Frank Kimbrough - Solstice (November 25, 2016 PIROUET RECORDS)

Frank Kimbrough · piano / Jay Anderson · bass / Jeff Hirshfield · drums

"The art of listening soars to its very highest expression with this recording.  Solstice offers brilliant playing by three of today's most exceptional artists, speaking clearly to all of us who are starved for sonic beauty, space, heart and deep artistic intelligence." - Composer and multiple Grammy winner Maria Schneider

Solstice: exploring the boundaries of darkness and light

Frank Kimbrough counts among a handful of New York-based pianists who have been refining and expanding the language of ensemble playing over the last few decades (this November he marks 35 years in New York and his sixtieth birthday). Declared a "a near-visionary whose piano-improvising, composing, and band-leading skills seek out the dark corners of untrod jazz terrain" by The New Yorker, Kimbrough is noted for his exquisite ensemble, trio and solo recordings as well as his duo work with Lee Konitz, Scott Robinson, Joe Locke and Paul Bley, his work as a sideman in Dewey Redman's quartet, and his long-term involvement with the Jazz Composers Collective and the Maria Schneider Orchestra. On Solstice, acclaimed players and longtime musical companions, bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Jeff Hirshfield join Frank to explore the music of some of the jazz masters who have left a personal imprint on his life.

Kimbrough has had an uncanny ability of meeting the right person at the right time. Shortly after his move to Washington, DC in 1980 Frank met the exceptional singer/ pianist Shirley Horn, who became his friend and mentor. The next year he migrated to New York where he came under the tutelage of one of his heroes, pianist Paul Bley. Around the same period Kimbrough met the ground-breaking pianist Andrew Hill whose music "...literally changed my life. Andrew was an enigma, an inspiration, a mentor, and a dear friend." With the Big Apple as his base, the next years were ripe with tours and recordings. In 1992, Kimbrough helped found the Jazz Composers Collective, an entity that lasted for 13 years, resulting in a concert series, a score of recordings and frequent tours by many of its groups.

In1993 the acclaimed American composer Maria Schneider invited Kimbrough to join her orchestra. This ongoing musical relationship has resulted in Frank's participation in a slew of Grammy award-winning projects as well as in Maria's collaborations with soprano Dawn Upshaw and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and with David Bowie. Schneider marvels, "He wraps himself around each soloist and takes care to go in the direction they're going. I hear things he plays and think Oh God if only I could write that." Add to these impressive credentials his resume of residencies and workshops on 5 continents, an ongoing nine-year stint teaching at the Juilliard School, and some 20 critically acclaimed albums under his own name.

For Solstice, Kimbrough chose two musicians "whose judgment I trust completely." Bassist Jay Anderson has more than 400 recordings under his belt; he has played and recorded with an incredible diversity of musicians, including Michael Brecker, John Scofield, Frank Zappa, and Celine Dion (1997 Record of the Year Grammy). He and Kimbrough have been playing together for some 20 years in Maria's band, the Gil Evans Project and various other groups, as well as on two of Frank's previous albums. Drummer Jeff Hirshfield and Frank also go back 20 years, including several tours together in trio. Hirshfield's and Anderson's musical connection began in the early 80's, and over the years they have often worked and recorded together in a variety of contexts, including Paul Bley's highly regarded album Notes On Ornette. It all intertwines into an enticing spiral of connections between the three.

Kimbrough says that, "I selected compositions that speak to me in ways that are unique and personal. Jay and Jeff didn't know what we were going to play and didn't see the music until we arrived at the date. There was almost no discussion       and no rehearsal - we simply began to play."  Most of the pieces are first takes.

About the tunes, Frank says:

"The simplicity of Seven by Carla Bley shows her genius. I've loved her tunes since first hearing them as a teenager.

Shirley Horn was a magical pianist and vocalist who really knew how to cast a spell. Her recording from a concert in Paris inspired me to play Gershwin's Here Come the Honey Man.

