With Providencia, Danilo Pérez’s first outing on Mack Avenue, the pianist adds at least two new colors to his compositional palette. One is the trenchant alto saxophone of Rudresh Mahanthappa, fulfilling melodic and solo roles on the gutsy second track “Galactic Panama” but featured more heavily during the album’s latter half. It’s a world away from the dulcet woodwind quintet augmenting Pérez’s two-part composition “Bridge of Life,” spread across tracks four and eight. (Both movements rely on Margaret Phillips’s bassoon for rhythmic propulsion, a nice touch.)
Pérez seems intent on maximizing the contrast, as the second woodwind cut leads straight into the fast, bare-knuckle riff of “The Maze: The Beginning,” one of two alto/piano duets. During this and “The Maze: The End,” one could be forgiven for recalling Mahanthappa’s Raw Materials duo with pianist Vijay Iyer, though Pérez’s harmonic language is of course nothing like Iyer’s. The woodwind music is closer in spirit to Wayne Shorter, Pérez’s longtime employer.
Bassist Ben Street and drummer Adam Cruz lock in beautifully throughout the disc, not least on the trio cuts, Carlos Eleta Almaran’s “Historia de un Amor” and Avelino Muñoz’s “Irremediablemente Solo,” both songs from Pérez’s native Panama. Percussionist Jamey Haddad and conguero Ernesto Diaz add yet more layers. So does Cruz with steel pans on the opening 10-minute epic “Daniela’s Chronicles,” a parade of tempestuous themes and virtuoso ensemble work, steeped in romanticism.
Mahanthappa adds a ferocious jolt on “The Oracle,” dedicated to the late Charlie Banacos. Elsewhere the wordless vocals of Sara Serpa lend a rounder, softer quality — certainly when she’s doubling Matt Marvuglio’s flute on the title track, but also when she matches Mahanthappa note-for-note toward the end of the rousing “Cobilla.”
Pérez’s recent collaborations with Claus Ogerman (Across the Crystal Sea) and Jack DeJohnette (Music We Are) were worthy in their way, but Providencia outstrips them. It’s also richer, emotionally and texturally, than Pérez’s “21st-Century Dizzy” venture, a recent Gillespie-themed live project that featured Mahanthappa and Haddad among others. In fact, Providencia is Pérez’s most compelling effort since 2000’s Motherland. The man’s ears are simply formidable, and this is some of the best evidence yet.
Below, from the August 2010 issue of All About Jazz-New York. (Check the new AAJ-NY website, the result of its split from AllAboutJazz.com.)
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There was one sure way for tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger to heighten the freewheeling melodic onslaught of his quintet gig at Smalls (July 1st): add alto saxophonist Loren Stillman to the frontline. Ornette Coleman’s music was a recurring theme, and Stillman and Preminger brought to mind the rough-hewn wail of Coleman and Dewey Redman on the opening “Toy Dance” (from New York Is Now!) and the penultimate “Law Years” (from Science Fiction). But guitarist Nir Felder approached Ornette from another angle, with Frisellian chordal clouds that lent harmonic dimension to a music not easily harmonized. Just as the free vibe became established, however, Preminger threw a curve and called two straightforward ballads, “Until the Real Thing Comes Along” and the closing “Then I’ll Be Tired of You.” Drummer Ted Poor began the former with sticks — not brushes as one might expect — and gave it a propulsive feel throughout. Bassist John Hébert took his only solo on the latter and brought forth the kind of lyricism he’s employed so effectively with Fred Hersch. Preminger knit these divergent pieces together with the force and insouciant command of his tenor, bringing out caustic dissonance even in tender passages, making every risk feel natural and necessary. With Stillman as an energetic foil, he kept the band centered, yet productively off-balance, during Felder’s swinging “Old Angels” and his own wistful straight-eighth chart “Today Is Tuesday.” (David R. Adler)
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Bassist Marc Johnson, with Joey Baron in the drum chair, has backed Italian virtuoso pianist Enrico Pieranunzi on a number of fine recordings (Dream Dance, Live in Japan, As Never Before). But easing into the late Wednesday set at the Village Vanguard (July 7th), Pieranunzi and Johnson faced a very different type of partner in drum legend Paul Motian. Recall that Motian has made a significant mark on Pieranunzi’s catalog, on discs including Special Encounter (with Charlie Haden) and Doorways (with Chris Potter). Incidentally, Motian also played the Blue Note in May with Chick Corea and Eddie Gomez; in late 2008 he played Birdland with Pieranunzi and Steve Swallow. Happily, this Vanguard stint was far better in terms of consistency, focus and fire. “Abacus” gave a taste of Motian’s compositional excellence, and the rugged swing of Pieranunzi’s lines and harmonies didn’t relent on “Jitterbug Waltz” and a highly abstracted “Autumn Leaves.” Motian’s wholly off-kilter approach, his way of articulating the beat by not quite articulating it, can generate all sorts of welcome tension, although there were times in this set when just locking in and burning would have been more welcome still. If one thing brought the trio’s rapport into sparkling relief it was ballads: first a brilliantly harmonized “I Fall In Love Too Easily,” later Pieranunzi’s new “Unless They Love You.” The lively “La Dolce Vita” (from Fellini Jazz) brought the curtain down. (DA)
This review appears in the July 2010 issue of All About Jazz-New York.
