Joshua Breakstone: Wonderful!

     Guitarist Joshua Breakstone recorded this, his first album, back in 1983. Wonderful! features the superb rhythm section of Barry Harris on piano, Earl Sauls on bass (also making his recorded debut), and Leroy Williams on drums. The album was originally released on the Canadian Sonora label, and this reissue on Capri is the first time it has appeared on compact disc. The nicely varied program leads off with a hard-swinging version of Gershwin’s S’Wonderful, segues to a lovely extended version of Tadd Dameron’s Soultrane, and follows that up with a pair of Breakstone’s original compositions. There’s also the unexpected delight of a finger-snapping version of Lennie Tristano’s Two Not One, first heard on Lee Konitz & Warne Marsh’s 1955 Atlantic album, and the concluding romp through Django’s Castle, a Django Reinhardt composition. Breakstone is cramming a lot of notes into his solos, but now he says that he can’t help but think “If I only knew then what I know now.” Wonderful! was an auspicious beginning to Breakstone’s long career, which has seen him tour Japan frequently, as well as collaborating with such luminaries as pianist Kenny Barron, organist Jack McDuff, and baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams on nearly two dozen releases over the years. Fans will be happy to have this debut date widely available. 

Capri 71006-2; Joshua Breakstone (g) Barry Harris (p) Earl Sauls (b) Leroy Williams (d); NYC, May 24, 1983; S’Wonderful/ Soul Train [sic]/ Sevens-up/ This Is It!/ Time on My Hands/ Two Not One/ Django’s Castle; 45:28. caprirecords.com

Honoring Pat Martino, Volume 2 + Ella Zirina and Teis Semey

     In addition to the sheer enjoyment of listening to the members of the Alternative Guitar Summit performing compositions by the influential Pat Martino on Honoring Pat Martino, Volume 2, this CD and the companion Volume 1 enforce the realization that guitarists of every style really like to play with other guitarists. These compilations result from a proposed concert to honor Martino that had to be cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. Most of the tracks on Volume 2 were recorded in 2021, with three more pieces done in February 2025 fill out the CD. There are eighteen different guitarists represented, mostly performing in quartets with bassists and drummers. The exceptions include Kurt Rosenwinkel, who recorded Gil Goldstein’s City Lights at home alone, and Joel Harrison, Steve Cardenas, and Max Light, who provide a spirited version of El Hombre, the title track of Martino’s first album in 1967. With around seventy originals to Martino’s credit, there’s plenty of material for the performers to choose from. There’s only one piece that’s played by two different bands, Lean Years, from Martino’s second album, later in 1967. The affection among the players for Martino is apparent on every piece. Most of these pieces have not been recorded very often, and if these tribute albums serve to point out the virtues of taste and swing that Martino’s pieces inevitably display, leading to more interpretations, that would be a bonus. As it is, we have these thoroughly engaging performances to listen to. Recommended. 

HighNote HCD 7368; 1. Villa Hermosa (Chico Pinheiro, Steve Cardenas, g; Vicente Archer. b; Allen Mednard, d)/ 2. Lean Years (Cecil Alexander, Pete McCann, g; Archer, b; Mednard, d)/ 3. Remembrance (Adam Rogers, Peter Bernstein, g; Dezron Douglas, b; Mednard, d)/ 4. A Blues for Mickey O (Sheryl Bailey, Ed Cherry, g; Douglas, b; Mednard, d)/ 5. City Lights (Kurt Rosenwinkel, g)/ 6. El Hombre (Joel Harrison, Steve Cardenas, Max Light, g)/ 7. Song Bird (Oz Noy, Nir Felder, g; Chulo Gatewood, b; Tobias Ralph, d)/ 8. A Portrait of Diana (Dave Stryker, Paul Bollenback, g; Douglas, b; Mednard, d)/ 9. Lean Years (Slight Return) (Howard Paul, g; Lawrence Hobgood, kybd; John Lee, b; Karl Latham, d)/ 10. Welcome to a Prayer (Rez Abbasi, Jeff Miles, g; Douglas, b; Mednard, d); 1-4,6,7,8, & 10 recorded in Brooklyn, NY; 5 in private studio; 9 in Warwick, NY; recorded in 2021, except 1,2, & 6, February 2025. 56:30. www.jazzdepot.com 

