Tessa Souter Offers Some Enchanting Music from French Composer Erik Satie and More on "Shadows and Silence"

 

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

The chanteuse Tessa Souter released her latest album Shadows and Silence- The Erik Satie Project on the NOANARA label on July 1, 2025. Having been a follower and fan of this stylistic vocalist, this may be the best of her releases to date.

Souter’s theme is the artistry of the classical composer/pianist Erik Satie, whose eccentric and minimalist approach to western music may have been an inspiration to the subsequent modal jazz and ambient music trends. Despite the influence to jazz and ambient genres, there is a great deal of classical, albeit modern, influence on this record.

Souter has the soul of a lyricist, and it is on display in spades on this album. She takes several songs from Satie-Gymnopedic No 1, No 2, Vexations, and No 3, Gnossienne No 1, No 2, and No 3- and retitles them with lyrics. She pens lyrics about love, loss, transience, fluidity, beauty and the futility of thinking you can capture the ever-changing present, and peace. This thoughtful compilation shows respect for the music of an artist whose work was so influential. My first exposure was back in the early seventies, when I fell in love with the Blood, Sweat, & Tears version of their Variations on Theme 1^st and 2^nd movements from Gymnopedic No 1, as arranged by multi-instrumentalist Dick Halligan and recorded by the jazz/rock band back in 1968.

On Souter’s version of this composition, she renames this lyric version “Rayga’s Song,” in dedication to the birth of bassist Yasushi Nakamura’s son, which happened during a snowfall. She is accompanied by Luis Perdomo’s delicate piano work and Steve Wilson’s soaring soprano saxophone. Bassist Nakamura’s plucky bass solo offers his own poignant comment. Souter’s lyrics and her sincere voice bring the element of hopeful love, to this piece that revels in the promise of a new life into this otherwise haunting piece.

Satie’s Gnossienne No1 was retitled with lyrics as Souter’s “A Song for You” (not to be confused by the Leon Russell song by the same name). On this one Souter tells the story of a disguised lover who hides his true intention and the effects it had on his befallen lover. Drummer Billy Drummond’s beat is hypnotic, Perdomo’s piano is splendid and Nakamura’s bass throbs like a beating heart.

Souter even knits in a song that recalls a Paul Gaugin painting of the same name “Du’O Venons-Nous” based on Satie’s Gymnopedic No3, which has some nice arco work by Nakamura and some airy soprano work by Wilson.

Clearly Souter’s exposure to Satie has been more studious and rigorous then mine. But this is not exclusively a Satie album. Souter finds other excellent pieces that seem to thematically weave into the fabric of this project seamlessly.  The Edith Piaf-inspired “Avec le Temps,” a Leo Ferre composition that Souter sings in French, with both emotion and verve, accompanied by Nakamura’s excellent bow and Perdomo’s crystalline piano.

Souter includes a Rod McKuen song, inspired by Jacques Brel titled “If You Go Away.” She does as an intimate duo with Perdomo in the intro, before she kicks it up a notch for a moment with her vocal energy, as she injects a cabaret feel. She follows with singing in French for a section before the trio takes the music to another level, eventually Souter returns to that intimate duo at the coda.

Jazzers should appreciate the song “Never Broken (ESP)” a collaboration written by vocalist Cassandra Wilson and saxophone/composer, legend Wayne Shorter. Souter is at her most fluid here. The trio percolates with Perdomo getting off on the zigzagging lines he introduces, as Nakamura and Drummond lock in like a fine-tuned timepiece, with Drummond getting a little freedom to offer some nice drum centric features on this one.

Perhaps one of my favorites is bassist Ron Carter’s “Mood,” which Souter’s worded version is called “Musica Universalis.” Instrumentally, this one includes a mesmeric metronomic beat that is laid down by Nakamura and Drummond, before Perdomo adds his own leading piano lines. The real tonal treat comes from Australian born New York-based Nadje Noordhuis’s moody muted trumpet lines as they interweave with Wilson’s sinewy soprano work, that at times almost sounds like a flute. The two show a great deal of magic and symbiosis when playing together. Souter’s vocal spells out the enchanting lyrics “Mood is a feather, just floating wherever, like change in the weather, all clouds in the sky’… “Now waits for no man, it’s gone in a moment, Belonging to no one.”  The lyrics nailing the transience, the fluidity, the beauty and the futility of never being able to keep things more than in the moment. 

Tessa Souter's Shadows and Silence- The Erik Satie Project is a splendid album that you will find yourself revisiting many times. 

The Magic of Richard Rodgers in the Hands of Denny Zeitlin on "With A Song in My Heart"

Denny Zeitlin- Exploring the Music of Richard Rodgers- With a Song in My Heart- Sunnyside

It's hard for me to get my head around how long it has been since I first heard  pianist Denny Zeitlin play live. It was November of 2001 when I had the privilege of catching him and his trio at the wonderful, but sadly now defunct, Kitano jazz club in the Kitano hotel off of Park Avenue in NYC. His playing was simply sublime, and his bandmates - the stalwart bassist Buster Williams and the effervescent drummer Matt Wilson- rose to the occasion with empathetic energy and joy.  Zeitlin's sensitivity and inventiveness made a lasting impression on me, and I continued to follow, look forward, and at times write about his subsequent releases.

Denny Zeitlin, Buster Williams and Matt Wilson at The Kitano November  2001

Earlier in the year of this performance, Zeitlin had released his spectacular solo album Labyrinth on Sunnyside Records, in the month of June. Solo piano albums have a special meaning to Zeitlin. He once said “Solo piano performance takes me back to my earliest roots, and allows for perhaps the most intensely personal musical statement.” While this was certainly his sentiment then, these days, at the age of eighty-seven, it is probably even more intensely true  today. His playing and creativity has certainly continued to wow, inspire and entertain over the passing years. This musical artist has always maintained a dual vocation as both a musician and as a clinical professor of psychiatry at University of California at San Francisco and in his private practice. This never kept him from still performing and recording. It started with his first release Cathexis, when he was first signed to Columbia Records by producing legend John Hammond in 1963. 

Zeitlin was born in Chicago, Illinois and relocated to the west coast in 1964 where he has resided in the San Francisco and the Marin county area ever since. Maintaining these two successful professions concurrently for close to sixty years reveal an enormous amount of the vitality, creativity and dedication that this man has maintained throughout his life. Some might call him a Renaissance Man of sorts, and just looking at his prolific recording history that might not be far from the truth.

Zeitlin's latest solo album Exploring The Music of Richard Rodgers-With a Song In My Heart , was released on June 6th of this year. It is his thirty-eighth recording and his sixteenth with Sunnyside Records. 

Listening to a Zeitlin album, especially his solo offerings, is always a challenge to write about. Words alone do not do  justice to the experience of being submerged while listening to the musical cornucopia that comes out of this artist's fertile mind. Perhaps the closest  metaphor I can come up with is to compare Zeitlin to a gourmet chef. He prepares each performance like a feast. He sets the table of the listener carefully, exploring musical themes-in this case the music of Richard Rodgers-one of the most important and successful composers of the twentieth century. He deconstructs familiar or sometimes not so familiar compositions. He extracts the essence and finds meaningful motifs that he can emphasis and embellish. He layers ideas, modulates the tonal possibilities, and exploits rhythmic changes to great effect. Like a skilled chef with his battery of seasonings, Zeitlin reinvents the mundane, magically reharmonizing the familiar into something that emerges as new and fresh.

