Medeski Flies Solo

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John Medeski

34 Flying Solo
John Medeski goes soft and pensive on
an acoustic-piano date. By Ted Panken

44 Throwing Down
In a variety of styles, drummer Allison
Miller gets the job done. By Steve Futterman

6 May 2 013 jazziz Photo by Michael Bloom

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JUNE 28 TO JULY 7, 2013

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AND ACS: ALLEN, CARRINGTON,
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 Prelude 20
Paul Motian saluted in
Manhattan; Nicole Henry
swings with the Preservation
Hall Jazz Band in South
Florida; Boz Scaggs returns
with Memphis; the Playboy
Jazz Festival turns 35 in Los
Angeles; and Tito Puente
shows up in a children’s book
and on a new boxed set.

Auditions 52
Reviewed: Madeleine
Peyroux, Charles Lloyd
and Jason Moran, Jaleel
Shaw, Allison Miller’s Boom
Tic Boom, Chris McNulty,
Benoît Delbecq and Fred
Hersch Double Trio, and
Rebecca Martin.

Madeleine Peyroux

10 May 2 013 jazziz Photo by Marina Chavez

detroit jazz & you
34th annual detroit jazz Festival – labor day weekend 2013
the world’s largest Free jazz Festival
david Murray big band featuring
Macy gray
ahMad jaMal Quartet
joshua redMan with strings
john scoField uberjaM
sheila jordan with strings
Featuring the alan broadbent
trio
Mccoy tyner trio with
savion glover
bill Frisell – lennon Project
yellowjackets
2013 artist-in-residence
danilo Pérez
and many more amazing performers
V.I.P. package available from the Detroit Marriott
at the Renaissance Center for $349 a night.
Package includes: overnight accommodations,
two V.I.P. passes with dinner, drink tickets and
reserved seating for the night of the reservation.
For more information on the V.I.P. package, visit
detroitmarriott.com or call 888-833-1514 and
mention Promotion Code XY0.
To see a full lineup or for more
information, visit detroitjazzfest.com
 Editor and Publisher Michael Fagien
Publisher Zakiya Fagien
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 Prelude

20 may 2013 jazziz Photo by Deborah Feingold

Big Boz Man
After recording a couple of well-realized collec-
tions of jazz standards in recent years, Boz Scaggs
returns to the classic R&B, soul and blues sounds
on which he cut his teeth. On the simply titled
Memphis (429), the distinctive vocalist digs in on a
set of jukebox favorites associated with Al Green,
Tyrone Davis, Jimmy Reed and Tony Joe White,
among others. To assure he got the feel of the music
just right, Scaggs and producer/drummer Steve
Jordan recruited legendary session men Charles
Hodges, Spooner Oldham, Ray Parker Jr. and Willie
Weeks, as well as bluesmen Keb’ Mo’ and Charlie
Musselwhite, all of whom convened at the storied
Royal Studios in Memphis.
When approached about producing Scaggs’ new al-
bum, Jordan quickly realized all the musicians he wanted
to use lived down South. “It became very clear that we
needed to come to Memphis to make this record,” he
says on the promo video at www.bozscaggs.com. Scaggs
echoes that sentiment. “We’re not going into a favorite
room in New York or Nashville or L.A. to try to create that
vibe,” he says. “We wanna go where the vibe is.”
And certainly that vibe abounds at Royal, where
trumpeter-arranger Willie Mitchell once produced
records by Al Green and Anne Peebles for the Hi
imprint. The Royal Horns and the Royal Strings add
to the authentic sound of the session, as does the
presence of original Hi organist Hodges, Muscle
Shoals-to-Memphis Wurlitzer wizard Oldham and
Stax keyboardist Lester Snell.
Much of the impetus for the roots return was
provided by Scaggs’ ongoing participation in the
all-star band The Dukes of September, with Michael
McDonald and Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen and Walter
Becker. The bandmates had considered all manner
of classic soul and R&B for their revue, reconnect-
ing Scaggs with the music he’s loved since he was a
kid growing up in Texas. In addition to putting his
warm, smoky vocals to hits such as “Love on a Two
Way Street” and “Rainy Night in Georgia,” Scaggs
also delves into bluesy obscurities such as Moon
Martin’s “Cadillac Walk” and Applejack Walroth’s
“Dry Spell,” featuring Keb’ Mo’s cutting slidework and
Musselwhite’s gusty harmonica.
Scaggs bookends the album with a pair of origi-
nals, the Al Green-sounding “Gone Baby Gone” and
the lovely “Sunny Gone,” the latter of which show-
cases the aching tenderness Scaggs invested in his
jazz balladry, as well. —Bob Weinberg
Still the King
Tito Puente passed away 13 years ago at the age of 77. As a 1960 for RCA Victor (Cuban Carnival, Night Beat, Dance Mania
composer, bandleader and musician, he had a grand career. and Revolving Bandstand), as well as a bonus disc of outtakes,
A newly released children’s picture book about Puente and a alternate takes and his biggest-selling single, “Ran Kan Kan.”
limited-edition 5-CD set from Sony Music Latin will help ensure In addition to its availability as a 5-CD set, Quatro is also
that his legacy endures. available as a 5-LP set and as a digital download collection. No
Tito Puente: Mambo King (Rayo/HarperCollins) is the title of matter the format, all of the music has been remastered from
the children’s book. the original RCA tapes. The
Written in both Spanish physical copies of Quatro
and English by Monica are packaged in a silver and
Brown and wonderfully black hardbound cover that
illustrated by Rafael contains detailed liner notes,
López, this handsome unpublished photos and
little volume begins memorabilia, and previously
during Puente’s child- unreleased album artwork
hood in Spanish Harlem from the period. Each album
(“Before he could walk, is housed individually in a
Tito was making music. thick cardboard sleeve with
He banged spoons and back and front facsimiles
forks on pots and pans, of the original LP cover art.
windowsills and cans”) The liner notes — written
and concludes toward the end of his life, still entertaining (“The by Quatro co-producer and
dancers twirled, the lights swirled, and the mambo went on and Puente’s close friend Joe Conzo Sr. — also include tributes from
on …”). Recommended for children aged 4-8, Mambo King serves famous fans including Tony Bennett, Emilio Estefan, Marc
as a fine introduction to an important musician. Anthony, Ricky Martin and Celia Cruz.
Older folks wanting a bit more than a colorfully illus- On the whole, Quatro provides a compelling glimpse of a
trated, cursory review of Puente’s life might be interested in largely underappreciated musician before he became one of the
purchasing Tito Puente: Quatro, The Definitive Collection. The most beloved Latin figures in American pop culture. s
set includes four albums Puente recorded between 1955 and Mambo King illustrations © 2013 Rafael López

22 may 2013 jazziz

 Hello Browser!

COMPACT

DATA STORAGE
Interactive

Pianist and composer David Benoit has JAZZIZ OnDisc SUMMER 2012
been communicat-
ing with audi-
ences for decades.
So perhaps it’s
unsurprising that
he’s titled his latest SUMMER 2012
Summer Variations

release Conversation
Disc 1 PIANO VARIATIONS
(Heads Up). In fact,
he views the recording as a way of catching David Benoit • Anne Sajdera • Alon Yavnai • Eric Reed
Steve Kuhn Trio • Mike Levine • Ahmad Jamal • Lynne Arriale

up with fans. “This really represents where

OM
EX
Kevin Toney 3 • Chick Corea • Michel Camilo

Z .C
CL
Charlie Haden/Hank Jones • Alfredo Rodríguez

US

ZI
AZ
Chick Corea/Eddie Gomez/Paul Motian

IV
E

.J
D
Taurey Butler • Kenny Werner

W
C
AV W
AI .W

I am right now as a pianist, as a musician,

LA ED
BL RV
EO SE
NL
YF RE
R OM HTS
JAZZIZ L R IG
. & © 20 12 . A L

as a composer,” he says. “It’s a very good

OnDisc
On
snapshot for people who have been follow-
ing me for a while.” Of course, Benoit also
CMYK with full white flood
converses eloquently with the musicians on
the session, including guitarist Jeff Golub,
Anne Sajdera flutist Tim Weisberg and even Benoit’s
11-year-old daughter June, who plays violin SELECTION #:
LABEL:
DATE:
FILE NAME:
TECH:
TOTAL
NUMBER OF

on a version of the theme music to the Diary

Summer Variations
ARTIST: PO #:
COLORS
TITLE: JOB #:
DATE REVISED: SEPARATOR: AMT

of a Wimpy Kid movies. On the opening CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

CREATOR:

PMS #1 PMS #2 PMS #3 PMS #4 PMS #5

track, “Napa Crossroads Overture,” our

Disc 1 Piano Variations
TEMPLATE REV.

