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MAY 2018 VOLUME 85 / NUMBER 5

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4 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018

MAY 2018

ON THE COVER 28 &

Alicia Hall Moran JIMMY & DENA KATZ State of the Art 46 BY GREG TATE Jason and Alicia Hall Moran have spent years collaborating with world-renowned choreographers, filmmakers, visual artists, furniture makers, poets, scholars and, yes, fellow . The happily married couple sits down with DownBeat for a lively discussion about their individual careers, their label and the oft-overlooked contributions of Black women to .

FEATURES 34 Jason Palmer will release two live this year. Britain’s Best Export Cover photo of Alicia Hall Moran and Jason Moran shot by Jimmy & Dena Katz in New York. Photos on pages 28–30 shot at The Jazz Gallery in New York on Jan. 29. Info for this venue is at jazzgallery.nyc. BY DAN OUELLETTE 40 Dafnis Prieto ‘Exploding Imagination’ BY TED PANKEN

46 Jason Palmer JOS L. KNAEPEN Learning from Everybody BY FRED BOUCHARD 85 2018 International Summer Festival Guide 55 Sylvie Courvoisier Trio 57 60 François Moutin & 63 Kavita Shah Duo

SPECIAL SECTION DEPARTMENTS

67 Reed School 72 Pro Session 8 First Take Karen Souza BY BRIAN MCCARTHY Nick Fraser 68 Fostering 76 Transcription 10 Chords & Discords Professional Ian McDonald 51 Reviews Relationships Solos BY JEFF COFFIN 13 The Beat 134 Jazz On Campus 78 Toolshed 22 Players 70 Master Class BY CALEB CHAPMAN 138 Blindfold Test Greg Spero Aaron Goldberg

6 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018

First Take BY BOBBY REED JOHN ROGERS

Jason Moran and Alicia Hall Moran discuss her Here Today at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise in New York on Jan. 15. Sensitive Listening Sessions A GOOD JOURNALIST IS A GREAT LISTENER. The moderated conversation with multiple The primary task of a skillful interviewer is not artists is one of DownBeat’s journalistic hall- only to ask interesting questions but also to marks. In our April issue, the cover story was shut up and listen. Many people, in numerous an enlightening conversation involving two professions, have heard some variation of this of The Bad Plus’ co-founders—bassist Reid expression: “You have two ears and only one Anderson and drummer Dave King—and the mouth, and you should use them proportion- band’s new pianist, Orrin Evans. In our March ally.” Nowadays, a lot of TV journalists fail to issue, we presented a powerful conversation heed that advice. News flash: Viewers are more between Chick Corea and Lionel Loueke. interested in the interviewee’s thoughts than The aforementioned stories involved musi- those of a bloviating, pontificating journalist. cians who are collaborators. But more intrigu- In our cover story, journalist/ ing is the roundtable discussion involving Greg Tate demonstrates that he knows how to musicians who are peers and/or admirers. Over ask a great question and then gracefully step the years, DownBeat has showcased drum- out of the way. Tate sat down with the vocal- mers’ roundtables for two particularly mem- ist Alicia Hall Moran and the pianist Jason orable cover stories. For the November 2009 Moran—two remarkable musicians, who hap- issue, journalist Ken Micallef sat down with Jeff pen to be married. “Tain” Watts, Lewis Nash and Matt Wilson. A talented, sensitive interviewer creates an Here’s one that was even more impressive: environment in which the interviewee feels The November 1998 cover story was a con- comfortable expressing himself or herself. Tate versation with , , Louie established an environment in which Alicia Bellson and Roy Haynes. (That conversation and Jason could “go deep” and convey import- was moderated by Ed Enright, who is currently ant anecdotes about their lives, their individu- DownBeat’s contributing editor.) al artistry and their collaborative efforts with In the coming months, DownBeat will pub- their label, YES Records. lish a special conversation with two superstars As a reader (and as an editor), whenever I from different genres. For now, we’re not going read a fantastic quote from an artist, I envision to reveal the names of the musicians involved, the setting from which the quote emerged. On but rest assured, that story is going to be spec- TV, sometimes it’s a “canned quote” that the tacular. Stay tuned. artist is simply trotting out again, having said it Who would you like to see on the cover of in previous interviews. DownBeat? Tell us about any “dream” conver- But the truly transcendent quotes are sations that you’d like us to moderate. Send unique ones that emerge naturally from a con- an email to [email protected]. When it versation. We feel that’s the case with our cover comes to cool ideas for orchestrating discus- story on Alicia and Jason. sions involving jazz artists, we’re all ears. DB

8 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018

Chords Discords ©JACK VARTOOGIAN/FRONTROWPHOTOS

ARTEMIS bandleader Renee Rosnes (left), Cécile McLorin Salvant, Anat Cohen, Ingrid Jensen, Noriko Ueda, Melissa Aldana and Allison Miller perform at the 92nd Street Y in New York on March 2. To read a review of the concert, visit downbeat.com. This all-star ensemble will perform at the Newport Jazz Festival on Aug. 5.

Equality in Jazz jazz today.” Their comments, along with those That workplace harassment and discrimi- of moderator Suzan Jenkins, clarify that more nation against women instrumentalists is wide- effort needs to be made “for change when it spread in jazz is a given. I applaud DownBeat comes to women, equality and jazz.” for publishing the panel discussion “Seeking Gratifyingly, DownBeat has in recent years Equity” and the First Take essay “Bandstand been emphasizing the contributions of women Equality” in the March issue. Both of these piec- instrumentalists. However, the magazine’s ed- es highlight the ongoing and shameful gender itorial masthead remains top-heavy with men. bias against women in both jazz education and Also, in the August 2017 issue, it appears that on the bandstand. among the 155 critics who voted in the Critics The individuals who participated in the Poll, a mere 10 were women. Clearly, DownBeat panel discussion—saxophonist Tia Fuller, trum- needs to get busy recruiting more female jour- peter Ingrid Jensen, pianist Shamie Royston, nalists and critics. bassist Linda May Han Oh and vocalist Sunny W. ROYAL STOKES Sumter—are, indeed, “five of the top artists in ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA

Mighty Horn The venue Chan’s, located in Woonsock- In the Chords & Discords section of the et (chanseggrollsandjazz.com), certainly de- April issue, Stephan Braese’s letter points serves to be on your list. Chan’s is just one of out that Jazzmeia Horn’s appearance in Or- many Rhode Island jazz venues. vieto at the Umbria Winter Jazz Festival in JOHN A. MURPHY JAMESTOWN, RHODE ISLAND late December was not her European debut (as was indicated in a review in your March issue). Braese is correct: Jazzmeia performed Corrections elsewhere in prior to Umbria. Down- Beat’s reviewer might have assumed that Trombonist- contact- Orvieto marked Horn’s European debut be- ed DownBeat regarding the Transcription cause of information in our festival program article in the April issue’s Woodshed section. and concert notes, which had already been Due to a transposing error, Turre’s printed prior to her short tour in November. solo is written an octave lower than what In any case, due to the importance of was played on the title track to his 1995 al- and crowd size at Umbria Jazz, Horn’s per- bum Rhythm Within. Additionally, the tran- formance in Orvieto could be considered her scription contains some incorrect notes and real “first big gig” in Europe. rhythms. DownBeat will post a corrected I am sure that her incomparable talent version online. will lead her to many other big performances In the Reviews section of our April issue, all over the world in the years to come. the review of Andrew Distel’s It Only Takes ENZO CAPUA, U.S. REPRESENTATIVE OF UMBRIA JAZZ FESTIVAL Time misspelled the name of bassist Carlos Henriquez. On the album’s track “Into Each Life,” the drummer is George Fludas. No Respect? In the print edition of our April issue, the We Rhode Islanders know our state is feature on Walter Smith III should have in- small in size, but why must we regularly be dicated that his new album, Twio, is being left to play the Rodney Dangerfield role? distributed by Whirlwind Recordings. How can a state that for 63 years has hosted DOWNBEAT REGRETS THE ERRORS. the Newport Jazz Festival not have one jazz

venue worthy of being mentioned in Down- Have a Chord or Discord? Email us at [email protected] Beat’s 2018 International Jazz Venue Guide? or find us on Facebook & Twitter.

10 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018

News Views From Around The Music World The Inside

14 / Biamp PDX Jazz Festival 15 / 16 / European Scene 18 / 20 / Steve Hobbs

MPS Celebrates Resurgence ike a lot of well-off men in the 1950s, Hans Georg Brunner- Schwer was a dedicated audio enthusiast. But while others focused Lon playback, Brunner-Schwer—a gifted engineer and amateur musician—was far more interested in recording. Further, as a co-direc- tor of SABA, an electronics firm founded by his grandfather and special- SYLVAIN NORGET izing in high-end audio and TV components, he was unusually well-po- sitioned to pursue his hobby. So, he built a state-of-the-art recording studio, which he installed in the family estate in Villingen, Germany. Brunner-Schwer also was a dedicated jazz fan, and in 1961 he con- vinced to visit his home, where he recorded the pia- nist in performance before a few fellow jazz fans. Peterson, astonished by the fidelity of the recordings, returned regularly to play at the estate. Meanwhile, Brunner-Schwer had launched a small , also called SABA. But because Peterson was under contract in the , none of the party sessions could be released. Then, in 1968, GTE bought a majority share in SABA. Brunner- Schwer held on to the music branch, re-christening it MPS, or “Musik Produktion Schwartzwald”—which translates to Black Forest Music Production. At the same time, Peterson was without a recording con- MPS has released singer China Moses’ album Nightintales. tract. Returning to Germany to play another of Brunner-Schwer’s par- ties, he was offered a deal, and MPS had its first jazz star under contract. inal artwork. Among the most recent batch: In Tune by Oscar Peterson As a label, MPS reflected the tastes of its three principal producers: with Singers Unlimited from 1971; Tristeza On Guitar by Baden Powell; Brunner-Schwer, Joachim-Ernst Berendt and Gigi Campi. Pianists were Soaring by Don Ellis; and And His Friends, featuring one of the company’s strong suits; in addition to Peterson, their sta- trumpeter and drummer Elvin Jones. ble included , Monty Alexander and George Shearing, as Recently, MPS also has been signing artists and producing new well as European stars like Martial Solal. There were also a number of albums. These range from clarinetist Rolf Kühn—who was signed to the jazz violinists—Stéphane Grappelli, Don “Sugarcane” Harris, Jean-Luc label in the ’70s—to the Norwegian Sami singer- Mari Boine. Ponty—and a host of large ensembles. Singer China Moses, whose album Nightintales was released on MPS Thanks to Berendt, MPS also released a considerable amount of last year, couldn’t be happier with the label’s creative attitude. The daugh- avant-garde jazz. “That was what I always liked about the variety of the ter of jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater, she’s spent much of her musical catalog,” said Christian Kellersman, creative director for Edel:Kultur, career, she says, “having people expect a lot from me.” MPS’ current owners. “I think Brunner-Schwer was not really in favor of “This was the first time I had somebody who said, ‘Just be yourself,’” all of the free-jazz stuff Berendt did, but he was open to do it.” she explained. “‘We’re not going to tell you to do a straightahead album. The label continued down an eclectic path until 1983, when it was We don’t want you to. Your album goes from to swing jazz. That’s purchased by Polydor. Thirty years later, as Polydor (now Polygram) exactly what this label is about.’ merged with EMI, MPS was put on the market, and acquired by the “And I was like, ‘But I don’t scat, and I don’t have perfect tone.’ All of German media company Edel AG, which hired Kellersman. my insecurities, being the daughter of somebody who can scat her ass The new team has been reissuing CDs from the more than 500 titles off and has amazing tone,” she laughed. “And [MPS] was like, ‘Yeah, we in the MPS catalog, painstakingly remastered from the original ana- don’t care. It’s good. We’re happy.’ And I’ve been their most successful log tapes, in high-quality gatefold sleeves with liner notes and the orig- album to date.” —J.D. Considine

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 13 Riffs MARK SHELDON D. DARR

Charles Lloyd & The Marvels with

Lloyd Collaboration: Charles Lloyd is set to issue Vanished Gardens, a follow-up to the Blue Note album he recorded with The Marvels in 2016. The new disc, due out June 8, finds the saxophonist reconvening his en- semble with guitarist Bill Frisell, pedal steel Saxophonist (left), drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and bassist player , bassist Esperanza Spalding perform in February at the Biamp PDX Jazz Festival in Portland, Oregon. and drummer . Supplementing the outfit is Americana star Lucinda Wil- liams, who contributes lyrics and vocals to a Performers Recall Geri Allen’s handful of tracks. The album comes amid a spate of performances marking Lloyd’s 80th Legacy at Biamp PDX Festival birthday. IN THE PAST, THE FOLKS BEHIND THE death with another keyboard player, the two per- bluenote.com; charleslloyd.com Biamp PDX Jazz Festival have booked their formers instead brought along saxophonist Ravi annual event around a theme. In 2009, it was Coltrane. That combination aimed for a celebra- Crystal Structures: Mack Avenue Records a celebration of ’ 70th birth- is set to release saxophonist Tia Fuller’s tory mood with its lengthy performance, wend- Diamond Cut on May 25. The album was day, and in 2011, the festival highlighted collab- ing in the influences of hip-hop and funk into a produced by Terri Lyne Carrington and in- orations between African-American and Jewish bop-heavy mix. cludes contributions from Jack DeJohnette, artists, calling that year’s run of shows “Bridges Later that evening at the nearby Winningstad , Adam Rogers, James Genus, and Boundaries.” Theatre, Allen’s name came up frequently during Bill Stewart and Sam Yahel. While the 2018 installment of the Biamp sets by former Bad Plus member Ethan Iverson mackavenue.com PDX Jazz Festival wasn’t organized as such, there and a trio led by another Portland artist, pianist was a rough thread that ran through many of the George Colligan. The former was on hand for one Vinyl Renaissance: The annual Record Store performances that took place Feb. 15–25: cele- Day, which began in 2007 to support inde- of his first solo shows since leaving the venerated pendent stores and imprints, takes place brating the life and career of Geri Allen. The pia- trio he co-founded in 2000, but there was little in on April 21. Special releases for this year’s nist and composer was set to return to Portland his set that offered any clues as to what musical edition of RSD include ’s Ella At this year to perform at the festival, but those plans direction he will head in, apart from his mention Zardi’s, ’ Rubberband EP, a 7-inch were halted by her untimely death last June. Still, of sending in the sheets for his first ever con- version of ’s “My Favorite Allen’s presence was felt throughout the pro- certo. His short set consisted of renditions of ’60s Things,” a vinyl release of the long player gramming, not only during an evening dedi- pop classics, some standards and the Allen com- from Hudson (Jack DeJohnette, Larry Gren- cated to her work, but also through appearances position “For John Malachi.” Iverson approached adier, John Medeski and ) and by fellow pianists like Ethan Iverson, Abdullah the entire set with a minimalist’s mindset, letting a pair of soundtracks—Serge Gainsbourg’s Ibrahim, George Colligan, Marcus Roberts and the resonance and overtones of the piano swell Le Pacha and ’s The Friends Of Tigran Hamasyan. Eddie Coyle. through the room, and adding little notes of dis- recordstoreday.com The performer who provided the most direct sonance to these often-familiar melodies. and powerful evocation of Allen’s spirit as a The festival’s opening performance by the Final Bar: Journalist John A. Tynan, who performer and composer was pianist Darrell Scott Amendola Trio set an adventurous tone worked at DownBeat from 1955 to ’65, died Grant at a Feb. 22 performance. An instructor through the drummer’s use of squelching elec- at age 90. During his tenure as associate at Portland State University, Grant cites Allen tronics and guitarist Jeff Parker’s drones amid editor, one of the most well-known pieces as a major influence on his own work, delight- funk grooves and glassy-eyed jams. Those Tynan penned was a zero-star review of ing, as he said from the stage of the Newmark aspects were driven even harder by the Miles Ornette Coleman’s , published Theatre, in “the way that her music danced.” In alongside Pete Welding’s 5-star review of Electric Band, an ensemble that re-creates some the album. Tynan, a native of Ireland, later that spirit, he played with a lightness and a subtle of Miles Davis’ heaviest, most wicked work from worked in radio and TV. ... Robert Barry, a swing, whether that was via a Gershwin-by-way- albums like Bitches Brew. Their set was explosive, well-respected, under-recorded drummer of-Cecil Taylor original or a positively breath- drawing out the more psychedelic elements of who worked with Sun Ra during the early taking rendition of James Taylor’s “Fire And the 1970 classics. stages of the Arkestra and later with Fred Rain,” which was almost Rachmaninoff-like in Shows like the wild affair that Mostly Other Anderson, died Jan. 8 in Chicago. He was its romantic warmth. People Do the Killing brought to the event 85. ... Heiner Stadler, a jazz pianist, producer Following Grant was the rhythm section bode well for the future of the Biamp PDX Jazz and arranger who worked with some of the Allen was supposed to perform with at the fes- Festival. Audience reaction to some of those genre’s best-known players during the ’60s tival: bassist Esperanza Spalding and drummer more difficult moments hopefully will inspire and ’70s and ran the Labor Records imprint, Terri Lyne Carrington. Rather than attempt to died Feb. 18. He was 75. even more audacious bookings in the future. fill the sizeable hole left behind by the pianist’s —Robert Ham

14 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 Cuber’s Trial-and-Error DURING THE SUMMER OF 1959, RONNIE Cuber continues to play François Louis Cuber made a life-changing decision that put mouthpieces to this day to get that edgy attack him on his career path. “I was 18, in my last year and clarity in his phrasing. “If I do a project that in high school, and I auditioned for the Newport calls for a not-so-edgy sound, I will switch off to Youth Band on tenor ,” he recalled. a prototype of the hard-rubber he “The band director, Marshall Brown, said to me, made for me, which sounds to me like if Stan ‘Listen, kid, I got so many tenor players. How Getz were to play baritone sax—or if I would try about you play a baritone?’ I said, ‘Well, I don’t to imitate Mulligan.” He applies both approach- NILS WINTHER, ©STEEPLECHASE PRODUCTIONS have a baritone.’ And he said, ‘If I buy you one, es on Ronnie’s Trio, an excellent addition to his Baritone saxophonist Ronnie Cuber interprets will you play it?’” Then he told me, ‘Next week go expansive discography. —Bill Milkowski standards on his new album, Ronnie’s Trio. down to Ponte’s Music on 46th Street and they’ll have one waiting for you.’” Cuber became a featured soloist on bari at the 1959 and 1960 Newport Jazz Festivals with Brown’s student group. Following big band stints with Slide Hampton, and Lionel Hampton, he joined ’s organ and was featured blowing with uncommon facility on 1966’s The George Benson Cookbook. Cuber’s bold, unbridled playing on the opening track, “The Cooker,” became some- thing of a calling card, making him a valued sideman and in-demand session player. Cuber continued to play with blowtorch intensity on albums and tours as a sideman, as well as on 17 albums as a leader, beginning with 1976’s Cuber Libre. His latest, Ronnie’s Trio (SteepleChase), pairs the bari ace with a stel- lar rhythm tandem of bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Adam Nussbaum. The trio delivers blazing renditions of “What Is This Thing Called Love” and Jobim’s “So Danço Samba.” The lack of a chordal instrument in this setting might recall some Sonny Rollins classics. “I always liked strong players , , Dexter Gordon,” Cuber said. “I tried to copy those guys and it all went into my baritone playing, along with stuff I got from Coltrane and Bird.” Cuber explained that he arrived at his sound after trial-and-error with mouthpieces. “One of the guys in the band told me, ‘No, man, you gotta get a harder sound, like Pepper Adams.’ So I went to the music store and got the largest metal mouthpiece I could find, which was a Berg-Larsen 130/0.” By the time he got with Benson, Cuber was playing a hard-rubber Berg mouthpiece. He later would try a Dukoff 8, which gave him a little more edge. “I played that for a while, but then I thought, ‘Maybe there’s something out there that gives a little more tone.’ So, I tried out this Otto Link 8-star rubber mouthpiece.” By 1989, Cuber would come across his dream mouthpiece. “I went to a gig that and Bob Berg were playing at Indigo . And after they finished, Bob let me try his tenor mouthpiece, which was made by François Louis. And I said, ‘Wow! This is great. I wish I had a bari mouthpiece like this.’ So he gave me François’ phone number and he sent me the mouthpiece.”

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 15 European Scene / BY PETER MARGASAK Gropper Wants to Go Deeper Few cities in Europe today are more cosmo- politan than . During the past few decades, the city has attracted a steady influx of adventurous

musicians looking for artistic camaraderie, ROLAND SCHULZ and that’s produced a dynamic, artistically bold jazz and improvised music scene with a seriously international tinge. Saxophonist Philipp Gropper is something of an oddity in that regard, because he was born and raised there. In fact, as a youngster falling in love with jazz, he mostly was absorbed by music from America. He vividly recalls seeing per- formances by Don Cherry, and , but admits he wasn’t aware of the music Berlin often is celebrat- ed for—the free-jazz propagated by the FMP label and the cross-stylistic work of its expat community. That awareness shifted when he start- ed meeting younger players, including col- Philipp Gropper leagues he encountered while working in German youth orchestra BuJazzO, led by Pe- he was lucky enough to be satisfied in all of ter Herbolzheimer. In 2003, Gropper formed the numerous projects he’s involved with, Hyperactive Kid, one of his first bands, with while lamenting the inability to go deeper in drummer Christian Lillinger and guitarist any of them. Ronny Graupe, two fellow members of the “That is the most depressing part of the orchestra. It would become one of the most jazz world,” he said. “I see so much potential exciting homegrown German bands of the in so many groups, if they would only have current century. the chance to work more and play more.” “We started playing as a trio without Despite that situation, his primary outlet, bass, because of the joy we felt during our Philm—a quartet with keyboardist Elias Ste- first session, to which the bass player didn’t meseder, bassist Andreas Lang and drum- show up,” said Gropper, 40. mer Oliver Steidle—seems to be reaching its The musicians threw themselves into potential. On last year’s Sun Ship (WhyPlay- the project, slowly establishing themselves Jazz), he arrived at new heights with a hur- as a rising force, tapping into post-bop fun- tling attack marked by chamber-like inter- damentals, but pushing forward with pun- play and driving, yet fractured, propulsion. ishing rhythms and post-punk noise. Steidle’s drumming reflects the lurching “For years, we tried to play every concert complexity of Jim Black’s approach, while we could, driving around Germany and, lat- Stemeseder enhances his elegant piano at- er on, Europe in a car. Rehearsing a lot, play- tack with spacey synthesizer textures and ing everything by ear, listening to so many noise. Gropper’s sinewy tenor lines toggle recordings in the car, discussing music,” the effortlessly between post-bop lyricism and saxophonist said. experimental, coloristic explorations more in The trio, which eventually rechristened tune with the Berlin underground. itself Gropper/Graupe/Lillinger, carries on “I am deeply connected to tradition and to this day—with a new album in the works constantly try to understand and carry forth for 2018. But each member has developed its liveliness and fire,” he said. But it’s clear numerous other projects. In recent years, that Philm reflects a forward-looking vision, Gropper has delivered his most profound something open to change. “The sounds work in a quartet called Philm, which recent- that I, as a composer, and we, as Philm, are ly dropped the impressive Live At Bimhuis. inspired by become more diverse day by Gropper works in many disparate con- day. We have constant exchanges about texts, playing in bands led by vibrant Ger- recent discoveries. The music—forms and man musicians, including bassist Pablo Held rhythms—I compose and we play are rela- and fellow saxophonist Wanja Slavin, in tively complex. But that only makes sense to addition to co-leading the electro-acoustic me if it’s really internalized. The message of foursome Tau. He knows the struggle in bal- joy and adventure has to be so direct that ancing the need to earn a living while devel- listeners feel it without understanding the oping a genuine musical identity, and said theory behind it.” DB

16 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 Clement Crafts Duos Disc JIM LEVITT LAST FALL, WHEN SEATTLE’S EARSHOT ed vocal duet with Kendrick on the ballad “I Jazz Festival invited pianist/vocalist Dawn Think Of You” and a dreamy duet with Wilson Clement to serve as artist-in-residence, she on “Stay Awake.” The sessions yielded enough knew immediately what she wanted to do. material for a follow-up, and she and Wilson “How about some duos?” she asked. already have tracked an anniversary version of The result was a dazzling series of duets Clement’s 2008 Break, due later this year. with vocalist and fellow Cornish College of the “I’d love to go on the road and just play and Arts instructor Johnaye Kendrick; saxophon- sing,” Clement said. “Singer-songwriter, free, ist Mark Taylor; veteran trombonist Julian avant-garde—it’s all one person.” Pianist/vocalist Dawn Clement Priester; and pianist/vibist Marina Albero. As a —Paul de Barros performs with trombonist Julian Priester. follow-up, the Seattle label Origin has released Clement’s fifth album as a leader, an all-duo album titled Tandem. Clement has spent 18 years in her Cornish studio, forging relationships with a generation of students, colleagues and world-famous vis- itors, including saxophonist Jane Ira , trumpeter Ingrid Jensen and drummer Matt Wilson. “I always remind everyone in Seattle how important she is in that town,” said Wilson. “We need Dawn Clement in Seattle like we need [trumpeter] in Denver—peo- ple who lead.” Born in La Mesa, California, Clement grew up in Vancouver, Washington, singing in church with her siblings—an influence one can hear in the quiet, hymnal quality of some of her originals—and playing in the Fort Vancouver High School jazz band. Soon, she was hitting jam sessions in Portland, where drummer Ron Steen took her under his wing. After high school, a full ride at Cornish kept her in the Northwest, and she was hired there upon grad- uation in 2000. Two years later, the release of a quartet album with Priester, Deep End Dance (Conduit), cemented her reputation. Though deeply imbedded in Seattle, Clement has been around the block. In 1998, along with Anat Cohen, she was mentored by Jensen in the first Sisters in Jazz program offered by the International Association for Jazz Education, a now-defunct nonprofit orga- nization. In 2015, Clement earned a master’s degree in music composition from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Though she says she has a passion for “harsh, dissonant, aggressive” music, Clement never has turned her back on the simple beau- ty of a melody. “Singing was the first form of expression for me,” she said. “It’s how I first related to jazz.” Her fierce commitment to an approach she calls “genre-inclusive” comes through vivid- ly on Tandem. The album includes a collab- oration with Wilson on ’s “Bemsha Swing” and a free outing with Priester, “Improv.” But her ethereal, singer-songwriter side also shows through on vocal-piano cuts like “In The Wee Small Hours,” a gorgeously blend-

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 17 Anthony Braxton (left), trumpeter Paul Smoker and saxophonist that we did,” said Pheeroan akLaff, the drum- prepare for a gig during a 1993 tour that yielded some of the material on Sextet (Parker) 1993. mer who appears on all but one disc of the new set, which was released by the Tri-Centric

GLENN M. ITO Foundation and New Braxton House Records. “Somehow, I thought we only did seven or eight, but we did a lot of different pieces. And we had more that we could have done.” The sextet, rounded out by bassist Joe Fonda, pianist (who died in 2017), trumpeter Paul Smoker and tenor saxo- phonist Ari Brown, pulls the easygoing swing of “Bongo Bop” apart like taffy, stretching it out into gnarled fragments. For “Cardboard,” the group gives the a deconstructed Latin swing, with Braxton leading the way on flute. Elsewhere, on tracks like “Blues For Alice” and “Koko,” they stick close to the template, expanding on these already energetic and bold melodies with grit and flares of dissonance. What members of this sextet remember most about their experience playing Bird’s tunes with Braxton was how quickly it all came together. True, everyone in the group were vet- eran players familiar with Parker’s work as part of the jazz canon. But jumping into a collabo- ration with little or no preparation required a leap of faith. “I never asked [Braxton], ‘Why me?’” akLaff said. “I had just started teaching drums at Wesleyan, and he immediately said we must do something together. Was it to fulfill some fan- tasy of working together after knowing each other for so many years? Was I fresh in his mind because I was around the campus? I don’t know. I guess it was important to have the right elements to make this: the right chemistry, the right people, the right music choice.” The band’s run in Europe was brief, just a handful of shows in Amsterdam, Zurich and Antwerp culminating in a rapid-fire recording session at Großer Sendesaal WDR in , Germany. “We had four days in one of the best stu- dios in the world,” Fonda said. “We rehearsed the first day, but otherwise, it all fell into place. Anthony had the charts and every- Braxton Issues 11-disc one was familiar with these tunes; they are all part of us.” Rumination on Once the European trip had concluded, the IN THE EARLY ’90S, NOT LONG AFTER HE alized of classics like “April In six men went their separate ways, never to per- joined the faculty of Connecticut’s Wesleyan ” and “Klactoveedsedstene.” form or tour together in this combination University, Anthony Braxton embarked on a What resulted from those efforts now can again. That is, in part, whySextet (Parker) 1993 deep dive into the work of Charlie Parker. be heard on Sextet (Parker) 1993, a voluminous is such an important document, especially for The dig wasn’t a difficult one, as Braxton 11-CD set featuring every note of a recording the artists whose playing it captured on tape. already viewed the compositions and far-reach- session and a quick European tour that Braxton “I always felt like the luckiest man alive ing solos of the hard-bop pioneer as foundation- and a hand-picked cohort of fellow Bird enthu- doing that,” akLaff said. “To reflect upon the al to everything modern jazz had accomplished siasts embarked on 25 years ago. For greatness of one of the masters like Parker to that point. But in the time following the dis- that have been burned into the minds of play- with ‘Mister Cutting Edge Braxton’ himself solution of his famed quartet with Marilyn ers and listeners for decades, it is a collection was everything I could have asked for. This Crispell, Gerry Hemingway and , that still is full of surprises, even for some of wasn’t some jazz club, [where we were] play- Braxton dedicated his free time to closely the musicians who took part in the sessions and ing a standard or two for people that wanted to studying Parker’s compositions and the songs performances. tap their foot and smoke cigarettes. This was a he’s associated with, working out new, person- “I didn’t even remember all of the pieces huge project.” —Robert Ham

18 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 19 Hendrix (trumpet), Todd Marcus (bass clar- inet), Ricky Rodriguez (acoustic bass), Leyla McCalla (cello, banjo, vocals) and percussionists TOMAS FLINT Jonathan Troncoso, Arturo Sable and Miguel Valdes. Drummer Lewis Nash was the only new face to surface for the recording sessions. “I carefully choose the soloist depending on a particular sound and message I want to cre- ate,” Villafranca said. “In the section ‘The First Colony,’ I wanted to represent the first encoun- ter between the Maroons, who were fugitive black slaves, and the few Taino or Arawak peo- ple who survived the Spanish invasion by hid- ing in the hills and creating the first colonies of free people. In this case, I asked Steve Turre to play the shells over the Congo-derived rhythm called the salve.” The vibe at Systems Two was serious, yet Elio Villafranca has recorded his sixth album, Cinqué. laced with laughter. Villafranca seemed to spend as much time behind the glass, if not more, con- ducting from the main mixing board, as he did Villafranca Recalls a Revolt in the studio at the piano. FOR FIVE DAYS IN EARLY MAY, CUBAN PIA- “Cinqué showcases,” Villafranca said, “the During the sessions, Villafranca was never nist and composer Elio Villafranca set up shop cultural diversity of the five Caribbean islands at a loss for where the music should go. He fre- at ’s Systems Two to record his sixth of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican quently gave the band members verbal direc- album, Cinqué (ArtistShare), due out March Republic and , while simultaneously tions, spoken but sometimes sung, demonstrat- 29. The program contains music he performed highlighting the African traditions woven into ing by using mostly non-technical language. onstage at Jazz at in 2015. the fabric of each of these nations.” “When I’m composing, I think more like a The disc’s title refers to Joseph Cinqué (1814– On board for both the 2015 live perfor- classical composer than a jazz musician,” the ’79), the West African who led a revolt aboard mances and the Systems Two sessions was an bandleader said. “Once this first phase is done, the ship La Amistad, which was transporting all-star ensemble: Steve Turre (trombone, conch then I consider developing a solo section, back- Cinqué and others who had been captured as shells), Greg Tardy (, ), grounds, and what would be the best instru- part of the slave trade. Vincent Herring (alto saxophone, flute), Freddie mentation for the music.” —John Ephland

Hobbs Salutes Hutcherson WHEN STEVE HOBBS FIRST STARTED PLAY- the instrument’s warm sound and highly per- ing mallets, he felt a strong connection to the cussive attack. In Hobbs’ hands, the marimba music of vibraphone legend . gets an exhilarating, rejuvenating workout. “It resonated with me,” he said. “I understood it Released in January, Tribute To Bobby hit immediately.” No. 1 on the JazzWeek charts the weeks of Jan. Hobbs met Hutcherson while he was an 12 and Jan. 19. It still was at No. 2 in mid-March.

COURTESY YAMAHA CORP. OF AMERICA 18-year-old student at Berklee College of Hobbs already is planning his next recording for Music, and eventually befriended him and Challenge, which he said will be in the salsa-jazz came to view him as a role model. vein. “Last night, I was up until 4 a.m. arrang- When Hutcherson died in 2016, Hobbs ing a really burning version of ‘The Rainbow recently had finished recording an album of Connection’ in 4/4,” he said. all-original material with pianist Bill O’Connell, Hobbs, who turns 62 in April, is entering an bassist Peter Washington, drummer John Riley active period. His working quartet with pianist and tenor/soprano saxophonist Adam Kolker. Austin Johnson, bassist Ben Palmer and drum- Hobbs, who hadn’t chosen a title yet, decided to mer Todd Proctor will perform March 29 and dedicate the album to his late mentor. April 12 at The Red Monkey in Raleigh, North During the sessions for Tribute To Bobby Carolina. Then Hobbs will hit the road for gigs (Challenge), Hobbs found himself drawn to April 15 at Rudy’s Jazz Club in Nashville; April the marimba—an instrument Hutcherson was 18 at Chaz on the Plaza in Kansas City; April 19 known to use—even though he’d intended the at Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas; April 20 album to center mostly on vibraphone. “I’d be at the Green Lady in Kansas City; and April 21 at standing at the vibes getting ready to record, the Black Dolphin in Kansas City. Gigs also are and at the last minute I kept walking over to the planned for Philadelphia, Baltimore, Atlanta and Steve Hobbs marimba,” he said, noting that he appreciates Cleveland. —Ed Enright

20 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 Cardenas Honors Iconic Mentors AFTER APPEARING AS A SIDEMAN ON dominates. But the album also is marked by the albums by keyboardist Jon Cowherd (Gateway) kind of conversational playing that was a signa- and bassist Ben Allison (Quiet Revolution) in ture of both of Cardenas’ mentors. “That was ANNA YATSKEVICH the two previous seasons of vinyl releases from a lot of what Paul and Charlie were about,” he Newvelle—the subscription service formed said. “They’re not just backing up the soloists; by jazz pianist Elan Mehler and vinyl-loving there’s a conversation in the music, there’s entrepreneur Jean-Christophe Morisseau— interaction, there’s comments throughout. guitarist Steve Cardenas kicks off season three I love playing that way. I’ve never been com- with a leader project titled Charlie And Paul. It’s fortable with the idea of me being the cat out a heartfelt tribute to two of Cardenas’ mentors: front. I want us to inspire each other and play Steve Cardenas recently issued bassist (1937–2014) and drum- together.” —Bill Milkowski a tribute to his mentors, Charlie And Paul. mer (1931–2011). With bassist emulating Haden’s deep tones and sparse lines, and drum- mer Matt Wilson channeling his inner Paul, the spirits of Cardenas’ mentors hover over this stellar quartet outing, which also features saxo- phonist Loren Stillman. “Elan and I decided it should be people who played with either both or one of those guys, so there would be a connection,” said the guitar- ist, who was a longstanding member of both Haden’s Liberation Orchestra and Motian’s Electric Bebop Band. Stillman played on 2016’s posthumously released Liberation Orchestra album Time/ Life and on 2009’s Paul Motian And Trio 2000 + One; Wilson also played on Time/Life, as well as on the 2005 Liberation Orchestra album Not In Our Name; and Morgan played on Motian’s final album, 2011’s The Windmills Of Your Mind. Cardenas became aware of Motian through his work in the Trio, which the gui- tarist first heard when he was 18. His Motian epiphany came later that same year: “It was when I heard Keith Jarrett’s [1976] Shades, when I was in my last year of high school. That’s when I was really hit over the head by the beau- ty of the way those guys play—the openness and fearlessness and creativity.” After spending four years in San Francisco (1988–’92) and two years in Los Angeles (1993– ’94), the Kansas City native moved to New York City in 1995. Two years later, on the recommendation of , he began playing in Motian’s Electric Bebop Band alongside fellow guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel (documented on 1999’s Play Monk And Powell). He subsequently played on Motian’s 2001 album Europe and 2002’s Holiday For Strings alongside guitarist and on 2006’s Garden Of Eden with guitarists Monder and Jakob Bro. For Charlie And Paul, Cardenas started out with a list of 50 tunes by the two prolific com- posers, pared it down to 20 for rehearsals and finally narrowed it down to 15 when they went into the studio. They ended up recording 11, but could only fit nine on two sides of vinyl. Throughout Charlie And Paul, melody pre-

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 21 Through her music, saxophonist Nubya Garcia the case with the engrossing “When We Are,” explores her West Indian heritage. the title track of her forthcoming sophomore EP. “I want to encapsulate dance-floor music’s ADAMA JOLLAH energy,” Garcia explained. “The stuff that I’ve been writing recently is focused on working more with electronics and imagining us play- ing in places that aren’t jazz clubs. I love jazz clubs. But I don’t want to only play in jazz clubs for the rest of my life. I want both. There’s noth- ing like a crowd dancing to your music, espe- cially being an instrumentalist. I think it takes the music to what it originally was meant to be, which is dance music.” According to Armon-Jones, Garcia’s music has never been just about jazz. “She writes tunes that we can stretch, play around and explore,” he said. “They don’t have too many rigid parts to them. That allows Femi to be able to put different kinds of beats underneath her songs at any given performance, and it gives the rest of us all kinds of room to really impro- vise and have fun.” Through music, Garcia explores her West Indian heritage—an excursion that’s encour- aged by ’s mighty Tomorrow Warriors, which she joined before enrolling at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where she earned a degree in jazz perfor- mance. “I think it’s about finding a connection to where you come from or where your parents come from,” she said of those ethnomusico- logical explorations. “Music is one of the most important ways in which you can do that. The NUBYA GARCIA way that music develops from one generation to the next—it’s incredible to delve into that jour- Role Model ney. I didn’t have the opportunity to grow up in Guyana or Trinidad. But those musical jour- hen Nubya Garcia plays the tenor tiple Antillean pulses, Nigerian and neys just lead me to other avenues like black saxophone, the first things you American hard-bop swing, the music conveyed American swing, which was the first music Wnotice are her sound and phras- a vibe that was undeniably black U.K. The ven- that I pursued. I think people in London’s black ing. She wields a luminous tone, and her lan- ue’s sold-out crowd showered Garcia with music scene are really searching for their cul- guid melodies ride undulating rhythms. She enthusiasm, which she and the band absorbed, tures. And it’s coming out in various ways.” streamlines her improvisations, making eco- recycled and then released with joyous velocity. Out of the Tomorrow Warriors arose nomical embellishments to her singable mel- The following afternoon, while sipping tea Nérija, a dynamic ensemble that Garcia odies. But when the undercurrents build inside the Walker Hotel Greenwich Village, co-leads. Consisting of female instrumen- momentum, Garcia’s tone brays into dissonant Garcia was still basking in the afterglow of her talists, Nérija last year received the U.K.’s wails that soon give way to incisive jabs. That radiant performance. “It feels so surreal,” she Parliamentary Jazz Award for “Newcomer of kinetic musicality made for a spectacular New beamed. “I was surprised just how accepting the Year.” As in the States, renewed discussions York debut at (Le) Poisson Rouge during this everyone was. They were with us throughout about gender issues in jazz are boiling up in the year’s Winter Jazzfest. the whole gig.” U.K. As part of Giles Peterson’s Born to Trinidadian and Guyanese par- “This year, I want to bring more female Showcase, the 26-year-old Garcia fronted a ents, Garcia is part of the platoon of young musicians together just to have a community,” crackling quartet that included keyboard- British artists who are taking the jazz world Garcia said. “Someone asked me, ‘Who did I ist Joe Armon-Jones, bassist Daniel Casimir by storm. Like her contemporaries Shabaka look up to as a kid? Was it a black, female saxo- and drummer Femi Koleoso. Garcia’s forceful Hutchings (saxophone), (drums) phonist?’ I didn’t have anything to say because set focused on the music from her 2017 debut and Theon Cross (tuba), Garcia’s stomping at the time when I was 13, I wasn’t listening EP, 5ive (Jazz re:freshed). Blasting off with an grounds include Jazz re:freshed’s Thursday to any black, female saxophonists. I think it’s enchanting reading of McCoy Tyner’s mod- night sessions at the Mau Mau Bar in Notting crazy not having someone who looks like you al-jazz gem “Contemplation,” she buttressed Hill and South London’s STEEZ—venues that to look up to as a kid. It doesn’t mean that that’s her performance in the post-Coltrane spir- usually cater to young, dancing crowds. Those the only focus. But it’s great being able to see itual jazz tradition. But thanks to Koleoso’s gigs inform the intricate syncopations that oneself in someone else. It says, ‘I can do that.’” deft jostling of rhythms that referenced mul- sweep her scorching improvisations. Such was —John Murph

22 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 23 Pianist Greg Spero is the leader of the band Spirit Fingers. ETHAN GULLEY

GREG SPERO Genuine Synergy

any fans in the jazz world know pia- “being” illustrates. “The time signature is 17/16,” nist Greg Spero for his work touring he explained. “The melody winds around the Mwith the Miles Davis Electric Band, a chords and rhythm in a complex syncopation. multigenerational all-star collective led by Davis However, over that 17/16 is an elongated back- band alumnus Vincent Wilburn Jr. (who is also beat of kick-snare that’s shrouded in the com- Davis’ nephew). plexities. If you sit with it, you can understand But Spero has been equally successful creat- that you feel the music much more deep- ing music content for TV and film, and touring ly because of that elongated backbeat. This is with the pop stars The Weeknd and Halsey. the rhythmic concept on which much of The Others might know Spero because of his Weeknd’s music is based, minus the complex- jazz band Spirit Fingers (formerly known as ities. You can hear it if you put ‘being’ next to Polyrhythmic), which has amassed hundreds of ‘The Hills’ by The Weeknd. At its core, we are thousands of views on YouTube. using some of the same vocabulary, because The 12 Spero compositions on the band’s that’s the vocabulary that draws you in and self-titled debut (released by Shanachie) are helps you feel the rest of the music.” largely groove-based, with the leader’s acoustic Spero’s bandmates enjoy the challenges piano serving as the main delivery vehicle for inherent in their leader’s compositions. melodies both sweet and salty. His bandmates “Spirit Fingers embodies a conceptual are bassist Hadrien Feraud, guitarist Dario mindset that combines elegant and refined writ- Chiazzolino and drummer Mike Mitchell (aka ing with utterly flabbergasting musicianship,” Blaque Dynamite). Feraud said. “All music is the same at its core,” Spero said, Mitchell noted, “It’s really great to combine when asked about the multitude of musical brains with great musicians to challenge the lis- styles at his command. “I found this [out] when tener to be smarter.” studying Arnold Volpe next to , Guitarist Chiazzolino takes a philosophical and Charlie Parker next to Schoenberg,” he view of the band’s chemistry: “Spirit Fingers’ added, speaking by phone from his home in main feature is the interaction—it’s a constant Los Angeles. “Pop music is simple. Jazz music is conversation, a life experience,” he said. complex. Our culture needs something that can For Spero, the cross-fertilization of jazz with be understood within the first five seconds— pop is an ongoing process. “I’m working with maybe three. However, that doesn’t make it any pop musicians through my video series Tiny better or worse than jazz. Room,” he said, referring to clips that are post- “The musical tenets of pop music relate ed at the site tinyroom.live. “I’m bringing pop directly to jazz, in all facets, including rhythm, artists into the studio to collaborate with skilled harmony and melody. The past three years jazz musicians to create more open, expansive working with Halsey—designing all the sounds versions of their songs, utilizing tenets of jazz, for the live shows, curating all the live keyboard such as improvisation and harmonic explora- parts and experiencing the music of all our col- tion. Being immersed in pop over the years has laborators—has given me an understanding of expanded my vision to see the foundation on the simple side of great music.” which the two musics are built. I’m excited to Spero certainly doesn’t shy away from com- explore the genuine synergy between the two in plexity on Spirit Fingers, as the track titled their most modern form.” —John Ephland

24 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 Karen Souza’s album Vault is a mix of nominated lyricist Pamela Oland. pop and rock covers and jazz standards. Unlike her previous albums, which were dedicated either entirely to originals (Hotel Souza) or pop and rock covers (Essentials and Essentials II), Velvet Vault is a mix of both, along with a few jazz standards. The result is a good representation of Souza’s live sets, as well as her eclectic tastes. “The [genres] I love the most have that mel- ancholic thing, you know?” she said, speak- ing by phone from her home in Buenos Aires. “I can interpret [when I] perform that kind of music.” KAREN SOUZA Souza brings a timeless quality to the mate- rial, whether it’s a standard like “I Fall In Love Voice Like Velvet Too Easily”—rendered on Velvet Vault as a hat- tip to ’s iconic version, complete aren Souza has a voice that can make hits in a variety of jazz settings. The series was with muted trumpet—or a recent indie-rock any song sound like an intimate con- an international hit, eventually expanding to hit like MGMT’s “Kids,” which Souza, who also Kfession. “Her voice is like a massage,” include other decades, and Souza found herself produced Velvet Vault, stripped of its original said Tom “Bones” Malone, the trombonist and tapped repeatedly for her smoky sound, help- electronic instrumentation and cast as a ghost- former Saturday Night Live bandleader, who ing turn The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” ly piano ballad. “I enjoy those kinds of songs collaborated with the singer on her new album, into a mellow bossa nova and Depeche Mode’s where I can [highlight] the lyrics and give it Velvet Vault (Music Brokers). “Personal Jesus” into a Peggy Lee-style swing- more power,” she explained. Born in the rural La Pampa province of ing romp. Souza is looking forward to getting back on Argentina, Souza got her start singing elec- The success of Jazz And ’80s helped launch the road with this new batch of songs from tronic club music under various pseudonyms. Souza onto the international jazz circuit. Velvet every imaginable genre and era, all brought She hadn’t considered a career as a jazz singer Vault was made in a globetrotting fashion, with together in her hushed, samba-tinged style. “A until she was invited in 2005 to contribute to elements recorded in , Colombia, New good song, you can sing it in bossa, in jazz, in a Warner Bros. compilation series called Jazz York, Tokyo and Buenos Aires, as well as song- whatever,” she said. “It works because it’s a good And ’80s, which reimagined that decade’s pop writing sessions in Los Angeles with Grammy- song.” —Andy Hermann

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 25 Nick Fraser says he’d feel incomplete if he only played improvised music.

