Bustin' Loose
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February 2011 | No. 106 Your FREE Monthly Guide to the New York Jazz Scene aaj-ny.com BUSTER WILLIAMS BUSTIN’ LOOSE SPECIAL BASSISTISSUE John Patitucci • Michael Formanek • Planet Arts • Event Calendar Perhaps more than any other instrument, the look and sound of the acoustic bass defines what most people think of when they think jazz. It conjures up images of dimly-lit clubs and some bassist slumped over their instrument, eyes closed, coordinating the maelstrom around them. But for their almost supreme importance, people still talk during the bass solo and think it odd when a bassist New York@Night leads a group. We hope our special Bass Issue will change that. 4 While we’ve had previous issues devoted to a single instrument, not once have we gone this overboard. On The Cover we have the seminal Buster Williams, Interview: John Patitucci whose resumé reads like jazz history and brings a quartet to Iridium. Interview 6 by Terrell Holmes John Patitucci, besides his work as a leader, has been an integral part of many important groups, perhaps none more so than the quartet of Wayne Shorter, with Artist Feature: Michael Formanek whom Patitucci appears at Town Hall this month. Michael Formanek (Artist 7 by Kurt Gottschalk Feature) is known more for being an in-demand sideman since the early ‘80s but has had his forays into leadership, including last year’s acclaimed The Rub and On The Cover: Buster Williams Spare Change (ECM), the group from which will appear at Connection Works’ 9 by Ken Dryden monthly showcase at Littlefield. Then there is bassist-composer Graham Collier Encore: Lest We Forget: (Encore), responsible for some of the most interesting music coming out of Britain over the past several decades and who will appear at Downtown Music Gallery 10 Graham Collier Malachi Favors and Columbia University discussing his book The Jazz Composer. There is also a by Clifford Allen by Ken Waxman Lest We Forget on the late Malachi Favors, a Megaphone from the ever-busy Gerald Cannon and Listen Ups from two young bassists continuing and Megaphone VOXNews expanding the tradition. And if that weren’t enough, our first four pages of CD 11 by Gerald Cannon by Suzanne Lorge Reviews are dedicated to new albums released by bassists, covering a wide Label Spotlight: Listen Up!: stylistic range. And don’t forget about the various bassists leading groups around town this month, including Hilliard Greene, Hidé Tanaka, Matt Brewer, Eivind 12 Planet Arts Garth Stevenson Opsvik, Albey Balgochian, Michael Bates, Larry Ridley, Rob Duguay, Rob by Ken Dryden & Matthew Rybicki Wasserman, Daniel Ori, Greg Cohen, Skuli Sverisson and Dmitri Kolesnik. CD Reviews: Scott Colley, Orlando LeFleming, Adam Lane, Laurence Donohue-Greene, Managing Editor Andrey Henkin, Editorial Director 14 Martin Wind, Ken Filiano, Chris Dahlgren, Barre Phillips, Scott Lee and more 36 Event Calendar On the cover: Buster Williams (photo by John Abbott) 41 Club Directory 43 Miscellany: In Memoriam • Birthdays • On This Day Submit Letters to the Editor by emailing [email protected] US Subscription rates: 12 issues, $30 (International: 12 issues, $40) For subscription assistance, send check, cash or money order to the address below or email [email protected]. AllAboutJazz-New York www.aaj-ny.com Managing Editor: Laurence Donohue-Greene To Contact: Editorial Director & Production: Andrey Henkin AllAboutJazz-New York Staff Writers 116 Pinehurst Avenue, Ste. J41 David R. Adler, Clifford Allen, Fred Bouchard, Stuart Broomer, Thomas Conrad, New York, NY 10033 Ken Dryden, Donald Elfman, Sean Fitzell, Graham Flanagan, Kurt Gottschalk, United States Tom Greenland, Laurel Gross, Alex Henderson, Marcia Hillman, Terrell Holmes, Robert Iannapollo, Francis Lo Kee, Martin Longley, Suzanne Lorge, Wilbur MacKenzie, Gordon Marshall, Marc Medwin, Russ Musto, Joel Roberts, Laurence Donohue-Greene: [email protected] John Sharpe, Elliott Simon, Jeff Stockton, Celeste Sunderland, Andrew Vélez, Ken Waxman Andrey Henkin: [email protected] Contributing Writers General Inquiries: [email protected] Gerald Cannon, George Kanzler, Seth Watter Advertising: [email protected] Contributing Photographers Editorial: [email protected] John Abbott, Jim Anness, Scott Friedlander, Ronnie James, Calendar: [email protected] Patrick Jarenwattananon, Alan Nahigian, Peter Gannushkin, John Rogers, Jack Vartoogian All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission strictly prohibited. All material copyrights property of the authors. ALLABOUTJAZZ-NEW YORK | February 2011 3 NEW YORK @ NIGHT Sullivan Hall was one of five venues to host Winter The talented and charismatic singer/violinist Iva Jazzfest 2011, but the bookings in that room, handled Bittová presented two of her most fruitful recent by the presenting organization Revive Da Live, collaborations on two consecutive nights in January. skewed decidedly toward a jazz/hiphop hybrid On the 4th she appeared in a classical