NOTES ON JAZZ

Lineage- Mike DiRubbo's "Way Out Northwest"

2026-10-12T12:32:19.402-07:00

Mike DiRubbo-Way Out Northwest- Cellar Music

The alto saxophonist Mike DiRubbo has been in the New York metro area honing his skill and obtaining important real-life experience for years. He is a product of the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT and was mentored by the great altoist Jackie McLean among others. McLean’s influence on the student’s sound is understandable, but DiRubbo’s alto sound is darker, less sharp-toned, more low register-based and just as stealthily honed as a slashing razor blade as his mentor's. His alto saxophone has been heard on recordings by trombonist Steve Davis, pianists Larry Willis and Harold Mabern, and trumpeter Jim Rotondi, not to mention several albums as a leader.

His latest release, Way Out Northwest was released in July by Cory Weeds’ Cellar Label. The altoist first met producer Weeds after the two came in contact at a concert in New York back in 2006. The album Mike DiRubbo Quartet featuring Harold Mabern -New York Accent -Live at the Kitano was recorded and released shortly after. Importantly, Weeds and DiRubbo stayed in touch. “Timing is Everything” -coincidently the title of one of DiRubbo’s compositions on the album- and so when Mike contacted Cory, the timing was indeed everything!

DiRubbo came to record with eight compositions. Two compositions were by mentors –“Song for My Queen” by South African pianist and one-time Hartt educator Hotep Idris Galeta, and trombonist Steve Davis’s “A Star to Chick” -plus six DiRubbo originals.

Mike suggested a change of venue from his NYC area and decided to record this album in Vancouver, British Columbia with an all-Canadian rhythm section. The built-in cohesion and intuitive skills that pianist Tilden Webb, bassist Jodi Poznick and drummer Jesse Cahill brought to the recording as a seasoned trio was the magic sauce that made this session such a treat for both DiRubbo and producer Weeds.

The title and opening cut “Way Out Northwest” establish the hard bop drive that will be the prominent feature of this album. DiRubbo’s alto is strong, vibrant and hovers in the lower register. The theme is set and the rhythm section plays with a familiarity and comfort level that provides a floating carpet upon which DiRubbo’s saxophone sails. Tilden ‘s piano accompaniment is light and fluid. Poznick’s punctuating bass and Cahill’s roiling drum work offer the saxophonist a sympathetic one-two rhythmic punch that allows the altoist’s to showcase his probing style.

Mike DiRubbo (photo credit unknown)

The album follows with “Striking Distance, “a modal piece that opens with a repeated line that sets the tension. DiRubbo’s alto is liquid and he adds short bursts of emotionally charged lines that raise the temperature. Cahill is given a short but potent feature that shows real kineticism.

“Song for My Queen” is a composition from one of DIRubbo’s Hartt School instructors, South African pianist Hotep Idris Galeta, who often played with Jackie McClean. The music was first recorded on the pianist’s album The Prophet from 1972 and integrates South African musical inspirations with modern jazz. There is a sweeping sense of swing mixed with reverence and Mike’s alto plays the melody with a clarion-like approach.

“Jimbo” is a DiRubbo dedication to the trumpet player Jim Rotondi, who passed in 2024 ,and was one of the veteran players that saw the promise in the altoist. Rotondi joined DiRubbo on the front line of the altoist’s first album Keep Steppin’ from 2001. This easy, undulating melody is one of the most fetching on the album. Pozniak’s bass offers a plucky melodic solo of note. DiRubbo’s alto is warmer, free-flowing, more tonally closer to the great Phil Woods on this one. You can feel the emotional connection that the altoist had to the lyrical trumpet player, and it makes for some enjoyable listening.

The album continues with the fine, moody “Late August.” DiRubbo’s lower register inclinations are perfectly suited for this one. He wails with emotion and delivers bursts of harmonically rich lines that never seem to be desperate. Tilden’s piano has a searching solo that fits the mood. This one leaves a lasting impression that DiRubbo is an altoist that something to say.

Tilden Webb, Jesse Cahill & Jodi Proznick (photo credit unknown)

The Steve Davis composition “A Star for Chick” could easily be a homage to the late pianist Chick Corea. Latin-inspired, the music has a driving bass line by Poznick and some propulsive drum work by Cahill. Tilden’s piano solo work is powerful. DiRubbo’s horn shears the air with some of his most sharply driven lines. His alto pierces the atmosphere with a take no prisoner’s appeal and Cahill’s drum work at the coda adds his own percussive notation.

“Timing is Everything” is a sauntering melody that could be DiRubbo’s comment on how this gig came about. There is a feel that DiRubbo is leisurely walking down a street when he eventually gets stopped and things change. The nonchalantly played alto has an easy listening swing, but this is no elevator music. There is an inherent dark tone to DiRubbo’s horn. Maybe things sometimes don’t go the way we had hoped, but his alto is serious and yet it never seems to forget to hold the promise of hope. Things change.

The final composition is DiRubbo’s homage to the pianist Harold Mabern titled “One for Mabes.” DiRubbo recalls that his first trip to Vancouver, BC was with Mabern. “I’m blessed to have spent so much time around him.” Opening with a repeating melodic line, “One for Mabs” is an energetic piece that seems to allow the band to percolate on a high level. DiRubbo plays with enhanced passion and piercing purpose. Cahill’s polyrhythmic drum feature cooks. DiRubbo’s alto is forceful and played with a reverence that is palpable and moving at the coda.

If there is one theme throughout this album it is the concept of lineage. The world of jazz is often made up of brief encounters and lasting impressions between teachers, places, and between fellow musicians on the stage. DiRubbo found his relationships with McClean, Davis, Willis, Mabern, Rotondi and Galeta all to be memorable and important enough in his development to acknowledge them on this wonderful album Way Out Northwest.

An Avant-Garde Road to Expression - Bardfeld, Fonda and Altschul's -"Hurtling Between"

2026-09-22T09:56:23.731-07:00

Sam Bardfeld, Joe Fonda and Barry Altschul-BFA Trio-Hurtling Between-Fundacja Sluchaj Music

The violinist Sam Bardfeld has been seen playing violin and coordinating larger string sections for popular rock group acts like Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, and Elvis Costello. His history, however, has revealed a more avant-garde penchant. Bardfeld has found more expansive avenues for his musical expression with adventurous artists like Anthony Braxton, with the late trombonist Curtis Fowlkes’ Jazz Passengers or with Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra. Following that inclination, the violinist recently teamed up with two iconic players of the free jazz world, double bassist Joe Fonda and drummer/percussionist Barry Altschul.

Joe Fonda, Sam Bardfeld and Barry Altschul (photo credit unknown)

A short look at Joe Fonda’s diverse double bass musical history includes his work with pianist/composer Carla Bley, the saxophonists Anthony Braxton and Archie Shepp, as well some creative work with the trumpeters Dave Douglas and Wadada Leo Smith.

Likewise, drummer Barry Altschul’s propulsive percussion has been an important part of work with the likes of pianist Paul Bley, and as a member of Chick Corea’s forward-looking Circle Group with multi-reedist Braxton and master bassist Dave Holland, to name just a few. Fonda and Altschul have been probing the cutting edge of the avant-garde jazz world for the last half-century.

In 2003, Fonda and Altschul found common cause with the progressive violinist Billy Bang. The three became enamored with their intuitive, improvisational free association. To these three adventurers, this approach to improvisational jazz was aligned to their vision of creativity. The three formed the influential, but sadly short-lived, FAB (Fonda, Altschul and Bang) Trio, performing from 2003 through Bang’s transition in 2011.

FAB Trio: Billy Bang, Barry Altschul and Joe Fonda (Photo credit unknown)

Fast forward to 2026. This latest group BFA (Bardfeld, Fonda and Altschul) picks up where the former trio had last left off. Bardfeld plays with a raucous, folk-inspired, sometimes humorous sense of abandon. Bill Milkowski likened his style to a mixture of “… a Stuff Smith playfulness with a Charles Ives aesthetic…”! It’s no wonder why Fonda and Altshcul found this like-minded soul to be an artist that they could have common ground and make music with. The BFA Trio’s first release, Hurtling Between, is to be released on the Polish label Fundacja Sluchaj this late October.

The release features seven compositions, two by Altschul which bookend this album. The opener “Martin’s Stew” is a dedication to fellow American drummer Stu Martin. Martin’s career ran the spectrum- from big bands led by Basie, Ellington and Quincy Jones, to backing post-bop giants like Sonny Rollins and Herbie Hancock, and into creative work with modernists like multi-reedist John Surman, bassist Barre Phillips and pianist/composer Carla Bley. The trio takes a free flow interactive approach to communicate their musical message, and while it may lose some listeners in what appears to be disorder, dissonance or randomness, there is an intuitive order to these three and how the interact. Even when the direction of a composition seems tentative. Even when the boundaries seem at times silky. This trio somehow always stay complimentary and on the same wavelength.

“Ida Lupino”, my favorite from this album, is a revered Carla Bley composition with an Americana hymn-like feel to it. The song was previously played as a trio with Altschul on Paul Bley’s album Closer from 1966 with Steve Swallow on bass. Here it opens with a bowed drone by Fonda, as Bardfeld tickles the strings with creative, expansive lines before the music swings into the repeating melody. The easy sway is playful, energetic and propelled by Altschul’s cyclonic percussion. Fonda offers a probing solo and there is a beautiful intuitive interaction here that reveals the possibilities that these three can create.

Julius Hemphill was an alto saxophonist that Altschul also played with in 1975 on Hemphill’s album Coon Bid ’ness. Bardfeld connection to this music comes from him being a member of the Hemphill Stringtet that was formed in 2022 . They released this tribute album as an all-string quartet, The Hemphill Stringtet Plays the Music of Julius Hemphill, in 2025. “C”, Hemphill's composition on this album, is a blues-based piece. The trio takes off at the opening setting at a blistering pace, held together by the frenetic pizzicato of Fonda, the often tumultuous drum work of Altschul, and the kinetically charged violin work by Bardfeld.

Sam Bardfeld (photo credit unknown)

The trio collectively create “Hippie Sh*t Could Set Us Free” another piece of music born out of free association. Fonda is on flute on this one, where he creates bird-inspired chirps. Bardfeld’s violin creates eerie, glassy squeals, and Altschul’s percussive accents punctuate the action deftly. The music ends with a sustained, medium-pitched metallic, almost gong-like wash to a fade.

The cover composition is Bardfeld’s “Hurtling Between” opens with Fonda’s strong ostinato bass lines, as Bardfield’s violin states the jagged, repeating melodic line. The music swells with turbulent drumming, explosive double bass pizzicato, and a violin that seems bent on playing with dissonant abandon. There is a sense of these three musicians being caught in a dervish whirlwind of their own making. It is not likely to leave you either calm or unagitated, but if you can imagine being caught in a tornado-like gust and being hurtled around like a rag doll, than this will aural soundtrack will neatly compliment the cinematic experience you can imagine in your mind's eye.

Barry Altschul and Joe Fonda photo credit Guy de poel

Joe Fonda’s composition “G.S. #2” is a tribute to drummer George Schuller. Schuller is the son of the famous composer/educator/conductor Gunther Schuller who coined the concept of “Third Stream” music; the integration of classical techniques to jazz sensibilities. Fonda's opening bass solo is so resonant, pliant, and fluid. In just over one minute this virtuoso treats the listener to a feast of tones, attacks and aural possibilities that double bass under can evoke. Bardfeld adds his own artful attack to the mix, humanizing the violin with eerie, moan-like sounds that hang in the air. Altschul provides one of the most tumultuous solos on the album. His kit is alive, erupting with kinetic energy. A percussive cauldron that percolates, simmers and at times boils over.The trio ends in a unified conclusion.

The album ends with another Altschul composition, “Be Out School.” A playful, humorous tune that conjures up three sandbox occupants that are free to create their own entertainment. Boys will be boys. These three rollick with the realization that they are suddenly free of boundaries. Free jazz has that sense of having no limits and Bardfeld is clearly the instigator on this one. His violin boisterously taunts dissonantly. He challenges his bandmates to take a jump into the unknown. Fonda responds in kind with authority and defiance offering his own jagged response. Altschul percolates slowly, at first in tandem with his bandmates, and then with his own cantankerous response of being 'all in' on this romp. No one is going home unscathed here. Like three rough-house kids, hair all askew and 'best to school' clothing torn and soiled, there will be a price to pay. But these ruffians don't seem to mind, they have a wide smile on their face and the feeling is infectious. Pure 'out of school' fun.

A Drum Less Trio - Allison, Cardenas and Nash Explores Boundaries with "Triological"

2026-09-14T13:22:36.133-07:00

Allison, Cardenas & Nash- Triological-SunnysideSSC-1811

The trio of Allison, Cardenas and Nash, as they are known, released their latest album titled Triological on Sunnyside Records this past April. If you have had the privilege of hearing these guys work before, either as sidemen, members of respected big bands/orchestras or as leaders of their own ensembles, then you are already aware of the copious talent these three musicians have.

For those who are unaware, Ben Allison is a vibrant bass player/composer/educator. He is also one of founders and creative director of the formative alliance, the Jazz Composer’s Collective in NYC, that from 1992-2005 promoted the creation and performance of creative, forward-looking jazz. His work first came to my attention with his group Man Size Safe’s album Little Things Run the World from 2008. The superb guitarist Steve Cardenas was also a member of that group, and I got to see that group perform in Brooklyn back in that year. I subsequently saw Allison and group with the performance artist Joey Arias at Carnegie Hall. I have reviewed several of his fine releases.

Cardenas was a member of the drummer Paul Motion’s Electric Be Bop Band and was with bassist Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra for ten years. I was also able to see Cardenas perform as a member of pianist Jon Cowherd’s talented Mercy Project when they performed in Portland, OR in Feb of 2023. I have enjoyed his work on his Blue Has a Range and enjoyed his work with bassist John Patitucci and the drummer Adam Nussbaum..

Ted Nash has been a multi-woodwind member of Wynton Marsalis’s Jazz at Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra from 1998 through 2024! I have heard him play in that orchestra on several occasions. He is the son of Dick Nash and the nephew of Ted Nash; both were first call Hollywood studio musicians who worked predominantly with the composer/arranger Henry Mancini. Ted’s Presidential Suite:Eight Variations on Freedom, a big band suite released in 2016, won a Grammy in 2017.

Ted Nash, Ben Allison and Steve Cardenas (photo credit unknown)

This gifted trio’s first recording was Quiet Revolution, from 2018, explored the music of guitarist Jim Hall and reedist Jimmy Guiffre. Guiffre’s inventive drum less trio concept became the impetus for this trio’s future explorations, expanding the concept that a reed, guitar and bass could generate their own internal rhythmic drive through thoughtful interplay.

In 2019 they released Somewhere Else which featured the music of West Side Story and the work of composer Leonard Bernstein. The trio released Healing Power-The Music of Carla Bley in 2020, and in 2024 they released Tell the Birds I Said Hello, a celebration of the rhymically displaced and harmonically rich music of pianist Herbie Nichols. It was only inevitable that this dynamic threesome, a trio so adept at interpretating other people’s compositions, would eventually release an album that featured their own original compositions. Thus, the genesis of the latest release, Triological.

Ten compositions, four by Allison and three each by Cardenas and Nash, make up this all-original offering. The inspiration for composing can often be found in previously composed, influentially residual, impressions that emerge from seeds of other people’s work. The music has elements of chamber jazz on this offering. The three reach a quiet, sensitivity that reaches for musical boundaries and can only be reached by musically empathetic artists willing to explore tonal and rhythmic boundaries. This album does all that and more.

Allison’s opening composure, “See Forever,” is an easy, mellow, sauntering piece that the bassist speaks of as being the product of a stream of consciousness approach. He finds this song the perfect vehicle for his vintage 1967 Hofner electric bass. Nash’s tenor is sonorous and Cardenas’ guitar is light and airy as the three weave around separately and at times in sync with each other. Allison admits that there is a late fifties “easy listening” feel to this one, and he credits being somewhat influenced by the seminal work of conductor/composer Henry Mancini. Emulation of a great composer is hardly a weakness, and we will see this approach being somewhat thematic throughout the album.

Guitarist Cardenas’ “Puddle Jumper” is a flowing, bubbling piece that originally developed from the opening melodic lines that the guitarist was playing with and recorded on a voice memo, only to be left for development at a later date. There is a quiescent to this beautiful, melodically repeating line that emanates to the listener. It’s like a tonic to whatever may be ailing or disturbing you; just under four minutes of tranquility.

Ted Nash’s “Burnt Toast & Avocado” opens with a sensitive acoustic bass entre before Nash’s tubular clarinet takes a sinewy solo that lulls you like a snake charmer. Cardenas follows with his own exploratory, uncluttered solo that rings with sensitivity, before Allison’s throbbing bass lines resonate with sustain and authority.

Allison’s lively “Fellas with Umbrellas” is a composition that has two sources of inspiration. Initially Allison wrote the melody over the chord changes of bassist Steve Swallow’s composition “Ladies in Mercedes.” An opening staccato bass line frames Nash’s gorgeous descending lines on his tonally rich tenor. Allison’s acoustic bass solo dances with aplomb; a sustained resonance that is subtly comped by Cardenas’s feather strumming. When the guitarist takes his turn, Allison’s strong rhythmic pace allows Cardenas to fearlessly explore the harmonic possibilities of the melody. Surprisingly, Allison mentions that the composition also had another great composer, Michel LeGrand, in mind. LeGrand’s cinematic soundtrack from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg clearly was in Allison’s mind when he titled this one. It turns out, Allison, in talking to Swallow about this composition, admitted that he too was influenced by LeGrand. The world of music can clearly be a small, small world, but one that is constantly renewing itself with new artists and new ideas of interpretation.

The album continues with the film-noirish “Milton,” an Allison composition previously released on his Moments Inside from 2021. Nash’s tenor is a marvel of luscious tonal delight. Allison again utilizes his Hofner electric bass, as Cardenas offers a solo accentuated by his use of a tremolo effect. The contrast between the metronomic bass lines, the trembling guitar lines, and the legato tenor lines make this sonically a treat.

“By Heart” is a Cardenas almost Americana style ballad that opens with the guitarist’s slow, sensitive opening lines that are repeated in sync by the three musicians. Cardenas’ guitar solo is short and poignant before Nash’s tenor adds to the pensive mode. Allison’s bass just hums with sustain and includes some higher register lines before the music returns to the opening lines to the coda.

Nash’s “For Bill” is one of my favorite compositions of the album. Nash used Bill Evans’ “Time Remembered” as his inspiration. The music opens with bass and guitar before the tenor enters with the melody line. There is patient, unhurried approach that clearly honors Evans’ own approach to music. Nash’s tenor tantalizingly navigates the sinewy lines with unshowy confidence and with rich harmonic ideas that don’t wander too far from the melody. Cardenas’ accompaniment is intuitive and splendid. When he solos, it’s always airy, unobtrusive; always meaningful. Allison’s bass rings with a rhythmic presence that few can match. He always offering surprisingly inventive lines that accentuate the instruments vibrant possibilities.

“Back Home” is a return to the roots of the guitarist’s influence back in Kansas City, Missouri and his early time with pianist Jay McShann. With a loping bass line and tandem playing by Cardenas on electric guitar and Nash on tenor saxophone, the music swells with back home comfort. Nash is so welcomingly melodic, and Cardenas’ guitar sometimes has a comping feeling that recalls the sound of a delicately hammered vibraphone.

Nash’s “Ida’s Spoon” is supposedly reimagined from Victor Young’s classic “Stella by Starlight”. The music has the flow and momentum of a cryptic Lenny Tristano song where the lead instruments guitar and tenor weave themselves into a tapestry of sounds with no apparent direction. Nash claims saxophonist Warne Marsh’s as an inspiration on this one. Cardenas’ guitar work is at its most abstract here, and Allison’s bass is as free-flowing as we have heard.

The finale is Allison’s “Peace Out There” and reprises the sound of Nash’s warm, woody-toned clarinet. Allison claims that this was originally a work that had Jimmy Guiffre in mind, but as it developed, he feels it was more inspired by Carla Bley and her abstract “Mornings Out There.” There is parts with quickly played staccato lines followed by a more pastoral section where Allison’s electric bass and Cardenas’s guitar lines are played in unison, as Nash’s clarinet probes the atmosphere of the music. Quite beautiful, ambient and peaceful.

Triological by Allison, Cardenas & Nash

Three Recent Concert Appearances in Portland Speak Volumes for the Diversity in Jazz : Ali Ryerson Quartet, Bill Mays Solo, Ben Rosenblum Trio

2026-08-26T10:43:45.296-07:00

The Ali Ryerson Quartet at the 1905 Jazz Club August 10, 2026

Ali Ryerson

The variation of music that you can enjoy in Portland is always a cornucopia of possibilities. The month of August was especially fertile for me. This month, I was able to enjoy the music of three disparate musicians; master flutist Ali Ryerson and three local musicians graced the stage of 1905 Jazz Club in support of her fabulous new album The Ali Ryerson Quartet, the solo pianistic stylings of Bill Mays as featured at Classic Pianos, and the robust musical piano and accordion of the talented Ben Rosenblum and trio brought his own unique approach to the music to the 1905 Jazz Club.

Jasnam Daya Singh, Bill Athens Ali Ryerson and Ken Ollis at the 1905

Monday is an unusual night out for music, but I was privileged to catch the first set of world class flute master Ali Ryerson playing with three sensational local musicians at 1905 on Aug 10th. Ali and I have an unusual connection. We independently knew a pianist who we both cherished, and who had sadly passed away recently. Ryerson’s performance at 1905 gave us a chance to meet in person; recall our common friend, and through the language of music, celebrate his memory. What music it was! Ryerson was in town for the National Flute Association 54^th annual Convention which was held from Aug 6^th-9^th at the Oregon Convention Center. There she performed with other flute masters like Jeff Coffin, Nestor Torres, and Robert Dick to name a few.

I recently reviewed Ryerson’s latest release The Ali Ryerson Quartet back late June which you can read here. On this wonderful album, Ali re-established herself as a vibrant and potent musician who is still considered one of the top players on her instrument. The album has been well received and rode the charts prominently for several weeks.

On this evening, Ryerson engaged pianist Jasnam Daya Singh, bassist Bill Athens, and drummer Ken Ollis. These local musicians were accomplished and complimentary to Ryerson’s skill at both flute and baritone flute. The set opened with Chick Corea’s “Windows,” was first played on flute by Hubert Laws on his Atlantic release Laws Cause from 1969. Ryerson plays her “C” flute with authority on this composition, giving that exploratory ethereal feel that makes this wonderful piece so enchanting. Athens’ pizzicato work is inventive, and Singh pianistic accompaniment subtle and understated. The set continued with Thad Jones’ post-bop swinger “3 and 1,” with Ryerson taking up her alto flute to replace Jones flugelhorn from the original. Athens and Ollis maintain the pace impeccably as Ryerson’s deeper toned alto solo cooks. The set continued with Ryerson introducing her own interpretation of Steve Swallow’s classic “Falling Grace” which is the perfect vehicle for Ryerson, Singh and Athens to each offer their own solo takes on the theme. Ryerson appropriately returned to her alto flute on Dizzy Gillespie’s “Birks Works,” a blues bop classic that offers Ryerson the chance to strut some of the bluer side of her repertoire. The group played a beautiful ballad by pianist Singh which featured the group’s sensitive side. Then one of my favorites was Ryerson’s reimagining of a Jerome Kern’s classic renamed “Before Today/Yesterdays” with Ali returning to her “C” flute and some notable solos by her, Athens on bass and a rousing drum spotlight by Ollis. The show ended with Ryerson graciously inviting up another flutist, the Japanese artist Yuko Hoshi, to play on a bossa nova-based tune with the band, providing an interesting comparison of the two stylists. The set ended with another Brazilian samba, with Ali and band showing their Brazilian influenced chops. The sold-out audience left the venue with a satisfying smile on their faces. Ryerson’s performance certainly left no doubt she is still one of the eminent jazz flautists of her era. If you are a fan of swinging, jazz-centered music, then The Ali Ryerson Quartet will certainly be a enduring, enjoyable addition to your collection.

Bill Mays Solo Piano at The George Fendel Concert Series -Classic Pianos Aug 16, 2026

Bill Mays at the Piano at Classic Pianos in Portland

On Sunday August 16th, at a beautifully renovated building, purportedly dating from the eighteen hundreds, houses a thirty-thousand-foot piano showroom and service center for Classic Pianos, owned by the Unis Family, down off Powell Blvd in Portland.

Classic Pianos 1010 SE Powell Blvd, Portland, OR

There, in a tucked away recital area, I got to see the highly regarded pianist Bill Mays at a solo performance. Mays performance was part of the George Fendel Concert Series, now managed by Patrick Springer. This is a new series to me and one that clearly adds another rewarding element to the music scene in Portland. Fendel was a local jazz radio DJ, jazz pianist and jazz aficionado who started the series in 2010. He unfortunately transitioned this year.

George Fendel (photo credit unknown)

The venue seated perhaps seventy admirers who got to experience an up close and personal performance by Mays. Now eighty-two, Mays facility is still marvelous. I have been a fan of Mays since I was exposed to his Invention Trio’s Palmetto album Fantasy released in 2007. The trio featured Mays on piano and composition, the talented Marvin Stamm on trumpet and flugelhorn and Alisa Horn on cello. The music was a fusion of classical composition with modern jazz improvisation. A hybrid that some people would call chamber jazz.

On this evening, Mays played on a Yamaha grand and opened with JC Handy’s “Memphis Blues.” The man exudes a joyful presence when he is behind the keyboard. He included rhapsodic intros that preceded the melody with flair and style. He used a walking left hand as a bass line and his right foot bounced keeping the time. There were elements of stride and boogie Woogie that created an exuberance that primed the audience for what was to come.

Bill Mays

Mays is a consummate performer. He continued with the beautiful Jobim ballad “Estate” (Summer) opening the music strumming of the strings of the piano like a harp. The Brazilian sway of the song was just another aspect of the pianist’s repertoire. Mays followed with a composition that he titled “Mike” as a tribute to the musician Mike Wofford, a fellow pianist who passed away in 2025 and was an accompaniest to Sarah Vaughan, Mel Tormé, and Ella Fitzgerald. The music had Mays in swing mode, and he offered some right-handed creative improvised lines as he maintained the bass line with his left. The pianist also scatted a little in coordination with his piano lines. Mays was enjoying himself and the audience was captured by his showmanship and talent.

