A Hot Club Christmas

Given his untimely death in 1953, there are many great jazz standards that Sinti jazz pioneer Django Reinhardt never had the chance to cover. He never had the occasion to record a set of Christmas carols either, leaving a void the Hot Club of San Francisco (HCSF) recently filled with Hot Club Cool Yule, a Christmas-themed release recorded in the swinging Roma-jazz style developed by Reinhardt during his tenure with French violinist Stéphane Grappelli in legendary Quintette du Hot Club de France.

The Hot Club Christmas starts on a distinctly hipsterish note with “Cool Yule,” a high-spirited Steve Allen ditty that was a minor hit for Louis Armstrong, performed with a cheerful playfulness fitting to the holidays. The HCSF then throw a real change-up, launching into “Don Rodolfo,” perhaps the most sophisticated version of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” you will hear this season, recast in a romantic Latin mold, slyly blended with the “Habañera” from Bizet’s Carmen.

The HCSF also pays homage to some of the enduringly popular Christmas albums that have become jazz classics in their own right. Vince Guaraldi’s “Skating” theme from the truly beloved A Charlie Brown Christmas special sounds surprisingly compatible with the traditional “Carol of the Bells” in the HCSF’s elegant jazz waltz medley. They also Django-ize “Sugar Rum Cherry,” Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s swinging adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies,” with bassist Clint Baker’s muted trumpet echoing the tonal colors of the Ellington band on the fade-out.

While there are a couple vocal tracks, Yule is best when the HCSF cuts loose on instrumental swingers, like the snappy “Djingle Bells” (groan). Indeed, the Hot Clubbers exhibit a madcap sense of humor throughout the set, even burying a brief hidden track, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” at the end of “Auld Lang Syne” (which surely Reinhardt himself must have played at some point, given his reputation for enjoying a good party). While technically it might not be a Christmas tune, solo guitarist Paul “Pazzo” Mehling liberally quotes “O Tannenbaum” before they eventually segue into the aforementioned brief but breakneck rendition of “Wish.”

Displaying a zesty flair throughout the program, the HCSF again prove they are one of the best Hot Club inspired combos on the scene today. Yule is another good jazz stocking stuffer or office “Secret Santa” gift. Unapologetically fun, it is easily accessible to general listeners, yet also steeped in the jazz tradition. Happy Thanksgiving.

QSF Plays DB

QSF Plays Brubeck
ViolinJazz Recordings

Though never really a part of the West Coast “Cool” jazz movement, Dave Brubeck is the quintessential California jazz artist. The son of a hardy cattle rancher, Brubeck would study at Oakland’s Mills College with the acclaimed French émigré composer Darius Milhaud and first came to prominence on the Berkley-based Fantasy label. Renowned for his experiments with unusual time signatures, Brubeck would also compose several large scale sacred orchestral pieces, combining classical and jazz idioms. Given his roots and influences, it seems quite fitting that the genre-defying Bay Area-based Quartet San Francisco would interpret his compositions on their latest CD, logically titled QSF Plays Brubeck.

Brubeck’s Time Out is one of the bestselling jazz records of all time, so it makes sense the quartet chose many of those familiar compositions, starting with “Three to Get Ready,” a jazz waltz that seems particularly well suited to the string quartet format. Yet the QSF (violinists Jeremy Cohen and Alisa Rose, violist Keith Lawrence, and cellist Michelle Djokic) still preserve a sense of Brubeck’s muscular rhythmic drive. They also faithfully translate “Strange Meadowlark,” retaining Brubeck’s elegant introduction and Paul Desmond’s sweetly sincere alto solo in violinist Jeremy Cohen’s string arrangement.

Departing from Time Out and subsequent “Time” themed albums (Time In, Time Further Out), the QSF also cover “The Golden Horn,” a composition inspired by Brubeck’s 1958 U.S. State Department of Eastern Europe and the Mid East. Again, Cohen’s arrangement and the Quartet’s seamless ensemble playing effectively capture the exotic vibe of Brubeck’s melody, derived from “Choktasha-keraderam,” the Turkish words for “thank you.”

“The Duke” was Brubeck’s tribute to Duke Ellington, his longtime Columbia label-mate and inspiration. The arrangement, by Brubeck’s cellist son Matthew, is as buoyant and lilting original, slyly quoting from several Ellington standards in its swinging prelude. Also quite rousing is the brief rendition of “Unsquare Dance,” with Rose getting down-home with the jazz waltz.