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Yotam, Resonance(Jazz Legacy)
By David R. Adler
Israeli-born guitarist Yotam Silberstein has dropped his surname for performance purposes — he’s simply “Yotam” now. But the crisp and determined quality of his playing remains intact on Resonance, his third disc as a leader. All three outings have featured strong bands, but Resonance pushes the star power to another level with Christian McBride on bass, Aaron Goldberg on piano, Gregory Hutchinson on drums and special guest Roy Hargrove on trumpet. Their swing feel is furious, yet effortless, and it bursts forth from the first notes of John Lewis’ “Two Bass Hit,” a well-chosen opener.
Yotam still hasn’t topped his 2004 trio debut for Fresh Sound, The Arrival, which has a spark reminiscent of Barney Kessel’s Poll Winners discs with Ray Brown and Shelly Manne. On his 2009 Posi-Tone effort Next Page Yotam turned to organ quartet, favoring the trebly, somewhat old-fashioned guitar sound he also uses on Resonance, though it takes on a warmer, more satisfying quality in the piano-bass-drums environment.
In a word, Yotam loves the blues, and this is where Resonance shines most. From the blistering “Two Bass Hit” to Joe Henderson’s soul-jazzy “Mamacita” (featuring Hargrove) to Yotam’s own midtempo “Blewz,” Yotam does more than just hold his own in daunting company — he fosters a genuine band sound, a sense of listening rather than outdoing.
There are fireworks, to be sure, but calmer moments as well: Yotam offers a darkly romantic waltz called “Merav,” and adds a wistful vocal on top of McBride’s arco melody — a surprising touch — on the Shlomo Gronich number “A Fresh Love Song (Bo’i Yalda).” The contrast between “McDavid,” with its leaping, upbeat piano/guitar unison line, and “Bye Ya’ll,” a tense, lurching Latin piece, shows the ample range of Yotam’s writing. But it’s the blues cuts as well as Clifford Brown’s “Daahoud” (with Hargrove) that make the date snap into focus.
In the July 2010 issue of All About Jazz-New York:
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When Dave Douglas and Keystone played (Le) Poisson Rouge in the prime 8:20 p.m. slot of the Undead Jazzfest (June 12), DJ Olive was not there to provide his sonic trickery, which has done much to define the group since its 2005 inception. But Adam Benjamin’s heavily tweaked Fender Rhodes filled the gaps, bathing the music in atmospheric intrigue just as the stage lighting enveloped the band in a smoky blue haze. That’s not to say this was a mellow set: After the dreamlike rubato intro of the opening “Creature Theme,” bassist Brad Jones and drummer Gene Lake went to work, pushing Douglas and his tenor saxophone foil Marcus Strickland into heated exchanges on a halting but relentless groove. The “creature” in question was Frankenstein, and the music, from Keystone’s new release Spark of Being, was the fruit of Douglas’ recent Frankenstein-themed collaboration with filmmaker Bill Morrison. (Douglas’ Spark of Being soundtrack will join two stand-alone Keystone CDs, Expand and Burst, in a forthcoming boxed set.) Continuing with “The Tree Ring Circus,” Lake blazed a path in quick 15/8 time and stayed rigorously in tempo during his wailing solo spot. “Chroma” introduced quieter muted textures, although Lake added tension with a busy pattern that sounded something like a dumbek. “Split Personality,” the finale, morphed from a blaring bass-driven pulse to jazzy 12/8 as Strickland, quoting Coltrane’s “Africa,” unleashed a gutsy coup de grâce. (David R. Adler)
