Pianist Vijay Iyer’s long-running and widely acclaimed trio with bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Marcus Gilmore has been in existence for eleven years now. It’s a group whose musical language is informed by more than just the jazz piano trio tradition. While Iyer acknowledges the influence of, for instance, Ahmad Jamal, Andrew Hill and Duke Ellington’s “Money Jungle” trio upon his own trio aesthetics, he points out that his group also has been inspired by James Brown’s rhythm section, Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsies, Miles Davis’ rhythm section, soul music from the ‘70s, electronic music and hip-hop from very recent times. Their new disc, “Break Stuff,” is Iyer’s third now for ECM Records.
“Constellations” is the debut recording from the trio of drummer Karl Latham, trumpeter Ryan Carniaux and bassist Mark Egan. A longtime fan of the music of Icelandic singer/songwriter Bjork, Latham longed to attempt a true representation of his impression of her music. He approached his close friend Egan to be part of the project and they brought in the rising star Carniaux, whom they had worked with in 2012. The ensemble was completed with the addition of special guest Nick Rolfe on keyboards. The result is a journey, explorations of conscious and subconscious reality and humble homage to the vision of one of the 20th Century’s most influential creative forces.
Also this week, guitarist Rez Abbasi and his Acoustic Quartet offer up acoustic interpretations of ‘70s jazz-rock classics by Weather Report, Herbie Hancock and others with “Intents and Purposes”; “Songs for Quintet” is one of the final recordings from the late trumpeter and composer Kenny Wheeler; and the George Gee Swing Orchestra performs the compositions and arrangements of trombonist David Gibson on “Swing Makes You Happy.”
The state of Iowa has contributed greatly to the world of jazz, providing a heritage and education to many influential jazz artists of yesterday and today. The strong jazz education programs in Iowa schools are nurturing and producing many new young players, some of whom will surely be seen on these pages in the future. Here are some notable examples of Iowans whose influence is felt throughout the world.
To those of us in Iowa the name of Bix Beiderbecke brings to mind the yearly jazz festival on the river in Davenport, or the well-known marathon race in the same city. However, seventy years ago the moniker “Bix” meant only one thing-the jazz cornetist who was a major, but not necessarily well-known figure of the time. Along with young Louis Armstrong, he became a most influential figure. His personality and music were the opposite of the great Armstrong. Where Louis was outgoing and effervescent, Bix was quiet and introspective. Where Louis’ music was hot and sharp, Bix’s was cooler and more lyrical. Louis played trumpet; Bix, cornet.
Bix had a bell-like sound as he hit each note perfectly with a sure attack. Bix may have been the first “cool” jazzman. His rhythmic sophistication and subtle phrasing gives musical pleasure even through the primitive recording techniques. Critics and historians acknowledge “Singing the Blues” as his finest recorded solo; “I’m Comin’ Virginia” is not far behind. Beiderbecke was also fascinated with the classical impressionist music of Claude Debussy. He wrote several tunes for the piano, carefully notated by arranger Bill Challis, since Bix could not write music. His best known would be “In a Mist.”
Dorothy Baker’s novel “Young Man with the Horn” began Bix Beiderbecke’s popular legend, but he was a legendary figure even before that following Otis Ferguson’s 1936 essay and reappraisal in The New Republic magazine. The apogee of his career may have been with the ponderous Paul Whiteman orchestra, but it was also his home away from home. Like many of that “bootleg booze” generation, Bix Beiderbecke had a major alcohol problem, it shortened his career. Whiteman carried him for a long time.
Bix always acknowledged his home town of Davenport, but often was at odds with his upper middle-class family. He died too young from the effects of alcohol, much like rock stars do today on drugs. He was 28 in 1931 when he died, penniless and without a horn. He was a legendary figure and has always been associated with Iowa. – Bob Naujoks
Singin’ the Blues
Riverboat Shuffle
Bix Beiderbecke, cornet; with Frankie Trumbauer & His Orchestra (Feb. 4, 1927)
In a Mist
Bix Beiderbecke, piano (Sept. 9, 1927)
Clementine (From New Orleans)
Bix Beiderbecke, cornet, with Jean Goldkette & His Orchestra (Sept. 15, 1927)
Singer and pianist Ellyn Rucker’s great pianistic skills and her sensuous voice belie her late start as a jazz performer. She
started playing piano when she was eight; ten years later she was studying classical piano at Drake University. Jazz music was
in her life as a teenager, but she did not start performing as a singer-pianist until 1979. In the ensuing time she was an ordinary
mother, raising a family, and playing infrequently.
