Emily Remler: Cookin’ At The Queens

  From a commercial standpoint, it makes sense that the vast majority of historical jazz releases contain music by the biggest stars, collections that fill in details of generally lengthy careers. Just in the last few years, we’ve seen the release of previously unheard music by such famed players as Art Tatum, Sonny Rollins, Wes Montgomery, and Bill Evans, to name a few. It’s the rare release that offers a genuine revelation to the listener. But the first issue of newly heard music in 33 years by the guitarist Emily Remler, who died on a 1990 tour in Australia at the age of 32, offers the kind of surprise that can be truly rewarding. Coming up at a time when female instrumentalists were a rarity, Remler was an exciting and dynamic performer. Herb Ellis referred to her as "the new superstar of guitar" and as she herself told People magazine in 1982, "I may look like a nice Jewish girl from New Jersey, but inside I'm a 50-year-old, heavy-set black man with a big thumb, like Wes Montgomery." Co-produced by Zev Feldman and Bill Milkowski, who contributes a lengthy essay to the 19-page booklet, Cookin’ At The Queens compiles 160 minutes of music (on 2 CDs or 3 Lps) from a pair of gigs in Las Vegas. In 1984, Remler performs in a quartet format. Four years later, it’s just a trio with bass and drums. Bassist Carson Smith, who was first heard in Gerry Mulligan’s quartet in the early Fifties, is on hand with both units. Drummer Tom Montgomery in the 1984 quartet, seems to have settled in Las Vegas around 1960, as all his subsequent recording credits attest. The live repertoire is a blend of standards, jazz compositions like Bobby Timmons’ Moanin’ and Wes Montgomery’s D-Natural Blues, and bossa novas like How Insensitive (Insensatez) and Samba de Orfeo. She also liked to plays medleys of songs and their contrafacts. On the 1984 show, she couples Tadd Dameron’s Hot House with Cole Porter’s What is This Thing Called Love? In 1988, Miles Davis’ So What is joined with John Coltrane’s Impressions. Just one listen to the opening track, a nearly 10-minute workout on Moanin’ is all you really need to know that she was the real deal. A boldly imaginative and harmonically fluent soloist, with a beautifully flowing rhythmic sense, Remler is simply a joy to listen to. Three cheers for Zev Feldman rescuing these fine performances and reviving interest in a guitar great who left the scene too soon. 

Resonance HCD-2076; Emily Remler (g) with Cocho Arbe (p) Carson Smith (b) Tom Montgomery (d); Las Vegas, NV, May 28, 1984 (Disc 1 plus Out of Nowhere); with Carson Smith (b) John Pisci (d); Las Vegas, NV, September 19, 1988 (balance of Disc 2); Disc 1 (80:53): Moanin’/ How Insensitive (Insensatez)/ Autumn Leaves/ Polka Dots and Moonbeams/ Samba de Orfeo/ Hot House; What is This Thing Called Love?/ You Don’t Know What Love Is/ West Coast Blues/ Tenor Madness. Disc 2 (78:10): Out of Nowhere/ Manha de Carnaval/ Cisco/ Yesterdays/ All Blues/ Someday My Prince Will Come/ So What; Impressions/ D-Natural Blues. resonancerecords.org

Bruce Forman: Reunion!

  The latest release by journeyman guitarist Bruce Forman on his own B4Man-Music imprint is called Reunion!, a fine trio session with bassist John Clayton and drummer Jeff Hamilton. The reunion in this case is the actual instruments they all brought to the studio: Forman is playing Barney Kessel’s guitar, Clayton wields a bass that was owned by Ray Brown, and Hamilton sits at Shelly Manne’s drum set. As a recording unit for Contemporary Records, Kessel, Brown, and Manne were known as The Poll Winners. You could call them the New Poll Winners, I suppose, but there’s nothing revivalist about this trio. What they do have in common with those well-respected forerunners is irresistible swing, great taste in material, a knack for just the right tempos, and the impeccable solo work. Forman writes that the session was “like kids getting together and playing their parents’ instruments.” That’s a warm feeling that comes through on every track of this immensely pleasurable session. Definitely worth seeking out. 