Even though it was composed by Desmond, the QSF had to include “Take Five,” arguably the single most recognizable jazz tune ever waxed, which Brubeck has probably played nearly every night of his life since it was first recorded in 1959. In their improvised solos, Rose and then Cohen nicely express their distinctive musical personalities, while Cohen’s arrangement evokes the cool mood of the original.

The QSF conclude with an exploration of the sacred Brubeck, giving a stirring rendition of “Forty Days” (a reference to Christ in the Desert), originally a “Time” composition that evolved into the extended composition Light in the Wilderness. Spotlighting Djokic’s cello, it is the dramatic highpoint of the disk. Their moving performance is appropriately followed by the traditional “What Child is This” (a.k.a. “Greensleeves”), the ringer of the set, but qualifying for inclusion because Brubeck performed as a piano solo on a Christmas CD in the 1990’s.

Throughout the program, the QSF show the discipline of a fine classical chamber ensemble, but also a surprisingly swinging approach to time. The result is an excellent hybrid of jazz and classical forms that should particularly appeal to those well steeped in Brubeck’s music. It is a classy tribute that even carries the endorsement of the Jazz Ambassador himself.

The Berimbau Blues

Delta Berimbau Blues
By Chuck Bernstein

It started with the late great Shelly Manne. When Chuck Bernstein heard his friend and fellow jazz drummer perform on the berimbau, a single-stringed traditional Brazilian instrument, he was immediately intrigued. Simply finding a berimbau proved to be quite a trick, but it was the epiphany linking the Brazilian instrument to its distant cousin, the so-called “diddley bows” or rudimentary bowed wires of early country blues that directly inspired Bernstein’s latest CD, Delta Berimbau Blues.

Bernstein is probably best known as the drummer in the Monk’s Music Trio (MMT), a Bay Area combo dedicated to interpreting the compositions of Thelonious Monk. While Bernstein once integrated the Berimbau into a MMT arrangement, with DBB he travels deep into the delta for a blues session, by way of Brazil and the African Diaspora. Through his special tuning and custom-treated bow, Bernstein proves the berimbau’s natural kinship with blues slide guitar, as on the downright spooky opening title track, recorded with guitarist Greg Douglass (formerly of the Steve Miller Band).

Such pairings of blues guitar with the drone-like sound of the berimbau make for the strongest tracks of DBB, like the gently melodic “All Your Desires,” featuring the lead guitar of Paul Ledo and the rhythm guitar of Brazilian Ricardo Peixoto. Particularly effective are “Drop D” and “Kelley Blues,” Bernstein’s eerie standout duets with “Sister” Debbie Spies.

While Bernstein’s solo tracks and duets with percussion certainly convey a primordial blues sensibility, they all have a somewhat similar raga-like sound and do not really stand out from each other. Here it just seems like the berimbau benefits from the presence of a strong foil. Jazz trombonist Roswell Rudd certainly qualifies as that, lending some gut-bucket to “Plunger in the Funk.” “Contenda” also has a pronounced jazz vibe, featuring the tenor saxophone of Robert Kyle, the longtime music director for blues singer Linda Hopkins, and seventeen year-old Brazilian guitarist Ian Farquini. DBB concludes with another Douglass duet on the appealingly relaxed “Flight of the Golden Dragon,” that is a surprisingly accessible track by any standard of measure.

It is always interested to hear a jazz musician take a fresh direction, and Bernstein certainly does that here. Overall the results are quite rewarding. While it might sound like a novelty recording for the Martin Denny set, many tracks—particularly the blues guitar collaborations—have an immediacy and vitality that is legitimately compelling.

New Music from the Hot Clubs of the World

Bohemian Maestro: Django Reinhardt and the Impressionists
By the Hot Club of San Francisco

Django Music
By the Hot Club de Norvege

The Belgian Roma guitarist Django Reinhardt easily remains the most influential European artist in the history of jazz. His sessions with the original Quintette du Hot Club de Paris, with Stéphane Grappelli on violin and brother Joseph as one of two rhythm guitars, still inspires guitarists of all genres, resulting in the world-wide proliferation of “Hot Club” combos playing Reinhardt inspired jazz. There are Hot Clubs of Sweden, Hungary, New Orleans, Detroit, Las Vegas, and even Spokane. Some have developed international reputations through Django festival appearances and recordings, including The Hot Club of San Francisco and the Hot Club de Norvege (Norway), who have recently released Bohemian Maestro and Django Music respectively.

