APRIl 2019—ISSUE 204 YOUR FREE GUIdE To ThE NyC jAZZ sCENE NyCjAZZRECoRd.CoM TONY ASTORIABENNETT IS BORN james MIKE brandon bIlly doN MAINIERI lEwIs kayE shirlEy Managing Editor: Laurence Donohue-Greene Editorial Director & Production Manager: Andrey Henkin To Contact: The New York City Jazz Record 66 Mt. Airy Road East APRIl 2019—ISSUE 204 Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520 United States Phone/Fax: 212-568-9628 NGEw york@NI hT 4 Laurence Donohue-Greene: Interview : MIKE MAINIERI 6 by jim motavalli [email protected] Andrey Henkin: A rtisT FEATURE : jAMEs bRANdoN lEwIs 7 by john pietaro [email protected] General Inquiries: On ThE Cover : ToNy bENNETT 8 by andrew vélez [email protected] Advertising: E ncore : bIlly KAyE 10 by russ musto [email protected] Calendar: LeE sT w Forget : doN shIRlEy 10 by mark keresman [email protected] VOXNews: lAbEl SpoTlighT : driff 11 by eric wendell [email protected] VOXNEws by suzanne lorge 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 obituaries 12 by andrey henkin money order to the address above or email [email protected] Cd REviews 14 Staff Writers Duck Baker, Stuart Broomer, Robert Bush, Kevin Canfield, MIscellany 35 Marco Cangiano, Thomas Conrad, Ken Dryden, Donald Elfman, Phil Freeman, Kurt Gottschalk, Event CAlendar Tom Greenland, George Grella, 36 Anders Griffen, Tyran Grillo, Alex Henderson, Robert Iannapollo, Matthew Kassel, Mark Keresman, Marilyn Lester, Suzanne Lorge, Marc Medwin, Jim Motavalli, Russ Musto, John Pietaro, Joel Roberts, John Sharpe, Elliott Simon, Andrew Vélez, Scott Yanow Contributing Writers Pierre Crépon, George Kanzler, Steven Loewy, Annie Murnighan, In this month’s Artist Feature on saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, who continues his busy Ivana Ng, Anna Steegmann, Eric Wendell schedule as a leader and sideman throughout town, he offers his thoughts on the elders who Contributing Photographers have preceeded and embraced him and other young musicians: “I respect their journeys, their Bryan Adams, Enid Farber, Alan Nahigian, lives and commitment.” So it is fitting that this up-and-comer shares space in this issue with Mark Seliger, Robert I. Sutherland-Cohen, a luminous roster of elders. 92-year-old vocalist Tony Bennett (On The Cover) could have his Adrien H. Tillmann age reversed, given how perpetually youthful and hip to the times he continues to be in this, his eighth decade as a performer. He plays Radio City Music Hall and is also honored by the Fact-checker Jazz Foundation of America at its A Great Night in Harlem. 80-year-old vibraphonist Mike Nate Dorward Mainieri (Interview) has been a professional musician for almost as long, starting out a child performer and continuing in both the jazz and rock spheres, most notably with the Steps Ahead band; that group is honored by the NYU Jazz Orchestra at Blue Note with Mainieri as guest of honor. And 86-year-old drummer Billy Kaye (Encore), whose resumé is a Who’s Who of Jazz, continues to be active, leading a weekly jam session at Fat Cat. nycjazzrecord.com On The Cover: Tony Bennett (Mark Seliger / Courtesy of RPM Productions) Corrections: In last month’s NY@Night, Rudresh Mahathappa’s Agrima was self-released. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission strictly prohibited. All material copyrights property of the authors. 2 APRIL 2019 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD JOSHUA REDMAN TERENCE QUARTET: ARTURO FT AARON GOLDBERG, REUBEN ROGERS BLANCHARD & GREGORY HUTCHINSON SANDOVAL FT THE E-COLLECTIVE APRIL 2 - 7 APRIL 11 - 14 APRIL 18 - 21 ROY HAYNES THE MANHATTAN KARRIEM RIGGINS TH 94 BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION TRANSFER APRIL 22 - 24 LIVE! APRIL 25 - 28 APRIL 30 - MAY 1 SPECIAL SUNDAY JAZZ BRUNCH $39.50 INCLUDES BRUNCH, MUSIC & COCKTAIL @bluenotenyc l3l WEST 3RD STREET NEW YORK CITY • 2l2.475.8592 • WWW.BLUENOTEJAZZ.COM TWO SHOWS NIGHTLY 8PM & l0:30PM • FRIDAY & SATURDAY LATE NIGHTS: l2:30AM TELECHARGE.COM WWW.BLUENOTEJAZZ.COM TERMS, CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS APPLY NYCJR KYLE POOLE NEw yoRK @ NIGhT Nearly 80 years on the planet haven’t dulled singer/ The shared history of dance and avant garde jazz goes pianist Andy Bey’s remarkably sharp ears or nuanced back right to the genesis of the latter, when players like readings of Great American Song. His 70-minute solo Bill Dixon, Ric Colbeck and Don Friedman worked set at The 75 Club (Mar. 16th), a long narrow room of with the Judson Dance Theater in the early-mid ‘60s. bare-brick walls and hammered tin moldings in the It continues to this day under the aegis of Arts for Art, basement of TriBeCa’s Bogardus Mansion, was a which regularly includes dancers in its annual Vision testament to his artistic resilience and vitality. Wearing Festival as well as in events throughout the