Category: Reviews

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StepTempest speaks highly of Steve Davis “For Real”…

http://steptempest.blogspot.com

Any recording by trombonist/composer/educatorSteve Davis is a reason to celebrate.  A 1989 graduate of the HARTT School’s Jackie McLean Institute (at the University of Hartford), Davis has performed with Art Blakey, Chick Corea, Christian McBride and so many others, especially the collective One For All.  He’s also served on the faculty of his alma mater since 1991 as well as working with Hartford’s Artist’s Collective.

“For Real” is the title of Davis’s 4th release for PosiTone Records and an apt description of the man himself.  Though he can play with great fire, Davis eschews histrionics in favor of a smooth, steady, tone and music that builds from solid melodic lines and a strong chordal structure.  Joining him for this date is long-time associates Larry Willis (piano) and fellow HARTT faculty member Nat Reeves (bass), McLean Institute graduate Abraham Burton (tenor saxophone) and the fine young drummer Billy Williams.  Right off the bat, the title track reminds this listener of the sounds of the Jazz Crusaders with its funky blend of ‘bone, tenor sax and piano. Burton is a strong soloist, blending the drive of John Coltrane with the bluesy explorations of players such as Booker Ervin and Hank Mobley.  Willis, the 71-year old native of Harlem (New York City), is, at turns, playful, wistful, swinging, and always melodic.  On the rousing “Tactics” (all the songs on the CD are Davis originals save one), the pianist’s solid chords give Reeves the freedom to fly while Williams supplies the drive.  Willis’s impressionistic chords open the handsome ballad “I Found You” with its 2-part melody line – his graceful solo unwinds freely over the classy foundations supplied by his  partners in the rhythm section.  The trombonist’s solo blends short phrases with longer, sweetly flowing lines. Brazilian rhythms underpin the sprightly closing track “Daylight“, giving the soloists a springboard for imaginative and hard-driving explorations.  Burton’s joyful romp builds off the energy created by Willis’s ebullient solo.  The leader picks up on the dancing quality of Reeves’ bouncy bass lines and Williams’s enthusiastic percussion, delivering a sweet melodic statement.

Yes, “For Real” is just that – “real” music that is as exciting as it is entertaining.  Steve Davis connects with his audience on a number of levels, his honest approach to his art refreshing and certainly enjoyable.

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JazzWrap covers Steve Davis “For Real”…

http://jazzwrap.blogspot.com

Steve Davis: For Real

Steve Davis (trombone)
For Real (Posi-Tone; 2014)
Abraham Burton (sax)
Larry Willis (piano)
Nat Reeves (bass)
Billy Williams (drums)

Steve Davis is in superb form on his new album, For Real. This is probably the best I heard in a couple albums now. While the bandmates remained the same for this album, with the inclusion of Abraham Burton, their tone and Davis’ writing feels stronger and more confident.

“For Real” takes a calm but groovy approach, with some additional homage to the Blue Note legacy (you’ll know what this means when you hear it). While keeping the hard bop tradition, Davis still manages to make his compositions stand above some of his contemporaries. The lovely ballad “Days Gone By,” excels thanks to the raw but lush notes from Burton and the always steady hand of Willis. Davis’ playing is understated and warm reflecting a soft elder statesmen quality.

“Daylight” closes out the album on a wonderful Brazilian swing. While having the infectious flavour, Davis crafts the tune with a number changes that allows for some adventurous movements throughout the piece. Not your typical number. And not you typical Brazilian influence tune. Well done.

With For Real, Steve Davis show that he has a lot more to write about and he continues to go from strength to strength. For Real is probably his best record to date for the Posi-Tone label. And its well worth seeking out. Right now!

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Midwest Record reviews Steve Davis and Sarah Manning Cds…..

STEVE DAVIS/For Real:  Kicking it off with some classic feeling soul/jazz/funk,
Davis and his crew find that sweet spot where mainstream and post bop collide in
a bouncy ball fun house.  Ensemble playing that doesn’t miss a beat, this set of
all originals  never takes you to that place where you start wishing the gang would
break into something like “Compared to What?” so your ears can feel on familiar ground.
Smoking, tasty stuff throughout, this is a must for the sitting down jazz fans that
like to bounce in their seats as the groove unfurls.  Solid!8116
SARAH MANNING/Harmonious Creature:  Some might find this improvising sax player an
acquired taste, and a lot of them would be right.  With her roots in the free jazz
sound of the sixties, it’s sounds like she’s never paid her dues in a church basement
even if she’s made some off beat stops along the way.  An arts council darling, she
knows how to make free jazz for parents that have to get the sitter home early because
it’s a school night.8117
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Great interview with pianist David Ake about music and his new CD “Bridges”…

www.cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — David Ake’s album“Bridges’’ is showing up on a ton of year-end best-of lists.

