Aruan Ortiz and Michael Janisch Quintet: Banned in London

Aruan Ortiz is a young up and coming pianist and award-winning composer. A classically trained violist and pianist from Santiago de Cuba, he blends contemporary classical music, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and improvisation as primary material for his compositions. Since arriving in New York in 2008 he has played with the Wallace Roney Quintet and has made five critically well-received recordings, including 2012's excellent "Orbiting" (Fresh Sound New Talent 2012).

For "Banned in London" (Whirlwind Recordings 2012), he co-leads a  a talented quintet with bassist/composerMichael Janisch featuring saxophonist Greg Osby, Raynald Colom on trumpet, and Rudy Royston on drums. This is a live set, recorded during the London Jazz Festival of 2011 at the Pizza Express Jazz Club, and consists of five extended compositions, two by Ortiz including "Orbiting" from his previous CD, one by Janisch, "Jitterbug Waltz" by Fats Waller, and "Ask Me Now" by Thelonious Monk.

This is a classic blowing album will all the pros and cons of such a session. Live recordings like this transmit the excitment and boystrous energy of improvised play, but at the same time can lead to overly long solos, noodlings, and looseness as each soloist stretches out. On this CD there is a little of both, with  the balance in favor of the excitment and virtuousity of the members. At times the music is tight, the improvisations creative, and the changes to the standards fascinating as they deconstruct the tunes to the point that they are barely recognizable. At other times the players take off on extended almost free jazz sections where they are playing against each other and where the solos take off into significant flights of fancy.

But there is no doubting the talents of the players. The 34 year old Spaniard Colom is especially intriguing to hear within the group, as he is a lesser known talent but a player whose CD "Rise" (Jazz Village 2012) was a startling revelation last year. But each of the others shine as well. "Precisely Now" opens the set tightly starting with a bass solo, but the tune quickly evolves into an open freestyle blowing vehicle for extended solos from Colom and Osby. Colom’s solo is passionate and intense and nicely supported by Ortiz and the lively drumming of Royston. Osby's solo is more tense and urgent. Osby demonstrates his abilities to play both inside and out, and his opening solo introduction to "Jitterbug Waltz" is a demonstration of his talents, as is his smooth sax play once the melody is underway. Ortiz’s “Orbiting” is a vehicle for an outstanding solo by Colom which is fiery and exciting, while Ortiz follows and calms the piece with hs own solo before Roylston turns up the flame with a drum feature. Ortiz plays his solo on "Ask Me Now" wonderfully, and this is a stabilizing ballad in the middle of the set. Osby and Colom play equally beautifully. The fury return with the closing “The Maestro”, another solo fest for each member  to blow this into a pretty avant-garde ending.   

“Banned In London” is an exciting outing that gets out to the edge but never falls off the cliff. It's for the more adventerous listener who understands the live context and is willing to put up with the excesses of the format to hear the gems within.

A Singer You Should Hear: Jackie Ryan

Jackie Ryan is a wonderful singer with a huge range and repertoire, which she demonstrates wonderfully on "Listen Here" (Open Art 2013). Singing is in her blood after all -- her Mexican mother sang operettas professionally and her Irish father was a classical tenor who sang in multiple languages. She herself has sung around the world at places like Ronnie Scott's, Birdland, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. As she demonstrates on this CD, her styles include the blues, gospel, latin, ballads, show tunes and swing, and her control on each is immaculate whether she is singing loud and brassy or soft and silky. 

Ryan attracts only the best players for her bands. The first CD listed in her discography is from 2000, and there have been seven in all. Her last two CDs --- Doozy (Open Art Records 2009) and "You and The Night and the Music (Open Art 2007) --- have featured bands that include a who's who of great contemporary jazz musicians -- Jeremy Pelt, Cyrus Chesnut, Red Holloway, Tamir Hendelman, Christophe Luty, Jeff Hamilton, Larry Koonse, Carl Allen, Ray Drummond, Neal Smith, Dezron Douglas, Eric Alexander, Romero Lubambo.