www.jazziz.com
06/20/2001

For more information regarding this and more than 100 other JAZZIZ discs available for purchase, go to
2 5 25 50 75 98 100 List PMS colors in the order they will be printed on the disc.

selection, the song’s co-author, guitarist

David Pack (of the band Ambrosia), joins 01 David Benoit “Napa Crossroads Overture”
Conversation (Heads Up)
The coastal geography of San Diego opening track, “Rashid,” included here, is standards. “Without other musicians as the pianist and orchestral players on a
02 Anne Sajdera “Rashid” Azul (Bijuri)
inspired the a prime example of Sajdera’s mastery of part of the dialogue,” she writes in the sunny jaunt through wine country.
Brazilian-leaning the Brazilian idiom, her trio’s dynamism liner notes, “it became essential to make 03 Alon Yavnai & The NDR Bigband
“Shir Ahava” Shir Ahava (AYM)
music of Anne supplemented by Moreira’s expert touch. the range of my playing wider and think bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Paul While he’s performed the music with
Eric Reed “Rhythm-a-Ning”
Sajdera. Like ‘orchestrally.’” Done, and done. Dig her Motian. The results, culled from record- orchestras all over
04
The Baddest Monk (Savant)
her Carioca Most listeners have come to know pianist sprightly, nuanced keyboard attack on ings of the trio during a two-week stay the world, Corea
05 Steve Kuhn Trio “Promises Kept”
counterparts, the Lynne Arriale as Monk’s “Evidence” or her funky stop-time at New York City’s Blue Note in 2010, are recorded it just last Wisteria (ECM)

Bay Area pianist a dynamic and rhythms on her own “Yada, Yada, Yada.” predictably brilliant. Spanning two discs, summer for the 06 Mike Levine “Gettin’ Ready”
and composer emotive ensemble But establishing an emotional connec- the program contains tunes written by or double-disc release Thinking of You (self-released)

infuses her playing and writing with sea leader. For 15 years tion with listeners has always been of associated with Evans, some dating back to The Continents 07 Ahmad Jamal “Autumn Rain”
Blue Moon (Jazzbook)
and sun and pulses that make listen- she worked solely primary importance to Arriale, and she the late-’50s-early-’60s sessions on which (Deutsche
ers want to get up and samba. Those with her trio, with does so even more directly here. Take a Motian played. An 11-year veteran of Evans’ Grammophon). 08 Lynne Arriale “Arise” Solo (Motéma)

influences can certainly be detected on
her latest trio recording, Azul (Bijuri).
Sajdera penned tunes for the album
while she was recuperating from a back
injury. Taking advantage of the time to
whom she also
recorded nine
CDs. More recently she’s been performing
and recording in combos with esteemed
players such as Randy Brecker, George
listen to “Arise,” our selection, and see if trio, Gomez gets the final word with his
you don’t agree. sprightly, spiky composition “Puccini’s
Walk,” which concludes the set and which
Modern-jazz giant Chick Corea has we’ve included here. An homage to the
never made a bassist’s beloved pooch — as opposed to the
In addition to members of The Harlem 09 Kevin Toney 3 “New American Suite”
New American Suite (self-released)
Quartet, Imani Winds and other top
Chick Corea “Solo Continuum 42”
orchestral players, Corea makes use of
10
The Continents (Deutsche Grammophon)
his quintet — saxophonist Tim Garland,
11 Michel Camilo “The Sidewinder”
trombonist Steve Davis, bassist Hans Mano a Mano (EmArcy)

woodshed, she says she went back and
studied the recordings of Herbie Hancock,
Keith Jarrett, Monty Alexander and
Egberto Gismonti. She then assembled her
seasoned trio mates, bassist Gary Brown
and drummer Paul van Wageningen,
in the studio, and invited guest percus-
sionists Airto Moreira and Michael
Spiro and drummer Phil Thompson. The
Mraz, Bill McHenry and Omer Avital.
Now, finally, Arriale’s released Solo
(Motéma), an entire album of nothing but
piano. Captured “live” at the Hillsborough
Community College Ybor Performing
Arts Center, the Florida-based pianist and
educator delivers a stark and gorgeous
set of original songs, interspersed with
interpretations of Monk tunes and
secret of his Italian composer — it’s a perfect example Glawischnig and drummer Marcus 12 Charlie Haden/Hank Jones
adoration of Bill of the trio’s remarkable synergy. Further Gilmore — bridging the worlds of jazz and “Come Sunday” Come Sunday (EmArcy)
Evans. On Further Explorations also serves as a tribute to the classical music. Disc One encompasses 13 Chick Corea/Eddie Gomez/Paul Motian
“Puccini’s Walk” Further Explorations (Concord Jazz)
Explorations ever-dynamic Motian, who passed away in The Continents suite, while Disc Two spot-
(Concord Jazz), November 2011. lights four tracks by the quintet and 11 14 Taurey Butler “Grandpa Ted’s Tune”
Taurey Butler (Justin Time)
Corea once again (mostly) brief and thoroughly absorbing
15 Alfredo Rodríguez “Transculturation”
bows to the In honor of Mozart’s 250th birthday, Chick solo pieces by Corea. One of them, “Solo Sounds of Space (Mack Avenue)
mega-influential pianist, this time in the Corea penned a six-part piano concerto Continuum 42,” is included here. At age 71,
16 Kenny Werner “Balloons”
company of two of Evans’ confederates: and titled each movement for a continent. Corea’s as creatively vital as ever. Me, Myself & I (Justin Time)

JAZZIZ ON DISC is a 2-CD music compilation from the artists of yesterday, today and tomorrow, bundled in the subscriber
copies of the print editions of JAZZIZ Magazine. This issue’s theme is “Piano Variations and Summer Variations.” Disc One
If you purchased this magazine without the CDs or would like additional copies, e-mail service@jazziz.com
contains a selection of songs by prominent pianists. Disc Two is a collection of music drawn from recently released albums. or log onto www.jazziz.com.

26 summer 2012 jazziz David Benoit by Lori Stoll jazziz summer 2012 27

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Swingin’ with
the PHJB
In recent years, the Preservation Hall
Jazz Band has played onstage and in the
studio with some high-profile partners,
including Tom Waits, The Black Keys
and The Del McCoury Band. On March
7, during a performance at Mizner Park
Amphitheater in Boca Raton, Florida, the
venerable New Orleans band was joined
for two numbers by rising star Nicole
Henry. The Miami-based singer recently
released her 6th album, So Good, So Right,
a live recording featuring 13 classic pop
and rock songs from the 1970s. Henry’s
appearance was arranged by JAZZIZ
Nightlife, the Boca Raton club where
she’ll be appearing on May 9. For more
information, go to www.nicolehenry.com.

presenting
aarondiehl
a remarkable debut by the winner of the 2011 Jazz Fellowship Awards competition
and Cole Porter Fellow in Jazz for the American Pianist Association

Aaron Diehl – piano

Rodney Green – drums
David Wong – bass
Warren Wolf – vibraphone

available wherever you like to buy music mackavenue.com | aarondiehl.com

24 may 2013 jazziz

 H E J A Z Z C R U I S E
T H A N N U A L SA I L I N G O F T IS SPECIAL
13 E R F O R M A N C E
W H E R E E V E RY P
Manhattan Transfer
Ernie Adams Marcus Miller Qua
rtet
John Allred Lewis Nash Trio
DIRECTOR
Shelly Berg MUSIC Dick Oatts
Alonzo Bodden
COMEDIAN
Ken Peplowski
SHOW HOST

Randy Brecker Houston Person Q

uartet
way Quartet
Ann Hampton Calla John Pizzarelli Qua
rtet
Bill Charlap Trio Gregory Porter
uintet
Clay ton Brothers Q Poncho Sanchez
Kur t Elling Quartet Bob Sheppard
Robin Eubanks Gar y Smulyan
Freddy Cole Trio Cedar Walton
Allen Farnham R Jennifer Wharton
BIG BAND DIRECTO
John Fedchock Steve Wilson
David Finck
JAN. 26-FEB. 2
Bruce Forman
Nneena Freelon ST
2014
GOSPEL SHOW HO
Wyclif fe Gordon
Jimmy Greene
Jeff Hamilton
Niki Haris
Tamir Hendelman
Dick Hyman
Tommy Igoe Sextet
Sean Jones
Tony Kadleck
Tom Kennedy
Joe LaBarbera
Christoph Luty
Dennis Mackrel

