Extreme Piano Listening: 8 CDs of Note

Took another ride to New Jersey recently. Packed a few new CDs in the car to listen to and off I went. As I listened to the music I had brought, which featured piano-based sets, I got to thinking about how different they were from one another. On the one hand I had smoothly traditional standards jazz (and I do not mean smooth jazz), on the other some avant-garde spiky modernist renderings. And in the middle I had those lyrical and impressionistic CDs that don't fall heavily to either side.

Which brought me to thinking about the continuum of piano-based jazz, or at least my continuum from the time of bop onward (In other words no ragtime, no pre-WWII), which really is a further definition of my categorizations from my "Best of 2012" post, but this time using players and not descriptive categories. I decided that I can define my poles pretty easily:

• At one end, and in this case for whatever reason I think to the left on my scale, are the classic stylists of mainstream jazz, defined for me by Oscar Peterson, Hank Jones, and Andre Previn. Strong with the melody, simple but classic with  the improvisations, harmonic, and elegant players. Adjectives: Smooth, elegant, stylish, classic, lyrical, traditional, easy. Persona: Sean Connery as James Bond.  

• At the other end, to the right, the furthest I go would be defined for me pretty much with a single player, Matthew Shipp, who takes the music as far in that direction consistently as anyone in my collection, though at times others do as well but not as consistently -- Uri Caine, Marilyn Crispell, Myra Melford. Adjectives: Spiky, discordant, intense, demanding, polyphonic, modern, abstract. Persona: Lisbeth Salander in the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo.

The largest group of pianists clearly falls in between and can be cut up and defined in so many ways. I chose modern mainstream, modern lyrical, and modern impressionistic for categorizing my 2012 recordings.

So what was I listening to that provoked these thoughts and images?  Here they are

• Aaron Diehl, The Bespoke Man's Narrative (Mack Avenue 2013) is a wonderful set of straight-ahead music produced among a quartet of outstanding players -- Diehl on piano, David Wong on bass, Rodney Green on drums and Warren Wolf on the vibes. Very much to the smooth end of my hierarchy (and again that does NOT mean smooth jazz), well-structured and played peaens to some great music like "Moonlight in Vermont" and "Single Petal of a Rose" as well as several pieces penned by Diehl all emphasize how formidable each player is and how beautiful they sound when playing together, as a sort of new MJQ. And a special tip of the hat to David Wong, whose playing I find formidable as always (see earlier posts). Bespoke for sure, and who is more bespoke than Sean Connery as James Bond? 
• Noah Haidu, Momentum (Positone 2013) is another pianist from the smooth side of the continuum who follows 2011's "Slipstream" (Positone 2011) with another set of mainstream jazz, a trio this time with Ariel de la Portilla on bass and McClenty Hunter on drums. Haidu's set consists of four originals and five covers, with the covers being of some lesser known but wonderful songs like "I Thought About You" from Jimmy Van Heusen, "Serenity" by Joe Henderson, and Keith Jarrett's "Rainbow". More familiar and lovely are "The End of a Love Affair" and "A Child is Born." Haidu's trio play is straight down the middle, with the melodies clearly stated and the improvisations tightly wound and shiny. Very lush and beautiful music.

