RUST: A Homage to the Crescent City by Pianist/Composer Amaury Faye and his NOLA Quartet

 

Amaury Faye and his NOLA Quartet-RUST

The French pianist Amaury Faye is new to me. His latest music, the album released November 15, 2025 RUST, is a robust revelation. I have to thank the persistence and good taste of his publicist Matt Merewitz, for turning me onto this one. When I saw drum master Herlin Riley on the credits, that was one more positive indication to me that Faye's music might offer some welcome surprises and I was not disappointed. 

This thirty-five year old pianist comes out of Paris. Faye has a long list of achievements in the European musical world. He has been a member of the Vogue Trio where he lent his pianistic skills to the group led by Belgian double bassist Giuseppe Millaci from 2016 through 2023. The group is known for modern jazz that incorporates a European elegance and rhythmic variation. Faye has also played with the well-respected twelve-member French collective Iniative H led by saxophonist David Haudrechy.

Faye's history as a potent sideman has not stopped the pianist from finding his own voice as a pianist/leader. In  2010, he released My Big Toe with Louis Navarro on bass and Pierre Ardré,  which was a live recording based on music inspired by pianists Kenny Barron, Oscar Peterson and Hank Jones. In 2016, Faye came to the US to study at Berklee, in Boston, with Joanne Brackeen, and in March 2015, he was awarded Berklee's Jazz Performance Award for best jazz pianist of that year. In 2019, Faye released his first solo album Buran, a grand and introspective eight-piece suite that was inspired by his parent's work in the space industry. Bursan means snowstorm in Russian. It is inspired by Faye's respect for Russian music, culture and the beauty of Siberia's vast expanse and incorporates elements that combine classical, cinema, pop and jazz music.

(left to right clock wise) Amaury Faye, Herlin Riley, Julian Lee and Amina Scott  

With so many diverse influences, Amaury is never one whose musical offerings can be pigeonholed into a particular genre. On his latest release RUST,  Faye is joined by a dynamic group of musicians who add to the possibilities in the pianist's color palette. Besides Faye's facile piano work , he creates catchy, cinematic compositions which lend to creative, lively improvisation by his bandmates. Bassist Amina Scott offers plucky, booming lines that swell the beat organically and with vitality. Tenor saxophonist Julian Lee plays with a searing confidence. A fiery player whose  sax elevates this music. Trap master Herlin Riley adds  that secret sauce factor to the album. The soul and Afro-Caribbean rhythm variations that breathe New Orleans life into this offering.

The opener, "Sirens of the Crescent City," finds Lee's saxophone recreating the urgency of a siren-like plea over Faye's ostinato piano lines. Besides the images created by the music, there is a jagged line here that is punctuated by Scott's booming bass and Riley's simmering drum and cymbal work. Lee's saxophone builds the urgency like an overflowing pot of boiling water. The music aurally captures the frenetic energy of an unexpected emergency mode that a visitor to any big city might experience.

"Walkin' Down the Levee" captures a funky, sauntering musical strut down to New Orleans famous Levee. The Levee, over one hundred feet long and at times finding embankments of over sixteen feet in height, offer New Orleans a lifeline. It allows this unique city to exist below sea level. But the Levee is also a liability. The dual personality of the structure showed its dangerous side when in 2005 Hurricane Katrina ran havoc, overflowing the levees and yielding massive destruction. That being said, Faye's take on walking down at the Levee is more of a soulful, funky ode to the vitality and spirit that he has experienced there. Faye sets the tone with a slinky, captivating shuffle that opens with a syncopated drum entre by Riley and  features Lee's husky tenor stating the repeating lines of the melody, supported by Scott's pulsing bass and Faye's supportive descending piano lines. Lee's tenor work builds tension and excitement with an aplomb that  remind me a bit of Michael Brecker. Faye's piano solo is inventive with a graceful elegance that carries you along. You find yourself rocking your head back and forth to the infectious beat he, along with Scott and Riley, create. If you're like me, this one is on your repeat play list for a while.

"The Railyard," part of Faye's cinematic-like portrait of New Orleans, finds the pianist using the propulsive rhythm of the team of Scott and Riley to create an aural image of constant motion. The team play brilliantly, all four locked into a repeating syncopated synchrony. The music offers solos- first by Faye whose playing hovers in a soup of sounds that have elements of pop, classical and jazz, similarly to the way Brad Mehldau amalgamates and blurs these styles. Lee's tenor follows with his own clarion bursts and the song ends with Riley's roiling drum work finishing with authority to the coda.

"Huckabuck Garden" opens with Faye, Scott and Riley having a rollicking conversation. This has a low down, Honky-tonk, NOLA feel to it. The title refers to a sweet, fruit or sugar flavored homemade frozen desert -a huckabuck-popular in New Orleans and parts of the Louisiana and Georgia. 

The album continues with a ragtime inspired tune "Public Belt Rag." As the pianist Jelly Roll Morton was one of the first to incorporate ragtime time with improvisation, this one could easily be a homage to this inventive style. Faye once again proves just how diverse his musical education and abilities are. Pure fun.

The boogie-woogie blues is on display on "The Barges Blues." Faye's piano work  follows in the steps of early innovators of this style like James Booker, Meade Lux Lewis and Albert Ammons. Faye's pianistic style here, like mush of what he does, always has a certain elegance to it. The quartet all have fun with this one and it has a spirit that puts a smile on your face.

The title cut "Rust" opens with an repeating rhythmic phrase that creates a signature, a theme to the song. Faye's piano lines set the scene, Scott and Riley add the rhythmic counterpoint and Lee's saxophone play a serpentine line over the riff. Rust is a pervading, often a never-ceasing deterioration that is usually associated with aging metal. For old cities like New Orleans, infrastructure like bridges and railroad tracks have their share of rusting. As the cover photo of the album reveals, Faye seems to have witnessed this ongoing fight to keep valuable structures from rusting away and ultimately failing. As an artist, Faye's music is raising awareness of these issues, as well as celebrating the area's celebratory musical feel and I applaud that effort. 

"The Old Empress in the Gloaming" is a very telling title to this haunting ballad. Faye has a poetic flair here. While its hard to know his intention, the title refers to the fading grandeur of an old royal lady. "In the gloaming" refers to in the twilight or in the dusk. The music evokes mystery, a little melancholy and reflection. The music seems to have been based on Faye's experience in New Orleans. One might project that this song is the pianist finding the Crescent City, presumably the old empress, to have been through a lot (like Katrina), with its rusting infrastructure, and its once grandeur is rapidly in decline. Listen for yourself and see if that reading feels true to you.

The closing composition, "Sweet, Chaotic And Vibrant"  is a moving, classically  inspired solo piano ode, probably  to the Crescent City. Faye ends with this emotive piece and he impresses with his astute observations of what his experience has meant to him. If ever an artist revealed his love of a place, with all its warts, Amaury Faye's RUST  is a fitting and deep felt homage to New Orleans.