NICK FRASER Agile & Prolific

ick Fraser probably has performed bop and ’60s jazz language as he is free-jazz and with as many high-profile musicians improvised music. And he can, and will, turn any living drummer in jazz—a on a dime between them—often when you’re remarkable track record, especially considering least expecting it.” that he never has been based outside of Canada. It’s not surprising, then, to learn that A resident since 1995, when he moved Fraser’s role models include polymath drum- from his hometown of Ottawa, Fraser spent mers Joey Baron and Jack DeJohnette, as well years anchoring the rhythm section at the as free-jazz titans Gerry Hemingway and Tony jam sessions for the Ottawa International Jazz Oxley. Festival. The recurring gig put him on the same “Growing up, I always just wanted to play,” stage as , Roy Hargrove and Wynton Fraser said. “I wanted to know the standards, so Marsalis, as well as hundreds of lesser lights I could do a wide range of things. Part of that winding down at the end of a night. is just wanting to be able to keep working, but That kind of grueling routine would be one I just wouldn’t feel complete if I only played thing if Fraser was a drummer whose stock- improvised music.” in-trade was bop-based music, but he usual- Part of his desire to work as much as possi- ly works in much less structured forms. His ble also contributed to his decision to focus on own quartet—featuring veteran saxophonist his work in Toronto, rather than trying to break Tony Malaby, as well as Toronto musicians Rob into the New York scene. As a young man, he had Clutton (bass) and Andrew Downing (cello)— two children—now aged 22 and 17—so he dug is a thorny improvisational unit. The band’s in and began to build a network of like-mind- recent album, Is Life Long?, is Fraser’s second on ed collaborators. Fortunately, Toronto’s jazz the adventurous Portuguese label Clean Feed. scene was undergoing a sea change, from a pre- His trio, which released Two Many Continents ponderance of hard-bop and modal jazz to the on Clean Feed in 2015, is rounded out by rise of young players like Allemano, Herring, Malaby and pianist . Clutton and saxophonist Brodie West. Fraser is the co-leader of another Fraser caught the wave, forming the co-op- wide-ranging trio, Ugly Beauties, with pia- erative called Drumheller with Clutton, West nist Marilyn Lerner and cellist Matt Brubeck. and others, and launching his long association What’s more, the drummer’s other long-term with Allemano and Herring. musical ventures are as a member of Canadian “The people I work with have allowed me to trumpeter Lina Allemano’s two free-wheeling develop my own slant on playing,” Fraser said. bands—the Lina Allemano Four and Titanium “Whether I’m playing free or more organized Riot—and Peripheral Vision, a quartet co-led music, I try to listen and react in the moment by guitarist Don Scott and bassist Michael the same way. Both in my playing and my com- Herring. posing, I like to leave a lot of things to chance. “What makes Nick so special is that he I like to be pleasantly surprised by the results.” backs up his seemingly fearless willingness to “Nick has an enormous sound palette and a push any musical situation into new territory huge creative sonic imagination,” Allemano with a rooting in a huge breadth of the jazz and wrote in an email from Germany, where she improvised music traditions,” Herring said. spends half her time. “Nick isn’t just playing “He is equally able to draw on bebop, hard- ‘drums,’ he’s playing music.” —James Hale

26 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 27 On the 1968 album Congliptious by the Art Ensemble, there’s a musical skit titled “Jazz Death?” In it, encounters a critic from “Jism” magazine who asks, “Is jazz as we know it dead?” After an extend- HGŋDQGO\ULFDOO\ŴDWXOHQWWUXPSHWIDQIDUHŋ%RZLHUHSOLHV ŏ:HOO,JXHVVWKDWDOOGHSHQGVRQXKZKDW\RXNQRZōō

hat Jason and Alicia Hall Moran, who met while students at the Manhattan School of Music in the mid-’90s, know about the state of the art form has been gleaned from years of inten- sive work with a staggering range of world-renowned collabo- rators—poets, scholars, filmmakers, choreographers, furniture makers, visual artists and, yes, fellow musicians. The couple wed in 2003 and now live in Harlem with their twin sons. Jason began touring and recording with saxophonist in 1997, later signing with Blue Note, issuing an impressive run of releases: Soundtrack To Human Emotion (1999), (2000), Black Stars (2001), (2002) and Same Mother (2005). These established his Bandwagon trio—featuring drummer and bassist —as one of the most daring and resourceful improvi- sational ensembles on the scene. Original compositions shared stage and album space with an eclectic bevy of artists the group claimed as fellow travelers: , Jaki Byard, Sam Rivers, Bjork and Afrika Bambaataa. The 2006 albumArtist In Residence highlighted a slew of Jason’s major commissions, already a staple of his artistic profile, and includ- ed music derived from his encounters with conceptualists Adrian Piper and Joan Jonas. 28 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 29 Hall-commissioned world premiere focusing on Black migration in the United States. Music inspired by terror will be at its core. In conversation, the two musicians are refreshingly honest about everything: their JIMMY & DENA KATZ points of agreement, disagreement and cogni- tive dissonance; debts owed to forebearers and teachers; and the need to highlight the oft-over- looked contributions of Black women to the modern jazz ecosystem.

YOU HAVE BOTH ARRIVED AT THIS PLACE OF CURATION IN YOUR PER- FORMANCE PRACTICE—FREQUENTLY USING COLLABORATIONS TO EXTEND YOUR ETHOS. IT SUGGESTS YOU’VE BOTH COME TO A PLACE WHERE JAZZ AS WE KNOW IT IS NOT ENOUGH AND SINGING OPERA AS WE KNOW IT IS NOT ENOUGH. IT’S ANALOGOUS TO WHAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DOING IN AVANT-GARDE THEATER AND VISUAL ARTS FOR DECADES. I’D LIKE TO HEAR YOU BOTH TALK ABOUT THESE MULTI- DISCIPLINARY FRAMES. Jason Moran: Only when Alicia showed up did I realize there was a “frame” around jazz—and that it wasn’t always a Black frame. So the ques- tion became, “What was framing the music?” Was it the times? Was it the musicians? All of that stuff started as we met each other. That kind of thinking has been a big part of the shift for us having a record label. But it’s about ownership. I had 18 great, glorious years with Blue Note, but now it’s about the next chapter and creating something that we own.

LET’S ALSO TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT IT IS Y’ALL’S LABEL AND NOT YOUR LABEL, JASON. JM: Yep. YES [Records] is us. The first record we put out was Alicia’s record Heavy Blue. But the [collaborators] who have brought us in to work on their projects over the past 10 or 15 years— Alicia Hall Moran and Jason Moran at The Jazz Gallery in New York on Jan. 29 like Bill T. Jones and Joan Jonas—they roll very differently than musicians. There’s a longer pro- The list of collaborators soon would include the Carmens. cess of gestation. other high-profile names on the internation- Alicia and Jason have created work together In jazz, you might see the music for the first al art circuit: Kara Walker, Glenn Ligon, Carrie for a number of institutions and events, includ- time five minutes after you get to the studio, and Mae Weems and Julie Mehretu. The in-depth ing the Venice Biennale, the Whitney Biennial, then you’re recording five minutes after that. book Jason Moran, published in conjunction Harlem Stage, the Studio Museum in Harlem But Bill T. Jones is not just taking his company with a 2018 Walker Art Center exhibition, con- and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. of 10 people on the road around the world with siders the artist’s practice and his collaborative They’ve also formed their own YES Records a set designer and lighting director after five works as interdisciplinary investigations, fur- label and have released two albums by Alicia— minutes. Joan Jonas is not just coming up with thering the fields of experimental jazz and visu- 2015’s Heavy Blue and her latest, Here Today. a script and moving all these videos and props al art. The latter features cover art by Amy Sherald, around after just five minutes. That was a huge While at the Manhattan School of Music, who recently unveiled her portrait of Michelle wakeup call, that somebody like Adrian Piper Alicia developed her extraordinary mezzo Obama at the Smithsonian National Portrait has a critical eye on every piece of language she soprano voice and performance presence into Gallery in Washington, D.C. Last year alone, uses and puts on the wall. I’m hard pressed to formidable instruments. She also has collab- Jason released four albums on the label: find people in my crew who are doing that. orated on stage with an array of artists from Thanksgiving At The Vanguard, Bangs, The multiple disciplines, including Weems, Bill T. Armory Concert and Mass {Howl, Eon}. INTERROGATING THE PROCESS … Jones, Charles Lloyd, Adam Pendleton and In tandem, the Morans have expanded JM: When I work with students at New England LaTasha Diggs. She toured with the revival of notions of how much commonality exists Conservatory, it is about that interrogation. It’s Porgy and Bess in 2013, taking over the lead between the jazz and operatic traditions, and about me going, “Wait a minute, you don’t just role from grand dame Audra McDonald. She avant-garde creatives working across the spec- stumble up into this song and act like it’s yours. also has developed several independent projects trum of disciplines—energetically demonstrat- It ain’t that quick and it ain’t that easy.” The peo- that feature her own sui generis artsong inven- ing how boundaries between those forms can ple you love have made those songs their own tions—the project, Black Wall Street be transformed, transgressed and on occasion through a very different process of interrogation and, most recently, Breaking Ice: The Battle of even torched. Upcoming in 2019 is a Carnegie and have a whole language built around that

30 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 and a whole movement built around that—peo- with these not-attractive outfits like they were words where you don’t know where they came ple like Cecil Taylor. going on interviews for jobs they didn’t want. from. You can’t just start singing the way you I’ll never forget, I said, “You know they put heard Kathleen Battle sing it on the record. You CECIL TAYLOR AND SUN RA PUT A WHOLE LOT OF THOUGHT INTO THE a light on you when you’re on stage, right? And can tell me about the composer and his times PRESENTATION OF THE MUSIC AND HOW THAT PRESENTATION WAS A you know we’re sitting here, right? And you’re and you can tell me about the librettist. You get WHOLE COMMENTARY ON THE FRAME AROUND JAZZ. IT SEEMS LIKE forcing us to look at this but you’re acting like in front of the class and say, “I’m going to sing YOU ARE PART OF A REANIMATION OF THE NOTION THAT THE MUSIC we can’t see you. This is ugly and you’re some something by Mozart, poem by so-and-so.” CAN ONCE AGAIN PRESENT US WITH A TOTAL PERFORMANCE IN A handsome guys, so let’s turn up the hotness! Then you go through the translation word by MORE THEATRICAL OR OPERATIC SENSE. Because your show starts the second you come word. JM: I’m keenly aware of what’s not happening out on stage. And nowhere else would this pass.” now in my performance canon versus an oper- And that is when Jason started thinking about IN JAZZ DURING THE ’80S, THIS BURDEN-OF-HISTORY PROB- atic one. And I knew collaborators would help his intros, and using the electronic sounds from LEM AROSE, WHERE IT SEEMED LIKE THERE WERE WARRING me get past some of my own hang-ups about the video games and asking, “When and where do POSITIONS BETWEEN THOSE WHO WANTED TO DO IT LIKE THE role of performance in my work. I use them?” ... So you got the intros to get them MASTERS AND THOSE WHO WANTED TO INNOVATE. Most musicians are trying to get to the next on and to get them off. And you get to where AHM: You got lucky with Greg Osby because he buck—we do our work to pay the bills. There’s you’re not embarrassed to say, “We’re about just took a scissors to all that. a very functional part to being out here playing to get into something here—watch this!” And JM: Also seeing and having a relationship with music. I made certain choices early in my career I’ll take credit for helping to lift them out of the generation ahead, with Muhal Richard that meant I had to figure out another way to that other accidental thing. Because I was in a Abrams and the AACM, and recogniz- roll. Like turning down Cassandra Wilson’s gig yearning position—like, he’s hot and I want to ing what that was all about. We’d go to those when I was fresh out of college. love this. Desire makes you sensitive to things AACM concerts when we were in college, and like that because it’s not an intellectual process. they were making it themselves, operating on WHAT ALARMS DID THAT SET OFF? JM: Rarely does a band have eyes in the audience their own dime, not in no jazz club. And they JM: I don’t even know. I don’t even know if I dis- looking at them and not just listening … scruti- showed there was another tributary where the cussed that with you, Alicia. nizing what you look like and how that reads to music was being distributed, and it always felt a Alicia Hall Moran: Of course you did, and I was fine an audience. different kind of way than going to the Village with it. AHM: Now in music conservatory, studying opera, Vanguard. … JM: I was learning a lot by being in Cassandra’s I was having my mind blown by having to study One thing for [Muhal] was that there was band because she was teaching me about reper- the [writers] of the poems that these canoni- no reason to ever complain. He may have told toire and also saying things like, “I don’t know cal classical had set their music to. other people other shit, but his big thing with what you’re playing, man.” Her questioning that Because in the classical tradition, you don’t sing me was, “No one will ever come into your house and really putting me on the spot onstage. It was shocking and difficult, but I was making my way through it. But I also knew I was putting out my first record on Blue Note and that there was a part of me that was try- ing to define myself and commit to my first step. I had enough support to know it wouldn’t go terribly wrong, and I left the relationship with Cassandra in good standing. Cassandra and Meshell Ndegeocello are two women about whom Alicia said to me early on, “These are the women who are doing the hard work with their groups to produce a sound that’s never existed.” AHM: They create a whole space with their voices and can present everything you hear on the album live. You fall in love with them—that’s how much they’re putting out. But by turn- ing down Cassandra, Jason was also saying, “I’m going to get out of your voice because I have a voice I want to explore.” That’s how I felt. Because who wouldn’t keep a good gig that was bringing you to Japan and salt baths and lots of fun with an amazing band full of really good players? But these people have a voice, and once you play with them, you are in it, and you could stay there.

WHEN DID THE EXTRA-MUSICAL ASPECTS, THE PERFORMATIVE AND THEATRICAL ASPECTS, BECOME ATTRACTIVE TO YOU? AHM: I would go to hear Jason’s band play and I’d say, “Y’all are hot!” But they came out [wearing] these casual, saggy outfits, putting music out

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 31 I’D LIKE TO HEAR YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR FAMILIES’ IMPACT ON YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS AND BEING RAISED TO BE IN SERVICE TO BLACKNESS, TO BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS. JM: I grew up in the Third Ward in Houston— VENICE BIENNALE same neighborhood as Beyoncé and Solange grew up in. I was not aware of how I was being raised until I left. In the ’80s, there was a way that music was used to empower that. You were taught that there were items of our culture to be shared. And every once in a while, your teach- ers would let you know you were getting some- thing not everyone else was being given—trust- ing that you wouldn’t [mess] it up. Just like Andrew Hill would call every once in a while and say, “You know I’m not giving this to everybody,” and then hang up! [laughs] So you knew you were being given items of our culture to be shared later. Be careful when those opportunities show up.

TALK ABOUT THE PROJECT WITH THE CHICAGO HIGH SCHOOL KIDS THAT’S COMING OUT. JM: —beautiful dude, God rest his soul—saw me at the in 2014 and asked me to come see these kids from this South Side after-school music program that his daughter Bethany directs at Kenwood Alicia Hall Moran and Jason Moran Academy. You saw that the parents were invest- have engaged the art world in new and vibrant ways. ed and took time to make sure they got to the and take your hands off of your piano.” That’s by the end of that conversation she taught me Kenwood Academy program for three hours, ownership. … He was like, “I don’t need you to the word “authorship.” She told me, “You need three times a week. I already had this com- accept the whole thing. It’s cool, I’m working on authorship.” So I’m making a record, so people mission in Chicago that I didn’t know what I my work. And I support your work, too. I don’t can hear the voice I have because my voice is was going to do with. But seeing those kids I need your approval and I support your work, dying. I have maybe 10 years left. thought, “What if, instead of writing music for too.” And that’s consistent for that crew. some famous saxophonist to come and play— Those are the kind of people we want to be HOW DO YOU READ YOURSELVES IN TERMS OF AUTHORSHIP, what if I write it for these 40 kids, and they play around—people who focus on the work. Adrian SIGNATURE, A LEGACY—WHAT ARE YOU PUTTING BETWEEN with my band?” Piper, Joan Jonas. People who despite being THOSE COVERS NOW? But then, while I was writing the music, one overlooked for a very long time get the depth of AHM: I grew up in my mother’s house, and my of the kids in the orchestra was murdered what we’re sacrificing to make work. And shit mother is a book editor. I’ve seen her throw [15-year-old guitarist Aaron Rushing]. He had is hard. So if we can support each other, then three-quarters of a manuscript in the garbage been in class with them and now he wasn’t there maybe it can get stronger. We take away gems and say, “Now, we start here.” And that’s my for the concert. It was emotional. Also because from these collaborations that make us stron- whole answer to that. Because you overstand it made them think about there being this great ger whenever we get up on stage. what that is—it’s a whole different process. concert hall in their city that they had never AHM: I allow people to change me when I do col- been invited into. Then I brought them to the laboration. I think sometimes people don’t YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT YOUR VOICE AS SOMETHING THAT’S Kennedy Center [in Washington, D.C.], and want to be changed, so those collaborations just GOING TO BE LOST—THAT IMPLIES YOU ALREADY HAVE SOME took them into the studio—and paid all the become experiences you have. But the ones that SENSE OF WHAT IT’S GENERATING, WHAT ITS VALUE IS. students—and we made a record. It reminded hold are when the person wants to be changed. JM: Alicia’s two records are hers. They didn’t me that when I was in high school I had great For some people, when they feel their identity exist before her, and they took a long time. things happen—meeting people like McCoy slipping away from them, that’s like a death in Time for Alicia to understand why she was Tyler and Kirk Lightsey. I thought, I hope these the night. But that’s where I jump in. singing those songs, why she heard them the kids think that was a cool situation and they When I went to work with Bill T. Jones, I way she did in her head and why she hadn’t remember it 25 years from now. thought, “This will rip up my voice. OK, so it’s heard anyone else do that is because they time to get my voice all ripped up.” Because I couldn’t. And accepting that those things TALK ABOUT YOUR WORK WITH ANNE MULDROW know who this is and I know what he makes she heard did belong together—that Stevie RE-INTERPRETING MINGUS. and I love it. And ain’t no other Black woman in Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” does JM: Georgia has this very liberated voice—from this room singing, so this is for me, so give him need to meet Carmen, because Black folk do the bottom to the top. She understands music everything. My voice has an imprint of all these know that history, too. Why do we act like unlike anybody else I know, and her voice puts places I’ve been. ... those things are so far apart? And why do we sounds together unlike anybody else I know. A few years ago, the artist Simone Leigh keep them so far apart? Alicia eliminated that She plays some unbelievable piano. … Georgia told me, “I’ve heard of everybody you’ve with this record in a way I don’t think I’ve ever Anne really challenges me and the group and worked with but I’ve never heard of you,” and heard done before. the audience when she performs. People don’t

32 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 leave the same as when they came in. During our Chicago run, we were in the middle of this Mingus concert and she suddenly pulled up this statement from her depths: “How can you love and not love the Black story?” The band needed to hear that, and the audience needed to hear that, too. When Alicia came to Manhattan School of Music she didn’t know, like I didn’t know— because this is another thing not taught in con- servatory—how women are eliminated from things from the jump. Point blank. Especially in jazz. She just kept pointing it out to me over and over again.

THAT’S A FLASHPOINT NOW. JM: And those conversations will continue. But I also feel like for me, now it’s also about enabling authors, too. The only reason I’m here is because somebody said, “You should be heard, too.” So I better turn my ass right around and keep those doors open. AHM: You can’t keep any of that for yourself. It’s such a myth. JM: Greg, you were a part of the BLEED pro- gram Alicia and I did for two weeks at the Whitney Museum. They just asked for me and Alicia to do something, but we brought in 100 other people to present with us over those two weeks. Because we know how important that kind of recognition is for a community. AHM: And the fact that they asked for both of us allowed us to say, “We’re going to make some- thing amazing for you.” Because that showed—

THAT IT AIN’T “JAZZ”! [ ]. JM: And back to that original question of, “Is jazz as we know it enough, or is singing enough?” I feel like the people that we looked at were always showing us that it wasn’t enough, and that it really was “beyond category.” Like me going with Alicia’s mother to meet the painter Emilio Cruz and his wife, Pat Cruz, and them talking about knowing Andrew Hill, and me saying, “Hey, that’s my teacher.” AHM: You hadn’t met him yet. You met him because of Pat and my mother taking you to meet her, and then Pat introducing you to Andrew Hill. And you don’t know how to say it because it was a woman who made it happen. JM: I think by that time that I had met Andrew through Greg Osby. AHM: You were one in a billion when you met him with Greg. You got to know the private side of Andrew Hill because of my mother knowing Pat Cruz. That’s why I get so ticked off about people saying how things happen. Like in the magazines you’ll say, “Well, I met Andrew Hill and he told me … ,” and the women will be eliminated. People don’t real- ize if they don’t keep the women around and keep them happy, they’re going to be locked out of all these opportunities. DB

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 33 34 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 BY DAN OUELLETTE PHOTO BY PIERRICK GUIDOU

As the buzz around him continues to build, more and more fans in the United States are learning the name Shabaka Hutchings.

The saxophonist/clarinetist/conceptualist, who is at the center of a vibrant, burgeoning jazz scene in London, leads three disparate bands: the unorthodox, risk-taking quartet , which just released its rowdy Impulse debut, Your Queen Is A Reptile; the England-meets-South Africa ensemble Shabaka and The Ancestors; and the jazz-to-psychedelic improvisation trio . Hutchings served as the musical director of BBC DJ ’s compel- ling new compilation We Out Here (Brownswood), which introduces such young movers on the British scene as tuba player Theon Cross (a member of Sons of Kemet) and explosive tenor saxophonist Nubya Garcia (see Players, page 22). Hutchings takes the spotlight with his eccentric tune “Black Faces, Black Masks,” where he overdubs clarinet and bass clarinet for a lyrical snake dance that morphs into a wild chase, pounding with grooves. While Hutchings is widely respected in Britain as a tastemaker and has become a regular at clubs and festivals throughout Europe, he has remained largely unknown in the United States—until now. Early this year, Impulse Records announced that it had signed Hutchings and that it intends to release all of his bands’ projects.

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 35 where he spent his youth studying both clas- sical music and calypso. He didn’t discover jazz until he returned to when he was 16. He began to explore jam sessions and

MICHAEL JACKSON soon came under the wing of alto saxophonist Soweto Kinch, who was mixing jazz with hip- hop. Hutchings subsequently dug in and began studying jazz recordings at the city library. Then he advanced to securing a space as a stu- dent at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he met many of the young musicians who now are making waves on the London scene. In 2011, Hutchings formed Sons of Kemet. The fiery quartet’s 2013 debut,Burn , paved the way for the provocative 2015 album Lest We Forget What We Came Here To Do, which Hutchings described as a meditation on the Caribbean diaspora in Britain. “It all started with wanting to do a small gig that was about crowds dancing wildly, and I wanted two drummers who didn’t play rhyth- mically but had a conversation going with- out playing a groove,” Hutchings said. “Then I thought of having a tuba on the front line with me and playing off each other. It is a horn, not just a bass. The personality of the player was important, and the original band member, Oren Marshall, brought a sense of irreverence to the tuba, playing whatever he wanted and going as far out as he wanted. Theon Cross replaced him a few years ago and his background [has] a connection to Caribbean music, so we inter- act on a level related to Caribbean phrasings.” Each of Shabaka Hutchings’ ensembles showcases a different musical sensibility of the bandleader. In an email correspondence with the band, Cross concurred: “Shabaka and I both have Hutchings has begun to gain recognition to see their other sides. It’s been a negotiation Caribbean heritage, and we use the rhyth- and build audiences at New York venues such in my life to seek out sounds and give people a mic cadences found in genres like soca, calyp- as (Le) Poisson Rouge, where he played with taste of my musical life, to make a point with- so and as a basis to improvise off of,” he Shabaka and The Ancestors during the 2017 out being pushy.” said. “Sometimes it may be just between two or Winter Jazzfest. The group appeared at LPR Those New York performances helped him three notes, but the big aim is to create inter- again in August during the Jazz Re:Freshed and his unconventional ensembles make signif- est and tension through rhythm and keep peo- New York Edition, following a show at the icant headway with audiences in the States—an ple dancing.” Afropunk Festival in Brooklyn. exciting development that follows some frus- “What we’ve been doing since the begin- This year, Hutchings returned to Winter trating roadblocks. ning is having four strands traveling simulta- Jazzfest, where he performed three sets, includ- “It’s been quite an obstacle for us to play neously but not necessarily at the same time,” ing one at LPR, where he unleashed a scorching, here,” said the tall, amiable bandleader during Hutchings explained. “That’s taken us into saxophone-effects burst with the synth-driven his latest visit to New York in January. “You have areas we didn’t perceive. We’re not interested in The Comet Is Coming as part of a British Jazz to get the funding to come here, and then there’s playing the same old things. We play adventur- Showcase presented by Peterson. Two nights getting the proper visa to play, which costs more ous music with pure power and fun.” later, Hutchings revved up a dance-crazy out- than what we’d get paid. But those are the hard Veteran SOK drummer Tom Skinner ing with Sons of Kemet. Then, when Rudresh first steps, and then the word gets out.” added, “There are no extraneous, unneces- Mahanthappa’s Indo-Pak band canceled its fes- It was at LPR in January 2017 that Hutchings sary elements. No frills—just melody, bass and tival set due to a family emergency, Hutchings was approached by Impulse A&R executive rhythm. This kind of raw sound and energy was enlisted for a last-minute saxophone jam at Dahlia Ambach-Caplin after a set by Shabaka speaks to people in a very basic, human way. It Bowery Ballroom with Donny McCaslin and and The Ancestors. “It was an amazing occur- is body music, for dancing, for unity and com- Lakecia Benjamin. rence,” Hutchings said. “We talked for a cou- munity. It brings people together.” “This has been great because people are get- ple of hours about my musical ideas, and then Your Queen Is A Reptile is a nine-track tour ting to see my different sensibilities that fit into she proposed that I sign all my bands with de force that features Hutchings on tenor, Cross different scenarios,” Hutchings said via tele- Impulse.” on tuba and a two-man drum team of Skinner phone after returning to London. “Most of the Hutchings was born in London in 1984 and and Seb Rochford. Current band member Eddie time, musicians come to America and only play raised in Birmingham, but at age 6 he was taken Hick arrived for two tracks to replace Rochford, in one band, which is limiting. You don’t get back to his parents’ native island, , who left SOK during the sessions.

36 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 37 women who inspired me.” One of the more poignant stories on the album is “My Queen Is Nanny Of The Maroons.” Its rhythm was spirited to Hutchings after the PIERRICK GUIDOU band finished recording its Angela Davis tune. “We just started a groove, tapping into a vessel of connectivity,” he said. “It was the nyahbinghi groove from the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari that was so important in the Caribbean experi- ence; people would gather and play this rhythm for hours and hours in celebration.” It turned out to be the perfect fit for the Maroons story that is about Nanny (1686– 1755), the woman who led enslaved people in Jamaica to freedom. They established a commu- nity and were never captured or enslaved again. “That resilience, that spirit, really inspires me,” Hutchings said. “It’s a space where you’re con- stantly aware of living a life that fights for free- dom. Nothing can be taken for granted.” In tandem with his explorations of the Sons of Kemet’s Your Queen Is A Reptile celebrates a raft of historically important women. Afro-Caribbean and South African traditions, Hutchings cites American jazz giants as signifi- cant influences on his playing. “At the moment, I’ve been listening to a lot of Charlie Parker,” ‘We need to consider the he said. “But not in the same way as in college when I was trying to learn the stuff he was play- feminine space and tell ing. Now I’m listening to him as a drummer. It sounds like he is sparring, like a boxer. Charlie Parker has been teaching me how to rhythmi- women’s stories of hope.’ cally spark with my drummers.” On a technical level, Hutchings champions Eric Dolphy: “The first time I heard him play a “Call-and-response is occurring between Harriet Tubman, activist and educator Angela bass clarinet, I didn’t know how he could do it Tom and me,” Hick said. “That in turn convers- Davis, black liberation activist Anna Julia at that level. Then I listened to Last Date [1964], es with Theon and Shabaka. It’s a four-way con- Haywood Cooper and civil rights leader Mamie which showed me what I could do on bass clar- versation. We balance frequencies and timbres Phipps Clark—all of whom are referenced in inet and play in a certain way that expressed my on the drums to match different sections of the song titles on the new album. Each song title personality.” composition. This creates space to embellish begins with the phrase “My Queen Is … .” The With his divergent musical tastes, with more abstract rhythmic language.” opening track, “My Queen Is Ada Eastman,” is Hutchings has made a fresh impact on a gen- Your Queen Is A Reptile serves not only as a a rollicking tribute to Hutchings’ great-grand- eration of jazz Brits who are forging an adven- spirited critique on the opulent lifestyle of mother, who lived to be 103. “She came back turous style. “Shabaka has played an extreme- England’s monarchy but also a celebration of to Barbados from England and held the fami- ly vital role in the current resurgence of British queens of a different sort, whom Hutchings ly together,” Hutchings said. “The vocals on the jazz,” Skinner said. “He has paved the way for describes as icons of courage and freedom. track sung by Joshua Idehen are about the dark, the new wave of talented young musicians “The reason behind my political thinking is angry times of immigration to England.” coming out of the U.K. right now. From when the fact that we need to consider the feminine Other figures celebrated on the album we started Sons of Kemet back in 2011, even space and tell women’s stories of hope,” he said. include Albertina Sisulu, a prominent before, he has had a vision for a new type of “We need to articulate who we draw our inspi- anti-apartheid leader in South Africa; Yaa jazz music that respects and observes the tra- ration from on a feminine perspective. I start- Asantewaa, the political and military head dition but is not stuck in the past and is con- ed to think, who are our queens? It’s like what of the Ashanti Empire that fought against stantly looking to the future. This is a very Sun Ra said: People who are oppressed have the the British colonial army in 19th century important thing: to question where you’re at power to create their own mythological struc- Africa; and Jamaica-born Doreen Lawrence, and not sit on your laurels. Shabaka is a vision- tures. I started thinking of the myths in our a police-reform campaigner dubbed by the ary, and I’m excited to see where he takes it society, the royalty that dominates our thinking BBC in 2014 as “the most powerful woman in next.” so that we don’t even think of them as myths. Britain.” As the end of the interview, Hutchings Here in Britain, it’s all about hereditary privi- Thematically, Hutchings knew he wanted mentioned that he was eager to get back to work lege just because someone is born into a certain to honor queens but admitted that he “didn’t fulfilling a request from a web company to cre- bloodline. As a second-generation immigrant, have a big knowledge of women I could call ate a playlist of British jazz. “I’m going through I have the power to disregard this ridiculous queen.” So, he turned to Facebook and asked all my collections,” he said, followed by a slight myth and replace it with myths of my own.” for suggestions of powerful women. “I got 400 pause. “Really, there’s been a lot of good music The “queens” in Hutchings’ worldview to 500 responses,” he said. “I couldn’t be com- that has come from Britain over the years. We’ll include American heroes such as abolitionist prehensive, but I went through many stories of continue to keep doing that.” DB

38 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 39 t was May 2016, a month after the virtuoso Cuban-born drum- mer-composer published A World Of Rhythmic Possibilities, a well-received book that dives deep into his methodologies and aesthetics. On the line was Eric Oberstein, who’d become friend- ly with Prieto while serving as executive director of the Afro- Latin Jazz Alliance, the umbrella nonprofit that sponsors Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra. ALJO had recorded Prieto’s “The Triumphant Journey” on the 2015 Grammy-nominated album Cuba: The Conversation Continues, and “Song For Chico,” which served as the title track for ALJO’s 2008 Best Latin Jazz Album Grammy-winning recording, both of which Oberstein produced. “I fell in love with ‘Song For Chico’ the moment I heard it,” Oberstein recalled in early February. “Dafnis’ beautiful, lush melodies captured me, and I’ve never met anyone with such an incredible sense of time. His pieces are little journeys that take hairpin turns, but he’s always in con- trol as he takes you down his beautiful path.” Oberstein was looking to branch out, and decided to suss out Prieto’s interest in a collaboration.

40 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 41 Steve Coleman, Brian Lynch and all are featured on drummer Dafnis Prieto’s Back To The Sunset. TOM SCHWARZ

Before Oberstein finished asking, “What’s Sunset are features for Steve Coleman, Brian all the lines could stand on their own. He your dream project?” Prieto declared, “I want Lynch and Henry Threadgill, who each recruit- applies his rhythmic concepts to give the big to do a big band with my arrangements.” That ed Prieto for their bands not long after he arrived band forward movement, push-and-pull, sim- aspiration dated back some 30 years to Prieto’s in New York in 1999. Each of those musicians is ilar to those old Cuban bands—less about har- adolescence in Santa Clara, a city of 215,000 in also a dedicatee, as are Jane Bunnett, Andrew monic complexity than the different sections central Cuba, where he was focusing on clas- Hill, David Samuels, Eddie Palmieri, Jerry playing the melodies and rhythms.” sical percussion in conservatory and teach- González, Michel Camilo, Roberto Carcasses, As an example of Prieto’s rhythmic legerde- ing himself to play drums with exercises from Bebo Valdés and père and fils O’Farrill, one main, Valera mentioned “Out Of The Bone,” a technique book by George Lawrence Stone. time Prieto employers. dedicated to Coleman and Camilo, on which, Prieto fueled his imagination at performanc- As Prieto composed new charts and after a stentorian baritone saxophone overture es by the local big band Orquesta La Musica expanded older ones, Oberstein tasked himself by Chris Cheek, Prieto states a ferocious 7/4 Moderna, propelled by drummer Juan Carlos with financing the enterprise and convening time feel that conveys the illusion that two sep- Rojas (“El Peje”), who would subsequently a 17-piece band consisting of five , arate drum kits are in play, or that he perhaps spend consequential time with pianist Chucho four , four trumpets, piano, bass, deployed an extra limb—or two—in address- Valdés’ band, The Afro-Cuban Messengers. percussion and Prieto on drum kit. The core ing his instrument. “Through them I heard not just Cuban members were saxophonists Peter Apfelbaum Prieto first encountered Coleman in music, but American music and any other kind and Roman Filiú, trumpeter Mike Rodriguez Havana in 1996. He made 1997 and 1998 of music—played well,” Prieto said by phone and pianist Manuel Valera, all long-standing sojourns to the Stanford Jazz Workshop at from his Miami home. “Always in the back of friends familiar with Prieto’s vocabulary. Coleman’s instigation and played drums on my mind I hoped some day to record my music Oberstein announced the project around Coleman’s 2003 Lucidarium. “Through Steve, with that great, rich sound.” And so, with the Thanksgiving 2016 and launched a crowd-fund- I discovered the playing and music of Max cessation of funding from his 2011 MacArthur ing campaign through the New York-based Roach, which was huge, and music from South “Genius” award and a substantial corpus of orig- nonprofit arts service organization Fractured and Ghana,” he said. inal music from five quartet, quintet and sextet Atlas. They created tiered levels of rewards The refracted motif of ’s albums on his own imprint, Dafnison, Prieto that, at the Producer level, included access to “Manteca” introduces the album opener, “Una decided that the prospect of professional support the recording session. Via this modality, a May Vez Más,” which Prieto composed for the jazz in navigating infrastructure and logistics made 2017 fundraising concert by Prieto’s Si O Si quartet he played in with Palmieri, Lynch and this a fortuitous moment to take the plunge. quartet at Manhattan’s Jazz Gallery and sever- Boris Kozlov in the early 2010s. Lynch—a As spring transitioned to summer and al grants, they raised about $60,000 and decid- co-dedicatee with Palmieri and Tito Puente— summer to fall, Prieto and Oberstein looked for ed to self-release the project. follows Valera’s Palmieri refraction with a clar- a narrative thread. Prieto decided to construct “The recording session was relaxed,” Valera ion solo that signifies why he and Prieto have a notes-and-tones autobiography through trib- recalled about the August sessions in Brooklyn. remained close since 1997, when Lynch played utes to a Pan-American cohort of heroes who “Most of the tunes were two takes, with hard- a concert at Stanford with him and Yosvany influenced and inspired him. ly any overdubs. ... Dafnis’ writing for big band Terry. Three of the nine pieces onBack To The reminds me of the way wrote, where “Right away I knew something special was

42 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 going on with both guys,” Lynch said. He told serve synesthetic or abstract imperatives—a Prieto first conceptualized his procedures Prieto to call if he was ever in New York. Lynch notion of visual art, a philosophical principle or on mid-’90s tours with Chilean pianist Carlos followed through in ’99, hiring Prieto to replace the sound of thunder. Maza, an admirer of the M.O. followed by Antonio for a band he was leading. His compositional process transpires most- Brazilian composers Hermeto Pascoal and “He had a lot of finesse, obviously a lot of ly by ear. “I like scores from , like Egberto Gismonti (acknowledged on “Two knowledge and understanding of the rhythms Bartok’s string or some Stravinsky For One” and “The Sooner The Better,” respec- from his culture, and a real ear for what the works,” he said. “It’s like they consist of words, tively), whose own drummers played from an soloist is doing,” Lynch said. “He’s able to pull and the game is how you play with those orchestrative, textural perspective. As his hori- things into a creative place while respecting words—you see what results. The quality of the zons expanded, Prieto increasingly felt stifled the form he’s playing. He plays like a compos- performer is also part of every composition—a by the absence of a platform in Cuba. Unwilling er, always.” melody played by Henry is almost a different to play commercial jobs, he left the island, land- Both Lynch and Apfelbaum played in melody than the same melody played by some- ing in Barcelona, then Toronto, then New York. Prieto’s early ’00s groups, developing the reper- one else.” After the aforementioned Zoho albums, toire that appears on 2005’s About The Monks. Apfelbaum emphasized the linear ingenuity of Prieto’s quartet and sextet music, comparing it to a tree with different branches. “Now each line is harmonized and played by a different sec- tion comprising four or five instruments, and the tree’s branches are now filled with fruit,” he said of Back To The Sunset. The overall effect, he added, is like “seeing a movie that seems famil- iar, but in 3-D with surround sound.” Prieto dedicates the title track to Threadgill and Hill. Threadgill uncorks a searingly vocal- ized alto saxophone solo, marking his second recorded sideman appearance with Prieto, fol- lowing “Afrotango” on Absolute Quintet (2006). Both masters availed themselves of Prieto’s skills in 1999, and Threadgill hired him for his paired 2001 albums Everybodys Mouth’s A Book and Up Popped The Two Lips. “Dafnis operates at a very high level of musicality,” Threadgill said. “He’s able to trans- late non-percussion ideas into percussion ideas, to look at a piece in terms of the entire picture of the composition and not just his part. As a com- poser, he has command of the resources he uses and an ability to carry it out.” Prieto observed that Coleman, Threadgill and Hill “showed the possibility for music to sound like yourself—it doesn’t have to be gener- ic.” He first heard Threadgill’s music during a 1998–’99 sojourn in Canada under the spon- sorship of Jane Bunnett that directly preceded his move to New York. “I thought it was surre- alistic, the music I could hear in my dreams— and when I wake up, it disappears,” Prieto said. “I learned from Henry that each tune should have its own character and intention upon which you put your own voice. You create your own world, which reflects your set of beliefs and structures and content, and it comes through in your artistic vocabulary.” As he describes in A World of Rhythmic Possibilities, Prieto has practiced techniques that evoke a panoply of sounds on his drum kit, endeavoring to make his instrument a vehi- cle to represent or imitate various Cuban folk- loric percussion instruments. He speaks the rhythms, speeds them up and slows them down at will, plays and subdivides any theme on any limb at any time, and deploys the rhythms to

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 43 a direct daily flight to Santa Clara, facilitating visits to his mother. But increased proximity to his homeland hasn’t resulted in invitations to perform or teach there. “I’ve never even been DAVID GARTEN invited to play a jazz festival in Cuba,” he said. “I wouldn’t ever be able to do in Cuba what I’ve done in the U.S. as a leader and creative musi- cian. In order to work with a Steve Coleman or a Henry Threadgill, to do what I really wanted, I had to come here.” On the other hand, he con- tinues: “In Cuba, you can dream about what it’s going to be like, but when you get here, it’s not Prieto’s dream project has been to convene a big band focused on his own arrangements. what you thought it would be. It takes a lot of time and courage, a lot of strength to keep your Prieto launched Dafnison in 2008 with Taking ensemble that Prieto assembled during his belief alive.” The Soul For A Walk. “I was basically swip- first academic year (2015–’16) at Frost School For now, Prieto is focusing on the challenge ing my credit card, or saving money from the of Music at the , where of working with Oberstein to spread the word gigs for my own projects, which wasn’t easy he teaches composition, as well as drums and about Back To The Sunset, to book gigs for the in an expensive city,” he said. “But I wanted ensembles. orchestra and to find personnel with whom he and needed my own label. If no one wanted to “For me, teaching is one of the highest spir- can tour. Ever the pragmatic risk-taker, Prieto release my albums, I had to do it myself. It gives itual paths,” Prieto said. “There’s the reciprocal is both optimistic and realistic. me absolute control over the product, from the relationship of giving and receiving; you feel “If the budget allows, I want to use the guys first note to the last artwork. I have the cour- the students develop through time, and feel on the record,” he said. “But I’m open to using age to challenge myself economically to make it their gratitude for what you are giving them, other musicians. To play these pieces, you happen. I make a record, and I don’t know how just as I feel gratitude for what the musicians don’t have to be a specialist in — much I’ll make or how much exposure it will who I honor on Back To The Sunset did for me. though you need to be good at rhythm. But get—I depend on an industry that rolls on other They see I’ve done it on my own, and they ask this isn’t generic music. We’re not playing principles. ... I always joke, ‘I don’t need anyone why I did it, what the challenges are, why I ‘El Manicero.’ It’s completely new material. to make myself poorer; I can do that very well.’” made the decisions I made.” Besides being strong as a musician, they have At the beginning of 2018, Dafnison Prieto lives 10 minutes from the Fort to be open-minded in order to accept it and be released Transition, by the Kairos Sextet, an Lauderdale airport, from which Jet Blue runs able to execute it.” DB

44 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 45 The quintet’s ablaze, floating ecstatically over waves of cheer and distraction, as uproarious Friday revelers stand toe to toe with the front line.

