Two For Fourteen

Got two new CDs today that will  be releases for 2014 that I like quite a lot. One is Pete Mills , "Sweet Shadow" (Cellar Live 2014), a quintet outing that packs a nice punch. Mills plays tenor sax and has rounded up a nice group: Pete McCann on guitars, Martin Wind on bass, Matt Wilson on drums, all of whom I know, and a newcomer who is a standout on piano, Erik Augis. Together they create a feeling of old time hard bop/post bop as they spin through twelve songs, most by Mills, who writes in a classic style reminiscent of classic Blue Note sessions of the 50s and early 60s. Plus there are two short duos of free ranging music with Mills on tenor and Wilson on the drum set. A lot to like, including special arrangements for two classics,  "Serenade to a Cuckoo" and "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend."  I think lovers of the mainstream will find a lot to like here.

A note to listeners --- The Cellar Live label will continue, but the Cellar Night Club will be closing. Hopefully we will continue to get great music from Cory Weeds, both as producer and as a musician, as this new CD is only one of many great recordings that I have from the label. Good luck to Mr. Weeds on his endeavors.

The same Matt Wilson is back on the second recording, which is the Matt Wilson Quartet, "Gathering Call" (Palmetto 2014) -- with Jeff Lederer on winds, Kirk Knuffke on cornet, Chris Lightcap on bass and Wilson on drums -- and a special guest, John Medeski, on piano. Wilson has a flair for creating a special sound full of energy and creativity, last year with his Arts and Crafts Band and now with this quartet and Medeski. This is a hard grooving delight full of nice tunes, sharp cuts and turns, and virtuosity in each seat. The songs are a mix of straight ahead hard play ("How Ya Going"), atmospheric lyricism ("Dancing Waters"), and fascinating covers of Ellington, Charlie Rouse, and even Beyonce ("If I Were a Boy"). Matt Wilson clearly thinks of music as fun, and audiences as his muse. He creates for his listeners enjoyment and his infectious spirit pervades the music.

So we are off and running into the New Year with a bang.

When in Canada, Buy Canadian

Greetings from Fredericton, New Brunswick, where I am for three days for a transportation conference. Of course that also means poking around to find any record shops, and in this case there are a couple, one local shop and HMV. Because my luggage was lost until this afternoon, I have not gotten downtown yet, but did make it to HMV since my hotel is right by the mall (I booked late -- I would rather be in-town any time). Anyway, I went looking for the jazz section at HMV, which is small, but I did find what I was looking for, CDs from Canadian musicians that I don't have. That means no Diane Krall, Sophie Millman, Paul Bley, Oliver Jones, Cellar Live CDS, and in this case no Justin Time discs either. No Joni Mitchell, No Neil Young, no Guess Who....

For those who don't know it, Canada has a lively jazz scene in cities across the country, and plenty of fine players; not every Canadian comes to the U.S. to find success (By the way Kenny Wheeler is Canadian, but he went to the U.K.). Ottawa and Montreal sponsor two of the largest jazz festivals in North America each summer. To find out more about jazz in Canada, start by reading Peter Hum's jazz blog for the Ottawa Citizen; in it he has had many features on both young and established Canadian players and their CDs. Check out the Cellar Live web site for music and CDs from that venue in Vancouver; Justin Time is a big time label too. Recent reviews in All About Jazz and on other blogs have featured Harris Eisenstadt's new CD "Canada Day III", a sequel to two previous recordings. So there are many avenues for learning about some great music from just outside our U.S. borders. 

I bought only two CDs, one from someone everyone who knows jazz has heard of everywhere, and somebody who is well-known in Canada but has not yet hit it big in the U.S.

I picked up Oscar Peterson's recording "Canadiana Suite" (Polygram Records 1965, reissued by Limelight Records) for $ 5.00 CN, a CD I had never previously seen in the U.S. and one that apparently was only put on CD in the recent past. This is an interesting CD, which I have listened to a couple of times now and which is entirely reminiscent of most of his work with this trio, Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums. The group swings nicely throughout and Peterson displays his usual light touch and sensitivity to his mates, sharing the spotlight with them. But what makes this recording special is that Peterson wrote all eight of the songs, composing not being something generally associated with him. But this is a tribute to his native country, with songs that range from "Ballad to the East" through the cities -- "Place St Henri" or a great "Hogtown Blues" --  and out to the prairies on songs like "Blues of the Prairies" and "Wheatland." Be assured that wherever the trio is, the music is terrific.

