Category: Reviews

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Take Five with Brian Charette…

http://www.allaboutjazz.com

Take Five With Brian Charette

Take Five With Brian Charette

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Published: March 6, 2014

Meet Brian Charette:
Grammy-nominated organist/pianist, Brian Charette, has established himself as a leading voice in modern jazz. Besides being a critically acclaimed composer and bandleader, he has worked with many notable artists such as Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan, Lou Donaldson and countless others.

Charette is a Hammond endorsed, SteepleChase and Posi-Tone recording artist. In 2013, Charette released Borderline(Steeplechase), his sixth as a leader and was rated with 3 ½ stars inDownbeat. His recordings have been dubbed as “Reliably burning” by Jazz Times and he has been called a “Master of space and time” by WGBO. In the Spring 2014, Charette will releaseThe Question That Drives Us and Square One for SteepleChase and Posi- Tone respectively.

This year, Charette has been playing very successful engagements in NYC, Los Angeles, Detroit, Cleveland, New Orleans, Spain, Indonesia, Czech Republic and Germany. He also just placed 2nd in the 2013 Downbeat Critic’s Poll for “Rising Star: Organ” for the second year in a row.

Mr. Charette is an active educator. In addition to writing for Keyboard Magazine, Downbeat, andMuzikus, he teaches master classes all over the world, and is on the faculty of the Czech Summer Jazz Workshop at Jezek Conservatory in Prague. He also has a new Hammond Organ instructional video on mymusicmasterclass.com and is featured prominently on two new Mel Bay instructional DVDs by Rodney Jones and Sheryl Bailey.

Outside of music, Brian is passionate about chess and White Crane kung fu, which he holds a black sash.

Instrument(s):
Piano and organ.

Teachers and/or influences?
Kenny Werner and Charlie Banacos.

I knew I wanted to be a musician when…
I was three and would wander down to the piano, open a book called Folk Songs to a two page song called, “The Great Wall.” I would stare at the animated picture of the Great Wall of China with people walking, merchants selling, and a horse drawn ambulance while improvising for hours.

Your sound and approach to music:
I play jazz but I would have to say I’m more of a rocker in my approach. I can be very angular and aggressive in the way I play. I try to balance this with extensive use of space and compositional devices. The solos in my groups are often very short and the motives of the pieces can be very minimal and trance inducing.

Your teaching approach:
I try to show students how to spend time practicing only things they are weak in. After they identify the problem, I tell them to only focus their practice on one weak area at a time until they really internalize the concept they are working on. For example, I had one student practice only in the key of Ab minor for a month. At the end of the month, the student always sounded amazing when we got to an Ab chord change and before had always stumbled over the chord.

Your dream band:
I already have two dream bands with the trio and sextet. I do have a fantasy of playing piano duos with Chick Corea. I would also very much like to play with Roy Haynes.

Road story: Your best or worst experience:
One time, 20 years ago, I was playing in Brussels. The King of Belgium had just died a few days before. We were playing in a very big festival with about 8,000 people. There were huge video screens on the side of the stage. The singer picked up a picture of the king that had just died from a cigarette machine backstage and held it up to the audience. There was a camera on him and all the people started to cheer. The road manager on the side of the stage started to wave his arms furiously to put the picture down. The singer gave the road manager the bird and told him to relax. Unfortunately, one of the cameras was on him, and all 8,000 Belgians saw was a big middle finger in front of the picture of their beloved king. They threw rocks and beer at us for an hour. We made the news and left very quickly the morning after the show never to return.

Favorite venue:
My favorite place to play is Small’s in NYC. It has the best vibe of any jazz place I have ever been. I also feel so supported by Spike Wilner and the whole gang at Smalls.

Your favorite recording in your discography and why?
My favorite recording is definitely my new Posi-Tone record Square One. I feel like this is best sounding and looking recording I’ve ever made. I’ve been friends with Marc and Nick at Posi-tone for quite a while. We planned this record for about two years and the musicians, photographer, and graphic designer were very thoughtfully chosen. Yotam Silberstein and Mark Ferber are great friends and play my music like they wrote it themselves. I also love the sound of the organ in Michael Brorby’s studio. Nick is amazing at mixing, and Marc is great with producing, radio and press. I feel like we make a great team and I have very high hopes for the future with Posi-tone.