She was born and raised in Des Moines, but calls Denver her musical home. Though she is a fixture in Colorado, and she has
made many European tours, played many festivals, and appeared in many clubs across America, her name is not well-known to
the general jazz fan. Her bop and Bill Evans influenced piano can stand on its own, and her singing is top rank. Her few
recordings show her music to be powerful and appealing. Ellyn Rucker is an underrated jazz musician. If she had taken up
performing when she left college or lived on one of the coasts, perhaps Ellyn would have been a really big name in jazz music. – Bob Naujoks
Eddie Barefield was born in an obscure place, Scandia, which is not noted on current Iowa maps. His career to us today is also
obscure, but in his prime he played with the best. The famous Benny Moten Kansas City Orchestra (the direct predecessor to
the Count Basie Orchestra) played Barefield’s arrangements regularly. One of his best known is “Toby” from 1932 and was the
saxophone soloist on the famous “Moten Swing” recording.
After the Benny Moten band broke up, Barefield worked with Fletcher Henderson, Don Redman and Coleman Hawkins—all top
names in the 1930s. In the 1940s he worked in studios and for Broadway shows as a musical director, as well as in the bands
of Benny Carter, Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington. He was the famous Cab Calloway’s musical director in the 1950s.
Eddie Barefield lived a long and full musical life, producing fine new albums well into the late 1970s including playing with
clarinetist Stan Rubin in the late 80s. As with many jazz artists, Barefield deserved to be better known than he was. He died in
1991 leaving a marvelous, if not well-known legacy. – Bob Naujoks
Lafayette
Eddie Barefield, clarinet, alto sax; with Benny Moten’s Kansas City Orchestra (Dec. 13, 1932)
Minnie the Moocher
Eddie Barefield, clarinet, alto and baritone sax; with Cab Calloway & his Orchestra (Feb. 1, 1927)
Let’s Do It
Eddie Barefield, alto sax; with Billie Holiday and Orchestra under the direction of Benny Carter (Mar. 21, 1941)
Georgia on my Mind
Eddie Barefield, alto sax; with Billie Holiday and Orchestra under the direction of Benny Carter (Mar. 21, 1941)
All of Me
Eddie Barefield, alto sax; with Billie Holiday and Orchestra under the direction of Benny Carter (Mar. 21, 1941)
Moten’s Swing
Eddie Barefield, clarinet, alto sax; with Benny Moten’s Kansas City Orchestra (Dec. 13, 1932)
The Farmer twins, Art and Addison, were born in Council Bluffs in 1928. Iowa can claim them as “native sons,” even though
they were raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and moved to Los Angeles in 1945. They spent a lot of time in the mecca of jazz in the
1950s, New York.
Art Farmer is one of the finest and most individual of the generation of trumpeters who were nurtured in the bop revolution. He
never became as famous as Miles Davis or Clifford Brown. They played cooler or hotter than Art. Farmer found his own quiet,
lyrical voice at 32 when he made a couple of albums on the Argo label in 1960 and 61. They were, for the most part, intimate
conversations with the listener. The second album featured him on the mellower-sounding flugelhorn, an instrument that suited
his music. Shortly after his Argo recordings he organized the ultimate lyrical jazz quartet with guitarist Jim Hall, bassist Steve
Swallow and drummer Walter Perkins.
Since the late 1960s Art Farmer made Vienna, Austria, his home town, finding it more conducive and less restricting than his
native land. However, before his death in 1999 Art Farmer spent more time in the United States. With his old partner tenorist
Benny Golson and the Jazztet he made recordings and appeared in concert, playing a “flumpet”—a cross between a trumpet
and a flugelhorn. With this hybrid instrument he was still a strong individual voice in jazz.