• Steve Kuhn, The Vanguard Date (Sunnyside 2013) is a re-release of a set at the Village Vanguard recorded in 1986 and released on the Owl label. Kuhn leans well to the smooth end of the continuum but to me has a bit more flair with his interpretations of melodies and is freer and more creative with his improvised sections. He shares his set with his partners Ron Carter on bass and Al Foster on drums, two outstanding veterans with a similar ear for melody, harmony and improvisation. Half the pieces are originals, with one of them from Carter. This CD also covers "I Thought About You" at double the length of the Haidu version, which provides the time for a great deal of exploration by each member of the trio, and yet the two versions are remarkably similar with the emphasis on lush chords and long and lyrical lines. Kuhn is a master of dynamics, melodies and emotions and this is a beautifully captured romantic set.
• Alessandro Lanzoni Trio, Dark Flavor (CamJazz 2013) moves the dial along the continuum towards a more modern, lyrical approach to sound and the interpretation of individual pieces. Melodies are less specific although lyricism and long lush harmonies rule the day, so the overall work is a pleasurable listen. This is a part of CamJazz' young talents series and a really sharp debut for Lanzoni, who joins with Matteo Bortone on bass and Enrico Morello on drums. His play features elements of classical music, the blues, and off course jazz as he lays down six originals and five covers featuring three pieces by T. Monk ---"Bright Mississippi", "Crepuscule for Nellie" and "Introspection." He smooths out Monk a fair amount but still retains the uneveness in the meter and approach that makes the songs Monk pieces. His own melodies are lyrical with long legato passages and plenty of interplay with a particularly strong tempo maintained by the bass and drum parts. When the CD starts with "Anatollo" it is clear immediately that this is a trio with a lot of promise by a new Italian pianist in the mode of Enrico Pieranunzi and Dado Moroni. Modern lyricism at its best in a great debut set.
• Eldar Djangirov Trio, Breakthrough (Motema 2013) moves a bit more to the middle of the scale, featuring a set with a wide variety of sources and moods played by the former piano prodigy Eldar, here with Armando Gola on basee, Ludwig Afonso on drums, and featuring Chris Potter on tenor sax on one piece and Joe Locke on vibes on another. Eldar has always been associated with showy play, fast runs and lots of dynamic changes, but here he has tempered his excesses into a set of eleven fascinating pieces. He still displays his speed, his emotions, and creativity but seems more controlled and aware of the interplay with his partners. What moves the meter more to the middle for me -- moving between modern lyrical and modern impressionistic jazz -- is his interpretation of the original melodies, his imaginative improvisations and his highly impressionistic originals that are based less on feeling the tunes and on emotion. "Point of View Redux" as opener immediately captures these themes in an original piece that is at times fiery, at other times romantic, and always lyrically driven. His interpretations of "Somebody Loves Me" and "What'll I Do", by George Gershwin and Irving Berlin respectively are full of lovely melody lines and lush chords and then lyrical improvisations on the tune that display creativity and romanticism. These are 11 pieces that are still heavily dependent upon conventional melodies and harmonies, but are expansive in the use of them to create some wonderfully new pieces. 
• Lisa Hilton, Getaway (Ruby Slippers Productions 2013) is a new outing of 13 original pieces by Hilton with Larry Grenadier on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums. It traces Hilton's moods and feelings from being on the road seeing new places and meeting new people. From the jangling and hectic "Getaway" to open the set to the fantastically beautiful pairing of " Stepping into Paradise" and "Evening Song", with a range of emotions, sounds, and tempi in between, this is the essence of modern impressionistic jazz for me. Each song and its title conveys different places, people and times of day and Hilton fully realizes her concept of taking the listener with her across the full range of her feelings. Hilton was once upon a time time thought of as a smooth jazzer but with her last CD "American Impressions" (Ruby Slippers Productions 2012) and this one she has blossomed into a modern jazz pianist to be reckoned with. I find this a knockout experience and one for those who love the mainstream or modern impressionistic jazz trio play.
• Craig Taborn, "Chants" (ECM 2013) follows on the heels of Taborn's solo outing in 2011 on ECM "Avenging Angel" and is another very original set of nine pieces, this time in a trio with Gerald Cleaver on bass and Thomas Morgan on drums. This is clearly a partnership and not solely a piano-led trio outing, with all three instruments clearly driving the car at various times, or contributing interesting parts to make up a wonderfully rich and interesting listen. I confess that I did not have this with me on the way to New Jersey, but did have it in advance of tomorrow's release, and I did want to include it here as it moves the meter a bit more to the free and open, avant garde/spiky side of the continuum. But it doesn't fully reach that side -- it is not at all spiky and instead features a concentration on melodies and counterpoint, on a palette of varying sounds and atmospheric interest, and on the use of space to let the songs breath. Cool stuff that I categorize as modern free jazz, a category that I would include players like Jason Morn and Vijay Iyer in as well. Definitely not for those in the mainstream but in the wheelhouse of those liking new modernistic piano trios.

