Republic of Jazz: Nov 7, 2018

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Lester's Blues - Red Label: Hommage to Lester Young & the Basie-Ites (November 2018)

Recorded live in one-takes (no edits), in one room with the band centered around two main microphones, and mixed straight to analog 1/4" tape on a two-track MCI JH-110 machine. No external effects other than compression were used during tracking. The tapes were edited the old-school way - cutting and splicing - to prepare for mastering. The CD was mastered in Brussels with top analog gear and A/D conversion. The tapes were flown to Dublin for separate mastering and cutting of the lacquers for vinyl, which was done in a fully analog signal path.

Frederik Van den Berghe - drums

Sam Gerstmans - bass

Victor da Costa - guitar

Luk Vermeir - piano

Hans Bossuyt - trumpet

David Lukács - clarinet, tenor sax

Tom Callens - tenor sax, vocal

Delphine Gardin - vocal

Bart Vervaeck - rhythm guitar

Produced by Tom Callens

Recorded 7, 8, 11 March 2018 at Robot Studios, Gent - Belgium

Engineer, tape-op, mix: Pieterjan Coppejans

Mastering for CD: Uwe Teichert at Elektropolis, Brussels - Belgium

Analog mastering & lacquer cutting: Aidan Foley, Hayley Connolly at Masterlabs, Dublin - Ireland

Lacquer processing and vinyl pressing: GZ Media, Loděnice - Czech Republic

Photo by Grégoire Verbeke

Artwork design by Tom Callens, executed by Carl Compernolle – Animus Design

1. King Porter Stomp 02:38

2. One O'Clock Jump 03:32

3. Easy Living 02:44

4. Lester's Be-Bop Boogie 04:04

5. Six Cats And A Prince 03:29

6. My Man 03:21

7. The Goon Drag 04:05

8. Shoe Shine Boy 03:34

9. Ad-Lib Blues 03:19

10. I Want A Little Girl 04:46

11. Evenin' 02:59

12. Tickle Toe 04:00

13. Sun Showers 03:16

14. Dickie's Dream 02:33

ERIC DOLPHY - Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions (RESONANCE RECORDS 2018)

The first official release of previously-unissued Eric Dolphy studio recordings in over 30 years, the project includes 85-minutes of music that's never before been released!

The Deluxe Limited-Edition, 180-gram 3-LP gatefold set will be released exclusively for Record Store Day's Black Friday Event on November 23, 2018.

The deluxe 3-CD and digital editions will be available on January 25, 2019.

Captured after leaving Prestige Records, and just before the timeless classic Out To Lunch! album, this release contains the under-appreciated masterpiece albums Conversations and Iron Man recorded in New York City in July of 1963. Originally produced by Alan Douglas, the tapes had been stored in a suitcase with Dolphy's personal belongings and given to friends Hale and Juanita Smith before he embarked on his fateful European trip in 1964. Five decades later, the suitcase was given to flutist/educator James Newton who then connected with Zev Feldman at Resonance and began working on this definitive edition of Dolphy's 1963 New York studio sessions with the only copies of these tapes known to exist.

The project features jazz greats such as saxophonist Sonny Simmons, trumpeter Woody Shaw, bassist Richard Davis, NEA Jazz Master vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, saxophonist Clifford Jordan, along with flutist William "Prince" Lasha, bassoonist Garvin Bushell, bassist Eddie Kahn, and drummers J.C. Moses and Charles Moffett. The exhaustive 100-page booklet includes rare and previously unpublished photos, essays by Dolphy scholars and interviews with jazz icons.

THE PACKAGE

The LP/CD packages are beautifully designed by longtime Resonance designer Burton Yount and include exhaustive booklets replete with rare and never-before-published photos (several of which are in color!) by Chuck Stewart, Jean-Pierre Leloir, Val Wilmer, Hans Harzheim, Lennart Steen, Roger Marshutz and many others, plus reproductions of the original album covers for Conversations and Iron Man. The five essays cover different aspects of Eric Dolphy and this music, starting with co-producers Zev Feldman and James Newton’s accounts of how this album came to be and what Dolphy’s music means to this world. Newton says in his essay, “Eric Dolphy taught us to listen much more carefully to voices from all around the world, but never to forget that the substantially personal and complex feelings within field hollers remained in the mix.” Jazz scholar and author of Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original, Robin D.G. Kelley, gives us the full historical context of these recordings and Dolphy in 1963. Japanese Dolphy scholar Masakazu Sato and Douglas label manager Michael Lemesre give us accounts of Dolphy’s impact in Japan and of producer Alan Douglas’ role in these recordings and relationship with Dolphy.

