Arild Andersen Trio Live

Live at Belleville
Arild Andersen, Tommy Smith, Paolo Vinaccia
ECM Records 2078

In 1905 Norway dissolved its union with Sweden, becoming the only country to ever democratically elect a sovereign monarch, Haakon VII, formerly Prince Carl of Denmark. To mark the centennial of Norwegian independence from Sweden (an event surely worth celebrating), bassist Arild Andersen composed the Independency suite, which is now the centerpiece of his new trio recording, Live at Belleville.

Belleville, recorded live at the title Oslo jazz club and the Drammen Theatre, launches with Andersen’s ambitious four-part suite. The first movement has a stately but evocative spirit, portending drama to come. The second is more in the free tradition of Andersen’s work with Sam Rivers and Don Cherry, with the Scottish Tommy Smith contributing a fiery solo on tenor.

Independency then segues into an atmospheric, open sounding passage that fits some of the preconceived notions of ECM sound, which Andersen has been a part of almost since the label’s inception (having appeared on Jan Garabrek’s Afric Pepperbird and Robin Kenyatta’s Girl from Martinique in 1970). Andersen’s use of electronic effects also suggests a kinship with some of his soundtrack work, like his Electra, composed for an Athenian production of the Sophocles classic. The suite concludes with a bluesy (if idiosyncratically so) final movement. Throughout, the leader gets plenty of solo space, as does Smith, but his tenor is usually warm or even incendiary, as opposed to Nordic cool.

With Ellington’s “Prelude to a Kiss” Andersen’s trio give the only standard of the session an elegantly sparse treatment that showcases Smith’s free-ranging, but beautifully expressive tenor, subtly supported by drummer Paolo Vinaccia’s brushwork. Belleville concludes with two more Andersen originals. Following a prelude from Vinaccia, still on the brushes, “Outhouse” quickens the tempo, providing a nice vehicle for the trio’s bop chops.

The disk concludes with the haunting melody of “Dreamhorse,” which Andersen introduces on bass in a particularly effective arrangement. The standout track, it also features some of the most sensitive solo statements of the session. (The audience evidently agreed, as they can be heard enthusiastically applauding for the final fifty seconds of the track.)

Andersen covers a great deal of ground in Belleville. Sometimes demanding, at other times lyrically beautiful, it is a richly textured program from a highly attuned group of musicians.

Dave Holland Now in New Sextet Form

Pass It On
Dave Holland Sextet
Dare2/Universal Music

Sometimes American perceptions of British culture might be overly influenced by PBS reruns of Mr. Bean and the like. If you do not think of Brits as robust swinging jazzmen, you have missed some great music from the likes of Tubby Hayes and Don Rendell. You also probably have not been on the club or festival scene much in recent years, where British bassist Dave Holland’s bands have consistently been among the top headliners. After reconfiguring his regular working group into a sextet, Holland has recently released Pass It On, his first CD featuring the new line-up.

While the front-line of his new group are all frequent past collaborators, Holland has made some notable changes in the rhythm section. In a departure from past combos, the bassist added Mulgrew Miller, filling a piano chair usually left vacant in his groups. Holland rounded out his section with drummer Eric Harland, a musician he had played with on only a few prior sessions, but it was clearly enough to make an impression on the leader.

Trombonist Robin Eubanks’ upbeat, rhythmically complex “The Sum of All Parts” leads off Pass, featuring some intriguing interplay between the composer, trumpeter Alex “Sasha” Sipiagin, and Antonio Hart on alto. The invigorating vibe continues with Holland’s original “Fast Track,” showcasing Miller’s dazzling runs. It is representative of the fresh, buoyant music that has characterized Holland’s recent work.

The balance of Pass consists of previous compositions Holland revisited in new arrangements for the sextet, including two tribute pieces. The title track is a funky dedication to drummer Ed Blackwell, whom Holland played with in groups led by the adventurous vibraphonist Karl Berger. Harland and Miller keep it bouncing along nicely, with the leader and Hart taking some expressive solos.

The second tribute piece is “Rivers Run,” composed in honor of multi-reed artist Sam Rivers, with whom Holland frequently recorded, including the avant-garde classic Conference of Birds. Easily the most diffuse and explorative track of the session, the passionate “Run” still sounds comfortably grounded in the post-bop tradition of the late 1960’s best exemplified by the second great Miles Davis Quintet (Holland himself would be hired by the trumpet legend shortly thereafter).

Though Holland may have fined tuned the instrumentation, Pass is still highly accessible, in keeping with the bright, crisply swinging music that made his evolving group one of the top draws on the jazz scene over the last decade and a half. Holland’s Sextet (with Miller on piano), conclude their recent tour with a four night stand at Birdland starting this Wednesday, the 8th.

The Music Lesson

The Music Lesson
By Victor L. Wooten
Berkley tradepaper original

Many musicians have a profoundly spiritual side. Others are very shrewd attending to matters of this world, without it dampening their musical creativity (Benny Goodman comes to mind in this category). Although Victor Wooten has experienced significant commercial success as an electric bassist, his book The Music Lesson suggests he leans more towards the former than the latter.