These are not the usual standards or show tunes most associated with Peterson, sometimes pejoritively, but instead are a suite of lovely, original melodies played perfectly by one of the great trios in jazz history. All fans of Oscar should look for this recording.

The woman I did not know of, but whose voice impresses me, is Molly Johnson, and the disc is "Lucky" (Universal Music 2008). I looked up her biography and it is as follows. Born in Toronto, she has had formal musical training training at the National Ballet School of Canada and the Banff School of Fine Arts. She began as an alt-rock singer in the late 1980s and continued in that role through the 90s as well.  She finally returned to jazz at the end of the century, and has become one of Canada’s top jazz singers. In 2000 she released her first solo debut and has since recorded four more CDs, of which "Lucky" is the fourth of the five. I have had two listens to this disc as well.

Johnson has listened well to singers who have come before her, and her voice is original, with hints of her predecessors at times -- some have said Billie Holiday, Diana Krall and Erykah Badu; others hear Billie Holiday or Diana Washington. Essentially she is her own singer, with a distinctive voice that gives the many standards on this disc her own interpretation. From the opening torch song, "Whatever Lola Wants" to the mellow and haunting sounds of "Ode to Billie Joe" or the plaintive beauty of "I Loves You Porgy", Johnson does it all -- torch songs, blues, ballads, and swing. She doesn't imitate, she creates her sound on these classics, and the sound is good.  The arrangements are clean and simple, done by her bandmates --- Mike Downes (bass) arranged four songs, Mark McClean (drums and percussion) four songs, Phil Dwyer (piano & tenor sax) four songs.  Dwyer's tenor adds some wailing blues touches to several songs, which heightens the interest even further.

Vocalists are a personal thing, so it is hard to say whether Johnson would be universally enjoyed. But for those of us who do like it, then this recording provides some wonderful moments with some old friends.

So that's tonights wrap. Enjoy the music as always.

Look Behind the Leader: An On-going Theme

Once again it is time to look behind the leader's name on the disc to uncover some sterling music. Too often the leader's name is not recognizable and so we skip over the CD to the next one in the rack or on the website or whatever. Sometimes it may be that the leader, while a recognizable name, doesn't lead much and doesn't call out to you like some others might. And too often a really nice CD gets overlooked as a result. Here then are two that I just picked up this week.

First, a name I had never heard and I doubt most folks outside the D.C. area had, Tommy Cecil, a bassist, on a disc called "Side By Side: Sondheim Duos" (self-produced 2012). It was the name Sondheim that first attracted my attention, followed by a look at the players, of which there are only two -- Cecil on bass and Bill Mays on piano. Now that makes for a tasty treat -- a duo setting of bass and piano, an A-list pianist, and an A-list composer. Turns out the disc is as good as expected -- choice tunes from West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, Follies, Gypsy, among others, and some sweet playing by the two players as they take turns leading and comping, both hewing to the tunes and improvising along the way in a wholly original way. "Somethings Comin" opens the disc with a familiar melody that immediately sets the tone -- brisk, innovative, and melodic throughout, both men shining in their respective roles as the music unfolds easily. Cecil then covers "Not While I'm Around" from Sweeney Todd with a long opening lead under which Mays does some nice things as accompanist before taking over the lead. Mays has a lush solo on "Every Day a Little Death" from A Little Night Music and both knock a rhapsodic version of "Small World" from Gypsy for a loop. Great stuff.

And who is Tommy Cecil? From his bio, Cecil has been a regular on the Washington, DC jazz scene since 1976, and is widely sought out by local players as well as visitors. He has established himself with many of DC’s favorite jazz sons, including John Eaton, Charlie Byrd, Dick Morgan, and Shirley Horn; as as a freelance player with the likes of Mose Allison, Tommy Flanagan, and Joe Henderson. While he has been a sideman on many recordings, this is only one of two CDs as a leader. If piano-bass is a set-up you like, then I suggest you listen to this disc.