The set included a song he wrote that was inspired by a watercolor made by his wife Judy who was present in the audience. The painting evoked play long, flowing lines that ascended and descended wonderfully up and down the keyboard. For the straight-ahead fans, Mays played Thad Jones “3 in 1,” utilizing a cooking hard bop piano style that sizzled. The music featured Billy Strayhorn’s beautiful composition “Chelsea Bridge” which he dedicated to George Fendel.

Not to leave out cinematic music from the repertoire, Mays played the “Theme to Godfather II” written by Nino Roti, and including the improvisational embellishments, the familiarity of the music grabbed the audience favorably as expected.

Bill Mays on the keyboard up close

Bill Evan’s “Waltz for Debbie” is always a favorite of pianists, and Mays made his take beautiful with wonderfully creative harmonic variations and chordal runs that made the experience worth the price of admission. Mays is a storyteller on his keyboard, and he continued with classics like “Young and Foolish,” which he read from the lyrics. Gershwin’s “Embraceable You,” preceded Mays doing something unusual, three separate Prelude’s to Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” which I had never heard before and which demonstrated creativity and impressive facility. The set ended with the Gershwin Brothers tin pan alley torch song “Someone to Watch Over You” and with Antonin Dvorak’s “Goin’ Home” where the pianist played inside the piano on the strings creating a zither-like sound.

If the performance of Bill Mays is any indication of the kind of top-rate solo piano concerts you can experience here in Portland at the George Fendel Concert Series at Classic Pianos, then a word to the wise should suffice.

Fantasy - The Inventions Trio by Marvin Stamm

The Ben Rosenblum Trio at The 1905 Jazz Club Aug 23, 2026

Ben Rosenblum and Greg Finegold at 1905

The final performance I caught this month was up and coming pianist/accordionist Ben Rosenblum and his trio at the 1905 Jazz Club on August23rd. I got a chance to speak with Rosenblum before the early show. He indicated he was doing a short West Coast tour in promotion of his latest album The Longest Way Around” which was released in February of this year to promising reviews. Ben is another of those musicians that exude love when creating and sharing music. He is a rumpled sort of bespeckled guy with copiously flowing hair and a scraggy-bearded face. Under that visage is a talented musician who seems to have cross pollinated the multiple inspirations that seem to show up in his music. There is a pianistic vibrancy here. Rosenblum amalgamizes elements of Americana, Cajun, New Orleans Dixieland, Latin, Irish and other folk music, as well as boisterous, Storyville inspired saloon-style music to make what he plays all his own. Mostly, he just has fun! The diverse elements seem to fit seamlessly. He has found a way to integrate his accordion playing into his world-inspired jazz music, similarly to the way the Argentinian and Uruguayan musicians have made the use of the Bandoneon into a critical part of Tango music.

Ben Rosenblum

Rosenblum, who now calls Brooklyn his home, was joined bassist Greg Finegold from Seattle, and the drummer Ben Zweig, whom he traveled with on this tour. The music started with a song first recorded by the Nat King Cole Trio at Carnegie Hall and released in 1949 titled “Bop Kick.” It’s a quick-paced bebop song that requires agile facility from the pianist. Rosenblum’s fingers floated across the keyboard as the bassist and drummer kept the pace. Zweig drum skill was featured and finished playing the drum kit with his bare hands.

Rosenblum’s ballad “Henry and the Sunset” is a slow bossa that showed the pianist’s sensitive side and offered a solo by Goldstein and subtle mallet work by Zweig.

The crowd was treated to “Sheridan’s Reel” a traditional Irish dance song dedicated to an old passed friend of Rosenblum’s, Michael Sheridan. Rosenblum called up a guest percussionist Brad Dutz, who appeared on Ben’s latest album The Longest Way Round, to play bones and percussion on this reel. The music burst with jubilance as Rosenblum picked up his accordion for this one. The song was filled with eighth notes and in 2/4 time. Watching Rosenbaum play his squeeze box with such emotional abandon and honest joy, it was hard for the audience to not get up and dance! Zweig and Dutz added percussion accents that just added to the juice.

Ben Rosenblum Nebula Project- The Longest Way Round-One Trick Dog Music

The set continued with another bossa, before Duke Ellington and Lawrence Brown’s “On a Turquoise Cloud.” This is an impressionistic piece that originally featured wordless vocals by Kay Davis, bass clarinet by Harry Carney, trombone work by Lawrence Brown and violin by Ray Nance. Rosenblum didn’t have that kind of diverse instrumental palette to pull from here, but he offered his own gorgeously expressed piano take that had embellishments that recalled Erroll Garner.

Rosenblum returned to his accordion on the waltz he wrote “Living Stream” from his album A Thousand Pebbles from 2023. Dance was in the air when “Bamboula” a Creole/African dance rhythm that Rosenblum used it as the basis for the next song that he apparently improvised while on piano. Zweig and Dutz added their percussive accents to this one.

The set finished with Rosenblum’s reimagination of the Beatles’ classic “Fool on the Hill.” Ben admitted to being most influenced by the Sergio Mendez Brazilian inspired take on the song, but suffice it say that Brazil 66 never had the added dimension of Ben’s accordion for their version. He couldn’t have ended this triumphal appearance better.

Retrospect: A Conversation with Pianist Steve Kuhn from July 6, 2007

2026-08-14T10:52:59.488-07:00

Interview with Steve Kuhn

Friday July 6, 2007, at his home in Dobbs Ferry, New York.

Originally Posted on The Jazz Review a now defunct jazz review site.

Steve Kuhn (photo credit unknown)

It has been nearly twenty years since I first posted this conversation I had with master pianist Steve Kuhn from 2007. Over the years, a chance to interview jazz musicians, let alone jazz legends, was a challenging, but ultimately satisfying assignment. Interviews can help preserve the music's history. They memorialize individual experiences of the people, places and times of the professional musicians as they pursued a career in jazz. Any era can be thought of as being important to the vitality of jazz music, but clearly the last fifty plus years have been a creative and exciting era for the music. Their is no substitute for knowing how it was to experience it without hearing from those who actually lived it.

I was a newbie to the field of jazz journalism back then, I'll admit to being somewhat awed at the opportunity to meet and individually speak to many musical legends. I can only hope that I did my best and approached it with respect. On the transcription of this meeting with Steve, I have added pertinent photos and music not previously included in the original post on JazzReview. I have made some edits to the text for clarity or correction, and added some items of interest which I italicize for transparency. The interview maintains it's original text as transcribed from my video recording in all other instances. I had used my initials RAM instead my later common use of NOJ (Notes on Jazz) to identify the interviewer and the artist's initials SK to identify Mr. Kuhn in this interview.

Steve was sixty-nine years of age when I interviewed him. As I mentioned, I was pretty inexperienced, but Steve was gracious, allowed me to video the interview at his home, and spent a great deal of time with me, answering all my inquiries. I appreciated his candor and he rarely balked at answering anything that might be considered too personal.

Over the years I have had the pleasure of seeing Steve perform several times and always found his playing to be creative, inspired and enduring. Now at the age of eighty-eight, I believe, Steve has retired from playing in public. The last of his performances that I was able to find was at Birdland in NYC on October 22, 2023.

Steve has had a wonderful career, made some beautiful music and I hope he is in good health and in great spirits. He is part of a cadre of wonderful pianists from this era which include Keith Jarrett, McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Paul Bley, Cecil Taylor and Herbie Hancock. Unfortunately, of that group, as of this date only Jarrett, Hancock and Kuhn remain.

I hope Steve gets a chance to revisit this interview. I tried to reach him prior to re-releasing this, but was unsuccessful in my attempt. I trust he looks back and is pleased. As a retrospect, this interview still offers an insider's perspective. Steve's valid thoughts about the music, the many other musicians he played with and got to know, and how his choices or at times pure chance affected his career's trajectory as both a musician and a human being. To the fans of jazz music, Steve's recollection is another piece of puzzle. On more glimpse into a small section that makes up the tapestry of the ongoing history of jazz music. Any interviewer should attempt to be fair and ask thoughtful questions that illuminate a career. These recollections should be truthfully memorialized. I hope this interview with this fine pianist, Steve Kuhn, did just that. My sincerest thanks to Steve.

Steve Kuhn (photo credit unknown)

Steve Kuhn, maestro, jazzman, pianist extraordinaire who has been a professional musician for over fifty years. During his remarkable and expansive career, he has been at the center of jazz musical history. He is an important, participant, observer, innovator, and contributor to the music in its many forms and variations. He has borne witness to an era and an industry that was intimately apart of the cultural, economic, and racial transformations of its time. He has successfully collaborated with some of the foremost musical giants of the jazz world. During these collaborations he has undoubtedly left his musical mark on some of these icons while, in turn, being profoundly influenced by them. His playing continues to entertain audiences and inspire younger developing musicians. It is my great pleasure to introduce Mr. Steve Kuhn.

RAM: Hello Steve.

(Steve is seated at his Baldwin piano in his Dobbs Ferry home.)

SK: Oh, hello Ralph.

RAM: Let’s start at the beginning or at least the musical beginning. You dedicated your most recent album Promises Kept to your parents and a cousin. What is the source of this dedication?

SK: Well, it is actually dedicated to my grandparent on both sides, my parents and a cousin who passed away suddenly from pancreatic cancer about five years ago. She was incredibly vibrant and a wonderful kid. …. Basically ….I always wanted to do a recording with a large string orchestra. I had done a couple with string quartets in the past, which is great cause I love the sound of strings, I love violin concertos especially…. composers from the early twentieth century. So I was afforded the opportunity to do this with ECM records with whom I have been associated with since the seventies. They allowed me to do this and it’s been a life long dream. It’s really a dedication to my grandparents from both sides that migrated from Hungary; my mother was born in Hungary my father was born here…. in honor of them coming to this country in order to live in a free society, and to my parents for carrying on that dream and eventually allowing me to express myself in this free society where anything is possible, with a recording like Promises Kept.

RAM: Tell us a little bit about the early Kuhn household in Brooklyn. Where was the neighborhood and what kind of neighborhood was it like?

SK: It was Sheep head Bay, Avenue X it was a series of attached row houses. The main level, of two levels. My folks bought the house back in 1937 for $6500, which was a lot of money back then, and still is! That’s where I grew up. My recollections of it are basically that I showed a very early interest in music. I was featured in a popular book at the time by H. Allen Smith, in 1941 called Low Man on the Totem pole…. It featured people with special talents…. My father had an extensive 78 jazz collection and even before I could walk or read I could identify the artist, like Benny Goodman, with the album cover in baby talk. I responded to music my father played very early on.

RAM: What did your parents do for a living? Was either one a musician?

SK: No. My father sold rawhides to companies that used it to produce shoes and other items. My mother was a schoolteacher. Neither one were musicians.

RAM: What was the ethnicity of your Brooklyn neighborhood?

SK: Italian and some Jewish, some Afro-American but not that much. Mostly Italian.

RAM: Kuhn is A German surname, isn’t it?

SK: Kuhn is, but the name was originally Kün when my grandparents came to this country it somehow got changed to Kuhn. Over there they pronounced “Koon” which I don’t like but I let it go in Europe but not here. It is a Hungarian name, but it was changed back then.

RAM: When did you start piano lessons and when with Madame Margaret Chaloff?

SK: I started studying when I was five years old in Brooklyn. We later moved around to Chicago and wound up in Boston around 1950 and at the age of twelve I started piano lessons with Madame Chaloff, who was the mother of the saxophone player Serge Chaloff.

Serge Chaloff

She was my main teacher who tore down certain technical habits that I had already developed that were not really right and re-educated me. She became very important in my life as a mentor, as a surrogate mother and as a teacher. She was just an extraordinary woman. In terms of the technique, she taught me, it was the Russian School of Technique.

All about playing as fast or as slow, in terms of the speed and having the control to play in a range of speed from the slowest to the fastest and also dynamically from softest to loudest and getting a sound on the instrument.

Steve demonstrates this technique on his Baldwin piano.

You center yourself on the keyboard between E & F. You sort of let your arms hang loose so that there is no weight at all you have curvature at your hands so you do not play flat fingered, and then its about the sound you want. So, if you want a very, very loud fortissimo or triple fortissimo …you envision the sound coming from your toes, coming up through your legs, up your back and coming out at your fingertips, which is like playing a horn. The analogy being the fingertip being your mouth and the key being the mouthpiece of a horn. Same principal, you’re blowing into the instrument, same with drumming everything is the same principal. It is just easier to visualize if you’re a horn player that the sound is coming out at the fingertip or your mouth into the reed or, on the piano, the key which is then transmitted through the sound board of the piano and out.

RAM: So it’s like a flow of energy, similar to the way meditation techniques use breathing to flow the energy through the body?

SK: That’s right. Yes, absolutely. The problem is if you are playing and you don’t have a light arm, another words you support the whole weight of your body on your fingertips and if you don’t do that the sound gets blocked at whatever point your arms are restricted. This produces a different sound. Madame Chaloff was very conscious of getting a real piano sound that all great classical players had and have, but not many jazz players are aware of or care about that much and that’s fine. She really stressed that, so it took me a long time to develop this technique. She was right and one of the things I pride myself about is getting a good sound out of the piano, and in fact, it has been noted by various reviewers that I have such a sound and having that is very important for me.

Margaret Stedman Chaloff (1896-1977)

If you want a delicate sound, you visualize the sound coming from the second or third joint from your fingers. The more powerful the sound you want the deeper you visualize into your body all the way down to your toes.

RAM: You talked of Serge Chaloff before. He was a baritone sax that played with Woody Herman and was one of the original four brothers. Do you remember who the other three brothers were?

SK: Stan Getz, Herbie Stewart, and Zoot Sims.

RAM: That’s right. Eventually Herbie was replaced by a man I once saw in a club in New Jersey, Al Cohn.

SK: Al was a lovely player with a great sense of humor. I worked for him a little bit. He was a funny guy.

RAM: Did you ever get a chance to play with Woody’s band?

SK: No. When I first came to New York I had a chance to go with the band he had at the time. I just decided that for me in a big band a piano player is, unless it’s your band….

RAM: Like Count Basie’s?

SK: Yeah, it’s just kind of boring. I really wanted a small group situation where I could solo and comp and do the things in a much smaller context, so I turned that job down.

RAM: You played with Serge though, right?

SK: Yes, when I was a teenager…. We played around Boston just a trio with no bass. Drums, myself, and Serge…. He was really relentless on the bandstand. If I played the wrong change or if I did something he didn’t like he would yell at me, it didn’t matter where we were or who was there. But I learned a lot that way, some people would wilt …. I just thrived in that kind of environment. He was like my big brother to me and I learned a great deal from him in a short period of time. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1955 or maybe it was 1957.

I learned al lot about comping; I learned a lot of tunes. I played tunes I never heard before a lot of blues changes stuff like that.

RAM: This was Boston in the fifties?

SK: Yes, we moved to Boston in 1950.

RAM: What were the social conditions concerning musicians, race and integration of bands at this time?

SK: In Boston? It was fine. No problem. Everybody was together. There were a lot of very good musicians up there black and white…. Boston has a reputation especially in athletics, which is true, but in the musical, jazz community we were all playing together. No body ever thought about that.

RAM: Did playing with horn players influence the way you play your lead solos?

SK: I don’t know. I haven’t given that much thought. I think I am aware of the piano as an orchestra on to itself. I approach it that way. I don’t necessarily think so. Most of what I learned was about comping behind a horn for support without overplaying. I learned a lot when I played with Stan Getz too. He didn’t say much, but sometimes I would tend to overplay, and he would say either “stroll” or layout a couple of choruses while he was soloing or just be more sparse. Over the years I learned that this really works the best. Sometimes if you are playing with some one who is insecure, then that happens rarely, but it happens more with singers, they like fuller accompaniment behind them because they are a little insecure in terms of what they are doing. I just shy away from that because it just doesn’t feel comfortable to me, and I can play over them, and I don’t want to do that. It is just about being sparse and staying out of there way.

Stan Getz Quartet (w/ Steve Kuhn) Live at the Village Gate Nov 26, 1961

RAM: Jumping ahead a bit, you graduated from Harvard. Was it in music?

SK; No, I got a BA in Liberal Arts and took all the courses. I was amazed I got in. I took all kinds of courses.

RAM: Then you got into the Lenox Summer Music Program in 1959 up in Lenox Massachusetts.

SK: Yeah, that was just a three-week program. I got a scholarship to attend from Schaefer beer and they chose different students from different colleges and non-college musicians of promise. That year I attended with Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Gary McFarland to name a few.

Steve Kuhn 1955 (photo credit unknown)

RAM: These three weeks seem to have left an indelible impression on you. That is where you met Kenny Dorham as a faculty member isn’t it?

SK: Kenny was on the faculty, the whole Modern Jazz Quartet’s was on the faculty, Dizzy Gillespie, George Russell, Günter Schuller, Bill Evans …..and they were the teachers, but we were all just sort of hanging out together member, theoretically studying, but it was a little more informal than that. I had a chance to meet a lot of people there and it was a very intense three-week period.

RAM: You eventually joined Kenny Dorham’s quartet. How did that happen?

SK: I moved from Boston to New York and so I called around to see where I could get some work. So, I called Kenny and he happened to be looking for a piano player so he hired me. It was so nice to be able to work with him. He was an extraordinary player, underrated ….and he was somewhat bitter about that because there was Dizzy and then there was Miles and then there was Kenny…… by this time Brownie (Clifford Brown) had passed away. Kenny felt he was in the same position as they were…. maybe a tad under, in my opinion, but he was ….a wonderful composer and a great trumpet player.

Kenny Dorham (photo credit unknown)

RAM: You played Lotus Flower one of KD’s compositions on your recent Live at Birdland album, any personal significance for you about this tune?

SK: No other than it’s a nice tune to play harmonically…. I also play his Blue Bossa, which I have recorded a few times. They are just nice to play. The melodies are lovely and if you will it’s a homage to Kenny, I loved Kenny.

RAM: You mentioned in another interview that you played together with Ornette and Don Cherry at Lenox and that you found it uncomfortable so you “strolled” or laid off a lot with them because they were branching off into a non melodic form of music even back then.

SK: It wasn’t that so much. I really didn’t know what to do. To comp with them in the traditional way laying down chords made no sense……John Lewis of the MJQ was the leader of this particular group up at Lenox, and his advice to me was to do what he did with the MJQ. He didn’t really chord, he used to play counter lines to Milt Jackson’s vibes. I really didn’t take to that either. So for me the easiest thing to do was to lay off when they were soloing. In fact, over the years most of the recording Ornette has ever done was done there was no keyboard.

RAM: You heard that Ornette just received a Pulitzer Prize for his writing.

SK: God bless him. (With his music) there really is no need for a piano in my opinion.

RAM: Was Lenox your first encounter with Gary McFarland?

SK: Yes.

RAM: In 1966 you created with him the beautiful piece of music called October Suite.

SK: He created it, I just played on this.

RAM: Well, you were nonetheless an important contributor. Some people call this the Third Stream in jazz music …. what is your comment on this movement?

SK: Well, there was a period of time when people were making recordings of classical with jazz. Some of it was more successful than others. I didn’t care too much for most of it because they were trying to get the classical musicians to have that …swing, which is impossible with classical musicians especially. What Gary wrote for this particular recording, he wrote half for a string quartet and then there was a woodwind quintet and then there was a harp, and he wrote just straight ahead for them and then I was the jazz improvisational element on piano every one else was straight and so I think it worked.

Some of the fusion of the Third-Stream stuff back then was not very successful, in my opinion, because it was written in a way that was trying to get the so called classical part of it to swing. To get classical musicians who are used to playing in a certain way, they don’t have the intuition to do what we do and we don’t do what they do, and its very, very rare to get that meeting that works successfully.

RAM: You played with Ron Carter on this date. Is this your first meeting with Ron?

SK; Probably not, I think we played some together before this but it may be the first time we recorded together.

RAM: After working with KD you were hired by John Coltrane to join his first quartet after he left Miles in early 1960. You actually cold called John for the job?

SK: Yeah I was working with KD and I got his number and I called him and …….

I heard he was looking for a piano player, he had just left Miles….I was twenty one…..after two meetings talking and playing, one at his home in Queens……a week or ten days later he offered me $135 per week to start. I nearly fell off my chair because I was only making $100 a week with KD and I was getting to play with Coltrane.

RAM: This first group was you, John, Steve Davis on bass and Pete LaRoca Sims on drums. You played at the Jazz Gallery on St Marks Place in NYC.

SK: That was the only place I played with him……. It started out as a two-week gig and the it kept being extended to four weeks, six weeks …… I was there about eight to ten weeks …..then ultimately McCoy Tyner took my place……they went on for an unheard 24 or 26 weeks I believe at the time. But we were working six nights a week for that period, and it was just extraordinary. Six nights a week that was the way it was in those days.

RAM: This was after Giant Steps. At this point was he starting to go into his searching mode?

SK: Yeah. We were playing a repertoire that consisted of the stuff on Giant Steps that had a lot of harmonic density, then he got into Impressions with just two harmonies on a 32 bar …..and he didn’t quite know (which way to go) ….he was leaning toward the less harmony but still playing the other stuff which I guess people wanted to hear……He eventually went, of course, the way he did. Away from all that dense harmony to almost a-harmonic…..

RAM: Do you think his musical direction was coincidental with yours or do you think he was going in a direction that was a little bit different then you felt you wanted to go.

SK: At that point I was twenty-one years old…… I was thrilled to be there, and I was just trying to do the best I could do to support him and learning.

RAM: Did you feel up to the task?

SK: Some of the time I did and some of the time I didn’t. It wasn’t because I was trying to find my own voice, I just didn’t know what to do for him. A lot of times I would chord and then sometimes he would be out there doing what he was doing and I would be out there with him maybe inspiring him to do other things or further or…basically when I heard McCoy with him, he just wanted a carpet, he didn’t want anybody to fuck with him, so to speak. Let him alone, McCoy just laid down a nice carpet which was really what he wanted. He really didn’t articulate that to me. I said John …is everything okay, he said, and I’ll never forget this, I respect you too much as a musician to tell you how to play. I said John I am asking if there is anything you want me to play, really! …he just couldn’t …. he didn’t speak very much anyway. But when I heard McCoy with him after I had left…

RAM: You felt that that was a match that was more compatible?

SK: Yeah. Absolutely, that is what he wanted, but he was not able to articulate that to me for whatever reason. Really it was a historical time for me, something that I will never forget. I was just happy to have those couple of months with him.

RAM: Do you think that ultimately, had you stayed with Coltrane, that you would have picked up more of his musical odyssey along the lines of non-harmonious direction and his exploratory nature?

SK: I don’t know. Possibly. He influenced me a great deal prior to me working with him and he continues to do so. The stuff he did at the very end of his life I am not as crazy about as the prior stuff. I don’t know…. if I had stayed with him, career wise I would have been potentially accelerated but….I don’t know.

RAM: Besides the historical significance of playing with John, what do you think is the most significant aspect of your time with him for you?

SK: Just being around somebody who for the first time in my life was completely dedicated to the music. There was no interest in drugs, he was straight as a pin in those days, he wasn’t screwing around with women, he was married. He really was just focused on the music going forward.

RAM: Was he on a spiritual path yet?

SK: He was starting, I think, but not really. That with A Love Supreme, and later but this was two or three years prior to that.

RAM: I was at your performance at the Fazioli Salon recently and you played Coltrane’s Countdown. Is there any significance to that particular song for you?

SK: Other than that it was one of the songs that we played when I was with him and I have played it since then from time to time on recordings. That is a song that is based on Tune Up which is a Miles Davis song (Steve demonstrates the chords of Tune Up on his piano and then compares the changes to Countdown which is an apparent derivative) ……the formula John used in the tune, it started in one place and ended in the same place…so that’s what it was based on. Whenever there is a song when the harmony didn’t move very much, he was able to interpolate the formula that he had,

which is the formula he used for Giant Steps, which is an original and isn’t based on anything else. (Steve now plays the first few bars of Giant Steps to demonstrate his point). The release, I remember mentioning this to him, of Have You Met Miss Jones……. is the same formula as Giant Steps, (Steve demonstrates the similarities of the songs by playing a few bars of each …) but that was the way it was written by Richard Rodgers. I remember mentioning this to John and he just smiled at me. He built a whole thing on that simple formula.

RAM: Lets jump a little bit ahead. You left John Coltrane and joined Stan Getz I believe.

SK: Well I left John and went back to work with Kenny for a period. …. then I got a call from Scott La Faro, who was an extraordinary bassist. He had gotten a call from Stan asking if he wanted to join in a new group that Stan was forming. Stan had just gotten back from living in Scandinavia and wanted to work in the States again. Scott said “Well I’ll join you, but I want the rhythm section that I want. Scotty was maybe twenty-four.

Steve Kuhn, Scott LaFaro and Pete LaRoca from album 1960

RAM: He was quite audacious, wasn’t he?

SK: But he could back it up. He was great, extraordinary player. So, Stan said sure. So, he called Pete LaRoca, and he called me. The four of us met one afternoon at the Village Vanguard just to play and Stan hired us and that’s how that started.

RAM: Now how did you know Scott?

SK: Just …. he was around ah...I don’t remember how we met…he was two years older than I was, but we were sort “of an age” and he was working also with Bill Evans at the time.

RAM: I wanted to talk a little about that. You are at a sort of a nexus of events here. Scott is playing with you and he is playing with Bill. Bill being one of my favorite pianists.

SK: As he is mine also.

SK: I had heard Bill…. I never met him until, I guess I met him before Lenox. He did a concert at Brandeis University with George Russell’s band when I was at Harvard. That is the first time I heard Bill play and I said to myself …Jesus, this guy is doing what I am doing but only he has gotten it together, he is much more developed than I am. It sort of threw me. But I loved what he was doing. Except that I now had to take a little detour and try my own way, but I was still in college. Scott was working with Bill. When I first got to New York I called all the guys I met at Lenox, and I called Bill. Bill was one of the guys I called. He took me in sort of like a little brother, and so we got along great. Scotty and Paul Motian were working in his band, but Bill wasn’t working all the time.

1957 Concert at Brandeis U that had Bill Evans on piano

So when Stan called Scotty, Scott was doing both.

RAM: Scott was supposedly only playing the bass for about six years and yet is still considered one of the premier innovators on the instrument.

SK: I don’t remember the number of years he had been playing bass, but I know it wasn’t that long. He played something else before I can’t remember what.

RAM : I read somewhere that you and Scott were thinking about forming your own trio at this time before his untimely death?

SK: Yes. We did a little demo record together with Pete LaRoca and I had the master put out on CD and Japan put it out. It’s about thirty minutes, but just to hear Scott on it is worth the price. It never happened. Scotty loved Bill but he also felt somewhat constrained. With me I guess he felt that he was with someone with a similar attitude, I don’t know. So, he was looking to leave Bill but at the same time it was work and he was with Stan so he had a pretty good situation going, unfortunately the accident.