E • T U R K S & C A IC O S • S A N JU A N
F T L AU D E R DA L
TO L L- F R E E U S &
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And the Beat Goes On
Drummer Paul Motian was a peaceful presence and a locus
of swirling power. By the time of his death, at 80, in 2011, he
was both eminence and enigma. Everyone wanted to play with
him. No one could play like him.
None of the five drummers gathered by guitarist Bill Frisell
and saxophonist Joe Lovano to honor Motian at Manhattan’s
Symphony Space on March 22 tried to mimic him. Nearly all of
the 33 musicians paying tribute had played with him. Frisell and
Lovano had been his partners for 30 years in a wondrous trio,
and they produced the night’s most touching and focused mo-
ments. They framed the concert with two duets: “It Should Have
Happened a Long Time Ago,” the title track of the 1984 Motian
album that introduced that trio; and “Conception Vessel,” the title
track of Motian’s 1973 debut as a leader, recorded when he was
42. Motian had more than established himself by then alongside
pianists Bill Evans, Paul Bley and Keith Jarrett. But an invitation
from ECM founder Manfred Eicher motivated him to buy an old
piano from Jarrett, and to resume keyboard study. “Conception
Vessel” announced the offhand charms and peculiar structures of
Motian’s compositions, which mostly formed the repertoire for the
28 may 2013 jazziz
Joe Lovano and Bill Frisell
ever-evolving constellation of bands he led through the second
half of his life, and for this three-hour tribute.
At Symphony Space, drummer Matt Wilson took Motian’s spot to
play “Mesmer” with his Electric Bebop Band, which includes three
saxophones, three electric guitars and two basses. At one point,
drummers Billy Hart and Andrew Cyrille played a stunning trap-set
duet. Some of the most stirring tributes came in drummerless per-
formances, often through duets: pianist Marilyn Crispell and bassist
Gary Peacock made “Etude” and “Cosmology” sound like whispered
secrets; alto saxophonist Tim Berne and pianist Matt Mitchell made
urgent pleas of “Psalm”; alto saxophonist Greg Osby and Frisell
turned “The Sunflower” and “Last Call” into a tender conversation.
It was thrilling and instructive to hear Motian’s aesthetic filtered
through the voices of distinctive players that spanned generations
and styles — including pianist Geri Allen, tenor saxophonists Ravi
Coltrane and Bill McHenry, and the members of The Bad Plus.
A white, wide-brimmed hat of Motian’s hung on a cymbal stand
throughout the concert. And he seemed present, too, in pregnant
pauses between notes. He always did have a way of making silence
seem powerful as a bass-drum kick. —Larry Blumenfeld
Photo by Rahav Iggy Segev/Photopass.com
Spring Never Sounded So Good

Terri Lyne Carrington Hiromi Kendrick Scott Oracle Boney James

Money Jungle Move Conviction The Beat

Patricia Barber Next Collective Michael Feinstein Molly Ringwald

Smash Cover Art Change Of Heart: Except...Sometimes
The Songs Of Andre Previn

Erin Boheme Spencer Day Gerald Clayton

What A Life The Mystery Of You Life Forum

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registered trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

George Lopez with the original playboy, Hugh Hefner
Playboy Time
Next month, on June 15th and 16th, the Playboy Jazz
Festival will celebrate its 35th anniversary with its
annual blowout at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
As usual, the festival will showcase an impressive array of
talent, but perhaps the most noteworthy presence at this
year’s affair will be comedian George Lopez, who will be
replacing Bill Cosby as the master of ceremonies. Cosby
had served as the festival’s emcee for more than 30 years.
Lopez will stay busy introducing a range of headlin-
ers, including George Duke (with special guest Jeffrey
Osborne), Naturally 7 (with special guest Herbie Hancock),
Bob James and David Sanborn, and Sheila E. Also slated to
appear are Angelique Kidjo (with Hugh Masekela), Poncho
Sanchez and his Latin Jazz Band (with James Carter),
Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band (with Lee Ritenour),
Gregory Porter, the Robert Glasper Experiment, Grace
Kelly and Phil Woods, the Pedrito Martinez Group, India.
Arie, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, the Clayton-
Hamilton Jazz Orchestra (returning to the Festival for a
world premiere performance celebrating Quincy Jones’
80th birthday, featuring special guests Patti Austin and
Hubert Laws), Taj Mahal, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and
the Brubeck Brothers Quartet.
For more information, go to www.playboyjazzfestival.com.

Guitarist Eubanks takes the depth of his broad

musical experience—including a 17-year stint as the
bandleader for television’s The Tonight Show with
Jay Leno—and creates a record rich with influence
while bursting with stunning technique and
musical freedom as he has ever recorded.

Kevin’s core band of Rene Camacho, Billy Pierce

and Marvin “Smitty” Smith is joined variously by his
brothers, trumpeter Duane and trombonist Robin.

Be sure to check out the evocative and sensual

“Sister Veil” video on YouTube featuring his
brother Duane.

mackavenue.com | kevineubanks.com
available wherever you like to buy music

30 may 2013 jazziz

“At first, it was
a little — I don‘t
know what the
word is — scary
maybe, that this
would be the
record I’d put
out, because it’s
so meditative and
gentle. But you
know what? It is
one of the many
things that I do. It’s
one aspect of me.”
 Flying Solo
John Medeski goes soft and pensive
on an acoustic-piano date.

By Ted Panken

jazziz may 2013 35

When pianist John Medeski performs solo, an increasingly
frequent occurrence in recent years, his usual path is similar to
an hour-long, YouTube-documented recital that he uncorked last
January at the Lily Pad, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Attired in a wool cap, black jeans and an untucked dark-purple
shirt, sleeves rolled, Medeski begins the performance with an
invocational, neo-gospel refrain, building the intensity with rolling
block chords. He eventually resolves with a stark repeated cluster
in the piano’s lower depths, then counterpoints with a repetitive
treble vamp, over which he plays a stately, impressionistic classical
melody articulated by the left hand with supreme control. Around
the 10th minute, he morphs into a spiky line that seems inspired
by Cecil Taylor, then spins out a long improvisation around the
intervals that gradually transforms into a phantasmagoric “Giant
Steps,” executed with Taylorian turbulence and precision. This
transitions into a contrapuntal, stride-like rendering of Thelonious
Monk’s “Evidence.” Medeski plays an achingly beautiful original,
“Luz Marina,” launches an intense tribal melody blown on an
elongated wooden flute, tosses off dramatic Lisztian flourishes, sets
up a drone that undulates as he plays treble-register lines while
simultaneously placing objects on the piano’s innards. The drone
remains as he develops the theme on the thus-prepared strings,
before a concluding statement on melodica. Medeski winds down
the thrilling performance with a grooving blues.
“That’s pretty indicative of what happens,” Medeski confirmed
in early March at the Tribeca offices of Medeski, Martin & Wood,
the collective trio with which, since 1991, he has famously played
acoustic piano, Hammond organ, mellotron, clavinet, synthesizers
and other instruments. “I have a lot of influences. For me, the tunes
are launching pads for some kind of exploration, creating different
energies, a certain vibration and feeling. I might approach by start-
ing with a pure sound and letting that lead the way. My palette,
whatever I’ve studied, whatever I’m feeling, maybe the audience’s
reaction, informs where it goes. I want to take people on a journey.”
Last fall, Medeski, 47, kept that notion in mind as he undertook
his first solo recording over several days in the converted 19th-
century church that houses Waterfront Studios in a village 30 miles
south of Albany. “I practiced, learned some tunes and made a list,”
he recounts. “I wanted to keep myself in a space of openness and
freedom, and give myself time and space to create. I imagined I
would do what I do when I play a solo-piano concert.”
The first portion of the sessions — during which Medeski, a
Steinway artist, spent several hours on an instrument he hand-
picked for the occasion, and another few hours on the studio’s 9-foot
Steinway — produced something along those lines. “I had a record,”
Medeski says. “It was a lot of stuff.” Then producer Henry Hirsch,
who collects vintage pianos, offered his 1924 Gaveau, a French brand
built in the pre-modern style. What resulted was the contents of the
recently released A Different Time (OKeh), a delicate recital that is the
polar opposite of the florid tonal personality that he projects with
MMW or in the showier sections of the YouTubed concert.
“We put some mikes on it, and I started playing,” Medeski says.
“The sound of the instrument and the way I had to play directed me.
It forced me to focus every second on controlling the touch. Certain
pieces that had never worked for me on a regular piano, like maybe
it’s too corny or something, seemed like, ‘Oh, I can really try this on
this piano.’” He references “Waiting at the Gate,” which he wrote for a
musical at 16, and the Willie Nelson tune “I’m Falling in Love Again.”
“When I listened to everything I’d done on the Gaveau, I
realized that it had the most coherent vibe for a record,” Medeski
says. “I loved the sound; it recorded better than the other pianos,
at least during those couple of days. I can be really picky, take
however many hours of stuff and whittle away what I don’t like,
and then define a handful of good stuff. But this was easy, like,
‘This is it.’ At first, it was a little — I don‘t know what the word is
— scary maybe, that this would be the record I’d put out, because
it’s so meditative and gentle. But you know what? It is one of the
many things that I do. It’s one aspect of me.
“The real preparation was not to have too many preconceived
notions, use whatever came out best and sculpt a record. I had to
have confidence that it would be OK.”
A few years ago, MMW, which had averaged some 200 gigs a
year since forming in 1991, responded to circumscribed music-biz
economics, demands of family and the burgeoning popularity
of bassist Chris Wood’s Wood Brothers group by scaling back its
collective activity, thereby giving its members more time to pursue
individual interests.
For Medeski, this development provided an opportunity to do a
fair amount of guest-star sidemanning, most recently addressing
Hammond B3 and keyboards with Spectrum Road, a Vernon Reid-Jack
Bruce brainchild on which Cindy Blackman plays drums. Medeski
also played acoustic piano in John Zorn’s Nova Quartet (with Kenny
Wolleson on vibraphone, Trevor Dunn on bass and Joey Baron on
drums) on Nova Express, interpreting with panache Zorn’s “hard
music with complex, contemporary heads,” inspired by the writings
of William Burroughs. Also with Nova Quartet (augmented by harpist
Carol Emanuel), he plays piano and organ on the consonant At the
Gates of Paradise and the darker, kaleidoscopic A Vision in Blakelight,
both comprising Zorn’s refractions of William Blake’s mystic visual-po-
etic ruminations. His piano and electronics contribute to the extreme
sonic tapestry Zorn presents on another Burroughs homage, Interzone.
“Zorn is a force — incredible businessman, fantastic composer,
great musician and he’s supported a lot of musicians,” Medeski says.
“He made a choice not to get caught up being responsible to anyone
but himself. That sort of independence was always important for
me, and for Medeski, Martin & Wood. How do you do what you want,
stay creative and keep the spirit alive? That’s been the goal always.”
Staying creative is one reason for Medeski’s decision to focus
more on solo-piano performance and, hence, to record A Different
Time to serve “as a sort of calling card.”
Another reason, he adds, is in response to “feeling that I am
somewhat pigeonholed or stereotyped by certain people” for his
role in producing the groove-rich, skronky, high-octane sound that
earned MMW its immense popularity in the jam-band world. Even
though MMW has recently issued such CDs as the 2008 studio
date Zaebos, a nuanced, pan-stylistic rendering of Zorn’s “Book of
Angels” corpus, and Free Magic, culled from an all-acoustic tour in
2007, the “jam band” epithet still touches a nerve.
jazziz may 2013 37

