Rob Garcia: Sizzle Ensemble

     I’ve always appreciated truth in advertising, so I’m happy to report that the Sizzle Ensemble helmed by drummer Rob Garcia makes good at the promised excitement of the name. The quintet, an A-team line-up with Shane Endsley on trumpet, Noah Preminger on tenor, Gary Versace on pianos, and Kim Cass on bass, is clearly having a ball right from the start, with their novel arrangement of Thelonious Monk’s theme song, Epistrophy. That’s one of three cover versions in the set, along with Marcus Miller’s Tutu, a staple in Miles Davis concerts in the last part of his career, and Herbie Hancock’s 1965 classic Maiden Voyage, played here with Versace on funky electric piano and bluesy solos from Preminger and Endsley. Garcia composed all the rest, save for Sizzle, a lively group composition and one of the two bonus tracks, noted as “not on the digital release.” The first of his pieces, Early Celebration, captures the raucous energy and cross-conversations of a great party. The tempo accelerates and decelerates, just like the ebb and flow of a convivial gathering. And in truth, the session sounds like just that kind of party. It no doubt helps that Preminger and Cass have been playing and recording together for over a decade, while Garcia and Preminger have collaborated on seven projects since Garcia’s Perennial CD (2009). The versatile multi-keyboard artist Gary Versace is ubiquitous, with well over 150 sessions to his credit since 2000. Trumpeter Endsley, with a bold, fluid sound, has worked with a wide array of musicians since 1996, including Steve Coleman, Ralph Alessi, Ben Allison, and as a member of Kneebody. Maybe all you need to know about Rob Garcia is that he might be the only drummer who’s worked with both Joseph Jarman (LifeTime Visions, 2000) and Woody Allen (soundtrack to Wild Man Blues). Among the many high points are the uptempo strut of Autumn Mischief, the deceptively simple Department of Peace, and the artful groove of Dreambreaker, with Cass setting the pace amid more powerhouse soloing from Preminger and a typically inventive Garcia solo. With each member of the band having worked in many disparate styles of jazz, it gives the members of the Sizzle Ensemble a potent and refined group sound. Seriously recommended. 

Connection Works; Shane Endsley (tpt) Noah Preminger (ts) Gary Versace (p, el p) Kim Cass (b) Rob Garcia (d); New Jersey, November 15, 2025; Epistrophy/ Early Celebration/ Tutu/ Autumn Mischief/ Department of Peace/ River/ Bully/ Maiden Voyage/ The Shadow Nose/ Dreambreaker/ Ghosts Present/ Follow the Thread*/ Sizzle*; 68:37; Tracks marked * are “bonus tracks not on digital release.” www.connectionworks.org

Tribute Albums From Bobby Broom, Richard Baratta, & Gregory Hutchinson

     The tribute album is a format that’s likely to never go out of style, especially since there are so many major figures to pay homage to. 

     Guitarist Bobby Broom had two five-year stints in the Sonny Rollins band (from 1982 to 1987, and again in 2005-2010), and is clearly attuned to the breadth of Rollins’ compositions over the decades. With Dennis Carroll on bass and another Rollins alumnus Kobie Watkins on drums, Notes Of Thanks offers potent renditions of nine Rollins originals, plus Carroll’s gently swinging Me Time. Broom, Carroll, and Watkins have been recording as a trio on and off since 2005. They’ve achieved the state of instant communication that locks the musicians into one another’s sounds. Especially worthy of note are The Freedom Suite (part 1) from 1958, Allison from 1987, and, all from 1956, an elegant version of Paul’s Pal, a thoughtful look at Strode Rode, and the upbeat Pent Up House. In one sense, the whole album is a highlight by spotlighting Sonny Rollins’ enduring compositions; in a more important way, Notes Of Thanks offers nearly an hour of unfailingly lively group interplay. Warmly recommended. 

