Allan Holdsworth's Guitar Solo On
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MARCH 2017 VOLUME 84 / NUMBER 3 President Kevin Maher Publisher Frank Alkyer Editor Bobby Reed Managing Editor Brian Zimmerman Contributing Editor Ed Enright Creative Director ŽanetaÎuntová Design Assistant Markus Stuckey Assistant to the Publisher Sue Mahal Bookkeeper Evelyn Oakes Editorial Intern Izzy Yellen ADVERTISING SALES Record Companies & Schools Jennifer Ruban-Gentile 630-941-2030 [email protected] Musical Instruments & East Coast Schools Ritche Deraney 201-445-6260 [email protected] Advertising Sales Associate Kevin R. Maher 630-941-2030 [email protected] OFFICES 102 N. Haven Road, Elmhurst, IL 60126–2970 630-941-2030 / Fax: 630-941-3210 http://downbeat.com [email protected] CUSTOMER SERVICE 877-904-5299 / [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS Senior Contributors: Michael Bourne, Aaron Cohen, Howard Mandel, John McDonough Atlanta: Jon Ross; Austin: Kevin Whitehead; Boston: Fred Bouchard, Frank- John Hadley; Chicago: John Corbett, Alain Drouot, Michael Jackson, Peter Margasak, Bill Meyer, Mitch Myers, Paul Natkin, Howard Reich; Denver: Norman Provizer; Indiana: Mark Sheldon; Iowa: Will Smith; Los Angeles: Earl Gibson, Todd Jenkins, Kirk Silsbee, Chris Walker, Joe Woodard; Michigan: John Ephland; Minneapolis: Robin James; Nashville: Bob Doerschuk; New Orleans: Erika Goldring, David Kunian, Jennifer Odell; New York: Alan Bergman, Herb Boyd, Bill Douthart, Ira Gitler, Eugene Gologursky, Norm Harris, D.D. Jackson, Jimmy Katz, Jim Macnie, Ken Micallef, Dan Ouellette, Ted Panken, Richard Seidel, Tom Staudter, Jack Vartoogian, Michael Weintrob; North Carolina: Robin Tolleson; Philadelphia: David Adler, Shaun Brady, Eric Fine; San Francisco: Mars Breslow, Forrest Bryant, Clayton Call, Yoshi Kato; Seattle: Paul de Barros; Tampa Bay: Philip Booth; Washington, D.C.: Willard Jenkins, John Murph, Michael Wilderman; Canada: Greg Buium, James Hale, Diane Moon; Denmark: Jan Persson; France: Jean Szlamowicz; Germany: Detlev Schilke, Hyou Vielz; Great Britain: Brian Priestley; Japan: Kiyoshi Koyama; Portugal: Antonio Rubio; Romania: Virgil Mihaiu; Russia: Cyril Moshkow; South Africa: Don Albert. Jack Maher, President 1970-2003 John Maher, President 1950-1969 SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: Send orders and address changes to: DOWNBEAT, P.O. Box 11688, St. Paul, MN 55111–0688. Inquiries: U.S.A. and Canada (877) 904-5299; Foreign (651) 251-9682. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please allow six weeks for your change to become effective. When notifying us of your new address, include current DOWN- BEAT label showing old address. DOWNBEAT (issn 0012-5768) Volume 84, Number 3 is published monthly by Maher Publications, 102 N. Haven, Elmhurst, IL 60126-2970. Copyright 2017 Maher Publica- tions. All rights reserved. Trademark registered U.S. Patent Office. Great Britain regis- tered trademark No. 719.407. Periodicals postage paid at Elmhurst, IL and at additional mailing offices. Subscription rates: $34.95 for one year, $59.95 for two years. Foreign subscriptions rates: $56.95 for one year, $103.95 for two years. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, photos, or artwork. Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from publisher. MAHER PUBLICATIONS: DOWNBEAT magazine, MUSIC INC. maga- zine, UpBeat Daily. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to: DownBeat, P.O. Box 11688, St. Paul, MN 55111–0688. CABLE ADDRESS: DownBeat (on sale February 14, 2017) Magazine Publishers Association. Á 4 DOWNBEAT MARCH 2017 MARCH 2017 ON THE COVER Christine Jensen (right) conducts l’Orchestre national de jazz de Montréal, with trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, at the 2015 Montreal Jazz Festival. 26 Craig Taborn ‘Go Inside the Sound’ BY KEN MICALLEF Craig Taborn’s ever-evolving music is no less intense than the man who conceived it. Interviewing the keyboardist and composer is like viewing an equation from every possible angle, with his rich imagination dictating the sequences, designs and outcomes. But Taborn’s keen intellect doesn’t get in the way of his quest for beauty—one of the defining 32 characteristics of his latest album, Daylight Ghosts. RANDY COLE Cover photo of Craig Taborn shot by Jimmy and Dena Katz at The Jazz Gallery in New York City on Dec. 8. Info for this venue is at jazzgallery.nyc. FEATURES 5-Star Review 5-Star Review 32 Ingrid & Christine Jensen +++++ +++++ ‘Our Gift Is What We Do’ BY PHILLIP LUTZ JOS L. KNAEPEN 36 Charlie Haden Pursuing Liberation BY JOSEF WOODARD 56 Miroslav Vitous 56 Madeleine Peyroux 59 Akua Dixon 61 BassDrumBone 40 Rudy Royston ‘Just Play’ BY DAN OUELLETTE 44 Indie Life DEPARTMENTS Robert Miller 8 First Take 53 Reviews 114 Toolshed Nicole Saphos Clean Feed Records 10 Chords & Discords 108 Master Class 118 Jazz On Campus BY FRANK CARUSO 13 The Beat 122 Blindfold Test 110 Pro Session Greg Osby SPECIAL SECTION 22 Players BY DAN WILENSKY Art Hirahara 71 2017 International Jazz