Denny Zeitlin (photo credit unknown)

Zeitlin has travelled this path many times before. Previously he has done deep dives into the music of Wayne Shorter on his Early Wayne from 2014. In 2015, Zeitlin did a video of his Piedmont Piano concert Exploring Thelonious Monk. He followed that with his exploration of the music of Miles Davis on his Remembering Miles from 2016, not to mention his studies of the music of Gershwin and Strayhorn.

In each case, Zeitlin explore the composer's canon of music and rethinks it in his own mystical way. His artistry comes from his thorough familiarity with the material he presents and finding ways to see them and preform them in his own unique way. Zeitlin, was first exposed as a youth to Richard Rodgers music from hearing the music from the 1943 Broadway show Oklahoma!  

On The Music of Richard Rodgers-With a Song In My Heart, Zeitlin has mined twelve compositions from the Rodgers treasure chest, many unfamiliar. Half of this music was recorded in front an audience at the Piedmont Piano concert on December 13, 2019, with the remainder of the selections being recorded in a studio in November and December of the same year. 

The earliest composition on this album is the title track "With a Song in My Heart" that was first heard in the musical Spring Is Here 1929. Zeitlin takes this song, with it's noted feel of a love at first sight romance, and once delivered by Ella Fitzgerald in 1956, and plays it with conviction and sensitivity. 

The opener, "Falling in Love With You," another show song from The Boys from Syracuse from 1938, has been covered by artists as disparate as Frank Sinatra, Julie Andrews and The Supremes! Zeitlin explores the lost love theme by opening the music with his own exploratory intro. His touch can be light or majestic and his subtle change of tone and attack explores all the emotions from chagrin to soaring hope. He explores multiple rhythmic changes that raise the temperature and accelerate the heart beat. Just a wonderful capture of this man in the "flow" and the audience responds accordingly.

"I Don't Know What Time It Was"  from the musical Too Many Girls of 1938 vintage has been covered by Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Betty Carter and Cassandra Wilson, not to mention instrumentally by Charlie Parker and Brad Mehldau. Because the composition doesn't have a tonal center, but modulates between keys, it makes the song feel more mysterious. Zeitlin raises the bar by playing in a 7/4 time signature that adds yet another element to his interpretation of this classic. He alternates the pace and adds interest in his interesting harmonizing with his left hand. You can't help but marvel at the man's unpredictable ideas that he often comes up with on he fly. If you thought you knew this song, then you will find yourself surprised at how far out he can expand the paths that can be traveled within a composition.

"He Was Too Good To Me" is a Rodgers composition that was written  for a Broadway show in 1930, Simple Simon, and was somehow never used in the show. No worries, the moving ballad attracted it's own astute followers that took it as their own. Vocalists Natalie Cole and Chris Connor, as well as jazz artists from Chet Baker, Thad Jones and Shirley Horn all found this composition fertile ground. Zeitlin gets his turn exploring the themes of loss, grief and sorrow in his own inimitable way. His notes sometimes feel like they suspend themselves in the air on command. His tender touch is moving and draws you into the pathos of a lover's loss with empathy and warmth.

The album continues with the obscure "Johnny One Note"  from Babes in Arms, a 1937 show that depicts tale of an opera singer who could only sing one note. Despite his limitation, he would sing with such overpowering fervor that he was always upstaging his fellow cast members. Zeitlin plays a somewhat boisterous samba here. He simulates the opera singers audacious gusto. His left hand maintains the frantic buzz as his right hand explores the keyboard to its limits.

Zeitlin includes two compositions "Wait Till You See Her" and "Ev' rything I've Got" from the 1942 show By Jupiter, that featured Ray Bolger, who later became famous as the Scarecrow in movie The Wizard of Oz. 

"Wait Till You See Her" finds Zeitlin in his delicate ballad mode and in "Ev'rything I've Got," Zeitlin's rhythmic acuity and creativity is on display. He lights up the room with ascending and descending flights that pulls all the possibilities out of this song. He also delves into the piano body including string plucking and manipulating that adds a whole new dimension. 

In the studio portion of the album, Zeitlin draws on two compositions from South Pacific, the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein 1949 Broadway show and later the equally famous 1958 film that brought this music to another generation. The musical was based on the Tales of the South Pacific, a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by James Michener. The emotionally filled ballad "This Nearly Was Mine" was once made famous by Frank Sinatra. Zeitlin choses to use a 5/4 time signature on this version and his deft touch and gorgeous harmonic choices make this lament of love and loss pure magic. 

The comedy show I'd Rather Be Right from 1937 gave us the jazz standard "Have You Met Miss Jones." This gem has been a vehicle of expression since it's origin and been interpreted by such impressive artists as Art Tatum, Stan Getz, and Ahmad Jamal, as well as vocalists Anita O' Day, Tony Bennett and Mel Tormé. The chord modulations are said to have been precursors to what is known as Coltrane changes as used in his Giant Steps. With this imprimatur from a legion of jazz greats, its is no wonder why Zeitlin has chosen to take his turn at reimagining this classic. He doesn't disappoint. The pianist uses motifs that he expands upon and his facility across the keyboard continues to demonstrate a command that is only limited by his seemingly bottomless well of imagination.

Exploring the Music of Richard Rodgers- With a Song in My Heart- is a pure delight. Zeitlin continues to prove that the American songbook can still be a plentiful treasure trove of beauty and inspiration, and he defies the claim that it has become a worn out resource. When the canon is examined and played by a true piano master like Zeitlin, one who has never shied away from challenge, the sky can be the limit.

A Significant Guitarist of Our Era, Pasquale Grasso Offers "Fervency"

Pasquale Grasso: Fervency- Sony Masterworks

Guitar master Pasquale Grasso released his new trio album Fervency February 7, 2025 on Sony Masterworks. It is no wonder how this man is continuing to excite and wow an increasingly larger band of followers for the depth and artistry of this important musician. 

Grasso is an Italian born in Ariano Irpino, a hillside town in the Campania region of Italy. This area of southern Italy is about 132 miles northwest of where my mother and her family once immigrated. With this common regional heritage in my blood, there is no doubt I have a sense of personal pride in discovering such a talented artist that comes from this area. 

Grasso has been honing his skills since the age of five. He has tremendous facility and control over his instrument, but he also carries within him a deep respect for the tradition. He sites pianists like Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and Elmo Hope among his influences and was mentored by Barry Harris since the pianist caught him playing in Italy in 1998 and took him under his wing. Be Bop is in his man's veins. Early in his career, Grasso was a student of guitarist Agostino Di Giorgio, an American expat who taught him methods of guitar great Chuck Wayne, who was Di Giorgio's one time teacher.

Looking to expand his technique, Grasso also took classical guitar lessons at the Conservatory of Bologna, under the tutelage of guitarist Walter Zanetti. It is no wonder that  when Grasso moved to New York, the guitar ace Pat Metheny invited the fellow guitarist to jam with him at his own NY apartment, and has become both a mentor and fan. In a 2016 interview published in Vintage Guitar, Metheny recognized Grasso for the talent that he was. "He (Grasso) has somehow captured the essence of that language from piano onto guitar in a way that almost nobody has ever addressed. He’s the most significant new guy I’ve heard in many, many years.” 