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Over the years Tony Malaby has led his share of diversified ensembles, but nothing quite like Novela, an unruly mass of eight horns, Fender Rhodes and drums. No need for a bassist, as Dan Peck’s tuba provided the lows and gave drummer Flin Vanhemmen a rhythmic anchor when Novela played its second-ever gig at Kenny’s Castaways, ringing in the 11 o’clock hour at the Undead Jazzfest (June 12). For repertoire, Malaby drew on assorted corners of his discography, including “Floating Head” and “Mother’s Love” from Tamardino, “Remolino” from Warblepeck and “Cosas” from Adobe. Kris Davis, an exceptional pianist and leader in her own right, arranged all this material and played Rhodes, leaning hard on dense chromatic chords but otherwise giving the horns their space. There was a kind of Braxtonian excess in the group’s heaving, ragingly dissonant but beautiful block-chord passages. One could call it a big band aesthetic even though the players stood arrayed in a single semi-circular arc. (My colleague Jim Macnie likened it to “The Maze,” a 1978 octet work by Roscoe Mitchell.) Above all, this was a forum for improvisation, and the bass clarinet double-solo by Oscar Noriega and Joachim Badenhorst was one strong example. In addition to trumpeter Kenny Warren, baritone saxist Andrew Hadro and trombonist Ben Gerstein, there was of course Malaby himself, pushing the envelope of timbre and melody on tenor and soprano saxes. The set’s most dramatic extended solo, however, came from altoist Michaël Attias, who brought the noisy room to a hush. (DA)
Paying homage to Bill Evans in a two-week summit at the Blue Note, pianist Chick Corea set up camp with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Paul Motian — two Evans alumni who have rarely if ever worked together. It had all the makings of an offbeat and remarkable encounter, and during the late set on the first Wednesday (May 5th), the trio lived up to the buzz, if only for a time. After opening with an elegant “They Say It’s Wonderful,” Corea offered Evans’ stately semi-ballad “Song No. 1,” part of a trove of previously unknown Evans material that the group chose to reveal in small and tantalizing doses. In these first two tunes and later in “New Waltz,” one heard an enticing friction, a balanced imbalance. Motian’s choppy, enigmatic anti-timekeeping persisted even as Gomez nudged the music toward a walking pace. Corea’s unaccompanied rubato passages could not but bring Evans to mind; his stark silences between phrases were almost speech-like in their effect. The remainder of the set lacked the same elevation, however, and the decision to follow Thelonious Monk’s “Reflections” with “Straight No Chaser” seemed a digression — you could all but hear the autopilot switch being engaged. Thankfully, Cole Porter’s “So In Love,” the encore, found Corea stretching and gave the crowd a boost. The entire Blue Note stint was filmed for a future documentary release, which will no doubt involve separating the wheat from the chaff. This particular set had both. (David R. Adler)
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Dutch tenor saxophonist Marc Mommaas and Danish pianist Nikolaj Hess have a rich history as bandmates in Global Motion and other units, but their duo work is a story unto itself, borne out by the 2005 Sunnyside disc Balance. Judging from their appearance at the Kitano Hotel (May 6th), Mommaas and Hess have another album in them, if not more. Each player brought material to the gig, so brand new that the songs lacked titles. But for the warm-up as well as the wind-down, they matched wits on standards, first “Alone Together” and later “You and the Night and the Music.” Well-worn tunes, to be sure, but the duo’s rhythmic confidence — no need for a drummer here — and spirited flow of ideas made for sweaty, play-for-keeps performances. Mommaas filled the small room with a husky tenor sound, warm and lithe and well proportioned, buoyed by Hess’ fluidity, harmonic command and palpable determination at the keys, a compelling spectacle. Following a lyrical, diatonic major-key waltz by Mommaas and two new charts by Hess (the first with slow hiccupping rhythms, the second calmer, more classically influenced), the duo put itself to the test with Egberto Gismonti’s imposing odyssey “Sept Année.” Mommaas built up to a ’60s-like fury as the bright and twisty opening gave way to an expanded minor vamp section. But the lush rubato sonorities of Hess’s tentatively titled “Folk Song” cleared the air, foregrounding the appeal of the simple and direct. (DA)
