Wallace Roney, “Home” (CD review)
(Recently published in JazzTimes; direct link)
Old-school funk and fusion? Contemporary R&B? Straight-ahead jazz? Open-air modal music? One never quite knows what to expect from a new Wallace Roney project—that is, aside from impressive blowing and a tone that, while still sometimes evocative of Miles, is its own thing of beauty: full, resonant, deftly shaded, often moving in unpredictable and mysterious ways.
Roney, joined by his regular bandmates and several guests, touches on several of the stylistic strains mentioned above on Home. It’s chockfull of the leader’s dazzling displays, including the long tones and then quick runs of his “Evolution of the Blues”; that tune also offers a showcase for engaging tenor and soprano solos by Antoine Roney, Wallace’s younger brother, buoyed by the rhythmic punches of pianist Aruán Ortiz, bassist Rashaan Carter and drummer Kush Abadey. Roney’s way with a mute, to produce gorgeously dark and smoky sounds, is on display on the floaty title track as well as the exceedingly slow chestnut “Ghost of Yesterday,” limned with Ortiz’s lush chordings.
Wayne Shorter gets a mini-salute here, with opener “Utopia,” an uptempo unplugged tune with plenty of solo space for the horn men and Ortiz, and “Plaza Real,” which benefits from a lovely melody—first voiced by Antoine’s tenor, then joined by the trumpeter—and a fusion-tinted rhythm section. The ’60s/’70s vibe also dominates the feel of John McLaughlin’s “Pacific Express.” Roney is entirely absent from the closer, “Revive,” a nearly three-minute unaccompanied piece by Bobby Ward, the revered Boston drummer who was pals with Tony Williams (and is heard on three of the album’s eight tracks). It’s a solo in which there is never a dull moment, which might also be said about all of Home.
Jeff Hamiton Trio, “Red Sparkle” (CD review)
(Recently published in JazzTimes; direct link)
Cymbal taps, tumbling toms, a dancing bass figure, pastel piano overlays, an ambling groove and then—could it be?—a familiar melody straight out of ’70s pop radio. That drummer Jeff Hamilton, leading a trio with pianist Tamir Hendelman and bassist Christoph Luty, can transform Stephen Bishop’s once-forgettable ’70s radio hit “On and On” into a nuanced jazz ballad is a testament to the bandleader’s abilities as a conceptualist.
Hamilton demonstrates those finely honed talents throughout Red Sparkle, its name a nod to the hues of his first drum set, realigning Monk’s “Bye-Ya” with Latin rhythms, amplifying the lushness of “Laura” and turning in brushes derring-do on a tete a tete with Luty that launches “A Sleepin’ Bee.” Hamilton salutes one of his mentors with a lovely stroll through late, great bassist Ray Brown’s “I Know You Oh So Well,” its theme bowed by Luty, and swings with conviction on “Too Marvelous for Words,” which opens up for an extended, melodic drum solo.
The originals shine, too. The bluesy “Hat’s Dance,” named for Hamilton’s mom, is invigorated with a palpable rhythmic bounce, as is “Ain’t That a Peach,” penned as a tribute to longtime Clayton/Hamilton Orchestra trumpeter (and swing-era veteran) Eugene “Snooky” Young. Another hero is toasted on the album closer, “In an Ellingtone,” a swing stomper that builds to great intensity; the track opens with a few seconds of the bandmates’ laughing, perhaps at the intensity of the tune’s exuberance. It’s catching.
Clearwater Jazz Holiday Adds Esperanza Spalding and Kurt Elling
In a nice coup for the Clearwater Jazz Holiday, both fast-rising bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding and critically acclaimed vocalist Kurt Elling have been named to play the fest’s Saturday night lineup.
Spalding, who unexpectedly won Best New Artist in the 2011 Grammy Awards, beating out teenypop sensation Justin Bieber (resulting in much weeping and gnashing of teeth among adolescent and teen girls and “what happened?” apoplexy from some observers) is a great pick for the fest. She’s a terrific upright, electric and fretless player, touring in support of this year’s Radio Music Society, an intriguing melting pop of jazz, pop, funk, and R&B styles. My review of the album, for Relix magazine, is here.