Grasso's influences, life connections, along with his inherent abilities, have all been part of the impressive maturation of this young man's playing and style. Based in New York City since 2012, Grasso used his frequent appearances at Greenwich Village haunt Mezzrow to experiment with his approaches to some of the canon's less-well-known classics and develop his own set materials. He has released well-received albums that covered the music of Bud Powell (Solo Bud Powell-2020), Duke Ellington (Pasquale Plays Duke 2021- with young chanteuse Samara Joy and veteran be-bop storyteller Sheila Jordan contributing), Charlie Parker (Be Bop 2022), Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk.

On Fervency, now thirty-six year old Grasso, is joined by two very accomplished colleagues whom he has worked with for fifteen years, the bassist Ari Roland and the drummer Keith Balla. These guys navigate some obscure and some better known compositions on the album with finesse and skill. Grasso has shown his preference for mining the canon of be-bop music more deeply. He reimagines compositions that others may have left unexplored and he thinks like a pianist. On this album, Grasso has widened the spread of his casting net and brought in some real interesting, often less treaded jewels that are sure to please.

Grasso leads off with one of his idols, pianist Bud Powell, and his blazing "Sub City."  This one features some tight, quick-paced and swinging guitar work by Grasso, a rousing arc bass solo by the impressive Ari Roland, and some Keith Balla brushwork that recalls the exquisite brush mastery of Jeff Hamilton. These guys know how to cook.  

  

Pasquale Grasso, Ari Roland, Keith Balla (photo credit unknown)

The trio can set speed records for flawless execution at mind blowing velocity if so inclined, but Grasso is always inventing on the fly. You can hear different gems of harmonic inventiveness on his "A Trip to C.C.," a song dedicated to his girlfriend, Miles Davis "Milestones" ,and Ray Noble's always challenging, off to the races "Cherokee."  His lines are swift, never predictable, and he seems umbilically connected to the bebop tradition while bringing it into a new era of modernization. 

Composer/arranger/pianist Tadd Dameron is a favorite of Grasso, and he chooses three of this master's compositions- "If You Could See Me Now," "Lady Bird" and Jahbero." 

Dameron played the sultry "If You Could See Me Now" with an orchestra and the fabulous vocalist Sarah Vaughan on her  Musiccraft record of 1946. Dameron's "Lady Bird" and "Jahbero" were on the 1957 Blue Note release with the pianist's  Septet. It included the brilliant Fats Navarro on trumpet, the thoughtful tenor of Wardell Gary and Allen Eager, Curley Russell's anchoring bass, Chino Ponzo infectious bongos and Kenny Clarke inimitable trap work. It is interesting to juxtapose these recordings from the composer and see how Grasso reinvents them for his guitar.

If you appreciate a good ballad like Dameron's "If You Could See Me Now," it's Grasso's sumptuous guitar that cascades his lines, spelling out the wordless melody with sublime sensitivity, as Roland's bass adds another resonating arco solo to the mix. There is no orchestra to rely on here as Dameron had at his disposal, but these two don't seem to need one. They find enough tonal color between themselves to make this one sing, even without Sassy Sarah's wonderful voice.

"Lady Bird" is just a swinging joy. Roland walks with authority as Balla pops and snaps on his snare. Grasso's sound on his custom French made Trenier guitar, just hums like a idling Ferrari. His fluid single notes, often complimented by his unerring chordal accompaniment and chronometric timing, is just superb. There is no warm Gray tenor here, or Navarro's bright trumpet adding different colors, as in the Dameron original, but Grasso and company never seem wanting for being under-armed. They bring energy and excitement to this modern classic and you can't help but tap your feet. Grasso always finds new ways to harmonize on the melody with invention and promise. Balla is given a short feature on his traps and Roland offers another of his signature arco solos. Well done guys!

"Jahbero" had the Latinizing rhythmic punch of Ponzo's bongos in the original Dameron release, so I was looking forward to seeing how Grasso would address this. To my surprise, Ballo's inventive trap work fit the bill beautifully. Grasso's imagination found a fountainhead of ideas on which to portray this wonderfully vibrant, still modern feeling composition on his guitar. 

The remainder of the album continues to unearth some surprises, like  mentor Barry Harris's "Focus" and "And So I Love You." Another Miles Davis; composition "Little Willie Leaps," which once featured a historic tenor solo by Charlie Parker, a rare Coleman Hawkins treasure "Bean and the Boys" and a Milt Jackson favorite "Bags Groove." 

Grasso's title cut "Fervency" has a unique genesis. Grasso was traveling home from a gig in NY riding a subway car in the wee hours of the morning when he glanced over to see an open dictionary and was inexplicably drawn to the word he was unfamiliar with, "fervency." The meaning turns out to be "a warmth of feeling or devotion." It seemed to strike Grasso as the perfect word that describes his own feelings toward his love of this music that he has made his life's work. The music opens with another delicious arco treat from Roland's and his  1930's vintage Jurek upright bass. The Julliard trained bassist is certainly a bit of a throwback and he likes the warmth of gut strings to produce his resonant arco sound. Some have likened his arco work to that of the great bassist Paul Chambers. Needless to say, Grasso follows this splendid intro with one of his most emotive performances, as his guitar creates a liquid flow that seems to have no limit to its harmonic variations. Besides being a brilliant single note player, the guitarist adds excellent chordal work that creates another dimension to his playing and it is just pure magic. 

If you have never had an opportunity to listen to Pasquale Grasso, you owe yourself to get Fervency and just revel in this man and his bandmate's beautiful artistry. If you can catch him live at one of his upcoming performances all the better. It's not often we get a chance to see such talent in his prime and in person so  don't hesitate, you won't be disappointed.

A Promising Debut for the Impressive Tyreek McDole "Open Up Your Sense"

Tyreek McDole-Open Up Your Senses Artwork Records

There is a new kid on the block! This twenty-five year old gentleman is certainly not an overnight wonder, as his talent has been validated by his recent success. He was first honored in 2018 at the Jazz at Lincoln Center's Essentially Ellington Competition winning "Outstanding Vocalist." More recently, he captured the admiration of the judges at the 2023 Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition, where he became only the second male vocalist to win this prestigious award. The Haitian-American previously from St. Cloud, Florida, now resides in New York. He has earned his degree in jazz performance from The Oberlin Conservatory of Music,  studying with such luminaries as Gary Bartz, Gerald Cannon, Eddie Henderson and Billy Hart.

His debut album Open Up Your Senses was released on June 6, 2025 on the Artwork label. It is perhaps the most promising vocal release I've heard this year.

McDole's band on this album includes contemporaries Caelan Cardello on piano, Dylan Band on saxophone, trumpeter Michael Cruse, guitarists Emmanuel Michael and Logan Butler and Jerome Gillespie II on drums. But McDole is also surrounded by some heavy hitter guests like Kenny Barron and Sullivan Fortner on piano, Rodney Whitaker on bass, and Justin Faulkner on drums. McDole fortuitously manages a cameo appearance by saxophonist Tomoki Sanders, Pharoah's son, who delivers a haunting resurrection of his father's passionate, spiritually inspired saxophone on McDole's reimagination of the Leon Thomas/Pharoah Sanders spiritually inspired  "The Creator Has A Plan."