Regulars jostle amicably in the cramped club, soaking up the notes and nuances. Tempo’s up, meter’s odd, propelled by Lee Fish’s vigorous drum- ming and the fleet, firm threads of Simón Willson’s upright bass. Wally’s Café Jazz Club exudes a joyous, giddy energy, and Jason Palmer is right at home at the Boston venue. He stands erect and observant in the eye of the storm. Streams of straight-eighths pour from his trumpet and weave brief, bright lines with Noah Preminger’s sweeping tenor saxophone. Palmer draws easily from many wells—lightning riffs, squibs, sandpapered Don Cherry blasts—all of a piece in his bob- bing, lilting narrative. With a smile and a nod, Palmer steps aside as Max Light illuminates floating changes on his guitar. Wally’s is a long, narrow neighborhood bar with a rich history. For 70 years, it has been a forum for jazz and blues (Latin and funk, too) in Boston’s South End neighborhood, mere steps away from Symphony Hall and New England Conservatory. Wally’s has been key to Palmer’s evolving trajectory as student, sideman, leader, teacher, family man and globetrotter. His bands have anchored the club’s busy weekly slate since 2002, and he started playing there even earlier than that.

46 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 47 Jason Palmer stands outside of Wally’s Cafe in Boston, where he recorded two live albums that will be released by SteepleChase. [the time the teacher got to the letter] ‘P,’ so my second choice was trumpet. My mother bought me a cornet. I didn’t get serious about jazz until junior year when [music teacher] Mr. Morton

STEVEN SUSSMAN told us about a new summer camp named for Coltrane. “My ‘aha moment’ came when I heard [trum- peter] play ‘Cherokee.’ He spoke clear and warm through all registers; that turned something on upstairs. On a purely musical level, I was curious how he could make it speak.” Hoops lost out to the blues in Palmer’s life. “I was real serious about basketball,” he recalled. “I met a few recruiters, played [Amateur Athletic Union basketball], but then Mr. Morton introduced me to Greensboro Music Academy, and I ended up going three nights a week for two years. Dr. Ronnie Ingle, my first trumpet teacher, wanted me to learn every- thing: classical études and jazz. He introduced me to more Clifford Brown and Miles Davis, but also . He had me pick a solo off [Payton’s 1995 album]Gumbo Nouveau,

Jason Palmer is now in his 10th year transcribe it, put it in [the software applica- of teaching at . tion] Finale, and analyze the ideas: ‘Whoopin’ Blues’—yeah.” “I grew up here over 21 years,” Palmer mar- scape, anchored by the leader’s piano rumina- Palmer arrived at New England veled. “Thanks to the [venue’s owners, the] tions, thickened with Pablo Menares’ bass and Conservatory at 18, game but green. Walcott family, we had total freedom to experi- Wayne Smith Jr.’s drums. Palmer and Warfield “I was kinda naïve and from a new school. I ment.” Wally’s was his safety net, crucible, work- popped up like mountains or skyscrapers over thought solfège was a gym class and bought shop, his weekend tree house. And now it’s key stretches. Palmer’s peaks arrived on a wry, sneakers. Thank goodness I met John McNeil. a key part of his discography. Later this year, sassy song with displaced triplets and Brownie He was two teachers in one to me: chops doctor SteepleChase will release two separate live albums jabs; far-reaching chorus trades with soprano and master improviser.” by Palmer: At Wally’s Vol. 1 and At Wally’s Vol. 2, on a sultry 5/4 blues; and, on an abrupt encore, McNeil showed Palmer the Caruso method painstakingly recorded by Jimmy and Dena Katz, a tapestry of quotes woven from Dizzy, Stevie regimen, which had helped him rebuild his own who are frequent DownBeat contributors. Wonder, “Three Blind Mice” and maybe Freddie career. “Your lips must present a flat surface to “Despite never living in New York, Jason’s Hubbard’s intro to “Moanin’.” the mouthpiece,” McNeil explained. “If you going to make his mark,” Jimmy said. Indeed, But his centerpiece was a ballad that rose out don’t fix it, it’s like trying to bat right-handed it’s already happening: Jason Palmer is in high of a tart, low-register theme in thirds, through with your left hand on top. You can hit the ball, demand. a tangle of nuanced lines, building with steady but you’ll never get it out of the infield. I told He has performed with an array of saxo- drama into a lengthy, engaging narrative that him: ‘Continue your playing: It’s your highway phonists, including Ravi Coltrane, Grace Kelly, topped out over three octaves and several min- and we’ll build an access road alongside it.’ Matana Roberts and . Additionally, utes in a near-perfect parabola. “He worked on it morning, noon and night. he’s shared the stage with drummers Lewis Palmer’s a happy man in the middle: crafting Soon, his began to shift. I told him Nash and Roy Haynes, keyboardist Herbie a life that combines home and away games with a it’d take two years, but he did it in 18 months. Hancock, organist Jimmy Smith, trumpeters teaching career and family. He’s in year 10 teach- He took those grueling exercises on faith, and it Wynton Marsalis and Roy Hargrove and hip- ing ensembles and trumpet at Berklee College of saved his career. He earned it.” hop artist Common. Music. Palmer still uses those Caruso warm-up These days, Palmer regularly plays in pia- exercises every day. nist George Burton’s quintet alongside tenor “Once he got the essentials down,” McNeil saxophonist Tim Warfield. That band recent- Meet Jason Palmer or watch him play, and enthused, “he became auto-didactic. He could ly wrapped up a Northeast trek that includ- free associations sprout up. Quicksilver ideas transcribe anything. He listened to everybody: ed dates at Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., mirror the alert freshness of a young Ornette , Dizzy, Freddie, Lee … . Jason lis- Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in New York, The Side in a black turtleneck, or maybe Mercury, the tened hard and learned from everybody. Comes Door in Hartford, Connecticut, and Scullers Roman god whose fleet feet and facile fingers in one day, says, ‘What’s this absolute pitch I Jazz Club in Boston. reflect an agile spirit passing through. Over a hear about?’ I say, ‘You can hear anything and “Jason Palmer is a significant presence in a curry dish at Restaurant Kashmir in Boston, tell the note.’ ‘Really?’ he asks, surprised. ‘Well, new generation of jazzists,” Burton said. Palmer recounted his childhood in High Point, I can do that. Heck, I thought everybody could “Working with Jason is always exciting. As a North Carolina. do that.’” member of my quintet, he is like the element of “I grew up two doors away from John A quick study, Palmer embraced nuggets of water: expressing the feeling in my music with Coltrane’s home on Underhill Street,” he said. wisdom from icons he encountered and picked pure empathy that never fails to give me chills.” “I started playing in bands in sixth grade. My up tips from younger musicians, like Grace Kelly. A recent Burton set unfurled a broad land- first choice was saxophone; they were gone by “Grace taught me the importance of bringing joy

48 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 to people in many countries,” he said. “No matter Eastern music. weekends, and now fans around the world can how sick or low energy she was, she never folded.” It was Preminger who encouraged Jimmy enjoy the sets via webcam. and Dena Katz to record Palmer’s quintet at Preminger sees something profound in Wally’s. Jimmy, who has recorded 525 sessions, Palmer: “Only a select few jazz musicians have The process of teaching ensembles at became engrossed in the lightning setup, the the capacity to execute their ideas with a sense Berklee came with a learning curve. intricate condenser-microphone setup, the ram- of freedom. I’m talking about when freedom of “Sometimes we’d have no bass player,” bunctious audience and enthusiastic players. melody, harmony, rhythm and technique are all Palmer explained. “So, I started scatting bass, “History will remember the great performance,” aligned to create a space where the improvis- then I bought one and learned it; you watch he said. “Jason’s extraordinary on any record- er can release into the unknown. This doesn’t people, YouTube tutorials, ask questions. ing, but in this open-ended context, he was very come from practicing. Coltrane couldn’t get Consequently, teaching has caused me to learn relaxed but played with complete abandon.” there, but Miles could, and so can Jason. It’s the how instruments function in a band. Not good Wally’s patrons can catch Palmer live most highest level of improvisation.” DB enough to hold a gig, but learning note choic- es and lines helps me teach them what they’re expected to do.” French pianist Domi Degalle, one of Palmer’s former students, is now his bandmate for gigs at Wally’s. To prepare for work with bandleaders such as Turner and Burton, Palmer said he tries to “memorize as much material as I can, get into the vibe and mindset of songs on records they’re promoting. I try to improvise in ways that I haven’t before, to approach it with a fresh perspective: devices, shrieks, cries, motifs.” Palmer’s own compositions tend to be brief and brisk, lilting with catchy rhythms and mesmerizing passages that glint with crystal- line logic. His tunes feature forward motion, restlessness, urgency, transparency. He might draw inspiration from a film, such asCrash or Ethos, or from a performance by an athlete, such as Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas. The trumpeter, who recently was selected as a City of Boston Artist in Residence, current- ly is planning a community service project. “It will be a concert capturing the voices of grieving mothers who have lost their kids to violence,” he said. “It’ll be a collaboration with pianist Kevin Harris, akin to Hermeto Pascoal’s ‘Aura Sound’ portrayals of vocal patterns. My hope is to influ- ence people to put down their guns.” In 2016, Palmer released an album that reflected his deep interest in mathemat- ics: Beauty ’N’ Numbers: The Sudoku Suite (SteepleChase). “I began more ethereal writ- ing based on numbers and numerical sequenc- es,” he said. “You have to watch that it doesn’t sound robotic. I had to give myself rules to expand the palette with Sudoku, a numbers game based on logical reasoning.” Beauty ‘N’ Numbers opens with the title track, which is followed by 15 tracks (in 12 different keys). Those song titles, when read in sequence, reveal a humorous message: “Obsessive compulsive disorder is now under control thanks to the guidance of fun and games so if you would allow me to be in the moment.” Palmer’s fascinating discography (on SteepleChase) includes a trilogy of tributes to vocalists Minnie Riperton, Janelle Monáe and . He hints at future homag- es to and Burt Bacharach, to Chopin, and interests in Ravel and Middle

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 49 50 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 Masterpiece +++++ Excellent ++++ Good +++ Fair ++ Poor + Inside

54 / Jazz 58 / Blues 60 / Beyond 62 / Historical 64 / Books

ers with sociopolitcal messages to espouse. (Brown’s album Tell It Like It Is, from 1963, is an odd kind of forerunner to The Questions.) Elling’s song choices are a major part of the

COURTESY OF OKEH disc’s identity: American folk song, jazz stan- dards and originals that blend famous poet- ry with his lyrics. The band is a tightly knit group of A-listers—saxophonist , trumpeter Marquis Hill, pianist Stu Mindeman and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, among others. The musicians enjoy a general ease of motion across folk-rock saunters and glimmering post-bop. Elling leads the album with ’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and moves into the dreamy patriotism of ’s “American Tune.” But any consideration of national identity is couched in a broader con- text. Elling has his mind on aging and senes- cence, themes that materialize during some of the album’s most engaging moments. On “A Happy Thought,” he sings the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Franz Wright’s free verse—“what frightened me, apparently, and hurt/was being born. But I got over that/with no hard feelings. Dying, I imagine,/it will be the same deal”—over a snaky, propulsive Mindeman melody. To the extent Elling finds an answer to the questions he poses here—of mortali- Vocalist Kurt Elling addresses the role ty, futility, membership, disappearance—it of the crooner, as well as aging, on The Questions. comes in the form of fellowship. The Carla Kurt Elling quarian charm—and extravagant talent. But Bley composition “Lawns,” retitled here his situation is significantly different: An as “Endless Lawns,” comes with lyrics by The Questions epoch has passed, the tradition has shifted Elling, plus verses from Sara Teasdale’s poem OKEH RECORDS/ some, jazz’s identity is more culturally fixed. “Winter Stars.” As Mindeman plays the sim- MASTERWORKS 88985492832 ½ And Elling is a white guy, who’s as upper- ple chord sequence, Elling sings Teasdale’s +++ middle-class-seeming as they come. wistful lines in a spry, ad-libbed rhythm— The fantastical promise of jazz singers like Still, on albums like Close Your Eyes, his “Years go, dreams go, and youth goes too,/ Billy Eckstine and Johnny Hartman was that 1995 debut, and The Gate, a 2011 career high- The world’s heart breaks beneath its wars”— everyone, regardless of race or birth, some- light, his task has been to somehow carry the but then returns to his own words, with a plea how might partake in the small pleasures softly transcendent theatrics of jazz vocals for solidarity: “Come climb the skies with of the American upper class. A virtuoso into the present day. How does that sound me/Come here.” —Giovanni Russonello

African-American vocalist, singing a breezy in 2018, with Elling now 50 and the fate of a The Questions: A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall; A Happy Broadway hit in a sanguine croon, could beleaguered nation on his mind? Thought; American Tune; Washing Of The Water; A Secret In Three Views; Lonely Town; Endless Lawns; I Have push toward something outside of politics, On The Questions, Elling continues his Dreamed; The Enchantress; Skylark. (65:02) Personnel: Kurt Elling, vocals; Stu Mindeman, piano, almost outside of time. interrogation of that old crooner’s role, but— Hammond B-3 (2, 5, 10); Joey Calderazzo, piano (6, 8); John Kurt Elling always has taken his cues wisely—he’s delving into something else, too. McLean, acoustic and electric guitars; Clark Sommers, bass; Branford Marsalis, saxophones (1, 8); Marquis Hill, trumpet, from singers like these, working with their That other thing comes to him through Oscar flugelhorn (6, 7); Jeff “Tain” Watts, drums. dialectic of measured masculinity and anti- Brown Jr. and Abbey Lincoln, poet-sing- Ordering info: okeh-records.com

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 51 ute to the studio’s mid-century glory days when Beny Moré and other mambo kings reigned. Cuban vocalist José “Pepito” Gómez assem- bled the 16-piece group from musicians based in New York and Havana, including mem- bers of Irakere and Los Van Van. Its single, “Mambo Rapidito,” presents an uptempo groove with horns in service to rhythm, a “tradition- al Latin dance band given balls by saxophones and horns,” as novelist Oscar Hijuelos once described a classic mambo orchestra. Elsewhere contemporary elements suggest a new gold- en age of Cuban music. Modern horn voicings sometimes spin the rhythm section, and pianist César “Pupy” Pedroso drives “Cuidado Con El Tumbador” with springy montuno vamps. Orquesta Akokán If the devil and God are in the details, this Renee Rosnes Orquesta Akokán lovingly meticulous session must have reached Beloved Of The Sky DAPTONE 052 the ears of Areito’s ancestors. Listen for their SMOKE SESSIONS 1801 ++++ blessings, caught like everything else here, live to +++½ tape. —Michelle Mercer “Americans always want to record live,” grum- Ideas like “the splendor of nature” and “the bles bassist Jorge Reyes during sessions for Orquesta Akokán: Mambo Rapidito; La Corbata Barata; Un mysteries of the universe” are more easily con- Tabaco Para Elegua; Otro Nivel; La Cosa; Cuidado Con El Tum- Orquesta Akokán’s eponymous album. “When bador; Yo Soy Para Tí; No Te Hagas; A Gozar La Vida. (39:34) jured in the mind of a composer than the eye of we do it, they don’t use it anyway.” Personnel: José “Pepito” Gómez, vocals; Michael Eckroth, a beholder. The composer is Renee Rosnes, who piano; Otto Santana Selis, conga, timbales; Eduardo Lavoy A Cuban jazz veteran, Reyes has earned his Zaragoza Jr., bongo; Cesar Lopez, alto saxophone, flute; Eva- found her idea in a painting of a forlorn tree by risto Denis, baritone saxophone; Jamil Schery, José “El Chewy” skepticism. But Brooklyn’s Daptone Records has Luis Hernandez, tenor saxophone; Yoandy Argudin, Heikel Emily Carr, a post-Impressionist artist and fel- sustained a devotion to raw aural textures on its Fabián Trimiño, Carlos “Afrokan” Alvarez Guerra, trombone; low Canadian whose work produced the cover Harold Madrigal Frias, Santiago Ceballos Seijido, trumpet; first Spanish-language album, which was record- César “Pupy” Pedroso, piano (6); Jorge Reyes, bass; Itai Kriss, art and some of the programmatic content. flute (1, 8); Carlitos Padron, timbales (5, 6); Luis Soto, Eddie ed in Havana’s hallowed Estudios Areito. Just a Venegas, vocals. Rather than square the tides of the music few mics captured the sound of the room in trib- Ordering info: daptonerecords.com with particulars of an editorial narrative, bet- ter to skip such ambiguities and tend to the performances, which team Rosnes for the first Fire! time with drummer . The title The Hands piece belongs in that column of generic impres- RUNE GRAMMOPHON 2197 sionistic ruminations, drifting placidly on the +++½ winds of a daydream as if looking for a place to land—though Rosnes and Chris Potter give Like the late, lamented American rock trio it the unity of a nice chamber piece. Rosnes is Morphine, ’s Fire! generates menace a wonderful pianist who seems to have swal- on dark reeds, bass and drums. The trio’s sixth lowed the entire history of American music like recording sounds like the soundtrack to a par- a baby aspirin. But her range and command ticularly gritty episode of The Bridge—a police tend to conceal a juicy center of individualism. procedural set in Malmö. Mats Gustafsson’s “Rosie,” by Bobby Hutcherson, provides a electronics and drummer Andreas Werliin’s comfortable, medium-tempo meeting place for processed feedback add a droning undercur- all concerned. “Rhythm Of The River” offers rent to what already is a sonic landscape that a blithe and bubbly vigor, nicely sustained by emphasizes an atmosphere of dread. The con- Potter’s bright flute and Rosnes’ crisp right- clusion of “Up. And Down.” turns particularly hand lines. Potter unleashes some stormy cinematic with the sound of a man falling and improvisations add a free-jazz layer. His slow tenor solo work on “Elephant Dust” and an struggling. build and prolonged bluster on “Washes Your edgy revisiting of “Black Holes,” which he and Sounds like fun, right? Actually, the Heart In Filth,” played over a compelling Rosnes recorded 20 years ago. But the most relentless energy the trio brings to the rhythmic bed, is a highlight. straightforward offensive comes on “Let The music—especially Gustafsson’s spirited play- At a mere 37 minutes, The Hands is stin- Wild Rumpus Start,” another second-time- ing—carries the listener through the dark- gy, but as a concentrated shot of tension— around piece, which Rosnes made with a sim- ness to the gorgeous, spare performance of “I alleviated only by the balladic conclusion—it ilar group in 2009. It’s a rousing closer to a Guard Her To Rest. Declaring Silence.” succeeds in sustaining a mood. —James Hale thoughtful and varied program. Johan Berthling’s doomy, repetitive bass —John McDonough lines on the title track and “When Her Lips The Hands: The Hands; When Her Lips Collapsed; Touches Me With The Tips Of Wonder; Washes Your Heart In Filth; Collapsed” anchor Fire! in the work of bands Up. And Down.; To Shave The Leaves. In Red. In Black.; I Beloved Of The Sky: Elephant Dust; Scorned As Timber, Beloved Guard Her To Rest. Declaring Silence. (36:42) Of The Sky; Mirror Image; Rosie; Black Holes; The Flame And The like Black Sabbath and , but like Personnel: Mats Gustafsson, tenor saxophone, baritone Lotus; Rhythm Of The River; The Winter Of My Discontent; Let The Steve Mackay’s Albert Ayler-inspired saxo- saxophone, bass saxophone, electronics; Johan Berthling, Wild Rumpus Start. (60:50) bass, electric bass; Andreas Werliin, drums, percussion, Personnel: Renee Rosnes, piano, Chris Potter, saxophone; Steve phone contributions to the latter’s pioneering feedback. Nelson, vibraphone; Peter Washington, bass; Lenny White, drums. 1970 album Fun House, Gustafsson’s wooly Ordering info: runegrammofon.com Ordering info: smokesessionsrecords.com

52 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 The

John Giovanni Critics James Hale Michelle Mercer McDonough Russonello

Kurt Elling ++½ +++ ++++ +++½ The Questions

Orquesta Akokán +++½ ++++ +++½ ++++ Orquesta Akokán

Fire! +++½ +++½ ½ ++++ The Hands

Renee Rosnes ++++ ++++ +++½ +++½ Beloved Of The Sky

Critics’ Comments

Kurt Elling, The Questions

Some artists make their work sound effortless. Here, Elling seems like he wants to make it obvi- ous just how hard he’s working. For those who love the vocalist, this might be essential listening; for the rest, maybe it’s just too much. —James Hale Words speak louder than music here, but Elling speaks them with a clarity that saturates his views on Trump with hues of apolitical pessimism. The melodies tend to be afterthoughts to the verse, but Elling and company deliver with conviction. —John McDonough Some jazz adaptation magic and much mannered sincerity, with reharmonization making the difference. Without its stalwart Bach chorale progression, “American Tune” turns mawkish, but a guitar-based setting for “Skylark” finds fresh meanings. —Michelle Mercer Orquesta Akokán, Orquesta Akokán

Sharp, taut and focused, José “Pepito” Gómez’s band captures the energy and snap of Beny Moré, Perez Prado and other Cuban mambo greats, but the inventive arrangements and superb sound make it all sound fresh. Gómez’s vocals are particularly on target. —James Hale Though wall-to-wall pop vocals crowd out any soloists, the macho brass and reeds phrase hand- in-glove with the congas and drums, creating a communal rhythm engine. —John McDonough The Cuban mambo of the 1940s and ’50s was equal parts dance music and storytelling. That comes through strongly on this all-star debut, thanks to the proclamations of lead vocalist José “Pepito” Gómez, his coro and the beat-hugging surge of a 16-piece band. —Giovanni Russonello

Fire!, The Hands

Here’s how some critics have described The Hands: “gruesome,” “brutal” and “stagnate.” And those were the good reviews. Beyond classification, says one blurb. How about “awful”? —John McDonough It’s a thunderstorm raging over a smoke-spewing coal plant. It’s a test of your capacity for exis- tential despair. It’s one of the top jazzcore albums of the year. —Michelle Mercer This album is all body. Its torso says Gwar; the neck and head say Brötzmann; the backside moves like Fugazi or Harriet Tubman. That amounts to an irreverent kind of psychedelic doom metal. Gustafsson’s dry yowl is the music’s protagonist and its villain. —Giovanni Russonello

Renee Rosnes, Beloved Of The Sky

I’m not convinced that the Emily Carr connection Rosnes strives for works, but the music here is so lively and the playing so integrated that thematic connections hardly matter. —James Hale This mid-career achievement deserves the accolades that critics usually reserve for a female artist’s debut or eulogy. Rosnes always had the world at her fingertips; now she has the compo- sitional skill and imagination to transport listeners. —Michelle Mercer There are few moments of cleanly sorted beauty on this collection. Chris Potter plays a promi- nent role, but the biggest source of momentum and inexplicable force lies in the shared space between Rosnes’ piano and Lenny White’s drums. —Giovanni Russonello

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 53 Jazz / BY ALLEN MORRISON The Genre is Boundless These four projects —a trombonist’s hard- bop excursion, a veteran pianist/composer’s chamber jazz, the latest works from a Euro-

pean vintage swing quartet and a comput- SKYE SCHMID er-aided avant-garde pioneer—are wildly dissimilar. If nothing else, it’s a testament to jazz’s wide tent in the 21st century. Michael Dease: Reaching Out (Posi- Tone 8177; 55:00 +++½) On his 11th al- bum, Dease, one of the most gifted trom- bonists in jazz, shows he is also a facile com- Jarrett/Peacock/ poser. His four originals are among the high DeJohnette points of this bracing, straightahead set. After The Fall In his notes, Dease expresses the hope ECM 2590/91 that fans “will dig in to under-explored ½ composers of different generations, rather ++++ than continuing to exhaust the repertoire When Keith Jarrett, and Jack Michael Dessen of the four to five most recorded jazz mu- DeJohnette began investigating standards as a sicians.” To this end, he includes a mix of unit in 1983, it wasn’t about working up clev- jazz and pop covers. The problem, to be ative and cinematic, so it’s no coincidence er arrangements or casting tunes in a nostal- concise, is that the pop songs aren’t so hot. that Pasqua also works as a composer for gic sheen, a practice Jarrett finds appalling. Paul McCartney’s “Live And Let Die” is an Hollywood films. The idea was to approach each composition in interesting choice; but even Dease’s fine Ordering info: alanpasqua.com arrangements of the other two, Extreme’s Echoes Of Swing: Travelin’ (ACT the moment, just as the pianist approaches the “More Than Words” and Boyz II Men’s “Wa- 9104; 55:30 +++½) There are no lack blank canvas of silence in solo recitals. ter Runs Dry,” can’t overcome their essen- of bands that play vintage jazz of the At this stage of their collaboration, any new tial mawkishness. 1920s–’50s well. But this German-Brit- release by the trio will stir a sense of having Far more nuanced are Cedar Walton’s ish quartet brings a couple of things to been here before. Familiar details assert them- bouncy “Something In Common,” trombon- the party that are unique: a spare lineup selves throughout After The Fall—Jarrett’s ist Conrad Herwig’s sophisticated “Morning of alto saxophone, trumpet, piano and love for long, adventurous harmonic territo- Shade” and an exquisite rendering of Ken- drums that leans heavily on the left hand ry enabling him to swoop and soar before end- ny Drew’s melancholy “Ballade.” Regarding of phenomenal stride pianist Bernd Lhotz- ing on a gospel lick or a few beats of breath. At “Blackfoot,” a high-speed “Cherokee” con- ky, as he covers for the absence of a bass times, even this trio falls back a bit on formula. trafact written by Dease’s former teacher, player; and their enthusiasm for not just Steve Turre, the bandleader notes, “I like to recreating vintage sounds but using them “Bouncin’ With Bud,” for example, sticks close play fast, I do it well, and this is a fast tune, as raw materials for ambitiously modern to what passes for performance practice: theme, so we took it nearly at max tempo.” It ain’t arrangements, played immaculately. Their everyone plays the hook on the bridge, Peacock bragging, if you can do it, as Dizzy Dean re- latest album contains striking originals, sur- lays down a walking pattern, reprise, end. portedly said—and, boy, can he ever. prising re-imaginings of “Where Or When” We know they can conjure magic, too, and Ordering info: posi-tone.com and “Volare,” and deep cuts from Duke El- they do near the top of “Old Folks.” Jarrett : Northern Lights (Self lington, Coleman Hawkins and even Franz comes up with a four-note motif that he weaves Release; 53:29 ++++) Last year, when Schubert. How can you not love a group into the theme with a kind of effortless rever- pianist Pasqua got the unexpected assign- that invents a contrafact to a classic Frank ence, honoring the composition while shining ment of composing music to accompany Loesser tune, renaming it “On A Slow Goat light into its neglected corners. Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize lecture, he was To China”? asked to make it interesting, but not too in- Ordering info: actmusic.com On a larger scale, “Autumn Leaves” kicks teresting—“not really melodic, not cocktail, Michael Dessen Trio: Somewhere off with the last eight bars of the tune as a piano not super jazzy, but sort of background-y In The Upstream (Clean Feed 461; intro. And during the following 13 minutes, piano music,” as he told The New York 50:04 ++++) Three master improvis- it’s turned into a fantasia of similar motivic Times. By contrast, the highly melodic mu- ers—Dessen on trombone and computer, development, ferocious drum rhythms steam- sic on Pasqua’s new trio album, alternately bassist Christopher Tordini and drummer ing just below the surface, a reconfiguration thoughtful and swinging, is more atten- Dan Weiss—collaborate with help from a and reprise, then a sublime diminuendo and tion-getting and deserving. After spending computer that acts both as an electronic finish. This is real, in-the-moment playing. It a little time with Pasqua, it’s hard to get roadmap and a fourth improvising group deserves—and will reward—serious listening. his melodies out of your mind. A veteran member. Dessen uses a “scorestream” —Bob Doerschuk of both the jazz and pop worlds who has that displays on-screen notations that vary unpredictably each time the piece is played with Tony Williams, Dave Holland, After The Fall: The Masquerade Is Over; Scrapple From The Ray Charles and Dylan, Pasqua creates performed. The results are startling, from Apple; Old Folks; Autumn Leaves; Bouncin’ With Bud; Doxy; I’ll See You Again; Late Lament; One For Majid; Santa Claus Is Coming To chamber jazz from Americana, pop and pensive to aggressive, punctuated by mo- Town; Moment’s Notice; . (47:15/58:30) classical. “The Turnaround” is clever and ments of cosmic electronica. DB Personnel: Keith Jarrett, piano; Gary Peacock, bass; Jack full of turnarounds. The title track is evoc- Ordering info: cleanfeed-records.com DeJohnette, drums. Ordering info: ecmrecords.com

54 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 Arnan Raz Darryl Yokley’s Chains Of Stories Sound RABBIT RABBIT RABBIT Reformation +++½ Pictures At An This acoustic quintet album is loyal African Exhibition in its straightahead mentality, but it TRUTH REVOLUTION features a compelling rhythm sec- RECORDING 044 tion that delicately propels the pro- +++½ ceedings. Arnan Raz’s touch on the New York saxophonist Darryl Yokley tenor saxophone rarely is strained. launches his vision beautifully with Each breath is where it needs to be, “First Sunrise,” the jubilant opening and the band flows smoothly in his wake. The bandleader is paired with to Pictures At An African Exhibition, a stirring album designed to cele- alto saxophonist Eyal Hai for a front line that feels almost like an over- brate African music and art. The album blends travelogue and social com- dub trick. Their voices mesh seamlessly on album opener “Chains Of mentary in tunes of varying lengths and textures. Drama is common to Stories” with both horns tapping their mid-range and overlapping like these compositions, and while the overall message is upbeat , there is tur- small waves as drummer Dani Danor digs deeper and deeper into the bulence, too. “Genocide March” is a work of bolero rhythm, massed brass pocket. Midway through “Two Worlds One Soul,” Raz and Hai engage in and an unusually abstract dialogue between Yokley and pianist Zaccai rounds of short phrases and soft mimicry in perfect complement to each Curtis. It’s dark. But Yokley surges, showing off his range and expressive- other. It is bassist Tamir Shmerling who performs the most ear-catch- ness. “The Birth Of Swing” is an especially pictorial cut. Curtis’ piano solo ing feats, nimbly exploring on Raz’s dreamy “Her Story.” But his pres- here is minimalist and bawdy, and the wind arrangements make this tune, ence is never more pronounced than on the duet “Ella.” Here, the drum- which grounds the album midway, even sweatier. —Carlo Wolff mer lumbers slowly, the occasional pitter-patter of notes interrupting his perch between downbeats. And while there’s no left-field turn on the Pictures At An African Exhibition: First Sunrise; Migration; Ubuntu; Stories From The Village Elder; Ominous Nightfall; Hunting Natives; The Birth Of Swing; Echoes Of Ancient Sahara; horizon, that’s fine. The results here are concise —but not uptight. Genocide March; Mines Of Diamond, Crimson And Gold; Cry, The Beloved Country; Blessings —Sean J. O’Connell From The Bennu; New Sunrise. (69:39) Personnel: Darryl Yokley, alto and tenor saxophones; Luques Curtis, bass; Zaccai Curtis, piano; Chains Of Stories: Chains Of Stories; Her Story; We Used To Fly; Two Worlds One Soul; Our Story; His Ellen Fisher Deerburg, flute; Kenneth Ellison, clarinet; Zachary Feingold, ; David Gibson, Story; Ella; Soul Talk; Ending. (48:51) trombone; Josh Lawrence, trumpet; Dena Orkin, clarinet; Jonathan Powell, trumpet; Gregory Personnel: Arnan Raz, tenor saxophone; Eyal Hai, alto saxophone; Daniel Meron, piano; Tamir Riley, bass clarinet; Marshall Sealy, French horn; Wayne Smith Jr., drums (7); Marie Trudeau, Shmerling, bass; Dani Danor, drums. , English horn; Nasheet Waits, drums; Brent White, bass trombone; Kevin Willois, flute. Ordering info: arnanrazmusic.com Ordering info: trrstore.bandcamp.com

Sylvie Courvoisier Actual Trio Trio Act II D’Agala SMASH THE STATE! INTAKT 300 +++ ++++ The second album from John Schott’s Listeners might be accustomed to Bay Area trio starts at an exuberant hearing Swiss pianist Sylvie gallop, as drummer John Hanes lays Courvoisier in a completely impro- down a steady rock beat on “Heading vised setting, taking an abstract Back” for the guitarist to splash col- form. Her compositions on this set, orful chords across, like a graffiti art- for which she’s enlisted bassist Drew ist tagging a moving train. Gress and drummer , encourage rhythmic structures An acolyte of (whose Tzadik label released Actual Trio’s and linear development, even though these often are littered with unusu- 2015 debut) and Gary Peacock, Schott has a particular gift for wrapping al gaits or startling twists. Each of the nine pieces here have dedicatees, his avant-garde tendencies in accessible packaging, offsetting odd har- mostly musicians or artists, and mostly deceased (e.g., Ornette Coleman, monics with a mellow tone that resembles Wes Montgomery by way of Geri Allen). . Only when he’s expressing the anxiety of the times, as on the The opening “Imprint Double” is a prime example of Courvoisier’s ominous interlude “Shock (11.09.16),” does Schott delve into unvarnished approach, involving a dislocated rolling boogie motion with pools of atonality. Elsewhere, Act II is more celebration than dirge. Hanes and Satie’s luminosity. “Bourgeois’s Spider” sports a subtly creeping rhythm, bassist Dan Seamans complement Schott’s laid-back approach perfect- with isolated inside-and-outside piano events. During the album’s closing ly, letting the rhythms wriggle, but never fully letting them off the hook. stretch, Gress is given time for invariably sensitive solos, as these num- Thanks to the rhythm section, the smoldering “Actual Strut” is an album bers possess a looser, less structurally complex nature. The title track’s standout, especially when Schott interjects some unexpected wah-wah as dedication to Allen revolves around an extended bass rumination, sup- a playful nod to Hanes and Seamans’ groove. ported by Courvoisier’s strategic dappling and Wollesen’s minimal rub- If there’s a criticism to be made of Act II, it’s that few tracks feel as bing and squeaking. A refreshing balance is struck, as Courvoisier makes unbridled as “Sworn To Sonny.” It’s a pleasure to hear how much these an imaginative framework, within which her trio runs loose and playful. performers enjoy playing together, though they seldom seem to push —Martin Longley each other beyond their comfort zones. —Andy Hermann

D’Agala: Imprint Double; Bourgeois’s Spider; Éclats For Ornette; Simone; Pierino Porcospino; D’Agala; Act II: Heading Back; I.o.u.S.; Actual Strut; Shock (11.09.16); Bring Yourself Back; Dray Break Express; Are Circumbent; Fly Whisk; South Side Rules. (53:55) You Trying (To Get Me Killed?); Selfconscious-lee; Bass Song; Sworn To Sonny. (47:50) Personnel: Sylvie Courvoisier, piano; Drew Gress, bass; Kenny Wollesen, drums. Personnel: John Schott, guitar; Dan Seamans, bass; John Hanes, drums. Ordering info: intaktrec.ch Ordering info: johnschott.com

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 55 walking the line between jazz and pop. And on Ocean Av, Frank spiritually embodies the wisdom she’s gleaned from the great Lady of the Canyon, both in poise and performance. Perhaps most prominent in this parallel is the incredible ensemble the singer selected to accompany her on 10 songs, which Frank wrote while waitressing and mending a broken heart. Aaron Parks, who stretches out beyond the baby grand, explores the cool reaches of syn- thesizer and Fender Rhodes on such tracks as “Magnolia” and “Sunless Morning.” Together, Frank’s amassed ensemble provides a perfect cloud of contemplative calm during which she recounts her journey from Montreal to the New York area through beguiling compositions. Emma Frank On “One With,” “Enough” and “Best Friend,” Christian Lillinger’s Ocean Av the warmth of Frank’s voice is as soothing as Grund SUSAN RECORDS Kenny Wheeler’s flugelhorn or ’s gui- Cor ++++ tar, anchored by a lyrical sense of forthcoming. PLAIST 001 And like the Brooklyn street it’s named after, ++++½ With the rise of such premier acts as Esperanza Ocean Av expresses a poignant air of serenity Spalding, Cécile McLorin Salvant and Jamison amid the bustle of an unsettled existence. German drummer Christian Lillinger has been Ross, vocal jazz continues to re-emerge as a —Ron Hart attracting plenty of attention for his remark- vital force of creativity, on par with its instru- able skills and vision in recent years—last year mental counterpart in the genre. And in 2018, Ocean Av: Magnolia; Gradually; Enough; Best Friend; Sun- he was awarded the prestigious SWR Jazz Prize Emma Frank, who reaches a sublime new plane less Morning; One With; Reminder; Ocean Av; Good Morning, in his homeland. He leads several distinctive Good Night; All That’s Good. (39:10) of musicality on her excellent third album, is an Personnel: Emma Frank, vocals; Aaron Parks, piano, syn- projects, but none has been as consistently sat- artist worthy of observation with serious ears. thesizer, Rhodes; Franky Rousseau, guitar; Jim Black, drums, percussion; Rick Rosato, bass; Simon Millerd, trumpet (1, 2, 9); isfying as Grund, a multi-limbed organism ’s name gets bandied about Pedro Barquinha, OP-1. that allows him to forge a heady meeting place when critics talk about modern compositions Ordering info: emmafrankmusic.com between absorbing improvisational gambits and wonderfully distended compositional con- ceits that veer well outside of jazz orthodoxy. Hailu Mergia Cor is the fourth and most gripping Grund Lala Belu album, where the twinned instrumental pair- AWESOME TAPES FROM AFRICA 028 ings help affect a visceral, off-kilter onslaught. +++½ Lillinger designs his jagged compositions as episodic devices, constantly shifting the listen- Hailu Mergia is a key figure from the golden age er’s perception. On the title track, the bass- of Ethiopian pop music. During the 1970s he ists pluck out a thorny opening theme, while played organ for the Walias Band, an instru- vibraphonist Christopher Dell and saxophon- mental group that backed some of the nation’s ist Pierre Borel trace a serene, looping count- most celebrated singers. The combo also er passage that seems to float over the chattery recorded a marvelous instrumental album, pizz. But then gears shift, and Borel and Dell Tche Belew, which included “Musicawi Silt,” a voice a new theme out of which emerges a typ- stirring Mergia instrumental that’s been cov- ically slaloming, halting solo from saxophonist ered by , Debo Band and others. Tobias Delius. After the Walias Band completed a run of Greek modernist Iannis Xenakis is cited as U.S. performances in 1981, Mergia decided to an influence on “Hiatus,” a knotty conversation stay, settling in Washington D.C., where he improvisations throughout Lala Belu, his between thwacking basses and left-end piano drove a cab by day and played keyboards at extrapolations sounding more rooted in jabs that achieve a teetering grace once the home. He hadn’t performed on stage in years Ethiopian pentatonic structures than jazz drummer enters and the horns blow distant, when the Awesome Tapes From Africa imprint changes. When he and his accompanists lean long tones. Even when the writing veers toward rebooted his career five years ago by releasing a in, the results are thrilling, although squelchy post-bop, the bifurcated rhythms maintain a spate of older recordings. synthesizers drag down the title track, the tension, as on “Carotis,” when Delius summons Lala Belu is Mergia’s first new album in 15 album’s lone vocal number. Despite the mis- his Ben Webster-meets- vibe, the years. Drummer Tony Buck, who’s likely best step, this is an ingratiating record that connects rhythmic structures so jittery that nothing is known for playing with The Necks, and bass- Ethiopian traditions to contemporary grooves. quite what it seems. —Peter Margasak ist Mike Majkowski keep adventurous impuls- —Bill Meyer es on a tight leash here. They solo sparingly, but Cor: Cor; Hiatus; Welt Am Draht (Lnch); Cube; Carotis; Dralau; Narratum; Plastik; Katrin. (48:18) keep brisk time, matching a swaying groove to Lala Belu: Tizita; Addis Nat; Gum Gum; Anchihoye Lene; Lala Personnel: Christian Lillinger, drums; Pierre Borel, saxophone; Mergia’s undulating melody on “Tizita” and Belu; Yefiki Engurguro. (39:24) Tobias Delius, saxophone, clarinet; Achim Kaufmann, piano, Fender Personnel: Hailu Mergia, piano, organ, synthesizer, accordi- Rhodes; Christopher Dell, vibraphone; Robert Landfermann, bass; adding funky backings to a few other tunes. on, vocals; Tony Buck, percussion; Mike Majkowski, bass. Jonas Westergaard, bass. Mergia stretches melodies into winding Ordering info: awesometapesfromafrica.bandcamp.com Ordering info: plaist-music.com

