This Just in at AccuJazz (#2)

For the second installment of "This Just in at AccuJazz," I'll resist the temptation to go way back and make an '08 Top-Ten List and instead just cover a few recent additions worth noting. That's the purpose of the time-honored tradition we call "This Just in at AccuJazz," after all. Today I'll cover a stylistically disparate batch of releases by McCoy Tyner, Tony Malaby, and the duo of Dan Baraszu and Joseph Patrick Moore.

1) McCoy Tyner - Guitars



McCoy Tyner. The last living member of the great John Coltrane Quartet. The mere mention of his name stirs up admiration in any jazz fan's heart. Any new CD he releases is worth a listen, right? Yeah, it is. The concept behind his newest one (which has staked out a comfy spot at the top of the jazz charts for quite a while now) is given away pretty easily by the title: it's McCoy jamming with a bunch of different guitarists. The attendance sheet is surprising at first: Bela Fleck (playing banjo, not guitar), Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, John Scofield and Derek Trucks. For some reason I thought he would have picked a more conventional lineup of solid straight-ahead players -- in my mind the list was going to read something like: Peter Bernstein, Russell Malone, Dave Stryker, and probably Scofield, too. But instead, he picks a group of iconoclasts, each with a strong vision and personal identity.

With a rhythm section of Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette, you have a room full of larger-than-life musical personalities. And instead of making it some big Grammy-ready production, the guys pretty much conduct a straight-up jam session. Each guitarist picked two or three tunes to play with the trio. It sounds rough and unrehearsed, but ultimately engrossing. The combination of such great players essentially just having a ball in the studio couldn't have been anything less. DeJohnette is absolutely on fire, as always, Carter lays it down as only he knows how, and Tyner's individual voice shines through. One observation: Frisell and Scofield posses two of the most distinctive guitar sounds in modern jazz, and they seemed to have flattened them out a little bit for this recording.

Track picks:
Blues on the Corner
Contemplation
Trade Winds

Guitars Reviews:
Rifftides
AllMusic

Hear Guitars on these AccuJazz Channels:
Main Channel
Piano Jazz
Guitar Jazz
New School

Publicity Video:


2) Tony Malaby Cello Trio - Warblepeck



Saxophonist Tony Malaby has been steadily gaining stature in the creative jazz world over the last decade-and-a-half or so. I have a special place in my heart for the guy because he's from my hometown, Tucson, AZ (I know I already alluded to the place in another post -- sorry, I guess the Holidays are making me homesick) and because the first clinic/concert by a guest artist I attended as a young jazz student at Northern Illinois University was Mark Helias' Open Loose, a wonderful trio with Malaby on sax. Apart from that, he possesses a singular inventiveness that saturates his rhythmic and melodic ideas as well as the way he manipulates his remarkably brawny tone.

On the disc in question, "Warblepeck," Malaby couples his saxophone with the cello of indie-rock and avant-jazz mainstay Fred Lonberg-Holm and drummer/composer extraodinaire John Hollenbeck. Sonically, the disc is a major departure from anything close to mainstream jazz. At times Lonberg-Holm's distorted cello, sounding more Metallica than Rostropovich, plays counterpoint to Hollenbeck's xylophone and desert-dry snare drum while Malaby spins some serpentine melody on top. There are some accessible grooves here, but a lot of it is pretty freely improvised. The musicality of the players and sheer freshness of the group sound lead me hopefully to believe that ears less prone to the Avant-Garde might still enjoy a listen.

Track picks:
Warblepeck
Two Shadows
Scribble Boy

Warblepeck reviews:
Free Jazz Stef
All About Jazz

Hear Warblepeck on these AccuJazz channels:
New School

Related Video (Malaby and Hollenbeck with Tubist Marcus Rojas):


3) Dan Baraszu and Joseph Patrick Moore - Christmas Time is Here



I can't do a whole post about new CD's without injecting a little bit of Christmas cheer, now, can I? We get a lot of random stuff here at the AccuJazz offices, and a Christmas album by a duo I've never heard of usually doesn't get me too excited. But, alas, my gut can't always be right. This is a seriously enjoyable album of Christmas jazz. I don't know much about the guys involved, but I know they are both well-traveled journeymen with a handful of recordings to their credit who reside in Atlanta, GA, where the label backing this release, Blue Canoe Records, is also based.