On to somebody I have heard of, and who I know as a sideman on a lot of recordings, Lewis Nash. According to Allmusic.com, Nash had only one previous CD as a leader published in the U.S. and that was in 1989, along with two recordings for Pony Canyon, a Japanese label. But he does have in the neighborhood of 200 recordings as a go-to drummer, with the likes of Tommy Flanagan, Sonny Rollins, Clark Terry, Wynton Marsalis, Oscar Peterson, McCoy Tyner, Branford Marsalis, Bud Shank, Scott Hamilton, Jackie McLean, Cyrus Chestnut, and Horace Silver.

So not expecting to see Nash's name up front, it might be easy to pass over "The Highest Mountain" (Cellar Live 2012) at first, and what a mistake that would be. As noted, Nash is a well-respected, well-recorded drummer and first class performer, so you'd expect his band to be of the same caliber, and it is. The quintet features Renee Rosnes on piano, Peter Washington on bass, Jimmy Greene on saxes, and Jeremy Pelt on trumpet. Need I say much more about the music? This is first rate talent featuring leaders who have created some great music themselves recently, and who intuitively know how to play together. Together they do great things with tunes from Bobby Hutcherson, Theloneous Monk, Ornette Coleman, Joe Henderson, and Clifford Jordan, a who's who of hard bop.

Oh, and by the way, Cellar Live has produced some great stuff as well in the past few years, and Cory Weeds is to be commended for his taste as a player, producer, and club owner.

New Music I am Listening To Today: Steve Einerson

The back of the CD I am listening to, "Arrival" (Cellar Live 2012) by Steve Einerson, says "Steve Einerson is on his way to becoming one of the greatest pianists in the history of jazz." This clearly is a bit of hyperbole at this early date, but does reflect how good this piano trio and CD really is.  The essay about Einerson on the packaging runs over 4 1/2 sides of this trifold and is greatly appreciated. It tells about Einerson, his background and pedigree, and the music itself.  I wish all CDs provided this type of detail.

This is his first recording as a leader, and it is really impressive. Folks who like straight-ahead piano trios, who like to hear classic songs played well will apreciate it. So will those who like to hear a classic piano trio playing new songs written in the classic style with a creative hand.  Those who like things that are a bit outside, think "modern creative jazz" and Iyer or Iverson or Shipp, may find the material too old fashioned for their tastes, but that is what makes the music so great (Mind you I like all three pianists cited in this sentence as well as their CDs -- you don't have to like one or the other and in fact I hope you don't). With new songs and a new ear, Einerson has not simply repeated the past but has created his own path using the past as his touchstone.

Einerson is no spring chicken -- he is 38 and clearly a student of the genre. He is from Wisconsin and is the child of two musicians. He studied music for a while, and then finance, played part-time for a long time until he threw himself into the music by relocated to New York in 2004. From then on, music has been his life, and he has played with all sorts of New York based players -- Eric Alexander, Brian Lynch, and his two partners on this CD, Paul Gill on bass and Pete Van Nostrand on drums.  The essay describes how he has learned from the masters, absorbed their stylings and writings, and then incorporated them into his own sound. He cites Bud Powell as his first influence, and then Cedar Walton, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, and Harold Mabern as the key influences on his playing. He then goes on to note so many others -- Wynton Kelly, Red Garland, Sonny Clark, Barry Harris, Ahmad Jamal, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans.  With these classicists as his models, how could he not have shaped a tremendously enjoyable CD first time out? 

Einerson wrote 6 of the 9 pieces, and selected three interesting songs upon which to improvise -- "That Sunday, That Summer" best known as a ballad for Nat King Cole, Julie Styne and Sammy Cahn's "I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry," and Elton John's "Your Song." His six pieces take the language of his "teachers" and create lovely melody lines, creative interplay with the bass and drums, and those little touches that distinguish him as a pianist to watch for. "Nikki's Joy" starts off the disc with a nice mid-tempo romp that right away sets the mood and establishes Einerson's impeccable credentials. Fleeting Moments" ends the disc and is a first rate ballad worthy of the masters, played over some simple brushwork and spare coloration. In between there are a range of tempos and moods, including some blues and some bossa, all tastefully presented.

Cellar Live may be a small label, but it has a great track record for its releases and this is one more feather  in Cory Weeds' cap. Kudos too to Ian Hendrickson-Smith for the lovely sound of the recording.