The first Jazz album I bought was:
Jimmy Smith, Unfinished Business (Mercury, 1978).

What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically? 
I think I sound very different than the other jazz organists. I have the tradition in there for sure, but my compositions with the sextet and new trio recording are very unusual and very easily identifiable. I’m so influenced by rock music and world music. I think my writing reflects that and is very eclectic sounding. I also play in a different harmonic system sometimes. I often use the concepts of Olivier Messiaen in my playing and writing and I know of no other jazz organist using this system.

Did you know…
I hold a black sash in White Crane Kung Fu. I was also deaf until the age of nine.

CDs you are listening to now:
Matt Mitchell, Fiction (Pi, 2013);
Tigran Hamasyan, A Fable (Verve, 2011);
Grant Green, Grantstand Blue Note, 1987);
Kenny Dorham, Quiet Kenny (New Jazz, 1991);
Vijay Iyer, Tirtha (ACT, 2011).

Desert Island picks:
The Beatles, White Album (Apple, 1968);
Deep Purple, Machine Head (Warner Brothers, 1972);
Hank Mobley, Soul Station (Blue Note, 1960);
Kiss, Alive II (Cassablanca, 1977);
Emerson String Quartet, Debussy-Ravel String Quartets (Deutsche Grammophon, 1995).

How would you describe the state of jazz today?
I think jazz is in a great place. There are tons of great artists, especially in NYC. I feel very inspired by my peers and I love to listen to their music and get new ideas about my own writing and playing. I am friends with Sam Yahel, Jared Gold, Pat Bianchi and all of the NYC organists. I love to listen to their albums and live gigs. Because their level of artistry is so high, it pushes me to get better also.

What are some of the essential requirements to keep jazz alive and growing? 
I think we have to make music that communicates to real people, not just musicians. That’s not to say that it can’t be complicated. I think people are actually pretty smart. I feel like a lot of jazz music is very selfish though, and the cats can be a little dark. This turns people off to the music. I think if we, as artists, thought more about communicating to our audience, many more people would be interested in jazz albums and concerts

What is in the near future?
I have two albums out this month, a trio recording, Square One, on Positone Records and a new sextet recording for SteepleChase called The Question That Drives Us. I have a CD release for the trio recording in March 12 at Smalls at 9:30pm in NYC with Yotam Silberstein and Mark Ferber. I’ll be on tour in the Midwest and Northeast for the next two weeks. I’ll also be on tour all throughout Europe for three months. My website has my full itinerary http://brian-charette.squarespace.com/

What’s your greatest fear when you perform?
My greatest fear is that my instrument won’t work, or that it will play a minor third higher like it did in Thailand.

What song would you like played at your funeral?
“Nowhere Man” by The Beatles.

What is your favorite song to whistle or sing in the shower? 
“You’ll never Find” by Lou Rawls. I’m always singing it.

By Day:
I have never worked!

If I weren’t a jazz musician, I would be a:
A gardener or martial arts instructor.

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Burning Ambulance goes for a “Ride” with Tom Tallitsch…

http://burningambulance.com

Tom Tallitsch: Going For A Ride

tallitsch

Tenor saxophonist Tom Tallitsch has put together a tight, empathetic band for his second CD on the Posi-Tone label (fifth release overall). Ride (buy it from Amazon/download it from Amazon MP3) features nine of his own compositions and two covers—David Bowie‘s “Life On Mars” and Led Zeppelin‘s “Ten Years Gone”—performed by trombonist Michael Dease, pianist Art Hirahara, bassist Peter Brendler, and drummer Rudy Royston. Tallitsch’s music is easy to like; the melodies are strong and memorable, the rhythms are steady and energetic, and the solos are extrapolations, rather than drop-everything fits of improvisatory excess.