Very definitely on the Parisian scene during the Impressionist period, Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club often performed for and occasionally jammed with Maurice Ravel. Jumping off from that point, the Hot Club of San Francisco (HCSF) pays tribute to their inspiration with Bohemian Maestro, an ambitious program of Reinhardt’s influences, the contemporary sounds of his era, and the Roma maestro’s little known compositions that illustrate an affinity for classical, particularly Impressionist music.

Bohemian starts with two originals that channel the Django spirit, particularly the brief opener, “Le Surdoue,” which lead guitarist Paul Mehling pieced together from Reinhardt’s melodies and improvisations. In tribute to Ravel, the HCSF add classical pianist Jeffrey Kahane (music director for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Colorado Symphony Orchestra) for a fleet rendition of Reinhardt’s “Vendredi 13,” as would befit a spontaneous club jam. Kahane also joins the HCSF on the more relaxed “Diminushing Blackness,” a tune Reinhardt once recorded under the title “Go Tell Mozart,” getting a chance to stretch out nicely with an elegant solo statement.

Reinhardt was eight years old when Claude Debussy died, so it is safe to assume they never jammed, but as a longtime resident of Paris, the HCSF reasonably assumed his familiarity with Debussy’s music, mixing into the program two brief but evocative extracts from “Pour L’Egyptienne” and a sensitive rendition of “Clair de Lune,” all which spotlight Evan Price’s expressive violin.

The HCSF expands the sonic range by adding the woodwinds of the Aeros Quintet for two Reinhardt compositions originally written for large ensembles. “Nympheas” was originally a big band piece, which the HCSF speculates may have been inspired by Monet’s “Water Lilies.” The woodwinds give it a warm lushness, while Mehling’s guitar solo is appropriately thoughtful. The Aeros Quintet is also featured front-and-center on “Messe,” Mehling’s transcription of the surviving overture from Reinhardt’s lost mass for the Roma, before segueing into Reinhardt’s so-called “Improvisation.” It is a lovely performance in a rich and inventive tribute.

The Hot Club de Norvege (HCN) has also recorded some more ambitious Reinhardt tributes, but in Django Music they largely return to the essentials of Djangology. After a “meh” of a vocal opener with “I Can’t Give You,” they settle into the Reinhardt repertoire with a swinging “Blue Drag.” “Nuages” and “Tears” are absolutely indispensible for any Django greatest hits collection, and the HCN does right by them both, with violinist Finn Hauge’s harmonica particularly effective capturing their sophisticated melancholy.

While more traditional than the Villa-Lobos and Poulenc of the HCSF’s Bohemian, the HCN still includes some adventurous tune selections, like the traditional Jewish songs, “Joseph, Joseph” and “David,” which give an idea how Reinhardt’s Hot Club might have approached the Benny Goodman hit “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen.” However, their most inventive and rewarding Hot Clubbing of a tune is “Danse Norvegienne” from their homeland. After an exotic (almost Celtic sounding) opening dominated by Hauge’s violin, guitarist John Larsen brings it back to gypsy swing, soloing eloquently while Hague maintains the Scandinavian vibe.

Larsen, second guitarist Per Frydenlund, and bassist Svein Aabostad have been playing together since 1979 (with Hauge the relative newcomer, joining in 1985) so their rapport is well attuned at this point. Laying claim to the first Norwegian jazz to have digital life on CD with Swing de Paris, they also prove many Hot Clubs of the world are significantly more than mere cover bands. Both the HCSF and HCN demonstrate the lasting inspiration of Django Reinhardt, putting intriguing spins on his sophisticated Hot Club style.

