Solo performances are the true test of a musician’s mettle. If he or she can keep listeners’ interest throughout an exploration of an instrument’s limits, these skills can be utilized in any situation. Unaccompanied string recitals are as ancient as music itself, but only in the later part of the 20th Century did it become common for other instrumentalists to express their ideas singularly. Improvised music accelerated this process with significant solo saxophone recitals by the likes of Evan Parker and Anthony Braxton. Today seemingly every saxophonist records in a solitary fashion at least once. With these discs we note some of the better recent performances.

01_JD_ParranVeteran J D Parran has mastered most members of the woodwind family since the 1970s. On Window Spirits (Mutable 17539-2 www.mutablemusic.com), the American improviser plays unaccompanied alto flute, wooden flute, alto clarinet, clarinet and bass saxophone impeccably, with the last two particular standouts. Spearmanon and C80, for example, both enlarge the bass beast’s customary timbres upwards and downwards so that it sounds comfortable and cleanly melodic, expressing altissimo reed cries as earth-shaking blasts. On the former, constant flattement and an intense vibrato together smear tones all over the sound surface with the pulsating lines as balletic as they are elephantine. On the latter, as his clear-toned melodic extensions vibrate and rattle distinctively, Parran uses circular breathing to play entire chromatic runs in subterranean burps. Elsewhere, Emotions, a clarinet showpiece, expresses a gamut of moods with parallel lines vibrating in counterpoint with one another, congruent but varied in pitch, tone or rhythm. Balladic at times, the spherical lines become polyphonic, creating multiple sonic colours which eventually blend with the initial narrative as the exposition loops back to the beginning.

02_Ab_BaarsAnother reedist with extensive experience leading his own trio and as part of the ICP Orchestra is Ab Baars of the Netherlands. Time to Do My Lions (Wig 17 www.stichingwig.com) finds the Amsterdam-based improviser playing clarinet, tenor saxophone and shakuhachi (Oriental bamboo flute). Like Parran, he has a distinctive solo voice on each instrument, yet is easily able to transfer the techniques from one to another. Case in point is Watazumi Doso, named for a legendary shakuhachi player but played on tenor saxophone. Not only does he invest the sax with non-Western rhythmic pitch and a narrow nasal sound, but his abrasive split tones sound like what would be produced by a blend of Energy Music and Gagaku court music. At the same time Baars is versatile enough to invest The Rhythm is in the Sound, with a collection of abrasive multiphonics, dissonant plus inchoate squeaks, peeps and cries that are atonality incarnate. His clarinet lines are equally descriptive. Crisp reed bites and quivering, liquid runs blend on the title tune in such an unaffected manner that the piece advances linearly, despite the quivering altissimo screams punctuating the final section. A similar strategy appears on Rittratto dal mare a Anzio, where the finale of languid and breathy tones logically follows from the reed partials exposed as fortissimo squeaks and extended, quivering glissandi. Elsewhere shakuhachi lines are appropriately delicate and legato.

03_Jason_RobinsonSan Diego’s Jason Robinson introduces different textures to his timbral examination of alto and tenor saxophones plus alto flute on Cerberus Rising (Accretions ALP51 www.accretions.com). The 16 solo improvisations are frequently modified with effects and samples from musical software. Staying spontaneous, there are no edits or overdubs as Robinson alters his reed lines in real time. For instance the title track is quickly mutated from what could be the demarcated expression of a lone tenor saxophone to a variant of a saxophone choir, with the other overdubbed horns vibrating echo-chamber-like effects over which the first saxophone improvises. The reverberating reeds blurrily expose thematic variants sped up to cartoon music velocity, until legato sax timbres reappear and complete the narrative. Alternately, as on Serpentine Gaze, the saxophone’s wide vibrato is processed to such an extent that the higher-pitched results sound as if Ebb Tide is being played on a wind synthesizer. A genuine watery overlay is present on Rising Tide for Humanity as field recordings of thunderstorms and lapping waves share space with computer-processed buzzes, and then give way to staccato saxophone tones that reverberate on top of fan-belt-like clangs from the software. Syrynx at the Edge of Nightfall on the other hand frames a lyrical flute line with whistling, echoing and wobbly wave forms. These computer pulsations stretch time by not only bubbling underneath, but also by commenting discordantly on the initial exposition.