56 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 the Blue Series, the iconoclastic pianist-compos- opens with more stirring, Ellington- er announced a moratorium on recording for influenced solo piano by Shipp before he gives the label with the release of 2017’s trio album way to a conversational duet between Bisio’s Piano Song. Now, provocative releases on ESP- bass and Valerian’s clarinet, which he plays Disk continue Shipp’s prolific streak. with a keening kind of conviction. Zero is a striking and typically uncom- Some of Shipp’s most dynamic playing promising solo recording. While Shipp plays here can be heard on the tumultuous and aggressively and with signature acuity on incendiary “3 By 4,” which also finds Walerian pieces like “Piano Panels,” “Pattern Emerge” wailing in the altissimo range on alto. And the and the title track, his “Abyss Before Zero” 12-minute closer travels from a tempestuous and the harmonically rich “Cosmic Sea” dis- duet between piano and saxophone to a tur- play the thoughtful lyricism of Andrew Hill’s bulent trio among saxophone, piano and bass, ’70s solo albums Faces Of Hope, Hommage closing on a simpatico note with a flexible, and From California With Love. “Pole After free-boppish excursion by the full quartet. Zero” injects a forceful swinging momen- With 85 albums under his belt as a leader tum into the program. And “Blue Equation,” or co-leader, Shipp has become an elder states- Matthew Shipp which works through a bluesy motif with man on the free-jazz scene. His catalog is deep Zero myriad variations and abstractions along the and his influence undeniable, just as Cecil ESP-DISK 5022 way, reveals a hint of Duke Ellington’s DNA Taylor and Don Pullen—firebrands from ++++ in Shipp’s playing. another era—had been a generation before. Sonic Fiction reunites Shipp with his long- —Bill Milkowski standing rhythm tandem of bassist Michael Matthew Shipp Zero: Zero; Abyss Before Zero; Pole After Zero; Piano Panels; Bisio and drummer Whit Dickey, and adds Cosmic Sea; Zero Skip And A Jump; Zero Subtract From Quartet Jazz; Blue Equation; Pattern Emerge; Ghost Pattern; After Polish woodwind player Mat Walerian (a Zero. (44:11) Sonic Fiction member of the Toxic trio with Shipp and bass- Personnel: Matthew Shipp, piano. ESP-DISK 5018 ist William Parker). The mysterioso open- Sonic Fiction: First Step; Blues Addiction; The Station; ++++ Lines Of Energy; Easy Flow; The Problem Of Jazz; The Note; er, “First Step,” has Shipp feeding Walerian 3 By 4; Cell In The Brain; Sonic Fiction. (53:59) After a 17-year association with Peter Gordon’s spikey chords to sail over on alto saxophone Personnel: Matthew Shipp, piano: Mat Walerian, alto saxophone, bass clarinet, clarinet; , bass; Whit Thirsty Ear, during which time Matthew Shipp as Bisio bows and Dickey colors the proceed- Dickey, drums. recorded prodigiously as a leader while curating ings with rubato flourishes. “Blues Addition” Ordering info: espdisk.com

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 57 Blues / BY FRANK-JOHN HADLEY Standards, High and Low Mick Kolassa & Friends, Double Stan- dards (Self Release; 54:10 ++++) Based out of Mississippi, graybeard Mick Kolassa

puts on a master class in reconditioning BOB HAKINS songs out of the past, notably classics by his favorites, Willie Dixon and Tampa Red. Singing with rough-grained naturalism, he banks on his charming blues disposition to keep listeners interested in his relaxed story- telling. It’s surprising that a dozen friends— from stalwarts Sugaray Rayford and Victor Elliot Galvin Wainwright on vocals to producer-guitar- The Influencing Machine ist Jeff Jensen to unheralded singers Patti EDITION 1103 Parks, Tullie Brae and Gracie Curran—all are ++++½ sure-footed, traveling the mined terrain of classic repertory. Kolassa’s crackerjack stu- Elliot Galvin is the keyboardist with the dio crew also includes organ player Chris London-based band Dinosaur. And the out- Stephenson. fit’s drummer, Corrie Dick, also takes part Ordering info: mimsmick.com in Galvin’s trio, contributing to the wild and Albert Cummings, Live At The ’62 Center Laurie Morvan ever-shifting The Influencing Machine. The (Ivy Music; 77:32 +++) A virtuosic guitar- honorary non-saurian here is bassist Tom “Gravity” telling the most convincing story, ist mining blues-rock history, Cummings McCredie, who also doubles on electric gui- gave it everything he had to ensure that are confident assertions of standing your tar. Galvin’s third solo effort revolves around his audience at a Western Massachusetts ground in worrying relationships. For her college show in late 2016 went home hap- studio team, she’s sought out several of the a book by English author Mike Jay that delves py. Speedy moves over his Stratocaster’s most reliable hired guns on the West Coast, into the stranger-than-fiction life of conspiracy fretboard can be showy but, fortunately, he like producer-drummer Tony Braunagel and theorist James Tilly Matthews, who was com- often displayed a strong instinct for emo- B-3 exponents Mike Finnigan and Jim Pugh. mitted to Bethlem Royal Hospital in 1797 and tional resolution. Cummings, an acceptable Part-time backup singers wax a strong sense was the first person to be characterized as a singer, and his fired-up band revisited ma- of solemnity or revelation. paranoid schizophrenic. terial from past records and cemented a link Ordering info: lauriemorvan.com Galvin’s music is eminently suited to visu- to Southern rock by covering the Allman Big Shoes, Step On It! (Biglittle 17002; alizing such an existence, crammed as it is with 44:03 ) Big Shoes’ second album is Brothers’ “Midnight Rider.” +++ mechanical twitchery. Galvin matches roman- Ordering info: albertcummings.com stocked with seven top-grade Nashville and Robert Nighthawk, The Robert Night- Muscle Shoals pros, such as singer-guitarist tic acoustic piano frills with convulsive elec- hawk Collection 1937–’52 (Acrobat Rick Huckaby and keyboardist Mark T. Jor- tronic keyboard patterns, steadily becoming 3225; 72:36/69:44 +++½) Few figures dan. They aim to please—and do—with a less lyrical and increasingly mournful during in blues history match the stone-cold angst smooth, conventional sound incorporating the opening “New Model Army.” in the singing of Robert Nighthawk, whose blues, soul, New Orleans r&b, Little Feat-style The bandleader has a predilection for radi- Tampa Red-influenced slide-guitar style rock and everything else they soaked up in cally shifting the emphasis of a composition connected the Delta to post-World War II service of , Delbert McClinton after only a few minutes of development, pre- Chicago. Forty-eight tracks that this ram- and many others. Songwriting duties are ferring compressed arrangements full of impa- bling man cut for the Bluebird, Chess/Aris- handled sufficiently by four of the seven tient detail and always with a surfeit of bright band members. tocrat, Decca and United labels don’t find ideas. The dignified intricacy of “Planet Ping him operating at a genre-defining level, yet Ordering info: bigshoesnashville.com Pong” suggests a love of early Queen, with its his efforts make for consistently interesting Muddy Gurdy, Muddy Gurdy (VizzTone listening. (For Nighthawk’s most rewarding 01; 61:27 ++) Three French musicians trebly guitar picking. But the central cluster blues, go hear Live On Maxwell Street 1964). known as Hypnotic Wheels, performing of tracks sounds like a suite, as Galvin piles His attendants on these sessions are estima- on guitar, percussion and hurdy gurdy (a up thematic continuances. “Monster Mind” ble: among them John Lee “Sonny Boy” Wil- stringed drone instrument), ventured to the is subverted by a free-running piano solo, but liamson, Henry Townsend and Willie Dixon. Mississippi Hill Country to make this album harnesses gripping studio energy. Digital de-noising software helps the music with representatives of the Burnside, Kim- Galvin’s hyperactive album is designed as a to wear its age lightly. brough and Thomas families. They needn’t single entity, best heard right through in a sin- Ordering info: acrobatmusic.net have bothered. For all the audio vérité re- gle session, glorious in its arrestingly planned Laurie Morvan: Gravity (Screaming Liz- cording on house porches and at Dockery order of manic development. —Martin Longley ard 0006; 51:39 +++½) Blessed with an Farms, the music lacks an animated purpose ear for clarity and lyricism, Laurie Morvan on and falls into the bin of ordinariness. Cam- The Influencing Machine: New Model Army; La Machine; her fifth straight enjoyable album uses her eron Kimbrough, passionately singing and Red And Yellow; Society Of Universal Harmony; Planet Ping Pong; Monster Mind; Bikini Island; Bees, Dogs And Flies; Boys semi-sweet soul singing voice as a foil to her playing guitar on two tracks, is the album’s Club; Fountainhead. (44:13) blues-rock guitar peals of fluid notes. Her saving grace. DB Personnel: Elliot Galvin, piano, keyboards, toys; Tom Mc- Credie, bass, guitar; Corrie Dick, drums, percussion. dozen thoughtful songs, with slow-sizzling Ordering info: vizztone.com Ordering info: editionrecords.com

58 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 a bassist.” And this trio, which includes pia- Along with sparkplug drummer Evan nist Donald Vega and guitarist Russell Malone, Sherman, Cohen and Carter play with equal offers moments of golden improvisation. There respect for each other’s skills, the bassist also are car crashes, and due to some suspect acknowledging Cohen’s piano profundity; microphone placement, faulty sounds that Cohen, supported by Carter’s warm accompa- don’t put the trio in its best light. niment, flies over the keyboard in two-hand- Malone’s and Vega’s sound is solid, but ed runs, beautiful ballad playing and soulful, Carter’s bass clearly is the focus. Unfortunately, articulate swing. every fretboard slide, every finger snap and “All Of You” opens the set, Cohen’s playing every string run is highlighted almost as loudly jewel-like and light, Carter playing wide whole as Carter’s magnificent tone. It’s as if the strings notes and Sherman swinging brushes. The alone were mic’d, creating a metallic sound that musical weight and might heard on a rendi- practically eschews the body of the acoustic bass. tion of Cedar Walton’s “Hindsight” recalls the Nitpicking aside, the trio entertains an audi- Great Jazz Trio, certainly due to Carter’s pres- ence in Kassel, Germany, with enthusiasm on ence. But Cohen’s dense piano work is equally a handful of familiar compositions. Opener impressive. The slow-motion reverie of anoth- “Laverne Walk” is joyous and swing-full, er Walton wonder, “Dear Ruth,” is a master Golden Striker: Live At Carter’s introductory melodic line graceful and class in timing, tension and release. And Victor Theaterstübchen, Kassel lithe. The title track is jazz trio perfection with Feldman’s classic “Joshua” closes the proceed- IN+OUT RECORDS 77133 chamber overtones, and “Eddie’s Theme” exem- ings, a grand finish to a resplendent recording. +++ plifies late-’50s walking jazz. Though the trio —Ken Micallef occasionally sounds under-rehearsed, there’s Golden Striker: Laverne Walk; Candle Light; Golden Striker; Emmet Cohen plenty of pleasure to go around. And thankful- Samba De Orfeu; Eddie’s Theme; A Nice Song; My Funny ly, there’s plenty of Ron Carter to go around, too. Valentine; Cedar Tree. (67:59) Master Legacy Personnel: Ron Carter, bass; Russell Malone, guitar; Donald Pianist Emmet Cohen’s Master Legacy Vega, piano. Series, Volume 2 Series, Volume 1 with Jimmy Cobb was a stand- Ordering info: inandout-records.com CELLAR LIVE 062917 ½ out 2017 release. Still in his mid-20s, Cohen is Master Legacy Series, Volume 2: All Of You; Opus One; ++++ Hindsight; Holy Land; Dear Ruth; It’s About Time; Any Old a superb jazz pianist. And recording with the Time; Hatzi Kaddish (Intro); Hatzi Kaddish; Light Blue; Ron Is master bassist Ron Carter now “The Golden masters only heightens his own work, inspiring Carter Speaks; Joshua. (76:00) Personnel: Emmet Cohen, piano; Ron Carter, bass; Evan Striker?” In an earlier interview, he emphati- the bandleader to surprising solos and beauti- Sherman, drums. cally proclaimed, “I’m a scientist. I’m not only ful trio playing. Ordering info: cellarlive.com

John Mayall Laura Perrudin Three For The Road Poisons & Antidotes FORTY BELOW 018 VOLATINE RECORDS +++½ ++ In the movie Nothing In Common, Even when all the set pieces are stra- an ad man played by Tom Hanks is tegically in place, sometimes the end interrupted mid-pitch when an air- result isn’t a win. Such is the case line boss tells him, “Sometimes, I eat with French multi-instrumentalist my whole meal using my salad fork.” and vocalist Laura Perrudin’s boom- Hanks cracks, “Does that include the ing meditative music. She possesses soup?” a fetching voice and the disc’s sound- A more obvious response might be, “Why would you do that?” And scapes glimmer with fluorescent vividness. But nothing catches fire. that same question is appropriate for . His Three For The Road, With help from Icelandic producer Valgeir Sigurðsson, who’s worked recorded live in and Stuttgart, Germany, features the Chicago- with Björk, Perrudin crafts hermetic sonic tapestries that place a premi- bred rhythm section of bassist Greg Rzab and drummer Jay Davenport— um on evocative, mosaic textures. So, to really take in the details, it’s best and nobody else. There are no honking saxes or boisterous trombones to listen to Poisons & Antidotes on top-shelf headphones with minimum and, most significantly, not a single six-string player. In a 2016 interview, distractions. Even while sealed inside the disc’s transportive realm, con- the former Bluesbreaker said that after guitarist Rocky Athas missed a centrating on the music becomes a litmus test; it’s largely hook deficient. flight, the band soldiered on as a three-piece, and he liked the results. Except for the electronica-soul bounce of “The Ceiling’s Maze,” Perrudin’s Three For The Road succeeds to some degree because of the strength of gossamer harp playing and somnolent serenades often are buried beneath the material, particularly Lionel Hampton’s “Ridin’ On The L&N,” which gunky production. Considering she anchors two songs with William sits alongside some Mayall compositions. But “Congo Square” is crying Blake’s fantastical poetry, it’s understandable why the music projects such out for a slide guitarist. Those who’d prefer the bandleader to return to a claustrophobic, yet cinematic, sensation. Sadly, though, nothing emerg- a more traditional lineup might get their wish on an upcoming studio es to make listeners take note of the lyrical content, which, in the end, album. But until then, this curiosity will tide them over. —Jeff Johnson makes Poisons & Antidotes a hollow music experience. —John Murph

Three For The Road: Introduction; Big Town Playboy; I Feel So Bad; The Sum Of Something; Poisons & Antidotes: Inks; Le Poisons; The Ceiling’s Maze; The Trap; Diurnal Fireflies; Mesope- Streamline; Tears Came Rollin’ Down; Ridin’ On The L&N; Don’t Deny Me, Lonely Feelings; Congo lagic; The Falling Swans; Auguries Of Innocence; Heliotopie; Train; Pavane De La Patte D’oire; Square. (59:12) Ghosts Song; The Sick Rose. (52:11) Personnel: John Mayall, vocals, keyboards, ; Greg Rzab, bass; Jay Davenport, drums. Personnel: Laura Perrudin, all instruments, voice. Ordering info: fortybelowrecords.com Ordering info: lauraperrudinmusic.com

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 59 Beyond / BY J.D. CONSIDINE TOM DJLL

François Moutin & Tania Chen’s improvisatory skills perfectly prepare her to perform compositions by . Kavita Shah Duo Interplay DOT TIME 9077 Chance and Dreamed Ideals ++++ It would be hard to imagine a pianist better a perspective that asks questions but also In contemporary jazz, few settings are more suited to record John Cage’s Electronic Mu- wonders, as one song does, “Must a ques- intimate than a duet between bass and voice. sic For Piano than Tania Chen. In addition tion have an answer?” to an impressive history of performing and Unfortunately, the approach occasion- There’s something about the wide polari- recording Cage’s work, the London-based ally is a stretch even for as practiced a faux ty of the timbres, the spaciousness of the Chen also has released several albums of naïf as Byrne. “Dog’s Mind” tries to defang melodies and the clarity of tone that makes improvisational and electronic recordings, the menace of fake news and presidential for a profoundly emotional listening expe- working with the likes of Henry Kaiser, Steve malfeasance by imagining it all through rience. When done well, a conversation Beresford and . And why canine eyes, a bit of whimsy that wears between bass and voice can be transport- are improv chops important here? Because, thin by the time he sings of “doggie danc- ing. And on Interplay, their new album on as David Toop explains in the liner notes to ers doing doody.” Yet the music—a vast, Dot Time, French bassist François Moutin John Cage: For Piano panoramic soundscape of slow-moving and American vocalist Kavita Shah achieve (Omnivore 262; 69:12 ++++), although synths—is so gorgeously evocative that exactly that kind of musical deliverance, the piano score is fully notated, the compos- it’s hard to begrudge Byrne his fantasy. er’s instructions for the addition of electron- In addition to long-time collabora- bringing listeners into spaces of quiet beauty, ics are “hurried,” “cryptic” and “vague.” tor , who among other things pensive melancholy and unbridled joy. Fortunately, Chen brought in just conjures a deliciously jittery post-mod- The sound of the record is well-balanced, the right crew for the project. In addition ern Afrobeat groove for “It’s Not Dark Up with Moutin’s dark, reedy bass acting like to Toop, the album also features John Here,” Byrne works with XL Records mas- a dance partner to Shah’s pliant, flickering Leidecker, an electronic musician better termind Rodaidh McDonald and electronic vocals, which retain a tonal richness even known as Wobbly, and former musician Daniel Lopatin (better known as through passages of extreme agility. On the guitarist . The music was Oneohtrix Point Never). Between them, freely improvised “Coming Yesterday,” for recorded as three discrete duets with they provide enough texture and sonic va- example, her voice serves as a candescent Chen, and mixed in what might be con- riety to keep these songs interesting, even light that Moutin and guest pianist Martial sidered an avant-garde dub style, with when the lyrical conceits start to grate. tracks added and dropped from the mix, Ordering info: nonesuch.com Solal use as a starting point to discover their using a “chance-based system” that at Dreams of an ideal nation apparently own paths through the music. The level of one point inserts a three-minute silence. also underpin the songs on the new Sidi interaction—freely formed yet brilliantly As described, the whole thing might seem Touré album, Toubalbero (Thrill Jockey articulated—is stunning. more theoretical than musical, but Chen’s 442; 54:59 ++++), but because he does The album’s other guest star, vocalist affinity for the Cageian aesthetic pulls un- his singing in a Malian tongue, it’s hard Sheila Jordan, is a master of the bass-voice expected beauty from its randomness. for an Anglophone listener to assess the duo format, and her appearance on “Peace” Ordering info: omnivorerecordings.com relative eloquence of his sentiments. Still, is one of the disc’s brightest gems. Her emo- Anyone who has followed David if his lyrics are even half as graceful and tive, highly musical phrasing entwines thrill- Byrne’s musings on politics and justice can evocative as the playing is, they’re bound ingly with Moutin’s leaping bass line, which, be forgiven for wondering if the singer is to be genius. Touré works in the Songhaï putting us on by calling his new album tradition, just as Toumani Diabaté and Ali with its double-stops and wide interval leaps, (Nonesuch 565710; Farka Touré do, and his initial albums for sketches just enough of the harmony to define 37:17+++½). But even as he insists that Thrill Jockey reflected the acoustic, sing- the edges of this song’s elegant silhouette. the 10 tunes here are meant to “depict the er/songwriter side of that music. But it’s —Brian Zimmerman world we live in now,” Byrne nonetheless when he lets his band cut loose—particu- Interplay: You Go To My Head; La Vie En Rose; Coming brushes away suggestions of knowing- larly fuzztone guitarist Djadjé Traoré and Yesterday; Bliss; Falling In Love; Aigue Marine; Blah Blah; ness and irony. Instead, his goal is to affect n’goni virtuoso Ousmane “Papou” Dag- Utopian Vision; Interplay; The Provider’s Gone; Peace. (53:08) an innocent view similar to that of “outsid- non—that the music truly sizzles. DB Personnel: François Moutin, bass; Kavita Shah, vocals; er artists,” like cover painter Purvis Young, Ordering info: thrilljockey.com Martial Solal, piano (3, 6); Sheila Jordan, vocals (5, 11). Ordering info: dottimerecords.com

60 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 Lauren Henderson Ármame BRONTOSAURUS 69104 +++ Lauren Henderson has a soft, seductive voice and puts plenty of feeling into lyrics, wheth- er in English or Spanish. On Ármame, her third album as a leader, the singer alternates between swinging numbers, r&b-inflected bal- lads and Latin pieces. Portions of Ármame might not be engag- ing from jazz standpoint, apart from Josh Evans’ fiery trumpet solo on “El Ritmo.” The thoughtful title track and the celebratory salsa number “Todo Tiene Su Finale,” though, have their pleasing moments. Overall, the recording Country; Inside A Silent Tear; El Ritmo; Better Days; Ármame; Open Your Eyes; We’re Still Friends; Todo Tiene Su Finale. Solo A Genova likely will be most enjoyed by those who favor (65:18) RARENOISE 088 quiet sultry vocals over attractive grooves. Personnel: Laura Henderson, vocals; Sullivan Fortner, piano; Nick Tannura, guitar; Eric Wheeler, bass; Joe Saylor, drums, ++++½ —Scott Yanow percussion; Nancy Assis, percussion; Josh Evans, trumpet; Godwin Louis, alto saxophone; Terri Lyne Carrington, vocals (2, 9). Jamie Saft’s New Zion Trio’s set was just about to Ármame: The Great City; To Wisdom The Prize; Love Is begin. Alone at the piano, Saft was launching A Losing Game; Let Me Love You; Tanto Amor; The Old Ordering info: laurenhendersonmusic.com into a ruminating, open-ended rendition of John Coltrane’s ballad “,” a song that’s been “of primary importance in [his] musi- cal development.” The version heard on Solo A Genova isn’t too dissimilar from the version the audience heard at last year’s Tampere Jazz Happening in . Rich, wondrous sounds filled (and fill) the air, Saft imbuing those beau- tiful chords with his own lustrous touch. Solo A Genova, Saft’s first solo piano album in 25 years, is a live recording. Its straightfor- ward vibe, filled with songs by American art- ists dear to him, is classically driven. Bob Dylan’s “Po’ Boy” is played close to the vest, but its lollygag stride feel is enough to carry what is essentially a rangy kind of melody with a touch of the mysterious. The perfuncto- ry “Overjoyed” comes off sounding like a well- played high school anthem, ’s song filled with bright colors, but no engaging twists or turns. So much of Solo A Genova is impressionis- tic, which makes “Overjoyed” stick out like a sore thumb. Saft’s almost 13-minute medley of “The New Standard/Pinkus”—songs pulled from previous releases he issued on RareNoise— is typical, the music laced with clanky right- hand moves, undulating chords and a drifty sort of pulse. The blues feeling alone is enough to fill a whole album, Saft playing full-throttle solo piano like his life depended on it. Joni Mitchell, ZZ Top, Charles Ives and Bill Evans are some of the others brought along as platforms for Saft’s astounding technique and obvious love of the grand piano; in this case, a Steinway D-274. —John Ephland

Solo A Genova: The Makings Of You; Human/Gates; Naima; ; Overjoyed; Po’ Boy; The New Standard/ Pinkus; Blue Motel Room; The Housatonic At Stockbridge; ; Restless Farewell. (63:55) Personnel: Jamie Saft, piano. Ordering info: rarenoiserecords.com

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 61 Historical / BY PETER MARGASAK COURTESY CAPRICE RECORDS

Michael Wollny Trio

Pianist Monica Dominique is featured on a box set Oslo that anthologizes Swedish jazz between 1970 and 1979. ACT 9863 Swedish Jazz, Excavated ++++ Two decades ago, the Swedish state-run la- chronological fashion, the set sometimes Wartburg bel Caprice Records launched a remarkably has the effect of inducing stylistic whiplash, ACT 9862 inclusive series intended to encapsulate the veering from the organ jazz of Takt & Ton +++½ country’s rich jazz history reaching all the to the trad ebullience of Kustbandet to the way back to 1899, before the genre was rec- singular avant-garde guitar explorations of A splendid merger unfolded when ACT label ognized as a thing here in the U.S., let alone Staffan Harde—and that’s just during the owner and producer Siggi Loch invited Michael Europe. But that reach speaks to the wide- first part of disc one. Wollny’s trio to an Oslo, , studio to eared rigor of this series, which has used a At the same time, the level playing field record with the Norwegian Wind Ensemble for non-hierarchical aesthetic in chronicling the for all styles is admirable. The set is pack- Oslo, an album brimming with lyrical improvi- aged with a 188-page booklet crammed entire sweep of jazz through 10 other vol- sation. A week later, the trio was captured live on umes. The previous installment in the series, with photos, but most of the annotations Wartburg, celebrating ACT’s 25th anniversary. which covered 1965–1969, dropped back in are in Swedish. There is an overview essay 2005, so it’s heartening to see its resump- in English by British critic Stuart Nicholson The trio’s releases possess a sensibility stem- tion with the four-disc set Swedish Jazz that gamely tries to tie it all together, as well ming from European classical and contempo- History Vol. 11: Jazz Cosmopolit (Caprice as a brief piece that focuses on the ascent rary music as the imaginative Wollny wanders 22067; 79:43/79:43/77:38/79:34 +++), of female jazz musicians in Sweden during through twisting tonal centers on a nirvana-like which covers the years 1970–1979. this era; these are followed by English-lan- quest. Wartburg’s introductory “Atavus” alludes Sweden embraced jazz early on and guage summaries of longer Swedish pieces to J.S. Bach, concluding with impressionistic enjoyed a long tradition of hosting visiting profiling saxophonist Lennart Åberg and whole-tone piano flourishes, which then initi- American musicians, and eventually some singer-pianist Monica Dominique. Indeed, ate “Big Louise.” Its closer, “Make A Wish,” also both Åberg, who emerged as a dominant, prominent players settled there—includ- opens Oslo, offering heartfelt hues and starker, ing bassist Red Mitchell and trumpeters ubiquitous force in Swedish jazz during the gradual wind textures. Bill Barron and Don Cherry. Naturally, a lot ’70s—especially through his membership of the music on this set reflects contempo- in Rena Rama alongside pianist Bobo Sten- Oslo’s dazzling arrangements include raneous developments in American jazz, son—and Dominique are influential repre- reworkings of compositions by Paul Hindemith whether fusion or pop-inflected sounds, sentatives. and Einojuhani Rautavaara, the bandleader’s such as the way Georg Wadenius, a one- Abundantly clear on some of the tracks eloquent simplicity imbuing the piano trio for- time member of Blood, Sweat & Tears, sings here is Sweden’s importance in pushing post mat with a powerful subtlety. The Norwegian along with his guitar lines, à la George Ben- free-jazz sounds, whether the post-Aylere- ensemble becomes Wollny’s canvas as his piano son, on “Birth Cry, Part 1,” a 1977 track by sque frenzies of the Mount Everest Trio hints at French Impressionism. Sansara Music Band. Perhaps because of (which tackles the saxophonist’s classic Wollny profoundly honors the encapsulated “Spirits”), the white-knuckle complexity of those connections to U.S. performers, the moment, using endings as beginnings and country produced plenty of high-level mu- Lokomotiv Konkret, the high-velocity clus- beginnings as endings. sicians, and some of the most important are ter-splatter attacks of pianist Per Henrik prominently featured: bassist Georg Riedel Wallin and the strident sprawl of Iskra. Per- —Kerilie McDowall offers sleek big band arrangements with Ra- haps more importantly, following Cherry’s Oslo: Make A Wish; Hello Dave; Farbenlehre; Piano Trio, diojazzgruppen on “Svit Cosmopolit,” while residence in Sweden, the country became op. 120, Andantino; Zweidrei; Interludium; Roses Are Black; tenor titan Bernt Rosengren leads a quar- a font of groups borrowing elements and Longnote; Nuits Blanches; Perpetuum Mobile; Cantus Arcticus; There Again; The Whiteness Of The Whale. (57:05) tet on an unexpected treatment of Ornette ideas from various international traditions, Personnel: , piano; Christian Weber, bass; Eric Coleman’s “Ramblin’.” The elegant baritone whether Sevda’s bracing pan-global con- Schaefer, drums, live electronics; Norwegian Wind Ensemble saxophone hero Lars Gullin, one of the first coctions or the Bulgarian themes that turn (1, 8, 13). Swedes to score an American record deal up in a track by Okay Temiz, a Turkish expat. Wartburg: Atavus; Big Louise; Perpetuum Mobile; Synonym; New York wasn’t the only melting pot Interludium; Antonym; Gravité; White Blues; Tektonik; Engel; and make inroads in the U.S., also appears Make A Wish. (48:46) with Radiojazzgruppen on a 1976 recording. during the ’70s. DB Personnel: Michael Wollny, piano; Christian Weber, bass; Eric Because the music is sequenced in strict Ordering info: musikverket.se/capricerecords Schaefer, drums; Émile Parisien, soprano saxophone (8–11). Ordering info: actmusic.com

62 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 ly can be understood as the most Frisellian of Thomas Morgan. “The Pioneers,” from 1999’s these works. Here, the guitarist utilizes a sys- Good Dog, Happy Man, reconfigures the tem of electric and acoustic guitars, looping composition as a Takoma Records-style bal- mechanisms, bass, ukulele and music boxes lad on par with John Fahey’s sweetest materi- to reflect on his four decades in jazz with the al. Listeners even get a Hendrix-kissed rewir- uncanny cool of his best work on ECM and ing of Frisell’s interpretation of the “Kentucky Nonesuch. Matter of fact, Frisell takes it all Derby” theme, originally arranged for the the way back to 1982 with a reimagining of Hal Wilner/Tim Robbins production of the title cut to his debut, , which, like Hunter S. Thompson’sThe Kentucky Derby Is the two versions of “Rambler” from the 1984 Decadent And Depraved. And major kudos to LP of the same name, come across as older, two of Frisell’s longtime friends and collabo- wiser versions of the former iterations. rators, Lee Townshend and , “Ron Carter,” meanwhile, strips away the who did a masterful job at providing an air- electrified of the original from tight space for the guitarist to work his magic. 2001’s Blues Dream to unearth the weathered With the exception of perhaps Ry Cooder grace befitting its legendary namesake, as well and Pat Metheny, there aren’t many gui- Bill Frisell as echoing the trio Frisell and Carter would tar players who express such a mastery of Music IS make up with drummer Paul Motian in 2006. the atmospheric qualities of their instru- OKEH/SONY MASTERWORKS 19075815002 The short, sharp licks that punctuate the back- ment, and this incredible journey through ½ ++++ wards-masked “Think About It” are reminis- the past—like its 2000 solo predecessor Ghost Bill Frisell’s tenure on the revitalized OKeh cent of the rabble he used while a member of Town—does a magnificent job presenting imprint, where he has been recording since John Zorn’s Naked City and were recorded this true American original at his most com- 2013, has been an intriguing ride. with Frisell’s guitar amp placed inside a old pelling and contemplative. —Ron Hart On a minor scale, it can be seen as a run upright piano once owned by Keith Moon, Music IS: Pretty Stars; Winslow Homer; Change In The Air; akin to ’s time on Richard Manuel and Ian McLagan. What Do You Want?: Thankful; Ron Carter; Think About It; In Line; Rambler; The Pioneers; Monica Jane; Miss You; Go in the way Frisell’s deviated from his sig- Elsewhere, the meditative calm of its fel- Happy Lucky; Kentucky Derby; Made To Shine; Rambler nature sound on such acclaimed albums low originals, “What Do You Want?” and (Alternative Version). (55:35) Personnel: Bill Frisell, electric and acoustic guitars, loops, as Guitar In The Space Age! and When You “Miss You,” echo the beauty of Frisell’s 2017 bass, ukulele, music boxes. Wish Upon A Star. But Music IS undoubted- return to ECM, Small Town, with bassist Ordering info: okeh-records.com

Lewis Porter Shinya Beauty & Mystery Fukumori Trio ALTRISUONI 348 For 2 Akis +++ ECM 2574 ½ Beginning with his solemn, hymn- +++ like “Prologue,” Lewis Porter uses For 2 Akis marks the ECM debut of the gentle, solo piano waltz to set the the Shinya Fukumori Trio. This stage for the rollout of contrasting international unit creates spacious moods and sounds that follow on dialogues that reveal deep listening Beauty & Mystery. on the part of its participants. The bandleader doesn’t waste Osaka-born Fukumori is a any time: He takes his band into the thick of it with “Birthplace,” guest drummer and composer who clearly prioritizes color over tradition- saxophonist Tia Fuller diving in with heated support from a trio that also al timekeeping, leaning heavily on cymbal and brushwork. Matthieu includes bassist and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington. Bordenave produces a light yet textured and authoritative tone with his “Birthplace,” dedicated to John Coltrane, is the first of three selec- tenor saxophone, and Walter Lang anchors the proceedings with lyri- tions with links to the genre-defining player. The relaxed swing of “Blues cism and sensitivity from the piano bench. For Trane And McCoy” and the Patitucci showcase “From Giovanni To Fukumori incorporates several Japanese tunes from the Shōwa era Jimmy” follow (each song replete with references to Trane’s former band- (basically post-war folk songs) along with three of his own original mates, pianist McCoy Tyner and bassist , respectively). compositions and three from Bordenave and Lang. Whereas most of All three Porter tunes suggest his longtime affinity for Coltrane through the recording is a study in restraint, the conclusion of “Ai San San” pro- directed, open-ended playing. vides a notable moment of welcomed abandon at its climax. And the The well-covered standard “Bye Bye Blackbird” manages to fly as the title track is a short, heartfelt rubato tribute that Fukumori considers recording’s most revealing showcase for the trio’s medium-tempo swing. representative of the ensemble. But the three covers included here also include a solemn take on Curtis For 2 Akis is a gentle, unique and varied album with few pyrotech- Mayfield’s “People Get Ready,” a lovely version of trumpeter Ted Chubb’s nics or big surprises; just three talented and fully engaged musicians “1919” and the closing “Day Is Done,” a gentle waltz, everything wrapped playing meaningful tunes with honesty, subtlety and emotion. in easygoing swing. —John Ephland —Mark Maxwell Beauty & Mystery: Prologue; Birthplace; Bye Bye Blackbird; People Get Ready; Blues For Trane And McCoy; 1919; Chasing Lines; Dazzling Raga; From Giovanni To Jimmy; Day Is Done. (71:01) For 2 Akis: Hoshi Meguri No Uta; Silent Chaos; Ai San San; For 2 Akis; The Light Suite; No ; Personnel: Lewis Porter, piano; John Patitucci, bass; Terri Lyne Carrington, drums; Tia Fuller, soprano Spectacular; Mangetsu No Yube; Émeraude; When The Day Is Done; Hoshi Meguri No Uta (Var.). (51:51) (2), alto saxophone (5). Personnel: Shinya Fukumori, drums; Matthieu Bordenave, tenor saxophone; Walter Lang, piano. Ordering info: pbr-record.com; altrisuoni.com Ordering info: ecmrecords.com

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 63 Books / BY JOHN MURPH Avoiding Conventions More than 40 years since emerging as a solo artist, Pat Metheny remains a towering and influential figure in jazz. His formative years with vibraphonist Gary Burton and his first 11 albums on ECM continue to inform both Metheny’s artistic goals and legions of other aspiring jazz artists. In Pat Metheny: The ECM Years, 1975–1984 (Oxford University Press), British scholar Mervyn Cooke brings passion and erudite rigor to a thorough examination Noah Preminger of the guitarist’s body of work, initiated by a Genuinity then-22-year-old wunderkind who set out to CRISS CROSS 1397 slash preconceived limitations on the electric ++++ guitar, and in some cases electric instrumen- tation, by avoiding conventions established One might wonder what words saxophonist by both fusion acts and bebop torchbearers. and composer Noah Preminger aims to con- As the book notes, rock did factor into flate on the cleverly titled Genuinity. There’s Metheny’s music—most explicitly on 1979’s “genuine”; is the other word “affinity” or per- —but so did country, haps “infinity”? Whatever’s at the heart of the avant-garde jazz, film scores, classical, Amer- title, the album is ruled by range, diversity and icana and bossa nova. But Metheny aimed higher than focusing on each idiom singu- dissection of the brooding “September authenticity. larly; his music often encompassed many of Fittest,” from Metheny’s and Mays’ 1981 As Bracketed by the defiant “Halfway To those elements simultaneously, yielding a Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls, the book Hartford” and the expansive “Acknowl- unique voice that already was apparent on comes loaded with transcriptions. Those edgement,” Preminger spans the traditional his first solo album, 1976’s Bright Size Life. types of pedagogical insights likely will de- blues of “My Blues For You,” the catchy funk Metheny argued that improvisation and light music students more than pop culture of “TS And Her Spirit” and “Nashua,” a tune composing were similar activities happening historians. with a gospel feel on which drummer Dan at “different temperatures.” Often using film Still, Cooke provides ample information Weiss displays his dexterity. Save for the blues as an analogy, he constantly strove for a “sto- about Metheny’s grueling touring sched- numbers, the tunes are flexible, shifting meter rytelling” aesthetic. ule, his admiration for various bandmates and tempo to express changeable moods. “The “The idea for me all the way along has and about the numerous guitars he’s uti- been to come up with a narrative, storytell- lized. Cooke shines light on the guitarist’s Genuine One,” a smoky track highlighting the ing quality of music that hopefully adds up; reverence for pioneering saxophonist Or- remarkable concord between Preminger and once an idea starts, it gets taken to its natu- nette Coleman, as well as for ’s trumpeter Jason Palmer, and “Nashua,” which ral conclusion,” Metheny told Richard Niles, a keen embrace of electronic keyboards in gives bassist Kim Cass striking melodic lati- journalist and musician. creating some of the more sweeping mo- tude, exemplify this approach. That quote is one of many that illustrates ments in ’s recorded histo- “Halfway To Hartford,” “AH” and Cooke’s fastidious research. Divided into six ry. The book also examines how geograph- “Walking On Eggshells” are the most elas- chapters, the book charts Metheny’s journey ical locations—such as the open landscape tic tunes here. And on “Eggshells,” Preminger from being a Burton sideman to becoming of Metheny’s Missouri upbringing and the and Palmer seem to chase each other, set- an ambitious bandleader and composer, tranquil oceans he encountered during his tling into brief twine, then argument. Palmer his recruitment of otherworldly singers and studies at the University of Miami—and multi-instrumentalists, as well as a notewor- thought-provoking conversations with declaims first and Preminger deftly navigates thy simpatico with keyboardist Lyle Mays. film scorer Jerry Goldsmith impacted the the steps Cass lays down. Meanwhile, Weiss, Depending on both the reader’s compre- picturesque sensibilities of the guitarist’s a stickler for the light touch, always seems one hension of music theory and an apprecia- music. step ahead. tion of inserting analysis into prose, some of Of course, Cooke touches upon “Acknowledgement,” the longest track on Cooke’s effusive investigations into the minu- Metheny’s professional relationship with Genuinity, builds slowly and feels like a state- tiae of Metheny’s music might be alienating. ECM’s . The author reveals ment. All over the emotional map, it veers in In addition to laborious passages—“[T]he that both demonstrated a fanatical atten- and out of harmony, unison lines fragment- rich harmonies of the opening section, which tion to sonic detail and dynamics, which ing to make way for tart Palmer and gutsy sets out from diatonic G major but modulates initially fostered a fruitful rapport that Preminger. It might be the album’s most ambi- to B major via D (=C#) major, are essentially splintered during the recording of 1984’s a string of secondary-seventh-based chords Rejoicing. The book, however, elucidates tious track. —Carlo Wolff interspersed with inversions and relative- how Metheny extended his heroic record- ly consonant slash chords which create a ing legacy on ECM for later works on the Genuinity: Halfway To Hartford; The Genuine One; Mad strongly directional supporting bass line (of- Geffen, Warner Bros. and Nonesuch im- Town; TS And Her Spirit; AH; My Blues For You; Nashua; Walking On Eggshells; Acknowledgement. (62:58) ten moving by step) beneath the poignant prints. DB Personnel: Noah Preminger, tenor saxophone; Kim Cass, and lyrical melody”—and Cooke’s laser-sharp Ordering info: global.oup.com bass; Jason Palmer, trumpet; Dan Weiss, drums. Ordering info: crisscrossjazz.com