RAM: I had once seen Bill at the Bottom Line, in NYC with I believe it was Eddie Gomez around 1976 and I witnessed how he could almost float over the keyboard.

SK: Bill knew about the sound, the piano sound we were talking about. One of the things that I admired about him, was that he had extraordinary technique, but you never heard that technique the way you would with Oscar Peterson, for example. Bill could play, he could play but he chose to ….

RAM: Less is more.

SK: Less, exactly, and to me it was a great lesson, and he got a sound on the instrument that was quite extraordinary!

RAM: I found some of your most memorable compositions, at least for me, like Trance and Oceans in the Sky are very rhythmically oriented. I find that they the way they seem to have a driving rhythm.

SK: Well, its sort of an ostinato. Trance (w/ Steve Swallow, Jack DeJohnette and Sue Evans)and then Oceans in the Sky (w/ Miroslav Vitous and Aldo Romano) they are both 6/8

(Steve plays a few bars of each on his Baldwin).

RAM: I watched you at a recent concert and you use a technique of playing over the entire keyboard which I don’t see as much with other jazz players and you use tremolo effectively to build suspense in your songs.

SK: The piano is an orchestra, so why not use it.

RAM: Getting back to Scott. What would you say made Scott LaFaro so special?

SK: Well, he had incredible harmonic knowledge and had incredible ears, so he knew exactly where you were going and then he could take you from there. If you were up to it you could have a real conversation. His hearing, his harmonic knowledge and his facility on the instrument….. nobody that preceded him played like him, more like a guitar, but he also could walk. He knew what the function of a bass was. He could play the bottom. A lot of people didn’t realize that he could do it all.

RAM: Was his consideration as such an innovator on the instrument mainly the technique of using the bass more like a guitar?

SK: Yes, to some extent, absolutely. But he really had everything going. He could do whatever was called for.

Scott LaFaro (photo credit unknown)

RAM: You were at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1961 with him. That was quite a bill with Miles Davis and you with him and Stan Getz. Was this the last live performance with him.

SK: Yes. After the gig he had taken a week off in up state New York, where he was from, to help his mother move and help her pack. He tended to drive fast. I remember when we were out in California, and when we were with Stan, and he would drive those winding roads like hell, and I said, please! Unfortunately this time ….after working at packing all day he was probably tired and probably driving too fast and he smashed into a tree. It was such an impact that the tree came into the car started a fire and the car was burned…. the only way he was identified was by his St. Christopher’s medal. The next morning after this had happened, Stan gets a call, we were upstate working somewhere, Henry Grimes was the bassist and Roy Haynes was the drummer ….Stan gets a call from his agent that they had heard over the wire that jazz bassist Scott La Faro had been killed in an automobile accident. Stan couldn’t believe it so he calls and wakes me up to check and sure enough that is what happened. I guess a few days later we drove up to where the funeral was. That was the week he should have been working with us.

RAM: How long were you with Stan Getz?

SK: Two years all together. It was a year first with Scotty and Pete La Roca then with Roy Haynes. There was six-to-eight-month period where there was a hiatus, then was another group after Scotty was killed with, Roy Haynes and John Nebbs the bassist from Boston. That was the trio until the band broke up. A year after that Stan started the hot bossa nova …. So, he had Al Harewood as the drummer and Tommy Williams was the bassist and then he would have different guitarists to get that sound…… which I wasn’t that crazy about. Piano and guitar which, unless you really work stuff out, or layout, while the guitar is soloing…. the tendency is to get in each other’s way. So that lasted about another year and that was the end of that.

RAM: You started to play with Art Farmer, a very lyrical player, especially on flugelhorn. What was the sense of lyricism that you got from this experience?

SK: He influenced me most definitely. The thing I took away from this experience, besides loving Art and respecting him greatly, was that the rhythm section which was bassist Steve Swallow and Pete La Roca. This was the first trio that I had had, the first trio that I recorded as a leader. This was a chance to play together as a rhythm section so that was a special time for me. It was a chance to play with those guys and Swallow was playing stand up bass at the time.

RAM: Looking through your discography I noticed that you have recorded Steve Swallow’s compositions more than any other composer besides yourself.

SK: He is a wonderful writer, and we have a very close personal relationship. He is the brother that I never had. I think he is a great talent as a writer and a player The way he composes just strikes a chord…so to speak.

RAM: He is obviously a prolific composer, and it seems a little coincidental that it is at this time you start composing and recording your own work. Was Steve the influence on you starting writing? The first piece that I saw on your discography that you wrote was Today I am a Man in 1966.

SK: Swallow is the one that got me started writing originals, because I had a repertoire of standards that I did the way I did them, and at some point I had recorded all the repertoire. He sat me down and said to me…you got to write, you got to write some music…. he challenged me. At the time I was living in Sweden and I went back to Stockholm and I started to write. Today I am a Man is a melody based on confirmation.

(Steve plays a few bars of the song)

But it was predetermined chord changes. Then I did something that was based on So What…. there were a couple of things where I used something that had been already written, but then having used up everything, I realized Swallow was right. It hit me hard that night, I remember telling him about it, especially since I had so much respect for him. I went back and I composed, in a very short period of time, I composed thirteen songs. I have recorded them all since then, some more than once.

RAM: The Three Waves album was recorded with this trio and that was like a personal metamorphosis shortly thereafter?

SK: That was before the Paris meeting with Swallow. Today I am a Man was one of them. Memory was a dedication to Scott LaFaro, which was a straight original…….

RAM: Your years in

Sweden

and Europe are a bit of a mystery. Can you fill us in as to what you were doing and why you choose to leave New York?

SK: I fell in love with a Swedish actress.

Monica Zetterlund and Steve Kuhn 1968 in Oslo (photo credit unknown)

RAM: Was that Ulla, the namesake of one of your originals?

SK: No Ulla was a somebody that passed away prematurely while I was living there. She was a friend of a woman I was living with named Monica Zetterlund...a very well-known actress and singer, she did a number of films and recordings. As a matter of fact, other than with Tony Bennett, The only other singer Bill Evans recorded with was Monica, in 1966 I believe. They did some concerts and did a recording which is now around. I think they released it in Japan. I met her here at Steve Swallow’s house, he had known her from touring with Art Farmer while touring in Stockholm, prior to my joining the band. She was staying with Swallow and his wife in New York, and Swallow had a party and shortly after that night we just started a relationship. I wound up going to live in Sweden in May of 1967 and stayed there for four years. I flew into the States, but essentially I was based in Stockholm at the time.

RAM: You did a lot of concerts in Germany at the time?

SK: I had formed a trio with Palle Danielsson on bass and Jon Christensen on drums, and we toured all over Europe, and we accompanied Monica as well. So, it was a combination of both. So that is the reason …. plus, I had never been there and I had heard it was a much more fertile territory in terms of working and stuff like that. A combination of being there with her and working with a trio as I did, so that is the four years there 1967 and 1971.

Watch What Happens- Steve Kuhn, Palle Danielsson and Jon Christensen

RAM: Is there any pianist that you feel you borrowed most from? I know you have mentioned Art Tatum as a great influence on you any others.

SK: A lot of pianists. Starting off with Tatum who I think its been said is … “God”. Really had it all. Solo piano, harmonically, rhythmically, technique, but not for the sake of technique, different from Oscar Peterson. You have to dig at times to understand why.

But from Tatum, then Errol Garner was a strong influence, Bud Powell, Wynton Kelly, Horace Silver ….and Bill I would say, he was probably the last to really influence me.

RAM: What about Monk?

SK: More so his music than his playing. I was never a big fan of his playing …at the time……., now I have much more appreciation for his playing, 'cause technically he was very unorthodox, he didn’t have a great technique, but he had enough of a technique to do what he wanted to do. His compositions were extraordinary!

RAM: Why do you think musicians are so enamored with his songs and his compositions.

SK: They’re different, they’re challenging, they’re unorthodox, the bar lines present a unique challenge and they are uniquely Monk. When you hear a Monk tune you know it’s Monk. For me, as a composer he is unbelievable.

RAM: Are there any modern-day musicians that you regret not getting a chance to work with?

SK: Modern day, do you mean younger than I am? Not really, that is with all due respect to them. I am sorry I didn’t get a chance to work with Miles. I had a chance to, I was with Stan Getz at the time and Miles was looking to form a group with Ron Carter. Ron called me and asked me if I was interested in joining this group. I was working with Stan at the time, and at that time Miles was very erratic in terms of his dependability. His band would be in Chicago, and he just wouldn’t show up….and stuff like that. In those days economics was a big thing and I was working with Stan, and I was doing pretty well, so I said no. I regret it because I missed out on it and would have loved to. I never worked with Sonny Rollins…. that might be nice, I don’t know now in this day and age, but otherwise, not really!

RAM: Many musicians have had difficulties with the specter of drug and alcohol abuse. ... your early collaborator Serge Chaloff was known to have had addiction problems. Obviously, Charlie Parker…. Bill Evans had their troubles. Did you feel this was an ominous shadow lurking over the industry and did it affect you personally?

SK: Yes, in the beginning when I came to New York most of the people I was hanging around with people were involved, and so I got peripherally involved myself, without getting into details. There was also a part of me that was afraid. Somehow, I was able to stay out of the mainstream and that’s the best thing, but in the early days when I was here, career wise, I was looking to things, looking to get the career going and what not, and it was very frustrating. It was very difficult and it would have been very easy for myself to get involved in that situation, but I dabbled, I never got heavily into that situation, thank goodness.

RAM: That’s interesting. I read in an interview with Sheila Jordan, one of your few vocalist collaborators, that for her there were many times that she had felt she was not being accepted or being understood with her music, and it was during these times of doubt and desperation that lead to the use of drugs or alcohol for herself as well as other artists. Do you agree?

SK: It’s a lonely feeling. You can be depressed. She has had some issues too, but now …. her schedule is unbelievable, she is seventy-nine in November, she travels all over, I don’t know how she does it……she does a lot of workshops with singers, does concerts.

Steve Kuhn/Sheila Jordan Band-Playground-ECM 1979

RAM: She was one of the first vocalists to use the solo bass and voice format. She speaks of an out-of-body experience that she had experienced on several occasions. She apparently communicates so perfectly with the bass player that it takes her to another world. Do you experience anything like this when you have played with some of the phenomenal bass players that you have had the privilege of playing with?

SK: I can relate to this. There is a whole different psychodynamic between Sheila and I, but I still get what she is talking about. She is absolutely right to feel the way she does, because I know she does. When everything is working right, all thinking in the same way, the music almost plays itself. It’s really very special.

RAM: I was always impressed with all the fantastic bass players that you have played with over the years, a virtual who’s who. A few that are missing Ray Brown, Richard Davis, Charlie Mingus, any regrets not having played with them?

SK: I think I played with Richard once, I think. Mingus and Ray Brown were really before me.

RAM: Any favorite bass players now?

SK: Well, the bass player I have been playing with over the last couple of years, David Finck, is a very talented player, but I have also been working with Eddie Gomez, George Mraz, Ron Carter and Buster Williams……I have been lucky to work with some many gifted musicians.

RAM: You mentioned Sonny Rollins earlier. You played his Airegin at a recent concert. You were so into it while your playing………, he is obviously an inspiration ……wouldn’t a Steve Kuhn and Sonny Rollins concert be a wonderful event.

SK: I don’t know. I am sure Sonny wouldn’t think of it. If I wanted to pursue it perhaps…. I have the utmost respect for him, he is one of my heroes.

RAM: On your recent Live at Birdland album with Ron Carter and Al Foster, did you guys’ practice before you recorded it live?

SK: Not on this last one. With these guys the trio runs by itself. It’s really a pleasure, they are both incredibly talented and wonderful players, so its very easy.

RAM: I read somewhere that Bill Evans never liked to practice before a gig. He liked the spontaneity. Is that the way you like to do it?

SK: Yeah, I never practice before a gig.

RAM: Who do you consider to be your piano contemporaries?

SK: Well in terms of age, I guess Keith, Chick, Herbie, McCoy, Paul Bley we’re all around the same age.

RAM: Who would you like to see perform live just out of curiosity or interest to see what they are doing?

SK: I don’t have a burning desire to see anyone, I mean I am not saying that because I am above it or anything like that…I don’t know, that’s just where I am at now. I have enough problems doing my own thing and figuring out what to do at this stage. When I was younger, I use to hang around all the time, going out every night, at sessions or hearing people at the clubs. I just sort of ran the gamut.

RAM: So, you don’t seek musical inspiration from other players at this point?

SK: People I meet, relationships I have. Music that I listen to, I listen to classical music. I don’t know. I don’t consciously think about it. I just now take the time to synthesize these experiences and put my stamp on it if I can.

RAM: I am interested in the differences that you find when playing with say Ron Carter and Al Foster, who are contemporaries of yours and have shared the same musical history, in comparison to when you play with younger players like David Finck and Billy Drummond who don’t yet have that history?

Steve Kuhn, Ron Carter & Al Foster

SK: But they do. They don’t have that history, but they listened to and know the history, that’s very important. Some of the younger players think that the music started with late Coltrane. They don’t know, for example, how Coltrane was influenced by the rhythm and blues, and had an incredible knowledge of standard tunes. He went way back to Louis Armstrong, these guys …. know the history of the music and use it as a common ground. Then as a generation, that say spans a period twenty years younger, they bring to me stuff that I wouldn’t necessarily be that aware of, because I am twenty years older, and I have other things focused on my mind. So, it’s a learning experience for me to play with them as well as for them to play with me. As long as they know the history of, the music, because if they don’t, it shows in their playing……where it all came from, it’s important.

RAM: You mentioned one time in an interview that in the mid-sixties there was some reverse integration that you witnessed, when black artists only wanted to play with other black artists……

SK: It was the time. In the mid-sixties I was in Sweden at the time and people were coming over from the States. Before, there was always an embrace when we would see each other, then all of a sudden there was now a little bit of stand-offish -ness. I noticed, and it disturbed me, because to me I had always played in mixed bands, and they would hire me because they thought I could play and that was the end of it. In the mid-sixties, with the revolution, and Martin Luther King and black awareness, I mean I understood it, but I figured in this part of world, music, jazz music, we were exempt from all that. We all used to get along, and I noticed a dramatic change in the mid-sixties and to this day its still there to a certain extent. Not for me particularly, but I feel bad for young white musicians for example, who really can play, and don’t get a chance to play in mixed bands that much. I have heard a number of black leaders say,' I am not going to hire any white musicians', even though they may be better than their black counterpart. I have heard this, and it is sad. Hopefully that will pass, but I think it’s gotten a little bit easier as time goes on. It’s unfortunate in jazz music. I understand the situation but ….

RAM: It was like before you were almost immune to it in jazz.

SK: Yeah, but I understand the situation with all the stuff that the black community has gone through and continues to go through, but in the music it would be nice if everybody just tried to get along. Deal with the music and that’s the challenge.

RAM : You once said that you thought the music was not progressing and that it may have run its course. Do you still believe that?

SK: I hear, the little that I hear from other players is revisionist history. They are playing the bebop or post bebop and playing the hell out of it and doing it extremely well. Which had led me to think several years ago. …. that the music may have, as we know it, run its course and that is the way it is. Something else may come along but the jazz as we knew it from early 1900’s for a century. In my view I haven’t heard anything that has made me change my mind, and there is nothing wrong with what is going on, it’s very healthy. A lot of young musicians are revisiting the music of forty, fifty, sixty years ago and doing it their way. but in terms of innovation like Coltrane or Bird or Miles or Ornette, for example, I haven’t heard anything beyond them truly innovative.

RAM: What do you think of the fusion era? Musicians and their attempts to try something different through techniques and virtuosity?

SK: Its electronics, it's away from the acoustic instruments which I have a very big prejudice in favor of….

RAM: You played electric keyboard during your career.

Steve Kuhn w/Ron Carter, Billy Cobham,
Airto Moreira and Gary McFarland (1972)

SK: I did, but to me it was like a toy, a diversion. You could just do so much with that. I am still trying to play this thing (pointing to his Baldwin piano) and it’s a lifetime, every time I sit down it’s as if I have never been here before it’s a constantly challenging and I never found that with an electric keyboard or synthesizers or anything like that, but the advances in terms of electronics that have been made is astounding.

RAM: But just to say it’s a result of electronics…. I for one think fusion was more than that. Some say it was a dead-end path.

SK: As long as there is an electronic genius out there, but in terms of the content of the music they were just taking the acoustic music and playing it on electronic instruments, synthesizing it…. I mean from what I heard…. I haven’t heard anything truly innovative come out of fusion music. By definition being what it is, it limits itself by being called fusion.

RAM: I know you have been vocal about the use of technique for technique’s sake, and you are sort of a proponent of less is more. Ballads have always been a format that has been utilized over the years to emote feelings even from great technicians like Parker, Coltrane and Miles and yourself…. yet to paraphrase Miles; he was asked later in his career why he didn’t play ballads much any more and he said something like…. I like them too much.

How do you, as a musician, who has a predisposition to emotional playing, keep yourself fresh from falling into the trap that Miles was apparently so afraid of?

SK: I love playing them. I’m not going to deny myself playing them. I specifically, each set, do a ballad and I love ballads. They say things that are just very close to my heart for me. They are very important it’s a part of the literature, it’s a part of the repertoire and they should be played.

RAM: Do you think Miles had a point about them being limiting?

SK: I don’t know, maybe he had his tongue up his cheek…(laughter) but Miles was Miles. I just think it is a great vehicle for expression and there is an art to it. As I have gotten older, I’ve got more appreciative of how to play them, the challenge that is involved. When I did this recording with string orchestra, Promises Kept, it was pretty sparse playing, no florid technique or stuff like that. Swallow, I remember sending him a first copy before it was released, and he said …. you know it sounds like it is stuff that you have written out even though I know you were improvising …..which he meant as a compliment. Carlos Franzetti did a wonderful job. I with met him a number of times, I said I just wanted this to come from the heart. He really got it….

RAM: Do you have a personal favorite composition that you have written.

SK: No. I love the string album and I love the Live at Birdland. For a live recording which is very challenging, because not only are you recording, but you have to be aware of the audience unlike in a studio where you can start and stop and start and stop. Of course, the advantage of a live recording is that you can feed off the energy of the crowd, but at the same time you can’t keep starting and stopping. You do the best you can, I have done several live recordings in the past, but this one worked out quite well. The string album, Promises Kept, I am really very proud of.

RAM: Do you have any sage advice for young aspiring musicians or singers?

SK: If it is in your heart of hearts, go for it, ‘because you’ll know down the line if it’s meant to be. There are so many discouraging things that can happen along the way, it’s a tough, tough road. I would not recommend it to anybody unless it’s something that they lived and breathed. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. Give it a shot!

RAM: Is a musician’s life a personally difficult one, hard on family and relationships?

SK: Absolutely. I made a conscious decision years ago. I didn’t get married or have children…I mean I did get married once, but no children. …Because just economically I… would have to do something else in order to support the music. Sheila Jordan did that. She worked in an office for I don’t know how long and then she decided to take the leap, the risk and it’s worked out for her.

I have done nothing but music all my life, I never had another job …. but in order to do that I sacrificed having children which I regret to some extent, but it was a conscious choice I made for economic reasons. I had opportunities early on, to go out to California to get into the studio scene out there. Some friends of mine had the beautiful homes with the swimming pools and were married, it was tempting, also the teaching in school’s full time. I just wanted to play, so I made that choice, so economically I paid the price and still do. (He raises his arms and sweeps them open offering the expanse of his modest living room) This is my castle right here, I am grateful to have it, but it not about the money.

RAM: Do you have anything that you want to be remembered for?

SK: Just that the music that I leave comes from the heart. It’s honest, it’s pure, there is no bullshit, I never compromised, I probably should have, I probably could have done things differently, but I always believed in being honest and sincere and never sold out, so to speak, or never chose a path that I didn’t feel comfortable doing. Not to say that I didn’t do a lot of different things in my life…. sounds like I am talking from my grave. (laughter) But I just …there was a sincerity and honesty in what I did. Not to compromise, just to follow the path that I wanted to do. It wasn’t easy and it’s not easy and it’s continuingly challenging.

RAM: Promises Kept and Live at Birdland are you two latest releases?

SK: No there is one that came out in Japan called Play Standards on the Venus label, it just came out, and that is the result of a poll from Swing Journal in Japan which is like the Downbeat or Jazz Times in Japan. They polled their readers I guess which songs they would like for me to play. They chose maybe fifteen songs and from those I chose seven of them to play on this recording and that was the genesis of this album.

I am doing another one for them. It is a follow up of an album, of one that I did on a classical theme a few years back, which was called Pavane for a Dead Princess, and they want another classical themed album, so we are doing that one in August.

RAM: You have some up coming gigs in New York?

SK: Yes, I will be at the Jazz Standard with George Mraz and Billy Drummond on the 18^th and 19^th of July.

I Will Wait for You-Venus records
Steve Kuhn with George Mraz and Billy Drummond

RAM: And another date at the Iridium later? SK: That is one night on the 28^th of September with Eddie Gomez. They are doing a week of piano tribute to Bud Powell….and I am one of the featured pianists. Then I am doing an eightieth Coltrane birthday celebration at Birdland with Joe Lovano, I have done that for the last four or five years and we’ll do it again on the 18^th of September at Birdland.

RAM: Do you have a favorite club in New York. You probably shouldn’t answer that.

SK: My favorite club always has been the Vanguard, cause of the sound and the history I think there is something in the walls, its magical I always loved to play there.

RAM: Remember some of the old clubs like Slugs or Fat Tuesday’s?

SK: Oh Yeah. Well, I did a live recording at Fat Tuesday’s. Slugs when I worked with Charles Lloyd, that is where I worked with Tony Williams and Ron Carter. But I think Birdland is a great club, it has great sight lines and I love the staff.

RAM: As Sheila Jordan said …its really all about the music.

SK: That’s right. I think I am playing some of my best piano right now.

RAM: And its sounds it. Well, that’s it Steve. Any song you would like to end with here?

SK: Not really, unless you have a favorite

RAM: Could you play Trance which was the album that turned me on to your music in the seventies.

After a moment I get Steve to play an impromptu rendition of his song Trance which he does masterfully.

RAM: Thanks very much Steve.

SK: My pleasure, Ralph. My pleasure.

If you have a chance to see this artist at the Jazz Standard, the Iridium or at Birdland in the coming weeks be sure not to miss him. He is an underappreciated jazz legend and is surely at the top of his ever-inspiring form.

©Ralph A. Miriello 2007

The Art of the Song Captured by Tierney Sutton and Tamir Hendelman on "SPRING"

2026-08-04T10:07:02.934-07:00

Tierney Sutton and Tamir Hendelman-Spring-BFM Music

The deservedly acclaimed vocalist Tierney Sutton and the virtuosic pianist Tamir Hendelman join forces in an intimate duo creating a beautiful album, Spring. Self-produced by Sutton and released in February 2026, this album finds these two superb musicians telepathically complimenting each other’s ideas with thoughtfulness and finesse. Take an unrushed hour of your time to listen to how well the art of the song can be realized in the hands of two masters. Spring should please even the most discerning listeners.

I first caught Sutton and her husband/guitarist Serge Merhaud when they performed in a quartet with vocalist Kate McGarry and guitarist Keith Ganz at the Velvet Note in Alpharetta, GA back in July of 2016. You can check out my review of that performance here. Unfortunately, Ms. Sutton was suffering from laryngitis on that date, and while she bravely soldiered through the performance, she was clearly struggling to deliver her best.

Sutton has been nominated for a Grammy nine times, and while she has been denied the prize so far, her repeated nominations speak volumes to this woman’s popularity and talent. Tamir Hendelman is a formidable pianist who has been the preferred accompaniest to the likes of Natalie Cole, Barbara Streisand and Roberta Gambarini, not to mention serving as the pianist with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. These two create magic.

If Spring is received as well as this fine work deserves, this album should receive another Grammy nomination and may finally garner Sutton a well-deserved Grammy win. Only time will tell.

Tamir Hendelman and Tierney Sutton (Photo credit unknown)

Spring is a season that speaks to rebirth, growth and promise. Spring, the album, takes that concept and invigorates the art of the song by reinvention, thoughtful interplay and a patient approach that allows Sutton to breathe new life and meaning into the lyrics of these beautiful songs. The music features compositions by Antônio Carlos Jobim, Paul Simon, George Gershwin, Hoagy Carmichael, Peggy Lee and Michel Legrand. The title cut by the Brazilian guitarist/composer Dorival Caymmi was introduced to Sutton by Hendelman for this album. The wordsmith magic of Johnny Mercer and the legendary team of Alan and Marilyn Bergman (Alan served as a mentor to Sutton prior to his death in 2025) make this collection the perfect vehicle for these two to create an intimate, sensitive, musical conversation. Sutton is a consummate storyteller, and it’s never more apparent when the astutely chosen material gives her the framework on which to build her own imaginative interpretations.

“Double Rainbow” is a Jobim composition that opens the album. The pianist’s intro is glorious, and Sutton’s vocalese is transcendent, modulating effortlessly. Her voice is a supple instrument that leaps and dances with splendor and joy. Hendelman’s pianistic excursions are rich and lush.

“Waters of March,” another Jobim composition, was popularized in the original Portuguese on the release of the Brazilian chanteuse Elis Regina in 1973. The song is about the cyclical nature of life. Sutton’s voice and Hendelman’s tinkling piano introduce a rain-like shower of sound before she navigates the quick, pointillistic lines with precision and flexible accuracy. Playful, hopeful and fun.

Paul Simon is perhaps one of the most respected composers of the last fifty years. His folk ballad “April, Come She Will” is transformed by Sutton, a dusky metaphorical story of the seasonal markers of the coming and going of a lover. Hendelman’s intro glistens. The two bring a eloquence to this story, a realization that the relationship inevitably changes with seasons and time, never to be possessed, just to be remembered.

Song genie George Gershwin is represented on his “S Wonderful,” a show tune from the musical Funny Face from 1927. The song was written for a dance scene that featured Fred and his sister Adele Sinatra. In the film version from 1957, it united Fred Astaire, this time with Audrey Hepburn. This song is cheerful and high-spirited and while it doesn’t seem to link back to the spring theme of the album, Sutton opens it with her own unique intro. She scats in unison with the pianist's lines and he offers some of his most dynamic solo playing of the album. The two quicken the pace as Sutton instrumentalizes her voice effectively and with speed. A daring arrangement that is joyous and impressive.

Hoagy Carmichael wrote “I Get Along Without You Very Well” with the lyrics inspired by a poem. It was handed to Carmichael anonymously and was later found to be written by Jane Brown Thompson. The poignant lyrics are sung so earnestly by Sutton and brilliantly accompanied by Hendelman. The pianist is impressionistic, layering his ideas and interweaving with Sutton’s marvelously emotive voice.

