NEW YORK @ NIGHT Circumstances required that the Craig Taborn Quartet As Trio 3 closed the first set of their final night at spend all day working on a new album for ECM before Village Vanguard (May 1st), celebrating 25 years rushing over to The Jazz Gallery to finish a two-night together, saxophonist Oliver Lake recited a poem run (May 5th). The band members—pianist/ centered on the phrase “Separation—put all my food keyboardist Taborn, tenor saxophonist/clarinetist on the same plate” and declared the uniting factors Chris Speed, bassist Chris Lightcap and drummer among different strands of Black music. In cadences Dave King—may have been tired but it didn’t show in recalling St. Louis poet Ajulé Rutlin, with whom he the vibrant, rhythmically entrancing music that flowed once collaborated, the alto saxophonist outlined what from the bandstand. The first untitled pieces were full were essentially the precepts behind the trio and its of mystery and sonic abstraction. Taborn began by longevity. Lake is a very different player from bassist coaxing ominous sounds from a small Vox organ before Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille—the switching over to acoustic piano. Similarly, Lightcap three performed lengthy unaccompanied soli that alternated between upright and electric bass, pizzicato preceded “Separation”—alternating between Parker- and arco, as the music evolved through loping legato iana and ebullient, grotesque trills, which led into unisons, raw freely improvised passages, intricate Workman expounding on a balladic form with ensemble work and pulsating grooves somewhat quavering arco and harp-like pizzicato glisses and the reminiscent of Taborn’s Junk Magic project (also with drummer exploring a tightly-wound thesis on the King on drums). Roscoe Mitchell’s “Jamaican linkages between bebop drumming and Central or Farewell”, a ballad that Taborn once played on the West African drum choirs. When Lake relocated AACM icon’s Nine to Get Ready, served as a melodic eastward in 1973, he brought a spaciousness that was oasis of sorts, with Speed taking up clarinet to offer rare in New York’s bustling avant garde and his lines lyrical expressions and powerful, cleanly executed still unfold with a gentle logic belying their spiky, high-register tones. Taborn closed the brief but fibrous centers. Across six pieces, including renditions explosive set with the originals “New Glory” and of clarinetist John Carter’s “Encounter” and pianist “Ancient”, pieces that bore yet more fruit in terms of Adegoke Steve Colson’s “Leaving East of Java”, Trio 3 beat logic and momentum. Cycling a hypnotic line on made a distinct case for their brand of ‘supergroup’ as electric bass, Lightcap let it gather steam and then a unity of complementary approaches standing slyly dropped an octave, setting King off to burrow decidedly sure on their own, but that look and taste deeper in search of timbral oddity. —David R. Adler wonderful occupying a single dish. —Clifford Allen M O C . Y S H O P T A R O G H O P T W O O H R P E T C N N O A R G E /F L N E C A I I T G E O O O /P T L R I C A N V U K O C C A E G R O E G © 2016 J Craig Taborn @ The Jazz Gallery Trio 3 @ Village Vanguard Reconvening the quintet personnel from his superb After Charlie Parker’s death in 1955, the collection of 2012 Clean Feed release Spun Tree (with pianist Jacob Bird Feathers felt massive and separating rare plumage Sacks subbing for Matt Mitchell), alto saxophonist from pigeon chaff was a challenge. Phil Woods (1931- Michaël Attias dove into his first set at Cornelia Street 2015) crafted his own unique approach, hinging on Café (May 12th) with a bright, busy, freely improvised crisp, bitter runs and charged fireworks. At Jazz at and untitled opener. The band began together at close Kitano (May 6th), his life was celebrated by longtime to full intensity, though drummer Tom Rainey’s collaborators drummer Bill Goodwin and bassist Steve deliberate brushwork cooled the music out, allowing Gilmore, pianist James Weidman (subbing for an ailing subtleties in the interplay between Attias and trumpeter Don Friedman) and alto saxophonist Grace Kelly, a Ralph Alessi to speak. Bassist Sean Conly brought a Woods protégé. The set consisted of standards, bebop full-bodied pizzicato touch to shifting lines and tunes and one Kelly original, “Man with the Hat” (she patterns, which served as essential transition points in inherited one of Woods’ trademark leather caps). all of this music. “Scribble Job Yin Yang” brought the Certainly a player with visual presence, Kelly’s tone is tempo down, as a stuttering, dissonant theme emerged both warm and brittle and her phraseology includes and the instrumental voices crisscrossed at a measured quizzical left turns, emphatic leaps and honks and a pace, with Sacks playing only single notes. The pianist clean meander. Coupled with Weidman’s inventive, introduced “Moonmouth” with a beautiful abstract chunky