B4Man-Music; Bruce Forman (g) John Clayton (b) Jeff Hamilton (d); no recording information; Rope-A-Dope/ This is New/ Feel the Barn/ Gravy Waltz/ Barney’s Tune/ April in Paris/ Hammer’s Back in Town/ BRS/ Stardust/ On Green Dolphin Street/ The Daze/ Love Potion #9; 46:42. www.bruceforman.com

Alternative Guitar Summit: Honoring Pat Martino, Volume 1

  The late Pat Martino is one of the most influential and respected guitarists of the modern era. Obscured perhaps by his reputation as a killer guitarist are his many compositions. For its 2021 gathering, the Alternative Guitar Summit, helmed by guitarist and organizer Joel Harrison, aimed to showcase some of his tunes as played by a slew of other six-string players. Typically, as Harrison notes, there would have been a live show to celebrate and “honor a living composer/guitarist,” but the Covid epidemic got in the way of those plans. Instead, a number of musicians gathered at a recording studio in Brooklyn to pay tribute, resulting in the wonderful collection Honoring Pat Martino, Volume 1. Martino, who passed away in November 2021, was involved in the planning, even sending scores of unrecorded tunes to Harrison for possible inclusion. The performances in the Brooklyn studio were live-streamed, with Martino watching from his South Philadelphia home. Working with what Harrison describes as “treasure chest of the imagination,” he put as much variety into this set as Martino himself displayed over the course of his career. A quick look at the formidable list of players represented here, from Kurt Rosenwinkel, Peter Bernstein, and Russell Malone to Oz Noy and Rez Abbasi, should be more than enough to whet the appetite of jazz guitar fans. There’s no sense picking favorites on this nine-track collection, as the musicians’ respect for a master and an abiding love of his music come through loud and clear in every note. Definitely recommended. 

HighNote HCD 7333; Inside Out* (Adam Rogers, Peter Bernstein, g; Dezron Douglas, b; Allan Mednard, d; Brooklyn, NY/ Black Glass (Kurt Rosenwinkel, g, b, d)/ Line Games (Fareed Haque, g; Kevin Kozol, kybd; Alex Austin, b; Greg Fundis, d; Richard Christian, tablas; Chicago, IL)/ Willow* (Sheryl Bailey, Ed Cherry, g; Douglas, b; Mednard, d; Brooklyn, NY) Noshufuru* (Rez Abbasi, Jeff Miles, g; Douglas, b; Mednard, d; Brooklyn, NY)/ Lament (Russell Malone, g; Bellmore, NY)/ On the Stairs* (Dave Stryker, Paul Bollenback, g; Douglas, b; Mednard, d; Brooklyn, NY)/ Joyous Lake* (Nir Felder, Oz Noy, g; Chulo Gatewood, b; Tobias Ralph. d; Brooklyn, NY)/ Country Road (Joel Harrison). Tracks marked with *, Brooklyn, NY, March 20, 2021; other pieces recorded in Chicago, IL [Line Games], Bellmore, NY, [Lament], and private studios, all 2021. 59:08; www.jazzdepot.com

George Cotsirilos Quartet: Refuge

  In September 2021, during a time of pandemic and isolation, the George Cotsirilos Quartet turns to music as a Refuge. This is guitarist Cotsirilos’ second album with bandmates Keith Saunders on piano, Robb Fisher on bass, and Ron Marabuto on drums. Knowing their styles, he writes that these new compositions were “conceived with this quartet in mind ...” Before this band came together, Cotsirilos helmed a trio with Fisher and Marabuto that recorded three CDs for OA2, which amounts to plenty of playing time together. The musician’s familiarity with one another results in a congenial vibe that make this latest effort a thorough pleasure all the way through. Drummer Rob Marabuto brings his finely honed sense of swing and carefully calibrated dynamics to the proceedings. Veteran bassist Fisher, who had an extended stay in Cal Tjader’s band from 1976 until Tjader’s death in 1982, is a solid player with great time and a big round sound. His solo on a gentle ballad called The Three Doves is a beautifully relaxed interlude leading into Saunders’ piano solo. The pianist, who has recorded with drummer Dick Berk’s Jazz Adoption Agency and the NY Hardbop Quintet, has an emphatic touch and a soulful feeling in his solos. Cotsirilos generally eschews flash in favor of crisp lines and lovely melodies. He gets an attractively clean and unadorned sound on his hollow-body guitar. Highlights include the cheerfully upbeat opener, Devolution, Aftermath with a driving beat that clearly inspires Saunders on his opening solo, the angular melody and unsettling rhythms of A Faint Light, and the freewheeling set closer, Let’s Make a Break For It, with solo statements by all. Refuge is a winner, and warmly recommended. 

