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.

Costumes Are Mandatory : Ethan Iverson with Lee Konitz, Larry Grenadier and Jorge Rossy

Ethan Iverson's Costumes Are Mandatory HCD 7249

With a shriveled and charred pumpkin face on the cover (photo by Julie Worden) one might find the cover art of Costumes Are Mandatory  holds a subliminal message. A worn out and used up octogenarian going through the paces of just another record gig. Ha! Dispel all such notions. This record  finds the eighty-five year old alto-saxophonist Lee Konitz playing in top form with his signature dry-ice tone and his measured economy of notes that somehow speaks volumes. The taciturn Mr. Konitz speaks with his horn only when necessary and when he does one should be inclined to sit up and listen or risk missing fleeting brilliance. Here, the hearty Konitz,  is joined by a stellar cast assembled by Ethan Iverson, of Bad Plus fame on piano.  Larry Grenadier on bass and Jorge Rossy on drums, the formidable original rhythm section of Brad Mehldau's trio, round out the bill.

The record was the brainchild of Mr. Iverson and includes two Konitz originals, some standards and some of Mr. Iverson's original compositions.The album is book ended by two versions of Mr. Iverson's "Blueberry Ice Cream."  Mr. Grenadier anchors this twelve bar blues with his full walking bass line over which, according to Mr. Iverson's liner notes, a reluctant Mr. Konitz plays his abstract, sparse blue lines to great effect and total enjoyment. On Mr. Konitz's "It's You,"  Mr. Iverson overdubs piano in an introductory nod to Lennie Tristano, Mr. Konitz's mentor. By his own admission, Iverson plays the piece in a Monk-like fashion. Konitz plays with a mute floating above a walking bass line by Grenadier and rambunctious interactive drum work by Rossy, something Tristano, who hated active drummers, would have undoubtedly scorned. Iverson and Konitz trace each others lines in a nice piece of synchronous interactive playing.  On Konitz "317 East 32nd Street,"  the Tristano-style is most evident in Iverson's playing. Iverson claims Konitz begrudgingly plays this one, albeit gracefully. After so many repeat performances over the years perhaps he has found it difficult to say anything more?

The highlights of the album are the ballads, played with such minimalism as to be beautiful in their unabashed, almost stark nakedness. On "Try a Little Tenderness" Mr. Iverson's piano is probing, ruminative and abstract while still retaining some thread to the melody. Mr. Konitz again uses a mute on his horn creating a nostalgically shrouded sound. On Bob Haggart's "What's New," Iverson creates an angular lead-in for Konitz to enter the song with his own oblique approach to the melody. His brut champagne-like notes linger over the deliciously languid lines of this superb rhythm section, creating a marvel of concise, liquid inventiveness. The piece de resistance is the beautifully imagined duet of "Body and Soul" with Larry Grenadier's full-bodied bass playing the perfect foil to Lee Konitz's meandering alto. Grenadier's work is simply superb; a warm and round display of virtuosity and precision tone. Mr. Konitz's roaming sound is at it's most delicate, allowing room for Mr. Grenadier's work to shine through. The last ballad is "My Old Flame" which features the eighty-five year old Mr. Konitz on a vocal scat that is quite unnerving. Following Mr. Grenadier's bass lines, Mr. Iverson's twangy piano string plucking and Mr. Rossy's  consortium of  muffled drum effects, in comes Mr. Konitz "do do do we"  high pitched scat. Gratefully he picks up his horn and renders a heartfelt solo that dances around the melody in his own inimitable way. Mr. Iverson and Mr. Grenadier both play sincere, poignant solos before Mr Konitz comes in again for a brief reprise.

Mr. Iverson and the trio, sans Mr. Konitz, are featured in much of the remainder of the album. On the Vincent Rose song "Blueberry Hill" a song made famous by Fats Domino in 1956, Mr. Iverson shows his creative juices are flowing, successfully deconstructing the rock and roll standby into a vehicle of musical abstraction and I might say surprising beauty.  The Lennie Tristano/Paul Bley influence shines through on Mr. Iverson's  "A Distant Bell"  which is a note filled semi-free piece that couldn't be further from Mr. Konitz's style. "Bats" is Mr. Iverson's metronomic homage to the abstract pianist Lennie Tristano. The style is walking piano bass lines with  floating drum rhythms by Mr. Rossy that seem to take the lead. "Mr. Bumi" is a homage to Japanese pianist Masabumi Kikuchi which has Mr. Grenadier, who plays arco here, trading lines with Mr. Iverson in an counter-intuitive exchange. "My New Lovers All Seem So Tame"  finds Mr. Iverson plucking the strings of his piano in harpsichord-like manner; a strange song originally intended to be an intro to the following song "My Old Flame" which seems oddly out of place.

