Tenor saxophonist Sean Nowell’s third CD is an engaging set of music that was recorded live at the Glen Miller Café in Stockholm at the end of a fourteen-day tour through Sweden. Nowell’s band mate in Travis Sullivan’s Björkestra, drummer Joe Abba, and a solid crew of Swedish musicians help to flesh out this riveting set of music which, as the title implies, is built on, but not limited to, swinging selections.
The program starts off with a triple shot of swing, but each number differs in slight ways. The loping, swaggering swing of McCoy Tyner’s “Blues On The Corner” opens the set and, as good as it is, it almost seems like a warmup when compared to “Ack Värmeland, Du Sköna,” which follows it. Bassist Lars Ekman launches this song with a hip riff, and Nowell’s soloing is energetic and ecstatic. The third number in this triptych, “Harlem Woman,” is driven by Abba’s firm swing and Ekman’s sturdy bass lines, but the soloists really own this one. Duke Ellington’s “Amad,” from his Far East Suite (RCA, 1967), finally takes the band in a different rhythmic direction, with its Middle Eastern flavor and exotic sound, and a second helping of Ellingtonia, in the form of Billy Strayhorn’s “Chelsea Bridge,” features some of Nowell’s most sublime work of the set.
While the combination of old world swing stylings, modern jazz, and reworked classics is a formula that’s used time and again on jazz recordings, this set stands out because of the musical chemistry of this group and the way they shape a song. Abba does a fantastic job crafting dynamic/dramatic rhythmic arcs within a piece (“Walking The Path”), and Nowell, whether attached at the hip to guitarist Fredrik Olsson or setting a song ablaze with his saxophone, leads with class and authority. Pianist Leo Lindberg is often the “Yang” to Nowell’s “Yin,” providing chordal responses to the saxophonist’s statements (“Amad”) and countering his modern-leaning solos with a bluesy approach, and Ekman rounds out the group, providing solid, yet flexible bass work that bolsters the band from below.
While Nowell’s first two albums were first-class musical outings, Stockholm Swingin’ is simply his best thus far. The third time really is a charm.
Track Listing: Blues On The Corner; Ack Värmeland, Du Sköna; Harlem Woman; Amad; NY Vibe; Chelsea Bridge; Sweet Night; Walking The Path.
Personnel: Sean Nowell: tenor saxophone; Fredrik Olsson: guitar; Leo Lindberg: piano; Lars Ekman: bass; Joe Abba: drums.
Sean Nowell (tenor saxophone), Fredrik Olsson (guitar), Leo Lindberg (piano), Lars Ekman (bass), Joe Abba (drums)
2011 Posi-Tone
Stockholm Swingin’ is the result of a tour through Sweden by New York-based saxophonist Sean Nowell with fellow American, drummer Joe Abba. The pair performed a series of concerts with a trio of Swedish musicians, guitarist Fredrik Olsson, pianist Leo Lindberg and bassist Lars Ekman, resulting in this exciting live release recorded at the Glen Miller Café in Stockholm.
Nowell’s biting tenor leads this charged-up quintet. The Alabama native devours the blues on McCoy Tyner’s “Blues on the Corner” and the up-tempo flavor of his own composition “NY Vibe.” Not the least bit bashful of his willingness to swing, Nowell rides gracefully through Billy Strayhorn’s “Chelsea Bridge.”
Abba and Ekman build up unrelenting grooves, especially on Abba’s Latin-type tune “Walking the Path.” Lindberg and Olsson contribute searing solo turns to this all around high-energy, swingin’ affair.
