Jeff Cosgrove's "History Get's Ahead of The Story": The Music of William Parker

 

Jeff Cosgrove's History Gets Ahead of The Story Grizzley Music 

My familiarity with the work of the prolific free-jazz bassist and composer William Parker is admittedly limited. When I heard some of Parker’s compositions recently assembled and so enthusiastically played by drummer Jeff Cosgrove and his bandmates, organist John Medeski and saxophonist Jeff Lederer on his latest cd History Gets Ahead of the Story, I was both impressed and intrigued. I had to find out more about this bassist who The Village Voice once claimed as “the most consistently brilliant free jazz bassist of all time.”

Double bassist William Parker is now sixty-eight years old and has had a career of many creatively inspired musical endeavors. The double bassist/composer has recorded over forty albums as a leader and a countless number of important collaborations with other artists. Parker’s fierce attack and unfailing pulse, whether using his arco or pizzicato technique, is a constant source of grounding stability. His exploratory expressiveness and willingness to promote a collaborative approach keeps his music both fresh and interesting.

Parker studied with such bass luminaries as Richard Davis, Jimmy Garrison and Wilbur Ware. Over his career, he has contributed his artistry to the music of pianists Cecil Taylor, Craig Taborn, and Mathew Shipp. He has worked with the trumpeter Don Cherry and saxophonists Dave S. Ware, Anthony Braxton and Peter Brotzmann to name a few. Parker created an impressive repertoire of original music and has penned several books. His artistic breadth is diverse and inclusive, utilizing crossbreeding aspects of spiritualism, world music, dance, opera, blues, gospel, soul, jazz, free jazz, and poetry as elements into some of his inventive musical creations.

Jeff Cosgrove (photo credit unknown)

The apt textualist, Jeff Cosgrove, a generational disciple of the Paul Motian’s school of percussion, has played with bassist Parker in a contemporary trio with the pianist Mathew Shipp. Their first album was Alternating Current from 2014 and the last album from the trio was Near Disaster from Feb 2019. With this history in mind, it was only fitting that Cosgrove would choose seven compositions from Parker’s repertoire to both pay homage to the bassist/composer’s influence and to use these songs as a vehicle to explore the possibilities.  To my delight, Parker’s music not only provides inspiration to these adventurous musicians, but the band skillfully manages to somewhat make it their own.

Jeff Lederer ( photo credit unknown)

The group is notably without a bass and the only bottom anchor here is provided sparingly by Medeski’s left foot on the B3.  Song’s like the bluesy opener “O’neals Porch” seems to be tailored to raise the spirits with Medeski’s probing organ,  Lederer’s frolicking saxophone, and Cosgrove’s delicate percussive pace.

The gospel-inspired “Corn Meal Dance” employs a churchly sound from Medeski’s organ and a roiling rhythmic treatment from Cosgrove. Lederer, whose saxophone prowess is a marvel, seems to wail like a possessed preacher wailing to the heavens from his pulpit.

John Medeski ( photo credit unknown)

"Gospel Flowers” is one of two Lederer compositions on the album. This blues-based song has a memorable, lightly swinging melody. Medeski always seems able to find a way to liberate his B3 playing from expected pathways, often bringing excitement to the musical journey. The music elevates you, as Cosgrove’s subtle and textured accompaniment maintains your altitude. Lederer rides the airways with a strong powerful tone and mellifluous sonority, as he also accents the music with more piercing dissonance that claws back to some of Parker’s free jazz roots.

“Little Bird” is a playful musical spar originally on William Parker’s Petit Oiseau from 2008, and here features Lederer on flute, Medeski on keys, and Cosgrove on drums. The music is joyous, invigorating and a testament to these three gentlemen's ability to create a musical conversation that just captivates the listener. Cosgrove offers a short solo that demonstrates his astute percussive inventiveness. There is a Dolphy like feel to Lederer’s flute work here that seems to be a tip of the hat to the music’s history.

