Ella Fitzgerald, who is the guitarist in Berlin ?

Mack the Knife , The complete Ella in Berlin
Verve 519 564-2

This CD states that Jim Hall is the guitarist playing as part of the Paul Smith Quartet, with Smith on piano, Wilfred Middlebrook on bass and Gus Johnson on drums. The concert was recorded on Feb 13 1960.
I remain unconvinced that it is Jim Hall playing although Dan Morgenstern (no less) says in the liner notes that it is Jim Hall but admits that his playing sounds like that of Herb Ellis.
Cook and Morton list Herb Ellis as the guitarist on this recording in their Penguin Guide to Jazz and it seems highly likely.

Liner notes do not have the best reputation for accuracy. Anyone have the authorative word on this?

Cicada music: Frank Rosaly (Delmark)

Cicada music

 Frank Rosaly  Delmark DE 5006  © 2013

For the last few years I have been impressed by the Chicago jazz & improvisation scene, at least as for as I can tell by the CDs being released, often on Delmark.  Two favourites are Jason Adasiewicz (vibraphone) and Jason Roebke (double bass), both of whom appear on this release by drummer Frank Rosaly.  The front line comprises James Falzone, Jason Stein and Keefe Jackson, all playing clarinets of various registers.  The ten tunes were written to accompany a documentary film by Brian Ashby (www.scrappersmovie.com) and mostly are simple themes  over unusual time signatures.  That may sound like this is Braxton territory, best left as a thesis in University music departments but instead Rosaly keeps the pieces moving along with an effortless swing and pulse.  The short thematic heads allow the musicians to develop their solos and the band work together sympathetically. 

One of my bugbears is over active pianists who cannot remove their hands from the keyboard when accompanying other soloists. This may explain why I am drawn to Adasiewicz. He sounds appropriately subdued when comping , letting the chimes hang in air behind the soloist but providing enough of a melodic question to aid the lead musician of the moment.  The gentler attack of the vibraphone over the piano also helps keep the soundstage sufficiently open so that you can focus on the lead soloist.

This recording will be of particular interest to those attracted to clarinets. Sadly, the soloists are not identified per track  and I am unable to tell who is playing at any one time. I guess this is in keeping with the egalitarian nature of the band, and I am all for that.

Another good one one from Delmark. There are no tunes that stick in the head but the soloing is what wins through ultimately.  I was leaving my seat by the last track, appropriately titled Credits, but hey, the other nine are the main show. 

Jazzbox , Sven-Ake Johansson Coolquartett

Jazzbox     SÅJ-CD 13-18-26-27-28  © 2013

Sven-åke Johansson will need no introduction to free jazz fans that know their Brotzmann LPs from the late sixties. The veteran Swedish born Berlin resident was one of the earliest European jazz payers to release a solo drum LP featuring his Slingerland drum kit. Slingerland go back further than Johansson and have a reputation to die for. Johansson too has a reputation for quality on the traps. (A great favourite is 6 easy pieces on Hat Art).  I suspect that kit is present on these 5 CDs in which Johansson glides through a series of standards. In three of the discs the band is called the Coolquartett and features modernist/free-leaning trumpeter Axel Dorner as the front man.  The heads are taken straight but with Dorner smearing the notes and taking smallish liberties with the timing and typically kicks of the soloing. Here again he prefers to pinch and decry his lines with undramatic phrasing.  Pianist Zoran Terzic gets plenty of exposure which he uses with sensitivity and aplomb.  Jan Roder on bass provides a good swinging support and equally solos with the right balance of free and standard solo styles.  That then is what most of this band delivers, contemporary takes of the jazz canon with the benefit of over 70 years of jazz interpretation to draw upon. The band play as unit, there is no bandstanding or show, instead a band keen to work out. Whatever post modernism my really mean , it is a little strange to hear the old chestnuts being played by musicians who can play completely free yet restrain from deviations into other worlds or higher stratospheres.  

It should be mentioned that Sven-Åke brings his own special line in singing to just two tracks in the whole set.  It would seem only fair to say that those of you not accustomed to his cabaret style delivery might need the remote at hand. Otherwise, it is a pleasure to hear him play drums with all the panache and charm of, say, Ed Thigpen.

One disc the Coolquartett is supplemented by Tobias Delius on tenor and Henrik Walsdorff on alto from a live gig at the Club Lagari, Berlin (recorded 2009). The two saxophonists push things out a little but without disturbing anyone certainly not the swinging drummer.