64 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 Seun Kuti Roberta Piket & Egypt 80 West Coast Trio Black Times 13TH NOTE RECORDS 011 STRUT 163 +++½ ½ +++ New York-based pianist Roberta Black Times crackles with so much Piket toured California in 2017, and combustion that it’s nearly uncon- while there recorded with a trio—a tainable. Under the leadership of format she hasn’t led in more than Seun Kuti, Egypt 80 whips up an a decade. The session also tied her insistent fist-pumping protest party closer to a famous jazz collaboration that sounds tighter, stronger and with the inclusion of drummer Joe La meaner than it had on the bandleader’s previous three discs. Barbera, who worked with Bill Evans during the late 1970s. But the best ’s flaring electric guitar heightens the intensity during parts of West Coast Trio are when Piket’s own vision comes into focus. his appearance on the title track, but he’s not the only one who showcases Those high points are her two compositions here. Piket’s fine touch improvisational brio. Trumpeter Oladimeji Akinyel’s horn spits out a blis- comes through on “Mentor,” as she leads the trio through surprising shifts tering aside on “Kuku Kee Me.” Then there are Kuti’s growling verses that in tone. Piket also takes the lead in a conversation with guest guitarist touch on under-celebrated historical legacies, folkloric Nigerian homilies Larry Koonse on her “A Bridge To Nowhere,” as her chords contrast his and transgressions said to have been committed by the Nigerian govern- single-note lines. The bandleader also interprets an array of ment. Like his late father, , Seun brandishes the saxophone more on the album, adding twists to the varied repertoire. On ’ than he actually plays it. But on “Corporate Public Control Department,” “Falling In Love With Love,” Piket and La Barbera make the most of open he squawks a spiky alto solo. Contending with his father’s towering legacy spaces. And Piket’s assured dynamics shape Chick Corea’s “Humpty is no easy feat, but with Black Times, Seun claims Afrobeat’s throne with Dumpty.” But the standout interpretation is John Hicks’ “Yemenja.” The indefatigable fervency and unflinching authority. —John Murph way Piket commands key changes not only attests to her sharp perception, but also how much Hicks himself sorely is missed. —Aaron Cohen Black Times: Last Revolutionary; Black Times; Corporate Public Control Department; Kuku Kee Me; Bad Man Lighter; African Dreams; Struggle Sounds; Theory of Goat And Yam. (62:42) Personnel: Seun Kuti, vocals, alto saxophone, keyboards; David Obanyedo, guitar; Kunle Justice, bass; West Coast Trio: Mentor; Falling In Love With Love; A Bridge To Nowhere; Humpty Dumpty; Flor De Oluwagbemiga Alade, guitar; Shina Abiodun, drums; Adebowale Osunnibu, baritone saxophone; Ojo Lis; Yemenja; My Buddy; Conception; Windmills Of Your Mind. (54:41) Samuel, tenor saxophone; Oladimeji Akinyele, trumpet; Joy Opara, Iyabo Adeniran, vocals; Okon Iyam- Personnel: Roberta Piket, piano; Darek Oleszkiewicz, bass; Joe La Barbera, drums; Larry Koonse, guitar ba, shekere; Kola Onasanya, giant conga; Wale Toriola, percussion; Carlos Santana, electric guitar (2). (3, 8); Billy Mintz, percussion (5). Ordering info: strut-records.com Ordering info: thirteenthnoterecords.com

YoshimiO/ Victor Gould Ibarra/Lowe Earthlings Flower Of Sulphur CRISS CROSS 1398 THRILL JOCKEY 456 +++½ ½ +++ During his career, pianist Victor Flower Of Sulphur is a first-time Gould has worked with quite a few encounter between three improvis- major names, including Donald ers with profoundly different back- Harrison, Wallace Roney, Jeremy grounds. YoshimiO sings, drums Pelt and Jazzmeia Horn. Earthlings and plays other instruments in is his second album as a leader. the long-running Boredoms; Susie Gould’s “Spider” is an atmo- Ibarra is a percussionist, educator and composer active in jazz, new music spheric piece that gets a bit too dramatic. Over the bass vamp, the band- and Philippine kulintang (gong and chime) ensembles; and vocalist leader creates quietly adventurous ideas, while drummer Eric McPherson and modular synthesizer player Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe started play- contributes assertive rhythms. “Rise,” although spontaneously impro- ing terse post-punk with 90 Day Men, but as Lichens and under his own vised by the four musicians (with Kahlil Kwame Bell on congas, but no name, has explored trance and devotional states. The three musicians find drums), sounds as if it could have been composed ahead of time, espe- more common ground in their commitment to improvisation and instru- cially when Dezron Douglas enters with a bass line that serves as the mentation than they do in any particular genre. piece’s foundation. YoshimiO is the nexus, holding the music together, her interest in Bobby Hutcherson’s moody ballad “Roses Poses” is sensitively inter- sounds from different cultures, as well as her visceral drumming, con- preted here as well. “Blues On Top,” which has both horns playing the necting with Ibarra. During the record’s best moments, it sounds as melody a half-step apart, features a bitonal feeling throughout the solos though YoshimiO is playing with two shadows of herself, albeit shadows and saxophone trade-offs, despite essentially being a straightahead blues. with opinions about how to elaborate on what she’s playing. But there An uptempo “Lover” pays tribute to Gould’s affinity for Bud Powell, also are passages where the musicians seem to be marking time while try- while Dizzy Gillespie’s “Con Alma” is given a tasteful treatment, high- ing to find their way toward the next collective idea. A bit of editing might lighted by a joyful alto solo and Bell’s prominence in the ensemble. have yielded a more consistently engaging album, but there’s enough here The worthy and consistently stimulating album concludes with the to hope that this won’t be the trio’s only meeting. —Bill Meyer peaceful, yet explorative, “Resilience.” —Scott Yanow Earthlings: Farewell To Dogma; Love Vibrations; Earthlings; Spider; Rise; Roses Poses; Blues On Top; Flower Of Sulphur: Aaa; Bbb; Ccc; Ddd. (64:34) Lover; Con Alma; Resilience. (56:50) Personnel: YoshimiO, voice, drums, keyboards; Susie Ibarra, percussion; Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Personnel: Victor Gould, piano; Dezron Douglas, bass; Eric McPherson, drums; Tim Warfield, soprano vocals, modular synthesizer. saxophone (1, 3, 7); Godwin Louis, alto saxophone (5, 7, 9); Kahlil Kwame Bell, percussion. Ordering info: thrilljockey.com Ordering info: crisscrossjazz.com

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 65

REED SCHOOL

By Mark Buselli Page 80

PAGE 72

Brian McCarthy (Photo by Seth Cashman)

JEFF COFFIN CALEB CHAPMAN IAN MCDONALD On Fostering Relationships Master Class Transcription Page 68 Page 70 Page 76 ADAM MCCULLOUGH

68 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 Jeff Coffin hether it’s two notes played simultaneously on the piano or a will spread well before you get to where you are going. Being a good per- W10-plus-note chord, there is a relationship present between the son makes a big difference in life. Being a good musician is never enough. notes, between the musicians, between the musicians and the You have to be a good person, too. I know a number of great players who notes, and between the musicians, the notes and the listeners. These rela- don’t work much and it has nothing to do with their talent. tionship connections go on and on, not unlike the ripples that occur when you toss a stone into a placid pond. DO ALL RELATIONSHIP CONFLICTS NEED RESOLUTION? No. Sometimes the conflict Relationships are reflected in our daily lives. Sometimes they are in the relationship is part of the process of learning. Sometimes you will complicated with a lot of tension in them, and sometimes they are less find that relationships fail or end or are no longer what they used to be. complicated with little or no tension. Like a C and a C sharp being played You might understand why, but sometimes you might not. What you together in the same octave, as opposed to a C and a G in the same octave: learn from this process is what’s important, and how you reflect it in your One has more tension than the other, but there is still a relationship pres- personal life can help you see yourself, and others, better. ent in both. Many young musicians ask me, “How do I make it as a musician?” I WHY WON’T YOUR TALENT ALONE GIVE YOU A CAREER? I always say that if you want tell them I don’t think that we ever really do. Maybe a better question is, to be a working musician, being able to play your instrument is a given. “How can I have a career in music?” That’s where the relationship part Don’t think for a minute that because you come out of a great school that comes in. Below are a few ideas about developing relationships and the you will waltz into town and suddenly get a bunch of work. It doesn’t importance of devoting time to them. happen that way. You have to work your way into a place, and people need to trust that you will be hanging around for a while and that you are WHY ARE RELATIONSHIPS IMPORTANT? Relationships are the bonds that bring invested in being there. Your attitude and demeanor on and off the band- us together or spread us apart. People tend to like being around others stand will, most times, determine if you get a second call from someone. who are easy to get along with, fun to hang with, dependable, emotion- ally stable, kind, giving, helpful and grateful. I have close, personal rela- ASK YOURSELF ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIPS. Do you work on your relationships tionships dating back nearly 40 years with other musicians. A few of with people? If so, how are you working on them? If not, why not? Is it that these are my dearest and closest friends. you don’t know how to, or that you just don’t care? Do you express your enjoyment of someone’s playing or creative output, or do you stay silent, HOW CAN YOU FOSTER RELATIONSHIPS? Being helpful and kind are good ways to thinking that you should be the one with the gig because feel you are bet- start. For example, let’s say you move to Nashville to be in the incredi- ter qualified than they are? Have you done your homework to know the ble scene that is going on here. You decide to go hear one of our legend- history of other players in the scene? Get to know people and allow them ary drummers, the great . At the end of the night, you to get to know you. Asking questions about someone is always far better introduce yourself and tell him you’re new in town and that you really than talking about yourself. Try talking with people, not to them. When dig his playing and hope you can play together someday. You shake his we make music, we play with other musicians, not to other musicians. hand and then split. Just as in any other serious profession, being a successful musician is OK, so you met Chester. He’s an awesome guy, but you can imagine about being a nice person who works well with others. Our fellow musi- he meets a lot of people. What if the scenario went like this: At the end cians are members of our tribe. And over time, they become part of of the night you go up to him and say those same things, but you offer our family. My greatest influences are not Coltrane, Sonny, Miles, Bird, to help him bring his drums to the car when he’s done packing up—not Ornette, etc., but the people I have worked with throughout my career and to schmooze but because you’re a good person and you recognize there the lessons I have learned—and continue to learn—from them about this is a lot of stuff to pack up and move. I wager there’s not a drummer in thing called life. DB the world who will say no to the offer of help loading out. By perform- ing acts of kindness, you are developing a reputation, and that reputation Visit Jeff Coffin at jeffcoffin.com.

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 69 Ex 1 MASTER CLASS Woodshed BY CALEB CHAPMAN RENE HUEMER

Caleb Chapman Takin’ Care of Business few years back, I had the opportunity to industry are not only some of the hardest work- lar trend. I am so excited to see several of our perform with Randy Bachman (of ers I know, they are also incredibly savvy when leading music schools nationally taking notice ABachman Turner Overdrive and it comes to business. of this new reality and including valuable busi- The Guess Who) on his hit “Takin’ Care Of I think it’s interesting that I’m most often ness and entrepreneurship classes in the curric- Business.” The song paints the picture of a referred to as a musician and educator, but the ula for their majors. musician “lyin’ in the sun” and working “at majority of the work I do has nothing to do with This need for a core set of business skills is nothin’ all day.” That might have been a little music. Many people are surprised to learn that certainly not unique to our industry. No matter more of the environment in 1973 when the song I spend about 60 percent of my work hours on what students decide to pursue, to be successful was written, but it is a new world here in the 21st the business aspects of my various “jobs.” And in our digital environment, these abilities are century. I can tell you from personal experi- if you poll those who appear to be doing well becoming mandatory. As critical as these skills ence that the most successful musicians in our in this industry, I think you will find a simi- are for students, they are just as important for

70 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 career musicians. I know far too many legend- everyone likes to be asked for their opinion. be known as an expert. ary jazz musicians who enjoyed rich careers and You might be surprised—as I was with Rick • Learn more about that area or develop that now are struggling to make ends meet. Drumm—as to just who will take you under skill to a level that qualifies you as an expert. While business requires years of their wing. • Advertise your willingness to lend that study, I have found that a few key concepts have Do this now: expertise to others. made all the difference for me. Below I have out- • Identify your weaknesses or areas for lined three that have had a major impact on me. improvement. GIVE MORE VALUE THAN YOU GET Whether you are a student or a veteran musi- • Contact experts you know and solicit their As a rule, I try to always be sure my partners cian, these powerful concepts can be imple- help. are getting the better end of the deal in our rela- mented today and will pay big dividends in the • Research potential mentors for additional tionship. This could be the musicians I play long run. areas and reach out to them. with, the agents I work with, my record label, my sponsors or whoever. The idea is that if they BUILD A TEAM OF MENTORS NETWORK BY BECOMING AN EXPERT benefit more from doing business with me than Over the last century, jazz mostly has been Business used to be all about “location, someone else, I will always be their first choice an aural tradition with concepts being passed location, location.” In the digital age, that has to work with. For example, as a saxophonist, I from master to student. The best way to learn evolved to “network, network, network.” How am lucky to have endorsement deals with sever- jazz also happens to be the best way to learn do you build an effective network? It’s definite- al companies. Those companies ask me to men- tion at clinics that I play their gear in exchange for their support. Many musicians I run into are focused purely on what they are getting in these deals, as opposed to what value they are bring- Seek an expert—or better yet, a ing to the companies. From the beginning, I chose to focus on what I can offer my sponsors. In addition to team of mentors—to advise you their stated request, I also list all those compa- nies on my website with links, tag them in social media posts, hang their banners at my studio, in every aspect of your career. recommend them to other pros and students, list them in liner notes, keep brochures on hand to distribute and include their ads in my event business skills. Seek an expert—or better yet, a ly not just about showing up at every local jam programs. None of these things cost me money team of mentors—to advise you in every aspect session or passing around business cards at lun- or significant amounts of time, but they bring of your career. The first step is to honestly iden- cheons. The best way to network is to become real value to my sponsors. Not only does this tify any weaknesses or gaps in your abilities. an expert at something and serve as an invalu- mean that I will be one of the last ones to get cut For each of these, consciously seek out someone able resource to those you connect with. if they need to trim their artist rosters, it also who can help you improve. A great example of this is my friend means that I benefit from all kinds of addition- I have been incredibly lucky to get advice Francisco Torres, a fantastic trombonist and al perks from those companies as a “Thank you” from some of the best in the business. For composer who performs with Poncho Sanchez, for my efforts to support them. example, one of the first people I sought out Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band and many Implementing this concept could be as easy was the legendary executive and accomplished others. He has become recognized as an expert as helping a bandleader load out gear at your drummer Rick Drumm, the former president at arranging Latin jazz charts thanks to his next gig, referring your band mates for addi- of D’Addario & Co. and, before that, Vic Firth work over many years with Sanchez. This led to tional work or securing comp tickets to a con- Co. I have requested his counsel on countless a contract to write for a Latin-themed TV series cert for your agent. The point is to do more than occasions over the last decade. Not only did that for a large studio a few years back. They were so is expected and you will always be in demand. coaching help me successfully recover from impressed with Torres’ work, they asked him to In other words, help first. a major career setback, but Drumm recently start working on several other projects outside Do this now: became a business partner and helped me raise of the Latin jazz style, which now take up the • Make a list of the individuals or compa- significant funding for my latest venture. He is majority of his time. But all this additional work nies you do business with on a regular basis. just one of the many people I have gone to for came to him first because he was known as an • For each, brainstorm how you can bring help over the years. expert at something. additional value to the relationship without Here are some expert types you might want Now, the truth is that Torres is an expert at incurring a significant burden of cost or time. to start with—those with experience in market- many things, but he became known for his Being able to have a career pursuing my ing, social media, law, accounting, leadership, work in Latin jazz. He is a great trombonist and passion is something I never take for grant- health and finance. Begin by taking inventory of talented arranger, but there are thousands of ed, but it certainly requires dedication to much any of these specialists you might already know those. There are significantly fewer who special- more than just being a great musician or educa- and reach out to them. For the areas where you ize in Latin jazz writing. Even though you might tor. Take action today on these three concepts still lack a mentor, do some research online, as do many things well, it’s important to focus on and watch your career reap the benefits. DB well as reach out to others for help making con- one thing to be known for. Specialize in a style,

nections. Don’t be shy about contacting peo- a skill or something that few others do, and then Caleb Chapman is the founder and chairman of Caleb ple you don’t know. Successful individuals are use that skill to become a go-to resource. This is Chapman’s Soundhouse, president of the Jazz Education Network and an award-winning musician, author and typically busy and not all will be willing or able the real secret to effective networking. educator. He is also an artist and clinician for Yamaha, to assist you. But many are eager to pay it for- Do this now: JodyJazz, D’Addario Woodwinds and Alfred Music. For more information on Chapman’s projects and educational ward for the mentoring that they received, and • Identify an area or areas where you want innovations, visit ccsoundhouse.com. PRO SESSION Woodshed BY BRIAN MCCARTHY SETH CASHMAN

Brian McCarthy Finding the Better Angels of Our Nature he American Civil War was the moment In approaching this album, my producer, Linda erty in the South is inescapable, and there is when the country would, as Abraham Little, and I felt it necessary to explore all of the nothing honest or honorable in enslavement. TLincoln foresaw in 1858, “become all historic material and let the music speak to the Now, I know the counter argument that not all one thing, or all the other.” The country was difficult subject matter. Confederates or Confederate supporters owned torn apart by its inability to reconcile the mean- slaves, but slave-owning members of the com- ing of freedom and equality—a feeling that still RESEARCH munity were what people aspired to be. This is relevant and echoed in 2018. If, in my life- The Library of Congress online resources is backed up by something in the fourth verse time, we lived alongside people whose parents became one of my most valued connections to that reads, “Davis, our loved President, and were slaves, then how far removed are we from the history that lies at the heart of Better Angels. Stephens, Statesmen rare,” with my attention the mindset that sought to enslave and segre- Access to Lincoln’s handwritten notes, some being drawn to the latter of the two. gate before, during and after the American of the earliest documented sheet music, pub- Alexander Stephens, vice president of the Civil War? Then again, how far removed are lished news articles, biographical information Confederacy, in his infamous “Cornerstone” we from the spirit that fought for freedom and on composers—it all helped create a clearer speech said, “Our new government is found- equality? As William Faulkner once wrote, vision of the past. The first thing I did was seek ed upon exactly the opposite idea; its founda- “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” out the earliest known publishing of “Bonnie,” tions are laid, its cornerstone rests upon the In my 2017 album The Better Angels Of Our which was in 1861 by Harry McCarthy (no rela- great truth, that the negro is not equal to the Nature (Truth Revolution Records), I dove tion). The L.O.C. manuscripts I studied were all white man; that slavery … is his natural and into reimagining the popular music of the in the key of F major, and always in compound normal condition. This, our new government, American Civil War using the language of jazz duple meter (6/8, in this case). The lyrics clear- is the first, in the history of the world, based to speak to the full range of human experience. ly are meant to be a rallying cry for the various upon this great physical, philosophical, and My goal was to create a woven fabric between states of the Confederacy, boasting about their moral truth.” the past and present with strands of the orig- honor, bravery and “the flag that bears a single I have all the pieces I need to reimagine the inal holding the musical structure. I wanted star.” But many lines are impossible to ignore. song. I’m connected … motivated. to show, musically, how the past continues to The first verse (though later publishings don’t present itself in our modern-day culture. For have this) reads: “We are a band of brothers/ REIMAGINING this article, we’ll take a look at a Confederate And native to the soil/ Fighting for the proper- I started with time signature, or as I song, “The Bonnie Blue Flag.” (You can stream ty/ We gained by honest toil.” approached it, pulse. Harry McCarthy straight my recorded version at brianmccarthyjazz.com.) The fact that people were considered prop- up took the melody, harmony and rhythm of an

72 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 Irish drinking song, “The Irish Jaunting Car.” ment in F major is to the IV chord of B major, but with these four bars, the music is sudden- The compound duple meter of 6/8 gives a lot of but by utilizing B ascending melodic minor, ly in a G-centric sound. By abruptly modulat- bounce and drive to the song. (See Example 1 what feels natural and expected now is dark- ing up a whole step, these bars sonically “stand on the following page.) ened and warped. Finally, the echoed phrase up” from all the others. By combining the orig- I decided to put my 2017 version in 5/4 ends with my original major versus minor inal melody with the harmonic function of quintuple meter, giving it the spirit of a less indecisiveness. Example 4 (using ascending melodic minor) common feel and at the same time a fresh take. The last reimagining I’ll share with you is and simultaneously using the echoed melody The 5/4 meter also lets the melody float in these Example 5. There are a few things at play. This in the bass, the musical conflict is at its climax various ways: pulses of two long and two short, is still the same original 1861 melody, but with and at its darkest. two long and one even longer, one long and one a variety of techniques applied to it (essential- shorter, or simply one long. This all creates an ly, combining Example 3 and Example 4). The RECAPITULATION asymmetrical melody, while still maintaining a most notable thing here is the sudden key mod- The American Civil War happened in a sense of pattern. ulation. This whole time, we’ve been F-centric, time before jazz existed, but was crucial to its Ultimately, I wanted to agitate the song, and what better way to start than with the basic pulse. (It’s mostly in 5/4, with brief hints of a slow 6/4 and bouts of tension-releasing 4/4 simple duple meter.) Near the end of the piece (see Example 2), I created more rhythmic tension with the melo- dy by putting what is essentially a slower 4/4 time over 12 beats of the 5/4 time—eight even pulses of three eighth-notes over 12 quarter-notes of 5/4 (the groups of three being an echo to the original compound duple meter). This technique takes place in two earlier sections—one in the solo backgrounds and one just after the solo ends— essentially designed to foreshadow this moment at the end of the melody. Harmonically, I wanted to capture the orig- inal intended beauty of the song, but transform its familiarity by twisting and warping the color. I started with connections to the origi- nal incarnation of “Bonnie.” In 1861, it was in the key of F major, so my 2017 version will be F (notice I didn’t say F major). The 1861 progres- sion of the melody is straightforward, bounc- ing between the I and V7 chord (F major and C dominant) firmly, in a bright mentality. Keeping the melodic key center of F, here is where the twisting and warping comes in. You can see (Example 3) how through reharmoni- zation, the F-centric melody moves back and forth between underlying F major and F minor triads within the chosen chords. It’s a represen- tation of the conflict I see inherent in the lyr- ics: a celebratory pride in the Confederate way of life that builds its cornerstone of society on enslavement. The melody itself extends beyond the original eight-bar phrase shown in Example 1, carrying over the conflict to another section, or, as I see it, another generation. Example 4 digs deeper into this dark and inescapable aspect. (This section is the overlap of the previous Example 3 at its final F major measure.) Moving the melody into the bass register further darkens the phrase; then, only using echoes of the melody, gives a dissociative feeling to the overall moment. Next, by fram- ing F major with modes of B ascending melod- ic minor (first and second modes), this dark- ens the now familiar melody even further. It’s a move right out of the songwriting 101 playbook with a slight twist. Typical harmonic move-

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 73 existence. Jazz is a language capable of dealing Abraham Lincoln never got to see the chang- this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the with such a complex and difficult subject. The ing world he was fighting for, but the closing Union, when again touched, as surely they will surrender of Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S. Grant line from his first inaugural address in 1861 be, by the better angels of our nature.” DB at Appomattox Court House in 1865 might reminds us that we always can appeal to “the have marked the beginning of the end to the better angels of our nature”: Saxophonist Brian McCarthy is a Selmer-Paris and Conn-Selmer institution of slavery in America, but the spir- “We are not enemies, but friends. We must artist. His 2017 album The Better Angels Of Our Nature (Truth Revolution Records) finds the roots of jazz in Civil War-era songs its and mindsets that fought to preserve such not be enemies. Though passion may have and spirit. Starting out with a Vermont Arts Council Creation oppression and inequality didn’t end there. strained, it must not break our bonds of affec- Grant in 2014, the album received numerous Best Albums of 2017 picks, and is available at truthrevolutionrecords.com and Reconstruction, Black Codes, Jim Crow laws tion. The mystic chords of memory, stretch- brianmccarthyjazz.com. McCarthy is an adjunct saxophone instructor at University of Vermont and an adjunct instructor and discrimination all followed, providing ing from every battlefield, and patriot grave, of bands at Saint Michael’s College in Vermont. Follow him on outlets for the oppressive nature of too many. to every living heart and hearthstone, all over Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@BMackJazz).

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Example 5

74 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 75 SOLO Woodshed BY JIMI DURSO RANDEX COMMUNICATIONS

A recent portrait of multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, who was a founding member of the group . Ian McDonald’s Flute Solos on ‘I Talk To The Wind’ t has been almost half a century since King does some other very clever things. Crimson released it debut album, In The Let’s look at his use of arpeggios. This is a ICourt Of The Crimson King, which com- time-honored means of outlining harmonies, bined rock with jazz, classical and folk influ- but on the Gmaj7 in bars 3 and 24 (and the mid- ences to help spawn what has since been labeled dle of bar 12) McDonald plays a D major triad “progressive rock.” No small part of their instead of G. (There is also the D triad with the sound was due to woodwind player, guitarist ninth added in measure 16.) The D natural is and Mellotron player Ian McDonald (current- in both chords, but the D triad has F# and A, ly a co-leader of the guitar-driven rock quar- which are the major seventh and ninth of the G tet Honey West with Shakespearean actor Ted chord. Playing this way emphasizes the upper Zurkowski), whose composition “I Talk To The parts of the G, but by not playing a full Gmaj9 Wind” provides harmonies that are not your lick, it also creates a sort of bitonality. typical ’60s rock. His flute solos navigate these A similar thing occurs in measures 6, 15, changes with grace and ease. 19, 23 and 31 on the Cmaj7. McDonald tends McDonald solos on the verse progression to play Em and Em7 arpeggios. This is more twice: the eight bars in the middle of the song “inside,” as there is more overlap between (starting at the 2:52 mark) and then repeating those chords. But playing this way means that form for the fadeout (4:48). Though only McDonald often avoids the root note; skipping four bars long, the progression is basically in it creates more color in his solo. two keys: E major (with a jazzy ii–V–I) and the Another technique we hear in this impro- Cmaj7 and Gmaj7 chords, which are more at visation is paraphrasing. Reusing ideas but home in E minor. The sudden shift from E to altering them to fit the chords creates both Cmaj7 leads slowly back to E. a sense of continuity and development. Bars The typical rock musician of the late ’60s 10–12 are a great example. He starts this sec- might have tried to find one scale to play over tion with an E major lick. The next bar is the the entire progression, or switched from E same lick but ending on a G natural, instead of major to minor pentatonic. But McDonald G#. The G fits the second chord (Cmaj7), but the

76 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 G# fits the first chord, E. Not changing the D# that takes up three 16th notes, starting at a dif- to fit the second chord at first seems a curious ferent point in the beat each time. choice. But for the next bar, McDonald does For the fade, McDonald combines these make the D# a D, which fits the Gmaj7, but ideas: playing a polyrhythmic phrase consist- resolves to a high A, which isn’t a chord tone ing of three 16ths and modifying this lick to but helps to imply that D/G sound McDonald fit the changes (starting at measure 34). The seems to prefer. It also creates a nice chromatic tricky part of this is changing in the right line on the high notes: G#–G–A. place, even while playing a rhythm that is This continuity/development effect can counter to the underlying one. DB also be created rhythmically, as McDonald does with polyrhythms. Measures 14–15 are Jimi Durso is a guitarist and bassist based in the New York an example, where he plays a repeated phrase area. Visit him online at jimidurso.com.

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 77 Toolshed

Sax Dakota SDT-XR 52 Tenor Saxophone Highly Responsive, Aesthetically Detailed he SDT-XR 52 Tenor Saxophone from Sax Dakota is an ergo- King Zephyr saxophone models), and I was pleased to nomically deigned, aesthetically detailed and highly respon- find that choosing one over another really did make a Tsive instrument. It’s the company’s top-line tenor, made of difference in airstream control and physical comfort. raw bronze with a semi-matte Black Onyx finish on the body, bow Additional professional touches include a con- and bell, and a bright Black Onyx finish on the inside of the bell. veniently located front high-F lever, an adjust- The SDT-XR 52’s neck is silver-plated, and the keywork, trim and able right-hand thumb rest and a high F# key. grille-style keyguards are unfinished, sporting a distinct art deco-like Stainless steel key rods help enhance the action. design. The neck and bell are decorated with attractive hand-engrav- Black oxide steel springs and pivot screws ing. The raw bronze body of the SDT-XR 52 is essentially a brass alloy team with custom Italian pads and tone with increased copper content (77 percent), resulting in a smooth and boosters. The reinforced double arms on the highly resonant sound that’s reminiscent of certain post-World War low C/B/B-flat keys, along with Pisoni Pro II vintage horns. Playing it, I experienced a pleasing feeling of vibra- key pads, are designed to aid response and tion in the instrument’s body, even on upper-stack fingerings. ensure consistent tone. Adjustment screws The SDT-XR 52 responded well and played nicely in tune with are placed at critical points. The SDT- two different types of mouthpieces: a hard-rubber Vandoren Jumbo XR 52 has a specially designed neck Java #7 and metal Jody Jazz Super Jet matched with #2½ and #3 taper and a graduated bell flare Vandoren Java Red Box reeds. I got the strongest projection and that begins at the bottom bow and altissimo response with the metal mouthpiece and #3 reed, and the collar. hard-rubber mouthpiece with #2½ reed was my favored setup for The SDT-XR 52 comes in a rein- subtone and warmth. The SDT-XR 52 felt consistently reliable in forced, vintage-looking tweed-exteri- articulation at all volume levels with both types of mouthpieces. or wood case with a plush interi- The keys of the SDT-XR 52 are well-placed for ease of fingering or blanket for extra cushioning and rapid playing. The left-hand little-finger bank is especially nim- and protection. —Bruce Gibson ble. Three neckstrap attachment rings are provided (like on the old saxdakota.com

JodyJazz Super Jet Tenor Sax Mouthpiece Big Sound, Roaring Response odyJazz has expanded its metal Super Jet mouthpiece series—an exten- would want for big band section work and sion of the company’s hard-rubber Jet series—with the addition of soloing, not to mention the power to really Jthe Super Jet Tenor Saxophone model. The Super Jet Alto Saxophone let it rip with a rock group. mouthpiece, released last year, was a gas to play, so I was especially eager to Both the 7* and the 8* models articu- test-fly the new Super Jet for tenor. lated and subtoned smoothly and easi- I tried a 7* and an 8* Super Jet tenor mouthpiece, each accompanied by ly. Intonation was excellent throughout, an “H”-style ligature, mouthpiece cap and drawstring mouthpiece pouch. and my altissimo range was bolstered in Like the alto Super Jets, they are handsome works of virgin bell brass and a major way—playing the Super Jet, you silver plating. They come in a soft purple pouch that professional saxo- feel like you can wail way up in the strato- phonists are sure to appreciate. sphere all night. In play-testing both sizes of the Super Jet for tenor, I was impressed by Saxophonists desiring that big sound the immense power and flexibility they provided. I tried them on my vin- with great response for jazz, smooth-jazz tage Selmer Mark VI tenor and a brand-new Sax Dakota SDT-XR 52 tenor. and rock should consider the JodyJazz I paired them with Vandoren Java Red Box #2½ and #3 reeds, as well as a Super Jet Tenor Saxophone mouthpiece, synthetic Peter Ponzol ProReed #3. which is available in the following tip I started with the 8* Super Jet and a Ponzol reed on the Sax Dakota, and openings: 6 (.090), 7 (.101), 7* (.108), 8* the volume capacity was incredible. I had to go into a bigger room in order (.116), 9* (.125) and 10* (.135). to appreciate the Super Jet’s desirable tonal qualities and to fully harness its JodyJazz achieves consistent quality immense power. in the Super Jet series by employing My favorite mouthpiece-reed combination was the 7* Super Jet with state-of-the-art 3D design techniques, a the #2½ Red Box reeds—this gave me the most flexible response in lower five-axis CNC machine and hand-finish- tones and softer playing, especially on my Mark VI (which I use for most ing. —Bruce Gibson of my professional gigs). This setup gave me the inflection control that I jodyjazz.com

78 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 Samson AWX Wireless System Frequency-Agile UHF Freedom s a working saxophonist, I have relied on (which can be done via USB or traditional U.S. Samson AirLine UHF Wireless since the and European wall outlets) and plugging in the Aseries made its debut some 18 years ago. receiver, all I needed to do is hold the two units in The original AirLine UHF Wind Instrument close proximity to one another, press a couple of System combined the miniature Samson AH1 buttons (“channel” and “select”), and I was ready wireless transmitter with a Samson HM40 to connect to my sound system and crank it up. horn microphone, paired with the Samson AR1 I chose to go with a balanced XLR connection; receiver. At the time, it was the first wireless sys- the receiver also has an unbalanced 1/4-inch line tem designed for reed and brass instruments that level output. eliminated the need for a bodypack and cables On a gig, I usually like to do a walkaround and ran on a single AAA battery. The audio through the stage and audience areas after set- quality and reception were so good that sound- ting up my wireless to make sure it’s working men didn’t ever complain to me about having to everywhere I want it to. With the AWX Wind use it—which says a lot. Instrument System, I was able to clearly see the That system has worked like a dream and receiver’s audio meter and RF signal meter to proven to be a huge benefit in musical situa- check for any indications of signal overload or tions where I don’t want to be limited in my stage insufficient RF reception in any part of the venue. movement, or in just about any scenario where After adjusting my gain and volume, and notic- everyone on stage is miked or amplified. Using ing that the RF reception was strong throughout the AirLine System, I even discovered that not the room, I was ready to rock. being glued to a hard-wired mic makes reading Come showtime, my saxophone sound from a music stand easier in live situations, espe- came through loud and clear, with plenty of cially when multiple pages are involved. tonal detail. Transmission never failed over the Now, Samson has released the AWX Wind course of three sets, even while parading offstage Instrument Micro Transmitter UHF Wireless around the room in Mardis Gras fashion. The System as part of the company’s new AirLine lithium-ion battery in the transmitter will last ATX System (which also comes in headset eight hours on one charge, so I had no worries and lavalier configurations). The AWX Wind about running out of juice during the show. Instrument System includes a Samson HM60 I was able to fine-tune the mic position condenser microphone attached to a ATX (mainly for adjusting “proximity effect”) using Wireless Micro Transmitter, a lightweight the integrated gooseneck, which is long, flexible assembly that clips directly to the bell of any sax- and stable. For volume adjustments, I exercised ophone or , such as trumpet, some control over my output level by pressing trombone, French horn and tuba. The system’s the “+/–” buttons on the transmitter. The mute rackmountable CR99 Wireless Receiver pro- button came in handy more than once. vides 80 selectable channels, offering frequen- This new addition to Samson’s AirLine series cy-agile operation and allowing users an operat- gave me exactly what I needed as a sax player on ing range of 300 feet (line-of-sight). an all-wireless gig, and the sound quality was Preparing the system for a play-test was a outstanding—especially in my wedge. snap. It practically calibrated itself via infra- —Ed Enright red sync. After charging up the transmitter samsontech.com

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 79 Rovner Platinum Gold, Van Gogh Ligatures Well-Designed Tone Optimizers K, saxophonists, admit it: We are always such a dramatic difference. comparing setups with other saxo- Eventually, I got to the Ophonists. Like golfers who think they Rovner Next Generation are one new driver away from a better game, we Platinum P-2R ligature. I often believe that we are one mouthpiece or reed remember feeling like my away from a better sound. But ligatures? Do they vintage Martin tenor came really matter that much? The answer is absolutely alive with a fuller sound. My “yes,” as I found out when I discovered Rovner’s command of the entire horn Platinum line of ligatures. was noticeably improved. About four years ago, I acquired a used Otto I still remember that feel- Link Hard Rubber Tone Edge #7 mouthpiece. ing of newfound confidence in I felt that it was a good fit for my 1945 Martin my playing. I bought the Rover Committee III tenor saxophone, but it didn’t Platinum that day, and it has been include the original Otto Link ligature, so I used the only tenor ligature I’ve used since. another standard ligature from one of my other Now, Rovner has released two new ligatures weight, the rails are heavy, which helps to even mouthpieces for a while. for hard-rubber mouthpieces—the gold-plated out the tension changes when you turn the Eventually, I stopped by a local music store Platinum Gold and the Van Gogh—and I gave screw. The reed is gripped close to its edges, not (Band Source in Downers Grove, Illinois) to buy them both a try. The Platinum Gold is very sim- across the center. This allows more of the reed to that vintage Otto Link ligature. When I arrived, ilar to the older Platinum ligature in its elegant, vibrate. The ribcage design is strong enough to a staff member suggested I try out a range of liga- single-screw design. The band that goes around securely hold the reed on the mouthpiece with- tures they had in stock. So off to the tryout room the mouthpieces is wide but has six slits cut in out being so heavy that it dampens the resonance I went with my tenor and a tray of about 25 lig- on each side. It is like a very thin metal ribcage of the mouthpiece itself. It is that design that atures to sample, thinking that I wouldn’t find around the mouthpiece. The reed is cradled by makes me appreciate the free-blowing nature of much difference between them. I experienced a the end of the ribs, which are rooted in heavy this ligature and the confidence I feel when play- revelation, however, when I heard how different rails. These rails apply the pressure to the very ing the full range of the horn, including altissimo my sound varied with each ligature. I was used bottom of the ribs; the ribs press against the edge notes. The Platinum Gold had a full-bodied core to this experience when trying out mouthpiec- of the reed when the screw is tightened. In con- and a somewhat darker, warmer sound than my es, but was I surprised that a ligature could make trast to the ribcage, which is deliberately light- original Platinum. The Rovner Van Gogh ligature is a very dif- ferent style from the Platinum series. It is a fab- ric-based ligature that snuggly fits the mouth- piece. Because it is large, I was worried it would dampen my sound like some leather-wrap liga- tures I have tried in the past. However, the Van Gogh VG-2R grips the reed using even less sur- face area than the Platinum series. This is another clever design by Rovner. The material is stiff and is designed to grip the sides of the reed; it has a kerf down its center that acts like a hinge, so the center of the ligature never presses against the center of reed and more of the reed is available to produce sound. The single screw with heavy rails allows for the tension to be applied evenly on the reed edges. Overall, this ligature gave a very big sound, which surprised me because the ligature is so large. The Van Gogh’s design minimizes contact with the reed while still holding it securely in place. I would describe the Van Gogh as tonally neutral, but I was able to produce noticeable variations in my sound by adjusting the screw tension. I am impressed with these two new ligatures by Rovner. They feature smart designs, they’re well built and they help me achieve significant enhancements to my tonal quality and ability to project. Both models are available for soprani- no, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass saxo- phone, as well as a wide range of . —Peter McCormack rovnerproducts.com

80 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 81 Toolshed GEAR BOX

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1. Curved Bari Neck Oleg’s Curved Baritone Neck provides an ergonomic solution for baritone saxophone players. The neck features a tenor-sax-like curve that raises the horn higher than traditional baritone saxophone necks, improving the musician’s posture and reducing and preventing pain, nerve damage, and muscle strain in the neck and hands. The acoustically balanced 2 3 neck—which comes in multiple sizes to accommodate different neck-socket diameters—streamlines airflow through the baritone saxophone, allowing for improved response and projection, better intonation and fewer articulation misfires. In addition to standard lacquer, custom finishes are available, including silver and black nickel. More info: olegproducts.com

2. Omnibook Colossus Sonny Rollins Omnibook from Hal Leonard includes note-for-note transcriptions of heads and solos taken directly from recordings of the bebop tenor saxophonist. The comb-bound collection for B-flat instruments features 50 classic tunes associated with Rollins, including “Airegin,” “Blue Seven,” “But Not For Me,” “I Know That You Know,” “Just In Time,” “Oleo,” “On A Slow Boat To China,” “St. Thomas,” “Sonnymoon For Two,” “Strode Rode” and “.” Like all publications in the series, Sonny Rollins Omnibook includes chord symbols and metronome markings. More info: halleonard.com.

