Swamped!

March has brought me a plethora of new and inviting music, on a wide range of labels from countries near and far. It's time to attack some of them.

Sara Serpa has had a string of special releases in the past few years, and in February 2013 I wrote glowingly about her duet with Ran Blake, "Aurora" (Clean Feed 2012) and noted her earlier "Camera Obscura" (CD Baby 2010), also with Blake. At the time I noted that Serpa is hardly a classic jazz singer, so do not expect that. But she is a wonderfully eclectic singer with a simple voice that is wonderfully reassuring. Here on her newest release, with husband Andre Matos on guitar and bass, "Primavera" (Inner Circle Music 2014) they have composed twelve of 14 pieces.  The arrangements are once more simple and sparse, just the duo on most pieces, with some guest appearances including a lovely soprano sax solo on one piece by Greg Osby,  blending beautifully with her clear voice, range and dynamic patterns.  The words to describe the pieces are mellifluous, swaying, seductive, and soothing. Some pieces are in Portuguese, some in English, and some are wordless, but all wash over you with a calming effect. It's hard to say much more, these are such lovely little melodies that connect with Serpa's heritage at times, and with contemporary music at others. A tour de force. 

Ellen Rowe Quintet, "Courage Music" (PKO Records 2014) is a terrific set of ten modern jazz pieces, eight of which were written by Rowe, and the others by Ingrid Jensen and Cole Porter. Ingrid Jensen joins pianist and composer Rowe on trumpet and flugelhorn, with the others Andrew Bishop on tenor sax and clarinet, Kurt Krahnke on bass, and Pete Siers on drums. Paul Ferguson joins on the final piece, playing trombone; and the University of Michigan Chamber Jazz Ensemble plays on the tune "And Miles to Go (Part 2)". Rowe is an accomplished pianist, composer, and educator at the University of Michigan (GO BLUE!) who has worked with performers like Kenny Wheeler, John Clayton, and Tom Harrell, among others. The beauty in this recording rests with the wonderful compositions and arrangements by Rowe, which create some lovely layering and textures throughout. The harmonic pallet and the colorations form each performer serve Rowe well in bringing energy and light to her songs. The songs are each distinct, some very impressionistic and others hewing closer to the mainstream jazz tradition. All have a deep beauty that is a joy to listen to.  


Tim Hegarty, "Tribute" (Miles High Records 2014) is a straight-ahead, full-bodied set of ten songs played by a quintet of Hegarty on tenor and soprano saxes, Mark Sherman on vibes, Kenny Barron on piano, Rufus Reid on bass, and Carl Allen on drums. With a group like that there is no reason to say much more of course; suffice it to say these are classic jazz tunes from Hegarty's teachers, some who he worked with and others who taught him through their recordings. Jimmy Heath, George Coleman, Monk, Coltrane and Bird are all mentioned in the notes. This is a robust, energetic CD that swings boldly on songs like Heath's "Gingerbread Boy", Joe Henderson's "Inner Urge" and Coleman's "Amsterdam After Dark." Hegarty own contributions fit the form beautifully on this wonderful example of up to date mainstream jazz. 

Three down, many more to go for March. What a month! 

Qui est George Robert?

George Robert is a terrific saxophonist and Director of the Jazz Department at the University of Applied Science Western Switzerland in Lausanne. Born in 1960 in Switzerland, he began his musical studies at a young age and by nine was enrolled at the Conservatoire de Musique in Geneva, where he studied clarinet. At 20, he enrolled at the Berklee College of Music and studied alto saxophone, graduating in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Composition & Arranging Magna cum Laude. He stayed on in New York and in 1985 received a full scholarship to study at the Manhattan School of Music where he played lead alto.  In 1987 he earned a Master of Music in Jazz Performance at the Manhattan School of Music. In addition to free-lancing with such notables as Billy Hart, Buster Williams, the Lionel Hampton Big Band, and the Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Jazz Orchestra, he formed the George Robert Quartet which earned the Down Beat Award for Outstanding Performance and was invited to perform on the main stage of the 1984 Montreux Jazz Festival.

In 1987 he formed the George Robert-Tom Harrell Quintet, a group from 1987 to 1992 that  recorded five albums. He later moved to Canada, and toured that country as well as the world with his quartet, featuring  Dado Moroni, Isla Eckinger and Peter Schmidlin.  