04_Linsey_WellmanThe preceding elaborate reed reconfigurations make Ottawa-based alto saxophonist Linsey Wellman’s Ephemera (www.linseywellman.com) seem almost quaint in its adherence to the initial unaccompanied saxophone strategies of the likes of Braxton and Parker. Unadorned except for his saxophone, Wellman uses repeated and carefully divided lines to vibrate split tones which are somehow both polyphonic and tonic. Using circular breathing he produces equivalent note clusters and glissandi that unroll as if his saxophone is a perpetual motion machine yet subtly vary in pitch, shading and emphasis. Systematically playing at a level of unabashed intensity, thematic variations aren’t neglected no matter how rough and staccato his performance. Moreover melodic inferences are never far from the surface, as on Track 9, where slurred textures and reed pressure quirkily hint at an atonal variant of Harlem Nocturne. As spectacularly, fortissimo and staccato cries, reed percussion and shaded multiphonics on Track 3, seem to be produced by sheer mouth, lip and breath control. Wellman’s unvarnished, understated, perhaps by definition, Canadian, extended techniques suggest that his saxophone skills could eventually reach Baars or Parran level. His CD certainly confirms that plenty of sounds remain to be exposed in solo saxophone sets.

01_sophisticated_ladiesSophisticated Ladies

Charlie Haden Quartet West

EmArcy 2750816 (www.emarcy.com)

Grammy Award-winning bassist Charlie Haden and his singer/wife Ruth Cameron have married two of their loves on “Sophisticated Ladies” - classic songs by American composers and contemporary female jazz singers. These aren't so much the hard-core jazzers of today as they are the beautiful balladeers such as Melody Gardot, Cassandra Wilson and Diana Krall. Neither are these tired standards; Haden and Cameron have chosen some lesser-known but gorgeous songs with lyrics a girl can really wrap her voice around. An interesting addition to the roster is operatic soprano Renée Fleming. Her big, rich voice and ability to deliver a lyric, along with Alan Broadbent's lush yet restrained string arrangement and sax master Ernie Watts' plaintive tenor lines, turn A Love Like This into an ode to the beginning of a love affair that works itself all the way down into your chest cavity and won't get out.

Another standout on the disc is Ill Wind which Norah Jones' warm, throaty delivery imbues with just the right amount of fatalism to let us know things are going to get bad, but nothing we can't handle. Interspersed with the vocal tunes are instrumentals by the flawless Quartet West, Haden's band since 1986. To counterbalance the down-tempos of the ladies, the men give us some boppy stuff like Wahoo where they can stretch out a little but not as far out as they would have in the days when Haden played with Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane. The disc as a whole has an appealing 60s noir feel just right for a cool yet contemplative evening or as backdrop to a “Mad Men” style cocktail party with hipster friends.


01_fo_moOutstanding saxophonist and composer Quinsin Nachoff spends more time in New York than in his native Canada, releasing cutting-edge albums underlining the key niche he now occupies in contemporary jazz. His latest Quinsin Nachoff FoMo (Musictron, www.quinsin.com), with FoMo standing for ‘forward motion’, is just that, delivering almost 80 minutes comprising eight of his compositions that are splendid examples of imagination, wit and daring yet show keen understanding of jazz traditions. Big Apple trumpeter Russ Johnson is the bright foil to Nachoff’s tenor, while fellow Canucks (sinewy keysman Adrean Farrugia on Fender Rhodes and drummer Mark Kelso) alternately massage and bruise rhythms. The sound echoes provocative Ornette Coleman foursomes but with marginally softer surfaces and an inclination to sneak in pop-rock tags – and it thrills - the Rhodes surprisingly effective. On Devil’s Advocate the leader energetically tests new ideas alongside vigorous trumpet, Odyssic says soaring space flight over undulating beat, while the title track surges, its snaky lines urgently counterpointed. Mellow creations such as Three Trees and the surreal Astral Echo Poem allow dramatic contrast before the folksy rumble of African Skies concludes a session superbly shaping new musical scenery.