Victor Provost 112 Transcription Camp Guide Daniel Freedman Allan Holdsworth Viktoria Tolstoy Guitar Solo 6 DOWNBEAT MARCH 2017 First Take BY BOBBY REED LEN KATZ Trumpeter Terence Blanchard with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Slatkin Saying Goodbye OBITUARIES ARE TOUGH. WRITING AND EDITING AN OBIT IS A challenging task, but the far more difficult task is answering this ques- tion: Who gets an obituary? Here at DownBeat, every week, we learn of musicians from jazz, blues and Beyond who pass away. Due to the restrictions of time, edi- torial space and deadlines, we can’t recognize all of them. Indeed, the fact that DownBeat doesn’t run an obituary on an artist should never be interpreted as a sign that this editorial staff doesn’t feel that the artist was worthy of an obituary. Every person deserves an obituary, but there are many stories we strive to tell our readers, and an obit is just one. We’re still reeling from all the major figures we lost in 2016: John Glenn, Muhammad Ali, Gwen Ifill and Elie Wiesel are just a few names that spring to mind. In the music world, we said goodbye to Mose Allison, Victor Bailey, Gato Barbieri, Remo Belli, Paul Bley, David Bowie, Al Caiola, Phil Chess, Leonard Cohen, Bob Cranshaw, Stanley Dural Jr. (Buckwheat Zydeco), Keith Emerson, Joey Feek, Vic Firth, Pete Fountain, Glenn Frey, Juan Gabriel, Merle Haggard, Sonny James, Sharon Jones, Paul Kanter, Greg Lake, Sir George Martin, Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor), Prince, Leon Russell, Paul Smoker, Ralph Stanley, Kay Starr, Bobby Wellins and Maurice White. That’s not nearly a complete list. The month of August was particularly difficult because the jazz world lost three major figures in a span of 10 days: Bobby Hutcherson, Toots Thielemans and Rudy Van Gelder. As an editorial staff, we mar- shaled our forces to produce obituaries on all three for our November issue, even though we knew we couldn’t devote adequate editorial space to recount all of their significant accomplishments. More recently, we lost innovative drummer Alphonse Mouzon on Christmas Day, and we’ll include a tribute to him in the April issue. In 2016, we also said goodbye to a couple of gifted photographers who regularly contributed to DownBeat. Jos L. Knaepen was a legend among jazz photographers, particularly in Europe. Detroit-based photographer Len Katz was a talented artist whom we lost far too soon. Above is Len’s photo of trumpeter Terence Blanchard performing with his band and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, con- ducted by Leonard Slatkin. This shot is from a 2015 performance of Blanchard’s A Tale Of God’s Will (A Requiem For Katrina). Prior to the concert, Len had asked me if DownBeat would be inter- ested in photos of the show. I said, “Sure, email me a few images.” Instead of doing that, Len shipped me a UPS package with a thumb drive of 259 high-resolution photos. That was Len. We’ll miss him dearly. DB 8 DOWNBEAT MARCH 2017 Chords Discords Keep ’Em Guessing The Blindfold Test and the interviews are my favorite parts of DownBeat. I recall a letter published in Chords & Discords in which the writer complained about those Blindfold Test comments in which the interviewee is trying to identify the artist. CLAY PATRICK MCBRIDE This person is missing an important point. Each jazz musician adds his unique person- ality and tonal character to each piece. This is inescapable; his signature is on display. So when another musician has the skill to iden- tify who is playing, it demonstrates to me his knowledge of these subtleties—which most lovers of music struggle to identify. So 5 stars to those musicians who listen to each other and are able to identify each other. I love it. LLEWELLYN THOMAS JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA Editor’s Note: Turn to page 122 for our Blind- fold Test with Greg Osby, a saxophonist who can detect those sonic signatures. Greg Osby Heroes for the Hall very melodic, creative, and completely his It’s long overdue for pianist Barry Harris own. His great solo on “Sippin’ At Bells” (on and alto saxophonist Charles McPherson to the 1958 LP Cool Struttin’) is typical of his be elected into the DownBeat Hall of Fame. smooth, swinging approach to a blues stan- At 87 years old, Harris still travels all over dard. Clark’s lack of great fame belies his tre- the world spreading the message of the jazz mendous talent. heritage in its purest and most vibrant form RAMAKUMAR JONES FAIRFAX, CALIFORNIA to those younger players who are truly sin- cere in continuing and developing the jazz language themselves. Charles McPherson simply goes on year Here’s Some Love after year playing the most lyrical, swing- I went to the 2016 Bedford Blues & BBQ ing and passionate saxophone solos since Festival in Bedford, Texas, where I caught per- Sonny Stitt. formances by Joey Love, Pat Boyack, Dylan Both Harris and McPherson should be Bishop, Santos Puertas & The Bright Lights and inducted into the Hall of Fame not only be- Mike Morgan & The Crawl.