A blossoming career that started in Birmingham, Alabama recently had a stop all the way over in Stockholm, Sweden. For tenor saxophonist Sean Nowell’s third album (all of which are on Posi-Tone Records, by the way),Nowell and drummer Joe Abba flew over to Sweden, joined Frederik Olsson (guitar), Leo Lindberg (piano), and Lars Ekman (bass), toured the country for two weeks, and ended the jaunt at the legendary Glenn Miller Cafe in the capital city. Stockholm Swingin’ is a souvenir from that gig. There’s no boundaries being pushed on Stockholm Swingin’, but everything is done rather well. Old-school straight ahead post-bop jazz with standards like “Blues On The Corner,” “Chelsea Bridge” and the local traditional “Ack Värmeland du Sköna” are blended in with originals that sound almost like standards themselves, like the bluesy groove of Lingberg and Olsson’s “Harlem Woman” (Youtube below). Nowell, who has worked with jazz and jazz notables of every stripe, plays sweet but strong sax on this set, not too unlike another American tenor guy who spent a little time in Scandinavia, Dexter Gordon. Lingberg, who is still in his teens, is a talent to keep watch for; his relaxed and in the pocket manner on “Woman” evokes Sonny Clark. Abba shows just what a tasteful rhythmist he is on Duke Ellington’s “Amad.”
Sean Nowell’s alliance of American and European jazzmen is yet another in a long line of successful such coalitions. Stockholm Swingin’ released just yesterday, on August 2nd.
Nick Hempton is a straight-up mainstream saxophonist and leader who plays in a very confident manner and has a very appealing musical tone. On this album, he is joined by Art Hirahara on piano, Marco Panascia on bass, and Dan Aran on drums. Yotam Silberstein sits in on guitar for a few tracks. The group plays an appealing mix of standards and originals beginning with the medium up-tempo “Flapjacks In Belo” featuring some strong and assured saxophone leading the way, and a ripe piano, bass and drums feature. “Art Is in the Groove” has a strutting feel with a funky solo that has Hirahara switching to electric piano along with strong deep bass. Hempton re-enters with some sharp toned saxophone and then some guitar enters with a nimble brisk tone. The classic ballad “Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good To You” is opened with slow probing piano and lush saxophone. Hempton works the ballad really well, building his solo patiently from the ground up. The ringer in the set and what sets it apart from the many good post-bop albums out there is the group’s adventurous cover of Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s “From Bechet, Byas, And Fats.” Kirk’s music is ripe for re-interpretation and Hempton’s group does an outstanding job of it. After an excellent thick bass solo from Panascia, piano ups the pace and leads to a strong saxophone solo. They make the complicated track work really well, and it is closed out by an exciting section where saxophone and drums trade ideas. “Cold Spring Fever” goes for a more contemporary sound, at first coming off as a little glib, but quickly righting the ship with some excellent drumming and guitar accents. There’s an Atlantic-period Coltrane feel to the lightning fast saxophone in “Not Here For A Haircut” but Hempton never stumbles, playing with a great deal of confidence, building his solo architecturally. After a lengthy probing ballad “The Wading Game,” the group wraps up with a short blast of fun called “Carry on up the Blues” taking things out with muscular modern jazz featuring guitar and bass. This was a really well played and self-assured album, the band is a tight and focused, and Hempton is really a soloist and bandleader to watch.
David Gibson: End of the Tunnel (2010 [2011], Posi-Tone): Trombone player, fifth album since 2002, the first three on retro-leaning Nagel-Heyer. Quartet, with Julius Tolentino on alto sax, Jared Gold on organ, and Quincy Davis on drums. Strong showing for Gold, who contributes two tunes (vs. five for Gibson, plus covers of Herbie Hancock and Jackie McLean), and the horn pairing works out nicely, with Tolentino aggressive and the trombone adding some much needed bottom funk.
Art Hirahara: Noble Path (2010 [2011], Posi-Tone): Pianist, from San Francisco Bay Area, based in Brooklyn. AMG lists four previous records, but only one appears on his website discography. Piano trio, with Yoshi Waki (bass) and Dan Aran (drums). Wrote 8 of 12 songs. Puts a nice spin on covers ranging from Porter to Ellington.