We’ve gathered a large congregation of voices to reflect, remember and reexamine the person, the music and the legacy of Eric Dolphy. The saxophone colossus himself, Sonny Rollins, recounted first meeting Dolphy when he asked to sit in with Max Roach’s band. Roach liked to embarrass young musicians who asked to sit in by playing a tune at an extremely fast tempo and running them off the stage. Of course, Dolphy was no average musician and he hung in there the whole way through the tune. From that point forward, Rollins knew Dolphy was a serious musician to be reckoned with. The sole living members of the band interviewed for this release, saxophonist Sonny Simmons and Richard Davis, remember Dolphy as being “a Saint” and “angelic” respectively. Close family friend Juanita Smith gives a detailed account of the time she and her husband, Hale Smith, spent with Eric, including the anecdote about how Eric got the enigmatic bump on his head that we see so clearly in photographs from his later years (including our Chuck Stewart photo on the album cover).

The words and thoughts of no less than 17 musicians – from jazz legend John Coltrane to the Pulitzer prize- winning saxophonist/flutist Henry Threadgill – are represented in this deluxe tribute to Eric Dolphy and this archival discovery, and paint a complex portrait of this heralded, loved and misunderstood artist. Acclaimed flutist Nicole Mitchell says, “I don’t know if there’s a better way to start listening to someone improvising on the flute than to hear Eric Dolphy . . . He really was — bar none — one of the greatest flute players of his time, and of any time before him.” Award-winning saxophonist Steve Coleman stated bluntly about Dolphy, “He’s a virtuoso. There’s nothing else to say about that. It’s amazing that he could get that kind of fluency on different instruments. He’s the first guy I heard to play the shit out of the bass clarinet, the saxophone and the flute.”

LP/CD 1 — Conversations

1. Jitterbug Waltz (7:18)

2. Music Matador (9:37)

3. Love Me (3:22)

4. Alone Together (13:36)

5. Muses for Richard Davis (Previously Unissued 1) (7:39)

6. Muses for Richard Davis (Previously Unissued 2) (8:31)

LP/CD 2 — Iron Man

1. Iron Man (9:14)

2. Mandrake (4:47)

3. Come Sunday (6:28)

4. Burning Spear (11:59)

5. Ode to Charlie Parker (8:04)

6. A Personal Statement (Bonus Track) (15:02) *

LP/CD 3 — Previously Unissued Studio Recordings

1. Music Matador (Alternate Take) (8:05)

2. Love Me (Alternate Take 1) (2:27)

3. Love Me (Alternate Take 2) (3:43)

4. Alone Together (Alternate Take) (12:14)

5. Jitterbug Waltz (Alternate Take) (9:36)

6. Mandrake (Alternate Take) (6:48)

7. Burning Spear (Alternate Take) (10:31)

Personnel:

Eric Dolphy – alto saxophone, flute, bass clarinet

William "Prince" Lasha – flute

Huey "Sonny" Simmons – alto saxophone

Clifford Jordan – soprano saxophone

Woody Shaw – trumpet

Garvin Bushell – bassoon

Bobby Hutcherson – vibes

Richard Davis – bass

Eddie Kahn – bass

J.C. Moses – drums

Charles Moffett – drums

Resonance Records is a multi-GRAMMY® Award-winning label (most recently for John Coltrane’s Offering: Live at Temple University for "Best Album Notes") that prides itself in creating beautifully designed, informative packaging to accompany previously unreleased recordings by the jazz icons who grace Resonance's catalog. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA, Resonance Records is a division of Rising Jazz Stars, Inc. a California 501(c) (3) non-profit corporation created to discover the next jazz stars and advance the cause of jazz. Current Resonance Artists include Polly Gibbons, Eddie Daniels, Tamir Hendelman, Christian Howes and Donald Vega.

Kenny Werner - The Space (PIROUET RECORDS November 2018)

Renowned pianist Kenny Werner makes poetic, brilliant music

in the moment on The Space

New solo recording, out November 2 via Pirouet, reaffirms Werner

as one of our great jazz pianists

“Perfection. 360 degrees of soul and science in one human being.”

—Quincy Jones

“Kenny Werner is a total musician. He feeds my heart and brain and pushes me into fresh territories.”

—Toots Thielemans

“Werner owns more chops and brains than most pianists do…Werner hardly raises his voice to make subtle points, couching his logic in neat vamps, sinewy angular lines, dizzying rhythmic double entendres.”