You almost expect that from someone who’s been making music his whole life, and whose band includes some of the best in jazz – including tenor sax player Ravi Coltrane, trumpeter Ralph Alessi, as well as alto sax player Peter Epstein, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Mark Ferber.

All of them have pretty impressive pedigrees and resumes at least as strong as Coltrane, who, yes, is the son of the legendary John Coltrane.

Only one, however, is a professor and chairman of Case Western Reserve University’s Department of Music. That would be Ake.

“Case has traditionally been focused on early music,’’ said Ake in a call from the Shaker Heights home he and his family have shared since moving here from the University of Reno (Nev.) in July 2013.

“Over the last few years, they’ve started a center for the study of popular music,’’ Ake said. “When they did a search for a new chair about this time last year, I think they noticed I’m also a jazz scholar.’’

And that’s scholar with a capital P – and a lower case hd. Prof. Ake’s doctorate is in musicology, and his written a few books about music. But first and foremost, he’s a musician.

Clearly, musical scales aren’t his only dilemma.

“I’ve been trying to balance this [being a musician and an educator],’’ Ake said. “For a long time, I was just a jazz pianist. I lived in Munich, Los Angeles, New York. That’s all I did was play jazz piano.

“My knowledge of playing and composing feeds into my work on music history, and vice versa,’’ he said. “What I have found is that one of these interests comes to the fore at one time. I can’t do everything all at the same time.’’

With that in mind, Ake for the moment is focusing on being the chairman of Case’s music department.

But that’s not stopping him from enjoying the accolades that have been cast on “Bridges,’’ which was released on Posi-Tone records in May 2013.

Jazz records by their very nature are unusual, and “Bridges’’ raises that to new highs. One review talks about “the convergence of cacophony and structure’’ in the album, which probably is best described as dissonant jazz.

“It’s really the balance of freedom and order,’’ Ake said. “That’s what I’m going for. I set up these structures for these extraordinary improvisers, and we see what happens.’’

But for that to happen – and to come off as well as it does – there has to be an unbelievable amount of trust in each other.

“I’ve known these guys since the mid-1980s,’’ Ake said. “Ralph Alessi the trumpeter, Ravi Coltrane, Scott Colley — most of us went to the California Institute of the Arts.

“Trust in yourself, trust in the musicians and trust in the audience,’’ Ake said. “Things may get weirder than you’re used to, but hang in there and something wondrous might happen.’’

He’s right about that. “Bridges’’ has a feel and a sound all its own. “That’s because it’s something I’m calling dissonant jazz. Certain songs, like ‘Dodge’ and ‘Boats,’ seem to be almost sonic versions of a European roundabout, which goes off in different directions but begins with the same starting point.

“Sometimes, that’s written in,’’ Ake said. “At some point, ‘Let’s head back here, to Letter B or whatever.’ Other times, it could be suggested by whatever somebody’s playing.

“Again, it’s all about trust,’’ he said.

Ake hasn’t played out since moving to Cleveland, but that could change soon.

“Last time I played was the Reno Jazz Festival back in April,’’ he said. “I’m getting a little itchy. I don’t mind not being on the road anymore, but I miss having a band and playing, and I know there are some great players in Cleveland.’’

Sounds like another bridge is about to be crossed, eh?

 

 

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All About Jazz reviews our new CD by saxophonist Sarah Manning “Harmonious Creature”…

www.allaboutjazz.com

In order to create the music for Harmonious Creatures, saxophonist Sarah Manning had to put the hustle and bustle behind her. She picked herself up and took to the woods, composing and communing with nature at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire where she was living out her time as a MacDowell fellow in October of 2012. The time she spent at that artist’s refuge gave her a chance to reflect, bridge worlds, and blur lines in her compositions. The serenity of the woods and the constant motion of modern day life now come together as one in her work.