The opening title track is built around a simple, clarion-call hook that sounds like something John Coltrane might have written in 1959. Dease sits this one out, leaving Tallitsch to sprint atop the road laid down by Brendler’s race-walking bass and Royston’s powerful, cracking drums. (His snare sound on this album alone makes it worth a listen or ten.) Hirahara drops chords into place like a bricklayer, before taking off on a lyrical, McCoy Tyner-esque solo. The leader’s soloing is disciplined but aggressive, staying in the tenor’s lower range to the point of almost sounding like a baritone at times. This eruptive opener is followed, though, by the patiently explored “Life On Mars,” on which barely any amendments are made to the melody. Dease’s trombone offers swelling tones in the background, where strings would be on a rock record, and Royston’s clattering drums are almost a lead instrument. This track is so hooky and strong, it almost seems designed for radio play.

Three more originals follow: “Rubbernecker,” “Rain,” and “The Giving Tree.” In order, they are: another hard-bop swinger in the vein of “Ride,” with Dease again absent but Tallitsch and Hirahara going full-bore as Royston’s crisp snare goads everyone along; a swaying ballad that offers Brendler a solo spot, and finds the leader playing with his horn’s upper register, getting perilously close to soprano territory; and a strutting, almost Latin number on which the trombonist finally returns, but again, he’s only adding a harmonic voice, and doesn’t solo.

The version of Led Zeppelin‘s “Ten Years Gone” that kicks off the album’s second half is less slavishly bound to the melody than the version of “Life On Mars” was. The band takes the simple, crashing blues chords as a framework for some impressive soloing, with Dease offering a countermelody behind Tallitsch that sound earwormingly reminiscent of the chorus to alternative rock act Marcy Playground‘s mid ’90s hit, “Sex and Candy.” The next piece up, “El Luchador,” is Brazilian in feel, despite its Mexican-referencing name (luchadors are masked Mexican wrestlers), and marks Dease’s first full-on trombone solo. It’s a highlight of the album—he’s fast and technical, pumping out crisply articulated bursts of notes rather than the smeary tones the trombone’s mostly known for, while maintaining a tight grip on the song’s melody and rhythm.

“The Myth” is about as abstract and scribbly as Ride ever gets—on this track, the band moves away from the punchy, classicist-but-not-retro hard bop they’ve been exploring for most of the album, in favor of a more winding, complex melody line and a more expansive rhythmic approach that make me think of Woody Shaw. There’s something about this track that calls to mind acoustic jazz of the 1970s (though fortunately, we’re spared that bouncy rubber-band bass sound). Dease gets another solo on the somewhat woozy “Knuckle Dragger,” and he’s looser and bluesier, still unleashing flurries of crisply chosen notes at times but also going for long ribbonlike tones. “The Path” is another burner, and the album ends with “Turtle,” an atmospheric but swinging track that feels indebted to the adventurous Blue Note albums of 1963-64—Bobby Hutcherson‘s Dialogue, Andrew Hill‘s Black Fire, Grachan Moncur III‘s Evolution, and the like. Dease is the lead player here, and his full, heartfelt tone, as well as his ability to ride a melody like a champion surfer (with Tallitsch right beside him), makes this a perfect closer to one of the most purely pleasurable jazz albums of 2014 so far.

—Phil Freeman

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Dan Bilawsky reviews several new Posi-Tone Releases for AAJ…

http://www.allaboutjazz.com

Some labels release a few records a year; some put out a record every month or two; and then there are those, like the Los Angeles-based Posi-Tone Records, that prefer to push even more music through the pipeline.

As 2014 came into being, Posi-Tone began an ambitious release schedule, putting out a new album every few weeks. Those who cover jazz and follow the scene intently can’t seem to turn around these days without bumping into one of their discs. Everything from groove dates to post-bop parties to beyond-the-norm entries fly under the banner of this small-but-thriving label. Here’s a look at four from the ever-growing Posi-Tone pile.

Brian Charette
Square One
Posi-Tone
2014

Organist Brian Charette has appeared as a sideman on several albums for this imprint, but Square One is his leader debut for Posi-Tone. He works with the tried-and-true organ trio format here and it suits him well.

Guitarist Yotam Silberstein and drummer Mark Ferber join Charette for what starts out solid and turns into a hell of a ride. The first few tracks on this one almost almost seem like a warm-up, as the band finds its footing with funk-to-swing fun (“Aaight!”), pays respect to Larry Young(saxophonist Joe Henderson’s “If”), and pleasantly waltzes on by (“Three Martina”). All of this material comes together well, but sparks don’t always fly. That all changes when the band finds its stride with The Meters’ “Ease Back.” That track, which comes at the midpoint of the album, starts the winning streak. Everything that follows is superb. Ferber’s snare drum groove on “A Fantasy” makes the song, Silberstein pulls out some Lionel Loueke-esque sounds on “Things You Don’t Mean,” and the whole band becomes strikingly unhinged during “Ten Bars For Eddie Harris.”