The Chicago-based Elling has been justifiably praised for a freewheeling vocal style, rooted in the jazz tradition, that is also highly individualistic. His most recent CD, The Gate, was released last year on Concord. “Since the 1990s, Kurt Elling has proved a most innovative jazz singer,” Thom Jurek wrote for AllMusic.Com. “His recordings — particularly The Messenger, Man in the Air, and Nightmoves — also reveal him to be a modern jazz visionary.”
The fest also includes veteran blues ‘n’ rock great Bonnie Raitt, whose impressive new Slipstream is her first studio recording in seven years; raucous siblings-led Americana/rock band The Avett Brothers; and Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, a soul-rooted band with a horn section (they impressed at the WMNF Tropical Heatwave).
Also: A smooth-jazz package with saxophonist Mindi Abair, fusion shredder Jeff Golub, on guitar, and David Pack, the former lead singer for soft-rock hitmakers Ambrosia (“Biggest Part of Me,” “You’re the Only Woman”); saxophonist Tia Fuller‘s quartet, singer-songwriter Maia Sharp, and a group led by Orlando-based pianist Carol Stein (who happens to be an old bandmate of mine from our days with the UF Jazz Band).
And more to come.
The 33rd annual Clearwater Jazz Holiday will be held Oct. 18-21 at Coachman Park in downtown Clearwater. For the complete lineup and additional details, click here.
Jacksonville Jazz Festival: Florida’s Best Fest?
I’ve said it before, earlier this year, and I have to say it again: The Jacksonville Jazz Festival looks to be the best jazz festival in Florida.
Clearly, it’s the state’s jazz fest with the most number of top-shelf jazz artists – the kind of artists who routinely win jazz magazine polls and release recordings of the highest caliber. Admission: free!
This year’s lineup: Sonny Rollins, Poncho Sanchez with special guest Terence Blanchard, Corea Clarke &
White, Bela Fleck with the Marcus Roberts Trio, Karrin Allyson, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Soul Rebels, Patti Austin, Jazz Crusaders, rising-star saxophonist Grace Kelly and other acts.
Did I mention that it’s free?
The festivals run Friday through Sunday on four stages in downtown Jacksonville.
Let’s hope Jacksonville’s programming rubs off on Florida’s other big jazz festivals.
For more information, click here.
(Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make the Jax fest, but I AM looking forward to attending the Montreal fest later this summer)
Kevin Hays, “Variations” (CD review)
(recently reviewed for JazzTimes; direct link)
Kevin Hays, Variations (Pirouet)
The artist’s intent aside, the most direct path to hearing how each of the solo piano miniatures on Variations varies from its successors is to listen to each cycle in sequence, rather than how Kevin Hays has ordered these compositions. For example, the simplicity and stateliness of the opening “Variations on a Theme by Schumann 1” grows into something darker and with greater grandeur on “Variations on a Theme by Schumann II,” which is about double the length of the first. In the third installment, the moodiness and intensity become even more pronounced.
And so it goes on this quietly ambitious solo piano recording from the well-traveled Hays, known for leading his own bands, including a celebrated trio with Doug Weiss and Bill Stewart and the Sangha Quartet, as well as his sideman work for the likes of Bob Belden, Eddie Henderson, Chris Potter and Sonny Rollins. “Bluetude 1” and its two sequels are among several tracks that demonstrate Hays’ ability to effectively plumb the lower regions of the keyboard, with long ascending and descending left-hand lines running into lovely right-hand block chords.
Elsewhere, there are quick sprints (“The Dervish of Harlem 1” and “2” but not “3”), poignant themes (“Song for the Amiable Child 1” and its two successors), playful exchanges that come off as call-and-response figures (“Countermyth 1” through “Countermyth 4”) and a stormy, low-end interlude (“Langsam”). Touching on everything from Baroque to late Romantic to contemporary classical, Hays applies his own jazz-honed techniques to small gems that may be partially or wholly improvised. Either way, they’re consistently engaging, nearly all giving way to surprising musical depths despite their brevity.
Dr. John, “Locked Down” (CD review)
(recently published at jambands.com; direct link)
Dr. John, Locked Down (Nonesuch)
No, Mac Rebennack didn’t come into this world in the guise of the hoodoo-voodoo character, Dr. John. Instead, the New Orleans-born pianist, a musical byproduct of the piano professors and blues, R&B and jazz musicians he heard growing up in the Crescent City, remade himself as the First Physician of Funk on in the late ’60s, between the cracks of his budding career as a West Coast session player.