Originally independently published, Lesson has now found a home with a New York publisher, that might have been more attracted to its spiritual dimension than its musical lineage. (No disrespect to Tony Levin, but his quote seems a dubious choice for the front cover, rather than that of the late great Michael Brecker, a decision Wooten would not have had input on.) Lesson itself is a book that defies easy classification, but it might best be compared to books like Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, that try to teach spiritual lessons through an ostensibly novel-like format. In fact, Wooten immediately discounts the narrative to follow, attempting to refocus readers on his actual lessons. Of the teacher we are to meet, he writes:

“I never found out who this guy really was or where he came from. The more time goes by, the more I start to think that maybe, just maybe, he came from my imagination, from some unused portion of my mind, where he’s now gone back to live.” (p. 6)

He is talking about Michael—just Michael—a large man of unusual dress, indeterminate ethnicity, and seemingly endless musical ability, who one day barges in on Wooten, or the narrator, to give him musical guidance. “Notes are overrated” he tells the bassist, devoting his instructions to neglected musical elements, like dynamics and space. (p. 41) Michael’s pedagogical techniques veer close to Zen-like koans, and he has an annoying preference for answering questions with questions. Wooten underestimate how irritating this approach can be writing: “I hated it when he answered my questions with my own questions, and he knew it.” (p. 92) Frankly, some of these exchanges in Lesson made me want to scream.

Despite his excessive Zen, Wooten is quite a fluid writer. He makes his points clearly, and at times Lesson drifts into the arena of practical advice. Some of Michael’s performance lessons sound particularly on-point, as when he and the narrator subbed in a Nashville bar band. Some of Lesson’s strongest passages describe that gig, and Michael’s tricks to bolster the soloists:

“I brought the volume way down and [the drummer] Ralph followed. Michael stopped playing chords and went to a single note rhythm that really created space. It was then that I realized what we were doing. We were creating a hole right in the middle of the music that allowed the soloist to stand there out in the open . . . The whole audience stopped what they were doing and started listening to the saxophone solo. It was brilliant.” (p. 140)

Through Michael and his friends, the narrator has a number of musical epiphanies. Ultimately, the subtitle “A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music” might be misleading. More than using music for spiritual growth, Lesson suggests spiritual growth is necessary to serve music, a femininized universal power greater than mere notes, according to Wooten.

How you respond to Lesson, will probably depend on how New Agey you were coming in. If you gravitate to the Enlightenment thinkers, rather than the Romantics, the mysticism will likely become quickly tiring, but if nothing else, the book will provide insight into Wooten and his music, if you happen to be a fan.

Bass in BKLN

I actually made it out to Brooklyn last night, and no, I’m not waiting for applause. It was well worth making the trek to hear bassist Kevin Tkacz’s gig at Barbès. His first CD, It’s Not What You Think, is in various stages of pre-release, but having already heard it, I heartily recommend it.

I have heard Tkacz (pronounced tax, but skip the annoying I.R.S. related puns) play with Eri Yamamoto’s trio at Arthur’s Tavern. It’s a good example of the peculiar jazz way in which awareness of one cool musician often leads to another. Both on his upcoming CD and at Barbès, Tkacz’s intriguing music defies easy classification. While there is definitely an exploratory, free dimension, it is not at all abrasive. Rather than screaming at listeners, it sort of sidles up to you to say something clever.

The leader was joined by drummer Michael Sarin (also heard on What You Think), Angelica Sanchez on piano, and trumpeter Shane Endsley. Having played before, their easy-going camaraderie was audible, despite the steamy hot environment of the room. Let’s just say they worked hard for it last night (the ice in my drink actually melted). Tkacz’s compositions can be moody and dramatic, but also reflect his sense of humor. A great example last night was the soothingly melodic “Ambien(t) Lullaby.”

If you live in Fargo hearing quality live jazz could be problematic. However, if you live in the City and you’re not supporting live music, you have to get out more. There are great musicians playing every night at affordable venues like Barbès. You obviously have internet access, so have no excuse. Just go to the websites of clubs like Barbès, Arthurs, 55 Bar, and Cleopatra’s Needle, and then check out their scheduled musicians on myspace (90% of them will be there). When you hear one like, go see them, it’s as simple as that.

You could start by hearing Tkacz at Arthur’s over the next three nights, and if you are really polite, you’ll probably be able to buy an early copy of What You Think. (More details will go up here when it is on the market proper.) It’s a great CD and hopefully the start of a long discography as a leader.

Playing the Changes

Playing the Changes: Milt Hinton’s Life in Stories and Photographs
By Milt Hinton, David Berger, and Holly Maxson
Vanderbilt University Press

His photographs have graced the walls of the Smithsonian, the Corcoran, and the Denver Art Museum. His bass can be heard on classics recordings by giants like Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and Cab Calloway. Few jazz artists were as recorded as the studio stalwart, and fewer still did as much to document the music as did this intrepid photographer and interviewer. Milt Hinton’s dual role as participant and documenter of jazz history is richly celebrated in Playing the Changes, a lavish combination of memoir and illustrated photography book.

