Denny Zeitlin: Panoply

  Pianist Denny Zeitlin has worn a lot of musical hats since his debut in a trio format on Columbia in 1964. Over the years, he’s performed as a soloist, as leader of a trio, and, adding synthesizers, in a series of duets with percussionist George Marsh. Typically, these are discrete projects, but for his latest Sunnyside release, Panoply, he’s decided to program a lengthy CD with previously unissued music from a variety of sessions. Zeitlin’s latest trio features Buster Williams on bass and Matt Wilson on drums. They’re heard on four tracks that were performed in New York at Mezzrow’s, a 2019 gig that previously resulted in the Live At Mezzrow CD. The trio leads off the disc with a gently swinging version of Gershwin’s I Was Doing All Right. Next up is the heavily electronic Excursion, the first of five improvised duets with Marsh. The duets were selected from a decade of sessions held at Zeitlin’s home studio in California. As much as I love Zeitlin’s acoustic work, I’ve never really warmed up to the music that’s resulted from what Zeitlin describes as “a marvelous adventure.” But with the duos interspersed among the trio and solo selections, I expect that they will start to make more sense to me. The three solo pieces that are present were recorded at Zeitlin’s annual gig at the Piedmont Piano Company in December 2012. Among the standout tracks in this carefully selected and intelligently sequenced disc are the tender and boldly romantic solo treatment of Bill Lee’s Only One, the hyper-speed romp through Cherokee (another solo), the duo’s soothing A Raft, A River, and the trio’s emotional journey through Stordahl and Weston’s I Should Care. Panoply offers a heartily enjoyable listening experience. Definitely recommended. 

Sunnyside SSC 1741; Denny Zeitlin (p; p, hardware, & virtual synthesizer on duo selections) George Marsh (d, perc on duo selections) Buster Williams (b on trio selections) Matt Wilson (d on trio selections); solos, Oakland, CA, December 1,2012; duos, Kentfield, CA, 2013-2023; trios, NYC, May 3-4, 2019; I Was Doing All Right (trio)/ Excursion (duo)/ Only One (solo)/ Ambush (duo)/ Music Box (duo)/ Cherokee (solo)/ Regret (duo)/ Weirdo (trio)/ A Raft, A River (duo)/ Limburger Pie and Beeswax Crust (solo)/ I Should Care (trio)/ Johnny Come Lately; 77:32. sunnysiderecords.com

Jim Witzel Quartet:

  It doesn’t take very long to discern the compatibility and unified purpose of a group like the Jim Witzel Quartet. Except for a rather drab guitar-piano duet version of Paul Simon’s Old Friends, from Simon & Garfunkel’s Bookends (1968), the program on Breaking Through Gently is comprised of original compositions by guitarist Witzel and pianist Phil Aaron. On bass is Dan Feiszli, who also recorded and mixed the CD. The drummer is accomplished Bay Area stalwart Jason Lewis. Witzel has recorded infrequently since his debut on record with saxophonist Dave LeFebvre back in 1981. He’s been woodshedding and gigging with pianist Aaron since sometime in the Nineties while Aaron was in the Los Angeles area. Breaking Through Gently is the first documentation of their collaboration. Witzel’s clear tone and flowing solos mesh very nicely with Aaron’s sparkling solos and tasty comping. Feiszli and Lewis make a fine team, swinging hard from start to finish. The whole ethos of the music’s feeling can be summed by one of Aaron’s titles, Hello My Friend. Witzel and Aaron sound genuinely happy to be playing together, and that feeling comes through loud and clear. Recommended. 

Joplin Sweeney J&S 203; Jim Witzel (g) Phil Aaron (p) Dan Feiszli (b) Jason Lewis (d); Berkeley, CA, July 26-27, 2023; My Compass/ Firefly Waltz/ The Celebration/ Abjohn/ Hello My Friend/ The Little Dragon/ Old Friends/ Breaking Through Gently; 45:02. www.jimwitzelmusic.com

Day Dream: Duke And Strays Live

  It’s hard to go wrong with a program devoted to the works of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. On the eminently pleasing Duke And Strays Live, drummer Phil Haynes’ Day Dream trio is captured in performance at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA. Beginning with the gentle ballad African Flower, the trio of Haynes, pianist Steve Rudolph and bassist Drew Gress elucidates the melodic contours of the music with flair and a deeply rooted sense of swing. The connection between Haynes and Gress goes all the way back to the drummer’s first album in 1986, and they’ve performed together on a wide range of projects since then. A pianist with a deft touch and a pleasing warmth to his improvising, Rudolph works beautifully with Gress and Haynes to illuminate these well-known compositions. Generally, the arrangements are direct and unfussy interpretations. Among the highlights are the extended treatment of Come Sunday, Strayhorn’s Lush Life featuring Gress’ rich arco introduction, and the closing medley of My Little Brown Book and the Ellington band’s theme song, Take The ‘A’ Train, played with exciting and unexpected shifts in tempo. The close-miked recording is especially kind to Haynes’ delicate cymbal work, though it leaves the audience sounding very far away. All in all, an extremely enjoyable release, quite happily recommended. 