In 1995 George was chosen as Director of the Swiss Jazz School and returned home to lead the program for the next 11 years.  In 2003 he founded the Swiss Jazz Orchestra and earned the Suisse Foundation Award for his outstanding international career. He also toured with Phil Woods during that period and recorded several CDs with him.

He has had a long-lasting musical partnership with Kenny Barron and has toured Europe with him and together they have a number of recordings. In 2006 George moved to Lausanne and was hired as Director of the newly-created Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne which has the only jazz department in the University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland (HES-SO), the largest university in the country.  In 2009 he was honored by the French government and received the medal of Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters, in recognition for his outstanding international musical career.

Throughout his career Robert  has recorded well over fifty albums as a leader and performed with a who's who of modern jazz: Toshiko Akiyoshi, Jeff Ballard, Kenny Barron, Giani Basso, George Benson, Jerry Bergonzi, Randy Brecker, Brian Bromberg, Ray Brown, Terri Lyne Carrington, Bill Charlap, John Clayton, Jimmy Cobb, Billy Cobham, Chick Corea, Eddie Daniels, Jesse Davis, Joey DeFrancesco, Paquito D’Rivera, Billy Drummond,  Jon Faddis,  Paolo Fresu, Hal Galper, Benny Green, Larry Grenadier, Johnny Griffin,  George Gruntz, Charlie Haden, Jeff Hamilton, Lionel Hampton, Slide Hampton, Tom Harrell, Billy Hart, Louis Hayes, Jimmy Heath, Fred Hersch, Billy Higgins,  Daniel Humair, Hank Jones, Lee Konitz, Diana Krall, Michel Legrand, John Lewis, Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, Russell Malone, Phil Markowitz, Cecil McBee, Ron McClure, Bobby McFerrin, Jim McNeely, Bob Mintzer, James Moody, Dado Moroni, Lewis Nash, Adam Nussbaum,  Nicolas Payton, Alvin Queen, Rufus Reid, Alex Riel, Claudio Roditi, Renee Rosnes, Wallace Roney, Arturo Sandoval, Bud Shank, Lew Tabackin, Clark Terry, Toots Thielemans, Steve Turre, Mads Vinding, Kenny Washington, Peter Washington, Frank Wess, Buster Williams, Jimmy Woode, Phil Woods, and many others.

So why is he largely unknown in the United States? Most likely becuase his CDs as a leader have been on European labels like TCB, Mons, and GPR so they are not well-publicized here. He first came to my attention a few years ago with the CD "Inspiration" (TCB 2000) as I was looking through Kenny Barron's catalogue and noted how he had often played as a sideman to George Robert. On this particular CD he was joined by Rufus Reid and Kenny Washington. Given such a powerhouse trio behind him, I figured that M. Robert had to be an outstanding saxophonist, and I was proven correct. Since that time I have invested more time and money into M. Robert's catalogue, purchasing "Peace" (DIW 2003), a duo with Barron on the Japanese import label; and several others.

"Inpiration" is taken from a live concert in Lausanne in 1999 with the aforementioned trio of Barron, Reid, and Washington. Robert on alto saxophone is out front and wrote six of the eight tunes. This a a group that knows how to swing. The two covers are "You Don't Know What Love Is" and "East of the Sun". Dedications are clear from the song titles -- "Blues for C.T." to frequent partner Clark Terry, "My Man Kenny" for Barron,  "Dexter" for Dexter Gordon, "Cannonization" for Cannonball Adderley, and even "Mom's Song."  The tribute to Terry is a lively upbeat blues song with a hard driving melody line, while "My Man Kenny" is as one might expect a toe tapping hard bop/post bop piece. Robert has a nice tone on alto and high speed delivery that avoids shrillness, and can really blow it out like on "Cannonization." And Barron picks up the same groove when he comes in, and then Reid to the continuing delight of the audience.  The embodiment of Robert's sound and taste is beautifully heard on the warm and lyrical interpretation of "You Don't Know What Love Is" as a duo with Barron. The trio is fabulous, with Washington pushing the beat and livening the music and some nice soloing from the big sounding Reid. But it is the sophistication of Barron that stands out as Robert's partner as the two trade melodies and imporvisations seamlessly. Barron's touch on "Mom's Song" is a joy to behold when he takes the reins from Robert after his own stirring opening. And Reid doesn't let up with his solo either. Clearly these guys all love their mothers.  