Addison Farmer free-lanced with the top players of the time—Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Benny Carter. He was with the Art
Farmer-Benny Golson Jazztet in 1959 and 1960. He recorded with saxophonists Gene Ammons and Stan Getz, pianist Mal
Waldron and, of course, his brother, too. He was the bassist for the unique pianist-singer Mose Allison and recorded with him
also. Addison was not to have a long career like his brother. He died in 1963, a life cut much too short. In an age of good
young bass players, Addison was one of the best. – Bob Naujoks
Clarinettist Rod Cless was born in 1907 in a small out-of-the-way town in southwestern Iowa—Lennox. He had a short and
brilliant career, and is largely unknown today except to a few who love the dixieland style.
Cless was a good athlete and played various instruments, finally settling on the clarinet in high school. When the famous
Wolverine jazz band from Indiana played a six-week gig at the Riverview Park Ballroom in Des Moines in 1925, Rod Cless was
there every night. He was befriended by the great Chicago clarinettist, Frank Teschemacher. Two years later he was in Chicago
to start his career.
Some of us are fortunate enought to be at the right place at the right time. Rod Cless was one. He is a part of trumpeter
Muggsy Spanier’s brilliant late thirties jazz band that made a group of recordings for RCA that are known as “The Great 16.”
These sixteen tunes are considered one of the great achievements in recorded jazz—high art and high style.
Working with Muggsy Spanier might have been the high point of his recording career. After leaving Spanier, Rod Cless
continued to work with the top traditional names in jazz—Wild Bill Davison, Art Hodes, Bobby Hackett and others. However, his
divorce and drinking problem tragically caught up with him. He died from a fall while walking home in December 1944. He was
37. He left a very fine legacy of jazz music. – Bob Naujoks
Relaxin’ at the Touro
Rod Cless, clarinet; with Muggsy Spanier & His Ragtime Band (Nov. 22, 1939)
The trombone sound of Jack Jenny is a remarkable thing, especially since it was current in the Swing Era where loud big bands
ruled. Jack Jenny’s reputation and persona rest on several recordings of his his subtle improvisations on the Hoagy Carmichael
song, “Stardust.”
Jenny was born in Mason City in 1910 and eventually made his way to New York to play with many of the fine orchestras of the
1930s, including those of Isham Jones and vibraphonist Red Norvo. At one point he was a section mate with the great
trombonist Jack Teagarden in a New England orchestra.
If one had to characterize Jack Jenny’s contribution to jazz music it would be the lyricism and romanticism that he infused in his
music. From his improvisations and musical offerings it would be safe to say that Jenny was introspective and desired to project
subtlety, a characteristic not totally appreciated in the heyday of Swing music. His finest hour publicly may be in clarinettist Artie
Shaw’s 1941 recording of “Stardust.” The version is still heard today led by the strong trumpet of Billy Butterfield, but Jack
Jenny’s half chorus fits in nicely after Shaw’s solo.
Jack Jenny was never a great star, but offered, rather, a personal vision in his music. After his stint with Artie Shaw in the early
forties, Jenny moved to Los Angeles to work in the music studios. He died in 1945 silencing the quiet beauty of his tone and his
sweet, subtle melodic variations. – Bob Naujoks
Blues in the Night
vocal by Hot Lips Page (Sep. 2,1941)
Stardust
Jack Jenney, trombone; with Artie Shaw and his Orchestra (1941)
Moonglow
Jack Jenney, trombone; with Artie Shaw and his Orchestra
Patricia Barber’s father played saxophone and worked in clubs around Chicago. He would sit in with his friend Glenn Miller whenever Glenn would bring his band to town. Patricia was fascinated with her father’s instrument. “When he played the saxophone around the house, I’d put my hand in the bell to feel the music,'” she recalls. She was only nine when her father died. Soon afterward, her family moved from the Chicago suburbs to Sioux City, Ia.
While a youngster in Sioux City, she began classical piano lessons at home. As she got older, she found an outlet for her jazz roots by playing her father’s saxophone in her high school band. She enrolled at the University of Iowa, majoring in classical piano and psychology. After graduating from the U. of I., Patricia found herself leaning more to jazz. She stayed in Iowa City for another year learning jazz from many of the excellent local musicians. When she moved to Chicago, Patricia struggled for a number of years, but finally found steady employment at one of the city’s Rush Street venues.