Steele SR 008/Clean Sweep Music CSM 122; Bobby Broom (g) Dennis Carroll (b) Kobie Watkins (d); Chicago, IL, September 30 & October 1, 2025; Alfie’s Theme/ The Freedom Suite (part 1)/ Doxy/ Allison/ Kim/ Me Time/ Paul’s Pal/ Strode Road [sic]/ Pent Up House/ Valse Hot; 53:54. www.bobbybroom.com

    Another Kind Of Bird (Reimagining Charlie Parker) is an pleasing collection of tunes that most jazz fans will know. Drummer and bandleader Richard Baratta has gathered a crew of four respected saxophonists, placed them in various combinations with a versatile five-piece rhythm section, and set the ensemble loose on fresh arrangements of Parker compositions (plus one standard). The charts are by pianist Bill O’Connell, known for frequently working in a Latin jazz context. There have been countless tributes to Parker since he passed away in 1955, an acknowledgment of his vast influence. But there’s always room for another thought-provoking tribute to this seminal figure. The presence of altoist Vincent Herring is the one constant of this session. When he’s joined by Eric Alexander, Craig Handy, and Abraham Burton on the first four tracks, there’s a hint of the 70's era Supersax, though O’Connell’s arrangements largely eschew their harmonized sound in favor of a jam session feel. Highpoints include Herring’s tender balladry on Gershwin’s Embraceable You, a Parker favorite, a Latin styled version of Little Suede Shoes with Handy on flute, a funkified Ah-Leu-Cha complete with a hot guitar solo by Paul Bollenback, and the hard-driving version of Yardbird Suite with some forceful drumming from Baratta. While I prefer the second half of the disc, with Herring as the sole horn, there’s something here for everyone, since everybody is a Bird fan right? As with all successful tribute albums, this one made me want to listen to some Charlie Parker music. Recommended. 

Savant SCD 2229; Vincent Herring (as) Craig Handy (ts on 1,2; fl on 3; ss on 4) Abraham Burton (ts on 1,4) Eric Alexander (ts on 1,4) Bill O’Connell (p, el p) Paul Bollenback (g) Michael Goetz (b) Richard Baratta (d, perc) Paul Rossman (cga, perc); Paramus, NJ, October 10-11, 2025; 1.Donna Lee/ 2.Ornithology/ 3.Little Suede Shoes/ 4.Ah-Leu-Cha/ 5.Embraceable You/ 6.Now’s the Time/ 7.Moose the Mooche/ 8.Yardbird Suite/ 9.Segment/ 10.Au Privave; 56:51. www.jazzdepot.com

     Miles Davis was at the forefront of the latest developments in jazz for many decades, from bop to fusion and beyond, which makes him a tricky subject for a tribute album. The choices of material and instrumentation are nearly endless. In his forward-looking stance towards compositions that in some cases are decades old, drummer Gregory Hutchinson takes a particularly Milesian path on Kind Of Now : The Pulse of Miles Davis. He's put his extraordinary septet to work on a choice selection of tunes associated with Miles in various phases of his discography. Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and saxophonist Ron Blake share the front line of this multi-generational lineup, with guitarists Jakob Bro and Emmanuel Michael, pianist Gerald Clayton, and bassist Joe Martin joining Hutchinson in the rhythm section. Among the numerous highpoints are the spunky treatment of Charlie Parker’s Ah-Lu-Cha, first recorded by Miles with Bird in 1948, a mellow version of Fran-Dance that’s largely a feature for pianist Clayton, Akinmusire’s a cappella opening and brief but potent solo on Wayne Shorter’s Orbits, the irresistible blend of Akinmusire and Blake on Water Babies, another Shorter composition, Blake’s smoking solo on a romping version of Victor Feldman’s Seven Steps to Heaven, and the dub-flavored reconstruction of Bitches Brew with more incisive trumpet from Akinmusire. Hutchinson contributes a few of his own pieces to the program. He name-checks influential drummers of the past and present over a web of drums and electronics on The Masters, takes over the spotlight for a drum solo on Ellehcem’s Time, and whips up a backwards tape loop for the brief I’m Done. Akinmusire’s brilliant playing and Blake’s powerhouse tenor saxophone might be the main reasons to grab this one, but the well-curated selection of tunes and the potent ensemble work make Kind Of Now a exemplary tribute to the great Miles Davis in his centenary year. Recommended. 

Warner Music (LP & CD): Ambrose Akinmusire (tpt) Ron Blake (ts, bcl) Jakob Bro, Emmanuel Michael (g) Gerald Clayton (p) Joe Sanders (b) Gregory Hutchinson (d); NYC, July 1-2, 2025; Ah-Leu-Cha/ Fran-Dance/ Fall/ Orbits/ The Masters/ Feio/ Water Babies/ Seven Steps to Heaven/ Bitches Brew/ Black Comedy/ Ellehcem’s Time/ Circle in the Round/ I’m Done; 57:19. 

