06_SpectrumSpectrum

Muhal Richard Abrams; Roscoe Mitchell; Janáček Philharmonic

Mutable 17536-2 www.mutablemusic.com

 

Veteran American improvisers, pianist Muhal Richard Abrams and saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell get a rare showcase for their notated works on this notable performance by the Janáček Philharmonic of the Czech Republic, conducted by Petr Kotik. Surprisingly enough for two sound explorers identified with the avant-garde Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (ACCM), both commissions, Abrams’ Mergertone, and Mitchell’s three-part Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City, use the full resources of the orchestra to add lush, impressionistic colouration to the many harmonies and timbres exposed.

             

A fantasia, Mergertone does exactly what the title suggests, layering and contrasting multiphonics. Moderato, it exposes individual instruments as the theme advances. Pounding kettle drums, insinuations of Ragtime piano plus marimba and xylophone clatter share space with cushioning strings, a slinky oboe line, pan-tonal horn parts and a smooth and soothing tutti finale.

             

Featuring the cultured tones of baritone Thomas Buckner, the Mitchell piece, initially composed for his Art Ensemble of Chicago group, gains added gravitas from Buckner’s parlando, which mixes outright recitation with a suggestion of plainsong. As the baritone uses melisma to alter the lyrical line, orchestra cadenzas sympathetically scene set, embellish and subtly follow the tempo changes. Chromatic massed reed flourishes, string undulations, metronomic piano patterning and grace notes from the French horns also turn repeated phrasing from mere accompaniment to partnership.

             

As a prelude to the extended philharmonic performances, the two composers unite on Romu, the CD’s first track, a brief, low-key improvisation.

 


05_ranee_leeRanee Lee Lives Upstairs

Ranee Lee

Justin Time JUST 230-2 (www.myspace.com/raneeleemusic)

 

The multi-talented Brooklyn-born, Montréal-based singer, actor, dancer, author and television host Ranee Lee is a recent recipient of the Order of Canada (2006). Notably, she began her musical career touring North America in the 1970’s as a drummer and tenor saxophonist. Wearing the vocalist hat, Lee has always exhibited a fervent loyalty both to the jazz tradition and its regal torch-bearers; captured live at Montréal’s premier jazz clubs UPSTAIRS, her 10th release on the Justin Time label is no exception.

 

Recalling both Ella and Sarah, she has selected a very effective, sympathetic rhythm section that always supports and never overpowers her: Richard Ring on guitar, John Sadowy on piano, Morgan Moore on bass and Dave Laing on drums. The program is comprised mostly of love-themed standards such as Beautiful Love, In Love In Vain and I Just Found Out About Love, spiced up by unique choices such as James Taylor's Fire and Rain and Pat Metheny's Crooked Road. One of the highlights is a medley from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess that starts tenderly with I Loves You Porgy and concludes memorably with a beautifully phrased Summertime. The latter is a testament to Lee's artistry, as she takes admirable risks, playing with the song's musical possibilities without ever compromising its meaning. That the audience reacts most enthusiastically to her original blues The Storm is a genuine compliment. This recording is rightfully among the nominees for this month’s Juno Awards in the category of Best Jazz Vocal Album.

 


04_elizabeth_shepherdHeavy Falls the Night

Elizabeth Shepherd

Do Right Music DR041CD (www.elizabethshepherd.com)

Elizabeth Shepherd has a roving musical spirit that has seen her move from playing saxophone, to classical piano, to jazz piano, then add singing and songwriting to her considerable arsenal of skills. With her third album she has landed on what can most closely be described as jazz-funk, but there are tinges of all kinds of genres here. “Heavy Falls the Night” - as the name implies - has a somewhat dark, pensive feel to it, owing largely to Shepherd's fondness for minor keys and tightly-voiced, dissonant vocal harmonies.

 

The opening track, What Else, sets the serious tone as it describes the frustration and pain of having a suicidal loved one. But there are lighter musical moments too, such as the breezy retro feel of Seven Bucks - reminiscent of KOOP - and High with its drum’n’bass undercurrent. Shepherd has a pretty, breathy voice with Rickie Lee Jones influences, especially on A Song for Dinah Washington which is based on a poem by James Strecker. Her longtime bandmate Colin Kingsmore, is an inventive drummer and percussionist, while the lyrical bass work is divided between Scott Kemp and Ross McIntyre. The final track, Danny’s Song – yes the Anne Murray hit – ends the album on a note of sweet incongruity that gives us a glimpse into yet another side of Shepherd's multi-faceted musical personality.