Charette’s ability to hunker down into a groove, look to the outer limits, or switch between the two at a moment’s notice helps to keep listeners on their toes during this delightful and occasionally daring date.

Jared Gold
JG3+3
Posi-Tone
2014

Jared Gold, like Charette, has never subscribed to old school organ orthodoxy. He’ll give the past its due, but he works in the present. This is his seventh album in seven years—all released on Posi-Tone—and it finds him fronting an augmented organ trio, with three horns added to the mix. These other voices don’t dominate the program, but they do get to step out on occasion, round out the sound of the group, create some harmonic heft, and add some secondary colors to these pieces.

The album opens on Gold’s slow swinging “Pendulum,” guitarist Dave Stryker’s crackling “Spirits,” and Julian “Cannonball” Adderley’s gospel-inflected “Sermonette,” complete with some baritone saxophone preaching from Jason W. Marshall. The attention then shifts to the core trio during a take on James Taylor’s “Shower The People” that shifts focus from nuanced texture painting to slick-and-slippery funk. Drummer Sylvia Cuenca steals the show on a burning “No Moon At All,” trumpeter Tatum Greenblatt steps up to the plate on “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” and alto saxophonist Patrick Cornelius gets to shine on Gold’s lively-and-bouncy “Fantified.” This mostly-covers set finishes with two more, as a smoking “Cubano Chant” and comfortable “Charcoal Blues” finish things off in style.
Steve Fidyk
Heads Up!
Posi-Tone
2014

Drummer Steve Fidyk is best known for his sideman and studio contributions, writing for Modern Drummer magazine, and work with the Taylor/Fidyk Big Band. Here, he makes his bones with the Posi-Tone gang by fronting a quintet that features a pair of heavy-hitters—trumpeterTerell Stafford and saxophonist Tim Warfield. The program contains four Fidyk originals, two numbers from guitarist Shawn Purcell, and three covers.

Heads Up!, like the aforementioned Charette album, doesn’t start out with the most distinctive music on the disc. It’s the first cover—”Make Someone Happy”—that, strangely enough, gives Fidyk’s music its own identity. A muted Stafford draws focus as Fidyk’s brushes glide along below. From that point on, most everything makes its mark. Purcell’s guitar and Regan Brough’s bass join together for the Charlie Parker-ish “Might This Be-Bop,” which is also bolstered by Fidyk’s brushes, and Stafford picks up his flugelhorn for an uncommonly slow and beautiful take on “I Can See Clearly Now.”

Fidyk’s most notable originals—”The Flip Flopper,” a funky tune with some memorable guitar work from Purcell, and the warm-hearted “T.T.J.”—come later in the album, but it’s Cole Porterthat has the final word; Fidyk and company finish with a metrically-altered “Love For Sale” that’s pure fun.

Tom Tallitsch
Ride
Posi-Tone
2014

Saxophonist Tom Tallitsch focuses on his own music on his second release on Posi-Tone and fifth date as a leader. He throws in David Bowie’s “Life On Mars” and Led Zeppelin’s “Ten Years Gone” for good measure, but the other nine tracks are all of his making.

Tallitsch proves to be a commanding player throughout Ride, but it’s the sidemen that help to bring out the best in the music. Rock solid players like pianist Art Hirahara and bassistPeter Brendler help to keep things running smoothly, guest trombonist Michael Dease brings the heat, and Rudy Royston, the seemingly ubiquitous super drummer, adds some wattage to Tallitsch’s tunes. Royston’s in high spirits on the title track and he drives the hell out of a few other numbers.

While the faster material always carries excitement with it, Talitsch’s strongest pieces aren’t the burners. “Rain,” which Tallitsch accurately frames as “gospel country,” the Brazilian-tinged “El Luchador,” which gives Dease a chance to shine, and the bluesy “Knuckle Dragger” all leave more of a lasting impression on the ear.