The popular vocalist Peggy Lee is credited with composing “Thing’s Are Swinging.” Sutton and Hendelman raise the temperature by taking this to full throttle swing mode.

Brazilian composer Dorival Caymmi’s “Spring” offers a sensitive ballad, and it becomes the title of the album. With lines like “Spring holds in her arms a bunch of daffodils, the possibility, a warmer day will arrive” this song erupts with hope and renewal. Sutton’s voice expresses the sentiment honestly. Her own personal experiences are knitted into fabric of the music, enlivening the message in these lyrics. Hendelman’s piano never fails to be complimentary.

Tierney Sutton (photo credit unknown)

My personal favorite on Spring is a song that has been recorded by multiple chanteuses including Ella, Sarah, Cassandra, Carmen, Betty, Sinne, Bette and Norah, to jazzers like Phil Woods, Stanley Turrentine, George Garzone, and Stan Getz. This popularity tells you the song offers a lot to work with for a creative musician. No matter what version you have loved this one should touch you. “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most” is written by Tommy Wolf with lyrics by Fran Landesman. The song is a quiet gem and Sutton and Hendleman make this one their own. The story is a classic barstool lament, a cry in your beer ballad. Sutton’s interpretation is evocative with pathos and resignation, and Hendelman’s piano allows her the space. Sutton has a sixth sense of how to play this one and she captures the essence of the emotional reality that is so perfectly portrayed by this classic. The reality that a lost love can have long lingering feelings of regret.

The remaining album offers additional surprises with Frank Loesser’s waltz- like “Spring Will Be A Little Late this Year,” featuring some beautiful piano work by Hendelman. Johnny Mercer’s swinging “Spring, Spring, Spring” which finds Sutton exercising some of her acrobatic vocalese to great effect and skillfully navigating the quick-worded lyrics to this playful tune. Hendelman features some fine stride-like, ragtime inspired piano work in accompaniment.

Michel Legrand was a master of composing for films. His “You Must Believe in Spring” was written for the French film “Le Demoiselle de Rochefort” and has been a source for several interpretations, probably the most famous was a collaboration by Bill Evans and Tony Bennett from their album Together Again from 1976. Sutton and Hendelman do a touching take on this lovely ballad. It’s important to revive some of the canon's great film scores and LeGrand's work certainly fits that bill. Film scores often add to people’s experience and connect viewers with the films, and they are an important part of our artistic heritage. Hendelman’s solo was sublime. Sutton offers a gorgeous vocal interpretation that would certainly put a smile on Legrand's face.

The closing composition, “L.O.V.E.” was written by the German composer/bandleader Bert Kaempfert specifically for Nat Cole King. This one is full of rambunctiousness and requires swift, skilled virtuosity by both Hendelman and Sutton. The two don't disappoint and the song is a pure romp of joy.

"SEER" and "Odense Jazz Orchestra Meets Loren Stillman"- Two Approaches to Playing Loren Stillman's Music

2026-07-24T16:21:48.954-07:00

Odense Jazz Orchestra Meets Loren Stillman- AAM Records

The London born, American raised alto and soprano saxophonist, Loren Stillman, has released two albums this year and they are both well worth your attention. The musician has always been an artist of interest that could play with his own distinctive sound and wrote much of his own material. His latest releases show just how far this man's playing and composing has progressed.

For those who are unaware of this fine saxophonist, a little background may be of interest. Stillman has been playing saxophone since the age of seven. His path included studying saxophone with classical player/educator Dan Goble, who has played with the New York Philharmonic for nineteen years. He also studied with saxophonist/educator Harvey Pittel in 1995 at the Tanglewood Institute. Pittel has taught saxophone at both the University of Southern California and University of Texas in Austin and his students in the jazz world have included notables like Branford Marsalis and Kenny Garrett.

Stillman received full scholarships to the Manhattan School of Music, 1998-2000, attended The New School of Music from 2002-2023 on another full scholarship and received a BA of Music from SUNY 2004-2005 before receiving a Master of Music from The University of Montana 2017-2019. He continued private lessons over the years with notable saxophone masters Ted Nash, Dick Oatts, Dave Liebman and Lee Konitz.

During his career, Stillman has lent his personal sound as a sideman to notable groups including drummer Paul Motian’s trio in 2000-2002, guitarist John Abercrombie’s Jackalope Trio in 2021, Tyshawn Sorey’s Oblique in 2000-2014, and had collaborations with bassist Michael Formanek and has been a member of Charlie Haden/Carla Bley’s Liberation Music Orchestra not to mention his own groups.

I have been aware of Stillman’s compelling alto sound since first hearing him on his Pirouet Records album Winter Fruits from 2009. His alto saxophone sound has impressed me as being influenced by Konitz's less is more approach and guided by his own sense of classical influences. His playing is melodic, and his improvising, while inventive, tends to avoid bringing attention to himself. Whether playing alto or soprano with facility, he is creative, spontaneous and unpredictable. His approach is thoughtful, reflective and unrushed and he judiciously uses space to great effect. Stillman has developed his own sound, and his compositional skills have increasingly revealed imagination and promise.

Stillman’s two recently released albums, Odense Jazz Orchestra Meets Loren Stillman on AMM Records released in January, and Seer, released in March on Newvelle Records 10 Collection, give the listener a rare chance to compare how two different musical approaches can be equally effective on three of Stillman’s compositions played and arranged for two different formats, the drum less trio and the seventeen-piece orchestra.

Loren Stillman- SEER- Newvelle Records

Stillman released Odense Jazz Orchestra Meets Loren Stillman in January. Odense is the third largest city in Denmark, and with a population of almost two-hundred thousand and is the largest city on the island of Funen. Odense also happens to be the birthplace of the beloved fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen. With imagination as a legacy, it is fitting that this large ensemble, with its expanded instrumentation and Nordic influence, can create its own unique vividness to Stillman’s music. The deft use of the colorful palette of the orchestra opens the tonal possibilities. The expressive options can add another level of complexity and color to the music.

Odense Jazz Orchestra (Jazz Fuel -Photo credit unknown)

This seventeen-piece Danish big band, features creative, modern arrangements of six Stillman compositions with the help of double bassist Kasper Tagel and trumpet/conductor Torben Sminge. The music flows naturally, sensitively and the group absorbs intuitively, Stillman’s reflective approach to his compositions. The saxophonist is the lead here and his tone is beautiful, his playing thoughtful and the band swells and swirls with precision and sensitivity.

The opener “A Tree Falls” featured Stillman on his sinewy soprano over the emerging sounds of the orchestra. A gorgeous flugelhorn solo by Rolf Thofte Sorensen adds another aural approach. The music is like a contemplation on nature, with Stillman’s soprano rising to ever more adventurous lines and intensified playing that seems to promise a new beginning. Guitarist Morten Nordel adds some texturally interesting lines that intertwine with Stillman’s soprano as a lead to the coda.

Seer, which is a trio-based album includes Craig Taborn on piano and Thomas Morgan on bass. It opens with a splendid piano and bass intro that gently yields to the floating soprano sound of Stillman, beautifully spelling out the melody. The interaction is a most intimate exchange. The three artists trace each other’s lines in parallel unison. These three breathe the same air and speak with a common but distinct voice. This symbiotic connection between these three is hard to duplicate in larger groups, and Taborn’s delicate tickling of the piano keys beautifully simulates gentle raindrops falling in the woods as Morgan’s bass resonates. There are clearly many ways to find expression on this moving ballad, but the trio's elastic adhesion is hard to match.

Thomas Morgan, Loren Stillman and Craig Taborn (photo credit unknown)

The composition “Waterworks,” is inspired by a hike into the woods and found on both albums. On Seer, Stillman’s fluid alto opens this composition with his cool, unfettered tone. The music invokes the feeling of a meandering mountain stream; calm, kinetic and restorative. The drum less trio creates the motion upon which Stillman’s bubbly alto, and especially Taborn’s exploratory piano solo, offer some enjoyable interpretations of being immersed in nature. The pianist uses an angular and at times cadenced approach to his solo, as Morgan’s resonant bass keeps the pulse alive and vibrant.

On Odense Jazz Orchestra Meets Loren Stillman “Waterworks” is opened by an exploratory and sensitive piano intro by Pojhen Flensborg. Armed with brass and winds skillfully arranged, this version creates a background of instrumentation that enters with tonal variations that emerge slowly, creating an expanding landscape. Nordel’s guitar, another tone not available to the trio, introduces his own emotive yet edgy guitar solo. The rhythmic vibe of the horn section takes on an almost Latin feel before-at about the seven-fifteen-minute mark- Stillman’s thoughtful alto enters the picture. His saxophone is clear, liquid and floats over the increasing intensity that the orchestra maintains to the coda. It’s a credit to Stillman and his writing's universal appeal that it can be played in both the trio and orchestral setting and still communicate the intended immersion into nature theme so effectively despite two distinct approaches.

The third composition that is played on both albums is “Fowlkes,” a dedication to the spirit of the now passed trombone ace Curtis Fowlkes. On Seer, the trio opens with Taborn and Morgan setting the stage for this slow-paced ballad. Stillman’s alto is warm and respectful. Morgan has an impressively buoyant bass solo before Stillman’s alto spells out his melody in conjunction with his bandmates. Stillman’s creates circuitous lines that flow flexibly, as Taborn’s introspective pianistic solo adds another dimension. Just a beautiful composition and performance by this intuitive trio.

On the album with the Odense Jazz Orchestra meets Loren Stillman, the music opens with a brilliant arrangement that utilizes all the seventeen colors available to bring this music to life. The orchestra seems to revel in their ability to create such a beautiful tapestry of sounds upon which Stillman’s majestic saxophone can play his moving dedication. The trombone section includes soloist Anders Ringgaard, section players Stefan Ringive, Mikkel Asgaard and John Kristensen and all add notably on this one. The altoist’s solo is particularly emotive, radiant and heartfelt. The multi-section interplay is inventive and majestic. The orchestra makes this one their own, a true delight and a testament to how successful this record confirms how international collaboration can add another element to making modern jazz more expansive.

The alum Seer has much more to offer including “Chez Hanny,” “First Paradise,” the title cut “Seer,” “Mayday,” “Folk Song” and” Victory Laps” all additional Stillman compositions. On Odense Jazz Orchestrameets Loren Stillman, the remaining songs are “Buffalo,” “Like A Magic Kiss,” and “Dervish,” again all Stillman compositions injected by this Danish juggernauts energetic arrangements.

All of this beautiful music from Loren Stillman is well worth multiple listens, There is no doubt there is something on these two albums that should please even the most discerning listener. These two great albums offer the best of two worlds. the splendid vibrancy of excellent orchestration and the intimate symbiosis of a fine tuned trio.

Marc Copland's "String Theory" : Creating a Transformative Musical Experience

2026-06-28T11:57:36.995-07:00

Marc Copland- String Theory-InnerVoice Jazz

In traditional physics, particles such as protons, neutrons, electrons, bosons, and photons are considered the basic building blocks of matter and energy. They are often modeled theoretically as point-like entities. In string theory, however, particles are understood less as points than as strands of energy. Each strand vibrates at a distinct frequency, and those differences in vibration determine how a particle is perceived or experienced by an observer.

On Marc Copland’s latest album, String Theory, the accomplished pianist explores the idea that, under the right conditions, a pianist and a violinist can vibrate in sympathy, sparking inspiration and producing a transformative musical experience. Copland and the superb violinist Mark Feldman are supported by two different rhythm sections. Together on this album they reach a level of creativity that lends credibility to the artist’s own concept of string theory.

I have followed much of Marc Copland’s work over the last two and a half decades. I have always been intrigued by how he originally played saxophone, came to find that instrument too limiting for his expanding harmonic imagination, and in 1973 chose to focus on piano. He spent nearly a decade in relative obscurity, refining his piano technique in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore areas before returning to New York City in the early 1980s. His debut album as a pianist, My Foolish Heart from 1988, included his longtime collaborator, guitarist John Abercrombie, bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jeff Hirshfield. The prolific Copland has released over forty albums as a leader and another forty plus albums as a sideman. During that time Copland has had the envious and deserved chance to collaborate and perform with the crème de la crème of the genre, too many to enumerate.

Marc Copland (photo credit unknown)

Copland and Feldman have both been bandmates of the late guitarist John Abercrombie, but they had never played together until they performed as a duo at a memorial concert for the guitarist in Manhattan. The experience originally unnerved Copland. The pianist was unsure that these two string-based instruments could find common ground. The experience was transformative. It became a noteworthy performance at the memorial, and Copland realized that another collaboration with the violinist could have additional musical possibilities that he wanted to explore.

Fast forward and Copland and Feldman are back together on String Theory, released by Inner Voice Jazz on June 19, 2026. The album offers eight songs, three offerings recorded with bassist Drew Gress and drummer Anthony Pinciotti. The remaining five tracks were recorded with two accomplished Europeans, bassist Felix Henkelhausen and the drummer Jonas Burgwinkel. The music was recorded in two sessions back in 2022 and 2023 and predates Pinciotti’s untimely passing in 2024, so the album is warmly dedicated to the NY drummer’s memory.

Copland is a very sensitive and harmonically expansive pianist. He is one of the premier pianists of his generation. It sometimes surprises me that given the quality of his body of work, the noteworthy collaborations that he has maintained, and the esteemed place he is held by his peers, his excellence seems less widely appreciated by the general public than he deserves.

On String Theory, Copland has found a fellow exploratory traveler of merit in Mark Feldman. The music features the traditional folk song “Greensleeves” which is beautifully rendered and is used by Copland to bookend the album. On the opener, Copland and Feldman play in unison, a precise duo at the intro. Henkelhausen’s resonant bass features his fleet, sonorous fretwork. Feldman’s violin is emotively expanding the implied melody and deftly bows out his own path through this folk ballad. Copland takes the lead deciding that the music requires even more expansion. His touch can be Evans-like, delicate and sensitive, but there is also more abstraction to his playing. He introduces gentle twists and turns to the path he follows through the melody before he beautifully cascades the music back to where he and Feldman return playing in unison and into the coda.

Mongo Santamaria’s “Afro Blue” has and continues to inspire many reimaginations to this vibrant Afro-Cuban classic. The music is driven by a pulse as established by drummer Burgwinkel’s clever employment of subtle, deft percussive sounds. Copland’s piano, Henkelhausen’s bass and Feldman’s violin spell out the theme in unison. The pulse remains important on this take but does not overwhelm. Rather it creates a motif, a thematic element, on which the musicians can express their most adventurous ideas. The melody is stated by Copland and repeated by Feldman and Henkelhausen in a call and response pattern, before Feldman is given the first solo. The violinist is always melodic, but his approach includes unique bowing accents, tonal distortions and rhythmic changes, that are interesting and surprising. Copland’s piano is resplendent with slightly outside harmonic ideas, cleverly utilizing unpredictable changes to his pace, attack and tone. Henkelhausen and Burgwinkel are wonderful together, providing a tonal and rhythmic feast of variation. It is unlikely that you have ever heard such a unique reimagination of this one.

“Vesper” is a Drew Gress composition heard on the saxophonist Robin Verhyen’s album titled When the Birds Leave from 2018. Feldman and Copland initially play the melody in unison before they each go into solo mode. Feldman’s violin explores the depths of this moving ballad, sometimes soaring, sometimes pulling the heartstrings with his poignancy. Copland’s piano solo is tasteful and always inventive. Henkelhausen has a plucky bass solo that is beautifully realized. Feldman’s violin comes back with challenging, pungent lines that stir the pot as the rhythm section percolates beneath him.

The classic Schwartz/Deitz standard “Alone Together’ can always be fertile grounds for jazz inspiration. Opening with a Pinciotti drum roll and a swinging bass entre by Gress, Mark Feldman lays out the melody with authority and joy. Copland’s tactile piano work probes the possibilities. Pinciotti’s lively drum work adds to the excitement. Feldman digs into this one with vigor and inventiveness. His playing has a Stuff Smith feel, free and just swinging. Gress’s double bass work is dynamic. He adds a distinct sense of power, fluidity and depth that shines. Pinciotti drum solo boils over with exuberance that brings a smile to your face. Hard to stop your feet from jumping to the swing these guys create.

The album continues with Copland’s pensive “The Sun at The Zenith,” a tune first heard on his 2017 album Zenith. Feldman’s silky violin sometimes adds well-placed string plucks almost as punctuation. Pinciotti's shimmering cymbal work adds to the overall feel. Copland and Feldman play the wandering lines in unison before the pianist quizzically searches through the eerie landscape like at hiker searching for the zenith of trail. Feldman returns offering additional violin expressions that add some gravity. Gress’s spirited double bass solo is inspirational.

Miles Davis’ s classic “Nardis” reprises the talented rhythm section of Henkelhausen and Burgwinkel. Copland’s reimagination of this one is quite compelling. The pianist is very skilled at staying within the music’s form but forever expanding it. Feldman is inspired by the freedom Copland establishes, and he consequently shows the depth of his own imagination in his playing. The band just perks with controlled kineticism and intuitive originality.

Gress's “Like It Never Was” was explored back in 2009 on Copland’s Night Whispers/Ny Trio Vol 3. The bassist has a long and symbiotic relationship with Copland. Feldman’s violin adds another previously unexplored color to add to this music’s palette. Piniciotti’s varied trap work is expressive and energized. Gress’s bass and Feldman’s plucked violin trace each other’s line in a way that adds another dimension. Feldman’s violin radiates with warmth and sincerity, and Gress’s double bass is buoyant and impactful. Copland is just a master, always playing on the precipices. He has deft awareness of where the imaginary limits of a composition are and he often surprises you where he takes it.

“Greensleeves” is reprised as the final cut of this wonderful album. Copland and Feldman return to this folk classic for one more pass. These two bring out the best in each other’s playing. It’s String Theory, two strands of energy that somehow stimulate and excite each other’s inherent inventiveness. It’s magic. Like in nature, when these two come into each other’s orbit, the energy increases exponentially. The whole is greater than the parts and we are the happy beneficiaries of their experiment!

The Sophisticated and Swinging Sound of "The Ali Ryerson Quartet"

2026-06-23T16:20:13.683-07:00

The accomplished flutist, Ali Ryerson has released her seventeenth recording simply titled The Ali Ryerson Quartet on her self-produced ACR music label. If you love good music this will certainly put a smile on your face.

New York born Ryerson has been playing the flute she first took it up at age of eight. Ryerson comes from a musical family that boasts a maternal grandmother Allison-her namesake- who once played professional piano on the vaudeville circuit. Her father, Art ,was an accomplished guitarist who played in the Paul Whiteman Band before becoming a respected studio musician in NYC. His guitar work could be heard on recordings including albums from Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan and Frank Sinatra to name a few. He was also an early adopter of the seven string electric guitar along with the inventor George Van Eps and Bucky Pizzarelli.

Ryerson attended the Hartt School of Music in Hartford CT in the late 1970’s and graduated with a degree in Music. She studied mostly classical music having taken lessons with the foremost orchestral flutist Julius Baker as being the most influential to her. She credits her playing jazz with her horn playing brothers on gigs as giving her the jazz bug. Her playing of jazz is self-taught and claims her influences are trumpet players like Chet Baker and Clifford Brown. “In essence, I am a trumpet player who plays flute.”

Ryerson has been know for her sophisticated, intimate sound and inherent ability to swing. She was the driving force between the Jazz Flute Big Band Project and its recording Game Changer from 2013, where she enlisted nineteen flutist and a rhythm section to reimagine some of the music of Oliver Nelson, Clifford Brown, Wayne Shorter and others for an all flute band. She had an enduring work relationship with the guitarist Joe Beck for almost ten years and recorded two albums with him. Ryerson is also a sort after educator giving on line lessons to aspiring flutists on Lessonface.

Ali Ryerson(photo credit unknown)

Ryerson’s sound has a light, enjoyable, bebop sensibility that assures the music always swings. She also has absorbed the love of Brazilian music in her playing and that can be an important aspect of her playing. Ryerson's mature tone and astute delivery can only be achieved with years of dedication and by playing with talented top notch musicians over the years.

Ryerson is joined by pianist Larry Ham, bassist Lou Pappas and drummer Tom Melito, a seasoned group, on this album. The Ali Ryerson album captures your attention with its mastery, tonal warmth and sophisticated swing. It brings a smile to your face and delivers an enjotyable listening experience.

The opener “Chuck’s Time/Solar” is a mashup of Ryerson’s opening changes titled “Chuck’s Time” and the main theme, a song credited to Miles Davis but contended to have been actually written by the guitarist Chuck Wayne, and titled “Solar.” Ryerson opens this swinging blues with a circuitous line on her C flute in step with her bandmates matching her lines. There is a buoyancy to Ryerson’s flute solo work here that is pure joy. Ham takes a elegant solo about halfway through, and Pappas adds a plucky bass solo before Melito’s drum work offers his own response. These guys are having fun and it shows.

Ryerson’s “Cold Snap” is a soulful song that utilizes ascending and descending lines that capture your attention as the band carries the graceful pulse. Ham steps up with a creative, uncluttered solo. Ryerson comes back in with another solo that brims with creative explorations. Pappas offers another interpretation of where he wants to take the music on his bass solo. As the title implies, this one has a snap.

Thad Jones’ iconic “Three and One” is deftly navigated by the bass and flute on the opening and shows the simpatico these two have. Pappas’ bass plucks with a resonation that hums on his top-notch solo. Ryerson’s flute is liquid and loose. Her notes melt in the air. Ham’s piano solo work is clear, unadorned and succinct. It is a tribute to Jones that his composition can be reinterpreted so rewardingly by an astute artist like Ryerson.

The flutist takes her reimagination of bassist Steve Swallow’s “Falling Grace” and titles it “Flying in Spain/Falling Grace.” The band creates a breezy sway over which Ryerson’s flute dances with her own graceful lines. Pappas nicely counters Ali's flute with bouncy lines in time with Melito’s subdued snare. Ham offers his own melodic solo and Pappas adds a brief bass feature, before the group returns to the melody together, ending with a delicate coda.

I have always loved Jerome Kern’s” Yesterdays” ever since I listened to Hampton Hawes, Red Mitchell and Chuck Thompson version recorded back in 1955. That trio could just really swing. There was unhampered freedom in the way they played and Ryerson's take “Before Today/Yesterdays" play it with the same kind of vim and vigor as the Hawes trio did! The group is locked in so well and they create individual ideas that both complimentary as well as inventive and lively. Pappas bass maintains the unfailing walk and Melito’s drum work is tasty. Hain offers subtle accompaniment and a nicely played solo, but it is Ryerson’s astute energizing of the melody with her own fertile ideas that makes this one so much fun.

“The Island” is a famous Brazilian ballad written by Ivan Lins with lyrics by Alan Bergman. It is a lush love song that has been sung by some of the most famous chanteuses, including Sarah Vaughan, Barbara Streisand and Patti Austin. This version loses nothing by not having a singer. Ryerson’s richly toned alto flute is the lead voice on this and she makes it all her own. The music throbs with emotion and pathos. Authentic, beautiful and moving.

The album continues with Cole Porter’s reimagined “What is This Thing Called Love.” Ryerson’s playing always carries the music with authority and style. Her playing is clear and not breathy, but always adds to the music.

“Ali Cat Blues” is a blues-based, bebop inspired Ryerson composition. There is some Charlie Parker in the woman’s flute. Ryerson sails and soars like a bird riding the thermals navigating the self-imposed labyrinth she creates with her music. The music is delightfully challenging and yet they all make the execution seem so simple. You can’t help not tap your feet.

“Nada Como Ter Amor” is a Brazilian nova bossa composition from Carlos Lyra where Ryerson and company getting into the Rio vibe. “Boppin’ Low” is another Ryerson composition that returns to the straight ahead/ bebop style that she and her band seem to seem to thrive so well on. The final cut on the album is titled Fé, another Brazilian bossa inspired composition, that has Ryerson’s light and airy flute hovering over the rhythmic groove that the band creates and maintains. There is a freedom, a gossamer-like lightness to this music and Ryerson captures this weightless feel to perfection.

Michael Blake and Chroma Nova:" Piccolos Before Rifles": Eloquence, Color and Joy

2026-06-20T15:40:19.663-07:00

Michael Blake is a creative saxophonist/composer whose work I have always tried to keep current with. I first heard this Canadian born musician’s work with bassist Ben Allison’s group back in Brooklyn in the late 2000’s when I saw the group perform the music from the great album Little Things Run the World. His work, along with all of this splendid musicianship of the group's other players, caught my attention. It’s been a musical cornucopia of creativity and enjoyment for me following their work since then.

Blake has been particularly productive with his own work, including his well received Dance of the Mystic Bliss from 2023, and this latest release Piccolos Before Rifles takes the listener into a world of music that brings a strong West African/Brazilian rhythmic element into the light. The group on this latest release is called Chroma Nova and a slightly different personnel was on the former album Dance of the Mystic Bliss. The New York-based, Vancouver, Canada born musician continues with three Brazilian masters on this album and their inherent rhythmic influences are a major factor as to how well this album feels and flows. Blake's inventive compositions in the hands of this group offer color, eloquence, vibrancy, passion and joy to the listener.

Michael Blake (unknown photo credit)

I have been a long-time admirer of the drum and percussive work of Rogerio Boccato and previously seen him lend his deft artistry to numerous other established artists including John Patitucci, Billy Childs and Kenny Garrett. Bassist Gili Lopes and guitarist Monteiro, both Brazilian, are new to me. The Puerto Rican-American violinist Skye Soto Steele completes this ethnically diverse band and gives Blake’s music its own distinctive musical identity that should make listeners smile and dance to this offering. There are seven compositions, each with its own inspiration that gives the listener a back story to how the music relates to a real life experiences, tribute or an aspiration. In some respects this allows the listener to follow the compositional track from idea to construction to execution.

“Elephant Crush” is a energetic composition that Blake conceived of as a visceral representation of what Blake and his brother once experienced, when the earth shook beneath their feet as a herd of elephants stampeded toward them on a Safari outing in Zambia. After a dynamic intro, the music emerges like a clarion call to awareness to the pending danger with the band playing in beautiful synchronicity. Led by Monteiro’s drone-like guitar picking, Blake’s sumptuous tenor, Gili Lopes palpitating bass lines and Boccato’s exquisite percussive-driven pulse. Steele’s violin adds a distinctly edgy accent as a counterpoint to Blake’s liquid saxophone lead. The electricity the music generates it has a distinctive West African flavor that is infectious and makes you move to it. You either avoid the pending danger or just get out of the way. Blake’s saxophone work is exploratory as he raises the temperature in counterpoint to the probing rhythm before the group comes to an abrupt coda.