setting with aesthetic. That certainly didn’t mean swing was pianist Lisa Moore at Le Poisson Rouge and on the unwelcome. So on the festival’s second night (Jan. 8th), preceding night she presented jazz settings of Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band swung and Moravian songs at Dizzy’s Club. The project, co-led by without apology, offering a sound that was vehement, bassist and fellow Czech George Mraz (and in this buoyant and transporting. Evans led from the piano incarnation including drummer Billy Hart and Czech but left much of the cueing to trombone veteran Frank pianist Emil Viklický), is a perfect amalgam of forms. Lacy, who palpably increased the exhilaration in the Bittová was pushed into the role of jazz singer in an room. Bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Donald interesting way. Her voice is high but strong and after Edwards also didn’t relent. This new Philadelphia- a couple of instrumental trio pieces she barely born unit knew exactly how to tailor a short festival set approached the mic to sing the first song. Among the - they played only three of Evans’ tunes but drove folk songs, some centuries old, the band intermingled them home with urgency and heart. First came pieces by Czech composer Leoš Janácek (even picking “Captain Black”, a midtempo swinger arranged by up an aria from one of his operas), letting them fall altoist Todd Bashore. Next was the furiously churning wonderfully into cocktail piano and bird whistles. modal waltz “The Sluice”, arranged by Lacy. And last Such pieces moved more closely to her usual terrain, came the slow syncopated 4/4 of “Easy Now”, which which is typically less strictly tonal. But when called Evans dedicated to recently departed Philly greats upon, she delivered melodies assuredly and swayed including Trudy Pitts, Sid Simmons and Charles on the bandstand while the musicians vamped. Hart Fambrough. As baritone saxophonist Mark Allen (who worked with Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Herbie scaled the heights in a withering solo, the rest of the Hancock and many others) was fantastically taut, band - Chelsea Baratz and Victor North on reeds, stacking dynamics firmly alongside one another and Duane Eubanks on trumpet, Brent White on trombone, with Mraz rarely touching his bow and Viklický (a jazz plenty more - began a melodious chant (“ea … sy … classicist who studied with George Crumb) they now…”) and kindled a fleeting connection with the created a decidedly Eastern jazz, but more importantly sacred. - David R. Adler just a wonderfully listenable jazz. - Kurt Gottschalk Photo by Jim Anness Photo by Patrick Jarenwattananon Orrin Evans @ Winter Jazzfest George Mraz & Iva Bittova @ Dizzy’s Club The atmosphere at Winter Jazzfest is thoroughly Jemeel Moondoc’s take on tradition, under the rubric come-and-go, friendly to immersive listening but also “Jus Grew Orchestra” took to the University of the to skimming the surfaces of the countless bands on Streets stage on a succession of Mondays in January. display. So one had to hand it to the James Carney On the 10th, they hit in strict time right off the bat, Group, which played Kenny’s Castaways on night two repeating a simple theme with a forceful unevenness, a (Jan. 8th) and held the close attention of a good-sized strident yet shaky motif. Moondoc took the first solo, crowd throughout a challenging, dynamically varied then massaged the ensemble through Ted Daniel’s set. The band was a brass-centric, slightly smaller solo, setting single tones of varying duration across the version of the one Carney employed on his Songlines trumpet lines, then busier figures under Sabir releases Green-Wood (2007) and Ways and Means (2009). Mateen’s tenor sax solo. His conducting was light, Carney’s saxophone regulars (Tony Malaby, Peter however, often getting the band where he wanted Epstein) were absent, but trombonist Josh Roseman, them to be and letting them hold tight, or somewhat trumpeter Ralph Alessi, bassist Chris Lightcap and tight. He let a beautiful duet between drummer Chad drummer Mark Ferber filled the small bandstand and Taylor and clarinetist Michael Marcus ride, then wended their way through Carney’s compositions picked up his alto and played to the clarinet’s register. “Grassy Shoal Hoedown”, “In Lieu of Crossroads” and Taylor for his part was steadfast, keeping figures on “The Poetry Wall”, balancing stormy and angular toms and rims, half-swinging, partially marching. A groove-making and quasi-minimalist abstraction. The second piece pitted a bit of Mingussence (in a sub-trio house Fender Rhodes, as Ben Ratliff noted in the New of Mateen, Taylor and bassist Hill Greene) against a York Times, gave the bands appearing at Kenny’s a too- slow swing reminiscent of the Art Ensemble of similar sound, although the fact that Rhodes is an Chicago to impressive effect. The magic of Moondoc is integral part of Carney’s canvas gave him a distinct that he does this with free players, which means they advantage.