New York @ Night
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NEW YORK @ NIGHT “When are musicians going to realize that THEY Artist/activist/vocalist Abbey Lincoln was a have the power?” This statement from trumpeter Bill disrupter. As part of a series honoring ‘60s black female Dixon has often been repeated as he was incredulous pioneers, Marc Cary, who logged 12 years as her at the things musicians had to put up with from venues, pianist, staged Mothers of the Movements at Harlem record labels, promoters and the like. 54 years after Stage Gatehouse (Mar. 3rd). To help him (re)generate Dixon co-founded the Jazz Composers’ Guild, things the disruptive spirit of his former employer, Cary haven’t changed much—that said, when a venue like enlisted veteran (but eternally youthful) bassist Reggie Ridgewood’s H0l0 gets a reputation as a generally Workman, resilient drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, unfriendly pay-to-play spot, where improvisers are adaptable tabla drummer Sameer Gupta, pianist Randy basically renting space against a sure-to-be small door Noel, tenor saxophonist Edmar Colón and vocalist charge, folks start to fly the coop. So tenor saxophonist Jackie Gage (who had the unenviable task of filling John Dikeman, guitarist Jasper Stadhouders, bassist Lincoln’s shoes). Besides “Driva’ Man”, “Tears for Tony Piazza, drummer Adam Shead and trombonist Johannesburg” and “Freedom Day”, all from the iconic Steve Swell (minus the latter, the group hails from We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite, the set Amsterdam and Chicago and was on tour) migrated included Lincoln’s “Straightahead”, “Throw It Away”, from H0l0 to the Crown Heights art gallery Happylucky “Down Here Below” and “Music Is The Magic”, Cary’s no. 1 (Mar. 3rd), joining up with pedal steel guitarist “Running Out of Time” (set to Lincoln’s lyrics) and Susan Alcorn and Australian reedplayer Jim Denley, Mongo Santamaria’s “Afro Blue”. Spanning two hours, who were performing duo. Surrounded by a pig’s it had vertiginous peaks linked by long broad valleys. breakfast of fiber, paper and jeweled artworks, the Cary and Carrington were the impetus behind many of quintet tussled with one another over two shortish the collective high points, each evoking animated A JAZZMOBILE COMMUNITY FUNDRAISER improvisations, Dikeman’s rugged and hoarse squall crowd responses during solo features. Colón and Gage mating well with Swell’s economical slush and were equally compelling, if less charismatic. Gupta, PRESENTED BY: 2018 JAZZY AWARD quizzical flutter, and left the space warm. Denley and too often drowned in the sea of notes, finally surfaced jazzmobile PRESENTED POSTHUMOUSLY TO Alcorn hadn’t met prior and though both initially in a few places, his delicate finger-taps dancing over JOHNNIE GARRY showed restraint, feeling one another out, the inevitable four tuned tablas. Some of the extended jams seemed loosening up led to some remarkable passages of to linger longer than necessary, though on “Down Here MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2018 metallic prepared-horn grind and sine wave-like Below”, an extended lull in the middle eventually chordal bellows. —Clifford Allen erupted with volcanic strength. —Tom Greenland A STELLAR LINE-UP OF A-LIST MUSICIANS WINARD HARPER, MUSIC DIRECTOR AKIKO TSURUGA KAHLIL KWAME BELL ALEXIS COLE LAFAYETTE HARRIS ALYSON WILLIAMS LINCOLN COWINGS WNMUSIC.NET ANDREA BRACHFELD LISLE ATKINSON ANTOINETTE MONTAGUE LOUIS HAYES /DOWNTO N I O K BOBBY SANABRIA LYNETTE WASHINGTON T H O S F U R E N B N R A BRIANNA THOMAS A MARCUS PERSIANI F G D R I E N BRUCE EDWARDS T MARION COWINGS E P ©E CHIP JACKSON NAT ADDERLEY, JR. Swell/Stadhouders/Piazza/Shead/Dikeman at Happylucky no. 1 Marc Cary & Randy Noel @ Harlem Stage Gatehouse CRAIG HARRIS PATIENCE HIGGINS We often need, though don’t always get, reminders of You just can’t predict how Catherine Russell is going CYNTHIA SCOTT what is truly ‘beyond’ in creative arts. I would be to sound live: she sings so many styles, all well. At RAY MANTILLA remiss if I didn’t say that the avant garde improvisers Saint Peter’s Church (Mar. 4th), as featured artist for DANNY MIXON ROLAND GUERERRO I encounter in New York and elsewhere are mostly like the first of three Jazz Vespers services she performed me: middle-aged, white, male, straight/cis and upper- this Lent season, she was in worship mode. Alternating middle class. And as much as we might be politically with the pastors’ readings and calls to prayer, she DARNELL "JAY” STARKES SOLOMON HICKS aligned and have similar aesthetic interests, we need to brought their words to life in soulful song, her resonant TICKETS check ourselves. Even if we don’t have complete access alto rising to fill the tall, intimate tower. Three covers— ON LINE DERRICK BARKER TK BLUE to worlds that are not ours—those of people of color, The Consolers’ countrified “Don’t Let Nothing Shake $30.00 OPEN SEATING | women, trans and queer individuals—these are people Your Faith”, The Jackson Southernaires’ delta-bluesy GHANNIYYA GREEN WARREN SMITH who can effect change and the possibility of different “Help Me Make It Through Another Day” and the JAMES ZOLLAR WYCLIFFE GORDON directions. The centerpiece of Queer Trash at Issue Staple Singers’ spine-tingling “Stand By Me”—were $50.00 VIP SEATING Project Room (Mar. 10th; QT’s Michael Foster, Richard smoother but no less heartfelt renditions of their gritty JAY HOGGARD YUNIOR TERRY Kamerman and Eames Armstrong are the 2018 Suzanne predecessors, Russell blending her creamy, cutting alto BOX OFFICE HOURS: Fiol Curatorial Fellows at IPR) was Keijaun Thomas’ with the empathetic vocal harmonies of Melissa MON 2-7PM | TUE 12-7PM | WED 12-7PM | THU 12-7PM “Distance Is Not Separation” (or at least part of it—the Stylianou and Jason Walker, fine singers in their own CONCERT AT 6:30 PM | DOORS OPEN AT 6:00 PM full work can be seen on her Vimeo page). The artist, right, while bassist/bandleader Ike Sturm, guitarist $30.00 $50.00 nude except for undergarments, packing tape “corset” Jesse Lewis and vibraphonist Chris Dingman provided OPEN SEATING VIP SEATING and flame-orange extensions, circled a small makeshift nimble yet judicious support. The traditional hymn, floor plan of cardboard, balloons, glitter, yarn and “All Night, All Day (Angels Watching Over Me)”, was www.Eventbrite.com - Search Jazzmobile commercial detritus and recited an echo against the performed with similar brio. In a more modern vein, Discounted Group Sales: [email protected] prerecorded performance of her written declaration Russell sang Sturm’s “Give Us, Lord, a New Heart” “She Hard, She Q”, honoring and reading black and his setting of Bret Hesla’s “Listen”, leading a small feminist icons and pop cultural figures while community choir through the jazzy chord changes FIRST CORINTHIAN BAPTIST CHURCH alternating bodily presence from supplication/ with space for a few horn solos. There, in the midst of 1912 ADAM CLAYTON POWELL JR. BLVD objectification to taut, athletic specificity. While the our crowded crazy city, besieged by noise and ambition, (7TH AVE) @ 116TH ST. – HARLEM venue didn’t invite as much audience participation as Russell could have raised her voice in rejoinder, belting the work could use, Thomas’ dose of critical realness out a brash protest, but she chose a quieter, most and transgression was decidedly necessary. (CA) musical way to make her meaning loud and clear. (TG) 4 APRIL 2018 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD While fusion of jazz with Indian classical and Multinational all-female septet Woman To Woman traditional musics is hardly new—going back at least to made its NYC debut at the 92nd Street Y (Mar. 2nd) the ‘60s with Joe Harriott, Manfred Schoof and later with a concert confirming the prominent role of women WHAT’S NEWS Miles Davis, Pat Martino and John McLaughlin—what of the world in jazz today. The group, assembled by has changed over the past decade or more is that the pianist Renee Rosnes and comprising vocalist Cécile The Sony Corporation and Blue Note Media Group have fusion is coming from the other direction. Now we have McLorin Salvant, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, tenor announced a joint effort, Sony Hall, a venue with a post-colonial indo-jazz fusion, promulgated by saxophonist Melissa Aldana, clarinetist Anat Cohen, capacity “of 1,000 standing and 500 seated, with a full- musicians with direct heritage, whether it is Vijay Iyer, bassist Noriko Ueda and drummer Allison Miller, got service restaurant and bar...equipped with Sony’s Rudresh Mahanthappa or, as was on display at National things started with Salvant’s joyous reading of “Never technologies, integrated throughout the 12,000 square- Sawdust (Mar. 11th), Aakash Mittal. The saxophonist Will I Marry”, the whole band swinging with an foot venue” to open in New York City this spring. Additionally, Sony has been named sponsor of the annual was presenting music written under the auspices of a uplifting verve that continued through their rendition Blue Note Jazz Festival, taking place every summer. For grant awarded by the American Institute of Indian of “I Get A Kick Out Of You”, which began with more information, visit bluenote.net. Studies, which allowed him to visit Kolkata and Salvant’s a cappella delivery of the seldom-sung verse. compose Nocturne, a five-section piece of music based Cohen and the rhythm section were in the spotlight on As part of Jazz Appreciation Month, the Louis Armstrong on Hindustani evening and night ragas. The music was “Jitterbug Waltz”, her virtuosic technique on full House will present two events: on Apr. 30th, there will be interpreted by Mittal’s Awaz Trio, completed by Miles display as she interjected warbling tags to lyrical the first public screening of Satchmo Plays King Oliver, the Okazaki (guitar) and Rajna Swaminathan (mridangam, phrases.