From the Gold Star Sardine Bar, word of her exceptional talent soon spread beyond the confines of the windy city. She played the Hotel Montana in Paris and in 1989 made her debut at the prestigious North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague, Holland. That same year she released her first recording “Split” on Floyd Records which featured four of her own songs. That was followed in 1992 by “A Distortion of Love” (Antilles) and two CDs for Chicago’s Premonition Records “Café Blue” (1994), and “Modern Cool” (1998).
In 1999 she recorded her first live CD “Companion” from The Green Mill in Chicago where she remains a regular featured attraction. Like “Companion,” “Nightclub” (2000), was jointly released through Blue Note/Premonition Records. Her most recent recordings include 2002’s “Verse”, 2004’s “Live: A Fortnight in France” and “Mythologies” from 2006. Neil Tesser, host of “Jazz Forum” on WBEZ, Chicago, and a frequent contributor to “Playboy” wrote the following after witnessing one of Patricia’s live performances; “She sounds so comfortable—the keyboard so obviously an extension of her arms—that people have been surprised when she starts to sing. That’s when she unveils her dark pure timbre, her heightened sense of human emotion. Like smoked glass, her voice is slightly shrouded yet crystalline, and it gets you immediately —long before you notice the singer’s pitch control, or her improvisational ability, or the small wonders of her phrasing.”
You Stepped Out of a Dream
Patricia Barber, vocals, piano; Wolfgang Muthspiel, guitar; Marc Johnson, bass; Adam Nussbaum, drums (Nov. 1991)
Inch Worm
Patricia Barber, vocals, piano, organ; Michael Arnopol, bass; John Mclean, guitar; Mark Walker/Eric Montzka, drums (July 1994)
The Beat Goes On
Patricia Barber, vocals, piano, organ; Michael Arnopol, bass; John Mclean, guitar; Mark Walker/Eric Montzka, drums (July 1999)
Let It Rain
Patricia Barber, vocals, piano, organ; Michael Arnopol, bass; John Mclean, guitar; Mark Walker/Eric Montzka, drums (January 1998)
Al Jarreau was not born in Iowa (Milwaukee, WI), but we can lay some claim to him because he has strong Iowa ties—he
attended the University of Iowa and got his career start in eastern Iowa by singing in small clubs in Cedar Rapids, the Quad
Cities and Iowa City in the mid-1960s.
Al Jarreau’s sound and style that would eventually make him a jazz and pop star were almost totally in place when he made his
first recording in Davenport in 1965. The Quad Cities studio was owned by two jazz afficianados who also owned a night club in
which he sang. Jarreau’s influences were the bop musicians of his youth and the great Jon Hendricks of Lamert, Hendricks and Ross, the first great vocalise group. By the end of the 1970s he was hailed in Europe as a major jazz singer.
In the early 1980s he made a career decision and entered the popular market. He became a star there too. Now he is
internationally recognized, but is not considered a “jazz” singer now. However, his fans in this state should be pleased to know
that Al Jarreau’s career was launched in Iowa. – Bob Naujoks
The Masquerade is Over
Al Jarreau, vocals; Cal Bezemer, piano; Gary Allen, bass; Joe Abodeely, drums (1965)
The unique sound of the Glenn Miller Orchestra is still a strong link to the Swing Era of the late 1930s and early 1940s. No
band was more popular in its time. It’s leader was born in Clarinda, Iowa—a student who flunked out of university music school,
but became a top arranger and major music personality.
Glenn Miller played the trombone, but his gift was in arranging and organizing. After working with famous Ben Pollack band (with
Benny Goodman) and Ray Noble Orchestra, Miller formed his own band in 1937. It was an unsuccessful first attempt. In 1938 a
second band with arranger Bill Finegan’s aid, became the most successful Swing band of them all.
Glenn Miller was not only commercially successful, but artistically also. He combined a new sound—clarinet lead above the
saxophone section—with a mix of both hot swing and sweet arrangements. Showy effects and movie appearances solidified the
popular image. At the height of his career duty to his country called and he enlisted in the Army Air Corps. His job was to boost
the morale of the troops. He did that by forming a touring band which contained other great jazz instrumentalists.
