced any better albums than his HatART albums?

I first took notice of Tony Malaby with the "Tamarindo" album. I thought that was a terrific album and still do. My friends and I thought that "Tamarindo" marked the emergence of a major talent, maybe even the next David S. Ware. Well, it never came to that. Tony came to be defined by his variableness. To some extent, this is still true. Nevertheless, the Clean Feed albums are very good, as are the Open Loose albums. His sideman appearances are quite respectable. Expectations have had to be reset, and it seems doubtful that he will fulfill the early promise. But I'm still willing to wait. I like Bol's description of Tony's playing as "aggressive in gratuitous ways." Quite likely Tony would probably laugh and take that as a compliment. I've seen Tony in many performance contexts. After one performance with Angelica Sanchez quartet or quintet (don't recall), he told me needs a lot of time and space to get into it. 75 minute sets are common. I think Tony is a throwback to the early free jazz movement. He loves to explore many different aspects of a musical phrase or theme. You know Tony has hit a seam when he starts flapping his elbows, like he's pumping up an engine. Tony is from the West (Tucson), and there is a sense of wide open spaces in his playing. If you want Berklee high-tech or Euro tailored performances, Tony will not suit. But if you like big tenor sound, with a lot of heart and soul, Tony is still a good bet

Good points David. I'm all for subjective, impressionistic responses to the work, but it is important, I think, to have more formal studies that set the music in larger terms and contexts. I've always thought that the AEC developed an aesthetic that warranted such approaches, which is what I think Shoemaker is doing. I do think Murray is the wrong "point of departure" though.

I don't quite accept Shoemaker's use of Albert Murray's critical writing as a framing device for the AEC's musical significance, but I did get a lot from his examination of the AEC's development, and acceptance (such as it was), as reflected through its key albums. Any other issues?

THIS TIME - INTERface: John Fischer (p), Mark Whitecage (as), Rick Kilburn (b), Phillip Wilson (d). ReEntry Records LP. 1978. Some especially nice playing from Whitecage.

HERE 'TIS - Lou Donaldson - Blue Note Liberty pressing THE NATURAL SOUL - Lou Donaldson - Blue Note-blue label, black "b: "vangelder" in runoff.