Though too modest to say so outright in his memoir, Milt “the Judge” Hinton was absolutely beloved by his fellow jazz musicians, particularly bassists. Bassist-vocalist Jay Leonhart always pays tribute to Hinton in his one man show, The Bass Lesson. The Academy Award nominated A Great Day in Harlem relied almost entirely on the photos taken by Hinton and the 8mm footage shot by his wife Mona for its original source material. His photography would also be collected in books and displayed in prestigious museums and galleries. Hinton writes of his dawning realization of the historical importance of his hobby:

“Some of the pioneers like Chu [Berry] and Jimmy Blanton were already gone, and some of the other greats were well on their way to early deaths. For some reason, I felt strongly about using my camera to capture the people and events from the jazz world that I was lucky enough to see. I guess I realized I was actually living through jazz history.” (p. 313)

In Changes, Hinton covers many career highlights, like his early years touring with Cab Calloway and playing on Billie Holiday’s final recording session. He also toured the Middle East with Pearl Bailey and her husband Louis Bellson on behalf of the U.S. State Department. One particularly noteworthy foreign trip was a gig in the Soviet Union at the party of Ara Oztemel, an Armand Hammer-like businessman and one-time jazz musician. Spending ten days in the USSR for a forty minute gig, Hinton was sought out by the local underground jazz musicians in a hotel dollar bar. Through his fast friends Hinton came to understand the precarious position of jazz musicians in 1972’s USSR:

“The government seemed to control all the music. Some guys who worked in the hotels told me they’d have to submit a list of tunes they wanted to play and then wait for approval. Evidently, there was a great deal of concern about playing foreign music.” (p. 277)

As a photographer, Hinton was less concerned with composing a shot than simply being prepared for a moment worth immortalizing. For instance, there are great shots of his Calloway band-mates sleeping on trains and busses. His photographs are remarkable for the ease of his captured subjects. Obviously his colleagues were just used to having Hinton and his camera around, but their trust was warranted. While his photography may not have the expressive passion of Francis Wolff’s, Hinton always seems to convey the essential humanity of his subjects—his photos of Holiday’s final session being an excellent example.

Changes is probably the jazz book of the year. In addition, to the photos (many of which are published here for the first time) and Hinton’s memoir (expanded from a previous addition to cover the final years of his life) Changes comes with a CD of Hinton in words and music, which really does give one a fuller sense of the man. Lovingly assembled by his friends Berger and Maxson, it is a fitting tribute to an artist who supported the music in so many ways.

Marcus Eponymously

Marcus
By Marcus Miller
Concord Records

Marcus Miller is part of the exclusive “Sons of Miles” fraternity of former Davis sideman. Miller was in fact, the unofficial music director and composer for the group during his tenure with the legendary trumpeter. Yet, those Warner Brothers years remain controversial with Davis fans. That combination of jazz, funk, and pop sensibilities that marked Miller’s collaborations with Davis is also in evidence on Miller’s latest, simply titled Marcus.

Miller has worked with jazz artists like McCoy Tyner, the Breckers, and Lenny White, as well as pop figures, including an important association with Luther Vandross, so he is comfortable continuing to mix genres. In truth, Marcus could be divided into two records, a bass dominated jazz-funk record and a set of pop vocals featuring famous guest stars, including Corinne Bailey Rae and Keb’ Mo.’ While the latter tracks would appeal more to fans of the guest vocalists, the instrumental selections make for a surprisingly enjoyable set of accessible funk-jazz.

As it is his session, Miller’s electric bass is up-front in the mix, but we hear him on other instruments as well, like the sitar on the nicely textured opener “Blast!” Miller sets a kind groove and highlights his solo chops on the following “Blues Joint.” There is a lot of funk throughout, as on “Strum,” which ought to be licensed by a commercial producer for the sense of cool it exudes.

Davis is represented with “Jean Pierre.” Like the preceding “Strum” it benefits from the contributions of French harmonica player Gregoire Maret, formerly of the Pat Metheny Group. He can also be heard to advantage on “When I Fall in the Love,” the straightest jazz performance of the set. With Miller carrying the melody on bass clarinet (his unlikely double), it is an unusual but effective combination of sounds.

Of the vocal tracks, “Free” featuring Rae and “Ooh” with Lalah Hathaway should appeal to fans of the singers. Each also features some tasteful bass accompaniment from Miller, to keep his fans satisfied. However, the very electric “Milky Way,” co-written by Keb’ Mo’ and Miller, may not be what the contemporary bluesman’s listeners are used to hearing from him. He is also heard through samples on the following “Pluck (Interlude),” a driving selection that easily fits with the set’s other instrumental tracks.

Despite the Miles Davis seal of approval (or because of it at that stage of his career), many purists might dismiss Miller as a pop or smooth musician. Marcus makes a strong case for his musicianship and could surprise some listeners. Its instrumental tracks will be red meat for jazz-funksters out there, but certainly will not intimidate the fans of his pop guests.