Tracks and Personnel

Square One

Tracks: Aaight!; If; Three For Martina; People On Trains; True Love; Ease Back; Time Changes; A Fantasy; Yei Fei; Things You Don’t Mean; Ten Bars For Eddie Harris.

Personnel: Brian Charette: organ; Yotam Silberstein: guitar; Mark Ferber: drums.

JG3+3

Tracks: Pendulum; Spirits; Sermonette; Shower The People; No Moon At All; I Just Can’t Stop Loving You; Fantified; Cubano Chant; Charcoal Blues.

Personnel: Jared Gold: organ; Dave Stryker: guitar; Sylvia Cuenca: drums; Patrick Cornelius: alto saxophone; Jason Marshall: baritone saxophone; Tatum Greenblatt: trumpet.

Heads Up!

Tracks: Untimely; Last Nerve; Make Someone Happy; Might This Be-Bop; I Can See Clearly Now; The Flip Flopper; The Bender; T.T.J.; Love For Sale.

Personnel: Steve Fidyk: drums; Terell Stafford: trumpet, flugelhorn; Tim Warfield: tenor saxophone; Shawn Purcell: guitar; Regan Brough: bass.

Ride

Tracks: Ride; Life On Mars; Rubbernecker; Rain; The Giving Tree; Ten Years Gone; El Luchador; The Myth; Knuckle Dragger; The Path; Turtle.

Personnel: Tom Tallitsch: tenor saxophone; Michael Dease; trombone; Art Hirahara: piano; Peter Brendler: bass; Rudy Royston.

 
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StepTempest on Brian Charette “Square One”…

http://steptempest.blogspot.com/2014/03/bring-on-heat.html

In conversation with Brian Charette as he and drummerJordan Young were in a car recently on their way from Cleveland to Cincinnati (Mr. Young was driving), the organist told me that his training on the B-3 came under the heading “trial by fire.” Trained as a pianist (and having played gigs with the likes of Houston Person and Lou Donaldson while in high school), he moved to New York City and one of his first jobs was as on organ. He made it through without embarrassing himself but went right out and bought an organ, rented a space and practiced long hours.

Over the past 2 decades, he has worked with Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan and Bucky Pizzarelli (and many more) plus spends a good chunk of the year in Europe.  He has issued 7 CDs as a leader with 8 + 9 just being released including his new Sextette CD, “The Question That Drives Us” (Steeplechase) and his debut as a leader on PosiTone Records titled “Square One.”  It’s the latter one we’ll look at here (and save the former for next week.)

“Square One” finds the Meriden, CT, native in the company of Israeli-born guitarist Yotam Silberstein and the great drummer Mark Ferber.  The trio had played numerous gigs together so, by the time they entered Acoustic Recording in Brooklyn, NY, they were ready to hit.  Most of the tracks were recorded in 1 take (the session took less than 4 hours) but nothing sounds incomplete.  Ferber swings with abandon throughout giving both Charette and Silberstein an excellent cushion to solo over.  Also, the organist’s bass pedal footwork provides even more depth.  Charette also mentioned in our conversation that he is always prepared before entering the studios and the vast majority of his songs have strong melodies while being smartly arranged. Best of all, this music is really a lot of fun (in keeping with the leader’s attitude in life.)  Opening with the funky “pop” of “Aaight” that almost immediately drops into a “swing” groove and back again, “Square One” keeps one guessing.  There are  2 “cover” tunes, the hard-driving “If” (composed by saxophonist Joe Henderson for organist Lary Young’s 1956 Blue Note Lp “Unity”) and the New Orleans groove of “Ease Back” (a tune composed and recorded in 1969 by The Meters). On the former track, Ferber really digs in and pushes mightily while, on the latter, the trio speeds the piece up from the original making even more danceable (dig those chunky rhythm guitar lines and “clicking” phrases from Silberstein.)

