A Straight Flush: Five of a Kind

I have purchased an overwhelming number of CDs lately, and even a few downloads where artists only produced digitally, and so, without further ado here are five of a kind, a straight flush, a wonderful set of five:

Colin Vallon Trio, Les Ombres (Unit Records 2004) is a predessessor to Vallon's recent outing, "Rruga" (ECM 2011). I sought it out after listening to the ECM set once again and wondering how he came to be there. This CD establishes his credentials very markedly; it is already very ECM-like -- lyrical, generally pastoral in mood and quiet in dynamics, and it features a lot of interplay among the trio members. The others are Patrice Moret on bass and Julian Sartorius on drums. There are a few pieces taken at a slightly more breezy tempo and tone, but the overall statement is relaxed and quite lovely.  

Nicole Mitchell's Ice Crystal "Aquarius" (Delmark 2013) is a quintet including Mitchell on flute, Jason Adasiewicz on vibes, Joshua Abrams on bass, Frank Rosaly on drums, and on one piece Calvin Gantt with spoken word. The combination of flute and vibes gives this a very light, confectionary feel, but the songs are acually very complex and shared freely among the partners. Modern jazz of the highest quality with some avant sprinkled in, it's a spiritually uplifting and energetic outing.

Another uplifting and spirited recording comes once more from Miguel Zenon as he continues to merge his latin and jazz roots in his music. "Oye!!! Live in Puerto Rico" ( Miel Music 2013) is a wonderfully toe-tapping, body swaying set of seven songs, five by Zenon and one each by Tito Puente and Sivio rodriguez. Puente's "Oye Como Va" which many of us know from Carlos Santana's recording, is a 14:32 minute celebration of latin jazz, punctuated by a soaring and lyrical alto sax and outstanding percussion from Tony Escapa on drums and Reynaldo De Jesus on percussion. The fourth member of "The Rhythm Collective" as the group is called is Aldemar Valentin on bass. Fantastic music led by the showmanship of Zenon.

Also in the Latin Jazz vein is the new one from Luis Perdomo, "Links" (Criss Cross 2013), with Miguel Zenon on alto, Dwayne Burno on bass, and Rodney Green on drums. Perdomo needs more recognition -- his string of piano music in trio and quartet is unsurpassed for energy, lyricism, and invention. Here he and Zenon, two masters of the form,  really get it together to produce some amazing high energy music from a variety of sources. Perdomo's own "Crossmind Dreams" is an adventure in lyricisn and beauty, Zenon's "Paco" a high energy romp. Burno and Green have a composition each, and they contribute in a big way to the movement and  spirit of the CD. Another sterling outing for Perdomo, as well as Zenon.

Finally, a solid mainstrem modern outing froom Michael Dease, a young trombonist building a very strong resume, "Coming Home" (Cleft 2013) features Dease with an all-star cast:  Renee Rosnes on piano, Steve Wilson on saxes, Christian McBride on bass, and Ulysses Owens Jr. on drums. Each a leader, each a player who therefore knows about interations among the whole and how to create a "sound". And what a sound this is. Dease has total control over the trombone --- his sound is deep and burnished; his notes can come rapidly, wonderfully soulful and legato, smooth or greasy, or any other way called for; and his recognition of the interplay with his mates is impeccable as each is given plenty of space to shine. Good old mainstream jazz by a steallr cast. Fabulous.

So five CDs to try from a range of different places -- trios, quartets, quintets; modern lyricism and impressionism, mainstream jazz, and latin jazz; and horns, brass, piano, drums and percussion galore. Take your pick, they are all great.

Dumpster Diving: Ada Rovatti, a $2 Gem

Okay, so it wasn't dumpster diving exactly. It was sorting through boxes and boxes of bargain discs at my local record store, which sometimes pays off with little gems. (Anyone like Blake Shelton? I saw at least three of his CDs among the piles.]