Captain Glenn Miller apparently died in a plane crash on a foggy night in the English Channel near the end of the Second
World War in 1945. The Miller sound is still around with a touring orchestra bearing his name and countless regional bands that
emulate the style. Each year Glenn Miller is still celebrated in Iowa as a native son in with a festival in Clarinda. – Bob Naujoks
Ryan Kisor grew up in a musical environment.
He studied with his father, who played in territory bands and was music director at North Sioux
City High School. By age 10 Ryan was already playing in a local dance band. He began classical studies at 12 and was playing professionally full time in a dance band at 14. At the same time his interest in jazz was developing, and he soon discovered records by Dexter Gordon and Clifford Brown. In 1988, at the age of 15, Ryan won the Siouxland Youth Symphony Scholarship and was named best Soloist at the Iowa State Jazz Championships. Soon he was playing first Chair Trumpet in both jazz and symphony orchestras in and around Iowa and Nebraska. Later that same year, and again in 1989, he was chosen to be a member of the all-star high school band that performed at the convention of the International Association of Jazz Educators. At a jazz camp in Emporia, Kansas he caught the attention of jazz legend Clark Terry who suggested he enter a new contest. The result was Ryan winning the Thelonious Monk Institute’s First Annual Louis Armstrong Competition in a unanimous decision from a panel of judges that included Nat Adderly, Red Rodney, Clark Terry and Snooky Young. That was in November of 1990. In 1991, while still attending North Sioux High, he went to New York and cut his first CD for Columbia Records. “Minor Mutiny,” produced by Dr. George Butler, was released in 1992. After graduating from high school, Ryan moved to New York, where he studied with Lew Soloff and played with Mingus Dynasty and The Gil Evans Orchestra. Ryan Kisor has since recorded two additional CDs as a group leader,
“On the One,” (1993) for Sony/Columbia and “The Usual Suspects” (1998) for Fable/Lightyear Records. Ryan can also be heard on the 1992 Pat Metheny CD “Secret Story,” and on the 1996 Bluenote recording “The Carnegie Hall Jazz Band/Music Director Jon Faddis.” Most recently, Ryan has been recording and traveling with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. He can be heard on the 1999 Columbia/Sony CD “Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra: Live in Swing City.”
The Distant Past
Ryan Kisor, trumpet; Mulgrew Miller, piano; Lewis Nash, drums; Christian McBride, bass; Chris Potter, alto sax; David Sanchez, tenor sax (1993)
Never Let Me Go
Ryan Kisor, trumpet; Peter Zak, piano; John Webber, bass; Willie Jones III, drums (Jan. 11, 1998)
Harlem Air Shaft
Ryan Kisor, trumpet with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, Music Director (Aug. 1998)
Jazz is America’s Classical Music—its
contribution to world culture. And Dan Knight is
one of its most capable proponents. A member
of the Worldwide Steinway Artist Roster, an
honor reserved for a select few of the world’s
best pianists, Dan is “quietly establishing a
place for himself among the masters of jazz
piano.”
He’s earning an international reputation as a
warm, engaging person whose personality and
musicianship fills concert halls and jazz clubs
alike.
He’s performed and studied with some of the
greatest musicians of this or any time: Wynton
Marsalis, Max Roach, and his mentor, the incomparable Dr. Billy Taylor.
By the time he was three years old Danny Knight knew every song on the “Hit
Parade”, and could sing any melody he heard after hearing it once. He began
playing keyboard instruments at age four by singing the melodies he knew and
matching the pitches on his older sister’s chord organ, which he wasn’t permitted
to play.
His ability became known to his family when they visited an aunt who owned a
piano. His older sister and a cousin had attempted to play the “Dragnet” theme
on the piano, with no success. After they gave up, Danny walked to the piano
and played the theme. Correctly. His parents went home and bought a piano.
By the time his mother persuaded Mrs. George Maither, a local piano instructor
and former student of Paderewski, to take him as a student, his repertoire
included television show themes, church hymns, and a two-handed,
boogie-woogie version of “Sentimental Journey.”
His teacher discovered his interest in jazz after he heard Brubeck’s “Take Five”
for the first time, when he ran to her house to ask if it was possible to have five
counts in a measure. As she lectured him regarding the evils of jazz, he
determined to learn to play it on his own.
He transcribed every jazz recording he could find. He swept floors in a
second-hand store in exchange for 78 rpm recordings of Art Tatum and Fats
Waller.