Other highlights include the “otherworldly” sounds of “Things You Don’t Mean” (a tune with a wicked groove) and the hard-rock modality of “A Fantasy” (great guitar work) and the insistent forward motion of “Yei Fei” (a piece most reminiscent of Larry Young’s work).  “Three For Martina” has a lovely melody line and the interaction of the organ with the quiet, spare, guitar interjections stands out.  The program closes with “Ten Bars For Eddie Harris” with Ferber’s charging drum work blazing the way for Silberstein’s fiery guitar lines and Charette’s spirited organ work.  The drummer gets to let loose for 30 seconds before the “church-y” organ chords and squalling guitar leads back to a super-charged final repeat of the opening theme.

In the afore-mentioned conversation, Brian Charette said that “Square One” was his favorite recording especially because of the excellent work of recording and mixing engineer Nick O’Toole (co-owner of PosiTone).   O’Toole really captures Mark Ferber’s splendid drum work and all 3 instruments are equal in the mix.  If you still have a case of the “winter blues”, put this CD in the machine and let it rip good and loud.  I’m quite sure you’ll be smiling before long.

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SomethingElse Reviews Tom Tallitsch “Ride”…

http://somethingelsereviews.com

Two years after Heads of Tales , a searing date backed by Jared Gold, Mark Ferber and David Allen, tenor saxman Tom Tallitsch returns with another strong crew for Ride (March 4, Posi-Tone Records), in fact arguably even more so: Rudy Royston on drums, Art Hirahara on piano, Peter Brendler on bass and the phenomenal Michael Dease on trombone.

The change-up in instrumentation does nothing to change Tallitsch’s mission of evangelizing the hard bop form through the bell of his saxophone. Ride swings and grooves with flawless proficiency by guys who aren’t just going through the motions. Tallitsch’s traditionally minded saxophone diction never forgets that soul is an important part of it, but so is forgetting a lick once it’s played, too. That’s why he can go a while on a solo as he does on “El Luchador” and keep it interesting all the way through. And he can swing like the old masters, amply demonstrated on cuts like “The Giving Tree.”

Dease isn’t present on every track, but when he’s called in to help, he provides the perfect foil, and his solos on “El Luchador,” “Turtle” and especially “Knuckle Dragger” are fluid and full of character but in a graceful way. The rhythm section makes a lot of hay on the spicier numbers like “The Myth,” and Royston leaves behind a show stopping display on drums during his break on “Ride,” while Hirahara shines on “The Path.” Also during “The Path,” Brendler’s against-the-grain bass line offers up a funky counterpoint.

During the last go-around Tallitsch adapted a song from a rock icon (Neil Young’s “Don’t Let It Bring You Down”) into the jazz form the right way, by embracing the core melody. He does this again on Ride, putting his own stamp on David Bowie’s lofty gem “Life On Mars” and Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti deep cut, the splendidly downtrodden “Ten Years Gone.” On the former tune, Tallitsch’s sax takes on the vocal role, his sax accurately locating the emotional center of the song. For the Page/Plant song, he doubles with Dease to give it a late 60s Jazz Crusaders-type groove, but one that maintains the original’s serious tone.

New personnel and backup instrumentation doesn’t matter; Ride is another sturdy, deft straight-ahead affair from Tom Tallitsch.

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Bop-n-Jazz on Brian Charette “Square One”…

www.criticaljazz.com

Brian Charette is the new sound for the organ, Square One is not back to basics but instead ground zero for the future of one of the finest organ players in the world.
Brent Black / www.criticaljazz.com
Make no mistake that Brian Charette is a leader and far from a newbie and while the term “session player” is incredibly unfair if not inaccurate, Brian would probably tell you his diverse musical background is perhaps key to his forward thinking compositions. Square One is far from a blast from the past yet there is a smoldering Larry Young meets Joey DeFrancesco feel that is pulled off not as a riff but as a forward thinking visionary working as the by product of his own artistic experiences. Brian Charette is an artist. This is straight ahead organ infused with a contemporary soul. The sound of New York.
The organ trio can be feast or famine. Truth be told I have not heard an organ trio that I could not appreciate on “some” level with the catch being some better than others. Square One gets bumped up to “better than others!” Joining Brian we have critically acclaimed guitarist Yotam Silberstein and rock steady drummer Mark Ferber. The end result of Square One is an intimate collective with a burning soul. Brian paints with a broad and deep harmonic brush with the end result as the mythical three dimensional sonic depth of field.
Colors you can hear.
Yotam Silberstein and Mark Ferber are far from accompanists and instead integral parts of a rare harmonic synergy captured in such a stripped down ensemble. Covers here are minimal, don’t need them. “If” from Joe Henderson and “Ease Back” from the Meters fit hand in glove alongside Charette originals such as “True Love” and “Ten Bars For Eddie Harris.”
Brian Charette’s compositions are tight, soulful and harmonically inventive. Some reviews write themselves. But humor me…
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StepTempest covers Sarah Manning “Harmonious Creature”…

