FEBRUARY 2017—ISSUE 178 YOUR FREE GUIDE TO THE NYC JAZZ SCENE NYCJAZZRECORD.COM RALPH TOWNERSOLO HOMECOMING CYRUS INGRID RICHARD JODIE CHESTNUT JENSEN TEITELBAUM CHRISTIAN Managing Editor: Laurence Donohue-Greene Editorial Director & Production Manager: Andrey Henkin To Contact: The New York City Jazz Record 66 Mt. Airy Road East FEBRUARY 2017—ISSUE 178 Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520 United States Phone/Fax: 212-568-9628 New York@Night 4 Laurence Donohue-Greene: Interview : Cyrus Chestnut 6 by ken dryden [email protected] Andrey Henkin: [email protected] Artist Feature : Ingrid Jensen 7 by ken waxman General Inquiries: [email protected] On The Cover : Ralph Towner 8 by john pietaro Advertising: [email protected] Encore : Richard Teitelbaum by kurt gottschalk Calendar: 10 [email protected] VOXNews: Lest We Forget : Jodie Christian 10 by anders griffen [email protected] LAbel Spotlight : Trytone by ken waxman US Subscription rates: 12 issues, $40 11 Canada Subscription rates: 12 issues, $45 International Subscription rates: 12 issues, $50 For subscription assistance, send check, cash or VOXNEWS 11 by suzanne lorge money order to the address above or email [email protected] In Memoriam Staff Writers 12 David R. Adler, Clifford Allen, Duck Baker, Fred Bouchard, Festival Report Stuart Broomer, Thomas Conrad, 13 Ken Dryden, Donald Elfman, Philip Freeman, Kurt Gottschalk, Tom Greenland, Anders Griffen, CD Reviews 14 Alex Henderson, Marcia Hillman, Terrell Holmes, Robert Iannapollo, Suzanne Lorge, Mark Keresman, Miscellany 30 Marc Medwin, Ken Micallef, Russ Musto, John Pietaro, Joel Roberts, John Sharpe, Event Calendar 32 Elliott Simon, Andrew Vélez, Ken Waxman, Scott Yanow Contributing Writers Robert Bush, Matthew Kassel, M.J. Lester, Ivana Ng, Eric Wendell It’s usually tough to get excited about anything in February. The days are cold, the nights are long and it seems like there is a wind with your name on it lurking around every corner. Contributing Photographers Unfortunately for us, the unseasonable warmth in the city is tempered by a chill blowing up Scott Friedlander, Angela Jimenez, Gulnara Khamatova, Maarit Kytöharju from Washington, DC. No one has any idea how the next years will play out but reports of Alan Nahigian, Caterina di Perri, cuts in arts funding and a move away from celebrating diversity only reinforces our personal R.I. Sutherland-Cohen, Jack Vartoogian responsibility to champion the best things this city and country have to offer. Jazz, of course, is one of them, no matter who pulls the levers of power. Fact-checker Nate Dorward Luckily we are flush with opportunities to celebrate throughout the month throughout the city: legendary guitarist Ralph Towner (On The Cover) makes a triumphant solo return with two nights at Jazz Standard; pianist Cyrus Chestnut (Interview) testifies for a week at Birdland; trumpeter Ingrid Jensen (Artist Feature) celebrates a new CD at The Jazz Gallery; and electronics pioneer Richard Teitelbaum (Encore) performs at Dizzy’s Club with drummer Andrew Cyrille. And even if the warmish weather may not last, bundle up with our Event Calendar, toasty with hundreds of shows for your perusal and enjoyment. nycjazzrecord.com Spring will soon be here but it is upon us to bring life and positivity back into the world... On The Cover: Ralph Towner (© Caterina di Perri) Corrections: In our Best of 2016 spread and Recommended New Releases in the January issue, Evan Parker’s As The Wind was released by Psi. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission strictly prohibited. All material copyrights property of the authors. 2 FEBRUARY 2017 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD WWW.BLUENOTEJAZZ.COM FEBRUARY 2017 THE VALENTINE’S CELEBRATION COUNT BASIE ORCHESTRA VALENTINE’S CELEBRATION WITH MS. LISA FISCHER FT. DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER WITH RACHELLE FERRELL & JANUARY 31 - FEBRUARY 5 GRAND BATON FEBRUARY 9 - 12 FEBRUARY 14 - 19 KERMIT RUFFINS IVAN NEVILLE PIANO SESSIONS & THE BBQ SWINGERS DONALD HARRISON FT. HENRY BUTLER MARDI GRAS CELEBRATION MARDI GRAS CELEBRATION MARDI GRAS/FAT TUESDAY CELEBRATION FEBRUARY 21 - 22 FEBRUARY 23 - 26 FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 1 MCCOY TYNER FEBRUARY 6 & 7 • FABRIZIO SOTTI & FRIENDS FT. MELANIE FIONA & M1 OF DEAD PREZ FEBRUARY 8 REVIVE MUSIC PRESENTS: THE BAYLOR PROJECT ALBUM RELEASE/VALENTINE'S DAY FEBRUARY 13 THE LOOP LOFT ALLSTARS: HARLAND/SMITH/CINELU/KELLEY/WAMBLE & MORE FEBRUARY 20 SPECIAL SUNDAY JAZZ BRUNCH $35 INCLUDES BRUNCH, MUSIC & COCKTAIL LATE NIGHTS TBA FEBRUARY 3 • PHONY PPL RESIDENCY FEBRUARY 4 & 17 • SATELLITE MODEFEBRUARY 10 • TBA FEBRUARY 11 TBA FEBRUARY 18 • NICK HAKIM RESIDENCY FEBRUARY 24 • PRODIGY OF MOBB DEEP PERFORMING H.N.I.C UNPLUGGED W/LIVE BAND FEBRUARY 25 l3l WEST 3RD STREET NEW YORK CITY • 2l2.475.8592 • WWW.BLUENOTEJAZZ.COM @bluenotenyc TWO SHOWS NIGHTLY 8PM & l0:30PM • FRIDAY & SATURDAY LATE NIGHTS: l2:30AM TELECHARGE.COM TERMS, CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS APPLY THU-FRI FEB 9-10 &ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ pedrito martinEZ “VENUE OF THE YEAR” 2016 -NYCJR H“TOP 10 VENUES IMPACTING NY MUSIC SCENE TODAY”- NY MAGAZINE SAT-SUN FEB 11-12 WED-SAT FEB 1-4 RICKY RODRIGUEZ ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ TRIO MICHAEL OLIVERA MONTY ALEXANDER: “LOOKING BACK” TUE FEB 14 WED FEB 1 VALENTINE’S DAY REMEMBERING 1969: That’s the Way It Is BRIA SKONBERG: CELEBRATION Milt Jackson & Ray Brown QUINTET MATHIS PICARD - CORCORAN HOLT - JEROME JENNINGS WARREN WOLF - RON BLAKE - HASSAN SHAKUR - JASON BROWN WED-THU FEB 15-16 THU FEB 2 REMEMBERING 1977: JAZZ AT the PHILHARMONIC RALPH TOWNER: SOLO DIZZY GILLESPIE, CLARK TERRY & Milt Jackson FRI-SUN FEB 17-19 DOMINICK FARINACCI - ANDRAE MURCHISON - WARREN WOLF - RON BLAKE - HASSAN SHAKUR - JASON BROWN FESTIVAL FRI-SAT FEB 3-4 MINGUS BIG BANDWEEKEND 2017: JAMAICA & JAZZ: HARLEM-KINGSTON EXPRESS PLUS TUE-SUN FEB 21-26 REMEMBERING STUDIO ONE ANDRAE MURCHISON - RON BLAKE - DOMINICK FARINACCI - ANDY BASSFORD JOSHUA THOMAS - HASSAN SHAKUR - KARL WRIGHT - JASON BROWN RAVI COLTRANE quartet ADAM ROGERS - DEZRON DOUGLAS - EJ STRICKLAND SUN FEB 5HCLOSED TUE FEB 28 TUE FEB 7 WOLFGANG MUTHSPIEL THEO BLECKMANN AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE - GWILYM SIMCOCK - SCOTT COLLEY - BRIAN BLADE BEN MONDER - SHAI MAESTRO - CHRIS TORDINI - JOHN HOLLENBECK HMINGUS MONDAYSHMINGUS MONDAYSHMINGUS MONDAYSH WED FEB 8 MON FEB 6, 13 & 27 MON FEB 20 GLENN ZALESKI MATT PENMAN YOTAM silberstein ERIC HARLAND MINGUS BIG BAND MINGUS ORCHESTRA HJAZZ FOR KIDS WITH THE JAZZ STANDARD YOUTH ORCHESTRA EVERY SUNDAY AT 2PM [EXCEPT 2/5]-DIRECTED BY DAVID O’ROURKEH NEW YORK @ NIGHT In contemporary New York City—or anywhere that