Playing a Gaveau
During the 1920s, Gaveau, a Paris-based manufacturer
founded in 1847, produced a series of pianos with Art Deco
cabinets, one of them the refurbished 1924 7-foot model with
barely played original French hammers, new uncrossed strings,
a wood soundboard, and original action on which John Medeski
created A Different Time. The design was based on the mid-19th-
century principles of piano-making developed by Gaveau’s
French competitors, Pleyel and Érard, both older companies that
developed technology that is still incorporated in grand piano
manufacture. In addition to routinizing the placement of pedals
on the piano, Érard in 1821 patented the “double escapement”
technology with a repetition lever that allows notes to be re-
peated more easily than in earlier single-action pianos, allowing
double notes to be played legatissimo with ease. Lacking the rich
harmonics of “modern” Steinway or Bösendorfer grands, they
offered, as a tradeoff, more speed and lightness and clarity of
sound. Camille Saint-Saëns played recitals on a Gaveau. Hector
Villa-Lobos had one shipped to his home in Brazil.
“The pianos require a certain delicacy,” Medeski says. “If you
hit them too hard, it won’t work; the sound is awful. So you
really need to be in control.”
He referenced Frederic Chopin, whose instrument of choice
was the similarly designed Pleyel, the popular model in late-
19th-century France. “Chopin taught that one must sing with
the fingers. He thought modern pianos destroyed the touch. He’s
quoted, ‘It makes no difference whether you tap the keys lightly
or strike them more forcefully. The sound is always beautiful,
and the ear asks for nothing more, for it’s under the spell of the
full, rich sound.’ He also said, ‘On the resistant kind of piano, it is
impossible to obtain the finer nuances of movement in the wrist
and forearm, each finger moving in isolation.’
“I felt what it was that he liked about these little pianos. Your
fingers are doing the singing. It’s pretty amazing when you play
it, when you get into the physical creation of the music with the
instrument — that connection with the instrument.” —TP
38 may 2013 jazziz
“We were out there before that scene happened, but somehow
we fell into being associated with it although I don’t think we
ever did anything too obvious,” Medeski says. “We figure things
out, have it pegged, and then move on to the next thing. I’ve
been feeling, ‘I guess I should do that now, too.’ Even while we
were exploring what we started exploring 20 years ago in this
all-consuming way, I always had a piano at home. I got known
for a certain thing. But I love playing piano. I did it before anyone
knew who I was or cared about anything I was doing. I missed
doing it, so I’ve been doing it more the past few years.
“I also like to keep people on their toes. I don’t want anyone
to think they have me figured out. I realized that during an
interview in Germany. I thought, ‘Wow, maybe this is my own
version of being rebellious,’ even though the music isn’t that —
it’s just my own thing. ‘Hey, you think I’m just going to play some
groovy, out shit? Actually I do this, too.’”
A Different Time is not only Medeski’s first solo-piano record-
ing, it’s also his first recording as sole leader. Indeed, in distinc-
tion to many prodigies whose skills blossom young, he has built a
career around performing in situations that are not all about him.
MMW bassist Chris Wood opines that limitations stimulate
Medeski’s creative juices. “We always joke that Billy is always
‘no,’ I am always ‘maybe’ and John is always ‘yeah, let’s do it,’” he
says. “So when I start from scratch, like, ‘What do you think?’ he
can get overwhelmed by all the possibilities because he’s such a
talented musician. That carries to the stage sometimes, where if
there’s any doubt about where we’re going, the best thing Billy
and I can do is present an extremely clear idea that John can
either obliterate by counteracting it or hopping on and nurturing
it and making it into something.”
MMW drummer Billy Martin cites Medeski’s response when
he and Wood suggested in 1991 that the trio take Medeski’s
name. “John was the first to say, ‘No, it’s not about me, it’s not
about you — it’s about all of us,’” Martin recalls. “So although
we’ve gotten a lot out, I think that his really deep inner voice
hasn’t been heard because he wants to do what’s right for the
band. He’s an incredible piano player; this classical prodigy that
he was as a child is still waiting to show his face. We didn’t de-
velop that side of him as much as his electric side. That’s partly
because he was really getting into the electronics, and also
trying to find a way to speak in places we played that might
have a horrible piano or no piano at all. I’ve always wondered,
‘When the hell are you going to do your own thing?’”
“I didn’t want to be a leader,” Medeski says. “I wanted to
collaborate on every level. I felt that would be the most valuable
thing for us to do musically and business-wise. Collaborating
means being able to compromise. It takes longer to create music
that way, with three people, but you end up with something you
wouldn’t have come up with on your own.”
Asked to trace the source of his collective orientation, Medeski
mentions teen experiences in Fort Lauderdale, his hometown,
and nearby Miami. He played classical recitals. He formed a
point of view while making real-time bandstand decisions with
big bands, on swinging jam sessions with world-class locals like
Ira Sullivan and Dolph Castellano, in Latin and funk bands with
horn sections, and in a plugged-in group called Emergency. Jaco
Pastorius, whose brother-in-law was Emergency’s drummer, sat in
occasionally, liked what he heard, and invited Medeski, then 16, to
join him on tour, an offer that Medeski’s mother declined. While at-
tending Boston’s New England Conservatory, Medeski continued to
work steadily, most notably with Mister Jellybelly, a blues and jazz
singer who introduced him to the nuances of the Hammond B3, but
also with the eclectic soloists who populated the Either/Orchestra.
“I would always say yes to a gig, whatever it was, and figure out
how to do it,” Medeski says. “I’ve always desired to be a supportive
musician, and not just move my fingers around, press buttons and
be a clogging force. Yeah, I can play certain stuff, but I don’t have
to. Anybody I’ve played with, it’s never been, ‘Let me do my thing
on top of this or in this,’ but ‘How can I add something that works
within and is part of the whole?’ That’s how I’ve been able to play
in situations that don’t traditionally have keyboardists, like in
Afro-Peruvian music with Susana Baca or pedal-steel guys like the
Campbell Brothers or Robert Randolph.
“Music is the creation of sound. Practicing in your room alone
is important; you need that time to look deep inside yourself. But
it’s also a language. It’s communicating. Communication involves
someone other than you; if you’re just talking to yourself, you go
crazy. You’ve got to see what its effect is when you put that sound
out there and find that thing that happens when you play together,
when you really interact.”
This dictum crystallized for Medeski during his first week in
New York, where he and Wood took a two-bedroom apartment for
40 may 2013 jazziz
$1,300 a month over a laundromat at Avenue A and 6th Street in 1991.
“I went to a late-night jam session at the Blue Note that I’d call the
night of the living dead,” he says. “There was a line of horn players
who spewed whatever licks they’d been practicing, like a weird cut-
and-paste of records I’d heard before, on top of the rhythm section.
No interaction. It was the opposite of improvising. That turned me
off the jazz scene, and I instantly gravitated to the Knitting Factory
and the Downtown scene, where people were combining things and
improvising — or not. Whatever it was, it felt vital and alive.”
While launching enduring relationships with musicians like
Zorn and Marc Ribot, Medeski soon was in the rotation with
hardcore jazz up-and-comers like Brad Mehldau and Geoff Keezer
at the Top Of The Gate, a well-known piano room on Bleecker and
Thompson, where he worked serial weeks in trio with Wood and a
series of drummers, the last of whom was Martin. The connection
was instant, and the rest, as they say, is history.
“Music has the ability to express everything,” Medeski says.
“And I like to use it for a lot of things. It’s easy to hide behind what
you know is hip. But this record is naked, pure music, pure feeling,
purely in the moment. It’s free, in a way.”
As Wood surmises: “John is always searching for something that’s
authentic, and sometimes it’s not so obvious what that is. As he gets
older, he’s recognizing it, finding it in himself and in music. Now that
he’s broken the ice, so to speak, I can’t wait to see what he comes up
with next. With MMW, we never had any idea what we were going
to do when it was time to make a new record. We just knew we
weren’t going to do something we’ve already done. So I know John’s
next solo record will probably be really different. Let’s hope he keeps
spitting them out, because there are a lot of worlds he can get into.” s
 Throwing
Down
In a variety of styles, drummer Allison Miller
gets the job done.