  

A Splendid Night of Inventive Music at 1905 Jazz Club with Andy Milne and his Unison Trio

Andy Milne, John Hébert, and Kush Abadey at 1905 Jazz Club

On Wednesday November 12, 2025, at Portland's premium jazz club 1905, the Juno award winning Canadian pianist Andy Milne brought his trio Unison in support of a tour featuring the music of his latest Sunnyside album Time Will Tell. On this West Coast tour, Milne's Unison trio included the superb bassist John Hébert, who was on the album, and the colorist drummer Kush Abadey, who ably replaced the percussion work of Clarence Penn, who was the original drummer on the album. 

Andy Milne and Unison-Time Will Tell-Sunnyside records

I first saw Milne perform as the pianist with the eclectic trumpeter Ralph Alessi's quartet when they played 1905 back in June of 2023. For those of interest you can read my review of Alessi's group performance here. After seeing the impressive Milne in action with Alessi, I made it my business to do some research and listen to more of this pianist's work.  After listening to his Juno award winning album The re Mission, a emotionally moving album that traced Milne's experience with his own personal diagnosis of cancer, his following treatment and eventually his full remission from the condition, I became an enthusiastic  fan. When Milne released Time Will Tell, his Sunnyside release from April of 2024, I had a listen and reviewed this fine album which you can read here. When I heard Milne and his trio was going to come to play in my favorite venue in my area I couldn't resist.

Hearing this group play 'live' and experience the dynamic interaction and intuitive comradery these three guys can generate while playing some of today's most modern and exciting music is like being a kid in an ice cream store. A real treat!

Part of Milne's imprimatur is his distinctive pork-pie style hat, a flat-toped felt or straw fedora that resembles a pork pie and thus the name. The artist facially reminds me a little of the actor Jeff Goldbum. 

Andy Milne at 1905 Jazz Club

The group opened the early set I attended with a composition from Milne, "Purity of Heart," which was from the latest album Time Will Tell. The album is  partially inspired by his personal search as an adopted child for his birth mother and his roots. Milne opens with a beautiful, classically influenced piano entre. The music is propelled by an syncopated, ostinato-based flow, brilliantly maintained by Hébert and Abadey. In the original album version, the music has Ingrid Laubroch's  tenor saxophone as the key foil to Milne's piano work. On this live set, the trio, and specifically, the counterpoint of Hébert's fluid bass work, was key to the  alluring interactivity. The music had its own heartbeat, an organic drive that flows like a dynamic life-force. Milne's keyboard work is emotive and inventive, lively yet melodic, tense yet beautiful. The threesome find joy and excitement in their magical bond and it shows. The audience loved it.

The second song was bassist Hébert's gorgeously reflective "Broken Landscape," which was also from the current album. Milne's piano work explores while maintaining sensitivity to the composition's intent. Beauty flows seamlessly from this man's mind to his hands. Hébert's arco work resonates with feeling through the room.  Abadey's expanded palette includes subtle colors urged by timely rim shots, deft use of sticks, brushes or hands, and using the abrasion of the surface of cymbals to great effect. His percussive ingenuity was a highlight of the evening.

John Hébert

"Kumoi Joshi" is another composition of Milne from the latest album. Milne has been intrigued by Japanese string music as played on  the Koto, a thirteen string, zither-like instrument that is plucked. This piece was played on the Koto on the album by Yoko Reikano Kimura and had some saxophone work by Laubroch.

Kumoi Joshi is translated as Cloud Scale and refers to a scale used by Koto players that is characterized by an interval structure that gives music a bright and exotic quality.  On this night, the music opened with a repeating piano line from Milne that is countered by Hébert's bass and some tom work by Abadey. Hébert's arco enters the picture where the Koto would have been played in the album. Milne's piano lines ascend and descend and seem to by following a path that has no particular destination. The trio seem to find common ground in executing this odd scale-based music.  

Milne reprised his "Drive by-The Fall" from his album The re Mission. This composition was written by the pianist as an appreciation of nature. When diagnosed with his cancer, Milne had to acknowledge the fact that sometimes nature can confront you with challenges. What Milne had to face, upon receiving his diagnosis, was like being in a drive-by accident- confusion, unbelief, despair and eventually acceptance.  The only positive way to deal with such challenges is to resolve yourself to being resolute, to embracing confidence in yourself and in your ability to rise above what is before you. The music opens with a  roiling drum solo that has a disrupting, staccato-like jaggedness to it. The piano and bass enter the ascending and descending lines that seem to emulate a person who is trying to gain their bearings after being disoriented. Abadey and Hébert create the landscape upon which Milne's piano work seems to be searching for stability. The trio brings the music to an apex of excitement before Hébert takes out his bow to beautifully punctuate the coda and then Abadey creates his own vortex of percussive excitement.

Kush Abadey

The trio gives the audience a treat with the standard, Billy Strayhorn's "Isfahan."  Milne's ability to expand on the theme with aplomb is on display. A lyrical musician of great depth, his piano sings the immediately recognizable theme. Hébert plays the foil with his astute walking that always seems to be adding some timely counterpoint ideas simultaneously. He keeps the ear from being able to  predict the next move. Hébert's pizzicato fluidity is impressive and Abadey adds his own fertile percussive ideas. These three working together is like a  testament to the making of creative music and the appreciative audience members are the grateful recipients.

Milne closes this set with McCoy Tyner's "Passion Dance" which was the opening tune from The re Mission. The repeating melodic line is identifiable and sets the stage for Milne's pianistic exploration. Hébert and Abadey maintain the initial  pace before the three move it up a level. This allows Milne's piano power to let loose in the modal mode. This trio continually urge each other on to new heights.

The set was a resounding success, even charming those in the audience who were new to Milne's music.  This is a special trio and if you can catch them before the end this tour at some of the future locations like Scottsdale, AZ or Santa Fe , NM than don't  hesitate. You will not be disappointed. 

Keep Swingin' The Music of Charlie Banacos-Dial and DeRosa: A Love Letter to a Great Educator

It's hard to imagine the impact an artist can have on those whose lives he  or she touches during their time here. The pianist/educator Charlie Banacos made an indelible impression on those students and musicians he worked with over the years. As a sought after educator/composer he worked at such esteemed institutions as the Berklee School of Music, The New England Conservatory of Music, Longy School of Music in Boston, The New School and The Manhattan School of Music in NY, to name a few. It is an understatement to say that that Banacos was treasured as a teacher. At one time, there was a five year waiting list to study with Charlie in person. Banacos created over one-hundred courses of study for improvisation and composition. Since the nineteen-fifties, these influential studies have become part of the lexicon of jazz education.