02_jazz_labThe diverse talents of elite Montreal jazzers is on show on Jazzlab - Octo Portraits (Effendi FND107 www.effendirecords.com), the octet’s fourth such outing featuring strong charts and stirring soloing. Power saxist Frank Lozano seems to lead with his assertive, technically accomplished work, but everyone deserves mention, each contributing a tune and solos – take bow. Saxmen Remi Bolduc and Alexandre Côté, trumpeter Aron Doyle, trombonist Richard Gagnon, pianist John Roney, bass Alain Bédard and drummer Isaiah Ceccarelli. Tracing The Chain is Lozano’s chance to wave the avant-garde flag before it retires to medium-pace thrust moderated by Doyle’s sunny tones, Bolduc’s Mrs BB has an intriguing narrative, Côté’s Phil’s Spirit is a bravura blast with sturdy trombone and tough tenor and the intense Roney revels in outside play on Trois Recits de Voyage.

03_playgroundDrummer Mark McLean could call Toronto home but seems permanently on tour performing with a multitude of music’s elites. His self-produced indie CD Mark McLean - Playground (www.markmclean.com) pictures an über-assured, relaxed jazzer who’s unquestionably the boss of a Hogtown band featuring guitarist-for-all-tastes Kevin Breit while also drawing on the considerable abilities of busy saxman Kelly Jefferson, bassists Marc Rogers or Pat Kilbride plus pianists Robi Botos or David Braid. Always controlled, all the way from cerebral to fierce, McLean makes jazz extremely appealing, his nine (of 10) compositions catchy and very much of our time, some obviously referencing his appearances with singers. Breit is a versatile force throughout, always in the middle of ominous rocking grooves and ruminative forays as McLean conjures rhythmic intricacies for every occasion with authority and flawless time feel. Lots to like here.

04_alex_deanToronto veteran Alex Dean has a deserved reputation as an exciting player on tenor who was most familiar romping through the changes with blistering phrasing, heated blasts and pinpoint timing. It’s been a very long time since he’s recorded as leader, and Alex Dean Quintet - At This Point (Cornerstone CD 134 www.cornerstonerecordsinc.com) comes up somewhat short on the fiery front. I miss his glorious over-the-top solos. Dean penned the attractive septet of tunes here, which benefit on three of them from immaculate, elegant work by guitarist Lorne Lofsky. There’s also predictably solid support from pianist Brian Dickinson, bass Kieran Overs and drummer Ted Warren. Mostly you hear warm, reflective tenor, the hard edges whittled away, the playing crafty as a fountain of ideas is explored – on the title track he bustles from mellow to meaty after offering charged-up swing, then shows more of his old self on Mr.B.C. and too-short vintage mayhem with Warren on Pat and Pat.

05_mr_marbleszMr. Marblesz is a quintet led by guitarist Tom Juhas with his brother Sly drumming, smart organist Daffyd Hughes, saxist Chris Gale and bass Tyler Emond. The self-titled debut release Mr. Marblesz (www.mrmarblesz.ca) shows jazz approaching à la burlesque, busy but uneven, rhythmically heady, with mercurial runs, unanticipated hairpin turns, a healthy appetite for innovation with unusual, inviting textures, yucky vocal background and an overall sound both retro and fresh. In other words, a bit odd – but not uninteresting.

06_spirit_dancePianist-composer David Braid is a huge talent, his resourcefulness front and centre on David Braid, Canadian Brass - Spirit Dance (Opening Day ODR 7383 www.davidbraid.com). Eight of his originals plus a clever theme-and-variations manufactured from the standard Yesterdays make enjoyable crossover fodder for the Brass, who’ve been around since 1970 and are six-strong here. The music embraces far places and many moods, from the serene Interior Castles to the seemingly simple, delightful Temple Heaven Walk to the contrapuntal trumpet-fortified Prelude for Two Voices to the spiritual, two-part Resolute Bay. Great stuff.






Globalization, mass communication and travel have created situations where standardized hamburger patties or drum beats can be experienced anywhere in the world. Yet increased mobility in the 21st Century also allows like-minded musicians who live in different cities, countries or continents to instigate regular working ensembles.