By Steve Futterman

44 may 2013 jazziz

jazziz may 2013 45
“If I go to a town
where someone
doesn’t know my
name or hasn’t
heard me before,
they just don’t
assume I can play.
I always have to
show what I can
do. I always have
to throw down.”
During a recent gig with guitarist Brandon Seabrook’s pulveriz-
ing avant-thrash trio, drummer Allison Miller was rattling the
concrete walls of ShapeShifter Lab, an alternative-performance
venue in the Brooklyn area of Gowanus. With a delighted smile,
she slammed her snare and cymbals, pummeled her bass drum,
precisely negotiated every hairpin rhythmic turn. Led Zeppelin’s late
drummer, John Bonham, would’ve admired her work.
That this is the same drummer who swings out on straighta-
head jazz with Dr. Lonnie Smith, or shapes the irregular rhythmic
pulse for cutting-edge players like Marty Ehrlich and Jenny
Scheinman, or shades the narrative contours of the work of such
singer-songwriters as Natalie Merchant, Ani DiFranco and Brandi
Carlile is testimony to Miller’s scope and ability.
In addition to being a stylistically adaptable collaborator, Miller
is also a staunch individualist — and a proud lesbian. In “You
Don’t Play Like a Girl,” an essay that was published in March on
The Huffington Post, Miller wrote about the difficulties of being
both a female drummer and, as she labeled herself, “a full-fledged
lesbian feminist” in a male-dominated jazz scene. She concluded
with a clear and direct personal statement: “By getting onstage and
throwing down while looking the way I do, I am breaking stereo-
types. I am a woman. I am a dyke. I am a tomboy. I play jazz.”
Over lunch at a Middle Eastern restaurant in Park Slope, the
Brooklyn neighborhood she’s called home for nearly three years,
the 38-year-old Miller displays ample reserves of charm and wit,
and she readily flashes an engaging smile as she offers a cursory
explanation of her current professional status. “Just the existence
of being a white woman from suburbia, being a lesbian, and
loving jazz, I can’t really be put in a box anyway. It’s not like I’m so
comfortable in any one genre, which actually makes it easier to go
in different musical directions.”
Wherever Miller’s musical path leads, she follows it with great
enthusiasm. While her recordings exhibit a high level of drive
and inventiveness, her live performances — both with her own
band, Boom Tic Boom (whose core members include bassist Todd
Sickafoose, pianist Myra Melford and violinist Jenny Scheinman),
and in other groups — illustrate the infectious energy she can
generate within an ensemble as well as the rapturous feedback she
can elicit from an audience. “Allison has this remarkable energy,
an exuberance that combines athleticism and physical joy,” says
Scheinman. “She sets the tone for any band she plays in. She lights a
fire within a band and makes it fun. And she also always commu-
nicates with an audience — all audiences.”
Miller’s commitment to connecting with listeners comes with
an agenda. “I don’t want to sit here on my feminist high horse and
go on too much about this,” she says, “but no matter the genre
or my previous experience as a female musician, I have to prove
myself. If I go to a town where someone doesn’t know my name or
hasn’t heard me before, they just don’t assume I can play. I always
have to show what I can do. I always have to throw down.”
By the time she was 10, Miller was already throwing down,
albeit on a drum-pad set, itself a step up from the single drum
pad she had been playing since age 8. “My mother had been
teaching me piano from an early age, and I think my parents
were hoping I wouldn’t stick with drums — too loud at home,
you know,” she recalls. “But I was pretty obsessed pretty quickly.”
Growing up in Olney, Maryland, Miller was exposed to jazz at an
early age. Her father was “kind of a Renaissance guy,” a computer
programmer and electrical engineer who also operated a home
studio where he recorded Washington D.C.-area jazz players,
including Buck Hill and Etta Jones. Yet Miller’s adolescent heart
belonged more to rock and funk. She saw the light, though, when
the manager of a record store where she worked passed along a
copy of the Miles Davis classic Miles Smiles. “The jazz drummers I
had heard before sounded like they were just supporting the band.
I had also heard Buddy Rich, but I wasn’t drawn to that style.
What I loved about Miles Smiles was that there was so much space
and that there’s this drummer, Tony Williams, who was playing
in such a communicative way. He was supporting all the musi-
cians but he was also completely driving the bus — and giving all
these beautiful thematic ideas that everyone was building off of. I
love all the collective improvisation that’s happening, that there’s
this language that they’re communicating with. I loved the sound
of Tony’s drums, his ride cymbal — it blew me away.”
Miller had been studying with respected teacher Walter
Salb, who became a mentor and close friend and whose death in
2006 prompted Miller to start a scholarship program for young
musicians in his name a year later. Salb encouraged the teen-
age Miller to start gigging as soon as possible. At 15, she sat in
with jazz-guitar legend Charlie Byrd at the D.C. jazz haunt, Blues
Alley (“I came off the stage completely shaking, but I knew it
also felt right”) and worked her first professional date at a local
tavern with vibraphonist Chuck Redd. After graduating from
West Virginia University in 1996, Miller planted roots in New
York City, where she quickly began to build a reputation as a
formidable, flexible player through musical associations with
saxophonist Virginia Mayhew and keyboardist Rachel Z. (Miller
can be heard to fine effect on Z’s 2000 release On the Milkyway
Express: A Tribute to Wayne Shorter.)
An unexpected phone call in 2000 from alternative rocker
Natalie Merchant, who had been alerted to the drummer by Jesse
Murphy, a bassist who’d worked with Miller, led to an extended
immersion in an unfamiliar but ultimately welcoming musical
environment. “I kind of got thrust into this mainstream world with
no experience of playing that music at all,” she recalls. “I ended up
working with Natalie for a long time, which opened up a new world
for me. But every free moment off the tours I would fill doing jazz
gigs or playing my own music. That’s my true love. At the time I had
to keep doing that or I would spiritually die.”
Since the late ’90s Miller has skillfully juggled a career that
has found her working with, among others, Kenny Barron, Norah
Jones, Michael Feinstein, Sheila Jordan, Steven Bernstein and Toshi
Reagon. Moving fluidly among disparate musical camps, Miller
has found a way to stay true to herself; her individualistic playing
comes across as distinctively on Marty Ehrlich’s Line on Love as it
does on Ani DiFranco’s Red Letter Year.
Miller’s adventurous spirit is balanced by a deep respect for
tradition. “Playing with Dr. Lonnie Smith is my favorite gig ever. I
jazziz may 2013 47