• Han Bennick with Uri Caine, Sonic Boom (816 Music 2013)  tips my needle fully to the modern, avante garde side with its wildly free range music by Bennick on drums and Caine on piano. Thus the picture of Lisbeth Salander, a great representation of the music herein. And yet not all of it can be characterized in that manner, as a song like "Furious Urious", an original sounds like something that would come out of any forward thinking modern mainstream jazz group. It has a strong melody, a flowing sound, and typical bass and drum rhythms propelling it. On the other hand, the CD starts with the drum set, then a series of short staccato piano notes forming a sort of melody that ranges around the entire keyboard, gradually moving into a more structured set of notes in the right hand with a still staccato undertone from the left hand and the drums. Not a traditional that quickly breaks down again into a free range set of chords, runs, and drum beats.  A really dynamic, adventerous, and highly pleasing modernistic approach to music. The second piece "Grind of Blue" opens as a more or less traditional sounding piece, with a quiet piano melody and supporting drums and switches gradually into a free form piece. "Round Midnight" is the sole piece here not written/free improvised by the duo and is a fascinating take. the melody is there in pieces but the construct is very different with lots of short runs and furious drumming, and then short pieces of softer sounds and lyricism. Back and forth and very captivating. Overall the CD is a fascinating combination of inside and outside sections, creative intellects at work, and dynamic play.

Eight CDs and I like them all, from the smoothest and most inside to the jagged and intriguing avant garde. See which fit your tastes, and even try to expand them. It won't hurt too much!

Reaching Across the Atlantic -- Some New Discs by Italians

Yesterday I was in New York City for business meetings downtown,  which meant a visit to J and R Records, which still maintains a nice sized jazz section, although clearly a shrinking one. It was noticeable that over the last two years the size of the department has been cut in half, and it appears from conversations that I had with staff that the internet is cutting into the business in a big way, especially among the younger set who are increasingly becoming used to getting their music from the ethers.

But for us oldies who like the tactile feel of a disc (or in reality that of a record/LP (let's not say vinyl please)), J and R is still a great place to browse, as they mix in some European labels in the collection.

I bought a bunch of CDs of course, some of which were fairly standard -- the first Wynton Marsalis called "Wynton Marsalis" (Columbia 1982), which I didn't own, the new Curtis Fuller "Down Home" (Capri 2012), and the debut CD by Rabih Abou-Khalil " Al-Jadida" (Enja 1991). I would recommend any of them.

But what I want to highlight here are the five which fit into my current discussion of Italians and jazz. I have played each already at least twice.  These are discs by the new generation in Italian jazz, and in three cases a collaboration of Italian and Amaerican players.

First up is a duo recording of Fred Hersch with Italian clarinetist Nico Gori, called "Da Vinci" (Bee Jazz 2012) a spritely set of originals by the two players -- 6 by Hersch and 1 by Gori -- with    " Old Devil Moon",  "Tea for Two" and "Doce de Coco". I had not heard of Gori prior to seeing this CD at the store, but then again in the notes Hersch indicates he had not heard of him either until he saw him play at the North Sea Jazz festival in 2010. They were drawn to each others' play and soon began to do some small venues togehter, which culminated in this recording in late 2011 in Udine, Italy. The two play seamlessly and effortlessly throughout, picking up when one leaves off, comping beautifully, or inter-twining melodies as they improvise across each song. The recording is marvelous and both players produce remarkably clean and sensual sounds from their instruments. Hersch opens with some beautiful play on "Old Devil Moon", the two play a wonderfully sensual piece "Hot House Flower" by Hersch, Gori plays a nice old-fashioned clarinet on "Doce De Coco" that is exquisite, and the closer "Tea for Two" sounds incredibly fresh for such an old chestnut. This is an A plus recording that should not get overlooked.