01_fernandezThis situation is particularly pronounced among improvising musicians. One top-flight instance is captured on Morning Glory (Maya Records MCD 1001 www.maya-records.com) by the trio of Augustí Fernández, Barry Guy and Ramón López. Although listening to the sensitive cooperation exhibited on the two CDS which make up this outstanding set suggests that the three members of the trio are inseparable, it’s not so. Pianist Fernández lives in Barcelona, bassist Guy in Switzerland and drummer López in Paris. Here material is divided among group compositions and those written by the pianist or the bassist. A prime example of López’s sensitive accompaniment occurs on Perpetuum Mobile where his press rolls back the pianist’s kinetic pitter-patter and tremolo chording which evolves in double counterpoint with Guy’s dobro-like twangs or bow taps against his instrument’s wood. Meanwhile A Sudden Appearance confirms the trio’s atonality, encompassing Fernández’s outlined single notes, Guy’s screeching sul ponticello sprawls and López’s rat-tat-tats. Other pieces such as The Magical Chorus and most of the second CD, recorded live in a New York club, redefine the trio, with splashes of pianistic color perfectly matched with vibrating cymbals, bowed strings or staccato plucks that presage cascading keyboard runs. Fernández’s Aurora suggests an Iberian take on Hispanic rhythms, with the tremolo patterns revealing keyboard notes in rapid succession, yet with the line stretched enough to keep the impressionistic narrative chromatic. Guy’s contrapuntal retort features scraped and stropped strings while the percussion undertow is mostly rim shots and the sounds of crushing crisp paper.

02_passionA similarly impressive global quartet is made up of Polish woodwind player Waclaw Zimpel, Ukrainian bassist Mark Tokar, German drummer Klaus Kugel and American pianist Bobby Few. Undivided - The Passion (Multikulti MPI 011 www.multkulti.com) is literally that, a modern re-imaging of Christ’s suffering and death. Lacking vocals or religious motifs, the seven-part suite is not overtly spiritual but musically superlative. A veteran of playing in churches, nightclubs and with spiritual jazz avatar Albert Ayler, Few takes naturally to the theme and throughout lets his frenetic chording and dynamic voicing create fantasias of their own. Clustered notes cascade like waterfalls or singular timbres are starkly outlined. Kugel’s steady clanks and cogwheel ratcheting is added to regular cymbal splashes as well as drum drags and ruffs for versatile percussion backup. Tokar’s perfectly balanced string slaps are mostly in the background, except when marking theme variations and transitions. Whether it’s with two-fisted piano clusters, spiccato runs or door-knocking thumps, each of the three cleanly intersects with Zimpel, who is equally expressive on clarinet, bass clarinet and tárogató, a Hungarian-invented saxophone cousin. Appropriately intense, Way of the Cross/Crucifixion/Death finds the reedist spitting out pressurized glossolalia, reed bites and emotional split tones as his solo varies from stopped silences to shrill speaking-in-tongues. Around him in a broken-octave concord are buzzing bass lines, vibrating drum tops and gospel-inflected processional chords from the pianist.

03_ozoneOne important ingredient in Zimpel’s woodwind cornucopia is the unique timbres of the tárogató. Although French reedist Christophe Monniott doesn’t play it on This is C’est La Vie, the newest CD by his Paris-Budapest band Ozone (BMC Records BMCCD163 www.bmcrecords.hu) adds sounds from the equally indigenous cimbalom or multi-string hammered board zither, played by Miklós Lukács to those created by fellow Hungarians, keyboardist Emil Spányi and percussionist Joe Quitzke. Ozone’s CD is notable in its mixture of electronics and jazz standards such as Poinciana and Sophisticated Lady. With Monniott on low-pitched baritone saxophone the latter is treated uniquely as his smeary split tones and squeals brush up against reverberating arpeggios and string pops from Lukács. In contrast, Poinciana is backed into with keyboard splatters and signal-processed lines as the double-time treatment eventually encompasses Spányi’s multi-fingered syncopated runs and Monniott’s tongue vibrato on alto saxophone. It ends with vocoder modulations from the saxman and glissandi from the piano. More intriguingly, tracks such as the title tune welcome all influences. Here Monniott’s high-pitched, corkscrew-like vibrations operate alongside Lukács’ twanging harp-like arpeggios played andante and staccato, backed by jazz-grounded cymbal splashes and superfast piano comping.

04_subsurfaceCanadians are also involved in trans-border cooperation as demonstrated on Subsurface (Schraum Records 11 www.schraum.de) by the trio of Montreal-based bass clarinettist and alto saxophonist Philippe Lauzier, and two Germans, Berlin trumpeter Nils Ostendorf and Philip Zoubek from Köln on prepared piano. Here, the instrumentalists’ extended textures create a soundscape of buzzed and granular modulations as if electronics are involved. They aren’t. Instead, multiphonics arise from the piano’s stopped and striated strings, the reedist’s flat-line or pressurized vibrato and grace note flourishes from the trumpeter. On a track such as Spectral Radiance, Zoubek’s clipped and clanking chords are mixed with string pops that add wooden tones from then piano’s action, building up to a rough, broken-chord concordance with bubbling and buzzing staccato lines from the horns. In comparison, an interlude like Calm City lives up to its name as the pianist’s barely audible key strums accompany Ostendorf’s carefully shaped grace notes, as Lauzier’s extended reed puffs gradually swell in volume.