OA2 22201; George Cotsirilos (g) Keith Saunders (p) Robb Fisher (d) Ron Marabuto (d); Berkeley, CA, September 27-28, 2021; Devolution/ Refuge/ Planet Roxoid/ Igualmente/ The Three Doves/ Slacker/ Aftermath/ A Faint Light/ Smoke Signal/ Let’s Make a Break For It; 57:07. www.originarts.com

Joel Harrison: Guitar Talk

Guitarist Joel Harrison, impresario of the Alternative Guitar Summit, debuts his new label AGS Recordings with Guitar Talk, a long program of encounters with 4 other guitar slingers. There are also a pair of duets with the eminent electric bassist Steve Swallow, and the set concludes with a pair of Harrison solo excursions. Given the string-driven firepower of Harrison and fellow guitarists Steve Cardenas, Ben Monder, Pete McCann, and David Gilmore, I was expected a rowdier experience than the surprisingly mellow path that prevails. The highlights for me are the duos with Swallow, who brings a matchless swing to Harrison’s dedication to him, and lends an air of mystery to another Harrison original, I’m Still Asking the Question. The first of Harrison’s solo tracks finds him exploring Duke Ellington’s Reflections in D, premiered by the maestro in a 1953 trio rendition. Here it becomes a potent elegy, lovingly performed and imbued with deep spirit. The only jarring passages in the entire set come in Harrison’s closing solo version of America the Beautiful, with some chunky chords here and there and some biting lead guitar. Definitely worth a listen, especially for guitar fans. 

AGS Recordings AGSR-001; Joel Harrison (g); no dates or locations specified; It Fall On You (with Steve Cardenas, Ben Monder)/ Sunday Night With Vic (with Pete McCann)/ Autumn in Olivebridge (with Ben Monder)/ Rebound (with Pete McCann)/ I Knew Right Away (with Steve Cardenas)/ Song for Steve Swallow (with Steve Swallow, b)/ Winter Solstice (with Ben Monder)/ I’m Still Asking the Question (with Steve Swallow, b) Black Mountain Breakdown (with David Gilmore)/ Reflections in D/ America the Beautiful; 64:46. agsrecordings.bandcamp.com

Perry Smith: Peace

  Guitarist Perry Smith and his quietly simpatico trio with bassist Sam Minaie and drummer Dan Schnelle offer a calm musical program on Peace with straight-ahead interpretations of standards and a few jazz compositions. Richard Rodgers’ This Nearly Was Mine, from South Pacific, starts things off in a mellow vein, showcasing Smith’s clear, crisp sound. The temperature rises a bit for the trio’s romp through Sam Rivers’ Cyclic Episode, from the saxophonist’s Fuchsia Swing Song album for Blue Note. Schnelle drives the tune with a steady cymbal beat as Smith and bassist Minaie weave a tapestry of melodic invention. The result is a stirring performance that’s one of the disc’s highlights. Smith selected some grade A material for this outing. Their rendition of Jimmy Van Heusen’s Darn That Dream is very slow and rather downcast. Another Van Heusen song is the ever-lovely Like Someone In Love, which gets a tender reading by the band, featuring a moving bass solo by Minaie. Coming between them is another of the disc’s highlights, Billy Strayhorn’s Upper Manhattan Medical Group. A foot-tapping tempo, propulsive bass work by Minaie and Smith’s lyricism contribute to the track’s success. The title track is the Horace Silver song in a beautifully poised version, played with deep feeling. Guitarists have an immense field of possible influences. For this outing, Smith favors the classic jazz sound of his hollow-body Gibson ES-175. The trio recorded on a day when in Los Angeles in the middle of a tour, and the tight sound of the trio is evidence of the deep connection that they established on the road. Smith is based in Brooklyn, and when he returned to the West Coast to mix the album just before the pandemic, he recorded three solo guitar pieces which appear at the end of the trio material. Thad Jones’ A Child Is Born has been played hundreds of times since it first appeared in 1970 and Smith’s solo rendition emphasizes the loveliness of the melody. A snappy version of Victor Schertzinger’s I Remember You is my favorite of the solo tracks, with some deft playing setting up multiple lines. Finally, there’s a fine exploration of another oft-played song, Arthur Schwartz’s Alone Together. While it might have made more sense for sequencing to intersperse the solos with the trio material, the disc plays pretty well as it stands. Overall, it’s as comforting as Smith intended it to be, and I’m happy to have this music to turn to as a stress reducer. Recommended. 