For "Listen Here" she has another star-studded cast -- John Clayton on bass, Gerald Clayton on piano, Gilbert Castellanos on trumpet, Graham Dechter on guitar, Obed Calvaire on drums, and Rickey Woodard on sax. The band ably supports her clean clear voice. When it swings, it swings hard, with plenty of feeling and plenty of joy. Her interpretations are spot on with the lyrics and stories, her voice full, highly resonant and eminently inviting. She can be blues, she can be sultry, but she is always keenly aware of her intonations and the content. Similarly the band knows when to step up, when to lay back, and maintains great balance with Ryan.

Some highlights. "Comin Home Baby" opens the set with the upbeat play of Castellanos' trumpet, followed by the bluesy force of Ryan's voice. As she lays into this blues with great spirit she is ably supported by the trumpet and drums driving the beat with her, and by a beautiful piano interlude by Gerald Clayton, who is masterful over he course of the entire program. The switch to "The Gypsy in My Soul" highlights the smooth and silky tone of Ryan's voice and her control over her emotions, which here are infectiously happy. "Throw it All Away" is emotionally powerful story telling, a mellow and evocative song that is sung by a clearly thoughtful Ryan. "Accentuate the Positive" is a mind blower, starting with a great delivery of the introduction that sets the stage for a gospel tinged blues. The organ and wailing sax contribute marvelous accents that heighten the songs appeal. I Loves You Porgy" cannot get a whole lot better than this, a beautifully controlled reading backed by a restrained band with some lovely piano play.

And so it goes -- one wonderfully sung tune after another -- another killer blues "No One Ever Tells You", a latin "La Puerta", very classic takes on "How Little We Know" and "Anytime, Any Day, Anywhere", and a knockout caressed "A Time for Love."

Jackie Ryan is a singing force to be reckoned with, a woman whose feel for the music, whether it be the blues or a ballad, latin or english, brings loveliness to anything she touches. Her clear clean voice is never breathy and her interpretations spot on. Highly recommended, as are her two previous recordings.

Do You Know Harvie S?

Harvie S (Harvie Swartz), is an accomplished bassist with a long and distinguished career as a leader and accompanist, dating back to the early 1980s. As Harvie Swartz he began his career as leader with a 1982 recording on the Muse label, "Old Time Feeling", a duo with Sheila Jordan, with whom he went on to have a great deal of success. In fact, last year High Note released a 1990 duo recording of the two called "Yesterdays" which I didn't write about but is pure magic. Through 2001, when he shortened his name to Harvie S he recorded almost a dozen sets as leader and was an accompanist playing with, among others, Toots Theilemans, Mark Soskin, John Abercrombie, Joe Locke, and Art Farmer.

As Harvie S, beginning in 2001 he has recorded another half dozen or so CDs for Zoho, Savant and other labels. Highlights include the first duo with Kenny Barron, "Now Was the Time" (Savant 2008) and his first recording on Zoho "New Beginning" (Zoho 2001) a distinctly individualistic melding of bop and Afro-cuban beats.   

The latest CD to feature Harvie S as leader is his second duo with Kenny Barron, "Witchcraft"  (Savant 2013), and given the players how can it be anything by elegant, tuneful, and terrific? This will be a pretty short post since there is not much to say other than the two are marvelous together, Barron displays all of those skills he has learned over his 50 years as a professional musician, and Harvie S shows his skills as an accompanist/colorist as well as stepping out on the lead on many occasions and playing a beautifully bowed "Juan's Theme" with some elegant backing by Barron.

Some of the tunes may surprise, like Stevie Wonder's "Creepin' "or Eumir Deodato's "Juan's Theme" but in the hands of these veterans they are as mellow as the rest, which include songs like "Wig Wise" by Duke Ellington, and the title tune "Witchcraft" by Cy Coleman. Barron's tribute to "Sonia Braga" and "Until Tomorrow" by Harvie S feel right at home with the rest.

What a treat.

.

Ek Safar: One Journey

Ek Safar is a trio composed of Nicolas Schulze on piano, Heiner Stilz on clarinet, and Soumitra Paul on tabla, and their new CD is called "One Journey (Double Moon Records 2013). Double Moon is an imprint of Challenge Records of Germany, and this is part of a series labeled as Jazz Thing: Next Generation Volume 45.

The combination of instruments is alluring, hypnotic, and very soothing, even when the tempo is at its fastest and the tabla is in full swing. The songs for the most part were written by one of the group members or as a collective; the exception is "Tabarka" by Keith Jarrett and a couple of traditional songs that were rearranged by the group.