“Temples” is a slower paced composition that has a Middle Eastern meets Americana vibe to it. Blake and Monteiro interweave their instrumental tones and ideas in a beautiful exchange that is quite expressive and fluid. Steele’s plaintive violin adds another element to this musical tapestry. There is calm courage to this music that is quite eloquent, to be savored.

Any saxophonist worth his mettle will find Stan Getz worthy of studying. “Stone Cold Stan” becomes Blake’s tribute to the master of superb tone. The energetic pace is anchored by the ostinato bass lines of Lopes and Boccato’s rhythmic creativity. The theme is stated in precise unison by the guitar, violin and soprano saxophone, a little reminiscent to me of the first Mahavishnu band's type of interplay, albeit lighter, but nonetheless impressive. It shifts rhythmically and Steele’s urgent violin solo dances like an ecstatic dervish before Blake’s airy soprano enters the mix, sinewy, slithery and snake-charming-like hypnotic. A hybrid song that seems to cross over into fusion territory.

The title track, “Piccolos Before Rifles,” is Blake’s take on how music, played in the form of a military band, is used to introduce a formation of marching soldiers. Music is usually considered as a vehicle to promote peace and love, so the fact that has often been used as a tool for the proliferation of war couldn’t be more ironic. The opening features a slow duo of Monteiro’s guitar and Lopes’ bass. Boccato introduces a cadenced drum line over which Blake’s noir-inspired tenor appears just taking you to another place. Steele’s light violin lines mix with Blake's horn in a sympathetic delightful unison before Lopes bass is featured on a probing solo. Blake’s tenor comes out front with another exploratory solo, slowly building up the tension before allowing the music to slow and simmer to the finish.

Michael Blake and Chroma Nova (photo credit unknown)

If you like Western African/Brazilian inflected groove “Mauritania” is the answer. The music is breezy and bluesy, and you feel how the love of dance inspires this music. Held together by this stellar Brazilian rhythm section of Monteiro, Gili and Boccato, the music floats into the atmosphere like a free bird via Blake’s airy flute work. Steele’s violin adds another color and Monteiro’s guitar tops off this one with his gentle fretwork. Sit back, turn this up and grab a tropical drink and you’ll experience the West African Saharan sun of Mauritania.

“Lift Off” opens with some percussive accents by Boccato before Gili’s bass and Monteiro’s guitar strumming is joined by Blake’s propulsive tenor. The band builds up the tension in stages, the music grows more excitable, more intense as they ignite in preparation of Lift Off. This is the only cut on the album that doesn’t include Steele’s violin contribution.

The final composition is “Black Taj”, a song inspired by a trip made by Blake to India and a tale that accounts for Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, the Emperor who built the Taj Mahal as a mausoleum for his wife. The emperor supposedly wanted to also erect a Black Taj, a mirror image to the first White structure only in Black across the river. Since the Black Taj was never constructed, we must assume that the song must somehow relate to the feelings that come from having a driving ambition that never comes to fruition. The music opens with Blake's deep-toned alto flute, another added color to this tapestry of sounds. Lopes adds some bass lines in conversation with Blake's beautiful flute work. Steele's violin lays down a drone-like backdrop on top of Boccato's whirling drum work and Montiero's inventive guitar explorations. The group slowly brings the pace to a fading conclusion as Blake's flute flutters to breathlessness. Just beautiful.

Piccolos Before Rifles by Michael Blake

Minimalist, contemplative and insightful: "The Woods" - The Ryan Blotnick Quartet

2026-06-04T10:56:05.932-07:00

The guitarist Ryan Blotnick has released his fifth album titled The Woods in April of this year released on Fishkill Records. Ryan attended at William Patterson University where he studied with Gene Bertoncini and Paul Meyers. He completed his degree for Jazz Studies there. His path took him to study for his Master's of Music Performance from the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen, Denmark between 2002-2006. His time at the Conservatory allowed him the unique opportunity to study as an exchange student back in New York as well as in Europe with such notable musicians as guitarists Steve Cardenas, Lionel Loueke, and Jakob Bro; saxophonist Lee Konitz, and bassist Ben Street.

Blotnick was originally from Southwest Harbor, Maine. After his education, he spent ten years in New York City and became a sideman performing and recording with saxophonists Pete Robbins and Michael Blake, as well as drummers Tyshawn Sorey and Jeff Williams. In 2015, Blotnick decided to return to his home state of Maine and has been there ever since.

Blotnick's latest album The Woods was recorded in a studio called The Woods in Woodstock, NY., but besides the obvious link to the studios name, it is Blotnick's relationship to the outdoors that is most important in regards to the album's title.

"The woods is a place where everything is deeply inter-connected-even if it appears disconnected on the surface." "...in music, there is a conscious level where musicians interact intentionally...at the same time, we are interacting on a subconscious level, adjusting dynamics, blending, and having each other's backs. This kind of deep listening and collectivism is what makes music such a powerful force."

Trying to achieve this state of being, where intuition allows collectiveness and creatively flows by being able to tap the ether, is what Blotnick has been working towards for years. To that purpose he assembled two old friends from the Hudson Valley area, pianist/organist Tyler G. Woods and drummer Otto Hauser. Together with bassist Adam Chilenski, who Blotnick enlisted, this group took ten of Bloknick's compositions into the studio for two days recording this album in April of 2024. From what I have listened to on The Woods, guitarist Ryan Blotnick has certainly raised his musical sights and elevated his playing to another level.

Ryan Blotnick (photo by Richard Sassaman)

The music is minimalist, contemplative, insightful and perceptive. The opener "The Magic" explores space and time, creating a soft modal groove that finds Blotnick's guitar creating influential sounds that remind me of John Abercrombie's exploratory work.

"Pecao" is a composition that was inspired by a visit to the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico by the guitarist. Blotnick offers lush chords and deliberate single note lines as some swelling organ chords are deftly provided by Woods. Huaser and Chilenski provide the infectious clave rhythm to this beautiful piece.

"Cuyo" has a slow meditative feel. A deliberate cinematic feel that sets the stage for mystery or drama. Woods organ work here is again on point tonally. Blotnick's guitar is sparse, using space in a Jim Hall kind of way- delicate, wasting no extra notes to make the point.

"Neptuno 2000" was a improvised, exploratory, under two minute free form that have the band letting loose. This is a stylistic outlier on the album.

"Two Lights" was a highlight. Modulating guitar lines, sensitive and light. Piano work by Woods fits beautifully. These guys are in sync. Chilenski's bass line throb with authority and Hauser's trap work is complimentary. Blotnick credits guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel with the inspiration for this one. Hear it for yourself.

"Snowfields" is a reference to a killer ski slop that has is unforgiving to the unschooled. The music is energetic, jagged and perhaps frenetic, unpredictable in all directions. No one of my favorites.

"Subnivean" opens with sparse modulating guitar lines and responding piano lines, like two birds calling to each other in the darkness. Smooth, exploratory and cautious. Wood's piano adds beautiful crescendos of notes as the music ends in a whisper.

"The Woods" has a beautiful, Americana-like shuffle to it. Repetitive lines by Blotkin set the melody as the rhythm team make sure the direction and pulse are consistent. Blotnick's guitar borrows from the Frisell school for this one, and Wood's piano has elements of that recall Bruce Hornsby's style.

Ryan Blotnick Quartet
(Tyler G. Wood, Otto Hauser, Ryan Blotnick and Adam Chilenski)
(photo credit unknown)

For those how can't get enough of the slow played, blues inspired guitar that was best represented by artists like Grant Green in the early nineteen sixties on Blue Note Records, then you will love Blotnick and band's take on "Smokey Corners." This one is like returning to those days when you could sit back in a dimly lit ( dare I say dingy), well- worn bar, where the drinks were cheap, the women were purportedly loose, and the band was jammed in a small sliver of a space in a corner, but the music was sublime. You can't ask more than that.

The closing composition has a folk-inspired feel. On "Lurvey Spring" Blotnick's slow, minimalist guitar work is all about feelings, tone and sincerity. I can see how Blotnick relates this to the kind of music Neil Young would sometimes play when he wasn't rocking out. "Old Man" had that kind of haunting feeling for me. The band plays takes this seriously, respectful, almost reverent. Blotnick's guitar sometimes has an almost lap steel kind of sustain on this one. Lurvey Spring is an actual natural spring in Blotnick's native Southwest Harbor, Maine. It is on the Mount Desert Island and part of Acadia National Park. I have been to the park many times, it a special place that is beautiful and inspiring. I have never heard of Lurvey Spring before, but no doubt the place has a special meaning to this guitarist and his music makes that clear.

The Passing of a Friend; RIP Louis Gramling (Aug 3, 1938-May 12, 2026)

2026-05-31T10:30:41.472-07:00

Louis Gramling on his Eightieth birthday in 2018

I lost a friend on May 12^th of this year after he succumbed to a relatively short heath condition, his name was Louis Gramling. I have posted a picture he sent me from his eightieth birthday; it was about eight years ago. How time flies. By the time he celebrated that birthday, I had already relocated to the Atlanta area. Consequently, Louis and I had retained a good friendship over the phone, through emails, and trading music long after my departure from Connecticut, where we first met. I am not a relative, no longer a geographically convenient friend, but we somehow maintained our connection and friendship for years. I thought I couldn't just let his passing go by without sharing my recollections of knowing this fine man and acknowledging how proud I was to have called Louis my friend.

At the age of eighty-seven, Louis didn’t have immediate family left in his life except for a cousin that he talked about and still communicated with back in his native Hungary. At a certain age, we will all have to deal with the reality that life can become lonely. Many family members, significant partners, and friends predecease us as we age, and it can be challenging to maintain one’s sense of purpose. Louis’s lasting companions were his extensive library of books and his collection of records, tapes and cds. He also had an ex-wife who he maintained as a friend, a current girlfriend that was close, and a disparate group of close acquaintances and friends like me.

When Louis was recently hospitalized, and was determined to be terminally ill, he contacted me to say goodbye and asked me if I could contact three of his friends and let them know of his condition. It was a difficult time to hear his voice and to know he was slipping away quickly. Thankfully, he was able to make connections to those three people that he asked me to contact, and in a small way I felt lucky to have been able to facilitate that connection and was able to do my friend one last courtesy.

The history of our friendship is certainly a little humorous. I had decided to buy a small console piano post-divorce back in 2000. I had played guitar and harmonica for years in rock bands and in folk duos, but I always thought the piano would be a more promising instrument, if I could only learn to play it well? I thought my changing life circumstances would allow me more time to dedicate to this avocation. With my newly ignited ambition to seriously learn to play piano, I suddenly had the karmic experience of meeting Louis at the piano store where I had purchased my piano. He was an excellent pianist and composer. He was also a personable, opinionated, and a good-humored guy to boot! It turns out he was giving piano lessons and was supposedly a pretty good teacher. I booked private weekly lessons with him, thinking this would make my learning with a good instructor an easier challenge. Louis would come to my house, sit me down on the bench, and open rudimentary books that required me to practice scales, sight read music, and learn how to master simple songs. The lessons were an hour each week and it was up to me to practice diligently whatever he assigned. I would have to consistently put in the boring, repetitive work needed to become an accomplished technician and hopefully in time a decent pianist. It didn’t take long for me to lose some of my enthusiasm for the tedium. Taking baby steps to establish a foundation was not what I wanted to hear. I thought with my musical background I should breeze through the basics and get to the meat more quickly. I gave it a try for months, and I quickly became less happier, inpatient student. The shine was coming off the apple for me.

Louis and I both had a love of jazz music. I had a good ear and could pick up riffs and melodies on the guitar without really putting the effort into being a good sight reader. Why couldn’t I get to the same place quicker on the piano with a teacher? I became disillusioned at how little real music I was able to play after many months of lessons with Louis. It was like me attempting to fit my square peg into a round hole, Aware of my frustration with the process, Louis tried to get me to play some jazz songs that I had really loved by just listening to recordings and trying to practice mimicking them by ear. He thought this might rekindle my original enthusiasm, but I even struggled with that. I was realizing virtuosity is not something that comes easy. Eventually, despite Louis’ valiant efforts, we both concluded that my aspirations for playing piano were unlikely to come to fruition. I discovered that while I did love playing music, I just didn’t want to put in the work, the time and the sweat needed be a legitimate musician. Hacking around the edges of the music like I had done for years prior was joy enough for me. I was not destined to be one of Louis’s star students, but the beauty of our relationship was that it didn’t prejudice our friendship one iota. Mutually, our friendship became the real reward that blossomed out of this otherwise failed experiment.

Louis Gramling at one of our many lunches.

While I was in Connecticut, outside of my lessons, Louis and I often would plan to meet for lunch, converse about music and politics, exchange philosophical ideas and just enjoy each other’s company. I had a full-time, successful gig in construction and real estate development that helped me raise my family and pay my bills. As an avocation, I had taken up writing reviews of jazz music in my spare time and was published starting back in 2007. This outlet fed my need to be involved in the music, gave me some credentials, and I found my love of the music was better expressed through my reviews, my interviews, my concert postings than any of my attempts to try to play jazz. Louis encouraged my writing and we often discussed the nuances of the music I was reviewing; disagreeing at times and rejoicing in agreement at other times. We maintained these exchanges, often times weekly, despite the geographical distance that separated us when I moved from Atlanta to the Pacific Northwest.

Louis was of born in Hungary in 1938. As a young man, he came into this country to follow his dream of being a successful professional musician. By almost anyone's standards, Louis was a success. He was an excellent pianist and played with top notch players over the years, often on call as a valuable sideman. He made an imprint on those who got to play with him as a musician, as well as to those who simply knew him as a friend. I will sorely miss our conversations.

Having been brought up as a youth in a communist controlled country, Louis had a love for the freedoms that this country bestowed on every citizen, whether they be an immigrant like Louis had been or a native-born citizen like me. Louis did not take these freedoms lightly. He was truly one of a kind, a a principled individual with strong beliefs who was not easily swayed. We often disagreed about political concepts and actions and whether they were good for the citizenry or detrimental. He was much more politically conservative than I was and when discussions got heated and passions got the best of us, we often stopped the conversation and gentlemanly agreed to disagree. I will have a hard time not having his contrarian voice to hear anymore.

I know Louis was working up till the end on an album that would include many of his compositions that had never been recorded. He got a world class flautist that he was friendly with to be interested in playing on this project. He wanted me to try my hand on some lyrics and had gotten a famous Hungarian artist to commit to making the album cover art. He was hoping this project would stir up interest in his compositional treasure trove that he felt be his legacy. It’s too bad that fate would deal him the hand that we will never get to hear this final project. I am sure it would have been brilliant.

Here is a song "Solitude" from the recently departed master saxophonist Sonny Rollins dedicated to you my friend. If there is jazz in heaven Sonny will be playing this to and you will be smiling listening to it! Rest in Peace old friend.

Soul Slaying British Vocalist Mica Millar Releases Her Latest "A Little Bit of Me"

2026-05-20T16:49:19.166-07:00

Mica Millar- A Little Bit of Me - Golden Hour Music

I am not often smitten, but the British soul/jazz/R & B vocalist Mica (pronounced Meekah) Millar has grabbed me with her latest A Little Bit of Me. The album is self-produced on her label Golden Hour Music and will be released on June 5, 2026. Once you get your hands on this music, I predict you will find yourself repeatedly playing this one because you can't get this captivatingly compelling voice out of your head.

Born in Withington, a southern suburb of Manchester, England, this thirty-two-year-old chanteuse absorbed some of the best of soul, R & B, jazz, Motown, gospel and blues that was happening when she was as a young girl. She has taken all those influences-inspired by identifying with artists like Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Etta James, Tracy Chapman and Prince- added her own Manchester grit, and out comes something that’s rooted in the tradition but is all Millar’s own. Her father was a drummer, and her mom was involved in the public relations side of music. She clearly had the music in her DNA from an early age. This woman stands all of five feet five inches tall, but has a voice that projects elements of soul, emotional R & B, gospel and bluesy grit with aplomb and power. She once reflected

“I wasn’t really a very good singer when I was a kid. That’s the truth of the matter. But I had passion. I had a very loud voice. I could project for a very small person.” (*)

That humble self-assessment doesn’t do justice to Millar’s talent. Her emotionally charged voice and the visceral connection she establishes with listeners is what makes this vocalist different.

Mica Millar at the Jazz FM Awards where she won "Soul Act of the Year 2022" Award.

In her early twenties, Millar was on her way to becoming a premier soul and R & B singer in Great Britain. By 2017, she was playing mostly local gigs around her hometown Manchester surrounding area including a short stint with the group Red Sky Noise. Initially she sang her own compositions solo and released some on social media where she started to be noticed. She released the sparse, piano accompanied single “My Lover” and “Not the First” with some backup vocals in 2017. The Portishead-like single, “The Defender,” was well received in 2018. Mica Millar was an artist that clearly was a force to be reckoned with.

Then in January of January 2020, her health and career were seriously challenged by a terrible accident. While working on developing trampoline skills, she tragically took a terrible fall and broke her back. It was a serious, terrifying injury that required her back to be surgically pinned permanently with metal fasteners. As with many spinal injuries, there is always the possibility of partial or full paralysis that loomed over the young singer. Millar always sang with strength and conviction as her voice projected from her diaphragm. A serious back injury could have ended the vocalist’s career just when her talent was being more widely recognized. Although paralysis was thankfully not part of her path, any physical impairment would require months of rest and dedicated rehabilitation.

“My fracture from the accident was dangerously close to my spinal cord-I’m incredibly lucky not to be paralyzed.” “One of my vertebrae was entirely crushed and I had metalwork put in. Not that long after the op’, while it is incredible pain I can’t describe, you are up to walk after a week or so, and they don’t want you to be laying down for long as your muscles deteriorate…” (*)

Her voice would be another X factor until she had a chance to rebuild her strength. Her career was temporarily at a standstill. Millar was forced to regroup, rebuild, and recover.

After battling the restrictions of Covid and her own arduous rehabilitation, Millar got a chance to work on her recovery album, Heaven Knows. The album was released in June of 2022, a statement that represented what she was feeling at that time. Thankful, hopeful and I’m back! It was a hit! Millar was able to record it at Abbey Road Studios in London with the legendary Goeff Pesche and she assembled a great group of backing musicians. The album featured a strong Millar who composed and sang fourteen songs that proved this woman was back and in fine form. “Preacher Man,” a single from the album which showcased her gospel inspired talents, kept her music in front of her ever-building fan base as the album gained greater exposure and accolades.

Fast forward as the world anxiously awaits the release of Millar’s latest A Little Bit of Me which is scheduled to be released on June 5, 2026, on her Golden House Music label. I have had this record for about a week, and I can’t tell you how much I have spun this one over, and over, and over again. I am mostly a jazz reviewer and for me to be captured by this soul/jazz/Motown/gospel/blues inspired record both delights and surprises me. Millar’s voice is hypnotizing. She projects with strength and conviction a little like Sarah Vaughan did with jazz, a little gritty like Etta James did with blues or like Aretha did with Soul and R & B , the listener gets grabbed and trapped into the web Millar spins with genuine joy and steadfast faith. If you are looking for a success story to cheer for, Mica Millar's return to full strength certainly meets that criteria.

There is something here for almost anyone who just wants to lay back with their headphones and soak it all in. The opening album title cut “A Little Bit of Me” has a soulful groove that has Millar and her excellent back up singers, Amber Kuti-Smith and Ellie Hulme, makes for easy listening. Millar voice is strong and soulful. The backing duo fit her voice like a custom made glove. “Times Like These” have some elements of neo-country, with Millar finding some country in her voice and with a twangy slide guitar line, probably by Adam Smith, that warms your heart, cozy up to a fire and grab your Tony Lama boots.

One of my favorites is the slow burning “Under My Skin” which features Millar’s expressive, soulful voice, backed by some stellar backing voices like Kuti-Smith and Hulme, and some excellent section horn work by Kenyon Harold (trumpet/arrangement), Tiivon Pennicott (saxes), and Hamilton Hardin (assorted horns) that complete the feel. This one smolders like a glowing ember. Sizzling, look but don’t touch!

The album continues to the funky “Warning Sign,” the rousing “It’s You” and the strutting, barrelhouse “The Broadway” with its horn section work and its “maybe later we can get undressed” line, all satisfying offerings.

Have a listen to Millar’s “A Little More Time for Love” with featuring some of Danielle Weatherspoon’s B3 organ lines and some of Pennicott’s baritone sax accents. The production and musicianship on this album is fantastic.

If you love well harmonized voices in the Motown tradition you can’t miss “If You Stay.” Millar’s voice is stage front and beautifully present as the two backup voices plus Simon Dale, weave the harmony to perfection. Guitarist Smith adds tasty lines, as Jay White’s bass and Marcus Finnie’s trap work hold the pace with precision.

· There is plenty more to enjoy, from “My Joy,” to “See You On the Other Side” and “Hard Times” or like the gospel driven “Oh Freedom,” but you need to find your favorites and get the music to get into your blood and percolate. The album finishes with the sauntering soulful “Hand on My Soul” and poignant torch song “When You’re Gone.” It’s great to hear that Mica Millar is growing better and stronger and she delivers in spades with her latest A Little Bit of Me. Guaranteed to bring some joy to your listening experience.

(((*) The quotes were taken from Steve Best's article "From Horror to Heaven-Meet Stunning Soul Diva Ms. Mica Millar" in Music Republic Magazine which you can read here.)

Mark Wade and his Trio Start a New Third Stream with their latest release "New Stages"

2026-05-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

Mark Wade Trio- New Stages- Dot Time Records

The bassist Mark Wade is becoming more widely recognized as an important voice on his instrument. Originally born in Michigan and raised in New Jersey, Wade began his musical education at the age of fourteen. He earned his Bachelor of Arts at New York University in 1997. There Wade studied with the world class bassist/educator Mike Richmond, whose own experience spanned working with the likes of Stan Getz and Lee Konitz to Jack DeJohnette and Ravi Shankar.

Wade’s playing was always following a dual path with skills allowing him to easily traverse playing bass in a classical orchestra or in a jazz trio or a big band setting. His classical skills brought him to be a longtime member of the Key West Symphony, The Orchestra of the Bronx Opera and the S.E.M./Janacek Czech Republic Philharmonic. His jazz skills have been seen as a member of the Pete McGuinness Jazz Orchestra and as a bandmate whose has worked with notable instrumentalists Gary Bartz, Jimmy Heath, Conrad Herwig and vocalists Stacey Kent and Peter Eldridge to name just a few. Wade has been on the faculty of the Lehigh University’s jazz program since 2017.

Mark Wade photo by Bill Heuberger

My exposure to Wade’s music started when I reviewed his sophomore release Moving Day from 2018. The trio dealt skillfully with such standards as “Autumn Leaves” and “Maiden Voyage” along with his own twist on Dizzy Gillespie’s classic with “Another Night in Tunisa” as well as his classically influenced composition “The Bells,” which was inspired by a small fragment of Debussy’s “La Mer.” That album offered a lot of promise. His 2022 release True Stories used compositions inspired by Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and Igor Stravinsky and received more attention from a wider audience for this musically talented bassist.

The latest album titled New Stages, was released in March on Dot Time records. This offering finds this creative bassist continuing his search; his quest to find a common ground between the structure of compelling classical music and the expansive freedom that the musical improvisation of jazz brings to music. The album has fifteen compositions by Wade and he is joined by his intuitive trio members, Tim Harrison on piano and Scott Neumann on drums. These guys have been playing together since 2013.

Wade acknowledges that his playing in classical orchestras has been the source of much of his compositional inspiration. The bassist starts off this album with his take on Debussy’s music, in this case the composer’s Children’s Corner Suite. Opening with “The Good Doctor Gradus” the music erupts with speed, dynamism and propulsion. Harrison’s piano takes on the almost frantic pianistic exercise, as Wade’s plucky bass keeps the music in pace and Neumann’s drum work accents the music with splashing cymbals and rolling toms. The music continues with “The Elephant’s Lullaby” a take on Debussy’s “Jimbo’s Lullaby.” The UK born Harrison, seems quite adept in his classical mode to piano here. Wade creates his own miniature lullaby. “The Shepherd Takes A Turn” opens with a booming, walking bass line by Wade, as the music introduces a feeling of swing. Wade’s pizzicato resonates with fluidity and inventiveness. Harrison’s piano maintains the repeating melody in accompaniment. The original composition by Debussy ,“The Little Shepherd,” was said to represent a shepherd and his flute. Here Wade takes the more memorable repeating melody, opening it up with his own harmonic interpretations that make this one seem more cinematic than a children’s song.

“Cakewalk” takes the strut-like, syncopated rhythm of the original and makes it jump and pulse with excitement. Wade’s fingers pluck the fretboard with a dervish intensity, as Neumann’s drum work adds dynamism. Harrison’s piano work seems to add a Monk-like change of timing in his improvisations that seem to make this one stand out.

The album continues with “Saga” taken from Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, the only concerto the composer wrote. Wade’s bass, Harrison’s piano and Neumann’s drum work matching notes synchronously. Wade takes an extended pizzicato solo that is quite impressive, an extended improvised section that in the original piece was dedicated to the violin. The bassist modernizes this piece brilliantly with his trio to great effect.

“The Storm” is a take on Chopin’s turbulent D-minor prelude and the music creates the feel of being in a whirlwind, a tempest. Harrison plays with fearlessness and beauty. Wade’s double bass sings with a beautiful tone and hums with sonorousness. Neumann’s kit creates a tumultuous array of percussive effects.

“Idyll” comes from Maurice Drufle’s Requiem, which Wade and his trio plays this with devoted respect and solemness, while still maintaining a spaciousness that makes this music connect with the listener.

Wade creates a two-part suite that uses Joaquin’s flamenco guitar inspired Concierto de Aranjuez to create his “Iberia Part 1 and Part 2”. This music has also inspired other jazz musicians in the past. Miles Davis and Gil Evans Sketches of Spain and Chick Corea’s Spain come to mind. Wade and his trio find their own interpretation of this Iberian inspired music, incorporating musical elements that come before them to make their own rendition ring true.

Wade’s “Lament” is a reimagination of Henryk Gorecki’s 1st movement of “Symphony Number 3.” The music was composed in 1976 and first played in 1977. It is a more modern source than the other music in this album. It has a lively repeating line driven by Harrison's piano and Wade's ostinato driven bass. The music offers a hopeful feel as Harrison’s piano creates austerity and hope. Neumann's cymbal and tom build up tension before Harrison's piano provides a easy, swinging release and then Wade is featured on a probing double bass solo that moves deftly against the music.