Cahrlie Banacos (photo credit unknown)

Banacos transitioned after a short bout with cancer on December 9, 2009. Back in January of 2024, pianist Garry Dial, a product of Banacos's mentorship, and his friend drummer/arranger Rich De Rosa, assembled a star studded cast of musicians to celebrate the life, memory and music of Charlie Banacos titled Keep Swingin' . The album features ten Banacos compositions as reimagined and rearranged by Dial and DeRosa, and over thirty of the jazz world's most diverse and impressive practitioners. Having listened to this posthumous musical letter of love to one of the art's true innovator/educators of the last half century, one can only imagine how proud Banacos would have been by this work of joy and love.

The music predominantly features a core group of Dial on piano and De Rosa  arranging and providing some of the drum work. There is the horn section that includes Nick Marchone (trmpt & flugel), Andrew Gould (alto sax and flute), Chris Oatts (tenor sax & flute), Ryan Keberle (trombone), and Gary Smulyan (baritone sax.) 

The opening number, the title track "Keep Swingin' ," is a funky 12 bar blues that remains pretty true to Banacos' original composition. As the name implies this one swings and features some great horn section work. There is an in-the-groove bass line by Jay Anderson, piano work by Dial  and complimentary accompaniment by De Rosa on the drums. The highlight is the rousing solos by Dick Oatts on his expressive alto and a gut- wrenching, plunger-driven solo by Terell Stafford. As Charlie would say Keep Swingin'!

"The Great Awakening" is a Banacos tune that is reimagined by one of his students, electric bass master Joe Hubbard. Hubbard is joined here by fellow Banacos student and electric guitar master Wayne Krantz. Hubbard's bass opens with a searching rubato solo over some synth work by David Witham. Hubbard's bass takes the line into funky world along with drum work by Thomas Brechtlein, as the horn section deftly accompanies. Hubbard's fluent Jaco-like bass is countered by Krantz's aerial guitar lines. Krantz's work is unique and add another element to this funk fantasy. 

Banacos's office was called the "Bat Cave" and so the next composition gets its name. This one, another blues-based tune, features pianist Gerald D'Angelo whose opening just kills it. Jay Anderson on bass and a percolating John Riley on drums keeps the music on track, as the horn section add color and punctuation. The charging baritone saxophone of Gary Smulyan just light it up increasing the level of the fire on this one.

"Pine Needles" is a slow-paced beauty that features Mike Stern's evocative electric guitar probing. DeRosa's horn section utilizes two C flutes and Anne Drummond's alto flute along with Keberle's trombone and Marchione's Flugelhorn for a more romantic sound that's perfect for this one. Dial on piano, Anderson on bass and De Rosa on drums round out the personnel on this moving song. 

The great saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi was one of Banacos' favorites as a friend who often played, practiced and goofed around together. The album's booklet includes many of Charlie's cartoons-he was a frequent doodler- that feature Jerry in some funny scenes and speak volumes to just how close these two master's were. Bergonzi brings in his quintet for "The Mummy's Curse" and includes Jerry on tenor, Phil Grenadier on trumpet, Plamen Karadonev on piano, Matt Stavrakis on bass and Luther Gray on drums. Gary Dial took bars 5 and 6 of Charlie's blues and turned it into a 16 modal intro, interlude and ending. The beauty of this one is it allows Bergonzi to play in his own inimitably inventive way. Jerry's playing never ceases to surprises and this one is a the treat. Grenadier also adds an impressive trumpet solo. Stavrakas' bass solo is sweet and Gray's drum solo is explosive. This is just top notch all the way.

The remainder of the album continues with "Burnie Burnola" that Dial reimagined as a samba. This finds four Brazilian musicians Helio Alves on piano, drummer Maurico Zottarelli, Itaiguara Brandão on bass and soprano saxophonist Paulo Levi. Two musicians who are no  stranger to Brazilian music are Paul Meyer on guitar and Anne Drummond on flute are also on this piece.  The solos by Alves, Drummond, Levi and Zottarelli are a delight. it has a breezy swing that just grabs you and makes you want to have one of those umbrella drinks in you hands as you sway to the vibe. 

Electric bassist Jeff Berlin brings his own progressive arrangement of "A-440." "Nero"  a fine piano waltz trio piece that features Dial, Anderson and Riley is also great. 

"Pluto Language" is perhaps the most musically challenging of the group. Steel pan master Victor Provost uses the music of Zouk, a music originated in the French Antilles, into a ostinato driven piece that uses one of Barnacos' compositions and takes it to another world. Pluto language was created by Banacos to express certain of his concepts. It is fitting Provost envisions this song as a jumping point for proving just how international the music and its language can be. Oatts' soprano sax solo is sinewy and creative. Drummond's flute work floats in the air with suppleness and Provost's pan work is sublime.

The finale is a classic piece that Banacos wrote for two pianos title "Pelaghia". The word  means "Of the Sea' and  Dial and De Rosa collaborated with Charlie's wife Margaret and his daughter Barbara to play this beautiful piece as a fitting closing to this love letter to Charlie. It was last played at a concert at Carnegie Hall back in July of 1984 which Gary Dial attended and it was timely to include this as a coda for this wonderful album.

Wolfgang Muthspiel with Scott Colley and Brian Blade: TOKYO- Playing to the purpose of the music.

Wolfgang Musthpiel Scott Colley  Brian Blade-TOKYO- ECM 

The Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel has just released a new trio album this September titled Tokyo on ECM records and it was well worth the wait. This is a continuation of sorts, the third release from this dynamic trio, which includes the bassist Scott Colley and the drummer Brian Blade. The previous, releases Angular Blues from 2020, and Dance of the Elders from 2023, both on ECM, feature this same trio, with Muthspiel as the leader and composer. Both were wonderfully received albums. Muthspiel is an accomplished guitarist that is equally comfortable on both acoustic and electric guitar formats. His compositional work uses elements of folk and classical music as inspiration and his judicious use of electronics brings in yet  another subtle color to his creative palette. 

For those who are unaware of Musthpiel's guitar work, the Vienna based artist studied with and befriended guitar guru Mick Goodrick at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and while at Berklee the guitarist toured with vibraphonist Gary Burton and his Quintet in the early nineties. Muthspiel worked with the late drummer Paul Motian in his The Electric BeBop Band and was a member of Motian's album Reincarnation of a Love Bird  from 1994.  He was also a member of the second generation of bassist Marc Johnson's Right Brain Patrol on the album Magic Labryinth from 1995. 

Curiosity and drive found Muthspiel playing with pop star Rebekka Bakken and led him into an electronic duo with his brother trombonist Christian along the way. In 2009, Muthspiel helped form the trio of Muthpiel, guitar-master Ralph Towner, and the Khazahstan/Austrian classical guitarist Slava Grigoryan, recording the album Form a Dream. The second acclaimed album of these three guitar virtuosos was released as Travel Guide  in 2013. Further associations brought Muthspiel's guitar together with other jazz players like Brad Mehldau, Ambrose Akinmusire, Larry Grenadier and Peter Erskine to name just a few.

Muthpiel is also an active educator who has since 2004, led the guitar program of the Basel University of Music FHNW.

