Dan McCarthy: A Place Where We Once Lived

  Vibraphonist Dan McCarthy, originally from Toronto, moved to New York in 2004, but returned to Canada in 2019 to pursue an advanced degree in music. With the intrepid team of Thomas Morgan on bass and Rudy Royston on drums, McCarthy recorded A Place Where We Once Lived in Brooklyn the day before he left town. Morgan and Royston, who have been playing in a trio with guitarist Bill Frisell for a few years now, bring their sensitivity, careful mutual listening, and resourcefulness to this elegant and moody program of McCarthy’s original compositions. There’s also one cover, a version of bassist Steve Swallow’s I’m Your Pal from Gary Burton’s 1967 album Lofty Fake Anagram. This lovely melody receives a tender reading from the trio with an appropriate emphasis on Morgan’s sturdy bass. The influential vibraphonist Gary Burton is well-respected for his technical innovations, and McCarthy dedicates Desert Roads to him. One of the set’s many highlights, the piece is gentle and genial to start. The trio slowly accelerates the tempo as they build up quite a head of steam, extending the groove to a bit over eight minutes. Another high point is reached with the taut Sombre Sleep, a gem of carefully balanced swirling vibes and bass with beautifully modulated drumming by Royston that makes the music ebb and flow unpredictably. The general mood of the disc is wistful and pensive, as befits someone on the cusp of big changes, but the trio channels whatever anxiety McCarthy might be feeling into some lovely and distinctive playing, including three compositions that serve as interludes between more developed tunes. The uptempo Go Berserk is a feature for Royston’s dynamic drumming, ably shadowed by Morgan’s simple bass lines and McCarthy’s clouds of notes. Goodnight Sweet Cat, which concludes the program, is simple and low-key and utterly beautiful. A Place Where We Once Lived is a pleasure from start to finish, and is heartily recommended. 

Cat & Turtle no#; Dan McCarthy (vib) Thomas Morgan (b) Rudy Royston (d); February 27, 2019; Sonder/ Trail Marker/ A Short Story About Birds/ Cloud Hopping/ A Place Where We Once Lived/ A Short Story About Distance/ Desert Roads (For Gary Burton)/ I’m Your Pal/ Sombre Sleep/ A Short Story About Quiet/ Go Berserk/ Goodnight Sweet Cat; 55:20. www.vibraphonedan.com

Brandon Seabrook & Simon Nabatov: Voluptuaries

  The on-line Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Voluptuaries as people “whose chief interests are luxury and the gratification of sensual appetites.” Those “sensual appetites” surely include the deep pleasures of making purely improvised music, and Brandon Seabrook & Simon Nabatov take a day of recording at Köln’s well-regarded LOFT to prove the point. Since his 2003 debut on John Zorn’s Tzadik label, guitarist Seabrook has recorded with a broad range of sonic explorers, including trumpeter Peter Evans, alto saxophonist Jeremy Udden, bassist Ben Allison, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara. Pianist Nabatov, who made his first record in a trio with bassist Ed Schuller and drummer Paul Motian back in 1986, when Seabrook was just a couple of years old, has an impressive résumé that includes work with the likes of clarinetist Perry Robinson, trumpeter Franco Ambrosetti, trombonist Nils Wogram, and many others. There’s a relatively calm core to the pair’s improvisations for the first few pieces, as they grow accustomed to one another. The combination of Seabrook’s biting and unabashedly electrified guitar sound with his penchant for angular leaps between notes and plenty of silence gives an improvising partner plenty to work with - or against. By the time the raucous Squalid Simplicities rolls around, the sparring is aggressive and noisy. The ebb and flow of Foam is a highlight, as a detuned Seabrook and a pumped-up Nabatov chase one another in sound. The pianist takes the lead on Grosbeak with expansive chords and lush harmonies. Seabrook joins the fray with clipped tones and bursts of pure noise with plenty of pedal effects. As the disc proceeds, it’s obvious that Seabrook and Nabatov are thoroughly attuned to one another. Their quick reaction times and a shared sense of forward motion mean that the music always sounds like a genuine duet and not merely two players side by side with very little interaction. While it’s not the kind of music where the details will stay with you afterwards, it’s a thorough delight to listen to, from the fragmented call and response of Daggers to the startlingly beautiful title track that concludes the disc. Happily recommended. 

Leo CD LR 894; Brandon Seabrook (g) Simon Nabatov (p); Köln, Germany, November 4, 2019; Daggers/ Who Never Dies/ Dust Storms/ Fresnel Lenses/ Squalid Simplicities/ Foam/ Grosbeak/ Spirit of the Staircase/ Diamonds and Dust/ Vex Me/ La Femme Makita/ Voluptuaries; 48:37. www.leorecords.com

Art Pepper: Unreleased Art Pepper, Vol. 11: Atlanta

  I’m sorry I never had the opportunity to take in a performance by the great alto saxophonist Art Pepper. But Laurie Pepper, his widow, co-author, and sometimes recording engineer, has been keeping his music in circulation by issuing a series of carefully curated live performances on her Widow’s Taste label. The latest is Unreleased Art Pepper, Vol. 11: Atlanta, featuring Pepper’s quartet with Milcho Leviev on piano, Bob Magnusson on bass, and Carl Burnett on drums, and it’s almost like being in the room.. Recorded by Laurie Pepper with a Sony cassette recorder, the sound is surprisingly good, probably thanks to both optimum microphone placement and the patient ministrations of studio whiz Wayne Peet. In addition to the glorious sound of Art Pepper’s alto saxophone on a good night with an appreciative audience in attendance, this release includes a generous dose of his inimitable stage patter. He talks about playing standards before messing around with Avalon, about Straight Life, his autobiography that had just been released, and more. Pepper loved to play fast, as pieces like Blues For Blanche and Straight Life prove, and I love that, but his ballad playing is what really gets to me. The quartet’s lengthy excursion on Patricia, an older Pepper composition written for his daughter, is one of the set’s absolute highlights. It’s not always easy to play for more than 10 minutes at such a slow tempo, but the music never flags. The musical joys of the Widow’s Taste series are amplified by Laurie Pepper’s liner notes, full of reminiscences of Art, stories about the musicians, the songs, and the tours. Because this unit was Art’s first regular group, lasting from 1978 to 1981, Laurie has included profiles of the various ensembles that he led until his death in June 1982. Volume 11 is a first-rate release, adding another fascinating chapter to the singular story of Arthur Pepper. Definitely recommended. 

Widow’s Taste 11/2020; Art Pepper (as) Milcho Leviev (p) Bob Magnusson (b) Carl Burnett (d); Atlanta, GA, May 17, 1980; Disc 1 (71:01): Blues For Blanche/ Talk: Band intros/ The Trip/ Talk: about playing standards/ Avalon/ Talk: about “Patricia”/ Patricia/ Talk: about “Landscape”/ Landscape/ Talk: about new book/ Straight Life. Disc 2 (40:34): Untitled #34/ Talk: about How Milcho Escaped from Bulgaria/ A Song for Richard/ Talk: about Swing Journal/ Mambo Koyama. artpepper.bandcamp.com