Solstice was composed by Maryanne de Prophetis, the composer/poet/lyricist and vocalist who is my life partner and constant inspiration.

The Sunflower was composed by Paul Motian, a singular drummer/composer, and one of the most unique person- alities in jazz. I enjoyed every moment we spent together both on and off the bandstand.

Annette Peacock's Albert's Love Theme was written for Albert Ayler. Annette's pieces are very personal and spe- cific, yet open, like a landscape.

The only original on the disk is Question's the Answer, as in "the question IS the answer". It has a strong connection to the blues and the bassist has many "root" options.

From California with Love was composed by Andrew Hill in the '70's. I love the mysterious beauty and humanity of his compositions-so modern and free, yet rooted in the tradition.

El Cordobes was written by Annette Peacock for the flamboyant Spanish bullfighter Manuel Benítez Pérez. Like Albert's Love Theme and Seven, I first heard it played by Paul Bley's mid-60's trio.

Walking by Flashlight is from Maria Schneider's song cycle Winter Morning Walks. Maria is a national treasure, and I feel very fortunate to be a part of her musical world."

On their first CD together the trio's philosophy was simply to listen, trust, and respond to one another; in so doing, they have created a gradated musical atmosphere that envelops the enigmatic and the translucent, the mysterious and the artlessly elegant.

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Frank Kimbrough Website

Frank Kimbrough Upcoming Performances

2016

October

Oct. 28 - with Jay Clayton group - Kitano, NYC

Oct. 29 - Frank Kimbrough/ Kirk Knuffke Duo - Spectrum, NYC

November 2016

Nov. 4 - with Maria Schneider Orchestra - Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA

Nov. 10 - with Marty Ehrlich Sextet playing music of Andrew Hill - The Stone, NYC

Nov. 18 - with Maryanne de Prophetis, Ron Horton, Satoshi Takeishi - Michiko Studio, NYC

Nov. 20 - Frank Kimbrough solo piano - the Owl Music Parlor - Brooklyn, NY

Nov. 22, 23, 25 - 27 - with Maria Schneider Orchestra - Jazz Standard, NYC

December 2016

December 8 - Frank Kimbrough Trio w/ Jay Anderson and Jeff Hirshfield - Kitano, NYC

2017

January

Jan. 17 - Frank Kimbrough - Solo piano concert - Univ. of Central Florida, Orlando, FLJan. 17

Jan. 18 - Frank Kimbrough - master class - Univ. of Central Florida, Orlando, FL

February 2017

Feb. 10 and 11 - Frank Kimbrough Trio w/ Jay Anderson and Jeff Hirshfield - "official" CD release weekend - Kitano, NYC    

Feb. 16 - w/ Maria Schneider Orchestra - St. Paul, Minnesota

Feb. 17 - w/ Maria Schneider Orchestra - Portland Jazz Festival

Feb. 18 - w/ Maria Schneider Orchestra - Humboldt St. University, Arcata, CA

Feb. 19 - w/ Maria Schneider Orchestra - UC Berkeley

Feb. 20 - w/ Maria Schneider Orchestra - Lobero Theater, Santa Barbara, CA

Feb. 21 -w/ Maria Schneider Orchestra - SOKA PAC, Aliso Viejo, CA

Feb. 22 - w/ Maria Schneider Orchestra - Valley PAC, Northridge, CA

March 2017

o March 4 - w/ Maria Schneider Orchestra  - Kennedy Center, Washington, DC

March 10 - w/ Maria Schneider Orchestra - Babson College, Wellesley, MA

March 11 - w/ Maria Schneider Orchestra - Yale, New Haven, CT

May 2017

May 25 - 28 w/ Gil Evans Project - Jazz Standard

Skarkali Trio - Skarkali (2016)

This Icelandic trio release from pianist/composer Ingi Bjarni Skúlason and colleagues can stand proudly amongst the finest of the current genre. Completed by bassist Valdimar Olgeirsson and drummer Óskar Kjartansson, the Skarkali Trio's debut album Skarkali (translated, Loud noises) carries a depth of invention, verve and delicacy which sets it apart from any run-of-the-mill piano trio expectation. 