A biography on Nico Gori from his website. He was born in Florence in 1975, and started studying clarinet at the age of 6. He is a 1993 graduate of the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory in Florence1993, and learned from such artists as Dave Liebman and Tony Scott.  He began recoding in 1998 on some pop and jazz discs as a sideman, and since 1999 he has worked with such notables as Stefano Bollani and Enrico Rava. In 2003 he recorded his first jazz album as a leader, “Groovin’ High” (Philology 2003). He has been a member of Stefano Bollani’s New Quintet since 2004, performing in festivals and theatres all over the world, and was on the Stefano Bollani Quintet double CD “I Visionari”(Label Bleu 2005) and has since been on several other Bollani recordings.  Since 2005, Gori has led a quartet of French musicians and has been a member of an Italian-Hungarian Quartet with the well known pianist Kalman Olah. Starting in 2009, Gori started collaborating with trumpeter Tom Harrell and pianist Fred Hersch and recorded an album called “Shadows” (Universal Music 2009) with his quartet featuring Tom Harrell.

Maurizio Minardi is a pianist who is at the start of what should become a long and notable career. His newest recording "My Piano Trio" (Belfagor Label 2012) with Nick Pini on bass and Jason Reeve on drums is a marvelous set of 9 originals by Minardi. The music is lyrical and a wonderful example of contemporary jazz, rooted in the European classical tradition and also the tradition of the great standards players. The pianist crafts wonderfully melodic pieces from various sources -- traditional standards, italian folk music, the baroque, and even pop -- and creates music that is passionate and expressive of the sounds of today. The group thus has a style of its own as it fuses these diverse influences into nine finely played pieces.

Minardi has been based in London since 2008, but is originally from Italy, where he studied piano, organ and composition at the Conservatorio Martini in Bologna; and also received a certificate in Musicology from Dams University, also in Bologna. He has studied in workshops with Barry Harris, Enrico Rava, Paolo Fresu and Danilo Rea.  

Reaching across the Atlantic, Paolo Fresu and Uri Caine create a subdued, beautifully recorded CD called "Things" (EMI Music/Blue Note (Italy) 2006). Clearly an overlooked disc in both players discography, this is a duo recording that shines a light on the best of both players. For this recording both are restrained and clearly listening to each other, so that the music is beautifully balanced, subtle, and sensual. There are some standards like "Dear Old Stockholm" and "I Loves You Porgy" that are shining examples of the music, but the best of them all is "Cheek to Cheek" , a truly polished gem of viruosity and lyrical play by both men. The the two have also written some beautiul pieces that show the same lyricism and restraint on both player's parts -- neither ever strays from that lovely mood for more than a measure or two -- and even the satirical title of one song in particular,"Cheney's Dick", is a really nice tune despite the expectations I had from the title. Fresu and Caine do sometimes get pretty far out on the edge in other settings, but here they bring out the best in each other, and the tones are wonderful and recording pristine. A real find!

Italian Trumpter Flavio Boltro, one of the younger set of Italian jazz players (born 1961) headlines a quintet on "Joyful" (Bonsai Music 2012) and is joined by some major names in European jazz -- Italy's Rosario Giulani on saxophones, the Frenchman Andre Ceccarelli on drums, Daryl Hall on bass and Pietro Lussu on piano. Three songs feature Alex Ligertwood, a Scotsman who has sung with Santana, Jeff Beck, and Brian Auger's Oblivion Express, and brings a bluesy tone to three songs including "Every Breath You Take" and "Sidewinder". The group is solid if not spectacular, with a nice quartet sound and strong leadership from the trumpet of Boltro and saxes of Giuliani. The disc is very much in the old Blue Note tradition with the two horn frontline, and plays five originals that have that mood, as well as a really short but upbeat closer in Horace Silver's "The Preacher". Their ballad take on "Over the Rainbow" is very nice even if it does not open any new ground. Overall this is a very nice disc but not an outstanding one. It is a nice listen and is not hard to recommend, but it is a notch below the first three.