Big Time Fun
Working with artists like Natalie Merchant and Ani
DiFranco, Miller has played her share of large venues
over the years, but her very first date with a high-
profile pop star was an eye opener. As she quickly found
out, it’s a whole other world out there.
“My first gig with Natalie — I’ll never forget it — was at
the United Center, the Chicago Bulls arena,” she recalls with
a laugh. “I was such a jazz head, I didn’t know anything
about anything. If I had been smart, I would have gotten
there a day earlier and rested and got to know the scene.
But of course I had a gig the night before at the Mary Lou
Williams Woman in Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center in
Washington D.C. that I couldn’t miss. So I did that gig and
then flew to Chicago the day of the show. I didn’t know what
I was thinking, maybe that this wasn’t as big and dramatic a
show as it was. So I’ve got all my handwritten notes and my
charts; we come out — and there’s no onstage lights! I can’t
see anything I’ve brought. I start playing and look up and
there’s me on the Jumbotron squinting, desperately trying to
read my charts. It was hilarious.” s
48 may 2013 jazziz
love him so much; anytime Lonnie calls me, I am there. I love his
spirit, that he’s 70 years old but still always pushing the envelope.
Yet he also represents the old guard, the original guys whose
records I studied when I was younger. I really think that that’s an
important part of jazz, to mentor with people and to have young
musicians play with the masters. And I think that that’s being lost.
So for me to have a gig where I can play with a direct link is really
important. I love playing brushes, and to play a ballad with Lonnie
is like sitting on a big pillowy cloud. My sense of feel and swing is
always better after playing with him. It’s like going to school and
church at the same time.”
On the recently released No Morphine, No Lilies (The Royal
Potato Family), her third album as a leader — following 2004’s 5
AM Stroll and 2010’s Boom Tic Boom — Miller augments her Boom
Tic Boom band with guest appearances by trumpeters Steven
Bernstein and Ara Anderson, cellist Erik Friedlander and vocalist
Rachel Friedman. The album, whose title was taken from a phrase
that Miller’s girlfriend repeated while falling asleep, highlights
Miller’s compositional and bandleading skills. In fact, there are no
drum solos — though the ghosts of significant drummers hover
over the album in the form of specific compositional tributes to
Paul Motian, Eddie Marshall and Walter Salb.)
Miller’s ability to juggle rhythms and persuasively propel
a band is fully evident on such hard-driving material as “Pork
Belly,” “The Itch” and “Speak Eddie.” Equally impressive are
Miller’s delicacy and subtle ingenuity on “Early Bird,” ”Waiting”
and “Sun Comes Up On the Reservoir,” original tunes that dis-
play her graceful way with melody. No Morphine, No Lilies con-
tains plenty of compelling soloing, particularly from Melford,
but more noteworthy is the sustained atmosphere of collective
interplay the entire group maintains throughout the disc.
“The record is about the band and my compositions,” says
Miller, who wrote eight of the album’s 11 tracks. “Boom Tic
Boom has been playing together for nearly five years. It’s a real
band, and I wanted to feature the collective improvisation that
goes on within it. Embracing textures and colors was more
important than displaying my technical ability. That’s not
what interests me. I wanted to lay down a sonic palette that
builds and tells a story. I honestly didn’t know there were no
drum solos on this record until after the fact. The last person I
was thinking about was myself, which may be why I’m a good
side musician.”
At the moment, Miller’s priorities are centered on further de-
veloping Boom Tic Boom and, when working with other featured
artists, playing “creative music”— a term she defines by mention-
ing a recent concentrated stretch that found her drumming with
Brandon Seabrook, recording with Ben Allison, and playing gigs
with Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jill Sobule and Toshi Reagon.
“I feel like, as the years have gone on, I’ve surrounded myself
with like-minded people,” Miller says. “All these really open-
minded musicians who are jazz players but they’re also interested
in playing other styles of music. It’s a great time for jazz because
of that. Some people are creating some really interesting, emotive
music.” Traveling to the beat of her own drum, Miller advances
proudly among them. s
Auditions
Madeleine Peyroux
The Blue Room
(Decca Records)
Tribute albums usually originate from
a musician’s
indebtedness to an
influential forebear.
In the case of The
Blue Room, singer
Madeleine Peyroux’s
producer, Larry
Klein, was the one
with the idea of tapping into Ray Charles’
classic early ’60s albums Modern Sounds in
Country and Western Music, Volumes 1 & 2.
Rearranging five of these songs for
Peyroux’s countrified, Billie Holiday-inflected
voice — and adding talented sidemen and
Vince Mendoza’s subtle strings — sounds like a
good idea. The problem is that Peyroux doesn’t
bring near the same excitement or soulfulness
that Charles brought to the material. What
we’re left with are rather drab, atmospheric
renditions of a handful of country-music
standards, with little emotive strength.
Fortunately, the remaining six tunes
are more convincing and generally more
in tune with Peyroux’s stylized singing.
Her covers of Warren Zevon’s “Desperadoes
Under the Eaves” and John Hartford’s
“Gentle on My Mind” are served well by her
plaintive, understated delivery.
Mendoza’s tasteful background strings
command a close listen. Along with Larry
Golding’s Rhodes piano, they carry “Take
These Chains,” “Bye Bye Love” and Randy
Newman’s “Guilty” into an appreciable realm.
The rhythm section’s constant, non-grooving
four-to-the-bar chink chink chink chink would
prove thoroughly mundane without them.
On this outing, Peyroux has opted for a
less-is-more approach that emphasizes the
poignancy of her voice. With just a little
more attention to phrasing and detail, her
no-fuss style might’ve proved to be just
what the doctor ordered. —James Rozzi
Benoît Delbecq and Fred Hersch Double Trio
Fun House
(Songlines)
This meeting of pianists Fred Hersch and
Benoît Delbecq represents a convergence
of two distinct but historically interwoven
traditions. Hersch is American, his deeply
felt lyricism emerging from the jazz tradition
of Monk and Bill Evans; Delbecq is French,
arriving at the jazz
avant-garde through
the pathway of
European modern-
ism. But both bring
crystalline beauty,
profound sensitivity
and limitless patience
to their work, and that makes them an ideal
pairing on this gorgeous double trio outing.
The compositions all belong to Delbecq
(save for a prismatic unraveling of Ornette
Coleman’s darkly elegant “Lonely Woman”),
and so lean toward the minimal and abstract.
“Night and Day,” a Cubist deconstruction of
Monkish swing, is the most straightahead
tune, while snatches of Gershwin-esque mel-
ody float and dissipate in the air throughout
“Fun House.” But more typical is the percussive
prepared-piano clatter that opens the album
on “Hushes” or the way that the subdued reso-
nance of “Le Rayon Vert” eventually dissolves
into a shimmering electronic borealis.
Those latter effects are the contribu-
tions of drummer Steve Arguelles, whose
use of live sampling adds subtle texture
and elusive layers of details at key mo-
ments. He is paired with the renowned
percussionist Gerry Hemingway, whose
light, perfectly attuned touch contributes
rich accents without breaking the pianists’
airy spell. The double trio is rounded out
by bassists Jean-Jacques Avenal and Mark
Helias, who swath the sound in warm
resonance and intertwining lines.
What is most striking about this session
is the way that all six artists luxuriate in
the ensemble’s collective sound and the
spaces in between. There is a stunning
sense of ambience around each note, and
every wisp of melody is held in fragile
suspension by each musician’s sensitive
contribution. —Shaun Brady
Charles Lloyd, Jason Moran
Hagar’s Song
(ECM)
Saxophonist Charles Lloyd and pianist Jason
Moran are generations apart in age, but
musically they might as well be brothers. You
can hear each musician sparking the other’s
creativity throughout this elegant duo session.
All you need to know about the rapport
between Lloyd and Moran can be found on
their luminous rendition of the Beach Boys’
classic “God Only
Knows.” Moran takes
startling harmonic
turns, his phrases
floating out of time
as Lloyd teases the
melody — it sounds
like a version of the
song you’d hear in a dream. Then Moran
suddenly settles into a steady rhythm
that echoes the original as Lloyd takes the
familiar tune straight on. It’s a performance
that yields as much surprise as it does grace.
That sense of each musician being willing
to follow the other to unsuspected territory
permeates the entire session. The disc’s
centerpiece is a five-song suite of originals
dedicated to Lloyd’s great-great-grandmoth-
er. Each piece reveals a distinct narrative. On
“Dreams of White Bluff,” Moran’s constant
flurry of notes provide a series of waves —
sometimes gentle, sometime roaring — that
carry Lloyd’s plaintive, searching lines.
“Hagar’s Lullaby,” meanwhile, is a fairly
straightforward chamber piece that uses a
simple melody as a springboard to explore
the tune’s darker corners.
Moran has been a member of Lloyd’s
quartet since 2008. Regarded as one of the
best modern pianists, Moran has the entire
history of jazz at his fingertips. He sounds as
natural playing stride phrases on a surpris-
ingly jaunty version of “Mood Indigo” as he
does playing rambling, dissonant figures on
Lloyd’s “Pictorgram.”
It’s hard to think of a lovelier musical
dialogue than the one between Lloyd and
Moran. —John Frederick Moore
Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom
No Morphine, No Lilies
(The Royal Potato Family)
A look at Allison Miller’s résumé clues you in
on this drummer’s
versatility. She’s a
member of alterna-
tive folk star Ani
DiFranco’s band, and
she’s backed big-name
pop singers such as
Natalie Merchant as
well as several jazz notables, including Kenny
Barron and Marty Ehrlich. So it’s no surprise
that Miller’s own efforts with her excellent
jazziz may 2013 51
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independentculture Passion-driven independent record companies have produced some of the most
important music in jazz. The tradition continues.

