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

 

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

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

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

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

Ali Ryerson(photo credit unknown)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Michael Blake (unknown photo credit)

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

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

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

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

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

Michael Blake and Chroma Nova (photo credit unknown)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ryan Blotnick (photo by Richard Sassaman)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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