Red flags usually pop up the minute an organ is spotted on the personnel list of a record. Regardless of the quality of the music, the direction is often set in stone, with bluesy Jimmy Smith-style swing dominating the proceedings, but that doesn’t always prove to be true. In fact, guitarist Brent Canter’s Urgency Of Now might be the least derivative organ-based date to hit the streets in 2011.
Canter’s music is full of surprises, as he puts a modern slant on this well-worn instrumental format. While Canter’s studies with the great Kenny Burrell likely influenced his outlook on music, and the technical aspects of his playing, his sound bears little resemblance to that of his teacher. In fact, the timbral and tonal qualities inherent in some of Pat Metheny’s work, with hints ofKurt Rosenwinkel mixed in, are far better reference points.
The eight originals that make up this album show Canter to be a craftsman of exciting, post-modern vehicles that stay away from conventional jazz grooves. Drummer Jordan Perlson is called upon to provide straightforward rock feels, odd-metered grooves and Mitch Mitchell-meets-drum ‘n’ bass beats (“With Eyes Closed”), but swing never enters the picture. Canter uses two different organists on this date, with Pat Bianchi standing in on three tracks for Adam Klipple, and both men marry their individual sounds to the textural guidelines and rhythmic roadmaps that the guitarist lays before them.
Veteran tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake is the final piece of the puzzle, and he brings his passionate solo voice to the fore on this project. The results are spectacular when Blake and Canter cross their sonic streams with one another, but they sound even better when they lock in on a melodic phrase together and ride over the waves of sound provided by the organ and drums.
While the title of this record might appear to be somewhat redundant at first glance, it’s actually a perfect explanation of Canter’s on-the-edge-of-your-seat music. Urgency Of Now eschews all the obvious, placing the guitar-organ combo in a new light, while spotlighting a promising up-and-comer in the jazz guitar category.
Ok, so the final installment of this 3 part series of new records from Posi-Tone is finally making its conclusion. I was originally gonna finish this up with a single review of Jared Gold’s All Wrapped Up, but a couple weeks after I got that record I received David Gibson’s End of the Tunnel. Since they both feature the same rhythm section (Gold on B3 and Quincy Davis on drums) I figured what the hell, I’ll review both of them and turn a 3 disc review into a 4 disc review. So here we gooo……
Oh, and if any of you are interested in other recent releases from Posi-Tone I’d suggest checking out guitarist Brent Canter’s Urgency of Now and guitarist Dave Juarez’s Round Red Light, both of which strangely (maybe) enough feature Seamus Blake on tenor. They are great post-bop albums that slightly incorporate rock elements and featurecatchy writing and strong solos throughout. Definitely check out these upcoming guitarists.
David Gibson: End of the Tunnel (Posi-Tone PR 8082)
(Trust me, this review is a positive one, just get past the first coupla sentences). I’ll admit it, just like I have an unexplainable allergy to jazz vocals so too do I have an allergy to the trombone as a solo instrument. Perhaps it’s because there are so many trombone soloists who try to make the trombone sound pretty. I’m convinced that a trombone cannot sound pretty or delicate or sensitive or whatever and not sound limp. I love me some tailgate trombone: the louder, the brasher, the better. And if it’s not tailgate trombone style there had better be a slight rasp and edge to that trombone. One of the things I can’t stand is a flaccid trombone.
All that being said, I am not allergic to David Gibson’s trombone at all. It’s strong and has plenty of bite, even when he’s playing in a more relaxed and sensitive manner. Oh, and his new album, End of the Tunnel, which also includes Julius Tolentino on alto, is pretty damn good too.
The record grooves hard right out of the gate, and continues to groove all the way through. Herbie Hancock’s “Blind Man, Blind Man” starts things off with an infectious strut, a la Lee Morgan’s “Sidewinder.” Gibson’s “Wasabi” is a more forward charging rock inspired tune. Gibson and Tolentino are plenty funky here, and I lack the technical knowledge about the B3 to adequately explain what Gold does during his solo – he gets a spooky, kind of hollow sound out of it, a color I don’t think I’ve heard from a B3 before. It’s a great example of what he can make the versatile instrument do. Gold’s “Preachin’” is a lovely easy swinger. Gibson uses plenty of space in his solo, and you can hear how shapes each note, giving them individual qualities and showing that everything he’s doing is intentional – no fluff here, which can actually be said for the whole record. No fluff, all business.