Clarinetist Stilz excells in this setting and brings a subtle eastern flair to the melodies, more so than the piano of Schulze. The first piece, "Listen to the Heart" does begin with a simple chant and some single piano notes for its opening minute or so, and then breaks into a piano and tabla duet that gradually inreases in pace. The tabla is a major element to the piece at first loud and then more restrained as the melody is played by the piano with traditional western harmonies and scales. The clarinet enters at minute five and takes over the melody with a beautiful woody tone and legato tonguing. The tune ends with a reprise of the mild chant as the instruments fade into the background. It's a beautiful beginning to a subtle, gorgeous recording. 

"One Journey", the title piece, is a lovely melody played by the clarinet in its middle register, accompanied by a secondary melody played in counterpoint to it, and the sound has almost more to do with the third stream linkage of classical melodies and jazz than those of eastern music and jazz. "Dialog", the second piece, and later "Dialog 2", are short, sinuous clarinet solos with tabla accompaniment, mostly played in the middle and lower registers. Jarrett's "Tabarka" starts with the clarinet at the forefront with the piano sinuously moving in and around its lead and the tabla setting the pace. Its a marvelous piece for the trio to demonstrate their listening skills as well as their playing skills as they play in and around each other. The tabla plays a major role in the piece and one should listen to Paul as he changes his touch constantly.

"Schatten Und Begleiterin", or shadow and accompaniment, is a slow, haunting piece played almost mournfully by the clarinet, with the wisp of piano. "Sari Gellin" is a traditional piece which opens with the piano playing simple quarter notes, the tabla setting the beat, and then the clarinet playing a moving solo, followed in turn by the piano. The concluding piece, "Mumbai Mail" is the most distictly Indian song, expectedly as it was arranged from a traditional raga. The three players move in and out, the clarinet provides the sinuous sound of the traditional raga and for the first time plays largely in the upper register though still with restraint. The tabla lays out the tempo throughout, and the piano weaves its way in and out with the clarinet. The tabla solo is a highlight to the piece and really brings home the CD is a very traditional way. A great ending piece.

And so it goes, ten beautiful pieces that provide an air of restrained beauty. All are taken at a mid-tempo at the fastest, and the dynamics never go beyond a mezzo-forte, so the entire set is incredibly soothing with wonderfully woven legato melodies traded between a clarinet hardly ever reaching into its upper register and a piano peacefully rolling out melodies and accompaniment. The tabla is omnipresent but restrained as well.

I am in love with this recording and recommend it across the board to any listener of any jazz persuasion.

New Purchases in January

January is generally a slow time for new recordings, so it gave me a chance to catch up with some purchases over recent months that I have not written about but which am finding highly enjoyable. Since I am quickly falling behind the pile, I thought that I would do a rundown of eight CDs by lesser known artists who deserve some attention.

Bee Jazz is a french label that has produced some outstanding music, and the 2012 recording "Silences" (Bee Jazz 2012) by Guillaume de Chassy is another. De Chassy is a pianist, and he is joined here by Thomas Savy on clarinets and Arnault Cuisiner on bass. Those of you who may have heard last year's duo recording "DaVinci" by Fred Hersh and Nico Gori on Bee Jazz will see similarities,  with the same elegance in this chamber jazz recording. 

         

Bill Carrothers "Castaways" (Pirouet 2013)  is a trio recording  that continues his streak of wonderful and worthwhile recordings on the label. Here, with Drew Gess on bass and Dre Pallemaerts on drums they spin a set of 12 tunes written by Carrothers, highlighted by the stirring "Scottish Suite" in three parts.

Pablo Held, too, continues to produce very strong recordings on Pirouet, the latest being "Pablo Held Trio Live" (Pirouet 2013) with Robert Landfermann on bass and Jonas Burgwinkel on drums. Held wrote all six melodies, which range from the 2:56 of the charming "Meta" to 16:27 for "Klartraum", the CD's clear highlight with its multi-rhythms and room for each player to step out.