Finally, a group called "The Cube" has released what I believe to be their second disc "Quiet Yesterday" (Abeat Signature Series 2012). The notes in the package indicate they did another disc in 2008 with many of the same members. "The Cube" is a collective of Italian jazz players and two notable Americans. The group here consists of Dado Moroni on piano, Stefano Bagnoli on drums, Enzo Zirelli on drums, Ricardo Fioravanti on bass, Andrea Dulbecco on vibes, Camilla Sampano Rangoni on percussion and voice on one song, and the two American players --- Bob Mintzer on tenor sax, and Tom Harrell on trumpet.

The group is truly a collaborative. Eight of the ten songs were written by members of the group, and each wrote at least one of the songs. Two songs were from composers not in the group, including Jimmy Van Heusen's "Like Someone in Love" which is played as a duet with only Harrell's trumpet and the soft touch of Fioravanti on the bass. It is a highlight on the CD, but then there are many. There are a wide range of styles and configurations on the CD, from the aforementioned duo to the full group playing on one tune with Camilla Sampano Rangni joining in as a vocalist. Among the standouts are a trio for Moroni's "Quiet Yesterday, with outstanding solos taken by Mintzer and Moroni; the full band on Harrell's "Vision of Gaudi"; and "Easy Living" with another great solo by Harrell backed by Dulbecco on marimba and both drummers. Harrell is easily the standout player on the recording with his soft round tones and deft improvisations, but the group as a whole blends their sounds effortlessly on a first class recording.

So five more Italian recordings to add to the collection. Fresu, Moroni, and Boltro are pretty well known already in Italian and have strong discographies that I will be covering in the Italian series, while Nico Gori and Maurizio Minardi do not. It is those last two, along with the Fresu/Caine duo, that probably are the most interesting of the CDs in this post and well worth the effort to locate and listen  to. So once again, find some vino rosso, formaggio, pane, prosciutto and melone, relax and listen.

Stretching Out: Discovering John Zorn

 

Look at the 10 record covers on the page. What they have in common is that they are all on Tzadik Records, and the all are works by John Zorn. Now for a long time I stayed clear of both Tzadik and Zorn, having heard bits and pieces of some of the music, and associating much of it with the NY Downtown Scene, experimental works, and the avant-garde. Words like skronk just never were in my vocabulary, and players like Mark Ribot were pretty far removed from my aural palatte.

However, one day I happened across "Alhambra Love Songs", a simple piano trio recording of what turns out to be very mellow, beautifully composed songs in tribute to the towns of the Bay Area, and realized that there is a body of work here that is a lot broader than I ever realized. Examining the works of Zorn more closely, I found a whole lot of threads -- Filmworks, The Books of Angels, The Masada Group, and a whole lot more. And I realized that everything in the Zorn catalogue did not have to be loud, free, and too far out there. In fact, as I began culling through all of the recordings, sampling many on-line, and talking to a couple of giant Zorn fans at my local store who understood my reservations and preferences, I was turned onto several more outstanding works, and then did some mining of my own. Ten Cds are shown in the accompanying pictures, each very much attuned to my tastes. A couple of Books of the Angels, a Filmworks project, a Masada group disc, and a bunch of free-standing recordings are represented, with the common characteristics being an emphasis on accoustic instruments, uncluttered and highly meodic lines, and interesting chamber-like performances. Among the highlights to this listener would be Uri Caine on "Moloch: Book of Angels 6 ", "Stolas: The Book of Angels 12" by the Masada Group, the aforementioned "Alhambra Love Songs", and three very recent recordings, "At the Gates of Paradise", "The Gnostic Preludes", and "Mount Analogue."  

John Zorn is a major figure on the jazz scene today and particularly of the downtown jazz scene in New York. Besides being a prolific composer, he is a producer who brings together some really outstanding players to give life to his works. So don't let  the name or associations scare you away; read the labels and look at the payers on each disc, sample some tracks on-line, and then try one or two recordings. Starting with "Alhambra Love Songs" in particular is a good way to experience some fine trio play, and from there you have many avenues to explore.

Once again, read past the brand name and study the ingredients -- I think what you find will surprise and amaze you.