http://steptempest.blogspot.com

The majority of the music alto saxophonist/composer Sarah Manning created for her 4th CD, “Harmonious Creature” (Posi-Tone Records), came from a month-long stay in 2012 at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire.  In fact, the first track of the recording, “Copland On Cornelia Street“, was inspired by the fact she stayed in a cabin that Aaron Copland had used many decades before.  Even though the Colony is in rural New Hampshire, the music on this CD has quite the urban sound.  The electric guitar of Jonathan Goldberger mixes with the hard-edged tones of Eyvind Kang‘s viola and the forceful rhythm section of drummer Jerome Jennings plus bassist Rene Hart to create an often crunchy yet open backdrop for Ms. Manning’s keening and melodious alto saxophone.  Several of the tunes have an unflagging intensity; “Floating Bridge” is a raucous romp, fueled by Jennings’ relentless drumming while the squalling  ballad “On The Beach” (a Neil Young composition) rises higher and higher on the strength of Kang’s moaning viola and Ms. Manning’s strident solo.

On the quieter side, there is an emotionally rich reading of Gillian Welch’s “I Dream A Highway” (the blend of viola and alto saxophone is other-worldly) and the handsome “Three Chords for Jessica” – the shimmering hand percussion of Jennings and Hart’s trance-like bass lines on the latter track are sparkling accompaniment for a engrossing long solo from the saxophonist.

There’s a “country” feel to the rhythm section and Goldberger’s guitar work on “What The Blues Left Behind“, all in support of a rustic melody.  The guitarist lets loose for a hearty solo, setting the stage for the leader to bring the piece back to the rustic melody.   “Grey Dawn, Red Fox” moves stealthily through a number of tempo changes as well as through shifts in sonorities.  Kang’s viola solo really captures the movements of the fox on a solo that is reminiscent of the sound of the late Billy Bang.

The quintet of musicians led by Sarah Manning make this music come alive at every turn.  That is a compliment to the intelligent compositions and arrangements of the leader.  “Harmonious Creature” takes elements of jazz, rock, folk and even country music to create its own unique musical environment, one that beckons the adventurous listener.

 

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The Jazz Breakfast reviews Sarah Manning “Harmonious Creature”…

http://thejazzbreakfast.com

Sarah Manning – Harmonious Creature

BY PETER BACON on  • ( 0 )

harmonious(Posi-Tone PR8117)

This is the fourth CD from the US alto saxophonist and her second on this label. She has Eyvind Kang on viola, Jonathan Goldberger on guitar, Rene Hart on bass and Jerome Jennings on drums.

It’s both straight down the line, small combo chamber jazz, and also something much fresher in conception. Partly it’s the instrumental line-up and the close, high harmonies that Manning writes for the three melody instruments, partly it’s the breadth of her musical hinterland: she is as interested in Aaron Copland as she is in John Zorn.

In fact, much of this album was written when Manning was working in a studio in the New Hampshire woods which Copland had occupied over 50 years earlier. The opening track is called Copland On Cornelia Street and imagines the composer investigating the late-night New York improvised scene. Grey Dawn, Red Fox is a highly evocative chase through the undergrowth, with saxophone, viola and guitar weaving about one another that Copland might have taken to had he heard it in an improv club.

Manning’s own playing can be keening and strident but always suitably so, and she is always searching fresh melodic paths – listen to the sax/drums section of Floating Bridge, with Jennings pushing hard and the leader thriving on the drive. Overall though, I find her writing and ensemble arranging more compelling than her soloing.

Kang, a frequent Bill Frisell collaborator with a particular penchant for the area where country fiddle meets jazz and classical string playing, is, of course, a delight.