Scott Colley, Brian Blade , Wolfgang Muthspiel (photo credit unknown)

This recent release came about when the trio was on tour performing at the Cotton Club in Tokyo in 2024, which lent the title's name. When talking about pairing recording in a studio while you are actively performing on a tour, Muthspiel has previously stated "The idea was (is) to capture the live flow from the concert, playing music in the moment, with as little editing as possible. That's what jazz is all about." His intent to produce a recording that is as vibrant and spontaneous as a live performance, is obviously a top consideration for this artist. On Tokyo, there is little doubt that he and his bandmates have certainly been successful in recreating the vibe, excitement and spontaneity of a live performance on this excellent studio album.

The album's ten tracks, eight of which are Muthspiel compositions, are bookended purposefully. It opens with Keith Jarrett's "Lisbon Stomp," originally on Jarett's 1968 album Between the Exit Signs. This energetic piece openss with Muthspiel's fluid electric guitar laying out the head before the group opens up into a free improvisational tour of the possibilities. His guitar lines appear like fresh water from a spring, joyful and inquisitive. Colley's bass is plucky in the mid-range, providing intuitive counterpoint and an inspired pizzicato solo. Blade provides an almost rhythm-less accompaniment, wisps of cumulus clouds that float over the proceeding. These guys always play to the purpose of the song. There is musical symbiosis, always bringing fresh interplay to the music without seeking to bring attention to the individual. 

The beautiful ballad "Pradela" was written by Muthspiel while hiking on the Camino de Santiago, in Spain. The guitar sings on this rubato-played piece,  Colley's bass warmly resonates in synch, as Blades subtle accompaniment is almost feather-like in his approach. There is a folk-inspiration to this composition. It feels like Muthspiel's time playing with guitarist Ralph Towner has certainly made its impression on the Austrian and this one is just gorgeous.

"Flight" is another Muthspiel composition, and one of my favorites. The guitarist  said that he had Colley's bass in mind when he wrote this one. The guitarist's classical-style finger-picking on his acoustic guitar is delicate but vibrant. He creates a repeating rhythmic pattern that he likens to the sound of a ride cymbal. Its a whoosh of rhythm and it hauntingly works so well. Colley's bass takes the lead, laying down the line, beautifully played like singing, commanding the mid-range. Muthspiel overdubs his electric guitar and enters the mix ringing through in a higher range like a clarion voice in the wind. The melodicism is stunningly creative as the two match each other lines with precision, tonally distinct yet in simpatico. Blades gently drum work propels the music in the background. Muthspiel orchestrates this music so well. He creates a tableaux skillfully meshing the highs, the lows and every tone in between. The music creates drama, as Colley's bass strings hum with beauty, and the trio brings the music to a powerful conclusion at the coda.

"Roll" opens with Blades pointedly cadenced trap work, before Muthspiel's acoustic guitar-picking and aggressive rhythmic strumming offers a rock-inspired  drive that forcefully flows. The guitarist once observed that Pat Metheny is particularly good at using dramatic strumming effectively. This one, and the other song "Strumming," demonstrates how an inspired Muthspiel can use strumming to create drama and drive. Colley's ostinato bass adds his own urgency to this one. The music is infectious, a musical romp that gets you rolling!

"Christa's Dream," finds Muthspiel's electric guitar accentuated with some tasty  use of chorus and tremelo, creating  a dreamlike aura. Blade's drum and cymbal work embellishes on the atmospheric feel. Colley's bass provides his own buoyant touches to make this one a musical walk in the ether.

"Diminished Augmented" has a modernistic feel with its angular lines complimented by some fleet finger-picking guitar work that just follows it's own muse. Patterns shift, meters change, as Colley's bass work mimics Muthspiels' lines even though its hard to predict where they are going. Blade somehow seems to find his own way, adding precise rhythmic pushes and pulls magically. If you ever doubted these guys possess telepathic powers, this one should put all doubts to rest.

"Traversia" is the second of the compositions Muthspiel penned on that Spanish hike. His work on the acoustic guitar is precise, warm and melodic. Colley's arco bass swells with cello-like beauty, as Muthspiel's classical-like finger-picking shines brightly.

"Strumming" finds Muthspiels' guitar rhythmically strumming energetically creating a whirl of movement, an eddy current of action. Colley's bass bows a moaning counter offer that touches your heart, and Blade's drum anchors the motion. The music wraps you in its intensity with excitement and pathos. Muthspiel's electric guitar lines can excite you or caress you. His probing fluidity and relentless strumming can be mesmerizing.

"Weill You Wait" is a beautiful chamber jazz-like homage to the writing of the composer Kurt Weill, who had a prolific career. His most famous work was "Three Penny Opera" and it's famous song "Mack the Knife" became a pop and jazz standard. Muthspiel was an admirer of Weill's musical compositions and he has said this piece was inspired by Weill's music and by the singing of Lottev Lenya, Weill's wife. 

The closing bookend of this set of music, features a song, "Abacus," a piece composed by the drummer Paul Motian. Muthspiel was inspired by the drummer's unique approach to rhythm.  He has called Motian "...THEE master of rubato." The music is built on the theory that music doesn't always require a set rhythmic base. The music opens with the guitarist and the bassist in a free improvisational conversation. Muthspiel explores lines that inspire his bandmates to free associate in ways that are not predictable, but somehow these guys are in synch. Mid way through, the music fades before Colley's bass takes the lead. The music ends with a gently played finger-picked statement that is responded in like by the bass and the drums to the coda.

Making Beautiful Music in a Converted Japanese Farm House :Vocalist Sinne Eeg and Pianist Jacob Christoffersen : SHIKIORI

Sinne Eeg And Jacob Christofferssen: SHIKIORI: Stunt Records

I have been a fan of the Danish vocalist Sinne Eeg since I came across her 2015 Stunt Records album Eeg-Fonnesbaek which was a spectacular duo with the bassist Thomas Fonnesbaek. I later reviewed her equally impressive album Dreams from 2017, which she recorded with Danish pianist Jacob Christoffersen and with an excellent American band consisting of guitarist Larry Koonze, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Joey Barron. You can find that review here. If you haven't yet gotten hip to the talent of this vocalist you need to take a listen to her new album.

Eeg's latest release is titled Shikiori, and is a collaboration with the pianist Jacob Christoffersen, who has worked together with Eeg for over twenty years.  After such a long time working together, it's a wonder that this album, Shikiori, a duo album and the first the two have released with both of their names as co-headliners, took this long to happen. 