All in all  Costumes Are Mandatory is a wonderful body of music that more than makes up for some of its rough spots by offering moments of unvarnished beauty from a marvelously supple group of musicians and magical playing by Mr. Konitz, a living legend of his craft.

I could only find the short snippet above of Mr. Konitz with Mr, Iverson, Mr. Grenadier and Mr. Rossy, but here is a classic version of Lee doing "Body and Sou"l: from  Another Shade of Blue with pianist Brad Mehldau and bassist Charlie Haden from 1999.

Loren Stillmans' "Winter Fruits" :Dry Ice in an Alto

Loren Stillman is a London born alto saxophonist who is now residing in Brooklyn, NY.
In 2002 he was a semi-finalist in the Theolonius Monk Saxophone Competition. He has played with a myriad of master jazz musicians including Charlie Haden, Paul Motian, John Abercrombie and has studied with Lee Konitz and Dave Liebman.

Loren Stillman’s new release “Winter Fruits” is a compilation of eight songs that together demonstrate a modernist approach to improvisational music, where melody and chord changes are for the most part abandoned. In lieu of such traditional forms, the music uses a combination of orchestrated and free journeys into the creation of a musical atmosphere where the artist interaction create a flowing, unpredictable conversation with the listener more or less along for the ride. For this effort Stillman brings together the skills of organ master Gary Versace, guitarist Nate Radley and drummer/composer Ted Poor, collectively known as Bad Touch.

In promotional material sent by his publicist, I was struck by a comment attributed to the guitarist John Abercrombie. Supposedly Abercrombie compared the young Stillman, his band mate in the group Jackalope, to a young Lee Konitz on steroids. Certainly Stillman’s chilled delivery, lack of vibrato and deliberative cadence are derivative of Konitz’s cool sound. Abercrombie is another obvious influential force in this music. The album is reminiscent of some of the ethereal collaborations that Abercrombie has done with the British multi-instrumentalist John Surman.

The entire album flows in an enjoyable manner that seems organically connected with the voices of Stillman, Radley, Poor and Versace darting in and out in a precise but relaxed manner. The album is best listened to as a suite in one sitting. Stillman’s use of long, deliberate, laid-back lines of improvisation are quite effective. His tone is pure and never abrasive. He rarely uses screeches or harsh accents., although there is sometimes a hint of breathiness in his delivery. When he does emphasis a passage it is usually with a overflowing continuity of thought which pours from his alto like the dense white clouds of condensation that pour from melting dry ice.

The precision of the group is most impressive on “Muted Dreams” with its delicate and exquisitely executed passages of luminescent sound. Stillman’s extended runs are particularly impressive in their tonal beauty and flawless fluidity. “Skin” is another fine composition where the group easily navigates complex, synchronous lines in a fusion-like manner but with a more refined approach that concentrates on tone in addition to speed.

“With You” is one of the more melodic pieces on the album with Radley and Versace showing some nice interplay. Poor predominantly uses cymbals with some accents on toms and snares. When Versace delves into his solo there is no discernable time except for a pulsing, throb-like cadence. Throughout it all Poor somehow manages to create the illusion of the barest of rhythms. Radley’s re-entry after Versace’s solo is beautifully seamless. Stillman returns with some of his most lyrical playing.

The Abercrombie influence is especially apparent on the airy Radley guitar lines of “Man of Mystery”. Versace’s versatile command of his arsenal of sounds is complimentary throughout. He modulates his volume and like a chameleon changes tonal colors at precise moments to add emphasis.

“Winter Fruits” is perhaps the most choppy, darting composition on the album It ends with a repeating bass line by Versace that is the backdrop for some truly free improvisational ramblings by Radley, Stillman and Versace while Poor pounds and crashes relentlessly behind.

“Puffy” is a slow, reflective piece that allows Stillman to show the most lyrical and sensitive side to his playing. Radley intertwines floating guitar riffs between Stillman’s thoughts as Versace church-like organ creates an air of somber seriousness.

“Winter Fruits” represents an evolutionary step in the refinement of a very promising young alto saxophonist who plays his horn with the confidence of a seasoned bartender delivering the perfect chilled martini.

Artist: Loren Stillman

CD: Winter Fruits (PIT 3042)

Musicians: Loren Stillman (alto saxophone); Gary Versace (organ); Nate Ridley (guitar);
Ted Poor (drums).

Recorded: Recorded July 4th & 5th Bennett Studios, New Jersey


Track listing: Muted Dreams; Skin; Man of Mystery; With You; Like A Magic Kiss; A Song to Be Played; Winter Fruits; Puffy. Highlighted tracks are favorites.

All compositions by Loren Stillman except Muted Dream & Winter Fruit by Ted Poor.