Drummer Adam Nussbaum's "The Lead Belly Project"

Adam Nussbaum's The Leadbelly Project Sunnyside Records SSC 1500

The drummer Adam Nussbaum is one of those journeyman percussionists whose grounded beat can be heard on over one hundred-seventy recordings. He has worked with the likes of John Abercrombie, Michael and Randy Brecker, Jerry Bergonzi, Steve Swallow and Carla Bley to name just a few.  I have always found his work to be interesting, if slightly under the radar, and was particularly impressed with his work in his band  BANN with saxophonist Seamus Blake, bassist Jay Anderson and guitarist Oz Noy from back in 2011.

As a youngster growing up in Norwalk. CT, Nussbaum became exposed to the music of the folk/blues artist Huddie William Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly, from his parents record collection.  The music inspired young Nussbaum but as he says “…he listened, loved and forgot those old recordings.” It was a long time coming, but the drummer decided to assemble a group of like-minded musicians and dedicate a record to this legendary folk/blues artist, one who left such a lasting impression on him during his formative years. The Leadbelly Project is a project that honors the music of Americana as represented by the music of Ledbetter. There is a deeply authentic feeling that this music elicits and it is only enhanced by the musicianship and fervor that these four artists bring to this endeavor.

Adam Nussbaum

Recorded in Brooklyn in March of 2017, Nussbaum garnered the services of two guitarists, Steve Cardenas and  Nate Radley, and one saxophonist, Ohad Talmor. Led by Nussbaum’s agile drums, these guys re-invigorate the simple but powerfully moving blues/gospel based-folk music of Lead Belly. They inject their own sensibilities into the repertoire, contemporizing it and re-introducing this wonderful music to a whole new generation of listeners.

The album features seven songs composed by Ledbetter, two traditional songs “Green Corn” and “Good Night Irene” and two Nussbaum Originals “Insight, Enlight” and “Sure Would Baby.”

Just sit back and listen to these guys interact. It is a communal love fest for this fiercely original, American roots music and if you listen intently you will be transported to a simpler time.  

The dual voices of Radley and Cardenas seamlessly mesh through each other’s lines without ever clashing. Saxophonist Talmor plays with admirable restraint, favoring a dedication to tone and feeling over speed. Nussbaum is clearly the leader here, but not in an overtly, out-front sort of way. The veteran drummer chooses the tempos and sets the tone, building an armature upon which his proteges can further enhance. He leaves the group plenty of room to develop their own ideas and pushes and prods as the master rhythm maker he is.

From the opening saxophone refrain of Talmor on “Old Riley” you can hear this album is about imparting a “down home” feeling. The two guitarists dance around each other in complementary fashion as the drummer adds  splashes of color before the group gets into a cadenced march following Nussbaum’s brushed traps.

On “Green Corn” the musicians carry on a delicate conversation where each respond to the other’s brief statement. They eventually create a circular whirlwind of notes, the two guitarists almost indistinguishable as they play off  each other’s ideas, with Talmor and Nussbaum carry the melody to a tidy coda.

The slow sauntering “Black Girl (Where Did You Sleep Last Night) creates room for Cardenas and Radley to create a Frisellian atmosphere drenched in picked and strummed twang over a 5/4 beat.

There is head-bopping authenticity of the group’s “Bottle Up and Go” that makes it a real treat. Listen to Nussbaum’s dancing calliope of sounds as he works his kit to great effect. Talmor’s saxophone lazily lopes along in perfect harmony with the rest of the band. The guitar work is so integrated into the music that it’s hard for me to distinguish who is playing what here, but no matter it all sounds fluid and right.

The album continues with other Lead Belly classics like the rousing “Black Betty,” a funky sort of vamp with a nice solo by Cardenas;  the short, angularly played “Grey Goose” which has a sweet drum intro by Nussbaum, and the gospel-like “Bring Me A Little Water, Sylvie” which features some country-inspired guitar work  and some dreamy saxophone by Talmor.  The shaking “You Can’t Lose Me Cholly” is a joyful tune with Nussbaum adding a lot of color to the rambling song.

“Insight, Enlight” is a gentle gem. It starts with a light, finger-picked guitar intro that hangs in the air like the sound of a wind chime in a gentle breeze. Nussbaum’s shimmering cymbal work and the hauntingly tenor of Talmor stating the repeating melody line further enhance the solemnity of this beautiful miniature.

The easy shuffling of Nussbaum’s “Sure Would Baby," is a song Adam wrote for his wife and is just plain fun to listen to. You can hear the group take this one and make it their own.

The set closes with the classic “Good Night Irene.” Nussbaum opens with a tom-based drum intro that leads into the melody stated simply by Talmor’s tenor as the two guitarists weave their lines into a filigreed pattern.