 “Ghost,” the only composition on this album by Cosgrove, creates an otherworld-like mood. Here using a modulating organ, splashing cymbals, soft toms and a resonant clarinet, the band creatively conjures up the presence of a looming specter.

Parker’s “Moon” is just a delight. The music is jaunty and joyful. Lederer plays a soprano lead that grabs you with its prance-like feel and brash proclamations. Medeski’s organ lightly keeps the rhythmic drive going as Cosgrove lays down a roiling flow of percussive accents.

“Things Fall Apart” is a free-flowing exchange that has no perceivable melody and is an improvisational banter between the three musicians.

“Wood Flute Song” comes from Parker’s 2005 album Sound Unity and Cosgrove open with a short drum introduction. Lederer and Medeski enter in, one with a muted left-footed bass line and the other with a robust clarinet.  When Medeski takes a solo on the organ he is accompanied by circular drum work by Cosgrove giving the music a buoyant and enlivened flow.

Lederer’s gorgeous “Purcell’s Lament” opens with an impassioned Soprano intro that is accented by Cosgrove’s delicate cymbals and toms. Medeski’s swelling organ adds to the ballad’s moving feel. The music seems to bloom in front of you like a flower that opens on an inviting spring morning. Lederer can evoke spirituality in his playing that reminds me of some of Pharoah Sander’s work of time past.

The album ends with Parker’s jaunty “Harlem” from his 2005 Sound Unity. Medeski, Lederer and Cosgrove coordinate brilliantly, tracing each other’s lines -tenor, organ and drums-like a synchronized swim team’s motion at an Olympic competition. There is a beauty as to how well these three moves in each other’s space.  The three separate instruments are handily utilized to operate as one breathing entity, three minds meeting as one impressive expression of the music. Take the time to hear this work and to enjoy the inventive music of William Parker.

Bobby Sanabria's Big Band Multiverse & The Universal Diversity of Music

Bobby Sanabria's Big Band: Multiverse JH 1193

When I recently featured three current works from Big Bands I was called to task for not having included at least one Latin Big Band . Well certainly that was not by design as there are many Afro Cuban and Latin based bands that deserve mention so here is one that clearly deserves to be included in the mix.

When you look at the cover of Multiverse ,the latest album from Bobby Sanabria’s Big Band,  you are confronted with the serious stare of its leader. Doffed in a black hat, a graying soul patch and dark shaded glasses that offer reflections of distant galaxies mirrored on the surface of his lenses, clearly this self-proclaimed Nuyorican is looking into the universe for inspiration. Mr. Sanabria’s universe is of course much more down to earth, it is the universe of diversity, the universality of music in its many varied and ethically influenced forms that that have made him the musician he is today.  As a quote  from the liner notes taken from Nobel Prize winning poet Octavio Paz states  “Every view of the world that becomes extinct, every culture that disappears, diminishes a possibility of life.”  It is this sentiment that infuses Mr. Sanabria’s music and his mission.The Multiverse Big Band is a living, breathing organism that embodies the cross genre diversity that Mr. Sanabria  has come to represent.

As a jazz musician and a courageous proponent of the Afro-Cuban/Latin Jazz  traditions no one has been a more consistent and passionate spokesman for rallying more wide spread recognition of the Latin jazz idiom. It was Mr. Sanabria’s vocal and ardent petitioning of NARAS ( the ruling body for the Grammy Awards ), that helped to re-instate a Grammy award in the category of Latin Jazz, after it had been summarily removed as a viable category for consideration.

On Mulitverse we find a powerful , well orchestrated group of musicians playing music ranging from the cinematic to the sublime. The music is unified by a clave driven rhythm section, but true to its universal theme it contains elements of Latin dance, straight ahead jazz, modern big band arrangements and even  funk and rap. 