There is wise use of overdubs on the CD, allowing for rhythm/lead guitar textures and even light percussion at times. The duo also makes tasteful use of effects, as on the leadoff track, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." A jazzy Afro-Cuban 6/8 bassline pulses along while a reverb-drenched nylon-string guitar picks the melody and ambient background noises lay down a pleasing cushion of white noise. This economical inventiveness permeates the album. On the other side of the spectrum, the two musicians show off their impressive bebop chops in an unadorned, live-in-the-studio take of "Blue Christmas." I have to say I'm a little bit surprised at how much I enjoyed Christmas Time is Here. Highly recommended for jazz fans at their wit's end when it comes to Christmas music.

Track Picks:
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Blue Christmas
Christmas Time is Here

Hear Christmas Time is Here on these AccuJazz channels:
Main Channel (until December 26th, of course)
Swingin' Christmas

Publicity Video:

This Just in at AccuJazz

I receive a lot of music here in the AccuRadio office. Some is good, some isn't so good, and some is spectacular. With absolutely zero influence from the record labels and radio promo firms that provide me with this music, I'm going to start an occasional series highlighting my favorite new releases. I'll also let you listeners know where you're most likely to hear them on the AccuJazz programming. I'll try to keep it to five releases in each entry.

For the inaugural "This Just in at AccuJazz," I'll let a unifying theme guide my picks: Five recent releases by bandleaders who play a decidedly non-bandleader-like instrument: the bass.

1) Dave Holland - Pass it On (Dare2/Emarcy)



Dave Holland's newest disc marks a departure from the notably stable unit he held together for a decade or so, the Dave Holland Quintet. Comprised of trombone, saxophone, vibes, bass, and drums, the quintet forged an instantly recognizable group sound unparalleled in the late 90's and early 2000's. On Pass it On, he introduces a sextet with a new, if slightly more traditional, instrumentation, and almost completely new personnel.

While Holland has worked with all the members of his new group in the past, the only Quintet veteran is trombonist par excellence Robin Eubanks. Rounding out the front line with Eubanks is Russian-born trumpet phenom Alex "Sasha" Sipiagin and young lion-turned-young veteran alto saxophonist Antonio Hart. I had the pleasure of seeing Sipiagin and Hart subbing for the Quintet's usual frontline in a 2005 concert, and was just as blown away by their contributions to the group as when I had seen the Quintet with its usual members the previous year. Completing Holland's rhythm section is A-list pianist Mulgrew Miller and rising star drummer Eric Harland.

The album opens with the lone non-Holland composition, "The Sum of All Parts," a mildly epic groover that stays true to its name, beginning with Harland alone, tinkering with the many parts of his drum set, and reaching its peak in a high-energy group improvisation. The rest of the disc reveals impressively diverse programming on Holland's part, from the contemplative and spiritual free-jazz piece "Rivers Run" to the funky and soulful title track. In between is the beautiful "Processional" and the standard post-bop fare "Fast Track."

"Pass it On" has already made it on at least one '08 Top Ten List, and I expect it to show up on many more. Find it on these AccuJazz channels:

Main Channel
Covering all the Bassists
New School

2) Mario Pavone - Ancestors (Playscape Recordings)



Mario Pavone's name may not be well-known among the mainstream jazz community, but he is a revered veteran in New York's vital Avant-Garde jazz scene. Pavone's last recording, Trio Arc, was a completely improvised session with pianist Paul Bley and drummer Matt Wilson. For Ancestors, he returns to his forte: intellectual modern jazz composition infused with freewheeling improvisation.

The musicians assembled on this album, collectively called the "Mario Pavone Double Tenor Quintet", features Tony Malaby and Jimmy Greene on saxophones, Peter Madsen on piano, and Gerald Cleaver on drums. Pavone took an unusual step in commissioning guest arrangers to set his original compositions for the group. We don't know what Pavone's own arrangements might have sounded like, but the finished products from his buddies Stephen Bernstein, Michael Musillami and Dave Ballou are intriguing and complex yet fairly accessible. I had no qualms about playing a few of the tracks on the AccuJazz main channel.

Pavone dedicates the record to two of his heroes: Dewey Redman and Andrew Hill, and their influence is heard in the inside/outside aesthetic of the proceedings. Tight ensemble sections give way to free improv, atonal bass solos lead into robust melodic statements by the two-tenor front line. The result is some really engaging, masterfully performed modern jazz that reveals more with each listen.