Jared Gold: All Wrapped Up (Posi-Tone PR 8080)
Like End of the Tunnel, All Wrapped Up jumps right out of the gates. Joining Gold and Davis are saxophonist Ralph Bowen (whose latest Power Play is also worth checking out) and trumpeter Jim Rotondi. I wouldn’t call this an old school record, partly because all four members of the band contributed tunes, and partly because it doesn’t sound like an old school record. What is old school about it (besides the classic tenor/trumpet frontline) is the attitude and the presentation: it swings like crazy, the band is tight, and perhaps most importantly, the soloists bring it every time – their solos are confident, well conceived, get right to the point, and are firmly grounded in the hard bop tradition.
As a soloist Gold is not from the Jimmy Smith, bluesy, churchy, grimy school of B3 playing. His approach is more similar to Pat Bianchi or Sam Yahel. He uses the entire range of timbres and textures the B3 can offer, which he does well on Rotondi’s “Dark Blue.” Single notes runs, lush thick block chords, swells, and changes to the stops are all there. Bowen is a monster and a master technician, and has been since at least before he appeared on those Out of the Blue albums Blue Note put out in the mid 80s. His concise composition “Midnight Snack” runs through several short episodes before giving way to the solos. Bowen and the other soloists blow over a rhythm section that alternates between a medium swing and a Latin-ish groove. After Bowen and Rotondi blow it’s Gold’s turn, and he plays over a somewhat lilting half time back beat feel, giving the tune contrast. Rotondi is in fine form throughout the record and provides a nice counterpart to Bowen; both men compliment each other nicely. Davis is great, and what I especially like about his drumming is that his snare drum is always always always in the pocket – it is funky (check out “Mama Said”) and gets my head nodding.
Each track is relatively short, with only two going over seven minutes. At 50 minutes in length All Wrapped Up doesn’t wear out its welcome, and it’s excellent execution and production invites you to return several times.
Hot on the heels of his Captain Black Big Band release, pianist Orrin Evans delivers a swinging piano-trio tribute to his hometown of Philadelphia with Freedom. The disc has a contemplative feel with the occasional burst of frenetic energy. The direction is refreshing and telling of the maturity of Evans, who seems more concerned with artistic expression than technical posturing. With a style steeped in tradition, yet pushing forward ever-so-gently, Evans is able to show restraint while building layers of intensity, especially on the ballad “Dita”—Evans’ only compositional contribution to the date—and an imaginative solo piano rendering of Herbie Hancock’s “Just Enough,” which serves as a fitting wrap-up. The pianist takes more of a thrill-seeking approach on up-tempo numbers such as “Hodge Podge” and “As Is.”
Evans is supported by bassist Dwayne Burno and drummers Anwar Marshall and, long-time associate, Byron Landham, all Philly-bred musicians. The great tenor saxophonist and Philadelphia legend Larry McKenna adds insatiable swinging lines to a couple of tracks, including a straightforward rendition of “Time After Time.”
Last week, I caught up with Orrin Evans for an interview forAlternate Takes. The pianist, composer and band leader was in town for a gig at the Zinc Bar in Greenwich Village with his much-buzzed-about big band. A couple of songs into the second set, Evans turns his famously hospitable energy toward the audience, as he introduces the band. “Welcome to Captain Black Big Band. For those of you who have read my recent Facebook rants, Captain Black is the tobacco my Dad used to smoke,” Evans defends. “…but I am wearing a dashiki, so it can mean whatever you want it to!”