Disc IV (Tune up) is the only one without Dorner, instead featuring Tobias Delius with Roder, Johansson and Aki Takase on piano. Personally, I find Takase repetitive and lacks any potential for swing, so the tunes often switch from a flowing 4/4 to a two step feel time when she does the typical irregular rag time solo. Irritating over a whole disc for me, but more importantly it raises the question of why German and  Dutch modernists regularly draw on the old stomp-style jazz tradition whereas American bands will keep the swinging 4/4 time going with never a hint of pastiche. Is it tradition or is it irony? I cannot tell. 
Disc V (Candy) is a trio with Dorner, Johansson and Joe Williamson on bass. Again, standards feature throughout and given a similar workout apply as with the Coolquartett. 

In sum, if you are not expecting contemporary german free improv this is a nice box set. The attraction is the unshowy nature of the performances.  The musicians sound like a band working out at a live club, totally committed and professional with the confidence to not need to impress anyone. For me, that is why you seek out this box set rather than a polished top American outfit doing the same tunes on a high profile label. 

Check Johansson’s web page for more at  http://www.sven-akejohansson.com/en/home/

Diana Krall, Abbey Lincoln

Female jazz singers recognised by the wider public remain woefully few. Recently I picked up two CDs that offer an opportunity to consider why it should be.  Diana Krall quite understandably has been a worldwide phenomenon and in bringing jazz to a wider audience has delighted record companies. Does Live in Paris thrill a life long jazz enthusiast?   Marketed clearly for good looks and smooch appeal, it seemed unlikely that there was going to be much to get excited about  in someone comfortable with free jazz and beyond.

Krall enjoys a top notch rhythm section for sure. John Clayton on bass and Jeff Hamilton are peerless in establishing the tempo, swinging effortlessly whenever possible, although  I remain unmoved by guitarist Antony Wilson's contribution. So what does Krall bring as the pianist?  Morton and Cook tell us that she studied with Jimmy Rowles.  There are few pianists with such a reputation so Rowles remains in my mind while I listen to her playing.  Some solos do hold some of the truncated, unshowy phrasing of Rowles and are sufficiently brief to pique my interest. Krall never overplays either in notes or in duration and this, if nothing else, keeps you wanting more.   Her singing is engaging and in contrast to talent shows, not overblown or mannered.
In fact, by the time i got to track 8, Maybe you'll be there, I was drawn in. This version provides a compelling argument  for why Krall is to be welcomed. Why is it that so few other jazz singers have covered this Bloom - Gallop tune?  So, I was worried I had wasted money on this one, fearing an overdose of schmaltz, but instead I enjoyed th eexperience and find myself encouraged that such good music is proving popular.  There must still be a market for jazz. Good tunes, well played will live on, I suspect.

Are such characteristics evident in Its me, the 2003 release by Abbey Lincoln in a series of recordings from  Verve?  There are similar features to the Krall CD, in that the production values are there, as are premier musicians. Kenny Barron, Ray Drummond, James Spaulding all augur well, but Lincoln remained committed to recording her own material rather than simply covering popular old standards. So , although Skylark opens the CD, it is the only chestnut. Interestingly, it is one of the least effective. The orchestral arrangements are conventional,  old-fashioned even.  Cannot help but refer to the glorious, stripped-down version recorded recently by another  singer reaching to a wider audience, Gregory Porter.
Its me has two arrangers for the string accompaniments, Laurent Cugny and Alan Broadbent and I found the latter's scores were slightly more suitable, although I could not pin down what differed between them. As can be her want, Lincoln sounds unengaged on Skylark. This can work when she imparts a tired, weary mood that befits a woman who has experienced a full life, encountering as much strife as success but perhaps this conflicts with the glossy 1960s approach to orchestral backing. Why do producers insist on such string sections when the result is as far removed as possible from the bleaker mood that  Lincoln invokes best.  Hence, the small band tracks are more effective where that sadness comes through.
There were things i enjoyed, Julien Lourau solos on saxophones and equally the contributions from  James Spaulding who has been a favourite ever since the wonderful Blue Notes he contributed to in the sixties.  Lincoln's voice is as wonderful as ever, and sadly there were not be many more recordings. For that reason it is worth hearing , try for example track 9 , The Search,  which typifies the nest in her style of singing, but  Its me does not consistently match Wholly Earth a CD from 1998 where the style is consistent and appropriate.   I miss Abbey Lincoln, who with Betty Carter deserve to be as widely known as Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald. Let's hope Diana Krall converts discover Abbey next.

Benoit Delbecq: Silencers: balance de blancs

Benoit Delbecq is the member of the Silencers who will be known to most modern / free jazz fans..  The CD is released by the Norwegian SOFA outfit, and they have a solid list of CDs that frequently leans towards abstract  music.   This CD came out in 2011 and features a pan european line up with Norwegian trumpeter Kim Mhyr, German drummer Nils Ostendorf and  Frenchmen at the piano (Delbecq) and drums , (percussionist Toma Douband).