The album includes with "Judgement "“Transition” and “At Rest” all inspired by Gabriel’s Faure’s Requiem. “Waltz and Variation” inspired by Chopin’s Waltz in A Flat and ends with “Jesu” which is inspired by Johan Bach’s chorale from Canata Jesu, Joy of Men’s Desiring .

No matter if you are a classical music follower or not, Mark Wade and his trio somehow reimagine this music and instill in it a new vitality. These talented musicians play the music with an inherent respect, and they make it more reachable by adding creative improvisational elements and rhythmic variation to the architecture of these classical gemstones. Wade’s approach on his New Stages is his own version of this eras new Third Stream.

Tigran Hamasyan: Manifeste- Introspective Music as a Path to Self-Discovery

2026-05-02T17:42:00.000-07:00

Tigar Hamasyan: Manifeste: Naïve Records

The Armenian born pianist Tigran Hamasyan has been a bit of an outlier. He played rudimentary music on his family piano from the age of three and was in music school from the age of six. By the age of nine Hamasyan was immersed in jazz, but he was also highly influenced by the abrasive power guitar sounds of thrash metal! The man is a bit of an enigma; not a pure jazz pianist in the traditional sense, but a prolific improvisor. He is armed with the weapons of dexterity, skill, classical piano training, Armenian folk music influences, deftly using his voice instrumentally, and his own brand of fusion-inspired, prog-rock jazz, peppered with electronica. The pianist/composer is a percolating caldron of musical creativity that can inspire you with his pure talent and acumen and yet surprise you with his unpredictable excursions. If you listen to what this artist has already said in interviews, you get some insight into what is driving this man. Hamasyan once said “When I solo, I tend not to think of myself as a pianist.” He also has a seemingly unsatiable appetite for music from many disparate styles and origins. “I get into different types of music and really immerse myself in each one and then I move on…” These inclinations and the strong identification with his culture and its indigenous music remain driving forces that motivate his creativity.

At the age of 16, Hamasyan went to California to study and became entrenched in the LA jazz scene. I was aware that Hamasyan won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition back in 2006 at the age of nineteen, edging out Gerald Clayton and Aaron Parks! My first exposure to the pianist was from his well-received Verve album Shadow Theater from 2013. This album scratched the surface of the creativity that this composer and his musical mind held. The music was powerful, ethereal and different. The pianist utilized elements of jazz, prog rock, Armenian folk music, creative choral voice work and a deft use of strings and woodwinds. I was hooked by this man’s vision.

The latest album, released on Naïve Records on February of this year, is titled Manifeste and offers fourteen compositions that the artist uses as a vehicle for exploring into and discovering himself.

Hamasyan plays piano, synth, synth bass, drum programs, whistles, and provides vocals. He is joined by Nick Lierandi on guitar, Marc Karapetian on bass, and four different drummers- Mark Garskta, Arthur Hbnatek, Arman Mnatsakanyan and Nate Wood. There are also guest appearances by trumpeter Daniel Melkonyan on “Yerevan Sunrise” and “Years Passing (For Akram), Evan Marien plays bass on “Dardahan” , Agtghik Mamikonyan adds her voice on “Per Mane ( E Flat Venice Song)” and the Yerevan State Chamber Choir provide their angelic voices on “One Body, One Blood” and “National Repentance Anthem.” The production of this project is obviously no small task. It speaks volumes about the details and thought that Hamasyan invests into the creation and execution of his multi-layered music.

Manifeste is a lot to process. Can this music be assigned to a particular genre? Not likely in my humble opinion. But if you marvel, as I do, at the process of a fertile, creative mind exploring the possibilities of musical expression, then you can clearly not ignore this man’s offerings.

There is much to be listened to like the restless prog rock-drive of the opening number “Prelude for All Seekers.” The gorgeously swelling sounds of “Yerevan Sunrise” as Hamasyan layers multiple electronically generated aural colors and his synched-in whistling into his musical landscape. Daniel Melkonyan’s trumpet adds another element to this one as Hamasyan’s rhythmic vibe carries the pulse in tandem to Hnatek’s intuitive trap work.

The title cut “Manifeste” revels in Hamasyan’s powerful ostinato opening before the pianist is joined by Karapetian’s throbbing bass, Mnatsakayan’s syncopated drums and Tigar’s haunting overlayered vocals. The music has a foreboding feel to it. There is drama and it conjures up Black Sabbath and Emerson Lake and Palmer coming to my mind.

“One Body, One Blood” finds the pianist creating a hauntingly repeating theme upon which he incorporates the gorgeous, celestial voices of the Yerevan State Chamber Choir and the electronics and drum programming of Arthur Hnatek.

“Seven Sorrows” opens with clanging church bells over which Hamasyan plays some beautiful repeating piano flourishes. Artyom Manukyan’s cello adds some poignancy before the pianist adds his own fluid, chicanery of exploration including some Jarrett inspired moans. Mnatsakayan’s propulsive drum work is on display before Manukyan’s cello reenters and Hamasyan’s voice matches the cellists bowing in an moving and eerie coda.

“Years Passing” is a song dedicated to British/Bangladeshi choreographer Akram Khan. Hamasyan composed the music for Khan’s 2014 dance production iTMOi (In the mind of Igor) a celebration of Stravinsky’s music. The two have a rhythmic connection that the pianist seems to have reflected on in this composition. The music features a beautiful repeating theme that Hamasyan plays on piano and that is supplemented by a searching trumpet solo by Melkonyan.

“Dadanhan” is a fusion-like song that features Hamasyan’s synth work and his tracking, almost primal vocals. Marien’s electric bass work and Hnatek’s explosive drum work complete this trio.

“War Time Poem” has a heavy metal fierceness. Led by Hamasyan’s relentless and almost frantic synth work and Lierandi’s guitar, the band is rounded off with Karapetian on bass and Garstka on drums.

“The Fire Child” (Vahagn is Born) is a reference to the Armenian god Vahagn who by legend was born from a splitting reed in a fiery cosmic birth. The origin is as an Indo-European warrior god that is a dragon killer. Hamasyan’s music is like a chant. The pianist plays all the electronics and overdubs his vocals to the music unassisted. There is a ceremonial reverence to this Armenian mythical tradition that the artist expresses here touchingly.

“Ultradance” is a composition that transposes driving prog rock pulses in contrast to lyrical folk-inspired rifts. The music is driven by Nate Wood’s drums and Karapetian’s throbbing bass working in conjunction with Hamasyan’s repeating synth and piano lines.

The remaining album includes “Per Mane (E Flat Venice Song) featuring the voice of Agtghik Mamikonyan and some agitated piano work by Hamasyan. “A Window from One Heart to Another” a song inspired by the work of the poet Rumi, featuring the percussionist Hamin Honari and Blul (wooden flute) played by Yessai Karapetian. “A Eye” (The Digital Leviathan) is an ostinato-driven piece with Lierandi’s singing guitar, Hamasyan’s slashing synths, and Karapetian and Garstka supplying rhythm.

The final composition is “National Repentance Anthem” which opens with Hamasyan’s tinkling piano entre setting the stage for the Yerevan State Chamber Choir to enter tracing the music’s somber melody. Manifeste seems to culminate the theme of self-exploration, revelation and catharsis that Hamasyan is exploring by his creation and performance of this music.

Roberto Magris/Denis Razz Quartet on "In Action": Music that Delights and Suprises

2026-04-15T14:46:00.000-07:00

Roberto Magris Denis Razz Quartet- In Action- JMood Records

At the end of 2025, pianist Roberto Magris, who resides in the northeastern Italian seaport city of Trieste, released a wonderful quartet collaboration with the Croatian based saxophonist Denis Razumovic. The album is a two-disc release titled In Action on J Mood records. This adventurous collection of well-curated music features compositions from masters like John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, Yusef Lateef, Mal Waldron and Sun Ra, in addition to several promising works by Razumovic and Magris and a Blues by B3 master Jimmy Smith, where Magris shows his Hammond organ skills.

I became a fan and ardent follower of Magris for quite some time. I first came upon some his work with his Europlane orchestra with the cooking album Check In from 2005. Since then, I have followed this pianist’s growth as found him collaborating with both top-tier European musicians as well as some established ex-patriot American jazz artists that still had something to say. In the subsequent years, I’ve listened to and sometimes reviewed some of Magris’ releases that found the pianist working with such notable musicians as saxophonists Tony Lakatos and Herb Geller, multi-reed and trumpeter Ira Sullivan, French guitarist master Philip Catherine, bassists Art Davis and Eric Hochenberg, drummers Albert “Tootie” Heath and Idris Muhammad, and trumpeter Brian Lynch to to name a few.

Magris has said “I am an Italian of non-Italian culture…so I am an expert at looking ahead to tradition.” This skilled pianist has absorbed some of the music’s traditions before pushing forward. As a player, Magris has developed a wide range of colors on his pianistic palette. He can pull from skills like the bebopper fluidity that recalls Powell; the melodicism from Flanagan and Evans; the rhythmic drive and aggressive attack from Tyner and Pullen, and the harmonic and rhythmic adventurism of Hill and Bley. This makes Magris’ music a bit like a wrapped gift box; you never precisely know what you are getting until you open it.

On In Action, Magris is joined by three talented Croatian musicians Dennis Razz (Razumovic) on alto and soprano saxophones and flute; Karlo Ilić on acoustic bass electric guitar and oud; and Rajko Ergić on drums, percussion and soprano saxophone on two cuts. Magris uses both acoustic and electric pianos, keyboards, Hammond organ, and Mexican whistles to complete the instrumentation. When the listener opens this gift, you get a potpourri of music that delights and surprises.

Magris mentions that vibrant saxophonist Dennis Razz, who is a local Croatian hero with limited exposure to the world of global jazz, “…is a passionate jazz musician with a big heart and soul.” That same heart, passion and soul are the common qualities that all these musicians possess; the secret sauce they bring out in each other when they operate together as a very intuitive, expressive group. This group was originally thought of as an informal and temporary band formed post COVID, but if this album is any indication, these guys have many more inventive roads to travel.

There are eighteen cuts on the album, close to two hours of music, that offers something for almost everyone-inventive, energetic, soulful, swinging, melodic, avant-garde leaning or blues based and unpredictable music.

You can groove to John Coltrane’s “Some Other Blues” with Razz’s fluid alto and Magris’ Wynton Kelly-like piano solo and a nice pizzicato solo by bassist Ilić. Dennis Razz’s “In Umbria” a promising two chord-based piece. It reveals a compositional skill allowing the altoist to show his melodic side as Magris’ electric piano floats in the background with aplomb, and Ergić’s intuitive drum work adds to the mix. Wayne Shorter’s composition “Blue Nile” is another favorite, as Magris and Razz raise the temperature of the set with driving kineticism driven by the potent rhythm section and Razz alto searing and soaring with authority. Ergić’s polyrhythmic solo is another treat.

Magris and Ilić is an avant-garde original “Double Helix” which finds the bassist picking up his electric guitar and having what feels like a spontaneous atonal interaction.

“Il Mare a Fiume,” another Magris original, opens with a synth-driven keyboard setting the stratospheric opening before the music morphs into a soulful shuffle. Magris is on electric piano, Ilić on electric bass, and Ergić’s provides the sauntering drums, as Razz’s soprano soars in the clouds like a falcon.

McCoy Tyner’s “You Taught My Heart To Sing” is a beautiful ballad that brings great melodicism to the set. Magris’ piano lines are liquid and heartfelt, offering a tip of his hat to Tyner, and Razz’s alto evokes a sweet sound that reminds me of Johnny Hodges.

Yusef Lateef’s Middle Eastern inspired “The Plum Blossom” is a trip into another world. To create this world the group uses the unique instrumentation of Ilić’s oud playing sinewy lines against Magris’ acoustic piano probing, Ergić’s tambourine and Razz’s drone-like soprano saxophone work.

The second disc has its own highlights. The free form “Spirits of the Wild” with Razz’s flute work, Ilić’s bowed bass and Magris on Mexican whistles. A swinging version of Sun Ra’s “Discipline 27-11” that shows off Razz’s expressive dynamism on the alto.

The title track, Magris’ “In Action” is a Coltrane inspired composition that opens with a driving ostinato line that is the perfect vehicle for this group to let loose. Magris’ piano lines are very reminiscent of Tyner’s aggressive keyboard attack; percussive and stabing. Razz’s alto ignites the music further like a splash of gasoline on a raging fire. His horn is taking no prisoners as Ergić’s drum work propels the music and offers a dynamic solo of his own.

Sun Ra’s “Lanquidity,” opens with Magris’ dissonant acoustic piano countered by Ilić’s electric guitar probing before Razz’s soprano enters.

Mal Waldron’s “Left Alone” is played with great feeling by Razz and Magris that it just sweeps you away with the song’s inherent pathos; just beautiful. Magris’s piano solo explores the edges of the tune, as Ilić’s bass maintains the pulse with Ergić’s brush work and Razz’s alto states the theme with an open heart.

Razz’s composition for his daughter, “‘A’ Means Antonia” has a bright feeling and finds the altoist in top form. Magris adds some tasty electric piano that reminds me a little of the work of Jeff Lorber.

The album follows with Magris using his Hammond organ chops on the Jimmy Smith blues “You’ll See” and then the classic “My Foolish Heart” ends the set with a familiar, slow shuffling feeling good coda.

In Action by JMood Records

Revisiting Ten Important Pianists Who Consider the Impact of Pianist Paul Bley's Iconic Solo on "All The Things You Are' from 1963. Ten Years Later.

2026-04-13T09:52:00.000-07:00

Paul Bley (photo credit unknown)

Ten years ago we lost the great and iconoclastic pianist Paul Bley on January 3, 2016. In the same month, I thought it would be fitting to poll some of the pianists whose work I admired, to comment on a notable quote made by influential guitarist Pat Metheny in the press. He identified a Paul Bley solo from the RCA Victor album Sonny Meets Hawk! from 1963. Metheny was quoted by Ben Ratliff as saying Bley's solo on "All the Things You Are" from that album was very influential to the guitarist and went on to say the solo was "...the shot heard 'round the world."

Sensing that the exclamatory praise that Metheny showered on Bley was worth exploring further, I ventured to question some noted and respected pianists and to offer their thoughts about Metheny's comments. Ten years ago, Bley's passing was fresh on our minds. I wanted to explore this man's lasting impact amongst his peers. Would these pianists view Bley's playing on that solo like an important harbinger for what was to come? Was Bley's approach of pushing the limits both harmonically and rhythmically the path of music in the future? Metheny said, "The ... Bley thing opened up this universe." , or was that just hyperbole?

I was fortunate to get nine respected pianists to answer my queries about Bley and his music. Two of those who participated ten years ago are sadly no longer with us and be missed, Jack Reilly (1932-2018) and Frank Kimbrough (1956-2020), both excellent pianists who were very gracious and incisive in their participation for this piece. The remaining seven include the still active Markus Burger, Marc Copland, Pete Malinverni, Roberto Magris, Gary Versace, Kenny Werner and Denny Zeitlin. There is also a link to a Ted Panken interview with pianist Aaron Parks and his take on Paul Bley's music that was very informative.

After ten years has passed since Paul Bley's left us, it was still relevant to hear what these talented pianist's had to say about Bley's iconic solo and how iconoclastic career became so influential to those who followed in his footsteps.

Here is the original post from 2016 originally titled "Ten Pianists Reflect on the Enduring Influence of Paul Bley"

With the recent passing of the pianist Paul Bley, I was intrigued by the many tributes posted on line and in newspapers for this very iconoclastic player who I thought had limited appeal. I had been aware of Bley and have a sampling of his music -both as a sideman and a leader- in my music collection. But to be honest, I never quite got what all the fuss was about? Maybe it is sad or maybe it is fortuitous, but obituaries have a way of leading me to search more closely into a person's life and work.

I dug up a Ben Ratliff interview with the guitarist Pat Metheny from the New York Times in 2005. Metheny recalled how a solo that Mr. Bley did in 1963 with Sonny Rollins influenced him greatly. He called the solo "the shot heard 'round the world," That was a pretty strong sentiment from a very gifted guitarist who I respect. I would have never guessed Metheny had such a musical linkage to the pianist Bley. ( You can check out this interview here)

"...the shot heard 'round the world."

Pat Metheny

Brief Bio:

I had to study up on this man's life. (Hyman) Paul Bley was a Canadian born in Montreal, Quebec on November 12, 1932. His surname was taken from his adopted father, a Jewish textile merchant who owned an embroidery factory. In the mid to late forties Bley attended McGill Conservatory often playing around Montreal with his trio. For a short time, at the age of seventeen, he replaced Oscar Peterson at the Alberta Lounge. He enrolled in the Juilliard School of Music in New York in 1950 remaining active in the Montreal music scene. In 1952 Bley and other local musicians established the Jazz Workshop, a jazz series held Saturday afternoons at Chez Paree, a leading Montreal nightclub.

According to Chuck Haddix's biography of Charlie Parker- Bird the Life and Music of Charlie Parker -one day, unannounced, Bley decided to show up on Parker's doorstep in NYC. He brazenly invited the saxophone legend to play at the Canadian Jazz Workshop. Surprisingly Parker readily accepted! The young entrepreneurial producer was relieved when the notoriously unreliable Parker actually showed up to play, both at a live Canadian Broadcasting television show and later with Bley's trio at the Jazz Workshop. Jazz in Canada was at its peak at this time. Parker later that year made his famous Massey Hall recording in Toronto with his "Quintet of the Year" that included Bud Powell on piano, Charles Mingus on bass, Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet and Max Roach on drums. A crackdown on local clubs in Montreal, forced many local musicians to leave for greener pastures. Itching to play with the innovators of this new music, Bley found himself accompanying jazz giants like Lester Young, Ben Webster, Chet Baker and Sonny Rollins. The restless twenty-one year old eventually went to California and met bassist Charles Mingus. Mingus asked the pianist to conduct his Nonet on a recording for Mingus's new record label Debut in 1953. That same year Bley released his own first recording on the Debut label- Introducing Paul Bley with Mingus on bass and Art Blakey on drums.

Bley moved to California taking a residency at the Hillcrest Club in Los Angeles. He booked Ornette Coleman's group to the Club in 1958. The iconic "live" performance captured on the recording The Fabulous Paul Bley Quintet finds a young Coleman on alto with Don Cherry on trumpet, Charlie Haden on bass, Billy Higgins on drums and Bley on piano, playing music that would usher in an era of the Shape of Jazz to Come and launch the avant-garde school of jazz.

Bley married his first wife, the pianist and composer Carla Bley in 1957 encouraging her to write music. Her compositions would influence him throughout his career. In 1960 Bley took another turn into free jazz joining the adventurous reed player Jimmy Giuffre, who had just broken up his trio with guitarist Jim Hall. The new Jimmy Giuffre 3 recorded their first of four albums Fusion ,with Giuffre on clarinet and Steve Swallow on bass and Bley on piano. This iteration would last for three years.

In 1963 Bley was a featured sideman in the aforementioned RCA recording of Sonny Rollins with Coleman Hawkins Sonny Meets Hawk. This was a launching point for Bley's career as a leader. In the late sixties Bley was a pioneer performer in the use of electronics. He and his then wife composer /vocalist Annette Peacock performed experimental music using early Moog synthesizers. Bley formed the electric jazz fusion group Scorpio in 1974. It was during this period that he recorded the album unofficially titled Jaco featuring then relative unknowns Pat Metheny on guitar, Jaco Pastorius on bass with Bruce Ditmas on drums. By the end of 1974 Bley's love affair with electronic instrumentation began to fade.

In the nineteen seventies through the nineteen eighties Bley was involved with Carol Goss (whom he married in 1980) creating IAI ( Improvising Artist Inc)- a company that developed a catalog of progressive music and promoted live performances of avant-garde artists. During this period, Bley performed works on solo piano and also recorded and performed with trio mates bassists Steve Swallow and Gary Peacock and drummer Barry Altschul. In the 1990's the pianist became part of the faculty at the New England Conservatory of Music. Bley was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2008. Mr. Bley passed of natural cause on January 3, 2016 at his home in Stuart, Florida.

Now that I had a better understanding of the man and his career I decided to listen to Bley's music with a more deliberate intent. I found a feature on jazz.com where the contemporary pianist Aaron Parks was asked to name his twelve favorite Paul Bley recordings (you can check out this article here). Parks cited multiple songs with several memorable solos. I listened intently to every one I could get my hands on. Not surprisingly-Bley's solo on "All the Things You Are" from the 1963 RCA album Sonny Meets Hawk with Sonny Rollins, Coleman Hawkins, Paul Bley, Bob Cranshaw and Roy McCurdy- was again praised as a benchmark performance.

The Search:

Convinced there must be something there, I listened to this solo over and over and over again trying to grasp the nuances of its apparent evolutionary impact. Frankly, while I thought it was well done, I was still a bit perplexed as to its hallowed significance. The solo was a bit jagged, a little discordant and strayed a bit too far off the changes to my ears. I was at a loss. I must be missing something. How could I better understand the depth of this solo that influenced so many people?

At the risk of showing my ignorance, I decided to ask the professionals- other pianists that I respect who would be better able to explain the significance. I would pose a question and include a YouTube video of the performance for their convenience. I was excited by the prospect of seeing who would respond and what they would say.

Here is the question I posted to over a dozen pianists :

"With the recent death of pianist Paul Bley I was wondering whether you could shed some light on his playing for me. The NY Times did an interview with guitarist Pat Metheny who lauded Bley's solo on "All the Things You Are" on the Sonny Meets Hawk album from 1963.

I have included a YouTube video of the song with Bley's solo starting at approximately 3:15.I would be interested in what your take is on this solo, what makes it so special (if you agree with Pat) and Bley's work in

general.

Surprisingly one fine player, who begged anonymity, claimed he couldn't stand to listen to Bley's music, characterizing the solo with these words: "Everything is poorly handled, out of proportion with all jazz pianistic elements... ." I was starting to think maybe I wasn't so far off, but soon it became evident his comments were clearly in the minority.

Most responses were thoughtful and laudatory. I am grateful for their studied responses, for their willingness to participate and for their generosity in trying to help me, and perhaps some of you, better understand the impact of this solo and the important and lasting influence of Mr. Bley and his music.

Several pianists suggested the answer lie in a quote from Paul himself found on the liner notes to his album from 1963, the same year as the aforementioned Sonny Meets Hawk ( RCA)- Paul Bley with Gary Peacock (ECM).

Paul Bley:

"Chord changes had never interfered with my own way of hearing melody. Whether playing standards with steady time and a given set of chord sequences or free rhythm and free harmony pieces where the only guide to the improviser is the vivid character of the given written composition, one's own personality should be apparent to the listener"

Markus Burger

"What I love about the "All The Things You Are" solo of Paul Bley is that Paul always focuses on developing a motive. He finds or introduces and follows and varies this motive until he introduces the next motive vs just trying to play lines that express the relationship of the chord progression.
He focuses on these motives but follows the principle of tension and release with his focus on melodic motives rather than just playing lines. Paul has an intuitive way to follow melodies and develop them in a similar way as for example J.S Bach develops motives in his violin sonatas of his cello solo suites.

His approach deeply influenced pianists like Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau, that focus their playing as well on following motivic and melodic ideas even if that means that for longer periods in a solo it means that they are playing outside the changes.

Just as an anecdote: I hired Paul Bley in 1993 to play in my hometown (Wittlich, Germany)
with Jimmy Giuffre and it was great to observe this very unconventional and free way to improvise melodic lines over well known standards.

Marc Copeland:

"A big change in harmonic usage in jazz occurred in the early 1960's when a handful of musicians, some of them on piano, started bringing the use of polytonality into the music---not as an occasional garnish or an arranging tool, but as an integral, structural part of the music's improvisational sound. Paul Bley, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, and Keith Jarrett were some of the best-known pianists involved in this movement; Bley may well have been the first.

Not as well known was Bley's effort to help younger musicians. He would sometimes take a younger pianist whose work he liked---and this includes me---to breakfast at 3 a.m., and explain how he dealt with the business side of the music. In my case, at least, I can vouch for the fact that Bley's coaching session could be kind of life-changing.

Frank Kimbrough:

Paul Bley's solo on Sonny Rollins' "All The Things You Are", with Coleman Hawkins (Sonny Meets Hawk, RCA) was basically a career - maker for Paul. ...the gig with Sonny Rollins was one of the last he would do as a sideman before devoting himself primarily to his own trios in the mid-sixties.

In this solo, he stretches harmony to the breaking point, something that he began doing even before his work with Ornette Coleman five years before. By the time this solo was recorded, Paul had reached a point of maturity with these ideas, that is, finding "landing spots" harmonically, so that he could play where the harmony was GOING, rather than the chord changes at hand, disregarding, ignoring, or playing THROUGH the changes (to fool the listener) to a point of resolution, where the listener would realize that he actually WAS in the right place in the song. It's all about tension and release, where spontaneous melody takes precedence over the original harmony of the tune. Often, Paul would play against the harmony of a phrase until the last bar or two, at which point he would briefly "land" before "taking off" as the next phrase began.

As iconoclastic as Paul seemed on the surface, many of his improvised compositions were actually based on templates of standards - that is, the basic form of the tune (which could be changed - Paul thought the AABA form contains too many A's, so he often played AABABABA), constantly reharmonized, without any direct reference to the original melody. Bley loved the Great American Songbook, and his most frequent references were "I Can't Get Started", "Isn't It Romantic?", "Lover Man", "All The Things You Are", and "Don't Explain" - there are many examples in his discography, and he gives hints with his titles - "Started", "It Isn't", "Lovers", are the most obvious examples of titles listed above, and there are many other examples with less obvious hints. That's part of the joy of listening to Paul Bley - you never know where his improvisations are coming from, but sometimes things sound awfully familiar, and figuring that out is part of Paul's sound of surprise

Pete Malinverni:

"Paul Bley has long been a hero of mine for reasons that are beautifully illustrated on this particular side. The first thing to be noted, though, is the Space Age solo Hawk takes, showing that nothing but original thought will work here, that poseurs need not apply.

Paul's solo is startling, in that, if heard on a simplistic level, it may seem"out". But, what I hear is someone who respects and 'plays with' the harmonic framework of the tune while making phrasing and dynamics choices that set him apart. It's that combination of fearless exploration rooted in tradition that first attracted me to Paul's playing - and that of Sonny and Hawk, too, for that matter."

Roberto Magris:

"Bley's solo is amazing to me because I can immediately recognize that it's Paul Bley. and there are not so many pianists that you can immediately recognize while playing "All The Things You Are.". I like him and especially this solo because he always take risks, he tries to find troubles and unconventional phrasings, even (or especially) when the chord progression is obvious, as in that standard. He seems not to play "All The Things You Are" but "on" "All The Things You Are" and he improvises on that song as a whole .instead of improvising on a fragment or on a specific chord progression. He seems to keep in mind the whole song.