—DownBeat

“Werner has become one of our most literate and visceral pianists.”

—JazzTimes

Pianist Kenny Werner has long been a major player on the world jazz scene. His long-term musical relationships with the likes of the legendary Toots Thielemans, saxophonist Joe Lovano, and the Mel Lewis Big Band, coupled with his recognition as composer and bandleader have propelled him to the forefront of the music. Quincy Jones proclaimed him to be "360 degrees of soul and science in one human being," and Nate Chinen of The New York Times marveled at "Ša pianist who tempers fearsome technique with a questing spiritualism."

Werner is also an acclaimed educator. The title of his new solo recording The Space comes from a chapter in Effortless Mastery, his book dealing with creativity and his approach to playing that has influenced a generation of jazz players. Werner calls The Space "Šthe most important title I've ever had for my music." It's about "Šbeing in the moment, content with what is." The Space will be released November 2, 2018 on Pirouet (PIT3106).

This album is the fourth Werner has recorded for Pirouet. Engineer-artistic director Jason Seizer had actually wanted to do a solo recording with Kenny, but Werner persuaded Jason to record his trio first. After two Pirouet trio albums and one beautiful duo album with the great Brazilian singer Joyce, the time for The Space had come. Pirouet has recorded some of the premier pianists in jazz, including such artists as Marc Copland, Bill Carrothers, and Pablo Held. The new production with Werner continues that tradition.

The album's eight pieces consist of two memorable standards, a classic Keith Jarrett composition, two perceptive pieces by Seizer, and three Werner originals, including the spare, mysterious title piece. In Werner's hands they are transformed into intimate poems of self-discovery. Werner characterizes The Space as "the place where every note I play is the most beautiful sound I've ever heard." With his new album, Kenny Werner makes that space his home.

kennywerner.com

Kenny Werner has been a world-class pianist and composer for over forty years. His prolific output of compositions, recordings and publications continue to impact audiences around the world. In 1996 he wrote his landmark book Effortless Mastery, Liberating the Master Musician Within. Werner has since created videos, lectured worldwide and authored many articles on how musicians, artists or even business people can allow their "master creator" within to lift their performance to its highest level, showing us how to be spontaneous, fearless, joyful and disciplined in our work and in our life. He is currently the artistic director of The Effortless Mastery Institute at Berklee College Of Music.

Kenny was awarded the 2010 Guggenheim Fellowship Award for his seminal work, No Beginning No End, a musical journey exploring tragedy and loss, death and transition, and the path from one lifetime to the next. Utilizing over 70 musicians, Kenny's third album for Half Note Records is an expansive composition featuring Joe Lovano, Judy Silvano, wind ensemble, choir, and string quartet. Born in Brooklyn on November 19, 1951 and then growing up in Oceanside, Long Island, Kenny began playing and performing at a young age, first recording on television at the age of 11. Although he studied classical piano as a child, he enjoyed playing anything he heard on the radio. In high school and his first years of college he attended the Manhattan School of Music as a classical piano major. His natural instinct for improvisation led Kenny to the Berklee College of Music in 1970. There he sought tutelage of the renowned piano teacher Madame Chaloff. Her gracious wisdom and inspiration became a driving force in Kenny's conception: a music conscious its spiritual intent and essence. From Boston, Kenny traveled to Brazil with the saxophonist Victor Assis Brasil. There he met Victor's twin brother, Brazilian pianist Joao Assis Brasil. He studied with Joao, who provided another piece of the puzzle for Kenny's conception that would lead to Effortless Mastery. Kenny has performed and/or recorded with artists including Toots Thielemans, Charles Mingus, Gunther Schuller, Marian McPartland, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Elvin Jones, John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Lee Konitz, Pat Metheny, Randy Brecker, Joe Henderson, Archie Shepp, Dave Liebman, Bob brookmeyer, Kenny Wheeler, Dave Douglas, Chris Potter, Ambrose Akinmusire, Ron Carter, Eddi Gomez, Dave Holland, Rufus Reid, Jack DeJohnette, Billy Hart, Bobby McFerrin, Lou Rawls, and Betty Buckley.

Werner has composed for orchestras around the world, and taught at The New School, Berklee College of Music, the Banff Center, New York University, and other schools. He has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Jersey Council of the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation, as well as a 2001 Grammy nomination.