Ancestors is spinning on these AccuJazz channels:

Main Channel
New School
Covering All the Bassists

3) blink. - The Epidemic of Ideas (Thirsty Ear)



blink. (punctuation and capitalization theirs) is a group of young creative musicians living and working in Chicago. In the interest of full disclosure, I'll let you know that I know each of the members of the group personally, but that's not why I'm giving them this special mention. The group, led by bassist Jeff Greene, is making some wonderfully creative and innovative music.

Greene is an ambitious young bassist who has already proven himself in some sectors of the jazz world. A graduate from the presigious Indiana University jazz department and alumnus of such all-star jazz education programs as Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead and the Ravinia Steans Institute, Greene's talent has not gone unrecognized.

Musically, blink.'s debut sounds just like a group of Generation Y musicians filtering their love of modern creative jazz through deep-seated indie rock influences. Dave Miller's guitar takes on an array of different sounds, often hitting the distortion pedal, explicitly summoning the rock influence. Quin Kirchner's heavy-hitting drumming is a remarkable blend of rock and jazz styles, and Greg Ward's saxophone deftly weaves its way through free improvisations and minimalist vamps alike. His control of the horn is remarkable, and is rightly gaining attention by more and more jazz fans via his inclusion in a staggering array of groups in Chicago and elsewhere.

Despite its singular avant-jazz-meets-indie-rock aesthetic, the programming on The Epidemic of Ideas is surprisingly diverse. "Secret Weapon: Part I" is a brief but powerful statement with rich counterpoint and an aggressive, take-no-prisoners groove. "We Disappear" is a surprisingly beautiful composition, a simple chord progression thoughtfully built upon through six minutes of improvisation. "Glass" is the black sheep of the album, an atonal slow-burner ushered in by almost two minutes of sampled gamelan percussion. This is thoughtful stuff that needs to be heard.

The Epidemic of Ideas is playing on these AccuJazz channels:

New School
*Slated to be played on a number of new channels to be released in coming months*

4) William Parker - Petit Oiseau (AUM Fidelity)



William Parker is an elder statesman of free jazz, appearing on records everywhere you look and releasing a staggering amount of albums every year. One of his core units is the William Parker quartet, which counts Petit Oiseau as its second studio album and third overall. The group's sound is less "free jazz" than simply "creative jazz." Parker lets his bandmates take plenty of improvisational risks, but harmonic and rhythmic foundations usually stay firmly in place. Petit Oiseau keeps the group's personnel intact with a frontline of trumpet player Lewis Barnes and alto saxophonist Rob Brown and rhythm section of Parker along with his longtime foil Hamid Drake on drums and percussion.

Parker's modus operandi in the quartet is a catchy modal bass vamp with quirky, polytonal horn lines layered on top, all brought to life by Drake's inimitable drumming. Parker continues in this vein for much of the album, presenting a sort of dissertation on this method in the aptly-titled lead-off track "Groove Suite," and carrying on in the style with "Talaps Theme" and "The Golden Bell." The title track and "Four for Tommy," dedicated to three different Tommys of bebop, are more in the post-bop vein, with ensemble writing carrying along the music rather than the disparate, interlocking parts of other pieces. The exotic "Dust From a Mountain" shows Parker and Drake's world music influences (as documented on their two duo CDs, found here and here), with Parker picking up a Native American cedar flute and Drake switching between an African xylophone (balafon) and frame drum.

Petit Oiseau is playing on these AccuJazz channels:

Main Channel
New School
Covering All the Bassists

5) Todd Sickafoose - Tiny Resistors (Cryptogramophone)



Bassist Todd Sickafoose is a musician with wide-varying tastes. The biography on his website describes Sickafoose's collaborators as "innovative folks and genre benders." With Tiny Resistors, his third album, Sickafoose makes his own innovative, genre-bending statement.

Not since The Bad Plus came on the scene has a jazz album made such a strong case of jazz's relevance to modern-day indie rockers. As first-call bassist for popular rock singer Ani DiFranco, Sickafoose already has an in with the rock world, and shows off his skills at fusing that aspect of his musical personality with his jazz training (he studied under Charlie Haden, among others).

Tiny Resistors playfully utilizes effects and processing to create a sound world not often heard on jazz albums. The compositions are full of complex grooves that can still get your booty shaking. The harmonies are by turns adventurous and modern ("Future Flora") and simple and folky ("Barnacle"). The music on Tiny Resistors can't really be described in words. It's gotta be heard to be believed.

To chance hearing it, check out these AccuJazz channels:

Main Channel
New School
Covering All the Bassists