He proceeds to introduce the tune the band just played – “Captain Black.” He then jokes encouragingly to his predominately White audience. “Come on guys, you can take it,” speaking of all of the “Black” references being tossed in their laps at lightning speed. It is classic Orrin Evans fashion to make his audience laugh, think and cringe, all at the same time. His honesty, though sometimes tough to hear (depending on where you’re coming from) is distinctively wrapped in warmth and convincingly well-intentioned.
Evans’ recent “Facebook rants” about Blacks mobilizing in the jazz industry in terms of an increased level of participation and ownership on the business side, among some other topics, have received some heated backlash from a few, and even apprehension to concede from some of his Black contemporaries. For Evans, his philosophies are ingrained; the result of a household filled with robust cultural awareness and exposure, education, and a fierce intention to raise a child who was keenly aware, and secure with his identity. “My father was Professor of African American Studies for 30 years at Trenton State College, and Professor of English at Princeton University, and I grew up in the Black arts movement because he was also a playwright. Then I grew up with my mom who was an opera singer who came through Opera Ebony and Opera North which was the Black opera company, so in my house it was constantly ‘hold you head high.’” When it came to the cruel names his dark-complexioned sister was taunted by, Evans reflects on his parents’ response, citing just one of the countless teachable moments that they would take advantage of throughout his upbringing. “My father would grab all the kids in the neighborhood, and sit them on the steps and say ‘Check this out. This is Africa and this is why there are different complexions…’ So that’s how I grew up. So I can’t do anything different.”
Orrin Evans grew up in Philadelphia, PA, and emerged on the New York City jazz scene in the mid-90s after attending the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. A flourishing time for young jazz musicians, he was quickly recognized as an exceptional talent, and released his first album as a leader in 1994, and has at least ten more albums under his belt, to date. He has dozens of recording credits, and has played with an array of jazz and popular artists like Bobby Watson, Pharoah Sanders, Antonio Hart, Roy Hargrove,Mos Def, Common, Dave Douglas, Brandford Marsalis, Sean Jones, Ravi Coltrane, and The Mingus Big Band. He is a label executive, producer, arranger, educator and most recently, a big band director.
Captain Black Big Band is comprised of a combination of local and renowned jazz musicians from the Philadelphia and New York area and has included Ralph Bowen,Wayne Escoffery, Tia Fuller, Jaleel Shaw, Tatum Greenblatt, Brian Kilpatrick, Tim Warfield, Stafford Hunter, Frank Lacy, Brent White,Todd Marcus, Luques Curtis, Anwar Marshall, Gene Jackson, andDonald Edwards – – to name some. The album, which bears the same name as the band, is comprised of original tunes by Evans, Ralph Peterson, Gianluca Renzi and Todd Marcus. It is a joyous and meaningful assemblage of music, life and love, captured via live recording dates in both NYC and Philly. I was caught off guard when Evans explained the genesis of such an ambitious project. “The idea behind it was just boredom,” says Evans. “That’s the truth. Sometimes living in Philly, and that two hour commute to New York…I just wanted to do something. And I had just gotten back from Portugal where I led this big band of college students, and I thought, wow, that was kind of fun, and I said well maybe I’ll do this during my down time in Philly. Nothing more. But then when it started, I said this is really coming together. And I have to admit, I married the right partner. My wife was like alright, you’re bullshitting, we’re gonna do a record; gotta do the record. I just did this to be doing it, and it kinda grew into something. I called on other friends to fill in where some of the college students who were in Philly couldn’t handle. I called Gene Jackson and Donald Edwards, and a lot of other people. And I’ve never arranged for a big band. And the thing is, people think that I did all these arrangements. Charles Mingus didn’t do a lot of arrangements for his big band. I wrote the tunes and then I was blessed to have Todd Bashore do a pile of arrangements and so the band started coming together. And my thing is, what I’ve realized was like, New York…actually the industry…they want something to talk about. So, here it is; Orrin Evans’ next thing.”