COrinA BArTrA KAiT DUnTOn AnnE WALSH

Cielo Sandunguero (Blue Spiral Music) Mountain Suite (read & imagined Music) go (Atozink Music)
An innovator in fusing together Peruvian music Los Angeles pianist/composer Kait Dunton’s Anne Walsh’s newest release Go (a follow up to
with jazz, Cielo second album, with her Grammy nominated
Sandunguero is a Bob Mintzer and Peter Pretty World) shines
change of pace for Erskine, is a breath with lyricized selections
Corina Bartra, for the of fresh air. Mountain from Wayne Shorter
singer is joined by a Suite is an album- (“Go”) and Azymuth
small big band that length journey meant (“Cascade of the Seven
includes six horns. She to be heard as a single Waterfalls”) as well
blends in well during narrative — though as classic pieces like
her wordless passages Dunton’s genre- “Cinnamon and Clove,”
with the horns, defying, expansive “So In Love,” and
introduces six of her originals, and performs an compositions for trio and quintet can certainly several originals including the catchy “Bumble
offbeat version of “Night And Day.” The music is stand alone, and merit careful listening. “A Bee” and the dark and moody “Je Vousem
haunting, swinging in its own way, and Ms. Bartra stunning showcase of a jazz newcomer holding Beacoup.” The title track “Go” is a beautiful
gives her sidemen a generous amount of concise her own with legends.” —The Examiner. Wayne Shorter composition re-arranged for
solos. This is one of her better recordings. vocals, featuring Anne, Brian Bromberg, and
Available from www.bluespiralmusic.com riTA MAriE Gary Meek. www.annewalsh.com
So Many Stars (rita Marie Music)
DEBOrAH PEArL Picture yourself in an intimate, New York JAniCE FinLAY
Souvenir of You (Lyrics to Benny Carter salon while listening Anywhere But Here (Self-released)
Classics) (Evening Star) to Rita Marie ‘s From hardbop to heartfelt, toe-tapping to
Deborah Pearl’s “meltingly beautiful voice” debut release, So touching, saxophone
breathes new life into Many Stars . With her to vibraphone, Janice
Benny Carter’s genius lush and passionate Finlay’s latest release
instrumentals in this voice she skillfully Anywhere But Here
moving tribute inspired delivers the intricate is a soul-satisfying
by her friendship with melodies found on listen from start to
the jazz master. Critics this unique collection finish. Finlay’s lyrical
rave, “Her words are of standard gems. saxophone style,
perfect.” “Soulful in Tasteful accompaniment is delivered by Rick evocative originals
all the right places Doll on bass, Giuseppe Pucci on drums, and and all-star cast of top
and a faultless match Jeff Padowitz on piano. Get that massage you Canadian jazz artists merge superbly throughout
for Carter’s stellar compositions.” Scatting to need through your ears with this delightful jazz the disc, showcasing “...great soloing by Finlay
Benny’s solos on two cuts, Phil Woods calls it journey. www.ritamariemusic.com and tight ensemble play” (Chris Smith, Winnipeg
“a magnificent collaboration.” Singers should Free Press) in “a killer contemporary jazz set
flock to titles like “People Time,” “Doozy,” and CArLA MArCiAnO that reaches back for some old man jazz vibes
“Souvenir.” www.deborahpearl.com Stream of Consciousness (Alfa Music) ... Finlay is someone you’ve got to get to know
She is a marvellous saxophonist and improviser, better.”(Chris Spector, Midwest Record Review).
EMY TSEng consistently www.janicefinlay.com
Sonho (Mei Music) demonstrating
Singer Emy Tseng’s recording debut “marks impressive control of YOKO MiWA
her as one to watch her instruments and Live at Scullers Jazz Club (Self-released)
in the Brazilian her material. David Pianist Yoko Miwa’s fifth CD displays her stylistic
jazz category.” Franklin “She takes range and expertise
—Dan Bilawsky, her liberal breaks in communicating
AllAboutJazz. with a powerful directly in a variety of
com. A collection force, absorbing all moods — standards,
of songs by Brazil’s the energy from the samba, and the
most sophisticated room and channelling it into an open space as blues, three originals
composers (Jobim, would the eruption of a volcano. At other times, (including tribute to
Toninho Horta, the mood shifts toward sensitive ballads.” Benny Green, Mr.
Chico Pinheiro) and eclectic arrangements Jim Santella “One of today’s strongest female B.G.) and two unlikely
of standards including a haunting version of saxophonists.” Mark.F.Turner. transformations of
“California Dreamin’,” Tseng “has honed a rock material. Her trio has become a mainstay at
beguiling sound steeped in jazz and the sensuous Boston’s leading jazz clubs, gaining widespread
rhythms and melodies of Brazil.” —Andrew acclaim and national radio airplay. Last August
Gilbert, Sonho Liner Notes. www.emytseng.com she became the first Japanese female to join the
Berklee College of Music Piano Faculty since
Toshiko Akiyoshi. www.yokomiwa.com

Launch the Digital Edition of this issue at www.jazziz.com and click on the album covers to hear featured tracks.
quartet, Boom Tic Boom, would draw from a
wide range of reference points.
What’s most impressive about this disc is
the diversity of styles. A tune like “Pork Belly,”
built on a captivating mid-tempo groove, fits
easily alongside “Early Bird,” which — thanks
in large part to Erik Friedlander’s pizzicato
cello work — comes off as a mysterious,
contemporary classical piece.
Occasionally, though, Miller’s composi-
tions are a little too clever by half. “The Itch”
aims to describe the sensation of alleviating
that sensation, but its quickening tempo and
piercing phrases leave you feeling agitated
rather than relieved. “Nuh-Uh, No Sir” tries
to squeeze in too many disparate elements
that never really hold together. But then a
piece like the bittersweet “Sun Comes Up on
the Reservoir” exhibits Miller’s restraint and
patience in allowing a piece to unfold.
As a drummer, Miller is energetic without
being overbearing. Whether she’s locking
into a groove or decorating a piece with color
and textures, she has a knack for finding just
the right moment to assert herself. Bassist
Todd Sickafoose is particularly adept at using
repeating phrases to establish a strong anchor. Jaleel Shaw
Pianist Myra Melford moves easily from
tasteful (“Waiting”) to jagged (“The Kitchen”).
Violinist Jenny Scheinman appears on most of very well known, even within the traditional- for at least three, and sometimes five or six,
the tracks and proves especially effective on ist/post-bop milieu Shaw inhabits. minutes too long. Shaw’s far from the only
the evocative “Spotswood Drive.” Shaw sticks to the alto for eight of the 10 player out there taxing listeners’ patience,
You can’t expect perfect tidiness from tracks, playing soprano on “Ballerina” and but it must be said: This CD is 78 minutes
a musician as ambitious as Miller. But “Song for Sid.” On the lower-pitched horn, long when it should be 40. —Phil Freeman
the strongest moments on this outing his sound is buzzy, with a slightly burred
more than compensate for the few rough edge; on the soprano, by contrast, he plays Rebecca Martin
patches. —John Frederick Moore slow, thoughtful melodies that seem to Twain
float from the bell like bubbles. No matter (Sunnyside)
Jaleel Shaw what he’s doing, though, he’s ably backed by Rebecca Martin’s Twain is a mostly acoustic
The Soundtrack of Things to Come pianist Lawrence Fields, bassist Boris Kozlov affair that is simul-
(Changu) and drummer Johnathan Blake, each of taneously rich and
Alto saxophonist Jaleel Shaw hasn’t recorded whom make subtle contributions to a whole sparse. Recorded in
as a leader in five that’s greater than themselves, without a small bedroom in
years, so it’s natural slipping into rote strategies. the apartment of key-
that he’s got a lot of Shaw’s compositions (there are no boardist and producer
material piled up. This standards or tunes by other band members Pete Rende, the ar-
CD, his third overall on the disc) run a fairly broad gamut, from rangements consist of
and the follow-up the hard swing of “I Wish I Didn’t Know” nothing more elaborate than Martin’s vocals
to 2008’s Optimism, to the swaying ballad “Ballerina” to “The and guitar, with occasional accompaniment
offers 10 tracks spread Wheel of Life” — which is built around a by Rende, bassist Larry Grenadier (Martin’s
out over nearly 78 minutes. The majority melody Albert Ayler might have played (in a husband) and drummer Dan Rieser.
of the songs run between seven and eight much more exuberant and blustery manner) Martin walks a fine line between jazz
minutes, with the nearly 12-minute “Chroma” in 1970 — to the album-closing “Faith,” a and folk, but the balancing act is ultimately
being the behemoth of the set. That’s a lot of gospel-soaked blues. The trouble is, practical- satisfying. The songs are slow, introspective
material to take in from a performer who’s not ly every one of these compositions is played and always thought-provoking, thanks to

jazziz may 2013 53

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independentculture Passion-driven independent record companies have produced some of the most
important music in jazz. The tradition continues.