"Peace" is a duo recording by Robert and Barron that is long on lyricism and creativity, as the two tackle three Robert  originals, "Song for Abdullah" by Barron, and six covers including a stunning "Soul Eyes" "Softly as in a Morning Sunrise" "I Didn't Know What Time it Was" and "'Round Midnight." Once again the touch of Barron and alto tones of Robert are well matched to bring out the melodies and emotions inherent in the music, whether they be in the ballads or in the spritely delivery of "Blue Monk." And Barron stuns with his introduction to "'Round Midnight" and the solo outing on "Song for Abdullah."

Once you hear these CDs you'll wonder why George Robert is not a household name in jazz, at least in the U.S. His tone, expressive play, and choice of partners is impeccable, as demonstrated on these and other recordings. This is mainstream music of the highest order.

Get to Know: Nikki Iles

 

Nikki Iles is another UK jazz player who is relatively unknown in the United States. I can only hope that her new piano trio recording, "Hush" (2012 Basho Records), with Rufus Reid on bass and Jeff Williams on drums, two well known players here, will bring her the visibility she deserves.

Iles was born in England in 1963, and has progressed steadily into the front rank of British jazz musicians since she first broke onto the scene in the early 1990s on recordings led by Anthony Braxton and his Creative Jazz Orchestra, and by the Mike Gibbs Orchestra. She studied at The Leeds College of Music in the mid-80s before eventually settling in London to pursue her career as a jazz pianist. In clubs, she worked at times with Scott Hamilton, Iain Ballamy, Art Farmer, and Teddy Edwards among others.

Besides performing, she is a widely respected teacher, and she has acted as a tutor at numerous workshops and summer schools around the world, as well as maintaining active links with most of the London colleges.

"Hush" is only her latest, and perhaps her best, record outing to date. Before talking about it, I wanted to highlight four other Iles recordings in my collection, and in particular her close relationship to another outstanding jazz player from England, altoist Martin Speake. The four discs, all excellent, in order of release dates are as follows:

• "The Tan Tien" (FMR Records 1997), a duo album with Iles and Speake, which intersperses wholly improvided pieces with a number of standards like "Turn Out the Stars" and "Ugly Beauty".
• "Secret" (Basho Records 2001) with Martin Speake, Nikki Iles, Duncan Hopkins, and Anthony Michelli, the latter two being long-standing members of Iles trios. Secret contains songs written by the team, with the exception of "The Thrill is Gone" and is a fully realized recording of great expressive writing and play.

• "Everything I Love" (Basho Records 2004) is an Iles' trio recording, with a two songs penned by Iles and songs by Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Bill Evans, and others. This is a very balance set and one that demonstrates Iles' expressive use of the entire keyboard, a delicate touch, and an ear for reworking old melodies with fresh chordal arrangements and intricate fingerings.
• Bloor Street" (Edition Records 2010) is a return to the quartet featuring the Iles' trio with Martin Speake, with all the music written by Speake, Iles, or Hopkins. This is music played by friends which is clear from the interplay of the instruments and communication between the players.

"Hush" features songs written by Iles,  Julian Arguelles, Ralph Towner, Kenny Wheeler, Dave Brubeck,  Brubeck, and Rodgers and Hart. It is also the first disc in a long while that features two new partners, in this case Reid on bass and Williams on drums, which came about after Iles played with Reid for a project with the London Philharmonic's 'Renga' ensemble.  Having played with Jeff Williams in the past, Iles recorded this album in New York in September 2010.

And what a lovely album it is, full of incredibly expressive play, gentleness for the Wheeler opus that opens the recording, "Everybody's Song But My Own", a more upbeat tempo for "Nardis" and then some upbeat interpretations for "In Your Own Sweet Way' and "You Must Believe in Spring." Iles brings imaginative improvisations to each tune, reinterpreting them with fresh ideas and new shapes. Her own music is deeply moving with beautiful melodies and sympathetic play by her partners. "Meditation" is particularly wonderful, a reflective piece of quiet dignity with a melody that remains with you long after the music ends. Iles sound and touch  is reminiscient of Bill Evans, highly impressionistic, deceptively simple, but always driven forward with a subtle but omnipresent underlying rhythm. Reid brings his strong and deep bass tones to the recording and has some outstanding solo parts, while Williams provides a wide range of colors as well as a similar quiet emphasis on forward motion. .

Nikki Iles is a pianist not to be missed, and her new CD "Hush"  would provide a wonderful introduction to her music.
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