In this solo I can hear several of his favorite patterns and it's quite paradigmatic for his style. I'd like to point out that he has no influences from Tyner/Hancock/Evans in his playing, but he comes from bebop straight to the avant-garde. His approach is much more advanced than Hawk (of course) and Sonny since he plays freely and (does) not follow exactly the chord progression. He's at the most within the tonality (as Ornette?). It's a great solo by a great musician who stands out together with Tyner, Hancock & Taylor as a master of modern/contemporary jazz piano."

Jack Reilly:

Paul Bley, in his early playing (pre; New York), was a clone of Oscar Peterson's ... Lots of fast right hand "cooking" improvised melodies and coordinated left hand chord comping which enforced and supported the right hand.

When I first listened to him in his post NYC phase, I found him more probing harmonically and melodically. He was beginning to create an original style. He recorded profusely and he told me he believed that his legacy lie there, in the recordings. He also felt that recording with different players enhanced his pianistic abilities to fit inside any playing/accompanying situation. Carla Bley also greatly influenced him musically through her compositions. He encouraged her to compose more and more.

Paul always looked forward never backward in his improvising. One can definitely hear where Keith Jarrett was very, very influenced by Bley's improvising and pianistic abilities, in terms of his counterpoint lines.

Paul was truly an original. I am saddened by his passing.

Gary Versace:

" "All the Things You Are" is a masterful example of Bley weaving melodic constructs that imply shifting tonalities. These tonalities create varying degrees of tension with the original set of chord changes. This ability to pivot between tonal centers and hear them in relation to the fixed harmonies of a standard tune create an amazingly and unique melodic vision that realizes his goal of communicating one's personality to the listener. Since many of his ideas are major scale based, this also fits with his thoughts about using the 'vivid character of the written composition.' "All the Things You Are"', in spite it's many chord changes, spends much of it's time outlining only a few major keys."

Kenny Werner:

"It's funny how famous that solo is. That was exactly the song I was going to talk about and exactly the solo. Harmonically it was just flat out some new stuff, an obtuse approach that had never been tried before. You can hear traces of it in Keith Jarrett and many great pianists that followed. I myself am extremely influenced by a few of his solos, "All the Things You Are" in particular. I think it informed my harmony and it still does today."

Denny Zeitlin:

"I didn't read Pat's specific comments on Paul's solo, but I agree with him that it is special. There is a relaxed intensity throughout, and excellent groove. He is telling a story--commenting on what went before and soon pushing into very new harmonic territory, farther and farther out, but occasionally referencing the basic structure, to make what he is doing pull more deliciously against it. The unusual shapes of his phrases and displacements add greatly to the total experience. And his solo galvanizess Sonny into some of his most unusual and far-out playing.

Paul was pushing the envelope from the start, and always had his own thing, throughout the many decades of his career. I'll always remember how gracious he and Carla were in inviting me to sit in when I was a musically unknown medical student visiting New York in 1963."

Conclusion:

After reading their responses it becomes obvious that Mr. Bley's music was a game changer for many. I am sure countless others were radically affected by this solo and by Bley's music in general. He was a trailblazer whose restless spirit led him on an uncompromising path throughout his over fifty years of performing. After he acquired a thorough understanding and mastery of where the music came from, it was his solo on " All the Things You Are" from 1963 that was his way of leading us all into a new direction. As Metheny said so succinctly it truly was "the shot heard 'round the world."

The Shimmery, Lush Sound of Cal Tjader- Catch the Groove- Live at the Penthouse 1964-67

2026-04-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

Cal Tjader- Catch the Groove-Live at The Penthouse- Jazz Detective/Elemental

At the end of 2023, the producers of the labels Jazz Detective and Elemental Music released a two-disk album, Cal Tjader: Catch the Groove assembled from several wonderfully recorded live dates from 1963 through 1967. This marvelous offering captures some of vibraphonist Tjader and his quintet's most enjoyable and compelling sets excellently recorded by Jim Wilke at Charlie Puzzo’s The Penthouse Jazz Club in Seattle, Washington.

The album is a treasure chest of fine music; a time travel adventure that gives the listener a chance to revisit some of the most grooving, often dynamically Latin-inspired jazz of the era.

Tjader was an anomaly in many ways. Originally a drummer who played with an upcoming Dave Brubeck, Tjader took up the vibraphone, picking up some tricks of the trade from guys like vibes master Terry Gibbs. Tjader’s true genius was appreciating the rhythms of Afro-Cuban music. Cal could see that the inclusion of an infectious Latin groove could energize the world of improvisational jazz and it became his calling.

Callen “Cal” Radcliffe Tjader was an unlikely standard-bearer for Latin jazz. He was born in 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri of Swedish American parents. Not a drop of Latin blood flowed through this man’s veins, but that didn’t stop Tjader from proving that the music wasn’t restricted to ethnic or geographical boundaries. Cal took the world by storm, taking his beautiful, melodic and rhythmically electrified music to the crowds; making it his own.

On this album we see the two sides of Cal Tjader as both a serious jazz musician who could play the canon and creatively improvise with the best of them, and as the master of the infectious Afro-Cuban form that so captivated his followers.

The album features three different pianists including Lonnie Hewitt, Al Zulaica and the talented arranger/composer Clare Fischer. The presence of the famous Cuban percussionist Armando Peraza, who would later work extensively with the rock group Santana, just raised the level of the kineticism of this group.

The music on Cal Tjader: Catch the Groove, is sublime, with great performances, some of which were never before released, like Ellington’s “Take the “A” Train and Brubeck’s “In Your Own Sweet Way.” But there is plenty of gold that the Tjader groups mine to perfection; Clare Fischer's wonderful “Morning,” Milt Jackson’ “Bag’s Groove,” Guerra and Lobo’s “Reza,” Claus Ogerman’s “Sunset Boulevard,” Billy Strayhorn’s poignant “Lush Life” and Tjader’s own “Leyte” and “Soul Burst”.

It is such a pleasure to just sit back and immerse yourself in this gorgeous music. The audiences at The Penthouse were respectful and appreciative throughout this live recording. You can see why the attention was keen as you too become part of this hypnotic experience while listening. The lines are shimmery and lush; the rhythms are electric and vibrant. Cal’s vibe work is never showy, and his playing is always succinct and melodic. Despite his proficiency, Cal never used speed for speeds sake.

Sadly, Cal Tjader’s legacy has been underappreciated by the public. But his contemporaries do not doubt his importance. As the late pianist Eddie Palmieri attests to Cal’s skill in the copious and informative notes included in this splendid disc package, “Cal was unique. He was able to play the most complicated rhythmical patterns in the world.” Terry Gibbs, himself a master vibraphonist praised Cal's acumen, saying “… to me he was becoming on the same level (on the vibes) as Milt Jackson and I were.” Master vibraphonist Gary Burton acknowledges Tjader’s “…significant role in blending jazz and Latin music.”

With the important release of Cal Tjader: Catch the Groove the man and his music may get a well deserved resurgence of interest. Retroactively, Cal Tjader may get a reexamination of his talent and his importance to the music may be finally realized. For those who have never had a chance to listen to Tjader and his groups at their peak than this album is a must have.

Dave Stryker and his Trio Brings Some "Blue Fire" to Van Gelder's Studio

2026-03-29T17:12:00.000-07:00

Dave Stryker- Blue Fire: The Van Gelder Session- Strikezone Recds

The guitar stalwart Dave Stryker finally got to have his dream come true and the results are his latest release Blue Fire The Van Gelder Session was well worth the wait! Stryker has been on my radar for years. His work with his long-term cohorts Jared Gold on the B3 organ and McClenty Hunter on drums have provided some of the best Organ/Guitar/Drums music for the last twenty years. I originally discovered Stryker’s compelling guitar work as a co-leader of the progressive Stryker/Slagle Band, when I got into their modern, sinewy sounding work on album’s like The Scene from 2008 and Keeper from 2010.

Dave Stryker’s career started when this Omaha, Nebraska based guitarist left for Los Angeles at the age of seventeen in 1978 to expand his musical experience and cut his teeth on the circuit. He met organ master Jack McDuff and eventually moved to New York, playing with McDuff from 1984 through 1985, before touring with saxophone great Stanley Turrentine from 1986 up to his passing in 2000. With this experience steeped in the blues, soul jazz, jazz funk, hard bop, and R&B there is no mystery why Stryker’s music is so influenced by these sources.

Much of the best of jazz of the “prime time” era was recorded by labels like Blue Note, Impulse, Prestige, CTI, and Savoy in the studio of sound engineer magician Rudy Van Gelder in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. While the master Van Gelder passed away in 2016 his iconic, wood-lined, cathedral-like studio has been preserved and has been listed in the National Register of Historical Places in 2022.

Van Gelder Studio in 2022 (photo via Wikipedia)

The currently active studio was willed by Van Gelder to his longtime assistant Maureen Sickler, who had been working at the studio for three decades before she became owner upon Rudy’s passing. The Sickler's are now actively running, restoring and preserving this gem of jazz history. We wish them continued success. It’s so great to have them pay it forward.

Recording at the Van Gelder studio is like playing the Village Vanguard, reaching a goal that for some is seemingly never attainable. No wonder guitarist Stryker wanted to check this achievement off his bucket list so Blue Fire: The Van Gelder Session comes to life.

The album opens with a Stryker cooker, the deeply grooved “Van Gelder’s Place” that just shuffles onto the stage with cool and soul. Dave’s guitar is so smooth, so in touch with his soul, as he attacks his notes with aplomb, both singularly and in octaves vis a vis Wes. Gold gets his turn adding to the jazz history here, as he attacks the same Hammond B3 that was once played by esteemed practitioners like Larry Young, Jack MacDuff and Jimmy Smith. Jared he sets it on fire on this album; what more could a B3 man ask for? The drummer, McClenty Hunter, bubbles with energy creating the stream upon which these guys float, just beautiful.

The music just doesn’t stop there. “Blue Fire” is another Stryker composition that has a feel like something Larry Young might have brought into the studio. The trio create a brewing chicane of sounds that swell and pulse with electricity. Stryker and Gold synch-in so precisely that it has you holding your breath as they anticipate each other’s moves. Hunter’s drum work is a syncopated whirlwind of pure propulsion. It becomes apparent that these musicians are savoring every minute of this session. I find myself repeating this impressive song multiple times just to make sure I catch all the intricacies. Whew!

Stryker uses the Beatles’ “A Fool on the Hill” to create a soft, breezy swing. You can listen to this and imagine your feet up as you sip a drink with an umbrella in it. A fun and carefree groove.

If bebop is your thing, how about this group’s take on Charlie Parker’s “Dexterity”? Stryker ‘s guitar lines spell out the melody with dexterous fluidity. He is pushed by Gold’s throbbing organ work, probing foot driven bass lines and Hunter’s incendiary drum work. Gold’s creativity is on display, as his solo never ceases to surprise and Hunter offers his own buoyant solo of note.

Stryker’s beautiful ballad, “Waiting for Ruby,” is one of my favorites on this album. Dave opens with a sensitive guitar entre that pulls at your sensibilities. His playing is so personal it’s like he is playing this one just for you. Stryker has an inherent melodicism that is never far from his playing. Although George Benson’s influence is often heard in Dave’s playing, his absorption of some of Jim Hall’s sensitivity certainly serves him well. Gold and Hunter brilliantly accompany with a gossamer-like delicacy. This one is a keeper; just beautiful.

“Back and Forth” is a Jared Gold composition that has a cadenced opening featuring a repeating line that unexpectedly changes time throughout. This one challenges your sense of getting settled into a groove. Instead, it bobs and weaves, keeping you unbalanced and paying attention. The trio is in synch as they navigate the obstacle course that Gold has written with ease and skill.

Stryker includes a Jerome Kern classic “The Folks Who Live on the Hill” at a slow, lingering pace. In the seven plus minutes, the trio explores the harmonic possibilities of this melody making their own imprint. Stryker explores his octave chording possibilities as Gold’s B 3 swells and moans and Hunter breezily shuffles.

Stryker’s cinematic “Every Dark Street” is like being in a film noir thriller. Gold’s organ emanates with a sense of suspense and danger. Stryker’s blues-tinged guitar lines introduces a tension and eeriness of the unknown. The hair on your neck rises in anticipation. They paint a picture with their instruments that elevate your senses and transport you to this eerie dark street.

This satisfying album closes with a song by Harry Warren and Al Dublin titled “Summer Night.” The song was first heard in 1936 in the film Sing Me A Love Song. But this composition has been substantially altered when it was made part of the jazz canon by Miles Davis and Gil Evans. This duo revised and recorded this song on the album Quiet Nights in 1963 and it never was quite the same. The song was again modified by Chick Corea and played by the saxophone ace Stan Getz on his album The Master released in 1982. (Many thanks to Ethan Iverson for bringing the evolution of this song to my attention which you can read here.)

Stryker and company seems to have been influenced more by the swinging Corea arrangement than to the more sedate Davis/Evans version. Stryker added some probing octave chording, as Gold embellished the music with his own more progressive explorations. Hunter never fails to keep the drive lively and propulsive no matter the time signature. The history of this song is a testament to how diverse musical improvisation can transform any composition's interpretation.

Vital Spark : A Love Letter to the Composer Kenny Wheeler with Dave Holland, Norma Winstone and Paull Churchill and the LVP

2026-03-08T18:59:00.000-07:00

Dave Holland, Norma Winstone and Paul Churchill and the London Voice Project: Vital Spark: The Kenny Wheeler Music- Edition Records

The trumpeter/composer Kenny Wheeler, who passed away in 2014, has left an indelible mark on the world of music. Wheeler was a Toronto born Canadian musician who studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music before relocating to Britain in 1952. There he worked with saxophone/composer John Dankworth in his orchestra from 1959 through 1965. Wheeler also studied composition with both Richard Bennett and Bill Russo in the early sixties. Wheeler was always interested in both performing with and composing/arranging for large jazz groups, and his first recording under his own name, Windmill Tilter, was recorded back in 1969 with Dankworth’s orchestra, although it wasn’t released until 2010.

In mid-sixties and into the early seventies, Wheeler became influenced by the free improvisational movement in England that found him playing with such progressive artists as saxophonist Evan Parker, guitarist Derek Bailey, drummer John Stevens and multi-reedist John Surman in Britain, and he joined American saxophonist/composer Anthony Braxton Quartet from 1971-1976.

Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone and John Taylor

Wheeler became a member of a chamber jazz group, Azimuth, from 1977 through 2000, where he met the pianist John Taylor and his then wife vocalist Norma Winstone. His relationship with the superb bassist Dave Holland dates back from their days in the vibrant London jazz scene of the nineteen-sixties. Holland’s first recording with Wheeler was on the trumpeter’s initial release Windmill Tilter, but his inclusion in Wheeler’s seminal album Gnu High, one that featured pianist Keith Jarrett, guitarist Bill Frisell, and drummer Jack DeJohnette from 1975, is perhaps the most acclaimed.

Norma Winstone and Dave Holland (photo credit unknown)

Vital Spark is a collection of some of Wheeler’s final compositions, some of which have never been recorded previously. This collaboration between three of Wheeler admiring alumni, the bassist Dave Holland , the vocalist Norma Winstone, and Paul Churchill, The Musical Director of the London Voice Project is a beautiful love letter to the composer. Churchill was a conductor of Kenny Wheeler’s Big Band and worked with Wheeler on the release of Mirrors from 2007. The recipient of many of these compositions from Wheeler over a period of several years before assembling, Churchill arranged them and eventually enlisted Holland and Winstone to make this project come to fruition. Besides manning the LVP, which is one of the United Kingdom’s leading contemporary vocal ensembles, Churchill was, for nearly fifteen years, the British accompanist of the vocalist Mark Murphy .

Paul Churchill (photo credit unknown)

Vital Spark is a collection of nine compositions predominantly based on poetry and represent a personal, collaborative reinterpretation of Wheeler’s work maintaining the composer’s character and intention. Of the nine songs chosen for this album, my research found only “Inner Traces,” having been previously recorded.

Of the remaining Wheeler compositions, the talented lyricist Winstone provided new lyrics for “Inner Traces,” “Vital Spark,” and “These are the Things We Trust.” The remaining six compositions were inspired and provided with lyrics drawn from some of Wheeler's favorite poets.

“Will You Walk a Little Faster” is based on Lewis Caroll’s “The Mock Turtle’s Song” from his Alice in Wonderland. The poet Stevie Smith’s provides lyrics for “Not Waving but Drowning” and “Heavenly City.” Langston Hughes is the inspiration and provides lyrics for the composition “Jazzonia.” William Blake’s” Infant Joy” provides both lyrics and a theme for that composition, and French-Canadian Emile Nelligan’s “Fruite D’Enfance” or “Fruit of Childhood” is the source of both the lyrics and the inspiration of that Wheeler composition.

The album is a deft unification of jazz ensemble work provided by Holland’s group- pianist Nikki Iles, Mark Lockheart’s tenor and soprano saxophone work, John Parricelli’s guitar, James Maddren’s drums and Holland’s resonate bass along with Norma Winstone’s beguiling voice. The vocal chorale work was skillfully arranged and directed by Paul Churchill and included the eight Soprano, nine Alto, four Tenor and four Bass voices of The London Voice Project.

The London Voice Project (photo credit by Karen Hatch)

The music opens with “Inner Traces” and features an opening repeating piano lines by Nikki Iles, the transcendent voice and lyrics of Norma Winstone, and accompanied by the soaring voices of the choir. Holland provides a deeply resonant pizzicato bass solo that is harmonized by the choir’s angelic-like, homophonic texture, before the music introduces a moving tenor saxophone solo by Mark Lockheart. It is the splendid voices of the choir that make this one feel like you have been transported to another world.

James Maddren’s wonderfully syncopated drum work opens this playful Lewis Carroll piece “Will You Walk a Little Faster” before Holland’s bass offers his own heart-like pulse. This features some jubilant vocalese from Winstone, as she navigates this chicanery-like path of Wheeler’s spirited music. Lockheart’s soprano soars like a free bird. Holland and Maddren anchor the buoyant beat, and the choir voices drape the music with a repeating verse that just accentuates the demand for acceleration that the lyrics demand. A joyful aural delight.

Wheeler’s fondness of the work of English poet Stevie Smith becomes apparent as we find two compositions here that he chooses to bring to musical life. The plaintive “Not Waving but Drowning,” features some expansive guitar work by John Parricelli, Winstone’s beautiful voice and Lockheart’s windborne soprano work.

Wheeler’s composition of Smith's “Heavenly City” is treated with a repeating riff that modulates as Winstone’s wordless vocalizing creates the music’s purposeful saunter. Holland’s bass prominently sets the pace; Iles’ piano work accompanies brilliantly. Lockheart’s tenor adds some emotion grit and guitarist Parricelli offers a more aerial approach over the choir’s powerful vocalizing.

Langston Hughes “Jazzonia” features Holland’s a movingly reverent bass solo, as the choir carries the hymn-like feel for this one. Iles piano work is especially emotive and Lockheart’s burnished tenor sound resonates with earnestness.

“Fuite D’Enfance” finds Winstone’s crystalline voice taking over this staccato piece, as Holland and Maddren carry the rhythmic load. Parricelli’s guitar provides an acoustic guitar solo of note, and Iles piano work has a distinctive melodicism to be enjoyed. Maddren’s drum work at the coda is rewardingly explosive.

The album’s title cut is “Vital Spark”, and it is notably majestic. The music swells as the choir sets the stage before the ensemble is led by Holland’s probing bass. Winstone’s limpid voice sings her lyrics with such authority and conviction. Holland offers a facile and powerful pizzicato solo that is deftly accompanied by Iles. Her solo here offers some of the best of her work on the album. The choir’s unified voices just sweep you away with their moving harmonies.

William Blake’s “Infant Joy,” a song from the view of a newly born baby, comes alive with Holland’s opening bass lines and Winstone’s evocative voice. The choir hovers in the background as Winstone's voice and Lockheart’s tenor spell out the melody. Parricelli’s guitar provides an otherworldly post natal look before the group and choir reach an apex of realization and awareness that spells pure joy. “Sweet joy befall thee!”

The final composition is Wheeler’s “These are the Things We Trust” with lyrics by Winstone and it is a fitting swan song for the maestro. Opening with a solemn piano intro by Ile’s. Winstone’s lyrics speak “Haunting sounds that filled my life and made their mark on me, Could I rewind to things left behind?” and “Cruel is the light that descends into the night, where all of our dreams are dust. Some things remain untouched by the rain and these are the things we trust.” The music just resonates with a feeling that these three artists set out to pay homage to Wheeler whose work meant so much to them and wanted to truly respect and honor his legacy. Vital Spark certainly attains that goal successfully and in spades.

Handmade : Emilio Solla's Tribute to Craft and it's Importance to Human Connection

2026-02-21T18:02:00.000-08:00

Emilio Solla and La Inestable De Brooklyn-Handmade-Club Disco Records

The Grammy award winning, Argentina-born pianist/composer Emilio Solla and his group La Inestable De Brooklyn, releases his latest Handmade of March 13, 2026. Solla is this era’s eminent practitioner of creating modern music. He skillfully combines elements of Tango, Milonga, Latin Folk and Jazz sensibilities into its own beguiling style and Handmade delivers that in spades.

For those not up to speed on Solla’s previous work, Solla was educated in Argentina receiving his degree in Classical Piano at the National Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires. He later received a master’s in jazz composition from the Aaron Copland School of Music in New York, eventually relocating first to Barcelona in Spain in 1996 and later to New York in 2006 where he now resides. He has worked with notable jazz musicians like Billy Hart, Paquito Rivera and Donny McCaslin and leads his own NY-based quintet Bien Sur!. Solla has been an active composer in chamber and symphonic music with such notable projects as Suite Piazzollana, a modern Tango/jazz inspired suite that is a homage to the guitar icon Astor Piazzolla. He released his 17-piece big band recording Puertos: Music from International Waters in 2019 and the album won a Latin Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2020. In 2023 he received praise for his arrangements and orchestrations for his collaboration with Paquito D’Rivera titled Ritmo-The Chick Corea Symphony Tribute.

Emilio Solla (photo credit unknown)

Handmade is a beautiful addition to this talented composer’s discography. The album is a tribute to craft, the art of working with your mind and hands. Given the rapid changes in the technologies that seem to alter almost every way we work and communicate, it is fitting that an artist like Solla recognizes that our work or our art, a product of our creativity and hard achieved skill, is honestly realized by our own hands, our own voices, our own instruments and even in the case of dance, our feet. As such it needs to be honored and preserved to maintain the essential human connection we need to effectively communicate ideas. I believe Solla’s message here is that when technologies like robotic machines or AI can mimic our creativity and communicate soulless information or algorithmic generated art then we have lost something that we cannot afford to lose.

Solla’s La Inestable De Brooklyn, which loosely translates fittingly as The Unpredictable from Brooklyn, is made up of some top-tier musicians from NY. The nonet includes Solla on piano; Tim Aracost on tenor saxophone , clarinet and bass clarinet; Sara Caswell is on violin; Edward Perez mans the double bass; Rogério Boccato provides drum work and percussion; Mike Fahie is on trombone; Rodolfo Zaneti is on bandoneon; David Smith plays trumpet and flugelhorn; Alejandro Avilés can be heard on soprano and alto saxophone, and flute; Facundo Colman provides percussion on track 2; and the vocal of Sofia Tosello on track 9.

Emilio Solla and La Inestable De Brooklyn

Solla opens the album with the third part of his “Suite de los Abrazo”- Bodegon Canibal or “Suite of Hugs or Embraces.” He comments on his album notes that the three-piece suite should not be thought of as being required to be heard in a particular sequence and so he suggests that listeners might mix and match the suites. On the third suite, a gorgeous piece that demonstrates Solla’s creative use of the band’s diverse tonal basket, we hear Boccato’s drum and percussive work set the infective beat. Armacost’s bass clarinet provides an unusual woody, tonal bass line before the remaining section adds the brass and woodwind color. Solla’s piano adds sparse accents and Perez ‘s bass beautifully maintains the rhythm with Boccato. Avilés alto soars and then the total section creates a cacophonic but joyful canvas of color that includes inspired work by Armacost, Aviles, Smith, and Fahie. Caswell and Zanetti weave their two instruments in a particularly sympathetic way adding their tones as Solla’s arrangement swells with excitement and splendor. Wonderful.

The album continues with a homage to the compositions of Joni Mitchell. Solla starts out with a repeating piano line that is accented by Zanetti’s warm bandoneon and sweet Caswell’s violin. Solla skillfully orchestrates the instruments that he has available to him like an artist painting a picture and the results are gorgeous, but despite his reference to having referenced some of Mitchell’s compositions in this piece, I cannot tell which ones he used for the inspiration. Needless to say the man has a wellspring of imagination.

The second part of the suite” Suite do los Abrazo” is subtitled “Milonga MUtante” and is a piece that was inspired during the Covid pandemic. Like most of Solla’s work, this piece tells a story, this one musically recreating the feel of being in an Emergency Room in the early days of the pandemic. Boccato’s drum work is evocative of the coming urgency. Solla uses the tango briefly before the group creates the hectic, frazzled and unsettling experience of being in that scary scene. Mike Fahie’s trombone provides an expressive solo, a voice that seems to be expressing his bewilder, lonely feel. The rest of the group adds to the cacophonic, unfettered frenzy of being there.

“Para el Agua” or “For the Water” was originally written as a solo piano piece by Solla. Here he arranges the music for the larger chamber group. Sara Caswell’ s violin lays out the opening lines over Boccato’s trap cadenced work and Solla’s ostinato piano work. Smith’s trumpet and Armacost’s bass clarinet and Zanetti’s bandoneon all add to the mix before Solla takes his most melodically gorgeous and harmonically inventive piano solo of the album. The arrangement bustles with tonal ideas that make this one stand out.

The final piece of the suite is subtitled “The Loss” and according to the liner notes was inspired by poetry. Solla’s piano spells out t moving ballad beautifully. The group sets up the tension, the section swelling to evoke the coming loss. Edward Perez’s double bass offers a most facile and imaginative pizzicato solo that conjures up personal loss here. Perez is accompanied by intuitive violin work by Caswell and some emotive bandoneon work by Zanetti that sets the sorrowful mood perfectly

Solla is a master of the new tango and here he seems to be evoking the progressiveness of Miles Davis approach to music by naming this “Miles Tango.” This is not your father’s tango. Solla take the dance form and enlivens it with some of his most searching piano work on the album. The brass section wails- the rhythm section adds some funk bass and drum lines- Smith’s muted trumpet soars through the ozone. Solla creates some complex lines for the group to navigate as a unit and they do so precisely until the abrupt stop at the coda.