McDole has a beautiful warm, burnished baritone that some say possess the richness of Johnny Hartman or Nat Cole. But I can also hear the soulfulness of Jon Lucien, the swing of Joe Williams and some of the vibrato touches of a Andy Bey. No matter how you compare this man's approach to the music, you can't deny he has a lot of inherent gifts. 

To continue on the path of becoming a truly successful jazz vocalist, McDole has to absorb the jazz language. He is getting there. That requires listening and studying those masters who have come before him. He has to absorb the art of phrasing, not only of vocalists, but of horn players like Stitt, Getz, Gordon, and Webster, who navigate the music with both depth, freedom, and facility. He doesn't have to mimic them, but he does have to recognize the nuances. Telling a compelling story requires delivering a song with pace, proper breath placement, and space that allows the lyrics to be delivered complimentary to the message being portrayed and with feelings and authenticity. This debut album is a very good start, and if he is dedicated, McDole will likely continue to develop and add more of the language to his repertoire.

McDole's choice of music for this album shows his willingness to think outside the box. He includes Nicholas Payton's mediative "The Backward Step" originally from his 2023 album Drip. McDole's chant-like vocals work beautifully in tandem with the band. Guitarist Butler adds some stylish solo work, and Band's soprano sax floats higher like a falcon in the thermals. Throughout, McDole's voice beautifully resonates over Faulkner's explosive drum work at the coda.

"The Umbrella Man" is an odd choice that beckons back to a swinging show tune from the late twenties. It  features McDole's facile skat work and some blazing trumpet work by Cruse, a nice tenor solo by Band, and an arousing piano solo by Cardello.

"The Creator Has A Master Plan" was originally released by Pharoah Sanders on his album Karma from 1969. Originally recorded in two sections, the prelude and the main song, the combined run-time was almost thirty-three minutes. This is a challenging song to be tackled by McDole, and he wisely enlists the Tomoki Sanders, the late master's son, to play tenor on this one. Sanders, tenor is a resurrection of sorts. Hearing his plaintive cries and over blows are so evocative of his father's power and spiritual connection in this prelude. Whitaker's ostinato bass lines opens the second section as McDole's rich and flexible voice sings the spiritual and philosophical lyrics with his own gentler approach than one remembers from Thomas' original. Brand's soprano, Butler's guitar, Cardello's piano, and the astute rhythm section of Whitaker and Faulkner create this  hallowed offering. I for one can never recall a better time when the world needs to resurrect the kindness and hopefulness that this song inspires. 

Singing on a ballad like Thelonious Monk's lovely "Ugly Beauty" with lyrics by Mike Ferro, and recording it as a duo with a master like Kenny Barron, is like the ultimate test of transparency. While his phrasing seems slightly affected, Monk often took circuitous paths in his songs. These two provide a glimpse into what McDole could be capable of with a fine ballad while accompanied by a master like Barron who can inspire him to surprising heights.

"Precious Energy (Sun Song)" is another spiritually inspired composition from Leon Thomas that was originally released on Gary Bartz's Quintet's album of the same name from a 1987 live recording. McDole wisely doesn't try Thomas' facile yodeling here, but he does deliver a lithe version that features some fluid, inventive guitar lines from Logan Butler. McDole's vocal is light and soulful. The music is driven by some nice B3 organ by Sullivan Fortner.

Never one who seems to avoid at a challenge, McDole tackles the transcendent "Somalia Rose," a composition by Allyn Johnson, Director of the University of District of Columbia Jazz Ensemble. The music is a powerful piece and  features some modulated guitar work by Michael and some kinetic drum work by Faulkner. McDole vocalizes the soaring parts with ease and aplomb.

Never losing his Haitian folk-music heritage, McDole duos with percussion master Weedie Braimah, and succinctly vocalizes the island fable "Wongolo Wale."

The album continues with the title cut "Won't You Open Your Senses" a swinging, bluesy Horace Silver composition that features some smokin' horn section work by Cruse and Adam, and the sizzling Fender Rhodes piano work by Sullivan Fortner. McDole seems to be  channeling his Joe Williams on this one and it cooks.

The balance of the album includes "Under A Blanket of Blue" a slow paced swinger that features a throaty solo by Adam on tenor and some splendid, stride-like  piano by Cardello. McDole's voice has a silky Nat Cole feel to this one. 

Nicholas Payton's  jaunty rap "Love Is A Four Letter Word"  finds McDole speaking his lines with a Barry White-like lament.

Another tip of the hat to Joe Williams is heard on the classic "Everyday I Have the Blues" with McDole vocalizing it out with gusto as Adam's tenor blares and Whitaker, Cardello and Faulkner lay down the driving beat.

The album ends with an instrumental reprise of Thomas' "The Sun Song." 

 

Posi-Tone's Swingtet Celebrates the Label's Thirtieth Year with Style on "In Jazz We Trust"

Posi-Tone Swingtet In Jazz We Trust: Posi-Tone Records

For those who enjoy straight ahead jazz with no excuses, Posi Tone Records has always delivered in an uncompromising fashion since the inception of the label in 1995. On February 28, 2025, co-owners Producer Marc Free and Engineer Nick O'Toole, released their celebration of the label's thirty-year milestone with a fantastic album, Posi-Tone Swingtet's In God Jazz We that highlights their mission and celebrates the music with a star studded ten man band. The album  features many of the label's stalwart musicians including pianist Art Hirahara, trumpet/flugelhorn master Alex Sipiagin, trombonist/educator Michael Dease, tenor saxophonist Diego Rivera, alto saxophonist/flutist Patrick Cornelius, bass ace Boris Kozlov and the powerful drummer Rudy Royston.

The music, all but one of the selections composed by the musicians themselves, is a testament to just how symbiotic these musicians have developed as a group. It  reinforces just how in-tune Free and O'Toole are when they assemble and record a group like this, usually providing the right environment and encouragement to create and capture on tape a magical musical experience. 

In Jazz We Trust is no different. Few albums come out of the box with such unified, in synch excitement, proficiency and enthusiasm. The opener is titled "Invocation" and is composed by drummer Rudy Royston. Royston, one of the eras most sought after drummers, can often be seen on Pos-Tone projects. He also can be seen collaborating frequently with guitar ace Bill Frisell, saxophonist JD Allen and trumpeter Dave Douglas to name just a few. On we are treated to the brilliant rhythm section of Royston and bassist extraordinaire Boris Kozlov, who also anchors the Charles Mingus Big Band. Trumpet phenom Alex Sipiagin produces a soaring trumpet solo that shows grace and fluidity, and we hear pianist Art Hirahara adding inventive accompaniment.

The trombonist Steve Davis, a one time Posi-Tone artist, is the composer of "Free Time" and is provides some nice space for tenorist Diego Rivera to shine. Michael Dease's trombone work here is a joy- facile, fluid and creative- and we hear some beautiful interaction between Dease and Kozlov that is telepathic. 