TEN

TEN
By Anthony Brown’s Asian American Orchestra
Water Baby Records

The history of San Francisco’s Fillmore District is colorful to say the least, having once been home to Bill Graham’s rock palace and Jim Jones’s Peoples Temple. Formerly known as Nihonjin-Machi or Japantown before WWII, the Japanese internment camps created vacancies that were filled by an influx of African-American laborers working for defense contractors. For a time the Fillmore was known as the Harlem of the West for its jazz clubs and nightlife, before urban planning run amok devastated the neighborhood. “Bridging Japantown and the Fillmore with Jazz” is the theme for Anthony Brown’s Asian American Orchestra’s tenth season of programming, which they are launching with the release of TEN, which includes selections from past releases as well as some previously unreleased music.

Making their recorded debut on TEN are brief selections from Brown’s soundtrack for Philip Gotanda’s stage drama After the War, which tells the story of a Japanese ex-jazz musician returning from an internment camp to his Fillmore home after the Allied victory. As such, it is clearly a work Brown can thematically relate to. The three selections heard here are essentially cues, but sound quite nice. However, their clever sequencing actually makes what could be dismissed as a sampler package sound like a unified program. For instance, the opening “After the War [Act II]” with its steady groove and cool muted trumpet leads rather fittingly into Mingus’s “Self Portrait in Three Colors.”

Brown’s Asian American Orchestra regularly features Yangqin Zhao’s Chinese hammered dulcimer in their instrumentation, which adds a rich texture to the Mingus standard and the following “Andantino/Adagio” from Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. His arrangement gives the primary solo space to Will Bernard’s guitar, a less than obvious choice for classical pops favorite that works terrifically.

TEN also draws tracks from sessions featuring special guests, which might be the strongest showcase fusions of jazz and traditional Asian music on the disk. On Ellington’s “Come Sunday,” David Murray’s bass clarinet sounds particularly soulful over Hong Wang’s Chinese violin. Likewise, Monk’s “Misterioso” sounds like a natural vehicle both for the dulcimer and a soprano solo from the late great Steve Lacy that is both funky and adventurous, much like Monk himself. The Chinese percussion and strings are less pronounced on Monk’s “Hackensack,” but it definitely cooks, with Lacy again demonstrating why he was considered one of the foremost performers of the composer’s music, followed by a swinging open-horned solo from trumpeter John Worley.

As represented on TEN, Brown’s orchestra is arguably the most successful group integrating jazz and Eastern musical forms since perhaps Joe Harriott and John Mayer’s Double Quintet. By comparison, while Kenny Garrett’s Beyond the Wall was an excellent album, it was much more western jazz-dominated and took its inspiration more from Tibetan chants than from instrumental sources, whereas Bob James’ Angels of Shanghai just was not that good.

Most importantly, this is an excellent band that sounds really together. Based in San Francisco, they will kick off their season at Yoshi’s on September 11th (I wish them luck with that, but its still not a going out night for me). TEN does make one want to hear them live though, so one hopes a tour will soon bring them east (meaning Manhattan) soon.

MMT

Monk on Mondays
Monk’s Music Trio
CMB Records

While New York might be the undisputed center of the jazz universe, there remain many talented jazz musicians performing regularly with little fanfare due to their distance from the City. One such band is the Monk’s Music Trio, an enjoyable group that regularly performs the music of Thelonious Monk on Mondays in a San Francisco café, from which comes the title of their latest CD, Monk on Mondays.

Evidently, the MMT has held their semi-regular Monday gig at the Simple Pleasures Café since 1999, which ought to qualify them as a local institution. When in the Bay Area, they sound like they are well worth checking out. They do not have a website (at least not popping up quickly on Google), but the address is: 3434 Balboa Street, in “the outer Richmond District.”

As for the Mondays CD, it is a respectful, but entertaining tribute to their musical hero. On this outing, the MMT particularly excels on the bluesier Monk standards, like “Something in Blue” and “Light Blue,” the latter featuring a drum prelude from de facto leader Chuck Bernstein.

Throughout, Si Perkoff demonstrates his dedication to Monk’s spirit, but plays with a slightly lighter, swinging attack. “Let’s Call This,” for instance, is a breezy, up-tempo opener. “Brake’s Sake” may be their most adventurous arrangement, moving Sam Bevans’ bass to the forefront. While many well-known Monk standards are represented here, the MMT wisely included some less recorded tunes, like “Locomotive.”

Like Herbie Nicholls and Joe Harriott, Monk’s compositions were so rich and challenging they can easily sustain a group devoted solely to their performance. In this case, hearing the MMT play Monk should also make for a fun Monday night if you are in the neighborhood.