If you’re trying to keeping up with Evans — good luck. High on energy and ideas, he’s already working on the next big band album, as well as a new release from his group Tar Baby; a trio that includes bassist Eric Revis and drummer Nasheet Waits. Based on a concept from African-American folklore, Tar Baby represents a powerful message. “I grew up with Uncle Remus. My father, like I said, was a playwright and used to read Uncle Remus stories. The story of the tar baby is pretty much that Br’er Rabbit wanted to trick everybody and you can grab the tar baby and you’re stuck on what is real. So we all got into a thing that tar baby is jazz. These other musicians — black, white, purple, green — don’t wanna grab onto. They don’t wanna get stuck on the concept that this is Black music. So there it is, and Tar Baby was born.”
Last year, Evans also released Faith In Action, which received critical acclaim. The album is a tribute to one of his most important mentors, Bobby Watson. A bold and inspiring homage, Faith In Action is a strong argument for playing the music of the living; a seemingly lost tradition in jazz today. “I’ve recorded Duane Eubanks tunes, a Chris Beck (a 20-something year old drummer from Philly) tune on my last record. A big part of it is that I have never forgotten where I came from. Everybody came through Bobby Watson, I don’t care who you are. If you’re in the same age range as me — between 32 and 55 – you came up through Bobby Watson. Frank Lacy came through Bobby Watson, Chris McBride. Roy Hargrove; his first recording date was with Bobby Watson. Benny Green. I mean, I can go down the list. Regardless of what people may think. People may say ‘Bobby’s cool…’ and Bobby is cool. Bobby may not be John Coltrane. Bobby may not be Kenny Garrett; I don’t really care. The point is, how did I get in the door? The problem is a lot of us forget where we came from. I remember being in the Metronome, and I was playing with Rodney Whitaker and Ralph Bowen. And remember seeing Bilal, Robert Glasper…all of them were there checking out the music. They’ve always been checking out the music. They will always talk about that time. That time meant something to them. The problem now is a lot of younger musicians are like ‘I’m just here,’ like they’re in Star Trek and they pressed a button and they morphed here. I cannot deny that I got in the door through Bobby Watson. He opened the door and let me in. That’s all that record was about. Let me play his music.”
Like so many before him, Evans has kept with the tradition of not just paying homage to those pivotal figures in his life, but utilizing jazz music’s vital role as a means of social commentary with his stirring composition, “Jena 6.” Songs like Ambrose Akinmusire’s “My Name is Oscar” and “Jena 6″ are unfortunate reminders of the world we live in. I asked about the importance of telling these stories in jazz. “Now it’s important to tell the story through the music and dot-dot-dot…whatever medium that is. And when you get the microphone and on Facebook and on Twitter, ‘cuz others need to hear that story. You never know. Like today is my mother’s birthday. But that’s important for me to tell tonight because I’m 36 years old and don’t have either one of my parents. But I still feel empowered. So, I tell that story because someone in that audience that I’m gonna play for tonight might have lost their mother, or may have lost their father. So it’s important for me to play “Jena 6,” because I’m telling a story just like Mingus’ “Fables of Faubus.” Just like Max, or Miles, but I can’t let it stop with playing a song. Because sometimes you play the song and nobody knows who Orval Faubes was. Nobody knows that he’s the dude who prevented desegregation in schools, so you have to say it, too.
It is perhaps the “saying” that many of today’s musicians are struggling with, especially in the shrinking music industry climate. “There’s tons of people that come to mind that are really willing to speak up. But there’s also a lot of people that are scared. They’re really scared because they’re all grabbing for the same thing. There’s four booking agents, there’s four managers, and those people are in control of… you look at the top jazz people who I love and respect. They’re like, if I wanna play there, I need to be cool with this person, so everyone is holding on to the little bit that they have. That’s number one. They don’t want to ruffle any feathers.”