“Bird Song” is one of the most sonically inventive of the Solla’s songs, in no small part due to Sara Caswell’s violin eerily creating bird sounds that work so well with this composition. The music was commissioned by a chamber music ensemble from San Antonio, Texas. Solla envisioned a bird that flew easily between Mexico and Texas at the border, unencumbered by customs or immigration rules. Not only was the bird free, but this avian creature could also dance to Solla’s wonderful folk-inspired music. The group was a cornucopia of sounds weaving a magical environment- flutes, trumpets, woodwinds, piano, bandoneon- that created a splendid background for Caswell’s precocious bird. This cinematic piece is aural delight.

“La Carta” (The Letter) opens with a moving interaction between Caswell’s violin and Solla’s repeating piano lines. In the notes, Solla acknowledges that having been involved in the Ritmo project, where he orchestrated some of the great Chick Corea’s music, indelibly had an impact on his own playing. Solla confess that the piano ostinato on this one could easily have been inspired by Corea’s own “Children’s Song.” No matter what influences, here Solla’s music is a heartfelt, wordless letter that blossoms like a flower burgeoning to the warm light of the sun. The orchestration is gorgeous, as Solla blends the sounds of violin, clarinet, bass clarinet, bowed bass, and subtle percussive accents to his ringing, monotone piano lines. After hearing this once, it’s almost impossible for the listener not to play it back multiple times to absorb the artistry of this gem of music making.

The final cut on the album is the only composition that uses voice as one of its elements. “De Viento y de Sal” or Of Wind and of Salt is perhaps the most traditional chamber music piece on the album and it features the gorgeously expressive voice of the Argentinian singer Sofia Tasello. The music is implemented by the sounds of Caswell violin and Zanetti’s wonderful Bandoneon. Tasello and the band deliver a fitting coda to this beautiful album.

Emilio Solla’s Handmade is truly an important album that revels in story-telling, marvels in astute arrangements, and embraces the listener in emotive feelings. It utilizes a band of talented and sympathetic musicians that bring the composer’s vision to life. As the composer says, the music is like a suite of a big hug or embrace!"

Jack West and Walter Strauss Defy Classification with "Guitars of Life"

2026-02-18T16:03:00.000-08:00

Jack West and Walter Strauss-Guitars of Life-Ota records

Acoustic guitar virtuosity of another color has been introduced to me with the distinctive acoustic album released in late January on Ota records. The duo album is titled Guitars on Life and features Bay Area based Jack West and his foil on this album, Walter Strauss. West has created his own following by creating a unique groove-centric acoustic guitar style. He utilizes his skillful abilities to create both bass and percussive effects simultaneously, as he plays his acoustic steel string guitar. Strauss, is another talented California based guitarist, who has built a reputation by incorporating Americana and interweaving it with African inspired rhythmic elements. For lovers of pure, unadulterated, acoustic magic, these two guys create a surprisingly satisfying set of music that exudes joy, creativity and is recorded live with no overdubs.

The album includes eight songs, the cover Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish”; all others co-composed by West and Strauss “More Guitars”, “Youth”, “Across the Bardo”, and “New Way Up; Double Bounce”, “Follow the Water Down”, and “OO”.

Jack West and Walter Strauss photo by Mitch Tobias

The music is played with an exuberance that cannot be staged. There is no pyrotechnics or electronic enhancements here, the music just flows out of these two accomplished guitarists. West is a virtual rhythm section onto himself, incorporating bass lines, percussive accompaniment and fluid slide work. Strauss’s facile finger picking is seamless and almost creates its own chant-like drone at times. You will undoubtedly find your own favorites on this fine album, but for me the rhythmically driven opener “More Guitars” provided a real chance to enjoy some intuitive interaction on display by these two. The two offer a unique take on Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” that reimagines this classic in a way that is retains the song’s soul while still intimate by using this hybrid Americana approach.

Strauss’s ostinato driven “Double Bounce” has a real down-home funk to it. Feel your body start to absorb the groove. West’s combined bass-line and percussive rhythmic approach drives this one, and some fine finger picked lines by Strauss makes this one irresistible.

West’s “Across the Bardo” is another favorite, and opens with Strauss’s drone-like finger picking as West’s glass slide work brings you to a new place. The music weaves elements of the blues, folk-inspired percussive rhythms, Americana, and a feel that recalls some of Irish folk music’s pathos.

The music of Guitars on Life certainly is hard to classify and why should we have to label it? There is a lot here to enjoy. These two draw from multiple inspirations, and when they mix them all together we get a very well performed set of music that has all the elements of what makes creative music so vibrant, exciting, and unpredictable.

Bassist/Composer Martin Wind Offers Some Beautiful Music on "STARS"

2026-02-12T17:41:00.000-08:00

Martin Wind: STARS: Newvelle Records

The bassist Martin Wind has long been on my radar as one of the more inventive and melodic bass players around. I’ve seen him perform live with multi-reedist master Scott Robinson several years back and reviewed several of his past albums that have shown the breadth and depth of this man’s musicality. I had the opportunity to interview Wind back in 2014 with the release of his fabulous album Turn Out the Stars which you can read here.

Wind’s latest release Stars is on Newvelle Records, a label that is celebrating its tenth-year anniversary this year. The album is a joyful and sonorous studio album that became available on January 30, 2026, and features Wind’s upright bass paired with a star-studded band that includes the master pianist Kenny Barron, the mellifluous clarinet of Anat Cohen and the creative drum work of Matt Wilson.

Matt Wilson, Anat Cohen, Martin Wind and Kenny Barron (photo credit unknown)

The fifty-eight-year-old Wind was born in Flensburg, Germany. He studied orchestral bass at the Music Conservatory at Cologne and received a Master’s in Jazz Performance and Composition at the Music Conservatory in Cologne. Wind moved to New York in 1995, won third in the Thelonious Monk Bass Competition in Washington, D.C. and continued studies with Mike Richmond, Jim McNeely, Kenny Werner and Mike Holober to name a few. The bassist has been a member of the faculty at New York University since 1997 and has been a faculty member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in Germany. He continues with on- going musical relationships with European artists like Belgian guitar ace Philip Catherine, Dutch trumpeter Ack van Rooyen and German guitarist Ulf Meyer. With over fifteen albums that he has released as both a leader and co-leader, it is always worth following the progression of this man’s prolific work.

Stars opens up with the sauntering “Passing Through,” in some ways the perfect composition that sets the tone and purpose that Wind has in mind when recording this album. The album is reflective, evokes memories from the bassist’s experiences as a musician, and has a quiet sense of elegant melodicism. “Passing Through” is a composition from the bassist/composer Aaron Bell. Bell was a one-time Ellington bassist and an inspiration. The music is deceptively simple, clear and narrative without being obvious. This newly assembled group reveals just how at ease they work together, allowing the music to gently unfold and wrap you with a blanket of joy. Cohen’s clarinet is warm, woody and provocative. Barron’s piano can at times evoke a down and dirty bluesy sense, but the man also has an undeniably elegant feel and a deep well of creativity to draw upon. Wilson’s drum kit is always joyful, like a toy box radiating bliss, and Wind’s warm pizzicato bass lines guide the leisurely shuffle expertly. Clearly this is Wind’s beautiful homage to a felloe player like Bell and a tip of his hat to the Ellingtonian era. Not to mention, this is a hell of a composition that is strangely seldom heard,

Duke Ellington and Aaron Bell (photo credit unknown)

“Life” is presumably a ballad composed by the leader Wind. It features some beautiful three-way improvisational lines by Cohen, Barron and Wind that weave themselves like sinewy silk threads into a melodic tapestry.

The album continues with “Black Butterfly,” a Duke Ellington composition that is played in a jazz-chamber ballad form. It features the vocal-like sound of Cohen’s resonating clarinet, and the heartbeat-like bass solo by Wind that glows with warmth and elegance. Barron’s accompaniment is superb, as Wilson keeps the pace with subtle ingenuity. The music is reminiscent of a simpler, relaxed, more elegant time.

“Moody” is a gentle, contemplative Wind composition. Lead by Cohen’s expressive clarinet's tubular sound and some dynamic counterpoint bass work by Wind, the music is ethereal. Hanging in the air like a reflective mood, not melancholic but deep in thought and reverend.

Wind gives a nod to the importance of bebop to the canon of music. Here he chooses Bud Powell’s iconic “Wail,” which was first heard on his album The Amazing Bud Powell from 1951. Powell had the lead horns of the powerful tenor of Sonny Rollins and Fats Navarro’s incendiary trumpet to trade ideas on this quick paced gem. Here Martin and Cohen lay out the challenging, circuitous lines of the melody concurrently with impeccable skill, but at a decidedly more relaxed attack. Wind shows that no matter how complex the music may be, it can be effectively entertaining and interesting at any pace if the core of the music’s message is retained by the artists presenting it. Wind and mates let the music flow with satin smoothness and facility, and the results are rewarding. Kenny Barron’s piano work here is a master class of modern interpretation. Barron is a true descendant that preserves some of the history of jazz music in every note he plays.

Wind opens “The Feel of the Jazz,” another Ellington composition (also credited are Bobby Troup and Geore T. Simon), with an extended, plucky bass entre that hums with joy and creativity. The original release of this song was on Duke Ellington and John Coltrane from 1963 and included the rhythm section of Aaron Bell on bass and drummer Sam Woodward. When Cohen’s clarinet enters this one, there is a sense of history meeting modernity. Barron’s piano interacts with Cohen’s clarinet as the song progresses and the two pros meld notes so easily at times with ease and familiarity that makes it look effortless.

“Pra Diza e a Deus” is a beautiful ballad composed by the Brazilian composers Edú Lobo and Torquato Neto. It was made popular by Sergio Mendez and Brasil ’66 from their album Look Around from 1967. The English title of this song is “To Say Goodbye” and anyone who has heard this version can’t forget the sad voice of Sergio Mendes and beguiling sound of singer Lannie Hal or the vocalist Flora Purim’s moving version. For the bassist, this is another homage that recognizes just how much Brazilian music has influenced Wind and added to the jazz canon. Barron’s delicate solo opens this song, before Wind’s aching arco bowing of the bass gorgeously spells out the melody. Wilson drum work opens the rhythm with exquisite restraint, as Barron’s piano expands on the melody. When Cohen’s clarinet enters the mix it’s like her sound takes on the yearning, voice-like element that one remembers from the original. Despite being wordless, these guys transmit the pathos of the sentiment of saying goodbye to a lover.

The album continues with “Standing at the Window Waving Goodbye,” another Wind composition, that deals with poignant moments of dealing with saying goodbye to someone who is important to you. This reflective, unresolved piece is another example of the music that speaks the most to this bassist as a composer. Cohen’s clarinet seems to float above the music, as Barron’s piano is perfectly supportive. Barron’s solo work always elevates the possibilities of harmonic inventiveness and Wind and Wilson maintain the breezy rhythm.

Mitchell Parish’s “Stars Fell on Alabama” is a ballad played at a slow gait that has an easy swing to it, and has an obvious tie-back to the album’s theme, Stars. Cohen’s burnished clarinet resonates with sustained warmth, and she navigates the melody with reverence and unadorned emotion. This song brings you back to a time when the pace was more forgiving and a twilight concert offered at a local gazebo could allow you to just sit back and get lost in the music.

My digital release had two bonus songs, the first is a Bill Mays composition “Blues with Two Naturals.” Mays is a pianist/composer that is part of the Martin Wind Quartet. Mays is known for his harmonic humor and on this one he naturalizes the two notes in the key signature, counter to a standard blues form that uses flattened notes. Kenny Barron, Wind and Wilson make this one all their own.

“Marc’s Moment” is another digital release bonus track that Wind composed and didn’t include on the album. This closer is a joyous, free flowing song that has a medium swing feel to it. Cohen’s clarinet just hovers like a feather, twirling up and gliding down along the thermals as the rhythm section is led by Wind’s booming bass, Barron’s pianistic accompaniment and Wilson’s gossamer drum work.

Martin Wind’s Stars offers the listener some joyful, easy listening music played by a remarkably cohesive band, whose artistry should not be missed.

West Coast Guitarist Jim Witzel and his Quartet Mine the Music of Bill Evans on Very Early

2026-01-28T12:05:00.000-08:00

Guitarist Jim Witzel and his Quartet's Very Early : Remembering Bill Evans

Jim Wetzil Quartet: Very Early: Remembering Bill Evans: Joplin &Sweeney Records

The West Coast guitarist Jim Witzel is a new player to me. I was introduced to Witzel’s Quartet work on his latest release Very Early: Remembering Bill Evans out on the Joplin Sweeney label released August of 2025. I don’t always get a chance to listen to all of the music I receive in a timely manner, so my getting hip to this album now is no excuse. Better late than never.

Jim Witzel’s Very Early is a fresh look at some of the music that pianist Bill Evans’ incorporated into his repertoire. These songs were either written by Evans, or were penned by others, but they became invaluable vehicles of creative inspiration for the pianist over his career. Credit Witzel and his pianist/co-arranger Phil Aaron for selectively choosing nine important compositions that beautifully represent the essence of Evans musical psyche.

I often find it helpful to learn a little of the history of an artist like Jim Witzel, to better understand what factors he encountered on his trip that helped him find his own musical voice. Witzel was brought up in the North Bay area town of San Rafael and picked up guitar at the age of twelve. He recalls three albums that made an indelible impression of him as a young aspiring guitarist- Wes Montgomery’s Boss Guitar, Jim Hall & Rob Carter’s Alone Together, and Pat Metheny’s Bright Size Life. He clearly had a good ear and excellent taste even back then.

Jim Witzel (photo credit unknown)

Jim took Creative Arts studies with a Music emphasis at San Franciso State University, where he had a chance to study with alto saxophonist John Handy. He led his own jazz quartet, hosted and performed on a weekly television show “Jazz After Midnight,” and received a travel grant from the National Endowment of the Arts which allowed him to study with guitar great Jack Wilkins in New York and Howard Roberts in Los Angeles. Witzel eventually relocated to Los Angeles where he free-lanced in jazz groups, offered private guitar lessons to aspiring guitarists, and took a few private lessons with guitarists John Abercrombie and Joe Iorio. In 1992, Jim released an album titled Give and Take with bassist John Patitucci and drummer Ralph Penland, also featuring guests like John Abercrombie, saxophonist Ernie Watts, keyboardist Russel Ferrante and bassist Marc Johnson. All these experiences added to Witzel’s rapid maturation as a respected and talented jazz guitarist.

Witzel eventually returned to the Bay area, and besides being an active performer, he is currently a faculty member at Santa Clara University where he is a Professor of Jazz Studies.

Jim and pianist Phil Aaron have been collaborating since the late nineties. On this latest album, Very Early: Remembering Bill Evans, Witzel and Aaron are joined by Dan Feiszli on bass and Jason Lewis on drums.

The music opens with Victor Young’s classic “Beautiful Love.” The song preserves Evans’ probing approach to the composition’s melodicity that the pianist always strove to maintain for the listener, while still exploring harmonic grounds that could surprise and delight. Witzel and company accomplish these goals while retaining their own contemporary voice throughout. Witzel’s playing on his Gibson ES165 single pick-up guitar recalls the warm tone of Jim Hall. Aaron’s piano accompaniment is tactile, energized and on point. Feiszli and Lewis swing with confident aplomb. In one break, the two trade lines, bass and brushed snare work interchange, that impressively communicate a sense of intuition.

The set includes the less familiar “How My Heart Sings”, an Earl Zindars composition, which was first heard on Evans’ album of the same name from 1964. The quartet also does their own take on Steve Swallow’s “Falling Grace,” which was first heard on vibraphonist Gary Burton’s album from 1966 The Time Machine. True to Evans approach to this song, first recorded by Bill on Intuition from 1975, Witzel's group abandon the ethereal approach that Burton and Swallow first envisioned and follow the pianist’s vision. They open with Witzel’s probing guitar lines, a Metheny-inspired exploration on the theme, as the band carry the circuitous route. Witzel explores the terrain with horizontal lines that seem to emerge from the ether. Feiszli’s throbbing bass lines are strong and sustained. Aaron’s piano solo is inventive and joyful, while Lewis’ drum work is propulsive. Worth the price of admission.

Miles Davis is the listed composer of “Solar” first recorded on his album Miles Davis Quintet from 1954, but allegedly this was composed by the guitarist Chuck Wayne. Evans’ released, to many consider the seminal version of this song, on his album Bill Evans Trio Sunday at the Village Vanguard, from NYC in 1961. The song became a frequent part of the pianist’s repertoire. On Witzel’s version, Lewis’s drum set opens with a declaratory roll, before Feiszli’s walking bass lines add to the excitement and pace. Aaron’s piano is the first to explore his own harmonic ideas that swirl over the rhythm section. Witzel’s guitar lines enter with a fluidity that charms and impresses. The ideas that come out of Jim’s guitar percolate from an internal well of inventiveness that never runs dry. Toward the coda, the group executes some stop/starts that surprise and add to the kineticism and excitement of this great take.

The title cut Bill Evans’ “Very Early” is a beautiful ballad that oscillates from one musical idea to another in a repeating theme. The catchy theme tattoos to your mind as Witzel’s guitar lines lead you through the garden of thoughts. Aaron’s piano is the first to solo on the theme, expanding on the possibilities over this repeating melody. Witzel takes his turn using variously conceived, ascending and descending lines to accentuate his take this on this theme. Feiszli’s pizzicato bass work here adds a third interpretation.

“Israel” is a composition written by trumpeter/composer John Carisi and first heard on Miles Davis Birth of the Cool album from 1949. This minor blues tune was an important part of Bill Evans playing repertoire and here Witzel and bandmates execute this memorable piece with style and confidence. These guys swing on this one, led by Feiszli’s booming bass and Lewis’ responsive drum work. Aaron is the first soloist who mines some imaginative, blues-inspired improvisations in a trio of Feiszli’s bass and Lewis’s trap work. It’s Witzel’s Wes-inspired guitar lines that take this tune into another orbit. Jim’s facility is marvelous and his fretboard ideas never seem to disappoint. Another example of how Evans’ repertoire still offers endless possibilities to creative artists.

This excellent album continues with Leonard Bernstein’s moving 1944 ballad “Some Other Time.” Miles Davis composition “Nardis” includes a plucky opening pizzicato solo entre from Feiszli, and some great interplay by this intuitive group. One my favorites Evan’s compositions “Peri’s Scope,” finishes of this album.

I first heard on his Portraits in Jazz with Scott LaFaro on bass and Paul Motion on drums from 1959. Witzel and company chooses to give this one a Latin rhythmic feel. Opening with Lewis’ syncopated stick work, the group takes it out with Witzel’s guitar leading the way into the ozone. Aaron’s piano spices things up with his own Latinized ideas as the rhythm section maintains the pulse energizing the melody to the finale.

2025-12-15T11:08:00.000-08:00

NOTES ON JAZZ : BEST OF JAZZ 2025

As the Holidays and the year end once again, it is a tradition to look back and take account of what has happened in the passing year. The year two-thousand and twenty-five was a prolific year for music. The year found an amazing amount of new albums released from established artists as well as some promising up and coming artists. Music, and particularly jazz, is an artform that is a very expressive. It has an open door policy, inviting new ideas and approaches that welcome creativity, diversity and intra-cultural cross-pollination. Contrary to what we are currently being fed by the political forum, music continues to validate positivity and inclusiveness. You can be any color, race, or orientation so long as you can play. Art has always thrived best with cultural diversity, open-mindedness and collaborative cooperation. With the world geographical distances being shrunk by convenient and efficient air travel, musicians can study almost anywhere. They can now imbed in a culture to absorb folk and cultural aspects of a music that they could only hear previously on imported recordings. They can play music in far away locations that were previously not easily reachable. This makes the music more of an amalgamation of influences. This cross-pollination of musical styles from around the world only create a delicious jambalaya of music that breathes and lives continuing to delight and surprise. The beauty of this cooperative and creativity-filled process is all done with little and from a Here's a crazy idea. If making music on the international level could be used as a template for political cooperation, we would all be probably have a less contagious. less threatening and more joyous world condition. Just a thought for all of us to ponder.

Keeping that theme of inclusion and diversity in mind, it is no wonder that so many of my picks for the best of jazz in 2025, is itself a testimony to the variety and global nature of jazz this year. We find a Polish piano trio playing with a titan of an American saxophonist. There is a New York City born banjo master playing with a harpist from Columbia and a drummer from Mexico. A French pianist playing with an American band anchored by a noted New Orleans drummer. There is a vocalist and her pianist from Denmark, who are including Japanese influences in their work. A creative Austrian guitarist that teams up with a master American rhythm section. There is a Russian trumpeter whose European melodicism and technical proficiency make this once sought after session sideman into a formidable bandleader in his own right. There is music from Venezuelan, Argentinian and Cuban pianists whose influence have contributed to this year's music. Not to mention a superb alto saxophonist from Puerto Rico and two exquisite guitarists, one from Pakistan and one from Italy. Let's not forget the many fine American and Canadian artists that make the music for people in this country and the world so vibrant and alive. It is like a United Nations of musicians whose work together does more for the beauty, the peaceful continuation and unity of the world then all the ambassadors that sit on the General Assembly of the real U.N. in NYC!

So without further ado, here are my picks for some of this years best of what we like to call "jazz" which all comes from its roots, which is Black Improvisational Music. This is by no means a complete list, only some of what I have had a chance to listen to and which from my point of view is worth your uninterrupted attention. I hope you will all find this list as compelling and enjoyable as I do.

Here in no particular order is my top picks for 2025:

Branford Marsalis Quartet: Belonging-Blue Note

A reimagining of Keith Jarrett's ECM album of the same name from 1975

Sullivan Fortner: Southern Nights-Artwork

An expressive pianist makes beautiful and evocative music.

Bela Fleck, Edmar Castaneda, Antonio Sanchez-BEATrio-Flecktone

The master banjoist finds musical simpatico with an inventive harpist and a talented percussionist.

Joe Lovano and The Marcin Wasilewski Trio-Homage-ECM

The titan saxophonist finds common ground with the Polish piano trio that used to back trumpeter Tomasz Stanko.

Sinne Eeg and Jacob Cristoffersen -Shikiori-Stunt

A gorgeous voice and a sympathetic piano say it all on this one.

Wolfgang Muthspiel w Scott Colley and Brian Blade-Tokyo-ECM

This guitarist has a style all his own and it blooms with these two rhythm makers supporting his ideas brilliantly.

John Ellis-Heroes-Blue Room Music

This dynamic saxophonist creates a set that probes and swings all the same time to great delight.

John Patitucci-Spirit Fall-Edition

This first call bassist is always exploring ways to make his instrument sing.

Alex Sipiagin-Reverberations-Chriss Cross

This top notch trumpeter has assembled some bandmates that function like a symbiotic organism.

Linda May Han Oh-Strange Heavens-Biophilia Records

Matched on this outing with two of the most creative artists of this era, Ambrose Akinmusire and Tyshawn Sorey, Oh creates a wonderful drum less album that pleases.

My pick for best Debut album:

Tyreek McDole-Open Up Your Senses- Artwork

A wonderful debut from a promising baritone that have a silky voice that recalls Johnny Hartman and should be watched.

Two pick for best Latin Jazz Albums:

Miguel Zenon Quartet-Vanguardia Subterránea: Live at The Village Vanguard-Miel Music.

The first live recording of this excellent alto saxophonist at the legendary jazz club.

Conrad Herwig with Eddie Palmieri and Luques Curtis- Reflections-Facing South-Savant Records

Uniting of the recently late Latin pianist Eddie Palmieri, in what may be his last recording, with the trombone artist who made interpreting the Latin side of things an art form.

More of the best of jazz for 2025:

Carl Allen with Chris Potter and Christian McBride-Tippin'-Cellar Music

Hard to imagine a better trio to get the most of modern jazz with more energy and aplomb. Potter is especially unleashed in a Sonny Rollins mode and Mc Bride and Allen cook together.

Amaury Faye and his NOLA Quartet-RUST- Hypnote

A French pianist finds inspiration in the Crescent City with a brilliant quartet including Amina Scott, Julian Lee and the drummer ace Herlin Riley.

Rez Abassi Acoustic Quintet- Sound Remains-Whirlwind records

This quintet adds the ethereal sound of Bill Ware's vibraphone to Abassi's unique approach to the steel stringed acoustic guitar and some empathetic bass and percussion work to make this one a dreamlike experience.

Denny Zeitlin-Worth A Song In My Heart-Sunnyside records

The octogenarian pianist is still making magical music. This time he deconstructs and reassembles some of Richard Rodgers music on his solo piano, in a way that makes it all his own.

Jeff Parker ETA IV Ntet- The Way Out Easy-International Anthem

These four musicians create a swelling ambience that captures your attention.

The Way Out of Easy by Jeff Parker ETA IVtet

Larry Goldings-I Will-Sam First Records

A keyboard artist mostly know for his cutting edge organ trio work finds Goldings showing just how good a piano player he can be with two young bandmates recorded live in LA.

Pasquale Grasso- Fervency- Sony Masterworks

Grasso is a superb Italian born guitarist that has the kind of mastery that recalls Joe Pass. He is an accomplished accompaniest and here he is recorded in a trio setting with Ari Rolland on bass and Keith Balla on drums.

The Perceptions Trio- The Wicked Trio-Sense-Music Release Club

This international trio is based in Switzerland and include Charley Rose on saxophone, Silvan Joray on guitar and Paulo Almeida on drums. The create their own contemporary atmospheric music.

The Wicked Crew by Perceptions Trio

Tessa Souter-Shadows and Silence- The Erik Satie Project- NonAra

British/Trinidadian chanteuse Tessa Souter uses the music of the French composer Erik Satie to create a suite of vocal interpretations in his minimalist style.

Michael Dease- Flow- Posi-Tone Records

Its hard to not tap your feet to this master trombonist when he brings it to the table as a leader. Here he is teamed up with Sharel Cassity on saxophone, as Geoff Keezer drives the music on his joyful piano. A Greek drummer and one of Dease's Michigan State student proteges fill out the rhythm section.

Michael Mayo- Fly- Mack Avenue

Mayo's excellent album came out in late Oct of last year, but it was so entertaining that I couldn't resist including it in this years best of list. He has a smooth, flexible voice that reminds me a bit of Al Jarreau. Need I say more?

Fly by Michael Mayo

Pheeroan akLaff, Scott Robinson, Julian Thayer -aRT-ScienSonic Records

Experimental music of the highest order that allows three accomplished musicians to create in the moment.

Guilio Gentile-Dream's Madness- Auand Records