That Age-Old Issue

In 1936 jazz led the way, as Benny Goodman’s racially integrated quartet broke the color line with Lionel Hampton on vibes and Teddy Wilson on piano. Even today it is really the only form of music where you can see racially mixed groups on a regular basis. Yet issues of race persist. The latest controversy being a ten-year anniversary CD released by the Oakland jazz club Yoshi’s, which did not include any African American artists. Feelings of ill will were compounded by what many argue to be an under-representation of African American musicians at a local jazz festival. The SF Chronicle reports:

"'It is like going to a Chinese restaurant and there are no Chinese people,’ said Howard Wiley, a local saxophonist. ‘It is very disheartening and sad, especially from Yoshi's, which calls itself the premiere jazz venue of the Bay Area.

‘I mean, we are dealing with jazz and blues, not Hungarian folk music or the invention of computer programs.’’

Yoshi’s offered a response:

“Peter Williams, Yoshi's artistic director, said the exclusion was an oversight and that the club does not have the right to record all the performers that appear there.

‘We apologize to anyone who feels slighted by the omission of African American artists on this project, as that was never our intention,’ he wrote in an e-mail to concerned supporters. ‘This compilation CD was meant to celebrate a milestone for us in the Bay Area and not necessarily meant to be a representation of all the artists and music styles ever played at our club.’”

It is folly to deny the African American roots of jazz, so it is perfectly understandable how the CD’s line-up could trouble people. However, had the disk only included selections by Marion McPartland and Joe Pass, would many serious jazz listeners complain?

In this case the inclusion of lesser artists and the exclusion of local Bay Area talent seem to be as much a part of the problem. So many great musicians have played the club. No disrespect intended, but are Joey DeFrancesco and Robben Ford really on a par with McPartland and Pass? Eddie Gale is a great trumpeter from San Jose who has played the club, and will play Vision Fest in New York on June 23rd. He would have been a perfect artist to include (and not that it should matter, but he is African American). Choosing the line-up for such a project is always a delicate balance, but including more local talent that could benefit from the exposure might have helped.

Harlem of the West

Harlem of the West: the San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Era
By Elizabeth Pepin and Lewis Watts
Chronicle Books
Tradepaper with extensive photos
0-8118-4548-6

The cover alone should convince readers of Harlem of the West: the San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Era's contention that an important time and place in the history of jazz was lost and nearly forgotten when city planners gutted the neighborhood. The first three musicians seen pictured from the left are John Handy, Pony Poindexter, and John Coltrane, sufficient evidence the Fillmore jazz scene was for real. Written by Elizabeth Pepin, with assistance from Lewis Watts, Harlem of the West is a well put together illustrated book that recaptures a forgotten chapter in jazz history.

In the 1940’s, 1950’s and 1960’s the Fillmore neighborhood of San Francisco was a thriving home to scores of jazz and blues clubs. Now the Fillmore Auditorium, transformed by Bill Graham into a legendary rock venue, is one of few surviving buildings from that era. Given Graham’s reputation, it might sound like exaggeration when Pepin writes:

“Most people only know about the Fillmore because of its auditorium, made famous by Bill Graham in the late 1960’s. Few are aware of its more important musical period in the decades preceeding.” (p. 13)

Yet, Pepin began her Fillmore research as an employee of Graham. The fact that clubs and establishments which hosted some of the finest jazz and blues entertainers could be so thoroughly removed from the neighborhood, and largely from memory, is a tragedy.

The photos collected in Harlem of the West, many recently discovered, are a time capsule from a different time. It was an era when people dressed up for a night on the town, and music was a major part of their plans. A number of great musicians, like Handy, Poindexter, Teddy Edwards, and Jerome Richardson, gigged in Fillmore clubs early in their careers, and there are wonderful images of them in this book.

There is a villain in Harlem of the West: the faceless bureaucrats who destroyed the neighborhood in the name of urban renewal. This is a book Justice Souter ought to read, as it makes clear the human price for eminent domain run amok.

John Handy told Pepin: “There wasn’t a Fillmore sound per say.” (p. 152) However, a tremendous about of excellent music was performed for appreciative audiences there. Sadly, that music was silenced by urban renewal policies, but Harlem of the West preserves the memories of that vibrant music scene.