Regina Carter brings her Southern Comfort to the Jazz Standard August 16, 2014

Marvin Sewell, Regina Carter, Chris Lightcap and Will Holshouser
Photo by Ralph A. Miriello

On Saturday August 16, 2014 the violinist Regina Carter brought some Southern Comfort to the New York’s Jazz Standard. It was apropos to be enjoying the Standard’s sumptuous Blue Smoke Barbeque cuisine prior to the first set of Ms. Carter’s delicious treatment of American roots music. It was almost the perfect pairing for an all-American  evening of fine food and even finer music.

Ms. Carter, who is small in stature but commanding in the presence of her violin, was joined by an accomplished group of like-minded musicians.  Anchored by the rhythm section of Chris Lightcap on acoustic bass and Alvester Garnett on drums, the group included two musicians Marvin Sewell on guitars and Will Holshouser on accordion, who seemed to have an invisible tether to Ms. Carter’s musical mind.

The music was from Ms. Carter’s recent cd Southern Comfort, a musical experience which was born out of the violinist’s interest in discovering the music that existed during her father and grandfather’s time. The research took her to the coal mines of Alabama where her grandfather originally worked. The music of the time was annealed from the varied experiences of the workers who came from many disparate European and African backgrounds. It was the discovery of the field recordings from these times, a few of which Ms. Carter shared on stage from a recorder stored on her phone, that made the music so compelling. This was Americana music at its best, work and play music that sustained those who heard it while carrying on with their often difficult lives.

From the impressive glass slide and finger picked guitar opening by Mr. Sewell of “Miner’s Child” and the melancholic wail of Ms. Carter’s violin you knew you were in for a treat listening to music that could clutch at the tendrils of your soul. Ms. Carter has it all, precision, superb intonation and a creative spirit that makes her instrument sing like a plaintive voice. The group was marvelously intuitive in their approach to this music, which they played with a great deal of feeling and reverence.

On vibraphonist Stefon Harris’s fast paced arrangement of “Breakaway/Death Have Mercy,” drummer  Garnett played a moving Cajun-inspired rhythm that led into a stirring solo by accordionist Will Holshauser, who at times made his accordion sound like a carnival calliope.

On the Graham Parson’s tune “Hickory Wind” Mr. Sewell played glass slide on an electric Telecaster-style guitar. His technique was so flawlessly smooth that if you closed your eyes you could have easily mistaken it for a pedal-steel guitar. He lingered on long drawn out notes that hung in the air like wisps of cumulus clouds over a hot southern landscape. On this slow, sauntering tune Ms. Carter took the opportunity play with the heart wrenching poignancy that only a fiddle can elicit. Mr. Holshouser’s harmonies were magically in-sync with Ms. Carter at almost every turn. The two seem to have an empathetic connection that is magical to behold.

Ms. Carter took to the microphone to  explain her journey through her father’s genealogy, where she was DNA tested to  discover she was 73% West African and 13% Finnish. So she quipped her next record might explore Finnish music, tentatively titled “I’m Finnish-ed.”  She related visiting her father’s relative’s in the rural South during the summers of her youth. She then played a brief recording of a children’s school song that was taken from an archival collection of recordings from an all girl’s school in Alabama, titled “See See Rider.”  The song, as played by Ms Carter and her group, was particularly moving. Ms. Carter’s raspy violin repeated the refrain pointedly.  At times during her soloing you could hear glimpses of her quoting what seemed to be Bill Wither’s  soulful “Use Me”. Mr. Holshauser brilliantly complimented her sound with rich harmonies that would swell in and out in sync to the squeezing of his instrument. Mr. Garnett playing with his bare hands on his drums and Mr. Sewell and Mr Lightcap accompanied perfectly.

The group launched into a cacophony of sounds that at once seemed disparate and free. The Garnett penned song broke into the more identifiable sound of  a New Orlean’s inspired march. Mr. Garnett kept the drill step cadence superbly and Mr. Holshauser playfully soloed in a Cajun-styled mode.  Mr. Sewell had an extended solo as Ms. Carter looked on, leading to a bass solo by Mr. Lightcap. Ms. Carter soloed in a style that was reminiscent of Stuff Smith, with a dissonant dual string attack and references to “Farmer in the Dell” and other barnyard favorites sprinkled in along the way.  The song ended with a rousing and  rambunctious drum solo by the ever present Mr. Garnett, who was finally let out of his box to strut his ample chops.

    

The first set ended with the traditional hymn “I’m Going Home on the Morning Train” which was arranged and played on the album by the tasty guitarist Adam Rodgers. Mr. Sewell started the song off with a soulful bluesy guitar lead in. Mr. Holshouser’s moaning accordion sound gave the song a moving reverence, the feel of a church organ at a bible reading. Ms. Carter’s violin was particularly poignant on this hymn as her Appalachian heritage came pouring through with a sincerity that was tinged with a bit of melancholia; a combination that makes this music so moving. As Ms. Carter has said, the music comes through her, not from her, and to give it to us is a gift, as she does, demands that we accept it with open arms. For those who enjoy this kind of American roots music, played to perfection,  Southern Comfort is a must have in the same category as the late Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny’s memorable Missouri Sky.