I picked up this CD, "Airbop" (Apria Records 2005) by Ada Rovatti to look at. Why? First, the cover shows her with a tenor sax and I love the sound of a good tenor sax. Second, among the players listed on the back cover two were well known to me as outstanding straight jazz players, Dave Kikoski on piano and Ed Howard on  bass. Good sign -- as I have said on earlier blogs, check the line up if you don't know the name. Good sidemen don't generally play with anyone, and if they think Ada Rovatti is worth playing with then who am I to argue. So then I opened the jewel box to see what it said inside and low and behold, there were guest players, specifically in this case Randy Brecker on trumpet/flugelhorn on four tracks and Bob Mintzer on bass clarinet on one track (and I have already said I am a sucker for bass clarinet).

Now it was really interesting, so I put it on the CD player in the store, and presto, this is a really good piece of solid modern bop music. And Ada Rovatti plays with a really nice big tenor sound. Randy Brecker swings like mad on his four tracks, especially "Choose Your Life", and Mintzer is solid on "2-Bros." with a nice bass clarinet solo. The set consists of 8 pieces composed and arranged by Rovatti, plus one lovely rendering of "My Shining Hour", a Harold Arlen composition on which Rovatti plays a very expressive, smooth soprano sax. Her play here is subdued and lilting, and Kikowski comes in early with a similarly subdued improvised solo that captures the beauty of the song. The  two blow the song away, and demonstrate the virtuosity of Rovatti on a song that everyone knows. Her compositions are effective and great pieces for her playing partners to open up on, and her own mastery of the two saxes on her various solos, runs up and down the notes, and unison play makes this a standout recording. Worth hearing and probably a bargain as well if you look.

Who is Ada Rovatti and what else has she played on? That was my next question after hearing this CD so here are some notes from her on-line biography. Ada Rovatti is an Italian saxophonist from Pavia who began playing piano at an early age and only at the end of high school picked the saxophone as her main instrument. She studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston,  moved to Paris, where she played with many artists, and then returned to New York. She has performed with Les Paul, John McLaughlin, Randy Brecker, Bob Mintzer, Victor Bailey, Miroslav Vitous, Joanne Brackeen, and many others.

Her first recording as a leader was “Under The Hat”, and “Airbop” is her second release. She also appears on Randy Brecker's “34 th N Lex” (ESC Records 2003) and on John McLaughlin's “Industrial Zen” (Verve Fontana 2006). In 2009 she released “Green Factor”, which I have not heard but is described as a unique recording with a melting pot of irish/celtic/jazz/fusion influences with strong harmonies and sophisticated arrangements. She also has a band, Elephunk, with whom she has recorded as well.  

Rovatti is married to Randy Brecker and plays with his quintet.  A review from a recent tour (Jeff Nania, Metroland Newspaper, March 8, 2012) said the following:

Rovatti was endearingly referred to as “the secret weapon” by her husband and bandleader, Brecker. Her tenor sound is often dark and mysterious, but can be soulful and bluesy, or cutting and edgy. This is in contrast to her tone on the soprano, which is round and beautiful without any of the annoying edge that is so often associated with that instrument, and which even more well-known proponents of the instrument fall prey to. The interplay between Brecker and Rovatti came off with ease. They know how to accompany each other, and their interplay is truly conversational. The most original composition of the evening was Rovatti’s tune “Stuntman,” which came to a false ending, and the crowd started applauding before the group went into a 14/8 groove. Rovatti played soprano on this one, and although Brecker played the melody on trumpet, he picked up the flugelhorn for the solo.

In addition to her musical expertise Ada appeared in the movie ‘Mona Lisa Smile’ featuring Julia Roberts.

[NOTE: There are an awful lot of husband and wife jazz teams around that play some awesome music in addition to these two. Off the top of my head,  I can quickly think of Renee Rosnes and Bill Charlap, George Colligan and Kerry Politzer (Jan 9), Mike DeRubbo and Lauren Sevian (Feb 14), Geri Allen and Wallace Roney. (The dates indicate a blog post reference.)

Readers are welcome to provide more.

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.