For reasons understandable, Evans takes the relationships with his band mates seriously; especially off of the bandstand. The social climate seems to suggest that bringing up truthful points — not opinion — is enough for an artist to be labeled with unfair and assumed agendas or platforms. For Evans’ supporters (or supporters of any other Black jazz musician that dare have a mind to speak), there is an understanding that there may be consequence for any level of an agreeable attitude. To illustrate, two artists (whose names will not be mentioned here) have had their record labels contacted, and were specifically asked not to comment on Evans’ Facebook comments. Though Evans’ fans and supporters far outweigh the few who are taking issue, the horror of what that kind of action symbolizes in the grand scheme of things is worthy of the dedication of an entirely separate post. But for Evans, it is quite simple. “My lead alto player calls me an hour before you got here and couldn’t make it [for the Zinc Bar gig tonight]. So I’m thinking, is there a shortage of lead alto players in New York? No. Is there a shortage of lead alto players that are comfortable with my rants on Facebook? That have known me, known my wife, are familiar with my kids, and know where I’m coming from? Yes. So I’m like, shit.” Of course, Evans gets his altoist before the end of our time together, but his point is well taken. “I just need family around me. I wanna look at every person on that bandstand, and they know me. They know my family. That’s really important to me. Not just ‘cuz you the baddest cat. I can call the baddest cat. We all can.”
On his way back from Texas to New York to meet me for this interview, Evans’ described his appreciation for the flood of phone calls and text messages he received from an array of jazz industry figures as he walked through Newark airport. For Evans, the abundance of messages of hopes that he’ll continue to do this all important — if sometimes unpopular — enlightening, is motivation enough.
In terms of music, Evans is proving to be more prolific than ever. Recently placing in this year’s DownBeat Critics Poll in the Big Band category, and releasing the gorgeous and relentlessly swinging Freedom (Posi-Tone) and several projects coming down the pike, Evans is still one of jazz music’s top contenders. ♦
There is no shortage of piano trios. A wide variety of seminal pianists have established a reputation in this venue. At times, it is challenging to differentiate from the template of being the next McCoy Tyner or Bill Evans. Orrin Evans has pushed the envelope. His recent catalogue at Posi-Tone boasts a diverse and eclectic prerogative. Straight trio (Faith In Action), frenetic socio-political dialectic (Tarbaby’s End Of Fear) and dynamic large sound (Captain Black Big Band) have defined a jazz practitioner who is pursuing his own vision.
Freedom is a textured, stylish piano trio project. Philadelphia (Evans’ hometown) is the central element to the recording. Most of the compositions and musicians emanate from the rich traditions of jazz from this gritty urban community. From the opening, rhythmic undercurrents of Charles Fambrough’s “One For Honor”, it is evident that there is a significant cohesive dynamic within the trio. Evans sets up his fast-paced runs with chords, and it just swings. The tempo is sustained and fades into a delicate finish. A cover of Shirley Scott’s “Oasis” is imbued with strong percussion, thanks to the tandem of Byron Landham and Anwar Marshall. This seems to launch several flashy, syncopated piano riffs. “Shades Of Green” keeps the momentum, but in a more relaxed bop arrangement. Landham drumming and cymbal strokes mesh effortlessly with the different piano expressions.
Bassist Dwayne Burno contributes a “cool” jazz piece, “Gray’s Ferry” (those familiar with West Philadelphia should recognize the suggestion). The ensemble morphs to quartet as Larry McKenna offers a smooth lead on tenor saxophone. This bluesy jam evokes some of the imagery of the early sixties jazz combos. Evans’ solo is graceful and soulful. McKenna surfaces again on the cover of the 1947 Jule Styne standard, “Time After Time”. Evans’ own “Dita” is a distinctive change of pace. The ethereal haunting ballad draws on the almost hypnotic subtlety of the piano lead. Burno injects a supple nuanced bass riff. With the unique drum work of Landham, the spacey effect is organic and unconventional. A lyrical elegant rendition of Herbie Hancock’s “Just Enough” is an appropriate finale to this native homage.
For those who favor piano trios, (or have grown tired of them), Freedom will be invigorating.