Pot Pourri

Yellowbird
Aaron Tindall; Shelly Berg; Chuck Bergeron; Svet Stoyanov; Brian Russell
Bridge Records 9536 (bridgerecords.com/products/9536)

I have been fortunate to have been in a position to observe the meteoric rise in the abilities of tuba players in the last 50 years and it has been a bit like watching the Olympics for the same length of time: Just when you think that no one will ever run faster, jump higher or throw further, someone comes along and does just that.

So it is with this new release – called Yellowbird – from American tubist Aaron Tindall. This CD would best be described as “easy listening,” not a term I’m fond of, but considering that there are very few solo tuba CDs with music of this nature, the usage seems apt in this case. 

The inspiration for the recording comes from one of the pieces, The Yellow Bird, for tuba and rhythm section by LA composer and studio guitarist, Fred Tackett. It was suggested to Tindall by tuba legend Roger Bobo, the original performer of the piece, that another take on the work was warranted since the original Bobo recording was from the 1970s. Time indeed – I had Bobo’s LP in my formative years and wore it out!

A beautiful jazz ballad called The Peacocks by Jimmy Rowles starts things off, but the centrepiece of the CD is a tuba version of Claude Bolling’s Suite for Cello and Jazz Piano Trio. At over 45 minutes long, it is the most substantial work on the CD, and it is here that Tindall really demonstrates his considerable artistry and mind-blowing technique. Highly recommended.

Potion Shop
A. Hutchie
Cosmic Resonance Records CR-006 (ahutchie.bandcamp.com)

In another time and place A. Hutchie – short for Aaron Hutchinson – might easily have been a medieval apothecary, wandering the forests in search of herbs and roots with which to create all things magical. However, in today’s world, he has been incarnated as a peripatetic musician, author and creator of this suite of atmospheric music, appropriately titled Potion Shop.

This repertoire has been developed into an individualistic, difficult-to-classify personal genre. Here, as is customary for Hutchie, roots in, and branches from, jazz often surface, but there is so much else going on: Hutchie skilfully, imaginatively and (by and large) subtly mixes elements of electronic music, rock and contemporary composition together, all of which also nods to noise music, rap and hip-hop rhythms. Although most pieces develop from beguiling, elegant melodies, what makes them so special is Hutchie’s way with arresting textures and colours. 

These sonic creations simulate mental pictures of mysterious narratives evoking the work of such chroniclers and visionaries as the painter Edward Hopper or film director David Lynch, yet they are always distinctively part of Hutchie’s own soundworld. Everything comes together to add a very special grace to this music. Yet, somehow, none of it would sound quite so special if not for the vocals added on top of everything else. In this regard Unconditional Love with Blankie, I Fell for the Moon with Sarah Good and Villain with Benita Whyte make for absolutely memorable listening.

Fermi’s Paradox
Carolyn Surrick; Ronn McFarlane
Sono Luminus DSL-92244 (sonoluminus.com/store/fermis-paradox)

When the Beatles’ original bassist, Stu Sutcliffe, decided to leave the group in 1961 to attend the Hamburg College of Art, the band suddenly found themselves without a bassist. Guitarist and vocalist Paul McCartney stepped up, and in short order established himself as one of the most iconic and original bassists in the history of popular music. Necessity truly is the mother of invention! 

I was reminded of this bit of history when listening to, and researching, the beautiful new recording, Fermi’s Paradox by Carolyn Surrick (viola da gamba) and Ronn McFarlane (lute). Gearing up for a scheduled 2020 performance tour the duo’s concertizing plans were furloughed as COVID cancellations came in fast and furious. Undeterred, Surrick and McFarlane continued to rehearse and embraced the process of playing their instruments for the sake of the music. Once again, necessity begets (re)invention. 

This wonderful album is a success on multiple fronts. First and foremost, it offers a gorgeously recorded, sonically supreme capture of two (and sometimes three with Jackie Moran joining in on bodhrán) of the finest traditional instrumentalists playing an exhilaratingly rich and diverse repertoire that binds together traditional Irish, English and Swedish music with pieces by J.S. Bach, Duane Allman and the performers themselves. Secondly, the recording is a wonderful and inspirational testament to the importance of music. 

While we increasingly read about a dependence on the creature comforts of food, alcohol and Netflix to stave off pandemic-induced existential dread, it is aspirational to read Surrick’s inspiring words: She, McFarlane and Moran make music not because there is a current audience or concert tour pending but “because we can. We make music because the world needs music, our hearts need music. This is what we do in the face of isolation and despair. We are not alone.” 

Important words, I think, and a much-needed 2021 optimistic counterpoint to Milton Babbitt’s oft-repeated line, “Who Cares if You Listen?” I’m sure Surrick, McFarlane, Moran and the Sono Luminus label will indeed find a caring and listening audience for Fermi’s Paradox.

Blues Bash!
Duke Robillard & Friends
Stony Plain SPCD 1423 (stonyplainrecords.com)

Timelessness and veritas are the special building blocks of good art – especially the blues – because the blues is a form of music where the very nakedness of the soul is bared. It is also upon this foundation, somewhat contrarily, that a certain joyfulness is often achieved. The music of Duke Robillard has espoused these virtues for half a century and it continues to have these qualities in spades. It’s why when you’re invited to this Blues Bash with Robillard and friends, it’s an invitation you must not refuse, or else you’ll regret it. 

This music is dappled everywhere with Robillard’s poetic mellow, luminous – and sometimes weeping – guitar lines swinging in tandem with a magnificently rehearsed band, complete with mellifluous piano, sanctified organ, howling saxophones and topped off with two rumbling basses and a drummer playing rippling percussive grooves. The blues would be nothing if not for vocals that are cried (not sung) and there is plenty of that to cheer about here.

Vocalists Chris Cote on What Can I Do and Michelle Willson on You Played On My Piano are absolutely superb and that is only a sample of the electric charge in this music. But even without the vocals, this music sings. In this regard, and apart from Robillard’s glorious guitar, it would be a travesty not to call attention (especially, though not exclusively) to Rich Lataille’s smouldering saxophone performance on Just Chillin’.