One of my favorites is the quick paced swinger "Mal's Totem" written by Rivera. Kozlov and Royston push the rhythm beautifully, as Rivera's tenor is at his most creative here.

Kozlov's "Below the Line" finds the versatile Hirahara on Fender Rhodes lending an airy feel to this one.  The music has a moody feel to it and Dease navigates the terrain with measured style. Royston opens it up with some increased pace and syncopation and Kozlov's probing bass also adds to the mix before the tune returns to opening refrain.

Sipiagin's "Mirror" is a gorgeous ballad that features some killing trumpet work by Alex bringing new heights to the tune's pathos. Patrick Cornelius' alto cascades his lines with sensitivity to the theme.

Dease's  "Simmer," a tune that builds tension with Kozlov's repeating bass lines as it unfolds. Sipiagin's warm flugelhorn is another delight, as Kozlov's bass probes, percolates, and he raises the temperature to the higher ground. Dease's trombone work is just so bubbly, joyous, and inventive. Rivera and Cornelius trade lines in a smoking exchange of ideas. What really stands out is the horn sections and how tight and unified they sound. Bravo, just is pure beauty and Royston's drums just boil like a roiling cauldron. It doesn't get much better than this.

Art Hirahara's "Stepped Out" has a cosmopolitan feel. Cornelius offers a swinging alto solo as Kozlov and Royston carry the beat like a fine time piece. Hirahara plays some of his most uplifting piano here and Kozlov has plucky bass solo before the horns return to the opening lines.

The album continues with the staccato opening of Dease's "Don't Look Back Behind You" with Royston, Kozlov and Hirahara playing the lines in synch. The horn section repeats the liens in unison before Hirahira and the rhythm section take it off to the races. Dease adds a smoking trombone solo to this swinger, man can this guy play! You can't help but tap your feet and Royston's explosive drum work and solo here is incendiary as the horn section brings it to a definitive exclamation point.

Cornelius brings his tango-like "Le Rendez-vous Final" where he plays flute. The group create the dance-like feel with Kozlov's bass setting the pace with Royston's astute trap work. Hirahara's piano work is quite expressive with a European feel to it. 

The album closes with the swinger Misha Tsiganov's "Changing Times."  Its a treat to hear this section make such great music and you can feel the way each soloist adds his own touches to this romp. Rivera, Dease, Cornelius, Sipagin and Hirahara  all take their turns in succession and you can feel these guys are having fun. The set ends with some explosive drum work at the coda from Royston as the section adds there own exclamations. 

In Jazz We Trust is just pure delight, a true tribute to the label's thirtieth anniversary. I have not heard many release this year that swing as hard or deliver with such imbedded joy then this one. One can only hope Free and O'Toole can somehow manage to corral these guys once more time to create some more of this magic.

John Surman: "Flashpoints and Under Currents: A Time Trip and a Lost Treasure of Progressive Music Circa 1969

John Surman Flashpoints and Under Currents : Cuneiform 

The British born musician John Surman has been making music for over sixty years, first gaining recognition for his baritone saxophone work with the Mike Westbrook Band in the mid-sixties. Along the way, this creative soul was a key driving force in the British jazz scene. He pursued avant-garde, modal and free jazz genres, but he has also explored creative music incorporating folk, pastoral, choral and chamber-like musical inspirations. He is clearly an eclectic musical maestro of international importance. In addition to Westbrook, his curriculum vitae includes numerous notable collaborations that include artists like Dave Holland, John McLaughlin, Terje Rypdal, Mike Gibbs, Jack DeJohnette, Alexis Korner, Thomaz Stanko, John Taylor, Paul Bley, John Warren, John Marshall, and his partner vocalist Karin Krog.  

Now at the tender age of eighty, this man is continuing to produce modern musical offerings that still deliver to the listener consistent invention, beauty and reflection. He has become a perfect mentor for the upcoming artist of the next generation.

I have reviewed both of his most current ECM releases Invisible Threads (here) from Jan 2018 and his Words Unspoken (here) from 2024, and Surman never ceases to find ways to expand the palette and reinvent the concept of creative improvised music.

This latest release, Flashpoints and Under Currents, captures a live performance of Surman's ten-piece group from a performance recorded in Hamburg, Germany on April 18, 1969, apparently in front of an audience. At the time of this recording- a very busy year for Surman-he had just completed his second album as a leader titled How Many Clouds Can You See among several other collaborative efforts. This new release is a expanded release from Cuneiform Records which originally released Surman's studio recorded Flashpoint NDR Jazz Workshop -April 1969 and released in CD and DVD form in 2011. The latest release Flashpoints and Under Currents is more historically of interest because Surman has included eight additional compositions and because the listener is 

On this iteration of the group is the same. Surman plays soprano and baritone sax, and bass clarinet and is joined by the Canadian trumpet/flugelhorn master Kenny Wheeler. Three British saxophonist of note, Ronnie Scott on tenor and Alan Skidmore on tenor and flute, and Mike Osborne on alto fill the horn section with Malcom Griffiths and the Austrian Erich Kleinschuster are on trombones. The rhythm section includes another Austrian, Fritz Pauer handling the piano, the South African Harry Miller on upright bass, and another Brit, Alan Jackson on drums. The release includes thirteen compositions, ten by Surman and one each by Wheeler, Pauer, and Kleinschuster. The music runs a little over 108 minutes spanning in time from just over four minutes to just under twelve minutes in run time.

The group deserves a little biographical refresher to get the significance of this important session in context. The three members of this recording who are still present are John Surman, whose discography as a leader and his worldwide exposure as a sought after sideman, speak for themselves. The prolific saxophonist Alan Skidmore is now eighty-three. Skidmore's saxophone and flute started out in the blues with Britain rockers John Mayall and Alexis Korner and  graduated to associations with Elvin Jones, Weather Report and Dexter Gordon. And Alan Jackson, the drummer, who served in many of Mike Westbrook's ensembles besides working on several Surman projects, now eighty-five and  presumably retired from playing.  The remaining seven members of this band have sadly all transitioned. 

Mike Osborne, the alto saxophonist, retired in 1982 due to health issues, and passed in 2007 at the age of sixty-five. Ronnie Scott, saxophonist and one of the founders of his jazz world famous club named after him in London, passed in 1996 at the age of sixty-nine.  Kenny Wheeler the prolific and well respected composer/trumpeter left us in 2014 at the age of eighty-four. Trombone ace Malcom Griffiths, a one time member of Mike Westbrook's Band, Michael Gibbs Orchestra and lead trombone in Buddy's Rich's Orchestra, left us in 2021 at age seventy-nine. Austrian trombonist Erich Kleinschuster, an alumni of the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland's ensemble, who also played with Stan Getz and Astrid Gilberto as well as harmonica giant Toots Thielman's,  left us in 2018 at the age of eighty-eight. Fellow Austrian and educator/pianist Franz Pauer, who played with prominent jazz artists like Dexter Gordon, Don Byas, Booker Ervin, and Art Farmer, passed in 2012 at the age of sixty-eight. South African bassist Harry Miller, besides working with Mike Westbrook's Band and Chris McGregor's Brotherhood Of Breath, also played with Elton John and as a guest bassist for King Crimson. He was tragically killed in an auto accident in 1983 at the age of forty-two. With this in mind, it becomes all the more significant to have a chance to listen to this talented assembly of some of Britain's most creative musicians at what might be arguably considered their prime, the late sixties.