clamber and contrasting push-pull between rubato statement, cueing the band in with an elegant bassist and drummer, the music was consistently arpeggiated pattern. The carefully wrought dynamics inspired and Kelly gave quite a bit of space for the and lyrical unisons of this piece contrasted with the rhythm section to forge individual and collective funky, far more aggressive vibe of “Hexway Liner” paths. Goodwin’s brash economy certainly was part of (a “bloodbath”, as Attias termed it when it ended). The the push, but Gilmore’s meticulous explorations leaping-interval lines, compelling solos and vamped provided an elegant carpet. “Smile”, associated with tag ending, preceded by Rainey’s wildest drum fills, Charlie Chaplin, was a vocal number onto which Kelly yielded to “Goodbye Rumination” with its spacious grafted a few different deliveries, although the most rubato atmosphere, followed by the closing romp convincing voice remained that of her horn. The “Many Skins”. These were short, focused tunes that quartet closed with a spry, rare take of Bud Powell’s still offered collective improvisational freedom and not “Webb City”, leaping and pirouetting in a convincing a few individual tours de force as well. (DA) nod to the historical present of modern jazz. (CA) 4 JUNE 2016 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD It was, as curator Joel Harrison observed in closing, Joe Lovano celebrated The Spiritual Side of John “an embarrassment of riches”, referring to the eight Coltrane at The Appel Room in a program starting and other guitarists heard during the Alternative Guitar ending with divinely inspired selections by the iconic WHAT’S NEWS Summit at Drom (May 11th). Each act covered late saxophonist. Fronting an allstar septet featuring 2016 Doris Duke Award winners have been named. Recipients in the compositions by Joni Mitchell and/or Carla Bley, guest Ravi Coltrane, the group fittingly opened its jazz category are Dave Douglas, Fred Hersch, Wayne Horvitz, Jason making for a less pyrotechnical, more song-centered May 14th early set with a terse reading of “Welcome”. Moran, Matana Roberts, Jen Shyu, Wadada Leo Smith and Henry concert. Mike Baggetta began with a crackly, whining It began with Geri Allen’s rumbling piano and Reggie Threadgill. For more information, visit ddpaa.org. In related news, the medley of “Case of You” and “Ictus”, floating uncanny Workman’s bowed bass, joined by Andrew Cyrille’s Doris Duke Charitable Foundation also announced recipients of its new Leadership Grants Program, five organizations receiving grants sounds over incessant electronic hum. Sheryl Bailey, bright cymbals and Brian Blade’s malleted toms, totalling $1 million: City Parks Foundation of the Charlie Parker Jazz paired with bassist Harvie S, demonstrated her introducing the inspirational song before Lovano and Festival ($75,000); Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation ($200,000); Jazz crystalline acoustic tone on “Hissing of Summer Lawns” Coltrane entered blowing the classic melody, their Institute of Chicago of the Chicago Jazz Festival ($225,000); Monterey Jazz Festival ($400,000); Newport Festivals Foundation ($100,000). and “Sad Song”. Wolfgang Muthspiel fingerpicked distinctive sounds coalescing in ecstatic harmony For more information, visit ddcf.org. sensitive renditions of “Amelia” and “Floater”, layering colored by Tom Harrell’s flugelhorn. The two tenors flatpicked solos over looping chords. Harrison’s trio took flight on “Spiritual”, with Lovano’s airy tone Pianist Robert Glasper and author Ashley Kahn will present a class on Miles Davis this fall at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of enlisted Muthspiel for “Vox Humana”, vocalist Everett punctuated by signature hoarse cries while Coltrane Recorded Music. For more information, visit tisch.nyu.edu. Bradley for “Borderline”, then did “The Jungle Line”, let loose with blistering “sheets of sound” echoing his featuring bassist Jerome Harris’ vocals and drummer honored father. In between Harrell soloed with boppish Mack Avenue Records has acquired the MAXJAZZ imprint, home of Allison Miller’s funky bare-handed beats. Steve flair, as he did on the smoothly swinging “Lazy Bird”, Carla Cook, Nancy King, the late Mulgrew Miller, René Marie and Geoffrey Keezer. For more information, visit mackavenue.com. Cardenas, Miller and bassist Ben Allison played one of along with the two saxophonists, who improvised with the event’s shortest but most satisfying sets, a mash-up lyrical aplomb. The mood calmed for “Central Park ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) of “Yvette in English” and “King Korn”. Nels Cline and West”, with Lovano’s mellow toned straight alto has established an award in honor of the late composer Fred Ho (1957-2014), which will be presented annually to innovative emerging Julian Lage achieved equally intimate repartee on saxophone out front, then got bluesy on “Mr.