Timely Music From Civil Disobedience & Tyshawn Sorey

     Jazz has always reflected the social situation in which it is created. In these troubled times, that engagement with the world is inescapable, and different bandleaders have taken several approaches to that necessity. Here are two. 

    Civil Disobedience is a quintet spearheaded by bassist David Ambrosio. The band’s debut release features cover versions of five jazz compositions originally recorded for Blue Note Records in the late Sixties but unreleased at the time. It was a difficult period for the company and for jazz records in general. Many albums were taped, sequenced, prepared for release, and then shelved. It took the late Michael Cuscuna to dig into the Blue Note vault and produce dozens of previously unissued albums, first on Lp and later on compact discs. The band’s debut release seeks to remind the listening audience of both the civil turmoil of the era and some of the compositions neglected due to the circumstances of their appearances in the marketplace. The quintet succeeds on both counts, doing justice to tunes like Bobby Hutcherson’s For Duke P., James Spaulding’s A Time to Go (from Hutcherson’s Patterns album), and two from drummer/composer Joe Chambers, Irina and Ankara. The most explicitly political tune is Harold Land’s Poor People’s March, first heard on another Hutcherson album, Spiral. With trumpeter Ingrid Jensen and saxophonist Donny McCaslin in the front line, plus a rhythm section of Ambrosio, pianist Bruce Barth, and veteran drummer Victor Lewis, Civil Disobedience is perfectly positioned to do justice to these unfairly passed-0ver tunes. The astute selection and arrangements deliver a solidly enjoyable musical experience along with a jolt of political resonance. As the record jacket says, “There may not be a more crucial moment to examine the windows of history in order to comprehend the current situation in America. The music featured [here] serves as one such window.” Recommended listening. And a special shout-out to the great Victor Lewis, who shines on this date as he did so many times before, beginning with his 1974 appearance on Woody Shaw’s The Moontrane. Because of some physical problems he’s been having recently, Civil Disobedience is probably his last recording. 

Blue Frog BF2501 (Lp); Ingrid Jensen (tpt) Donny McCaslin (ts, ss) Bruce Barth (p) David Ambrosio (b) Victor Lewis (d); NYC, February 2, 2025; For Duke P. (a/k/a XYZ)/ A Time to Go/ Irina/ Poor People’s March/ Ankara; 35:54. bluefrogrecords.com

 

    Where Civil Disobedience delivers fresh versions of compositions from the Sixties, more or less in the progressive bop style of the era, the multi-faceted Tyshawn Sorey has radically recast the songs from Max Roach’s 1968 Atlantic album Members, Don’t Git Weary into a suite titled Members... Don’t! Roach was one of the more outspoken musicians of the Fifties and Sixties, particularly about racial issues. His classic 1960 Candid album, We Insist ! - Freedom Now Suite, with an ensemble that included Coleman Hawkins, Booker Little, and Abbey Lincoln, is probably his best-known politically oriented release. In contrast, Members, Don’t Git Weary is more oblique in its implications. Roach’s band consisted of Charles Tolliver on trumpet, Gary Bartz on alto saxophone, Stanley Cowell on piano, and Jymie Merritt on electric bass, with a vocal by Andy Bey on the title track. Merritt was just a couple of years younger than Roach, but the rest of the band was considerably younger, in the great jazz tradition of bandleaders hiring the new generation of musicians to help stay current. (As the great drummer and bandleader Art Blakey once said, "young cats keep me young. I learn from them just like they learn from me.") Sorey, the much-praised drummer, pianist, composer and bandleader, follows in that tradition, putting together his quintet with a similar age distribution. The broadly experienced tenor saxophonist Mark Shim is the oldest member of the ensemble. But trumpeter Adam O’Farrill, pianist Lex Korten, and bassist Tyrone Allen II are much younger and starting to make names for themselves. Sorey’s quintet played two sets a night for three nights before recording the fourth and final night for this release. As Sorey told Nate Chinen for the liner notes, “It took that four-night run for us to arrive at being able to confidently perform the suite, but without having to spend extensive time rehearsing it.” In addition to Sorey’s expansion and resequencing of the original material, he’s arranged it all in one long medley laced with the occasional quiet passage to allow the musicians to take a tiny break. The band settles in quickly at the start of Stanley Cowell’s Abstrusions, the leadoff track to the Roach album and one of his three compositions, along with Effi and Equipoise. (Bartz composed Libra, and Merritt wrote Absolutions.) From there, the music ebbs and flows for 95 minutes, more than three times as long as the source material. The music stays the course as themes come and go, anchored by Korten’s calm style at the piano and propelled by Sorey’s magnificent drumming. There are some potent solos by O’Farrill and Shim, but it’s the ensemble as a whole that really shines. Sorey declares the title track of Roach’s album, “to be the apex of the original release” and that he wanted to “present an experience where all of the other music decisively arrives at Members, Don’t Git Weary.” Sound artist Fay Victor applies her avant-blues vocal to the song, credited to Max Roach and based on the traditional song Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning. Victor’s histrionics are not usually my cup of tea, but she nails this performance in a cathartic climax to the forceful and impassioned music that leads up to it. Definitely one of the best albums of the year. 

