Heart of Gold
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January 2011 | No. 105 Your FREE Monthly Guide to the New York Jazz Scene aaj-ny.com eLLIS MARSALIS heart of gold AAJ-NY’S SPECIAL FEATUREBEST2010 OF Steve Coleman • Nels Cline • smallsLIVE • Event Calendar Happy New Year to you, our dear readers. And with a new year comes that inevitable special feature, the Best Of spread. It’s a remarkable exercise, really. New York@Night Despite repeated death knells, literally thousands of jazz CDs are released each 4 year, from the (decreasing) major labels to the slew of independent imprints and Interview: Steve Coleman self-released discs. And we at AllAboutJazz-New York have studiously gone through most of them to bring you our Best Of 2010. Our snazzy full-color spread 6 by Tom Greenland features Musicians, Labels, Clubs, Performances, Albums, Unearthed Gems, Artist Feature: Nels Cline Tribute Recordings, Reissues, Latin jazz releases, Debuts, Boxed Sets, Large Ensemble releases, Vocal albums, Books and Cover Art. And if that isn’t enough by Martin Longley 7 for you, check out our Honorable Mention border for another 115 albums the staff On The Cover: Ellis Marsalis at AllAboutJazz-New York feel well represent the state of jazz today. As difficult as 9 by Laurel Gross it may be to pore through so much music and decide what is best, the overall message is that jazz is still healthy, (not-so) wealthy and wise. Encore: Lest We Forget: But just as we take a look back, we also look forward to another fruitful year 10 Ted Brown Tony Williams of jazz. This month, the new National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters are fêted at an award ceremony at Rose Theater, including our Cover musician, by Clifford Allen by Donald Elfman pianist and jazz family patriarch Ellis Marsalis. Cold weather in NYC brings the Megaphone VOXNews annual Winter Jazzfest to five West Village venues for a weekend, featuring 11 by Roland Vazquez by Suzanne Lorge dozens of groups including those led by saxist Steve Coleman (Interview) and guitarist Nels Cline (Artist Feature). And don’t miss two pieces of jazz history: Label Spotlight: Listen Up!: octogenarian Ted Brown (Encore) makes a rare NYC appearance at The Kitano and late legendary drummer Tony Williams (Lest We Forget) is celebrated by a 12 smallsLIVE Stefan Zeniuk Lifetime tribute at Blue Note featuring former bandmember Jack Bruce. by Alex Henderson & Joe Hertenstein With a new year in front of us, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved with jazz for their continued efforts: musicians, listeners, Festival Report: Berlin-New York Festival record labels, clubs, publicists and, yes, even jazz writers. 13 We’ll see you out there... CD Reviews: Angelica Sanchez, Dave Holland, Mike Pride, Laurence Donohue-Greene, Managing Editor Andrey Henkin, Editorial Director 14 David Murray, Mary Stallings, Jack Walrath, Billy Hart and more Special Feature: Best Of 2010 26 On the cover: Ellis Marsalis (photo by Jeff Strout) 42 Event Calendar In Correction: 49 Club Directory Last month’s Unearthed Gem was incorrectly credited; it was written by Ken Dryden. Miscellany: In Memoriam • Birthdays • On This Day Submit Letters to the Editor by emailing [email protected] 51 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] Lyn Horton, Brandt Reiter, George Kanzler, Roland Vazquez Advertising: [email protected] Contributing Photographers Editorial: [email protected] Scott Friedlander, Peter Gannushkin, Susan O’Connor, Calendar: [email protected] John Rogers, Jeff Strout, Jack Vartoogian All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission strictly prohibited. All material copyrights property of the authors. ALLABOUTJAZZ-NEW YORK | January 2011 3 NEW YORK @ NIGHT There are just a few pianists with the stature and sheer Keith Rowe has spent the last few decades taking the musical resources to carry off a full week of solo piano guitar as far away from its guitarness as he can. But in at the Village Vanguard. Fred Hersch is one of them the last few years, at least since his Four Gentlemen of and he set the precedent in 2006. Martial Solal and the Guitar project, it seems he has been bringing it Cecil Taylor have followed suit with week-long solo back to, oh, ‘guitaricity’, let’s call it. In part this has showcases of their own. By the time Hersch played the been the result of working with other deeply abstract final set of his triumphant return