Musically, the musicians fit together seamlessly.   SOFA website tells us that the musicians have been together since 2006 and it fits with the balance they achieve. The development of sounds moves along seamlessly and there is no sense of overcrowding.
But what type of music am I describing?  To me the closest reference is the industrial soundscapes created by Polwechsel on Hat now Art CDs but Silencers are somewhat less abrupt, less brutal. If anyone recalls the haunting sounds that accompany Anthony Hopkins as he searches around back streets of London looking for the Elephant man in David Lynch's film they will know what to expect.  Sounds emitting from a large industrial machine room  sounds highly unflattering and might repel all but the converted but when produced by musicians with instruments it is most engaging. The musicians are good at recreating collages of sound rather than single sources or drones. You cannot help but start imagining where you might hear such noises.   You imagine you are listening to the drone of electrical transformers coupled to steam hissing from steam engines along with pipes creaking under pressure.  At other times you hear the rustling of furniture in an upstairs hall or chains being collected together. Often which instrument is creating the particular sound  is impossible to determine but this only adds to the sense of intrigue. Musical tones from harps and inside pianos and trumpets of course appear from time to time but the collective journey through a collection of sonic landscapes is the best and thoroughly satisfying effect.
Five tracks give you five different environments to imagine. None overstay their welcome or become tiring. Instead you can't help but wonder Where am I ? inside the lower decks of an old steamer?  within a factory producing steel girders or bells? a dark corridor with pipes being beaten by bamboo rods?  in a jungle perhaps?

I recommend people take the tour. I recall some band  used the term Magical Mystery Tour for one of their LPs... shame,  it would suit this record perfectly.

Kenny Dorham, MI3 and Rob Blakeslee

Hi folks. 

Here are my thoughts on jazz records, old and new.  

why start another blog?  As i don't have enough friends with whom i can debate jazz I felt it necessary to start blogging to find a wider audience. 

My recent purchases that get us going are: 

Kenny Dorham Septet  : Blue Spring  (OJC Riverside 1990 resissue)

Kenny Dorham (t), Paul Chambers (b), Jimmy Cobb or Philly Joe Jones (d) and Cedar Walton (p) with a horn section of Cannnball Adderley (alto), Cecil Payne (baritone sax) and David Amram (Fr horn).  Rec  Jan and Feb 1959, NYC. 

Nice CD this one. The arrangements are nicely constructed, and the musicians give the songs a grace that you expect from Chambers and Cobb or Philly Joe who were creating that famous swing feel that so effectively with the first Miles Davis Quintet.   The magic appears to be the combination of the note placement of the bassist and space given by the drummer(s). 

There are, however, two things that detract. One is the clunky editing at the start of the piano solo on Poetic Spring (at 5:13) which sounds so bad that I thought the CD had jumped.   The second flaw is the distortion  that perodically appears. It suggests hasty adjustments at the mixing desk either at the original recording or upon remastering in 1990.  Listen for example to Passion Spring when it tells during the final chorus (8:15).

Mi3 (Pandelis Karayorgis trio) free advice (clean feed 2007)

Mi3 is the trio by Pandelis Karyorgis (p) Nate McBride (b) and Curt Newton (d). Free Advice was recorded in June 2004 and released in 2007. Karyorgis is certainly one of the more individual sounding pianists around. Not that he is a new boy either.  Boston is the home town for these guys and the abstract cool of the modern avant jazz is their territory. I came across these players when chasing down Mat Maneri recordings ages ago.  The angular approach of the pianist is dominant but the use of some simple structured tunes (Ellington’s Warm Valley, and the Mystery Song  and Sun Ra’s Ankhnaton) provide a setting that makes it easy for the listener to assimilate the style of piano playing.  McBride and Newton fit in very nicely and the result is a thoughtful chamber trio that have their own sound and trajectory.

 Rob Blakeslee Quartet:  Spirit of the Times (9 winds 1998)

From Boston we move to the East Coast with the 9 winds label recording of the Rob Blakeslee Quartet.  Accompanied by Vinny Golia on clarinets, Ken Filiano (b) and Billy Mintz (d). The set was put down way back in 1997 but has developed no cobwebs, sounding as contemporary as news of California finance troubles.  Peopl ewho know the East coast jazz scene will feel at home with this almost unstructured ‘Freebop’.  Characteristically for this music the first tune is dedicated to the great trumpeter Bobby Bradford who one would assume is a model for Blakeslee.   I have found longeurs in 9 wind recording s with Golia before but this CD entertained me with a varied set without overstaying its welcome. I have seen little on why American jazz differs from east to west coast but the contrast between  MI3 and Blakeslee Quartet is case in point. Where MI3 creep forward collectively, as careful as chess players moving into uncertain territory the West coast musicians  project confidently, taking long explorations in the solos over a more steady rhythm backdrop.