Concert Note: The Elizabeth Shepherd Trio plays April 29 at the Mansion House in Kingston and April 30 at House of Jazz in Montreal.

03_christopher_plockBlue Skies for Loveday

Christopher Plock

Independent CP 002 (www.christopherplock.ca)

 

Accomplished on multiple instruments including various horns, clarinet, flute, guitar and percussion, for the most part multi-talented Christopher Plock’s second release as a leader emphasizes the musician’s abilities as a singer and saxophonist. On this recording he “limits himself” to vocals, woodwinds and congas, backed by a sublime band that includes Eric Boucher on piano, Jack Zorawski on bass, Chris Lamont on drums, William Sperandei on trumpet and a particularly memorable Kevin Vienneau on guitar. Guests include Marcus Ali and trombonist RJ Satchithananthan, who also contributes two spirited arrangements. The program: a dozen selections that vary from familiar standards (A Foggy Day, Paper Moon, Stardust) to surprising selections, including a groovy rendition of Kenny Burrell’s Chitlins con Carne and an instrumental version of Neil Young’s Only Love Can Break Your Heart.

 

One track that isn’t really jazz (not that there’s anything wrong with that) is a cover of John Hiatt’s Feels Like Rain, delivered with ample heart. On all other vocal tracks, Plock’s crooning is effectively simple and simply effective; he sings with measured sentiment, musical phrasing and a solid swing feel. Confident and especially convincing, I’ve Got the World on a String is a standout among the vocal cuts. Of the instrumentals, the Jersey Bounce is a straight-ahead bouncer that’ll swing you to good health!

 


01_irene_atmanNew York Rendezvous             

Irene Atman             

Independent (www.ireneatman.com)

 

The first thing that strikes you when you hear Irene Atman sing for the first time is that she's apparently spent a lot of hours listening to Barbra Streisand. Fortunately for those of us who aren't huge Streisand fans, she's emulated the good stuff – excellent control, pitch and a big range – and discarded the tendency to turn every tune into a three-act opera. Toronto-born but now New York-based, Atman gives the impression of someone who has been around the block a few times – in a good way. Listening to “New York Rendezvous” you feel you're in the hands of a complete pro. Her bandmates add to that experience as piano player Frank Kimbrough, Jay Anderson on bass and Matt Wilson on drums assuredly make their way through this collection of late era standards. Songs like Taking a Chance on Love and Time After Time are light, swingy treats, but Atman is at her best on the ballads such as Why Did I Choose You and Alfie as she beautifully conveys the sentiments of the songs without tilting over into schmaltz.

 

Concert Note: Atman teams up with Guido Basso and other Toronto jazz luminaries for a CD release event at Jane Mallett Theatre on April 16.

03_han_beninkHazzentijd             

Han Bennink             

Data Images 06 (www.toondist.nl)

 

Han Bennink’s art is intensely visual as well as musical, which is made clear on this excellent 70-minute documentary DVD. An un-self-conscious entertainer as well as a first-class drummer, the lanky, 68-year-old Dutchman – often decked out in shorts and a headband – coaxes swinging beats from floors, walls and other objects as easily as from his kit.

             

Director Jellie Dekker mixes 1960s black and white stills and footage of Bennink playing with established jazzers like saxophonist Johnny Griffin and questing Dutch improvisers, with a full-color contemporary portrait of the drummer at home, in his studio, on the road and in concert, not only playing, but – trained as an artist – creating distinctive drawings and sculpture.

             

Anchor of the Instant Composers Pool (ICP) orchestra, Bennink’s 50-year partnership with ICP pianist Misha Mengelberg is illustrated. So are other performances ranging from an Ethiopian tour with a rock band to an Amsterdam session with his trio, whose members are approximately one-third his age.

             

Bennink is as articulate as he is passionate about improvising. The film shows him fascinating Dutch school children with his play-anything style; plus a sequence at the Banff Centre where the veteran musician instructs young drummers in rhythmic versatility using only a snare drum. Then he studies birds and animals in the Alberta wilderness.

             

Besides Bennink’s own commentary, there are explanatory interviews with musicians such as saxophonist Peter Brötzmann and pianist Guus Janssen. Extras include seven full performances featuring Bennink solo and with different ensembles.

 

 

 

 

Duo playing is probably the most difficult kind of improvising. Not only must each player depend on only one other to modify or accompany his ideas, but unbridled creativity has to be muted to fit the other musician’s comfort zone. As these CDs demonstrate, skilled improvisers aren’t fazed by the challenge; but the instruments they choose are sometimes unusual.