The title Shikiori is a poetic Japanese word that loosely means  "weaving of the four seasons."  Eeg and Christoffersen's album seems to successfully weave a tapestry of sounds, styles and sentiments to great effect. Shikiori also happens to be the name of a 140 year Japanese farmhouse that bassist Seigo Matsunaga has restored and converted into a top-notch recording studio and intimate performance venue. It is reportedly a special place amidst rice fields and mountains that allows for peaceful reflection and creative inspiration. Matsunaga has said it was his intention to "...create a place where the heart returns." Apparently, the bassist has been successful in his quest, as other important artists, like the talented Tigran Hamaysan, the amazing Armenian jazz pianist, has used the venue as a tranquil stop on his Japanese tour in 2023.

If it is true that artistic creation does not confine itself to artificially created  boundaries, than Eeg and Christoffersen have done their part to create an album that follows its own muse. They have chosen twelve songs, mostly from diverse sources, upon which to place their own imprimatur, creating their own impressive aural tapestry.

The opener "Losing You," is a composition penned by Eeg with Danish pop star Søren Sko. It is a beautiful bittersweet song of lost love that features Eeg's dynamic and heartfelt vocals accompanied by Christoffersen's sumptuous piano. Critic Dan Bilawsky of AAJ   wrote  the duo presents "...their own brand of quiet-storm soul" on this one and I have to agree.

The album features three compositions by Eeg and Christoffersen that seem to be inspired by the setting of the recording and Japanese folk-song tradition. The first is titled "Hebi," a word that means snake in Japanese. The snake can symbolize growth of wisdom or personal transformation. Christoffersen opens the song with a beautifully subdued piano entrée that creates an ethereal background upon which Eeg can provide her gorgeous wordless vocalizing. The pianist's touch is quite elegant. Sinne's voice is exquisitely pliable and resonant, and she creates a vapor-like essence. You are floating in the cosmos of your mind here.

The Soba flower is the white blossoms of the buckwheat plant. The buckwheat grain is used to make Soba noodles, a traditional Japanese dish, and fittingly "Soba Flower" is another Christoffersen creation for this recording. The composition has a cycling, vamp-like, folk-inspired pianistic theme upon which Eeg sings in Japanese. Quite fetching.

"Soba" is a reprise of the previous "Soba Flower," this time with Eeg wordlessly vocalizing in-synch with Christoffersen's repeating piano lines. The two have a telepathic connection that allows the improvised element of this music to enfold organically. Just beautiful.

The remainder of the album features a commanding performance of the  challenging, but rewarding, Billy Strayhorn's  composition "Lush Life." The song is harmonically challenging and has often stymied singers, most notably Frank Sinatra. Sinatra, who while once attempting to record it, stopped midway through the session, unhappy with his read of the complex arrangement. He would put it off, never revisiting the chance to record the song. Eeg has no such problem. Having a palpable rapport with her pianist, Eeg becomes the consummate storyteller. Her command of the song's pathos is superb. Her voice captures the loneliness and disillusionment that the music evokes. It's hard to believe a then sixteen year old Strayhorn penned this mature beauty.  Sinne's delivery is so matter of fact convincing that it's like she has the listener in the palm of her hand. Worth the price of admission.

The duo does a jaunty take on David Wheat/Bill Loughborough's "Better Than Anything." The album continues with Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim's heartfelt love song "Maria" from the Broadway hit West Side Story. Eeg and Christofferson give this beautiful ballad their own interpretation with warmth, sensitivity and heart. There is no doubt this woman can sing, capturing the emotional soul that the music deserves. Just listen to her as she brilliantly executes the gorgeously inspired coda. 

Other songs on the album include a showtime-like delivery of Gershwin's "But Not For Me." A delightful take on Christoffersen and Hansen' "Seems Like Yesterday" where Eegs' fluid wordless vocalese is on display, and soulful take on  Christoffersen and Freeman's " A Second Chance." 

Two other favorites are Sinne's take on Annie Lennox's "Cold," originally heard on Lennox's Diva from 1992. Eeg's proves that despite her jazz proclivities, she proves that popular music in the hands of a vocalist with talent and creativity can always find inspiration in good material. 

The gorgeous Eeg composition "Don't Be So Blue," was originally recorded on her album of the same name from Red Dot Records released in 2010. It just kills at how much emotion this woman can project. The band on that album included Christoffersen on piano, the talented bassist Morten Ramsbøl, and the drummer Morten Lund. This new album's version maybe missing some of the trio's beautifully textured accompaniment from the 2010 recording, but her voice is just as powerfully evocative and emotive. Christoffersen's piano work is lush and moving and his accompaniment with Eeg is superb. These two make beautiful music. Need I say more, what on earth are you waiting for?

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones Live at Portland's Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Aug 29, 2025

 

Anytime the master banjoist and eclectic composer Béla Fleck comes to town it is a special occasion. His constant quest to expand his instrument's possibilities has led this musician to collaborate with some of the most diverse of  fellow musicians  that come from the diverse genres including bluegrass, Americana, jazz, fusion, rock, classical and world music. He is truly a man who doesn't see boundaries. It was an especially rewarding happening when Fleck and his fantastic Flecktones graced Portland's elegant Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall this past Friday and wowed the full house with a variety of his genre-bending music. 

This was my first visit to the Schnitzer, a beautiful venue that seats 2776  and that was originally named the Portland Publix Theater when it opened in 1928. It later became the Paramount Theater in 1930. 

It is the last theater that has survived along Broadway, once the home of many more theaters over the years. Over its life, the theater went through years of disrepair and sustained some earthquake damage. In the early 1970s the theater was leased for an extended term to use the venue as a music concert venue. Eventually the exterior of the building received a Landmark status in 1972 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The Paramount was purchased by the City of Portland in 1980 in a condemnation proceeding. Arlene Schnitzer and her husband Harold were generous contributors to the subsequent restoration project and in 1984, when it was re-opened, it was named for Arlene. With all this history, the theatre, sometimes fondly known as the "Schnitz",  has been a vital part of Portland's vibrant arts community for nearly one-hundred years!

Howard Levy, Victor Wooten, Béla Fleck and Roy "Future Man" Wooten on stage at the Snitzer on Aug 29, 2025

In keeping with its illustrious history, it was just another jewel in the theater's tiara to have landed Béla, and his virtuosic bandmates, for this performance in Portland. Fleck is the principal leader/composer of the Flecktones. The group was assembled for their first performance on PBS-TV's  The Lonesome Pine Specials in 1988. The original members of Flecktones -Fleck on banjos/composition , Howard Levy on piano and harmonica, Victor Wooten on electric bass and brother Roy "Future Man" Wooten on his electric Synthaxe Drumitar and percussion,-recently reunited for this year's North American tour, which runs through December of this year.

The group opened up with "Frontiers," a rousing Fleck composition from the 1990 album Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. The music featured a twangy opening with Howard Levy on a Jew's harp, creating a drone-like background before his bandmates pick up this lively music. Béla deftly banjo picks his way into a  hoedown-like theme. The quartet add funky breaks and fabulous, albeit brief, solo features. Victor and Roy anchor the throbbing theme like a mind-melded duo, and Howard changes over to his emotive harp that soars in the air like a clarion. The audience respond enthusiastically.