Starting strong with the albums Gris-Gris and Babylon, the former guitarist and initially reluctant singer grew into the new role, as a purveyor of grooves steeped in Nola funk and story-songs referencing the mysteries rooted in Louisiana muck and Vieux Carre streets. Since then, there have been retrenchments, periods in New York and New Orleans, collaborations with rock royalty and hometown locals, and a career as New Orleans’ musical ambassador to the world. He’s worn that particular cape well, although there have been occasions when Dr. John has fallen into ruts — his music has sometimes suffered from a bit of self-cannibalism, as if the Dr. John created for the tourists took over from the nominally more authentic Dr. John (itself, of course, a masquerade).
Then came Katrina and its terrible aftermath, and Dr. John the Avenger was (re)born, using his music and instantly identifiable voice to rail righteously against the forces that conspired to bring a great and beautiful city to its knees. It was probably inevitable, then, that the Good Doctor would get his mojo back, in a big way. He was due.
And so it’s been done, with a little help from the right producer at the right time. Black Keys singer and guitarist Dan Auerbach, who, in addition to everything else, amped the 10 tunes on Locked Down with his six-string lines, recorded the new music in Nashville, with a well-tooled rhythm section and horns in tow.
The sticky rhythms trick their way into the title track, which opens the disc with an impressionistic tale of a desperate soul on the down and out, maybe issuing a warning to those who might write him off. The fuzzy bass guitar and fatback drums could have been pulled straight from an old-school R&B track, leavened with screechy guitar, background vocals, and, near the end, mellow vibraphone lines. That vintage, but not musty, feel, continues on “Revolution,” its world-going-to-hell narrative bolstered by greasy guitars and a twirling keyboard line, all offset by a thick backbeat and crunchy bari sax.
The narrator of “Big Shot,” riding a bouncy beat and sometimes running smack into a wooly wall of horns, mixes his swaggering with a big of self-mocking: “Don’t oversell it.” And the raucous “Getaway,” with its tale of being “strung out on thrills, living wild,” ends in an explosion of acid-washed guitar; here, and elsewhere, there’s a real sonic edginess to the music that hasn’t been a factor on a Dr. John album in forever.
The second half of the disc is similarly engaging. “Kingdom of Izzness,” located somewhere “in the middle of nowhere,” thrives on a slow and chunky keys-led funk groove, with upright bass, reminiscent of MMW, while the hypnotic, African-influenced “Eleggua” is built on boiling-over percussion, a sticky, repeating guitar and bass riff, flute trills, and some untranslatable vocal declarations – something, you know, about “Tricknology.”
And Locked Down is capped with “God’s Sure Good,” a bluesy, sort of non-denominational salute to the singer’s higher power. “God don’t be resting.” And, at 71, neither is Dr. John, back with a collection of brash, in-your-face songs on an album sure to go down as a late-career highlight.
Suwannee Springfest, Live Oak, FL (concert review)
(recently published in Relix; direct link)
Suwannee Springfest, March 22-25, Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, Live Oak, FL
Hippies and hillbillies, and plenty of other folks who wouldn’t fit anyone’s stereotype of a fan of non-commercial music, gathered in the north Florida woods for the 16th annual Springfest, held on a sprawling, scenic campground near the Suwannee River. On tap: another laidback weekend of acoustic music and bluegrass, with strains of rock, blues, jazz, jamband, and even a novelty act (the manic Tornado Rider, with his strap-on electric cello).
A steady rain on much of Saturday dampened spirits a bit, but the fest nevertheless presented untold hours of music on a half-dozen stages over four days. Hardcore pickers were out in force, with much instrumental virtuosity on guitar, mandolin, fiddle, dobro, and upright bass demonstrated by multiple musicians, including a large contingent from Colorado. The Emmitt-Nershi Band, one such act, turned in favorites including “Restless Wind,” “Wait Until Tomorrow,” and “Colorado Bluebird Sky.”
Also plying multiple strains of music via traditional instruments were Greensky Bluegrass, who worked Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” into their set; the Infamous Stringdusters, with such tunes as the hard-stomping “Get It While You Can”; and fiddle man Darol Anger & the Republic of Strings, who capped their lively performance with a version of “Uncle John’s Band” begun a cappella. Similarly, headliners Yonder Mountain String Band turned in infectious versions of “Rag Doll,” “Blue Collar Blues” and “Southern Flavor”; and during their superjam, with as many as 19 on stage at once, they slipped into the Talking Heads’ “Girlfriend is Better.”