"The Duke" (Prophone 2012) by Kjell Ohman on piano with Hans Backenroth on bass and Joakim Ekberg on drums is an 11 piece tribute to some of the great composers/players of jazz, featuring melodies by Ellington, Brubeck, Peterson, Billy Taylor, and John Lewis among them. The music is pretty straight-forward but highly engaging, as the energy and inventiveness of the players keeps things fresh and lively. "The Best Things in Life are Free" and "The Duke" stand out among the pieces for this listener. This is a Swedish label but one I found here in the U.S. so look around for it.

Not a month seems to go by without a new one by John Zorn, sometimes as composer, sometimes as player, and sometimes both. On "Filmworks XXV" (Tzadik 2013) he is both, composer and pianist, actually one of three solo pianists along with Israeli pianist Omri Mor and  Rob Berger. The pieces are exquisite, touched with some of the sounds of Israeli/Middle Eastern musical scales and chordings, and widely varied in tempo, dynamics, and tone. I highly recommend that folks take a listen and not be scared off by the name Zorn, who once again demonstrates his soft, emothional side herein.

I have three recordings by Pamela Hines, and her latest "3.2.1" (Spice Rack Records 2012) is another fine example of her play. With Yoron Israel on bass and Dave Clark on drums, the trio goes through a set of nine songs from such composers as Bill Evans, Todd Dameron, and Julie Styne/Sammy Cahn. This menu of classic pieces is the deaparture point for some imaginative play by Hines, with especially lovely renditions of "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" and "East of the Sun" at moderate tempos,  "Loose Blues", and the up tempo play of "If You Can See Me Now." The trio clearly enjoys the music and the energy is transmitted to the listener throughout, making this a nice set for those who enjoy classic trios.

Stockton Helbing's "Crazy Aquarius" (Armored Records 2012) is exactly that, a bit crazy but incredibly joyful. This is a sextet that included Helbing on drums, Paul Tynan on trumpet/flugelhorn, David Lown on tenor sax, David Braid on piano, Noel Johnston on guitar (three tracks only), and James Driscoll on bass. Braid is the name I recognized, from last year's outstanding solo piano effort, and he contributes in equal parts with the horn frontline in creating some vibrant melodies and counter melodies, all of which are Helbing originals. There are some moments of craziness at times, but overall this is just a great romp through some wonderfully melodic modern jazz. When three songs in a row are "The Night Before", "The Morning Of" and "The Day After" you know you are in the hands of a fun-loving leader, and that is the case throughout this infectous trip.

Martin Hoper "The Bride" (Hoob Jazz 2012) is a trio recording by Hoper on bass, Jonas Ostholm on piano, and Chris Montgomery on drums. This is another Scandanavian piano trio but that is not a bad thing. While they carry forward the same general ethos of their compatriots, the writing is imaginative and play impassioned. The tunes range from the somber "Olmed", a quiet blues "The Boys in My Hood", to a more jazz-like "Cilantro" and "Muttileinen." All in all a lovely set especially for those who enjoy Scandanavian/Northern European trios.

 Everyone of these is highly enjoyable and recommended.

Chicago II: Lin Halliday

Lin Halliday (1936 - 2000) was another of the great local talents in Chicago, a hard bop tenor player whose recording career started late but made for some excellent and rewarding sessions. His life epitomized the glories and hardships of the jazz life. 

The Man

Tenor saxophonist Lin Halliday is another player like Jodie Christian, who I posted upon just before this, who did not make his debut album as a leader until very late, in this case at age 55. He went on to make several more excellent and well-regarded discs thereafter in a classic hard bop style, covering both uptempo tunes and ballads with his smooth tone and relaxed, smooth play. His untimely death at age 63 was not all that surprising, as he had been plagued by a variety of health problems, and it was no secret that years of hard living and self-abuse had inevitably taken their toll on his body.

Halliday was not a native to Chicago, but rather was born in born a small town in Arkansas and raised in Little Rock.  He took up clarinet and saxophone in school, and began playing professional when he moved out to Los Angeles first and then in 1958 to New York City.  His first major breakthrough was replacing Wayne Shorter in the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra at Birdland, and he later played with bands led by drummers Louis Bellson and Philly Joe Jones. But in the early 60s, he was using drugs and ran afoul of the city's cabaret laws and had his card taken, which meant no club work.  He moved on to Arkansas, California, and finally Nashville in 1966 with his family, working in clubs and as a session player. 

