Jazz Therapy: Dedicated to Earl May

Jazz Therapy Vol. 1: Smile
By Gene Bertoncini & Roni Ben-Hur
Motema Music

It came as a shock when the great jazz bassist Earl May had died in early January. I had recently heard him perform at a Jazz Foundation holiday event, where he looked and sounded great. Still a vital force on the New York scene, as it turns out, he was planning a new recording with his frequent musical collaborator, guitarist Roni Ben-Hur. The musicians often played together in the lobby of the Englewood Hospital in New Jersey, as part of a program sponsored the Jazz Foundation of America. Their intent was to produce a duo CD that would benefit Englewood’s Dizzy Gillespie Memorial Fund, which provides health services to jazz musicians in need. As a tribute to May, Ben-Hur has recorded the benefit CD they envisioned, with acoustic guitarist Gene Bertoncini joining the electric player for a set of jazz duets entitled Jazz Therapy Vol. 1: Smile, produced by Ben-Hur’s label and the Jazz Foundation of America.

As befits its name, Therapy is highly accomplished, but soothing jazz that would not sound out of place during a performance at Englewood. Given its lyrics, which might not be ideal for hospital audiences, one wonders if “Killing You Softly” ever made their Englewood set list. However, as the opening track, it is certainly indicative of the guitarists’ laid back camaraderie and very hip interplay.

The perilous title track, Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile,” often lends itself to overly maudlin interpretations. Although Bertoncini and Ben-Hur are true to the original sentiment, they invest their rendition with a strong underlying rhythm and some tasteful flourishes, which prevent it from descending into the lachrymose.

While the entire CD is the tribute to May, some tracks are more direct in their reference to the bassist. Ira Gitler’s liner notes suggest the Chaplin standard was a reference to May’s own smiling countenance (seen pictured inside the CD digipack). Dizzy Gillespie and Ray Brown’s “That’s Earl, Brother,” though not originally composed in May’s honor, is nice twofer tribute both the bassist and the trumpeter-composer who started the jazz medical fund at Englewood. Naturally, it is the fleetest burner of the session, with Ben-Hur taking the lead on the bop lines.

Bertoncini in turn comes to the fore on a pair of his elegant originals, “You Are a Story” and the concluding “Set Blue,” a sophisticated reworking of Toots Thieleman’s “Bluesette.” In addition to being a friend of JFA, Bertoncini is also well known to the St. Peter’s community (the New York Lutheran church known for its jazz services and memorials), where his sensitive style is always appropriate. Together he and Ben-Hur create some intimate but artful jazz, obviously in heart-felt tribute to May, Englewood, and the Jazz Foundation. While its relative consistency in tone and tempo would be a drawback for other sessions, it fits Motema’s “Jazz Therapy” concept, which they plan to carry forward with future releases.

As a good karma bonus, proceeds of Therapy go to a worthy cause. The good work of Englewood’s longtime partner, the Jazz Foundation of America is also always worth reviewing. Led by the tireless Wendy Oxenhorn, JFA has been a life-line for jazz musicians in dire straits—artists without insurance or pensions, who were never properly compensated for their work. JFA has been there to forestall evictions and to provide emergency medical treatment (with their partners at Englewood). When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, their caseload went from the hundreds to the thousands. You can learn more about the Foundation at their website and see NY1’s report on Ben-Hur’s performances at Englewood in the newly rechristened Earl May Corner here.