Harmonious Creatures presents a more emotionally balanced voice than the one heard on the critically acclaimed Dandelion Clock (Posi-Tone, 2010), but the already-established tart-toned and acerbic nature of Manning’s horn still shines through here; it’s just seen in a different light now. On Dandelion Clock her horn stood out in sharp relief against the piano trio that worked with her, but here her horn is fully integrated with the other aural elements at play. Violist Eyvind Kang, perhaps best known for his work with guitarist Bill Frisell, joins Manning in the front line and operates in a similar sonic space; never have a viola and alto saxophone sounded so in tune with one another. The other X factor here is guitarist Jonathan Goldberger. His hallucinatory twangs and strums add volumes to the musical atmosphere; when all three parties converge, collide or cross paths, the resultant music is heady and spellbinding.

Manning’s work can be alluring, focused, and free spirited all at once (“Three Chords For Jessica”). Her never-derivative saxophone blowing can be barbed (“Floating Bridge”) or beautifully direct (“I Dream A Highway”), and her boundless creativity often surfaces in the most surprising of places (Neil Young’s “On The Beach”). Her simpatico band mates mirror her mood swings and follow her through the highs and lows here. Sonic thickets abound, but so do clearings in the pasture.

Sarah Manning proves to be a harmonious creature herself, capable of balancing order and chaos, shadows and light, and the simple and complex without issue. In an age when many a critic has bemoaned the homogenization of saxophonists on the scene, Sarah Manning is proof that personality can still triumph over standardization; Manning stands apart from the sea of sound-alikes.
Track Listing: Copland On Cornelia Street; Tune Of Cats; Floating Bridge; I Dream A Highway; Grey Dawn, Red Fox; Radish Spirit; Three Chords For Jessica; Don’t Answer To The Question; On The Beach; What The Blues Left Behind.

Personnel: Sarah Manning: alto saxophone; Eyvind Kang: viola; Jonathan Goldberger: guitar; Rene Hart: bass; Jerome Jennings: drums.

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JazzTimes reviews Idan Santhaus “There You Are”…

http://jazztimes.com

Idan Santhaus
There You Are
Posi-Tone

By Jeff Tamarkin

Although he is a saxophonist and flutist, Idan Santhaus plays on only one cut on There You Are, adding his flute to the title track. The focus here is on composition: The Israeli-born Santhaus spent years writing and arranging the music that comprises this big-band project—his first as a leader—recording it with two different 16-piece ensembles in 2008 and 2011. It’s a sprawling, ambitious but welcoming work, thriving on dynamic contrasts and projecting a unified vibe despite the use of the different groups.

Santhaus establishes a disparity in mood in the shift from the opening, spring-like “After All” to the somewhat darker “Tempo Rarely.” But overall, There You Are never veers too far from the mainstream; it isn’t overtly experimental or determinedly challenging. The quasi-exotic closing piece, “Nothing Yet,” featuring solos from pianist Deanna Witkowski and saxophonist David DeJesus and flirts with dissonance and multiple tempo shifts, but even there Santhaus is more concerned with presenting a listenable, cohesive work than with strutting his compositional chops in any potentially alienating manner.

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SomethingElse Reviews Steve Davis “For Real”…

somethingelsereviews.com

Jazz Messengers-alum and sideman trombonist of choice Steve Davis makes his fourth Posi-Tone disc For Realyet another enjoyable collection of no-bullshit, genuine hard bop.

Retaining Larry Willis (piano), Nat Reeves (bass) and Billy Williams (drums) from the dandy Gettin’ It Done of 2012,For Real pairs Davis with only one other horn this time, the tenor sax of Abraham Burton. Burton, whose sweet elongated notes lifts “Angie’s Groove,” fits in splendidly with Davis’ ’60s Blue Note soul-jazz vibe, the major reason I get a kick out of Davis’ records.

True to that vibe, Davis himself is often remindful of the great Curtis Fuller, and he can burn (as on “Tactics”) and cool down (as on “Days Gone By”) as well as any ‘bone player alive today, in a rare class with Steve Turre and Michael Dease.

This time, Davis went with a slate of all-originals, which, save for Willis’ “Blues On Blues” are self-penned. As before, Davis introduced tunes that could have been conceived fifty years ago and rarely conceived as well since then. Davis’ tunes have a flair for rhythm, too, from the “Sidewinder” boogaloo present on “For Real” to the festive Brazilian carnival groove of “Daylight.”

Steve Davis has led another sturdy date that packs a lot of soul, plenty of acumen and tight ensemble playing. It’s all you can ask for from a straight-ahead date, and Davis does it with regularity. For real.