Broken Shadows is tenor saxophonist Chris Speed’s this music is played, really—the likelihood of platform for staging and adapting Ornette Coleman’s convening a working large ensemble is pretty low. It’s vital but often overlooked late ‘60s/early ‘70s output actually a remarkable thing that William Parker, who with Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell. celebrated his 65th birthday on Jan. 10th, has been able On a drizzly weeknight (Jan. 3rd), ensconced in Korzo’s to convene the Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra boxy but cozy backroom in Brooklyn’s South Slope, as many times as he has since its 1994 inception. The with Speed playing the role of Redman, alto group is a “living, breathing organism” as AUM saxophonist Tim Berne as Coleman, bassist Reid Fidelity founder Steven Joerg puts it and was in fine Anderson as Haden and drummer Dave King as form through an uninterrupted 90-plus-minute work Blackwell, the improvising troupe both reenacted and titled “Creation of the Tone World” at Roulette (Jan. contemporized the Coleman quartet’s now-classic 14th). This particular Huey was made up of repertoire and ethos. Opening with the calypsoidian 14 musicians, some veterans of the group and some “Una Muy Bonita”, a heterophonic reading of “As It new, young conscripts and through self-conduction the Should Be” (aka “Comme il Faut”, from the 1969 live five brass, six woodwinds and three rhythm players recording Broken Shadows) and then a brisk “Toy encouraged one another, gestated ideas and improvised Dance”, Berne and Speed passed the musical baton problems and solutions with grace and flair. The piece back and forth, sometimes even wresting it away from began and ended with Parker on doson n’goni (West each other mid-solo while Anderson plunked African lute), limned by Rob Brown’s flute, Brandon unrelenting cascades of quarter-notes and the Lopez’ arco bass and shimmering clatter from the horn irrepressible King stole several scenes with his players (clacking objects on the floor or tapping their audacious avant-swing and potent accompaniment. instruments) and in between were occasional frontline Most of the short but compelling melodies (“Song for swells and, more often, group interplay atop chugging, Ché” by Haden, “Walls-Bridges” by Redman, “Humpty unflappable vamps, with solos and duets rising to the Dumpty”) served as scripts for outward-bound but pulpit to declaim and flush out any demons. Charles thematically motivated improvisation, Speed’s cool/ Mingus, Cecil Taylor and Chris McGregor seemed to ecstatic demeanor poised against Berne’s dense, barbed inspire the lushest, riskiest and most infectious declamations. The beautiful ballad “Broken Shadows” components but the results were entirely owed to Huey was followed by a rousing romp through “Street Jackson. —Clifford Allen Woman”, an apt finale. —Tom Greenland G R O . S N O I S S E R P X E Z Z A J / N E H O C - D N N A A I L R G I E H H A T U N S . N I . A R L A © William Parker @ Roulette Chris Speed @ Korzo One central aspect of Arts for Art, the organization Celebrating three-fourths of a century on the planet run by Patricia Nicholson Parker (a choreographer and (six decades spent as an improvising musician), Nova the wife of William Parker), is providing not only Scotian drummer Jerry Granelli started his new year community but also a sense of community history.