Smith Tone; Perry Smith (g) Sam Minaie (b) Dan Schnelle (d); Los Angeles, CA, November 2019 exc. *February 2020 (solo guitar); This Nearly Was Mine/ Cyclic Episode/ Darn That Dream/ Upper Manhattan Medical Group/ Like Someone In Love/ Peace/ A Child is Born*/ I Remember You*/ Alone Together*; 43:29. www.perrysmithmusic.com

Wolfgang Muthspiel: Angular Blues

Drum master Brian Blade was a member of a trio with Jeff Denson on bass and Romain Pilon on guitar that recorded one of my favorite CDs of 2019. He’s back again in another guitar trio led by veteran guitar slinger Wolfgang Muthspiel, with the unerringly supportive bassist Scott Colley rounding out the group on Angular Blues. The trio’s warm and sympathetic approach to the music is a reflection of the fact that Blade and Muthspiel have collaborated on ten released projects since they first performed together on Rebekka Bakken’s Daily Mirror Reflected back in 2000, including several trio releases and a pair of duo albums, Friendly Travelers (2006) and Friendly Travelers Live (2007). Colley also played on the Bakken CD, and in 2001, he joined Blade and Muthspiel to play on Mike Holober’s Canyon. The trio recorded this set in Tokyo, after a three night run at a jazz club. Not surprisingly, the overall feel is that of the last set of a long night, with everyone loose and relaxed as the music practically plays itself in an extended three-way conversation. Particularly fine are the elegiac Hüttengriffe, one of three pieces to feature Muthspiel on acoustic guitar, the trio’s joyous dissection of Cole Porter’s Everything I Love and their madly swinging treatment of Muthspiel’s Kanon in 6/8. Definitely recommended.
ECM 2655; Wolfgang Muthspiel (ac* & el g) Scott Colley (b) Brian Blade (d); Tokyo, Japan, August 2018; Wondering*/ Angular Blues*/ Hüttengriffe*/ Camino/ Ride/ Everything I Love/ Kanon in 6/8/ Solo Kanon in 5/4/ I’ll Remember April; 53:54. www.ecmrecords.com

DSC (Dorsey, Skaff & Clark): MonkTime

DSC is the trio of Leon Lee Dorsey on bass, Greg Skaff on guitar, and Mike Clark on drums. Dorsey, who was a member of the Jazz Messengers in 1988, has been away from the recording studios for some time, teaching at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. This new unit was his idea and MonkTime is their first effort. An entire set of compositions by Thelonious Monk is not uncommon these days, but these songs are seldom heard in the guitar trio format. Guitarist Skaff has played with Bobby Watson, been a member of the coop band Full House with trumpeter Jim Rotondi and keyboardist David Hazeltine, and led his own sessions for the Zoho label. The versatile drummer Clark first recorded with Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters bands in the early Seventies. I read somewhere recently that in the Sixties, Monk would only rehearse with Charlie Rouse and just tell the bass player and drummer to swing as hard as they could. Listening to DSC take on eight of the maestro’s gems makes me think they read the same comments before this recording and took the words to heart. DSC pays a warm tribute to Mr. Monk by treating his tunes with the respect and care that they deserve. MonkTime is a winner from start to finish, and it is warmly recommended.
JazzAvenue1; Greg Skaff (g) Leon Lee Dorsey (b) Mike Clark (d); NYC, no dates specified; Well You Needn’t/ Monk’s Dream/ Monk’s Mood/ Blue Monk/ Little Rootie Tootie/ Ugly Beauty/ We See/ Epistrophy; 42:20. leonleedorsey.com

Joshua Breakstone Trio: Children Of Art

The Joshua Breakstone Trio, with the journeyman guitarist joined by bassist Martin Wind and drummer Eliot Zigmund, pays tribute to the great drummer Art Blakey and his Jazz Messenger bands on the enjoyably swinging Children Of Art. It’s hard to go wrong with tunes by the likes of Lee Morgan (The Witch Doctor), Cedar Walton (Holy Land) and Benny Golson (the durable Stablemates). Stretching out at finger-snapping tempos, the trio provides a fresh perspective on pieces originally performed in quintet and sextet formats. By comparison, the session’s two down-tempo numbers, Horace Silver’s Lonely Woman and Breakstone’s own title track, seem tired and uninspired. Stick with the more quickly paced songs and you’ll be happy.
Capri 74151; Joshua Breakstone (g) Martin Wind (b) Eliot Zigmund (d); Teaneck, NJ, January 10, 2018; The Witch Doctor/ Splendid/ Holy Land/ El Toro/ Lonely Woman/ Stablemates/ Breakthrough/ Children of Art; 57:29. caprirecords.com