This group were in their element with this Portland audience and it showed in the verve with which they all played. There is palpable interconnectivity amongst these musicians and in turn with the audience and the band, and it makes the experience uplifting and joyful. As Howard Levy said to the audience, "It was good to be back to Portlandia."

The set had a thirty-minute intermission and included eighteen songs that covered such favorites as the afore-mentioned "Frontiers" "Flying Saucer Dudes" and        "Turtle Rock" from Flight of the Cosmic Hippo from 1991, and Fleck's "Juno" a single from his three movement concerto that he collaborated with Chick Corea and which commemorates the birth of his son. He wrote it while stuck on the road when his son was born.

The music, at times, felt like you were hearing a hybrid hoedown that had the injection of pure virtuosic improvisation including elements of jazz, rock, bluegrass. world music and pure exploration.

After the intermission, the band continued with "Big Country" from the Left of Cool album from 1998. This was originally played with Jeff Coffin on soprano saxophone, in a reconfigured band that happened when Levy left for a period. On this version, Levy skillfully takes over what was Coffin's part on the record, this time using his amazing diatonic harmonica skills that defies normal limitations. Just a smashing rendition that lacked for nothing.

Levy opened "True North," from the UFO TOFU album from 1992, with either a fife or penny whistle. This Fleck composition borrows its folk feel from Irish folk music. Its a 3/4 waltz that has a whimsical sense of searching for direction while maintaining awareness of your true north, presumably home. The song uses a  reflective bass solo by Wooten to bring the coda to a resolution of the wandering implied.

Individually, each of the musicians were given a chance to be highlighted at certain features in the concert. There is no lack of virtuosity in each of these talents.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones (photo credit unknown)

Béla was largely supportive, building themes with flawless execution and seamless

rhythmic alterations. His facility is clean and quick and his creativity is almost limitless. His banjo was featured on his version of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" which was simply exquisite.

Victor Wooten wowed the audience with a feature where he used a "looper" pedal that allowed him to build repeating lines on his electric bass. He played against them, layering one level after another.

Howard Levy is famous for being able to play a single key diatonic harmonica and bend his notes in such a way that it is almost like a chromatic harmonica. He was shown being able to rhythmically accompany himself as he maintained fluid improvisation on the melody while playing both simultaneously. Besides his peerless harmonica playing, Howard is a talented pianist who accompanies brilliantly.

Roy "Future Man" Wooten, had a featuring his SythAxe Drumitar, an instrument he has created and pioneered.  It allows him to be portable, wearing the instrument and using his hands on pads that create drum sounds electronically. He also won over the audience with his melodic voice on Fleck's "Sunset Road" which was originally played without lyrics on the album Bela Fleck and the Flecktones from 1990.

The group played a World Music inspired piece that may have once been derived from an  improvisation on his "Middle Eastern Medley" which Fleck released on a solo album from 1992. It also had elements of Greek Bouzaki music. Fleck's is so deft on his electric banjo that he can sound almost like he is playing an Indian sitar.

The group finished the set with the crowd pleasing "Sinister Minister" also from the 1990 album that featured some creative work by Victor and his fleet fingered bass.

With the audience wanting more, the band returned for an encore playing the signature title piece from Flight of the Cosmic Hippo with Victor's famous lopping bass line. What more could you ask for? Great band, great show! If you have a chance to catch Béla and his group on this tour, which you can check out the details here, don't hesitate to go, you won't be disappointed. If you haven't checked Béla's other group still also on tour BEATrio which I reviewed here, then do not hesitate people. Talent like this is too good to miss.

Ben Wolfe, George Colligan and Aaron Kimmel Bring Swing, Melodicism and Edge to Portland's 1905 Jazz Club

George Colligan, Ben Wolfe and Aaron Kimmel at 1905 Jazz Club 

The musician/educator Ben Wolfe had a two night stand at Portland's 1905 Jazz Club this past weekend. Wolfe is a New York-based bassist and is on the faculty at the prestigious Julliard School of Music. He has been a prolific composer and band leader for several years, and its a real pleasure to see this swinging and exuberant bassist perform in person out here in the Pacific Northwest. 

Wolfe brought along his regular drummer, the talented Aaron Kimmel, and enlisted one of Portland's best, the progressive pianist George Colligan, to round out his trio. Wolfe's last two Resident Artists releases, Unjust from 2023 and The Understated, which was named part of Notes On Jazz Best of List for 2024, were both well received by the public and the critics. 

Wolfe's musical and recording history, has found him in productive associations with the crooner Harry Connick Jr., the pianist/vocalist Diana Krall and with leader/trumpeter Wynton Marsalis as a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Centers Band, to name just a few. His albums are almost exclusively comprised of self-composed material. 

Wolfe's playing has been once compared to “Mingus and Miles Davis meet Bartok and Bernard Herrmann” by NY Times Ben Ratliff. There is a certain sense that Wolfe deftly brings together some of the elements of swing with a lush melodicism in his music that retains its modernity and edge. To some degree, he accomplished this delicate balancing act by compositional acumen and by his astute choice of forward thinking musicians to present his music.  Albums like Unjust ,The Understated  and his PosiTone record The Whisperer from 2015, found Wolfe aligned with such progressive band mates as Nicholas Payton and Josh Evans on trumpet, Immanuel Wilkins, Stacy Dillard, and Nicole Glover on saxophones, Joel Ross on Vibes, and Orrin Evans and Sullivan Fortner on piano. Wolfe knows how to mine talent and uses their strengths to make his music more vibrant and accessible.

On this night, Wolfe, Colligan and Kimmel went through nine of the bassist's compositions, many currently untitled. The opener was unannounced, but was opened by a swinging bass line by Wolfe. This man can swing. Colligan keyed in on Wolfe's facially  animated bass lines and Kimmel's savvy percussive pulse, before breaking out with some exquisite pianistic lines that just gracefully dance across the keyboard. Always fluid, Colligan offered some chunky, block-chording, ala Red Garland, for emphasis. Kimmel was given a drum feature that demonstrated just how expressive a simple snare, a crash cymbal and a kick bass could provide in the right hands.

The second song was a 3/4 ballad that might have been Wolfe's "Love Is Near" and featured Ben's buoyant 3/4 bass and Colligan's gorgeous piano work.

Wolfe announced the next "Always Four," apparently a new song soon to be included on an upcoming album as yet to be named. This 4/4 burner featured a quick staccato pace that included quick-stops, accentuated by the trio in concurrent synchronicity. Colligan matched his fellow bandmates moves seamlessly and the trio managed to make it all seem telepathic.

The music continued with Wolfe labeling one piece as a "Waltz #2 for a nonet", a graceful waltz with Ben maintaining the flow and Colligan embellishing the music with surprising lines and gorgeous chords. Another loosely titled composition by Wolfe he jokingly titled  "Fast Quintet,'' again from his upcoming album, was a 8/8 paced cooker that had the bassist at his most facile.