Unlike economic or political globalization, musical globalization is more benign. These sessions demonstrate the outstanding results when free-thinking musicians based in different locations are able to regularly create together.



01_laila_bialiTracing Light

Laila Biali

Independent LB09102 (www.lailabiali.com)

Laila Biali has had quite a year – a new gig as backing vocalist with Sting, a new baby and now a new CD. “Tracing Light” is the third solo album for the Vancouver-raised, Toronto- and New York-based performer and composer.

Although Biali started out her still-burgeoning career as a jazz piano player who sang occasionally, with “Tracing Light” it’s her singing that predominates. All the tunes except two – an instrumental and another that features Sudanese vocalist Waleed Abdulhamid, both of which Biali composed – feature Biali’s light pretty voice, which is at times reminiscent of Sarah McLachlan. The disc starts strong with an absolutely stunning cover of Imogen Heap's Let Go, featuring Larnell Lewis's exquisite drumming. (Lewis is a standout throughout the disc, turning in some of the most exciting drum work I've heard in a long time.) The Best Is Yet to Come is shaken out of its customary casual groove and turned into a barn burner with Lewis and bassist and producer George Koller driving the tempo and Biali right there with them coolly and capably navigating multiple key changes. The disc closes out with Biali alone on Billy Joel's And So It Goes to which she adds a layer of harmonic complexity on piano and fathoms of emotional depth to the poignant lyrics.

Concert Note: Biali is performing a live-to-air concert with Lewis and Koller on December 6 on Jazz.FM91.

02_nat_king_coleThe Forgotten 1949 Carnegie Hall Concert

Nat King Cole

HEP Records CD 91

David Lennick, local music collector and archivist has, since the 90's, made a living restoring archival recordings. Recently he came up with a winner - a November 4, 1949 recording of Nat King Cole and his trio at Carnegie Hall, never issued until now.

Irving Ashby, guitar, Joe Comfort, bass and Jack Costanzo on bongos make up the trio and the programme consisting, for the most part, of familiar material flows along as smooth as silk with Cole's smoky voice making each song sound as if it were written for him. At the time the group was touring as a double bill with the Woody Herman Orchestra which plays on the last cut on this CD.

The concert was recorded on acetates, a not uncommon practice at Carnegie in those days. Bass and guitar are somewhat underrecorded, not the fault of the restoration process, and I would have liked to hear more of Nat Cole the pianist, but it does not take away from the overall feeling of being present at a pretty special event.

Congratulations to everyone involved in making this performance available. If you are a fan of Nat King Cole, and who isn't, you will want to add this one to your collection.

This CD is on HEP Records based in Edinburgh, Scotland, owned by Alastair Robertson. The label has a catalogue of historically significant recordings which can be accessed at www.hepjazz.com.


03_one_takeOne Take Volume Four

Joey Defrancesco; Robi Botos; Vito Rezza; Phil Dwyer

Alma ACD11912 www.almarecords.com

One Take is exactly what it says - a freewheeling session of straight ahead jazz with no rehearsal, no edits, no overdubs - just four masters of their craft blending their skills together to create almost an hour's worth of high octane jazz.

Reticent, never - fiery, always and they take no prisoners when the music starts. Everybody is at the top of his game, although as a saxophone player I feel I have to single out the playing of Phil Dwyer who couldn't play poorly even if you paid him to. Over the years he has developed a maturity and depth in his playing which make him stand out in any musical setting. Having said that, every player on the session puts his stamp on the music and you just know that to hear this band in a live setting would be an experience to remember

It's a well balanced programme, ranging from a lyrical reading of the Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh classic Tenderly to a roaring version of Broadway by the team of Wilbur H Bird/Teddy McRae/Henri Woode. All four musicians are well-known to Toronto audiences, Rezza and Botos being very active on the local scene. DeFrancesco is a frequent winner of the Downbeat Critics' Poll, while Dwyer spent 15 years in Toronto before moving to Vancouver Island.

So take five and give “One Take Volume Four” a listen.

 



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