Preconceptions happily disintegrate as this nine-track session unfolds, offering a measured blend of folksy, tuneful accessibility and sparky, creative unpredictability. Skúlason is a jazz piano graduate of FÍH Music School, Reykjavik, also having studied at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, Netherlands (amongst his teachers, Jasper Soffers and Aaron Parks). Founded as recently as 2013, the trio have performed at Reykjavik Jazz Festival, as well as in Norway and the Faroe Islands. 

It's easy to cite likely influences here (Brad Mehldau, Helga Lien, Tord Gustavsen, Esbjörn Svensson), yet there's a boldness and a confidence about these attractive performances of Skúlason's original compositions which suggest such comparisons are not especially important. Here is a band that darts along its own unexpected harmonic and melodic alleyways, resounds to refreshingly purposeful percussion, and dwells amongst crystalline pools of elevation – a balance which, throughout these 51 minutes, becomes increasingly magical.

Óskar Kjartansson's fiery drumming is central to opening Virkar, and immediately there's an awareness, amongst its almost Italianate, tuneful velocity, that these players are bursting with creativity; the contrast between this and slow, inquiring Fals ekki vals is quite affecting, as the romantic piano lead and Valdimar Olgeirsson's prominent, lyrical bass establish perfect equilibrium. Á hálum ís (On thin ice) hits an energetic piano-and-bass groove, Skúlasson's busy piano extemporisations matched by raining shards of percussive brightness, and Erfiðleikum gæddur possesses an anarchic, quirky character as lively, wrong-footing rhythms jostle with writhing, free expression – very effective indeed.

Hollands Spoor (perhaps inspired by The Hague's main line railway station) bustles with individual displays of bravura, its sudden, snapping changes indicating great communication between these musicians; and the simple, held-back serenity of Hug mann allan is delightful, particularly Skúlason's capricious harmonic shifts. Crisp, fluctuating details throughout Í innsta hring (In the inner circle) pleasingly exemplify the trio's skills in striving for different colours and textures; similarly, the six and a half minutes of Smásagnasafn á repeat (Short stories on repeat) evolve boisterously and vagariously – all part of the strong pull of this recording. And to close, suitably-titled Heyra meira (Hear more), with its simple but exquisite tracery, leaves behind the hope that this classy trio will continue to explore and release new material in the future.


(Ingi Bjarni Skúlason OBS001. CD Review by Adrian Pallant) LONDON JAZZ NEWS

01. Virkar ("It works")

02. Fals ekki vals ("False not waltz") - dedicated to people who don't dance waltz)

03. Á hálum ís ("On slippery ice")

04. Erfiðleikum gæddur ("To have troubles")

05. Hollands Spoor (a train station in the Netherlands)

06. Hug minn allan ("With all my mind")

07. Í innsta hring ("In the innest circle")

08. Smásagnasafn á repeat ("Short story collection on repeat")

09. Heyra meira ("Hear more")

Ingi Bjarni Skúlason: piano

Valdimar Olgeirsson: bass

Óskar Kjartansson: drums

Honey Ear Trio - Swivel (2016)

Brooklyn's Honey Ear Trio — Jeff Lederer on saxophone, Rene Hart on upright bass & electronics/looping and Allison Miller on drums — have their powerful and unique take on the saxophone trio. As sidemen they've performed with artists ranging form Dr. Lonnie Smith, Bill McHenry and Branford Marsalis to Pete Seeger, James Hunter and Ani Difranco. As a trio they are creative and explosive, drawing from many genres and combining acoustic instruments with subtle electronics. 