    Speaking of guitarists playing together, Ella Zirina and Teis Semey have recorded a series of duets, released as Dark Yellow: Music for Two Guitars. That Ella Zirina, from the Netherlands, and Teis Semey, from Denmark but now active on the Dutch jazz scene, are closely attuned to one another is evident from the opening Arpeggios for Two Guitars. It’s the first of seven original compositions plus a joint meditation on George Gershwin’s I Loves You, Porgy. The duo’s music is generally relaxed and relatively soothing, but there’s often a dark undercurrent at play. Tune titles like The Monsters Between Us and Trapped In My Chest hint at the anxieties that lie beneath the varied playing styles and the intense listening that’s at the heart of their musical conversations. Most of the music is performed on electric instruments, with judicious use of effects. Favorites include the calmly drifting Agusts, the richly interactive title track, and the emotionally fraught See My Hurt. A very satisfying encounter, well worth hearing. 

AGS Recordings; Ella Zirina, Teis Semey (g); no recording information available; Arpeggios for Two Guitars/ The Monsters Between Us/ Trapped In My Chest/ Agusts/ Dark Yellow/ Chords/ I Loves You Porgy/ See My Hurt; 38:08. agsrecordings.bandcamp.com

Ran Blake: Voices

 

      Pianist Ran Blake casts a musical spell with Voices, a solo album recorded in 2023, when Blake was eighty-eight years old. Most appropriately, the release is on Tzadik Records. A tzadik is an individual who opens paths for the world. With his music, his wide-ranging collaborations, and his decades teaching at the New England Conservatory, Blake has truly opened paths for students, other musicians, and the listening public. Blake delights in the sounds of jazz, pop songs, movie themes, opera, and well, just about everything. The clarity and luminosity of his piano ruminations on these nineteen songs makes for utterly absorbing listening. Blake is still exploring favorite melodies, still learning their depths, and perhaps surprising himself as much as he surprises his listeners. Very happily recommended.     

Tzadik TZ 4062; Ran Blake (p); July 27, 2023 & December 29, 2023; Westwood, MA; If I Should Lose You/ Hallelujah, and I Love Her So/ My Name Is Mimi/ Robert Pete Blues/ Buy and Sell/ Vradiazi/ You Are My Sunshine/ Midnight March/ Silent Night/ Go Gently to the Water/ Judy/ How ‘Bout That/ La Vie en Rose/ Ain’t Misbehavin’/ Saving All My Love For You/ The Bebopper/ The Thrill is Gone/ You’ll Have to Swing It/ Vilna; 54:56. www.tzadik.com

Rich Halley 4: A Distant Land

 

     The hard-blowing tenor saxophonist Rich Halley and the expressive trombonist Michael Vlatkovich have been collaborators since the Nineties, and A Distant Land is the latest installment of new music from the Rich Halley 4. Halley and Vlatkovich are joined by bassist Andrew Jones and drummer Carson Halley. Of their eight performances, five are compositions by Halley, with the remainder noted as “spontaneous improvisation.” You’d be hard-pressed to figure out which are which by merely listening. That’s a tribute to the impressive cohesion of the quartet’s playing. Perhaps the improvisations are a trifle tentative at times, but the spark of the group mind is always readily apparent. High points include the mildly combative saxophone/trombone duet that’s the focus of the improvised title track, Halley’s brawny solo on his Subterfuge, and Vlatkovich’s casually beautiful a capella opening to South of South, which turns into a high-life influenced delight. Throughout the set, the dynamic and responsive team of Jones and Carson Halley is impressive as they keep things moving. If you haven’t yet investigated the extensive discography of this Portland, Oregon based master saxophonist, it’s never too late to start. Definitely recommended. 

Pine Eagle 017; Michael Vlatkovich (tbn) Rich Halley (ts) Andrew Jones (b) Carson Halley (d); Portland, OR, July 26-27, 2025; Mismatch/ Crossways Logic/ A Distant Land/ Message From Maputo/ The Edge of Surprise/ Subterfuge/ South of South/ Harnessing the Churn; 53:03. richhalley.com

Henry Threadgill Zooid: Cut You Where You Was & Henry Threadgill, Vijay Iyer, & Dafnis Prieto: Fifteen