CONCERTS STEPHANE SPIRA QUARTET "NEW PLAYGROUND"

Concert

Stéphane SPIRA Quartet

à l'occasion de la sortie de son nouvel album

"NEW PLAYGROUND"

(Jazzmax / L'autre Distribution)

Vendredi 16 novembre à 21h30

Samedi 17 novembre à 21h30

SUNSET

60, rue des Lombard

75001 Paris

Stéphane Spira - sax

Joshua Richman – piano

Steve Wood – contrebasse

Donald Kontomanou – batterie

New CD: Stéphane Spira / New Playground (2018)

More info...

JAZZ VIBRATIONS du 8 au 17 novembre 2018

BEAT BODY & SOUL, création de XAVIER DESANDRE NAVARRE

8 novembre à 20h30

Théâtre 71

IkuiDoki nOx.3

&Linda Oláh

13 novembre à 20h30

Théâtre 71

UMLAUT BIG BAND

15 novembre à 20h30

Théâtre 71

THEATRE 71

3, place du 11 novembre

92240 Malakoff

FRED PALLEM & LE SACRE DU TYMPAN

9 novembre à 20h45

Les Gémeaux

MICHEL BARBAUD SEPTET

16 & 17 novembre à 21h30

Les Gémeaux

LES GEMEAUX

49, av. Georges Clémenceau

92230 Sceaux

Jean-Pierre Como - Infinite (2018)

Jean-Pierre Como au piano et aux claviers, Christophe Panzani aux saxophones soprano et ténor, Bruno Shorp à la contrebasse et Rémi Vignolo à la batterie nous présentent ici une œuvre musicale originale et superbe à la fois, née de l’improvisation. Le travail d’écriture et de composition est en général un exercice solitaire… mais le pianiste Jean-Pierre Como a, cette fois, composé ici en temps réel au milieu des autres musiciens. L’instantané a été privilégié pour parvenir à créer des morceaux dans le plus pur esprit du Jazz. Avec toute cette spontanéité, cette fraîcheur et ce plaisir de jouer qu’offre l’improvisation. C’est seulement ensuite que le cadre et les formes ont été fixées, une fois la création spontanée réalisée. Et c’est de ce jaillissement qu’est née cette œuvre musicale… Une oeuvre au titre révélateur, “Infinite”, et qui vous offre sur un plateau neuf titres composés par le maître, Jean-Pierre Como lui-même, et deux titres signés par le batteur Rémi Vignolo.

Celui pour qui “la musique est sans fin” a intitulé son album “Infinite” car “il fait référence à la notion d’intemporalité et au fait d’échapper à la réalité matérielle.”

Il faut rappeler que Jean-Pierre Como a toujours été un explorateur des formes-formations avec le Trio pour Répertoire et Storia, le Quartet, pour Boléro et Scénario, le Quintet, pour Soléa, le Sextet, pour Empreinte, ou le Septet, pour Express Europa. Artisan à la créativité sans limite et voulant tout essayer dans toutes les formes de combinaisons possibles, ce génial pianiste a même composé L’Âme sœur avec/pour une formation de Jazz et un orchestre symphonique. Explorateur insatiable, Jean-Pierre Como revisite maintenant les contenus, puisqu’il passe de musique composée à une musique plus spontanée, émergeant directement de la formation invitée à jouer avec lui.

Apprécié et reconnu pour son immense talent, salué et honoré comme pianiste de génie, Jean-Pierre Como est devenu officiellement en mai 2018 “Artiste Steinway”. Il y rejoint ainsi Arthur Rubinstein, Daniel Barenboim, Keith Jarrett, Ahmad Jamal et Diana Krall.

www.jpcomo.com

Concerts

Lundi 12 novembre 2018
à 21h (ouverture des portes 20h30)

au STUDIO DE L'ERMITAGE
8, rue de L'Ermitage

75020 Paris

13/11 : Jazz sur la Ville / IMFP Salon de Provence

14/11 : Jazz Club d’Annecy

15/11 : Jazz Club de Grenoble

16/11 : Jazz Club de Chambéry

14 et 15/12 : Scène Nationale Les Gémeaux / Sceaux

Khalil Chahine - Kafé Groppi (2018)

Khalil Chahine est imprégné par le cinéma, car de père égyptien et de mère américaine. Il nous embarque pour le Kafé Groppi dans un passé incertain, lieu savoureux ou débattaient, au Caire, nombre d’intellectuels sur divers sujets poétiques et sur la beauté. Et c’est ainsi que depuis 1983 Khalil Chahine passe de l’écriture d’albums à la musique de films, et toujours avec autant de succès.