Pi Recordings PI112; Adam O’Farrill (tpt, elec) Mark Shim (ts) Lex Korten (p) Tyrone Allen II (b) Tyshawn Sorey (d) Fay Victor (vcl on *); NYC, June 14, 2025; Disc 1 (52:09): Abstrusions/ Effi/ Absolutions/ Equipoise (Part 1). Disc 2 (43:46): Equipoise (Part 2)/ Libra/ Members, Don’t Git Weary*. pirecordings.com 

Joseph Branciforte & Jozef Dumoulin: ITERAE

     

Most of the time, minimalist electronic music leaves me cold. And yet every once in a while, for a totally inexplicable reason, I find myself mesmerized and totally tuned in to the sounds. That’s the case with ITERAE, a collaboration by Joseph Branciforte & Jozef Dumoulin, which features both performers on Fender Rhodes electric pianos and added electronics, plus live editing by Branciforte. The eight untitled pieces tend to be soothing and dreamy, streams of sound in which you can easily lose your sense of self completely for a while. Naturally this is even more effective on headphones. The {greyfade} label has released ITERAE “as a multi-disc edition at the scale of a vinyl LP. The album’s material is distributed across four 80mm compact discs (plus a full-length CD for continuous playback), extending the music’s structural logic into physical form.” I don’t know much about “structural logic;” all I know is the consistently relaxed feeling that these electronic musings provide. 

Greyfade GF011; Joseph Branciforte (Rhodes el p, elec, live editing) Jozef Dumoulin (Rhodes el p, elec); no recording information available; eight untitled tracks; 68:09. www.greyfade.com 

Joe Fiedler's Big Sackbut: Journey To Bowerbird

      If a line-up of three trombones, tuba and drums appeals to you, then Joe Fiedler's Big Sackbut is just what you’ve been waiting for. On Journey To Bowerbird, the imaginative Fiedler is joined by Ryan Keberle and Luis Bonilla on ‘bones, the accomplished tubist Marcus Rojas, and drummer Satoshi Takeishi for nine of his attractive and infectious originals. Fiedler’s smart and attractively textured arrangements combine with Takeishi’s appropriately aggressive drumming to make this album a thoroughly enjoyable outing. Strong and focused solo work by all hands is the icing on the cake. Definitely recommended. 

Multiphonics Music; Joe Fiedler, Ryan Keberle, Luis Bonilla (tbn) Marcus Rojas (tba) Satoshi Takeishi (d); New Haven, CT, January 30-31, 2026; Portrait of Tito Matos/ The Box/ Journey to Bowerbird/ Guiro Nuevo/ Elements of Know/ Room 719/ Flexible Flyer/ Kingston/ Go Get It; 55:02. joefiedler.bandcamp.com

Jimmy Farace: Big Shoulders, Big Sounds

   