     Beginning with Air, back in the mid-Seventies, the music of Henry Threadgill has always confused me - but in a good way. His compositions are consistently thought-provoking, particularly about the nature of music itself. Wherever his pieces start, there’s no way to know where they are going to end up, or how they’ll get there. It’s one of the many ways that improvisational music has expanded over time into a more open-ended musical space, in contrast to the close-ended format of head-solo(s)-head. Like many composer/improvisers, Threadgill often has a number of projects in the works. One of his bands is Henry Threadgill Zooid, a quintet with Threadgill on alto sax and flutes, Liberty Ellman on acoustic guitar, Jose Davila on tuba and trombone, Christopher Hoffman on cello and Eliot Humberto Kavee on drums. Zooid last recorded in late 2019 (Poof), and it’s back with Cut You Where You Was. Hoffman has been a member of Zooid for 15 years and the other musicians even longer. That kind of dedication is uncommon and it testifies to the absorbing allure of Threadgill’s music. A succinct outing at just under 36 minutes, the music on Cut You Where You Was is as brash and inventive as ever. Most of the pieces tend to emphasize the ensemble’s work as a unit. Red Admiral Red Moon Rising, by far the longest piece on the disc at 12:21, is the one track that gives the players plenty of room for imaginative solo work. Hoffman is up first, Threadgill follows with a typically knotty and mildly aggressive solo on alto, and then guitarist Ellman, who also produced and mixed the album, takes over before a suitably surprising finish. Davila, on tuba, and Kavee provide robust support. On the second half of the disc, Zooid presents 5 pieces, each under 2 minutes in length. That's about the capacity of the Edison cylinder, the earliest form of widely-distributed recorded sounds. As Threadgill notes, “You can’t take your time to get to the point because there won’t be a second chorus ...” These gem-like miniatures explore Threadgill’s compositional and arrangement strategies in a new way. Cut You Where You Was is another enigmatic and provocative release from this singular figure in creative music. 

Pi Recordings PI114; Henry Threadgill (as, fl, bass fl) Liberty Ellman (ac g) Jose Davila (tba, tbn) Christopher Hoffman (clo) Elliot Humberto Kavee (d); NYC, June 23-24, 2025 or *Brooklyn, NY, June 25, 2025; Flouroscope*/ Bingo Pat 1*/ Bingo Pat 2*/ Bingo Pat 3*/ Bingo Pat 4*/ Red Admiral Red Moon Rising*/ Blur/ Off and On What Happened/ Lightnin’/ Snow Bones/ Wind at My Back; 35:53. pirecordings.com

     The trio of Henry Threadgill, Vijay Iyer, & Dafnis Prieto first performed for a fundraiser at the Jazz Gallery in New York in 2012. They have periodically reconvened at the Jazz Gallery, and they’ve toured nationally and internationally. Over that time, they’ve achieved a state of deep empathy in their music, as clearly demonstrated on Fifteen, their very first release. With three of Threadgill’s originals, another three compositions by Iyer, and a pair by Prieto, this is very much a group effort. Threadgill on alto sax and flute is prominent in the mix, complemented by Iyer’s complex and jagged piano lines, and buoyed by the imaginative percussion work of Prieto. The trio’s music is focused and distinctly interactive, with each member of the trio soloing and listening to the other players at the same time. Particular highlights in this bountiful program include the drums and piano duet that’s the centerpiece of Threadgill’s Trio Piece, Iyer’s dynamic and emotionally wrought Fire City, and Prieto’s On the Way, a furiously upbeat number that features some harsh and forceful alto from Threadgill. It took a long time for this band to get into a studio, but it was more than worth the wait. Heartily recommended. 

Nonesuch 7559789247; Henry Threadgill (as, fl) Vijay Iyer (p) Dafnis Prieto (d); Mt. Vernon, NY, November 15-16, 2025; Trio Piece/ Last Night/ I Wanted a Map/ Where Coconuts Fall/ Gently Trapped/ Fire City/ Perfect Victims/ On the Way; 47:46. www.nonesuch.com
 