3. in Black Roland has announced the Aerophone AE-10G in Graphite Black. The digital wind instrument features key buttons that match traditional saxophone fingering. It offers a wide selection of sounds— including multiple types of saxophones, woodwinds and brasswinds—with authentic-feeling response. Many other acoustic instrument sounds are included, as well as synthesizer sounds optimized for breath control. More info: roland.com

4. Geek Out ReedGeek’s DoubleGeek Gen2 Set focuses on the needs of the double reed player. It’s engineered with two oversized bevels, letting double reed players fine-tune reed spines and corners with ease and efficiency. The Bullet, ReedGeek’s latest and most advanced tool to date, features advancements in reed adjustment and maintenance. Utilizing advanced aerospace diamond-like alloys, the Bullet exhibits an edge of 94 RC hardness and is effective on single and double synthetic polymer reeds in addition to natural cane. With a built-in shank file for burnishing and smoothing, every surface of the Bullet can be used for reed maintenance. More info: reedgeek.com

5. Woodwind Care On-Stage has added the BSK5600, OBK5600 and BCK5600 Band & Orchestra Care Kits for bassoon, oboe and bass clarinet, respectively. The BSK5600 and OBK5600 come with key oil, duster brush, cork grease and other essential instrument-care items. The BCK5600 features cork grease, key oil, polishing cloth, a chamois neck swab and a rainbow body swab. More info: on-stage.com

82 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 83 84 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 Moon Hooch, seen here at NattJazz in Norway, will play several festivals in 2018. (Photo: Oddbjørn Steffensen)

PITTSBURGH MICHIGAN’S JAZZ HEALDSBURG FEST JAZZFEST BONN ENTERS NEW ERA RENAISSANCE CELEBRATES 20 YEARS BUILDS ON HERITAGE Page 86 Page 105 Page 111 Page 125 JOEY KENNEDY

Vibraphonist performs last year in Pittsburgh.

ittsburgh’s contributions to the jazz fir- University. out the cultural district. Later that night, jam mament stretch from seminal figures That vibe persists. At this year’s event, now sessions will be held around town. In between, Plike , and called the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival a ticketed concert at the August Wilson Center Earl “Fatha” Hines to modern-day luminar- (June 15–17), the bulk of the action will take for African American Culture will feature bass- ies like Geri Allen, Steve Nelson and Jeff “Tain” place on three outdoor stages near Liberty ist ’s quintet with Pittsburgh Watts. But as the 21st century dawned, the one- Avenue. Though the staging area will be more native Brett Williams on piano. time Steel City lacked a major jazz festival. spacious than last year’s location, near Penn Burley Wilson stressed that the decision to That began to change one day in 2009, when Avenue and 9th Street, about 20,000 people are charge admission—even on a limited basis, for Janis Burley Wilson, then an executive with the expected to pack the streets to hear the music— the Miller concert and a few ancillary activi- Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, met with trumpet- for free. ties—was a recent nod to economic realities, er Sean Jones, drummer Roger Humphries The stages will offer a cross-section of cut- a move that was necessary to keep the quali- and bassist Dwayne Dolphin for a barbecue ting-edge artists, from Cuban percussion- ty and quantity of the music at current levels. at Dolphin’s Pittsburgh-area home. Jazz advo- ist Pedrito Martinez to trumpeter Ambrose “These festivals are expensive, and we don’t cates all, they cooked up a plan and two years Akinmusire and saxophonists Donny have an endowment,” she said. “We rely on later, the Pittsburgh JazzLive International McCaslin, Kenny Garrett and Miguel Zenón; foundations and corporate support.” Festival was born. pianist Emmet Cohen will continue his inter- The decision appears not to have dampened “We have a great legacy and history here,” generational association with drummer the festival’s broad appeal. An audience sur- Burley Wilson said. “It was the right time to do Tootie Heath; and singer , who vey revealed that in 2017 about 20 per- it.” appeared as a relative unknown at the festi- cent of the audience came from areas out- The inaugural event in 2011 was conceived val’s first installment, will return as this year’s side Pennsylvania, primarily Ohio, Michigan along the lines of the International Jazz Sunday-night closer. and Canada. The audience was divided evenly Festival, but on a smaller scale. “We wanted While the bulk of the action will be outside, between men and women and well distributed to make sure the festival had a certain vibe— the festival will kick off indoors on Friday with among age and income groups. energetic, easily accessible and free,” said Jones, what Burley Wilson called a “jazz crawl,” in The atmosphere is decidedly festive, but it then a professor at Pittsburgh’s Duquesne which local artists perform in spots through- has its serious side as well. Burley Wilson, the

86 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 president and CEO of the Wilson Center, plans “In some parts of the States,” he said, “they form has stretched—some things have been to schedule artist talks and master classes in the weren’t as familiar with some of the African shortened because we realized they’re not ultramodern center’s various spaces. And, as rhythms I’m using. But, of course, not in where the juice is. We’ve also added parts—if one of the few women running a major music Pittsburgh.” somebody played something one night that was festival, she said she is “committed to present- One tune from Afrodeezia that has proved inspired, we said, ‘That’s no longer an improvi- ing diversity onstage. I’ve heard many musi- universally accessible is Miller’s powerful cover sation; that’s part of the song.’” cians—women jazz musicians—who say they of ’ 1972 hit “Papa Was A Such surprises are built into the festival’s don’t get a chance to headline as much as they .” Miller said he is certain to play DNA, Burley Wilson said: “Our goal is to try would like. I always try to present those musi- the tune at the festival, adding that audiences and curate an experience that is going to give cians who are doing great work and just happen only familiar with its treatment on Afrodeezia people an opportunity to learn about someone to be women.” will be interested in how it has matured on the new and to hear the music that is familiar to This year’s festival is set to include drum- road. them—to give them what they want and what mer Terri Lyne Carrington and singer Polly “People will be surprised,” he said. “The they need to hear.” —Phillip Lutz Gibbons, who hails from the U.K. But it might be blues singer Shemekia Copeland who, at a time when women’s empowerment is at the forefront of the American consciousness, draws the most attention by virtue of both her pipes and her message. Backed by her longtime band—lead guitar- ist Arthur Neilson, rhythm guitarist Willie Scandlyn, bassist Kevin Jenkins and drum- mer Robin Gould—Copeland will be belt- ing out tunes that address social injustice, like “The Battle Is Over (But The War Goes On),” and domestic violence, like “It Don’t Hurt No More.” Such tunes, she said, have been met with gratitude wherever she sings them—includ- ing at a separate music series at the Wilson Center. “I hear from women, ‘This song saved my life,’” she said. “That’s one of my reasons for performing.” Burley Wilson said that the decision to book the award-winning Copeland—who as a young girl sang at Harlem’s Cotton Club with her father, legendary blues guitarist Johnny Copeland—was in keeping with the profile of August Wilson himself, a Pulitzer Prize- winning playwright and Pittsburgh native whose work was inspired by the blues. “Moving forward,” she said, “we’ll always have a blues presence at the jazz festival because of the connection with the August Wilson Center. Shemekia’s helping us to create that presence.” The festival has a history of regularly addressing social issues, too. Last year at the Wilson Center, trumpeter Jones presented an extended work he wrote based on James Baldwin’s incendiary The Fire Next Time. This year, bassist Miller, who has been a spokes- man for UNESCO’s Slave Route Project, said he will draw on his latest album, 2015’s Afrodeezia (Blue Note), a disquisition on the slave trade that employs African, Caribbean and Brazilian rhythms. Miller, who previously has performed in Pittsburgh at both the jazz festival and at the Craftsmen’s Guild, said that audi- ences in the city have proved a sophisticated lot, hip to what he was trying to say in pulsat- ing tunes like “B’s River” and “We Were There.”

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 87 EAST KEN WEISS

Vision Festival in New York

Exit Zero Jazz Festival Hall of Fame inductee Mary Lou Williams Cape May, (1910–’81) will be celebrated. This event will be April 20–22 held at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater. The Exit Zero festival is a bi-annual event (The Kennedy Center will also present Carla in Cape May, New Jersey, the nation’s Bley on June 1 and Gregory Porter on June 27.) oldest seaside resort. Stellar musical LINEUP: , Anat Cohen Ten- lineups are presented at five venues tet, Amina Claudine Myers Trio. along the Cape May beachfront. kennedy-center.org/calendar/event/MSWIL LINEUP: Bria Skonberg, Joey Alexander, Chris Botti, Brian Betz–Denis DiBlasio Quartet, New York Guitar Festival Kali Rodriguez Pena, Baylor Project, Dara New York City Tucker, High & Mighty Brass Band, others. May (Dates TBA) exit0jazzfest.com Exploring virtually every aspect of the guitar’s personality, this festival, which was founded Center City Jazz Festival in 1999, has presented many of the world’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania most influential guitarists at Carnegie Hall, April 28 the Metropolitan Museum of Art, National The seventh edition of this festival will Sawdust, (Le) Poisson Rouge, Brookfield Place present concerts as part of Philadelphia Winter Garden and the 92nd Street Y. From Jazz Appreciation Month. Attendees can Grammy winners to emerging artists, festival expect a jam-packed schedule of more performers have come from all genres: classi- than 20 bands performing at several ven- cal, jazz, blues, pop, indie rock, folk and world ues, all within walking distance of each music, as well as genre-defying innovators. other in the heart of Center City. One ticket In addition to producing eclectic, multi-genre provides access to all performances. concerts and radio broadcasts, the festival’s LINEUP: David Kikoski Trio (featuring Justin Guitar Harvest recording series supports inno- Faulkner & Alex Claffy), Marcus Strickland, Arturo vative outreach programs in public schools. Stable, Sharel Cassity, V. Shayne Frederick, Nicole LINEUP: TBA. Last year’s performers included Ju- Sapphos, Danny Janklow, Leon Jordan Jr., Yesseh lian Lage, Marc Ribot, , Trixie Whitley. Furaha-Ali, Ken Foswer, Lena Seikaly, others. newyorkguitarfestival.org ccjazzfest.com City Parks Foundation’s SummerStage Celebrate Mary Lou Williams New York City Washington, D.C. May 17–Oct. 7 May 5 SummerStage, a program of City Parks For the 23rd year, the legacy of pianist, com- Foundation, is New York’s largest free outdoor poser, educator, humanitarian and DownBeat performing arts festival. Annually, the event

88 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 NEIL GRABOWSKY FOR JAZZ HOUSE KIDS

Montclair Jazz Festival in New Jersey presents more than 100 performances in 18 parks is the venue for this Memorial Day festival, throughout the five boroughs. Since its inception which is now in its fifth year. (The event is 33 years ago, more than six million people from produced by Johnny Souza, through the around the world have enjoyed SummerStage. generous sponsorship of Eastern Bank.) LINEUP: See website. Past performers LINEUP: Donna Byrne & The Marshall Wood include Mavis Staples, Robert Glasper Trio, Stan Strickland Quartet, Alexei Tsiganov Experiment, Vince Giordano & The Night- Group, Rhythm Future Quartet, Suede. hawks, Jimmy Heath Big Band, Mulatu spirecenter.org/events Astatke, Roy Ayers with Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, , Kid Cudi. Delaney Chevrolet summerstage.org Westsylvania Jazz & Blues Festival Indiana, Pennsylvania Brooklyn, New York May 26 May 23–28 The fifth edition of this free festival takes The Vision Festival presents legendary and place in IRMC Park. The event has featured emerging stars of boundless improvised nationally and internationally known musi- music. Now in its 23rd year, this multi-arts cians, regional acts and student musicians festival returns to Roulette in Brooklyn. playing in a classic American small town. Opening night celebrates Dave Burrell for his Lifetime of Achievement, featuring the LINEUP: See website. Past performers include pianist in performance with musical asso- Laura Ferguson & The Jazz Trip Trio, Seventh ciates spanning his 50-plus-year career. Street Stompers, Nevin Saylor Big Band, Reggie Watkins & The Steeltown Horns. LINEUP: Dave Burrell, Archie Shepp, Ambrose Akinmusire, Nicole Mitchell, Kris Davis, westsylvaniajazzandblues.org Kidd Jordan, Chris Potter, David Virelles, ’s Fly or Die, Oliver Lake Big Capital Jazz Fest Band, Matthew Shipp Acoustic Ensem- Columbia, Maryland ble, ’s Code Girl, Roscoe June 1–3 Mitchell, Nasheet Waits Equality, Andrew The 26th edition of this festival will take Cyrille, Fay Victor, , others. place at Merriweather Post Pavilion and artsforart.org/vf23 will feature more than 25 national jazz and soul acts on two big stages. Plymouth Rock Jazz Fest LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists Plymouth, Massachusetts included George Benson, Marcus Miller, May 25–27 Chris Botti, Sheila E, Anthony Hamilton. Plymouth’s Spire Center for Performing Arts capitaljazz.com/fest/2018

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 89 COURTESY PROVINCETOWN JAZZ FESTIVAL

Nicki Parrott at Provincetown Jazz Festival

0LFKDHO$UQRQHőV&UDZŵVK)HVW Augusta, New Jersey June 1–3 For 29 years, Louisiana native Michael Arnone has been bringing the best of New Orleans music and food to the rural and scenic farmlands of New Jersey. With three stages hosting 23 bands, free dance lessons and an extensive menu to chose from, the event offers a wide array of entertainment. LINEUP: , Trio, Samantha Fish, George Porter Jr. & The Runnin’ Pardners, Tab Benoit, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Bonerama, others. FUDZƓVKIHVWFRP

Burlington Discover Jazz Festival Burlington, Vermont June 1–10 Begun as a grassroots event 35 years ago, this festival is now a 10-day celebration welcoming more than 70,000 people to events across the city. The festival’s mission is to broaden awareness and appreciation of jazz through live performances, illuminate the art form, educate, and create a city-wide community festival. LINEUP: Bill Frisell Trio, Chucho Valdés, Leslie Odom Jr., Anat Cohen, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, , Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom. discoverjazz.com

Blue Note Jazz Festival New York City June 1–30 The Blue Note Jazz Festival features more than 150 shows at multiple venues around New York City during a monthlong celebration of

90 DOWNBEAT MAY 2017 COURTESY HUDSON VALLEY JAZZ FESTIVAL

Hudson Valley Jazz Festival

the genre, featuring some of the biggest more during Father’s Day weekend—all in names on the scene today. Put on by the the beautiful Western Massachusetts town owners of the , the festival of Lee, the “Gateway to the Berkshires.” celebrates its seventh anniversary in 2018. LINEUP: Trio, Jeff LINEUP: The Bad Plus, Keyon Harrold & Friends, Holmes Big Band, others. McCoy Tyner, Paquito D’Rivera Ensemble, EHUNVKLUHJDWHZD\MD]]RUJ Jason Stein, Victor Wooten, Pablo Ziegler Trio, Chano Domingues Trio, Sergio Mendes, Pittsburgh International Average White Band, Sarah McKenzie, others. bluenotejazzfestival.com Jazz Festival Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania June 15–17 DC Jazz Festival Nearly 20,000 people are expected to pack Washington, D.C. the streets for this festival’s free concerts. June 8–17 The fest will also offer an artist bazaar, a This festival will present a wide array of vintage vinyl boutique, food trucks, a craft renowned and resident artists in more than beer garden, a bar crawl and jam sessions. 40 venues throughout the capital city. LINEUP: Marcus Miller, Kenny Garrett, Greg- There will be more than 125 free and tick- ory Porter, Ambrose Akinmusire, Pedrito eted concerts and Meet the Artists events, Martinez, Donny McCaslin, Terry Lyne including the DC JazzFest at The Wharf, Carrington & Social Science, Miguel Ze- which will feature four main stages. nón, Polly Gibbons, Cory Henry & The Funk LINEUP: Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Chucho Apostles, Emmet Cohen Trio with Tootie Valdés & Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Roy Hargrove, Heath, Shemeika Copeland, Yoko Suzuki. Leslie Odom Jr., R+R=Now (Robert Glasper, SLWWVEXUJKMD]]IHVWRUJ Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Terrace Martin, Taylor McFerrin, Derrick Hodge), Ivan Lins, Maceo Parker, Regina Carter, Ben Williams, DuPont Clifford Brown Jazz Festival Oliver Lake Big Band, Terence Blanchard Wilmington, Delaware & The E-Collective, Delfeayo Marsalis, Terri June 17–24 Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, Lyne Carrington’s Feed The Fire: Celebrating this nationally renowned, free festival Geri Allen, Melissa Aldana, Edmar Castane- draws more than 25,000 residents and da & Gregoire Maret, Fabrizio Bosso, Jihye visitors from across the country. Lee Orchestra, Patricia Barber, Kris Funn & Cornerstone, Esther Williams & Davey LINEUP: See website. Past performers in- Yarborough, DC JazzPrix Finalists, more. clude Marcus Miller, Hiromi, Rufus Reid. dcjazzfest.org cliffordbrownjazzfest.com

Berkshire Gateway Jazz Weekend Xerox Rochester International Lee, Massachusetts Jazz Festival June 14–17 Rochester, New York This event features headline concerts, al June 22–30 fresco jazz, food vendors, a jazz brunch and One of the nation’s premier jazz festivals, this event offers multiple genres of cre- Benjamin & SoulSquad, Alfredo Rodriguez & ative improvised music. Founded in 2002 Pedrito Martinez Duo, Keyon Harrold, Jazzmeia and drawing more than 200,000 mu- Horn, New Orleans @ 300, Evan Christo- sic lovers annually, the festival presents pher, Christian Sands Trio, Jon Batiste with hundreds of artists at ticketed and free The Dap-Kings, TEN (Terri Lyne Carrington, shows at 18 indoor and outdoor venues. Esperanza Spalding, Nicholas Payton), Scott LINEUP: , Terell Stafford Quintet, Sharrard & the Brickyard Band, Deva Mahal, Joey Alexander Trio, Nicholas Payton, The Jane Bunnett & Maqueque, Jazz Passengers, Bad Plus, Moon Hooch, Melissa Aldana, Mark Whitfield/Ben Allison/, Matt Wilson’s Honey & Salt, ’ Sammy Miller & The Congregation. Beloved, Brubeck Brothers, Alfredo Rodri- spac.org guez & Pedrito Martinez, GoGo Penguin, Duchess, Seal, Boz Scaggs, Béla Fleck & The Belleayre Music Festival Flecktones, Alison Krauss, Lake Street Dive, Highmount, New York Jill Scott, Bill Goodwin Trio, Geoffrey Keezer July–September (Dates TBA) Trio, Joe Locke Group, Jean-Michel Pilc/ Founded in 1992, this festival offers a François Moutin /Ari Hoenig, Vintage Trou- series of concerts between the Fourth of ble, Junior Brown, Jack Broadbent, more. July and Labor Day. It is presented by the URFKHVWHUMD]]FRP not-for-profit Belleayre Conservatory. LINEUP: See website. Last year’s art- Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival ists included Pedrito Martinez, Ricky Saratoga Springs, New York Gordon Sextet, Nancy Kamen. June 23–24 belleayremusic.org One of the longest-running jazz festivals in North America, this event presents an Briggs Farm Blues Festival extraordinary lineup of legends and emerg- Nescopeck, Pennsylvania ing trailblazers. Beloved by audiences for its July 5–8 spectacular programming and woodland Since 1998, The Briggs family has hosted one setting, the festival features two stages, a of the nation’s most revered blues festivals crafts fair, Southern barbecue and much more. on its 250-year-old farm in northeast Penn- LINEUP: Chris Botti, , José sylvania. Food includes farm-fresh roasted James, Joey Alexander, Anat Cohen Ten- corn and a full array of slow-smoked meats. tet, Gregory Porter, Mavis Staples, Lakecia LINEUP: Samantha Fish, Amy Helm, Selwyn

92 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 ELIANA ROWE

The Robert Glasper Experiement at SummerStage in New York

Birchwood, Mike Farris & The Roseland artistic director Bill Charlap at the helm, is one Rhythm Review, JJ Thames & The Vio- of New York’s longest-running jazz festivals. let Revolt, Vanessa Collier, The Nation- It features the world’s greatest jazz musicians al Reserve, Swamp Candy, others. in unique, once-in-a-lifetime performances. briggsfarm.com LINEUP: Renee Rosnes, Bill Charlap, Melissa Aldana, Dick Hyman, Aaron Diehl, Houston Central PA Jazz Festival Person, Mary Stallings, Jeremy Pelt, Jon Faddis, Harrisburg, Mt. Gretna & Hummelstown, Pennsylvania Melba Joyce, , René Marie, July 5–8 Mike LeDonne, Eddie Allen, Rodney Jones. The 38th edition of this festival, which is pro- 92y.org/jazzinjuly duced by the Central PA Friends of Jazz, offers a riverboat cruise, a jazz party, concerts in the Caramoor Jazz Festival Gretna Playhouse, master classes, jam sessions Katonah, New York and the annual picnic at Indian Echo Caverns. July 21 LINEUP: Last year’s artists included Delfeayo Now in its fourth year and presented in Marsalis, River City Big Band, Joshua Break- collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center, this stone, Dwayne Dolphin, New World Parade. festival offers exceptional talent and music to friendsofjazz.org enjoy throughout the stunning gardens and historical venues within Caramoor. A full day North Atlantic Blues Festival of jazz, interactive activities for the kids and Rockland, Maine an evening headliner are all part of the fun. July 14–15 LINEUP: Dianne Reeves, Romero Lubambo, One of Maine’s premier festivals features Reginald Veal, Terreon Gully, Peter Mar- top-notch blues in a placid setting over- tin, Trio (featuring Veronica looking the picturesque Rockland Harbor. Swift) Jane Bunnett & Maqueque, Shenel Located 80 miles north of Portland, the Johns & Vuyo Satashe, Ulysses Owens Jr., event has been booking regional and Leonardo Sandoval & Eduardo Belo, Paul national talent for the past 15 years. Nedzela Quartet, Patrick Bartley Presents the LINEUP: , Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, Bob- Mighty Cannonball Adderley, Mariel Bildsten by Rush, Tab Benoit, Wee Willie Walker & Septet, Joel Ross & Immanuel Wilkins. The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra, Lurrie caramoor.org/events/jazz-festival-2018 Bell, Mud Morganfield, Slam Allen, Va- nessa Collier, Kat Riggins, Monster Mike /LWFKŵHOG-D]])HVWLYDO Welch & Mike Ledbetter, Ilana Katz Katz. Goshen, Connecticut QRUWKDWODQWLFEOXHVIHVWLYDOFRP July 28–29 Nestled in the picturesque Berkshire foothills, 92Y Jazz In July this festival has presented the titans of jazz New York City since 1996. The event offers two full days of July 17–26 cutting-edge music on its Main and Stu- The 34th annual 92Y Jazz in July festival, with dent Stages, with artist talks, arts and crafts

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 93 Park and the International Tennis Hall of Fame. LINEUP: Charles Lloyd with Sangam (Zakir Hus- sain & Eric Harland), Charles Lloyd New Quartet

PETER PARTS (Jason Moran, Reuben Rogers & Eric Harland), Charles Lloyd & Friends (Lucinda Williams, Jason Moran, Marvin Sewell, Stuart Mathis, Reuben Rogers & Eric Harland), Ambrose Akin- musire, Gregory Porter, Still Dreaming (Joshua Redman, Ron Miles, & ), Roy Hargrove, Andra Day, Rudresh Mahan- thappa Indo-Pak Coalition, Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl, R+R=Now (Robert Glasper, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Terrace Martin, Taylor McFerrin, Derrick Hodge), James Carter Organ Trio, Pat Metheny (with Antonio Sanchez, Linda May Han Oh & ), Jon Batiste, Tony Allen, Artemis (Cécile McLorin Salvant, Renee Rosnes, Anat Cohen, Me- lissa Aldana, Ingrid Jensen, Noriko Ueda & Allison Miller), Michel Camilo, José James, Nate Smith & Kinfolk, Jazzmeia Horn, Mat- Catherine Russell at the Xerox Rochester thew Shipp Trio, Grace Kelly, GoGo Penguin, International Jazz Festival in New York state BadBadNotGood, DIVA Jazz Orchestra, Alicia Olatuja, George Clinton, Living Colour, more. exhibits, food and fun for the whole family. Newport Jazz Festival newportjazz.org LINEUP: Jane Bunnett & Maqueque, Orrin Newport, Rhode Island Evans, Emmet Cohen Trio with Jimmy Cobb, Aug. 3–5 Rockport Jazz Festival Yoko Miwa Trio, Trio Da Paz, Dan Brubeck Since 1954, the legendary Newport Jazz Rockport, Massachusetts & Friends’ Tribute to Dave & Iola Brubeck, Festival (now presented by Natixis Investment Aug. 4–12 Jeff “Tain” Watts Trio, Kris Allen Trio, Doug Managers) has served as the template for mu- The seventh edition of this festival features Munro & Le Pompe Attack featuring the sic festivals all over the world. Held at Rhode world-class jazz artists performing in the Matthew Westerby Company Dancers. Island’s Narragansett Bay, the festival will intimate, seaside Shalin Liu Performance OLWFKƓHOGMD]]IHVWFRP feature more than 60 acts at Fort Adams State Center. Hailed by as

94 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 “beautiful to the eye, as well as the ear,” the hall offers jazz in an incomparable setting. LINEUP: Kurt Elling, Joe Lovano, Monty Alex- ander, Grace Kelly, Harold López-Nussa. rockportmusic.org

Hudson Valley Jazz Festival Hudson Valley, New York Aug. 9–12 This year marks the ninth edition of this event. This festival distinguishes it- ©JACK VARTOOGIAN_FRONTROWPHOTOS self with a focus on musicians in New York’s Hudson Valley area. The series of shows take place in varied settings. LINEUP: See website. Past performers in- clude Wallace Roney, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Lenny White, Mark Egan, Don Braden, Adam Nussbaum. KXGVRQYDOOH\MD]]IHVWRUJ

Provincetown Jazz Festival Charenée Wade at Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in New York Cape Cod, Massachusetts Aug. 9 & Aug. 13 Since 2005, this festival has been held in the Tim Ray, Daryl Sherman, John Lock- event in the region—located just 13 miles oldest continuously operated art colony in wood, Mark Walker, Bruce Abbott, Fred outside New York City. The festival is held the United States. The nonprofit festival is Boyle, Ron Ormsby, Bart Weisman. in Nishuane Park and produced by artistic planning to donate a portion of the pro- provincetownjazzfestival.org director (and Grammy winner) Christian ceeds to worthy causes. Musicians from the McBride, and the music education non- United States, Canada, Brazil, United King- Montclair Jazz Festival profit organization Jazz House Kids. dom, , , New Zealand Montclair, New Jersey LINEUP: Eddie Palmieri, Oliver Lake with Trio and Japan previously have appeared. Aug. 11 3, Christian McBride, Royal Bopsters. LINEUP: Cassandre McKinley, Myanna, This annual festival is the biggest free jazz montclairjazzfestival.org

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 95 Dan Weiss performs at the & Contemporary Music on Aug. 23, before moving into the parks near Litchfield Jazz Festival in Connecticut where Parker worked and lived: Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem and Tompkins Square Park on the Lower East Side (summerstage.org). LINEUP: See website. Past performers include Joshua Redman, Anat Cohen, , Tia Fuller, Lou Donaldson, Terri Lyne Carrington. FLW\SDUNVIRXQGDWLRQRUJFKDUOLHSDUNHU

Norfolk Waterfront Jazz Festival LINDSEY VICTORIA PHOTOGRAPHY Norfolk, Virginia Aug. 24–25 Hampton Roads’ longest running outdoor jazz festival returns for two nights along the downtown Norfolk waterfront. On summer evenings, fans can enjoy the sounds of smooth-jazz and r&b recording artists. The festival features a variety of seating and ticket options, including the New Journal and Guide VIP Club, reserved seating, designated tent areas, festival lawn seating, fine foods and beverages, plus a fes- tival marketplace with crafts, retail items and more. LINEUP: , David Benoit & Marc Antoine, Marcus Anderson, , , Adam Hawley. festevents.org/events/2018-season-events/ norfolkwaterfrontjazzfestival

Delaware Water Gap Celebration of the Arts Delware Water Gap, Pennsylvania Charlie Parker Jazz Festival Sept. 7–9 New York City Four decades ago, jazz fans in the Poconos decided to throw a jazz Aug. 23–26 party. Now, that event has become a three-day extravaganza, held rain This festival, now in its 26th edition, is New York City’s annual salute to or shine. Many of the best names in jazz have come to Pennsylvania the legendary saxophonist, featuring veterans who remember Parker, to perform. as well as young jazz musicians who continue to shape jazz. The four- LINEUP: See website. Previous performers include , day festival will kick off with a performance at the New School for Jazz 3 Divas, Bob Dorough. cotajazz.org

Berklee Beantown Jazz Festival Boston, Massachussets Sept. 29 This festival is Boston’s biggest block party—a free, annual, out- door public concert that has delighted hundreds of thousands of music lovers over the years with its variety of jazz, Latin, blues, funk and groove performances. Also a part of the festivities are the Kids- Jam, an instrument petting zoo and an array of food vendors. LINEUP: See website. Past performers include the Chick Corea/ Steve Gadd Band, Lizz Wright, Jazzmeia Horn, Camille Thurman. berklee.edu/beantownjazz

Scranton Jazz Festival Scranton, Pennsylvania October (Dates TBA) This festival began in 2005 at the Hanlon’s Grove Amphitheatre at Nay Aug Park. After a major snowstorm damaged the facility in 2007, the festival’s organizers moved the event to its present home at the historic Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel in downtown Scranton, where it has become a permanent fixture on the arts and culture scene. Programming includes jazz, blues and . LINEUP: See website. Past performers include , John Pizzarelli, Eddie Allen Jazz Quintet, Nate Birkey. scrantonjazzfestival.org

3LWWVŵHOG&LW\-D]])HVWLYDO 3LWWVŵHOG0DVVDFKXVHWWV Oct. 12–13 This year marks the 14th edition of this cultur- al event in Western Massachusetts. There will be tick- eted shows, as well as a number of free events. LINEUP: Christian McBride’s New Jawn, Veronica Swift, others. EHUNVKLUHVMD]]RUJ

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Clearwater Jazz Holiday

French Quarter Festival ers are included in this year’s festivities. New Orleans, Louisiana LINEUP: Marc Broussard, , Terrance April 12–15 Simien, Sidi Touré, Street Side Jazz Band, This festival, now its 35th year, bills itself as Mike Dillon Band, Mydy Rabycad, Jupiter “the world’s largest showcase of Louisiana & Okwess, Lisa Leblanc, Sona Jobarteh, music, food and culture.” The event will Zachary Richard, Making Moves, Lost Bayou feature more than 300 acts on 23 stages Ramblers, Ten Strings and a Goat Skin, and cuisine from more than 60 of New Florent Vollant, Shauit, Niyaz, Azam Ali, Orleans’ favorite restaurants. This year, the Samantha Fish, Dominique Dupuis, The fest will include new stages, tricentennial War and Treaty, Culture, Geno Delafose & celebrations and numerous special events. French Rockin’ Boogie, Wesli, Innov Gnawa, LINEUP: Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Irma Thomas, Vishtèn, Alash, Shodekeh, Doug Kershaw, Corey Henry’s Treme Funktet, Astral Project, Steve Riley, Ladama, Curley Taylor & Jon Cleary, James Andrews, John Boutté, Don Trouble, Frigg, Lee’s Golden Dragons, Jeunes Vappie & The Creole Jazz Serenaders, Ellis Chanteurs D’Acadie, Amythyst Kiah, Socks Marsalis Quintet, Evan Christopher’s Clari- in the Frying Pan, Feufollet, Glenn David An- net Road, Rebirth Brass Band, Gregory Agid drews, Walter Mouton & The Scott Playboys, Quartet, Helen Gillet’s Wazozo Zorchestra, Little Blue Monday All-Stars, Grand Nathaniel & Freddie King, Lost Bayou Ramblers, Zachary The Ghosts, Tonomono, The Huval-Fuselier Richard, Cyril Neville & Swamp Funk, Brass-A- Cajun Band, Harmonouche, Brass Mimosa, Holics, Chubby Carrier & The Bayou Swamp Dans L’Shed, Frenchaxe, Acadiana Youth Band, Alvin Youngblood Hart’s Muscle Theory, Symphony Orchestra, Casa Samba, Zydeco The Iguanas, Stooges Brass Band, Walter Ragin’ Steppers, Radio Zydeco, Michael “Wolfman” Washington & The Roadmasters. Juan Nunez, Adeline et Les Amis du Teche, IUHQFKTXDUWHUIHVWRUJ Asarts Night Band, Vermilion Express, Ethan Airhart avec Deux Pour La Route and Givers. Seabreeze Jazz Festival festivalinternational.org Panama City Beach, Florida April 18–22 Jacksonville Jazz Festival This fest features smooth jazz and classic r&b. Jacksonville, Florida LINEUP: Spyro Gyra, Brian Culbertson, Gerald Al- May 24–27 bright, , Boney James, Jeff Lorber, Fans can enjoy concerts spread over 15 city Rick Braun, , Cindy Bradley, Rach- blocks downtown along the St. Johns River. elle Ferrell, Euge Groove, Kool & The Gang, The The mix of Grammy winners and rising talent Commodores, Jeffery Osborne, Peabo Bryson. makes this free event a great experience seabreezejazzfestival.com for music lovers who flock to Jacksonville over Memorial Day weekend. This event has Festival International de Louisiane been rolling along for more than 30 years. Lafayette, Louisiana LINEUP: The Bad Plus, Vijay Iyer Sextet, Jane April 25–29 Bunnett & Maqueque, Trombone Shorty & Education and community enrichment are Orleans Avenue, Sheila E, Pete Escovedo Latin at the center of Festival International de Jazz Orchesta, Champian Fulton, Chris Thomas Louisiane, a music and arts festival held Band, The 4 Korners, Lohai, Euge Groove, each year at the end of April in downtown Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys, Lafayette. While focused on music birthed in Noel Freidline Quintet with Maria Howell. the area, a variety of international perform- jacksonvillejazzfest.com

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Charles Lloyd performs at the Spoleto Festival USA in South Carolina.

Spoleto Festival USA Charleston, South Carolina May 25–June 10 Established in 1977, the Spoleto Festival USA presents leading artists in classical and popular music, jazz, dance, and theater. The 2018 season includes more than 160 events. This year’s robust Wells Fargo Jazz series will present Jon Batiste in two settings, including a collaboration with The Dap-Kings. LINEUP: Jon Batiste,The Dap-Kings, Fred Hersch Trio, Artifacts (Nicole Mitchell, , ), Jazzmeia Horn, Chucho Valdés, Trio 3 (, Oliver Lake, Andrew Cyrille) with Vijay Iyer, , Ranky Tanky. spoletousa.org

Atlanta Jazz Festival Atlanta, Georgia May 26–27 The Atlanta Jazz Festival, which takes place at Piedmont Park, is cele- brating its 41st anniversary as one of the largest free jazz festivals in the country. The festival will feature a Tribute to Women, with female- lead jazz performances on all three stages on May 26. LINEUP: See website. Last year’s lineup included Robert Glasper, Macy Gray, Charles Lloyd, Pedrito Martinez and Marquis Hill. atlantafestivals.com

Jazz In June Norman, Oklahoma June 14–16 Marking its 35th anniversary, this free event returns to Norman for three days of jazz and blues. LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists included Dr. Lonnie Smith, Harold Lopez-Nussa, Ardent Spirits. jazzinjune.org

Eureka Springs Blues Weekend Eureka Springs, Arkansas June 14–17 This event showcases music throughout historic Eureka Springs at a variety of venues. The festival features everything from nationally renowned players like guitarist Eric Gales performing at outdoor venues to homegrown Arkansas talent in area dive bars. LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists included Toronzo Cannon, EG Knight, Mark Shields Duo, Scott Ellison Trio, Pinetop Renegades, Josh Hoyer and Soul Colossal, Cori Jay, Norman Jackson Band. eurekaspringsblues.com

W.C. Handy Music Festival Florence, Alabama July 20–29 Based in the hometown of W.C. Handy, the musician credited with being

100 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 the first person to write down a composition Satchmo SummerFest $PHOLD,VODQG-D]])HVWLYDO and call it a blues, this festival marks its 37th New Orleans, Louisiana Fernandina Beach, Florida year with an array of events. While in town, Aug 3–5 Oct. 7–14 fans can take a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Satchmo SummerFest is the premier festival Held annually in October and headed by Artis- Rosenbaum House, one of the few structures dedicated to celebrating the life, legacy and tic Director Les DeMerle, this festival promotes the architect completed in the South. music of Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong. The world-class performers of various jazz styles, LINEUP: See website. Past performers include annual event features contemporary and including swing, bebop, Dixieland, big band, The University of Northern Alabama Jazz traditional jazz and brass bands, New Orleans Latin and contemporary. Concerts are staged Combo, Mike Dillon, The Swinging River cuisine, and seminars about the life of Arm- in venues around Amelia Island, including Jazz Band, Lillie Mae, Col. Bruce Hampton, strong and the history of New Orleans music. the historic seaport of Fernandina Beach. Tommy Womack, Latimore, Trojan Drive Jazz LINEUP: See website. Last year’s performers The festival also awards a Jazz Scholarship Band, The Midnighters, Johnny Collier & The include Stephanie Jordan, Hot 8 Brass Band, yearly to an aspiring high school musician. Misbehavers, Clara Belle & The Creeps. Bill Summers & Jazalsa, Meschiya Lake. LINEUP: Requinte Trio (featuring Janis Sie- ZFKDQG\PXVLFIHVWLYDORUJ VDWFKPRVXPPHUIHVWRUJ gel, of Manhattan Transfer), Nanny Assis & John DiMartino, Henry Johnson, El Niño & The Latin Jazz Knights, The Dynam- ic Les DeMerle Band with Bonnie Eisele, Florida State University Jazz Ensemble. ameliaislandjazzfestival.com

Mighty Mississippi Music Festival Greenville, Mississippi Oct. 11–13 At its core, this festival is centered on the blues, which makes sense given the locale’s importance in the development of the genre. But festival planners also want to highlight the ways that the blues wound up influencing virtually every strain of popular music today. Festival attendees can camp out for the week- end and participate in late-night jam sessions. LINEUP: See website. Last year’s performers include St. Paul & the Broken Bones, Cedric Burnside Project, Duane Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers, Jarekus Singleton. PLJKW\PLVVLVVLSSLPXVLFIHVWLYDOFRP

&OHDUZDWHU-D]]+ROLGD\ Clearwater, Florida Oct. 18–21 Crowds of more than 35,000 flock to this festival for a vibrant musical lineup that includes jazz, rock, funk, fusion and more. Now in its 39th year, this expansive, festive event is a collaboration between the Clearwater Jazz Holiday Foundation, Inc., City of Clearwater, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater and Ruth Eckerd Hall. LINEUP: See website. Past performers include Esperanza Spalding, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Christian McBride, Herbie Hancock, Trom- bone Shorty, Marcus Roberts, Mindi Abair, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Béla Fleck, Boney James, Brandi Carlile, Lake Street Dive. clearwaterjazz.com

Jazz for All Ages Festival Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Nov. 2–5 Bob Masteller’s Jazz for All Ages Festival is a charity event to support the preservation of jazz education in schools. Several scholarships, programs, and instruments are provided to students and schools as a result of this event. Special room rates are available. LINEUP: Joey Alexander, Christian Tamburr, Clint Holmes, Ronnie Leigh. jazzforallages.com

102 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 103 104 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 age, race, economic background, it’s the most diverse cultural event in the greater Lansing area.” Terry estimates that the free two-day fes- tival averages about 5,000 visitors each year. And a determined group of volunteers has helped with organization of the performanc-

MICHAEL PAINE PHOTOGRAPHY es. Along with clinics and workshops host- ed in surrounding buildings, past performers at the festival have included , Eric Reed and the late Mose Allison. “Last year, we expanded north, got the city to refurbish the streets and sidewalks. We have three stages and a great hosting area for the musicians to hang out,” Terry said. “And now, we have upwards of 200-plus volunteers.” The Summer Solstice festival, which is set to run June 22–23, is just a bit newer than Terry’s event, but was influenced by some- thing much older. “Al Cafagna formed the Summer Solstice Jazz Festival in 1996,” said Heather Surface, the festival’s coordinator. “He was co-chair of the East Lansing Arts Commission at the time. … Al, who remains a board member, Obed Succaari’s PanaMO performs at the Lansing JazzFest. was interested in and drew inspiration from the summer solstice celebrations in Europe.” By 2007, Cafagna and the festival worked with the City of East Lansing to create a partnership with the Wharton Center for the Performing Arts and Michigan State University’s College of Music to spon- sor, market and co-produce the Summer elebrating their 24th and 22nd anni- came to fruition 11 years later. “What were Solstice Jazz Festival, naming faculty mem- versaries, respectively, the Lansing our assets? We have these cool buildings; ber and bassist Rodney Whitaker its artis- CJazzFest and East Lansing’s Summer we’re along a great river; we’re near the capi- tic director. Solstice Jazz Festival each have proven stay- tol and a big university.” Surface said that 18 performances are set ing power. This year, the festival boasts performanc- for this year’s festival, including con- “When I moved into this part of the city, es by a wealth of players exhibiting the certs with three groups affiliated with the it was a ghost town,” said Terry Terry, found- breadth of the jazz genre. Vocalist Cindy College of Music, including a Saturday per- er of the Lansing JazzFest, which runs Aug. Scott will be accompanied by guitarist Brian formance by Shadakeon. Trumpeter and 3–4. “This was originally the center of Seeger and Latin sounds will be offered by vocalist Benny Benack will headline Friday Lansing, along the river; it had the highest Aguanko, with the wide-ranging Elden Kelly night alongside the Lansing Symphony Big concentration of historic commercial build- Group and trumpeter John Douglas also set Band. Also scheduled to perform at this ings. Everything was boarded up.” to make appearances. year’s festival are Ritmo and Deon Yates, Terry, who also is president of the “We like to mix it up: big band, straighta- among others. Artists who previously have Michigan Institute for Contemporary Art, head, a little Latin,” Terry said. “And, instead performed at the Summer Solstice Festival the organization that produces Michigan of commissions, we ask musicians to perform include Dafnis Prieto, Cyrille Aimée and BluesFest, sees his Lansing event as a success something they’ve written that they’ve never Jeff Hamilton. story. performed anywhere else. And, because we Surface said that due to construction, the “I moved down here, bought a building, are always on the first Friday and Saturday of festival, which averages about 10,000 attend- lived upstairs and fixed it up,” he said. “There August, people can plan ahead.” ees each year, will be moved three blocks were a lot of artists hanging around. Now, we The festival founder perceives the event, down from its usual spot in the heart of East have a bunch of galleries and artists that’ve as well as the burgeoning arts scene, as poten- Lansing’s business district. The free Summer transformed the area.” tial catalysts for community development. Solstice Jazz Festival features two stages and A part of that transformation was Terry’s “Over the years, we’ve had amazing per- runs with the support of about 40 volunteers idea to bring music to that part of the city. formances from multiple stages that get peo- each year. “I started thinking, ‘Why don’t we do a ple up and moving, socializing and enjoy- “The first two festivals went all night, festival?’ So, we got a permit to ing this unique historic environment,” Terry starting at 9 p.m. and lasting until dawn,” close down the street and formed a nonprof- said. “After one of the first festivals, some- Surface said. “Since then, it’s been a two- it,” Terry said about a concept he had back in one came in and bought a building. The festi- day festival scheduled around the summer 1984. The first installment of the jazz festival val created that sense of urgency. In terms of solstice.” —John Ephland

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School Band, Nebraska Brass Band, Adam Swanson, Key of Steam, The GMBS Big Band.