"If Only" is a moving ballad originally released on Wolfe's The Whisperer from 2015.  Originally it featured the expressive Stacy Dillard on soprano saxophone. This time, Wolfe took the lead as the solo instrumentalist, beautifully rendering the ballad with only Kimmel's brush work accompanying. 

"Blue or Blueish," as Wolfe jokingly called the next number, was a Monk-like piece that featured Colligan at his most expressive.

"Masked Man," supposedly a song inspired by the sardonic, late comic Lenny Bruce, was originally released on the album Unjust, and had featured a quick pace. A horn section of Payton on trumpet and Glover on tenor made the piece crack. On this take at the 1905 stage, Wolfe set the punctuated bass line driving the pulse as Kimmel stabbed and jabbed at his kit. Colligan was the feature here. He added another Monk-like attack at times that had an inventive angularity to it. Lenny Tristano was another influence that came to my mind as Colligan seemed to be tapping the ether on this one. Wolfe had one of his own more substantial bass solo features of the evening. As a player Wolfe isn't flashy, but his countenance has a joyous patina when he plays, and the music resonates and absorbs that vibe he emanates. 

The set ended with a pleasant, softly played Bossa and a more aggressive piece, as yet unnamed, that continued to demonstrate the virtuosity of these fine musicians. The set ended with the audience applauding for the band, appreciating the opportunity to get a chance to experiencing such an excellent set of music. It is often believed that top talent jazz can only be truly experienced in musical meccas like NYC, LA, Boston and Nashville, but as this set of music proved, there is nothing stopping us from having top notch music right here in Portland. Thank you 1905 Jazz Club. Come out and support local jazz.

Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda and Antonio Sanchez Defy Genres on "BEATrio"

 

BEATrio-Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda and Antonio Sanchez- Fleck Productions

The American Banjo master Béla Fleck was born in New York City in 1958. His full name, Béla Anton Leoš Fleck, is a combination of three of his father’s favorite classical composers, the Hungarian Béla Bartok, the Austrian Anton Webern, and the Czech Leoš Janacek. With such a namesake imposed on the young Fleck, there is no wonder why he has found his path creating a new level of respectability for his unlikely instrument through his inventiveness, imagination and virtuosity.

Fleck didn’t take up the banjo until he was fifteen, after a failed run at mastering the French horn. He was initially inspired by the bluegrass sounds of Earl Scruggs that he heard on the theme of the show The Beverly Hillbillies which ran on national television from 1962 through 1971. The song “Dueling Banjos” which was played for the 1972 film Deliverance by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell also made its impression.

Never satisfied with just brilliant mastery of his six-string acoustic/electric banjo, or with the artificially created boundaries that limit the banjo to its bluegrass roots, the genre-bending Fleck has envisioned expanding the possibilities where his instrument could be creatively used and succeeded.

Over the years, Fleck went beyond his bluegrass projects that included his groups like Tasty Licks, Spectrum and New Grass Revival, and his duet project with mandolinist Chris Thile. In 1988 he formed his jazz/fusion/Americana inspired group Béla Fleck and the Flecktones with Howard Levy, Victor Wooten and Roy Wooten. Despite many sojourns along the way, the group is reuniting this season, now celebrating close to forty years of collaboration. Fleck would create classical projects, like his double concerto for banjo and bass with bassist Edgar Meyer, where the two played their debut with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Béla also created a trio concerto for the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, this time with bassist Meyer and the late table master Zakir Hussain. Insatiably driven to create for his instrument and to obliterate boundaries, Fleck collaborated and toured with the late piano master Chick Corea on three duet albums, "The Enchantment", the live recording "Two" and "Remembrance" between 2015 and 2024. With all this on his plate and an astounding nineteen Grammy awards under his belt, Fleck has time to have a continuing banjo duet collaboration with his wife and fellow banjo player/singer-songwriter Abagail Washburn. These two artists are also parents and are raising two sons in the Nashville area.

Antonio Sanchez, Edmar Castañeda, Béla Fleck 

Fleck’s newest group collaboration BEATrio is an acronym for the members first names, Béla, Edgar, and Antonio. Edgar is the Colombian harpist Edgar Castañeda whose has leant his brilliant virtuosity on this instrument to jazz and pop projects that featured Wynton Marsalis, Paquito D’Rivera, John Scofield and Sting. His heavenly harp work can also be heard on the Disney animated film Encanto from 2023.

Antonio Sanchez is a fluid drummer/percussionist, originally from Mexico City, whose work has previously been seen as a member of guitarist Pat Metheny’s Trio with bassist Christian McBride between 2005 through 2008. He has also worked with the late pianist Chick Corea, with rockers Trent Reznor and Dave Mathews, and has composed and played the drum-based musical score for Alejandro Iñárritu’s 2014 film Birdman.

This latest project, BEATrio, is just one more piece in the genre-defying puzzle that seems to drive Fleck’s musical aspirations. He has said that it is often rhythm that drives his playing, and he is often aware of how an orchestral scope to his work makes it more expansive. These elements are clearly on display on this collaborative album.

There is a global feel to this album. The three instruments seem to melt together in a symbiotic, organic way. There are elements of bluegrass, jazz, fusion and world music on display on this album. It’s a cultural feast of styles, sounds and colors that can’t be ignored.

The opener “Archipelago” sways with a Latin inspired feel. The rhythmic drive comes from a bass line that is maintained by Castañeda’s facile left hand and Sanchez’s deft percussive accompaniment. Fleck’s melodic banjo weaves in and out like a hummingbird quickly hovering over the nectar flower of the enticing melody. Just beautiful.

The group got a chance to work out some of the kinks on this mostly collaborated music when they performed at NYC’s Blue Note Jazz Club in 2024. “Each night felt like an adventure,” says Castañeda, “and it was special to see the audience experience the music’s evolution.”

“Pellucidar” is a stop/ start piece that seems to have the feel of theme to a detective mystery. Sanchez’s cadenced drum work and Castañeda’s harp create the stepped rhythm as Fleck’s banjo dances across the floor. Castañeda’s harp has a weightless feel as he explores the tonal possibilities of his instrument. Sanchez is particularly creative in his rhythmic magic that he skillfully manipulates seamlessly.

“Kaleidoscopes” is exactly that, a rhythmic and tonal Kaleidoscope that has an Afro-Caribbean dance feel. The trio move in synch with virtuosic sections that show joyous and impossibly fleet lines from three artists at the top of their game. Fleck’s Banjo lines are clean, precise and Castañeda’s harp hums with celestial buzz. Sanchez’s trap work is perfectly timed and explosively expressive. If this doesn’t raise your pulse, then see a doctor.

“Countryside” perhaps comes the closest to Fleck’s bluegrass roots, but even with a name like Countryside, Castañeda’s harp, Sanchez’s drum work and Fleck’s otherworldly banjo makes you believe this music is at home at a location that could be anywhere in the world. A feast of music cultures, colors and ideas combined so skillfully that it is a class by itself.