Corner Store Jazz CRJ-0140+0141; Steve Rudolph (p) Drew Gress (b) Phil Haynes (d); Lewisburg, PA, September 10, 2023; Disc 1: African Flower; Perdido; Single Petal of a Rose/Sophisticated Lady; U.M.M.G.; Lush Life. Disc 2: Come Sunday; Rockin’ in Rhythm; T.G.T.T.; Lotus Blossom; My Little Brown Book/Take the ‘A’ Train. Total time: 77:27. cornerstorejazz.com

Steph Richards: Power Vibe

  Trumpeter and flugelhornist Steph Richards combines commanding technique with a bountiful musical imagination on Power Vibe. She gets devoted assistance from her band, with the versatile Joshua White on piano, the always impressive Stomu Takeishi on acoustic and electric basses, and the highly skilled Gerald Cleaver on drums. There’s also Max Jaffe, who supplies “sensory electronics” triggered by drum-mounted sensors on the studio tracks. He gets behind the drumkit for Supersense, the final track, recorded in concert in Bolzano, Italy. Richards’ original compositions put a lot of faith into her bandmates, with anyone in the group free to move the music into another direction. The results are absorbing and playful, with Jaffe’s generally subtle electronic textures adding another element of unpredictability into the music. There’s an appealing spaciousness in the ensemble’s sound, with almost endless possibilities as the tunes develop. One of the standout pieces is Moutons, where bold trumpet lines are surrounded by tinkly piano, bass rumbles, excitable drums, and a dollop of mild electronics. But on every piece, there’s obvious trust among the musicians that something very interesting is going on, and astute listeners will find plenty to enjoy. Recommended. 

Northern Spy NS 164; Steph Richards (tpt, flgh) Joshua White (p) Stomu Takeishi (b, electric bass guitar) Gerald Cleaver (d, exc on *) Max Jaffe (sensory electronics; d on *); Brooklyn, NY, no dates indicated; Prey/ Power Vibe/ October to July/ Moutons/ Reculez/ Supersense (Live in Bolzano)*; 40:06. northernspyrecs.com 

Alice Coltrane: The Carnegie Hall Concert

 

    It was quite a band that pianist and harpist Alice Coltrane assembled for a all-star benefit in February 1971 to raise funds for the Integral Yoga Institute run by her guru, Swami Satchidananda. Pharoah Sanders and Archie Shepp were the saxophonists, Jimmy Garrison and Cecil McBee each played bass, and Ed Blackwell and Clifford Jarvis were the drummers. Also present were Tulsi playing tamboura, and Kumar Kramer on harmonium. It’s taken many decades for this music to finally appear as The Carnegie Hall Concert, thanks to Ed Michel, who supervised the recording after producing Alice Coltrane’s Impulse albums Ptah, The El Daoud and Journey In Satchidananda. The original 4-track tapes have been lost, and all we have now is a reference mix that Michel made back in the Seventies. In his extensive and highly entertaining liner notes for this release, he notes the mix he made yielded a “quality being about 80 to 95% of that of the ‘master mix’”. With some modern processing tweaks, it sounds pretty good, although a dearth of microphones means Tulsi and Kramer are barely audible. The 80-minute program consists of four long performances. In order, there are two tunes composed by Alice Coltrane (both the title track and Shiva-Loka from the just-released Journey In Satchidananda) and two written by John Coltrane, Africa, from his 1961 Africa/Brass album, and Leo, first recorded in 1966 with Alice Coltrane on piano. The first two pieces unfold as distinctly spiritual and “within a specifically Vedic context - in sound and message,” as Lauren Du Graf testifies in her liner essay for this release. The drummers begin Africa in a blaze of tom-toms and cymbals before Alice enters on piano to set up the saxes for the main theme. It’s a boisterous and invigorating performance that maintains its high-spirited intensity for half an hour, notable for Shepp’s lengthy tenor solo and Alice’s powerful piano work. It is worth noting that according to Du Graf there were “no group rehearsals,” making the cohesiveness of the large ensemble a bit of a surprise and a testament to Alice Coltrane’s vision and tenacity. The closing performance of Leo features more of Alice’s piano and a drum duet for Blackwell and Jarvis before the saxophonists lead the ensemble for the closing crescendo. It was a rather strange evening at Carnegie Hall. Opening the concert was Laura Nyro, another devotee of Satchidananda, with a 20-minute set of solo piano and vocals. Next up was the Alice Coltrane band, who were asked to keep things short to make room for the closing act, the Rascals. That band’s singer and organist Felix Cavaliere was also a disciple of Satchidananda, and he notes that “The spirit of that event took hold from the beginning ... I kind of remember the spaciousness… I'm sure the audience was a little overwhelmed because it was kind of hard to figure out what exactly was happening up there.” Even so, you can hear the enthusiasm of the crowd at the conclusion of Africa, when the group had already been on stage for an hour. All in all, The Carnegie Hall Concert is an amazing document of an almost-lost performance and a fascinating chapter in the development of modern music. Impulse!; Pharoah Sanders (ts, ss, fl, fife, perc) Archie Shepp (ts, ss, perc) Alice Coltrane (p, harp, perc) Jimmy Garrison, Cecil McBee (b) Ed Blackwell, Clifford Jarvis (d) Tulsi (tamboura) Kumar Kramer (harmonium); NYC, February 21, 1971; Journey in Satchidananda/ Shiva-Loka/ Africa/ Leo; 79:29. www.impulserecords.com