"Their remarkable chemistry in this extremely elastic acoustic trio setting is further enhanced by Hart's creative use of electronics..." - Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes 

"...always an infectious energy, melodic joy, and sense of fun." -Peter Margasak, The Chicago Reader

Releases October 21, 2016

01. Arby 04:34

02. Silent Stairs

03. New Work

04. Evidence

05. Changeling

06. Lullaby 03:43

07. Squeaky Toy

08. Stanley's Package

09. Because

10. Speak Eddie

11. Falling

Jeff Lederer - saxophone

Rene Hart - upright bass & electronics

Allison Miller - drums

w/ special guest Kirk Knuffke on Cornet

"Silent Stairs" - Honey Ear Trio: Jeff Lederer, Rene Hart, Allison Miller from Honey Ear Trio on Vimeo.

Jarrett Cherner Trio - Expanding Heart (BaldHill Records 2016)

Brooklyn-based pianist Jarrett Cherner has emerged as one of the most compelling young musicians on the jazz scene, beginning with his fine trio debut "Burgeoning" (BaldHill) in 2006. 

In recent years he has devoted the bulk of his composing to the collective jazz quintet Sketches (sketchesmusic.com), which has two critically acclaimed albums to its credit: Sketches "Volume One" (BaldHill, 2013) and "Volume Two" (Brooklyn Jazz Underground, 2014). Now, with Expanding Heart, Cherner returns as leader of his own trio and sets out anew, playing brilliantly on a recording that reflects personal growth and combines original material with covers of wildly disparate songs by Vincent Rose, Otis Redding and Ornette Coleman. 

While Cherner is intent on continuing with Sketches (and building up his BaldHill label with releases by himself and other artists), Expanding Heart provides another outlet and taps into the deep relationships that Cherner formed with players he met years ago while studying at New England Conservatory (NEC) and Manhattan School of Music (MSM). 

Cherner and bassist/NEC alum Jorge Roeder, originally from Lima, Peru, have played together for nearly 15 years and were both students of influential pianist and educator Danilo Pérez. Roeder’s musical gifts are no secret, as his high-profile sideman work attests. The personal rapport he shares with Cherner adds great depth to their interaction. “When Jorge and I were touring in support of Burgeoning,” Cherner recounts, “we were also developing a few ‘newer’ tunes which we never recorded. I felt inspired to revisit/revise some of these tunes and I’m excited that they’ve now found a place on this new release.” 

Drummer Jason Burger was an undergraduate at MSM while Cherner was pursuing his graduate degree. Burger brings a unique combination of groove and sensitivity to the trio, expertly complementing the range of styles on the album. “Our first gig as a trio, only a few years back, was electric.” Cherner says. “Both Jorge and Jason seem to effortlessly tap into an abundance of musical energy when they play.” 

Two tracks featuring another pair of close musical associates, bassist Haggai Cohen-Milo and drummer Richie Barshay (“Whispering,” “Here We Go Again”), are from an earlier 2012 session. More chamber material from this date is slated for release in 2017. 

The pristine-sounding Expanding Heart begins with a short solo piano “Opening.” Then the trio enters with its exploratory reading of Ornette Coleman’s “What Reason Could I Give,” from the classic album Science Fiction. “I love Ornette’s music: bluesy and lyrical, freewheeling yet full of syntax,” Cherner says. “The gravity of the melody and lyrics, particularly the major diatonic line punctuated by a single flat-sixth, has stuck with me. We also play the melody inverted and there’s a nice symmetry in turning the melody on its head. In addition to the emotional pull of darkening/lightening the harmony, the major melody becomes Phrygian (minor), and amid the darker sounding mode, the one non-diatonic note (the flat-sixth) becomes a radiant major 3rd.” 

Cherner’s writing, effortlessly lyrical and harmonically astute, has a way of bringing out the trios’ best qualities, starting with the quick-paced minor waltz “Distance” — “a heartbreak-inspired song,” Cherner reveals. “It was written a decade ago but never recorded. I used to play it slower and with more longing, but as Jorge recently commented, it’s now played a bit faster and not as closely connected to the heartache. The title originally referred to the long-distance nature of the relationship, but now also refers to the length of time from it.” 