The two non-originals echo the rural nature of the album – Gillian Welch’s I Dream A Highway, which develops into a compelling electro-static noise at thens, and Neil Young’s On The Beach – but if the album was conceived with country loam on the shoes, the downtown city grit is always felt beneath the sole.

A very striking album indeed.

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Another insightful review of Sarah Manning “Harmonious Creature”…

www.birdistheworm.com

Working the line where jazz and folk meet, saxophonist Sarah Manning captures the vibrant energy of the former and the back porch languor of the latter.  Her 2013 release Harmonious Creature touches upon similar motifs as that of Bill Frisell and his Americana Jazz stylings, but where Frisell pretty much ventures out of jazz territory and into the folk countryside, Manning’s music tends to stray more often on the post-bop side of that borderline.

Your album personnel:  Sarah Manning (alto sax), Eyvind Kang (viola),Jonathan Goldberger (guitar), Rene Hart (bass), and Jerome Jennings (drums).

And Manning does play a game of hopscotch down that jazz-folk border… with one foot planted firmly on one side of the land at any one time and the other foot suspended above the opposite genre.  Opening track “Copeland On Cornelia Street” rides the charming squiggles of melody from Manning’s sax and Kang’s viola into a waltz-like motion, then changing partners and letting Hart take over while Manning develops the melody into something fiercer and wilder.  “Tune of Cats” begins with a similar mode, sax piping up with warm notes for viola to leap from one to the other, while Goldberger and Jennings work a more standard repertoire as the rhythm section.  Bassist Hart, again, contributes a resounding dialog in the deeper registers, providing an earthy soulfulness to complement Manning’s fiery solo.

When Manning’s crew plants their feet down on the post-bop side of the line, they do it with authority.  The up-tempo “Floating Bridge” brings the heat, and Manning’s sax solo spreads like wildfire.  “Three Chords for Jessica,” actually, taps a moodier sound more reminiscent of the folk song approach, but Manning lights the song up on saxophone, riding the crest of a slowly building intensity from the other quintet members.  And the slow blues of “What the Blues Left Behind” brings a nicely defined melody on sax, though it’s the seaside ease of guitar that cements the heart of this song in place.

“I Dream a Highway” and “Radish Spirit” go a long way to showing how the quintet doesn’t need to turn up the temperature to get a rise out of the music.  The former has a shimmering melody, glimmering with moodiness and effects, whereas the latter develops a gentle sway that holds the song in place no matter how volatile a solo might become.  And “Grey Dawn, Red Fox” is one of those rare times when the quintet has a foot planted squarely in both jazz and folk territories at the same time.

The notable presence of violist Eyvind Kang can’t be overlooked.  His contributions to albums by Bill Frisell and Jenny Scheinmann, artists who have similarly found a home on the border between jazz and folk, has Kang right at home on this kind of session.  His ability to modulate seamlessly between expressions of the two genres, synthesizing the commonalities while simultaneously accentuating the intrigue of the differences, goes a long way to aiding in the success of this recording.

Just a very enjoyable album, one that crackles with life while retaining a peacefulness that makes for a winning demeanor.

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Music and More reviews Tom Tallitsch new CD “Ride”…

http://jazzandblues.blogspot.com

Tom Tallitsch is a tenor saxophone player working on the modern mainstream scene, recording as a leader and a sideman regularly. He is accompanied by Art Hirahara on piano, Mike Dease on trombone, Peter Brendler on bazz and Rudy Royston on drums. “Ride” opens the album with a strong beginning that builds to a boiling tempo and fine saxophone solo and an exciting drum solo. The David Bowie song “Life on Mars” was a surprise, but a pleasant one as Tallitsch steps back and plays a nice lyrical performance. “Rubbernecker” ramps the music back up to quick modern jazz, fast and loose with escalating and cascading waves of notes and rippling piano, bass and drums interlude. Tallitsch and Dease harmonize during the beginning of “The Giving Tree” staying taught before the leader’s saxophone is able to break free with a well controlled solo underpinned by pulsating bass. It is a great solo with a waterfall of streaming sound. “The Myth” is a longer performance, opening calmly before worrying in some more nervous dynamics as the tempo of the performance increases and Tallitsch makes his solo faster and faster. Royston is excellent here developing rhythms that shift and change in an exciting manner. (March 4, 2014)