LEN KATZ glennmiller.org/festival-2

Chicago Blues Festival Chicago, Illinois June 8–10 The largest free blues festival in the world will present its 35th annual edition this year. Headliners will perform in Millennium Park’s . On opening night, the festival will celebrate the 65th Anniversary of and the independent label’s founder, Bob Koester. (Festival fans also should note that the City of Chicago will present a Festival on May 26, and a Gospel Music Festival on June 1–2.) LINEUP: Mavis Staples, Corey Dennison Band, Mississippi Heat with Billy Flynn and Giles Corey, Selwyn Birchwood, Willie Clayton, Fantastic Negrito, Kenny Neal, Lurrie Bell and Steve Bell, Jimmy Johnson and Dave Chick Corea, Esperanza Spalding and Terri Lyne Carrington Specter, Billy Branch, Billy Boy Arnold, will perform at the 2018 Detroit Jazz Festival. Corky Siegel, Rick Estrin, Sugar Blue. FKLFDJREOXHVIHVWLYDOXV Wichita Jazz Festival LINEUP: , Bobby Sanabria. Wichita, Kansas eauclairejazz.com Twin Cities Jazz Festival April 1–8 Saint Paul, Minnesota The 47th annual edition of this festival will June 21–23 Ravinia Festival Now in its 20th year, the Twin Cities Jazz include world-famous artists, as well as educa- HIghland Park, Illinois tional events and a screening of the docu- Festival is a free, family-friendly event attract- June–September ing more than 40,000 attendees. Festival mentary film Bill Frisell: A Portrait. The WSU One of the oldest outdoor music festivals in events are held in and around beautiful Jazz Invitational features top high school and the United States, the Ravinia Festival is held Mears Park in the heart of downtown Saint college bands in a daylong juried competition. each year in Highland Park, north of Chicago. Paul’s historic Lowertown neighborhood. LINEUP: Eric Alexander/Harold Mabern Quar- Tony Bennett has a long history of performing tet, Ben Allison, Brad Leali, Katie Thiroux, at this outdoor venue, which has lawn seats LINEUP: Tia Fuller, Dee Dee Bridgewater, others. Mark Foley, PALO!, Delano Jazz Orchestra. as well as an area of covered, reserved seats. twincitiesjazzfestival.com ZLFKLWDMD]]IHVWLYDOFRP LINEUP: Trombone Shorty, Snarky Puppy with Damien Escobar and Jacob Collier, Buddy Summer Solstice Jazz Festival Guy and Jonny Lang, Galactic, Preservation East Lansing, Michigan 18th & Vine Jazz and Blues Festival Hall Jazz Band, New Breed Brass Band, Walter June 22–23 Kansas City, Missouri “Wolfman” Washington, Cyril Neville, Kermit This festival salutes jazz as one of America’s April 19–21 Ruffins, Tony Bennett, Lara Downes and Theo truly original art forms with a spate of 18 per- Presented as collaborative effort between the Bleckmann, Seal, Jill Scott, Lindsey Stirling, formances during a two-day celebration of the Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley Audra McDonald, Angelique Kidjo, Femi genre. In addition to regionally and nationally and the American Jazz Museum, this festival Kuti, Steve Martin and Martin Short with the recognized performers, the festival includes offers middle school, high school and college Steep Canyon Rangers, Michael Feinstein youth and community education events. students a chance to learn from established and Kristin Chenoweth, Earth Wind & Fire, LINEUP: Shadakeon, Benny Benack, The Lansing musicians through clinics and evening perfor- , Johnny Rivers, Jimmy Webb. Symphony Big Band, Ritmo and Deon Yates. mances. Tours of the museum also are offered. ravinia.org eljazzfest.com LINEUP: See website. mcckc.edu/programs/music Glenn Miller Jazz Festival Elkhart Jazz Festival penn-valley/jazz-festival June 7–10 Elkhart, Indiana Clarinda, Iowa June 22–24 Eau Claire Jazz Festival The birthplace of Glenn Miller hosts a Since 1988, jazz legends and fans have gath- Eau Claire, Wisconsin series of events dedicated to the band- ered each summer for a memorable weekend April 20–21 leader’s music and legacy. Performers at the Elkhart Jazz Festival. Combining warm, With its re-creation of New York’s famed from around the world will be on-hand for intimate, small-town hospitality with the 52nd Street, the Eau Claire Jazz Festi- concerts hosted at Clarinda High School, excitement of big city jazz, the Elkhart Jazz val works to craft a setting befitting the as well as other venues across the city. Festival has become an internationally ac- hundreds of middle, high school and col- LINEUP: Glenn Miller Orchestra, Canadian claimed event with more than 100 performers lege students who attend the event. Brass, Bill Baker’s Big Band, Tamana Girls High LINEUP: See website. Last year’s perform-

106 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 ers included Ramsey Lewis, Ben Folds, Terence Blanchard. HONKDUWMD]]IHVWLYDOFRP

7UL&-D]])HVW&OHYHODQG Cleveland, Ohio June 28–30 The 39th annual edition of this beloved festival will take place at Playhouse Square. This year features 13 acts made up of jazz icons with decades of hits, artists at the pinnacle of their craft and emerg- ing talent just beginning to etch their names in the industry. LINEUP: Snarky Puppy, José James, Leslie Odom Jr., Dee Dee Bridge- water, Joshua Redman, Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Terence Blanchard, Grace Kelly, Common, Vinicius Cantuar- ia, DIVA Jazz Orchestra, Brian Simpson’s Smooth Jazz All Stars. tri-cjazzfest.com

Iowa City Jazz Festival Iowa City, Iowa June 29–July 1 This free festival has become one of the premier music events for bringing world-class talent to Iowa City. The festival features music on four stages, many food vendors and a dra- matic, extensive fireworks display. LINEUP: Still Dreaming (Joshua Redman, Ron Miles, Scott Colley, Brian Blade), Jane Ira Bloom Quartet, Matt Wilson’s Honey & Salt, René Marie and Experiment in Truth, Vincent Herring Quartet, Braxton Cook’s Quintet, Hot Tamale Louie, Amanda Monaco Quartet, Behn Gillece Quartet, Steve Kenney’s Group 47, United Jazz Ensemble, North Corridor Jazz All-Stars. VXPPHURIWKHDUWVRUJ

Mississippi Valley Blues Festival Davenport, Iowa July 6–7 Hosted by the Mississippi Valley Blues Society, this festival aims to instill an appreciation of the blues tradition in a new generation of music aficionados with programs like BlueSKool. Held at LeClaire Park along the Mississippi River, the festival offers a relaxed atmosphere with acoustic and electric strains of the blues. LINEUP: Walter Trout, Jonny Lang, others. mvbs.org

Lowertown Blues & Funk Festival St. Paul, Minnesota July 20–21 The oldest blues festival in the Twin Cities, the Lowertown Blues & Funk Festival pulls in acts like the Average White Band to perform alongside regional and local talent. Founded in 2003, the festival initially was held in Minneapolis before relocating to Mears Park in 2013. LINEUP: Ohio Players, Free and Easy, High & Mighty, Scottie Miller Band, Crow, Toronzo Cannon, Chubby Carrier, Marcia Ball. lowertownbluesfestival.com

Sioux Falls JazzFest Sioux Falls, South Dakota July 20–21 This free, annual festival features more than 18 hours of music on multiple stages, as well as with food vendors, beer and wine gardens, arts and crafts vendors and a children’s area. The event is held in Yankton Trail Park. LINEUP: See website. Past performers include , Jonny Lang. siouxfallsjazzfest.com

Jazz & Rib Fest Columbus, Ohio July 20–22 Held along the Scioto River in Ohio’s capital, this free festival

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 107 ELKHART JAZZ FESTIVAL

Indiana’s Elkhart Jazz Festival was founded in 1988.

features three days of big-name jazz-related The fact that Beiderbeke’s name can still players, as well as chicken and ribs pre- bring crowds to the Rhythm City Casino pared by some of the nation’s best chefs. Resort is a testament to the important work LINEUP: See website. Last year’s performers in- he crafted in just a few years of recording. cluded Kenny Garrett, Maysa, Big Bad Voodoo LINEUP: The Fats Waller Legacy Band and Daddy, Miles Electric Band, Rebirth Brass Band. The Benny Goodman Trio (both featur- KRWULEVFRROMD]]RUJ ing Jeff Barnhart) Hal Smith and Dave Bennett, The Fat Babies, Josh Duffee’s Prairie Dog Blues Festival All-Star Graystone Monarchs, Miss Jubi- Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin lee & The Humdingers, The Wolverines. July 27–28 bixsociety.org Held each year on St. Feriole Island, a piece of land in the middle of the Mississippi River Lansing JazzFest nestled between cliffs and hills, this festival Lansing, Michigan offers blues and roots supplemented by New Aug. 3–4 Orleans tunes, Texas boogie, zydeco and gos- This 24th annual free, outdoor, festival pel. Barbecue to cajun cusine and other types features more than a dozen performances of food are available from multiple vendors. on two main stages, plus clinics/workshops LINEUP: See website. Past performers include and children’s activities. Now known as , Moreland & Arbuckle. the “hub of hip,” the Old Town section prairiedogblues.com of Lansing is home to historic buildings next to the Grand River and a vibrant Iowa Soul Festival nightlife, which now is the festival’s Iowa City, Iowa backdrop. Mose Allison, Nicole Mitchell August (Dates TBA) This festival is a celebration that features and Stanley Jordan are among the inter- the dance, music, food and art of the national stars who have played this fest. African and African-American commu- LINEUP: Cindy Scott and Brian Seeger, Aguan- nities. The event highlights the positive ko, Elden Kelly Group, John Douglas, others. influences that the culture has on Iowa jazzlansing.com City, the Creative Corridor and Eastern Iowa. This event will feature locally, region- Chicago Jazz Festival ally and nationally recognized artists. Chicago, Illinois LINEUP: See website. Last year’s performers Aug. 30–Sept. 2 include Shade of Blue, Sidewalk Chalk, T.L. In honor of the 40th Annual Chicago Williams & The Storm Chaser Orchestra. Jazz Festival in 2018, the Department of VXPPHURIWKHDUWVRUJ Cultural Affairs & Special Events will offer a new program to support local venues Memorial and jazz-presenting organizations that Jazz Festival offer free, public programs. The Chicago Davenport, Iowa Jazz Festival is a free event held in Millen- Aug. 2–4 nium Park at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. Focused mostly on the genre’s early period, LINEUP: See website. Past performers the Bix Beiderbeke Memorial Jazz Festival include Jason Moran, Anat Cohen, Allison works to honor the legacy of its namesake. Miller, Mary Halvorson, Sonny Rollins, At this point, the festival has spanned more Marquis Hill, Dee Dee Bridgewater. years than the cornetist’s recording career. FKLFDJRMD]]IHVWLYDOXV

108 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 Detroit Jazz Festival cago and produced by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Hyde Park Jazz Festival Detroit, Michigan Chicago, Illinois Aug. 31–Sept. 3 LINEUP: See website. Last year’s performers Sept 29–30 Fans can enjoy four jam-packed days of included Seun Kuti and Betsayda Machado. The 12th annual edition of this festival features unique programming and more than 60 ZRUOGPXVLFIHVWLYDOFKLFDJRRUJ two full days of free non-stop jazz, with more performances as remarkable and diverse as than 150 local, national and international the genre itself during the world-class, free Michigan BluesFest jazz musicians performing in 12 venues. Detroit Jazz Festival, with shows on four stages. Lansing, Michigan LINEUP: See website. Past performers include LINEUP: Chick Corea (Artist In Residence), Sept. 21–22 Miguel Zenon, Ambrose Akinmusire Nicole Esperanza Spalding, Terri Lyne Carrington, This festival will bring two days of blues to Mitchell, Ballake Sissoko. Ravi Coltrane, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Nicholas three stages in the Old Town section of Lan- K\GHSDUNMD]]IHVWLYDORUJ Payton, Chris Dave & The Drumhedz, more. sing. In addition to all the music, a wealth of detroitjazzfest.org beverage and food options will be available. (GJHIHVW LINEUP: See website. Last year’s perform- Ann Arbor, Michigan Blues at the Crossroads ers included the Jim Shaneberger Band, Oct. 17–20 Terre Haute, Indiana Karen Lovely and The Flying Crowbars. The thematic focus of Edgefest 2018 will be the Sept. 7–8 PLFKLJDQEOXHVIHVWFRP avant-garde, experimental sounds of Chicago. This family-friendly event will be held near The roster includes artists who have spent time 7th St. and Wabash Ave. It will include food Ouibache Music Festival in the Windy City, inspired by the unique ener- vendors, beer gardens and a Silent . West Lafayette, Indiana gy of its heterogeneous improvisation scene, LINEUP: See website. Last year’s art- Sept. 29 including multi-instrumentalist Roscoe Mitch- ists include Eric Stekel, Ian Moore, Held at Tippecanoe County Amphitheater ell, who will lead a special 50th Anniversary, Ellusion, Jo Marcinek Band. in West Lafayette, Ouibache presents a all-star edition of the . EOXHVDWWKHFURVVURDGVFRP variety of types of music. The event offers LINEUP: Roscoe Mitchell, , , camping, two stages of entertainment, swing Fred Barry, Nicole Mitchell, Mazz Swift, Tomeka World Music Festival dancing, and food and beverage vendors. Reid, , Jason Stein, Fred Lon- Chicago, Illinois LINEUP: Andrew Peterson, Blair Crim- berg-Holm, Harrison Bankhead, Adam Snead, Sept. 7–23 mins & The Hookers, Christie Lenée, Myra Melford, Joelle Leandre, , Founded in 1999, this festival has host- Blind Boy & The CNI Dawg, Big Swing Guillermo Gregorio, , Avreeayl ed hundreds of performers over the Band, Derek Brown’s “BEATBoX SAX” Ra, Steve Rush, Ed Wilkerson, Mike Reed. decades. It is presented by the City of Chi- RXLEDFKHFRP edgefestannarbor.com

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 109 110 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 GEORGE WELLS

Kenny Garrett performs during the 2017 edition of the Healdsburg Jazz Festival in Healdsburg, California.

rtistically successful jazz festivals offer a was in a duo with the late drummer Billy ing concert, will showcase the Marcus Shelby point of view that reflects both geo- Higgins during 1997, when Felix was testing the Big Band with flutist James Newton, vocal- Agraphic locale and, when possible, the waters by booking shows prior to launching the ist Ruth Naomi Floyd and the 100-member aesthetic of the programmer. event in 1999. Freedom Jazz Choir. And Dr. Michael White’s As the Healdsburg Jazz Festival marks its The lineup this year reflects that kind of his- Original Liberty Jazz Band makes a rare West 20th anniversary June 1–10, its setting in tory. Included amid the festivities is a mid-week Coast appearance as well. California’s wine country and the vision of concert by bandleader and Santa Rosa native California’s wine country made the news founder Jessica Felix are worthy of celebration. Adam Theis, who will be performing with his recently for a rash of fires and mudslides: “It’s “I can’t believe we made it,” Felix said. “For Costa Nostra Strings project. The ensemble will very important that people realize that we’re the 20th anniversary, I decided that it’s going to be complemented by guest vocalist and spo- OK and that coming here will actually benefit be a bigger festival than we’ve ever had.” ken-word artist Emcee Infinite. us, because all the businesses have taken a very For opening night, guitarists Bill Frisell and A young Theis participated in and helped big hit after people stopped coming,” Felix said. Julian Lage—a native of Santa Rosa, about 15 promote the inaugural festival, Felix said: “I “We were all hard-hit, and this festival’s going miles southeast of Healdsburg, who has been had a truck, and we put Adam’s band on the to be important spiritually and economically playing the festival since his days as a tween back and went around town going, ‘Come to the for the area.” prodigy—will perform a pair of shows as a duo. festival.’” A Los Angeles native, Felix said she grew up A double bill on June 2 with the Fred Hersch Geri Allen originally was booked for a June on the late-’60s jazz of Lloyd, John Handy and Trio and Trio da Paz features guest clarinetist 8 performance. The program, initially planned . She graduated from Sonoma Anat Cohen and vocalist Claudia Villela. The with saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, bassist Dave State University and eventually settled in the opening weekend concludes with tenor saxo- Holland and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, East Bay, founding the Eddie Moore Festival, phonist Charles Lloyd performing a concert to has been reimagined as a tribute to the recent- before relocating to Healdsburg. A longtime mark his 80th birthday alongside tabla maestro ly deceased pianist-composer. There’s a double friend of drummer Higgins, she embraced his Zakir Hussain, pianist Gerald Clayton, bassist bill the following night with the George Cables vision for jazz education and has incorporated Harish Raghavan, drummer Eric Harland and Trio and a Festival All-Stars group that includes that into the festival through local efforts. “surprise guests.” alto saxophonist Bobby Watson, drummer Billy “Little by little, she has taken the town of “If you hold a mirror up to a sign saying Hart and percussionist Babatunde Lea. Healdsburg by the hand and elevated their ‘Healdsburg Jazz Festival,’ you will see the image “I had a lot of festival family that I wanted to experience and knowledge of America’s indig- of Jessica Felix staring back at you,” Lloyd wrote book this year, so this was one way to include as enous art form, jazz,” Lloyd wrote. “She has in an email. “Jessica Felix’s passion for great jazz many as I could,” Felix said. teamed up with area schools to introduce it to is palpable and her hospitality is incomparable.” A pair of high-profile events also is sched- every age group. This has been a beautiful thing Lloyd’s first concert in the California city uled. “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a free morn- to witness.” —Yoshi Kato

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festival’s organizers also collaborate with Cuesta College on a Summer Jazz Work- shop, which takes place June 18–22. JIM LEVITT LINEUP: Sergio Mendes, Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca, Anton Schwartz Quin- tet, TrioKAIT, Pub Crawlers, more. slojazzfest.org

Bellevue Jazz & Blues Festival Bellevue, Washington May 30–June 3 Some 40 shows are hosted in downtown Bellevue with John Gilbreath, executive director of nearby Earshot Jazz, collabo- rating to book headliners. Junior, middle school and high school student musicians perform as well as adult professionals drawn from local and national talent pools. Terell Stafford (left), John Clayton and LINEUP: See website. Last year’s performers Sean Jones perform at Jazz Port Townsend in Washington state. included Catherine Russell, Corey Har- ris, Radio Raheem, The Rumba Kings. SherriLynn Colby, Danny Coots, Bobby UNC/Greeley Jazz Festival bellevuedowntown.com Greeley, Colorado Durham, Brian Holland, Nate Ketner, Jerry April 19–21 Krahn, Eddie Metz Jr., Terry Myers, Russ Phillips, Sam Rocha, Jason Wanner. Newport Beach Jazz Festival The largest event of its kind in the nation, Newport Beach, California this festival brings together internation- sunvalleyjazz.com/mccall June 1–3 ally recognized artists, award-winning This festival hosts world-class acts at the clinicians and more than 250 college, Juneau Jazz & Classics Festival beautiful Hyatt Regency Newport Beach. With high school, and middle school big bands, Juneau, Alaska an international food court, vendor village and combos, and jazz vocal groups. Each year, May 4–19 stunning views of the bay, this festival provides 8,000 participants enjoy performances This fest presents world-class artists in ticketed the opportunity to enjoy jazz in an intimate and the many educational workshops. and free performances, educational work- amphitheater, or while dancing on the lawn. shops and clinics, and community outreach LINEUP: Dee Dee Bridgewater, Gordon Good- LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists included events. This festival is presented in different win’s Big Phat Band, Aaron Diehl, Tribute to , Kandace Springs, The O’Jays. locations throughout the community. the Brecker Brothers featuring Randy Brecker IHVWLYDOVK\DWWFRQFHUWVFRP & Bob Sheppard, Vertical Voices, UNC Jazz LINEUP: Johnaye Kendrick, Eroica Trio, Rhonda Lab Band I, UNC All Angles Orchestra. Ross, Richard & Mika Stotlzman, Andrew “Jr. +HDOGVEXUJ-D]])HVWLYDO uncjazzfest.com Boy” Jones Band, Luke Fleming, Kate Ransom, Doug Deming & The JewelTones, Gary Motley Healdsburg, California Trio, Bradley Howard & William Ransom. June 1–10 Reno Jazz Festival This year, the festival will mark 20 consecutive jazzandclassics.org Reno, Nevada years of presenting great jazz performances April 26–28 and jazz education in Sonoma County. The For its 56th edition, this hybrid festival/clinic/ Ballard Jazz Festival milestone anniversary will be celebrated with competition falls under the guidance of Pete Seattle, Washington expanded programming, free community Epstein, jazz saxophonist and chair of the May 16–19 concerts and an unprecedented number University of Nevada–Reno Department of Founded in 2003 as a provincial one-day of musicians returning to participate. The Music. As RJF director, Epstein partners with event, this festival has blossomed to include region continues to recover from the dev- Adam Benjamin, UNR director of jazz studies both locally based and imported talent. The astating wildfires of October 2017, and as (and new RJF associate director), to maintain original Jazz Walk still concludes the four-day part of the rebuilding and healing process, a blend of educational and concert elements. event but is now preceded by Brotherhood this festival will contribute to the social, LINEUP: Dafnis Prieto, Peter Apfel- of the Drum, Guitar Summit and main- economic and cultural vitality of the area. baum + The Collective, more. stage concerts the previous three nights. LINEUP: Bill Frisell & Julian Lage Duo, Fred unr.edu/rjf LINEUP: See website. Last year’s performers Hersch Trio, Trio da Paz with Anat Cohen included Chico Freeman, George Colligan, & Claudia Villela, Charles Lloyd (with Zakir Jazz Party Weekend Greta Matassa, Marina Albero, . Hussain, Eric Harland, Gerald Clayton, Harish McCall, Idaho ballardjazzfestival.com Raghvan & other guests), John Santos Sextet, April 27–29 Marc Cary Trio, Geri Allen Tribute (featuring This 20-hour event, presented by the Shore SLO Jazz Festival Ravi Coltrane, Dave Holland & Terri Lyne Lodge and the Sun Valley Jazz & Music San Luis Obispo, California Carrington), George Cables Trio, Bobby Wat- Festival, is an intimate journey into the living May 18–19 son, Azar Lawrence, David Weiss, Billy Hart, room of jazz. Now in its fifth year, this festival presents Chico Freeman, Marcus Shelby Big Band, Dr. LINEUP: Charlie Bertini, Brian Casserly, jazz on five stages in Mission Plaza. The Michael White’s Original Liberty Jazz Band,

112 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 113 Sylvia Cuenca performs at Tent in Aspen, plus JAS Cafe shows at the the Montavilla Jazz Festival in Portland, Oregon. Aspen Art Museum and The Little Nell. LINEUP: Lizz Wright, Leslie Odom Jr., Lyle Lovett & His Large Band. jazzaspensnowmass.org/ MXQHH[SHULHQFHKWPO

A Jazz & Dance Party Olympia, Washington June 29–July 1 Swing dancers and vintage jazz lovers alike will love this new event. Four bands and seven guest artists will trade licks over the course of the weekend. With a 2,000-square-foot dance floor, dancers and listeners will delight in the music. LINEUP: Black Swan with Marilyn Keller, High Sierra, Uptown Lowdown, Toni Blodgett, Brian Casserly, Jay Hungerford, Dick Maley, Pieter Meijers, Jimmy Armstrong, John Reynolds. sunvalleyjazz.com/lacey

Vail Jazz Festival AARON HAYMAN Vail, Colorado July 1–Sept. 3 Adam Theis with The Cosa Nostra Strings. Playboy Jazz Festival The 24th edition of this festival features more KHDOGVEXUJMD]]RUJ Los Angeles, California than 70 performances and 200 artists, with June 9–10 a diverse array of performance experiences San Francisco Jazz Festival The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association ranging from an intimate jazz club setting, to a San Francisco, California will present the 40th annual Playboy Jazz world-class big stage, to a breathtaking open- June 5–17 Festival at the famed Hollywood Bowl. The air venue in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. The 36th edition of this festival will present festival will feature emerging jazz artists LINEUP: Django Festival All-Stars, Tony DeSare more than 40 shows over 13 days, in- as well as renowned superstars. George & The H2 Big Band, Andrea Motis with Joel cluding tributes to Benny Goodman, Lopez will once again host the event. Frahm, Nikci Parrot’s Tribute to Peggy Lee. Oscar Peterson and Patsy Cline. Venues A special celebration honoring the late Freddie vailjazz.org include the Lab, Miner Hubbard will feature Randy Brecker, Nicho- Auditorium and Davies Symphony Hall. las Payton, Jeremy Pelt and David Weiss. Waterfront Blues Festival LINEUP: Dave Holland, Zakir Hussain & LINEUP: & David Grusin, Ramsey Portland, Oregon Chris Potter, Anat Cohen, Brian Blade & Lewis Quintet, Snarky Puppy, Miles Electric July 4–7 The Fellowship Band, Chester Thompson Band, Edmar Castaneda Quartet with Grégoire Fans can enjoy blues legends, up-and-com- Quartet, Irma Thomas, Arturo Sandoval, Maret, Daymé Arocena, Monsieur Perine, Roy ers and regional favorites at the 31st annual Marcus Miller, Sergio Mendes, Ahmad Jamal, Gaines, Jazmine Sullivan, Charles Lloyd & edition of this festival, held at Tom McCall Tuck & Patti, Julian Lage Trio, Thumb- The Marvels with Lucinda Williams, Tower of Waterfront Park. This year’s fest will feature screw, Kneebody, Kendrick Scott Oracle, Power, Hubtones with Randy Brecker, Nicholas more than 100 acts on four stages. Festival Jamison Ross, Jeff Parker, Soweto Kinch, Payton, Jeremy Pelt & David Weiss, Antho- proceeds help Oregon Food Bank fight hunger George Cole, Marius Neset, Ken Vander- ny Hamilton, Orchestra (under in Oregon and Clark County, Washington. mark & Nate Wooley Duo, Eddie Daniels, the direction of Scotty Barnhart), Kneebody, LINEUP: George Thorogood & the Destroy- Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, Bill & Mandekan Cubano, LAUSD/ ers, Beth Hart, The Mavericks, Robert Charlap, Renee Rosnes, Gerald Clayton. Beyond the Bell All-City Jazz Big Band (under Randolph & The Family Band, Marc Brous- sfjazz.org the direction of Tony White and JB Dyas). sard, Johnny Rawls, The Motet, Chubby KROO\ZRRGERZOFRP Carrier & The Bayou Swamp Band, Com- Greeley Blues Jam mander Cody, Larkin Poe, Curtis Salga- Greeley, Colorado Russian River Blues Festival do, Ranky Tanky, Horace Trahan & The June 8–9 Guerneville, California Ossun Express, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes. Island Grove Arena hosts family-friendly June 10 waterfrontbluesfest.com blues along with food and drink selections. This year’s festival takes place during the An evening of pre-festival activities in histor- centennial celebration of Johnson’s Beach, a Sunset Jazz At Newport ic downtown Greeley precedes it. Kids can popular vacation destination in Guerneville. Newport Beach, California learn about the great American LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists included July 11–Sept. 19 art form at the arena’s Blues 101 Stage, Tower of Power, . Mainstream jazz fans can dine in the inti- where they can also acquire a free russianriverfestivals.com mate Rose Garden of the Newport Beach harmonica (while supplies last). Marriott Hotel & Spa while listening to LINEUP: Devon Allman Project (featuring Jazz Aspen Snowmass national jazz and cabaret artists during this Duane Betts), Ronnie Earl & The Broadcast- June Experience series of 11 Wednesday-night concerts. ers, Danielle Nicole, Otis Taylor Band, Victor Aspen, Colorado LINEUP: See website. Past performers in- Wainwright & The Train, Dany Franchi, Chris June 22–30 clude Ken Peplowski, The Four Freshmen, Daniels & The Kings, Mojomama, Blue Dogs. The JAS June Experience includes four nights Tom Kubis Big Band, Barbara Morrison. greeleybluesjam.com of headliners at the majestic Benedict Music sunsetjazzatnewport.com

114 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 115 Idyllwild Jazz ’ silver anniversa- ry. Located in the San Jacinto Mountains, the setting provides idyllic surroundings in which audiences can enjoy 27 art-

COURTESY SFJAZZ ists on four separate bandstands. LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists in- clude Harry Pickens, Marshall Hawkins, Roy McCurdy, Rose Mallett Quartet. MD]]LQWKHSLQHVFRP

San Jose Jazz Summer Fest Aug. 10–12 This festival features jazz, Latin, blues, salsa and r&b. One of biggest music events in Silicon Valley, this event offers kids’ activities; food, wine and microbrews; and after-hours events. LINEUP: Herb Alpert & Lani Hall, Jane Monheit, Booker T. Jones’ Stax Revue, Yissy & Bandan- Dave Holland (left), Chris Potter and Zakir Hussain perform at the San Francisco Jazz Festival. cha, Nachito Herrera, Kool & The Gang, Lalah Hathaway, Vincent Herring, Mae.Sun, Marcus Roberts, Theo Croker, Emmet Cohen Trio, in new and unexpected pairings, hand- New Mexico Jazz Festival Kat Edmonson, Makaya McCraven, more. picked by Artistic Director John Clayton. Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico summerfest.sanjosejazz.org July 14–29 Performances take place in the 1,200-seat The 13th edition of this festival will feature con- McCurdy Pavilion in Fort Worden State Park, certs and events at indoor and outdoor venues as well as in intimate venues downtown. Montavilla Jazz Festival throughout Albuquerque and Santa Fe by ma- This event includes coaching, master class- Portland, Oregon jor touring artists, as well as New Mexico-based es and other educational components. Aug. 18–19 This annual event showcases the world- jazz, r&b and Latin music practitioners. LINEUP: Terell Stafford, Jeff Hamilton, Stefon class talents of Portland-based artists who Harris, Matt Wilson, Jazzmeia Horn, George LINEUP: Chucho Valdés & Gonza- are pushing the boundaries of jazz. lo Rubalcaba, Tootie Heath, Charles Cables, Gary Smulyan, Taylor Eigsti, Tamir LINEUP: Nancy King with Randy Porter, Dmitri McPherson, Dee Dee Bridgewater. Hendelman, Katie Thiroux, The Baylor Project. Matheny with Darrell Grant, George Colligan’s newmexicojazzfestival.org centrum.org/jazz Other Barry, Douglas Detrick’s AnyWhen 3RUW7RZQVHQG$FRXVWLF Ensemble, Ryan Meagher’s Evil Twin, Chris- Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival topher Brown Quartet, James Miley & The Fairbanks, Alaska Blues Festival Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble. July 15–29 Port Townsend, Washington montavillajazzfest.com The stated goal of this festival is to “free your in- Aug. 3–4 ner artist” through multidisciplinary instruction, Fans flock to Washington for the largest opportunities to perform and arts appreciation. country blues gathering in the nation. Concerts Vail Jazz Party Started in 1980, this gathering has expanded feature players and music from areas where Vail, Colorado to include classes and workshops in addition pre-war country blues developed: the Piedmont Aug. 30–Sept. 3 to concerts at venues throughout Fairbanks. region, the Mississippi Delta, Mississippi Hill This event features a full lineup of jazz’s finest groups and soloists, joining togeth- LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists included Country, New Orleans, Texas and more. er in main-stage shows, jam sessions and Greta Matassa, Keith Karns, Eustace Johnson. LINEUP: Andrew Alli, Roy Book Binder, Clinton multimedia tributes to jazz legends. fsaf.org Davis, Del Rey, Pat Donohue, Jake Faulkner, Mary Flower, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, Chaz LINEUP: John Clayton, Jeff Clayton, Terell Leary, Ethan Leinwand, Tim McNalley, Cary Stafford, Lewis Nash, , Jeff Hamilton Jazz at the Bowl Trio, René Marie + Experiment in Truth, Benny Los Angeles, California Morin, Jonathan Piper, Craig Ventresco, Rev- erend John Wilkins, Jontavious Willis, more. Green Trio, Eric Alexander, Peter Bernstein, July 18–Sept. 5 Adrian Cunningham, Niki Haris, Tyrone The Hollywood Bowl, home of the L.A. centrum.org/port-townsend-acoustic Jackson, Sean Jones, Lyndon Rochelle. Philharmonic, continues its Wednesday -blues-festival-performances vailjazz.org/vail-jazz-party evening summer jazz concert series. LINEUP: Jazz at Lincoln Orchestra featuring Telluride Jazz Festival Lil Buck & Jared Grimes, Clayton-Hamilton Telluride, Colorado Jazz Aspen Snowmass Jazz Orchestra (featuring Gerald Clayton Aug. 3–5 Labor Day Experience Trio), Gregory Porter, Savion Glover, George The 42nd annual edition of this festival Snowmass, Colorado Benson, Ledisi, José James, Taj Mahal & presents jazz, funk, soul and gospel per- Aug. 31–Sept. 2 Keb’ Mo’, Melissa Etheridge, Deva Mahal, formances in a fantastic natural setting. Held outdoors at Snowmass Town Park, Queen Latifah, Common, Seal, Corinne Bailey LINEUP: Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band, Irma Thom- this event takes place in a mountain re- Rae, The Pink Panther live score, more. as, , BadBadNotGood, Cory sort town. The main stage is paired daily KROO\ZRRGERZOFRP Henry, GoGoPenguin, No BS! Brass Band. with two festival side stages, as well as telluridejazz.org nightly JAS After Dark musical events. -D]]3RUW7RZQVHQG LINEUP: Gary Clark Jr., , Jack Port Townsend, Washington Idyllwild Jazz in the Pines Johnson, Zac Brown Band, Michael Franti & July 22–29 Idyllwild, California Spearhead, Fitz & The Tantrums, Bahamas. The Centrum workshop and festival fea- Aug. 10–12 jazzaspensnowmass.org/ ture 36 internationally known performers More than dozen acts will help mark ODERUGD\H[SHULHQFHKWPO

116 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 117 Angel City Jazz Festival Cameron Graves, Kristen Strom, Katie Thiroux Los Angeles, California Monterey, California Trio, KNOWER, Bobby Floyd Trio, more. September–October (Dates TBA) Sept. 21–23 montereyjazzfestival.org This festival focuses on innovative, highly orig- Now in its 61st year, the Monterey Jazz inal artists. The programming includes estab- Festival is the longest continuously run- Oregon Coast Jazz Party lished jazz artists, as well as emerging talent. ning jazz festival in the world. Nearly 140 Newport, Oregon LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists performances, panels, conversations, films Oct. 5–7 include Craig Taborn, Dee Dee Bridge- and exhibits take place over two days and The 15th edition of this festival presents water, Steve Lehman, Ben Monder. three nights on eight stages at the oak-stud- world-class jazz in Newport, on the central angelcityjazz.com ded Monterey County Fairgrounds. Oregon coast. Fans can expect multiple LINEUP: Tia Fuller and Ingrid Jensen (Art- sets from renowned jazz stars, nightcap performances and educational events. Russian River Jazz Festival ists-in-Residence), Oscar Hernandez & the Guerneville, California Spanish Harlem Orchestra (Commission Artist), LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists include Sept. 8–9 Dianne Reeves (Showcase Artist), Wynton Mar- Houston Person, Russell Malone, Gerald This festival features jazz, funk and r&b on salis & The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Jon Clayton, Holly Hofmann (music director). the river at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville. Batiste & The Dap-Kings, Charles Lloyd & The coastarts.org Marvels with Lucinda Williams; A Tribute to Mi- LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists included chael Brecker with /Randy Brecker/ Stephanie Mills, Richard Elliot, Norman Brown. Palm Springs Women’s Jazz Festival Donny McCaslin/Antonio Sanchez/John Patituc- russianriverfestivals.com Palm Springs, California ci/Adam Rogers, Remembering with October (Dates TBA) Christian McBride/Benny Green/Greg Hutchin- This festival presents renowned female jazz Telluride Blues & Brews Festival son & guests, A Tribute to Geri Allen directed artists in the resort town of Palm Springs. Telluride, Colorado by Tia Fuller & Ingrid Jensen, MJF on Tour with LINEUP: See website. Last year’s art- Sept. 14–16 Cécile McLorin Salvant/Bria Skonberg/Melissa ists include Claudia Acuña, Kandace A scenic and intimate music festival, the 25th Aldana/Christian Sands/Jamison Ross/Yasushi Springs, Jazzmeia Horn, Miki Howard. Telluride Blues & Brews takes place in a pictur- Nakamura, José James, Christian McBride palmspringswomensjazzfestival.org esque mountain town. The multi-stage celebra- Trio, Joey DeFrancesco & The People, Dave tion offers an eclectic mix of music paired with Grusin, Thornetta Davis, Veronica Swift, Donny some of the best craft breweries in the country. McCaslin Group, Jane Bunnett & Maqueque, Earshot Jazz Festival LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists include Jane Ira Bloom, Fred Hersch, Thumbscrew (Mary Seattle, Washington Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’. Halvorson//Tomas Fujiwara), Oct. 14–Nov. 4 The “dean” of Pacific Northwest jazz festivals, tellurideblues.com Julian Lage Trio, Lisa Mezzacappa’s AvantNOIR, Earshot celebrates its 30th anniversary this fall. In addition to booking touring and rising star artists, Earshot has put the spotlight on local artists of national prominence, including vocalist-pianist Robin Holcomb and saxophon- ist/multi-instrumentalist Briggan Krauss. LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists include Hudson, Gregory Porter, , Jason Moran, Mostly Other People Do the Killing, Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra. HDUVKRWRUJ

Sun Valley Jazz & Music Festival Sun Valley, Idaho Oct. 17–21 The 29th edition of this event will celebrate the Great American Songbook, plus vintage jazz, swing, big band, zydeco, blues, stride, boogie-woogie, cabaret, folk and other genres. More than 200 musicians and thousands of fans meet in the beautiful mountains of Idaho. LINEUP: Barnhart/Midiri Quartet, Black Market Trust, Black Swan Classic Jazz Band with Marilyn Keller, Blue Renditions, Blue Street Jazz Band, Bob Draga, Boise Straight Ahead, Bruce Innes Trio, Carolyn Martin Swing Band, Cocuzzi Trio, Cornet Chop Suey, Yve Evans, Gator Nation, Holland & Coots, Paris Wash- board Superswing, Rosie O’Grady’s Good Time Jazz Band with Bill Allred, Sun Valley Jazz All Stars, Terry Myers Quartet with Jaimie Roberts, Tom Hook & the Terrier Brothers, Joe Smith & The Spicy Pickles, Gary Ryan, Sherri Colby’s Racket Makers & Friends, Tom Rigney & Flambeau, Two-Tone Steiny & The Cadillacs, We Three, Yale Whiffenpoofs. sunvalleyjazz.com

118 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 119 CANADA

Lips, Tune-Yards, Daniel Caesar, others. jazzwinnipeg.com

TD Ottawa Jazz Festival Ottawa, Ontario June 21–July 1 ©VALERIE GAY-BESSETTE This festival attracts hundreds of thousands to hear some of the jazz world’s most renowned musicians. Performances take place day and night in indoor and outdoor settings. LINEUP: GoGo Penguin, Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles, Herbie Hancock, Chris Botti, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Bria Skonberg, Baltic Jazz Trio, Hush Point, Samuel Blazer Trio, Maciej Obara Quartet, Gwenyth Herbert, Rotem Sivam Trio, Sun of Gold- Festival International de Jazz de Montréal finger, Marius Neset, Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, Peter Van Huffel’s Gorilla Mask, Guillaume Perret: )HVWLYDO,QWHUQDWLRQDOGH0XVLTXH LINEUP: Joe Satriani and others. See website. Free, Dan Weiss Metal Jazz Quintet, Jerry Granelli $FWXHOOHGH9LFWRULDYLOOH ),0$9 fgmat.com Group with Robben Ford and Bob Lanzetti, Joe Victoriaville, Quebec Sullivan Big Band, Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop, May 17–20 Suoni Per Il Popolo The Brass Band, Alison Krauss, The 34th edition of FIMAV will offer avant-garde Montreal, Quebec Boz Scaggs, Francois Bourassa, Ron Artis II & The music, visual arts, short films and sound art June 1–18 Truth, Ghost Note, Lake Street Drive, Swing Swing installations. Venues for this festival are Casa del Popolo, Swing! with Kellylee Evans, Moon Hooch, Michael Greilsammer, Band, Banda Magda, LINEUP: William Parker, Fire!, Mats Gustafsson, Sala Rossa, La Vitrola and La Sotterenea. Walter Boudreau, Rova, Phew, Anna Homler, LINEUP: , Paal Nilssen-Love, ottawajazzfestival.com Mette Rasmussen, Lan Tung, David & The Nicole Mitchell, Jaimie Branch, Budi. Mountain Ensemble, Audrey Chen, Balazs suoniperilpopolo.org SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival Pandi, Lori Freedman, Erwan Keravec. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan ƓPDYTFFD TD Winnipeg International June 22–July 1 For more than three decades, this fest has offered Jazz Festival jazz, blues, funk, soul, pop and world music. Winnipeg, Manitoba World Guitar Festival (FGMAT) LINEUP: Kamasi Washington, Rouyn-Noranda, Northern Québec June 14–24 Since 1990, this annual feastival has been Trio, Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite, May 26–June 2 The Flaming Lips, Bonobo, City & Colour. The 14th annual edition of FGMAT showcases a presenting dozens of top-tier touring acts at saskjazz.com wide spectrum of musical styles on stringed downtown concert venues. instruments. LINEUP: Chris Botti, Jill Barber, The Flaming TD Toronto Jazz Festival Toronto, Ontario June 22–July 1 This festival features more than 100 free performances, as well as new initiatives and some of the biggest names in music. LINEUP: Herbie Hancock, Gregory Porter, Snarky Puppy, Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, Lake Street Dive, , Heavyweights Brass Band. torontojazz.com

TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival Vancouver, British Columbia June 22–July 1 This festival offers more than 1,800 artists, 300 performances and 35 venues. There are more than 150 free shows, including two huge outdoor presentations downtown and at David Lam Park. LINEUP: Spanish Harlem Orchestra, GoGo Penguin, Dave King Trucking Company, Dan Weiss, Stare- baby, Kamasi Washington, Robert Plant, more. coastaljazz.ca

120 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 121 TD Victoria International Jazz Festival Victoria, British Columbia June 22–July 1 The 35th edition of this fest will feature jazz, blues and world music by more than 350 musicians from around the world. LINEUP: Julian Lage Trio, GoGo Penguin, Ghost Note, Vincent Herring Quartet, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Ranee Lee. jazzvictoria.ca

)HVWLYDO,QWHUQDWLRQDOGH-D]]GH0RQWU«DO Montreal, Quebec June 28–July 7 The world’s largest jazz festival has been synonymous with a passion for music for nearly 40 years. For 10 days, Montreal becomes the gathering spot for jazz fans from around the globe. LINEUP: Sons of Kemet, Chris Botti, Snarky Puppy, /Randy Brecker Band, Keyon Harrold, Moon Hooch, Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band, Ólafur Arnalds & Jean-Michel Blais, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Davina & The Vagabonds, GoGo Penguin, Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, Daniel Caesar, Jain, Ian Anderson, Ry Cooder, Ranee Lee, Tom Kenney, Bokanté, Marius Neset, Dennis Chambers, Kamasi Washington, Holly Cole, Beth Hart, more. montrealjazzfest.com

TD Halifax Jazz Festival Halifax, Nova Scotia July 11–15 Now in its 32nd year, this festival makes use of the beautiful waterfront setting of downtown Halifax to present a wide range of performers. LINEUP: Charlotte Day Wilson, Daniel Caesar, The War On Drugs, others. KDOLID[MD]]IHVWLYDOFD

TD Kitchener Blues Festival Kitchener, Ontario Aug. 9–12 This event presents more than 80 international, national and regional acts on six stages. Plus, there are late shows in clubs and restaurants. LINEUP: Jonny Lang with Rik Emmett and Resolution 9. See website. NLWFKHQHUEOXHVIHVWLYDOFRP

The Blues Festival Edmonton, Aug. 24–26 The 20th annual edition of this award-winning festival will feature the best in blues from around the world. LINEUP: Booker T., Samantha Fish, Monkeyjunk, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, Sugaray Rayford, Ben Waters, more. bluesinternationalltd.com

Pentastic Hot Jazz Festival Penticton, British Columbia Sept. 7–9 This event presents traditional jazz bands in five venues, all within close proximity. Audiences are enthusiastically encouraged to dance. LINEUP: Bria Skonberg, Dave Bennett, Tom Hook, Tom Rigney, more. pentasticjazz.com

Guelph Jazz Festival Guelph, Ontario Sept. 12–16 This festival , celebrating its 25th anniversary, features the best in creative improvised music, and also hosts a free outdoor concert series and an educational colloquium. LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists included BassDrumBone, Peter Brötzmann, Peggy Lee Octet, MendHam. JXHOSKMD]]IHVWLYDOFRP

122 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 123 124 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 LUTZ VOIGTLAENDER

Swedish vocalist Viktoria Tolstoy, who has recorded for the ACT imprint, performs at Jazzfest Bonn in Germany last year.

