Jazz on BBC Radio 3

Jazz on BBC Radio 3.

A report on the quality of music programming at the BBC has been made available this week.  For those of us who are interested in jazz, it makes for pitiful reading.

This is what the BBC think about their jazz output on Radio 3 (and remember you will not hear any jazz on any of the other BBC radio channels) :

''Some stakeholders feel jazz is not treated as a priority by Radio 3. We recognise the importance of Radio 3’s support for jazz and world music, but these are not currently the core of Radio 3’s offer, so we would not necessarily expect them to be a regular part of its daytime offer. ''


This statement comes from the BBC Trust Service Review Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, 6 Music and Asian Network, published March 2015. 

Am I alone in thinking the BBC uses tax payers money to fund hours upon hours of Classical music and gives a vanishing fraction of money to jazz and other so-called minority interests.  This feeble statement indicates that Radio 3 will continue as it is.  Sounds like a kiss of death to me.  

shall i buy or shall i not....

If the most exciting bit is walking to the record shop then the next best thing is the walk home then  expectation of what lies ahead .  You have expectations of what is to come, the sounds, the feel, the pulse of the music embedded in the grooves or burnt on the CD.   Such predetermined ideas thoughts  either amplify or dampen the reward you seek once you are in your seat and the record is playing. Within minutes you are disappointed is the music does not match up to what you had hoped for. 

Certainly I was pleased to find a copy of Apocryphal  by the drummer Vinnie Sperrazza (Loyal Label  LLCD014). The cover is appealing, the cardboard case has a nice font on a rich yellow background and a picture that draws you in.  Next in that almost instantaneous process of evaluation  of potential purchases is , of course , the musicians.  Vinnie Sperrazza  I have only recently discovered  in piano trios (plays Cy Coleman and  Barcelona Holiday).  As you read the lineup i am comfortable with  Loren Stillman on alto saxophone , someone who is at home with standards and conventional 4/4 groove and Eivind Opsvik on bass.   After hearing  Opsvik underpin the upbeat swinging free  Standards by Jackson Moore (2007) and more recently with Nate Wooley  he has remained on my radar.  All that left was Brandon Seabrook on guitar, someone who i have not come across before. 

So, all in all one guitarist can't overwrite the otherwise positive or pormising attractions. Price is OK, let's buy....

I guess I expected more swing, more conventional jazz. Certainly, it don’t do any of that.  Not knowing Brandon Seabrook I should I was unprepared for the unusual contribution of his electric guitar playing.  The  tunes, all penned by Sperrazza, are pretty anonymous  and Stillman creeps around without much purpose but what upsets  is the rock guitar riffing against otherwise harmless meandering. Apochryphal was recently given a favourable review at  Point of Departure, a compelling web publication run by Bill Shoemaker, featuring some  of the best of jazz critics (http://www.pointofdeparture.org/).  The reviewer there was pleased to highlight the contrasting styles of Stillman with Seabrook. If it worked for  him then I can only blame my expectations listed above because  it sounded like a badly thought-out idea to me.  The extent to which the band has played together would be worth knowing  but I am suspcious that  Seabrook was brought in at the last minute and told to wack it up, both in terms of heat and give an edginess to proceedings. Certainly, without guitar it wouldn't win awards but at least not upset anyone.

I  have little enthusiasm publishing negative reviews and  can only offer those concerned is the feeble excuse that any publicity is useful .  The current financial belt–tightening in t experiencehis household , and i dont think i am alone not  working  in finance  led me to consider what sequence of mental events led me to being so disappointed by this CD.   

One further consideration that has to enter the mental calculus prior to deciding to purchase is the record label.  If your tastes are restricted to one a style, say a type of mainstream jazz then you can usually  to a know brand.  However, seeing  a recording  on a small independent (presumably home made) outfit  is not necessarily a problem when free improvisation is sought.  The larger companies that support this style of music are well recognised but the search for interesting sounds that have yet to reach those familiar  labels means you are prepared to ignore any premonitions that a bedroom concoction hasn’t made the grade, pace the Jackson Moore Cd mentioned earlier.

So what can one do to improve the success rate for unheard CDs ?  The opportunity to do your homework is usually unavailable  because you never know when you are back in town and if the CD will still be there. And numerous other considerations.  Sadly, you are left thinking  that fewer risks  must  be taken next time.  The very opposite of what you seek in the music itself.   

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.