Steinway Artist Dan Knight has performed with some of the giants of jazz. A
protege of Dr. Billy Taylor, he performs internationally as a soloist and with his
own trio.
– Jazz Society of Eastern Iowa
C Jam Blues
Dan Knight, piano; Craig Dove, bass; Live at Riverside Theatre, Iowa City, March, 1999.
Bix Suite: In a Mist, Candlelight, Flashes, In the Dark
Dan Knight, piano. Jazz at Riverside: The Piano Music of Bix Beiderbecke. Live at Riverside Theatre, Iowa City, March, 2006.
I Remember Clifford
Dan Knight, piano; Live at Studio III; Iowa Public Television April, 1996.
My Foolish Heart
Dan Knight, Piano; Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, July, 1997
What Is This Thing Called Love
The La Fosse Jazz Trio; Dan Knight, piano; Leopold La Fosse, violin; Gary Palmer, bass; Live at Studio III, Iowa Public Television, April, 1996.
Tradition is an overused word in jazz—tradition is important, but the continuum of jazz is far more important because it’s not just about where the music’s been but where it is going. Two people that symbolize the continuum are pianist Justin Kauflin and his mentor, iconic trumpeter Clark Terry. The new documentary film, “Keep on Keepin’ On,” explores the close relationship that has developed between the two. Terry also imparted much knowledge to a young Quincy Jones when he was embarking on his musical journey as a trumpeter. As if to complete the circle Kauflin—who met Jones via Terry—joined Quincy on his 2013-2014 world tour. Now the multi-Grammy Award winning Jones has produced Kauflin’s second disc as a leader, “Dedication.”
For his fifth release for Savant Records, alto saxophonist Jim Snidero draws from a quarter-century of touring to create a compelling sonic trip across America. “Main Street” is inspired by towns throughout the United States and features one of the hippest rhythm sections in jazz; pianist Fabian Almazan, bassist Linda Oh and drummer Rudy Royston. The CD includes five originals by Snidero, a piece by Gil Evans, and a surprising version of the cowboy lament, “The Streets of Laredo.”
Also this week, trumpeter Joshua Bruneau, a product of the Hartt School’s Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz and now a faculty member of The Artist’s Collective in Hartford, Connecticut, debuts with “Bright Idea”; trombonist David Gibsonexplodes strongly back on the scene with a new quintet date, “Boom!”; and pianist and Atlanta native Joe Alterman is joined by Houston Person, Gregory Hutchinson and Reuben Rogers for his first release, “Georgia Sunset.”
Innovative and electrifying Toronto-based drummer Ernesto Cervini has shared the stage with many legendary musicians, including Joe Lovano, Clark Terry, Benny Golson and Buddy DeFranco. He has energy to burn, whether radiating it from behind his drum kit or working on any number of musical and educational projects. His diversity as a musician, which also includes work as an excellent pianist and clarinetist, has allowed him to travel the world, performing in some of the great jazz venues. For his fourth CD as a leader, “Turboprop,” Cervini has expanded his quartet of saxophonist Joel Frahm, pianist Adrean Farrugia and bassist Dan Loomis to a sextet with the addition of a second saxophonist and a trombonist. The sound of the disc is sophisticated and soaring, reminiscent of the hard-swinging Jazz Messenger bands of Art Blakey, and is able to offer an extraordinarily wide range of repertoire; from Charlie Parker to Debussy, plus originals from all the band members.
While living in New York for ten years, Quincy Davis has established himself as one of the premiere drummers of his generation. His playing can be heard on recordings by Tom Harrell, Bobby Watson, Ted Rosenthal and Sachal Vasandani. In addition, he has performed and toured all over the world with jazz luminaries like Kurt Elling, Hank Jones, Frank Wess, the Clayton Brothers and many more. For his debut album as a leader, “Songs in the Key of Q,” Davis is joined by a stellar band which includes saxophonist Dayna Stephens, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, pianist Xavier Davis, and bassists Vicente Archer and Richie Goods.
Also this week, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt is joined by bassist Ben Allison and drummers Billy Drummond and Victor Lewis for an interesting session of originals and standards on “Tales, Musings and Other Reveries”; reedman Kenny Shanker offers up his second release for Posi-Tone Records, “Action City”; and British singer and pianist Jamie Cullum reconnects with his jazz roots on “Interlude.”