SOUTH FLOriDA JAzz OrCHESTA EriC HArLAnD DAviD BOSWELL

Trumpet Sound (self released) Looped (The Loop Loft) Windows (self-released)
The South Florida Jazz Orchestra, directed by Introducing Eric Harland’s Looped, a ground- “A guitar innovator, a brilliant virtuoso ... a
bassist and composer breaking collection of significant composer.
Chuck Bergeron, is loops and samples that His playing is lyrical
a modern big band intimately captures and melodic, and
comprised of the best the multi-Grammy the performances
jazz and studio musi- nominated drummer’s are unpredictable,
cians in the greater innovative approach surprising, and filled
Miami area. Their to rhythm. Harland with rich melodies and
latest release, Trumpet is renowned for his ... a new type of 21st
Summit, features performances and re- century jazz.” —Scott
heavyweight trumpet- cordings with a diverse Yanow, jazz historian/
ers Greg Gisbert, Jason Carder, and Alex Norris, set of artists including McCoy Tyner, John Mayer, journalist. “If you dig classic Pat Metheny and
plus special guests Wayne Bergeron and Grammy Zakir Hussain and Dave Holland. Eric Harland’s buoyant jazz that is still safely this side of
Award-winner Brian Lynch, in a collection of Looped is offered in WAV, AIFF and REX2 formats, ‘smooth,’ you’ll find lots to like on this tasty disc.”
original compositions and exciting new arrange- or as a customized Reason ReFill or Ableton Live — GuitarPlayer Magazine. www.davidboswell.com
ments of jazz classics. Pack at www.thelooploft.com.
JOHn BASiLE
FOUr80EAST MArK ADAMS Amplitudes (StringTime Jazz)
Off Duty (Boomtang records) Embellishments (roberts Music group) An innovative and ambitious solo project featuring
Take a walk on the wilder side of contemporary Mark Adams is a worldly soul jazz pianist who multiple guitar tracks,
jazz with Off Duty is one of the premiere eclectic material, and
by the nu jazz outfit, jazz pianist of his superb production with
Four80East. It’s generation. Mark a true improvisational
another funk and Adams has recorded feel throughout. Known
groove-filled collection 3 CDs under his for his warm, dark
that includes the radio name: Asceticism , toned , finger-style
hit “Sandbar” and the Feel The Groove technique with a
hauntingly beautiful and the latest being piano-like approach he
“Nothing Is Written.” Embellishments . creates an intriguing
Always melodic. Always Mark has performed mixture of electric and acoustic guitar sounds.
happening. And now available directly from the with Roy Ayers, Ron Carter, Ronnie Laws, Hugh The greatest rewards await jazz guitar aficionados
source at www.four80east.com Masekela, Erika Badu, Maysa,. Mark Adams who can imagine this project as the six-string
is currently on tour with Soulful Night Of Keys answer to Bill Evans’ “Conversations With
SKiP BAUCHMAn AnD THE B&B JAzz featuring Lonnie Liston Smith, Brian Jackson Myself.” Basile is an artist for all seasons and his
COMPAnY and Mark Adams. www.markadamsjazz.com diversity and musical innovation is refreshing and
Universal vice (Jazz Hat records) exciting. www.johnbasile.net
Skip Bauchman and The B&B Jazz Company TAUrEY BUTLEr
epitomize the true ad- Taurey Butler (Justin Time records) riCK DAviES
venturous spirit that is On his self-titled debut album (released by Salsa norteña (Emlyn Music)
jazz. They tear through Justin Time Records), Salsa Norteña is the
the jazz landscape with Taurey Butler emerges latest CD release by
captivating melodies as a fully-formed composer/trombonist
and compelling ar- master of hard-driving Rick Davies, featuring
rangements. Combining swing with a deep feel- eight original high-
jazz elements with ing for the blues and energy songs. Four
stellar performances, ballads. Backed by two instrumental Latin-jazz
they have created what simpatico colleagues, tunes feature guest
has been called one of the best independent the endlessly inventive artist Ray Vega on
jazz projects of 2012. From the languid chill of bassist Eric Lagacé, trumpet along side
“Paradise was Cool” to the cinematic climax of and empathetic rhythmatist Wali Muhammad veteran musicians from New York, Montreal and
Paulo and Aziz, you will experience jazz. on drums, he conjures the technical assurance Vermont. The remainder of the CD is comprised
and drive of his Québécois predecessor Oscar of típico NYC-style salsa songs featuring the lead
Peterson while enhancing his already distinc- vocals of Papo Ross along with other top Latin
tive voice with postbop, soul, and classic jazz musicians based in Montreal.
flavorings. www.justin-time.com

Launch the Digital Edition of this issue at www.jazziz.com and click on the album covers to hear featured tracks.
intriguing arrangements and lyrics that are
often more about imagery and atmosphere
than particular narratives.
Everything here is arranged to serve
Martin’s voice. “To Up and Go,” the open-
ing track, relies on nothing more than her
fingerpicking and Grenadier’s simple bass
line. Things get a touch more elaborate
further along. The smoky “Some Other Place,
Some Other Time,” for instance, features
Rende’s atmospheric keyboard work and
Rieser’s understated drums. “On a Rooftop”
finds Rende’s watery keyboards skimming
across a thumping, metronomic bass and
drum pattern. On “In the Early Winter Trees,”
Martin explores the mysterious progress of a
relationship moving through time while de-
livering the lyrics in a voice that is somehow
both sleepy and urgent.
Six of the album’s 13 tracks clock in at un-
der three minutes, but Martin and company
pack plenty into those small spaces. “Oh Well”
is built on a country rhythm that provides a
subtle shift away from the folk and jazz con-
texts of the other songs, while “A Place in the
Country” includes thought-provoking lyrics
like “Ignorant is the human heart consumed
by the thought that it doesn’t have enough.”
While Twain is largely a quiet and
introspective set, it also has an emotional
urgency that rises to the surface upon
repeated listening. —John C. Bruening
Chris McNulty
The Song That Sings You Here
(Challenge)
Aussie-born vocalist Chris McNulty’s latest
album was recorded
several months
before the death of
her son in July 2011.
And yet “much of
this album sounds
like it was conceived
after Sam left us,” she
writes in her liner notes. “I have no explana-
tion for this, except to say that every song I
sing, I sing for him. I sing him here, always.”
Hence the title of this collection of eight
standards plus two original compositions.
While she occasionally sounds like she’s
riffing on Barbra Streisand, McNulty’s
tonality, phrasing and dynamics are clearly
her own. The lively opener, “How Little We
Know,” not only establishes her as a skilled
vocalist, but also showcases her seven-piece
unit — especially saxophonist Igor Butman
and guitarist Paul Bollenback — as tasteful
accompanists and well-equipped soloists.
But McNulty’s crew knows when and how
to step back and allow room for the kind of
intimate connection she makes with songs
like the mellow “How Are Things in Glocca
Morra” or the wistful “Last Night When We
Were Young.” Her take on the Bacharach/David
classic “One Less Bell to Answer” gets off to
an introspective start, but blossoms with the
help of Andre Kondokov’s cascading piano and
Marcus Gilmore’s in-the-pocket drumming.
She closes with two of her own: “Letter
To Marta,” a mystical-sounding piece she
wrote when she was 14 (the title came
many years later as a nod to Hungarian folk
singer Marta Sebestyian) and “Long Road
Home — The Song That Sings You Here,”
which pays tribute to the ageless nature of
love via a combination of soaring vocals and
unrestrained solo work from all hands.
The Song That Sings You Here is, among
other things, a fully realized exploration of love
and time, life and death. —John C. Bruening

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