ermany’s growing love and support of “We invited many extraordinary and dis- the delicate balancing act of showcasing well- jazz is continuous, and sometimes tinctive pianists with their bands to the festival,” known and emerging artists, as well as of creat- Gincludes echoes of the nation’s estima- Materna said. In addition to Bates, who will per- ing a space for various sub-genres. ble musical past. form with his trio Belovèd, the list includes Julia “It is very important for me to reach as many Such is the case with Jazzfest Bonn, a formi- Hülsmann, Pablo Held, Michael Wollny, Gerald people as possible,” he said. “In my opinion, this dable and relatively young festival on the scene. Clayton, Makoto Ozone, Eyolf Dale and Aaron music and the [scope of the] form is so mag- It celebrates its ninth anniversary this spring, Goldberg. nificent that I want to inspire others. … To April 26–May 12, in the famed city of Ludwig Bates, whose expressive powers on piano are make this possible, I have to program in a way van Beethoven’s birth. Generally, there aren’t displayed on 2017’s The Study Of Touch (ECM), that less-experienced listeners are able to gain direct links between Beethoven and Jazzfest— said that “Jazzfest Bonn is presenting a wonder- access to jazz. It’s an ideal mix for what I want although that might shift in 2020, the year that fully varied group of pianists this year and I feel to achieve.” would mark the composer’s 250th birthday. a kinship with all of them. We’re all building The prominence of classical music in Still, some musical resonance with the immor- with the same 88 piano keys and all exploring Germany, Materna points out, also relates to a tally beloved Beethoven should be expected. the infinity that they offer.” strong national taste for jazz’s sophistication. Peter Materna, founding festival director, Germany boasts many notable jazz festivals “Jazz is highly regarded in Germany. It noted that “classical musicians look at Bonn of varying sizes, stylistic leanings and vintag- receives more and more respect, and can be in great reverence, since it is Beethoven’s place es, including the 54-year-old Jazzfest Berlin, experienced in traditional concert halls more of birth and it exhibits a major classical music the adventuresome Moers Festival and the frequently,” he said. “We have a very sensi- scene. Since Beethoven was known to be a great wide-ranging Jazz Baltica. Add Bonn to that list ble, culturally disposed and open audience in improvisation artist during his lifetime, it is of German fests worth keeping tabs on. Germany. Due to the strong presence of classi- obvious that we have a very enthusiastic audi- “The main distinction between Jazzfest cal music in our society, it belongs to our gener- ence here. This enabled Jazzfest Bonn to grow Bonn and other [German] festivals is that al education to be interested in cultural themes from year to year.” our concerts take place at 10 different venues and, in particular, music. Unfortunately, in And according to British pianist Django throughout the [city],” said Materna. “Each Germany, jazz music is not publicly subsidized Bates, one of this year’s highlighted festival venue is carefully chosen and the music is tuned as much as classical music is. But we do hope artists, “It’s impossible to be in Bonn without to the concert location. … The other major and campaign for a change here.” thinking of Beethoven.” difference is that the concerts are always in a As the festival moves toward its 10th anni- The first jazz festival of its size in Germany’s double-concert format. On one evening, two versary in 2019, Materna explains that the proj- former capital city, Jazzfest Bonn grew from a bands can be heard, each for one hour on the ect is secure in its footing, while still being a weekend-long event in 2009 to its current three- same stage. In an ideal situation, I combine a work-in-progress. week span. The 2018 roster includes ever-pop- renowned artist with a completely unknown “We are constantly developing the festival ular Swedish trombonist , gui- artist. At the same time, the quality of the con- further,” he said. “One of our main goals is to tarist John Scofield and Swiss vocalist Andrea certs should be equivalent. Through this, we strengthen jazz music with its artistic fascina- Schaerer. want to show the concertgoer how complex and tion and connecting quality as an important Thematic agendas often are woven into the diverse this wonderful music can be.” instrument for integration and togetherness in festival’s programming. And this year, piano is Materna’s philosophy in booking and our society—and to widen the number of fans the thing. designing a festival program takes into account for this music.” —Josef Woodard

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 125 EUROPE DAVID PELTAN

Bohemia JazzFest in

International Jazz Festival Bern LINEUP: John Scofield, Michael Wollny Trio, Pab- LINEUP: Sons of Kemet, Chick Corea, Paolo Bern, Switzerland lo Held Quartet, Aaron Goldberg Trio, SASKYA, Fresu, Andrea Motis & Joan Chamoroo Group, March 12–May 19 Nils Landgren Quartet, Ed Motta, Incognito, Manhattan Transfer & Trio, Raul Midón. Jazz, blues and soul are presented during Nils Wülker, Django Bates’ Belovèd, Ulita ravennajazz.it this festival, now in its 43rd year. Knaus, Inga Lühning & André Nendza, Julia Hülsmann & Christopher Dell, Lage Lund Trio, LINEUP: , Benny Green, James Car- Trondheim Jazz Festival Philip Catherine & Martin Wind, Julia Biel, Wolf- ter, Jacky Terrasson, Clayton Brothers, Cécile Trondheim, Norway gang Haffner Quartet, Richie Beirach & Gregor McLorin Salvant, Steve Gadd Band, Catherine May 8–13 Huebner, LYAMBIKO, Bundesjazzorchester, Launched in 1980 as JazzMazz, this diverse fes- Russell, James Morrison Quintet, Harry Allen. Eyolf Dale Quintet, Makoto Ozone Trio. tival focuses on Norwegian and European jazz. MD]]IHVWLYDOEHUQFK jazzfest-bonn.de LINEUP: Cécile McLorin Salvant, Gregory Menorca International Jazz Festival Porter, Bill Frisell & Thomas Morgan, China Menorca, Spain Ulrichsberger Kaleidophon Moses, Donny McCaslin, Chick Corea with the March–June Ulrichsberg, Austria Trondheim Jazzorkester, Armel Dupas Trio, This festival is held in various towns around April 27–29 Kari Ikonen Trio, Arild Andersen & Trondhe- the island, including Ciutadella and Mahón. This year marks the 33rd edition of this imSolistene, Atomic, Solveig Slettahjell. international festival of jazz, improvised jazzfest.no James Carter, Kyle Eastwood, The LINEUP: music and contemporary composed music. Jazz Fingers, Madrid Hot Jazz Band. Matthew Shipp, Sylvie Courvoisier jazzobert.com LINEUP: EUROPAfest Trio, Va Servito Ben Fresco, North of North, Bucharest, Romania & Matthew Shipp, others. May 10–19 Jazz Festival Basel MD]]DWHOLHUDWNDOKWP Jazz, blues and classical concerts by Basel, Switzerland more than 300 artists will be mixed April 12–May 16 with master classes and workshops. International jazz artists perform in a MaiJazz number of venues around the city. Stavanger, Norway LINEUP: See website. Past performers include Lineup: John Scofield, Eddie Henderson Quar- May 4–9 the Akakaze Quartet, Cocoon, Sun-Mi Hong. tet, Danilo Pérez/John Patitucci/Brian Blade, Founded in 1989, MaiJazz (aka the jmevents.ro Anouar Brahem Band, Elina Duni, Stefano Bol- Stavanger International Jazz Festi- lani, Lucia Cadotsch, Marius Neset, Eric Bibb. val) is the city’s oldest festival. Vicenza Jazz RIIEHDWFRQFHUWFK LINEUP: Chick Corea & Trondheim Jazzorkester, Vicenza, Gregory Porter & Stavanger Symfoniorkester, May 10–20 Jazzfest Bonn Cécile McLorin Salvant, Donny McCaslin, Ralph The 23rd edition of this festival will Bonn, Germany Towner, Moon Hooch, Pixel, Hakon Kornstad. present more than 150 concerts. April 26–May 12 maijazz.no LINEUP: Ravi Coltrane, Joe Lovano/Dave In addition to presenting world-famous art- Douglas Quintet, Sun Ra Mythic Dream ists, this festival promotes young jazz Ravenna Jazz Arkestra (conducted by Marshall Allen), musicians, giving them the opportunity to Ravenna, Italy Camille Bertault, Raul Midón, Tigran perform in Beethoven’s birth town. Founded May 4–13 Hamasyan, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, in 2010, Jazzfest Bonn has quickly built a This festival has expanded its pro- Enrico Pieranunzi, Seamus Blake, David reputation that puts it in league with gram for its 45th edition: 10 days of Virelles, Eivind Aarset, , more. older European fests. music in venues all around town. vicenzajazz.org

126 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 Newbury Spring Festival Iford Arts Festival jazz and other genres that have connections Newbury, England Iford, England to it, including rock and world music. May 12–26 May 25–Aug. 4 LINEUP: & The Bad Seeds, others. The 40th annual edition will include This longstanding, multi-genre festival caz.iksv.org/en classical, jazz and world music,. presents a variety of jazz in Iford Manor, a gar- LINEUP: YolanDa Brown, Clare Teal, Joe Stilgoe, den-oriented setting near Bradford on Avon. Ljubljana Jazz Festival Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers, Kabantu. LINEUP: See website. Past performers include Ljubljana, Slovenia newburyspringfestival.org.uk Leeds City Stompers, Pee Wee Ellis, Heidi Vogel. June 27–30 ifordarts.org.uk This event is the recipient of the Europe Sibiu Jazz Festival Jazz Network (EJN) Award for Adventurous Sibiu, Transylvania, Romania Roma Summer Fest Programming. The 59th annual edition of this May 17–20 , Italy fest will have indoor and outdoor shows. This year’s edition will debut the Ro- June 10–Aug. 2 LINEUP: manian Jazz Meeting, a launch pad This outdoor festival is held at the Au- Dave Holland/Zakir Hussain/Chris Potter for Romanian musicians who are ea- ditorium Parco della Musica. Trio, Dhafer Youssef 4tet, João Bosco & Hamilton de Holanda, Goran Kajfes, Eli- ger to make inroads worldwide. LINEUP: Pat Metheny, Chick Corea Akoustic LINEUP: Accord Vibes Band, Peter Sarosi Azara, Band, , , Ringo Starr, fantree, Ikui Doki, Rok Zalokar Trio. Djazz & Happy Sins, Irina Popa, more. King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Luca Barbarossa. ljubljanajazz.si sibiujazz.eu romeing.it/roma-summer-fest Jazz à Vienne INNtöne Jazzfestival JazzFest Passau Vienne, France Diersbach, Austria Passau, Germany June 28–July 13 May 18–20 June 14–22 Presenters of the 38th edition of This fest fills three stages, and art- Shows take place in the Cafe Museum Passau, this festival encourage fans to en- ists also perform at local clubs. and the Rathausinnenhof Passau. Organizers joy music on multiple stages. LINEUP: Sons of Kemet, Kamasi Washing- also present shows on several days in August. LINEUP: Gregory Porter. Rokia Traoré, Morcheeba, others. ton, Bobby Watson, Jaimeo Brown, Soweto LINEUP: Passau Jazz Orchestra, Leo Big Kinch, David Murray Class Struggle, Hen- Band Passau, Freudenhain Big Band. jazzavienne.com drika Entzian Quartet, Chanda Rule. cafe-museum.de/jazzfest-passau inntoene.com Love Supreme Jazz Festival JazzAscona/The New Orleans East Sussex, England Moers Festival June 29–July 1 Moers, Germany Experience Jazz, funk and soul are offered at this festival, May 18–21 Ascona, Switzerland held at Glynde Place, an Elizabethan manor. This international music festival, found- June 21–30 Tony Allen, Nubya Garcia, Curtis This festival emphasizes New Orleans jazz and LINEUP: ed in 1972, has an associated “im- Harding, Keyon Harrold, Mavis Staples, food. Some 200 concerts will be presented. proviser in residence” who lives and Yazz Ahmed, Ezra Collective, Moses Boyd works in the city for one year. LINEUP: See website. Past performers in- Exodus, George Clinton, Elvis Costello, clude Topsy Chapman, Jon Cleary. LINEUP: See website. Last year’s performers Steve Winwood, more. MD]]DVFRQDFK included Anthony Braxton, Brian Blade. lovesupremefestival.com moers-festival.de JazzBaltica Gent Jazz Festival Kerava Jazz Festival Timmendorfer Strand, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Ghent, Belgium Kerava, Finland June 22–24 June 29–July 8 May 25–27 JazzBaltica takes place right next to the Founded in 2002, this festival in northwest This festival has prospered by present- Baltic Sea and offers concerts at the beach. Belgium presents jazz legends and rising stars. A free open-air program is also offered. ing a lineup of avant-garde, free-jazz and LINEUP: Jason Moran & Bandwagon, Am- spiritual jazz for the past two decades. LINEUP: Nils Landgren, Jan Garbarek, Paolo Fre- brose Akinmusire, Pharoah Sanders with su, Donny McCaslin, Candy Dulfer, Eva Kruse, LINEUP: Chicago/London Under- Nicholas Payton, Vijay Iyer Sextet, Dan ground, Svenska Kaputt “Suomi” project. NDR Bigband, Lars Danielsson, Ulf Wakenius. Weiss, Melanie De Biasio, Paolo Conte, NHUDYDMD]]Ɠ jazzbaltica.com Kandace Springs, Jef Neve, Igor Gehenot. gentjazz.com NattJazz Jazz Fest Wien Bergen, Norway Vienna, Austria Montreux Jazz Festival May 25–June 2 June 26–July 10 Montreux, Switzerland Founded in 1972, this festival focuses This festival features 12 concert stag- June 29–July 14 on folkloric and contemporary jazz. es in landmark venues like the Vienna This festival, which takes places on the State Opera, as well as local jazz clubs. LINEUP: /Peter Bernstein/Bill shores of Lake Geneva, presents jazz, Stewart, Fire!, Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles, LINEUP: Cécile McLorin Salvant, Thomas blues, rock and other genres. Three large Sam Amidon, Angles 9, Erlend Apneseth Quasthoff, Caro Emerald, Melody Gardot, venues (Auditorium Stravinski, Montreux Trio, Woody Black 4, Lucia Cadotsch, Cortex, Randy Crawford, Kris Kristofferson, others. Jazz Club, Montreux Jazz Lab) showcase Charlotte Dos Santos, Frode Haltli Avant Folk, viennajazz.org the headliners, and free concerts provide David Helblock’s Random/Control, Régis Huby, opportunities for emerging artists to shine. Ola Kvernberg, Lana Trio & Sofia Jernberg, Jazz Festival LINEUP: See website. Past performers include Magic Spirit Quartet, Gard Nilssen’s Acoustic Istanbul, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder, Unity, Nils Okland Band, Rohey, Zap Mama. June 26–July 17 Kendrick Lamar, Lauryn Hill, . natjazz.no The 25th edition of this festival will present montreuxjazzfestival.com

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 127 LINEUP: Kurt Elling, Pat Metheny, Brad Mehldau, , Gregory Porter, Joshua Redman, Terence Blanchard, Vi- jay Iyer, Billy Hart, Stefano Bollani, Roy Hargrove, Alfredo Rodriguez, Mingus Big GENT JAZZ FESTIVAL Band, Pedrito Martinez, Joey Alexander, Gilberto Gil, Ivan Lins, Caetano Veloso, Kyle Eastwood, Melody Gardot, Take 6, Massive Attack, , The Chainsmokers, umbriajazz.com

Aarhus Jazz Festival Aarhus, Denmark July 14–21 Festival venues include the Aarhus Concert Hall, clubs, museums and conservatories. LINEUP: See website. Past performers include Gent Jazz Festival in Ghent, Belgium Pierre Doerge, , Herbie Hancock. jazzfest.dk

Kongsberg Jazz Festival Jazzopen Stuttgart Jazz à Juan Kongsberg, Norway Stuttgart, Germany Juan-les-Pins, France July 4–7 July 12–22 July 14–22 This festival presents avant-garde and Pat Metheny performed at the inau- The 58th edition of this festival will once again mainstream jazz acts, as well as poetry. gural edition of Jazzopen Stuttgart in have a spectacular setting. The main open-air arena has tiered seating with the stage back- LINEUP: Gregory Porter, Carla Bley Trio, Chick 1994, and he will return this year. ing on to the beautiful bay of Juan-Les-Pins. Corea Akoustic Band with Marius Neset, LINEUP: Marcus Miller, Pat Metheny, Jamie Clashes (Skomsvoll/Hidle/Kornstad/Ensemble Cullum, Jason Moran & Bandwagon, Christian LINEUP: Chick Corea, Marcus Mill- Allegria), Erlend Apneseth Trio, Stein Torleif McBride’s New Jawn, Gregory Porter, Stanley er Youn Sun Nah, others. Bella, Charlotte Dos Santos, Gurls, Tom Ibarra, Clarke, Quincy Jones, GoGo Penguin, Michael jazzajuan.com Juno, Goran Kajfe’s Subtropic Orchestra, Wollny, Catherine Russell, Moon Hooch, Omer Ola Kvernberg, Helge Lien Trio, Stenson/ Avital, Allan Harris, Chico Freeman, Kraftwerk. Jazz Christensen/Ljungfist, Hedvig Mollestads, jazzopen.com Pori, Finland Marius Neset & London Sinfonietta. July 14–22 kongsbergjazz.no North Sea Jazz Festival The 53rd edition of the festival will of- Rotterdam, The fer a wide array of international stars Copenhagen Jazz Festival July 13–15 and the best of Finnish talent. The main Copenhagen, Denmark This massive festival showcases numerous shows take place on several stages in the July 6–15 styles of jazz, as well as funk, soul, salsa, beautiful Kirjurinluoto Concert Park. The 40th edition of one of the world’s blues and gospel. Programming includes LINEUP: Vijay Iyer Sextet, R+R=NOW (Robert largest jazz festivals takes place in ven- clinics, an educational program and the Glasper, Terrace Martin, Christian Scott aTunde ues all across the Danish capital. presentation of the Paul Acket Award for Adjuah, Taylor McFerrin, Derrick Hodge & LINEUP: , Brad Mehldau, Melody an artist who deserves wider recognition. Justin Tyson), GoGo Penguin, Carla Bley, Gardot, Tomatito & Michel Camilo, others. LINEUP: Sons of Kemet, Snarky Puppy, Fred Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Mavis Staples, jazz.dk Hersch Trio, Marcus Miller, R+R=NOW (Robert Yazz Ahmed, James Blunt, Jessie Ware. Glasper, Terrace Martin, Christian Scott aTunde SRULMD]]Ɠ Lugano Estival Jazz Adjuah, Taylor McFerrin, Derrick Hodge & Mendrisio and Lugano, Switzerland Justin Tyson), Gregory Porter with Metropole 0ROGH,QWHUQDWLRQDO July 6–7, July 12–14 Orkest, Pat Metheny (with Antonio Sanchez/ Jazz Festival This open-air, free-admission festi- Linda Oh/Gwilym Simcock), Joshua Redman Molde, Norway val presents 15 concerts of jazz, world with Billy Hart Quartet, Hudson, Angelique Ki- July 16–21 music, rock and other genres. djo & , Pharoah Sanders Quar- This festival, which was founded in 1961, LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists included tet, Charles Lloyd & The Marvels, Stanley Clarke is located by a fjord with a beautiful view Mike Stern, Randy Brecker, Vinicio Capossela. Band, Kurt Elling Quintet with Marquis Hill, The of hundreds of mountaintops. The festival HVWLYDOMD]]FK O’Jays, Gary Clark Jr., & Chic. presents more than 100 free and ticketed QRUWKVHDMD]]FRP concerts in eight indoor and outdoor venues. Bohemia JazzFest LINEUP: Maria Schneider, Stanley Clarke Band, Prague, Czech Republic Umbria Jazz R+R=NOW (Robert Glasper, Terrace Mar- July 9–17 Perugia, Italy tin, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Taylor Beginning in Prague’s historic Old Town July 13–22 McFerrin, Derrick Hodge & Justin Tyson), Square, this traveling, free-admission festival The Santa Giuliana Arena serves as home Hudson, Donny McCaslin, Allison Miller’s Boom (founded in 2006) also presents outdoor to the main events of this festival, now in Tic Boom, Matana Roberts, , performances in the Czech cities of Pilsen, its 45th year. Special concerts take place Cezinando, Iiro Rantala/Ulf Wakenius, The Big Liberec, Domazlice, Tabor and Brno. at the Morlacchi Theatre, and midday Yes, Four Brothers, Knut Reiersrud Band, Gurls, LINEUP: Mike Stern/Randy Brecker, Bill Frisell concerts will take place at the prestigious Trondheim Jazzorkester & The MaxX, Paal Quartet, House of Waters, Enrico Rava, more. National Gallery of Umbria. There is also a Nilssen-Love XL Unit, Ola Kvernberg, Trond- ERKHPLDMD]]IHVWFRP full program of free outdoor concerts. heim Voices, Amanda Delara, Fieh, Ingebjørg

128 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018

Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival Ystad, Sweden Aug. 1–5 This fest includes 40 concerts in 12 venues, all within walking distance in the medieval

©LUTZ VOIGTLAENDER town center of Ystad. There will be a spe- cial concert on Aug. 5 at Ale’s Stones. LINEUP: Paolo Fresu, Manhattan Transfer, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Youn Sun Nah, Lizz Wright, Nils Landgren, Avishai Cohen (trumpet), Wolfgang Haffner Band, Claire Martin, , Almaz Yebio, Ellen Andrea Wang. ystadjazz.se

Gouvy Jazz & Blues Festival Gouvy, Belgium Aug. 3–5 This fest, celebrating its 39th anniversary, Marius Neset at Jazzfest Bonn in Germany offers jazz and blues. LINEUP: See website. Past performers include Bratland, Torhild Ostad/Carsten Dahl. Heineken Jazzaldia Chico Freeman, Benny Golson, Rhoda Scott. moldejazz.no San Sebastian, Spain madelonne.be/festival July 25–29 )HVWLYDOGH-D]]GH9LWRULD*DVWHL] The Heineken Jazzaldia (aka the San Sebas- Jazz Middelheim Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain tian Jazz Festival) is the longest-running jazz Antwerp, Belgium July 17–21 festival in Spain and one of the oldest in Aug. 9–12 For more than four decades, this festival has Europe. This year’s edition will be the 53rd. The Jazz, pop and rock are all part of this festival, presented world-class jazz. Organizers of this festival offers a mix of ticketed concerts and now in its 37th year. There also will be event seek to present unique collaborations. free, open-air shows, with more than 100 acts. workshops and an artist-in-residence. LINEUP: Cory Henry, Hudson, Mingus Big LINEUP: Gregory Porter, Brad Mehldau, Chick LINEUP: Kamasi Washington, Melanie De Biasio, Band, Joel Frahm, Avishai Cohen (trumpet), Corea, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Carla Bley, Dave Philip Catherine, FONS feat.. Logan Richardson, Camila Meza, Seamus Blake, Carla Bruni, Holland with Chris Potter & Zakir Hussain, Jazz Orchestra, more. Leanne Faine & Favor, Kool & The Gang. Kenny Barron, R+R=NOW (Robert Glasper, MD]]PLGGHOKHLPEH jazzvitoria.com Terrace Martin, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Taylor McFerrin, Derrick Hodge & Justin Tyson), Nisville Jazz Festival Nice Jazz Festival Benny Green, Jacob Collier, Caetano Veloso. Nis, Serbia Nice, France KHLQHNHQMD]]DOGLDHXV Aug. 9–12 July 17–21 Jazz, blues and soul will dominate six main A mainstay of the French Riviera jazz Llandudno Jazz Festival stages and a clutch of smaller venues. scene for 70 years, this center-city fest Conwy, Wales LINEUP: Omar Hakim & , In- showcases performers on two stages at July 27–29 ner Circle, Matt Bianco, Darko once. There is a total of six stages. This festival in a seaside resort town high- Rundek & Apocalypso, more. LINEUP: See website. Previous performers lights key jazz figures on the U.K. scene. nisville.com include George Benson, Stéphane Grappelli. LINEUP: Gilad Atzmon & Orient House, Iain Bal- nicejazzfestival.fr lamy & Huw Warren Duo, Roger Beaujolais’ Full Oslo Jazz Festival House Trio feat. Jim Mullen, Claire Martin, Sara Oslo, Norway Hull Jazz Festival Oschlag featuring , Dean Masser. Aug. 11–18 Hull, Yorkshire and Humber, England llandudnojazzfestival.com International jazz stars, a festival poet, pop-up July 19–21 concerts, film screenings and local perform- The 26th edition of this festival will feature Jazz em Agosto ers are on the menu for this jazz festival. some of the U.K.’s most exciting jazz talent. Lisbon, Portugal LINEUP: Tom Harrell, Jacob Collier, Sidsel Endre- LINEUP: Vimala Rowe & John Etheridge, July 27–Aug. 5 sen & Jan Bang, , Bugge Wes- Denys Baptiste Quartet, Camilla George. To celebrate the 35th edition of Jazz em seltoft, Rebekka Bakken, James Morrison & The MQLJKWRUJ Agosto, the Gulbenkian Foundation will Brazz Brothers, British United Vibrations, Torun present a “Special Edition” program fully Eriksen, Four Freshmen, Hovedeen Social Club. Langnau Jazz Nights dedicated to composer John Zorn’s musical oslojazz.com Langnau, Bern, Switzerland universe, with 22 concerts and five films. July 24–28 LINEUP: John Zorn, Masada, Mary Halvor- Roccella Jazz Festival Over the last 27 years this festival has son Quartet, Julian Lage & Gyan Riley, Kris Roccella Ionica, Italy impressed with an international lineup. Davis Quartet, John Medeski Trio, Thurston Aug. 12–22 With its incorporated jazz workshop, it is a Moore, Craig Taborn, Milford Graves, Ikue Jazz clinics, main-stage concerts and popular meeting point for musicians from Mori, Brian Marsella Trio, Marc Ribot, Dave fringe events will take place in a 3,000- all over Europe and the United States. Douglas, Barbara Hannigan, Mathieu Amalric, seat open-air amphitheater, a 16th-cen- LINEUP: Christian McBride’s New Jawn, Stephen Gosling, Simulacrum, Highsmith tury convent, a 17th-century chapel Brad Mehldau Trio, Billy Hart Quartet Trio, Insurrection, Trigger, Secret Chiefs 3, and a modern marina in Roccella. featuring Joshua Redman, Bokanté. Asmodeus, The Hermetic Organ, others. LINEUP: Marc Johnson & Eliane Elias Duo, MD]]QLJKWVFK jazzemagosto.pt Mattew Shipp Trio, Baba Sissoko, Dweezil

130 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 Zappa, Genti Rushi Quartet, Enzo Pietropaoli, Scarborough Jazz Festival Baloise Session Santi Scarcella, Debora J. Carter, Rosalia De Scarborough, England Basel, Switzerland Souza Quintet, Dean Bowman/Hamid Drake/ Sept. 28–30 Oct. 19–Nov. 6 Daniele Sepe, Ray Gelato & The Giants. Programming for the 16th annual edition of For the past 33 years, major stars have been roccellajazz.org this fest includes big bands and tributes to coming to this festival, which features jazz, , Peggy Lee and Wayne Shorter. soul, blues, world music and other genres. Saalfelden International Jazz Festival LINEUP: Gareth Lockrane Big Band, Atlantic LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists included Sallfelden, Austria Crossover, Alan Barnes Octet, Woody Black Alicia Keys, Kool & the Gang, Imelda May. Aug. 23–26 4, Leila Martial, Dave Newton & Alan Barnes, EDORLVHVHVVLRQFK Last year this festival featured 187 artists Stan Sulzmann’s Neon Orchestra, more. from 28 nations performing 37 concerts. MD]]VFDUERURXJKVSDFRXN Jazzfest Berlin LINEUP: Shabaka Hutchings with Shake Berlin, Germany Stew, Ulrich Drechsler, Marc Ribot. International Festival of Nov. 1–4 jazzsaalfelden.com Contemporary Music This festival, which was founded more than 50 Venice, Italy years ago, has featured numerous interesting Koktebel Jazz Party Sept. 28–Oct. 7 venues, including a church and an arts academy. Koktebel, Russia Pianist Keith Jarrett will perform and receive LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists included Aug. 24–26 the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. Shabaka & The Ancestors, , Nels For 15 years, this event on the Black LINEUP: Keith Jarrett, Victor Wooten Trio, Se- Cline, Ambrose Akinmusire, Michael Wollny. Sea that has brought together jazz en- bastian Rivas, Mivos Quartet, Charlotte Testu. berlinerfestspiele.de thusiasts from many countries. labiennale.org/en/music/2018 LINEUP: See website. Past performers include ()*/RQGRQ-D]])HVWLYDO Jimmy Cobb, Tom Harrell, Igor Butman. Akbank Jazz Festival London, England en.koktebel-jazz.ru Istanbul, Turkey Nov. 16–25 Oct. 17–28 One of the U.K.’s landmark musical celebrations, Jazz Festival Willisau Launched in 1991, this festival includes con- the EFG London Jazz Festival brings the best and Willisau, Switzerland certs, panels, workshops, film screenings and freshest music to the streets, clubs and concert Aug. 29–Sept. 2 social-responsibility projects (akbankcaz.com). halls of London. It features world-renowned mu- Contemporary European jazz, pop and folk are the LINEUP. See website. Last year’s artists in- sicians and emerging stars from across the globe. key ingredients in this festival, founded in 1966. cluded Chucho Valdés & Gonzalo Rubalca- LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists included LINEUP: See website. Past performers include ba, Daniel Herskedal & Marius Neset Duo, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kneebody, Robert Anthony Braxton, Abdullah Ibrahim. Benedikt Jahnel Trio, Mark Guilliana. Glasper, Becca Stevens, Dayna Stevens. MD]]IHVWLYDOZLOOLVDXFK akbankjazzfestival.com efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk

MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 131 OTHER INTERNATIONAL

KL International Jazz & Arts Festival Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia September (Dates TBD) The biggest jazz festival in Kuala Lumpur presents concerts in clubs, a theater at the University Malaya and other venues. LINEUP: See website. Past performers include David Sanborn, Lee Ritenour, Tinho Pereira. LAURADE KWANT PHOTOGRAPHY klinternationaljazz.com

Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival Aruba Sept. 21–22 This event will feature more than 20 performances in a beautiful setting. See website. Past performers include Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival LINEUP: Marcus Miller, Roy Hargrove, Maceo Parker. caribbeanseajazz.com Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival Marjorie Whylie, Freddy Loco,June Thompson, Saint Lucia, Caribbean others. Jarasum International Jazz Festival May 6–13 RFKRULRVMD]]MDFRP Gapyeong, South Korea This festival will offer ticketed concerts, Oct. 12–14 educational events and free shows. Devonport Jazz This festival, now in its 15th year, typ- LINEUP: AZIZA (Chris Potter, Dave Holland, Devonport, Tasmania, Australia ically includes about 15 venues. Lionel Loueke & Eric Horland). R+R=Now July 26–29 LINEUP: See website. Past performers include (Robert Glasper, Christian Scott aTunde Celebrating 17 years, this fest showcases jazz Joshua Redman, Mike Stern, Chucho Valdés. Adjuah, Derrick Hodge, Justin Tyson, Taylor and blues in a series of special events, dances, jarasumjazz.com McFerrin & Terrace Martin), Jazzmeia Horn, dinners and concerts. Alfredo Rodriguez, Etienne Mbappe, others. LINEUP: SKETY and others; see website. Dominican Republic Jazz Festival stluciajazz.org devonportjazz.com Punta Canta, Santo Domingo, Santiago, Puerto Plata and Cabarete, Dominican Republic Rio das Ostras Jazz & Blues Festival Savassi Festival Oct. 28, Nov. 1–4 Rio das Ostras, Brazil Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janerio, Brazil Now in its 22nd year, this festival presents May 31–June 3 Aug. 3–11 free concerts at several locations. FEDUJAZZ, The 15th edition of this fest will present con- Held at various venues throughout beautiful the non-profit educational organization of certs on three stages around the beautiful Belo Hoizonte, this festival has a strong focus the fest, presents a host of workshops. landscape of Rio das Ostras. (Also, on Sept 7–9, on educational events and workshops as well LINEUP: See website. Past performers include the festival will have a special edition at as musical performances. Anat Cohen, Esperanza Spalding, Sean Jones. for the first time.) LINEUP: Frederico Heliodoro, Felipe Villas-Boas, drjazzfestival.com LINEUP: Stanley Jordan, Vanessa Col- Juarez Moreira, Louise Woolet, Duo Desvio, others. lier, Leon Beal, Azymuth, others. savassifestival.com.br Jazzmandu riodasostrasjazzeblues.com Kathmandu, Nepal Red Sea Jazz Festival Nov. 1–6 Melbourne International Jazz Festival Eilat, Israel For more than 15 years, Jazzmandu (The Melbourne, Australia Aug. 26–28 Kathmandu Jazz Festival) has booked June 1–10 The 32nd edition of this festival will once outstanding musicians for this fest, high- Founded in 1998, this festival features more again feature multiple concerts every evening, lighting Nepali and other musical traditions. than 100 shows at over 30 venues. In addition as well as clinics and nightly jam sessions. LINEUP: See website. Past performers include to ticketed concerts, programming includes See website. Previous performers the Claudia Quintet, Trilok Gurtu, Ari Hoenig. free events and educational workshops. LINEUP: include Catherine Russell, Dr. Lonnie Smith. jazzmandu.com Branford Marsalis, Madeline Peyroux, LINEUP: en.redseajazz.co.il Gretchen Parlato, Sun Ra Arkestra, others. Wangaratta Festival of melbournejazz.com Curaçao North Sea Jazz Festival Jazz & Blues Willemstad, Curaçao Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia Jamaica Ocho Rios International Aug. 30–Sept. 1 Nov. 2–4 Jazz Festival Over the course of eight years, this has grown This festival presents a diverse, eclec- Ocho Rios, Port Antonio & Kingston, Jamaica to be the biggest music event in the Carribean. tic mix of jazz greats and rising stars. June 3–10 LINEUP: Spyro Gyra, Michel Camilo Trio, LINEUP: See website. Last year’s artists included This event includes concerts, workshops, Jason Derulo, Carlos Vives, Silvestre Dangond, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, , a school band competition and more. Sean Paul, others. Jon Cleary, Spiderbait, Katie Noonan. LINEUP: The Jamaica Big Band conducted by FXUDFDRQRUWKVHDMD]]FRP wangarattajazz.com

132 DOWNBEAT MAY 2018 MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 133 Jazz On Campus School Notes COURTESY ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY

Don Glanden

Visiting Scholar: The University of Denver has selected Don Glanden, head of gradu- ate jazz studies at University of the Arts in Music students at Roosevelt University in Chicago learn essential career-building skills. Philadelphia, as its Visiting Marsico Scholar. Glanden’s multidisciplinary residency is set to run May 14–16 and includes workshops, per- formances and classes with students in DU’s Roosevelt Stresses Lamont School of Music, as well as Media, Film & Journalism Studies. Coinciding with the residence will be a screening of Brownie Career-Building Skills Speaks, Glanden’s 2014 documentary about MARSHALL VENTE ADDRESSED THE 15 ues as a children’s hospital, a homeless shelter trumpeter Clifford Brown. students in his large jazz ensemble at Chicago’s and a senior housing center. du.edu/lamont Roosevelt University during an afternoon “Improvisation is something you have to do Chicago Jazz: Heather Ireland Robinson is the rehearsal in advance of a Feb. 25 appearance at by nature in these settings,” Montanari said. new director of the Jazz Institute of Chicago. the Elmhurst Jazz Festival. As his horn players “When you interact with these audiences, She assumed the post March 1. She follows practiced their parts, the pianist and bandlead- things will change. Jazz students are very com- Lauren Deutsch, who held the position for er instructed, “Push the time without rushing— fortable with that.” more than two decades and will continue it makes it more urgent.” Roosevelt’s jazz program includes opportu- working with the organization in a part-time Vente’s directive also applies to new jazz ini- nities for students to be flexible within the col- capacity as director of artistic collaborations. tiatives at Roosevelt’s Chicago College of lege. Currently, about 30 students are enrolled Robinson is returning to the organization, Performing Arts. The school recently added a in its program for a bachelor’s of music in jazz which was founded in 1969, after having worked as education and community bachelor’s degree program that allows music performance with an instrumental or vocal engagement coordinator during the early students to pursue interests in related fields. concentration. Mason describes Vente’s large 2000s. The Jazz Institute supports the genre Scott Mason, who directs the college’s contem- jazz ensemble and a Latin band directed by through education and development with an porary music studies program, said the path drummer Ruben Alvarez as its flagships. But eye toward building an enduring audience provides students with more career options. Roosevelt also has a vocal group, New Deal. for the music. “The performance degree is great for some- The university’s jazz program also encour- jazzinchicago.org body who thinks that’s what they want to do,” ages students to explore Chicago’s performance Mason said. “But most of our alumni are doing a spaces. This urban environment appealed to Artistic Edge: Jazz House Kids, a New Jersey arts organization focused on helping children combination of things. Most of them have a day bassist and bandleader Matt Ulery, who gradu- engage with jazz and its history, announced job that might involve teaching music privately, ated from Roosevelt in 2004. the appointment of Dennis H. Argul as senior or at a high school or college. We have students “Living in the city, I was able to do the school director of music and education on March 1. who are pretty good engineers who work in a scene, and it was also extremely valuable that I Argul has spent 30 years as an educator in recording studio. The idea is, yes, performance could venture into the city and make those con- public schools and since 2012 has served as for those who want to do it exclusively, but we nections,” Ulery said. supervisor of music for the Elizabeth Public like to remind students that they might be doing Vente agreed that Roosevelt’s location is an Schools in New Jersey. something in addition to that.” asset. But he also noted the value of the close jazzhousekids.org Students at Roosevelt are required to partic- interaction that occurs daily between faculty and Altruism: Through a donation from Daniel ipate in a curriculum that has been launched students. “I was writing a chart on ‘Witchcraft,’ R. Lewis and M:X, a Miami arts organization, with the university’s Center for Arts Leadership. and the [students] I wanted to feature weren’t cut- select students participating in the Miami This program enhances students’ career-build- ting it,” Vente recalled. “So, I sent an email to their Music Project will receive full scholarships to ing skills—such as marketing through social teachers, [saxophonist] Jim Gailloreto and [trum- attend Interlochen Arts Camp. The Michigan media and preparing them for meeting with peter] Victor Garcia, and I said, ‘They need help.’ nonprofit hosts 2,500 students each summer their audiences. The center’s director, Allegra They were glad to [help], and it was fabulous, as they explore music, creative writing, dance, Montanari, noted that the requirement also an immediate turnaround. That’s how it should general arts, motion picture arts, theater and reinforces the university’s social justice mission work: You can’t get upset, but you can help them. visual arts. interlochen.org; miamimusicproject.org in that their performances are held at such ven- That’s why we’re here.” —Aaron Cohen

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MAY 2018 DOWNBEAT 137 Blindfold Test BY TED PANKEN

Aaron Goldberg ©ALEJANDRA BARRAGÁN ianist Aaron Goldberg’s sixth leader album, a trio date titled At The Edge Of The World, expands a discography that includes close Pto 100 sideman recordings, including several with guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and saxophonist Joshua Redman. Jason Moran “Handful Of Keys” (All Rise: A Joyful Elegy For Fats Waller, Blue Note, 2014) Moran, piano. Five stars for conception, 4 stars for creativity and adventure, 3½ for exe- cution. The going-for-it element had me excited and smiling, literally on the edge of my seat the whole time. They were fantastically pushing the envelope, and sometimes the envelope sheared a little—rhythmically. The part of me that wants to dance was tripping a bit, which you don’t want, since you should be able to dance with a partner. Maybe they made up for it with the adventure. At one moment, the textural consciousness was so deep that it sud- denly called up some emotion from below. It felt like we were taking off in an airplane, then suddenly we’re in the sky and it opened. Clearly it’s someone interested in the entire history of the music, who spent some time studying the stride pianists, but prioritizes the adventure. Kris Davis/Craig Taborn “Love In Outer Space” (Octopus, Pyroclastic, 2017) Davis, Taborn, piano. That had me from the first second to the last—I was in a trance. Magnificent two-piano playing. Selflessness, unity, becoming more than

the sum of the parts. It didn’t even matter who was playing at a certain Aaron Goldberg point, because it was the mind-meld. 4½ stars for the execution and the conception—and most of all, for the feeling it gives that life is beautiful. I’ll guess that it’s Craig Taborn and Kris Davis. Sylvie Courvoisier “Imprint Double” (D’Agala, Intakt, 2017) Courvoisier, piano; Drew Gress, bass; Kenny Wollesen, drums. Fred Hersch I’m not a fan aesthetically of what I’ll call “orchestrated surprise” in jazz. “Whisper Not” (Open Book, Palmetto, 2017) Hersch, piano. It seems antithetical to the idea that jazz is improvisational music. If Fred? I’m aware of only one person who plays like this. “Whisper Not” is you’re truly improvising, whether group or solo, the music can be full of perfect songwriting—the chord changes scream the melody. No one plays organic surprises. It’s stylistically very variegated. in such a harmonically sophisticated, contrapuntal way in a straighta- At the beginning, it sounded like a Duke Ellington rhythm section, head context, with the exception of Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau. Of then you had 12-tone moments, almost Cecil-ish, and moody music— course, Keith influenced Fred. But Fred has a more Bach-like approach maybe French—in the middle. They were excellent at creating the var- to two-handed improvisation, as you hear particularly at the beginning ious moods; every time I entered one, they forced me out and pushed of this tune—lines, counter-lines, the left hand speaking as melodically me into another. The first time it was cool, but when it happened again as the right hand while serving its functional role. and then returned to the original mood, I felt manipulated. That’s not to The main conceptual issue with playing like this is managing risk. criticize the skill of the musicians; it may say more about me than about How much risk can you take such that you create adventure for your- them. It all had value, but as a whole, it didn’t hold my interest. 3 stars. self and for the audience, but don’t fall off the edge of the cliff? Fred goes close to the edge; he doesn’t fall, but you feel the tiniest bit of instability. Martial Solal/Dave Liebman Even though what he’s doing is spectacularly sophisticated, and concep- “Lover Man” (Masters In Bordeaux, Sunnyside, 2017) Solal, piano; Liebman, soprano tually classically influenced, it still has a raw, organic jazz flavor. 4½ stars. saxophone. The pianist was full of organic surprises. He has a deep knowledge of this Manuel Valera classic tune, and can take it literally anywhere. It’s full of adventure, “What Is This Thing Called Love” (The Seasons, Mavo, 2017) Valera, piano; Hans Glaw- which I love. I wasn’t convinced by the duet. It felt like two people with ischnig, bass; E.J. Strickland, drums. slightly different concepts, each doing their thing, and they mesh and it’s Five stars. “What Is This Thing Called Love.” Definitely somebody of my peer good, but it could have been greater. 4 stars. DB group who loves a lot of the same stuff that I love, who checked out Kenny Kirkland, Mulgrew Miller and Herbie and Chick from Now He Sings, Now He Sobs, and was influenced by the post-Black Codes From The Underground era of Wynton and early Branford. That’s fiery rhythmic-percussive piano play- The “Blindfold Test” is a listening test that challenges the featured artist to discuss and identify the music and musicians who performed on selected recordings. The artist is ing with vocabulary and seriously great phrasing. Talk about playing inside then asked to rate each tune using a 5-star system. No information is given to the artist the rhythm section, inside the pocket! This person is incredible. prior to the test.

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