Cet album, “Kafé Groppi” est sans doute celui qui colle le plus à la peau de cet excellent artiste. Conçu comme une musique de film dont Khalil Chahine serait le scénariste et le réalisateur, chaque titre de cet opus commence par décrire le lieu avant de vous montrer les personnages, tantôt légers, rêveurs, ou graves. Sans doute aussi pour marquer l’incertitude des temps actuels et souligner tout le charme de la poésie du passé.

Dans tous les cas de figure, la ligne poétique de Khalil Chahine est bien présente, avec, pour servir cette œuvre, une belle équipe constituée de André Ceccarelli, Kevin Reveyrand, Christophe Cravero et Eric Seva, auxquels sont venus s’ajouter quelques invités bienvenus: Jasser Haj Youssef (viole d’amour et violon), Analuna Chahine (violon), Agnes Gutman (piano), Jean-Pierre Arnaud (cor anglais) et Icheme Zouggart (basse).

Pour autant, il s’agit bien d’un album de jazz-fusion, sans barrières, sans frontières et parfaitement accessible.

C’est pourquoi nous lui avons attribué la notation “Coup de cœur”, car cet album est à tous points de vue un grand coup de coeur, surtout qu’il prendra très facilement et tout naturellement sa juste place dans votre discothèque.

1 Le jour, pt. 1 (Omaha) 00:03:23

2 Cinque 00:05:23

3 Avant l'abstract 00:02:14

4 Synoptik 00:07:48

5 Mish mahool 00:01:35

6 Kafe groppi 00:06:03

7 Eikos 00:05:43

8 Ojos de cielo 00:02:24

9 D'après les anges 00:05:18

10 Sous les cimes 00:04:54

11 Pauper 00:06:10

12 Les vanites 00:04:29

13 Le jour, pt. 2 (La lettre) (La lettre) 00:03:43

Le concert de lancement aura lieu le 12 décembre au Studio de l'Ermitage

John Fedchock Quartet - Reminiscence (SUMMIT RECORDS 2018)

REMINISCENCE, the newest CD by JOHN FEDCHOCK, will surely enhance his already stellar reputation as a trombone master. The CD is a follow-up to his 2015 release Fluidity. Fedchock culled tunes for both CDs from a live show he performed over three nights with his quartet in a club in Virginia Beach, VA, called Havana Nights. Although the club has since closed, it was a beautiful, intimate space that was acoustically designed for recording with state-of-the-art equipment.

Although he’s garnered many accolades and awards for his larger ensembles, playing in a small club with just his quartet gives Fedchock and the band opportunities to stretch out and take chances. “Playing in this setting allows the players more of a chance to interact and create an intimate conversation through improvisation,” says Fedchock. “It offers endless possibilities for making good music.”

Fedchock’s tone is warm and perfectly articulated. He eschews mere pyrotechnics for a swinging lyricism. He updates standards with a 21st century feel through his solid, modern arrangements while still embracing the heritage and provenance of the music. The CD comprises a mix of jazz standards and Fedchock originals. Fedchock released the first group of tunes from this session on Fluidity in 2015. “I had a lot of fun on this gig,” Fedchock exclaims. “The entire group did, and I think you can hear that in the music.

So I later revisited the music from the entire live recording session, and with the benefit of time and perspective, I came to the realization that the remaining tunes that didn’t make the first recording really deserved their own release.” Fedchock is a sophisticated, sensitive trombonist, arranger, and composer. There are many exciting moments on REMINISCENCE, and the performances by all the musicians are outstanding.

This CD is not merely a follow-up to Fluidity but a project that stands on its own. It is a superb example of the magic that great jazz artists can conjure when all the stars align.

Cassius Lambert - Symmetri (LABORIE JAZZ 2018)

Incroyable. Rien d'autre. Incroyable !

Prodige dans son pays, la Suède, encore absolument inconnu en France et dans une grande partie de l’Europe, Cassius Lambert, 22 ans, bassiste compositeur, rejoint le Label Laborie Jazz en mars 2018. Un univers tout entier s’ouvre devant nous, immense, fort et tellement touchant.

Une alchimie de tous les styles, de toutes les influences pour une signature unique. Les morceaux montrent l’approche sans compromis de la musique de Cassius, quelque chose qui lui semble vital dans la création.

En mélangeant différentes textures musicales comme le jazz, la funk, le rock, le hip-hop ainsi que la musique classique minimaliste, il crée un son inventif et nouveau sur la scène de la musique contemporaine.