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 June 15, 2009 Jazz '09 I probably receive more jazz discs for review than all other music styles combined. Jazz musicians seem to take root all over the world, in cities large and small, where they do whatever they can to get their music out to the people. Some distribute their own discs, some are on independent record labels, others on one of the majors. Here are a few titles I’ve recently enjoyed:
Bassist Tom Knific is head of the jazz studies program at Western Michigan University, and the musicians who join him on Lines of Influence are products of that school. I sometimes find the jazz of college-educated players too hesitant and academic, but Lines of Influence is inventive and witty, beautifully arranged and joyously played. Knific’s quartet has been working together for a number of years and, according to his liner note, they recorded the seven tunes on the disc in "mostly single takes." The leader’s solos are buoyant and clearly developed, and his rhythmic support is compelling and subtle throughout, as is the work of drummer Keith Hall. Knific’s son, John, is the pianist, and at 21 shows great promise. Saxophonist Chris Beckstrom is an exciting player with a firm command of the bop idiom, but here he comfortably bursts into anarchic free jazz. Beckstrom wrote the disc’s strongest track, "Eidas Retsis," a witty tune that gives him and Knific ample solo space. The group falters only during a version of the Beatles’ "Eleanor Rigby" that opens cleverly, but feels blocky and reticent. This excellent recording captures lots of large-hall ambience.
Guitarist Peter Bernstein’s CV includes a lengthy stint with Lou Donaldson during the 1990s, as well as work with other well-established players, including Joshua Redman, Diana Krall, Nicholas Payton, Lee Konitz, and Tom Harrell. Monk is Bernstein’s seventh disc as a leader, and his trio, which includes bassist Doug Weiss and drummer Dave Stewart, assays 12 Thelonious Monk compositions. Monk’s tunes are notoriously difficult, and Bernstein worried about adapting the composer’s music for the guitar. Monk’s piano playing was sometimes percussive, and he used odd juxtapositions of notes and difficult time signatures to put his ideas across. Bernstein captures many of Monk’s nuances well, especially in "Brilliant Corners" and "Work," but the guitar, by nature, will inevitably smooth out some of the pianist’s brilliant eccentricities. What Bernstein brings across is how enduring and memorable Monk’s tunes are -- they never sound dated. The guitarist plays brilliantly, letting the tunes lead him wherever they take him. The results must have surprised even Bernstein, who was also smart enough to keep things fresh by choosing some lesser-known compositions, such as "Pannonica" and "Played Twice." Bernstein flies solo on three tracks, but otherwise Stewart and Weiss are equal partners, and share the credit for making Monk an important addition to Bernstein’s discography.
Vast opens with "The Triumph," a jazz track that, halfway through, starts to pull in hard-rock elements, such as a loud, distorted guitar and a big drum kit with a booming bass drum. According to the East West Quintet’s website, it’s "more likely to rock than to swing," but to my ears it successfully integrates rock into jazz without losing the latter genre’s improvisational skill and daring. In "Catalyst," a repetitive electric-piano line reminiscent of Brian Eno is the basis for an exciting ensemble piece that builds dramatically, thanks to drummer Jordan Perlson. Guitarist Simon Kafka wrote the atmospheric title track, divided here into "Pt. 1" and "Pt. 2," and uses seemingly simple elements to create music that is both menacing and emotionally stirring. Each of the group’s members wrote tunes for Vast, and their distinctive writing styles make for a varied disc that coheres because of a clear group identity developed over several years of playing together. Dylan Heaney is a passionate, brainy player of reeds and a consistently engaging improviser, and bassist Benjamin Campbell helps hold down the foundation of a genuinely innovative sound. I would, however, jump at the chance to remix Vast. The drums are too far forward, and there’s little depth or space in the soundstage. Recommended nonetheless.
