Red Sea Jazz Festival

This is a very exciting modern jazz group consisting of Dave Rempis on alto and tenor saxophones, Anton Hatwich on bass, Tim Daisy on drums and percussion and Frank Rosaly on drums and percussion. They play wide open free jazz with snippets of melody. This isn’t just balls to the wall free jazz though, the music is thoughtfully played and the concept of interaction between all of the musicians is key to the success of the music, particularly here in a spontaneous setting as the music was recorded live in Krakow, Poland on April 6, 2008. “The Disappointment of Parsley” opens the disc with an uptempo improvisation that is very appealing. Rempis plays tenor saxophone here, and this was my favorite piece of the three, a dynamic free-bop collective improvisation with a headlong visceral rush of music like shooting the rapids of a canyon. The dual percussion and bass make for an almost hypnotic underpinning for Rempis to improvise over. The second performance, “Zoni ,” is a slower and moving performance dedicated to the leader’s recently deceased grandmother. The music is quieter and reverential, slowing the pace but keeping the edgy feel. The medley of Julius Hemphill’s “C” and the original “Sold at Ten Percent Discount” is an epic performance that ends the album. The music ebbs and flows in a suite like manner form faster more frenetic sections to abstract artistic portions like the tides weaving in and out from the sore of a distant beach. This was exciting and spontaneous music that I enjoyed quite a bit, the group plays very well together and improvises at a very high level. Music like this and the exciting music being performed by the likes of Billy Harper, Charles Tolliver and Ken Vandermark are among my favorite modern jazz, music that is respectful of the traditions of the music of the past but yet seeking ways to bring that excitement and joy into the future.

This LP was recorded in 1969 at a live concert taped by public radio Bremen, it features several artists from the roster of the MPS label like Attila Zoller, Albert Mangelsdorff, Hans Rettenbacher, Dave Pike, Mark Murphy, Lee Konitz, Milt Buckner and Jimmy Woods.

1. Glady’s Dance - The Milt Buckner Trio
2. Cute - The Milt Buckner Trio
3. Walkin’ Down The Highway In A Raw Red Egg - The Dave Pike Set
4. Slums On Wheels - The Dave Pike Set
5. C C Rider - The Mark Murphy Quartet
6. Brodway - The Mark Murphy Quartet
7. Rumpelstilzchen - The Great Re-Union

Bassist Arlid Andersen has been a presence on the European jazz scene since the late 1960’s leading his own bands and performing with the likes of Jan Garbarek. Long associated with the ECM label, he pushes against the notion of music on that label having a particular airy and light “sound” with a burning live album of post-bop jazz. Along with Andersen (who also adds some electronics) are Tommy Smith on tenor saxophone and Paolo Vinaccia on drums. The album has a four part suite called “Interdependency,” part one of which opens with percussive bass and probing sax looking for an opening into the music, saxophone building and the bass getting an appealing elastic tone. Part two was the highlight of the album for me, an awesome performance featuring Smith on an emotional overblown saxophone solo. His strong burning post-bop exploration is complemented by an excellent bass and drums interlude. Part three slows things back down and makes the music spacier, with some long form sax lines and bass augmented by electronics which provide a framework for the music. Part four ends the lengthy suite with swinging saxophone, dynamically adding some overblowing before moving back to swing. Duke Ellington’s “Prelude to a Kiss” follows with Smith exploring the song and improvising at a nice mellow pace before slowly increasing the tempo. “Outhouse” opens with percussion, before the bass and saxophone build in. Sax bursts forth like blinding sun through clouds, strong and fast with an awesome solo. Smith is just on fire throughout this album, he is someone I would really like to investigate more, he has a very exciting tone and the dramatic and dynamic way in which he organizes his solos is very appealing. “Dreamhorse” concludes the album with a melodic and folk-like performance featuring mellow bass and melodic and elegiac saxophone. I liked this album a lot, the music was very exciting and fresh, and the variety was quite compelling. The openness of the trio setting allowed all three musicians adequate space for soloing and for collective playing. But it was Mr. Smith that was the revelation for me, hopefully this will be a springboard for him getting some recognition and recording opportunities.

With his large physical stature and trademark Flying-V guitar, bluesman Albert King cut an imposing figure who was very influential in rock, blues and soul circles. This album collects King at the height of his powers, recording for Stax Records in the late 1960’s and backed by the incomparable Booker T. and the MG’s. This music is a fine melding of blues and soul - King’s booming, yet subtle voice and great guitar are on display throughout the album. King was never flashy and he rarely overplayed, but always seemed to play the right not at the right time. Among the influential performances on this album is “Born Under a Bad Sign” and “Crosscut Saw,” two compositions that would be envied and covered by countless rock ‘n’ roll bands of the time. King’s stinging guitar is notably featured on some very cool instrumentals like “Funk Shun” and “I Love Lucy.” Also notable are the songs “Personal Manager” and the dark ballad “As the Years Go Passing By” which mark the emotional epicenter of the collection. The music found here is almost all excellent, some of the finest of King’s career. If there is any criticism to be made it is with the muddy sound of the CD, which at 20 years is due for an overhaul to give it the presence and quality that music of this stature richly deserves. But that is a small quibble - if you are interested in blues or soul music, you should find much joy here.