The music from Flashpoints and Under Currents is a testament to Surman's inquisitive mind. It captures the musician as an aspiring composer and arranger for larger format ensembles, while capturing his proficiency as a formidable multi-reed artist and as a leader.  The compositions can be risky, probing, dynamic, often free, sometimes cacophonous or modal in nature. But sometimes the music shows a penchant to create melodic beauty. Surman uses diverse textures, inventive section accompaniments, tonal variation and multiple rhythmic ideas. 

If you have heard the original release from 2011 then you will recognize the highlights from the first recording-Surman's the modally driven "Mayflower," the gorgeous "Once Upon a Time" and eruptive and cacophonous "Flashpoint,"  Pauer's airy, waltz-like "Gratuliere" and Kleinschuster's kinetic "Puzzle." These live recordings all have the energy and creativity that mark this incredible ensemble brimming with excitement and vivaciousness as they follow Surman's  compositional lead into a new world of music that seems to have been influenced by what has been going on around the world. Influences like Coltrane, Tyner and Sanders, composer arrangers like Oliver Nelson and Gil Evans and even free thinkers like Dolphy and Coleman. Its a British response to what was happening in the world of jazz circa 1969 and it captures the audience response.

The new album adds some gems that are not to be missed. Besides "Beyond the Hill," "Background," " Hallo Thursday," and "Aqua Regis" all Surman compositions  my favorites are Surman's  beautiful "Where Fortune Smiles," his driving quick-paced "Jack Knife" and Wheller's modal composition "Dallab."

The individual performances are worth noting, like some impressive solos like Osborne's top notch alto sax solo on "Flashpoint." Surman's slippery soprano work "Flashpoint" is like a cobra on steroids and raises the temperature to new heights. Griffith's expressive trombone work on "Gratuliere" is just outstanding as is Alan Skidmore's airy flute work. Expressive flugelhorn work by Wheeler on "Dallab"  and  again pulling some strings on "Once Upon A Time" along with some gorgeous piano work by Pauer.  Kleinschuster's trombone on his composition "Puzzle" leaves no prisoners and Alan Jackson offers an explosive drum feature at the coda. "Jackknife" is a wonderful vehicle to hear Wheeler on flugelhorn, Giffiths on trombone and Osborne again show some real mettle on his alto. 

Not all the music is going to age well. This was an experimental time of free expression, at times free of structure, containing elements of dissonance and unfettered noise generation, often lacking melody to hang onto. It could often be exhilarating in the moment, even for the audience in situ who can be captured by the overwhelming feeling of being present and part of an act of creation. But it also can lose the passive listener who can find it hard to feel like it was being played for his inclusion, lacking the feeling of being an observing participant.  That said, this is a marvelous picture into what the creative world of British jazz was like in the late nineteen-sixties.  It was vibrant, daring and pushed the envelope of traditional norms. It was also some of Europe's  most interesting artists of that era who were willing to follow Surman's lead and perform this progressive music with verve, confidence and enthusiasm. A treasure chest of music from another era.

 

Trilogy with Scott Hamilton: a beautiful meeting in Canada on "Slow Road"

 

Trilogy with Scott Hamilton-The Slow Road-Cellar Records

The saxophonist Scott Hamilton has always been one of my favorite players. His  impeccable tone, his taste in music, and the inherent, natural swing in his delivery is a fall back to a style that can be traced back to some of his idols; Johnny Hodges, Ben Webster, Zoot Sims and Coleman Hawkins. What's not to love?

Hamilton was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1954 so he is part of my generation. Where many of us drawn of that age were drawn to rock, fusion, hard bop, modal, free and avant-garde, Hamilton was enamored by swing. He came to New York in 1976 and was recommended to join Benny Goodman's Septet shortly thereafter by the great trumpet icon Roy Eldridge, who he had played previously with in Boston. Hamilton made his mark with Goodman and played in the US and Europe with the clarinetist on and off through 1982. Hamilton started his own his quartet in 1977 and made his debut album Scott Hamilton Is a Good Wind Who Is Blowing Us No Ill on Concord Jazz the same year. I recall hearing this saxophonist on WBGO or WRVR jazz radio back in the late seventies, and I was impressed by his sound and fluidity.

I got to see him in that time period at the now defunct jazz club at, Fat Tuesdays (190 Third Ave at 17th Street in NYC), a downstairs club that was famous for bringing in serious jazz artists to perform in that intimate venue. Needless to say I was smitten. The ease with which he was able to enrapture his audience with his sound and fluency made it clear to me that this was one special artist.

Apparently, Hamilton has had the same effect on other artists that he has collaborated with. He accompanied vocalist Rosemary Clooney for ten years. His mellifluous saxophone can also be heard on work that he did with Tony Bennett, Anita O' Day, Dave McKenna, Ruby Braff, Hank Jones, Warren Vache and Bucky Pizzareli to name just a few. I have enjoyed his saxophone deliciously playing ethnically folk-inspired music to great effect, like the album that he did with Danish artists titled Swedish Ballads...& More from 2013.

Scott Hamilton (photo credit unknown)

The most recent album, from Corey Weeds label Cellar Music Group, matches Hamilton with a Canadian jazz trio from Vancouver British Columbia called Trilogy. The album was recorded in B.C. on June 30, 2024 and released this past April titled Slow Road and Hamilton and this sympathetic trio make some beautiful music. 

Trilogy, a drum-less trio,  is comprised of pianist Miles Black, guitarist Bill Coon and upright bassist Jodi Proznick. With Trilogy's format, it is easy to see that not having a drummer driving the trio relies on Proznick's steadfast bass lines to propel the music and this talented bassist certainly does so with aplomb.

Miles Black, Jodi Proznick and Bill Coon of Trilogy (photo credit unknown)

The album is well recorded and includes nine compositions that show the diversity of the music this trio approaches. Having Hamilton's beautifully sensuous sound just adds to the groups appeal.

The opener is Proznick's "Luna," a strolling waltz that features the melodic piano of Black, the floating guitar work of Coon and Proznick's plucky bass. When Hamilton enters the music with his spare, warm, inviting sound and covers you like a warm blanket on a chilled autumn evening. These musicians are well-suited to playing with creation, easy swing and style as they dance in unison and in solo on this one. 

The album continues with "Pompton Turnpike," a rag tag, bouncy song made famous by the Charlie Barnet's Orchestra back in the nineteen forties. The group[ opens with some stride-inspired piano work by Black , some warm and tactile  guitar accompaniment by Coon, and buoyant bass work by Proznick, before Hamilton enters with his own swinging statement. If there is music that is supposed to billow up your spirits it's certainly music like this.

Antonio Carlos Jobim's tender "Luiza" is the perfect vehicle to allow Hamilton to simply sweep you away with his emotionally evoking saxophone. Black opens this one with an impressionable piano intro before Hamilton's tonally expressive tenor plays the evocative melody that plucks against the strings of your heart. Coon's guitar swells with glowing expression before Hamilton returns with one more pass at the theme that just adds a moving exclamation to the coda.