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Britt Robson writes up Doug Webb “Another Scene” for eMusic….

www.emusic.com

The veteran saxophonist’s best album to date

Doug Webb is a veteran L.A. session saxophonist who ventured to New York (hence the title) to assemble a superb quartet and record his best album to date. Most of the essential material here is sparkling, rollicking hard bop in the classic mode: Webb and pianist Peter Zak playing with a buoyant, blues-based fervor while drummer Rudy Royston and bassist Dwayne Burno provide spiky but rock-solid accompaniment. The debt to John Coltrane is apparent, and not only because “Another Step” is just a creative variation on “Giant Steps.” “Eulogy” has the sort of swelling, beneficent glow reminiscent of ‘Trane’s A Love Supreme (with Royston nailing the tension-building Elvin Jones role) and after a stately intro, “One for Art” lowers the throttle on already-rapid syncopation to produce a molten slurry of notes.

Zak, who is relatively obscure despite a strong string of discs on the Steeplechase label, adds depth and energy as an inventive second soloist. Royston gets more of a chance to barge around than in his higher-profile gigs with Bill Frisell and Dave Douglas, and seizes his showcase moments on “Rhythm with Rudy,” and “One for Art.” Last but not least, it is a bittersweet treat to hear Burno, who passed away at age 43 just months after this release. His engaging, woody-toned bass lines invariably provide the right amount of glue, and when he gets to solo, as on a cover of Thad Jones’s “Bird Song,” here, his nuanced meld of funk and swing perfectly suits the occasion.

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Lucid Culture takes Doug Webb “Another Scene”…

http://lucidculture.wordpress.com

Doug Webb‘s new album Another Scene ranks among the best from Posi-Tone, including Jared Gold’s organ albums, the Captain Black Big Band album and Ralph Bowen’s awesome Power Play  from a couple of years ago.  This one puts the LA tenor saxophonist out in front of a New York rhythm section with energy to match – you want intensity? You got it. Bill Frisell keeps Rudy Royston in his band because he is what he is, but this unit gives Royston the chance to cut loose in the studio like he does onstage in JD Allen‘s trio. He makes bassist Dwayne Burno‘s job easy. Pianist Peter Zak also gets plenty of opportunities to raise the voltage.

The opening track, Mr. Milo, is a briskly biting, syncopated Miles homage, Webb burning through the whole-tone scale, Zak hitting a similarly highwire intensity as he charges downward. One for Art – a homage to Webb’s late bassist bandmate Art Davis  – is a launching pad for a long, absolutely blistering run by Webb, Zak’s solo over impatient drums that turn loose explosively- and then the band goes back to swing as if nothing happened. OK…for a little while, anyway.

Kenny Wheeler’s Smatter gets a clenched-teeth, scurrying swing and more Royston being Royston – it calms, or at least focuses, from midway on. They do Dave Brubeck’s Southern Scene as a warmly cantabile ballad, Zak rippling over almost wry Royston cymbals, keeping it lush, Webb’s warm solo echoing a Paul Desmond dry martini elegance. Another Step sets Webb and Zak’s energetic hard-bop moves over a disarmingly simple swing; Jobim’s Double Rainbow works the tension between Webb’s balminess and the raw intensity of the rhythm section for all it’s worth. Royston’s cascading waves in tandem with Zak’s solo are absolutely luscious.

Eulogy takes awhile to get going, but springboards an absolutely haunted, wrenching tenor solo from the bandleader, contrasting with the lickety-split romp Rhythm with Rudy. The version of What Is There to Say here is a predictably long feature for Webb, while Verdi Variations playfully pilfers the opera book, both Webb and Zak attacking the themes with more agitation and fire than you would expect. They follow that with a sly, bouncy excursion through Thad Jones’ Bird Song and conclude with a warmly steady take of Benny Carter’s Trust  Your Heart. Webb has come a long way since his days voicing tv characters.

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The Jazz Page covers Doug Webb “Another Scene”…

thejazzpage.com

Veteran saxman Doug Webb has a big-time jazz saxophone voice, in league with some of the great purveyors of the instrument. This sound is on full display on his latest effort Another Scene. Webb can burn hard on a swing tune or find the tenderest approach on a ballad. He knows his stuff and he’s joined by a collection of musicians who know theirs as well. Joining Webb on the project are Peter Zak on piano, Dwayne Burno on bass and Rudy Royston on drums. The group covers an array of material, from Webb’s excellent compositions, as well as tunes by the likes of Dave Brubeck, Benny Carter, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Kenny Wheeler. Webb’s big, bright sound in the midst of all this great rhythm is tremendous and the performances here make this one of our favorites of the year.