It’s often said that there aren’t that many really impressive new recordings being made today in jazz, at least compared to the “golden era” of the music. I generally agree with that statement. It’s likely something to do with the quantity over quality issue - the number of new jazz recordings has exploded over the past 20 years, but in most cases, the music isn’t all that memorable.

One of the things that impressed me the most after hearing pianist Ahmad Jamal’s trio several years ago was the use of dynamics. The group could go from a whisper to a roar, often quiet quickly. It added an element that I often find lacking in many jazz groups both live and on cd.

Creative use of dynamics is another color in the musical pallete. So why do so many jazz musicians play like they only know two volume levels - on and off? I suspect a lot of it has to do with the way bands are mixed, both live and on record. Musicians often aren’t in the loop - the mix is often the responsibility of the sound guy, who quiet often isn’t the most musical person in the room. Groups today don’t really worry about how they blend as a group naturally - because its all “in the mix”. Most CDs are dynamically compressed (altered so that the loud parts quieter and the quiet parts louder) some so much so that the whole recording is all of one volume! Once you realize what’s actually going on and what a good less, or moderately compressed recording can sound - it really becomes annoying.

IT’S KIND OF LIKE READING SOMETHING IN ALL CAPS!

That said there are some jazz artists today who understand the power of dynamics, and that quiet can be as intense as loud. Just looking through my top 10 list of 2007 a couple of the CDs stand out as excellent examples. Bill Charlap’s trio is a great example of the creative use of dynamics in a small group which can be heard to great effect on his new live at the village vanguard cd. For a large group there is no one better at exploiting the dynamic range of a big band than Maria Schneider (though John Clayton comes close). Her new cd Sky Blue is likewise a fine example of that - she uses dynamics almost as another instrument in her arrangements. And while I wasn’t specifically thinking about dynamics when I selected these two as part of my ten best CDs of 2007, I can’t help but think it’s not just a coincidence that they rose to the top partly because of their use of dynamics.

[I love the MIDI orchestral arrangements Scott Hill shares with as at Macjams. They show elegance and a growing command of how to get the most out of software orchestral instruments. I also enjoy his choice of music. In fact, I have begun a long term collaboration with him that might result in an original piano concerto. I was very pleased to see that mark Holbrook interview Scott during my absence last autumn.

This is a reprint of an interview by Mark Holbrook for the Macjammers Blog. For comments attached to the original blog, please go here.]

One of the things I am enjoying about doing the MacJammer inteviews is getting to know more about the various artists present on MacJams. It is easy to hit refresh and see the list of music and artists on MacJams but what do you really know about their backgrounds, their motivations?

The names (tags) we pick for our artist names on MacJams often obscure what is really happening with a particular artist. In the case of Scotty, also known as MidiOrleans, at first glance one would guess that he is a guy that tinkers with MIDI and lives in New Orleans. Even that last part can be tricky these days. For all you know he could be somewhere overseas.

I can think of several nominations for this award, but the first one that comes to mind right now is saxophonist & clarinetist Anat Cohen. She has three new records out this year (two under her own name) and I’m really excited by all of them, as they’re all very memorable.

Born in Tel Aviv, and now a New York resident, Anat started out like many musicians do on clarinet, and has great chops and a rich, full tone on that most difficult of woodwinds. The same can be said of her work on saxophone. Her tenor playing (tenor seems to be her predominant horn) is both lush and muscular, full of inventive ideas, highly lyrical, and remarkably refreshing, in the way it stands out from the cookie cutter tenor players that are all over jazz today. And while she is clearly informed by everyone from Ben Webster to Sonny Rollins, but her sound is totally contemporary. She also is very well versed in everything from Brazilian choro to Argentine tango rhythms, and she incorporates those influences into her work, as well as some hints of her own heritage and her early exposure to Dixieland. Her brother Avishai (not the bass player) is also a first rate jazz trumpet player in New York.

Lucky Ghost is the brainchild of singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Seth Berkowitz, formerly of Aaron Hill & The Crimson Guard, Conquistador, and Skabba the Hut. Synthesizing influences from ’80’s pop, ’70’s prog and modern indie rock, Lucky Ghost emerges with a crisp sound, laden with hooks, melody, and strong arrangements.

I was listening to sports talk radio the other day, and the topic was how no one really cares about the Stanley Cup Finals. (I’m not here to argue either way on that one) The conversation continued to other sports that don’t get much TV attention, and thus big fan bases here in the US. Lacrosse was mentioned, and so was soccer. We all know that soccer has grown in popularity here in the US over the past few decades, but it hasn’t truly taken off. And much of the growth can be attributed to a changing population, and changing demographics, with new immigrants who are already futbol fans.

Then one of the hosts brought up the disconnect between of the number of kids playing soccer, versus the size of the adult soccer audience. It’s hugely popular, right up there with basketball, and baseball, and has been for some time. Millions of kids are in soccer leagues. I drive past a major soccer complex often on the freeway, and it’s always PACKED at night with various teams playing, hundreds if not thousands of people. But despite the HUGE numbers of kids playing soccer, most don’t go on to be soccer fans. This CNN Money article (a bit old, from 2002) talks about this issue. This of course is of concern to many in soccer, and presumably to the MLS, which is hoping its product will catch on and be as mainstream as baseball or football someday (with the revenues that follow).