The title cut of the album "Slow Road" is a composition by the guitarist Bill Coon, who wrote the song during a residency in Italy. Coon opens the bouncy tune with repeating single note lines that is played in sync with Hamilton's subdued tenor. The saxophonist opens it up into a slow swinger with his sweet, flowing sound. Coon, Black, and Proznick all counter with their own solo verses before the tune returns to the four musicians playing the melody in unison.

Charlie Parker's "Moose the Mooche" is a fast tempo bebop classic that purportedly refers to Parker's one time drug dealer. Hamilton sits this one out, so this is a chance for the trio to show some of their chops. The three musicians play the quick lines in skillful synchronicity before they each take turns exploring the music's harmonic possibilities. While not played at blazing speed, the group carries the spirit with vigor and style.

Pianist Randy Weston is the composer of the next two offerings "Hi-Fly" and "I Thought About You." The cadenced rhythm of "Hi-Fly" offers some nice interplay opportunities for the four compatriots. Black's piano work is rich and cheerful. Hamilton's saxophone has such an organic feel and his timing is exquisite. There is a classic sound to Coon's lovely guitar work on this one as he navigates the changes with astute taste and feel. 

On "I Thought About You" opens with Proznick's resonant bass stating the melody as Coon deftly accompanies. Hamilton's restrained approach leaves lots of space and allows his horn to breathe between his expressive ideas. Black and Coon have a conversational section where they skillfully trade musical ideas.

A blast from the past that is rarely heard is Ralph Rainger and Leo Rabin's "Thanks for the Memories," The song made popular by becoming comedian Bob Hope's theme song. This slow walk down memory lane is played slowly, but Hamilton still finds some ideas to emphasize through this nostalgic ditty.

A medium tempo blues written by the pianist Miles Black titled "Blues for Fraz"  is dedicated by fellow Canadian jazz saxophonist Fraser MacPherson. A tight little gritless blues swings, but to me falls short for its lack of the authenticity and soul that is required to be part of the true blues DNA.

Slow Road has moments of sublimeness and its great to hear this talented trio  make such beautiful music with Hamilton. Now in his early seventies, the tenor saxophonist still has that burnished, appealing tone and swing that always makes seeing him play live or hearing him on record worth the price of admission.

 

Larry Goldings and his Piano Trio Live at Sam First : "I Will"

Larry Goldings and his trio : I Will: Live at Sam First: Sam First Records

The musician Larry Goldings recorded a piano trio performance when he played at the Los Angeles Club, Sam First , back in October of 2023. The Album, I Will, was released by Sam First Records on Valentine's Day February 14, 2025 and features Goldings on piano, Karl McComas-Reichl on upright bass and Christian Euan on drums. This "live" album was excellently recorded and a superb capture of Goldings at some of his most creative on piano. Careful listening of his piano work make clear that Goldings, despite his reign as one of the time's most revered player of electronic keyboards and particularly the B3 organ, is also one of the most eclectically inspired and harmonically imaginative piano minds of this era.

Larry Goldings, Karl McComas-Reichl, Christian Euman (photo credit unknown)  

Interestingly, I last heard Larry Goldings within days of his recording of this album in Los Angeles back in October of 2023. In the performance I attended at Portland's 1905 jazz club, Goldings was on organ and playing with his excellent  long-time organ trio mates Peter Bernstein on guitar and Bill Stewart on drums. The show was fantastic and for those who have an interest you can read that review by clicking here.

Goldings' has a sterling reputation as an innovative organ and keyboard master who has worked with such diverse artists as Rickie Lee Jones, Maceo Parker, James Taylor, Norah Jones, John Scofield and Steely Dan to name just a few. He developed his fascination with the organ from his additional interest in playing a walking, left-handed piano bass line, vis-à-vis his influence from the pianist Dave McKenna- with the man's facility to left-hand walking bass like no other.

I am familiar with Goldings' solo piano work from his excellent piano solo album from 2011, In My Room. Goldings' unique ability to mine such expressiveness from slightly obscure gems like Brian Wilson's beautifully reflective "In My Room," Rod Argent from the Zombie's haunting "A Rose for Emily," and even the well worn Beatles' "Here, There and Everywhere" among others are fertile material for the pianist to open up other musical revitalizing possibilities.

On I Will, Goldings has brought together another astute selection of songs that reinforce the artists eclectic taste in music. The album starts off with his own composition "Roach," which he reprised from his previous solo album In My Room. The song is a homage of sorts to the style of drummer icon Max Roach. In comparing the two versions, one can hear Goldings predominant left handed bass line that drives the song in the original recording. In the latest take, Goldings reintroduces this slightly skewed bluesy composition and opens with that groove, this time accentuated by what sounds like some creative abrasion of the cymbal rim by Euman for percussive effect. Goldings pianistic walking bas line is now reinforced by McComas-Reichl's probing upright bass and Euman's exploring percussion. The freedom of having this intuitive rhythm section carry the groove load seems to release the inventive Goldings to his own devices. He adds more dissonant surprises, adds interesting harmonic possibilities to his playing and adds rhythmic variations to spice things up. This version adds interesting embellishments by Goldings and creative accompaniment by his talented bandmates that make the set more adventurous, unpredictable and rewarding.

Goldings' chosen repertoire for this album is another peek into just how diverse this man's musical background has been, He takes Gershwin's "It Ain't Necessarily So" from the famous folk-opera "Porgy and Bess," and he and his trio use the melody almost like an artist uses a pencil sketch on empty canvas that is transformed into a colorful masterpiece. These guys have a symbiotic relationship and it is most clearly demonstrated on this particular performance. The communication is almost telepathic and the trio injects a modern perspective and some vital energy into this weathered classic. Goldings' Shearing-like block chording and his musical humor at the coda is a treat.

The Beatles' compositions, in this case a McCartney tune, "I Will", are often vehicles that Goldings uses to see what can be further crafted. On this one, the pianist almost broods over the fetching melody. He extracts meaning from the essence of the love song's message, always being there for someone. His piano bobs and weaves around the melody as his is conversationally accompanied by the buoyant bass of  McComas-Reichl. 

The repertoire continues to throw you a curve ball, this time with Mario Bausa's "Mambo Inn." Opening this one with Euman's syncopated drum work, the group creates a breezy flow that immediately brings your feet into the action as the Afro-Cuban rhythm unfolds. There is a joy in the pianist's hands and it is pure delight. Bassist  McComas-Reichl offers a plucky, facile bass solo that resonates with authority. Euman is equally rhythmically engaged in creating this musical vacation to the tropics. Grab an umbrella drink and enjoy.

"Embraceable You," another number from Gershwin, is a song that Goldings reprised from his Awareness album released in 1996. That album matched Goldings on piano with bassist Larry Grenadier and the iconic drum legend Paul Motian. On this latest take, Goldings meanders at the intro, probing, establishing  direction and determining the right time before introducing the recognizable melody. McComas-Reichl and Euman find equal time to explore the rhythmic and harmonic possibilities along with Larry, a little outside but never too far from the structure of the music. Goldings' pianistic approach is like a wellspring of variations that he creates on stage and in real time and he has the chops to pull off anything that his mind can percolate. His music has an inherently organic feel to it, and his audience at Sam First were rewarded by his unfettered imagination.