“Cloak and Dagger” is the most cinematic of the compositions. The music walks you through a scene of suspense and mystery. You feel you are sneaking around trying your best not to being discovered by the evil forces. Fleck spells out the theme and Castañeda has the dual role of bass lines from his left hand and harmony with his right hand. Castañeda eventually gets a chance to show his own expressiveness when he trades ideas in a give and take with Fleck. Sanchez takes his turn to make his own percussive statement close to the coda. This one is fun!

“Whispers of Resilience” opens with some slow, softly played string sounds from Castañeda before being matched by Fleck’s banjo strings. The trio create a wispy, hushed approach to creating the almost whispered, repeating melody. The three slightly intensify their playing in a sustained tonal approach to a simple melody. The cut seems to strangely end abruptly on my copy.

The album continues with “Coda” and its repeated, descending Banjo lines that send us to a peaceful place with sensitive playing by Fleck and some shimmering cymbal work by Sanchez. Castañeda maintains a steady bass line that anchors the piece.

“Walnut and Western” could easily be a theme song to a whimsical spaghetti western. Castañeda’s harp projects with sounds that seem to be from a fairy tale and Sanchez’s adds propulsion and fire. Fleck’s banjo creates a sustained whirl of sound, the armature of this song’s structure.

As the title implies, “Three Is Not a Crowd” is almost like a proclamation about how these guys feel playing together. The three work in synch, repeating each other’s line like musical Swiss movements. They change up the rhythmic time effectively always keeping the listener on their toes. Fleck and Castañeda exchange improvisational ideas like they share the same mind and Sanchez maintains a rhythm that just ebbs and flows as the music requires.

The album ends with “Hooligan Harbor” a stirring collaboration that has a driving beat that has some of the audaciousness of Irish folk music. You feel yourself getting up and doing a jig. Castañeda’s harp almost does a bass solo before allowing the higher register of his instrument to cover you with a blanket of joyous plucked notes. Fleck, always at his best when in his element, plays with vigor and panache that often accompanies Irish folk or dancelike bluegrass style music. Sanchez offers a powerful solo with rolling tom-tom and splashing cymbal work that just kills it.

“Touch and Go” is a bluegrass inspired hootenanny. Castañeda creates waves of flourishing notes against Fleck’s bubbling banjo and Sanchez creates the percussive counterpoint. Get ready to kick up your heels.

The Elegant Piano of a Storyteller. Ted Rosenthal Trio- "High Standards"

 

Ted Rosenthal Trio: High Standards-TMR Music

New York based Ted Rosenthal is a lyrical pianist whose work is often admired for his facile skill, invention, and conversationalist qualities. The man has the rare  ability to elegantly transform the jazz canon into a storytelling experience, and I compare his style to the great Tommy Flanagan, whose playing comes to mind as an influence. 

Rosenthal studied classical piano and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Manhattan School of Music in performance. Rosenthal’s love of jazz never left his soul. He studied with pianists Jaki Byard and Lennie Tristano, besides playing with such luminaries as Gerry Mulligan, Phil Woods and Bill Brookmeyer amongst others.

I first got to hear Rosenthal with his working trio of Noriko Ueda on bass and Tim Horner on drums, in a small, unmemorable hideaway in Mamaroneck, NY sometime back in the nineteen-nineties. Or was it the early two-thousands? No matter, at the time I was impressed by just how effervescent, joyful and elegant this pianist's performance was. Time together had honed the trio to develop an uncanny sixth sense for where Rosenthal’s fertile mind might lead and the results were top notch.

Besides his trio, solo and session work, Rosenthal has spent many of his subsequent years educating the next pianistic generation as a faculty member at his alma mater, The Manhattan School of Music, at Julliard, and at The New School jazz programs.

His latest album, High Standards, released in March of this year, is a thoroughly enjoyable, just under sixty-five-minute, nine-selection recording of some memorable standards by such composers as Bernstein/Sondheim, Carmichael/Mercer, and Van Heusen/Burke to name a few.

Rosenthal opens with Leonard Bernstein's “Jet Song,” from the show West Side Story. Rosenthal is joined by the bassist Martin Wind and his long-time drummer Tim Horner. The trio offers a playful jaunt through this energized music that was linked to a splendid dance number in the musical. Rosenthal dances on his keyboard, Wind punctuates the bravado sentiment and provides some arco poignancy, and Horner cadences the steps on his trap set to the point that you can see the gang members dance in your mind's eye.

Carmichael’s “Skylark” has been a favorite of improvisers for over eighty years. Rosenthal’s piano intro is a miniature masterful melodic statement that radiates with splendor before the trio joins with an expansive, soft swing. Wind offers a plucky bass solo as Horner deftly adds complimentary brush work. Rosenthal’s piano, never predictable, finds multiple ways to explore the melody by using dynamics and rhythmic changes.

“Old Devil Moon” is a Burton Lane composition that finds Rosenthal with his long-time bassist Noriko Ueda and drummer Quincy Davis. The three use a staccato rhythmic approach here that features some impressive bass pizzicato work in synch with some syncopated trap work, along with piano accents. Rosenthal can swing with the best of them, or he can provide stunning ascending and descending lines that flow from his keyboard like warm butter on hot pancakes. The music is energized and joyful. There are some creative exchanges between Ueda’s bass and Rosenthal’s piano, a treat that reveals just how well these two bandmates know each other.

The music continues with “Everything That Happens to Me,” originally played by Tommy Dorsey’s Orchestra and sung by Frank Sinatra. The song also found versions popularized by voices like Billie Holiday and Chet Baker. Rosenthal expresses the thematic emotions of despair, loneliness, and the resolve of being on the wrong side of fate, with his own sensitive pianistic interpretation of this Matt Dennis composition.  A warm pizzicato solo by Wind is another feature.

Johnny Van Heusen’s “It Could Happen to You” offers hope, surprise, and romantic optimism in contrast to the previous composition.  Rosenthal cleverly changes the mood and treats this one with a more upbeat swing. Whatever the mood of the composition evokes, Rosenthal has the tools to explore these emotions. If the pianist feels joy in the music, he transmits that joy through to the listener using embellishment, tone and rhythmic variation. As a listener, the essence of the music is told to you aurally, but it is almost like the story is being conveyed visually. Erroll Garner was a master at this and so is Rosenthal.

The remainder of the album includes “To Life.” Marvin Hamlisch’s “One,” “Lover Man” made famous by Billie Holiday and Tom McIntosh’s “The Cup Bearer.”

The two trios were recorded on separate dates in July and August of 2024 and each offer their own special moments as they interact with the pianist. Ted Rosenthal’s playing has gotten even better over the years. His splendid command of the material and the bottomless depth of the man’s creative well from which he draws makes High Standards a delightful album that offers the listener hours of enjoyment.