Otis Redding’s “I Got the Will” harks back to Cherner’s Boston days playing with a soul cover band called The Chicken Slacks. “We never played this song but I got to know Otis Redding’s music really well,” Cherner says. “This lesser-known tune has lyrics that reference the saying ‘if there’s a will there’s a way’ with regard to getting one’s lover back. The singer claims, ‘I’ve got the will but I can’t find the way.’ Raise your hand if you can relate….” 

Cherner’s interest in meditation over the last eight years has loosely inspired the three “Meditation” pieces, numbered in the order that he wrote them; it turned out that the same order suited the programmatic flow of this album. “I’m still writing these,” Cherner says of the series. The first takes inspiration from Ravel and Barry Harris. The second is “low and wide with a loose backbeat,” Cherner continues. “It’s mostly diatonic in C and I love playing around with inner voice motion to create interesting textures with mostly, well, in this case, the white notes.” The third “is basically through-composed. Even when it ‘arrives’ it feels like it’s going someplace else. The ground has shifted underfoot. Finding calm amid the unsettled mind.” 

“Whispering,” made famous by Paul Whiteman in 1920, also provided Dizzy Gillespie with the chord changes to “Groovin’ High.” Cherner and the 2012 trio highlight the melody lovingly, even as they navigate fast and difficult contrapuntal passages and radically reinvent this trad-jazz chestnut. “Learning Bach’s piano music, particularly some of the Goldberg Variations, opened up two-voice counterpoint for me,” recalls Cherner. “I was intrigued by the idea of mixing two ‘old’ musical styles (1920 and 1741) to make something for the present day.” 

“Here We Go Again,” with the 2012 trio, sets up a straight-eighth feel with a funky lilt. The intricate written themes, pointedly staccato, give way to inventive and fiery solos from all three players. This piece came about soon after Cherner’s arrival at MSM in 2008. “It references the feeling of being back in school after a few years away from institutional learning, but over time the feeling of being in a familiar situation (again) gives this song new life.” 

“Hoppe” comes from the Japanese “hoppeta,” or “cheek.” “This was a term of endearment,” Cherner says. The slow and soulful ballad, with beautifully shaded dynamics and a standout Roeder bass solo, is to Cherner “a song of affection.” 

Ornette Coleman resurfaces with the midtempo blues “Turnaround,” in an unabashedly boogie-based version that makes that famous turnaround stand out all the more. The boogie feel “is not really Ornette’s vibe,” Jarrett acknowledges, “but then again, it’s not so far removed from his early days playing R&B. I also love the way the melody alternates major and minor tonalities, getting directly to the heart of the blues.” 

The album closes with the third Meditation, developing the intriguing fragment first heard on “Opening.” Expanding Heart ends, then, with an expansion. It’s as clear a summation of Cherner’s top-tier abilities, musical values and consistently evolving vision as one could wish for.

01. Opening 00:35

02. What Reason Could I Give 03:37

03. Distance 06:38

04. I Got The Will 05:27

05. Meditation 1 03:39

06. Whispering 05:43

07. Meditation 2 04:27

08. Here We Go Again 06:19

09. Hoppe 06:16

10. Turnaround 04:38

11. Meditation 3 03:26

Released October 21, 2016 

Jarrett Cherner – piano 

On all tracks (except 1, 6, 8): 

Jorge Roeder – bass 

Jason Burger – drums 

On tracks 6, 8: 

Haggai Cohen-Milo – bass 

Richie Barshay – drums 

All songs composed by Jarrett Cherner (BaldHill Music/ASCAP) except “What Reason Could I Give” & “Turnaround” by Ornette Coleman, “I Got The Will” by Otis Redding, and “Whispering” by Vincent Rose (with lyrics by John Schonberger & Richard Coburn). 