Tenor saxophonist Ian Sims was advised early in his career that in order to fully captivate your audience, you must consider a variety of programming. Your material should engage the listener by presenting different styles and tempos while still maintaining continuity. “Conundrum” takes the listener on one such empirical journey. For his debut album as a leader, Sims assembled his band Divergent Paths with a stellar cast of musicians including Alex Norris on trumpet, Paul Bollenback on guitar, Ed Howard on bass and EJ Strickland on drums.
As a veteran purveyor of smooth, moody and sophisticated contemporary jazz, composer/keyboardist Dan Siegel is an artist known for instrumental music of high taste and quality. Yet after a five-year hiatus from recording, he has just created what is easily the most inspired and meticulously-crafted collection of his career with his milestone 20thproject, “Indigo.” Thirty-plus years past his 1980 debut CD, Siegel quietly removed himself from the rat race of the recording industry, submerged himself into his enlarged role as a music educator and gently massaged his creative musical muse with a non-rushed approach to composing and orchestrating his latest creations.
Also this week, drummer Chip White, who has performed with James Moody, Houston Person, Etta Jones and others, has assembled an all-star cast including Wycliffe Gordon, Eddie Henderson and Renee Rosnes for “Family Dedications and More”; Rippingtons’ keyboardist Bill Heller is joined by Eric Marienthal, Jeff Kashiwa and others for his debut as a leader, “Find the Way”; and pianist Art Hirahara unveils his new trio recording, “Libations and Meditations”.
Saxophonist Chris Potter began his musical journey in the late 1980s with bebop veteran Red Rodney and laid the foundation for his current position as a leading light in jazz, sharing the studio and the bandstand with a staggering list of major artists including Paul Motian, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Jim Hall, Pat Metheny and the Mingus Big Band, to name just a few. From his star-studded debut forward, Potter has shown a singular focus and growth as a composer and improviser, moving deftly from acoustic post-bop to the fringes of experimentalism. For his new CD, “Imaginary Cities,” Potter leads the Underground Orchestra, an expanded version of his supercharged funk-fueled band Underground augmented by a string quartet.
Al Muirhead has long been an iconic figure on the Canadian jazz scene. His career has included work with legends such as Dizzy Gillespie, Guido Basso, Rosemary Clooney and Diana Krall. He’s been a first-call player for recordings, concerts, shows, studio, film, and television orchestras. He’s a much-sought-after arranger and musical director for undertakings of all sorts. The fact that it has taken this long for a recording to be made with his name at the top is due in the main to the fact that he has been so busy producing, writing, and playing for other artists’ recordings that he simply hasn’t taken the time do his own. That situation has been rectified with his debut release, aptly titled “It’s About Time.”
Also this week, Grammy winning composer and pianist Billy Childs and an all-star cast of singers and musicians reinvigorate the musical legacy of songwriter Laura Nyro on “Map to the Treasure,” featuring Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding, Dianne Reeves, Chris Botti and others; acclaimed Mexican pianist and composer Alex Mercado is joined by bassist Scott Colley and drummer Antonio Sanchez on “Symbiosis”; and one Australia’s finest jazz musicians, multi-instrumentalist Adrian Cunningham, is joined by world class trombonist Wycliffe Gordon in tribute to composer/arrange Neal Hefti on “Ain’t That Right!”
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KCCK’s Clean Up Your Act took first place in the Iowa Broadcast News Association’s 2013 News Awards Contest in the In-Depth/Series category for expanded reports or series that provide background and understanding of a specific news event or issue. The award was announced at IBNA’s 2014 convention in Cedar Rapids May 3. Produced by George Dorman since 1991, Clean Up Your Act highlights the need for energy conservation and other environmental issues. It airs weekdays at 6:35 a.m. and 3:35 p.m., Saturday at 9:20 a.m. and Sunday at 8:20 a.m. It’s the third year in a row that Clean Up Your Act has been honored with this award. Listen to Clean Up Your Act podcasts. IBNA is a non-profit corporation of radio-TV news directors, reporters, producers, public relations professionals and others from Iowa and its adjacent states.