01_northern_dialoguesEver since his arrival in Toronto from Winnipeg 30 years ago, reedist Glen Hall has played with top local and international musicians. A few years ago he began noticing he was being confused with pianist Glen (Charles) Halls, who had moved to the city from Edmonton. Being equally sardonic types, before Halls relocated to Alberta, the two decided to compound the confusion by recording a duo CD, Glen Hall + Glen Charles Halls - Northern Dialogues (Quiet Design Records CD Alas 009 www.quietdesign.us). Still there are as many musical as jocular reasons for doing so. With Hall alternating between breathy bass flute pressure and sprightly tenor saxophone runs, the eight tunes rage from atmospheric and meditative to rhythmic and bluesy. More formalistic than Hall, Halls often appears to be playing a fantasia, mixing legato chords with downward cascading arpeggios. With the low-frequency curvatures of his flute moderato and pointillist to complement the pianist’s comping, it’s Hall’s explosive saxophone tones which make the greatest impression. After adding speedy excitement to the measured and nearly opaque pianism on Astral, with Anything Blues Hall’s flutter-tonguing encourages Halls to display varied keyboard strategies including tremolo strumming.

02_schick_tetreaultHall has organized the annual 416 Toronto Creative Improvisers Festival since 2001. Guests from the 514 area code were welcomed last year, with Montreal turntablist Martin Tétreault’s sounds most unique. Live 33 45 78 (Ambiances Magnétiques AM 191 CD www.actuelle.com), a duo with Berlin-based turntablist Ignaz Schick, provides examples of these jangling and ratcheting textures. Unlike hip-hoppers who use LPs to insert song snatches or scratch beats, the Canadian-German duo manipulate tone-arms and cartridges as additional sound sources, while pummelling electrified surfaces for distinctive timbres. In two suites they mix granulated rubs and rattles, sharp rugged smacks and motorized rasps with beneath-hearing-level clatter and hisses to reveal textures ranging from stallion-like whinnies to forte ostinatos replicating a dentist’s drill. By the climax of Cave 12 they create a double-counterpoint showcase. The piece weaves vinyl needle rips, frenzied buzzes, static vibrating, video-game-like clanking and near-human cries into a neat package of harmonic interface, as multi-textural as it is percussive.

03_martel_lauzierPierre-Yves Martel and Philippe Lauzier also mix electro and acoustic timbres – and more – on their CD Sainct Laurens (&records 06 www.etrecords.net). Although Montrealer Lauzier confines himself to saxophone and bass clarinet, Martel, who lives in Montreal and Paris, suggests 17th Century music at points, since he plays the viola da gamba. He’s thoroughly modern elsewhere, preparing his instrument with speakers, contact mics and radios. The nine tracks range from lyrical showcases where Lauzier’s wide woodwind warbles brush up against sympathetic Renaissance-styled string vibrations; to abrasive and gritty scrapes, squeaks and flanges from Martel’s extended strings that contrast with intense, horizontal split-tones from the saxophonist. Defiantly multiphonic, the most characteristic track is Adda. It matches altissimo bass clarinet squeals with animal-like burrowing scratches plus droning oscillations from the plectrumist. Swelling into a cornucopia of stifled reed split tones and pinched string buzzes, the piece rends the sound space with both high and low-pitches before the distinctive parts meld.

04_control_thisSaxophonist Michael Blake’s and drummer Kresten Osgood’s Control This (Clean Feed CF 136 CD www.cleanfeedrecords.com) has a characteristic track as well, which is as post-modern as it is traditional. Duke Ellington’s Creole Love Call is re-imagined by the Copenhagen-based percussionist’s hand-drummed ruffs, flams and back-beat bounces complementing overdubbed soprano, alto and tenor saxophone timbres from the Vancouverite-turned New Yorker. Layering his output so each reed is distinctively harmonized – and simultaneously in focus – Blake’s overall thematic variation is grainy and tough, with one horn honking, another mellow and the third always in the altissimo range. Reed work on others of the seven tracks ranges from breathy and romantic to flat-line flutters to jolly dance-like, as Osgood’s patterning encompasses bass drum whaps and cymbal rattles. In sync throughout on Elephants are Afraid of Mice, the two demonstrate how the drummer’s rim shots and press rolls don’t disrupt, but extend Blake’s variants which encompass spetrofluctuation and body-tube echoes on soprano plus dense repeated tenor saxophone trills.

Two can be the most accommodating number in music as these discs prove.

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