Recorded by Ryan Streber at Oktaven Audio, Yonkers, NY 

Mixed & Mastered by Dave Darlington at Bass Hit Recording, NYC 

Photos by Alejandra Barragán 

​Album design by JRC

ALBUM RELEASE CONCERTS:

November 4, Lancaster, PA @ Franklin & Marshall College

November 6, Washington DC @ Twins Jazz

November 15, Cambridge, MA @ Regattabar

November 17, Laconia, NH @  Pitman's Freight Room

November 18, Portland, ME @ Dimensions In Jazz

January 7, Mercedes, Uruguay @ Festival Jazz A La Calle

January 12, Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Boris Club

Marco Martins Quintet - Roadbook (PARALLEL RECORDS 2016)

Louis Sclavis Sextet - Plays Ellington on the Air (CRISTAL RECORDS 2016)

Ouch! Records réédite l'album Ellington on the air du Louis Sclavis Sextet. Sorti en 1992, Django d'or 1993 dans la catégorie "Meilleur disque de jazz français de l'année", le disque était épuisé et introuvable. Le label Ouch ! Records, créé par le saxophoniste Lyonnais Lionel Martin, le propose, pour la première fois, en vinyle et uniquement en vinyle. 

Voulu comme une suite à sa création en sextet en hommage à Duke Ellington pour le Festival de Jazz de Paris, le disque est enregistré aux Gimmick Studio, à Yerres en 1991. Au coté de Louis Sclavis : Yves Robert (trombone), Dominique Pifarély (violons acoustique & électrique), François Raulin (piano, claviers), Bruno Chevillon (contrebasse) et Francis Lassus (batterie).

Ellington on the air est beaucoup plus qu'un simple hommage à Duke Ellington : c'est une véritable recréation. Comme Louis Sclavis le rappelle lui-même : "Ni parodie, ni embaumement, mais présence, point de départ, fil conducteur, inspirateur". 

"Jamais les thèmes d'Ellington n'avaient été aussi intelligemment encadrés et paradoxalement libérés de la pesanteur stylistique dans laquelle on voudrait parfois les cantonner. L'hommage de six grands musiciens à l'oeuvre d'un énorme compositeur". Pascal Kober - Jazz Hot. 

Si Ouch ! Records décide de rééditer ce disque du clarinettiste Lyonnais c'est, explique Lionel Martin, "parce que Louis Sclavis a toujours beaucoup compté pour moi et qu'il est un des musiciens les plus important en tant que "propositeur" - mix de force de proposition et créateur. Ce sont exactement ces personnalités que l'on a envie de mettre en avant dans notre catalogue!" 

LOUIS SCLAVIS 1991

Cet enregistrement propose une réponse à ce que représente DUKE ELLINGTON aujourd'hui pour des jazzmen français - compositeurs, arrangeurs, interprètes - d'une même génération, et montre comment le travail du "Duke" résonne encore à leur oreille . Par la modernité de sa musique et l'aspect universel de son oeuvre, DUKE ELLINGTON permet d'établir une relation dynamique entre la tradition américaine du jazz et ses courants européens actuels. Ainsi, tout au long de ce disque DUKE ELLINGTON n'est ni parodié, ni embaumé, mais présent. Il est point de départ, fil conducteur, inspirateur. Il est ...dans l'air. (Louis Sclavis 1991)

01. Jubilee Stomp, Pt. 1

02. J'oublie

03. Jubilee Stomp, Pt. 2

04. Indigofera Tinctoria

05. Mode Andy Go

06. Prelude

07. Prelude to a Kiss

08. Bakiff

09. Caravane

10. Caravalse

11. Heaven

12. Black and Tan Fantasy

13. Harlem Pancake

14. A Tone Parallele to Harlem

15. West Indian Pancake

Louis Sclavis - Clarinet, BassClarinet, Soprano Saxophone

Dominique Pifarely - Electric and Acoustic Violin

Yves Robert - Trombone

François Raulin -Piano, Keyboards, Melodica

Bruno Chevillon -Accoustic Bass

Francis Lassus-Drums, Fedounoun, Kélès