year. One a grey Irish fisherman’s sweater that matched his salt such instance came as part of a toothsome weekend and pepper hair and beard, Bey relied on his songbooks titled “Identity: Freedom” at The Kitchen, when, (one with handwritten lyrics) and spare but effective bookended by nights led by William Parker and keyboard style to showcase his weathered but still Andrew Cyrille, pianist Dave Burrell presented Harlem amazingly agile voice. The repertoire was familiar— Renaissance by a sextet plus two dancers (Mar. 8th). “It’s Only a Paper Moon”, “With a Song in My Heart”, Joining him were Ted Daniel (trumpet), Steve Swell “Love for Sale”, “Pannonica”, “Lester Leaps In”, and Dick Griffin (trombone), Parker (bass) and Hamid “Pick Yourself Up”, “Satin Doll”, “Take the A Train”, Drake (drums) alongside movement artists Marguerite “Sophisticated Lady”—though Bey’s interpretations Hemmings and J’royce Jata. Unlike some dance-jazz were invariably unique. There were memory lapses, partnerships, where the movement is hard to connect when he seemed to be groping for the right chord, or to the music behind it, Burrell, using the cultural moments when his voice seemed to attenuate to a history of his titular movement, was able to apply whisper and he visibly struggled over “Sophisticated Hemmings and Jata in a highly narrative fashion, as Lady”’s chromatic passages. But he never dropped the much actors in time as dancers in space. Adding to the metaphorical ball: his musical ideas would invariably effect was the highly rhythmic pairing of Parker and resurface, his tone hearty, triumphant, couched in Drake—known to anyone who has ever gone to the luminous vibrato. His scats on “Lester Leaps In”, Vision Festival—plus the traditional-meets-innovative “A Train” and “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” revealed approach shared by the three horns. And when Swell an imaginative command of harmony and his belted and Daniel broke from the backline to join the dancers climaxes, usually saved for the final phrases, were upstage, exhorting them as if they were hoofers of stippled with bluesy melismas, drawing appreciative yesteryear, and Burrell drew on his deep bag of musical murmurs from the audience. —Tom Greenland history, 2019 became just a number. —Andrey Henkin M O C 1985. T H A . W W W - N N A N M L A I L I G I H A H. T N N E I N R A D L A A Andy Bey @ The 75 Club at Bogardus Mansion Dave Burrell @ The Kitchen Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour, opening at The Though hardly comparable to working in a salt mine, Appel Room (Mar. 25), featuring vocalist Cécile one of the most difficult aspects of modern jazz McLorin Salvant, trumpeter/vocalist Bria Skonberg criticism is keeping up with the deluge of new players and tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana, was a perfect seemingly coming up every few months. So it was that opportunity to celebrate March (aka, Women’s History this correspondent finally got a chance to check out in Month). Balancing the all-female frontline were pianist person one of the new hot bassists on the scene in Nick Christian Sands, bassist Yasushi Nakamura and Dunston, who has already contributed to the bands of drummer/vocalist Jamison Ross. As it was the first Amirtha Kidambi, Ingrid Laubrock, Tyshawn Sorey night (second set) of a month-long tour, the 30-ish and others. His rapid ascent is well justified as he is allstars were still acclimatizing to one another. Salvant a fleet improviser, muscularly attentive to the lower sang her brand new compositions “Fog”, replete with register of his instrument and, most importantly, unusual intervals she easily negotiated with rich chest hardly cowed by his surrounding, which in this case tones and a brassy upper register; “Splendor”, boasting was a quartet led by drummer Ches Smith with clever Cole Porter-esque lyrics; and “Ghosts”, a three- dual guitarists Mary Halvorson and Liberty Ellman part spiritual sung with Skonberg and Ross for a (all themselves once on the rise) at The Stone at The quietly moving moment. Her cover of Betty Carter’s New School (Mar. 6th). Given the instrumentation and “I Can’t Help It” was both sassy and savvy. Aldana Smith’s prismatic time-keeping, Dunston had a job to demonstrated melodic prowess and coherence on her do and, like those salt miners, he did it with honor. harmonically challenging “The Visions”, rocking up on It was fascinating to compare Halvorson and Ellman her toes at each inspired phrase-end, dipping down for both in unison passages and more maelstrom-like fulsome low tones. Ross, an able accompanist, sang his moments, the former working her pedals like a racecar neo-soul “Sac Full of Dreams” in a limber tenor. Sands driver, the latter more laconic, almost like he was filled (almost) every crack in the musical mortar, porch-pickin’.