     Baritone saxophonist Jimmy Farace joins forces with the Chicago area’s premier bass and drums team, Clark Sommers and Dana Hall, on his latest release, Big Shoulders, Big Sounds. With over a dozen previous sessions in which Sommers and Hall were in the rhythm section, the two have developed the art of deft dynamic support and intensity. With nowhere to hide, and without the encumbrance of a chordal instrument, Farace’s smooth and resonant sound is an absolute delight. An imaginative and resourceful soloist, he gets around his saxophone with ease. The trio expounds at length on five of Farace’s original compositions. Especially worthy of close attention are Prophetic Dreams, which opens with a feeling of hushed melancholy before developing into an animated 3-way conversation, and DST, where Dana Hall breaks out with an energetic drum solo to lead off this cheerful tune. Another high point comes with the slowly paced Cloud Splitter, featuring a lovely melody, a well-constructed baritone solo, and a brief bass and drums duet before Farace returns to lead the band out. The trio’s enchanting version of the oft-recorded I'll Be Seeing You is appropriately tender and yearning. They also explore Strayhorn’s exquisite Chelsea Bridge and baritonist Charles Davis’ Just Us Blues, which nobody else seems to have picked up on since its appearance on 1963's Illumination! by the Elvin Jones/Jimmy Garrison Sextet. One aspect of the appeal of this session is the unique baritone/bass/drums format, but it’s the emphasis on mutual communication and a conversational attitude that makes the music work so beautifully. Everybody lets loose on the high-powered finale, appropriately titled Three Headed Dragon. Three-headed perhaps, but with a common commitment to digging deeply into the music and making the most of it. Gladly recommended.

Shifting Paradigm SP233; Jimmy Farace (bari s) Clark Sommers (b) Dana Hall (drums and cymbals); Chicago, IL, (probably), no dates indicated; Decorah's Dance/ Just Us Blues/ Prophetic Dreams/ DST/ I'll Be Seeing You/ Cloud Splitter/ Chelsea Bridge/ Three Headed Dragon; 62:18. www.shiftingparadigmrecords.com

More Vault Treasures:From Yusef Lateef, Ahmad Jamal, Joe Henderson & Mal Waldron

     Nobody runs a jazz club to get rich. Impresarios like Todd Barkan (Keystone Korner in San Francisco), Max Gordon (The Village Vanguard in New York), and Joe Segal (The Jazz Showcase in Chicago) were all fans of the music they presented on their stages. One of the semi-hidden perks of running a club is having the man in the sound booth tape the show. I should know, because I did precisely that when I worked at Keystone Korner in the late Seventies. By now, it’s no surprise at all, and so many Keystone tapes have been spruced up for official release (including an earlier Resonance release by Jaki Byard and Tommy Flanagan) that it’s hard keeping track of them. It turns out that Joe Segal, who opened his Jazz Showcase in 1947 and subsequently moved the location many times over the years, amassed a collection of between 8,000 and 10,000 tapes. As producer Zev Feldman writes “The path to releasing this material has been long and, at times, complicated ... I’m very lucky to have known Joe over the course of many years ... he always knew I was looking for tapes to release. In 2011, I began to work with him to delve into his archives and go over his collection of tapes, and now, 13 years later here we are.” Working closely with Joe Segal’s son Wayne Segal, who continues to operate The Jazz Showcase, Feldman has settled on an initial four releases, available on vinyl for Record Store Day and on CD one week later. Each booklet in these sets comes with an introduction by producer Feldman, reminiscences by Wayne Segal, and Joe Segal’s neighbor, friend and lawyer Stu Katz, plus some comments by Sonny Rollins on Joe Segal, who he describes as “one of a kind.”

    The earliest music in the batch comes from multi-instrumentalist Yusef Lateef on Alight Upon The Lake: Live At The Jazz Showcase. As Lateef biographer Herb Boyd writes in his liner essay, Lateef put his quartet, with Kenny Barron on piano, Bob Cunningham on bass, and “Tootie” Heath on drums, back together in order to bring some income into his life. Boyd says that “Yusef and his crew settled in for a live recording.” It’s finally out, as a 3-LP/3-cd package. Lateef took an unusual approach to a live record date, starting off with the nearly half-hour excursion through pianist Barron’s The Untitled. Only one tune in the lengthy program, Lateef’s I Remember Webster is under 10 minutes. The band is hitting hard from the start of The Untitled, with Lateef on tenor, but it breaks down in the middle for a very long piano solo before erupting into a wild passage as the drums come in, and Barron and then Lateef steer the piece to a close. I’ve always thought of Lateef’s most successful work as hard bop with a personal slant, and so a burner like his original composition Mutually Beneficial is one of the highlights of the music for me. The tempo is ferocious, the rhythm section is giving it all they’ve got with an explosive Lateef on top. Over the course of the concert, Lateef also plays bamboo and transverse flutes, and oboe. A solo on bamboo flute leads off Roy Brooks’ Eboness, which features a well-recorded arco solo by Cunningham. The second half includes a long look at Kenny Barron’s bouncy Inside Atlantis, followed by I Remember Webster, a beautiful and otherwise unrecorded Lateef original ballad dedicated to Ben Webster. The half-hour long Opus 1 & 2, written by Akira Inoue, sustains the mellow mood as Lateef wields his transverse flute after a long introductory passage featuring Cunningham’s bowed bass. The set winds up with a romp through Nat King Cole’s Straighten Up and Fly Right, and then the oft-recorded set closer and the “going home number” Yusef’s Mood, an r’n’b flavored number that has everybody feeling all right. Your guides to contextualize both the music and the man are producer Zev Feldman, who knew Lateef many years ago, Herb Boyd, and saxophonist Bennie Maupin. Maupin describes Lateef as “a great mentor to me.” The most important things he learned from him, he says were “how to be truthful, to speak your mind creatively ...” The booklet also includes a great photo spread of old Joe Segal concert posters, with an engagement by the Yusef Lateef band on each one. Alight Upon The Lake has plenty to offer for fans of this influential figure in improvised music. 

