04 5 $4.99 DownBeat.com 09281 01493 0 APRIL 2010 U.K. £3.50 01_COVER.qxd 2/10/10 12:51 PM Page 1 DOWNBEAT CHRISTIAN SCOTT // KURT ROSENWINKEL // ROBERT GLASPER // FAVORITE BIG BAND ALBUMS APRIL 2010 02-25_FRONT.qxd 2/10/10 10:29 AM Page 2 02-25_FRONT.qxd 2/10/10 10:29 AM Page 3 02-25_FRONT.qxd 2/10/10 10:30 AM Page 4 April 2010 VOLUME 77 – NUMBER 4 President Kevin Maher Publisher Frank Alkyer Editor Ed Enright Associate Editor Aaron Cohen Art Director Ara Tirado Production Associate Andy Williams Bookkeeper Margaret Stevens Circulation Manager Kelly Grosser ADVERTISING SALES Record Companies & Schools Jennifer Ruban-Gentile 630-941-2030 [email protected] Musical Instruments & East Coast Schools Ritche Deraney 201-445-6260 [email protected] Classified Advertising Sales Sue Mahal 630-941-2030 [email protected] OFFICES 102 N. Haven Road Elmhurst, IL 60126–2970 630-941-2030 Fax: 630-941-3210 www.downbeat.com [email protected] CUSTOMER SERVICE 877-904-5299 [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS Senior Contributors: Michael Bourne, John McDonough, Howard Mandel Austin: Michael Point; Boston: Fred Bouchard, Frank-John Hadley; Chicago: John Corbett, Alain Drouot, Michael Jackson, Peter Margasak, Bill Meyer, Mitch Myers, Paul Natkin, Howard Reich; Denver: Norman Provizer; Indiana: Mark Sheldon; Iowa: Will Smith; Los Angeles: Earl Gibson, Todd Jenkins, Kirk Silsbee, Chris Walker, Joe Woodard; Michigan: John Ephland; Minneapolis: Robin James; Nashville: Robert Doerschuk; New Orleans: Erika Goldring, David Kunian; New York: Alan Bergman, Herb Boyd, Bill Douthart, Ira Gitler, Eugene Gologursky, Norm Harris, D.D. Jackson, Jimmy Katz, Jim Macnie, Ken Micallef, Jennifer Odell, Dan Ouellette, Ted Panken, Richard Seidel, Tom Staudter, Jack Vartoogian, Michael Weintrob, Kevin Whitehead; North Carolina: Robin Tolleson; Philadelphia: David Adler, Shaun Brady, Eric Fine; San Francisco: Mars Breslow, Forrest Bryant, Clayton Call, Yoshi Kato; Seattle: Paul de Barros; Tampa Bay: Philip Booth; Washington, D.C.: Willard Jenkins, John Murph, Bill Shoemaker, Michael Wilderman; Belgium: Jos Knaepen; Canada: Greg Buium, James Hale, Diane Moon; Denmark: Jan Persson; France: Jean Szlamowicz; Germany: Detlev Schilke, Hyou Vielz; Great Britain: Brian Priestley; Japan: Kiyoshi Koyama; Portugal: Antonio Rubio; Romania: Virgil Mihaiu; Russia: Cyril Moshkow; South Africa: Don Albert. Jack Maher, President 1970-2003 John Maher, President 1950-1969 SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: Send orders and address changes to: DOWNBEAT, P.O. Box 11688, St. Paul, MN 55111–0688. Inquiries: U.S.A. and Canada (877) 904-5299; Foreign (651) 251-9682. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please allow six weeks for your change to become effective. When notifying us of your new address, include current DOWNBEAT label showing old address. DOWNBEAT (ISSN 0012-5768) Volume 77, Number 4 is published monthly by Maher Publications, 102 N. Haven, Elmhurst, IL 60126-3379. Copyright 2010 Maher Publications. All rights reserved. Trademark registered U.S. Patent Office. Great Britain registered trademark No. 719.407. Periodicals postage paid at Elmhurst, IL and at additional mailing offices. Subscription rates: $34.95 for one year, $59.95 for two years. Foreign subscriptions rates: $56.95 for one year, $103.95 for two years. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, photos, or artwork. Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from publisher. Microfilm of all issues of DOWNBEAT are available from University Microfilm, 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106. MAHER PUBLICATIONS: DOWNBEAT magazine, MUSIC INC. magazine, UpBeat Daily. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to: DownBeat, P.O. Box 11688, St. Paul, MN 55111–0688. CABLE ADDRESS: DownBeat (on sale March 16, 2010) Magazine Publishers Association Á 02-25_FRONT.qxd 2/10/10 10:30 AM Page 5 02-25_FRONT.qxd 2/11/10 1:57 PM Page 6 DB Inside Departments 8 First Take 10 Chords & Discords 13 The Beat 19 European Scene 20 Caught 22 Players 36 Danny Grissett Robert Glasper Dana Hall JOEY L. Luis Bonilla Steve Colson 26 Christian Scott | 47 Reviews Shows His Teeth By Jennifer Odell Christian Scott’s appreciation for the ability of music to tell stories and to make 74 Master Class social commentary is rare. The trumpeter’s company, like his music, has a com- fortable intensity to it—an easy warmth that wins you over even when he’s on a 76 Transcription mission to change your mind about something. Though gracious and polite, Scott presents his point of view with the same confident authority he puts into 78 Jazz On Campus his live shows. And even when what he says rubs folks the wrong way, his hon- est expression comes with a grain of erudite salt. 82 Blindfold Test Dafnis Prieto Features 32 Kurt Rosenwinkel 40 ‘My Favorite Big Band Album’ Making Magic 25 Essential Recordings By Ted Panken By Frank-John Hadley 36 Robert Glasper 68 Musicians’ Gear Guide Iconic Impulses Great Finds From The By John Murph NAMM Show 2010 50 Philly Joe Jones 50 Agustí Fernández/Barry Guy 54 Christian Wallumrød 60 Paul Motian 6 DOWNBEAT April 2010 Cover photography by Jimmy Katz. Special thanks to Blue Smoke and Jazz Standard in New York City for their generosity in letting DownBeat shoot on location. 