Finally in 1980 he arrived in Chicago, by now a highly regarded and versatile player who became a regular at the city's best jazz clubs, including the Green Mill, the Bop Shop, Joe Segal’s Jazz Showcase and the Get Me High Lounge. In 1988 he cut a recording with leader Brad Goode which furthered his reputation and got him recognized by Bob Koester, the founder of Delmark Records. By 1991 he cut his first recording as a leader for Delmark, "Delayed Exposure",  a fully realized piece of music by a tenor with a big smooth tone, a nice touch and stylish melodic sensibility. 
The Recordings 

"Delayed Exposure" contained wonderfully passionate recordings of "Woody'N You" and "Serpent's Tooth" as well as the soulful ballads "The Man I Love" and "Darn That Dream." The strong supporting cast was Ira Sullivan on horns, Jodie Christian on piano, Dennis Carrol on bass, and George Fludas on drums, all well-known Chicago players.

After "Delayed Exposure", the rest of the 1990s found him continuing to make up for lost time, health problems and all. He took advantage of this late opportunity, and went on to record two more Delmark albums in a similar vein, East of the Sun (1991) and Where Or When (1993), working again with saxophonist and trumpeter Ira Sullivan and pianist Jodie Christian.  Halliday was also prominently featured on Stablemates (Delmark 1995), an album in which he partnered the young and upcoming Chicago tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander.

 

"There was this romantic charm about his playing that was quite striking, whether you were hearing him every night or just for the first time," said Chicago guitarist Mike Allemana, who collaborated with Mr. Halliday in the mid-'90s. "He was a great musician not only because he knew harmony and all the basics but also because of the intense feeling he brought to everything he played. He had a deep understanding of music and life, partly because he had lived harder than most people could imagine."

Delmark did the jazz word a favor by bringing Halliday to broader attention. "All the musicians in town had been telling me I had to record this guy, and they were right," said Delmark owner Bob Koester. Unfortunately, Halliday's turbulent personal life included approximately 40 years of drug use, according to his daughter, Laura MacMahon, which she felt  helps explain why he never attained the recognition his musical talents deserved.

My Kind of Town...

....Chicago is!  This is a post about one of two local Chicago jazz musicians whose names are legend in the Windy City, but are not particularly known outside the area. These are the guys that decided to stay around town rather than barnstorm around the country with a band, guys who made their legends by playing with other local musicians and with the guys who came into town and needed a band to perform. One of the musicians is a Chicago native and one migrated there and stayed. But each developed a reputation for fine play and each left behind a small but sterling legacy on records/CDs.

I more or less stumbled upon these guys when I was looking through some of my music to decide on a new post. In my peregrinations I had decided to write about somebody we should not forget, but who gets overlooked despite a long and lustrous career on Blue Note and Steeplechase, and that would be trumpeter Louis Smith. I noticed a pianist on one of his recordings, "Silvering" (Steeplechase 1994), was a name I didn't know, Jodie Christian (Von Freeman was also on this CD). I looked up Christian's career, found another co-led date with Louis Smith entitled "The Very Thought of You"  (Steeplechase 1994), and then a long list of accomplishments as a leader and also as a sideman to Dexter Gordon ("Dexter Gordon Featuring Joe Newman" (Blue Note 1976), Yussef Lateef, Roscoe Mitchell, Eric Alexander,  Sonny Stitt, and several times with another unknown (to me) local talent, Lin Halliday. 

So, while I still am going to do a post about Louis Smith's trumpet at a later date, and now also Joe Newman's trumpet to boot, for this post I am going to discuss pianist Jodie Christian, and in another saxophonist Lin Halliday. After learning about them I purchased (used in all cases so at great prices) four discs for each of them, which means that I have 8 recordings with Christian in addition to the Dexter Gordon and Louis Smith releases I already had; and all of the Lin Halliday sets as a leader according to Allmusic.com. I do have two other recordings of Halliday -- "Scotch and Milk" (Delmark 1996) by Cecil Payne, and "Stablemates"(Delmark 1995), a date he co-led with Eric Alexander.

Jodie Christian

According to those in the know, Jodie Christian (1932 - 2012) could play blues, swing, bop, or ballads, and was a creative improviser.