A case in point is the introductory piece from Don Ellis’s theme to the movie The French Connection, driven by its hard, clave-centered rhythm  section and pulsing brass choruses, Sanabria and company  bring this smoker  to a cinematic climax worthy of the movie. The use of an oddly futuristic sounding electric baritone solo by Danny Rivera  is countered by the soaring plunger trumpet screams of Shareef Clayton before a blistering tenor solo by Jeff Lederer is met with the Australian bush sounds of the didgeridoo as played by Chris Washburne. It is as if Mr. Sanabria has created a masterful amalgam of sounds that cross all barriers of time and space.

“Cachita,”is a slick modern  arrangement by Jeremy Fletcher of the Rafael Hernadez piece. It’s rhumba-like feel incorporates the dance rhythms of Latin music with tight section arrangements, some boisterous call and response  from Hiram “El Pavo” Remon and saxophone solos of note from John Beaty on alto and Lederer on tenor.  The song ends with a clave-driven bass solo by Leo Traversa.

Fletcher returns with his own contemporary composition “Jump Shot” with its cha-cha rhythm and its swirling section work. Solos by Washburne on bass trombone and Lederer on tenor add excitment. As the title implies Sananbria and companies s deft use of percussive accents makes this one jump.

As if the world needed another version of “Over the Rainbow,” arranger Andrew Neesley find a way to breathe new life into this classic  The band supports vocalist Charnee Wade’s wonderfully subtle interpretation of these timeless E.Y. Harburg lyrics. The band plays with warm sensitivity over Wade’s beguiling voice.Time to go home Toto.

The funky  Chris Washburne tune “Wordsworth Ho” has a free feel to it with boisterous choruses and angular changes in rhythmic direction that is quite contemporary in its approach. As always in Mr. Sanabria’s bands, soloists are given just enough space to make a succinct point without becoming  a distraction to the whole unit. 

Other key selections from this marvelous album include a Jeff Lederer’s  arrangement of Wayne Shorter’s “Speak No Evil”  with its dynamic sectional chorus work and a fine solo by Peter Branin on tenor. Understanding that there are no boundaries in music, the  song utilizes a timely rap by La Bruja with a backing vocal chorus  from the band, making this one of the most cross generational songs on the album.

Perhaps the most ambitious piece is Michael Philip Mossman’s arrangement of this spectacular medley of Ellingtonia titled "Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite for Ellington.”   The suite seamlessly incorporates parts from “ Black and Tan Fantasy” “and “Satin Doll” to name a few and it does so with breezy facility that makes it look easy. David DeJesus’s alto solo on “I Got It Bad It A’int Good” is heartfelt.  The band swings on “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It A’int Got That Swing)” with a slurred trombone solo by John Beaty  and a rousing Latin chorus section of the theme leading to a trio of gutsy trumpet solos.  A brief sampling of “Body And Soul” ends this one at the coda with a flurry of bongos, congas and a stirring drum solo courtesy of Mr.Sanabria..

The finale is “The Chicken/From Havana to Harlem-100 years of Mario Bauza” which is a celebration of Mr. Sanabria’s mentor the trumpet playing band leader Mario Bauza. The arrangement of the horn sections have a “Tower of Power” ala  “ Brecker Brothers” feel to it as one section plays melody and others pulse powerfully behind. A rousing Maceo Parker inspired soul/funk tenor solo by Norbert Stachel is featured and grabs the feel of this one perfectly. The song leads to a rap by La Bruja, with talks of the origins of the music, a short Bauza bio and some musical history of the Afro-Cuban musical experience.

For those who love the power and the synchronicity of eighteen musicians playing together as one Multiverse  is one hard driving band that deserves more attention. The album was a Grammy nomionee and the band will be playing at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola Dec 19^th-22^nd so if your in New York for the holidays this is a not to be missed.