Two From Giant Step Arts: The Phoenix Trio & Dave Adewumi

        The Phoenix Trio is tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, bassist Joe Martin, and drummer Marcus Gilmore. The cooperative unit’s first release is Tomorrow Is Today, a live set featuring compositions by each of the band members. Turner, who has the highest profile of the three, contributes one piece, the alluring 1946. Gilmore also has one tune in the program, the chipper and bouncy Harvest. The other four tunes are by the expressive bassist Martin, whose pieces are designed to provoke the spirited interplay that this band displays at every turn. Turner and Martin go as far back as the mid-Nineties, and Gilmore has recorded frequently with Martin since 2008. So the comfort level is high among these three improvisers, and so is the palpable rapport they exhibit in front of the audience at Ornithology, a club in Brooklyn. Giant Step Arts, a non-profit that, in their words, is “a one-of-a-kind collaboration between forward thinking musicians and Jimmy Katz” has been recording its artists in live settings. That’s the best way to showcase a group’s energy and dynamics, and Katz and James Kogan do a superb job, with a suitably live and spatial feel to the end product. Among the many highlights of this performance are Turner’s intricately thoughtful solo on Martin’s The Fencer and his quiet accompaniment to Martin’s own solo, the poised alignment of the trio on Martin’s Lioness, the absorbing quarter-hour conversation of Martin’s title track, and the entrancing bass and drums duet towards the end of Safe. I expect we’ll be hearing much more from The Phoenix Trio in the future, and they’re off to a superb start with Tomorrow Is Today. Recommended. 

Giant Step Arts GSA 20; Mark Turner (ts) Joe Martin (b) Marcus Gilmore (d); Brooklyn, NY, March 23-24, 2025; The Fencer/ Lioness/ 1946/ Harvest/ Tomorrow is Today/ Safe; 65:42. www.giantsteparts.org

    Another Giant Step Arts artist, trumpeter Dave Adewumi makes his debut as a leader with The Flame Beneath The Silence. The main thing you need to know is that this cat can play. At different moments on this club date, he evokes such trumpet masters as Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Bowie, and Wadada Leo Smith, among others. He also composes, and all the pieces here are originals. He can be quiet as on Infinite Loop or the brief Pensive, be intricate and edgy on The Vine, or be boldly assertive (with a Freddie Hubbard flair) on the album’s longest track, If I Need to Do This Again I’m Going to Throw a Fit. While it’s not all that common for a trumpeter to be the only horn in his first outing as a leader, Adewumi’s command of the horn and his self-assurance make The Flame Beneath The Silence a debut to be savored. It certainly helps that he’s assembled a superb band with Joel Ross on vibes, Linda May Han Oh on bass, and Marcus Gilmore on drums. Worthy of note are Oh’s delicate solo on If I Need to Do This Again I’m Going to Throw a Fit and Gilmore’s dynamic drumming and Ross’ bluesy solo on The Light You Left Behind, but the concentrated energy of their accompaniment is evident in every bar. Dave Adewumi is the most exciting new trumpeter I’ve run across in a while, and The Flame Beneath The Silence is a strong contender for debut release of the year. Warmly recommended. 

Giant Step Arts GSA 19; Dave Adewumi (tpt) Joel Ross (vib) Linda May Han Oh (b) Marcus Gilmore (d); Brooklyn, NY, July 6-7, 2024; The Flame Beneath the Silence/ Is/ Abandon/ Breach the Gap/ Infinite Loop/ Pensive/ The Vine/ Out Cry/ If I Need to Do This Again I’m Going to Throw a Fit/ The Light That You Left Behind; 46:42. www.giantsteparts.org

Satoko Fujii & Myra Melford: Katarahi

 

   The two-piano format has never been a favorite of mine, but maybe I haven’t listened to the right players. Pianist/composers Satoko Fujii & Myra Melford joined one another on stage at a jazz festival in Austria, and the distilled results of their appearance is preserved on Katarahi. The album title is a Japanese word, meaning a heart-to-heart conversation between intimate friends, a beautiful concept and the clearest way to characterize the musical flow of their music. As Fujii says to Ed Hazell for his liner notes, “We both write a lot, and I enjoy playing her compositions.” Melford comments that “She’s so present in the moment that it’s easy to connect and build the music together.” That’s exactly what they do, utilizing a quartet of Melford’s pieces, a trio of Fujii’s, and a whole lot of intuitive improvisation. Almost silent at times, and poundingly intense the next, the music of Katarahi never fails to surprise and delight. Not to be missed. 

RogueArt ROG-0149; Satoko Fujii, Myra Melford (p); Leibnitz, Austria, September 24, 2024; Interlude I/ Signpost/ Pairs/ Chalk/ Kaiwa/ IV/ From Sometime; 51:38. www.roguart.com