02-25_FRONT.qxd 2/10/10 10:30 AM Page 7 02-25_FRONT.qxd 2/12/10 11:53 AM Page 8 First Take by Ed Enright Organic Orchestration This issue of DownBeat, featuring Christian Scott on the cover, came together over a period of several months. In fact, it was a full year ago that we originally planned to give Scott top billing in the magazine, only to be pre-empted by the death of Freddie Hubbard. But being bumped from his cover spot turned out to be not such an unfortunate thing for Scott, whose high- ly anticipated CD Yesterday You Said Tomorrow, the most important of his young career, hasn’t been ready for commercial release until Christian Scott now, anyway. JIMMY KATZ During his interview with writer Jennifer Odell, Scott emphasizes his fondness for the sounds and social vibes of the 1960s and explains how that mindset inspired and shaped the 10-song collection, recorded at the renowned Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder—the man largely responsible for the emergence of the legendary “Blue Note sound,” which has graced hundreds of jazz albums dating back to the 1960s. Among those are several landmark sides recorded by none other than Hubbard himself. Research for our feature story on Kurt Rosenwinkel began late last summer, when the guitarist was just beginning the recording sessions that eventually led to the release of his new CD, Standards Trio: Reflections. As Rosenwinkel told writer Ted Panken, the resulting ballads-driven album emerged over the course of the sessions and developed gradually over time, only to reveal itself in the later stages of editing, after all the dozens of takes were completed. The organic way these artists’ recording projects and writers’ feature articles unfold and take shape over time reminds me of the way a compos- er or orchestrator crafts a musical chart. Which brings us to Frank-John Hadley’s article “My Favorite Big Band Album,” an ambitous piece that required months and months of reporting as Hadley polled nearly 200 musicians around the world about their top five picks within the genre. With so much material, we had a tough time deciding where to draw the line (at the top 25 albums) and which of the insightful quotes to use or dis- card. There was no way we could print all the responses we received in the space allowed, so I’ll take this opportunity to add some background on the results published on pages 40–45. Hadley reports that a Duke Ellington record appeared on 75 percent of respondents’ lists—47 different recordings, including a few compilations. Count Basie was the second most popular choice, with 98 picks going to 30 albums. Sun Ra would have placed if there had been any sort of agree- ment over what one record of his most persuasively explored the cos- mos—11 albums were chosen. Just a short drop from the top-25 tier were Basie’s The Original Decca Recordings, Miles Davis & Gil Evans’ Sketches Of Spain, George Russell’s New York, N.Y., Stan Kenton’s City Of Glass and—a surprise—Bill Potts’ The Jazz Soul Of Porgy & Bess. We hope you find this issue of DownBeat to read and play out like a great big band arrangement, one that has evolved in proper time, where every detail falls into place and forms a bigger picture complete with information, perspective and a certain intangible edge we like to call “swing.” DB 8 DOWNBEAT April 2010 02-25_FRONT.qxd 2/10/10 10:30 AM Page 9 02-25_FRONTa.qxd 2/12/10 10:56 AM Page 10 Chords & Discords Southern United States. Thankfully, the entire quartet captures that spirit eloquently. Dean Arnold [email protected] Descriptive Praise I love how DownBeat not only has a way to appreciate the music through words but also to get in-depth with the analyses through the transcription page. Keep it coming! Irina Makarenko [email protected] Shallow Appraisal I was disappointed in your “Best CDs of the 2000s” issue (January). A bare list of past 4.5- and 5-star ratings without current critical appraisal is not worth taking seriously. Paul Chastain [email protected] Burrell, Grimes Shine Jamal’s Constellation Eric Fine’s review describing the Memorial A five star rating for your March issue’s Tribute to Rashied Ali in Philadelphia shows cover, feature and photos. And 100 stars for no awareness of how improvised music pianist Ahmad Jamal! works (“Caught,” March).