engagement (Dec. guitarists, such as Oren Ambarchi and Christian 5th), he was extremely limber and fully at ease, Fennesz, who both retain a little more of the electric summoning a huge yet rounded and intimate sound six-string sound than usually emanates from Rowe’s from the grand piano dominating the stage. “In the tabletop setup. In a breathtaking trio with Ambarchi Wee Small Hours of the Morning” was his opener, a and Canadian electronicist crys cole at Littlefield Dec. radiant ballad framed by unsettled left-hand tremolos 4th, it was the accidental sounds of guitars and HVAC at the beginning and end of the take. Rarely a flashy units that punctuated the quiet purr of their three player, Hersch tends to keep his considerable chops in tables of gear. The only orthodox sounds coming from reserve to suit the music. But here, after 11 previous the two guitars (and more likely Ambarchi’s) were sets, he was flying. His articulation on the dark but fast what, in other forms, would be heard as mistakes: a 6/4 of “Echoes” was hair-raising. His midtempo swing brushed strum or fingertips moving against the on “Lee’s Dream” (based on “You Stepped Out of a strings. Otherwise the guitars were speaking foreign Dream”) was bristling and full of surprise. His tongues as cole, with her array of effects, added to the lyricism on “Doce de Coco” was without peer. His layers of hushed hums and disembodied buzzes. The encore, Sonny Rollins’ “Doxy”, followed a route venue’s heating fan made the group into an similar to “You’re My Everything” from Hersch’s inadvertent quartet, adding blocks of white noise latest trio album Whirl - all improvisation until the throughout, which was a distraction only if it was very last round, when the melody finally emerged. allowed to be. Problematic, perhaps, but still in the Thelonious Monk’s “Work” also found Hersch deep in industrial couture of the dark room, the fan (often swing and discovery, landing like a gymnast after a set louder than the players) had a way of reinforcing the of risky moves. If this was work, he wasn’t letting it delicacy of the sounds being produced, an effect rather show. A live recording is due from Palmetto in March like a wall made with glass bricks and clouds. 2011. - David R. Adler - Kurt Gottschalk Photo by Peter Gannushkin/DOWNTOWNMUSIC.NET © 2010 Jack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotos. Fred Hersch @ Village Vanguard Keith Rowe, crys cole and Oren Ambarchi @ Littlefield Having won the 2010 Thelonious Monk Competition, Muhal Richard Abrams has made a career of not vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant was first to appear in resting on his laurels. As cofounder and spiritual the Tribeca Performing Arts Center’s annual “Monk In father of the Association for the Advancement of Motion” finalists’ showcase (Dec. 4th). The Miami- Creative Musicians, Abrams has spent close to 50 years born, French-American Salvant has a thing for choice lobbying for innovative approaches within jazz old repertoire - the Bessie Smith vehicles “You’ve Got traditions. Even still, the music he presented for an to Give Me Some” and “Take It Right Back”, Valaida Interpretations birthday tribute at Roulette Dec. 2nd Snow’s minor-key burner “You Bring Out the Savage (Abrams turned 80 in September) could hardly have in Me” - and she’s capable of rendering these in a been predicted. He began the concert with a series of vintage ‘30s style. But set against pianist Dan resounding gong crashes, then moved to a decidedly Nimmer’s tight Red Garland-esque solos and the metallic, celestial synthesizer. Adam Rudolph joined boppish groove of bassist John Webber and drummer in with soft congas, then Tom Hamilton on second Pete Van Nostrand, Salvant’s singing took on a synth, all very quietly. Synthesizer experiments have modern glow. Her banter was minimal and stiff - give long been a subplot to Abrams’ work, but it’s not her some years and her stage presence will surely something he’s often presented live. The piece built improve. But the singing was playful and charismatic slowly, Abrams playing more pianistic, Rudolph’s on “Love for Sale”, “I Only Have Eyes for You”, “If I percussion growing more rhythmic, Hamilton Only Had a Brain”, “Laugh Clown Laugh” and a eventually falling off into a wavering white noise, number of more obscure items, such as Benny Carter’s before the leader turned to the grand piano and ballad “Love, You’re Not the One for Me”.