Personnel; Bobby Sanabria, leader, arranger, percussion, xylophone and drums; Christian Rivera congas, background vocals, Obanilu Allende, bongo/cenerro; Mathew Gonzalez, bongo, cencerro; Hiram "El Pavo" Remon, lead vocal, back ground vocals; Enrique Haneine, piano; Leo Traversa, bass and background vocals; Trumpets: Kevin Bryan, Shareef Clayton; Jonathan Barnes andn Andrew Neesley; Saxophones:

David DeJesus, Peter Branin; Norbert Stachel; Jeff Lederer, Danny Rivera. Trombones; Dave Miller, Tim Sessions, Joe Beaty, Chris Washburne. Charnee Wade Vocal, La Bruj :Spoken word/rap. Additional Background Vocals:Gene Jeffereson, Mary Gatchell and Georgia Schmidt. Boma Yuba Section: Ernesto Lucar and Gene Marlow.

Drummer Matt Wilson Summoning All Parties to His "Gathering Call"

Matt Wilson Quartet with John Medeski Gathering Call:PM2169

In music and especially contemporary improvised music, the role of the drummer has greatly expanded beyond the traditional role of a simple keeper of time. Witness the current crop of albums that have recently been released by drummers who have taken on the role of leader and oftentimes composer; albums that demonstrate just how diverse and I might add exciting the art of contemporary drumming has become.

Matt Wilson is a case in point. Wilson is a celebrated drummer whose resume speaks for itself. Wilson made his bones with saxophonist Dewey Redman and in Charlie Haden’s Liberation Orchestra. Along the way he has lent his sideman talent as the first call drummer for piano trios led by luminaries like Denny Zeitlin, Bill Mays and Paul Bley.  In the various iterations of his own groups, usually quartets, Wilson has consistently shown the ability to create a steady stream of creative music that spans the gamut from hard-bop to the avant-guarde, with his music always retaining an inherent sense of joy, a Wilson trademark.

On Wilson’s latest, Gathering Call, the prolific drummer has enlisted the cornetist Kirk Knuffke, the reed player Jeff Lederer, bassist Chris Lightcap and guest pianist John Medseki. The music can be traditional  big band with a contemporary twist as in the opener Duke Ellington’s “Main Stem” where Knuffke can sound like Lee Morgan and Lederer takes on a sound not unlike Gene Ammons big boss tenor to great effect.

The music can be playfully raucous like on Wilson’s three compositions “Some Assembly Required,”, “Gathering Call” or “How Ya Going?” Wilson is a practitioner of the art of rhythmic chicanery where he uses various sounds and stick techniques to create a cacophony of clicks, bangs and splashes all brilliantly timed and masterfully in tune to the music. The iconic saxophonist Lee Konitz, who has played with Wilson, was quoted saying  " I don't think I've ever heard him play an unmusical hit on the drums and cymbals." All the while Wilson deftly interjects just the right amount of humor into his music.

Matt Wilson Quartet
Lto R Wilson, Lederer, Knuffke,
 Lightcap photo by Tom Foley

The music can embrace old style swing like on Duke Ellington’s rarely played “You Dirty Dog” where Knuffke plays with polished style in contrast to Lederer’s salty tenor solo, played with an exceptionally gut bucket brashness, taking the music to another level. Or as on Charlie Rouse’s wonderful “Pumkin Delight”, the music is evocative of the Blue Note hard bop hey days.

The music can also be beautiful, like on Wilson’s shimmering “Dancing Waters,” where bassist Lightcap is featured on some impressionistic playing or on Butch Warren’s hopeful “Barack Obama,” where John Medeski’s piano layers a cascading shower of notes and Lederer warm clarinet tones mesh synchronously with Knuffke’s moving cornet.

The music can be delicate and uplifting like on Wilson’s “Hope (For the Cause)” which features some subtle piano work by Medeski, showing the sensitive side to this player, often associated with his hard driving organ trio Medeski, Martin and Wood.. 

The music can be heartfelt and contemporary like on the beautifully rendered version of the Beyonce tune “If I Were a Boy,” a highlight of the album. The album ends with a piece of Americana, the quietly rendered duet between Wilson and Medeski on the traditional song “Juanita.” The song transports you to an age of simplicity and honesty that has its own special appeal.  With so much diversity in music all expertly played, Gathering Call is another addition to Mr. Wilson’s growing joyful and creative repertoire that should be listened to and relished.