The Man

He was a revered "hometown" pianist who chose to stay, and in 2012 multiple obituaries of him identified his as one of Chicago's most beloved artists whose modesty kept him from attaining the fame he deserved. He did not record an album under his own name until 1992 though he was widely known as one of the few pianists who could play in any style, and demonstrated that on recordings with the avant garde like Roscoe Mitchell and on bop outings with Dexter Gordon, among others. Christian was one of the co-founders in 1965 of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) along with Muhal Richard Abrams, Steve McCall, and Phil Cohran, and he and Abrams were part of the Experimental Band.  Christian was house pianist at the Jazz Showcase Club for a long time and there played with the likes of Eddie Harris, Stan Getz, Gordon, Gene Ammons, Mitchell, and Buddy Montgomery.

Christian was admired by all of those who played with him  but did not start as a leader on recordings until he was 60. According to the Chicago Tribune, "he never attained the fame his work deserved, and this was largely by design." To the Chicago Jazz Magazine in 1979, Christian said "I function better as a sideman rather than as a leader. I enjoy getting behind the soloist and pushing him."

As a player his creativity was as unbounded as the styles he could play, and his touch could be warm and full-bodied or light and delicate as needed, but always lyrical and lush. "He had a sense of harmony and beauty in his playing," said veteran Chicago pianist Willie Pickens. "He was just an outstanding artist. ... He was just a very natural musician." His background in music explains his wide tastes -- his mother was a pianist and choir director at the local church, his father a blues pianist. Tough he had training at the Chicago School of Music, he felt this background  and hanging around other musicians is what developed his finely tuned ear. That skill transferred seamlessly to the piano. His ability to anticipate a soloist eventually making him one of the most in-demand pianists in Chicago. 

Christian had an enormous impact on Chicago jazz for over a half century. According to The Examiner, "He exemplified the bold and brawny Chicago approach to mainstream jazz. [Later] as a sideman for several of saxophonist Eddie Harris’s projects he contributed to the jazz-rock fusion scene in Chicago." He also showed everyone his chops as a bop and hard pop plyer and avant-gardist, as "he unassumedly mentored two generations of younger musicians who have in turn made significant contributions to the Chicago scene". His broad background led him to back tenor saxman Von Freeman on several Steeplechase recordings, but also to backing Louis Smith as well on several, and finally to his own debut as leader on Delmark.

Though he suffered from both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and Parkinson’s disease for much of the last decade, he was still playing live as recently as the end of 2011, just a few short months before his death in February 2012. 

The Recordings

His belated recording debut as leader at age 60 was on the 1992 album "Experience" (Delmark Records 1992). It earned critical plaudits not only for its mostly solo tracks but also for a brilliant, whistled solo on "Blues Holiday."  Standards include

"Mood Indigo," "End of a Love Affair," and "All the Things You Are".  Halliday was supported by bassist Larry Gray and drummer Vincent Davis.  Nice melodic start to a late recording career.

"Frontline"  (Delmark 1996)  is Halliday's third CD and expanded the sound to a quintet with local players Norris Turney on alto sax, Eddie Johnson on tenor sax, John Whitfield on bass, and Ernie Adams or Gerryck King on drums.  It's a joyful disc with "Lester Left Town", "Mood Indigo", and "In a Mellow Tone" among the tunes, and on one they are joined by other Francine Griffin, a likable local singer for  "Don't Get Around Much Anymore." Turney was an alto from Duke's band and clearly knows those tunes well, demonstrating his skills and homage to Johnny Hodges. Everyone is great and the band swings.

"Soul Fountain" (Delmark 1998), his fifth outing features Art Porter on saxes and Odies Williams on trumpet and is another hit, with a nice balance of romantic ballads and upbeat bop tunes. And finally, there is "Reminiscing" (Delmark 2001)  a piano trio disc with Dennis Carroll on bass and Tony Walton on drums. Its a look back to a fine career, and in the liner notes Christian tells why each song is important to him. "Embraceable You" was the first standard that he ever learned, he started playing Jobim's  "How Insensitive"  after he heard Ahmad Jamal play it, and  "Love Walked In" and "It's Good to Have You Near" are songs dedicated to Andre Previn. But each is played according to his sytlings and taste, and each is a gem.

I would recommend any of these discs to anyone interested in hearing some of the best standards and original songs played by an unknown master from Chicago.