The plugged-in bands, including fest regulars Donna the Buffalo, were impressive, too. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit’s rootsy rock crunch fueled originals and memorable covers of New Orleans staple “Hey Pocky Way,” Hendrix’s “Stone Free,” and Neil Young’s “Like a Hurricane.” Concertgoers were particularly keen on Great American Taxi, led by singer and guitarist/mandolin player Vince Herman. The quintet, its sound and vibe on “Poor House,” “Fuzzy Little Hippie Girl” and other tunes referencing such influences as the Dead, the Band, and Bob Dylan, welcomed Atlanta singer-guitarist Donna Hopkins on stage for a rousing “Everything Money Can’t Buy.” Her voice — bluesy, soulful, and raspy — was among the most powerful and memorable heard at the fest.
Goodbye, Levon. We’re Really Gonna Miss You
Levon Helm, the ex- Band drummer and solo artist, is in the final stages of life, or he may already have passed. I’m SO glad I got to see him play Jazz Fest in 2010, with so many special guests. And yet so sad that his personality and musicianship will no longer be present on earth.
Levon — he always felt like a friend, although we never met — was such a great drummer with a tremendous feel for rock ‘n’ blues and roots styles, always expressing such great joy to be behind that kit, driving his bandmates to ever higher musical peaks, and singing in that distinctive countrified style of his.
And he was so inspiring – coming back from throat cancer to make a career renaissance with several great albums, including Dirt Farmer and Electric Dirt, and singing again despite the odds.
Selfishly, I wish that he had lived long enough for me to see him play one of those storied midnight rambles in upstate NY. That was on my bucket list. Seriously.
Here’s to you, Levon, to a peaceful passing into the next world.
Condolences to those families, friends, fans, and musical colleagues you have left behind.
I wrote about Levon’s appearance at Jazz Fest 2010, as part of my review for Billboard. It’s here.
Charles P. Pierce’s column on Esquire’s site (here) is well worth reading.
The Rodriguez Brothers at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, NYC (concert review)
(recently published at jazztimes.com; direct link)
There’s nothing like an in-house support system to inspire artists to great performances, and the Rodriguez Brothers benefited from just such an advantage on the final night of their engagement at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola. The siblings’ drummer father was in attendance, as were a pair of Latin-jazz bass legends, Andy Gonzalez and John Benitez. As if the lush environs of the packed 140-seat club, on the fourth floor of the Jazz at Lincoln Center complex next to Columbus Circle, with its picture-view backdrop of Central Park and twinkling Manhattan lights, weren’t inspiration enough.
Pianist Rob Rodriguez sounded the first notes of the set opener, a simmering “Gitmo’s Groove,” which he penned for his dad; trumpeter Mike Rodriguez took the melody. Following a piano solo which included a quick quote of “If I Only Had a Heart,” and a trumpet solo, the tune broke down to a rhythm section groove with bassist John Patitucci and percussionist Pedrito Martinez before rebuilding with Jeff “Tain” Watts’ solo. “Guayaquil,” another Rob Rodriguez composition, a nod to the Ecuadorean hometown of the brothers’ mother (“which makes us Cubadoreans,” he said), opened with Patitucci bowing, then plucking his way into a punchy groove. Rob’s solo was a gem—lush chordings shifted into short question-like phrases segueing into a climb up the keyboard, and some contrapuntal left-hand action; the tune evolved into a feature for Martinez, and closed with a long fade-out.
“Lulu’s Song,” another piece Rob penned for his mom, featured a poignant melody and an extended solo spot for Patitucci, who turned in a slowly unreeling series of artfully linked statements. The oft-recorded bassist is taken for granted too often; live, he remains a show stealer, a virtuoso with a knack for the right lines, every time out.
The remainder of the set was similarly engaging. Mike Rodriguez’s “Rude Awakening,” an uptempo bop burner, offered several tete-a-tete moments: the trumpeter and the pianist—the pianist and the drummer; the bassist and the drummer—and concluded with well-taken open space for Watts. The siblings capped the proceedings with a relaxed take on the Cuban chestnut “The Peanut Vendor,” led by Mike’s elongated notes, with a harmon mute on his trumpet. At one point, the pianist and the trumpeter traded solo lines, shadowing each other, then tracing over each other’s phrases. The Rodriguez brothers’ relationship comes off as musically symbiotic. Thankfully, they let listeners into their world.