John Alvey: Loft Glow

  Drummer John Alvey grew up with a musical father, pianist Michael Alvey, who encouraged his son in many ways, including finding him a first-rate drum teacher and exposing him to a lot of recorded jazz. Eventually, father and son played together for seven years in a trio that had a steady gig in his home town of Nashville. Loft Glow, John Alvey’s first album as a leader, has been a long time coming. He’s performed with jazz players like Brian Lynch, Greg Tardy, and Joel Frahm, whose warm tenor sax is a welcome presence here. Alvey’s key influence, perhaps surprisingly for a drummer, is saxophonist and composer Benny Golson, who turned 95 this past January. The well-known and much loved Moanin’ album by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers was, he says, his first exposure to hard bop, and he couldn’t stop listening to it. Loft Glow is a winning effort, with music that swings from start to finish. Alvey, working closely with trombonist Roland Barber, selected a good batch of tunes, including his own Azure, which leads off the set in high style. The band, with Alvey and Barber joined by alto saxophonist Jovan Quallo, tenorman Joel Frahm, the dynamic Matt Endahl on piano, and bassist Jacob Jezioro is impressive from the start. They maintain their appealing sound throughout the varied program, which makes listening to the entire album at once a genuine pleasure. In addition to Alvey’s lead-off track, there are two other pieces by band members. Trombonist Barber contributes the gentle Winslow Nocturne, while Quallo offers his quietly grooving June 23. John Stubblefield’s Baby Man, a favorite of Mary Lou Williams, is performed with an appropriately bluesy and down-home feel, courtesy of Endahl’s deft pianism and Alvey’s relaxed beat. Barber’s old-fashioned trombone solo is a nice touch. Of course, the set includes a piece by Golson. From his many compositions, Alvey chose Terminal 1, the title track of a 2004 CD for Concord. It’s a lovely tune, imbued with Golson’s trademark lyricism, and a rollicking Frahm makes the most of it. Alvey gets a chance to shine as well, with a tasty drum solo that moves the music right along. The set ends with a soulful canter through Ron Carter’s Blues For D.P., which first appeared on Parfait (Milestone) in 1980. Loft Glow is an excellent debut release, well worth checking out.

Jazz Music City; Roland Barber (tbn) Jovan Quallo (as on 2,3,5,6) Joel Frahm (ts on 1,2,4-6) Matt Endahl (p) Jacob Jezioro (b) John Alvey (d); Nashville, TN, August 15, 2022 (2,3,5) or July 14, 2023 (1,4,6); 1.Azure/ 2.Winslow Nocturne/ 3.Baby Man/ 4.Terminal 1/ 5.June 23/ 6.Blues for D.P.; 45:49. johnalveymusic.com

Travis Reuter: Quintet Music

  Without a drummer as adept as Tyshawn Sorey to negotiate its fractured rhythms, guitarist Travis Reuter’s Quintet Music would not have been nearly as exciting and enjoyable as it turned out to be. Enlisting Sorey, along with tenor saxophonist Mark Shim, vibraphonist Peter Schlamb, and bassist Harish Raghavan, gives Reuter plenty of choices in his arrangements. Sometimes Shim and Reuter are blazing up front over the vibes, bass, and drums rhythm team. At other points, like when Schlamb is laying down a furious vibes solo on #13 F34, the saxophonist seems to act as part of the rhythm section. There’s a lot going on all the time in Reuter’s music, and it can seem a trifle nervous at times. That’s only one reason to be glad for the three interludes, short features for Reuter, Shim, and Schlamb. They aren’t devoted to unaccompanied solos. Instead, each piece is focused on an individual instrumental voice as an oasis of relief in the midst of the more complex pieces. Of the longer tracks, I’m especially fond of Fast Louis, which starts out with an excitable guitar line from Reuter and deeply engaged responses from Sorey. The entrance of Shim and Schlamb, at around the two-minute mark, ups the ante considerably. Reuter’s wild guitar solo towards the end of #9 Low/High 1 is another exciting high point in the program. #15 and Carrico Real deliver a slam-bang finish to Quintet Music. I, for one, am sorely tempted to take a couple of deep breaths, and start back at the beginning. Highly recommended! 

Self-produced (digital only); Mark Shim (ts) Peter Schlamb (vib) Travis Reuter (g) Harish Raghavan (ac b) Tyshawn Sorey (d); Brooklyn, NY, April 21-23, 2024, additional recording Bern, Switzerland, October 10, 2022; Same Song/ #13 F34/ Interlude 1 (Reuter)/ #8 D@z/ Fast Louis/ Interlude 1 (Shim)/ #9 Low/High 1/ Interlude 1 (Schlamb)/ #15/ Carrico Real; 45:17. www.travisreuter.com