"Jasus Was A Cross Maker" is a composition by singer/songwriter Judee Sill from back in 1971. The song was inspired by Sill having read a fictionized novel about Jesus being a carpenter who built crosses that the Roman's used for crucifixions. Despite the preposterous storyline the music has an Americana feel to it with Goldings using a honky-tonk-like piano approach that delves into a gospel influenced sound to great effect. McComas-Reichl offers an inventive bass solo that seems to support the redemptive aspects of the music.

Goldings preferences on music can sometimes include his love of pop and showtime music. On Leonard Bernstein's uplifting "Somewhere" from the maestro's musical hit West Side Story is wonderfully portrayed by the trio. There is pathos and hope in this music. Goldings mines the emotional aspects of this fetching tale with some gorgeous ornamentation and dramatic chordal work in his playing.

The closing composition is a Goldings' original titled "Sing Song." The music has a repeating, simple, sing-song melody that evokes a child-like fairy tale theme quality. But Goldings is also a humorist, just ask his alter-ego "Hans Groiner," an Austrian musicologist that sometimes raises his head at some of Goldings' appearances. The approach to this music is a bit misleading. Like the master of hip humor Thelonious Monk, who used to add his tongue-in-cheek lines to songs like his "Boo Boo's Birthday" or his "Little Rootie Tootie," Goldings is equally adept at inserting humorous lines into complex musical compositions. First with the repeating, simple melody, then he slowly reveals his skills as he builds a dynamic, multi-layered composition that is anything but pedestrian. The audience loves being let in on this inside joke.

I Will is the kind of album that really engages the listener. If you spend the time to really listen, you will be rewarded on multiple levels by the magical pianist's incredible inventiveness and joy.

 

Saxophone Titan Joe Lovano Creates Magic with the Marcin Wasilewski Trio on "Homage"

Joe Lovano w/ Marcin Wasilewski, Slawomir Kurkiewicz and Michal Miskiewicz; Homage; ECM

There is no denying that saxophonist Joe Lovano is one of this era's giants on his instrument. On his latest release Homage from ECM released on April 25, 2025, we find Lovano's titan tenor brilliantly matched with the Polish trio of pianist Marcin Wasilewski that includes bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz and drummer Michal Miskjewicz. My most recent exposure to this anticipatory trio was on the late Tomasz Stanko's album September Night released in 2024. As their work with Stanko, this trio is a remarkably intuitive unit that meshes so well with Lovano's extemporaneously fluid approach to this music . Consequently the music has a unified feel  that makes this release just a joy to listen to.

Homage, the title song, was written by Lovano as an homage to ECM's founder Manfred Eicher for saxophonist's appearance at the celebration of Eicher's 80th birthday in Hamburg, Germany in 2023. Lovano has a special feeling for the music that Eicher has so steadfastly produced since the early seventies. The song is an acknowledgment of the excellence that the body of work created and the appreciation for how it influenced him and so many other artists over the decades. 

The album was recorded in the Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey when the group  had a residency at the Village Vanguard in New York during the autumn of 2023. This wasn't the first time the group played together or recorded, as they also released Artic Rift  back in 2020.

Joe Lovano with Marcin Wailweski, Slawomir Kurkiewicz and Michal Miskjewicz. 

The opener is a composition by Polish violinist Zbgniew Seifert titled "Love in the Garden." The song was originally released on his Man of the Light from 1977 and had a distinctive poignancy with Seifert's emotionally charged violin playing this ballad over  drone-like organ work by Jasper Van't Hof. The artist, who unfortunately died from cancer, at the age of thirty-two,  was dedicated to bringing the music of John Coltrane into the world of jazz violin. The song was purportedly dedicated to Coltrane's pianist McCoy Tyner. Seifert's Polish heritage and his connection to trumpeter Tomasz Stanko, who he played with in 1968, make this music so vitally important to Wasilewski and his trio.

On Lovano and the trio's just over four minute interpretation of this music, it is  quite apparent that the music never loses any of Seifert's intended poignancy. Wasilewski's piano delicately opens the music before Lovano's tenor is heard briefly presenting the melody. His rubato treatment of the lines resonate with emotional commitment and simple beauty. Wasilewski's facile, light touch, and glorious embellishments enchant, as Kurkiewicz's bass and Miskjewicz's cymbal work provide subtle accompaniment.  As sensitive and endearing a take on this beautiful music as I have heard.

"Golden Horn" is a Lovano composition that takes a more modal approach. Here the trio is committed to creating a repeating framework as the armature on to which the group creates extemporaneous musical improvisational excursions for just over ten minutes. Lovano opens with some percussive accents from what sounds like shells, as Miskjewicz's trap and cymbal work set the tone. Kurkiewicz's ostinato bass line is mimicked by Wasilewski's repeating piano line, before Lovano's husky horn enters here. Joe's tenor is free, fluid and exploratory. His sound is mellow at times, deliberate and thoughtful, and yet he changes the pace of his playing in a split second, blowing a gush of notes that flow out of his horn like a cascade of free thought covering the listener. Wasilewski's piano is equally revelatory. His lines are swift and unpredictable, rippling, ascending and descending in bursts that shower you, as Miskjewicz's deft cymbal work adds another element to the feel. Lovano returns with shells before he adds the sinewy sound of his tárogató, a Hungarian woodwind instrument, that just adds a more exotic feel to the mix. The music feels so organic, a musical testament to just how simpatico these musicians are, as the group fades into a calming coda. Splendid! 

The title cut "Homage" finds Lovano and Wasilewski in a free mode. The two develop lines that seem to be released from the ether in the moment. There is some probing piano, tárogató , and tenor solos that spur interaction of the musicians, all intuitively responding to each other. Kurkiewicz has a short feature where his plucky bass is given a chance to express on a solo demonstrating his own free thinking. Lovano's higher-pitched instrument is often the  instigator that spurs  Wasilewski to respond in kind. Miskjewicz's facile drum skills produce a percussive answer to the magical interaction.

"Giving Thanks" is a two-plus-minute meditation of sorts. Lovano's large sounding tenor is featured solo here, as he musically offers thanks. There are no fireworks here, simply a heartfelt, reverent outflow of this man's feelings, brilliantly played on an instrument he has made another extension of his soul. 

"This Side-Catville" is another Lovano composition that is probably the most "in-the -moment" of the songs on this album. Lovano's overblown tenor sets the tone as Wasilewski and the trio respond in a truly reactive way. Wasilewski explained this in the notes- “It was a spontaneous choice – no discussion about how or what to play. We just went for it, and the music unfolded naturally.” Listening to the way music can be created like this is a treat. No preconceived notions, just going with the flow, pure creativity at its finest. The music bubbles with a home grown essence that cannot be repeated, so rather then explain this, just enjoy and be happy it was preserved for us all to hear.

The closing piece  is another Lovano piece titled "Projection" and opens with a clashing cymbal or is it a gong? The changing rhythmic patterns on bells, rims, cymbals are continued like a exploration in sounds, tones and timbres. A peaceful two minute rhythmic excursion.