Resonance HCD-2088 ; Yusef Lateef (ts, fl, oboe) Kenny Barron (p) Bob Cunningham (b) Albert “Tootie” Heath (d); Chicago, IL, June 1975; Disc 1 (55:26): The Untitled/ Mutually Exclusive/ Eboness. Disc 2 (55:28): Inside Atlantis/ I Remember Webster/ Opus 1 & 2. Disc 3 (51:21): Golden Goddess/ Straighten Up and Fly Right/ Yusef’s Mood. resonancerecords.org

    The influential pianist Ahmad Jamal is heard At The Jazz Showcase: Live In Chicago in his usual trio format, with John Heard on bass and Frank Gant on drums. Gant spent over a decade playing with Jamal, mostly with Jamil Nasser on bass. Heard was a member of the trio for just a year. Jamal was a frequent performer for Joe Segal over the years. Jamal, of course, grew famous in the Fifties when he recorded At the Pershing: But Not for Me in Chicago in 1958. He could always be sure of a receptive audience when he played there, and the tracks included here prove it. Jamal’s music was changing in the mid-Seventies, but his innate melodicism and firm touch never abandoned him. The repertoire encompasses Johnny Mandel’s Theme From M*A*S*H (also a Bill Evans favorite in this period), Antonio Carlos Jobim’s Wave, and Herbie Hancock’s Dolphin Dance plus a few standards. At 9:28, Jamal’s solo rendition of Duke Ellington’s Prelude to a Kiss, is a very long prelude to what one hopes is a fantastic kiss. His other solo excursion, a calm and deliberate version of A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, closes the show on a graceful note. Jamal’s frequent tendency on stage to turn the tunes into marathons of twists and turns doesn’t always grab me, and I wish the piano didn’t sound quite so tinny. Eugene Holley, Jr.’s liner notes, John Heard’s memories, and appreciations by pianists Fred Hersch and co-producer Joe Alterman all help to put this concert in perspective. 

Resonance HCD-2085; Ahmad Jamal (p) John Heard (b) Frank Gant (d); Chicago, IL, March 20-21, 1976; Disc 1 (50:08): Ahmad’s Song/ Wave/ Have You Met Miss Jones?/ Theme From M*A*S*H. Disc 2 (52:26): Dolphin Dance/ Prelude to a Kiss/ A Time For Love/ Swahililand/ A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square. resonancerecords.org

     Tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson was between labels at the time of Consonance: Live At The Jazz Showcase. No longer a Milestone artist, he would record his sole Contemporary release in 1979. He was probably touring at the time of this show with pianist Joanne Brackeen (her name is on the poster for this gig), adding a new rhythm section in each town. Bassist Steve Rodby and drummer Danny Spencer were called upon in Chicago, and as Rodby told producer Zev Feldman, Henderson “made you sound good just by playing with him.” Rodby was the house bassist at the Jazz Showcase for a spell, and backed many of the headliners. Another interviewee, Danny Spencer, notes that he knew Joe Henderson through his brother Leon, when Spencer and Leon Henderson were both members of the Contemporary Jazz Quintet. Playing with Joe, Spencer feels, was like having a conversation in music on stage. Joanne Brackeen, was Henderson’s pianist of choice from 1972-1975, and obviously performed in his groups after that. She told Feldman these performances “reflect a way we often played, but which was never captured on recordings.” The elements are all in place for an inspired (and long) evening from the quartet. And so it proves to be. They come on strong with an almost impossibly fast and extended version of Coltrane’s Mr. P.C., with solo space for all. The quartet proceeds to tackle a trio of Henderson’s best-known compositions (Inner Urge, Recorda Me, and Isotope), Bird’s Relaxin’ at Camarillo, Monk’s 'Round Midnight, and a few of his favorite standards. Among the high points are Henderson’s unaccompanied opening to the Monk tune, the joyous finger-snapping approach the quartet brings to Softly, As In a Morning Sunrise, and the evolved hard-edged bebop of Relaxin’ at Camarillo. Co-producer John Koenig contributes a set of informative liner notes and there’s an array of photographs of the musicians as well. Henderson was always regarded as a top tenorman by other musicians, but he didn’t really achieve more visibility and recognition until his The State Of The Tenor albums for Blue Note in 1985. He was always a star to those in the know, and this collection of live performances is further proof. Recommended. 

Resonance HCD-2084; Joe Henderson (ts) Joanne Brackeen (p) Steve Rodby (b) Danny Spencer (d); Chicago, IL, February 1978; Disc 1 (80:00): Mr. P.C./ Inner Urge/ Invitation/ Relaxin’ at Camarillo. Disc 2 (79:31): Recorda Me/ ‘Round Midnight/ Good Morning Heartache/ Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise/ Isotope. resonancerecords.org

   Pianist Mal Waldron had a fascinating career. He was first heard on record as a house pianist for the Prestige label in the late Fifties. He was the regular accompanist for Billie Holiday from April 1957 until her untimely death in July 1959. In 1963, he suffered a breakdown from a heroin overdose which left him unable to play or remember any music. But the human brain is remarkable, and through hard work and perseverance, he relearned the piano and returned to the scene. He made a few records in Europe in the late Sixties, with a more obsessive and forceful style than he’d exhibited in the Prestige years. His philosophy was expressed in his ECM album Free At Last, the initial release of the iconic label. By the time of Stardust & Starlight At The Jazz Showcase, Waldron was splitting his time between Europe and the United States. A glance at his recordings in this period reveals that his repertoire on the two continents was equally divided. In February 1979, he recorded Mingus Lives, a solo piano concert in Belgium of original compositions. That April, he appeared at Jazzbuhne Berlin 1979 with European modernists like Manfred Schoof and Gerd Dudek, again playing his own tunes. By contrast, while back in the United States, he was playing standards plus a couple of older originals. On a piece like his much admired Fire Waltz, originally recorded in 1961, the link between his early playing and the freer, more hypnotic style he developed in the second half of his career becomes clear. Waldron was touring as a single, and Joe Segal hired Steve Rodby on bass and the well-established Wilber Campbell on drums. They get to relax for a long stretch of solo piano as Waldron explores the standards I Thought About You and It Could Happen to You, and Monk’s classic ‘Round Midnight. At times during Waldron’s week in Chicago, Sonny Stitt would step up for a couple of numbers, and after a swinging rendition of Stella By Starlight by the trio, Stitt takes over on the final two performances. Old Folks dates back to 1938; and Hoagy Carmichael’s Stardust is older still, composed in 1927. Waldron hadn’t recorded either one in decades, and he supports Stitt’s florid soloing with a minimal touch. Stardust & Starlight presents an almost mainstream side to Waldron’s playing, in contrast to the many European albums of the period, and to an avowed Waldron fan, this music is a true revelation. Liner notes are by the esteemed Howard Mandel, who must have witnessed dozens and dozens of shows at the Jazz Showcase, There’s also an appreciation of Waldron’s sound by pianist Lafayette Gilchrist, plus memories of the week with Waldron by bassist Rodby. Definitely recommended. 

Resonance HCD-2087; Mal Waldron (p) Steve Rodby (b) Wilber Campbell (d) Sonny Stitt (as); Chicago, IL, August 1979; All Alone/ All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm/ Fire Waltz/ I Thought About You/ It Could Happen to You/ ‘Round Midnight/ Stella By Starlight/ Old Folks*/ Stardust*; 67:37. resonancerecords.org