As with all good musicians, it’s easy to list Jeff Presslaff’s influences: Bill Evans, Horace Silver, Thelonious Monk. Also like all good musicians, Presslaff synthesizes his inspirers into something new. The pianist has had broad experience as an educator and player, and has accompanied both mainstream and avant-garde musicians. In 1997 he moved from New York to Winnipeg, where he’s established himself as part of that city’s vibrant jazz scene. Red Goddess is Presslaff’s first trio recording; he wrote its ten compositions over the last 20 years. "Summer Somewhere (One)," with its exquisite melody and strong rhythmic flow, contains hints of Debussy and Silver. "2 Blue 2B" is an unusual take on the blues that gives bassist Julian Bradford a lengthy solo spot that he uses to fine advantage. Presslaff writes tunes that are cerebral but have strong currents of feeling running through them, as well as a striking sense of harmonic adventure. He also likes to throw the occasional curveball. "’nother Monkish Thing" may contain hints of the late, great Thelonious, but Scott Senior’s rock drumming throws the performance into another place altogether. Senior and Bradford are strong, equal partners in this very tight trio, and the sound is unusually rich for an independent release.
Brad Shepik is a resourceful and unpredictable guitarist whose interest in music from other cultures and skills with other stringed instruments (here he also plays tambura and electric saz) lead him to try a variety of sounds and textures. The ten compositions on Human Activity Suite are centered on the theme of climate change, in particular how the actions of our species contribute to it. If you’re a skeptic on this issue, don’t let that scare you away from this disc. Shepik’s tunes take trips to different continents to look at modern, hectic life and its occasional discontents. The result is multicultural in the best sense of the word, evoking a strong sense of place in "Lima (South America)," with its echoes of bossa nova and South American folk music; "By a Foot (Europe)," in which Shepik shows an impressive feel for modern European jazz; and "Stir (Antarctica)," which paints a picture of the southernmost continent’s frightening desolation. "Blindspot (North America)" employs Shepik’s volume swells on guitar, Ralph Alessi’s short bursts of energy on trumpet, and Gary Versace’s ingenious effects on the Hammond organ (at first I thought it was a tape loop) to create a sense of dread and sadness. The title track is delicately beautiful and, at the same time, edgy, while "Carbonic" joyously swings. As with Shepik’s previous disc, Places You Go, the tremendous variety of compositional styles and approaches does not keep Human Activity Suite from hanging together as a complete and well-organized suite. As with all Songlines releases, the sound on this SACD/CD is excellent.
I missed Deanna Witkowski’s previous disc, Length of Days (2006), but I reviewed and thoroughly enjoyed her first two, Having to Ask (2001) and Wide Open Window (2003). On her newest album, From This Place, the pianist has focused, as she writes in her liner note, "specifically on sacred music." Witkowski follows in the footsteps of Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, and Marion Williams, all of whom wrote religious works in the jazz idiom. She has taken texts from "nineteenth century poets, scripture, the Mass, and occasionally, my original verses" and set them to imaginative and stirring melodies. Her music is respectful and worshipful, but never solemn. Witkowski is a wonderfully gifted pianist with a strong sense of beauty and harmony, but I was unprepared for how natural and affecting her voice is. Her technical skills as a singer nearly match her keyboard prowess, but in both cases, what she most powerfully conveys is emotional truth. The words of the four sections of Evening Mass -- Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei -- will be familiar to anyone who has heard or attended a mass, but Witkowski musically recharges them. Donny McCaslin, on reeds, has accompanied her before, and the two have a wonderful symbiosis. Bassist John Patitucci and drummer Scott Latzky show a deep understanding for the pianist’s musical and spiritual goals, and offer understated assistance that, on repeated hearings, reveals their consummate skills. A warm analog recording, and an inspiring and moving disc. . . . Joseph Taylor
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Tom Knific Quartet: Lines of
Influence
Peter Bernstein Trio: Monk
East West Quintet: Vast
Jeff Presslaff Trio: Red
Goddess
Brad Shepik: Human Activity
Suite
Deanna Witkowski: From This
Place